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US Job Openings Rise Slightly to 9.6M, Signaling Continued Strength of Job Market (Maria)
The author writes, “Employers posted 9.6 million job openings in September, up from 9.5 million in August and a sign that the US job market remains strong even as the US Federal Reserve attempts to cool the economy. Layoffs fell to 1.5 million from 1.7 million in August, more evidence that workers enjoy an unusual degree of job security. The number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence they can find better pay elsewhere — was virtually unchanged. The September openings are down from a record 12 million in March 2022 but remain high by historical standards.”
The Secretive Industry Devouring the US Economy (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The publicly traded company is disappearing. In 1996, about 8,000 firms were listed in the U.S. stock market. Since then, the national economy has grown by nearly $20 trillion. The population has increased by 70 million people. And yet, today, the number of American public companies stands at fewer than 4,000. How can that be? One answer is that the private-equity industry is devouring them. When a private-equity fund buys a publicly traded company, it takes the company private — hence the name. … This gives the fund total control, which in theory allows it to find ways to boost profits so that it can sell the company for a big payday a few years later.”
Gaza and the Empathy Gap (Laura)
From The Intercept: “I’ve thought about [Israeli journalist Amir Tibon’s] story a lot the past two weeks, and it resonated with me again when I saw a viral tweet from my colleague Murtaza Hussain about the role of culture, circumstance, and empathy. Though I don’t have a safe room in my home, the fear of gun violence coming home is a real one for me and most Americans, even if our perpetrators are more likely to be lone nuts in a school or a mall rather than organized terror cells. It’s much harder, bordering on impossible, to imagine war planes and drones flying over my home, firing missiles into my neighborhood. ‘I don’t think Americans appreciate the horror of dying under bombing or airstrikes because they have no experience of that themselves,’ Murtaza wrote. ‘Being shot or stabbed is more tangible horror to the public, but dying under bombs is a completely alien experience to which they cannot relate.’”
Killings in the US Are Dropping at a Historic Rate. Will Anyone Notice? (DonkeyHotey)
From the Los Angeles Times: “Homicides in the U.S. dropped significantly in 2022 and have plummeted even faster this year, putting the country on track for one of the biggest declines in killing ever recorded, crime statistics show. If that comes as a surprise, you’re not alone. Crime did rise nationwide in 2020 and 2021. The disruption caused by a deadly pandemic, a record increase in the availability of guns, a pullback of policing in some cities and perhaps other factors combined to create a surge in homicides and other crimes. That national tide has started to recede, but public perception has not kept pace. That continues to color the nation’s political debates even as reality increasingly diverges from the rhetoric.”
Arkansas Governor’s $19,000 Lectern Remains Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind With Audit Underway (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “From targeting Chinese-owned farmland to banning gender-neutral terms like ‘pregnant people’ from state documents, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has rolled out announcements in recent weeks in quick succession, cheered on by her Republican base. The former White House press secretary — known for scaling back regular press briefings in Washington — has also fielded questions from behind a lectern at the state Capitol. But it’s the lectern she’s not using — a $19,000 purchase that’s led to an audit and claims her office illegally altered public records — that remains a problem for the first-term governor.”
Earth’s Mysterious Core Appears to Be Leaking, Leaving Scientists Baffled (Sean)
From Business Insider: “Earth’s mysterious core is, once again, baffling scientists with its strange behavior. A study of 62-million-year-old lava flows on Baffin Island in the Arctic Archipelago has found unusually high levels of helium-3 (³He), a rare isotope that is associated with the insides of our planet. The study suggests the Earth’s core may be leaking the rare helium, upheaving the belief that the giant ball of molten iron at the center of our planet is sealed away.”
