The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May as the labor market continued to show resilience in the face of rising costs from the Iran war. The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth was down slightly last month from a revised 179,000 in April. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.3%. The job market has been recovering this year from a miserable 2025, so far shrugging off higher energy prices and increased economic uncertainty since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Stocks slump as Big Tech sinks and a strong May jobs report boosts odds for higher interest rates
The U.S. stock market had its worst day since October as a sell-off in big technology companies weighed down the broader market. Bond yields surged as a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year. The S&P 500 slumped 2.6% Friday, finishing with its first losing week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 1.4%. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.2%. Nvidia and Broadcom were among the heaviest weights on the market. The Labor Department reported that employers added 172,000 jobs in May, roughly double what forecasters had expected. Oil prices fell.
FACT FOCUS: Is inflation a red state vs. blue state issue? It's increasing no matter how you cut it
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation is rising again, squeezing budgets and making essentials harder to afford. Inflation hit 3.8% in April, the highest in three years. Larry Kudlow asked Kevin Hassett about this on Fox Business. The director of the National Economic Council claimed inflation is “on a deep downward dive,” especially if blue states are excluded. However, experts say this is false. Inflation is high across all regions, driven by rising gas prices from Middle Eastern conflicts. The Labor Department’s data shows both blue and red states experiencing high inflation. Core inflation is also rising, contradicting Hassett’s claims of a downward trend.
Treasury warns banks of 'red flags' tied to customers in the US illegally
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury's financial crimes unit is warning banks about the risks of serving people living in the country illegally. This is part of the Trump administration's efforts to tighten immigration controls. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued guidance Friday following an executive order by President Trump in May. The order requires banks to scrutinize customers' citizenship more closely. However, it is less aggressive than initially expected, as it does not mandate collecting citizenship information. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized preventing illegal aliens from exploiting financial institutions. Banks are urged to watch for red flags like identity theft and payroll fraud.
Supreme Court upholds broad reading of SEC authority to recoup ill-gotten gains in fraud cases
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld a broad reading of the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission to recoup ill-gotten gains from people who engage in securities fraud. The justices ruled unanimously Thursday against Ongkaruck Sripetch, who pleaded guilty to selling unregistered securities as part of a scheme involving high-risk penny stocks. The Los Angeles resident had challenged a court order to repay more than $3 million, including interest. The issue in the case was whether the SEC had to prove individual investors lost money as a result of buying the stocks. The Supreme Court ruled it did not.
China can build humanoids at scale. The hard part is finding enough buyers
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese humanoid robots are making waves with their ability to do backflips, direct traffic and even make coffee. As such robots become more advanced, Chinese companies are looking for ways to profit from them. The government helped support their development, and startups say they have thousands of orders from both public and private companies looking to deploy them as China grapples with an aging population and rising labor costs. China’s domestic market appears to show strong demand for robots in various sectors from industrial to retail. While the U.S. excels in development of AI-powered robot “brains,” China leads in mass production and hardware and soon may be able to cut prices sharply.
Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in a case about the power of federal regulators over telecommunications companies. In an 8-1 ruling Thursday, the justices preserved one of the Federal Communications Commission’s key enforcement tools. Verizon and AT&T challenged multimillion-dollar penalties imposed after the agency determined that the companies failed to safeguard customer location data. The companies argued that the FCC's process was unconstitutional and they hoped to build on a line of Supreme Court cases limiting the power of federal agencies. The high court disagreed, though after the administration said companies didn't have to pay the fines right away.
Remaining three '60 Minutes' stars say they're staying at CBS show, don't want to see it die
NEW YORK (AP) — The three remaining correspondents at "60 Minutes" have decided to stay with the show despite recent turmoil. Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim, and Bill Whitaker expressed their anger over recent firings in a memo to staff, obtained by The Associated Press. They said they had a hard time deciding whether to stay but ultimately chose to remain because they don't want to see the show die. They expressed regret over the firings of colleagues by Bari Weiss, the new CBS News editor in chief, and executive producer Nick Bilton. They said they are working to build trust with Bilton but will still leave, if they deem it necessary.
Anthropic urges industry coordination to allow for a 'pause' in AI development if risks grow
Anthropic is proposing that top AI companies coordinate a way to pause the development of advanced AI systems if they become too dangerous. The company behind the Claude chatbot says the technology is improving so quickly that there's a risk humans could lose control. In a blog post Thursday, Anthropic suggests giving the world an “option” to slow or temporarily pause AI development. The company plans to research ways to implement this pause, noting that AI models are getting faster, doubling their task capabilities every four months. This rapid advancement could lead to AI designing its own successors, raising control concerns.
Putin rejects Zelenskyy's offer to meet, saying he sees 'no point' in it
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting, saying he sees “no point” in it. Speaking Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin described Zelenskyy’s open letter proposing the meeting as “boorish.” It was the first public message Zelenskyy has sent directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and was a critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power as well as taunting him about his age. The 73-year-old Putin pointed at other global leaders who are older, adding that “the main thing is the ability to work.” In an earlier speech, Putin criticized the West's unilateral sanctions.
