The Washington Post

This large stick insect, which was found by a group of researchers led by Angus Emmott, weighs 44 grams and goes by the name Acrophylla alta. “There are longer stick insects out there [in the region], but they’re fairly light bodied,” Emmott said. “From what we know to date, this is Australia’s heaviest insect.”

Breaking news: President Trump said he fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the agency revised May and June jobs data that cast doubt on the strength of the labor market. Trump took to social media to announce he was firing Erika McEntarfer, who was appointed by then-president Joe Biden and who has run the BLS since the beginning of 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Large cuts to earlier job counts erased 258,000 positions originally reported for May and June. Friday’s revised tallies were the biggest two-month downward revisions in modern history outside of the pandemic. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eN2kkmUn

Ed Levien, 76, is one of the oldest EMTs in Maryland. In the past 12 years, he’s responded to more than 3,300 emergency calls and worked more than 13,000 unpaid hours. He has helped deliver a baby, treated potentially fatal wounds and been a calming voice for panicked families. The job has become an unintended second career and has reshaped his identity. “I never had an impact on anyone until I started doing this,” said Levien, who previously worked in advertising. In 2013, Levien drove by a digital billboard in front of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad’s headquarters that said the group was looking for volunteers. When Levien called, he suggested he could be a dispatcher because he thought, at 64, he was too old to be an EMT. But employees said there wasn’t an age limit. Levien’s age and life experience helped him build rapport with patients, especially the elderly and children, his colleagues said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMxa5eqM

U.S. employers slowed hiring in July, adding just 73,000 jobs, as Trump-era tariffs and immigration policies fueled economic uncertainty. Hiring in May and June was downgraded by a quarter of a million jobs fewer than previously reported, according to Labor Department data, and unemployment inched up to 4.2%. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e29fdSy4

A humpback whale was spotted via drone off the coast of Amagansett, New York, on July 28. Humpback whales are commonly seen close to shore in the summer and fall, according to New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

New York City subway riders had to climb their way out on Thursday after heavy rain flooded Brooklyn’s 7th Avenue station. Commuters held onto the grated walls to avoid the water below as they made their way out.

Shoemakers are rare these days, but Francis Waplinger has been making his own footwear since the mid-2000s. “To me it’s important to have beautiful things and to make things by hand,” Francis, who runs a workshop in Brooklyn, tells Beatrix Lockwood and Shih-Wei Chou. “I feel like it gives us a connection to the time we’re in, the place we’re in and it also is creating – in my mind – beautiful objects that are meant to be worn, they’re meant to be repaired [and] they’re not disposable.” 🔗 See a Post Opinions comic about Francis’s career here, illustrated by Maya Scarpa: https://wapo.st/4lQJlNj 🔗 Sign up for the Shifts newsletter for more comics: https://lnkd.in/emPU6P2c

Shoppers are stressed, but some brands are raising prices anyway. Americans, up against tariff uncertainty and steadily rising grocery costs, are going to see some household staples get pricier in the coming days. Procter & Gamble — the maker of Dawn dish soap, Charmin toilet paper, Crest toothpaste and Tide detergent — said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products starting in August in part because of the $1 billion tariff hit it expects annually. P&G’s move could be a harbinger of increasing prices, including on groceries, household staples, apparel and electronics. While spending data shows Americans are looking for bargains, economists warn that such price increases will further strain consumers battling stubborn inflation, high interest rates, and rising personal debt and energy costs. Meanwhile, consumers’ outlook on the economy is the worst it has been in years. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4UJCFis

We are hiring a Senior Tax Associate to build and manage effective domestic tax compliance processes. If you have at least 3+ years of tax background in US direct and indirect tax compliance (federal and multi-state, partnership preferred) and have experience with sales and use tax compliance, apply today: https://lnkd.in/ek_nKHHc #teamwashpost

The government is paying more than 154,000 federal employees not to work as part of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, according to two administration officials. The number, which has not been previously reported, accounts for workers at dozens of agencies who took offers from the government as of June to get paid through Sept. 30 — the end of the fiscal year — or the end of 2025 and then voluntarily leave government, significantly reducing the size of several major agencies, according to two Office of Personnel Management officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose details of the administration’s plans to scale down government. The buyouts have rapidly sped up the process of slashing the federal workforce at an unprecedented rate, the officials said. But critics have argued the administration’s tactics of using buyouts and administrative leave have been wasteful because the public is paying tens of thousands of employees not to work for months. Officials could not say how much the government is spending on salaries for employees who are resigning. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejHgguSC