Top of the Fold

• 390,000 jobs added in May: The latest monthly jobs number beat the expectation of 328,000 with 390,000 jobs added. However, wage growth came up shy of the anticipated 0.4% increase, coming in at 0.3%. In other words, wages are not keeping up with Bidenflation. The lion’s share of the job gains were in the leisure and hospitality industry, which accounted for 84,000. Business services accounted for another 75,000. Meanwhile, the retail sector experienced a negative turn with 61,000 jobs lost. We’re still short of pre-pandemic employment levels, and more than 11 million openings remain unfilled.

• One-time Democrat presidential hopeful gets four years for fraud: A brash young lawyer representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against Donald Trump was treated by the Leftmedia as the silver bullet that would take down the Bad Orange Man. Michael Avenatti not only played up that “superhero” characterization but evidently believed it, as he seriously floated the notion of running in the Democrat presidential primary. Well, those delusions of grandeur quickly evaporated — Avenatti was subsequently charged and convicted of defrauding several clients, including the aforementioned Daniels. On Thursday, Avenatti was sentenced to a four-year prison term after he was found guilty earlier this year of cheating Daniels out of $300,000. Prior to his sentencing, Avenatti sent an apology letter to Daniels, but the judge observed that the gesture was “too little, too late.” Following his sentencing, Avenatti admitted that he had made a “series of mistakes” and used “poor judgment,” noting, “I will forever be branded ‘disgraced lawyer’ and worse.”

• Putin is and has cancer: A recent U.S. intelligence report confirms rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not in good health. According to the report, Putin underwent treatment for advanced cancer in April. Furthermore, the report claims that an assassination attempt was made against Putin in March. “Putin’s grip [on power] is strong but no longer absolute,” the intel report observes. “The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near.” An officer from the office of the Director of National Intelligence noted that clarity as to the details surrounding the situation in Moscow has gotten much more difficult to come by following the invasion of Ukraine. “One source of our best intelligence, which is contact with outsiders, largely dried up as a result of the Ukraine war,” the DNI official stated. “Putin has had few meetings with foreign leaders. … Putin’s isolation has thus increased levels of speculation.” A Defense Intelligence Agency official also warned, “Putin is definitely sick. … Whether he’s going to die soon is mere speculation. Still, we shouldn’t rest assured. … He’s still dangerous, and chaos does lie ahead if he does die. We need to focus on that. Be ready.”

Headlines

• Biden calls for “assault weapons” ban, nationwide red flag laws (PM)

• Pelosi’s gun control package defines a high-capacity magazine as 10 rounds (Washington Times)

• Gun sales over one million for 34 straight months (Washington Examiner)

• White House promises to check whether Biden lied about his Annapolis appointment (Washington Times)

• Biden to travel to Saudi Arabia, a country he once vowed to make a “pariah” (Washington Post)

• OPEC+ announces oil production boost following international pressure (Washington Examiner)

• Twenty-five percent of Americans are delaying retirement due to inflation, survey finds (CNBC)

• Biden blames aides for 40-year-high inflation (Breitbart)

• Elon Musk feels “super bad” about economy, needs to cut 10% of Tesla jobs (CNBC)

• Disney accuses Star Wars fans of racism for thinking new character doesn’t hold up (PJ Media)

• Shock poll: Republican leads Oregon governor race (Breitbart)

• The eight most insane proposals in California’s 492-page reparations report (Free Beacon)

• Groomers say kids will be exposed to “nudity and kink” at “Pride” parades, but don’t worry, it’s “educational” (PJ Media)

• Harvey Weinstein loses appeal of rape conviction in NY case (Fox News)

• Policy: Raising red flags on federal red flag gun laws (Daily Signal)

• Satire: Archaeologists uncover companies’ rainbow logos from Sodom and Gomorrah (Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit Headline Report.