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Today’s top stories

NPR identified two Trump campaign staffers involved in an altercation at Arlington National Cemetery last week. They, according to a source, are deputy campaign manager Justin Caporale and Michel Picard, a member of Trump’s advance team. Those staffers had a verbal and physical confrontation with a cemetery official who tried to stop them from taking photos and videos in Section 60, a restricted area where many casualties of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. The Trump campaign and the US Army acknowledged the incident, but this week, Trump insisted it didn’t take place at all.

• 🎧 Former President Donald Trump stated earlier this on Truth Social that there was no conflict or fighting at the cemetery and it was a made up story, NPR’s Stephen Fowler tells Up First. Trump then reiterated the false assertion that nothing happened on Sean Hannity’s radio show. This comes after his campaign accused the Arlington staffer of having a mental health episode when the story first broke. Lately, there’s been several examples of Trump saying something that contradicts the campaign’s official stance like Florida’s abortion access measure, which he seemed to support, then had no position, then opposed it.

The father of the 14-year-old who is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School in Georgia now faces criminal charges. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations announced Colin Gray, 54, was arrested on charges of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. The charges stem from him allegedly “knowingly allowing” his son to have a weapon. Investigators are focusing on how the alleged shooter, who is due in court today, had access to the firearm.

• 🎧 WABE’s Sam Gringlas says the charges were announced as a vigil was going on nearby Thursday night. Georgia lawmakers also held a scheduled hearing on safe firearm storage yesterday where people encouraged state lawmakers to take action, like incentivizing the use of gun safes and making it a criminal offense when parents don’t lock up weapons. These proposals stalled in the Republican-controlled legislature this year. Georgia Republicans have loosened gun laws in recent years, but they did pass a law this year mandating school safety plans and active shooter drills.
• ➡️ These are the two students and two teachers who were killed in the shooting.

The Labor Department will report on employment and unemployment numbers for the month of August this morning. The monthly report is always closely watched, but today’s stakes are particularly high. In July’s job report, hiring slowed sharply and the unemployment rate jumped, which some took as a warning sign that a recession might be around the corner. August’s report will look at whether the previous month was a fluke or the beginning of an ominous trend. The Federal Reserve is also monitoring to weigh how much to cut interest rates later this month.

• 🎧 Most observers do think the job market is slowing down, but not quite as much as the July report suggested, NPR’s Scott Horsley says. Forecasters are projecting a little rebound for August. Part of the reason for the slow down is the high interest rates that the Federal Reserve imposed to get control of inflation. Fed policymakers have signaled pretty clearly they’re going to start cutting interest rates when they meet this month. It’s not known yet if they will start small with a quarter point rate cut or go big and cut rates by half a percentage point. If the unemployment rate ticks down a bit, the Fed could have the leeway to do a smaller rate cut, but if not they may look to be more aggressive.

Deep dive

It’s state fair season! People in states across the country are gathering to enjoy Ferris wheels, corn dogs, deep-fried Twinkies, butter sculptures and more. But all that close contact raises a concern this year: the spread of the influenza virus. It has become a particular concern as H5N1 (bird flu) infections have been confirmed in dairy cattle in 14 U.S. states. Officials at some state fairs have enacted stricter rules to keep the virus from spreading.

• 🎡 Scientists widely agree that there isn’t enough testing to fully understand which states have cows infected with bird flu.
• 🎡 There’s a concern that the bird flu could mutate to spread more easily among mammals, including humans, if given the chance.
• 🎡 Experts worry the risk of it becoming a human virus could heighten if the flu makes it to pigs in particular. This is because pigs are perfect mixing vessels for viruses from different species.
• 🎡 There’s no reason to miss the state fair altogether. At-risk populations, such as the immunocompromised, should consider avoiding the cattle barns this year.

Here’s more on why state fairs could be potential breeding grounds for viral mutation.

Weekend picks

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿Movies: In Afraid, John Cho plays a dad who has a chance to try out a very advanced AI system in his home, but it does way more than talk back. It’s the latest in the genre of “the computer is alive” stories.

📺 TV: In Netflix’s new series Kaos, Greek gods are a rich and powerful modern-day family. Jeff Goldblum plays impulsive and deeply insecure Zeus, but he’s not paranoid because there really is a plan to overthrow him.

📚 Books: It’s time to compile your fall reading list and we’re ready to give you a head start. Here are 16 titles — fiction and nonfiction — currently out or releasing soon to look out for.

🎵 Music: Shenseea wants the position as the definitive it girl of dancehall’s pop future. She released her sophomore album Never Gets Late Here earlier this year and now, she tells NPR she’s already looking forward to making new music.

🎮 Games: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, one of the biggest surprises of the gaming year, releases Sept. 26. After a preview event, we have the deets on how it flips both mechanical and narrative scripts.

❓Quiz: From questions about memoirs to queens of the charts and field, do you have what it takes to be crowned with a perfect score?

Before you go

1. The Maori of New Zealand anointed a new monarch Thursday, officially installing 27-year-old Nga Wai Hono i te Po as their second-ever queen.
2. Generational soccer star Alex Morgan, who helped lead the U.S. to two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal, announced that she will retire.
3. Moderate, veteran politician Michel Barnier has been named France’s prime minister by President Emmanuel Macron in hopes he’ll work to heal divisions within the country.

This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.