The Wall Street Journal
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MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2025
8/4/2025 4:20:00 PMShare This Episode
Trump vs. the Bureau of Labor Statistics
On Friday, President Trump fired the top Bureau of Labor Statistics official after the government published new data showing that U.S. hiring slowed sharply this summer. The jobs report was the weakest in President Trump’s second term. WSJ’s Matt Grossman reports on the economist at the heart of the controversy, Erika McEntarfer, and on bigger concerns around data from the bureau. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics /ˈbjʊəroʊ əv ˈleɪbər stəˈtɪstɪks/ 米労働統計局（BLS）。米国労働省の一部門で、雇用や労働に関する統計を提供。
- fired /ˈfaɪərd/ 「解任された」「クビにした」。ここではトランプ大統領が官僚を更迭したことを示す。
- hiring slowed sharply /ˈhaɪərɪŋ sloʊd ˈʃɑːrpli/ 「雇用が急激に減速した」。sharply は「急激に」「著しく」の意。
- jobs report /ʤɑːbz rɪˈpɔːrt/ 雇用統計。米国では月ごとの雇用者数・失業率などを示す公式報告。
- second term /ˈsekənd tɜːrm/ （大統領の）2期目。米国大統領は最長で2期（8年）まで務められる。
- at the heart of the controversy /æt ðə hɑːrt əv ðə ˈkɒntrəvɜːrsi/ 「論争の中心にいる」。“heart of” は「核心」「中心的存在」の意。
- concerns around data /kənˈsɜːrnz əˈraʊnd ˈdeɪtə/ データに関する懸念。“around” は「〜に関して」「〜を巡って」の意味でも使われる。
- host /hoʊst/ （番組の）司会者・進行役。ここではジェシカ・メンドーサが番組ホスト。
Jessica Mendoza: On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report. Our colleague Matt Grossman, who covers business and financial news, was following the story as he usually does.
Matt Grossman: Friday morning started with a routine jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a report that we get every month on the first Friday of the month, giving information on the previous month's labor market.
Jessica Mendoza: This jobs report was the weakest one to come since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term.
Matt Grossman: The report said that the economy added 73,000 jobs in July, which was less than economists had expected. But maybe the bigger news was that the Labor Department said that in May and June, the economy actually added 258,000 fewer jobs than it had initially reported in those months.
Jessica Mendoza: To economists, it was clear: the report showed signs of a slowing economy.
Matt Grossman: And that really seemed to enrage President Trump. And a few hours later, he announced that he was firing the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, alleging that she was presiding over an office that was rigging the statistics to make a political point against him.
- enrage /ɪnˈreɪdʒ/ 激怒させる（主語が人を強く怒らせる）
- a few hours later /ə fjuː ˈaʊərz ˈleɪtər/ 数時間後
- announced that /əˈnaʊnst ðæt/ ～と発表した
- firing the Commissioner /ˈfaɪərɪŋ ðə kəˈmɪʃənər/ コミッショナーを解任すること（firing は「解雇」）
- alleging that /əˈledʒɪŋ ðæt/ ～と主張して（法的・公式なニュアンスがある）
- presiding over /prɪˈzaɪdɪŋ ˈoʊvər/ ～を統括している、司る（公式・責任ある立場での監督）
- an office that was rigging the statistics /æn ˈɒfɪs ðæt wəz ˈrɪɡɪŋ ðə stəˈtɪstɪks/ 統計を不正操作している部署
- to make a political point against him /tə meɪk ə pəˈlɪtɪkl pɔɪnt əˈɡenst hɪm/ 彼に反対する政治的主張を打ち出すために
Jessica Mendoza: For decades, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is part of the Labor Department, has been relied upon as a nonpartisan and impartial agency.
- for decades /fər ˈdɛkeɪdz/ 何十年もの間
- the Bureau of Labor Statistics /ðə ˈbjʊəroʊ əv ˈleɪbər stəˈtɪstɪks/ 労働統計局（米国労働省の機関）
- which is part of the Labor Department /wɪtʃ ɪz pɑːrt əv ðə ˈleɪbər dɪˈpɑːrtmənt/ 「労働省の一部である」
- has been relied upon /hæz bɪn rɪˈlaɪd əˈpɒn/ 信頼されてきた（rely upon = 頼りにする）
- as a nonpartisan and impartial agency /æz ə ˌnɒnˈpɑːrtɪzən ənd ɪmˈpɑːrʃəl ˈeɪdʒənsi/ 非党派かつ公平な機関として
Matt Grossman: And there's really, for decades never been any serious allegations that the numbers are skewed for political purposes. So it was very unusual for a president to add a political spin to the office and was really a shock to people who follow the statistics.
- there's really /ðɛrz ˈrɪəli/ 実際には〜がある（ここでは否定文に続く）
- for decades /fər ˈdɛkeɪdz/ 何十年もの間
- never been any serious allegations /ˈnɛvər bɪn ˈɛni ˈsɪriəs ˌæləˈɡeɪʃənz/ 深刻な疑惑がこれまで一切なかった
- the numbers are skewed /ðə ˈnʌmbərz ɑːr skjuːd/ 数字が歪められている
- for political purposes /fər pəˈlɪtɪkəl ˈpɜːrpəsɪz/ 政治的な目的で
- add a political spin (to something) /æd ə pəˈlɪtɪkəl spɪn/ ～に政治的な脚色を加える（※ "spin" は「偏った見方・解釈」の意味）
- was really a shock to people /wəz ˈrɪəli ə ʃɑːk tə ˈpiːpəl/ 人々にとって本当に衝撃だった
- people who follow the statistics /ˈpiːpəl hu ˈfɑːloʊ ðə stəˈtɪstɪks/ 統計を注視している人々（専門家やアナリストなど）
Jessica Mendoza: Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Monday, August 4th. Coming up on the show, the drama over data at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What is the monthly jobs report? What's in it?
Matt Grossman: The monthly jobs report has two main sets of data. One is called the establishment survey, which asks about 120,000 businesses a very simple question: how many people work for you? And that survey is used to get a picture across the whole economy of how many jobs are being created or destroyed, how many people have been hired, how many people have lost their jobs. Of course, this is a number that politicians always fixate on.
- monthly jobs report /ˈmʌnθli dʒɑːbz rɪˈpɔːrt/ 月次の雇用統計レポート
- two main sets of data /tuː meɪn sɛts əv ˈdeɪtə/ 主に2つのデータセット
- establishment survey /ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt ˈsɜːrveɪ/ 事業所調査（雇用統計の主要データ源）
- how many people work for you? /haʊ ˈmɛni ˈpiːpəl wɜːrk fər juː/ 「あなたの会社には何人働いていますか？」
- get a picture across the whole economy /ɡɛt ə ˈpɪktʃər əˈkrɔːs ðə hoʊl ɪˈkɑːnəmi/ 経済全体の状況を把握する
- jobs being created or destroyed /dʒɑːbz ˈbiːɪŋ kriˈeɪtɪd ɔːr dɪˈstrɔɪd/ 雇用が創出されているか、失われているか
- fixate on /ˈfɪkseɪt ɑːn/ （～に）固執する、執着する（政治家が数字にこだわる様子を表現）
Bill Clinton: This robust growth, 4.2%, is touching the lives of all our people.
Barack Obama: Our businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month.
Matt Grossman: We often hear a president talking about how many jobs were created during his term or during the previous president's term.
Donald Trump: Now it's 4 million jobs created since the election.
Joe Biden: 528,000 jobs were added just last month to this country's employment.
Jessica Mendoza: In addition to asking businesses about their hiring numbers, the Labor Department also surveys households about employment. That survey is the basis for the nation's unemployment rate.
Matt Grossman: So the monthly jobs report's combining these two sets of information, the payroll survey and the household survey, to give, first of all, the job creation totals, and second of all, the unemployment rate.
Jessica Mendoza: And running the whole show here at the Bureau of Labor Statistics was Dr. Erika McEntarfer. Can you tell us about her? How long has she worked in government? What's her background?
Matt Grossman: So like most people who lead the BLS, McEntarfer had a PhD in economics. Joining the government statistics agencies, it was her first career after she finished graduate school.
Jessica Mendoza: Erika McEntarfer had been in government since 2002. She spent most of her career at another statistics-heavy agency, the Census Bureau.
Matt Grossman: And she was really involved in the meat and potatoes of how the government does economic statistics. She rose through the ranks as a really notable labor economist within the Census Bureau, someone who is really focused on developing the best statistical techniques possible to gauge what it's like to be a worker in the United States, how people's careers were evolving, how policy trends were affecting people's careers.
- meat and potatoes /miːt ənd pəˈteɪtoʊz/ （比喩的に）中核・本質・基本的で重要な部分（この文では統計業務の「肝」）
Jessica Mendoza: McEntarfer also spent a couple of years at the Treasury Department and worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations through the course of her career. She rose to the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024 when she was nominated by then-President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate 86 to 8. How well did she do leading BLS that first year?
Matt Grossman: People who worked with McEntarfer throughout her career, including at BLS, said that she's really a great example of what it takes to do this job well. She has a mix of experience that can be kind of hard to find.
- a great example of what it takes to do ～ well /ə ɡreɪt ɪɡˈzæmpl əv wʌt ɪt teɪks tə duː ～ wɛl/ ～をうまくやるのに必要な要素を示す良い例
Jessica Mendoza: She's a statistician's statistician, but she's also somebody who has experience in communication.
Matt Grossman: Yeah, that's exactly right.
Jessica Mendoza: But the agency did face some criticisms during McEntarfer's tenure.
Matt Grossman: There were a couple times last year in 2024 when the agency mishandled how it announces statistics. In one case, it posted them too early. In another case, a subgroup of people got to see them earlier than others, and that's a really big deal because investors can win or lose millions of dollars based on how they trade right when the statistics come out. So it's really important that nobody has any kind of time advantage or gets to see the numbers before others.
Jessica Mendoza: In both of those cases, the BLS said the information was released mistakenly and called for investigations.
Matt Grossman: That said, there's been really no criticism from professional economists that she mishandled the statistics themselves, that there is any shortcomings in their accuracy or any deviation from how they're normally produced.
Jessica Mendoza: That seems like an important distinction, the accuracy of the numbers versus the timing of the release.
Matt Grossman: Yeah, absolutely. And that really landed front and center because it's something that President Trump fixated on.
Jessica Mendoza: Trump has criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics before. One notable instance came last year on the campaign trail. Then-candidate Trump accused the agency of helping the Biden administration. He claimed that revisions to the jobs data showed that Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris were cooking the numbers.
Matt Grossman: Professional economists really push back on that. They say that the revisions are routine, that they can make headlines, but recently they really haven't been any bigger than they normally are, and people who do this for a living explain that it's just a really hard problem to make these statistics every month and to balance doing them accurately and quickly enough to get them just a couple weeks after the month that they're supposed to represent.
Jessica Mendoza: Are these revisions to the jobs report common? This is standard?
Matt Grossman: Yeah, it's absolutely standard. There's nothing uncommon or surprising about any of this. The BLS has been, in fact, doing this the very same way for decades. The revisions almost work like if you're planning a wedding and you're getting RSVPs from different guests. At some point, there's a deadline where you have to tell the caterer how many people are going to show up, but you might not have gotten RSVPs from all the guests yet. And at that point, you have to make your best guess about what the guests that you haven't heard from yet are going to tell you.
Jessica Mendoza: Oh my gosh. You're giving me... I just had my wedding a couple months ago. I'm like, "Oh my God, I remember how this feels." Yes, okay.
Matt Grossman: So it's the same for the BLS. The month ends and they've heard from some group of survey respondents but not others, and they're making their best guess about what those extra people are going to tell them when their responses come in late. So pretty simple.
Jessica Mendoza: You know if they're having beef or chicken or fish.
Matt Grossman: Exactly. Yeah.
Jessica Mendoza: Friday's jobs report had a big revision, and it painted a picture of a weaker economy than previously thought.
Matt Grossman: It's routine for the Labor Department to revise previous months as it gets new data, but this was a really negative revision, one that was a little bit bigger than revisions have been recently. President Trump has fit these revisions into a narrative that he's been looking at for years now, which is a complaint that the statistics are intentionally rigged against him.
- routine for ～ to … /ruːˈtiːn fɔːr ～ tə …/ ～が…するのは日常的なこと、当たり前のこと
- revise previous months /rɪˈvaɪz ˈpriːviəs mʌnθs/ 過去数か月の（統計）を修正する
- as it gets new data /æz ɪt ɡɛts nuː ˈdeɪtə/ 新しいデータが得られるにつれて
- a really negative revision /ə ˈrɪəli ˈnɛɡətɪv rɪˈvɪʒən/ 非常に悪い（マイナス方向の）修正
- a little bit bigger than ～ /ə ˈlɪtl bɪt ˈbɪɡər ðæn ～/ ～より少し大きい
- fit A into a narrative /fɪt eɪ ˈɪntu ə ˈnærətɪv/ Aを（自分の）物語・主張の中に組み込む
- a narrative that he's been looking at /ə ˈnærətɪv ðæt hiːz bɪn ˈlʊkɪŋ æt/ 彼が以前から注目していた物語（＝ストーリー／構図）
- statistics are intentionally rigged against him /stəˈtɪstɪks ɑːr ɪnˈtɛnʃənəli rɪɡd əˈɡɛnst hɪm/ 統計が意図的に彼に不利になるよう操作されているという主張（陰謀論的な言い方）
Donald Trump: I believe the numbers were phony just like they were before the election, and there were other times. So you know what I did? I fired her. And you know what? I did the right thing.
- phony /ˈfoʊni/ 偽の、不正な、でっちあげの（俗語的で強い語感を持つ）
Jessica Mendoza: And has McEntarfer or anyone from the Bureau of Labor Statistics responded to this criticism?
Matt Grossman: We've reached out to McEntarfer over the past few days. She hasn't responded to our request for comment. The BLS has just sort of gone about its business as it usually does. It's provided the same amount of information about its revisions as it always has, and from the BLS's perspective, it's just business as usual.
Jessica Mendoza: After she was fired, McEntarfer posted on social media saying that serving as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was "the honor of my life." The Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is an independent organization that advocates for transparent government data, and it released a statement after McEntarfer was ousted it. It called Trump's claims of data rigging "baseless and damaging," and said that the firing of McEntarfer is without merit. Beyond the events of the past few days, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is also facing other big challenges. That's after the break.
Erika McEntarfer: Good afternoon, and thank you so much for that wonderful introduction, and thanks so much for the opportunity to speak here in Atlanta today. One of my favorite things...
Jessica Mendoza: That's Erika McEntarfer giving a speech earlier this year detailing problems in challenges at her agency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Erika McEntarfer: Of course, we face real challenges at the federal level as well, which endanger much of the official data that I've been talking about today and that we currently rely on.
Matt Grossman: McEntarfer really emphasized that there are two challenges that BLS is up against. First of all, it costs more and more to do this work because salaries are going up and the cost of keeping up with technology is going up. But on the other hand, they're getting less participation from the businesses and households that they need to participate in these surveys.
Erika McEntarfer: So most of our official data depends on surveys and response rates to surveys are down here in the U.S. and worldwide.
Jessica Mendoza: And what has that meant for BLS and for those who rely on its data, particularly the low response rates?
Matt Grossman: So far, most economists think that the low response rates are not a serious problem to creating good statistics because one thing that the BLS has going for it is that the size of its surveys are just huge. To survey 60,000 households and 120,000 businesses every month, just a gigantic survey compared with the kinds of numbers that you see in a political poll, for example. These are just much, much bigger surveys. And so the response rate is going down, but it's starting at such a high number of respondents that, so far, they've sort of been able to afford taking a bit of a hit on this front. That said, economists are really concerned that, going forward, the BLS is going to have to find new ways of doing business.
Jessica Mendoza: So what's the upshot of these challenges for the BLS?
Matt Grossman: Well, in some places, they are having to do more guesswork. Interestingly, that's not yet because the survey responses are down. So far, again, their baseline surveys are so big that even with lower response rate, the guesses haven't really gotten less precise. The one reason that they have gotten less precise so far this year is that there's a staffing shortage, and this is a new problem that has started in 2025, which the BLS has attributed to this federal hiring freeze that President Trump put in place starting in January.
Jessica Mendoza: What are outside watchers saying about the state of the BLS given these challenges that you've just laid out? Does it need a revamp?
Matt Grossman: I think a lot of economists would be really frightened at the idea of a revamp because despite the problems, the BLS has really worked the way that it's supposed to. Yes, there are funding challenges. There have been a few communications stumbles recently, but economists, even from other countries, really esteem the BLS as one of the best agencies in the world at what it does and doing this in a really nonpartisan, nonpolitical way. There are a lot of best practices that are really deeply embedded in how the BLS does its work.
Jessica Mendoza: If Trump did appoint a BLS chief, which it's likely that he will, what would happen if that person then presented job numbers more in Trump's favor?
Matt Grossman: That is a huge question right now. People who have worked at the BLS at the highest levels tell me that it would be very hard for the BLS commissioner to have any influence on the numbers under the current system. The BLS commissioner doesn't find out what the numbers are until a couple days before they're released to the public. Former commissioner of the BLS, William Beach, has said that the numbers are already hard-coded into the computer system by the time the commissioner gets to see them. So he and some of his other fellow former commissioners have said that the way the system works now, it would be very, very difficult for the head of the BLS or anyone else in a political position at the bureau to put their thumb on the scale.
- hard-coded into the computer system /hɑːrd ˈkoʊdɪd ˈɪntu ðə kəmˈpjuːtər ˈsɪstəm/ （データが）コンピュータシステムに固定的に書き込まれている（＝後から改ざんが難しい）
- by the time 〜 gets to see them /baɪ ðə taɪm ... ɡɛts tə siː ðəm/ （誰かが）それを目にする時点には
- fellow former commissioners /ˈfɛloʊ ˈfɔːrmər kəˈmɪʃənərz/ 他の元局長たち
- the way the system works /ðə weɪ ðə ˈsɪstəm wɜːrks/ システムの仕組み
- put their thumb on the scale /pʊt ðɛr θʌm ɒn ðə skeɪl/ （比喩）結果に手心を加える、不正に影響を与える（公正さを損なう行為をする）
Jessica Mendoza: And what will you be looking at next?
Matt Grossman: There are a lot of questions here. Who will President Trump appoint to be the next commissioner? How will that person handle the job? Will they be a normal BLS commissioner as we've had for decades? Or will it be a much more politicized BLS in how it communicates and how it does its business?
Jessica Mendoza: And Matt says the whole bureau is now on shakier ground than at any other moment in modern history.
- the whole bureau /ðə hoʊl ˈbjʊəroʊ/ 局全体（ここでは Bureau of Labor Statistics を指す）
- on shakier ground /ɒn ˈʃeɪkiər ɡraʊnd/ より不安定な立場にある（「shaky ground＝不安定な基盤・立場」の比較級）
- than at any other moment in modern history /ðæn æt ˈɛni ˈʌðər ˈmoʊmənt ɪn ˈmɑːdərn ˈhɪstəri/
Matt Grossman: The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been in a gradually worsening position for a decade where they've had to do more with less, they haven't gotten the funding that they've needed to improve their methods, and yet they've still been doing their jobs as well as they can, as far as we can tell. So very quickly, we moved from an agency that was sort of doing its best and persisting despite some challenges to one that is really facing a more acute situation than it's seen in decades.
- gradually worsening position /ˈɡrædʒuəli ˈwɜːrsənɪŋ pəˈzɪʃən/ 徐々に悪化する状況・立場
- do more with less /du mɔːr wɪð lɛs/ 少ない予算・人員でより多くのことをする（典型的な政府機関の苦境表現）
- funding /ˈfʌndɪŋ/ 資金、予算
- as far as we can tell /əz fɑːr əz wi kæn tɛl/ 私たちが知る限りでは
- persisting /pərˈsɪstɪŋ/ 持ちこたえる、継続して努力する
- acute situation /əˈkjuːt ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃən/ 深刻な状況
- in decades /ɪn ˈdɛkeɪdz/ 数十年の間に、何十年ぶりに
Jessica Mendoza: That's all for today, Monday, August 4th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Justin Lahart, Alex Leary, and Brian Schwartz. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.
WSJ: Aug, 5 2025
White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives
The president is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that targets so-called debanking of businesses including crypto companies.
- prep (→ prepare) /prɛp/ 準備する（“prepare” の口語的短縮形）
- order /ˈɔːr.dər/ 命令、大統領令（executive order の略で用いられる場合も）
- punish /ˈpʌ.nɪʃ/ 処罰する、制裁を加える
- discriminate against /dɪˈskrɪ.mə.neɪt əˈɡɛnst/ ～を差別する
- conservative /kənˈsɜːr.və.tɪv/ 保守派、保守的な人・思想
- executive order /ɪɡˈzɛk.jə.tɪv ˈɔːr.dər/ 大統領令（大統領が単独で発令する命令）
- as soon as this week /æz suːn æz ðɪs wiːk/ 早ければ今週にも
- target (動詞) /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/ ～を標的にする
- so-called /ˈsəʊ.kɔːld/ いわゆる（実際とは異なる可能性を含んだ表現）
- debanking /ˌdiːˈbæŋ.kɪŋ/ 銀行サービス（口座）から締め出す行為（造語・最近の政治・経済用語）
- crypto companies /ˈkrɪp.təʊ ˈkʌm.pə.niz/ 暗号通貨関連企業
Real Strains Inside the BLS Made It Vulnerable to Trump’s Accusations
The agency has faced tighter budgets, falling response rates to its surveys and a staff shortage.
- real strains /rɪəl streɪnz/ 実際の負担、ひずみ、圧力
- inside the BLS /ɪnˈsaɪd ðə biː ɛl ɛs/ BLS（米労働統計局：Bureau of Labor Statistics）の内部で
- made it vulnerable to /meɪd ɪt ˈvʌlnərəbl tuː/ ～に対して脆弱にした（攻撃・非難されやすくした）
- accusations /ˌæk.jʊˈzeɪ.ʃənz/ 非難、告発
- tight(er) budgets /taɪt (tər) ˈbʌdʒ.ɪts/ （より）厳しい予算
- falling response rates /ˈfɔː.lɪŋ rɪˈspɒns reɪts/ 回答率の低下
- survey(s) /ˈsɜː.veɪ(z)/ 調査
- staff shortage /stæf ˈʃɔː.tɪdʒ/ 人員不足
Trump’s BLS Firing Tests Wall Street’s Reliance on Government Data
Some fear a decline in the world-leading economic statistics underpinning U.S. markets.
- BLS firing /biː ɛl ɛs ˈfaɪərɪŋ/ BLS（労働統計局）の職員解任。
- tests /tɛsts/ 試す、試練にかける。
- Wall Street’s reliance on /wɔːl striːts rɪˈlaɪ.əns ɒn/ ウォール街の〜への依存。
- government data /ˈɡʌvərnmənt ˈdeɪtə/ 政府提供のデータ。
- some fear /sʌm fɪər/ 懸念する人がいる。
- decline /dɪˈklaɪn/ 低下、減少。
- world-leading /ˈwɜːrld ˈliːdɪŋ/ 世界をリードする、トップレベルの。
- economic statistics /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk stəˈtɪstɪks/ 経済統計データ。
- underpinning U.S. markets /ˌʌndərˈpɪnɪŋ juː ɛs ˈmɑːrkɪts/ 米国市場の基盤となっている。
Trump’s Texas Gambit Ignites Nationwide Battle for House Control
Red states’ plans to redraw district lines prompt Democrats to retaliate with their own gerrymander push.
- Texas gambit /ˈtɛksəs ˈɡæmbɪt/ テキサス戦略・手段。
「gambit」はチェス用語で「（有利を得るための）駒の捨て駒」から転じて「策略」。 - ignite /ɪɡˈnaɪt/ 火をつける、引き起こす。
- nationwide battle /ˈneɪʃnˌwaɪd ˈbætəl/ 全国規模の戦い、争い。
- House control /haʊs kənˈtroʊl/ （米国）下院の掌握、支配権。
- red states /rɛd steɪts/ 共和党支持州（赤い州）。
- redraw district lines /ˌriːˈdrɔː ˈdɪstrɪkt laɪnz/ 選挙区の境界線を引き直すこと。
- prompt /prɒmpt/ ～を促す、引き起こす。
- Democrats /ˈdɛm.ə.kræts/ 民主党員。
- retaliate /rɪˈtæl.i.eɪt/ 仕返しをする、報復する。
- gerrymander push /ˈdʒɛr.iˌmæn.dər pʊʃ/ ゲリマンダー（選挙区操作）を推進する動き。
DOJ Taps Grand Jury to Re-Investigate 2016 Trump-Russia Probe
The development is the most serious escalation in recent weeks in Trump’s longtime effort to portray the probe as a criminal plot by Democrats.
- DOJ (Department of Justice) /diː oʊ dʒeɪ/ 米司法省の略称。
- taps /tæps/ ここでは「指名する」「任命する」の意（口語的表現）。
- grand jury /ˈɡrænd ˈdʒʊr.i/ 特別陪審、起訴の可否を判断する陪審団。
- re-investigate /ˌriː.ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪt/ 再調査する。
- probe /proʊb/ 捜査、調査。
- development /dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/ 事態の進展、動き。
- most serious escalation /moʊst ˈsɪr.i.əs ˌɛs.kəˈleɪ.ʃən/ 最も深刻な事態の激化。
- recent weeks /ˈriː.sənt wiːks/ 最近数週間。
- longtime effort /ˈlɒŋ.taɪm ˈɛf.ərt/ 長年にわたる努力。
- portray /pɔːrˈtreɪ/ 描く、描写する。
- criminal plot /ˈkrɪm.ɪ.nəl plɒt/ 犯罪陰謀。
- Democrats /ˈdɛm.ə.kræts/ 民主党。
Palantir Surges on First $1 Billion Revenue Quarter
Total revenue grew 48%, reflecting frenetic investment by corporations and militaries in AI tools.
- Palantir /ˈpæ.lən.tɪr/ パランティア社。米国のビッグデータ解析・AI企業。
- surges /sɜːrdʒɪz/ 急騰する、急増する。ここでは「株価が急騰」の意味。
- on (on first $1B revenue...) /ɑn/ 〜を受けて、〜に基づいて（出来事や発表の結果として起きる反応を示す）。
- $1 billion revenue quarter /wʌn ˈbɪl.jən ˈrɛv.ə.nu ˈkwɔːr.tər/ 四半期の売上が10億ドルに達したこと。
- total revenue /ˈtoʊ.t̬əl ˈrɛv.ə.nuː/ 総収益。
- grew 48% /ɡruː fɔːr.ti ˈeɪt pərˌsɛnt/ 48%増加した。
- reflecting /rɪˈflɛk.tɪŋ/ 〜を反映して。
- frenetic /frəˈnɛt.ɪk/ 非常に活発な、熱狂的な。
- investment /ɪnˈvɛst.mənt/ 投資。
- corporations /ˌkɔːr.pəˈreɪ.ʃənz/ 企業、大企業。
- militaries /ˈmɪ.ləˌtɛr.iz/ 軍、軍隊（複数形）。
- AI tools /ˌeɪˈaɪ tuːlz/ AI（人工知能）ツール。
A Wild Year for Markets Hits Trend-Following Hedge Funds
Fast-moving quantitative funds are meant to flourish in tough markets, but with Trump’s tariff moves convulsing markets, they are under pressure.
- wild year /waɪld jɪr/ 波乱の年、激動の一年。市場の大きな変動を暗示。
- markets /ˈmɑːr.kɪts/ 金融市場。
- hits /hɪts/ 打撃を与える。ここでは「悪影響を受ける」の意味で使われている。
- trend-following hedge funds /trɛnd ˈfɑː.loʊ.ɪŋ hɛdʒ fʌndz/ トレンドに追随して運用するタイプのヘッジファンド。
- fast-moving /fæst ˈmuː.vɪŋ/ 急速に変化する、素早く動く。ここでは「変化の激しい」市場を指す。
- quantitative funds /ˈkwɑːn.tə.teɪ.t̬ɪv fʌndz/ 定量分析（クオンツ）に基づいた運用を行うファンド。
- meant to flourish /mɛnt tu ˈflɜː.rɪʃ/ 本来は成功するはずの、うまくいくように設計されている。
- tough markets /tʌf ˈmɑːr.kɪts/ 厳しい市場環境、不安定な市場。
- Trump’s tariff moves /trʌmps ˈtær.ɪf muːvz/ トランプ氏による関税措置（行動）。
- convulsing markets /kənˈvʌl.sɪŋ ˈmɑːr.kɪts/ 市場を激しく揺るがす、混乱させる。
- under pressure /ˈʌn.dɚ ˈprɛʃ.ɚ/ 圧力を受けている、
Earning More but in Worse Shape: Hardship Overwhelms Many American Families
Nearly half of kids in the U.S. live in households below the middle class as inflation and the end of Covid relief hit working parents; a $2.90 raise that cuts government benefits.
- earning more /ˈɜːr.nɪŋ mɔːr/ より多く稼ぐ。ここでは「収入が増えている」の意。
- in worse shape /ɪn wɜːrs ʃeɪp/ 状態が悪化している。「経済的に苦しい状況にある」ことを指す。
- hardship /ˈhɑːrd.ʃɪp/ 苦難、困窮。特に経済的・生活面での困難を指す。
- overwhelms /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwelmz/ 圧倒する、襲いかかる。「困難が〜を襲う」の意味。
- middle class /ˈmɪd.əl klæs/ 中間層。社会経済的に上流と下流の中間に位置する層。
- inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/ インフレ、物価上昇。
- Covid relief /ˈkoʊ.vɪd rɪˈliːf/ コロナ関連の経済支援（給付金や補助など）。
- working parents /ˈwɝː.kɪŋ ˈper.ənts/ 働く親たち。両親が働いている家庭を指す。
- $2.90 raise /tuː ˈdaɪ.lɚ ˈnaɪn.ti reɪz/ 2ドル90セントの昇給。
- cuts government benefits /kʌts ˈɡʌv.ɚn.mənt ˈben.ə.fɪts/ 政府の給付（補助金・支援）を削減する。「逆に支援が減る」ことを意味。
A Turning Point in Colon Cancer: Young People Are Finding It Earlier
Early-stage diagnoses for adults aged 45 to 49 jumped, thanks to more screening.
- turning point /ˈtɜːr.nɪŋ pɔɪnt/ 転機、重要な変化の時期や出来事
- colon cancer /ˈkoʊ.lən ˈkæn.sɚ/ 大腸がん
- young people /jʌŋ ˈpiː.pəl/ 若年層。ここでは 45〜49歳の成人を指す
- finding it earlier /ˈfaɪn.dɪŋ ɪt ˈɜːr.li.ər/ 早期発見する（「がんをより早い段階で見つける」）
- early-stage diagnoses /ˈɜːr.li steɪdʒ ˌdaɪ.əɡˈnoʊ.siːz/ 早期段階での診断
- adults aged 45 to 49 /əˈdʌlts eɪdʒd fɔːrti faɪv tuː fɔːrti naɪn/ 45〜49歳の成人
- jumped /dʒʌmpt/ 急増した、跳ね上がった（統計的に大きく増加したことを意味）
- thanks to /θæŋks tuː/ 〜のおかげで
- screening /ˈskriː.nɪŋ/ スクリーニング。ここではがんなどの検査・早期発見を目的とした検診のこと
Mexico’s Drug Cartels Bedevil Sheinbaum’s Dealmaking With Trump
The Mexican president wants to reach an agreement with the U.S. to further cooperate on security, but she has been undermined by the cartels’ pervasive influence.
- drug cartel /drʌɡ kɑːrˈtel/ 麻薬密売組織。特にメキシコでは組織的・暴力的な犯罪集団。
- bedevil /bɪˈdev.əl/ 悩ませる、困らせる、妨害する。ここでは「交渉の妨げとなる」という意味。
- dealmaking /ˈdiːlˌmeɪ.kɪŋ/ 交渉や契約の取りまとめ（特に政治やビジネスでの）
- undermine /ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/ （名声・努力・信頼などを）損なう、弱体化させる
- pervasive /pɚˈveɪ.sɪv/ 蔓延する、広がっている。ネガティブな意味で使われることが多い。
- influence /ˈɪn.flu.əns/ 影響力
- agreement /əˈɡriː.mənt/ 合意、協定
- cooperate on security /koʊˈɑː.pə.reɪt ɑːn sɪˈkjʊə.rə.ti/ 安全保障について協力する
- Mexican president (Sheinbaum) /ˈmek.sɪ.kən ˈprez.ɪ.dənt/ メキシコ大統領（クラウディア・シェインバウム）
This VC Firm Is Striking Gold, Reaping $11 Billion From Figma, Other Startups
Index Ventures was among the first investors in startup hits Figma, Scale AI and Wiz.
- VC firm /ˌviː ˈsiː fɜːrm/ ベンチャーキャピタル企業（Venture Capital firm）の略。
- strike gold /straɪk ɡoʊld/ 金鉱を掘り当てる → 大成功を収める、大当たりする（比喩的表現）
- reap /riːp/ （成果や利益などを）得る、刈り取る。
- reap $11 billion /riːp ɪˈlevn ˈbɪljən/ 110億ドルを獲得する
- startup /ˈstɑːrtʌp/ 新興企業、スタートアップ
- Index Ventures /ˈɪndeks ˈven.tʃɚz/ ベンチャーキャピタル会社の名称（固有名詞）
- among the first investors /əˈmʌŋ ðə fɜːrst ɪnˈvestərz/ 最初期の投資家の一人（複数）
- startup hit /ˈstɑːrtʌp hɪt/ 大成功したスタートアップ
- Figma, Scale AI, and Wiz /ˈfɪɡ.mə/, /skeɪl eɪ.aɪ/, /wɪz/ 成功したスタートアップ企業の名前（Figma＝デザインツール、ほかAI企業など）