The White House doubled down on a controversial firing.

Texas Democrats have fled the state.

And a Russian volcano roared back to life.

That's some of what we'll get to on the seven from the Washington Post.

I'm Hannah Jewell.

It's Monday, August 4th. Let's get you caught up

with today's seven stories. On Friday, a jobs report showed that the U.S. labor market is much

weaker than previously reported. It showed that employers

slowed hiring in July and that the unemployment rate ticked up. Not only that, but the Labor Department

also revised jobs numbers down from its May and June reports. So Trump ordered the firing of Erica McIntyre. She was the commissioner

of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's the agency that compiles the monthly jobs reports.

Trump defended the decision on Friday speaking to reporters outside the White House.

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.

There is no evidence that this jobs report was politically motivated. But over the weekend, Trump officials

doubled down and defended the president's claims.

And that has experts worried about the independence of agencies tasked with reporting critical

data about the health of the economy.

Democratic legislators in Texas have fled the state in an effort to block a change to election maps.

That's number two.

In recent weeks, Texas Republicans have been preparing to redraw their state's congressional districts

to gain five Republican seats in the House of Representatives.

...