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ByChristopherS. Rugaber The Associated Press WASHINGTON U.S. unem- ployment fell to a seven- year low of 5.1 percent last month, but hiring slowed — a mixed bag of news that offers few clues to whether the Federal Re- serve will raise rock-bot- tom interest rates later this month. The Labor Department report, issued Friday, was closely watched because it will be the last snapshot of the job market before the Fed meets in two weeks. And overall, it painted a pic- ture of an economy growing at a modest but steady pace seven years after the Great Recession. But it wasn't the unam- biguous signal many on Wall Street were hoping for. The unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent in July to its lowest point since 2008 and is now at a level Fed officials say is consis- tent with a healthy econ- omy. But employers added a moderate 173,000 jobs in August, the fewest in five months. "Anyone hoping today's data would clear up the timing of the Fed's first rate hike in years will be sorely disappointed," said Megan Greene, chief economist at John Hancock Asset Man- agement. Nevertheless, the pros- pect of higher interest rates weighed heavy on the stock market Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial aver- age plunging 272 points, or 1.7 percent. Higher rates rise would most likely push up borrow- ing costs for mortgages and other loans for consumers and businesses, and some on Wall Street fear that could put a damper on cor- porate profits and the larger economy. HIRING SLOWS US j ob le ss rate falls to 7- ye ar l ow By Adam Beam The Associated Press MOREHEAD, KY. A jailed Kentucky clerk asserted that marriage licenses is- sued without her author- ity Friday to gay couples in Rowan County are void and "not worth the paper they are written on" because she didn't authorize them, her attorney said. Kim Davis now wears an orange jumpsuit and "has already been doing Bible studies with herself" in jail, her attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel told re- porters after meeting with her behind bars. He said Davis is in very good spir- its, and is prepared to stay as long as it takes to uphold her religious freedoms. "She's not going to re- sign, she's not going to sacrifice her conscience, so she's doing what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about in his Letter from the Bir- mingham Jail, which is to pay the consequences for her decision," Staver said. Meanwhile, Staver said he's preparing to appeal U.S. District Judge David Bunning's contempt find- ing as one of several legal challenges on her behalf. At least three gay cou- ples received marriage li- censes Friday from one of Davis' deputies, embracing and celebrating after re- peatedly being turned away before Davis was jailed on Thursday. Marriage licenses in Kentucky usually have the elected clerk's signature on them; those handed out Friday lacked any signa- ture. The Rowan County at- torney and lawyers for the gay couples said they are le- gal and valid nevertheless. When the judge was asked if the licenses will be con- sidered valid without Da- vis' authorization, he said it was up to the gay couples to take that chance. William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for nearly a decade, were the first through the door. Deputy clerk Brian Mason congratulated the couple, shook their hands and ac- cepted their fee of $35.50. Yates then rushed across the courthouse steps to hug his mom. "Civil rights are civil rights and they are not sub- ject to belief," said Yates, who had been denied a li- cense five times previously. A crowd of supporters cheeredandastreetpreacher rained down words of con- demnationastheyleft.Yates and Smith said they are try- ing to choose between two wedding dates and plan a small ceremony. Kim Davis had refused to issue any marriage li- censes rather than com- ply with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June le- galizing gay marriage na- tionwide. After ordering her to jail, the judge told her six deputy clerks that they too faced potential fines or jail time if they similarly refuse. All but one — the clerk's son, Nathan Davis — agreed to end her church-state standoff. A second couple, Timo- thy and Michael Long, got their license later Friday, enduring a taunt of "More sodomites getting mar- ried?" from a man inside the office. The Longs did not respond, and a worker told the man to leave. A third couple, April Miller and Karen Roberts, got their license around midday. "Now we can breathe. I'm still ecstatic and happy. I just can't wait to get mar- ried now," Roberts said. The judge offered to re- lease Davis if she promises not to interfere with her employees issuing the li- censes, but she refused. KENTUCKY Clerk's attorney: Marriage licenses for gays void TIMOTHYD.EASLEY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS James Yates, le , hugs his partner William Smith Jr., a er receiving their marriage license at the Rowan County Judicial Center in Morehead, Ky., on Friday. By Michael Graczyk The Associated Press HOUSTON Thousands of law enforcement officers stood at attention to form a wall Friday outside one of Houston's largest churches as a 21-gun salute and fly- over by police helicopters were carried out in honor of a slain sheriff's deputy. The symbolic gestures followed the funeral for Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, who was gunned down at a gas pump a week ago. "We come to this place with heavy hearts, and have questionswedon'treallyun- derstand,"Lt.DonSavell,the sheriff's department chap- lain, said as the ceremony began. "We gather to share the grief we all feel and per- haps to find the strength to bear our sorrow and to look for seeds of hope." Second Baptist Church, which holds 7,000 people, was filled. Some officers stood outside and watched the nearly two-hour service on big-screen televisions, while other spectators gathered outside the sub- urban convenience store where Goforth was killed to view the funeral on screens set up there. Flowers, bal- loons, posters and written messages in memory of Goforth still surround the pump where he was shot. Goforth, 47, was in uni- form when he was killed while putting fuel in his patrol car. A 30-year-old Houston man is charged with capital murder. Inves- tigators are still trying to determine a motive. "Darren Goforth was one of the good guys, one that made a difference," Sher- iff Ron Hickman said dur- ing the funeral. He said Goforth's life was taken "senselessly and in an act of cowardice" the night of Aug. 28 but that he and others "will answer calls in Darren's honor." He said 11,000 officers from "coast to coast" had come to pay respects. Officers at various Texas law enforcement depart- ments held moments of si- lence outside their build- ings around the time of the funeral. The killing brought out strong emotions in the law enforcement community, with Hickman suggesting last weekend that it could have been influenced by heightened national ten- sion over the treatment of blacks by police. Goforth was white and the man charged with killing him, Shannon Miles, is black. GAS STATION AMBUSH Houston-area sheriff's deputy remembered during funeral CODY DUTY — HOUSTON CHRONICLE The Harris County Sheriff's Department carries the casket of Deputy Darren Goforth toward Second Baptist Church for his funeral service on Friday in Houston. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 6 B