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US jobless claims filings highest since 2021, but job market remains healthy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

The number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week rose to its highest level in a year-and-a-half, though the labor market remains healthy by historical standards.Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 6 rose by 22,000 to 264,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s up from the previous week’s 242,000 and the highest since November of 2021. The weekly claims numbers are seen as representative of the number of U.S. layoffs.The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 6,000 to 245,250.For the week of April 29, the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 from the previous week to 1.81 million. American workers are enjoying unusual job security despite rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and fears of a looming recession.U.S. employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market still showing surprising resilience. The u...

Shooting at Mercedes factory in Germany leaves 2 dead; suspect detained

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, authorities and the company said.The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said.Police received the first emergency calls around 7:45 a.m. (0545 GMT; 1:45 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, a police spokeswoman told German news agency dpa.Police said the victims were both 44 years old but provided no further details about the dead men or the gunman’s motive.All three worked for Rhenus, a logistics company, dpa reported.Police tweeted that there was no further danger to employees at the plant.In a statement, Mercedes-Benz said that two people were killed at its Sindelfingen plant and the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news.”“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site,” the statement s...

Terraform Labs founder pleads not guilty in Montenegro forged documents case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A trial opened in Montenegro on Thursday against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon and another citizen of South Korea who are charged in the Balkan country with using forged identification documents, state-owned media reported. The two have pleaded not guilty and offered 400,000 euros ($437,000) each to be released on bail, the RTCG television report said. The court in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, hasn’t yet decided on the motion. Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March on an international arrest warrant in connection with a $40 billion crash of the firm’s cryptocurrency that devastated retail investors around the world. Both South Korea and the United States have requested his extradition from Montenegro. South Korea asked Interpol in September to circulate a “red notice” asking the agency’s 195 member nations to find and apprehend the 31-year-old Kwon. He and the other man were arrested at Montenegro’s Podgorica Airport on March 23 whi...

House Republicans point to increased migration as they advance asylum restrictions, border wall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are seeking Thursday to pass a sweeping bill to build more U.S.-Mexico border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum seekers, creating a hard-line counter to President Joe Biden’s policies just as migrants are amassing along the border with the end of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.The bill has virtually no chance of becoming law. Democrats, who have a narrow hold on the Senate, have decried the aggressive measures in the bill as “cruel” and “anti-immigrant,” and Biden has already promised he would veto it.But the House GOP pointedly scheduled the vote for the same day as the expiration of Title 42, a public health emergency rule that allowed border authorities to quickly return many migrants who crossed the border illegally. Biden has conceded that the southern border will be “chaotic for a while” as migrants weigh whether to cross and U.S. officials use a new set of policies that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration while ...

Review: Jennifer Lopez anchors the action pic ‘The Mother’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

The most interesting part of “ The Mother,” a decent if forgettable action pic starring Jennifer Lopez, is the one that is left largely unexplored. The movie is a high-concept thriller that boils down to just a few words: She’s a mother and an assassin. OK, you’re probably thinking, fine.Misha Green’s script was a hot commodity in 2017, around the time “Wonder Woman” opened, which had left some studios scrambling for action movies fronted by women. There were condescending headlines propping it up as a “female empowerment” script. And, eventually, with Niki Caro signed on to direct and a movie star like Lopez on board to star and produce, it was enough for greenlight and a Netflix budget. The final film also credits Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff for the script.But history has unfortunately taught us to be suspect of a Mother’s Day rollout. The greeting card holiday is where studios always seem to dump mediocre material that happen to have women at the center. If the movies were bet...

Maine custodian coaches school chess teams in real-life 'Queen's Gambit'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

HAMPDEN, Maine (AP) — David Bishop spends the school day as a mild-mannered custodian, but before the final bell rings, he grabs his chess boards and pieces and begins his second role.“The Queen’s Gambit” is playing out in real life in Maine, where this custodian is coaching his schools' chess teams to acclaim.Bishop, a part-time chess coach and full-time custodian, led his elementary and middle school teams to state championship titles this year, drawing comparisons to the Netflix series about a chess prodigy inspired by a janitor.Some of his players are good enough to beat their coach, proudly declaring “checkmate!”“Initially, it was humiliating and demoralizing, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that’s a good thing. They're getting stronger," the 61-year-old said.Nationwide, chess is riding a new wave of popularity, and it's not just because of the popular Netflix mini-series based on the 1983 book by Walter Tevis.During the pandemic, a growing number of kids forced to st...

Police revive, arrest woman after possible fentanyl overdose

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) – Kyle Police said Wednesday officers arrested and charged a man and woman after reviving the woman following a possible fentanyl overdose on April 26.According to the Kyle Police Department, officers went to the Plum Creek subdivision on April 26 to help EMS respond to a possible fentanyl overdose. Police said officers found the woman unconscious and unresponsive inside the home when they arrived. Officers gave her four rounds of NARCAN and the woman regained consciousness and her breathing returned to normal, according to police.   Push to get NARCAN in Austin hotspots Police said two small children, both under the age of 5, were in the home, being cared for by a roommate.  Officers recovered 14 fentanyl pills as well as cocaine, alprazolam, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, numerous THC cartridges and marijuana, according to the Kyle Police Department release.  The man and woman both face six counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance a...

Showers near St. Louis Thursday with highs in the 70s

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

St. Louis weather from Meteorologist Angela Hutti:ST. LOUIS - There's a chance of rain and thunderstorms that will be in the forecast now through the weekend. It won’t be raining or storming all the time, but outdoor plans could be impacted each day. It's expected to be cloudy and more muggy Thursday, with temperature highs in the upper 70s. An upper level low will approach the area from the south, spinning in waves of rain showers. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here Morning showers may stay just southwest and west of St. Louis. Rain showers for the afternoon will spread farther north and east. A few storms are possible, but the severe weather threat is low.  It's set to be a warm and humid again Friday, with scattered showers and storms and highs in the mid 80s. We'll see a very warm day Saturday, with afternoon storms likely to develop. Highs near 90. Sunday brings a cold front and one more chance for storms. That should dry us out for a bit and ...

Five people shot at apartments near Cherry Creek reservoir, police investigating

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

Police on Thursday were investigating a night disturbance at an apartment complex in southeast Denver near the Cherry Creek reservoir that led to the shooting of five people.The victims were four men and one woman. Three of those shot were taken to the hospital in ambulances and two went on their own after the shooting shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday at 9600 E. Girard Place, Denver police officials said in a posting on Twitter.One man was in critical condition, police said.“Circumstances and suspect info are under investigation,” the police said. “It is possible that the suspect(s) are among those injured.”It was unclear what led to the shooting.ALERT: #DPD is investigating a shooting at 9600 E Girard Pl. 5 total victims. 3 victims transported to the hospital, 2 victims self transported. Circumstances and suspect info are under investigation at this time. #Denver pic.twitter.com/ACDNhokJA3— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) May 11, 2023Sign up to get...

Colorado weather: Flood watch in effect, heavy rain with lightning and possible damaging hail

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:08 GMT

A cloudy mass of thunderstorms hovered over Colorado’s Front Range Thursday morning buffeting cities and the high plains with heavy rain, lightning and hail, raising the risks of flooding, and up to one inch more moisture is expected, according to the National Weather Service.Booming thunder was shaking communities and wind gusts swept through wet streets shortly after sunrise. The weather service issued a flood watch effective through Friday afternoon. Floods could occur in the mountain foothills west of metro Denver, in the urban corridor along the Front Range, and in low areas along the plains.Travelers along Interstate 25 and other metro Denver roads can expect standing water on roads and intensifying storms, possibly severe and windy, on Thursday afternoon, forecasters said.The high temperature in Denver will be 51 degrees, they said. The afternoon thunderstorms may produce large damaging hail and unleash strong winds, mostly east of the I-25 corridor.No sunshine was expe...