Day: July 2, 2020

June Jobs Report: 4.8 Million Jobs Added, Unemployment at 11.1 Percent

Virginia Star Staff

The U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June, while the unemployment declined to 11.1%, according to Department of Labor data released Thursday.

Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 4.8 million in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, and the number of unemployed persons fell by 3.2 million to 17.8 million. These numbers mark the second month of both increasing jobs and dropping unemployment since the country lost a record 20.5 million jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic closures.

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Stocks Rise on Jobs Data, S&P 500 Ends Week with Solid Gain

The Associated Press

Stocks are closing higher Thursday after a report showed the U.S. job market continues to climb out of the crater created by the coronavirus pandemic in the spring. The S&P 500 rose 0.45% and finished the holiday-shortened week with a gain of 4%. Stocks also rose across Europe and Asia, while oil prices strengthened on hopes that a recovering economy will mean more demand. Worries about the virus are still weighing on investors, however. Florida reported another sharp increase in confirmed cases, helping to cut the S&P 500′s earlier gains by more than half. The bond market was also showing continued caution.

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Commentary: What a Great Time to Be President

Virginia Star Staff

Those who seek the presidency have many reasons for doing so, but anyone who seeks the nation’s highest office hopes to make his mark as a leader of our free republic. For some presidents, the times provide less difficult challenges to surmount, and history little notes their tenure; for other unfortunate souls, events overwhelm them, and their failures are duly and ruefully recorded.

The most fortunate of presidents, however, are faced with tremendous challenges and yet are still able to lead our nation in ways that transcend these trials. 

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Study: Unemployment Pays Better Than Work for 68 Percent of U.S. Workers

Virginia Star Staff

The federal unemployment insurance emergency payments of an additional $600 per week to those laid off because of COVID-19 restrictions discourages work and slows down economic recovery, several reports indicate. Several congressmen have introduced proposals to address the issue.

A report published by the Foundation for Government Ability (FGA) found that by nearly tripling average unemployment benefits through the CARES Act, “Congress has created a situation where unemployment now pays better than work” for roughly 68 percent of U.S. workers.

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Insurer Centene Plans 3,200 Jobs at New N.C. Regional Hub

The Associated Press

Government health insurance provider Centene Corp. said on Wednesday it will build an East Coast campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, developing a $1 billion construction project that’s expected to create more than 3,200 new jobs by 2032.

Gov. Roy Cooper described the expansion as the state’s largest single jobs announcement by number in nearly two decades.

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Stonewall Jackson Removed from Richmond’s Monument Avenue

The Associated Press

Work crews wielding a giant crane, harnesses and power tools wrested an imposing statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its concrete pedestal along Richmond, Virginia’s famed Monument Avenue on Wednesday, just hours after the mayor ordered the removal of all Confederate statues from city land.

Mayor Levar Stoney’s decree came weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of the most prominent and imposing statue along the avenue: that of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which sits on state land. The removal of the Lee statue has been stalled pending the resolution of several lawsuits.

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Seattle Police Dismantle ‘Occupied’ Zone, Arrest More Than 30

The Associated Press

Seattle police turned out in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks.

Television images showed police, many in riot gear, confronting dozens of protesters at the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone that was set up near downtown following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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‘An Amazing Deal’: U.S. Secures Most of Global Remdesivir Supply

Virginia Star Staff

The United States has secured nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, a drug that has been effective in fighting coronavirus.

Remdesivir, which is manufactured by American pharmaceutical giant Gilead, has proven to help patients with coronavirus recover faster, according to The Guardian. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secured more than 500,000 doses of the drug, accounting for the vast majority of Gilead’s July, August and September supply, according to a Monday press release.

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Commentary: Blue States Have Been Hit Much Harder by COVID-19

Virginia Star Staff

In March, data guru Nate Silver wrote about the different ways blue states and red states were experiencing the COVID-19 epidemic, noting that “states Clinton won do have considerably more total reported cases.”

COVID-19 was not just a blue state problem though. Silver pointed out that cases in red states were increasing far more rapidly.

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Boston Arts Commission Votes to Remove Abraham Lincoln Statue

Virginia Star Staff

The Boston Arts Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to take down the city’s historic Emancipation Memorial after activists demanded the statue’s removal.

The memorial depicts Abraham Lincoln standing with one arm raised over a freed slave crouched on his knees. Broken chains are depicted around the black man’s wrists and the word “emancipation” is written at the statue’s base.

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Commentary: Beware of Mark Cuban

Virginia Star Staff

Michael Bloomberg wasn’t able to buy the Democratic nomination. Maybe another billionaire leftist—Mark Cuban—will have better luck buying the Democratic nominee.

Cuban certainly has been carrying water for Joe Biden—or at least, for Biden’s policies, which amounts to the same thing. He hasn’t taken a knee—yet—in support of the rioters who are so upset about the death of George Floyd that they’ve been torching the businesses of people who had nothing to do with it.

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Gun-Toting Restaurateur Upsets 5-Term Colorado Congressman

The Associated Press

A pistol-packing restaurant owner who has expressed support for a far-right conspiracy theory has upset five-term U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in Colorado’s primary elections.

Tipton became the fourth House member to lose renomination bids this year. Republican Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Denver Riggleman of Virginia, and Democrat Daniel Lipinski of Illinois, have already been ousted by challengers.

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Background Checks, a Metric for Gun Sales, Hit All-Time High

The Associated Press

Historic numbers of background checks to purchase or possess a firearm were done in June, a trend in a year marked by uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic, a subsequent economic recession, protests over racial injustice and calls to reduce police funding.

FBI numbers released Wednesday show that 3.9 million background checks were conducted last month, the most since the system was created in November 1998 to ensure felons and other prohibited people could not buy or possess a firearm. The previous monthly record came in March, when 3.7 million checks were done. Each week in June is now in the top 10 weeks for background checks.

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Citing Racial Bias, San Francisco Will End Mug Shots Release

The Associated Press

San Francisco police will stop releasing the mug shots of people who have been arrested unless they pose a threat to the public, as part of an effort to stop perpetuating racial stereotypes, the city’s police chief announced Wednesday.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the policy, which goes into effect immediately, means the department will no longer release booking photos of suspects to the media or allow officers to post them online.

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