The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 1,006,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor figure released Thursday represented a slight decrease of 98,000 new jobless claims compared to the week ending on Aug. 15. The number was about where Wall Street analysts expected it to be, according to CNBC.
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Monuments dominate Virginia’s headlines this week.
On Wednesday, Portsmouth City began removing its controversial Confederate monument. Last week, an anonymous plaintiff petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court to order confederate statues removed by the city of Richmond to go back up. The Richmond Circuit Court has scheduled a trial for October 19 to begin determining whether Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue can be removed.
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In 2016, President Donald Trump won on an America first message on trade, uniting blue-collar union and conservative households to get over the top in the Electoral College in the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Trump successfully made the case that America had gotten ripped off in prior trade dealings, particularly in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and in trade dealings with China, and that he alone could negotiate a better deal.
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Iran has agreed to allow inspectors in to two sites where the country is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was “voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to the two locations specified by the IAEA and facilitating the IAEA verification activities to resolve the issues.”
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Members of the Islamic State have reportedly attempted to use the coronavirus pandemic to their advantage, increasing propaganda and attacks, a United Nations counter-terrorism official announced Monday.
Since ISIS reportedly began to rally in Syria and Iraq this year, there has been an increase in threats made to conflict zones and a decrease in threats to peaceful zones experiencing coronavirus related lock-downs and restrictions, Head of the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov said.
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Even after just the first night, the 2020 Republican National Convention is already decisively dominating the Democratic National Convention in viewership, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
On C-SPAN’s official livestream, the RNC garnered more than 440,000 viewers simultaneously.
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The Philadelphia Police Department deferred charges against a woman who it says punched an unsuspecting churchgoer during Catholic Mass on Sunday.
Police chose not to charge the suspect, who they identified Monday, because of her mental health issues, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The decision was made with Catholic Church officials and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
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The sign of a good music teacher, I was told as a teenager, is a willingness to allow parents to sit in on lessons. A teacher willing to have parents observe their lessons demonstrates that she has nothing to hide, is open to critique or comments, and is one who partners with parents in helping students succeed. Having witnessed this policy firsthand with my own piano instructor, a woman whose students won competitions and entered world famous music schools, I followed suit when I began teaching myself.
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There will be more Wisconsin National Guard troops in Kenosha, but not nearly as many as local leaders have requested.
Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday doubled the number of troops he’s sending to Kenosha to 500 to help police officers trying to quell riots and looting in the wake of the Sunday shooting of a Black man by police officers.
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About half of all Americans say they are saving money and paying down debt amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Associated Press poll published Tuesday.
Roughly 45% of Americans surveyed said they saved more money than usual amid the pandemic, according to the poll. Nearly 30% of respondents in the poll said they are paying down debt faster than they were before the coronavirus pandemic, the poll showed.
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Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, once one of the most powerful politicians in the state, started his prison sentence Wednesday after years of fending off going behind bars.
Silver, 76, reported to a federal prison in Otisville, New York, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was sentenced earlier this year to 6 1/2 years behind bars in a corruption case.
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Two more localities have passed resolutions establishing Second Amendment Sanctuaries.
On August 24, the Front Royal Town Council unanimously passed their version of the non-binding resolution, and the next day, Greene County also passed theirs.
The resolutions are the result of lobbying efforts by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, declaring that the localities will not pass laws restricting firearms. In July, new state laws took effect that allow cities and counties to pass their own gun laws, triggering a flurry of action. Some places are restricting guns, others are passing resolutions declaring they will not restrict guns. The resolutions are like a covenant — local leaders can still pass ordinances to the contrary — but are a way to signal allegiances to citizens and politicians.
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Henrico County officials and the Henrico County Manager shut down a fundraiser to support COVID-19 relief and Black Lives Matter on Tuesday.
State Senator Joe Morrissey (D-16) was hosting and sponsoring the event alongside local Richmond promoters Avantae Jones and Keron Dixon with their company True Society Events, LLC.
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The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence of six months jail time for assaulting a law enforcement officer or other public servants.
The bill passed by a vote of 21-Y 15-N after over an hour of back and forth between Senators.
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A group of Virginians have started Fair Districts, a political action committee (PAC) created to oppose Amendment 1.
Amendment 1 — supported by FairMapsVA, a separate PAC — will create a citizen-led committee to lead redistricting in the state.
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A poll from Roanoke College would have you believe President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Gade are in trouble in Virginia’s November election.
The chairman of the Virginia Trump delegation refutes the findings.
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