New Unemployment Claims Decrease to 860,000, Beating Predictions

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 860,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor figure released Thursday represented an decrease of new jobless claims compared to the week ending on Sept. 5, in which there were 884,000 new jobless claims reported.

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Shooting Death of 17-Year-Old in Minneapolis Unrelated to Work for Lacy Johnson, Campaign Says

The victims in a Monday afternoon shooting in north Minneapolis had also worked for Republican Lacy Johnson’s congressional campaign, but the two facts are unrelated, the campaign told Alpha News.

According to a press release from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), officers responded to a shooting in the area of the 3800 block of Fremont Avenue North around 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon.

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Justin Griffin Wants To Be Mayor: Richmond’s Broke

Justin Griffin thinks Richmond needs a financial consultant. In 2018 and 2019, he drew attention by criticizing a plan to build a new coliseum in Richmond. Now, he’s trying to convert that momentum into votes for his mayoral campaign by highlighting financial inefficiencies in Richmond.

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Commentary: America Is on the Ballot, So Let’s Win

The Democrats and Republicans spent hours giving speeches at their nominating conventions, but their respective takeaways were simple enough. One party thinks America is racist to the core and that it must give way to something radically new. The other party thinks America is already great and that it is worth defending. Vice President Mike Pence got to the heart of the matter:

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Commentary: Biden’s Green New Deal Will End Fracking, Make America Beholden to China

Former Vice President Joe Biden is promising to implement the Green New Deal, setting a national target for 2035 to cut carbon emissions in half in a move that would end the fossil fuel industry for transportation and electricity as we know it. That means no more oil. No more coal. And no more natural gas.

But in the same breath, Biden is attempting to persuade voters in states like Pennsylvania that he is not going to end hydraulic fracturing that makes it possible to extract petroleum and natural gas from geologic shale formations.

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More Than Half of Business Closures Caused by Economic Lockdowns Are Permanent, Yelp Data Show

More than half of American businesses that closed down due to economic lockdowns are permanently shuttered, according to data Yelp published Wednesday.

There’s been a 23% increase in the number of business closures since mid-July, with the number of permanent closures reaching 96,966, representing 60% of closed businesses that will not be reopening, the data show.

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Carol Swain Joins the Ingraham Angle to Weigh in on The University of Chicago’s New ‘PC’ English Department Policy

Dr. Carol M. Swain appeared on Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle with host Laura Ingraham to weigh in on the recent English department graduate program “Black studies only” requirement made at the University of Chicago.

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Rasmussen Poll: Black Lives Matter Riots Turning People in Riot Zones into Trump Voters

The violent Black Lives Matter riots that rocked multiple American cities this summer have turned voters who live in those riot zones into Trump supporters, a new Rasmussen poll finds.

The latest Rasmussen Reports Survey found that 63 percent of voters who have seen violent protests in their community “strongly approve” of the president while only 35 percent don’t.

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Leaked Facebook Memo Describes Company’s Underwhelming Response to Global Political Manipulation

A former Facebook data scientist released a 6,600-word memo on her final day at the company detailing what she considers the tech giant’s lackluster response to fake accounts and activities that impacts elections around the globe. 

The employee, Sophie Zhang, was fired this month from Facebook for what she says was ongoing friction between her and management about the platform’s approach to combating extensive, global manipulation, according to a recent Buzzfeed News report.

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State Delegate Nick Freitas Is Ready to Win Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District

At a small rally on the lawn of a local courthouse, Del. Nicholas Freitas (R-Culpeper County) exuded confidence in his ability to win Virginia’s seventh congressional district and reclaim the seat for Republicans.

Freitas is squaring up against incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), who recently became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019.

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Senator Dr. Siobhan Dunnavent Discusses Virginia’s Never Ending Special Session and the Unqualified Citizen Review Board

Wednesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed Virginia state Senator Dr. Siobhan Dunnavant to the program to discuss the civilian review board’s unqualified position to judge career police officers.

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Birx Visits Virginia Tech to Discuss COVID-19 Issues

On Wednesday, Dr. Deborah Birx – a key part of the Trump Administration’s vaulted Coronavirus task force – arrived in Blacksburg to meet  with state and local officials, faculty, students and health care professionals on the Virginia Tech campus to discuss Covid-19 and the response to reopening schools safely.

During a brief press conference, the White House coronavirus response coordinator had high praise for the school as she stated that a great amount of research had been done at the facility including animal and waste water testing to better understand the asymptomatic spread rate of the virus.

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SCC Extends Moratorium on Utility Shutoffs but Warns Bills Are Piling Up

Responding to a request from Governor Ralph Northam, Virginia’s State Corporation Comission (SCC) has agreed to extend a moratorium on utility shutoffs until October 5. The SCC warns that they will not extend the moratorium again. The moratorium has been in place since March 16, 2020.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 17

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 47 days until the election on November 3, and 12 days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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Senate Passes Bill to Establish Mental Health Response and Alert System

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday to establish a mental health awareness response and community understanding services alert system in areas throughout Virginia. 

The legislation was passed by the Democratic-controlled body by a vote (21-Y 15-N) along party lines with four Republican senators not at session. 

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