July 18, 2024 9:36 am
U.S. filings for unemployment benefits rose again last week and appear to be settling consistently at a slightly higher though still healthy level. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 13 rose by 20,000 to 243,000 from 223,000 the previous week. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose after declining last week for the first time in 10 weeks. About 1.87 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits for the week of July 6, around 20,000 more than the previous week. That’s the most since November of 2021. Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered as representative of layoffs.
July 18, 2024 5:09 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, has accepted his party’s presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. His speech described in detail the assassination attempt that could have ended his life just five days earlier before laying out a sweeping populist agenda, particularly on immigration. The 78-year-old former president says: ““If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark. And I would not be here tonight.” Trump’s address, among the longest convention speeches in modern history, marked the climax and conclusion of a massive four-day Republican pep rally as voters weigh an election that currently features two deeply unpopular candidates.
July 18, 2024 5:08 am
MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump addressed the fourth night of the Republican National Convention, his first speech since the assassination attempt in Butler. The speech came five days after a Bethel Park man shot Trump in the ear during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. One person died in the shooting, while two others were critically injured. Corey Comperatore, who died at the rally, was a volunteer firefighter in his community. His gear joined Trump on stage during his speech at the RNC.
July 18, 2024 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden faces a growing drumbeat of pressure to drop his reelection bid, most Democrats think his vice president would make a good president herself. The new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Kamala Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About 2 in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say. Since Biden’s massive debate debacle on June 27, many Democrats have privately and even openly looked to Harris to step in and succeed Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.
July 18, 2024 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for President Joe Biden to reconsider his election bid. Former President Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about Biden’s 2024 candidacy. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he didn’t step away and argued polls show he likely can’t defeat Republican Donald Trump. That’s according to several people who insisted on anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversations. Biden says he’s not dropping out. Biden says in a radio interview with Univision everything between Trump and him “has been basically even.”
July 18, 2024 4:57 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) — JD Vance used his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans. The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first prime-time speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance spoke of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later joined the military and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics.
July 18, 2024 4:57 am
FREEPORT, Pa. (AP) — Thousands of mourners paid their respects at a Pennsylvania banquet hall to the family of a former fire chief who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Trump sent a note of condolence hailing Corey Comperatore as a hero. The crowd appeared to be made up of friends, neighbors and strangers who showed their appreciation for the man who officials said spent his final moments shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the campaign rally. Fire trucks and police vehicles filled the parking lot outside the building. Comperatore, who was 50, also worked as a project and tooling engineer. A private funeral is scheduled for Friday.
July 18, 2024 4:55 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” from the infection. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.
July 18, 2024 4:53 am
Federal transportation officials are providing $5 billion to replace or improve aging bridges in 16 states. The grants announced Wednesday by President Joe Biden’s administration come from a $1 trillion infrastructure package he signed into law in 2021. The largest project provides an additional $1.4 billion to help replace two bridges carrying Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. Other projects receiving $500 million or more include bridges in Cape Code, Massachusetts; Mobile, Alabama; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. More than 42,000 bridges across the U.S. are in poor condition, and they are on average 70 years old.
July 18, 2024 2:46 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob Newhart has died at age 94. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, says the actor died Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses. The accountant-turned-comedian gained fame with a smash album and became one of the most popular TV stars of his time. Newhart was a Chicago psychologist in “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s and a Vermont innkeeper on “Newhart” in the 1980s. Both shows featured a low-key Newhart surrounded by eccentric characters. The second had a twist ending in its final show — the whole series was revealed to have been a dream by the psychologist he played in the other show. (Photo: Ap)
