Unemployment applications drop WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that signaled a steadily improving job market. The figures came one day before the government is expected to report that January
Unemployment applications drop
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that signaled a steadily improving job market. The figures came one day before the government is expected to report that January marked another solid month for hiring.
Unemployment applications fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped for the third straight week to 375,750. That’s the second-lowest level for the four-week average since June 2008. When applications stay consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Separately, retailers issued mixed sales reports for January. Slow growth is leaving many Americans cautious about how they spend their money.
Economists expect the January employment report to show that employers added 155,000 jobs last month and that unemployment remained at 8.5 percent. In December, employers added 200,000 jobs.
The job market “still appears to be slowly moving in the right direction,” said Jim Baird, investment strategist at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.
President: Faith has role in policy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Blending politics and religion, President Barack Obama said his Christian faith is a driving force behind his economic policies, from Wall Street reform to his calls for the wealthy to pay higher taxes.
Obama’s remarks Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast were his most explicit account of how his personal religious beliefs factor into his decision-making on the nation’s pressing problems. The comments came amid election-year criticism from Catholic groups and some Republicans that the president is waging a war on religion following his decision to require church-affiliated institutions to cover free birth control for employees.
Speaking to more than 3,000 people at the annual breakfast, Obama said “faith and values” should play as much a role in tackling the nation’s challenges as sound decision-making and smart policies.
Phil says 6 more weeks of winter
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter on Thursday, making him the minority opinion among his groundhog brethren who seem to think that spring is coming early.
But with such a mild and relatively snowless winter so far, who can tell the difference?
Phil’s “prediction” came as he emerged from his lair to “see” his shadow on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in the town for which he’s named.
The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.
Temperatures were near freezing when Phil emerged at dawn and were forecast to climb into the mid-40s in a winter that’s brought little snow and only a few notably cold days to much of the East.
Past complaint about L.A. teacher
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors declined to file attempted fondling charges 18 years ago against an elementary school teacher now suspected of taking bondage-style photographs of children in his class, saying that they didn’t have enough evidence.
The investigation came after a 10-year-old girl claimed elementary school teacher Mark Berndt reached toward her genitals during class and she pushed his hand away, sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Scott said Thursday. The details of the case and other claims by two former students about Berndt surfaced just three days after his arrest.
The allegations raised further questions about why he wasn’t disciplined by school officials, who have been lambasted by some parents.
for waiting a year to reveal Berndt was suspected of photographing children for sexual thrills.
Only parents of children identified as victims were told by authorities about the most recent investigation.
School officials and investigators said proper procedures were followed to investigate and build a case against the teacher.
Scott said the incident involving the 10-year-old girl occurred in September 1993 but wasn’t reported by her mother to officials at Miramonte Elementary School until the following January, after her daughter had seen an “Oprah” show about inappropriate touching.
School officials notified the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department, which submitted evidence to prosecutors. They opted not to file a charge of committing a lewd act on a minor under the age of 14. Berndt was never arrested.
