New claims for unemployment benefits, an indirect measure of layoffs, slipped to 847,000 in the week ending 23 January, compared to an adjusted 916,000 the week before, the U.S. Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average for jobless claims is 868,000, up 16,250 from the previous four-week average and higher than at any time since...
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INCOME, SAVINGS RISE AS CONSUMER SPENDING SAGS
U.S. household income from salaries, wages, investments, and government aid edged up 0.6 percent in December from November, the first gain since August. The bump came largely from a new round of $600 federal stimulus checks to individuals and the restoration of federal unemployment benefits passed by Congress toward the end of the month, analysts...
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RECOVERY SLOWS IN 2020’S FOURTH QUARTER
The U.S. economic recovery slowed in the last quarter of 2020, crippled by a surge in state lockdowns and draconian restrictions on travel and gatherings during Thanksgiving and the December holiday seasons. U.S. GDP grew only 1 percent during the quarter, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, costing jobs as unemployment claims rose in December...
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EMBRACE SIMPLICITY
by Bradley J. Steiner The field of self-defense attracts an awful lot of, shall I say, “unusual” and “strange” types. While this is true of just about every field of endeavor, it can have serious consequences – undesirable consequences – for people who want to learn self-defense and combat skills for use in emergencies they...
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U.S. INFANTS MAY BE UNABLE TO BENEFIT FROM BREAST MILK
Pediatricians have long known that human breast milk is key to babies’ development of everything from a strong immune system to proper brain and motor function. But the majority of human infants seem to lack a vital gut bacterium that turns breast milk into usable nutrients, according to a new study by researchers led by...
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MORE STUDIES LINK CELL PHONES TO CANCER
Incidences of breast and thyroid cancers have risen dramatically in recent years and two studies are adding to earlier evidence of the cause: cell phones. According to a study from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, cell phones operate at radio frequencies that “significantly increases the risk of breast cancer, especially in women 50 and older...
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RESEARCHERS ELECTRONICALLY STORE COMPUTER FILES IN DNA
DNA has long been an attractive target as a medium for storing computer data: DNA can store 1,000 times as much information in the same space as a computer’s hard drive – about 10 full-length movies in a space the size of a grain of salt – and, unlike hard drives, DNA is a technology...
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CHINA: SAY WHAT YOU WISH AND GO TO JAIL
Beijing sentenced over 50 individuals – many everyday Chinese people – to prison for the offense of posting unfavorable comments about President Xi Jinping or the Chinese Communist Party on foreign social media platforms, the Wall Street Journal reported. The paper, citing court records and a database produced by free-speech activists, reported that the sentencings were seen...
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MORE CENSORSHIP
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that unscrupulous politicians like former President Trump have used social media platforms to spread hate, which culminated in last month’s storming of the U.S. Capitol. He said these companies should have acted earlier to censor that kind of rhetoric: “All those who allowed President Trump to succeed waited...