More evidence that for many, the “recovery” hasn’t been much better than the recession. Nearly half of all Americans lived in a household that received some kind of government benefit during the first three months of last year, the Wall Street Journal reports, based on new Census data. That’s even higher than the figure recorded
Continue reading …Westboro Baptist Church–best known for its reviled anti-gay protests of American soldiers’ funerals–announced last night on Twitter that its members will be picketing the funeral of Apple founder Steve Jobs. “He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught sin,” Westboro leader Margie Phelps tweeted–from her iPhone. Let’s hope that Phelps has managed to
Continue reading …Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, died on Wednesday at age 89. Shuttlesworth was jailed more than 35 times during his fight to end public segregation in the 1950s and 60s.
Continue reading …The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose a bit last week after dropping sharply the previous week. Four hundred and one thousand people made initial unemployment claims, the Labor Department said. That was an increase of 6000 from the previous week’s figure. The previous week’s number was revised up to 395,000
Continue reading …“More and more people are joining the Wall Street occupation,” an article in the Occupied Wall Street Journal, the new house organ of the nascent protest movement, reports.”They can tell you about their homes being foreclosed, months of grinding unemployment, or minimum-wage dead-end jobs, staggering student debt loans, or trying to live without decent healthcare.”
Continue reading …The anti-Wall Street protests that started three weeks ago in New York have spread to other major cities–including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. But the protesters in Los Angeles scored an institutional coup yesterday, with a visit from several members of the L.A. city council. Kate Linthicum of the Los Angeles Times reports that
Continue reading …In an effort to combat widespread absences, Alabama’s top education official is urging parents not to fear a new immigration law requiring students to provide a birth certificate when they enroll in school. State Superintendent Larry Craven told parents in a notice in Spanish and English that Alabama schools would not turn away any children
Continue reading …What’s better than winning $25 million in the lottery? How about winning $25 million when you never even intended to play? That’s exactly what happened to Kathy Scruggs, 44, of Lithonia, Georgia. Scruggs, who won the state’s Powerball jackpot last month, recently told lotto officials that she never meant to buy the ticket. The convenience-store
Continue reading …While Amanda Knox’s release from Italian prison took the spotlight, two exonerated men who spent a combined four decades in prison were quietly set free on Tuesday. Obie Anthony, 37, and Michael Morton, 57, each insisted on their innocence throughout their many years in jail while serving life sentences for murder. And each man was
Continue reading …Private employers added more jobs than expected in September, according to a new survey–offering further evidence that the economy, while weak, is not slipping back into a recession. The ADP payroll report showed private employers added 91,000 jobs, slightly more than in August (pdf). Economists had expected a gain of around 75,000 jobs. The private payroll
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