U.S. employers add a surprisingly strong 216,000 jobs in a sign of continued economic strength

January 6, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American labor market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates. Friday’s government report showed that December’s job gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% — the 23rd straight month that joblessness has come in below 4%. Some details of the report, though, may disappoint the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve, who might now be inclined to delay any cuts in their benchmark ...

Alzheimer’s drugs might get into the brain faster with new ultrasound tool, study shows

January 4, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster — by temporarily breaching its protective shield. The novel experiment was a first attempt in just three patients. But in spots in the brain where the new technology took aim, it ...

States and Congress wrestle with cybersecurity after Iran attacks town water utilities

January 3, 2024

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack. It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the ...

Maui’s economy needs tourists but can they visit without compounding wildfire trauma?

December 30, 2023

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The restaurant where Katie Austin was a server burned in the wildfire that devastated Hawaii’s historic town of Lahaina this summer. Two months later, as travelers began to trickle back to nearby beach resorts, she went to work at a different eatery. But she soon ...

Resilient economy energizes investors, as financial markets end 2023 up 24%

December 30, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — The S&P 500 closed out 2023 with a gain of more than 24% and the Dow finished near a record high, as easing inflation, a resilient economy and the prospect of lower interest rates buoyed investors, particularly in the last two months of the year. Stocks closed Friday with ...

Civil rights leader removed from movie theater for using his own chair

December 30, 2023

A civil rights leader was escorted by police out of a North Carolina movie theater after he insisted on using his own chair for medical reasons, prompting an apology from the nation’s largest movie theater chain. The incident occurred Tuesday in Greenville during a showing of “The Color Purple.” The Rev. William Barber II said he needs the chair because he suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a disabling bone disease. Barber, 60, leads a nonprofit called Repairers of the Breach, which focuses on issues including voter suppression and poverty. He also co-chairs the national Poor ...