New Unemployment Claims Fall to 787,000, Lowest Level Since March

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 787,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented a decrease of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Oct. 10, in which there were 898,000 new jobless claims reported. Thursday’s figure was the lowest since March, according to CNBC.

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OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead to Three Criminal Charges

Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials announced Wednesday.

The company will plead guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the officials said. The resolution will be detailed in a bankruptcy court filing in federal court.

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Pope Francis Becomes First Pope to Endorse Same-Sex Civil Unions

Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pontiff while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.

The papal thumbs-up came midway through the film that delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.

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Appeals Court Rules North Carolina Absentee Ballots Postmarked By November 3 Are Valid If They Arrive Before November 12

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the North Carolina State Board of Elections on Tuesday, allowing it to count absentee ballots that arrive before Nov. 12 as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 3.

“All ballots must still be mailed on or before Election Day,” said Circuit Judge James Wynn in the court’s 12-3 ruling. “The change is simply an extension from three to nine days after Election Day for a timely ballot to be received and counted. That is all.”

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Amy Coney Barrett Has More Support Than Any Other Trump Supreme Court Nominee, Poll Shows

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has more support than either of President Donald Trump’s previous nominees, a poll released Wednesday found.

A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that 51% of voters said the Senate should confirm Barrett, numbers which have risen three percentage points from last week. The poll surveyed 1,994 voters between October 16 and October 18  with a 2-point margin of error.

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Reports: Biden’s Tax Plan Would Increase Taxes Across the Board, Estimates Vary by How Much

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s proposed tax increases of nearly $4 trillion over the next 10 years, if passed, “would be the highest in American history – indeed, in world history,” an analysis of his plan determined.

Lew Uhler, founder and chairman of the National Tax Limitation Committee and National Tax Limitation Foundation (NTLF), and Peter Ferrara a senior policy adviser to NTLF, made that conclusion in a new report published by The Hill.

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Joe Biden Denies That Hunter Profited off His Family Ties, Hunter Said the Exact Opposite Last Year

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an interview Tuesday that there was no basis “whatsoever” to say that his son, Hunter, has profited off of his family name, a claim which the younger Biden contradicted in an interview last year.

Joe Biden was asked in an interview with Wisconsin TV station WISN about comments from Sen. Ron Johnson, who asserted in a report that Hunter Biden has “profited off the Biden name” through his foreign business dealings.

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Houston Police Sgt. Killed By Repeat Offender After Soros-Funded D.A. Refused to Press Charges

A police sergeant in Houston, Texas was shot dead Tuesday morning by a suspect who was in police custody just two days earlier, but was allowed to go free when the Democrat district attorney refused to press charges.

HPD Sergeant Harold Preston had been with the Houston Police Department for 41-years and was due to retire at the end of the year, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter. The local pro-police paper is urging voters to oust the D.A., whose campaign for office was bankrolled by left-wing billionaire George Soros.

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Republicans Will Put PPP Funding Back on the Floor for a Vote Despite Democrats’ Efforts to Block It, Sen. Blackburn Says

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told CNBC’s SquawkBox on Wednesday that Republicans will try again to pass their bill that would provide PPP and vaccine funding despite Democrats’ attempts to block the efforts.

CNBC asked Blackburn if she would vote for a deal if the White House and the Treasury Department reached an agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).

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Commentary: The Antifa Industry at Work

When, in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama’s career as a community organizer was lampooned at the Republican National Convention, few understood what the words meant. Most sympathetic voices in the media stressed “community,” evoking images of soup kitchens, clinics, and shelters. Republicans had every reason to look more darkly at what this kind of work meant and, probably due to Obama’s race, were inclined to associate the candidate’s time “organizing” in Chicago with New York racial demagogues and shakedown-artists like Al Sharpton. 

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Lance Himes Email Riles Up Ohioans, Many Believe ODH Will Mandate COVID Vaccine

An email from Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Interim Director Lance Himes riled-up Ohioans. The email was sent Tuesday to prospective attendees of an ODH webinar on the state’s vaccine plan. 

In the email, Himes wrote, “It is important to note that the Ohio COVID-19 Vaccination Program strategy is a draft framework outlining how to implement mandatory requirements once more details of a vaccine are known.” 

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