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New weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 13,000 to 861,000 in the week that ended February 13, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Economists had expected claims to fall to 768,00 from the 793,000 initially reported for the prior week. The previous week’s figure was revised up by 55,000 to 848,000. Jobless claims can be volatile week to week so economists like to look at the four-week average. This fell to 833,250, 3,500 below the prior week’s average.

The nursing home scandal may soon come back to bite Andrew Cuomo as he is now being investigated for potential crimes. The New York Governor is under investigation by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI for his administration’s fatal decision to send COVID-19 patients into nursing homes in the early days of the pandemic.

While many legacy media outlets helped bury Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-N.Y.) COVID-19 nursing home scandal, some Democratic officials in New York have refused to play ball. New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) has vocally condemned Cuomo after his uncle, Son Kim, died in a nursing home in April after suffering COVID-19 symptoms. On Wednesday, Kim told The New York Post that Cuomo threatened him last Thursday before the governor condemned Kim in a press conference.Cuomo reportedly called Kim on Thursday night, after The New York Post revealed that Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s secretary, privately admitted that the governor’s administration withheld...

A Christian pastor from Edmonton, Canada, has been jailed for breaking Alberta’s Public Health Act by continuing to hold church services when ordered to stop. Rev. James Coates of GraceLife Church of Edmonton turned himself in to police on Tuesday, two days after officials attended his Sunday service to assess compliance with conditions issued to the pastor, police said in a news release Wednesday. Authorities from Alberta Health Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) determined that Pastor Coates “was not complying with his Undertaking release conditions” issued by authorities.

Joe Biden took questions from Wisconsin residents and from Anderson Cooper at a CNN town hall event in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. We're still looking into some of the claims Biden made, so this article is not comprehensive. But we can tell you now that he made at least four false claims -- all of them involving statistics -- about the minimum wage, undocumented immigrants, China's economy and Covid-19 vaccinations. Biden also made claims that could have benefited from some additional context, that he acknowledged he might not have gotten right or that there is not solid evidence for. Here...

US infectious disease expert cites Israeli data in saying there is growing proof of inoculation’s ability to fight off illness in individuals as well as halt the pandemic at large At a press briefing Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the most senior US government expert on the coronavirus, cited Israel’s inoculation campaign as proof of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines while also noting its highly efficient vaccination drive. “When you look at the [number of] vaccinations per 100 people… Israel is way up there with 78 doses per 100 people, compared to the United States, which has 16.7 doses per 100...

The White House called a lid for Joe Biden on Thursday, after an inch of snow and sleet fell in Washington, DC. Calling a “lid” informs reporters the president will not appear in public or travel anywhere for the rest of the day.

For more than 30 years, Rush Limbaugh sat down and talked to Americans about America. Across the country, in pickup trucks, roadside diners and quiet cubicles where his listeners were obliged to wear headphones lest they offend, his rich baritone rolled out of the air, and it spoke the truth.

Bob Dole, the former longtime Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday that he has stage 4 lung cancer. “Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole, 97, said in a statement.

For foods, holograms made with nanoparticles have been proposed, but the tiny particles can generate reactive oxygen species, which might be harmful for people to eat. In a different approach, food scientists have molded edible holograms onto chocolate, but the process only works for certain types of the confection, and a different mold is needed for each hologram design. Bader AlQattan, Haider Butt and colleagues wanted to find a safe, fast and versatile way to pattern edible holograms onto a variety of foods. To develop their method, the researchers made a solution of corn syrup, vanilla and water and dried...

Gov. Ron DeSantis has put the leaders of locked-down blue states to shame, and Democrat politicians are ashamed to admit it.On a flight out of Orlando last month, I met a friendly Canadian family with three young children. We started chatting, and I asked what brought them all the way to Florida. “We wanted to be able to take our kids to the park,” they told me. They aren’t alone in flocking to Florida to find freedom, as other states and countries continue to keep their citizens locked down. Florida Is Open And People Are Voting With Their FeetFlorida Gov....

Like millions of my fellow Americans, it was like a gut shot hearing the news that Rush Limbaugh went to be with the LORD after succumbing to stage four lung cancer. At first, I was very sad, but I then got an image of Rush just beaming joyfully in the presence of God and it brought a smile to my face. I have never met Mr. Limbaugh, but I can honestly say he changed my life. He is the reason, this American, who also happens to be Black, became a conservative. I first listened to Mr. Limbaugh in 1993 and...

Long before Limbaugh built an unprecedented national media platform, before he was deemed an honorary member of the Republican congressional delegation, before he helped bring conspiracy theories and racist, misogynistic vitriol into mainstream political discourse, he was a desperate 33-year-old guy who had all but given up on his broadcast dreams. It was 1984, and young Limbaugh had been fired from at least five stations in three cities

Nachum Segal is an Orthodox Jewish man who hosts a morning radio program (now Internet only), JM in the AM, which stands for Jewish Moments in the Morning. Nachum has been a long time friend of Rush who was instrumental in organizing Rush's first (only?) visit to Israel. Nachum reminisces about Rush for about ten minutes beginning at 41 minutes into the linked program.ML/NJ

With the looming threat that the financial industry may shut its doors to the gun industry, a Utah man is hoping that his cryptocurrency geared toward purchasing firearms will take off. Since Democrats took full control of the government last month, a proposed rule that would protect businesses such as the firearms industry has been scuttled, opening the possibility that companies will see their financial services cut off. Rob McNealy, a Second Amendment supporter, created the Universal Settlement Coin (TUSC), a cryptocurrency that focuses on providing the firearms industry with a tool that would allow gun stores and firearm-related manufacturers...

Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family this week as Texas dealt with a winter storm that left millions without power, Fox News has confirmed.

“Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths,” said one Democratic congressman. Democrats in Texas and other states where immigration has been a lightning rod issue are growing increasingly uneasy that the White House is walking into a political buzzsaw in its zeal to unwind hardline Trump administration policies. Biden has not yet implemented expansive policy changes. The vast majority of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are still being turned away. Deportations are still taking place and there’s still no pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. But the...

Big Tech’s efforts to restrict user access to various Internet platforms are a serious challenge, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with leaders of parliamentary factions on Wednesday. He responded to the recent statements made by Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma (lower house), who put the spotlight on Big Tech’s violation of freedom of speech. “What you said about these so-called platforms, IT companies, is a serious challenge not only for us – we see what has happened in the [United] States,” Putin noted. According to him, it is quite obvious that such an “ideological divide” runs...

For stranded motorists, those without power, and anyone in need of warmth, warming stations are available at locations across the state. The National Guard is deployed across Texas to conduct welfare checks and assist local authorities in helping those in need find a local warming station. To find the closest warming shelter, please use the map below or for information on additional assistance and resources call 2-1-1.

Shirts and shoes are still required, but you don’t need masks to enter one Florida restaurant. Or “face diapers,” as the restaurant calls them. BeckyJack’s Food Shack in Spring Hill, Fla., shared a Facebook post Sunday that reminded potential patrons that the only things they need to bring are an appetite and a wallet. And if they decide to bring a smile, by golly, people would actually see it. “Howdy Folks! Happy Valentine’s Day A friendly reminder that we DO NOT require Face Masks,” the post read. BeckyJack’s also posted a sign in its window that garnered some attention. “Face...