WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% as the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and restaurants, reopening and doing brisk business,…
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Officials say five children all younger than 10 who were left home without an adult died in a fire at an apartment building in southwestern Illinois. Fire crews were called to the building before 3 a.m. Friday and reported finding two children already dead. The three other children were…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis lawyer who was pardoned along with his wife for waving guns at social justice demonstrators is suing to get the guns back. Mark McCloskey, a Republican candidate of U.S. Senate, is also seeking to have fines they paid returned. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis City…
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Coronavirus hospitalizations are once again surging as the virus’ more potent delta variant cuts across the country. The swift rise is forcing hospitals to pivot back to COVID-19 readiness just weeks after many shuttered coronavirus wards, field hospitals and other emergency pandemic measures. A Florida hospital chain is suspending elective…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A jury in the upcoming trial of a Missouri man accused of killing his Chinese wife will be allowed to hear recordings of arguments between the couple. Circuit Judge Brouck Jacobs ruled Tuesday that 13 hours of recordings will be allowed at the first-degree murder trial of Joseph Elledge. The Columbia…
NEW YORK (AP) — In his response to an independent investigation that found he sexually harassed 11 women, Gov. Andrew Cuomo cited his own family member’s sexual assault to explain his behavior with accuser Charlotte Bennett. That component of his statement came under criticism from sexual assault survivors, their advocates and even crisis public relations…
Illinois’ governor says all students and staff members in schools Pre-K through 12th grade will be required to wear masks effective immdiately. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday the action is necessary to thwart the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus. The mask mandate also applies to indoor school sports, daycare centers across Illinois, and long-term…
A police officer from the small southwestern Illinois town of Brooklyn near St. Louis has died after trying to stop a car fleeing from police. Illinois State Police say the officer died early today. He was attempting to set up a roadblock to stop the car on the McKinley Bridge when he struck by a…
U.S. Rep. Billy Long, a conservative from southwestern Missouri, is entering the crowded race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri. Long announced his Senate bid Tuesday night on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News. He joins a long list of GOP candidates seeking the 2022 nomination for the seat being vacated by…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until Oct. 3. The Biden administration is trying to quell intensifying criticism that it was allowing vulnerable renters to lose their homes during a pandemic. The new moratorium could help keep millions in their homes…