US jobless claims hit 258,000, the most in a year

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to its highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene — and the Boeing strike — than a broader softening in the labor market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3. That’s the most since Aug. 5, 2023 and well above the 229,000 analysts were expecting. Analysts highlighted big jumps in jobless benefit applications across states that were most affected by Hurricane Helene last week.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and wife of Robert F. Kennedy, dies

BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — Ethel Kennedy, who lost her husband Robert F. Kennedy to assassination, has died. She was 96. She was by her husband’s side when the senator was killed while running for president in 1968. She endured that tragedy and many others while raising their 11 children. A millionaire’s daughter and family matriarch, she advocated for many causes after founding the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. She demonstrated for farmworkers in Florida and joined a hunger strike against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Former President Barack Obama called Ethel Kennedy “a dear friend with a passion for justice, an irrepressible spirit, and a great sense of humor.”

Milton knocks out power to millions and spawns tornadoes across Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida residents are returning to the familiar ritual of assessing hurricane damage, the day after Milton smashed through many coastal communities and spawned a barrage of tornadoes that killed at least five people. The destruction unfolded less than two weeks after the misery wrought by Helene. Milton knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. But many people also expressed relief that Milton wasn’t worse. The system spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.

Immigrants brought to the US as children ask judges to keep protections against deportation

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children are among demonstrators who gathered outside a federal courthouse in New Orleans where appellate judges heard arguments over a policy shielding them from deportation. At stake in the case that a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard Thursday is the future of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have long-established lives in the U.S. The policy is called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Texas and eight other states are challenging the policy. It began under former President Barack Obama and is being defended by President Joe Biden’s administration.