Author: chicagoinquirer

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to an 11-month high last week, suggesting some softening in the labor market, though claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 249,000 for the week ended July 27, the highest level since August last year, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 236,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have been on an upward trend since June, with part of the rise blamed on volatility related…

by Bianca Flowers, Trevor Hunnicutt, Nathan Layne and Nandita Bose CHICAGO/HOUSTON/HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania -U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely suggested to the country’s largest annual gathering of Black journalists on Wednesday that his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage. “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said, drawing a smattering of jeers from an audience of about 1,000 people. “So I don’t…

by Michael Martina WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday threatened to cut U.S. funding for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), accusing it of failing to properly investigate alleged doping by Chinese Olympic swimmers. The U.S., the largest single country funder of WADA, has accused the body of not disclosing that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for performance-enhancing trimetazidine (TMZ) months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The incident has cast a shadow over the Paris Olympics and sparked a row between the global and American anti-doping agencies. WADA responded to U.S. allegations by saying it would…

by Gram Slattery WASHINGTON – The director of a conservative policymaking group known as Project 2025, which has drawn criticism from Democrats for its hard-right proposals and has become a campaign liability for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has stepped down. Trump’s campaign has repeatedly tried to distance itself from the group, which pushes for a major expansion of presidential power, among other controversial proposals, although many of his close allies are deeply involved in the project. The conservative Heritage Foundation, which is organizing the project, confirmed that Paul Dans was stepping down, but did not provide a reason for…

by David Lawder PHILADELPHIA – Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris would adhere to President Joe Biden’s vow against raising taxes on middle-income Americans and helped formulate Biden-Harris administration proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday. But Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a contender to be Harris’ running mate in the November presidential election, touted his record of cutting taxes for businesses in the state. At an Internal Revenue Service event in Philadelphia, Yellen said that Harris, if elected, would likely pursue a number of Biden’s economic priorities,…

by Nandita Bose ATLANTA – Vice President Kamala Harris joined rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo at a spirited Atlanta rally that highlighted the new energy she has brought to November’s election. In her first trip to Georgia as a presidential candidate on Tuesday, Harris pledged Democrats will win a state the party had written off, and taunted Republican Donald Trump for backing out of a debate with her. The momentum in this race is shifting, and “Donald Trump is feeling it,” Harris said, as the crowd of about 10,000 cheered and shouted her nascent campaign slogan “We are not…

by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Karen Braun PARIS – Simone Biles is set to make her second appearance at the Paris Games on Tuesday in the women’s gymnastics team final, where she hopes to win her fifth Olympic gold medal for the United States. Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all-time, made a triumphant return to the Olympic stage on Sunday when she topped the all-around qualifying standings and also earned comfortable leads in the floor exercise and vault. Her stellar performances also put the United States first in team qualifications. In Tuesday’s final, Biles will compete on all four apparatus…

by Kanishka Singh and Aidan Lewis WASHINGTON – The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it had completed a review allowing Egypt to draw $820 million, saying efforts to restore macroeconomic stability had started to yield results but urging more progress on reining in state-owned enterprises. The review is the third under Egypt’s latest 46-month IMF loan programme, which was approved in 2022 and expanded to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis marked by high inflation and severe foreign currency shortages. Egypt says it has shifted to a flexible exchange rate regime, a policy the IMF said on…

by Richard Cowan and Bo Erickson WASHINGTON -Vice President Kamala Harris’ move to the top of the Democratic ticket injected new life into her party’s flailing campaign against Republican Donald Trump, but some lawmakers whose support she will need if she wins are keeping her at arm’s length. In the 35 competitive races that will determine control of the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 election, 12 Democratic incumbents or challengers so far have held off endorsing Harris. They are presenting themselves as independent decision-makers focused on their constituents rather than national politics, distancing themselves from a…

by Felix Onuah ABUJA – Nigeria’s government gave approval on Monday for state oil company NNPC Ltd to sell crude in the naira currency to the mega Dangote refinery effective immediately to help ease foreign exchange pressure. The $20 billion Dangote refinery, Nigeria’s main oil refinery and billed to be the largest in Africa at full throttle, started production in January but has struggled to secure enough crude to meet its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity. Dangote previously had to buy oil on the international market, but it filed a complaint saying oil majors were blocking its access to locally produced crude by…