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Economy

2 Grim Reports are Expected on Virus’ Damage to US Economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is poised Thursday to deliver a double-dose of sobering news — on the devastation the coronavirus caused the U.S. economy last quarter and the damage it continues to inflict on the job market.

The pandemic is believed to have caused the economy to shrink during the April-June period at an annual rate exceeding 30%. That would easily shatter the existing record for a quarterly contraction, a 10% drop in 1958.

The virus forced millions of employers to slash jobs as consumers stopped shopping and traveling, and hotels, restaurants and small businesses closed their doors. Most analysts expect the economy to manage a sharp bounce-back in the current July-September quarter. Yet with confirmed coronavirus cases elevated in a majority of states, the economy could worsen in the months ahead.

At the same time that the government will estimate how the economy fared last quarter, it will issue its latest snapshot of the weekly toll of layoffs that remain persistently high as companies continue to cut jobs. More than 1 million people have applied for unemployment benefits for 18 straight weeks.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy slowed last quarter, growing at an annual rate of 1.

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Over 100 Pilot Whales Beached on Western Australian Coast Have Been Rescued, Officials Say

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.

CALIFORNIA - The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses nationwide Thursday as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread.

NEW YORK  — The third day of witness testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial concluded Thursday after Trump's lawyers got their first chance to question a witness on the stand.

ATLANTA — As Donald Trump seeks a return to the White House, criminal charges are piling up for the people who tried to help him stay there in 2020 by promoting false theories of voter fraud.

ATHENS - Voters should see the whole picture when they go to cast their ballot in the European Parliament elections on June 9, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview on Thursday.

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