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WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed. The Labor Department’s report includes a count of all the people now receiving unemployment aid: 21 million. That is a rough measure of the number of unemployed Americans. The national jobless rate was 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Angry workers burned tires at the gates of the Nissan carmaking plant in Spain and prepared for more protests after the Japanese company said it would shut all its manufacturing in the region. Workers’ unions had warned that 3,000 direct jobs would be lost and that 20,000 more are in danger throughout Nissan’s local supply chain. The Spanish government is urging the car manufacturer’s executives to consider alternatives. Although Nissan had been mulling for months to scale down its production in Europe and other parts of the world, the company is suffering like many other automakers from a plunge in demand for vehicles.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fires are burning and looting is taking place after violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked Minneapolis for a second straight night. Amid the violence, a man was found fatally shot Wednesday night near a pawn shop. A police spokesman says “one of the theories” they're investigating is reports that he had been shot by a store owner. Smoke hung over the city Thursday morning and damage stretched for miles. The protests began outside the police precinct in the part of the city where 46-year-old George Floyd died on Memorial Day. Four Minneapolis officers were fired after video footage showed one of them kneeling on the handcuffed Floyd’s neck until he became unresponsive.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order aimed at curbing liability protections for social media companies. This comes after Trump lashed out at Twitter for applying fact checks to two of his tweets. Trump had threatened social media companies with new regulation or even shuttering, but he alone can’t do that. The proposed order, which administration officials said he is could sign Thursday, would direct executive branch agencies to study whether they can place new rules on the companies. Legal experts have expressed doubts much could be done without an act of Congress, and the order is certain to face legal challenges.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany says it is seeking European Union sanctions against a Russian man over his alleged role in the hacking of the German parliament at a time when evidence showed he was working for Russian intelligence. The Germany Foreign Ministry said it called in the Russian ambassador on Thursday to inform him of the move. The ministry says Germany will be pursuing EU sanctions against the suspect identified as Dmitriy Badin and possibly others. The ministry says there is “reliable evidence” Badin was a member of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency at the time of the 2015 attack. Russia’s Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment but has previously denied Russia’s involvement.
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