Associated Press

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly report on "mass layoffs" yesterday. It also included annual totals and an eleven-year chart of mass layoff history. A "mass layoff action" involves "at least 50 persons from a single establishment." Since 1988, employers have been required to give 60 days notice of "covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs." The BLS Mass Layoffs…

Life News has the real story: Proving the pro-life movement is alive and well despite abortion advocates obtaining control of Congress last November, hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates participated in the annual March for Life. The mood was optimistic and positive despite 34 years of legalized abortion since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Independent confirmation of the…

As reported by NewsBusters, Bill O’Reilly and Stephen Colbert squared off Thursday evening in well-publicized meetings on each other’s popular programs. According to the Los Angeles Times, this was a ratings bonanza for both:Colbert helped O'Reilly draw more than 2.9 million viewers, a boost of 46% over last quarter and a hike of 67% among 25- to 54-year-old viewers. With O'Reilly on his show,…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released what it calls its Usual Weekly Earnings Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2006 on Friday.This is one of the more important reports the BLS releases because:It looks at the earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, excluding part-timers, business owners, and the self-employed. It looks at individuals, not households or families. Unlike most reports, it…

In an article (HT Instapundit) decrying the alleged environmental waste in the United Arab Emirates, Associated Press writer Jim Krane gave voice to the environmental strain of Bush Derangement Syndrome when he claimed:But the oil-rich Emirates is considered a developing country, and even as a signatory to the United Nations Kyoto protocol on global warming, is not required to cut emissions. The…

This is really delicious, and definitely requires all drinking vessels be properly stowed. Al Gore, and his schlockumentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” have received another delicious rebuke.As reported by the Associated Press (hat tip to Drudge, emphasis mine throughout):The school board in this suburb south of Seattle has restricted showings of Al Gore's movie on global warming, including…

Associated Press reporter Martin Crutsinger reported this morning that retail sales in December came in better than expected: Retail sales rose in December at the strongest pace in five months, indicating that the all-important holiday shopping season turned out better than original reports indicated. The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased 0.9 percent last month, the…

Despite the media's fawning over Jimmy Carter and the publication of his new book as reported by NewsBusters here, here, here, and here, the former president has suffered even further embarrassment as another fourteen members of The Carter Center have resigned. As reported by the Associated Press (hat tip to Drudge, emphasis mine throughout):Fourteen members of an advisory board to Jimmy Carter's…

An unbylined report on unemployment claims by the Associated Press is a classic of the genre (bold is mine): The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims dropped by 26,000 to 299,000 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. It marked the first time jobless claims have fallen below 300,000 since the week of July 22. The improvement was much better than the decline…