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World

Damascus sky lights up with service to air missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, early Saturday, April 14, 2018. (Photo: AP)

Damascus sky lights up with service to air missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, early Saturday, April 14, 2018. (Photo: AP)

The U.S. Pentagon said Saturday that the allied missile strikes “significantly crippled” the Syrian chemical weapons program. The U.S., United Kingdom (UK) and France fired 105 strikes and successfully hit all three targets intended to hinder President Bashar al-Assad’s ability to make chemical weapons.

“I think we dealt them a severe blow,” said Marine Corps Lt. General Kenneth McKenzie, Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We’ve attacked the heart of the Syrians’ chemical weapons program.”

Lt. General McKenize identified Barzah Research and Development, the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Storage Site and the Him Shinshar Bunker Facility as targets. He also said 105 missiles were launched by air and sea. In Barzah, the target appeared to have been completely destroyed. Footage from Syrian state TV station al-Ikhbariya showed smoke billowing from piles of rubble, and a parked bus parked outside the facility had been destroyed.

The strikes in Douma were in response to the Assad regime launching a chemical weapons attack on the town on April 7, a suburb located 10 miles east of Damascus. At least 40 people were killed and more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were injured.

“It’s intolerable for a civilized nation to use chemical weapons,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Saturday. “This is a regime that murders its people daily.”

The U.S.-led strikes were launched from aircraft and ships, including those in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean Sea. Lt. General McKenzie also said he has no reports of civilian casualties.

Syrian state-run media claimed to have intercepted 13 tomahawk missiles. But Pentagon officials said even though Syrian air defenses were engaged at the onset of the attack, the allied forces’ attack was met with no resistance.

The latest chemical weapons attack came almost exactly one year after the U.S. launched tomahawk missiles in response to the previous use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun. That attack claimed the lives of nearly 100 people.

They are also raising renewed criticism of the Obama Administration.

In 2013, then-Secretary of State John Kerry claimed to have negotiated a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which President Assad allegedly agreed to give up his chemical weapons stockpile under the supervision of the Russians. The Obama Administration touted the deal as a great diplomatic victory.

“With respect to Syria, we struck a deal where we got 100% of the chemical weapons out,” Mr. Kerry erroneously claimed in July 2014. By December 2016, Mr. Obama also erroneously claimed the deal “eliminated Syria’s declared chemical weapons program.”

White House sources tell People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) that President Trump was very pleased with the retaliatory strike. On Twitter, he thanks allies and praised the military’s performance.

“A perfectly executed strike last night,” President Trump tweeted. “Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”

“So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of billions of fully approved dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had,” he also tweeted. “There won’t be anything, or anyone, even close!”

The U.S. Pentagon said Saturday that the

World

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and President Donald Trump attend a working lunch with ambassadors on the UN Security Council. (Photo: Reuters)

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and President Donald Trump attend a working lunch with ambassadors on the UN Security Council. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald Trump on Friday announced he has approved U.S. military strikes in Syria against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The strikes will be part of a coalition that also includes international allies such as the United Kingdom (UK) and France.

“The purpose of this action is establishing a strong deterrent against the production spread and use of chemical weapons,” President Trump said in an address to the nation. “We are prepared to sustain this response.”

The White House said just last Wednesday that the U.S. military mission in Syria “is coming to a rapid end,” citing the success in destroying the Islamic State (ISIS). But that was before the Assad regime launched a chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma, a suburb located 10 miles east of Damascus.

At least 40 people were killed and more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were injured. The use of chemical weapons “are not the actions of a man,” President Trump said, but “are the crimes of a monster instead.”

The latest chemical weapons attack came almost exactly one year after the U.S. launched tomahawk missiles in response to the previous use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun. That attack claimed the lives of nearly 100 people.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry claimed to have negotiated a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which President Assad allegedly agreed to give up his chemical weapons stockpile under the supervision of the Russians. The Obama Administration touted the deal as a great diplomatic victory.

“With respect to Syria, we struck a deal where we got 100% of the chemical weapons out,” Mr. Kerry erroneously claimed in July 2014. By December 2016, Mr. Obama also erroneously claimed the deal “eliminated Syria’s declared chemical weapons program.”

It was obviously a failure.

In his statement, President Trump also sent a strong message to both Russia and Iran for their support of the Assad regime.

“To Iran and to Russia I ask, what kind of nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children,” President Trump asked. “The nations of the world can be judged by the friends that they keep.”

“Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path or continue with civilized nations.”

President Donald Trump on Friday announced he

Video

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said James Comey “will forever be known as a disgraced partisan hack” who betrayed the trust of the president. The remarks were made in response to a question about President Donald Trump ripping the fired former FBI director over his new book.

“Instead of being remembered as a dedicated servant in the pursuit of justice like so many other of his colleagues at the FBI,” Sanders said, “Comey will forever be known as a disgraced partisan hack who broke his sacred trust with the President of the United States, the dedicated agents at the FBI and the American people he vowed to faithfully serve.”

“One of the president’s greatest achievements will go down as firing Director James Comey,” she added.

President Trump took to Twitter earlier Friday morning to call Mr. Comey a “proven leaker” and an “untruthful slime ball.” He was fired and investigated for his mishandling of the Clinton email case, but wrote a questionable “tell all” book.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Politics

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe pauses while testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe pauses while testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

The Justice Department (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lied multiple times, including under Oath, and leaked in “a manner designed to advance his personal interests.”

The probe was opened after the DOJ Inspection Division (INSD) referred it to Inspector General Michael Horowitz to determine whether information published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an article on October 30, 2016, was an unauthorized leak. And if so, who was the source of the leak.

“FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton Probe” also appeared in print on Monday, October 31, 2016, in an article entitled “FBI, Justice Feud in Clinton Probe.”

Mr. Horowitz concluded in the report that Mr. McCabe violated FBI Offense Code 2.5 (Lack of Candor – No Oath) and FBI Offense Code 2.6 (Lack of Candor – Under Oath), both on multiple occasions.

On May 9, 2017, Mr. McCabe was questioned under oath by FBI agents from INSD and “lacked candor when he told the agents that he had not authorized the disclosure to the WSJ and did not know who did.”

On July 28, 2017, Mr. McCabe was questioned under oath by the OIG in a recorded interview and “lacked candor when he stated: (a) that he was not aware of Special Counsel having been authorized to speak to reporters around October 30 and (b) that, because he was not in Washington, D.C., on October 27 and 28, 2016, he was unable to say where Special Counsel was or what she was doing at that time.”

On November 29, 2017, Mr. McCabe was questioned under oath by the OIG in a recorded interview and “contradicted his prior statements by acknowledging that he had authorized the disclosure to the WSJ.”

Mr. McCabe was removed from his post over misconduct and apparent corruption, but had been trying to ride out the scandals currently at the center of the FBI and DOJ. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired him just days before his retirement was set to take effect.

President Donald Trump called it a “great day” for the FBI and a “great day for Democracy.” Meanwhile, Democrats rushed to defend Mr. McCabe, going so far as to even offer him various jobs in the government to ensure he receive his pension.

But this report isn’t the end of Mr. McCabe’s professional and legal troubles.

In 2015, when Hillary Clinton was the subject and target of several criminal investigations, Mr. McCabe’s wife ran as a Democrat for a Virginia Senate seat. She received at least several hundreds of thousands of dollars — an unheard of amount for a state senate race — from a group tied to Governor Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton ally.

Further, Mr. Horowitz’s highly-anticipated findings will be the result of numerous investigations into misconduct on behalf of top-level officials in the Obama Administration, including Mr. McCabe and his former boss James Comey.

The inspector general “succeeded in using forensic tools to recover text messages” between anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and his lover Lisa Page. The FBI agent and lawyer were involved in an apparent effort to undermine President Trump before and after the 2016 presidential election.

The two lovers discussed needing to talk to “Andy” about an “insurance policy” in the event President Trump defeated Mrs. Clinton, a widely-believed reference to Mr. McCabe. Subsequent texts and other reports indicate that the insurance was the so-called “Russia collusion” investigation.

“Makes me feel WAY less bad about throwing him under the bus to the forthcoming CF article,” Ms. Page texted to Mr. Strzok in reference to the article in question.

People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) also recently reported that U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras, who presided over the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, had a personal relationship with Mr. Strzok.

UPDATE: President Trump has responded on Twitter to the damning report.

[pdfviewer width=”740px” height=”849px” beta=”true/false”]https://www.peoplespunditdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DOJ-OIG-McCabe-Report.pdf[/pdfviewer]

The DOJ Inspector General concluded Andrew McCabe

Fact Check

Representative Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., now a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, speaks with a fellow committee member before the start of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of the United States Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Photo: AP)
Representative Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., now a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, speaks with a fellow committee member before the start of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Oversight of the United States Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, May 29, 2014. (Photo: AP)

Political advertisements running on television in Florida accuse Representative Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., of voting “to give food stamps to illegals.” The 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District, and is running against Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Claim

Ron DeSantis voted to give food stamps to illegals.

“This is the same Ron DeSantis who voted to give food stamps to illegal immigrants. Hardly part of the President’s Make America Great Again agenda,” the narrator says in first version of the ad.

“Yes, he voted to give food stamps to illegals,” the narrator says in the latest.

So, is it true?

Let’s first provide some background on the race, the vote in question and those responsible for the claim.

Without a doubt, the Republican Establishment in Florida had hoped to coronate Mr. Putnam. But President Donald Trump threw a monkey wrench into their plans, tweeting support for the congressman’s gubernatorial bid to replace his friend, fellow-former businessman Rick Scott.

Shortly after, big money began to pour into his campaign from big GOP donors loyal to the President, including casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, hedge fund heiress Rebekah Mercer and investment tycoon Foster Friess. While Rep. DeSantis has largely held his fire in the race, his opponents have not.

The advertisements, which were paid for by National Liberty Foundation Inc., cite the same headline in the Central Florida Post — DeSantis Supported Food Stamps For Illegal Immigrants. The post was written by Jacob Engels, who appeared on “War Room” after publication with Roger Stone to discuss what the YouTube description referred to as Rep. DeSantis’ “absurd vote.”

The segment was titled, Why DeSantis Voted To Give Food Stamps To Illegal Immigrants.

The allegation surrounds a 2014 vote on HR 2642, a 950-page farm bill with a $1 trillion price tag. Farm bills are taken up every 5 years or so to reauthorize food and agriculture programs. It also reauthorizes food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Buried deep within the bill under Section 4015 Mandating State Immigration Verification is the relevant provision:

State Verification Option.–In carrying out the supplemental nutrition assistance program, a State agency shall be required to use an immigration status verification system established under section 1137 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-7), and an income and eligibility verification system, in accordance with standards set by the Secretary.

HR 2642 passed the U.S. House by a vote of 251 to 166. The “Nays” included 63 Republicans, one of which being Rep. DeSantis. He was in bona fide conservative company, including Louie Gohmert, R-Texas., Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Steve Scalise, R-La., among others who also voted against the bill.

The farm bill passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 68 to 32. The “Nays” included Tom Coburn, R-Ok., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Rand Paul, R-Kty., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Jeff Session, R-Ala., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and several other Republicans.

Why?

Rep. DeSantis offered a 4-point explanation at the time.

“The House just passed a $1 trillion farm bill (bill length: 950 pages),” he wrote to constituents on Facebook in 2014. “I voted nay because the farm bill conference report is a bad deal for taxpayers and contains little in the way of meaningful reforms.”

The Facebook post outlines in detail his opposition. Worth noting, the immigration verification status provision wasn’t hotly debated at the time and he linked to an article by The Wall Street Journal debating the issues that were.

Here are a few issues that I found especially noteworthy:

1. The conference report contains a tax on Christmas trees.

2. The conference report creates new agriculture subsidy programs that are tied to current commodity prices, which means that if commodity prices decline from their current high levels, the taxpayer will be on the hook for billions of dollars more than what is currently forecasted.

3. None of the reforms to the food stamp programs — such as work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents — were included in the conference report. The program has quadrupled in cost since 2000 and has doubled since 2008 and needs to be reformed.

4. The wasteful catfish inspection program was re-inserted in the conference report. This is an entirely duplicative and unnecessary program that wastes millions of dollars a year.

Given other “Nay” votes from well-known budget hawks and the fact that the immigration verification provision didn’t make headlines, we were already inclined to rate this claim as false.

Except, there’s more.

On April 1, Mr. Engels published a follow-up post, DeSantis Colludes With George Soros, Slams Conservative Media. The Facebook page for National Liberty Foundation Inc. posted it on April 10, 2018.

It’s a response to PolitiFact, which rated another story citing his original claim as false. The website Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children ran the headline, DeSantis voted in favor of food stamps for illegal immigrants.

Politifact rated it as “Pants on Fire!”

The author wrote in the follow-up that DeSantis campaign manager Brad Herold sent “a flurry of text messages” stating “you will take this down.”

“Fast foward [sic] to this past Thursday and Politifact, a fact-checking service funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, falsely rated our article and the follow-up from Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children as a “Pants-On-Fire” lie,” he wrote. “The very fact that Congressman DeSantis’ campaign team ran to their allies in the mainstream media for cover on his problematic vote should concern GOP primary voters.”

Those accusations were parroted by the narrator in the latest aforementioned television ad funded by National Liberty Foundation Inc., which we found to be dubious. They also dismissed Politifact as leftwing propaganda.

We’ll leave Politifact’s credibility up to the readers to judge and you can read all about their funding here. There is no doubt they receive leftwing money and lean decidedly left. But People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) does not, and we rate this claim false.

False icon for fact check claim review rating

Learn more about the rating system used for PPD FactCheck here.

UPDATE: Ron DeSantis later appeared on The Ingraham Angle hosted by Laura Ingraham on Fox News.

Fact-check: Did Representative Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., really

Economy

Consumer Spending and Consumer Sentiment. (Photo: AP)

Consumer Spending and Consumer Sentiment. (Photo: AP)

The Survey of Consumers, a closely-watched gauge of consumer sentiment, slipped in April on fears of the impact of the Trump Administration’s proposed trade policies. The overall decline to 97.8 for the headline was largely due to the decline for current conditions.

The index for Current Economic Conditions fell to 115.0 from the extremely strong 121.2 of March. The Index of Consumer Expectations fell slightly to 86.8 from the 88.8 reading last month.

“Spontaneous references to trade policies were made by 29% of all consumers in early April, with nearly all the mentions negative (27% out of 29%),” Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin said. “The Expectations Index was just 64.2 among those who made negative comments about trade policies, while among those who made no mention of trade policies, the Expectations Index was 93.9, a substantial difference.”

However, as Mr. Curtain noted, trade worries weren’t the only or even the most significant causes of the slight decline.

“There were other factors responsible for the small overall April decline, the most important was the expectation of rising interest rates, which slightly slowed the anticipated pace of growth in the economy,” he said. “Overall, the data are consistent with a growth rate of 2.7% in consumption from mid-2018 to mid-2019.”

The Survey of Consumers, a closely-watched gauge

Politics

FBI Director James Comey testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ''Going Dark: Encryption, Technology, and the Balance Between Public Safety and Privacy'' in Washington July 8, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

FBI Director James Comey testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ”Going Dark: Encryption, Technology, and the Balance Between Public Safety and Privacy” in Washington July 8, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald Trump ripped fired former FBI director James Comey in response to his new book, calling him a “proven leaker” and an “untruthful slime ball.” Mr. Comey, who was fired and investigated for his mishandling of the Clinton email case, wrote a questionable “tell all” book.

The president unloaded on Mr. Comey Friday morning on Twitter.

“James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and…..”

“….untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!”

The man who wrote up the recommendation to fire the former director was none other than Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the same man who appointed Mr. Comey’s mentor Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He did so after Mr. Comey leaked a memo with that stated purpose to his friend and Columbia law professor, who in turn leaked portions to the media.

He told members of Congress under oath that he never leaked to the media or authorized a leak. But former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who was recently fired for lying on at least 4 separate occasions during the course of internal investigations, said he was given authorization by Mr. Comey to leak information about the Clinton email probe.

[caption id="attachment_54943" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] FBI Director James

Elections

In this March 3, 2016 file photo, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then the Michigan Republican Party chair, speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate in Detroit. (Photo: AP)

In this March 3, 2016 file photo, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then the Michigan Republican Party chair, speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate in Detroit. (Photo: AP)

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party is in “the best position ever” ahead of a midterm and “ready to defy history.” While the U.S. Senate map for the 2018 midterm elections is highly favorable to Republicans, the history is against them in the U.S. House.

The RNC chair acknowledge as much during an interview with Stu Varney on Fox Business Network. When asked whether she was “worried about November,” Chairwoman McDaniel said you “have to wake up worried” to do the job correctly.

“That’s why we’ve trained more volunteers than we ever have. We’ve made more voter contacts. We are in the best position we have ever been as a party going into a midterm because we knew what we were up against: history, we knew that the Democrats are energized,” she said. “But I’ll tell you what – never bet against Donald Trump because he always defies the odds. And we’re ready to defy history this election cycle.”

The RNC raised a record-breaking $12.8 million in February, while a near-bankrupt Democratic National Committee (DNC) took out a $1.7 million loan to keep the lights on. The monthly haul brings the RNC fundraising total in the 2017-2018 cycle to $157.7 million, juxtaposed to just $79 million for the DNC.

However, money isn’t everything.

“The RNC doesn’t have a fundraising problem and it doesn’t have a moderate problem. It has a base problem,” PPD Election Projection Model and Big Data Poll Director Rich Baris said. “Voters who propelled the Republican Party to a majority in the U.S. Congress did so in support of repealing ObamaCare and the Trump agenda.”

The weekly generic ballot tracking poll finds the 9-point led Democrats enjoyed has narrowed to 5 points. While independents slightly favored Republican candidates, nearly 9 in 10 Democrats support their party. That compares to slightly less than 8 in 10 for Republican voters, who are less excited about the midterms.

“Their own voters see them as complicit in the effort to stop President Trump,” Mr. Baris added. “If that doesn’t change, they’ll make them pay for it.”

Even as they score special election upsets amid GOP voter complacency, the DNC is struggling to pay their bills let alone fund their candidates. With the nearly $2 million loan recently disclosed, total debt under DNC Chairman Tom Perez has now accumulated to over $6 million.

The RNC now has about $42.4 million cash-on-hand, while the DNC only has about $10.1 million.

“Vote for Republicans, we’ve proven to you what our leadership brings to your family, your household,” Chairwoman McDaniel stressed when asked about the message they’ll try to convey to voters. “We’re making your lives better, put us back in office.”

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

Economy

A Walmart employee who serves as a "customer host," walks in front of the customer service desk at a Walmart super-center location in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo: People's Pundit Daily/PPD)

A Walmart employee who serves as a “customer host,” walks in front of the customer service desk at a Walmart super-center location in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo: People’s Pundit Daily/PPD)

Chain store sales are largely higher in March as expected given this year’s early Easter, which pulled April sales forward. This will be adjusted for in the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly retail sales report.

However, it’s worth noting that adjustments for significant effects are often flawed. That said, today’s results point to a rise in unadjusted retail sales for March which, after adjustment, may prove to be steady rather than volatile.

Chain store sales data are typically released on the first Thursday of the month and represent roughly 10% of total retail sales. They are consider a good indicator of trends in consumer spending and retail sales.

Sales are reported as a percentage change from the same month one year earlier, though there is no official composite number. Sales figures for individual chains are available, but the chains reporting can vary over time as corporate policies do.

The seven stores that are surveyed in this report include Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT), Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), Federated, J.C. Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP), Eckerd, May Department Stores and Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD).

Chain store sales are largely higher in

Economy

U.S. jobless claims graph on a tablet screen.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell 9,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 233,000 for the week ending April 7, slightly less than the median forecast.

The 4-week moving average increased 1,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 228,250 to 230,000.

Extended benefits were payable in Alaska and the Virgin Islands during the week ending March 24. Claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.

While Easter can have an impact on jobless claims, the less-than-expected decline isn’t a positive for the monthly jobs report. However, even as they’ve been historically low, the government report on the employment situation has still lagged behind private sector data.

Speaking of lagging data, which is a bright spot in the weekly report, the insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.3% for the week ending March 31. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 31 was 1,871,000, an increase of 53,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

The previous week’s level was revised up 10,000 from 1,808,000 to 1,818,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,850,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since January 5, 1974 when it was 1,838,500.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 24 were in the Virgin Islands (4.6), Alaska (3.2), New Jersey (2.7), Connecticut (2.6), Puerto Rico (2.5), Massachusetts (2.4), Rhode Island (2.3), California (2.2), Montana (2.2), and Pennsylvania (2.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 31 were in Illinois (+2,504), Pennsylvania (+2,443), New Jersey (+2,081), Ohio (+1,496), and Michigan (+1,471), while the largest decreases were in Texas (-3,120), Connecticut (-1,005), Massachusetts (-877), Florida (-641), and New York (-556)

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims

People's Pundit Daily
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