More Than 3.8 Million New Unemployment Claims Filed – 6 Week Total Exceeds 30 Million

The six-week surge in new unemployment claims continued last week as businesses deemed nonessential by state and local governments reduce staffing in response to COVID-19.

More than 3.8 million Americans filed unemployment claims for the week ending April 25, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The 3.839 million claims is down 603,000 from the week prior, when 4.42 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits.

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Nashville School Board Members Say No to More Charter Schools

Members of the Metro Nashville School Board this week shot down the idea of having five more charter schools.

Members offered a variety of reasons.

Board members said, among other things, that charter school staff didn’t meet the county school district’s curriculum standards. Board members also said that charter schools relied on too many volunteers and turned in too many generic applications.

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Commentary: Political Ideology Is Pushing Religion Out of Religious Studies

Many academic disciplines have gotten “woke” in recent years, especially in the humanities and social sciences. For the most part, this transformation has occurred in plain view as colleges created departments for (and offered degrees in) “Women’s and Gender Studies,” “Black Studies,” “LGBTQ Studies,” “Latino Studies,” and the rest of the intersectionality parade.

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Gov. DeWine Reverses Course on Face Coverings Requirement

Gov. Mike DeWine said he will no longer require people to have face coverings on who enter businesses set to open under the Responsible RestartOhio plan, according a statement statement released Tuesday.

When the governor announced details about reopening Ohio’s economy on Monday, face coverings were required by the public to enter businesses. However, he changed the rule due to the fact some Ohioans found this rule “offensive.”

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Rep. Vitale Wants Gov. DeWine to End the State’s Lockdown

  State Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) told Ohio Future Foundation (OFF) Chairman Jim Renacci that Ohio needs to end its lockdown. “I don’t think the government should be locking us down at all,” he said during OFF’s Facebook live forum Wednesday night. Vitale has been one of the most vocal House Republicans who has criticized Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton for shutting down almost all of Ohio’s economy. He, along with 32 other House Republicans, created a plan the “Open Ohio Responsibly Framework”  that recommended business start opening on Friday, which DeWine announced will happen. “Many businesses have already modified their operating protocols to safely function in this current environment. Businesses/organizations recognize if they do not make it safe for their employees and customers, they will not come back,” the plan states. We believe it is time to trust Ohioans. They have respectfully followed the guidelines and NOW is the time to responsibly open all businesses. Two weeks ago, Vitale also called on DeWine and Acton to ease restrictions to allow hospitals and doctors to perform elective surgeries. A major concern Vitale expressed to Renacci was what was going to happen to the healthcare…

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