Newly jobless storm survivors would exhaust aid sooner without this federal backstop
CNN
As the lead organizer of Asheville Food and Beverage United in North Carolina, Jen Hampton is grateful that the union’s members who lost their jobs after Hurricane Helene can apply for federal disaster unemployment assistance, which lasts for as long as six months.
As the lead organizer of Asheville Food and Beverage United in North Carolina, Jen Hampton is grateful that the union’s members who lost their jobs after Hurricane Helene can apply for federal disaster unemployment assistance, which lasts for as long as six months. Currently, the jobless in North Carolina can only receive up to 12 weeks of state unemployment benefits, among the skimpiest in the nation. Having up to 14 more weeks of federal payments is “vital” to helping Asheville’s laid-off hospitality workers ride out the slow winter period, Hampton said. She hopes the city’s remaining restaurants, bars and breweries will be back in business before the tourist season begins next year. “People have got to be supported through this recovery process because we’re not going to be fully reopened for a while,” said Hampton, who estimates that three quarters of the city’s food and beverage workers lost their jobs. “We’re not going to be back to a place of people being able to have stable, secure jobs until probably March of next year because that’s when things start to pick up again.” Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance, or DUA, is one of the backbones of the nation’s aid package to survivors of hurricanes, fires and other calamities. It provides as many as 26 weeks of benefits — which is the standard for most state unemployment insurance programs — to those who lost their jobs, were injured or can’t reach their workplaces as a direct result of a disaster. (Applicants must first exhaust their state unemployment benefits.) In hurricane-hit states like North Carolina, as well as Florida and Georgia, the federal assistance gives survivors more time to regain employment than their state programs would. Florida provides benefits for up to 12 weeks and Georgia for as many as 14 weeks. Plus, disaster jobless benefits are available to many types of workers who don’t qualify for state unemployment insurance, such as gig workers, farmers and the self-employed.
Looking out his shop window, across the street, just to the right, Paloma Clothing co-owner Mike Roach sees one of Portland, Oregon’s, most expensive gas stations.
Oil and liquefied natural gas tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz carry around 20% of the world’s supply. But for countries on the Persian Gulf, the waterway is more than just an energy route – it’s a lifeline for more than 100 million people.
A California jury has largely sided with Twitter shareholders who accused billionaire Elon Musk of defrauding them by intentionally driving down the social media company’s stock ahead of his $44 billion acquisition in 2022.
The war with Iran is disrupting global oil flows, damaging energy infrastructure and raising fears of prolonged conflict. But gold, usually considered a safe haven during periods of economic uncertainty, has slumped.
US stocks and bonds fell, oil prices rose and gold had its worst week in four decades as the Iran war continues to ripple through financial markets.
The White House on Friday released its long-awaited national artificial intelligence legislative framework, a move to prevent states from enacting their own laws and enforce the Trump administration’s light-touch approach to AI regulation.
“Today is a difficult day,” CBS executives wrote to staff, explaining the cuts as a tough but necessary reallocation of newsroom resources.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised that Americans will get larger tax refunds this year thanks to his “big, beautiful bill.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised that Americans will get larger tax refunds this year thanks to his “big, beautiful bill.”
Oil prices edged lower on Friday after a tumultuous day that saw the international benchmark surge above $119 a barrel as the Middle East conflict deepened energy supply fears.
The war in Iran has delivered what economists call a “black swan” event — an unforeseen shock so destructive, no one is immune to it.
The war in Iran is driving up the cost of buying a home in America.
Eight state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit to block Nexstar’s pending acquisition of Tegna, which would strengthen the right-leaning Nexstar and shrink the number of station owners in the US.