Chicago Catholics react to the news of Pope Leo X1V
Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic church, grew up in the Chicago area and Catholics in Chicago are overjoyed.
Former Chinese Politician Has Spirited Defense At Trial
The former politician Bo Xilai offered a spirited defense in court in China on Thursday, surprising observers who had expected a quick show trial to end the country's biggest political scandal in decades. However Bo was allowed to cross-examine witnesses and tell judges he had been framed in the bribery charges against him. He said he had confessed to the charges under psychological pressure during interrogation.
Unemployment Claims Drop To Pre-Recession Levels
More than 330,000 people filed new claims for unemployment insurance benefits last week. That sounds like a big number — and is a slight increase over the previous week — but it's being taken as some very good news. For a month, now, fewer new people are asking for unemployment insurance than at any time since November, 2007. That's before the Great Recession.
VA Still Under Pressure To Reduce Disability Claim Backlog
A veterans group handed the White House a petition to take action on the "million veteran backlog" on Tuesday. But the Veterans Administration says that backlogged claims are dropping for the fifth month in a row and are now under half a million.