- 1. Jobs report shows unexpectedly strong hiring rebound in June
- 2. Obama administration unveils new rules for Arctic drilling
- 3. Airlines get tentative approval to fly to Havana
- 4. Obama tells NATO leaders Brexit won't weaken defense alliance
- 5. Regulators ban Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from running medical lab
1. Jobs report shows unexpectedly strong hiring rebound in June
The federal nonfarm payrolls report showed that U.S. employers added 287,000 jobs in June, far exceeding economists' expectations and suggesting the economy had rebounded after May's disappointing employment numbers. Economists had predicted an increase of 170,000 jobs, with the gains partly due to Verizon employees returning to work after being out on strike in May. The unemployment rate increased to 4.9 percent from 4.7 percent, because more Americans returned to the labor force to look for work. U.S. stock futures surged on the news.
2. Obama administration unveils new rules for Arctic drilling
The Obama administration on Thursday imposed regulations requiring costly steps to clean up after oil spills in Arctic waters. Energy industry executives had lobbied against the rules — the first ever to specifically target Arctic offshore drilling — saying they would discourage exploration in a region estimated to contain 24 billion barrels of oil. Environmentalists said drilling in the isolated, icy Arctic presents special challenges, so the special rules are necessary for safety and environmental protection.
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3. Airlines get tentative approval to fly to Havana
Eight U.S. airlines on Thursday won tentative approval to fly to Havana, Cuba. The U.S. and its former Cold War era rival resumed diplomatic relations last year, and the Transportation Department last month approved routes to nine other Cuban cities, but it held off on awarding the first routes to Havana in 50 years due to competition among major airlines. American Airlines, which has been operating charter flights to Cuba for 25 years, got the most flights, with four daily from Miami and one from Charlotte, North Carolina.
4. Obama tells NATO leaders Brexit won't weaken defense alliance
President Obama on Friday said at a NATO summit that the U.K. vote to leave the European Union would not weaken the western military alliance. He also said America's "special relationship" would survive Brexit, and that he had "no doubt that the U.K. will remain one of NATO's most capable members." Obama said the U.K. vote will not cause the foundations of European prosperity to crumble, as some pessimists predict. European Commission President Donald Tusk said anyone "hoping for a sequel to Brexit" in other EU nations will be disappointed.
5. Regulators ban Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from running medical lab
Federal regulators have banned Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from owning or operating a medical laboratory for two years. In a Thursday statement, Theranos also said that regulators had pulled the operating license of the embattled blood-testing company's Newark, California, lab, and barred the lab from taking Medicare and Medicaid payments. The moves marked the latest setbacks for Holmes and her once hot start-up after a government review of the Newark plant raised doubts about the technology Theranos had said could detect ailments with inexpensive finger-prick blood tests.
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