In the week ending April 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 257,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 248,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 256,000, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since December 8, 1973 when it was 252,250.

Major U.S. stock indices lost ground Thursday as a rout in tech stocks deepened as the day went on, according to the Associated Press. The Dow closed 210.79 points (1.17%) lower at 17,830.76, the NASDAQ fell 57.85 points (1.19%) to 4,805.29, and the S&P 500 was down 19.34 points (0.92%) at 2,075.81. The Russell 2000 lost 13.75 points (1.19%) to finish at 1,140.39, and the Wilshire 5000 decreased 200.45 points (0.92%) to 21,485.72.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares changed hands, and on the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded, with a near 2 to 1 lead for declining issues on both exchanges.

ON THIS DATE: In 1813, J.F. Hummel patented rubber. In 1852, the first edition of Peter Roget’s Thesaurus was published. In 1862, New Orleans fell to Union forces during the Civil War. In 1913, Gideon Sundback patented an all-purpose zipper. In 1945, the German Army in Italy surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. In 1945, the Nazi death camp, Dachau, was liberated. In 1954, Ernest Borgnine made his network television debut in “Night Visitor” on NBC-TV. In 1990, the destruction of the Berlin Wall began. In 1992, Exxon executive Sidney Reso was kidnapped outside his Morris Township, New Jersey, home by Arthur Seale. Seale was a former Exxon security official. Reso died while in captivity. In 1992, rioting began after a jury decision to acquit four Los Angeles policemen in the Rodney King beating trial; 54 people were killed in three days. In 2015, the White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 at Camden Yards. The game was played without a crowd present due to the ongoing riots and protests in Baltimore. This was the first time a Major League Baseball game was played in front of an empty house.

In Washington, D.C., a man caused a White House lockdown after jumping the fence alongside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a White House facility where presidential staffers work. According to the Associated Press, Secret Service officers quickly detained the man, and an initial investigation suggested that the man was fleeing a robbery just across the street. Not the way to flee a robbery, dude.

In Minnetonka, Minnesota, a mail carrier driving her route crashed into a street sign. Police arrived on the scene and found her to be “extremely dr.unk,” according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She registered a blood-alco.hol level of 0.297. Other carriers finished her route.

In Jackson, Mississippi, a man was tired of the pothole that had graced his neighborhood for a year, unfixed, so he tried a new way to get the city’s attention—by throwing the pothole a birthday party. Mashable reports that he set up a display featuring a festive birthday balloon as well as a giant birthday card reading “Happy birthday, Pothole!” in beautiful script. To drive the point home, the sign also said, “I’ve been here for over a year!” After several local news outlets reported on the pothole party, city officials finally filled it in.

In Cliffords Mesne, Gloucestershire, England, telephone workers responded after complaints that a cable was being damaged by rubbing against a tree. But after the work was finished last week, around 50 homes in the area were left with the wrong phone number, according to the UK’s Daily Mail. The blunder, which has not yet been fixed, meant that anyone trying to get through to a villager would end up speaking to his or her neighbor instead. Although the mistake was caused by engineers from BT Openreach, residents were told they had to contact their own service provider to get it fixed.

In Birmingham, England, a couple was anticipating the trip of a lifetime when they arrived at the Birmingham Airport in England for a flight to Las Vegas. However, their dreams were crushed when they learned their flights were actually departing from Birmingham, Alabama. The girlfriend spent a year planning the trip for her long-time boyfriend’s 30th birthday. She paid £1,200 ($1,745) for the flights on lastminute.com and wasn’t able to get a refund.