In the week ending December 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 282,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 269,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 270,750, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 269,250.

Energy stock, beaten down all week, helped push major U.S. stock market indices higher on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. The Dow gained 82.45 points (0.47%) to finish at 17,574.75, the NASDAQ closed 22.31 points (0.44%) higher at 5,045.17, and the S&P 500 was up 4.61 points (0.23%) at 2,052.23. The Russell 2000 increased 3.15 points (0.27%) to 1,149.02, and the Wilshire 5000 added 48.84 points (0.23%) to close at 21,071.59.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with a nearly even split between advancers and decliners. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for advancers.

ON THIS DATE: In 1719, the first recorded sighting of the aurora borealis took place in New England. In 1769, Edward Beran of London patented venetian blinds. In 1816, Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th American state. In 1844, Dr. Horace Wells became the first person to have a tooth extracted after receiving an anesthetic for the dental procedure. Nitrous Oxide, or laughing gas, was the anesthetic. In 1872, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback became America’s first black governor when he took office as acting governor of Louisiana. In 1930, the Bank of the United States in New York failed. In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The U.S in turn declared war on the two countries. In 1946, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established by the U.N. General Assembly. The fund provides relief to children in countries devastated by war. In 1951, Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) announced his retirement from major league baseball. In 1981, Muhammad Ali fought his last fight, and lost to Trevor Berbick. In 1987, Charlie Chaplin’s trademark cane and bowler hat were sold at Christie’s for £82,500. In 2001, U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft announced the first federal indictment directly related to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Zacarias Moussaoui was charged with six conspiracy charges. Moussaoui was in custody at the time of the attacks. In 2013, Standard & Poors announced that Facebook would join its S&P 500 index “after the close of trading on December 20.”

In Barefoot Bay, Florida, residents reported to authorities that they saw two men dressed in black lurking behind homes. Deputies began searching the area and were later joined by more deputies, K-9 units and a sheriff’s helicopter. According to the Brevard County Reporter, investigators say one man called his girlfriend during that time to tell her he and the other suspect were being chased and lying low. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong place to hide. His body was found floating in a pond 10 days later, deceased from an alligator attack.

In Coachella, California, a FedEx driver was removing a package from the rear of his truck when a 19-year-old man jumped into the driver’s seat. He demanded the keys, and the driver turned them over. The man started the vehicle, but was not successful in driving away, because he could not figure out how to drive it, according to The Smoking G.un. Oh, and the would-be thief was nak.ed.

In Ocean Springs, Mississippi, an 18-wheeler veered out of its lane on Interstate 10 and hit the side of an overpass. The truck caught fire, according to the Sun Herald out of Gulfport. The interesting, and ironic, point of the story: the truck was hauling fire extinguishers.

In the Voronezh region of Russia, a couple mailed documents notifying banks to which they owed a large amount of loans that they had died. They moved and were living in debt-free bliss until the birth of their second child, according to the Pravda Report. After the baby was born, the couple filed for the parent capital, which is provided to families at the birth of second and consecutive children. That is when the fake documents were discovered and they were criminally charged.