In the week ending December 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 271,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 282,000. The four-week moving average was 270,500, a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 270,750.

Steep drops in energy prices and metals Thursday pulled down the stocks of oil and gas producers and mining companies, and the market reversed its gains from Wednesday. The Dow lost 253.25 points (1.43%) to finish at 17,495.84, the NASDAQ closed 68.58 points (1.35%) lower at 5,002.55, and the S&P 500 decreased 31.18 points (1.50%) to 2,041.89. The Russell 2000 was down 13.61 points (1.18%) at 1,135.36, and the Wilshire 5000 fell 306.28 points (1.44%) to 20,949.75.

On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded, and on the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with declining issues outnumbering advancing issues nearly 2 to 1 on both exchanges.

ON THIS DATE: In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1903, the Panama Canal Zone was acquired ‘in perpetuity’ by the U.S. for an annual rent. In 1935, a $1 silver certificate was issued for the first time in the U.S. In 1956, “To Tell the Truth” debuted on CBS-TV. In 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations. In 1979, the sound barrier was broken on land for the first time by Stanley Barrett when he drove at 739.6 mph. In 1987, Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street’s biggest insider-trading scandal. In 2001, in Seattle, Washington, Gary Leon Ridgeway pled innocent to the charge of mur.der for four of the Green River serial kil.lings. In 2009, General Motors announced that it would shut down its Saab brand.

In Modesto, California, a man was attending a firearms safety training class. During the course, the instructor was using a training gun, a rubber fake with no firing mechanism, said a Modesto Police Department spokeswoman, according to the Modesto Bee. But as the class was ending, he removed that prop from his holster and replaced it with his real handgun. About that time, another student asked the instructor to demonstrate what to do if attacked by someone armed with a knife, and the man volunteered to portray the attacker in a role-playing exercise. “During the scenario, the instructor drew the firearm and it accidentally discharged” injuring the man, a witness said.

In Sherman Oaks, California, a coach at a high school recently uploaded to Instagram an aerial image that was on his computer desktop showing the school’s football stadium. However, he did not realize that the image on his computer revealed he had an open tab for a por.nography website. The Mirror reports that he also had a tab open for searching education/teaching jobs, which he may have no luck with now.

In Morehead, Kentucky, a man took his child to a Walmart for the state’s Shop with a Trooper program. But, the local CBS News station reports, that before the dad made it out the door, Walmart’s loss prevention team caught him with a $40 drill for which he didn’t pay. Troopers were stunned they had to arrest the man joining in this community program.

In St. Petersburg, Florida, a boy on a bike approached an 89-year-old man at a gas station claiming that a tire on the passenger side of the man’s care was low on air. When the man exited his vehicle to check, the boy jumped in the driver’s seat and sped off. UPI reports that when police were able to apprehend the boy they were less surprised by his actions. Sadly, he had been arrested more than 20 times since the age of nine.

In Vienna, Austria, a tourist couple climbed aboard the famous giant Ferris wheel Wiener Riesenrad. An employee decided to let them go around one more time, but handed the controls to another employee who didn’t know they were on the ride. The second employee packed it in for the night and turned the Ferris wheel off, leaving the couple stranded at the top. The Toronto Sun reports that the couple enjoyed the view for a while, but reportedly became bored and started calling around for help. Ferris wheel staff sped back to the attraction to let them down.