Encouraging data about the U.S. job market and inflation helped lift the market Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The Dow closed 191.75 points (1.06%) higher at 18,252.24, the NASDAQ climbed 69.10 points (1.39%) to 5,050.80, and the S&P 500 gained 22.62 points (1.08%) to finish at 2,121.10. The Russell 2000 increased 12.83 points (1.04%) to 1,245.11, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 227.12 points (1.02%) at 22,387.05.

On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues more than 3 to 1. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands, with a more than 2 to 1 lead for advancers.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 12/32, bringing its yield down to 2.232%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 21/32, decreasing its yield to 3.052%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1862, the U.S. Congress created the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1918, regular airmail service between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., began under the direction of the Post Office Department, which later became the U.S. Postal Service. In 1930, Ellen Church became the first female flight attendant. In 1940, nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the U.S. In 1942, gasoline rationing began in the U.S. The limit was three gallons a week for nonessential vehicles. In 1951, AT&T became the first corporation to have one million stockholders. In 1970, U.S. President Nixon appointed America’s first two female generals. In 1980, the first transcontinental balloon crossing of the United States took place. In 2014, the National September 11 Memorial Museum was dedicated in New York City.

And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!

In Bakersfield, California, a woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she was fired for disabling an app that tracked her 24/7. The former sales executive for money transfer service Intermex claims that her boss fired her shortly after she uninstalled the job-management Xora app that she and her colleagues were required to use on their company-issued iPhones, arstechnica.com reports. According to the lawsuit, the woman and her co-workers asked whether Intermex would be monitoring their movements while off duty. The boss admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast the woman was driving at specific moments ever since she installed the app on her phone. The woman likened the app to a prisoner’s ankle bracelet and informed her boss that his actions were illegal, to which he replied that she should tolerate the illegal intrusion.                

In Mount Morris, New York, owners of Build-A-Burger told the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office that their surveillance system and cash register had been stolen early one morning. Deputies checked out a nearby hiking and biking path, where they found cash register parts, surveillance system parts, rubber gloves, loose change and “a steady trail of macaroni salad,” the Associated Press reports. Police say they later learned that three men had stolen a large bowl of the salad and took turns eating it while making their getaway.

In Beaver, West Virginia, a 43-year-old man went into a pharmacy wearing full camouflage and a paintball mask. The Associated Press reports that the would-be robber started spraying pepper spray in an effort to take down employees, but walked into the cloud of pepper spray in front of him. He staggered out of the business and got into a vehicle. Police investigating the incident discovered the name of the man who was driving the vehicle, and the driver identified the suspect.

In Coventry, Vermont, the latest Mother of the Year award contender—NOT!—has been charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment. A concerned citizen showed police video of a Subaru station wagon driven by a man, with a woman and 5-year-old child on top. WCAX News reports that police say the car reached speeds of 50 to 55 mph during the two-mile ride. The child has been taken into protective custody.

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