In the week ending September 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 254,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 251,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 256,000, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 258,250.

Thursday, the Dow lost 195.79 points (1.07%) to finish at 18,143.45, the NASDAQ closed 49.39 points (0.93%) lower at 5,269.15, and the S&P 500 decreased 20.25 points (0.93%) to 2,151.12. The Russell 2000 was down 17.91 points (1.43%) at 1,237.75, and the Wilshire 5000 fell 229.52 points (1.02%) to 22,385.93.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares changed hands, and on the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares traded, with declining issues outnumbering advancing issues more than 3 to 1 on both exchanges.

ON THIS DATE: In 1777, the Congress of the United States moved to York, Pennsylvania, due to advancing British forces. In 1846, Dr. William Morton performed a painless tooth extraction after administering ether to a patient. In 1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, the world’s first hydroelectric power plant began operating. In 1927, George Herman “Babe” Ruth hit his 60th homerun of the season. He broke his own record with the homerun. The record stood until 1961 when Roger Maris broke it. In 1946, an international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, found 22 top Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes. In 1947, the World Series was televised for the first time. The games were between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees. In 1951, “The Red Skelton Show” debuted on NBC-TV. In 1954, the U.S. Navy commissioned the Nautilus submarine at Groton, Connecticut. It was the first atomic-powered vessel. In 1971, the Soviet Union and the United States signed pacts that were aimed at avoiding an accidental nuclear war. In 1982, “Cheers” began an 11-year run on NBC-TV.

And, speaking of Trump, in Seattle Washington, a driver was pulled over for driving in the carpool lane with a fake passenger. According to the Associated Press, the driver had pasted a cardboard head of Donald Trump to the passenger-side head rest. The driver was ticketed for $136.

In East Lansing, Michigan, a professor at Michigan State and urological surgeon kept hearing anecdotal reports from patients who had passed small kidney stones during and immediately after visiting the Disney theme parks. He decided to do his own experiment. The Atlantic reports he used a 3-D printer to create a clear silicone model of that three-time-stone patient’s kidney. He then filled the kidney with stones and urine. He and a colleague went to the Disney resort in Orlando and rode Big Thunder Mountain holding the kidney model between them at “kidney height.” After 60 rides, it was confirmed that kidney stones passed during the ride; however the surgeon noted that there was a huge difference when sitting in the front versus the back of the rollercoaster. The stones passed 63.89% of the time while the kidneys were in the back of the ride. When they were in the front, the passage rate was only 16.67%.

In Xinjiang, China, a woman was pulled over for suspicion of dru.nk driving. A breathalyzer confirmed she was into.xicated. But, as police took her picture, she was less concerned about the charge than her looks. She demanded that the officers use Meitu, a popular photo editing app, to make her look better.

In a bit of irony, in Rizhao, China, a rock slide severely damaged a park days before it was to open. The park’s new rock climbing facility was completely wiped out by the rock slide.