While everyone is seemingly afraid that AI will take their job, it seems that many are safe … for now. U.S. applications for jobless benefits tumbled to the lowest level in more than five decades last week as layoffs remain historically low despite global economic uncertainty.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the fewest number of weekly applications since the week ending Sept. 6, 1969, according to Labor Department data. It’s also well below the 215,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Of course, CNN points out that jobless claims data can be highly volatile and is frequently revised (the latest number, for example, could be reflecting summer maintenance shutdowns at auto plants); however, it also can provide a timelier snapshot of shifts occurring in the labor market, which has seen a slowdown in hiring as well as in job cuts. First-time claims are closely watched as a proxy for layoff activity, which appears to be subdued, Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, noted Thursday.“Leading indicators—such as the Challenger job cuts series and WARN advance layoff notices—point to little change in the near term.”

Yes, but the current labor market’s low-hire, low-fire environment has also made it harder for people to find work. Last year, the number of continuing claims, which are made by people who filed for unemployment insurance for a week or more, was consistently butting up against four-year highs.

And many younger workers are feeling the pinch of the current dynamic. Entry-level job postings have been trending downward since 2022 and, as of May, were down 7.5% from a year earlier, Indeed said in a new report Thursday morning. Senior-level job postings are up nearly 15% over the same period.

Data collected from 30 American cities showed an 18% decrease in the homicide rate from 2025 compared to the same period in 2026, translating to over 200 fewer homicides this year, according to a new report from the independent Council on Criminal Justice. Should the trend continue, it would push the annual homicide rate to the lowest levels in over a century once final numbers are released at the end of the year.

The downward trend continues from last year, which saw the largest single year-over-year drop and likely the lowest murder rate in the U.S. since 1900, pending the final FBI crime statistics for the year.

The report, released Thursday, tracked 13 crimes and recorded drops in nine of those categories, including carjackings, residential burglary and aggravated assaults. There was a small jump in shoplifting, domestic violence incidents, sexual assaults and drug offenses over the same period between 2025 and 2026, the report showed. Experts say the broadly positive changes are exceeding expectations, improving on baseline crime rates from before 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought historic surges in violence.

First, can my fellow elder Millennials join me in a moment of celebration that Bubblicious, those satisfying little blocks of bubble gum, is still around? And not only that, but the fact that the company is out there innovating to change the candy landscape?

Not since Charms hid a wad of gum inside its own lollipop to create the Blow Pop have seen such a combo. Behold the newest evolution of bubble gum: Bubblicious just announced the impending release of “Gummy Gum”. What is it? It’s bubble gum with a chewy gummy stuck inside. The Takeout got an early taste test of two flavors (Watermelon and Strawberry Orange) and chewed and stewed over it all.

“I didn't know what to expect like how would my teeth be able to interpret what's to be chewed and kept in the mouth, and what part gets swallowed. Luckily, the gummy part quickly and mostly detached itself from the gum as chewing commenced. Gummies tend to need big bites to be broken up into pieces, but here, the stripe within the gum was a bit more gelatinous, with the consistency more akin to fruit snacks.” Consider me sold on the concept.