Going down slow: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Feb. 18 declined from the previous week’s total. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims fell to 3,007 from the previous week’s total of 3,143. The figure was lower than it was for the comparable week a year earlier, when there were 3,167 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,205 from the previous week’s total of 3,289. Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending Feb. 18 totaled 39,009, down from 440,007 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 40,540 from 41,591.
Move it on up: Kickoffs in major college football will move from the 30 to the 35-yard line next season, a change intended to increase players’ safety. The change was approved this week by the NCAA playing rules oversight panel, which also said the running start by players on the kicking team will be limited to 5 yards. The NFL moved up kickoffs 5 yards this past season and touchbacks increased dramatically. Another new NCAA rule involving free kicks will move touchbacks from the 20 to the 25-yard line, a move intended to encourage more touchbacks. The panel also approved a rule requiring a player who loses his helmet during a play to leave the game for one play, and there are also new guidelines regarding blocking below the waist and blocking on punt returns. Players will also be prohibited from leaping over blockers when trying to block punts.
Sweet Home Chicago: The reviews are rolling in on President Barack Obama’s impromptu blues performance from earlier this week, and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger says Obama’s singing was nothing short of “courageous.” As Pollstar reports, Jagger said Thursday the president did “very well” when Baton Rouge bluesman Buddy Guy successfully prodded him to join in on a few lines of “Sweet Home Chicago,” the blues anthem by Robert Johnson about the president’s adopted hometown, during an East Room concert. Check out the full story and see some clips from the blues concert here.
