File – Construction workers install roofing on a high rise in Manhattan’s financial district on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in New York. On Friday, the U.S. government issues the April jobs report. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising strength despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, matching a 54-year low. But the jobless rate fell in part because 43,000 people left the labor force, the first drop since November, and were no longer counted as unemployed. The government said that while hiring was solid in April, it was much weaker in February and March than it had previously estimated. And hourly wages rose last month at the fastest pace since July, which may alarm the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.

FILE – An NYSE sign is seen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s most influential stock is helping to pull the market higher after Apple reported better profit than expected, while beaten-down banks also leap to cut into their sharp losses from a brutal week. The S&P 500 was 1% higher in early trading Friday, though it’s still on pace for its worst week in nearly two months. The Dow rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Treasury yields were jumping in the bond market after a report showed hiring accelerated across the economy by much more than expected last month. The government’s monthly jobs report also showed workers won bigger pay raises than expected.

FILE – The Alcoa and Arconic headquarters, left, sit on the Northside of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River, on Oct. 17, 2022. Aluminum maker Arconic is being taken private by Apollo Global Management in a deal worth approximately $5.2 billion, according to a statement from Apollo on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Aerospace supplier Arconic is being taken private by Apollo Global Management Inc. in a deal worth approximately $5.2 billion. Arconic shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash. Arconic is the company once known as Alcoa. Alcoa Inc. spun off its alumina and bauxite operations in 2016 into a company called Alcoa Corp., while Arconic became the company that produced rolled and plate aluminum, as well as products for the aerospace and industrial sector.

FILE – An Uber sign is displayed at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Joseph Sullivan, the former chief security officer for Uber has been sentenced to probation for trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the ride-hailing service, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The former chief security officer for Uber has been sentenced to probation for trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the ride-hailing service. Federal prosecutors say Joseph Sullivan was sentenced Thursday in San Francisco to three years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000. He was convicted last year of concealing from the Federal Trade Commission a breach in which hackers stole data on 57 million users and 600,000 driver’s license numbers. Prosecutors say Sullivan secretly paid the hackers $100,000 in return for promising not to release the data. Uber’s new management uncovered the truth in 2017 and made the breach public.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Two Beaver County police officers who work on the state force have been honored for their courageous acts in the line of fire.

Following a chaotic and dangerous incident in the summer of 2022 at a convenience store in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Trooper Jonnie Schooley was awarded with the Purple Heart for his actions during that scene during a ceremony held by the State Police on Thursday morning. Additionally, he was awarded the PSP’s Commendation Medal for his duty during the scene along with Trooper Shawn Palmer. Both men serve as members of Troop D, which covers Beaver County along with four others (Butler, Armstrong, Lawrence, Mercer).

The ceremony took place at the Penn State Beaver campus in Monaca, presided over by Commander Major William Maitland of Area 1. Colonel Christopher Paris, who is the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, commended Schooley and Palmer for their decision-making and effort to uphold the honor of the PSP “Call Of Honor” that serves as the mission statement of the force. The award presentation was led by Troop D Commander Kana Moy, who described in detail the hostile nature of the scene in Aliquippa that evening, and the noble actions of the troopers to place themselves in the line of fire.

Also commended for their actions were Charles Hines and Lamarr Rawl–who received the Outstanding Citizenship Award from the PSP–and Roscoe Hodge and Matthew Weekley, who were honored with the Meritorious Citizenship Award. All four men assisted Schooley and Palmer during and through the aftermath of the July 2022 incident. The four men were not in attendance at Thursday morning’s ceremony.

Also at the scene to assist were Lt. Glenn Brunelle of UPMC Presbyterian Public Safety, along with Sgt. Joshua Gonzalez and Patrolman Andrew Golletti from the Aliquippa Police Department. These three men were presented with the PSP’s “Troop Commander’s Letter of Commendation”

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the Purple Heart is awarded to “members or enforcement officers who receive serious bodily injury in the line of duty while performing duties, or who are shot by a criminal and require medical treatment, no matter the degree of injury.” Schooley was shot in the leg during the July 2022 incident.

In the audience along with dozens of State Officers were Beaver County Commissioner Dan Camp, District Attorney David Lozier, and Aliquippa Mayor Dwan B. Walker–who remarked to Beaver County Radio that the ceremony marked “a good day for Aliquippa.”

To see additional photos from the ceremony, check out the gallery below:

Recording artist Ed Sheeran arrives to New York Federal Court as proceedings continue in his copyright infringement trial, Thursday, May 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury has concluded that British singer Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Thinking Out Loud” didn’t copy key components of Marvin Gaye’s classic tune “Let’s Get It On.” The verdict Thursday came after a two-week trial that featured a courtroom performance by Sheeran. The singer insisted that the copyright claim was a threat to all musicians who write their own songs. Sheeran was sued by the heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend, who created the 1973 soul classic with Gaye. When Sheeran heard the jury’s decision, he briefly put his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive. In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed removed a sentence from its previous statement that had said “some additional” rate hikes might be needed. It replaced it with language that said it will weigh a range of factors in “determining the extent” to which future hikes might be needed.

FILE – A McDonald’s sign at a restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh, April 24, 2017. Federal investigators found more than 300 minors, including the 10-year-olds, were working illegally, the Labor Department said in a statement Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two 10-year-olds are among 300 children who worked at McDonald’s restaurants illegally, a Labor Department investigation of franchisees in Kentucky found. Agency investigators found the 10-year-olds received little or no pay at a McDonald’s in Louisville, the Labor Department said. The franchisee for the Louisville store was among three McDonald’s franchisees fined $212,000 in total by the department. Louisville’s Bauer Food LLC, which operates 10 McDonald’s locations, employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more hours than legally permitted, the agency said. Among those were two 10-year-old children. The agency said the children sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m., but were not paid.

This May 3, 2023, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows overgrown grass and weeds in an unmowed lawn in Glen Head, NY. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

There’s a growing movement called No Mow May that asks people to abstain from mowing their lawns until June first. The intention is admirable. The idea is to let grass and weeds grow and bloom to provide food and shelter for essential pollinators early in the season, when that’s hard for them to find. But AP gardening columnist Jessica Damiano thinks it’s not a good idea. For one thing, she says, some of those bees and butterflies you’re trying to protect might get shredded with the first mow of the season. And grass that’s shaded by tall weeds can get fungal diseases. Also, weeds and invasive plants that take hold won’t disappear once the mowing commences. She says it’s better to plant native plants or wildflowers instead of grass.

FILE –  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Good news for all the password-haters out there: Google has taken a big step toward making them an afterthought by adding “passkeys” as a more straightforward and secure way to log into its services. Ultimately, passkeys could end racking your brain to recall complicated mnemonics or trusting password managers to cough up randomized strings of gobbledygook when you need them. Setting up passkeys isn’t quite as simple as it could be, but it’s not too bad. And living without passwords might be worth the trouble.