WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says the number of Americans thrown out of work since the coronavirus crisis struck two months ago has climbed to nearly 39 million. More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the outbreak that triggered coast-to-coast business shutdowns and brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That brings the running total to 38.6 million.