In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth.

Although finance professionals have received compensation increases, the percentages fell for all levels except executives, according to a recent survey by the Association for Financial Professionals.

A key House committee chairman on Wednesday sharply criticized a wide-ranging immigration bill just passed by a Senate committee.