The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring.

More than two dozen conservative leaders have signed on to a statement supporting action to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and calling legislation pending in the Senate an "important starting point."

Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services.

Republican supermajorities have all but scuttled Medicaid expansion in Missouri, defeating at least for this year efforts supported by the Democratic governor to extend basic health coverage to an estimated 250,000 low-income state residents.