//6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, a record high as coronavirus takes its toll

6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, a record high as coronavirus takes its toll

More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus.The stunning report Thursday from the Labor Department showed that job cuts are mounting against the backdrop of economies in the United States and abroad that have almost certainly sunk into a