U.S. workers filed nearly 900,000 initial unemployment claims last week amid fresh signs the U.S. economy is suffering lasting damage due to the pandemic. About 65 million U.S. workers have applied for some form of jobless assistance since March. This comes as a pair of new studies shows 8 million U.S. residents have been forced into poverty since Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell let the CARES Act coronavirus relief bill expire in July. McConnell has refused to hold a Senate vote on the follow-up $3 trillion HEROES Act relief bill passed by House Democrats in May.