Style and Focus News Bites

** Economy: Jobless Claims Surge Above 400,000. The number of newly laid off people filing claims for unemployment benefits bolted past 400,000 last week as companies trimmed their workforces to cope with a slowing economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of new applications filed for these benefits rose by a seasonally adjusted 34,000 to 406,000 for the week ending July 19