Washington (AFP) – Job losses from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States climbed to 26.4 million on Thursday, as Congress is poised to approve a new stimulus measure and governors in some states move to slowly reopen businesses.Sobering data released by the Labor Department showed 4.4 million Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits in the week that ended April 18, underscoring the damage done to the world’s largest economy by the crisis.The figure represents a drop from recent weeks, but totals are still well higher than any recorded during the global financial crisis starting…