The U.S. economy added a meager 74,000 jobs in December, according to government data released Friday morning, the latest stumble in the nation's sputtering recovery from recession.

The Labor Department also reported the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent as the workforce shrunk once again -- reversing the previous month's gains. Driving the decline was the number of people who gave up looking for work, possibly deterred by a combination of cold weather, the holiday season and the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits.

SNIP

Many economists had forecast businesses would have created more than double the number of jobs as the headwinds from government spending cuts begin to fade. In fact, the Labor Department increased its estimate of job growth in October and November by 38,000 positions. But frigid temperatures last month dampened hiring in industries such as construction, which shed 16,000 jobs. Even sectors that had been engines of growth, such as health care, registered a decline in December.

The large number of people who have been out of a job for six months or more continues to cast a shadow over the labor market. There were nearly 4 million long-term jobless in December, virtually unchanged from the previous month. They account for more than one-third of country's unemployed workers -- down from the post-recession peak but still higher than at any time in the past 60 years.

Vol. 243
Vol. 242

Al Qaeda has taken over Anbar Province.

No. It hasn't.

The first challenge is defining "Al Qaeda." Since the moment that a group calling itself Al Qaeda in Iraq was established in the country, shortly after the US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, there's been a lot of confusion about the precise nature of the connection between the Sunni jihadis fighting inside the country and the original Al Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden.

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Vol. 240
Vol. 239

....Mr. Cuomo wants to give a big tax break to the wealthiest New Yorkers. His plan would reduce estate tax rates from the current 16 percent to 10 percent, and raise the state estate tax exemption from $1 million to the current federal level of $5.25 million by 2019. Those changes would deprive the state of more than $500 million in revenues a year, according to James Parrott of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. .....

....This is undoubtedly good politics. The anti-tax, pro-business label could help his campaign for re-election, especially in conservative areas upstate and outside New York City. But his proposals, which tilt too heavily in favor of the wealthy, could mean less money for education, housing and other vital state services. ...

"Serious health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, I have decided to discontinue my campaign," the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney said in a written statement.

"Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 56, whose name in court files is Mark Basseley Youssef" Released from Calif halfway house end of last Sept.

Fraud conviction was related to a scheme of multiple bank accounts and collection of social security payments using false names. Parole requirement was no use of computers or internet without permission, not using a false name.

Claim is that he used a false name and uploaded the video to YouTube. As this is both common practice, and not a crime of any kind, its surprising to me people would consider putting him in jail a good use of police and FBI resources, and not some unusual if not never duplicated event.