NPR 2009-08-08

The nation's job market shrank by 247,000 positions last month according to the Labor 1 Department. That amounts to a 0.1% decline from June to July, the smallest in a year and another sign the recession might be easing. NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.

 Seeing nearly a quarter million jobs disappear from the labor market rarely seems a good thing. But amidst the worst recession in decades, it's big progress. Job losses peaked back in January. That’s when the economy saw a net decline of more than 700,000 positions. Since then, employment losses steadily 2 declined, suggesting the days of mass layoffs 3 could be ending. The unemployment rate in July fell slightly to 9.4%, but there are also worrisome signs in the government's labor data. More people are staying unemployed 4 longer and businesses are creating fewer jobs. Temp services is usually one of the first places hiring picks up at the end of a recession, but in July, temp services lost nearly 10,000 more jobs. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Washington.

 The government has released new guidelines for schools in the event of an outbreak of H1N1 swine flu, telling them they don't need to close when the first cases appear. They also recommend people remain home until their fevers have been gone for 24 hours.

 Republican Senator Mel Martinez announced today he'll step down as soon as a replacement 5 is found. "My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly 12 years of public service in Florida and in Washington, it is time to return to Florida and my family." The Cuban-born Martinez is the only Hispanic Republican in the Senate and he has been a key player on immigration issues. Florida's Republican Governor Charlie Crist has the responsibility of appointing a successor.

 Eunice Kennedy Shriver is in critical condition at a Cape 6 Cod 7 hospital according to a family spokesman. We have more from NPR's Tovia Smith.

 Shriver, who just turned 88, is the sister of Senator Edward Kennedy who is fighting his own health battle against brain cancer and of the late President John F. Kennedy and the late Senator Robert Kennedy. She became known in her own right for founding the Special Olympics. She's been active in political campaigns from JFK's presidential bid in 1960 to that of her Republican son-in-law California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and she’s advocated for children's health and the mentally disabled. Her husband Sergeant 8 Shriver, former ambassador and first director of the Peace Corps 9 is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Eunice Shriver, who is believed to suffer from Addison's disease, has reportedly been hospitalized for about a week. Her family, including daughter Maria Shriver are with her at the hospital. Tovia Smith, NPR News.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow gained 113 points to close at 9,370. The NASDAQ gained 27.

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 Pakistani officials say they are growing more confident that the country's Taliban commander was killed this week by a US missile strike. US officials say they can't yet confirm whether Baitullah Mehsud is dead though they say the attack did kill one of his wives. The strike was conducted on Wednesday in the northern tribal 10 region of South Waziristan, a Mehsud's stronghold.

 A controversial Yemeni cleric jailed in New York has pleaded guilty to raising money for Hamas, bringing an end to a long saga 11. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has that story.

 Four years ago, a Brooklyn jury found 60-year-old Sheik Mohammed Ali Hasan Al-Moayad guilty of providing material support to terrorist organizations. The FBI had him on videotape trying to raise money for both Hamas and Al-Qaeda. He was supposed to serve 75 years in prison, but an appeals court threw out his conviction last year. Now Al-Moayad has pleaded guilty to raising money for Hamas in exchange for a ticket back to Yemen. Prosecutors 12 said in a letter to the court that they had decided 13 to reduce the cleric's sentence to time served in exchange for a guilty plea and deportation 14. Officials said the cleric has severe health problems and skipping a retrial would spare the government time and expense. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

 The FBI is investigating a travel agency in Minneapolis that could be involved in transporting young men from the Twin Cities to Somalia to join the Islamist militia 15 al-Shabaab. The man who runs the travel agency has been arrested on unrelated charges, but agents have raided his agency, looking for evidence that he played a role in helping 16 some two dozens Somali-Americans join al-Shabaab.