NPR 2009-03-07

The news that employer slashed 1 another 651,000 jobs last month coupled with an unemployment rate that is now above 8% shows an economy firmly in the grip of recession. The unemployment rate which rose at 8. 1% in February is the highest it's been in more than 25 years. Richard Yamarone is an economist 2 at Argus Research. He says unfortunately the job losses aren't over. "The only bright spot is that it's not as bad as it's going to get, uh, and that's not something to hang your head on. " The government also revised its December and January figures to show bigger job losses than initially 3 reported. Since the beginning of the current recession in December of 2007, the US economy has lost 4.4 million jobs, around half of those in the past four months.

President Barack Obama was in Columbus, Ohio today to participate in the graduation ceremony for that city's police training academy. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles explains why.

Ohio will have 25 new police officers on the streets in coming weeks because of an infusion 4 of federal economic stimulus 5 dollars. Without that money, city leaders say they couldn't afford to employ the new police recruits. In his speech to the graduating officers, President Obama acknowledged their dilemma 6. "I don't need to tell this graduating class what it's like to know that your job might be next, because up until a few weeks ago that is precisely 7 the future that this class faced, a future that millions of Americans still face right now." President Obama says federal dollars are available for safety forces in states throughout the country. For NPR News, I'm Jo Ingles in Columbus, Ohio.

In Cuba, two prominent government officials who were demoted earlier this week as part of a massive shake-up of the Havana government have renounced 8 all their positions in government and the communist party. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

Carlos Lage, Felipe Perez Roque have been rapidly rising stars in the Cuban political system until this week. Both men were members of the powerful Council of State and members of the Cabinet. Lage, at the age of 57, was a vice 9 president and Perez Roque who is only 43 had been the Foreign Minister for a decade. After their firings, Fidel criticized them in his News paper column accusing them of being seduced 10 by power. Now the two men have written very similar letters to President Raul Castrol announcing that they are stepping down from all government and communist party posts. Their departure into the political wilderness 11 makes it even less clear who will be the next generation of leaders in Havana to succeed the Castrol brothers. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Officials with the Zimbabwean government are now confirming the wife of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was killed in a car crash. Officials speaking on the condition of anonymity 12 said the Prime Minister and an aide were injured. Earlier reports  indicated that the injuries in the crash which happened on the outskirts 13 of the capital were not life threatening, however subsequent reports say 50-year-old Susan Tsvangirai was killed.

On Wall Street, the Dow rose 32 points today.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today predicted the US and Russia will complete a new strategic arms reduction treaty by the end of the year. Prediction comes as Clinton declared what she termed "a fresh start" in US-Russia relations which is on the horizon following a meeting with her Russian counterpart in Geneva. Both Mrs. Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sounded optimistic notes following the session. Clinton said discussions touched on the two nations mutual 14 interest in advancing nuclear disarmament.

Court paper showed Bernard Madoff is a step closer to filing a guilty plea in one of the biggest-ever investment fraud cases. Madoff is accused of running a Ponzi scheme worth upwards 15 of 50-billion dollars. NPR's Ari Shapiro has more.

The deadline for prosecutors 16 to indict 17 Madoff reach a plea deal with him is one week away. And the two sides appeared to be coming closer to a plea deal. Federal prosecutors filed a document in Manhattan’s District Court Friday morning. It's one-page, one-sentence long. The document says prosecutors will file a criminal information against Madoff “upon the defendant's waiver of an indictment”. Legal experts say that's one step towards entering a guilty plea. Prosecutors and Madoff's lawyers are sorting through a series of legal issues: how much money can be returned to investors 18 for example; and how much money Madoff's wife gets to keep. In December Bernard Madoff admitted to running a giant Ponzi scheme. It appears to be one of the biggest frauds in the history of Wall Street. Ari Shapiro, NPR News.

Interior Secretary Ken 19 Salazar announced today he will uphold decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes from the endangered list. The Bush administration announced the removal of the wolf from the endangered list in January but the Obama administration had called for a review.