CNN news 2012-09-12 加文本

cnn news 2012-09-12

First up, we`re reporting on a wave ofviolence across the Middle Eastern nation of Iraq yesterday. Officials say atleast 62 people were killed and almost 200 others were wounded in theseattacks, and many of them seemed to be aimed at members of Iraq`s military andpolice forces. In this one, a car bomb and a roadside bomb targeted Iraqisecurity forces. These kinds of explosive devices caused a lot of violence onSunday. Car bombs on a busy street in the Iraqi city of Amarra, another in anoutdoor market in Basra. In Tikrit, gunmen targeted an army checkpoint at amilitary base.The violence in Iraq has decreased from what it was during thewar, but it has been getting worse in recent months.

After losing 800,000 jobs a month when I took office, businesses added jobs forthe 30th month in a row. We`ve added more than 4.6 million jobs.But we knowthat that`s not good enough. We can do better. We need to create jobs evenfaster.

There were four times as many people whodropped out of the workforce as the net new jobs created under this president.And it`s not just a one-month figure. The White House has I think now for 31straight months said, well, just don`t look at the monthly numbers, monthlynumbers aren`t that critical. Well, if you take 30 months and put themtogether, that`s pretty critical.

The latest U.S. jobs numbers being discussed on the campaign trail. The reportfor August came out on Friday, and it wasn`t good. The Labor Department says96,000 jobs were added in August. Now, that might sound like good news, but atleast 150,000 jobs need to be added each month just to keep up with the growingU.S. population. The August numbers were lower than economists expected, and asharp decrease from the month before. Also, the unemployment rate, it went downfrom 8.3 percent in July to 8.1 percent in August, but that was because moreAmericans quit looking for work. In fact, for every person who found a job,almost 4 people gave up looking for one.

You just recently wrapped up your summer vacations and so did the U.S.Congress. Yesterday, lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives gotback to work after a five-week recess. They are facing a lot of issues, andthey`re facing some questions about how much they can get done. Athena Jonesgives us a preview of this congressional session.

As election season enters the home stretch, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hillthis week, facing big issues. But given their recent of accomplishment or lackthereof, the question is whether any of it will get done.

The voters want to know when Congress is going to stop kicking the can down theroad. I mean, they are sort of out of road.

The only must-pass item is a short-term measure to keep the government runningand avoid the kind of costly shutdowns we saw twice in the 1900s. It`s expectedto pass. Congress could also pass measures to help people hit hard by thedrought and by Hurricane Isaac. But perhaps the biggest challenge -- theso-called fiscal cliff. A series of tax increases and spending cuts thatexperts warn taken together could plunge the economy back into a recession.

They`ll have about four weeks after the election to deal with some of thelargest tax increases and spending cuts that the country has ever seen at onetime.

$110 billion in cuts to everything from defense to education to foodinspections next year alone, will take effect in January unless lawmakers reachagreement on reducing the deficit.One problem -- Republicans and Democratsdisagree on the Bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of this year.Republicans want them extended for everyone.

Americans know what works. Low taxes, reasonable regulations, and living withinour means.

Democrats, led by President Obama, support extending them just for peoplemaking less than $200,000 a year.

I don`t believe and you don`t believe that another round of tax breaks formillionaires is going to bring good jobs back to our shores or pay down ourdeficit.

Uncertainty about just what Congress will do is already weighing on theeconomy.

It`s just going to be a very bumpy ride. Businesses are slower to hire,government agencies are slower to give out contracts. So it is sort of creepinginto the economy now, and that will just get worse the longer Congress waits todeal with this.

But wait is what Congress is almost certain to do. Both parties are hoping theelection in November will put them in a better negotiating position. Whetherthat will bring them closer to a deal is anybody`s guess.

Athena Jones, cnn, Washington.