NPR News 2013-04-06 加文本

NPR News 2013-04-06

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The nation is coming off an especially rough month for employment. The Labor Department is announcing the creation of 88,000 jobs that even close to what Wall Street was expecting. As NPR's Dan Bobkoff explains.

After posting solid job gains in February, March's numbers came in net make. Eighty-eight thousand new jobs is less than half what many economists predicted. The unemployment rate did fall slightly to 7.6%. But the overall labor force also declined by nearly 0.5 million people, brighter spots included health care, professional services and construction which all gain jobs. But the retail sector cut 24,000. March's report now fully takes into account higher payroll taxes and the federal budget cuts, known as the sequester. Now the question is whether today's jobs report is a bled in the recovery or signing the economy's slowing to a halt. Dan Bobkoff, NPR News, New York.

A federal judge in New York is ordering the Food and Drug Administration to remove existing age restrictions on the so-called morning after pill. NPR's Julie Rovner has the latest.

In 2003, two FDA advisory committees ruled that the emergency contraceptive pill, known as Plan B, was safe enough to be sold over the counter. But the Bush Administration resisted ultimately approving it without a prescription only for those aged 18 and over. The judge in today's case, Edward Korman, later ordered that lowered to 17. Women's groups, however, said the age restrictions still made a difficult for those over the age of 17 to get the medication. But the Obama Administration also refused to remove the restriction. Now Judge Korman said that refusal was politically motivated and has ordered the decision reversed. Julie Rovner. NPR News, Washington.

Two more senior officials at Rutgers University are resigning as a result of abuses committed against the men's basketball team, bring to four, the number of people who have stepped down. Athletic Director Tim Pernetti and John Wolf, the New Jersey school's interim senior vice president and general council, are accused of not taking harsher action against coach Mike Rice months ago, when they learned of video showing him and his assistant Jimmy Martelli shoving around the players during practice and spouting anti-gay insults. Rutgers President Robert Barchi says he didn't see the video until this week when ESPN aired it.

It's clear to me and to everyone who have seen this video recently just how egregious the offenses were and how out of keeping with the Rutgers communities values they were.

But there are mixed feelings on the Rutgers campus about Pernetti's departure. In his resignation letter, announced today, Pernetti says he wanted to immediately fire coach Rice last fall, but was advised against it.

Before the closing bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 41 points at 14,565.

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There is some concern the scandal surrounding Rutgers basketball team is eclipsing one of the sports biggest events this weekend. The Final Four college basketball tournament which NPR's Kathy Lohr reminds us kicks off in Atlanta tomorrow.

The semifinal games start with the Louisville Cardinals taking on the tournament's cinderella team the Wichita State Shockers. No one has been able to miss the coverage of Kevin Ware shocking leg injury and that's making Louisville, a fan favorite. Ware even appeared on the late show with David Letterman Thursday for the top 10 list, detailing what was going through his mind when his leg broke.

Number 8. Hey, look, my tibia.

With Ware on the sidelines, Louisville may have the emotional edge. In the other matchup, the Syracuse Orange will face the Michigan Wolverines. Both teams turned around late season slumps to get here and seem to be clicking again. The championship game is on Monday night. Kathy Lohr, NPR News, Atlanta.

A white supremacist prison gang member's been detained and another is still being sought for questioning in connection with the death last month of Colorado Prison Chief Tom Clements. Authorities are looking into whether there is any connection between Clements murder and the recent slains of justice officials in Texas. '

North Korea is now warning diplomats in Pyongyang to consider leaving, saying it cannot guarantee their safety in the event of a conflict. Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov,  told reporters Moscow's demanding an explanation from Kim Jong-Un's regime to clarify whether the evacuation warning is a recommendation or an order.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow was down more than 40 points.

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