Syria fighting continues as rebels deny regime gains- Top Syrian diplomat in London defects

Syrian government forces mounted new ground attacks against rebel-controlled neighborhoods in Syria's commercial hub of Aleppo, the state media said Monday, but failed to dislodge the opposition from their strongholds, according to activists.

The Syrian army has massed its forces around Aleppo, where rebels hold several neighborhoods after a 10-day offensive, and has been pounding it with tanks and helicopter gunships. There have also been periodic incursions of government tanks but the rebels have held on to their gains.

This use of heavy weapons, particularly helicopters, is just another nail in President Bashar Assad's coffin, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late Sunday during a stopover in Tunisia as he kicked off a Mideast tour expected to focus heavily on the unfolding crisis in Syria.

Already an estimated 200,000 civilians -- almost 10 percent of the population -- have fled the fighting in Aleppo, according to the U.N. official for humanitarian affairs, Valerie Amos, citing the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent. Aleppo is Syria's largest city with around 3 million inhabitants.

Syrian state media reported late Sunday that the army had "purged" Aleppo's southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted "great losses" upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

There was also a successful operation in Sukhour neighborhood, in the northeast of the city and another rebel stronghold, the state media said.

Activists, however, disputed these claims and just described another day of fierce shelling of certain areas, backed up by the occasional foray on the ground.

"They have tanks in nearby Hamdaniya and there is fighting, and there have been random bombardments of Salaheddine," said Mohammed Saeed, who is based in the embattled city.

While giving no indication that the Obama administration is contemplating military intervention, Panetta said it is increasingly clear that the Syrian crisis is deepening and that Assad is hastening his own demise.

"If they continue this kind of tragic attack on their own people ... I think it ultimately will be a nail in Assad's coffin," Panetta told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "His regime is coming to an end."

Assad's regime has been plagued by a string of defections, including three high ranking diplomats and several military commanders. On Monday, a Turkish official announced that a Syrian brigadier general who was deputy chief of police in Syria's Latakia region, had defected.

The general was among a group of 12 Syrian officers who crossed into Turkey late Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of Turkish government rules. His defection raises the number of generals to have left for Turkey since the start of the 17-month-old uprising to 28.

But Syria's army remains mostly intact and still vastly outguns the rag-tag rebel army, which is armed for the most part with assault rifles, machine guns and doesn't have the heavy weapons necessary to effectively oppose tanks and helicopter gunships.

The government boosted its forces outside Aleppo and began an assault over the weekend to retake the commercial hub, bombarding rebel neighborhoods and leaving streets littered with rubble and empty apartment blocks with gaping smashed windows, according to videos of the city posted online in recent days.

Fleeing residents described to The Associated Press incessant shelling, shortages of food and gasoline and soaring black market prices for everyday staples.

"I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo," Amos said in a statement from New York late Sunday. "Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas. They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water."

She added that while the fighting made getting to the needy very difficult, the U.N. agencies and the Red Crescent were continuing their efforts to deliver food, blankets and hygiene kits.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/30/syrian-regime-claims-gains-in-aleppo-rebels-deny/

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Romney skips West Bank in Israel-centric visit

Associated Press

Posted on July 29, 2012 at 11:01 AM

Updated today at 11:02 AM

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The Palestinian president watched from the sidelines Sunday as presidential hopeful Mitt Romney bonded with Israel's leaders in a visit seen by many in the West Bank as an attempt to boost his domestic Jewish support at their expense.

Romney did not request a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, even though his West Bank compound is just 30 minutes by car from the candidate's Jerusalem hotel.

"This is his choice," Abbas aide Nimr Hamad said of Romney's decision to skip the West Bank during an Israel visit that began late Saturday and ends Monday.

Instead, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad traveled to Romney's hotel on Sunday for a meeting.

Palestinian officials declined to be drawn out about the West Bank no-show, suggesting that despite Romney's strong pro-Israel stand, they don't want to stir up tensions with a man who could one day have great influence over their statehood aspirations.

West Bank officials said the main point of Romney's visit is to win the support of Jewish voters in the U.S. "He (Romney) did not come here because he believes that would harm his chances," Hamad said.

Romney's staff said the candidate had time for only one meeting with a Palestinian official.

By contrast, the atmosphere was friendly when Romney met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. The body language was relaxed, Netanyahu addressed his visitor as "Mitt" ? a casual reference even for informal Israel ? and he did not adopt the lecturing tone he has used with Romney's rival, President Barack Obama.

The two political conservatives share a worldview, and for Netanyahu, Romney's embrace of the Israeli government has been a welcome change from Obama's criticism.

A campaign stop in Israel appears to have become the norm for U.S. presidential candidates. Both Obama and then-rival John McCain made the trip four years ago. Obama found time to meet with Abbas, while Republican McCain also snubbed the Palestinian leader.

Fayyad, a U.S.-educated economist, said before Sunday's meeting that he planned to lay out the Palestinian positions on Mideast peace efforts. As prime minister, Fayyad is responsible for the day-to-day lives of Palestinians but does not play a role in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The talks broke off in 2008.

Abbas and Netanyahu disagree sharply over the conditions for renewing the talks. Abbas says he will return to the table only if Israel freezes settlement construction on occupied lands and accepts the pre-1967 war cease-fire line as a baseline for border talks, arguing that after two decades of fruitless negotiations, there's no point in talking without a clear framework.

Netanyahu refuses to halt settlement building or recognize the 1967 line as a reference, insisting that talks should proceed without preconditions.

Abbas' refusal to resume talks on Netanyahu's terms has strained his relations with the Obama administration.

There was no immediate word on the content of the Fayyad-Romney meeting.

The Republican candidate used a photo opportunity with the Palestinian prime minister to try to smooth over a gaffe he committed in London, the first stop of his foreign tour, where he criticized London's preparations for the Olympics.

Fayyad just returned from London, and Romney seized that as an opening to gush about the Olympics.

"An entertaining and delightful opening ceremony. Wasn't it spectacular?" the candidate said. "It really was. And the march of nations. There were many participants. And they sent women from every country."

___

Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Ramallah and Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed reporting.

Source: http://www.nwcn.com/news/politics/164190896.html

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London 2012 Summer Olympics: Opening ... - Tv Food and Drink

I forgot to get dessert for the #OpeningCeremonies. Luckily I have peanut butter and baker?s chocolate. Let the games begin, fuckers!

?Yo London, Imma let you finish, but Beijing had the best #openingceremonies of all time.?

Would anyone notice if they added a fake country to the parade? #OpeningCeremonies like Newfartandstand?

god I hate the way British people talk #OpeningCeremonies

Needs more Monty Python #openingceremonies

There has been an underwhelming number of Spice Girls appearances thus far. #London2012 #OpeningCeremonies #WhatIReallyReallyWant

7 Billion pieces of paper released into the air for #OpeningCeremonies? It?s cool, I hated trees anyways.

Giant penises rising into the London sky. #OpeningCeremonies

Father-in-law saw the Vietnam team enter the stadium and now he won?t stop yelling ?Charlie!? at the TV screen. #openingceremonies #PTSD

Princess Di hologram for the #OpeningCeremonies at the #olympics. I?m calling it.

help us, Hologram John Lennon and Hologram George Harrison. you?re our only hope. #OpeningCeremonies

You know you?re legit when you have 3 generations from all over the world singing in unison. #McCartney #OpeningCeremonies

?there?s the queen cheering wildly.? I?m pretty sure that?s not what we?re seeing
#openingceremonies

And by ?there?s the queen, cheering wildly,? they mean ?and there?s the queen, standing quietly and calmly.? #openingceremonies #London2012

?Here?s the Queen, cheering wildly for Great Britain.? Sure, let?s go with that. #OpeningCeremonies

The Queen looked utterly bored! Haha! My bf says she?s thinking ?It?s past my bedtime & I missed Golden Girls! Dammit!? #openingceremonies

Now they?re apparently doing an affectionate ?Tribute to Pollution & Black Lung?. #Olympics #OpeningCeremonies

#openingceremony #openingceremonies They?re making it smell like sulfur in the stadium. First Mr. Bean? now this. Go England!

I like how they consider the sulfer smell in the Olympic stadium to be a bonus.#openingceremonies

#openingceremonies Dancing nannies and kids jumping on beds ? what is wrong with British people?

I?m disappointed not one of those bed-ridden kids spewed pea soup or spun their head around #tubularbells #openingceremonies

All the countries were done in record time? Holy shit how long did other Olympics take? #OpeningCeremonies

Holy shit! It?s raining Julie Andrews! #openingCeremonies

That awkward moment when it took Harry Potter 7 long books to beat Voldemort? and Mary Poppins did it in 2 minutes. #OpeningCeremonies

Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way ? but that inflatable baby is way sick #oopeningceremonies

Quit bragging about all your musical geniuses, Britain. We invented Hanson. #TEAMUSA #OpeningCeremonies #London2012

#openingceremonies hey who?s leading Afghanistan ? he?s cute!

?Albania has never won an Olympic medal.? ?Is that a set-up or a punch line? ?#openingceremonies

Here comes American Samoa! Oh wait, no. it?s just 80s pop band The Jets #openingceremonies

There?s a place called Andora? ?#OpeningCeremonies

oh dear ? Angola?s outfits looks distrubing close to Aunt Jemima?s ? #openingceremonies

Hello Markus Rogan! How do I get to Austria? #OpeningCeremonies

I love how the skip over the boring countries during the Parade of Nations #Olympics #OpeningCeremonies

Doesn?t #Bhuntan mean something bad in Italian??#OpeningCeremonies

When I saw Bhutan at the #OpeningCeremonies, I remembered when Andy Bernard said ?it?s on like wearing Sean Jean in Bhutan!?. #TheOffice

Rock on Cameroon! #OpeningCeremonies http://t.co/8yEr2N7b

I want to go to Chad. ?I never go anywhere.?#OpeningCeremonies

#czech out those?ummm?rainboots? #openingceremonies

Where can I get a pair of Czech Republic rain boots? #OpeningCeremonies

D-J-I-B-O-U-T-I spells Djibouti!!! ?#OpeningCeremonies

Every 4 years we get to shake-shake-shake out #Djibouti jokes. #Olympics2012 #OpeningCeremonies

Next fuckable country? Dominican Republic! #OpeningCeremonies

There?s too many countries ? we need to go to war more ?#OpeningCeremonies

Christ and I thought It?s a Small World was long. ? #OpeningCeremonies

Wait we have Independent Olympic Athletes? ?Are they freelance? ?Do they train from home?

GO INDEPENDENT OLYMPIC ATHLETES!!!! #bestgroupever #2012Olympics #openingceremonies

I love the independent athletes. ?They look like they only ones having any fun.?#openingceremonies

Independent athletes are high #paradeofnations #openingceremonies

You know who should narrate the #OpeningCeremonies? Statler & Waldorf.

Here?s Japan?. and no giant robots. Buckets of fail. #OpeningCeremonies

I swear some of these countries are made up. ?I fully expect to hear ?Park Place and Electric Company at any moment ?#OpeningCeremonies

This ?#OpeningCeremonies needs four judges in chairs that rotate

Moldova got the shaft for a WalMart commercial ?#OpeningCeremonies

This Olympics ?#OpeningCeremonies needs the San Diego chicken running around and doing the cabbage patch

#OpeningCeremonies needs more COWBELL

psst? between you and me, Nigeria will send you a gold medal if you wire them $10,000 from your bank account #OpeningCeremonies

For anyone who missed the #OpeningCeremonies don?t be upset. It sucked. #Olympics2012

I missed a rerun of Shark Tank for this? #OpeningCeremonies

#OpeningCeremonies ends w/ the Queen locks everyone up in the stadium and says: Happy Hunger Games!

Due to overwhelming request, NBC will replay the Beijing #OpeningCeremonies immediately following whatever this is.

Source: http://tvfoodanddrink.com/2012/07/london-2012-summer-olympics-opening-ceremonies-top-tweets-openingceremony-openingceremonies/

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Syrian troops kill 6-year-old fleeing into Jordan

RAMTHA, Jordan (AP) ? The family crept across farmland under night's cover, heading for the border, when Syrian troops opened fire. Bullets whizzed around them as they broke into a mad dash, survivors say. The 6-year-old boy, holding his mother's hand, broke away and ran ahead. He nearly made it into Jordan when he fell dead, a bullet in his neck.

The boy, killed in the early hours Friday, was the first Syrian shot to death by border guards while trying to escape into neighboring Jordan from the bloodshed of their homeland's 17-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. The slaying underlined not only the dangers of the passage, but the fine line Syria's neighbors have to tread in trying to help Syrians while avoiding being dragged into the conflict.

Bilal el-Lababidi and his parents were in a group of around a dozen Syrians trying to sneak into Jordan just after midnight, the latest of more than 140,000 Syrians who have taken refuge in the kingdom.

"He is a martyr who is now in a better place. I'm sure he is in heaven," said el-Lababidi's mother before the boy's burial later Friday at a cemetery in the northern Jordanian city of Ramtha. She made it across with her two younger sons ? but her husband fled back amid the shooting.

"The criminal Bashar is the reason," she said, slapping her face with her fists as she wept. She wore a veil over her face and a traditional Muslim head-to-toe robe. "Bashar is killing his people and the whole world is watching and doing nothing." She would only identify herself as Umm Bilal, or "mother of Bilal," as conservative women often do in public rather than using their real names.

The family ? Bilal's father, mother and their three sons? were fleeing from their southern Syrian hometown of Daraa, which was where their country's uprising began 17 months ago and which has continued to be a major battleground between rebels and regime forces. Bilal's father is a corporal in the regime military but had decided to defect, the mother said.

They and the others in the group were slipping across farmland and olive groves between the Syrian town of Tal Shihab, near Daraa, and the Jordanian border village of Turrah. The two towns are only about a mile (1.6 kilometers) apart at their closest point. The border running between them is marked only by a ditch with an old rusty string of barbed wire running down it ? unmaintained and full of gaps, more of a marker than a barrier.

Their group made their way to about 50 yards (meters) from the ditch, their path dimly illuminated by a half-moon and the lights of nearby Turrah. That's when Syrian troops opened fire, and the refugees broke into a run, Umm Bilal said.

The Syrian troops emerged from behind nearby trees and began shooting, said two members of the Syrian rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, who helped organize the group's escape and later spoke with those who made it across.

The soldiers sprayed the area with bullets, according to a Jordanian border officer and a relative of Bilal who made it into Jordan with his mother. Jordanian guards on their side of the border fired in the air to try to scare off the Syrian troops, the Jordanian officer said.

"Bullets were coming from all directions. It was scary," said the relative, a frail man who sported a long beard and who spoke on condition he not be identified for fear of retaliation against the family in Syria. "I didn't know if one hit me and I couldn't look back to see if the others were wounded."

Bilal was running with his mother, the relative said. But then Bilal "slipped from his mother's hand" and went ahead and was shot just yards (meters) from the border ditch, he said.

Umm Bilal said the Jordanians took her son in and tried to save him, "but he was already dead."

Bilal's father and most of the others in the group ran back into Syria amid the gunfire, Umm Bilal said.

The Jordanian border official said he believed that amid the firing, the boy was specifically targeted because he was closest the fence. "It looks like a sniper targeted him to scare the others," the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The whole shooting appeared to be an ambush by the Syrian troops, who were likely tipped off to the escape plan by an informer in Daraa, said the two FSA members who helped organize the dash for the border. They noted that the troops were waiting behind the trees for the group. The two FSA members, one of whom was now hosting Umm Bilal and her two surviving sons at a house in northern Jordan, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity over their group's presence in the kingdom.

Syrian army troops frequently fire at those trying to cross the border to stop them, but not always ? it depends on whether they are busy with quelling protests or rebels in nearby towns, the Jordanian border official said. Around 700 Syrians crossed on Thursday with no shots fired at them.

Last November, one woman was shot in the leg. In April, troops fired at a large group of around 900 refugees, wounding dozens, many of whom ? including women ? were then arrested and taken back into Syria.

But el-Lababidi is the first person to be killed, the border official and other Jordanian officials said. An FSA commander based in Turkey who monitors the border movements into Jordan, Ahmed Kassem, also said the boy was the first killed.

Jordan has been trying not to be dragged into what is now a civil war in Syria. In Amman, Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah insisted that Friday's shooting "will not draw Jordan into Syria's crisis."

"This unfortunate incident is an internal Syrian matter," he told The Associated Press.

Jordan had been even reluctant to set up the tents camps near the border that house most of the Syrian refugees, possibly to avoid angering Assad's autocratic regime by showing images at his doorstep of civilians fleeing his military onslaught. While Syria's rebels are present among the refugees and buy weapons in Jordan's black market, they must lie low and the government says it gives them no support.

Syria has been one of Jordan's largest Arab trade partners, with bilateral trade estimated at $470 million last year ? and Syria is a vital route for Jordanian exports to markets in Turkey and Europe.

Last Sunday, Jordan's king announced that security along his northern frontier has been tightened, but Syrian refugees fleeing violence will still be allowed to enter.

"It is our duty to protect citizens, but at the same time, we have to open our doors to our Syrian brothers, and I'm very optimistic that the situation is moving in the right direction," King Abdullah II said at a Cabinet session.

____

Associated Press writer Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-troops-kill-6-old-fleeing-jordan-182650975.html

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The Challenge of Healthy Eating ? The What's for Lunch Project

You can lose up to 6 pounds in two weeks?without exercising.

That?s the claim made by Kellogg?s Special K Challenge, anyway, which asserts
that replacing two meals per day with Special K products helps consumers can result
shedding up to six pounds in the short span of two weeks. Special K?s meal replacement
options are vast?and their touted benefits are enticing. There are ten varieties of
breakfast cereals, snack bars, granola bars, and meal bars, protein shakes, protein water,
and even crackers and chips, all the designed to be low in calories and high in diet-
payoff.

And with product flavors like ?Chocolatey Delight,? ?Raspberry Cheesecake,?
and ?Brown Sugar Cinnamon,? the Special K Challenge seems like a pretty sweet deal.

But before you dig into that first spoonful of cereal, take a moment to consider the costs
of a low-calorie diet based on highly-processed foods. Consider that there?s more to lose
on the Special K diet than just six pounds.

For evidence, start with the most important meal of the day?and compare Special K?s
Fruit and Yogurt cereal to Post?s ubiquitous morning staple, Shredded Wheat.

With a half cup of skim milk added, a serving of Special K Fruit and Yogurt weighs in
at 160 calories, with 10 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein. It also
boasts an ingredients list that?s over 30 items long. Additionally, that ingredients list
includes seven types of sweeteners: sugar, corn syrup, brown sugar syrup, brown sugar,
confectioner?s glaze, honey, and molasses.

A one-cup serving of Shredded Wheat with the same amount of milk has a higher caloric
price tag, at 210. But for those extra calories, breakfasters get 6 grams of both protein and
fiber?and no sugar at all. What?s more? Shredded Wheat has a single ingredient: whole
grain wheat.

Special K?s cereal has less calories?but it?s also nutritionally poorer, with more of the
excess sugar that can contribute to diabetes and less of the satisfying protein and fiber to
fill a hungry stomach. Most Special K products are similarly guilty. The French Vanilla
protein shake packs 18 grams of sugar (nearly as much at a pack of Reese?s peanut butter
cups) and the Chocolate Caramel meal bar has 15.

Still, the promise of losing 6 pounds in two weeks coerces many consumers to purchase
and eat the empty, sugary calories provided by the Challenge-approved products.

And if two of your meals each day are bowls of cereal at only 160 calories each, losing
weight is almost an inevitability. But the Special K Challenge comes at a cost. In order
to achieve the average participant?s weight loss of 4.8 pounds, those who partake in the

Challenge sacrifice adequate nutrition from whole foods.

But it seems many Americans?especially those concerned with weight?believe that the
number of calories is the only nutrition statistic that matters.

This is the attitude behind the Speical K Challenge. It?s the attitude behind brands like
Lean Cuisine, and diet programs made entirely of frozen, processed food, like Jenny
Craig. And this attitude will not cure or counter the epidemics of obesity and diabetes in
this country.

Even worse, this attitude has already trickled into the regulation of products sold in
public school lunches. Many states have prohibited the sale of soda in cafeterias. But if
they?re only replaced by diet drinks with unnatural, artificial sweeteners, has the selection
really improved? Replacing soda with diet drinks is not a solution. Simply lowering
calories cannot be a solution.

Americans? relationship with food, with obesity, and with diabetes will change?only
if both consumers and manufacturers start to value caloric quality over caloric quantity.
Our nation will become healthier only if we Challenge ourselves eat better, instead of just
eating less.

Source: http://wflproject.com/2012/07/the-challenge-of-healthy-eating/

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Obama gets ahead of Romney on Israel

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens at left as President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July, 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens at left as President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July, 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters in front of 10 Downing Street after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP PhotoCharles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is reaffirming U.S. ties with Israel, upstaging Mitt Romney one day before the Republican challenger visits Jerusalem.

The White House says Obama will sign legislation Friday that expands military and civilian cooperation with Israel. The bill passed by voice vote in the House last week. The bill reiterates U.S. support for a negotiated two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Romney is a critic of Obama's policy toward Israel. He arrives in Jerusalem on Saturday on an overseas trip that includes Britain and Poland.

The White House subtly injected itself into Romney's trip on Thursday after Romney caused a stir by calling London's problems with Olympics preparation "disconcerting."

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama "has the utmost confidence" in Britain's ability to host the games.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-27-Obama/id-ef9c53f8c22b4663afd041b819bcaac7

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US jobless claims drop by 35,000 to 353,000

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 35,000 last week, a figure that may have been distorted by seasonal factors.

The Labor Department said Thursday that applications fell to a seasonally adjusted 353,000. That's down from a revised 388,000 the previous week and the biggest drop since February 2010.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined 8,750 to 367,250. That's the lowest level since the end of March.

Applications surged two weeks ago, reversing a big drop the previous week. But economists caution that the government struggles every July to account for temporary summer shutdowns in the auto industry. The adjustments have been unusually difficult this year because some automakers skipped their shutdowns in the face of stronger sales, resulting in fewer temporary layoffs.

Ford this year shut down for one week instead of its usual two. And Chrysler kept most plants running, says economist Robert Kavcic at BMO Capital Markets.

Unemployment benefit applications are a measure of the pace of layoffs. When applications consistently fall below 375,000, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to pull the unemployment rate down.

Weekly claims are averaging 374,000 this year, down from 409,000 last year, notes Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics. But he adds that the job market "is definitely not robust." Just over 6 million Americans are receiving some type of unemployment aid, down from 7.6 million a year ago.

The job market has slumped over the past three months. Employers added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month from April through June, down from a healthy 226,000 the first three months of the year.

The unemployment rate stayed at 8.2 percent in June.

The broader economy has also weakened from the start of the year.

Retail sales fell in June for the third straight month, bad news for a country that gets two-thirds of its economic output from consumer spending. Manufacturing activity shrank in June for the first time in three years, according to a closely watched survey from the Institute of Supply Management.

And the housing market, which has started to recovery this year, lost some momentum in June. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new-home sales fell 8 percent last month from May, the biggest drop since February 2011.

Economists are predicting growth slowed in the April-June quarter to an annual pace of just 1.5 percent, down from the tepid 1.9 percent annual pace in the first three months of the year. Growth of 1.5 percent is consistent with less than 50,000 new jobs a month.

The government issues its first estimate for second-quarter growth on Friday.

Europe's debt crisis could weaken growth further. Europe buys roughly one-fifth of U.S. exports, which have been one of the economy's few bright spots.

The British government reported Wednesday that Britain's economy shrank 0.7 percent in the April-June quarter, far worse than economists had expected. In Germany, business confidence dropped more than expected in July over increasing worries about the impact of Europe's debt crisis on the region's biggest economy. And Spain this week said the economy contracted 0.4 percent in the second quarter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-26-Unemployment%20Benefits/id-a5a0ff7f2c9d4c95b11a98d45fa35e9e

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