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CLEM'S CHRONICLES: JOBS/MICHAEL JACKSON/AFGHANISTAN

July 02, 2009 9:56 PM

Howdy folks-Clem Lane here. Hope you all have a fun, safe holiday weekend. Here's what's going on.......

JOBS-We’ve had a wide variety of stories that have supplanted our nation’s economic recession/recovery from the front pages and first blocks recently. Today a painful reminder of the damage that our economic difficulties have wrought. The June Jobs report, released today, shows an additional 467 thousand jobs shed by employers.Betsy Stark, reporting for WORLD NEWS, noted that “since the recession began 18 months ago, six and a half million Americans have lost their jobs and the unemployment rate has nearly doubled.” Last month’s job losses are not dominated by or centered in any one sector. Stark lays it out for us:“the battered manufacturing industry continued to get hammered(-136K). The housing slump took another bite out of Construction(-79K) and there was more suffering in Retail (-21K) and Finance (-27K).” The bad news extends to those who are still gainfully employed as well. Stark notes that “the average weekly paycheck failed to grow by even a penny…because the average workweek has now shrunk to 33 hours, the shortest since 1964, when the government started keeping track.” And while you might look at a shortened workweek as the product of magnanimous employers, many of those affected are being forced to take unpaid days off. Stark introduced us to two New Jersey women who work for the state, Deborah Gaines and Allyson Carvajal who “are watching their paychecks shrink.” New Jersey is one of 9 states that requires its’ workers to take unpaid days off but you won’t hear these women complain too loudly. Carvajal was quoted in Stark’s piece saying “If I have to choose between a furlough and losing a job, I’d rather furlough any day, any day.”

ECONOMIC STIMULUS HELPING?-President Obama reacted to the Jobs report today. ““The job figures released this morning show that we lost 467,000 jobs last month,” Obama said today in the Rose Garden, “And while the average loss of about 4,000 jobs per month this quarter is less devastating than the 700,000 per month that we lost in the previous quarter, and while there are continuing signs that the recession is slowing, obviously this is little comfort to all those Americans who have lost their jobs.” The President said that the administration has taken measures to “blunt the hard edges of the worst recession of our lifetime.” “As I've said from the moment that I walked into the door of this White House, it took years for us to get into this mess, and it will take us more than a few months to turn it around,” Obama said. The preceding was from Sunlen Miller’s note to the Politics/Business News DL’s. But let’s get back to those “measures” Obama was talking about.  Republicans say they aren’t helping. Yunji de Nies looked at the question of what kind of impact the economic stimulus plan might be having for WORLD NEWS. De Nies: “Of the $787 billion that was approved-the government has allocated $160 billion but has spent just $50 billion. That’s less than 10 percent.” That sure sounds like things are moving at a glacial pace. De Nies notes that President Obama “told the Associated Press today he too is impatient with the pace of the recovery.” But…..help on the horizon? De Nies: “The White House says the stimulus will create 750 thousand jobs by the end of the summer. Still, they absolutely expect unemployment to hit double digits in the next few months.”

MICHAEL JACKSON-
-THE LAST REHEARSAL-Video was released today of Michael Jackson’s last taped performance…a dress rehearsal just two nights before he died. Jim Avila, filing for WORLD NEWS, noted Mr. Jackson’s apparent fitness: “Sounding strong, and moving in Jackson’s signature smooth style. Those who watched him perform were convinced he was healthy enough to tour.”
-CHILD CUSTODY-Avila:“ABC NEWS has learned that Jackson’s 2nd wife, mother of his 2 oldest children wants custody of her children and will go to court to get them. Debbie Rowe says she is grief-stricken .” A guardianship hearing has been moved to Monday July 13th but there is an 11:30am ET probate hearing on Monday July 6th and Avila tells us “(Rowe)’s attorney will be in court Monday to represent her interests.”
-NEVERLAND-Cynthia McFadden got a tour of Michael Jackson’s Neverland property today. You can see her full report on tonight’s NIGHTLINE.
-MICHAEL JACKSON TRUST-Lauren Perle: “Here’s how the Michael Jackson’s trust is being divided:  Katherine Jackson will get 40% of his assets, Michael's 3 kids will get another 40%, and the remain 20% goes to several children's charities that will be designated at a later date, a source close to the estate told ABC News.  As I reported earlier….He leaves nothing to his siblings, his father Joe Jackson, or anyone else, according to the source.  The trust's  trustees are John McClain and John Branca, the same men who are executors of Jackson's will, said the source. The Will made public yesterday  puts all of Michael Jackson's property into this trust, which is not public."

AFGHANISTAN OFFENSIVE, MISSING SOLDIER:  U.S. Marines and the Afghan military launched a major offensive in Helmand Province Thursday, employing more than 4,500 troops.  “Marine commanders told their men they would make history today,” Mike Boettcher – who is embedded with the Marines there – reported on WORLD NEWS.  “Their mission is to fight through the Taliban stronghold known as the Helmand River Valley and eliminate the Taliban’s main supply route and income producer, the poppy fields of Helmand.” There has been one Marine casualty since the operation began.   Meanwhile, U.S. military officials say they believe an American soldier has been kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan.  Luis Martinez reports the soldier is a young infantryman who was stationed in Paktika Province, and was off-duty when he disappeared.  The soldier was reported missing when his bulletproof body and rifle were found at the base.  The military says there has been no direct contact with his captors, and they presume he has been captured by the Taliban because intercepted communications indicate he is with the group.  All available resources are being utilized to find the missing soldier, and the soldier’s family has been notified of his disappearance. (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

NEW DETAILS ON AIR FRANCE 447:  According to a report released by French investigators today, Air France flight 447 hit the Atlantic Ocean in one piece when it crashed last month.  “Investigators also say the jumbo jet came down at a high rate of speed and smashed into the ocean belly first,” Lisa Stark reported on WORLD NEWS.  The report also says the plane’s life vests did not inflate, no traces of fire or explosives were detected and that the faulty speed sensors – called pitot tubes – were not the sole cause of the crash.  Investigators did not elaborate on the possible other causes.  The crew on Air France 447 also had difficulty reaching air traffic control in Senegal; they tried three times and were unsuccessful.  The crew was not issued a flight plane by the Brazilian airport.  Here’s more from Stark: “There is also continuing focus on the stormy weather – today’s report says that this plane may’ve been flying through powerful thunderstorms, with strong turbulence and lightening, which other pilots avoided.”  Searchers still have not found the plane’s black boxes.  The search for them will continue until July 10.  (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN IN IRAQ- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq earlier today to visit U.S. soldiers, just two days after all American combat troops withdrew from Baghdad and all of Iraq's cities and towns. During his visit, Biden will meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. A White House statement said Biden will reiterate the U.S. commitment to carry out President Barack Obama's plan to withdraw combat forces. He also will press Iraqi leaders to make more progress toward political reconciliation. It’s his first trip to Iraq as vice president. ABC is the pool for the trip. George Stephanopoulos accompanies unilaterally.

OTHER STUFF-
--SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR SANFORD- State investigators say Sanford did not improperly use state funds for visits with his Argentine mistress. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd said Thursday that Sanford did not break any laws.  John Hendren notes that SLED is “appointed by and reports to Sanford”. Sanford’s wife Jenny released a statement today. In her statement, Jenny Sanford says it is up to her husband to save their 20-year marriage. She says she is still angry with him and he will deal with the consequences of his actions for a long while. The first lady says Mark Sanford must regain the trust of his family and the people of South Carolina, but she makes no guarantee he will be able to do it. Steve Osunsami reports that the governor heads to Florida tomorrow morning to spend the holiday weekend with his wife and four sons. A spokesman for Governor Sanford reiterated that Sanford has no plans to resign.
--HONDURAS-OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza heads to Honduras tomorrow to demand the return of President Manuel Zelaya. The OAS says it will suspend Honduras if Zelaya isn't back in office by Saturday, bringing sanctions that could block international aid to one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere. As for the United States, Kirit Radia reports that “the US has decided to, in the words of State Dept spox Ian Kelly, ‘hit the pause button’ on some assistance programs to Honduras in the wake of Sunday's ouster of President Zelaya... this as it works to determine whether the events are legally defined as a ‘military coup’ which would trigger a cutoff of aid under a provision in the Foreign Assistance Act. The distinction between pausing and freezing aid is hard to decipher, but the decision has been made to halt any new money into the pipeline for some projects with the Honduran military and any money going to the Honduran government (for police, etc).
-MADOFF PENTHOUSE NO MORE-Federal marshals took possession of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse today. The big loser? Madoff’s wife Ruth who will need to find another place to live. Ruth left at noon today but her lawyer says don’t call it an “eviction”- “Ruth left voluntarily, pursuant to prior agreements that we had reached with the government”, lawyer Peter Chavkin said in a statement.
-MYSPACE CONVICTIONS (TENTATIVELY) TOSSED- A federal judge on Thursday tentatively threw out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide. U.S. District Judge George Wu said he was acquitting Lori Drew of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization but stressed the ruling was tentative until he issues it in writing. He noted the case of a judge who changed his mind after ruling.
--BANK FAILURES-  One bank in Texas and six Illinois banks were shuttered today bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52 -- that's more than double the 25 which failed in all of 2008 and the three closed in 2007.

 

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