memeorandum: Palestinian Resistance Shifts to Hunger Strikes (Jodi Rudoren/New York Times)

11:30 AM ET, May 4, 2012

Top Items:

Tyler Durden / zerohedge.com/fullrss2.xml:

People Not In Labor Force Soar By 522,000, Labor Force Participation Rate Lowest Since 1981 — it is just getting sad now. In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to — 88,419,000. This is the highest on record.

Discussion: The Mental Recession, Taylor Marsh, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, americanthinker.com, Via Meadia and The PJ Tatler

Vicki Needham / The Hill:

Economy adds 115,000 jobs; unemployment drops to 8.1 percent — The nation's economy added 115,00 jobs in April while the unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a point to 8.1 percent. — The figures are lower than a month ago and were also below what many analysts had expected.

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, Michelle Malkin and Washington Free Beacon

Annalyn Censky / CNNMoney.com:

April jobs report: Hiring slows, unemployment falls — NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Hiring slowed in April and workers dropped out of the labor force in droves — not a good sign for the job market going forward. — The economy added just 115,000 jobs in the month, the Labor Department reported Friday …

Discussion: GOP 12, American Spectator, The Stranger … and Infowars

Calculated Risk:

April Employment Report: 115,000 Jobs, 8.1% Unemployment Rate — From the BLS: … This was below expectations of 165,000 payroll jobs added. — Click on graph for larger image. — Job growth started picking up early last year, but then the economy was hit by a series of shocks …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Free exchange, NewsBusters.org, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Moe Lane

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Job Growth Just 115,000 in April, Rate Drops to 8.1% — April's job report lived up to muted expectations, with the economy creating a meager 115,000 jobs during the month as the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent. — Job creation in the private sector was slightly better at 130,000 …

Discussion: American Prospect, The New Republic, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Hot Air and Calculated Risk

Shobhana Chandra / Bloomberg:
Employers in U.S. Added Fewer Jobs Than Forecast in April

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The Page

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:
U.S. Added Only 115,000 Jobs in April; Rate Is 8.1%

Discussion: Economix, Runnin' Scared and Gothamist

Peter Whoriskey / Washington Post:
Economy added 115,000 jobs in April; unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent

Discussion: Ezra Klein

Plain Dealer:

Mitt Romney issues Ohio challenge to President Obama — Welcome to Ohio. I have a simple question for you: Where are the jobs? — As we enter the fourth year of your term, unemployment is over 8 percent and has been for your entire term. Nearly 23 million men and women are unemployed …

Discussion: American Prospect, The Hill, Power Line, msnbc.com, Daily Kos and Business Insider

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:

Ted Nugent to Keep Up Obama Flames — Ted Nugent speaks during a rally, Oct. 30, 2010 in Charleston, W.V. (Randy Snyder/Getty Images) — Ted Nugent, after a Secret Service investigation, a canceled Army concert and an outpouring of criticism, said presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's camp …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico and The Texas Tribune

Washington Post:

Romney faces a narrow path to 270 electoral votes, but his team remains optimistic — BOSTON — Mitt Romney faces a narrow path to win the presidency, one that requires winning back states that President Obama took from Republicans four years earlier and that has few apparent opportunities …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine

CNN:

FIRST ON CNN: Romney drops challenge for OH delegates — (CNN) - Governor Mitt Romney will drop his challenge for the four remaining delegates in Ohio, effectively giving them to Rick Santorum. — The delegates come from districts Santorum won but because he didn't have a full slate …

Discussion: GOP 12 and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Los Angeles Times:
Obama campaign tailors message for key states and voters

Discussion: Washington Post, Ballot Box and ABCNEWS

Washington Post:
Post Poll: Obama leads Romney as campaigns converge on Virginia

Discussion: ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Race 4 2012, Campaign 2012, Daily Kos, Washington Wire, Prairie Weather, Booman Tribune, The Caucus, CNN, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, Politico, The Hill and Reuters

Tim Mak / Politico:
Gingrich: Romney said untrue things

Discussion: CNN

Washington Examiner:
Klein: Obama is winning the general election

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air and The Jawa Report

Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Perry: ‘God help us’ if Romney loses

Investor's Business Daily:

NBC Wags Dog For Bill Clinton, Who Let Osama Escape — Media: NBC's presentation of “Rock Center with Brian Williams” last Wednesday night demonstrated that MSNBC's Chris Matthews isn't the only one who feels tingles up his leg when he talks with or about President Obama.

Bob Kerrey / NY Daily News:
President Obama's Bin Laden indiscretion

Discussion: Ballot Box and Hotline On Call

BuzzFeed:
Conservative Activist: More Navy SEALs to Attack Obama

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh, The Last Tradition and Hullabaloo

Chris McGreal / Guardian:
Al-Qaida memo to Bin Laden warns of ‘cunning methods’ of US news networks

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Shot in the Dark

New York Times:

Clinton Cites ‘Progress’ on Chinese Dissident — BEIJING — In her first public comments on the dissident Chen Guangcheng since arriving in China, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Friday that she was encouraged by “progress” in a diplomatic crisis that has deeply embarrassed …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, New York Magazine, FP Passport, LifeNews.com, The Political Carnival and Patterico's Pontifications

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Dissident will be allowed to leave China

Discussion: National Review

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Romney Speaks Out On Grenell Resignation: We Don't Select People Based On ‘Their Sexual Preference’ — Mitt Romney spoke out about the resignation of ex-foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell during an appearance on Fox News this morning. In doing so, the former Massachusetts governor failed …

Discussion: American Prospect, Firedoglake, The PJ Tatler, Mother Jones and Hot Air

Henry Samuel / Telegraph:

Dominique Strauss-Kahn could face gang rape charges after US hotel orgy — Dominique Strauss-Kahn could face gang rape charges after an escort girl said the former International Monetary Fund chief and three others held her down and forced her to have anal sex. — Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Discussion: Reuters and The Raw Story

BBC: New rape claim in Strauss-Kahn inquiry in France

climateconference.heartland.org:

Our Billboards — Do You Still Believe in Global Warming? — Billboards in Chicago paid for by The Heartland Institute point out that some of the world's most notorious criminals say they “still believe in global warming” - and ask viewers if they do, too.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, American Prospect, Guardian and The Daily Dish

Joe Battenfeld / Boston Herald:

Elizabeth Warren brings no peace to Dems — Elizabeth Warren's stumbling efforts to douse the firestorm surrounding her claims of being a Native American minority have raised concerns among local and national Democrats who are questioning her campaign's competence.

Discussion: Campaign Stops, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Jammie Wearing Fools

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The question we should be asking Elizabeth Warren.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Plutocracy, Paralysis, Perplexity — Before the Great Recession, I would sometimes give public lectures in which I would talk about rising inequality, making the point that the concentration of income at the top had reached levels not seen since 1929. Often, someone in the audience …

Discussion: Washington Post, Prairie Weather and LewRockwell.com Blog

BREITBART.COM:

OBAMA PRAISES NAZI SUPPORTER IN JEWISH HERITAGE MONTH PROCLAMATION — President Barack Obama issued a proclamation yesterday in celebration of Jewish Heritage Month that lauded Nazi supporter Gertrude Stein, the Algemeiner reports. — Stein, who was Jewish, supported the puppet Vichy regime …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Jawa Report and Fire Andrea Mitchell!