Christians Converge in Jerusalem, Rome

Good Friday rituals mark holiest day

A Christian pilgrim holds a cross as he stands on a rooftop overlooking the Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Suffering,” tracing Jesus’ final steps, during a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, April 2, 2010. Christians are marking the solemn period of Easter. (Photo credit: Sebastian Scheiner / AP)

By Amy Teibel

April 2, 2010

JERUSALEM — The cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City became moving forests of wooden crosses as Christian pilgrims and clergymen commemorated the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, Good Friday.

In Rome, meanwhile, pilgrims arrived in St. Peter’s Square as the church defends itself against accusations that Pope Benedict XVI played a role in covering up sex abuses cases. …

Good Friday rituals center on the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christian tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried before his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

While Catholics and Orthodox Christians follow different calendars, this year their Easters coincide and the churches are commemorating Good Friday together. …

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162,000 Jobs Added in March, Most in 3 Years

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Obama: Economy ‘beginning to turn the corner’ (NBC News, April 2, 2010) – Speaking at a town hall in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Obama says he’s encouraged by new jobs numbers, but it will take time to see the strong and sustained job growth the nation needs. (11:25)

April 2, 2010

WASHINGTON — The nation’s economy posted its largest job gain in three years in March, while the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent for the third straight month.

President Barack Obama on Friday hailed the report showing the largest job creation number in nearly three years. “We are beginning to turn the corner,” he said.

The increase in payrolls is the latest sign that the economic recovery is gaining momentum and healing in the job market is beginning. Still, the healing is likely to be slow, and most economists don’t expect new hiring to be fast enough this year to rapidly reduce the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the most since the recession began but below analysts’ expectations of 190,000. The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S. Census, also fewer than many economists forecast.

Private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007. …

The economy began recovering in the middle of last year, but is only now showing modest job gains. …

Friday’s jobs report follows positive data earlier this week that showed consumers are increasing their spending and manufacturing activity is growing at its fastest pace in more than five years. Economists are increasingly confident that the nation will avoid a “double-dip” recession, in which growth slows after a short burst at the end of last year. …

Analysts expect the economy will expand at a roughly 3 percent pace in the current January-to-March quarter. That’s roughly half the 5.6 percent pace seen in the final quarter of last year.

Normally, growth in the 3 percent range would be considered respectable. But the nation is emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s. Growth needs to be in the 5 percent range or higher to quickly drive down the unemployment rate. Both the Federal Reserve and Obama administration expect joblessness will remain above 9 percent through the end of this year.

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Bikini graph shows jobs gains (MSNBC, April 2, 2010) — The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein joins the Rachel Maddow show to talk about whether or not the economy is turning the corner, and how the unemployment rate is used in politics. (12:24)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — April 2, 2009

PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I featured PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project of the St. Petersburg Times to help find the truth in American politics by fact-checking statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists, and interest groups and rating them on the Truth-O-Meter.

Related: The Bachmann File