A relatively quiet news day ahead of a long holiday weekend in the U.S. The top is dedicated to today’s unemployment report. Happy reading!

The Economy:

The U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs in June as the national unemployment rate hit 9.5% (New York Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/business/economy/03jobs.html?_r=1&hp

What does all this mean for people on the ground? Janet Yellen, the President of the SF Federal Reserve Bank, speaks with the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2009/07/01/straight-talk-on-the-ec...

President Obama remains hopeful Americans can rebound from the recession (Washington Post):
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/07/02/obama_optimistic_on_econo...

The Wall Street Journal reports the recession is hitting men harder than women (subscription required – preview only):
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090702-706893.html

Health:

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune takes an in-depth look at the region’s falling abortion rate (reported yesterday by The Associated Press):
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/49649232.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUqy...

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister is asking for assistance from the United Nations in improver her nation’s maternal health rates (Daily Star (Bangladesh)):
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=17845

Health on the Blogs:


A poster on MomsRising.org shares her goal to improve health care for vulnerable children:
http://www.momsrising.org/blog/my-summer-plans/

Violence:

An Illinois organization has been forced to shut its facility that responds to domestic violence emergencies due to a funding shortfall (Chicago Tribune):
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-mutual-ground-02-jul02,0,51...

Violence on the Blogs:


The President of BRAC USA tells Huffingtonpost.com how women in Pakistan are creating stability during fragile times:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-davis/amidst-conflict-pakistani_b_22...

Education:

A feature in the Japan Times reports on the difficulties single mothers in Japan are having providing for their children:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090702f1.html

Miscellaneous:

A Washington Post columnist questions whether race plays a role in coverage of Michelle Obama?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR200907...