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Saturday, March 10, 2012 12:03 AM PST

Today's Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines: Job creation heralds stronger recovery Government to seek court approval of $25 billion mortgage pact Greece averts immediate default, markets skeptical Import surge sends China trade to decade-deep deficit Annan to meet Assad, seeking end to Syria violence "Morning, y'all." Romney seeks acceptance in South Afghanistan and U.S. sign prison transfer deal January trade gap widens as imports hit record high Italy condemns botched British raid in Nigeria Morgan Stanley banker pleads not guilty in cab driver assault Obama: 'America is coming back' China reports rare trade deficit as imports jump Pakistan's top court targets army Romney's victories leave GOP leaders unimpressed CA preacher concedes apocalypse prediction wrong Hiker missing for month found in New Mexico forest Bruce Springsteen performs at the Apollo Theater Reports: Redskins to trade for No. 2 pick Israeli airstrike kills militant commander in Gaza Syrian opposition rejects talks with regime Job creation heralds stronger recovery Fri,9 Mar 2012 02:44 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers added more than 200,000 workers to their payrolls for a third straight month in February, a sign the economy was strengthening and in less need of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve. Friday's Labor Department report, which showed nonfarm payrolls increased 227,000 last month, also bolstered President Barack Obama's chances for re-election. The jobless rate held at a three-year low of 8.3 percent even as people flooded back into the labor force to hunt for work, and 61,000 more jobs were created in December and January than previously thought. ... Full Story Top Government to seek court approval of $25 billion mortgage pact Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:51 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) - A previously announced $25 billion settlement between five major banks accused of abusive mortgage practices and government officials will be filed in federal court on Monday, people familiar with the matter said late Friday. The pact unveiled February 9 is expected to result in payments and other mortgage relief for about one million borrowers, but must first be approved by a judge. ... Full Story Top Greece averts immediate default, markets skeptical Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:12 PM PST Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece averted the immediate threat of an uncontrolled default on Friday when a sufficient number of private creditors agreed on a bond swap deal that will cut the country's public debt and clear the way for a new bailout. With euro zone ministers set to approve the 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue, French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared the Greek problem had been settled - just as Germany said that any impression the crisis was over "would be a big mistake. ... Full Story Top Import surge sends China trade to decade-deep deficit Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:50 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade balance plunged $31.5 billion into the red in February as imports swamped exports to leave the largest deficit in at least a decade and fuel doubts about the extent to which frail foreign demand or seasonal distortion drove the drop. Import growth of 39.6 percent on the year in February was the strongest in a year, well ahead of the 27 percent expected and more than twice the rate of export growth of 18.4 percent that was barely more than half the pace forecast -- albeit at a six month high. ... Full Story Top Annan to meet Assad, seeking end to Syria violence Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:14 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan meets President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to press for a political solution to Syria's year-long uprising and bloody crackdown in which thousands of people have been killed. Annan's talks in Damascus come a day after activists said Assad's forces killed at least 68 people as they sought to extend control over the rebellious city of Homs and crush armed opposition in the northern province of Idlib. Arab foreign ministers were also due to hold talks in Cairo with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia and China vetoed a U.N. ... Full Story Top "Morning, y'all." Romney seeks acceptance in South Fri,9 Mar 2012 11:54 AM PST Reuters - JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is laying it on as thick as a syrupy Southern drawl as he tries to court the South, a region that has been unkind to him in the past and may soon turn its back on him again. "Morning, y'all," Romney told a campaign rally on Friday in Jackson, Mississippi. "I got started this morning right with a biscuit and some cheesy grits," he joked. ... Full Story Top Afghanistan and U.S. sign prison transfer deal Fri,9 Mar 2012 11:44 AM PST Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - The United States and Afghanistan signed an agreement on Friday on the transfer of a major U.S.-run detention centre to Afghan authorities, improving the prospects of a deal allowing long-term American involvement in the country. The Strategic Partnership Agreement, which Washington and Kabul have been discussing for over a year, will be the framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when the last foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan. Afghan Defense Minister Gen. ... Full Story Top January trade gap widens as imports hit record high Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:20 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in January as high oil prices and resurgent demand helped pushed imports to a record high, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday. The trade gap swelled more than 4 percent to $52.6 billion, the highest since October 2008. The department also raised its estimate of the December trade deficit to $50.4 billion, from its previous figure of $48.8 billion. Imports rose 2.1 percent to a record $233.4 billion. China accounted for a big share of the gain, with imports from that country rising 4.7 percent to $34.4 billion. ... Full Story Top Italy condemns botched British raid in Nigeria Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:09 PM PST Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - A diplomatic row broke out between London and Rome on Friday over Britain's failure to inform the Italian government before launching a botched hostage rescue mission in Nigeria. The raid resulted in the deaths of a Briton and an Italian held hostage by what Nigerian authorities said was a militant Islamist group. Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara had been kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria. ... Full Story Top Morgan Stanley banker pleads not guilty in cab driver assault Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:02 PM PST Reuters - STAMFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - A senior Morgan Stanley banker pleaded not guilty on Friday to hate crime, theft and assault charges stemming from an incident last December that police say escalated from a dispute over a $200-plus cab fare to a knife attack on the driver. William Bryan Jennings, who had been co-head of North American fixed-income capital markets at the Wall Street bank until being put on leave following his arrest last month, entered "not guilty" pleas to each of three charges against him. ... Full Story Top Obama: 'America is coming back' Fri,9 Mar 2012 07:50 PM PST Associated Press - Raising campaign cash in Republican territory, President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a rebounding economy and accused Republicans of banking on voters having "amnesia" about the steps that led to a brutal economic collapse. Full Story Top China reports rare trade deficit as imports jump Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:40 PM PST Associated Press - China reported its biggest monthly trade deficit in at least a decade in February as imports rebounded after a Lunar New Year holiday slowdown, but a broader measure showed global and Chinese demand both weakening. Full Story Top Pakistan's top court targets army Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:32 PM PST Associated Press - Pakistan's powerful military establishment is under rare scrutiny from the country's top court, which after a gap of 16 years has opened an investigation into allegations the army funneled money to politicians to influence elections. Full Story Top Romney's victories leave GOP leaders unimpressed Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:13 PM PST Associated Press - Mitt Romney's Super Tuesday victories elicited a collective yawn from his party's superdelegates. Full Story Top CA preacher concedes apocalypse prediction wrong Fri,9 Mar 2012 05:47 PM PST Associated Press - A California preacher who convinced thousands of followers that the world would end has posted an online letter conceding he has no evidence of an impending apocalypse and will no longer predict global doom. Full Story Top Hiker missing for month found in New Mexico forest Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:13 PM PST Associated Press - Temperatures dropped below freezing almost every night, but somehow Margaret Page and her cat survived 3 1/2 weeks in an isolated and rugged region of a southwestern New Mexico national forest. Full Story Top Bruce Springsteen performs at the Apollo Theater Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:05 PM PST Associated Press - It was show time at the Apollo, as Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band rocked Harlem's legendary theater. Full Story Top Reports: Redskins to trade for No. 2 pick Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:04 PM PST Associated Press - The Washington Redskins are poised to pay a hefty price to move into position to take Robert Griffin III. Full Story Top Israeli airstrike kills militant commander in Gaza Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:18 PM PST Associated Press - An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who was held captive for more than five years and freed in a prisoner swap for more than 1,000 Palestinians. Full Story Top Syrian opposition rejects talks with regime Fri,9 Mar 2012 02:31 PM PST Associated Press - A high-profile international mission to end the Syrian crisis stumbled Friday before it began as the opposition rejected calls by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with President Bashar Assad as pointless and out of touch after a year of violence. Full Story Top

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