National: The national jobless rate dropped to 7.7%, an improvement of .2%. That’s a gain of 236,000 jobs in February, and a four-year low. The stock market climbed further into record-setting territory this morning.

➢A son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden who acted as an Al Qaeda spokesman is scheduled to appear in a New York court today. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 47, was captured in Turkey and transferred through Jordan. As spokesman for Al Qaeda he praised the Sept. 11 attacks and was once quoted on a website saying, “We have the right to kill four million Americans — two million of them children.”

➢Hours after Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul ended his nearly 13-hour filibuster John O. Brennan was confirmed as Director of the CIA. But Paul got what he was looking for, a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder promising he would never use drone aircraft to kill Americans on US soil. At the end of his filibuster Sen. Paul immediately announced he was going to the men’s room.

➢A winter storm is lingering on the New England coast, bringing tidal surges and dropping as much as a foot of snow in some places.

World: Thousands of people waited over ten hours hours to view the body of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He was dressed in his military uniform and red beret. Chavez was seen as a little crazy in the US, but was popular at home where he used national oil wealth to help the poor.

Faithful Flock: All 115 Roman Catholic cardinals have finally gathered at the Vatican to select a new pope. The start of the “conclave” in which they actually vote is to be announced later today.

Elephant Slaughter: Sixty percent of all African forest elephants were killed between 2002 and 2011, according to a newly released study by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Increasingly brazen poachers are feeding an growing international market for elephant ivory products. An estimated 80,000 forest elephants are still left.

Social News: Facebook announced a Facelift of its pages with bigger pictures and video images. As Jimmy Kimmel said, “better pictures of your friends’ feet on vacation.” Presumably those annoying ads they’ve been slipping in among your friends’ news feeds will be bigger also. The largest social network in the world is fighting user burnout.

The Bieber: Justin Bieber has been released from a London hospital after becoming faint on stage last night. He took a 15-minute break, came back to finish the show, then checked into the hospital. He’s reported to be OK. Some think it’s his act that’s ailing.

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