What You Need to Know: 03.06.09

651,000 Jobs Reported Lost in February
"Another 651,000 jobs were lost in February, adding to the millions of people who have been thrown out of work as the economic downturn deepens.

In a stark measure of the recession’s toll, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the national unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent last month, its highest in 25 years. The economy has now shed more than 4.4 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007."

Corporate America's Icons Crumbling Under Global Recession
"The truisms have been familiar to generations of Americans: As General Motors goes, so goes the nation; Citigroup is too big to fail; General Electric, one of the 12 original companies in the Dow Jones industrial average in 1896, brings good things to life.

But the giants that only recently seemed like the unshakable foundations of the economy are faltering one after another. The girth that once seemed a source of strength now appears to be undermining them."

$410 billion spending bill bogs Senate down
"The Senate, tied up in a fight over a huge omnibus appropriations bill, will have to pass a stopgap spending measure Friday in order to avoid a partial government shutdown.

The Senate worked late on Thursday trying to pass the $410 billion appropriations bill, which was denounced by Republicans — and a handful of Democrats — who said it was bloated and filled with wasteful, pork-barrel spending projects. Democratic leaders were forced to postpone a final vote on the measure until Monday under pressure from GOP senators who complained that Democrats hadn't allowed them enough opportunities to offer amendments."

Obama Touts Stimulus at Ceremony for Ohio Police Recruits
"President Barack Obama, who often says his $787 billion economic stimulus package will save or create millions of jobs, can point to at least 25 jobs saved in Ohio's capital.

Mr. Obama traveled to Columbus on Friday to speak at the graduation ceremony for 25 police recruits who owe their jobs to the economic recovery bill he signed into law less than three weeks ago."

Gupta withdraws name for surgeon general job
"Dr. Sanjay Gupta has withdrawn his name from consideration for the job of surgeon general, senior administration officials told NBC News on Thursday.

Gupta had been offered the job but was weighing the financial considerations, including a pay cut, that it would entail, NBC reported. The Obama administration confirmed that Gupta, a neurosurgeon, had taken himself out of the running because he wants to focus on his medical career and spend more time with his family."