All Things Considered on NPR News

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish. The job market is finally showing signs of improvement after months of disappointing numbers. The Labor Department said today that employers added 163,000 jobs to their payroll in July. That's the best performance since February. Of course, it wasn't all good news. With the jobs increase also came an uptick in the overall unemployment rate to 8.3 percent. As NPR's Jim Zarroli reports, that underscores just how tenuous the recovery remains.

A new report in the New York Times suggests that the arms upper hand the Syrian regime has had over rebel fighters is deteriorating quickly. Audie Cornish talks with Joseph Holliday, a former American intelligence officer who is now with the Institute for the Study of War.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

More now on the political implications on those jobs numbers, plus the rest of the week in politics. We're joined, as usual, by David Brooks of the New York Times and sitting in for E.J. Dionne is Jennifer Granholm. She's host of the War Room on Current TV, a columnist for Politico and former Democratic governor of Michigan. Governor Granholm, welcome.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM: Thank you.

CORNISH: David Brooks, good to see you.

DAVID BROOKS: Good to see you.

Gabby Douglas, the 16-year-old gymnast from Virginia Beach, Va., won another gold medal Thursday. The first was won with her team earlier this week. She was the only member of the team to perform in all four rotations. So, why are some black women obsessed with her hair? Writer Monique Fields has this perspective.

Never mind how she flies like a raven on the balance beam. Or flutters across the floor. Or soars on vault. Or swings on the uneven bars.

The West Nile virus is back, and it's looking like it could be particularly bad this year. As as result, federal health officials are warning people to protect themselves against the mosquito-borne infection.

The West Nile virus first showed up in the U.S. in 1999 and quickly spread from coast to coast, raising widespread alarm. Some have argued that red-breasted robins play a key role in the spread of the virus.

As Lena Henderson says, she hadn't been expecting to remarry Roland Davis some 48 years after their divorce, but "you never know what tomorrow is going to bring."

All Things Considered today tells the touching story of how the two 85-year-olds are set to tie the knot again on Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y.