This week the Labor Department reported that employers added a mere 18,000 new jobs in June, and that the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. The news is a blow to any who were hopeful that the nation's economic recovery was gaining speed. Also this week, a budget deal remains far out of reach, as both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner said there were "real differences" between the two parties over how to resolve the federal debt limit. We discuss the sudden shutdown of Rupert Murdoch's "The News of the World" newspaper. Finally, some reflections on the Space Shuttle program, as Atlantis lifted off on Friday morning for the last Shuttle mission. (Mary Matalin sits in for Arianna Huffington.)
Banner image: Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts (R to L) Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, wave to well-wishers before boarding their tranport July 8, 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images