E Pluribus Unum

Tim Grieve:

The job numbers for August were released this morning, and they show that the economy actually lost 4,000 jobs last month.

It's the first time in four years that the economy has actually lost jobs in a month, and that wasn't the only bad news. The 92,000 jobs the economy supposedly gained in July? The Labor Department has just revised that number down to 68,000. And the 126,000 jobs the economy was thought to have added in June? Now the Labor Department says the real number was just 69,000.

The biggest losers: August saw the loss of 46,000 manufacturing jobs and 22,000 construction jobs.

The White House said that any new video message from bin Laden would only underscore the threat the United States and other nations face from extremists.

I'm sorry... were you talking to me?

Bin Laden's beard appears to have been dyed, a popular practice among Arab leaders, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terror messages.

"I think it works for their (al-Qaida's) benefit that he looks young, he looks healthy," Katz said.

In other news, Paul McCartney was spotted canoodling with Elle McPherson.