Obama began his weekly address today with some depressing figures: 4.4 million jobs have been lost to the recession and America now faces unemployment in excess of 8 percent, the highest rate in the last quarter-century. But the “Toward a Better Day” address struck an optimistic tone nonetheless: If we act quickly and intelligently, Obama argued, America will “discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis.” The president focused mostly on reassuring America that the government is on track. He listed the work he accomplished in the last week: plans to help homeowners with their mortgages, lending initiatives, the end of no-bid contracts, and the health care summit. Obama’s health care bill, which he says he hopes will be complete by the end of the year, will push for “quality, affordable health care for every American that no longer overwhelms the budgets of families, businesses and our government.” Meanwhile, the GOP’s weekly radio address, delivered by Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, criticized Obama’s health care initiative: “I’m concerned that if the government steps in it will eventually push out the private health care plans millions of Americans enjoy today. This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack.”

The unemployment surge to 8.1 percent was driven, in large part, by job losses in the financial sector, manufacturing, and retail, and one economist tells The New York Times, “These jobs aren’t coming back. A lot of production either isn’t going to happen at all, or it’s going to happen somewhere other than the United States. There are going to be fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations.” Over 2.5 million jobs have disappeared in the last four months. Rather than handing out unemployment benefits until economic growth resumes, some economists say “the government needs to place a greater emphasis on retraining workers for other careers.”

A fun byproduct of secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s “soft power” tour of the world: In new international media interviews, she’s discussing her emotional life with new candor. On Turkish chat show Hadi Gel Bizimle (“Come and Join Us,” Turkish TV’s answer to The View) female interviewers quizzed Clinton on the demands of public service, her life as first lady, and when she “last” fell in love: “It was so long ago, with my husband,” Clinton said and described meeting Bill in law school. When a host delicately asked Clinton how she deals with “bitter personal experiences,” Clinton’s responded, “Oh, love! And forgiveness, and friendship, and family.… I don’t know anybody whose life is smooth sailing.” Clinton also noted that “you can’t have everything.” Among the sacrifices she makes for her life in the public eye: Anonymous afternoons at coffee shops, “people watching,” and shopping, though Hillary joked that the “fashion gene” skipped a generation in her. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, has “fabulous” taste and “is doing a wonderful job” balancing FLOTUS duties with motherhood. Though Clinton said the benefits of public service are worth it, “I sacrificed a lot of my privacy, which I regret.”

President Obama will sign an executive order on Monday overturning the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, according to ABC News. The announcement will be made at an event at the White House and will be about, according to one official, “restoring scientific integrity to health care policy.” Former-president Bush signed the ban originally in 2001 and vetoed two efforts to overturn it.

Fox News’ dramatic lede: “In a plea evoking Darth Vader’s attempt to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday urged President Obama to join the socialist movement.” On Venezuela’s state television channel on Friday Chavez said, “I recommend to Obama—they’re criticizing him because they say he’s moving toward socialism—come, Obama. Ally with us on the path to socialism, it’s the only road…. Imagine a socialist revolution in the US. Nothing is impossible.” Bloomberg reports that Chavez used his televised address to announce that the recession has proven, once and for all, that America’s “capitalist model and its perverse values have failed.” No word on whether President Skywalker will respond.

They don't just leap tall buildings in a single bound: Superheroes earn big, too. In its first day in theaters, Watchmen earned $24.9 million on Friday. The CGI-heavy flick hit 3,611 locations on its first day, setting the record for the widest-ever release for an R-rated movie. Director Zack Snyder's last blockbluster, 300, earned a hefty $28.1 million the day of its release, although it had fewer people lined up for its first midnight screenings and was also 45 minutes shorter. Box office watchers are now waiting to see if Watchmen can beat 300's massive first-weekend gross of $70.9 million—and if any movie will get close to Slumdog Millionaire's decidedly un-slummy gross intake which passed $120 million mark this week, and it's still in theaters.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is stepping down to make way for a power-sharing deal between rivals Hamas and Fatah. But will his gambit work? Hamas officials are already rebuffing the announcement, saying, “This government did not work for the sake of the Palestinians, it worked for its own agenda. This end was expected for a government that was illegal and unconstitutional.” A deal would end the Palestinian power structure in place since June 2007, whereby Hamas controls Gaza and Fatah the West Bank. The two sides held their first reconciliation talks last week and agreed to form a caretaker government ahead of new presidential and parliamentary elections.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has not yet been on the job two months, but business blogger Henry Blodget is already calling for his resignation. Geithner “clearly isn't the right man for the job,” he writes, listing as evidence: 1) his vague bank-rescue plan, which looks a lot like Hank Paulson’s; 2) his floating multiple versions of the same plan hoping one would catch on; 3) his refusal to discuss the consensus opinion of most neutral economists: nationalization (or pre-privatization, as Blodget calls it); 4) his brusque, defensive manner; and 5) most important, his refusal “to revisit or defend his almost certainly inaccurate view that this crisis is merely a temporary price decline caused by a lack of liquidity.”

The president has added a new stop to his foreign itinerary: Turkey. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Obama’s plans at a stop in Ankara and said the visit would occur in the next month or so. The trip will allow Obama to deliver on one of his campaign pledges: to give a speech in an Islamic country early in his term, as a way to improve US relations with the Muslim world. Turkey, which is 99.8 percent Muslim, has close ties with the US and the West. Obama could add the visit to his overeas trip later this month, when he visits the UK, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic for several summits on the global economy and security.

Michael Jackson announced his last act last night, ten concert dates at London's O2. But TMZ noticed a discrepancy: R&B singer and songwriter Ne-Yo is scheduled to perform on one of the same nights. Ne-Yo's reps say his show will go on as planned, but TMZ guesses he'll get bumped for the original Thriller. Jackson's "surprisingly affordable" O2 tickets range from $75-105 without booking fees, and TMZ's sources say Jackson could expand to more than twenty shows to meet sky-high demand for his end-of-career shows—which would mean Ne-Yo needs to find another venue, or wait until September for his show.

New York State Attorney General to Bank of America: Get out of my investigation! “We respectfully request that the court reject Bank of America’s continued efforts to stymie the attorney general’s investigation,” Cuomo said in a letter to a New York State Supreme Court judge. Cuomo is investigating Merrill Lynch’s payment of $3.6 billion in bonuses in late December and has subpoenaed seven bonus recipients. BofA is trying to prevent their testimony. According to the bank’s spokesperson, “Bank of America does not believe the attorney general needs the freedom to place private, personal information in the news media in order to conduct his investigation.”

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change will carry out an independent investigation of the car crash Thursday that killed his wife, Susan. The party also says the prime minister, who is now undergoing treatment in Botswana, should have had a police escort. “Logic would have demanded that police escort be provided to the prime minister to warn other traffic and this tragedy could have been avoided,” a party representative said. Officials say they do not suspect foul play caused the accident, in which Tsvangirai suffered some head and neck injuries. The truck that collided with the former opposition leader’s car belonged to a partner organization of USAID, US officials say.

Eight years ago, the United Nations’ racism conference in Durban was rocked by anti-Semitism allegations. Now it looks like its successor, to be held April 20-25 in the South African city, may be heading down the same road. The US, Canada, and Israel have already pulled out, saying the text of the draft resolutions prepared for the conference by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva are “not salvageable.” With Islamic countries insisting on wording assailing Israel and equating criticism of religious faith with violation of human rights, other European countries are worried. Nevertheless, the UN is urging all states to attend.

So, how many people actually listen to Rush Limbaugh, anyway? Pat Buchanan says 30 million; Rush himself says 20 million; others go as low as 14.2 million. Audience measurer Arbitron has never publicly released a national estimate for the nation’s most popular talk-radio host, and calculations of the true number “are exercises in guesswork, slippery methodology and suspect data,” The Washington Post reports. The trouble is Limbaugh’s patchwork radio empire: The 600 stations that carry his show don’t all carry it at the same time or for the full duration—and what about his overseas listeners? The Post concludes, “Whatever the number, not all of Limbaugh’s listeners are the ardent ideological followers known as ‘Dittoheads.’”

Does the State Department really not have a decent Russian translator? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kicked off relations with Russia by gifting to the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, a mock “reset button,” but an error in translating “reset” as “overcharge” allowed Lavrov to tease her. The two were jovial, with Clinton praising the “very productive meeting of the minds” and Lavrov announcing their “wonderful personal relationship.” He did, however, attack the United States for its recognition of Kosovo and defended Russia’s selling missile parts to Iran.

Chris Brown, who allegedly attacked girlfriend Rihanna last month, may have gotten his arraignment pushed back, but he’d better move fast if he’s going to salvage his pop career. And that’s what he’s planning: The Chicago Sun-Times reports the 19-year-old singer will team up with Rihanna, who’s taken him back with some key provisions: to co-author a book about abuse and “go on a talk show whirlwind to speak directly to their fans and the general public.” As part of Brown’s plan, “Project Mea Culpa,” he’ll tell of his increasingly abusive behavior and partner with clinical experts. And what if Rihanna is abused again? Brown “has agreed to pay Rihanna ‘as much as $10 million’ and possibly more ‘if he as much as squeezes her arm the wrong way,’” says a source.

The field for surgeon general just got louder: Howard Dean is in the running. The doctor, a former Vermont governor, presidential candidate, and Democratic National Committee chairman, had wanted to run the Health and Human Services Department but was passed over amid rumors of bad blood between him and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Now it looks like Dean and Rahm have patched up their differences, and since CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta’s surprise exit from contention yesterday, the man whose screech will live on in all our memories is back at the top of the heap. But is he actually interested in the post? 

Maybe the jury will take ingenuity into consideration? Spanish police arrested a 66-year-old Chilean man at the Barcelona airport yesterday after discovering that the cast on his broken leg was made entirely out of cocaine. He also had less creatively hidden stashes in beer cans and hollowed out stools—10.7 pounds in total. Spain is a main point of entry for drugs coming from South America to Europe.

Gay married couples are in an awkward spot: With the California Supreme Court expected to uphold Proposition 8 but still recognize the 18,000 same-sex marriages that occurred before the ballot initiative, many of California’s married gay couples are feeling more alienated than ever. The Los Angeles Times explores the existing gay couples’ struggle “being a minority within a minority—part of an exclusive club whose doors have been closed to others.” And with same-sex marriage likely to resurface on future ballots, many couples are determined to serve as positive examples of gay marriage. "We will be scrutinized...We are going to be a little scientific sample group," one man said. "I feel a sense of responsibility to show to people that gay marriage can be as healthy, productive, supportive and loving as any straight marriage."

Lawsuit or no lawsuit, a Los Angeles auction house says it will auction off the contents of Michael Jackson’s Neverland estate, and may use the proceeds to pay for any litigation fees. Darren Julien tells The Wrap the debt-ridden Jackson—who’s mounting 10 comeback shows in London this summer—and his people contacted his firm on their own about holding an auction of his possessions. The auction house head expressed indignation at the King of Pop’s lawsuit, which accuses him of trying to sell those items without permission. Julien said the star and his closest confidant, “the mysterious Dr. Tohme Tohme” appeared happy with the auction plans until Wednesday, when the suit was filed. Among the items Julien and his staff cleared out of Neverland and are putting on the block: Popemobile-style electric vehicles, the estate’s crested gates, and dozens of sequined gloves.