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NPR's Elaine Korry reports on today's Labor Department announcement that first-time claims for jobless benefits took a dramatic drop last week. That put the four-week jobless claims average at an eight-year low. The nation's unemployment rate fell to 5.3% in February, amid strong job creation. The survey of business payrolls showed a net increase of 339,000 jobs for the month, far more than was expected. The stock and bond markets reacted favorably because there was little hint of any inflation in the new numbers.

NPR's Laurie Neff reports that a decision by Israel's cabinet to transfer a portion of West Bank territory to Palestinian control has further enraged the Palestinian people. They say Israel is not handing over enough territory. The Palestinians already were angry over Israel's decision to expand Jewish neighborhoods in Arab East Jerusalem.

Daniel talks with William Quandt, former Middle East Advisor on the National Security Council, about the Israeli-Palestinian fight for control of East Jerusalem. Negotiations will begin soon over who will rule the ancient city. This past week, Israel announced that it would break ground on a new housing project especially earmarked for Jews. Quandt, currently Professor of Government at the Univerity of Virginia, says Israel is trying to predetermine the outcome of those negotiations by creating immovable "facts on the ground."

As Shanghai's World Expo readies to open May 1, the final countdown is on. And after an eight-year build-up, Shanghai is suffering from the tyranny of high expectations.

Nevin Harrison, 19, became the first woman from the U.S. to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport of canoe sprint.

about this weekend's league tournaments that will decide which teams qualify for the NCAA men's playoffs.

Title IX requires that colleges spend as much on women's sports as they do on men's sports. Weekend Edition's sports commentator Ron Rapoport says women's sports on college campuses is booming, but much of this is happening without Title IX.

Daniel talks with NPR's Sylvia Poggioli, who is in the Albanian capital of Tirana, about the latest developments in the political crisis there. Amid a huge financial scandal that has bankrupted thousands of Albanians who now blame the government, Poggioli says another town in the south has fallen, placing the entire southern third of the country in rebel hands.

From London, NPR's Michael Goldfarb profiles British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, head of the Referendum Party. With Britons set to go to the polls May first, Goldsmith is spending millions to elect members of Parliament who will call for a referendum on England's participation in the European Union. Goldsmith, who's been compared to Ross Perot, is fervently against British integration into the Union.

Liane talks with our regular medical commentators, Drs. Miriam Shuchman and Michael Wilkes. Topics include the latest food scare involving frozen strawberries served in the school lunch program that caused over 150 cases of Hepatitis A. They also discuss two recent examples of research supression by vested interests. In one case, a study that showed a popular but expensive thyroid medication was no more effective than cheaper generic brands, was published after a seven year delay...the pharmaceutical company which makes the drug and sponsored the research tried to bar its publication.