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• . SURPRISINGLY WEAK HIRING IN DECEMBER PUZZLES ECONOMISTS
• The weakest month of hiring in three years ends 2013 on a sluggish note and raises questions about whether the U.S. job market can sustain its recent strong gains. Employers added a scant 74,000 jobs in December after averaging 200,000-plus in the previous four months. Friday's weak report from the Labor Department was particularly surprising because it followed a flurry of data that had pointed to a robust economy, and left economists struggling for explanations.
• . FIRST BATCH OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS TAKEN OUT OF SYRIA
• In an important milestone to rid President Bashar Assad of his deadly arsenal by midyear, the chemicals were loaded onto a Danish ship Tuesday under tight security. The operation took place against the backdrop of a widening civil war. The chemicals will eventually be transferred to a U.S. ship, which has been fitted with special machinery to render the materials inert.
• . LINDSEY VONN TO SKIP SOCHI OLYMPICS DUE TO INJURED RIGHT KNEE
• The 29-year-old skier from Vail, Colo., announced her decision Tuesday, exactly one month before the opening ceremony in Russia. She took home two medals from the 2010 Vancouver Games, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic gold in the downhill.
• . JPMORGAN CHASE TO PAY MORE THAN $2.5 BILLION FOR FAILING TO DETECT FRAUD
• The nation's largest bank will forfeit a record $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges, plus pay $543 million to settle civil claims by victims of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. Authorities said Tuesday it also will pay a $350 million civil penalty for what the Treasury Department called "critical and widespread deficiencies" in its programs to prevent money laundering and other suspicious activity.
• . PRIVATELY LAUNCHED CARGO SHIP BLASTS OFF FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
• Orbital Sciences Corp. launched its unmanned Antares rocket Thursday from Wallops Island, Va., hoisting a capsule packed with 3,000 pounds of equipment and experiments provided by NASA, as well as food and even some ants for an educational project. Christmas presents also were on board for the six space station residents. The delivery was delayed three times, most recently by a strong solar storm.
• . DENNIS RODMAN CRITICIZED OVER VISIT TO NORTH KOREA
• The former basketball star brought in a group of ex-NBA players to play a goodwill game for the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un. Rodman was slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae,

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