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Dow Jones breaks 14,000 points

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 14,000 mark for the first time in more than five years Friday on reports about U.S. jobs and manufacturing.

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The Dow added 149.21 points, or 1.08 percent, to close at 14,009.79 in late afternoon trading.

"Psychologically, it's a monumental number," Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus, told The Wall Street Journal. "It happened quicker than a lot of people thought it might, based on what's going on with the economy and the political climate."

It is the first time the Dow closed above 14,000 points since Oct. 12, 2007.


Economy adds 157,000 jobs in January

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate rose 0.1 point to 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

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The report included revised numbers for November and December, showing the economy added 247,000 jobs in those months -- 127,000 more than previously estimated.

The uptick to 7.9 percent comes two months after the rate fell to 7.7 percent in November -- the lowest since December 2008.

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger said the report "provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression."

The report "is a reminder of the importance of the need for Congress to act to avoid self-inflicted wounds to the economy," he said.

Krueger called on Congress to "move toward a sustainable federal budget in a responsible way that balances revenue and spending ... while making critical investments in the economy that promote growth and job creation and protect our most vulnerable citizens."


Bomb kills guard at U.S. Embassy in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A suicide bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, killed a Turkish security guard and injured two other people, authorities said Friday.

"We can confirm a terrorist blast at a checkpoint on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey, at 1:13 p.m., local time," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties."

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Officials said the guard and suicide bomber were killed. It had been reported earlier that two security guards died in the attack.

The explosion destroyed a door at the entrance and scattered masonry from the wall around it but embassy workers said there was no damage inside the building, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. Embassy personnel were taken to safe rooms within the building.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called the bombing "an act of terror."


At least one dead in Egyptian protests

CAIRO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails Friday in another round of demonstrations against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

At least one person was killed in a clash outside the presidential palace in Cairo and dozens injured across the country, Ahram Online reported. The protests follow the deadliest week of violence -- more than 60 people died -- since Morsi took office.

The new round of protests began in Port Said after 21 people were sentenced to death for participating in violent soccer riots that killed 74.

Morsi's office issued a statement blaming "violent anarchists" for the protests. The president has declared a state of emergency but has so far failed to quash the demonstrations.

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Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency and head of the Constitution Party and National Salvation Front, urged the opposition via Twitter to be peaceful, reminding protesters of the demonstrations that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

"We brought down Mubarak's regime in a peaceful revolution, and we insist to achieve its objectives in the same way, no matter what the sacrifices are or the brutal methods of repression," he said.

Thousands of people marched in the rain Friday in Port Said, chanting, "With our soul and blood, we will defend you, Port Said," Ahram Online reported.


Clinton leaving post; Kerry to take over

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her tenure as the top U.S. diplomat Friday, turning the reins over to U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Clinton addressed State Department employees in the afternoon before leaving her post.

"As I look back over these past four years, I am very proud of the work we have done together. Of course, we live in very complex and even dangerous times, as we saw again just today at our embassy in Ankara, where we were attacked and lost one of our foreign service nationals and others injured," Clinton said. "But I spoke with the ambassador, and the team there, I spoke with my Turkish counterpart and I told them how much we valued their commitment and their sacrifice.

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Kerry, who resigned his Senate seat after his confirmation earlier this week, was to be sworn in Friday during a private ceremony. Kerry officially begins his duties Monday.

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