Newspapers, GOP call for congressman to resign

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A photo of Rep. David Wu wearing a tiger costume and other unusual revelations about his mental health are increasing pressure on the seven-term Oregon Democrat to step down.

But the lawmaker says he's not quitting even as an editorial in one of the state's largest newspapers and the state Republican chairman called for his resignation.

Wu said this week that it was "unprofessional and inappropriate" to send pictures of himself wearing a tiger costume to staff members while he was in the middle of a heated campaign last year. He also acknowledged taking two tablets of a pain killer that were given to him by an unnamed campaign donor.

What Purchaser ought Cognize About Newport Beach Homes?

They're a dream of numerous Peoples to have a Newport Beach Home, because we all Acknowlege Newport Beach is one of the world's finest and deluxe metropolises to live. Newport Beach, comprised in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, United States 10 miles (16 km) south of Downtown Santa Ana. Newport Beach is one of the metropolis with least population density as its total population stands out to be 86,252. The city is currently one of the wealthiest communities in the United States and has even been ranked first in some categories. Areas of Newport Beach include Corona del Mar, Balboa Island, Newport Coast, San Joaquin Hills, and Balboa Peninsula.

World Leaders React to Mubarak Resignation

With the resignation of Hosni Mubarak as president of Egypt and the transition of presidential powers to the military, leaders across Europe have called for a quick transition from military to democratic rule. And in cities across the Middle East, celebrations erupted in support of Egypt's anti-government protests that brought down the man who had ruled Egypt for three decades.

As the protesters who had been calling for Mubarak to resign celebrated their victory in Cairo's Tahrir Square, leaders across the world marked this milestone in Middle East history.

Since the protests began late last month, Western leaders had walked a tightrope, calling for democratic reform, but stopping short of openly calling for Mubarak, a long-time ally in the region, to resign.

Facebook May Be Worth $60 Billion, Sources Say

Facebook was exploring Thursday a tender offer up to $1 billion of its employee shares, after being approached by a number of big institutional investors about investing in the company, according to sources close to the situation.

The new approximate valuation of the company would be $60 billion, sources said, a significant increase to a recent $1.5 billion investment round by Goldman Sachs and its international clients that had pegged the social networking behemoth at $50 billion.

The reason behind the move would be to allow Facebook employees to take gains from their privately-held shares, since the company is not likely to have an initial public offering (IPO) for at least a year.

Weekly Jobless Claims Drop to 3-Year Low

WASHINGTON -- The number of people applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in nearly three years, boosting hopes that companies will step up hiring this year as the economy strengthens.

Applications sank by a seasonally adjusted 36,000 to 383,000, the lowest point since early July 2008, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Unemployment applications reflect the level of layoffs, but also can indicate whether companies are willing to hire.

Applications are well below their peak of 651,000, reached in March 2009, when the economy was deep in recession. Applications below 425,000 tend to signal modest job growth. But they would need to dip consistently to 375,000 or below to indicate a significant and steady decline in the unemployment rate.

French Government Under Pressure Over Tunisia Decisions

The French government has come under fire for supporting Tunisia's former regime and not embracing anti-government protesters in the Arab world. The criticism has particularly targeted France's foreign minister, with calls for her to leave.

French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie is facing demands for her to resign over alleged connections with the regime of former Tunisian strongman Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. There were reports she used a private plane of a close Ben Ali associate. Alliot-Marie also sparked outrage here and in Tunisia last month when she suggested France could help train Tunisia's hated police force.

Google Launches Voice-to-Tweet Workaround for Egypt

Google launched a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialing a phone number and leaving a voicemail, as Internet access remains cut off in the country amid anti-government protests.

"Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground," read a post on Google's official corporate blog on Monday.

The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail. The voicemail is automatically translated into an audio file message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag #egypt, Google said.

Tea Party, key GOP group not sold on Orrin Hatch

Is Sen. Orrin Hatch as "good as it gets" when it comes to Republicans?

The Club for Growth PAC, a group of fiscal conservatives, doesn't think so and is taking exception to a Tea Party leader who said the Utah senator is a conservative in the mold of Ronald Reagan and "as good as it gets."

The club played a role in taking down Hatch's home-state colleague Robert Bennett last year, spending $182,000 to help deny Bennett the GOP nomination for re-election.

While Chris Chocola, the club's president, won't say if the group and its political action committee will target Hatch in the 2012 elections, but it sounds like Hatch should be on notice.