It can sometimes be distracting, or even misleading, to associate a composer's music with particular events in his or her personal life. But at times, the stories linked to a given composition are too compelling to ignore, and can actually give the music added meaning.

The unemployment rate fell sharply last month to 9 percent, the lowest since April 2009, based on a government survey that found that more than a half-million people found work.

A separate survey of company payrolls showed a scant increase of 36,000 net jobs as snowstorms likely hampered hiring. That survey doesn't count the self-employed.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters massed again in central Cairo for what organizers billed as a "Friday of Departure." After two days of clashes with supporters of the regime, their goal remained the same: Force out President Hosni Mubarak.

David Rieff is a contributing editor for The New Republic.

The unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January, the Labor Department reported Friday. But the drop from 9.4 percent came with a rise in employment of only 36 thousand jobs.

While the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in since April 2009, economists had expected the economy to add 145,000 jobs, according to Reuters. Harsh winter weather is thought to have hampered job growth in the construction industry.

If you think those shopper loyalty cards weighing down your wallet or key chain are only good for special discounts, you've overlooked a completely different sort of potential benefit.

Those colorful bits of bar-coded plastic also give stores a way to track your purchases that can help federal investigators hunt down the source of foodborne illness. And they can be used by the retailers to quickly let you know if food you bought has been recalled.

Composer John Barry, who wrote the scores for 11 Bond films, as well as the theme songs for Goldfinger and Thunderball, died Sunday. He was 77.

Barry also scored about 100 films, winning Oscars for his music from The Lion in Winter, Born Free, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves. In 1999, he joined Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a conversation about his career, and revealed that he didn't initially think too much about composing music for the Bond films.

A turkey was caught on video attacking a mail truck. Ethel Kennedy says it belongs to her family. The widow of Robert F. Kennedy says the family gathered at Thanksgiving, and she wanted the kids to know what a live turkey looked like. She sent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to buy two but one got away.

Robert Springborg is a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School.

A 10-year-old girl is refusing to sell Girl Scout cookies after her Girl Scout council decided to sell some of its camps. The Star-Tribune reports that members of a troop in Maplewood, Minn., decided sit out the annual sale.