National

There were 343,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, down 29,000 from the week before, according to the Employment and Training Administration.

At that level, claims were the lowest they'd been since the first week of October's 342,000.

Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse "fooled by a hoax call to the London hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge was later found hanged," the BBC says.

Good Thursday morning, here are our early stories:

Report: North Korea's Satellite May Be 'Tumbling Out Of Control'.

Diplomatic Shift? Russia Acknowledges Assad May Be On Way Out.

And here are our early headlines:

"Syria's most powerful ally, Russia, said for the first time Thursday that President Bashar Assad is losing control of his country and the rebels might win the civil war, dramatically shifting the diplomatic landscape at a time of enormous momentum for the opposition," The Associated Press writes.

Here's what Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said, according to the AP:

There are conflicting reports about whether the satellite launched into space Wednesday from North Korea is safely circling the planet.