Americans

WASHINGTON - For the third year in a row, the nation's economic recovery has hit a springtime soft spot. Reflecting that weakness, only one in four Americans now expects his or her own financial situation to improve over the next year, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows. The sour mood is undermining support for President Obama's economic stewardship and government in general. The poll shows that just 46 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the economy while 52 percent disapprove.

With their baseball hats and sauntering gaits, they appeared to friends and neighbors like ordinary American boys. But the Boston bombings suspects were refugees from another world - the blood, rubble, and dirty wars of the Russian Caucasus. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was a southpaw heavyweight boxer who represented New England in the National Golden Gloves and talked about competing on behalf of the United States. His tangle-haired, 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, was a skateboarder who listened to rap and seemed easygoing to other kids in his Cambridge, Mass., neighborhood.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY professor Molefi Kete Asante, who launched the nation's first doctoral program in African-American studies at Temple 25 years ago, will again chair the university's African-American studies department, he said Thursday. Asante served as department chair from 1984 to 1997, when he was ousted amid allegations of plagiarism - which he has said were unfounded. He has had a rocky relationship with Teresa Scott Soufas, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, since she arrived at Temple in 2007.

I RA GLASS is the Jessica Simpson of public radio. Not the new, pregnant designer Jessica Simpson. The old, singing, can't dance a lick Jessica Simpson. That Jessica used to surround herself with dancers to hide her own immobility. And that brings us to Glass. The "This American Life" host will present the world premiere of "One Radio Show, Two Dancers," a night of stories and dance, courtesy of Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass , Saturday and Sunday at the Annenberg Center.

JERUSALEM - An Israeli military court sentenced a Palestinian American teenager Wednesday to two weeks in prison for throwing rocks at Israeli forces, the military said, in a case that has drawn attention to Israel's system of military detention of Palestinian minors. Israel's military said a juvenile military court convicted Mohammad Khalek, 14, of throwing stones, along with other Palestinians, at Israeli security forces April 2. It said Khalek confessed to the stone-throwing and reached a plea bargain for a fine of about $830 and a total of 31 days in jail, including the time he was held awaiting sentencing.

CHICAGO - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stopped in Chicago on Monday to visit the parents of the young U.S. diplomat who was killed while delivering textbooks in southern Afghanistan earlier this month. Kerry made the detour on his way back from Japan, the final leg of a 10-day overseas tour that started with tragedy when he learned of Anne Smedinghoff's death while readying to depart for Turkey on April 6. At the time, a clearly affected Kerry contacted Smedinghoff's parents, Tom and Mary Beth, from Andrews Air Force Base.

DALLAS - A federal bankruptcy judge has at least temporarily blocked a proposed $20 million severance payment for the chief executive officer of American Airlines as part of the company's merger with US Airways. The judge ruled that the proposed payment to Tom Horton exceeded limits that Congress set for bankruptcy cases in 2005. A spokesman for American said Friday that the airlines would push ahead with their merger and deal with Horton's compensation later. The U.S. Trustee's Office, part of the Department of Justice, objected to Horton's compensation.

Joe Schooley stepped into the batter's box and into the biggest moment of his life. It was the bottom of the sixth inning. The game was tied, 6-6. The 1983 Little League state baseball championship was on the line. Talk about pressure for a 12-year-old. To make matters worse, Schooley had to wait. Playing for Cherry Hill American, Schooley watched as Morristown brought in a new pitcher to face him. The pitcher was uncomfortable with the mound, causing a five-minute delay that felt closer to 45 minutes for Schooley.

WASHINGTON - President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor on Thursday to an Army chaplain from Kansas who risked his life dodging gunfire to provide medical and spiritual aid to wounded soldiers before dying in captivity more than 60 years ago during the Korean War. "I can't imagine a better example for all of us, whether in uniform or not in uniform, a better example to follow," Obama said after presenting the nation's highest military award for valor...

  AMERICA is rightly on edge. When a man with the power to make life-or-death decisions affecting thousands of U.S. citizens recklessly shows contempt for decency and international norms of behavior, it is no wonder the American people would be both angry and fearful. When his threats are so clearly contrary to the interests of those he represents and even those who might otherwise support him, it is natural to wonder whether he has somehow become unhinged. But we should react calmly.