Blog Posts by Rachel Rose Hartman, Yahoo! News

Job seekers wait in line at a career fair in Denver on April 9, 2013. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)Employment rose by 165,000 jobs in April, according to the monthly economic report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And unemployment dropped slightly from 7.6 to 7.5 percent—a minimal change, but one marking a steady, .4 percent drop since January. It's the lowest unemployment rate in four years.

Employment increases were seen in professional and business services, food services and drinking places, retail trade and health care, according to the report.

The Labor Department also announced revised and more positive figures for February and March: Employment for February was revised from 268,000 to 332,000 jobs gained and for March from 88,000 to 138,000 jobs gained.

Despite these upward trends, however, the overall job picture in April remained grim with 11.7 million unemployed (4.4 million of whom are long-term unemployed). An increase—by 278,000 to 7.9 million—was also seen in individuals employed part-time because their hours were cut back or they were unable to find full-time employment. And 2.3 million people who had searched for a job in the past 12 months were not included in the labor statistics report because they had recently dropped out of the job market.

The White House as usual championed the positive aspects of this month's report.

But the administration also used this month's figures to pressure Congress to end the sequester—the across-the-board federal spending cuts triggered by a failure to pass a budget.

At the kickoff of a six-figure campaign to elect America's first female president in 2016, Emily's List President Stephanie Schriock addressed the question on everybody's mind: Will Hillary Clinton run?

"There is one name that seems to be getting mentioned more than others," Schriock told reporters at the National Press Club Thursday. "We do not know if Hillary is going to run. But we're hopeful that she may."

Schriock, whose group (the name stands for "Early Money Is Like Yeast") works to get pro-choice Democratic women elected to office at the local, state and federal levels, noted there are other women who could run for president in 2016, but that she believes Clinton currently has the best chance to win.

"I think it’s clear if she decides to take this on, she’s in an incredible position," Schriock said in response to a reporter's question. "[But] for us, it’s not about one particular candidate."

President Barack Obama meets Jack Hoffman, 7, of Atkinson, Neb. (Pete Souza/White House Photo)Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old whose 69-yard touchdown at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln football game exploded on the Internet, found himself in the Oval Office Monday.

The Atkinson, Neb., star, who is battling brain cancer, met President Barack Obama and received a signed football from the president, according to the caption on a photo of their meeting released by the White House.

Jack, who has been "adopted" by the Cornhuskers, scored for the team when he stood in for the team's running back, and Hoffman supporter, Rex Burkhead. By Monday, video of the play had received 7.7 million YouTube hits.

Obama's visit with Jack wasn't on the president's public schedule and wasn't covered by the media.

The White House has increasingly used social media to sidestep the press in an effort to directly engage with voters.

Voters wait on Nov. 6, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Edward Linsmier/Getty Images)

We know little about President Barack Obama’s new Commission on Election Administration except for its structure, as outlined in the executive order that explains its task is to improve voting in America, and the names of its two appointed co-chairs: Obama's former counsel Bob Bauer and Republican attorney Ben Ginsberg, who worked for Mitt Romney.

But while it has yet to explain its methodology or get together a full staff (the executive order directs that no more than nine members are to be appointed) the commission—an idea born on election night 2012 when Obama declared we "have to fix" long lines at the polls—is about to get to work.

Steve Croley, deputy White House counsel, told Yahoo News the White House is gearing up to announce the committee's full roster next month and set the group to work. The committee, he said, will be a mix of individuals including "several people who basically run elections for a living" at the state, county or local levels, in addition to those working on the private side. No other details were offered about commissioners.

The commission, not the White House, will set the agenda, Croley added. And part of its work will include significant outreach to state and local election officials and administrators, academics and others experienced in elections. A report will be given to the president six months from its first meeting on “how do we improve the experience of voting,” Croley said.

The White House announced Friday it has added Tumblr to its list of social media tools. The first post is titled "The White House, Tumbling Things."

From the site:

We see some great things here at the White House every day, and sharing that stuff with you is one of the best parts of our jobs. That’s why we’re launching a Tumblr. We’ll post things like the best quotes from President Obama, or video of young scientists visiting the White House for the science fair, or photos of adorable moments with Bo. We’ve got some wonky charts, too. Because to us, those are actually kind of exciting.

The maiden post featured a sunburst diagram of potential content (pictured). It also included a call for submissions from the public.

The president previously used Tumblr as a tool for his 2012 campaign, but this is the first White House account.

President Barack Obama on Friday defended Planned Parenthood—the largest source of reproductive health care for women, as well as an abortion provider—against its opponents, and warned critics that the organization remains steadfast.

"Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere," Obama told the 1,000 people at the group's annual national conference in Washington. "It’s not going anywhere today. It’s not going anywhere tomorrow." He is the first president to address Planned Parenthood.

The organization has long been a target of abortion opponents, who in recent years have fought to cut off its federal funding—despite the fact that that money, by law, is not applicable toward abortions. (Abortions make up an estimated 3 percent of the organization's budget.)

The president on Friday lauded Planned Parenthood's work “providing quality health care to women all across America."

Obama added, "We are truly grateful to you.”

He noted that 1 in 5 women in America have sought services from Planned Parenthood, which is the primary source for health care for many women. When politicians attempt to turn it into "a punching bag," Obama said, they are shutting out women who need health care and communities that may need health care services the most.

"When it comes to a women's health, no politician should get to decide what's best for you," Obama said. "The only person who should get to make decisions about your health is you."

President Barack Obama on Thursday afternoon told those affected by last week's fire and deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that even though the world has been focused on the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon, prayers and support are with the victims of Texas' tragedy.

Though the "eyes of the world may have been fixed on places far away, our hearts have also been here in your time of tribulation," Obama said at a memorial at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, for 12 firefighters killed in the explosion at West Fertilizer Co., in West, Texas, last Wednesday. "You are not alone. You are not forgotten."

That tragedy claimed the lives of 14 and injured more than 200. Investigators continue to probe the cause of the explosion as residents return to a severely damaged community.

Obama on Thursday reiterated that federal assistance is available for the community of West. He said the country will help them rebuild and “reclaim your community."

After lauding the community's resilience and courage, he said, "America needs towns like West," to wide applause.

Vice President Joe Biden issued a damning characterization on Wednesday of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Speaking at a memorial service at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for slain MIT police officer Sean Collier, Biden questioned the motives behind terror attacks against the United States. "I get asked, like my colleagues, almost every day since 9/11, 'Why? Why? Why?,'" Biden said.

"Whether it’s al-Qaida central out of the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] or two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis here in Boston, why do they do what they do?”

White House press secretary Jay Carney at Wednesday's briefing, minutes after Biden concluded his speech, dismissed the suggestion the vice president said "knockoff jihadis" to minimize any connections bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may have had to a large terrorist organization. Tamerlan was killed during the manhunt; Dzhokhar is in police custody.

"You're making assessments that I'm not going to engage in," Carney said in response to a reporter's question.

He added that "the question of whether or not they had any associations is under investigation by the proper authorities."