CNN 2011-08-24

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Pressure is increasing for Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to quit his job. We've talked this week about the violence going on in Syria and the protests there against the country's leader. Yesterday, U.S. officials explained why they believe the Syrian president's got to go.

 

The people of Syria deserve a government that respects their dignity, protects their rights, and lives up to their aspirations². Assad is standing³ in their way.

 

The United States also announced new sanctions -- new punishments --against the Syrian government. Those include limiting access to assets that Syria has in the United States. President al-Assad is also facing heat from European leaders. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union: all of them calling for him to step aside.

 

See if you can I.D. Me! I'm a stock index that was established in 1896. Most people use me to measure the overall U.S. stock market. I was founded by Charles Dow and Edward Jones. I'm the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and I'm made up of 30 high-profile stocks. 

 

The Dow is highlighting concerns about the U.S. economy. Yesterday, it dropped more than 400 points. At one point during the day, it was down nearly 530 points. That came after Morgan Stanley -- this major investment bank -- put out a prediction that was pretty negative about economic growth around the globe. 

 

So the Dow took a big drop. So what? What does that mean? Well, the Dow indicates not just how major companies are doing, but how investors⁴ feel about the economy in general. And if that is dropping, that means investors are pulling money out of the market. They're not feeling confident in it. And this doesn't just affect the U.S. There's a global economy. What happens in one country affects other countries. And that's what we're seeing. Stock markets in Europe and Asia took a hit yesterday, as well.

 

The stock market is one way people determine how the U.S. economy is doing. Another is the national unemployment rate. Right now, it's just over nine percent. Everyone wants to create new jobs. But President Obama and the Republican candidates who are hoping to be the next president don't agree on how to do that. Holly⁵ Firfer has more on that.

 

Wrapping up a three-day midwest tour in his home state of Illinois, President Obama held a town hall meeting at a production facility, where he focused on jobs while fighting to keep his. He said by starting with basic ideas, like building the nation's infrastructure⁶, the economy will move in the right direction if Congress does not get in the way.

 

These aren't radical⁷ ideas. I mean building roads, when did that become a partisan⁸ issue?

 

Many feel political bickering⁹ in Congress is taking focus away from the real needs of the country.

 

We've lost our rating as far as being able to borrow money. Stuff like that. It's pretty concerning.

 

Meanwhile in New Hampshire, Mitt¹⁰ Romney claimed the president's inexperience was responsible for the economic crisis and subsequent standstill in Washington.

 

As far as I can tell, he has not, he didn't lead a business, didn't lead a state, didn't lead a city. He didn't have leadership experience and therefore didn't know how to work with Congress.

 

Also campaigning in New Hampshire, GOP hopeful Rick Perry continued to tout¹¹ his record of job creation as governor of Texas and criticized the president for what he called his inability to manage the economy.

 

We spent about the last 2.5 years in a grand experiment with the American economy, and it has been a terrible, terrible disaster.

 

According to White House officials, President Obama will address job growth and the nation's debt with a new economic plan some time after Labor¹² Day. In Washington, I'm Holly Firfer.

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