On-again, off-again relationships can be so uncomfortable for friends and associates of the partners, a condition that is especially true when there's been acrimony, talk of betrayal, fights over money and circumstances that leave little doubt that one party was wronged by the other. (Today)

It's been too long since the phrases "unemployment rate" and "cautious optimism" could be found in the same sentence. That changed Friday with news that the nation's jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in January, the lowest level in three years while the economy saw a net gain of 243,000 jobs. (Today)

WEATHER forecasters are the Rodney Dangerfields of the prognosticating arts -- they get no respect. But the greatest blow to their prestige comes on Feb. 2 each year, when thousands assemble in the frigid dawn outside Punxsutawney, Pa., to hear a groundhog named Phil pronounce on whether he saw his shadow. (Today)