CNN (07/28/12) Elizabeth Cohen

A spokesperson for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists would not say Friday whether the group knew about a 2010 incident in which traveling technician David Kwiatkowski allegedly tested positive for illegal drugs and was fired from a Phoenix hospital. Following the termination, Kwiatkowski worked for four more hospitals in four other states. He allegedly has infected 30 people in New Hampshire with hepatitis C via used syringes. Exeter Hospital says it consulted the radiologic technologist registry prior to hiring Kwiatkowski and he held the required certification for the job.

Wall Street Journal (07/29/12) Neil Shah

The U.S. economy grew just 1.5% in the second quarter as consumers cut their spending and companies grew more reluctant to hire and invest. Growth in the gross domestic product slowed substantially from the first quarter’s 2% annual rate and the fourth quarter’s 4.1% rate. The economic slowdown, coupled with government data indicating the recovery has been weaker than first thought, raises the possibility that a sudden economic jolt from Europe or the U.S. “fiscal cliff” could push the U.S. economy back into recession. However, the White House said Friday that the unemployment rate would fall to 7.9% from the current 8.2% by the end of the year.

Reuters (07/27/12) Laura MacInnis; Matt Spetalnick

Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said Friday that the U.S. economy is growing despite a lackluster second quarter, but acknowledged that faster expansion is needed to boost additional hiring. “While the economy continues to move in the right direction, additional growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the deep recession that began at the end of 2007,” Krueger stated.

Bloomberg (07/29/12) Shobhana Chandra

The median forecast of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of U.S. Department of Labor figures set to be released Aug. 3 predicts a payroll increase of 100,000 workers will follow an 80,000 gain in June, with unemployment projected to hold at 8.2%. “The pace of hiring is pretty lackluster,” says Omair Sharif, a U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. “It’s going to be a painfully slow grind lower on the unemployment rate. Firms have become cautious as the U.S. is slowing a fair bit and global markets are getting worse.”

Payroll gains slowed to an average 75,000 in the April to June period, down from 226,000 in the first quarter and the weakest in almost two years. The jobless rate has exceeded 8% since February 2009, the longest stretch in monthly records going back to 1948. “Given that growth is projected to be not much above the rate needed to absorb new entrants to the labor force, the reduction in the unemployment rate seems likely to be frustratingly slow,” U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony to Congress this month. Fed policy makers will meet ahead of the jobs report to decide whether additional stimulus is needed to combat a slowing economy as Europe’s debt crisis lingers.