Associated Press Headline News

SUPER BOWL WATCH: GANGLY KID, BIG ARM

Hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Colin Kaepernick was almost unwanted.

College coaches thought he was going to sign with the Chicago Cubs, who drafted him as a pitcher out of high school. They didn't want to take a chance on the gangly kid with a big arm who was never asked to run on his high school football team.

Nevada coach Chris Ault saw something he liked, but even he wasn't sure about chancing a scholarship on Kaepernick.

"He was a tall skinny kid who was a good athlete," Ault said. "But really there wasn't anything to say this guy is the guy."

Other schools wanted Kaepernick to come as a walk on. But Ault finally gave him a scholarship, reasoning that if he didn't work out at quarterback he was big enough to perhaps play another position.

The rest, as they say, is history.

APE PICKS RAVENS

Too bad gambling's illegal in Utah: This ape's on a roll.

An orangutan at a Utah zoo has predicted the winning Super Bowl team each of the past five years. The ape, named Eli, is picking the Baltimore Ravens this time around.

Casinos in neighboring Nevada favor the San Francisco 49ers.

Eli made his pick by knocking down a papier mache goal post decorated with the Ravens logo. He ignored the 49ers post.

Hogle Zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen said Eli has hesitated in years past, but charged toward the Ravens side this year. He then joined his mate and daughter in chowing down on the edible posts.

At least he's confident.

US GAINS 157K JOBS; JOBLESS RATE RISES TO 7.9 PCT.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. job market is proving sturdier than expected at a time when the economy is under pressure from Washington gridlock and the threat of government spending cuts.

Employers added 157,000 jobs in January, and hiring was much stronger at the end of last year than the government had previously estimated.

The Labor Department's estimated job gains for the final two months of 2012 - a period when the economy was being threatened by the fiscal cliff - rose from 161,000 to 247,000 for November and from 155,000 to 196,000 for December.

SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS GUARD AT US EMBASSY IN TURKEY

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- In the second deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic post in five months, a suicide bomber struck the American Embassy in Ankara on Friday, killing a Turkish security guard in what the White House described as a terrorist attack.

Washington immediately warned Americans to stay away from all U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey and to be wary in large crowds.

Turkish officials said the bombing was linked to leftist domestic militants.

CLINTON FORMALLY RESIGNS AS SECRETARY OF STATE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton formally resigned Friday as America's 67th secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure that saw her shatter records for the number of countries visited.

In a letter sent to President Barack Obama shortly before she was to leave the State Department for the last time in her official capacity, Clinton thanked her former foe for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the opportunity to serve in his administration. Clinton said it had been an honor to be part of his Cabinet.

"I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good in the world," she said in the letter.

Her resignation will be effective on the swearing-in of her successor, John Kerry, who was to take the oath of office in a private ceremony later Friday.