“The U.S. economy added just 210,000 jobs in November, a slowdown in hiring that clouds a recovery amid new Covid-19 uncertainties.
The slower pace of hiring last month—the smallest monthly gain since last December—followed an upwardly revised increase of 546,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said, and comes as employers face a persistent shortage of available workers. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as more people joined the labor force, the department added.
Average wages rose 4.8% from a year ago, as workers continued to see pay increases amid higher inflation.
The share of people either working or looking for work rose to 61.8% in November from 61.6% in October, suggesting that wage increases are starting to draw workers off the sidelines.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“New, stricter Covid-19 testing requirements for all travelers coming to the USare set to take effect Monday. The new rules will require travelers coming to the US to test negative one day before departure instead of up to three days before entering the country. The shift in policy -- which Biden announced yesterday alongside a slate of new steps to combat Covid-19 this winter -- underscores the potential threat posed by the newly discovered Omicron variant. Separately, several GOP-led states are expanding unemployment benefits to unvaccinated residents who lose their jobs due to vaccine mandates. And in Europe, Germany announced a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated yesterday as its leaders backed plans for mandatoryvaccinations in the coming months.” Read more at CNN
“Confirmed U.S. cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus are likely to tick up on Friday as known instances continue to rise across the country. Five cases of the variant were identified in New York, state and city officials said Thursday. Cases of the variant have also been confirmed in California, Hawaii, Minnesota and Colorado. In Minnesota, health officials said a man began experiencing symptoms the day after attending the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Officials in New York said they were working to trace attendees of the convention, which was held Nov. 19-21 and drew about 50,000 people, according to event organizers. The omicron variant, first reported by scientists in South Africa, has been designated a "variant of concern" by global health officials, meaning it has the potential to be more contagious than prior strains or more resistant to vaccines.” Read more at USA Today
“WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to keep the government funded through mid-February, after Republicans dropped a threat to force a shutdown over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates.
With less than 36 hours before funding was set to lapse, lawmakers raced to unite behind a deal that would keep the government open through Feb. 18 and provide $7 billion for the care and resettlement of Afghan refugees. The House voted 221 to 212 to approve the measure, with just one Republican, Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joining Democrats in support.
The Senate then cleared the bill on a 69-to-28 vote, sending it to President Biden’s desk for his signature. Nineteen Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in supporting the measure. The action came after senators voted down an amendment to bar funding to carry out Mr. Biden’s vaccine mandates for tens of millions of American workers, including many in the private sector.” Read more at New York Times
“More than 60 schools in Michigan will shut Friday after a deluge of sick copycat threats have followed this week’s deadly Oxford High School shooting. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Thursday that at least 100 threats or suspicious social-media posts have been recorded since the Tuesday shooting that left four students dead. ‘We anticipated a flood of false threats. I don’t know what is in people’s minds to think after a real tragedy it makes sense to make threats, ‘Bouchard said. ‘One, they think it’s funny. It is not. Two, they think it’s a way to get out school. It is not. It is a crime, even if it’s not a credible threat against the school.’ Meanwhile, the leader of Oxford Community Schools, Tim Throne, said the suspect in the shooting, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, had never been disciplined at the school before the shooting Tuesday. ‘No discipline was warranted, ‘he said. ‘There are no discipline records at the high school.’ [Daily Beast]
Read it at Yahoo News
“Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is casting skepticism in conversations with senators that the Build Back Better bill can pass the Senate this year, potentially delivering a blow to the Senate Majority leader's push to get the bill approved by Christmas. Manchin still has a number of concerns, namely that budget gimmicks hide the true cost of the bill, and he's pushing to ensure it costs no more than $1.75 trillion. But he also is seeking to pare down the bill, which passed the House last month, in a number of other areas, including paid family leave, a methane fee on emissions from energy producers and a Medicare expansion to cover hearing costs.” Read more at CNN
“Two Georgia election workers who were the targets of a right-wing campaign that falsely claimed they manipulated ballots filed a defamation lawsuit on Thursday against one of the nation’s leading sources of pro-Trump misinformation.
The suit against the right-wing conspiratorial website The Gateway Pundit was filed by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, both of whom processed ballots in Atlanta during the 2020 election for the Fulton County elections board. It follows a series of defamation claims filed by elections equipment operators against conservative television operators such as Fox News, Newsmax and One America News.
The lawsuit from Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss is among the first to be filed by individual election workers who found themselves unwittingly dragged into the alternate universe of far-right media that claimed, and still does, that Donald J. Trump won last year’s presidential election.
‘I want the defendants to know that my daughter and I are real people who deserve justice, and I never want them to do this to anyone else,’ Ms. Freeman said in a statement.
Ms. Moss, who continues to work for the Fulton County elections board, and Ms. Freeman, a temporary employee during the 2020 election, were ensnared by the Trump-supporting media and Mr. Trump himself after Gateway Pundit published dozens of false stories about them, starting last December and continuing through this November. The stories called the two women “crooked Democrats” and claimed that they ‘pulled out suitcases full of ballots and began counting those ballots without election monitors in the room.’
Investigations conducted by the Georgia secretary of state’s office found that the two women did nothing wrong and were legally counting ballots.
It all began one month after the 2020 election, on Dec. 3, when a lawyer for Mr. Trump’s campaign played a spliced segment of surveillance video footage for a Georgia Senate committee. The lawyer falsely claimed Fulton elections workers pulled 18,000 fraudulent ballots from a suitcase and illegally fed them through the voting machines.
The accusation, which was quickly debunked by Fulton County and Georgia elections officials, was nevertheless amplified by Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Trump allies. A week after the first Gateway Pundit story, Mr. Giuliani compared Ms. Moss and Ms. Freeman to drug dealers and called for their homes to be searched during a hearing with Georgia state legislators.
Mr. Trump himself invoked Ms. Freeman’s name 18 times during his Jan. 3 call with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state. The call at the time was among the president’s most egregious efforts to overturn the results of the election he lost to Joseph R. Biden Jr., who defeated Mr. Trump in Georgia by 11,779 votes.” Read more at New York Times
“Under new rules starting early next week, international travelers coming to the U.S. will have to test within a day of departure, regardless of vaccination status, rather than the 72 hours currently required for vaccinated travelers. The new testing rules will apply both to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, policies rolled out after the discovery of the first known U.S. case of the Omicron variant. The administration will also require travelers to wear masks through mid-March on planes, buses and trains, and at domestic transportation hubs such as airports and indoor bus terminals, rather than allowing the requirement to expire on Jan. 18 as planned. Fines will continue to be double their initial levels, with a minimum fine of $500 for noncompliance and up to $3,000 for repeat offenses.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Biden administration has reached a deal with the Mexican government to restart the Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ program that requires asylum seekers to wait outside US territory while their claims are processed, US and Mexican officials said Thursday.
Implementation of the program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, will begin Monday at one border location and quickly expand to seven cities, US officials said in a separate court filing. A federal judge in Texas ordered the Biden administration in August to negotiate the reinstatement of the MPP with Mexican authorities.
‘Mexico has demanded a number of humanitarian improvements as conditions of agreeing to accept enrollees,’’ said one US official, including guarantees that asylum seekers will have access to legal counsel and that their humanitarian claims will be processed within six months.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The US joined with international allies to impose new sanctions on Belarus yesterday in response to the migrant crisis on the border with Poland and the political repression and ongoing human rights violations committed by the regime of Belarus's longtime strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko. The US, UK, European Union and Canada took coordinated action against Belarusian entities and individuals in their latest effort to pressure Lukashenko, who has been accused -- in the words of the US secretary of state -- of using ‘innocent migrants as a political weapon, as an effort at destabilization.’ The sanctions also come at a time of heightened tension between Moscow -- Lukashenko's strongest backer -- and much of the West as Russia's President amasses troops on the border with Ukraine.” Read more at CNN
“In an analysis of 2018 data from 11 states, CDC researchers found that among 8-year-olds, 1 in 44 had been diagnosed with autism, AP reports.
What's happening: U.S. autism numbers have been on the rise for several years. Experts believe that reflects more awareness and wider availability of services, rather than an increase in the number of affected children.
A separate CDC report released yesterday said that children were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with autism by age 4 in 2018 than in 2014.
The CDC reports are based on data from counties and other communities in 11 states. Rates varied widely — from 1 in 26 in California, where services are plentiful, to 1 in 60 in Missouri.” Read more at Axios
“CHICAGO — A second man testified Thursday that Jussie Smollett plotted a racist and anti-gay attack on himself and paid the man and his brother to carry it out, giving them lines to shout and pointing out a surveillance camera the former ‘Empire’ actor said would capture the hoax on video to use for publicity.
Olabingo Osundairo’s testimony at Smollett’s trial in Chicago echoed the account his brother, Abimbola Osundairo, gave on the witness stand Wednesday, including that Smollett wanted the brothers to douse him with gasoline and put a noose around his neck, and that Smollett gave them a $100 bill to buy the supplies and paid them with a $3,500 check.
Olabingo Osundairo said Smollett told him he received hate mail at the TV studio in Chicago ‘and he had this crazy idea of having two MAGA supporters attack him,’ an apparent reference to then-President Donald Trump’s slogan ‘Make America Great Again.’ Osundairo believed the plan was to publicize the attack on social media, not to involve police, he said.
‘He wanted me to put the noose round his neck and pour the bleach on him,’ Osundairo said. They opted for bleach, Osundairo said, because he wasn’t comfortable using gasoline. He said Smollett wanted his brother to do the punching, and that it should look like a struggle and appear the actor fought back.
Smollett, 39, is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report about the alleged attack on Jan. 29, 2019 — one count for each time he gave a report — to three different officers. The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Burnout, better opportunities and concern about being branded a ‘Harris person’ are driving departures from Vice President Harris' office, Axios' Alexi McCammond and Sarah Mucha report.
Why it matters: Harris is not only a heartbeat from the presidency but, by virtue of her office, the presumed 2024 frontrunner if President Biden doesn't seek re-election. There's been an inordinate amount of disarray — and, now, turnover — throughout her tenure.
Her allies say she has a terrific chance to reset, and they downplay the early stumbles. But top Biden officials privately roll their eyes at her team and want to see smoother, more effective leadership.
What's happening: Chief spokesperson Symone Sanders this week told colleagues she's leaving at the end of the month. Communications director Ashley Etienne said last month she's leaving.
Sanders is expected to get married next year. Her first book, ‘No, You Shut Up,’ was published in May 2020 — in the middle of the presidential campaign and pandemic. So she hasn't been able to sell her book in a concerted way.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the departures ‘an opportunity ... to bring in new faces, new voices, and new perspectives.’
A Democratic operative close to the vice president's office said the departures add pressure to Harris' chief of staff, Tina Flournoy.
‘If we mess this up, it's going to set women back when it comes to running for higher office for years to come,’ the operative told Axios, requesting anonymity to speak freely.
Between the lines: Harris' management has been scrutinized ever since she became the first Democrat to end their 2020 presidential campaign.
Axios is told some Harris staffers want to work on Biden's re-election campaign. Others don't want to be aligned with Harris in the event another promising Democrat runs for president in 2024.
Context: Concerns about Harris' operation and treatment by the media triggered a meeting last summer between the vice president and some of the Democratic Party's most influential women.
White House officials, including chief of staff Ron Klain and presidential adviser Cedric Richmond, have defended her.” Read more at Axios
“A federal judge in Michigan has ordered a group of lawyers who brought a failed lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results to pay about $175,000 in legal fees to the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit, the latest in a series of rulings from federal judges seeking to hold lawyers accountable for trying to use the courts to overturn a democratic election.
U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker had already ordered that the group of nine lawyers — including Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood, both allies to former president Donald Trump — be disciplined for their role in the suit, which in August she called “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.” Read more at Washington Post
“A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s former attorney Sidney Powell has uncovered evidence that Powell filed false incorporation papers with the state of Texas for a non-profit she heads, Defending the Republic, according to sources close to the investigation.
In the incorporation papers, Powell – who filed lawsuits across the US questioning the 2020 election result which Trump lost to Joe Biden – listed two men who she said served with her on the organization’s board of directors, even though neither one of them gave Powell permission to do so.
As a private attorney, Powell, in the service of Trump, has gained notoriety as she has increasingly embraced implausible conspiracy theories such as that the FBI had attempted to frame Trump to drive him from office, and that Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States was illegitimate. Her lawsuits to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have all failed, often met with scathing criticism from judges who have overseen them, one of whom sanctioned her for alleged ethical misconduct and referred her to the Texas state bar for investigation.
Powell did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
The broader federal criminal inquiry into Powell, led by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, has since last fall been examining allegations of fundraising and financial fraud by Powell in the running of the group, according to documents reviewed by the Guardian.” Read more at The Guardian
“A case before the Supreme Court, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, centers on abortion restrictions enacted hundreds of miles away from Illinois, in Mississippi. But in its brief, Mississippi took direct aim at the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, arguing the ruling tramples states’ rights. In oral arguments Wednesday, several conservative justices signaled they might be receptive to the state’s arguments. A decision is expected no later than next summer, and abortion providers in Illinois say they are already seeing influx of patients from out of state—and expect more. Illinois, which is one of more than a dozen states to have passed laws protecting abortion rights, borders five states that could ban or further restrict abortion if federal protections are weakened or overturned, one pro-abortion-rights group expects. Providers in that state have opened new locations, increased staffing and expanded hours in the past several years, anticipating the possibility of a post-Roe America.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Members of the BuzzFeed News Union staged a walkout today.
The labor action comes after nearly two years of contract negotiations and on the same day as a procedural vote on whether to take the company public through a deal with a blank-check company, or SPAC. The union alleges that BuzzFeed management has offered members 1% annual guaranteed pay increases and said it hasn’t moved on a proposed salary floor of $50,000, which the union says isn’t enough to live on in major cities or ‘to attract truly diverse talent.’ The company said it gave the union its second counteroffer on wages last week and said the union hasn’t responded. Meanwhile, investors in the SPAC that the media company is merging with are withdrawing the bulk of their money, according to people familiar with the matter, meaning BuzzFeed won’t likely raise much cash by going public.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen: Authorities say 14 have been arrested in connection to smash-and-grab thefts in Southern California.” Read more at USA Today
“Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger on the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. The actor broke down in tears in his first interview since the incident.” Read more at USA Today
“A suspect has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Jacqueline Avant. The 81-year-old was a philanthropist and the wife of music legend Clarence Avant. She was shot in her home and died after arriving at the hospital.” Read more at USA Today
“The F.T.C. sued to block a $40 billion merger between the chip companies Nvidia and Arm.” Read more at New York Times
“Lives Lived: Curley Culp’s strength, agility and quickness helped him anchor the great defenses of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Oilers and earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He died at 75.” Read more at New York Times
“Austria’s political scene was roiled this week when Sebastian Kurz, the country’s scandal-ridden former chancellor, abruptly announced that he would step back from politics. His successor, current chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, swiftly followed suit, announcing his own resignation just hours later.
Once a popular figure of the European center-right, Kurz soared to power before a corruption scandal led to his resignation in October. Schallenberg, one of Kurz’s close allies, was widely seen as a placeholder in the position until Kurz was able to return. As a politician, you ‘constantly have the feeling that you’re being hunted,’ Kurz said as he announced his decision. ‘I am neither a saint nor a criminal.’
Kurz’s departure is consequential for both Austria and the future of the European center-right, which has consistently struggled to retain support and build momentum over the past few months. [‘Kurz] was considered a star among European conservatives,’ Peter Rough, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Foreign Policy. ‘This is kind of a final nail in the coffin.’
Fall from grace. When Kurz first joined the government in 2011, his political future looked bright. Successes came quickly: at just 27 years old, he became Austria’s youngest foreign minister ever. When he was named the Austrian chancellor at 31 years old, he was the world’s youngest head of government.
His fall was also fast. In October, Kurz resigned as chancellor after becoming the subject of a sweeping corruption probe, and last month Austrian lawmakers unanimously decided to remove his immunity to clear the way for an investigation. Now, the chances of a full political recovery appear increasingly unlikely. ‘I think [Kurz] recognized there wasn’t going to be a path back to the chancellery,’ Rough said.
Future of the center right? As European politics become increasingly fragmented, Kurz’s departure is a ‘significant blow’ to the center-right, Rough said, particularly since he was ‘seen as the future of the European right [and] somebody who could responsibly defang populism with a conservative message.’
Austrian politicians are now scrambling to determine potential replacements. Top officials are set to meet Friday morning to select Schallenberg’s successor. The favored choice appears to be Karl Nehammer, the current interior minister.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“An anti-vaxxer in Italy was so determined not to get his COVID-19 shot—but still obtain a health pass—that he allegedly turned up to his appointment wearing a fake arm. According to theGuardian, the unnamed man, 50, brazenly entered the vaccine clinic in the city of Biella, sat down, and lifted up his sleeve as if everything was normal. However, the eagle-eyed health worker noticed something was amiss. ‘At first I thought I made a mistake, that it was a patient with an artificial arm,’ Filippa Bua told Italian media. ‘The color of the arm made me suspicious and so I asked the man to uncover the rest of his left arm. It was well-made but it wasn’t the same color [as the rest of the arm].’ Bua claims the man then said to her, ‘Would you have imagined that I’d have such a physique?’
It’s not clear if the entire arm was fake or he was wearing a thick covering over his existing arm. The Guardian reports that, following the failed stunt, the man is facing charges of fraud. Last week, Italy announced measures barring unvaccinated people from a long list of activities.” [Daily Beast] Read more at The Guardian
“The worst loss in NBA history — Not a typo. The Grizzlies beat the moribund Thunder, 152-79, on Thursday, setting a record for the largest margin (73) of victory in league history. OKC is in tank mode, sure, but this is another level of awful. (Oh, and Ja Morant didn’t even play for Memphis.)” Read more at The Athletic
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