AP News Summary at 9:02 am EST

US hiring stayed strong in November as employers add 263,000

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers kept hiring briskly in November despite high inflation and a slow-growing economy — a sign of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. The economy added 263,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate stayed 3.7%, still near a 53-year low, the Labor Department said Friday. November’s job growth dipped only slightly from October’s 284,000 gain. Last month’s hiring, though down from the explosive pace at the start of 2022, amounted to a substantial increase. All year, as inflation has surged and the Fed has imposed ever-higher borrowing rates, America’s labor market has defied skeptics, adding hundreds of thousands of jobs, month after month.

Official says over 10,000 Ukrainian troops killed in war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A top adviser to Ukraine’s president has cited military chiefs as saying 10,000 to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the country’s nine-month struggle against invading Russian troops. It was a rare comment on such figures and came far below estimates of Ukrainian casualties from Western leaders. The Ukrainian military said Friday that Russian forces kept up rocket attacks on infrastructure and air strikes against Ukrainian troop positions along the contact line. It said Moscow’s military push has recently focused on a dozen towns including Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

Trump rehearsal: Court holds Mar-a-Lago special master review

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has halted an independent review of documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, removing a hurdle the Justice Department said had delayed its criminal investigation into the retention of top-secret government information. The decision by the three-judge panel represents a significant win for federal prosecutors, clearing the way for them to use as part of their investigation the entire tranche of documents seized during an Aug. 8 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. It also rejects the arguments of Trump’s lawyers, who had said the former president was entitled to have a so-called “special master” conduct a neutral review of the thousands of documents taken from the property.

AP sources: Biden tells Dems he wants SC as 1st voting state

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says Democrats should give up “restrictive” caucuses and move to champion diversity in the order of their presidential primary calendar. His recommendation deals a major blow to Iowa’s decades-long status as the state that leads off the process. In a letter to the rule-making arm of the Democratic National Committee, Biden does not mention specific states he’d like to see go first. But he’s told Democrats he would like to see South Carolina moved to the front of the calendar, according to three people familiar with his recommendation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. He recommends that Michigan and Georgia move into the first five states.

China security forces are well-prepared for quashing dissent

BEIJING (AP) — Street protests that broke out in several Chinese cities over the weekend may have come as a surprise, but the ruling Communist Party has been preparing for this moment for years, even decades. Ever since the last major demonstrations culminated in the bloody military crackdown of 1989, China has been building an internal security force aimed at overwhelming, intimidating, imprisoning and silencing all challenges. By most estimates, China spends more on internal security than on national defense. This includes police, paramilitary troops and internet spies that have honed their skills against minority rights activists, pro-democracy advocates and independent labor organizers. That’s what faces anyone daring to protest China’s severe anti-COVID-19 measures.

To boost Georgia’s Warnock, Biden heads to Massachusetts

WASHINGTON (AP) — To help Democrats win their 51st Senate seat in a Georgia runoff election, President Joe Biden is headed north — to Massachusetts. Days before polls close on Tuesday, Biden still has no plans to visit Georgia. Instead he’ll aim to help Sen. Raphael Warnock’s reelection campaign from afar with appearances Friday at a Boston phonebank and fundraiser. They mark the culmination of Biden’s support-from-a-distance strategy that he employed throughout the midterms. Biden was set to join a phone bank helping Warnock’s campaign, before appearing at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has spent millions to boost Warnock’s campaign over Republican Herschel Walker.

US star Pulisic on track to play against Dutch in World Cup

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Christian Pulisic is on track to play for the United States in its World Cup round of 16 match against the Netherlands on Saturday. Pulisic left Tuesday’s group stage finale against Iran at halftime after bruising his pelvic bone while scoring in the 38th minute. The Americans won 1-0 to advance. Pulisic said Thursday he was feeling better. US coach Gregg Berhalter says “it looks pretty good, but we’ll have to see him today on the pitch to get confirmation of that.”

For many Hawaiians, lava flows are a time to honor, reflect

HONOLULU (AP) — Glowing lava from the world’s largest volcano is a sight to behold, but for many Native Hawaiians, Mauna Loa’s eruption is a time to pray, make offerings and honor both the natural and spiritual worlds. An eruption of a volcano like Mauna Loa has a deep yet very personal cultural significance for many Native Hawaiians. It can be an opportunity to feel a connection with creation itself through the way lava gives birth to new land, as well as a time to reflect on their own place in the world and the people who came before them.

Pentagon debuts its new stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States’ newest nuclear stealth bomber is making its public debut after years of secret development. The new bomber is part of the Pentagon’s answer to rising concerns about a future conflict with China. The B-21 Raider gets its name from the 1942 Doolittle Raid over Tokyo and is the first new American bomber aircraft built in more than 30 years. Almost every aspect of the B-21 Raider program is classified. The Pentagon is providing the public its first glimpse of the Raider at an invitation-only event in Palmdale, California, on Friday. Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman is building the Raider, which will take its first flight next year.