WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is assuring the nation that the U.S. economy is chugging along. But along with his upbeat words on Friday, a new jobs report showed that high inflation remains a threat. At the White House, the president signed a bill to avoid a rail strike that he said could have caused 765,000 job losses in two weeks and plunged the country into recession. But many voters and economists already fear that a downturn is nigh and that the price of reducing inflation will be layoffs. Biden pointed to the addition of 263,000 jobs and the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.7% last month as proof that his policies have bulked up the economy.

EU reaches deal for $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has reached a deal for a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil. It’s a key step as Western sanctions aim to reorder the global oil market to prevent price spikes and starve President Vladimir Putin of funding for his war in Ukraine. They needed to set the discounted price that other nations will pay by Monday, when an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea and a ban on insurance for those supplies take effect. The price cap is led by the Group of Seven wealthy democracies and still needs their approval. It aims to prevent a sudden loss of Russian oil to the world that could lead to a new surge in energy prices.

Dems move to make South Carolina, not Iowa, 1st voting state

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have voted to remove Iowa as the leadoff state on the presidential nominating calendar and replace it with South Carolina starting in 2024. President Joe Biden argues that the dramatic shakeup, which he endorsed, will better reflect the party’s deeply diverse electorate. The Democratic National Committee’s rule-making arm made the move Friday to strip Iowa from the position it has held for more than four decades after technical meltdowns sparked chaos and marred results of the state’s 2020 caucus. The move will still have to be approved by the full DNC in a vote likely early next year, but it will almost certainly follow the rule-making committee’s lead.

Man arrested in fatal shooting of Migos rapper Takeoff

HOUSTON (AP) — Police in Texas have announced an arrest in last month’s shooting death of the performer Takeoff. Houston police said Friday that 33-year-old Patrick Xavier Clark was charged with murder and has been arrested in connection with the rapper’s death. Born Kirsnick Khari Ball, Takeoff was the youngest member of Migos, the Grammy-nominated rap trio from suburban Atlanta that also featured his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset. Police have said the 28-year-old was fatally shot outside a bowling alley after a private party. Police said Friday that the shooting followed a dispute over a game of dice, but that Takeoff was not involved and was an innocent bystander.

Infowars host Alex Jones files for personal bankruptcy

Infowars host Alex Jones has filed for personal bankruptcy protection in Texas. Jones cited debts that include nearly $1.5 billion he has been ordered to pay to families who sued him over his conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school massacre. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday in Houston. The filing listed $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities owed to creditors and $1 million to $10 million in assets. Jones acknowledged the filing on his Infowars broadcast. He said the bankruptcy case will prove that he’s broke and asked viewers to shop on his website to help keep the show on the air.

South Korea advances at World Cup after wild finish to group

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — South Korea advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup on the tiebreaker of goals scored after beating Portugal 2-1 following a stoppage-time strike from Hwang Hee-chan. South Korea was heading out until Son Heung-min led a length-of-the-field breakaway in the first minute of added time and slipped a pass through for Hwang to convert with a low finish. Son and his emotional teammates then formed a huddle in the middle of the field after the final whistle and watched coverage of the end of the match between Uruguay and Ghana on several cell phones. That game finished 2-0 to Uruguay so South Korea advanced ahead of the south Americans.

Prosecutor: Evidence shows Trump ‘explicitly’ OK’d tax fraud

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors have resumed their closing argument in the Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud trial, promising to share previously unrevealed details about Donald Trump’s knowledge of a tax dodge scheme hatched by one of his top executives. Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass continued his summary of the case on Friday after telling jurors Thursday that “Donald Trump knew exactly what was going on with his top executives.” The tax fraud case is the only trial to arise from the three-year investigation of Trump and his business practices by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The company has denied wrongdoing, with its lawyers arguing Weisselberg was only out to benefit himself. Trump himself is not on trial.

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 over 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.

Flu season worsens as 44 states report high activity

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials say 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses. That’s as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released its latest flu update. It says 44 states reported high or very high flu activity last week. That may not bode well for the near future. It’s likely there was more spread of respiratory viruses during Thanksgiving gatherings and at crowded airports.

To boost Georgia’s Warnock, Biden is in … Massachusetts

BOSTON (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 Biden will aim to help Sen. Raphael Warnock’s reelection campaign from afar with appearances Friday at a Boston phonebank and a fundraiser. The appearances mark the culmination of the support-from-a-distance strategy Biden employed throughout the midterms. Biden is set to join a phonebank helping Warnock’s campaign before appearing at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has spent millions of dollars to boost Warnock’s campaign over Republican challenger Herschel Walker.