Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the economy added a disappointing 210,000 jobs; German Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading off the stage of world politics; The parents of a Michigan school shooting suspect were charged with involuntary manslaughter, and more.

National

Hiring slows back down as economy adds only 210,000 jobs

American employers added just 210,000 jobs last month, indicating a slowdown in the pandemic recovery following a surge in hiring in October.

A man walks past a now-hiring sign outside a Marc's Store in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. (Tony Dejak/AP)

Public funding of religious education offers another test for conservative high court

As school boards across the nation erupt with parents demanding more influence over their children’s education, the Supreme Court will hear a case on Wednesday over whether parents can use public funds to send their children to religious schools.

(Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Investors spooked by omicron strain, Federal Reserve conceding inflation

Markets tanked this week as concerns grow over the new omicron strain of Covid-19 and the imminence of the Federal Reserve pulling the plug on its support due to persistent inflation concerns.

A bar and restaurant in Sioux Falls, S.D., advertises that has openings for servers and cooks. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

In suit with rape accuser, Trump tries again for DOJ proxy

Acknowledging that their decision will impact the U.S. government’s ability to stand in as a defendant for future U.S. presidents, an appeals court heard arguments Friday in a federal defamation case against former President Donald Trump.

This 1987 photograph of E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump appears in Carroll's civil defamation suit against Trump to rebuff his claims that he could not have raped her because he never met her. (Image via Courthouse News)

Man clad as Jack Skellington at Capitol riot arrested for whacking police with table leg

A Nevada man who repeatedly assaulted law enforcement with a table leg and threw several other objects at other officers was arrested on Friday, nearly one year after the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Josiah Kenyon, wearing a Jack Skellington onesie, is caught on video footage throwing an object at law enforcement. (Image from FBI affidavit via Courthouse News)

Regional

Parents of Michigan shooting suspect charged with involuntary manslaughter

The parents of Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old sophomore who police say killed four in a high school shooting spree on Tuesday, will face criminal charges for their role in the deadliest school shooting since 2018.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer embraces Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter as the two leave flowers and pay their respects to shooting victims at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)

Colorado grocery store shooting suspect found incompetent to stand trial

Following the recommendation of four experts, a Colorado judge on Friday declared the man suspected of shooting and killing 10 people in a Colorado grocery store this past March incompetent to stand trial.

A memorial around the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, where 10 were killed in a mass shooting on March 22, 2021. (Amanda Pampuro/Courthouse News)

International

Merkel bids farewell to politics, leaves mixed legacy

After 16 years at the helm of Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is preparing to leave public life and hand over the reins of the European Union's largest state to a new government led by the center-left Social Democrats.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a ceremonial send-off for her in Berlin on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Odd Andersen/Pool Photo via AP)

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