1. November jobs report: Hiring up, unemployment down.
Hiring accelerated in November, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly plummeted to its lowest rate in nearly three years. Employers added 120,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department reported Friday, marking a pick-up in hiring from October. It's too early to bust out the champagne though. The unemployment rate fell for two reasons: yes, more Americans got jobs, but at the same time, even more people gave up on their job searches altogether. Men were the biggest group to benefit from a stronger labor market, as the unemployment rate for those over age 20 fell to 8.3% from 8.8% in October, primarily because they landed jobs. The women's unemployment rate however, experienced a much smaller dip, mostly because more women had left the labor force.
2. Senate passes defense bill with detainee policy compromise.
The Senate on Thursday passed a giant defense bill that includes a new policy for detaining and trying suspected al Qaeda terrorists -- a policy that attracted controversy during the debate and may draw a presidential veto. The defense authorization bill passed by a vote of 93-7. In keeping with budget cuts across the government, the $662 billion bill shrinks Pentagon spending by $43 billion from last year. It includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets policies for the various weapons systems and personnel programs at the Defense Department.
3. 'Emergency' order issued to pick up country singer McCready's son.
A Florida judge has signed an emergency "pickup order" authorizing law enforcement officers to get the 5-year-old son of country singer Mindy McCready, a court spokeswoman said Thursday. Earlier this week, McCready was told in a different court order to return the child -- of whom she does not have legal custody -- to authorities. The child was not brought in, prompting Judge James H. Seals to sign the emergency order around 4 p.m. Thursday , said Sheila Mann, a spokeswoman for Florida's 20th Judicial Circuit court.