JUDY WOODRUFF: U.S. unemployment has now fallen to a 50-year low, as hiring picked up steam.
The Labor Department today reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent in
November, down from 3.6 percent.
Meanwhile, employers added a larger-than-expected net of 266,000 new jobs last month.
That is the biggest increase in 10 months.
Today's strong jobs report 10 stocks soaring on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 337 points to close at 28015.
The Nasdaq rose more than 85 points, and the S&P 500 added 28.
Florida officials have confirmed that a gunman who killed three people today at Naval Air
Station Pensacola was a member of the Saudi Air Force.
The attack happened in a classroom where the suspect was undergoing aviation training.
Several people were wounded, before an officer shot and killed the suspect.
Governor Ron DeSantis said authorities are investigating several possible links to terrorism.
GOV.
RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these
victims.
And I think that they -- they're going to owe a debt here, given that this was one of
their individuals.
When you have a foreign national involved, you know, particularly in that part of the
world, the investigation is obviously going to be different than if it were just somebody
from a local community.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In Washington, President Trump said that Saudi King Salman had called to
offer condolences and assistance.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: The king said that the Saudi people are greatly
angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way, shape or form
represents the feelings of the Saudi people, who love the American people so much.
JUDY WOODRUFF: This was the second deadly shooting at a U.S. military base this week.
The first happened at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii on Wednesday.
A U.S. Navy sailor fatally shot two people, before killing himself.
Military officials said today that he had been unhappy with his commanders and was undergoing
counseling.
The White House is refusing to take part in the House of Representatives' impeachment
proceedings against President Trump.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone -- Cipollone, that is -- wrote a letter to the House Judiciary
Committee's chairman, Jerry Nadler, and demanded an end to the inquiry, calling it -- quote
-- "completely baseless."
Meanwhile, House Republicans said today that they want to hear testimony from Hunter Biden,
the former vice president's son, from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff,
and from the anonymous whistle-blower.
The death toll from a migrant boat that capsized off Mauritania rose to 63 people today.
The vessel was headed to Spain's Canary Islands when it ran out of fuel Wednesday and overturned
off Africa's west coast.
Some 150 migrants were on board.
Most were from nearby Gambia.
The U.S. sanctioned three Iraqi military -- or, rather, militia leaders today over the killing
of anti-government protesters.
The men are accused of leading Iranian-backed paramilitary groups that shot at demonstrators.
More than 400 people have been killed since October in a crackdown on protests demanding
reforms.
Today, a senior State Department official left open the possibility of imposing more
sanctions.
DAVID SCHENKER, U.S. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs: We're not
done.
This is an ongoing process.
These designations don't prejudice future designations.
And we will be doing further designations in the future.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In Central Baghdad today, thousands of protesters flooded the streets demanding
the formation of a new government.
Later, Iraqi officials said that an attack targeting those demonstrators killed at least
15 people.
Lebanon's outgoing prime minister appealed for international aid today, amid the country's
worst economic crisis in decades.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri sent letters to several countries, including the U.S., asking
for help in securing credit lines.
For months, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across the country to accuse
the government of mismanagement and corruption.
China today canceled planned tariff hikes on U.S. pork and soybean imports amid ongoing
trade negotiations.
In September, Beijing had promised to lift the duties, in the hopes of securing an agreement.
Washington is set to impose a new round of tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese goods on
December 15.
Oil prices surged today after OPEC reached a deal committing to some of the deepest oil
output cuts this decade.
At a meeting in Vienna, the group's oil-producing countries and their ally Russia agreed to
cut an extra 500,000 barrels per day through the first quarter of next year.
The move aims to prevent an oversupply and to boost oil prices.
North Carolina Republican Congressman George Holding announced today that he's retiring
in 2020.
His Raleigh area district now leans heavily Democratic, after a court ordered the congressional
map be redrawn.
Meanwhile, California Congressman Duncan Hunter said today that he will resign at the end
of the year.
He faces charges of misusing campaign funds.
There are now 23 House Republicans who are not seeking reelection next year.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": France comes to a halt, as the nation erupts in protest
over President Macron's pension reform; how a fringe conspiracy theory about Ukraine gained
currency in the Oval Office; Mark Shields and David Brooks break down a week that brought
us even closer to impeachment; and much more.