
How the economy can be so strong when you feel like it stinks
CNN
There is a Covid economy contradiction. Pandemic exhaustion and higher prices are overshadowing a roaring economy.
The economy surged ahead in 2021 at the fastest pace since Ronald Reagan was in the White House. The jobless rate in December fell to 3.9%, a level historically considered nearing full employment. Wages are growing the fastest in years, especially for low-wage workers.
The Fed boss, Jerome Powell, this week called the labor market "tremendously strong" and said he expected it to stay that way. For the first time in memory, workers have the upper hand in the jobs market. Another 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November, many in pursuit of better jobs and better pay.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









