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The president signed the order after announcing framework agreements with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala that are designed to ease import levies on agricultural products from those countries.

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Switzerland to boost US investment as deal struck to lower tariffs on Swiss goods to 15%

The country announced plans to invest $200 billion in the United States through 2028 as it finalized a deal to slash U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods.

Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said the Trump administration agreed to cut tariffs on most Swiss goods to 15% — the same level imposed on the neighboring European Union — from 39%, the highest rate on any Western country.

Parmelin hailed the deal as a result of “new momentum generated by the commitment of the American president� and said it would take “several weeks� to take effect.

The White House confirmed the deal Friday, adding that companies from Switzerland and tiny Liechtenstein would invest $67 billion of the $200 billion next year.

It said the investments would create thousands of jobs “in a number of sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical devices, aerospace, construction, advanced manufacturing, gold manufacturing, and energy infrastructure.�

At Trump’s urging, Bondi says US will investigate Epstein’s ties to Clinton and other political foes

Acceding to the president’s demands, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate ties to Trump foes, including former President Bill Clinton.

The announcement caps an eventful week in which congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years, did not explain what supposed crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men he mentioned in a social media post demanding the probe have been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.

The demand — and Bondi’s quick acquiescence — is the of the erosion of the DOJ’s traditional independence from the White House under Trump.

It is also an extraordinary attempt at deflection. For decades Trump himself has been scrutinized for his — though he, too, has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein’s victims.

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Government will release September jobs report next week after end of shutdown

The Labor Department report will come Thursday, a month and a half late, marking the beginning of the end of the data drought caused by the 43-day .

meant that the Federal Reserve, businesses, policymakers and investors have largely been in the dark about inflation, job creation, GDP growth and other measures of economic health since late summer.

Thomas Simons and Michael Bacolas at Jefferies, a financial firm, wrote Friday that over 30 reports from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau were delayed by the political standoff.

The Labor Department did not release its weekly report on unemployment benefits for seven straight weeks. That report is seen as a potential early indicator of where the labor market is headed.

Labor did release its September on Oct. 24, nine days late. An exception was made because of its urgency.

Trump drops tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruit as pressure builds on consumer prices

The president signed an executive order Friday to get rid of tariffs on a broad swath of commodities. It’s part of a response to pressure from consumers who complain prices are too high.

The move comes after voters in off-year elections this month cited , resulting in big wins for Democrats in races in Virginia and New Jersey.

FAA eases flight cuts at 40 US airports, but some restrictions remain

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it plans to roll back some of the restrictions on commercial flights it implemented at 40 major U.S. airports during the shutdown.

The agency says the current mandatory 6% flight cuts are being downgraded to 3% even though the record 43-day shutdown ended Nov. 12. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly said restrictions would remain until staffing at air traffic control facilities stabilizes and safety metrics improve.

The , in place since Nov. 7, has affected thousands of flights. The head of the FAA said troubling data showed the measure was needed to ease pressure on the aviation system as the shutdown entered its second month and controller absences rose. Unpaid for more than a month, many controllers cited financial strain and the need to take on side jobs.

The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6%. The FAA originally had a 10% target, but officials held off on further rate increases because they said more controllers were coming to work amid news that Congress was close to reaching a deal to end the shutdown.

Trump has no issue with phone records provision

The president has no objections to language, tucked into a bill to reopen the government, that would allow senators to sue when a federal official searches their electronic records without their knowledge, according to a senior White House official.

Trump has indicated privately that he does not think that’s a bad provision, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to describe the president’s thinking. The White House had been fully looped in as senators drafted the bill, which Trump .

But the provision has caused an uproar in the House, where both Democrats and Republicans have decried the language that would allow lawsuits when a senator’s electronic records are searched without prior notification. It would allow senators to sue for up to $500,000 for each violation.

The language seems aimed at helping Republican senators pursue damages if their phone records were analyzed by the FBI as part of an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he was “very angry about it,� and is planning to bring up legislation to repeal it as early as next week.

“That was dropped in at the last minute, and I did not appreciate that, nor did most of the House members,� the speaker said earlier this week. The senior White House official did not indicate what Trump would do should such legislation reach his desk.

— Seung Min Kim

Rubio calls UAE foreign minister to discuss Gaza and Sudan ceasefire efforts

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates to discuss the U.S.-led plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the deteriorating situation in Sudan, where the UAE has been accused of supporting the main rebel group.

Rubio and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed discussed “collective efforts to implement� President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, which is currently awaiting endorsement by the U.N. Security Council, the State Department said.

During Friday’s call, Rubio “also emphasized the importance of achieving a humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan,� it said in a statement.

Rubio on Wednesday had decried the humanitarian situation in Sudan and said “something needs to be done� to cut off weapons and other support from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Asked about allegations that the UAE is backing the RSF, Rubio said the U.S. knows who’s involved and is pushing them to stop. But he did not name any countries.

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US military’s 20th strike on alleged drug boat brings death toll to 80 in South America

The U.S. military’s accused of transporting drugs has killed four people in the Caribbean Sea, a Pentagon official said Friday.

The latest strike happened Monday, according to the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It brings from the strikes that began in September to 80.

The attack comes as the Trump administration expands the U.S. military’s in the region by . The nation’s most advanced warship is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea.

— Ben Finley

Air traffic controllers get 70% of back pay from the shutdown

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said air traffic controllers received 70% of their back pay Friday for working during the shutdown.

A number of controllers called out of work during the shutdown as they dealt with the financial pressure from going without pay for so long.

Some controllers even got side jobs to help make ends meet. That led to delays and other flight disruptions when the Federal Aviation Administration ran short of controllers at airport towers and other radar facilities.

Controller staffing improved significantly earlier this week as the shutdown drew to a close. Duffy said earlier this week that controllers would receive the rest of their back pay in the next few paychecks.

Duffy and President Donald Trump have also proposed that controllers who didn’t miss a shift during the shutdown should receive $10,000 bonuses. But the details of exactly who might get those checks haven’t been released.

House Democrats press the FAA and DOT for answers on flight cuts

Democratic members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure asked federal officials for an explanation of the decision to cut up to 10% of flights at 40 major airports during the shutdown, along with details on staffing levels and how airports were chosen.

“It appears that the administration made this decision without adequate coordination with key aviation stakeholders,� Friday’s letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said.

The group requested a briefing and written response by Nov. 20.

The FAA on Wednesday froze reductions at 6%, shortly before a deal was reached to end the shutdown. Requests for comment were sent to the department and FAA.

Trump to attend world economic conference in Davos

The president is planning to attend the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Switzerland in January, according to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to share plans that were not yet publicly announced.

The annual meeting in the Swiss Alps draws world leaders, business executives, celebrities and, sometimes, U.S. presidents. Trump attended in his first term in 2018 and 2020.

— Michelle L. Price

ICE recruits state and local agencies to do welfare checks on migrant children

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working with state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out welfare checks on roughly 450,000 migrant children.

They said the program kicked off Nov. 10 in Florida.

The administration this year, but this one includes state and local law enforcement agencies .

Migrant children traveling alone initially stay in government shelters before .

Under the Biden administration, officials tried to release children to eligible sponsors within 30 days, reuniting many families quickly.

But , including some children released to adults who forced them to work illegally.

Migrant advocates are suspicious that the Trump administration’s efforts could end up being a way to deport sponsors or children.

New US political maps spur fears in disparate places

The effects of the rush to redraw U.S. political maps ahead of next year’s midterm elections can be seen in the contrasts between two very different places now in the same Missouri congressional district.

The 18th and Vine area in Kansas City is predominately Black, once known for jazz joints and the meeting that created professional baseball’s ºÃÉ«tv Negro League when the established major leagues barred Black players. Boonville is a small, mostly white town set in an area teeming with cattle and row crops.

People in both areas worry about being ignored in the new district.

The incumbent is Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who preached about racial justice as a Methodist minister and has worked for decades for federally funded projects in 18th and Vine. Boonville’s decades-long project is a trail favored by cycling enthusiasts.

But their differences are deeper and extend to issues such as health care, education and gun rights.

Union sues federal Bureau of Prisons over contract termination

A union representing federal prison workers is suing the Bureau of Prisons after the agency said it was canceling its collective bargaining agreement.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Connecticut federal court, seeks an injunction to block what the Council of Prison Locals union called an “arbitrary and capricious� move that has jeopardized the livelihoods of the agency’s nearly 35,000 employees.

Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III announced the termination for the collective bargaining agreement Sept. 25, citing President Trump’s executive order in March that exempts certain federal agencies from collective bargaining or recognizing employee labor unions.

Marshall said the union had become “an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it.�

The union, in its lawsuit, contends the Bureau of Prisons failed to provide “any reasoned explanation� for its decision, as required under federal law.

Swiss government says it’s reached a deal with the US to reduce tariffs

The Swiss government says it’s reached a deal with the United States to reduce U.S. tariffs on the rich Alpine country to 15% from 39%, which had been the steepest Trump administration tariff level faced by a developed Western country.

The Swiss Federal Council, the country’s seven-member executive branch, said “Thank you President Trump for the constructive engagement� in a post on its X account.

Comment on the new prosecutor from Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia

Steve Sadow said he’s confident that “fair and impartial review� will lead to a dismissal of the case against Trump.

“This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end,� he said in an email.

Trump posts social media complaints about Epstein focus, saying ‘I have a Country to run!’

The president kicked off his Friday with posts on social media complaining about Democratic lawmakers focusing on thousands of documents from Epstein’s estate released this week by the House Oversight Committee.

Trump called it a “hoax� and a distraction from Democrats’ policies and the “EMBARASSMENT� of the government shutdown and decried “Weak Republicans� who “have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish.� Trump seemed to be referring to the House Republican who are joining Democrats in a push to release files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein.

Trump said Epstein is “not the Republican’s problem� and “don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!�

New prosecutor can follow Willis’ vision, decide to pursue only some charges or dismiss the case

“While it would have been simple to allow Judge McAfee’s deadline to lapse or to inform the Court that no conflict prosecutor could be secured — thereby allowing the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution — I did not believe that to be the right course of action,� Pete Skandalakis wrote in a statement. “The public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case. Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent determination about how best to proceed.�

Trump earlier this week announced pardons for those accused of backing efforts to overturn election

That included those charged in Georgia. But that doesn’t affect state charges.

New prosecutor to take on Georgia election case against Trump and others

The leader of a nonpartisan organization announced he will take over the against President Trump and others after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was removed from the case.

The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia was tasked with finding someone to lead the case after over an “appearance of impropriety� created by a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she’d chosen to lead it. The organization’s executive director, Pete Skandalakis, said Friday that he would take the case on himself.

While it’s unlikely that any action against Trump could proceed while he’s the sitting president, there are 14 other people still facing charges in the case, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

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US trade negotiator says the US has ‘essentially’ reached a deal with Switzerland

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on CNBC on Friday that the White House plans to post details of the deal online Friday.

Greer said the agreement will see Switzerland move manufacturing of some pharmaceuticals, gold smelting and railway equipment to the United States.

German officials tight-lipped on left-wing group’s terrorist designation

Antifa-Ost — a German network suspected in attacks on people it perceived as fascists — was among four European left-wing groups designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher said at a regular news conference in Berlin that his ministry has “taken note� of the designation. Asked whether the German government was contacted beforehand, he replied that “the U.S. decided independently on this.�

Interior Ministry spokesperson Sarah Frühauf said “we don’t evaluate the decisions and assessments of other states, so I also have no assessment of whether we consider this proportionate or disproportionate.�

Trump’s Friday schedule

Trump does not have any public events on his schedule for today, but this evening he will travel to Mar-a-Lago.

Trump administration designates 4 left-wing European networks as terrorist organizations

Trump’s administration on Thursday designated four European left-wing groups as terrorist organizations, following through on his vow to after .

The networks targeted by Trump’s administration all appear to be based in Europe, with no operations in the U.S. They are an Italian anarchist front that sent explosive packages to the then-president of the European Commission in 2003, two Greek networks believed to have outside and labor department buildings in Athens, and an anti-fascist group whose members were prosecuted by German authorities for a hammer attack against neo-Nazis in Dresden.

Europe has a long history of left-wing political violence, while in the United States political violence has been more likely to come from the right in recent decades, according to multiple studies, including by . However, there’s been across ideologies in recent years, culminating in the September fatal shooting of Kirk by who prosecutors contend was driven by hostility toward Kirk’s stance against transgender people and other positions.

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