It’s Friday, and it is the Festival of Lights. Happy Hanukkah! 🕎 Here’s what’s coming up: 

• The latest Labor Department update on the economy is out. Unemployment is again down.
• Florida State’s college football playoffs snub attracted the ire of some politicians. 
• Russian President Vladimir Putin is making a run for another term, which he is expected to win. 
  

I’m Liz Crisp, filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

The U.S. economy continues to improve, adding 199,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.7 percent, according to the November jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department. 

The jobs report exceeded expectations, as economists had predicted the U.S. would add 180,000 jobs and that the jobless rate would remain at 3.9 percent. 

The Federal Reserve is set to meet next week. 

President Biden’s reelection campaign wasted no time touting the positive numbers, saying “On my watch we have achieved better growth and lower inflation than any other advanced country…A year ago, forecasters said it couldn’t be done.”

^ But, but, but: “I know prices are still too high for too many Americans,” Biden said. “So my top economic priority is to lower costs for hardworking Americans.”

The Hill’s Julia Shapero has more on the latest numbers. 

The College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to snub undefeated Florida State University and instead pick the University of Alabama for the national playoffs is getting political. 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is seeking documents and other information from the committee, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has pledged $1 million for related litigation. 
 
“[Scott’s] worried that the selection committee may have been influenced by outside financial interests and he’s demanding the panel turn over all text, email and written communications among members of the selection panel and College Football Playoff company officials,” wrote The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. 

More here from The Hill.

The backlash continues against a trio of college presidents who appeared in a House committee hearing this week and tiptoed around denouncing antisemitic speech. 

Harvard President Claudine Gay apologized for her heated back and forth with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a Harvard grad who has called for her ouster. 

What happened?: During the hearing on antisemitism, Stefanik asked: “At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?” Gay replied that “depending on the context” it could violate the school’s policies. 

“I am sorry,” Gay later told the Harvard Crimson student newspaper. “Words matter.”  

Leaning in: Stefanik said in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal that each college president lacked “moral clarity.”

“This lack of moral clarity is shocking. If only it were surprising. In the months since Oct. 7, the mainstreaming of anti-Jewish hate has been on full display at the poisoned Ivy League and other so-called elite schools, as has the gutless lack of response from university leaders,” Stefanik wrote.  

Spillover: University of Pennsylvania president Elizabeth Magill also apologized for her remarks during the hearing, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president Sally Kornbluth has faced backlash. Longtime donor and former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman as well as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School board have called for Magill to be fired.

The White House denounced their remarks. 

©  Kremlin Pool Photo via Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking another six years in office, announcing on Friday his candidacy in a race he’s all but assured to win and keep his longstanding grip on the country. 

How many terms has Putin served?: It would be his fifth term. The election is set to take place in March. 

“I won’t hide it from you — I had various thoughts about it over time, but now, you’re right, it’s necessary to make a decision,” Putin, 71, said in a video the Kremlin released. “I will run for president of the Russian Federation.” 

The ongoing costly war in Ukraine has raised speculation about Putin’s health and popularity, with a former confidant, mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin staging a brief mutiny before dropping the rebellion in June. Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash a short time later. (The Hill) 

Maybe you heard? Hunter Biden is facing a new round of tax fraud charges — adding to the heap of questions that Republicans have raised about the president’s son. He’s accused of spending money on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the indictment. 

The Hill’s Nick Robertson has a detailed breakdown of where things stand. 

President Biden didn’t respond to reporters’ questions on the matter before heading out for Las Vegas. 

Former President Trump hasn’t yet won the GOP’s 2024 nomination, but he’s already taking center stage at President Biden’s reelection campaign events. 

Biden’s heading west to fundraise in California this evening. Though he had been hesitant to initially go after Trump, Biden’s since been taking on his rival as they appear to be heading toward a rematch of the 2020 election. 

Biden, who early in his presidency would tip-toe around referencing his predecessor by name, has now made Trump central to his pitch to donors. At recent fundraisers, Biden repeatedly spoke about specific comments Trump had made and painted him as a singular threat to democracy should he win back the White House in 2024. 

From The Hill’s Brett Samuel, “Biden’s focus on the former president in his remarks coincides with the Biden campaign going on offense against Trump on a near-daily basis.”

“Biden on Wednesday said he believes there are ‘probably 50’ Democrats who could defeat former President Trump in a general election, but underscored his belief that beating Trump is something he takes personally.”

“I’m not the only one who can defeat him, but I will defeat him,” Biden said.

Poll numbers: According to a Morning Consult poll conducted Dec. 1-3, Biden and Trump are tied at 43 percent in a hypothetical 2024 match-up. An NBC News poll conducted Nov. 10-14 shows Trump taking the lead by 2 percentage points.

Tidbit: At a fundraising event in Denver last week, Biden mentioned Trump’s name 28 times

The Hill’s Brett Samuels has more on the new dynamic here. 

Don’t expect to see Tucker Carlson on Trump’s 2024 ticket.

“God would have to yell at me very loud,” he said of the idea, first floated by Axios as something that former first lady Melania Trump was advocating. (The Hill) 

The House is set to vote on an impeachment inquiry next week. The Senate is adjourned until Monday. President Biden is heading to Las Vegas for an afternoon event, then he heads to California in the evening. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C. All times Eastern. (all times Eastern)

• 10:20 a.m.: Biden departed the White House. 
• TBD: Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby will gaggle with reporters on Air Force One while en route to Las Vegas. 🎧 Listen in here. 
• 1:30 p.m.: Harris will ceremonially swear in Edgard Kagan as ambassador to Malaysia. 
• 3:30 p.m: Biden will deliver remarks during a brief stop in Las Vegas on his “Investing in America Agenda.” 💻 Tune in here. 
• 5:30 p.m.: Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will host a holiday reception at the Naval Observatory. 
• 5:35 p.m.: Biden leaves Las Vegas.  
• 10:30 p.m.: Biden takes part in a campaign reception in Santa Monica, Calif. 

🍫 Today is National Brownie Day! It’s Friday, so chow down! 

🧯 Good Samaritans stopped a woman from setting a fire at the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr., a federal property in Atlanta. (CNN)  

🐘 Where Are All the Anti-Trump Republicans? (Politico Magazine).  

🎙️ Hunter Biden taped a podcast interview with the musician Moby. (HuffPost) 

💵 Which states leave the best — and worst — tips at restaurants? (Nexstar via The Hill) 

Check out this kitty trying to join the fun…