Alex Ossola

Here's your midday brief for Friday, January 9th.

I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal.

U.S.

employers added 50,000 jobs in December, a slight slowdown from November and an end to the weakest year for hiring since the pandemic.

A Labor Department report out today shows the economy added 584,000 jobs in 2025, a sharp drop from the 2 million positions created the year before.

The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4 percent, but businesses remain hesitant on hiring people because of uncertainty over tariffs and AI.

Facebook parent Meta said today that it's backing several nuclear power projects to power its AI data centers.

It's working with developers to build new reactors and struck a deal to buy more power from three existing plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

For the new reactors, Meta wants to see them delivered within four to six years, a fast timeline that the company says is challenging but important to meet the urgent demand for electricity for its data centers.

Financial details weren't disclosed.

The vice president defends the ICE agent who killed a woman in Minneapolis.

Plus, Chinese car company Geely is considering a big push in the U.S.

We'll look at the challenges in its way.

and Iran's internet shuts down amid widespread unrest.

It's Thursday, January 8th.

I'm Alex Ocele for The Wall Street Journal.

This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

In Minneapolis, there's a deepening political divide after an ICE officer yesterday shot and killed a 37-year-old woman, Renee Nicole Good.

The Trump administration says the agent fired in self-defense after Good tried to run over officers.

But state and city officials dispute that version of events.