Giles Snyder

But bank rate analyst Ted Rossman says other factors are weighing on the economy.

Following the Commerce Department report, Wall Street closed higher.

The S&P 500 rose half a percentage point, up 31 points to close at 6,909 and topping a record set earlier this month.

Israel's defense minister said the military will help establish Jewish settlements in northern Gaza.

Remarks that contradict President Trump's ceasefire plan signed by Israel.

But as NPR's Aya Petraoui reports, the minister appeared to walk back his remarks only hours later.

This is NPR.

An Ohio Democrat is suing President Trump for adding his name to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The lawsuit also names Trump appointees to the Kennedy Center board.

NPR's Chloe Veltman reports on Representative Joyce Beatty's lawsuit alleging the new Trump-Kennedy Center name is unlawful.

New data show cash and credit card sales rose during the first seven weeks of the holiday shopping season.

MasterCard's spending pull says sales since November 1st rose 3.9%, and Visa's consulting and analytics division says sales rose 4.2%.

Both say the increase is less than the same period last year, and Visa says when adjusted for inflation, retail sales rose more modestly.

Prices at the pump lower this holiday season.

AAA says the national average for unleaded has stayed below $3 a gallon since December 2nd.

This is NPR.

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder.

The U.S.

Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.

Today's ruling is the latest legal setback to the administration's use of troops on domestic soil, and it's the first time the high court has weighed in on the deployments, as NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports.