US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. judge dismisses indictment against Huawei CFO that strained U.S.-China relations; Biden asks U.S. Supreme Court to pause second ruling against student debt plan and more

In his final day of closing arguments, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Trump authorized an array of perks and payments for top executives, including apartment rent and Christmas bonuses, that cheated tax authorities by being either unreported or misreported as non-employee compensation. Judge blocks Indiana abortion ban on religious freedom grounds A second Indiana judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing its law banning most abortions after Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian women challenged it in a lawsuit.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. judge dismisses indictment against Huawei CFO that strained U.S.-China relations

A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed an indictment against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co, formally ending a criminal sanctions case that strained U.S.-China relations. Meng, whose father Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei and is the telecommunications company's chief executive, entered an agreement with U.S. prosecutors last year for the case to be dismissed four years after her December 2018 arrest.

Biden asks U.S. Supreme Court to pause second ruling against student debt plan

A day after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments over the legality of President Joe Biden plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, his administration on Friday asked the justices to put on hold a judge's ruling in a separate case that found the program unlawful. Rulings by lower courts in two challenges filed against the debt relief program have put Biden's policy on ice.

United States to end mpox emergency declaration

Mpox is expected to no longer be considered a public health emergency in the United States from Feb. 1, 2023, the U.S. health department said on Friday. The months-long declaration was meant to tackle the largest-ever outbreak of cases in the country. The move signals that the crisis, which led to a spate of cases mostly among men who have sex with men, has come under control and would no longer require an emergency status meant to shore up funding and tools to fight the disease.

Prosecutor turns focus on Donald Trump as company's tax fraud trial ends

Donald Trump's namesake real estate company engaged in tax fraud and the former U.S. president knew it was going on, a prosecutor said in closing arguments in the Trump Organization's criminal trial on Friday, countering defense assertions that Trump was unaware of the scheme. In his final day of closing arguments, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Trump authorized an array of perks and payments for top executives, including apartment rent and Christmas bonuses, that cheated tax authorities by being either unreported or misreported as non-employee compensation.

Judge blocks Indiana abortion ban on religious freedom grounds

A second Indiana judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing its law banning most abortions after Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian women challenged it in a lawsuit. Marion County Superior Court Judge Heather Welch issued a preliminary injunction against the Republican-backed law, which prohibits abortions with limited exceptions for rape, incest, lethal fetal abnormalities or a serious health risk to the mother. The plaintiffs have argued that the measure infringes on religious freedom protected by another state law.

Heavy turnout in Georgia runoff election as early voting wraps up

Election officials on Friday reported heavy turnout in Georgia on the last day of early voting ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff election that will determine whether Democrats can add to their razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate. Voters in some locations faced waiting times of more than an hour to cast ballots in the contest between incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, former football star Herschel Walker, county websites showed.

U.S. labor market shrugs off recession fears; keeps Fed on tightening path

U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in November and increased wages, shrugging off mounting worries of a recession, but that will probably not stop the Federal Reserve from slowing the pace of its interest rate hikes starting this month. Despite the strong job growth, some details of the Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday were a bit weak, which economists said could be flagging upcoming labor market weakness. Household employment decreased for a second straight month. About 186,000 people left the labor force, keeping the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.7%.

Biden signs bill to block U.S. railroad strike

President Joe Biden signed legislation Friday to block a national U.S. railroad strike that could have devastated the American economy. The U.S. Senate voted 80 to 15 on Thursday to impose a tentative contract deal reached in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers, who could have gone on strike on Dec. 9. But the Senate failed to approve a measure that would have provided paid sick days to railroad workers.

Biden's South Carolina pick for presidential kick-off spurs state battle

President Joe Biden's bid to shake up the Democratic Party's presidential nominating contest has set off a battle with state officials, testing his political muscle and reshaping the next contest to lead the United States. Senior party officials on Friday conditionally approved making South Carolina, where a majority of Democrats are Black, the first state to hold presidential primary contests, on Feb. 3, 2024. It would be followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13, and Michigan on Feb. 27.

Suspect in murder of Migos rapper Takeoff arrested in Houston

A suspect has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of rapper Takeoff last month, Houston police and city officials said on Friday, in what the mayor called the latest tragic example of "a young man taking the life of another young man." Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was taken into custody on Thursday evening and charged with murder, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told a news conference alongside Mayor Sylvester Turner.