News Wrap: California drenched by first of two storms expected to hit

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• Geoff Bennett:

  In the day's other headlines: The monthly jobs report today indicates that hiring is continuing at a strong pace.

  U.S. employers added 353,000 jobs last month, double what many expected. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. And the latest report found that 3.1 million new jobs were created last year, making it among the best years for job growth since 1999.

  A federal judge in Washington has postponed former President Donald Trump's March trial on charges he sought to overturn the 2020 election. No new date has been set. That comes as a federal appeals court has yet to rule on a pending appeal for Mr. Trump over his claims of presidential immunity.

  Meantime, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis admitted in a court filing to having a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired for Mr. Trump's Georgia election fraud case. Willis insists there's no basis to dismiss the case or disqualify her from the prosecution.

  California is bracing for a second atmospheric river storm to dump more rain and snow across that state. It's expected to arrive late Saturday fueled by a band of moisture formed over the Pacific Ocean. It comes on the heels of the week's first powerful storm that flooded streets and highways in Long Beach, with first responders rescuing people stranded in the floodwater.

  A Ukrainian intelligence official says Russia is refusing to return the bodies of scores of Ukrainian prisoners of war who allegedly died in a plane crash. Moscow claims it was transporting them on a military aircraft last month when Ukraine shot it down, which Kyiv denies. Meantime, at The Hague, the U.N.'s top court said it has jurisdiction to rule on only part of Ukraine's genocide case against Russia.

  In Kenya, a truck carrying liquid petroleum gas exploded overnight in Nairobi, killing at least three people and injuring 280; 24 of those are said to be in critical condition. Cell phone video caught a fireball erupting from a gas depot late last night. Gas cylinders were thrown into the air, sparking more fires in that neighborhood. Firefighters battled the inferno for hours.

• Walo Brecky, Nairobi, Kenya Resident:

  I saw people running, mothers and children. They had small babies carrying. I saw girls and boys were bleeding. Like, the — it was so ter — it was so bad. It was a bad experience. I saw a man who was bleeding, like, from the head.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Kenyan officials say the gas depot was not approved to operate because of its proximity to residential areas.

  North Korea fired more cruise missiles off its western coast today. It was their fourth round of cruise missile tests so far this year. That came as leader Kim Jong-un ordered his military to ramp up their war preparations. North Korean state media published these photos of Kim touring naval projects at a shipyard. Kim has increasingly focused on strengthening his country's navy in recent months.

  Tesla is recalling virtually all of its vehicles sold in the U.S. over the size of their dashboard warning lights. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the brake, park and antilock brake lights were too small and could raise the risk of a crash. The recall affects nearly 2.2 million Tesla vehicles from model years 2012 through 2024.

  Strong tech earnings boosted stocks on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 134 points to close at 38654. The Nasdaq climbed 267 points. The S&P 500 added 52 to notch a new record high.

  And two passings of note tonight. Actor Carl Weathers died in his sleep Thursday. The former professional football player became a Hollywood star over his decades-long career, taking on a number of iconic action and comedy roles for TV and film. He was best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies opposite Sylvester Stallone. And, more recently, he starred in the Star Wars series "The Mandalorian."

  Carl Weathers was 76 years old.

  And legendary radio host and social activist Joe Madison has died. Known as the Black Eagle, he hosted a popular live morning show on SiriusXM radio for years, tackling human and civil rights issues both on and off the air. While an official cause of death was not provided, Madison had fought a yearslong battle with prostate cancer. Joe Madison was 74 years old.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": El Salvador's vice president on that country's upcoming election and controversial crackdown on gang violence; how Taylor Swift became the latest target of right-wing conspiracy theorists; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines.