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Atlanta mayor to speak, April jobs report, US-Mexico meeting: 5 things to know Friday

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USA TODAY

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to speak publicly after surprise announcement

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is expected to speak publicly Friday morning after she surprisingly announced late Thursday that she will not seek a second term. Bottoms, 51, announced she would not run for reelection during a private call, according to one report. After reports broke, she later confirmed her intentions with an open letter shared on Twitter and dearatl.com. Bottoms, an Atlanta native and the second Black woman ever elected mayor in the city, had previously announced she would be running for a second term, holding a fundraising event with President Joe Biden. Bottoms has had to deal with a series of challenges as mayor, including the 2020 police shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy's that led to city and nationwide protests.

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Is the U.S. economy recovering?

In March, the U.S. added the highest amount of jobs — nearly 1 million — since August. About the same number is expected Friday, when the government releases the jobs report for April. That still would be more than 7 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. The good news: The economy grew last quarter at a vigorous 6.4% annual rate, with expectations that the current quarter will be even better as more people get vaccinated and restrictions on businesses are lifted. 

Harris to virtually meet with Mexico's president 

Vice President Kamala Harris will take part in a virtual meeting with Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday. When President Joe Biden tapped Harris in March to stem a surge of migrants seeking to enter the United States, he also handed her a diplomatic challenge: enlisting Mexico's help. López Obrador has the potential to be a game changer in addressing the flow of migrants who cross through his country to seek asylum in the U.S. Harris will have a chance to make some inroads during the meeting Friday, and during a planned visit in June, when she will take on diplomatic negotiations with Mexico and the so-called Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, to address the root causes of migration. 

EU leaders, Dr. Fauci, Cindy Crawford attend COVID-19 conferences 

European Union leaders will meet in Portugal on Friday to discuss whether they should waive patents for COVID-19 vaccine technology, hot on the heels of the Biden administration announcing it would support such a move and also amid criticism that wealthy countries were withholding lifesaving vaccines from poorer countries. Meanwhile, the Vatican continues its three-day virtual health conference Friday with luminaries from the health and entertainment fields. White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna are among the big names participating in the event, which also includes Cindy Crawford and Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry.

'Wrath of Man' hits theaters

Nearly 23 years after Guy Ritchie cast Jason Statham in 1998's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," fans can watch the pair's fourth action collaboration, "Wrath of Man," which opens in theaters Friday. Statham, who typically plays on a cheeky tough-guy persona he perfected in "The Expendables" and the "Fast & Furious" franchise, has no trace of a smile in this latest flick, which sees his gangster character H working undercover to avenge his son's murder. Statham spoke to USA TODAY about his friendship and working relationship with Ritchie and unflinchingly dispatching rapper Post Malone's gangster in one "Wrath of Man" scene.

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