The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated.

Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August, the Fed said in a statement issued Wednesday. More recent indicators are consistent with these developments." The government hasn't issued unemployment data after August because of the shutdown. The Fed is watching private-sector figures instead.

Wednesday's decision brings the Fed's key rate down to about 3.9%, from about 4.1%. The central bank had cranked its rate to roughly 5.3% in 2023 and 2024 to combat the biggest inflation spike in four decades. Lower rates could, over time, reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, as well as for business loans.

The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Feds 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without the economic signposts it typically relies on from the government, including monthly reports on jobs, inflation and consumer spending, which have been suspended because of the government shutdown. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves.

RELATED STORY | No inflation report means Fed faces blind spot on prices, policy decisions

The Fed typically raises its short-term rate to combat inflation, while it cuts rates to encourage borrowing and spending and shore up hiring. Right now its two goals are in conflict, so it is reducing borrowing costs to support the job market, while still keeping rates high enough to avoid stimulating the economy so much that it worsens inflation.

On Wednesday, the Fed also said it would stop reducing the size of its massive securities holdings, which it accumulated during the pandemic and after the 2008-2009 Great Recession. The change could over time slightly reduce longer-term interest rates on things like mortgages but won't have much impact on consumer borrowing costs.

The Fed purchased nearly $5 trillion of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed bonds from 2020 to 2022 to stabilize financial markets during the pandemic and keep longer-term interest rates low. The bond-buying lifted its securities holdings to $9 trillion.

In the past three years, however, the Fed has reduced its holdings to about $6.6 trillion. To shrink its holdings, the Fed lets securities mature without replacing them, reducing bank reserves. In recent months, however, the reductions appeared to disrupt money markets, threatening to push up shorter-term interest rates.

RELATED STORY | US inflation rate climbs to 3% in September; highest this year

Two of the 12 officials who vote on the Feds rate decisions dissented, but in different directions. Fed governor Stephen Miran dissented for the second straight meeting in favor of a half-point cut. Miran was appointed by President Donald Trump just before the central banks last meeting in September.

Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the move because he preferred no change to the Feds rate. Schmid has previously expressed concern that inflation remains too high.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not reducing borrowing costs more quickly. In South Korea early Wednesday he repeated his criticisms of the Fed chair.

Hes out of there in another couple of months, Trump said. Powells term ends in May. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the administration is considering five people to replace Powell, and will decide by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the government shutdown has interrupted economic data. September's jobs report, scheduled to be released three weeks ago, is still postponed. This month's hiring figures, to be released Nov. 7, will likely be delayed and may be less comprehensive when they are finally released. And the White House said last week that October's inflation report may never be issued at all.

The data drought raises risks for the Fed because it is widely expected to keep cutting rates in an effort to shore up growth and hiring. Yet should job gains pick up soon, the Fed may not detect the change. And if hiring rebounds after weak job gains during the summer, further rate cuts may not be justified.

Before the government shutdown cut off the flow of data Oct. 1, monthly hiring gains had weakened to an average of just 29,000 a month for the previous three months, according to the Labor Department's data. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.3% in August from 4.2% in July.

More recently, several large corporations have announced sweeping layoffs, including UPS, Amazon, and Target, which threatens to boost the unemployment rate if it continues.

Meanwhile, last weeks inflation report released more than a week late because of the shutdown showed that inflation remains elevated but isnt accelerating and may not need higher interest rates to tame it.

The government's first report on the economy's growth in the July-September quarter was scheduled to be published on Thursday, but will be delayed, as will Friday's report on consumer spending that also includes the Fed's preferred inflation measure.

Fed officials say they are monitoring a range of other data, including some issued by the private sector, and don't feel handicapped by the lack of government reports.

The Senate approved a resolution Tuesday evening that would nullify President Donald Trump's tariffs on Brazil, including oil, coffee and orange juice, as Democrats tested GOP senators' support for Trump's trade policy.

The legislation from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, passed on a 52-48 tally.

It would terminate the national emergencies that Trump has declared to justify 50% tariffs on Brazil, but the legislation is likely doomed because the Republican-controlled House has passed new rules that allow leadership to prevent it from ever coming up for a vote. Trump would almost certainly veto the legislation even if it were to pass Congress.

Still, the vote demonstrated some pushback in GOP ranks against Trumps tariffs. Five Republicans Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina all voted in favor of the resolution along with every Democrat.

Kaine said the votes are a way force a conversation in the Senate about the economic destruction of tariffs. He's planning to call up similar resolutions applying to Trump's tariffs on Canada and other nations later this week.

RELATED STORY | Bipartisan call for term limits in Congress grows during prolonged shutdown

But they are also really about how much will we let a president get away with? Do my colleagues have a gag reflex or not? Kaine told reporters.

Trump has linked the tariffs on Brazil to the country's policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The U.S. ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Census Bureau.

Every American who wakes up in the morning to get a cup of java is paying a price for Donald Trumps reckless, ridiculous, and almost childish tariffs, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Republicans have also been increasingly uneasy with Trump's aggressive trade policy, especially at a time of turmoil for the economy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said last month that Trumps tariff policy is one of several factors that are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year.

RELATED STORY | As 13th vote to reopen government fails, Congress appears no closer to solution for shutdown

In April, four Republicans voted with Democrats to block tariffs on Canada, but the bill was never taken up in the House. Kaine said he hoped the votes this week showed how Republican opposition to Trump's trade policy is growing.

To bring up the votes, Kaine has invoked a decades-old law that allows Congress to block a presidents emergency powers and members of the minority party to force votes on the resolutions.

However, Vice President JD Vance visited a Republican luncheon on Tuesday in part to emphasize to Republicans that they should allow the president to negotiate trade deals. Vance told reporters afterwards that Trump is using tariffs "to give American workers and American farmers a better deal.

To vote against that is to strip that incredible leverage from the president of the United States. I think its a huge mistake," he added.

The Supreme Court will also soon consider a case challenging Trump's authority to implement sweeping tariffs. Lower courts have found most of his tariffs illegal.

But some Republicans said they would wait until the outcome of that case before voting to cross the president.

I dont see a need to do that right now, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, adding that it was bad timing to call up the resolutions before the Supreme Court case.

Others said they are ready to show opposition to the president's tariffs and the emergency declarations he has used to justify them.

Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive, said Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Republican leader, in a statement. The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule."

His fellow Kentuckian, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, told reporters, Emergencies are like war, famine, tornado. Not liking someones tariffs is not an emergency. Its an abuse of the emergency power. And its Congress abdicating their traditional role in taxes.

In a floor speech, he added, No taxation without representation is embedded in our Constitution.

Meanwhile, Kaine is also planning to call up a resolution that would put a check on Trump's ability to carry out military strikes against Venezuela as the U.S. military steps up its presence and action in the region.

He said that it allows Democrats to get off the defensive while they are in the minority and instead force votes on points of discomfort for Republicans.

Nvidia has become the first $5 trillion company, just three months after the Silicon Valley chipmaker was first to break through the $4 trillion barrier.

Hitting the new benchmark puts more emphasis on the upheaval being unleashed by an artificial intelligence craze thats widely viewed as the biggest tectonic shift in technology since Apple cofounder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone 18 years ago. Apple rode the iPhones success to become the first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion, $2 trillion and eventually, $3 trillion.

But there are concerns of a possible AI bubble, with officials at the Bank of England earlier this month flagging the growing risk that tech stock prices pumped up by the AI boom could burst. The head of the International Monetary Fund has raised a similar alarm.

The ravenous appetite for Nvidias chips is the main reason that the companys stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023. On Wednesday the shares touched $207.86 in early morning trading with 24.3 billion shares outstanding, putting its market cap at $5.05 trillion.

RELATED STORY | Nvidia to invest $5 billion in struggling rival Intel

In comparison, Nvidia's value is greater than the GDP of India, Japan and the United Kingdom, according to the International Monetary Fund.

On Tuesday Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disclosed $500 billion in chip orders. The company also announced a partnership with Uber on robotaxis and a $1 billion investment in Nokia, with the two planning to work together on 6G technology.

In addition, Nvidia is teaming with the Department of Energy to build seven new AI supercomputers.

RELATED STORY | Chipmaker Nvidia becomes most valuable company in the world at $4 trillion

Last month Nvidia announced that it will invest $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia AI data centers to ramp up the computing power for the owner of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

In August Huang said that Nvidia was discussing a potential new computer chip designed for China with the Trump administration. President Donald Trump said on Air Force One that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Nvidia's chips on Thursday.

Israel's military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy airstrikes overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials.

The strikes the deadliest since the ceasefire was enacted on Oct. 10 marked the most serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to conduct powerful strikes over Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire when the militant group handed over body parts that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war.

RELATED STORY | Netanyahu orders Israeli army to carry out 'powerful' strikes in Gaza

Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute edited video captured by a military drone in Gaza.

In response to the Israeli strikes, Hamas said that it would delay handing over the body of another hostage.

U.S. President Donald Trump, currently on a trip to Asia, defended the strikes, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after what he said was an incident in which Hamas killed an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

Hamas denied any involvement in that deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of purposely delaying their return.

There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza and their slow return is complicating efforts to proceed to the ceasefire's next phases, which addresses even thornier issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, deployment of an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Mounting death toll

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported the overall death toll of 104 from the overnight strikes and said that 253 people were also wounded, most of them women and children. It said the dead include 46 children.

Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said 45 people including 20 children were in critical condition at the hospital. He said the hospital received more 21 bodies, including seven women and six children. That's on top of the at least 60 people who were reported killed earlier.

First, the Aqsa Hospital in Gaza's central city of Deir al-Balah reported at least 10 bodies, among them three women and six children. In southern Gaza, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 20 bodies after five Israeli strikes in the area, of which 13 were children and two were women.

Elsewhere in central Gaza, the Al-Awda Hospital said it received 30 bodies, including 14 children.

Trump defends Israel

Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Israel should hit back when its troops come under attack.

But he said he's still confident the ceasefire would withstand the escalation in violence because Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace. And they have to behave. If not, they will be terminated, Trump added.

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that the soldier was killed by enemy fire on Tuesday afternoon targeting his vehicle in Rafah. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential military operations.

The official said Israeli troops in the area came under attack numerous times Tuesday as they worked to destroy tunnels and Hamas infrastructure. Israel identified the soldier who was killed as Master Sgt. Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37. Feldbaum also held U.S. citizenship.

Hamas insisted it was not involved in the Rafah gunfire and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire.

The violent strikes carried out by Israel across the strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal, said the militant group, calling on mediators to pressure Israel to stop.

Israel had notified the United States before launching the strikes on Tuesday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject.

The Israeli military said its forces struck 30 terrorists holding command positions within terrorist organizations operating inside the Palestinian territory.

It said Israeli forces would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement but would respond firmly to any violation of the deal.

Gaza hospitals try to cope with casualties

Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies crowded hospital entrances overnight across Gaza. In Deir Al-Balah, bodies were wheeled in on stretchers, and others carried in on mattresses. One man walked into the hospital carrying the body of a young child.

They struck right next to us, and we saw all the rubble on top of us and our young ones, said a woman standing outside of the hospital.

At dawn, displaced Palestinians at the camp cleared remains of a destroyed tent next to a crater where the strike hit. They found the body of a small child and wrapped it in a blanket.

What kind of a ceasefire is this? Amna Qrinawi, a survivor, asked.

At the Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza, scores of people gathered around dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds for funeral prayers. The hospital told the AP it had some 30 bodies, half of them children.

Family members wept as they bade farewell to their loved ones. Among them was Yehya Eid, who said he lost his brother and nephews. He wept over a small body in a bloodied white shroud outside the hospital.

What is the reason of this? These are children who were killed. What did they do wrong? Did they fight in the war? Eid asked, who said the strike came without warning. These children are just like the rest of the children in the world.

A federal appeals court has vacated a decision by a three-judge panel last week that could have allowed Trump to deploy troops in Portland, Oregon.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said late Tuesday it will rehear arguments in the case with a broader court of 11 judges.

The case involves efforts by the city and the state to prevent the administration from deploying hundreds of National Guard troops. Trump says the troops are needed protect federal property, including an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has been the site of protests.

City officials say the troops are not needed, and that federal agents themselves have inflamed tensions by arbitrarily firing tear gas and projectiles including at city police.

EARLIER IN THIS CASE | Trump can deploy National Guard in Portland, appeals court rules

A federal appeals court initially ruled October 20 that the Trump administration could deploy the National Guard in Portland. The decision cleared the way for troops to help protect federal property amid ongoing demonstrations at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.

In its decision, the Ninth Circuit said the president is likely acting within his powers under 10 U.S.C. 12406(3), which allows the federalization of the National Guard when the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.

Almost everything in your 401(k) should be coming up a winner now. That makes it time for a gut check.

Not only is the U.S. stock market setting records, so are foreign stocks. Bond funds, which are supposed to be the boring and safe part of any portfolio, are also doing well this year, along with gold and cryptocurrencies.

Many professionals along Wall Street are forecasting that the U.S. stock market will keep rising. But the threat of a sharp drop remains, as it always does. That leaves investors with the luxury now, while prices are high, to reassess. Dont get lulled into leaving your 401(k) on autopilot, unless youre intentionally doing so, and make sure your portfolio isnt stuffed with too much risk.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

The stock market is doing well?

Even after a few recent stumbles, the S&P 500 has soared more than 35% from its low point in April, shortly after Liberation Day.

The market continues to (hit) record highs on the back of strong earnings and easing U.S.China trade tensions, said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, who calls the current state of steady growth without irrational exuberance a Goldilocks environment.

If the markets so great, why should I worry?

You dont need to worry at the moment, but remember that the stock market will fall eventually. It always does.

The S&P 500 index, which sits at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, has forced investors to swallow a 10% drop every couple of years or so, on average. Thats what Wall Street calls a correction, and professional investors see them as ways to clear out excessive optimism that may have pushed prices too high.

IN RELATED NEWS | Trumps new 401(k) policy may increase returns, but also raise risks

More serious drops of at least 20%, which Wall Street calls bear markets, are less common but can last for years.

Back in April, the S&P 500 index plunged nearly 20% from its record at the time. But the market came back, propelled by the big tech companies that have led the way the last few years.

What could trip up the market?

The stock market has charged to records because investors are expecting several important things to happen. If any fail to pan out, it would undercut the market.

Chief among those expectations is that big U.S. companies will continue to deliver big growth in profits. Thats one of the few ways they can justify the jumps in their stock prices and quiet criticism that theyve become too expensive. One popular measure of valuing stocks, which looks at corporate profits over the preceding 10 years, showed the S&P 500 recently was near its most expensive level since the 2000 dot-com bubble.

Consider Nvidia, the chip company thats become the poster child of the artificial-intelligence trade. If it fails to meet analysts high expectations for growth, its stock will look more expensive than it already does. Its trading at 54 times its earnings per share over the last 12 months, much higher than the overall S&P 500s price-earnings ratio of nearly 30.

Whats the next event to be mindful of?

Wednesdays meeting of the Federal Reserve could be a key moment for the market.

Besides companies delivering bigger profits or stock prices falling, another way for the stock market to look less expensive is if interest rates ease.

The widespread expectation is that the Fed will cut its main interest rate. Investors will focus will be on whether the Fed gives any hints about the likelihood of more cuts in coming months.

FROM THE ARCHIVES | Is $1 million dollars enough for retirement? Experts weigh in

Several of Wall Streets most influential companies will report earnings this week, including Microsoft and Apple. And President Donald Trump will be meeting with Chinas leader, Xi Jinping on Thursday.

If theres a bubble, I should sell everything, right?

A famous saying on Wall Street is that being too early is the same as being wrong.

The best approach might be: Make sure your investments are set up the right way, so you can stomach the market whether it goes up or down.

How much of my 401(k) should be in stocks?

It depends on your age and how much risk youre willing to take.

If you did sell stocks this past April, you may have had too much of your portfolio in stocks for your risk tolerance. Or you may need to steel yourself more during the next drop.

Remember that anyone decades away from retirement has the luxury of waiting out any drops in the market. Bear markets are actually great in that case, because they put stocks on sale for anyone continuing to make regular contributions to their 401(k).

Workers closer to retirement still need stocks, though in smaller proportions, because they have historically provided the highest returns over the long term, and a retirement can last decades.

I hate all this uncertainty

Unfortunately, its the price you have to pay if you want the strong returns that the U.S. stock market has historically provided over the long term.

This is what the stock market does. It goes up and down, sometimes by shocking amounts, but it usually helps patient savers build their nest eggs over decades.

Ben Fulton, CEO of WEBs investments, recommends monitoring volatility by paying attention to the VIX, a volatility index, sometimes called the fear index, which measures market expectations of future risk. The VIX is currently around 16, which Fulton said signals calm by historical standards.

However, if the VIX holds steady above 20, it often signals a time to gradually reduce market exposure, he said.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumed scheduling abortions on Monday after a nearly monthlong pause due to federal Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trumps tax and spending bill that took effect at the beginning of October.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it was able to resume scheduling abortions as of noon on Monday because it no longer fits the definition of a prohibited entity under the new federal law that took effect this month and can receive Medicaid funds.

The organization said it dropped its designation as an essential community provider as defined under the Affordable Care Act. Dropping the designation will not result in changes to the cost for abortions or other services or affect the organization's funding, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin president and CEO Tanya Atkinson said.

At this point, in all of our research and analysis, we really shouldnt see much of an impact on patient access, she said. If relinquishing this does ultimately impact our bottom line, then we will have to understand what that path forward is."

A national fight over abortion funding

Abortion funding has been under attack across the U.S., particularly for affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the biggest provider. The abortion landscape has shifting frequently since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that allowed states to ban abortion. Currently, 12 states do not allow it at any stage of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and four more ban it after about six weeks gestation.

Planned Parenthood has warned that about half its clinics that provide abortion could be closed nationwide due to the ban in the new federal law on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for services other than abortion.

Wisconsin, where abortion is legal but the Republican-controlled Legislature has passed numerous laws limiting access, was the only state where Planned Parenthood paused all abortions because of the new federal law, Atkinson said.

Because of the complexities and varieties of state abortion laws, Planned Parenthood affiliates are responding to the new federal law in a variety of ways, Atkinson said. In Arizona, for example, Planned Parenthood stopped accepting Medicaid but continued to provide abortions.

The move in Wisconsin is clearly aimed at sidestepping the federal law, Wisconsin Right to Life said.

Planned Parenthoods abortion-first business model underscores why taxpayer funding should never support organizations that make abortion a priority, said Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life. Women in difficult circumstances deserve compassionate, life-affirming care the kind of support the pro-life movement is committed to offering.

RELATED STORY | FDA approves generic version of mifepristone abortion drug, sparking conservative backlash

Impact on Wisconsin abortion clinics

In Wisconsin, pausing abortions for the past 26 days meant that women who would normally go to clinics in the southeastern corner of the state instead had to look for other options, including traveling to Chicago, which is within a three-hour drive of the Planned Parenthood facilities.

Affiliated Medical Services and Care for All also provide abortions at clinics in Milwaukee.

Atkinson said she did it was really, really difficult to say how many women were affected by the pause in services. She did not have numbers on how many women who wanted to have an abortion since the pause went into effect had to seek services elsewhere.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves about 50,000 people, and about 60% of them are covered by Medicaid, the organization said.

Given those numbers, the priority was on finding a way to continue receiving Medicaid funding and dropping the Essential Community Provider status provided the gateway, Atkinson said.

Wisconsin is part of a multistate federal lawsuit challenging the provision in the law. A federal appeals court in September said the government could halt the payments while a court challenge to the provision moves ahead.

Ramifications for Medicaid

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin cited a Sept. 29 court filing on behalf of U.S. Health and Human Services that said family planning organizations could continue billing Medicaid if they gave up either their tax-exempt status or the essential community provider" designation.

By giving up that designation, it no longer fits the definition of prohibited entity under the federal law and can continue to receive federal Medicaid funds, the organization said. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is not giving up its tax exempt status.

The essential community provider designation was originally given to organizations to help make it easier for them to be considered in-network for billing with private health insurers, Planned Parenthood said.

Atkinson called it a nuanced provision of the law and she does not anticipate that giving it up will affect Planned Parenthood's ability to continue providing abortions and other services.

Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of services including cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat. Services other than abortion are expected to expand in light of the new law.

Planned Parenthood performed 3,727 abortions in Wisconsin between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, the group said.

The Republican governor of Indiana said Monday hes scheduling a special session to redraw congressional boundaries after weeks of pressure to back President Donald Trumps bid to add more winnable seats with midcycle redistricting.

Trump has pressed Republicans to draw new maps that give the party an easier path to maintain control of the House in the midterms. While Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have moved quickly to enact new districts, Indiana lawmakers have been hesitant.

Republican Gov. Mike Braun called for the General Assembly to convene Nov. 3 for the special session. Its unclear whether enough of the GOP majority Senate will back new maps.

The White House held multiple meetings with Indiana lawmakers who have held out for months. The legislative leaders kept their cards close as speculation swirled over whether the state known for its more measured approach to Republican politics would answer the redistricting call.

National pressure campaign

Vice President JD Vance first met with Braun and legislative leaders in Indianapolis in August and Trump met privately with state House Speaker Todd Huston and state Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray in the Oval Office weeks later. Vance also spoke to state lawmakers visiting Washington that day.

Vance returned to Indianapolis on Oct. 10 to meet with the governor, as well as the Republican state House and Senate members.

RELATED STORY | North Carolina GOP lawmakers approve new congressional map aimed at adding Republican seat

Braun is a staunch ally of Trump in a state the president won by 19 percentage points in 2024. But Indiana lawmakers have avoided the national spotlight in recent years especially after a 2022 special session that yielded a strict abortion ban. Braun previously said he did not want to call a special session until he was sure lawmakers would back a new map.

I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair, Braun said in a statement Monday.

Typically, states redraw boundaries of congressional districts every 10 years after the census has concluded. Opponents are expected to challenge any new maps in court.

State lawmakers have the sole power to draw maps in Indiana, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers. Democrats could not stop a special session by refusing to attend, as their peers in Texas briefly did.

Opposition to redrawing the maps midcycle

A spokesperson for Bray said last week that the Indiana Senate lacked the votes to pass a new congressional map and she said Monday that the votes are still lacking, casting doubt on whether a special session will achieve Braun's goals.

With only 10 Democrats in the 50-member Senate, that means more than a dozen of the 40 Republicans oppose the idea. Some state Republican lawmakers have warned that midcycle redistricting can be costly and could backfire politically.

Republicans who vote against redistricting could to be forced out of office if their colleagues back primary opponents as punishment for not towing the party line. Braun's move to call a special session could force lawmakers who haven't commented publicly to take a stance.

Indianas Republican legislative leaders praised existing boundaries after adopting them four years ago.

I believe these maps reflect feedback from the public and will serve Hoosiers well for the next decade, Bray said at the time.

RELATED STORY | California Democrats release plan to boost party's US House seats

Indiana Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder decried the special session and threatened legal action over any maps passed by the Legislature.

This is not democracy. This is desperation," she said in a statement.

Redistricting balloons

Democrats only need to gain three seats to flip control of the U.S. House, and redistricting fights have erupted in multiple states.

Some Democratic states have moved to counter Republican gains with new legislative maps. The latest, Virginia, is expected to take up the issue in a special session starting this week.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in Indianas congressional delegation 7-2, limiting possibilities of squeezing out another seat. But many in the party see it as a chance for the GOP to represent all nine seats.

The GOP would likely target Indianas 1st Congressional District, a longtime Democratic stronghold that encompasses Gary and other cities near Chicago in the states northwest corner. The seat held by third-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan has been seen by Republicans as a possible pickup in recent elections.

Lawmakers in Indiana redrew the borders of the district to be slightly more favorable toward Republicans in the 2022 election, but did not entirely split it up. The new maps were not challenged in court after they were approved in 2021, not even by Democrats and allies who had opposed the changes boosting GOP standing in the suburbs north of Indianapolis.

Mrvan still won reelection in 2022 and easily retained his seat in 2024.

I believe that representation should be earned through ideas and service, not political manipulation, Mrvan said in a statement Monday.

Republicans could also zero in on Indianas 7th Congressional District, composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis. But that option would be more controversial, potentially slicing up the states largest city and diluting Black voters influence.

A fighter jet and a helicopter based off the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz both crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other, the Navy's Pacific Fleet said.

The three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued on Sunday afternoon, and the two aviators in the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ejected and were recovered safely, and all five are safe and in stable condition, the fleet said in a statement.

The causes of the two crashes were under investigation, the statement said.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo on Monday, said the incidents could have been caused by bad fuel. He ruled out foul play and said there was nothing to hide.

RELATED STORY | Pentagon accepts $130 million donation to help pay military during shutdown

The USS Nimitz is returning to its home port in Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state after having been deployed to the Middle East for most of the summer as part of the U.S. response to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping. The carrier is on its final deployment before decommissioning.

Another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, suffered a series of mishaps in recent months while deployed to the Middle East.

In December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 jet from the Truman.

Then, in April, another F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the Truman's hangar deck and fell into the Red Sea.

RELATED STORY | US is sending aircraft carrier to Latin America in escalation of military power

And in May, an F/A fighter jet landing on the carrier in the Red Sea went overboard after apparently failing to catch the steel cables used to stop landing planes and forcing its two pilots to eject.

No sailors were killed in any of those mishaps. The results of investigations into those incidents have yet to be released.

Former New York Jets center Nick Mangold, one of the franchise's most popular and decorated players, has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 41.

The Jets said in a statement on social media that Mangold died Saturday night from complications of kidney disease.

We are heartbroken to share the news of Nick Mangolds sudden passing.

New York Jets (@nyjets) October 26, 2025

His death comes less than two weeks after the two-time All-Pro selection announced on social media that he had kidney disease and needed a transplant. He said he didn't have any relatives who were able to donate, so he went public with the request for a donor with type O blood.

I always knew this day would come, but I thought I would have had more time, he wrote in a message directed to the Jets and Ohio State communities.

While this has been a tough stretch, Im staying positive and focused on the path ahead. Im looking forward to better days and getting back to full strength soon. Ill see you all at MetLife Stadium & The Shoe very soon.

Mangold said he was diagnosed with a genetic defect in 2006 that led to chronic kidney disease. He was on dialysis while waiting for a transplant.

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Nick was more than a legendary center, Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. He was the heartbeat of our offensive line for a decade and a beloved teammate whose leadership and toughness defined an era of Jets football. Off the field, Nicks wit, warmth, and unwavering loyalty made him a cherished member of our extended Jets family.

Mangold was a first-round draft pick of the Jets in 2006 out of Ohio State and was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times. He was enshrined in the Jets ring of honor in 2022.

Mangold is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and their four children Matthew, Eloise, Thomas and Charlotte.

The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions.

Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end. His wife, Debra, was awarded $8 million, according to a court document.

A physician diagnosed Robert Geathers with dementia several years ago, The Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg reported. Now he has trouble with day-to-day tasks such as dressing himself and helping making meals.

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Other physicians who testified at the trial said Geathers displays symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease found in former football players who received repeated blows to their heads while playing. CTE can be diagnosed only posthumously.

The couples attorneys argued to jurors that blows Geathers took during practices and games for the historically Black school in Orangeburg caused trauma that didnt show up until decades later, the newspaper reported.

Geathers attorney Bakari Sellers alleged the NCAA knew about concussion risks since the 1930s and when Robert Geathers college career ended but didnt tell coaches or players about those risks until later.

All of the information they knew, they withheld, Sellers told jurors, adding that their job was to keep the boys safe."

The verdict can be appealed. NCAA spokesperson Greg Johnson said Saturday in an email that the organization disagreed with the verdict and that it was prepared to pursue our rights on post-trial motions and on appeal, if necessary.

Johnson said the NCAA has prevailed in every other jury trial around the country on these issues and that the South Carolina State team standards followed the knowledge that existed at the time, and college football did not cause Mr. Geathers lifelong health problems.

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NCAA trial attorney Andy Fletcher said at the trial that Robert Geathers has several health conditions that influence dementia-like symptoms, and that the NCAAs football rules committee is composed of representatives of member schools that could propose rules.

Theres going to be head-hits. Thats inherent to the game. You cant take head-hits out of football, Fletcher said in closing arguments.

According to the newspaper, the jury determined the NCAA unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts to Robert Geathers over and above the risks inherent to playing football. And it also determined the NCAA voluntarily assumed duties to protect the health and safety of Robert Geathers and that the NCAA negligently breached their duties to him.

After the trial, Sellers said the result provided justice: I felt good to hug Debra Geathers. She gets to go home and tell her husband some good news.

June Lockhart, who became a mother figure for a generation of television viewers whether at home in Lassie or up in the stratosphere in Lost in Space, has died. She was 100.

Lockhart died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Santa Monica, family spokesman Lyle Gregory, a friend of 40 years, said Saturday.

She was very happy up until the very end, reading the New York Times and LA Times everyday, he said. It was very important to her to stay focused on the news of the day.

The daughter of prolific character actor Gene Lockhart, Lockhart was cast frequently in ingenue roles as a young film actor. Television made her a star.

From 1958 to 1964, she portrayed Ruth Martin, who raised the orphaned Timmy (Jon Provost), in the popular CBS series Lassie. From 1965 to 1968, she traveled aboard the spaceship Jupiter II as mother to the Robinson family in the campy CBS adventure Lost in Space.

Her portrayals of warm, compassionate mothers endeared her to young viewers, and decades later baby boomers flocked to nostalgia conventions to meet Lockhart and buy her autographed photos.

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Offscreen, Lockhart insisted, she was nothing like the women she portrayed.

I must quote Dan Rather, she said in a 1994 interview. I can control my reputation, but not my image, because my image is how you see me.

I love rock n roll and going to the concerts. I have driven Army tanks and flown in hot air balloons. And I go plane-gliding the ones with no motors. I do a lot of things that dont go with my image.

Early in her career, Lockhart appeared in numerous films. Among them: All This, and Heaven Too, Adam Had Four Sons, Sergeant York, Miss Annie Rooney, Forever and a Day and Meet Me in St. Louis.

She also made Son of Lassie, the 1945 sequel to Lassie, Come Home, playing the grown-up version of the role created by Elizabeth Taylor.

New life on television

When her movie career as an adult faltered, Lockhart shifted to television, appearing in live drama from New York and game and talk shows. She was the third actor to play the female lead in Lassie on TV, following Jan Clayton and Cloris Leachman. (Provost had replaced the shows original child star, Tommy Rettig, in 1957.)

Lockhart spoke frankly about her canine co-star: I worked with four Lassies. There was only one main Lassie at a time. Then there was a dog that did the running, a dog that did the fighting, and a dog that was a stand-in, because only humans can work 14 hours a day without needing a nap.

Lassie was not especially friendly with anybody. Lassie was wholly concentrated on the trainers.

After six years in the rural setting of Lassie, Lockhart moved to outer space, embarking on the role of Maureen Robinson, the wise, reassuring mother of a family that departs on a five-year flight to a faraway planet in Lost in Space.

After their mission is sabotaged by a fellow passenger, the nefarious Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), the party bounces from planet to planet, encountering weird creatures and near-disasters that required viewers to tune in the following week to learn of the escape. Throughout the three-year run, Mrs. Robinson offered consolation and a slice of her space pie.

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As with Lassie, Lockhart enjoyed working on Lost in Space: It was like going to work at Disneyland every day.

So smart, quick, and funny she filled her 100 years with curiosity, laughter, and rock n roll, Angela Cartwright, who played her daughter on Lost in Space posted on Facebook. I can only imagine shes feeling right at home as she steps off this planet and into the stars.

Bill Mumy, who played her son in the film, posted on social media: A one of a kind, talented, nurturing, adventurous, and non compromising Lady. She did it her way. June will always be one of my very favorite moms."

In 1968, Lockhart joined the cast of Petticoat Junction for the rural comedys last two seasons, playing Dr. Janet Craig.

A little bit of everything

Lockhart remained active long after Lost in Space, appearing often in episodic television as well as in recurring roles in the daytime soap opera General Hospital and nighttime soaps, Knots Landing and The Colbys. Her film credits included The Remake and the animated Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm, for which she provided the voice for Mindy the Owl.

She also used her own media pass to attend presidential news conferences, narrated beauty pageants and holiday parades, and toured in the plays Steel Magnolias, Bedroom Farce and Once More with Feeling.

Her true passion was journalism, Gregory said. She loved going to the White House briefing rooms.

Lockhart liked to tell the story of how her parents met, saying they were hired separately for a touring production sponsored by inventor Thomas A. Edison and decided on marriage during a stop at Lake Louise, Alberta.

Their daughter was born June 25, 1925, in New York City. The family moved to Hollywood 10 years later, and Gene Lockhart worked steadily as a character actor, usually in avuncular roles, sometimes as a villain. His wife, Kathleen, often appeared with him.

Young June made her stage debut at 8, dancing in a childrens ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House. Her first film appearance was a small role in the 1938 A Christmas Carol, playing the daughter of Bob Cratchit and his wife, who were played by her parents.

She was married and divorced twice: to John Maloney, a physician, father of her daughters Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth; and architect John C. Lindsay.

Throughout her later career, Lockhart was connected in the public mind with Lassie.

Even though she sometimes mocked the show, she conceded: How wonderful that in a career there is one role for which you are known. Many actors work all their lives and never have one part that is really theirs.

Trade tensions between the United States and China appeared to cool on Sunday ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with the Chinese government suggesting that a mutual understanding had been reached between the world's two largest economies.

The talks followed China placing limits on the exporting of rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies and Trumps threat of an additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods. The conflict has been poised to weaken economic growth worldwide.

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Chinas top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, told reporters that the two sides had reached a preliminary consensus on areas of dispute and would seek to further stabilize the relationship. Trump also expressed confidence that an agreement was at hand.

They want to make a deal and we want to make a deal, he said. Trump reiterated his plan to visit China in the future and suggested that Xi could come to Washington or Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida.

The announcement came at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, hosted in Kuala Lumpur, with Trump seeking to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker.

Yet the path to those deals has involved serious disruptions at home and abroad, with his tariff hikes scrambling the global economy and a U.S. government shutdown that has him feuding with Democrats.

Trump attends ceasefire ceremony between Thailand and Cambodia

At the summit, Thailand and Cambodia signed an expanded ceasefire agreement on Sunday during a ceremony attended by Trump, whose threats of economic pressure prodded the two nations to halt skirmishes along their disputed border earlier this year.

Thailand will release Cambodian prisoners and Cambodia will begin withdrawing heavy artillery as part of the first phase of the deal. Regional observers will monitor the situation to ensure fighting doesn't restart.

We did something that a lot of people said couldnt be done," Trump said. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called it a historic day, and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the agreement creates the building blocks for a lasting peace.

Trump touched down in the Malaysian capital shortly before 0200 GMT, where he performed his trademark campaign trail dance with local performers and waved an American flag in one hand and a Malaysian flag in the other. His trip will also include visits to Japan and South Korea and a planned meeting with Xi.

The president signed economic agreements with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, some of them aimed at increasing trade involving critical minerals. The U.S. wants to rely less on China, which has limited exports of key components in technology manufacturing.

Its very important that we cooperate as willing partners with each other to ensure that we can have smooth supply chains, secure supply chains, for the quality of life, for our people and security, said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Trump reengages with a key region of the world

The president attended this summit only once during his first term, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed unfamiliar with ASEAN during his confirmation hearing in January.

But this year's event was a chance for Trump to reengage with a collection of nations that have a combined $3.8 trillion economy and 680 million people.

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The United States is with you 100%, and we intend to be a strong partner and friend for many generations to come," Trump said. He described his counterparts as spectacular leaders and said, everything you touch turns to gold.

The summit also allowed Trump to play global peacemaker with Thailand and Cambodia, which have competing territorial claims that result in periodic violence along their border. Some of the worst modern fighting between the two countries took place over five days in July, killing dozens and displacing hundreds of thousands of people, some of the worst modern fighting between the two countries.

Trump threatened, at the time, to withhold trade agreements unless the fighting stopped in a display of economic leverage credited with spurring negotiations. A shaky truce has persisted since then.

The fact that Trump was holding the tariff card was actually very, very significant, said Ou Virak, president of Phnom Penhs Future Forum think tank. Thats probably the main reason, if not the only reason, but definitely the main reason why the two sides agreed immediately to the ceasefire.

Now, he said, theres a ceremony for Trump to be in front of cameras so he can be seen as the champion that brings an end to wars and conflicts, giving him more ammunition for his bid for Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump has explicitly campaigned for the honor, continuously adding to a list of conflicts that he either helped resolve or claims to have ended.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised the agreement between Thailand and Cambodia during opening remarks at the summit, saying, "it reminds us that reconciliation is not concession, but an act of courage.

Tariffs are in focus on Trump's trip

Trump sat down with Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva in Kuala Lumpur, who was also attending the summit. There has been friction between the two leaders over the Brazilian prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, the country's former president, who has been close to Trump. Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting a coup in his country earlier this week.

During his meeting with Lula on Sunday, Trump said he could reduce tariffs on Brazil that he enacted in a push for leniency for Bolsonaro.

I think we should be able to make some good deals for both countries, he said.

While Trump was warming to Lula, he avoided Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The president is angry with Canada because of a television advertisement protesting his trade policies, and on his way to the summit, announced on social media he would hike tariffs on Canada because of it.

Trump has expressed confidence about reaching deals during the rest of his trip, including with China. Fentanyl trafficking and soybean sales are among Trump's priorities.

I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal, Trump said.

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It remains to be seen whether Trumps dealmaking addresses longstanding issues or puts them off for another day.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Sunday that Washington and Beijing could step back from their confrontation instead of pushing forward with higher tariffs by America and export restrictions on rare earth elements by China.

When asked if the two countries could extend the trade truce from earlier this year, Bessent said: I would say yes." However, he emphasized that the final decision would be up to Trump.

One leader who was absent from the summit in Kuala Lumpur is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although he was close with Trump during his first term, the relationship has been more tense lately. Trump caused irritation by boasting that he settled a recent conflict between India and Pakistan, and he has increased tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil.

Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the worlds most visited museum that stunned the world.

The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING | Two arrests made in Louvre jewelry heist

Two arrests made in Louvre jewelry heist

French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered.

Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvres faade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museums director called the incident a terrible failure.

Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators. Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects custody period ends.

French Interior minister Laurent Nunez praised the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.

The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.

The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of Frances Crown Jewels a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.

The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amlie and Hortense.

They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonapartes second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugnies diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship were also part of the loot.

One piece Eugnies emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

The detention by immigration authorities of a Chicago man whose 16-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment for advanced cancer is illegal, and he must be given a bond hearing by Oct. 31, a federal judge has ruled.

Attorneys for Ruben Torres Maldonado, 40, who was detained Oct. 18, have petitioned for his release as his deportation case goes through the system. While U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel said in an order Friday that Torres' detention is illegal and violates his due process rights, he also said he could not order his immediate release.

While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner's daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules, and precedents, the judge wrote Friday.

Torres' attorney took the ruling as a win for now.

Were pleased that the judge ruled in our favor in determining that ICE is illegally detaining Ruben. We will now turn the fight to immigration court so we can secure Rubens release on bond while he applies for permanent residence status, his attorney, Kalman Resnick, said in a statement Friday night.

Torres, a painter and home renovator, was detained at a suburban Home Depot store. His daughter, Ofelia Torres, was diagnosed in December with a rare and aggressive form of soft-tissue cancer called metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Torres entered the U.S. in 2003, according to his lawyers. He and his partner, Sandibell Hidalgo, also have a 4-year-old son. The children are both U.S. citizens, according to court records.

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My dad, like many other fathers, is a hard-working person who wakes up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family, Ofelia said in a video posted on a GoFundMe page set up for her family. I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here.

The Department of Homeland Security alleges that Torres has been living illegally in the U.S. for years and has a history of driving offenses, including driving without a valid license, without insurance, and speeding.

This is nothing more than a desperate Hail Mary attempt to keep a criminal illegal alien in our country," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "The Trump administration is fighting for the rule of law and the American people.

At a hearing Thursday, which Ofelia attended in a wheelchair, the family's attorneys told the judge that she was released from the hospital just a day before her fathers arrest so that she could see family and friends. But since his arrest, she had been unable to continue treatment because of the stress and disruption, they said.

Federal prosecutor Craig Oswald told the court that the government did not want to release Torres because he didn't cooperate during his arrest,

Several elected officials held a news conference Wednesday to protest Torres' arrest. The Chicago area has been at the center of a major immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, which began in early September.

President Donald Trump headed for Asia Friday night for the first time this term, a trip where hes expected to work on investment deals and peace efforts before meeting face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to deescalate a trade war.

We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us," Trump told reporters as he left the White House. "I think well have a good meeting.

The president will have a long-haul flight that has him arriving in Malaysia on Sunday morning, the first stop of a three-country sprint.

His trip comes as the U.S. government shutdown drags on. Many federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck this week, there are flight disruptions as already-squeezed air traffic controllers work without pay, and states are confronting the possibility that federal food aid could dry up. As Republicans reject Democratic demands for health care funds, theres no sign of a break in the impasse, but Trump seems to be continuing on with business as usual, including his foreign trip.

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"America is shut down and the President is skipping town, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Friday night.

Trumps first stop is at a regional summit in Kuala Lumpur. Trump attended the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit only once during his first term, but this year it comes as Malaysia and the U.S. have been working to address a skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia.

On Sunday, hes scheduled to have a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a joint signing ceremony with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump threatened earlier this year to withhold trade deals with the countries if they didnt stop fighting, and his administration has since been working with Malaysia to nail down an expanded ceasefire.

The president credited Ibrahim with working to resolve the conflict.

I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, I think I owe you a trip," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The U.S. leader on Sunday may also have a significant meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, who wants to see the U.S. cut a 40% tariff on Brazilian imports. The U.S. administration has justified the tariffs by citing Brazils criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro a Trump ally.

Beyond trade, Lula on Friday also criticized the U.S. campaign of military strikes off the South American coast in the name of fighting drug trafficking. He said he planned to raise concerns with Trump at a meeting on Sunday in Malaysia. The White House has not yet publicly confirmed the meeting is set to take place.

After Malaysia, Trump has stops in Japan and South Korea

From there, Trump heads to Japan and South Korea, where hes expected to make progress on talks for at least $900 billion in investments for U.S. factories and other projects that those countries committed to in return for easing Trumps planned tariff rates down to 15% from 25%.

The trip to Tokyo comes a week after Japan elected its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Trump is set to meet with Takaichi, who is a protg of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump was close to Abe, who was assassinated after leaving office.

Trump said Takaichi's relationship with Abe was a good sign and I look forward to meeting her.

While there, Trump is expected to be hosted by Japanese Emperor Naruhito, and meet with U.S. troops who are stationed in Japan, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity about the planned trip.

In South Korea, Trump is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with China's Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

While the APEC summit is set to be held in Gyeongju, the Trump-Xi meeting is expected to take place in the city of Busan, according to the U.S. official.

The meeting follows months of volatile moves in a trade war between China and the U.S. that have rattled the global economy.

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Trump was infuriated earlier this month after Beijing imposed new export controls on rare earths used in technology and threatened to hike retaliatory tariffs to sky-high levels. He has said he wants China to buy U.S. soybeans. However, earlier this week, Trump was optimistic, predicting he would reach a fantastic deal with Xi.

Trump also said he might ask Xi about freeing Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper founder, saying "itll be on my list."

The only meeting that could possibly eclipse the Xi summit would be an impromptu reunion with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Speculation has been rife since South Koreas Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told lawmakers this month it was possible that Trump could again meet with Kim in the Demilitarized Zone, as he did in 2019.

But such a meeting is not on the president's schedule for this trip, according to the U.S. official.

Trump suggested it was hard to reach the North Korean leader.

They have a lot of nuclear weapons, but not a lot of telephone service," he said.

A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader's theme song from "Star Wars" on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights.

Sam O'Hara's federal lawsuit says the ominous orchestral music of "The Imperial March" is the soundtrack for his peaceful protests against President Donald Trump's deployment of Guard members in Washington, D.C. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O'Hara's videos of his interactions with troops, according to the suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.

O'Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, says he didn't interfere with the Ohio National Guard troops during their Sept. 11 encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O'Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.

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"The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests," his lawsuit says.

O'Hara also sued four MPD officers and the Guard member who called them to the scene. The suit accuses them of violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. O'Hara is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

O'Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, said he was looking for a humorous and creative way to protest what he views as a military "occupation."

"It feels surreal and dystopian," he told The Associated Press. "When I see armed troops at our farmers markets and outside of my favorite restaurants and my dog park, I don't think, 'Oh, wow, I feel safe.' I think: 'These feel like Stormtroopers. I feel like I'm living in a Star Wars episode or movie, and this is like an invading, dark force.'"

Spokespeople for Mayor Muriel Bowser's office and the police department declined to comment on the suit's claims. The MPD spokesperson said the four officers named as defendants all remain on full duty. A spokesperson for the Ohio National Guard didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

In August, Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city under the command of the secretary of the Army. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist in patrols.

Trump's law enforcement surge has inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued Trump to end it.

O'Hara's lawsuit says he became "deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods."

"To many District residents, the deployment constituted an attack on D.C.'s autonomy and a dangerous departure from the Nation's tradition of barring troops from policing civilians," the suit says.

O'Hara had staged and recorded other "Star Wars"-themed protests against Guard deployments. The troops mostly ignored him, the suit says.

On Sept. 11, O'Hara was returning home from work when he began following four armed Guard members from Ohio. Less than two minutes later, one of the troops warned him that he would summon police officers to "handle" him if he kept following them, according to the suit.

The police officers who arrived minutes later accused O'Hara of harassing the troops, which he denied. They detained him without conducting any investigation and ignored his complaints that the handcuffs were too tight, the suit alleges.

"Mr. O'Hara brings this suit to ensure accountability, secure compensation for his injuries, and vindicate core constitutional guarantees," the suit says.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.

President Donald Trump's favorability has fallen among Hispanic adults since the beginning of the year, a new AP-NORC poll shows, a potential warning sign from a key constituency that helped secure his victory in the 2024 election.

The October survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 25% of Hispanic adults have a somewhat or very favorable view of Trump, down from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before the Republican took office for the second time. The percentage of Hispanic adults who say the country is going in the wrong direction has also increased slightly over the past few months, from 63% in March to 73% now.

The shift could spell trouble for Republicans looking to cement support with this group in future elections. Many Hispanic voters were motivated by economic concerns in last year's election, and the new poll shows that despite Trump's promises of economic revitalization, Hispanic adults continue to feel higher financial stress than Americans overall. Hispanic voters made up 10% of the electorate in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters, and the number of eligible Hispanic voters has been growing rapidly in recent decades.

Alejandro Ochoa, 30, is a warehouse worker in Adelanto, California. He identifies as a Republican and voted for Trump last year, but hes now unhappy with the president. He criticized some of Trumps budget cuts, adding that the cost of groceries is too high and buying a home is still unattainable for him.

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He was kind of relying on essentially the nostalgia of, Hey, remember, before COVID? Things werent as expensive, Ochoa said. But now its like, OK, youre in office. Im still getting done dirty at the grocery store. Im still spending an insane amount of money. Im trying to cut corners where I can, but that bill is still insanely expensive.

Declining approval on economy and immigration

Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump in the last election, though a majority still backed Democrat Kamala Harris: 43% of Hispanic voters nationally voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, up from 35% in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

But the poll now finds that Hispanic adults are slightly less likely to approve of Trump's handling of the economy and immigration two issues that were major strengths for him in last year's presidential campaign and their views of his overall presidential performance have slipped a little as well.

In March, 41% of Hispanic adults approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, but now that has fallen to 27%.

Over the past few months, Hispanic communities have also been a target of the presidents hard-line immigration tactics. The poll found that Hispanic adults approval of his handling of immigration has declined slightly since March.

Some see the two issues as linked. Trumps attacks on immigration have affected low-wage and high-skilled workers alike, at a moment when the economy is already uncertain because of his erratic trade policies.

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Fel Echandi, of Winter Haven, Florida, is a behavioral specialist who identifies as a Democrat but sometimes votes for Republican candidates. He said he appreciates Trumps views on transgender issues, including restroom access for transgender women.

But hes concerned that Trumps immigration policies leave many people living in fear, with negative effects on the economy.

A lot of people rely on immigrants to do labor in certain areas, Echandi said. When that gets affected, all prices go up. Our food costs more because of the costs to get people to do that work.

The poll found particularly high levels of financial stress among Hispanic adults, compared with the rest of the country. More Hispanics say the cost of groceries, housing and health care and the amount of money they get paid are major sources of stress, compared with U.S. adults overall.

Favorability among Hispanic Republicans drops slightly

Views of Trump have even soured a little among Hispanic Republicans.

In the latest poll, 66% of Hispanic Republicans said they have a very or somewhat favorable view of Trump. That's a slight shift compared with where Trump stood in an AP-NORC poll from September 2024, when 83% of Hispanic Republicans viewed him at least somewhat favorably. About 8 in 10 white Republicans had a favorable view of Trump in the new poll, which was unchanged from the year before.

In another potentially worrying sign for the president, younger Hispanics and Hispanic men two groups that swung particularly dramatically toward him in last year's election also see him a bit more negatively.

About two-thirds of Hispanic adults under age 45 and Hispanic men now view Trump unfavorably, according to the new poll. That's a slight uptick from September 2024, when about half in both groups had a negative opinion of him.

Other concerns about Trump's chaotic second term emerged in interviews.

Teresa Covarrubias, a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher from Los Angeles, feels things are going in the wrong direction and said she was troubled by how some of Trumps actions have defied norms and may impact social safety net programs.

My major concern is the disregard for the Constitution and the law, and then also the level of cronyism, said Covarrubias, who is an independent voter. The people at the top are just grifting and taking, and then theres the rest of us.

Hispanic adults are more likely to prioritize immigration

There are signs in the poll that Trump's tough immigration approach may be alienating some Hispanic adults. Over the past few months, the president has doubled down on his pledge of mass deportations, with escalating crackdowns in Latino neighborhoods in cities including Chicago.

The poll found that, in general, Hispanic adults are more likely to say immigration is an important issue to them personally. About two-thirds of Hispanic adults prioritize immigration, compared with about 6 in 10 white adults and about half of Black adults.

And although their views on immigration enforcement aren't uniform, Hispanic adults are much less likely than U.S. adults overall to favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. About one-quarter of Hispanic adults support this policy, the new poll found, while roughly half of them are opposed and the rest dont have an opinion. Among U.S. adults overall, about 4 in 10 favor deporting all immigrants in the U.S. illegally, while 34% are opposed and about 2 in 10 dont have an opinion.

Rick Alvarado, 63, a Republican who lives in San Diego, says he still supports Trump and praised his actions to cut public spending. Alvarado, a property manager, is behind Trump's immigration crackdown in cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, saying he believes some immigrants are involved in organized crime.

But he added that he would like to see a solution for those without criminal records to obtain legal residency status.

The people who are productive should have a pathway to stay here somehow, Alvarado said.

The Department of Justice is preparing to send federal election observers to California and New Jersey next month, targeting two Democratic states holding off-year elections following requests from state Republican parties.

The DOJ announced Friday that it is planning to monitor polling sites in Passaic County, New Jersey, and five counties in southern and central California: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno. The goal, according to the DOJ, is to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law."

Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Election monitoring is a routine function of the Justice Department, but the focus on California and New Jersey comes as both states are set to hold closely-watched elections with national consequences on Nov. 4. New Jersey has an open seat for governor that has attracted major spending by both parties and California is holding a special election aimed at redrawing the state's congressional map to counter Republican gerrymandering efforts elsewhere ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The DOJ's efforts are also the latest salvo in the GOPs preoccupation with election integrity after President Donald Trump spent years refusing to accept the results of the 2020 election and falsely railing against mail-in voting as rife with fraud. Democrats fear the new administration will attempt to gain an upper hand in next years midterms with similarly unfounded allegations of fraud.

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The announcement comes days after the Republican parties in both states wrote letters to the DOJ requesting their assistance. Some leading Democrats in the states blasted the decision.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the move highly inappropriate and said the DOJ has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions.

Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, said in a statement that No amount of election interference by the California Republican Party is going to silence the voices of California voters."

California's House districts at stake

The letter from the California GOP, sent Monday and obtained by the AP, asked Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, to provide monitors to observe the election in the five counties.

In recent elections, we have received reports of irregularities in these counties that we fear will undermine either the willingness of voters to participate in the election or their confidence in the announced results of the election, wrote GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin.

The state is set to vote Nov. 4 on a redistricting proposition that would dramatically redraw Californias congressional lines to add as many as five additional Democratic seats to its U.S. House delegation.

Each of the counties named, they alleged, has experienced recent voting issues, such as sending incorrect or duplicate ballots to voters. They also take issue with how Los Angeles and Orange counties maintain their voter rolls.

California is one of at least eight states the Justice Department has sued as part of a wide-ranging request for detailed voter roll information involving at least half the states. The department has not said why it wants the data.

Brandon Richards, a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom, said the DOJ has no standing to interfere with California's election because the ballot contains only a state-specific initiative and has no federal races.

Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote," he said in an email.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page said he welcomes anyone who wants to watch the county's election operations and said it's common to have local, state, federal and even international observers. He described Orange County's elections as accessible, accurate, fair, secure, and transparent.

Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said election observers are standard practice across the country and that the county, with 5.8 million registered voters, is continuously updating and verifying its voter records.

"Voters can have confidence their ballot is handled securely and counted accurately," he said.

Most Californians vote using mail ballots returned through the postal service, drop boxes or at local voting centers, which typically leaves polling places relatively quiet on Election Day. But in pursuit of accuracy and counting every vote, the nations most populous state has gained a reputation for tallies that can drag on for weeks and sometimes longer.

In 2024, it took until early December to declare Democrat Adam Gray the winner in his Central Valley district, the final congressional race to be decided in the nation last year.

Passaic County the target in New Jersey

California's request echoed a similar letter sent by New Jersey Republicans asking the DOJ to dispatch election monitors to oversee the receipt and processing of vote-by-mail ballots and monitor access to the Board of Elections around the clock" in suburban Passaic County ahead of the states governor's race.

The New Jersey Republican State Committee told Dhillon that federal intervention was necessary to ensure an accurate vote count in the heavily Latino county that was once a Democratic stronghold, but shifted to President Donald Trumps column in last year's presidential race.

The county could be critical to GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarellis hopes against Democrat Mikie Sherrill. But the letter cited previous voter fraud cases in the county and alleged a long and sordid history of vote-by-mail shenanigans.

In 2020, a judge ordered a new election for a city council seat in Paterson the largest city in Passaic County after the apparent winner and others were charged with voter fraud.

Platkin said the state is committed to ensuring its elections are fair and secure. With the DOJ's announcement, he said the attorney general's office is "considering all of our options to prevent any effort to intimidate voters or interfere with our elections.

Election observers are nothing new

Local election offices and polling places around the country already have observers from both political parties to ensure rules are followed. The DOJ also has a long history of sending observers to jurisdictions that have histories of voting rights violations to ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws.

Last year, when the Biden administration was still in power, some Republican-led states said they would not allow federal monitors to access voting locations on Election Day.

Trump has for years railed against mail voting as part of his repeated false claims that former President Joe Bidens victory in 2020 was rigged. He alleges it is riddled with fraud, even though numerous studies have found no evidence of widespread fraud in U.S. elections.

Earlier this year, Trump pledged to ban vote-by-mail across the country, something he has no power to do under the U.S. Constitution.

The DOJs effort will be overseen by Dhillons Civil Rights Division, which will deploy personnel in coordination with U.S. attorneys offices and work closely with state and local officials, the department said

The department also is soliciting further requests for monitoring in other jurisdictions.

David Becker, a former DOJ attorney who has served as an election monitor and trained them, said the work is typically done by department lawyers who are prohibited from interfering at polling places.

But Becker, now executive director of the Center for Election Integrity & Research, said local jurisdictions normally agree to the monitors presence.

If the administration tried to send monitors without a clear legal rationale to a place where local officials didnt want them, That could result in chaos," he said.