South African authorities say they are planning for multiple protests by local and international activists around this weekend's Group of 20 world leaders summit in Johannesburg. South Africa has deployed 3,500 extra police officers and put the army on standby under its National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure. That body brings police, army and intelligence services together under one command to provide security for major events. Several groups have said they will launch protests against the two-day meeting of leaders from the richest and top emerging economies. South Africa says the protests will be allowed but will be confined to designated areas.

The PWHL enters its expansion era with new teams in Seattle and Vancouver, while one thing remains constant for a league preparing to open its third season on Friday. The Minnesota Frost are are the two-time defending Walter Cup champions, return much of their Kendall Coyne Schofield-captained veteran core and are ready to take on all challengers. With more expansion on the horizon, the eight-team PWHL will feature numerous subplots this season. Hilary Knight left Boston for Seattle, while Sarah Nurse is now in Vancouver. And if the past is a gauge, the four-team playoff bracket won't be decided until the final day of the regular season in late April.

The Trump administration has revised a website to contradict the scientific consensus that vaccines don't cause autism. The update to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage has outraged public health and autism experts. The Autism Science Foundation said the changes were anti-vaccine rhetoric. Decades of studies have shown no link between vaccines and autism. Former CDC officials have expressed concern, saying the agency's information on vaccine safety can no longer be trusted. The change is the latest move by President Donald Trump's Department of Health and Human Services to foster uncertainty about long-held scientific consensus.

President Donald Trump is once more targeting former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, and Trump is picking a political fight before next year’s elections. It's reminiscent of a fight that Trump lost in his first term, when he and fellow Republicans tried but failed to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. This time, they're focusing on subsidies that people use to help pay for their coverage. Those tax credits are set to expire Jan. 1. That could raise premiums at a time when voters say they're worried about the cost of living. Trump says he wants to see money sent directly to consumers.

A new advertisement inside the Grand Central subway station is filling the air with a seasonal scent. The campaign for Bath & Body Works sees diffusers release visible bursts of vapor onto one platform with a gentle fragrance that riders liken to “pine" and “fabric softeners.” Rider Jerome Murray says it “smells better than the normal New York City tunnels that we normally smell here." The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says this is the first ad campaign of its kind inside the transit network. Bath & Body Works estimates that 20 to 30 pounds of fragrance will have been dispersed when the campaign ends at the end of November.

The 76th annual National Book Awards have been presented by the nonprofit National Book Foundation, with winners including Rabih Alameddine for fiction, Patricia Smith for poetry, and Omar El Akkad for nonfiction. Hundreds of writers, publishers, editors and other industry professionals gathered Wednesday night to see the awards presented in downtown Manhattan. The event included honorary medals for writers George Saunders and Roxane Gay. Actor Jeff Hiller hosted, and Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae was the musical guest.

Verizon is laying off over 13,000 employees as part of a major company reorientation. The cuts began on Thursday, according to a memo from CEO Dan Schulman. He says Verizon's current cost structure limits investment, especially in customer experiences. Verizon had nearly 100,000 full-time employees at the end of last year. A spokesperson confirmed the layoffs account for about 20% of the company's management workforce, which isn't unionized. Schulman, who became CEO last month, has previously emphasized the need for aggressive transformation. Beyond the layoffs in its own workforce, the company also plans to reduce outsourced labor expenses.

GE Appliances says it has awarded more than $150 million in new contracts to U.S. suppliers as a result of its decision to shift production from China to Kentucky. It says the contracts range from $330,000 to $41 million, span 10 states and cover crucial segments of the supplier chain for washer and dryer production. The suppliers include U.S. Steel and family-owned companies. With the new contracts, GE Appliances says it's increasing domestic spending on suppliers by 3.3%. The suppliers will support production of a combo washer/dryer and a lineup of front load washers. The production is moving from China to the company's Appliance Park complex in Louisville.

A Kettering Foundation-Gallup poll finds that about half of U.S. adults believe democracy is functioning “very” or “moderately” poorly in the United States, while only around one-quarter think it’s doing “very” or “moderately” well. This marks a sharp decline from several decades ago when majorities thought democracy was generally working the way it should. Alongside the widespread disappointment in how democracy is working, the poll also finds that few believe the country’s leaders are committed to democratic governance or think government decisions reflect the will of the people. The survey is part of a project initiated by Gallup and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation that studies how Americans experience democracy.

Washington National Cathedral is hosting a bipartisan show of respect and remembrance for Dick Cheney, the consequential and polarizing vice president who became an acidic scold of fellow Republican President Donald Trump. Trump has been publicly silent about Cheney’s Nov. 3 death and was not invited to the funeral Thursday. Two ex-presidents are coming. Republican George W. Bush is set to eulogize the man who served him as vice president, and Democrat Joe Biden plans to attend. Among others delivering tributes are Liz Cheney, the former vice president's eldest daughter, and his longtime cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner.

South Africa's president says the Group of 20 nations will make a joint declaration at the end of their summit in Johannesburg this weekend despite warnings against that from the United States. President Cyril Ramaphosa added the summit host country “will not be bullied” by the U.S. to issue a toned-down statement at the end of the meeting of world leaders. The U.S. is boycotting the first G20 summit in Africa over Trump's claims that South Africa's Black-led government is violently persecuting the Afrikaner white minority. A South African official has said the U.S. told South Africa there should be no leaders declaration at the end of the summit.

The family of enslaved potter David Drake — known as “Dave the Potter” — has reclaimed two rare stoneware jars he created in South Carolina before the Civil War in what experts call the first major U.S. art restitution case involving works made by an enslaved person. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston returned the jars under an agreement finalized this month. The family has sold one back so it can remain on public view. For Drake's descendants, the return offers both pride and grief as they reconnect with an ancestor whose signed vessels and poems defied laws barring enslaved people from literacy.

Starbucks’ union is expanding its week-old strike against the company. Starbucks Workers United said baristas from 30 more stores in 25 U.S. cities planned to join the strike Thursday, including stores in Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri, and Albany, New York. That brings the total number of stores with striking workers to 95 in 65 cities. The strike began last Thursday on Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of its busiest days of the year. Starbucks said the strike has caused minimal disruption and Red Cup Day was the strongest in its history. The union is protesting the lack of progress in reaching a contract agreement with Starbucks.

K-pop is turning up in force at the United Nations climate talks in Brazil, with fans-turned-activists hosting protest and events to mobilize their millions-strong online community to back concrete climate actions. During the conference, known as COP30, costumed protests against fossil fuel funding featured characters from the popular “KPop Demon Hunters” movie, while panels attended by South Korean officials strategized how to engage the K-pop fanbase. The effort to mobilize for collective action mirrors a central message from host nation Brazil for the talks.