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.

U.S. employers added a suprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed seven weeks by the federal government shutdown. The Labor Department also said Thursday that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3% in August. The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions showed that jobs fell by 4,000 in August instead of increasing by 22,000 as originally reported.

The U.S. and Russia have reportedly drafted a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, demanding major concessions from President Zelenskyy. According to sources, the plan includes Ukraine ceding territory to Russia, which Zelenskyy has ruled out. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff has been working on the proposal for a month. European diplomats insist they must be consulted. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasizes the need for Ukrainian and European involvement. The plan has sparked concerns about its legality under Ukraine's constitution and its popularity among Ukrainians.

New Orleans is warily awaiting a monthslong federal crackdown to arrest thousands of immigrants. Around 250 federal agents are expected to arrive Friday in the city that is a beacon for tourists from around the globe seeking the delight and hedonism of the city's famed Mardi Gras celebrations. Republican Governor Jeff Landry and other state officials have ratcheted up pressure on New Orleans to compel its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, but Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick says her officers will not participate in the immigration crackdown. Her officers have long been shielded from immigration enforcement by longstanding federal oversight, but that consent decree ended Wednesday.

The U.N. atomic watchdog’s board of governors is demanding Iran fully cooperate and provide the agency's inspectors with “precise information” about its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, and also grant them access to the country’s nuclear sites. Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board voted on Thursday to support the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 12 countries abstained and one did not vote. The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. A draft was seen by The Associated Press.

The U.S. feminist movement’s perpetual quest for gender equality has suffered notable setbacks during President Donald Trump’s second term. These include the dismantling of various nondiscrimination programs and the ouster of several high-ranking women in the military. Yet strikingly, outspoken women from the Catholic Church and the ranks of conservative evangelicals are engaging with gusto in ongoing political and social debates even as their faiths maintain longstanding rules against women serving as priests or senior pastors. Many of these women see these ministry barriers as a nonissue.

Natalie Paine, a French horn player in New Zealand’s navy, has been stationed in Antarctica on a military posting since October. She practices her music in one of the most remote places on Earth using a plastic instrument that won't freeze to her fingers. Growing up in Adelaide, Australia, Paine dreamed of visiting Antarctica as a scientist but pursued music instead. Years later, she learned that New Zealand military members could be stationed there. After four years of unsuccessful applications, she finally landed a posting. Paine finds inspiration in the wild beauty around her, playing music in her limited free time.

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. The Associated Press has found that the predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched, and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going, and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. The Border Patrol’s parent agency said they use license plate readers to help identify threats and disrupt criminal networks and are governed by "federal law and constitutional protections.”

President Donald Trump has signed a bill to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president and senior Republicans initially resisted the disclosure, but eventually bowed to political pressure. The legislation, signed Wednesday, requires the Justice Department to disclose all files related to Epstein, including details about his death in federal prison in 2019. The files must be released within 30 days, with some redactions allowed for ongoing investigations. Trump, who had been friends with Epstein, insists he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes and cut ties with him long ago.

Sometimes, the immune system runs amok and attacks the organ that makes us “us” — the brain. It's called autoimmune encephalitis but one California man dubbed it his “year of unraveling.” Christy Morrill went for a bike ride with friends,…

Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take stronger action to show accountability in the face of a corruption scandal presenting the greatest threat to his government since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Zelenskyy has dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates after government investigators revealed that $100 million had been embezzled from the country’s energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors. But that hasn’t quieted the political storm. After more than three years of war in which Ukrainians face regular power outages, corruption in the energy sector isn’t sitting well with the public. Calls are growing for Zelenskyy to remove his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine’s de facto vice president.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing federal disaster funds and using the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency funds that her family’s health care company had received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. Some of the money was then used to fund her campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors say. A phone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.

The 2025 Country Music Association Awards are here. Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson lead this year’s nominations with six nods each. There’s a lot of stiff competition. Wilson is competing for the night’s top prize, entertainer of the year, against Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen, last year’s winner in the category. The legendary Vince Gill will be presented with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Shaboozey, Luke Combs, BigXThaPlug and more will perform. The 59th annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Central on ABC. It will become available to stream the next day on Hulu.

The Trump administration has once again extended the life of a Michigan coal-fired power plant. The J.H. Campbell power plant was supposed to close last May as the utility Consumers Energy makes a transition to cleaner sources of electricity. But the U.S. Energy Department has ordered it to stay open for at least another 90 days. The administration says there are “emergency conditions” that require it to keep producing electricity in the central U.S. Critics scoff at that claim. Environmental groups and Michigan’s attorney general have gone to court to try to overturn orders keeping the plant online.

President Donald Trump says he's turning his attention to helping find an end to the brutal civil war in Sudan. Trump made the declaration on Wednesday after he said he was urged to action by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump claims to have ended several wars since returning to office and has openly lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize. But he admitted he hadn’t given a lot of thought to the fighting in Sudan until he spoke in detail about the civil war with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia during their White House talks on Tuesday. Trump said he was determined to work with Middle East leaders to end the two-year-old war.