Leaders of 21 Asian and Pacific Rim nations have opened their annual summit to discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared challenges. The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting began in the South Korean city of Gyeongju on Friday. The forum's start comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to take steps to ease their escalating trade war. Trump left South Korea after his meeting with Xi. Established in 1989, the APEC, which represents more than half of global trade, champions free and open trade.

Buckingham Palace says that King Charles III is stripping his brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicting him from his royal residence.  In a statement, the palace says Andrew will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and not as a prince. He will move from his Royal Lodge residence into “private accommodation.” The moves follow revelations about Andrew’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The palace said the thoughts of the king and Queen Camilla are with "the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020. That's according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and warrants as part of an investigation into the Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism. The investigation invites fresh scrutiny to a foundation whose leaders in recent years have faced criticism about their public accounting of donations. But the recent burst of investigative activity is also unfolding at a time when civil rights groups have raised concerns about the Trump administration targeting left-leaning groups.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is missing his first game of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks face the Golden State Warriors. The two-time MVP was listed as probable in the Bucks’ Thursday afternoon injury report because of left knee soreness. But the Bucks announced about an hour before the opening tip that he wouldn’t be available. Antetokounmpo has averaged 36.3 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists through the Bucks’ first four games of the season. He entered Thursday night’s action ranked second in the league in scoring and rebounding.

Certain senators know it’s time for the government shutdown to come to an end. So does House Speaker Mike Johnson. And with President Donald Trump arriving back in Washington from his overseas trip, perhaps the White House knows it, too. From coast to coast, fallout from the dysfunction of a shuttered federal government is hitting home. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says, “People are stressing,” as food options in her state grow scarce. But even with Saturday's deadline for a potential shut off in SNAP food benefits, there is no end yet to the political stand off. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes that after next week's elections in New York and other states, more lawmakers will be ready to end the shutdown and reopen government.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to provide dozens of lawyers to the Justice Department for temporary assignments in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border that could run through next fall. That's according to a memo released this week and reviewed by The Associated Press. The memo appears to be the latest effort to send military and civilian attorneys working for the Pentagon to the Justice Department, this time to staff offices based along the U.S. southern border or where federal immigration enforcement operations are taking place. The Pentagon separately last month approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges.

The landscape of college basketball is changing rapidly with name, image and likeness deals and the transfer portal reshaping teams yearly. Despite this, a group of veteran coaches like Rick Pitino, Rick Barnes and Tom Izzo continue to provide stability. These coaches have been pillars of the game for decades, but their tenure may be nearing its end. Many are in their seventies and facing the pressures of modern college basketball. Some, like Jay Wright and Tony Bennett, have already retired. Yet, the old guard remains influential, with teams like Houston and Tennessee ranked highly in preseason polls.

Former Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain and three of his former staff members face coaching restrictions and potential suspensions after agreeing to the punishments following an NCAA investigation into their role in an alleged sign-stealing scandal. The accused sign-steal, former Michigan staff member Connor Stalions, appeared in coaching gear on the Chippewas sideline for a 2023 game against Michigan State. The NCAA found one assistant coach, Jake Kostner, requested the coaching gear and a sideline pass without going through the normal processes. Kostner and Stalions had a pre-existing friendship, the NCAA found. The Chippewas also were fined $30,000 plus 1% of the football budget.

Democrats and their allied groups are pouring in more money and sending in the national party chairman in the final week of campaigning for a Pennsylvania Supreme Court election. The race could reshape the highest court in the largest presidential battleground as Democrats try to blunt a late-emerging Republican campaign to oust three Democratic justices. At issue in Tuesday’s election is whether the justices will each serve another term. The state's politically divided government has left disputes over election laws and other major issues to the courts in recent years.

U.S. President Donald Trump is prioritizing a group of white South Africans in a dramatically decreased quota of refugees allowed into the United States this fiscal year. The Trump administration is cutting the number of refugee places to as few as 7,500, with the places mostly going to members of the Afrikaner white minority from South Africa. The figures are for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 and were announced Thursday in a notice on the Federal Registry. The U.S. says Afrikaners are being discriminated against by their Black-led government and are the victims of race-based violence. The South African government strongly denies the claims.

Hip-hop producer Sean “Diddy” Combs wants a federal appeals court to quickly consider the legality of his conviction on prostitution-related charges and his more than four-year prison sentence. His lawyers filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, asking that oral arguments in his appeal occur in April. Combs was convicted in July of flying his girlfriends and male sex workers across state lines to engage in drug-fueled sexual encounters. However, he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

Parents and teachers cover your ears. Dictionary.com says its word of the year is “6-7.” The viral term is one kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about. It’s more of an inside joke with an unclear meaning. But it exploded in popularity over the summer months, driven by social media. It's origins seems to be traced back to a 2024 song by rapper Skrilla called “Doot Doot (6-7).” Dictionary.com says its annual selection is a linguistic time capsule that reflects social trends and events. But the site admits that it too is a bit confused by “6-7.”

President Donald Trump seemed to love his whirlwind Asia trip. He danced on the tarmac in Malaysia, and was given a gold medal and crown in South Korea. He relished the international dealmaking and soaked up praise from other leaders. It's a change in focus for a president who campaigned on “America First.” But don't mistake him for a globalist, says Hogan Gidley, his former aide: “When you’re scoring touchdowns,” Gidley says, “it’s OK to dance in the end zone.” Yet Trump returns Thursday to a country worried about prices and the government shutdown, and it's not clear how much his foreign policy wins will matter to voters.

A federal judge in Boston is considering a motion that would require the Trump administration to continue funding the SNAP food aid program despite the government shutdown. The hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani came two days before the day the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to stop replenishing accounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Talwani says she expects to issue her ruling later Thursday. SNAP is used by 1 in 8 Americans to buy groceries and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Democratic state officials challenged the Trump administration's plan to freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1, saying the federal government has a legal obligation to keep providing the assistance.