AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EST

The disruption of the closure, clocking in at 43 days, varied in its impact. Some people, like unpaid federal workers, were immediately and directly affected. Others included recipients of federal funding through programs like Head Start and food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

As the shutdown progressed, effects rippled. Delays and flight cancellations started racking up for passengers as the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut back on flights because of air traffic controller shortages. There were closures at Smithsonian museum sites and the National Zoo (although the animals still got fed).

That's a lot of programs, agencies and systems. Reclaiming “normal” won't be instantaneous. Here's a guide to what reopening looks like:

WHAT HAPPENED: About 1.25 million federal workers haven’t been paid since Oct. 1, missing about $16 billion in wages, according to official estimates. The workers were either furloughed or worked without pay in agencies across the federal government. Many struggled to make ends meet during that time, and the regional economy around Washington, D.C., took a hit.

Trump's next immigration crackdown will target Charlotte, North Carolina, a sheriff says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The latest city bracing for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is Charlotte, North Carolina, which could see an influx of federal agents as early as this weekend, a county sheriff said Thursday.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said in a statement that two federal officials confirmed a plan for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to start an enforcement operation Saturday or early next week in North Carolina’s largest city. His office declined to identify those officials. McFadden said details about the operation haven’t been disclosed and his office hasn’t been asked to assist.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin declined to comment, saying, “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations.”

President Donald Trump has defended sending the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and even the nation’s capital, saying the unprecedented operations are needed to fight crime and carry out his mass deportation agenda.

Charlotte is another such Democratic stronghold. A statement of solidarity from several local and state officials estimated the city is home to more than 150,000 foreign-born people. The city's population is about 40% white, 33% Black, 16% Hispanic and 7% Asian.

Texas A&M University professors now need approval for some race and gender topics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M University System regents on Thursday required professors to receive approval from the school president to discuss some race and gender topics, tightening rules months after a viral video of a student confronting an instructor over her lessons threw the flagship campus into upheaval.

The new policy will apply to all 12 schools within the system, including at Texas A&M, one of the largest universities in the country.

The new policy states that no academic course “will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless approved in advance by a campus president.

The new policy appears to be the first time that a public university system in Texas has put in rules on what faculty can talk about in their classroom on the topics of race and gender. Other university systems in Texas have also placed restrictions on classroom instruction or have begun internal reviews of course offerings following a new state law.

Critics of the new policy say it would impede the ability of faculty to teach, undermine academic freedom and could be a violation of First Amendment rights.

Justice Department sues to block California US House map in clash that could tip control of Congress

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026.

The complaint filed in California federal court targets the new congressional map pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to a similar Republican-led effort in Texas backed by President Donald Trump. It sets the stage for a high-stakes legal and political fight between the Republican administration and the Democratic governor, who's seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender.

“California’s redistricting scheme is a brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights and mocks the democratic process,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an emailed statement. “Governor Newsom’s attempt to entrench one-party rule and silence millions of Californians will not stand.”

Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards said in a statement, “These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court.”

The legal move against heavily Democratic California marks the first time the Justice Department has sued over a flurry of unusual, mid-decade House map revisions across the country that were drawn to maximize partisan advantage in advance of next year's elections.

BBC apologizes to Trump over its misleading edit, but says there's no basis for a defamation claim

LONDON (AP) — The BBC apologized Thursday to U.S. President Donald Trump over a misleading edit of his speech on Jan. 6, 2021 but said it had not defamed him, rejecting the basis for his $1 billion lawsuit threat.

The BBC said Chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House saying that he and the corporation were sorry for the edit of the speech Trump gave before some of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

The publicly funded broadcaster said there are no plans to rebroadcast the documentary, which had spliced together parts of his speech that came almost an hour apart.

“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action," the BBC wrote in a retraction.

Trump’s lawyer had sent the BBC a letter demanding an apology and threatened to file a $1 billion lawsuit for the harm the documentary caused him. It had set a Friday deadline for the BBC to respond.

What's next in Congress on the push to release the Epstein files

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is speeding toward a vote next week on releasing files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a step that comes after months of resistance from Republican leaders.

They have no choice but to allow consideration of the bill after a petition on the measure reached the necessary 218 signatures. It comes at a time when new documents are raising fresh questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said President Donald Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president.

Public speculation has been rampant for years about Epstein’s operation, death and connection to powerful and wealthy individuals, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, tech billionaires and celebrity academics, among others.

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a petition in July to force a vote on their bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The effort was backed by all House Democrats and four Republicans, including Massie and Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

James Comey and Letitia James press for dismissal of their cases, challenge prosecutor's appointment

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge Thursday to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who secured the indictments was illegally installed in the role.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said she expects to decide by Thanksgiving on challenges to Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. That decision could help determine the fate of the politically charged cases, which were both shepherded by the hastily installed Halligan and together have amplified concerns that the Justice Department is being used as a weapon to target President Donald Trump's perceived adversaries.

Halligan was installed in the job at Trump's urging by Attorney General Pam Bondi in September, just days before Comey was indicted, in what defense lawyers say was an end-run around the constitutional and statutory rules governing the appointment of U.S. attorneys. They say the maneuver was designed to ensure indictments against the president's political opponents after the prosecutor who had been overseeing the two investigations, but had not brought charges, was effectively forced out.

“Ms. Halligan was the sole prosecutor in the grand jury room, and when the sole prosecutor lacks the authority,” said Ephraim McDowell, one of Comey's defense lawyers, “that's not going to be a harmless error.”

U.S. attorneys, top federal prosecutors who oversee regional Justice Department outposts across the country, are typically nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. Attorneys general do have the authority to name an interim U.S. attorney who can serve for 120 days, but lawyers for Comey and James argued that once that period expires, the law gives federal judges the exclusive say of who gets to fill the vacancy.

US aircraft carrier nears Venezuela in flex of American military power

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most advanced U.S. aircraft carrier is expected to reach the waters off Venezuela in days, a flex of American military power not seen in Latin America for generations.

Experts disagree on the possibility that American warplanes will catapult off the USS Gerald R. Ford to bomb targets inside Venezuela and further pressure authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro to step down. Still, whether it may serve that purpose or only patrols the Caribbean as the U.S. blows up boats it accuses of trafficking drugs, the presence of the 100,000-ton warship alone is sending a message.

“This is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again in Latin America,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region. “And it has raised a lot of anxieties in Venezuela but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use military force.”

The Ford's impending arrival is a major moment in the Trump administration's campaign in South America, which it describes as a counterdrug operation. It escalates the already massive buildup of military firepower in the region, with added pressure from bomber training runs near the Venezuelan coast, CIA operations that have been publicly authorized inside the country and boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that have killed over 75 people.

The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers as tools of deterrence to pressure and influence other nations, often without employing any force at all. They carry thousands of sailors and dozens of warplanes that can strike targets deep inside another country.

Ohtani is unanimous MVP for 4th time in winning NL honor as Judge edges Raleigh for 3rd AL accolade

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani won his fourth MVP award in a unanimous vote for the National League honor on Thursday and Aaron Judge earned the American League accolade for the third time.

Ohtani won a MVP for the third straight year, his second in the NL with the Los Angeles Dodgers after two in the AL with the Los Angeles Angels. All four have been unanimous.

Judge became the New York Yankees’ fourth three-time winner, edging Seattle’s Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Angels’ Mike Trout topped Houston’s Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019.

Ohtani became just the second player to win at least four MVP awards, trailing only seven by Barry Bonds.

The 31-year-old Ohtani is the first to win in each league twice after getting the AL honor in 2021 and 2023. He signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He’s also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.

Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.

It was only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos’ company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon — and it was a complete success.

The 321-foot (98-meter) New Glenn blasted into the afternoon sky from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA’s twin Mars orbiters on a drawn-out journey to the red planet. Liftoff was stalled four days by lousy local weather as well as solar storms strong enough to paint the skies with auroras as far south as Florida.

In a remarkable first, Blue Origin recovered the booster following its separation from the upper stage and the Mars orbiters, an essential step to recycle and slash costs similar to SpaceX. Company employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles (600 kilometers) offshore. An ecstatic Bezos watched the action from Launch Control.

“Next stop, moon!” employees chanted following the booster's bull's-eye landing. Twenty minutes later, the rocket's upper stage deployed the two Mars orbiters in space, the mission's main objective. Congratulations poured in from NASA officials as well as SpaceX's Elon Musk, whose booster landings are now routine.