The U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, well short of the roughly 85,000 economists had penciled in. Revisions made it worse — July flipped from a 21,000 gain to a 10,000 loss, and August was cut from 162,000 to 133,000, erasing about 60,000 previously reported jobs. The White House said it was "not even a little bit" disappointed, pointing to gains in healthcare, construction, and manufacturing.
The State Department confirmed it has now revoked more than 250,000 visas since January 2025, citing criminal activity, fraud, birth tourism, and national security threats. Roughly 2,300 of those were tied specifically to birth tourism — foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. to give birth. Spokesman Tommy Pigott called the figure "a historic milestone."
President Trump kicked off a 32-day campaign tour with stops in Texas, Oklahoma, and a Friday night rally in Mobile, Alabama, as Republicans fight to hold both chambers in November. Ahead of the Mobile event, three University of South Alabama students were arrested and federally charged over alleged social media threats against the president. Trump used the rally to predict the Iran war would wrap "right after the midterms."
U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel indefinitely blocked ICE from making civil immigration arrests inside New York City immigration courthouses, ruling the administration's policy invalid. The decision lands as ICE reports more than 356,000 removals in fiscal year 2026. Separately, the Supreme Court agreed this week to review the administration's no-bond mandatory detention policy.
Trump said the more than six-month conflict with Iran will end "very soon" and that oil prices "will come tumbling down," while confirming 18 American service members have been killed. He also warned Tehran it would be struck "very hard" if investigators tie Iran to the FlyDubai cockpit attack. Two more ships reported strikes near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.
A Russian strike damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge early Saturday, suspending traffic for a third straight day of bridge attacks. Moscow has now forced the full or partial closure of three of the capital's six Dnipro River road crossings. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damaged roadway and trolleybus cables but no casualties; Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the spans carry military logistics.
King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco's head of government, the first woman to lead the kingdom's cabinet. The 50-year-old lawyer leads the palace-aligned PAM party, which won 97 of 395 parliamentary seats in the September 23 election. She previously became Marrakech's first female mayor in 2009; Morocco is now the second Arab nation after Tunisia to install a woman premier.
SpaceX's Starship reached low Earth orbit for the first time, completing one full lap of the planet and deploying a payload of Starlink satellites before splashing down in the northern Pacific about three hours and eight minutes after launch. It's the milestone the program has been chasing through ten-plus test flights. The success comes as SpaceX races toward a long-rumored public offering.
A research team conducted its most aggressive field season yet at the Durupınar formation in eastern Turkey, deep-core drilling more than 60 feet down and collecting over 300 soil samples. The samples will be analyzed for signs of human activity or decayed wood. It's the first time the boat-shaped geologic feature has been probed at that depth.
WWE star Paige says an autograph-seeker purchased a flight specifically to intercept her at a connecting gate, somehow knowing her flight number, layover city, and landing time. She called it flat-out "weirdo behavior" and said it crossed the line from fandom into something else. The incident has reignited a conversation about how easily travel details leak for public figures.
