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First lady hosts Toys for Tots charity drive

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First lady hosts Toys for Tots charity drive

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October 12, 2025

Oct. 12, 2025, 8:00 AM EDTBy Claire WangJean Wang, a Boston-based fashion blogger, was so excited when her daughter said she wanted to dress up as Rumi, the purple-haired protagonist of the Netflix blockbuster “KPop Demon Hunters,” that she decided to go all out with a DIY costume. Wang and her daughter Nori, 7, said they feel proud that such a popular costume — “KPop Demon Hunters” looks are already a top pick this year — is rooted in Asian culture. “I remember, growing up, the struggle at Halloween to find a costume that felt ‘me,’” Wang said. “It’s definitely refreshing and exciting to see the ‘it’ costume of the year, for people of all backgrounds, being a female Asian character.” Due to the film’s late summer release, big retailers have scrambled to mass produce Rumi’s purple wig and gold-black jacket and the black hanbok made iconic by demon heartthrob Jinu.Zoey, Rumi and Mira from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”NetflixFor Asian Americans, the runaway success of “KPop Demon Hunters” is another watershed moment for representation in pop culture, parents and experts say, as children no longer have to look primarily to Pixar or Disney princesses for costume inspiration. But dissatisfied with the costumes she found online, Wang got a cropped jacket from Zara and refashioned it with gold stripes, then bought purple hair extensions and braided them herself — a hair tutorial video she uploaded on Instagram quickly went viral.Nori loved the outfit for the demon-slaying leader of three-member K-pop girl band Huntrix so much she has worn it every weekend, Wang said. “My daughter is definitely aware that the characters ‘look more like her,’” she said. “But at the end of the day, Rumi is a brave, talented and fierce character who also shows vulnerability in a very relatable way.”Ella Pereyra, 11, says she was lucky enough to take representation to the next level — she’s the actual model for Spirit Halloween’s Rumi costume. As a Filipina American girl from New Jersey, Pereyra said she feels proud to see herself on screen and in pop culture. She said she’d already watched the film “KPop Demon Hunters” about “a billion times” when she got the booking call.“I feel very grateful that they made a movie about people that looked like me,” Pereyra said about playing Rumi. “I feel lucky to play Rumi because not a lot of people can do that.Young A Jung, an assistant professor at George Mason University who teaches modern Korean literature and pop culture, said one factor behind the mass appeal of “KPop Demon Hunters” might be the complexity of its central characters, Rumi and Jinu.Jean Wang’s children wear Rumi, right, and Derpy Tiger costumes from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”Jean Wang “Global teens and youth groups with complex everyday lives might no longer want to see clearcut Western-style heroes,” Jung said, adding that the movie’s exploration of the shame that K-pop idols feel, and their efforts to hide their pasts, is particularly resonant with fans. “KPop Demon Hunters” also presents a “remarkably realistic portrayal of contemporary South Korean life and landscape” interwoven with Korean folklore and mythology. “The depiction of shamanism and the grim reaper is very concrete,” she said, “and the everyday life of eating ramen and kimbap is very correct.”The characters and their outfits are themselves rich with symbolism. Jung pointed out the double meaning of “saja,” which signifies both “lion” and “dead people.” In the movie, Jinu’s black hanbok and gat, a wide-brimmed sheer hat, were historically the formal wear of Confucius scholars, she said. Later, the look became incorporated in folktales as the attire of grim reapers. Even the film’s animal characters, the tiger and magpie, are inspired by Korean folk painting.Jinu, center, wears a black hanbok and gat, a wide-brimmed sheer hat, in Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”Netflix Since the movie draws so heavily from Korean traditions, marketing the characters’ outfits simply as trendy Halloween costumes can risk diluting their cultural importance, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist and culture critic. “You don’t want these traditional garbs to become associated with ‘demon wear,’” she said. “You don’t want to see traditional clothing be co-opted and diminished by Hollywood.”Some parents say their children were simply enthralled by the bright, pop aesthetic of the movie and too young to understand its layered cultural references. Jessica Castañeda, 27, began looking for a Rumi costume for her daughter, Kasey, almost as soon as they watched the movie together. Castañeda said Kasey, 5, quickly introduced her friends to the movie, and soon they all wanted to dress up as Rumi, Zoey, Jinu and Abby. Last month, Castañeda planned a “KPop Demon Hunters” themed birthday party for Kasey that featured Shin Ramyun and soda pops.The soundtrack was what hooked her, Castañeda said: “The songs are catchy, and she wanted Rumi’s hair.” Claire WangNBC News freelance reporter and writer

October 1, 2025

Oct. 1, 2025, 5:05 PM EDTBy Monica Alba, Laura Strickler, Dareh Gregorian and Amanda TerkelWASHINGTON — A number of federal agencies are putting out messages blaming Democratic senators for the current government shutdown, in a sharp break from how departments have handled shutdowns in the past. Traditionally, agencies provide information on the status of the funding lapse and what services won’t be available, but stay away from partisan talking points. Some civil servants, who are supposed to be nonpartisan, are being encouraged to push out the messages as well. The Department of Labor sent a message to all employees Wednesday morning, suggesting a potential out-of-office notification: Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume. The department offered a similar message about employees who must continue working throughout the shutdown. A civil servant at the Department of Health and Human Services said their boss suggested they put up an out-of-office message that had this line: “Unfortunately, Democratic Senators are blocking its passage in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations.” Not all agencies are sending out this guidance. Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Justice Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development said they did not get suggestions like the one given to employees at the Department of Labor. We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or reach out to us here.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services referred NBC News to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not return a request for comment. The Department of Labor also did not respond. “What this administration is doing is unprecedented, illegal and flat-out wrong,” said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. “I’ve been deeply engaged in our federal government for over 30 years and there is nothing that has come close. Federal employees who are furloughed are still subject to the same legal and ethics rules, and there is no excuse for this behavior. The administration should not be using federal employees or federal resources to wage a political battle.”Congress failed to reach a funding agreement late Tuesday night, leading to a shutdown that is expected to last at least through the week. While Republicans have full control of the federal government, including the White House and majorities of both chambers of Congress, they don’t have the 60 votes needed to end debate on legislation in the Senate and move bills forward without Democratic votes. Democrats want to include provisions to extend health care funding, as well as assurances that President Donald Trump won’t keep unilaterally withholding spending directed by Congress.Federal employees will not be paid during the shutdown — even if they’re deemed essential to operations and have to continue working. Approximately 750,000 employees will be furloughed, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Members of Congress and President Donald Trump will continue to receive paychecks. The Trump administration’s messaging on the shutdown extends to federal government websites as well. Visitors to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s site are greeted with a large red banner that reads: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”In case visitors missed the message, a large pop-up box then appears: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”“Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, website updates will be limited until full operations resume,” reads the message on the State Department’s site. The undersecretary for management at the State Department also sent a letter criticizing Democrats to all employees on Tuesday: “Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federal appropriated funding will lapse.” Both the Forest Service and the Treasury Department also now have messages up on at the top of their websites blaming Democrats and the left for the shutdown.And VetResources, which the Department of Veterans Affairs bills as “a weekly newsletter for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,” sent an email to subscribers Wednesday blaming Democrats for any gap in resources.“President Trump opposes a lapse in appropriations, and on September 19, the House of Representatives passed, with the Trump Administration’s support, a clean continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21,” the newsletter reads. “Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. During the current lapse in funding, the vast majority of VA benefits and services will continue uninterrupted, but the government shutdown is not without consequences to VA.”The messages have already raised questions about their ethics and legality.A former senior counsel at the Housing Department told NBC News that the agency’s message on its website likely violates the federal code of conduct for employees.“There’s no universe where that is acceptable or advisable under the code of conduct,” said Donald Sherman, who’s now executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The code says “employees shall act impartially” and without preferential treatment, he said. “This agency is meant to service every American, whether they’re right or left or have no political views whatsoever,” and now the first thing people see on the site is about “political ideology.”The group Public Citizen filed a complaint against HUD, saying the message on its website violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their official capacities to affect or interfere with elections. A HUD spokesperson defended the site on Tuesday, telling NBC News, “The Far Left is barreling our country toward a shut down, which will hurt all Americans. At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable. Why is the media more focused on a banner than reporting on the impact of a shutdown on the American people?” A HUD official also pushed back on Hatch Act questions, saying the message was carefully worded so as not to name a specific party or politician, but rather an ideology. The watchdog group Democracy Defenders Fund on Wednesday sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office urging an investigation into HUD. “The purpose of HUD’s website is to help Americans find affordable housing and protect their rights. It is not a campaign website or a tool to advance a political party’s agenda,” said Virginia Canter, the group’s ethics and anticorruption chief counsel and director. “The Trump administration, however, turned a government agency website into a partisan billboard. It’s an abuse of power, a waste of taxpayer money, and appears to be a flat-out violation of the law.”Monica AlbaMonica Alba is a White House correspondent for NBC News.Laura StricklerLaura Strickler is the senior investigative producer on the national security team where she produces television stories and writes for NBCNews.com.Dareh GregorianDareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.Amanda TerkelAmanda Terkel is politics managing editor for NBC News Digital.Abigail Williams, Allan Smith, Kelly O’Donnell, Ryan J. Reilly, Courtney Kube, Steve Kopack and Michael Kosnar contributed.

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