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Oct. 21, 2025, 1:30 AM EDTBy Arata Yamamoto and Jennifer JettTOKYO — Lawmakers in Japan elected hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi as prime minister on Tuesday, making her the first woman in modern times to lead the key U.S. ally. Takaichi, 64, the new leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was elected by lawmakers in the lower house of parliament by a vote of 237-149 over her closest rival, Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the liberal opposition Constitutional Democratic Party. She was also elected by upper house lawmakers in a second vote of 125-46 after falling one vote shy of a majority in the first round.Though her election is a milestone in a country where women are severely underrepresented in government, Takaichi enters office with a fragile coalition and facing a number of pressing challenges, including a visit next week by President Donald Trump. A protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi advocates a stronger military, tougher immigration policies and the revision of Japan’s pacifist constitution. She is a veteran politician who has served as minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality. Earlier this month Takaichi was elected leader of the LDP, which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted since World War II, after running unsuccessfully in 2021 and 2024. Her ascension to prime minister was thrown into doubt, however, after a crucial partner, the centrist party Komeito, left the LDP coalition.To ensure her victory, the LDP signed a deal on Monday with the Osaka-based Japan Innovation Party, or Ishin, that will pull its coalition further to the right.Even with the alliance, Takaichi faces an uphill battle in parliament, where she falls short of a majority in both houses after the LDP suffered major losses in recent elections amid voter anger over party corruption scandals and the rising cost of living.“She emerges from this a diminished leader from the get-go,” said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University’s Japan campus.Takaichi also faces an early test next week with the arrival of Trump, who is making his first trip to Asia since returning to office. He is expected to visit Malaysia and Japan before continuing on to South Korea, which is hosting a major summit of Asia-Pacific economies. “She doesn’t have a whole lot of time to get ready for a slew of diplomatic activity,” Kingston said. “But I think job one is the Japanese economy.”Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.Arata YamamotoArata Yamamoto has been an NBC News producer in Tokyo since 1993.Jennifer JettJennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.

- Latest News - October 21, 2025

Lawmakers in Japan elected hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi as prime minister on Tuesday, making her the first woman in modern times to lead the key U.S. ally.

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Oct. 20, 2025, 11:01 PM EDT / Updated Oct. 20, 2025, 11:21 PM EDTBy Andrew GreifThe Toronto Blue Jays advanced to the World Series on Monday by defeating the Seattle Mariners and winning the American League pennant.The Blue Jays survived the American League Championship Series on their home field by taking a winner-take-all Game 7, 4-3, to make the franchise’s first World Series berth since 1993 and set up a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the seventh inning with Toronto trailing 3-1. With runners on second and third base with one out, George Springer crushed a sinker from Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo 381 feet to the left-center field stands for a lead that would not be relinquished. Because Toronto finished with a better regular-season record, it will have home-field advantage for the World Series, starting with hosting Game 1 on Friday and Game 2 on Saturday. The Dodgers won two of the three games the teams played this season in early August.”It takes so much work and perseverance to get to this point, and I love this entire group,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said postgame. “It’s so fitting —bottom of our order gets it done again. There’s probably no other person on planet Earth that I want up other than George Springer and his October magic.” Only eight players on Toronto’s 40-man roster were alive when the team last made the World Series in 1993, when it won a second consecutive title. The championships were followed by 21 consecutive seasons without so much as a playoff berth. Including their postseason return in 2015, the club has made the playoffs five of the last 10 years but never broken through to win the pennant until this season, when it won 94 games — a 20-win improvement over 2024 — under manager John Schneider. They began the postseason by beating the New York Yankees in the divisional series, then opened the ALCS by immediately falling into an 0-2 hole. Wins in Seattle evened the series, as did another in Game 6, in which Toronto staved off elimination thanks to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sixth home run of the postseason, a franchise record. The Blue Jays are the first team since the 1996 Yankees to lose the first two games at home of a best-of-seven series, only to ultimately win the series.Andrew GreifAndrew Greif is a sports reporter for NBC News Digital. 

- Latest News - October 21, 2025

The Toronto Blue Jays advanced to the World Series on Monday by defeating the Seattle Mariners and winning the American League pennant

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Oct. 20, 2025, 7:11 PM EDTBy Monica Alba and Raquel Coronell UribeWASHINGTON — Construction crews Monday started demolishing part of the East Wing of the White House as part of President Donald Trump’s project to build a new ballroom, according to an administration official.Trump said in July that the project “won’t interfere with the current building.”“It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said at the time.The White House did not immediately respond to questions from NBC News about how much of the structure it plans to demolish and why it’s happening after Trump’s earlier insistence that the White House itself wouldn’t be touched.The Washington Post was first to report on the demolition.

- Latest News - October 21, 2025

Trump insisted in July that the $250 million project, which he said would be financed by him and private donors, “won’t interfere with the current building.”

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Oct. 20, 2025, 7:35 PM EDTBy Doha Madani and Jennifer O’NeilVirginia Roberts Giuffre, an outspoken accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, alleged that her own father had abused her and suggested that he took hush money from Epstein in a posthumous memoir releasing Tuesday.Giuffre, 41, had been working on the book with a co-author before she died by suicide in April. In the memoir, she alleges that other men had abused her before she was groomed by Epstein at age 16.She alleges that her experience with abuse began as early as 7 by her father. Her father denied the allegation, insisting that he never abused his daughter. And in a statement in the memoir, her father said he “never knew what was going on with Epstein” until he saw the news online.Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts Jr. told NBC News’ Hallie Jackson that he confronted his father over the abuse allegation. “I just, I said — we know,” he recalled, choking up. “I mean, you were Dad. You sexually abused your daughter. It’s absolutely heinous what he did.”Virginia Giuffre leaves federal court in 2019.Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileGiuffre recounts in the memoir, “Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice,” that Epstein showed her a photo of her younger brother, then in middle school, and told her to keep quiet about “what goes on in this house.” She also suggested in her book that her father may have taken money from Epstein after he began abusing her. Her brother recalled that their father would buy “decently nice things” at points in their life, including a boat. “If there was a payment wired to him, like it would, would be disgusting, be disgusting that he accepted money,” Roberts said. The final years of Giuffre’s life were marked by her repeatedly calling for criminal charges against Epstein and his associates. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 shortly after he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. He served 13 months of an 18-month jail sentence. Federal prosecutors in New York brought new charges against him in 2019, and he died while awaiting trial. Giuffre provided federal authorities with information that led to the arrest and conviction of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre said she was getting her life back on track after a troubled childhood when she met Maxwell, who steered her into Epstein’s path. She alleged that the two groomed her into becoming a sex slave for Epstein and that Epstein trafficked her to other prominent men in his circle. Maxwell, a former British socialite, was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking in 2021 for her role in recruiting young girls to be abused by Epstein.Other survivors have credited Giuffre’s bravery for giving them the strength to come forward with their own allegations. When she died in April, Giuffre’s attorney described her as “an incredible champion for other victims.”If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.Doha MadaniDoha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.Jennifer O’NeilJennifer O’Neil is a producer for NBC News

- Latest News - October 21, 2025

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an outspoken accuser of Jeffrey Epstein, alleged that her own father had abused her and suggested that he took hush money from Epstein in a posthumous memoir.

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