JQJO — General news · Page 15

NASA pushed back after Kim Kardashian questioned the 1969 moon landing on her TV show, pointing to a “blowing” flag, boot prints and a starless sky. Acting administrator Sean Duffy shared a clip and replied that NASA has been to the Moon six times and is going back with Artemis under President Donald Trump’s leadership, vowing to win “this” space race. Kardashian then asked about 3I Atlas; Duffy called it the third interstellar comet seen in our solar system, said there’s no threat or aliens, and invited her to the Artemis launch at Kennedy Space Center.

A day after a 49-25 home collapse to Texas A&M, LSU fired Brian Kelly, ending his tenure at 34-14 amid a tense Sunday that doubled as a recruiting showcase. Sources described a program fraying under a distant head coach, lagging recruiting, and an anemic offense, last in SEC rushing for a second straight year. Athletic director Scott Woodward, who had pressed for staff changes, was fired days later; assistant head coach Frank Wilson is interim. With leadership in flux and fans restless, LSU begins a new search as Gov. Landry vows a markedly different contract.

Hurricane Melissa slammed Jamaica as a record Category 5, tearing roofs from 90% of homes in Black River, cutting power to three-quarters of the country, and killing at least 19. It weakened to Category 3 over Cuba and lashed Haiti, where flash floods and landslides killed at least 30. The storm is racing toward Bermuda and the Bahamas as it shifts post-tropical. In India, Cyclone Montha flooded Andhra Pradesh after 38,000 evacuations, causing an estimated 53bn rupees in damage. In Vietnam, torrential rain swamped Hue and Hoi An, prompting mass evacuations and leaving at least 10 dead.

Automakers are navigating steep tariffs and supply snags, yet quarterly results show surprising resilience. Moody’s pegs this year’s industry tariff tab at $30 billion, even as chip shortages and an aluminum plant fire strain Ford and Stellantis. GM earned $3.4 billion and Ford $2.6 billion, beating forecasts; Stellantis revenue rose 13%, while Hyundai’s profit fell 29% but targets stand. Volkswagen Group posted a billion-plus loss amid tariffs and Porsche’s shift back to gas. Tariff cuts, looser parts rules, firmer prices, and environmental rollbacks are reshaping strategies and slowing EV plans.

With Halloween looming, the real fright is sticker shock: chocolate prices are up nearly 30% from last year and 78% over five years, pushing a 100-piece candy bag to $16.39 from $7.20 in 2020. Hershey and Mars raised prices about 22% and 12%, and Hershey warned of softer holiday sales as tariffs add $160 million to $170 million in costs. Cocoa futures that spiked above $12,000 a ton amid a 60-year supply deficit are still double pre-pandemic levels. Shoppers are shifting to cheaper sweets: chocolate's share fell to 44%, while non-chocolate sales climbed 8.3%.

Google’s Gemini for Home rolls AI into paid Home app plans, promising daily video summaries, AI-labeled alerts, and the Ask Home chatbot. But early use shows shaky accuracy: dogs repeatedly tagged as deer, empty rooms flagged as people, and package drops missed, prompting false alarms and eroding trust. The model analyzes event video only—no audio—and users can try to nudge it with corrections; Google says improvements are coming. The $20 Advanced tier includes 60-day history but forces AI descriptions, while the $10 plan retains 30 days without generative summaries.

The HBO series I Love L.A. spotlights a more nuanced influencer, Tallulah, contrasting years of TV archetypes that painted internet fame as hollow, comic or dangerous. From iCarly’s early innocence to Selfie’s social misfit, Ingrid Goes West and You as cautionary tales, Search Party’s cult satire, and Emily in Paris’s earnest branding, portrayals have shifted. In I Love L.A., Tallulah’s charisma and volatility meet the business realities of brand deals, management and image control, while Maia positions her as a client to impress her boss.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia left a screening in stunned silence before an exasperated outburst. Written by Will Tracy, it follows Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Donny (Aidan Delbis) as they kidnap Big Pharma CEO Michelle (Emma Stone). The critic deems it mid-tier Lanthimos: a more grounded, naturalistic approach that sidelines his signature affectless style, with alternating close-ups that stifle interplay, even as Stone shines and Donny becomes the film’s soft center. The final act’s grotesquely beautiful imagery lands, but a full-length Marlene Dietrich cover of Where Have all the Flowers Gone derails the ending.

President Trump returned from a week in Asia touting progress: he said U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports will drop to 47% after Xi Jinping pledged to curb fentanyl, China will resume soybean purchases, and China will ease rare earths limits as Washington scales back some export rules for a year. A final deal isn't done; another China visit is planned for April. The trip mixed pageantry and peacemaking, including a Cambodia and Thailand ceasefire and openness to talks with North Korea. Back home, the shutdown endures as he floated ending the filibuster while Democrats seek a tax credit extension.

Owen McCown completed 31 of 33 passes for 370 yards and four touchdowns as UTSA beat Tulane 48-26, extending the Roadrunners’ regular season conference home win streak to 22. David Amador II and Devin McCuin each caught two scores; Amador also threw a 21-yard TD to McCuin. UTSA reeled off 31 straight points after Tulane’s opening 75-yard drive and led 38-12 early in the third on McCown’s strike to Will Henderson III. Robert Henry Jr. ran for 87 yards and Henderson added a rushing TD. Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff had two TDs but threw two interceptions; Brendan Sullivan added another.