JQJO — General news · Page 69

At the White House, Donald Trump used an expletive to warn Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, claiming the leader had offered “everything” — including natural resources — to ease tensions. Speaking alongside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump confirmed a sixth US strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, saying “we attacked a submarine,” after earlier strikes near Venezuela killed at least 27 people. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said details would follow. Caracas condemned the actions as illegal killings, while Human Rights Watch and legal scholars warned they violate international law. Lawmakers from both parties voiced unease over the operations.

Scott Derrickson returns to helm Black Phone 2 after Joe Hill’s email — “The Grabber calls Finn from hell” — unlocked the sequel. Waiting until his young leads aged into high school, he set the story in 1982, four years later. Finn wrestles with notoriety and numbness, while Gwen, outed for her psychic gifts, faces bullying and nightmares that draw them to Alpine Lake, where The Grabber’s spirit targets her. A midfilm revelation about their mother provides the emotional spine, and Derrickson’s son Atticus supplies the score. The film opens in theaters Oct. 17.

Proxy adviser ISS urged Tesla investors to vote down Elon Musk’s proposed $1tn pay package, citing its striking magnitude and a lack of binding safeguards to keep him focused as he juggles other ventures. The recommendation lands before the Nov 6 annual meeting, where the plan—tied to steep market, earnings and product milestones—faces a decisive vote. Tesla pushed back on X, saying ISS misses fundamentals and urging support. ISS also opposed director Ira Ehrenpreis’s re-election and a retail proposal for Tesla to invest in xAI.

The Pentagon condemned Netflix’s hit gay military drama Boots as “woke garbage,” with press secretary Kingsley Wilson saying that under president Trump and defense secretary Pete Hegseth the military is restoring a sex‑neutral “warrior ethos” and won’t bow to ideology. Based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, the 1990s‑set series about a closeted recruit has drawn praise and nuance from critics, and star Miles Heizer noted its unexpected timeliness. The dust‑up comes amid criticism from the right of Netflix, even as the streamer remains the market leader with 301.6 million paid users.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center late Thursday, ending a six-mile transfer and setting the stage to stack it atop the Space Launch System for an early‑next‑year launch. With White House approval to continue work during the ongoing shutdown, teams target a window as soon as February 5 for Artemis II. The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will fly a 10‑day flight to the Moon’s vicinity. Next up: bolt-up to the rocket, crewed countdown rehearsal, and a fueled pad test like the one that exposed past hydrogen leaks.

Matt and Ross Duffer say Stranger Things' fifth season will close every major arc, even as they develop a spinoff that won’t continue existing characters or expand the show’s mythology. They’ll create it and stay hands-on, but won’t serve as showrunners; Netflix’s Bela Bajaria says the concept remains secret and without a timeline. Meanwhile, animated offshoot Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, shown at Annecy, has one finished episode, channels a throwback vibe with Arcane-like animation, and keeps the kids at their Season 2 ages. Success could extend the franchise, with Shawn Levy involved and the "universe" name still unsettled.

Apple plans to cut iPhone Air production by one million units after underwhelming sales, Mizuho Securities says. Meanwhile, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are outperforming last year’s models, and the standard iPhone 17 is a major success versus iPhone 16. Apple will raise output of other models by two million units and lifted its iPhone 17 series forecast from 88 to 94 million units for the start of 2026. In China, iPhone Air reportedly sold out within hours, despite lower-than-expected sales in Western countries last month.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a vocal Trump critic and housing-density advocate, will run next year for the congressional seat held by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, with a formal announcement expected next week, the San Francisco Standard reported. Wiener has raised $1 million via an exploratory committee and changed course after progressive Saikat Chakrabarti entered the race. Pelosi, 85, hasn’t said if she’ll run again and is focused on Proposition 50, on California’s Nov. 4 special election ballot to redraw districts in favor of Democrats. If elected, Wiener would be San Francisco’s first openly gay member of Congress.

French police arrested four people on terrorism charges over an assassination attempt targeting Russian opposition activist Vladimir Osechkin in southern France. Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, said he is alive and thanked security services, posting a video filmed on a Biarritz beach where he has lived since 2015. Prosecutors have opened a formal investigation for participation in a terrorist group preparing crimes against an individual; the suspects, aged 26–38, remain in custody. The arrests come amid a counter‑espionage probe opened in September and broader French inquiries into alleged Russian destabilisation efforts, even as Osechkin’s work and reputation draw sharp dispute.

An international team reporting in Nature Geoscience has detected an unusual potassium isotope pattern in some of Earth’s oldest rocks—a deficit of potassium‑41 unlike anything seen in modern geology or known meteorites. The anomaly, found in samples from Greenland, Canada, and Hawaiian lavas, withstood multiple tests and simulations, suggesting it could be preserved material from proto‑Earth predating the giant impact. Co‑lead author Nicole Nie called it possible “first direct evidence” of ancient Earth, while noting a matching meteorite could yet surface. The discovery revives a planetary Theseus’s Paradox and underscores how much about Earth’s origins remains unsettled.