JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1184

The US plans to announce that Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV, which has facilities in China, will resume shipping chips, according to a person familiar with the matter. The step follows a trade pact reached by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at their summit this week. The Trump administration is preparing a fact sheet on the US-China deal that will outline the move. The agreement involving Nexperia was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Donald Trump’s early departure from the Apec summit in Gyeongju left space for Xi Jinping to cast himself as a champion of open trade, as leaders wrestled with a fractured forum that produced only a vague declaration without mentioning the WTO. Canada’s Mark Carney and Xi signaled a thaw, with an invitation to visit China and talk of a turning point, days after the White House cancelled trade negotiations and raised tariffs on Canada. Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, made a low-key but steady debut, balancing careful ties with Seoul and guarded engagement with Beijing.

South Park’s Oct. 31 Halloween episode went gleefully meta. Stan railed that the show "sucks now" for politics, then launched a South Park Sucks crypto, sending cousin Kyle Schwartz to seek Trump's protection. Trump held a seance led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to expel a behatted haunt, revealed as Melania, while FCC chair Brendan Carr appeared as a mummy after "losing his freedom of speech," according to Stephen Miller. The Friday special, The Woman in the Hat, arrived two days late amid 2025 delays; new episodes are slated for Nov. 12, Nov. 26 and Dec. 10.

After a longer wait than expected, North Carolina coach Bill Belichick notched his first conference win Friday at Syracuse. Trailing 10-3 late in the first half, the Tar Heels stormed back for a 27-10 victory, holding the Orange to 147 total yards while piling up 425. The result moves UNC to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, with four games left; Syracuse falls to 3-6. Next up for North Carolina is Stanford, a matchup tinged by Frank Reich’s Super Bowl LII history against Belichick.

A 60-day Coral Expeditions cruise was cancelled after passenger Suzanne Rees, 80, was found dead on remote Lizard Island, a day after the Coral Adventurer sailed without her during a shore hike. The ship returned hours later when crew realised she was missing. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Queensland Police and the state coroner are investigating; the authority has barred new passengers and will attend the vessel in Cairns. CEO Mark Fifield cited Rees's "tragic passing" and earlier mechanical issues, promising full refunds and charter flights. Her family said they were shocked and saddened.

Leaning into Halloween, Vice President JD Vance donned a wig and parodied the “babyface Vance” meme in a TikTok, saying, “Happy Halloween… say thank you,” over The Twilight Zone theme. Online reactions followed: the Democrats’ X account mocked him, he rejected a costume prompt from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna with another meme, and Gov. Gavin Newsom and editor Ron Filipkowski responded critically. The meme, popular since last October, trailed him on a U.K. trip, figured in a Norwegian tourist’s alleged U.S. entry denial, and evolved after a March meeting where Vance pressed Volodymyr Zelensky to say “thank you.”

Two episodes into Season 28, South Park turns the joke on itself in Halloween special The Woman in the Hat. After a government shutdown costs Stan’s dad his USGS job and pushes the family into his grandfather’s retirement home, Stan says the show “sucks now,” and the kids launch a “South Park Sucks Now” crypto meme. A White House seance follows, overseen by Pam Bondi with Brendan Carr and Kristi Noem, as Donald Trump is haunted by Melania. Stephen Miller, Ed and Lorraine Warren, and Kyle’s cousin being arrested cap it off, the crypto exposed as a scam.

Mexico said it found no survivors from U.S. strikes that killed at least 14 people, despite Pentagon claims that one person was seen clinging to wreckage. The Mexican Navy began a search early Tuesday about 456 nautical miles from Acapulco and plans to end the 96-hour effort Saturday. U.S. officials said they followed rescue protocols and relayed the survivor's location. The attacks, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have drawn legal criticism and fresh pushback from President Claudia Sheinbaum, while Senate Armed Services leaders pressed for the orders and legal basis.

Republican lawmakers and Jewish groups condemned Tucker Carlson for hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes on his podcast, while some conservatives defended the interview, exposing a widening rift on the right. Senators Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell criticized Carlson; Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts backed him, drawing McConnell’s rebuke. Carlson derided Cruz and other “Christian Zionists” during the episode. Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, also denounced Carlson, Fuentes and Roberts. The Anti-Defamation League and the Republican Jewish Coalition blasted attempts to legitimize the pair, citing years of antisemitic rhetoric and warning against normalizing such views.

A Connecticut judge granted motions allowing Kimberly Sullivan, accused of holding her stepson captive for more than two decades, to access the alleged victim’s alias and address and to view his medical records only at the defense office. The court also limited the stepson’s attorney to plea and sentencing matters and left Sullivan’s GPS monitor in place. Prosecutors said the man, who escaped after allegedly setting a fire and was found severely emaciated, fears Sullivan; the defense called disclosure a constitutional right. The stepson has used the alias S. The next hearing is Dec. 19.