JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1189

With the NFL trade deadline approaching Nov. 4, teams are clarifying plans. The Falcons are unlikely to move Kirk Cousins; the Ravens won’t tear down. The Bills covet Chris Olave, though a deal seems unlikely. Carolina is keeping core pieces like Derrick Brown and Chuba Hubbard. The Bears could add edge depth; the Bengals won’t sell; the Browns are sellers. Dallas seeks defensive help but has no deal in mind. Other notes: Chiefs eye DT and RB, Lions and Eagles monitor secondary and edge, while several clubs, including the Vikings and Broncos, may stand pat.

LSU is without a president, athletic director or head football coach as Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry takes center stage in the upheaval. After the Tigers fell to 5-3 and confidence in Brian Kelly cratered, Landry pushed through Kelly’s firing and a $54 million buyout, then publicly sidelined AD Scott Woodward, despite his other title-winning hires. Interim AD Verge Ausberry now leads a search committee, though questions linger over who truly holds power. Critics warn the governor’s highly visible role, jokes and fact slips risk scaring off top candidates and deepening a perception of chaos.

Facing outrage, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces said they detained fighters after seizing El Fasher, including a man known as Abu Lulu seen in videos executing unarmed people. AFP verified footage of him firing at close range and standing among corpses, and the RSF later showed him behind bars. The Centre for Information Resilience identified six RSF fighters and confirmed mass killings of civilians and combatants. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher cited credible reports of executions, rapes, and mutilations, while the International Rescue Committee relayed survivors’ accounts of bodies on roads after the city fell following an 18 month siege.

From a hidden strip, Ukrainian crews launch drones into the night, engines sputtering like old motorcycles, to hit oil refineries, fuel depots and logistics hubs deep in Russia. Kyiv says more than 160 successful strikes this year have exposed vulnerabilities and contributed to gasoline shortages and rationing. Drones now fly about 1,000 kilometers and can cost $55,000, stretching Moscow’s air defenses. Western analysts call the damage serious but not crippling, with most refineries resuming operations. Zelenskyy says Russia may have lost up to 20% of gasoline supply as IEA reports a 500,000 barrel per day hit to refining capacity.

In a nail-biting Dutch vote, the centrist D66 led by 38-year-old Rob Jetten is poised to edge Geert Wilders’ PVV, with news agency ANP tallying a razor-thin lead of about 15,000 votes. Jetten hailed a historic result as D66, projected at roughly 18%, secures a clear plurality and nearly triples its seats, yet will need at least three partners to govern. He is set to lead coalition talks that could take months and, per ANP figures, could become the Netherlands’ youngest prime minister. PVV’s surge faded. Final confirmation is due Monday after mail ballots from citizens abroad are counted.

HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry unveiled a striking opening credits sequence, debuting with the second episode released early on HBO Max for Halloween. Animated postcards peel back an idyllic 1960s Derry to reveal Pennywise’s death and destruction, the threat of nuclear war, and the 1908 Ironworks blast, all set to Patience and Prudence’s 1956 song A Smile and A Ribbon. Executive producer Andy Muschietti calls it a “descent into dread,” crafted with Filmograph’s CG then transferred to film for grainy texture and packed with Easter eggs. Not every catastrophe teased will appear in the series, particularly in the first season.

The Pentagon will return about 700 U.S. airborne troops from Germany, Romania and Poland, spurring NATO and European officials to underline that Washington’s commitment remains intact. U.S. Army Europe and Africa cast the step as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s force-balancing, not a retreat, as allies take on more defense. Estonia said the U.S. will keep forces in Estonia; Lithuania closed its border with Belarus amid accusations of hybrid warfare. The change drew bipartisan criticism in Washington and worries of wider cuts, even as NATO insisted U.S. posture in Europe remains strong.

Democratic mayoral candidate and state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani spent Thursday night canvassing New Yorkers on the late shift, from LaGuardia’s taxi line to Elmhurst Hospital and Jackson Heights diners, renewing his appeal to working-class voters. Leading in polls, he cast himself as a different kind of night mayor than Mayor Eric Adams, who left the race. Known for joining a 2021 hunger strike that helped win taxi debt relief, he greeted drivers in English, Hindi and Urdu, rain spotting his black suit. Reactions ranged from enthusiasm to skepticism before a midnight news conference at Diversity Plaza.

Ukraine has turned drone warfare into a points contest, awarding units credits for verified strikes redeemable for gear on the Brave1 Market. Videos are reviewed in Kyiv, and values now prioritize infantry kills — up from two points at launch to six in October and doubled again in May. Awards range from eight points for wounding a soldier to 120 for a capture; destroying heavy weapons also scores. Over 400 teams compete, ordering more than 80,000 systems worth more than $96 million, as officials say the program sustains morale and expands to AI tools and robotic ground vehicles.

As layoff notices swept the CDC during the government shutdown, Aryn Melton Backus received a third termination email, then a rapid reversal, capturing the chaos inside the agency. Unions call the latest reductions illegal, saying repeated cuts have eliminated a quarter of the CDC and gutted offices from ethics oversight and the IRB to the library and Washington office, with key surveys and prevention programs disrupted. About 1,300 layoffs were processed; roughly 700 were later reinstated while 600 remain out. Staff also report harassment, doxing, and trauma after an August shooting at CDC headquarters.