JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1192

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.

At the APEC summit in Gyeongju, Xi Jinping, the lone superpower leader after President Trump’s exit, courted partners for trade and investment while urging them to strengthen, not sever, supply chains linked to China. In speeches, he warned against protectionism and unilateral “bullying.” His appeal came as Beijing paused proposed rare earth export controls after a tariff-easing truce with the United States that included soybean purchases and delayed US curbs. Japan’s new prime minister voiced sharp concerns over rare earths, territorial disputes and rights issues, as analysts called China’s rare earth stance geopolitical leverage.

An 18-year-old, Naqwan Antonio Lucas, has been indicted on first-degree murder and 15 other counts in the stray-bullet killing of congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym near Washington’s Mount Vernon Square on June 30. Lucas pleaded not guilty; two 17-year-olds, Kelvin Thomas Jr. and Jailen Lucas—his brother—were charged as adults. Prosecutors say the 21-year-old was an innocent bystander struck as three suspects exited a stolen car and opened fire, injuring five others. Lucas also faces a separate indictment in the July 4 killing of Zoey Kelly, 17. President Donald Trump cited the killing when announcing a federal intervention in the District.

Police say a 77-year-old French cyclist survived three days in a ravine after a 130-foot fall in the Cévennes near Saint-Julien-des-Points, sustained by bottles of red wine from his shopping bag. He had missed a bend while biking home from a supermarket and shouted whenever vehicles passed, but went unheard until roadworkers noticed the twisted frame of his bicycle. A helicopter airlifted him to hospital. Rescue doctor Laurent Savath called it a miracle given cold rain and almost nothing to eat or drink beyond the wine. He had minor injuries and mild hypothermia, according to Entrevue.

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.

Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon signaled no letup in AI outlays, lifting data center spending to meet surging demand. Google, Microsoft and Amazon together spent $112 billion on capex in the past three months; the foursome topped $360 billion over 12 months. Concerns about a budding bubble grew, and the Bank of England flagged rising debt risks if AI underdelivers. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said today's investments differ from the dot com era, citing profitable business models. Amazon plans $125 billion this year; Meta raised its target to at least $70 billion, while its shares fell 11 percent.