JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1219

Former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor on Wednesday launched Defiance.org, an online hub to coordinate peaceful, lawful resistance to President Trump. Backed by dozens of former national security officials, whistleblowers and bipartisan ex-officeholders, the site debuts with a video of actor Robert DeNiro urging people to stand up and fight, and seeks to link protests, legal defense and mutual aid. Supporters include Stephanie Grisham, Olivia Troye and ex-Reps. Reid Ribble, Denver Riggleman and Joe Walsh. The effort follows October 'No Kings' rallies and an April memo from Mr. Trump targeting Taylor, amid harsh White House criticism.

The Bengals are uncertain whether quarterback Joe Flacco will play Sunday against the Bears after an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Coach Zac Taylor called him day to day. Flacco briefly visited the locker room after a sack by Jets edge rusher Will McDonald but returned without missing a snap and said postgame he thought he’d be OK. If he can’t go, Cincinnati would turn to Jake Browning, whose three earlier starts ended in blowout losses.

General Motors laid off roughly 1,700 workers in Michigan and Ohio, including about 1,200 at Detroit’s EV plant and 550 at Ultium Cells in Ohio, with 850 additional temporary layoffs there. The company will also temporarily lay off 700 at Ultium Cells’ Tennessee site and pause battery cell production in Ohio and Tennessee starting in January, aiming to resume by mid-2026 after upgrades. Citing slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, GM is realigning capacity. The moves follow 200-plus salaried cuts and a $1.6 billion third-quarter hit tied to its EV plans.

YouTube is pushing deeper into big-screen viewing with a feature drop for TV audiences: automatic AI upscaling of videos to 1080p (with labeled "super resolution" up to 4K coming), bigger 50MB thumbnails, and an immersive channel-surfing homepage that spotlights Shows collections and prioritizes creator content in TV search. Shopping gets a TV-friendly fix via QR codes tied to tagged moments. Creators are auto-opted into upscaling but can opt out and keep originals. Google says channels earning over $100,000 rose 45% in 2025 versus 2024. Rollout starts today in YouTube Studio.

WASHINGTON — The shutdown is costing the U.S. economy about $7 billion per month that won’t be recovered, the nonpartisan CBO told House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington. For four-, six-, and eight-week durations, unrecovered losses are $7 billion, $11 billion, and $14 billion (2025 dollars). Spending is falling as over a million workers miss pay; roughly 600,000 are excepted and working, while 650,000 are furloughed. Output should bounce after reopening, but the longer the stoppage lasts, the worse the macroeconomic hit.

Ariana Grande has left her Glinda-blond era, revealing a glossy brunette return in an Instagram mirror selfie Wednesday. “it’s good to see me, isn’t it? ✨,” she wrote, crediting colorist Francesco De Chiara, hairstylist Alyx Liu and makeup artist Michael Anthony. De Chiara, who first bleached her hair in October 2022 for Wicked, celebrated the switch on Instagram as fans cheered. Grande had kept the blond through the first film’s November 2024 release and press tour; with the sequel due Nov. 21, 2025, she appears ready to move on.

The United States will withdraw some forces from Romania, sending the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne back to Kentucky without a replacement, as the Pentagon shifts focus toward homeland defense and Latin America. The Army cast it as a balanced posture adjustment, not a reduced commitment to NATO, saying allies are taking on more responsibility. Romania said about 1,000 U.S. troops will remain, while the drawdown includes departures from Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base. Republican defense leaders opposed the move, as NATO noted U.S. troop levels still exceed pre-2022.

Aboard Air Force One, President Trump said he could deploy the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to U.S. cities under the Insurrection Act — asserting courts “wouldn’t get involved” — but added he hasn’t found it necessary. He praised National Guard deployments in Washington, D.C., and Memphis as driving down crime, even as Chicago, D.C., Illinois, California and Oregon have sued over such actions. A legal expert noted the Posse Comitatus Act’s limits and the Insurrection Act’s rare use; the last invocation was in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots.

Gyeongju, South Korea — Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet Thursday on APEC’s sidelines, with US officials signaling a pause on China’s rare earth export controls and new US tariffs. The talks follow threats of sweeping measures—Beijing’s curbs and Trump’s potential 100% tariffs—that economists warn would devastate growth. Experts say de-escalation could steady expectations, though doubts persist over how long it can last. With the two economies shaping 43% of global GDP, a prolonged split could cut output by nearly 7%, even as the IMF lifted its 2025 growth outlook to 3.2%.

Boeing delayed first 777X deliveries to 2027 and took nearly $5bn in charges, bringing program costs to about $15bn, including customer penalties. Shares slipped 1% premarket; an industry analyst said the charge topped expectations but wasn’t crippling as demand for widebodies grows. Separately, the FAA approved raising 737 Max production to 42 a month. Boeing delivered 55 jets in September, its best since 2018. Free cash flow turned positive at $238m, revenue rose 30% to $23.27bn ahead of estimates, but the adjusted loss was $7.47 per share, larger than expected.