JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1277

On a visit to Oslo, Volodymyr Zelenskyy backed Donald Trump’s call to freeze the Ukraine-Russia war at current lines, calling it a “good compromise,” while noting Moscow has signaled refusal. Russia reiterated maximalist demands and rejected extended ceasefires, as Sergei Lavrov dismissed Washington’s push to “stop immediately.” Trump, who recently balked at sending Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv, voiced caution about a proposed summit with Vladimir Putin. Amid the uncertainty, Russia launched its biggest aerial assault in two weeks, killing at least six people, and staged strategic nuclear drills the Kremlin described as routine.

In NPR’s Far-Flung Postcards, the author seeks respite from Mumbai’s heat and clamor with a family break near Goa and a dawn Vistadome ride on the 12051 Jan Shatabdi Express, departing 5:10 a.m. from the British-era Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. As the sun rose and mist lifted, swivel seats faced wide windows framing tangled jungle, swollen rivers and waterfalls. A gasp, then laughter—and the thought of a perfect balm, and a chance to fall in love with India again.

President Donald Trump rejected a request to meet with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, saying he’ll talk only after the three-week U.S. government shutdown ends. Democrats are withholding support for a Republican stopgap funding bill unless an enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credit, expiring Dec. 31, is extended — warning of steep premium hikes. Republicans signaled they may prolong the stopgap past its Nov. 21 deadline, with Senators Susan Collins and John Thune saying more time is needed. Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed since Oct. 1 after about $1.7 trillion in agency funding lapsed.

Retired by the Trump administration in May, the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database has been relaunched outside government by Climate Central, using the same methods and led by previous administrator Adam Smith, a former NOAA economist. Its first update shows the first half of 2025 is costliest since 1980, with $101.4 billion across 14 billion‑dollar events—dominated by severe thunderstorms and March tornadoes, and punctuated by January’s Los Angeles fires, a $61.2 billion disaster and the costliest U.S. wildfire. Smith says rising damages reflect human choices, as billion‑dollar events now occur nearly twice as often as the long‑term average.

General Motors will roll out a Google Gemini–powered conversational assistant to its cars, trucks and SUVs starting next year, unveiled at GM Forward in New York. Delivered over the air via the Play Store to OnStar-equipped 2015-and-newer vehicles, it promises more natural voice help, web lookups, and tasks like messaging, multi-stop routing and meeting prep, plus vehicle-aware tips, maintenance alerts and preconditioning. GM calls it a step toward its own in-car AI; other upgrades arrive in 2028. The company says data use will be consent-driven and not sold, and it will test models from firms like OpenAI and Anthropic.

“Regretting You” is skewered as a wildly uneven melodrama that ricochets between earnest tragedy and oddball humor. Opening at a 2007 end-of-term party, with The Killers’ music figuring prominently, it tracks Morgan’s secret teen pregnancy, a 17-years-later family life, and daughter Clara’s meet-cute with Miller. A car crash kills Morgan’s husband and sister, revealing their years-long affair; Morgan hides the truth from Clara, triggering endurance-testing misunderstandings. The review salutes straight-faced turns by Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace, notes Clara’s Clueless-like wardrobe, and concludes the film leaves viewers unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Amazon is accelerating warehouse automation that could replace 600,000 jobs and deliver multibillion-dollar savings, according to internal plans reported by the New York Times and an analysis by Morgan Stanley. The company aims for 75% automation and about 40 next-gen robotics sites by 2027, with retrofits already underway. Analyst Brian Nowak estimates $2–$4 billion in annual savings by 2027, though a 30-cent-per-unit cut cited by the Times implies up to $10 billion, Nowak said. CEO Andy Jassy said a Shreveport site reduced fulfillment costs about 25%. Amazon also unveiled its Blue Jay robot.

Wall Street eased from records Wednesday as earnings steered sharp moves. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%—still within 0.8% of its high—while the Dow lost 211 points and the Nasdaq slipped 1.2% as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern. Netflix tumbled 10.2% on a profit miss after a strong year-to-date run; AT&T and Texas Instruments also fell. Intuitive Surgical jumped 13.9% and Boston Scientific rose 4.6% on beats, while bank shares held steady after upbeat results. Beyond Meat whipsawed, ending down 8.3%. Gold slid 0.8% to $4,074.70 after Tuesday’s 5.3% drop. Overseas markets were mixed; Treasury yields edged lower.

The NHL struck multiyear licensing deals with prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, the first such agreement between a major U.S. league and the sector. The companies can use league data, marks and official designations, and Kalshi quickly listed contracts on the Stanley Cup champion. The NHL, which already partners with 10 sportsbooks, says prediction markets expand the ecosystem and aid integrity oversight. But Kalshi faces state lawsuits over event contracts, other leagues have raised integrity concerns, and the American Gaming Association condemned the move as a backdoor gambling scheme.

Meta will cut about 600 jobs from its superintelligence lab, chief AI officer Alexandr Wang told staff in a Wednesday memo, according to Axios — a report Meta told TechCrunch was accurate. Wang said a smaller team would speed decisions and make each person more “load-bearing,” with greater scope and impact. The move aligns with Meta’s “year of efficiency,” after a summer of aggressive hiring that poached 50-plus researchers; OpenAI’s Sam Altman countered that none of his “best people” left. Meta says most affected staff should find roles elsewhere inside the company.