JQJO — Your world, one story at a time · Page 1278

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.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Israel alone will decide its security, dismissing any notion of being a U.S. protectorate, before talks in Tel Aviv with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Gaza’s fragile ceasefire. Vance voiced optimism while warning of “very hard” work to disarm Hamas and rebuild Gaza; the U.K. is sending officers to help monitor as plans for an international force remain unsettled. Israel said two additional hostages’ remains were identified, while Gaza authorities reported more Palestinian bodies returned for burial. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Friday as exchanges and diplomacy continue.

At the murder trial of Illinois deputy Sean Grayson, prosecutors said he ignored training before fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 from her Springfield home last year. In opening statements in Peoria, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said body-camera video shows Massey posed no threat. Defense attorney Daniel Fultz argued Grayson fired only after she raised a pan of hot water. Grayson, 31, has pleaded not guilty to three counts; a conviction could bring 45 years to life. Evidence handling and bodycam footage loom large.

After praising the polished It Ends With Us, the reviewer finds Josh Boone’s Regretting You a chintzy, tonally erratic misfire. Opening flashbacks force 30‑somethings to play teens, casting a garish pall that lingers into the present-day story of Morgan, Clara, and Jonah. The film splits between adult grief and a flimsy Clara‑Miller romance, shortchanging the former and miscasting the latter’s chemistry. Heavy-handed product placement and wan North Carolina gloss further sap conviction. Williams and Franco are stranded by abrupt shifts, while the adaptation leans into Sparks-style schmaltz, leaving an unoriginal, soggy melodrama.

North Carolina’s Republican-led Legislature approved a new congressional map in a 66–48 House vote, aiming to add one GOP House seat before the 2026 elections. Sen. Ralph Hise said the goal was singular: secure another Republican district. The plan makes the 1st District—held by Democrat Don Davis and narrowly supportive of Donald Trump in 2024—more GOP-friendly, while the 3rd absorbs Democratic areas. Democrats and protesters condemned “racist maps,” alleging dilution of Black and Latino voters; of 11,000 comments, only three backed the plan, a Democrat said. Trump praised the map, part of wider GOP mid-decade redistricting moves.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has urged MPs to call Prince Andrew to give evidence over his 75-year lease of Royal Lodge, amid wider demands for transparency around the Crown Estate. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said proper scrutiny of Crown properties was important. A BBC-seen document shows Andrew paid about £8m upfront, effectively buying out rent, with potential partial refunds if he leaves early. Ex-commissioner Lord Curry called any inquiry a waste, while Baroness Margaret Hodge branded the deal “rotten” and pressed for openness. US lawmakers also signalled interest in hearing from Andrew.

Climate Central reports the first half of 2025 was the costliest on record for US disasters, with 14 events topping $1bn and $101bn in damages. Ferocious January wildfires in Los Angeles drove the toll—$61bn, about 16,000 buildings lost and roughly 400 indirect deaths—ranking among the priciest US climate disasters and the only top‑10 event not a hurricane. The nonprofit revived NOAA’s billion‑dollar disaster tracking after the Trump administration retired it. Experts warn FEMA’s staff cuts and politically driven funding fights leave the country vulnerable, even as no hurricane has made landfall and July’s Texas floods lie beyond the update.

At the Peoria trial of Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, prosecutors said he ignored training and unlawfully killed Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 from her home. Grayson, charged with three counts of first-degree murder, pleaded not guilty. Jurors will see body-camera video that prosecutors say shows Massey posed no threat; the defense says she raised a pot of hot water and that deadly force was reasonable. Evidence included delayed collection of a casing and the pan. The 2024 killing has spurred scrutiny of police shootings and prompted a transparency change in Illinois law.