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Alec Baldwin returned to NBC’s classic sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its latest episode, taking on a new role as Bret Baier, the Fox News anchor. This time, he stepped away from his famous impressions of former President Donald Trump, which he became known for in previous seasons. Instead, Baldwin’s Baier conducted a parody interview with Maya Rudolph, who was impersonating Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Baldwin’s past performances as Trump became iconic, but recently that role has been taken over by James Austin Johnson. In this latest SNL sketch, Baldwin’s Baier and Rudolph’s Harris engaged in a mock interview addressing hot-button issues like immigration and abortion.

When discussing immigration, Rudolph’s Harris joked about her supposed efforts to combat drug cartels, quipping, “If I was in Breaking Bad, I’d be done after three episodes.” Throughout the interview, Baldwin’s Baier continuously interrupted Harris, mocking her for simply answering questions in search of a viral moment. In response, Rudolph’s Harris turned to another camera and pretended to film a TikTok video.

Dana Carvey guest-starred in the sketch, portraying President Biden, while Andy Samberg, who plays Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff this season, was absent from this episode.

The episode was hosted by Hollywood veteran Michael Keaton, who recently released the sequel to Beetlejuice and a new project titled Goodrich. Keaton has previously hosted SNL three times, with his last appearance in 2015 and a cameo in 2019. Billie Eilish served as the musical guest for the episode.

Looking ahead, John Mulaney is set to host an SNL episode airing on November 2, just ahead of the presidential election, with Chappell Roan as the musical guest.

On October 16th, a significant operation was carried out by the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau of Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Leveraging a collaborative enforcement mechanism, they maintained a strong stance against illegal activities, leading to a successful joint effort with local police that resulted in a substantial seizure of smuggled cigarettes valued at over 3.1 million yuan.

In the early hours of October 9th, around 2 A.M., the inspection team of the Nanning Bureau received a tip-off from the public concerning a shipment of illegal cigarettes being transported from Fangchenggang to the Luwo Town area of Wuming District for illicit sale. Acting swiftly, the enforcement team verified and analyzed the information before coordinating with local police to conduct a raid at the suspected location. By approximately 6 A.M., officers executed their operation and uncovered a total of 1,922,400 smuggled cigarettes across 22 different brands, including varieties like Furongwang, Zhuanlian, and Zhonghua, all housed in two suspicious vehicles registered in Guangdong and Jiangsu. The estimated value of the seized goods stands at 3,102,400 yuan, while the suspects involved managed to escape the scene. The case is currently under investigation by law enforcement authorities.

Looking ahead, the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau of Nanning plans to continue its aggressive enforcement strategy against cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting. They are committed to enhancing market supervision and collaborative law enforcement efforts to ensure the healthy and stable development of the cigarette market.

A South Korean Facebook fan page recently shared a video showing multiple angles of North Korea’s demolition of the road connecting the Gyeongui and Donghae railway lines. This footage highlights a significant moment, as North Korea blew up the connection on the morning of October 15. In response, the South Korean military confirmed that they had opened fire as a countermeasure. The South Korean government issued a statement strongly condemning North Korea’s actions as “extremely abnormal,” declaring that these actions violate bilateral agreements and that North Korea must take full responsibility for the escalation of tensions.

According to reports from the Korea Herald, the South Korean Ministry of Unification expressed concern in a statement, noting, “Four years ago, North Korea destroyed the ‘Inter-Korean Liaison Office,’ which had been jointly operated for a year, by using defectors’ leaflets as a pretext. Now, they have reverted to such behaviors again.” The ministry criticized North Korea for this “regressive action.”

The statement also pointed out that the Gyeongui and Donghae railway lines were constructed with financial assistance from South Korea, amounting to approximately $132.9 million.

Interviewer: Recent reports have surfaced suggesting that Ukraine is contemplating the development of nuclear weapons. Can you clarify Ukraine’s stance on this issue?

Heorhii Tykhyi (Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson): We want to make it very clear that Ukraine is not preparing to develop weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. Our commitment to nuclear non-proliferation remains strong.

Interviewer: The Bild newspaper cited an anonymous Ukrainian official indicating that Ukraine has the resources and knowledge to create nuclear missiles in a matter of weeks. How does your government respond to those claims?

Tykhyi: Those claims are unfounded and misguided. While it’s true that Ukraine possesses nuclear power plants – we have four in total – these facilities are for energy production, not for weaponization. We maintain that our historical contributions to international peace and security are significant, and we have given up the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

Interviewer: Following these allegations, you issued a statement asserting that Ukraine remains a faithful signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). What does this mean for your nation in the current geopolitical landscape, especially considering the threat from Russia?

Tykhyi: Our commitment to the NPT is unwavering. Given the current situation with Russia, which we view as a state engaging in nuclear extortion, we are focused on ensuring our national security while adhering to international agreements.

Interviewer: President Zelensky recently mentioned that Ukraine might consider seeking nuclear capabilities unless it becomes a NATO member. How does this align with your government’s official position?

Tykhyi: President Zelensky was stressing the importance of the security guarantees outlined in the Budapest Memorandum. His comments were not a declaration of intent but rather an emphasis on the urgency of Ukraine’s membership in NATO. He does not support the development of nuclear weapons; rather, he was highlighting our reliance on NATO for security.

Interviewer: In your view, what should Western nations be more concerned about in your ongoing conflict with Russia?

Tykhyi: The focus should be on Ukraine’s security lines, not solely on the perceived red lines set by Russia. Our nation is facing significant threats, and we must ensure our sovereignty and safety without any escalation into nuclear arms development. We are signaling clearly that we do not seek nuclear weapons and urge others not to propagate these misunderstandings.

In the wake of the devastating fire incident on January 24 in the Jia Leyuan commercial area of Xinyu, Jiangxi Province, a thorough investigation has been initiated. Authorities have held a significant number of individuals accountable for the tragedy, reflecting the seriousness with which local and national leaders are approaching the aftermath.

Ten individuals implicated in the incident are now under investigation by the police for possible violations of the law, while 55 public officials are facing disciplinary actions from the disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities. This response underscores the urgency and gravity with which the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council view this situation.

According to reports, among those being investigated are Wu Hegen, the legal representative of Xinyu Ningshuang Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd.; Wu Yong, the actual operator of the Baihuixiang Barbecue Supply Wholesale in Yushui District; and several others, including Liu Jinhang, the legal representative of Xinyu Boyi Education Consulting Co., Ltd. All ten individuals are suspected of being responsible for a major accident and have been arrested upon approval by the procuratorate.

In addition to these arrests, three public officials have been placed under strict scrutiny and are currently undergoing disciplinary review and investigation for serious violations related to their duties. These include Deng Yuanqing, former director of the Xinyu Civil Air Defense Office; Ding Xiaorong, chief of the Yuanhe Fire Rescue Brigade; and Gong Yuxin, a former cadre at the Xinyu Urban Development Service Center.

Moreover, in response to the incident, local government leaders—including the Vice Mayor of Xinyu and the District Secretary of Yushui—have faced serious disciplinary measures, including removal from their party positions and administrative penalties. This sweeping move also extends to various departments responsible for public safety, education, and urban development, with the goal of enforcing accountability across the board.

Following directives from the higher levels of the government, Jiangxi Province has vowed to prioritize the healing of injured victims and the effective management of post-incident processes. Urgent meetings have been held to enhance safety protocols and inspections, ensuring a proactive approach to similar risks in the future.

The incident has not gone unnoticed beyond local discourse, prompting senior leaders to analyze lessons learned and refine safety measures to safeguard public welfare and societal stability. As authorities continue to address accountability and foster a culture of safety, the incident serves as a critical turning point in governance and community trust.

On October 15, the 2024 China New Media Conference hosted the Content Innovation Forum in Changsha, focusing on “Promoting All-Media Production and Enhancing All-Media Communication.” In his keynote address, Zhu Dianjun, the Chief Editor of Tencent, highlighted the unprecedented opportunities that the continuous evolution of digital technologies—such as 5G, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence—has brought to the media industry. As a leader in exploring new technologies, Tencent is dedicated to leveraging these tools to better support mainstream media and ensure that public discourse thrives amid the technological wave.

Zhu elaborated on Tencent’s proactive stance in the face of the global surge of generative AI, seizing new opportunities for AI development. Last September, Tencent unveiled its comprehensive language model, “Tencent Hunyuan,” which has since undergone ongoing iterations, successfully applied in the media sector with impressive results. Since last year, the Hunyuan model has gained prominence in areas like text-to-image and text-to-video production, aiding the evolution and upgrade of news production methods. AI-generated videos, such as “Such Beauty in the Landscape” and “AI Earth,” have garnered millions of views and positive audience feedback.

He asserted that the principle of “content is king” remains an unshakable truth in the media sector, while technological advancements provide a broader imaginative space for content creation. In recent years, Tencent has utilized AI and other new technologies to create immersive and real-time experiential and interactive scenarios, continually enhancing the user experience of traditional cultural heritage.

During the 2024 International Museum Day, Tencent collaborated with various organizations to introduce the interactive mini-program “Starry Time Mirror.” This initiative revitalizes cultural heritage, imprinted with the essence of Chinese civilization, through AI, allowing users to experience the richness and charm of Chinese culture in an immersive emotional resonance. Currently, the “Starry Project” has assisted over 100 small and medium-sized museums across the country in their digital enhancement efforts, positioning digital technology as a new vehicle and tool for the inheritance and dissemination of traditional culture, breathing new life into it in the all-media era.

Zhu emphasized that Tencent remains committed to the principle of “technology for good,” focusing on amplifying mainstream voices and continuously leveraging its platform’s technological advantages to unite people and harness collective strength. The ongoing development of digital technologies is reshaping media forms and communication patterns. In the future, Tencent aims to continue its exploration of cutting-edge technologies, contribute to the co-construction of an all-media ecosystem, and act as a practitioner of positive energy dissemination, striving to enhance and solidify mainstream ideological discourse in this new era.

As the conflict in eastern Ukraine intensifies, reports have emerged suggesting that the Ukrainian government is contemplating a significant shift in strategy. According to a source close to the government cited by Der Spiegel on October 13, officials are considering the possibility of temporarily relinquishing control over certain territories in exchange for Russia’s agreement to a ceasefire. This deliberation comes in light of ongoing Russian advances in the region and the uncertainty brought on by the upcoming U.S. elections.

The Financial Times noted last week that an approach similar to West Germany’s—involving the abandonment of military efforts to reclaim lost territory in favor of NATO membership—has gained traction among Ukrainian officials.

Currently, approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory is under Russian occupation. The anonymous official revealed that the Ukrainian leadership is “seriously discussing” the option of temporarily easing the goal of fully regaining territories occupied by Russia. He pointed out that Russian forces continue to advance in the east, albeit slowly, which has led to increasing war fatigue among the Ukrainian populace. The official expressed concerns that the conflict should not extend into a third winter and emphasized that regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the U.S. presidential election, “the U.S. will likely begin to gradually withdraw its support for Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, officials in Kyiv have raised alarms over intensified Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure ahead of winter. On October 14, Russian artillery and drone strikes in the southern regions of Ukraine resulted in at least three deaths and eight injuries. Reports indicate that Russian drones struck vehicles in Kherson, killing two women, while bombardment of the port city of Odesa led to one death and several injuries.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba shared on Telegram that the assault on Odesa damaged two civilian vessels, including a cargo ship flying the flag of Palau, which has now been hit twice in the past two weeks. Kuleba also noted destruction of crucial port infrastructure, including a grain storage facility.

According to Reuters, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on October 14 that Russian forces have secured control over the village of Levadne in southeastern Ukraine. The control of this settlement has shifted back and forth between Russian and Ukrainian forces since the outbreak of the conflict, and it is a small locality situated in Zaporizhzhia, southwest of Donetsk, which has been the focal point of recent Russian offensives.

On October 17th, during an interview, Christian Scharpf, the Mayor of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, addressed the mounting geopolitical tensions, stating, “Neither trade wars nor actual wars provide good solutions for people around the globe; cooperation is the preferable choice.” He emphasized the importance of strong collaboration between Germany and China for global economic stability and urged both countries to continue down that cooperative path.

This interview took place during the 10th Bavarian China Day held in Munich, where Scharpf, alongside Georg Rosenfeld, the head of the Ingolstadt Economic Development Office, expressed optimism about the prospects for German-Chinese cooperation.

Scharpf highlighted Ingolstadt’s robust foundation in the automotive, mechanical manufacturing, and information and communication sectors. He noted that Germany and China have engaged in significant collaboration in these areas. For instance, Volkswagen Group established a joint venture in China back in the 1980s, and today, the two entities enjoy extensive cooperation in new technology development, which is proving mutually beneficial.

He believes that Germany and China could further deepen cooperation on global issues such as climate protection, sustainable development, and education. Strengthening student exchanges would enhance cultural understanding between the two countries.

Georg Rosenfeld shared insights during the interview about a family-owned machinery and equipment manufacturing company from Changchun, China, that has recently set up operations in Ingolstadt. He pointed out that collaboration between innovative family businesses in Germany and China is thriving. “We are in a globalized economic landscape and must work together to ensure this partnership continues to flourish,” he remarked.

Lin Kai, the Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in Munich, added, “The friendship between China and Bavaria runs deep and has a long history. Bavaria is a pioneer in promoting friendly cooperation between our regions.” Under the political leadership of both nations, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Bavaria has yielded significant results. China has remained Bavaria’s most important trading partner for several consecutive years, accounting for over 10% of the state’s total foreign trade volume.

He further explained that there are more than 2,000 companies in Bavaria maintaining economic ties with China, with over 100 Bavarian firms establishing production lines in China and more than 600 having set up branches or trade representative offices there. According to the Bavarian Investment Promotion Agency, Chinese investments in Bavaria rank among the top three for foreign enterprises, with approximately 500 Chinese companies having established operations in the region.

Our photo dumps used to be an aesthetic disruption. Now we’re just bending to the app’s will
Emma MaddenTue 1 Oct 2024 10.55 EDTLast modified on Tue 1 Oct 2024 18.50 EDTShareLast year, I took 658 photos during my four-day trip to Venice. Fifteen years ago, I would have posted every single one of them to Facebook. And as I waited the three hours for them to upload, I would have opened another tab to look through all 500 photos in my second cousin’s friend’s FLORIDA 09 Facebook album, which would have included 48 shots of the same sunset and 16 of a chip flavor she didn’t have back at home.
Nowadays, with Instagram as our primary photo-sharing method, that packet of chips would end up on slide seven of what my second cousin’s friend would call a dump: a retrospective of her summer compacted into a carousel of artfully artless images.
An Instagram dump is a set of ostensibly unedited, low-stakes, impressionistic photos posted in a seemingly random order and finished with a dispassionate caption. Something like “summer in a dump”, or, as Jennifer Lopez recently put it: “Oh, it was summer.” But we know in our heart of hearts that it isn’t really a “dump”. That word implies that we are merely unloading clutter from our camera rolls on a whim, when what we’re really doing is much more involved: spending an entire afternoon whittling down thousands of photos to eight, trying to create an authentic “vibe” from pictures of friends, buildings and martini glasses; a couple lo-res memes; and one shot solely of our face (for the algorithm, of course).
Thanks to a recent update, I can now post not just 10 but 20 photos of my Venice trip – though that amount would be extremely gauche. I will see no more than 20 photos of my second cousin’s friend’s early fall, once she, like everyone else on my feed, dutifully posts a dump-formatted recap of her past four weeks. Life may be happening on Instagram stories, and in TikToks and tweets, but the Instagram grid is where we all go to memorialize it.
Millennials, who are most susceptible to the dump trend, have spent a substantial amount of our lives creating visual repositories online. We’ve framed ourselves according to the whims and tropes of the moment – from the flash-in-the-mirror poses of the aughts to the duckfaces of the 2010s. But never has our visual presentation online been so homogenized.
‘It’s not a solution for teen girls like me’: Instagram’s new under-18 rules met with skepticismRead moreOnce the province of my art school friends in 2019, dumps have overtaken our feeds, with everyone from the head cheerleader at our high school to pop stars posting them. The aesthetics of the haphazard and amateurish are now shortcuts for cultural capital, which is why the biggest names in music style their public lives after dumps – just take a look at how Dua Lipa or Ariana Grande or Katy Perry revel in their own lo-res chaos.
These kinds of images might have once been a genuine aesthetic disruption. And, sure, taken at face value, they are an affront to Instagram’s clean and minimalist display. That is why the dumps persist. They feel like antidotes to the high-sheen aesthetics of influencers, an invasion of personality upon a vapid land of sponcon. In reality, they’re just a way to obscure the truth that we’re feigning playfulness within commercial templates. We communicate ourselves inasmuch as we contort around the rubric of dumps. That’s all the creativity we are allotted.
Unfortunately, Instagram’s infrastructure incentivizes this kind of informal formality. The algorithm – which, if we’re honest, is a word everyone says but no one actually understands – is elusive by design. Posts haven’t shown up in chronological order for quite some time. Instead, the algorithm (whatever that actually is) buries them. So, we post less often, knowing implicitly that people will be less likely to see what we upload. The less we upload, the more precious our posts, so the longer we spend on them. The more time we spend on them, the more embarrassing, so the more we downplay the labor we put into them. It’s a dumb dump cycle.
A couple of years ago, a popular meme began circulating online, reading: “I am cringe therefore I am free.” A more accurate version would be: “I am cringe therefore I am trapped on Instagram.” Cringe has become to the 2020s what empowerment was to the 2010s, an attitude that keeps us posting. Be as cringe as you like, but when you post a dump, all you’re doing is cleanly bending to the app’s will.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former President of Russia and currently the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, attended a meeting hosted by President Putin on October 10. Recently, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed his lack of interest in further funding for Ukraine, stating his belief that if former President Trump were to win the election, he could effectively end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Medvedev has raised questions regarding this assertion.

According to a report by Punchbowl News on November 11, McCarthy told reporters that his support for additional financial aid to Ukraine is waning. “I have no appetite for more funding for Ukraine; I hope it won’t be necessary. If President Trump wins, I truly believe he can end this conflict,” he stated.

McCarthy elaborated further, suggesting that Trump would call Putin directly, saying, “Enough is enough.” He noted that people around the world are tired of the ongoing conflict and want to see it resolved. “Regardless of the terms, I’m not sure, but I believe that if Kamala Harris were President, this conflict would not end—it’s a desperate and dangerous scenario,” he added.

In response, Medvedev took to social media platform X, sharing McCarthy’s comments about Trump potentially being able to resolve the Ukraine situation. He then added in English, “Assuming Putin says, ‘Not yet, Ukraine must capitulate and not join NATO.'”