Author: TownNews Staff - Amanda Keim-Morrison

Celebrities having birthdays during the week of Oct. 12-18 include “Shogun” actor Hiroyuki Sanada, singer-songwriter John Mayer and animator Mike Judge, creator of “King of the Hill." Musician Paul Simon turns 84, singer-actor-talk show host Marie Osmond reaches 67 and “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter hits 70. Other musicians with big days include Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, jazz musician Esperanza Spalding and singer Ashanti. TV personality Stacy Keibler from the WWE turns 46, “Spinal Tap” actor Michael McKean welcomes 78 and actor Zac Efron from “High School Musical” celebrates 38.

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills beat themselves by committing three turnovers in a 23-20 loss to AFC East rival New England Patriots. Allen committed two turnovers in losing a fumble and throwing an interception. Wide receiver Keon Coleman also lost a fumble as Buffalo dropped to 4-1. The loss ended the Bills regular-season home winning streak at 14, one short of matching the team record. Buffalo joined the Eagles in being the NFL’s final two unbeaten teams to lose on Sunday after Philadelphia lost to Denver.

Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu has delivered a steady performance at Paris Fashion Week, offering reassurance amid France's political instability. The show opened with a deep blue warehouse apron dress, setting a tone that was both playful and pragmatic. Founded in 1993, Miu Miu serves as Prada's freer, more instinctive outlet. The collection featured apron motifs, floral minidresses, and geometric prints, embracing contradictions like lingerie-as-daywear and bourgeois classics with a twist. Despite the turbulence in French politics, Miu Miu's formula remains unchanged, providing a sense of continuity and steadiness.

An Associated Press tally shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is spending millions of dollars on TV recruitment ads targeting officers frustrated by local restrictions on immigration enforcement. The ads are airing in more than a dozen cities, including Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta. The ads aim to lure officers to join ICE's deportation efforts. The campaign is part of a $30 billion initiative to hire 10,000 more deportation officers. ICE offers bonuses and benefits to fast-track hiring. Cities including Boston and Chicago have been criticized by President Donald Trump's Republican administration for limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Local police departments are concerned about losing recruits to ICE due to its attractive offers.

Claims about the benefits of cold-water immersion date back centuries. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote toward the end of his life about using a cold foot bath daily for 60 years. More recently, polar bear plunges, ice baths and open-water swimming have becoming popular activities. While evidence is building around the positive mental health effects of taking a plunge in chilly water, scientific confirmation is still lacking. A pair of British researchers say any benefits come from the body’s cold-shock response: the sudden fall of skin temperature, the release of stress hormones and endorphins, and the anti-inflammatory effect. They advise caution because diving in because deaths are not uncommon.

AMD is announcing a deal to supply its chips to OpenAI for building AI infrastructure. The agreement includes providing high-performance graphics chips for a total of 6 gigawatts of computing power for OpenAI’s next-generation AI systems. The first gigawatt is expected to come online in the second half of next year. AMD has also issued OpenAI a warrant to buy up to 160 million shares of its stock, about 10% of the company. This deal is a boost for AMD, which has been trailing behind Nvidia, a favorite among AI companies for its graphics processing chips.

Some flavor crazes flirt with us and fade. Others stay and make themselves at home. The Dubai chocolate movement seems to have put down roots and is spreading. The sweet flavors and thick texture that have made Dubai chocolate bars such a success are morphing into other kinds of confections too. There are Dubai-inspired candies, syrups, croissants, milk shakes and more in a variety of flavors. Big retailers and small bakeries alike have jumped on board. The original Dubai chocolate bar was created in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, and soon exploded on social media. The classic features a thick, milk chocolate shell usually encasing a creamy pistachio or tahini filling mixed with crispy, shredded, phyllo-like pastry.

Israeli authorities say they have deported another 171 activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla including Greta Thunberg. Israel’s foreign ministry said Monday that “the deportees were citizens of Greece, Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Serbia, and the United States." Israeli authorities denied mistreatment accusations that have emerged in interviews with activists deported over the weekend. Lubna Tuma is a lawyer with the Adalah association representing more than 470 Global Sumud Flotilla participants who were detained last week. She said that 150 people were still being held in an Israeli prison and 40 of them were on hunger strike.

The Supreme Court is refusing to revive a controversial Missouri gun law that bans police from enforcing some federal firearm laws. The high court rejected a push Monday to hear arguments over whether the state can block police from enforcing federal gun laws that don’t have an equivalent state law. The measure imposed $50,000 fines for officers who knowingly enforced those federal laws, which include possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders and weapons registration and tracking. Lower courts found the 2019 law violated the Supremacy Clause, a section of the U.S. Constitution that says federal law takes precedence over state laws.

Third-seeded Alexander Zverev lost to 54th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match at the Shanghai Masters on Monday. Zverev looked in control after taking the first set but struggled the rest of the match and couldn’t break serve again. Rinderknech got a break in the second set and two in the third to seal the victory in more than two hours. Earlier, seventh-seeded Alex De Minaur defeated Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 7-5 in humid conditions for his tour-leading 36th win on hard courts this year.

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. The justices Monday declined to take up a case that would've renewed attention on the Epstein sexual-abuse saga after President Donald Trump’s administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files. Trump’s Republican administration had urged the high court to stay out of the case. Lawyers for Maxwell argued she never should've been tried or convicted for a role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Maxwell is serving 20 years and recently was transferred from a Florida prison to a Texas prison camp.

Sunday was filled with sloppy football, silly mistakes and head-scratching decisions. Another NFL player gave away a touchdown by carelessly dropping the ball before he crossed the goal line. A roughing-the-kicker penalty erased a touchdown return in a different game. The Super Bowl champions ignored their record-setting running back.  The most egregious play of Week 5 occurred when Cardinals running back Emari Demercado turned a 72-yard touchdown run into a touchback by slowing down near the goal line and releasing the ball as Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed swiped at his arm. Officials initially ruled it a touchdown but a video review showed Demercado didn’t have possession when he entered the end zone.

Ukraine has launched long-range drone and missile attacks on key Russian targets. These include an ammunition plant, an oil terminal in Crimea, and a weapons depot. The strikes are part of Ukraine's strategy to pressure Russia's military logistics. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country is using domestically produced weapons and aims to expand these capabilities with foreign funding. Ukraine's defense industry is growing, with plans to export surplus weapons by the end of the year. The country hopes to provide at least half of its front-line weapons needs with domestically produced arms.

Pope Leo XIV has begun correcting some of Pope Francis’ more questionable financial reforms and decisions. On Monday he canceled a law that had concentrated financial power in the Vatican bank known by its acronym IOR. The new law says the Holy See generally does use the Vatican bank. But it can turn to non-Vatican banks in other countries if the Vatican’s investment committee “deems it more efficient or convenient” to do so. The law was the clearest sign yet that Leo is starting to correct some of Francis’ more problematic decisions and is recalibrating the powers in the Vatican after Francis tended to lean heavily on the advice of the IOR.

Roustan Hockey, Canada's last major wooden hockey stick factory, faces challenges from trade tensions. Located southwest of Toronto, the factory has roots dating back to the 1800s. It survived globalization but now grapples with tariffs from the U.S. under former President Donald Trump. These tariffs have created uncertainty for the business, affecting shipments to the U.S. and causing delays. The Canadian economy has also been hit, with a 1.6% contraction in the second quarter. Despite the decline in wooden stick demand, Roustan Hockey continues to produce, emphasizing its cultural significance in Canada.