📌 Montenegro’s Haven, School Problems, More

Montenegro has welcomed over 200,000 Ukrainian refugees since February 2022 and an influx of Russian exiles fleeing conscription.

The southern European country’s response to the refugee crisis has been praised, particularly for granting Ukrainians temporary protection until March 2025.

Despite a substantial ethnic Serb population with pro-Russian sympathies, Montenegro has maintained a peaceful coexistence between Ukrainian and Russian communities. Many refugees face challenges such as seasonal, poorly paid jobs and difficulties obtaining citizenship.

Non-profit organizations provide essential support, including shelter, documentation assistance, and job-hunting help. Montenegro's visa-free regime, similar language, common religion, and Western-leaning government make it an attractive destination for refugees.

Russian and Ukrainian volunteers have fostered good relations, with joint cultural and educational projects helping to integrate communities. Most Ukrainians hope to return home post-war, while many Russians are hesitant to go back even if the regime changes.

The arrival of over 500,000 school-age children since 2022 has strained some school budgets and affected instruction.

A Reuters survey found school districts hired more English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and consultants. Districts described difficulties communicating with parents or a lack of interpreter services.

“Textbooks are not in their language. Resources are not easily available. Google Translate does not work that great,” the Springfield City school district in Ohio said in response to the survey conducted between late August and September.

Seventeen districts said they requested additional state funds to help immigrant students. Twelve reported receiving additional funds, including a district in New Jersey that said it still wasn’t enough to hire an ESL supervisor.

Ten districts said their teachers were not well trained or received no training to meet the needs of new immigrant students, and 42 said they would welcome more training on how to teach kids who don’t speak English, how to approach different cultural norms and how to help kids recover from trauma.

Google’s lengthy dominance in the $300 billion search advertising market is under growing threat from AI and social video.

One threat comes from Perplexity AI, a search venture backed by Amazon. For years, Amazon has been making inroads into the search-ad market. Studies show that many product searches start on the e-commerce platform, bypassing Google. This month, the platform will show ads alongside AI-generated answers.

The search giant’s share of the US search ad market next year will fall below 50% for the first time in more than a decade, according to research firm eMarketer. The firm forecasts Amazon’s 17.6% growth will exceed Google’s 7.6% next year.

Microsoft, the big backer of Open AI, has inserted ads in AI-generated answers on a limited basis and introduced sponsored links and comparison-shopping ads for a Bing chatbot.

Meta could benefit from Meta AI in the Facebook search bar and through its WhatsApp and Instagram apps. Apple could look to advertising within Apple Intelligence, a feature of iPhone 16s.

Google’s biggest source of revenue is also under attack by ByteDance's TikTok. The short-form video platform claims 170 million US users and enables brands to target consumers based on their search queries.

Scientists have developed a temperature-controlled fabric inspired by squid skin, allowing user-adjusted warmth.

Current athletic clothing brands offer temperature-controlling fabrics, but the new fabric allows the wearer to make specific temperature adjustments to a breathable, washable, heat-adjusting material integrated into the flexible fabric.

The fabric mimics squid skin's ability to manipulate light but operates in the infrared spectrum to adjust to the wearer's heat emission. It consists of a polymer covered with copper islands, which change infrared light transmission when stretched, enabling precise temperature control.

The fabric is made washable by layering a thin film onto the composite and breathable by perforating it.

“Our advanced composite material now opens opportunities for most wearable applications but may be particularly suited for cold weather clothing like ski jackets, thermal socks, insulated gloves, and winter hats,” the study’s author said.

The first-ever National Urban Rat Summit was held in New York City to discuss best practices for rat control across North America.

Experts at the summit highlighted the historical and ongoing health risks of rats, including diseases like leptospirosis. Effective rat control requires addressing infrastructure, sanitation, and human behavior, as rats thrive in urban environments.

New York City has a long history of dealing with rats, with the brown rat being the predominant species. Mayor Eric Adams has prioritized rat control, appointed a “rat czar,” and launched initiatives like trash containerization and volunteer “rat packs.”

Early data on Adams' efforts looks promising. Calls to 311 for rat sightings have declined — 6.3% since the rat czar was appointed and almost 14% in the city’s mitigation zones, the city said in a news release announcing the rat summit.

"Joker: Folie à Deux," the highly anticipated sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 film "Joker," opened to a muted $40 million at the box office.

The original "Joker" was a massive success, grossing over a billion dollars worldwide and earning Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar for Best Actor. The sequel, however, has faced a more challenging reception from both audiences and critics.

The film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, attempts to delve deeper into the psychological aspects of the characters but has not resonated as strongly with viewers.

Deadline Editor Anthony D’Alessandro thinks the problem started with the idea of making the Joker sequel a musical. “No fan of the original movie wanted to see a musical sequel.”

Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren’t any better. It got a meager half-star out of five possible.

A man interested in drone shows broke the Guinness World Record for the most emojis formed by drones in three minutes.

Briton Christopher Bradbury started flying model aircraft in 2007 “as a kind of bucket list item” while undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. “It got me out of the house, which was great for my physical therapy and mental well-being.”

Bradbury developed his skills over the years. ”The drone world has become my entire life. I now do aerial filming for TV and film, surveying work, and I've started playing with drone swarms.”

Bradbury programmed his 109 drones to form the images of emojis, including eggplant, poop, rocket, magnet and various faces in the sky.

He formed 30 emojis in three minutes, breaking the record of 24. “It takes a lot of three-dimensional spatial planning to make sure that all goes through safely,” he said.