Lego’s Star Wars partnership helped the company endure financial uncertainty in the late ‘90s, but for the first time it’s announcing a collaboration with that other iconic space franchise. Lego’s first Star Trek set is a 3,600 piece replica of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation measuring nearly two-feet long. It will be available starting on November 28th from Lego’s online and brick-and-mortar stores for $399.99, and if purchased before December 1st, it will come with an additional set featuring a Star Trek: Type-15 Shuttlepod.

The Enterprise NCC-1701-D model features a detachable command saucer, a pair of warp nacelles with “distinctive red and blue detailing,” a shuttlebay that opens with a pair of miniature shuttlepods, and an angled display stand with a plaque listing details about the spacecraft including when it first was first launched and where it was built.

Making the $400 set even more tempting is a truly stellar lineup of nine Lego minifigures that each come with notable accessories from the TV series. Captain Jean-Luc Picard has a teacup, Commander William Riker includes a trombone, Lieutenant Commander Data is joined by his cat Spot, Lieutenant Worf brandishes a phaser, and Wesley Crusher uses a portable tractor beam generator. The other minifigures include Counsellor Deanna Troi, bartender Guinan, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge with a tricorder, engineering case, and PADD tablet.

I'm worried that they put co-pilot in Excel because Excel is the beast that drives our entire economy and do you know who has tamed that beast?

Brenda.

Who is Brenda?

She is a mid-level employee in every finance department, in every business across this stupid nation and the Excel goddess herself descended from the heavens, kissed Brenda on her forehead and the sweat from Brenda's brow is what allows us to do capitalism. [...]

She's gonna birth that formula for a financial report and then she's gonna send that financial report to a higher up and he's gonna need to make a change to the report and normally he would have sent it back to Brenda but he's like oh I have AI and AI is probably like smarter than Brenda and then the AI is gonna fuck it up real bad and he won't be able to recognize it because he doesn't understand Excel because AI hallucinates.

You know who's not hallucinating?

Brenda.

— @belligerentbarbies, on TikTok

Tags: generative-ai, ai, excel, hallucinations, llms, tiktok, ai-ethics

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Democratic Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has twice defeated Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations, in New York City’s mayoral race. 

Mamdani emerged victorious over Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s general election, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-described democratic socialist, saw a meteoric rise in the past year from a little-known state assemblymember from Queens to the next mayor of New York. 

His victory caps off an extraordinary mayoral campaign season marked by the embattled incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the race and New York City voters twice rejecting Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback four years after his resignation as governor following sexual misconduct allegations. 

Mamdani ran a progressive, populist campaign centered on making New York City more affordable, tapping into voter concerns about the cost of living. He proposed offering free universal child care, opening city-run grocery stores, rolling out free bus service and freezing rents on rent-stabilized units.   

Mamdani’s focus on costs, plus his optimistic campaign message and digital savvy, mobilized Democratic voters. Mamdani built a formidable volunteer base and electoral coalition powered in large part by young voters, who turned out in droves to deliver a major upset for Mamdani over Cuomo in the June ranked-choice Democratic primary. 

Mamdani also earned the support of high-profile progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. While some prominent New York political figures were more skeptical of Mamdani, he and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul united over expanding access to child care, one of the biggest contributors to rising costs of living and a top priority for both.  

Mamdani will be New York’s youngest mayor in over a century and the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor. Mamdani’s identities became a focal point in the final days of the race amid a spate of what Mamdani said were Islamophobic comments from his rivals. 

The New York City mayor’s race was also a high-profile repudiation of a powerful man accused of sexual misconduct.

One year ago, President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election after being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s reelection was seen as marking a political and cultural backlash to the #MeToo movement. 

But in New York City, voters rejected Cuomo — a fellow New Yorker and Queens native — who left office following a bombshell 165-page report overseen by the New York attorney general’s office that found he had sexually harassed 11 women, including some state employees. 

Those findings were echoed by similar investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and the New York State Assembly. At the time, Cuomo apologized while denying the most serious allegations against him. In the years since and during his mayoral campaign, Cuomo and his allies have cast doubt on his accusers’ credibility and painted him as the victim of politically motivated investigations. 

While Cuomo’s past scandals were not the most important issue in the race, Mamdani highlighted them when his opponent criticized Mamdani’s relative lack of governing experience.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience,” Mamdani told Cuomo in an October 16 debate. 

Johnson County food pantries say they are preparing for an influx of need amid uncertainty created by the ongoing federal government shutdown and a legal fight over federal food benefits.

Originally, the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — sometimes referred to as food stamps — was set to run out of money on Saturday amid the ongoing government shutdown. However, two federal court rulings on Friday ordered the Trump administration to fund the food assistance program using contingency money while the shutdown continues.

Those rulings keep nearly 42 million people across the country from losing access to their federal food and nutrition benefits, including more than 5,200 households in Johnson County, according to data from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.

After the rulings later Friday, President Trump on social media suggested benefits would still be delayed as his administration tried to clarify the rulings. (Trump and other Republicans have blamed Democrats for prolonging the shutdown and causing the lapse in SNAP funding.)

Jennifer Parker, who operates a small community pantry in Overland Park, said she thinks the whole situation is “horrendous.” It feels like politicians are “weaponizing food,” she said. 

“This should not, in this country, ever be something that is done, but here we are,” she said. “I’m just livid about it. … It’s a mess, and it’s unconscionable.” 

What is SNAP?

SNAP or some form of it has been around for nearly 90 years in the United States. It offers supplemental funds for groceries for low-income families — including people who have disabilities, seniors and families with children — in the form of EBT cards that look like debit cards.

But, officials from the Trump administration had said previously that no benefits would be issued beginning Nov. 1, saying those cards would not be refilled, as the program ran out of money without a new federal appropriation.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly had joined other Democratic governors and attorneys general in suing the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, ultimately successfully attempting to force the use of emergency funds to continue providing SNAP benefits.

Still, the uncertainty about SNAP funding sent local food pantries and community aid organizations into overdrive as they tried to prepare to meet what could still be a wave of need.

Independent food pantries are ramping up efforts

Terry Cushman and Yvonne Gibbons, the managers of FUUD, the food pantry at the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church in Lenexa, said last week that they were already starting to see the affect of the threatened SNAP cuts.

FUUD is open Tuesday afternoons and is appointment only — families can sign up for a time slot the Tuesday before. They said the appointments for this coming Tuesday filled up within hours.

“I had more calls [this past Tuesday] than I’ve had on a Tuesday forever,” Gibbons said. “And it wasn’t about, ‘When is it going to open up?’ But it was more about, ‘Can I come in?’”

But the calls are also from those who want to help.

“People are aware that this is going to be an issue and want to know how to donate,” Gibbons said. “So we really appreciate that.”

Families that don’t get an appointment can still come in to pick up pre-packaged sacks filled with shelf-stable food. Cushman and Gibbons say they are anticipating a lot more walk-ins too.

“It’s a pretty heavy sack to start with, but I’m thinking maybe some like the little cartons of powdered milk or liquid that they can take home for their kids, shelf-stable milk,” Gibbons said.

“I think the impact is already happening”

Parker runs The Tiny Pantry Times, a small food pantry that started as a front-yard pantry and has grown to operate in front of Overland Park Christian Church.

She says she has also started to see more people picking up food.

The Tiny Pantry Times already distributes between 50,000 and 60,000 pounds of food and hygiene products each month. In a recent interview during a trip to the grocery store to restock the pantry, Parker told the Post the nonprofit was expecting that amount to go up at least 18% if SNAP had been cut.

But even before the government shutdown threatened SNAP benefits, Parker said they were starting to see more traffic at The Tiny Pantry Times.

“We were bracing for impact, but I think the impact is already happening, so now we’re just trying to survive the impact,” she said. “We’re just kind of flying through the food.”

She stressed that the pantry is open and is doing everything it can to meet the needs in the community.

“We’re trying to assure our patrons that they don’t [need to] have any fear, that we will take care of them as long as we are able,” Parker said. “We want them to have everything that they possibly can have.”

Church, mobile pantry busier than usual

Resurrection, a United Methodist church with eight locations in the metro area, has a food pantry at its Overland Park location, 8412 W. 95th St., and a mobile pantry that delivers goods.

Kristen Summers, the director of local missions for the church’s main Leawood campus, said they are amping up food scarcity initiatives.

“Really, whatever resources we can, we are gonna get out there to help this month and next if we can,” Summers said.

The church’s pantry had already been busier than usual this year, Summers said, something she attributes in part to federal job cuts.

“Our food mobile came back this week with like three sticks of butter on it, and it’s never been completely empty,” Summers said.

She said she’s seen congregants eager to help.

“People are wanting to help more,” Summers said. “I’m getting tons of calls on not only people needing support for pantry help, but just, ‘How can I help the pantry?’”

Upcoming holidays exacerbate concerns

There’s also the matter of upcoming holidays that center around family meals and shared food, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas.

Some local groups have started pulling together resources to offer holiday meals in a bag to members of the community who need them for themselves or their families.

Resurrection hosts a Holiday Meal Bag drive every year. Congregants are asked to pack bags with everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal. Summers said they collected 2,000 bags last Sunday at the Leawood church alone.

“Our congregation is just so generous that we’re able to really just share this hope with others,” she said.

Parker with The Tiny Pantry Times is also worried about the upcoming holidays and what time out of school will mean for children who come from low-income families and rely on free or reduced-cost school meals.

“When you have no school lunch and you have no school breakfast and you have no snacks, and you’ve got these kids home, suddenly there’s all this additional need to feed these families,” she said. “These families are suffering, they’re really suffering, and they were suffering before.”

How you can support local food pantries:

Parker said there are several ways people can support her pantry, including business sponsorships, donating food, volunteering or giving money. (For more information about how to help out, visit tinypantrytimes.org.)

“We definitely need help; we need money, we need product,” Parker said. “We need everyone to step up, we really, really do.”

She worries about what will happen if the federal government doesn’t reopen soon or if other programs families rely on are affected by the shutdown.

“To our recipients, this could be the difference of whether they remain healthy or not. We know that food and health go together,” Parker said. “The long-reaching outcomes of this are going to be felt for years if something doesn’t happen very, very soon.”

Officials with both FUUD and Resurrection said donating money is the most helpful during this time, but also welcome food donations. (For more information about how to help out, visit fuudpantry.org and resurrection.church/foodpantry.)

Before the legal ruling on Friday, Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chair Mike Kelly announced the county will be partnering with the United Way of Greater Kansas City in response to potential SNAP delays.

“No one, especially our children and seniors, should have to worry where their next meal will come from,” the statement read. 

Kelly said those who want to help can donate to United Way, pack meal kits for the organization or bring non-perishable food to next week’s board of county commissioners meeting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the rulings if these plans would continue. 

Find a list of local food pantries in Johnson County here.

Does this issue impact you or someone you know? The Post wants to hear from you. Email us at stories@johnsoncountypost.com.

Kaylie McLaughlin contributed reporting to this story.

Keep reading: How Johnson County Head Start programs are weathering the federal government shutdown

A decade ago today, Sugar and Spice came to live with us here at the Scalzi Compound. They were semi-feral kittens who lived on the porch of my mother-in-law’s neighbor; we were originally going to just get one but the two of them seemed particularly attached to each other, and both Athena and Krissy thought it would be cruel to separate them, so, fine, we took them both. Two kittens at once means quite a bit of chaos, which is how I eventually started calling them “The Scamperbeasts.” They were the founding members of a club that grew to include Smudge, and now, Saja.

Neither Sugar nor Spice seem inclined to make a big deal out of the day — they are both napping right now, Spice four feet from me in the cat tree in my office — but I thought it would be nice to make note of the day anyway. A decade is a lot of time in the life of a cat, and a fair amount in the life of a human, too. I glad our times on earth have intersected. Even if Sugar does randomly hork up weird things onto the carpet on a semi-frequent basis, and Spice regularly wakes me up at 3am to show me her butt. None of us are perfect, now, are we.

— JS