McDonald’s is allocating $100 million to address the fallout from a recent E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounders, which sickened over 100 people across 14 states and damaged sales. The company is spending $35 million on marketing campaigns, including a value deal featuring 10-piece chicken nuggets for $1, and $65 million to support franchisees in affected states.The outbreak, traced to slivered onions on Quarter Pounders, caused a significant decline in sales and visits in October. McDonald’s stock dropped 7% over the past month, and multiple lawsuits have been filed. However, the company announced that recent tests found no E. coli in its food, and Quarter Pounders with onions have returned to menus nationwide. McDonald’s is spending $100 million on marketingIn a memo, McDonald’s emphasized its commitment to rebuilding trust, with North America chief impact officer Michael Gonda and chief marketing officer Tariq Hassan highlighting the brand's legacy of responsibility. CEO Chris Kempczinski stated that McDonald’s is prepared to deploy further resources to regain customer loyalty.The marketing push also includes the continuation of its $5 meal deal, aiming to attract customers back to its restaurants.
This Friday marks the arrival of November's full moon, also known as the beaver moon, and it coincides with the Leonid meteor shower, offering a celestial spectacle for sky-gazers. The beaver moon, named after beavers' preparation for winter, is the last supermoon of the year, reaching its peak at 4:29 p.m. ET. This supermoon appears slightly larger and brighter as the moon is at its closest point to Earth, though not as close as October’s full moon.NASA’s Noah Petro suggests viewing the moon as it rises above the horizon for a “moon illusion,” where it appears larger due to its comparison with objects on the ground. While the science behind this illusion remains uncertain, it offers a mesmerizing experience.The Leonid meteor shower, which peaks from Saturday night to early Sunday, may produce around five meteors per hour, as the full moon’s brightness could obscure fainter meteors. For optimal viewing, face east with the moon out of sight and observe late at night or near dawn, according to the American Meteor Society. A meteor from the Leonids is seen streaking across the sky over Ankara, Turkey, in 2020. Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesUpcoming celestial events include the Geminids meteor shower on December 12-13 and the Ursids on December 21-22. December’s full moon, the cold moon, will shine on December 15, closing 2024’s lunar cycle.
The Chang’e-6 mission has provided groundbreaking data with the first-ever lunar samples from the moon’s far side, raising fresh questions about its volcanic and geological history. Conducted by China, the mission collected 1.9 kilograms of lunar soil in June 2024 from the South Pole-Aitken basin, a 4-billion-year-old crater, and returned them to Earth.Key findings published in *Science* and *Nature* revealed that the volcanic basalt samples are about 2.8 billion years old, significantly younger than those from NASA’s Apollo and Russia’s Luna missions. Unlike Apollo-era samples, the Chang’e-6 materials lack radioactive elements like potassium, rare-earth elements, and phosphorus (KREEP), which traditionally explain prolonged volcanic activity.This absence leaves scientists questioning how these magmas formed, as the moon’s molten state was thought to have cooled more than 3 billion years ago. “The young age and unique composition of these basalts challenge our understanding of the moon’s evolution,” said Clive Neal, a researcher on the project. The far side of the moon has a thicker crust than the near side. NASA/GSFC/Arizona State UniversityThe mission also reinforced the stark contrasts between the moon’s near and far sides. The far side, with its thicker crust and distinct basalt composition, remains an “unresolved mystery,” said Qiu-li Li of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.While initial analyses offer tantalizing clues, more research and collaboration, including with international scientists, will be crucial to fully decode the moon’s enigmatic history.
