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Today — 23 December 2025Main stream

Most US adults aren’t making year-end charitable contributions, new AP-NORC poll finds

23 December 2025 at 10:55

By JAMES POLLARD and LINLEY SANDERS The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Americans aren’t making end-of-year charitable giving plans, according to the results of a new AP-NORC poll, despite the many fundraising appeals made by nonprofits that rely on donation surges in the calendar’s final month to reach budget targets.

The survey, which was conducted in early December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that about half U.S. adults say they’ve already made their charitable contributions for 2025. Just 18% say they’ve donated and will donate again before the year is over. Only 6% report they haven’t given yet but will do so by December’s end. The rest, 30%, haven’t donated and don’t plan to.

Everyday donors faced competing priorities this year. President Donald Trump’s social services grant cuts, severe foreign aid rollbacks and November SNAP benefits freeze — plus natural disasters like Los Angeles’ historically destructive wildfires — left no shortage of urgent causes in need of heightened support. Trump’s tax and spending legislation offered an extra incentive to give, too; most tax filers will see a new charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples.

But weaker income gains and steep price inflation meant that lower-income households had less money to redistribute. Other surveys have also found a yearslong decline in the number of individuals who give.

December still serves as a “very important deadline” for donors, according to Dianne Chipps Bailey, managing director of Bank of America’s Philanthropic Solutions division. She cited estimates from the National Philanthropic Trust that nearly one-third of annual giving happens in the final month.

“December 31 does provide a target to make sure that they’ve given what they intended to give before the year is over,” Bailey said.

Few donate on GivingTuesday

Perhaps no day is more consequential for fundraisers than GivingTuesday. Beginning as a hashtag in 2012, the well-known celebration of generosity now sees many nonprofits leverage the attention to solicit donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Americans donated an estimated $4 billion to nonprofits this most recent GivingTuesday.

But Americans were much more likely to make a Black Friday purchase than a GivingTuesday gift this year. Just under half say they bought something for Black Friday, according to the poll, compared to about 1 in 10 who say they donated to a charity for GivingTuesday.

“Black Friday gets the lion’s share of things,” said Oakley Graham, a 32-year-old from Missouri. “And then you’ve got GivingTuesday a couple days later. Most people have probably spent all their spending money at that point.”

Graham said his family has “definitely tightened the financial belt” in recent years. He and his wife are dealing with student loan debts now that the Trump administration suspended their repayment plan. Their two young children are always growing out of their clothes. It’s good if there’s anything left for savings.

He still tries to help out his neighbors — from handiwork to Salvation Army clothing donations.

“Not that I’m not willing to give here and there,” he said. “But it seems like it’s pretty tough to find the extra funds.”

Checkout charity proves more popular

Another avenue for nudging Americans to give is more widely used, even if individual donations are small. The AP-NORC poll found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they donated to a charity when checking out at a store this year.

Graham is among those who reported giving at the cash register. As an outdoorsy person who enjoys hunting and fishing when he can, he said he is “always susceptible to giving for conservation.” He said he likely rounded up once or twice at Bass Pro Shops for that reason.

“With the finances, I don’t do a lot of buying these days. But a couple cents here or there is like — I can do that,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like much. But I know if everybody did it would make a difference.”

The poll found that older adults — those over 60 — are more likely than Americans overall to donate at store checkouts.

One Texas architect’s unusual process for year-end donations

About one-quarter of Americans plan to donate in the last weeks of the year, and Chuck Dietrick is one of them. The 69-year-old architect applies what he calls a “shotgun approach” as the year comes to a close.

He and his wife give monthly to Valley Hope, a nonprofit addiction services provider where their son did inpatient rehab. And then there are eight or so organizations that they support with end-of-the-year gifts.

“We’re doing our own thing,” he said. “I don’t do Black Friday or Cyber Monday, either … So, I don’t do the GivingTuesday thing.”

Dietrick estimates their household donated somewhere between $501 and $2,500. The Dallas-Fort Worth area couple mostly contributes to organizations that have touched their lives or those of their friends.

There’s the Florida hospice that Dietrick said did a “super job” caring for his mother. He has relatives and friends who served in the military, so he also gives to the Disabled American Veterans and the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I would rather give a smaller amount of money to a variety of institutions that I care about rather than giving a big chunk of money to one,” he explained.

Giving plans went unaffected by federal funding cuts or the shutdown

Most 2025 donors say the amount they gave wasn’t affected much by this year’s federal funding cuts or the government shutdown, according to the AP-NORC poll, although about 3 in 10 say those situations did impact the charities they chose to support.

The survey suggests that, while private donors mobilized millions to fill funding gaps and hunger relief groups saw donation totals spike last month, many Americans did not respond with their pocketbooks to the nonprofit sector’s newfound pressures this year.

Jeannine Disviscour, a 63-year-old Baltimore teacher, is among 2025 donors who say the cuts prompted them to give more.

“I did not donate on GivingTuesday,” she said. “But I did donate that week because I was feeling the need to support organizations that I felt might not continue to get the support they needed to get to be successful.”

She estimates her household gave between $501 and $2,500. That included support for National Public Radio. Congress eliminated $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting this summer, leaving hundreds of NPR stations with some sort of budget hole. She said she wanted to ensure journalism reached news deserts where residents have few media options.

Living in an area that is home to many refugees, Disviscour also donated her time and money to the Asylee Women Enterprise. She said the local nonprofit helps asylum-seekers and other forced migrants find food, shelter, clothing, transportation and language classes.

“There is a gap in funding and there’s more need than ever,” she said. “And I wanted to step up. And it’s in my community.”

___

Sanders reported from Washington.

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,146 adults was conducted Dec. 4-8 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Chuck Dietrick poses for a portrait at his home in Anna, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Today in History: December 23, Franco Harris makes the ‘Immaculate Reception’

23 December 2025 at 09:00

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2025. There are eight days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 23, 1972, in an NFL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Franco Harris scored a game-winning touchdown on a deflected pass with less than 10 seconds left. The “Immaculate Reception,” as the catch came to be known, is often cited as the greatest NFL play of all time.

Also on this date:

In 1823, the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel of New York; the verse, more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act.

In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to Japanese forces.

In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese World War II leaders were executed in Tokyo after being tried for war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.

In 1968, 82 crew members of the intelligence ship USS Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana (JEE’-nuh) Yeager, completed the first nonstop, non-refueled round-the-world flight as it returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2003, a Virginia jury sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty. Malvo and his older partner in crime, John Allen Muhammad, shot and killed 10 people over three weeks in October 2002, terrorizing the Washington, D.C., area. Muhammad was executed in 2009.

In 2024, President Joe Biden announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment weeks before Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of capital punishment, was to begin a second term.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Former Emperor Akihito of Japan is 92.
  • Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 82.
  • Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark is 81.
  • Actor Susan Lucci is 79.
  • Distance runner Bill Rodgers is 78.
  • Football Hall of Famer Jack Ham is 77.
  • Political commentator William Kristol is 73.
  • Author Donna Tartt is 62.
  • Rock musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 61.
  • Singer, model and former first lady of France Carla Bruni is 58.
  • Actor Finn Wolfhard is 23.

FILE – In this Dec. 23, 1972, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Franco Harris (32) eludes a tackle by Oakland Raiders’ Jimmy Warren as he runs 42-yards for a touchdown after catching a deflected pass during an AFC Divisional NFL football playoff game in Pittsburgh. Harris’ scoop of a deflected pass and subsequent run for the winning touchdown _ forever known as the “Immaculate Reception” _ has been voted the greatest play in NFL history. A nationwide panel of 68 media members chose the Immaculate Reception as the top play with 3,270 points and 39 first-place votes. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, File)
Yesterday — 22 December 2025Main stream

Here’s what you missed at Turning Point’s chaotic convention

22 December 2025 at 13:17

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and SEJAL GOVINDARAO The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — When Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erika Kirk tried to put a smiling face on things.

“Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring,” said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her husband Charlie was assassinated in September. “Feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family’s hashing out the family business.”

That’s one way to put it.

Some of the biggest names in conservative media took turns torching each other on the main stage, spending more time targeting right-wing rivals than their left-wing opponents.

The feuds could ultimately define the boundaries of the Republican Party and determine the future of President Donald Trump’s fractious coalition, which appears primed for more schisms in the months and years ahead.

Here are some of the most notable moments from the four-day conference.

Shapiro torches podcasters

Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, set the tone with the first speech after Erika Kirk opened the convention. He attacked fellow commentators in deeply personal terms, saying some of the right’s most popular figures are morally bankrupt.

Candace Owens “has been vomiting all sorts of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years,” he said.

Megyn Kelly is “guilty of cowardice” because she’s refused to condemn Owens for spreading unsubstantiated theories about Kirk’s death.

And Tucker Carlson’s decision to host antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast was “an act of moral imbecility.”

Shapiro’s targets hit back

Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro’s attempt to “deplatform and denounce” people who disagree with him.

“I watched it,” he said. “I laughed.”

Others had their chance the next night.

“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads,” said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser.

Kelly belittled Shapiro as a marginal figure in the conservative movement and said their friendship is over.

“I resent that he thinks he’s in a position to decide who must say what, to whom, and when,” Kelly said.

Owens, who has spread unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s death, wasn’t welcome at the convention. But she responded on her podcast, calling Shapiro a “miserable imp.”

A schism over Israel and antisemitism

Israel came up repeatedly during the conference.

Some on the right have questioned whether the Republican Party’s historically steadfast support for Israel conflicts with Trump’s “America First” platform. Carlson criticized civilian deaths in Gaza in remarks that wouldn’t have been out of place in progressive circles.

Some attendees dug deep into history, highlighting Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty off the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Israel said it mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel during the Six Day War, while critics have argued that it was a deliberate strike.

Bannon accused Shapiro, who is Jewish, and others who staunchly support Israel of being part of “the Israel first crowd.” Kelly said criticism from Shapiro and Bari Weiss, the newly installed head of CBS News, “is about Israel.”

Vance gets a helpful endorsement

Erika Kirk pledged Turning Point’s support for Vice President JD Vance to be the next Republican presidential nominee.

“We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,” she said on the first night of the convention. Vance would be the 48th president if he takes office after Trump.

Turning Point is a major force on the right, with a massive volunteer network around the country that can be especially helpful in early primary states.

Vance was close with Charlie Kirk, whose backing helped enable his rapid political rise. The vice president is scheduled to close out the convention as the final speaker on Sunday.

MAHA teams up with MAGA

The Make America Healthy Again movement had a big presence at Turning Point, signaling its quick rise in the right-wing ecosystem.

MAHA is spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services. However, there has been friction with other parts of the Make America Great Again coalition, particularly when it comes to rolling back environmental regulations.

Wellness influencer Alex Clark, whose podcast is sponsored by Turning Point, asked the crowd whether the Environmental Protection Agency is “with us or against us?”

“Big chemical, big ag and big food are trying to split MAGA from MAHA so things can go back to business as usual, but we don’t want that, do we?” Clark said.

Clark and others have asked for Trump to fire EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who responded by reaching out to MAHA activists. The EPA also said it would release a MAHA agenda for the agency.

“The Trump EPA wants to partner with the MAHA community and make sure everyone has a seat at the table,” EPA press secretary Carolyn Holran said in response to Clark’s speech.

Erika Kirk, center, speaks as Jack Posobiec, left, and Megyn Kelly look on during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Turning Point showcases the discord that Republicans like Vance will need to navigate in the future

22 December 2025 at 13:11

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and SEJAL GOVINDARAO The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The next presidential election is three years away, but Turning Point USA already knows it wants Vice President JD Vance as the Republican nominee.

Erika Kirk, leader of the powerful conservative youth organization, endorsed him on opening night of its annual AmericaFest convention, drawing cheers from the crowd.

But the four-day gathering revealed more peril than promise for Vance or any other potential successor to President Donald Trump, and the tensions on display foreshadow the treacherous waters that they will need to navigate in the coming years. The “Make America Great Again” movement is fracturing as Republicans begin considering a future without Trump, and there is no clear path to holding his coalition together as different factions jockey for influence.

“Who gets to run it after?” asked commentator Tucker Carlson in his speech at the conference. “Who gets the machinery when the president exits the scene?”

Vance, who has not said whether he will run for president, is Turning Point’s closing speaker Sunday, appearing at the end of a lineup that includes U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Donald Trump Jr.

Turning Point backs Vance for president

Erika Kirk, who took over as Turning Point’s leader when her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated, said Thursday that the group wanted Vance “elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.” The next president will be the 48th in U.S. history.

Turning Point is a major force on the right, with a nationwide volunteer network that can be especially helpful in early primary states, when candidates rely on grassroots energy to build momentum.

The endorsement carried “at least a little bit of weight” for 20 year-old Kiara Wagner, who traveled from Toms River, New Jersey, for the conference.

“If someone like Erika can support JD Vance, then I can too,” Wagner said.

Vance was close with Charlie Kirk. After Kirk’s assassination on a college campus in Utah, the vice president flew out on Air Force Two to collect Kirk’s remains and bring them home to Arizona. The vice president helped uniformed service members carry the casket to the plane.

A post-Trump Republican Party?

The Republican Party’s identity has been intertwined with Trump for a decade. Now that he is constitutionally ineligible to run for reelection, the party is starting to ponder a future without him at the helm.

So far, it looks like settling that question will require a lot of fighting among conservatives. Turning Point featured arguments about antisemitism, Israel and environmental regulations, not to mention rivalries between leading commentators.

Carlson said the idea of a Republican “civil war” was “totally fake.”

“There are people who are mad at JD Vance, and they’re stirring up a lot of this in order to make sure he doesn’t get the nomination,” he said. Carlson describe Vance as “the one person” who subscribes to the “core idea of the Trump coalition,” which Carlson said was “America first.”

Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet framed the discord as a healthy debate about the future of the movement, an uncomfortable but necessary process of finding consensus.

“We’re not hive-minded commies,” he wrote on X. “Let it play out.”

Vance appeared to have the edge as far as Turning Point attendees are concerned.

“It has to be JD Vance because he has been so awesome when it comes to literally any question,” said Tomas Morales, a videographer from Los Angeles. He said “there’s no other choice.”

Trump has not chosen a successor, though he has spoken highly of both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even suggesting they could form a future Republican ticket. Rubio has said he would support Vance.

Asked in August whether Vance was the “heir apparent,” Trump said “most likely.”

“It’s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he’s doing a great job, and he would be probably favorite at this point,” he said.

Any talk of future campaigns is complicated by Trump’s occasional musings about seeking a third term.

“I’m not allowed to run,” he told reporters during a trip to Asia in October. “It’s too bad.”

Attendees applaud during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.6 billion, among largest lottery prizes ever in U.S.

22 December 2025 at 13:02

The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.6 billion, making it one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history, Powerball officials said Sunday.

No ticket matched all six winning numbers on Saturday — white balls 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and red Powerball 20. That sets up the fifth-largest U.S. jackpot ever for Monday’s drawing, according to a news release from Powerball.

The biggest U.S. jackpot was $2.04 billion in 2022. The winner bought the ticket in California and opted for a lump-sum payment of $997.6 million.

The odds of winning Monday’s jackpot, which is the fourth-largest in Powerball history, are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.

The winner can opt for a lump-sum payment estimated at $735.3 million or an annuitized prize estimated at $1.6 billion. Both prize options are before taxes.

The annuity option offers one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year, Powerball said.

Powerball is available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association, a nonprofit group made up of state lotteries. Profits from ticket sales are used by states to support public education and other services.

Powerball lottery tickets are seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Today in Chicago History: John Wayne Gacy arrested in suspected deaths of 33 boys and young men

21 December 2025 at 19:24

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Dec. 21, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 62 degrees (1967)
  • Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1989)
  • Precipitation: 1.81 inches (1949)
  • Snowfall: 3.6 inches (1983)
An aerial shows Grant Park looking north in June 1973. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
An aerial view of Grant Park looking north in June 1973. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

1910: Aaron Montgomery Ward won a lengthy court battle to keep Chicago’s lakefront “forever open, clear, and free of any buildings, or any obstruction whatsoever.” The Illinois Supreme Court ruled the Field Museum could not be built in or adjacent to Grant Park.

Ward forced the city to create and maintain the now more than 300-acre Grant Park and won legal recognition of citizens’ rights to have a say about the city’s parks.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: Millennium Park — ‘the best thing former Mayor Richard M. Daley ever did’ — 20 years later

The debate about the lakefront did not end, however, with Ward’s court victory. A large water-filtration plant next to Navy Pier, the soaring Lake Point Tower residential building, and the McCormick Place exhibition hall were built over the objections of lakefront preservationists. Grant Park, however, fulfilled Ward’s hopes and became the city’s front yard.

Paul Thompson, of the Chicago Blackhawks, circa 1934. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
Paul Thompson, of the Chicago Blackhawks, circa 1934. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

1937: Chicago Blackhawks forward Paul Thompson scored a goal against his brother Cecil Thompson — Boston Bruins goalie — during the Bruins’ 2-1 win on the road at Boston Garden. It was the first time in NHL history one brother scored on another.

After an 85-0 drubbing by Michigan in 1939, the University of Chicago decided football and academia were not a good mix

1939: The University of Chicago announced it would stop playing football.

“The university believes in athletics and in a comprehensive program of physical education for all students,” the school’s board of trustees said in a statement. “It believes its particular interests and conditions are such that its students now derive no special benefit from intercollegiate football.”

The Bears organize for a brief cheering session in their dressing room after a 37 to 9 victory over the New York Giants in National Football league title game on Dec. 21, 1941. They are (1) Jack Manders, (2) Dick Plasman, (3) Trainer Homer Cole, (4) George McAfee, (5) Billy Anderson, (6) Coach Hunk Anderson, (7) Coach Luke Johnsos, (8) Bob Snyder, (9) Al Matuza, (10) John Federovitch, (11) Coach George Halas, (12) Bob Swisher, (13) Ray McLean, (14) John Siegal, (15) Ray Nolting, (16) Trainer Andy Lotshaw, (17) Joe Mihal, (18) Joe Maniaci, (19) Bulldog Turner, (20) Dan Fortmann, (21) Al Baisi, (22) Ray Bray, (23) George Musso, (24) Lee Artoe, (25) Al Forte, (26) Joe Stydahar, and (27) George Wilson. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
The Bears organize for a brief cheering session in their dressing room after a 37-9 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL championship game on Dec. 21, 1941. They are (1) Jack Manders, (2) Dick Plasman, (3) Trainer Homer Cole, (4) George McAfee, (5) Billy Anderson, (6) Coach Hunk Anderson, (7) Coach Luke Johnsos, (8) Bob Snyder, (9) Al Matuza, (10) John Federovitch, (11) Coach George Halas, (12) Bob Swisher, (13) Ray McLean, (14) John Siegal, (15) Ray Nolting, (16) Trainer Andy Lotshaw, (17) Joe Mihal, (18) Joe Maniaci, (19) Bulldog Turner, (20) Dan Fortmann, (21) Al Baisi, (22) Ray Bray, (23) George Musso, (24) Lee Artoe, (25) Al Forte, (26) Joe Stydahar, and (27) George Wilson. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

1941: The Chicago Bears topped the New York Giants 37–9 in the NFL title game at Wrigley Field for the team’s fifth championship.

The Bears’ 37th and final point was scored on a drop kick from Ray “Scooter” McLean. It would be the last time a drop kick was used successfully in the NFL until Jan. 1, 2006. That’s when New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie — in his final NFL game — converted a point-after-touchdown by drop kick against the Miami Dolphins. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the drop kick remains a legal maneuver in the NFL.

Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley claimed on Jan. 12, 1961, that the term "manager" was antiquated in baseball. That's why he instituted the "college of coaches" for the 1961 season eight men rotating in positions of leadership. The idea was abandoned by the 1963 season. (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley claimed on Jan. 12, 1961, that the term “manager” was antiquated in baseball. That’s why he instituted the “college of coaches” for the 1961 season — eight men rotating in positions of leadership. The idea was abandoned by the 1963 season. (Chicago Tribune)

1960: Chicago Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley announced his team henceforth would be a ‘‘college of coaches” comprised of eight men: Rip Collins, Charlie Grimm, Elvin Tappe, Goldie Holt, Vedie Himsl, Harry Craft, Bobby Adams and Rube Walker. The college, with a few changes, ruled for five seasons.

“Now, about the word ‘manager,’” Wrigley said as he addressed the team’s annual press luncheon in January 1961. “I looked it up and the pure definition is ‘dictator.’” (Tribune editors balked at this explanation.)

Cook County Sheriff's officers carry bodies to the Medical Examiner's Office on Dec. 22, 1978, from John Wayne Gacy's house in unincorporated Norwood Park Township. (Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune)
Cook County sheriff's officers carry bodies to the medical examiner's office on Dec. 22, 1978, from John Wayne Gacy's house in unincorporated Norwood Park Township. (Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune)

1978: John Wayne Gacy was arrested in the suspected murders of 33 young men and boys.

Police were told Gacy had already admitted to his lawyer that he committed “maybe 30” murders.

John Wayne Gacy: Timeline of the suburban Chicago serial killer’s case and the efforts to recover, name his 33 victims

With Gacy in custody, Des Plaines police and Cook County sheriff’s office investigators obtained a warrant and entered Gacy’s one-story, ranch-style house in unincorporated Norwood Park Township. They uncovered the first of 29 bodies buried on Gacy’s property — 26 in the crawl space under his home and three more outside the house. Gacy confessed to four more murders of victims, whose bodies were found in waterways south of Chicago.

Gacy was convicted in 1980 of killing 33 young men and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection May 10, 1994.

Ald. Edward Burke, representing the 14th Ward, was convicted by a federal jury on Dec. 21, 2023. (Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, was convicted by a federal jury on Dec. 21, 2023. (Chicago Tribune)

2023: Former Ald. Edward Burke — the longest-serving alderman in Chicago history — was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering conspiracy and a dozen other counts for using the clout of his elected office to win private law business from developers. Deciding against running for reelection, he stepped down from office in May 2023.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced Burke to two years in prison — eight years less than the 10-year term that prosecutors originally sought — and fined him $2 million. Less than 10 months after reporting to federal prison, Burke was released in July 2025 to spend the rest of his sentence in the Chicago area, according to federal officials.

The Dishonor Roll: Chicago officials

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Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com

John Wayne Gacy in the back seat of a police car as he is transferred from the Des Plaines Police Department to Cook County Jail’s Cermak Health Services for observation on Dec. 23, 1978. (William Yates/Chicago Tribune)

Here are the highest speeds recorded during Colorado’s severe windstorm

21 December 2025 at 19:11

Hurricane-force winds battered Colorado’s Front Range this week, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing highways and dozens of schools and causing extensive delays at Denver International Airport.

While the highest winds were recorded in the mountains and foothills, National Weather Service records show most of the Front Range saw significant wind gusts.

148 mph?! How this week’s winds stack up to the biggest gusts in Colorado history.

Colorado wind gusts, Dec. 19, 2025

  • National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder: 112 mph
  • Niwot: 102 mph
  • Carter Lake: 95 mph
  • Berthoud Pass, 3 miles north: 94 mph
  • Lyons: 90 mph
  • Brookvale, west of Evergreen: 90 mph
  • Bellvue, west of Fort Collins: 89 mph
  • Cheesman Reservoir: 83 mph
  • Westcliffe: 82 mph
  • Eldorado Springs: 81 mph
  • Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge: 80 mph
  • Coal Creek Canyon: 73 mph
  • Cottonwood Pass: 72 mph
  • Manchester, near Cripple Creek: 70 mph
  • Superior: 64 mph
  • Erie Municipal Airport: 61 mph
  • Lyons: 61 mph
  • Longmont Airport: 59 mph
  • Loveland: 58 mph
  • Salida Airport: 56 mph
  • Colorado Springs Airport: 56 mph
  • Peyton: 51 mph
  • Pueblo West: 48 mph
  • Buena Vista: 47 mph
  • Leadville: 43 mph
  • Beulah: 40 mph

Source: National Weather Service Boulder and Pueblo offices

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LONGMONT, CO – DECEMBER 19:A large tree lies across the roof of a house on Cornell Drive in Longmont on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. A National Weather Service red flag warning covers the mountains and foothills along the Front Range from Castle Rock to Fort Collins. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
Before yesterdayMain stream

Today in History: December 19, U.S. auto industry gets emergency bailout

19 December 2025 at 09:00

Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 353rd day of 2025. There are 12 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 19, 2008, citing imminent danger to the national economy, President George W. Bush ordered a $17.4 billion emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry.

Also on this date:

In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington led his army of more than 12,000 soldiers to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the winter.

In 1907, 239 workers died in an explosion at the Darr coal mine near Van Meter, Pennsylvania.

In 1960, fire broke out on the hangar deck of the nearly completed aircraft carrier USS Constellation at the New York Naval Shipyard, killing 50 civilian workers.

In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, concluding the Apollo program of crewed lunar landings.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.)

In 2011, North Korea announced the death two days earlier of leader Kim Jong Il; North Koreans marched by the thousands to mourn while state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as the nation’s new leader.

In 2016, a truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. (The suspected attacker was killed in a police shootout four days later.)

In 2023, a strong earthquake rocked a mountainous region of northwestern China, killing 131 people, reducing homes to rubble and leaving residents outside in below-freezing winter weather.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Actor Tim Reid is 81.
  • Singer Janie Fricke is 78.
  • Actor Jennifer Beals is 62.
  • Basketball Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis is 61.
  • Olympic skiing gold medalist Alberto Tomba is 59.
  • Actor Kristy Swanson is 56.
  • Model Tyson Beckford is 55.
  • Actor Alyssa Milano is 53.
  • Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp is 53.
  • Actor Jake Gyllenhaal (JIH’-lihn-hahl) is 45.
  • Actor Annie Murphy is 39.
  • Journalist Ronan Farrow is 38.

Auto executives, from left, General Motors Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, and Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the auto industry bailout. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Wrestler Mick Foley quits WWE over Trump ties after Reiner comments

17 December 2025 at 18:44

Wrestling great Mick Foley has called it quits with the WWE over its cozy relationship with President Donald Trump, he said Tuesday, citing “incredibly cruel comments” Trump made about film director Rob Reiner’s murder.

Long concerned with the WWE’s cozy relationship with Trump amid the administration’s “ongoing cruel and inhumane treatment of immigrants,” Foley wrote in his announcement on social media, “reading the President’s incredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner’s death is the final straw for me.”

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, known in the wrestling world as Triple H, is a fixture at many White House events. Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon helmed the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and currently serves as U.S. Secretary of Education.

“I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy,” Foley wrote. “Last night, I informed WWE talent relations that I would not be making any appearances for the company as long as this man remains in office.”

Both Foley and Trump were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, Trump as a celebrity honoree.

Mick Foley
Getty
Mick Foley is pictured in Manhattan in 2022. (Getty)

Hours after Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered Sunday in their Los Angeles home with their throats slit, Trump posted a social media diatribe blaming Rob’s death on anger he incited with his liberal views. Blowback has come from all sides of the political spectrum. Their younger son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested for their murders.

Foley’s breakup with WWE was thorough.

“Additionally, I will not be signing a new Legends deal when my current one expires in June,” Foley wrote. “I love WWE, will always treasure my time with them, and I am deeply appreciative for all the opportunities they afforded me. But, in the words of Popeye the sailor, ’I stands all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more.’ ”

With News Wire Services

Wrestling great Mick Foley, pictured in 2011, has called it quits with the WWE until the country dumps Trump, he said Tuesday. (AP)

Rob Reiner’s compassionate response to Charlie Kirk murder goes viral

17 December 2025 at 18:40

As President Trump takes fire from all sides of the political spectrum for mocking slain director Rob Reiner, it’s the Hollywood icon who may have the last word.

Clips of Reiner’s compassionate response to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk when he discussed the horrifying incident with Piers Morgan in September are flooding the internet.

“When you first heard about the murder of Charlie Kirk, what was your immediate gut reaction to it?” Morgan asked Reiner on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” as shown in a clip posted by show staffers and then reposted by its eponymous host.

“Well, horror. Absolute horror,” Reiner said. “And I unfortunately saw the video of it, and it’s beyond belief what happened to him. And that should never happen to anybody. I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable. That’s not a solution to solving problems.”

On Sunday — just three months later — Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Their son Nick Reiner has been charged with their slayings.

Reiner was especially struck, as were many observers, when Kirk’s widow, Erica Kirk, forgave her husband’s attacker during a national memorial service held in Kirk’s honor.

“I felt like what his wife said at the service, at the memorial they had, was exactly right,” Reiner continued. “And totally. I believe, you know, I’m Jewish, but I believe in the teachings of Jesus, and I believe in ‘do unto others,’ and I believe in forgiveness. And what she said, to me, was beautiful and absolutely, you know, she forgave his assassin, and I think that that is admirable.”

Reiner’s remarks resonated in a soft-spoken rebuke to Trump’s widely denounced vitriol, in which he blamed the director’s killing on anger supposedly generated by his liberal views, described him as “tortured and struggling” and said he suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

“Rob Reiner responded with grace and compassion to Charlie’s assassination,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote on X, echoing the public support for the 78-year-old director. “This video makes it all the more painful to hear of he and his wife’s tragic end. May God be close to the broken hearted in this terrible story.”

With News Wire Services

President Donald Trump, left, and Rob Reiner. (Getty Images)

Trump’s National Guard deployment in Washington can continue for now, an appeals court says

17 December 2025 at 17:39

By GARY FIELDS

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the National Guard deployment in the nation’s capital can continue for now, staying a lower-court ruling that had ordered an end to the troops’ presence.

The three-judge panel for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Donald Trump may prevail in his argument that the president “possesses a unique power” to mobilize the Guard in Washington, which is a federal district.

The ruling stops the implementation of U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb’s Nov. 20 opinion and order, and reaffirms that residents and visitors to Washington will routinely see Guard members well into 2026.

Cobb had ruled that the deployment illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the District of Columbia.

Wednesday’s unanimous 32-page ruling went on to say that other factors also favored the Republican administration, including the “disruption to the lives of thousands of service members,” as well as what it said was the president’s interest “in the protection of federal governmental functions and property within the Nation’s capital.”

The judges found that the district “has not identified any ongoing injury to its statutory interests.”

The ruling acknowledged that the administration has a strong case for its appeal.

The deployment began in August after Trump issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city under the command of the Army secretary. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist.

The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, sued to challenge the Guard deployments. He asked that the White House be barred from deploying Guard troops without the mayor’s consent while the lawsuit played out. Dozens of states took sides in Schwalb’s lawsuit, with their support falling along party lines.

A spokesperson with Schwalb’s office said the stay was a “preliminary ruling that does not resolve the merits. We look forward to continuing our case in both the district and appellate courts.”

Cobb had found that while the president did have authority to protect federal functions and property, he could not unilaterally deploy the D.C. National Guard to help with crime control as he saw fit or call in troops from other states. She called for the troops to be sent home after her ruling but put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the appeal by the administration.

The appeals court issued an administrative stay of Cobb’s ruling Dec. 4. Wednesday’s action lifts that order.

The court action comes three weeks after two members of the West Virginia National Guard, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House. Beckstrom died Nov. 27 from her injuries. Wolfe continues to recover. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

The administration has called for an additional 500 National Guard members to be deployed to Washington as a result of the shooting.

The appeals court panel said its decision was “limited in several respects.” For example, it did not address questions such as whether the Guard units were engaged in “law enforcement” activities in violation of federal law.

National Guard patrol in the Lincoln Memorial, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington. The Washington Monument is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Today in History: December 14, Vaccinations begin as COVID-19 death toll hits 300,000

14 December 2025 at 09:00

Today is Sunday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2025. There are 17 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 14, 2020, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history began with health workers getting shots on the same day the nation’s COVID-19 death toll hit 300,000.

Also on this date:

In 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.

In 1819, Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd U.S. state.

In 1903, Wilbur Wright made the first attempt to fly the Wright Flyer but climbed steeply, stalled the aircraft and dove into the sand on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Three days later on Dec. 17, his brother Orville would make history with the first successful controlled, powered flight.

In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (ROH’-ahl AH’-mun-suhn) and his team became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating out a British expedition led by Robert F. Scott by 33 days.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, ruled Congress was within its authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against racial discrimination by private businesses (in this case, a motel that refused to cater to Blacks).

In 1995, the Dayton Accords were formally signed in Paris, ending the Bosnian war that had claimed over 200,000 lives and forced 2 million people from their homes over three years.

In 2012, a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, then took his own life as police arrived; the 20-year-old fatally shot his mother at their home before the school attack.

In 2021, Stephen Curry set a new NBA career 3-point record; the Golden State Warriors guard made his 2,974th 3-point shot against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

In 2024, South Korea’s parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his stunning and short-lived martial law decree, ending days of political paralysis as jubilant crowds celebrated the pro-democratic move.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 79.
  • Actor Dee Wallace is 77.
  • Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 76.
  • Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio is 60.
  • Actor and comedian Miranda Hart is 53.
  • Actor Natascha McElhone is 54.
  • Actor Jackson Rathbone is 41.
  • Actor Vanessa Hudgens is 37.
  • Rapper Offset is 34.
  • Singer Tori Kelly is 33.
  • NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf is 28.

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 14: Sandra Lindsay, left, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester, December 14, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. The rollout of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history. (Photo by Mark Lennihan – Pool/Getty Images)

Parent of student charged in shooting that killed teen at Kentucky State University

11 December 2025 at 14:30

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A parent of a Kentucky State University student has been charged with murder in an on campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.

Jacob Lee Bard was at the school’s campus in Frankfort on Tuesday and fired shots at the victims at a residence hall, police said in a statement.

Investigators said the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis. A second student who was shot remains in critical condition, but his name has not been released, police said.

Bard, 48, was booked into jail on murder and first-degree assault charges. Police said Bard is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles west of Frankfort.

Bard is being represented by a public defender at the Franklin County Department of Public Advocacy, which declined to talk about his case Wednesday.

University police officers were near the scene of the altercation that ended with the shooting and immediately arrested Bard, police said.

Investigators have watched video taken by others at the scene and surveillance footage.

Asked by reporters about alleged videos showing a fight involving Bard’s sons preceded the shooting or whether Bard might have come to campus to talk to administrators about his sons’ safety, Frankfort Assistant Police Chief Scott Tracy refused to say what may have led to the shooting.

“It’s really too early in the investigation right now to really give any details that led up to it. A lot of it would be speculation,” Tracy said Wednesday.

The shooting happened at Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall. It was the second shooting in four months near the student residence.

Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people that the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and a second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.

University President Koffi C. Akakpo said the school brought in more police officers after the first shooting and will evaluate whether more needs to be done to keep students safe once the investigation into the latest shooting is complete,

“The campus is a safe place,” Akakpo said at the news conference.

Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.

The school sits about 2 miles east of the Capitol building in Frankfort.

Law enforcement responds to a shooting at Whitney Moore Young Jr. Hall on Kentucky State University’s campus in Frankfort, Ky., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Hannah Brown/The State Journal via AP)

Foreigners allowed to travel to the US without a visa could soon face new social media screening

10 December 2025 at 19:33

By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreigners who are allowed to come to the United States without a visa could soon be required to submit information about their social media, email accounts and extensive family history to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel.

The notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register said Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years worth of social media information from travelers from select countries who do not have to get visas to come to the U.S. The Trump administration has been stepping up monitoring of international travelers and immigrants.

The announcement refers to travelers from more than three dozen countries who take part in the Visa Waiver Program and submit their information to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which automatically screens them and then approves them for travel to the U.S. Unlike visa applicants, they generally do not have to go into an embassy or consulate for an interview.

DHS administers the program, which currently allows citizens of roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas.

The announcement also said that CBP would start requesting a list of other information, including telephone numbers the person has used over the past five years or email addresses used over the past decade. Also sought would be metadata from electronically submitted photos, as well as extensive information from the applicant’s family members, including their places of birth and their telephone numbers.

The application that people are now required to fill out to take part in ESTA asks for a more limited set of questions such as parents’ names and current email address.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes before they go into effect, the notice said.

CBP officials did not immediately respond to questions about the new rules.

The announcement did not say what the administration was looking for in the social media accounts or why it was asking for more information.

But the agency said it was complying with an executive order that Republican President Donald Trump signed in January that called for more screening of people coming to the U.S. to prevent the entry of possible national security threats.

Travelers from countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program system are already required to submit their social media information, a policy that dates back to the first Trump administration. The policy remained during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.

But citizens from visa waiver countries were not obligated to do so.

Since January, the Trump administration has stepped up checks of immigrants and travelers, both those trying to enter the U.S. as well as those already in the country. Officials have tightened visa rules by requiring that applicants set all of their social media accounts to public so that they can be more easily scrutinized and checked for what authorities view as potential derogatory information. Refusing to set an account to public can be considered grounds for visa denial, according to guidelines provided by the State Department.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now considers whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views.

The heightened interest in social media screening has drawn concern from immigration and free speech advocates about what the Trump administration is looking for and whether the measures target people critical of the administration in an infringement of free speech rights.

Travelers wait in a TSA checkpoint at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Today in History: December 9, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ premieres

9 December 2025 at 09:00

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2025. There are 22 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 9, 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated TV special featuring characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, premiered on CBS.

Also on this date:

In 1979, scientists certified the global eradication of smallpox, a disease which killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century.

In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Wałęsa (lek vah-WEN’-sah) won Poland’s first free presidential election since 1926.

In 1992, the first U.S. Marines made a predawn beach landing in Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope; they were met by hundreds of reporters awaiting their arrival.

In 2006, the space shuttle Discovery launched on a mission to add to and rewire the International Space Station.

In 2013, scientists revealed that NASA’s Curiosity rover had uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars.

In 2019, an island volcano off New Zealand’s coast called Whakaari, or White Island, erupted, killing 22 tourists and guides and seriously injuring several others. Most of the 47 people on the island were U.S. and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour with the guides.

In 2021, a cargo truck jammed with migrants crashed in southern Mexico, killing at least 53 people and injuring dozens more.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Actor Judi Dench is 91.
  • Actor Beau Bridges is 84.
  • World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite is 76.
  • Actor John Malkovich is 72.
  • Singer Donny Osmond is 68.
  • Actor Felicity Huffman is 63.
  • Empress Masako of Japan is 62.
  • Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is 59.
  • Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 56.
  • Actor Simon Helberg is 45.
  • Olympic gymnastics gold medalist McKayla Maroney is 30.
  • Actor Nico Parker is 21.

**FILE**In this promotional image provided by ABC TV, Charlie Brown and Linus appear in a scene from “A Charlie Brown Christmas, which ABC will air Dec. 6 and Dec. 16 to commemorate the classic animated cartoon’s 40th anniversary. The animated special was created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in 1965. (AP Photo/ABC, 1965 United Feature Syndicate Inc.,File)

Bullets in Luigi Mangione’s bag convinced police that he was UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect

8 December 2025 at 20:54

By MICHAEL R. SISAK The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Moments after Luigi Mangione was put in handcuffs at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.

The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.

“It’s him, dude. It’s him, 100%,” an officer was heard saying on body-worn camera video from Mangione’s Dec. 9, 2024 arrest, punctuating the remark with expletives as the officer combing the bag, Christy Wasser, held up the magazine.

Wasser, a 19-year Altoona police veteran, testified on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing as Mangione seeks to bar prosecutors from using the magazine and other evidence against him, including a 9 mm handgun and a notebook that were found during a subsequent search of the bag.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. He appeared in good health on Monday, intently watching the video and occasionally jotting notes. The hearing, which began Dec. 1 and was postponed Friday because of his apparent illness, applies only to the state case. His lawyers are making a similar push to exclude the evidence from his federal case, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Prosecutors have said the handgun found in the backpack matches the firearm used in the killing and that writings in the notebook showed Mangione’s disdain for health insurers and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference.

Mangione’s lawyers contend the items should be excluded because police didn’t have a search warrant for the backpack. Prosecutors contend the search was legal and that officers eventually obtained a warrant.

Wasser, testifying in full uniform, said she was following Altoona police protocols that require promptly searching a suspect’s property at the time of an arrest, in part to check for potentially dangerous items. She was heard on body-worn camera footage played in court that she wanted to check the bag for bombs before removing it from the McDonald’s.

Wasser told another officer she didn’t want to repeat an incident in which another Altoona officer had inadvertently brought a bomb to the police station.

Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for his company’s investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, after police there received a 911 call about a McDonald’s customer who appeared to resemble the suspect.

Wasser said that prior to responding to the McDonald’s she had seen some coverage of Thompson’s killing on Fox News, including the surveillance video of the shooting and images of the suspected shooter.

Wasser began searching his bag as officers took him into custody on initial charges of forgery and false identification, after he acknowledged giving them a bogus driving license, police said. The same fake name was used by the alleged gunman used at a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting.

By then, a handcuffed Mangione had been informed of his right to remain silent — and invoked it — when asked if there was anything in the bag that officers should be concerned about.

According to body-worn camera video, the first few items Wasser found were innocuous: a hoagie, a loaf of bread and a smaller bag containing a passport, cellphone and computer chip.

Then she pulled out the underwear, unwrapping the gray pair to reveal the magazine.

Satisfied there was no bomb, she suspended her search and placed some of the items back in the bag. She resumed her search at the police station, almost immediately finding the gun and silencer. Later, while cataloging everything in the bag in what’s known as an inventory search, she found the notebook.

A Blair County, Pennsylvania, prosecutor testified that a judge later signed off on a search warrant for the bag, a few hours after the searches were completed. The warrant, she said, provided a legal mechanism for Altoona police to turn the evidence over to New York City detectives investigating Thompson’s killing.

As he has through the case, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann described Thompson’s killing as an “execution” and referred to his notebook as a “manifesto” — terms that Mangione’s lawyers said were prejudicial and inappropriate.

Judge Gregory Carro said the wording had “no bearing” on him, but warned Seidemann that he’s “certainly not going to do that at trial” when jurors are present.

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in New York. (Sarah Yenesel/Pool Photo via AP)

Suspect arrested for Manhattan shooting of Jets player Kris Boyd

8 December 2025 at 19:22

A suspect has been arrested upstate for the Midtown Manhattan shooting that wounded Jets player Kris Boyd last month, law enforcement sources said Monday.

The 20-year-old suspect was not immediately charged but sources say he is expected to face charges of attempted murder after he is transported to Manhattan from Amherst, a Buffalo suburb where a U.S. Marshals task force nabbed him.

The suspect lives in the Bronx and has four prior arrests, including one last year for reckless endangerment and a 2018 robbery arrest as a juvenile delinquent that was sealed, law enforcement sources said.

The gunman early on Nov. 16 was part of a group of men who mocked the stylish clothes Boyd and his friends were wearing when they arrived at Sei Less, a W. 38th St. Asian fusion hot spot popular with the well-heeled.

Boyd and his friends, including fellow Jets players Irvin Charles and Jamien Sherwood, ignored the taunts, police said, but left the club after a short while and were mocked again by the same group, sparking an argument that got physical.

Boyd was shot in the chest, the bullet travelling into his lung, as the fight escalated.

Police released suveillance images of a man who they believe fired shots that critically wounded New York Jets cornerback Kris Boyd in Midtown. (NYPD)
NYPD
Police released suveillance images of a man who they believe fired shots that wounded Jets cornerback Kris Boyd in Midtown. (NYPD)

The shooter and his accomplics ran off, police said, with the shooter later identified after cops released surveillance footage of him in the hopes someone would recognize him.

The suspect’s name has not been publicly released as detectives worked to establish probable cause to charge him.

Boyd was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and later released but was returned to the hospital over Thanksgiving after facing setback in his recovery, he posted on social media,

Jets Cornerback Kris Boyd is in critical condition after he was shot in the abdomen on West 38th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday Nov. 16, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News; Getty)

Today in History: December 7, Apollo 17 blasts off

7 December 2025 at 09:00

Today is Sunday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2025. There are 24 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 7,1972, America’s last crewed moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.

Also on this date:

In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The United States declared war against Japan the following day.

In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first U.S. prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people.

In 1993, six people were killed and 19 wounded in a mass shooting aboard a Long Island Rail Road train in New York.

In 2004, Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.

In 2018, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Virginia, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racism activist. He was later sentenced on that and other convictions to life in prison plus 419 years.

In 2024, the newly-restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was reopened to the public after a devastating blaze nearly destroyed the beloved Gothic masterpiece in 2019. World leaders attended the reopening ceremony amid great fanfare and celebration.

Today’s Birthdays:

  • Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 97.
  • Actor Ellen Burstyn is 93.
  • Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 78.
  • Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 76.
  • Republican Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine is 73.
  • Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 69.
  • Actor Jeffrey Wright is 60.
  • Actor C. Thomas Howell is 59.
  • Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is 52.
  • Football Hall of Famer Alan Faneca is 49.
  • Actor Shiri Appleby is 47.
  • Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (bah-REHL’-es) is 46.
  • Actor Nicholas Hoult is 36.
  • MLB All-Star Pete Alonso is 31.
  • Olympic swimming gold medalist Torri Huske is 23.

The Apollo 17 space vehicle carrying US astronauts Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan and Ronald Evans lifts off from launch complex on December 07, 1972 at Kennedy space center. Apollo XVII is the final Lunar landing mission of the Apollo Program. (Photo by NASA / AFP) (Photo by -/NASA/AFP via Getty Images)

Newly released photos show ‘disturbing look’ into Epstein Island

3 December 2025 at 23:51

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released never-before-seen photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous private island, offering what they called a “disturbing look” into the world of the late convicted sex offender.

The newly released material includes dozens of short videos and still photographs of the compound, including one showing a particularly bizarre room filled with an old-fashioned dental chair, Ikea-style metal cabinets and nearly a dozen caricature-like male face masks arranged irregularly on its walls.

An image released by House Democrats showing a bedroom at Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)
An image released by House Democrats showing a bedroom at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)

Other images show a desktop computer displaying surveillance footage of the property; a bedroom in the compound; a shower room with several pillows; a room with a chalkboard with the words “power” and “deception” written on it; and a desk telephone with four names that appear to have been redacted.

An image released by House Democrats showing a bedroom at Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)
An image released by House Democrats showing a bedroom at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)

Members of the Oversight Committee received the images in response to a Nov. 18 request to the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice for information to aid the ongoing investigation into the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

“We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat in the committee.

The images offer a “harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors,” Oversight Democrats said on social media, inviting the public to “see for yourself.”

An image released by House Democrats showing a bathroom at Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)
An image released by House Democrats showing a bathroom at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)

The committee also received records from J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank, lawmakers said, adding that those files will be reviewed and should be made available to the public “in the days ahead.”

“We won’t stop fighting until we deliver justice for the survivors,” Garcia said. “It’s time for President Trump to release all the files, now.”

An image released by House Democrats showing words on a chalkboard, some redacted by the House Democrats, in a room apparently being used as a library at Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)
An image released by House Democrats showing words on a chalkboard, some redacted by the House Democrats, in a room apparently being used as a library at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)

Last month, in a stunning show of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans in both chambers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to force the Justice Department to release all of its unclassified files on Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days.

Trump signed the bill on Nov. 19, but it remains unclear how much of the files will be released to the public, as the Justice Department can withhold or redact certain information under the law’s provisions.

An image released by House Democrats showing a dental suite, with masks of men’s faces on the walls, at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands)
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