Category: News
Devon-Coterra Tie-Up Would Create A New Permian Heavyweight
Devon-Coterra Tie-Up Would Create A New Permian Heavyweight
By Julianne Geiger of OilPrice.com,
Coterra Energy is kicking the tires on what would be one of the biggest U.S. shale mergers in years, holding talks about a possible combination with Devon Energy, according to people familiar with the matter. Nothing is signed, nothing is guaranteed, but the market liked the idea enough to send shares of Coterra Energy sharply higher on the day.
The deal would be a classic all-stock shale mashup: two midsize operators with large footprints in the Permian Basin trying to bulk up as oil prices sit stubbornly around $60 a barrel.
Coterra carries a market value of roughly $20 billion, while Devon is closer to $24 billion.
A tie-up of this size would put it firmly into megadeal territory by shale standards.
This is a Permian land grab, plain and simple.
Putting neighboring Delaware Basin acreage under one roof makes drilling cheaper and operations cleaner.
The timing matters.
After a quiet year for dealmaking, consolidation is starting to reappear as bigger players move past recent acquisitions and smaller independents look for ways to keep up.
A Devon-Coterra tie-up would immediately put the combined company among the Permian’s top-tier producers.
Devon has also been dealing with softer crude prices and the lingering question of how much Venezuelan oil might eventually re-enter the market. That kind of uncertainty rewards operators that are efficient, conservative with capital, and financially flexible. In that environment, scale matters.
For now, talks are ongoing and could still fall apart.
But even floating the idea sends a clear message: in a choppier oil market, size, simplicity, and execution are back in fashion.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/15/2026 – 18:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/devon-coterra-tie-would-create-new-permian-heavyweight
Rome Odunze says he’s ‘good enough to go’ in Chicago Bears’ playoff game vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Chicago Bears emerged from practice Thursday looking about as healthy as they did in Wednesday’s estimated report, with wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze practicing on a limited basis.
“We’ll see,” Odunze said about whether he’ll be ready to play through a foot injury in Sunday’s divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, though he sounded more optimistic in additional comments.
Odunze returned from a five-game absence to play in Saturday’s 31-27 wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. He caught two passes for 44 yards — including Caleb Williams’ highlight-reel “Jumpman” throw on fourth-and-8 that kept the Bears’ fourth-quarter comeback alive.
Asked about his foot Thursday, Odunze said: “I feel good. There’s a little bit of inflammation, different things you have to deal with, but nothing too concerning.”
He told the media during the regular season that his foot and ankle injuries had become a progressive problem, adding that it was also a pain management issue.
Odunze said Thursday it was difficult to answer whether he’s feeling like himself again on the field.
“What I’ve been going through, there wasn’t much I can say,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I’m good enough to go.”
Moore caught his second game-winning pass against the Packers in less than a month Saturday, but he has appeared on the injury report with a knee issue for a second straight week and has popped up periodically throughout the season with various ailments, including shoulder, hip and groin injuries.
Still, he hasn’t missed a game since 2020 with the Carolina Panthers.
“It’s like, bruh, it doesn’t matter what it is,” Odunze said. “He comes back and it doesn’t even look like it affects him.”
Meanwhile, defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion) practiced in full Thursday after he was also listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s estimated report.
Gardner-Johnson signed with the Bears on Oct. 29 as the defense tried to bridge the absence of primary nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who missed five games from late October to November while on injured reserve with calf and groin injuries. Gordon then went back on IR for the final four regular-season games before returning for the playoff opener.
Gardner-Johnson was injured during the fourth quarter of the Bears’ regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions and sat out last week against the Packers. If he clears concussion protocol and can play Sunday, the Bears would have the services of both him and Gordon for just the second time this season.
“Both of them will have a role,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “We’ll see how the game plays out, but we’ve got a plan in place for both those players to have a role on all down-and-distance situations.”
Elsewhere on the injury front, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (back) was upgraded from limited to a full participant. Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (concussion), defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion) and offensive tackle Braxton Jones (knee) also participated in the full practice.
Defensive back Nick McCloud (groin) was the Bears’ only nonparticipant.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/chicago-bears-rome-odunze-injury-report/
How star third baseman Alex Bregman landed in Chicago: ‘We knew the Cubs wanted our family to be here’
Alex Bregman pulled on his crisp, pinstriped Chicago Cubs jersey, flashing a new number for the first time in his decade-long big-league career.
Bregman did not bother asking teammate Nico Hoerner if he could get the No. 2 the Cubs second baseman also has worn throughout his time in the majors. Instead, Bregman felt inspired to select the number signifying the third World Series title he wants.
Bregman’s life centers on two things: his family and winning games.
Those were the driving forces behind his free-agent process that ultimately led him to the Chicago Cubs. After failing to sign the third baseman last spring, unable to meet the value and one-year opt-out he received from the Boston Red Sox, the Cubs made sure Bregman had no doubts this time as to how much they wanted him in a Cubs uniform and the lengths the organization would go to make that happen.
“Literally the first second that free agency really opened I felt like we knew the Cubs wanted our family to be here, and we were excited about it,” Bregman, 31, said. “I thought it was trending that way, probably from the beginning of the offseason. They expressed right away that they wanted me. They made it extremely clear that they valued what I valued.”
An hour before the Chicago Bears’ playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, both sides were getting into the final details of the deal. Bregman’s wife, Reagan, started looking at places to live in Chicago with their two boys, Knox and Bennett, and then went out to dinner in Arizona to celebrate. The news of Bregman’s five-year, $175 million contract was finalized early in the fourth quarter as the Bears mounted their incredible comeback win. A grinning Bregman recalled that when the deal broke as the Bears trailed 21-6, he thought, “This could go one of two ways, I hope they come back.” Bregman will be at Soldier Field for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer hadn’t planned for everything to come to fruition, either, during the Bears’ big win, which he watched at home with his sons.
“You never quite know when deals are going to get done — it wasn’t ideal timing, but it ended up kind of perfect,” Hoyer said. “We’re always balancing dollars this year, dollars next year, you always try to put that puzzle together, but I think certainly the goal going in was we knew we had to redo the bullpen because we had all the guys on the one-year deal, and we wanted to add a clear upgrade in the rotation, and we wanted to improve our offense.
“Adding depth to our roster is still something that we’re going to be focused on, so by no means are we done with the offseason, but I do think that we check some of the big boxes that we were hoping to accomplish.”
New Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman puts on his jersey between agent Scott Boras, left, and President Jed Hoyer at his introductory news conference Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
The Cubs never wavered in expressing their interest to Bregman and agent Scott Boras to the point of making offers fairly early.
Bregman had been on Hoyer’s radar since the third baseman was an amateur standout in New Mexico. The Red Sox drafted Bregman in the 29th round in 2012, about seven months after Hoyer left to become Cubs general manager. Following a stellar career at LSU, Hoyer hoped Bregman might drop with the Cubs picking ninth in the 2015 draft, the spot where they took Ian Happ, but the Houston Astros selected Bregman second behind top pick Dansby Swanson. Bregman’s former manager in Houston and current Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is a good friend of Hoyer’s from their time together in San Diego, resulting in further insight into Bregman over the years.
“The incredible intensity every single day, in the video room, in the cage trying to develop a plan to win that night, so I felt like I had pretty good inside knowledge of what he brings,” Hoyer said. “He’s a player that I’ve kind of followed. Never really had a great opportunity to acquire him, but certainly always admired him from afar because of how he plays a game and how he prepares and also how people around him talk about him, which is really important.”
One of the biggest separators within the competing interest Bregman received from the Red Sox and Cubs was each team’s willingness to do something the organization typically tries to avoid. Most notably, the Cubs were willing to construct a contract with deferrals — $70 million total of the $175 million contract — something they had opposed organizationally in recent years. A change in their philosophy can be traced back to the summer when Hoyer’s conversations with Chairman Tom Ricketts and president of business operations Crane Kenney highlighted the merits of doing those type of contracts. The Cubs were willing to give Bregman a no-trade clause, which the Red Sox avoid and ultimately wouldn’t include for Bregman.
“The two most important things to me are my family and winning baseball games, and the Cubs showed me right away that they were committed to both of those things,” Bregman said.
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Chicago Cubs and 3rd baseman Alex Bregman agree to a reported 5-year, $175 million deal
When evaluating Bregman’s aging curve and how his skill set will play out over the five-year deal, the Cubs felt the three-time All-Star possesses certain attributes that project well: makes contact and controls the strike zone at elite levels, obsessive daily preparation for himself and the team, and engaging leadership and care for his teammates.
“I feel like it’s a group of guys that are focused on getting better at the game of baseball every single day and want to be the best version of themselves, and that’s the kind of group that you need,” Bregman said. “When talking with the Cubs this offseason, they told me ways that I could get better as a player, ways that they were planning on making improvements to their team, how committed they were to winning, how that will be the standard here, and how it will be the standard every year that I will be here.”
The addition of Bregman cuts into Matt Shaw’s opportunities at third base, where he established himself as a Gold Glove Award finalist last year. With the Cubs essentially having five starting-caliber infielders, there has been a steady influx of calls to the Cubs. Hoyer avoided commenting specifically on the fit and trade chatter surrounding Shaw and Hoerner. He also declined to reveal any conversations he has had with either player over the last week.
“There’s always calls coming in, I think it’s an active industry where people are always looking at those things,” Hoyer said. “But it’s our job to listen to things, that’s always our job, and it’s always our job to seek to make the team better. It doesn’t mean we’re looking to do something, but of course people are going to call, and the job is to listen and to think about it.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/alex-bregman-chicago-cubs-jed-hoyer/
Column: Chicago Bears’ big advantage on special teams could be a difference maker vs. LA Rams
With Soldier Field shaking ever so slightly during Saturday’s miraculous comeback in the wild-card round against the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears can say with confidence the fourth phase is back.
That’s the term former coach Lovie Smith used about 20 years ago when urging the home crowd to be rowdy (just not when the Bears were on offense). It’s not that the fans ever went away. The team just hadn’t given them something of this magnitude to be excited about.
With the Los Angeles Rams coming in Sunday and a trip to the NFC championship game on the line, it’s also an opportunity for the third phase to make a difference, something Smith was accustomed to seeing regularly as well.
The underdog Bears should have an upper hand on special teams, where hidden yardage and clutch plays can turn a game in a flash. The Rams have been a disaster on special teams — coach Sean McVay fired third-year coordinator Chase Blackburn on Dec. 20 — while the Bears have gotten big plays all season from coordinator Richard Hightower’s unit.
Advantage: Bears.
Against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will either win MVP honors for his 46-touchdown season or be runner-up to New England Patriots QB Drake Maye, the Bears need every edge they can muster.
“It’s a huge, huge asset in this game because of the elements,” core special teamer Josh Blackwell said. “More or less we feel like we’re a better unit. That’s something we have to take advantage of.”
The Rams punt coverage has been a hot mess. Opponents averaged a league-high 16 yards per return — the second-highest figure in the last 12 seasons behind the 2020 Packers (17.1) — and 11 of the 21 returns against them went for 15 yards or more. A 15-yard punt return is the equivalent of 1½ first downs — a great way to start a possession before the offense takes the field.
Devin Duvernay had punt returns of 37 and 22 yards against the Packers, sparking two scoring drives at the beginning of the Bears rally in the playoff opener.
Bears wide receiver Devin Duvernay finds an opening on a fourth-quarter kickoff in an NFC wild-card game against the Packers on Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“Anytime you can return a ball to the opponent’s 35-yard line, you would think that you have points there,” Hightower said. “That was outstanding. Now, what we’re focused on is trying to get the ball in the end zone ’cause that’s the next thing.”
Duvernay also keyed the Nov. 16 comeback at Minnesota with a 56-yard kickoff return with 42 seconds remaining, so he — and an experienced group of blockers in front of him — have delivered in key moments.
Blackwell blocked Daniel Carlson’s 54-yard field-goal attempt with 33 seconds remaining in a Week 4 win in Las Vegas. The Bears won on walk-off field goals at Washington (Jake Moody) and Minnesota (Cairo Santos). Of course, Santos had the tricky onside kick in Week 16 against Green Bay.
So Hightower’s group has been poised in crunch time. It’s like the Bears took all of their major special teams errors, concentrated them in the Week 9 game in Cincinnati, and have steadily improved since.
Cornerback Josh Blackwell (39) blocks a field-goal attempt by Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson to give the Bears a 25-24 win Sept. 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Not only is Santos dialed in for the nasty conditions at Soldier Field this game will be played in, but he also has gotten more comfortable with an array of “dirty ball” and “knuckle” kickoffs aimed at pinning the opponent inside the 25- or even 20-yard line.
“(Hightower) has been at the forefront of saying how good Cairo is in these situations and this time of year in particular,” coach Ben Johnson said.
Meanwhile, special teams directly led to three of the Rams’ five losses.
In Week 3 in Philadelphia, Joshua Karty had a 36-yard field goal blocked midway through the fourth quarter. On the final play, with the Eagles leading 27-26, Jordan Davis blocked Karty’s 44-yard attempt and returned it for a touchdown.
In Week 5, Karty missed a 53-yard field goal in the third quarter and had an extra point blocked in the fourth. The Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers 26-23 in overtime.
After Karty missed a 39-yard field goal and an extra point in Week 9, the Rams made Harrison Mevis their new kicker and replaced long snapper Alex Ward with veteran Jake McQuaide, who was briefly on the Bears practice squad last season when Scott Daly had a knee injury.
In Week 16, Seattle’s Rashid Shaheed sparked a comeback from a 30-14 deficit to the Rams with a 58-yard punt-return touchdown in the fourth quarter. Mevis missed a 48-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in regulation, and the Seahawks won 38-37 in overtime.
The Rams almost were sent packing in the wild-card round by the Carolina Panthers (8-9). Ethan Evans had a punt blocked with 4:12 remaining that set up the Panthers for a go-ahead touchdown. In the end, Stafford was there to save the Rams.
Rookie linebacker Shaun Dolac, easily Los Angeles’ leader with 18 special teams tackles, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in Week 18. The Rams had only one other player with more than six special teams tackles, although it’s notable that they led the NFL in kickoff coverage, largely because Karty was good at dirty kickoffs before being released.
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It’s a situation in which the Bears have to identify the weak links and attack them. It would help if the struggling third-down defense can get off the field and force a few extra punts by Evans. But really it’s about playing the matchup game and finding a way to isolate the Bears’ best on the Rams’ weakest.
General manager Ryan Poles made a big late move in bringing back linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a 2023 Pro Bowl selection as a special teamer for the Detroit Lions, for the playoffs after he’d exhausted his maximum three practice squad call-ups in the regular season. Reeves-Maybin made the tackle on Santos’ first kickoff Saturday, and he’s a guy Hightower likes to use to set up returns.
The Bears have backups across the board who are experienced on special teams. It’s something they should be able to exploit.
“It’s the same as every week,” said defensive end Daniel Hardy, who had a team-high 19 special teams tackles in the regular season. “Go out and play with extreme violence and physicality, hunt the ball. Same as always. It’s a good opportunity for us to help the team and set the tone.
“It’s a week-to-week league. You’ve got to play everybody straight up and respect your opponent. I had a coach — coach Joel Sobotka in high school (Valley Catholic in Beaverton, Ore.) — he used to tell me all the time: ‘The best way you show your opponent that you respect them is by going out there and whipping their ass.’”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/chicago-bears-los-angeles-rams-special-teams/
Lindsey Graham Drowns Sorrows After Trump Refrained From Iran Attack On ‘No Guarantees’
Lindsey Graham Drowns Sorrows After Trump Refrained From Iran Attack On ‘No Guarantees’
NeoCon Senator Lindsey Graham wants to “go bigger” on Iran and is so disappointed that President Trump hasn’t bombed it yet that he appears barely able to speak, with the color draining from his face.
Journalist Ryan Grim comments on the below video clip of Graham responding to the lack of action by the US, “His life force is being drained in front of us by the lack of bombing.” When this armchair general is deeply disappointed and shattered by American non-action abroad, it without doubt means something good for America.
If you want to know what I think about recent developments in Iran, watch this clip: pic.twitter.com/T9lwN8RwEE
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 15, 2026
Dear Lindsey, the adults in the room took over, now go cry outside…
The Wall Street Journal reports that “President Trump was advised that a large-scale strike against Iran was unlikely to make the government fall and could spark a wider conflict, U.S. officials said, and for now will monitor how Tehran handles protesters before deciding on the scope of a potential attack.”
By that moment of the briefing, Iran’s streets had already gone largely silent, with Iranian security services firmly in control, and Tehran leadership vowing not to hold any executions. In short the demonstrations, riots, and crackdown had ceased.
Continues the WSJ, “The U.S. would need more military firepower in the Middle East both to launch a large-scale strike, protect American forces in the region and allies like Israel should Iran retaliate, the advisers told Trump, the officials said.”
Still, it seems the world was very close to the US launching yet another war more “precision strikes” against a nation we are not actually at war with (still a possibility though!). Per the WSJ:
Trump, without making a final decision on which action he would take, asked for military assets to be in place should he order a big attack, the officials said.
“The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “Only President Trump knows what he’s going to do and a very, very small team of advisors are read into his thinking,” Leavitt said.
But again, Lindsey’s pain is America’s gain.
Here he is Thursday talking to reporters (in the above clip): “Should it be bigger or smaller? I’m in the camp of bigger. Time will tell.” He then asserted that “the regime’s days are numbered.”
When in doubt… sanction higher, the D.C. blob mantra says…
The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of being behind the crackdown on protests and said it was tracking Iranian leaders’ funds being wired to international banks, as President Donald Trump keeps the pressure on Tehran.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement forces commanders, accusing them of being architects of the crackdown.
What might happen in the next major Iranian protest go-around? The Islamic Republic’s severe economic woes, and with yet more US sanctions being unleashed on Tehran, won’t be getting better anytime soon.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/15/2026 – 18:00
Venezuela’s María Corina Machado says she presented Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize
WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a meeting with him at the White House on Thursday, “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Machado did not provide further details, however, and the White House didn’t immediately say if Trump accepted the medal, or provide more clarity.
The Nobel Institute, which awarded the prize, had said Machado couldn’t give it to Trump. The White House said before the meeting that, if she tried to do that, whether he accepted it would be entirely up to Trump.
Even if it was just symbolic, however, Machado’s gesture was extraordinary given that Trump has dismissed Machado’s credibility to take over leadership of Venezuela after an audacious U.S. military raid that captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Visiting Trump presented something of a physical risk for Machado, whose whereabouts have been largely unknown since she left her country last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. Nevertheless, after a closed-door discussion with Trump, she greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the gates —stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them, prompting some to briefly chant “Thank you, Trump,” but she didn’t elaborate.
Trump hasn’t commented on the meeting. But the jubilant scene stood in contrast to Trump having repeatedly raised doubts about Machado and his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. He has signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2.
Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and delivered her first state of the union speech during Machado’s Washington trip.
In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. That’s despite Machado seeking to cultivate relationships with the president and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government and some of its top conservatives.
While Trump and Machado’s meeting was still going on, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Venezuela’s opposition leader “a remarkable and brave voice,” but also said that the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Trump administration plays down meeting expectations
Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado,” the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
All told, Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she’d offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias.” It wasn’t clear she’d heard the question as she hugged and her waiting supporters.
Machado also went to Capitol Hill, for a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators. She detailed having presented Trump with the medal in comments to reporters outside the Capitol.
Her Washington stop began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.
It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela’s interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez’s government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro’s ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration’s “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Machado doesn’t get the nod from Trump
Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela’s interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”
Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump and had offered to share the honor with him prior to Thursday.
Machado remained in hiding even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. She missed the ceremony but briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the award on her behalf.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, Machado began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/donald-trump-peace-prize/
Column: Hollywood Casino to hold job fair for new Aurora facility
Some way-back machines only go so far.
I found that out when trying to get information from our online library, which unfortunately and thanks to too many owners over the decades, only goes back to 1997.
That’s four years after Hollywood Casino set “sail” on the Fox River, opening its doors to big-time gambling in downtown Aurora. Which meant I was unable to pull specific details on how it was way-back then.
My thought was to see how things have changed in the 33 years between Hollywood Casino Aurora’s first job fair and its latest, which will take place Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. in the training room at 49 W. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora.
Back then, the casino had to be floating on water in order for the gambling to be legal, which sounds downright archaic considering all the gaming now taking place on land and sea and most especially in cyberspace.
When I joined The Beacon-News in May of 1993 the buzz was all about Aurora getting one of Illinois’ earliest new riverboat casino licenses. While many considered it a risky venture, it was such BIG news that the managing editor assigned two reporters to do nothing but casino stories for six months prior to its opening. And one writer even got to stay on that beat for another half year after that pair of riverboats set sail on June 17, 1993.
Times have certainly changed.
Unlike the newspaper business, the internet has been great for gaming and gambling. Not only is it available 24/7 just about anywhere in the world, the industry has thrived under new laws that helped turn this once-taboo activity into mainstream entertainment.
Those paddlewheel gambling boats are as much a thing of the past as newspaper delivery boys. I’m not here to complain, however, but to inform readers of the many employment opportunities this big new casino is bringing our way.
When Hollywood Casino Aurora opens its new $360 million land-based and thoroughly modern facility near I-88 – some time around the middle of this year – it will double the number of permanent jobs that had been offered by its original version.
Saturday’s job fair is specifically looking for people 21 and older to fill open table games positions. Those include casino operations shift managers and dealers, both experienced and non-experienced who will be trained. Positions include day-one benefits, paid time off, professional training and 401(k) benefits for full-time and some part-time employees.
Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino Aurora, tells me this is the first of several job fairs, as the company is also hiring for positions that include culinary back of house, food and beverage front of house, banquet, hotel, spa, surveillance, security, facilities, transportation and valet, cage and professional positions.
All told there will be about “800 team members, up from 400,” he said, adding that the facility will feature around 1,200 gaming positions, 220 guest rooms, a retail sportsbook, outdoor entertainment area, full service spa, high-end bars and restaurants and a 12,000-square-foot event center.
While those interested in working at the new casino are encouraged to apply in advance through hollywoodcasinoaurora.com, computers will be available at the job fair to complete on-site applications, Moore said, noting there could be offers made on the day of the job fair, particularly for those who show they have the kind of personality it takes to make a good dealer.
“We are looking for people who can bring that main character energy to the job … those that don’t just go through the motions but are friendly, talkative and want to be part of the show,” he said.
Moore told me he was in high school back when the casino first opened in Aurora. But he assured me there are some employees, including seven dealers, who have been with the casino since day one.
“They are just the greatest people ever,” Moore said, quickly adding that enthusiasm is mounting as the company gets “deeper into the planning” and more team members are brought on board.
“Words cannot describe how excited I am,” he said, noting that of the 17 casinos in Illinois, this new facility “will give the others a run for their money” at the number one spot.
“It will,” he said, “be beautiful.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
Chaos Is The Strategy, And Too Many Are Helping It Succeed
Chaos Is The Strategy, And Too Many Are Helping It Succeed
Authored by Armstrong Williams via The Epoch Times,
Let’s dispense with the convenient fiction: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not the primary threat to our communities. The real danger lies in the growing normalization of disorder, intimidation and lawlessness—often wrapped in the language of “justice” but driven by something far less noble.
What we are witnessing is not spontaneous civic unrest. It is a sustained strategy of division, enabled by progressive activism untethered from accountability and amplified by legacy and social media ecosystems that reward outrage over truth.
This is not how a nation is conquered by force. This is how it is hollowed out from within.
Over the past several years, protests have increasingly crossed the line from expression to coercion—blocking streets, vandalizing property, intimidating citizens, and provoking confrontations with law enforcement. Too often, progressive leaders and activists refuse to draw a firm line between protest and chaos. Silence becomes endorsement. Justification becomes fuel. The result is a culture where disruption is valorized, and restraint is treated as complicity.
When rare and tragic mistakes occur in law enforcement, they are not treated as moments for sober examination or reform. They are instantly weaponized. Context is stripped away. Facts are subordinated to narrative. Grief is transformed into political leverage. The objective is not justice but rather ignition sparking unrest, delegitimizing institutions, and exhausting public trust.
Here is an inconvenient truth: It remains exceedingly rare for law enforcement officers to fire their weapons in the line of duty. The overwhelming majority—well over 90 percent—never discharge a firearm at all. Most encounters are resolved through deescalation, judgment, and professionalism under immense pressure. That reality rarely survives the media cycle.
Legacy media outlets, once entrusted with informing the public, too often act as accelerants rather than moderators. Complex incidents are flattened into morality plays. Headlines are written to inflame rather than inform. Progressive narratives are echoed uncritically, while inconvenient facts are buried below the fold or ignored entirely. The result is a distorted public understanding that erodes confidence in law enforcement and emboldens those who seek confrontation.
Social media makes it worse. Algorithms do not reward nuance; they reward rage. Viral clips divorced from context travel faster than corrections ever could. Activists understand this and exploit it, baiting confrontations designed to produce images that inflame rather than illuminate. The platforms profit. The country pays the price.
We saw this pattern clearly on Ivy League campuses, where protests metastasized into intimidation and disorder. Administrators hesitated. Media outlets romanticized the unrest. Progressive leaders excused it. Only after chaos became undeniable did order return—at significant cost to institutional credibility. The lesson should have been obvious. Instead, it was ignored.
Today, those same forces have seized on immigration enforcement as their next flashpoint. The deployment of ICE agents under President Donald Trump has become a new rallying cry—not because it represents an unprecedented threat but because it offers another opportunity to provoke confrontation and amplify grievance. This is not about policy disagreement. It is about power: who controls the narrative, who dictates the terms of public debate, and who benefits when enforcement collapses under pressure.
That said, responsibility does not rest on one side alone.
Trump, for all his emphasis on law and order, bears a duty to temper his rhetoric. Words matter, especially from the highest office in the land. Enforcement must be firm, but it must also be wise. Precision, not provocation, strengthens institutions. A tone that encourages restraint, judgment, and professionalism does more to uphold the rule of law than bombast ever could.
Likewise, law enforcement leadership must continue emphasizing deescalation as the standard, not the exception. Officers already do this every day, often without recognition. In those vanishingly rare moments when lethal force is used, the expectation must be clarity, accountability, and transparency—not political scapegoating or reflexive condemnation.
The progressive movement, however, must confront its own complicity.
A philosophy that treats enforcement itself as oppression, that excuses disorder as activism, and that relies on media distortion to advance its aims is not reformist—it is corrosive. A society cannot function when laws are optional, authority is demonized, and chaos is reframed as conscience.
History is unforgiving to nations that mistake outrage for virtue and division for progress. Democracies do not collapse because laws are enforced. They collapse when enforcement is delegitimized, institutions are undermined, and truth becomes subordinate to narrative.
If we are serious about justice, reform, and social cohesion, then restraint must apply to everyone—activists, media, political leaders, and law enforcement alike. Anything less is not resistance. It is surrender to chaos.
And chaos, once normalized, never confines itself to the causes that first unleashed it.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/15/2026 – 17:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/chaos-strategy-and-too-many-are-helping-it-succeed
Joliet school custodian charged with child pornography granted pretrial release
A former Joliet elementary school custodian will be on home confinement as he awaits trial on child pornography charges, a Will County judge ruled Thursday.
Jeremy Ledesma, 23, was arrested last week following a monthslong investigation that started with a cyber tip in May from Snapchat. On Thursday, Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak denied a motion to detain Ledesma as he awaits trial. She agreed to his release from the county jail and placed him on electronic home monitoring.
Ledesma is charged with possession of child pornography with the intent to deliver, according to court records. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
He was placed on paid leave from his job in October and terminated during Wednesday’s school board meeting.
“I hope this termination vote reassures you that Mr. Ledesma will not set foot on district property ever again,” Joliet Elementary School District 86 board President Jesse Smith told parents at the meeting. “The safety of our students and staff is always our number one priority.”
District officials said Ledesma, whose salary was $42,170, was hired by the district in 2022 and passed all required state and FBI criminal background checks. The Plainfield man worked at Eisenhower Academy and Keith Elementary School. District officials stressed the charges do not involve any criminal conduct on school property and that they have cooperated with investigators.
According to court documents, Will County sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant in September and recovered images and a video involving young children exposing themselves. Investigators also recovered emails from Snapchat related to Ledesma violating guidelines regarding child sexual abuse materials.
Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Capelli sought pre-trial detention Thursday noting investigators recovered videos of students playing on the playground at Eisenhower Academy on Ledesma’s phone. Though those videos did not contain any sexually explicit material, Capelli argued they showed Ledesma posed a risk to students.
Ledesma’s attorney, Kristine Honiotes, said including the latter videos in their argument was “inflammatory.” She also argued it was “disingenuous” to portray Ledesma as a threat to students given that he was not arrested until Jan. 8, even though investigators were first notified of the images in May.
“It’s disingenuous to say he’s a threat when he’s been allowed to be out while he’s been under investigation since September,” she said.
Ledesma is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 4.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/joliet-school-custodian-child-pornography/
MrBeast Broke? Billionaire YouTuber Claims He Has “Negative Money” As Tom Lee Invests $200M
MrBeast Broke? Billionaire YouTuber Claims He Has “Negative Money” As Tom Lee Invests $200M
The allure of becoming a YouTube superstar often conjures images of endless wealth and effortless luxury. Yet for Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, the reality is more nuanced – and far less liquid.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Donaldson addressed the frequent media portrayal of him as a billionaire, clarifying the distinction between headline-grabbing net worth and actual cash on hand.
“It’s funny talking about my personal finances because no one ever believes anything I say, because they’re like, ‘You’re a billionaire,’” Donaldson said. “I’m like, that’s net worth.”
“I actually … I have negative money right now. I’m borrowing money. That’s how little money I have,” he continued. “Technically, everyone watching this video has more money than me in their bank account if you subtract the equity value of my company, which doesn’t buy me McDonald’s in the morning, or whatever.”
Last June, Donaldson revealed he had asked his mother for financial help to cover costs related to his upcoming wedding to Thea Booysen, then 28. The couple has described plans for an intimate ceremony, far removed from the extravagance one might associate with a global media figure.
Forbes pegged his annual earnings at $85 million as of June 2025, while Fortune reported in September 2025 that his holding company, Beast Industries—which he owns a little more than half of—carried a $5 billion valuation. The conglomerate encompasses his YouTube operations, the Feastables chocolate brand, Lunchly snacks, and other ventures, with Donaldson’s personal net worth frequently cited around $2.6 billion on paper, according to the New York Post.
Yet Donaldson’s ventures have not been without its headaches.
The most prominent example is his virtual restaurant brand, MrBeast Burger, launched in 2020 through a partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC). The ghost-kitchen concept initially exploded, expanding to thousands of locations and generating substantial revenue via delivery apps. The momentum stalled amid persistent customer complaints about quality. Reviewers often described the burgers as “disgusting,” “inedible,” undercooked, or arriving in subpar condition, the Daily Mail reported.
In 2023, Donaldson sued VDC, seeking to end the partnership and alleging breach of contract, inadequate quality control, unpaid royalties, and irreparable harm from the inferior product – despite periods when the brand reportedly pulled in over $100 million. VDC countersued for up to $100 million, accusing Donaldson of breaching obligations, publicly disparaging the brand (including now-deleted social-media posts calling it a “bad deal”), and interfering with operations. Both parties claimed the other prioritized scale or personal interests over quality and mutual fairness. The legal dispute remains unresolved.
Tom Lee Is All In
Donaldson’s cash crunch comes amid news that Donaldson’s Beast Industries is about to receive a $200 million investment from Tom Lee’s Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the world’s leading ETH treasury company. Lee’s investment will back a media property which boasts over 450 million subscribers and attracts over 5 billion monthly views. The deal closes on or around Jan. 19, CNBC reports.
“It’s our view that ethereum, which is a smart contract platform, is the future of finance, where digitalization of not only dollars but stocks and equities [are] going to take place,” Lee told “Squawk Box” Thursday. “Over time, that really blurs what is a service versus what’s digital money, and that’s where a collaboration and investment into Beast Industries makes sense.”
TOM LEE + MR. BEAST
– Bitmine is investing $200M into Beast Industries
– Ethereum is the core platform
– Focus on digital items and financial services
– Targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha at massive scale pic.twitter.com/xvpVkEWdE6
— Tom Lee Tracker (Not actually Tom) (@TomLeeTracker) January 15, 2026
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/15/2026 – 17:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mrbeast-broke-billionaire-youtuber-claims-he-has-negative-money
