Category: News
Valparaiso area man charged with murder, arson in group home fire
A Valparaiso area man is in custody on charges of murder and arson for a fatal fire Oct. 31 at a group home in the Shorewood Forest subdivision in Union Township, according to court documents.
Robert Delano Bone, 69, of the 400 block of Shorewood Court and a resident of the group home, was booked into the Porter County Jail Friday afternoon, according to online jail records.
Bone, according to court documents, allegedly caused a fatal fire after igniting a diaper in his bedroom and later told investigators that he wasn’t thinking straight and “(expletive) up.”
Seven people were in the home at the time, including its owner and caretaker and her son, and five group home residents, and all of them were taken to area hospitals after the fire.
Billy Bishop, 60, a resident of the group home, died after he was airlifted to a Chicago hospital after the fire as a result of thermal injury and further complications from that injury per the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, charges state.
The caretaker and her son, as well as two residents, were transported to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, while Bone and another resident were taken to Northwest Health-Porter, according to the charges.
The charges against Bone, filed Dec. 23, include murder in the perpetration of an arson, a Level 1 felony; arson, a Level 4 felony; and reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, according to court documents. An online court docket does not yet list an initial hearing for Bone.
Deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department were called to the home at 3:05 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, for a house fire with people trapped inside, charges state.
Officers found multiple people outside the residence but were “advised more people were inside the burning structure,” documents state.
Officers found a female in the foyer and escorted her to the porch and heard a male voice in another room “yell out for help,” according to the charges. Officers were able to drag him out of the house and he advised there was a third person upstairs.
Because of the flames and the fire, a deputy “could not make his way up the stairs to rescue the other male. The upstairs male was later identified as Billy Bishop,” according to the charges. Firefighters found him unconscious at the top of the stairs.
Fire investigators told the police that the fire started in Bone’s bedroom, charges state.
The caretaker told police after she was released from the hospital that she woke up at 2:54 a.m. that day because another disabled resident needed to use the bathroom. While walking in the home to help that person, “she observed an orange glow coming from Robert Bone’s bedroom. When she entered Robert Bone’s bedroom, she observed Robert to be awake and staring at 2 burning diapers on the floor in front of him,” according to court records.
“She helped Robert out of the room. The diapers caught the curtains in the room on fire, which led to the house catching on fire.”
Bone told investigators he had lived at the group home for a few months and gave investigators conflicting stories about how the fire started, initially stating it was in a kitchen trash can from a cigarette, documents state, and later said he and Bishop “were talking about having a bonfire in the backyard just before the fire started.”
Bone told investigators he and Bishop “got pretty serious about the bonfire” and what they needed, and “It got out of hand.”
Bone told police he lit one of the diapers on fire with a lighter and the fire got out of hand in minutes.
“I’m starting to see that I (expletive) up,” Bone told investigators in charging documents. “I actually wasn’t thinking straight and I (expletive) up.”
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
El modesto Macclesfield da la sorpresa en la Copa FA y elimina al campeón defensor Crytal Palace
MACCLESFIELD, Inglaterra (AP) — Minnow Macclesfield alcanzó la cuarta ronda de la Copa FA al vencer el sábado por 2-1 al campeón defensor Crystal Palace en una de las mayores sorpresas en la historia del torneo.
Macclesfield es un equipo que juega en la sexta división del fútbol inglés, cinco niveles por debajo de su oponente de la Liga Premier y tomó la delantera cuando el capitán Paul Dawson cabeceó un centro de Luke Duffy a los 43 minutos.
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts aumentó la ventaja a 2-0 a los 60 minutos, provocando celebraciones desenfrenadas.
Tras un tumulto en el área penal, el balón llegó a Buckley-Ricketts, quien pasó por la academia del Manchester City, y hábilmente lo tocó con el exterior de su pie derecho, superando al portero Walter Benítez.
“No puedo creerlo, nunca pensamos que estaríamos en esta posición”, dijo el entrenador de Macclesfield, John Rooney, a la BBC. “Fuimos increíbles desde el primer minuto. Creo que fuimos merecidos ganadores. No podría estar más orgulloso de los muchachos”.
Rooney comenzó y terminó su carrera como mediocampista en el club y está en su primera temporada como entrenador. Es el hermano menor del exastro de Inglaterra y del Manchester United, Wayne Rooney.
Yeremy Pino disparó un tiro libre en el último minuto por encima de la barrera, y que llevó a seis minutos de nerviosismo para Macclesfield en el tiempo de descuento mientras los aficionados locales coreaban “¡Silkmen! ¡Silkmen!” — el apodo del club.
Macclesfield resistió ante un Palace cuya tarde desastrosa se resumió en una acción: cuando el defensor central estadounidense Chris Richards hizo un saque de banda incorrecto en el último minuto del tiempo de descuento, devolviendo la posesión a Macclesfield.
Los aficionados corrieron al campo en Moss Rose — un modesto estadio con capacidad para 5.900 personas en el noroeste de Inglaterra — para celebrar tras el pitido final mientras Dawson y Duffy eran llevados en hombros.
La Copa FA tiene una larga historia de eliminaciones dramáticas y grandes sorpresas, como cuando el Hereford, que juega fuera del sistema de liga, venció 2-1 al Newcastle en una repetición de la tercera ronda en 1972 o cuando el Palace venció al gran favorito Liverpool 4-3 en las semifinales de 1990.
El viernes por la noche, el equipo de segunda división Wrexham eliminó al Nottingham Forest, de la Liga Prmier, y ahora la magia de la Copa FA ha agraciado a Macclesfield.
“No pensé que fuera posible, pero hay un poco de esperanza de que cualquier cosa pueda suceder en el día”, dijo el entrenador Rooney.
Dawson dijo que Macclesfield “significa el mundo para mí” y calificó la victoria como “un logro inmenso”.
El entrenador del Palace, Oliver Glasner, no tenía “ninguna explicación” para lo que acababa de ver.
“No necesitas tácticas. En este tipo de juegos, no necesitas un entrenador”, dijo a la BBC. “Si solo muestras de lo que eres capaz y tienes un poco de orgullo, entonces te desempeñas de una manera diferente, pero hoy nos faltó todo”.
“Merecimos perder”.
Otros partidos
En un enfrentamiento entre equipos de la Liga Premier, Sunderland venció a Everton en penales después de que el partido terminara 1-1 tras el tiempo extra.
Enzo Le Fée puso a Sunderland por delante en la primera mitad, mientras que el mediocampista James Garner igualó para el equipo local Everton al 89.
El delantero noruego Jørgen Strand Larsen anotó una tripleta y el Wolverhampton, que pelea por la permanencia en la Liga Premier, goleó al equipo de cuarta división Shrewsbury 6-1. El ganador de la Copa FA 2021, Leicester, ahora jugando en la segunda división, superó por 2-0 al Cheltenham de cuarta división.
Enfrentamientos de alto nivel por delante
Entre los partidos de la tercera ronda del sábado, el siete veces ganador de la Copa FA Manchester City — el subcampeón de la temporada pasada — se enfrentó al equipo de tercera división Exeter, mientras que Newcastle recibió a Bournemouth y Tottenham se enfrentó a Aston Villa en enfrentamientos totalmente de la Premier League.
Además, el ocho veces campeón Chelsea visitó al equipo de segunda división Charlton en el último partido.
Semenyo se despide
Bournemouth vendió al delantero ghanés Antoine Semenyo al City el viernes en un acuerdo por un valor reportado de 65 millones de libras (87 millones de dólares).
Agradeció a los aficionados de Bournemouth “por todos los recuerdos” en un anuncio de página completa impreso en el periódico Bournemouth Echo.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Partidarios de grupo separatista respaldado por EAU protestan en sur de Yemen en medio de tensiones
Por AMED AL-HAJ y SAMY MAGDY
ADÉN, Yemen (AP) — Miles de yemeníes se congregaron el sábado en la ciudad sureña de Adén en una muestra de apoyo a un grupo separatista respaldado por los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, un día después que el grupo se disolviera tras el aumento de tensiones y enfrentamientos armados con las fuerzas del gobierno de Yemen, que es reconocido internacionalmente.
Los partidarios del Consejo de Transición del Sur (CTS) se congregaron en su bastión del distrito de Khor Maksar, donde se encuentra el aeropuerto internacional de Adén. Grupos armados leales al CTS fueron vistos asegurando el área de la protesta, según un periodista de The Associated Press en Khor Maksar.
Los manifestantes lanzaron consignas contra Arabia Saudí y el gobierno internacional de Yemen. Agitaron banderas del sur de Yemen, que fue un Estado independiente entre 1967 y 1990. Algunos fueron vistos sosteniendo carteles con la imagen del líder del consejo, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, quien huyó de Adén hacia los Emiratos Árabes Unidos a principios de este mes, según mostraron imágenes de video transmitidas por los medios del CTS.
Yemen, ubicado en la estratégica entrada sur del Mar Rojo, ha estado sumido durante más de una década en una guerra civil que involucra una compleja interacción de agravios sectarios y tribales y la participación de potencias regionales.
La protesta del sábado se produjo en medio de crecientes tensiones entre los aliados de Estados Unidos, Arabia Saudí y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, ya que su asociación de años en la guerra en Yemen se está desmoronando.
Establecido en abril de 2017, el CTS era una organización integrada por grupos que buscan restaurar el sur de Yemen como un Estado independiente, como lo fue entre 1967 y 1990. Recibió apoyo financiero y militar de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos.
Al-Zubaidi, quien también era miembro del Consejo Presidencial de Transición gobernante, fue sacado de contrabando a Abu Dabi a través de Somalia luego que supuestamente se negara a asistir a las conversaciones sobre una potencial desescalada de violencia en Riad, de acuerdo con Arabia Saudí. Una delegación del CTS asistió a las conversaciones la semana pasada y luego anunció la disolución del cuerpo separatista.
Abdulrahman Jalal al-Sebaihi, secretario general del consejo secesionista, anunció el viernes que el CTS cerrará todos sus cuerpos y oficinas dentro y fuera de Yemen, citando desacuerdos internos y creciente presión regional.
Sin embargo, Anwar al-Tamimi, portavoz del CTS, impugnó la decisión y escribió en X que sólo el consejo completo, bajo su presidente, puede tomar tales medidas, destacando las divisiones internas dentro del movimiento separatista.
Las tensiones entre Riad y Abu Dabi estallaron a principios del mes pasado cuando las fuerzas respaldadas por los Emiratos Árabes Unidos tomaron el control de las provincias de Hadramout, en las fronteras con Arabia Saudí, y Mahra, donde se apoderaron de áreas y instalaciones ricas en petróleo. También tomaron el palacio presidencial en Adén.
Después de semanas de esfuerzos liderados por Arabia Saudí para relajar las tensiones, las fuerzas gubernamentales, respaldadas por el Reino, lanzaron un ataque contra el CTS, obligando a los separatistas a salir de Hadramout, el palacio presidencial en Adén y los campamentos militares en Mahra.
La escalada del conflicto en el sur de Yemen fue el giro más reciente en la guerra civil que ha asolado al país desde 2014, cuando los rebeldes hutíes respaldados por Irán descendieron desde su bastión en el norte y tomaron la capital, Saná, obligando al gobierno reconocido internacionalmente a huir primero hacia el sur y luego al exilio en Arabia Saudí.
Una coalición encabezada por Arabia Saudí y que incluía a los Emiratos Árabes Unidos entró en la guerra de Yemen al año siguiente en un intento por restaurar el gobierno. La guerra ha permanecido en un punto muerto en los últimos años, y los rebeldes llegaron a un acuerdo con Arabia Saudí que detuvo sus ataques al reino a cambio de un fin a los ataques liderados por Arabia Saudí en sus territorios.
___ Magdy reportó desde El Cairo.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Trump To Meet Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Next Week
Trump To Meet Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Next Week
President Trump plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado next week during her planned visit to the United States.
This development comes despite his earlier reluctance to back her for the country’s top leadership role. Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a taped interview that aired Thursday night that he understands Machado is “coming in next week sometime” and looks forward to saying hello to her.
During the interview, Hannity inquired about Machado. He mentioned that she had appeared on his show earlier in the week and reminded viewers that she had won the Nobel Peace Prize, which she publicly dedicated to Trump.
The president has openly pursued the Nobel Peace Prize in the past and has campaigned for it in connection with his foreign policy victories. He told Hannity that it was “a major embarrassment to Norway” that he has not yet received one. Hannity added that Machado had said on both television and radio that she wanted to give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize “for liberating her country.”
Trump responded warmly, calling Machado “a very nice person,” and confirmed that he was aware of the offer. He said he understood that she would be visiting soon and that he was open to meeting her. “I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said. “I’ve heard that she wants to do that. That’d be a great honor.”
🚨OMG: Trump says he wants the Nobel Prize belonging to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and expects her to give it to him when she comes to DC next week.
He can’t be insane enough to take out Maduro just because he wanted her award, can he? pic.twitter.com/6Z9Cpozmy5
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) January 9, 2026
NBC News reported Thursday night that a representative for Machado did not immediately confirm the meeting, and the White House offered no details.
The potential meeting follows last week’s successful operation to capture Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, after which Delcy Rodríguez assumed the interim presidency.
Several Republicans in Congress have pushed for Machado to take charge of the country following Maduro’s ouster. However, Trump is not backing her yet.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said last weekend, after Maduro was in U.S. custody. “She doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Trump instead settled on Rodríguez.
“For Ms. Machado, Mr. Trump’s comments landed like a gut punch, and it represented a public break for the United States with a leader who had spent more than a year trying to ingratiate herself to Mr. Trump — so much so that when Ms. Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he covets, she dedicated it to him,” the New York Times reported earlier this week.
“The president had been persuaded by arguments from senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that if the United States tried to back the opposition, it could further destabilize the country and require a more robust military presence inside the country. A classified C.I.A. intelligence analysis reflected that view, as well, according to a person familiar with the document.”
Rubio described the plans for Venezuela as a “threefold process.”
“We don’t want it descending into chaos,” Rubio explained in remarks to the press this week.
“Part of that stabilization, and the reason why we understand and believe that we have the strongest leverage possible, is our quarantine. As you’ve seen today, two more ships were seized. We are in the midst right now, and in fact about to execute, on a deal to take all the oil – they have oil that is stuck in Venezuela; they can’t move it because of our quarantine and because it’s sanctioned. We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We’re going to sell it in the marketplace – at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime. So, we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front.”
The potential meeting next week between Trump and Machado could signal a shift in Trump’s approach or serve as a diplomatic courtesy to a key opposition figure.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 01/10/2026 – 09:55
UK Government Threatens Total Ban On X Over Grok Bikini Flap
UK Government Threatens Total Ban On X Over Grok Bikini Flap
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
The UK’s Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer has escalated its war on online expression, now openly threatening to ban Elon Musk’s X platform entirely. Using the pretext of Grok AI’s image generation capabilities, Starmer’s regime is pushing for total control over what Brits can see and say online, exposing the thin veil over their authoritarian impulses.
This move comes amid a surge in Grok-generated sexualized images, but the crackdown reeks of selective outrage aimed at silencing dissent rather than protecting anyone.
Starmer issued the threat, declaring “This is disgraceful. It’s disgusting, and it’s not to be tolerated,” adding that “all options are on the table” to address what he called unlawful content on X. He emphasized, “X has got to get a grip of this, and Ofcom (The UK’s regulatory authority for the internet) has our full support to take action in relation to this. This is wrong. It’s unlawful. We’re not going to tolerate it.”
?BREAKING: KEIR STARMER THREATENS X ON CAMERA
“IT’S DISGRACEFUL. IT’S DISGUSTING”
“It’s wrong, it’s unlawful, I’ve asked for all options to be on the table”
Note Keir Starmer doesn’t care about Chat GPT or any other AI where you can do exactly the same things
He’s a tyrant https://t.co/GWTdMefktX pic.twitter.com/ymI2fDecKm
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 9, 2026
Labour MP Lola McEvoy doubled down, stating platforms like X “have no right to be accessed in this country” if they fail to comply with the UK’s draconian Online Safety Act.
?LABOUR MINISTER LOLA MCEVOY SAYS BANNING X IS REAL POSSIBILITY
“It’s about saying if these big platforms that have huge users don’t comply with the online safety act then they have NO RIGHT to be accessed in this country”
Wow.
Labour are dictators. https://t.co/GWTdMeeMEp pic.twitter.com/voHDWTHblY
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 9, 2026
Multiple sources confirm insiders are advancing plans to block the site, with the AI excuse front and centre.
?MULTIPLE NEWS SOURCES REPORT LABOUR INSIDERS ARE MOVING AHEAD WITH PLAN TO BAN X IN THE UK
The excuse given is over Grok AI but we all know what the truth is
Keir Starmer is sick of the British public seeing the truth of what is happening to our country
He’s a fascist https://t.co/GWTdMefktX pic.twitter.com/PpcsvMM8nZ
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 9, 2026
Leaked WhatsApp messages have also revealed Labour MPs urging the government to abandon X altogether, labeling Elon Musk a “fascist” and arguing it should “show direction to others in the UK.”
Leaked WhatsApp messages show Labour MPs urging the government to leave X, arguing that it should “show direction to others in the UK”
In messages seen by @zoenora6, Labour MPs were asked by government to post on X about the two-child cap being abolished, but some replied asking…
— PoliticsHome (@politicshome) January 9, 2026
One MP questioned why they couldn’t follow Trump’s lead with Truth Social, while others claimed their constituents are on Facebook instead.
They’ve been waiting and planning for a way to do this for months.
— Scott Lewis (@WarriorSpeech28) January 9, 2026
Journalist Alison Pearson nailed the double standard: Starmer rants about “safety” on X while flooding the country with undocumented fighting-age males daily. What about the real threats to British women and girls from unchecked migration? He doesn’t give a damn about anyone’s safety.
WELL SAID ALISON PEARSON ?
Keir Starmer wants to ban X for ‘safety reasons’
What about the COUNTLESS UNDOCUMENTED FIGHTING AGE MALES he lets into the country every single day
He doesn’t give a DAMN about the safety of ANYONE but his own ego. pic.twitter.com/GNB0yIYXHp
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 9, 2026
Starmer, now the most unpopular UK Prime Minister in history with just a 15% approval rating, is also the most community-noted public figure on X, constantly called out for lies. He’s the fifth most ratio’d person on the platform—everyone exposes his deceptions. He can’t control X, and there’s no doubt that this is playing into the move.
Broadcaster Alex Phillips tore into him: “You don’t like X because you don’t like free speech. That’s why you want to close it down. You’re a thin-skinned megalomaniacal monster. We see you, Keir Starmer!”
?ALEX PHILLIPS ERUPTS AT KEIR STARMER ?
“YOU DON’T LIKE X BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE FREE SPEECH”
“THAT’S WHY YOU WANT TO CLOSE IT DOWN”
“YOU’RE A THIN-SKINNED MEGLOMENIACHAL MONSTER”
“WE SEE YOU KEIR STARMER!” pic.twitter.com/lZdEJ2jSuo
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 9, 2026
Starmer’s threats have drawn international backlash. US Republicans, including Trump ally Anna Paulina Luna, warn of sanctions against the UK if the ban proceeds, labeling it a direct assault on free speech.
If Starmer is successful in banning @X in Britain, I will move forward with legislation that is currently being drafted to sanction not only Starmer, but Britain as a whole. This would mirror actions previously taken by the United States in response to foreign governments… https://t.co/yUQp8sQGy5
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) January 9, 2026
The post continues,
“…restricting the platform, including the dispute with Brazil in 2024–2025, which resulted in tariffs, visa revocations, and sanctions and consequences tied to free speech concerns against Brazilian officials over concerns related to censorship and free-speech violations.
Starmer should reconsider this course of action, or there will be consequences.
There are always technical bugs during the early phases of new technology, especially AI, and those issues are typically addressed quickly. X treats these matters seriously and acts promptly. Let’s be clear: this is not about technical compliance. This is a political war against @elonmusk and free speech—nothing more.”
?? Britain has been threatened with sanctions if Sir Keir Starmer attempts to block Elon Musk’s X over its AI tool undressing women and children.
Read the full story here ??https://t.co/fvSqIk4C1n pic.twitter.com/3ciFefj3A1
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) January 9, 2026
Trump himself has signaled readiness to hit back, tying into his administration’s visa bans on Europeans pushing tech censorship.
Trump also recently suspended a $40 billion tech deal with the UK over its free speech crackdown, a move that underscores America’s commitment to First Amendment principles, and a clear sign that the President will not stay silent on Britain’s freedom crushing policies.
Trump has long been attuned to Britain’s erosion of rights, dispatching a “free speech squad” from the State Department in May to investigate cases of activists arrested for silent protests and online dissent.
He’s even offered political asylum to UK “thought criminals,” including those prosecuted for gender-critical views or immigration criticism, positioning America as a haven for those fleeing authoritarian overreach.
The UK’s erosion of free speech has been accelerating, from jailing citizens over tweets, to branding criticising illegal immigration as hate speech, to criminalising ‘wrong’ opinions on sports commentators.
Even the likes of Google, which has previously demonetized, shadow-banned, and outright censored content that doesn’t align with leftist narratives, has expressed concern over the tyrannical potential of the Online Safety act.
Starmer’s focus on Grok also completely ignores that other AIs, like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, enable the exact same image manipulations—putting people in bikinis or worse. All AI can do this, it’s clearly selective outrage.
The government has also not expressed any concern about the fact that Google’s AI gets basic historical facts wrong and skews everything toward woke/DEI, as well as giving bad health tips, encouraging suicide, and falsely accusing people of being rapists and racists.
Why single out X? Because it’s the one platform where truth slips through the cracks of mainstream control and free speech is fully embraced.
Starmer’s regime can’t hide behind “safety” forever. Banning X won’t erase the truth— it’ll only fuel the resistance. Brits deserve platforms where facts flow freely, not dictated by thin-skinned tyrants.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 01/10/2026 – 09:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-government-threatens-total-ban-x-over-grok-bikini-flap
Green Bay Packers CB Trevon Diggs wants to make the most of unexpected playoff opportunity vs. Chicago Bears
GREEN BAY — Trevon Diggs couldn’t have imagined a couple of weeks ago that he’d have a chance to make an impact in the playoffs.
The 27-year-old cornerback finds himself in this improbable position after the Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) claimed him off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys last week.
Diggs performed capably while playing nearly half of the Packers’ defensive snaps in their regular-season finale Sunday. Coach Matt LaFleur didn’t rule out the possibility of starting him in their Saturday night wild-card matchup against the Chicago Bears (11-6) at Soldier Field.
5 things to watch for in the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers playoff game — plus our predictions
“It’s a blessing,” Diggs said. “It’s hard to win in this league and it’s hard to go to the playoffs, so just being here, being able to go to the playoffs, it’s been truly a blessing and I’m truly thankful.”
This unexpected opportunity gives the 2021 All-Pro a chance to rejuvenate a career that had gone downhill. Diggs’ presence also could help a Packers defense that has struggled ever since Pro Bowl pass rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a 34-26 road loss against the Denver Broncos that started the four-game skid to end the Packers’ regular season.
Although Diggs didn’t have his first practice with his new team until Jan. 1, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said this week that their new cornerback has been a quick enough study that they wouldn’t have to limit anything they do defensively if he’s on the field.
Hafley noted that safeties Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard and Evan Williams could communicate anything Diggs might need to know.
“It’s cool to see the last couple of days how he’s integrated with our players, how he’s been in meetings,” Hafley said. “Overall I just think he has more confidence right now in our scheme, so I’d be very comfortable to play him.”
Diggs savors whatever responsibilities he might have Saturday.
“I’m very comfortable,” he said. “I’m ready for whatever.”
6 Chicago Bears players who could emerge as unsung heroes if they make a playoff run
Diggs’ change of address represented the latest chapter in a turbulent 2025 season.
He suffered a concussion in an accident at home Oct. 16. Two months later, Diggs explained to reporters that he got hit in the head by a mounting pole while trying to install a TV.
Even after Diggs returned from concussion protocol, he remained off the field and ended up missing eight games for what the Cowboys described as lingering knee issues. Diggs ended up playing just eight games for the Cowboys this season — six before his concussion and two afterward.
When the Cowboys waived Diggs last week, coach Brian Schottenheimer said it was due to a culmination of issues rather than one incident. It was a humbling finish to a tenure that once had so much promise, as Diggs had an NFL-high 11 interceptions in 2021 and earned his second Pro Bowl selection in 2022.
Going to Green Bay reunited Diggs with some familiar faces. He’s close friends with Parsons and played at Alabama with McKinney. They offered him feedback on what it would take to succeed with his new team.
“Just put your head down and work,” Diggs recalled them saying. “Everything’s going to fall where it’s supposed to fall. You just have to focus on football here, and that’s awesome.”
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Diggs’ Packers debut was encouraging.
With the Packers resting most of their starters in a 16-3 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Pro Football Focus gave Diggs an 81.5 game rating that led the team. He had scored above 61.7 in just two of his eight games with the Cowboys this season.
“We’re excited to have him on the team,” Bullard said. “We know the type of player he is. People don’t understand that dude is All-Pro. You can’t take that away from him.”
Diggs hasn’t played at that All-Pro level for some time now, but his performance Sunday at least showed he can help out a Packers secondary that needs some reinforcements as it attempts to make a long playoff run.
He’s ready to step up to that challenge.
“It feels natural,” Diggs said. “It feels normal. It just feels like a great fit. It’s been great. I’m just happy to be here.”
Injury update: The Packers announced Friday that WR Dontayvion Wicks has been ruled out for Saturday’s game because of a concussion. Wicks had been listed as questionable on the Thursday injury report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/10/trevon-diggs-green-bay-packers-chicago-bears/
Victim discovered fatally stabbed overnight on CTA property in Loop
A 37-year-old man was discovered unresponsive and fatally stabbed overnight on CTA property in the Loop neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Shortly before 2:30 a.m., officers responded to to a call on CTA property in the 100 block of West Lake Street where a man was discovered unresponsive. An investigation revealed the man had suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, police said.
The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances leading up to the deadly stabbing were under investigating. No one was in custody.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/10/fatal-stabbing-cta-loop/
Economic Satisfaction Declines With Age
Economic Satisfaction Declines With Age
More than four in ten adults in the United States view their personal financial situation positively.
This is according to a new survey by Statista Consumer Insights, conducted between October 2024 and September 2025.
You will find more infographics at Statista
At 43 percent, this marks an increase of four percentage points from one year before.
A perception gap persists between age groups, with younger generations (18 to 29 year olds and 30 to 49 year olds) more likely to be content with their financial situation than those aged 50-64 years old.
Just 33 percent of the older age group said they felt positively, compared to 47 percent of the two younger age brackets.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 01/10/2026 – 08:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/economic-satisfaction-declines-age
Germany’s Conversion To Planned Economy, War With Russia As Driver
Germany’s Conversion To Planned Economy, War With Russia As Driver
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe
The president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Moritz Schularick, makes no secret in an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that the signs are pointing toward a war economy. It is bizarre to witness how economists succumb to the intellectual mediocrity of central planning.
Professor Moritz Schularick, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), seems to have found the ultimate solution to Germany’s economic problems. In conversation with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ), the economist complained about a leadership vacuum in German arms policy. He sees it as central to an active industrial policy that could lead Germany out of its economic woes. Schularick expects that arms production will act as a, in his own words, “job booster.”
He said literally: “If we want Europe to truly stand on its own in defense soon and not remain dependent on the MAGA-USA, then Defense Minister Boris Pistorius must be given the order to work with European partners to eventually replace the USA and its capabilities.”
Fatal War Rhetoric
“Order to march,” military self-sufficiency — the vocabulary is both revealing and dangerous. It seems politics and state-adjacent economic research are converging on a common path regarding military policy and increasingly centrally planned industrial management. A return to market principles seems like a fairy tale in circles of German economists—no one believes anymore in the curative power of freedom from climate diktats, overregulation, and fiscal burdens.
According to Schularick, politics should implement a top-level arms coordinator to manage investment funds in response to the Russian threat. Perhaps he envisions himself in this role? After all, over €500 billion in defense investments are planned by the end of the decade to reduce security dependence on the U.S.
Production Capacity Shortfalls
Schularick criticized the extremely slow pace of ramping up arms production. Since the war began four years ago, nothing has been done to significantly increase production capacity.
“How many Taurus missiles are finished per month? Not even a handful,” he laments. A clear industrial policy deficit, he concludes.
Here, the new spirit of German economic “academia” emerges: everything revolves around the much-praised global steering, an active industrial policy now pursued by Brussels and Berlin, dangerously fed by state-aligned research.
What was long predicted with three-quarter conviction now seems to be happening. Central planners, including Schularick, apparently assume they can repurpose idle German industrial capacity for the defense sector. Civil car production, in their view, can easily be converted into tank production. Besides producing goods private households do not demand, this creates yet another subsidy-dependent industry, consuming resources from civilian production and artificially raising civilian costs.
Germany’s “Rediscovered” Work Ethic in War Mode
Schularick grows euphoric about the promising future of the war economy, astonishingly rediscovering a work ethic long absent in Germany. He notes production is still mostly single-shift, five days a week. Implicitly, we learn, these are the jobs of Germany’s economic future.
No one seems to think about what should be produced in the coming years to avoid empty shelves after just three weeks in a potential conflict. It’s not just about armored vehicles but also future technologies like autonomous systems, satellites, AI, or robotics, Schularick adds. Everywhere, German industry has fallen behind.
Where does this competitive disadvantage come from, the central planner wonders? Perhaps from German policy and the Brussels bureaucratic apparatus acting as internal antagonists?
The interview highlights the widening gap between economic reality and the hermetically sealed ivory tower of politics, state-backed research, and sympathetic media, which promote this massive economic mismanagement while failing to critically assess Russia’s actual military strength, which is not capable of a continental invasion.
We’ve seen this playbook during the COVID era: once set in motion, the state-affiliated media machine drives narratives across newspapers, radio, and social media bot armies, suppressing open discourse. Stories of Russian occupation are defended in apocalyptic tones, wearing the public down.
The Central Planners’ Dreamworld
How do technocrats like Schularick, Merz, or von der Leyen envision converting production lines to military goods in practice? Beyond financing, there’s the question of knowledge transfer. Do blueprints come from the Internet or Boris Pistorius’ ministry?
The knowledge transfer required to build a centrally planned war economy from civilian industry is immense and time-consuming. Even after decades of bitter experience with green transformation—which only drove capital out of Germany—political learning curves remain negative.
Was this the goal? Ironically: to push industry into a corner with climate policies until it falters, then fill freed capacities with arms production?
Beyond the failed climate subsidy business emerges a new extraction pillar: the European defense sector. Whether this experiment can withstand real-world economic conditions—falling productivity, rising debt—is doubtful. Central planners like Schularick will surely have an explanation: they were blocked by forces opposed to European integration, joint war economy, and Brussels debt accumulation.
The Illusion of Central Planning
No deep economic expertise is needed to see that militarization is doomed to fail. A brief glance at 20th-century history is enough. Beyond massive resource mismanagement, there are issues of national sovereignty, divergent EU geopolitical interests, and a divided Union—especially an Eastern bloc wary of conflict with Russia.
That even economists like Schularick succumb to the lure of powerful central planning shows they are not immune to personal vanity. Surely, they hope their institutes benefit—perhaps with a ministerial-level position as arms coordinator. Who knows which job descriptions are already circulating in Berlin and Brussels.
It is tragic, yet the motto everywhere seems to be: “After us, the flood.”
* * *
About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a Germany graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 01/10/2026 – 08:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/germanys-conversion-planned-economy-war-russia-driver
Tiroteos en Mississippi dejan 6 muertos; detienen a sospechoso
Associated Press
WEST POINT, Mississippi, EE.UU. (AP) — Una persona se encuentra bajo custodia policial el sábado tras el asesinato de seis personas en una serie de tiroteos relacionados en el este de Mississippi, informaron las autoridades.
El jefe policial del condado Clay, Eddie Scott, afirmó en una publicación de Facebook que “múltiples vidas inocentes” se perdieron “debido a la violencia” en la ciudad de West Point, cerca de la frontera con Alabama. El jefe de policía comentó a WTVA que seis personas fueron asesinadas en tres ubicaciones distintas.
Un sospechoso estaba bajo custodia y no había amenaza para la comunidad, escribió Scott en Facebook.
“Les pido que incluyan a nuestras víctimas y sus familias en sus oraciones. Las fuerzas del orden están ocupadas investigando y proporcionarán una actualización tan pronto como sea posible”, manifestó.
La jefatura de la policía no proporcionó más detalles temprano el sábado, pero planea realizar una conferencia de prensa por la mañana.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
