Category: News
Bowen Yang to exit SNL after Saturday’s episode
Bowen Yang is exiting “Saturday Night Live” in the middle of his eighth season on the show. His last turn as a cast member will be this Saturday’s episode, which is being hosted by his “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande with Cher as musical guest.
Representatives for Yang and “Saturday Night Live” declined to comment.
Yang first joined “SNL” as a writer in 2018 for Season 44. He joined the cast as a featured player during Season 45, and was promoted to join the main cast beginning with Season 47.
His exit follows the major exodus that came ahead of Season 51, which premiered on Oct. 4. Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and John Higgins all recently departed the late night sketch show. Higgins’ departure was announced in tandem with his fellow Please Don’t Destroy member Martin Herlihy moving to the writing staff while Ben Marshall moved to the featured cast.
It’s atypical, though not unprecedented, that Yang is leaving “SNL” before Season 51 is over. Notable midseason exits in the show’s history have included Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon, Dana Carvey and Eddie Murphy — plus Norm Macdonald, though Macdonald’s departure was due to being fired.
Federal Regulators Issue Order Requiring Large-Load Users Pay To Grow Grid
Federal Regulators Issue Order Requiring Large-Load Users Pay To Grow Grid
Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,
Federal regulators have directed the nation’s largest regional electricity transmission organization to link, or “co-locate,” data centers and other industrial users with existing or new power-generating plants in order to speed development, trim infrastructure costs, and require large-load users to pay for expanding the grid.
The five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Dec. 18 unanimously ordered PJM, which delivers electricity to more than 1,100 utilities serving 67 million customers across 12 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, to create two new transmission contract types, revise generator interconnection rules, respond within 30 days with options to meet demand, and provide a report detailing “ongoing initiatives to reduce practical and financial barriers … to efficiently connect new large loads” by February 2026.
Under the commission’s order, PJM must clarify that a power generator cannot leave the grid to serve a co-located load until all transmission upgrades needed to maintain reliability are installed, an interim network service is established “to provide a bridge” while new infrastructure is being built, and rules that “safeguard grid reliability and protect consumers” are strengthened.
“Today, FERC is pushing our country forward in the artificial intelligence and manufacturing revolution,” FERC Chair Laura Swett said. “While uncertainty has abounded across our country on how we will facilitate data centers, my colleagues and I are taking a critical step to give investors and consumers more certainty.”
She assured any member of the public who might qualify as a “non-FERC nerd” that the rule, which is more than 100 pages long and “highly technical,” can “solve the problem of meeting historic surging demand and realize our greatest potential as a country also while safeguarding the prices that we pay for electricity.”
In highlighting “a few core concepts,” Swett said the commission’s first priority was to ensure households and small businesses are not forced to pay for grid expansions fostered by demand from data centers and other large-load electricity customers.
“The reality is that large loads can be flexible in the amount of transmission service they use, but that they should pay their fair share for that service so consumers are not overly burdened,” she said.
The order recognizes PJM’s existing transmission services “are insufficient” and “do not recognize the controllable nature of co-location arrangements,” Swett said, adding that PJM’s current rate allocation imposes an “unjust and unreasonable” expense on existing customers.
The rule was issued a day after PJM’s capacity auction for the 2027–2028 delivery year fell short by 6,600 megawatts—enough electricity to power 4 million homes—of its reliability requirement and in the wake of a June report by Monitoring Analytics, its independent market monitor, that fast-tracked data center development will cost PJM customers as much $9.4 billion in coming years.
“PJM is not alone,” Commissioner Judy Chang said. “We just see it more visibly with PJM. So I think there’s just a lot more work to do” in ensuring households and small businesses do not foot the bill for data center-driven grid expansion.
Florida-based Data Center Map identifies 4,297 data centers that are operating in the United States, including 668 in Virginia, 245 in Illinois, and 217 in Ohio.
Definitions vary on what a “data center” is, and some estimates suggest there are more than 6,000 of them in the United States. An operation can generally be defined as a data center if it supplies power for AI, quantum computing, or cryptocurrencies.
President Donald Trump has identified rapid grid expansion to power data centers and AI development as a national priority. In October, he cited a Rand Corporation report that said that while China increased its power generation capacity by approximately 429 gigawatts in 2024, the United States only added about 65 gigawatts and must add 80 to 90 gigawatts a year in new generation to keep pace with demand.
Trump issued a July executive order that streamlines permitting for data center projects that produce at least 100 megawatts of new electricity load dedicated to AI, training, simulation, or synthetic data generation” and are supported by at least $500 million in committed private capital investment—especially if they generate their own “behind-the-meter” electricity and can be a generative source for nearby utilities.
Good Day For ‘Non-FERC Nerds’
“Behind-the-meter” electricity generation that supplements existing “front-of-meter” utility capacity or is built and consumed by new large-load users in a grid network is one of the goals of the new rule, Commissioner David Rosner said.
“What we’re enabling through these new co-location options is really simple,” he said. “When you connect a power plant directly to a large load like a data center, you minimize the impact on the grid because you don’t use the grid as much, and in turn, this limits the impacts on the bills that regular families and small businesses see.”
Of course, to a “non-FERC nerd,” there’s nothing simple about the nation’s electric grid and the matrix of federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and rules that apply to its 7,300 power plants, 160,000 miles of high-voltage power lines, millions of miles of low-voltage power lines, and distribution transformers managed by more than 3,000 utilities and regional transmission operators in wholesale and retail markets.
But Rosner gave it a shot.
“Today’s order directs PJM to create two new transmission services. We call them firm and non-firm contract demand,” he said, describing “firm” demand as what the developer and utility agree to in “net withdrawal” from its generation capacity and “non-firm” demand as its “behind-the-meter” generation.
“So for example,” Rosner explained, “consider a 1,000 megawatt data center that co-locates with a new 900 megawatt power plant. The data center wants to take 100 megawatts from the PJM grid [firm] and get the remaining 900 megawatts of supply from the on-site power plant [non-firm].”
The order directs PJM to clarify that a generator cannot leave the grid to serve a co-located load until all transmission upgrades needed to maintain reliability are in service, with the cost of those upgrades allocated 100 percent to the new large-load user, he said.
“So this means that generators comprising the backbone of today’s grid cannot abandon existing customers, unless and until those generators and their large load customers—not other ratepayers— build the transmission upgrades needed to maintain reliable service for everyone else,” Rosner said.
The order requires PJM to establish an interim network service to provide “a bridge” while the infrastructure needed to serve a large load with traditional front-of-meter network integration and transmission service is being built, he said.
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The bottom line, Rosner said, is that similar orders that will largely replicate directives issued to PJM are going to be the standard in addressing the nation’s need to quickly grow its grid.
“It takes too long to build new infrastructure in this country and that definitely includes transmission. So building the upgrades we require to convert an existing power plant to hook into a co-located load” is the swiftest, least expensive, and fairest way to do it, he said.
Commissioner David LaCerte, noting the commission hasn’t created a “major new transmission service” since the 1990s, said the order “marks an important milestone here at FERC and for our nation, a giant leap forward for President Trump’s agenda of American energy dominance and artificial intelligence advancement.”
Even “non-FERC nerds” will understand that, he said.
“Artificial intelligence data centers and re-industrialization are dominating our dialogue, not only here at FERC, but at the kitchen tables of America. AI has the potential to revolutionize our way of life in nearly every manner, but we must first build it,” LaCerte said. “We must acknowledge that we need to think differently, be bold yet smart with our actions, and we need to accept the reality that the status quo has become untenable.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/19/2025 – 13:40
Pope names new archbishop of Westminster as part of generational shift in English-speaking hierarchy
ROME — Pope Leo XIV named a new archbishop of Westminster on Friday in another high-profile appointment that signals a generational shift in the English-speaking Catholic hierarchy.
Leo tapped Bishop Richard Moth, 67, to replace the retiring Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 80, as the London-based archbishop of the largest British diocese in terms of Catholic population and priests.
The appointment came a day after Leo named Bishop Ronald Hicks, 58, to succeed the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan as archbishop of New York, one of the biggest and most important archdioceses in the U.S.
Pope Leo XIV names Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks as archbishop of New York
Dolan and Nichols had been two of the heavyweight English-speaking cardinals for more than a decade, both of them appointed to their high-profile jobs in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Nichols would become more closely associated with Pope Francis, who made him a cardinal in 2014 and kept him on the job well beyond the normal retirement age for bishops of 75.
Dolan, who is affiliated more with the conservative wing of the church, had submitted his resignation to Francis in February, as required by church law when he turned 75. Leo accepted it 10 months later, soon after Dolan finalized the creation of a $300 million settlement fund for victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Leo has indicated that he wants to respect the 75-year-old retirement age norm more vigorously going forward, as a way to reinvigorate the church leadership, though he allowed that there could still be two-year extensions granted for cardinals.
Leo made the comments last month in a speech to Italian bishops, saying the church has to “constantly renew itself” to confront today’s challenges. “We must prevent inertia from slowing necessary change, even for good intentions,” he said on Nov. 25.
Moth was born in Chingola, Zambia, and has served as bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015. Prior to that, he was bishop to the British armed forces.
He takes over at Westminster Cathedral, which is considered the mother church for Catholics in England and Wales.
In another appointment announced Friday, Leo accepted the resignation of Bishop Gerald Barbarito, 75, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida, and named as his replacement the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of the Our Lady of Sorrows church in the Queens borough of New York City.
With 17,000 congregants in the mostly Hispanic neighborhood of Corona, the church is the largest parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also oversees churches in Queens. It was particularly hard-hit during COVID-19, losing more than 100 of its parishioners.
Rodriguez has been a staunch advocate for migrants, who make up most of his congregants, and he is now leading the diocese that is home to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Rodriguez said in an interview on Friday that the Catholic Church wants to help the president to do better.
Catholic leaders in the U.S. have denounced the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has split up families, incited fears and upended life in American churches and schools that serve migrant communities. The administration has defended the crackdown as safeguarding public safety and national security.
“When it comes to enforcing immigration laws, we shouldn’t be enforcing them by focusing on deporting 5-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 9-year-old kids, people that have never committed any crime,” he said. “So, we’re here to help. We’re willing to help, and God willing, we will.”
Líder católico de Tierra Santa visita Gaza, es recibido por niños con gorros de Santa y kufiyas
CIUDAD DE GAZA, Franja de Gaza (AP) — El principal líder católico en Tierra Santa visitó la única iglesia católica de la Franja de Gaza el viernes para compartir un mensaje de esperanza navideña y apoyo, mientras las condiciones en el territorio devastado por la guerra mejoran lentamente y el alto al fuego entre Israel y Hamás se mantiene en su tercer mes.
El cardenal Pierbattista Pizzaballa fue recibido por niños con gorros de Santa Claus y keffiyeh —el pañuelo a cuadros que es un símbolo global del nacionalismo palestino— en el patio del complejo de la iglesia, que estaba alegremente decorado con luces centelleantes y adornos navideños.
“Yo sé que la situación es difícil, pero veo con los niños, la escuela, las actividades, una pequeña luz de esperanza”, declaró en inglés a varias docenas de personas reunidas para la festividad. “Ustedes han sido un testimonio maravilloso, no solo de resiliencia, sino de fe y esperanza para muchas personas, no solo en Gaza, sino en muchas otras partes del mundo”.
Indicó que la comunidad cristiana aspira a ser un “punto de referencia estable y sólido en este mar de destrucción” mientras la reconstrucción comienza lentamente. El complejo de la Sagrada Familia fue alcanzado por fragmentos de un proyectil israelí en julio, matando a tres personas en lo que Israel entonces lamentó llamándolo un accidente.
“No podemos olvidar lo que sucedió. Y nunca lo olvidaremos. Pero ahora tenemos que mirar hacia adelante”, señaló Pizzaballa, el Patriarca Latino de Jerusalén. “Necesitamos curar, sanar nuestros corazones”.
Pizzaballa y otros clérigos también rezaron junto al árbol de Navidad y las escenas del Nacimiento dentro de la iglesia, cuyo pastor aseguró que las actividades navideñas están en pleno apogeo a pesar de los desafíos, incluyendo el desplazamiento, los precios exorbitantes de los alimentos y el suministro intermitente de electricidad.
En sus mensajes diarios de YouTube, el reverendo Gabriel Romanelli lamentó el jueves el clima frío —una mínima de siete grados Celsius (45 grados Fahrenheit). Pero dijo que los 160 niños de la escuela estaban ensayando sus programas navideños y planeando una escena del Nacimiento con disfraces tradicionales de ángeles y pastores.
El Patriarcado Latino de Jerusalén sostuvo que Pizzaballa planeaba celebrar la misa dominical en la parroquia, como también lo hizo durante la guerra en la temporada navideña.
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La cobertura de temas religiosos de la Associated Press cuenta con apoyo de The Conversation US, con fondos de la Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable del contenido.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Los Reales se reúnen con el exlanzador All-Star Matt Strahm en un intercambio con los Filis
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, EE.UU. (AP) — Los Reales de Kansas City se reunieron con el veterano lanzador Matt Strahm el viernes cuando adquirieron al ex All-Star zurdo de los Filis de Filadelfia en un intercambio por el derecho Jonathan Bowlan.
Strahm, de 34 años, ha lanzado para cuatro equipos a lo largo de diez temporadas en las Grandes Ligas.
Pasó sus dos primeras campañas con los Reales, quienes lo seleccionaron en la 21ra ronda del draft de jugadores de primer año de 2012 de Neosho County Community College en Chanute, Kansas. Strahm también lanzó para los Padres, los Medias Rojas y los últimos tres años para los Filis, donde fue All-Star en 2024, cuando tuvo una efectividad de 1.87 en 66 apariciones.
También hizo 66 apariciones con una efectividad de 2.74 esta pasada temporada, y tiene una efectividad de 3.36 en su carrera, en 395 apariciones.
Strahm tiene un salario de 7,5 millones de dólares la próxima temporada bajo una opción que se activó, parte de un acuerdo que le pagará 15 millones para 2025 y 2026. Puede convertirse en agente libre después de la Serie Mundial de 2026.
Bowlan, de 29 años, ha lanzado en partes de las últimas tres campañas para Kansas City. Hizo una apertura y apareció en un récord personal de 34 juegos esta pasada temporada, con un récord de 1-2 y una efectividad de 3.86.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Kansas City Chiefs close to leaving Arrowhead Stadium for new home in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be mere days away from taking a big step toward a move across the state line, and eventually leaving their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri for a new and likely covered stadium in Kansas.
With a year-end deadline approaching, the Legislative Coordinating Council is scheduled to meet Monday in Topeka, Kansas, where it will consider approving STAR bonds that would fund up to 70% of a stadium project to help lure the NFL franchise to the state.
The Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals have played for more than 50 years in side-by-side stadiums in Jackson County, Missouri. But those leases are due to expire in January 2031, and the two franchises have been working for years on their future plans.
What to know about the Chicago Bears’ possible move from Soldier Field
Voters in Jackson County soundly defeated a local sales tax extension last year that would have helped to finance an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead and a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City. Since then, the Chiefs and Royals have pursued separate plans, though momentum appears to be growing behind both of them moving to Kansas.
The likely destination for the Chiefs is The Legends, a regional shopping mall and commercial area in Kansas City, Kansas. There is plenty of land available for a stadium and mixed-use commercial district, but it also has anchors in place, such as Kansas Speedway, the Hollywood Casino and Children’s Mercy Park, the home of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City.
The location is also ideal because it stands at the crossroads of Interstates 70 and 435, allowing for relatively easy traffic flow.
“The state of Kansas is in active discussions with the Kansas City Chiefs about the prospects of building a new stadium and other facilities in Kansas,” the Kansas Department of Commerce said in a statement. “No final agreement has been reached, but this would be a massive economic win for Kansas and benefit Kansans for generations to come. We are aggressively pursuing this opportunity.”
It would also be a massive loss for Missouri, which lost the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles a decade ago, and Gov. Mike Kehoe. He had backed a special legislative session in June to authorize bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.
Missouri’s move came after Kansas lawmakers had approved their own bond package in an attempt to land the two franchises.
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt has long said that his preference would be to renovated Arrowhead Stadium, which was beloved by his father and team founder, the late Lamar Hunt. But by building an enclosed facility, the Chiefs would have access to revenue streams not available at Arrowhead Stadium, such as new luxury seating and the ability to host year-round sporting events.
That could mean fulfilling another dream of Lamar Hunt: hosting a Super Bowl.
While the Royals will not be discussed during the LCC meeting Monday, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be moving across the state line as well. There is a groundswell of support for the team to move to the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and a tract of land known as the Aspiria Campus that once served as the headquarters for Sprint and now houses the offices of several companies.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has been working to keep both of the professional sports franchises on the Missouri side of the state line, issued a statement Thursday night saying that the city doesn’t negotiate in public.
“As the city and our Missouri partners continue discussions with our long-term partners at the Chiefs and the Royals,” the statement read, “we remain steadfast in working toward an arrangement in the best interest of our community and the greatest success of our teams on and off the field.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/chiefs-new-stadium-kansas-missouri/
The Way We Were: So much to observe in old photo of cycling race in Naperville
The Naperville Heritage Society could offer little information on when the photo of this bike race took place at the corner of Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue in downtown Naperville. We did, however, notice a few interesting things: it would appear the cyclists required the assistance of someone to hold up their bikes before they took off, all but two of the men in the photo are wearing hats, the man seated atop what looks like a wagon is shaded by an umbrella and some took to a rooftop to get more of a bird’s eye view of the proceedings. Among the things we do know courtesy of Naper Settlement is that bicycles became more widely available in the 1890s and Naperville’s first bike repair shop was opened in the late 1890s by Eli Stark. Women, in particular, embraced them as an easy means of transportation and fashion styles followed suit. Bulky clothing gave way to styles that were more accommodating for the female cycling and other activities.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/way-we-bikes-cycling-race-naperville/
How To Profit From Trump’s Space Race Executive Order
How To Profit From Trump’s Space Race Executive Order
The space industry is heating up amid news of a SpaceX IPO next year and growing interest in low-Earth-orbit data centers. Starcloud is emerging as an early winner, as these developments coincide with President Trump signing an executive order to secure America’s dominance in the space race.
The order “Ensuring American Space Superiority” outlined several of the Trump administration’s space priorities, including returning humans to the Moon by 2028.
Goldman analysts led by Anthony Valentini provided more color on the EO:
Expand space exploration and the American presence in space by:
Returning Americans to the Moon by 2028 through the Artemis Program
Establishing initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030
Enhancing sustainability and cost-effectiveness of launch and exploration architectures, including enabling commercial launch services and prioritizing lunar exploration
Secure and defend American vital national and economic security interests in, from, and to space by:
Developing and demonstrating prototype next-generation missile defense technologies by 2028
Ensuring the ability to detect, characterize, and counter threats to U.S. space interests from very low-Earth orbit and through cislunar space
Accelerating acquisition reform, integrating commercial space capabilities, and enabling new market entrants
Increasing space security spending, operational cooperation, basing agreements, and ally / partner investments in America’s space industrial base
Grow the commercial space economy by:
Increasing launch and reentry cadence through new and upgraded facilities, improved efficiency, and policy reforms
Spurring private sector initiative and a commercial pathway to replace the ISS by 2030
Targeting $50bn of additional investment in American space markets by 2028
“Superiority in space is a measure of national vision and willpower, and the technologies Americans develop to achieve it contribute substantially to the Nation’s strength, security, and prosperity,” EO states. “The United States must therefore pursue a space policy that will extend the reach of human discovery, secure the Nation’s vital economic and security interests, unleash commercial development, and lay the foundation for a new space age.”
Many of the civil space provisions in the EO focus less on goals and more on how to achieve them. It directs NASA to develop a plan in three months to execute the objectives in the order, “including plans for mitigating any technology, supply chain, or industrial capacity gaps relevant to achieving those goals within available funding.”
Valentini explained to clients how to profit from the space boom:
Parts of the EO are related to Golden Dome, indicating that the administration may be closer to announcing elements of the program architecture / funding. Overall, we think this reads as a positive for space launch and exploration companies like RKLB (Neutral) and FLY (Neutral), as well as defense contractors positioned to win content on Golden Dome like LHX (Buy) and AVAV (Buy).
Related:
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas Explores SpaceX IPO, Emerging Orbital Data Center Race
Orbital Data Centers Will “Bypass Earth-Based” Constraints
The Orbital Data Center Space Race Has Officially Begun
Guess what’s ahead, spoiler:
SpaceX Trademark Filing Signals “Starlink Mobile” May Soon Take Aim At AT&T, Verizon
More ways to profit from the incoming space boom:
Goldman Turns Bullish On Starlink Satellite Parts Supplier As Space Race Accelerates
Space Are Coming: Here’s How To Profit
Goldman Turns Bullish On Starlink Satellite Parts Supplier As Space Race Accelerates
And if you thought AI was a bubble, wait until the everything-space trade inflates.
🇺🇸 JARED ISAACMAN: THE MOON IS JUST THE START
Newly confirmed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke just after Trump signed a sweeping new National Space Policy Executive Order, calling it the most significant space directive since the Kennedy era.
The order lays out an… pic.twitter.com/pfQI2qzfof
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 18, 2025
Blast off.
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2025
. . .
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/19/2025 – 13:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/how-profit-trumps-space-race-executive-order
Investigation starts into North Carolina plane crash that killed NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and 6 others
Federal investigators sifting through the wreckage of a business jet that crashed in North Carolina and killed retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family, and three others are trying to figure out who was flying the plane and what caused it to return to the airport soon after takeoff.
The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground Thursday, killing all seven on board. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, but crashed less than 10 minutes later while trying to return and land, authorities said.
First responders tend to the scene of a reported plane crash at a regional airport in Statesville, N.C., Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the airport trying to determine the cause of the crash and why the plane returned to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.
Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters, and single- and multi-engine planes. Also on board was Dennis Dutton. Two people appear in a federal database of pilot licenses under that name. The crash also killed Dutton’s son, Jack, and Biffle’s friend Craig Wadsworth.
Biffle’s wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, were also killed in the crash, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.
“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,” the joint family statement said.
NASCAR’s Greg Biffle remembered for humanitarian efforts: ‘His tireless work saved lives’
Cristina Biffle’s mother told People magazine that her daughter sent her a text message saying, “We’re in trouble,” before she didn’t hear from her again.
Greg Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.
NASCAR called Biffle “a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many.”
“His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport,” NASCAR said.
A memorial with flowers sprouted up Friday by Biffle’s marble star in his hometown of Mooresville, honoring him as a member of the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.
“The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, said.
Greg Biffle celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
Wadsworth was Biffle’s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.
“He didn’t know how to say no,” Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. “He loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.”
The joint family statement also spoke about Dutton and his son Jack, saying they were “deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.”
The Statesville airport remained closed Friday while the NTSB performed its investigation, a city spokesperson said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/greg-biffle-crash/
Hinsdale-based Harmony Healers ‘bring comfort’ through music performances
Sophia Ibrahim decided she wanted to help others when she realized as a 14-year-old Hinsdale Central freshman that it wasn’t only herself who found music to be very therapeutic.
The Oak Brook resident founded Harmony Healers, which now in its third year has more than 100 active members, plus others who participate when they can, making music for people who often might miss out on live performances otherwise.
“Music had always been my personal form of therapy, like an escape that helped me navigate stress,” Ibrahim said. “But when I began performing in public, especially in nursing homes, I realized that music didn’t just help me. It deeply affected the people listening.
“Seeing how a short song could bring comfort to residents who often feel isolated, especially after the pandemic, made me want to create more opportunities for other students to experience that impact.”
Her goal when she started Harmony Healers was to give students a way to use their talent for something meaningful, to see that the instrument they’ve spent years practicing can become a form of service, kindness and connection, she said.
And, Ibrahim said, those in Harmony Healers always make time to talk with residents before and after playing.
“Hearing their stories has been just as eye-opening for us as the music is for them,” she said.
In the beginning, Harmony Healers felt like a huge idea with no clear roadmap, Ibrahim said. “But people in my community really believed in it,” she added “Teachers, administrators, and students encouraged the mission and helped it grow.”
Ibrahim said that partnering with Tri-M Music Honor Society brought in passionate musicians, but the biggest shift happened with a partnership with the Future Health Professionals club.
“We realized that service through Harmony Healers didn’t have to be limited to those who play instruments,” she said. “Some students come simply to talk with residents, hold conversations, and learn what compassionate patient interaction looks like.”
That’s when Harmony Healers transformed from a music program into something broader, exploring healing through both music and human connection.
“Moments like residents crying from a song or thanking students for spending time with them still surprise me,” Ibrahim said. “It’s powerful to see teenagers realize that they can make a difference, without needing medical training or professional performance skills … just empathy.”
Ibrahim said Harmony Healers keeps everything very open and flexible in an effort to make service feel accessible and not intimidating. Most members are in high school or college — ages 14 to 25 — but anyone who wants to offer music or companionship is welcome.
The core group of Harmony Healers is based in Illinois, but group members have performed across multiple states and even internationally at humanitarian events.
Ibrahim said the reactions from participants have been incredibly positive.
“Students often start off shy or unsure, convinced they’re not good enough to perform,” she said. “But after seeing how grateful residents are, even for a short piece, their confidence grows dramatically.”
The response from those who have benefited from Harmony Healers visits has been especially moving, she said.
“Some sing along, some dance, and some cry because a song reminded them of a memory or loved one,” Ibrahim said. “They often tell us how much it means to have young people visit them. And those moments show our students that connection doesn’t have to be complicated.”
Oak Brook resident Sophia Ibrahim, who founded Harmony Healers three years ago as a freshman at Hinsdale Central High School, pursued her interest in music as a healing tool during a trip to Bosnia. (Sophia Ibrahim)
Ibrahim took the message of Harmony Healers out of the country this fall when she attended the European Parliament in Brussels. That followed a trip to Srebrenica, Bosnia, where she studied how organizations such as the House of Good Tones have used choirs and orchestras to bridge ethnic divides in the wake of wars. That experience inspired her to advocate for music not just as art, but as a tool of reconciliation in post-conflict societies.
On Sept. 30, Ibrahim was invited by the European Conservatives and Reformists to present at the “Rebuilding Ukrainian Society” roundtable in Brussels. Speaking alongside senior members of the European Parliament, Ukrainian civil society leaders, and international experts, she urged policymakers to look beyond infrastructure and embrace cultural healing as part of Ukraine’s recovery.
“The trip grew out of research I’ve been doing on music as a tool for peace-building,” Ibrahim said. “Harmony Healers made me curious about how music helps people heal emotionally, not just individually, but as communities, especially communities affected by conflict.”
In Bosnia, Ibrahim visited the House of Good Tones in Srebrenica, a city that was the site of a terrible genocide.
“Now, children from Serb, Croat and Bosniak families play music together,” she said. “In a country with a history of ethnic division, watching parents from all sides sit in the same room and cheer for each other’s kids was unforgettable. It made me see that rebuilding after conflict isn’t only about infrastructure. It’s also about rebuilding trust and human connection.”
Ibrahim presented her findings at the European Parliament, discussing how lessons from Bosnia could be applied to healing in places such as Ukraine, using arts and music.
“That was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” she said.
Ibrahim said she hopes Harmony Healers continues blending music, medicine, and service in a way that reaches more communities.
“I’d love to open more chapters, create stronger partnerships with nursing homes and hospitals, and give more young people the chance to experience the healing power of connection,” she said. “I hope it becomes a model students can replicate anywhere. A reminder that compassion doesn’t require age or professional training. It can start with something as simple as a song.
“I also hope to continue my research into using music as a healing tool to bring fractured societies together and translate this into actual policy for government and civil societies to use.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/19/hinsdale-harmony-healers/
