Category: News
California amenaza a Tesla con suspender su licencia de ventas por 30 días por dichos engañosos
Por MICHAEL LIEDTKE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Los reguladores de California están amenazando con suspender la licencia de Tesla para vender sus autos eléctricos en el estado el próximo año, a menos que el fabricante de automóviles modere sus tácticas de mercadotecnia para sus funciones de conducción autónoma, luego de que una jueza concluyera que la empresa encabezada por Elon Musk ha estado engañando a los consumidores sobre las capacidades de esa tecnología.
La posible suspensión de 30 días de las ventas de Tesla en California es el principal castigo que se recomienda al Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados del estado en una decisión publicada el martes por la noche. En su fallo, la jueza de derecho administrativo Juliet Cox determinó que Tesla había estado involucrada durante años en prácticas engañosas de mercadotecnia, al usar los términos “piloto automático” y “conducción autónoma total” para promover la tecnología de manejo autónomo disponible en muchos de sus autos.
Después de presidir audiencias durante cinco días en julio en Oakland, California, Cox también recomendó suspender la licencia de Tesla para fabricar autos en su planta de Fremont, en el mismo estado. Sin embargo, los reguladores estatales no van a imponer esa parte de la sanción propuesta por la jueza.
Tesla tendrá un plazo de 90 días para realizar cambios que transmitan más claramente las limitaciones de su tecnología de conducción autónoma, con el fin de evitar que le suspendan su licencia de ventas en California. Después de que reguladores del estado presentaran su medida contra Tesla en 2023, la empresa de Austin, Texas, ya realizó un cambio significativo al incluir un texto que aclara que su paquete de conducción autónoma total aún requiere la supervisión de un conductor humano mientras esté en uso.
“Tesla puede tomar medidas simples para pausar esta decisión y resolver permanentemente este problema, medidas que las empresas de vehículos autónomos y otros fabricantes de automóviles han podido lograr”, señaló Steve Gordon, director del Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados de California.
En una publicación en la red social X de Musk, Tesla desestimó la decisión, llamándola un exceso regulatorio. “Esta fue una orden de ‘protección al consumidor’ sobre el uso del término ‘piloto automático’ en un caso donde ni un solo cliente se presentó para decir que hay un problema. Las ventas en California continuarán sin interrupciones”, indicó la empresa.
El fabricante de automóviles ya ha sido afectado por una caída global en la demanda, la cual comenzó durante una reacción negativa al papel destacado que desempeñó Musk en la oficina de supervisión de recortes al presupuesto del gobierno federal, creada por el presidente Donald Trump en su gobierno. La creciente competencia y una línea de vehículos más antigua también pesaron sobre las ventas de Tesla, aunque la empresa renovó su Model Y, el vehículo más vendido del mundo, y presentó versiones más económicas del Model Y y Model X.
Aunque Musk dejó Washington después de una ruptura con Trump, las repercusiones han seguido afectando las ventas de automóviles Tesla, que habían disminuido un 9% desde 2024 hasta los primeros nueve meses de 2025.
A pesar de la caída y la amenaza de suspensión de ventas en California, el precio de las acciones de Tesla alcanzó un máximo histórico de 495,28 dólares durante las primeras operaciones del miércoles, antes de retroceder más tarde para caer por debajo de 470 dólares. A pesar de ese revés, las acciones de la compañía todavía valen un poco más de lo que valían antes de la etapa de Musk en el gobierno de Trump, un encargo que, según Musk, tuvo “algo de éxito”, aunque recientemente dijo que no lo volvería a asumir.
El desempeño de las acciones de Tesla en el contexto de la erosión de las ventas de automóviles refleja el énfasis creciente que los inversores están poniendo en los empeños de Musk para desarrollar tecnología de inteligencia artificial, ello con el fin de implantarla en robots humanoides y en una flota de Teslas autónomos que operarán como robotaxis en todo Estados Unidos.
Durante años, Musk ha estado prometiendo que la tecnología de conducción autónoma de Tesla le permitiría alcanzar su visión de los robotaxis, sin cumplir con la promesa, pero la empresa finalmente comenzó a probar el auto concepto en Austin este año, aunque con un supervisor humano en el auto para tomar el control si algo sale mal. Hace sólo unos días, Musk reveló que Tesla había comenzado pruebas de sus robotaxis sin un monitor de seguridad en el vehículo.
Los reguladores de California están lejos de ser los primeros críticos en acusar a Tesla de exagerar las capacidades de su tecnología de conducción autónoma de manera potencialmente peligrosa. La empresa ha insistido firmemente en que la información contenida en el manual del propietario de sus vehículos en su sitio web deja claro que su tecnología de conducción autónoma aún requiere supervisión humana, incluso mientras lanzaba un video en 2020 que mostraba uno de sus autos supuestamente conduciendo por sí solo. El video, citado como evidencia contra Tesla en la decisión que recomienda la suspensión de la licencia de ventas de la empresa en California, permaneció en su sitio web durante casi cuatro años.
Tesla ha sido blanco de diversas demandas, las cuales alegan que sus tergiversaciones sobre la tecnología de conducción autónoma han adormecido a los humanos, en una falsa sensación de seguridad que ha resultado en accidentes mortales. La empresa ha resuelto o prevalecido en varios casos, pero este año un jurado de Miami consideró a Tesla parcialmente responsable de un accidente mortal en Florida que ocurrió mientras el piloto automático estaba activado, y le ordenó al fabricante de automóviles pagar más de 240 millones de dólares en daños.
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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.
Cherki imita festejo de Haaland tras golazo en victoria del Man City en la Copa de la Liga Inglesa
Rayan Cherki recreó el festejo de gol de su compañero de equipo Erling Haaland después de colocar un exquisito disparo en el ángulo superior en la victoria de 2-0 del Manchester City sobre el Brentford en los cuartos de final de la Copa de la Liga Inglesa el miércoles.
La estrella francesa realizó algunos movimientos de robot y luego se sentó con las piernas cruzadas en una pose de yoga después de darle la ventaja al City, que había realizado muchos cambios, a los 32 minutos.
Con sus trucos, habilidades y maravillosa técnica, Cherki ya se está convirtiendo en el favorito de los aficionados en su primera temporada en Manchester tras su llegada procedente de Lyon. En una victoria sobre Sunderland este mes, produjo un centro de “rabona” que fue cabeceado por Phil Foden, pero dejó al entrenador del City, Pep Guardiola, instando a Cherki a jugar con “simplicidad” como Lionel Messi.
El gol contra Brentford fue uno del que Messi estaría orgulloso. Recogiendo un despeje de cabeza en el borde del área, Cherki engañó a un oponente cambiando el balón a su pie derecho y luego lanzó un disparo al ángulo.
Savinho añadió un segundo gol para el City a los 67 minutos con un disparo que fue desviado, haciendo que el balón pasara por encima del portero del Brentford, Hákon Valdimarsson.
Haaland fue nombrado como suplente para el partido, no ingresó al campo, y se le vio estrechando la mano de Cherki cuando el centrocampista fue reemplazado en la segunda mitad.
El City avanzó a las semifinales de la Copa de la Liga por primera vez desde 2021, el año en que ganó la competición por cuarta temporada consecutiva y la octava vez en total.
Newcastle necesitó un gol en tiempo de descuento de Lewis Miley para vencer 2-1 a Fulham y llevar su defensa del título a las semifinales.
Miley anotó de cabeza desde un córner en el segundo minuto del tiempo añadido, justo cuando el partido parecía destinado a una tanda de penales.
Yoane Wissa, recientemente de regreso tras una lesión de larga duración, adelantó a Newcastle en el minuto 10 con su primer gol desde su llegada en verano procedente del Brentford. Saša Lukić igualó para Fulham en el 16.
El martes, el Chelsea venció 3-1 al Cardiff City de tercera división para convertirse en el primer equipo en llegar a las semifinales.
Los cuartos de final se completan la próxima semana cuando el Arsenal reciba al Crystal Palace.
___
Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he plans to resign next month as bureau’s No 2 official
WASHINGTON — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Wednesday that he will resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host.
The departure, which had been expected, would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration. It comes as FBI leadership has been buffeted by criticism over Director Kash Patel’s use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.
Bongino announced his planned departure in a post on X in which he said he was grateful for the “opportunity to serve with purpose.” He did not say precisely when in January he would leave or detail his future plans.
President Donald Trump said earlier Wednesday, in response to a question about Bongino’s fate: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
Bongino was always an unconventional pick for the No. 2 job at the FBI, a position that historically has entailed oversight of the bureau’s day-to-day operations and typically has been held by a career agent. Though he had previously worked as a New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, neither he nor Patel had any experience at the FBI before being picked for their jobs.
Nonetheless, Bongino was installed in the role in March by Trump after years as a conservative podcast host, where he used his platform to repeatedly rail against FBI leadership and to encourage conspiracy theories related to the Epstein sex-trafficking case and pipe bombs discovered in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Once in the position, Bongino struggled to placate elements of Trump’s base who expected him to quickly deliver the reform he had claimed was needed at the FBI and to uncover the truths he had said had been hidden by the federal government.
On the Epstein case, for instance, he had previously challenged the official ruling that the wealthy financier had taken his own life in a New York jail soon after his 2019 arrest. But once in the FBI, he said in a Fox News interview: “I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”
Bongino had separately speculated as recently as last year that the pipe bombs placed on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot were an “inside job” and part of a “massive cover-up.” But after the FBI earlier this month arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man with no evident connection to the federal government, Bongino was pressed about his prior comments.
“I was paid in the past for my opinions,” Bongino said in a Fox News interview. “One day I will be back in that space but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director and we base investigations on facts.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/fbi-dan-bongino-resign/
AI Won’t End Marketing, It Will Elevate It To Its Full Potential
AI Won’t End Marketing, It Will Elevate It To Its Full Potential
Authored by Mark Penn via RealClearMarkets,
For decades, marketers have been chasing the holy grail of marketing – the perfect ability to get the right ad to the right person at the right time in an effortless fashion. Before AI, this was never really possible. We moved from radio advertising to linear TV to digital, each time getting closer to the holy grail but missing the mark on truly effective marketing. Now with AI-based advertising, this perfect ability is finally possible.
Marketing used to be about brand building. The original intent of virtually all advertising was to build a brand people would recognize and ask for when they went into the store – becoming a household name akin to Kellogg’s or Dove or Budweiser. The advent of radio revolutionized reach beyond print ads, but brands were speaking to millions without much insight into who was listening. Then came television. Brands could buy segments targeting the sports fans or the teenagers, but they still couldn’t differentiate between the parent watching baseball who needed diapers and the college student who didn’t.
Then came digital, promising cookies, search, consumer insights, and never-before-seen targeting. The industry shifted from the era of brand building to the era of performance marketing. Digital allowed marketers to pay for specific, measurable results – clicks, leads, and conversions directly tied to ROI. No longer was it about marketing to the masses but about precision. Indeed, today’s CMO now has to evaluate the various channels and decide on the right media mix for their audience. They have to ask themselves if they’re a Coke company or a diaper company. Are they speaking to 150 million people thirsty at sporting events and festivals? Or are they selling to the 3 million women giving birth each year, just 1% of the population?
Yet the era of performance marketing brings its own challenges. Marketers have too much data and too little orchestration. They sit on billions of data points with consumer insights but only use one-tenth of it, they use dashboards that don’t talk to each other, they build campaigns across disconnected systems, they trial and error strategies to find the optimal media mix. They know generally who to target but lack the tools to execute efficiently across each channel. The dream of the holy grail remains just out of reach.
Enter AI. Suddenly a central platform orchestrating all of the different tasks of marketing – aggregating data, understanding the customer, creating content that resonates, deploying targeted campaigns, collecting performance data, and adjusting strategy – is possible. AI is the technology that finally lets marketers achieve true performance marketing and unlock virtually unlimited ROI.
To paint a better picture, I’ll reference Star Trek’s USS Enterprise. The ship has a computer capable of adapting and repairing itself. It holds complex conversations with the humans on board. It controls advanced doors, lighting, shields, and weapons, and transports the ship across time and space. It works as a collaborator to the captain and the core team on the bridge.
Running a marketing campaign in the age of AI is a lot like running the bridge of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise. It takes a team of talented people with different skills aided by an incredible suite of technology that enables marketers to do tasks they could never do before in terms of creating content, targeting audiences, and managing client relationships – all at record speed.
This holy grail central marketing platform built on AI has to be (1) omnipresent – connecting all of the tools, data, capabilities, and people in one place; (2) anticipatory – capable of predicting consumer behavior and suggesting actions based on the goals of the marketer or the client; and (3) adaptive – constantly responding to performance results, changes in strategy, or external macro shifts.
What can brands do now that they couldn’t before? Take the Mark Penn pen company as an example. Say my pen company sells various types of pens and I want to sell different products for different occasions – engraved fountain pens for birthdays and graduations, custom ballpoint pens for events and corporations, gel pens for everyday, multi-color use. In the age of digital, I would find the aunts and uncles of graduating students, the event planners, the artists and designers. Then I’d run a campaign on social media for a rainbow pack of my gel pens, another on a news platform for my ballpoint pens, and maybe an OOH campaign in stationery and campus stores for my fountain pens.
But with the holy grail of marketing, I can now take all of the data that I have – most of which may appear irrelevant to my pen company – and identify all the other people who may be interested in my pens: the homeowners celebrating a new house, the entrepreneurs taking their company public, the legal offices and the bookworms who do everything on paper. I can figure out which pen is most attractive to which person. And then I can then take my previous fountain, ballpoint, and gel pen campaigns and create AI marketing agents that build custom campaigns for each of these segments. The AI agents deploy creative, manage spend, and learn in real time which messages resonate with which audiences.
It’s a whole new world of marketing deployment that can harness every source of information and run campaigns in a seamless, virtually perfect way that was impossible before.
This isn’t some abstract idea – it’s becoming reality. Stagwell is building this industry-first AI-driven platform for marketers in a groundbreaking partnership with Palantir, pairing Palantir’s Foundry with Stagwell-owned agency Code and Theory’s orchestration level software and The Marketing Cloud’s proprietary data sources and solutions. The platform allows large enterprises to sift through tens of millions of records in a central hub to identify, segment, and better understand audiences, then create agents to implement complex marketing processes at scale like audience alignment optimization or campaign management. The partnership is already seeing client adoption of the early MVP model.
The holy grail of marketing is coming. In order for marketing to evolve into the next phase, this AI-driven platform has to become as commonplace as Windows or iOS. Brands need to integrate the holy grail into their marketing tech stacks in order to make full use of the sea of consumer data available, centralize targeting in a simple and efficient way, and create agents that will run campaigns across all of the use cases to reach all of the people.
And to those who say AI will end marketing – it won’t. It will supercharge it. Remember that even with every possible tool of the future on deck the Enterprise, it still has a captain and a core team steering the ship. The holy grail of marketing won’t replace human creativity – it will deploy creativity in the most effective way where AI and marketers can work as collaborators to deliver outstanding results. For the first time in history, marketers have the power to truly deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 17:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/ai-wont-end-marketing-it-will-elevate-it-its-full-potential
Slender Man attacker won’t contest state’s effort to revoke release privileges after escape
A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her sixth-grade classmate to please horror villain Slender Man and then fled a group home won’t fight the state’s attempt to revoke her release privileges.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner signed off on a plan in July to release 23-year-old Morgan Geyser from a state psychiatric hospital where she had spent the last seven years and place her in a Madison group home on GPS monitoring.
The state Department of Health Services opposed her release, arguing that Geyser couldn’t be trusted. Authorities say she cut her GPS monitor off on Nov. 22 and fled the state with a 43-year-old companion. Police arrested them the next day at a truck stop outside Chicago, about 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of Madison.
State health officials filed a sealed petition with Wagner on Nov. 25 asking him to revoke Geyser’s release privileges. Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, sent a letter to the judge on Tuesday saying that he had discussed “the allegations in detail” with her and she has decided to to contest the petition and he had notified prosecutors. He did not elaborate further and declined to comment when reached via email on Wednesday.
The decision clears the way for Wagner to send Geyser back to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. The state Department of Health Services runs the institute.
Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured one of their classmates, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times, narrowly missing her heart, while Weier cheered her on. Leutner barely survived the attack. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.
Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man. They wanted to earn the right to be his servants and ensure that Slender Man didn’t hurt their families, the girls said. Both of them were ultimately committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute — Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25 years. Weier earned conditional release in 2021.
Geyser’s companion called WKOW-TV the day after police found them in Illinois. The person said the two became friends at church and seen each other daily for the past month. Geyser decided to flee because she was afraid the group would no longer allow them to see each other, the person said.
Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/slender-man-attacker-2/
Uniformed Armed Guards Spotted On Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessels Off Europe
Uniformed Armed Guards Spotted On Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessels Off Europe
Russia is upping the ante at a moment the US and some European countries are threatening action and new sanctions on vessels transporting Russian oil and gas to global markets, in defiance of Western sanctions.
Sweden’s navy announced Wednesday it has spotted armed personnel in uniform providing security for vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” traversing main shipping routes in the Baltic Sea.
Illustrative file image: Shutterstock
Russian-linked tankers in waters off northern Europe have of late been under threat of interdiction and boarding by European authorities. This scenario has actually happened within the last two years as these vessels came under suspicion of cutting undersea telecoms cables and other alleged sabotage activity.
The head of operations for Sweden’s navy, Commodore Marko Petkovic, has been quoted by Swedish broadcaster SVT as saying the individuals observed aboard the tankers likely work for private security companies.
He also said that Russia’s military has become “more permanent and more visible” in and near the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, with warship activity becoming more routine.
“The Russian Navy is periodically present at various hubs in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, and appears to be operating there in some way in support of this shadow fleet,” Petkovic said.
But it should be noted that armed personnel aboard oil tankers should be seen as nothing new or alarming, given this is a regular practice among all countries and shipping firms especially off the eastern African coast, where piracy is a persistent threat.
Sweden in the instance of alleged Russian personnel aboard ‘illicit’ tankers is saying this is a new and provocative development in European waters, however.
Russia frequently deploys contractors to provide protection for assets and personnel abroad, just as the US and European countries do.
The EU has sanctioned an additional 5 individuals and 4 entities responsible for supporting Russia’s shadow fleet and its value chain.
Russia’s shadow fleet is composed of non-EU vessels circumventing the oil price cap and other EU sanctions.
🔗https://t.co/P5BS6SX5x1 pic.twitter.com/PFFkpQ71KM
— EU Council (@EUCouncil) December 15, 2025
At this moment, Washington is mulling additional sanctions on Russian energy and shipping, and so threat of seizing tankers and cargo could grow – and this provides Moscow good reason to bulk up security on these ships.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 17:20
Watch live: President Donald Trump addresses the nation
President Donald Trump will address the nation in a televised address at 8 p.m.
He intends to preview his agenda for next year and beyond in a live speech from the White House.
His remarks are coming at a crucial time as he tries to rebuild his steadily eroding popularity. Public polling shows most U.S. adults are frustrated with his handling of the economy as inflation picked up after his tariffs raised prices and hiring slowed.
The White House offered few details about what the Republican president intends to emphasize in the speech.
Watch the stream live below:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/watch-live-president-donald-trump-address/
Vance Fires Back At Media Smear: “I Only Believe In The Conspiracy Theories That Are True”
Vance Fires Back At Media Smear: “I Only Believe In The Conspiracy Theories That Are True”
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
In a brazen attempt by legacy media to sow discord within the Trump administration, Vanity Fair dropped a so-called “exclusive” interview with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, cherry-picking her words to paint Vice President JD Vance as some wild-eyed “conspiracy theorist.” But Vance didn’t back down—he turned the tables, reminding everyone how many “conspiracies” turned out to be stone-cold facts suppressed by the deep state and their press lapdogs.
This latest media ambush highlights the relentless efforts to undermine the Trump Administration, but as usual, it backfired spectacularly when Vance delivered a masterclass in exposing the hypocrisy.
The drama kicked off with Vanity Fair’s multi-part interview series on Wiles, where she casually noted that Vance has “been a conspiracy theorist for a decade.” Framed amid broader comments on the administration’s inner workings, the outlet spun it as internal friction, even dragging in digs at other figures like tech innovator Elon Musk as an “odd duck” and claiming President Trump has “an alcoholic’s personality.”
Predictably, the corporate press pile-on followed, with outlets like The Washington Post amplifying the narrative as if it exposed chaos in the White House.
Wiles wasn’t having it. She fired back on X, slamming the piece as a “disingenuously framed hit piece” that omitted “significant context” to craft a “chaotic and negative narrative” about the team steering America back on track.
President Trump himself stood firm, defending his chief of staff against the smear campaign.
President Trump is backing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles after her explosive remarks in a Vanity Fair interview. @rachelvscott reports. pic.twitter.com/VVPC2EymmU
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 17, 2025
Speaking in Pennsylvania, Vance faced a reporter from The Washington Post head-on about the “conspiracy theorist” label. Far from dodging, he owned it with precision, listing “theories” that proved prophetic while mocking the media’s complicity in real cover-ups.
“Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true,” Vance declared. He added, “And by the way, Susie and I have joked in private and in public about that for a long time.”
Vance didn’t stop there. He rattled off examples that hit like truth bombs: “For example, I believed in the crazy conspiracy theory back in 2020 that it was stupid to mask three-year-olds at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we should actually let them develop some language skills.”
Then he hammered the Biden cover-up: “I believed in this crazy conspiracy theory that the media and the government were covering up the fact that Joe Biden was clearly unable to do the job.”
And on the weaponization of justice: “And I believed in the conspiracy theory that Joe Biden was trying to throw his political opponents in jail rather than win an argument against his political opponents.”
Wrapping it up, Vance delivered the knockout: “So, at least on some of these conspiracy theories, it turns out that a conspiracy theory is just something that was true six months before the media admitted it.”
VANCE: “Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true. On some of these conspiracy theories, it turns out that a conspiracy theory is just something that was true six months BEFORE the media admitted it.” ? pic.twitter.com/2hu0VwJVC4
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 16, 2025
Vance is spot on. The media spent years dismissing legitimate concerns as right-wing paranoia. CNN’s Jake Tapper, for example, labeled questions about Biden’s cognitive decline a “right-wing conspiracy” before going on to release his own book about Biden’s decline.
Remember how they ridiculed the COVID lab-leak theory until even their own “experts” admitted it was plausible and probably the most likely scenario? And don’t get us started on the Russia collusion hoax they peddled to sabotage Trump’s first term.
At its core, this episode underscores the ongoing battle against leftists and their media enablers, who label any inconvenient truth a “conspiracy” to maintain control. The term ‘conspiracy theorist’ now just basically means someone who is right. Vance’s response serves as a reminder that questioning the narrative isn’t fringe; it’s essential to reclaiming freedoms.
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
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 17:00
Illinois Republicans in Congress urge President Donald Trump not to pardon ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan
Illinois’ three Republican members of Congress are urging President Donald Trump not to use his pardon powers to grant clemency to imprisoned former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Pardoning Madigan, a Southwest Side Democrat who for decades was arguably the state’s most powerful politician, “would send a dangerous message that public officials can betray the public trust with impunity,” U.S. Reps. Mike Bost of Murphysboro, Darin LaHood of Peoria and Mary Miller of Hindsboro wrote in a two-page letter to Trump.
The Tuesday letter from the three, who represent much of downstate Illinois, came a week after the Tribune and other media reported that Madigan had officially asked Trump for clemency following his February conviction on multiple corruption charges.
Madigan applied through the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney for a “pardon after completion of sentence,” according to records. The application is pending, according to the office’s website.
The investigation that led to the former speaker’s conviction and 7½-year prison sentence “revealed that Madigan used his decades of political power to direct contracts, influence state agencies, and manipulate the awarding of government funds for personal gain and the benefit of allies. His actions harmed the people of our state and undermined their trust in their government,” the three Republicans wrote.
The related convictions of former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists, including Madigan confidant Michael McClain, “underscore this was a broad and serious corruption network, and that multiple participants were held accountable under the law,” they wrote.
“Granting clemency in this case would not only reward a lifetime of unethical behavior but also embolden other public officials to exploit their offices for personal gain,” the lawmakers concluded. “For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to deny any request for a presidential pardon from Michael Madigan. Denying his request is the best way to ensure Illinois residents know their leaders are held to the highest standards of integrity.”
Several sources previously told the Tribune that Madigan also sought relief from Trump through back channels in Washington around the time of his sentencing in June, but the White House took no action. Current and former lawyers for Madigan have said they didn’t have a role in crafting the petition, which is not publicly available.
Madigan, 83, began serving his sentence in October at a medium-security prison in West Virginia. His expected release date is March 2032, not long before his 90th birthday.
The White House declined to comment on Madigan’s pardon request or the Republican lawmakers’ letter, noting that “the president is the final decision maker on all pardons and commutations.”
While Madigan has applied through the formal clemency process, Trump has taken an unconventional — and surprisingly bipartisan — approach to pardons.
In February, the president gave a full pardon to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat whose prison sentence for federal corruption convictions Trump commuted during his first term.
Bost and LaHood, who were in office in 2018 when Trump freed Blagojevich from prison eight years into his 14-year sentence, were critical of the president’s decision at the time.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, 12th, speaks during a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee about the impact of economic policies on farmers on Feb. 11, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
When Trump pardoned Blagojevich earlier this year, LaHood said in a statement that while he respected the president’s pardon powers, it “was a mistake” to clear the former governor’s slate.
“Former Gov. Blagojevich has a clear and documented record of egregious corruption and has been criminally convicted by a jury,” LaHood said. “This decision harms the faith and trust citizens have in our justice system.”
Madigan, the longest-serving state legislative leader in U.S. history, was convicted on 10 of 23 charges after a four-month trial that concluded in February. A federal jury convicted him on charges including bribery conspiracy related to a scheme to funnel money from ComEd to Madigan associates who were subcontractors with no real duties for the utility giant.
An appeal of Madigan’s conviction is pending before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/gop-illinois-congress-madigan-pardon-trump/
Collins spells out his 2026 future for Gary airport
Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority chairman Tom Collins Jr. voiced a sense of urgency for the coming year at the conclusion of Wednesday’s authority meeting.
“I get a lot of questions about what we’re doing,” he said.
He noted federal and state governments have invested “millions” into the airport.
“There’s pressure to bring business here,” he said. “The focus is on shovels in the grounds, planes in the air.”
After the meeting, Collins reiterated his sense of urgency came from the community, not from federal or state authorities.
“You can see that every citizen, every leader — they have an expectation and they want to know what’s next.
“I think we need to be transparent and open that there’s pressure… We need to start driving business here. I feel that pressure on myself as a leader, so I’m taking it on personally at this point.”
At the top of Collins’ wish list is restoring commercial passenger service that’s been missing since 2015 when Allegiant Airlines departed.
There have been suggestions that there’s interest from airlines, but no announcement has been made. Meanwhile, the airport has renovated and updated its passenger terminal in anticipation of passenger service resuming.
Collins said he’d also like to see a 10% expansion of the airport’s two fixed base operators, the Gary Jet Center and B. Coleman Aviation. Both offer charter service and fueling. He said both were nearing capacity.
In other business, the board unanimously approved rate increases for the Gary Jet Center and B. Coleman for 2026.
Executive director Dan Vicari said the increases were adjusted in line with the consumer price index of 2.81%.
Gary Jet Center President Lynn Eplawy didn’t speak at the meeting but pushed back against the fee increases in a Dec. 8 letter to Vicari and the authority board.
She asked the board to reject user rates and charges for 2026 and reconsider the “now-routine” practice of raising fees annually.
She said in recent years, annual rate increases have shifted from occasional, needs-based adjustments to automatic action.
“This shift has occurred without a clear articulation of long-term strategy, measurable return on investment for users, or meaningful consideration of how these increases affect the airport’s competitiveness and economic health,” she said.
In 2025, she said airport users experienced two separate increases. She said the second adjustment occurred when the airport elected to outsource the collection of landing and parking fees.
“Once again, the burden of an internal airport decision was placed squarely on tenants and customers who had no voice in the matter,” Eplawy said.
She said annual fee increases and the outsourcing surcharge has widened the cost gap with surrounding airports “at an alarming rate.”
Finally, the authority welcomed new member Ronald “Red” Stone, a Porter County appointment who replaced Collins after Gov. Mike Braun appointed Collins as its chairman after the resignation of Peter J. Visclosky.
Stone, a Republican, is a District 1 member of the Porter County Council and its vice-president. He also served as a Duneland School Board member for 15 years.
His appointment runs through Aug. 31, 2029.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/collins-spells-out-his-2026-future-for-gary-airport/
