Category: News
Republicano Matt Van Epps gana elección especial por escaño de Tennessee en Cámara de Representantes
Por JONATHAN MATTISE
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, EE.UU. (AP) — El republicano Matt Van Epps ganó el martes una elección especial en Tennessee para un escaño en la Cámara de Representantes federal, manteniendo el control de su partido en el distrito con la ayuda del presidente Donald Trump.
Van Epps, un veterano militar y excomisionado de servicios generales del estado de Nashville, derrotó a la representante estatal demócrata Aftyn Behn para representar al 7mo distrito legislativo.
En un mensaje de victoria, Van Epps afirmó que estará “totalmente comprometido” con Trump en el Congreso.
“Alejarse de Trump es como se pierde. Acercarse a Trump es como se gana”, expresó. “Nuestra victoria fue impulsada por un movimiento de habitantes de Tennessee que están listos para el cambio. Estamos agradecidos con el presidente por su apoyo inquebrantable que trazó este movimiento y nos catapultó a la victoria”.
Trump felicitó a Van Epps, diciendo en una publicación en redes sociales que fue “otra gran noche para el Partido Republicano”.
Los demócratas dijeron estar orgullosos de su desempeño en la contienda.
“Los resultados de esta noche dejan claro: Ninguna reelección de un republicano en la Cámara de Representantes debería considerarse segura el próximo noviembre”, manifestó CJ Warnke, director de Comunicaciones del House Majority PAC.
Con alrededor de 95% de los votos contabilizados, Van Epps llevaba la ventaja por menos de 10 puntos porcentuales. El anterior republicano que ocupó el escaño ganó por 21 puntos porcentuales el año pasado.
Los demócratas ganaron recientemente por amplios márgenes en Nueva Jersey, Virginia y otros lugares, y esperaban que un fuerte desempeño en Tennessee pudiera dar más impulso al partido antes de las elecciones de mitad de periodo del próximo noviembre.
“El impulso ha estado de nuestro lado”, dijo Behn a MS NOW el martes por la noche. “Estamos superando en lugares donde necesitamos estar, y perdiendo menos en otros lugares”.
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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.
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Republican Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election
Republican Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election
Republicans will hold onto Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District despite a push by Democrats to flip the deep-red seat, the Associated Press projected Tuesday, as Republican candidate Matt Van Epps was set to defeat Democrat Aftyn Behn.
The former state commissioner and Army helicopter pilot defeated the Democratic nominee, Aftyn Behn, with 53.9 percent of the vote in the highly publicized race, according to The Associated Press as of 9:45 p.m. ET. Behn had 45.1 percent, with nearly all votes counted.
The high-stakes election was neck and neck ahead of election day, as an Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released on Nov. 26 showed Epps slightly ahead with 48 percent of voter support in the district and Behn with 46 percent. As always, the highly biased, vote suppressing poll came out largely in favor of the Democrat who is set to lose by almost 10 points.
Tuesday’s special election, held after the resignation of Republican Rep. Mark Green, drew nationwide attention and was widely viewed as a referendum on President Trump. The president endorsed Van Epps during the primaries, participated in a phone rally for the GOP candidate on the eve of the election and congratulated him on Tuesday evening.
More than 43,000 ballots were submitted during the early voting period, according to the Tennessee Division of Elections.
The congressman-elect, originally from Ohio, will represent 14 counties in Middle Tennessee—including downtown Nashville—after the seat was left vacant by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who retired over the summer to take a job in the private sector.
Tuesday night’s win in the Deep South, which President Donald Trump won by more than 20 points in 2024, helps the Republicans maintain hold of their slim majority in the U.S. House, which is expected to shrink once again on Jan. 5, 2026, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) resigns. Before the Trump-endorsed candidate was elected, the 119th Congress had 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and three vacancies.
The result is a boon for Trump and his party, which had worried that its narrow House majority would grow even slimmer. But the relatively tight margin in such a deep-red district nonetheless represents a warning shot about the party’s vulnerabilities heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump carried the seat by 22 percentage points a little over a year ago. The Seventh Congressional District, which stretches from Kentucky to Alabama and includes part of downtown Nashville, had been drawn by G.O.P. state lawmakers specifically to elect a Republican.
As the Epoch Times reports, Epps’s win comes after the GOP flooded Tennessee with a multi-county, boots-on-the-ground effort to gain as much support as possible in the 24 hours ahead of the election.
On Monday, Epps headlined a morning rally in Franklin and an evening rally in Clarksville, which featured appearances by party powerhouses such as Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R-La.), Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Epps’s win comes after the GOP flooded Tennessee with a multi-county, boots-on-the-ground effort to gain as much support as possible in the 24 hours ahead of the election.
On Monday, Epps headlined a morning rally in Franklin and an evening rally in Clarksville, which featured appearances by party powerhouses such as Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R-La.), Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Epps promised to advance Trump’s MAGA agenda, fix the economy, bring manufacturing back to America, secure borders, keep transgender athletes out of women’s sports, and protect farmers.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 22:31
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/republican-matt-van-epps-wins-tennessee-special-election
Energy Secretary: Backup Generators At Commercial Sites Could Unlock 35 Nuclear Plants
Energy Secretary: Backup Generators At Commercial Sites Could Unlock 35 Nuclear Plants
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has floated an unusual but very creative plan to quickly expand U.S. grid capacity: tapping the industrial diesel generators already sitting at data centers, big-box retailers, and other commercial sites. The proposal comes as multiple regional grids strain under the explosive power demand driven by the data-center boom. Leveraging these idled generators could serve as a short-term bridge until new generation comes online.
Bloomberg quoted Wright on Tuesday morning at the North American Gas Forum in Washington, where he said that tapping the nation’s idled fleet of industrial diesel generators could add the equivalent of about 35 nuclear power plants’ worth of electricity and help bridge the country until new natural-gas and nuclear generation comes online in the coming years.
Wright emphasized the scale of the opportunity, saying, “We’re going to unleash that 35 gigawatts of capacity that sits there today,” though he noted that pollution rules have historically limited generator use.
He argued that the massive data-center buildout over the next few years could be primarily supported by these existing generators, avoiding the need for dozens of new power plants.
These generators, he said, are already deployed at data centers and commercial sites nationwide. “They’re all around the country. It’s going to start with communicating to everyone that these assets exist.”
Wright and the Trump administration understand that power grids are stretched thin in the era of data centers. The push for dispatchable backup generation is a short-term solution for all the missing power needed for the AI boom…
Wow:
“In 2025-28, we project ~57 gigawatts (GW) of US data center power demand, and we quantify available power capacity to serve this demand as: near-term grid access of ~12-15 GW, plus ~6 GW of data centers under construction, resulting in a ~36 GW shortfall of US power… pic.twitter.com/4PArdYY9qO
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 16, 2024
Perhaps by the time the 2030s arrive, new natural-gas generators and other reliable sources will finally add enough capacity to meet booming demand. Nuclear remains more of a next-decade story. And now, Wright may truly be onto something.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 22:10
Colombia: Padre del político asesinado Miguel Uribe Turbay desiste de su aspiración presidencial
Associated Press
BOGOTÁ (AP) — Miguel Uribe Londoño, padre del senador Miguel Uribe Turbay que fue asesinado mientras hacía campaña electoral en Colombia, desistió el martes de postularse a la presidencia luego de que su antiguo partido lo apartó de la lista de precandidatos.
“Me veo obligado a renunciar irrevocablemente, pues ya no puedo seguir siendo parte de esta organización de la que, repito, soy miembro fundador”, dijo Uribe Londoño a la prensa en referencia al partido derechista Centro Democrático. “Esta sí es mi personalísima renuncia”.
El partido dirigido por el expresidente Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) informó el lunes en un comunicado que continuaría que continuaría con su proceso de selección con tres aspirantes para encontrar a un candidato para las elecciones de mayo de 2026, excluyendo a Uribe Londoño.
Según el partido, recibió información que indicaba que Uribe Londoño quería declinar a sus aspiraciones para sumarse a la campaña del abogado Abelardo de La Espriella, un derechista que no pertenece al Centro Democrático.
Uribe Londoño negó esa versión y aseguró que no había renunciado a sus aspiraciones presidenciales aunque, como parte de su campaña política, sí había conversado con otros candidatos de derecha como De la Espriella, “para explorar caminos de unión y así derrotar a este desastre y reconstruir la democracia”.
En Colombia hay cerca de un centenar de precandidatos que aspiran reemplazar en las próximas elecciones a Gustavo Petro, el primer presidente de tendencia izquierdista en gobernar el país.
Los partidos están depurando a sus aspirantes y definiendo posibles alianzas. Centro Democrático detalló el lunes en un comunicado que escogería a dos candidatos mediante una encuesta digital entre los militantes del partido.
Uribe Londoño reclamó que al parecer se convirtió en un “factor incómodo” para el partido, precisamente en momentos en que “estaba ganando esa competencia interna de manera amplia y contundente”.
Uribe Londoño lanzó su aspiración presidencial tras la muerte de su hijo, quien fue asesinado a tiros en un mitin político en junio como parte de su precandidatura presidencial.
“El sacrificio de mi hijo en esta campaña del Centro Democrático le costó su vida; hoy, a mí, por honrar ese sacrificio, me intentan clavar el puñal del asesinato político”, reclamó Uribe Londoño.
Tyrese Maxey anota 20 de sus 35 puntos en el 3er cuarto y 76ers arrollan 121-102 a Wizards
FILADELFIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey anotó 20 de sus 35 puntos en el tercer cuarto, Andre Drummond sumó 12 unidades y diez rebotes, y los 76ers de Filadelfia arrollaron el martes 121-102 a los Wizards de Washington.
Maxey, quien venía de una actuación de 44 puntos, acertó 13 de 26 tiros de campo para anotar más de 20 tantos por vigésimo partido consecutivo esta temporada. También registró seis asistencias y cuatro robos en 29 minutos.
Filadelfia vio su ventaja de 66-54 al medio tiempo reducida a cinco tantos después de que Washington anotó los primeros siete puntos del tercer cuarto. Pero los 76ers anotaron 11 de los siguientes 13 para reconstruir una delantera de dos dígitos, 77-63.
Maxey anotó 20 puntos en el tercer cuarto, mientras que los Wizards solo lograron 23 tras acertar siete de 22 disparos de campo. Maxey no jugó en el cuarto periodo.
Los Sixers alcanzaron los 100 puntos con 32,1 segundos restantes en el tercer cuarto gracias a un tiro libre de Maxey. Ampliaron la ventaja a 115-79 tras comenzar el cuarto periodo con una racha de 14-2.
Washington cayó a 1-11 como visitante esta temporada.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Pentagon Seeks To Explain A Little-Known, Forgotten ‘Forever War’
Pentagon Seeks To Explain A Little-Known, Forgotten ‘Forever War’
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
The US Department of War insisted on Tuesday that it’s not waging a “forever war” in Somalia despite the fact that the Trump administration has shattered the record for annual airstrikes in the country.
Liam Cosgrove, a reporter for ZeroHedge, noted during a Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday that the US has launched 101 airstrikes (now 102) in Somalia and that US troops reportedly conducted a recent ground raid, and asked why the US military is still in the country.
“I can assure you this is an America First Department of War and president, so we aren’t conducting forever wars in Somalia, we aren’t seeking regime change, and we’re not nation building,” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson said in reply.
The Trump administration has dramatically escalated the US war in Somalia, launching more than 10 times the number of airstrikes that the US conducted in 2024, and more than the combined total of airstrikes launched during the 12 years that Presidents Obama and Biden were in office. Despite the unprecedented scale of US strikes, Kingsley described the campaign as “narrowly scoped.”
She told Cosgrove, “I will say that this Department’s narrowly scoped, intelligence-driven, counterintelligence operations in places like Somalia, alongside our partners, allow us to protect the American homeland from terrorist threats and to protect our interests.”
US airstrikes this year have targeted a small ISIS affiliate based in caves in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region and al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia.
The US has been fighting al-Shabaab since it backed an Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, which ousted the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups that briefly held power in Mogadishu after taking the capital from CIA-backed warlords.
Pentagon asked why the US military is still in Somalia
‘I can assure you this is an America First Department of War and president, so we aren’t conducting forever wars in Somalia, we’re not seeking regime change or nation building’ pic.twitter.com/yrnXb7riSe
— Avinash K S🇮🇳 (@AvinashKS14) December 2, 2025
Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union and claimed its first attack in 2007, which targeted Ethiopian troops occupying Mogadishu.
In 2012, al-Shabaab declared loyalty to al-Qaeda, after years of fighting the US and its proxies. The ISIS affiliate in Somalia first emerged in 2015 as an offshoot of al-Shabaab, and is believed to have only a few hundred members.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 21:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/pentagon-defends-little-known-forgotten-forever-war
Arrestan a un hombre que arrojó bombas molotov contra edificio del ICE en Los Ángeles
LOS ÁNGELES (AP) — Un hombre de 54 años ha sido arrestado bajo sospecha de lanzar bombas molotov contra el Edificio Federal de Los Ángeles, informaron las autoridades el martes. Ninguna persona resultó herida.
Guardias de seguridad escucharon a un hombre que gritaba insultos sobre el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE por sus iniciales en inglés) fuera del edificio el lunes, según un comunicado del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos (DHS por sus iniciales en inglés).
Luego lanzó dos bombas incendiarias contra los guardias, aseguró la agencia.
“Afortunadamente, las botellas no estaban encendidas y no se incendiaron, y no hubo heridos ni daños a la propiedad federal”, según el comunicado del DHS.
Agentes del FBI arrestaron a José F. Jovel, un residente de Los Ángeles, afirmó la portavoz Laura Eimiller.
Los fiscales federales presentaron una denuncia penal el martes acusándolo de múltiples cargos de intento de daño doloso a propiedad federal y posesión de un dispositivo destructivo no registrado.
Según una declaración jurada presentada junto a la denuncia, horas antes Jovel le prendió fuego a su apartamento ubicado en el vecindario de Koreatown, en Los Ángeles, después de recibir un aviso de desalojo. Llegó al edificio federal el lunes por la mañana con varias bolsas de compras, de acuerdo con la declaración jurada.
Jovel metió la mano en una de las bolsas y arrojó una bomba molotov a través de una puerta corrediza abierta que estaba marcada como entrada para empleados. Luego lanzó otro dispositivo incendiario a través de la puerta de entrada al edificio, donde una fila de personas esperaba para pasar por los filtros de seguridad.
De momento se desconoce si Jovel cuenta con un abogado. La Oficina de Defensores Públicos Federales no respondió por ahora a una llamada telefónica para consultar si uno de sus abogados lo representa.
Jovel, quien llevaba consigo cuatro cuchillos al momento de su arresto, tiene un “extenso historial criminal”, incluido un cargo de intento de asesinato en 1987, según el comunicado del DHS.
Agentes registraron las bolsas que llevaba Jovel y encontraron un soplete y otras cinco bombas molotov, según la declaración jurada de la denuncia.
Jovel describió sus acciones como “un ataque terrorista” y le dijo a los agentes: “Están separando familias”, afirmó la oficina del fiscal federal.
La fiscalía señaló que se cree que el ataque fue por rechazo a las leyes de inmigración.
De ser declarado culpable, podría enfrentar hasta 20 años en una prisión federal. Se tiene previsto que comparezca el miércoles ante un tribunal federal en Los Ángeles.
La alcaldesa de Los Ángeles, Karen Bass, se expresó alarmada por el incidente.
“Este tipo de comportamiento es absolutamente inconcebible. Gracias a nuestros agentes del LAPD y a nuestros socios de las fuerzas del orden por su intervención y respuesta. Estoy agradecida de que nadie resultó herido”, dijo Bass en un comunicado el martes, refiriéndose por sus iniciales al Departamento de Policía de Los Ángeles.
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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.
Micah Parsons hace historia en su 1ra temporada con Packers mientras aumentan sus capturas
Por STEVE MEGARGEE
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin, EE.UU. (AP) — Micah Parsons ha presionado a los mariscales de campo a un ritmo que rivaliza con el de los mejores de la NFL durante su primera temporada con los Packers.
Ahora sus totales de capturas están comenzando a reflejar eso.
Parsons llega al enfrentamiento del domingo en Green Bay contra los Bears de Chicago (9-3), líderes de la División Norte de la Conferencia Nacional, con seis capturas durante la racha de tres victorias consecutivas de los Packers, lo que eleva su total de la temporada a 12½.
Es el primer jugador con al menos 12 capturas en cada una de sus primeras cinco temporadas desde al menos 1982, cuando la NFL comenzó a llevar esa estadística. Parsons sigue enfocado en alcanzar su próximo hito.
“¿Cómo puedo llegar a seis?” dijo Parsons. “Ésa es la mentalidad. Una vez que haces seis, ¿cómo llegas a siete? ¿Cómo seguimos mejorando? ¿Cómo continúo mejorando? Hay que entender cómo los equipos van a salir y atacarme y cómo digo, ‘No importa’.”
Ese enfoque ha llevado a Parsons a hacer todo lo que imaginaban los Packers (8-3-1) cuando lo consiguieron mediante un canje con Dallas por dos selecciones de primera ronda y el liniero defensivo tres veces Pro Bowl Kenny Clark. Los Packers le dieron a Parsons un contrato de cuatro años por 188 millones, con 136 millones garantizados, convirtiéndolo en el jugador mejor pagado en la historia de la liga, con excepción de los quarterbacks.
Parsons ha respondido molestando a los mariscales de campo sin importar cómo los oponentes intenten contenerlo. Lidera la liga con 70 presiones al mariscal de campo, según NFL Next Gen Stats.
“Es un jugador de fútbol americano especial, muy especial”, dijo el entrenador de los Packers, Matt LaFleur. “No he visto a muchos chicos como él.”
Aunque Parsons ha estado importunando a los mariscales de campo de manera consistente toda la temporada, ello no era necesariamente evidente por sus totales de capturas al principio.
Parsons sumó dos ½ capturas en sus primeros cinco duelos. Tuvo un récord personal de tres capturas en una victoria por 27-23 en Arizona el 19 de octubre. Luego consiguió sólo una en los siguientes tres duelos de Green Bay.
Las capturas han llegado en racimos últimamente. Aportó 1½ contra los Giants de Nueva York, dos contra Minnesota y 2½ en Detroit.
Parsons ocupa el tercer lugar en la liga en capturas, detrás de Myles Garrett de Cleveland (19) y Brian Burns de los Giants (13). Ya tiene el total de capturas en una sola temporada más alto para cualquier jugador de los Packers desde que Za’Darius Smith también tuvo 12½ en 2020. Tim Harris tiene el récord de los Packers en una sola temporada con 19½ capturas en 1989.
Medirse contra los mejores jugadores impulsa a Parsons, quien odia perder.
“Solía luchar y siempre terminaba llorando cuando perdía estos combates de lucha”, dijo Parsons. “Mi papá decía: ‘Está bien. Vas a tener otro combate.’ Y yo decía: ‘No, no está bien, papá. No entiendes.’ Trabajamos muy duro. Tenemos metas y sueños. Si voy a este torneo de lucha, quiero ser el número uno. No quiero ser el tercer lugar en el podio. Quiero sonreír y mirar hacia abajo al resto.”
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
“Power Up America” Needs 500,000 Highly Skilled Workers
“Power Up America” Needs 500,000 Highly Skilled Workers
We’ve already pointed out that money isn’t the problem in America’s unprecedented data center construction buildout. Big Tech’s AI capex splurge is effectively endless thanks to “circle-jerk” vendor-financing schemes, and land is plentiful.
The real bottleneck? First, it was power – or rather, the lack of it – as the grid struggles to hook up hyperscalers sprinting toward ever larger and more power-hungry AI server racks.
True.
That is why Bitcoin is based on energy: you can issue fake fiat currency, and every government in history has done so, but it is impossible to fake energy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2025
Beyond a power grid already stretched thin due to limited capacity, the Trump administration is now scrambling to fix this with an accelerated nuclear push before the 2030s. We’ve identified another problem that central bankers can’t print their way out of: skilled labor. And no, we’re not talking about the need for cheap, unskilled migrant labor. We’re talking about a highly skilled workforce required to build, run, and maintain data centers, as well as expand the power grid and operate nuclear power plants.
Wow:
“In 2025-28, we project ~57 gigawatts (GW) of US data center power demand, and we quantify available power capacity to serve this demand as: near-term grid access of ~12-15 GW, plus ~6 GW of data centers under construction, resulting in a ~36 GW shortfall of US power… pic.twitter.com/4PArdYY9qO
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 16, 2024
In early October, Goldman noted that data center buildouts will require an additional 300,000 workers across manufacturing, construction, and operations to meet power demand by the end of the decade.
And then there is the issue of where the US gets 300,000 engineers to build all this missing power supply by 2030 https://t.co/a18crhqZ4v pic.twitter.com/tinW8SHDwM
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 14, 2025
Now, Goldman analysts led by Carly Davenport are telling clients that the power industry will need over 500,000 new workers by 2030 to meet the surging electricity demand from data centers and the broader economy-wide electrification push.
Davenport explained:
“The US power industry is poised to require >500,000 new workers by 2030 or a significant acceleration in labor productivity. This growth enters a labor force already facing strain from aging and a limited pipeline of skilled labor. Labor-demand challenges to meet levels of US power-demand growth not seen since the 1990s are rising amid the Demographic Dilemma — a shrinking productive labor pool tasked to support an aging population — which raises the risk of G7 labor-force strains. This is elevating investor/corporate debates on industry execution and whether/when rising power, equipment, and labor costs could constrain growth.”
Generational growth to achieve 2.6% CAGR in electricity demand through 2030 could require ~510,000 US power and grid jobs (a 28% increase versus the 2023 US energy workforce).
“We estimate the need for ~300,000 incremental jobs across manufacturing, construction, and operations/maintenance (Exhibit 10)…
…plus an additional 207,000 across US transmission and distribution (Exhibit 11).“
What’s critical to understand is that the trillions in investment flooding into the economy through the 2030s will require far more than steel, concrete, silicon chips, and copper wire. They will demand a massive expansion of highly skilled workers.
Right now, there is a terrible oversupply of college-educated workers and a deepening shortage of talent for non-degree, hands-on jobs – a widening gap highlighted in a recent Goldman note by analyst Evan Tylenda.
Our advice for young people struggling to find a real job: ditch the useless gender-studies degree and learn a trade that’s becoming increasingly valuable to “Powering America.” For college students who haven’t been brainwashed by Marxism and wokism, aim for fields that will actually matter, such as engineering, energy systems, and nuclear science – all of which will be in red-hot demand in the 2030s.
The labor market is shifting fast. It’s time to move with it and choose a career that won’t be automated into oblivion anytime soon.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 21:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/power-america-needs-500000-highly-skilled-workers
Big catches. Big plays. Just another day at state office for Providence’s Xavier Coleman. ‘Kudos to my team.’
NORMAL — As a freshman in 2022, Xavier Coleman was called up to Providence’s varsity roster for the postseason and stood on the sidelines for the Class 4A state championship game.
Since then, Coleman has been determined to bring the Celtics back to state. The senior receiver did that this fall as one of the leaders of a young team.
“It meant everything just to be here with these guys,” Coleman said. “After being here my freshman year, it felt like, ‘OK, let’s go get the job done.’”
Coleman did his best to push Providence over the top Tuesday night.
He hauled in four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, but the Celtics came up just short in the final seconds, losing 39-35 to Wheaton St. Francis in the Class 5A championship game at Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium.
Broden Mackert ran for 126 yards and a TD on 17 carries for Providence (10-4). Dominic Vita ran for two TDs and threw for another, while Lamar Winfield piled up 3 1/2 tackles for loss and a sack.
Providence’s Xavier Coleman (2) avoids a tackle on the sideline against Wheaton St. Francis in the Class 5A state championship game at Hancock Stadium in Normal on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
A fifth TD run of the game by senior quarterback Brock Phillip, a 1-yarder on fourth down with 11 seconds left, lifted the Spartans (11-3) to the second state title in program history.
Providence also lost 44-20 to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in 2022.
“It’s how the game goes,” Coleman said. “Even if it’s a loss, I’m glad to do it with this group of guys.”
The decisive score for Wheaton St. Francis came two plays after a controversial second down as Phillip, under pressure, appeared to toss the ball underhanded into the end zone, stopping the clock on an incomplete pass with the Spartans out of timeouts.
Providence’s Xavier Coleman (2) looks for a hole in the defense against Wheaton St. Francis during the Class 5A state championship game at Hancock Stadium in Normal on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
The referees threw a flag, apparently for intentional grounding, then picked it up.
Providence coach Tyler Plantz thought the call should have gone a different way.
“I didn’t have a great angle of it, but from everything I saw, it looked like he fumbled the ball into the end zone which would have made it a touchback,” Plantz said. “Otherwise, they had no timeouts and he was inside the pocket. So, one of the two.
“Either intentional grounding or a touchback is what I thought.”
Providence’s Dominic Vita (8) throws a TD pass against Wheaton St. Francis during the Class 5A state championship game at Hancock Stadium in Normal on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
Before that finish, Coleman made several big plays to put the Celtics in position to win.
He had a 46-yard catch on Providence’s first possession of the game to set up Mackert’s TD run. Coleman then hauled in a 21-yard TD pass from Vita to give the Celtics a 14-7 lead.
Coleman, who also ran three times for 21 yards, capped his big performance with a 38-yard catch that set up Vita’s 1-yard TD run for a 35-32 lead with 6:16 to go.
“It’s not all about me,” Coleman said. “The guys up front, the quarterback, running backs and everyone else paved the way for me to have those opportunities to make those plays.
“Kudos to my team.”
The Celtics could not quite hold on to that lead, but they certainly fought to the end to cap a major turnaround season after missing the playoffs with a 4-5 record in 2024.
Vita, a sophomore, gained some major big-game experience he hopes will help him in the future.
“We’re definitely going to use this as a flame going into next season,” Vita said.
Providence’s Xavier Coleman (2) celebrates a TD reception against Wheaton St. Francis during the Class 5A state championship game at Hancock Stadium in Normal on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)
The Celtics started 11 underclassmen, so senior offensive lineman Bryce Tencza is confident that big things are ahead for the program.
“Without a doubt,” Tencza said. “We built it all this offseason. They’re going to build it stronger for next season. I know that. They know what to do. They’ve got it.”
And if this season was just the start, it sure was a fine one.
“It’s the brotherhood we built from the offseason, into the summer, all year,” Coleman said. “The blood, sweat and tears that we put into it each other.
“That was the glue that kept us together for 15 weeks. It was great.”
