Category: News
Hubo alertas sobre comportamiento errático de sospechoso del ataque contra Guardia Nacional
Por FARNOUSH AMIRI
El hombre afgano acusado de disparar contra dos miembros de la Guardia Nacional a pocas cuadras de la Casa Blanca había estado desmoronándose durante años, incapaz de mantener un trabajo y alternando entre largos períodos de aislamiento sin luz y repentinos viajes de semanas a través del país.
El comportamiento de Rahmanullah Lakanwal se deterioró tan drásticamente que un defensor de la comunidad se comunicó con una organización de refugiados para pedir ayuda, temiendo que estuviera volviéndose suicida.
Mensajes de correo electrónico obtenidos por The Associated Press revelan advertencias crecientes sobre el solicitante de asilo cuyo comportamiento errático incendió alarmas mucho antes del ataque que sacudió a la capital de la nación el miércoles, la víspera del Día de Acción de Gracias. Las preocupaciones previamente no reportadas ofrecen la imagen más clara hasta ahora de cómo estaba batallando en su nueva vida en Estados Unidos.
Aun así, cuando el miembro de la comunidad que trabaja con familias afganas en el estado de Washington vio en las noticias que Lakanwal fue señalado como el sospechoso en el ataque, dijo que estaba atónito, incapaz de conciliar el hecho violento con el recuerdo de ver a Lakanwal jugar con sus hijos pequeños. La persona habló bajo condición de anonimato para compartir detalles no divulgados al tiempo que cooperaba con el FBI en su investigación.
La especialista de la Guardia Nacional de Virginia Occidental, Sarah Beckstrom, de 20 años, murió en el ataque, y el sargento primero Andrew Wolfe, de 24 años, resultó gravemente herido. Lakanwal, de 29 años, ha sido acusado de homicidio en primer grado.
En Afganistán, Lakanwal sirvió en una unidad especial del Ejército afgano respaldada por la CIA, conocida como una de las Unidades Cero. Ingresó a Estados Unidos en 2021 a través de la Operación Bienvenidos Aliados, un programa que evacuó y reasentó a decenas de miles de afganos tras la retirada estadounidense de Afganistán. Muchos habían trabajado junto a tropas y diplomáticos de Estados Unidos.
Al tiempo que los investigadores trabajan para determinar un motivo, la secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, dijo el domingo en el programa “Meet the Press” de la cadena NBC que las autoridades estadounidenses “creen que fue radicalizado desde que está aquí en este país. Creemos que fue a través de conexiones en su comunidad y estado en que radica y vamos a seguir hablando con aquellos que interactuaron con él, que eran sus familiares”. No ofreció información adicional para respaldar su declaración.
Lakanwal se reasentó con su esposa y sus cinco hijos, todos menores de 12 años, en Bellingham, Washington, pero tuvo dificultades, según el miembro de la comunidad, quien compartió mensajes de correo electrónico que habían sido enviados al Comité de Refugiados e Inmigrantes de Estados Unidos (USCRI, por sus siglas en inglés), un grupo sin fines de lucro que brinda servicios a refugiados.
“Rahmanullah no ha sido funcional como persona, padre y proveedor desde marzo del año pasado, 03/2023. Renunció a su trabajo ese mes, y su comportamiento ha cambiado mucho”, escribió la persona en un correo electrónico de enero de 2024.
Los correos electrónicos describían a un hombre que estaba luchando por asimilarse, incapaz de mantener un trabajo estable o comprometerse con sus cursos de inglés cuando alternaba entre “períodos de oscuro aislamiento y viajes imprudentes”. A veces, pasaba semanas en su “habitación oscura, sin hablar con nadie, ni siquiera con su esposa o hijos mayores”. En un momento de 2023, la familia enfrentó un desalojo después de meses de no pagar el alquiler.
En una entrevista, el miembro de la comunidad habló de preocuparse de que Lakanwal estuviera tan deprimido que terminaría haciéndose daño a sí mismo. Pero el miembro de la comunidad no vio ninguna indicio de que Lakanwal cometería actos violentos contra otra persona.
Los miembros de la familia de Lakanwal a menudo recurrían a enviar a sus hijos pequeños a su habitación para llevarle el teléfono o mensajes porque no respondía a nadie más, según un correo electrónico. Un par de veces, cuando su esposa lo dejó con los niños durante una semana para viajar a visitar a familiares, los niños no se bañaron, no se cambiaron de ropa y no se alimentaron bien. Las autoridades de la escuela de los niños expresaron preocupaciones sobre la situación.
Pero luego, había semanas “interinas” en que Lakanwal intentaba enmendarse y “hacer las cosas correctas”, según el correo electrónico, volviendo a involucrarse con el Departamento de Servicios Sociales y de Salud del Estado de Washington como lo exigían los términos de su entrada a Estados Unidos.
“Pero eso rápidamente ha evolucionado en episodios ‘maníacos’ de una o dos semanas a la vez, donde se va en el auto familiar y conduce sin parar”, detallaba el correo electrónico. Una vez, fue a Chicago, y otra vez, a Arizona.
Jeanine Pirro, la fiscal federal en el Distrito de Columbia, dijo la semana pasada que Lakanwal condujo a través del país desde Bellingham, que está a unos 130 kilómetros (80 millas) al norte de Seattle, hasta la capital de la nación.
En respuesta a los dos correos electrónicos, el USCRI visitó Bellingham unas semanas después en marzo de 2024 e intentó ponerse en contacto con Lakanwal y su familia, según el miembro de la comunidad, quien, tras no recibir actualizaciones, se quedó con la impresión de que Lakanwal rechazó su asistencia.
USCRI no ha respondido por el momento a una solicitud de comentarios y aclaraciones.
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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.
Watch: TikToker Hands Out Vodka, Machetes To Mentally Ill And Homeless
Watch: TikToker Hands Out Vodka, Machetes To Mentally Ill And Homeless
TikTok influencers push boundaries to stay visible and relevant in feeds. Some of the stunts have become so outrageous that these clout-chasing fools will do anything for views – even if it means jeopardizing public safety.
The latest absurdity comes from TikToker PovWolfy, who in recent weeks has been handing out machetes and vodka bottles to the homeless population.
The metros where PovWolfy handed out machetes and vodka to the homeless and mentally unstable were not mentioned, but X user Unlimited L’s claimed the 18-inch blades and alcohol were distributed to people experiencing homelessness in Austin, Texas, and New Orleans, adding that the creator is now headed to New York.
NEW: “Influencer” hands out 18-inch machetes and alcohol to homeless people in Austin and New Orleans
Keith Castillo — known online as “povwolfy” — posted the video on Thanksgiving
The caption read, “Keeping the homeless in the streets.”
He is now heading to New York pic.twitter.com/DsetrscSEE
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) November 30, 2025
PovWolfy made countless videos …
Handing out vodka and weapons to vulnerable people is nothing more than reckless behavior. There is a possibility that this influencer could face charges such as reckless endangerment, contributing to a dangerous situation (akin to the movie Purge), or even aiding and abetting if harm occurs.
* * * BLACK FRIDAY IS STILL HAPPENING
Tyler Durden
Sun, 11/30/2025 – 11:05
Miles protestan contra auge de ultraderecha en Croacia tras serie de incidentes
ZAGREB, Croacia (AP) — Miles de personas participaron el domingo en marchas de protesta en Croacia contra el creciente auge de la ultraderecha, tras una serie de incidentes que han avivado tanto las tensiones étnicas como políticas en el país miembro de la Unión Europea.
Marchas denominadas “Unidos contra el fascismo” se organizaron en cuatro ciudades importantes, incluida la capital, Zagreb. La multitud coreó “¡todos somos antifascistas!” y se comprometió a contrarrestar lo que describió como un intento de grupos de derecha de sembrar miedo y silenciar a los opositores.
Los manifestantes también exigieron que las autoridades frenen a los grupos de ultraderecha y su uso frecuente de símbolos profascistas relacionados con el Estado títere pronazi de Croacia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, que operaba campos de concentración donde decenas de miles de serbios étnicos, judíos, romaníes y croatas antifascistas fueron ejecutados.
“Todo lo que ha estado sucediendo a nuestro alrededor es muy peligroso”, afirmó la periodista Maja Sever a los participantes en la protesta en Zagreb. “Ustedes han demostrado que no se quedarán callados, sino que lucharemos por una sociedad democrática”.
Grupos de jóvenes vestidos de negro aparecieron en contramanifestaciones en el puerto noroccidental de Rijeka y en la ciudad costera central de Zadar, según el portal de noticias Index, que publicó fotos. La misma fuente publicó que se registraron pequeños altercados con la policía y que una persona fue detenida.
Incidentes extremistas en noviembre tuvieron como objetivo eventos culturales de serbios étnicos en la capital Zagreb y en la ciudad costera de Split, desatando temores de violencia étnica décadas después de la guerra serbo-croata de 1991-95. Jóvenes vestidos de negro allí corearon consignas profascistas y nacionalistas frente a los lugares de exhibición antes de que la policía interviniera para detenerlos.
Los extremistas de ultraderecha también se han vuelto contra grupos liberales o políticos, así como contra trabajadores extranjeros en Croacia. A menudo utilizan el saludo “¡Por la patria — Listos!” del régimen títere Ustasha de la era nazi que gobernó Croacia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
“Tenemos grupos lanzando bombas de humo y petardos y amenazando con violencia, levantando su mano derecha en el aire y gritando ‘¡Por la patria — Listos!’”, dijo Iva Davorija, una de las organizadoras de la marcha en Zadar, a la emisora pública HRT. “Lo están haciendo libremente”.
La inclinación de Croacia hacia la derecha comenzó por primera vez luego que los conservadores gobernantes del primer ministro Andrej Plenkovic formaron una coalición con un partido de ultraderecha tras las elecciones parlamentarias del año pasado, dejando a un partido serbio étnico fuera del gobierno por primera vez en años.
La tendencia, sin embargo, culminó con un concierto masivo en julio de un cantante de derecha cuyo uso del lema de la Segunda Guerra Mundial en una de sus canciones más populares ha sido fuente de controversia y divisiones durante años. El cantante Marko Perkovic –cuyo nombre artístico es Thompson, como una ametralladora fabricada en Estados Unidos— ha sido prohibido en algunas ciudades europeas, pero sigue siendo enormemente popular en Croacia.
El primer ministro Plenkovic ha negado hacer la vista gorda ante el aumento del extremismo de ultraderecha y el discurso de odio neofascista. A su vez, ha acusado a sus oponentes de izquierda de exagerar el problema y, por lo tanto, profundizar las divisiones.
Croacia formó parte de la Yugoslavia comunista después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Pero la federación se desintegró en una serie de guerras nacionalistas en la década de 1990. En Croacia, los serbios minoritarios se rebelaron contra la separación y tomaron el control de extensas áreas del territorio croata con el objetivo de unirse a Serbia. Más de 10.000 personas murieron en el conflicto.
Croacia se unió a la UE en 2013 después de convertirse en miembro de la OTAN cuatro años antes.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Bill Belichick’s 1st season at North Carolina ends with just 4 wins and plenty of off-the-field headlines
RALEIGH, N.C. — Bill Belichick stood at the microphone in a crowded room of reporters. North Carolina’s season had just ended with a lopsided loss to a fierce nearby rival to cap a four-win season.
And the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach wasn’t in much of a mood to talk about it.
A little more than four minutes’ worth, in fact.
“Look, the season’s just ended a few minutes ago, OK?” Belichick said after the 42-19 loss at N.C. State on Saturday night. “So now we’re going to move into the offseason. That’s what we’re going to do.”
UNC started the year with buzz and a national spotlight, teeming with optimism — or maybe merely hope — that the NFL icon could elevate the program into something more as a first-time college coach. By season’s end, Belichick had fielded a team that had more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins while offering frequent helpings of unwanted off-field headlines.
The final blow came in Raleigh, where the Wolfpack and coach Dave Doeren were all too eager to stick it to the Tar Heels for a fifth straight year in front of a typically rowdy home crowd. And this one sent the 73-year-old Belichick into the offseason with a final thud, armed with none of the silver-lining assessments that had followed modest gains shown in close losses or wins against some of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s worst teams.
He offered few insights, too, down to what message he gave his first college team after a season of expectations ended in ugly fashion.
“I’ll keep my message to the team between me and the team,” Belichick said.
On-field struggles
The Tar Heels (4-8, 2-6) closed the season with three straight losses to in-state league opponents, first at Wake Forest on Nov. 15 and then at home against Duke last weekend.
That capped a season that saw the Tar Heels lose five games by 16 or more points, starting with a 48-14 loss to TCU on Labor Day — which had drawn ESPN’s “College Gameday” to Chapel Hill and countless headlines about Belichick’s arrival at the college level.
That turned into merely the start of trouble, with the opening month including blowout losses at UCF and at home to a Clemson team that will finish with that program’s lowest win output in 15 years. UNC’s three wins were against Bowl Subdivision programs with a combined 8-28 record (Charlotte, Syracuse and Stanford).
That’s hardly in line with the expectations that followed the school hiring Belichick to a deal that included each of the first three seasons with a guaranteed $10 million in base and supplemental play, along with elevated investments in the program for staff and elsewhere. That notably included general manager Michael Lombardi saying the Tar Heels “consider ourselves the 33rd (NFL) team” in their pro-heavy influence and approach.
By the end?
“It’s hard to put in one word,” receiver Jordan Shipp said when asked how he would describe the season. “We didn’t expect the season to go like this, of course.”
Off-field hiccups
The headlines weren’t confined solely to game days.
There was Belichick banning scouts from the New England Patriots — the team he led to those six Super Bowls with Tom Brady — as part of his own acrimonious relationship with his former franchise.
There was the suspension of an assistant coach tied to NCAA rule violations. The school releasing terse statements from Belichick and athletic director Bubba Cunningham reaffirming the marriage between Belichick and UNC, itself a sign of how bumpy the first few weeks of Belichick’s tenure had gone.
There were midseason reports by WRAL-TV of Raleigh painting an image of turmoil behind the scenes as well as multiple players being cited for speeding or reckless driving. And there was the tabloid-level interest in Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson, a frequent sideline presence before games.
It all generated plenty of fodder for opponents to jab at the man many consider to be the greatest NFL coach of all time, one who holds 333 regular-season and playoff wins to trail only Don Shula (347) for the NFL record. And it frequently had Belichick fielding news conference questions that veered away from the sport he knows so well.
Saturday’s loss
Doeren knows Belichick’s history well. But he also understands the UNC-N.C. State rivalry between schools sharing the 919 area code and separated by roughly a 30-minute drive along Interstate 40.
It showed in the way his team jumped all over the Tar Heels, scoring touchdowns on all four first-half drives to lead 28-10 by the break.
Doeren, for the record, has now beaten UNC for five straight years and is 9-4 against the Tar Heels in Raleigh. He is now 1-0 against Belichick, who was zipped up in a puffy navy blue winter coat bearing a light blue interlocking-UNC logo on this 34-degree night.
Belichick gave Doeren a quick midfield handshake afterward, offering no chance for chit-chat.
“It’s definitely something that motivated me,” Doeren said of the matchup. “I have a lot of respect for Bill. I mean, how do you not? He’s one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. … There was pep in my step this week for sure. I wanted that win, the competitive part of me against him. It’s very meaningful.”
Players take lead
Once Belichick met with reporters, he deflected any big-picture questions about the season overall.
“We’ve been working on a team every week,” Belichick said. “I’m sorry I don’t have a season recap for you. I don’t have one, we haven’t done it.”
Rather, that left Shipp and linebacker Khmori House to take the lead in answering for what went wrong and what’s next.
“We showed glimpses, we just didn’t do enough to pull off some wins,” Shipp said, adding: “We know internally that we’re not as bad as our record shows.”
Both fielded questions from reporters longer than Belichick, with Shipp talking nearly twice as long (7 1/2 minutes). That included House being asked how he would describe this most unusual of seasons.
“I would describe it as a roller coaster, ups and downs,” he said, “but a lesson.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/30/bill-belichick-north-carolina-first-season/
Union Township’s small school charm drew new school chief Leigh Barnes
Leigh Barnes’ education career followed a logical arc, punctuated by a few twists.
Union Township’s new superintendent majored in education at DePauw University and became a fifth-grade teacher in Indianapolis.
Union Township School Corporation superintendent Leigh Barnes poses for a photo in the school’s administrative offices on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
From there, she received a master’s degree in social work and took a job in LaPorte as a counselor.
Along the way, she married her college sweetheart and they settled in Valparaiso while beginning a family that includes three children.
Unexpectedly, an accident detouring traffic on U.S. 30 west of Valparaiso jolted her career trajectory.
Barnes found herself driving north on County Road 600W past Union Center Elementary and then the Wheeler High-Middle School complex.
Union Township School Corporation superintendent Leigh Barnes speaks during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“I thought, what is this about,” she said of the off-the-beaten path Union Township district of four schools and about 1,430 students. It’s sandwiched between Valparaiso on the east and Lake County on the west.
Something clicked as the schools reminded her of the small district in Toledo, Ohio, where she grew up.
“One reason I like being in a small school district is I still have an opportunity to be connected with kids and teachers,” Barnes said.
In 2009, a Union Township teacher in her child’s play group told Barnes about a counseling opening at Wheeler High.
Union Township School Corporation superintendent Leigh Barnes looks up information on her computer during an interview on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
She landed the job and spent five years in the counseling department where other educators noticed her leadership skills and drive. They encouraged her to enter the administrative ranks.
Barnes went back to school to get a principal’s license and in 2014, she filled an emergency vacancy at Simatovich Elementary after Principal Phyllis Allison broke her ankle.
Allison retired the following year and Barnes became the school’s principal, staying for eight years. Meanwhile, Barnes also picked up her superintendent’s license.
When the district’s assistant superintendent left in 2021, former school chief John Hunter reached out to Barnes to fill the job.
Union Township School Corporation superintendent Leigh Barnes gestures as she speaks about the “big picture” of her work at the school on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
She learned the intricacies of administrative duties while playing a bigger role in academics and curriculum.
“I gained a large view of the corporation in all those positions,” she said after Hunter encouraged her to apply for his job after he announced his retirement.
“I really felt I could impact this district and I love this community,” Barnes said.
In March, the school board unanimously named Barnes to replace Hunter. She also became the district’s first woman superintendent.
Women education leaders aren’t that unusual today because they dominate the education field, said board president Leah Pagone via an email.
“I’m not sure that we thought about her being the first woman superintendent because she was such a strong and best fit for our community,” said Pagone.
Barnes said the amount of communication required locally and in Indianapolis surprised her.
As a new superintendent, a state academy provided Barnes with a mentor, Scot Croner, superintendent of Wa-Nee Community Schools in Nappanee.
They talk weekly and the mentorship lasts two years.
Pagone said the board saw many attributes in Barnes that led to her appointment.
“As assistant superintendent, Leigh was always fair and forward thinking,” Pagone said. “Her first priority was always the kids of UTSC and it showed in her work.”
In her role as assistant superintendent, Pagone said Barnes already had performed superintendent duties and experienced the breadth of the work.
Pagone said Barnes typically views a problem “from all angles and can create a plan to tackle that situation in a clear and fair manner.”
Barnes’ first week of school began with a harrowing event for her family.
As she worked at school in early August, a fire swept through the family’s Valparaiso home, leaving the family homeless.
Barnes’ husband, Matt, daughter Lillian who’s a basketball standout at Valparaiso High School, and son Eddie, escaped the blaze, which killed the family cat. Two dogs survived. The fire is still under investigation and Barnes said the family plans to rebuild on the site.
When Barnes raced home, the first Valparaiso firefighter she saw was a Wheeler High graduate. They took a quick picture together as she thanked the former student.
The Union Township community stood behind the Barnes’ family as they regrouped from the loss of their home.
“I have felt so at home in this school corporation with support from the students and families,” she said.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m so thankful everyone was safe, except the cat. That was hard on my daughter.”
As the leader of the school district, Barnes isn’t always confined to her desk and computer. She often leaves her office and visits classrooms.
“One reason I like being in a small school is I still have the opportunity to be connected with kids and teachers. I do my best to get into the classroom and read to kids.”
Barnes is also focused on creating a road map for the district as the state moves to launch a new A-F grading system for schools based on points for certain student achievements.
Barnes is upbeat about Union Township’s future with enrollment growing by more than 60 students. The district offers open enrollment in grades K-8.
“I do believe our small school environment can offer good opportunities and truly this has families wanting to move here,” she said.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Rubio, Witkoff Meet With Ukraine Negotiators In Miami To Discuss Plans To End War
Rubio, Witkoff Meet With Ukraine Negotiators In Miami To Discuss Plans To End War
Three key Trump administration officials are meeting with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami, Florida this weekend in a push to broker an end to the war Russia began with its 2022 invasion, while setting the stage for talks between Washington and Moscow planned later this week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner plan to meet with the Ukrainian delegation to discuss portions of a proposed peace deal.
During talks in Geneva last Sunday, the sides reached agreements in principle on all but two issues: territory and security guarantees.
A senior U.S. official said the White House wants to close the gaps on those last two issues on Sunday, saying: “The Ukrainians know what we expect from them.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian delegation lost its lead negotiator between Kyiv and Washington, according to an announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
Zelenskyy said his chief of staff Andrii Yermak has resigned following a home search by anti-corruption investigators.
Government investigators had uncovered that $100 million was embezzled from Ukraine’s energy sector via kickbacks that contractors had paid.
While neither Zelenskyy nor Yermak has been accused of wrongdoing by those leading the investigation, the Ukrainian president’s political opponents have pushed for more accountability of senior leaders in Kyiv’s government.
As Jacob Burg reports for The Epoch Times, the meeting in Florida is occurring just a week after Rubio met with Yermak in Geneva, with both sides expressing positivity over a revised peace plan from Washington.
Prior to his resignation, Yermak told Axios that territorial concessions could only be negotiated at the presidential level.
But Trump said last week that he would only meet Zelensky and Putin once the parties were close to an agreement to end the war.
“The dialogue based on the Geneva points will continue. Diplomacy remains active. The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end. The Ukrainian delegation has the necessary directives, and I expect the guys to work in accordance with clear Ukrainian priorities,” Zelensky said on Saturday.
Following Yermak’s resignation on Friday, responsibility for negotiations was passed to Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the country’s National Security and Defense Council.
He has been implicated in the corruption probe but is not a suspect, according to authorities.
He was joined by first deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, an experienced diplomat and negotiator who sat at the table with the Russians in peace talks this spring that made no progress.
Umerov said on Sunday morning that talks had begun to find a “dignified peace”.
As The FT reports, Russian forces this week continued their large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital and critical infrastructure as troops on the ground in the eastern Donetsk region pressed ahead with assaults on key strongholds.
Ukraine, meanwhile, continued its drone attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities and vessels belonging to its shadow fleet in the Black Sea, including the Russian oil terminal near the southern port of Novorossiysk that is owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
That attack on Saturday prompted a stern response on Sunday from Kazakhstan, which called on Kyiv to halt strikes on the facility that handles about 1 per cent of global oil supplies, including from Kazakhstan, where the pipeline begins.
The biggest question hanging over the US-Ukraine talks is how any proposal agreed between them might be agreed by the Russians, who have maintained a maximalist position and have expressed confidence that they currently hold the battlefield initiative in the war. Putin has shown openness to a deal only if it is done on his timeline and terms.
Earlier this week, Russia blamed the Europeans and Kyiv for spoiling the initial proposal, or what the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as the “only substantive thing” on the table. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that if the revised plan “erased . . . key understandings” reached earlier between Putin and Trump, the situation would be “fundamentally different”.
Nevertheless, Zelenskyy appeared optimistic, telling Ukrainians in his evening address on Saturday that the American side was “demonstrating a constructive approach” to the talks that were set to continue on Sunday.
He added: “In the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end.”
Tyler Durden
Sun, 11/30/2025 – 10:30
Conference championship games are set — and many will have big College Football Playoff implications
The final regular season week of college football has set the stage for conference championships.
All eyes were on the ACC on Saturday, as a crowded race to the conference title game began to take shape. Virginia and SMU had simple paths and could have clinched a championship game appearance with a win. Virginia got the job done with a win over Virginia Tech, but SMU fell short against Cal, which opened the door for Duke. The Blue Devils will face Virginia in Charlotte as a result.
With five losses this season, Duke winning the ACC championship might not be enough to earn a CFP bid and could allow another spot for a Group of Five conference winner.
Alabama clinched a spot in the SEC championship with a win against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide will meet No. 4 Georgia in Atlanta.
Ohio State solidified a perfect 12-0 season and will play in the Big Ten championship after a win over Michigan. The Buckeyes now prepare to meet an unbeaten Indiana team in the title game.
And in the Big 12, Texas Tech and BYU prepare to meet again, this time in Arlington, Texas.
ACC
No. 17 Virginia clinched a spot in the ACC championship game on Saturday with a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech. SMU also had a straightforward route and could have clinched with a win against California, but the Mustangs fell just short and failed to send the teams to overtime with a missed buzzer-beater field goal.
SMU’s loss cleared a path for Duke, who earned a spot in the ACC title game as a result.
CFP: The ACC playoff picture is complicated with five teams in the College Football Playoff Top 25 ahead of Tuesday’s rankings from the selection committee. But Miami is the only one inside the top 12, and it is on the bubble when it comes to an at-large bid. A win against Pitt helps, but the Hurricanes still need more.
Big 12
No. 7 Texas Tech will play No. 11 BYU next Saturday in Arlington, Texas, for the conference championship. It’s a rematch after the Red Raiders beat the Cougars 29-7 on Nov. 8.
CFP: The Big 12 is hoping to be a two-bid league with its title game participants and No. 14 Utah (No. 13 CFP) on the doorstep if there is any turmoil.
Big Ten
No. 1 Ohio State checked a major box for its season when it knocked off No. 15 Michigan with a 27-9 victory. The Buckeyes punched their ticket to the Big Ten title game and an anticipated matchup with No. 2 Indiana next Saturday in Indianapolis.
Indiana is going for its first conference crown since 1967. It heads to the title game with the nation’s second-best scoring offense and scoring defense and a Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
CFP: Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon appear to be locks for the playoff, with the Buckeyes looking to win back-to-back national championships. Oregon finished the regular season with an 11-1 record after defeating Washington on Saturday.
SEC
Alabama did its job Saturday night, surpassing Auburn in the Iron Bowl to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game. Alabama will face Georgia, which solidified its spot with a win over Georgia Tech on Friday. It will be Kirby Smart’s fourth time facing the Crimson Tide in the conference title game.
Georgia has won eight in a row since its only loss of the season, to Alabama, on Sept. 27.
CFP: Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Alabama were all ranked in the CFP top 10 going into Saturday’s games. The Sooners narrowly avoided an upset loss to LSU on Saturday, keeping their playoff hopes alive. A big question is what to do with Texas, which is 9-3 and has wins over Texas A&M and Oklahoma but losses to Florida, Ohio State and, by 25 points, Georgia.
American Athletic
No. 21 North Texas and No. 22 Tulane will square off in the AAC title game on Friday. Tulane joined the Mean Green in the title game after a dominant win against Charlotte on Saturday night.
Conference USA
Jacksonville State beat Western Kentucky on Saturday to clinch a spot in the Conference USA title game as well as hosting rights. Jacksonville State will take on Kennesaw State, which beat Liberty to make its first Conference USA championship game.
Mid-American
Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) will meet in the MAC title game next Saturday in Detroit. The RedHawks clinched their third straight conference championship appearance with a 45-24 win against Ball State on Saturday.
Mountain West
There will be either a three-way or four-way tie for first — depending on how UNLV does Saturday at Nevada — and the deadlock will be broken by computer metrics. San Diego State, Boise State and New Mexico all have 6-2 conference records. The title game is Friday at the home of the higher seed.
Sun Belt
No. 20 James Madison will host Troy on Friday in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. Troy clinched its spot in the championship game after a 28-18 win against Southern Miss on Saturday.
AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/30/big-ten-sec-acc-title-games/
Tom Stoppard, sparkling playwright who won an Oscar for ‘Shakespeare In Love,’ dies at 88
LONDON — British playwright Tom Stoppard, a playful, probing dramatist who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s “Shakespeare In Love,” has died. He was 88.
In a statement Saturday, United Agents said the Czech-born Stoppard — often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation — died “peacefully” at his home in Dorset in southwest England, surrounded by his family.
“He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language,” they said. “It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him.”
Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger was among those paying tribute, calling Stoppard “a giant of the English theater, both highly intellectual and very funny in all his plays and scripts.
“He had a dazzling wit and loved classical and popular music alike which often featured in his huge body of work,” said Jagger, who produced the 2001 film “Enigma,” with a screenplay by Stoppard. “He was amusing and quietly sardonic. A friend and companion and I will always miss him.”
King Charles III said Stoppard was “a dear friend who wore his genius lightly.”
Theaters in London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes on Tuesday in tribute.
Brain-teasing plays
Over a six-decade career, Stoppard’s brain-teasing plays for theater, radio and screen ranged from Shakespeare and science to philosophy and the historic tragedies of the 20th century.
Five of them won Tony Awards for best play: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” in 1968; “Travesties” in 1976; “The Real Thing” in 1984; “The Coast of Utopia” in 2007; and “Leopoldstadt” in 2023.
Stoppard biographer Hermione Lee said the secret of his plays was their “mixture of language, knowledge and feeling. … It’s those three things in gear together which make him so remarkable.”
The writer was born Tomás Sträussler in 1937 to a Jewish family in Zlín in what was then Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. His father was a doctor for the Bata shoe company, and when Nazi Germany invaded in 1939 the family fled to Singapore, where Bata had a factory.
In late 1941, as Japanese forces closed in on the city state, Tomas, his brother and their mother fled again, this time to India. His father stayed behind and later died when his ship was attacked as he tried to leave Singapore.
In 1946 his mother married an English officer, Kenneth Stoppard, and the family moved to threadbare postwar Britain. The 8-year-old Tom “put on Englishness like a coat,” he later said, growing up to be a quintessential Englishman who loved cricket and Shakespeare.
He did not go to university but began his career, aged 17, as a journalist on newspapers in Bristol, southwest England, and then as a theater critic for Scene magazine in London.
Tragedy and humor
He wrote plays for radio and television including “A Walk on the Water,” televised in 1963, and made his stage breakthrough with “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” which reimagined Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” from the viewpoint of two hapless minor characters. A mix of tragedy and absurdist humor, it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966 and was staged at Britain’s National Theatre, then run by Laurence Olivier, before moving to Broadway.
A stream of exuberant, innovative plays followed, including meta-whodunnit “The Real Inspector Hound” (first staged in 1968); “Jumpers” (1972), a blend of physical and philosophical gymnastics, and “Travesties” (1974), which set intellectuals including James Joyce and Vladimir Lenin colliding in Zurich during World War I.
Musical drama “Every Good Boy Deserves Favor” (1977) was a collaboration with composer Andre Previn about a Soviet dissident confined to a mental institution — part of Stoppard’s long involvement with groups advocating for human rights groups in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
He often played with time and structure. “The Real Thing” (1982) was a poignant romantic comedy about love and deception that featured plays within a play, while “Arcadia” (1993) moved between the modern era and the early 19th century, where characters at an English country house debated poetry, gardening and chaos theory as fate had its way with them.
“The Invention of Love” (1997) explored classical literature and the mysteries of the human heart through the life of the English poet A.E. Housman.
Stoppard began the 21st century with “The Coast of Utopia” (2002), an epic trilogy about pre-revolutionary Russian intellectuals, and drew on his own background for “Rock ’n’ Roll” (2006), which contrasted the fates of the 1960s counterculture in Britain and in Communist Czechoslovakia.
“The Hard Problem” (2015) explored the mysteries of consciousness through the lenses of science and religion.
Free-speech champion
Stoppard was a strong champion of free speech who worked with organizations including PEN and Index on Censorship. He claimed not to have strong political views otherwise, writing in 1968: “I burn with no causes. I cannot say that I write with any social objective. One writes because one loves writing, really.”
Some critics found his plays more clever than emotionally engaging. But biographer Lee said his “very funny, witty plays” contained a “sense of underlying grief.”
“People in his plays … history comes at them,” Lee said at a British Library event in 2021. “They turn up, they don’t know why they’re there, they don’t know whether they can get home again.”
That was especially true of his late play “Leopoldstadt,” which drew on his own family’s story for the tale of a Jewish Viennese family over the first half of the 20th century. Stoppard said he began thinking of his personal link to the Holocaust quite late in life, only discovering after his mother’s death in 1996 that many members of his family, including all four grandparents, had died in concentration camps.
“It would be misleading to see me as somebody who blithely and innocently, at the age of 40-something, thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, I had no idea I was a member of a Jewish family,’” he told The New Yorker in 2022. “Of course I knew, but I didn’t know who they were. And I didn’t feel I had to find out in order to live my own life. But that wasn’t really true.”
“Leopoldstadt” premiered in London at the start of 2020 to rave reviews; weeks later all theaters were shut by the COVID-19 pandemic. It eventually opened in Broadway in late 2022, going on to win four Tonys.
Dizzyingly prolific, Stoppard also wrote many radio plays, a novel, television series including “Parade’s End” (2013) and many film screenplays. These included dystopian Terry Gilliam comedy “Brazil” (1985), Steven Spielberg-directed war drama “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Elizabethan romcom “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) — for which he and Marc Norman shared a best adapted screenplay Oscar — code breaking thriller “Enigma” and Russian epic “Anna Karenina” (2012).
He also wrote and directed a 1990 film adaptation of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” and translated numerous works into English, including plays by dissident Czech writer Václav Havel, who became the country’s first post-Communist president.
Stoppard also had a sideline as a Hollywood script doctor, lending sparkle to the dialogue of movies including “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and the Star Wars film “Revenge of the Sith.”
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his services to literature.
He was married three times: to Jose Ingle, Miriam Stern — better known as the health journalist Dr. Miriam Stoppard — and TV producer Sabrina Guinness. The first two marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by four children, including the actor Ed Stoppard, and several grandchildren.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/30/tom-stoppard-playwright-dies/
Falleció Billy Bonds, leyenda de West Ham. Tenía 79 años
LONDRES (AP) — Billy Bonds, el exjugador y técnico de West Ham, ha fallecido. Tenía 79 años.
Su deceso fue confirmado en un comunicado por su familia difundido por West Ham el domingo. El club de la Liga Premier dijo que Bonds “falleció apaciblemente” el domingo por la mañana.
Antiguo capitán de los “Hammers”, Bonds fue el jugador con más años de servicio en la historia del club, con 799 apariciones a lo largo de un período de 21 años. Conquistó dos Copas FA antes de retirarse a la edad de 41 años.
Dirigió a West Ham desde 1990 hasta 1994.
“Papá amaba al West Ham United y a sus maravillosos hinchas con todo su corazón y atesoró cada momento de su tiempo en el club”, expresó su familia en un comunicado. “Siempre estará en nuestros corazones y será eternamente extrañado. Nos consuela saber que su legado vivirá para siempre”.
En 2018, los aficionados de West Ham votaron a Bonds como el mejor jugador de la historia del club.
West Ham lo describió como uno de los “mayores competidores que el fútbol inglés ha tenido”.
“Descansa en paz Billy, nuestro valiente, inspirador y líder de corazón de león”, agregó el club.
Hubo un minuto de aplausos para Bonds antes del partido de West Ham contra Liverpool en el Estadio de Londres el domingo.
El actual capitán Jarrod Bowen levantó una camiseta con el número 4 de Bonds en la espalda.
“Lo que significó para este club, lo que logró para este club, es un día triste para todos. Probablemente será recordado como la mayor leyenda de West Ham y también como el mejor capitán del club que han tenido”, dijo Bowen.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/30/falleci-billy-bonds-leyenda-de-west-ham-tena-79-aos/
4 dead and 10 wounded in shooting at a banquet hall in Stockton, California
STOCKTON, Calif. — Four people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting during a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton, sheriff’s officials said Saturday.
The victims included both children and adults, said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County sheriff’s office. Early indications “suggest this may have been a targeted incident,” Brent said during a news conference at the scene.
Local officials said the suspected shooter has not been caught and pleaded with the public for help. Detectives were still working to identify a possible motive.
“If you have any information as to this individual, reach out immediately. If you are this individual, turn yourself in immediately,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said during a news conference.
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. inside the banquet hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses. Stockton is a city of 320,000 about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Sacramento.
“This is Thanksgiving weekend. This is when families come together, celebrate, share memories, give each other love,” Mayor Christina Fugazi said. “Unfortunately tonight, heaven is a little bigger with the individuals, children and adults that unfortunately did not make it.”
Fugazi recalled a shooting several years ago in which “seven people were gunned down” in the city, adding that both attacks were “unacceptable.”
“Stockton is better than this,” she said.
Authorities did not immediately provide additional information about the conditions of the victims. Officials said earlier that several were taken to hospitals.
“Families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive,” Fugazi said
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/30/stockton-banquet-hall-shooting/
