Category: News
Ohio State-Michigan and Oregon-Washington clashes have Big Ten championship — and CFP — implications
There’s much at stake when No. 15 Michigan hosts No. 1 Ohio State and No. 6 Oregon visits Washington on the final weekend of college football’s regular season.
Here’s what to watch in the Big Ten.
Game of the week
No. 1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) at No. 15 Michigan (9-2, 7-1), Saturday, 11 a.m. (Fox)
Michigan needs to beat the top-ranked Buckeyes for a fifth straight time to have any hope of reaching the College Football Playoff. Michigan also could reach the Big Ten championship game if it beats Ohio State and either No. 5 Oregon loses to Washington or No. 2 Indiana falls to Purdue.
Ohio State would clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game by beating Michigan. There’s a tiny chance Ohio State could lose and have a rematch with Michigan in the Big Ten championship game, but it would involve Washington upsetting Oregon and Purdue stunning Indiana.
BetMGM Sportsbook has Ohio State as a 10-point favorite.
The undercard
No. 6 Oregon (10-1, 7-1) at Washington (8-3, 5-3), 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Oregon could essentially lock up a playoff spot and would have an excellent chance at a first-round home game if it wins. The Ducks also could reach the Big Ten championship game if they beat Washington and either Michigan upsets Ohio State or Purdue surprises Indiana. The Ducks carry a Bowl Subdivision-leading 11-game road winning streak into this matchup.
Oregon is a 6 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM.
Impact players
— Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson has rushed for a Big Ten-leading 1,234 yards, and he also has caught 44 passes. He’s the first Big Ten player to have at least 1,200 yards rushing and 40 receptions in a season since 2017, when Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and Northwestern’s Justin Jackson both accomplished the feat.
— Northwestern QB Preston Stone completed all 15 of his second-half passes and went 25 of 30 for 305 yards with two touchdowns as the Wildcats rallied from 15 points down to beat Minnesota 38-35 and become bowl eligible.
Inside the numbers
Penn State RB Kaytron Allen became the Nittany Lions’ career leading rusher after running for 160 yards in a 37-10 blowout of Nebraska. Allen has rushed for 3,954 yards to overtake Evan Royster, who ran for 3,932 yards from 2007-10. … Wisconsin is the first Big Ten team to collect five sacks in three straight conference games since Penn State in 2007. … Only three FBS teams have won at least 10 games each of the last five seasons, and two of them are Big Ten members: Ohio State and Oregon. The other is Georgia. … The Ohio State-Michigan series is tied 22-22-4 the 48 times they’ve faced off when both teams were ranked. … Oregon has 23 touchdowns scored by true freshmen this season, matching North Texas atop the FBS. … A victory Friday would mark the seventh straight time Iowa has won at Nebraska.
Get to know him
Penn State’s coaching search may be overshadowing anything the Nittany Lions do on the field as the season winds down after James Franklin was fired amid a six-game skid, but freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is making the most of his opportunities that followed a season-ending ankle injury to Drew Allar.
Grunkemeyer went 11 of 12 for 181 yards with a touchdown pass in a win over Nebraska. He was the first Penn State quarterback to complete at least 90% of his passes in a game while making at least 10 attempts since Todd Blackledge went 10 of 11 in a 41-16 triumph over Syracuse in 1981.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/26/big-ten-football-ohio-state-michigan-2/
Australia mantiene prohibición de redes sociales para menores pese a impugnación
Por ROD McGUIRK
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — El gobierno australiano determinó que la prohibición de acceso a redes sociales a los menores entrará en vigor el próximo mes según lo programado, a pesar de que un grupo defensor de derechos impugnó el miércoles en los tribunales la legislación, que es pionera en el mundo.
El Proyecto de Libertad Digital, con sede en Sydney, presentó el miércoles ante el Tribunal Superior una impugnación constitucional contra una ley que entrará en vigor el 10 de diciembre, la cual prohíbe que los niños australianos menores de 16 años tengan cuentas en plataformas específicas.
La ministra de Comunicaciones, Anika Wells, se refirió a la impugnación cuando dijo posteriormente al Parlamento que su gobierno seguía comprometido con que la prohibición entrara en vigor según lo programado.
“No nos dejaremos intimidar por impugnaciones legales. No nos dejaremos intimidar por las grandes empresas tecnológicas. En nombre de los padres australianos, nos mantenemos firmes”, afirmó Wells ante el Parlamento.
El presidente del Proyecto de Libertad Digital, John Ruddick, es legislador estatal de Nueva Gales del Sur por el minoritario Partido Libertario.
“La supervisión parental de la actividad en línea es hoy la responsabilidad parental primordial. No queremos delegar esa responsabilidad al gobierno y a burócratas no elegidos”, manifestó Ruddick en un comunicado.
“Esta prohibición es un ataque directo al derecho de los jóvenes a la libertad de comunicación política”, añadió.
El caso es llevado por el bufete de abogados de Sydney Pryor, Tzannes y Wallis Solicitors en nombre de dos niños de 15 años.
El portavoz del Proyecto de Libertad Digital, Sam Palmer, no pudo decir si se solicitará una orden judicial que impida que la restricción de edad entre en vigor el 10 de diciembre antes de que se escuche el caso.
La semana pasada, el gigante tecnológico Meta comenzó a enviar a miles de niños australianos que se sospecha tienen menos de 16 años una advertencia para que descarguen sus historiales digitales y eliminen sus cuentas de Facebook, Instagram y Threads antes de que la prohibición entre en vigor.
El gobierno ha dicho que las tres plataformas de Meta, además de Snapchat, TikTok, X y YouTube, deben tomar medidas razonables para excluir a los titulares de cuentas australianas menores de 16 años o enfrentar multas de hasta 50 millones de dólares australianos (32 millones de dólares).
Malasia también ha anunciado planes para prohibir las cuentas de redes sociales para niños menores de 16 años a partir de 2026.
El ministro de Comunicaciones de Malasia, Fahmi Fadzil, dijo esta semana que su gabinete aprobó la medida como parte de un esfuerzo más amplio para proteger a los jóvenes de daños en línea como el ciberacoso, las estafas y la explotación sexual. Señaló que su gobierno estudiaba los enfoques adoptados por Australia y otros países, así como el posible uso de verificaciones electrónicas con tarjetas de identidad o pasaportes para verificar la edad de los usuarios.
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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.
The Middle Class Is Cracking
The Middle Class Is Cracking
Authored by Charles Hugh Smioth via OfTwoMinds blog,
Borrowing more to maintain spending is hanging on by one’s fingernails, not middle-class security.
The middle class is cracking, but if you want a statistic that “proves” this, there isn’t one. The cracking isn’t a statistic, it’s the culmination of observations logged over the past 15 years about these critical measures of what it takes to qualify as middle class:
1. How much income a household needs to secure the minimum qualifications of a middle class standard of living / quality of life, based on the conventional standards of the 1960s – 1980s. (The qualifying characteristics are listed below.)
2. The upward or downward mobility of those claiming middle class status. Put another way: if it requires monumental effort and perfect execution to achieve the minimum qualifications of middle class security, then that isn’t a “middle class” set of qualifications, that’s an elite set of qualifications.
3. Precarity: how much (or little) financial disruption does it take to tip a household into a down-spiral that becomes increasingly difficult to escape. The foundation of any non-trivial definition of “middle class” (any definition that is solely based on income is trivial) is the financial resilience offered by ownership of assets, particularly income-producing assets, and savings that can be tapped to handle emergencies.
I’ve been addressing these issues for many years. Here are a few of my posts on the decay of the middle class:
Priced Out of the Middle Class (June 28, 2012)
What Does It Take To Be Middle Class? (December 5, 2013)
Misplaced Pride: Most of the “Middle Class” Is Actually Working Class (June 14, 2019)
Squeezed for Decades, America’s Working Class Is Finally Up Against the Wall (May 13, 2024)
Here are the minimum requirements to qualify as middle class, drawn up by myself and readers:
1. Meaningful healthcare insurance. By meaningful I mean healthcare insurance that doesn’t have high deductibles–if you have to pay thousands of dollars before the insurance kicks in, that’s not insurance, it’s a simulation of insurance–and insurance that isn’t reduced to meaninglessness by limitations on coverage and/or zero coverge for core elements of healthcare.
2. Significant equity (25%-50%) in a home or other real estate.
3. Income/expenses that enable the household to save at least 6% of its net income.
4. Significant retirement funds: 401Ks, IRAs, etc.
5. The ability to service all debt and expenses over the medium-term if one of the primary household wage-earners lose their job.
6. Reliable vehicles for each wage earner.
7. If a household requires government assistance to maintain the family lifestyle, their Middle Class status is in doubt.
8. A percentage of non-paper, non-real estate hard assets such as family heirlooms, precious metals, tools, etc. that can be transferred to the next generation, i.e. generational wealth.
9. Ability to invest in offspring (education, extracurricular clubs/training, etc.).
10. Leisure time devoted to the maintenance of physical/spiritual/mental fitness.
11. Continual accumulation of human and social capital (new skills, networks of collaborators, markets for one’s services, etc.)
12. Family ownership of income-producing assets such as rental properties, bonds, family-owned business, etc.
The absolute scale of these requirements is less important than all twelve being included in the household’s quiver. In other words, it’s not necessary to own equity worth millions, but it is important to own meaningful equity across the range of assets listed above.
Back in 2012, I went through each requirement and arrived at a minimum household income of $106,000– adjusted for inflation, the equivalent sum today is $152,000. Before you scoff, please read the entirety of Michael Green’s careful analysis of what qualifies as “poverty level income” and “middle class income:” How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America (via Cheryl A.)
Green concluded the minimum income needed today is $140,000— more or less the same as my estimate, especially given his detailed explanation of why this minimum is barebones.
Green’s analysis of middle-class precarity dismantles all the statistical rah-rah presented as evidence that we’re all getting richer every day, in every way. Like insurance with stupidly high deductibles, this isn’t middle class security, it’s a simulation of middle class security.
This report in the Wall Street Journal suggests this reality is now so undeniably obvious that the WSJ had to address it: The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation: Workers growing tired of economy in which everything seems to get more expensive.
As Green explained, soaring costs for big-ticket essentials–all the things required to participate in the economy in a meaningful fashion–are crushing the middle class.
Unless you lucked into an early seating for the banquet of wealth served up by The Everything Bubble–then life is good: Feeling Great About the Economy? You Must Own Stocks: Investors’ rosy feelings about their stock market gains are powering spending–but it’s a different story for everyone else.
This has generated a generational divide in security/precarity and wealth accumulation: those who bought stocks and housing long ago when they were relatively cheap have piled up wealth not by being more productive, but by becoming early owners of capital that has been goosed by policies seeking to boost spending via “the wealth effect.”
That this bubble-generated wealth flowed predominantly to older households with incomes that enabled asset purchases effectively made the rich richer. Those without these advantages lost ground, and absent the cushion of wealth piled up by The Everything Bubble, their claim to middle-class security is more a simulation than the real thing.
The middle class is cracking, and the Everything Bubble hasn’t even started to pop yet; once it does, job losses will accelerate due to the self-reinforcing nature of job losses reducing income and spending which then triggers more job cuts. How the U.S. Economy Became Hooked on AI Spending: Growth has been bolstered by data-center investment and stock-market wealth. A reversal could raise the risk of recession.
This chart illustrates the reality: the already-wealthy have pulled away as financialization, globalization, precarity and inflation gutted the middle class.
The solidity and economic dominance of the US middle-class is illusory. The middle class is cracking, and borrowing more to maintain spending is hanging on by one’s fingernails, not middle-class security.
* * *
My new book Investing In Revolution is available at a 10% discount ($18 for the paperback, $24 for the hardcover and $8.95 for the ebook edition) through November. Introduction (free)
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Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/26/2025 – 08:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/middle-class-cracking
Medicare Secures 71% Price Cut On Novo’s Anti-Obesity Drug As Part Of Broad Affordability Push
Medicare Secures 71% Price Cut On Novo’s Anti-Obesity Drug As Part Of Broad Affordability Push
The Trump administration is laser-focused on “Operation Affordability,” aiming to drive down the cost of food and healthcare ahead of the midterm election cycle.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a savings of 44%, or $12 billion, from last year’s negotiated Medicare spending on 15 drugs used to treat severe chronic conditions and cancer.
Of those price cuts, CMS negotiated a 71% discount on GLP-1 medication, including Ozempic and Wegovy, for Medicare patients.
Other significant reductions include a 50% cut for Pfizer’s Ibrance, a 48% drop for the prostate-cancer drug Xtandi, and a 73% reduction for GSK’s Trelegy Ellipta.
Here’s more from CMS:
The Maximum Fair Prices (MFPs) for these 15 drugs will become effective January 1, 2027, bringing the total number of negotiated drugs to 25 when combined with the 10 previously negotiated drugs with MFPs taking effect January 1, 2026. The 15 drugs in this second negotiation cycle, used to treat cancer, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic illnesses, represent some of the highest Medicare Part D spending. The MFPs offer substantial savings for both beneficiaries and the Medicare program.
These are the first large-scale, publicly disclosed Medicare drug-price negotiations – and for good reason, as the administration works to lower healthcare costs.
“President Trump directed us to stop at nothing to lower health care costs for the American people,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “As we work to Make America Healthy Again, we will use every tool at our disposal to deliver affordable health care to seniors.”
Bloomberg quoted Novo Nordisk as saying it had “serious concerns” about government-driven pricing and continued to oppose the negotiation framework, even as it pivoted toward aggressive price cuts for its GLP-1 drugs to gain market share.
Related:
Novo Undercuts Lilly’s Obesity Drug Price, Now Cheaper Than Car Payment
Trump’s Lilly And Novo Deal Slashes Monthly Weight-Loss Drug Costs By Up To 90%
“Surgical & Beautiful”: Trump Boasts Operation Affordability Ahead Of Midterm Cycle
CMS’ announcement underscores the administration’s accelerated push to lower prescription drug costs, expand affordability for Medicare beneficiaries, and reduce broader medical expenses, alongside efforts to ease food prices. With low-income household budgets under strain, affordability is shaping up to be a major topic heading into the midterm election cycle.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/26/2025 – 07:45
Daywatch: ‘A long road ahead,’ family of Blue Line burn victim says
Good morning, Chicago.
After an outpouring of support following her arson attack on a CTA Blue Line train, the family of Bethany MaGee has established a GoFundMe campaign to help offset costs as she continues her recovery.
MaGee, 26, was set on fire as she rode the CTA Blue Line through the Loop last week in a jarring attack allegedly carried out by a career criminal with dozens of prior arrests and a questionable mental health history.
“Many of her immediate medical expenses are covered by insurance and a victims fund, but with such a long road ahead of her, the freedom from financial worries would be a tremendous blessing,” MaGee’s family said in a GoFundMe campaign launched yesterday. “No gifts are expected, but any that are given will go directly to Bethany.”
Within hours of its opening, the campaign received nearly $10,000 in donations.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including the latest on mid-census redistricting in Indiana, a fresh look at the 1985 Bears and a local couple manning the Butterball turkey hotline.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FBI seeks interviews with Democrats who urged US troops to defy illegal orders
Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video urging U.S. troops to defy “illegal orders” say the FBI has contacted them to begin scheduling interviews, signaling a possible inquiry into the matter.
Marimar Martinez speaks at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, Nov. 20, 2025, after federal prosecutors abruptly moved to dismiss all charges against her. Martinez was shot by a federal agent after she allegedly rammed a vehicle in Brighton Park during Operation Midway Blitz. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
A criminal probe tied to Chicago woman’s shooting by Border Patrol agent continues, feds say
A federal prosecutor revealed in court that despite assault charges being dismissed, a separate criminal investigation remains ongoing into an incident in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood last month where a woman was shot by a Border Patrol agent.
Tara Reid attends GLSEN’s Rise Up LA Benefit Gala at NeueHouse Hollywood on Oct. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images/TNS)
Actress Tara Reid alleges she was drugged at Rosemont hotel bar
Actress Tara Reid told TMZ on Monday that she was hospitalized early Sunday after drinking a glass of wine she alleged had been spiked.
In a news release last night, Rosemont’s Public Safety Department confirmed the incident involving Reid, stating the department responded to a call of a sick person at Rosemont’s DoubleTree Hotel just before 12:40 a.m.
The Indiana Statehouse appears on May 5, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana legislature to meet in December to take up mid-census redistricting
The Indiana legislature plans to reconvene in early December to vote on mid-census redistricting, leaders for both legislative chambers said yesterday, marking a reversal from last week.
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Slender Man attacker won’t fight extradition to Wisconsin after fleeing group home
The Wisconsin woman who won release from a mental institution after almost killing her sixth grade classmate in the name of horror villain Slender Man only to flee the state weeks later won’t fight extradition from Illinois.
Susan and Michael Maddox, faculty members for the College of DuPage Culinary Arts program, pose for a photo at one of the College’s culinary kitchens on Nov. 12, 2025. During the holiday season, the couple take calls for for the Naperville-based Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. (College of DuPage)
Married College of DuPage professors help man Butterball turkey hotline in Naperville
Michael Maddox has a simple job: Save turkeys and relationships, one phone call at a time. Or at least, that’s what he and his wife Susan like to jokingly tell each other.
The pair are among more than 50 people who spend their time during the holiday season answering questions about everything from thawing to brining to spatchcocking turkeys. They are joined by a team of culinary and food science experts at the Naperville-based Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, a hotline designed to help people make the best turkey possible for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Mayor Harold Washington, second from left, does his version of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” at City Hall on Dec. 16, 1985, with Richard Dent, left, Otis Wilson and Willie Gault, right, of the Bears. The players appeared with the mayor to announce that a portion of proceeds from the players’ new record will be donated to the Sharing-It program. (José More/Chicago Tribune)
Column: ‘The Shuffle’ is one more documentary on the 1985 Chicago Bears, the team that keeps on giving
The stories have all been told and retold, but there never seems to be a moment in time when someone doesn’t believe we want to hear them again, writes Paul Sullivan. The ’85 Bears are the gift that keeps on giving, reminding us of how wonderful a time it was, and how long it’s been since Super Bowl XX.
The latest reminder is courtesy of HBO, which yesterday begins airing a 40-minute documentary titled “The Shuffle.”
Pierre Andresen and Kenny Beecham discuss the NBA during the filming of an episode of “Numbers on the Board” at Enjoy Basketball in Oak Brook on Nov. 11, 2025. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
Kenny Beecham stays true to his roots in new NBC partnership: ‘Before I was a creator, I was a Bulls fan’
NBC’s offer to fold Enjoy Basketball into its larger portfolio of NBA content reflects a shift across the sports media landscape to diversify offerings of nongame content.
A visitor explores the “American Prophets” exhibit, Nov. 20, 2025, which is now open at the American Writers Museum in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Column: In ‘American Prophets,’ how writers feel about religion and spirituality
You can hear the sound upon entering the American Writers Museum. It is the sound of typewriters, that ancient writing instrument, being banged on by a bunch of first and second graders on a school field trip. It was last Thursday and, as usual on most any school days, the museum was an active place, not only with kids but with a staff eager in anticipation of the opening of its latest exhibition.
“American Prophets” opened Friday in one of the city’s youngest but also one of its most important places, an increasingly artful blend of information, entertainment and enlightenment, writes Rick Kogan.
Gospel singer Floriene Watson, seated on left with Sylvia Watson Hoston, surrounded by Amos Watson (from left), Alice Watson, Irvin Watson, Romance Watson and Vivian Watson of the Watson Singers, as well as friend and fellow gospel singer Ozella Weber. (Provided by the Willis family)
Floriene Watson Willis sang in the early days of gospel music. She taught Aretha Franklin a hymn. She’s turning 99.
There are only a handful of people alive today who participated in the formation of modern gospel music in Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s. Fewer still worked directly with the genre’s founding mothers and fathers in those early days. Perhaps only one of them can claim to have also taught Aretha Franklin a hymn that became her first commercial single as a soloist.
Floriene Watson Willis is the one.
Turning 99 on Dec. 6, she never became a major star, but she nevertheless held a prominent position in the sanctuary as gospel music formed and flourished in Chicago some 90 years ago.
Bomberos reportan 13 muertos en un incendio en complejo de rascacielos residenciales en Hong Kong
HONG KONG (AP) — Bomberos reportan 13 muertos en un incendio en complejo de rascacielos residenciales en Hong Kong.
Homebuyers See Record Discounts In October: Report
Homebuyers See Record Discounts In October: Report
Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Retailers aren’t the only ones offering huge discounts for Black Friday. A Nov. 24 press release from Zillow indicates that the average home listing experienced record-breaking cumulative discounts of up to $25,000 in October.
While typical price cuts are closer to $10,000, multiple reductions are starting to become the norm as homes are sitting longer on the market, according to the release. Many sellers are more agreeable to negotiating for a more timely sale while still reaping desirable profits.
“Most homeowners have seen their home values soar over the past several years, which gives them the flexibility for a price cut or two while still walking away with a profit,” Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng said in the release. “These discounts are bringing more listings in line with buyers’ budgets, and helping fuel the most active fall housing market in three years.”
Some of the nation’s most expensive markets are offering the biggest median discounts, the release said. In four California metros—San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Dan Diego—buyers may be able to save between $50,000 and $70,000 or more off the listing price. In New York, some homes have seen reductions of up to $50,000.
Based on home values, some of the largest discounts recorded have been seen in Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Austin, Texas, with savings of up to $20,000, according to the release. Smaller discounts of up to $15,000 have been popping up in more affordable markets, including St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Louisville, Kentucky.
The release also said homes in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, are selling quicker than the national average, and sellers there don’t necessarily need to reduce prices to attract buyers.
In its 2025 Consumer Housing Trends Report, Zillow noted that 43 percent of homebuyers live in the South, 23 percent in the Midwest, 21 percent in the West, and just 13 percent in the Northeast. The South also offers the most inventory, while the Northeast offers the least.
The report also found that buyers have higher household incomes than the overall U.S. population: $97,600 versus $74,600. Typical buyers also tend to have more education, with 49 percent holding a four-year degree—compared with 35 percent of all American adults.
Most buyers—61 percent—purchased and shared ownership of their home with at least one other person, while just over half of buyers co-bought with a partner or spouse. Co-buying with a relative or friend was less common.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reported that existing home sales grew by 1.2 percent in October to 4.10 million, while the median home prices nationwide was $415,200. The median time on the market for properties inched up to 34 days from 33 days in September and 29 days in October 2024. Just 2 percent of those sales were classified as “distressed” sales involving foreclosures and short sales.
“Rents are decelerating, which will reduce inflation and encourage the Federal Reserve to continue cutting rates and pulling back their quantitative tightening,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. “This will help bring more homebuyers into the market, since the Fed rate has an indirect impact on mortgage rates.”
As of Nov. 20, Freddie Mac showed mortgage interest rates of 6.26 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage and 5.54 percent for a 15-year fixed mortgage.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/26/2025 – 07:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/homebuyers-see-record-discounts-october-report
Letters to the Editor: Shop small businesses this holiday season
This holiday season, will you shop at one of the 33.2 million small businesses that make up 99% of all businesses in the U.S?
Up and down rural main streets in rural America, shopkeepers are readying their stores for the season. Business owners are stocking special gifts and rolls of wrapping paper to provide added value when you spend your money with a local retailer.
Independently owned businesses are what keep our rural communities thriving. They rely on our patronage during the crucial holiday season as well as year-round.
This year, more than ever, small businesses need our support. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index, 79% of independent business owners say this upcoming holiday season is important for their overall profit this year, up from 70% last year.
When you shop local, you support your community by paying sales tax. You are also helping out a small business owner who in turn might sponsor a school activity or host a community event, showing just how important main street businesses are as part of our life in rural America.
Shopping local is good for consumers as well. During this holiday season, more than half of small businesses, 56%, say they are planning to offer seasonal discounts and 48% say they will extend regular business hours (up from 39% last year).
On average, shoppers plan to do 41% of their holiday shopping at small businesses, increased 5% from last year. I am one of these shoppers. Are you?
Small Business Saturday is on Nov. 29—a nationally recognized day to show your appreciation for local retailers. During this holiday season, and year round, #ShopSmall. Support your community, your friends, and your way of life.
When local businesses succeed, we all win.
Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, nonprofit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
Rhea Landholm
Communications Manager, Center for Rural Affairs
Un incendio devastador destruye una barriada y deja a miles sin hogar en la capital de Bangladesh
Associated Press
DACA, Bangladesh (AP) — Un devastador incendio en una abarrotada barriada en el corazón de la capital de Bangladesh ha destruido 1.500 chozas, dejando a miles de personas sin hogar, informaron las autoridades el miércoles.
No se han reportado víctimas.
El incendio, que comenzó el martes por la noche en el enorme asentamiento irregular de Korail en Daca, fue sofocado el miércoles después de 16 horas, dijo Rashed Bin Khalid, un funcionario de guardia del Departamento de Servicio de Bomberos y Defensa Civil.
El director del servicio de bomberos, el teniente coronel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, afirmó que alrededor de 1.500 viviendas precarias fueron quemadas o dañadas en el incendio y miles de personas quedaron sin hogar.
Según datos oficiales, alrededor de 60.000 familias, muchas de ellas refugiados climáticos, viven en una barriada que abarca más de 65 hectáreas (160 acres). El asentamiento se extiende por los exclusivos vecindarios de Gulshan y Banani en Daca, y está rodeado de grupos de edificios de apartamentos y oficinas de gran altura.
Una densa humareda cubrió el área mientras las llamas envolvían las viviendas durante la noche.
Residentes que perdieron sus hogares buscaban el miércoles entre los escombros, desesperados por recuperar sus pertenencias.
Los bomberos dijeron que los estrechos callejones les complicaron el acceso al fuego.
Daca, una ciudad de 10,2 millones de habitantes en 2024, tiene cientos de barrios irregulares a los que migran personas de las zonas rurales de Bangladesh debido a la pobreza y la explotación. Los desastres inducidos por el clima también los empujan a los barrios improvisados de la ciudad, donde viven de trabajos informales como conducir rickshaws y trabajar como empleadas domésticas y limpiadores.
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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.
Kenny Beecham stays true to his roots in new NBC partnership: ‘Before I was a creator, I was a Bulls fan’
Kenny Beecham still remembers the exact day he fell in love with the Chicago Bulls.
April 15, 2003.
To set the scene: It’s the last game of the regular season. The Bulls are playing host to the Philadelphia 76ers, who are about to attempt another run to the NBA Finals. Allen Iverson is defending his title as, perhaps, the coolest hooper on the planet after winning MVP the year before. The Bulls, in comparison, dropped out of playoff contention weeks earlier.
Enter a young Jamal Crawford.
In his second year as a Bull, Crawford carried himself with an unburdened swagger that captivated a 7-year-old Beecham at home in his living room on the West Side. That carefree aggression was on full display midway through the second quarter, when Crawford swung the ball behind his back — first with the right hand, then with the left — to shake off his defender.
At the time, Beecham — and the rest of the NBA fans — had no idea this “shake-and-bake” move would come to define Crawford’s 20-year career. In April 2003, Beecham simply thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
The Bulls won 115-106. They also won the lifelong fandom of Beecham, who learned through the course of the game how basketball can, at its best, transform into something akin to religion.
Two decades later, Beecham is a familiar face in the NBA. His podcasts “Numbers on the Board” and “Small Ball with Kenny Beecham” command the viewership of hundreds of thousands of NBA fans. At the start of the season, NBC announced a partnership with Beecham’s entertainment company, Enjoy Basketball, to platform three podcasts as part of the network’s return to NBA rights ownership.
Kenny Beecham poses for a portrait on the set of “Small Ball with Kenny Beecham” at Enjoy Basketball in Oak Brook on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
And two decades after that game, Beecham found himself sitting across from Crawford during media day for NBC, waiting to ask the retired star everything about that game that he wanted to know as a 7-year-old. Crawford greeted the questions eagerly, letting Beecham in on a little-known anecdote — he took the ball home from the United Center that night, slept with it tucked to his chest.
Beecham represents a new type of success story in sports media — an independent content creator who built a platform through video content. But in that moment, he was just a kid from Chicago, reliving the first night of his life as a Bulls fan.
“A lot of people, when they get to the point where they’re covering the sport nationally, they lose their fandom,” Beecham told the Tribune. “But it’s important to me to do that. I buy completely into my fandom. It’s part of my identity as a creator to always follow the Bulls regardless of the talent that’s on the court.
“And it is one thing that I will make sure that I’ll never end up losing because, before I was a creator, I was a Bulls fan.”
Beecham made his first YouTube video when he was 13 after asking his dad for a Dazzle video recorder to capture game-play footage off his XBox 360. At the time, his only aspiration was to create YouTube videos for fun — but that quickly expanded as Beecham became comfortable with the medium and drew a larger viewership.
In 2017, the YouTube “Ad Apocalypse” shifted the landscape of streaming, forcing many creators away from the platform. At the time, Beecham decided to diversify by creating more sit-down analysis content and starting a podcast, “Numbers on the Board.”
Beecham didn’t want to start a podcast with other content creators. Instead, he pitched the concept to a group chat of friends from high school who already spent every day dissecting NBA games. Eight years later, “Numbers on the Board” draws 178,000 subscribers on YouTube and is a centerpiece property of the deal with NBC.
“We were all learning on the fly,” Beecham said. “I went from being on-camera talent to being the producer to being the guy that was creating the run of shows and buying all the equipment to at this point now being with NBC. I feel like I’ve lived through so many different setups since I was 13 to get to this point now, and I feel like every single one of them has been really important.”
Pierre Andresen and Darrick Miller, top, from left, and Kenny Beecham and Michael Heard, bottom, from left, pose for a portrait after filming an episode of “Numbers on the Board” at Enjoy Basketball in Oak Brook on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
NBC’s offer to fold Enjoy Basketball into its larger portfolio of NBA content reflects a shift across the sports media landscape to diversify offerings of nongame content.
Leagues are attempting to lower the average age of their viewers, but younger generations don’t consume content through traditional platforms such as cable TV. Both the NFL and NBA have adjusted their approach in recent seasons to address this reality, hiring Twitch streamers and YouTube creators to bridge the gap in their content portfolio.
“It’s really, really huge to try to convince the younger demographic that watching basketball games is worth it,” Beecham said. “That is a message that I’ve preached for years. We could all watch highlights — and there’s value in highlights — but there’s nothing better than sitting down and watching a full game.”
Beecham credits his loyal Bulls fandom for helping him better analyze the good and — too often for his taste — bad of the NBA. During down seasons, Beecham didn’t turn away from the Bulls. Instead, he spent his time trying to ask and answer big-picture questions: Is Kris Dunn a real NBA player? Will Lauri Markkanen be worth a No. 7 pick? Is Wendell Carter Jr. poised to be an NBA center when he’s undersized?
To find a foothold in the NBA space, Beecham learned there are levels to fandom — especially in a league in which teams play 82 games a season.
Some fans want to catch a game or two every week. Others spend their evenings with NBA League Pass in multiview mode, scrolling through sites such as Cleaning The Glass to devour analytics in real time. Many exist in the space in between. And Beecham believes no version of fandom is worth more than another.
“In order to be relatively successful in this space, you can’t shoo off either side,” he said. “You can’t be strictly analytical. You can’t just rely on, ‘Hey, that brother can ball.’ You have to find some middle ground.”
Beecham hopes the partnership with NBC is just the beginning of a new chapter in his career.
The NBA and its media rights partners continue to devote increased resources toward content creator affiliations. And Beecham is open to any opportunity to talk about basketball at the highest level — even if that means hopping on the desk one day.
“Look, if somebody were to call in sick, I’m one small flight away from Connecticut to get there,” he joked.
But for now, Beecham is savoring the current opportunity — using his heightened platform to show fans new and old how to love basketball a little more.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “And it feels right.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/26/kenny-beecham-chicago-bulls-nba-podcasts/
