‘Soft’ Survey Data Shows Services Strong, Manufacturing Weak In Nov

Tyler Durden
Fri, 11/21/2025 – 09:55

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/soft-survey-data-shows-services-strong-manufacturing-weak-nov 

The team includes four players from Chesterton and three players each from Boone Grove, Hanover Central and Lake Central.

FIRST TEAM

Luca Bombacino, Chesterton, junior, outside hitter: Had 452 kills, 226 digs and 42 aces for Class 4A sectional champion. All-America honorable mention, all-state second team, all-district, all-conference. Michigan commit.

Tenley Davis, Chesterton, senior, outside hitter: Had 452 kills, 273 digs and 37 blocks for 4A sectional champion. All-district, all-conference. Loyola commit.

Bella Del Real, Crown Point, senior, libero: Had 687 digs, 110 assists and 51 aces for 4A regional champion. All-America honorable mention, all-state first team, all-district, all-conference.

Aleece Ehler, Andrean, freshman, outside hitter: Had 278 digs, 178 kills and 54 aces. All-district, all-conference.

Alexa Iwema, Lake Central, senior, outside hitter: Had 302 digs, 291 kills and 40 aces. All-district, all-conference. Indiana softball commit.

Avery Mullin, Valparaiso, senior, outside hitter: Had 347 kills, 287 digs, 40 aces and 31 blocks. All-district, all-conference. Purdue Northwest commit.

Danielle Poskin, Andrean, senior, outside hitter: Had 653 digs and 66 assists. All-state second team, all-district, all-conference. Lewis softball commit.

Elle Schara, Crown Point, senior, outside hitter: Had 571 kills, 389 digs, 73 aces and 47 blocks for 4A regional champion. All-America third team, Indiana Miss Volleyball finalist, Indiana Senior All-Star, all-state first team, all-district, conference MVP. Purdue commit.

Lauren Voudrie, Boone Grove, junior, libero: Had 654 digs, 64 assists and 39 aces for 2A sectional champion. All-district, all-conference.

Mya Wargo, Boone Grove, sophomore, setter: Had 898 assists, 277 digs and 54 aces for 2A sectional champion. All-district, all-conference.

Olivia Zmuda, Marquette Catholic, freshman, libero: Had 682 digs, 82 aces and 65 assists. All-state second team, all-district.

SECOND TEAM

Brooklyn Barth, Lake Central, senior, libero: Had 315 digs, 54 assists and 26 aces. All-conference.

Gabi Esparza, Hanover Central, senior, setter: Had 775 assists, 288 digs, 143 aces and 115 kills for 3A sectional champion. All-conference.

Madison Gilliam, Chesterton, junior, middle blocker: Had 145 kills and 103 blocks for 4A sectional champion. All-conference.

Brooklyn Gluth, Boone Grove, sophomore, right-side hitter: Had 235 kills, 82 digs and 51 blocks for 2A sectional champion. All-conference.

Lucy McCollum, Merrillville, senior, setter: Had 492 assists, 311 digs, 102 kills, 70 aces and 41 blocks. All-conference. Ball State commit.

Ellie Nemeth, Kouts, junior, middle hitter: Had 249 kills, 82 digs, 43 aces and 39 blocks. Indiana Junior All-Star, all-district, all-conference.

Abigail Parrish, Chesterton, senior, setter: Had 492 assists, 236 digs, 103 kills, 42 aces and 33 blocks for 4A sectional champion. All-conference. Wayne State commit.

Sierra Ricke, Morgan Township, junior, setter: Had 598 assists, 221 digs, 92 aces and 77 kills. Conference MVP.

Evelyn Shirk, LaPorte, freshman, setter: Had 488 assists, 295 digs, 195 kills, 59 aces and 55 blocks. All-conference.

Kailey Skurka, Lake Central, junior, outside hitter: Had 311 kills, 184 digs and 28 aces. All-conference.

Mackenzie Snyder, Marquette Catholic, junior, outside hitter: Had 322 digs, 294 kills and 36 aces. Indiana Junior All-Star, all-district.

Lake Central’s Kailey Skurka serves during a Duneland Athletic Conference match against Crown Point in St. John on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

HONORABLE MENTION

Ava Bercot, Illiana Christian, senior, defensive specialist
Isabella Borrero, Illiana Christian, senior, setter
Liliana Chorba, Hanover Central, sophomore, libero
Avery Diener, Kankakee Valley, sophomore, outside hitter
Gabrielle Diener, Kankakee Valley, senior, setter
Nora Edgerton, Hanover Central, junior, outside hitter
Alissa Hope, Hobart, junior, middle blocker
Izabela Schumacher, Wheeler, junior, outside hitter
Lily Simpson, Valparaiso, junior, defensive specialist
Elizabeth Skubisz, Bishop Noll, sophomore, outside hitter
Erin Stewart, Kouts, senior, outside hitter

Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/2025-post-tribune-girls-volleyball-all-area-team/ 

Associated Press

LIMA (AP) — La justicia de Perú ordenó el viernes cinco meses de prisión preventiva y la captura nacional e internacional de la ex primera ministra Betssy Chávez, quien recibió asilo de México a inicios de noviembre y se encuentra en la embajada de ese país en Lima.

El juez supremo Juan Carlos Checkley aceptó un pedido de la fiscalía para que se modifique la comparecencia con restricciones de la que gozaba Chávez por una prisión preventiva luego de que la ex primera ministra incumpliera las reglas de conducta a las que estaba sometida en libertad y se asilara en la embajada mexicana.

Chávez está acusada de coautora del delito de rebelión por su participación el 7 de diciembre de 2022 cuando el expresidente Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) dispuso la disolución del Congreso, lo que finalmente derivó en su destitución.

Perú rompió relaciones con México tras el asilo concedido a Chávez e informó a inicios de esta semana que había resuelto “demorar” la decisión de concederle un salvoconducto para que abandone el país hacia México hasta que consulte con países miembros de la OEA sobre una convención de asilo.

Perú sostiene que en el caso de Chávez la Convención de Caracas se ha usado de forma “indebida” porque la ex primera ministra está acusada de un delito común y no es víctima de una persecución política.

Días después de que México le otorgó el asilo a Chávez el Congreso peruano declaró persona no grata a la presidenta mexicana Claudia Sheinbaum en rechazo a lo que legisladores calificaron como una “reiterada injerencia” en los asuntos internos del país sudamericano.

México objetó la decisión de los congresistas peruanos y dijo en un comunicado, difundido por la Cancillería, que la medida estaba motivada por “planteamientos falsos”.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/justicia-de-per-ordena-5-meses-de-crcel-para-ex-primera-ministra-asilada-en-embajada-de-mxico/ 

Por JUSTIN SPIKE

BUDAPEST, Hungría (AP) — Un sarcófago romano notablemente bien conservado fue desenterrado en la capital de Hungría, ofreciendo una inusual ventana a la vida de la joven mujer en su interior y al mundo que habitaba hace unos 1.700 años.

Arqueólogos del Museo de Historia de Budapest descubrieron el ataúd de piedra caliza durante una excavación a gran escala en Óbuda, un distrito al norte de la ciudad que una vez formó parte de Aquincum, un bullicioso asentamiento romano en la frontera del Danubio.

Intacto de saqueadores y sellado durante siglos, el sarcófago fue encontrado con su tapa de piedra aún fija en su lugar, asegurada por abrazaderas de metal y plomo fundido. Cuando los investigadores levantaron cuidadosamente la tapa, descubrieron un esqueleto completo rodeado por decenas de artefactos.

“La peculiaridad del hallazgo es que era un sarcófago herméticamente sellado. No fue perturbado previamente, por lo que estaba intacto”, explicó Gabriella Fényes, la arqueóloga principal de la excavación.

El ataúd yacía entre las ruinas de casas abandonadas en un barrio de Aquincum desocupado en el siglo III y más tarde reutilizado como cementerio. Cerca, los investigadores descubrieron un acueducto romano y ocho tumbas más simples, pero ninguna se acercaba a la riqueza o condición prístina de la tumba sellada.

Siguiendo las costumbres funerarias romanas, el sarcófago contenía varios objetos: dos vasos de vidrio completamente intactos, figuras de bronce y 140 monedas. Un alfiler de hueso para el cabello, una pieza de joyería de ámbar y rastros de tela con hilos de oro, junto con el tamaño del esqueleto, indican que la tumba pertenecía a una joven.

Fényes comentó que los objetos eran “artículos que sus familiares dieron a la fallecida para su viaje eterno”.

“La fallecida fue enterrada con mucho cuidado por sus familiares. Debieron haber amado mucho a quien enterraron aquí”, expresó.

Durante el período romano, gran parte de lo que hoy es Hungría formaba la provincia de Panonia, cuya frontera corría a lo largo de la orilla derecha del río Danubio a menos de 1,6 kilómetros (1 milla) del sitio. A poca distancia se encontraba un campamento legionario que custodiaba la frontera del imperio, y se cree que las estructuras recién encontradas formaban parte del asentamiento civil que creció a su alrededor.

Antropólogos examinarán ahora los restos de la joven, un proceso que se espera revele más sobre su edad, salud y orígenes. Pero incluso ahora, la ubicación de la tumba y la abundancia de artefactos ofrecen pistas contundentes.

“El sarcófago y su contenido definitivamente lo hacen destacar”, indicó Gergely Kostyál, especialista en el período romano y colíder del proyecto. “Esto probablemente significa que la fallecida era acomodada o de un estatus social más alto”.

“Es realmente inusual encontrar un sarcófago como este, intacto y nunca antes usado, porque en el siglo IV era común reutilizar sarcófagos anteriores”, añadió. “Es bastante claro que este fue hecho específicamente para la fallecida”.

Los excavadores también retiraron una capa de barro de aproximadamente 4 centímetros (1,5 pulgadas) de grosor del interior del ataúd que Fényes espera pueda contener más tesoros.

“Sospecho que podríamos encontrar joyas. No hemos encontrado pendientes u otras joyas pertenecientes a la mujer, así que espero que estos pequeños objetos aparezcan durante el tamizado del barro”, manifestó.

Para Fényes, el descubrimiento del sarcófago romano no solo tiene un significado científico, sino que también ofrece una visión emocionalmente resonante de la devoción mostrada por las personas en un tiempo antiguo.

“Me conmovió mucho el cuidado y la expresión de amor que pudimos vislumbrar”, dijo. “Incluso ahora, me estremezco al pensar lo doloroso que debió haber sido para las personas de esa época enterrar a esta joven dama”.

______

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/arquelogos-descubren-un-sarcfago-romano-de-1-700-aos-en-budapest/ 

Starting now, Chicago’s North Shore suburbs are offering an abundance of twinkling lights, photos with Santa, Christmas tree lightings, carolers, gingerbread, cocoa, menorah lightings, holiday teas, skating, concerts and more. Here’s a list to get you into the merry mood of the holidays.

Nov. 14 through Jan. 4

Lightscape at Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. A 1.3 mile walking trail featuring designer-curated holiday lights, art and music, with festive treats available. chicagobotanic.org/lightscape
Willow Hill Lights, 1350 Willow Road, Northbrook. Opens nightly at 5 p.m. A 2.5 mile drive-through holiday lights show. $40 per car. Advance purchase recommended, some tickets available at venue. Entrance is on Willow Road, west of Route 43 and in between I-94 and I-294. willowhilllights.com

Friday, Nov. 22-Sunday, Dec. 7

Santa’s Mailbox, Mallinckrodt Park Gazebo, 1041A Ridge Rd., Wilmette. Drop a letter to Santa with a self-addressed stamped envelope in the magical mailbox, receive a reply. Free.

Friday, Nov. 28

Glencoe’s Annual Light the Lights Festival, downtown Glencoe. Lighting Ceremony on Village Court  at 5 p.m.,
live music, meet the characters of “Frozen,” trackless train rides, photos with Santa at Writers Theatre , live reindeer,
Writers Theatre bar and live music, crafts at Glencoe Public Library, tunnel of lights connecting Park Avenue and Tudor Court. villageofglencoe.org/

Nov. 28 and continuing

Fresh Christmas and holiday trees, daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Historic Wagner Farm, 1510 Wagner Road, Glenview.
Dress up your home and yard with the Farm’s cut
holiday trees and wreaths. All sales help to support the animals on the Farm. glenviewparks.org.

Saturday, Nov. 29

Holiday in the Park & Parade 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Follow the parade down Glenview Road from Our Lady of Perpetual Help  Church going west to Jackman Park, 1011 Lehigh Avenue, Glenview. Festivities in the park include a visit with Santa, hay rides, a train ride for kids, carolers, cookies, hot chocolate and popcorn.

A snow machine was popular at Jackman Park during the Nov. 30, 2024 Holiday in the Park and Parade in downtown Glenview. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

Thursday, Dec. 4

Holiday Sip & Shop, 4 to 7:00 p.m. Downtown Wilmette. Enjoy shopping, in-store promotions, refreshments, and festive cheer at participating downtown merchants. Free gift wrapping. https://www.wilmettekenilworth.com/

Friday, Dec. 5

Winnetka Annual Tree Lighting, 5 p.m., Dwyer Park, near the intersection of Elm and Birch, Winnetka. Visits with Santa, caroling, hot chocolate, shopping at downtown businesses. wngchamber.com

Saturday, Dec. 6

Holiday Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Techny Prairie Activity Center, 180 Anets Drive, Northbrook. Browse new and handmade jewelry, arts, crafts, kitchen items, pens, etc. Free admission for shoppers, free hot chocolate.
Flapjacks & Flannels, 9 to 11 a.m. Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St., Evanston. Families will enjoy a delicious pancake breakfast, festive winter crafts and a visit with Santa. $10 for youth/$15 for adults. Register at cityofevanston.org/recreation.
Festival of Trees, 4 to 6 p.m., Park Center, 2400 Chestnut Ave., Glenview. View the decorated trees and vote for your favorites. Take pictures with Santa Claus and The Grinch. Enjoy carolers, children’s crafts and activities. $5; children ages 2 and under are free. glenviewparks.org
Holiday Happenings in Wilmette. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wilmette Village Green and various locations. Visit with Santa, enjoy a giant snow globe, curling in Ouilmette Way, live performances, and New Trier carolers. See a showing of “Elf” at the Wilmette Theatre. At 9 a.m., enjoy a Frozen Character Breakfast at Convito Café (reservations required: 847-251-3653 or convitomanager@gmail.com). Caroling, cocoa, and the annual tree lighting take place at 5 p.m. on Village Green. wilmette.gov/745/Holiday-Events-2025
Downtown Evanston Tree Lighting, 4:30 to 7 p.m., Fountain Square, Evanston. Includes performances from the Evanston Children’s Choir, Evanston Folk Choir and others, followed by visits with Santa at The Merion, 1611 Chicago Ave., Evanston. downtownevanston.org/treelighting

Friday, Dec. 5-Saturday, Dec. 6

Adult Gingerbread House Workshop, 7 p.m. Lakeview Center, Wilmette. Build an artisan gingerbread house with BYOB beverages, refreshments. R-$49 / NR-$61, age 21+. Register at wilmettepark.org

Saturday, Dec. 6 – Sunday, Dec. 7

Chicagoland Holiday Bookstore Trolley. Climb aboard a holiday trolley for a festive ride, stopping at indie bookstores along your route! Our first ever Chicagoland Holiday Bookstore Trolley brings together 43 indie bookstores across the city and suburbs.  Route 1: 9:30 a.m. Dec. 6 tour begins and ends at Bookends & Beginnings 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston. Route 3: 10:30 a.m. Dec. 7 tour begins and ends at The Book Stall, 811 Elm St, Winnetka.
Family Gingerbread House Workshops, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Community Recreation Center, Wilmette. Create a holiday house, decorate it with frosting and sweets.
R-$49 / NR-$61, age 3+. Register at wilmettepark.org.

Saturday, Dec. 6-Saturday, Dec. 20

Breakfast with Santa, Various times and dates. The Lawn Grill at Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Dr., Wilmette. Enjoy breakfast, photos with Santa, a goodie bag and hot chocolate decorating. Adults R-$41/NR-$51, Children 3-17 R-$20/NR-$25, age 2 and under free. Register at wilmettepark.org.

Santa and all his helpers wave to the crowd at the Wilmette Holiday Parade in a previous year. (Pioneer Press)

Sunday, Dec. 7

Welcome to Winter, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Weinberg Family Recreation Center, 305 Randolph, Glencoe. Enjoy Happy Land Mini Golf on ice, skating, games, music, and refreshments! Free for passholders; $24 for non-passholders. Learn more at glencoeparkdistrict.com
Shine: A Chanukah Celebration, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Techny Prairie Activity Center, 180 Anets Drive, Northbrook
Music, cookie decorating, crafts. $15/$19 residents/nonresidents. Register at nbparks.org.
Breakfast with Santa. 11:30 a.m. Glenview Park Golf Club, 800 Shermer Rd., Glenview. Meet Santa and enjoy an Italian-inspired breakfast from Coarse Italian. $50 adults; $25 for children 11 and under (plus tax and gratuity). Children under 2 free. 847-657-3200 for reservations.
Holiday Teas at Evanston History Center. 225 Greenwood St., Evanston. Family tea at 10:30 a.m., adults-only tea at 4 p.m.  $10-$40. evanstonhistorycenter.org/events/

Thursday, Dec. 11- Sunday, Dec. 14

The Nutcracker, Various times. Community Recreation Center, Wilmette. The beloved holiday production is presented by Wilmette Center for the Arts. $13 reserved seating. Register at wilmettepark.org.

Friday, Dec. 12

Visit and photos with Santa. Timeslots between 4 to 8 p.m., Weinberg Family Recreation Center, 305 Randolph, Glencoe. Picture times are scheduled every 10 minutes and families can gather for a group photo within a single time slot. $15/$20 R/NR per group. Register for Activity #220321 at glencoeparkdistrict.com.
Senior Holiday Party, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunset Ridge Country Club, 2100 Sunset Ridge Road, Northfield. Enjoy a delicious lunch (three choices) amidst beautiful decorations, a raffle with holiday prizes and live music by Maureen Christine. Ages 55 and up. $65 Senior Center members, $85 nonmembers. Register at nbparks.org.
Christmas Candlelight Tours, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., The Grove, 1421 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview. Step back into time to discover the sights and sounds of a traditional 19th
century family Christmas. Guests will be ushered through the festively adorned, candlelit rooms of the 1856 Kennicott House by a historically-dressed guide. Tours end with a visit and small gift from Santa. $12/$15 resident/non-resident.
Register at glenviewparks.org.

Friday, Dec. 12- Sunday, Dec.14

Nutcracker on Ice. Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.; Dec.13 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main St., Evanston. Attend the 50th anniversary of Evanston’s Nutcracker on Ice with stars from the present and past. $12. Tickets at cityofevanston.org/recreation or at the performance.

Saturday, Dec. 13

Downtown Skokie Holiday Cookie Walk, 1 to 3 p.m. Visit 20 downtown Skokie locations and receive a unique Christmas/holiday cookie at each. Start at FLX Move, 5117 Brown St., Skokie. $36.35, benefits Skokie Community Foundation. downtownskokie.community/cookiewalk

Saturday, Dec. 13 – Sunday, Dec. 14

Northbrook Community Theatre Presents: ‘A Christmas Chaos.’ Northbrook Public Library, 1201 Cedar Lane, Northbrook. When the Royal Shakespeare Company fails to show up for their performance of “A Christmas
Carol” in Northbrook, it is up to a rag-tag bunch of community members to put on the full production with only five minutes’ notice! Fun for the whole family. Tickets $17 at nbparks.org.

Sunday, Dec. 14

Holiday Exhibition, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Centennial Ice Rinks, 2300 Old Glenview Rd., Wilmette. Cheer on skaters at a festive holiday showcase. Free, all ages.
Log Cabin Christmas, The Grove, 1421 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview. Enjoy an evening filled with a crackling fire, holiday songs, tree decorating and  games. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
$10/$12 resident/non-resident. glenviewparks.org.
Menorah Lighting, 5:30 p.m. Wilmette Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette. Features the Wilmette Junior High Choir, hot cocoa, a 12-foot menorah, songs, stilt walker.

Wednesday, Dec. 17

The Great Holiday Wrap-Up, Noon to 6 p.m. Mallinckrodt Center, 1041A Ridge Rd., Wilmette. Drop off up to 10 gifts for wrapping; free with non-perishable food pantry donation.

Thursday, Dec. 18

Cultural Carousel, 5 to 7 p.m., Takiff Center, 999 Green Bay Road, Glencoe. Dive into festive winter activities like making a snowman, decorating holiday cookies, and building a LEGO® dreidel. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. $13/$16 R/NR. Register for Activity #220838 at glencoeparkdistrict.com.

Friday, Dec. 19

‘Tis the Season Bingo, 1:30 to 3 p.m., Northbrook Senior Center, 3323 Walters Ave., Northbrook. Bingo, treats and prizes with friends. Wear festive attire to spin the wheel and possibly win a holiday treat. Light refreshments. Ages 55 and up. $6 Senior Center members, $19 nonmembers.
Register at nbparks.org.
Women of Note: Happy Holidays, 2:30 p.m. Mallinckrodt Center, 1041A Ridge Rd., Wilmette. Enjoy a free holiday performance by the Women of Note chorus followed by light refreshments.
Winter Solstice Parade of Lights, 5 to 6 p.m., Shelton Park (251 Harbor Street, Glencoe). Decorate yourself, pets or strollers with lights for a festive stroll down the Green Bay Trail, ending with songs, hot chocolate, and refreshments by the fire pit. Learn more at glencoeparkdistrict.com. Free.
Left, Meridith Clement of Glencoe, FGBT trustee, addresses the audience. In the foreground is an illuminated stroller with parent Mariah Cunnick of Winnetka and children Ava Scovil, 2, and sibling Charlie Scovil, 1, at the ninth annual Winter Solstice Trail of Lights event and parade on Dec. 20, 2024 in Glencoe at Shelton Park. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

Saturday, Dec. 20

Santa Paws Pop-Up Holiday Dog Photos, Village Green Center, 1810 Walters Ave., Northbrook. What’s cuter than your dog  posing for a photo with Santa? Receive a doggie goodie bag and five-minute photo time slot. Dogs must be on a leash. Northbrook Park District staff can assist with capturing the perfect shot on your phone. $7 per dog. Register at nbparks.org.
Winter Solstice Bonfire, 7 to 8:30 p.m.Lighthouse Beach, 2603 Sheridan Road, Evanston. Learn about the winter solstice and traditions and enjoy s’mores and cocoa. $19.52. Register at cityofevanston.org/recreation.

Dec. 22 to Jan. 2

Winter Break Fun. The Northbrook Park District offers camp plus field trips for ages 5 to 13 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school holiday break. Camp takes place at Greenbriar Gym, 1225 Greenbriar Lane, Northbrook. Field trip destinations include Kids Empire, ClimbZone and Enchanted Castle. Additional afternoon care is available from 3 to 6 p.m. Visit nbparks.org/programs/schooldayoff.

Wednesday, Dec. 24

Skate with Santa, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Centennial Ice Rinks, 2300 Old Glenview Rd., Wilmette. Enjoy cocoa and skating. $5 with food donation, standard fees otherwise, all ages.

Friday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa Celebration, 6 p.m. Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main St., Evanston. Commemorate Kwanzaa by joining in an African Drum Circle, watching dance performances, enjoying food, and more. Free for all. No registration required.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/christmas-holiday-events-in-skokie-evanston-wilmette-glenview-northbrook-glencoe-winnetka/ 

NEW YORK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent a recent Wednesday showered in praise from the vice president and health technology CEOs at a glitzy “Make America Healthy Again” event in Washington, designed to celebrate the health secretary’s successes and the movement he has built.

Yet online, a different narrative of his tenure was playing out as a small but vocal group of Kennedy’s supporters and former employees assailed top Trump administration advisers, claiming they were sabotaging him and redirecting MAHA away from its original goals.

“MAHA is not MAHA anymore,” Gray Delany, a former Department of Health and Human Services official ousted in August, said in a podcast interview that day. “I’m not there, but what I’ve heard of what’s happening today is not the MAHA that we signed up for.”

The criticisms, which grew loud enough that the health secretary took to social media to defend his colleagues two days later, exposed the cracks that are beginning to form within his coalition as it amasses power and broadens in scope.

Several of the environmental advocates and vaccine skeptics who helped propel Kennedy into politics have become impatient with what they view as inadequate action on their priorities. They’re also wary that the Health Department appears willing to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies, tech firms and other big corporations whose motives they don’t trust.

The fissures pose a threat to the cohesion of a movement that has given President Donald Trump an important ally and Republicans access to a new group of voters. They come as cracks have developed in Trump’s own Make America Great Again movement over issues like the Epstein files and the White House’s focus on global diplomacy.

In the wider public, MAHA has enjoyed soaring popularity. About two-thirds of Americans said they supported the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative from the federal government, according to an Ipsos poll from June.

“MAHA’s growth is a sign of its success,” said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon. “Secretary Kennedy is leading a broad coalition to make Americans healthier, guided by transparency, accountability and measurable results. The movement’s meaning hasn’t changed and it’s stronger than ever.”

Public health researchers say the genius that fuels Kennedy’s movement — the universal appeal of making Americans healthier — can also cause conflicts by inviting competing interests.

“This is a tale as old as time in politics,” said Matt Motta, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health. “The bigger your tent is, the harder it can be to make everyone happy.”

Frustration rises from within

Kennedy, a longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist who helped lead the crusade against COVID-19 shots during the pandemic, has taken many steps to curtail vaccines this year. He pulled $500 million for their development, ousted and replaced every member of a federal vaccine advisory committee and pledged to overhaul a federal program for compensating Americans injured by shots. He also has repeatedly spread false and misleading information about vaccines while in office.

As recently as this week, in a move that thrilled Kennedy’s anti-vaccine base, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its website to contradict the longtime scientific conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism.

But many of Kennedy’s supporters in what they call the “health freedom” movement say it’s not enough. Some want punishments for companies that profited from vaccine and mask requirements during the pandemic. Others want mRNA-based COVID-19 shots pulled from the shelves, despite scientific consensus that they have saved millions of lives.

In their attacks on the administration last week, a few MAHA influencers and two fired HHS employees suggested White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Kennedy’s close adviser, Stefanie Spear, were conspiring to limit Kennedy’s ability to restrict vaccines and crack down on pharmaceutical companies.

Some Kennedy supporters latched on to the claims and pointed to Wiles’ career history at a lobbying firm that has worked with Pfizer as evidence she’s trying to undermine him. They also shared years-old social media posts from Spear criticizing Trump.

Kennedy defended his colleagues in two posts on X, saying the MAHA movement has “no better friend in Washington” than Wiles and that Spear has become a Trump loyalist.

“Let’s focus on our extraordinary achievements to date and the monumental work that still needs to be done,” Kennedy wrote. “Let’s build our coalition instead of splintering it.”

The meaning of MAHA now depends on whom you ask

Since the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan debuted on the campaign trail last year, Kennedy and Trump have widened the MAHA tent considerably by inviting anyone into the fold who has concerns about Americans’ health, nutrition and chronic disease.

That’s attracted a diverse crowd, including moneyed interests — among them health data startups, artificial intelligence firms, drug manufacturers and even fast-food companies. Steak ’n Shake recently promoted its fries cooked in beef tallow, saying it was “proud to be part of the MAHA movement.”

At the recent MAHA event in Washington, hosted by the pro-Kennedy group MAHA Action, Kennedy and other federal health officials appeared on a stage that was occupied throughout the day by biotech companies like CRISPR Therapeutics and Regeneron, the brain-computer interface company Neuralink and various AI companies and health startups. The invitation list raised flags for some longtime Kennedy supporters.

“I was not thrilled about some of the people who were there,” said Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the Health Freedom Defense Fund, a nonprofit that promotes bodily autonomy. “I don’t think that we make America healthy again through pills, creams, injections, pharmaceuticals, chips, monitors, devices.”

Tony Lyons, president of MAHA Action, told The Associated Press that the MAHA movement’s strength “comes from its openness to ideas, from its dedication to including all voices, all perspectives, more dialogue, more fierce debate.”

“We don’t want to exclude anyone,” he said. “We don’t want to censor anyone.”

Ethan Augreen, who led Colorado’s volunteer effort for Kennedy’s presidential campaign last year, said he was concerned both by speakers at the event and by a recent Kennedy social media post about meeting with tech leaders to talk about personal health data.

He said he hoped Kennedy would fight corruption in America’s health care system and remove mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from the market.

“There’s definitely some alarm bells going,” Augreen said. “Grassroots MAHA people definitely don’t trust these corporations, and it’s not really apparent whether the administration is just getting in bed with them or really holding their feet to the fire.”

Kennedy and his team thread a needle on the MAHA message

At a recent Oval Office meeting, Kennedy stood with Trump and other administration leaders as they touted a deal with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand coverage and reduce the prices of weight-loss drugs.

Kennedy had previously expressed skepticism about GLP-1 weight-loss medications and has said he wants to focus on the root causes of disease instead of medicating the public. But he praised the deal, even as he was careful to add it wasn’t a “silver bullet.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said during the MAHA event that scrutiny of it from Kennedy’s base was “understandable.” He defended the administration as using Trump’s negotiation playbook instead of going “head-to-head with adversaries.”

Several of Kennedy’s core supporters said they see the government as a deeply entrenched bureaucracy that won’t be easy to reform, even as they hope he’ll be able to remove toxins from food and the environment and further restrict vaccines. Kennedy, at an appearance with western governors Thursday, said he doesn’t intend to take away people’s access to vaccines.

Jeffrey Tucker, founder of the nonprofit Brownstone Institute who has rallied support behind Kennedy, said MAHA activists are idealistic but at times naive about the difficulty of government reform.

“It’s very important to hold on to your ideals,” he said. “But if you’re doing nothing but throwing rocks, then you can become a problem.”

Motta, the professor, said regardless of where MAHA goes next, it’s already bigger than any singular policy position.

“Identities do not go away easily,” he said. “They are deeply held; they are deeply integrated into our sense of self. And I would be shocked if this was a movement that faded.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/maha-idealism-robert-kennedy/ 

Wall Street futures quickly reversed course and turned positive early Friday in very volatile markets, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%. Nasdaq futures edged up 0.2% after being down overnight. Yet technology-heavy Nasdaq may be on its way to its worst week since President Donald Trump rolled out his tariff policy in April.

Nvidia erased a 1.4% overnight loss, getting back to Thursday’s closing price as its shares continued to ping-pong. Worries persist about a possible bubble in artificial intelligence -related shares, even after the chipmaker posted a big profit for the summer and forecast strong revenue that easily cleared analysts’ expectations.

Bitcoin continued its slide, nearly falling under the $80,000 threshold before turning around. The original cryptocurrency is down 34% since reaching an all-time high around $126,000 on Oct. 6. It was at $83,700 early Friday morning.

Bright spots included mall-based clothing retailers Ross Stores and The Gap, which both beat Wall Street’s sales and profit expectations. The Gap jumped more than 6% before the bell, while Ross gained 2.8%.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX declined 0.4%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and the CAC 40 were both unchanged.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.4% to 48,625.88 as the government approved a $135 billion stimulus package that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi promised as part of efforts to revive the sluggish economy. However, the plans for higher government spending that would delay progress toward trimming down the national debt have put the yen and Japanese government bonds under pressure.

The yield on the 30-year government bond has been touching record levels on heavy selling, hitting 3.37% on Friday.

Meanwhile, data released Friday showed the country’s core inflation rate excluding volatile food prices rose to 3.0% in October from 2.9% in September.

Japan reported Friday that its exports to the rest of the world rose in October, while those to the U.S. fell. Higher shipments to elsewhere in Asia helped offset the drop in exports to the U.S due to President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs.

In the stock market, selling of tech shares dominated, with computer chip test equipment maker Advantest sinking 12.1%, while chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 7.1%.

South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 3.8% to 3,853.26, reversing Thursday’s gains. Samsung Electronics sank 5.8%, while SK Hynix plunged 8.8%.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index skidded 2.4 % to 25,220.02 while the Shanghai Composite index slid nearly 2.5% to 3,834.89, with pressure also coming from escalating friction between China and Japan over Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.6%, with market heavyweight TSMC, the world’s biggest contract maker of semiconductors, falling 4.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.6% to 8,416.50. while India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.5%.

“What began as a textbook “Nvidia bounce” flipped into one of the most violent intraday reversals since the April dump, and Asia — ever the obedient understudy — marched directly into the same plunge tank on the open,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil slid 45 cents to $58.45 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 33 cents to $63.05 per barrel.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/us-futures-wall-street/ 

Benet senior Colin Stack enjoys the view from the top.

The 7-foot-1 center has been the tallest player on the court in every game he has played for the Redwings over the past two seasons, and he and his teammates reached the top of the mountain last season when they won the first state championship in program history.

Stack’s body and game continue to grow, and the North Dakota State recruit is far from reaching his ceiling, people around him say.

“He’ll definitely play professionally,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “It’s just a question of where.

“He has professional potential because he’s got the size, he’s got the skill, he’s going to get stronger physically. He’s going to look different at 22 or 23 than he looks at 18. He gets better all the time.”

Senior guard Jayden Wright, an Eastern Illinois recruit, has seen that improvement up close. He and Stack joined the varsity team together when they were sophomores.

“He definitely can (play professionally) if he wants to,” Wright said. “He’s gotten better every single year. Now he’s obviously the best he’s been.”

Benet’s Colin Stack (42) puts up a shot against Evanston during a Class 4A state semifinal at the State Farm Center in Champaign on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Naperville Sun)

Stack, who averaged 12.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the Redwings (33-5) to earn All-East Suburban Catholic Conference honors last season, has always been tall. But he figures to make an even bigger impact at both ends of the court.

“He’s a great rim protector,” Wright said. “When you have a 7-footer behind you, it really makes your job easier when you’re a guard.

“If you get blown by, he’s there to help you, so he changes things for the opposing team on the defensive end. And then on the offensive end, he’s a great rebounder. He’s really active, and then he can shoot it really well, not just for his size but in general. He’s definitely in for a big senior year.”

Stack’s future is bright, but he’s focused on the present and is relaxed now that his recruiting process has ended.

“It’s such a relief because now you don’t have to worry about overperforming or numbers or anything,” he said. “You just go out and play.

“Now I get to focus on my season and winning. Obviously, we want to go back to back.”

That’s not an unrealistic goal for the Redwings, who have one of the best guard-center combos in the state with Wright and Stack. But both will be taking on greater responsibilities.

“Obviously, it’s more of a leadership role,” Stack said. “You have to hold people accountable, and I feel like I have to do a little bit better of a job with that.

“There’s kids looking up to me and Jay. So it’s a lot more expectations in terms of figuring stuff out, doing things the right way, make sure the team acts the way they’re supposed to act.”

Benet’s Colin Stack grabs a rebound during a game against Rich Township in the When Sides Collide shootout in Lisle on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)

The leadership role is just the latest act in a play in which Stack seemed fated to star. More than a dozen of his relatives have played college sports, most at the Division I level in basketball or volleyball.

Stack’s father, David, played basketball at Purdue and won a Big Ten title, and his mother, Suzette, played basketball at Augustana. Stack’s older sisters Lauren, Erin and Katrina followed suit at American, Western Carolina and Quincy, respectively.

Several of Stack’s aunts, uncles and cousins were Division I players, most notably his cousin Frank Kaminsky, a retired NBA player who works as a broadcast analyst for the Phoenix Suns’ G League affiliate.

“That’s what I want to do,” Stack said of broadcasting. “I’m not great with numbers, but I know how to explain why they’re shooting that number.”

For Heidkamp, it’s not hard to explain why Stack’s numbers could be on the rise this season.

“He’s been through a lot in the last couple years,” Heidkamp said. “He’s played in every game you can play in, and he’s played at a high level.

“He was a huge part of the state championship team last year. So we expect big things from him this year, and we think he’s just going to get better and better and he’s going to have a big year. We need him to have a big year, and he’s certainly capable of that.”

But Stack knows there are no shortcuts.

“We have a lot to improve on, so it’s going to be a day-to-day kind of thing,” he said. “We have to grind every single day if we want to go where we want to be.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/north-dakota-state-basketball-commit-colin-stack-benet/ 

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is to meet in private Friday with a high-profile issue on its agenda — President Donald Trump ’s birthright citizenship order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

The justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear Trump’s appeal of lower court rulings that have uniformly struck down the citizenship restrictions. They have not taken effect anywhere in the United States.

If the court steps in now, the case would be argued in the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term in the White House, is part of his administration’s broad immigration crackdown. Other actions include immigration enforcement surges in several cities and the first peacetime invocation of the 18th century Alien Enemies Act.

The administration is facing multiple court challenges, and the high court has sent mixed signals in emergency orders it has issued. The justices effectively stopped the use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without court hearings, while they allowed the resumption of sweeping immigration stops in the Los Angeles area after a lower court blocked the practice of stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.

The justices also are weighing the administration’s emergency appeal to be allowed to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area for immigration enforcement actions. A lower court has indefinitely prevented the deployment.

Birthright citizenship is the first Trump immigration-related policy to reach the court for a final ruling. Trump’s order would upend more than 125 years of understanding that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers citizenship on everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions for the children of foreign diplomats and those born to a foreign occupying force.

In a series of decisions, lower courts have struck down the executive order as unconstitutional, or likely so, even after a Supreme Court ruling in late June that limited judges’ use of nationwide injunctions.

While the Supreme Court curbed the use of nationwide injunctions, it did not rule out other court orders that could have nationwide effects, including in class-action lawsuits and those brought by states. The justices did not decide at that time whether the underlying citizenship order is constitutional.

But every lower court that has looked at the issue has concluded that Trump’s order violates or most likely violates the 14th Amendment, which was intended to ensure that Black people, including former slaves, had citizenship.

The administration is appealing two cases.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled in July that a group of states that sued over the order needed a nationwide injunction to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship being in effect in some states and not others.

Also in July, a federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the citizenship order in a class-action lawsuit including all children who would be affected.

The American Civil Liberties Union, leading the legal team in the New Hampshire case, urged the court to reject the appeal because the administration’s “arguments are so flimsy,” ACLU lawyer Cody Wofsy said. “But if the court decides to hear the case, we’re more than ready to take Trump on and win.”

Birthright citizenship automatically makes anyone born in the United States an American citizen, including children born to mothers who are in the country illegally, under long-standing rules. The right was enshrined soon after the Civil War in the first sentence of the 14th Amendment.

The administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.

“The lower court’s decisions invalidated a policy of prime importance to the president and his administration in a manner that undermines our border security,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in urging the high court’s review. “Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-2/ 

Por JUSTIN SPIKE

BUDAPEST (AP) — El servicio húngaro de Radio Free Europe, Szabad Európa, cesó sus operaciones el viernes luego que el gobierno del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunciara que ya no financiará el medio de noticias prodemocracia.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, que es financiada por el gobierno estadounidense, se estableció por primera vez durante la Guerra Fría para proporcionar noticias e información a la población dentro de la Unión Soviética y detrás de la Cortina de Hierro. Sus programas se emiten en 27 idiomas en 23 países de Europa del Este, Asia Central y el Oriente Medio.

El servicio húngaro fue suspendido en 1993 pero reiniciado en 2020 después que la Agencia de Estados Unidos para los Medios Globales, una agencia federal independiente, y el Congreso de Estados Unidos aprobaran su relanzamiento en respuesta al fuerte declive de la libertad de prensa en Hungría bajo el gobierno del primer ministro Viktor Orbán.

En un comunicado el jueves anunciando el fin de sus operaciones, Szabad Európa escribió que había “trabajado con dedicación para proporcionar lo mejor del periodismo e información objetiva a los lectores húngaros”.

“Agradecemos la confianza, el interés y el apoyo que hemos recibido de nuestra audiencia”, se lee en el comunicado, añadiendo que sus artículos seguirán estando disponibles en línea.

El cierre de Szabad Európa se registra al tiempo que el gobierno de Trump ha realizado importantes recortes a emisoras internacionales como Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty y Voice of America, así como a emisoras públicas nacionales como PBS y NPR.

Kari Lake, la fallida candidata a gobernadora de Arizona y al Senado de Estados Unidos, a quien Trump nombró asesora principal de la Agencia de Estados Unidos para los Medios Globales, informó al Congreso en una carta a principios de este mes que la agencia ya no financiará Szabad Európa, escribiendo que sus operaciones en Hungría “no estaban alineadas con los intereses nacionales de Estados Unidos” y que “socavaban” la política exterior de Trump.

En una publicación en X dos días después —el día en que Trump recibió a Orbán para conversaciones en la Casa Blanca— Lake escribió que “los globalistas son más que bienvenidos a odiar a nuestro aliado Viktor Orbán”.

“Lo que no tienen derecho es a usar SU dinero para desestabilizar el régimen húngaro a través de programación financiada por los contribuyentes en Szabad Európa. Vamos a poner fin a eso”, escribió. Orbán respondió a su publicación con gratitud, escribiendo, “¡Gracias!”

Desde que regresó al poder en 2010, Orbán, un aliado de Trump, ha supervisado la construcción de una enorme maquinaria mediática progobierno en Hungría y numerosos periódicos y medios independientes han sido cerrados o puestos bajo el control de figuras con estrechos vínculos gubernamentales.

Según el observatorio de prensa Reporteros Sin Fronteras, Orbán ha utilizado adquisiciones de medios por parte de oligarcas conectados al gobierno para construir “un verdadero imperio mediático sujeto a las órdenes de su partido”.

El grupo estima que tales adquisiciones han dado al partido de Orbán el control de aproximadamente el 80% de los recursos del mercado mediático de Hungría. En 2021, lo incluyó en su lista de “depredadores” de los medios, siendo el primer mandatario de la Unión Europea en obtener esa distinción.

A principios de este año, el partido de Orbán introdujo una ley que pondrá en una lista negra y multará a los medios críticos que reciban financiación o subvenciones del extranjero.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/21/cierra-servicio-hngaro-de-radio-free-europe-tras-recortes-de-fondos-de-trump/