Category: News
Gran Bretaña advierte a legisladores que espías chinos buscan contactarlos por LinkedIn
LONDRES (AP) — La agencia de inteligencia británica advirtió a los parlamentarios del país que espías chinos están “activamente” contactándolos a través de cazatalentos de reclutamiento.
La agencia MI5 advirtió que ciudadanos chinos están “usando perfiles de LinkedIn para realizar contactos a gran escala” en nombre del Ministerio de Seguridad del Estado de China, dijo el titular de la Cámara de los Comunes, Lindsay Hoyle, a los legisladores en una carta.
“Su objetivo es recopilar información y sentar las bases para relaciones a largo plazo, utilizando sitios de redes profesionales, agentes de reclutamiento y consultores que actúan en su nombre”, afirmó.
MI5 emitió la alerta porque la actividad era “dirigida y generalizada”, añadió.
La alerta nombró a dos mujeres, Amanda Qiu y Shirly Shen, y dijo que otros perfiles de reclutadores similares estaban actuando como frentes para el espionaje.
Los funcionarios de inteligencia británicos han incrementado constantemente sus advertencias sobre las amenazas de espionaje provenientes de China.
El director general de MI5, Ken McCallum, dijo a los periodistas el mes pasado que los actores estatales chinos representan una amenaza para la seguridad nacional del Reino Unido “todos los días”.
McCallum expresó que la intromisión respaldada por Beijing ha incluido ciberespionaje, robo de secretos tecnológicos y “esfuerzos para interferir de manera encubierta en la vida pública del Reino Unido”.
En enero de 2022, el Servicio de Seguridad emitió una alerta similar a todos los legisladores advirtiendo que una abogada con sede en Londres estaba involucrada en “actividades de interferencia política en el Reino Unido” en coordinación con el Departamento de Trabajo del Frente Unido del Partido Comunista Chino, una organización conocida por ejercer influencia china en el extranjero.
La abogada, Christine Lee, fue acusada de facilitar donaciones encubiertas a partidos y legisladores británicos “en nombre de ciudadanos extranjeros”.
___________________________________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Indiana homeowner charged in fatal shooting of house cleaner who showed up at the wrong door
LEBANON, Ind. — An Indiana homeowner accused of killing a house cleaner who mistakenly arrived at his front door was charged with voluntary manslaughter on Monday in a case that could test the limits of stand-your-ground laws.
Curt Andersen, 62, could face anywhere from 10 to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if he’s convicted. He was being held in the Boone County Jail pending an initial court hearing.
Officers found Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez, 32, dead on the front porch of a home in Whitestown, an Indianapolis suburb, on Nov. 5. Authorities said the Guatemalan immigrant was part of a cleaning crew that went to the wrong house just before 7 a.m.
Andersen shot her through the front door with no warning about a minute after hearing someone trying to unlock the door, according to a probable cause statement.
Rios’ husband told media outlets that he was with her on the porch. He didn’t realize she had been shot until she fell back into his arms, bleeding. On a fundraising page, her brother described Rios as a mother of four children.
Case puts stand-your-ground law in the spotlight
Indiana is one of 31 states with a stand-your-ground law that permits homeowners to use deadly force to stop someone they believe is trying to unlawfully enter their dwelling. But police said that there’s no evidence Rios entered the home before she was shot.
Andersen’s attorney, Guy Relford, posted a statement on X saying he was disappointed that prosecutors charged his client. He said Andersen had every reason to believe his actions were justified and the stand-your-ground law clearly protects him.
“Mr. Andersen’s actions must be evaluated based on the circumstances as he perceived them,” Relford said in the statement.
Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood told reporters at a news conference that the decision to charge Andersen wasn’t difficult. Stand-your-ground protections don’t apply because Andersen lacked enough information to know if his actions were reasonable, Eastwood said.
The prosecutor said he planned to prove that Andersen couldn’t have reasonably believed he needed to use deadly force, given what he knew at the time.
‘Commotion at the door’
According to the probable cause statement, Andersen told investigators that he and his wife were asleep in an upstairs bedroom when he heard a “commotion at the door” that grew more intense. He thought someone was using keys or tools on the front door.
Frightened, he went to the top of the stairwell and saw through the home’s windows that two people were outside the front door. He said to himself, “What am I going to do? It’s not going away and I have to do something now.”
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He said he loaded his handgun, went back to the windows and saw the people “thrusting” at the door and getting more aggressive, according to the statement.
He fired one shot toward the door. He said the door never opened and he didn’t announce himself or say anything before he pulled the trigger.
When told he had killed Rios, he put his head down on the table and said he didn’t mean for anything to happen to anybody.
Wife says Andersen told a neighbor he would shoot any intruder
Andersen’s wife, Yoshie Andersen, told investigators that her husband told her that he told a neighbor if anyone tried to break into his house he would shoot them. The probable cause statement does not say when this conversation happened.
She added that her husband fired the shot from the top of the stairs and neither of them went downstairs. He fired the shot and then told her to call 911, she said.
No evidence of forcible entry
Investigators found a bullet hole in the door, but no evidence of any forceful contact with the door itself, the latch or the door frame, according to the probable cause statement.
Rios’ husband, Mauricio Velasquez, told investigators that she tried to open the door with keys from their cleaning company, but they unknowingly were at the wrong address. He said they’d been trying to open the door for 30 seconds to a minute before she was shot.
He said they never heard any voices from inside or saw any movement. The couple didn’t knock, bang on the door or use force of any kind to enter the home and they never got inside, he said.
Stand-your-ground cases elsewhere
The shooting echoes a similar episode in Missouri in 2023 when an 86-year-old man shot Ralph Yarl after the 16-year-old Black teenager came to his door by mistake. Missouri has a similar stand-your-ground law, but prosecutors charged the shooter, Andrew Lester, with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and didn’t go to trial.
In New York, which does not have a stand-your-ground law, a man was convicted in 2024 of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a woman inside a car who mistakenly came down the driveway of his rural upstate home.
Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor who specializes in gun rights, said last week that the Rios case was “horrible” and “exceptionally unusual.”
In general, the public can legally access private property — including a front porch — for a legitimate purpose until they are told to leave, Madeira said. For example, a homeowner can’t legally shoot a pizza delivery person or an Amazon driver just for stepping onto their property, she said.
Madeira said Monday that the allegations in the probable cause statement show that Curt Andersen was acting out of fear but that’s not enough to invoke the stand-your-ground law. There was no unlawful entry and trying to insert a key into a lock or rattling a doorknob isn’t a reasonable justification for firing a shot, she said.
“The reasonable person says, ‘hey, I have my phone here, I have other options, I can shout a warning. It’s 7 a.m., is someone really breaking into my house? He jumped up from bed and immediately went into I’m combatting a break-in.”
Richmond reported from Madison, Wisconsin.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/indiana-homeowner-charged-fatal-shooting/
Trump Threatens To Cancel World Cup In Seattle After Election Of ‘Communist’ Mayor
Trump Threatens To Cancel World Cup In Seattle After Election Of ‘Communist’ Mayor
If Democrats were hoping that the Trump Administration was going to overlook their recent shift towards “democratic socialist” candidates for political office, they should probably rethink their strategy. Federal dollars and favors are unlikely to flow forth from Washington DC into the pockets of Zohran Mamdani in NYC or Katie Wilson in Seattle.
The two newly elected mayors are perhaps more openly Marxist in their policies than any US politician in recent memory. While Mamdani has garnered most of the limelight and media attention over the past year, Wilson has not escaped the notice of Donald Trump. Her political ideas might be even more unhinged than Mamdani’s.
SOCIALISM: Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson promises a full socialist smorgasbord, calling for guaranteed housing, universal child care, free K-8 summer care, social housing, and shifting land and wealth from corporations to community control. pic.twitter.com/GvmqFn8Yn2
— @amuse (@amuse) November 14, 2025
Trump has recently touched on the prospect of moving the World Cup, set to take place in Seattle in 2026, out of the city. He referred to Wilson as “another beauty” and a “very, very liberal-slash-communist mayor.” The World Cup is projected to bring in up to $4 billion in tourist cash to Seattle and add a much needed boost to the struggling city’s economy.
Prompted by an Oval Office reporter who asked about Wilson’s election, Trump made what appears to be his first acknowledgment of Seattle’s incoming mayor. With FIFA President Gianni Infantino by his side, he said of Seattle hosting the games, “If we think there’s going to be the sign of any trouble, I would ask Gianni to move that to a different city. We have a lot of cities who would love to have it number one, and will do it very safely.”
Wilson’s campaign appealed to Gen Z voters frustrated with Seattle’s exploding cost of living crisis. Her promises of subsidized housing to subsidized childcare to free public transit and government operated grocery stores are just the beginning.
In a June 2025 KING5 interview, she described her vision as “Trump-Proofing Seattle” through progressive taxes to fund housing and services, explicitly criticizing corporate influence on land use. Her strategy calls for converting corporate properties and wealth to “community control.”
In 2020 she was part of a coalition that advocated for a 50% cut to funding for Seattle police (defund the police). She is also a proponent of continued wealth taxes which have already run a number of companies out of Seattle, causing thousands of job losses and extensive tax revenues. In response, she argues that businesses should be prevented from leaving the city.
Seattle’s new mayor Katie Wilson: “We will not allow grocery chains to close stores at will” pic.twitter.com/YQUpJyWy0H
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 13, 2025
Trump has expressed concerns about safety in Seattle in reference to the World Cup, and his concerns are not unfounded. In September, Vladimir Putin suggested that he might accept Trump’s invitation and attend the World Cup event in the US. With two of the most important political figures in the world visiting Seattle, security will be paramount.
Seattle has a reputation as a radical leftist hotbed filled with people who would like to see both Trump and Putin dead; the presence of a radical leftist mayor does not add much confidence.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 08:05
‘Official’ Initial Jobless Claims Data Released, But…
‘Official’ Initial Jobless Claims Data Released, But…
After more than six weeks of government shutdown, official macro data is starting to flow… but it’s lagged.
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits for the first time totaled 232,000 in the week ended Oct. 18, according to the Labor Department website. This print certainly shows no sign of the potential weakness that many have anticipated (but then again it’s a month old).
Source: Bloomberg
However, unadjusted state-level claims data was released, and that confirmed a pick up in initial jobless benefit demands… especially in the ‘Deep TriState’…
Source: Bloomberg
Continuing jobless claims picked up, but remains below mid-summer highs…
Source: Bloomberg
So, now we know that a month ago, claims data showed a still resilient labor market.. but we also know – based on private data suppliers – that job cut announcements have accelerated notably…
Source: Bloomberg
So, choose your own adventure with this data. We suspect there will be a lot more of this in the next few days as more and more (delayed) data is released.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 07:51
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/official-initial-jobless-claims-data-released
Point guard. Captain. Sam Kelly is entrusted to lead way for Naperville North. ‘We want her to be in charge.’
Naperville North’s Sam Kelly has always wanted the chance to be in charge.
The senior guard has got it this season.
“Definitely we want her to be in charge,” Naperville North coach Aly Miller said. “She was nominated by her teammates and by us as coaches to be one of our captains this year, which is exactly the role we foresee for her.
“She’s our point guard, so we want her to be vocal. We want her to be the captain out there on the floor and also off the floor.”
The 5-foot-6 Kelly is off to a good start. She made three steals in the opening minutes of the Huskies’ season opener at Plainfield East on Monday.
Kelly turned the first two into assists on baskets by junior guard Ava Podkasik and sophomore guard Sydney Smith and took the third one for a layup.
Naperville North’s Sam Kelly (12) breaks Plainfield East’s press during a nonconference game in Plainfield on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Jeremy Toney / Naperville Sun)
It was part of an opening 12-0 run during which the Huskies forced turnovers on the first nine possessions en route to a 65-23 win.
Kelly finished with six points, five steals and two assists in a little over one half of action — not a bad debut as Naperville North’s new point guard.
“I’m excited,” she said. “It’s a goal I’ve always had. I feel like I’ve kind of worked my way up to get to this spot that I am at, and I feel comfortable with where I’m at.”
This is Kelly’s second varsity season but her first quarterbacking the offense after senior guard Natalie Frempong transferred to Bolingbrook. Kelly has quickly found a comfort level.
“I also have my team supporting me,” she said. “I don’t think I’d be able to do anything that I do out on the court or off the court without their support, so they motivate me to try to be the best player and leader that I can be.”
Miller thinks Kelly’s best will help the Huskies at both ends of the court.
“Definitely on the offensive end we need her scoring,” Miller said. “She’ll find her opportunities for that, but I think with her it starts on the defensive end.
“She plays so quick and so hard. She just has a great feel for getting deflections, which lead to steals, which leads to transition, which is exactly what we want.”
Naperville North’s Sam Kelly (12) calls a play as she brings the ball up the court against Plainfield East during a nonconference game in Plainfield on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Jeremy Toney / Naperville Sun)
That’s exactly what the Huskies got against Plainfield East, coming up with 26 steals and forcing 37 turnovers. Twelve players had at least one steal, with Kelly, Podkasik and junior guard Mia Podkasik all getting five.
Mia Podkasik also scored 10 points, while Ava Podkasik added seven points and five assists. Smith, meanwhile, tallied 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half as the Huskies surged to a 43-10 lead. Freshman guard Savannah Shufelt added 12 points off the bench.
Smith, who is in her second varsity season, is pleased that Kelly has taken the reins.
“I’m really happy for her,” Smith said. “She leads our team with basically everything. She knows how to set up our offense, she’s always hustling on defense and she’s basically the finishing puzzle piece.”
Smith thinks Kelly’s performance Monday is a sign of things to come.
“She has always been good, so I think she’ll be really good this season,” Smith said. “I’ve always looked up to her as a person and as a player.”
Kelly, who made 2 of 7 shots against the Bengals, is a 3-point threat, but she’s not the only one. The Huskies have plenty of scoring options.
“I think we’re widespread, which is great,” Miller said. “We’ve built a lot of depth, which is a beautiful thing.
“A lot of girls are getting touches and opportunities, which is awesome. They’ve learned in these early weeks how to play with each other, and like you saw, their ball movement is really great, so we’re excited for this year.”
Naperville North’s Sam Kelly (12) tries to block passing lanes against Plainfield East during a nonconference game in Plainfield on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Jeremy Toney / Naperville Sun)
So is Kelly, who is actually trying not to get too excited.
“I’m just going to try to be as calm and collected as I can this season,” she said. “That’s something I’ve been working on a lot the past few seasons, just being a calming presence getting us into those sets, getting us into those plays, so I can get girls the look that they need and I can get plays going.”
Miller is confident that Kelly will do just that.
“She’s just a great kid,” Miller said. “She’s put in a lot of work in the offseason to be ready for this year, so I think she’s more than prepared, and we’re excited for what she’s going to do this year.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/basketball-naperville-north-sam-kelly/
Full Market Cycles: Half Bull And Half Bear
Full Market Cycles: Half Bull And Half Bear
Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
Last week, we discussed the importance of “math” as it relates to valuations and noted the importance of understanding “full market cycles.” To wit:
“The math on forward return expectations, given current valuation levels, does not hold up. The assumption that valuations can fall without the price of the markets being negatively impacted is also grossly flawed. Historical data, as illustrated in the following chart, suggest that valuations do not decline without a significant impact on investment returns. Additionally, it is worth noting that “full market cycles,” which encompass both secular bull and bear periods, recur throughout history.”
What is a “Full Market Cycle”
Many readers asked what I meant by a full market cycle and why it matters today. The chart above showing inflation-adjusted S&P 500 prices since 1871 makes it clear: every bull market is eventually followed by a bear market. Together, these form a full cycle.
Throughout history, bull market cycles are only one-half of the “full market” cycle. This is because during every “bull market” cycle the markets and economy build up excesses that are then “reverted” during the following “bear market.” In the other words, as Sir Issac Newton once stated:
“What goes up, must come down.”
The current cycle remains incomplete, but history suggests that the second half usually retraces much of the prior gains. Logical downside targets often align with past peaks, such as those in 2000 and 2008..
Note: I am not stating that I “believe” the markets are about to crash to the 2200 level on the S&P 500. I am simply showing where the previous support intersects with the price. The longer that it takes for the markets to mean revert the higher the intersection point will be. Furthermore, the 2200 level is not out of the question either. Famed investor Jack Bogle stated that over the next decade we are likely to see two more 50% declines. A 50% decline from current levels would put the market below 3400 which would be in the “ballpark” of completing the current full market cycle.
As I have often stated, I am not bullish or bearish. My job as a portfolio manager is simple; invest money in a manner that creates returns on a short-term basis, but reduces the possibility of catastrophic losses, which wipe out years of growth.
Nobody tends to believe that philosophy until the markets wipe about 40-50% of portfolio values over a relatively short period. But that is why it is crucial to understand that markets do cycle, and this time is likely “not different.”
4-Phases Of A Full Market Cycle
AlphaTrends previously put together an excellent diagram laying out the 4-phases of the full-market cycle. To wit:
“Is it possible to time the market cycle to capture big gains? Like many controversial topics in investing, there is no real professional consensus on market timing. Academics claim that it’s not possible, while traders and chartists swear by the idea.
The following infographic explains the four important phases of market trends, based on the methodology of the famous stock market authority Richard Wyckoff. The theory is that the better an investor can identify these phases of the market cycle, the more profits can be made on the ride upwards of a buying opportunity.”
So, the question to answer, obviously, is:
“Where are we now?”
Let’s take a look at the past two full-market cycles, using Wyckoff’s methodology, as compared to the current post-financial-crisis half-cycle. While actual market cycles will not exactly replicate the chart above, you can clearly see Wyckoff’s theory in action.
The Dot.Com Cycle
The accumulation phase, following the 1991 recessionary environment, was evident as it preceded the “internet trading boom” and the rise of the “dot.com” bubble from 1995-1999. As I noted previously:
“Following the recession of 1991, the Federal Reserve drastically lowered interest rates to spur economic growth. However, the two events which laid the foundation for the ‘dot.com’ crisis was the rule-change which allowed the nation’s pension funds to own equities and the repeal of Glass-Steagall, which unleashed Wall Street upon a nation of unsuspecting investors.
The major banks could now use their massive balance sheet to engage in investment-banking, market-making, and proprietary trading. The markets exploded as money flooded the financial markets. Of course, since there were not enough ‘legitimate’ deals to fill demand and Wall Street bankers are paid to produce deals, Wall Street floated any offering it could despite the risk to investors.”
The distribution phase became evident in early-2000 as stocks began to struggle.
Names like Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Lucent Technologies, Nortel, Sun Micro, and a host of others, are “ghosts of the past.” Importantly, they are the relics of an era the majority of investors in the market today are unaware of, but were the poster children for the “greed and excess” of the preceding bull market frenzy.
As the distribution phase gained traction, it is worth remembering the media and Wall Street were touting the continuation of the bull market indefinitely into the future.
Then, came the decline.
The Housing Boom
Following the “dot.com” crash, investors had all learned their lessons about the value of managing risk in portfolios, not chasing returns, and focusing on capital preservation as the core for long-term investing.
Okay. Not really.
It took about 27-minutes for investors to completely forget about the previous pain of the bear market and jump headlong back into the creation of the next bubble leading to the “financial crisis.”
During the mark-up phase, investors once again piled into leverage. This time not just into stocks, but real estate, as well as Wall Street, found a new way to extract capital from Main Street through the creation of exotic loan structures. Of course, everything was fine as long as interest rates remained low, but as with all things, the “party eventually ends.”
Once again, during the distribution phase of the market, the analysts, media, Wall Street, and rise of bloggers, all touted “this time was different.” There were “green shoots,” it was a “Goldilocks economy,” and there was “no recession in sight.”
They were disastrously wrong.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should
The “Buy Everything” Market
So, here we are, a 15-years into one of the longest bull market cycles in history. Massive interventions by the Federal Reserve and the Government have created an era of “moral hazard” unlike anything in previous market history. Investors are scrambling to take on leverage, make the most speculative of investments, and chase whatever trend is currently in vogue regardless of economic or financial underpinnings. It’s a winner take all market, and investors are reveling in it under the belief that if anything goes wrong the “powers that be” will bail them out.
Once again, due to the length of the “mark up” phase, most investors today have once again forgotten the “ghosts of bear markets past.” Despite some bumps along the way, the same messages seen at previous market peaks are steadily hitting the headlines: “there is no recession in sight,” “the bull market is cheap” and “this time is different because of Central Banking.”
However, the risk to investors in the current “buy everything” market, is an “unexpected, exogenous event” that sparks a revaluation of expectations in an overly leveraged, overly extended, and overly bullish market. That the event will be is unknown, but when the markets begin the “distribution phase,” investors should become exceedingly cautious about the risks they are taking.
Lost And Found
There is a sizable contingent of investors, and advisors, today who have never been through a real bear market. After a 15-year long bull-market cycle, fueled by Central Bank liquidity, it is understandable why mainstream analysis believed the markets could only go higher. What was always a concern to us was the rather cavalier attitude they took about the risk.
“Sure, a correction will eventually come, but that is just part of the deal.”
What gets lost during bull cycles, and is always found in the most brutal of fashions, is the devastation caused to financial wealth during the inevitable decline. It isn’t just the loss of financial wealth, but also the loss of employment, defaults, and bankruptcies caused by the coincident recession. This is the story told by the S&P 500 inflation-adjusted total return index. The chart shows all of the measurement lines for all the previous bull and bear markets, along with the number of years required to get back to even.
What you should notice is that in many cases bear markets wiped out essentially all or a very substantial portion of the previous bull market advance.
But that is the inherent problem of “eternal bullishness” which is the “willful blindness” to the underlying data in an effort to chase short-term returns. This leads to the unfortunate problem of being “all-in” on every hand which has a devastating consequence when a mean reverting event occurs.
John Hussman once penned an excellent piece on the full-market cycle:
“Put simply, most apparent “opportunities” to obtain investment returns above zero in conventional assets over the coming decade are based on a misunderstanding of valuations, total returns, and historical yield relationships. At current valuations, virtually everything is priced for a decade of zero. The unwinding of these speculative extremes is likely to be chaotic, and will likely occur over a shorter horizon than investors imagine. That chaos, driven not by central bank tightening but by an emerging default cycle, will usher in fresh investment opportunities in conventional assets, where presently there are none.
Looking beyond the near-term, my view is that a ‘permanently high plateau’ is unlikely, and we will instead see a violent unwinding of recent speculative extremes over the completion of the current market cycle, even if central banks ease aggressively, as they did throughout the 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 collapses. Corporate income growth and profit margins have already begun to narrow from their extremes, and the default cycle has already turned higher. The completion of this cycle won’t arrive because central banks suddenly become enlightened enough to abandon their recklessness. It will arrive precisely because they have sustained yield-seeking speculation for too long already; because they have amplified the vulnerability of the debt and equity markets to normal economic fluctuations; and because the consequences of this fragility are now fully baked in the cake.”
In the end, it does not matter IF you are “bullish” or “bearish.” The reality is that both “bulls” and “bears” are owned by the “broken clock” syndrome during the full-market cycle. However, what is grossly important in achieving long-term investment success is not necessarily being “right” during the first half of the cycle, but by not being “wrong” during the second half.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 07:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/full-market-cycles-half-bull-and-half-bear
Daywatch: Senate President Don Harmon faces new challenge
Good morning, Chicago.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is facing a new challenge over a State Board of Elections staff finding that his campaign committee owes $9.8 million in fines for accepting campaign contributions in excess of state limitations.
The libertarian-leaning Liberty Justice Center, which frequently advocates on behalf of Republican causes, last week filed a citizen-initiated complaint with the election board regarding Harmon’s committee. The move could allow the matter to go to court and sidestep the bipartisan election panel’s stalemate on the issue.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Rick Pearson.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: what we know about the Texas National Guard departing Illinois, what we learned from the Bears and why Ben Johnson isn’t talking about the playoffs and Thanksgiving wines made simple.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
A Palestinian man carries bags of firewood after collecting them from the rubbish in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
UN approves the Trump administration plan for Gaza’s future
The Trump administration’s blueprint to secure and govern Gaza won strong approval at the United Nations, a crucial step that provides international support for U.S. efforts to move the devastated territory toward peace following two years of war.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and his wife, first lady MK Pritzker, wait backstage before he announced his candidacy for a third term, June 26, 2025, at the Grand Crossing Park field house in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. JB Pritzker deposits $25.5M of his own money into campaign fund as he ramps up bid for third term
By exceeding a $250,000 self-funding threshold, Gov. JB Pritzker has opened the door to unlimited fundraising in the governor’s race next year, regardless of who wins the Republican nomination.
Texas National Guard members patrol outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Texas National Guard departs Illinois
The Texas National Guard has departed Illinois, ending a futile 41-day deployment in which its soldiers spent less than 24 hours working in support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission.
Florida grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S.
Granddaughter of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ author upset with use of its title in immigration crackdown
Following a recent large-scale raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the building at 7500 South Shore Drive has lost many of its former tenants. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Six Venezuelan migrants arrested in South Shore immigration raid among hundreds who could be released
At least six Venezuelan nationals arrested in a controversial immigration raid on a South Shore apartment building in September are among hundreds who could soon be released on bond amid allegations that Operation Midway Blitz agents repeatedly violated a consent decree limiting warrantless arrests.
Mourners pray while the Rev. Roberto Moreno, pastor at Franklin Park United Methodist Church, leads a prayer during a Day of the Dead altar-building event for Silverio Villegas González on Nov. 1, 2025, near where Villegas González was fatally shot in Franklin Park. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Autopsy shows father of 2 fatally shot by ICE struck in neck, had cocaine in system
A father of two fatally shot by an immigration agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park in September was struck in the left side of his neck before crashing the car into a semitruck, according to autopsy results obtained yesterday by the Tribune.
The Chicago City Hall and County Building are seen on June 17, 2024. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Arsonist tried to set fire at Chicago City Hall, Mayor Brandon Johnson says
The fire outside the building did not spread beyond the initial flame, and the person who started it was not identified before fleeing, the mayor told reporters during an unrelated news conference.
Pope Leo XIV gestures as he arrives at the Pontifical Lateran University on the occasion of the opening of the academic year, in Rome, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV calls for urgent climate action and says God’s creation is ‘crying out’
Pope Leo XIV urged countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet, telling them humans are failing in their response to global warming and that God’s creation “is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat.”
Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Nicholas Robertson (89) moves the puck against Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic (72) and defenseman Connor Murphy (5) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Nov. 15, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Chicago Blackhawks players call the 7-defensemen lineups ‘a learned skill,’ but see the positives as well
The Blackhawks have used an unusual lineup approach this season, running seven-defenseman lines for the majority of the first 18 games.
Bears coach Ben Johnson looks on from the sideline in the first quarter against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Nov. 16, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
What we learned from the Chicago Bears, including why Ben Johnson isn’t talking about the playoffs
The Bears sit alone in first place in the NFC North after the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
At 7-3, the Bears are ahead of the Green Bay Packers (6-3-1) and the Lions (6-4), but Ben Johnson isn’t ready to start talking about the playoffs yet. That’s not how the first-year coach operates.
Are the Bears legitimate contenders to win the NFC North? 5 pressing questions after Week 11.
Ian Barford in “Amadeus” at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)
Review: Murderous jealousy in ‘Amadeus’ at Steppenwolf Theatre
It might seem to be about two 18th century Vienna composers, but Peter Shaffer’s masterful 1979 play “Amadeus,” which opened Sunday night at the Steppenwolf Theatre, is really a play about the late-in-life problem of how to deal with the pesky emergence of those younger and more talented than you, writes Chris Jones.
The Brotte La Marasque Gigondas. (Maison Brotte)
Thanksgiving wines made simple: 3 Chicago pros, 9 picks, 1 easy guide
To help demystify the holiday wine hunt, Anna Lee Iijima asked three Chicago wine professionals to find wines from a favorite local retailer that deliver pleasure and versatility at approachable prices.
70 Chicago restaurants offering dine in or take out holiday meals
35 Chicago restaurants and bakeries offering pies and dessert
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/daywatch-senate-president-don-harmon-faces-new-challenge/
Elgin News Digest: Centro de Informacion holiday toy drive; Carpentersville holiday lighting contest; Elgin area seat belt and DUI enforcement
State Rep. Anna Moeller, Centro de Informacion holding holiday toy drive through Friday, Dec. 5
State Rep. Anna Moeller, D – Elgin, and the social services agency Centro de Informacion are currently holding a holiday drive through Friday, Dec. 5.
According to a news release, people are encouraged to donate new and unwrapped gifts at the following locations:
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. any day at Carpentersville Fire Station No. 93, 5000 Sleepy Hollow Road., Carpentersville
From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday and from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday at Taylor Family YMCA, 50 N. McLean Boulevard, Elgin
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday at Moeller’s district office, 164 Division Street, Elgin
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at BMO Harris Bank, 94 Kennedy Drive (Route 25), Carpentersville
Suggested gifts include Barbie dolls, Lego sets and building toys; soccer balls and basketballs; baby dolls and strollers; Hot Wheels and monster trucks; board games and puzzles; gift cards for clothes or makeup; kitchen toy sets; remote control cars or toys; art sets; sensory toys; skateboards and scooters.
For more information, call 847-841-7130 or email StateRepMoeller@gmail.com.
Registration for Carpentersville’s holiday lighting contest begins Thursday, Nov. 20
Registration opens Thursday, Nov. 20 and closes at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10 for Carpentersville’s home holiday lighting contest.
For judging purposes, displays must be lit from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly, Thursday, Dec.11 to Monday, Dec. 22, according to the village newsletter. Winners will be announced the week of Dec. 22, with awards presented at the Tuesday, Jan. 20 village board meeting.
Categories include: Clark W. Griswold, for over-the-top brilliance; Traditional for timeless and elegant displays; “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” for lights set to music; Small Space for big spirits in smaller spots; and People’s Choice for votes taken through Facebook.
To become a judge or for more information, email Jen Hyde, jhyde@cville.org.
‘Bison Tales and Tallgrass (cq) Trails’ presentation at Gail Borden Public Library, Thursday, Nov. 20
Members of the Wild Ones Greater Kane County, Illinois Chapter will present “Bison Trails and Tallgrass Trails” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Elgin Room at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Avenue, Elgin.
Those attending the free program will learn about how bison played a role in Illinois’ tallgrass prairie, their history and habits, according to the library’s website. The talk will also cover how bison are portrayed in literature, music, art, popular culture, and where you can see bison in Illinois.
Wild Ones Greater Kane County Illinois Chapter is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the use of native plants in landscaping, gardening and land restoration, according to its website.
The bison program will also be available to view live online. To register, go to attend.gailborden.info/event/14288440.
Elgin area police ramping up seat belt and DUI enforcement campaigns for Thanksgiving holiday starting Friday, Nov. 21
Elgin area police departments and the Illinois State Police are ramping up their “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaigns for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The concerted campaigns will run from Friday, Nov. 21 to Tuesday, Dec. 2, according to a news release from the South Elgin Police Department. The Thanksgiving time enforcement effort is supported by federal traffic safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
West Dundee firefighters holding meat raffles Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22
The West Dundee Firefighters Association will be holding meat raffles from 7 to 11 p.m. on both Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22 at West Dundee VFW Post 2298, 117 S. First Street, West Dundee.
Turkeys, hams, bacon, ducks, and meat packages will be raffled, according to a social media post for the event. Tickets are $1 each.
People who cannot attend are welcome to donate or purchase tickets online at wdfa.org. Proceeds will benefit the FISH Food Pantry in Carpentersville. For more information, call 847-551-3805.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/elgin-news-digest-nov-19/
Home Depot Slashes Outlook As Home-Renovation Demand Continues To Crumble
Home Depot Slashes Outlook As Home-Renovation Demand Continues To Crumble
Home improvement retailer Home Depot slashed its full-year earnings outlook after another weak quarter, citing soft big-ticket spending, a paralyzed housing market, and lackluster seasonal demand. Adjusted EPS is now expected to fall 5%, worse than prior guidance.
Third-quarter comparable sales rose just .2%, far below Bloomberg Consensus estimates of 1.36%. The retailer warned about weak consumer demand as elevated interest rates discourage home buying and remodeling. As a result, consumers are opting for smaller projects rather than upgrading their patios or building new decks.
Snapshot of the third quarter with Bloomberg Consensus estimates:
Comparable sales: +0.2% (miss; est. +1.36%)
U.S. comps: +0.1% (miss; est. +1.25%)
Total net sales: $41.35 bn (+2.8% y/y) — modest beat (est. $40.97 bn)
Includes ~$900 m from recent GMS acquisition
Adjusted EPS: $3.74 (miss; est. $3.84; down from $3.78 y/y)
Average ticket: +1.8% (beat est. +1.1% implied)
Other notables:
Inventories higher than expected ($26.2 bn vs est. $25.0 bn)
SG&A expenses up 5.9% y/y, above estimates
Management commentary:
Miss driven mainly by the absence of storm/hurricane activity (hurt disaster-recovery categories) and failure of anticipated sequential demand improvement to appear
Ongoing headwinds: consumer uncertainty + continued pressure on the housing market, disproportionately hurting big-ticket home-improvement spending
Updated FY 2026 Guidance (previously issued in Aug 2025)
Sees sales about +3%, saw about +2.8%
Sees operating margin about 12.6%, saw about 13%, estimate 13.3%
Sees EPS decline about 6%, saw down about -3%
Sees adjusted EPS decline about 5%, saw down about 2%
Guidance reflects third-quarter underperformance and a continuation in the home improvement downturn, as we’ve pointed out in recent weeks:
Consumer Squeeze Hits Home Renovation Spending As Leading Deck-Maker Shares Collapse
Home Improvement Downturn Flashes Red For Housing Market
Shares of Home Depot are slightly lower in premarket trading in New York, though nothing too notable. However, the long-term chart of the stock shows three clear rejections at the $400 level.
Goldman’s top sector specialist Scott Feiler’s first take on Home Depot earnings…
Will We See Multiple Contraction?: HD stock is -2.5% on a 3% EPS cut. A slight miss was expected here, but the magnitude of the miss and cut, while not huge, does feel slightly worse. It feels just weak enough to make investors really question how quickly to defend the name and slower to play for the 2026 recovery. While the stock being down makes sense, a price reaction more than the 3% cut will likely draw out some interest, given the stock is already -16% off September highs.
On Monday, Feiler told clients this would be a “very important week” for the consumer space. With Home Depot reporting weak demand for big-ticket items, here’s what comes next (read the report).
Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 07:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/home-depot-slashes-outlook-deteriorating-home-renovation
Federal immigration agents will expand North Carolina action to Raleigh, mayor says
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal immigration authorities will expand their enforcement action in North Carolina to Raleigh as soon as Tuesday, the mayor of the state’s capital city said, while Customs and Border Protection agents continue operating in Charlotte following a weekend that saw arrests of more than 130 people in that city.
Mayor Janet Cowell said Monday that she didn’t know how large the operation would be or how long agents would be present. Immigration authorities haven’t spoken about it. The Democrat said in a statement that crime was lower in Raleigh this year compared to last and that public safety was a priority for her and the city council.
“I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through any upcoming challenges,” Cowell said in a statement.
U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 130 people over the weekend in a sweep through Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city, a federal official said Monday.
The movements in North Carolina come after the Trump administration launched immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago. Both of those are deep blue cities in deep blue states run by nationally prominent officials who make no secret of their anger at the White House. The political reasoning there seemed obvious.
But why North Carolina and why was Charlotte the first target there?
Sure the mayor is a Democrat, as is the governor, but neither is known for wading into national political battles. In a state where divided government has become the norm, Gov. Josh Stein in particular has tried hard to get along with the GOP-controlled state legislature. The state’s two U.S. senators are both Republican and President Donald Trump won the state in the last three presidential elections.
The Department of Homeland Security has said it is focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
But maybe focusing on a place where politics is less outwardly bloody was part of the equation.
The White House “can have enough opposition (to its crackdown), but it’s a weaker version” than what it faced in places like Chicago, said Rick Su, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who studies local government, immigration and federalism.
“They’re not interested in just deporting people. They’re interested in the show,” he said.
The crackdown
The Trump administration has made Charlotte, a Democratic city of about 950,000 people, its latest focus for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime — despite local opposition and declining crime rates. Residents reported encounters with immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Border Patrol officers had arrested “over 130 illegal aliens who have all broken” immigration laws. The agency said the records of those arrested included gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes, but it did not say how many cases had resulted in convictions, how many people had been facing charges or any other details.
The crackdown set off fierce objections from area leaders.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Monday she was “deeply concerned” about videos she’s seen of the crackdown but also said she appreciates protesters’ peacefulness.
“To everyone in Charlotte who is feeling anxious or fearful: You are not alone. Your city stands with you,” she said in a statement.
The debate over crime and immigration
Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County have both found themselves part of America’s debates over crime and immigration, two of the most important issues to the White House.
The most prominent was the fatal stabbing this summer of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train, an attack captured on video. While the suspect was from the U.S., the Trump administration repeatedly highlighted that he had been arrested previously more than a dozen times.
Charlotte, which had a Republican mayor as recently as 2009, is now a city dominated by Democrats, with a growing population brought by a booming economy. The racially diverse city includes more than 150,000 foreign-born residents, officials say.
Lyles easily won a fifth term as mayor earlier this month, defeating her Republican rival by 45 percentage points even as GOP critics blasted city and state leaders for what they call rising incidents of crime. Following the Nov. 4 election, Democrats are poised to hold 10 of the other 11 seats on the city council.
While the Department of Homeland Security has said it is focusing on the state because of sanctuary policies, North Carolina county jails have long honored “detainers,” or requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant for a limited time so agents can take custody of them. Nevertheless, some common, noncooperation policies have existed in a handful of places, including Charlotte, where the police do not help with immigration enforcement.
In Mecklenburg County, the jail did not honor detainer requests for several years, until after state law effectively made it mandatory starting last year.
DHS said about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored since October 2020, putting the public at risk.
For years, Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden pushed back against efforts by the Republican-controlled state legislature to force him and a handful of sheriffs from other urban counties to accept ICE detainers.
Republicans ultimately overrode a veto by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper late last year to enact the bill into law.
While McFadden has said his office is complying with the law’s requirement, he continued a public feud with ICE leaders in early 2025 that led to a new state law toughening those rules. Stein vetoed that measure, but the veto was overridden.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said in a Monday post on X that immigration agents are in Charlotte because of McFadden’s past inaction: “They’re stepping in to clean up his mess and restore safety to the city.”
Last month, McFadden said he’d had a productive meeting with an ICE representative.
“I made it clear that I do not want to stop ICE from doing their job, but I do want them to do it safely, responsibly, and with proper coordination by notifying our agency ahead of time,” McFadden said in a statement.
But such talk doesn’t calm the political waters.
“Democrats at all levels are choosing to protect criminal illegals over North Carolina citizens,” state GOP Chairman Jason Simmons said Monday.
Sullivan reported from Minneapolis and Robertson from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/federal-immigration-agents-north-carolina-raleigh/
