Category: News
Minnie Bird now open in Naperville; Roman-style pizza coming soon
Two new restaurant concepts are adding to Naperville’s food scene, with a fried chicken restaurant now open and a Roman-style pizzeria on the way.
Minnie Bird
Minnie Bird opened its doors last week at 1211 E. Ogden Ave. The fast-casual restaurant specializes in fried chicken tenders, sandwiches, wraps and dirty sodas, which use soda as the base and then add things like boba, cream and cold-foam. Each Minnie Bird meal includes free soft serve ice cream.
To celebrate their opening, Minnie Bird will be giving away free combo meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, or until supplies run out.
Minnie Bird opened its first restaurant in Schaumburg in October 2024 followed by a second store in Oak Brook last year and now Naperville as its third. The business is a partnership with restaurant group Venture Kitchen and Sean Thomas, grandson of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas.
“The name and the brand is sort of an homage to Minnie, this matriarchal character in the family,” said Stephanie Simpson, a partner with Venture Kitchen, referring to Sean Thomas’ great-great-grandmother Minnie Sinclair. She played a big role in raising Dave Thomas and influenced him to go into the restaurant industry.
“Her personality, which we’re trying to capture, is strong but warm and welcoming and maybe like a little bit of a hint of mischief,” Simpson said. “I think she kind of played a pretty important role in the family going into the restaurant business, and Dave Thomas becoming who he became and so on with Sean. So she’s sort of been a real motivating figure in the family.”
Two of Venture Kitchen’s partners and founders of Minnie Bird, Franklin Buchanan and David Sloan, started Naf Naf Grill in Naperville, Simpson said. The pair’s familiarity with the city influenced them to bring Minnie Bird to the city.
“The best thing about Minnie Bird is it’s highly, highly customizable,” Simpson said.
That customization includes everything from dirty sodas to spice levels in the fried chicken. On top of that, the restaurant has rotating soft serve, sauce and dirty soda flavors. For March, they’re offering shamrock mint-flavored soft serve, jalapeño ranch sauce and three different St. Patrick’s Day-themed dirty sodas.
Minnie Bird is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Pizza al taglio at Bonci in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood in 2017. Bonci will open its first suburban location in Naperville. (Chicago Tribune)
Bonci
Popular Chicago pizza spot Bonci is bringing pizza al taglio — a Roman-style pizza with an airy crust and crispy bottom — to the River District in downtown Naperville.
Taking over the spot of the former Effin Egg, this will be the first Bonci location outside of Chicago. The restaurant is planning a spring opening.
Bonci was started in Rome by renowned pizza maker Gabriele Bonci. He did not invent pizza al taglio, but is known for elevating it with unique flavor combinations.
“They call him the Michelangelo of pizza,” said Malek Touhami, manager for Bonci in Chicago.
Some of his more exotic options, like pizza topped with raw liver or oxtail ragu, are exclusive to Bonci’s Rome location. Other unorthodox flavors, however, made their debut in Chicago, including the octopus pizza and the sausage-and-blueberry.
“We’re very popularly known for our potato mozzarella pizza,” Touhami said. “The ones in Chicago that we have that seem to be pretty popular are our burrata basil, our lemon ricotta and our arrabiata.”
Pizza at Bonci is sold by weight, with each piece being cut with a pair of scissors.
“The customer could ask, ‘Hey, can I just get a slice of, for example, pepperoni?’ And then we will ask them if they want more or less than where the scissor is placed,” Touhami said.
The first Bonci location opened in Chicago’s West Loop in 2017. Since then, two more locations have set up shop in the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods.
“Originally, Gabriele is the one who reached out and he wanted to open up a location in the U.S. … He picked Chicago because he felt Chicago was a big hub for pizza, especially at the time in 2017,” Touhami said.
Much of the restaurant’s clientele also comes from the suburbs, which Touhami attributes in part to Bonci’s appearance on the Netflix series “Chef’s Table: Pizza” and the business’ participation in Chicago’s Pizza City Fest.
“We wanted to branch out to the suburbs because we’ve been getting a lot of invitations from customers and recommendations that we should go out there,” he said. “And we really like the Naperville area. Very busy. There’s a lot of tourists coming in and out through there, just the community overall seems like a pretty good demographic for our style of pizza.”
cstein@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/03/minnie-bird-naperville-bonci-pizza-restaurants/
Trump Accepts White House Correspondents’ Dinner Invitation For First Time
Trump Accepts White House Correspondents’ Dinner Invitation For First Time
Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner for the first time as president, after declining to attend during his initial term in office due to his view that the majority of the media is unfairly biased against him. The president also did not attend in 2025, the first year of his second presidential term.
“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!”
Trump criticized the press and its coverage of him in his acceptance, pointing to it as a reason for his absence from past events.
“Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree,” he wrote. “However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very special.”
The annual dinner, which celebrates the First Amendment, is set to take place on April 25 at the Washington Hilton, outside of which John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump was the first president to skip the event since Ronald Reagan in 1981, who was recovering from the assassination attempt at the time.
The event also serves as a fundraiser for journalism scholarships and awards.
The WHCA announced last week that mentalist and mind-reader Oz Pearlman would entertain at the event.
“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president, a dinner that celebrates the First Amendment while supporting the work we do including awards honoring excellent journalism and scholarships to help the next generation of reporters who someday will be the ones asking the questions at the White House,” WHCA President Weijia Jiang, a CBS News correspondent, stated in a response to Trump’s acceptance.
The dinner started in 1924 during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge. The president and a comedian or entertainer generally make remarks, often roasting political figures and the media.
Trump made headlines in 2016 when he roasted his campaign opponent Hillary Clinton ahead of Election Day at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 03/03/2026 – 13:45
Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin follows plan, including celebration of state title. ‘I wanted it so bad.’
Glenbrook North wrestler Ariella Dobin scripted her entire junior season.
After losing in a state championship match last year, she was determined to avoid a similar ending.
“I had the mentality to never stop and keep grinding,” Dobin said. “I was pretty nervous before my state finals match last year. I got into my head with those nerves. After the match, that loss really stung. I made too many mental errors.
“I didn’t want to feel that feeling again, so the whole offseason I worked really hard and became more versatile.”
Dobin couldn’t compete until December due to a shoulder injury, which wasn’t part of the plan. But she still achieved every major milestone, completing her historic run to the top of podium by winning a 10-5 decision over Oak Forest freshman Rain Scott in the state championship match in the 125-pound weight class at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Feb. 28.
“It was tough at times to keep the big picture,” Glenbrook North coach Thomas McGovern said. “But she took the recovery in stride and understood that we were preparing for her to be healthy in February for this run.”
Dobin (39-1), a three-time state qualifier, and Scott had split their two matches during the regular season. Dobin relied on her experience, toughness and strength to become her school’s first state champion in wrestling since Glenbrook’s Bill Schmadebeck won in 1959, before Glenbrook South opened.
“Winning state means a lot because it showed all my hard work paid off,” Dobin said. “I wanted it so bad, pushed the pace and was also motivated to beat her. I had a good mentality and physically knew I was stronger and better.
“I believed in myself, knowing I could dominate and had worked harder than anyone else.”
Seconds after winning the title, Dobin darted to her left, executed a perfect takedown of McGovern and proceeded to do a few circles around the center of the mat. She paused for a moment to pose for photos. Then she sprinted to the stands to hug family members and teammates.
Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin, top, celebrates with her coach after winning the state championship in the 125-pound weight class at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Pioneer Press)
Dobin even scripted that.
“I planned it out a week prior,” she said. “I knew when I got down here that I wouldn’t be able to think of something on the fly, so I had to plan it out. I got coach down quicker than I thought.”
McGovern had given her the green light.
“I told her if she wanted to do something and earned it, she would be able to do what she wanted after winning a state title,” McGovern said.
Dobin said her celebration reflects a personality that is vastly different from her demeanor during matches.
“A lot of people are shocked when I tell them I’m in wrestling because I like pink and I like to dress colorful,” she said. “I’m really talkable, and I like to laugh. When I wrestle, I can make that switch.”
McGovern said Dobin balances that well.
“Ariella is our hardest worker, comes in every day with a great focus and energy,” McGovern said. “She is able to see the fun in wrestling. She has so much fun out there. She loves the grind and working, but she truly does have fun.
“We told her to have fun out there, and she took that all the way and really enjoyed the moment.”
Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin, left, wrestles against Oak Forest’s Rain Scott during the championship match in the 125-pound weight class at the state meet at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Pioneer Press)
Several of Dobin’s teammates made the trek to Bloomington to watch her compete, including sophomore Leah Stringfellow and freshman Gabriella Smith. Stringfellow said Dobin’s relentlessness makes her a good role model.
“Even if she’s tired, she keeps going and doesn’t stop,” Stringfellow said. “She wants more. If the option is to make it harder, she will do it.”
Dobin has certainly made an impact on Smith.
“She has made the team such a welcoming environment for everyone,” Smith said. “I’ve become such good friends with her. She’s so impressive and is my idol. I look up to her because of her work ethic. I’m in awe of her.”
Derrick Noble is well versed in championship-level wrestling. His son, Warren junior Caleb Noble, an Arizona State recruit, recently won his third state title and is one of the top wrestlers in the country. Derrick Noble said he has watched Dobin’s progress during her three years at Toss Em Up Wrestling Academy in Waukegan.
“She is probably right now the hardest-working athlete at Toss Em Up,” Derrick Noble said. “She does not miss a practice. She is a coaches’ dream. She wants it so badly. She’s very dedicated and undoubtedly the second-most intelligent child who has ever wrestled for me.”
Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin, left, wrestles against Oak Forest’s Rain Scott during the championship match in the 125-pound weight class at the state meet at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Pioneer Press)
Placing fifth in the 120-pound weight class as a freshman gave Dobin confidence that she could succeed in the sport, which she started in eighth grade. She had already been involved in martial arts, including Krav Maga.
“Krav helped push me past my limits just so many times,” Dobin said. “Every single time, it taught me how strong I really am and that I love competing and that I have that drive to succeed.”
Dobin, who has 117-8 career record, believes she can achieve more.
“I know I can do even better next year,” she said. “I’m ready for that challenge.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
Imágenes satelitales muestran daños en la instalación nuclear iraní de Natanz
Por The Associated Press
Las imágenes satelitales de la instalación nuclear iraní de Natanz tomadas el lunes muestran varios edificios afectados, en comparación con las imágenes del día anterior, junto con daños adicionales en todo el complejo de la instalación.
Vantor, una empresa de obtención de imágenes con sede en Colorado y anteriormente conocida como Maxar Technologies, difundió fotografías que, según indicó, mostraban daños en edificios que albergan personal y en los accesos para vehículos al complejo subterráneo de enriquecimiento de combustible.
La mañana del martes, el organismo de control nuclear de las Naciones Unidas señaló que el sitio de enriquecimiento de Natanz sufrió “algunos daños recientes” tras el ataque de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán.
El Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) afirmó que “no se espera ninguna consecuencia radiológica”.
La instalación nuclear de Natanz, ubicada a casi 220 kilómetros (135 millas) al sureste de Teherán, es el principal sitio de enriquecimiento de uranio de Irán. Había sido blanco de ataques aéreos israelíes en la guerra de 12 días entre Irán e Israel en junio de 2025, y también de Estados Unidos.
El ataque del lunes contra la instalación de Natanz marca el primer golpe confirmado contra un sitio nuclear en Irán durante la más reciente ronda de combates.
Tras la breve guerra del verano pasado, el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, y su gobierno manifestaron que las capacidades nucleares de Irán habían sido “aniquiladas”. Pero antes de la actual ronda de hostilidades, el mandatario estadounidense volvió a advertir sobre las ambiciones nucleares de Irán. Afirmó el lunes que Teherán buscaba reconstruir su programa nuclear.
Irán tiene cuatro instalaciones declaradas de enriquecimiento nuclear. El OIEA indicó la semana pasada en un informe confidencial, visto por The Associated Press, que debido a la falta de acceso “no puede proporcionar ninguna información sobre el tamaño actual, la composición o el paradero de las reservas de uranio enriquecido en Irán”.
Irán señaló que no ha enriquecido desde junio, pero ha impedido que inspectores internacionales visiten los sitios que Estados Unidos bombardeó. Fotos satelitales analizadas por la AP han mostrado nueva actividad en dos de esos sitios, lo que sugiere que Irán intentaba evaluar y, potencialmente, recuperar material.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Ataques iraníes dañan 3 centros de datos de Amazon en Bahrein y exponen su vulnerabilidad
Por KELVIN CHAN
LONDRES (AP) — Los daños en tres instalaciones de Amazon Web Services (AWS) en Oriente Medio por ataques con drones iraníes ponen de relieve el rápido crecimiento de los centros de datos en la región, así como la vulnerabilidad del sector ante los conflictos.
La división de computación en la nube de la empresa, Amazon Web Services, informó la noche del lunes que dos centros de datos en Emiratos Árabes Unidos fueron “alcanzados directamente” y que otra instalación en Bahrein también resultó dañada después de que un dron aterrizara cerca del lugar.
“Estos ataques causaron daños estructurales, interrumpieron el suministro eléctrico a nuestra infraestructura y, en algunos casos, requirieron labores de extinción de incendios que provocaron daños adicionales por agua”, indicó AWS en una actualización de su panel en línea.
Señaló que, para la noche del martes, los esfuerzos de recuperación en los centros de datos de Emiratos Árabes Unidos ya presentaban avances.
A diferencia de interrupciones anteriores de AWS relacionadas con software que causaron apagones generalizados a nivel mundial, estos ataques con daños físicos parecen haber provocado solo una interrupción localizada y limitada.
Amazon Web Services aloja muchos de los servicios en línea más utilizados del mundo, al proporcionar, entre bastidores, infraestructura de computación en la nube a numerosos departamentos gubernamentales, universidades y empresas.
La empresa recomendó a los clientes que usan servidores en Oriente Medio que migren a otras regiones y desvíen el tráfico en línea fuera de Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Bahrein.
“Por lo general, Amazon ha configurado sus servicios de modo que la pérdida de un solo centro de datos sea relativamente poco importante para sus operaciones”, explicó Mike Chapple, profesor de TI en la Mendoza College of Business de la Universidad de Notre Dame.
Otros centros de datos en la misma zona pueden asumir la carga y, la mayoría de las veces, esto ocurre sin contratiempos cada día para equilibrar las cargas de trabajo, agregó.
“Dicho esto, la pérdida de varios centros de datos dentro de una zona de disponibilidad podría causar problemas graves, ya que las cosas podrían llegar a un punto en el que simplemente no quede capacidad suficiente para gestionar todo el trabajo”.
Amazon no suele revelar el número exacto de centros de datos que opera en todo el mundo.
Solo indica que sus centros de datos están agrupados en 39 regiones geográficas, tres de ellas ubicadas en Oriente Medio, que abarcan Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Bahrein e Israel.
Cada región de AWS se divide en al menos tres zonas de disponibilidad de centros de datos, y cada zona está aislada y físicamente separada “por una distancia importante”, aunque todas están a menos de 100 kilómetros (60 millas) entre sí y conectadas por “redes de latencia ultrabaja” que reducen el retraso en la transmisión de datos.
AWS afirma que sus centros de datos cuentan con conexiones redundantes de agua, energía, telecomunicaciones e internet “para que podamos mantener operaciones continuas en una emergencia”.
También cuentan con seguridad física, pero esas medidas —incluidos guardias de seguridad, vallas, videovigilancia y sistemas de alarma— están diseñadas para impedir el acceso de intrusos, más que para defenderse de ataques con misiles.
Chapple comentó que los ataques son un recordatorio de que la computación en la nube no es “mágica” y que “sigue requiriendo instalaciones físicas sobre el terreno, que son vulnerables a todo tipo de escenarios de desastre”.
Los centros de datos manejados por AWS y otros operadores son instalaciones enormes y difíciles de ocultar, añadió.
“Las organizaciones que utilizan servicios de cualquier proveedor de nube en Oriente Medio deberían tomar medidas de inmediato para trasladar su computación a otras regiones”, sostuvo Chapple.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Naperville D203 hopes to close budget gap by cutting 97 jobs through attrition
Naperville District 203 may reduce its staff by about 97 positions in the coming school year as it aims to close a $12.4 million budget deficit and realign staffing levels with its current enrollment.
The board is expected to vote March 16 proposed Monday by district administration.
Under the plan for the 2026-27 school year, the district would reduce administrative positions by seven — going from 104 administrators to 97.
It also would cut the number of certified educators by 90, decreasing the count from 1,567 to 1,477 full-time equivalent positions.
Superintendent Dan Bridges said it’s hoped most of the reduction can be achieved by not filling positions created through resignations and retirements.
On Monday, the board approved a one-time enhanced retirement incentive with the Naperville Education Support Professionals Association to provide a monetary stipend for eligible staff who retire before the start of the 2026-27 school year. The agreement allows for employees with 15 or more years of continuous service to receive between $800 to $1,200, depending on the number of years they’ve been with the district, if they submit an irrevocable notice to retire.
Last month, the board approved a one-time retirement incentive agreement with the Naperville Unit Education Association, the district’s teachers union, in which eligible staff could receive full retirement insurance benefits for retiring this year without meeting previous notification requirements.
The process to reduce staff weighs heavily on the school community, Bridges said.
“We all recognize the strength of what we do comes from the people who serve our students every single day,” Bridges said. “We recognize the discussions about staffing can create some uncertainty and stress, which I know they have. The work our staff does for our students each day matters deeply, and the care they bring is what makes this district special.”
Streamlining staff is one way the district is hoping to close its budget gap.
The district also is looking at ways to reduce discretionary spending and eliminate redundancy, such as consolidating software platforms, reducing travel expenses, cutting department and building spending and bringing some services in-house.
With these cuts, the district is hoping to reduce the deficit by nearly $4 million, Bridges said.
He added that even if the district eliminated all travel expenses, it would be minimal savings and the district would still have more than a $12 million deficit, which is why the elimination of some jobs is necessary.
Board member Holly Blastic said the staffing projections keep her up at night.
“Every staff member, we value and appreciate,” she said.
She acknowledged that with the district’s five-year forecast, the board has to make difficult decisions.
If nothing changes, the deficit for fiscal year 2027-28 is anticipated to be $14.8 million and nearly $18.5 million for fiscal year 2028-29, according to the district’s five-year financial forecast.
By fiscal year 2029-30, the district would have exhausted all of its reserve funding, the forecast states.
“I recognize we do have to do something,” Blastic said. “We don’t want this hanging over heads year after year. That weighs on families. That weighs on staff as well. My biggest concern was that we are turning over every rock and looking for every single dollar before we get to staffing.”
The district is continuing to lobby for more state funds and grants as well.
Reducing staff is expected to better align the district with its current enrollment and return to sustainable pre-pandemic staffing levels. The administration recommendation does not plan to eliminate programs and is being designed to provide the least impact to students, district documents said.
Katie Matthews, assistant superintendent for elementary schools, said about 875 fewer students are enrolled than 12 years ago.
However, the district added more than 185 certified staff, documents said.
“Addressing this misalignment is necessary to ensure long-term fiscal stability while continuing to meet student needs, Matthews said.
One-time federal pandemic funds that are now expired and higher-than-usual investment income helped support higher staffing levels. District officials have said they prioritized staffing while students recovered from pandemic learning loss.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/03/naperville-d203-job-cuts-teachers-budget/
Voters Head To Polls In First 2026 Primary Election: What To Know
Voters Head To Polls In First 2026 Primary Election: What To Know
Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,
Today, voters in Texas and North Carolina will cast their ballots in the first major contested primary elections of the 2026 midterm elections.
The elections in the two states have high stakes for the control of Congress in 2027.
The Texas Senate primaries for both parties have become some of the most closely watched in the nation, as Democrats vie for an upset victory over the GOP nominee in the general election.
In North Carolina, meanwhile, Republican candidates are facing off for their party’s nominations in a district redrawn to favor the GOP.
Here’s what to know.
Texas Republican Primary
While both parties are investing substantial resources and attention toward the race to be the Lone Star state’s next senator, Republicans enter the race with a strong advantage after President Donald Trump won the state by more than 14 points in 2024.
The incumbent in the race, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), is facing one of the toughest primary challenges of his career from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is also seeking the Republican nomination.
Political analysts and betting markets largely view Paxton and Cornyn as the leading contenders.
Paxton entered the race earlier this year, carrying lingering fallout from past controversies, including his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House and subsequent acquittal by the Texas Senate. Framing the contest in ideological terms, Paxton has cast the race as a showdown between his brand of populist “America First” conservatism and what he describes as the establishment politics embodied by Cornyn.
Cornyn, meanwhile, has characterized the primary as a referendum on character, pointing to Paxton’s impeachment proceedings and other legal issues. At a recent campaign event, Cornyn accused Paxton of a “scandal-plagued career” and warned that he could be a “dead weight” on the ballot.
Paxton currently holds a 3.8 lead over Cornyn in RealClearPolitics polling averages.
Trump has yet to say which candidate he will endorse but has expressed his appreciation for both.
Texas Democratic Primary
Given the historically favorable national political environment for the party of the opposition in the midterm elections, Democrats are hoping for a long-shot win in the Lone Star State’s Senate election this year.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico led the pack of potential Democratic nominees, though polls show the possibility of a close race with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who entered the race on Oct. 8 last year.
Talarico rose to prominence during the redistricting battle this summer as Texas Republicans voted to add five Republican districts to the state’s congressional map. The former seminarian has gained national media and online attention for his Christian-focused messaging.
Crockett has become well-known for her heated questions during hearings on Capitol Hill.
Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) had been running but ended his bid for the nomination after Crockett announced her candidacy.
According to recent polling averages from RealClearPolitics, Talarico is leading Crockett by 4.5 percent.
In hypothetical polling match-ups, surveys said Talarico would be advantaged in a race against Paxton, but is disfavored if Republicans select Cornyn as their nominee.
Meanwhile, polling currently has Crockett at a disadvantage against either of the major Republican candidates.
The primary race will be held on March 3, and any runoff races are scheduled for May 26.
North Carolina’s 1st District Republican Primary
In North Carolina’s First Congressional District, Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) is running for reelection in a district that was redrawn through redistricting.
Davis won a second term in 2024 by less than 2 percent, becoming one of 13 House Democrats to win elections in districts won by Trump. He’s criticized the new boundaries for his districts, which now favor Republicans.
He faces no opposition in the Democratic primary, while five Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination.
Among them is Army veteran and former Trump administration official Laurie Buckhout, who is seeking a rematch after narrowly losing to Davis in 2024.
State Sen. Bobby Hanig, former sheriff Asa Buck, and Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse are other political notables in the district seeking the nomination.
Rounding out the GOP field is attorney and small-business owner Ashley-Nicole Russell.
North Carolina’s 11th District Democratic Primary
In North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, five Democrats are competing in the primary for the opportunity to take on incumbent Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.).
Although Edwards won reelection comfortably in 2024, Democrats are hoping to win enough support to flip the seat in the upcoming election.
The Democratic field includes farmer Jamie Ager, educator and advocate Zelda Briarwood, physician Richard Hudspeth, cancer researcher and professor Paul Maddox, and civil engineer Lee Whipple.
Ager is centering his campaign on lowering everyday costs, expanding access to health care, advancing immigration reform, and strengthening public safety. An internal Democratic poll shared with Newsweek shows Ager leading Edwards by 1 percentage point.
Briarwood is advocating for increased investment in rural health care, expanding Medicaid, limiting private equity ownership of residential housing, and making community college tuition-free.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 03/03/2026 – 13:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/voters-head-polls-first-2026-primary-election-what-know
Review: ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’ is about a nerdy young man with an open heart
“You’re strange, unfamiliar, great,” says the young woman to Oscar Wao, the nerdy, collegiate, Dominican American hero of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Junot Díaz. No sooner are those words out of her mouth than she realizes their inadequacy. “No,” she says, as her feelings start to overwhelm, “better than great. You’re wonderous.”
And thus we come to see the genesis of the title of a sweet and affirmative story about a very smart and creative young man who not only inhabits a singular world of the imagination, but his combination of naivety, insight and vulnerability turns him into a cypher, or a catalyst, whose presence teaches others how to love and how to be true to themselves. “The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” now in a world premiere adaptation by Marco Antonio Rodríguez at the Goodman Theatre, has a title that signals all will not end well, at least if you define “well” as a life of long duration, as distinct from the imprint you leave on family and friends.
But “Oscar Wao” also makes the case that life can be beautiful.
Gentle protagonists whose personal struggles with self-actualization end up activating the lives of others are, of course, familiar in the theater. Oscar Wao (his name comes from his dressing up as Doctor Who for a Rutgers University costume party, only to look more like Oscar Wilde, or Oscar Wowww in his friend’s eye) has aspects in common with Christopher in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” Juicy in “Fat Ham,” Usher in “A Strange Loop,” or Auggie Pullman in R.J. Palacio’s similarly toned “Wonder,” which I recently saw staged in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But Díaz’s novel sets this character amid the Dominican American immigrant experience with a focus on those brought to the U.S. as children and now trying to figure out their Stateside role alongside their ties to Hispaniola, the island of their birth, with its history of dictators and coups that traumatized their parents and grandparents and that still ricochets through successive generations.
In this new dramatic adaptation at the Goodman, “Oscar Wao” intermittently breaks out into a vibrant celebration of youthful Dominican culture, a rarity at a downtown theater. Oscar, generously and earnestly embodied here by Lenin Izquierdo, of Chicago’s own Humboldt Park, is a character filled with humor and vitality, an extrovert nerd if ever there was one and a savant when it comes to seeking out and contextualizing one’s experiences of the day. “Oscar Wao” has an exceptionally fun and warm-centered cast — from Kelvin Grullon, who plays Yunior, Oscar’s college roommate, to Julissa Calderon, who plays Oscar’s sister, to the excellent Jalbelly Guzmán, who morphs into different characters who both disappoint Oscar and make him the happiest he ever has been. The potential of the production, which is designed with great humor by Regina Garcia, is self-evident.
Still, wonderous as this show could occasionally be, in the human sense, I don’t think it’s yet in shape for a Goodman stage. At two hours and 45 minutes, the piece is much too long, especially since that running time, at least half an hour more than what is needed to tell this story, does not all flow from the innate length of the material, but from very slow internal pacing and very lengthy transitions that, on opening night at least, sometimes left an empty stage for several moments, killing momentum. That doesn’t reflect the central character’s zest for life.
Indeed, much needless effort is expended here on scene setting and bits of furniture coming and going, even though the scenes don’t need them in so symbolic a story. As a result, the close relationship that Izquierdo’s Oscar could and should be building with his audience gets squelched by too much clutter. Director Wendy Mateo does some fine work within scenes, but she perhaps needed an outside eye to help her make the hard choices of what to cut and, most importantly of all, to help her ensure that this work in progress had sufficient drive, stakes and momentum to carry us through Oscar’s lifelong journey, determined as he is to remain himself and let others figure out what he should mean to them. The emotional stakes remain some distance from where they need to be. And they are what matters the most.
That said, “Oscar Wao” still offers an affecting evening as the titular character navigates life from his college dorm room to his broader identity, heart always open and notebook ever in hand. This cast is clearly deeply committed to telling his story; if you are planning to be a witness, I’d wait a little while for the wonders to better find their way.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (2.5 stars)
When: Through April 12
Where: The Goodman’s Owen Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Tickets: $34-$94 at 312-443-3800 and goodmantheatre.org
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/03/review-oscar-wao-goodman-theatre/
EEUU dice que prepara vuelos militares y chárter para que estadounidenses salgan de Oriente Medio
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — EEUU dice que prepara vuelos militares y chárter para que estadounidenses salgan de Oriente Medio.
Pasajeros adinerados sí pueden salir de Oriente Medio, pagando enormes sumas por vuelos chárter
Por SIMINA MISTREANU y STEFANIE DAZIO
Decenas de miles de pasajeros de aerolíneas están varados por la guerra con Irán, pero algunos viajeros adinerados están logrando salir —pagando grandes sumas por vuelos de lujo a Europa a través de aeropuertos que están a salvo de los ataques iraníes con drones y misiles.
La demanda de vuelos chárter se ha disparado, y algunas personas están pagando hasta 200.000 euros (232.000 dólares), después de que los principales aeropuertos de Dubái, Abu Dabi y Doha, en Qatar, cerraran tras el inicio del conflicto el fin de semana pasado.
Los viajeros que salen de Dubái, por lo general conocido como un destino seguro y lujoso, buscan evacuar viajando por tierra ya sea a Mascate, Omán, a unas cuatro horas en coche, o a Riad, la capital de Arabia Saudí, a más de 10 horas. Luego abordan uno de los pocos vuelos comerciales disponibles o toman un vuelo chárter, cuyos costos se han disparado desde el inicio de la guerra.
“La demanda es enorme y ni siquiera tenemos suficientes aeronaves para responder a tanta demanda”, declaró Altay Kula, director ejecutivo del corredor de jets privados JET-VIP, con sede en Francia.
Kula explicó que, mientras que normalmente un vuelo chárter en un jet privado con capacidad para hasta 16 pasajeros desde Riad a Oporto, en Portugal, puede costar alrededor de 100.000 euros (115.800 dólares) en estos días, el costo se ha duplicado.
“Este aumento de costo refleja la escasez de aeronaves, también los costos de reposicionamiento y las evaluaciones de riesgo de los operadores. Así que esto no es un precio especulativo”, añadió.
Los precios pueden variar según el punto de salida, el tipo de aeronave y las restricciones de la ruta, explicó Ameerh Naran, director ejecutivo de Vimana Private Jets. Para vuelos desde la región del Golfo Pérsico a Europa, agregó, los precios oscilan entre 150.000 euros (173.800 dólares) y 200.000 euros.
Para llegar a aeropuertos operativos como los de Riad y Mascate, algunos viajeros contratan empresas de seguridad privada que coordinan el transporte en vehículos que van desde automóviles de pasajeros comunes hasta autobuses.
debido al intenso tráfico, los tiempos de espera en los puntos fronterizos con Omán pueden ser de hasta cuatro horas, mientras que los costos se sitúan en miles de dólares, apuntó Ian McCaul, director de operaciones y planificación de Alma Risk, una firma de gestión de riesgos y seguridad con sede en el Reino Unido.
McCaul agregó que quienes buscan salir son predominantemente viajeros varados y no residentes.
Calcula que su empresa ha gestionado arreglos para más de 200 personas y ha asesorado a varias otras en los últimos días.
Naran comentó que los clientes de Vimana incluyen ejecutivos de negocios, familias y emprendedores, así como trabajadores remotos que habían estado radicados en la región.
Elie Hanna, director ejecutivo de la sede de Oriente Medio de Air Charter Service, con base en Dubái, manifestó que la mayoría de los vuelos que salen de la región están partiendo desde Omán. Los precios son tan altos, explicó, porque hay pocos aviones chárter disponibles, ya que la mayoría está atrapada en aeropuertos que ahora están cerrados.
Los clientes que está viendo van desde personas que contratan vuelos privados con regularidad, hasta personas que por lo general vuelan en aerolíneas comerciales pero están intentando reunir recursos con otros viajeros o familias para compartir el gasto.
“Todo el mundo está estresado”, apuntó Hanna. “Para ser honesto, todos están tratando de adaptarse lo más que pueden. El Aeropuerto de Mascate está sobrecargado de vuelos y todo el mundo está estresado”.
Expertos de la empresa International SOS prevén que los combates seguirán afectando el transporte y la infraestructura energética durante semanas.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
