“Hyperwoke” Journo Self-Downgrades From First Class Because It Had Too Many White Men

Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/26/2026 – 18:50

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hyperwoke-journo-self-downgrades-first-class-because-it-had-too-many-white-men 

The United States women’s hockey team has a date with Flavor Flav this summer in Las Vegas celebrate winning the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The rapper reposted a note on his X account on Thursday from sports media brand The GIST, announcing he’s hosting a “She Got Game” weekend event July 16-19 in partnership with the outlet and MGM Resorts. The post said the event was being held to honor the women’s hockey team and other female athletes, with details to follow. It featured a picture of the U.S. women’s hockey players celebrating in a circle.

A publicist for Flavor Flav confirmed the event without providing further details.

2026 Winter Olympics: Meet the 33 medalists from the United States

The women’s players accepted the invitation without input from USA Hockey, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

The person added that while the team is excited to attend, it’s unclear if the entire 23-player roster will be on hand because of potential scheduling conflicts.

The team has yet to determine whether it will visit the White House after USA Hockey cited logistics and travel issues in declining President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning team at the State of the Union on Tuesday.

Flavor Flav is a longtime supporter of women’s sports and attended various Olympic competitions this month. He posted his invitation on Monday, shortly after the women turned down the trip to Washington.

“If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite ,,, I’ll host them in Las Vegas. Do some nice dinners and shows and good times,” he wrote. “I’m sure I can get a hotel and airline to help me out here and celebrate these women for real for real.”

The event came together quickly after that. Brands swarmed the comments expressing interest: “Let’s talk,” said a reply from Alaska Airlines.

The GIST, which prides itself on providing equal coverage to men’s and women’s sports and reaches roughly 1 million newsletter subscribers, will serve as the official media and content partner for the weekend, co-founder Jacie deHoop said. The company had reached out to the rapper after seeing his post.

Photos: The best images from final weekend of the 2026 Winter Olympics

According to deHoop, the celebration was born as a direct response to Trump’s joke on a phone call to the victorious men’s team that he would also have to invite the women to the White House or face impeachment.

“It was really disheartening to see,” deHoop said. “I think it definitely came across as that the women’s team is an afterthought, and I think women’s sports has been in this position too many times where the women have to play second fiddle and are being treated as kind of second-class citizens.”

The women’s team was originally scheduled to fly commercially to New York on Monday, but was forced to reroute through Atlanta because of a snowstorm in the Northeast. The timing and storm made it difficult for the women to change plans as they returned to their Professional Women’s Hockey League and college teams.

The PWHL schedule resumed on Thursday with Montreal playing at New York following a monthlong Olympic break, while college players open their conference playoffs this weekend.

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Trump said Tuesday night that plans were in the works to have the women’s team visit the White House, though it’s unclear when that could happen, USA Hockey said. The earliest the team could travel to Washington would be in late spring after the conclusion of the PWHL season.

The president initially invited the women late Sunday, when he called to congratulate the men for their 2-1 overtime win over Canada. The women’s team was still in Milan, three days after also beating Canada 2-1 in overtime.

“We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump said to the men’s team.

U.S. women’s captain Hilary Knight on Wednesday referred to the comment as “distasteful and unfortunate.”

“I think just the way women are represented, it’s a great teaching point and really shines light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats,” she said.

AP reporter Claire Savage in Chicago contributed.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/olympics-womens-hockey-flavor-flav-celebration/ 

NEW YORK — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over the fellow storied Hollywood giant.

On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.”

Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios.

The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like “Harry Potter” had backed Netflix’s proposal for months. But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warner’s board on Thursday said that the offer “constitutes a ‘company superior proposal.’”

A Paramount buyout Warner’s business would vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape. Paramount’s CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss at CBS News, under new Skydance ownership. And if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner is successful, many expect the reach of those changes to only grow.

A Paramount-Warner combo would also combine two of Hollywood’s five legacy studios that remain today, in addition to their theatrical channels. Beyond “Harry Potter,” Warner movies like “Superman,” “Barbie,” and “One Battle After Another” — as well as hit TV series like “The White Lotus” and “Succession” — would join Paramount’s content library.

Today, Paramount’s lineup of titles include “Top Gun,” “Titanic” and “The Godfather.” And beyond CBS, it owns networks like MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.

Executives at Paramount have argued that merging will be good for consumers and the wider industry. But lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm — warning that a Warner takeover would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.

Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so, too.

Netflix, Warner and Paramount have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over whose deal has a better regulatory path — and offers more value for Warner shareholders. Thursday’s announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.

Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion. And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company initially said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.

But Paramount is taking on billions of dollars in debt to finance its offer. And David Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is heavily backing the bid for his son’s company. Foreign sovereign wealth funds have also provided equity for the offer, drawing scrutiny.

The Ellisons also have a close relationship with President Donald Trump — bringing more politics into question. Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.

The push to acquire Warner also arrives just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount — in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at CBS’ “60 Minutes” program. Still, Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount and “60 Minutes” since.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/netflix-warner-bros-paramount-deal/ 

Video gambling machines are one major step closer to opening in Chicago’s bars and restaurants after clearing a key hurdle this week as elected officials sent notice to state regulators after Mayor Brandon Johnson took no action.

The state of Illinois began accepting applications Thursday afternoon from businesses that hope to operate the machines. The green light came because City Clerk Anna Valencia notified the Illinois Gaming Board Tuesday that the city had legalized the controversial gambling machines.

City Clerk Anna Valencia, center, talks with Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, and Ald. Desmond Yancy, 5th, before a City Council meeting, Jan. 21, 2026, at Chicago City Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Johnson had not sent the notice for weeks in an apparent effort to pressure aldermen to change the legalization plan they approved as a part of the 2026 city budget they passed in December against his will. But his City Council opponents passed a resolution last week that ultimately compelled Valencia to send the official notice that the gaming board accepted.

“We know we need the revenue, and this is a huge revenue stream,” said Ald. Anthony Beale, the top City Council proponent of the machines. “The quicker we can get all these applications online, we can start recouping hundreds of millions of dollars here in the city.”

Beale previously accused Johnson of not notifying the state of the budget decision as a pressure tactic. Johnson’s office did not respond Thursday afternoon to a request for comment.

Earlier Thursday, gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter said that as soon as they received the official notice from Valencia, “the IGB will recognize Chicago as a video gaming municipality and begin accepting applications from Chicago locations.”

The legalization has become a top issue at City Hall since Beale led the charge to include it in the so-called alternative budget for this year. Since then, several Beale allies have raised concerns about the legalization, which had previously failed to pass on its own and received little public scrutiny from aldermen during the budget process.

Despite the measure’s passage with the budget, it became clear in early January that the future of video gambling remained in flux when Johnson’s top adviser, Jason Lee, told the Tribune that legalization “requires more time and some judicious collaboration,” citing the need for more vendor diversity and input from the operators of Bally’s Casino.

Belinda Lagasi walks her three dogs as work continues on the Bally’s Chicago casino at the former Freedom Center site along the Chicago River, Jan. 7, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

The casino warned it would halt a $4 million annual voluntary payment to the city if the machines were legalized. It also warned the machines would cut into casino revenues, which are taxed at a higher rate.

The different tax rates could leave Chicago with less money, Johnson’s top finance leaders warned aldermen throughout last year, a prediction sharply at odds with Beale’s flush forecast.

The machines would also thrust gambling into Chicago’s neighborhoods less than three years after the Bally’s temporary downtown location first brought legal betting games to the city. The first legal online sportsbooks launched in Illinois in June 2020.

And as the neighborhood-level machines promise to cap a sea change in gambling’s legality in Chicago, some warn they could cause other problems.

Several aldermen have moved to preemptively ban the machines from their wards. They cite issues like gambling addiction and a spike in burglaries targeting the machines in other parts of the state where they are already legalized.

At least 473 burglaries targeted Illinois businesses with the machines last year, up from 358 in 2024, according to the Sun-Times.

And the Neighborhoods Safety First Association that opposes legalization points to a poll they are using to argue most Chicagoans don’t even want the machines in their bars and restaurants.

One issue complicating the legalization push is the fact that hundreds of similar gambling terminals — the “sweepstakes” machines that skirt rules by not paying out in cash — already operate across the city.

There are 33 such machines scattered throughout the 27th Ward, home to the future permanent Bally’s Casino and overseen by key video gambling terminal opponent Ald. Walter “Red” Burnett, according to the Chicago Video Gaming Business Association, a new group made up of video gambling terminal operators and other businesses hoping to profit from legalization.

Cecilia Brown, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement that Burnett’s stance will “cost state and city taxpayers millions of dollars” and “continues to withhold much‑needed support from bars and restaurants across Chicago that are struggling to stay afloat.”

“Meanwhile, illegal gambling operations— which pay no taxes, disproportionately impact vulnerable communities, and have been linked to crime—continue to operate without meaningful intervention,” Brown said. “With the process finally moving forward, efforts to reverse the law at this stage would be costly, disruptive and unlikely to succeed.”

But Burnett, who Johnson appointed in September, was clear that he opposes the sweepstakes machines too.

“I want to ban sweepstakes as well. Everyone should play by the same rules,” he said.

The rookie alderman appointed by Johnson in September said the people pushing video gambling terminals have refused to negotiate a regulatory framework to address concerns about safety and mental health. The onus should be on the backers of the legalization push to start the discussion around rules, he argued.

“We have to do better to actually protect our city,” Burnett said. “It’s ridiculous. If people really want to get something done, we actually have to get to work.”

Asked about the need for a regulatory framework, Beale turned his attention to the sweepstakes machines, which do not generate tax revenue for the city.

“There’s over 3,000 illegal sweepstakes machines in the city of Chicago right now. Nobody said anything about those… I’m trying to legalize them and get legitimate revenue that we need,” he said. “It’s just amazing, the hypocrisy when we want to do something legally.”

Further pressed, Beale said there are already strong regulations at the state level, such as a limit of six machines per location. He added that there are “things we need to tighten up” and called for technology that allows the gambling machines to operate without cash to address burglaries.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/video-gambling-machine-legalization-clears-hurdle-chicago/ 

Por KONSTANTIN TOROPIN y MATT O’BRIEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — El director general de Anthropic, Dario Amodei, indicó el jueves que la empresa de inteligencia artificial “no puede, en conciencia, acceder” a las exigencias del Pentágono para permitir un uso más amplio de su tecnología.

La compañía señaló en un comunicado que no se está retirando de la negociación, pero que el nuevo lenguaje contractual recibido del Departamento de Defensa “prácticamente no avanzó nada en impedir el uso (del chatbot) Claude para la vigilancia masiva de estadounidenses o en armas totalmente autónomas”.

El principal portavoz del Pentágono ha reiterado que las fuerzas armadas quieren usar la tecnología de inteligencia artificial de Anthropic de maneras legales, y que no permitirán que la empresa imponga ningún límite antes de que el viernes venza el plazo para aceptar sus exigencias.

Sean Parnell escribió el jueves en redes sociales que el Pentágono “no tiene ningún interés en usar la IA para realizar vigilancia masiva de estadounidenses (lo cual es ilegal), ni queremos usar la IA para desarrollar armas autónomas que operen sin participación humana”.

Las políticas de Anthropic impiden que sus modelos, como su chatbot Claude, se utilicen con esos fines. Es la más reciente entre sus pares —el Pentágono también tiene contratos con Google, OpenAI y xAI de Elon Musk— en no suministrar su tecnología a una nueva red militar interna de Estados Unidos.

Parnell indicó que el Pentágono quiere “usar el modelo de Anthropic para todos los fines lícitos”, pero no ofreció detalles sobre lo que eso implica. Sostuvo que abrir el uso de la tecnología evitaría que la empresa “ponga en riesgo operaciones militares cruciales”.

“No permitiremos que ninguna compañía dicte los términos sobre cómo tomamos decisiones operativas”, manifestó.

Durante una reunión el martes entre el secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, y Amodei, funcionarios militares advirtieron que podrían designar a Anthropic como un riesgo para la cadena de suministro, cancelar su contrato o invocar una ley de la era de la Guerra Fría, llamada Ley de Producción para la Defensa, con el fin de otorgar a las fuerzas armadas una autoridad más amplia para usar sus productos, incluso si la empresa no lo aprueba.

Parnell mencionó sólo dos de esas consecuencias en la publicación del jueves en la red social X, y dijo que Anthropic tiene “hasta las 5:01 p. m., hora del Este, del viernes para decidir”.

“De lo contrario, pondremos fin a nuestra asociación con Anthropic y los consideraremos un riesgo para la cadena de suministro”, escribió.

Anthropic no respondió de momento el jueves a una solicitud de comentarios. Luego de la reunión del martes, la empresa indicó en un comunicado que “continuó conversaciones de buena fe sobre nuestra política de uso para garantizar que Anthropic pueda seguir apoyando la misión de seguridad nacional del gobierno, en consonancia con lo que nuestros modelos pueden hacer de manera confiable y responsable”.

El senador republicano Thom Tillis, que no busca la reelección, dijo el jueves que el Pentágono ha manejado el asunto de manera poco profesional, mientras que Anthropic está “tratando de hacer lo más que puede para ayudarnos a protegernos de nosotros mismos”.

“¿Por qué demonios estamos teniendo esta discusión en público?”, les dijo Tillis a los periodistas. “Esta no es la forma de tratar a un proveedor estratégico que tiene contratos”.

“Cuando una empresa se resiste a una oportunidad de mercado por temor a sufrir consecuencias negativas, hay que escucharla y luego, a puerta cerrada, averiguar qué es lo que realmente están tratando de resolver”, agregó.

El senador Mark Warner, el demócrata de mayor rango en la Comisión de Inteligencia del Senado, dijo que estaba “profundamente perturbado” por los reportes de que el Pentágono está “trabajando para intimidar a una empresa líder de Estados Unidos”.

“Lamentablemente, esto es una indicación más de que el Departamento de Defensa busca ignorar por completo la gobernanza de la IA”, señaló Warner en un comunicado. Esto “subraya aún más la necesidad de que el Congreso promulgue mecanismos sólidos y vinculantes de gobernanza de la IA para contextos de seguridad nacional”.

Mientras funcionarios del Pentágono dicen que siempre cumplirán la ley en su uso de modelos de IA, Hegseth le dijo a Fox News en febrero pasado —semanas después de convertirse en secretario de Defensa— que, “en última instancia, queremos abogados que den un asesoramiento constitucional sólido y que no existan para intentar ser obstáculos de nada”.

___

El periodista de The Associated Press Ben Finley contribuyó a este despacho.

___

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/2026/02/26/empresa-anthropic-de-ia-dice-que-no-puede-en-conciencia-acceder-a-las-exigencias-del-pentgono/ 

OTTAWA (AP) — El jugador estadounidense de hockey Brady Tkachuk manifestó el jueves su desagrado por un video de TikTok, manipulado y compartido por la Casa Blanca, que hacía parecer que estaba menospreciando a los canadienses tras ganar el oro olímpico.

Tkachuk calificó el contenido de falso y de algo que jamás diría.

El video incluye audio fabricado en el que Tkachuk se refiere a los canadienses con un insulto. Los etiqueta como gente “que come jarabe de arce”.

El video lleva una nota que indica que “incluye contenido multimedia generado por inteligencia artificial”.

“Está claramente manipulado porque no es mi voz y mis labios no se mueven”, señaló Tkachuk. “No tengo control de ninguna de esas cuentas… Sé que esas palabras nunca saldrían de mi boca”.

Al preguntársele si le gustó el video, Tkachuk respondió que no: “Yo nunca diría eso. Esa no es mi forma de ser”.

La Casa Blanca no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios.

Tkachuk también negó que sea suya la voz que se escucha gritando “cierren la frontera norte” durante la llamada telefónica de celebración de la selección de Estados Unidos con el presidente Donald Trump, después de la victoria del domingo por 2-1 en tiempo extra sobre Canadá.

Con ese triunfo, Estados Unidos conquistó la medalla de oro en los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno.

“He estado viendo cosas de gente que cree que soy yo, pero si miras el video, esa no es mi voz y es algo que yo nunca digo”, añadió Tkachuk. “En realidad no sé cómo eso se desató por sí solo cuando yo juego aquí y doy todo lo que tengo aquí”.

Tkachuk, de 26 años y originario de Arizona, es el capitán de los Senators de Ottawa de la NHL y ha jugado toda su carrera en la capital canadiense. Él y otros integrantes del equipo de Estados Unidos regresaron de Italia esta semana y reanudaron la temporada de la NHL. Algunos asistieron al discurso del Estado de la Nación pronunciado por Trump en Washington la noche del martes.

Las mujeres de Estados Unidos también vencieron 2-1 a Canadá en tiempo extra. Fue la primera vez que los estadounidenses barrieron ambos torneos olímpicos de hockey.

La celebración se ha visto ensombrecida por la política de Estados Unidos.

Al hablar por altavoz en el vestuario tras el partido, Trump extendió una invitación a la Casa Blanca a la selección masculina y luego añadió: “Vamos a tener que traer al equipo femenino, ya lo saben”.

El presidente añadió que, si no extendía la invitación, probablemente lo someterían a un juicio político. Algunos de los jugadores del equipo masculino se rieron, algo que al menos uno dijo haber lamentado después.

Tkachuk comentó que entendía la interpretación que pudieron haber tenido las jugadoras sobre la llamada.

“Quiero decir, lo entiendo”, expresó. “Nosotros las apoyamos, ellas nos apoyaron. No puedes controlar lo que dicen otras personas”.

Varios de los jugadores del equipo masculino viajaron a Washington el martes y visitaron a Trump en la Casa Blanca antes de ser invitados al mensaje por el Estado de la Nación. Muchas de las jugadoras se enteraron de que también habían sido invitadas hasta tarde el domingo, lo que dificultó cambiar planes de viaje ya alterados por el mal tiempo en la Costa Este.

En su discurso, Trump dijo que se estaban preparando planes para que la selección femenina visitara la Casa Blanca, aunque no estaba claro cuándo podría ocurrir. Lo más pronto que el equipo podría viajar a Washington sería a finales de la primavera, después de la conclusión de la temporada de la PWHL.

Mientras tanto, el rapero Flavor Flav programó una celebración en julio para el equipo femenino en Las Vegas para quienes puedan asistir.

Hilary Knight dijo a principios de esta semana que no quiere permitir que lo que calificó como una broma “de mal gusto” de Trump se interponga en una actuación histórica de las estadounidenses en los Juegos de Invierno.

Jugadores de ambos equipos de Estados Unidos han sido unánimes al decir cuánto se unieron en la villa de atletas en Milán y cómo se apoyaron mutuamente en su camino hacia el oro.

A Brady Tkachuk le preguntaron sobre sentirse un estadounidense orgulloso mientras es capitán de los Senators en un momento de mayor tensión entre los países.

“Ante todo, he dado absolutamente todo lo que tengo como Senator de Ottawa — sangre, sudor y lágrimas”, declaró Tkachuk. “Cuando representas a Estados Unidos, ser estadounidense es un honor. Sólo hay tres equipos que han ganado la medalla de oro para Estados Unidos, así que ser parte de eso es especial”.

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Las periodistas de AP Melissa Goldin, Tim Reynolds y John Wawrow, así como The Canadian Press, contribuyeron.

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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/brady-tkachuk-denuncia-un-video-de-tiktok-manipulado-que-fue-compartido-por-la-casa-blanca/ 

Por FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (AP) — Cuando se habla de un temido narcotraficante como lo fue el mexicano Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho ”, pocos pensarían que tuvo momentos de flaqueza. Pero los hallazgos que se encontraron en el que fue su último refugio al sur del estado de Jalisco, donde fue abatido domingo por las fuerzas militares, develaron un lado oculto del líder del poderoso Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG): su fervor religioso.

En uno de los cuartos de su casa, al que ingresaron medios locales, se halló un cristo colgado en la pared y un pequeño mueble de madera con un improvisado altar donde había cuatro veladoras y las imágenes de la Virgen de Guadalupe y San Judas Tadeo, muy populares en México y el resto del continente, y de San Chárbe l, un monje y sacerdote maronita libanés que fue canonizado en 1977 y que es venerado mundialmente por cristianos y musulmanes.

A un lado de las imágenes había una hoja de papel en la que estaba escrito a mano el Salmo 91, que los católicos suelen invocar para pedir la protección de Dios ante peligros, temores y adversidades.

En el lugar también se encontraron otras cartas, presumiblemente dirigidas al “El Mencho” al que identificaban como “compadrito”, con mensajes religiosos en los que se hacía alusión a San Judas Tadeo, que tiene entre sus devotos a pandilleros, drogadictos y exconvictos.

La presencia de figuras religiosas se extendía hasta el patio trasero de la casa ubicada en un exclusivo complejo de la localidad de Tapalpa, a unos 100 kilómetros al sur de Guadalajara, capital de Jalisco. Frente a una cantera había dos grandes piedras con imágenes talladas de la Virgen de Guadalupe y San Judas Tadeo.

La narcocultura y la religión

Durante sus casi dos décadas de reinado frente al CJNG, Oseguera Cervantes siempre mantuvo bajo perfil y no transcendió mucho de su vida personal fuera de los crímenes y matanzas que cometió su organización a lo largo del país, que lo consolidaron como uno de los capos mexicanos más sanguinarios.

Aunque el descubrimiento del lado religioso del capo podría suscitar disonancias, para estudiosos de la llamada “narcocultura” como el Fabián Acosta Rico, investigador de la Universidad de Guadalajara y del Centro de Estudios de las Religiones en México (CEREM), no resulta ninguna sorpresa.

“No podemos desvincular la religiosidad de la violencia”, afirmó Acosta Rico al asegurar que la historia del mundo está plagada de ejemplos que muestran esa interrelación, y recordó el Código Bushido de los samuráis que estaba permeada de creencias budistas zen, y la temible mafia siciliana de la Cosa Nostra que solía utilizar en los rituales de iniciación de sus miembros estampas de la Virgen o el santo patrón de la familia.

El especialista explicó que el caso del “El Mencho” no se puede hablar de un fervor religioso tradicional propio del cristianismo, sino de una “religiosidad popular, una religiosidad de lo inmediato, de la vida cotidiana”.

“El hombre acude a Dios no esperando el perdón de los pecados, ni tampoco la salvación de su alma, sino porque tiene hambre, porque tiene frío, porque se siente acosado o amenazado por un peligro”, agregó.

Religiosidad de los narcos mexicanos

La presencia de la religiosidad no es ninguna novedad entre los narcos en México, un país mayoritariamente católico.

Desde la Conferencia del Episcopado de México (CEM) se ha cuestionado el uso de las imágenes religiosas entre los grupos criminales y se ha rechazado abiertamente el culto a la Santa Muerte, una manifestación cultural y espiritual que fusiona tradiciones prehispánicas y católica representada por una figura de un esqueleto cubierto con un hábito.

Hay evidencias documentadas de algunos capos como el exlíder condenado del Cártel de los Beltrán Leyva, Édgar Valdez Villarreal, alias La Barbie, quien según la periodista Anabel Hernández, era profundamente devoto de la Virgen de Guadalupe.

También hay registros visuales de Ovidio Guzmán López , alias El Ratón, uno de los hijos del exlíder condenado del Cartel de Sinaloa, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, quién durante su primera captura y posterior liberación, en octubre del 2019, llevaba colgado en su cuello un escapulario del Santo Niño de Atocha. Guzmán López fue recapturado en enero del 2023 y extraditado a Estados Unidos nueve meses después.

Sobre el impacto que puede generar, particularmente en la Iglesia católica, el uso de sus imágenes por parte de los narcotraficantes, Acosta Rico dijo que en los tiempos actuales de libertad religiosa cualquier persona “puede, sin problema, hacer uso de los símbolos religiosos a su placer y a su idea”, y agregó que “la Iglesia ya perdió el poder para poder implementar una normatividad y una regulación del uso de sus símbolos religiosos”.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/el-lado-oculto-de-el-mencho-la-devocin-del-temido-capo-por-la-virgen-de-guadalupe-y-san-judas/ 

Families Receive $1.5 Million After Supreme Court Victory Over LGBT Storytelling

Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/26/2026 – 18:25

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/families-receive-15-million-after-supreme-court-victory-over-lgbt-storytelling 

Lawmakers from several states are trying to woo the Bears away from Chicago.

Arlington Heights in Illinois, Hammond, Gary, Portage in Indiana — and even Iowa have pitched stadium plans. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a bill Thursday that outlines a financial structure for a Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond.

Indiana governor signs Chicago Bears stadium bill into law as Illinois inches closer to a tax deal

The team reaffirmed on Feb. 20, however, that its recently renovated practice facility and corporate headquarters — Halas Hall — will remain in Lake Forest.

The Bears offices and training grounds have not always been housed in the same location. Here’s a look back at where the team has “Bear-ed down” from Decatur to Chicago.

What to know about the Chicago Bears’ possible move from Soldier Field

Staley Field (1919-1920)

George Halas, center in front row, and the 1920 Decatur Staleys. They moved to Chicago and became the Bears. (Chicago Tribune archive)

The Bears’ origin story began three hours south of Chicago. The A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co. — then one of the largest starch-making plants in the world — sponsored its own sports teams in the 1900s. Some of these rosters included the company’s own employees. Everything was named for the company, including the practice and playing ground and the team itself: the Decatur Staleys.

Vintage Chicago Tribune: 10 key moments in George Halas’ life on the 40th anniversary of his death

The 1920 season was the Staleys’ second, but first in professional football. George Halas, a University of Illinois graduate and World War I veteran, was an end and coached the team, but he was also a founding father of what became the National Football League. He and representatives from 11 other teams met in the showroom of Hay’s Hupmobile Agency in Canton, Ohio, and formed on Sept. 17, 1920, the American Professional Football Association.

The Staleys proclaimed themselves the new league’s champions after a 0-0 tie against Akron on Dec. 12, 1920, at Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field (1921-1970)

The Chicago Bears offensive line practices at Wrigley Field before their battle against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 17, 1963. They are, from left, Mike Ditka, Bob Wetoska, Jim Gadile, Mike Pyle, Ted Karras, Roger Davis and John Farrington. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

There was one major problem with the championship team — it didn’t make much money. A.E. Staley believed, according to the Staley Museum in Decatur, more of it could be made in a bigger market.

The company gave Halas control of its football team, $5,000 and permission to move to Chicago if Halas agreed to keep the Staleys name for a year. It was a deal, and Wrigley Field (or Cubs Park as the Tribune called it back then) remained the team’s home stadium for the next 50 years (with Soldier Field serving as an alternate site). Wrigley Field was often used for team practices, too, since the Bears didn’t have their own dedicated facility.

From Wrigley Field to Soldier Field: Where the Chicago Bears have played home games since 1921

The Staleys won the 1921 league championship. With no more obligation to the starch company, Halas was free to make the team his own.

“I considered naming the team the Chicago Cubs out of respect for Mr. William Veeck, Senior, and Mr. William Wrigley, who had been such a great help,” Halas wrote in his 1979 autobiography, “Halas By Halas.” “But I noted football players are bigger than baseball players; so if baseball players are cubs, then certainly football players must be bears!”

On Jan. 28, 1922, the two-time championship team became the Chicago Bears — joining the Chicago Cardinals as the city’s second NFL team.

The NFL’s oldest rivalry continued at Soldier Field. A look back at the teams that started it all in 1920.

The team played its last game at Wrigley Field on Dec. 13, 1970. The NFL had been pressuring the Bears to move because seating capacity was less than 50,000 — one of the parameters the league created after the AFL-NFL merger — and because the stadium lacked lights.

“The one huge failure of Halas was his lack of foresight in building a stadium,” Tribune reporter Don Pierson wrote in 1993. “Satisfied with Wrigley Field for too long, Halas did not push the issue sufficiently with the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, who would have been able to sell it during the stadium boom of the 1960s much easier than his son could today. It was Halas who signed the Soldier Field lease running until the year 2000 that his grandson terms horrible.”

Downtown (1947-1992; 2018-present)

Yes, Chicago Bears tickets were sold at the store operated by the team’s owner. When George Halas Co. opened in December 1947 at 233 W. Madison St., it also sold fine jewelry and watches, according to this advertisement. (Chicago Tribune)

Wrigley Field provided a consistent field for the team to practice and play its home games, but it lacked space for its owner and executives to work.

Halas initially used his West Garfield Park home as his office, then another space at 37 S. Wabash Ave.

The George Halas Co., 233 W. Madison St., Chicago, hosted a meet-and-greet with Bears quarterback Johnny Lujack on Nov. 11, 1949 according to this advertisement. (Chicago Tribune)

A three-story building at 233 W. Madison St., then occupied by International Business Machines (IBM), was purchased for $290,000 (or about $4.3 million in today’s dollars) by Halas in March 1947. The team’s offices were on the second floor, and May & Halas sporting goods store was on the first.

Chicago Bears coaches Phil Handler, left, and George Halas, center, get a report on Sept. 12, 1960 from scout Bill Wightkin on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ attack before their meeting at Soldier Field. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
Workers scoop up ice from the street in front of the Chicago Bears’ offices at 233 W. Madison St., Chicago after a fire engulfed the building on Jan. 30, 1961. (Chicago American)
Chicago Bears owner George Halas, left, and employees Jimmy and Max Swiatek sort through files that were destroyed on Jan. 30, 1961, by a fire in the team’s offices at 233 W. Madison St. The team’s new offices are at 173 W. Madison St. (Ray Gora/Chicago Tribune)

Film records of the team’s games going back to 1930 were among the notable items burned by a fire that broke out in the basement of the Bears offices on Jan. 30, 1961, and spread upward. Three firefighters were injured during the blaze, but Halas and his secretary, Frances Osborne, escaped after flames were detected.

The team headquarters —minus the store — moved 500 feet east to 173 W. Madison St. post-fire and remained there until 1975. Fans could still walk in and buy tickets to Bears games.

Reporters and cameras surround George Halas, lower left, as he announces the new Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka, center bottom, on Jan. 20, 1982, at 55 E. Jackson Blvd. in Chicago. (Carl Hugare/Chicago Tribune)

The Tribune’s David Condon reported the team moved to 55 E. Jackson Blvd. just in time for Halas’ 81st birthday. The team retained offices there until 1992, according to Tribune archives.

About 35 Bears employees moved their offices from Soldier Field to 123 N. Wacker Drive in September 2018. It was the first time the team occupied traditional office space downtown in more than a quarter of a century.

Ferry Hall (1975-1978)

Ferry Hall in Lake Forest celebrated 100 years in 1969, when this photo was taken. The 12-acre campus provided a college preparatory curriculum for girls before it merged with Lake Forest Academy. (Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune)

When a 106-year-old school for girls — whose alumnae included actress Jean Harlow (then known as Harlean Carpenter) and former Illinois comptroller Judy Baar Topinka — merged with Lake Forest Academy, the Bears moved their meeting and locker rooms to Ferry Hall. The team also used the former boarding school’s indoor pool for workouts.

The team’s main practice field, Lake Forest’s South Park, was two miles away. Whenever it snowed, the Bears were forced to hop on buses for a 45-minute drive to practice at Northwestern University’s Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field), inside a field house at Evanston Township High School or within a storage barn in Mundelein.

Chicago Bears coach Jack Pardee, right, led a team practice in the snow at Nortwestern’s Dyche Stadium on Dec. 8, 1977. (Phil Mascione/Chicago Tribune)

“When my contract is up, I’d have to consider a better job if it’s offered,” Bears coach Jack Pardee told the Tribune in December 1977. “We’re lacking the facilities other teams have.”

“If you play in a junk heap, you’re going to play that way,” Pardee said about practice and game-day conditions. (He and the Bears parted ways in January 1978.)

Ferry Hall was, soon thereafter, sold to a developer who reimagined the campus buildings — even the school’s chapel — as condominiums called Mayflower Park.

Lake Forest College (1979-1996)

The Chicago Bears return to Halas Hall on the campus of Lake Forest College on Oct. 15, 1987, to meet with team officials after a 24-day strike by NFL players ended. (Bob Langer/Chicago Tribune)

One month after Pardee’s departure, the Bears announced they would construct a new, private practice facility in the suburbs. Why not downtown?

“Practically, there’s easier access to and from a suburban location during your week days,” George “Mugs” Halas Jr. said in February 1978.

Talks of a new stadium for the Bears, who moved their home games to Soldier Field in 1971, had stalled. But Halas Jr. had another reason for building a training complex separate from the stadium.

Chicago Bears receiver Ron Morris jumps rope at practice on Nov. 11, 1988, in Lake Forest as Dennis Gentry, left, tries to sneak in on the action. (Bob Langer/Chicago Tribune)

“By practicing elsewhere, we’ll be using a new stadium only on game days,” he said. “That means the stadium would be available for outside rentals almost any time needed.”

The year-round, two-story training structure — which became known as Halas Hall — was built on the grounds of Lake Forest College for about $1 million (or about $5 million in today’s dollars). The fields, which the Bears often used for training camp during the summer, were provided by the college. Finally — almost 60 years since the team’s founding — the Bears had offices, meeting rooms and practice areas in one location.

Halas Hall (1997-present)

Workers set up the weight room on Feb. 26, 1997, inside the new Halas Hall in Lake Forest. (Bob Langer/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears moved into their new, 98,000-square-foot building — more than three times bigger than their previous offices at Lake Forest College — on an isolated .38-acre plot of land in Lake Forest in early March 1997. The price tag for the facility at 1920 Football Drive: $23 million (roughly $40 million in today’s dollars). It included multiple outdoor practice fields — including one that was heated — and an indoor practice field. Players now had access to a hot tub and steam room in addition to a weight room that was four times the size of the team’s old one.

Chicago Bears Chairman of the Board George McCaskey and his mother, Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, stand beside the team’s Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl XX in 1986 while meeting with Bears season ticket holders at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on June 8, 2011. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

An expanded Halas Hall was completed in August 2019. The enlargement included a 162,500-square-foot football operations addition plus a 30,600-square-foot remodeling project on the building’s northeast side.

The additions and renovations to the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest offer a new player entrance and a 1,700-square-foot locker room expansion. The weight room increased by 2,000 square feet, and a 3,250-square-foot players lounge was created.

Chicago Bears players entrance during the media tour of the Halas Hall expansion in Lake Forest on Aug. 29, 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

The organization quadrupled its sports medicine space, which features two hydrotherapy pools, two plunge pools, a float pod, a sauna and a steam room. A 13,000-square-foot indoor turf training space also was added on the north end of the campus.

The Chicago Bears locker room during the media tour of the Halas Hall expansion in Lake Forest on Aug. 29, 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Bears hydrotherapy pool during the media tour of the Halas Hall expansion in Lake Forest on Aug. 29, 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

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Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Goes Viral Again, Tells Local Paper To “Go F**k Yourself”

Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/26/2026 – 18:22

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/immigrant-owned-maryland-crab-shack-goes-viral-after-telling-huffpost-go-fk-yourself-over