We are still at least a month from having a new director in place for the South Bend Community Police Review Board. The common council took over the process after the first director, Joshua Reynolds, resigned under pressure after word that he had been disciplined numerous times as an Indianapolis police officer. There are more than 50 applicants, and finalists are expected to undergo public interviews next month.

President Biden offered both carrot and stick to potential immigrants at the southern border Thursday, announcing a new application process to admit up to 30 thousand Cuban, Hatians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans by air each month, but also ramping up efforts to immediately deport those who cross illegally at the border. His message is basically: go throough the ptocess, don't just show up at the border.

The signs renaming the VA Clinic in Mishawaka in honor of the late Congresswoman Jackie Walorski are now on the building. Congress passed the renaming and President Biden signed it back in September. Walorski sponsored a number of bills aimed at helping veterans during her years in Congress. She died in a car crash in Elkhart County last August.

It's now official, former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is transferring to Notre Dame. That makes him the leading candidate for starting quarterback next season for the Irish.

College basketball: top ranked Purdue won at Ohio State, 71-69. Number 15 Indiana lost at Iowa, 91-89. Tomorrow, Notre Dame is at North Carolina, and the Irish women play there Sunday.

NBA: the Chicago Bulls are at Philadelphia tonight. The Indiana Pacers host Portland, and the Detroit Pistons are at Sacramento.

Notre Dame hockey plays tonight and tomorrow at Wisconsin. The Blackhawks host Arizona in Chicago tonight, and the Detroit Redwings host the Florida Panthers.

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In his final two year budget, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb is targeting two major areas for significant spending increases: health and education. He's asking lawmakers to spend more on local health departments, and focus on fentanyl, the synthetic opioid responsible for the vast majority of overdose deaths. The Governor also wants schools better funded, including money to end textbook fees for all public school parents. He's proposing over a billion dollars in new spending on education alone. The new legislative session begins in the coming days.

More drama Wednesday in Washington as House members once again failed to elect a Speaker to lead the chamber and begin legislative business. Republicans have a slim majority, but 20 of them refuse to back California's Kevin McCarthy to lead them. That's enough to stalemate the process until somebody gives ground.

The mastermind behind "Operation Varsity Blues" has been sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison. Prosecutors charged over 50 people in the scheme, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. Ringleader Rick Singer was able to get kids into top colleges by helping them cheat on standardized tests and bribing college coaches to take them as athletic recruits, even if they didn't play the sport in question.

College basketball: Michigan downed Penn State in Ann Arbor, 79-69. Illinois lost at Northwestern, 73-60. Tonight: 15th ranked Indiana is at Iowa, and number one Purdue is at 24th ranked Ohio State.

NBA: the Bulls beat Brooklyn in Chicago, 121-112. The Indiana Pacers lost at Philly, 129-126.

Hockey: the Detroit Redwings lost at home to New Jersey, 5-to-1. The Blackhawks host Arizona tomorrow night at the United Center.

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It's been a hundred years since the House of Representatives in Washington failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot to open a new session of Congress, but it happened Tuesday, as three ballots ended with 20 Republicans out of 222 opposed to Kevin McCarthy, the favored choice of other Republicans. The House reconvenes at noon today to try again, as Democrats criticize them for not having it together to get busy legislating.

Locally, St. Joseph County's council has new leadership, as the nine members unanimously elected Mark Root council president, and Randall Figg President Pro Tempore. The council flipped to a 5-to-4 Republican majority in the November election.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition on a ventilator after he went into cardiac arrest on the field during Monday night's NFL game in Cincinnati. His uncle says Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice, first on the field, and again later in the hospital, after collapsing following what looked like a routine tackle in the first quarter of the game. Hamlin had no known previous medical history.

Notre Dame men's basketball fell to 0-and-4 in ACC play last night in a 70-63 loss at Boston College. The 8-and-7 Irish play at North Carolina Saturday.

In the Big Ten, Michigan State over Nebraska, 74-56. Tonight, Michigan hosts Penn State, and Illinois plays at Northwestern.

NBA: the Bulls host Brooklyn tonight in Chicago. The Indiana Pacers are at Philadelphia.

In hockey, the Detroit Redwings host New Jersey tonight.

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We could set a record for warm temperatures in early January today, just ten to eleven days after the pre-Christmas blizzard that dropped temperatures below zero. Highs will be at or above the 60 degree mark this afternoon, with some local golf courses open before the weather turns seasonably chilly again tomorrow. If you don't like the weather, just wait a day or two. It'll change.

Southwest Airlines is largely back to normal operations since its systems meltdown that caused thousands of cancellations over the holidays, but still 160 flights were cancelled Monday, many originating in Denver. Southwest continues to apologize, as unions representing pilots and flight attendants press their case that known problems were not addressed for months and years.

The Monday night NFL game this week was postponed indefinitely after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was given CPR on the field, and is listed this morning as sedated in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. We're told he went into cardiac arrest. No word on when or if the game will be completed.

With key players and coaches gone to the NFL or other jobs, Purdue could do almost nothing right in a 63-to-7 Citrus Bowl loss Monday to Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers. Also Monday, Penn State over Utah, 35-21, Illinois lost to Mississippi State, 19-to-10, and Tulane upset USC, 46-45.

Notre Dame women's basketball is up to 4th nationally in the new AP poll, after Sunday's 85-48 home win over Boston College. The Irish men play at Boston College tonight.

NBA: the Chicago Bulls lost at Cleveland, 145-134. The Indiana Pacers won at home, 122-114 over Toronto.

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