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A so-called “triple-demic” of COVID, Flu and RSV cases are crowding hospitals across America. Some are described as at or near capacity, with up to 12 hours to be seen in Emergency Rooms. The CDC says the recent spike was likely fueled by Thanksgiving gatherings and travel. Hospitalizations for flu are at the highest levels in more than a decade. Flu shots are widely available, and recommended.

A full cleanup of the old Drewry's Brewery site on South Bend's near northwest side will begin next summer. The place has been an eyesore for decades, going back to its closure in the 1980s, and now the city and the EPA are taking over cleanup and remaining demolition. It will involve asbestos removal, followed by the hauling away of debris. Neighbors have complained of dumping at the site as well.

While most high school graduates are busy worrying about a job or getting into college, Jaylen Smith of Earle, Arkansas is working on running his town. The 18-year-old Arkansas State University freshman just became the youngest Black mayor in U-S history. Smith won this week’s runoff election by 52 votes in a town of about two-thousand people.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer confirmed Wednesday he will enter next spring's NFL draft, and will not play for the Irish in the Gator Bowl against South Carolina on December 30th. Pass rusher Isiah Foskey is considering doing the same.

Notre Dame men's basketball beat Boston University last night at Purcell Pavilion, 81-75. The Irish women's game scheduled for tonight at Lafayette in Pennsylvania has been postponed because of health and safety protocols.

5th ranked Purdue beat Hofstra, 85-66. Number 14 Indiana downed Nebraska 81-65, and Michigan State over Penn State, 67-58. Michigan is at Minnesota tonight.

Former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras will be behind the plate for the rival St. Louis Cardinals in 20-23. Contreras agreed to a five year free agent deal with St. Louis.

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The John Glenn school board has voted to add Greene Township in St. Joseph County to its school district. This just a day after the South Bend School board voted to let the township out of the South Bend Community School Corporation. But two South Bend board members complained they were bullied by state lawmakers with threats to force the change if South Bend didn't agree. Greene Township currently has only about 75 students in South Bend, with about 250 going to John Glenn under open enrollment.

A jury Tuesday said the Trump Organization is guilty on all counts in its New York tax fraud trial. Prosecutors accused the former President's company of avoiding taxes by paying personal expenses for top executives without reporting it. A lawyer for Trump says the verdict will be appealed. Predictably, the former president called the verdict a continuation of quote "the greatest witch hunt of all time."

A massive power outage in Moore County, North Carolina continues, as crews work toward restoring most of the outage by tomorrow. North Carolina's Governor Roy Cooper stopped short of calling it a domestic terrorist attack, but did agree with investigators that the damage was intentional. This year, here have been at least 70 incidents nationwide of vandalism, sabotage or physical attack on power facilities.

Notre Dame men's basketball hosts Boston University tonight at Purcell Pavilion. The tip at 7 o'clock on Sports Radio 960 AM WSBT. Also tonight, Purdue hosts Hofstra, Indiana welcomes Nebraska, and Michigan State is at Penn State.

The Chicago Cubs have signed a couple of free agents the last few days: former Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger will patrol center for the Cubs next year on a one year deal, and right handed pitcher Jameson Taillon gets a four year, 68 million dollar deal.

Hockey: the Chicago Blackhawks lost at New Jersey, 3-nothing. The Detroit Redwings won at Tampa Bay, 4-to-2.

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The South Bend school board has approved the removal of Greene Township in southwestern St. Joseph County from the school district, but 72 currently enrolled students will continue their schooling in South Bend unless their parents request their removal. The Township is expected to formally join the John Glenn School District when all the legalities are completed. A number of children living in Greene Township already attend John Glenn under Indiana's open enrollment program.

After earlier denying the deal, a judge has now accepted a plea deal from Sherry Thomas for her role in a series of barn fires in Elkhart County. Her alleged accomplice, Joseph Hershberger, pleaded guilty to eight arsons and was sentenced to 50 years. Thomas will serve 12 years under the agreement. Both still face charges in Marshall and Kosciusko Counties.

Emmy award-winning actress Kirstie Alley has died after a what tunred out to be a short battle with cancer. Her children made the announcement Monday on Instagram. Alley was perhaps best known for her role on the 80s and 90s TV sitcom "Cheers." Kirstie Alley was 71.

Coach Marcus Freeman says injured quarterback Tyler Buchner could be ready to go for the Irish bowl game against South Carolina December 30th. If not, freshman Steve Angeli is the likely starter. We also await decisions on key players headed to the NFL on whether they will play the bowl game.

Monday Night NFL: Tom Brady once again led a comeback as the Tampa Bay Bucs edged the New Orleans Saints, 17-16 in Tampa.

NBA: the Indiana Pacers won at Golden State, 112-104.

Hockey: the Chicago Blackhawks are at New Jersey tonight. The Detroit Redwings play at Tampa Bay.

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A web designer who refuses to make a wedding website for same-sex couples is taking her case to the Supreme Court, where arguments will be heard today. Lorie Smith says websites are a form of free speech, and she shouldn’t be forced to create a site that endorses something she opposes. The other side argues this case would open the door for discrimination in other areas – such as race. The court is expected to rule next year.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he wants to keep a vaccine mandate for active duty military personnel in place, as Republican governors and lawmakers push to rescind it. The Governors say the mandate is making it harder to recruit for the National Guard. It's also possible the mandate could be scrapped by Congress as part of legislation to pass this year's defense budget.

Notre Dame football learned its bowl destination Sunday, and it's the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, December 30th against South Carolina. They will be without starting quarterback Drew Pyne, who announced over the weekend he will transfer.

Purdue is in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando January 2nd against Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers.

The four teams playing for college football's national title will be Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State. Semifinals on New Year's Eve, the title game January 9th.

NFL Sunday scores: the Bears lost at home to Green Bay, 28-19. The Lions beat Jacksonville in Detroit, 40-to-14. The Indianapolis Colts lost at Dallas, 54-19. The Monday night game this week is New Orleans at Tampa Bay.

7th ranked Irish women's basketball beat number 3 UConn at Purcell Pavilion Sunday, 74-60. On Saturday, the men lost to Syracuse, 62-61.

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Flu case counts are higher this year than the last couple of years, including locally. St. Joseph County reports about four times more flu cases than last year. One of the reasons is that people were masked and observing social distancing much more the last two winters than this year. But the good news is that this year's flu vaccine is proving more effective than usual, and it's not too late to get one. Local pharmacies, doctor's offices, and health clinics have ample supplies.

The US Senate has passed legislation that will prevent a nationwide shutdown of feight rail service that could have hit next week. The House earlier passed the measure imposing a previously agreed on contract that four of the 12 unions involved rejected in membership votes. President Biden and congressional leaders of both parties say forcing the deal through is the only way to avoid a major blow to the economy.

NASA's Orion spacecraft is about to make a final pass by the moon before returning to Earth. The Orion capsule is the core of the Artemis One lunar mission. The onboard engine fired up yesterday afternoon to break the capsule out of its lunar orbit. It's scheduled to splash down in the Pacific off San Diego December 11th.

A thrilling game, but the wrong result last night for Note Dame women's basketball, as 20th ranked Maryland edged the number 7 Irish, 74-72 at Purcell Pavilion. They face 3rd ranked UConn this Sunday at 3:15 on Live 99.9. The Irish men host Syracuse tomorrow at noon on Sports Radio 960 AM WSBT.

Thursday night NFL: The Buffalo Bills won at New England, 24-to-10. Sunday's NFL slate includes Green Bay in Chicago against the Bears at 1pm on Z 94.3, Jacksonville against the Lions in Detroit, and the Indianapolis Colts at Dallas Sunday night at 8:20 on 96.1 the Ton.

Conference championship college football games this weekend include USC against Utah tonight, Michigan against Purdue tomorrow night in Indianapolis, Georgia versus LSU, TCU against Kansas State, and Clemson versus North Carolina.

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Two major statewide offices in Indiana will not have incumbents in 20-24, and the scramble for Governor and US Senator is already underway. Republican Senator Mike Braun has filed paperwork to run for Governor in two years, when term-limited Governor Eric Holcomb must step down. Braun's move will leave his Senate seat up for grabs in '24, when he would have been up for reelection.

Gasoline prices this week hit the lowest levels seen since Russia invaded Ukraine back in February. The local average is around $3.50 a gallon, down from $4.25 just two months ago. It's hard to remember, but this is part of a normal pre-pandemic pattern: prices fall in the fall and early winter, and go up again in February and March, due to lower demand during the winter.

The Vatican's website was down yesterday due to a suspected cyberattack. Several Vatican sites were offline throughout the day and the official Vatican.ca website was down well into the evening. The suspected attack happened a day after the Kremlin criticized Pope Francis's latest condemnation of Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Americans donated more than three-billion dollars to nonprofits on Giving Tuesday. That's 15-percent more than last year and 25-percent more than in 2020. The number of people participating also went up about six percent over last year.

Notre Dame men's basketball got an important early season win in last night's ACC/Big Ten challenge game against Michigan State, downing the 20th ranked Spartans 70-to-52.

The 7th ranked Irish women host number 20 Maryland tonight at Purcell Pavilion on Live 99-9.

5th ranked Purdue beat Florida State, 79-69. 10th ranked Indiana over number 18 North Carolina, 77-65.

NBA: the Chicago Bulls lost at Phoenix, 132-113. The Indiana Pacers lost at Sacramento, 137-114.

Hockey: the Chicago Blackhawks fell at home to Edmonton, 5-4. The Detroit Redwings lost in a home shootout to Buffalo, 5-to-4.

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