GOALTENDER WENT FROM THE BEER LEAGUE TO THE BIG LEAGUE BECAUSE OF THE FLU

Inside the crazy night a 45-year-old banker got called up to play in the NHL after having lunch at Hooters

 

By Isabel Baldwin 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 16, 2026

 

 

David Nozzolillo is a Chicago-based Senior Vice President at Wintrust Bank

 

One Friday afternoon, David Nozzolillo was just a Chicago banker by day and recreational beer-league goaltender by night. A few hours later he was lacing his skates for an NHL franchise. 

The Chicago Blackhawks have been grappling with an illness that swept through their locker room that has left their roster decimated. In fact, the team's goaltending depth has been hit particular hard, leaving them bare to the bones. 

The Blackhawks lost their top two goaltenders, Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom, to the rampant flu that was tearing through the team, leaving them desperate. 

In stepped Nozzolillo. 

Chicago was forced to make a rare move that led to Nozzolillo starting his day at the office and finishing it at the rink with a begrudging pitstop at Hooters in between. 

The 45-year-old and his colleagues at Wintrust Bank in Orland Park swung by the infamous fast food chain for lunch. Despite Nozzolillo admitting to ESPN that he wasn't a huge fan of the food at the restaurant, he joked that it turned out to be the meal of champions. 

One Friday night, the 45-year-old received the call up from the Chicago Blackhawks 

 

Following the lunch, Nozzolillo returned home where he finished off his working day. It was there that he got the call up.

On the phone with a client until 5pm, Nozzolillo initially missed the call from Danny Tranchida, his hockey operations contact at the Chicago Blackhawks. 

For the past four years, Nozzolillo has been one of Chicago's four designated emergency backup goalies. 

Ordinarily, that means that he is an independent contractor, who, when on call, gets paid $100 per to show up and the United Center, home of the Blackhawks, and watch the team play. 

That, however, all changed with Tranchida's phone call. 

'Hey, Spencer Knight has the flu too,' Tranchida told him, per ESPN. 'So Knight and [Arvid] Soderblom will not be in the building tonight. We need you to get there early. You're going to dress.' 

As soon as he put the phone down, Nozzolillo scrambled, throwing his damp, freshly washed kit in the tumble dryer before making the dash to the United Center. 

'I've got people swarming me,' he told ESPN of his whirlwind arrival in the locker room.

 

Chicago lost their top two goaltenders, Spencer Knight (pictured) and Arvid Söderblom

Nozzolillo begrudgingly went for lunch at a Hooters with his colleagues before getting the call

 

'The equipment manager saying, 'Hey, do you need socks? Do you need this? Can I sharpen your skates? Do you need some water?' 'Then there's camera guys going around filming and stuff. Some of the guys are coming up and introducing themselves to me. I'm like, 'What is going on in here?''

He was swiftly handed an amateur tryout contract to sign - a staggering salary of $0 - correcting his birthdate as he went. Yet, his one regret? Not correcting his name from Dave to David. 

'I wish I had changed it,' he said. 'I didn't even consider the possibility that it was going to be registered with the NHL and I would be referred to on TV and it would all blow up like this. I was just trying to stay in the moment.'

Nozzolillo is a former D-III goalie at Lake Forest College, who quit in his junior year. Now, he flits away around the Windy City's beer leagues.

'Everyone needs goalies,' he said. 'So I fill in when I can.' 

The Blackhawks' locker room had been ravished by the stomach bug, which had already ruled out for players, including superstar Connor Bedard and goaltender Söderblom, before Knight was also sent home with the illness. 

Down to the bare bones, the team called up AHL goaltender Drew Commesso who played for Chicago's affiliate Rockford IceHogs. It was decided that he would start with Nozzolillo was his backup. 

Emergency backup goalies (EBUGs) were introduced in 2016 after the Florida Panthers lost both goaltenders in one game and flirted with disaster. 

 

The team called up AHL goaltender Drew Commesso who played for their affiliate Rockford 

 

The rule allows franchises to have amateur goaltenders on standby that they can just yank from the ordinary day-to-day lives in emergency situations. 

The rule has previously been activated in the past when Zamboni driver David Ayers was granted his moment in the spotlight with the Hurricanes, playing 15 minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020. 

Before that, Chicago-area accountant Scott Foster, stopped all seven shots he faced against the Winnipeg Jets in 2019 - in the middle of tax season - also for the Blackhawks.

Nozzolillo, who said he was calmer than he expected, spent the night watching from the bench as the Blackhawks slumped to a 5-1 defeat to the Washington Capitals. 

While he ultimately wasn't needed on the ice, he did admit there was a close call following the second period when he returned to the locker room from the bathroom and Commesso was nowhere in sight. 

However, the goal tender eventually reappeared, meaning Nozzolillo's only time on the ice came in warmups when he took shots from his temporary teammates. 

'I had a new tape job on my stick. I looked at it after warmups, and I didn't have one puck mark on my stick,' Nozzolillo said, during his interview with ESPN. 'Just to give you an idea of how many guys are trying to go top corner on me. I still made some good saves, I think. It was just nuts.' 

Nozzolillo's Cinderella story came to an abrupt end when the final while blew and the Blackhawks prepared to hit the road for their away game in Nashville the following day. 

He still has two dates remaining on the schedule to be on-call for the team but even if he doesn't get the call up again, he will have a memory to cherish for a lifetime. 

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANTS THE FOX IN THE HENHOUSE

Trump officials tout Turkish role in Gaza

One US official intimated that Hamas “decommissioning” its heavy weapons rather than demilitarization could be option.

 

By Mike Wagenheim 

 

Israel Today

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) embraces Hamas senior official Khaled Meshaal as Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the terrorist group Hamas, looks on during a meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 20, 2024

 

Despite a pledge to the family of the final hostage remaining in Gaza, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it is moving to Phase 2 of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

All hostages, living and dead, were supposed to be returned to Israel during the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas, though the body of border policeman Ran Gvili remains in Gaza. Administration officials told Gvili’s family in late December that nothing would advance until he was brought home.

“There still is a very good channel of communication that is operating. There are several different potential sites where [Gvili] is located and we’ll continue the search,” a US official told reporters on Wednesday.

The official said the administration “will not consider this completed mission until the last body is found.” But, “we are not going to hold up going to phase two for that because both parties have agreed to continue working in good faith.”

Wednesday saw the announcement of the formation of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which will serve as a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza. The names of those selected for the committee will be released later this week, the official said.

“This group was very carefully vetted and selected with close collaboration from the mediators in Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and the UAE and Bahrain and Morocco,” the official said. “We really got extensive input from everybody, and ran a very, very robust search, thinking through who the right people could be.”

The committee will serve within the framework of the Trump-chaired Board of Peace. A second US official said that invitations to prospective board members were sent out on Wednesday, with Trump personally selecting whom he would like to sit on the board.

That official indicated that announcements about Board of Peace membership, which is reportedly going to include other world leaders, will be made during next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In harm’s way

Another element of the Board of Peace infrastructure is the International Stabilization Force, in which participating countries are to send troops to Gaza to keep peace between Israel and Hamas. No countries have publicly committed to joining the force, leading many analysts to question its viability.

The first official said there “continues to be great excitement” regarding the ISF, but noted that “a lot of the work inside Gaza will be done by the local Palestinian police forces, which we think is the most important element of this plan.”

The official said more information on the ISF will be put out in around two weeks, “but we have all the volunteers we need. We’re just doing organization, and we’ll go from there.”

Countries are hesitant to join the ISF without Hamas disarming first, unwilling to put their soldiers in harm’s way.

Hamas officials have repeatedly stated an outright refusal by the terrorist group to disarm.

“We will be engaging in conversations with Hamas on the next phase, which is demilitarization,” the first official said, mentioning a potential amnesty plan coordinated with Israel. “There’s clearly not a lot of trust between both sides after decades of conflict, but today is a huge step forward.”

The first official intimated that the decommission of weapons, rather than demilitarization, could be an option. Hamas has shown some openness to the former.

“There’s a general concept, which is the terror infrastructure that’s been built in Gaza will be destroyed and the heavy weaponry, like RPGs and rocket launchers and missiles, those need to be put into a place where they’re not being used to defend against Israel, or in offensive raids or attacks on Israel,” the official said.

There is also the issue of Turkey’s involvement to deal with. Ankara, an ally of both Trump and Hamas, wants a seat at the table in Gaza, including a role in the ISF. Israeli officials have rejected the possibility, given Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s hostility toward Israel and his threatening rhetoric.

But the first official praised the Turks’ role as “integral” in reaching a ceasefire, and said “we think it’s very important to have them involved,” given their influence with Hamas.

“We want to see Turkey and Israel start to rebuild their relationship,” the official said. “I think Gaza was always the issue with President Erdoğan that caused the break between the countries, and now if we can start showing that Gaza is going in a positive direction, hopefully we can get both sides to start de-escalating their rhetoric, start focusing on their interests and seeing that there’s a lot of benefit that both countries can have by working together.”

WILL THE WORLD ONCE AGAIN ALLOW LIES TO REPLACE ACTION AGAINST IRAN - UNTIL IT' IS TOO LATE?

The lies and desperation of the ayatollahs to save their regime

As the massacre of protesters continues, Iran's leaders revive a propaganda playbook to deny crimes, shift blame and delay international action. 

 

By Fiamma Nirenstein 

 

JNS

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda (C) with Ali Khamenei and Ebrahim Raisi.

 

The Iranian regime is killing its own people—and then lying about it with familiar, practiced cruelty.

As protests shake the Islamic Republic, the ayatollahs are deploying the same propaganda machinery perfected by Hamas after Oct. 7, 2023: deny the crime, invert victim and perpetrator, and flood the world with fabrications meant to paralyze moral clarity and delay action.

With electricity and internet access cut off across Iran, only one international media outlet continues to operate freely in Tehran: Al Jazeera. The result is not journalism but amplification of the regime’s narrative, its excuses and its grotesque rewriting of reality.

As in Gaza, the purpose is not to inform but to confuse, to relativize mass violence and blunt international response.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not deny the scale of the bloodshed. In a post on X, Araghchi accused Israel of fueling the unrest to pave the way for an American attack on Iran.

“Israel has always sought to drag the U.S. into fighting wars on its behalf,” he wrote. “But remarkably, this time they are saying the quiet part out loud. With blood on our streets, Israel is explicitly gloating about having ‘armed protesters with live weapons’ and ‘this is the reason for the hundreds of dead.'”

He conceded that as many as 12,000 people have been killed—but claims they were victims of “infiltrators,” supposedly American and Israeli terrorists who fired on security forces, burned buildings and beheaded officials.

“We had to respond,” he said. This is the old formula, recycled yet again: the regime massacres civilians and then declares itself the victim.

But the images tell a different story. Rows of young people piled one atop another. Bodies are sealed in black bags as families wander in despair.

Thousands of wounded flooding hospitals—eyes gouged out, bullet wounds to the face and head, mutilations that speak of punishment, not crowd control. These are not the marks of a state defending order. They are the signatures of terror used to preserve power.

The lies are not only meant for domestic consumption. They are aimed squarely at Washington—at U.S. President Donald Trump, who warned the regime against killing demonstrators and spoke of aid for the Iranian people. By claiming restraint, by promising to halt executions, Tehran hopes to buy time, to fracture resolve, to convince the world that the crisis is “cooling down.”

It is not.

Even if the streets appear quieter after mass slaughter, the reality has not changed. Iran remains an inexhaustible source of global instability: a nuclear aspirant, a ballistic-missile power, a strategic ally of China and Russia, and the central sponsor of regional terror. In recent months alone, it has rebuilt and expanded its missile capabilities. A regime that massacres its youth will not restrain itself abroad.

Israel understands what is at stake. Shelters remain open. The Iranian people themselves have appealed to both Washington and Jerusalem for help. They know this is a decisive moment.

While families bury their dead, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is reportedly transferring fortunes abroad—preparing an escape even as his people demand that he finally go.

The question is not whether the ayatollahs are lying. They are. The question is whether the world will once again allow lies to replace action—until it is too late.

A GRIEVING FATHER SOUNDS OFF AGAINST DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS ..... BUT HE DOESN'T CARE THAT THE DHS AND TRUMP ARE JUST USING THE TRAGIC DEATH OF HIS DAUGHTER FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES

An illegal immigrant killed my daughter — leftists march for Renee, not for Katie

Democrat politicians like Walz and Pritzker use double standard between ICE shooting response and sanctuary city victims

 

By Joe Abraham

 

Fox News

Jan 14, 2026

 

 

DHS launched "Operation Midway Blitz" in honor of Katie Abraham (pictured), who was killed in a drunken-driving, hit-and-run car wreck caused by a criminal illegal alien in sanctuary Illinois.

As I read and watched the coverage coming out of Minneapolis about the tragic shooting of a woman allegedly attempting to run over a federal agent with her vehicle, two things immediately came to me. 

First, how demonstrators were being stoked, inflamed and used by politicians for self-serving purposes. Second — and far more personal — where was the outrage when my innocent 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed by an illegal alien shielded and protected by Illinois’ sanctuary policies? 

Katie’s killer was Julio Cucul-Bol. He was using an alias. He is currently being treated for an incurable communicable infectious disease, according to court transcripts. Yet when my daughter was violently killed, there were no viral videos, no breathless media panels, no emotional press conferences and no candlelight vigils amplified by politicians and pundits. 

Where were the stories about how the car Katie was riding in — stopped at a red light — was struck from behind at nearly 80 miles per hour by a drunk-driving illegal alien?

Where was the outrage over how first responders had to pry the vehicle open like a tuna can to pull my daughter’s lifeless body from the wreckage? 

It also struck me how the same media figures, politicians and commentators now expressing outrage over the Minneapolis shooting have had nothing to say about Katie. Nothing. 

But these politicians had this to say about the ICE shooting:

New York City Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani: "We know when ICE agents attack immigrants, they attack every single one of us across this country." 

Chicago Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson: "We stand in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and with all of those across the country whose lives have been torn apart due to reckless actions by Trump’s lawless, racist force." 

Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Karen Bass: "It happened because of the brutal and racist policies of the Trump administration that unleashed these agents."

The hypocrisy is impossible to ignore. 

The night before the June 12, 2025, congressional hearings on sanctuary policies, my wife and I happened to be eating dinner at the same restaurant as Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz. I approached him, and we had a polite conversation. Walz offered his condolences for Katie’s death, which I appreciated. 

 

President Donald Trump holds a photo of Katie Abraham, pictured right, as her father Joe Abraham, left, watches during an event to promote Trump's domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House.

 

But the following day — while testifying in support of sanctuary policies — Walz did not say a single word about my daughter. Not one acknowledgment that Katie was violently killed by an illegal alien protected by the very policies he was championing.

Instead, after the Jan. 7 shooting, he declared "that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety." 

At those same hearings, Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul also appeared. Yet my own governor, Pritzker, has offered Katie nothing but indifference, silence and disrespect. In my view, that is not compassion or humanity. It is entitlement — an aloof billionaire insulated from the consequences of his policies, exempt from the harm they cause, just like the illegal aliens he protects. 

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Katie’s death on Jan. 19, 2025, sanctuary policies continue to cause death and destruction. And our political leaders continue to double down.

Katie’s death was not a random act of fate. It was the predictable outcome of policy decisions made by Illinois leaders who chose ideology over accountability. 

States like Illinois and Minnesota have effectively nullified federal immigration law through sanctuary statutes that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement — even when authorities possess credible information about an individual’s identity, background, or risk to public safety. These policies did not just fail my daughter and the other victims that night. They failed every citizen. And they failed even the people they recklessly import for political gain. 

This is not immigration policy. This is not compassion. This is cruelty. 

Sanctuary policies are often defended as "humane," but compassion without structure is neglect. A system that invites people in while refusing to vet them, guide them, or hold them accountable does not uplift the vulnerable — it abandons them. 

This is not sympathetic governance. It is systemic irresponsibility. 

By refusing to cooperate with federal authorities, Illinois removed every guardrail that might have prevented tragedy. No meaningful background checks. No identity confirmation. No monitoring. No intervention — until it was too late.

Katie paid with her life. 

And while my family grieves, Illinois leaders refuse to pause, audit or reassess these policies. There is no serious effort to implement even basic safeguards such as identity verification, health screening, language services or lawful employment pathways — measures that would protect both residents and newcomers. 

Instead, officials hide behind slogans and accuse critics of lacking compassion. Their hyperbolic language inflames tensions rather than easing them. But that chaos is the point — it creates distraction, deflection and political cover for failed policy. I would also argue that it inflamed activists like Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old who was shot dead by an ICE officer. Her death is now being used as canon fodder against ICE, DHS and the Trump administration.

Where is the humanity in all of this?  

Policies must be judged by outcomes, not intentions. When a system repeatedly produces preventable death, injury, fraud and disorder, it is broken. 

Illinois and other sanctuary states can — and must — do better. We need policies that are both lawful and humane. Policies that enforce the law while providing real structure, oversight and accountability. Policies that protect communities without dehumanizing anyone.

Sacrificing people like Katie is not moral leadership. It is failure. 

If our leaders are unwilling to confront the consequences of their decisions, they should step aside. And if they refuse, citizens must demand better leadership at the ballot box.

We deserve safety.  We deserve accountability. And we deserve leaders who value human life over political rhetoric. 

Sanctuary states have failed us all. They must do better. 

MAJOR 2A OPINION FROM DOJ YESTERDAY

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

The U. S. Dept. of Justice just asserted that 18 USC 1715, from 1927, which prohibits ordinary citizens from mailing handguns thru the U S Mail, is in fact unconstitutional.  

The law, which is one of the earliest U S "gun control" measures, was designed specifically to cut into the interstate movement of firearms, possibly in violation of state and local firearms prohibitions.

This is part of the case of Shreve v U S Postal Service from July 2025, PA.  

The opinion directs the DOJ to stop prosecutions under this act and "urges" the postal service to revise Publican 52, which gets into the nuts and bolts of this issue.

I THOUGHT ONLY THE HOUSTON POLICE CALLED IT SUICIDE WHEN VICTIMS WERE STABBED OR SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES

Ellen Greenberg case set to be REOPENED by federal prosecutors after infamous 2011 'suicide' of Philadelphia schoolteacher found with 20 stab wounds

 

By Will Potter 

 

Daily Mail 

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

Greenberg was discovered with more than 20 stab wounds to her body, including to her heart and the back of her head, as seen in the Philadelphia medical examiner's analysis. Her death was initially ruled a homicide before being controversially switched to suicide

 

The heavily scrutinized investigation into the death of Ellen Greenberg is set to be reopened by federal prosecutors, according to a report. 

Law enforcement sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer that prosecutors recently sent out subpoenas for documents from the investigation into the schoolteacher's death in 2011. 

Greenberg, 27, was found by her fiancé, Sam Goldberg, with more than 20 stab wounds to her body, including to her heart and the back of her head, and her death was initially ruled a homicide before being controversially classified as a suicide. 

The case, which has been plagued by allegations of a 'cover-up', received renewed attention late last year as officials again ruled that Greenberg's death was a suicide when it was re-evaluated by the city of Philadelphia. 

According to sources speaking to the inquirer, prosecutors are not focusing on the manner of Greenberg's death, but are centering questions on how a variety of agencies handled the case. 

The new probe is set to look into whether any missteps by investigators at the time could amount to criminal corruption, the outlet reported. 

Greenberg's parents have long sought answers over her death and say they do not believe that she could have inflicted the many stab wounds on herself, which included her being found with a kitchen knife sticking out of her heart. 

The family's attorney Joe Podraza told the Daily Mail at the time that the medical examiner's conclusion was 'tripe, an embarrassment to the City, and an insult to Ellen and her family.'

 

The heavily scrutinized investigation into the death of Ellen Greenberg, who was found dead by her then-fiancé, Sam Goldberg, is set to be reopened by federal prosecutors

 

Following news of the new investigation, Podraza said in a statement to the Inquirer that Greenberg's parents are 'ecstatic' that the case is being reopened. 

'If that is in fact correct and accurate, that the federal government is going to investigate... this is exactly what we've wanted all along,' he said. 

'It's unfortunate it's taken more than seven years to get to this point but we are really grateful and thankful to the US attorneys and, of course, are available to assist in any way we can in helping their investigation.'   

When Greenberg was found in her apartment by her then-fiancé, Goldberg, investigators at the scene immediately treated the incident as a suicide because he told them the apartment was locked from the inside. 

Although he said he broke down the door to get inside, police said there were no signs of a break-in when Greenberg died, and said she had no defensive wounds. 

Her death was ruled a homicide the next day by then-Philadelphia medical examiner Marlon Osbourne, noting that she suffered knife wounds to the back of her neck, heart, and many bruises in various stages of healing. 

Investigators returning the next day to the apartment found that it had been professionally cleaned and that devices owned by Goldberg had been removed by Goldberg's uncle, James Schwartzman, who was at the time the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. 

In a lawsuit brought by Greenberg's family in 2022, they alleged that errors in the handling of the investigation and evidence from the apartment was 'embarrassingly botched' and resulted in a 'cover up.'  

 

Greenberg was found dead by Goldberg in their apartment in 2011, and a Hulu documentary last year revealed that when he called 911, he told a dispatcher she 'fell on a knife'

In remarks to the Daily Mail, one of the first times Goldberg had spoken of the case, he said renewed scrutiny on his former fiancé's death was 'awful' due to the documentary

 

In October last year, the case received renewed national attention in a Hulu documentary, which brought scrutiny on Goldberg and his actions at the time of Greenberg's death. 

This included the documentary revealing Goldberg's call to 911 when he found her body, as he told dispatchers she 'fell on a knife.' 

In remarks to the Daily Mail, he said things had been 'awful' since the documentary was released. 

The Daily Mail asked Goldberg, now a married father-of-two living in Manhattan, if he felt he had been 'screwed over' by a recent Hulu documentary exploring Greenberg's final days.

'Yeah I have been. It's awful and it sucks,' he told the Mail, which was one of the first times he had spoken of the case. 'But I have nothing else to say,' he added at the time.

The new probe is set to focus on the way agencies handled the investigation, and not specifically on Greenberg's manner of death.  

 

Greenberg's family said a ruling last year stating that her manner of death was suicide was 'an embarrassment to the City, and an insult to Ellen and her family' 

 

A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office said it could 'neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation' following news that new subpoenas had been issued. 

Other agencies involved in Greenberg's case include the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, the Philadelphia Law Department, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

In 2024, errors in the investigation were acknowledged by Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court, even as it dismissed a lawsuit brought by Greenberg's family to change her manner of death certificate. 

In a ruling, the court said it had 'no choice under the law' to have it changed, but admitted, 'this court is acutely aware of the deeply flawed investigation of the victim's death by the City of Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) detectives, the City of Philadelphia District Attorney's Office (DAO), and the MEO [Medical Examiner's Office].' 

AUTISM MADE HIM DO IT

FedEx driver accused of abducting and killing little girl while delivering her Christmas present says he shouldn't be executed because he has autism

 

By Jack Toledo 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

Tanner Horner's attorney now claim he has autism after he was charged with kidnapping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Texas

 

Attorneys for a FedEx driver accused of abducting and strangling a seven-year-old girl in Texas have argued that the alleged murderer's autism should bar him from the death penalty.

Tanner Horner's lawyers filed 28 new motions on Tuesday in the 297th District Court in Tarrant County, ahead of his trial for the capital murder of Athena Strand.

Strand was snatched from her family's home in North Texas on November 30, 2022. Horner claimed he was delivering Barbie dolls to the house when he accidentally hit the girl with his truck, 'panicked,' grabbed her, and put her in his vehicle. 

The little girl's lifeless body was found dumped beside a country road, seven miles from her home, on December 2. Strand is accused of strangling her to death.  

Now, the 34-year-old FedEx driver's attorneys have claimed that their client’s autism warrants the removal of the death penalty as a sentencing option.

Horner has pleaded not guilty. His capital murder trial is set to begin on April 7. 

The new motion to dispel the death penalty read: 'Mr. Horner's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his moral blameworthiness, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully sentenced to death,' KHOU 11 reported.

Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has vehemently supported the death penalty for Horner if he's found guilty of murdering her daughter. 

 

Athena Strand was allegedly strangled to death after she was  hit by Horner as he was delivering a package from his FedEx truck. She was found on December 2

 

The filing stated that individuals with ASD have impaired reasoning, social skills, impulse control, and communication - which places Horner under the category of people with intellectual disabilities. 

The Supreme Court ruled that those with autism are 'less culpable than the average criminal,' according to the filing.

Under Texas law, capital murder of a person under ten years old qualifies the perpetrator for the death penalty. 

Horner was arrested on December 2, 2022, the same day Strand's body was found. 

He allegedly confessed to police that he abducted and kidnapped the child during a delivery to her family's home.

On February 17, 2023, a jury in Wise County formally charged Horner with kidnapping and murdering the young girl.

On top of the murder charge, Horner was charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth. 

In the new filing, Horner's attorneys cited the infamous case of Robert Roberson - who is on death row for killing his daughter in Texas in 2002 - as an example of another defendant's autism leading to a 'wrongful conviction,' as cited by Fox 4. 

Roberson's execution was halted in 2025, a week before it was set to take place, and his case was sent back down to a lower court based on a plea stemming from the state's Junk Science Law.

This allows for a second look at a conviction that was based on science that has since been debunked. In Roberson's case, the defendants argue his autism was 'misunderstood' and used against him in evidence during his trial.

Roberson was only diagnosed with autism after he was found guilty of murder.  

Horner's lawyers filed an additional motion on December 4, seeking to suppress three interrogations by law enforcement, claiming that the interviews continued despite the alleged murderer invoking his right to speak with an attorney.

 

Maitlyn Gandy, Strand's mother supports the death penalty and her father, Jacob Strand has launched legal action against FedEx, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks

At a news conference, Gandy told how Horner, was delivering a You Can Be Anything Barbie to Strand's father and stepmother's house in Paradise 

 

Strand's mom Maitlyn Gandy, released a statement after Horner was indicted - expressing her love for her late daughter, and support of capital punishment. 

Gandy said at the time: 'I would like to thank the Wise County grand jury for their role in this process. Hearing the facts and circumstances of my seven-year-old daughter's kidnapping and murder was undoubtedly very difficult for them.'

'I want them to know that their work is deeply appreciated,' she added. 'Tanner Horner's indictment is the beginning of a long road through the justice system.

'I appreciate everyone's continued support and for keeping Athena's name and memory alive. Please take a moment to hug your children and loved ones. No one is promised another day.'

'I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come,' Gandy told WFAA.

 

 

The former FedEx driver was charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas 

 

'Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't.

'If I could sit down in front of him, I would tell him that he is nothing, but that Athena is absolutely everything - and I will make sure that everybody in this world knows that he is nothing and that she is everything.'

Strand's father, Jacob, has launched legal action against FedEx, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks before hiring Horner.

Former state district court Judge George Gallagher has been appointed to the trial, as the former driver is being held in Tarrant County Jail.

PUT HIM BEHIND BARS WHERE HE BELONGS

Hunter Biden's stripper baby mama asks for him to be ARRESTED over claims he is still failing to pay her child support

 

By Josh Boswell 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

 

Lunden Roberts, 34, filed an emotional plea to the judge on Tuesday, reopening her child support case against the felonious former First Son 

 

The mother of Hunter Biden's child has asked an Arkansas judge to have him arrested for failing to fulfil a child support agreement, in new court filings.

Lunden Roberts, 34, filed an emotional plea to the judge on Tuesday, reopening her child support case against the felonious former First Son, who is now an artist.

Roberts settled her claims against Hunter for alleged millions in unpaid child support in 2023, letting him off the hook with a reported $5,000 per month in support payments and an agreement that he would meet with their daughter, then age 4, and let her pick out some of his paintings.

But in her filing on Tuesday, Roberts claimed Hunter has failed to follow through - and asked Judge Holly Meyer to 'incarcerate him in the Independence County Detention Center as a civil penalty until he purges his contempt by complying with this court's orders'.

Roberts wrote in the filing that their daughter Navy Joan - given the alias 'MC1' in the documents - yearned for contact with her father, who allegedly 'ghosted' her.

'MC1, who believes her father will go to heaven, once stated that she 'could not wait to get to heaven' so she could 'be with [her] dad' because her dad does not see or talk to her because her dad 'lives far away and is really busy,' Roberts wrote in the legal filing.

Hunter initially denied paternity, but it was proven by a court-mandated DNA test, after which he began to engage with his youngest daughter, Roberts said.

'The child and her dad started building the foundations of a missing, but exceedingly important, father-daughter relationship,' her filing said.

 

Hunter Biden could face jail time after the mother of his daughter accused him of failing to live up to a child support agreement

 

'The defendant and his daughter talked several times during a series of scheduled calls and were able to bond.'

But she wrote that in 2024, 'suddenly and without warning or explanation, Mr. Biden ghosted sweet, little MC1—who was then only five-years-old.'

Roberts claimed that Navy Joan, 6, had 'recently experienced emotional trauma at a family member's wedding when she realized that her dad would not walk her down the aisle or dance with her at her own wedding reception.'

Roberts claimed that Hunter had sent some paintings to his daughter, but that they were not ones picked out by the child - and that what was important to her was the contact with the little girl that the agreement would entail.

'MC1 received some paintings, but they were the ones chosen by Mr. Biden and not MC1,' Roberts wrote in the filing.

'The defendant's actions are a willful and contemptuous violation of this court's prior orders.

'This court should allow the child to select her paintings—which will be her only real connection to her father and his side of the family to date.'

 

 

Lunden Roberts claimed Hunter has failed to follow through on his child support payments and asked Judge Holly Meyer to ‘incarcerate him'

 

'To this day, MC1 has not heard again from her father, and this is baffling to the plaintiff and her family because Mr. Biden said that he had 'lived in guilt and remorse every second of every day that [he] hasn't been in [MC1's] life,' the filing said.

'It is now clear that Mr. Biden's statement was only meant for the purpose it accomplished—successfully inducing Ms. Roberts to agree to take less money for her daughter's support.'

Roberts also asked the judge to reassess Hunter's monthly child support payments, pointing to an apparent lavish lifestyle by the Biden family.

'All of MC1's siblings live at a means above that of the average American. For Thanksgiving of 2025, the Biden family (minus MC1, who is not allowed to participate in family activities) gathered at an exclusive Nantucket locale,' Roberts wrote.

'Additionally, all of Mr. Biden's children except MC1 were seen at renowned Nantucket restaurants and other social scenes.

 

President Joe Biden (left) and Hunter Biden (right) go shopping in Nantucket together over the Thanksgiving holiday. The president pardoned his son the day after the trip 

 

'No one can force Mr. Biden into being a good dad for MC1, but this court can make it so that MC1 has, at least, the same level of support as MC1's younger half-brother.'

Hunter claimed in his 2021 memoir that he had 'no recollection' of Roberts, after she sued him for paternity and child support.

But the Daily Mail revealed records from his abandoned laptop showing he employed her at his firm, after reportedly meeting her at a Washington DC strip club.

The two had a fling around December 2017, and the baby was born in August of 2018.

But Hunter's text messages from the laptop show he asked his assistant to make sure she had been kicked off his company's health insurance plan just three months after the birth.

Even after a DNA test proved he was the father, the former president's son claimed he did not have enough money to pay child support - despite living in a $12,000-per-month home in Hollywood and driving a Porsche at the time.

Roberts' filing was first reported by conservative nonprofit Marco Polo on social media site X.

The organization published an extensive report about Hunter's abandoned laptop and the evidence of alleged criminality therein.

IS TRUMP CROSSING A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

Trump invasion of Greenland would spark Republican impeachment, GOPer warns

 

By Katelyn Caralle 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

Republican Congressman Don Bacon said that members of his party are not happy with President Trump's rhetoric towards Greenland and suggested he could face impeachment for the move 

 

President Donald Trump could very well face his first second-term impeachment if he crosses the line to take Greenland by force, according to a retiring GOP congressman. 

Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska claims a US invasion of the Arctic island might go too far and could prompt his party to launch a third impeachment against the two-term president.

He acknowledged that while the president doesn't like 'being told no,' he might need to accept it in this case, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

The lawmaker who is not seeking reelection in the fall said that many in the Republican Party are angry with Trump's escalated rhetoric towards Greenland and his refusal to rule out using the military to take the Danish territory.

'I'll be candid with you: There's so many Republicans mad about this,' Bacon said on Wednesday. 'If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency.'

'He needs to know: The off-ramp is realizing Republicans aren't going to tolerate this and he's going to have to back off. He hates being told no, but in this case, I think Republicans need to be firm,' Bacon insisted.

Trump was impeached by the Democrat-controlled House twice during his first term, but was acquitted both times by the Senate.

Bacon, while a sharp critic of Trump on several issues, voted against both impeachments at the time.

 

President Donald Trump could face Republican wrath in Congress if he uses military force to invade Greenland amid his desire to acquire the Arctic island from Denmark

 

He declined to definitely say if he would support a hypothetical impeachment related to Greenland, but admitted he would strongly consider it should it come to that.

'I don't want to give you a definite yes or no, but I would lean that way,' he said. 'It would be a total mistake to invade an ally. It would be catastrophic to our allies and everything.'

Bacon concluded: 'It's just the worst idea ever in my view.'

Trump has continued to publicly talk about taking over control of Greenland from Denmark, which has controlled the island in some capacity since the 14th century.

Danish and Greenlandic leaders have snubbed the president's potential purchase of the territory.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt came to Washington, DC on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, who visited Greenland last year.

It resulted in no agreement or major breakthrough, but was described as 'respectful' by the Danish delegation.

They admitted that Denmark and the US remain at odds over the future of Greenland.

The Danish and Greenlandic ministers also met with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, including Senate Arctic Caucus members Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Angus King of Maine.

Meanwhile in Greenland, European leaders dispatched on Wednesday night military forces following threats by Trump to take the island.

Denmark led military exercises with France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, Politico reported. A Canadian spokesperson denied to the outlet that the country was involved in those exercises.

'The goal is to show that Denmark and key allies can increase their presence in the Arctic region,' a person briefed on the plans said.

 

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (pictured) and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt came to Washington, DC on Wednesday to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance

 

Trump posted to Truth Social that the US 'needs Greenland for the purpose of national security,' and said 'anything less than that is unacceptable.'

He told the Daily Mail on Air Force One on Sunday that he isn't worried about upsetting NATO with a forced takeover because the allies 'need us much more than we need them.'

The president also quipped over the weekend that Greenland's only defenses right now are 'two dogsleds.'

A bipartisan delegation is heading to Denmark this week to meet with officials and show unity with the NATO ally. 
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Lisa Murkowski have dismissed the idea of military intervention as unrealistic, with Murkowski warning that any attempt to take the territory by force would 'degrade our national security and international relationships.'

Senator Mitch McConnell and Senator John Kennedy have been even more blunt, with McConnell calling the threats 'counterproductive' and Kennedy labeling the idea of an invasion 'weapons-grade stupid.'

PUTIN AND XI MUST BE LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF

'The end of the world as we know it': Poland warns of 'disaster' if NATO nations turn on each other over Trump's bid to claim Greenland as Danish troops arrive in the region

 

By Taryn Kaur Pedler 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 15, 2026

 

 

 

A Royal Danish Air Force Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules at Nuuk international airport on January 15, 2026, the day after it arrived transporting Danish military personnel 

 

A senior European leader has issued a chilling warning that an internal NATO conflict over Greenland would spell catastrophe for the Western world, as tensions mount over Donald Trump's bid to claim the Arctic island.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that his country would not send soldiers to Greenland, making clear that any aggression between NATO allies would shatter the foundations of global security.

'An attempt to take over (part of) a NATO member state by another NATO member state would be a political disaster,' Tusk told a press conference.

'It would be the end of the world as we know it, which guaranteed a world based on NATO solidarity, which held back the evil forces associated with communist terror or other forms of aggression.'

His comments come amid growing unease across Europe after the US President renewed his long-running claim that Greenland is vital to American security, and suggested Washington could take drastic action to secure it.

Trump has repeatedly argued that the US must own Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from gaining a strategic foothold in the Arctic.

He has insisted that all options remain on the table to ensure control of the mineral-rich island, declaring that if Washington does not act, 'China or Russia will'.

The rhetoric has sent shockwaves through NATO, an alliance that has underpinned Western society since World War II. 

 

Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that the US must own Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from gaining a strategic foothold in the Arctic

The White House taunted Greenland on X. The post refers to Trump's claims that if Washington does not act, 'China or Russia will'

 

Trump's statements have already put unprecedented strain on relations between allies, raising fears of a crisis that was unthinkable just years ago.

As concerns escalated this week, military personnel from France and Germany headed to Greenland on Thursday, joining Denmark and other allies in a series of exercises aimed at reinforcing the island's security.

Germany's defence ministry said the reconnaissance mission by several European NATO members aims 'to explore options for ensuring security in light of Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic'.

The deployments were announced shortly after a meeting between US, Danish, and Greenlandic officials in Washington failed to resolve what officials described as a 'fundamental disagreement' over the future of the island coveted by Trump.

France, Sweden, Germany, and Norway confirmed on Wednesday that they would deploy military personnel to Greenland's capital, Nuuk, as part of the mission.

A British military officer is also among the international force of European troops being deployed to Greenland.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'At the request of the Danish government, there is one UK military officer that is part of this reconnaissance group.'

Downing Street insisted sending a UK military officer to Greenland was not a 'deployment of troops' and was part of 'routine' planning ahead of an Arctic endurance exercise.

On Thursday, the Netherlands joined the tally, declaring it would send one military officer in support of a European mission to Greenland.

'Security in the Arctic region (including Greenland) is of strategic importance to all NATO members,' said Dutch Defence Minister Rubens Brekelmans in a statement.

'That is why the Netherlands is participating with other NATO countries in joint reconnaissance in Greenland for a military exercise in the Arctic,' he added.

'The Defence department will send one naval officer,' announced Brekelmans.

Danish forces have also stepped up their presence, underlining Copenhagen's determination to maintain sovereignty over the territory.

It comes after Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen admitted that more work was needed to 'find a common way forward', adding there would be further discussions about Trump's plans in the coming weeks. 

Speaking to reporters after the hour-long meeting, Mr Rasmussen said it remains 'clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland. And we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom'.

Poland, however, is keeping its distance. Tusk stressed that while Europe must stand united, Warsaw would not contribute to troops, saying he would 'do everything he could to ensure that Europe remained united on the issue of Greenland'.

And the escalating NATO activity has not gone unnoticed in Moscow.

Russia said it was seriously concerned by the arrival of alliance forces in Greenland, accusing NATO of exploiting the situation to expand its footprint in the Arctic.

'The situation unfolding in the high latitudes is of serious concern to us,' the Russian embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said in a statement published late Wednesday. 

NATO is 'building up its military presence there under the false pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing,' the embassy added.

Sweden's defence minister Pai Jonson, also said on Wednesday that Trump was exaggerating their presence in the region.

 

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that his country would not send soldiers to Greenland, making clear that any aggression between NATO allies would shatter the foundations of global security

Danish military forces participate in an exercise with troops from several European NATO members in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, September 2025

Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left) and Greenland's foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt (right) speak at a press conference following their meeting with US vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio

 

'If you state that Greenland is flooded with Russian and Chinese vessels, that's an exaggeration according to assessments that we do for the region,' he reportedly said.

Mr Jonson added that while there had been an increase in the number of Chinese research vessels in Greenland's waterways, the scope of this was 'limited'.

Two senior Nordic diplomats voiced similar criticisms of the US leader.

The diplomats, who have access to NATO intelligence briefings, also rejected claims that there were Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland.

'It is simply not true that the Chinese and Russians are there. I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines,' one told the Financial Times.

Another said that claims that waters around Greenland were 'crawling' with Russian and Chinese vessels were unfounded, adding that such activity was on the Russian side of the Arctic.

While neither the Russian foreign ministry nor the Kremlin has commented directly on the deployments, the message from Moscow is unmistakable.

Both NATO and Russia have increased their military presence in the Arctic in recent years, driven by climate change that is melting sea ice and opening the region to international shipping routes and lucrative mining opportunities.

Greenland's strategic location, vast natural resources, and proximity to key transatlantic routes have long made it a focal point of global power politics, but never before has a NATO ally openly floated the idea of seizing territory from another.

According to the Russian embassy, the internal disputes within NATO over Greenland are making the alliance's ability to reach agreements 'increasingly unpredictable' - a claim that will alarm Western capitals already wary of deepening fractures.

Meanwhile, Denmark and its European partners are scrambling to project unity and calm, even as Trump continues to push his provocative case.