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Tribune News Service on Oct 27, 2026

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Trump heckled about ballroom at Mississippi rally

President Donald Trump’s campaign speech in Mississippi was interrupted by a heckler opposed to his plan to build a glitzy new ballroom at the White House. The president was most of the way through his speech late Monday to a crowd of MAGA loyalists when the heckler briefly forced him to pause.

“Shove that ballroom up your a--,” the protester yelled. Trump supporters countered by cheering and chanting “U.S.A.” as security hustled the heckler out of the Crossroads Arena in Corinth, Mississippi.

“Oh, go home. Go home,” Trump jeered at the protester. “And they ruin their lives because now they get booked. We don’t usually press it too hard, but isn’t that terrible?” the president added. “I was just at the punchline, too.”

Trump has increasingly been facing down hecklers on a nearly daily basis as he barnstorms mostly red states in hopes of revving up enthusiasm of his right-wing base.

—New York Daily News

LA homicides are down to near-historic lows — but killings of Black men persist

LOS ANGELES — Homicides in Los Angeles still are falling, plunging to levels not seen since the 1960s and continuing a dramatic turnaround from the pandemic crime surge.

But no matter how low the numbers go, an old pattern persists: Black Angelenos are far more likely to be killed than those of other races.

So far this year, 35% of the city's homicide victims were Black, even though Black people comprise just 8% of the population — roughly the same percentage that they represented 20 years ago. Black victims accounted for 57 of the 162 recorded homicides through mid-September, the most recent period for which reliable data are available. That is down from 75 at this point last year, when there were 192 slayings.

Most experts agree the cause of the decline may not be known for years, and even then there likely will not be one simple explanation, with disparities in access to healthcare, jobs and adequate housing thought to be among the factors that affect crime rates in communities of color.

—Los Angeles Times

‘A destination for transplant innovation’: Northwestern launches new transplant institute

Northwestern Medicine has consolidated its robust transplant program into a new Transplant Institute, with a focus on tech and innovation.

Spearheaded by transplant surgeon Dr. Satish Nadig, the announcement of the Northwestern Medicine Transplant Institute comes just a month after the hospital’s 3,000th liver transplant, according to a spokesperson for Northwestern Medicine.

“The idea is to be a destination for transplant innovation,” Nadig said. “What this institute allows us to do is to have the funds to be able to do more and be able to bring in the brightest minds in the country and the world.” Nadig emphasized that the hospital’s patients are ultimately the driving motivation behind the implementation of the new institute and the technologies it fosters.

Art Nichols, a kidney recipient who had his transplant operation performed at Northwestern Medicine in September, was astonished to learn that his organ donor was his daughter, Natalie.

—Chicago Tribune

Putin plans talks with Finland, Norway leaders on Ukraine

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is preparing for phone talks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to discuss the prospects for a peace deal in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.

The three leaders may speak as soon as Tuesday, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential issues.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Norway’s government spokeswoman Ragnhild Simenstad declined to comment immediately. Stubb’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The planned talks follow a revived effort to get peace negotiations on track, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visiting Putin in St. Petersburg last week. Witkoff traveled to Russia after holding talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the two Nordic leaders.

—Bloomberg News