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A woman who stabbed her sixth-grade classmate to win favor with a fictional internet character named "Slender Man" more than a decade ago left a group home where she'd been living after cutting off her monitoring bracelet, police said.

Morgan Geyser, 23, was last seen in a residential neighborhood in the west side of Madison, Wisconsin, around 8 p.m. Saturday with an adult acquaintance, and it is not known where she is, police saidin a statement.

In a crime that stunned the nation, Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier, both 12 at the time of the crime, lured their classmate into a park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2014, where they stabbed her 19 times to impressSlender Man, a boogeyman for the internet age.

The victim, Peyton Leutner, was also 12 at the time and survived, crawling out of the woods to safety where she was discovered by a passing bicyclist.

The trio spent a lot of time together, Leutnerpreviouslytold ABC. Geyser constantly talked about Slender Man, a character that terrified Leutner, she said.

The night of the stabbing, Leutner had gone to Geyser's home for a slumber party to celebrate her birthday.

At age 15, Geyser pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted first-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors to beplaced in a mental institutioninstead of serving jail time.

At her sentencing in 2018, Geyser apologized to Leutner and her family.

"I never meant this to happen," a tearful Geyser said. "I hope that she is doing well."

In January, a judge ordered she could be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she spent nearly seven years, The Associated Pressreported.

Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, urged her to turn herself in immediately in a statement Sunday. "We worked too hard to secure her freedom for her to continue on this path," Cotton added.

It is unclear how Geyser broke out of the group home or who helped her, Cotton said in a videopostedto social media.

In August, a facility in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, declined to take her due to negative publicity they were receiving about the potential move, according to CNN affiliateWMTV, but Madison policeconfirmedwith the news station Geyser is currently living at a group home in Madison, on the same street where she was last seen.

Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree homicide due to mental illness or defect in the stabbing as part of a plea agreement. She was committed to 25 years in a mental hospital, the AP reported, but was released in 2021 on condition she live with her father and wear a GPS monitor.

CNN's Dakin Andone contributed to this report.

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A Washington state resident believed to be the first person to be infected with arare strain of bird fluhas died, state health officials announced.

The person — an older adult with underlying health conditions — was undergoing treatment for H5N5 avian influenza, according to theWashington State Department of Health. The person, who had been hospitalized in King County since early November, died on Nov. 21, health officials said.

The patient was from Grays Harbor County, over 100 miles southwest of Seattle, and had a backyard flock of "mixed" domestic poultry that were exposed to wild birds, according to health officials. State testing identified avian influenza virus in the backyard flock's environment, "making exposure to the domestic poultry, their environment, or wild birds the most likely source of exposure for this patient," health officials said.

Other people who were exposed to the backyard flock, environment, and the patient were being monitored for symptoms, according to health officials. The person's identity was not released out of respect for the family's privacy.

Testing at the University of Washington Virology Lab identified the virus as H5N5, a variant of the influenza A virus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the result. Health officials said the patient is the first person in the world to be infected with the H5N5 strain of bird flu.

The H5N5 strain has previously been reported in animals, but it has never been reported in humans before. Health officials reiterated that the risk to the general public from the virus remains low.

"No other people involved have tested positive for avian influenza," the Washington State Department of Health said in anews releaseon Nov. 21. "There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people."

What to know.Will bird flu impact your Thanksgiving shopping?

Where does bird flu come from?

Avian influenza,more commonly known as bird flu, is a disease caused by influenza type A viruses that naturally occur in wild aquatic birds, according to the Washington State Department of Health. These viruses can spread to other bird species andsometimes mammals.

The viruses can be deadly to domestic birds, such as chickens and turkeys, but rarely infect humans, health officials said. Most human cases have occurred in people exposed to sick or infected animals. Human cases range from mild to severe.

Symptoms are similar to those of common flu, including fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, eye irritation, and fatigue, according to theCDC.

"The risk of avian influenza increases in the fall and winter because migratory birds can carry the virus and spread it to domestic animals, including commercial poultry farms and backyard flocks," according to the Washington State Department of Health. "Transmission of avian influenza between humans is extremely rare and has never been documented in the United States."

As of Nov. 23, 71 cases of bird flu have been reported in humans, according to theCDC. The majority of cases are tied to theH5N1 strain.

Of those cases, 41 were linked to infected dairy cows and 24 were connected to infected poultry, CDC data shows. California has seen the most cases with 38.

Who is at risk?

Bird flu most commonly spreads among wild birds but can also infect poultry, livestock, and other mammals, including goats, coyotes, and opossums. Dairy industry experts have said infection can lower a herd's milk production byabout a fifth.

Among thosemost at risk of infectionare farmers, animal care providers such as veterinarians, and other workers exposed to infected animals or animal products.

The H5N1 strain has been spreading among commercial flocks of birds in the United States since February 2022, according to theAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service. H5 bird flu is easily transferable to backyard flocks or those used for mass food production.

An outbreak among chickens earlier in 2025 prompted a widespreadegg shortage.

Raw or undercooked foods, including cheeses, can also carry the virus. The deaths of at leastthree house catsin 2024 were linked to raw foods contaminated with bird flu.

How do you get the bird flu?What medical experts want you to know right now

What can you do to protect yourself from bird flu?

The Washington State Department of Health has urged people with backyard poultry to avoid contact with sick or dead birds. Officials have advised people to report any illnesses in poultry to their state agriculture and health departments.

Health officials also recommend that people avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife and report ill or dead animals to wildlife agencies. "Never handle or allow pets near dead birds or other wildlife," the Washington State Department of Health said.

Eggs and chicken meat are considered safe to eat, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture regularly checks farms for bird flu, and chickens are put to death if the virus is detected on a farm. Beef is also considered safe if cooked to proper temperatures, and thecommercial milk supply is tested regularlyto confirm its safety, the USDA said.

Federal health officials recommend avoiding eating raw or undercooked food products, such as raw milk, which has beenshown in some cases to contain the virus.

"It is especially important that people who may have exposure to domestic or wild birds get a seasonal flu vaccine," according to the Washington State Department of Health. "While the seasonal flu vaccine will not prevent bird flu infection, it reduces the risk of becoming sick with both human and avian influenza viruses at the same time."

Contributing: Michael Loria, Karen Weintraub, and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Washington state resident dies after rare bird flu strain infection

CHICAGO (AP) — A pair ofsnowy owlsspotted along a Lake Michigan beach has drawn curious crowds and sparked happy speculation about how long the Arctic birds of prey will call Chicago home.

Word of the two owls has circulated on birder forums in the nation's third-largest city for about a week, according to the Chicago Ornithological Society. While snowy owls aren't rare in Chicago, their frequency varies widely each winter. Generally, a handful are reported around December, but sometimes there aren't any.

"Their nomadic nature makes them hard to study or even figure out patterns," Edward Warden, the society's president, said Sunday. "Where they're going is anybody's guess."

This year, two birds have been seen at a beach and pier near the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary on the city's North Side. A third one was briefly spotted at a beach a few miles (kilometers) south, according to the Chicago Ornithological Society

The pair arrived a bit earlier than the birds usually do and have stayed longer as well, prompting questions about whether this will be the year of a possible "irruption," or boom migration. In previous years, that's when a dozen or more have shown up in Chicago.

On Saturday, well over 100 people came out to a concrete pier that juts out into the lake to catch a glimpse. Among them was Sean Clark, a birder and photography enthusiast.

"They were coming and going all day long. It's amazing that the birds are accepting of that many people," he said.

The owls did seem rattled, however, by some peregrine falcons that swooped down near them, something Clark was able to capture on his camera. The owls' yellow eyes grew wide and they flapped their large wings but stayed put.

Snowy owls live north of the Arctic Circle during the summer. In some years, some of the owls stay north while others migrate to southern Canada and the northern half of the United States in the winter, according to experts. On a global scale, they've been considered "vulnerable" — one step from endangered — by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In Chicago, the birds eat a range of things, including small mammals or waterfowl, according to the Chicago Ornithological Society.

Alan Hougton came to see the owls on Saturday, his first time since he started birding five years ago.

"It was awesome," he said.

Slevin reported from Denver.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is still getting mileage out of Cam Newton's diss. The two engaged in somewhat of a back-and-forth ahead of Week 12 after Newton questioned whether the Patriots are actually a good team.

Maye's response to that: "I don't even know what show[Newton is] on."

That feud apparently continued Sunday, as Maye may have taken another shot at Newton. Prior to the game, Maye was approached by wideout Stefon Diggs for a pregame handshake. Diggs walked up and then performed Newton's Superman celebration in front of Maye, who shook his head at Diggs before finishing their pregame handshake.

Maye and Diggs working out their handshake 🤝NEvsCIN -- 1pm ET on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/66P8V2VG6B

— NFL (@NFL)November 23, 2025

During his career, Newton used the gesture — in which he mimics Clark Kent opening up his shirt to reveal the Superman logo — as his signature touchdown celebration. Newton hit that celebration many times during his 11-year NFL career.

The celebration became so popular ... that even Maye once performed it during a game. After scoring a rushing touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in September, Maye mimicked Newton's Superman move.

Maye spoke about the moment after the game, calling Newton his "favorite player growing up."

Drake Maye on his Cam Newton "Superman" celebration:"The energy he brought. I don't show much emotion probably need to show more. He played the position a different way than a lot of people do. Guys rallied around him...he was my favorite player growing up."@NBC10…pic.twitter.com/XsO8fZAfXw

— Kevin Moore (@KMooreTV)September 28, 2025

That last statement may no longer apply after Newton spoke critically of the Patriots, saying the team has played too easy a schedule. Newton called New England's success "fool's gold," predicting the Patriots would lose their first playoff game this season.

Maye, for obvious reasons, likely took offense to those comments. Thanks to his second-year emergence, the Patriots have turned into one of the best teams in the AFC. Maye has emerged as an MVP candidate, a sign that the team's breakout is real and sustainable.

While that is all true, Maye and the Patriots did feed into Newton's narrative a bit in Week 12. The Patriots struggled to put the Cincinnati Bengals away in the contest,narrowly winning 26-20. Maye turned in an average performance, throwing for 294 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the win.

The story of the 2025 Patriots has yet to be completed, but things are looking up for the franchise. Other than Maye's feud with Newton, there hasn't been too much for Patriots fans to complain about thus far.

Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins was carted off the field in Week 12 after slamming his head on the ground while trying to make a catch ina tight lossto the New England Patriots. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the contest due to a concussion.

The play occurred with under five minutes to play in the contest. With the Bengals trailing the Patriots 23-13, Joe Flacco tried to find Higgins deep down the sideline. The throw was high, causing Higgins to throw one hand in the air. Patriots defensive back Carlton Davis III ran into Higgins at that point, sending both men to the ground. As Higgins went down, he smacked his head on the turf.

He immediately laid motionless on the ground.

TEE HIGGINS INJURED ON THIS PLAY.pic.twitter.com/N9yiKHbXkv

— Aggregate Sports (@AggregateSports)November 23, 2025

After spending quite some time on the ground, Higgins was eventually helped up and placed on a cart before being driven off the field. He walked into the locker room under his own power when he arrived.

Tee Higgins goes into the Bengals locker room after being carted off. His head hit HARD on the turf while trying to catch a deep pass from Joe Flacco.pic.twitter.com/HTb4k8MUyj

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien)November 23, 2025

With Ja'Marr Chase suspended, Higgins was expected to play a bigger role than normal for the Bengals in Week 12. It was a tough matchup, as he was set to see Patriots standout Christian Gonzalez for the majority of the game. Higgins hauled in five catches for 31 yards before leaving the contest.

Following the injury, the Bengals managed to score a touchdown, cutting the lead to three. The Patriots responded with a field goal late, making it 26-20.

That gave Flacco and the Bengals a chance for some last-minute magic. Flacco drove the Bengals down the field with time running out, but had a fourth-and-10 throw knocked away with just 18 seconds remaining.

The Patriots regained possession after the play, took a knee and won the contest.

With Chase back in Week 13, the focus will now fall on Higgins. Given how the play looked in real time, and Higgins' reaction, it could take the wideout at least a week before he's ready to take the field again.

If he needs to miss a game, it would be a significant absence. The Bengals take on the division rival Baltimore Ravens on the final game of a Thanksgiving Day tripleheader.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Emanuel Wilson always believed he could make it in the NFL even while he was breaking into the league as an undrafted free agent from Division II Fort Valley State.

Given the opportunity to make his first career start Sunday, Wilson went out and proved to everyone else what he already knew.

Wilson rushed for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns while filling in for the injured Josh Jacobs to back up a dominating performance from Green Bay's defense as the Packers trounced the Minnesota Vikings 23-6 on Sunday.

"I just kept it the same," Wilson said. "I approached it today just like it's another game. This is my first start since college, so I just tried to go out there and take advantage of it."

Wilson provided all the offense Green Bay needed on a day when the Packers forced three turnovers and produced five sacks, including two each from Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt. The Vikings totaled 4 net yards and three turnovers in the second half.

The Vikings (4-7) hadn't finished a half with as few as 4 yards of total offense since at least 1991, which is as far back as Sportradar's research goes on the subject.

"We did not play in any way, shape or form the type of (second) half that would give us a chance to compete," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said.

The Vikings were attempting to beat the Packers on the road for a third straight season, something they last accomplished in 1991-93. They instead fell for the fifth time in their past six games.

Green Bay (7-3-1) improved to 2-0 in divisional games after going 1-5 against NFC North foes last season. This started a stretch of three straight divisional matchups for the Packers, who visit Detroit on Thursday and host the Chicago Bears on Dec. 7.

Because Green Bay's defense was so dominant, the Packers didn't need to show much imagination on offense. Jordan Love completed 14 of his season-low 21 passes for 139 yards, another season low.

"I've never called the same run so many times consecutively," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. "It was like 3 yards and a cloud of dust, but it was effective. Bottom line, I just thought the way our defense was playing, we just took the air out of the ball and said, 'Go win it for us.' "

That meant Wilson got a heavier workload than even he expected.

Wilson acknowledged he was a little nervous when he woke up. Jacobs, who was unavailable because of a bruised left knee, offered a pregame message that helped settle him.

"Josh just was in my corner telling me to believe in myself and telling me he believed in me, so I just went out there and did what I did," Wilson said.

Wilson's 28 carries and 107 yards rushing represented the highest single-game totals by any Packers running back this season. He had two 1-yard touchdown runs.

"I think mentally he was preparing all week to be the guy," Love said. "And to find out and come out here and have over 100 yards and break off some of the runs he did was pretty cool."

The Vikings trailed 10-6 but stopped Green Bay on the opening drive of the second half when a special teams turnover helped the Packers break the game open.

Daniel Whelan's punt bounced inside the 10-yard line and then hit the body of Minnesota's Myles Price, who was blocking a Green Bay player at the time. Zayne Anderson recovered at the Minnesota 5 to give Green Bay first-and-goal, and Wilson scored two plays later.

"That punt was huge," Parsons said. "Huge. Changed the whole momentum of the game."

Minnesota spent the first half relying on running backs Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones to lead a ball-control attack that took the pressure off struggling quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Once Green Bay opened up a two-score lead, the Vikings needed to rely more on McCarthy but couldn't handle the Packers' pass rush.

McCarthy went 12 of 19 for 87 yards. Minnesota's last two series ended with McCarthy throwing interceptions to Isaiah McDuffie and Evan Williams.

"We like playing with a lead because you just get to let the big dogs eat," Williams said. "We definitely felt comfortable, smelled a little blood in the water coming into the second and knew that we could just let loose and play fast."

The Vikings' only points came on a pair of Will Reichard field goals from 52 and 59 yards. Reichard became the first player in NFL history to have four field goals of at least 59 yards in one season.

Green Bay's Brandon McManus had field goals of 32, 30 and 40 yards.

Vikings: guard Donovan Jackson (ankle) and OT Christian Darrisaw (foot) left in the second half. OLB Jonathan Greenard (shoulder) missed a second straight game.

Packers: CB Keisean Nixon left with a stinger in the first half. RB Josh Jacobs (knee), CB Nate Hobbs (knee), LB Quay Walker (neck) and WR Matthew Golden (shoulder) didn't play.

Vikings: Visit the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.

Packers: Visit the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

(The Center Square) – The September jobs report was a look in the rear-view mirror in more ways than one. Because of the 43-day government shutdown, we didn't get the numbers until late November – nearly two months after the data were collected. By then, the story on the ground had already moved on.

On paper, the report looked surprisingly strong: employers added 119,000 jobs in September, more than double the roughly 50,000 economists had expected. Yet the unemployment rate still ticked up to 4.4%, the highest in about four years. Most of the new jobs came from the same places that have been carrying the labor market all year – health care and social assistance – while transportation and warehousing shed about 25,000 positions.Dig a little deeper, and the foundation looks less solid. Earlier months were revised down by about 33,000 jobs, and a separate revision earlier this year knocked roughly 900,000 jobs off the prior 12-month total. That pattern of downward revisions suggests September's "beat" may not look as impressive once the data are fully updated. In other words, this late report confirms what we already knew: job growth has been slowing for months.More timely private-sector data paint an even cooler picture. Workforce-analytics firm Revelio Labs estimates the U.S. economy actually lost about 9,000 jobs in October, with job losses in government and retail offsetting gains in education and health care. ADP's October payroll report shows private employers adding only a modest 42,000 jobs for the month, and its new weekly data suggest firms were shedding more than 11,000 jobs a week late in October. Layoff trackers and WARN notices – especially in high-paying tech and corporate roles – have also turned higher, even as overall layoff rates remain low by historical standards. That's the classic late-cycle pattern: hiring freezes first, then more visible job cuts.So far, consumer spending has held up thanks largely to higher-income households, who entered this period with stronger balance sheets and less credit-card debt and have kept swiping even as borrowing costs rose. But spending is increasingly concentrated at the top, and lower- and middle-income households have already pulled back. When job prospects dim and prices stay uncomfortably high, eventually even well-off consumers start to flinch.That's why this week's delayed September retail sales report matters. The Census Bureau will finally release the numbers on Tuesday, after the shutdown pushed the original October release date into late November. Early estimates point to flat sales in dollar terms and weaker volumes once you adjust for inflation. A soft retail number would confirm what the real-time labor indicators are already telling us: the job market has continued to cool since September, and the slowdown could start to show up in household spending.