Today’s Update Journal takes you from the chaos of primetime to the calm glow of midtown. First up: Deal or No Deal: Island of Confusion — the reality show so bewildering that even Howie Mandel couldn’t save it from itself. We break down why the concept never quite added up… and why maybe some classics are better left untouched. Then we pivot from TV turbulence to holiday perfection with The Rockefeller Tree Glow-Up — the annual reminder that while America may struggle to produce good reality shows, New York can still produce a spruce that steals the season. It’s a tale of two spectacles: one cancelled, one illuminated, both somehow peak 2025.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, the first major storm of the winter covered parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic with snow and ice, making roads hazardous, disrupting travel and closing schools as some areas braced for several inches of heavy snowfall.

Video shown in court documented how police approached, arrested and searched Luigi Mangione at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s — moments that underlie key questions about what evidence can and can’t be used in the case surrounding the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

And In Tennessee, Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election for a U.S. House seat, maintaining his party’s grip on the conservative district with help from President Trump. But the comparatively slim margin of victory fueled Democratic hopes for next year’s midterms as the party grasps for a path back to power in Washington.