Today in The Update Journal, we revisit the annual tradition that turns even the bravest among us into rule-writing tyrants: the 2025 Potluck. Yes, it’s that magical time of year when everyone suddenly discovers they have dietary restrictions, allergies, or moral objections to dishes that have existed for centuries. This year, however, I’ve decided to do something bold. Something daring. Something historic. I’m retiring from cooking. Effective immediately. My apron is hung up. My spatula is in storage. My oven mitts have unionized and walked out. And then, as we wrap up the chaos of sign-up sheets, crockpots, and mystery casseroles, The Last Word tonight brings us back to something simple, something warm, something real: Thankfulness. Because despite the food debates, the last-minute store runs, the stove that always breaks at the worst possible moment, and the one coworker who insists their “famous” macaroni salad is a personality trait, we still gather, laugh, eat, and appreciate the people who make our days a little brighter.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, a notorious 1979 missing-child case is headed to trial a third time after New York prosecutors vowed to retry the man whose murder conviction was recently overturned in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.

The 70th and final conviction in a sweeping New York City corruption probe was secured, concluding a decade-long bribery scheme in which public housing employees steered work to contractors in exchange for bribes.

And in Florida, the death of a teenager on a Carnival cruise ship earlier this month has been ruled a homicide, the latest development in a case that has drawn international attention and sparked intense speculation on social media.