Damar Hamlin update: Bills player in ICU with 'signs of improvement'

Editor's note: On Thursday, the Bills said Damar Hamlin has shown "remarkable improvement." For the latest on Hamlin, visit our live updates here.

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin remains hospitalized in Cincinnati, after suffering cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals on Monday night.

The Bills’ second-year safety remains in critical condition, as the team and NFL continue to provide updates as they become available.

The NFL community and fans continue to pour out their support for Hamlin as well since his horrific collapse during the game.

"I know he’s still here and I know he’s fighting," Hamlin's uncle, Dorrian Glenn, told ESPN on Tuesday night.

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"And I know we appreciate all the prayers and support we’ve been getting from people all over not just the country, but the world. … It really means a difference for my family to see that and it’ll make a difference for Damar to see that as well."

Hamlin was hit in the chest during a routine play with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He stood up after the hit, but quickly fell backward onto the field, causing a stoppage in play. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center near the Bengals' stadium.

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Here’s the latest information as it becomes available on Hamlin as of Wednesday:

Christian Eriksen response helped Damar Hamlin

Dr. Jim Ellis, the NFL's medical emergency preparedness consultant, said Wednesday that the cardiac arrest of Denmark's Christian Eriksen in July 2021 during the UEFA European Championships played a minor role in the response plan that ultimately resuscitated Hamlin.

While in England examining Wembley Stadium's preparedness, Ellis consulted with the doctors who were part of treating Eriksen.

The response's success compelled Ellis to make a minor change to the NFL's plan: a designated leader in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Contributing: Chris Bumbaca

Joe Burrow says he wanted Bills players 'to know we felt the same way they did'

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said Wednesday he would welcome the chance to finish their game against the Buffalo Bills, but knows the challenges that could be presented as the NFL weighs the options.

“I think that would be tough, just scheduling wise,” Burrow said. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do, we would want to do. We’re behind them 100 percent in what they want to do going forward.”

Burrow and his Bengals teammates consoled Bills players during Damar Hamlin’s health scare on the field, while Burrow and Bengals captains visited Bills players in their locker room before the game was ultimately called.

“We didn’t want to go back out there,” Burrow said. “… I wanted them to know we felt the same way they did.”

As the Bengals prepare for their next game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow mentioned the difficulty in switching mindsets toward anything but Hamlin.

“As unfortunate as it is, we got a game to play on Sunday. So, as unusual as this week has been, it’s business as usual from a football standpoint unfortunately,” Burrow said. “I don’t really know what to say about it: It’s such a scary, emotional time and guys still have a game to play on Sunday.”

Giants' HC Brian Daboll, GM Joe Schoen pay tribute to Hamlin with caps

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen honored Damar Hamlin with custom caps during Wednesday's practice. Their team-issued Giants hats had a No. 3, Hamlin's number, on the side.

Daboll and Schoen both came to the Giants last year from the Buffalo Bills. Daboll was the offensive coordinator while Schoen served as assistant general manager.

"A lot of us have been around Damar, we offer our prayers to him, to his family, to the people in that organization," Daboll said in his Wednesday press conference. "They've been through a lot and this is tragic. It's tragic to see. I feel for Damar most importantly, his family, but all the players and coaches that are around him every day. He's a tremendous young man. And just pray for recovery. That was tough."

Contributing: Victoria Hernandez

Colts' Rodney Thomas visits high school teammate in hospital: 'He's a fighter'

Hamlin and Thomas were teammates at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and quickly became best friends. Thomas said they talked every day, even before the Bills' Monday Night Football matchup against Cincinnati.

Thomas watched the game from home in Indiana, like so many others, and made the decision to drive more than 100 miles from Indianapolis to Cincinnati to see Hamlin following his injury.

"I knew where I was going, so I just got on the road and I just went. Laser-focused," Thomas said Wednesday during a press conference.

Thomas said he visited Hamlin in the hospital, held his hand and talked to him again, though Hamlin remains sedated and on a ventilator.

"I know he could hear me. Even if he couldn't hear me, it didn't matter. I said what I had to say," Thomas said. "I could go home and know he's gonna be straight, I got him, we all got him, everybody's behind him. You see what's going on, everybody's behind him."

Thomas described Hamlin as "the most genuine person you could come across," adding that his "character, his work ethic, his hard work, his giving" made Hamlin a hometown hero before he was a household name.

"And when he walks out of there and he sees the support he has, it's going to be a real special day," Thomas said. "He's a fighter. No other thought in my mind of him walking out under his own power."

Contributing: Cydney Henderson

President Joe Biden speaks to Hamlin's parents

President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he spoke to the mother and father of injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin “at length” but did not elaborate on the conversation.

Biden visited the Greater Cincinnati region on Wednesday for the Brent Spence Bridge project. Biden was asked if he thought football was getting too dangerous after what happened to Hamlin.

"No," Biden replied, per Bloomberg News. "Look, the idea that you're going to have—you've got guys that are 6'8, 340 pounds ... if you hit somebody—and that's not what happened here, but I just think it's—I don't know how you avoid it.”

Contributing: Joseph Garrison

NFL discussing Bills-Bengals game

The NFL, in a conference call Wednesday, said it has begun discussions regarding the continuation of the Bills-Bengals game that was ended abruptly after Damar Hamlin’s incident.

“Obviously we are going to have to make a decision on that in the coming days, and we will,” NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said.

There also have not been any discussions yet on postponing the Bills’ next game, which is against the New England Patriots.

The same was said about the idea of pushing the NFL season back a week to ensure all games are played or to go with an imbalanced schedule if the Bills-Bengals game isn’t played.

“Everything is being considered,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said.

Vincent said all conversations he has had with the Bills organization have been focused on Hamlin and other members of the franchise dealing with the situation.

The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular-season schedule. The Bengals will host the Ravens, while the Bills host the Patriots, both set for 1 p.m. Sunday.

Pacers guard T.J. McConnell wears Hamlin jersey to game

Widespread support for Damar Hamlin continued from the sports world on Wednesday as Pittsburgh native T.J. McConnell, a guard for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, arrived to his game wearing a Hamlin Bills jersey.

“I just wanted to show support for a fellow Pittsburgh native and athlete, and let him and his family know that all of us here are thinking of him and praying for him,” McConnell said via the Pacers.

Zac Taylor praises medical professionals, shows support for Hamlin

In his first public comments since the Bills vs. Bengals Monday night game was suspended, Taylor praised all the medical professionals involved in tending to Hamlin and extended his well wishes to the Bills safety.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar Hamlin, his family, loved ones, his teammates, coaches and the entire Bills organization,” Taylor said. “We are certainly pulling for Damar and hoping for the most positive outlook. And looking forward to him seeing all the support that he’s getting from his team, community, people around the league and his family. That will be a great day when he’s able to see that.”

Taylor continued to offer praise to the first responders.

"I thought they were on it, they were composed," Taylor said of the medical professionals. "From me personally, seeing the composure from everybody down there had, obviously not knowing how the situation was gonna unfold, I was led to believe it was gonna be positive because of how they handled it."

ESPN cameras captured Taylor and Bills coach Sean McDermott talking on multiple occasions while the game was temporarily suspended. Taylor didn’t disclose what was said in its entirety but did reveal that the focus wasn’t on football once Hamlin was rushed to the hospital.

“When got over there, the first thing (Sean McDermott) said is I need to be at the hospital with Damar. I shouldn’t be coaching this game. That to me provides all the clarity,” Taylor said. “In that moment he really showed who he was. All his focus was just on Damar, being there for him, being there for his family at the hospital. At that point everything trended where it needed to trend. The right decisions were made there.”

Hamlin shows signs of improvement

Damar Hamlin remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted Tuesday and overnight. He is expected to remain under intensive care, the Bills said on Twitter around 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

In two announcements on Tuesday, the Bills said Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and his heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transported to a medical facility. He spent Monday night in intensive care, and remained in critical condition.

"We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far," the Bills said.

Hamlin's recovery moving in 'positive direction'

Damar Hamlin's family is cautiously optimistic as he begins his second full day in intensive care at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Hamlin's marketing rep, Jordon Rooney, told ESPN that although Hamlin was still sedated and in critical condition Wednesday morning, doctors got promising readings overnight and progress appears to be made.

"We all remain optimistic," Rooney told The Associated Press, noting that Hamlin's recovery was progressing in "a positive direction." The family has requested that no further details on Hamlin's condition were to be released to the public.

Former teammate buys dinner for Hamlin family, hospital personnel

Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, who played four seasons with the Bills, on Wednesday bought dinner for Damar Hamlin’s family, the Buffalo Bills training staff who are with him, and the doctors and nurses working on the ICU floor at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Phillips is also collecting donations through his foundation, Harrison’s Playmakers, to hold a future event in Hamlin’s honor.

Damar Hamlin’s toy drive donations top $6 million

As of Tuesday night, more than $6 million have been donated to a GoFundMe page Hamlin started to raise money for a toy drive in his hometown near Pittsburgh.

Donations began to flood in following his injury during the "Monday Night Football" game.

"A lot of people don’t get to see how loved they are while they're alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got, it’s truly an amazing thing," Hamlin's uncle told NFL Network of the outpouring of donations.

"I can’t wait to see all the love and support people have for him."

Damar Hamlin’s uncle expresses concern

Hamlin remains sedated and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, his uncle said in another interview with NFL Network. Hamlin was also resuscitated at least one time.

"It was pretty scary to see that," Glenn told ESPN reporter Coley Harvey outside the medical center. "It was really scary."

Glenn said he was watching the game with family members in Pittsburgh. Once the game was suspended, he said family members filled two cars to drive to Cincinnati, about 300 miles away.

"I’ve never seen a game get stopped like that. I’ve never seen a collection of grown men cry like that unless it was a funeral," Hamlin’s uncle told ESPN.

"So, it was impactful to see that. My heart will go out no matter who it was, but for it to be my nephew, it was chilling."

Bills fans gather outside Buffalo’s stadium

Buffalo Bills fans gathered outside Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Tuesday afternoon for a prayer vigil for Hamlin.

Jill Kelly, wife of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, attended and was seen hugging Bills fans.

Cincinnati Reds, Miami Dolphins among teams paying tribute to Damar Hamlin

The Cincinnati Reds, whose stadium Great American Ballpark is less than a mile from the Bengals’ Paycor Stadium where the incident occurred, provided a scoreboard tribute for Hamlin on Tuesday.

Drivers passing by the Reds’ home stadium saw "Prayers for Damar Hamlin" with a photo of Hamlin with a background in Bills’ blue.

The Miami Dolphins, one of Buffalo’s heated AFC East rivals, also honored Hamlin by lighting up Hard Rock Stadium in red and blue Bills colors.

"The entire @MiamiDolphins family is with you @HamlinIsland and @BuffaloBills #billsmafia," Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel posted on Twitter.

What is cardiac arrest?

The NFL confirmed to USA TODAY an AED (automated external defibrillator) was used on the field before Hamlin's heartbeat was restored.

He was then transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment as he was sedated and clinging to life.

But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?

NFL shows solidarity with Damar Hamlin tribute

The NFL and all 32 teams changed their Twitter profile pictures, removing their respective team logos and replacing it with a dedication to Hamlin.

The words "Pray for Damar" resting on top of the number three, which is Hamlin’s jersey number, in Buffalo Bills colors made the rounds on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

Damar Hamlin’s family issues statement

On Tuesday, Hamlin's family released a statement, saying "your generosity and compassion mean the world to us."

"We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country," the statement said. "We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support."

Pat Narduzzi: Damar Hamlin 'a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids'

University of Pittsburgh football head coach Pat Narduzzi, whom Hamlin played for from 2016-2020, showed his support for his former player in a statement released Tuesday.

"Damar Hamlin is far more than just a football player. He’s a loving son, brother and friend. Damar is a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids," Narduzzi tweeted.

"Damar, we love you. We are praying for you. Pittsburgh’s always had your back. And now it’s obvious the entire country has your back, too."

NFL, ESPN conflict on fluid game situation

During the game broadcast, ESPN announcer Joe Buck relayed that both teams would have five minutes to warm up and resume play. This happened before both teams left the field into their locker rooms, and the game was ultimately stopped.

NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said Bills and Bengals players were "traumatized" by what they witnessed on the field, and both teams were in alignment about not finishing Monday’s game.

"I’m not sure where that came from. Five minutes, warm-up, that never, never crossed my mind, personally," Vincent said in a conference call after the game Monday. "And I was the one – I'm saying 'I' not to be selfish, but the one that was communicating with the commissioner. It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That's ridiculous. That's insensitive, and that’s not a place that we should ever be in."

In a statement Tuesday, ESPN said: "There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials. As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation."

Joe Buck told the New York Post that the information came from ESPN's rules expert John Parry, who was in communication with the league (and was actually the one who relayed the news that the game had been temporarily suspended).

Contributing: Casey Moore, Steve Gardner

What is cardiac arrest? Questions after Damar Hamlin's ...

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remained in critical condition at a hospital Tuesday afternoon after he collapsed following a seemingly routine tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during Monday Night Football.

The 24-year-old defensive back's medical episode occurred with just minutes remaining in the first quarter when he tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain at Paycor Stadium. What happened next was anything but routine.

Players gathered around Hamlin. An ambulance was brought onto the field. Officials suspended the game.

The Bills announced early Tuesday that Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest. The NFL confirmed to USA TODAY an AED (automated external defibrillator) was used on the field before Hamlin's heartbeat was restored. He was then transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment as he was sedated and clinging to life.

But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?

Damar Hamlin coverage:Everything we know about Hamlin's collapse, cardiac arrest in Bills vs. Bengals game

Opinion:ESPN's immediate coverage of Damar Hamlin situation done with right tone

What is cardiac arrest? What is commotio cordis?

Sudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart abruptly loses its normal rhythm and stops pumping blood, according to the Sports Institute, part of the University of Washington School of Medicine system. If immediate emergency actions are not taken, death or serious disability can occur.

It is usually caused by abnormalities of the heart, which are often inherited but can remain undiagnosed and go undetected.

It is also possible for a hard blow to the chest to trigger cardiac arrest. Called "commotio cordis," it is an arrhythmic event caused by a sudden blunt impact to the chest and is seen mostly in athletes playing sports with projectiles, including baseballs, hockey pucks and lacrosse balls, according to the University of Connecticut's Korey Stringer Institute.

"Football, however, has shoulder pads that cover the chest wall," Dr. David H. Sohn, who specializes in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at The University of Toledo Medical Center told USA TODAY. "Commotio cordis is most common in the young athlete whose musculature is not as developed as that in an adult.

"That said, it does happen in professional adult athletes as well. For example, in 1998, St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger was hit by a hockey puck and collapsed from commotio cordis," Sohn said.

Cardiac arrest can stem from a variety of other things too, Dr. Alex Jahangir, executive medical director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Trauma, Burn, and Emergency Surgery in Nashville, told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

"In some people's case, a blood vessel gets clogged in the heart because they don't have enough oxygen. Some people get electrocuted. Some are shot in the heart," said Jahangir, who has treated professional athletes over his nearly two-decade career.

"The way the heart beats regularly, there is an igniter that sends an electric signal to the heart," he said. "If all the sudden for whatever reason (like) in this case, you take a sudden hit and that igniter doesn't ignite or the heart's regular rhythm gets interrupted – each heart cell fibrillates in an uncoordinated fashion."

That's when a person no longer has a normal heartbeat.

"The good thing is, the moment you use a defibrillator – like turning a TV off and on, the blood starts flowing and everything comes back to normal," Jahangir said. "It's sounds like that's what they did in this case (for Hamlin)."

Opinion:Tragic moment with Bills safety Damar Hamlin reminds us NFL players are human

Commotio cordis is different from a cardiac contusion (contusio cordis), an event in which blunt chest trauma causes structural cardiac damage, such as observed in motor vehicle accidents, according to the American Heart Association.

How rare is cardiac arrest among athletes?

About 1 or 2 in every 100,000 athletes experience sudden cardiac arrest each year, according to the Sports Institute. Men are at a greater risk than women, and Black athletes are at a greater risk than white athletes.

The risk is higher in football and basketball.

Estimates vary, but according to The Mayo Clinic, some reports suggest that about 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 80,000 young athletes die of sudden cardiac arrest every year.

What are long-term effects of cardiac arrest?

Most people who suffer cardiac arrest do not survive, according to the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, but those who live are at risk of neurological consequences and changes to physical and psychological wellness.

The most common neurological consequence of cardiac arrest is hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, which can result in neuronal damage and death, according to NYU. The injury – a leading cause of significant disability or death after resuscitation – is named for the factor that triggers it (lack of oxygen, or hypoxia) and its effect on the cells. It occurs when the heart is restarted and is a result of the interaction of oxygen, which has been returned to the brain, with highly reactive metabolites produced in the brain during cardiac arrest.

In addition to brain injury, among those who live, there is risk of consciousness disorder, neurocognitive deficits, and changes in quality of life.

Hamlin's toy drive gets boost:GoFundMe children's toy drive created by Damar Hamlin gets huge boost after injury

Can sudden cardiac arrest be prevented?

To reduce your risk of sudden cardiac arrest, the Mayo Clinic recommends getting regular checkups, being screened for heart disease and living a heart-healthy life.

If you survive sudden cardiac arrest, your doctor will try to learn what caused it to help prevent future episodes. Tests your doctor may recommend include:

Electrocardiogram (ECG): During an ECG, sensors (electrodes) that can detect the electrical activity of your heart are attached to your chest and sometimes to your limbs. An ECG can reveal disturbances in heart rhythm or detect abnormal electrical patterns, such as a prolonged QT interval, that increase your risk of sudden death.

Blood tests: A sample of your blood might be tested to check the levels of potassium, magnesium, hormones and other chemicals that can affect your heart's ability to function. Other blood tests can detect recent heart injury and heart attacks.

Imaging tests are also used in treatment. These might include:

Chest X-ray. This allows your doctor to check the size and shape of your heart and its blood vessels. It might also show whether you have heart failure.

Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to produce an image of your heart. It can help identify whether an area of your heart has been damaged by a heart attack and isn't pumping hard enough.

What is a cardiac contusion?

A cardiac contusion (contusio cordis) is a bruise to the heart which, in isolation, doesn't necessarily result in cardiac arrest, said Jahangir, who is also a professor of orthopedic surgery at VUMC.

In addition to car crashes, falls often cause the injury.

"But a cardiac contusion may or may not lead to cardiac arrest," Jahangir said. "Just like if I hit you in the thigh and you get a bruise, you quad muscle may be sore but hopefully eventually the muscle comes back to function normally."

In extreme cases, he said, some people including athletes, suffer an especially hard hit and sustain significant scar tissue which can lead to them not having the strength they used to have.

Treatment of cardiac contusions (bruising) depends on the complications that may happen after the blunt cardiac injury. Recovery depends on the severity of a person's injury, but most people make a full recovery.

"Long-term effects of cardiac contusion are hard to define," Jahangir said. "You don't know the long-term impact to the muscle. If the heart muscle doesn't die or have some type of long term impact, hopefully you'll be fine."

But if a portion of the heart muscle dies, he said, a person may have long-term consequences.

"It could be anything from you can't run as far, you're always short of breath and need to be on medicine, or you need to have a pacemaker."

Contributing: Jarrett Bell

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

Damar Hamlin updates: What we know about Bills' safety's condition

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after being resuscitated twice following a cardiac arrest during Monday night's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hamlin collapsed with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter of the game, which was temporarily suspended then subsequently postponed. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment, the Bills announced early Tuesday.

Hamlin's uncle Dorrian Glenn shared a health update on Tuesday evening, marking the first time a family member has spoken about Hamlin's condition to the media. Glenn said Hamlin is currently sedated on a ventilator to "try to get his lungs back to full strength." Glenn told reporters there's concern of lung damage, but he's hopeful his nephew's condition will improve.

"They sedated him just to give a better chance for him to just continue to heal better," Glenn told CNN. "We are just taking it day by day. It seems like he’s trending upwards in a positive way."

Glenn added that both of Hamlin's parents are by his side.

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A second-year player out of Pittsburgh, Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain. It was a non-descript play. Hamlin stood up but collapsed to the ground.

An ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED and placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.

On Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game would not be continued this week.

"Everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin," the NFL Players' Association said in a statement Monday. "We have been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters at this moment is Damar’s health and well being."

TRAGIC MOMENT:Damar Hamlin reminds us NFL players are human

EXPLAINER: What is cardiac arrest? What is commotio cordis?

OPINION:After Hamlin's cardiac arrest, NFL had no choice but to suspend game

OPINION:Bengals and their fans show 'Football is Family' after Hamlin's collapse

—

Hamlin's uncle says his nephew was resuscitated twice after collapse

Dorrian Glenn, the uncle of Hamlin, is shedding light on the critical moments after Hamlin collapsed following what appeared to be a routine tackle.

While speaking to reporters outside of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Glenn told ESPN and CNN that emergency personnel resuscitated Hamlin twice — once on the field at Paycor Stadium and again at the hospital.

He said Hamlin is currently on a ventilator and laying on his stomach in what is known as a prone position to alleviate pressure on his lungs.

Glenn was watching the "Monday Night Football" matchup from their hometown of Pittsburgh when Hamlin went down. He said the family drove down to Cincinnati immediately.

"I'm not a crier, but like I never cried so hard in my life," Glenn recalled to CNN. "Just to know like my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life, that’s just heartbreaking. To see all of those grown men crying and all the emotion, it was just a gut punch."

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky leads live prayer; Bengals kicker speaks at vigil

Dan Orlovsky, who played 12 seasons as quarterback in the NFL, said he was compelled to pray for Hamlin in the middle of ESPN's "NFL Live" broadcast Tuesday.

"I've heard the Buffalo Bills organization say, 'We believe in prayer.' And maybe this isn't the right thing to do, but it's just on my heart to pray for Damar Hamlin. I'm going to do it out loud," Orlovsky said as co-host Marcus Spears encourage him to do so.

Orlovsky bowed his head and closed his eyes, alongside co-hosts Laura Rutledge and Spears, before leading a minute-long prayer on Hamlin's recovery and well-being.

A prayer vigil in honor of Hamlin was held for the public in Cincinnati.

Bengals kicker Evan McPherson spoke in a recorded message at the beginning of the vigil, encouraging fans to pray for Hamlin.

"I just want to take a second and realize that Damar is more than a football player," McPherson said. "He's a son, a teammate, a friend and last but not least, he's a brother in Christ. He really needs our prayers right now."

Hamlin's college coach: 'The entire country has your back'

University of Pittsburgh football head coach Pat Narduzzi, who Hamlin played for from 2016-2020, described Hamlin as "a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids."

“Damar, we love you. We are praying for you. Pittsburgh’s always had your back. And now it’s obvious the entire country has your back, too," Narduzzi tweeted on Tuesday.

All 32 NFL teams update profile picture to 'Pray for Damar' logo

Every team in the NFL joined together in solidarity on Twitter for Hamlin, changing their respective profile pictures to a royal blue image that says, "Pray for Damar." The logo also features No. 3, Hamlin's jersey number for the Bills.

The NFL and NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) also changed their profile pictures, writing, "For Damar" and "We're with you Damar," respectively.

Damar Hamlin's family speaks out

On Tuesday, Hamlin's family released a statement, saying "your generosity and compassion mean the world to us." The family said they would pass along updates on his status as they have them.

"We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country," the statement said. "We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support."

NFL says resuming game was never an option

NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said Bills and Bengals players were "traumatized" by what they witnessed on the field, and both teams were in alignment about not finishing Monday’s game.

"There was no time period for the players to get warmed up," Vincent said. "Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that (referee Shawn Smith) communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best.

"So, I’m not sure where (the thought that the game would quickly resume without a break) came from. Five minutes, warm-up, that never, never crossed my mind, personally. And I was the one — I'm saying 'I' not to be selfish, but the one that was communicating with the commissioner. It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That's ridiculous. That's insensitive, and that’s not a place that we should ever be in."

Josh Allen, teammates emotional on sidelines

The faces of players from both teams told the story. Bills quarterback Josh Allen was visibly shaken, and players from both teams surrounded the ambulance.

Some players were on their knees, while others openly wept.

After Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with his Bengals counterpart Zac Taylor, both teams left the field and referee Shawn Smith announced the game had been temporarily suspended.

"Neither coach, frankly, was talking about resuming play and the players weren’t. ... It was really about Damar,” Vincent, who played in the NFL from 1992-2006, said on the conference call. "I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing. So immediately my player hat came on. How do you resume play after you seen such a traumatic event occur in front of you in real time. And that’s the way we were thinking about it. The commissioner and I and others.”

League offers additional support

What transpired was traumatic for every player in the NFL. The league office recognized that.

In a memo addressed to the leadership of all clubs, Goodell recapped that night’s main events and offered additional mental health support from the league.

Each team’s director of player engagement and team clinician heard from NFL vice president of wellness and clinical services Nyaka NiiLampti about existing resources in place as well as additional on-site options if requested.

Game will not resume this week

Cameras showed the two coaches meeting once again in the stadium's tunnel (and passed a cell phone between each other) and players began coming out of the Bills' locker room. Bengals captains Joe Burrow, DJ Reader, Ted Karras and Joe Mixon went toward the locker room as well. Before the official announcement from the league, the Bills' equipment staff began packing up the sideline. Finally, at 10 p.m. ET — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — the game was called.

There was no information on whether the game would be continued. Asked by reporters how the game could be rescheduled, NFL VP of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller declined to provide a contingency plan and desired to keep the emphasis on Hamlin's condition.

"Not in consideration right now," Miller said. "Our concern is with the player and his well-being. At the appropriate time I’m sure we’ll have a conversation around the next steps regarding the game."

On Tuesday afternoon, Goodell announced that the game would not be resumed this week. The NFL has made no decision regarding a potential resumption at a later date.

Did NFL give teams 5 minutes to warm up after Damar Hamlin incident?

At one point, the broadcast reported that teams had five minutes to warm up prior to the restart of the game. On the conference call later that night, Vincent said he did not know where that figure came from since the game was not going to continue.

"I’m not sure where that came from," Vincent said. "Frankly, there was no time period for the players to get warmed up. Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that (referee) Shawn (Smith) communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best. So I’m not sure where that came from. Five-minute warmup never crossed my mind, personally.

"It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in."

In a statement Tuesday, ESPN said: "There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials. As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation."

Joe Buck told the New York Post the information came from ESPN's rules expert John Parry, who was in communication with the league (and was actually the one who relayed the news that the game had been temporarily suspended).

Score and playoff implications

The Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of the game between two teams vying for the top playoff seed in the AFC.

Cincinnati entered at 11-4 and leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.

A local standout

Hamlin, 24, was a local standout who attended the University of Pittsburgh from 2016-2020. He led the Panthers in tackled and passes defended during his final season and was named All-ACC second team. The Bills selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, and he appeared in appeared in 14 games his rookie season.

Hamlin took on a much larger role during the 2022 season and has started all but the first two of Buffalo’s games this season.

What is NFL's emergency action plan?

Each week, the league runs through its emergency action plan with all 32 clubs, Vincent said. Every stadium rehearses a medical situation such as this one annually. The plan is also brought up at the pregame meeting between coaches.

Part of the plan involves having a Level 1 trauma center — designed to address the most serious medical emergencies — active in each home market. The plan also calls for an ambulance in each stadium, as well as an airway management physician on-site.

What is next?

Several Bills players remained in Cincinnati to be close to Hamlin. The rest of the team returned to the team's headquarters in Orchard Park, New York, early Tuesday morning.

Some members of the Bengals, including head coach Zac Taylor, stopped by the hospital to continue offering support.

"We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they've done," Hamlin's family said in their statement.

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

Damar Hamlin injury: What is the NFL's emergency action plan?

Time stood still for NFL fans when medics performed CPR on Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday night.

Hamlin, who collapsed to the ground during the the Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game at Paycor Stadium, had his heartbeat restored on the field, and an automated external defibrillator, or AED, was required. The 24-year-old was transported by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

On Tuesday, the Bills confirmed Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and said he remains sedated at the hospital, where he is in critical condition.

The coordinated medical response was part of the NFL's emergency action plan, which each team is required to have. Here's what to know about the protocol.

NFL:Inside the decision to postpone the Bengals-Bills game

Follow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules

LATEST UPDATES:Bills' Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after cardiac arrest

What is the NFL's emergency action plan?

Each club is required to create an emergency action plan, which is enacted if a player undergoes severe trauma. The plan is reviewed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, and must be approved by a third-party expert before the start of the season, according to the league. Each team is also required to practice its emergency action plan prior to the season.

As part of the plan, teams must identify a nearby level one trauma center, which, for the Bengals, is the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Clubs are also required to have an ambulance and airway management physician onsite during game days.

The emergency action plan is discussed one hour before kickoff

Officiating crews, club medical staff and game day medical personnel meet one hour before every NFL game to run through logistics and emergency action plan procedures. According to the NFL Player Health and Safety website, medical personnel, like airway management physicians and neurotrauma consultants, are introduced to one another during this time. Officials also verify that ambulances, defibrillators and other equipment are onsite.

The meeting prepares medical staff for a coordinated response, should one be necessary.

What is a level one trauma center?

According to the American Trauma Society, a trauma center's level refers to its available resources and number of patients admitted annually. A level one center must meet several requirements, including offering care at all stages of an injury, from prevention to rehabilitation.

How often is the emergency action plan reviewed?

The NFL runs through its emergency action plan with all 32 clubs weekly, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said. The response for medical situations, like Hamlin's collapse, are rehearsed at NFL stadiums annually.

Tuesday's news: House speaker vote, Damar Hamlin, California ...

Republican infighting is complicating the selection of a new House speaker. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after collapsing during a game. And forecasters warn of "truly a brutal storm" heading for California.

👋 Hey pals! Laura Davis here. I'm back after a break for the holidays! Hope y'all had a nice time. It's the first Short List of 2023, so let's get to Tuesday's news!

But first, start the new year off with a meteor shower! 💫 The Quadrantids meteor shower will peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Here's how to watch.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.

House speaker vote highlights internal GOP divisions

Unable to elect Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker Tuesday, the Republicans adjourned for the day in disarray as the party tries to regroup from his historic defeat with no clear way after a long, messy start for the new Congress. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in both rounds – less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber. McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel from his fellow party members on the initial vote. Follow our coverage for live updates.

Who is leading Congress in 2023? Notable lawmakers to watch.

NFL player Damar Hamlin in critical condition after cardiac arrest on field

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition at a hospital after collapsing on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. After making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin stood up but collapsed to the ground. The Bills announced early Tuesday that he suffered a cardiac arrest. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Bills also said that Hamlin was sedated and added Tuesday afternoon that he spent the night in the intensive care unit. Monday's game was postponed by the NFL. Follow our coverage.

What everyone's talking about

The Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.

Forecasters: California storm could bring flooding, landslides, deaths

A "brutal" storm system building over the Pacific Ocean is poised to slam across Northern California on Wednesday, battering a region already struggling from a weekend of record rains and flooding. The storm could drop as much as 8 inches of rain in some areas, falling on already overflowing rivers and saturated ground, according to the National Weather Service. "This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously," the weather service said, forecasting widespread flooding and power outages, hillside collapse and likely loss of life. 👉 Follow our coverage.

🌤 What's the weather up to at your house? Check your local forecast.

Rep. Santos admitted he lied. What can Congress do about it?

George Santos will be sworn in as a freshman congressman from New York on Tuesday, but there are questions about how long and whether he should remain in office. The newly elected Republican admitted last week to lying to voters about his resume and said he still intends to take office. But Santos is facing growing condemnation – and investigations – after a series of stories first reported by The New York Times shows he lied about his education, heritage, previous employment and more. Questions have also been raised after reviews of his campaign finances.

Santos has admitted to lying about his ancestry, previously claiming to be "a proud Jewish American" whose family “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and again fled persecution during WWII.” He now says he is Catholic. “I always joke, I’m Catholic, but I’m also Jew-ish – as in ‘ish,’” he said.

previously claiming to be "a proud Jewish American" whose family “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and again fled persecution during WWII.” He now says he is Catholic. “I always joke, I’m Catholic, but I’m also Jew-ish – as in ‘ish,’” he said. The congressman-elect also made dramatic claims that implied his mother died as a result of 9/11, that he was robbed of rent money in 2016 and that he lost four employees to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.

👉 Can George Santos be impeached? Here's what we know.

'My sins here are embellishing my resume': Santos admits to lying about college, career.

Real quick

Where is the safest place in the world to live?

Choosing a place to live is a carefully crafted decision, and prospective residents often take education, affordability and weather into consideration. Safety is also one of the most important factors. So if we're looking for safety, where are we packing up and moving to? Iceland ranks No. 1 on the 2022 Global Peace Index, a position it has held for over a decade. The index scores countries based on the level of societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and degree of militarization. That sense of safety is having a positive effect: Iceland is also the third happiest country in the world, ranking just behind Finland and Denmark on the 2022 World Happiness Report. Iceland not quite your vibe? More peaceful places in the U.S. and around the world.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Football ceased to matter Monday night after Damar Hamlin collapsed

It’s always been easy to allow pessimism to narrow our vision so much that we only see the worst in others, but maybe never more so than today. Social media has given us more ways than ever to show our backsides to the world.

But the good in us is there to see, too, if we pause, put our phones down and look. That was apparent Monday night when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a hit in the first quarter against the Bengals.

Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati went silent. So did living rooms and dens across the country. As we watched players from both teams cry and pray, the importance of the game became unimportant. We didn’t care about playoff seedings, division titles, fantasy league championships or betting parlays.

Read more: Cardinals show support for hospitalized Bills safety Hamlin

Most of us still don’t. Hamlin, whose heartbeat was restored on the field, is in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital. That’s what matters to us.

Follow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules

No, I didn’t commission a poll to come to reach that conclusion. But from watching the scene in Cincinnati and reading social media posts, it was clear that hardly anyone was interested in playing or watching football when a 24-year-old man was fighting for his life.

The best in us came out. Bills and Bengals fans hugged and prayed together in the stadium, then filed out quietly and peacefully. An online fundraiser started by Hamlin to buy toys for kids in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, was flooded with donations. Hamlin’s goal was to raise $2,500. By noon Tuesday, there was $4.3 million in the account.

“We are deeply moved by the prayers, the kind words and donations from fans around the country,” Hamlin’s family wrote in a statement released Tuesday morning.

More:Hamlin charity draws overwhelming support

A considerable amount of those donations likely came from people who, like me, knew little to nothing about Hamlin before Monday night. But we know people like him, and if you’ve lived long enough, you know the devastation that comes with the sudden illness or death of someone so young.

A writing instructor in college often lectured about getting to that kind of shared experience in our work. What we think is most personal, he said, is actually most common.

Sadly, those shared experiences can result from tragedy. Watching players gather around Hamlin around the field, then seeing the ambulance leave the stadium Monday night, I thought of friends and family who died too soon: Ed and Valerie and Lloyd and Steve and Judy and Jon and Steve and Preston and Doyle and Brian and Pedro. And the awful phone calls delivering that news.

No one is immune from that experience. Live long enough and you know what it’s like to cry like the players and coaches we saw on our screens Monday night.

Maybe your mind went there, too, to the losses you’ve suffered. Maybe that’s why so many of us stopped caring about football for a little while Monday night, implored the NFL to do likewise and suspend play and donated more than $4 million to Hamlin’s foundation.

That didn't restore my faith in humanity. But it did reassure it.

(Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers. )

Damar Hamlin's question to doctors when he awoke after injury: 'Did ...

ORCHARD PARK - When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin woke up Wednesday night for the first time since going into cardiac arrest 48 hours earlier, the first thing he wanted to know is who won the game.

Talk about a warrior, right?

That golden nugget of information was shared Thursday afternoon via zoom call with reporters by two of the doctors who were part of the team at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center that treated Hamlin upon his arrival Monday night after he’d gone into cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals game.

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletterDelivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

“Last night, he was able to emerge and follow commands, and even asked who had won the game,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts, professor in the Department of Surgery at the UCMC’s College of Medicine, and Division Chief of General Surgery and Vice Chair for Clinical Operations at UC Health.

“And to paraphrase one of our partners, when he asked, (in writing because he can’t speak with the breathing tube still inserted) ‘Did we win?’ the answer is, ‘Yes, Damar you won; you’ve won the game of life.’ And that’s probably the most important thing out of this.”

Pritts was joined by Dr. William Knight IV, professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Emergency Medicine MLP Program, and both made it clear that before they ever saw Hamlin, his life was saved by the medical personnel on the field at Paycor Stadium.

“As everybody knows, Mr. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and it was promptly recognized by the Buffalo Bills medical staff, and that allowed for a very immediate resuscitation on the field,” Knight said.

“I think it just speaks really to the immediate recognition that there was something significantly and seriously wrong by the Bills medical staff. Tim and I speak together, we cannot credit their team enough. Unfortunately, there are injuries occasionally that happen on sports fields, be it football or others, but it is incredibly rare to have something be this serious.

“What they did was immediately marshal the emergency action plan, meaning the emergency medicine services. That prompted the airway physician, the emergency physician that was out on the field to be at his bedside in less than a minute. He had a prompt recognition of loss of pulse which gave him immediate bystander CPR, which as many of you know rarely if ever happens.”

Pritts then added, “Really, this went as well as something like this could go under very challenging circumstances, and they did a fantastic job which is why we’re here today.”

And, when asked if this could have been a vastly worse outcome if there had been even a tiny lapse in the start of treatment, Pritts said, “I think that’s fair to say.”

It was revealed Thursday that the member of the Bills’ training staff who performed the CPR that saved Hamlin’s life was assistant trainer Denny Kellington. That was the first step that needed to be taken, and once Kellington was able to get Hamlin’s heart pumping again, the rest of the treatment plan flowed to near perfection.

Since being admitted Monday night, Hamlin was making small but incremental improvement, most notably on Tuesday night when his dependence on oxygen dropped from 100% to 50%. That was a very good sign.

And then overnight Wednesday to Thursday, he came out of induced sedation and the medical team determined that he appeared to have no neurological difficulties, which was also a tremendous piece of news.

More:Report: Bills-Bengals game canceled as NFL decides not to reschedule game

A Bills year like no other:Unprecedented challenges met with remarkable resilience

Summing up the previous 24 hours, Pritts said, “We would like to share that there has been substantial improvement in his condition. We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event that happened on the field, but he is making substantial progress. As of this morning he is beginning to awaken and it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact. We are very proud to report that, very happy for him and for his family and for the Buffalo Bills organization that he is making improvement.”

Both doctors made it clear that Hamlin still has a long road ahead of him, though they weren’t willing to make predictions on where his condition might go from here.

“There are many, many steps still ahead of him,” Knight said. “From our standpoint, we would like to see him continue to improve, to be completely breathing on his own. And then to be ready to be discharged from the hospital. So those are the immediate next steps as we go from here.

“His family has been with him at his bedside, as have members of the Buffalo Bills organization, really since this all began, and we really want to get him home to them so those will be the immediate next steps and then we’ll talk about potential plans for the future.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

Damar Hamlin breathing on his own: Buffalo Bills player is talking ...

USA TODAY Sports

Damar Hamlin is speaking and had his breathing tube removed Friday, the Buffalo Bills announced. He has also been able to communicate with teammates via FaceTime, the team said.

"He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery," the Bills said in a statement. "His neurologic function remains intact and he has been able to talk to his family and care team."

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin flexed while on screen in front of the whole team.

The latest development came on the heels of Hamlin making significant progress the previous day, when he was able to communicate with doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The 24-year-old second-year NFL player woke up after being sedated, and his first thoughts after waking up were about Monday night's Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game that was suspended and later canceled by the NFL.

Follow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules

DOCTOR UPDATES:Here's what Damar Hamlin's doctors said about the Bills player's health and recovery

Hamlin’s first comments were to a nurse at his bedside, according to doctors, while his family, friends and members of the Bills organization have remained by his side since he was transported to the medical facility.

Meanwhile in Buffalo, McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen spoke to media members for the first time since Monday night's collapse.

"You lose sleep, you hurt for your brother," Allen said. "The scene just replays over and over in your head. It's hard to describe how I felt, and how my teammates felt in that moment. It's something we'll never forget."

Bills put Damar Hamlin on IR

The Bills placed Hamlin on injured reserve, the team announced Friday. In a corresponding move, the club activated cornerback Christian Benford from injured reserve.

Roger Goodell says Damar Hamlin’s improving condition is lifting spirits

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made his first public comments on Damar Hamlin during a conference call Friday to discuss the changes the league has made regarding the canceled Bills-Bengals game and playoff implications.

"Extraordinary situations bring out extraordinary people, and we continue to see that,” Goodell said.

Goodell later said of Hamlin: "His improving condition lifted the spirits of the entire league."

How NFL will honor Damar Hamlin in Week 18

NFL teams will have a variety of ways to show support for Hamlin this weekend. The league has encouraged clubs to read a public address announcement to demonstrate a pregame moment of support.

All clubs may outline the "3" in each 30-yard line number on the field in either Bills Red or Bills Blue. During warmups, players will have the option to wear black Nike T-shirts that display "Love for Damar 3." The shirt will be in royal blue for the Bills players.

The Bills will also wear a No. 3 patch on the left side of their jerseys. Bills personnel will be provided with hats embroidered with a "3" on them.

Sean McDermott: Damar Hamlin 'an infectious young man'

When Hamlin came up on the screen, his teammates stood up right away, clapped and yelled some things to him.

"It was a pretty cool exchange for a few seconds right there," McDermott said. "He was larger than life" on the big screen, the coach added.

It was hard to hear in the room, McDermott said, and the call was not long. But to see and hear him made everybody in the room light up.

"He's just an infectious young man with an infectious personality," McDermott said.

Damar Hamlin speaking after breathing tube removed

Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed overnight, the Bills said. He spent the morning contacting teammates via FaceTime. He also addressed the entire team during a meeting, the Bills said.

What did Hamlin say? "Love you boys."

“He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery,” the team said.

Hamlin has been able to talk with his family and care team. His neurological function is intact.

Dr. Timothy Pritts said Thursday that Hamlin had reached a “turning point” in his recovery. He was able to communicate via writing and had movement in his extremities, doctors said.

Who gave Damar Hamlin CPR? Bills trainer Denny Kellington praised

The doctors caring for Hamlin have consistently commended the work of the first responders present at Monday's game. This week, a specific member of the Bills training staff has received kudos for his quick recognition of Hamlin's situation.

Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington has been with the team since 2017 and had spent the previous 11 seasons at Syracuse University, serving as head athletic trainer for the football team from 2011-17. On Monday, he was one of the first individuals to reach Hamlin on the field and almost immediately began giving him CPR.

Thanks to CPR and a defibrillator, Kellington and the other responders were able to restore Hamlin's heartbeat on the field. During a news conference Thursday, McDermott said the training staff holds routine exercises to train for emergencies.

During a Wednesday night Zoom call from Hamlin’s father, Mario, to the entire team, he implored them to get back to work and, essentially, do Damar proud.

“Damar’s father spoke to the team and really his message was the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves,” McDermott said Thursday. “Damar would have wanted it that way, and I’m paraphrasing. So that includes our game against New England this week. And I think that has helped. And then getting the news today was big, a huge help to getting us back to focusing on the game this weekend.”

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

What Troy Aikman said about Damar Hamlin

Troy Aikman was in the ESPN broadcast booth during the Bills-Bengals game when Hamlin collapsed.

“This was unlike anything that anyone of my generation [of NFL players] or generations after me may have experienced or witnessed,” Aikman told Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket on Thursday.

“That’s just not something you anticipate. You anticipate broken bones and blown-out knees and things of that nature, but you don’t anticipate, you know, life-changing events or life-threatening events even. So, I don’t know, I think that these moments tend to bring people together,” Aikman said.

The NFL's cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game is an extremely rare move for the league. Yes, the NFL has canceled games in the past. Labor strikes led the NFL to play only nine games in 1982, writes Joe Horrigan in "NFL Century: The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League."

Another strike five years later resulted in the third week of the season being canceled, he writes. Replacement players joined players who crossed picket lines for games in weeks four, five and six. Players returned in time for week seven of the 1987 season.

But the NFL has never had a game start, then be postponed and never resumed, according to CBS Sports research. And you have to go back nearly a century – to 1935 – to find a time when some teams ended up playing more games than others, and that was because of weather-related cancellations.

Here's what to know about the history of canceled games in the NFL.

A lot, and it was good news. His doctors said he has "made a very remarkable recovery and improvement." The doctors also said he woke up and asked in writing who won the Bills game Monday night. Here's everything that happened Thursday with Hamlin.

Whether they knew Hamlin personally or not, NFL players across the league must grapple with trauma while preparing to play Week 18.

"I think for this whole week – and probably for many weeks to come – it’s going to be in the back of everyone’s minds, especially the guys that are playing, but I don’t think this alters the way you play," Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. "I think you go out there, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself."

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ignores his phone during team meetings but admitted he immediately acknowledged the ESPN notifications that came across his phone. Head coach John Harbaugh opened Tuesday's team meeting with a discussion about how much courage it takes to play in the NFL.

"It kind of helped ease a lot of our minds," Humphrey said. "Even though a lot of us didn’t know Damar, but he’s a brother in this league."

Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said he has spoken to other guys around the league to "just make sure everybody is good."

"This is one of those things that you know can happen, but you never really expect it to happen," Campbell said. "Something so severe like that, where a man is fighting for his life."

Read more reaction from around the league here.

What doctors said about Damar Hamlin's health and recovery

Doctors who treated the Buffalo Bills safety at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center addressed on Thursday the question of commotio cordis, the emergency response on the field on Monday night and topics on his health.

Tee Higgins pleased to hear about Damar Hamlin's progress

For the first time since Monday night, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver addressed the media about his mental state following the tackle with Hamlin.

After Higgins caught a pass from Joe Burrow, Hamlin tackled him to the ground. It was a normal football play, but as Hamlin stood up, he immediately collapsed on the field.

Want to honor Damar Hamlin? Learn CPR.

Damar Hamlin's story thankfully seems to be heading toward a positive ending: His doctors report that he is neurologically intact and on his way to recovery. Hamlin miraculously went from lying on the field to asking who won the game because he received prompt and high-quality CPR, Dr. Jerome Adams writes.

Bill Belichick reminded of injury from 1997

On Thursday, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick began his media availability by discussing Damar Hamlin and the ensuing fallout for NFL players and coaches. One of the more notable tidbits was Belichick seeing what happened with Hamlin on Monday and recounting another scary injury situation from his coaching past.

What happened to Damar Hamlin?

Damar Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain during the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football showdown. The play appeared to be routine. Hamlin stood up afterwards, but collapsed to the ground with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.

An ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED to restore his heartbeat on the field as players from both teams created a human shield around Hamlin as emergency responders worked to resuscitate him. Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.

The game was temporarily suspended then — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — postponed.

It was later revealed that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?

ESPN carefully navigated coverage of Hamlin collapse

AP

Guiding viewers through the coverage after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during the first quarter of Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals wasn't something covered in a how-to.

ESPN's Scott Van Pelt said he knew, though, what he had to do while on the air amid a traumatic situation — be calm, reasonable, and share what's known with the audience.

"We tried our best to be human in the moment,” Van Pelt said Tuesday. “We would have tried to do a great job with a great game, and it would have been a hell of a lot of fun, and then this wasn’t. That was the gravity of it. And the seriousness of it was unusual.”

ESPN initially showed a couple of replays of Hamlin collapsing to the turf before going to a commercial. It wasn't shown again on the network throughout its coverage. Joe Buck was the first to alert viewers that medical personnel was administering CPR.

ESPN also kept its distance with its cameras while both teams huddled around Hamlin. ESPN did have the Skycam, but decided not to position it above the scene.

Follow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules

The restraint shown by ESPN demonstrated how networks' coverage of severe injuries during sporting events has evolved. Many still remember the constant replays of Washington quarterback Joe Theismann suffering a compound fracture to his right leg while being sacked by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor on “Monday Night Football” in 1985.

Since that moment, networks have been more judicious when showing traumatic events, whether it is players suffering gruesome injuries or accidents during motorsports events until a driver shows he is alert.

While some wondered why ESPN didn't have a doctor come on for analysis, Van Pelt said not enough information was known about what happened to Hamlin.

"I don’t see any benefit in guessing what this might be. I don’t know how we’re advancing anything,” he said.

St. Louis Blues and TNT analyst Darren Pang knows what Van Pelt means. Pang was between the benches in 2020 when St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed on the bench during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Pang said the Blues production crew had a seminar to address things that might happen during the season. One of the scenarios was going over what happened when Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench during a game in 2014 due to an irregular heartbeat.

“I saw for sure more than I said, and that was because of the training they told us. I’m not a doctor, so I didn’t want to get anything wrong,” Pang said. “I saw the faces of the players, and that was enough for me to know how dire the situation was.”

Buck said multiple times that the Bills game would resume after a five-minute warmup period. There was footage showing Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doing some light throwing and Lisa Salters reporting from the sidelines that Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs tried to give a speech firing up his team.

Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said resuming play wasn't considered. ESPN said in a statement there was constant communication between the network, league, and game officials. As standard league protocol, networks have a direct line to the NFL throughout a game.

“As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation,” ESPN said in the statement.

The best perspective of the night came from ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, who was hospitalized for an extended period in 2007 after suffering a splenic infarction.

“I dealt with this before and I watched my teammates for days come to my hospital bed and just cry. I had them call me and tell me that they didn’t think I was gonna make it, and now this team has to deal with that, and they have no answers,” Clark said while on with Van Pelt. “We should remember that these men are putting their lives on the line to live their dream. And tonight Damar Hamlin’s dream became a nightmare for not only himself, but his family and his team.”

How will NFL players suit up after Damar Hamlin collapse? 'Life is ...

The Buffalo Bills took a pair of cornerbacks consecutively in the sixth round of last year's draft. With the 212th overall pick, they selected Damar Hamlin. At No. 213, the pick was Rachad Wildgoose.

Wildgoose is now with the Washington Commanders but considers his draft partner his "brother." Every time he thinks of Hamlin, Wildgoose becomes emotional. He doesn't want to talk about what happened, that one of the closest friends he's made in the NFL suffered cardiac arrest Monday – and has since made a "remarkable recovery" while still in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

"Life is bigger than this game," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "This is one of these humbling moments for all of us that stands out."

Regardless of how Wildgoose feels, he will nonetheless suit up Sunday in the Commanders' season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. But whether they knew Hamlin personally or not, NFL players across the league must grapple with trauma while preparing to play Week 18.

"I think for this whole week – and probably for many weeks to come – it’s going to be in the back of everyone’s minds, especially the guys that are playing, but I don’t think this alters the way you play," Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. "I think you go out there, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself."

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'He's a brother in this league'

Andrews was at home watching the game when Hamlin collapsed after making a routine tackle early in the first quarter.

"It was a crazy thing to see," Andrews said. "It’s definitely very humbling."

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ignores his phone during team meetings but admitted he immediately acknowledged the ESPN notifications that came across his phone. Head coach John Harbaugh opened Tuesday's team meeting with a discussion about how much courage it takes to play in the NFL.

"It kind of helped ease a lot of our minds," Humphrey said. "Even though a lot of us didn’t know Damar, but he’s a brother in this league."

Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said he has spoken to other guys around the league to "just make sure everybody is good."

"This is one of those things that you know can happen, but you never really expect it to happen," Campbell said. "Something so severe like that, where a man is fighting for his life."

Ravens fullback Pat Ricard was at home playing video games with his wife Monday when a friend they were playing with informed them an ambulance was on the field.

"It’s tragic. It could happen to anybody," Ricard said. "For it to happen, I think it’s one of those things where it just puts a lot of perspective into a lot of people – the players, the fans, teams."

The seeming routineness of the play and tackle is the scary part, Humphrey said.

"It was just an ordinary play it seemed like," Humphrey said. "So, it doesn’t really change my approach of how I go about the game, but it just makes you really just think about what you’re doing."

Hitting close to home

It was not intentional, but Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton wore a sweatshirt with the words "Take Care: Your Mental Health Matters."

"Maybe it was a subliminal thing that I did this morning, but it is important to take care of your mental health, especially at times like this and all the time," Hamilton said.

The team made sure counseling resources available were made known to the players and Harbaugh and Humphrey commended the work of Dr. Tricia Bent-Goodley, the Ravens' clinician.

This incident hit closer to home for Ravens players compared to other real-life circumstances that can impact the workplace. But the airing of feelings isn't uncommon in the Ravens' facility, safety Chuck Clark said.

That type of vulnerability can be rare in a NFL locker room.

"In this game, we’re always taught to be tough and don’t show emotions, but whenever anything happens, we open up the space, ‘Just get it off. Just get your feelings out,’" Clark said.

The Bengals were firsthand witnesses to the near-tragedy with Hamlin. NFL Players' Association president JC Tretter said Thursday the union held individual calls for the Bills and Bengals to check in, as well as league-wide call Wednesday night.

Players know they can use the union to discuss their feelings, Tretter said, but the NFLPA can also put them in touch with experts to help them during difficult timer.

"We haven't got a ton of comments about not feeling like they're able to play," Tretter said.

Hamilton said the label of "the manliest thing you can do is be a football player" can dissuade players from sharing their feelings with teammates.

"People in the building are doing a great job of lending us our resources and stuff like that," Hamilton said. "Not only in football, in this case scenario, I think in just the world in general, in society, I think everybody can probably touch on mental health a little more."

But when it comes to playing Sunday, Andrews doesn't want to speak for anyone else when he says that what happened to Hamlin won't impact his fervor for the game.

"My love for the game doesn’t alter or change just because obviously something bad happened," Andrews said. "Again, things happen. You can’t control everything, but I don’t think it changes the way I feel about football."

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.


Rolling Stone 200 greatest singers list snubs Celine Dion, more

Rolling Stone has ruffled feathers with its updated 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list.

The publication started the New Year with an update to its rankings, which began in 2008, honoring the best vocalists in pop music.

This time around, the list excludes powerhouses like Celine Dion, Pink, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Janet Jackson, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Nat King Cole, Dionne Warwick and more.

"This new list was compiled our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation," Rolling Stone writes, adding criteria was based on "originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy."

Many music fans argued on Twitter about the snubbed artists and the ranking order.

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"They got THE @MichaelJackson way down at EIGHTY-SIX?! and no @CelineDion at ALL?!" actress Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted. "Shoot, the way MJ sang #WithAChildsHeart when he was a CHILD makes him top three at the least and if Celine Dion isn’t in the Top Ten at the LEAST what are we really doing?! Damn @RollingStone."

One Twitter user wrote: "What do you mean celine dion is not on the rolling stone list???"

"I’m sorry, but Jennifer Hudson is a better singer than 95% of the people on that #RollingStone list," another person said. "Her impact is immense. The EGOT winner’s contributions to film, theatre, music and television are undeniable."

In addition to Hudson, fellow EGOT recipients John Legend and Rita Moreno did not make the cut.

Jennifer Hudson earns EGOT at Tony Awards:Stars who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony

Jazmine Sullivan, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson made the list, but they didn't break the Top 100.

"Rolling Stone Magazine proved to be not credible. 1. Placing Christina Aguilera this low. 2. Placing Taylor Swift higher than Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jazmine Sullivan & Alicia Keys. 3. Not having Celine Dion on the last who is part of the vocal trinity," a Twitter user critiqued.

Another similarly tweeted, "Rolling Stone but Taylor Swift in the top 200 vocalists but didn’t even mention Celine Dion or Janet Jackson. And they put Rihanna ABOVE Kelly Clarkson ?????"

We rank Whitney Houston's 10 best songs, with the inside story from her mentor Clive Davis

Among other snubs were lead vocalists whose singing bandmates were excluded. Stevie Nicks made it without Fleetwood Mac, Jungkook was plucked from BTS, Beyoncé sans other members of Destiny's Child, Diana Ross without the Supremes, Ozzy Osbourne ranked without Black Sabbath and Mick Jagger was included without the Rolling Stones.

Soul and R&B dominated the Top 10 of Rolling Stone's list, with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Sam Cooke taking the top spots.

Related:Christine McVie wrote many of Fleetwood Mac's greatest songs. These 5 were her best.

The Top 20 are listed below, with the full list of 200 available on Rolling Stone's website.

20. Marvin Gaye

19. Frank Sinatra

18. Celia Cruz

17. Elvis Presley

16. Prince

15. Bob Dylan

14. Freddie Mercury

13. Patsy Cline

12. John Lennon

11. Little Richard

10. Al Green

9. Otis Redding

8. Beyoncé

7. Stevie Wonder

6. Ray Charles

5. Mariah Carey

4. Billie Holiday

3. Sam Cooke

2. Whitney Houston

1. Aretha Franklin

2023 Grammy nominations full list:Beyoncé leads, ties Jay-Z for most nods ever


America's oldest person, Bessie Hendricks, dies at 115 in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa – Bessie Hendricks of Iowa lived through the roaring '20s, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the dawn of the internet age and a global pandemic.

At age 115, she was believed to be the oldest person in the U.S. when she died Tuesday at a senior living facility in Lake City.

Hendricks, who was born Nov. 7, 1907, taught at a one-room schoolhouse in her home state. She raised five children, two of whom she outlived.

Back when she turned 112, Hendricks told the Fort Dodge Messenger the secret to her longevity: Work hard, stay away from doctors, and make sure to enjoy sweets, like a piece of pie or slice of birthday cake.

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Hendricks' death leaves Edie Ceccarelli of California as the oldest living American, according to the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles. She is set to turn 115 on Feb. 5.

Centenarians, supercentenarians in the US

Centenarians are people who live past 100 years old, according to the Exceptional Longevity Laboratory at Iowa State University. According to 2010 census data, 53,364 centenarians were living in the United States, or about 0.017% of the country's population.

Want to live past 100? Centenarians share their secrets

Factors influencing longevity include genetics; environmental support, including family support and health care; a lower-stress lifestyle; and the ability to get outside and connect with nature, says Peter Martin, a professor at Iowa State whose research specializes in life span development and longevity..

Hendricks was a supercentenarian, a person who lives past 110. As of the 2010 census, there were 330 supercentenarians across the country, which is just 0.6% of the centenarian population.

While living past 110 is rare, Martin said, it's a true testament to one's endurance and outlook on life.

"After 115 it gets very difficult," he said. "Every year is really a gift that you get that you could not have expected to get."

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Hendricks' funeral will be Saturday at the Lampe and Powers Funeral Home in Lake City. Funeral director Dana Morris said the service will include a tribute to Hendricks' life, including readings of memoirs written by her deceased daughter.

Follow Francesca Block on Twitter at @francescablock3.

Bessie Hendricks, oldest living person in US, turns 115 | CNN

CNN —

Bring out the candles – 115 of them.

Bessie Hendricks, the oldest living person in the United States, has celebrated yet another turn around the sun. The Iowa supercentenarian turned 115 on November 7, according to CNN affiliate KCCI.

Hendricks was born in 1907. Her lifetime has seen 21 presidents, two world wars, and the sinking of the Titanic.

In addition to being the oldest living person in the United States, she is also the fourth-oldest living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which records and certifies supercentenarians (people who have lived to be older than 110).

Hendricks celebrated her 115th birthday alongside her three children at Shady Oaks Care Center, according to KCCI.

“I don’t know how you put it into words,” said her daughter, Joan Schaffer, according to KCCI. Schaffer turned 90 the day before her mother’s 115th birthday. “It’s marvelous that we still have her.”

Hendricks’ children described her as a hard-working, caring mother. Hendricks’ own mother died when she was just 13 years old, according to KCCI.

Currently, the title for oldest living person belongs to Lucile Randon, a 118-year old French nun, says the Gerontology Research Group. The oldest person ever recorded was another Frenchwoman, Jeanne Louise Calment, who lived to be over 122 years old, according to the Guinness World Records. Calment died in 1997.

Man accused of chewing off 78-year-old man's ear said he thought ...

Lisa Baumann

Associated Press

PORTLAND – A man accused of chewing off the ear of a 78-year-old man on a light rail train platform near Portland, Oregon, told detectives he thought the victim was a robot trying to kill him, police said.

Koryn Daniel Kraemer was charged with second-degree assault in Multnomah County District Court on Wednesday, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said. Kraemer, 25, entered a not-guilty plea to the charge.

Around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police and deputies responded to a light rail platform in Gresham after a caller said they could see a lot of blood and an attacker on top of a victim, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Officers used force to remove Kraemer from the victim and the victim was taken to a hospital, the affidavit said. The victim's right ear was bitten off in the attack and part of his skull was visible, the affidavit said. He was sedated but in stable condition, according to the document.

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Investigators said the suspect initially gave his name as El Baker, and he was booked into jail under that name. Multnomah County jail staff later identified the man as Kraemer, who had recently moved to Portland from Georgia, the affidavit said.

America's oldest known person has died:The oldest person in the US, Bessie Hendricks, dies at 115 in Iowa nursing home

Kraemer told a detective he consumed alcohol, marijuana and fentanyl pills before the attack, according to the affidavit, and said he could tell by how the victim smelled that he was a robot. He also told police he spit the flesh onto the ground.

Kraemer was being held in custody without bail on Thursday.

The Short List: Speaker of the House votes, Damar Hamlin injury ...

The vote for a speaker of the House dragged into day three. New details were released about the murders of four University of Idaho students. And doctors gave a positive update on Bills' safety Damar Hamlin.

👋 Hey! Laura Davis here. It's Thursday, which means it's time for – you guessed it – Thursday's news!

But first: New year, new you? If you're starting the new year with some wellness resolutions, the first thing you can do is ditch the multivitamins.

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Day 3: Still no House speaker

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. And again. And again. And a few more times for good measure, if you're Kevin McCarthy. The House of Representatives made history Thursday, moving to a tenth ballot after more stalemated efforts to elect a speaker of the House – the most ballots in this normally pro forma election since just before the Civil War. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed a ninth ballot since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment. GOP opponents have sunk his past nine attempts to get enough votes to win the job. The efforts to forge a compromise could weaken the job – if he gets it – and show that governing the Republican-led House is going to be challenging this year, with infighting consuming what's been a simple one-ballot vote for the past hundred years. 👉 Follow our coverage for the latest developments.

Bills safety Damar Hamlin awake and communicating

Damar Hamlin wanted to know who won the game. After the Bills safety woke up in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Wednesday night, one of the first things he did was to ask, in writing, if his team won Monday's Bills-Bengals game during which he was injured. "The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life," Dr. Timothy Pritts said. Doctors provided details of the NFL player's closely followed condition at a Thursday press conference, saying Hamlin woke up, followed commands and could communicate in writing. Hamlin remains intubated in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest during Monday's game. Here's the latest on Hamlin's condition.

What everyone's talking about

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Biden unveils new steps to curb surge of migrants

In his boldest move yet to confront arrivals of migrants that have spiraled since he took office two years ago, President Joe Biden said Thursday the U.S. would immediately begin turning away people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who cross the border illegally from Mexico. Facing criticism that he's not done enough to stop illegal border crossings, Biden outlined what he called "orderly, safe and humane" ways to strengthen border control while expanding legal pathways to the United States. "Do not, do not just show up at the border," Biden said, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north. "Stay where you are and apply legally from there." Keep reading.

A Christmas cease-fire?

It was not immediately clear whether hostilities would actually be halted, but Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend to mark the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday on Saturday. Ukrainian officials have previously dismissed Russian peace moves as ploys to regroup and prepare for more attacks. When asked about the cease-fire, Biden said he was "reluctant to respond to anything Putin says. ... I think he’s trying to find some oxygen." Here's the latest.

Real quick

'Conveyer belt' of storms: Heavy rains, high winds, power outages and evacuations rolled across California on Thursday as a second massive storm in a week overwhelmed parts of the state and was blamed for at least two deaths. Live updates.

🌤 What's the weather up to at your house? Check your local forecast.

Police: Idaho murder suspect's DNA found at crime scene

The DNA of the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students was found on a knife sheath recovered at the crime scene, court documents unsealed Thursday revealed. Police said they zeroed in on suspect Bryan Kohberger, 28, through a combination of DNA evidence, trash collected from his parents' home, surveillance video, cellphone records and license plate readers that tracked his car on a cross-country drive. His phone had been tracked to nearby the students' house at least 12 times in the six months before the attack, authorities noted. Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania last week and was extradited to Idaho. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the Nov. 13 attack. More from the arrest documents.

A mystery, then a break in the case:Timeline of the investigation.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Kevin McCarthy, California rain, Damar Hamlin, Jan. 6, inflation ...

The House returns Friday to try again to end the stalemate over choosing a new speaker after days of voting with no conclusion. Also in the news: Today marks the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the NFL will not resume or replay the Monday's Bills-Bengals game that was stalled after Damar Hamlin's collapse.

🙋🏼♀ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Staying home with a sick person? Here's what to do.

Happy Friday. Here's the news.

Speaker vote stretches past 11th ballot

GOP lawmakers expressed muted optimism that a deal was getting closer with a rebellious Republican faction to install House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as speaker in return for significant concessions. McCarthy has now failed in 11 ballots since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment.

One thing to know: The House remains paralyzed with members-elect not sworn in, lacking security clearances and the lower chamber remains unable to conduct any legislative business.

Some of the roughly 20 Republicans declining to vote for McCarthy as the next House speaker are depicting their work as a historic effort to re-tip the balance of power in Washington.

declining to vote for McCarthy as the next House speaker are depicting their work as a historic effort to re-tip the balance of power in Washington. What can the House members-elect do? They can use the time to negotiate on House rules so that lawmakers can adopt them after picking a speaker. Officials and their staffs can still field calls from their constituents in this time.

They can use the time to negotiate on House rules so that lawmakers can adopt them after picking a speaker. Officials and their staffs can still field calls from their constituents in this time. Who is Byron Donalds? In a fourth-round vote Wednesday, the 20 representatives standing in the way of a McCarthy speakership shifted their votes to Donalds, a second-term congressman from Florida who is considered an ascendent figure in the GOP.

In a fourth-round vote Wednesday, the 20 representatives standing in the way of a McCarthy speakership shifted their votes to Donalds, a second-term congressman from Florida who is considered an ascendent figure in the GOP. The once-in-a-century political confusion didn’t stop social media users, reporters and lawmakers from joking about the contentious climate on Capitol Hill.

'Conveyer belt' of storms keep hitting California

The San Francisco Bay Area gets a short rest before another storm – part of a series that could last into next week – hits on Friday. Heavy rains, high winds, power outages and evacuations rolled across California this week as a massive storm overwhelmed parts of the state and was blamed for at least two deaths. San Francisco recorded the wettest ten-day period since 1871, with 10.33 inches of rain falling between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4, the National Weather Service said. The deluge on drought-parched ground in some parts of California led to fears of mudslides; winds that could down weakened trees; and runoff that could overwhelm urban areas with flooding. Read more

Most glaciers on track to melt away by 2100, but some can still be saved.

More news to know now

🌤 What's the weather this weekend? Check your local forecast here.

Jan. 6 Capitol attack 2 years later

Two years after the deadly Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021, the special House committee examining the attack delivered a dramatic coda to its 18-month investigation when it accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the deadly insurrection and asked the Justice Department to prosecute him on the incendiary charge, along with three other allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Trump’s potential legal exposure has only grown more perilous and his future political viability has been thrust into the unknown. Read more

Economy added 223,000 jobs in December

Hiring slowed modestly in December as employers added 223,000 jobs to close out an otherwise booming year, possibly foreshadowing the deeper pullback and recession that many economists expect in 2023. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.5%, the Labor Department said in its latest jobs report released Friday. Most economists expect the U.S. to slip into a mild recession this year as the Fed’s rate increases take a growing toll on spending and growth. Such forecasts have further weakened consumer and business confidence. Yet despite the hurdles, the labor market has been remarkably resilient, repeatedly defying forecasts for a more dramatic slowdown. Read more

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NFL won't resume Bills-Bengals Week 17 game

The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals will not resume or replay their game that was suspended Jan. 2 following the collapse of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, the NFL announced. Both teams will finish the 2022 regular season with one fewer game played than every other team in the league. Not having to carve out time to replay the Bills-Bengals game will allow the NFL to begin the playoffs next weekend as scheduled, a factor that played into the league's decision. The Monday night matchup between the Bills and Bengals was one of the biggest games of the season because of the huge playoff implications. Read more

Damar Hamlin asked in writing if team won the game, doctors said.

📷 Photo of the day: All the movies you'll want to watch in 2023 📷

Harrison Ford reimagines the adventures of "Indiana Jones" for a final time. An epic tale of a lost dog in "Dog Gone." "Magic Mike's Last Dance" takes Mike Lane to the London theater scene. From "Ant-Man 3" to "Scream VI," here are most-anticipated cinematic releases in 2023.

One more thing

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.