In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a sheriff in Kansas pardoned a turkey who broke into a family home.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office pardoned the wild turkey, given the name “Tom,” on Facebook Wednesday, after he broke into the home on November 10. The office also posted body cam footage of two sheriff’s deputies as they caught the fowl in a bedroom, removed it from the home, then released it back into the wild.

“In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Sheriff [Jay] Armbrister has pardoned a Douglas County turkey from any criminal damage charges,” DCSO wrote on Facebook. “Tom the Turkey broke through a window and into a Douglas County resident’s home on Nov. 10. Thanks to the quick thinking and good work of Master Deputy Dunkle and Deputy Bonner, they were able to safely remove the bird from inside the home and set him free… the Sheriff’s Office is thankful for the work of our deputies and their efforts to go above and beyond for the community. #HappyThanksgiving.”

The body cam video begins with a brief introductory text. “The call you are about to witness is true,” it reads. “The names of turkeys involved have been changed to protect the innocent. Call him Tom.” In the video, the two deputies can be seen cornering the turkey in a bedroom. “Well, let’s just see what we got,” one of the deputies says. “He’s a little fired up, too.” A graphic on the screen informs viewers that the turkey broke into the home through a window. “Hey fella,” the deputy says. “What you doin’, old man, huh? What you doin’ up here?”

“Yeah, this is my first time with a turkey,” the deputy tells the concerned homeowner.

“He’s staring at me,” says the other deputy. “I don’t like this.”

“Oh, he ain’t gonna hurt you too bad,” the first deputy responds.

The two deputies stretch out a blanket; one of the deputies throws it over the bird and grabs it. But the turkey escapes his grasp and tries to fly out another window in the room. The deputy then hands the blanket to his partner, who wrangles it and carries it out. “You’ve got enough feathers in here for a feather duster, ma’am,” the deputy carrying the turkey jokes to the homeowner.

“I must’ve taken all the fight out of him,” his partner jokes as the deputy carries the turkey downstairs and out of the house. The deputy then lets the turkey out of the blanket, and the bird runs into the woods nearby. The homeowner then thanks the two deputies profusely.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden gave pardons to two turkeys from being stuffed at family tables for Thanksgiving, a tradition that dates back to the 19th century. According to the White House Historical Association, President Abraham Lincoln was the first to issue clemency for a turkey in 1863. Turkeys were sent to the White House as gifts from the 1870s onward. The tradition itself stemmed from an offhand remark made by President John F. Kennedy in 1963; The Washington Post reported Kennedy’s comment, “let’s keep him going,” as both a “pardon” and a “reprieve.” The practice of sending the turkey to a farm began under Richard Nixon, and the formality of the pardon started under George H.W. Bush.

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

Airline Travel Returns To Pre-Pandemic Levels, Still Below Record

If you’ve been traveling for Thanksgiving this week, you know that airline travel is back to pre-pandemic levels — but hasn’t quite hit 2019’s record of 2.9 million travelers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The TSA is expecting to screen 2.5 million passengers a day across U.S. airports on the busiest days this week. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg celebrated the numbers.

“We are delighted that demand is returning like nobody thought possible with more and more passengers having the desire and the income to return to the skies,” Buttigieg said.

Mask Mandates Imminent? 

The Department of Health and Human Services is again saying that the American public should partake in masking and social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID and guard against “Long COVID.”

The new report, sponsored by HHS and conducted by research agency Coforma, suggested that these policies should be either strongly encouraged or even mandated while calling for expanded government programs that offer financial support and benefits for COVID victims.

Home Purchases Decreasing

Rising interest rates and high home prices have led to a 30% drop in home purchases by investors in the third quarter.

The reduction means fewer homes being built or restored for future buyers. Home purchases by investors fell from 94,000 in the same quarter last year to 66,000 this year. Also driving the trend is the slowing of rent growth from 13% to just 10%.

EU Sends More Money To Ukraine

As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault rages on, the European Union sent Ukraine another $2.5 billion in assistance on Tuesday. The EU is expected to approve another $18 billion in 2023. So far, the EU has sent $6.7 billion total to Ukraine for a variety of necessities and supplies.

Bye-Bye, Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s final White House press conference went sideways this week after a reporter asked a question about what Fauci has done to investigate the origins of COVID. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shut down the question.

“We have a process here,” Jean-Pierre scolded. “I’m not calling out on people who yell. And you’re being … disrespectful to your colleagues, and you’re being disrespectful to our guest. I will not call on you if you yell, and also you’re taking time off the clock because Dr. Fauci has to leave in a couple of minutes.”

“Avatar” Sequel Coming Soon

The much-anticipated sequel to the 2009 box office hit “Avatar” is due to release December 16 and is projected to be one of, if not the most, expensive film ever produced. Director James Cameron has declined to state just how expensive the film’s budget was, but reports suggest that the production budget alone was $250 million.

Big College Football Weekend

And, in some sports news, the final weekend of the college football regular season promises some big rivalry matchups, including the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes versus the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines, and the seventh-ranked USC Trojans versus the 18th-ranked Fighting Irish. And, of course, my underrated Florida State Seminoles are facing off against the Florida Gators Friday evening.

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