Today is Thursday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2025. There are 223 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 22, 1960, the strongest earthquake recorded struck southern Chile. The magnitude 9.5 quake claimed 1,655 lives, left 2 million homeless and triggered a tsunami responsible for over 230 additional deaths in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

Also on this date:

In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a “Pact of Steel” committing their two countries to a military and political alliance.

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In 1962, Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed near Unionville, Missouri, after a passenger ignited dynamite on board the plane, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at the University of Michigan, outlined the goals of his “Great Society,” saying that it “rests on abundance and liberty for all” and “demands an end to poverty and racial injustice.”

In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a “dress rehearsal” for the first lunar landing.

In 1985, U.S. sailor Michael L. Walker was arrested aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz, two days after his father, John A. Walker Jr., was apprehended by the FBI; both were later convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. (Michael Walker served 15 years in prison and was released in 2000; John Walker Jr. died in prison in 2014.)

In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted his final episode of NBC’s “Tonight Show.” (Jay Leno took over as host three days later.)

In 2011, a massive EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, with winds up to 250 mph, killing at least 159 people and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses.

In 2017, a suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people and injured over 1,000 following an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor-filmmaker Richard Benjamin is 87.
Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 75.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 68.
Singer Morrissey is 66.
Singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 59.
Actor Brooke Smith is 58.
Model Naomi Campbell is 55.
Actor Sean Gunn is 51.
Actor Ginnifer Goodwin is 47.
Actor Maggie Q is 46.
Olympic speed skating gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno is 43.
Tennis player Novak Djokovic is 38.
Actor Peyton Elizabeth Lee is 21.

Eagan native Eva Erickson made it all the way to the final three in Wednesday night’s “Survivor 48” finale. But she fell short of winning the $1 million and placed second behind lawyer Kyle Fraser.

The episode opened with a final five of Erickson, her day-one ally Joe Hunter, Fraser, Fraser’s secret ally software engineer Kamilla Karthigesu and physical education coach Mitch Guerra.

Erickson, who is the first openly autistic person to compete on “Survivor,” went into the combined reward and immunity challenge with an advantage in the game she won earlier in the episode. After an intense battle, Erickson came in second to Karthigesu, who spent most of the challenge in last place, but surged at completing the final puzzle.

In addition to immunity, Karthigesu won a reward of a meal including pasta and chocolate cake and could bring one fellow castaway. She chose Erickson, who was thrilled at yet another chance for her to eat.

Given the open relationship between Erickson and Hunter and the secret one between Fraser and Karthigesu, it was no surprise when Guerra was voted out.

The final four then went on to compete in the final immunity challenge, which Fraser won. That left him guaranteed with a spot in the final three and faced with the decision of picking one player he wanted to take along with him, leaving the other two to battle for the final spot in a fire-making challenge.

Fraser and Karthigesu realized that despite their close alliance, neither wanted to take the other to the final three, which meant Karthigesu was going to make fire. He then told Hunter he was choosing him. That left Erickson as the other fire maker.

The two women spent the afternoon practicing fire making. As Erickson repeatedly failed at generating a flame she began getting frustrated and starting crying. Fraser heard Erickson’s wails and told Hunter that he would instead take Erickson if it was going to be traumatic for her to compete in the fire challenge.

As he did the previous time Erickson had a breakdown on the show, Hunter ran over, hugged her hard and calmed her down. He told Erickson he would take her place in the fire-making challenge. Despite her tearful breakdown, Erickson committed herself to going ahead with the challenge.

“Joe is the most amazing human, he’s so selfless,” she said. “ But this has to be me. I have to learn to do this myself.”

Hunter sat down and went through the basics of how to build a fire with Erickson, who eventually got a flame going and then immediately proceeded to try again and spent the rest of the afternoon practicing.

At tribal council, Erickson immediately noticed the fire making station had different types of tinder than the ones she practiced with and she openly stared at it, trying to take in all the new materials. She later told host Jeff Probst that, prior to competing, she practiced making fire in the backyard of her apartment every day.

Once the challenge began, Erickson got off to a quick start and got a flame going. The idea was to build a fire strong enough to burn through a string stretched out about two feet above the base. Erickson methodically built and tended her fire and watched it grow almost to the point of a win.

But it died down and after some panicking, Erickson got back on track and built the fire back to a winning strength. Karthigesu, meanwhile, never even managed to get a flame going.

The final day of “Survivor 48” opened with the final three indulging in a feast. Erickson said competing showed her many things about herself that she never expected. Despite bringing an emotional toll, she said, the show also brought her great friends and great happiness.

“If there is anything I have contributed to season 48, it is heart,” she said.

Erickson had told her fellow contestants she was merely a hockey playing college student. She revealed to the final three that she’s also currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Brown University School of Engineering, which led Hunter to say that Erickson is almost a doctor at this point. (Fraser, who had previously told everyone he was a teacher, came clean and revealed he was a lawyer.)

Erickson was all smiles when she arrived at the final tribal council and held her own in the interrogation from the jury that followed.

When asked what her weakness was in the game, she said she didn’t think of her autism was a weakness, but it caused weaknesses in herself. When discussing voting based on relationships, she said she came into the show not expecting her social game would be so important. She went on to say that her alliance with Hunter is “one of the strongest duos to ever exist in ‘Survivor’ history.”

In her final address to the jury, Erickson said that it was an unprecedented season of “Survivor” and she deserved to be the unprecedented winner.

In the final vote, Erickson picked up nods from substance abuse counselor Mary Zheng and sales expert Star Toomey. Surgeon Cedrek McFadden voted for Hunter, with Fraser picking up the remaining five votes and winning the cash prize.

“Survivor 48” is now streaming on Paramount+.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Two staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot and killed Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum in the nation’s capital, and the suspect yelled “free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, police said.

The two victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the 30-year-old suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

The suspect was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, Smith said.

When he was taken into custody, the man began chanting, “free, free Palestine,” Smith said.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was at the scene with former judge Jeanine Pirro, who serves as the U.S. attorney in Washington.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

“We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act,” Danon said in a post on X. “Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives — everywhere in the world.”

The largest of the three wildfires burning in northeastern Minnesota was likely caused by people.

In an update Wednesday,  the U.S. Forest Service’s Eastern Area Incident Management Team said the initial investigation into the nearly 17,000-acre Jenkins Creek Fire, which started May 12, shows “the fire is related to a human cause.” The update offered no other details but said the investigation is ongoing. The fire southeast of Hoyt Lakes was rated as 13% contained.

The causes of the 12,000-acre Camp House Fire and 1,259-acre Munger Shaw Fire remain “undetermined,” according to the Wildfire Incident Information System. The Camp House blaze broke out May 11 near Brimson and the Munger Shaw started May 12 near Cotton.

Meanwhile, several evacuation orders are being lifted.

In St. Louis County, 13 evacuation zones in “go” status were improved to “set” status Tuesday, the sheriff’s office reported on Facebook.

St. Louis County Highway 33 and County Road 110/Forest Highway 11 also reopened to traffic at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“Property owners are urged to take extra caution in the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post Tuesday night. “Be aware that the burned areas may still show smoke from various stumps and debris — this is not of concern when inside the already burned area. However, if smoke or flames are found outside the already burned area or anywhere it is clearly a hazard, please call 911.”

In Lake County, the only active evacuation zone remaining is the Murphy Lake Road area, Matt Pollmann, the county’s emergency management director, said in a Facebook video Tuesday night.

“Containment is over 40%, so they are feeling confident with the Camp House Fire,” he said.

Significant progress was made in containing the perimeter of the Camp House Fire to 73%, the Eastern Area Complex Incident Management Team reported Wednesday morning.

Cooler, wetter weather has helped firefighters. The blazes started during a period of critical wildfire weather.

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