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Man gets new trial after being convicted of murder based on blind witness’s testimony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

A Cook County judge overturned the murder conviction Tuesday of a man who was found guilty in a fatal shooting at a South Side gas station primarily based on the testimony of an eyewitness who turned out to be legally blind.Darien Harris was an 18-year-old high school senior with a clean criminal record when prosecutors charged him in an ambush-style shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured in June 2011.Now 30, Harris has long maintained his innocence, saying he was at home watching LeBron James play in the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. But a now-retired judge found Harris guilty in 2014 and sent him to prison for 76 years.More than four years ago, his legal team, family and friends began urging the conviction integrity unit of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to take another look at the case. Among other arguments, they said the key witness had failed to disclose to the trial judge that the witness was legally blind beca...

Column: There’s no prize for winning MLB’s winter meetings, so the waiting game goes on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

The good news for Chicago Cubs fans is Shohei Ohtani remained unsigned late into the second day of the MLB winter meetings.But whether the Cubs were still among the teams in the mix for the baseball unicorn was a question president Jed Hoyer repeatedly avoided, even after a social media report claimed the Cubs were out.Hoyer said there was no news to report and he didn’t know where the rumor came from. He declined to talk about any discussions with free agents, though manager Craig Counsell said earlier he had not talked to Ohtani.The notion that Hoyer feels some urgency to make a splashy signing for his new $40 million manager was downplayed. Hoyer said he sold Counsell on “where the organization was going.”“It wasn’t a referendum on ’24 necessarily,” Hoyer said. “But more where we are as a franchise, an organization at this moment in time. I don’t feel any big need to justify that. Certainly, I have no doubt over the next few y...

Video shows coyote run down busy North Park street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Coyote sightings have become a pretty common occurrence the last few months in the North Park neighborhood.On Monday morning, a coyote was caught on video at Polk Avenue and Louisiana Street.A FOX 5 employee shot the video which shows the coyote trot down the street, take a glance at the camera and then run off. In October, FOX 5 reported on a story about coyote sightings. Coyotes are found in other parts of San Diego County from Escondido, Ramona and Del Mar to the urban city streets, according to the San Diego Humane Society. The animal organization says it receives about one call a week related to a coyote. Man arrested after San Diego school mass shooting threat Angela Hernandez, a supervisor for San Diego Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation, says there may be more coyotes due to their territory possibly being "uprooted as humans encroach on their territory."“When you see so many of them, it’s usually because they have become habituated to humans, so their fear...

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, leaders announced Tuesday. The approval of the three-year contract from the members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was no certainty, with some prominent members voicing dissent on the deal for which the union leaders bargained.The 78% yes result in voting that began Nov. 13 and ended Tuesday was a far cry from the near-unanimous approval and widespread enthusiasm members of the writers guild gave to the deal that ended their strike in September.But the outcome is a major relief for SAG-AFTRA leaders and an entertainment industry that is attempting to return to normal after months of labor strife. And it brings a final, official end to Hollywood labor’s most tumultuous year in half a century, with two historic strikes that shook the industry.“Today we close out one of the most important chapters in recent en...

Scientists say November is 6th straight month to set heat record; 2023 a cinch as hottest year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For the sixth month in a row, Earth set a new monthly record for heat, and also added the hottest autumn to the litany of record-breaking heat this year, the European climate agency calculated.And with only one month left, 2023 is on the way to smashing the record for hottest year. November was nearly a third of a degree Celsius (0.57 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the previous hottest November, the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced early Wednesday. November was 1.75 degrees Celsius (3.15 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, tying October and behind September, for the hottest above average for any month, the scientists said.“The last half year has truly been shocking,” said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess. “Scientists are running out of adjectives to describe this.’’November averaged 14.22 degrees Celsius (57.6 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 0.85 degrees Celsius (1.5 d...

Trump declines to rule out abusing power or seeking retribution if he returns to the White House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House after Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked him Tuesday to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric.The GOP presidential front-runner has talked about targeting his rivals — referring to them as “vermin” — and vowed to seek retribution if he wins a second term for what he argues are politically motivated prosecutions against him. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary, President Joe Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is “ determined to destroy American democracy.”“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked Trump in the interview taped in Davenport, Iowa.“Except for day one,” Trump responded. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”Trump then repeated his assertion. “I love this guy,” he sa...

2 planes make contact while taxiing at O'Hare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Two airplanes at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport made contact while taxiing to their gates on Tuesday evening, city officials confirmed.According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, two aircraft from SkyWest and GoJet airlines made contact while taxiing just before 7:30 p.m.Officials say nobody was injured in during the collision and both planes proceeded to their gates without issue. Vinyl record shops report surge in burglaries, shoplifting Officials have not provided details on what led the planes to make contact, or which parts of the planes were impacted in the collision. Currently, it is unclear if the planes were departing or arriving from the airport, or if the crash caused any flight delays.

25th Annual 100 Black Men of Chicago holiday toy drive takes over Soldier Field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Toys galore were dropped off at Soldier Field Tuesday night as one of Chicago's best mentoring charities drove home a selfless message during the holiday season.The non-profit organization, 100 Black Men of Chicago, hosted their 25th annual Holiday Toy Drive and Party at the Chicago Bears' home field.As singing, dancing and eating plenty of great food commenced, high profile guests made their appearances and supported the cause.Among them, Chicago police superintendent Larry Snelling and mayor Brandon Johnson, who passed on answering questions from the media. Chicago State University to join D1 sports conference, one step closer to football team Ryan Clark, co-chair of the toy drive for 100 Black men of Chicago, said the toy drive serves two primary functions — an outlet to selflessly spread Christmas joy around Chicago, while also spreading the word on the non-profit's mission year-round."We are heavy on the mentoring side … We mentor young folks, walk and talk with the...

Chicago Park District looking for lifeguards ahead of next summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Park District is looking for a few good lifeguards to work next summer.The district launched its recruitment campaign on Tuesday in hopes to find lifeguards ahead of next summer. This is the earliest applications have been open for interested swimmers. Salesforce Tower opens in Chicago The winter launch is designed to give candidates more time to train for the test and become eligible.Candidates must be 16-year-old by July 1 and pass specific skill tests and be properly certified.For more information, click here.

LIVE: Suspect arrested, linked to south Austin homicide and officer shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A suspect was arrested Tuesday in connection with a homicide and two separate shootings involving an Austin Independent School District officer and an Austin police officer, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to KXAN. Shortly before 7:30 p.m., APD said a police officer was shot in southwest Austin. APD is expected to hold a media briefing. Austin ISD officer shot at Northeast ECHS Law enforcement sources tell KXAN the suspect in the southwest Austin shooting is the same person who is accused of killing two people on Shadywood Drive in south Austin and shooting an Austin Independent School District officer at Northeast Early College High School Tuesday morning.The school district’s police chief said the AISD officer was expected to be released from the hospital after being shot in the leg. Details surrounding Tuesday night's shooting in southwest Austin were not immediately available. A KXAN cre...