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Prosecutor in Ralph Yarl case says legal precedent favors keeping court records open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor is asking a judge to carefully consider the public’s right to information while determining whether to seal court records in the case of Andrew Lester, a white homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly came to his home.Lester’s attorney, Steven Salmon, filed a motion May 1 asking a judge to seal court records. He argued that local and national publicity surrounding the April 13 shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City had created a bias against his client and would make it difficult to find an impartial jury.In a motion filed Tuesday, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson did not specifically oppose the request but said legal precedent has established a “strong presumption” in favor of keeping court records open.Lester, 84, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is accused of shooting Yarl twice after he mistakenly came to Lester’s home looking for hi...

Television writers strike in front of NBC Tower in the Loop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Members of a television writers union formed picket lines in the Loop Wednesday as a part of a nationwide strike, which has forced the late night comedy shows to go dark, and has delayed a number of other Hollywood television and film productions.Writers Guild of America (WGA) members picketed in front of the NBC Tower in downtown Chicago as part of a strike that has stopped the production of late-night comedy shows, and postponed the production of numerous other shows and television series, including the Showtime series The Chi, which is shot in Chicago.“We are watching the stability of television and film writing as a job, as a viable career, basically being erased,” said Martin Zimmerman, a WGA member and writer on the shows Narcos and Ozarks.The WGA represents at least 11,500 TV, film, radio and online writers, with about 100 of them living and working in Chicago. Daytime Emmy Awards postponed because of writers strike Those striking are asking for pay increases, whi...

Chicago bicyclists remember cyclists killed on National Ride of Silence Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Bicyclists in Chicago will join others in more than 200 communities on Wednesday, National Ride of Silence Day, to remember cyclists who have been killed. Those gathering in Chicago are also remembering Rick Lomas who died a week after a driver hit him. Buffalo Grove High School students killed in Wheeling crash ID’d Lomas, police said, was struck and killed by a driver when he went through a red light on May 7 in the 1000 block of North California Avenue.The driver who hit Lomas left the scene, police said, and Lomas refused medical treatment at the scene before leaving.According to an attorney for the family, Lomas died on May 10 from massive brain bleeding. As the warmer days become more frequent and more people are riding, organizations like Bike Lane Uprising, remind people to be aware of their surroundings and know the rules of sharing the road."Everybody is just trying to get to and from and this person had a family and unfortunately, that family is dealing with t...

Nakili, Oldest Eastern Black Rhino in North America, euthanized at Brookfield Zoo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

BROOKFIELD, Ill. —The oldest living male Eastern Black Rhinoceros in a North American zoo was humanely euthanized Wednesday at the Brookfield Zoo, according to the Chicago Zoological Society.Nakili, a long-time resident of the Brookfield Zoo, was 33 years old at the time of his death. Nakili, an Eastern Black Rhinoceros at Brookfield Zoo was euthanized on May 17 due to kidney disease. Of the current population of eastern black rhinoceros, at 33 years of age, he was the oldest male living in an accredited North American zoo. (Credit: Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo)Having first arrived at the Brookfield Zoo at the ripe age of 4 in 1994, Nakili was seen by millions of guests at the zoo and served as a source of education on the plight of his critically-endangered species in its native habitat, which is primarily in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya."Nakili was a favorite among the animal care staff, volunteers, and zoogoers,” said Joan Daniels, senior director of hoofed mammal c...

Illinois coroner confirms 8th death from I-55 dust cloud crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) -- The Sangamon County Coroner in central Illinois has confirmed another death caused by the tragic pile-up crash from a dust storm on I-55 earlier this month. According to a release, Jim Allmon, 81-year-old Ruth Rau from Sorento, Illinois died from her blunt force injuries Tuesday evening.In a news conference the day after the crash, ISP confirmed seven people died. Rau was not included in that death count. ISP releases final victim’s name from I-55 dust storm crash Rau was a passenger in a vehicle in the crash. She was transported to HSHS St. John's Hospital in Springfield. Her death remains under investigation by Illinois State Police and the Sangamon County Coroner.

Derek Chauvin appeals conviction in George Floyd's murder to the Minnesota Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin appealed his murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday, saying the district judge's decision not to move the proceedings out of the city deprived him of a fair trial.His attorney, William Mohrman, filed a petition for review with the state's highest court a month after the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Chauvin's conviction for second-degree murder and let his 22 1/2-year sentence remain in place.Morhman had unsuccessfully asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s conviction for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. But the three-judge panel last month sided with prosecutors who said Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence. Chauvin raises several of those arguments again in his latest appeal."We’re very hopeful that the Minnesota Supreme Court will accept review of the case,” Mohrman said...

ROTC grad commissioned in mother's ICU room before her passing on Mother's Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

LANHAM, Md. (WBOY) — A West Virginia University ROTC cadet gave his mom a very special Mother's Day gift this year when his commissioning ceremony was held in the hospital right before her death. Senior Army ROTC Cadet Christian Arevalo, 23, was preparing for his graduation from West Virginia University and commissioning ceremony last week when he received a call to return to his home in Maryland as quickly as possible because his mother, who was battling advanced-stage cancer, didn't have much time left. Although he was scheduled to be commissioned as a second lieutenant the next day, Arevalo hopped in a car and went to the hospital, even though it would cause him to miss his commissioning, an important rite of passage in every Army officer’s career, according to a Facebook post by the WVU Army ROTC. "He never doubted the decision," said the post, "and notified LTC David Sherck, professor of Military Science, of his intentions to pass on commissioning to be with his mother."On Thur...

Suspect was ‘bar hopping’ before crash that killed new bride shortly after wedding: lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A lawsuit has been filed against a woman who was allegedly intoxicated when she crashed into a golf cart carrying a wedding party, killing the bride and severely injuring the groom last month on Folly Beach in South Carolina.Jamie Komoroski is named along with various restaurants and bars which attorneys say she visited in the hours before the deadly crash.The lawsuit alleges Komoroski began at El Gallo Bar and Grill near Daniel Island before traveling to Folly Beach, where they said she began bar hopping along Center Street. Stops included The Drop In, The Crab Shack, and Snapper Jacks. Family mourning bride killed in Folly Beach DUI crash “Despite being noticeable and visibly intoxicated at each of these establishments, Jamie Komoroski continued to be served, provided, and/or allowed to consume additional and excessive amounts of alcohol at each of them,” the lawsuit reads.Attorneys further allege that Komoroski was then allowed to leave the bars and ge...

'Faces of Parkinson's': Mother, daughter highlight patients battling degenerative disease using photography

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

CHICAGO -- Nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's in the U.S. each year, a degenerative disease that robs them of stability in their steps with their hands.The daughter of a Northwestern neurologist whose life work has been treating the bodies of those affected by Parkinson's is stepping in to treat their souls."Listening to my mom talk about her patient's interests, hobbies and passions and the way they didn't let Parkinson's disease stop them from doing what they enjoyed," Anna Catherine McGraw said.Which gave Anna an idea. Two remarkable stories: Organ donation leads to boy’s second chance & lawn care helped family as friend battled rare cancer "To have a little glimpse into their everyday lives, their homes, what they love to do and their struggles."So she began snapping her mother's patients."I really wanted to focus on their hands and what they can do with them," McGraw said."Hands are very important and the way you can use your hands in creative mode," Wood...

Ozone Action Day on Thursday with hot, stagnant conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Temperatures in the lower 90s with sunshine and light winds will produce air quality Thursday that is unhealthy for the elderly and for people with respiratory conditions. Consider limiting how much you drive and turning your thermostat up a couple of degrees to conserve energy.High temperatures climbed to 90° in Austin Wednesday afternoon for the first time in nearly a week. And although the next couple of days look even hotter, overall temperatures this May are running nearly 6° cooler than May 2022, which ended up being the hottest May on record.Nights remain in the 60s with daytime highs in the lower 90s, and dry weather continuing Thursday and Friday afternoons.Friday storm systemWe are tracking a low pressure system and cold front arriving Friday evening that will bring a chance of severe thunderstorms, then cooler weather over the weekend.Slight risk (2 out of 5) for severe storms late FridayStorms look most likely after 5 p.m. Friday from Austin through the ...