Fire crews battle blaze at home in North Aurora, Illinois
Firefighters responded to the fire around 1 a.m. near Kelly Drive and Leonard Lane, where large balls of fire were seen shooting from the roof of the home.
Most of the flames were shooting from the house's attached garage, causing it to cave in.
It is unclear what caused the fire or if any injuries were reported.
No further information was immediately available.
CBS News Chicago will continue to update as information becomes available.
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CBS News
2 minutes ago
- CBS News
Hernandez Govan found not guilty in ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph
A man on trial for organizing the ambush killing of rapper Young Dolph at a Memphis bakery in 2021 has been found not guilty. A Memphis jury deliberated about three hours before finding Hernandez Govan, 45, not guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He rejected an offer from the state last month to settle with a guilty plea, CBS News affiliate WREG reported. On Thursday, Govan hugged his lawyer and thanked Shelby County Judge Jennifer Mitchell after she told him he was free to go. Govan was not accused of shooting Young Dolph, but prosecutors claimed he directed the two people who did. The jury was not convinced, however, despite a man's testimony that Govan hired him to "do the hits" and was going to take $10,000 as his cut. Govan's lawyer questioned the quality of the police investigation and the validity of cellphone communications between Govan and the men who shot Dolph, arguing that nothing in the communications directly incriminated Govan or tied him to the killings. Young Dolph, whose legal name is Adolph Thornton Jr., was a rapper, independent label owner and producer who grew up in Memphis and was admired in the city for his charitable works. On the day of the 2021 ambush, the 36-year-old was in his hometown to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to families when his visit to his favorite cookie shop turned into an attack that shocked the entertainment world. Authorities said two men exited a white Mercedes-Benz and began shooting at the rapper at the bakery. He died after being shot about 20 times, according to a medical examiner's report. Four years earlier, Young Dolph suffered critical injuries in a 2017 attack, when three men approached and shot him over "beef," according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Earlier that same year, he had been involved in a separate shooting where at least 100 bullets were fired at his SUV. Testifying against Govan was Cornelius Smith Jr., who has admitted to being one of the two shooters who ambushed Young Dolph. Smith previously was the main witness against Justin Johnson, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2024 after Smith named him as the second shooter. Smith faces charges for murder and conspiracy to commit murder for his alleged role in Young Dolph's death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and does not currently have a trial date set. Johnson was originally sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole following his 2024 conviction, plus an additional 35 years for two additional convictions from his trial. Memphis prosecutors have portrayed Young Dolph's killing as part of an effort by Anthony "Big Jook" Mims to get revenge on Young Dolph for diss tracks aimed at Big Jook and the record label he helped run for his brother, rapper Yo Gotti. Smith has testified that Big Jook put out a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph as well as smaller bounties on all the artists at Young Dolph's record label, Paper Route Empire. At Johnson's earlier trial, a prosecutor told jurors Cocaine Muzik Group (now known as Collective Music Group), a rival record label founded by Yo Gotti, wanted Young Dolph to work for them, but he turned them down. Big Jook was shot and killed outside a restaurant in January 2024. Smith testified Monday that "I didn't know anything about Paper Route having no hits," before Govan told him about them. He said Govan hired him to "do the hits," including giving Smith guns for the killing, and was going to take $10,000 as his cut. Govan was also the person who told him and Johnson that Young Dolph would be in Memphis for the Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, so "that's our opportunity," Smith said. Prosecutors introduced as evidence dozens of cellphone communications between Johnson, Smith, Govan and Big Jook ahead of the shooting. Meanwhile, Govan's defense attorney, Manny Arora, tried to paint Smith as an unreliable witness who would say anything to try to get a lighter sentence. Arora pointed to previous testimony where Smith recalled a chance encounter with Big Jook. At the time, Smith implied that Big Jook was the person who hired him. After Smith was arrested, his attorney called Big Jook's attorney and received somewhere between $38,000 and $50,000 in cash. Smith said on Monday that he did not know who had supplied the money. Smith also testified that he previously heard that Govan might be working with the FBI. Arora asked why Smith would take a job from Govan if that were the case. Smith said Govan was "innocent until proven guilty." Govan did not testify in his defense. Smith is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder but has pleaded not guilty and does not yet have a trial date. Johnson was sentenced last September to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He was later sentenced for two other convictions from the trial: conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a gun.
CNN
14 minutes ago
- CNN
Northwestern and former head football coach settle wrongful termination lawsuit stemming from hazing scandal
Northwestern University and Pat Fitzgerald announced Thursday they've agreed to a settlement that ends a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by the former head football coach after he was fired following allegations of widespread hazing in his program. Northwestern's statement acknowledges that Fitzgerald did not know about the hazing in the football program and that he never 'condoned or directed any hazing.' The school also said that when made aware of the hazing going on within his program in July 2023, Fitzgerald was 'incredibly upset and saddened by the negative impact this conduct had on players within the program.' Fitzgerald filed a $130 million lawsuit in October 2023 after being fired a few months earlier as the hazing allegations were made public. The longtime coach of the Wildcats always maintained that he had no knowledge of hazing in his program. 'For the past two years, I have engaged in a process of extensive fact and expert discovery, which showed what I have known and said all along—that I had no knowledge of hazing ever occurring in the Northwestern football program, and that I never directed or encouraged hazing in any way,' Fitzgerald said in a statement released through his attorneys. 'Through discovery, I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern. I am extremely disappointed that members of the team engaged in this behavior and that no one reported it to me, so that I could have alerted Northwestern's Athletic Department and administrators, stopped the inappropriate behavior, and taken every necessary step to protect Northwestern's student athletes.' The terms of the settlement are not being made public, Northwestern said in its statement. The settlement marks the end of a long relationship between Northwestern and Fitzgerald, who starred as a linebacker for the Wildcats before becoming the school's head coach in July 2006. His 17 years as the school's head football coach were among the most successful in school history and he was seen as a Wildcat icon, having spurned interest from bigger schools in order to remain with his alma mater. But when the hazing scandal broke in the summer of 2023, Fitzgerald's time as the leader of the football program came to a shocking end. Fitzgerald's firing followed an independent investigation into the hazing allegations by a former Illinois inspector general. The inquiry began in December after an anonymous email address sent a complaint at the end of the 2022 season, according to an executive summary of the investigation made public by Northwestern. The investigation revealed 11 players, past and present, said hazing was ongoing in the program, university president Michael Schill said in a July 2023 letter to the Northwestern community. But, Schill added in the letter, the investigator didn't find 'any credible evidence that Coach Fitzgerald himself knew about it,' and Fitzgerald has denied any knowledge of hazing in the program. Fitzgerald was initially suspended for two weeks before he was fired. His lawyers contended that he had an agreement with school leadership that he would not face additional punishment beyond that suspension but was then fired days later. In his letter to the community, Schill said he may have erred in only suspending Fitzgerald, saying, 'In determining an appropriate penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn't know and not enough on what he should have known.' The coach was fired a day after that letter was released. In his statement on Thursday, Fitzgerald called his firing the result of a 'rush to judgment in the media' and said reports that he 'knew about and directed hazing are false.' 'Though I maintain Northwestern had no legal basis to terminate my employment for cause under the terms of my Employment Agreement, in the interest of resolving this matter and, in particular, to relieve my family from the stress of ongoing litigation, Northwestern and I have agreed to a settlement, and I am satisfied with the terms of the settlement,' Fitzgerald said in his statement.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texans safety Jimmie Ward sued by woman he was arrested for allegedly assaulting in June
This story contains depictions of domestic violence. Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward has been arrested twice in two months and is now facing a civil lawsuit from the woman he allegedly assaulted in June, according to multiple reports Thursday. Ward, 34, was arrested on June 12 on a felony domestic violence charge. The suit, filed Wednesday in Harris County (Texas) District Court by the plaintiff, alleges that she was "violently assaulted multiple times, both sexually and physically" by Ward, whom she also accuses of drug use, emotional abuse, financial manipulation and death threats, according to ESPN's report. She is reportedly seeking $20 million in damages. The suit notes that Ward and the woman have been together for years and share a 3-year-old child, who allegedly has been present while Ward has allegedly assaulted the woman, according to ABC13. The woman reportedly alleges that early on the morning of June 12, Ward slapped, choked and threatened her and forced her to perform oral sex. The ESPN report states that as soon as the woman got a chance to remove herself and the child from the home, she took the child and ran into the street. The woman was naked at the time, and that's when she called 911, per the report. Reporting from the Houston Chronicle that day detailed that Ward was arrested around 5:30 a.m. after deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office responded to the situation. Ward was released that afternoon on $30,000 bond. Since Ward's initial arrest, he has violated his bond agreement twice, according to the suit: first when he contacted the woman and then again when he tested positive for alcohol, per ESPN's report. The second violation resulted in another arrest of Ward earlier this month. "Our main focus right now is the grand jury, that is set for first week of September, to try to convince the grand jury that Jimmie should not be indicted," Ward's attorney, Stephen Jackson, told ESPN. "We're going to take this one step at a time. We're going to focus on the criminal allegations to try to get those dismissed, and then we'll focus on the civil suit." The plaintiff's attorney is Tony Buzbee, whose firm recently represented a woman who filed a since-settled lawsuit that accused Pro Football Hall of Famer and media personality Shannon Sharpe of rape. Notably, Buzbee also represented multiple women in sexual misconduct and assault cases against former Texans and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was ultimately suspended 11 games by the NFL in 2022 and fined $5 million after facing accusations from more than 24 massage therapists. While the Texans declined comment to ESPN, the franchise's general manager, Nick Caserio, said the team would "kind of let the legal process take care of itself" when he was asked about the matter on the first day of training camp. Ward is on Houston's physically unable to perform list due to a sprained foot he's still recovering from. The injury required season-ending surgery last season. Ward, voted a Texans captain in 2023 and 2024, has not practiced during camp this year and has not been activated.
