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Fire destroys home in Lemont, Illinois

Fire destroys home in Lemont, Illinois

CBS News7 hours ago
A fire destroyed a house in suburban Lemont, Illinois, on Wednesday.
Firefighters battled heavy flames and smoke at a house south of downtown Lemont, just off of Archer Avenue.
Video from the scene shows the heavily damaged house. The flames spread to a car parked in the driveway.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Fire officials have not released further details.
This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
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Amanda Knox: How one misunderstood text sparked suspicion in infamous murder case
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Amanda Knox: How one misunderstood text sparked suspicion in infamous murder case

Fox Nation is revisiting one of the most sensational true crime cases of the 21st century – the Amanda Knox story – in a new special that reexamines the twists, trials and lingering questions surrounding the American exchange student accused of murder in Italy. The Seattle native spent nearly four years in an Italian prison after being accused of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad. To some, she was a cold-blooded killer. To others, she was a scapegoat trapped in a legal nightmare. "Since O.J. Simpson, this was the biggest case. This was the other case of the century, and it was going to be spun by different people [in] different ways," said Dr. Greg Hampikian, a forensic DNA expert, in the new special. Along with attorney Anne Bremner and journalist Angenette Levy, Hampikian broke down the Knox case in the Fox Nation special, starting from the moment she left the U.S. and became a suspect abroad. Before the handcuffs, Knox was a student at the University of Washington with her sights set on Europe. "She wanted to go abroad like anybody at that age, wanting to branch out," said Bremner. She worked three jobs, including one as a barista, to make that dream a reality. With a goal to learn Italian and become a translator, she arrived in Perugia, Italy in September 2007 and moved into a flat with three roommates, one of whom was Kercher, a British exchange student. Along the way, a romantic relationship emerged when Knox met a man while attending a concert with Kercher. Raffaele Sollecito, a 23-year-old student who was in the area to study information technology, was added to the triangle of suspicion surrounding Kercher's unexpected death. There were reports that Kercher was stabbed several times and sexually assaulted in the middle of the night, but further details surrounding the incident remained mysterious. With a window broken and a rock found nearby, police initially speculated that the crime was a burglary gone wrong, but when they realized nothing had been taken from the property, they developed alternative theories. Investigators then zeroed in on Knox, Sollecito and an innocent bar owner — despite having no physical evidence to support their implication. "The police in Perugia – they don't think Amanda Knox is acting appropriately for someone whose roommate was stabbed 47 times," Levy explained. Bremner chalked up that suspicion to cultural differences that largely shaped Italian authorities' perceptions. One image of Knox kissing Sollecito outside the murder site was plastered everywhere, but Bremner said it failed to capture the despondent looks they shared immediately after. Then, one text message – a complete misunderstanding – shifted everything, raising suspicion even higher. To learn more about the Amanda Knox case, including her hours-long interrogation, a faulty statement, the emergence of a well-known criminal and the road to Knox's eventual acquittal, subscribe to Fox Nation and begin streaming "Framed: The Amanda Knox Story" today.

San Mateo County Sheriff Corpus defends herself in unprecedented removal hearing
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San Mateo County Sheriff Corpus defends herself in unprecedented removal hearing

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus delivered emotional testimony Tuesday as she continued her defense in a hearing that could determine whether she remains in office. The proceeding is being closely watched as an unprecedented attempt to unseat a sitting, elected sheriff in open court. Speaking on the witness stand for a second day, Corpus reflected on her early years in the department, describing a workplace she said was rife with discrimination and harassment. She recalled being one of just two women in her academy class, finding ants and sugar stuffed into her locker, and being called derogatory names by veteran deputies, some of whom, she noted, still serve in the Sheriff's Office today. Corpus said hostility resurfaced when she launched her campaign for sheriff. According to her testimony, department insiders tried to sabotage her run by tearing down campaign signs and threatening her supporters. Legal analyst Steve Clark said the testimony marked a pivotal moment for the sheriff. "Sheriff Corpus was clearly fighting for her career, and she was very well prepared," Clark said. While her attorneys cast Corpus as a reformer battling a hostile workplace culture, attorneys for the county sought to highlight allegations of misconduct. They questioned whether she had retaliated against employees, using her position to punish critics and reward allies. Central to their case was her close relationship with aide Victor Aenlle. The county argued she pushed through pay raises and promotions for Aenlle despite his limited formal experience in law enforcement and the public sector. They suggested the relationship blurred professional lines and created a conflict of interest. "It doesn't really matter if it was romantic, but the fact that he was so close to you, giving you gifts," Clark explained. "You're having lunch all the time, and you're promoting him. You're moving him up the ladder when he doesn't necessarily deserve it. That's where the conflict of interest comes in." Attorneys presented the Sheriff's Handbook and confronted Corpus with text messages, slurs, and questions about gifts, including diamond earrings. Corpus denied any wrongdoing, saying she was unaware of the meaning of the slur and insisted she used cash to purchase $8,000 diamond earrings for herself. The county suggested they were a gift from Aenlle. "She had an answer for everything," Clark said. "She was very well studied on this material. And so when there were these negative inferences trying to be drawn, she corrected the county council and said, 'No, that's not the way it happened.'" The county also pointed to the arrest of Deputy Carlos Tapia, a union leader, suggesting it was retaliation after he criticized a costly overtime policy. Tapia was later cleared of fraud by the district attorney. The county then highlighted actions taken against a former captain of the Half Moon Bay bureau who posted an unauthorized message announcing her departure. The message, Corpus said, was not cleared through the proper channels but did not mention Corpus by name. Corpus testified that she responded by locking the captain out of their email before they exited the department, citing concerns of erratic behavior. Corpus defended her actions, saying she relied on her executive team and made legitimate management decisions. The county suggests the actions were retaliatory. "She's the elected sheriff, and she has the right to make these decisions," Clark said. "Maybe there was an element of being unhappy with some of these people, but at the same time, is that grounds for removal?" Corpus's future within the department will ultimately be decided by the board of supervisors, who will receive a recommendation from a third-party judge overseeing the proceedings.

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The Menendez brothers are set for long-awaited parole board hearings in California this week after spending nearly 30 years in prison for the 1989 killings of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. In May, Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were sentenced in 1996 to life without the possibility of parole, saw their sentences reduced by a judge to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole under California's youth offender law because they were under the age of 26 when they committed their crimes. The brothers will appear separately before the state parole board to argue that they no longer pose a threat to public safety, will not re-offend and take full responsibility for their crimes. Erik Menendez will have his hearing on Thursday morning, followed by Lyle Menendez on Friday. The brothers are expected to appear virtually from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. 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