Afternoon Briefing: Man acquitted in shooting death of 7-year-old
A Cook County jury has acquitted a man of shooting and killing 7-year-old Natalia Wallace, making him the second defendant to be found not guilty in the slaying on the Fourth of July in 2020.
Davion Mitchell was found not guilty of murder and other felonies a week after jury selection began on April 4. In December, Cook County Judge Joanne Rosado found a co-defendant, Kevin Boyd, guilty of murder, but she acquitted the alleged getaway driver, Reginald Merrill. Charges are still pending against a fourth man, Boyd's brother, Terrell Boyd.
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The Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing has a lawsuit against the city winding its way through federal court alleging the city doesn't operate or design the emergency shelter program 'in a manner that would provide equivalent services' to individuals with mobility disabilities. Read more here.
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Police seek public's help in finding violin worth $10,000 stolen on Blue Line
Feds could rest in bribery trial of state Sen. Emil Jones
The personal information of more than 500 people may have been compromised in a hacking incident at Loretto Hospital on the city's West Side, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read more here.
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Buyers who paid nearly $12.3M for Winnetka mansion on Lake Michigan sell separate home
Blue Island acquires historic Libby building after years of legal disputes, eyes redevelopment
The potential of losing all three point guards for two knockout games places the Chicago Bulls at a steep disadvantage as they attempt to return to the playoffs. Read more here.
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What to know about tonight's WNBA draft, including how — and who — to watch and when the Chicago Sky pick
Chicago Bears and CB Kyler Gordon agree to a contract extension worth a reported $40 million over 3 years
The hottest festival ticket happens just once a generation, if not once a lifetime. That would be the Mahler Festival, a musical G20 summit of sorts celebrating the life and legacy of Gustav Mahler. Read more here.
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You can catch Nad Navillus at The Hideout — you've seen furniture he's built on 'The Bear'
Review: Mamet's 'Henry Johnson' sorts through the cards we're dealt in life
A man is facing charges after authorities say he broke into the Pennsylvania governor's mansion in the middle of the night, set a fire that left significant damage and forced Gov. Josh Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building during the Jewish holiday of Passover. Read more here.
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A person was arrested at UnitedHealthcare headquarters after reports of an intruder, months after company CEO was killed
Blue Origin launches an all-female celebrity crew with Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez
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Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
Cities near LA abandon July 4th celebrations as Trump's immigration crackdown takes hold
Los Angeles and several surrounding cities are canceling — or postponing — Fourth of July celebrations in response to increased activity by federal immigration officials in the area. The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation postponed a summer movie and concert series, while canceling this year's East Los Angeles Rock'n 4th of July celebration "out of caution and in response to recent ICE enforcement activity." One of the city's biggest Fourth of July events that drew thousands in 2024, the Gloria Molina Grand Park Summer Block Party, has been indefinitely postponed due to "the ongoing circumstances impacting the region." Other communities surrounding Los Angeles also reportedly decided to cancel their Fourth of July events in light of the ongoing federal immigration enforcement in the area, including the cities of Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Whittier and the town of El Sereno. In Huntington Park, the cancellation goes beyond just the Fourth of July holiday and includes a 30-day pause on "certain public summer events," according to a statement released by the city. "Reports of unmarked vehicles and unidentified federal agents have created widespread anxiety, particularly among immigrant and mixed-status families," according to the Huntington Park statement. "Many residents have expressed fear and uncertainty, leading them to remain indoors, refrain from work, and withdraw from daily public life. Our priority is and will continue to be the safety and peace of mind of our community." Officials from these communities halting their Independence Day events have been outspoken against the Trump administration's decision to ramp up federal immigration enforcement. Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores has described the increased prevalence of ICE raids in and around Los Angeles as a "campaign of domestic terror" and "psychological warfare that I've only seen in theaters of war," according to The Guardian. Meanwhile, the vice mayor of the City of Cudahy allegedly called on gang leaders in a now-deleted TikTok post to defend their territory from ICE. A report Monday by The New York Times found that, since June 6, "agents from several federal agencies have arrested about 2,000 immigrants in the Los Angeles region," according to documents obtained by the outlet, which added that the arrests have "been one of the reasons so many are on edge." This week, the Pentagon released 150 California National Guard troops from their federal security mission in Los Angeles to help fight wildfires.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
I was chased out of MIT — and it was all because I'm Jewish
Before Oct. 7, 2023, I was the literal poster boy for a Ph.D. student at MIT. I was featured in a July 2023 profile in MIT News, which relayed my background and aspirations. 'Although he has just two years of graduate school under his belt,' it said, 'Sussman is considering a career in academia.' That career is no longer available to me. In January, I left MIT because of the antisemitism I experienced on campus. Now I'm suing the university. Advertisement The antisemitism didn't start on Oct. 7. I joined the board of MIT Grad Hillel during my first year on campus because, as I told MIT News, 'I think it's important to demonstrate Jewish culture at a time when antisemitism is on the rise.' Three months after the profile was published, Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — and my fellow students at MIT celebrated, posting, 'Victory is ours.' Chanting for violence As president of Grad Hillel, I had to cope not only with my own grief but also with that of my community members who sought support in the face of antisemitism that they encountered on campus. We witnessed our peers chant for violence against Jews, take over buildings, interrupt classes with antisemitic rants, and harass, intimidate and bully Jews for being Jewish. This hostile environment was exposed to the world in December 2023 when MIT's president, Sally Kornbluth, was called to Congress alongside the presidents of Harvard and Penn, to answer for the antisemitism on her campus. Advertisement She testified, now infamously, that calls for the elimination of the Jewish people can be antisemitic 'depending on the context.' After that day, calls for the genocide of Jews continued, and the climate of terror on campus intensified. It became increasingly difficult to focus on my computer science research. Students were arrested for unruly protest both inside and outside my office building. A man urinated on the window of the MIT Hillel Center. When demonstrators erected an encampment in the middle of campus, MIT Hillel was forced to move and postpone its long-planned annual celebration of Israel's Independence Day. With MIT doing nothing to curb the escalating antisemitism on campus, the situation spiraled out of control. In November 2024, a tenured MIT professor posted online that a 'Zionist 'mind infection' ' is being funded by 'Jewish student life organizations' such as Hillel and Chabad. Advertisement When I pointed out that his message was extremely dangerous rhetoric, the professor began targeting me personally in X posts to his 10,000 followers. He did so over and over again. In his sixth post, for example, he referred to me as 'an excellent case study.' I sent the professor an email with a simple request: 'Please leave me alone.' He then emailed the entire Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, including students and faculty, promising to use me in his upcoming seminar as a 'real-life case study' of the Jewish 'mind infection.' He continued targeting me in a relentless series of mass emails, copying high-level administrators, including President Kornbluth. In one of these emails, he stated that I have 'powerful connections' to the media and to 'influential friends in Congress like Rep. Elise Stefanik' — which is false. Staying silent Suddenly, I became the target of widespread harassment. Students, staff and non-affiliates piled on, amplifying the professor's vitriol against me. One staff member sent a mass email painting me as a racist. My mother worried I would be killed. Advertisement The most disturbing aspect of this whole episode was that President Kornbluth — who was copied on the exchange where the harassment was on display in real time — stayed silent, as did the other high-level administrators. Not one of them intervened. On the morning of the seminar, flyers were slipped under the doors in the graduate dormitory where I used to live, containing an article advocating for violent 'resistance' against Jews. The flyer specifically targeted me. It contained a graphic styled after Hamas headbands that read, 'This article and the author were banned from MIT after Zionists tweeted about it.' I was one of the Jews who had tweeted about the article, which says, 'We will burn the ground beneath your feet' next to the logo of a US-designated foreign terrorist organization. Then the professor followed through on his awful promise, beginning his seminar — titled 'Language and linguistics for decolonization and liberation and for peace and community building from the river to the sea in Palestine and Israel to the mountaintops in Haiti and beyond' — by discussing me. 'There was one student . . . I won't mention his name, but you probably know who he is,' the professor said. 'Let us not forget that as we engage in this academic exercise that there is a genocide going on.' I filed a formal complaint with MIT's Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response Office, but the staff decided 'not to pursue a discrimination investigation' and stated their decision 'is not subject to appeal.' Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Incredibly, they claimed that the professor's conduct was not antisemitic because his use of the term mind infection refers to 'settler-colonial Zionist propaganda' that he believes 'is funded by the Israeli government.' Advertisement I was left with the distinct impression that MIT's own antidiscrimination office had used common antisemitic tropes to reject my antisemitism complaint, and I felt there was nowhere left to turn. No other choice It was the privilege of a lifetime to study computer science at MIT. But when it became clear that the university would not protect me from the ongoing harassment and threats, I had no choice but to leave my Ph.D. program and abandon my dream. All because I am Jewish. From Tablet magazine. Will Sussman is the lead plaintiff in a new lawsuit against MIT. He served as president of MIT GradHillel from 2023–2024. Follow him @realWillSussman
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man arrested for ‘spying' for Iran before possible attacks in Germany
A Danish man has been arrested on suspicion of spying in Germany on behalf of Iran, an allegation swiftly denied by the Iranian embassy in Berlin. German prosecutors on Tuesday said the man, identified only as Ali S under German privacy law, was suspected of conducting the surveillance 'in preparation of further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets'. It added that the individual was suspected of receiving the espionage orders from 'an Iranian intelligence service'. German and Danish authorities said the man had been arrested in Denmark but would be extradited to Germany. The Iranian embassy in Berlin decried what it called 'unfounded and dangerous accusations'. 'Previous discussions with relevant German authorities have already highlighted that certain third parties are attempting to divert public perceptions from the actual events through artificial staging,' the embassy said in a Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said Iran's ambassador had been summoned after the arrest. 'If this suspicion were confirmed, it would be an outrageous incident that would once again demonstrate that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world,' Wadephul said during a visit to Odesa, Ukraine, shortly after visiting a synagogue there. According to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of at least three buildings in Berlin in June. They included the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society, which has lobbied the European Union to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a 'terrorist' organisation, and a building where the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was said to occasionally stay. Der Spiegel reported that investigators believe the suspect was working on behalf of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the was arrested in the Danish city of Aarhus by local police last week and was awaiting extradition to Germany. During the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country was preparing 'in case Iran targets Israeli or Jewish institutions'. He did not provide further details at the time. Berlin has been a key ally of Israel and vocally supported the attacks on Iran, which began with surprise strikes on June 13.
