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Mother charged after 1-year-old girl found dead in 2017 house fire in Markham

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

MARKHAM, Ill. — Markham police announced an arrest Thursday in the yearslong investigation into the death of one-year-old Ana Marie Townsend.Melody Townsend, the mother of the murdered toddler, was arrested for felony child endangerment and concealing and aiding a fugitive. More charges could be forthcoming.Authorities located Townsend in California and she arrived in the state of Illinois on Tuesday. She is set to go before a judge on Thursday.Melody TownsendAna Marie Townsend's body was found July 3, 2017 at the scene of a house fire at 155th and Hamlin. She was located inside a plastic bag on the upstairs floor of the abandoned home. Her identity was initially unknown. Man, 18, charged with killing CPD Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso faces arraignment Wednesday Two years later the Cook County Medical Examiner's office announced her identity through the use of DNA and officially ruled her death as a homicide, noting physical trauma had occurred unrelated to the fire.Community activ...

1 killed, 3 injured in an off-campus shooting near Northwestern University: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Three people were shot, one fatally, Wednesday evening in a shooting near Northwestern University at Clark Street Beach, according to police.The medical examiner's office identified the victim as 18-year-old Jacquis Irby.Evanston police said the incident took place in the 1800 block of Sheridan Road at Clark Street Beach, just a few steps from the Evanston campus. Three people, who are not Northwestern University students, were shot, according to the Evanston Police Department.Commander Ryan Glew said the 18-year-old man was killed, one boy, 15, is in critical condition and another boy, also 15, suffered a minor gunshot wound.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe suspects involved in the shooting went north towards campus, police said. Evanston police said the shooting was not affiliated with the university and there was no indication of an active shooter. No one has been taken into custody yet and police are looking for four people who went north on Sheridan ...

Oh, Captain! A look at Jonathan Toews' Blackhawks career

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the icons of the Blackhawks, who captained the greatest on-ice era in franchise history, will go a different direction with the rest of his career.After 16 years with the team, Jonathan Toews will not be re-signed by the Blackhawks when his current contract expires at the end of the 2022-2023 season.It's a sad moment for the player, franchise, and especially the fans, who bid farewell to one of the greatest to don the team's iconic sweater. Toews played for the Blackhawks for 15 seasons, made ten playoff appearances, and won three Stanley Cups as the well-respected captain of the team.Thursday's regular season finale against the Flyers at the United Center will be his 1,067th and last game of his time in Chicago as he's scored 371 goals and 511 assists in those contests. In 137 playoff games, he netted 45 goals and 74 assists, a few that helped the team to those three championships. Here's a look at Toews' long and successful career with the Blackhawks, starting wit...

Taco Bell to resurrect discontinued item after fans vote to bring it back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Taco Bell is holding up its end of the deal after promising to bring back a discontinued item of its fans' choosing.In March, Taco Bell announced plans to resurrect one of two items from its not-too-distant menu: the Beefy Crunch Burrito, made with seasoned beef, sour cream, rice and Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips; or the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, which comes in a taco shell seasoned with Doritos Cool Ranch flavoring.After nearly a million votes, Taco Bell announced Thursday that the Beefy Crunch Burrito came out on top, with 59.9% of the vote.“It’s a great day for our movement as devoted Beefy Crunch Burrito fans everywhere have made their voices heard,” Richard Axton, the founder of a so-called "Beefy Crunch Movement" on social media, said in a press release issued by Taco Bell. Taco Bell bringing back Nacho Fries with a fiery twist The item, which was previously a fixture of the Taco Bell menu from 2010 to 2018, will be available for a limited time starting some...

Chicago Animal Care and Control hosting fee-waived adoption event Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago Animal Care and Control is hosting a spring adoption event this Saturday.The "Spring Fling" event is scheduled to be held April 15 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 2741 S. Western Avenue.According to the CACC, the adoption fees will be waived and all pets will be fully vaccinated, microchipped, spayed and neutered. For more information, go to: www.chicago.gov

DPS: Nearly 200 arrests made since patrols started in Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Nearly three weeks into the Texas Department of Public Safety's increased patrols in Austin, Austin Police said the initiative is helping with violent crime, but some community members have expressed concerns about the presence of troopers in certain neighborhoods. So far, DPS reports its made nearly 200 arrests. PREVIOUS: Texas DPS to send resources to help with Austin police staffing DPS started assisting the Austin Police Department last month after a request from Gov. Greg Abbott in late March, through the creation of the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force, or AVCTF. According to DPS, the AVCTF is a data-driven violent crime suppression task force composed of troopers, special agents and intelligence-level policing.Since the launch of the AVCTF on March 30 through April 10, DPS personnel have conducted over 5,202 traffic stops and 38 crash investigations, the agency said.DPS making arrests in AustinDuring that time, the task force has also made 117 felony and 81...

Who can get medical marijuana in Texas?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas House approved Wednesday a bill that would expand eligibility to people who suffer from chronic pain to the state’s medical marijuana program. If the bill passes into law, it will go into effect on Sept. 1.  MORE: Texas House passes bill to expand medical marijuana program Who is currently eligible?Texas lawmakers passed the Compassion Use Program in 2015. Lawmakers then passed bills further expanding the program in 2019 and 2021. The program initially only applied to patients with intractable epilepsy. After the two subsequent bills passed into law, the program became open to all patients who live with the following conditions: epilepsy, a seizure disorder, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and incurable neurodegenerative disease. How to get medical marijuana?In order to get medical marijuana in the state, you must have one of the aforementioned medical conditions, be ...

More rain fell in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday than in all of 2022 in the Twin Cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

Close to 26 inches of rain fell in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, with most of that falling in just six hours, according to the National Weather Service.That was more rain that the Twin Cities saw in all of 2022, the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service reported on Thursday in a tweet.(The Twin Cities saw 22.97 inches of rain in 2022, the NWS reports.)How did Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach and Hollywood become ground-zero for this shocking torrent? “It was an unprecedented event,” said Shawn Bhatti, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.He said that their preliminary data on Thursday indicated that there were pockets of Fort Lauderdale, stretching from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport up to Edgewood, Tarpon River, and south of the upper Middle River, that were drenched with 20 to 25.91 inches Wednesday, and the broader metro area was pummeled with 10 to 15 inches of rain.A woman wades through high flood waters in a Fort Lauderdale neighbo...

Drag storytime postponed following backlash in Lake Luzerne

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

LAKE LUZERNE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - A family-friendly drag storytime hour planned for this Saturday, April 15, at Rockwell Falls Public Library has been postponed. The library announced the change in a Facebook post on Thursday, after hearing from a group of concerned residents at a library meeting on Tuesday night. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We feel that it is necessary for us to do additional research into the performer and the content of the show, and to share that information with the community," the library board said in a statement on Thursday. "No future date has yet been set for a future scheduling of the event, but the decision of whether or not the program will be presented at Rockwell Falls Library will be announced to the public no later than June 1, 2023."At a Tuesday night meeting of the Rockwell Falls board of directors, around 40 Lake Luzerne residents attended in protest of the storytime hour, featuring Alb...

Crandall Library recycling electronics for Earth Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:48 GMT

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day. In downtown Glens Falls, Crandall Public Library is celebrating the day by inviting the community to bring their old electronics in for recycling - no computer too old, no smartphone too cracked. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, all library visitors are invited to bring household electronics in for safe recycling. Accepted items include computers, laptops, monitors, keyboards, printers, cell phones, and other household electronics. All items can be brought to the library's parkside entrance, facing out into City Park. Those bringing in computers and other electronics that could contain personal information are asked to reset them to factory settings before bringing them in.While you're dropping off your devices, other events are being held at the library in celebration of Earth Day. A program running from 11 a.m. to 2 ...