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Illinois correctional officer charged after surveillance footage shows him repeatedly hitting a man in custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

(CNN) — An Illinois correctional officer accused of beating a man in custody has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct, authorities said.The Cook County Sheriff’s Office this week released surveillance video of the September 2022 incident, which shows a man speaking to the officer and another guard before the officer, identified by the sheriff’s office as 44-year-old Richard Smith, begins punching the man.Smith appears to punch the individual even after he falls to the ground.A few more unidentified correctional officers enter the room within a minute, and at least one of them also punches the man, who is still on the ground. After a few seconds, some of the officers move to break up the incident.An internal investigation determined: “Smith struck an individual in custody more than 30 times in the Jail’s Residential Treatment Unit,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.According to the agency, the man,...

Volunteers support Rebuilding Together Boston’s work on homes in Dorchester

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

Rebuilding Together Boston worked with sponsors and volunteers at three locations in Dorchester on Saturday to make critical repairs and updates at two homes and one family shelter.The projects were made possible thanks to the generosity of sponsors Boston College, Grand Circle Foundation, and Lowe’s, and are part of a nationwide effort to support veterans, older adults, families, and disaster survivors with essential health and safety home repairs.If you’re in need of assistance and want to apply for the program: https://www.rebuildingtogetherboston.org/find-helpIf you want to become a volunteer: https://www.rebuildingtogetherboston.org/volunteer

Showers return Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

After a dry but gloomy start to the weekend, we turn the gloom up a notch Sunday, with a slow-moving cold front expected to move through the area. Showers will start in Worcester around 4am, with an isolated thunderstorm or two possible. Rain will arrive in the Boston area mid-morning, with some embedded heavier showers and occasional thunder. The front starts to pull out of the area late afternoon, but not without leaving behind some much-needed rain across the area. Behind the front, the upcoming week looks cool and unsettled, with highs expected in the 50s all week.

Photos: No fowl day for a day on the water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

It may not have been the sunniest day in Greater Boston Saturday, but that didn’t stop people, or other wildlife, from getting out and about.As humans took to the water, like those taking part in a boat race in the Lower Basin of the Charles River in Cambridge, a Canadian Goose took to the land. And perhaps for a t least one, the location was a bit off.The Herald spotted one proud future parent build a nest just inches from Soldiers Field Road in Boston.Stuart Cahill/Boston HeraldWith courtship over, a Canadian Goose, builds its nest and tends to its brood just inches from Soldiers Field Road near the Eliot Bridge on Saturday in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

State immigration chief held for trial in migrant deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — A judge on Saturday ordered the immigration director of Mexico’s northern border state of Chihuahua to stand trial Saturday on charges of homicide, injuries and failure to perform his duties, for last month’s deadly fire at a migrant detention center. The judge ordered the director, Salvador González, held in prison pending trial. Judge Juan José Chávez said there was evidence that González failed to do his duty to protect the migrants. Forty migrants died in the March 27 fire in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, after a migrant allegedly set fire to foam mattresses to protest a supposed transfer.“In the end, everything depends on the head” official, Chávez said. “Not complying with standards does have its results.”Five other officials of the country’s National Immigration Institute, a guard at the center and the Venezuelan migrant accused of starting the blaze are already in custody facing homicide charges.The step is significant...

Curfew in Jamica district after gunmen wound 7 boarding bus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Police enforced a curfew in a community on the southern fringes of Jamaica’s capital Saturday after gunmen fired on people boarding a public minibus, wounding seven, including three children.The Jamaica Constabulary Force gave no information on the conditions of the wounded from the brazen attack, which occurred at midafternoon Friday in Seaview Gardens, a poor area of Kingston.There was speculation the gunmen were targeting one of the people trying to get on the bus, but authorities did not comment on a possible motive. Conflict among rival gangs has been blamed for an uptick in violence in the community.Authorities ordered a two-day curfew in Seaview Gardens, and police said they were looking for two men for questioning about the shooting.Crime statistics released by the police say 303 people were killed on the island in the first three months of this year, 20% fewer than during the same period of 2022. The Associated Press

6-year-old girl, man shot while inside home in Woodlawn, Chicago police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A 6-year-old girl and a 33-year-old man are hospitalized after they were shot while inside a home Saturday evening in Woodlawn, Chicago police said.The girl and man were inside a home around 5 p.m. in the 6600 block of South Drexel Avenue when at least one person inside started shooting, according to information from Chicago police. 3-year-old boy shot while inside home in Chicago, police say The girl was shot in the arm and taken to Comer Children's Hospital in good condition, police said. The man was shot in the back and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in unknown condition.No one has been arrested yet. The incident is still under investigation.

New Hyde Park collective wants to help Black-owned brands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Beauty is a huge industry in the U.S., but Black-owned brands are vastly underrepresented. A new beauty collecting with a location in Hyde Park is working to change that. On anniversary of Geraldo’s Al Capone vault broadcast, WGN unlocks another mystery safe Leslie Roberson knew she wanted to create a business in Hyde Park.She did market research to see what was missing and started visiting beauty stores in other parts of the city."There was one in particular that had a box and all the business owners were Black women and they were so proud," Roberson said. "And I thought to myself 'How dare they box us in?' And I thought, 'What if I created a space for Black entrepreneurs to give them a space to scale their businesses to the next level and gain national visibility? And that's what I did. I created it.The Black Beauty Collective opened near 53rd and Hyde Park Boulevard earlier this month.It features dozens of brand with a majority Black ownership. "We have skincare, we ...

Chicago Yacht Club organizes beach cleanup for Earth Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Even on a cool, damp day — Earth Day was marked around Chicagoland including along the lakefront.Dozens came out to the Belmont Harbor to clean up from straws to cigarettes. Hundreds clean up Humboldt Park on Earth Day Amanda Baker, an Earth Day volunteer, said they want to make sure the earth is safe for future generations. The Chicago Yacht Club and Alliance for the Great Lakes teamed up for the event. A spring cleaning from Belmont and Monroe Harbors sees more action in the summer months. 1-year-old dead after being found unconscious on West Side "It’s important because we are at these two locations that we are good stewards of the earth, especially boat owners," Addy Winker.To many's surprises, the cleanup in the area was light."Right.. it’s very clean we didn’t pick up as much trash as we thought we would, so that’s a good thing," Precious Kleimonov said. Winkler said smaller things break down slowly -- a cigarette butt takes about 14 years to break down.Perhaps...

Alabama education director ousted over book's stance on race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday announced she replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book, written by a nationally recognized education group, that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts" because of language about inclusion and structural racism.Barbara Cooper was forced out as as head of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education after Ivey expressed concern over the distribution of the book to state-run pre-kindergartens. Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola identified the book as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition. Maiola said she understands that the books have been removed from the state classrooms.“The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission. Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to ...