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Heather Mack to plead guilty at mother's murder hearing, attorney says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

CHICAGO — Heather Mack plans to plead guilty to charges related to the murder of her mother in Bali, Mack's attorney confirmed to WGN News Thursday.Mack has been awaiting trial for conspiring to murder her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62, of Oak Park. The hearing is set for June 15.The body of Wiese-Mack was found badly beaten inside the trunk of a taxi parked at a hotel in Bali in August 2014. Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant at the time, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were arrested a day later. Chicago judge orders Heather Mack to stay in jail as she awaits trial in mother’s Bali murder Mack spent seven years in prison in Indonesia before she was deported. She was arrested in 2021 shortly after returning to the the U.S. In November of 2022, Mack lost custody of her daughter whom she gave birth to while in prision in Indonesia. A Cook County judge ordered that the child be placed with a maternal cousin in Colorado.Schaefer remains in pri...

FBI offer $5K for info on 'Stuffed Bear Bandit' in armed bank robbery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are in pursuit of a man who held stuffed animals during an armed robbery incident at a bank on the South Side earlier this year. Police are searching for a man in connection to a robbery of a PNC bank in the 8700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue on March 6. Police said he entered the bank three times. The first time, he was clutching two stuffed animals, which what police believed to be a Winnie the Pooh plush and a Dalmation plush. The FBI has named him the "Stuffed Bear Bandit." Police reported that he entered the bank a second time without the stuffed animals and finally a third time when he violently robbed the bank. The man threw decorative rocks at the teller window before threating the life of an employee, demanding money while displaying a firearm.Police reports described the man between the ages of 40-50, 5'6''-5'8" tall and a medium build. He was seen wearing a black skull cap, black sunglasses, a black face mask, a black hooded jacket, blu...

'Just want a chance': Man with autism starting alternative baseball league in suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — A man from Georgia is expanding the baseball league he started to the Chicago area to give those with disabilities a chance to play America's pastime.Taylor Duncan, 27, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four and grew up absolutely loving baseball.Duncan said as he got older, there were fewer opportunities to play the sport he loved with coaches deeming his disability as a safety issue.Taylor as youngsterTaylor being honored at a Braves game"I really had the desire to give back to others like myself," Duncan told WGN News. "Baseball provides valuable lessons like character, becoming a team player and learning how to communicate."So in 2016, Duncan got to work because he knew from his own experiences that these types of positive experiences for people with disabilities can become harder to find after high school."Once those with disabilities graduate out of high school, (opportunities) can completely fall off the cliff," Duncan said. "There's got to be more se...

The List: Celebrating the days of June

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

There are many different holidays in June beyond Father's Day and Flag Day. Today Larry is highlighting them all.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Elgin man arrested in Texas for $4M worth of cocaine in semi-truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

CHICAGO, Ill. — A man from Elgin was arrested in Marshall, Texas for holding millions of dollars worth of cocaine in a semi-truck, police said.According to police, 34-year-old Ariel Martinez from Elgin, Illinois was pulled over by police in the 1500 block of South East End Boulevard in Marshall around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. FBI offer $5K for info on ‘Stuffed Bear Bandit’ in armed bank robbery Police found 39 plastic-wrapped bundles of cocaine weighing 43 kilograms, in the semi-truck. Photo courtesy of Marshall PDMartinez was arrested and transported to Harrison County Jail. The incident is still under investigation.

'80s pop sensation Tiffany involved in accident on Tennessee highway: 'Extremely lucky'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

NASHVILLE (NEXSTAR) –  Tiffany, the singer responsible for hit songs such as “Could’ve Been” and “I Think We’re Alone Now” in the late '80s, was involved in what could’ve been a "major accident" on a Tennessee highway last week.A representative for the singer, whose full name is Tiffany Darwish, confirmed to Nexstar that Tiffany was traveling through Nashville when a tire rolled under her car.“Last week, Tiffany was driving on [Interstate 65] when a tire from a truck came rolling across the highway, hit her car, and got stuck under the driver's side,” a spokesperson for the singer said. Tire flies off race car, hits parked car during Indy 500 Her rep added that her car’s transmission was “torn apart,” and both the front and sides of the car suffered damage."I'm extremely lucky and thankful because a major accident could have happened,” Tiffany wrote in a statement shared with Nexstar.Tiffany, seen here performing in Nashville in 2015, said she's "extremely lucky" she avo...

Judge orders continued probation for teen sex trafficking victim who killed alleged abuser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

DES MOINES, IOWA (WHO) - A teenage sex trafficking victim who fatally stabbed the man she accused of abusing her was resentenced Wednesday to probation, telling an Iowa judge that she now has a support system to help keep her on track.Prosecutors agreed that Pieper Lewis should continue her probation rather than be incarcerated. Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham told the judge that her office “sees her as a human being,” that she is vulnerable to revictimization and that there is low risk she will commit more violence.Pieper Lewis appears in Polk County court, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Lewis was resentenced to probation for killing 37-year-old Zachary Brooks in June 2020. Lewis said that she was trafficked to Brooks against her will and sexually assaulted multiple times when she was 15. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Des Moines Register via AP)Lewis, now 18, had faced a 20-year prison sentence for the June 2020 fatal stabbing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, ...

Senate hearing highlights childcare crisis in the U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- There's concern from lawmakers that the childcare crisis is getting worse. Senators and experts agree, childcare is increasingly unaffordable for many Americans."We're talking about paying people 13, 14 dollars an hour," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.Wednesday, lawmakers including Sanders asked experts how to both increase pay for childcare workers and lower the cost for parents."Why is childcare so expensive?" Sanders asked.Sanders said child care often costs more than $15,000 per year."Can families afford in many cases, middle-class, working-class families afford childcare?" Sanders asked."Families cannot afford it," National Association for Education of Young Children Managing Director Lauren Hogan said.Sanders said the childcare system in New Mexico is an example other states could follow."We raised everybody's wages $3 an hour," New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky said.That change came after m...

Spirit Airlines resolves 'technical issue' after passengers complain of hours-long delays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Budget airline Spirit says it's working back to normal operations after "a technical issue" caused long lines and apparent flight delays Thursday morning.Early on Thursday morning, the airline said the issue had caused its website, its app, and its airport kiosks to be unavailable as of 8 a.m. CT. In an update posted around an hour later, the carrier indicated that only its app was unavailable."We anticipate longer than usual lines at the airport so please plan on arriving early," Spirit wrote on Twitter. Frontier Airlines introduces new ‘all you can fly’ pass In a statement shared with Nexstar, Spirit said the cause of the problem was "a network issue between third-party services," and that it had been resolved as of 10:30 a.m. CT."We apologize for any delays and inconvenience, and we’re now working our way back to normal operations," a spokesperson said.Thursday morning's delays, according to passengers, had significantly backed up travelers at airports in different...

TEA announces new Houston ISD superintendent, board of managers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:22 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 1, 2023.HOUSTON (KIAH) — The Texas Education Agency has announced a new superintendent and board of managers for Houston ISD as part of the state's takeover of the school district. In March, the state told district leaders of its plans to intervene, following years of low student performance at several campuses. NEXT: Timeline of the Houston ISD takeover Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Thursday that Mike Miles, a former Dallas ISD superintendent, will take over as HISD superintendent.Miles is described in a statement as “an experienced educational leader with an established track record of success improving outcomes for Texas students, including in the second largest school district in the state.”Miles will begin working under a 21-day interim contract until his is formally approved by the board of managers.Morath also announced the nine-member HISD Board of Managers, which include six...