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Asylum seekers shuffled between CPD police stations as area shelters reach capacity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

CHICAGO — The 14th District police station is one of several in the city where asylum seekers could be seen camping out Monday evening as Chicago-area shelters reach capacity.The Fraternal Order of Police told WGN that there are other city resources and departments that should be taking care of this, but instead, it's been left solely with CPD to handle."Apparently the police department is now a homeless shelter and taxi service," said Chicago FOP President John Catanzara. "We’ve been receiving calls for the better part of a week plus now about this issue, that’s only getting worse." Vigil held on 4th anniversary of the murder of Marlen Ochoa Lopez, baby cut from womb A Venezuelan mother who spoke to WGN, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Anngimar, said she has been taken back and forth between the 8th and 14th District police stations with her two daughters."They’re just shuffling them around from station to station," Catanzara said. "they’re not doing anything ...

Powerful geomagnetic storm triggers Northern Lights Sunday night; Tuesday's "NE" winds deliver March-level chill Tuesday/Wednesday; modest Thursday/ Friday warming but another cool, cloudy, showery weekend ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

2023 — severe weather season off to quite a startQuieter weather ahead this week given the cool pattern underway—expected to last into next weekAn interesting post and analysis on the Chicago 2023 SEVERE WEATHER SCENE from my NWS-Chicago colleagues who report in a post today (Monday):“Our local severe weather season is off to a very active start. We’ve already seen 10 more tornadoes than the annual average, and saw several rounds of damaging wind and hail storms in March and April. Our typical peak of the severe weather season is May through June.”A MAJOR "G4" INTENSITY GEOMAGNETIC STORMSunday night set off a spectacular Northern Lights display visible in places far south of regions most often able to see Auroral displays in the Northern Hemisphere—Auroras were reported in Europe and in Australia in the Southern HemisphereMost often, auroral displays are seen across Alaska, Canada and Scandanavia. But last night's displays were visible much farther south.Robert Steenburgh, space wea...

Victim 'brutally assaulted' in north Austin robbery, APD searching for suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's help in finding a suspect wanted in connection with a north Austin robbery, APD said in a news release.Shortly before 2 p.m., April 8, two suspects "brutally assaulted" the victim by punching and stomping on the victim's head in an alleyway in the 900 block of Rutland Drive, police said.One of the suspects has been arrested, police said. The other is who the police need help to find.During the attack, both suspects took the victim's belongings and ran north away from the scene, the release said. Detectives believe this was not a random attack.A video of the assault can be viewed on APD's YouTube.The description of the unidentified suspect is below:Black maleStocky build20 to 30 years of ageHe was last seen wearing a dark blue, flat-brimmed hat with a gray New England Patriots logo, a dark blue and white hooded jacket with a white logo on the left, and light-colored jeansThe Austin Police Department is searching fo...

Judge says Kim Gardner is not in contempt; calls out her office management

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A judge did not hold Kim Gardner in contempt of court in a hearing Monday, but said he fears her office’s misstep is just the beginning of issues we’ll see. The victim’s family shared concerns about future justice.The Scott family’s concerns might best be summed up by Judge Scott Millikan's frustrations.“I’m just trying to bring some semblance of order to this circuit (court),” he said.The family of the victim, Brandon Scott, walked out of court stunned.“Everything was just everywhere. I think even the judge was just confused about everything,” April Scott, the victim's sister, said. Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules April said she doesn’t want people to forget who her brother was. “Brandon was a loving family man with two beautiful children," she said.Brandon Scott died in September 2021. His was found shot to death inside his car, which had crashed onto the steps of the Arch grounds.“He was on his home. He was trying to get on the highway, and he acciden...

Caught on camera: Thieves break into multiple cars in The Grove

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Multiple cars were broken into Saturday night at The Grove. One victim who caught thieves on camera recounts the scare."For this very reason, I got a ring camera, and lo and behold, my car gets broken into,” said the car break-in victim.The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was having a drink at a neighboring bar, Taha'a Twisted Tiki. When she was getting ready to leave, she noticed that she and at least three other cars had their windows smashed. Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules "It was triggering; it was upsetting," the woman said. "But to see how close it was to the time they broke into my car, I think it was six minutes to me getting back in."The masked man was seen on video rummaging through her car with a gun. Flashlight attached.He stole a case, which may have looked like a concealed carry to the thief, but it was something much more sentimental."These darts were given to me by my family, my first set of darts," the victim said. "Darts that a ...

Ameren and St. Charles reach no agreement on the water contamination crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Monday was the end of the 21-day deadline set by the EPA for the water contamination crisis in the City of St. Charles.St. Charles is at odds with Ameren over the issue. EPA directed the two sides to reach an access agreement to city property that would allow Ameren to address groundwater contamination from the Huster Road Substation.St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer said St. Charles and Ameren representatives met on Monday, but no agreement was reached."We're sitting down at the table with this supposedly shortly and negotiating, but that's still a long way away," Borgmeyer said. "Nobody rolls over for that kind of money. So it will probably wind up in court, is my guess." Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules St. Charles has launched its own cleanup plan. It’s having a special set-up to decontaminate and clean the water. It’s an eight-tank assembly that will cost the city around $18 million.It's not having to shoulder that expense by itself. The state o...

St. Louis reparations commission holds first public meeting  

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The newly formed City of St. Louis Reparations Commission held its first public meeting at Harris-Stowe State University Monday night.The commission was formed by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and is tasked with identifying the results of slavery, segregation, and other race-based harms in St. Louis before ultimately making recommendations for how that harm should be repaired.The nine-member commission will hold monthly meetings to hear from the public and experts before forming recommendations for Jones and the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to consider.“What we will deliver will be a set of recommendations, and then it’s up to us as residents to organize our board of aldermen and the mayor to actualize those recommendations,” said Kayla Reed, chair of the St. Louis City Reparations Commission. Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules “This is a historic opportunity to really acknowledge the historic wrongs that have been evident in St. Louis for generations," sai...

Father and daughter photography duo get rare glimpse of northern lights in Missouri 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's not every day you get to see one of Earth's natural wonders of the world in the Show Me State.However, on Sunday night, due to a geomagnetic storm, the aurora borealis stretched into several states, including Missouri, and if you were lucky enough, you may have caught a glimpse."I'd never photographed the northern lights, so this was kind of a really unique opportunity," said David Carson, a photographer for the St. Louis Post Dispatch.Carson saw photos of the northern lights on social media, to his surprise. He said he had heard of northern lights sightings in Missouri before, but had never truly seen them for himself. So when he saw the photos online, he grabbed his daughter, Ava, who is also a photographer, and drove 80 minutes north to Clarksville. Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules “To your eyes, you could see it, and you could see some of the pillar," Carson said. But it was the camera that really allowed the colors to come through."He and Ava sp...

Woman in custody after series of retail thefts across bi-state area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Authorities hope they’ve put a St. Louis area “businesswoman” out of business.State records showed that in March 2022, Nautyca Mays, 25, filed for and received LLC status from the Missouri Secretary of State as a company doing business as “Nautyca Enterprises.”She was allegedly in the business of selling tens of thousands of stolen items—items she’s allegedly been stealing from area stores over the past five years.In spite of multiple trips to area jails, court records showed Mays had allegedly stolen perfume, beauty supplies, and clothing from stores before being released and then stealing again. Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules August 2018: She was arrested for stealing more than $2,800 worth of clothing from JC Penney in St. Peters but released on bond after a police chase that ended with a crash; her then-year-old child was in the vehicle.January 2021: She was arrested for felony retail theft in Fairview Heights, Illinois.March 2022: She w...

St. Charles County appoints new prosecutor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:17:14 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - The St. Charles County Council approved the appointment of Joe McCulloch as the new county prosecutor on Monday. St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann appointed McCulloch after Tim Lohmar suddenly announced his retirement last month.McCulloch's appointment will run through December 2024. McCulloch said he plans on reaching out to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's Office to offer any assistance after the resignation of several assistant prosecutors in her office.“I’ll reach out to Ms. Gardner and offer the assistance of our office in handling some cases," McCulloch said. "I know that she’s down prosecutors, so if we can assist, this is a regional problem that needs to be handled by the region. So I will also contact prosecutors in the surrounding counties." Gardner won’t be held in contempt, judge rules He plans on prosecuting some of the high-profile cases from start to finish. McCulloch said being hands-on is very important to him, and he wan...