Good afternoon, Chicago.
Federal prosecutors today abruptly moved to dismiss all charges against a woman shot by a Border Patrol agent after she allegedly rammed his vehicle in Brighton Park last month, marking a striking conclusion to one of the most controversial cases to emerge from “Operation Midway Blitz.”
The motion to dismiss assault charges against Marimar Martinez and her co-defendant, Anthony Ruiz, must still be approved by the judge, though such motions are routinely granted.
The U.S. attorneys office made the surprise move just hours before a hearing before U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis where defense attorneys were expected to describe new texts from the Border Patrol agent who shot Martinez and discuss witnesses for an upcoming hearing over what the agent did with his vehicle after the Oct. 4 incident.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Border Patrol agents transfer a person to a van after he was detained during immigration enforcement actions in the area on Oct. 31, 2025, in Niles. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Federal appeals court temporarily halts release of hundreds of Operation Midway Blitz detainees
Most of those arrested were originally processed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview, but have since been moved to jails around the country. Read more here.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson calls Blue Line fire attack ‘isolated incident’
Chicago architect Bruno Ast, who designed a memorial for Kent State University shooting victims, dies at 88
Financier and former Fruit of the Loom President and CEO William F. Farley, along with his wife, sold their seven-bedroom apartment in a building at 209 E. Lake Shore Drive for $7.5 million. (Jeff Lowe)
Financier and former Fruit of the Loom CEO William F. Farley sells Chicago apartment for $7.5M
William F. Farley and his wife, Shelley, sold their seven-bedroom apartment on the 14th floor of the cooperative building at 209 E. Lake Shore Drive for $7.5 million — less than half of the original asking price when the Farleys first listed the unit in 2023. Read more here.
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Abbott Laboratories announces $21 billion deal to buy Cologuard-maker Exact Sciences
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Illinois forward David Mirković gets trapped in the first half against Alabama on Nov. 19, 2025, at the United Center. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Column: Illinois could make some noise in March, but it’s not close to being a championship contender
The Illini are seemingly a work in progress. They have a ways to go before they can call themselves serious contenders for the Final Four, even as Alabama coach Nate Oats insisted they are championship material. Read more here.
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Jeremiyah Love is making his Heisman Trophy case for No. 9 Notre Dame — but can a running back win it?
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J’Kobe Wallace, second right, one of the dance captains from the production “A Beautiful Noise,” leads a music workshop with Parkinson’s disease patients, including Sonia Vargas, second from left, and Lamar Johnson, right, that has stretching exercises and choreography at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on Nov. 19, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Parkinson’s patients get a little choreographic help from a dance captain of the Neil Diamond musical
The cast of the Neil Diamond show “A Beautiful Noise” have been fundraising and pursuing their goal of collecting $1 million to donate to the Parkinson’s Foundation for research. Read more here.
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Review: Lumbering ‘Wicked: For Good’ gets some levity from Ariana Grande
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Alek Schott stands next to a Flock Safety license plate reader in his neighborhood in Houston on Oct. 16, 2025. (David Goldman/AP)
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The Associated Press has found. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
Dick Cheney’s funeral brings bipartisan tributes, but Trump was not invited
TSA to introduce $18 fee for passengers without REAL ID or passport at airport checkpoints
