Category: News
James O’Grady, former Chicago police superintendent and Cook County sheriff who drew praise and scandal, dies at 96
During a 38-year career in law enforcement, James E. O’Grady was a second-generation Irish American police officer and then Chicago’s police superintendent for a year before later serving one term as Cook County sheriff.
“Jim was a great street cop and was the first of his kind to be the superintendent,” said former Chicago police Superintendent Phil Cline, now the executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. “Superintendent O’Grady would always acknowledge street cops when he encountered them on the street. This earned him a lot of respect from street cops.”
Former Chicago police Superintendent James O’Grady. (Chicago Police Department)
O’Grady, 96, died of natural causes on Jan. 5, said longtime friend and colleague Neil Sullivan, a former Cook County chief deputy sheriff. O’Grady had been a longtime resident of the Edgebrook neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Born in Chicago, James Edward O’Grady was the son of Irish immigrants. His father, Thomas O’Grady, was a Chicago police sergeant who retired in 1955. Raised in a house near the intersection of Belmont and Kedzie avenues, O’Grady graduated from St. George High School and he later went back to school, getting a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University in the mid-1970s.
From 1948 until 1952, O’Grady worked as a florist for the Chicago Park District while seeking to take a police exam. In 1952, he joined the Chicago Police Department, working as a patrolman for eight years. O’Grady was promoted to be a sergeant in 1960, a lieutenant in 1965 and a captain in 1969.
In his assignments, O’Grady moved up to be the head of the unit targeting prostitution and the vice control division. He later was the watch commander in the Chicago Avenue district, commander in the Prairie Avenue district — one of the city’s largest — and chief of the 1,300-person criminal investigation division.
In 1968, O’Grady was knocked unconscious by a rock thrown during disturbances at the now-demolished Cabrini-Green housing complex. Then, in December 1971, while off-duty, he was shot in the left hip in a Loop alley while chasing a man who had snatched a purse from an elderly woman — an incident that earned him the Chicago Police Department’s Blue Star Award.
“He whipped around and shot me, and I returned fire,” O’Grady told the Tribune’s Jack Hurst in 1978. “When I got hit I went down, and I was firing from the ground, and he was shooting at me. He fired four shots. I fired three. The guy that I was with, a sergeant, came up and went into a crouch to shoot, but by that time the guy was 125 to 150 feet away — at rush hour in the Loop. So I said, ‘Don’t fire.’ It wasn’t because I didn’t want him to shoot that sonofab—- — but sure as God made little apples, he would’ve accidentally shot somebody else.”
O’Grady was appointed police superintendent in April 1978. In that short tenure, he promoted the first Black woman to the rank of sergeant, promised more meaningful use of women on the force and pledged more diversity in hiring. At the outset, he drew positive marks for getting tough on police corruption.
“The toughest problem I face is getting all the people of the city to believe that the police are really serving them, that we’re doing our best to bring them good police service, that the people of this department have the welfare of citizens at heart,” O’Grady told the Tribune in 1978. “If I could change any one thing, that’s what I’d like to do.”
Sullivan said O’Grady was always a police officer first. “He was good at what his life’s (work) was, and that was being a police officer — not as a command officer, but as a police officer,” Sullivan said. “When he put on his command hat, he was always very much for the rank and file, for the men and women who worked in the department to make sure that everything he did was in their best interests, to help them and make sure that they went home to their families at night.”
As superintendent, O’Grady was criticized by the Better Government Association for not sufficiently curbing illegal spying by police officers on citizens and political organizations. He also came under fire after news reports that police officers were strip-searching female motorists stopped for minor traffic offenses.
Although O’Grady halted strip searches in response to news articles, he admitted that police had not exactly moved expeditiously in looking into the issue, acknowledging that police had investigated complaints about improper strip searches for at least 10 months.
After just a year and eight days as police superintendent, O’Grady resigned and was demoted to captain as newly sworn-in Mayor Jane Byrne had vowed to fire him, alleging that he had politicized the Police Department.
Soon afterward, O’Grady went on a leave of absence from the Chicago Police Department and took a job as Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod’s undersheriff. Two years later, in a surprise move, then-police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek brought O’Grady back as first deputy superintendent.
Byrne later reversed her opinion of O’Grady, explaining that she had gotten an incorrect impression of him from newspaper articles. Asked in 1981 if he was still angry with Byrne and could work under her, O’Grady told reporters that “life is too short to have any hard feelings for anybody.”
In April 1983, O’Grady became acting police superintendent upon Brzeczek’s resignation, serving in that role for more than three months. After that, he reverted to being first deputy superintendent.
O’Grady left the force in 1984 to take over Special Operations Associates, a Southwest Side detective agency. The following year, he changed parties and decided to run in 1986 as a Republican against his former boss, Elrod, who had been sheriff for 16 years.
“It’s more important to be loyal to the profession of policing than what Elrod perceives as loyal to him,” O’Grady told the Tribune’s Bruce Dold in 1986.
In an upset, O’Grady defeated Elrod — making him the first Republican to win county office in a decade — and he pledged to clean up an office tainted by corruption.
However, during O’Grady’s single term as sheriff, his undersheriff, James Dvorak, was alleged to have demanded campaign contributions from subordinates. A Tribune investigation in 1989 showed that despite campaigning for sheriff on a pledge to end political fundraising in office, O’Grady had collected more than $350,000 from jail guards, sheriff’s police and other employees.
Amid allegations of corruption and political favoritism in jobs and promotions, O’Grady was soundly defeated for reelection in 1990 by Democrat Michael Sheahan both in Chicago and in then-Republican strongholds in suburban Cook County. The race was bitter and occasionally violent.
A Cook County correctional officer who supported Sheahan was shot three times and critically wounded outside a South Side tavern. The Sheahan campaign said the officer was hanging Sheahan signs, but O’Grady said the officer was tearing down O’Grady signs. Three men, including a correctional officer supporting O’Grady, were arrested in the incident.
In 1993, Dvorak pleaded guilty to federal bribery and other charges. He was sentenced the following year to 41 months in prison while a massive ghost-payrolling and hiring scandal in the sheriff’s office netted Dvorak an additional 40 months behind bars when he was sentenced in 1996.
Though O’Grady was never charged with a crime, a lengthy federal investigation into his term produced more than a dozen guilty pleas by associates and uncovered rampant corruption, including a hiring scandal that gave jobs, badges and the legal right to carry handguns to at least 455 unqualified applicants for jobs as deputy sheriffs and correctional officers in exchange for favors.
Outside of work, O’Grady was a member of Ridgemoor Country Club in Harwood Heights. He also enjoyed playing handball, softball and golf.
O’Grady’s wife of 67 years, Joan, died in 2022. He is survived by two daughters, Margaret “Peggy” Parker and Joanne Dunderdale; three sons, James, Michael and John; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/james-ogrady-obituary-police-superintendent/
LIS Technologies Launches $1.4 Billion Laser Uranium Enrichment Project In Tennessee
LIS Technologies Launches $1.4 Billion Laser Uranium Enrichment Project In Tennessee
LIS Technologies announced a $1.4 billion uranium enrichment project in Oakridge, Tennessee at the former iconic K-25 site, which until 1987 was a massive gaseous diffusion facility built for the Manhattan Project to enrich uranium-235 for atomic bombs. The company will set up shop on the 206-acre on Duct Island, which will be renamed to LIST Island.
Following the renaming of the 206-acre Duct Island to LIST Island and its redevelopment to house the Company’s commercial laser-based uranium enrichment headquarters, Oak Ridge, TN is expected to become the site of the world’s first US-origin commercial laser uranium enrichment facility, supporting U.S. utilities, next-generation reactor developers, and national defense requirements while helping to reestablish a resilient domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.
“Tennessee continues to lead the nation in advancing American energy independence, which is why innovative companies like LIS Technologies recognize our efforts through projects like this,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. “By creating the Nuclear Energy Fund, we have uniquely positioned our state at the forefront of cutting-edge R&D, and I look forward to the positive impact this project will have for Tennesseans across our state.”
The company intends to break ground and begin site preparation and civil construction in 2026 subject to licensing, permitting, and final investment decisions.
LIST is targeting initial commercial operations before 2030, positioning its laser enrichment facility to meet accelerating demand for domestically sourced uranium enrichment.
LIST has partnered with Nano Nuclear to vertically integrate the nuclear fuel chain with reactor development and deployment. The companies are working together to commercialize the Kronos, Zeus, and Loki reactors and supply the necessary fuel for them to operate.
As the push for US nuclear development goes into high gear, the 3rd-generation laser enrichment technology from LIST could be used to produce low enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay LEU (HALEU) for use in both traditional commercial reactors and advanced reactors throughout the US. The Department of Energy is pursuing the revitalization of the nuclear supply chain due to a current heavy reliance on foreign imports to fuel the nation’s reactor fleet. LIST’s major advantage over its peers in the laser enrichment field is that its process is the only US-origin technology in development.
LIST states they will pursue site characterization and the initial phases of construction during this calendar year. It is then anticipated the company will begin discussions with the NRC to submit an application for the new nuclear fuel facility.
Nano Nuclear, a developer of small modular reactors, first invested in LIST in 2024, which included an enriched uranium supply agreement between the two companies and a potential for future collaboration on fuel fabrication facilities. Nano is still exploring the potential for entering the fabrication market, but has yet to make any announcements regarding land acquisition or regulatory engagement.
Nano recently entered into an engineering agreement with Ameresco for eventual commercialization of their reactor designs, and most recently started the process for preparing the Loki design for use in space applications. Nano Nuclear acquired the Kronos and Loki designs from the now-defunct Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp during bankruptcy proceedings at the end of 2024.
Nano claims the Kronos design is in a high technical readiness state and is one of the leading high-temperature gas-cooled reactor designs in development. It is expected to enter commercial production by the end of the decade.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/16/2026 – 14:00
Groenlandeses opinan sobre el deseo de Trump de apropiarse de su isla
Por EMMA BURROWS
NUUK, groenlandia (AP) — El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ha convertido la isla ártica de Groenlandia en un punto de tensión geopolítica con sus demandas de poseerla y al insinuar que Estados Unidos podría tomarla por la fuerza.
La isla es una región danesa semiautónoma, y el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Dinamarca dijo el miércoles, después de una reunión en la Casa Blanca, que persiste un “desacuerdo fundamental” con Trump sobre la isla.
La crisis domina la vida de los groenlandeses y “la gente no duerme, los niños tienen miedo, y simplemente lo llena todo en estos días. Y realmente no podemos entenderlo”, afirmó esta semana Naaja Nathanielsen, una ministra groenlandesa, en una reunión con legisladores en el Parlamento británico.
Este es un vistazo a lo que dicen los groenlandeses:
Trump “desvirtúa” la cultura groenlandesa
Trump ha menospreciado las defensas de Dinamarca en Groenlandia, sugiriendo que solo son “dos trineos de perros”.
Al decir eso, Trump “nos desvirtúa como pueblo”, comentó Mari Laursen a la AP.
Laursen dijo que solía trabajar en un arrastrero de pesca, pero ahora estudia derecho. Se acercó a la AP para decir que, en su opinión, los ejemplos previos de cooperación entre groenlandeses y estadounidenses “a menudo se pasan por alto cuando Trump habla de trineos de perros”.
Dijo que, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cazadores groenlandeses en sus trineos de perros trabajaron en conjunto con el ejército de Estados Unidos para detectar fuerzas nazis alemanas en la isla.
“El clima y el ambiente ártico son tan diferentes de lo que tal vez ellos (los estadounidenses) están acostumbrados con los buques de guerra y helicópteros y tanques. Un trineo de perros es más eficiente. Puede ir a donde ningún buque de guerra y helicóptero pueden ir”, señaló.
Los groenlandeses no creen en las afirmaciones de Trump
Trump ha afirmado repetidamente que barcos rusos y chinos están invadiendo los mares que rodean Groenlandia. Muchos groenlandeses que hablaron con la AP desestimaron esa afirmación.
“Creo que él (Trump) debería ocuparse de sus propios asuntos”, dijo Lars Vintner, un ingeniero de calefacción.
”¿Qué va a hacer con Groenlandia? Habla de rusos y chinos y todo en aguas groenlandesas o en nuestro país. Somos solo 57.000 personas. El único chino que veo es cuando voy al mercado de comida rápida. Y cada verano salimos a navegar y a cazar y nunca vi barcos rusos o chinos aquí en Groenlandia”, comentó.
En el pequeño puerto de Nuuk, Gerth Josefsen habló con la AP mientras colocaba pequeños peces como carnada en sus hilos de pesca. “No los veo (los barcos)”, afirmó, y dijo que solo había visto “un barco pesquero ruso hace diez años”.
Trump está interesado en los minerales críticos de Groenlandia
Maya Martinsen, de 21 años, una empleada de tienda, dijo a la AP que no cree que Trump quiera Groenlandia para mejorar la seguridad de Estados Unidos.
“Yo sé que no es por la seguridad nacional. Creo que es por el petróleo y los minerales que tenemos que están intactos”, dijo, insinuando que los estadounidenses consideran su hogar como un “intercambio comercial”.
En su opinión, fue positivo que funcionarios estadounidenses, groenlandeses y daneses se reunieran en la Casa Blanca el miércoles y comentó que cree que “los daneses y los groenlandeses están principalmente del mismo lado”, a pesar de que algunos de sus coterráneos quieren la independencia.
“Es angustiante que los estadounidenses no cambien de opinión”, dijo, y añadió que recibió con beneplácito la noticia de que Dinamarca y sus aliados enviarían tropas a Groenlandia porque “es importante que las personas con las que trabajamos más de cerca envíen apoyo”.
Los groenlandeses reciben apoyo de Dinamarca
Tuuta Mikaelsen, estudiante de 22 años, dijo a la AP que espera que Estados Unidos haya entendido el mensaje de los funcionarios daneses y groenlandeses de “retroceder”.
Dijo que no quería unirse a Estados Unidos porque en Groenlandia “hay leyes y cosas, y seguro médico… podemos acudir a los médicos y enfermeras… no tenemos que pagar nada”, y añadió “No quiero que Estados Unidos nos quite eso”.
Groenlandia es el centro de una tormenta mediática
En el parlamento de Groenlandia, Juno Berthelsen, diputado del partido de oposición Naleraq que promueve la independencia en el Parlamento groenlandés, dijo a la AP que ha realizado muchas entrevistas con los medios todos los días durante las últimas dos semanas.
Cuando la AP le preguntó qué le diría a Trump y al vicepresidente JD Vance si tuviera la oportunidad, Berthelsen dijo:
“Les diría, por supuesto, que —como hemos visto— muchos republicanos, así como demócratas, no están a favor de tener una retórica tan agresiva y hablar de intervención militar, invasión. Así que les diríamos que vayan más allá de eso y continúen este diálogo diplomático y se aseguren de que el pueblo groenlandés sea el que esté en el centro de esta conversación.”
“Es nuestro país”, afirmó. “Groenlandia pertenece al pueblo groenlandés.”
___
Kwiyeon Ha y Evgeniy Maloletka contribuyeron a este despacho.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Democrats Fight To Keep Insurrection Myth Alive In New J6 Committee
Democrats Fight To Keep Insurrection Myth Alive In New J6 Committee
The new J6 Committee has started its hearings and, unlike the prior Committee, Republicans have allowed Democrats to select members to sit in opposition. That has led to sharp exchanges, but one of the more interesting occurred between Rep. Harriet Hageman (R., Wyo.) and Jamie Raskin (D., Md.). After Hageman got a witness to admit that no one was charged with incitement, Raskin made the clearly false statement that a few defendants charged with seditious conspiracy was the same thing as incitement. It is not.
Rep. Raskin triggered the confrontation by making a clearly false claim about one of those charged by the Biden Administration: “I would just commend to everybody the testimony of Pamela Hemphill, who was a convicted insurrectionist that was pardoned. She rejected her pardon.”
In reality, Hemphill was charged (like most of the rioters) with relatively minor misdemeanors. She pleaded guilty to one count of demonstrating, picketing, or parading in a Capitol building and received just 60 days in prison, 36 months of probation, and a $500 fine for restitution. She was never charged with insurrection or any felony.
Rep. Hageman pounced on the comment and asked former Justice Department prosecutor Michael Romano whether any January 6 protester had actually been convicted under the federal insurrection statute.
Romano tried to dodge the question but admitted that no one, not Trump nor any rioter, was ever charged with insurrection. Notably, after January 6th, there was a great amount of coverage on Trump and his aides being possibly charged with insurrection or incitement. Despite some of us noting that the speech was clearly protected under the First Amendment, the press portrayed such a charge as credible and heaped coverage on District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, who announced that he was considering arresting Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and charging them with incitement. It never happened. The reason is obvious. It could not be legally maintained.
While the FBI launched a massive national investigation, it did not find evidence of an insurrection. While a few were charged with seditious conspiracy, no one was charged with insurrection.
The Supreme Court later reduced charges further by rejecting obstruction charges in some cases.
Yet that did not stop members and the media from repeating the false mantra that this was an insurrection, despite some of us immediately rejecting it as legally unsustainable. Indeed, Democrats used the false claim to seek to disqualify Trump and dozens of Republicans from ballots.
Now back to the hearing.
Hageman asked the witness, “Mr. Romano, did you prosecute anyone related to January 6th for engaging in an insurrection?” she asked. Romano responded, “No, congresswoman.”
That is when Raskin objected and tried to interrupt the confirmation that, in fact, there never was an insurrection or any such charges.
Hageman persisted, “So, Mr. Raskin’s statement that someone was a ‘convicted insurrectionist’ is actually inaccurate, isn’t that correct?”
When Romano again tried to pivot, she pressed further, “She wasn’t a convicted insurrectionist, was she?”
“For the crime of insurrection, no,” he admitted.
Raskin shouted, “Do you accept seditious conspiracy as insurrection?”
It was a telling statement.
For the record, I have long been a critic of sedition crimes. As I discuss in my book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,”sedition was a noxious import from Great Britain. British judges had balked at the effort to accuse citizens of treason for things like telling bawdy jokes about the queen in some pub.
However, putting that aside, the handful of charges for seditious conspiracy are not legally the same or even close to an insurrection charge. Rep. Raskin, a former law professor, must know that.
The provision in 18 U.S.C. 2384 has long been controversial because it is so sweeping and includes any effort “by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law.” While the provision can also entail an intent to overthrow the country, the provision covers any interference with federal proceedings or laws.
Ironically, Raskin opposes the invocation of the Insurrection Act in cities like Minneapolis on the basis of the interference with federal officials in the enforcement of federal law. However, he seems to view this provision as endlessly malleable, so that anyone accused of hindering the execution of a federal law is an insurrectionist.
After January 6th, Justice Department official Michael Sherwin publicly declared that “our office wanted to ensure that there was shock and awe” in hitting people with a maximal level of charges. Yet, despite that “shock and awe” effort, not a single charge for insurrection was ever brought — an inconvenient truth for members like Raskin.
None of this excuses the outrageous riot that occurred on that terrible day. However, seeking to conform the criminal code to the political narrative serves neither the Congress nor the public.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/16/2026 – 13:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrats-fight-keep-insurrection-myth-alive-new-j6-committee
Park Ridge City Council postpones zoning vote on Prairie Avenue development, opting to wait for parking study results
Park Ridge city leaders delayed a rezoning vote to its February City Council meeting, where the issue is expected to be part of a broader conversation related to a proposed multi-family development on Prairie Avenue.
At a City Council meeting Jan. 5, council members could have voted to simply rezone land parcels of the development —which are currently parking lots — from single family to multi-family. It would have allowed a developer to build apartments or condominiums on the lots.
However, a developer is expected to pitch plans for the property, which would first be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission before the City Council gives final consideration, so the elected leaders decided to wait and consider everything together.
Members of the public had urged the council to do this.
Drew Awsumb, the city’s community development director, pointed out to the council that the city’s plan already anticipates the area being developed into multi-family units. Awsumb said the developer hopes to have the housing plan considered by Planning and Zoning by late January.
Most from the public who spoke about the project during the public comment portion of the meeting didn’t object to multi-family units in theory. But, they seemed to want to see the development proposal first, expressing concerns over parking and whether the units would be for rent or sold as condos.
“This seems a little bit of a cart before the horse scenario,” said Alderman John Moran.
Resident Tony Harrington agreed. He said many of his neighbors attended related Planning and Zoning Commission meetings and they would like to have some say in front of the City Council.
“I think many of the attendees from the Planning and Zoning meetings may want to provide input,” he said.
The city’s parking study results are supposed to be available sometime in February, though it’s not clear if they will be ready by the Feb. 17 council meeting. Though meetings are usually held on Monday, this one would be on a Tuesday due to the Presidents Day holiday. Some residents said they would be interested to see the results of the study and recommendations before casting opinions on the project because parking is already an issue.
“The parking is very, very tight,” said Michael Harczak.
He pointed out that the nearby AT&T lot is already mostly filled all day and adding family homes to the area would create congestion.
“All the sites are loaded with cars,” he said. “There’s going to be an overflow. This project is going to be great if the density comes down.”
All the City Council members seemed to agree with residents that whatever the issues, city leaders should wait and hear from residents, and see the proposals and allow the developers to address some of the concerns.
“I think the best thing … is to postpone this until the Feb. 17 meeting,” said Alderperson Joseph Steinfels. He said he hoped the parking study results would be in by then.
Moran said there was no definitive date for receiving the parking study results, offering the reminder that the board was only told it would be ready in February.
“That will improve the chances we will have the data,” he said, agreeing with Steinfels to postpone further consideration until that February meeting.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
Tribunal de Perú condena a dos personas por esclavitud laboral en caso vinculado a incendio en 2017
Associated Press
LIMA (AP) — La fiscalía peruana informó el viernes que un tribunal condenó a una pareja de negociantes a más de 30 años de cárcel por el delito de trata con fines de esclavitud laboral luego de que dos de sus trabajadores que encerraban en un contenedor metálico durante sus labores murieron en un incendio ocurrido en 2017.
Según la fiscalía, la sentencia de 35 años para Jonny Coico y de 32 para Vilma Zeña, dictada la víspera por la Corte Superior de Lima, es la primera firme en segunda instancia que tiene lugar en Perú por el delito de esclavitud laboral, “lo que constituye un precedente importante para la justicia peruana”.
La fiscalía explicó en un comunicado que Coico y Zeña obtenían “ganancias económicas indebidas” al vender bombillas de luz de marcas baratas que borraban para sustituirlas por otras de reconocidas firmas. Para ello contrataban a jóvenes que realizaban la falsificación mientras estaban encerrados en un contenedor metálico ubicado en el quinto piso de un edificio en Lima.
La condición de esclavitud laboral se conoció el 23 de junio de 2017 cuando se produjo un incendio en el edificio, ubicado a 15 cuadras del palacio presidencial, que provocó nubes de humo que se dispersaron por varios kilómetros, convocó a 400 bomberos e incluso al entonces presidente Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018).
Los bomberos intentaron rescatar a los trabajadores Jorge Luis Huamán, de 19 años, y Jovi Herrera, de 20, sin lograrlo. Uno de ellos sacó, por un agujero del contenedor, un brazo empuñando un tubo fluorescente. Las cadenas de televisión mostraron a Rosa Villalobos, madre de Huamán, parada frente al incendio que consumía a su hijo. “Mi hijo me decía que el dueño les echaba llave”, dijo ese día la mujer a la radio local RPP.
El bombero Fernando Campos dijo por su lado a The Associated Press que la temperatura del edificio superaba los 800 grados centígrados. En el inmueble también se guardaba toneladas de pinturas inflamables, según las autoridades.
De acuerdo con la fiscalía, en el juicio se comprobó que las víctimas trabajaban 10 horas encerrados con candado, con “poca ventilación e iluminación, desprovistos de alimentos y sin acceso a servicios higiénicos”.
El incendio de 2017, transmitido en directo por casi todas las televisiones locales, fue controlado tras 29 horas y fue uno de los más complicados, según los bomberos, luego de otro en 2001 que dejó 277 muertos en un mercado de Lima.
How the White House and governors want to fix AI-driven power shortages and price spikes
The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.
The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants,
The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg.
“Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities, and this would deliver much-needed, long-term relief to the mid-Atlantic region,” said Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to be at the White House, a person familiar with Shapiro’s plans said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. Shapiro, a Democrat, made his participation in Friday’s event contingent on including a provision to extend a limit on wholesale electricity price increases for the region’s consumers, the person said.
But the operator of the grid won’t be there. “PJM was not invited. Therefore we would not attend,” said spokesperson Jeff Shields.
It was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump would attend the event, which was not listed on his public schedule.
Trump and the governors are under pressure to insulate consumers and businesses alike from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, more Americans are falling behind on their electricity bills.
Consumer advocates say ratepayers in the mid-Atlantic electricity grid — which encompasses all or parts of 13 states stretching from New Jersey to Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C. — are already paying billions of dollars in higher bills to underwrite the cost to supply power to data centers, some of them built, some not.
However, they also say that the billions of dollars that consumers are paying isn’t resulting in the construction of new power plants necessary to meet the rising demand.
Pivotal contests in November will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill for the data centers that underpin the explosion in demand for artificial intelligence. In parts of the country, data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built and connected to the grid.
Electricity costs were a key issue in last year’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission. Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.
Gas and electric utilities sought or won rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period a year earlier.
Homicide in Chicago Heights, first reported in south suburbs in 2026
The first homicide in the south suburbs of the new year was reported in Chicago Heights Tuesday, according to the Daily Southtown’s tracking.
Jadon L. Lewis, 22, of Chicago Heights was pronounced dead at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. The Cook County medical examiner’s office listed the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.
The shooting took place on the 1200 block of Division Street, according to the medical examiner’s report.
Chicago Heights police did not return calls seekign more information.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/homicide-chicago-heights-first-2026/
The Way We Were: A snowy day in downtown Naperville includes old grocery store image
Yes, that is a grocery store in downtown Naperville. This snowy photo taken in the 1970s is of Jefferson Avenue looking west with CeeBee’s Finer Foods occupying the corner at Main Street.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/downtown-naperville-photo-ceebees-grocery/
ACLU And Celebs Release Cringe Appeal To Allow Men In Women’s Sports
ACLU And Celebs Release Cringe Appeal To Allow Men In Women’s Sports
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
The American Civil Liberties Union has rolled out a new campaign pushing for biological males to compete in women’s sports, just as the Supreme Court takes up cases that could finally protect female athletes from unfair competition.
Featuring ‘stars’ including Megan Rapinoe and Naomi Watts, the ad frames this as a fight for “freedom,” when in reality it’s just another leftist assault on women’s rights and fair play.
The ACLU’s “More Than A Game” ad, launched during women’s basketball games on January 12, features celebrities and young people delivering lines like: “When you’re young, you believe that you can do anything. And then the world tries to set limits for you. Tell you what’s allowed, what is normal, who you’re supposed to be.”
It continues: “But on the field, the track, the court, here you get to be exactly who you want. Because at our core, we still are kids that just want to play. The go big game changers. The living, breathing fabric of this country.”
The ad closes with: “Supporting trans youth isn’t just about sports. It’s about freedom on and off the field. It’s more than a game.”
The campaign ties directly to Supreme Court cases challenging bans on transgender girls in school sports in West Virginia and Idaho.
WATCH: “This is an opportunity that the Supreme Court has to tell women that we matter.” pic.twitter.com/1NUM988J8a
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) January 15, 2026
Rapinoe has stated: “I am not going to be tricked into sacrificing hard fought civil rights protections because of anti-trans rhetoric. All women will be harmed if the Court rules against the young trans people at the center of these cases and I wanted to make unambiguously clear that I am on the side of equality and justice.”
Watts, whose child reportedly identifies as transgender, adds in the ad: “It’s about freedom.”
Of course, this completely ignores the real victims: female athletes robbed of opportunities, safety, and medals by males leveraging biological edges.
This push comes right after the Olympics finally acknowledged what everyone knows: men have inherent advantages over women in sports, leading to a ban on transgender athletes in women’s events. As we previously highlighted, the IOC’s policy shift was a win for science and fairness, highlighting decades of evidence that no amount of ideology can erase.
Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who spoke at a Supreme Court rally against male inclusion in women’s sports, slammed the ACLU’s arguments in one case, noting males’ inherent advantages like bone structure and reduced injury risk. “We cannot remove male physical advantage. NO male belongs in female sport. It’s cheating,” she posted. Davies emphasized: “The Supreme Court’s trans athlete ruling matters to women everywhere.”
The Supreme Court’s trans athlete ruling matters to women everywhere https://t.co/VdsnAuToFJ
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) January 15, 2026
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova blasted human rights groups like the ACLU for prioritizing trans demands over women’s rights: “Unreal how all these ‘human rights’ organizations are so willingly chucking women’s rights out the window…”
Unreal how all these “human rights” organizations are so willingly chucking women’s rights out the window. Money talks etc…. https://t.co/Jes1lNLk5g
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 12, 2026
XX-XY Athletics, a brand championing women’s sports, fired back at the ACLU directly: “The only rights being violated when males compete in women’s sports are those of the women. You are fighting for the wrong side here.” They shared footage from rallies, underscoring the fight to keep sports fair.
Truth https://t.co/ZQhDUwWZNI
— XX-XY Athletics (@xx_xyathletics) January 15, 2026
My speech on the steps of the Supreme Court. With better sound this time. pic.twitter.com/eEGNA1O4Qk
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) January 15, 2026
The world does have limits, actually. One of them is when your “freedom” strips other people of their opportunities, rights and dignity.
Also, when did the Left become so bad at making ads? https://t.co/Z9A8jBTumu
— XX-XY Athletics (@xx_xyathletics) January 15, 2026
Leftist campaigns like this one expose the hypocrisy: claiming to empower women while stripping them of hard-won spaces. Real freedom means safeguarding biology-based categories, not bowing to ridiculous woke pressure that endangers girls’ dreams and safety.
As the Supreme Court deliberates, this could be a turning point—rejecting the erasure of women’s rights in favor of common-sense protections for female athletes.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/16/2026 – 13:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/aclu-and-celebs-release-cringe-appeal-allow-men-womens-sports
