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Chris Richards, defensor de Crystal Palace es elegido Jugador del Año de US Soccer por primera vez

Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia, EE.UU. (AP) — El defensor Chris Richards fue votado el miércoles como el Jugador del Año de la Federación de Fútbol de Estados Unidos por primera vez.

Richards jugó en 12 partidos de Estados Unidos en 2025, siendo titular en 11 de ellos. El joven de 25 años de Birmingham, Alabama, anotó dos veces en la Copa Oro de la CONCACAF.

También ayudó al Crystal Palace de la Liga Premier a ganar su primera FA Cup en 2025.

Es el segundo defensor consecutivo en recibir el premio, después de Antonee Robinson del Fulham, marcando la primera vez que defensores ganan en años consecutivos desde Marcelo Balboa en 1994 y Alexi Lalas en 1995.

Richards recibió el 48.6% de los votos ponderados de entrenadores y jugadores de Estados Unidos, exjugadores, entrenadores de ligas profesionales y directores deportivos, administradores, directores de la USSF y miembros del consejo de atletas, medios de comunicación y aficionados. El centrocampista Malik Tillman fue segundo con un 21.7% y Alex Freeman tercero con un 13%.

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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/chris-richards-defensor-de-crystal-palace-es-elegido-jugador-del-ao-de-us-soccer-por-primera-vez/ 

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Geneva City Council denies appeal to demolish landmarked structure at old Mill Race Inn site

The landmarked structure at 4 E. State St. in Geneva — part of what was once the Mill Race Inn — will remain for now, after the Geneva City Council on Monday denied an appeal seeking its demolition.

On Monday, the City Council was tasked with whether to overturn a ruling of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission in December that denied a request by Dave Patzelt, president of Geneva-based Shodeen Group, for demolition of the building.

Following a lengthy discussion on Monday evening, the appeal that would allow for demolition failed in a 6-4 vote, with council members Martha Paschke, Mark Reinecke, Anaïs Bowring and William Malecki voting against it. A supermajority of seven or more council members would have been needed to overturn the Historic Preservation Commission’s decision.

The City Council vote on Monday is the latest in what has been years of discussion about the structure, previously part of the Mill Race Inn restaurant, which operated from the 1930s until it shuttered in 2011.

Though perhaps most famously a part of the popular restaurant, the building existed long before that. It first housed a blacksmith shop in the 1840s, but, before it became part of the longstanding Geneva restaurant, housed a number of other businesses too, such as a wagon manufacturing and blacksmithing shop, a cooperage and a carriage painting shop.

The site was later acquired by the Shodeen Group, and demolition of most of the property began in 2016. The 1840s-era limestone sections, at the time, were to be evaluated as to whether they could be considered a historic landmark or be incorporated within any future development of the property.

Since then, what remains of the limestone building — which was designated as a landmark in 2018 — weathered multiple requests by its owner to demolish it over the years, none of which were ultimately successful.

Then, in October, Patzelt again asked the city to demolish the structure. The request for demolition came to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission last month, and was again shot down.

The property is no longer owned by Shodeen itself, Patzelt has said, but by the Mill Race Land Company, LLC, though Shodeen Construction Company remains listed as the contractor on the original application for demolition from October.

Patzelt appealed to the City Council the day after the Preservation Commission determination was made, meaning the matter went to the City Council for a vote.

The commission’s decision in December, and the subsequent appeal by Patzelt, generated a response from some community members — a small group, for example, that was advocating for preservation of the structure completed an architectural model of it and held a community meeting just days before Monday’s City Council meeting, making a last-minute pitch to turn the building into a visitor information center.

At Monday’s meeting, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns emphasized that the council’s role was not to serve in its usual function but in a “quasi-appellate court capacity.” He discouraged the council from considering any evidence or information beyond that which was considered at the December Historic Preservation Commission meeting.

At the meeting, Patzelt again presented his case for demolition of the structure.

He said that the records included in the application seeking demolition include things like a list of the irreparable and deteriorated building features, a cost estimate for rehabilitating the structure and a narrative on steps that have been taken to potentially relocate it.

He also pointed to the city’s previous parameters for using the site, and noted the possibility of the structure being deconstructed and put up somewhere else nearby.

“It has been eight years since we first started talking about this structure,” Patzelt said at Monday’s meeting. “And, after over 20 … public meetings, there has been no progress made by either of these parties involved in this site.”

He pointed to residents speaking out about the issue, and said that he thinks the majority reflect a desire for the structure to be demolished.

Paul Zellmer, the chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, also spoke at Monday’s meeting, sharing the commission’s reasons for its decision.

Zellmer said that public testimony showed divided views among the community, and “did not establish an objective or measurable basis to conclude that the majority of the community supports demolition.”

He also said that the applicant “did not present concrete development proposals and (demonstrate) that demolition is necessary to achieve community benefit, nor did the record establish reasonable alternatives to the demolition had been exhausted.”

Zellmer also said that deterioration of the structure does not demonstrate that demolition is in the best interest of the community, citing concerns about long-term neglect of the property, and noted that there was concern approving the demolition would “risk establishing precedent inconsistent with the intent of the historic preservation ordinance.”

In response, Patzelt acknowledged that public opinion was divided, but said that the commission was tasked with weighing how public opinion was split, and said he feels the majority are in favor of demolition.

As to the lack of a redevelopment plan, Patzelt said the developer can’t prepare one without knowing whether they are allowed to demolish the structure, but that they would do so if granted a demolition permit.

“We are also committed to trying to pay homage or pay some legacy or some documentation — visual, as well as physical — of the historic remnant structure,” Patzelt also said at Monday’s meeting. He noted the possibility of reincorporating its stone into some kind of directory map that tells the story of the historic blacksmith structure.

Patzelt declined The Beacon-News’ request for comment on Tuesday about Monday’s decision and what’s next for the structure.

But, while Monday’s vote narrowly came out in favor of the structure remaining, many of the council members shared their frustrations with the status quo when it comes to the structure’s current state.

“What remains is a partial remnant that has been significantly altered over time and is no longer functionally or physically connected to that which gave it historic significance,” Ald. Brad Kosirog, who voted in favor of demolition, said. “The code does not require preservation at any cost, nor does it require maintaining a structure where reuse is impractical and unsupported by the site’s current condition.”

Bowring, who voted against demolition, said she came to a different conclusion, arguing that the petitioner did not present sufficient evidence that demolition would be in the community’s interest.

“I think a question that remains in my mind and a lot of minds is: what is next?” Bowring asked. “I think that is part of the consideration of community interest.”

She suggested that a redevelopment that incorporates the historic structure or a new development were possibilities, and said the fact that the community would like to see changes to the site “is not the standard that they needed to demonstrate in order for (her) to support demolition.”

“I don’t think that (the developer needs) to feel as stuck as they claim to be absent granting of their demolition request,” Bowring said. “That winds up feeling like they are holding this important site hostage and saying that, if you do not give us this demolition request, we will sit on this site for an indefinite period, which is, I think, not in this community’s best interest.”

Reinecke attributed some of the contentiousness to a conflict between economic development and historic preservation.

“The thing that troubles me about this is that they are seen as being against one another, rather than as an opportunity for solution-focused thinking and collaboration, and it’s been that way for some time,” he said.

But, though he said he thinks the structure can be preserved and that he doesn’t support demolition, Reinecke also noted that the community has grown “impatient.”

“All of us would like to see something of value and use placed onto that site,” he said. “And it’s been taking a long time. And I don’t think there’s anyone who’s (saying), ‘Let’s just let it float for a bit.’ That’s not the tone of the community right now.”

Malecki, who also voted against allowing demolition, questioned whether the vote was “basically as a matter of convenience to push things forward.”

Other council members spoke more favorably of demolition.

Ald. Richard Marks, later in the meeting, suggested that it was “hard to see some practical reuse of the building as it stands now.”

And Ald. Dean Kilburg, who said he supports demolition, reiterated that progress needs to be made on the site.

“After eight years, we’re not making any progress,” Kilburg said, “and I think that contributes to the pushback from the community that something needs to be done, that that’s a responsibility now that falls upon us.”

But even those who voted in favor of overruling the commission’s determination and allowing for demolition acknowledged the community’s concerns.

“I can say with clarity there’s no clarity,” Ald. Jeff Palmquist said. “It really is a split opinion of our residents.”

Palmquist said, however, that he would support demolition “with the optimism that we will ultimately get at a better place than we would otherwise if we did not.”

“People definitely want something to happen,” Ald. Amy Mayer added to the discussion. “What I’ve been told is that they’d like City Council and the city of Geneva to excuse themselves and get out of the way of progress from happening.”

Saying that Patzelt’s plans to pay homage to the structure and to form a redevelopment plan are not enforceable, Mayer requested that the stone structure being made available for a memorial of some kind be part of the conditions for demolition, about which there was some discussion.

Paschke, for example, said she didn’t support that change and didn’t “feel comfortable making that a condition.” Both she and Bowring suggested that those conditions by the petitioner to pay homage to the structure and create a redevelopment plan for the site could have been brought forward anytime before in the years the site has been considered.

Paschke, who opposed the demolition, similar to Bowring, argued that there wasn’t enough evidence that keeping the structure is not in the best interest of the community, and suggested that it “sets a bad precedent” to “demolish a designated historic structure for nothing.”

Following Monday’s narrow vote, the structure will remain for now, though its future remains uncertain. But, over the course of Monday’s meeting, members of the council repeatedly emphasized their desire to resolve the situation going forward, rather than continuing to allow the site to sit unchanged.

“We really do want something to happen here,” Mayer said at Monday’s meeting. “I really hope that this doesn’t cause the proverbial … board game to get tossed in the air and walked away from.”

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/geneva-city-council-denies-appeal-to-demolish-landmarked-structure-at-old-mill-race-inn-site/ 

Posted in News

Presidente de Perú responderá ante el Congreso por cita no registrada con empresario chino

Associated Press

LIMA (AP) — El presidente peruano José Jerí anunció el miércoles que responderá a una investigación preliminar del Parlamento sobre su reunión con un empresario chino contratista con el Estado que no fue registrada en su agenda, como es obligatorio por ley.

“Eso será esclarecido en su momento cuando haga los descargos”, dijo Jerí a periodistas tras una actividad pública luego de que la víspera la Comisión de Fiscalización del Congreso le envió una carta en la que le pidió que informe los temas que se trataron en la reunión, quiénes asistieron, la razón por la que la cita no se registró y si la embajada de China en Perú tenía conocimiento de la cita.

El domingo la televisora local Latina difundió un reportaje sobre la reunión del mandatario con el empresario Yang Zhihua, realizada la noche del 26 de diciembre en un restaurante limeño de comida china. Latina difundió fotografías del mandatario, quien llegó con ropa deportiva y una sudadera cuya capucha le cubría la cabeza.

Jerí indicó el miércoles que conoce a Yang “hace mucho tiempo por las actividades de la embajada China”. Lo llamó amistosamente “Johnny”, el nombre con el cual el empresario es conocido en Perú.

Jerí dijo el lunes a la prensa que en la reunión habló con Yang Zhihua sobre su participación en el Día de la Confraternidad Peruano–China, que se celebrará por segunda vez el 1 de febrero, para fortalecer los vínculos con el principal socio comercial de Perú por más de una década.

El miércoles el mandatario comentó que él no convocó la reunión. Tampoco dijo quién fue el que organizó la cita y qué actividades adicionales realizó. “Yo fui a hacer otras actividades privadas… pero eso será esclarecido en su momento cuando haga los descargos con documentos”, dijo.

Los periodistas le preguntaron si funcionarios de la embajada de China en Perú sabían de la cita, pero Jerí no respondió. “Al margen de que si estaban enterados o no, ellos perfectamente saben todas las acciones que se han desempeñado con ellos” porque son parte del programa del 1 de febrero, indicó.

La embajada de China en Perú no ha emitido comentarios al momento.

En el pasado otros presidentes, incluido Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), fueron criticados e investigados por el Congreso por realizar actividades que no estaban publicadas en la agenda oficial presidencial.

“Admito el error de que no fue en una hora adecuada porque tenemos el tufillo de un expresidente”, dijo Jerí. “Acá tienen a un presidente que es distinto a los anteriores presidentes… no tengo nada que temer”, comentó.

Yang Zhihua es gerente de una empresa que en 2023 recibió una concesión para construir una hidroeléctrica en una zona de los Andes cercana a otra desde donde una minera exporta cobre a China. También viajó junto a una delegación peruana que acompañó en 2024 a la entonces presidenta Dina Boluarte (2022-2025) en una visita oficial a China.

El empresario chino, presidente de la Asociación de los Descendientes de la Provincia de Fujian, no ha realizado declaraciones hasta el momento.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/presidente-de-per-responder-ante-el-congreso-por-cita-no-registrada-con-empresario-chino/ 

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US Supreme Court says GOP congressman can challenge Illinois’ mail-in voting law but more legal fights remain

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that veteran downstate Republican Rep. Mike Bost has standing to pursue a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ election law that allows mail-in ballots postmarked or certified by Election Day to be counted up to 14 days later.

The 7-2 ruling, in an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, overturned lower federal court rulings that Bost’s claims of injury by the law were “speculative” and that he lacked standing to challenge it. Roberts and the court majority ruled that candidates for office have a specialized interest, more “particularized” than voters, in how elections are conducted.

“Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless of whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns. Their interest extends to the integrity of the election — and the democratic process by which they earn or lose the support of the people they seek to represent,” Roberts wrote.

“Those who spend untold time and resources seeking to claim the right to voice the will of the people have ‘an undeniably different — and more particularized — interest’ in knowing what that will is,” he wrote.

Concurring in Robert’s decision were Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Amy Coney Barrett issued a separate opinion, which Justice Elena Kagan concurred in. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a dissent, which Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred with.

In a statement issued by Judicial Watch, a GOP-aligned legal organization that supported the congressman’s lawsuit, Bost said he was “thankful” that the court “ruled strongly in our favor.”

“This is a critically important step forward in the fight for election integrity and fair elections,” Bost said. “I look forward to continuing to pursue this case as we navigate the next stages of the legal process. It’s vitally important that we restore the people’s trust in our elections.”

The ruling in the case, first filed in May of 2022, did not address the legality of Illinois’ post-Election Day vote counting and sent Bost’s challenge back to the federal courts in Chicago. But another case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging Mississippi’s five-day post-Election Day ballot counting law, could render Bost’s challenge moot.

The nation’s high court is considering the Oct. 25, 2024, ruling by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that contends the federal statute establishing a uniform day for federal elections, and the U.S. Constitution’s elections clause, requires all ballots to be both “cast by voters and received by state officials” by the end of Election Day.

The court’s decision on the Mississippi case could have wide-ranging ramifications for Illinois and as many as 27 other states and the District of Columbia, where local and state laws allow post-Election Day ballots to be counted. Illinois filed a brief in support of upholding the existing Mississippi law.

Illinois has taken several major steps to expand voting opportunities, including early and mail-in voting, and has allowed voters to tell local election authorities to permanently send them vote-by-mail ballots.

Bost, a six-term congressman from Murphysboro who represents the state’s 34 southernmost counties, challenged the Illinois law and received the backing of Judicial Watch, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee.

President Donald Trump has regularly criticized mail-in voting, making baseless claims of fraud, and said all ballots should be cast and counted on Election Day. But even in challenging the law, Bost’s attorneys did not allege post-Election Day mail-in ballots were fraudulent. Instead, Bost argued the ballots were invalid. In contrast, Democrats have routinely been more effective at conducting organized early voting and vote-by-mail campaigns.

Bost alleged in his lawsuit that he suffered economic damages by having to extend his campaign and hire poll watchers to observe the post-Election Day counting of mail-in ballots.

Poll watchers observe election judges process primary election mail-in ballots on March 24, 2024, at the Chicago Board of Elections. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Additionally, Bost claimed the post-Election Day ballots could lead to a smaller margin of victory, raising questions about his effectiveness in the minds of future voters. Bost has regularly won reelection since 2020 with more than 60% of the vote, though he survived a 2024 GOP primary challenge from now two-time GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey, 51% to 49%.

Illinois’ law has been defended, in part, by noting that the additional counting time also benefits members of the military who are casting votes overseas. Bost is chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

In her dissent, Jackson criticized the majority for creating a new rule granting standing to political candidates, merely because they are seeking office, to federally challenge election laws. And she predicted it would “open the floodgates” to “disruptive legal action” even after an election is over.

“A public office is a public trust, and an election for that office is the ultimate expression of the will of the people, not a mere competition to be won or lost. In the Court’s (majority) telling, though, elections are a glorified national pastime — the competitors’ success is the main objective, and voters are mere bystanders who simply ‘lend’ their support,” Jackson wrote.

“When what is at stake is the overall fairness of the electoral process, it is the people’s shared interest in democracy itself (and not just the candidate’s job prospects) that hangs in the balance,” she wrote.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/supreme-court-rules-bost-has-standing-mail-in-ballot-case/ 

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Need To Escape Socialism? Come To Florida!

Need To Escape Socialism? Come To Florida!

Authored by Jeffrey Folks via American Thinker,

The difference between red and blue states is not just a matter of degree; it is a qualitative difference based on the loss of freedom in blue states and an entirely different attitude in the red states.  The best example is the contrast between what now exists in New York and Florida.  Whereas New York, especially New York City, is slipping into a socialist nightmare, Floridians are living the dream.  In New York, freedom is constrained by high taxes and regulations, and things are only getting worse.  In Florida, taxes are low and getting lower, and the sun almost always shines.

Image: Donkey Hotey via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

Florida voters understand the importance of limited government, and they have created a well governed, fiscally sound state.  Eliminating the state income tax in its entirety was only the beginning: Now there is movement toward lowering property taxes or eliminating them altogether, which would benefit nearly everyone in the state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is perhaps the biggest supporter of property tax reform.  The governor proposed eliminating property taxes for all Floridians in his 2025 State of the State address, in which he said forcing citizens to pay property taxes for life is like “renting one’s property from the government.”  The governor’s proposal would apply to all property, including commercial and rental property.  There is widespread support for some form of property tax relief, but the devil is in the details.

An interim plan to rebate approximately $1,000 to owners of primary residences was proposed in March 2025.  In response, Senate Bill 7034 was introduced to create a legislative commission to study the feasibility of eliminating all or part of the state’s property taxes and with the likelihood of a state constitutional amendment to appear on the 2026 ballot.  Other legislative proposals include an increase in the state’s homestead exemption (currently totaling $50,000 for the primary residence), a tax exemption of $100,000 on all types of property, or a reduction in the state’s sales tax.  Republican lawmakers generally support some form of tax relief, whereas Democrats oppose it, but since Republicans outnumber Democrats by 84 to 33 in the state House and 27 to 11 in the Senate, it seems likely that some form of tax reform will become law.

Meanwhile, states like California and New York are moving the opposite direction.  The marginal income tax rate in California is 12.3%, and this on top of state property taxes, sales taxes of 7.25%, and numerous other local taxes and fees.

As for New York, the statewide income tax is a marginal 10.9% (14.78% for high earners in New York City), with state and local sales taxes as high as 8.875%, property tax rates averaging more than twice those in California, and numerous other state and local taxes and fees (including a ludicrous $9 “congestion zone” fee for entering lower Manhattan).  On top of this, New York is one of a handful of states that still charges a death tax, with a marginal rate of 16% on qualifying estates, and this on top of the marginal federal estate tax of 45%.

Mayor Mamdani has vowed to raise corporate taxes from 8.85% to 11.5% and to impose a 2% surcharge on those earning over one million, on top of existing taxes.  According to the Cato Institute, “the income-tax increase would tempt high earning New Yorkers to relocate to Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, where they can still be close to the city,” if not out of state altogether.

To recap, Floridians pay a total of 6% in state taxes and average property tax rates that are already half of what they are in New York and may be further lowered in 2026 or 2027.  Adding it up, affluent New Yorkers pay marginal rates of at least 36% (including the estate tax) or nearly 40% in New York City — and all of this on top of federal income and estate taxes.  There is not much left for individuals, and this level of taxation is an assault on personal liberty.  There’s not much difference between communism, where the state owns everything, and an American city where government takes 80%.

One should also note that the public debt ratio in New York is already 442%, while California has twice as much debt in absolute terms ($500 billion).  Under Gov. DeSantis, Florida’s debt ratio is 2.6%, a 25-year low.

Clearly, New York and California are moving in the wrong direction, whereas Florida is moving very much in the right direction, and this because Florida is a well run conservative state filled with well informed voters.  What will be the effect of these continuing high and potentially higher taxes in blue states?  Migration of wealthy and middle-class residents, and it’s already happening.  Affluent citizens are leaving New York “in a steady stream.”  Between 2019 and 2020 alone, nearly 10% of high earners left New York City.  More recently, the exodus has continued.

California is experiencing its own outward migration of wealthy and middle-class residents, and not merely for tax reasons.  California ranks 6th in the nation for “high violent crime” and 8th for property crime.  The cost of living is the third highest in the U.S.  Homelessness is at a record high, with 24% of the nation’s homeless living in California.  And California’s public schools, once near the top, now come out well below average.

One could cite many other blue states, including Illinois, as evidence of liberal mismanagement, and other red states like Texas and Tennessee for proof of sound conservative governance.  The fact is that all human beings want much the same thing: safety, security, prosperity, and freedom (including freedom from government restrictions and high taxes).  Today in America, Florida offers that freedom.  New York and California do not.

In America, the red states are keeping the American Dream alive.  Personal liberty includes freedom from government confiscation of wealth, whether that confiscation takes the form of Soviet-style direct  confiscation or seizure through taxation.  Voters in New York and California have not learned the lesson that high taxes and regulation lower the quality of life and infringe on freedom.  Fortunately, we live in a country, unlike communist China or North Korea, where one can relocate freely to another state.  Freedom may be dying in New York, but the sun is still shining in Florida.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture, most recently Heartland of the Imagination (2011).

Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 15:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/need-escape-socialism-come-florida 

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Decision on potential new trial for Marni Yang set for spring

A three-day hearing into the fate of Marni Yang, found guilty in 2011 of the murder of the girlfriend of a former Chicago Bears player in 2007, ended Wednesday with the news that a ruling on whether she gets a new trial will not come for four months.

Over three days, Jed Stone, representing Yang, presented arguments to Judge Christopher Stride, attempting to cast doubts on the verdict in the murder of 42-year-old Rhoni Reuter, who was pregnant with the baby of former Bear Shaun Gayle when she was killed.

Reuter was found shot dead at her Deerfield condominium in 2007. At trial, prosecutors contended that Yang, who had previously been involved with Gayle, killed Reuter out of jealousy.

What happens next — whether Stride will order a new trial, or decide the new evidence does not undercut the jury’s guilty finding — will remain a mystery until a ruling set for May 15.

Yang filed a petition in 2019 seeking a new trial and alleging her innocence.

Stone repeatedly argued that evidence pointed to a shooter much taller than Yang. Stone focused on “bullet B” — determined to have been fired at close range based on gunshot residue — which he said struck Reuter at a slightly downward angle, hitting her in the chest and arm before landing in the kitchen. Yang, at just 5 feet tall, was too short to have fired the shot, he argued.

Stone also talked about an alleged incident at a barbershop the day of the murder, where a witness claimed to have seen Gayle enter and make statements implicating himself in the murder. He also pointed to a comment Gayle made to a Deerfield police officer about Reuter being found in a pool of blood, which Stone argued he could not have known about unless he had been there.

During closing arguments in this week’s three-day hearing, Stone attempted to show Gayle as a potential suspect, pointing to alleged abrasions on Gayle’s hands observed during the murder investigation. Combined with expert testimony that some of Reuter’s injuries had occurred days prior to the shooting, Stone painted a far different motive than that of the jealous woman killing a romantic rival.

“The defense believes that Reuter, pregnant, days before she was shot, was a victim of domestic violence,” Stone said.

After the hearing concluded, Stone told reporters that Gayle had paid Reuter for prior abortions, and didn’t want to get married.

During its closing arguments, the prosecution took issue with several aspects of the defense’s arguments, throwing doubt on the testimony of several key people, including the barbershop witness, who has a criminal record.

They again pushed back on the finding that Yang was too short to have been the one to fatally shoot Reuter, arguing it was based on assumptions that couldn’t be verified using the crime scene evidence.

“There’s no set way a body’s going to react when it’s shot,” a prosecution expert said during the hearing.

If Reuter crouched or tried to duck, that could also explain the trajectory of the bullet, he had said.

Prosecutors also argued the new evidence shared in the hearing didn’t meet the standards for newly discovered evidence and was not conclusive enough to undermine the jury’s verdict.

After the hearing concluded, Yang’s father, Larry Merar, told reporters how the case had hurt the family.

“It’s difficult to imagine until it lands on your doorstep,” he said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/marni-yang-chicago-bears-appeal/ 

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Aurora man sentenced to six years in prison in case involving drugs, guns

An Aurora man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony narcotics offense and a felony weapons offense, the Aurora Police Department said on Monday.

Early last year, Aurora police investigators developed information that indicated Eric Rosales, 18, was involved in the sale of illegal narcotics in Aurora and was believed to be in possession of firearms, a news release from the police department said.

In April, investigators executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of Gates Street in Aurora, with help from the department’s Community Oriented Policing Unit and K-9 Unit and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, the news release said.

During the search, officers said they recovered 13 firearms, including AR-15-style rifles, a sawed-off rifle, shotguns and handguns, as well as a 100-round drum magazine, the release said. One of the handguns was equipped with a device allowing it to fire fully automatic, and another firearm had previously been reported as stolen, officials said.

Investigators also seized nearly 90 grams of cocaine, cannabis and THC cartridges, the release stated.

Following the investigation, Rosales was charged with multiple felony offenses, including Class X felony delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a machine gun, the police department said. He later pleaded guilty to one Class X narcotics offense and one felony weapons offense, and the remaining charges were resolved as part of the plea agreement, according to the release.

In November, Rosales was sentenced to six years in state prison, the release said, receiving credit for 204 days served, per Kane County court records. Court records indicate he had no prior criminal convictions, the department noted.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/aurora-man-sentenced-to-six-years-in-prison-in-case-involving-drugs-guns/ 

Posted in News

Merrillville officials: Difficult to stop potential ICE warehouse

Merrillville officials don’t want a deportation processing center any more than its residents do, but if it does come, there probably isn’t much they can do to stop it.

Merrillville Town attorney Joe Svetanoff leveled the news after residents expressed their concern one will be put in Merrillville during the Town Council meeting Tuesday night. A Washington Post article included Merrillville in a graphic about a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plan to renovate industrial warehouses into a deportation network that ran on Dec. 24.

One resident, Jennifer Gross, said she’d read on a social media page that federal representatives conducted a site visit at a warehouse at 8719 Mississippi St. on Tuesday afternoon. The warehouse would hold 500 people for processing, she said.

Councilman Shawn Pettit, D-Ward 6, asserted that it didn’t happen.

“That warehouse was built by Opus, and it’s 289,000 square feet with no bathroom facilities. As your Ward 6 Councilman, I’m telling you ‘No. There’s no way (representatives were there),” Pettit said. “I live closer to that area than you do, and I watch those warehouses like a hawk. I did see a squad and two other cars out there today.”

“Well, I’m going to take your word for it, because I’m afraid I’m going to be one of those moms (out there protesting),” Gross said.

Council President Rick Bella, D-Ward 5, said the town still hasn’t heard anything from anyone that Merrillville will have to house a processing center, but that they likely will have “very little influence” to stop it if they do.

“Sometimes, we receive federal projects that we’re not allowed to refuse,” Svetanoff added. “We will exhaust all our options, but our hands may be tied. I have no concrete evidence that Merrillville was chosen; even the Washington Post article was speculative.”

The Washington Post article said the Trump administration “is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time.” Its plan, based on an unfinalized document the paper obtained, is to “speed up deportations by establishing a deliberate feeder system.”

The article outlined plans to book newly arrested detainees into 16 processing sites, holding up to 1,500 people apiece, for a few weeks before they would be transferred into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, located close to major logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri, where they would be staged for deportation. Merrillville was on the list of smaller facilities along with Hagerstown, Maryland; Highland Park, Michigan; Salt Lake City; and others.

“The new facilities will ‘maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit lengths of stay, accelerate the removal process and promote the safety, dignity and respect for all in ICE custody,’ the solicitation said. ICE plans to share it with private detention companies this week to gauge interest and refine the plan, according to an internal email reviewed by The Post.”

ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said at a border security conference in April that, “We need to get better at treating this like a business,” according to the Arizona Mirror, saying the ideal process would be “like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings.”

The revelation, however, came as a complete shock, town officials said, as it also did for downstate officials. But that doesn’t mean the state will fight against it, Svetanoff said.

“With this administration (downstate), they won’t have a problem with it,” he said. “And that will include if a third-party vendor is chosen to operate it.”

Florida-based GEO Group in 2016 saw its plans for an $80 million private immigration detention center in Gary go up in smoke after nine months of wooing because at least six council members opposed it, the Post-Tribune previously reported.

Although no plans were ever revealed, GEO used to own a 40-acre site in Hobart on West 49th Avenue where there was strident opposition from residents and city officials. The Lake County Parks and Recreation Department bought that land, which is adjacent to Robinson Lake Park, from GEO a few years ago.

ICE held more than 68,000 people at the beginning of December, agency data shows, the highest number on record, according to the Washington Post. Nearly half, or 48 percent of these people, have no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, ICE data shows.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/merrillville-officials-difficult-to-stop-potential-ice-warehouse/ 

Posted in News

Las esperanzas del Napoli en la Serie A sufren un golpe con un empate 0-0 ante Parma

Por DANIELLA MATAR

MILÁN (AP) — Una noche frustrante para el Napoli, que fue mantenido el miércoles a un empate 0-0 en casa por el modesto Parma, mientras el campeón defensor potencialmente perdió más terreno en la carrera por el título.

El resultado dejó al Napoli tres puntos detrás del líder de la Serie A, el Inter de Milán, que jugaba más tarde contra el Lecce, amenazado por el descenso.

El Parma, que solo había perdido uno de sus últimos cuatro partidos, continuó alejándose del peligro, moviéndose a ocho puntos por encima de la zona de descenso.

El Napoli había empatado sus dos últimos partidos 2-2, incluido el enfrentamiento por el título del domingo contra el Inter de Milán, lo que permitió que fuera alcanzado en el tercer lugar por la Roma y la Juventus.

Antonio Conte había sido expulsado en San Siro y comenzó su suspensión de dos partidos en la línea de banda el miércoles.

El Napoli pensó que había tomado una ventaja temprana contra el Parma, pero el gol de Scott McTominay fue anulado tras la revisión del video, ya que su compañero Pasquale Mazzocchi estaba ligeramente en fuera de juego en la jugada previa.

El portero del Parma, Filippo Rinaldi, estaba haciendo su debut en el primer equipo y realizó una parada sensacional en el minuto 27 para desviar un cabezazo a quemarropa de Alessandro Buongiorno.

Rinaldi hizo varias otras paradas mientras una defensa resuelta del Parma logró resistir un feroz asalto del Napoli.

Rinaldi, de 23 años, fue nombrado jugador del partido.

Una de las pocas notas positivas para el Napoli fue la aparición de David Neres como suplente en la segunda mitad después de haberse perdido los últimos partidos por un esguince de tobillo. Sin embargo, el brasileño claramente no estaba completamente en forma y fue retirado poco antes del final del partido.

___

Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/las-esperanzas-del-napoli-en-la-serie-a-sufren-un-golpe-con-un-empate-0-0-ante-parma/ 

Posted in News

Trump Appears To De-Escalate Iran Rhetoric, ‘Killing Has Stopped’ – Oil Tumbles

Trump Appears To De-Escalate Iran Rhetoric, ‘Killing Has Stopped’ – Oil Tumbles

There are reports that President Trump is listening to the non-interventionists in his cabinet, as he says Thursday afternoon he’s been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and with no plan for executions. WTI futures immediately dropped on the newswires: 

WTI fell from USD 62.30 to lows of 59.80/bbl over 7 minutes.
Brent fell from 66.80 to 64.20 over the same time frame.
With Trump noting Iran has no plans for executions, it drastically reduces the chances of the US attacking Iran, particularly a kinetic attack.
Expectations of an attack had been building today with reports suggesting it could happen within 24 hours, which saw crude gain throughout the session; several nations urged citizens to leave Iran.
S&P 500 ENERGY INDEX PARES GAINS AFTER TRUMP IRAN COMMENTS
Iran FM: There is calm, we are in full control, Fox News reports

Via Bloomberg… Trump has an “out” and Iran strikes appear to be off:

President Donald Trump said he had been assured that Iran would stop killing protesters, in a signal he could hold off on a threatened military response to the repression of widespread demonstrations in the nation. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping – it’s stopped,” Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. “And there’s no plan for executions or an execution.”

The US president said he would be “very upset” if the information proved untrue and the violent crackdown continued. The comments come after Trump urged Iranians to continue protests against the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said he would “act accordingly” after being briefed on how many demonstrators have been killed. He posted on social media that “help is on the way” to those protesting in Iran.

BREAKING — Trump says he has been told that killing in Iran has topped and there would be no executions

“I’ve been told that on good authority” he says and if they occur “we would be upset”

pic.twitter.com/fTl99jyXKD

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 14, 2026

Dangerous indicators there was (before this ‘change of mind’) about to be a strike?

The bulk of the US Navy’s strike group has remained in the Caribbean Sea after the Trump-ordered Venezuela operation to oust Maduro, and there’s as yet nothing to signal a new build-up of naval power in the Mediterranean or anywhere in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations. However there are signs that logistics transport flights have increased.

However, there are other signs President Trump might be serious about an attack on Iran. Various news sources including Reuters is reporting Wednesday that the United States is pulling some staff out of major regional bases as a precaution amid rising tensions related to the Iran protests and a potential US military response.

via Associated Press

This comes after a senior Iranian official earlier stated that Tehran has warned neighboring countries hosting US forces that American bases would be targeted if Washington launched strikes.

Reuters writes, “Earlier today, some personnel were advised to leave the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by this evening. Al Udeid is the Middle East’s largest US base, housing around 10,000 troops. Ahead of the US airstrikes on Iran in June some personnel were moved off US bases in the Middle East.”

In the last instance where Iran faced attack by the US and Israel, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha. All or most were intercepted, with no reports of troop casualties. This attack occurred on June 23, one day after the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities with deep penetrating bunker-buster bombs.

The aforementioned warning from a senior Iranian official stated as follows: “Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked if the US targets Iran.”

While the week started with talk of some kind of dialogue between Washington and Tehran toward de-escalation, Trump quickly changed his mind, and by Tuesday said he cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials, citing the brutal crackdown on protesters. He wrote on Truth Social that “help is on its way” for Iranians.

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote.

“I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA [Make Iran Great Again]!!!” he added.

However, there’s ample evidence that many dozens of security personnel have been killed and wounded as well. Clearly in many locales rioters have deadly weapons, and Tehran says it is facing the beginnings of a foreign backed terror operation and insurgency.

Tehran Governor:

• 1,000 passenger cars and 26 administrative centers in Tehran province have been damaged

• Commercial shops, residential units, buses, ambulances, fire trucks, 44 mosques and Hosseiniyehs were damaged pic.twitter.com/nMXClOvnK7

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 14, 2026

But it should be obvious by now that organizations like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad are constantly looking for ways to take advantage of the situation and destabilize the country, ripening it for regime change. Trump has just dodged another interventionist disaster in the Middle East by choosing not to pull the trigger.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 15:26

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/us-withdrawing-some-personnel-qatar-air-base-over-iran-threat