KATHLEEN FOODY

Technology and breaking news

Illinois man rejects deal to plead guilty to 7 murder charges in shooting at 2022 July Fourth parade

The man accused of opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago in 2022 has rejected a deal requiring him to plead guilty to seven charges of murder in the attack.

Facial recognition startup Clearview AI settles privacy suit

Facial recognition startup Clearview AI has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging its massive photographic collection of faces violated the subjects’ privacy rights.

Man accused of killing 7 at suburban Chicago July 4 parade might change not-guilty plea

A man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a 2022 parade in suburban Chicago might not go to trial.

A cyberattack forces a big US health system to divert ambulances and take records offline

A cyberattack on the Ascension health system operating in 19 states across the U.S. forced some of its 140 hospitals to divert ambulances, caused patients to postpone medical tests and blocked online access to patient records.

Striking deals to end campus protests, some colleges invite discussion of their investments

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread nationwide.

Northwestern University’s deal with student protesters offers example of successful negotiations

An agreement between anti-war protesters and Northwestern University has largely ended demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war on the suburban Chicago campus.

Funeral services are held for a Chicago police officer fatally shot while heading home from work

Funeral services have been held for a Chicago police officer who was shot to death while off-duty and heading home from work. Mourners gathered Monday at St.

Chicago appeals court rejects R. Kelly ‘s challenge of 20-year sentence

A federal appeals court says singer R. Kelly was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison on child sex convictions in Chicago.

Chicago’s ‘rat hole’ removed after city determines sidewalk with animal impression was damaged

Chicago’s so-called “rat hole” is gone. A Chicago sidewalk landmark some affectionately call the “rat hole” has been removed after city officials determined the section bearing the imprint of an animal was damaged.

Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice says she won’t run again, setting up fight for control

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley says she won’t seek another term next year, setting up a high-stakes fight for control of the battleground state’s highest court.

Videos show Chicago police fired nearly 100 shots over 41 seconds during fatal traffic stop

Plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 gunshots over 41 seconds during a traffic stop that left one man dead and one officer injured last month.

Chicago plans to move migrants to other shelters and reopen park buildings for the summer

Chicago plans to close five shelters for migrants in the coming weeks. The city’s first step is moving 800 people into other shelters starting Saturday, clearing the park district fieldhouses to resume normal operations for summer.

Suspect charged with murder, attempted murder in deadly Rockford rampage

A 22-year-old man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in a frenzied deadly rampage that unfolded in a matter of minutes in a northern Illinois city.

A CDC team joins the response to 8 measles cases in a Chicago shelter for migrants

Eight people living at a Chicago shelter for migrants have tested positive for measles since last week.

Court rejects bid to block Chicago ballot measure that would tax real estate for homeless services

Chicago voters will get the chance this month to decide on a ballot measure that would levy a one-time tax hike on luxury properties to pay for services for homeless people, according to a panel of Illinois appeals court judges.

From balmy to brrr: Wisconsin cities see a nearly 60-degree temperature swing in under 24 hours

Wisconsin cities recorded nearly 60-degree swings in temperatures within 24 hours from Tuesday’s balmy weather and Wednesday’s chilly return to winter, tying a record for at least one city and potentially setting a record elsewhere.

A Michigan toddler’s shooting highlights new gun storage law and other states’ strategies

A Michigan man is the first person to face charges under the state’s new law requiring gun owners to keep weapons in locked storage containers around minors.

Man charged in mass shooting at Fourth of July parade near Chicago to stand trial next February

A judge has ruled that the man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago in 2022 will stand trial next February.

A criminal actor is to blame for a dayslong cyberattack on a Chicago hospital, officials say

A large children’s hospital in Chicago remains hobbled by a cyberattack that began more than a week ago, cutting doctors and nurses off from digital patient records and limiting communication with patients.

A Chicago children’s hospital has taken its networks offline after a cyberattack

A Chicago children’s hospital has been forced to take its networks offline after an unspecified cyberattack.

Man suspected of killing 8 people in suburban Chicago was related to most of the victims, police say

A man suspected of shooting and killing eight people in suburban Chicago this weekend was related to most of the victims, authorities said Tuesday, a day after the 23-year-old fatally shot himself during a confrontation with law enforcement in Texas.

Suspect in killing of 8 people in suburban Chicago has fatally shot himself in Texas, police say

A man suspected of shooting and killing eight people in suburban Chicago fatally shot himself after a confrontation at a gas station with law enforcement officials in Texas.

A Texas company is suing Chicago after the city began penalizing buses that drop off migrants

A Texas transportation company is taking the nation’s third largest city to federal court, ratcheting up a legal battle over the migrant crisis that’s left U.S. cities struggling.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson steps down as leader of civil rights group he founded in 1971

The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he’s stepping down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Chicago-based civil rights group he founded more than 50 years ago.

Second lawsuit filed in death of Illinois mom during Florida parasailing trip

CHICAGO (AP) — The family of an Illinois woman killed in a 2022 crash while she and two children were parasailing in the Florida Keys filed a second lawsuit connected to her death this week and reflected on the tragic end to a family vacation about a year ago.

Field Museum debuts Spinosaurus exhibit featuring largest predatory dinosaur

CHICAGO (AP) — The newest addition to the Field Museum on Chicago’s lakefront will give visitors a glimpse of the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered via a 46-foot (14.02 meter) cast of a Spinosaurus skeleton suspended high above the museum’s main hall.

Heather Mack, convicted in mother’s murder in Bali, plans to plead guilty in US, attorney says

An attorney for the Chicago woman facing federal conspiracy charges in the 2014 killing of her mother during a luxury vacation in Bali says she plans to plead guilty.

US cities hope crime strategies keep homicide numbers dropping and prevent summer surge

Mayors and police officials around the U.S. are rolling out familiar strategies in response to the traditional summer bump in violent crime.

Illinois Catholic clergy abuse report could draw lawsuits, reforms but new charges unlikely

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ attorney general has ended a five-year investigation into sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy in the state, releasing a nearly 700-page report that revealed the problem was far worse than the church acknowledged in 2018 at the start of the state’s review.

Catholic clergy sexually abused Illinois kids far more often than church acknowledged, state finds

Illinois’ attorney general has released the results of a sweeping investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, saying investigators found that 451 clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950.