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River Grove man sentenced to over 5 years for bribery scheme with former Illinois lawmaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

CHICAGO -- A federal judge has sentenced the manager of a sweepstakes gaming company to five and a half years in prison for participating in a bribery scheme with an Illinois state lawmaker.James Weiss, 44, of River Grove, paid thousands of dollars in bribes to then-Illinois State Representative Luis Arroyo in 2018 and 2019, according to the FBI. PREVIOUS: Chicago businessman convicted of bribing two state lawmakers The bribes were paid from Weiss’s gaming company, Collage LLC, in the form of checks made payable to Spartacus 3 LLC, Arroyo’s private lobbying firm in Chicago. In exchange for the bribes, Arroyo promoted legislation in the Illinois General Assembly related to the sweepstakes industry and advised other state lawmakers to support the legislation. In August 2019, Arroyo offered to have bribe payments made to an Illinois State Senator in return for the Senator’s support of sweepstakes-related legislation.As part of the scheme, Weiss agreed to conceal the bribe p...

Kaitlin Armstrong: What the new charge means for defense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong now faces a new charge after video shows her trying to escape from a medical facility.In video obtained from a witness, it shows an officer chasing after Armstrong, who attempts to scale a wall.Logan Campbell, a local defense attorney with Gergen, Hale and Campbell is not involved in this case, but he weighed in on the escape and how it could impact the defense. "This is already a very high profile case and on the eve of trial you are having a video that is being shown over all the news stations and for lack of better term going viral," Campbell said.Campbell said the new charges, escape/causing bodily injury, which is a second degree felony, as well as the video, could mean a difficult road for the defense."Running from custody can be used in the actual guilt innocence phase of trial," Campbell said. "It is not just a new criminal charge you're facing down the road. If you're facing a more serious charge, such as murder, it make...

High School Football: Two Rivers defense shines again as Warriors down Central for subdistrict crown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

Max Mogelson said Two Rivers prides itself on zero. One yard given up by the Warriors is one too many in their eyes.“And we’ve got guys on guys that are just willing to give up everything they’ve got to hold them to zero yards and zero points, obviously, is the goal at the end of the game,” the senior defensive lineman said. “But it’s one play at a time — win that play, win that drive, get the offense the ball and go from there.”So with zero in mind, Friday was a success for Two Rivers, as the Warriors shut out the Minutemen 41-0 at Central High School to claim the Northstar-Twin Cities subdistrict title.It’s Two Rivers’ first subdistrict or conference title dating back more than 20 years. That means something to seniors like Mogelson, a UNLV commit who entered the Mendota Heights school three years ago with the goal of turning the football program around.Mission accomplished. Friday’s win moved the Warriors to 6-1 on the season with only a date Wednesday with Simley remaining in th...

Conley’s Corner: Timberwolves’ ‘Old Guy’ has still got game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike Conley is one of the best sources of information in the NBA. Entering his 17th NBA season, the 36-year-old Timberwolves point guard has seen it all, and has the knowledge and willingness to explain what’s taken place and what’s to come with the media and, thus, the fans. That breadth of insight and analysis extends from the on-court Xs and Os to team dynamics and development. Conley is just as good at explaining why two teammates came to blows in the middle of a timeout as he is on what the team needs to do to decode a switch-heavy defense.So who better to sit down with twice a month to tackle different topics ranging from the Timberwolves to the league at large to, well, Mike Conley, than Conley himself.Welcome to the first installment of Conley’s Corner.‘The Old Guy’ has still got gameMike Conley noted there is a “script” NBA players are supposed to follow. Once you hit a certain age, you must conform into a different mold of player.“You’re no longe...

US condemns Hamas, vows support to defeat terror group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – United States officials are condemning Hamas and say the U.S. will help Israel defeat the terrorist organization -- stating innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians are being terrorized by the group. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel Friday and said the U.S. will do everything it can to help Israel defeat Hamas.“The deliberate cruelty of Hamas vividly reminds me of Isis -- bloodthirsty, fanatic and hateful,” Secretary Austin said. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “This viciousness goes on, and on, and on. You hear of new ones every day,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) added.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Hamas continues to use innocent civilians as human shields and is reportedly blocking roads to prevent Palestinians from moving to southern Gaza out of harms way.”In addition to helping Israel, officials say it's important to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian peop...

First of its kind quantum computer unveiled at RPI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- All eyes were on RPI Friday night as the school unveiled a quantum computer. In the world of computers, it's the Holy Grail -- the IBM Quantum System One -- and RPI is the first university in the entire world to have one."This technology holds the promise of solving some of the most pressing problems that we have in the world of discovery -- scientific discovery of materials, for example, novel batteries for the future, better fertilizer, etc.," Senior VP IBM Research Daro Gil said. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! For RPI students in the Quantum Club, it's like being a kid in a candy store."They can do things that classical computers just can't, and so that's what excites me, that we're moving on to a new era of computing," student Michael Papadopoulos said.The quantum computer system will be fully operational in January. It's so advanced, they truly don't know what it's capable of or the breakthroughs i...

Colorado high school football: How Post Preps Top 10 teams fared in Week 8

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

Class 5A1. Cherry Creek (7-0) at Eaglecrest, 7 p.m. Friday. Next week: vs. No. 4 Arapahoe, 7 p.m. Oct. 20.2. Columbine (8-0) won vs. Arvada West, 42-14: Slow out of the gates, the Rebels turned a 14-all tie into a runaway victory with four unanswered touchdowns to close out the game. Next week: vs. Lakewood, 4 p.m. Oct. 19.3. Pine Creek (7-0) at Legend, 7 p.m. Friday. Next week: vs. Douglas County, 6 p.m. Oct. 19.4. Arapahoe (7-1) won vs. Cherokee Trail, 56-7: Sophomores Jayden Tackitt (13 carries, 105 yards) and Trajan Frasier (15-100) both topped 100 yards rushing, with Frasier finding the end zone five times in a rout. Senior Charlie Eckhardt added three catches for 72 yards. Next week: at No. 1 Cherry Creek, 7 p.m. Oct. 20.5. Ralston Valley (6-2) won vs. Pomona, 48-7: The Mustangs rebounded from a Week 7 loss to Columbine by putting 42 points on the board by halftime Thursday night. Senior QB Logan Madden put up 215 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-22 passing, senior Brady We...

Concerned parents meet with officials after school placed on lockdown twice in one day 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

Parents of students at an elementary school in Sylmar met with school officials on Friday to discuss security after the school was placed on lockdown twice in one day. According to police, on Oct. 4, a man showed up at Hubbard Street Elementary School threatening to open fire.  Officers rushed to the school to identify the suspect but were unable to locate him.  Teens swung ax, head-stomped and eye-gouged Fullerton College security officers, police say Later that same day, the man returned and allegedly exposed himself to students, forcing the school to be placed on lockdown again. He was identified as 30-year-old Antonio Montelongo. A flyer regarding the lockdowns at Hubbard Street Elementary School.Montelongo was later detained by a group of parents who said that he had a chilling message. “One of the parents asked him ‘Why do you want to shoot our kids?’” a parent, only identified as Eriberto, told KTLA. “His own words were ‘I’m not going to kill the kids......

Single-family house sells in Oakland for $1.8 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

4273 Atlas Avenue – Google Street ViewA 1,942-square-foot house built in 1938 has changed hands. The property located in the 4200 block of Atlas Avenue in Oakland was sold on Sept. 1, 2023. The $1,780,000 purchase price works out to $917 per square foot. The layout of this two-story house includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. In addition, the home provides a garage.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:A 1,418-square-foot home on the 3600 block of Monterey Boulevard in Oakland sold in August 2022, for $1,400,000, a price per square foot of $987. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Jordan Road, Oakland, in June 2022, a 2,072-square-foot home was sold for $1,800,000, a price per square foot of $869. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In June 2022, a 1,335-square-foot home on Detroit Avenue in Oakland sold for $1,685,000, a price per square foot of $1,262. The home has 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Inside the ‘Pizza Oven’: Hells Angels illegally cremated four missing persons at funeral home, feds claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:54 GMT

Days before a former Fresno chapter president of the Hells Angels is set to be sentenced for aiding the cremation of a man who was murdered by other club members, federal prosecutors have dropped a bombshell, alleging that a local funeral director informed the FBI their were four such illegal cremations.Moreover, federal authorities believe they know the identities of all four bodies, according to court records. All four men are former Hells Angels who are either listed as missing persons or murder victims, according to court records.These new revelations came days before the sentencing of 54-year-old Merl Hefferman, a former president of the Fresno Hells Angels who has pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by arranging the cremation of Livermore resident Joel Silva. This was done after another Hells Angel, Brian Wendt, shot Silva in the back of the head inside the club’s Fresno headquarters, capping off a murder conspiracy that was hatched on the East Coast when Silva’s...