Briefs: Teen charged in murder
Teen charged in murder
A 17-year-old faces a murder charge in the death of a University of Chicago graduate from Senegal. Chicago police say Demetrius Warren of Chicago was charged with first-degree murder and one count of attempted armed robbery in the death of 28-year-old Amadou Cisse. Three others have been charged for their roles in the killing and robbery. The 29-year-old was fatally shot outside his home near the university. He was a native of Dakar, Senegal completing his doctoral studies in chemistry at U of C. Warren -- who faces charges in two other robberies of university students -- is expected in court on Wednesday.
Boy dies in Minneapolis
Minnesota police say they have found the body of a 4-year-old Chicago boy at the Minneapolis home where he was staying when he was reported missing Wednesday. Authorities said Sunday a woman has been arrested, but was not immediately charged. The Hennepin County, Minn., medical examiner's office is attempting to determine how and when Demond Reed died, but police said they are investigating the case as a homicide. Authorities said Demond and his father came to Minneapolis from Chicago for a visit, but his father was arrested last month on an unrelated matter and the boy was left in the custody of a female cousin.
Last sermon preached
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whom U.S. Sen. Barack Obama calls his spiritual mentor, says he has preached his last sermon at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Despite the wind and bitter cold Sunday morning, hundreds of parishioners packed into Trinity to hear the 66-year-old Wright preach at the church one last time. Wright's sermon wove the hopefulness of past African generations with dreams for the future. Obama joined Trinity in the late 1980s and said he based his historic keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on one of Wright's sermons.
Euthanizing gas criticized
State Rep. John Fritchey says he is introducing legislation which would ban the use of carbon monoxide for euthanizing dogs and cats in Illinois. Speaking Sunday at a no-kill animal shelter, the Chicago Democrat said Illinois is one of only a handful of states that still allow the use of the lethal gas for killing unclaimed strays. Animal rights advocates said they have found two animal shelters and one dog-breeding operation, all Downstate, that still use carbon monoxide as a way to euthanize unwanted animals. Activists said that although the practice is legal in Illinois, it is widely viewed as inhumane and can be particularly cruel if performed by people who are not licensed to euthanize animals.
Family sues over CTA death
The family of a woman who was hit and killed by a Chicago Transit Authority bus she had been riding on a minute or two earlier is suing the driver and asking witnesses to the Dec. 31 accident to come forward. Attorney Timothy Cavanagh said 59-year-old Ludwika Szynalik was removing her bike from the rack on the front of the bus when the driver suddenly accelerated and the bus dragged her more than 80 feet. Tapes from CTA bus cameras show that Szynalik rode the bus for about 15 minutes before getting off. They also show her starting to remove her bicycle from the outside rack. Cavanagh said that if the driver had been paying attention, he would have seen her.
Water leak at Capitol
A big chunk of the Illinois Capitol was damaged by a water leak Monday, shutting down the building's main entrance and forcing some employees to relocate. A sprinkler line on the second floor broke early Monday morning. Water poured into offices on that floor, the first floor and into the basement, officials said. Some employees of the governor and state Senate were forced to relocate. When workers repaired the leak and removed water, some of it poured outside and froze, closing the main entrance. The leak left behind waterlogged ceiling tiles, damaged computers and soggy carpets. Henry Haupt, spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White, said Monday afternoon that experts were still assessing the damage to figure out what it would cost to repair and how long it would take.
Shedd beluga doing well
A birthday milestone is near for one resident of Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. Miki the 350-pound beluga whale calf is almost 6 months old. He was born in August last year and Shedd officials said he's mimicking adult behavior like eating some solid foods. The baby calf is nearly 6 feet long. Miki was named after a three-week contest in which nearly 9,000 votes were cast. His name is an Inuit word meaning "little." A Shedd vice president said Miki's name will take on a more ironic meaning as he keeps growing at his normal rapid pace into an adult beluga whale. A fully grown adult male beluga can weigh more than 2,000 pounds. The aquarium has had four other beluga calf births.