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Ukrainian woman in Chicago: 'I must go home'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Halyna Didula came to Chicago from Ukraine several months after Russia invaded her country. She is a Fulbright Scholar studying social work. But the war back home is never far from her mind.“I live in two realities,”Didula said.  The differences became even more strikingly – and sadly – clear last month when she went home to attend her sister’s wedding. Dimitriy, Didula's sister's fiancé Dimitriy Pashchuk, was on the frontlines but expected to be able to return to western Ukraine for the ceremony and celebration. Instead, as family and friends arrived in anticipation of the ceremony word came that Pashchuk had been killed in combat.  More Coverage: WGN Investigates It’s a war that a medical condition would’ve allowed him to sit out.  “He said ‘I should go. I cannot live here while my friends or other men are out on the front line defending their families,'” Didula said. “(He said. 'I have my fiancée. I have you and my sister and my mother and my fath...

Chicago hospital training ground for military medics

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Where do military medics learn to treat combat injuries? For some, right here in Chicago.Gun shot and stab wounds account for 25% to 30%  of the cases at Cook County Health’s Stroger Hospital making it one of the busiest trauma centers in the country.Dr John Ruggero is a surgeon with Cook County Health surgeon.“There is quite a bit of similarities between gun violence that we see in the city of Chicago and wounds that we see in war,” he said. “What separates us apart from the rest of the country is our high volume of penetrating trauma.”Ruggero, a Navy commander himself, helps lead the group as they navigate what are considered combat-like scenarios nowhere near an actual battlefield.“There’s a lot of pressure a lot of times its life and death and you have to make split-second decisions,” he said. Chicago doctor develops app to help assess possible child abuse Seven Naval medical providers have been embedded at Stroger since October 2022. They’ll deploy as a unit la...

Balloon Release held in memory of girl, 14, shot and killed on West Side

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Family and friends gathered in Austin to remember 14-year-old Charity Johnson Tuesday, honoring her memory with a balloon release."That was my best friend and I don't know how I'm going to live," said Charity's mother at the event.The event was a gathering filled with pain and tears as the community hopes the person responsible for her death comes forward."You took something from me, you took my seed," said Felisa Johnson, Charity's grandmother. "I thank God for the 14 years that I had with her." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 14-year-old girl shot, 50-year-old woman stabbed following dispute on West Side: police Police said Charity was shot and a 50-year-old woman was stabbed following what they described as an argument in the 0-100 block of North Lorel Avenue last Monday, April 10.After spending a week in the hospital in critical condition, Charity succumbed to her injuries yesterday.Police have no one in custody as Area Four detectives continue to investigate.If you or someone yo...

Phils' Marsh breaks up combined no-hit bid by White Sox

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Lucas Giolito and four relievers combined on a one-hitter, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 on Tuesday night to split a doubleheader.Brandon Marsh had Philadelphia's only hit, an opposite-field double to left on reliever Aaron Bummer's first pitch of the eighth inning.Giolito was pulled after throwing 102 pitches in six innings. He struck out seven, walked one and hit a batter. Kendall Graveman retired the side on eight pitches in the seventh, Bummer got two outs in the eighth and Reynaldo Lopez set down the last four batters, striking out three, to earn his third save.Jake Burger hit his fourth homer in five games, a three-run shot to left field in the first inning off left-hander Bailey Falter (1-2).In the first game, Philadelphia's Josh Harrison homered among his three hits and drove in four runs, and four relievers combined for four perfect innings as the Phillies won 7-4.Relievers Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel, Seranthony Dominguez and J...

RRPD responds to reported bomb threat at residence in Round Rock

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- The Round Rock Police Department is currently responding to a reported bomb threat, the agency confirmed on Twitter.At approximately 8:30 p.m., officers responded to the report at a residence in the 2100 block of Jasmine Path, the tweet said. Additionally, the Austin Police bomb squad is also assisting, RRPD said.As a precaution, neighboring residences were evacuated, the tweet said.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Man dies of apparent gunshot wound after SWAT situation in Round Rock

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- One person is dead as the result of an apparent gunshot wound during a SWAT situation in Round Rock Tuesday, RRPD confirmed in a media briefing.Previously, officers tried to serve an arrest warrant at a home in the 1900 block of Denfield Drive, RRPD said on Twitter.According to RRPD, the suspect, who was identified as a 40-year-old man, was wanted on felony assault-family violence charges. Police said the suspect fired one round at officers during the incident, and officers "quickly disengaged" and checked on residents in other homes, a RRPD spokesperson said during the briefing.Furthermore, de-escalation tactics were used to communicate with the suspect, when two more shots were heard from inside the residence.A SWAT robot, drones and gas canisters were used to get a response from the suspect in the home.However, officers found the suspect dead after using all tactics to bring him out as part of the de-escalation process, police said.Police said there wa...

Teen cheerleader injured after shooting at Elgin H-E-B parking lot, suspect arrested

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — A well-known Central Texas cheerleader is in the hospital Tuesday night after a shooting in Elgin. Elgin Police said a 25-year-old man fired shots into a car at an H-E-B parking lot and injured two people. Lynn Shearer, owner of Woodland's Elite Cheer Co., said four cheerleaders who go to her gym were involved in that shooting. "It was unfortunate. These girls were just trying to get home," Shearer said. Shearer said the cheerleaders carpool from the Austin area to her gym. "These kids have grown up in our gym. We've known them for years, some of them literally, since they were, you know, 8,10-years-old," Shearer said. "So they're like our family."She said Monday night they were returning back to the H-E-B in Elgin, where they parked their cars when one of the girls accidentally tried to get in the wrong car. "The guy got out and they saw that he had a gun. And so they tried to speed off and he shot his gun, like five times or so into the car," Shearer said. Po...

Twins walked off by Red Sox in wild loss

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

BOSTON — All night, it seemed, Boston Red Sox hitters were mounting threat after threat, on the verge of breaking through against Sonny Gray. They never did, a credit to the veteran starter on a night when he seemed to be working without his best stuff.Red Sox starter Chris Sale looked like vintage Sale at the beginning of the game, striking out seven of nine batters the first time through the order.And yet, though the Red Sox threatened all night and the Twins were limited to just four hits, the game wasn’t decided until a see-saw 10th inning when, after the Twins scored two runs in the top of the inning, the Red Sox walked off with three more. After a lengthy review where both teams were standing on the field awaiting their fate, Alex Verdugo’s hit to right was confirmed, handing the Red Sox a 5-4 10-inning win at Fenway Park.That came after a Reese McGuire two-run single earlier in the inning that tied the game, washing out the two runs the Twins had scored on a Byron Buxton sacr...

NYS Senate appoints Rowan Wilson as new chief judge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- New York State has a new chief judge. Rowan Wilson was confirmed Tuesday by the state Senate in a floor vote.Wilson was confirmed in a 40-19 vote. He is now the top judge in the state of New York, making him the first Black judge to hold the position. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Democrats voiced their support for him during the vote."At a time when federal courts are making rash and radical departures from long standing precedent and literally ripping away our rights, New Yorkers can be assured that with Judge Wilson at the helm, our judiciary will have their best interests at heart. The best interests of New Yorkers," Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal said. Senate Judiciary Committee advances Wilson to floor vote Republicans feel differently, however, due to a controversial case known as People v. Regan in which Wilson overturned the prison sentence of a convicted rapist after there were several delay...

Troy police take part in jiu-jitsu defense training

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:47:48 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Troy Police Department is taking part in a jiu-jitsu class as part of a new program. Police officials said they partnered with the Eddie Fyvie Jiu-Jitsu Academy as part of the defense tactics taught to members of the department. They also said the new training is a way to build confidence for the officers during a pressure filled situation. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Eddie Fyvie, who runs his own academy, said police departments across the country are using jiu-jitsu training for their own officers.The classes take place at the Troy Police Central Station on State Street.