A 72-year-old man died while trying to escape from a fire Friday in West Garfield Park.
The man was identified as Edward Lemon by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He tried to escape but succumbed to heavy smoke after a blaze broke out about 4:45 p.m. at a home in the 4300 block of West Maypole Avenue, Chicago fire officials said.
Firefighters found the man in the back of the home and he was taken to West Suburban Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
Autopsy results released Saturday found he died from thermal and inhalation injuries from an apartment fire. His death was ruled an accident.
Arson and homicide detectives were investigating a Sunday fire in the Gresham neighborhood in which a mother and her daughter died.
The cause of fire hasn’t been determined, but there was enough evidence at the scene to turn over the investigation to police, according to Chicago fire spokesman Larry Langford.
Chicago police bomb and arson detectives, as well as homicide detectives, were investigating the cause of the fire, a police spokeswoman said Monday.
Porche Stinson Ford, 15, and Ieshia Ford, 34, were found in the burning house by firefighters about 4 a.m. Sunday in the 8600 block of South Hermitage Avenue, officials said.
They were taken in critical condition to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Autopsy results were expected to be released later Monday by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Neighbors told CBS2-Chicago that the fire broke out in the rear of the home where Ford and her daughter lived. Neighbors told the station that the girl was 10 years old, but the medical examiner’s office listed her age as 15.
Two other women and two men were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment, police said.
The home had no working smoke detectors, fire officials said.
In just a few short years, Recess at City Hall has become a staple in the Chicago bar scene and for good reason. It’s spacious atmosphere, great drinks, and games make it one of the best places for day drinking in the West Loop neighborhood. It also is a perfect venue for pop up bars that you don’t have to travel all the way to Lincoln Park for, and now, they’re hosting the Sugar Rush Pop-Up at Recess. What do you need to know?
Who doesn’t love candy and cocktails? I definitely do and as far as I’m concerned you should too. Here you will feel like a kid in a candy store with its bright and colorful cocktails. Recess has been known for its bars, food stands, and cabana houses during the winter months, but now they’ve gone above and beyond to offer you a sweet and vibrant experience.
Every Thursday through Sunday until March 14th, The Sugar Rush Pop Up will be offering colorful and tasty cocktails alongside the fire. They also offer boozy hot chocolate if you’re not a cocktail kind.
And if that’s not enough, the candyland has an array of giant colorful walls and backdrops for the perfect photo op. Displays consisting of giant ice cream cones,lollipops, hard candy, donuts, cupcakes, and many more fill the space so you feel like Willy Wonka of the West Loop. As if all of that wasn’t enough to convince you, each pop-up ticket comes with a Sugar Rush specialty cocktail, a boozy peanut butter hot chocolate, a gourmet rice krispie treat, a Recess beanie, and a goodie back of treats. But you need to hurry, because these tickets will not last! You definitely do not want to miss this sweet and tasty adventure.
Although I had so many things that I needed to accomplish this weekend, I spent it watching Netflix, mostly binge-watching season one of Ginny and Georgia. Although no one seems to call it binge-reading, I do this with books also. Other than the obvious reason to be entertained by a good story, why else do I binge on a show or a book? Why can’t I stop? To binge on something is defined as excessive indulgence. To break that down again, indulgence is to yield to a desire. Did I have a desire to watch hours of TV or read for nine hours? I’m not sure about that, but I do know that I have some personal struggles going on, in addition to the stress of this never ending pandemic, so I spent most of the weekend zoning out and actively NOT thinking about my own life. It was a bit of escapism, or maybe big-time escapism. In the past when I was troubled or had decisions to make, I would talk to friends and family, go for a drive or even take a long walk or run, but now I sat and watched TV and tried my hardest not to think. I have admitted to myself and to others that I believe I have a repetitive type tendency. I can eat the same think for breakfast for 25 years; I can drive the same way to work every day, and I can keep the furniture in my room the same for years. It makes sense then that I can sit and watch a show for hours on end, but should I? Everyone talks about binge-watching shows, but for me it does feel hard to break the cycle. I was up until 4:30 Saturday night reading a book, and 2:30 Sunday night watching Netflix. I was tired both nights and knew I should just stop and go to sleep. Luckily, I am off work today, but I know that I can’t pick up a book or turn on the TV or I will not get anything done all day.
While it is easy to focus on the negative aspects of life, I choose to continue looking for the good in people and in the world around me, and I want to share why they do what they do. I am the proud mother of three adult daughters and live in the Chicago area. I have worked in the Early Childhood Education field since 2001, and I write books when the inspiration comes.
In this image from a video, anti-coup protesters run away from tear gas launched by security forces in Yangon, Myanmar Monday, March 1, 2021. Defiant crowds returned to the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city on Monday, determined to continue their protests against the military’s seizure of power a month ago, despite security forces having killed at least 18 people around the country just a day earlier. | AP
The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar after five decades of military rule.
YANGON, Myanmar — Police in Myanmar’s biggest city fired tear gas Monday at defiant crowds who returned to the streets to protest last month’s coup, despite reports that security forces had killed at least 18 people a day earlier.
The protesters in Yangon were chased as they tried to gather at their usual meeting spot at the Hledan Center intersection. Demonstrators scattered and sought in vain to rinse the irritating gas from their eyes, but later regrouped.
The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar after five decades of military rule. It came Feb. 1, the same day a newly elected Parliament was supposed to take office. Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party would have led that government, but instead she was detained along with President Win Myint and other senior officials.
The army has leveled several charges against Suu Kyi — an apparent effort by the military to provide a legal veneer for her detention and potentially to bar her from running in the election the junta has promised to hold in one year. On Monday, Suu Kyi made a court appearance via videoconference and was charged with two more offenses, her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters.
Accused of inciting unrest, she was charged under a law that dates from British colonial days and has long been criticized as a vaguely defined catch-all statute that inhibits freedom of expression. That charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The other charge from Monday carries a one-year sentence.
Following her detention on the day of the coup, the 75-year-old Suu Kyi was initially held at her residence in the capital of Naypyitaw, but members of her National League for Democracy party now say they don’t know where she is.
Since the takeover, a movement of protests in cities across the country has been growing — and the junta’s response has become increasingly violent.
The U.N. said it had “credible information” that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded across Myanmar on Sunday. Counts from other sources, such the Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent television and online news outlet, put the death toll in the 20s.
Any of the reports would make it the highest single-day death toll since the military takeover. The junta has also made mass arrests, and the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported that as many as 1,000 people were detained Sunday. Several journalists have been among those detained, including one for The Associated Press.
At least five people are believed to have been killed Sunday in Yangon when police shot at protesters, who have remained nonviolent despite provocation from the security forces and pro-military counter-demonstrators.
People erected makeshift sidewalk shrines Monday at the spots where several of the victims were shot and also paid their respects by standing outside the hospitals where the bodies were being released to families.
In Dawei, a small city in southeastern Myanmar where five people were reported killed Sunday, the number of protesters on the streets Monday was lower than usual, but they paraded to the applause of bystanders.
Confirming the deaths of protesters has been difficult in areas outside Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw. But in many cases, there was evidence posted online such as videos of shootings, photos of bullet casings collected afterwards and gruesome pictures of bodies.
In a statement published Monday in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry declared that the junta “is exercising utmost restraint to avoid the use of force in managing the violent protests systematically, in accordance with domestic and international laws in order to keep minimum casualties.”
But U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters and arbitrary arrests “unacceptable,” said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
“Words of condemnation are necessary and welcome but insufficient. The world must act. We must all act,” the U.N.’s independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a separate statement.
He proposed that countries could institute a global embargo on the sale of arms to Myanmar and “tough, targeted and coordinated sanctions” against those responsible for the coup, the crackdown and other rights abuses.
Social media posts from Myanmar have increasingly urged the international community to invoke the doctrine of the “responsibility to protect” to intervene directly to restrain the junta.
Any kind of coordinated action at the United Nations, however, would be difficult since two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it.
Instead, some countries have imposed or are considering imposing their own sanctions. In Washington, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan issued a statement saying the U.S. is “alarmed” by the violence and stands in solidarity with Myanmar’s people.
Washington is among those that have levied sanctions, and Sullivan said it would “impose further costs on those responsible,” promising details “in the coming days.”
Members of Suu Kyi’s party have also created a committee that they are asking other countries to recognize as a provisional government and the true representatives of Myanmar’s people.
The committee recently appointed a doctor and philanthropist from the ethnic Chin minority to be a special envoy to the United Nations.
In an interview Sunday night with the AP, the envoy, Sasa, who uses one name, said he would discuss with U.N. human rights expert Andrews pursuing legal actions against the generals through international courts.
“We are looking at international criminal courts and other U.N. mechanisms. It will be a little bit difficult to do it though the United Nations Security Council but we are looking at great length what can be done” to bring these generals to account, he said, speaking from a secret location due to fears for his safety.
Many expect Myanmar’s military to be intractable, but Sasa said he believes the junta is already beginning to see the difficulty of running a functioning government.
“I hope that they will come to the negotiating table, so we can talk together,” said Sasa.
Among the arrests made Sunday, the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners was able to identify about 270 people, bringing to 1,132 the total number of people the group has confirmed has been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup.
Thein Zaw, an AP journalist, was taken into police custody on Saturday morning while providing news coverage of the protests. He remains in police custody.
The AP called for his immediate release.
“Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution. AP decries in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw,” said Ian Phillips, the AP’s vice president for international news.
According to information collected by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and local media reports, at least seven other journalists were detained over the weekend — all of whom work for local media. At least another 13 have been detained since the coup.
Illinois moved up to No. 4 in the new AP Top 25 poll. | Morry Gash/AP
The Illini climbed to fourth and Iowa gave the Big Ten three teams in the top five.
Michigan finally broke the stranglehold of Gonzaga and Baylor atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll on Monday, taking advantage of the Bears’ loss at Kansas to leap into the No. 2 spot behind the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga continued to hold down the top spot in the Top 25, just as it has all season, receiving 59 of 63 first-place votes among national media members. But the Wolverines picked up the other four to climb into second while the Bears, whose unbeaten season was foiled by the Jayhawks on Saturday night, dropped back to third place.
Illinois climbed one spot to fourth and Iowa gave the Big Ten three teams in the top five.
“We look at it like there’s room for improvement,” said Wolverines coach Juwan Howard, whose team pushed its winning streak to seven with an easy win over Indiana on Saturday. “Our guys have that kind of growth mindset, ‘What can we do better?’ I don’t think there’s ever such a thing as playing a perfect game, (but) one possession at a time, competing for 40 minutes, from start to finish, that’s been our mindset going into ballgames.”
Now the question is whether the Wolverines can hold onto its No. 2 spot. They have a showdown with the Illini on Tuesday night before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home series against Michigan State.
“No question, they deserve all of the whatever the word you want to use — accolades, praise. They deserve it all,” Hoosiers coach Archie Miller said. “They have a great spirit about them. That’s one thing you’d probably have to look at Michigan and just look at the way that they vibe and they play, both ends of the floor. They get after you, they play hard for one another, they have a great bounce to them, so you can tell they’re very together. That’s a big part of what they’re doing.”
West Virginia continued its steady climb, up four spots to No. 6 after its third consecutive win. Ohio State fell three spots to seventh after its loss to the Hawkeyes. Alabama, Houston and Villanova rounded out the top 10.
Florida State was next while Arkansas leaped eight spots to No. 12 after running its winning streak to six, including victories over then-No. 10 Missouri and the Crimson Tide. It’s the highest the Razorbacks have been ranked since Feb. 16, 1998.
Also making a big move was No. 13 Kansas, fresh off its win over the Bears; the Jayhawks have won six of seven after their record 12-year streak in the Top 25 came to an end, with the loss coming to then-No. 14 Texas in overtime.
Creighton dropped one spot to No. 14, followed by the Longhorns. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were next, followed by Big 12 rival Texas Tech, with San Diego Staten and Loyola Chicago rounding out the top 20.
Virginia was No. 21, followed by Virginia Tech, Purdue, Colorado and Wisconsin. The newcomer Boilermakers and sliding Badgers give the Big Ten six teams in the Top 25, one fewer than the poll-leading Big 12.
MORE ON THE BEARS
Baylor has struggled since coming off a three-week pause for COVID-19 issues, needing a frantic rally to beat bottom-dwelling Iowa State before falling in Allen Fieldhouse. Bears coach Scott Drew was quick to congratulate the Jayhawks on the win, but he also made it clear that his team is still trying to find its legs after a long break.
“Anyone that’s had COVID would know, when you come back, you’re not 100%,” Drew said. “The people that didn’t and weren’t able to practice or work out, I would say that’s rust. And then the last thing I would say, it’s a chemistry game.”
IN AND OUT
Oklahoma State went from the first team out all the way to No. 17 on the strength of Top 25 wins over the Red Raiders and Sooners last week. Purdue entered at No. 23 after blowing out Penn State for its third consecutive win, and Colorado went from barely on the radar to No. 24 after back-to-back wins over then-No. 19 Southern California and UCLA.
They replaced the Trojans, Tennessee and Missouri. USC has lost three of its last four, the Vols have dropped three of their last five and the Tigers, who were No. 10 at the start of February, have lost four of their last five.
ON THE DOORSTEP
BYU was the first team out of the poll after the Cougars’ fourth straight win solidified their place behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. Florida appeared on seven ballots after not appearing on any last week, and St. Bonaventure found its way onto eight ballots after the Bonnies edged Davidson in back-to-back games and routed George Washington.
This Dec. 30, 2019 image from security camera video shows Michael L. Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Taylor is accused of smuggling former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. | AP
Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, failed to convince U.S. officials and courts to block their extradition to Japan, where they will be tried on charges that they smuggled Carlos Ghosn out of the country in 2019.
BOSTON — An American father and son wanted by Japan for aiding former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape from the country in a box were handed over to Japanese custody Monday, ending their months-long battle to stay in the U.S.
Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, failed to convince U.S. officials and courts to block their extradition to Japan, where they will be tried on charges that they smuggled Ghosn out of the country in 2019 while the former auto titan was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges.
The Massachusetts men, who have been locked up at a suburban Boston jail since their arrest in May, were handed over to Japanese officials early Monday, said one of their attorneys, Paul Kelly.
The Taylors’ lawyers had argued the accusations don’t fit under the law Japan wants to try them under and that they would be treated unfairly in Japan and subjected to “mental and physical torture.” They have accused Japan of pursuing the pair in an attempt to save face after the embarrassment of Ghosn’s escape.
Michael Taylor, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and private security specialist who in the past was hired by parents to rescue abducted children, has never denied the allegations.
He gave an interview to Vanity Fair magazine for a story last year in which he described the mission in detail. When asked why he did it, he responded with the motto of the Special Forces: “De oppresso liber” or “to liberate the oppressed,” the magazine reported.
Michael Taylor refused to discuss the details of the case in an interview last month with The Associated Press because of the possibility that he will be tried in Japan. But he insisted that his son wasn’t involved and was not even in Japan when Ghosn left.
Ghosn, who became one of the auto industry’s most powerful executives by engineering a turnaround at the Japanese manufacturer, had been out on bail after his November 2018 arrest on charges that he underreported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain.
Ghosn has denied the allegations and has said he fled to avoid “political persecution.”
Prosecutors have described it as one of the most “brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history.” Authorities say the Taylors were paid at least $1.3 million for their help.
On the day of the escape, Michael Taylor flew into Osaka on a chartered jet with another man, George-Antoine Zayek, carrying two large black boxes and pretending to be musicians with audio equipment, authorities said. Meanwhile, Ghosn, free on bail, headed to the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and met up with Peter Taylor, who was already in Japan, authorities say.
The elder Taylor and Zayek met up with the two others at the Grand Hyatt and shortly after, they split up. Peter Taylor hopped on a flight to China while the others got on a bullet train and went back to another hotel near the airport, where Taylor and Zayek had booked a room. They all went in; only Ghosn’s rescuers were seen walking out.
Authorities say Ghosn was inside one of the big black boxes. At the airport, the boxes passed through a security checkpoint without being checked and were loaded onto a private jet headed for Turkey, officials said.
The Taylors had hired lawyers connected to former President Donald Trump, including ex-White House attorney Ty Cobb, in attempt to get Trump to block the extradition before he left office.
In his interview with the AP, Michael Taylor implored President Joe Biden to step in and said he felt betrayed that the U.S. would try to turn him over to Japan after his service to the country. But the Biden administration declined to block the extradition.
Under Trump. the U.S. State Department agreed in October to hand the men over to Japan. But a federal judge in Boston put their extradition on hold shortly after their lawyers filed an emergency petition. The judge rejected their petition in January and the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals later denied their bid to put the extradition on hold while they appeal that ruling.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer last month denied a bid for more time for an appeal, clearing the way for the men to be handed over to Japan.
See Red Fred Interviews Sean Highkin of the Bleacher Report. They discuss a wide variety of Bulls and NBA topics, including Fred’s “Blazers East” Theory.
The ChicagoBears should be excited after a workout video of Drew Brees has surfaced, sparking conversation on his possible return to the NFL. The Bears should speculate the situation with Drew Brees, as he has initiated the notion that he could be returning to the NFL for another season. Could he come to […]
