Good morning, Chicago.
A wrong turn on the way to his friend’s house led Cadarius Wilson to be in the right place at the right time Wednesday to help save two teenage boys in a fatal house fire in West Englewood that authorities say they are investigating as arson.
The 16-year-old and 14-year-old survived the flames by jumping out a window from the engulfed home and into Wilson’s arms.
“I told them I am not going anywhere. Y’all can jump,” said Wilson, 24. “I am right here to catch y’all. I am not going to leave.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Allison Kiehl and Tess Kenny.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including what to know as WBBM Newsradio switches to ABC News, this week’s Chicago baseball report and what Dave Eggers wishes he had known when he was young and cool.
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Grand jury improprieties revealed in court as ‘Broadview Six’ case unravels
The unraveling of the politically charged “Broadview Six” case against Operation Midway Blitz protesters began earlier this week when a federal judge agreed to look at unredacted grand jury transcripts to “see if there is anything suspicious” about portions that had been mysteriously removed by the U.S. attorney’s office.
Judge denies motion to appoint special prosecutor to investigate federal agents’ actions during Operation Midway Blitz
A Cook County judge yesterday declined to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged wrongdoing by federal immigration agents, finding that Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is not operating under a conflict of interest.
- Mother of CPS senior detained by ICE calls for compassion: ‘Please free my son’
- Man charged with ‘ramming’ federal agents in Brighton Park confrontation
Chicago Tribune strikes 11th-hour deal to buy Daily Herald, outbidding suburban suitor
It took several full-page ads, an 11th-hour bid and ostensibly a premium price, but Tribune Publishing has swooped in and struck a deal to buy the employee-owned Daily Herald suburban newspaper.
The board of Paddock Publications, which operates the Daily Herald, sent an email to employees yesterday afternoon announcing that an asset purchase agreement has been signed, with a scheduled June 22 closing date.
WBBM Newsradio switches to ABC News, a day before the end of CBS News Radio
CBS Radio is set to broadcast its final network newscasts today, but the owner of WBBM-AM 780 apparently didn’t want to wait.
Yesterday, Chicago’s all-news station, along with 16 other CBS News Radio affiliates across the Audacy chain, quietly flipped the switch to ABC News, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Elk Grove Village mayor defends data centers at packed community hearing
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson delivered a sharp defense of data centers at a packed community meeting yesterday, responding to questions from residents worried that massive new facilities dedicated to artificial intelligence could suck up the village’s water or increase their utility bills.
At peak time for migratory birds flying through Chicago, birding groups are tracking deadly window collisions
Every morning during the spring migration season of March to June, Annette Prince, director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, leads hundreds of volunteers who scour downtown Chicago searching for migratory birds that have collided with windows.
Their busiest period is right now: Mid-May is the peak time for migratory birds to fly north through Chicago. And while millions of birds fly through Chicago this spring, conservationists, architects and city leaders are grappling with how best to protect hundreds of species, as the city serves as both a critical stopover site and a dangerous obstacle along that migration route.
Chicago baseball report: Rough stretch for Cubs’ Moisés Ballesteros — and work pays off for Sox’s Noah Schultz
The Cubs went into the season’s first series against the Milwaukee Brewers sitting in first place in the National League Central. They needed to regroup on yesterday’s day off after getting swept by their division rival.
And after three games in San Francisco this weekend, the White Sox get their first look at the Minnesota Twins when the teams meet for a four-game series beginning Monday at Rate Field.
Kyle Busch, the 2-time NASCAR champion and winner of a record 234 races, dies at 41
Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died. He was 41.
The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given.
What Dave Eggers wishes he had known when he was young and cool
Dave Eggers has a new novel, “Contrapposto,” his finest in years, about being young and living in Chicago, completely absorbed in culture. His hero, Cricket, an art student, is surrounded by other artists. Except he’s modest, casual — he sounds nothing like the pre-millennium Eggers.
“Actually, Cricket is drastically different from anyone I even know,” Eggers said the other day, by phone from his home in San Francisco. “I went to art school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the American Academy of Art, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and even as a kid I had a lot of training (in visual art) — it was always something I loved to do.”
Paul McCartney helps Stephen Colbert say goodbye to ‘The Late Show’ in ambitious final show
Stephen Colbert chatted with Paul McCartney and joined him on stage for a raucous performance of “Hello, Goodbye” on the final broadcast of CBS’ “The Late Show” last night, a bittersweet farewell for a canceled show that still had a few barbs left for the network that ended its 33-year run.
