A Carpentersville man remains in Lake County Jail as of Thursday, held on sexual assault charges after he reportedly groped a co-worker. According to a Lake Zurich Police Department news release, officers responded April 19 to the 600 block of America Court on a call of a sexual assault. Officers said a man at the assisted living complex, who was identified as Everado Cardenas, of the 100 block of Bolz Road in Carpentersville, was accused of “[grabbing] the breast and genitals of another employee of the business without her consent,” according to the release. Cardenas, 53, was arrested at the ..read more

The Sons of Boston bouncer accused of stabbing a U.S. Marine outside the bar has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall on Thursday morning accepted the plea agreement worked out by both the prosecution and the defense and sentenced Alvaro Larrama to 17 to 20 years in state prison. “This senseless act of violence places fear in the heart of parents because it could happen to anyone. Mr. Larrama picked my son that night,” Apolonia Martinez, the mother of the victim, said in a victim impact statement ahead of sentencing. “I’m just a heartbrok ..read more

At least eight people fell victim to armed robbers within minutes of each other overnight, and some of incidents turned violent with victims being struck in the head and dragged in the street, Chicago police said. The most recent robbery happened shortly before 12:55 a.m. in the Loop neighborhood in the 100 block of East Wacker Drive, police said. Three victims, a woman and two men, were walking when a sedan approached and two robbers exited with handguns. The woman, 28, was struck on the top of the head and suffered minor bruising. One of the men, 25, suffered lacerations to the right hand an ..read more

NEW YORK — New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case. The state Court of Appeals ruling reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein. The court ordered a new trial. His accusers could again be forced to relive their traumas on the witness sta ..read more

NEW YORK — Legislation forcing TikTok’s parent company to sell the video-sharing platform or face a ban in the U.S. received President Joe Biden’s official signoff Wednesday. But the newly minted law could be in for an uphill battle in court. Critics of the sell-or-be-banned ultimatum argue it violates TikTok users’ First Amendment rights. The app’s China-based owner, ByteDance, has already promised to sue, calling the measure unconstitutional. But a court challenge’s success is not is not guaranteed. The law’s opponents, which include advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties U ..read more

Action in courts and state capitals around the U.S. this week have made it clear again: The overturning of Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion did not settle the issue. One iteration of the issue was back before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for the second time in a month. Meanwhile, Arizona lawmakers took a step toward repealing a near-total ban before enforcement can begin; California’s governor pitched providing an outlet to abortion providers and patients from neighboring Arizona if that ban takes take effect; and Tennessee moved closer to criminalizing helping a minor g ..read more

NEW YORK  — Ever since college, Brad Jobling struggled with his weight, fluctuating between a low of 155 pounds when he was in his 30s to as high as 220. He spent a decade tracking calories on WeightWatchers, but the pounds he dropped always crept back onto his 5-foot-5-inch frame. A little over a year ago, the 58-year-old Manhattan resident went on a new weight loss drug called Wegovy. He’s lost 30 pounds, and has started eating healthier food and exercising — the habits behind many commercial diet plans and decades of conventional wisdom on sustainable weight loss. Yet Jobling’s experie ..read more

AUSTIN, Texas — With graduations looming, student protesters doubled down early Thursday on their discontent of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the country as universities, including ones in California and Texas, have become quick to call in the police to end the demonstrations and make arrests. While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks. Columbia continued to ..read more

Good morning, Chicago. You have to give the Chicago Bears and Mayor Brandon Johnson credit for their boldness, writes the Tribune’s Paul Sullivan in his latest column. Name-dropping the likes of Daniel Burnham, former President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and Beyonce on Wednesday during their presentation of a proposed $4.6 billion stadium project was pure genius. Informing us that “no new taxes” would be necessary to pay for the project was what everyone wanted to hear, even though public funding of at least $1 billion probably would be necessary to get a deal done. After seeing the ..read more

NEW YORK — A reluctant Donald Trump will be back in a New York City courtroom Thursday as his hush money trial resumes at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president. Jurors will hear more witness testimony from a veteran tabloid publisher, and Trump faces a looming decision over whether he violated a gag order imposed by the judge. But he had asked to skip out on his criminal trial for the day so he could sit in on the high court’s special session, where the justices ..read more