Kevin McCallister’s iconic house, known for his playful antics, is getting new owners. The property, featured in the beloved 1990 film “Home Alone,” has hit the market for $5.25 million, signaling a change in ownership.
The suburban Chicago house, famously depicted in the movie, underwent extensive renovations and expansions in 2018. Among its new features is a movie theater, perfect for watching “Home Alone” or any other cinematic favorite.
Listed by agents Dawn McKenna and Katie Moor of Coldwell Banker Realty, the brick Georgian-style residence boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and over 9,000 square feet of living space. Additionally, it includes a fully equipped gym and an indoor sports court complete with a basketball hoop.
“Home Alone” follows the mischievous 8-year-old Kevin, portrayed by Macaulay Culkin, who finds himself home alone during Christmas after his family accidentally leaves for Europe without him. Kevin’s adventures include defending his home from two hapless burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, using inventive and hilarious traps.
The property, steeped in cinematic history and holiday nostalgia, captured widespread attention due to its connection with the film. It last changed hands in 2012 for $1.58 million, marking a significant increase in its current listing price.
Police and workers wearing yellow vests removed tents and camping gear from the student camp, and there were yellow squares of dead or dying grass left behind. Front-loading machines were used to take out the camping gear.
Just opposite to where the camp was set up on the grassy area at DePaul’s campus called “The Quad,” a small group of protesters stood on the sidewalk in front of a gas station. They clapped their hands together while a leader spoke to them through a bullhorn.
Jon Hein, head of patrol for Chicago Police Department, said that all the protesters at the camp left the area on their own when the police came early Thursday.
“There were no fights and no one tried to stop us,” he said during a press conference. As we got closer, everyone chose to leave the place on their own.
Hein said that two young people, a man and a woman, were arrested outside the camp for blocking traffic.
The decision to empty the campus happened just a few days after the president of the school said that the safety of the public was in danger.
DePaul’s President and Provost said they think students wanted to protest peacefully, but the way the protests were handled created safety problems for the community.
Manuel said in a statement sent on Thursday that they couldn’t resolve their differences with DePaul Divestment Coalition after 17 days of trying.
“Our public safety office and Chicago Police are now taking down the camp,” he said. “Everyone in the camp can leave without getting in trouble. ”
He said that since the camp started, the situation has been getting worse with fights and people who are not from our group making threats of violence.
Many college students across different campuses built camps to ask their schools to not be connected to Israel and the businesses that support it. They did this to show their opposition to Israel’s actions in the war with Hamas. The protests started as the schools were finishing their spring classes and are now having graduation ceremonies.
Some students and teachers were held by the police on Wednesday after they removed a camp and protesters supporting Palestine briefly took control of a lecture hall at the University of California, Irvine. The police came when protesters blocked the entrance to the building with a barrier and demanded the university stop investing in Israel. The police said that people were not allowed to gather, so they made them leave the building and arrested some of them.
There was a lot of tension at DePaul last weekend when people who disagreed with a protest showed up on campus in Lincoln Park. The police had to get involved.
The DePaul Divestment Coalition, made up of students, want the university to stop investing in Israel. They started camping out on April 30. The group said that university officials left the discussion and tried to make students sign an agreement. This was reported in a statement by a student on Saturday.
Henna Ayesh, a Palestinian student at DePaul and part of the Coalition, said she doesn’t want her tuition money to support her family’s pain.
DePaul is located in the northern part of the city. Police cleared out a camp at the University of Chicago last week.
The Associated Press found that there have been at least 77 times since April 18 when people were arrested at protests on college campuses across the US. A total of 2,900 people have been arrested at 58 different colleges and universities. The numbers are from information given by AP, universities, and law enforcement.
Five police officers in a special unit in a plain car stopped a SUV driven by Dexter Reed last month because they said he was not wearing a seatbelt. A video of a 26-year-old Black man shows him lowering a car window for a short time and then raising it again. He refused to get out of the car even when more officers arrived, shouted at him, and pointed their weapons at him.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said they have early evidence that shows Reed shot first and hurt a police officer in Humboldt Park, on the West Side of the city. Four police officers shot back, firing 96 bullets.
The sounds of gunshots didn’t stop even after Reed got out of his car and fell to the ground. COPA shared videos from the police officers’ body cameras, 911 calls, and police reports.
The new videos show more information than what the police first showed last month.
Relatives are asking questions about the police’s explanation of the shooting, trying to understand why Reed was stopped by the police. Andrew Stroth, a lawyer for the family, said Reed’s mother, sister, uncle, and father watched the video on Tuesday and were very upset. He said they remember the young man as a good basketball player in high school who wanted to be a sports broadcaster.
“I can’t describe how much my family is hurting. I hope that someone out there understands that my brother was loved by his family and had people who cared about him,” said Reed’s sister, Porscha Banks, to reporters. “He was someone very special. ”
Stroth said the police stop was against the law because the officers were not wearing uniforms and didn’t say they were police. He said the family wants the investigation to be done quickly and for the department to follow the court’s plan for change better.
“He won’t come back, but we should try to prevent this from happening to another family,” he said.
On Tuesday, the police spokesperson Thomas Ahern said that the department is working together with the investigation.
“We can’t make a decision about the shooting until we know all the facts and finish the investigation,” he said.
The videos show different views, including the one from the officer who got shot. But it’s not easy to see Reed shooting in the video. A gun was found in the car later.
Then there were loud sounds of gunfire. A man called 911 and said the shooting sounded like the Vietnam War.
Reed gets out of the car and falls to the ground, ending up lying on his stomach with his head by the back passenger wheel and only wearing one shoe. Blood is following into a nearby drain. Video of the car shows a lot of holes from bullets. The other shoe is next to the driver’s door.
The officers shout at Reed to stay still and lift up his hands. They were looking for a gun but couldn’t find one. Reed’s hands were bloody and falling down. They put handcuffs on him while he lies on his stomach and doesn’t move.
The officer says he doesn’t know where the gun is. Later, they use a flashlight to look inside the car and find the weapon on the passenger seat.
“He began to shoot at us,” another officer said.
Later, more police and an ambulance come to the place.
“One officer kept saying that we all were shooting. ”
Mayor Brandon Johnson promised to thoroughly investigate the situation and said that the release of information on Tuesday was a step towards being more open and honest.
“He said at a news conference with COPA and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office that trying to keep information secret or slow it down is old-fashioned and wrong. ” “As a mayor and a father, I am very upset to see another young Black man lose his life during a police interaction. Especially because I am raising a family, including two Black boys in the West Side of Chicago. ”
He said the city doesn’t support shootings against police officers and mentioned that the officer, who is also Black, hurt his wrist but it could have been much worse. If the bullet had gone a little bit in a different direction, Johnson said he would be here “talking about the death of another Black man. ”
The officers were given a 30-day break from their regular duties while COPA and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office investigate them.
Kim Foxx, a legal official, said her office will decide if the police used force for a good reason or if they should be charged with a crime.
“I promise we will keep working hard to find justice, using facts, evidence, and the law as our guide,” she said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office said that Reed was killed on purpose and that he died from being shot multiple times.
COPA was made in 2016 because the city had to show a video of a police officer shooting a 17-year-old boy. The video showed that what the officers said happened was not true. It looks into cases where police have shot someone.
The police department has to follow certain rules given by the US Justice Department because they found that the police have been treating people of different races unfairly and using too much force, after McDonald died.
The team that checks if the department is following the rules has found that it often doesn’t finish tasks on time. They asked the new superintendent to solve the problems that have been causing slow progress.
Officials from the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States have conducted a working visit to meet with the Executive Director, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah and the management of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Ghana.
EOCO recently announced its plan to conduct lifestyle audits targeting celebrities and individuals suspected of having unexplained wealth, a decision made public on February 23, 2024.
This initiative comes in the wake of concerns raised after Ghanaian social media influencer and musician Mona Montrage (Hajia4reall) pleaded guilty in a $2 million romance scam case, highlighting challenges in addressing illicit enrichment.
The visiting team from the Chicago Field Office includes a Forensic Accountant and two Special Agents, aiming to assist EOCO in ongoing forensic investigations.
During a meeting held on Tuesday, February 20, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah briefed the officials on EOCO’s mandate, highlighting the longstanding relationship between the two institutions and the effectiveness of past collaborations in investigations.
She expressed EOCO’s eagerness to collaborate again on the current investigations.
FBI AGENTS VISIT EOCO TO AID IN ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Chicago Field Office (USA) have. paid a working visit to the Executive Director, COP MYT Addo-Danquah and Management of EOCO.
Just one day after four additional tornadoes tore through Chicago, Illinois, the Canadian capital of Ottawa was pummelling by one.
Both cities had significant property and tree damage as a result of the extreme weather, but fortunately no serious injuries to local residents.
Yesterday about 12.45 p.m. local time, a tornado landed in Barrhaven, a suburb located 17 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa, damaging 125 homes and knocking out electricity in 1,600 more.
Broken windows, downed trees, and roof shingles were among the reported damages.
The previous day fierce winds from suspected tornadoes ripped off roofs and took down trees across Illinois, including in Chicago.
Sirens also sent residents scrambling for safety.
On Wednesday, the US National Weather service warned a tornado was on the ground near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Thunderstorms in Montreal, Canada (Picture: via Reuters)
Passengers took shelter and the storm grounded hundreds of flights, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The storm then moved on to Michigan, before reaching Canada.
Ty Carr, a resident of the Skyline Motel in McCook, Illinois, said a tornado tore off the roof.
‘Just chaos,’ Carr said, cradling a toddler as he spoke to reporters in the region. ‘It was really fast, and the noises and the crackling and the wind – it was just something I’ve never seen or been through, you know?’
Rajan Patel, whose family owns the motel, said his family came to the Chicago area in the 1990s with nothing, and now their motel has been seriously damaged.
‘The entire place is ruined,’ Patel said. ‘I don’t know, man. I don’t know how to recover anything. I don’t know.’
The weather service posted a map on social media showing several areas where tornadoes are believed to have touched down, noting that they were spawned by rotating thunderstorms known as supercells.
A car submerged in water in central Mississippi (Picture: Susan Yates via AP)Water surrounds a house in central Mississippi (Picture: Susan Yates via AP)
Hillary Timpe, a resident of a suburb southwest of Chicago called Countryside, said homes and trees in the area were damaged by the tornado, but thankfully no one was hurt.
She added: ‘When the winds kicked up really hard, really fast, and I’m like, ‘Basement — now! Grab the dog, let’s go!’ And it wasn’t more than a couple seconds after that, that got really crazy.’
The storm moved through fast, her husband Greg said.
‘It really left as quick as it came,’ he said. ‘It was maybe 10, 20 seconds, and it was out of here, and all this.’
The tornadoes hit the same week as devastating storms left other parts of the US severely flooded.
There were several flash-floods in Mississippi yesterday with reports of people being rescued from their homes.
Photos show water reaching the windows of homes and cars and flooding businesses.
Earlier in the week severe flooding also hit Hudson Valley in New York state, where a women drowned trying to rescue her dog, as well as Vermont.
No casualties or injuries were reported in Vermont, but at least 117 people were rescued by boat as rising floodwaters overwhelmed city streets.
A tragic incident unfolded in Chicago on June 18, disrupting a Juneteenth celebration in the Willowbrook area.
During the early hours, at approximately 12:30 AM local time, a mass shooting occurred, leaving a devastating impact.
Shockingly, at least 29 individuals, including two children, were wounded in the shooting.
The unfortunate incident marred the festivities of Juneteenth, a significant holiday that commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration; we just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down until they stopped. They just kept going. After that, we literally scattered away,” witness Markeshia Avery told ABC7 Chicago. The shooting happened as people were leaving the park.
The victims’ age spanned from 10 to 46 years old. Among them, a 10-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman were in critical condition, emphasizing the severity of their injuries. The remaining victims received medical treatment for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The injured individuals were swiftly transported to four different hospitals, where they are currently being closely monitored and receiving necessary care.
“We were all just out, and, next thing you know, shots just kept going off; everybody ran, and it was chaos,” witness Craig Lotcie told the local news outlet. “I saw that they had cops laid out at all the entrances like that; I just got back home. Now they got the place all taped up,” another witness said.
The police have not yet released any information about the suspects in the shooting. They are asking anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
This is the latest in a series of mass shootings in Chicago. In recent months, there have been several shootings in the city that have left multiple people injured or dead. The violence has sparked protests and calls for action from city leaders.
The Chicago Police Department is investigating the shooting, and they are asking anyone with information to come forward. They have also increased patrols in the area where the shooting took place.
According to federal officials, singer R. Kelly was transferred this week from a Chicago jail facility to a medium-security prison in North Carolina.
According to Benjamin O’Cone, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Robert Sylvester Kelly was sent from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago to the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, on April 19.
Due to privacy, security, and safety concerns, the agency doesn’t publicly state the reasons for inmate transfers, the author said.
In February, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced the 56-year-old Grammy Award-winning R&B singer to 20 years in prison for child pornography and enticement of minors for sex. He will serve all but one of those simultaneously with a separate 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
Kelly, who has vehemently denied the allegations, rose from poverty in Chicago to become one of the world’s biggest R&B stars. Known for his smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and for sex-infused songs such as “Bump n’ Grind,” he sold millions of albums even after allegations about his abuse of girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s.
Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa is stepping down from his job with the Chicago White Sox due to a series of health issues, ending a disappointing two-year stint on the South Side.
La Russa announced his resignation on Monday, a day before his 78th birthday.
The three-time World Series champion has been away from the team since August 30 as he has deals with complications from a pacemaker that was implanted in February.
La Russa has also been dealing with a second, undisclosed health issue that led to his resignation.
“It’s become obvious that the length of the treatment and recovery process for the second issue makes it impossible to be the manager in 2023,” La Russa said. “The timing of this announcement now enables the front office to include filling the manager position with their other off-season priorities.”
La Russa added that his “overall prognosis is good, and I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me with well wishes related to my health.”
After winning the AL Central with a 93-69 record last season, the White Sox entered this year among the American League favourites but have failed to live up to expectations.
Chicago entered play Monday at 79-80, already eliminated from playoff contention.
The White Sox did stage a run in early September under interim manager Miguel Cairo, going 12-5 through September 18, when they were just three-and-a-half games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the division.
The club proceeded to go on an eight-game losing streak with Cleveland securing the division title.
La Russa took accountability for Chicago’s up-and-down season as the White Sox remain without a postseason series win since the 2005 World Series.
“I understand the ultimate responsibility for each minus this season belongs to the manager,” he said. “That’s accurate, because there’s always something else you could do.
“I was hired to provide positive, difference-making leadership and support. Our record this year is proof I did not do my job.”
La Russa did not say if he would consider managing another team in 2024 or beyond. He has a career record of 2,900-2,514 (.536 win percentage) with the White Sox (1979-86, 2021-22), Oakland Athletics (1986-95) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-2011).
General manager Rick Hahn said the White Sox will begin an exhaustive search for a new manager and will be looking for “different perspectives” from that hire.
Tony La Russa admits he’s “a little embarrassed” that White Sox fans were chanting “Fire Tony.” pic.twitter.com/qJ3dTZJfKJ
“One thing that perhaps breaks from the mould of at least the last few hires: having a history with the White Sox, having some sort of connection to White Sox DNA is by no means a requirement.”
Despite under-achieving in 2022, Chicago’s roster includes several bright spots, including outfielder Luis Robert and breakout starter Dylan Cease.
“It was a disappointing year,” Hahn said. “We all need to get better at multiple facets. There needs to be … obviously manager/staff changes and personnel changes.
“My only point is, and it’s easy at the end of a disappointing season to say you have to burn it to the ground. I think that’s not where we’re at as an organisation.”
On Sunday, shortly after 10 a.m. local time, Josiah Brown was declared deceased. He had been taken from the lake last Monday while in a severe state, and it had not been anticipated that he would make it.
Josiah Brown was pronounced dead shortly after 10 am local time (4 pm UK time) on Sunday.
He had been in a critical condition after being pulled from the lake last Monday and had not been expected to survive.
Image:Victoria Moreno. Pic: Chicago Police
Josiah was allegedly shoved by his aunt Victoria Moreno at Navy Pier, a fall of more than 6ft, and she then stood by as he sank below the water, according to authorities.
Divers found the boy at the bottom of the lake about half an hour later.
Moreno, 34, initially told officers she was only a witness, then claimed she was holding the youngster’s shirt and let go because he “was acting up,” NBC Chicago said, citing a police report and a source with knowledge of the investigation.She had slipped out of the family home in nearby Des Plaines with the boy on the morning of the incident while another aunt went to wake up her children and his grandmother went to change, according to prosecutors.
Moreno “stole the keys” to the family’s truck and “snuck out of the residence without anyone knowing that she had left,” prosecutors said, according to NBC Chicago.
The other aunt no longer heard the boy talking “and became alarmed,” prosecutors claimed. That was when she noticed Moreno and Josiah were gone, and a truck was missing.
Image:Emergency services at the scene at Navy Pier, Lake Michigan. Pic: NBC Chicago
Moreno was charged with attempted murder last week.
She was also charged with aggravated battery of a child under the age of 13 causing permanent disability.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office did not immediately respond when asked if the charges against Moreno would be upgraded after Josiah’s death.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is coming back to theaters next year, with Halle Bailey bringing a live-action Ariel to the big screen for the first time, and the studio unveiled a sneak peek at the new film at its D23 Expo.
It’s short but oh so sweet, with a seconds-long glimps at Ariel in action, singing some impressive notes from “Part of Your World.”
The film, directed by Rob Marshall, who has also helmed “Chicago” and “Mary Poppins Returns”, is being billed as a reimagining of the 1989 Oscar-winning animated musical classic.
In addition to Bailey, a singer who has also appeared on Freeform’s “grown-ish,” the film features Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder and Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle.
“Little Mermaid” is set to hit theaters on May 26, 2023.
Six people have been shot dead at a 4 July Independence Day parade near the US city of Chicago, city officials say.
The event in the city of Highland Park was suddenly halted about 10 minutes after it began, when several shots were heard.
Police officials said they were still searching for a white man, aged 18-20, described as “armed and dangerous”.
City authorities said 24 people had also been hospitalised.
“This is an active incident,” officials said in an update posted to Highland Park’s website, advising those in the area to “shelter in place.”
Residents have been urged to stay at home and contact their loved ones to make sure they are safe.
Law enforcement officers, who are searching for the suspect, have secured a perimeter around Highland Park’s downtown area and recovered “evidence of a firearm,” the statement said.
At around 10:15 local (15:15 GMT) officials say the suspected shooter opened fire at the parade, which was scheduled to include floats, marching bands, and community entertainment as the city near Chicago celebrated Independence Day.
The suspect is believed to have fired at parade-goers from a nearby rooftop, police said.
Speaking at a press conference at 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT), local police spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspected shooter was “armed and dangerous.”
He described him as a white male aged between 18 and 20 who appeared to have targeted the parade’s attendees at random.
“On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we’re instead mourning the tragic loss of life,” said city mayor Nancy Rotering.
Witnesses at the scene described the terrifying moment they heard multiple shots fired in quick succession.
Anand, who said he was less than 100m (328ft) from the shooter, told the BBC he initially thought he had heard a car backfiring before he saw others running and realised what was unfolding.
It was “the type of gun where it releases a lot of bullets in a very short amount of time. Incredibly loud. Then there’s complete silence,” he said.
Gun violence is very rare in this suburban area, he added: “I felt so safe here and this is very surreal. We’re hiding in a shelter now keeping safe, there’s people crying. It’s not a good feeling, at all.”
Speaking to local television station WGN, a witness called Michael said: “Immediately to the left of us he started shooting again and a woman went down.”
The mayor of Highland Park said the festival had been cancelled and asked people to avoid the downtown area.
Nearby suburbs have also gone on lockdown, with beaches evacuated, local parades and fireworks shows cancelled.
Gun violence in Chicago tends to rise over holiday weekends – as the hot weather sends people outdoors. In 2021, more than 100 people were shot and 17 killed over the Fourth of July weekend in the city of Chicago.
The shooting comes just a month after the deadly shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York – and a week after the US Congress passed the first bipartisan legislation on guns in America.
Ghanaian winger Ema Boateng made his debut from Columbus Crew on Thursday evening as the Gold and Blacks thump Chicago Fire 3-0.Â
The pacy forward joined Crew from FC Dallas on Monday, and was immediately handed his first game in the Yellow jersey after replacing Derrick Etienne in the 75th minute.
Derrick Etienne scored the opener for Crew in the 20th minute, before Darlington Nagbe doubled the lead with a beautiful volley in the 81st minute.
US born Ghanaian Gyasi Zardes completed the mauling with a fine strike with two minutes left.
Jonathan Mensah and Harrison Afful were unstoppable at the back as they ensured Crew maintained a clean sheet at the Columbus Crew stadium.
U.S born Ghanaian footballer C.J Sapong has joined a tall list of celebrities fighting against social injustice and racism in America.
The Chicago Fire forward opened up on his personal experiences with racism and has called on people of colour to learn, listen and take action against inequality.
This comes after protest across America following the killing of a black man (George Floyd) by a police officer.
In an Instagram chat with former teammate and current Colorado Rapids forward Kei Kamara, the pair discussed a wide-range of issues on being black in America.
Last night, Sapong appeared on ESPN’s Banter with Taylor Twellman alongside FC Dallas’ Reggie Cannon and North Carolina Courage’s World Cup winner Jessica McDonald for a roundtable conversation on racism.
