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First-grade teacher charged with soliciting child sexual abuse material

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

CLINTON COUNTY, Ill. - A first-grade teacher in Clinton County, Illinois, is facing a federal charge for allegedly soliciting child sexual abuse material online.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Jonathan Villmer Jr., 25, taught at New Baden Elementary School and coached girls' athletic teams in the Wesclin Community Unit School District 3.The Carmi Police Department was conducting an unrelated investigation into the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). At one point during the investigation, prosecutors claim police found a Snapchat account belonging to Villmer that had solicited CSAM. Massive tire fire at salvage yard in Madison, Illinois Police obtained a search warrant for Villmer's Snapchat account and discovered sexually explicit conversations between Villmer and a 13-year-old, including requests for illicit photographs. Similar conversations and requests with other minors were found on Villmer's account.Villm...

Step inside this $640K south St. Louis castle home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Who wouldn't desire to live like royalty within the comforts of their own home? Imagine having a house that embodies those aspirations. Welcome to your personal royal domain for only $640,000. This captivating Holly Hills residence presents an enchanting abode tailored for those with regal dreams. Here, grand visions come to life, and each day unfolds like a fairy tale, promising a lifestyle of grandeur and elegance.This castle-like home was built in 1929 and has four bedrooms, four baths, and is 3,043 square feet. The interior features roomy rooms with exquisite archways and stained-glass windows that elevate each corner with a touch of regal charm. Majestic living areas on the main floor create a perfect setting for hosting your own housewarming celebration.Climb the grand staircase to the upper level, revealing four generously sized bedrooms, including a primary suite that provides a haven after a night of ballroom dancing and courtly gatherings. Hedge apples: Can...

84-year-old Aurora woman reported missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

Authorities in Aurora are searching for an 84-year-old woman with cognitive impairments.Bong Yi was last seen around 9:30 a.m. Monday at the U.C. Health Senior Clinic in Aurora wearing a blue long-sleeved jacket, dark pants and a gray or purple sweater, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said on social media.Related ArticlesColorado News | At-risk teen missing from Colorado Springs, police ask for public’s help in locating her Colorado News | Arvada family fears missing teen may be endangered Colorado News | Woman missing from Winter Park, police say she is endangered Colorado News | Missing man found dead in canal at Harmony Golf Club in Timnath Colorado News | Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies searching for missing 73-year-old woman Yi, who has black hair and brown eyes, only speaks Korean, does not know how to use public transit and has no money, authorities said.According to a Colorad...

Rosenberg’s Bagels won’t be opening at DIA, owner says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

No longer arriving at Denver International Airport: a local bagel shop.Joshua Pollack, owner of Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen, said a long-planned location at DIA won’t be opening after all. He blamed the development on an airport concessionaire that would have operated the shop.“I feel slighted and it hurts my brand,” Pollack said. “We were getting ready, it was public knowledge, and now we have to say we’re not going to open in the airport because our partners screwed us over.”Pollack opened the first Rosenberg’s in Five Points nearly 10 years ago. It expanded to Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace and also has a kosher bakery.Pollack said he signed a deal with concessionaire Skyport Hospitality four years ago to open a Rosenberg’s in DIA. But early last week, he said, cease-and-desist papers were signed and the companies agreed to go their separate ways.A number of local restaurant brands operate at DIA. But Pollack noted that those brands, including his, typically sign a licensin...

Theft of $1.5M meant for children’s hospitals nets 16-year sentence for Castle Rock man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

William Schwartz, 44, was convicted of two counts of felony theft by a jury in May. (Denver District Attorney’s Office)A man who stole $1.5 million from two Shriners groups, including money meant to cover life-saving medical flights for children, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.The punishment, unusually stiff for a white-collar crime here, followed a three-hour hearing Friday at which Judge Adam Espinosa heard about the life and crimes of William Schwartz.“The money that you took — the average income in our community is $78,000,” Espinosa told the 44-year-old. “$1.5 million — many in our community won’t earn that in their lives.”While he was treasurer of the El Jebel Shrine Association in Denver from 2014 to 2019, the Castle Rock man moved more than $1.2 million that had been earmarked for the fraternal organization and Shriners Hospitals for Children to bank accounts for his companies.Then, in 2019, Schwartz became treasurer of the Order of Quetzalcoatl, a Masonic group th...

EPA settles with Suncor after finding violations during inspection following clay-like gunk spew

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

The Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement agreement with Suncor Energy after the federal agency found multiple flaws in the Commerce City refinery’s safety reporting systems during a 2020 inspection.The EPA’s inspection followed a 2019 malfunction that caused the refinery to spew ash and a clay-like gunk across the area, prompting anger in the surrounding community and attention from state lawmakers and regulators. Suncor officials apologized and offered free car washes after the mess blanketed neighborhoods.Under the settlement agreement, Suncor will pay $60,000 in civil penalties and spend $240,030 on equipment for the South Adams County Fire Department that will help firefighters respond to chemical release accidents at the refinery, according to an EPA news release.The EPA’s inspection, which took place over three days in September 2020, found Suncor failed to timely report two chemical releases and failed to report sulfuric acid in its industria...

Climate change means higher insurance premiums

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

The insurance industry has long relied on data and actuarial tables that quantify risk and determine policyholder costs.That data has largely been thrown out the window.Climate change means erratic temperatures, more storms and more wildfires. Which is to say, it's a whole new game for insurers.The president of Aon, one of the world's largest insurance brokers, testified before a congressional panel a few months ago that insurers are responding to climate change by raising costs and exiting high-risk markets such as California. Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary batters Southern California Aon's Eric Anderson told lawmakers that climate uncertainty has created "a crisis of confidence around the ability to predict loss."He added: "Just as the U.S. economy was overexposed to mortgage risk in 2008, the economy today is overexposed to climate risk."Sunday's storm and earthquake in Southern California served as a harsh reminder that flooding and quakes aren't covered by most homeowner polic...

Tori Spelling reveals she's been in the hospital for days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

Actress Tori Spelling revealed on social media that she's been in the hospital for four days. In a photo to her Instagram Stories, which has now disappeared, the "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum posted a photo of a hospital band around her wrist and an IV in her hand.The photo was posted on Aug 20.“4th day here and I’m missing my kiddos so much," the text over the photo read. "Grateful and so proud of my strong, brave, resilient, and kind to the core children who remain positive no matter what comes our way.”Her hospital bracelet shows Spelling was admitted on Aug 17. It's not known if she was still in the hospital on Monday. She has not revealed the reason for her hospitalization.The social media post comes over three months after Spelling revealed she discovered "extreme mold" in her home after her children started falling ill quite frequently. Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott arrive at the FOX Summer TCA 2019 All-Star Party at Fox Studios on August 7, 2019, in Los Angeles, California....

'I don't know that we're going to recover'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

Residents of Oak Glen say their town may never be the same after Tropical Story Hilary's rain caused a mudslide that overwhelmed buildings and roads in this San Bernardino County mountain community. "I don't know that we're ever going to recover from this," Kyle McLaughlin, whose family owns a restaurant there, told KTLA Monday while surveying the damage.A large mud and debris flow swept through Oak Glen late Sunday when Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit California in 83 years, dumped heavy rain in the mountains and deserts of the Inland Empire. A fast-moving mud and debris flow closed Oak Glen Road at Pendleton on Aug. 20, 2023. (Inland News)Thankfully, no injuries or deaths were reported, but the recovery will likely take months or years.

Taylor Swift’s team met with police ahead of Margaret Qualley and Jack Antonoff’s wedding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:27 GMT

All weekend, people fumed on social media at the way people mobbed the New Jersey wedding festivities of actor Margaret Qualley and record producer Jack Antonoff due to the presence of one particular celebrity guest — Taylor Swift.Some people grumbled that Swift was hogging attention from the bride and groom, but most social media users were upset that a mob of errant Swifties couldn’t give their hero a break and let her and her friends enjoy the wedding in peace.Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley attend the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Swift, of course, is no stranger to the fact that she draws crowds. And, being a respectful wedding guest and considerate friend, she had her team meet with police in Beach Haven, the town on Long Beach Island off the coast of New Jersey, where Qualley and Antonoff’s wedding took place, TMZ reported.Bea...