Aurora shooting: sacked employee kills five in Illinois warehouse

  • Five officers were also wounded, police chief Ziman said
  • The shooter was shot and killed at the scene

A gunman opened fire at an Illinois manufacturing warehouse had just been fired from his job when he killed five fellow workers,authorities said.

Aurora police chief Kristen Ziman said the assailant, identified as 45-year-old Gary Martin, had worked at the Henry Pratt Company for 15 years before the violence unfolded at the firm’s sprawling warehouse in Aurora, west of Chicago.

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Lake Michigan like a ‘boiling cauldron’ as temperatures plummet in Chicago – video

Wind chills fell as low as -47C in Chicago, with the temperature hitting -23C, as bitterly cold weather moved into Illinois, US. A local newscaster published this video of Lake Michigan, as viewed from Chicago’s Edgewater neighbourhood, appearing like a ‘boiling cauldron’ on Wednesday. State and local officials have asked residents to stay indoors if possible and check on neighbours

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Polar vortex: -46C temperatures turn Chicago River to ice – video report

A blast of Arctic air from the polar vortex has caused temperatures to drop to as low as -46C (-50F) in Chicago. Cities in the midwest opened warming shelters as temperatures plummeted well below zero. The Illinois governor warned the weather 'poses a serious threat' to people's wellbeing. The polar vortex, a mass of freezing air, usually spins around the North Pole

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Gubernatorial candidates focus on investigations in latest debate

Democratic gubernatorial challenger JB Pritzker said that his Republican opponent is accountable for health problems that occurred in the Quincy Veterans' Home. In their last televised debate, held Oct. 11 in Quincy, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger JB Pritzker both said their opponent is unfit for office and that a criminal investigation hangs over the other's campaign.

Police union leader blasts Van Dyke verdict, says it resulted from ‘sham trial’

Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke listens while attorneys step before Judge Vincent Gaughan's bench, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, Oct. 5, 2018. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police on Friday blasted the guilty verdict of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the 2014 fatal shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald, reports said.

Rep. Cheri Bustos mulling leadership run

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos announced her intention this week to run for a leadership position in the House of Representatives if Democrats retake control of the chamber in January. Bustos, a Democrat representing Illinois' 17th Congressional District, which includes Henderson County, said Monday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," she will run for assistant democratic leader if her party flips 24 Republican-held seats in November to take control of the House.

Ground Beef From These Popular Stores May Be Contaminated With E. Coli

The Food Safety and Inspection Service has released a list of retailers that may have unknowingly sold ground beef contaminated with a dangerous strain of E. coli, and some of the country's top grocery stores are included. If you haven't already checked the frozen ground beef in your freezer to see if it's included in the 130,000 pounds of ground beef recalled because of a deadly E. coli outbreak, you need to take a look now.

Cadre of GOP insiders getting big salaries at Illinois tollway

The Illinois tollway has hired a number of politically connected Republicans to work at the agency in important positions. While that is troubling to some government watchdogs who say they're concerned about favoritism, tollway officials say the agency is staffed with well-qualfied professionals.

Ap Fact Check: Trump plays down hurricane death estimates

In a stormy week, President Donald Trump blustered and distorted reality, denying massive deaths from a hurricane that scientists believe to be one of the nation's deadliest and blowing out of proportion U.S. economic growth and his role in spurring it. He's insisting the federal response to Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico last September, was "incredibly successful," even though blackouts there remain common and several forms of federal aid have been slow to arrive compared with past disasters.

Ap Fact Check: Trump’s blustery myths on hurricanes, income

In a stormy week, President Donald Trump blustered and distorted reality, denying massive deaths from a hurricane that scientists believe to be one of the nation's deadliest and blowing out of proportion U.S. economic growth and his role in spurring it. He's insisting the federal response to Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico last September, was "incredibly successful," even though blackouts there remain common and several forms of federal aid have been slow to arrive compared with past disasters.

Tax increases a staple of many Democratic campaigns in state, Congressional races

One primary message from Democrats this election is that if they win the majority in the U.S. House, or win their respective governors' seats, they will do everything they can to increase taxes.

Ap Fact Check: Obama doesna t always tell the straight story

Former President Barack Obama's recent denunciation of President Donald Trump's treatment of the press overlooks the aggressive steps the Justice Department took to keep information from the public during his administration. Obama also made a problematic claim that Republican "sabotage" has cost 3 million people their health insurance.

Former President Barack Obama just told y’all to stop bingeing TV

Former President Barack Obama spit hot fire Friday at the University of Illinois to encourage all you young people out there to get your behinds to the voting booths in November to stop whatever is going on in Washington and bring some sanity back to democracy. But it may be harder for some than others.

In the Senate, the August recess will be missed

If you thought Congress was already polarized , wait and see what happens when dozens of senators are stuck in Washington together for most of swampy August. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, canceled the usual monthlong recess this year for his chamber, a tradition that spans decades and was born out of lawmakers' efforts to ensure they'd have a set time they could travel home every legislative calendar.

Illinois celebrates first Barack Obama Day

The legislature of Obama's home state of Illinois, passed a law last year to designate Aug. 4 as a holiday. Just a few weeks ago, he spoke before a crowd of around 15,000 people in Johannesburg, South Africa, to honor the life of Nelson Mandela.