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Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
What is Pope Leo's favorite pizza? Hint: It was delivered from Chicago to Vatican
Pope Leo XIV got his favorite pizza, all the way from Chicago to the Vatican. The 69-year-old, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, before he became the first American Pope this April, got a special care package from fans, as he was riding through St Peter's Square in Rome on July 30. Pope Leo XIV was making his way through the crowd in the Vatican, when he saw a pizza sign and stopped in his tracks.(AP) The video shows the Pope riding in a vehicle, making his way through the crowd, when he sees a pizza sign and stops in his tracks. What is the Pope's favorite pizza? Seeing the sign of Aurelio's Pizza brought the Pope to a halt and Madeline Daley, the 22-year-old from Cincinnati, who made the trip to deliver the pizza spoke about her experience to NBC News. "When Pope Leo came around, he kept grabbing babies to bless them, but as soon as he saw the pizza, he had babies in his hand, but he's still saying, like, 'Get me that pizza, I want that pizza,' ' she said in a video interview. 'And seeing the logo made him light up, and his smile was from ear to ear and he was extremely excited about it,' she added. Also Read | Pope to bestow one of Catholic Church's highest honors on John Henry Newman John Prevost, the Pope's brother confirmed that he ate the six-inch pepperoni pizza, which was shipped using dry ice, WGN-TV reported. Joe Aurelio, president and CEO of Aurelio's Pizza, meanwhile, told NBC News 'Pope Leo has been a lifetime Aurelio's fan and going to Aurelio's Pizza in Homewood, Ill., since the 1960s. So it's been part of his life and for him to recognize [the pizza] and actually stop there in the audience was amazing.' Daley's friends also told WGN-TV how they were a group of young Catholic influencers who made it their mission to get the Pope this pizza. Jayden Remias of Ohio and Jake Ochave of Virginia went to Chicago to pick it up. Aurelio's is an Illinois restaurant chain that specializes in thin crust varieties of Chicago-style pizzas. The chain has three corporate owned stores and 37 franchised locations in six states.
Chicago Tribune
18-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: As Thornton Township supervisor, Napoleon Harris III is getting paid like he's Tiffany Henyard
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Tiffany Henyard's messy run as Dolton mayor and Thornton Township supervisor thankfully is at an end. So you would be forgiven for thinking that outlandish policies like the $200,000-plus salary she was paid as township head would have departed with her. Alas, life in this ethics-challenged corner of the south suburbs never seems that simple. It turns out Napoleon Harris III, state senator for the district including Dolton and now Henyard's successor as Thornton Township supervisor after he helped prevent her from running for reelection as Democratic nominee, is making $202,000 in his township role, a fact made public thanks to an investigative report by WGN-TV's Ben Bradley. Bradley reported that, between Harris' township pay (plus expenses) and his state Senate compensation, Harris is set to collect nearly $380,000 annually. All courtesy of taxpayers. That wildly inflated salary — supervisors of Illinois townships in Thornton's size range typically earn no more than $50,000 a year and most less than that — is a relic of the long tenure of south suburban power broker Frank Zuccarelli, Thornton supervisor from 1993 until his death in 2022. Henyard inherited Zuccarelli's $200,000-plus salary when she was appointed to the post following his death, and the exorbitant pay became a central part of the narrative around her scandalous term, which also featured liberal use of taxpayer-funded credit cards for expensive hotels and restaurants during business travel. When Bradley recently confronted Harris about the salary, Harris said the matter was settled by state law. He said he had nothing to do with the 2024 statute that prevented Thornton Township from lowering it. But the pertinent provisions in that law — a broader measure originally aimed at setting aside a week to recognize victims of Crohn's disease, but which morphed into a vehicle for expanding voting access — were identical to language in a separate bill Harris had introduced earlier in 2024. The amendment tying the hands of Thornton Township taxpayers was offered by Senate President Don Harmon. Harris is a member of Democratic leadership in the state Senate. The assertion that he had nothing to do with his self-serving bill's insertion into an unrelated measure — all while it was becoming clear that Henyard was highly unlikely to win reelection in 2025 either as Dolton mayor or as Thornton Township supervisor — simply is extremely hard to believe. Whatever the story behind Harris' inability to reverse this Henyardian excess that now is conveniently enriching him, there's no excuse for failing to take action now and lower the supervisor's salary to a reasonable level. Harmon, who himself is under fire for questionable political fundraising practices, ought to make it a priority in the upcoming legislative veto session in October to repeal that provision and prevent Harris from continuing to defend his outlandish salary as something out of his control.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Woman injured in hit-and-run crash as ICE protestors moved through downtown
CHICAGO — A woman was injured Tuesday afternoon after she was struck by a car as a group of anti-ICE protestors moved through downtown Chicago. According to Chicago police, the crash unfolded around 6:30 p.m. in the 100 block of East Monroe Street amid a large anti-ICE protest. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Officers said the victim, a 66-year-old woman, was standing in the roadway when she was struck by an unknown vehicle. The woman suffered a broken arm and was taken to the hospital, where she was treated and released. While police have not specifically confirmed that the crash unfolded during the protest, WGN-TV's cameras were rolling on the scene when a car narrowly missed protesters gathered in the area. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines A WGN-TV employee said he saw the car parked first on State and Monroe, adding that the driver appeared to be taunting officers with a can of spray paint before she got in the car and drove through the protest. No other injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. An investigation into the crash is now underway. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protesters rally against ICE in downtown Chicago
*Editor's note: The video above is from a previous report. A new video will be added during WGN Evening News at 6. CHICAGO – ICE protests are underway in downtown Chicago Demonstrators were protesting ICE and other federal agents engaged in the mass deportations happening nationwide. Images of people in Chicago being lured to immigration appointments before being detained are fresh in the minds of many. Comm'r. Jessica Vasquez saw what happened last Wednesday in the South Loop. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ICE arrests at immigration supervision building in Chicago's South Loop spark protest, advocates speak out 'I have never seen anything like, and I know I have a resident who was detained. She has a daughter at one of our elementary schools. She was the only parent in the city. What's going to happen to what child?' Vasquez said. Those protesting on Tuesday said solidarity is key. 'I feel like ICE is treating the immigrants wrong and they're not giving them the freedom that everybody else should, so I feel like we should stand up and protest it, because that's the right thing to do,' demonstrator Dezirre Harris said. ICE raids: What are your rights when approached by an immigration officer? It wasn't long before this group was on the move, flanked by officers on foot, in SUV and on bicycles. This protest was held ahead of another protest also planned for Tuesday at Federal Plaza. That one is anticipated to be much bigger. Some people who spoke with WGN-TV are hopeful things will remain peaceful. Tensions in Los Angeles also remain high after President Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to the city of angels to assist with immigration raids. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) spoke Tuesday reflecting on the deployment of National Guardsmen to Los Angeles. Broadview ICE facility faces scrutiny over alleged poor conditions, treatment 'Addressing it effectively means not grandstanding, but giving law enforcement the resources they need to control the situation,' Durbin said. Durbin added on Tuesday what we're seeing in Los Angeles is the first time the National Guard has been deployed for a domestic operation without the request of a governor since the 1960s, when the National Guard was sent to Alabama to protect Civil Rights demonstrations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
College Student Allegedly Created Undressed Images Of Classmates With AI, Then Sold Them
A Northern Illinois University student was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he admitted to using artificial intelligence to create deepfake child sexual abuse material of female students, most of whom he went to high school with. 'There was one from when I was 15. I'm almost 20 years old now,' one victim told Chicago station WGN-TV. The victim's adolescent photo was one of many images that 19-year-old Michael Erickson allegedly used to produce realistic-looking images with the help of AI, according to the outlet. Police say most of the victims had been Erickson's classmates and were between 13 and 17 years old at the time the photos were taken. Erickson was charged this week with 21 felony counts related to child sex abuse material, including 'production of child pornography, disseminating child pornography and possession of child pornography,'according to a press release shared with HuffPost. A lawyer listed in Erickson's records did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Erickson's arrest stemmed from a tip Batavia police received in April from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a charging document obtained by HuffPost. A month later, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office deputies searched Erickson's dorm room at Northern Illinois University to find 20,000 images of suspected child sexual abuse material. A spokesperson for Northern Illinois University told ABC affiliate WLS-TV that 'the student no longer lives in campus housing.' Deputies noted that several photos of one victim on Erickson's devices had been uploaded to Telegram, a messaging platform, according to the document. Users in the Telegram chat paid Erickson to have that victim's clothing removed in the images. In total, Erickson 'disseminated more than 35 deep fake images' of that victim to others online, including on Snapchat, police said. That victim told police she was 17 years old at the time her photo was taken, and that she had graduated from high school with Erickson. Deputies went on to list several more victims who attended high school with Erickson, the youngest being 13 at the time her photo was taken. Erickson allegedly disseminated thousands of images of child sex abuse material —including both photos and videos — since at least the end of February to March. According to a Snapchat conversation from March 3 cited in the document, Erickson told a prospective buyer that he charged 'cheap' prices, which he listed as '10$ for 10 pics 5$ for 5 and 20$ for 20.' When asked by another user why he made so many images, Erickson responded, 'to sell them to boys.' Erickson was granted pretrial release Tuesday and ordered not to have any contact with minors or access to the internet, WGN-TV reports. He is due in court on July 17. MLK Jr.'s Daughter Slams 'Vile' Deepfake Video Of Civil Rights Leader Endorsing Trump Megan Thee Stallion Sues Blogger For Alleged Cyberstalking, Promotion Of Deepfake Porn Here's How To Spot AI-Generated Deepfake Images
