Protesting stay-at-home order in Illinois

Protesters rally against Illinois stay-at-home order outside the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, Friday. The Friday demonstration is the latest in a series of protests around the country against stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

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In rare case, US infant dies from COVID-19

WASHINGTON - A US infant has died from the COVID-19 illness, officials in the state of Illinois said on Saturday, marking an extremely rare case of juvenile death in the global pandemic.

At a news conference, Governor JB Pritzker said "an infant" was among the fatalities linked to the new coronavirus over the previous 24 hours.

The state Department of Public Health said the child who died in Chicago was younger than one year old and had tested positive for COVID-19.

"There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant," the department's director Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.

"A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death." 

Pritzker described himself as shaken by the news.

"I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child," he said.

"It's especially sorrowful for the family of this very small child, for the years stolen from this infant. We should grieve."

Last week, top French health official Jerome Salomon said a 16-year-old girl had died in the Ile-de-France region of Paris and its surroundings.

"Severe forms (of coronavirus) with the young are very rare," Salomon noted.

In the US state of California last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that a teenager had tested positive for COVID-19 and died.

But the agency added the case is complex and there may be an alternate explanation.

Multiple studies have found the virus disproportionately affects older patients and those with underlying conditions.

The United States has the highest number of new coronavirus cases in the world, more than 120,000, although its death toll of more than 2,000 is still below that of other countries including Italy, Spain and China.

More than 450 US deaths occurred over the 24-hour period prior to Saturday afternoon.

The Chicago baby was among 13 new deaths in Illinois.

Agence France-Presse

Trump says US on top as outbreak shuts largest cities

New York and Illinois followed California Friday in locking down to stem the coronavirus pandemic as President Donald Trump declared the United States was already "winning" the war despite a rapid rise in confirmed cases and deaths.

The move effectively seals off America's largest cities -- New York, Los Angeles and Chicago -- with New Jersey also preparing to follow and Connecticut shutting.

But Trump insisted there was no need for a national lockdown, arguing that other parts of the US weren't hurting as much as its most populous states.

Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered non-essential businesses to close and banned gatherings in New York state, a day after his counterpart Gavin Newsom told California's 40 million residents to stay home.

"We're all in quarantine now," Cuomo told reporters, warning of civil fines and mandatory closures for anyone violating the order, which takes effect on Sunday evening.

The escalation came as COVID-19-linked deaths in the US rose to 216 -- more than doubling in three days -- with more than 16,600 confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the surge, Trump said the world's number one power was "winning" and "going to win this war."

"Those are really two hotbeds. Those are probably the two hottest of them all in terms of hotspots," Trump told the daily White House news conference, adding that states in the American midwest were not registering as many confirmed cases.

"So no, we're working with the governors and I don't think we'll ever find that necessary," he added.

But shortly afterwards Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker announced an immediate stay-at-home order for the state "to avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives."

"The only strategy available to us to limit the increase in cases... is to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in the most robust manner possible," he said.

The order is in place from Saturday evening until April 7, Pritzker added.

The head of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Todd Semonite, said the agency was working on refitting more than 10,000 hotel and dormitory rooms in New York into temporary hospitals to alleviate the burden on health centers.

"We would like to think we can do this in three or four weeks and try to go as fast as we can," he said.

The number of confirmed infections in New York state jumped past 7,000 Friday, largely because of an increase in testing, Cuomo said, as he announced he would pass an executive order mandating that only essential businesses can remain open from late Sunday.

He stressed that essential services included grocery stores, pharmacies and food delivery.

Cuomo said that under "Matilda's Law," named after his mother, "non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size" were canceled.

[BOLD] 'Strong steps'

He ordered residents to exercise alone and not hold group activities outside, such as basketball.

He said citizens should avoid public transport "unless urgent and absolutely necessary."

"New York state (is) on pause," he said.

"These actions will cause disruption. They will cause much unhappiness. I understand that," Cuomo added.

He dismissed references to the measures as "shelter-in-place," which they have been called in California, but the rules effectively amount to the same thing.

California's statewide directive, which went into force Thursday evening, also instructs residents to remain at home.

It allows gas stations, pharmacies, banks and laundry services to remain open while restaurants can still provide take-out and delivery.

"They are taking strong steps. I applaud them," Trump said, referring to Cuomo and Newsom.

Trump also announced Friday that the US and Mexico have agreed to restrict non-essential travel across their border beginning on Saturday.

He said the move, similar to one already announced with northern neighbor Canada, was necessary to prevent the "spread of the infection to our border agents, migrants, and to the public at large."

On Capitol Hill, US senators began critical negotiations over a $1 trillion emergency stimulus package to help Americans ravaged by the coronavirus.

The version unveiled late Thursday includes one-time "recovery rebates" of up to $1,200 for adults earning under $99,000 annually, and hundreds of billions of dollars in loan guarantees to industries hard hit by the crises including airlines and small businesses.

Wall Street stocks finished a volatile session much lower Friday, with the Dow down 4.6 percent, bringing the market's worst week since 2008 to a grim conclusion.

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Pinay, boyfriend plead guilty after taunting 91-year-old patient on Snapchat

A Filipina nursing worker and her boyfriend have pleaded guilty on misdemeanor charges in relation to a Snapchat video showing them taunting a 91-year old patient.

Bryan Cortez pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He received a sentence of 18 months supervision with 100 hours of community service.

His girlfriend Jamie Montesa pleaded guilty to attempted unauthorized recording and was sentenced to one year supervision with 50 hours of community service.

Along with the sentence, both were fired from the nursing home and ordered to stay away from the patient who has since transferred to another facility.

Read more on Balitang America:

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Patient dies in US from lung disease after vaping

WASHINGTON, United States—A patient who had recently been vaping has died in hospital in the Midwestern US state of Illinois after developing severe respiratory illness, the local health authority said Friday.

The adult, whose age and gender have not been released, was one of 153 people across 16 states sickened by the illness since the end of June, according to figures released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The cause has not been determined but all had recently used e-cigarettes, medics said.

"The severity of illness people are experiencing is alarming and we must get the word out that using e-cigarettes and vaping can be dangerous," said Illinois health department director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.

"We requested a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help us investigate these cases and they arrived in Illinois on Tuesday."

Many of the patients had recently vaped cannabis, the CDC said, though no specific product has even been identified, let alone blamed, for the illness, in any of the cases.

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Gunman in Illinois shooting described as 'loner'

When Gary Martin came to work at the Henry Pratt valve manufacturing plant in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday, he was told he was being terminated from his job. Shortly thereafter, Martin pulled out his Smith & Wesson revolver and opened fire.

Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said Martin shot six fellow employees, five of them fatally, at the sprawling warehouse where he had worked for 15 years, and wounded five police officers before he was slain by police 90 minutes later.

She said police had yet to determine whether the shooting was an impulsive act or premeditated, and that investigators had not immediately ascertained why he had been fired.

She said police were executed a search warrant at his residence to further their investigation of what she called a "workplace shooting."

Jeremy Sherman, a neighbor of Martin's at Acorn Woods Condominium Complex in Aurora, about 40 miles west of Chicago, told Newsweek's Daily Beast website that Martin could often be found outside playing with his remote-control toy cars and drones.

Sherman described his neighbor as a loner with whom he sometimes chatted without ever learning anything about Martin's work life or his past. Sherman said he never saw Martin with weapons - or with guests.

"He kept to himself a lot, and he was always on his porch," he told the Daily Beast. "Even when he wasn't doing nothing, he'd be out there sitting. I'd be out there, sometimes one, two [o'clock] in the morning and he'd be there just sitting all in the dark, [in the] shadows."

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

Martin's mother told the Chicago Sun-Times that her son had been "way too stressed out" recently.

Public records showed Martin had a criminal past, a 1995 conviction for aggravated assault in Marshall County, Mississippi.

Aurora Police Chief Ziman said authorities did not know if he had legally purchased the gun he used. Convicted felons are barred from buying firearms.

A fellow employee and eyewitness John Probst told CNN that Martin fired his pistol with a green laser sight at fellow workers. "What I saw was the guy running down the aisle with a pistol with a laser on it," he said.

The shooting came a day after the one-year anniversary of the massacre of 17 people by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 

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Five killed as gunman opens fire at Illinois warehouse

CHICAGO - A gunman opened fire in a warehouse in Aurora, Illinois, on Friday, killing five people and wounding five police officers before he was slain, law enforcement officials said.

Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said the shooter, identified as 45-year-old Gary Martin, was an employee at the sprawling industrial complex in Aurora, a Far West Chicago suburb, but did not say what may have motivated the attack.

The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported that a woman who identified herself to police as Martin’s mother told authorities her son had been laid off two weeks ago and was “stressed out” before Friday’s shooting

"Today is a sad day in the city of Aurora," Mayor Richard Irvin told reporters. Aurora is about 40 miles (65 km) west of Chicago.

Ziman said police received multiple emergency calls from the manufacturing warehouse at 1:24 p.m. reporting an active shooter. The first officers arrived on the scene four minutes later and two of them were struck by gunfire, she said.

All told, five officers were shot and wounded, Ziman said, before the gunman was killed by police returning fire. A sixth officer suffered a knee injury.

Inside the building, five civilians were found deceased. None of them were identified.

The wounded police officers were in stable condition at a local hospital, Clayton Muhammad, spokesman for the City of Aurora, told the local ABC affiliate.

Witness John Probst told CNN that he saw the gunman, a co-worker, running down an aisle of the manufacturing facility with a pistol equipped with a laser sight. Probst told the network that he saw people bleeding.

Video on local media showed numerous police cars surrounding a large commercial building in Aurora, the ground covered in snow.

The bloodshed, marking the latest spasm of gun violence in a nation where mass shootings have become almost commonplace, came a day after the one-year anniversary of the massacre of 17 people by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

A spokeswoman for US President Donald Trump said that he was aware of the incident.

"The President has been briefed and is monitoring the ongoing situation in Aurora, IL," Sarah Sanders said in a statement. 

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Subzero temperatures in Chicago

Steam is seen above Lake Michigan during subzero temperatures carried by the polar vortex in Chicago, Illinois, US, Wednesday, in this picture obtained from social media. Temperatures dropped as much as 44-degree Celsius below zero in US Midwest as the polar vortex brought dangerously cold air with the government advising residents to stay indoors.

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Pinay judge found guilty of mortgage fraud

A Filipino American judge in Illinois was found guilty of mail and bank fraud in a $1.4 million real estate scheme.

A federal jury found Cook County Judge Jessica Arong O’Brien, the first Filipina elected as a judge in the state of Illinois, guilty of the charges against her.

Authorities first charged O’Brien back in April 2017 with fraud for lying on loan and refinancing documents for two investment properties. They said O’Brien then made profit by unloading the homes to a straw buyer whom she paid.

Authorities added she pocketed at least $325,000 from the transactions.

Under Illinois law, the conviction means O’Brien loses her spot on the bench. A sentence hearing has been set for July 6th.

In a statement to Balitang America, O’Brien said, “This too shall pass. I still do believe that ultimately, the truth will set me free.”

Read more on Balitang America.

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Obama blasts Trump's 'demeaning, degrading' comments on women

President Barack Obama condemned the Republican vying to replace him in the White House, Donald Trump, for his "demeaning" lewd boasts about groping women that have thrown his campaign into crisis.

"Are we really going to risk giving Donald Trump the power to roll back all the progress we've made?" Obama asked during a campaign event for Democrats in his adopted home state of Illinois.

"I don't need to repeat it. There are children in the room... Demeaning, degrading women, but also minorities, immigrants, people of other faiths, mocking the disabled... He puffs himself up by putting other people down."

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Pinoy jailed for severely scalding boy in shower

REDWOOD CITY, California - A Filipino man from Streamwood, Illinois remains in jail after being accused of aggravated battery of a five-year-old boy.

Authorities said the child was severely burned by scalding water.

Brian Magsombol, 29, faces charges of aggravated battery to a child and aggravated domestic battery, both felonies.

On August 13, Magsombol reportedly left the son of his girlfriend in a shower with the water running at its highest temperature.

The boy ended up with second-degree burns.

Magsombol has yet to enter a plea but is due back in court September 4.

His bond has been set at $250,000.

Read more on Balitang America.

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