Man arrested in fatal shooting of Illinois bar owner
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office released this image of a man in connection with a homicide, Feb. 2, 2026, in rural Momence near the Illinois/Indiana border. (Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office)
(KANKAKEE COUNTY, Ill.) — A man has been arrested in the death of a bar owner who was fatally shot Monday morning near the Illinois-Indiana state border.
Julius E. Burkes Jr., 47, was arrested Tuesday in Indiana as he was exiting his residence, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office.
Burkes is now being held in Indiana and is awaiting extradition to Illinois, where he will face charges, authorities said.
Burkes is accused of killing Courtney Drysdale, 30, while she was preparing to open the bar just before 11 a.m., when a suspect entered the bar, brandished a firearm and demanded money from the cash register, according to the sheriff’s office.
Despite Drysdale’s cooperation, the suspect allegedly shot her twice “execution style,” Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said at a press conference Tuesday.
Before fleeing, the suspect attempted to remove what he believed was a digital recording device from a wall, but investigators were able to recover video evidence, Downey said.
“This type of violent behavior has no place in our society, and I am extremely appreciative of the overwhelming support we received from the public, the media as well as our partners in the criminal justice system near and far,” Downey said in a statement after the arrest.
“I want to praise, not only the extraordinary efforts of the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office, the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force, the FBI, the US Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Hammond Police Department on this quick and peaceful apprehension, but I want to commend the community-at-large for coming together and providing quantities of tips and information that ultimately led to this swift arrest,” said Downey.
Signage outside the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is proposing a new policy that would seek to limit the ability of state bar associations to launch ethics probes into DOJ attorneys, according to a new document posted Wednesday in the Federal Register.
The proposal, which comes amid growing scrutiny of the department’s attorneys and whether they’re complying with ethical obligations in enforcing the Trump administration’s agenda, would seek to empower Attorney General Pam Bondi to request that state bar investigations be suspended pending a DOJ review of any originating complaint.
In the event the state bar authorities “refuse” to suspend their investigations, the proposal says, the Justice Department “shall take appropriate action to prevent the bar disciplinary authorities from interfering.”
It’s not immediately clear what “appropriate action” the department could take to influence state-level proceedings, and the proposed rule does not elaborate further.
The proposal argues that the bar complaint and investigation process has been “weaponized” by political activists in recent years to ensnare officials across DOJ’s ranks into costly and time-consuming proceedings.
“This unprecedented weaponization of the State bar complaint process risks chilling the zealous advocacy by Department attorneys on behalf of the United States, its agencies, and its officers,” the proposed rule said. “That chilling effect, in turn, would interfere with the broad statutory authority of the Attorney General to manage and supervise Department attorneys.”
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
A Przewalski’s horse stands with a foal at the Dunhuang West Lake National Nature Reserve in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu Province, on Feb. 5, 2026. (Lang Bingbing/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — There is evidence that the planet is healing amid massive efforts to mitigate climate change and fight biodiversity loss.
Once-threatened species are rebounding, lawmakers are making policy changes that increase protections against harmful practices and preservation of ecosystems has come to the forefront, according to recent events.
The wins, however, don’t cancel out the realities that the planet continues to be on a tipping point. The world is currently off track to meet the goal outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the United Nations.
The planet has entered an era of “water bankruptcy,” due to irreversible damage to water systems, according to the U.N.’s University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Deforestation is continuing to occur at a rapid rate, including 16.6 million acres of tropical primary forests lost in 2024 – equivalent to 18 soccer fields per minute, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Despite the losses, recent environmental wins prove that efforts to protect the planet and its inhabitants are working.
Threatened species are recovering
Most sea turtles are rebounding worldwide as a result of conservation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Green turtles made an especially notable recovery. Once hunted to near-extinction for their eggs – used to make turtle soup – green turtle populations have risen significantly since the 1970s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s 2025 update to its Red List of Threatened Species. Their status was downgraded from endangered to least concern.
Global conservation efforts included protecting eggs, releasing hatchlings on beaches and reducing capture in fishing nets, according to the IUCN.
Endangered Central California coast coho salmon are returning to Central California’s Russian River after decades of absence – an indicator of river restoration. During the 2024 to 2025 spawning season, more than 30,000 adult coho salmon migrated to the rivers along the Mendocino Coasts – double the record-breaking number of 15,000 seen in the previous season, according to NOAA Fisheries.
A group of wild horses known as Przewalski’s horses has returned to Central Asia after being driven to near-extinction in the 1960s.
In 2024, several zoos took part in the first stages of the reintroduction of the horses to their native Kazakhstan.
Subsequent efforts brought the Przewalski’s horses to neighboring Mongolia.
Przewalski’s horses are known as the last surviving lineage of true wild horses. Their populations declined as a result of habitat loss, overhunting and hybridization with domestic horses, according to the WWF’s Natural Habitat Adventures.
Countries taking action to protect natural resources
In the U.S., the federal government under the Trump administration has taken several actions that could potentially harm the environment, including granting fossil fuel operations in the Gulf exemption from Endangered Species Act protections; the Senate voted to overturn Biden-era Arctic protections; and the U.S. Department of the Interior reached a nearly $1 billion deal with French energy company, TotalEnergies, to end the company’s offshore wind development.
But other countries are making strides in protecting vast amounts of land and water.
Earlier this year, the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty – aimed to protect 60% of the global ocean that is beyond national jurisdiction – entered into force globally.
Adopted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the treaty opened for signature in September 2023 and could safeguard marine ecosystems beyond national borders.
In July 2026, Ethiopia launched a national campaign to plant 700 million trees a day, aiming to plant 50 billion trees by the end of 2026.
The I-25 Greenland wildlife overpass near Larkspur in Colorado opened in December 2025. The overpass is the largest in the U.S. and will allow elk, pronghorn, mule deer, black bears, mountain lions and a variety of other species to cross, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Italy will ban the killing of male chicks starting in 2027, ending the deaths of 34 million birds every year. Male chicks are often killed because they cannot produce eggs.
Poland, once the largest fur-producing country in Europe with mink, fox, chinchilla and raccoon dog farms housing around 3.4 million animals, has banned fur farming. The European Union is considering a union-wide ban on fur production.
: Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots speaks to the media during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 25, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The New England Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel, addressed the media Thursday after a series of photos were published allegedly showing him with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini.
In his remarks, Vrabel said that his “actions don’t meet the standard I hold myself to” and his initial response to the pictures was an attempt to protect his family, saying that the photos showed an innocent interaction.
“I just know I’m going to take the necessary steps with the people I care about — that’s my family and this team,” said Vrabel.
Vrabel and Russini are both married to other people. Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14.
“I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30,” Russini wrote in her resignation letter. “I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Vrabel declined to comment on the most recent photos, saying “my priorities are my family and this football team. In that order,” according to ESPN.
Vrabel did confirm at a news conference Tuesday that he has had “difficult conversations with people I care about,” including his family, his coaching staff, team officials and players following the initial publication of the photos.
It is not clear if the New England Patriots will discipline Vrabel but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN on Thursday that this is a team matter and does not fall under the league’s personal conduct policy.
“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being,” the team said in a statement. “Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.”
Vrabel confirmed that he will start seeking counseling, saying “I can only say that whatever my family needs, that’s what I’m going to provide,” Vrabel said.
