Illinois
Illinois jury announces verdict in killing of Palestinian American boy
A jury on Friday convicted an Illinois landlord in a 2023 stabbing that claimed the life of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, and left his mother critically injured.
Joseph Czuba, 73, was emotionless after being found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of committing a hate crime, FOX 32 Chicago reported.
Alfayoumi’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, told police Czuba was upset about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and ensuing war and attacked her and her son Oct. 14, after she asked him to “pray for peace.”
Wadee Alfayoumi’s father, Oday Alfayoumi, right, and his uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, attended a vigil for Wadee at the Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield, Ill., Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
INFLUENCER WENT TO THE WEST BANK TO SEE IF PALESTINIANS SUPPORT HAMAS – HE ALMOST DIDN’T MAKE IT OUT ALIVE
She was stabbed multiple times.
The war began just a week prior to the attack, on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel.
Prosecutors alleged Czuba stabbed his tenants of two years because they were Palestinian Americans, FOX 32 reported.
In a video shown in court Thursday, Czuba spoke with an officer about the attack inside a police car.
“I was afraid they were going to do Jihad on me,” Czuba said.
Oday Alfayoumi and others carry the casket of his son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park, Ill., Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Footage was also captured of Czuba saying Shahin didn’t tell him she was Muslim and comparing the Palestinian Liberation Organization to Nazis, according to the report.
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Even though there were no previous issues with Shahin and her son, Czuba’s wife testified he became withdrawn and angry after watching news coverage of the Hamas attack and asked the family to move out, FOX 32 reported.
According to the report, Shahin told the court Czuba said, “You, as a Muslim, must die,” while he attacked her with the knife.
She locked herself in the bathroom and called 911, then heard her son screaming in another room, according to FOX 32.
Protesters take part in the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine March in Chicago Aug. 21, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
The 15-minute phone call was played in court, and Shahin said her son could be heard screaming in the background.
Prosecutors said blood and DNA evidence was found on the knife, which was left in the boy’s body, according to the report.
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State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, the first Palestinian American to serve in the state Legislature, released a statement describing the case as “gut-wrenching.”
“My heart goes out to the family of Wadee Alfayoumi today,” Rashid said. “The jury was right to find Joseph Czuba guilty on all charges, including murder and hate crimes.”
FOX 32 Chicago and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A suspect in a deadly stabbing was apprehended early Sunday morning following a pursuit from Cicero that ended up on Chicago’s Far South Side.
Around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Cicero police were called after Ubano Diaz, 73, was tsabbed in the 3200 block of South 54th Court in the west Chicago suburb. Diaz was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died, Cicero police said.
Police immediately identified a person of interest, who was found driving out of the town. They launched a pursuit as the suspect headed northeast on the Stevenson Expressway.
At 1:21 a.m. Sunday, Illinois State Police were called in to assist Cicero police with the pursuit as the suspect cruised up the Stevenson Expressway at California Avenue.
The pursuit kept going along the Stevenson and Dan Ryan expressways before finally ending at 119th Street and Vincennes Avenue west of I-57 in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody at that point, Cicero and Illinois State Police said.
There were no crashes or injuries during the pursuit.
Police believe the stabbing was an isolated incident, and there was no threat to the public.
State police did not specify the route of the pursuit.
One person is dead after a fire inside a condo complex in south suburban Glenwood on Saturday evening.
It happened around 5 p.m. in the 900 block of 194th Street.
Glenwood fire officials said that crews responded to a second-floor unit inside the three-story building that was engulfed with flames.
It was confirmed that one person died in the fire. Their identity was not released.
Neighbors in adjoining condos were displaced. The Red Cross was working to provide further assistance to those affected.
Glenwood fire said they are working with the state fire marshal to investigate what led up to the blaze.
The 2025-26 FCS playoffs consist of a 24-team bracket with play starting on Saturday, Nov. 29 and concluding on Monday, Jan. 5. The top 16 teams seeded and the top eight seeds receive automatic byes to the second round, while the rest of the 24-team field (the remaining 16 teams) play in the first round.
Here’s everything you need to know for the Division I Football Championship postseason.
FCS championship bracket
Click or tap here to view the bracket
FCS championship schedule
All times Eastern
Quarterfinals
- Friday, December 12
- Saturday, December 13
Semifinals
- Saturday, December 20
- Semifinal 1 | 4 p.m. ET | ABC
- Semifinal 2 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
National Championship
FCS championship rounds, dates
- Selection show: 12 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 23 on ESPNU
- First round: Saturday, Nov. 29
- Second round: Saturday, Dec. 6
- Quarterfinals: Friday, Dec. 12 through Saturday, Dec. 13
- Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 20
- National championship: Monday, Jan. 5 on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET
FCS selections
The bracket selections for the 2025-26 FCS Championship was on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. The bracket was be revealed via a selection show on ESPNU at 12 p.m. ET and a selections release.
Eleven conferences (or conference partnerships/alliances) earn automatic bids to the playoffs. The FCS Championship Committee selects the remaining 13 at-large bids.
AUTOMATIC BIDS: Click or tap here to see all 11 of the clinched auto-bids
FCS championship history
North Dakota Dakota State is the reigning national champion, winning its 10 title in 2024 with a 35-32 win over Montana State. Here’s every FCS champion and runner-up from the past decade:
| Year | Champion | Coach | Score | Runner-Up | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | North Dakota State | Tim Polasek | 35-32 | Montana State | Frisco, Texas |
| 2023 | South Dakota State | Jimmy Rogers | 23-3 | Montana | Frisco, Texas |
| 2022 | South Dakota State | John Stiegelmeier | 45-21 | North Dakota State | Frisco, Texas |
| 2021 | North Dakota State | Matt Entz | 38-10 | Montana State | Frisco, Texas |
| 2020 | Sam Houston | K.C. Keeler | 23-21 | South Dakota State | Frisco, Texas |
| 2019 | North Dakota State | Matt Entz | 28-20 | James Madison | Frisco, Texas |
| 2018 | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | 38-24 | Eastern Washington | Frisco, Texas |
| 2017 | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | 17-13 | James Madison | Frisco, Texas |
| 2016 | James Madison | Mike Houston | 28-14 | Youngstown State | Frisco, Texas |
| 2015 | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | 37-10 | Jacksonville State | Frisco, Texas |
Click here for a full list of every champion since 1978.
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