Illinois
Murder trial to begin for Illinois man charged in fatal stabbing of Palestinian American boy
The trial for the Illinois man charged in the fatal 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in what prosecutors call a hate crime is set to begin in Will County on Monday.
Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of stabbing Wadea Al-Fayoume to death and seriously injuring the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, 32. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime in connection with the attack.
Czuba pleaded not guilty to the charges in October 2023. He was ordered detained until trial.
Wadea was stabbed 26 times and died in the hospital. Shahin was seriously injured after she was stabbed more than a dozen times as she called for help and tried to protect her son, investigators have said.
The stabbings occurred on Oct. 14, 2023, days after the Hamas attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed around 250 taken hostage, according to the country’s officials. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.
The attack was investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime. Prosecutors have said Czuba targeted the mother and son because of their Muslim faith.
The day after the attack, then-President Joe Biden denounced the stabbings.
“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn and pray in peace,” he said at the time.
George D. Lenard, the public defender representing Czuba, said by phone Thursday night that he does not comment on cases while they are pending.
Shahin and her son rented rooms from Czuba at his home in Plainfield Township, Illinois, about 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.
Czuba’s wife told investigators that days before the attack, her husband said he wanted Shahin and her son to “move out of the home.” That same day, Czuba confronted Shahin about the situation in the Middle East, according to court documents.
Just before he attacked her, Czuba told Shahin “he was angry at her for what was going on” in Israel, Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fitzgerald wrote in the petition requesting that Czuba be detained.
Shahin “stated she responded to him ‘let’s pray for peace,’” and that “Czuba gave her no chance to do anything” before he attacked her with a knife, according to the petition.
Family friend Yousef Hannon told NBC News at the time that Shahin didn’t expect Czuba would hurt her son because he had been like a grandfather to Wadea and had even built him a tree house.
“The child, when he saw Czuba, ran to him for a hug and instead was stabbed 26 times,” Hannon said.
Czuba’s wife, Mary Czuba, told investigators that her husband had become obsessed with the war between Israel and Hamas, authorities have said.
Shahin told police she had been texting Czuba’s wife earlier that week about his “hatred for Muslims.”
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.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — After a brief lull in the weather on Friday, now another winter storm is setting its sights on central Illinois. Come Saturday, our next round of Winter is set to arrive. A new weather maker sweeps across the Upper Midwest, causing more snow to develop by mid-morning on Saturday. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued from 7AM Saturday through 8 PM Saturday evening. The snow will pick up intensity by late-morning and last through the afternoon into the early evening hours before ending. This new weather system will follow a path very similar to the previous storm system and spread a swath of moderate to locally heavy snow. Before the snow wraps up Saturday evening, expect another 2″-4″ for much of central Illinois, with afternoon high temperatures bitterly cold in the mid-teens.
But the worst blast of cold air comes in Saturday evening into Sunday. Frigid Arctic air surges down from Canada causing temperatures to really tumble, driving in the coldest weather we’ve had in a long time and certainly the coldest so far this season. A Cold Weather Advisory is issued from 8 PM Saturday through Noon on Sunday. Sunday morning will be dangerously cold with wind chills around 20 to 25 BELOW ZERO. With wind chills this extreme, it doesn’t take long to suffer from frostbite or hypothermia. Please stay inside to keep warm, but if you do need to venture out, limit the time you spend outdoors, and make sure to cover up all exposed skin by wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves. Sunday afternoon features lots of sunshine, but despite the sunshine, temperatures will be brutally cold and frigid with high temperatures stuck in the low single numbers while wind chills remain well below zero.
Expect more extremely chilly weather on Monday with wind chills still ranging from 5 to 15 BELOW ZERO in the morning and afternoon highs only reaching into the 20s. Then temperatures will finally start to warm up, and we should climb out of the deep freeze with highs in the mid to upper 30s on Tuesday.
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