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Violent holiday weekend sees mass shootings in Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky

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Violent holiday weekend sees mass shootings in Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky


CHICAGO (AP) — A shooting at a block party in Detroit left two people dead and more than a dozen wounded, capping a violent holiday weekend in the U.S. that also saw mass shootings in Kentucky and Chicago.

More than 100 people were shot in Chicago, 19 of them fatally, over the long Independence Day weekend, when there is often a spike in violence. One mass shooting Thursday in a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, left two women and an 8-year-old boy dead. Two other children were also critically injured.

“We cannot take our eyes off the ball,” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a Monday news conference. “We cannot stop thinking about the people who have been victimized by this crime.”

City officials announced plans for an emergency resource center to open Monday evening for people struggling with trauma, while Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed the pervasive violence on years of disinvestment and poverty, particularly in the city’s Black neighborhoods. Johnson, who took office last year, said Chicago has not received enough federal resources for victims and that he recently renewed a request for help.

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The four-day weekend in Chicago saw a spike in violence compared with the same time period last year when 11 people were killed and more than 60 wounded.

“We are losing a piece of the soul of Chicago,” Johnson said at the news conference. “We will not let criminal activity ruin and harm our city.”

In Detroit, two people were killed and 19 were wounded early Sunday in a shooting at an illegal block party on the city’s east side that was attended by more than 300 people, Detroit Police Chief James White said Monday during a news conference.

Nine weapons and more than 100 shell casings were found at the shooting scene, White said. Fifteen young women and six young men were shot and two of them died — a 20-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, he said.

“You’ve got a multitude of people that are engaged in this behavior. This isn’t one suspect, one group being targeted. This is a group of people who are essentially engaged in a shootout,” White said.

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Asked if Detroit has ever seen so many people injured in a single shooting, White said he wasn’t sure.

White announced Detroit’s new block party strategy, which includes the establishment of a response team that will specialize in making sure residents comply with the rules governing block parties. Police must now treat 911 calls about illegal block parties as “Priority 1” runs.

Mayor Mike Duggan said shootings occurred at six illegal block parties in Detroit over three days starting July 4, leaving 27 people wounded and three dead. He said nearly 40% of the shooting victims lived outside Detroit — some traveled as far as 50 miles (80 kilometers), lured to the parties through social media.

“This is not your neighbor’s family’s party got large. These are intentional pre-planned events looking to attract people from miles away,” Duggan said. “People are coming here carrying illegal weapons, planning to party into the wee hours of the evening believing that the neighbors and the Detroit Police Department will not the stop these lawless gatherings.”

Shootings during the holiday weekend also took place in California and Kentucky, where police say four people were killed and three others wounded in an early morning shooting during a party at a home. The shooting suspect later died after fleeing the home in Florence, Kentucky, and driving into a ditch during a police chase, authorities said. Florence is a city of about 36,000 people located about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Cincinnati, Ohio.

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June unemployment rate shows slight increase in Kentucky Center for Statistics latest report

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June unemployment rate shows slight increase in Kentucky Center for Statistics latest report


Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary June 2026 unemployment rate was 4.7%, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics. The preliminary June 2026 jobless rate was up from the 4.5% reported in May and up 0.1 percentage points from one year ago. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for June 2026 was 4.2%, which was down from…



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Saturated soil raises flooding risk across Kentucky after recent heavy rain

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Saturated soil raises flooding risk across Kentucky after recent heavy rain


LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Recent heavy rainfall has left soil across the state completely soaked, contributing to localized flooding in some areas.

When rain falls, some water soaks into the ground through a process called percolation.

Soil can only hold a limited amount of water. Once the small air spaces within the soil fill with water, the ground becomes saturated and additional rainfall has nowhere to go.

Soil type plays a role in how quickly water drains.

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Much of Kentucky has clay-heavy soil, which is made up of very small, flat particles packed tightly together.

That composition makes it harder for water to move through. In clay soil, water may drain at a rate of only 0.02 to 0.17 inches per hour.

When rainfall comes down faster than the ground can absorb it and water cannot drain into a stream or storm drain quickly enough, it begins to build up.

That buildup is what leads to localized flooding.

Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.

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Cyclosporiasis spreads across Kentucky

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Cyclosporiasis spreads across Kentucky


BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – Cyclosporiasis is a microscopic parasite that can contaminate food and water — is making people sick across several states, including Kentucky.

Dr. Patricia Tellez-Watson said, the illness is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis and spreads when someone ingests contaminated food or water. “It is an intestinal infection caused by this water-borne, food-borne microscopic parasite,” she said.

Symptoms can include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

Tellez-Watson said, cases are often sporadic, but outbreaks can happen — especially during hot, wet months, when the parasite can survive in the environment long enough to become infectious.

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Health experts recommend taking extra precautions with food and water. Washing hands and thoroughly rinsing produce before eating or cooking can reduce risk.

Watson also urged people to be cautious with fresh produce, particularly pre-packaged items, and to consider using bottled water.

Officials have confirmed cases in Bowling Green, though it’s unclear how many.

Copyright 2026 WBKO. All rights reserved.



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