
Afternoon Briefing: Judge orders boy, 15, held in killing of 16-year-old girl
Good afternoon, Chicago.
A Cook County judge has ordered a 15-year-old boy held pending trial in the killing of a 16-year-old girl found beaten to death in East Garfield Park earlier this month.
The boy, whose name was not released, was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Kaylah Love, who was found dead March 17 in a park in the 3000 block of West Van Buren Street. An autopsy performed by the Cook County medical examiner's office found Kaylah died of multiple injuries due to an assault, and her death was ruled a homicide.
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With less than a year before the March 2026 primary and only four months before the period to gather candidacy petition signatures begins, Pritzker has yet to say whether he will seek a rare but not unprecedented third term as governor. Read more here.
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Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
BBQ chain closes restaurants, changes focus from ribs to breasts
Fat Brands has become a shockingly large restaurant operator despite owning numbers brands with names that sound like eateries in a "Simpsons" episode or a Kevin Smith movie. The company started with Fatburger in 2003 before buying the also pretty literally named Buffalo's Cafe in 2011. From the burger and wing chain, it added the iconic (and perhaps outdated) Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouse chains in 2017, then added another wings concept, Hurricane Wings and Grill, in 2018. Related: Struggling restaurant chain likely to shut down or be sold Over the next few years the company bought Elevation Burger, Johnny Rockets, and Global Franchise Group which includes many names that don't sound real including Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzlemaker, and Hot Dog on a Stick. That last deal gave Fat Brands a massive presence in malls. In 2021, however, the company entered that fast-casual space with purchase of Twin Peaks, a bar and restaurant chain that sort of a classier take on the model pioneered by Hooters. The company also picked up the Smokey Bones barbecue chain in 2023 from Darden Brands and, at the time, it was excited about the deal. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter "We continue to be selective and opportunistic in our acquisition strategy, targeting brands that are both scalable and synergistic with our existing platform," said Rob Rosen, Co-CEO of Fat Brands said at the time. "We are pleased to add another polished dining brand, which will provide more options for our sales team to offer our franchise partners to further their new unit development." Image source: Shutterstock While the Fat Brands and Smokey Bones relationship started well, it took a turn for the worse earlier this year. The barbecue chain's owner shared some bad news for fans of the casual, sit-down barbecue brand. Fat Brands Chairman Andy Wiederhorn explained that the company often buys brands to use them to enhance a company they already own. "Our recent transactions have been highly strategic, creating multiple avenues for value creation. A prime example is our acquisition of Nestle Toll House Cafe by Chip about three years ago. This transaction was particularly compelling as it allowed us to convert these units to Great American Cookies locations, effectively growing our cookie footprint while simultaneously increasing production volume at our manufacturing facility," he said during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. Wiederhorn views the Smokey Bones acquisition as a similar opportunity although that was not mentioned when the brand was purchased in 2023. More Food and Retail: Another healthy fast-food chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcyCostco quietly pulls popular product, upsets fansStarbucks brings back fan-favorite menu item after 2-year hiatus "We bought Smokey Bones in late 2023 to help fuel Twin Peaks' growth, which will allow us to convert about 30 of the Smokey Bones locations into Twin Peaks. This dual benefit illustrates our approach to acquisitions. We look for opportunities that not only expand our restaurant portfolio, but also drive incremental value through our manufacturing capabilities, essentially getting two bites at the apple," Fat Brands also shared during its earnings call that 30 of the remaining 58 Smokey Bones locations will be rebranded as Twin Peaks. Another nine Smokey Bones locations will close. While Fat Brands will maintain a roughly 85% stake in the new company, it has actually spun off Twin Peaks and the remains of the Smokey Bones chain into its own company. "Twin Hospitality now trades separately on the NASDAQ under the ticker TWNP. The public listing of Twin Hospitality creates an opportunity for shareholders to directly participate in the growth and success of the Twin Peaks brand. This strategic move enhances transparency and enables the market to better appreciate the distinct value of Twin Peaks," Wiederhorn said. Twin Peaks is a sports bar/breastaurant model where the waitresses wear low-cut outfits. The new company's executives also commented on the Smokey Bones conversions. "Our flexible real estate model has proven highly successful in converting legacy restaurants into Twin Peaks. These conversions enable faster time to market, lower buildout costs and accelerated return on investment," said CFO Ken Kuick.. Some of the conversions have already come online. "We have also made progress with our strategic plans to convert Smokey Bones into Twin Peaks. Our first Twin Peaks conversion, which opened in Lakeland, Florida last September, is exceeding expectations, while our second Twin Peaks conversion in Brandon, Florida opened this month and is off to a strong start. We project completing two additional conversions in 2025." Related: Popular BBQ chain closes almost all locations, no bankruptcy That means that Smokey Bones fans still have time to enjoy a 1-pound slab of ribs or some of the chain's other favorites. Most of the nine locations that are fully closing have already been closed. One location, which closed in late-April in order to become a Twin Peaks, reminded customers to use any Smokey Bones coupons before their local location shut down. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Struggling restaurant chain likely to shut down or be sold
Sometimes, the small things get lost when owned by a large company. In multiple cases, Chipotle shut down nascent brands because it seemed impossible for them to grow to a point where they materially impacted earnings. That's also partially why McDonald's sold its stake in Chipotle, well before the Mexican chain became the giant it has grown into. McDonald's itself recently closed down its CosMc's experiment because it made more sense to integrate some of that chain's beverage menu into the core brand rather than growing another chain. Related: Taco Bell menu tries wild items, new kind of shell It's hard to be a small brand at a company that owns multiple larger brands, because it's not worth it for management to focus efforts on your growth. When a company owns multiple major restaurant chains with high growth potential, it may not be the right owner for a smaller, more niche chain. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter That's not a comment on whether than chain offers good food - McDonald's probably always liked the menu at Chipotle - but a decision as to where resources can best be used. Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) has come to that decision about one of its brands, and the end of that relationship may not be pretty. Darden has decided to walk away from the Bahama Breeze brand. That's something CEO Ricardo Cardenas talked about during his company's fourth-quarter earnings call. "We made the decision to close 15 Bahama Breeze locations in May, leaving the 28 highest-performing Bahama Breeze restaurants in our portfolio. After further review, we have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations and the Bahama Breeze brand are not a strategic priority for us. We also believe that this brand and these restaurants have the potential to benefit from a new owner," he shared. While a sale is a possibility, other options are being considered. "Consequently, we will be considering strategic alternatives for Bahama Breeze, including a potential sale of the brand, or converting restaurants to other Darden brands. Excluding any onetime potential impacts, which are unknown as of today, we do not expect these strategic alternatives including a potential sale to have a material impact on our financial results," he added. The CEO offered more color on the decision to shut down or sell Bahama Breeze. "And then lastly, on the decision on Bahama Breeze, we have, when we look at our portfolio and we try to determine what brands we add to our portfolio, we have criteria. And [those] criteria should be what we look at to keep brands in our portfolio," he shared. More Food and Retail: Another healthy fast-food chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcyCostco quietly pulls popular product, upsets fansStarbucks brings back fan-favorite menu item after 2-year hiatus Bahama Breeze, he noted, no longer fits the criteria. "And we think that they have a lot of growth potential with another owner. We were not going to be putting a lot of investment into Bahama Breeze. And so to give those team members and those managers growth opportunities, it's better for them to be under a different ownership," he added. While Bahama Breeze did not meet Darden's criteria, its Italian restaurant chain, Olive Garden, has been adding locations around the world. The company has also sold some Olive Gardens to a franchise partner. "We also signed a definitive agreement to sell the eight Olive Garden locations in Canada to Recipe Unlimited, the largest full-service operator in Canada, and we are on track to close that deal soon. These eight restaurants will become franchised and upon close, Darden and Recipe Unlimited will enter into an area development agreement to open 30 more Olive Gardens over the next 10 years," Cardenas said. Those are not the only restaurant plans for Olive Garden and other Darden brands. "In addition to the agreement with Recipe Unlimited, we also have new agreements with partners in India and Spain, each of which calls for the development of 40 Olive Garden locations as well as an agreement with our existing Ruth's Chris franchise partner in Asia for the development of 6 Capital Grill locations," he added. Related: Popular BBQ chain closes almost all locations, no bankruptcy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Major grocery chain gives 1000s of customers free ice cream
Hot summer days are the perfect time to relax with a nice serving of ice cream. For some communities, the sound of music playing from an ice cream truck prompts children, teens, and parents to race to the curb of their street to stop the truck to buy a frozen treat before it passes by. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter For those areas lacking a local ice cream truck, a trip to Baskin-Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, or Dairy Queen might be the solution to that frozen treat craving. Related: Major grocery chain using self-driving robots for deliveries If one of those options is not available, a trip to the local grocery store to buy some ice cream will solve your problem. And consumers have several choices to consider when buying that refreshing treat. Name-brand ice cream choices that you can find at most grocery stores include Dreyer's (known as Eddy's in some areas), Breyers, Ben & Jerry's, Blue Bunny, Tillamook, and Häagen-Dazs. The competition for ice cream sales is so fierce that many national and regional grocery chains and big-box retailers have their own private label brands to entice consumers. For Costco members, Kirkland Signature ice cream, with a limited number of flavors, is available. Target in 2021 launched its private label ice cream brand Favorite Day, and Walmart launched its latest private label ice cream in April 2024 to go with its Great Value brand, known as bettergoods. The private label offers dairy and plant-based options for customers. To compete with the big boxes, national and regional grocery chains offer private labels to consumers as well. Publix stores offer their Premium brand of ice cream, as well as their organic GreenWise brand. Albertsons, Vons, and Safeway stores have for years sold their Signature Select private label, and Whole Foods offers its 365 private label brand. Image source: Bloomberg/Getty Images To kick off the summer, Kroger has launched its limited-time Summer in a Pint collection of four new ice cream and sherbet flavors, including: Fireside Nights, a toasted marshmallow-flavored ice cream with s'mores Shores, a coconut-flavored ice Tan Lines, a vanilla bean, chocolate, and coffee-flavored ice Summer Fizz, a blood orange-flavored sherbet. Related: Kroger announces big store change amid price gouging accusations To celebrate the launch of its new frozen treat flavors, Kroger has brought back its free ice cream pint offer, as it will give away 92,000 pints of Kroger ice cream, or 1,000 pints for each of summer's 92 days, beginning June 20, according to a company statement. More retail: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Customers can obtain one of those 92,000 pints of Kroger ice cream by downloading a limited-time, single-use digital coupon at starting on June 20, beginning at noon Eastern time, while supplies last. The coupon can be used to obtain a free pint of one of the new flavors or any one of the Kroger brand ice cream flavors at Kroger Family of Stores locations, such as Kroger, Ralph's, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Dillon's, and Food 4 Less, through July 4, 2025. The free ice cream pint promotion is valid in all U.S. states, except California, Colorado, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Nevada. Kroger also offers a $1 off coupon for the purchase of two pints of its ice cream, except at Mariano's, Metro Market, Pick 'n Save, and QFC stores. Related: Popular grocery store chain closes all locations, no bankruptcy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.