Afternoon Briefing: Piping plovers return to Waukegan beach to start family

Good afternoon, Chicago.

A suspect in the fatal shootings of two members of the Israeli Embassy near the Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., has been identified as a Chicago man who apparently has railed on social media against the ongoing bombing of Gaza by Israel.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, of the 4700 block of North Troy Street, was being held for questioning, authorities said today. He was being interviewed by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI, according to officials.

Police today blocked the street outside his apartment building in the Albany Park neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side. By 8:15 a.m., a stream of heavily armed men, the letters FBI inscribed on their backs, were seen leaving the brick, U-shaped apartment building, where one apartment window had a sign in the window reading “Justice for Wadea,” a reference to the killing of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume by his family’s landlord in the suburbs in 2023.

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History

Brad Semel, endangered species recovery specialist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, left, and volunteer Matt Tobin erect a cage to protect the nest of the federally endangered piping plovers in Waukegan. (Carolyn Lueck/for the Lake County News-Sun)

Piping plovers return to Waukegan beach to start family: ‘It’s drama already’

Pepper and Blaze — the captive-reared, federally endangered piping plover chicks released on a Lake County beach in 2023 — are back in Waukegan for the second year as breeding adults and the pair is already incubating a full clutch of four eggs. Read more here.

More top news stories:

A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, May 22, 2025. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Stocks drift as worries about the US government’s soaring debt continue to weigh

The choppy trading this week and sharp decline for stocks yesterday follows several weeks of mostly gains that have brought the S&P 500 back within 5% of its all-time high. Read more here.

More top business stories:

 

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill talks to his team during a timeout against the Arizona Coyotes on March 8, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill talks to his team during a timeout against the Arizona Coyotes on March 8, 2022, in Detroit. (Paul Sancya/AP)

Chicago Blackhawks name Jeff Blashill, the former Detroit Red Wings coach, their 42nd head coach

Former Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant on Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper’s staff, has been named the 42nd head coach in Hawks history. Read more here.

More top sports stories:

Paul Simon performs at the Symphony Center in Chicago on May 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Paul Simon performs at Symphony Center in Chicago on May 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Review: Paul Simon’s ‘Quiet Celebration’ is a night to lean into his music

Opening the two-set concert with a full performance of “Seven Psalms,” his 2023 album comprised of a continuous suite of seven songs, Paul Simon presented a fearless meditation on mystery, mortality and the great beyond. Read more here.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

President Donald Trump holds a jersey as he departs after hosting the 2025 NCAA Champion, University of Florida men's basketball team in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump holds a jersey as he departs after hosting the 2025 NCAA Champion, University of Florida men’s basketball team in the East Room of the White House, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Judge blocks Trump’s orders to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump’s goal to shut down the department. Read more here.

More top stories from around the world:

Related posts