Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team, Sarah, Yodaris, Eliot, Marcy, Eva, Ella and Diana. We’ve got a good one for you today.
To start, we have a piece on having empathy in the sports world. Then, we have news on a new AI-assisted firearm detection software being used at DePaul and Chicago-based satirical media platform The Onion looking to acquire the infamous Infowars company. Next, we have information on a singer charged with murder and a public transportation worker strike in London. Finally, we have news on Little Village’s second Cinco de Mayo parade cancellation in a row and a recommendation for a few films from 2016 for their 10th anniversaries.
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With that, let’s get into it!
I Might Be Too Empathetic For Sports
By Yodaris Frausto
The spring time means many different things: sunny days, clear skies and baseball.
I love baseball the most out of all Chicago sports. It being labeled as “America’s pastime” couldn’t be more true. I tend to do most of my watching when I’m doing other things like homework, working on stories or cleaning — either way, baseball will always be in the background. I consider myself to be a casual viewer of the Cubs. I follow their schedule occasionally and I try to tune into as many games as possible, but I’ve noticed something about myself — I think I’m too empathetic for sports.
As of Monday, the Cubs have played 22 of 162 games in the 2026 season. So far, we’ve (the Cubs) bumped ourselves back into a tie for second place in the National League Central’s official standings, which is good! The vibes are up, the city is happy, X (formerly Twitter) is … well, X, but why do I still have the feeling that everything isn’t sunshine and rainbows? The answer: empathy. Or, the lack of empathy in the sports sphere.
Let me explain what I mean. There’s a meme where people say, “me, an empath” in response to certain situations, and that’s how I feel whenever I watch the Cubs play. This out-of-body moment came to me when I was watching them play against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cubs won 9-2, which isn’t that bad of a loss in my opinion, but it was so devastating to me to see the faces of the Rays players. In that moment, they were the embodiment of despair and disappointment — at least, that’s what I felt. For the last three innings, I truly could not watch without feeling incredibly bad. It honestly made my mood plummet, and I was thinking about that game for several days.
It was a really weird time for me, I questioned “Why do I feel this way?” and “Is this a normal feeling to have while watching sports? Because, I seem to be the only one who feels this way.” I then realized that the issue isn’t me, but the sports community. It might seem like I’m feeling “too much,” but they’re not feeling enough! Sports are seen as a “man’s game,” so naturally, instead of crying or showing any emotion that isn’t anger, they’ll throw every awful word they can think of at you and tell you that you’re the worst player they’ve ever seen in their life. If I were on the Rays and lost by seven points, tears would run down my face so fast and I would quit in a heartbeat. I guess that’s what separates me from a professional athlete.
Empathy and compassion are emotions that are becoming less frequent in our day-to-day lives. We’re all stressed out, no one makes enough money and no one can read anymore. I get it! It’s easier to be pessimistic, but it’s so important to learn and apply empathy. The average age of the 20 youngest active baseball players is around 22 years old in both the National and American League, with the average viewer being anywhere between 50 to 54 years old.
I couldn’t imagine screaming and questioning someone’s self-worth when you’re decades older than the players on the team. I know when I log onto X during a Cubs game (or in general), I end up seeing the craziest things being said about someone who has so much passion and life ahead of them.
For example, Pete Crow-Armstrong (commonly known as PCA), is a superstar player — and I don’t glaze lightly. He’s genuinely amazing at baseball, and has so much fire and love for the game and the Cubs. His stats in 2025 were impressive, his center field defense is second to none and he even proved to have a higher year-to-year percentage of improvement compared to other active players. But when he has one bad game, suddenly he’ll go from being “MVPete” to public enemy number one.
Long story short, let’s have some empathy for these young men — you try swinging a bat at rubber balls that are going 90 mph for almost three hours.
DePaul News
By Eliot Solomon
Honoring the 15th anniversary of Illinois abolishing the death penalty — DePaul will host anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean and former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in an event honoring the 15th anniversary of Illinois abolishing the death penalty. The annual event, “A Beacon of Light in Darkness,” will take place this Friday in the Lincoln Park Student Center and will feature reflections, personal stories and music. More information and registration for the event can be found here.
Sister Helen will also speak on a panel discussing art and storytelling as tools for social justice and healing. The panel will take place in Cortelyou Commons this Wednesday. More information and registration for the panel can be found here.
DAB and DMBO announce Battle of the Bands — The DePaul Activities Board (DAB) and the DePaul Music Business Organization (DMBO) announced on Monday the lineup of student-led performers for their annual Battle of the Bands (BOTB). Audience members can vote for their favorite act, and the winner will be the opener for FEST, DePaul’s annual spring concert. The competition will take place at 7 p.m. on April 28 in the Lincoln Park Student Center. BOTB is free and no registration is required. See the lineup here.
DePaul adopts “ZeroEyes” AI-assisted gun detection software — Over spring break, DePaul’s Office of Public Safety installed an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted gun detection software, “ZeroEyes,” on a portion of its 2,000 campus security cameras. The office said it began looking into the technology after the mass shooting at Brown University in December. ZeroEyes software is also used by the CTA. According to the ZeroEyes website, the AI analyzes live video feed, sending detected firearm images to a human verifier in their operations center. If the detection is confirmed, they alert the Chicago Police Department. Read Isabella Russomanno’s reporting for the DePaulia here to learn more about ZeroEyes.
Poesía en Abril opening ceremony to be held at DePaul — Poesía en Abril, an annual international Spanish-language poetry festival, is set to come to DePaul in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes of Chicago and other local cultural associations. The festival will take place across multiple Chicago venues from April 23 to 26, featuring readings, music performances, workshops, contests and dialogues to celebrate this year’s theme of Resistancias (Resistances). The opening ceremony will take place this Thursday at DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus in McGowan South 105 and is free and open to the public. For more information, read the Instituto Cervantes website.
Chicago Headlines
By Marcy Menzes
Satirical news site The Onion launches new deal to acquire Alex Jones’ InfoWars — After two years of offers and hearings, Chicago-based satirical news site The Onion’s CEO Ben Collins announced Monday that a deal was finally reached to acquire Alex Jones’ infamous media company InfoWars. The offer came after Jones filed for bankruptcy following multiple lawsuits from the parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which resulted in $1.5 billion in cumulative damages. The Onion and Global Tetrahedron plan to turn InfoWars into a parody of far-right conspiracy websites. Jones can appeal the ruling, however, as he still runs the site and hosts its flagship show “The Alex Jones Show,” as reported by Clint Worthington with Block Club Chicago.
Man arrested after shooting on an empty CTA bus — On Monday afternoon, shots were fired on an empty parked CTA bus at the Midway Bus Depot around 5:40 p.m. According to police, an unnamed 33-year-old man is currently in custody. It remains unclear as to why he fired the shots. Nobody else was on the bus at the time of the shooting and the man’s firearm was recovered at the scene. Charges are pending as of Monday night, and this is an ongoing story. For further updates, Jeramie Bizzle with CBS News will have more.
Court filing reveals State’s Attorney had will to “maintain” ties with federal agents before Operation Midway Blitz — Newly filed court records show that, in the weeks leading up to Operation Midway Blitz, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke refused to criticize the Trump administration in order to keep her “excellent working relationships” with federal law enforcement. This conflict of interest impedes her role in a legal case that would decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate federal agents’ role in the city, which will likely be decided on by Friday. O’Neille Burke’s staff insisted Tuesday that she was “horrified by the thuggish and inappropriate conduct” of the agents. Jon Seidel and Sophie Sherry with the Chicago Sun-Times have more.
CTA plans to issue layoffs for unarmed security guards — Last Friday,the union representing private security guards confirmed that the CTA laid off 159 members employed by Monterrey Security in order to reallocate funds to “sworn police officers and other security resources.” The layoffs come after the CTA’s revelation of a new security plan about a month ago, which would provide officers with a 75 percent increase in policing hours and more patrolling for the Chicago Police Department and Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and less unarmed guards. The plan also includes an expansion of the CTA’s mental health outreach, which connects people to social services and housing programs. ABC7 Chicago has more on this story.
National Headlines
By Sarah Janito
Tucker Carlson expresses regret over supporting Trump — Conservative podcaster and former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson said he is “tormented” by his past support of President Donald Trump on Monday. In a conversation with Buckley Carlson, Tucker’s brother and former Trump speechwriter, he detailed that he felt traditional conservative values were sidelined in the Republican party that is “now dominated by the president.” Carlson’s words come after feuding with the president over the U.S. supporting Israel as well as the war in Iran, as reported by Edward Helmore with The Guardian.
Singer accused of murdering 14-year-old pleads not guilty — Singer David Anthony Burke, professionally known as d4vd, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder seven months after the decomposed body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the trunk of his “apparently abandoned Tesla.” The singer was arrested last week after a monthslong investigation and charges were announced Monday. Prosecutors allege Burke had a sexual relationship with Hernandez and that he killed her after she threatened to “expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career.” Burke was also charged with “continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years old and mutilating human remains.” This is an ongoing story. Alaa Elassar and Zoe Sottile with CNN have more.
Florida Attorney General opens investigation into ChatGPT after shooting — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT on Tuesday. The investigation is over whether the program “aided, abetted or advised the commission of a crime” to Phoenix Ikner, a gunman who killed two people and wounded several more at Florida State University last year. Uthmeier said prosecutors believe the chatbot could have advised Ikner on details of his crime such as what location would draw the most victims, which type of firearm and ammunition to use and more. Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has subpoenaed OpenAI and Uthmeier said prosecutors have done an “initial review” of chat logs between the gunman and bot. This is an ongoing story. Mike Schneider with the AP has more.
Defense Secretary no longer requiring U.S. service members to get flu shots — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the Department of Defense is no longer mandating U.S. service members to receive a flu shot every year. Hegseth cited the reason for ending the mandate is part of the Trump administration’s attempt to “restore freedom and strength to our joint force” and said the previous mandate was “overreaching.” The memorandum Hegseth signed Monday reads: “Effective immediately, the annual influenza vaccine is voluntary for all Active and Reserve Component Service members” as well as civilians working for the Defense Department. For more information, check out Melissa Quinn’s article with CBS News.
International Headlines
By Eva Goddard
London Tube driver union strikes over longer workday proposal — The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union in London began striking Tuesday afternoon after a compressed voluntary four-day work week for train operators was proposed by the Transport for London’s (TfL). The strike is motivated by concerns of driver fatigue and compromised safety due to the longer working days. Travel is already being disrupted as the strike progresses. The Piccadilly and Circle lines are closed entirely, and other lines have significantly reduced service. James W. Kelly has more with the BBC.
Progressive Bulgaria party wins election — Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria (PB) party won Sunday’s Bulgarian election in a landslide victory, with 44.7% of the vote. Radev’s party also secured 135 of 240 seats in the parliament. His campaign mainly focused on domestic politics and promises to fight the existing corruption within the Bulgarian government. Radev previously served as president, and with his new position promised to build “a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe.” Widespread corruption had been a major concern before the previous conservative-led government resigned. For more information about Radev and the election, read Nick Thorpe’s article with the BBC or Veselin Toshkov’s article with PBS.
Tsunami advisory lifted, megaquake warning in place following 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Japan — A tsunami advisory was lifted in Japan on Tuesday following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake Monday. It was previously downgraded from a 9.8-foot tsunami warning to an advisory before being lifted. Despite the warning being lifted, the Japanese government then warned of a slightly magnified risk of a megaquake in the next week following Monday’s earthquake. 182 towns across the coast have been alerted to the 1 percent risk from Japan’s Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency, as opposed to the usual 0.1 percent risk. Lauren Kent and Yumi Asada with CNN have more.
Shooting at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids kills one tourist, injures others — One person was killed and at least 13 others were injured after a shooting at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids. The shooter later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said Tuesday that the gunman was carrying materials that appeared to be related to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, whose anniversary was on Monday. Though they didn’t mention Columbine by name, they said the man had books and handwritten notes that referenced the massacre. María Verza has more with the AP.
14 East Pueblo: Little Village Cinco de Mayo Celebration Canceled Due to Immigration Worries
By Diana Torres
Little Village has canceled its annual Cinco de Mayo parade in fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids for the second year in a row, according to media reports.
The parade is a Mexican heritage tradition that commemorates Mexico’s victory in 1962’s Battle of Puebla against the French army and usually draws hundreds of attendees.
Concerns grew last year after immigration raids led organizers of the event from Cermak Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla to cancel the festivities. In 2024, the parade also closed down shortly after it began due to threats of gang violence, police said.
Despite the parade’s cancellation last year, Little Village still held its annual Mexican Independence Day celebration in September. Executive Director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce Jennifer Aguilar confirmed in an email to Block Club Chicago that the celebration will be taking place again later this year, as reported by Francia Garcia Hernandez.
“The 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade, now in its 55th year, is moving forward as planned this September. We remain committed to celebrating our culture and supporting our community,” Aguilar said.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Sarah Janito
Though the trend of looking back on 2016 trends in 2026 has come and gone on social media, I thought this to be a great opportunity to highlight and recommend a few brilliant films from different genres that were released in 2016 for their 10-year anniversaries.
American Honey — This drama follows young teen Star (Sasha Lane) running away from her troubled home and joining a group of drifters as they travel across the Midwest, searching for her sense of self and freedom. I will always and forever be a sucker for a coming-of-age story and this is no exception. In fact, it takes the typical tale a step deeper with its subject matter and themes, but I won’t give too much away and let it speak for itself. Director Andrea Arnold makes it feel like viewers are physically going on this journey with Star. I really connected and felt for her — which is one of the most important aspects of a film for me. The ending specifically filled me with a lot of emotions.
Undrafted — I never thought I’d find a sports film amusing, but here we are! This indie comedy was written, directed and co-produced by Joseph Mazzello (who also has a supporting role in the film) and follows a summer league baseball team playing in their semifinals against a team much better than them. It is also based on Mazzello’s own brother’s attempt to be drafted in the major leagues. It never fails to make me laugh, from the team — the Diamondbacks — being nicknamed the DBs, to the wonderful physical comedy from everyone in the cast, and more. Every time I rewatch this I forget how funny it is and it feels freshly hilarious every single time. Throw this on for a good time, and to support indie films.
Hush — For being a bit wary of certain horror films and tropes, Hush exceeded all of my expectations. It follows a deaf woman Maddie (Kate Siegel), who is stalked by a killer in her home, which is widely secluded in the woods. This does everything a horror/thriller should do in my opinion, it uses its genres right and is extremely satisfying and always enjoyable to see female-led horror. I don’t often revisit these kinds of movies, but a few stellar and recent-ish exceptions include IT, Send Help and this film. The multiple twists and turns, added stress of Maddie being deaf and pacing make this a great watch. Director Mike Flanagan and Siegel being married in real life and writing the film together also adds to the experience.
Resources
Need resources regarding cooling centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
International students concerned about their visa status can contact the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Students can check their visa status through the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) or the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team