Overnight briefing: Catch up on the biggest news from Thursday
Man guilty of molesting girls
Marlon Coleman was quickly convicted of molesting three female relatives who were 11, 13 and 14 when he was charged. This was Coleman’s second trial; a mistrial was declared in February. Get more details here.
NGA delays site decision for two months
A $1.6 billion headquarters for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency could come to St. Clair County, but that decision won’t be made for a while. The site near Scott Air Force Base is one of four sites being considered. Get more details here.
Coroner won’t know cause of Kaskaskia victim’s death for a while
Joshua Toennies’ body was found in the Kaskaskia River on Tuesday after he didn’t resurface when he jumped out of a boat Saturday night. Clinton County Coroner Phillip Moss said it could be a month or more before he can rule on the cause of death because “some other things have been brought to our attention that we’re looking into.” Get more details here.
Ferguson unrest postpones strip-search case
Corey Alberson, of Swansea, is accused of making “physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature” during a strip search of a black Illinois motorist in April 2014. That case was supposed to go to court Thursday but was postponed “in light of the anniversary events in Ferguson,” State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said. The criminal complaint doesn’t cite race as a factor, but Kelly declined to disucss whether prosecutors plan to argue that Campbell was mistreated because he was black. Get more details here.
SIUE women’s soccer picked to finish first
Ohio Valley Conference coaches and sports information personnel gave 10 first-place votes to the Cougars, giving them a narrow lead over Southeast Missouri in the pre-season poll. The Cougars are the defending OVC women’s soccer champions. Get more details here.
University of Illinois decision to fire chancellor puts school in uncharted waters
The Unviersity of Illinois awaited former Chancellor Phyllis Wise’s response to their Wednesday decision to begin the termination process. This question-and-answer will bring you up to speed on what’s happening at the state’s flagship university. Get more details here.
One simple phrase enmeshed the U.S. in Syria’s crisis
As of this month, the fourth anniversary of Obama’s call for Assad to step down, the Syrian leader remains in charge of a fragmented country, the death toll has climbed beyond 220,000, and the number of refugees just passed the 4 million mark – half of them children, according to the United Nations. Get more details here.
Jimmy Carter has options to fight cancer
The first step in the former president’s treatment is to find where the cancer started and spread. The nation’s 39th president announced Wednesday that doctors had discovered the cancer during surgery he had earlier this month to remove a mass from his liver. Get more details here.
This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Overnight briefing: Catch up on the biggest news from Thursday."