Le Journal

A pilot lost control of a small plane while attempting to land in Chicago suburb Friday afternoon, leading the plane to veer off the runway and rollover, according to authorities. About 12:10 p.m., a small single engine plane was attempting to land at Brookeridge Air Park at 437 Millbrook Dr. in Downers Grove when the pilot lost control, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said. The plane then veered off the runway and rolled over, coming to a rest in a backyard. Photos and video from Sky 5 showed a small plane on its side, with its tail wing pressed up against a brick building. The pilot and a passenger were transported to a nearby hospital for further assessment, the sheriff’s office said. No further details were provided.

Editor’s note: The video in the player above is from a previous year. Santa Claus and his trusty reindeer kicked off the start of their annual rounds aboard the CTA Friday, marking the start of the holiday train and bus season in Chicago. The Holiday Train, now in its 34th year of operation, and the Holiday Bus will spread festive joy across the city along several CTA routes. Decked out with six decorated passenger rail cars and one open flatcar carrying Santa in his sleigh, the CTA Holiday Train will run along all eight rail lines this season. The CTA Holiday Bus has a gingerbread house theme with a newly updated design for 2025. The 6-foot festive fleet is wrapped in decoration highlighting Chicago’s Christkindlmarket and other iconic city landmarks. The bus will also travel two more routes this year than previous, for a total of 19. “The Allstate CTA Holiday Fleet is one of CTA’s and Chicago’s most beloved and unique traditions, and I’m proud that our employees bring it to life each year,” said CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen. “The Allstate CTA Holiday Fleet reflects the creativity, commitment, and heart of CTA’s workforce, who work hard every day to make our riders’ holidays a magical and memorable experience.” Both the Holiday Bus and Train are now operating. The bus will run through Dec. 20 and the train through Dec. 22. A candy cane will appear on the CTA Train Tracker to indicate when the Holiday Train is running. There is also a dedicated holiday bus tracker. The CTA Holiday Train has evolved greatly since it began in 1992 when a sign reading “Season’s Greetings from the CTA” was placed on the front of an out-of-service Blue Line train used to deliver food to various charities. The Holiday Train and Bus service all schedules stops along their route, but the CTA advises riders to be patient and prepared for delays. Additional details on the CTA Holiday Train and Bus, including a full schedule marked with when photos with Santa are available, can be found here. For anyone wanting to join the holiday transit fun without making a trip to the city, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train will also make stops in the Chicago suburbs and several surrounding areas this season, featuring musical performances by cult favorite bands.

The economic picture hasn’t looked very rosy: Hiring has been sluggish. Consumers have been dealing with soaring meat prices. Layoffs are rippling through companies. But despite those concerns, shoppers hit the stores in full strength on Black Friday, with some even sipping champagne as they searched for discounts on the day that traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season. Just outside New Orleans, shoppers flooded Lakeside Shopping Center to see what deals they could find. The mall offers champagne to Black Friday traditionalists while they shop, as long as they have a receipt of at least $50. “Sipping and shopping is the best, so I feel like that’s a New Orleans thing to do” said Lacie Lemoine, who was shopping with her grandmother, an annual tradition they’ve kept despite the fact that their budgets are shrinking. “The economy is bad, but you still have to celebrate,” said her grandmother, Sandra Lemoine. “Everybody has to do what they can do on their own budget. That’s it.” New Jersey 3 hours ago ‘Thank you': Neighbors help NJ nonprofit replace hundreds of stolen toys Travel 7 hours ago 46 million under winter weather alerts as heavy snow threatens post-Thanksgiving travel Holidays 10 hours ago 2025 holiday shipping deadlines for FedEx, USPS and UPS Both the massive Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, reported strong customer traffic on Friday and said Black Friday would once again rank as their busiest day of the year. “We are off to a great start,” said Jill Renslow, Mall of America’s chief business development and marketing officer. The line to enter the shopping and entertainment center started forming at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Renslow said. About 14,000 visitors entered within an hour of the mall’s 7 a.m. opening, she said. “We are tracking one of our best Black Fridays ever,” she added. Many retail executives have reported customers becoming more discerning and increasingly focused on deals while at the same time remaining willing to splurge for important occasions, creating a potential halo effect that might keep financial worries from discouraging holiday shoppers. National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said in early November that consumers tend to wall off holidays, whether religious, secular or bank, from outside concerns. “It’s a sort of a category of spending that has a moat around it,” Shay said. “Shoppers view them as opportunities for celebration. I think that really captures the way the (winter) holiday season goes. People save for it. They plan for it. They prioritize it.” While some are being cautious about this year’s Christmas expenses, others are not. Metairie, Louisiana resident Denise Thevenot says this year is no different. “I wish I could say that I had, but no, we’re just blowing it away just like we do every year. We’ll worry about that tomorrow, right? I got the receipts to show you.” Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at Circana, a market research firm, visited several malls on New York’s Long Island and New Jersey. He noted strong traffic and said the centers grew busier as Black Friday went on. Cohen said Target drew lines for complimentary gift bags for the early shoppers, but overall “gone is Black Friday as we know it,” he said. “There’s no sense of urgency.” According to Target, which aims to reverse a sales slump, 150 shoppers on average were in line at its stores for the bags filled with what it described as “goodies.” The discounter was giving away the bags for the first 100 customers who showed up for its 6 a.m. opening At Macy’s Herald Square flagship store in New York City, customers who streamed in soon after the store opened at 6 a.m. found deep discounts on clothes, shoes, linens and cosmetics. The footwear department discounted everything up to half off. Nicholas Menasche, 19, from Queens, New York, shopped with his mother for shoes and clothing, and planned to head next to…

Kyle Monangai rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, D’Andre Swift ran for 125 yards and a score, and the Chicago Bears finished with 281 yards on the ground to win their fifth straight game, 24-15 over the reeling Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night. Led by rookie coach Ben Johnson, the surprising Bears (9-3) are alone in first place in the NFC North heading into a Dec. 7 showdown at Green Bay. Last season, the Bears’ Thanksgiving loss at Detroit led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus and was their sixth straight of what ballooned into a 10-game losing streak. A year later, the Bears bullied Philadelphia’s defensive line for a relatively easy win at the home of the Super Bowl champions. The Eagles (8-4) seemingly had the NFC East wrapped up two weeks ago, only to suffer consecutive defeats that have them looking little like a Super Bowl contender. Perhaps still feeling the sting of turning a 21-0 lead at Dallas on Sunday into a 24-21 loss, the Eagles’ offense showed few signs of snapping out of its funk. Fed-up Philly fans spent the game booing and calling for the team to fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. The Eagles’ season has taken such a turn that even the beloved tush push doomed them in this one. With the Eagles trailing 10-9 late in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts fumbled on the tush push deep in Chicago territory and the Bears recovered. The Bears — who have a knack for winning one-score games — turned the turnover into the drive of the day. Monangai ripped off a 31-yard run on the first play and Caleb Williams — who was 17 of 36 for 154 yards and a touchdown — completed a 7-yard pass to Colston Loveland on fourth down that extended the drive. Monangai ran for a 4-yard TD that made it 17-9 early in the fourth, and Williams added the insurance score with a 28-yard TD pass to Cole Kmet for a 24-9 lead. Fans who had been chanting “Fire Kevin!” began flocking toward the exits — and the Eagles will face even more questions about the sorry state of their offense. The Bears don’t care. Even with three linebackers out with injuries, Chicago socked the Eagles from the jump. Philly’s Jalen Hurts threw for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns to disgruntled receiver A.J. Brown, who had 10 catches for 132 yards. Saquon Barkley couldn’t break free against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL and finished with 56 yards rushing. The Eagles ran just 17 plays and had two first downs (with 83 total yards and 26 rushing) in the first half. The Bears totaled 142 rushing yards in the half. Swift, who became the first running back to top 100 yards rushing against the Eagles this season, scored against his former team on a 3-yard run a 7-0 lead. The Bears lead 10-3 when Hurts hit Brown in the third quarter for a 33-yard TD that made it 10-9. Jake Elliott missed the extra point, adding to the list of ugly plays that sunk the Super Bowl champs. Hurts and Brown connected on late 4-yard TD late in the fourth, but the Eagles missed the 2-point conversion attempt to keep it a two-score game. Injuries Bears defensive lineman Andrew Billings was evaluated for a concussion. Up next Bears. Play at NFC North rival Green Bay (8-3-1) on Dec. 7 with the division lead on the line. Eagles: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, Dec. 8.