A Cook County squad car was crashed Feb. 24, 2021 on Highway 57. | Sun-Times file photoA Cook County officer was pulling over another driver Wednesday when a Ford sedan rear-ended him. A person was injured after crashing into a Cook County Sheriff’s squad car Wednesday night on Highway 57 in Markham. About 10:50 p.m., a Cook County police officer was pulling over a driver who refused to slow down for a stopped police car with flashing lights, when a Ford sedan rear-ended him on Highway 57 near 147th Street in Markham, according to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. The driver of the Ford sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Cook County police said. The officer was not injured. Illinois State Police officers assisted in the incident and ...

The world’s most popular sea sponge for the last 20 years in a row, the ever-upbeat SpongeBob SquarePants is back, spongier than ever, and eager to give us a brief yet slaphappy reprieve from the collective sogginess of the last 12 months. Not that the osmotic optimist ever really went away; a while has passed since SpongeBob’s previous feature-length adventure, but the Nickelodeon show that made him an icon among kids and stoners alike is still going strong despite the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg in 2018. Still, two decades is a long time in sponge years, and even basal metazoa who live in pineapples under the sea and earn their parent companies billions of dollars in licensing deals aren’t immune to the pressures of a superficial industry that only tends to care about what’s abov

A teen boy was shot Feb. 26, 2021 in Back of the Yards on the South Side. | Sun-Times file photoA 15-year-old was listed in serious to critical condition after he was shot in the 5400 block of South Loomis Boulevard, officials said. A 15-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting Friday night in Back of the Yards on the South Side. He was walking about 11:30 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Loomis Boulevard when he heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was transported to Comer Children’s Hospital in serious to critical condition, according to police and Chicago fire officials. The boy did not see the shooter but believed they may have been in a passing vehicle, police said. Area One detectives are investigating the shooting. ......

Summary List PlacementHouse Democrats approved President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion emergency spending package in a 219-212 vote early on Saturday morning, sending the legislation to the Senate as lawmakers rushed to head off the expiration of enhanced unemployment insurance in mid-March. The stimulus plan cleared the chamber with Republicans unified in their resistance. Two Democrats joined the Republicans in voting against the legislation. The package includes $1,400 stimulus checks for taxpayers, $400 in federal unemployment benefits, aid to state and local governments, and vaccine funds. Democrats say it will form a critical pillar in the nation's fight against the pandemic and the economic malaise it has caused. "The sooner we pass the bill and it is signed, the sooner we can make t...

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via GettyDemocrats are one big step closer to achieving their first major goal of the Joe Biden era: Early Saturday morning, the U.S. House approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on a nearly party-line vote. The 219-212 vote allows the U.S. Senate to formally take up the legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to do immediately. But the party is under the gun: many Democrats regard March 14—the day that extended unemployment benefits run out for millions—as a de facto deadline for getting the so-called American Rescue Plan on Biden’s desk. The legislation would replenish relief for the jobless by extending a weekly $400 check through August. It also fulfills a number of other promises Democrats campaigned on in 2020: $1,400 d...

Summary List PlacementHouse Democrats passed the latest coronavirus aid package on Saturday morning, bringing much-needed aid a step closer to struggling people across the country. The $1.9 trillion package faces a more complicated path in the Senate with its arcane rules and the Democrats' thin majority. Fights over provisions like how to hike the hourly federal minimum wage to $15, who gets a $1,400 check, and which states and local governments receive aid could trip up the bill. Still, Democrats aim to finalize and have President Joe Biden sign the bill into law by March 14, when some of the existing aid lapses.  "The sooner we pass the bill and it is signed, the sooner we can make the progress that this legislation is all about — saving the lives and the livelihood of the American p...

Summary List PlacementAI in banking is maturing and entering the mainstream as financial institutions (FIs) roll out AI solutions across their businesses. This marks a move beyond the experimental for the technology, with a solid majority of global financial services firms either having implemented or currently working to implement AI solutions in business domains like risk management (77%), generation of new revenue potential through new products or processes (80%), customer service (74%), process re-engineering and automation (73%), and client acquisition (69%), per the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and the World Economic Forum. But even as the AI applications for banking come into clearer focus, buzz surrounding the tech remains undiminished — making it necessary for FIs to

Police are investigating a shooting that left one person injured Friday night in the Stonegate area of San Jose. Police responded to the scene of the shooting at about 9:42 p.m. in the 1200 block of Simonson Way, the San Jose Police Department said in a tweet. Units are currently at the scene of a shooting in the 1200 block of Simonson Wy. One victim with a NON-life threatening injury. No suspect/motive info at the moment. TOC 9:42pm. pic.twitter.com/uN1qvHWnXE — San Jose Police Media Relations (@SJPD_PIO) February 27, 2021 Police said the victim’s injuries were not considered life-threatening. The city has recorded at least eight shootings since Feb. 19, resulting in the deaths of two people. The police department did not provide any additional information Friday night. Check back for...

Loyola’s Marquise Kennedy, shooting a three-pointer during the second half against Southern Illinois, had 16 points in the victory. | Shafkat Anowar/APMarquise Kennedy came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points, and No. 21 Loyola beat Southern Illinois 60-52 on Friday night. Marquise Kennedy scored 16 points, and No. 21 Loyola hung on to beat Southern Illinois 60-52 on Friday night at Gentile Arena, extending the nation’s fifth-longest active home winning streak to 21 games. The Ramblers (20-4, 15-2 Missouri Valley Conference) steadied themselves in the closing minutes after letting a 16-point lead shrink to four and came out on top for the 13th time in 14 games. They also reached 20 wins for the fourth straight year, a streak that started when the 2017-18 team went 32-6 and made t

Summary List PlacementCOVID-19 case counts have been falling at a rapid rate for weeks, but top health officials warn that progress seems to be "stalling" just as some states have begun to lift restrictions. During a White House briefing on Friday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there had been a rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in recent days. "Over the last few weeks, cases and hospital admissions in the United States had been coming down since early January and deaths had been declining in the past week," Walensky said. "But the latest data suggests that these declines may be stalling, potentially leveling off at, still, a very high number." She said the most recent 7-day average of deaths due to COVID-19 is about 2,000 per day...