Dosunmu — masked after a broken nose — cans a jumper at Ohio State. | AP PhotosShouldn’t Illinois basketball fans be savoring the moment instead of complaining? Said with love: Get over it, Illinois fans. The Illini are 20-6 entering this week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. They finished the regular season on a 12-1 blitz in league play and closed almost unthinkably well, winning at Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. They are the school’s best team since the national runners-up of 2005 and nearly as entertaining — with their insatiable defense and the spectacular combo of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn — as the “Flyin’ Illini” who reached the Final Four in 1989. But their fans don’t stop complaining, it seems. About the refs. About preferential treatment other programs get in the me

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Activists who gathered virtually and in person to commemorate a pivotal day in the civil rights struggle that became known as Bloody Sunday called on people to continue the fight for voting rights as they also honored giants of the civil rights movement, including the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died last year. The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee marks the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the day on March 7, 1965, that civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, and attorney Bruce Boynton were the late civil rights leaders honored on Sunday. The day became a turning point in the fight for voting rights. Footage of the beatings helped galvanize support for

Claire Osborn | Austin (Texas) American-Statesman AUSTIN, Texas — Two groups on Monday are holding a rally at the state Capitol in Austin against Gov. Greg Abbott’s order lifting the statewide mask mandate in public places. The Amplified Sound Coalition and the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America will be protesting Monday outside the south steps of the Capitol. Protesters are asking the governor not to relax the mask mandate until 70% of the state’s essential workers are vaccinated. “Let’s show our government what the masked faces of sacrificial employees look like,” Jeanette Gregor, the co-founder of Amplified Sound Coalition, said on a video posted on the group’s Facebook page. “This is not a political issue. This is a class issue and we have just been given the ultim...

Joe Trost, an advocate for student athletes, holds a press conference Sunday with students from George Washington High School after the boys’ soccer team learned they couldn’t play at their home field in Calumet Park. | Tom Schuba/Sun-Times“This weekend, the adults behind the scenes have been trying to say, what’s going on? And there’s been no answers,” said Joe Trost, an advocate for student athletes. Members of the boys’ soccer team at George Washington High School on the Far South Side were excited to finally return to the pitch last week, more than six months after high school athletes learned that fall sports were being pushed to the spring. But after just two days of tryouts, that excitement turned to frustration when they learned they were being booted from their home field in Calum

Academically, Windsor Charter Academy has wasted no time racking up accolades and prestige during its relatively brief, but eventful, history. But why just excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, when you can also excel in scoring goals, draining jump shots, serving up aces and racing past finish lines? Though academics will continue to be the top priority for the 1,500-student kindergarten-12th grade STEM school — at 680 Academy Court and 810 Automation Drive in Windsor — the school has taken significant leaps in recent years in athletics, developing budding high school sports programs. The academy even has an eye on becoming a Colorado High School Activities Association member, as primarily a 3A program, in fall 2022. “We’ve seen more student participation,” WCA’s dean

AP Photo/Jae C. HongArrieta tossed two scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks on Sunday. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Jake Arrieta has been working during the first three weeks of Cubs’ camp and was finally able to see the results of that work in a game on Sunday against the Diamondbacks. Things started slow for Arrieta during his spring debut and after some loud contact during the first inning, he was able to retire the side without any damage. The 34-year-old right-hander would follow that with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the second. Arrieta tossed two scoreless innings during his spring debut, allowing one hit and one walk. His sinker sat between 90-92 mph. “I was looking forward to my outing for a while,” Arrieta said. “I felt like I didn’t need another [live] BP session to kind of smooth s...

By The Associated Press DETROIT — People who are homeless will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan starting Monday. Health officials say it’s a critical step in curbing infections and making sure vulnerable populations have access. “Our vulnerable populations are high priority for us right now,” Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said, according to the Lansing State Journal. “This opens the door to make sure that population is also vaccinated and we don’t continue to have outbreaks in shelters.” The news comes as infection rates are dropping and vaccine campaigns are ramping up. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the further loosening of the state’s coronavirus restrictions, easing capacity limits in restaurants and other businesses while also allowing for larger indoo

By The Associated Press DETROIT — People who are homeless will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan starting Monday. Health officials say it’s a critical step in curbing infections and making sure vulnerable populations have access. “Our vulnerable populations are high priority for us right now,” Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said, according to the Lansing State Journal. “This opens the door to make sure that population is also vaccinated and we don’t continue to have outbreaks in shelters.” The news comes as infection rates are dropping and vaccine campaigns are ramping up. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the further loosening of the state’s coronavirus restrictions, easing capacity limits in restaurants and other businesses while also allowing for larger indoo

Summary List PlacementWhite House Communications director Kate Bedingfield on Sunday said that President Joe Biden continues to oppose eliminating the Senate filibuster. During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Bedingfield said that Biden, a 36-year veteran of the upper chamber, remains committed to forging bipartisan consensus with the GOP, even after a narrow 50-49 party-line vote to approve the latest COVID-19 relief package. Bedingfield stated that Biden aims to keep the filibuster in place. "It is still his position," she said. "His preference is not to end the filibuster. He wants to work with Republicans, to work with independents. He believes that we are stronger when we build a broad coalition of support." Host Jake Tapper then asked Bedingfield how the administrati...

A man adjusts his second face mask ahead of a funeral service in Los Angeles. | Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesThe US set a new daily record for vaccinations on Saturday with 2.9 million shots. As the US ramps up its mass vaccination campaign, public health experts are warning against complacency — and a possible new surge in cases. On Sunday, Dr. Michael Osterholm, who leads the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, compared the current US Covid-19 situation to “the eye of the hurricane” in an interview with host Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. Of particular concern, Osterholm said, are coronavirus variants that have higher transmission rates and are believed to be more deadly. “It appears that things are going very well,” Osterholm said. “You can see b