Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-TimesHere’s the latest news on how COVID-19 is impacting Chicago and Illinois. Latest Another potential COVID vaccine proves ‘highly effective’ in trials Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-Times Emilio Cici, 42, of Burr Ridge, gets a shot at Rush University Medical Center as part of a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker AstraZeneca.AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed that its COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University was up to 90% effective in preventing disease. The results are based on interim analysis of trials in the U.K. and Brazil of a vaccine developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca. No hospitalizations or severe cases of COVID-19 were reported in those receiving the vaccine, AstraZeneca said. Th

Summary List PlacementCompanies striving to use psychedelics as medical treatments keep enticing investors. ATAI Life Sciences, a psychedelics company backed by Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Investment Partners and by Peter Thiel, just closed a $125 million Series C funding round, the company said on Monday. It's the largest funding round to date in the booming psychedelics space.  ATAI invests in and acquires companies looking to develop medicines for mental-health conditions from psychedelics like psilocybin, arketamine, and ibogaine. Multiple firms working with psychedelics have gone public this year, capitalizing on growing investor interest in mental health treatments in the once-taboo space. One of those companies, Compass Pathways, is part of Atai's portfolio. It recently started tradin...

Summary List PlacementThere's an internal philosophy that guides innovation at Nike. To make something unique, you have to think outside the "berm," what employees have nicknamed the perimeter of Nike's 286-acre campus in Beaverton, Oregon. When it came to SNKRS, the brand's app for high-heat footwear releases, going beyond the berm was more than just a mindset. Whether loved or despised, SNKRS has become an indisputable star of Nike's digital profile since its official launch on February 11, 2015.  In fiscal year 2019, revenue from SNKRS accounted for $750 million, or 20%, of Nike's overall digital business. In a call with investors, on June 27, 2019, Nike CEO Mark Parker praised the explosive growth of the app, calling it "an incredible asset" that was growing faster than any other dig...

Summary List Placement2020 has been a tumultuous year for Big Tech. The celebrity CEOs from Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, and Apple were in and out of courtrooms for antitrust lawsuits. Microsoft faced extreme competition in the video conferencing space as the world moved to work-from-home setups. But, we shouldn't feel too bad for the executives leading the biggest tech companies — they earned an average of $27 million in 2019 total reported compensation.  Business Insider analyzed compensation information from proxy statements to understand the pay structures that the biggest tech firms in the US use. The SEC requires companies to disclose specific compensation data for executives each year, which provide insight into the way firms think about pay.  The compensation was typically made up...

Summary List PlacementSoftware engineers will continue to be in high demand for years to come. The role is set to grow by 22% over the next 10 years, much faster than average job growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the job pays well, the median salary is $107,510.  If you're in the market for a new job or looking to switch roles, learning to code could set you on a path for a stable career.  Coding bootcamp company Coding Dojo analyzed recent job postings from Indeed.com. Analysts combed through thousands of new entry level jobs for "software engineer" or "web developer" and found the top 10 languages that were most commonly cited in the descriptions.  Here are the languages recruiters are looking for right now. 10. MATLAB Number of jobs listed in the past 30 days o...

You’ll have zero houseguests this holiday season because, well, no one will have houseguests this year. But that’s no reason to stay home. How about treating yourself and your COVID cohabitants to staycation tours of the Bay Area? We’ve got plenty of ideas for socially distanced fun, from a giant Ferris wheel in the middle of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to leaf-peeping at Saratoga’s Hakone Gardens, bike rides on Benicia’s waterfront and more. (This being 2020, the year of head-spinning change, best to double check details before you go.) The SkyStar Observation Wheel in Golden Gate Park offers 150-foot high views of San Francisco. (Courtesy SkyStar) 1 Ride the SkyStar Observation Wheel Experience Golden Gate Park — and all of San Francisco — from high above on the new SkyStar Observat

If you live in Oakland’s Redwood Heights, you must be thrilled to call Lisa Chan a neighbor. Chan is the pastry sous chef at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions, where her laminated brioche scones and creme fraiche ice cream sandwiches are legendary. Although she returned to work part-time in September, Chan spent the bulk of the pandemic figuring out how to make ends meet — and keep baking. In the spring, she launched a cottage business, Sweet Wheezy Treats, making sourdough focaccia, spiced lemon cake, peanut butter cookies and other treats for delivery in the neighborhood. Word spread on Nextdoor and Chan found her baked goodies selling out fast, so she launched a website, with new menus posted Wednesdays for pickup or delivery the following week. And she added more ...

You can debate the merits of Chrismukkah stockings and Adam Sandler songs, but there’s one thing everyone agrees on when the Festival of Lights rolls around: The joy of eating lots and lots of latkes. Especially this year, when celebrations are on the smaller side, you can take your time grating and frying those russets — or Idahos? Go on, debate — to crispy, golden perfection. Or keep your kitchen grease-free by ordering them from Bay Area Jewish delis like Oakland Kosher Foods, Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen and The Marvelous Matzah Experiment in Sunnyvale. They are offering entire Hanukkah meals, too, from matzoh ball soup to brisket and sufganiyot. But it is that humble potato pancake that defines the holiday, which begins Dec. 10. In her 2019 cookbook, “Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Re

Summary List Placement For the Master your Money Live Digital Bootcamp "How to control your money so it doesn't control you," personal-finance correspondent Tanza Loudenback sat down with two professionals to talk about how to explore your money mindset, budget individually and as a couple, and align your spending and your values. Preston D. Cherry, CFP and founder of Concurrent Financial Planning, and Kelly Lannan, vice president of Fidelity Investment's Young Investors for Personal Investing, suggested a few things people can do to gain control of their money during these uncertain times. 1. Budget with well-being in mind  It's been an isolating year. Many people have been spending most of their time indoors with no separation between work life and home life. To combat the monotony,...

GM had petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall | AP fileThe recall will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion, about one third of its net income this year. DETROIT — The U.S. is making General Motors recall and repair nearly 6 million big pickup trucks and SUVs equipped with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The decision announced Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion, about one third of its net income this year. GM had petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, contending the air bag inflator canisters have been safe on the road and in testing. But owners responded by accusing the company of putting pro...

Summary List PlacementLegendary reporter Carl Bernstein has published a list of 21 Republican senators who he says have privately expressed "extreme contempt" for President Donald Trump but won't express it publicly. Bernstein, who reported on the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, tweeted the list on Sunday. He said that the senators "have repeatedly expressed extreme contempt for Trump & his fitness to be POTUS" in conversations with colleagues, staff members, lobbyists, and White House aides. He said that these senators, by not speaking publicly, were allowing Trump to undermine the US voting system as he refuses to concede the election, baselessly claiming that it he lost due to voter fraud. The 21 GOP Senators who have privately ex...

LOS ANGELES — Two juveniles and one adult were killed, and an adult and a juvenile were hospitalized in critical condition early Monday morning after a car crashed into a barrier on the southbound 110 Freeway at the 105 Freeway in the Vermont Vista area of Los Angeles. The crash was reported at 12:14 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball. The deceased victims were the 17-year-old boy who was driving, a 19-year-old woman who was a passenger and a 17-year-old girl who was a passenger, according to CHP Officer K. Martinez. The injured were described by Martinez as a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl. All of the victims were from Los Angeles. None of the victims’ names have been released. The preliminary investigation indicated the driver allowed the 2009 N...

Summary List PlacementEnterprise collaboration technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Zoom, and Facebook made a variety of feature announcements last week. Here are some of the highlights: Microsoft undercuts competitors with free unlimited video conferencing. Microsoft Teams now offers free 24-hour video calls for desktop and web users, according to The Verge. This means users without a Microsoft Account or the Teams app can join meetings with up to 300 participants and with the ability to view 49 participants on the screen in a gallery view or via the Together Mode feature. With the news, Microsoft is taking a shot at rivals with free plans equipped with time restrictions: Zoom offers free video conferencing with a 40-minute limit, Cisco Webex has a 50-minute limit for free ...

As President Trump runs out of options in his legal battle to seize the vote in certain battleground states, he's seemingly doomed campaign has begun to fade from the headlines. But that doesn't mean he's giving up entirely. As we've discussed previously, the president and his legal team seem to be pursuing several options simultaneously, but they're entering long-shot territory with most of their strategies. At first, the plan with the best chance of succeeding seemed to be challenging the election results in court. The problem there, of course, is that Trump has no legal grounds on which to do so, and his lawsuits keep getting laughed out of court. That leaves a much more unlikely -- and much more controversial -- path to the presidency for Trump. Basically, he can su...