Usa news

Why Lithuania? That’s the first thing my editor asked when I proposed applying for a Pulitzer Center grant for journalists to report international stories. The center’s Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowships help journalists write about global issues impacting Chicago and …

In special steel containers marked “live animals, this side up,” the mammoth sea creatures arrived in Chicago in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday. It was the first phase of a beluga whale rescue mission Shedd Aquarium staff call “urgent” and “unprecedented.” …

VILNIUS, Lithuania — The cafes and bars in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, bustle with fashionably dressed 20-somethings listening to music, sipping mango matchas and drinking local craft beer — what you’d expect in one of the most vibrant economies in Europe …

To the uninitiated, a Rainbow Cone with its five colorful ice creams stacked in a seemingly gravity-defying way might seem like a recent Instagram-inspired creation. But Chicagoans, especially those on the South Side, know that the Original Rainbow Cone shop …

True leadership grows organically, and the Bears hope quarterback Caleb Williams is ready to fully step into that role when they open training camp next Wednesday. It can’t be forced, as it was when Williams was a rookie and the …

The smoke came down out of Canada last week. It turned the skies in Chicago and throughout the Midwest the color of dishwater. Then it kept coming south, until it drifted over a field across the river from St. Louis …

As we celebrate another anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid this month, I’m reminded how quickly life can change — and how important these programs are for people facing unexpected health challenges. For years, I traveled the world as a federal …

DEAR ABBY: I recently started dating a guy I have known for 30 years. He has moved in and asked me to marry him. Our relationship is perfect except for anything having to do with social media. He has an …

For three years, Stanley has lived in her own apartment on Chicago’s South Side. She cooks her own meals, sees her family regularly and manages her bipolar disorder with the kind of stability that once felt impossible. Previously, her only …

Brothers and restaurateurs Teddy and Alexis Vejar spent their childhood surrounded by great cooks both in Mexico and the US. Of all the dishes they grew up eating, one remains their favorite all these years later: cochinita pibil. Now, they …

Good morning, Chicago. ✶ 🔎 Below: Read the first installation in our multipart series tracing Chicago’s Lithuanian connections. 🗞️ Plus: Much-needed grocery stores shutter after years of turmoil, a whale of a controversy arrives at the Shedd Aquarium and more …

Prosecutors rejected charges against a person of interest taken into custody after a fatal shooting this weekend near a Lincoln Park bar that has since been closed by the city. A spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke …

A 15-year-old boy was found fatally shot early Wednesday in Austin on the West Side. Just after 1 a.m., officers and paramedics responded to a call of a person shot in the 4600 block of West Jackson Boulevard, and the …

An Albany Park man was charged Wednesday after allegedly shooting his mother-in-law and a Chicago police officer while holding his wife and 14-year-old daughter hostage inside their home earlier this week, court records show. Daniel Aguirre, 42, faces charges of …

My dentist’s office called after a routine cleaning and X-ray. Could I, they wondered, come back? Tomorrow. I got the sense that if I said, “I can rush over right now,” they’d reply. “Good, hurry.” It was a matter of …

Two state troopers were injured in a crash after a driver ran a stop sign early Wednesday in west suburban Cicero. The state troopers were driving south on Cicero Avenue just after midnight when a driver going east on 14th …

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was sentenced in a U.S. court on Monday to life in prison and took the occasion to call for an end to the brand of brutal violence that he used to build the …

Benet’s Ed Stasys has never garnered as much attention or recognition as he deserved. In helping Benet compile a whopping 69 wins over the past two seasons, including a state championship in 2025 and a state runner-up finish in 2026, …

Three men face significant prison sentences after a federal jury convicted them Tuesday for their roles in a series of violent armed robberies of Chicago liquor stores, convenience stores and bars that netted them nearly $300,000. Ardaries Harris, 28; Jordan …

Mexico has begun taking legal action to seek accountability for the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals who have died during U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations — 14 died in ICE custody, and three were killed during other “arrest operations.” This …