Usa news

We snuggle with our cats, give them anti-anxiety medicines when they’re moody, buy them floor-to-ceiling scratching “trees” that they totally ignore in favor of shredding a brand new leather sofa. We open a door to let them out, let them …

Black Ensemble Theater is building off its presence in Uptown to create a “cultural village” around its Clark Street theater. Ald. Angela Clay (46th) approved a zoning change in November for BET’s Free to Be Village, a mixed-use development that …

MEDARYVILLE, Ind. — A marsh hawk, the first wild thing I noticed Thursday, erupted from a field northwest of the power plant outside Wheatfield. Around the power plant is where John Vukmirovich and I normally see the most migrating sandhill …

Most of us can only imagine what it would be like to be filthy rich, so we live through the moneyed set, glimpsing the mansions and yacht parties in glossy magazines and lifestyle television shows. There is also a dark …

Federal prosecutors say Gangster Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover’s effort to disqualify a judge from Hoover’s bid for a sentencing break is based on “frivolous” arguments and “factual inaccuracies.” Although they don’t take a position on the motion to disqualify filed …

WASHINGTON — Guard Lonzo Ball sat in the visiting locker room at Capital One Arena on Tuesday, still in street clothes as most of his teammates were dressing for the game against the Wizards. The hope is that he’ll be …

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced Tuesday in a near 14-month war that’s left more than 3,000 dead in Lebanon — but Chicagoans say the fight isn’t over. The ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending …

A judge who declined to jail a man on domestic violence charges weeks before he allegedly killed his wife is no longer hearing cases because of “anonymous threats,” Cook County’s top judge announced Tuesday. Judge Thomas Nowinski was not on …

WASHINGTON — It wasn’t exactly the kind of shot that Wizards rookie guard Carlton Carrington had been practicing. In the first half Tuesday night, this year’s No. 14 overall NBA draft pick from Pittsburgh split the Bulls’ defense and had …

Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke spent years trying to use Danny Solis to lure private business from the developers of Chicago’s Old Post Office, asking Solis if he’d landed “the tuna” and insisting the developers could “go f— themselves” when …

Chicago police are searching for two people who punched and tried to rob a Red Line passenger in Edgewater this month. The attackers, described by police as two 18- or 19-year-old men, approached a passenger on a train near the …

Matas Buzelis played for the Bulls on Tuesday night. He threw down a sweet dunk and scored nine points in a win against the Wizards. Forty-one miles west in Oswego at about the same time his brother Vincas was on …

LONDON — If life imitates art, a vandal in the English countryside may be haunted by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating how a tombstone that marked the fictional grave of …

Moon Alert Avoid shopping or important decisions from 3 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Chicago time. After that, the moon moves from Libra into Scorpio. Aries (March 21-April 19) A positive day Today you’re strong and independent! You want to do …

DEAR ABBY: I’m in middle school and part of a large friend group. I have one friend, “Kaleigh,” who completely changed last year because of the influence of another girl. Kaleigh started saying inappropriate things and talking only about boys. …

The bawdy, One-Crazy-Night comedy has been a tried-and-true (and sometimes tired and blue) staple for decades, from “Risky Business” to “Sixteen Candles,” from “Dazed and Confused” to “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” to “Superbad” to “Booksmart,” and director/co-writer …

A gunman who prompted a SWAT standoff when he shot out of a second story apartment window remains barricaded inside Wednesday morning on the Far South Side. Around 11:20 p.m., officers responded to a call of shots fired in the …

Two paramedics were among four people hurt when an ambulance collided with an SUV Tuesday night in a South Side intersection. A CFD ambulance was westbound on 35th Street with its lights and sirens going when it collided with a …

Ready or not, the holidays are here. It’s a time when many Americans accustomed to preparing simple meals find themselves responsible for safely serving multi-dish feasts. It’s no easy task. Outbreaks of some types of food poisoning tend to rise …

As you prepare for your Thanksgiving feast, it’s natural to focus on the big meal. But have you thought about how you’ll handle that mountain of Thanksgiving leftovers that often follow? Rather than letting extra turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry …