U.S. stocks soared to one of their best days in history on a euphoric Wall Street Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he would back off on most of his tariffs temporarily, as investors had so desperately hoped he would.

Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

With the endorsement of the City Council’s Workforce Development Committee, the measure now heads to the full City Council for a final vote on April 16.

The City Council’s Finance Committee on Friday is set to consider the proposed settlement, which calls for taxpayers to pay $20 million and the city’s insurance company to pay $12 million. A final vote of the City Council could come April 16.

The settlement recommended by city attorneys failed to advance two months ago amid a firestorm of controversy.

Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.

Poisonous plants are having a moment, courtesy of the “White Lotus.” The Field Museum has a whole collection of toxic specimens, and the public can get a rare look next week.

More than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University has been frozen while the government investigates alleged civil rights violations at the schools, the White House said.

The business and law schools at the University of Chicago and Northwestern were each ranked among the best in the country according to a new list from U.S. News & World Report, which looked at the nation’s best grad school programs of 2025.

“Look, there are a lot of uncertainties at the moment, a lot of instability. There's no doubt,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “But this is a stable state. This is a state that thrives on certainty and allows our businesses to do well. And so we look forward to maintaining that status.”

Chicago alderpeople are pushing to ban Jan. 6 participants from city jobs. And the Trump administration is yanking funding for arts and cultural groups — a look at the local impact.

More than 1,000 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for cultural programs across the country were terminated by the Trump administration last week.

A joint session of the Housing and Finance committees on Wednesday will consider the proposal to leverage the city’s financial power to build permanently affordable, mixed-income and environmentally sustainable housing.

The House voted 67-39 to advance House Bill 3637, which would put new protections in state law to safeguard health care licenses for providers who offer abortion cares. It also guarantees continued access to abortion medication even if the medication’s approval is rescinded by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Octavio Dotel, who pitched for 13 major league teams in a 15-year career and won a world championship with the St. Louis Cardinals, was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert.