With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia's aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them.

A mental health initiative led by young men of color. A film about marijuana criminalization produced by a Chicago cannabis company. And A South Side ER is the backdrop for a book on U.S. health care.

Pandemic inequities and how health care systems contribute to them are the focus of the latest selection in our “Black Voices Book Club” series, “The Emergency: A year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER.”

In collaboration with Lurie Children’s Hospital, young researchers with the racial justice organization Communities United conducted a study focused on the mental health and well-being of Black and Brown young men in Chicago. 

A Chicago-based cannabis company is now working to expose harsh sentences for recreational marijuana use as it becomes legal in several states. Cresco helped produce a short film on the sentencing of Michael Thompson, a Michigan man who was given 42 to 60 years in prison for a marijuana-related arrest.

A person of interest was taken into custody after Friday night’s shooting at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall in Rosemont, a village just northwest of the city, Rosemont police said. Police did not release a motive for the shooting that happened just after 7 p.m. near the mall’s indoor food court.

A 2021 measure intended to slow gentrification in Pilsen has been extended. A new book examines why many Latinos still lack health insurance. An exhibit explores the life of a Chicago activist.

Chicago City Council voted this week to extend an ordinance aimed at slowing gentrification and displacement in Pilsen and areas near the 606 trail. The measure imposes a fee on permits for the demolition of buildings with residential units.

Rudy Lozano’s life is the subject of a new exhibit at UIC’s Richard J. Daley Library. It brings together a collection of papers, photos, and other items to tell the story of the activist and community organizer. It’s a story that some say is integral to the story of Chicago’s Latinos as they forged an identity in the city.

Through extensive personal interviews conducted over three years, a new book takes a deep dive into what keeps Latinos feeling locked out of health care access. It’s called “Uninsured in Chicago: How the Social Safety Net Leaves Latinos Behind.”

Millionaire philanthropist Pete Kadens has created two college-scholarship programs — Hope Toledo, in his Ohio hometown, and Hope Chicago, which he co-founded with investment-management executive Ted Koenig and launched in September. The goal: provide debt-free college to public-school graduates. 

Normally, airlines that fail to use their assigned rights, or “slots,” at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York, and Reagan National Airport outside Washington, risk losing them. However, regulators waived that rule in March 2020 when airlines cut flights due to the pandemic.

Illinois will close its community, free COVID-19 testing sites within the next week. The Illinois Department of Public Health cites a “sharp increase in demand” that dropped “precipitously in recent weeks” as its reason for closing the testing locations, as well as an “anticipated end of federal funding.”

Chicago casino proposal final three. City Council to consider replacements for 11th Ward alderperson. Will Congressman Mike Quigley make a bid for mayor? And Senate grills Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Based on the 2014 memoir by New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow, the opera’s title is drawn directly from the biblical story of Jeremiah, the severely persecuted “weeping prophet” known for his tender heart. But it is a deeply personal and contemporary story.