Global Christmas traditions, holiday lights, festive floral arrangements and comics usher in the holiday weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

The majority of hospitalizations in Chicago continue to be among those unvaccinated, but health officials advised everyone take precautions.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady instituted the requirement Tuesday, as increases in COVID-19 cases have seen the positivity rate rise to 7.3%  – past the point of rapid spread.

Marginalized people often suffer the most harm from unintended consequences of new technologies, according to researcher Breigha Adeyemo who shares ways to make them more inclusive. 

The special prosecutor who secured convictions this month against Jussie Smollett said the way the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office first resolved the former “Empire” star’s criminal charges was a “disgrace” and that Kim Foxx and others lied about how it went down.

Our city’s towering skyline gets all the press, but for the husband-and-wife artist duo behind Wonder City Studio, it’s the vernacular styles that make Chicago a place worth calling home.

The United States grew by only 0.1%, with an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population from July 2020 to July 2021, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In remarks Tuesday at the White House, President Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the arrival of the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are yet not fully understood by scientists.

The latest on Mayor Lightfoot’s sweeping indoor vaccination mandates. A look inside overstretched hospitals. An exclusive one-on-one with the Smollett special prosecutor on his scathing report into Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

The holidays are typically marked by family gatherings, delicious food and joyful music. We talk with community leaders about celebrating this holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about the omicron variant. Watch the full discussion.

A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the U.S.

“As the mayor of this city, I want to assure you that from day one in my time as mayor public safety has been, is, and will continue to be my highest priority,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday in a special speech to show she’s taking crime seriously. 

Many, including doctors, are still searching for treatment for people whose symptoms continue more than a month after being infected and answers about persistent symptoms.

Amtrak trains now run at speeds up to 90 miles per hour. Ann Dwyer has details on that story and more.

From February to May, Megan Williamson made one portrait a day. She recreated living rooms across the country and even a few guests seen on “Chicago Tonight.”