What started as a hobby to keep children active during the height of the pandemic, has since evolved into a sport that emphasizes the art of double Dutch.

As details emerge about the shooting deaths of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, America’s parents find themselves in a sadly familiar position — having to explain the events to their own children and helping them confront fears about violence.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office has yet to determine the causes of death for the three women whose bodies were found in the James Sneider Apartments on May 14. But the victims’ families have already filed or plan to file wrongful death lawsuits against the companies that own and manage the buildings.

By Friday, authorities acknowledged that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help while the police chief told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway at Robb Elementary School. Officials said he believed that the suspect was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and that there was no longer an active attack.

The Lincoln Park community area lies just west of its 1,200-acre namesake park. It’s one of the city’s most affluent and tony communities, but an uptick in crime has residents concerned, prompting some areas to hire private security.

Violence and other trauma have become common enough for schoolchildren that Chicago Public Schools developed a 15-page guide called “The Day After,” to help teachers and staff coach students through processing painful events.

Chicago officials will not immediately reimpose an indoor mask mandate because the city’s hospitals are not being strained by the number of people seriously sick with COVID-19.

More than 100 cases of the virus have been reported globally, including in North America. While city officials are monitoring the situation, “at this point it has not been an explosive kind of outbreak,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

 “The expansion of the CARE program will ensure residents can be connected to trained specialists in behavioral and mental health, providing better outcomes for 911 callers and communities,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A new Northwestern Medicine study of 52 long haulers, who were not hospitalized and only experienced mild symptoms like cough and sore throat, found that most continued to experience neurologic symptoms, fatigue and compromised quality of life up to 18 months after initial infection. 

A suburban couple’s Ukrainian surrogate — who had been moved to the Czech Republic — delivered their twin babies by emergency C-section at just 27 weeks. The early news was just the latest nerve-wracking development in what has been months of tense waiting. 

Of the nine children under investigation for severe hepatitis, two-thirds tested positive for a common virus that causes cold or flu-like illness, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said America faces a crisis on its roads. The safety administration urged state and local governments, drivers and safety advocates to join in an effort to reverse the rising death trend.

Starting June 1, people who test positive for COVID-19 will receive an automated text message from the Illinois Department of Public Health directing individuals to resources.

Monkeypox is rarely identified outside of Africa. But as of Friday, there were 80 confirmed cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States, and another 50 suspected ones.

The company said that the peanut butter was sold nationwide and the recall includes more than 45 kinds of products.