More than two million people have left Ukraine since the start of Russia’s attack, finding refuge in nearby countries. Nations have opened their borders and hearts to Ukrainians, happily taking them in. It’s a stark difference from 2015, when Europe faced another refugee crisis.

The decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely controlled by Republicans, spelled the coming end to a federal lawsuit that abortion clinics filed even before the restrictions took effect in September, but were then rejected at nearly every turn afterward.

March 11, 2020 the U.S. had 38 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,300 cases nationwide, but reality was starting to sink in: stocks tanked, classrooms started closing and people began donning masks. 

The Southwest Side is a mostly residential community with many restaurants and some small businesses. It was hard hit by COVID-19, but today it’s among the areas with high vaccination rates. And it’s home to the now-indicted former house speaker Michael Madigan.

Another South Side hospital is struggling to stay afloat as administrators call for more state funding. We hear from one of its leaders.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing guidance that will ease the nationwide mask mandate on airplanes, buses and other mass transit next month, according to a U.S. official, but the existing face covering requirement will be extended through April 18.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has waxed and waned differently in different parts of the world. But in the United States, at least, there is reason to believe the end is near. About 65% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and about 29% are both vaccinated and boosted. Cases have been falling for nearly two months, with the U.S. daily average dropping about 40% in the last week alone.

Guaranteed income or cash transfer programs have often been framed as resources to help pay for unexpected medical bills or rent. But now, a group of doctors is pitching the program as not only an anti-poverty strategy but an anti-violence strategy.

Supporters say the sites — also known as safe injection sites or supervised consumption spaces — are humane, realistic responses to the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. Critics see them as illegal and defeatist answers to the harm that drugs wreak on users and communities.

Residents and community leaders gathered in Englewood on Tuesday for the opening of the new Go Green Community Fresh Market. It’s designed to be as convenient as a neighborhood corner store but with fresh produce, a variety of healthy options, and meals cooked on site. 

Chicago Public Schools students will have the option of whether to wear masks, starting next week. The district’s mandate was originally maintained under a contract agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union — despite Illinois dropping masks for schools statewide last week. But Monday, the district announced it’s dropping that mandate.

The study, published Monday in the journal “Nature,” is believed to be the largest of its kind. It found that the brains of those who had COVID-19 had a greater loss of grey matter and abnormalities in the brain tissue compared with those who didn’t have COVID-19. 

The milestone is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening. The death toll, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, stood at 5,996,882 as of Sunday morning and was expected to pass the 6 million mark later in the day.

This week seems to have marked a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic with the lifting of masking mandates and vaccine checks in Chicago. But as spring approaches, it’s also a reminder that we’ve been here before. 

The Associated Press got exclusive access over two days to the first 12 inmates enrolled in the largely privately funded gang-cessation and jobs program at the DuPage County Jail and to their cellblock. For their safety, they’re isolated from the jail’s 500 other inmates, half of whom are in gangs.

New York City, which has long prided itself as having the nation’s toughest COVID-19 safety protocols, will do away with several of its mandates next week, including required masking in public schools and vaccination requirements at restaurants, entertainment and cultural venues, the mayor announced Friday.