Stories by Associated Press

Judge: Man Impersonating Chicago Cop ‘Danger’ to Community

A man arrested at least three times for impersonating a Chicago police officer, including once at age 14, appeared in court Friday on charges that he did the same crime three times this year, including once when he allegedly pulled over a vehicle and searched its occupants.

Trump Lawyers Argue Impeachment Based on ‘Hatred,’ Not Facts

The defense team vigorously denied on Friday that Donald Trump had incited the deadly riot and said his encouragement of followers to “fight like hell” at a rally that preceded it was routine political speech. 

Airlines Push White House to Reject Testing for US Flights

Leaders of several major U.S. airlines met online Friday with White House officials to press their case against requiring coronavirus tests for passengers on domestic flights, saying it would undermine the already fragile industry.

CDC: Strong Evidence In-Person Schooling Can Be Done Safely

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its long-awaited road map for getting students back to classrooms. But the agency cannot force schools to reopen, and agency officials were careful to say they are not calling for a mandate that all U.S. schools be reopened.

Sign of Inequality: US Salaries Recover Even as Jobs Haven't

The turnaround in total wages underscores how disproportionately America's job losses have afflicted workers in lower-income occupations rather than in higher-paying industries, where employees have actually gained jobs as well as income since early last year.

Black Hospital Faces Vaccine Mistrust From Unlikely Source

Just 37% of the 600 doctors, nurses and support staff at Roseland Community Hospital have been vaccinated even though health care workers are first in line. Many holdouts come from the mostly Black, working class neighborhoods surrounding the hospital.

Convict Trump or Face Dire Democracy Damage, Prosecutors Say

Dire harm from Donald Trump’s false and violent incitements will vex American democracy long into the future unless the Senate convicts him of impeachment and bars him from future office, House prosecutors insisted Thursday.

Judge Declines New Arrest Warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse

Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder also rejected prosecutors’ request for a $200,000 bail increase for Kyle Rittenhouse, who came to Kenosha in August as hundreds were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Law Enforcement Diversity May Improve Policing, Study Shows

An analysis of nearly 3 million Chicago Police Department patrol assignments found that compared to white officers, Black and Hispanic officers made far fewer stops and arrests — and used force less often — especially against Black civilians. 

United: Small Electric Air Taxis Will Zip People to Airports

The airline said it will help electric-aircraft startup Archer develop an aircraft capable of helicopter-style, vertical takeoffs and landings. Archer hopes to deliver its first aircraft in 2024, if it wins certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.

US Jobless Claims Fall Slightly to 793,000 With Layoffs High

The numbers point to a still-elevated number of layoffs. Before the virus erupted in the United States in March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession.

Trump Trial Video Shows Vast Scope, Danger of Capitol Riot

Prosecutors unveiled chilling new security video in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on Wednesday, showing the mob of rioters breaking into the Capitol, smashing windows and doors and searching menacingly for Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as overwhelmed police begged on their radios for help.

Dems Attempt to Push Through School Funding, Wage Increase

House Democrats muscled past Republicans on portions of President Joe Biden’s pandemic plan, including a proposed $130 billion in additional relief to help the nation’s schools reopen and a gradual increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

AP-NORC Poll: A Third of US Adults Skeptical of COVID-19 Shots

The poll suggests that substantial skepticism persists more than a month and a half into a U.S. vaccination drive that has encountered few if any serious side effects. Resistance was found to run higher among younger people, people without college degrees, Black Americans and Republicans.

Mary Wilson, Longest-Reigning Original Supreme, Dies at 76

Mary Wilson, one of the original members of the Supremes, the 1960s group that helped define the Motown sound and style and propelled Diana Ross to superstardom, has died. She was 76.

Senate Agrees to Hear Trump Case, Rejecting GOP Arguments

Plus: Congress members react to impeachment trial on ‘Chicago Tonight’

Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial opened Tuesday with graphic video showing the former president whipping up a rally crowd to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell” against his reelection defeat, followed by images of the deadly attack on Congress  that came soon after.

Which COVID-19 Tests Are Required for International Travel?

The short answer: It depends on where you’re going. In an effort to limit the spread of new coronavirus variants, many countries are requiring incoming travelers to show a recent negative test.

WHO Team: Coronavirus Unlikely to Have Leaked from China Lab

The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of COVID-19 said Tuesday, dismissing as unlikely an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab. 

Nothing to Sneeze at: Global Warming Triggers Earlier Pollen

Across the United States and Canada, pollen season is starting 20 days earlier and pollen loads are 21% higher since 1990 and a huge chunk of that is because of global warming, a new study found in Monday’s journal the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

Trump Lawyers Blast Impeachment Trial as ‘Political Theater’

Plus: Previewing the trial on ‘Chicago Tonight’

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday blasted the impeachment case against him as an act of “political theater” and accused House Democrats on the eve of the former president’s trial of exploiting the chaos and trauma of last month’s Capitol riot for their party’s gain.

Vaccine Drive Gains Speed, But Maskless Fans Fuel Worries

The sight of fans, many without masks, celebrating the Super Bowl in the streets, in sports bars and at game-watching parties has sparked worries of new outbreaks.

New Variants Raise Worry About COVID-19 Virus Reinfections

How long immunity lasts from natural infection is one of the big questions in the pandemic. Scientists still think reinfections are fairly rare and usually less serious than initial ones, but recent developments around the world have raised concerns.

1 Dead, Several Injured in Hotel Shooting in Chicago Suburb

A shooting early Saturday during a large gathering at the Indian Lakes Hotel in Bloomingdale left one man dead and several other people wounded, police said.

Officials Plead: Don’t Let Super Bowl Become Superspreader

The nation’s top health officials sounded the alarm this week about the Super Bowl being a potential superspreader event, and they urged people to gather with friends over Zoom, not in crowds.

5 Key Questions for Trump’s Senate Impeachment Trial

Arguments begin Tuesday in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on allegations that he incited the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

$22,000 Flute Lost on Chicago Train Turns Up in Pawn Shop

Anyone who’s left so much as a hat on a Chicago Transit Authority train knows that whatever leaves the station without its owner often is gone forever. Except, apparently, a $22,000 gold and silver flute.
 

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