Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

Nearly three years after becoming the first corpse flower to bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Alice the Amorphophallus is on the verge of blooming again.

Attorneys for Brendan Dassey say he was coerced as a teen into a murder confession. But with the high court's decision, he will remain in prison serving a life sentence.

The powerful head of the Chicago Teachers Union cited her ongoing battle with brain cancer as the reason for stepping down, according to a statement to the Chicago Tribune.

In promoting his first work of fiction, “The President is Missing,” former President Bill Clinton on Thursday in Chicago demonstrated that he remains a super-smart, silky-tongued talker with both a healthy ego and an easily self-deprecating sense of humor.

The immigration debate hits Chicago. The governor’s race heats up. The head of the Chicago Teachers Union steps down. And the Bulls have their pick.

Chicago has seen 6 inches of rain in June, well above the historical average of about 2.5 inches, according to data from the National Weather Service.

Paris Schutz and guests discuss the retirement of Chicago Teacher Union President Karen Lewis in this web-exclusive video.

Guided by the camouflaging abilities of chameleons, two Northwestern chemistry professors have developed a tiny, color-changing laser that could improve visual displays in TVs and smartphones. 

Watch the June 21, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Latinos are 50 percent more likely to Alzheimer’s disease than their white counterparts. Meet a Chicago researcher trying to find out why.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision released Thursday will have consequences for the state budget – and for online shoppers. 

The professor and political analyst joins us to discuss his new book “What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.”

The Catholic Church is weighing in on the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. Cardinal Blase Cupich joins us to talk about it.

Nearly two dozen laboratory mice will be launched into orbit next week as part of a Northwestern-led research mission to learn more about the physiological effects of living in space. 

Beginning Monday, children and teens across Chicago will have access to free lunches during the summer.

What to read this summer? We asked a trio of local authors what books they’re taking to the beach. Here are their top picks.

Watch the June 20, 2018 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

On the 100th anniversary of his birth, Charles White is being recognized with the first major retrospective of his work since 1982. 

Fifty years after the death of her father Robert F. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy is out with a new book that examines his life and legacy.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order ending the policy of separating migrant children from their parents. Will the move spur immigration reform in Congress?

A tantalizing discovery suggests that life could once have existed on Mars – and may still exist today. We get the latest on the red planet with Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren.

If, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the beholder is given a lot to admire at the Shedd Aquarium’s newest exhibit, “Underwater Beauty.”

A new program aims to create or preserve nearly 2 million acres of habitat across the U.S. for monarch butterflies, which could face extinction in 20 years. 

Nearly two dozen legislators grilled Chicago Public Schools officials for more than two hours Wednesday over the district’s mishandling of sexual abuse allegations going back at least a decade.

A celebration of pride, a massive block party, vintage baseball and scores of strawberries usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Funeral services for the award-winning journalist start at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Kenilworth Union Church. You can watch the ceremony here.