Stories by Alex Ruppenthal

As they set out to learn more about kids’ affinity for nature, a group of psychologists had a strong idea about what they would find. As it turned out, their assumptions were wrong. “We were incredibly surprised,” said the lead author of the study.

Inside a lavish, 330-seat theater space in the Loop is the madcap escapade “Love, Chaos & Dinner” – a high energy combination of cabaret, comedy and circus, plus a four-course dinner (or brunch) – all backed by a dynamite band.

Watch the Aug. 6, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The discovery comes about a month after an alligator in the Humboldt Park Lagoon captured the attention of the city for about a week before the alligator was captured by a gator hunter who was flown in from Florida.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf says Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died Monday night at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She was 88.

A Minnesota prosecutor charged singer R. Kelly on Monday with prostitution and solicitation related to an allegation that he invited a 17-year-old girl to his hotel room in 2001 and paid her $200 to dance naked with him.

Hundreds of researchers, community organizations, policymakers, health care professionals and students gathered Monday at Malcom X College to discuss mental health, gun violence, the opioid epidemic and other topics.

Dozens were killed and wounded in mass shootings over the weekend. And in Chicago, it was the most violent weekend of the year, leaving seven dead from shootings. How local leaders are responding.

President Donald Trump condemns hate, but says hateful rhetoric and mental illness are to blame for mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso – not guns.

As political candidates spar over health care, a local journalist gathers startling personal stories about medical costs. We speak with Dan Weissmann, host of a podcast about the high cost of health care. 

Could you imagine life without the “like” button? Ben Grosser, an arts and design professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tells us about “demetrication.”

Chicago has become a major player in attracting TV and film productions of all shapes and sizes. The heads of the Illinois and Chicago film offices discuss the role a tax credit extension plays in getting productions made locally.

A lawsuit filed Friday aims to stop a plan by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that would lower fines for automakers that fail to meet fuel-economy standards. 

Advances in prosthetics mean that in the not-too-distant future it’s possible that people who have lost a limb could receive a fully functional robotic replacement. And a lab in Chicago is leading the way to the future.

Yingying’s Fund, created with the support of Yingying Zhang’s family, will serve international students across campus and their families “during times of hardship, when they need it most,” according to the fund’s donation page.

Chicago community leaders are telling President Donald Trump his words matter, days after a gunman slayed more than 20 people, including many Hispanics, inside a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.

Watch the Aug. 5, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Mexico’s government said it considers a shooting at a crowded department store in El Paso, Texas that left eight of its citizens dead an “act of terrorism” against Mexicans and hopes it will lead to changes in U.S. gun laws.

The president condemned weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as barbaric crimes “against all humanity” and called for bipartisan cooperation to respond to an epidemic of gun violence. He offered scant details on possible action.

With construction looming and signs the neighborhood is already changing, residents are fiercely seeking safeguards for the place they also call home. 

Two big federal corruption cases. Did the feds really shoot John Dillinger outside the Biograph? A former mayoral candidate in legal hot water. And the Cubs wrestle the Brewers.

Dr. Carl Bell, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, was a national leader in treating childhood trauma resulting from violence. 

The big surprise in this hit Broadway musical is how the seemingly most unlikely material for a musical – the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks – ends up feeling as if it were custom-made for the form and turns great darkness into a healing light.

The body of Yingying Zhang was never recovered after former University of Illinois doctoral student Brendt Christensen kidnapped and killed her. 

President Trump rattles financial markets with a surprise announcement of 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports starting later this summer. 

After months of shortages, Impossible Foods is partnering with a veteran food production company to ramp up supplies of its popular plant-based burgers.