The imprint has been a quirk of a residential block in Chicago’s North Side neighborhood of Roscoe Village for years, but it found fresh fame in January after a Chicago comedian shared a photo on the social media platform X.
Stories by associated press
Chicago’s Famed ‘Rat Hole’ Removed After City Determines Sidewalk With Animal Impression Was Damaged
These Apps Allow Workers to Get Paid Between Paychecks. Experts Say There Are Steep Costs
Earned Wage Access apps extend small short-term loans to workers in between paychecks so they can pay bills and meet everyday needs. On payday, the user repays the money out of their wages. Between 2018 and 2020, transaction volume tripled from $3.2 billion to $9.5 billion.
Biden Signs $95 Billion War Aid Measure With Assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a $95 billion war aid measure that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and that also has a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S.
College Students, Inmates and a Nun: A Unique Book Club Meets at Cook County Jail
The student-led volunteer effort started years ago as an offshoot of a DePaul University program offering college credit classes at the jail on the city’s Southwest Side for students and detainees.
Minnesota, Illinois and Other Democratic-Led States Lead Pushback on Book Bans
Minnesota is one of several Democratic-leaning states where lawmakers are now pursuing bans on book bans. The Washington and Maryland legislatures have already passed them this year, while Illinois did so last year.
Trump Tried to ‘Corrupt’ the 2016 Election, Prosecutor Alleges as Hush Money Trial Gets Underway
The commencement of the proceedings set the stage for weeks of unsavory and salacious testimony about Trump's personal life and placed his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden.
The EPA is Again Allowing Summer Sales of Higher Ethanol Gasoline Blend, Citing Global Conflicts
Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.
Justice Department Ramps up Efforts to Reduce Violent Crime With Gun Intel Center, Carjacking Forces
The Justice Department is ramping up its efforts to reduce violent crime in the U.S., launching a specialized gun intelligence center in Chicago and expanding task forces to curb carjackings.
New Leader of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition Steps Down Just Months After Taking the Job
The Rev. Frederick Haynes III told The Associated Press that he submitted a letter with his resignation as head of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, effective immediately.
Biden’s Latest Plan for Student Loan Cancellation Moves Forward as a Proposed Regulation
It’s a more targeted proposal than the one the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year. The new plan uses a different legal basis and seeks to cancel or reduce loans for more than 25 million Americans.
Chicago Woman Pleads Guilty, Gets 50 Years for Cutting Child From Victim’s Womb
Prosecutors have said Clarisa Figueroa strangled 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez with a cable on April 23, 2019, after luring the teenager to her home with the promise of free clothing for her unborn child. Ochoa-Lopez was nine months pregnant.
Trump Trial: Why Can’t Americans See or Hear What is Going on Inside the Courtroom?
It’s a moment in history — the first U.S. president facing criminal charges in an American courtroom. Yet only a handful of observers are able to see or even hear what is going on. New York state law regarding media coverage of court proceedings is one of the most restrictive in the country.
Biden Administration Recruits 15 States, Including Illinois, to Help Enforce Airline Consumer Laws
Under U.S. law, the federal government alone regulates consumer-protection laws covering airlines. The carriers are not legally required to respond to state investigations. Consumer advocates have pushed to expand enforcement power to the states.
Trump’s Historic Hush-Money Trial Underway; 1st Day Ends Without Any Jurors Being Picked
It’s the first criminal trial of any former U.S. commander-in-chief and the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial.
Tax Day Reveals a Major Split in How Joe Biden and Donald Trump Would Govern
Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy.
8-Year-Old Girl Killed, 10 People Including Small Children Wounded in Southwest Side Shooting: Chicago Police
Four victims were children, police said Sunday. An 8-year-old girl was fatally shot, while a 1-year-old boy and a 8-year-old boy were each shot multiple times and listed in critical condition.
‘I’m Dying, You’re Not’: Terminally Ill Patients Ask More States to Legalize Physician-Assisted Death
A bill moving through the Illinois legislature to allow certain terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a doctor’s help had made progress. Vermont and Oregon permit any qualifying American to travel to their state for the practice.
Robert MacNeil, Creator and First Anchor of PBS ‘NewsHour’ Nightly Newscast, Dies at 93
Robert MacNeil first gained prominence for his coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings for the public broadcasting service and began his half-hour “Robert MacNeil Report” on PBS in 1975 with his friend Jim Lehrer as Washington correspondent.
Man Accused of Lighting Fire Outside Bernie Sanders’ Office Had AK-47 Confiscated in Illinois Last Year
Security video shows Shant Michael Soghomonian throwing liquid at the bottom of a door opening into Sanders’ third-floor office in Vermont and setting it on fire with a lighter last Friday, law enforcement officials say.
OJ Simpson, Fallen Football Hero Acquitted of Murder in ‘Trial of the Century,’ Dies at 76
Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
Arizona Can Enforce an 1864 Law Criminalizing Nearly All Abortions, Court Says
Under the decision, a long-dormant law that predates Arizona’s statehood would take effect. It provides no exceptions for rape or incest, but allows abortions if a mother’s life is in danger. Enforcement can take effect in 14 days.
Appeals Court Rejects Donald Trump’s Latest Attempt to Delay April 15 Hush Money Criminal Trial
Justice Cynthia Kern’s ruling was the second time in as many days that the state’s mid-level appeals court refused to postpone the trial, set to begin next week, further narrowing any plausible path to the delay that Trump’s legal team has repeatedly sought.
A Total Solar Eclipse Races Across North America as Clouds Part Along Totality
It promised to be North America’s biggest eclipse crowd ever, thanks to the densely populated path and the lure of more than four minutes of midday darkness in Texas and other choice spots. Almost everyone in North America was guaranteed at least a partial eclipse, weather permitting.
Biden Promotes ‘Life-Changing’ Student Loan Relief in Wisconsin Ahead of Chicago Campaign Event
President Joe Biden said Monday that college graduates would see “life-changing” relief from his new plan to ease debt burdens for more than 30 million borrowers, the latest attempt by the Democratic president to make good on a campaign promise that could buoy his standing with young voters.
State Republicans Killed an Indiana City’s Lawsuit to Stop Illegal Gun Sales. Why?
Gary, Indiana, was among dozens of U.S. cities to sue major gun-makers and sellers in reaction to the out-of-control homicide rates and violent crime of the 1990s.
An Earthquake Centered Between NYC and Philadelphia Rattles Much of the Northeast
While there were no immediate reports of serious damage, officials were checking bridges and other major infrastructure, Amtrak slowed trains throughout the busy Northeast Corridor, and a Philadelphia-area commuter rail line suspended service out of what it said was “an abundance of caution.”
