Stories by Associated Press
Liberty: Lots of Travelers Expected on Freer Fourth of July
AAA forecasts that more than 47 million people will travel by car or plane this weekend in the U.S., a return to 2019 levels and 40% higher than last year. That includes 3.5 million airline passengers.
US Hiring Accelerated in June as Workers Earned Higher Pay
Friday’s report from the Labor Department was the latest evidence that the reopening of the economy is propelling a powerful rebound from the pandemic recession. Restaurant traffic across the country is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and more people are shopping, traveling and attending sports and entertainment events.
US Hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans After Nearly 20 Years
The withdrawal from Bagram Airfield is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure, months ahead of President Joe Biden’s promise that they would be gone by Sept. 11.
DC Statehood Facing Long Odds in the Senate
Plus: The cases for and against Washington, D.C., becoming the nation’s 51st state on “Chicago Tonight”
The nation’s capital has a larger population than Wyoming or Vermont, and its estimated 712,000 residents pay federal taxes, vote for president and serve in the armed forces, but they have no voting representation in Congress.
Trump Organization, CFO Indicted on Tax Fraud Charges
Plus: We discuss what’s ahead for the Trump Organization with a former assistant U.S. attorney and a former federal prosecutor on “Chicago Tonight”
Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition.
Will One Dose of a Two-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine Protect Me?
The short answer: Yes, but not nearly as much as if you had both doses. Experts recommend getting fully vaccinated, especially with the emergence of worrisome coronavirus mutations such as the delta variant first identified in India.
Delta Variant Exploits Low Vaccine Rates, Easing of Rules
The latest alarming coronavirus variant is exploiting low global vaccination rates and a rush to ease pandemic restrictions, adding new urgency to the drive to get more shots in arms and slow its supercharged spread.
Rumsfeld, a Cunning Leader Who Oversaw a Ruinous Iraq War
Calling Donald H. Rumsfeld energetic was like calling the Pacific wide. When others would rest, he would run. While others sat, he stood. But try as he might, at the pinnacle of his career as defense secretary he could not outmaneuver the ruinous politics of the Iraq war.
Bill Cosby’s Sex Assault Conviction Overturned by Court
Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and opened the way for his immediate release from prison Wednesday, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby.
Man Ticketed in Suburban Chicago Dog Park for Tree Treatment
A man who said he sprayed trees in a Naperville park to protect them after an anxious dog chewed off the bark has been ticketed by authorities.
Charges Expected Thursday for Trump’s Company, Top Executive
Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged Thursday with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Roads, Bridges, Jobs: Biden Selling Big Infrastructure Deal
Plus: Local members of Congress talk infrastructure and more on “Chicago Tonight”
President Joe Biden declared there is an urgent need for a “generational investment” in the nation’s infrastructure, as he looked to sell voters Tuesday on the economic benefits of the $973 billion bipartisan package that still faces an uncertain future in Congress.
United Orders 270 Jets to Replace Old Ones, Plan for Growth
United said Tuesday that it will buy 200 Boeing Max jets and 70 planes from Europe’s Airbus so that it can replace many of its smallest planes and some of its oldest and have room to grow its fleet.
Cosmic Gulp: Astronomers See Black Hole Swallow Neutron Star
Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe — all in a split-second gulp.
Congressional Leaders Urge FCC to Perform Equity Audit
Congressional leaders and a media advocacy group are urging the Federal Communications Commission to examine how policy decisions and programs have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color.
‘Excruciating’: Florida Collapse Search Stretches to Day 6
The slow work of sifting through the remnants of a collapsed Florida condo building stretched into a sixth day Tuesday, as families desperate for progress endured a wrenching wait for answers.
Biden Working to Get Infrastructure Package Back on Track
President Joe Biden is hoping to get the bipartisan infrastructure deal on track by highlighting its expected economic benefits, stressing its $973 billion would include the largest investment in transportation in nearly a century and millions of jobs would be created.
WHO: Delta Variant is ‘Most Transmissible’ Identified So Far
The head of the World Health Organization said the COVID-19 delta variant, first seen in India, is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far,” and warned it is now spreading in at least 85 countries.
Explainer: Infrastructure Deal Targets Lead Pipes
Included in the bipartisan infrastructure deal reached with President Joe Biden last week is a plan to eliminate the country’s remaining lead pipes and service lines, which for decades have posed a risk for contaminated water in millions of homes and schools.
Blackhawks Hire Outside Firm to Investigate Allegations
The Chicago Blackhawks have hired a former federal prosecutor to conduct an independent review of allegations that a former player was sexually assaulted by a then-assistant coach in 2010.
Families of the Missing Visit Site of Florida Condo Collapse
Families of the missing visited the scene of the Florida condo building collapse Sunday as rescuers kept digging through the mound of rubble and clinging to hope that someone could yet be alive somewhere under the broken concrete and twisted metal.
Transgender Rights, Religion Among Cases Justices Could Add
The Supreme Court has already issued big decisions on health care and religious freedom this month. And next term, the high court has agreed to take on cases about abortion and guns. The court could say as soon as Monday what it will do about these issues awaiting action.
Disappearances Rise on Mexico’s ‘Highway of Death’ to Border
As many as 50 people are missing after setting out on three-hour car trips this year between Mexico’s industrial hub of Monterrey and the border city of Nuevo Laredo on a well-traveled stretch of road local media have dubbed “the highway of death.”
Explainer: Dental, Vision and Hearing Benefits for Medicare
Many working-age people assume that Medicare covers just about every kind of health care that an older person may need. It doesn’t.
‘Deep Fire’ Slowing Rescue Effort at Collapsed Florida Condo
Rescuers used infrared technology, water and foam to battle the blaze, whose source was unclear, and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the smoke has been the biggest challenge. In a news conference, she described the blaze as “very deep” and said rescuers faced “incredible difficulties” because of the flames.
J&J Agrees to Pay $230M to Settle New York Opioid Claim
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $230 million to New York state to settle claims that the pharmaceutical giant helped fuel the opioid crisis, Attorney General Letitia James said on Saturday.
Trending
City Lawyers: Pay $250K to Wrongfully Convicted Man Arrested by Officers Repeatedly Accused of Misconduct
‘Pandora’s Box Has Been Opened’: Judge Blasts US Attorney Andrew Boutros as Another Case Tied to ‘Broadview Six’ Scandal Falls Apart
Powerful Storms, Tornado Threat Set To Deliver Second Punch to Chicago Region on Thursday
‘Like Lightning Struck’: Community Marks 60 Years Since the First Division Street Riot, Puerto Rican Rebellion
As State Approves 1st Video Gambling Licenses in Chicago, Mayor Asks City Council to Reverse Course
Sign up for the WTTW News newsletter