Stories by Associated Press

Riccardo Muti Becomes Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Emeritus for Life

Maestro Riccardo Muti, who turns 82 in July, is scheduled to conduct the CSO for six weeks in each of the next two seasons. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season.

Tony-Winning Lyricist Sheldon Harnick ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Creator, Dies at 99

Harnick was born and raised in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the Northwestern University School of Music after serving in the army during World War II.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Accepted Alaska Resort Vacation From GOP Donors, ProPublica Reports

A ProPublica article states that in July 2008 Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew to a remote corner of Alaska aboard the private plane of businessman and Republican donor, Paul Singer. A hedge fund founded by the billionaire has brought roughly a dozen cases before the court since then. Alito did not recuse himself from participating in any of those cases.

Who’s Running for President? See a Rundown of the 2024 Candidates

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the early Republican race as the other candidates look for an opening to take them on. President Joe Biden faces a couple of Democratic challengers but is expected to secure his party’s nomination.

A Year After Fall of Roe, 25 Million Women Live in States With Abortion Bans or Tighter Restrictions

One year ago Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness.

FTC Sues Amazon, Alleging It Enrolled Consumers Into Prime Without Consent

The agency accused Amazon of using deceptive designs, known as “dark patterns,” to deceive consumers into enrolling in Prime. The complaint said the option to purchase items on Amazon without subscribing to Prime was more difficult in many cases.

US Approves Chicken Made From Cultivated Cells, the Nation’s First ‘Lab-Grown’ Meat

The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.

Americans Mark Juneteenth With Parties, Events and Quiet Reflection on the End of Slavery

Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War.

Daniel Ellsberg, Who Leaked Pentagon Papers Exposing Vietnam War Secrets, Dies at 92

Daniel Ellsberg, the history-making whistleblower who by leaking the Pentagon Papers revealed longtime government doubts and deceit about the Vietnam War and inspired acts of retaliation by President Richard Nixon that helped lead to his resignation, has died.

In Rare 3-3 Decision, Iowa Supreme Court Declines to Reinstate Law Largely Banning Abortion

In a rare 3-3 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 2019 district court ruling that blocked the law. The latest ruling comes roughly a year after the same body — and the U.S. Supreme Court — determined that women do not have a fundamental constitutional right to abortion.

Heather Mack, Convicted in Bali of Killing Mom and Stuffing Body in Suitcase, Pleads Guilty in US

Mack, who lived with her mother in suburban Oak Park, served seven years of her 10-year Indonesian sentence. She was then deported in 2021 and U.S. agents arrested her immediately after she landed at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Suicides and Homicides Among Young Americans Jumped Early in the Pandemic, New Study Says

Experts cited several possible reasons for the increases, including higher rates of depression, limited availability of mental health services and the number of guns in U.S. homes.

Two-Time Oscar Winner, Former British Lawmaker Glenda Jackson Dies at 87

Glenda Jackson, a two-time Academy Award-winning performer who had a second career in politics as a British lawmaker before an acclaimed late-life return to stage and screen, has died at age 87.

For First Time in 15 Months, Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged but Signals 2 More Potential Hikes This Year

The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. 

Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty to All 37 Federal Charges in Secret Documents Case

Donald Trump is expected to become Tuesday the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as the city of Miami prepared for possible protests by crowds that officials said could number in the tens of thousands.

Moms for Liberty Rises as Power Player in GOP Politics After Attacking Schools Over Gender, Race

Moms for Liberty didn’t exist during the last presidential campaign, but the Florida-based nonprofit that champions “parental rights” in education has rapidly become a major player for 2024, boosted in part by GOP operatives, politicians and donors.

The Story Behind Juneteenth and How It Became a Federal Holiday

For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.

Theodore ‘Ted’ Kaczynski, Chicago-Area Native Known as the ‘Unabomber,’ Has Died in Federal Prison

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81.

Likely Headed to the Blackhawks, NHL Top Prospect 17-Year-Old Connor Bedard in the Spotlight During Pre-Draft Combine

The Chicago Blackhawks own the No. 1 pick, and are highly anticipated to use it on Bedard when the draft opens in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 28.

Donald Trump Described Pentagon Plan of Attack, Shared Classified Map, Indictment Says

The indictment accuses Trump of having improperly removed scores of boxes from the White House to take them to Mar-a-Lago, many of them containing classified information. The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump is convicted.

Trump Indicted in Classified Documents Case in a Historic First for a Former President

Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.

Republican Party Set to Encourage Early Voting, Mail Balloting After Years of Opposite Messaging to Voters

Republicans are poised to launch aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns for 2024 that employ just those strategies, attempting to match the emphasis on early voting Democrats have used for years to lock in many of their supporters well ahead of Election Day.

‘I Can Taste the Air’: Wildfire Smoke from Canada Spreads Hazardous Haze at Home and in the US

While Canadian officials asked other countries for help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people, air quality with what the U.S. rates as hazardous levels of pollution extended into central New York.

Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie Files Paperwork Launching 2024 Republican Presidential Bid

The campaign will be the second for the former governor and federal prosecutor, who lost to Donald Trump in 2016 and went on to become a close on-and-off adviser before breaking with the former president over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election.

LGBTQ+ Americans Are Under Attack, Human Rights Campaign Declares in State of Emergency Warning

Sounding the alarm about the current political environment, the nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said advisories warning against travel to dangerous places aren’t enough to help people already living in so-called hostile states.

Former Vice President Mike Pence Files Paperwork Launching 2024 Presidential Bid in Challenge to Donald Trump

Mike Pence, the nation's 48th vice president, will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, which is his 64th birthday, according to people familiar with his plans. 
 

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