Stories by paul caine

(WTTW News graphic)

Bears Looking for Redemption Against 49ers After Humiliating Loss to Bucs

After last week’s thrashing by the defending Super Bowl champs — the Bears are leading the league in one statistical category — the number of players on the COVID list.  What does this mean for the upcoming matchup with the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field?

(Ri Butov / Pixabay)

Report Finds Antisemitism on the Rise in America

One in four American Jews say they’ve been targets of antisemitism in the past 12 months, according to a new report from the American Jewish Committee.

(Photo by Mayron Oliveira on Unsplash)

US Overdose Deaths Surge to an All-Time High

More than 96,000 people died of drug overdoses during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic – that’s an increase of almost 30 percent in just one year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams give us his take on Fields as starter and his three keys to the game against the Buccaneers. (WTTW News graphic)

Bears Travel to Tampa Bay to Face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields and the Bears have a Sunday date in Tampa Bay with seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. 

US Attorney Lausch’s Job Performance Wins Bipartisan Support

Political corruption. Gun violence. Financial crimes. Homegrown terrorism. These are just a selection of the cases brought in the last four years by John Lausch, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)

UChicago Takes Aim at Chicago’s Persistent Cycle of Violence

Amid a surge in violence, the University of Chicago aims to help make the city a model for how to rebuild traumatized communities.

Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams give us his take on Fields as starter and his three keys to the game against the Packers. (WTTW News graphic)

Bears and Rookie QB Justin Fields Face Stern Test Against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers

It’s the oldest rivalry in football, but the Packers have had the upper hand for most of the past decade. The Bears have won just three games against the Packers and lost 19 since 2011.

Illustration of the DART spacecraft with the Roll Out Solar Arrays (ROSA) extended. Each of the two ROSA arrays in 8.6 meters by 2.3 meters. (Credit: NASA)

NASA Tests Its Planetary Defense Capabilities With DART Mission

A NASA mission to deflect an asteroid – it’s been the premise for more than one Hollywood movie – but next month NASA launches its DART mission that aims to do it for real.

(WTTW News)

Drop in COVID-19 Cases Shows Parts of US May Be Reaching Herd Immunity

While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have dropped nationally, a local infectious disease expert says the situation is a little more complex than whether or not the nation is reaching herd immunity.

Fields Named Starting Quarterback as Bears Travel to Las Vegas

Justin Fields secures the starting quarterback spot as the Bears travel to Las Vegas for a date with the Raiders.  James “Big Cat” Williams joins us to share his predictions for the game.

(Jürgen Polle / Pixabay)

UChicago Focuses on the Future of Cities in a Post-COVID-19 World

The University of Chicago is bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and advocates to envision a better, more sustainable future for Chicago and cities around the globe. 

Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams give us his take on Fields as starter and his three keys to the game against the Browns. (WTTW News graphic)

Bears Look to Bounce Back From Embarrassing Loss Against Winless Lions

A rough first NFL start for Justin Fields as the rookie quarterback is sacked nine times by the Cleveland Browns. Can the team remedy its offensive woes in time for the winless Detroit Lions? James “Big Cat” Williams’ gives us three keys to the upcoming game.

University of Chicago and Argonne beamline scientist Barbara Lavina observes one of the tiny asteroid fragments through a microscope, with the magnified image on the screen beside her, during the initial research session at Argonne in July. (Jason Creps / Argonne National Laboratory)

Argonne Gets Rare Access To Probe Asteroid Fragments Collected From Space

Tiny fragments from an asteroid could shed light on the early development of the solar system, thanks to the unique capabilities of Argonne National Laboratory.

Justin Fields will get his first NFL start against the Browns in Cleveland Sunday. (WTTW News graphic)

Fields Gets First NFL Start vs. Browns as Dalton Sidelined With Injury

Justin Fields will get his first NFL start against the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday. Can the rookie quarterback and hope for the future of the franchise live up to the hype and high expectations to deliver a win?

Hospitals in southern Illinois are facing a critical shortage of available ICU beds. (WTTW News)

Delta Variant, Disinformation Lead to ICU Shortage in Southern Illinois

Hospitals in parts of the state are facing a critical shortage of available beds in their intensive care units. The highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19, combined with low vaccination rates, has created an overwhelming situation for medical providers for the last month.

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Bears Hoping to Bounce Back Against Bengals After Prime-Time Loss

After losing to the Rams, how long will Bears coach Matt Nagy resist pressure to give rookie quarterback Justin Fields more playing time? Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams give us his take on the opening day loss and Sunday’s game against Cincinnati.

Current zoo director Dr. Megan Ross, Ph.D., has been selected to lead the venerable institution when current president and CEO Kevin Bell steps down at the end of the year. (Credit: Lisa Miller)

Lincoln Park Zoo Names Megan Ross as Next Leader

Dr. Megan Ross, an animal behavior specialist, joined the zoo as curator of birds in 2000 and will be the first woman to lead the zoo in its 153-year history.

State lawmakers held the second special session of the summer. (WTTW News)

Illinois Republicans Rail Against Democrat’s Latest Election Map

Democrats have submitted new redistricting maps. Maps are redrawn every 10 years after the census, but because of late census numbers, this year’s process has been more contentious than others. 

In this file photo, family members wearing masks walk along the sidewalk in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on Thursday, May 7, 2020.  (WTTW News)

COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children Expected by End of Year

As the highly infectious delta variant continues to spread rapidly throughout the country, more children are testing positive for COVID-19. Could the return of in-person learning trigger even more cases?

Mother and pup of the bat species Saccopteryx bilineata. Similar to human infants, pups begin babbling at a young age as they develop language skills. (Courtesy Ahana Fernandez / Michael Stifter)

Babbling Bats May Shed Light on Language Development

Babbling baby bats. Simulated rats. The impressive memory of cuttlefish. And why, counter to popular belief, some key mental abilities appear to actually improve with aging. University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin returns to help us understand some of the latest science stories making headlines.

(stokpic / Pixabay)

Big Vegas Gaming Operators Decline to Bet on a Chicago Casino

This should have been the week when the long-awaited Chicago casino project finally got up and running. Monday was the initial deadline to submit proposals to develop the much vaunted project — but after few bidders appeared interested — the city pushed back the deadline to the end of October.

On Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley echoed President Biden’s comments that the administration didn’t think the Taliban takeover would happen so fast. (WTTW News via CNN )

Chicago Afghan War Veterans Express Anger, Despair at Chaotic Withdrawal

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and chaotic withdrawal by U.S. forces are weighing heavily on the minds of veterans who fought in America’s longest war.

Chaos at the Kabul airport as people try to flee the country. (WTTW News via CNN)

Refugee Agencies Scramble to Bring Afghan Allies to US

Officials are trying to help Afghan allies who supported the American mission to leave the country as Taliban checkpoints spread across the country and its capital, Kabul. But how many Afghans can safely be evacuated and settled in the U.S.?

(WTTW News)

Are Vaccine Mandates the Answer to Lagging Rates Among Nursing Home Staff?

While 84% of nursing home residents in Illinois have received the COVID-19 vaccine, just 62% of the workers who care for them are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An American flag and Trump campaign flag fly at a Proud Boys rally ahead of the 2020 presidential election. (WTTW News via CNN)

Millions of Americans Support Use of Force to Restore Trump to White House: Report

An estimated 21 million Americans believe that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president and that Donald Trump should be restored to the White House by force, according to a new report from the University of Chicago. We discuss the findings with political science professor Robert Pape, who led the survey.

With the delta variant of the coronavirus raging across the country, President Joe Biden announced last week that his administration will require almost all federal employees to get vaccinated or face stringent testing protocols. (WTTW News)

Vaccine Mandates on the Agenda for More and More Businesses

More and more employers are now mandating vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of returning to the office. Among them are some of the largest and best-known corporations in the country, from Walmart to The Washington Post and Tyson Foods to Twitter.