Stories by Associated Press

The vaccines currently being rolled out across the U.S. offer strong protection against variants. But new studies of experimental updates to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines mark a critical first step toward an alternative if the virus eventually outsmarts today’s shots.

The expansion of vaccine eligibility to any Illinois adult regardless of their age, health or employment does not include the city of Chicago. However, Chicagoans can travel outside of the city to be vaccinated, officials said, though supplies are still limited.

About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication — rather than surgery — and that option has become all the more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When city leaders and developers discuss new plans for major real estate projects, some groups are often left out of the discussion. What’s being done to bring more Black and Latino developers into the industry. 

Urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas gives us the last word on how knowing the city’s past can change the energy of its future.

What’s being done to bring more Black and Latino developers into the real estate industry. Cook County’s new public defender. A call for more big brothers and sisters. Bringing energy to history. 

Derek Chauvin’s defense attorney appears to be making a series of moves aimed at undermining a dominant narrative of George Floyd’s death — established through bystander video — of a reckless, arrogant cop ignoring a man’s “I can’t breathe” cries as his life is snuffed out.

Calls to reform the police department’s foot pursuit policy. Community organizers lead the charge in getting Latinos vaccinated. A Pilsen mural highlights neighborhood residents. And La Última Palabra.

The Little Village Community Council wants to meet with Mayor Lori Lightfoot about policing policy changes. They also want to meet with the police department about the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

In neighborhoods like La Villita and Back of the Yards, outreach workers are taking a ground-up approach to registering residents for vaccinations by meeting them in grocery stores and taquerias, and through texts and social media.

Why women should take their ideas and aspirations off the back burner.

Campaigns aimed at Black communities across the U.S. are making headway in the effort to persuade people that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. 

Despite the strongest public support and the most sympathetic president in years, the American labor movement just suffered a stinging defeat -- again.

The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.

Kayden Swann, a toddler shot in the head while riding in a car on Lake Shore Drive, has been removed from a medically induced coma but remains in critical condition, a doctor said Saturday.

Migrant families will be held at hotels in the Phoenix area in response to a growing number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said Friday, another step in the Biden administration's rush to set up temporary space for them.

President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget Friday, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities including education, health care, housing and environmental protection.

Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker’s testimony could be crucial, as Baker ruled Floyd’s death last May a homicide and identified the cause as “cardiopulmonary arrest” that occurred during “law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”

DMX, the raspy-voiced hip-hop artist who produced the songs “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” and “Party Up (Up in Here)” and who rapped with a trademark delivery that was often paired with growls, barks and “What!” as an ad-lib, has died, according to a statement Friday from his family. He was 50.

COVID-19 surges and vaccine eligibility expands. The vice president hits town. Strained relations between Mayor Lightfoot and Gov. Pritzker. And CTU may delay a return to class for high schoolers.

In a listing of the top 25 botanical gardens in the U.S. and Canada, as compiled by Yelp, the conservatory claimed the top spot. The Chicago Botanic Garden, also made the list, coming in 12th.

Riverwalk bars, restaurants and other recreational vendors will open on a rolling schedule throughout the coming weeks, starting Friday with full service expected by the end of May, city officials said.

Airlines pulled dozens of Boeing Max 737s out of service for inspections after the aircraft maker told them about a possible electrical problem, the latest setback for the plane.

The number of coronavirus cases statewide continues to climb as officials reported Friday more than 4,000 new and probable cases, as well as 21 virus-related deaths.

Anton Urbikas has been charged with the murder of his roommate after he allegedly beat the man to death and then attempted to conceal the body for days, using coffee grounds and other items to mask the smell.

Prince Philip, the irascible and tough-minded husband of Queen Elizabeth II who spent more than seven decades supporting his wife in a role that both defined and constricted his life, has died, Buckingham Palace said Friday. He was 99.