Stories by Associated Press

Positive developments on the vaccine front have driven double-digit gains in the major indexes this month as investors look forward to progress in gaining control over the pandemic that plunged the global economy into its deepest slump since the 1930s.

The pandemic in Illinois reached another sobering mark on Friday, after health officials reported 12,029 total deaths linked to the pandemic and 705,063 infections. 

More than 25,000 migrating sandhill cranes are making a pit stop at Indiana’s Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. The bird’s numbers have rebounded thanks to wetland conservation efforts, but now climate change threatens to undo that progress. 

The coronavirus presented huge challenges for the fall semester for U.S. colleges that opened the academic year with in-person learning, including some that took a battering from outbreaks.

In normal times, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. But these are not normal times: The economy is tanking and crowds are expected to be dramatically diminished as coronavirus cases spike and shoppers do more of their purchases online.

Ready or not, the holidays have arrived. Here’s how some of Chicago’s most beloved traditions and experiences have adapted to the coronavirus pandemic to help bring some holiday cheer to 2020.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College formalizes President-elect Joe Biden’s victory — even as he insisted such a decision would be a “mistake.”

Watch the Nov. 26, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams previews the Bears matchup Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

A recent survey found that just 51% of U.S. adults say they would get the COVID-19 vaccine — and just 32% of Black adults. We discuss the cause of medical mistrust and how to rebuild it. 

As Americans kick off a holiday season under the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois health officials reported more than 12,000 new and probable cases of the virus across the state, and 131 additional deaths.

President Donald Trump pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Wednesday, ending a yearslong prosecution in the Russia investigation that saw Flynn twice plead guilty to lying to the FBI.

“The Last Dance” was filled with hot dishes about Michael Jordan’s time with the six-time champion Chicago Bulls. Now, some proceeds from the Emmy-winning documentary will go toward hot dishes for the nation’s hungry.

Chicago’s northernmost neighborhood has reported 5,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The pandemic and rising case counts have heightened food insecurity across Chicago, and Rogers Park has been anything but immune. 

With loan and grant money starting to run dry for some businesses—and what’s likely to be a difficult winter fast approaching—we check in with some familiar faces to ask how they’re coping with the coronavirus.

With COVID-19 cases surging nationwide, President-elect Joe Biden called on Americans to take precautions to try to stem the tide of the virus, by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. 

“Adding debt is not a long-term solution to structural imbalance,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “Short-term borrowing is a short-term Band-Aid to address the urgency of a short-term problem like one caused by a pandemic.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local authorities have begged people not to travel and urged them to keep their Thanksgiving celebrations small.

Diego Maradona’s spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said he died Wednesday of a heart attack, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery.

The coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to this year’s Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade, which had been scheduled for Dec. 6, but organizers are still collecting toys for children in need.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged all Chicagoans on Wednesday to rethink their Thanksgiving plans if they include travel or a gathering with those outside their immediate household amid a continuing surge of the coronavirus.

Watch the Nov. 25, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Before the virus struck hard in mid-March, weekly claims typically amounted to roughly 225,000. They shot up to 6.9 million during one week in March before dropping, yet remain historically high more than eight months later.

According to the latest data from state health officials, the city of Chicago has 921 intensive care unit beds, and more than 200 are currently available. But in some regions, the numbers are much different. 

Zac Lowing scours the beach for sea glass, but his work is about more than the sculptures he creates. Through his platform, he hopes to bring attention to the homeless community. 

In the 1960s, Maria Cerda became the first Latina member of the Chicago Board of Education and a pioneering advocate for bilingual classes. We talk with her son about her legacy in Chicago and across the nation.