Stories by WTTW News

We share what you had to say about City Council's regulation of e-cigarettes in tonight's viewer feedback.  

Has the Catholic church come clean? Archdiocesan officials speak at length about the release of documents outlining priest sex abuse. Paris Schutz has the details. View a graphic of incidents and allegations.

The Chicago City Council passes a ban to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products. Carol Marin and her panel of aldermen weigh in on this issue, and get the latest from inside City Hall. View graphics on e-cigarette sales across the United States, and read an interview with a local doctor about the health risks and benefits.

A local doctor weighs in on the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes. Read the interview.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle may soon have the authority to release nonviolent offenders from the chronically crowded Cook County Jail, after the County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the resolution giving her said authority. Brandis Friedman has the latest.

We are joined by author Peter W. Singer to talk cybersecurity, his new book and what you need to know to protect yourself online. Read an excerpt.

To mark the 157th anniversary of Chicago's first science museum, we take a look at some surprising specimens - including a Chicago rattlesnake.

Billionaire Beanie Babies creator Ty Warner evades prison over his conviction of hiding money overseas. Paris Schutz explains why.

Chicago Board of Education’s Inspector General Jim Sullivan joins us to talk about his latest watchdog report detailing the waste, fraud and corruption he uncovered this year in the Chicago Public Schools. Read the full report.

We talk with Grammy-Award winner Che “Rhymefest” Smith about his new talk show on WVON-AM that focuses on politics and social issues in Chicago. Read an interview and view a slideshow.

Scientists at west suburban Fermilab have installed the final piece on a massive particle detector called NOvA that may answer some very big questions. We go deep underground to uncover how the contraption might do that. Read an article.  

We take a tour of the MINOS underground facility and watch the installation of the last NOvA Far Detector module. Read a behind-the-scenes blog and view a slideshow.

We take a look at fun, funky and completely unexpected words with Jason Riggle, a University of Chicago linguist who cast his vote on a wide spectrum of words that range from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Did you ever wonder how prize racehorses get from Chicago or Kentucky to, say, Dubai? We revisit a story where Jay Shefsky takes us to O'Hare Airport to meet a man who makes his living flying around the world with racehorses. Read an article.

Carol Marin takes a look at the state of the race for Illinois governor with Dave McKinney, Springfield Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, Amanda Vinicky, Illinois Public Radio and WUIS Statehouse Bureau Chief, and Mark Anderson, NBC-5 Chicago's Ward Room political blogger.

Gov. Pat Quinn asks for emergency action to protect Illinois residents from petcoke. Elizabeth Brackett reports.

School districts across the country are reporting a shortage of special education teachers. We take a look at Chicago Public Schools' shortage and find out how districts and universities are working to fill the void. Read an article and watch a web extra video.

Imagine waking up on a crowded train platform in a foreign country. You don’t know where you are or even WHO you are. That’s what happened to Chicago author David Stuart MacLean. His new book, The Answer to the Riddle is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia, chronicles how he has spent much of the past decade trying to piece together the fragments of what he remembers of his former life. He joins us with his story. Read an excerpt and view a slideshow.

We take a closer look at the international popularity of the PBS megahit Downton Abbey with Rules, Britannia author and BBC America blogger Toni Hargis and Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn.

In tonight's Viewer Feedback, we share your comments on one disabled young man's triumphant story and your thoughts on the Affordable Care Act.

This week’s visit from the Polar Vortex was more than snowy and bone-chillingly cold; it was expensive as well. Read an article.

Judy Baar Topinka is running for re-election as Illinois Comptroller in 2014.

Sheila Simon is running against Judy Baar Topinka for Illinois Comptroller in 2014.

Mike Frerichs is throwing his hat in the ring for Illinois Treasurer in 2014.

Bob Grogan is throwing his hat in the ring for Illinois Treasurer in 2014.