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EXPLAINER: Capitol Riot Investigation Growing 2 Years Later
| Associated Press
More than 930 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and the tally increases by the week. Hundreds more people remain at large on the second anniversary of the unprecedented assault that was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was stolen.
Bald Eagle Rescued New Year’s Day Has Died, Wildlife Center Announces
| Patty Wetli
"Despite promising signs of recovery the first 48 hours, the bird took a very rapid turn for the worst," Willowbrook Wildlife Center shared on social media.
This Week in Nature: A Michigan Wolf Went on a 4,200-Mile Walk. How’s Your Step Count?
| Patty Wetli
A GPS collar allowed researchers to track the wolf from Michigan all the way to Manitoba, Canada. That's just one of the wild stories we followed this week.
Jan. 5, 2023 - Full Show
| WTTW News
Despite confusion over cash bail, the rest of the SAFE-T Act has gone into effect. We take a look at what it does. The impact of property tax hikes in Logan Square. And James "Big Cat" Williams grades the Bears season.
Breakout Season for Fields in Otherwise Dismal Year for the Bears
| Paul Caine
The Chicago Bears are poised to get a top draft pick and have lots of money to spend to improve a last-place team, but can they use the draft well and spend wisely?
Cherry Mountain Arts Show Shines Spotlight on Local Creatives
| Angel Idowu
Cherry Mountain Arts, 836 N. Milwaukee Ave., is hosting an end-of-year exhibition, titled “Work Friends,” that showcases the local creatives they will be working with throughout the year.
Faithful Mourn Benedict XVI at Funeral Presided Over by Pope
| Associated Press
Benedict XVI is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians and spent his lifetime upholding church doctrine. But he will go down in history for a singular, revolutionary act that changed the future of the papacy: He retired, the first pope in six centuries to do so.
From Driver’s Licenses to Police Body Cams, the SAFE-T Act Contains Much More Than Cash Bail Changes
| Amanda Vinicky
With the Illinois Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in March, it will likely be months before justices decide the fate of cashless bail in Illinois. But bail transformation is just one of many provisions contained in the SAFE-T Act.
McCarthy Fails for 3rd Long Day in GOP House Speaker Fight
| Associated Press
Pressure was building as GOP party leader Kevin McCarthy lost a seventh, eighth and historic ninth round of voting, tying the number it took the last time this happened, 100 years ago, in a prolonged fight to choose a speaker in a disputed election.
Chicago’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program Is Open Fir Business
| Patty Wetli
Live trees — well, not so live anymore — can be recycled at any one of 26 citywide locations, Jan. 7-21.
Share of Chicago Property Tax Revenues Claimed by TIF Funds Grew 15.5% in 2021: Report
| Heather Cherone
Demolishing the record set in each of the past two years, $1.22 billion poured into the city’s 129 TIF funds in 2021, according to a report from the office of the Cook County Clerk.
Ruling on Plans to Eliminate Cash Bail Across Illinois Could be Months Away
| Matt Masterson
An agreed motion released Wednesday shows that oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court between Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a group of prosecutors challenging the plan to eliminate cash bail will not be held until sometime in March.
Teen Charged in Fatal Shooting Outside Englewood Gas Station
| Matt Masterson
Rafael Harvey, 17, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking and other felonies after a shooting that left one man dead and another injured outside a Citgo gas station Tuesday.
10 Things to Do This Weekend: Jan. 6-8
| Kristen Thometz
Winter flower shows, fitness classes, hot coffees and teas and thousands of holiday lights usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.
Biden to Award Citizens Medal to 12 on Jan. 6 Anniversary
| Associated Press
President Joe Biden on Friday will present the nation’s second highest civilian award to 12 individuals involved in defending the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and safeguarding the will of American voters in the 2020 presidential election.
Return of Chicago Cop Who Lied About Ties to Proud Boys Will Erode Trust in Police, Civil Rights Group Says
| Heather Cherone
Allowing the man to return to work as a Chicago police officer will “create an environment of impunity for other officers who may associate with violent groups and contribute to the erosion of trust between the public and law enforcement authorities,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Jan. 4, 2023 - Full Show
| WTTW News
Why Howard Brown Health staffers are on the picket line. An increase in opioid deaths in Cook County. The standoff on Capitol Hill in Spotlight Politics. And drying out for January.
Employees at Howard Brown Health Continue Strike Over Recent Layoffs; CEO Says Cost Cuts Necessary
| Amanda Vinicky
Howard Brown Health will next year mark 50 years of serving the health needs of the LBGTQ and HIV-positive communities. Going forward, it will do so minus about 16% of its workforce.
McCarthy Rejected for House Speaker with GOP in Disarray
| Associated Press
For a fourth, fifth and sixth time, Republicans tried to vote McCarthy into the top job as the House plunged deeper into disarray.
Participation in Dry January Continues to Increase as Individuals Look to ‘Evaluate Their Relationship with Alcohol’
| Blair Paddock
A total of 35% of legal-aged U.S. adults skipped alcohol for the entirety of January in 2022 — that’s an increase from 21% in 2019, according to food and drink research firm CGA.
Intuit Museum Awarded ‘Transformative’ $5 Million Grant to Support Outsider Art
| Marc Vitali
Intuit, the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, has been on Milwaukee Avenue near Chicago and Ogden avenues since 1999. The museum showcases artwork by self-taught and often marginalized artists who didn’t follow a traditional path to art-making.
US Job Openings Fell Slightly in November Yet Still High
| Associated Press
Yet the figures show there are nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person, down from a peak of 2 but historically very high. Before the pandemic, there were usually more unemployed people than jobs.
Cook County Expected to Exceed 2,000 Opioid Deaths in 2022, Setting New Record
| Paul Caine
The key culprit appears to be the widespread availability of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Chicago Homicides Declined in 2022, But Total Still Among Highest Since ‘90s
| Matt Masterson
That total marks a double-digit percentage decline over each of the last two years, according to Chicago Police Department data, but would still sit as the fourth most homicides in the city since 1999.
Man Charged With Killing Woman, Wounding Her Sister in Shooting Outside River North Bowling Alley
| Matt Masterson
Jason McMahan was denied bail during a hearing Wednesday, one day after he was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery stemming from the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Tashawnna Anderson.
Mega Millions Jackpot Climbs to $940M After No Winner
| Associated Press
The new jackpot will remain the sixth-largest jackpot in U.S. history.
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