Stories by Kristen Thometz

Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman tells us how early childhood education can impact a person’s life well into middle age.

Watch the May 23, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Stephen M. Calk was arrested Thursday in New York City on a financial institution bribery charge. He is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon.

John Walker Lindh, 38, was released Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban.

CEO Oscar Munoz says he will be aboard United Airlines’ first flight of a Boeing 737 Max once regulators agree to let the aircraft fly again.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a stern warning to City Council members in her inaugural address. Our politics team tackles that story and other headlines in our weekly roundtable.

Chicago Teachers Union members call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to make good on promises for educational equity. Meanwhile, upheaval at a Chicago Public Schools board meeting.

It’s her first week in office, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn’t have time to waste when it comes to city finances. How can Chicago address its fiscal troubles?

Marijuana laws are changing rapidly, but as of now, adults can use it recreationally in just 10 states. Medical marijuana, however, is legal in 33 states. So which is it: A pleasure drug or a pharmaceutical one?

Watch the May 22, 2019 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Steven Dietz’s hauntingly beautiful play is inspired by James Joyce’s groundbreaking novel “Ulysses,” but it is no stage adaptation. Rather, it’s a gorgeous, exquisitely imagined contemporary riff on Joyce’s essential themes.

The Illinois General Assembly has voted to repeal a decades-old law that prohibited the state from implementing its own restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.

After 15 months of pregnancy, Lincoln Park Zoo rhinoceros Kapuki gave birth to a new calf Sunday. And just 53 minutes after birth, it was able to stand up on all four legs.

The 34-year-old woman, who has a high-risk pregnancy and is afraid to travel back to Mexico, is seeking asylum after she says she received a deportation order requiring her to leave the U.S. by Thursday.

Highland Park High School won’t be handing out its yearbooks on time after a statement linked to Nazi leaders was chosen as a senior quote.

Federal prosecutors in New York City say Michael Avenatti used a doctored document to divert about $300,000 that Stormy Daniels was supposed to get from a book deal, then used the money for personal and business expenses. 

Street fests, an unusual estate sale, wearable technology and a massive bike ride usher in the long holiday weekend. Here are a dozen things to do in and around Chicago.

McDonald’s Corp. says it’s enhancing training and offering a new hotline for workers in response to mounting allegations of sexual harassment.

Illinois’ legislative session in Springfield is scheduled to adjourn at the end of this month – and a lot remains unresolved. 

The agency that licenses and inspects health care facilities in Illinois has started an investigation of a suburban Chicago hospital where doctors treated a baby brought in by a woman claiming to be his mother, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

On her first full day in office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a number of leaders who will serve in her administration, as well as several senior staff members.

As police departments across the U.S. weigh the use of facial recognition software, several communities are raising concerns about privacy.

There might be a new kind of meat cooking on the grill this weekend: alternative meat. But what is it? And why the craze?

Dozens of environmental activists from across the Midwest rallied Tuesday outside Chase Tower in the Loop to protest the financing of fossil fuel projects by the country’s largest bank.

Labeling a work of art a “masterpiece” is a dangerous business, but on rare occasions there can be no doubt that such a tag is unavoidable. This is one such case.

Neil Shubin, University of Chicago paleontologist and one of our favorite explainers of all things scientific, joins us to discuss stories making news in the world of science.