Stories by Associated Press

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite threats from Beijing of serious consequences, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China.

There are now 533 confirmed monkeypox cases in Illinois. And one of those cases was confirmed last week in Cook County Jail. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office said the individual is believed to have contracted the virus in the community prior to being ordered into custody.

Painter Eric Edward Esper creates accurate historical depictions of terrifying tragedies – fires, tornadoes and nautical disasters that took place in Chicago and elsewhere.

Rent prices rose 9.4% in 2022, according to data firm CoStar Group. In response, groups of local tenants are unionizing in hopes of pushing for an end to a rent control ban that was passed in 1997.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11. It now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Biden described the legislation as the biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to address exposure to burn pits.

Funding for the CityArts Program increased by 280% in 2022, climbing from $1.7 million in 2021 to $6.5 million, according to a news release. The awards follow the announcement that $26 million will be provided in new arts and culture investments as part of the city’s 2022 budget.

The findings come days after Democrats hammered out a 725-page climate, health care and tax deal that would extend generous federal subsidies for people who buy private health insurance that are credited with driving down the uninsured rates. Democrats have proposed spending $64 billion to extend those price breaks for three more years.

Cooper Roberts’ family said the boy was moved Sunday to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab from the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. The family’s statement released Monday said Cooper’s medical team will focus on physical and occupational therapy along with other rehabilitation and mental health services.

New research hints that even a simple exercise routine just might help older Americans with mild memory problems.

The future of Lollapalooza after the music festival rocked Grant Park this weekend. More controversy for a northwest suburban bakery that wanted to host a drag show. And Art on the Mart celebrates Bud Billiken.

The teachers say they were encouraging students to participate in the process of free speech by protesting metal scrap company General Iron, which planned to move into their South Side community.

State Farm hits Illinois auto customers with yet another price hike. Suburban apartments are seeing some major investment gains. And a look at what’s on the road ahead for electric truck maker Rivian.

The Bud Billiken Parade is taking over a prominent downtown building in a projection film titled “Billiken.” It features dancers from the Bringing Out Talent Dance Company.

On July 28, Lake in the Hills officials told UpRising Bakery and Cafe that live programming violated a local zoning ordinance and they had to refrain from holding any more events.

The new contract will be in place for 2023 and run through 2032, with the potential for a five-year extension.

The president said in an evening address from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday.

Performed to breathtaking effect by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, along with the Chicago Children’s Choir, and a brilliant assemblage of instrumental and vocal soloists, the concert was superbly led by Marin Alsop, Ravinia’s chief conductor.

The online used-car dealer has once again had its dealer’s license in Illinois suspended. The company’s construction of a glass “vending machine” for cars remains on hold in Skokie as a result.

By declaring the state a disaster area for the disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health will be able to more quickly coordinate the agency’s response to the spread of the virus and distribute vaccines more efficiently, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

For the fifth consecutive month, the Chicago Police Department reported a decline in homicides from the same period a year prior, but that hasn’t translated into a reduction in other crimes.

The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist is to return to court on Tuesday, a month after the beginning of the trial in which she could face 10 years in prison if convicted. As the trial has progressed, the Biden Administration has faced rising calls for action to win her release.

More than one in five New York City elementary schools had fewer than 300 students last school year. In Los Angeles, that figure was over one in four. In Chicago it has grown to nearly one in three, and in Boston it’s approaching one in two, according to a Chalkbeat/AP analysis.

A 16-year-old boy fatally shot in Brighton Park early Sunday morning was among five people killed by gunfire over the weekend in Chicago.

Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

Born Grace Dell Nichols in suburban Robbins, Nichelle Nichols first worked professionally as a singer and dancer in Chicago at age 14, moving on to New York nightclubs and working for a time with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands before coming to Hollywood.

An exhibition at the DePaul Art Museum titled “Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture and Reparations, Chicago to Guantanamo” is acknowledging 20 years since the opening of a United States extra-legal prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.