Stories by Associated Press

As coronavirus infections rise in some parts of the world, experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect.

The United States is expanding efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. It has agreed to accept up to 100,000 people escaping from the war and to increase support for Eastern European nations that have taken in most of the people fleeing Russian forces. 

A new study led by the Field Museum shows that a number of bird species are laying their eggs nearly a month earlier than 100 years ago, likely due to climate change.

Millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief have come to Chicago. We hear from a recipient. How contact tracing efforts may change. And babies born to surrogates in Ukraine, we hear a Chicago couple’s story.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, city and county officials hired hundreds of contact tracers to help stop the spread of the coronavirus as the sheer number of cases overwhelmed local health departments. But as the coronavirus pandemic enters an endemic phase, contact tracing will become more targeted, according to officials.

In the last five years, Ukraine has emerged as the second-most popular destination for surrogacy, only behind the United States, in part because some nations outlawed surrogacy.

The Chicago Community Trust and the United Way of Metro Chicago have partnered with community leaders to invest $35-million in neighborhood businesses and pandemic resources as part of a COVID-19 relief and recovery effort.  

When COVID-19 shutdowns left a record number of people suddenly out of work, Illinois saw record applications for unemployment benefits. That increase drained the state fund that pays out those benefits, the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

At a virtual meeting of the task force working on the overhaul, members of the Redefine the Drive team outlined a study of how the different potential layouts would affect travel times for transit passengers and drivers under different weather conditions during morning and evening rush hour. 

If confirmed on Monday, Nicole Lee would become the first Chinese American to serve as an alderperson.

The American Bar Association’s standing committee on the federal judiciary has afforded its highest rating, “well qualified,” to the Harvard-educated Jackson. A junior high school friend gushed over the “supernova” debate team champion. Skeptics, including Alabama’s attorney general, warned that her views on crime and policing are “outside the mainstream.”

Six months ago, Chicagoan Albert Khoury underwent a double lung transplant to treat stage 4 lung cancer. Today, he has no signs of cancer. The success of the surgery, a first for Northwestern Medicine, “provides new hope for lung cancer patients at Northwestern Medicine,” said surgeon Dr. Ankit Bharat.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) had urged the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn decisions by the Illinois State Board of Elections as well as lower courts that allowed politicians accused of political corruption to use funds contributed by supporters of their campaigns to defend themselves from accusations of wrongdoing while in office.

Metropolitan Los Angeles lost almost 176,000 residents, the San Francisco area saw a loss of more than 116,000 residents and greater Chicago lost more than 91,000 people from 2020 to 2021. The San Jose, Boston, Miami and Washington areas also lost tens of thousands of residents primarily from people moving away.

In a repeat of last week’s giveaway, thousands of motorists lined up at gas stations across Chicago on Thursday morning for free fill-ups courtesy of businessman and sometime political candidate Willie Wilson. This time, the city was prepared.

The Edgewater coffee shop, located at Clark Street and Ridge Avenue, joins three others in the city – Hyde Park, Logan Square, and downtown – and one each in west suburban La Grange and northwest suburban Cary. All six are seeking representation from the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, an SEIU affiliate.

How South Side residents are hoping federal agents can help solve murder cases. Plus, Chicago moves to electronic voting in City Council. And Illinois relaxes rules on sports betting but at what cost?

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to make history here,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, just before the first electronic vote.

Last year, Illinois residents wagered $7.1 billion according to the Illinois Gaming Board. Now, just in time for March Madness, Illinois has dropped an in-person registration requirement for sports bettors — making it even easier to gamble using online apps.

The strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza circulating in the U.S., the first since 2016, doesn’t appear to pose a threat to humans, but is highly contagious among birds and often fatal.

If last week’s gas giveaway is any indication, people can expect to be idling in their cars for upwards of an hour or more Thursday as they wait their turn at the pump for Willie Wilson’s $1 million giveaway. 

The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously approved a calendar for the 2022-23 school year that sees students return to classes on Aug. 22, a full week earlier than they did during the current year.

The Chicago City Council voted 34-13 to settle the lawsuit, the first significant payment approved by city officials to compensate Chicagoans who alleged they were mistreated by Chicago Police officers during the unrest and protests that swept the city in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. 

Jackson appeared for a third day before the Senate Judiciary Committee for tense confirmation hearings, providing a vivid portrait of the nation’s promise, but also its enduring racial challenges.

Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, has died of cancer, her family said Wednesday. She was 84.

Special menus, fancy footwork, wines and spirits, and vegan fare usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.