Stories by Associated Press

One year into Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s tenure as director, her bid to make the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more agile is being challenged by political pressures, vocal scientists and the changing virus itself.

“Steady is not good news,” said members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “We are stuck in a perilous moment.”

The Chicago International Puppet Festival returns for 10 days, and Thursday is opening night. Blair Thomas, the behind-the-scenes puppet master, pulled a lot of strings to keep this festival on the calendar.

President Joe Biden took action on a number of his key campaign promises, from rebuilding U.S. alliances globally to distributing vaccines across America and the world. But others remain works in progress or dependent on Congress to address. That’s particularly true of his promises to reform the nation’s immigration system. 

Despite a day of piercing debate and speeches that often carried echoes of an earlier era when the Senate filibuster was deployed by opponents of civil rights legislation, Democrats could not persuade holdout senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia to change the Senate procedures on this one bill and allow a simple majority to advance it.

A couple of Indiana highway cameras caught lake effect snow in action Thursday morning, offering a picture-perfect snapshot of one of the region’s quirkier weather phenomena.

The state law, which applies in Chicago as well as the rest of the state, took effect Jan. 1. 

Rhysheen Wilson, 27, was ordered held on $2 million during a bond hearing Thursday following his arrest on charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, aggravated discharge of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

The nation’s oldest civil rights organization’s birthday next month comes as it undergoes a restructuring to reflect a membership and leadership that is trending younger, to people in their mid-30s. As a result, it is adding endeavors like producing TV streaming content for CBS.

Surgeons in Alabama transplanted a pig’s kidneys into a brain-dead man — a step-by-step rehearsal for an operation they hope to try in living patients possibly later this year.

According to Chicago police, the incident began just after 5 a.m. Thursday in the 5600 block of North Sacramento Avenue.

This season of “To Dine For with Kate Sullivan” takes viewers on a journey with successful, and sometimes prominent guests sharing stories over their favorite foods.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that she has fully recovered from her bout with COVID-19, and said it felt like “a bad cold.”

New research published Tuesday in JAMA Pediatrics that looked at children and adolescents from 11 countries found kids experienced both mental and physical health problems — anxiety, depression, lower physical activity, food insecurity and school disengagement — linked to school closures and social lockdowns.

The decision from the companies came Tuesday as the Biden administration intervened to broker tried to broker a settlement between the telecoms and airlines over a rollout of new 5G service.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) looked on as his attorney Adolfo Mondragon urged the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn decisions by the Illinois State Board of Elections as well as lower courts to toss out his complaint against his predecessor, disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis.

Spotlight Politics on the latest Republican to enter the governor’s race. Parenting amid a pandemic. The re-organized rollout of 5G cell service. And a famous architect’s favorite Chicago restaurant.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is flush with billions of dollars following passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Some of those funds are being funneled toward critical projects in the Chicago region, the Corps announced Wednesday. 

Despite his late push, Biden has been unable to persuade two holdout Democrats, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, to change Senate rules so the party can overpower a Republican filibuster that is blocking the voting bill. 

Upcoming virtual town halls will give Chicagoans a chance to learn about and weigh in on plans to update the city’s climate action plan, from emission reduction targets to renewable energy goals.

Judge William Raines has been placed on “restricted duties or duties other than judicial duties” and must receive sensitivity training and gender bias counseling, according to an order from Chief Judge Timothy Evans.

More than 14,000 students and staff within Chicago Public Schools are currently either quarantining or in isolation due to COVID-19, but the district will soon be shortening the amount of time those people need to stay home from school.

Chicago's COVID-19 test positivity peaked at 19.6% on Jan. 1, Arwady said, and hit 12.6% on Tuesday, the lowest rate since Dec. 28, according to city data. 

Hundreds of puppets, life-sized dinosaurs, art exhibits and a celebration of winter usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.

The White House announced Wednesday that the masks will come from the government's Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective masks on hand. 

Voting legislation that’s a top priority for Democrats and civil rights leaders seemed headed for defeat as the Senate opened Tuesday, a devastating setback as two holdout Democratic senators refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican filibuster.