Stories by Associated Press

The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday revamped its list of which Americans are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, adding pregnant women and removing age alone as a factor.

The Friday briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services was held as the number of confirmed new coronavirus infections per day in the U.S. soared to an all-time high of 40,000 — higher even than during the deadliest stretch in April and May. 

The Chicago Board of Education votes to keep police in schools for now. Chicago and the state enter phase four of reopening. Rumors the city’s top cop is leaving amid spikes in gun violence. 

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has blown a $280 million hole in Cook County’s budget for 2020, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Friday.

"We believe in the future of Chicago," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.

Chicago’s annual summer jobs program will include a new youth service corps charged with helping the city respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday.

American Airlines will start booking flights to full capacity next week, ending any effort to promote social distancing on its planes while the United States sets records for new reported cases of the coronavirus.

Two brothers who admitted helping actor Jussie Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago last year are again willing to help in the case after initially saying they were done cooperating with prosecutors, their attorney said Thursday.

“He is a clear and present danger to all of society and all members of the community,” Judge Susana Ortiz said before denying bond Friday for 19-year-old Laroy Battle.

Forty million locusts are winding their way through Argentina and a massive dust cloud has crossed the Atlantic from the Sahara. What else could 2020 possibly have in store for us?

Those who believe they have witnessed misconduct by Chicago Police Department sergeants, lieutenants and captains can submit a complaint anonymously under the city’s new contract with their union, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A Champaign County judge dismissed the lawsuit against a pair of University of Illinois social workers, each of whom interviewed Brendt Christensen weeks before he kidnapped Zhang and killed her inside his Champaign apartment in June 2017.

His radio show that looks at politics from the inside is about to mark it’s 40th anniversary. And he was one of the creators of “Chicago Tonight” in 1984. Bruce DuMont reflects on 40 years of “Beyond the Beltway” and more.

An analysis of city data shows the majority of Chicago ZIP codes have positivity rates at or below those needed move into phase four, but one has a rate of 15.3%. We discuss metrics and reopening with Chicago’s top doctor.

It was the first neighborhood to feel the economic impact of COVID-19. Months later, on the eve of the city’s move into phase four, the enduring message is that Chinatown is still here, and it is open for business.

Longtime viewers might remember a time when for one wild week a year, they could buy everything from spark plugs to mink coats right here at our studios. Geoffrey Baer revisits that era.

Over the objections of environmental activists, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a construction permit to General Iron, allowing the company to move its metal-shredding operation from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is again facing legal action for allegedly exceeding his executive authority in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. 

A crash involving a city-owned vehicle and a cyclist this week in Avondale points to larger problems within the city’s biking infrastructure, cycling advocates say.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County announced it will reopen Swallow Cliff Stairs, nature centers and bathrooms, plus allow grilling and lift restrictions on parking lots at popular sites — but not until after the Fourth of July.

It’s official: Illinois will move into the next phase of its reopening plan Friday. “Illinois is being touted across the country for getting it right,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.

The ongoing federal review of plans to construct the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park hit a minor speed bump when the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office weighed in. What does it mean for the controversial project?

With the possibility of remote learning returning this fall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday announced the launch of a $50 million program that will provide free high-speed internet to students over the next four years.

Watch the June 25, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

More than 460 people across the country, including 16 in Illinois, have become ill after coming in contact with poultry in backyard flocks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states where bars, stores and restaurants have reopened.