Stories by Associated Press

The panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend a booster shot for seniors, as well as younger adults with other health problems, jobs or living situations that put them at increased risk from COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will ask its outside experts to meet in late November to scrutinize Merck’s pill to treat COVID-19.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level since the pandemic began, a sign the job market is still improving even as hiring has slowed in the past two months.

More than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers went on strike Thursday, the first major walkout at the agricultural machinery giant in more than three decades.

Chicago backed up its Game 1 win with another strong offensive performance, yet couldn’t finish it off.

Longtime WTTW fans may remember that back in 1987, our airwaves were hijacked by an unknown TV “pirate.” Now nearly 34 years later, it’s inspired a new film playing Thursday at the Chicago International Film Festival.

In March, a task force was formed by the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, and others to try and put the brakes on carjackings.

A University of Illinois Chicago lab and its partners have been tracking the virus that causes coronavirus in wastewater and sharing the data with local public health agencies. 

The Joffrey Ballet is welcoming back company dancers and instructors. It’s also welcoming choreographers, including Chanel DaSilva. As one of Joffrey’s 2020 Winning Works choreographers, the New York based artist is back with a dance interpretation and reimagining of the old Negro Spiritual, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

Remembering civil rights icon Timuel Black. Is a shortage of police officers coming this weekend? Tracking COVID-19 in wastewater. A new movie based loosely on Chicago’s Max Headroom incident, and more.

In a video posted online Tuesday, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara vowed to take Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court if it tries to enforce a mandate, which requires city workers to report their vaccine status by the end of the work week. 

A search for a new leader of the Chicago Park District to usher into “a new era of accountability in our parks system” is underway, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

A measure that grants the Chicago Police Board the power to overrule the Chicago Police Department and remove a Chicagoan from an under-development gang database advanced Wednesday — even though it is not clear when that system will be up and running.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said those staffers who are not fully vaccinated by Friday’s deadline must consent to weekly testing, but will not be immediately barred from working, as had previously been threatened.

Federal prosecutors announced charges against five reputed members of the O-Block street gang, accusing them of participating in a criminal organization responsible for murder and of “violently” protecting the gang and its territories on the South Side.

Architectural gems, an arts festival, cemetery walk and international films usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

The Food and Drug Administration is wrestling with whether and when to offer another dose of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, while a new study out Wednesday raises the prospect that using a different brand as the booster might work better.

Beleaguered business owners and families separated by COVID-19 restrictions rejoiced Wednesday after the U.S. said it will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze.

The Chicago City Council is poised to allow shared electronic scooters to return to Chicago streets this spring — including downtown and the 606 Trail, where they were banned in last year's pilot program.

William Shatner, 90, became the oldest person in space, eclipsing the previous record — set by a passenger on a similar jaunt on a Jeff Bezos spaceship in July — by eight years.

The unexpected burst of inflation this year reflects sharply higher prices for food and energy, but also for furniture, cars, televisions, and other largely imported goods. COVID-19 has shut down factories in Asia and slowed U.S. port operations.

The chairs of the City Council committees examined by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson rejected nearly all of his recommendations, and disputed that state law had been violated.

Illinois lawmakers have turned their attention toward their task of drawing new Congressional district boundaries, but critics aren’t ready to give up on the previous mapmaking task they say the General Assembly fumbled.

Four City Council members share their thoughts on the mayor’s budget proposal, the embattled park district, and more.

The infusion comes on the heels of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South-West Initiative, a three-year program aimed at investing $750 million in developments across 10 neighborhoods, including South Chicago.

Led by their October-tested stars, the Houston Astros are going back to the AL Championship Series for the fifth straight year.