Stories by Associated Press

The Senate has dodged a U.S. debt disaster, voting to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December and temporarily avert an unprecedented federal default that experts warned would devastate the economy and harm millions of Americans.

For the second time in two weeks, Indiana Dunes National Park has had to close its beaches due to an unknown substance leaking into the water along its Portage shoreline. 

Debris from houses, shops and offices had to go somewhere. The rubble was dumped off the lakefront east of Michigan Avenue, and if that sounds like the location of Grant Park, it is.

Uptown is one of Chicago’s most diverse communities.  It’s home to a few icons in Chicago’s music scene. But, like many neighborhoods, it also faces gentrification. We talk with community leaders about planned luxury apartments coming to the area and a nonprofit that provides housing for women.

President Biden’s in town to tout vaccine mandates. Live from Uptown. The Rev. Jesse Jackson turns 80. Cook County Board President Preckwinkle proposes a spending budget. And a Bears versus Raiders preview.

One of Chicago’s most notable residents, and one of the country’s most visible and iconic civil rights leaders for the last 60 years, turns 80 on Friday. The Rev. Jesse Jackson stood with Martin Luther King Jr. and has been carrying the mantle of fighting for racial and economic equality ever since.

Justin Fields secures the starting quarterback spot as the Bears travel to Las Vegas for a date with the Raiders.  James “Big Cat” Williams joins us to share his predictions for the game.

A new show at the Chicago History Museum features artwork and animation that bring the Great Chicago Fire to life on its 150th anniversary.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s $8 billion plan calls for Cook County’s workforce to grow by approximately 1,600 employees to a total workforce of more than 23,000 workers in 2022.

President Joe Biden on Thursday championed COVID-19 vaccination requirements, determined that the roughly 67 million unvaccinated American adults must get the shot even as he acknowledged that mandates weren’t his “first instinct.”

A new Northwestern Medicine study has found increased stress during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with irregularities in menstrual cycles.

Donald Trump intends to assert executive privilege in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, a move that could prevent the testimony of onetime aides, according to a letter sent by lawyers for the former president.

Louis Capriotti, 46, entered a guilty plea Thursday, court records indicate, admitting to leaving what a federal judge had previously described as “very explicit and concerning” voicemails.

City officials said they were encouraged by the response to the program, which was designed to combat the city’s affordable housing crisis. 

Pfizer asked the U.S. government Thursday to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 – and if regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks.

The recommended 2022 budget will keep the doors open and the lights on, but doesn’t make a dent in the district’s $64 million in unfunded maintenance, pension obligations or goal to acquire more land. For those resources, the district is pinning its hopes on an upcoming property tax referendum.

The order Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman is the first legal blow to the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8, which until now had withstood a wave of early challenges.

It’s been 822,900 minutes since Broadway in Chicago closed its doors. Now nearly a year and a half later, they’re back with a story that’s giving us 525,600 reasons to love.

Who would have imagined that students and their parents would be upset about not enough testing in schools? But that’s the case in Chicago, where the district’s been slow to roll out COVID-19 testing.

The latest on COVID-19 testing in schools. Delving into Chicago’s remapping process. A decrease in the affordable housing market. A call for equity as bike lanes expand. And Broadway is back in the city.

Kim Foxx held a rare press conference Tuesday to respond to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, calling it “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the mayor to publicly push for criminal charges in last Friday's shooting “without the benefit of all of the evidence.”

Players from Minnie Miñoso to Luis Aparicio to Ozzie Guillén have been fan favorites on Chicago’s South Side for decades. Never has the Latino presence on the White Sox roster been more important than this year, when the Sox could have seven or more players of Latino heritage starting in the playoffs.

Renters are finding fewer affordable homes and apartments as the city sees a decline in units. A new study from DePaul University shows the city experienced a 5.2% decline in affordable rental units over the past decade.

The final map crafted by the Chicago Ward Advisory Redistricting Commission would increase the number of wards where Latinos make up a majority of residents by one to 14, while reducing the number of wards with a majority of Black voters by three to 15 wards. 

Cyclists of color in Chicago get a disproportionate number of tickets from police, according to reports by the Chicago Tribune. Bike advocates hope a new city initiative can help address the problem but say it’s not just about infrastructure.

Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy has changed his mind and made Justin Fields the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback going forward.