Stories by Associated Press

A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access.

In an update released Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been 2,617 MIS-C cases in the United States before March 1, and 33 children have died. That’s up from early February, when 2,060 cases and 30 deaths had been reported.

Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who captured hearts at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, posted to social media that she was followed home by a security guard who demanded to know where she lived because she “looked suspicious.”

An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums.

As the nation’s campaign against the coronavirus moves from mass inoculation sites to drugstores and doctors’ offices, getting vaccinated remains a challenge for residents of “pharmacy deserts,” communities without pharmacies or well-equipped health clinics.

The Senate approved a sweeping pandemic relief package over Republican opposition on Saturday, moving President Joe Biden closer to a milestone political victory that would provide $1,400 checks for most American and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses.

Many in the community consider George Floyd Square, the place where former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes, to be a sacred space, but it also has presented some headaches for the city.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Democratic state attorneys general that had sought to force the federal government to recognize Virginia’s vote last year to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and add it to the Constitution.

Officials are opening mass vaccination sites hoping they’ll correct disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Lower COVID-19 infections prompt Mayor Lori Lightfoot to relax restrictions on restaurants. And a return to in-person learning for Chicago high schoolers is floated. 

A variant of the coronavirus first discovered in Brazil and believed to be more transmissible is present in Chicago, officials announced Friday. The person who tested positive for the variant had not traveled outside Illinois, according to officials.

More than 27 million Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will have to keep waiting for guidance from federal health officials for what they should and shouldn’t do.

Microscopic examination supports early suspicions that wear and tear caused a fan blade to snap inside one engine of a United Airlines plane that made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff last month in Denver, federal safety investigators said Friday.

While doses of three approved COVID-19 vaccines are still in short supply, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday launched a $10 million public awareness campaign designed to encourage Black and Latino Illinoisans to get inoculated as soon as possible.

Chicago Bird Collision Monitors is recruiting volunteers to help rescue birds injured or stunned while navigating their way through downtown’s maze of confusing lights and glass buildings.

The February gain marked a sharp pickup from the 166,000 jobs that were added in January and a loss of 306,000 in December. Yet it represents just a fraction of the roughly 10 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic.

The Chicago Ornithological Society has resumed small group bird hikes. Masks are a must, as is social distancing. 

Vaccine hesitancy may have been an issue when vaccines were first being developed and rolled out, but now the main issues are equitable access and supply, according to a pair of local doctors.

In DuPage County, the COVID-19 case rate among Latino residents is more than two times higher than for non-Latinos. West Chicago has been hit particularly hard, with nearly 4,000 cases in the city’s main ZIP code.

Democratic leaders made over a dozen late changes in their package, reflecting their need to cement unanimous support from all their senators — plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote — to succeed in the 50-50 chamber. 

News that Target would shutter two South Side stores in February 2018 prompted deep outrage — especially since the big box retailer was in the process of opening a new store on the Far Northwest Side in a new strip mall that was getting a $13 million subsidy.

Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union officials met for the first time Wednesday to begin negotiations about how to safely resume in-person learning in the city’s high schools, according to the district’s Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade. 

Food waste has become a growing concern because of the environmental toll of production, including the land required to raise crops and animals and the greenhouse gas emissions produced along the way. 

Watch the March 4, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims rose by 9,000 from the previous week. Though the pace of layoffs has eased since the year began, they remain high by historical standards.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Chicago) was elected the new chair of the Illinois Democratic Party on Wednesday evening, becoming the first Black person and first woman elected to lead the state party into a new era after the resignation of Michael Madigan. 

For months, Dan O’Conor has shocked his senses by leaping into Lake Michigan — every day. What was prompted last June by a hangover is now an opportunity for the Lincoln Square resident to help the city’s music scene. We meet up at Fullerton Beach to see him in action.