Stories by Associated Press

President Joe Biden expressed support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the eighth day of air strikes and rocket barrages that have killed at least 200 people, most of them Palestinians in Gaza. 

Millions of specimens collected by the Field, not for exhibits but for scientific study, are unlocking mysteries of evolution and could answer questions about climate change.

Following new CDC guidance, Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the state’s mask mandate for fully vaccinated residents on Monday. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she will continue to wear a mask, both indoors and outdoors, even though she is fully vaccinated. 

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to a showdown over abortion in a case that could dramatically alter nearly 50 years of rulings on abortion rights.

The growing threat of cyberattacks. New guidelines spark confusion over wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Why our spring has been cold and dry. And business headlines from Crain’s.

The number of daily flights from the Chicago-based airline is set to take off. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

Normally, nearly 11 inches of rain falls on Chicago in the spring. This year, the city has only measured 2.32 inches and is on track to set a record for the driest spring ever.

The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Monday, saying it destroyed 9 miles of militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders, as international diplomats worked to end the week of fighting that has killed hundreds of people.

In many downtown areas where companies closed their offices and commuting ground to a halt, sandwich shops, bakeries and other small businesses are waiting with guarded optimism for their customers to return.

Illinois residents who lost their jobs or found their paychecks scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for up to $25,000 to cover missed rent payments starting Monday, officials said.

We comb through efforts to end discrimination against Black hairstyles. The Black engineering firm steering CTA’s modernization. And we share the mic with WBEZ host Sasha-Ann Simons.

Black hair has been politicized, penalized and legislated throughout history. As a bill addressing hair discrimination heads to the Illinois House, we break down the politics of Black hair.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City flattened three buildings and killed at least 42 people Sunday, Palestinian medics said, in the deadliest single attack in the latest round of violence. 

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday defended the decision to ease mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, stressing that increasing political pressure had nothing to do with the abrupt shift in guidelines.

Researchers said their marine laboratory experiments with a small species of shark confirm long-held speculation that sharks use magnetic fields as aids to navigation — behavior observed in other marine animals such as sea turtles.

The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States said Sunday that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic.

Two Chicago police officers were shot on the West Side of the city Sunday morning and have been released from the hospital, and the suspected gunman was also shot, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Chicago’s Board of Education on what the search for the next CPS CEO will look like. A permitting delay for a metal-shredding company. And a musical profile with a 14-year-old oboist.

Southside Recycling has long planned a move to the Southwest Side. But last week, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency asked Mayor Lori Lightfoot to conduct an environmental justice assessment in the community before allowing the company to operate.

In February, we met four teens participating in a program that helps students pursue careers in classical music. Little Village resident Giovani Ibarra, 14, offers his thoughts on the oboe with this performance.

Chicago Public School officials say they hope to have a new CEO selected by late July. Miguel del Valle, the head of the Chicago Board of Education, joins us to discuss the process of picking the next chief.

Israel slammed the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Saturday, in a dramatic escalation that included bombing the home of a senior Hamas leader, killing a family of 10 in a refugee camp — most of them children — and pulverizing a high-rise that housed The Associated Press and other media.

The operator of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline — hit on May 7 by a ransomware attack — announced Saturday that it has resumed “normal operations,” delivering fuel to its markets, including a large swath of the East Coast.

Student and community activists from New England to the Deep South are demanding institutions take more ambitious steps to atone for past sins — from colonial-era slavery to more recent campus expansion projects that have pushed out entire communities of color.

McDonald’s follows other chains including Chipotle, which said Monday that it will raise workers’ pay to an average of $15 per hour by the end of June. 

John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, met privately with Pope Francis on Saturday, afterward calling the pope a “compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis” who has been “ahead of the curve.”