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Local leaders are advising people to avoid travel when possible, and to check in on friends, family and neighbors who may need a helping hand. In Chicago’s North Park neighborhood, people are adjusting quickly during a busy holiday season while bearing in mind vulnerable community members. 

More than 1,800 flights have been canceled Thursday across the United States, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, as severe winter weather complicates holiday travel.

Global Christmas traditions, a risqué “Nutcracker” and drive-thru light displays usher in the holiday weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said the city is expected to move from a “medium” risk level for contracting COVID-19 back to a “high” risk level, likely sometime in the next week. When that happens, the city will reinstate an advisory, urging Chicagoans to mask up.

The number of travelers expected to fly – 7.2 million – is just shy of 2019’s 7.3 million. And when you factor in that airlines are operating fewer flights that are more crowded, there’s serious potential for a serious mess for air travelers. How to cope? Here are some strategies.

In a brief remarks before reporters, President Joe Biden told Zelenskyy that “it’s an honor to be by your side” and he pledged continued financial, military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Biden also warned that Russia is “trying to use winter as a weapon” in the war.

February’s municipal elections are not just about the race for mayor or Chicago City Council. There are also dozens of candidates running for brand new positions: police district councils.

One by one, street vendors recently walked into Chicago Police Department headquarters. They were on a mission to get help following recent robberies of street vendors along 26th Street.

Blizzard-like conditions are predicted just ahead of Christmas and during Hanukkah. The double whammy caused crowded parking lots and long aisles at grocery stores on Wednesday as folks stocked up.

Illinois lawmakers hold hearings on a possible assault weapons ban. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

How Chicagoans are preparing as extreme cold temps approach. The role of police district council members, up for election in February. Spotlight Politics on the assault weapons ban and outgoing politicians.

A body found Tuesday in a Chicago harbor has been identified as that of a Northwestern University student who went missing after leaving a weekend party, authorities said.

The addition of Swanson is the biggest of three major moves by the team since the end of its second straight losing season. Right-hander Jameson Taillon signed a $68 million, four-year contract, and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger got a $17.5 million, one-year deal.

The top spot on the Feb. 28 ballot for mayor officially belongs to Ja’Mal Green, after an aide to rival candidate Willie Wilson dropped his challenge of the activist’s nominating petitions Wednesday evening.

The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother — who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing — with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. 

Ashley Goss, 39, was arrested Monday just moments after an incident inside the Chicago Red Line station on the Near North Side. He was ordered held without bail during a hearing Wednesday afternoon.

The event will be held in Accra’s Black Star Square, a monument to the political freedom that was won by Ghanaians in 1957. The festival’s title was inspired by civil rights leader Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line, which was founded in 1919.

Classes are not canceled Thursday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez announced. Chicago is expecting to get hit with a dangerous combination of high winds, extremely cold temperatures and blowing snow, creating whiteout conditions.

Unless you live in a year-round warm climate and plan to stay there, it’s important to know how winter storms behave, how to avoid and prepare for them, and heaven forbid, what to do in the worst-case scenario.

This year’s flu season has hit hard and early. Some people are even noticing bare shelves at pharmacies and grocery stores when they make a run for over-the-counter medicines as cases have spiked. 

The fund will award grants in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 for projects, including energy efficiency upgrades, green infrastructure or the purchase of electric vehicles.

What will be the hallmark of the impending Christmas blizzard of 2022? Probably not a lot of snow, but that’s not what blizzards are about anyway.

Actor and director Isaiah Washington’s new film “Corsicana” explores the life of a Black law enforcement officer with some very notable stripes.

What to expect from this week's anticipated blizzard. Lawmakers get an earful from gun rights advocates. The controversy over encrypting police scanners. And should Chicago residents switch from gas to electric heat?

Illinois lawmakers are pressing forward with an attempt to ban certain firearms they describe as assault weapons, but gun rights advocates say it’s a fruitless effort that will be tossed by the courts.

As the price of natural gas rises, it’s prompting some consumer and environmental advocates to call for homes to go all-electric.