Mandated screenings for perinatal depression may overlook a significant portion of women who are struggling with suicidal thoughts, according to a new study from the University of Illinois. 

More than a month after they first began hearing testimony, jurors in the trial of Brendt Christensen are likely to begin deliberating this week over his appropriate sentence: life in prison or death.

Defense attorneys called a juror’s actions this week “unprecedented” and sought a mistrial on Wednesday. That request was denied, but the walkout marks one more oddity in the high-profile case.

As he looked down at a photo of his daughter, Ronggao Zhang could not contain himself. He turned away, inhaled sharply and began crying on the witness stand. Then the man convicted of killing Yingying Zhang did the same.

Until this week, jurors knew little about Yingying Zhang, other than how she died. Federal prosecutors on Monday sought to paint a better picture of the visiting Chinese scholar through the words of her friends and loved ones.

As in any criminal case, after a defendant is found guilty, the court moves on to sentencing. But things operate differently when the defendant faces a possible death sentence.

Federal defenders are seeking a four-week delay to review and translate videos of Yingying Zhang and her family if that evidence is allowed at sentencing.

Attorneys for Brendt Christensen say he offered to cooperate with investigators and disclose what he did with the Chinese scholar’s remains in return for a life sentence just six months after his 2017 arrest.

Responding to increasing public concern over environmental health threats, researchers have published a guide designed to help residents of Great Lakes communities determine if air, water or soil contamination is affecting their health. 

Brendt Christensen has been found guilty in the kidnapping and death of Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang, setting the stage for what could be the first death sentence handed down within Illinois since the state abolished capital punishment in 2011.

The body of Yingying Zhang has never been found, but the vehicle she was last seen entering was allegedly driven hundreds of miles in the days before and after her disappearance. More from the high-profile trial of Brendt Christensen.

Brendt Christensen appeared “excited” and laughed when talking about killing Yingying Zhang, his former girlfriend testified Thursday at Christensen’s death-penalty trial.

During testimony Wednesday, Terra Bullis described her past relationship with Brendt Christensen and how she came to wear a wire for FBI investigators who believe he is responsible for the disappearance of Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang.

Federal prosecutors and Brendt Christensen’s defense team are each expected to call their final witnesses before Friday. Among those slated to testify: Christensen’s former girlfriend, who wore a wire for the FBI, and his ex-wife.

“I want to test my limits and experience everything,” Brendt Christensen wrote in his profile on Fetlife.com, a social media site for adults with alternative sexual interests, weeks before Yingying Zhang disappeared.

Alaaulldin Al Ibrahim, or “Al” to his friends, was born in Syria, moved to Jordan and eventually resettled as a refugee in Chicago. This fall he’ll attend the University of Illinois at Chicago on a full scholarship to study pre-med.