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(WTTW News)

Chicago Parents on the Use of Masks in Schools

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the statewide mask mandate for most indoor public spaces will be lifted at the end of February. Despite the ongoing court challenge to the school mask mandate, it will remain in place for now. 

(WTTW News)

Mr. Bocanegra Goes to Washington: Chicago Anti-Violence Pioneer Joins DOJ

Eddie Bocanegra began his work in Chicago as an outreach worker at CeaseFire. He later started the Urban Warriors program with the YMCA, connecting youth with military veteran mentors and began the READI program offering intensive resources for people at high risk for violence. 

(WTTW News)

La Última Palabra on Latinos and Tech Startups

As part of our La Última Palabra series, Lou Sandoval, CEO of Supply Hive, says it’s time for Latinos to look to the tech industry for entrepreneurial inspiration.

Ukrainians attend a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, during a protest against the potential escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine. (AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky)

Biden Warns Putin of ‘Severe Costs’ of Ukraine Invasion

The two presidents spoke a day after Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that U.S. intelligence shows that a Russian invasion could begin within days and before the Winter Olympics in Beijing end Feb. 20.

Leondra Kruger, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, poses for photos in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. Kruger is among the group of Black women, both judges and lawyers, whose names are being floated as a possible replacement for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.(AP Photo / Jeff Chiu)

Biden Weighs Appeal of 3 Top Candidates for High Court

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday Biden could begin meeting with top contenders as early as next week, noting that such interviews typically happen at the end of the vetting process. She said the president remains on track for an announcement by the end of the month.

(WTTW News)

The Week in Review: State’s Mask Mandate Lifting

Gov. Pritzker announces an eventual end to the indoor mask mandate. Chao and confusion abound at schools after the latest court ruling on masks in schools. The defense rests in an alderman’s criminal trial. And is there a ray of hope for the Bears and Soldier Field?

Conductor Marin Alsop leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Barber’s Symphony No. 1. (Credit: Todd Rosenberg)

A Rachmaninov Piano Concerto (and More) Rocks Orchestra Hall as Marin Alsop Conducts the CSO

Rachmaninov’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor,” is a nerve-shatteringly difficult work. Backed by the full orchestra, which was in its usual sublime form, Lukas Vondracek rendered the extraordinary work with a superb mix of both titanic power and surprising lyricism.

A person is injected with her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a Dallas County Health and Human Services vaccination site in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo / LM Otero, File)

In Reversal, FDA Puts Brakes on COVID Shots for Kids Under 5

Friday, the FDA reversed course and said it had become clear the agency needed to wait for data on how well a third shot works for the youngest age group. Pfizer said in a statement that it expected the data by early April.

In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, the Russian navy's amphibious assault ship Kaliningrad sails into the Sevastopol harbor in Crimea. The Russian navy has sent six amphibious assault ships into the Black Sea as part of a buildup of forces near Ukraine that stoked Western fears of an invasion. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

US Ramps Up Ukraine Warning, Says Russia May Invade in Days

The Biden administration on Friday escalated its dire warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place within days, even as diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis continued.

Omar Nieves, Gary Cooper, Drew Redington (Credit: Liz Lauren)

Marriott’s Dance-Fueled ‘West Side Story’ Remains True to a Classic

The Marriott Theatre’s “West Side Story” opened Wednesday night in a production especially notable for its rip-roaring Latin and jazz-infused dance sequences choreographed by Alex Sanchez.

A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection by a pharmacist at a clinic in Lawrence, Mass., on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa, File)

Study: COVID Booster Effectiveness Wanes, Remains Strong

An early look at the performance of COVID-19 booster shots during the recent omicron wave in the U.S. showed a decline in effectiveness against severe cases, though the shots still offered strong protection. 

(WTTW News)

‘Chicago Tonight’ in Your Neighborhood: Niles

Niles, a northwest Chicago suburb. It’s well known for its landmark replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it’s also a community thinking about how to revamp one of its anchor businesses for the future. There are efforts to redevelop Golf Mill mall, a nearby park, and plans to improve infrastructure and pedestrian safety.

(WTTW News)

February 10, 2022 - Full Show

Chicago police change their foot pursuit policy. College athletes blocked from playing in championships. Efforts to renew the Violence Against Women Act. And ancient artwork in a new setting. 

Blues drummer Sam Lay sets up below stained glass where the altar used to be at the former First Christian Church that is now the Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kan., Jan. 27, 2000.  (AP Photo / Cliff Schiappa, file)

Blues Drummer Sam Lay Dies at 86; Played With Dylan, Waters

Alligator Records said Lay was known for his “trademark, hard-to-copy ‘double-shuffle’" drumming, based on double-time hand-clapping in his childhood church.

(WTTW News)

Chicago Police Revise Foot Pursuit Policy After Criticism

Police reform advocates criticized the original policy as too “vague” and said it gave officers too much discretion to chase someone they suspect of a crime. 

(WTTW News)

Why the Real Estate Industry Has Seen an Increase in New Agents

The housing market has been hot throughout the pandemic and so is the industry itself, with more people getting into the business. Membership at the Illinois Realtors Association is up 15% in the past five years and the past two years have seen the most significant growth.

Funerary Mask, Late Ptolemaic Period–early Roman Period, 1st century BCE. Ancient Egyptian. (Courtesy The Art Institute of Chicago, W. Moses Willner Fund).

Treasures of Ancient Egypt Return to Spotlight at Art Institute

Back in 1890, the Art Institute of Chicago began collecting Egyptian art. Much of it has been out of view for years, but the museum spruced up the collection and is about to unveil it in a new gallery. We have a preview of ancient art and artifacts from the Nile Valley in North Africa.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., center, holds a news conference to announce a bipartisan update to the Violence Against Women Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Senators Strike Bipartisan Deal on Domestic Violence Bill

Sen. Dick Durbin announced a bill to renew the Violence Against Women Act alongside his Democratic and Republican colleagues who were also joined by domestic violence survivors and actor and advocate Angelina Jolie.

(YouTube)

UIC Athletes Barred from Playing in Championships

The decision comes from their conference, the Horizon League, after UIC announced it’ll be leaving the league and joining the Missouri Valley Conference next year. 

A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)

Charges Filed in West Side Shootout That Sparked Feud Between Lori Lightfoot, Kim Foxx

Thomas Dean was charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon stemming from the Oct. 1, 2021, shootout in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue.

A rendering of Carvana’s proposed 14-story tower in Skokie. (Facebook)

Carvana Made a Lot of Promises To Appease Opponents of Its 14-Story Glass Tower, What’s To Hold the Company to Them?

The concessions are being written into an ordinance, which will come up for a second reading and final approval at a subsequent board meeting, possibly as early as Feb. 22. Failure to comply could lead to fines or even the suspension of Carvana’s business license.

Dirksen United States Courthouse (Ken Lund / Flickr)

Jerry Harris, of Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ Fame, Pleads Guilty in Federal Child Sex Abuse Case

Jerry Harris, 22, entered a guilty plea on charges of knowingly receiving child pornography and engaging in illicit sexual conduct during a remote hearing before a Chicago judge Thursday afternoon.

(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Statewide Mask Mandates Are Disappearing, But Should You Continue to Wear One Anyway?

At this point in the coronavirus pandemic, local mask mandates are disappearing quickly while at the national level, the guidance to wear masks is staying put, at least for now. So, should you mask up or not? Infectious disease experts have some advice for wherever you live.

Lincoln Park High School (WTTW News)

Teen Charged With Posting ‘Violent’ Online Threat to Lincoln Park High School

A 15-year-old boy is facing a felony charge after he allegedly made a “violent threat” online about Lincoln Park High School.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., arrives to speak to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh)

Republican Rift Exposes Choice: With Trump or Against Him

The Republican rift over a symbolic RNC vote to censure Trump’s two GOP House critics has exposed in stark contrast the competing forces fighting to control the party. 

Ray Hoffman, right, who is immune-compromised, is given a shot of the two-shot dose of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld — the first set of antibodies grown in a lab to prevent COVID-19, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, by Jose Lazaro, center, a medical assistant at a University of Washington Medicine clinic in Seattle as Cynde Wiederhold, left, a nurse, looks on. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)

Most Vulnerable Still in Jeopardy as COVID Precautions Ease

Up to 7 million immune-compromised Americans have been left behind in the nation’s wobbly efforts to get back to normal. Not only do these fragile patients remain at high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, they can harbor lengthy infections that can help spark still more variants.