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Susan Stanton, executive director of the advocacy group ACT Now, on May 7, 2024, leads a rally calling on state lawmakers to provide funding to prevent after-school programs that serve an estimated 40,000 students statewide from being forced to close this summer. (Peter Hancock / Capitol News Illinois)

Thousands of Illinois Students at Risk of Losing Access to After-School Programs

Advocates say as many as 40,000 youths statewide could lose access to tutoring services, recreation and other extracurricular activities this summer unless Illinois lawmakers approve an infusion of funds to keep them going.

FILE - A protester is hit with a baton by a police officer at UC San Diego, May 6, 2024, in San Diego. (Denis Poroy / AP Photo, File)

Noting Campus Protests, Democrats Are Preparing for Intense Action at the DNC in Chicago This Summer

Activists have sued in federal court, alleging First Amendment violations because the city has only offered permits for demonstrations miles from the United Center, where Biden is scheduled to accept the Democratic presidential nomination.

(WTTW News)

Large-Scale Study in Illinois, Other States Seeks to Better Understand Cancer in Black Women

A major long-term study launched by the American Cancer Society aims to better understand cancer risk factors and outcomes for Black women in the U.S, who continue to face disparities in cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survival.

WTTW News Explains political conventions. (WTTW News)

WTTW News Explains: What’s Chicago’s History as a National Political Convention Host?

Chicago is set to host the Democratic National Convention this summer. It will be the city’s 27th time hosting a national political convention. Chicago conventions have been some of the most memorable, raucous and consequential in American history.

FILE - Merit badges and a rainbow-colored neckerchief slider are affixed on a Boy Scout uniform outside the headquarters of Amazon in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren / AP Photo, File)

Boy Scouts of America Changing Name to Scouting America After Years of Woes

The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history. The organization steeped in tradition has made seismic changes after decades of turmoil, from finally allowing gay youth to welcoming girls throughout its ranks.

FILE - Stormy Daniels arrives at an event in Berlin, on Oct. 11, 2018. (Markus Schreiber / AP Photo, File)

Stormy Daniels Describes Meeting Donald Trump During Occasionally Graphic Testimony in Hush Money Trial

Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.

Republican state representatives are pictured at a March news conference Springfield, which they called to promote bills aimed at protecting human trafficking victims. Pictured at the podium is Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore. Other lawmakers from left to right are Rep. Brad Stephens, R-Rosemont; Rep. Nicole La Ha, R-Homer Glen; and Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, R-Hanover Park. (Andrew Campbell / Capitol News Illinois)

Illinois House GOP Advances 2 Human Trafficking Victim Protection Bills as Others Remain in Limbo

Human trafficking remains a problem in Illinois, with some data suggesting it has increased in recent years. Data from the Human Trafficking Institute ranks Illinois the 5th highest state for sex trafficking, and 9th highest for labor trafficking.

The office building at 100 N. Western Ave. in Chicago, on Monday, May 6, 2024, where an office of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is located. (Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo)

‘I Felt More Alone Than Ever’: Former Juvenile Detainees Speak Out After New Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Sex Abuse in Illinois Youth Centers

The alleged sexual abuse in these cases occurred between 1996 and 2017 and the victims were all minors — some as young as 12 — when the alleged abuse occurred, according to the complaint.

Pro-Palestinian protesters support the positions held by others as University of Chicago police officers reposition a barricade keeping protesters from the university’s quad while the student encampment is dismantled Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast)

University of Chicago Clears a Pro-Palestinian Demonstration as Protests Spread Across the Country

Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the University of Chicago early Tuesday morning as tension ratcheted up in standoffs with demonstrators at other college campuses across the U.S.

Sendy Soto, Chicago’s chief homelessness officer, appears on “Chicago Tonight” on May 6, 2024. (WTTW News)

Chicago’s First Chief Homelessness Officer Begins Work on Long-Term Plan, Immediate Problems

 Chicago native Sendy L. Soto became  the city’s first chief homelessness officer. Part of her new role will be to devise a five-year plan to end homelessness. 

The James R. Thompson Center on May 6, 2024. (WTTW News)

Local Officials, Developers Mark Start of Construction on Redevelopment of Iconic James R. Thompson Center

Elected officials and developers gathered at the Thompson Center on Monday to help mark the start of Google’s $280 million makeover of the former state government building.

The Chicago Archaeopteryx was unveiled Monday at the Field Museum. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Chicago Archaeopteryx, the Field Museum’s Newest Dinosaur, Meets the Public

The Field Museum ushered in a new era of scientific exploration with Monday’s unveiling of the Chicago Archaeopteryx.

Skull of archaeopteryx embedded in rock

Chicago’s Archaeopteryx

A piece of evolutionary history has made its way to the Field Museum. A remarkably preserved Archaeopteryx fossil has been acquired, offering an astonishing window into the transition between dinosaurs and modern birds. This rare and scientifically significant find sheds new light on the origins of flight and the incredible journey of evolution.

Brandis Friedman (WTTW News)

May 6, 2024 - Full Show

Meet Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer. Birds are modern-day dinosaurs — the Field Museum says it now has a rare fossil to prove it.

The office building at 100 North Western Avenue in Chicago, on Monday, May 6, 2024, where an office of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is located. (AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast)

New Lawsuit Claims Dozens of Juveniles Subjected to Sexual Abuse in Illinois Detention Centers

Nearly 100 people are claiming in a new lawsuit that they were subjected to sexual abuse and assault as the hands of correctional officers and staffers at facilities in Chicago and across the state.

(WTTW News)

Probe Opened Into Allegations of Excessive Force by Chicago Police Officers During Pro-Palestinian Protests

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said CPD would fully cooperate with the probe, which comes approximately 100 days before the Democratic National Convention comes to Chicago.

A section of a human brain with Alzheimer’s disease is displayed at the Museum of Neuroanatomy at the University at Buffalo, in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2003. (AP Photo / David Duprey, File)

A Subset of Alzheimer’s Cases May Be Caused by Two Copies of a Single Gene, New Research Shows

The vast majority of Alzheimer’s cases occur after age 65. But research published Monday suggests that for people who carry not one but two copies of the gene, it’s more than a risk factor, it’s an underlying cause of the mind-robbing disease.

A graphic that says “Where in the World is Archaeopteryx”? (Nicole Cardos / WTTW News)

Where in the World is Archaeopteryx?

Only 13 specimens of Archaeopteryx — and one special feather — are known to exist since the first Archaeopteryx fossils were discovered in 1860. Most come from the same deposit of Solnhofen Limestone in Bavaria, Germany.

Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Birds Are Dinosaurs: How a Family Tree That Spans T. Rex to Pigeons Informs Our Understanding of Life on Earth

Shake any family tree, and a few skeletons are bound to fall out — that’s as true for birds as it is for people. Except that for birds, the wacky cousin lurking in one of those branches is T. Rex.

Jingmai O'Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles, with the Chicago Archaeopteryx specimen, at the Field Museum, March 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Field Museum Now Has an Incredibly Rare Fossil Proving Birds Are Dinosaurs. Here’s a Behind-the-Scenes Look at How They Got It

The Field formally announced to the world what had become a not-so-well-kept secret: The museum had acquired just the 13th specimen known to exist of Archaeopteryx, a fossil often described as the “missing link” between dinosaurs and birds.

Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. (WTTW News)

Meet Jingmai O’Connor, the Punk Rock Paleontologist Who Leads the Field Museum’s Archaeopteryx Team

WTTW News sat down with paleornithologist Jingmai O’Connor and talked about dinosaurs, birds, the Chicago Archaeopteryx, evolution and why studying fossil birds is more important now than ever.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

7 People Killed in Weekend Shootings Across Chicago: Police

According to Chicago Police Department figures, 31 people were shot in 24 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Johnson’s Senior Leadership Team More Diverse Than Previous Mayors’ Cabinets: Analysis

In all, the 34 appointments Johnson made between May 2023 and April 2024 that require confirmation by the Chicago City Council reflect the city’s racial diversity, as measured by the 2020 census, more closely than the appointments made by his two predecessors, former Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel.

David Meredith, middle, hugs fellow observers after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo / Chris Carlson, File)

Methodists End Bans on Gay Clergy and Same-Sex Marriage, Closing 50 Years of Battles for Mainline Protestants

The reversals can be seen as marking the end of a half-century of epic battles and schisms over LGBTQ involvement — not only in the United Methodist Church but in U.S. mainline Protestant denominations overall.

In this combination photo, President Joe Biden speaks May 2, 2024, in Wilmington, N.C., left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, May 1, 2024, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo)

Denial and Uncertainty Are Looming Over a Biden-Trump Rematch 6 Months Out From Election Day

Exactly six months before Election Day, Biden and Trump are locked in the first contest in 112 years with a current and former president competing for the White House. It’s a race that is at once deeply entrenched and highly in flux. 

LSU’s Angel Reese, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected seventh overall by the Chicago Sky during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso Chicago Sky Debuts Watched Widely on Fan’s Livestream After WNBA is Unable to Broadcast

The WNBA's app had incorrectly listed the game as available to watch, leading to confusion from fans before the league clarified that only Caitlin Clark’s debut with the Indiana Fever was being broadcast.