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(Photo by Heidi Peters / Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago)

10 Things to Do This Weekend: Dec. 23-26

Global Christmas traditions, holiday lights, festive floral arrangements and comics usher in the holiday weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

(inspiri / Pixabay)

Local Hospitals Face Hospitalization Surge as Omicron Variant Emerges

The majority of hospitalizations in Chicago continue to be among those unvaccinated, but health officials advised everyone take precautions.

(WTTW News)

Chicago to Require Proof of Vaccination in Bars, Restaurants and Gyms

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady instituted the requirement Tuesday, as increases in COVID-19 cases have seen the positivity rate rise to 7.3%  – past the point of rapid spread.

(Photo by Daniel Bosse on Unsplash)

I’m a Black Woman and the Metaverse Scares Me. Here’s How to Make the Next Iteration of the Internet Inclusive

Marginalized people often suffer the most harm from unintended consequences of new technologies, according to researcher Breigha Adeyemo who shares ways to make them more inclusive. 

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx appears on “Chicago Tonight” on March 18, 2020. (WTTW News)

Dan Webb: Handling of Initial Jussie Smollett Charges by Foxx’s Office Was a ‘Disgrace’

The special prosecutor who secured convictions this month against Jussie Smollett said the way the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office first resolved the former “Empire” star’s criminal charges was a “disgrace” and that Kim Foxx and others lied about how it went down.

Katie Lauffenburger paints a ceramic home inspired by Chicago architecture. (WTTW News)

Ravenswood Artists Show There’s No Place Like Home in Chicago

Our city’s towering skyline gets all the press, but for the husband-and-wife artist duo behind Wonder City Studio, it’s the vernacular styles that make Chicago a place worth calling home.

Light afternoon traffic flows in downtown Dallas, Aug. 12, 2021. U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation’s founding during the first year of the pandemic as the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to figures released Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero, file)

US Population Growth at Lowest Rate in Pandemic's 1st Year

The United States grew by only 0.1%, with an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population from July 2020 to July 2021, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 response and vaccinations, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky)

Biden Pledges 500M Free Virus Tests to Counter Omicron

In remarks Tuesday at the White House, President Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the arrival of the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are yet not fully understood by scientists.

December 21, 2021 - Full Show

The latest on Mayor Lightfoot’s sweeping indoor vaccination mandates. A look inside overstretched hospitals. An exclusive one-on-one with the Smollett special prosecutor on his scathing report into Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

(WTTW News)

‘Latino Voices’ Community Conversation: Latino Holiday Traditions

The holidays are typically marked by family gatherings, delicious food and joyful music. We talk with community leaders about celebrating this holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about the omicron variant. Watch the full discussion.

A family and their pets walk through Miami International Airport, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Miami. Public health officials are urging caution as the new omicron variant might become the dominant strain in the U.S. during the holiday break. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Omicron Casts a New Shadow Over Economy’s Pandemic Recovery

A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the U.S.

(WTTW News)

Lightfoot Outlines Crime-Fighting Strategy, Calls for Federal Help

“As the mayor of this city, I want to assure you that from day one in my time as mayor public safety has been, is, and will continue to be my highest priority,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday in a special speech to show she’s taking crime seriously. 

People walk in Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood in September 2020. (WTTW News)

Many Unanswered Questions Remain About COVID-19 Long Haul Symptoms

Many, including doctors, are still searching for treatment for people whose symptoms continue more than a month after being infected and answers about persistent symptoms.

(WTTW News)

Crain’s Headlines: Amtrak Increases Speed

Amtrak trains now run at speeds up to 90 miles per hour. Ann Dwyer has details on that story and more.

Megan Williamson created a hundred portraits based on interviews she saw on newscasts. (WTTW News)

Chicago Artist Paints ‘100 Zoom Portraits’

From February to May, Megan Williamson made one portrait a day. She recreated living rooms across the country and even a few guests seen on “Chicago Tonight.” 

Jussie Smollett pleads not guilty at Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 14, 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Pool / Chicago Tribune)

Special Prosecutor Found ‘Major Failure’ in How Kim Foxx’s Office Handled Jussie Smollett Case

Finger-pointing, misleading statements, “substantial abuses of discretion” and a “major failure" of operations were among the findings included in a special prosecutor's investigation into Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case.

The James R. Thompson Building, designed by architect Helmut Jahn. (WTTW News)

Embattled Thompson Center Lands Buyer With Plans For Overhaul, Reuse

Late last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a deal to sell the love-it-or-hate it state building downtown to the Prime Group for $70 million. The development firm plans to overhaul the Helmut Jahn-designed structure rather than demolish it and start anew, as others had proposed.

Travelers wait for a shuttle but to arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported more than 3,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as the number of daily new cases tripled over the week. (AP Photo / Jae C. Hong)

Omicron Sweeps Across Nation, Now 73% of US COVID-19 Cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.

The James Webb Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

James Webb Space Telescope Set to Launch Christmas Eve

NASA prepares to launch the most powerful space telescope ever. Local astronomers share some up-close details. 

Temur Suluashvili and José Pablo Castro Cuevas perform in “The Nutcracker.” (Photo by Todd Rosenberg)

Stage Shows Go On Despite Some Cancellations

Following the long pandemic shutdown, many theaters came back in the fall only to pivot once again in the face of the omicron threat. 

A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is seen during a vaccination clinic at the Norristown Public Health Center in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (AP Photo / Matt Rourke, File)

Moderna: Initial Booster Data Shows Good Results on Omicron

Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. 

(Angus Gray / Unsplash)

Catch the Solstice Sunset at the Chicago Spot Designed Especially for the Occasion

Celebrate the winter solstice Tuesday at a solar gazing event on the 606 Bloomingdale Trail, which boasts a solstice “notch” to frame sunsets.

(WTTW News)

December 20, 2021 - Full Show

New details on the Cook County State’s Attorney’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case. Inside the sale of the Thompson Center. Mayor Lightfoot addresses violence. A $10 billion telescope that could unlock secrets of the universe.

A tornado approaches Interstate 80 near Atlantic, Iowa, as a semi truck rolls eastward on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. (Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register via AP)

Dec. 15 Storms Across North-Central US Classified as Derecho

At least 45 tornadoes have been preliminarily confirmed in the Dec. 15 storms that crossed the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm temperatures.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., walks to a caucus lunch at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 17, 2021. Manchin said Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 he cannot back a $2 trillion social safety net bill, dealing a potentially fatal blow to President Joe Biden’s signature legislation. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, file)

Manchin Not Backing Dems’ $2T Bill, Potentially Dooming It

Manchin told “Fox News Sunday” that after five-and-half months of negotiations among Democrats in which he was his party’s chief obstacle to passage, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there.”

(Srikanta H. U / Unsplash)

No White Christmas as Chicago Continues Record Breaking Snow-Free Streak

Chicago has never gone this late in the year without a measurable snowfall, and there's no sign of the white stuff in sight.