“Russian War Prisoner” by Egon Schiele Given in memory of Gloria Brackstone Solow from Dr. Eugene A. Solow and Family/Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago contends that decades of investigation and litigation have concluded that a watercolor it now holds was never stolen by the Nazis from a cabaret performer who later died in a concentration camp — but rather was legally sold by the man’s heirs. In a detailed court filing Tuesday, the Art Institute argued that New York prosecutors' allegations that they were holding artwork stolen during the Holocaust are groundless. The ..read more

Hersh Goldberg-Polin (left) is pictured with his parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin. Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by Hamas at a music festival on Oct. 7. Provided by family JERUSALEM — Hamas has released a recorded video of a renowned Israeli American hostage. The video was the first sign of life of Hersh Goldberg-Polin since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. It's not clear when the video was taken. In it, Goldberg-Polin accused Israel’s government of abandoning the people who are being held hostage by Hamas. He also claimed that some 70 captives have been killed in Israel ..read more

A TikTok content creator, sits outside the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Washington as Senators prepare to consider legislation that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. Mariam Zuhaib/AP No, TikTok will not suddenly disappear from your phone. Nor will you go to jail if you continue using it after it is banned. After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app, including by former President Donald Trump, a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has won cong ..read more

President Joe Biden speaks before signing a $95 billion Ukraine aid package that also includes support for Israel, Taiwan, and other allies, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a $95 billion war aid measure that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and that also has a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S. The announcement marks an end to the long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgent ..read more

Monday night was the first Passover Seder, and many Jewish households — such as mine — set a place for one of the Israeli hostages, this one for Naama Levy, 19, who was filmed being dragged away by her hair on Oct. 7, the date of the surprise attack that sparked the war in Gaza, which loomed over this year’s celebrations. Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times Being Jews, of course Monday night's Passover Seder veered onto tangents. Non-standard digressions based on the concerns of those present: salaams toward mysticism and solemn recognition of Oct. 7 and the ongoing war in Gaza. So much that the us ..read more

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week next month, Lou Malnati’s marketing team will choose 10 winners tp be awarded a free medium cheese pizza per week for a year in addition to a $250 catering package for their school. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria Lou Malinati’s Pizzeria is giving students the chance to nominate their teachers for a year of free pizza in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week next month. Nominated teachers from Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix will be narrowed down to 80 finalists and eventually 10 winners — who will be awarded a free medium cheese pizza per week for ..read more

A customer removes her purchases at a Kroger grocery store in Flowood, Mississippi. Rogelio V. Solis/AP file Supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons said Monday they will sell more of their stores in an effort to quell the federal government’s concerns about their proposed merger. The companies now plan to sell 579 Kroger and Albertsons stores in markets where they overlap to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire grocery supplier and operator, for $2.9 billion. Under the initial divestiture plan, announced in September, C&S had planned to purchase 413 stores for $1.9 billion. I ..read more

Former U.S. hostage Terry Anderson and his fiancee, Madeleine Bassil, arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on December 10, 1991. Anderson was kidnapped by Islamic militants in Lebanon in 1985 and held hostage for six years. At the time of his release he was the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon. Getty Images NEW YORK — Terry Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was kidnapped from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years, has died at 76. Anderson, who ..read more

The House of Representatives passed an aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The package now goes to the Senate, where it will face a single yes or no vote. Getty Images WASHINGTON — Three members of the Illinois delegation — Chicago Democrats Reps. Delia Ramirez, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Jonathan Jackson — voted against an aid package for Israel, and Rep. Darin LaHood split from GOP colleagues Mary Miller and Mike Bost and backed sending urgently needed help to Ukraine. In four votes on Saturday, the House passed a combined $95 billion in foreign aid packages for Ukraine, Israel an ..read more

Harry Jerele served with the 192nd Tank Battalion, which was deployed to the Philippines before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Family members remember him as a “very quiet” man who loved to sing. He died on Dec. 28, 1942. Courtesy of the Illinois National Guard After 81 years, a Chicago-area soldier who died during World War II can be laid to rest in his home state. Military scientists have officially identified the remains of Harry Jerele of west suburban Berkeley, who died of pneumonia at age 26 in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines. He was accounted for last December, th ..read more