DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Ga ..read more

The Romantic poet William Blake once wrote you can “see a world in a grain of sand.”  At Northwestern University’s Integrated Laboratories for Earth and Planetary Sciences, a single grain may reveal worlds beyond our own. Hunched over a powerful microscope, Professor Steve Jacobsen studied a grain of lunar soil.  “Oh, look,” he said. “You can see the green color already. This is the well-known green glass collected during the Apollo 15 mission.” He’s on a NASA mission of his own:  to study lunar soil, known as regolith, so the space agency knows how to build on the moon. “One of ..read more

CHICAGO — Demonstrators spent the majority of Thursday evening outside the Chicago Police Department's headquarters, with tensions also rising inside the building during the first CPD board meeting since the release of the body camera footage from the Dexter Reed fatal shooting. Disagreements between the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and CPD came to a headway during the meeting, with COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten and CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling in the same building to hash out how the public side of the investigation has been handled. "This criticism demonstra ..read more

(The Hill) -- A new report says that Black inmates sentenced to death by lethal injection suffered a botched procedure at higher rates than white prisoners.  In the analysis released this month, researchers at the anti-death penalty group Reprieve found that Black people had a 220 percent greater chance of suffering a botched lethal injection execution than white people, regardless of whether a one-drug or a three-drug protocol was used.  “It is well-established that the death penalty is infected with racial bias at every stage of the process,” the report states. “This ..read more

CHICAGO — Flight attendants with American Airlines are asking congressional labor allies to back their right to strike.   The Association of Professional Flight Attendants picketed outside O'Hare International Airport on Thursday, one week after the union representing United Airlines flight attendants did the same. The union says American Airlines flight attendants have not received a pay increase since 2019.  ..read more

CHICAGO — A former Associated Press National Football League Coach of the Year who was born in Chicago recently weighed in on likely No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams and what he sees in the former Heisman trophy winner. Mike Smith, former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2008-14) and 2008 AP NFL Coach of the Year, inherited a team in 2008 that selected eventual NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan with the third overall pick before he helped lead Atlanta to an 11-5 record and their first playoff birth since 2004. Before becoming a head coach with the Falcons, Smith served as a d ..read more

SOUTH MILWAUKEE (AP) — More human remains, including a torso, that are believed to belong to a missing woman have washed up on a beach along Lake Michigan, authorities said Thursday. The torso and an arm believed to belong to 19-year-old Sade Robinson were found Thursday morning along a remote stretch of tree-lined beach in South Milwaukee about a quarter of a mile (402 meters) from an apartment complex, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said. The remains were found by someone walking on the beach, the office said in a news release. Maxwell Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee has been charged ..read more

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A bill that would ban certain additives and chemicals in food has advanced in the Illinois legislature. On Thursday, Senate Bill 2637 passed the Senate. It will now head to the House. The bill, introduced late last year by Illinois Senator Willie Preston, aims to ban specific ingredients in candy, soda and other snack foods. These additives include titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye No. 3. According to Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports, brominated vegetable oil can be found in some sodas and sports drinks ..read more

This evening, the Chicago area will experience a short-lived shower and storm event. Rain will be light to moderate north of I-80. South of I-80, there will be heavier rain and a marginal risk of strong to severe storms.   The area will dry out before midnight.  Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog THURSDAY NIGHT: Showers and storms. Low 41 FRIDAY: Variable cloudiness. High: 57 SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. High 58 ..read more

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. — Cook County's Department of Public Health is warning locals about possible measles exposure at an Evergreen Park-area Sam's Club. CCDPH says visitors of the south suburban Sam's Club located at 9400 S. Western Avenue may have been exposed to a person contagious with measles on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, between 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. The infected Chicago resident was a known case to health officials. The news release stated, "The individual is a Chicago resident, and CCDPH is coordinating with the Chicago Department of Public Health on this investigation. There is no known l ..read more