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14+ min ago (22+ words) Below-zero wind chills Friday morning, evening snow chances in Chicago Below-zero wind chills Friday morning, evening snow chances in Chicago...

19+ min ago (100+ words) Even though I enjoyed the movie as much as most millennials, the musical makes me feel a bit Grinch-like, so take my grumpiness with a grain of salt. On opening night, the audience included people in festive holiday sweaters, T-shirts with quotes from the film and at least one pair of elf ears. Based on the ovation, it seemed that a good time was had by most. Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic. Review: "Elf the Musical" (2 stars) When: Through Dec. 14 Where: Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes...

27+ min ago (422+ words) Estaba previsto que Steve Witkoff, el enviado especial del presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, y el yerno del mandatario, Jared Kushner, se reunieran el jueves con una delegaci'n ucraniana en Miami, pero no hubo confirmaci'n oficial del encuentro. Estas conversaciones programadas segu'an a la reuni'n que mantuvieron el presidente de Rusia, Vlad'mir Putin, y los enviados de la Casa Blanca en el Kremlin el martes. Los esfuerzos diplom'ticos previos para romper el estancamiento no arrojaron resultado y la guerra, que comenz' hace casi cuatro a'os, no da signos de detenerse. Las autoridades han mantenido en gran medida en secreto el desarrollo de las "ltimas conversaciones, aunque se filtr' el plan inicial de 28 puntos de Trump. El presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, apunt' que la delegaci'n de su pa's en Miami quer'a escuchar la versi'n estadounidense de lo ocurrido en la reuni'n…...

34+ min ago (804+ words) It's said that a budget is a moral document: The values that fill each cell of the budget spreadsheet represent the values of the author. Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed a couple of core values when presenting his budget in mid-October. The city would create a permanent $100 million new community safety fund, Johnson said, and big corporations would pay for it. "The top 3% of the absolute largest businesses in our city, those who have seen tremendous success and exceedingly high profits" would cover the costs, Johnson said. He would charge them a $21-per-employee fee for doing business in Chicago, projecting that to generate $100 million in new taxes each year. After all, corporations can't vote " except with their feet. Or by electing not to move to Chicago, because with a tax environment like that, why bother. For Johnson, the combination of his…...

34+ min ago (701+ words) By his account, Donald Trump has been repeatedly denied the Nobel Peace Prize he was due. Like the 1980s standup comedian Rodney Dangerfield, he complains: "I don't get no respect." This time, Trump is determined by hook or crook or shady diplomacy to get a Nobel. He's proposed a peace plan to end Russia's bloody war in Ukraine. Generally, historical predictions can't be tested beforehand. But as Mark Twain said, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." So there is a precedent with which Trump's peace proposal can be compared. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany by arguing that his nation had been unfairly assessed financial reparations and territorial losses after World War I. His corollary was that Germany was thereby entitled to compensate itself with territory in Eastern Europe. First, he annexed Austria, another German-speaking country, then…...

34+ min ago (239+ words) They now have another option in the form of the newly created so-called Trump Accounts." Part of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," the accounts are designed to promote saving for a child's future. The program permits total annual contributions of up to $5,000 per child. What's drawing the most attention, however, is a $1,000 taxpayer-funded deposit for every child born in 2025 through 2028 if parents open an account. Trump said these accounts will "help millions of Americans harness the strength of our economy to lift up the next generation. And they'll really be getting a big jump on life." On that score, he may be right if the program is administered well and Washington, D.C., puts in guardrails to keep Wall Street from leading recipients in directions they shouldn't go. It's also worth noting that the $1,000 Trump Account deposit is a…...

34+ min ago (705+ words) It's easy to feel like you don't recognize your own country when cruelty and chaos ooze daily from the White House, leaving a murky film over so much of what we cherish. It's easy to feel like the hard-won progress toward making this place a more welcoming, more inclusive, more equitable home is being rapidly, gleefully rolled back. It's easy to feel like compassion has, in so many of the hearts on display, been snuffed out by callousness. But here's another side of our story. Three years ago, I wrote'a column about a campaign'to send holiday cards to LGBTQ+ folks who've been shunned by their families because of who they are or who they love. The campaign was launched by Carolyn Pinta, co-creator of the'Pinta Pride Project, an organization that raises awareness and support for the LGBTQ+ community. Her card…...

34+ min ago (28+ words) People walk through the snow along North Michigan Avenue as a winter storm passes through the area on Nov. 29, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)...

35+ min ago (1027+ words) Illinois homeowners and businesses shoulder some of the highest property taxes in the nation. The recent bills in Chicago " containing 30-year-high increases " are a reminder that these taxes are increasingly unaffordable. And while Chicago's spike has made headlines, the burden is felt everywhere in Illinois. Whether you own your home, run a business or pay rent, property taxes affect everyone. They drive up the cost of living and push families and employers out of Illinois, creating a shrinking tax base that forces those remaining to pay more. It does not have to stay this way. Illinois is not doomed to perpetual tax increases. There are lawmakers " and candidates " who put forward serious, workable solutions that can lower property taxes. For example, many of my Republican colleagues and I have filed bills aimed at reducing property taxes, including HB0009. This bill was…...

35+ min ago (340+ words) We are starting to see the consequences of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's open disdain for military lawyers. The recent war crime allegation reported by The Washington Post was a long time coming. Since September, Hegseth has ordered at least 21 strikes on civilian fishing boats in international waters, killing more than 80 people so far in what is being called Operation Southern Spear. Even a freshly minted judge advocate out of the basic course might identify Operation Southern Spear's strikes as violations of U.S. obligations under international law, not to mention Department of Defense policy. Hegseth's argument that the boats are manned by drug traffickers doesn't change the legal analysis." Why are we in this predicament? Because Hegseth has contempt for anyone standing in his way of playing TV solider on Fox News and impressing President Donald Trump. The Senate, in an act…...