In an updated alert at 11:42 p.m., the university said an “all clear” had been given following a report of shots fired near 70 Arts Circle Dr., the Bienen School of Music. No injured person was found, the message stated. People were asked to continue to avoid the area as police remained on scene.

Northwestern initially sent an NUAlert emergency notification at 10:53 p.m., advising of an “active threat event” on the Evanston campus. The alert directed recipients to “Run, Hide, Fight. Take proper shelter. Lock and/or barricade doors. Await further information.”

Campus officials provided an update 25 minutes later, explaining that Northwestern University Police were investigating a report of shots fired. At 11:24 p.m., a third alert stated that police remained on scene, and no injured person had been found.

Additional information had yet to be released early Monday.

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The shooting was reported at around 7:30 p.m. at a residence in the 8000 block of South Vincennes. According to police, four individuals were inside the home when two men entered and opened fire.

The 14-year-old boy was shot in the back and died at the scene, according to police. A 36-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. A third victim, a 20-year-old man, was shot in the abdomen and died after arriving at the hospital, police stated.

A second teenager, a 17-year-old boy, sustained a gunshot wound to the left leg and was reported to be in fair condition.

A potential motive remained unclear late Sunday night.

No one was in custody as Area Two detectives continued to investigate.

The shooting was reported at around 5:53 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Clark Street. Chicago police said a 35-year-old man was traveling northbound on Clark Street when an unknown offender inside a dark-colored vehicle opened fire in the victim’s direction.

The victim was shot in the chest and head then rushed to a nearby hospital.

According to the Chicago Fire Department, one adult was transported to an area hospital in serious-to-critical condition.

Police blocked off a portion of the area, including near the front entrance of the Faulkner House condominium building, where clothes and other items were visible on the ground.

The suspect was last seen driving northbound on Clark Street, police said.

No one was in custody late Sunday.

The shooting was reported at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the park, 7340 N. Rogers Ave. According to police, four people were standing in the park when two individuals approached and fired toward the victims.

A 19-year-old woman was shot in the chest and taken to an area hospital, where she later died. A 22-year-old woman was shot in the right foot and hospitalized in good condition, police said.

A third victim, a 20-year-old man, sustained a gunshot wound to the forehead and was listed in good condition. A fourth victim, an 19-year-old man, was shot in the left hip and taken to the hospital in good condition.

The suspects fled northbound on Winchester Avenue following the shooting.

No one was in custody late as Area Three detectives continued to investigate.

But the region’s vast assortment of museums extends beyond the city limits.

In fact, one colorful destination – a museum unlike any other – is located in Northwest Indiana, about 20 miles southeast of downtown Chicago. The Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting was recently named the nation’s top pop culture museum by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers Choice Awards.

Described by the publication as a “charming museum,” the Mascot Hall of Fame pays homage to some of the most popular mascots in sports with interactive exhibits and plenty of memorabilia. The museum opened in 2018 with the goal of being “a leading institution that supports creative thinking using the backdrop of family fun and sports mascot entertainment,” according to its website.

Devoted Chicago sports fans can stop by and learn about some familiar figures like “South Paw,” “Tommy Hawk” and “Benny the Bull.” They’re just a few of the dozens of mascots that have been inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

The museum celebrated the win in a social media post, writing in part, “Thank you for believing in the magic of mascots and for making us #1!”

“A HUGE THANK YOU to all of our incredible fans who rallied behind us! Your unwavering support helped us soar past 19 other nationally recognized museums and win the coveted USA TODAY 10Best award for Best Pop Culture Museum,” the post read in part. “This victory is as much yours as it is ours!”:

While the museum tops the list, it wasn’t the only Midwest establishment recognized by USA TODAY.

The others were the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and the OZ Museum in Wamego, Kansas.

Nominees for the 10Best Awards were submitted by a panel of experts and then narrowed down to finalists, which were then voted on by readers.

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Beginning Monday, participating McDonald’s locations around the world will be getting a mini-makeover inspired by anime lovers. The manga-inspired takeover, cheekily called “WcDonalds” — with upside-golden arches — alludes to how the chain is seen in some of anime’s most iconic movies and shows, according to a release from the Chicago-based burger giant.

“Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years,” McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan, said in the release. “The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”

The temporary transformation will last through March 18.

While some folks might be skeptical, a number of anime enthusiasts are ecstatic, as evidenced on social media.

One user on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, said, “Idk ab y’all, but I’m so excited for this WcDonalds anime.”

Another said the anime packaging was “on point.”

For a third user, the transformation appeared to bring them back to childhood.

“McDonald’s embracing anime and manga brings a tear to my 90s child eyes,” the user commented.

As part of the transformation, McDonald’s teamed up with Japanese magna artist/illustrator Acky Bright, to create and design custom WcDonald’s packaging on menu items. For a limited time, customers will receive manga-inspired packaging featuring WcDonald’s Crew characters, sketched by Acky himself, the release said.

McDonald’s has also partnered with animation house Studio Pierrot to produce the first official WcDonald’s anime — four episodic shorts about WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets.

Each Monday, starting Feb. 26 until March 18, the following shorts — which honor Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy, four of anime’s biggest subgenres — will drop on WcDonalds.com or via the code on the WcDonald’s bag:

Along with the change in packaging will come a few new menu items.

One is “Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce,” which is meant to be paired with WcNuggets (also known as Chicken McNuggets), the release said.

At one McDonald’s location, an “immersive dining experience” will be held, the release said, inspired by the “isekai anime subgenre.”

According to officials, the “WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience” will be held March 9 and 10 in Los Angeles. The dining experience will be “multi-sensory,” and “a genre-bending fusion of entertainment and food,” the release added.

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According to authorities, 32-year-old Calvin Woods was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 28, 2023 shooting.

Police were called to the scene of a multi-vehicle crash at approximately 7:27 p.m. on the inbound side of the Bishop Ford near Dolton Road.

Upon arrival, troopers found two crashed vehicles. Mackie was inside one of those vehicles, and was found to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead, police said.

Another vehicle was also located at the scene, but there was no one inside.

After several months of investigation, agents with the Illinois State Police determined that Woods had been in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, and identified him as a suspect in the killing.

Those agents, along with assistance from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, took Woods into custody Thursday.

He will face multiple charges of first-degree murder in the shooting, and is expected to appear in court for a pretrial detention hearing on Sunday.

According to an AMBER Alert issued this week, Elijah Vue has been missing from Two Rivers, Wisconsin since Tuesday.

Authorities are continuing to search rivers and waterways in the area for his whereabouts in Manitowoc County, and local landfills and properties are also being searched.

Katrina Baur, identified as Elijah’s mother, allegedly left the child at the home of Jesse Vang for “disciplinary reasons,” according to prosecutors.

According to WTMJ in Milwaukee, the charging documents in the case remain sealed, but prosecutors read portions of the documents in open court Friday.

“She intentionally sent that child for disciplinary reasons for more than a week to the residence,” Jacalyn Labre, district attorney for Manitowoc County, told the court. “She was aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided. This was an intentional thing by her.”

Prosecutors also allege that Baur made misleading statements to police about her whereabouts since Elijah went missing. Both Baur and Vang have been charged with child neglect, with more charges possible in the case.

Vue is described as having sandy-colored hair and brown eyes. He stands 3-feet tall and weighs 50 pounds. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a long-sleeve dark-colored shirt, red and green dinosaur shoes, and has a birth mark on his left knee.

Searches of rivers and waterways are underway in Manitowoc County in Wisconsin. Local landfills are being searched as well.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 911, or to call Two Rivers police at 844-267-6648.  

Police also say that there has been a “fake video” showing the recovery of a minor by officers, but that the video does not depict Elijah.

As a result, officers are warning the public not to fall victim to financial scams surrounding the case.

According to authorities, the incident occurred in the 800 block of West 129^th Place at approximately 3 a.m.

A Chicago police marine unit was dispatched to the scene, and they pulled a 30-year-old man out of the river after he had exited a partially submerged vehicle.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

A 30-year-old woman, who was believed to have exited the vehicle before it entered the water, was also hospitalized, and her condition has stabilized at this time, police said.

No further details were immediately available, and an investigation is underway.

The shooting was reported before 8:45 p.m. near Jump N’ Jam Playland inside the Landings shopping center, 16795 Torrence Ave.

Video taken by an NBC Chicago photographer at the scene showed a number of bullet markers and shell casings on the ground, including several near a vehicle.

Details about the shooting, including if anyone was injured, hadn’t been released late Saturday.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

The incident was reported at around 5:45 p.m. in the 15200 block of South Meadow Lane. According to Chicago police, officers and members of the SWAT team were conducting a follow-up investigation when they observed the suspect. At that point, officers and the suspect exchanged gunfire, police stated.

The suspect was taken into custody, and a gun was recovered at the scene, police said. No injuries were reported.

The officers who fired shots will be placed on administrative duty for 30 days in accordance with department policy.

Dolton police had asked residents in a portion of the community to shelter in place as officers searched for the suspect. As of 9:15 p.m., police said the suspect had been taken into custody.

Authorities said the homicide in question occurred in Chicago, but didn’t provide additional details.

The incident remains under investigation by Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Rising prices and historically high interest rates have made homeownership out of reach for a growing number of Americans. As a result, homes in some areas have been sitting on the market for months.

But that’s not the case everywhere.

Demand continues to be relatively high in many regions, including in Illinois.

Three Illinois metro areas were named among America’s 30 hottest housing markets based on data compiled from Realtor.com, according to the financial publication 24/7 Wall Street, which conducted the study.

Rockford landed at number four on the list, with a “hotness” score of 98.15 out of 100 and a median list price of $199,999.

“Hotness” is a term used by Realtor that accounts for how long homes are on the market and several measures of supply and demand logistics, according to 24/7 Wall Street.

Peoria ranked halfway down the list, securing the 15th spot. Its “hotness” score was 88.42 out of 100 and the median list price was $149,900. The third and final Illinois metro area to make the list was Springfield.

With a hotness score of 85.91 out of 100 and a median list price of $168,950, the state capital region took the 25th spot. According to 24/7 Wall Street, despite rising prices nationwide, homes remain relatively affordable in most of the 30 places on the list.

In all but six of the metro areas, the typical list price was below the comparable national median. You may have noticed that nearly all regions that made the rankings were in the Midwest and Northeast.

Among them were Racine and Milwaukee-Waukesha in Wisconsin and Lafayette-West Lafayette in Indiana.

Detailed information about the Rockford, Peoria and markets is below:

Rockford

• Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 98.15 out of 100
• Time a house typically spends on the market: 40 days
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: -23.1%
• Median list price: $199,900
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: +17.7%

Peoria

• Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 88.42 out of 100
• Time a house typically spends on the market: 48 days
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: -12.0%
• Median list price: $149,900
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: +7.2%

Springfield

• Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 85.91 out of 100
• Time a house typically spends on the market: 49 days
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: +8.9%
• Median list price: $168,950
• Year-over-year change in median days on market: +2.4%

On the heels of a brief winter blast that brought accumulating snow, a “rapid warm-up” is on tap for later this weekend, according to NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Pete Sack.

But if you’ll be heading out before then – make sure to bundle up.

Temperatures will fall slightly into the low 30s, with higher values expected along the lakefront in the nighttime hours and hold steady overnight. As Sunday rolls around, mild conditions will set in thanks to a southerly flow of wind.

Then, get ready for a drastic shift.

Temperatures could climb as much as 30 degrees or so, with highs expected to sit in the upper 50s to low 60s depending where you live.

Warm conditions will persist as partly sunny skies arrive to kick off the work week. A warming trend will cause temperatures to approach near-record highs on both Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

While Monday will see a high temperature of 63 degrees, showers and thunderstorms are possible in the late evening. Much uncertainty surrounds Tuesday as potentially severe storms are a possibility.

Along with the rain, gusty winds with speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, may make a return on Monday and Tuesday.

More rain is expected once again on Wednesday, but it will come along with another drastic change.

As a cold front passes, rain will transition to snow showers early on as temperatures drop to a high of 30 dgrees.

Temperatures will rebound on Thursday, will a high of 42 degrees expected under partly sunny skies. Come Saturday, the region will see a return to mild conditions, with temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s expected.

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Summerfest, a music festival with performers from all genres, will run for three consecutive weekends in downtown Milwaukee. The festival will take place from noon to midnight on June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6.

Here’s a list of which headliners will perform on what days.

June 20

Kane Brown will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.  The War And Treaty and Brittany Howard will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices for both shows begin between $70 and $90.

June 21

Mötley Crüe will headline at 7:30 p.m. with Seether and Buckcherry at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $125.

June 22

The Goo Goo Dolls will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $88.

June 27

MUNA will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $88.

June 28

Tyler Childers will headline at 7:30 p.m. with S.G. Goodman and Adeem the Artist at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $276.

REO Speedwagon will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $72.

June 29

Keith Urban will headline at 7:30 p.m. with NEEDTOBREATHE and Alana Springsteen at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $98.

July 4

AJR will headline at 7:30 p.m. with Carly Rae Jepsen and mxmtoon at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $99.

Mt. Joy will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices for the show begin at $94.

July 6

Ivan Cornejo will headline at 7:30 p.m. at the Festival Stage at BMO Pavilion.

General admission ticket prices have not yet been announced.

To see more information about the 2024 lineup, click here.

“He was a good guy, he was cool, he would talk to you, ask you how you’re doing, made jokes,” customer Marquis Markey told NBC Chicago.

The father of four was working security at the store Friday afternoon when police said a gunman walked in and shot him multiple times. Police haven’t said what led to the shooting. Witnesses telling police the gunman said something before opening fire.

“He can’t even work. He lost his life. The kids lost their father,” Markey said. “It’s kind of like pointless violence.”

The Family Dollar remains closed Saturday. Customers stopped by to find the doors locked and remnants of police tape.

“I was really surprised because as far as I know, he was a really nice guy,” customer Bernard Reese said.

Reese works across the street at New Greater True Light Missionary Baptist Church.

“People need more God and less violence,” Reese said. “But that’s up to them.”

He’s been to the Family Dollar many times before and would often see Wright working at the front door. He said he’s hurting for Wright’s family and praying for the killer to be caught.

“If they don’t know God, I wish they would get to know God,” he said. “Because they’re really going to need him.”

A person of interest has not been identified. Detectives are still investigating.

Family Dollar issued a statement to NBC Chicago about the incident: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at one of our Family Dollar stores in Chicago on Friday. We are cooperating with local authorities as they investigate the crime. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further comment will be offered at this time.”

Last year, Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection three days after he was crucified by the Romans around 30 A.D., fell on April 9. This year, Easter falls on March 31.

But why does the date of Easter change every year?

According to the United Methodist Church, in 325 A.D., the Council of Nicaea — the first council in the history of the Christian church that was intended to address the entire group of Christians — set the date for the celebration of Easter.

The members of the council decided Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.

The spring equinox is when the sun moves north across the celestial equator — the projection of the Earth’s equator into space to see where everything in space falls in relation to the Earth’s center.

For this reason, the date changes each year and can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

The Illinois Courts Commission removed Adams County Judge Robert Adrian from the bench Friday after it held a three-day hearing in Chicago in November on a compliant filed against Adrian.

Its decision says Adrian “engaged in multiple instances of misconduct” and “abused his position of power to indulge his own sense of justice while circumventing the law.”

The commission could have issued a reprimand, censure or suspension without pay, but its decision said it had “ample grounds” for immediately removing Adrian from the bench in western Illinois’ Adams County.

In October 2021, Adrian had found then 18-year-old Drew Clinton of Taylor, Michigan, guilty of sexual assaulting a 16-year-old girl during a May 2021 graduation party.

The state Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint against Adrian after the judge threw out Clinton’s conviction in January 2022, with the judge saying that the 148 days Clinton had spent in jail was punishment enough.

The complaint said Adrian had acknowledged he was supposed to impose the mandatory four-year sentence against Clinton, but that he would not send him to prison. “That is not just,” Adrian said at the sentencing hearing, according to court transcripts. “I will not do that.”

Clinton was accused of sexually assaulting Cameron Vaughan. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.

Vaughan told The Associated Press in November, when she was 18, that Adrian’s reversal of Clinton’s verdict left her “completely shocked” but determined to oust the judge. She attended the November commission proceedings with family, friends and supporters.

After Adrian threw out Clinton’s conviction, Vaughan said that the judge told the court “this is what happens whenever parents allow teenagers to drink alcohol, to swim in pools with their undergarments on,” she recounted in an account supported by a court transcript of the January 2022 hearing.

Adrian’s move sparked outrage in Vaughn’s hometown of Quincy, Illinois, and beyond, with the prosecutor in the case saying that her “heart is bleeding for the victim.”

Vaughan told the Chicago Tribune following Friday’s decision removing Adrian that she was “very happy that the commission could see all the wrong and all the lies that he told the entire time. I’m so unbelievably happy right now. He can’t hurt anybody else. He can’t ruin anyone else’s life.”

When reached by phone Friday, Adrian told the Chicago Tribune that the commission’s decision to remove him is “totally a miscarriage of justice. I did what was right. I’ve always told the truth about it.”

Adams County court records show that Clinton’s guilty verdict was overturned because prosecutors had failed to meet the burden of proof to prove Clinton guilty.

But in Friday’s decision, the commission wrote that it found Adrian’s claim that “he reversed his guilty finding based on his reconsideration of the evidence and his conclusion that the State had failed to prove its case to be a subterfuge — respondent’s attempt to justify the reversal post hoc.”

Clinton cannot be tried again for the same crime under the Fifth Amendment. A motion to expunge Clinton’s record was denied in February 2023.

It’s no secret that 2024 is a busy year with plenty of dates to mark down on the calendar, but some have likely noticed that even their calendar itself looks a bit different this year.

That change is seen this month as 2024 is a leap year, meaning that February has a different look than in typical years.

But what exactly is a leap year, and why do they happen?

Here’s what to know about the extra day added to the end of February.

What is a leap year?

A leap year means there’s an extra day in the calendar.

“It takes approximately 365.25 days for Earth to orbit the Sun — a solar year. We usually round the days in a calendar year to 365. To make up for the missing partial day, we add one day to our calendar approximately every four years. That is a leap year,” according to NASA.

What is a leap day?

During a leap year, the month of February has an extra day added to it. So this year, there will be 29 days in February, rather than 28. That 29th day is also referred to as a “leap day.”

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When are leap years and why don’t they happen every four years exactly?

Leap years happen almost every four years. That means 2024 and 2028 will both be leap years.

But still, there are some exceptions to the once-every-four-years rules. That’s because “it takes Earth approximately 365.242189 days, or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds, to circle once around the Sun,” according to Time and Date.

“If the tropical year was precisely six hours longer than a calendar year with 365 days, we could use the Julian calendar, which adds a leap day every 4 years without exception. The deviation would grow to exactly 24 hours over 4 years, and Earth would need exactly one day to catch up to the position in its orbit where it was four years prior,” the publication states. “However, the deviation between the common year and the tropical year is a little less than six hours. The Gregorian calendar addresses this by employing a slightly more complicated set of rules to determine which years are leap years. It’s still not perfect, but the resulting deviation is very small.”

How can you calculate a leap year?

There is a set of rules for determining whether a year is a leap year. And, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, those are:

1. A year may be a leap year if it is evenly divisible by 4.
2. Years divisible by 100 (century years such as 1900 or 2000) cannot be leap years unless they are also divisible by 400. (For this reason, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 were.)

What if you are born during a leap year?

According to the Almanac, people born on a leap day during a leap year are known as “leaplings.” Some cultures see the birthday as a sign of good luck.

Fittingly enough, snow has returned to the Chicago area just in time for a special winter sight in the skies, the Snow Moon.

Nicknamed for the typically heavy snowfall seen this month, the Snow Moon is seen each February.

Here’s what to know about the Snow Moon and how to see it:

Why is it called the Snow Moon?

February’s full moon was called Snow Moon by many Native American cultures due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs during this time of year.

According to the National Weather Service, February is the United States’ snowiest month.  

There have also been other names used for February’s full moon such as Hungry Moon, which the Cherokee used to call it, describing the time of food scarcity during the late winter period. It has also been called the Storm Moon, Wolf Moon and Candles Moon, according to NASA.

What is special about this Snow Moon?

This year, the moon will be a “micromoon,” meaning that it will be at its farthest point from the Earth. February’s full Moon is about 252,225 miles from us, making it look a bit smaller than other full moons.

When can you see the full Snow Moon in 2024?

The moon will begin turning full late at night on Feb. 23 and will officially turn full during the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 24, the Adler Planetarium reports. The best time to view it, however, will be at moonrise later on Saturday.

What time will the Snow Moon be visible?

It’ll reach its peak illumination during the daytime in North America, so for the best view of this moon, look for it starting just after moonrise on Saturday night.

In Chicago, that will be at 5:51 p.m.

It’s expected to drift above the horizon in the east around sunset and reach its highest point in the sky around midnight.

What will the weather be like?

While the messy conditions caused by accumulating snow on Friday night and early Saturday morning may now be behind us, the chilly temperatures are poised to stick around for one more day.

Aided by the snow on the ground in much of the area, temperatures are expected to hover around freezing for much of the day Saturday.

The mercury will likely be in the low 30s by the time of moonrise on Saturday evening, with ample viewing conditions expected as much of the cloud cover from the morning is expected to clear by then.

Which full moon comes next?

March’s full Worm Moon will appear on the nights of Sunday, March 24, and Monday, March 25.

That will be the first full moon of the spring season.

In a week that featured the year’s first 60-degree day towards the beginning while ending with snow accumulation for much of the Chicago area, residents will start their weekend with a continued taste of winter.

Though the snow has moved out of the area, those in the Chicago area are waking up to temperatures in the mid-20s, with the mercury only expected to rise to the low 30s on Saturday as temperatures will likely hover around freezing for much of the day.

Shifting westerly winds are likely to make the day feel a bit chillier, with 10 to 15 mile per hour wind speeds anticipated for much of Saturday.

The low temperatures are aided by some snowfall on the ground, marking the first measurable snowfall in Chicago or Rockford in over a month.

Some of the morning cloud cover will clear by the afternoon, creating some sunshine that seemed to abruptly leave the area early Friday afternoon.

Though some clouds are expected to return in the evening, the skies should be clear enough to get a view of the “Snow Moon,” February’s Full Moon.

As for the temperatures, this blast of winter to start the weekend will soon be a distant memory, with high temperatures expected to reach the mid 50s on Sunday.

From there, spring seemingly returns on Monday, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low 60s before a system of rain and the possibility of thunderstorms brings highs near 70 degrees on Tuesday.

An abrupt but brief cooldown is expected following the storm, with highs on Wednesday likely not reaching 40 degrees before temperatures warm back into the mid 50s by the end of next week.

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The Viking Middle School student was taken to the Gurnee Police Department for questioning and later charged with unlawful possession of a weapon in school, police said in a news release. He was later released into the custody of his parents.

The school was placed on a soft lockdown at around 9:30 a.m. following reports of a gun on school grounds, police said. Initial reports revealed that a student overheard another student who had talked about possessing a weapon.

Gurnee police, in conjunction with a K-9 from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a search of the school and discovered a loaded handgun in a student’s locker. Police located the student and placed them into custody, authorities stated.

Through an investigation, police determined no credible threats were made to other students or school staff.

At around 1:38 p.m., police were called to Family Dollar, 5410 W. Chicago Ave., where a man had been shot. According to authorities, a 43-year-old man was approached by a suspect who opened fire. The victim, identified by family as Loyce Wright, was struck multiple times and later died at the hospital.

Shanice Wright, one of Loyce Wright’s daughters, said he was the greatest father, adding that her heart hurts so bad.

“…He never let us forget how much he loved us, and I love my father immensely, and I wish there were tighter gun laws so tragic things like this won’t continue to happen,” she told NBC Chicago in a text.

Jeremy Richardson, a childhood friend of Loyce Wright’s, said he couldn’t believe what happened.

“…And I’m holding back my tears right now. I need to see this for my own eyes,” Richardson said. “He was a good friend, lift weights, cheerful, love his kids, love his family. I cannot imagine something like this.”

Richardson urges whoever shot and killed his friend to come forward, and he’s confident they will get caught.

“When the streets talk, they gonna talk and this person ain’t gonna hide forever. You just murdered a good friend of everybodys,” he said. “This is so sad, you have to come to a Family Dollar just to shoot. For what?”

NBC Chicago spoke to several nearby employees and frequent customers who shared in their grief.

Family Dollar issued the following statement Saturday afternoon:

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at one of our Family Dollar stores in Chicago on Friday. We are cooperating with local authorities as they investigate the crime. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further comment will be offered at this time.”

As of late Friday, no arrests had been made.

The shooting remained under investigation by detectives.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service on Friday afternoon released surveillance photos of an individual wearing a postal worker uniform. The suspect, who is wanted in connection with mail theft, entered corporate and residential buildings in the Loop beginning in December 2023, authorities said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 reference case number with No. 2142062. Authorities are offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leads to the suspects arrest and conviction.

A doctor found the wallet right where Julia Hsia lost it – in a river.

In 1995, Hsia and her boyfriend at the time took a trip to the Grand Canyon State to see her cousin. During the vacation, Hsia, her boyfriend and the cousin drove across the Salt River in Mesa when they encountered a problem.

“The truck starting taking on water and floating down the river,” said Hsia, who lives in unincorporated St. Charles.

Everyone got out safely, but her wallet was gone.

“I put the wallet in the camera bag,” she said. “It floated away. I forgot about the wallet, but never forgot that day.”

After that happened, Hsia’s mother gave her a replacement wallet and she moved on.

She never thought about the one she lost until a few months ago.

Dr. Jeremy K. Bingham, a dermatologist who lives in Mesa, contacted her on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I was beyond surprised,” she said. “It was amazing that he went into the trouble to look me up, I cannot believe it. A lot of people would have not bothered.”

Hsia wasn’t the only one who was stunned.

“It is very unusual that you would find something like that in the Salt River,” Bingham said. “The elements would normally would break it down. It was just a sort of perfect storm of where it landed and came to rest at the bottom of the river. The sand really helped preserve this wallet, the cards and all the memories in it.”

The two are now friends who say they made a connection that was meant to be.

Following a taste of 60-degree temperatures, winter weather returned to the Chicago area on Friday evening, bringing snow and slick conditions to the region.

And the blast of

While much accumulation isn’t expected, snow will likely persist through midnight. On top of that, some parts of Cook and Lake counties could see light lake effect snow through around 6 a.m. Saturday.

Track the system, and the snow live in your area using NBC 5’s interactive radar below.

CHECK THE LATEST WEATHER ALERTS HERE

At a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson estimated the cost of extending the contract he had just cancelled for seven months followed by a two-month “wind-down” period would cost “roughly $8 million or so.”

A report in the Chicago Sun-Times fixed the exact cost at $8.6 million over the course of nine months. That’s more than the city paid for the whole of last year, and it brings the total value of ShotSpotter Contract with SoundThinking to over $57 million.

“It really came down to, ‘Is it providing a real, true benefit in what it promised to do?'” Johnson said.

But critics on Friday said the mayor’s zeal to fulfill campaign promises is costing the city too much money.

“I think the mayor has handled this poorly from the get-go,” said 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez. “You shouldn’t have announced anything until you had the deal set in stone and signed.”

Lopez said ShotSpotter may not deter crime, but it does detect it and report it to police. He said it’s especially important in neighborhoods like his where he says it has saved lives.

There is a system sensor on top of a light pole right outside of his office.

“Oftentimes the politics of public safety and the politics of this administration hampers the execution of what we are trying to do for the people of the city of Chicago,” he said.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling has said he was in favor of keeping ShotSpotter. Johnson said they have had conversations, but he is looking for better ways to respond that don’t always involve the police.

“I personally would like to see a system where EMTs respond,” the mayor said Wednesday.

Some alderpersons are asking that the data collected from the last months of the ShotSpotter program be used to analyze not whether it is a tool to fight crime, but rather a technology that can save lives.

At around 9:45 p.m., officers were called to the refinery regarding the discovery of human remains, according to police in East Chicago, where a portion of the plant is located. Officers were escorted by security personnel through Gate 15 and to an area where maintenance was being performed on a pipe system.

While excavating, the crew discovered a human skull in the ground next to a garbage bin, officials said. The skull, which was encased in gravel, was handed over to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

The incident remains under investigation by the coroner and the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force.

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Akul Dhawan was found dead on the university’s campus on the morning of Jan. 20 around 10 hours after authorities were contacted regarding concerns of his whereabouts.

A press release from the Champaign County Coroner’s Office confirmed that in addition to hypothermia, acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures played a significant role in his death.

U.S. Economy Feb 23

United Airlines raises checked bag fee $5, following American

2024 election Feb 23

Controversial real estate transfer tax removed from primary ballot in Chicago after judge's ruling

Dhawan’s death was officially ruled as accidental.

A previous timeline released by University of Illinois police detailed the department’s response to calls regarding Dhawan’s whereabouts the night he went missing, which showed gaps in action in the hours between the first call made to police from friends and the moment Dhawan’s body was found.

Dhawan was discovered unresponsive on concrete steps near a campus building shortly after 11 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Nevada Street in Urbana by a university employee, shortly under 10 hours after Dhawan was initially reported missing.

According to the language of the referendum, voters would have decided whether the city should move from the current flat tax model on real estate transfers to a graduated tax, which would impact all transactions of $1 million or more.

The ballot question was heavily criticized by opponents, who said the question was intended to trick voters into voting “yes” while saying the measure would have a chilling effect on real estate sales in the city.

Supporters said that the ordinance would result in a reduction in the transfer tax for approximately 94% of properties in the city.

A statement from the Chicago Coalition for Justice heavily criticized the decision from the judge:

“Today’s ruling, while disappointing, is not surprising. The far right has demonstrated over and over again their willingness to use the courts to disenfranchise voters and strip us of popular policies that help women, communities of color, and poor- and working-class people,” the statement said.

The statement added that they were “outraged” that a “small minority of wealthy real estate interests would rather spend thousands of dollars on legal fees to preserve a brutally unjust status quo than pay their fair share in taxes.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office issued a statement on the matter Friday evening.

“Bring Chicago Home remains on the ballot. We are disappointed in the court’s ruling, but will be exploring every legal option available. We firmly believe the referendum is legally sound and the final arbiter should be the voters of the City of Chicago,” Johnson’s office said.

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago praised the ruling, calling the measure a “backdoor property tax” for Chicago residents.

“We are gratified in the judge’s ruling, which underscores the necessity of presenting policy questions to the public with fairness, detail, and transparency,” BOMA executive director Farzin Parang said.

The Chicago Southland Black Chamber of Commerce also supported the decision, saying that the measure would damage the local real estate market.

“This victory was something that we expected and anticipated as the ballot question had several issues, namely the log-rolling issue. We also believed that the proposed ordinance would hurt both the business climate and rental market for obvious reasons,” Board Chairman Dr. Cornel Darden Jr. said.

The Chicago Board of Elections confirmed that the Circuit Court has yet to enter a written order based on the results of the ruling, therefore the decision has yet to be appealed by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

Early voting and vote-by-mail will continue until the Board is directed otherwise, according to Max Bever of the Chicago Board of Elections.

Advocates of the measure expect the decision to be appealed. More information on the proposed real estate transfer tax can be found here.

In a post on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, the National Weather Service explained that slippery conditions will likely develop by mid-evening and persist through the overnight hours. Temperatures will likely drop into the 20s, and possibly the mid teens as wind gustswith speeds up to 35 miles hour arrive.

While it’s unclear how quickly roads will become slippery, drivers should prepare for potential travel impacts and be especially cautious on bridges and overpasses, according to the NWS.

While much snowfall isn’t expected, communities in the blue-shaded area above could see accumulations around one inch of snow before midnight. An additional round of light lake effect snow will move in after that — likely between 12 and 6 a.m.

Regardless of impact, the big story Saturday will be the chillier conditions, with highs expected in the 30s across the area.

That change is going to be extremely short-lived, as temperatures are likely going to rebound back into the mid-50s across the area by Sunday afternoon.

In fact, that will be just the beginning of the warm-up. Temperatures Monday are expected to climb into the 60s, and could even threaten records in the city of Chicago, where the record for Feb. 26 stands at 64 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Tuesday will be even warmer, with readings in the mid-to-upper 60s, but there is also a chance for rain that could enter the forecast. That rain will stick around through Wednesday, with some mixed precipitation possible as another front moves through the area.

“It’s really sad kind of because I grew up coming here as a kid, and that’s kind of why we were all here today, just to go one last time,” shopper David Stone told NBC Chicago. “There’s really nothing left in there.”

The mall is owned by the New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group. Spokespeople issued the following statement to NBC Chicago:

“We want to express our gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our journey as we close our doors at Spring Hill Mall,” their statement said. “Although this marks the end of our time here, we’re eager to see what the future holds for the local business landscape and believe that great opportunities await.”

Retail Feb 23

Spring Hill Mall set to ‘close its doors permanently' next month

Retail Feb 23

As a suburban Chicago mall prepares to close, others ramp up

West Dundee’s mayor was not taken aback by the mall’s closure.

“It didn’t come as a surprise at all,” Mayor Chris Nelson said. “We anticipated it.”

The village bought the property for $7 million after spending $3.25 million to buy the former Sears and Macy’s storefronts.

All tenants will be required to move out of the mall by the March deadline except for the Kohl’s, which is owned separately, and the Cinemark Theater.

“We’re going to try to reformat the area,” Nelson said. “There’s a term everyone is using these days, mixed-use; we’re certainly aiming for that.”

Nelson said they’d like to see a strong residential component on the property, with roads and sidewalks to create a neighborhood feel.

He said demolition could start in the next 12 to 18 months, though redevelopment could take as long as five to 10 years. Despite that, Nelson said developers have already reached out with interest.

“Our job here is to be a stakeholder for the community and see to it that it’s redeveloped in a positive way,” he said.

Eighty-five percent of the mall is in West Dundee, while the remaining 15% crosses into Carpentersville. Nelson said he plans to work with the Village of Carpentersville on redevelopment.

Village of Carpentersville officials told NBC Chicago that any business forced to leave the mall that wants to remain in the area should reach out to the Carpentersville community development department at 224-293-1672.

According to authorities, the shooting occurred shortly after 1:35 p.m. in the 5400 block of West Chicago Avenue.

Police said the man was approached by an unknown gunman inside the business who opened fire, striking the man multiple times.

The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as 43-year-old Loyce S. Wright of Hanover Park.

The shooting is currently under investigation by area detectives and there is no one in custody.

Sunday’s heist at a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in Waukesha was captured on surveillance camera footage showing nine masked suspects filing into the dealership before each drives off in a car in the city about 19 miles west of Milwaukee.

The video also shows one car being backed up and smashed through an overhead service door.

Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said the suspects broke into the dealership about 6 a.m. Sunday, found where its car keys were stored and then activated those key fobs to find the cars they stole.

“Nine subjects went out and throughout there looking for keys. One person finds where the keys were hidden and then starts to disseminate those to his friends,” Baumann told WISN-TV.

The nine vehicles are valued at more than $583,000, he said.

One suspect, a 17-year-old Chicago boy, was arrested Sunday in the southern Wisconsin community of Pleasant Prairie after the stolen vehicle he was driving crashed along Interstate 94 during a police pursuit. He was being held at the Waukesha County Jail on a $50,000 bond and faces burglary, theft and criminal damage to property charges, Baumann said.

Police said Sunday that the suspects are believed to be “an organized crime group of teenagers from the Chicago area.”

Baumann said Friday that all or most of the teen suspects are known to members of a police task force in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and police in that two-state region were still searching Friday for the eight other suspects.

Six of the nine stolen vehicles have been recovered — four in Chicago, one in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, and one in Wisconsin after the highway crash that led to the 17-year-old’s arrest, he said.

Starting with tickets booked Saturday, economy-class passengers on domestic flights will be charged $5 more. That will bring the price to $35 if they pay online at least 24 hours before the flight, and $40 after that.

The fee for a second checked bag will also rise $5, climbing to $45 in advance online and $50 at the airport.

Chicago White Sox Feb 23

The night Mike Madigan made time stand still for the Chicago White Sox

Retail Feb 23

As a suburban Chicago mall prepares to close, others ramp up

Passengers in premium cabins, holders of United-branded credit cards and customers with elite status in the airline’s frequent-flyer program will still be able to check a bag for free, United said.

Earlier this week, American Airlines raised its fee for a first checked bag on domestic flights from $30 to $35 if paid in advance and to $40 at the airport. It also hiked the fee for a second bag from $40 to $45. American also increased bag fees for short international flights.

Alaska Airlines raised its bag fees for most economy passengers in January, and JetBlue followed earlier this month.

Bag fees have become a dependable source of revenue for airlines since American introduced them in 2008, when jet fuel prices were surging. In 2022, the last full year for which statistics are available, U.S. airlines took in $6.8 billion in checked-bag fees, led by American at $1.4 billion and United at $1.1 billion.

The 11-year-old seal named “Georgie” gave birth on Feb. 17 to a nearly 35-pound male pup at the Brookfield Zoo. He’s gained 15 pounds in his first week on his mother’s extremely rich milk and has been practicing his swimming skills in a pool, zoo officials said.

After Georgie was found stranded on an island in Georgetown, Maine, near the Atlantic Ocean in 2013, it was determined she was blind in her left eye and functionally blind in her right eye.

Due to her impaired vision, authorities with the National Marine Fisheries Service decided she could not be released back into the wild. She arrived in 2020 at Brookfield Zoo.

But Georgie’s vision loss hasn’t affected her ability to care for her newborn. She’s nurturing the pup and has proven to be “a very attentive mother,” said Mark Gonka, the zoo’s associate director of marine mammal care and conservation.

“Grey seals have a keen sense of smell as well as a repertoire of vocalizations. Georgie is able to locate her pup by his distinct smell and call,” Gonka said in a statement.

Like Georgie, the pup’s father, a 23-year-old grey seal named Kiinaq, was also stranded in the wild and deemed unreleasable when he was only a few months old.

The Brookfield Zoo said the newborn pup’s birth from two parents of wild descent is helping to increase the genetic diversity of the grey seal population in accredited North American zoos and aquariums.

Grey seals face threats that include entanglement in fishing gear, illegal hunting, chemical contaminants and climate change, the zoo said.

Some of the new rules include allowing double contacts, two liberos in each game, new types of jewelry and more.

While some of these rules are beneficial, many players are upset over one change in particular.

Here’s an in-depth look at the new rules, why they’re important and what they mean.

Double contact approved

Players are now allowed to double-touch the ball on the second contact of the play.

Here’s how the typical play process works:

1. First, a defensive specialist — the people in the back row of the court — passes a ball to the setter — in the front right position of the court.
2. Then the setter sets the ball with two hands towards the hitter — another player in the front row. This serves as the second contact in the play.
3. Finally, the hitter swings their arm while jumping in the air to hit the ball over the net to their opponents.

While there are much more in-depth plays, those three steps are the basics of how the three main contacts of volleyball work.

The double contact rule now allows for the setter, or whoever needs to touch the ball on the second contact, to quickly touch the ball twice.

However, according to the NCAA, “if the ball is played over the net in this type of scenario, it would be ruled a fault, and the team would lose the point.”

In the past, a double contact is called on the setter when their hands are not perfectly even when setting the ball. Due to this call, the team would lose a point because the setter or player’s hands were not in the perfect setting position.

Referees can usually tell this because when the ball is perfectly set, there is little to no spin on the volleyball after the setter touches the ball. When a double contact happens, the ball is typically spinning.

But now, setters and those who touch the ball on the second contact, will not lose the point for their team because of a double contact.

So why are players mad about this?

For players who have not been playing for a long time, the rule could be helpful. But for veterans and long-term players who have spent years perfecting their set, the rule may seem frustrating.

The NCAA said they determined double contacts are allowed because over the years there has been intense debates between coaches and volleyball officials during games.

The NCAA claimed the rule change will spark less debate and will also help continue plays so games are more entertaining for fans and players.

Two liberos can play in the same set

The NCAA also approved two liberos to be able to play on the court during the same set but they cannot be on the court at the same time.

What is a libero?

A libero is a defensive specialist who wears a different color jersey. They can be found in the back row with the other defensive specialists.

They wear a different colored jersey because they are allowed to substitute in for another player, usually hitters, without using a legal substitute. Teams are only permitted 13 substitutes per set, so this allows hitters and liberos to change out even when all of the permitted substitutions have been used.

So how does this impact the game?

Hitters and liberos can now use fewer substitutions during a game, which allows for teams to use more players throughout a game or to be able to change the players that are in more frequently in case a game is very back-and-forth.

The NCAA said, “The rationale for the proposal is to allow more players the opportunity to compete and to increase action and improve play.”

Other rules changes

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Back in 1988, with Mike Madigan as speaker of the house, Madigan actually stopped the clock to avoid a midnight deadline.

Former State Rep. John Dunn from Decatur was there the night that Madigan and Gov. Jim Thompson secured the votes needed for $200 million in public financing for a new White Sox stadium.   

“To the best of my knowledge, you and me and all us taxpayers own the White Sox stadium, and the White Sox pay rent,” Dunn said.

Before that vote on June 1, 1988, the White Sox threatened to leave Chicago’s South Side for St. Petersburg Florida, a familiar storyline seemingly playing out again as Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf evaluates options for a new home for the team.

White Sox Stadium Feb 22

Mayor Johnson comments on Bears, White Sox stadium pursuits

White Sox Stadium Feb 20

Jerry Reinsdorf meets with lawmakers in Springfield as White Sox seek $1 billion for new stadium

In the heat of the debate on the final night of the 1988 legislative session, Dunn stood up and yelled, “we can’t take care of the children, we can’t take care of the poor, we can’t take care of the sick, we can’t take care of the mentally ill. Let’s shut this place down and go home and forget the White Sox.”

That midnight deadline was important because after midnight, not just a majority, but a three-fifths vote was needed. Madigan secured the votes needed, but it was at 12:03 a.m.   

“I ran right down to the clerk’s office and got the roll call,” Dunn said.

He saved the copy of that roll call that had a 12:03 a.m. stamp on it. The next day that time stamp disappeared.

Madigan told reporters, “the speaker declared the bill passed at 11:59 p.m.” Reporters reminded him, “but it wasn’t 11:59.” Madigan said, “yes it was.” Gov. Thompson added, “when the Speaker says what time it is, that’s what time it is.”

Fast-forward to 2024, Reinsdorf was in Springfield this week, maneuvering through a maze of reporters as he moved from one meeting to another with the four top lawmakers to explain why the Sox again need a new stadium, this time in the South Loop.

Reinsdorf is warning that the team could relocate to Nashville and has already met with the Nashville mayor.

When asked, “is it going to be a tough sell at this time?” Reinsdorf replied, “there’s going to be an appropriate time. Now isn’t the time.”

As Dunn sees it, lawmakers should think long and hard before they say yes.

“The first time was a rip-off,” he said, “and how do I know it won’t be a rip-off again.”

Of course complicating the push for public funding, the White Sox aren’t the only ones seeking a new home. The Chicago Bears are also looking for a deal for a new stadium at the same time.

According to officials, the shooting happened shortly after 1 p.m. near a funeral home in the 200 block of East 138th Street.

Police said the shooting followed a verbal altercation between a 41-year-old man and a 19-year-old man. During the altercation, police said the 19-year-old pulled out a firearm and shot the man in the chest before fleeing the scene.

The man wounded in the shooting was taken to University of Chicago Hospital where he is in critical condition.

There is currently no further information available.

But that’s not the only weather whiplash in store for February.

Early next week, temperatures are set to rise again, with some Chicago-readings close to 70 degrees.

As the wacky weather month continues, here’s a breakdown of the Chicago forecast for the next few days.

Snow Friday

Temperatures Friday will begin to feel much more like winter after 1 p.m. Roman said, which is when the Chicago area is expected to top out at its high temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. After that, a cold front to the north will begin sliding to the south, bringing more clouds and cooler air.

Around 4 p.m., temperatures will gradually drop into the 30s, Roman said, with light snow forming to the north, and rain to the south.

By 9 p.m., nearly the entire Chicago area will see scattered snow flurries, Roman said, along with much colder temperatures and blustery conditions.

According to the National Weather Service, the wind and flurries could lead to “slippery travel conditions” Friday night.

Light snow is expected to continue late Friday night, Roman said, resulting in a coating or dusting for most areas. Temperatures will continue to fall as well, dropping into the 20s and teens.

Overnight, some parts will see the snow move out. However, in parts of Lake, Cook and Will Counties, a plume of lake-effect snow will continue to fall through early Saturday.

Weekend temperatures

Around 9 a.m. Saturday, the lake-effect snow is expected to end, and sunshine is expected to arrive. Temperatures however will stay cool, with a high of 37 degrees.

The cold snap will be short-lived, as Sunday will jump up 20 degrees, Roman said, with highs in the mid-50s and partly sunny skies.

60s, near 70 in the forecast

Monday, temperatures are set to rise again, Roman said, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Tuesday will remain warm, with a high of 68 degrees, Roman said — and then some.

“Perhaps some areas close to 70,” Roman said, adding that rain and storms were also possible.

It won’t last for long though, according to Roman. By the middle of next week, temperatures are expected to cool back into the 40s.

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For Papp, SPS impacts how she moves.

“I’m a fall risk. I’m on a walker 24/7,” Papp said. “It takes me probably tripled the amount of time to do anything.”

Papp also suffers from slurred speech, another side effect of the disorder. What hasn’t been impacted is Papp’s sense of humor.

“The slurring is a new gift. I’m gonna call it a gift, but it happens. It’s neurological,” said Papp.

Papp was one of many people stunned on Feb. 4, 2024, when Celine Dion appeared on stage to present one of the Grammy Awards.

“It was a big secret. But I kind of know why. Because she might have had a bad day and had to cancel,” Papp said.

Papp said she was in awe of how Dion looked on stage, but she says some in the SPS community were also concerned Dion’s appearance did not convey the seriousness of the disease.

“Right now, look at me. I mean, I’m happy. I’m out and about. People probably say, ‘She looks fine.’ But the amount of effort it takes me to shower, it takes me to get to sleep at night,” Papp said.

Coinciding with the Grammys appearance came the news that an upcoming documentary capturing Celine Dion’s daily life with SPS will be released in the future.

“Having that documentary air, people are just going to know and learn this disease,” said Dr. Amanda Piquet, Autoimmune Neurology Program Director at the University of Colorado.

Called “Stiff-man Syndrome” when it was first described by doctors in 1956, it was renamed after doctors recognized if affects more women than men.

Some estimates say SPS impacts one in a million people, but the exact number is unclear, as SPS is difficult to diagnose.

We need to, as a field, define the disease better, diagnose this disease better. And with the recognition now that this disease is getting, that will help and that will move the field forward with clinical trials,” Piquet said.

Since her diagnosis in 2021, Papp has worked with The Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation to help create a patient registry to help turn data into research.

“The rare disease world is fascinating. So I’m learning. It’s not like I’m sitting back just waiting for someone to do it. There isn’t anyone to do it, so I’ll do it,” Papp said.

Physical therapy and weekly infusion have helped tamper Papp’s muscle spasms. Set to celebrate her 56^th birthday in March, she remains optimistic.

“There can be a cure for this if we get the right information in the right hands,” Papp said.

Papp created an organization called “Moira’s Mission” to raise awareness. The group is hosting an inaugural fundraiser in Elmhurst on March 3, 2024.

“A Fight to Find a Cure for SPS” benefit and fundraiser will be held from 12 to 5 p.m. at Stage 119, located at 119 Commerce Avenue in Elmhurst.

For more information, click here.

According to multiple reports, Spring Hill Mall will close most of its stores next month.

At the same time, malls like Old Orchard and Woodfield have been opening new spaces and even developing luxury apartments.

Here’s what’s happening:

Spring Hill Mall

In a reported letter sent to tenants, owners of Spring Hill Mall said the mall will “close its doors permanently” on March 22, though there will be some exceptions.

The mall’s closure follows a number of department store closures over the last several years.

It first began in 2011 with the departure of JCPenney, and continued when Carson Pirie Scott closed in 2018. Then Macy’s joined in 2020.

The Daily Herald reported a letter from the mall’s owner told tenants they were “grateful for your partnership since we aqcuired Spring Hill Mall on July 16, 2021.”

Kohan Retail Investment Group confirmed the news in a statement to NBC Chicago Friday.

“We want to express our gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our journey as we close our doors at Spring Hill Mall,” the statement read. “Although this marks the end of our time here, we’re eager to see what the future holds for the local business landscape and believe that great opportunities await.”

West Dundee Village President Chris Nelson confirmed the mall will close on March 22.

West Dundee, where part of the mall resides, had been in talks to buy several stores from the owner. Portions of the mall, however, technically fall within Carpentersville village limits.

West Dundee is expected to close on the property nearly two weeks after it shutters.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Kohl’s store in the Carpentersillve section and the Cinemark Theaters in West Dundee will both remain open despite the closings.

Details on future plans for the space remained unclear.

Old Orchard Mall

Westfield Old Orchard Mall in Skokie has unveiled an ambitious and “transformative” redevelopment plan.

According to a press release, local developer Focus has been tapped as the co-developer on the project, which is expected to break ground in 2025 with the construction of approximately 400 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of street-level retail set to front an outdoor park and event space.

“When complete, the new residences, eateries, wellness facilities, and outdoor amenities will create a North Shore destination unlike anything else in Chicagoland, dramatically enhancing the center’s existing offerings,” the release said, adding that apartments are slated to open to residents in early 2027.

The expansive redevelopment first began in 2018 when Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield acquired the mall’s former, vacant Lord & Taylor department store, which will soon be home to Arhaus, Puttshack, ZARA and Pottery Barn among other retailers, the release added.

Meanwhile, new stores and restaurants at the mall continue to open.

Popular clothing and lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters was the latest in a sew of new stores to open at the suburban mall. The 8,252-square-foot store, which opened earlier this month, is located next to Banana Republic on the north and west sides of the mall, the spokesperson said.

The mall has also recently seen the addition of several new higher-end retailers and dining options, including Louis Vuitton, Tory Birch, Alo Yoga, Capital Grille, Bar Siena and more.

Old Orchard also saw the return of long-time center favorite bookstore Barnes & Noble, which originally closed its doors there in 2021.

And earlier this year, while mall anchor Bloomingdale’s shuttered, Bloomie’s the department store’s smaller, “curated shopping concept” opened.

In addition, a new walk-through Titanic exhibition opened at the mall last week.

Woodfield Mall

Woodfield Mall has seen multiple new additions and pop-ups in recent months.

Chicago-based Radio Flyer opened their first-ever retail store at the Schaumburg mall. The 15,000-square foot store, located on the ground level of Woodfield Mall, opened on Nov. 10.

Dave & Buster’s is set to open a new location in the Streets of Woodfield at 601 N. Martingale Rd. next week.

Shein, a controversial fast fashion company that has been under heightened scrutiny, also did a pop-up at the mall in December.

Oakbrook Center Mall

The site of the former Sears store at Oakbrook Center is being transformed into Sony Motion Pictures’ first-ever immersive entertainment destination, featuring worlds from some of the company’s most popular films.

Wonderverse, a sprawling 45,000-square-foot space, opened to the public in December at the popular suburban shopping mall. With installations from hit movies and franchises including “Uncharted,” “Ghostbrothers,” and “Jumanji,” the destination offers fans a “completely new entertainment experience.”

Gurnee Mills Mall

A giant, multi-entertainment facility featuring bowling, Japanese arcade games, karaoke and a kids play zone is coming later this year.

Round1 Bowling & Arcade is set to come to Gurnee Mills in the summer of 2024, according to a press release from mall owner Simon. In addition to bowling and “exclusive, straight from Japan arcade games,” the entertainment center will including billiards, karaoke, party rooms, a kids play-zone and more, the release said.

Deer Park Town Center

The Deer Park Town Center in northwest suburban Deer Park is adding three new stores and two new restaurants to the mall in 2024, with one of the five additions already open for business.

Victoria’s Secret, which has already opened its doors, returns to Deer Park Town Center with a “Store of the Future” concept aimed to be more welcoming and navigable for customers.

Another three tenants are slated to open in the spring, as the mall will welcome smoothie and sandwich spot Clean Juice, window treatment company The Shade Store and lifestyle retail brand Aerie.

Starting in the fall, those shopping at Deer Park Town Center will get to stop at Ancho & Agave, a Mexican bar and restaurant offering tacos, burritos, quesadillas, margaritas and much more.

Yorktown Center

Yorktown Center in Lombard is continuing a major redevelopment with several new retail and restaurant additions, ranging from fast-food, to a self-pour taproom, to entertainment.

Dave & Busters, Tapville and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen will each open locations at the mall in 2024 as part of the center’s redevelopment plan, a press release said.

Juvenal Salto, formerly of Elk Grove Village, was taken into custody this week after being located in Mexico, and is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

According to officials, the murder occurred in the 2000 block of Busse Road on Jan. 28, 2005. Shortly thereafter, evidence indicated Salto’s involvement, and authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

Investigators believe that Salto fled to Mexico at this time, as investigators continued to work the case and develop new leads, officials said.

Salto is scheduled to appear in court in Rolling Meadows on Friday for a bond hearing.

The Elk Grove Village Police Department acknowledged multiple agencies who assisted in an investigation that lasted over 19 years, including the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Chicago Police Department.

There is currently no further information available.

The restaurant, located at the intersection of West 79th Street and South Perry Avenue in the city’s West Chatham neighborhood, is open 24 hours a day with nearby workers saying nighttime violence was common.

Though there’s no seating inside the restaurant, there is a waiting area at the location where police say the shooting occurred at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday. The restaurant’s counter is surrounded by bulletproof glass to protect employees.

According to authorities, a suspect shot the victim in the head before fleeing the scene. Police did not have information on the age of the victim and no one was in custody.

Though the restaurant was still open for business earlier Friday morning, Chicago police recently arrived to place signs on the restaurant’s windows ordering the business’ closure at the direction of the police superintendent.

An employee for the Subway told NBC Chicago that the man shot was neither an employee nor a customer, but rather someone hanging out in the restaurant’s waiting area.

NBC Chicago was unable to reach the owner of the Subway for comment.

Starting this month, participating McDonald’s locations around the world will be getting a mini-makeover inspired by anime lovers, a press release from the Chicago-based burger chain says. The manga-inspired takeover, cheekily called “WcDonalds” — with upside-golden arches — alludes to how the chain is seen in some of anime’s most iconic movies and shows, the release added.

“Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years,” McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan, said in the release. “The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”

The transformation begins Feb. 26, officials said. It will last through March 18.

WcDonald’s new menu items and an ‘immersive dining experience’

Some new menu items will be part of the pop-up, including “Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce,” meant to be paired with WcNuggets (also known as Chicken McNuggets), the release said.

At one McDonald’s location, an “immersive dining experience” will be held, the release said, inspired by the “isekai anime subgenre.”

According to officials, the “WcDonald’s Immersive Dining Experience” will be held March 9 and 10 in Los Angeles. The dining experience will be “multi-sensory,” and “a genre-bending fusion of entertainment and food,” the release added.

“Guests will be transported into the WcDonald’s universe through 360 projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonald’s anime episodic shorts – all while enjoying a set menu of WcDonald’s items,” the release said. Reservations can be made on OpenTable, beginning Feb. 28.

What will look different

As part of the transformation, McDonald’s teamed up with Japanese magna artist/illustrator Acky Bright, to create and design customer WcDonald’s packaging on menu items. Additionally, for a limited time, customers will receive manga-inspired packaging featuring WcDonald’s Crew characters, sketched by Acky himself, the release said.

McDonald’s has also partnered with animation house Studio Pierrot to produce the first official WcDonald’s anime — four episodic shorts about WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets.

Each Monday, starting Feb. 26 until March 18, the following shorts — which honor Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy, four of anime’s biggest subgenres — will drop on WcDonalds.com or via the code on the WcDonald’s bag:

• The Race to WcDonald’s: Dropping Feb. 26, this short covers a rivalry strong enough to withstand the test of time as our two heroes embark on an epic race to WcDonald’s.
• Love from Across the Booth: Dropping March 4, the two protagonists discover that WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets aren’t the only perfect pairing.
• WcNuggets Space Frontier 3000: Dropping March 11, this short covers a team of WcDonald’s pilots who must protect the last WcNugget against an ominous force.
• The Wisdom of the Sauce: Dropping March 18, this short is about three women who are transported to a distant land to unravel a mystery surrounding WcDonald’s elusive sauce before it’s gone forever.

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The former Chicago Bears kicker has been named the new head football coach at Rolling Meadows High School, according to the Chicago Sun Times, which cites multiple sources.

Gould, who retired from the NFL in December, spent 11 seasons in Chicago, which culminated in him becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer. He then had a one-year stint with the New York Giants before settling down with the San Francisco 49ers for the remainder of his career.

He has long been considered one of the best kickers in Bears and NFL history.

Gould, who lives in the northwest suburbs, has said he always had a soft spot for the city of Chicago, where he met his wife and raised his kids.

His return to the area marks the second major connection to the NFL the Rolling Meadows school has held in recent years. It is also the school NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo graduated from in 2010. Gould and Garoppolo played together on the 49ers.

But Gould won’t be the first former Bear to coach football in the Chicago area.

Jason McKie is the head coach Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein.

Tunney’s successor appears to be charting a different path.

At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) introduced an ordinance that would pave the way for selling hard liquor at the rooftop clubs surrounding Wrigley, clubs primarily owned by the Cubs. For now, rooftop patrons can buy only beer and wine.

The ordinance would also authorize the rooftops to open to paying customers, not just during Cubs games but whenever there is a concert, college football game or special event held at Wrigley with expected attendance over 12,500.

In exchange for those money-making changes, the two-year fee for a rooftop license would more than quadruple, from $1,000 to $4,400.

Lawson called the addition of hard liquor — either in cans or glasses no greater than 3 ounces — a natural offshoot of what’s going on inside the stadium and on Gallagher Way, the plaza next to Wrigley open only to ticketed customers.

The limit for “beer, hard cider, hard seltzer, malt liquor and similar beverages” would be 16 ounces. Portions of wine would be capped at 6.3 ounces. Packaged goods would be prohibited.

“What’s different about the rooftops than in the ballpark or the plaza is that it’s all inconclusive. You buy your ticket and it includes your food and your drink. And at the end of the 7th [inning], they stop serving alcohol. They have to have food out the whole time,” said Lawson, acting chair of the City Council’s Zoning Committee.

“People stay within the space. They also don’t move around. So you’re actually able to monitor them a lot easier than if they were bar-hopping or going from section to section.”

Rowdy and inebriated fans urinating in public and littering have been a chronic neighborhood complaint. But Lawson said he does not believe “responsible” hard liquor sales to rooftop patrons will exacerbate that problem.

“There are people who never want anything to change at Wrigley. But this is pretty minor in the grand scheme of changes. … If there are issues to address, the 44th Ward is certainly on top of things like that. The onus is on the operator and the operators have asked for this,” Lawson said.

“If we see specific increased complaints tied to irresponsible service at rooftops, we can curtail hours. We could curtail offerings. We have the same tools as if you had a bad bar,” he added.

“You could have a community meeting. You could have liquor license violations. We actually have more controls because it’s a highly specialized area than we would if it was just a regular tavern. Hopefully, we won’t have to. … It starts with responsible service inside and outside, making sure we’ve got places to go to the bathroom and throw your garbage. And then, you have that robust clean-up.”

Cubs spokesman Julian Green said it’s high-time to update the 20-year-old rooftop ordinance that authorized beer and wine sales for “baseball games only.”

“We’re hosting concerts. We’re hosting football games. We’re doing numerous special events. We want to make the experience for our fans similar to what they get in the ballpark. You can buy liquor right now in Wrigley Field. Now, we’ll be able to sell liquor on the rooftops,” Green said.

“Our partner, Levy, is one of the most responsible food and beverage operators in the country with trained staff and training they undergo every year.”

Green said a recently completed survey of area residents showed “the majority” of those questioned “actually feel safer” while games are being played at Wrigley.

“There’s no perceived or forecasted or anticipated issues,” Green said.

“No one is a better steward of our brand than the Cubs. We will make sure that this is not only going to be a plus for our fans. The neighborhood will continue to thrive and be a wonderful place — before, during and after Cubs games.”

In a statement Thursday afternoon, AT&T confirmed that service had been restored, more than 10 hours after the outages were first reported. “Keeping our customers connected remains our top priority, and we are taking steps to ensure our customers do not experience this again in the future,” the statement said.

Later Thursday, NBC News reported that AT&T blamed the outage on an error in coding, without elaborating.

“Based on our initial review, we believe that today’s outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyber attack,” the Dallas-based company said.

But that didn’t stop other theories from sweeping the internet — one of which was particularly out of this world: that a solar flare was responsible for the massive outage.

NBC 5 Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes reported a total of three “solar flares” — a release of x-rays and energy from the sun — occurred in the last three days, with the biggest flare taking place early Thursday morning.

“The energy exits the sun at the speed of light in all different directions, reaching the Earth in about eight minutes,” Jeanes said. He added that solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections, which create Aurora, or the Northern Lights, can sometimes occur together. This time though, they didn’t.

“CMEs are responsible for creating the Northern Lights by interacting with Earth’s magnetic field,” Jeanes said. “In this case, NOAA says no CMEs were observed.”

According to NOAA, the sun emitted two strong solar flares Wednesday and Thursday, both with an R3 intensity on NOAA’s five-level scale. The first one peaked at 5:07 p.m. CST on Wednesday, NOAA said. The second peaked at 1:32 a.m. CST early Thursday morning.

Reports of AT&T’s service disruption began showing in Downdetector.com around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

Jeanes noted that the Earth is entering “peak activity” of our current solar cycle — a cycle of sunspot activity that lasts roughly 11 years. AR3590, a giant sunspot, has produced multiple X-class solar flares in the past 48 hours, Jeanes said.

They also have the capacity to cause temporary or complete loss of some high frequency signals, NOAA added, though it’s “unlikely” this contributed to the outage.

“While solar flares can affect the communication systems, radar and the Global Positioning System, based on the intensity of these eruptions and associated phenomena, it is unlikely that these flares contributed to the widely reported cellular network outage,” a statement from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said.

Jeanes added that it’s also unlikely such a flare would only impact a single service provider.

“I don’t think solar flares are picking out individual networks,” Jeanes said.

According to Jeanes, NOAA’s forecast shows an increase in solar flare activity — even the potential for Northern Light-producing CMEs as sunspot AR3590 turns more towards Earth.

“You may even be able to see the sunspot without a telescope, if you have solar eclipse glasses,” Jeanes said, stressing that eclipse glasses must be used in order to look at the sun. “The dark sunspot is currently larger than Earth, and is in the upper left side of the sun.”

Where were AT&T outages reported?

Thursday, Downdetector.com, a website that tracks outages, showed that the cities reporting the most outages were Los Angeles, Dallas, Indianapolis, Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Louisville, Atlanta and Miami. More than 1,000 outages were reported in the Chicago area, the site reported.

The website also showed Verizon and T-Mobile customers were also facing massive outages.

A spokesman for Verizon told NBC News that they don’t see any issues on their network and believes the problem is with other carriers. Verizon customers are only having issues when trying to call a number that is associated with one of the impacted carriers, the spokesperson said.

In an email to NBC Chicago, T-Mobile said their network was “operating normally,” and that outages reported on Downdetector were likely reflecting T-Mobile customers attempting to reach users in other networks.

The outage, which began around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, also impacted 911 in some Chicago suburbs, including Evanston, Naperville and parts of Lake County.

“A systemwide outage is affecting AT&T and some other cellphone users, including the ability to call 911,” the Lake County Sheriff’s office posted on social media. “In case of an emergency, please attempt to use another phone with service or a landline until service providers can restore connectivity across the United States.”

Other municipalities reported the same.

“A cellular outage in the United States was reported by AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and other network users on Thursday,” a tweet from the Cape Girardeau, Missouri Police Department said early Thursday, adding that the outage was impacting their phone system.

A similar tweet was sent by the Flager County Sheriff’s Office in Northeast Florida.

The Chicago Police Department confirmed to NBC Chicago that 911 services had not been impacted by the outages.

AT&T confirmed service had been restored around 2 p.m. Thursday.

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“Yesterday at 3 p.m., we hit 61 degrees. Today, it will be 35 degrees, and we’ll see light snow developing,” NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said. “We’re definitely going from spring to winter in 24 hours.”

MORE: Tulips sprout early on Michigan Avenue in one of Chicago’s warmest winters

According to the NBC 5 Strom Team, Friday morning starts out warmer than average for this time of year, with temperatures in the upper 30s. Skies will be clear and sunny early, Roman said, but clouds will increase and winds will pick up as the day goes on.

By around 1 p.m., Friday’s temperature will hit its highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. After that, they’ll slide back down, Roman said.

“A cold front positioned across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will slide southward,” Roman said. “As the cold front continues to push southwards, we’re going to see temperatures really start to drop.”

Around 4 p.m., the Chicago area will see temperatures down in the 30s, with snow and rain showers developing and continuing into the afternoon and evening commute, Roman said. By 7 p.m., those snow showers will become more widespread, with light flurries areawide. Temperatures at that time will be even colder, Roman added, with readings in the 20s and 30s.

As part of the system, the National Weather System warned that the flurries could make travel hazardous for some.

“A period of snow is expected this evening, especially across the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana,” an alert from the NWS said. “Locally slippery travel conditions are possible this evening.”

Although the snow isn’t expected to accumulate much, the flurries could result in a dusting or a coating, Roman said.

After midnight, the widespread snow showers are expected to come to an end. Early Saturday morning however, lake effect snow will move across parts Lake and Cook Counties, Roman said, with temperatures hovering in the upper teens to low 20s.

Late Saturday morning, the lake effect snow will move out and sunny skies will return, Roman said. Cold temperatures however will remain, with readings in the high 30s.

The weekend ends on a sunny and high note, with temperatures back in the mid 50s, Roman said. Early next week, temperatures will climb back into the 60s — and then some.

According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, Monday is expected to see a high temperature of 60. Tuesday, things will turn even warmer, with a high of 68 degrees or higher.

“Maybe a 70 degree day for some areas,” Roman said

Before you can race, you need to pick up your packet with your event bib number, timing device and more items each participant needs in order to run or walk in the race.

Packet pick-up is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 22 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 23 at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.

Participants need to pick up their packet on a packet pick-up day, as they will not be available on the day of the race.

If you cannot pick up your packet on the designated days, someone else can go and pick up your packet if they show your Packet Pick-up ticket. The ticket will be sent to the participant via email.

Still need to register for the race and want a discount on your registration?

Click here to read more about the 2024 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle and how to get your discount code.

Operated by British Petroleum, the refinery has stood near Lake Michigan for more than a century. But in the past month, the Whiting BP refinery suffered multiple leaks and a shutdown.

“I think we just have to open our mouths and not put up with this,” resident Lynn Haynes said as she arrived at the meeting run by Indiana’s Department of Environmental Management. “There’s more days you just smell something. It’s terrible. You can’t even breathe.”

State regulators must decide whether to renew BP’s air permit. The five-year renewal is getting a lot of attention in the wake of the incidents.

In January, two separate leaks sent fumes and nasty smells into the air as BP was forced to burn off chemicals. The smell even reached parts of Illinois.

In early February, a sudden power outage left the plant shutdown indefinitely.

“We need to know immediately when that plant is in trouble to be ready to stay indoors or leave,” said Carolyn Marsh, a resident who urged officials to deny BP’s permit, or at least install more monitors and warning systems.

Supporters of the refinery point to the plant’s economic impact, including 1,800 union jobs in an area filled with industrial plants.

Residents have until Monday to make their voices heard regarding the permit renewal, but officials warned there are limits to how much the state can regulate.

“You come here and ask us to do more. I’m telling you, we’re doing as much as we can based on the laws we have,” Matt Stuckey said.

Stuckey, who works with IDEM, spoke at the meeting.

“If you don’t like the laws, unfortunately, the best way to fix that is to change the laws,” he said to the crowd.

In a statement to NBC Chicago, a statement from a BP spokesperson said:

“BP is committed to safe and compliant operations at the Whiting Refinery – and we’re also committed to being a good neighbor in Northwest Indiana, where we have been a major investor, employer, fuel supplier and member of the community for more than 130 years.

“An air permit is essential to the refinery’s ability to continue operating, and renewing it will enable bp to continue to make investments in the site – and the region’s economy – for years to come.

:We recognize that the IDEM hearing is not a venue for broader concerns related to recent operational incidents at the refinery, but we are committed to hearing from the community, sincerely listening and working closely with IDEM and the community to address questions.”