"White" vs. "what" vs. "wet" and "black" vs. "blargh": linguistic traps for candidates to avoid. But sometimes a letter will accuse you of bias against Canadians, and only Woodward and Bernstein can save you there. Read more
One possible explanation for why it's in the mid-50s in Chicago today: space weather! Scientists are looking into the possibility that sunny weather on the sun creates warm winters in these parts. Read more
A Chickasaw Nation composer (and Northwestern graduate) creates a new-music concerto about the Trail of Tears and his family's ancestral lands. Read more
The Marlins got some big Chicago names this offseason: Ozzie Guillen, Carlos Zambrano, and Mark Buehrle. But the loudest and splashiest is a legendary Art Institute dropout. Read more
The Cubs do what they have to do in getting rid of Carlos Zambrano, though it comes at a high cost. In exchange, they get a hard-luck young starter—perhaps the unluckiest in all of baseball. Read more
Los Angeles is about to find out there's no such thing as free parking, as it embarks on a radical, rate-raising meter scheme. But unlike Chicago, they're keeping their meters. Read more
Winners, losers, and drawers from last night's caucuses, which have already claimed one candidate while leaving far more questions than answers. Read more
The split between the State of Illinois and Catholic Charities over same-sex adoption is indicative of a larger conflict between church and state in the era of government privatization, and part of one of the most interesting stories of 2011. Read more
Traumatic brain injuries linked both sports and political news in 2011. As lawsuits and science about concussions advance, expect more in the new year. Read more
In a December story about late Iraq War veteran and Peru native Anthony Wagner, John Keilman captured many of the economic, political, and social tensions of 2011. Read more
