Yahoo News Daywatch: Will Chicago see a white Christmas?
Good morning, Chicago.
The chances of a white Christmas in Chicago aren’t high, meteorologists say, but Dec. 25 might land in the record books as one of the warmest.
The holiday weekend is shaping up to be “warm and rather wet,” according to Todd Kluber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville. The weather service expects rain and clouds, with a high temperature near 53 degrees on Christmas.
“Wet and mild for late December,” he said. “We usually see cold and snowy, but we’re definitely not seeing that this time around.”
If the forecast holds, Kluber said this year would make the list for the top 10 warmest.
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Migrants flown to Chicago from Texas on chartered flight, officials say
Migrants were flown to Chicago from Texas on a chartered flight Tuesday night in the state’s latest effort to ship people to the sanctuary city after buses carrying migrants have been penalized.
The city did not receive notice prior to their arrival and has had no communication with Texas officials, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s spokesperson Ronnie Reese.
Bally’s Chicago to go to a 24/7 operation next week
Gamblers will soon be able to roll the dice around the clock at Bally’s Chicago after the casino was granted approval to expand to a 24/7 operation beginning Dec. 27.
After planned migrant camp is scrapped over toxins at Brighton Park site, neighbors want to know how city is going to protect them
Sofia Salinas’ home backs up to a vacant lot at 38th Street and California Avenue in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood.
When the city announced a plan to build a migrant camp on the lot, some residents were angry they weren’t consulted. But when that plan was scrapped after the discovery of high levels of toxic metals, including lead, Salinas said it felt like “a slap in the face.”
Jury exits after second full day of deliberations in corruption trial of former Ald. Ed Burke
Jurors in the racketeering trial of ex-Ald. Edward Burke were sent home late Wednesday after deliberating for a second full day without reaching a verdict.
They are expected to resume their discussions Thursday. In total, the jury has so far deliberated for about 18 hours over three days. The panel was silent all through Wednesday, sending no notes or questions to U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall.
Indiana underestimated Medicaid cost by nearly $1 billion, new report says
Indiana’s initial estimate for Medicaid expenses is nearly $1 billion short of its now-predicted need, state lawmakers learned in a report that ignited concern over the state’s budget and access to the low-income healthcare program.
A December outlook found that Medicaid is predicted to need $984 million more than what was thought in April, when the state’s biennium budget was finalized.
Justin Fields and Jaylon Johnson address uncertain futures with the Bears. What we learned at Halas Hall.
After Sunday’s devastating 20-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears returned to practice Wednesday. Coach Matt Eberflus has pushed his players to reset and refocus with the Arizona Cardinals coming to town for Christmas Eve. The Bears are home favorites for Sunday’s game but will have to be sharp to get back on the winning track.
As the team readies for its Week 16 test, here are five things we learned Wednesday at Halas Hall.
Column: A ‘nightmare’ 2023 for Chicago sports teams and fans included some memorable moments on TV and radio
How will we remember the year in sports?
Let’s allow Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to do the honors:
“It was absolutely the worst season I’ve ever been through. It was a nightmare. It’s still a nightmare. It’s embarrassing. It’s disgusting. All the bad words you can think of is the way I feel about the 2023 season. It absolutely was just awful.”
Reinsdorf obviously was referring to the White Sox, but there were enough nightmares to go around for fans of every team to complain about, including another lost season of the Bears rebuild and an epic Cubs collapse, writes Paul Sullivan.
New Year’s Eve fireworks will light up Chicago Riverwalk and Navy Pier
Downtown Chicago will have fireworks again for New Year’s Eve. Expect the show to be big, and also to close some bridges.
The checkered history of the poinsettia’s namesake and the flower’s origins get new attention
Like Christmas trees, Santa and reindeer, the poinsettia has long been a ubiquitous symbol of the holiday season in the U.S. and across Europe.
But now, nearly 200 years after the plant with the bright crimson leaves was introduced in the U.S., attention is once again turning to the poinsettia’s origins and the checkered history of its namesake, a slaveowner and lawmaker who played a part in the forced removal of Native Americans from their land. Some people would now rather call the plant by the name of its Indigenous origin in southern Mexico.
Column: Betty Boop, now Broadway bound, had many influences. One is a remarkable 1920s South Side Chicago story.
Like every landmark cultural figure, Betty Boop was the product of many previous personae and a host of influences, writes Michael Phillips. Originals are like that: They have origin stories all their own, yet not entirely their own.
A key early origin story for Ms. Boop and her era-defining, amusingly demure boop-oop-a-doop, is the story of Esther Lee Jones of Chicago, born in 1918 or 1919, on the South Side.
