We are the world: International stars unite

By John Alfes
Medill Reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C.– Members of Team World in the 25th Rising Stars game are embracing the opportunity to team up and represent their native countries, an NBA experience that only comes once a year during the All-Star weekend festivities.

Coached by Wes Unseld Jr. and Dirk Nowitzki, Team World has 10 players representing 10 countries across four continents at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

“It’s an honor,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is from Toronto. “Obviously, not a lot of guys from Canada make it, even though we are on the rise. But it’s an honor. It’s a goal that I set out for myself a long time ago, and I was able to achieve it.”
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Basketball Without Borders kicks off under scrutinizing eyes

By Louis Ricard
Medill Reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C.– While the streets of Charlotte are slowly getting more crowded during All-Star weekend, the Levine Center at Queens University is the center of attention for NBA scouts.

The Basketball Without Border camp opened its door on Friday morning, gathering the most talented teenagers from all across the globe to compete and showcase their skills. This year, 63 kids stepped on the court for the first day of camp.
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Bucks-shots: Former Milwaukee greats get their Hall of Fame chance

By Casey Bannon
Medill Reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C.– The 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame finalists announcement felt like a 1980’s Milwaukee Bucks reunion. First-time finalists Jack Sikma and Marques Johnson joined Sidney Moncrief and coach Del Harris as part of the 13 finalists announced Friday at All-Star Weekend in Charlotte.

For added measure, Moncrief’s college coach at the University of Arkansas, Eddie Sutton, was also announced as a finalist.
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Traffic never jams at Chicago’s busiest internet intersection

By Tyler Sonnemaker
Medill Reports

Remember when you used to order DVDs from Netflix and discs would arrive within a week or two? When you added a movie to your queue, Netflix would locate a physical copy in one of its distribution centers, load the DVD on a truck and then ship it to your house in a signature red envelope.

Most people stream movies now, but that data still gets delivered to your device from somewhere else. It has a physical address, and that address might not be as far away as you think. Continue reading →

Trump calls border migrants a “tremendous onslaught,” sparking concerns from mental health experts

By Carly Graf
Medill Reports

President Donald Trump described the U.S. and Mexican boundary as “our very dangerous southern border,” during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, reigniting concerns about punitive immigration practices and mental health impacts.

His rallying cry included a call to Congress to put the “ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers and human traffickers out of business.”

In the shadow of the longest government shutdown in history, spurred by a political standoff over funding for a border wall, scrutiny of the administration’s policy rekindled also after a January a report from the Office of the Inspector General. The report revealed that thousands more children may have been taken from parents than initially reported.

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Night of the Ace: Who will step up as Northwestern’s Friday night starter?

By Andre Toran
Medill Reports

That pitcher who runs out onto the mound on Friday nights is the pacesetter for the rest of the weekend in college baseball.

The first game of a weekend set is crucial to how teams tends to perform, so programs put their best guy on the mound to give them the best shot at winning Game One.

The Friday night Ace – the No. 1 starter in the rotation — isn’t afraid of the lights, the big stage, or the moment. The starter refuses to be intimidated by opposing lineups and boasts a confidence and mental fortitude that will get him out of jams. He is the leader and anchor of the starting rotation Northwestern pitching coach Josh Reynolds said.

“Your team feels that when he touches the mound, we have a chance to win this game,” said Reynolds and Northwestern has to figure out who that guy is for them in 2019.

Expect Northwestern’s decision to come sooner rather than later.

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Ramblers look to block the outside noise as they finish off tough 5 game stretch

Greg Melo
Medill Reports

 In college sports, conference play is king. And for a young Loyola women’s basketball team,  Missouri Valley conference games have presented a mix of ups and downs.

After a weekend split against Illinois State and Bradley, Loyola finds itself tied for the fifth spot in the Valley. With the top 6 seeds getting a bye in the conference tournament in March, the Ramblers appear to be in prime position.

Yet the true test will come this weekend, when they face off against two of the top three teams in the Valley: the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University – a team that has only lost one conference game since 2016. Third-year coach Kate Achter faces the challenge of keeping a relatively inexperienced squad on the level. Continue reading →

UIC women’s tennis maps a global trajectory

By Fernando Shan
Medill Reports

The University of Illinois at Chicago women’s tennis team recruited seven international students from five different countries, including Brazil, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Germany and England.

Besides being strongly international, most of the student-athletes on the team are transfer students. Chicago is their second destination in the United States. Continue reading →

Chicago mayors: A mixed legacy on the environment

Dwight A. Weingarten
Medill Reports

When Chicago’s first Mayor William B. Ogden took office in 1837, he along with two alderman crafted the city seal.

The city’s motto, “Urbs in Horto,” or City in a Garden, that appears at the bottom of the seal, quickly lost much of its literal meaning even with huge parks left amid all the development. Ogden himself, upon leaving office, helped transform the city into one of the nation’s leading railway hubs over the course of the next decade. Continue reading →

Paul Vallas shines at student-led mayoral forum

By Nora Mabie
Medill Reports

Junior Sandra Garcia stands outside the Carl Schurz High School auditorium with a big Ziploc bag filled with red and blue buttons.

“Are you 18?” she asks students as they enter the auditorium. If she gets a yes, Garcia hands them a button, labeled “VOTER” in big block letters. If no – no button.

Garcia is one of about 30 students on Carl Schurz’s student council who helped plan the student-led Mayoral Forum on Monday. With roughly 300 Schurz students registered to vote, interest in a candidate forum was high.

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