Abortion advocacy improves mental health, activists say

The storefront window to a gallery says, "Abortion is not a crime." Next to it are giant inflatable sculptures painted in hues of blue, pink and purple.

By Alexa Erbach Medill Reports Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many states continue to fight for abortion access while 13 have already banned most abortions. Three of those states include Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky, all of which border Illinois.  As local activists in Illinois fight to secure safe […]

Q&A: How an 87-year-old Italian grandma became an accidental YouTube star

Featured Image Gina

By Carolina Baldin Medill Reports Nearly seven years ago, Gina Petitti, an Italian grandma who lives in Freehold, New Jersey, starred in her first video. She simply wanted to record memories for her family. Last January, the 87-year-old’s YouTube channel, “Buon-A-Petitti” (a wordplay combining “Buon appetito,” which means “Enjoy your meal,” and Petitti’s last name), […]

Meet Chef Joel Reno: The pâtissier who once only needed pastry now kneads pizza

Joel Reno stands in front of a pastry case at his restaurant, Pistores Pizza & Pastry

By Amanda Rosenberg Medill Reports In 2012, chef Joel Reno received a call from the head of The French Pastry School in Chicago with an offer to teach. Years later, that job helped Reno meet his wife, receive discounted professional cooking equipment and start his first business. In late December, Reno, now 47, opened Pistores […]

Big Ten Tournament: Edey’s presence looms large as No. 1 Purdue advances to semifinals

Zach Edey

By Jonah Dayton Medill Reports While it was a relatively quiet day for presumed National Player of the Year Zach Edey, his presence alone dominated the game as his top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers hung on to defeat No. 9 seed Rutgers, 70-65, during Friday’s quarterfinal matchup.  Edey put up a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double in 32 minutes […]

Big Ten Tournament: No Sensabaugh, no problem; Buckeyes advance to semifinals

By Max Olsan Medill Reports Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State’s leading scorer, was ruled out with knee soreness Friday ahead of the team’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal game against Michigan State. However, that didn’t stop the No. 13 seed Buckeyes from prevailing with their third win in as many days to become the lowest […]

Big Ten basketball success runs deep in Loyer family

By Elena Shklyar Medill Reports On Thursday afternoon at the Barclays Center, Foster Loyer took off his black and red Davidson jersey after playing in the final game of his decorated five-year-long college basketball career.  On Friday morning at the United Center, Fletcher Loyer suited up in his No. 2 Purdue jersey to play in […]