Melting glaciers on Mount Everest could threaten freshwater for millions and world economies
By Shivani Majmudar Medill Reports Amid this year’s global pandemic, the world is also fighting more frequent and severe hurricanes, larger wildfires and prolonged heat waves—indicative that climate change is real and it’s happening now. “We’re at the blinking yellow light,” said Laura Mattas, a graduate research student at the University of Maine’s Climate Change […]
Chinese international students under US-China tension: Are they changing their plans for the future?
By Amy Ouyang Medill Reports Since the winter break of last year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology junior Vivian Hou has been in China for almost a year. This is the longest “break” she has ever had since she went abroad to study in a U.S. high school seven years ago, she says, and what scares […]
Evanston Mayor sends letter to NU president in response to Saturday student protest
By Bennett Baker Medill Reports Evanston Mayor Stephen Hagerty penned an open letter Sunday to Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro in response to student protests downtown on Saturday night. In the statement, Hagerty alleges increased protestor aggression and asks the university to foot the overtime bill for the city’s law enforcement officers. The mayor also […]
A presidential election and a new Supreme Court justice: What’s at stake for reproductive health
By Shivani Majmudar Medill Reports After last week’s confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the nation’s highest court, reproductive health advocates across the country say they fear a serious threat to equitable health care access. Barrett was confirmed exactly one month after President Trump nominated her to fill late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat, one […]
Chicago housing activists help tenants prepare for winter amid the pandemic
By Courtney Kueppers Medill Reports Yvonne Williams went to Hyde Park for a Saturday afternoon lunch, but she left with much more. The 48-year-old mother of four is out of work and said her landlord is threatening to evict her from her South Shore apartment, despite the statewide eviction moratorium that’s been in place since […]
Meet the climate activists across Chicago holding harmful companies accountable
By Natalie Eilbert Medill Reports In South Deering on Chicago’s South Side, the foul odors emanating from nearby facilities are so pungent that people waiting at the bus stop at 100th Street and Torrence have nearly passed out. Landfills, recycling centers and facilities have cranked, hauled, emitted and dumped in residential areas for generations, but […]
Lawmakers rethink the ADU ordinance as advocates cast doubts on its ability to generate affordable housing
By Yilun Cheng Medill Reports Proponents of Chicago’s proposed accessory dwelling units (ADU) ordinance –– highly anticipated legislation introduced earlier this year to reverse the longtime ban on an entire category of housing –– are struggling to move it forward as critics grow skeptical of its promise to deliver affordable housing. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, with […]
Chilean desert communities fight corporations for water mined for lithium
By Caroline Catherman Medill Reports Chile’s seemingly barren Salar de Atacama hides a thriving ecosystem in shallow salt lakes that teem with microorganisms, green grasses, and flamingos, among the diverse lifeforms. The Lickan Antay and other indigenous communities who live along the desert cannot and will not separate their identity from the land they live […]
Englewood’s GoodKids MadCity ‘Love March’ takes to the streets to spread message of love and hope
By Allison Schatz Medill Reports A crowd of close to 100 community activists and residents marched down Ashland near 67th Street, while cars honked in support, during GoodKids MadCity’s “Love March.” Held on October 17, organizers say the march was meant to share a message of hope and to push back against the narrative that […]
Trump-touted antibody cocktail holds therapeutic promise for COVID-19 patients, as clinical trials continue
By Natalie Eilbert Medill Reports When President Donald Trump stood before Americans and called his bout with COVID-19 this fall a “blessing in disguise,” he touted Regeneron as the new pharmaceutical “cure” the world has been desperate for. His doctors at Walter Reed Hospital expedited the experimental antibody treatment he received and combined the antibody […]