Forty years ago, a space shuttle exploded. A teacher and her crewmates lost their lives. A generation of schoolchildren watched it happen live. I was one of them.

I was 10 when Challenger ascended to the stratosphere before splintering into trails of white smoke. In real time, viewers like me learned that those white wisps meant that the shuttle had exploded. Although not immediately confirmed, we understood that the crew, including middle school teacher Christa McAuliffe, had died. Everyone knows that you can’t parachute from a spaceship. 

The 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy prompts us to pause and remember the sacrifices of the crew. It is also a chance to reflect on how the experience of seeing a tragedy unfold shaped the outlook of a generation. 

McAuliffe risked her life so that children could learn about space. Admittedly, space travel didn’t seem that risky in the early 1980s. Shuttle launches rarely merited prolonged attention in the national news.

It was this inattention to the United States’ space ambitions that inspired stunt casting. A civilian was recruited to become an astronaut. To McAuliffe’s credit (unlike some contemporary space tourists), she declined the label. Respectful of the rigorous education and decades-long training of NASA pilots, engineers and scientists, McAuliffe described herself simply as a passenger. Officially, she was a payload specialist. Her humility taught a lesson.  

For kids in the 1980s, who watched “The Jetsons” in the morning, played with Transformers toys in the afternoon and saw “Back to the Future” in the cinema, it was obvious that flying cars and perhaps even a moon colony were on the horizon. If they had not happened by 2001, then they certainly could exist a quarter-century later when we would be unimaginably old, in our 50s. A teacher going to space fit the timeline. And then the Challenger exploded.

The 1980s were an odd decade in which to develop a generational worldview. Bill Cosby’s television sitcom seemed to model family values and introduced a type of masculinity that supported the possibilities of girls and women. Cliff Huxtable was a girl dad with four confident daughters and also the husband to a successful lawyer. First lady Nancy Reagan identified marijuana as a gateway drug with the potential to shatter the dreams of children and urged us to “just say no.” The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dismantling of the Soviet Union suggested that imperial conquest was a thing of the past. Although the television news always carried stories about incidents here or there, none rose to the dystopic level of science fiction movies (such as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “The Running Man”) in which the American government sanctioned the killing of citizens on the streets.

The Challenger explosion was an awakening. It shook confidence in received narratives of safety. Over subsequent decades, we became inured to the possibility that the things and people in which we believed could prove untrue. From Cosby’s court trials, to cannabis legalization, to the invasion of Ukraine as part of a Russian reunification strategy, to the many death-by-law-enforcement scenarios in American cities, our current moment looks and feels different than what a preteen might have imagined in the ’80s. 

And yet, there was something in that explosion that prepared us for the present. We witnessed death without seeing it. We saw McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis disappear. They vanished. The loss of life felt true even before official confirmation days later.

News coverage unable to explain the cause of the tragedy prompted folks to trust their gut intuition. These responses proved prescient. Members of this generation alongside their elders would find meaning in Stephen Colbert’s neologism “truthiness” and, later, Donald Trump’s “fake news.” The coverage was neither false nor fake. The explosion happened. However, the information relay was slow; too slow for an audience desiring faster communication and quicker updates.

The explosion signaled that flying cars in every driveway and a moon colony would not happen in our lifetimes. As we encountered warnings about the depleting ozone layer, global warming and the threats of rising sea levels, the Challenger generation was compelled to consider the environment. A spaceship waiting to take us up and far away no longer seemed viable.

Finally, the disaster enabled us all to appreciate the honest, impactful hard work of teaching. As a society, we tend to overlook the impact of teachers except in moments of tragedy. We were reminded of this lesson — one that was promptly forgotten — during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in 1986, McAuliffe had hoped that her participation would raise the prestige of the teaching profession. Post-mission, her aspiration was to travel the country and talk with schoolchildren about the wonder of space. Risk-taking explorers are not only in history books. They live in our present, walk among us and sometimes are the people standing at the chalkboard in your classroom. 

As the Challenger blasted off and the shuttle launched skyward, McAuliffe had already achieved her goal. The anniversary of the Challenger explosion is a reminder of the crew’s daring and enduring impact on a generation. 

Harvey Young is a historian and cultural critic. He is a dean of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. 

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/opinion-christa-mcauliffe-challenger-explosion/ 

Good afternoon, Chicago.

The Cook County chief judge’s office has toughened protocols around its electronic monitoring program, making changes in the wake of high-profile incidents and as the office’s monitored population swells.

Chief Judge Charles Beach, who replaced the county’s longtime top jurist Tim Evans in December, announced yesterday changes around how violations of the program’s rules are handled.

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History

People attend a vigil for Alex Pretti outside the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center on Jan. 28, 2026, in Chicago. Federal immigration officers shot and killed Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, in Minneapolis last week. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Nurses union stages candlelight vigil outside Chicago VA to honor Alex Pretti: ‘Our job is to protect other people’

The vigil, organized by National Nurses United, was the second held outside the local VA center in as many days, with dozens convening at the South Damen Avenue facility Tuesday as uproar over Alex Pretti’s death mounts. Read more here.

More top news stories:

Ex-Sangamon County deputy sentenced to 20 years in prison for Sonya Massey second-degree murder conviction
Judge detains teen accused of stabbing pregnant Downers Grove mom 70 times after Facebook Marketplace dispute

Amazon is closing all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, including those in Naperville on Route 59 and on Ogden Avenue, seen here. (Naperville Sun)

Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge says Amazon ‘full steam ahead’ with planned development despite nearby retail closures

The mayor of Orland Park says he has faith in Amazon’s approved retail concept for the village, despite the company announcing Tuesday it will shut down all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations. Read more here.

More top business stories:

Hawthorne Race Course officials again say they’re working on casino deal, despite debts
Two companies supplied dried milk powder linked to botulism in ByHeart baby formula

UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts towers over Illinois Fighting Illini forward Berry Wallace as she drives to the basket in the second half during a game between the Fighting Illini and the UCLA Bruins at State Farm Center on Jan. 28, 2026, in Champaign. The Bruins beat the Illini 80-67. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

4 takeaways from No. 2 UCLA’s win over Illinois, including Bruins’ Betts duo and Illini freshmen taking charge

The game pitted a senior-led UCLA team that looks like a national title contender against an up-and-coming Illinois team that started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. Read more here.

More top sports stories:

3 takeaways as the Chicago Bulls collapse in a 113-110 loss to the worst team in the Eastern Conference
Chicago Cubs agree to minor-league contracts with Trent Thornton and Chas McCormick

Filmmaker Charlie Minn, seen here in a shot being taken for his documentary on the unsolved Lane Bryant murder case in Tinley Park, said he hopes the movie will spark new interest and leads in the cold case. (Charlie Minn)

Lane Bryant documentary producer no longer speaking at Tinley Park high schools

Filmmaker Charlie Minn said he felt deceived after he confirmed the events with the schools and announced them to the public, but said plans were changed. He said he is “extremely confused and puzzled” about why plans were changed. Read more here.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

Stephen Colbert confirms date of final episode of ‘The Late Show’
Review: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien shine in Sam Raimi’s gonzo blast ‘Send Help’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., waits to speak to reporters following a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Democrats block government funding package in Senate as negotiations continue to avert a shutdown

Democrats voted to block legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies today as they continued to negotiate with Republicans and the White House on new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. Read more here.

More top stories from around the world:

Homelessness appears to decline nationwide, with 60% drop in Chicago
US life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2024, CDC says

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/afternoon-briefing-cook-county-chief-judge-makes-electronic-monitoring-changes/ 

Unprecedented: Trump Gets Putin To Halt Strikes On Kiev For One Week In Call

Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/29/2026 – 15:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/unprecedented-trump-gets-putin-halt-strikes-kiev-1-week-call 

The Rev. Julie Van Til, pastor of Flossmoor Community Church, heard that a call had been put out for faith leaders of every tradition to gather in Minnesota only four days ahead of time. Three days later, she was on a plane.

Van Til was one of over 600 religious leaders from across the country who travelled to Minnesota to take part in mass demonstrations against the ongoing immigration crackdown in the state on Jan. 23.

“We are called to love the stranger and make room for the foreigner,” Van Til said. “As a Christian, I think that the spaces we live in benefit from diversity, and a population of people who perhaps haven’t belonged to each other before, to learn to belong to each other for a better future.”

Van Til said she was inspired by the neighborhood-level resistance to Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.

“I admired what was happening on the ground in the neighborhoods here, and I knew that there was something ground-level good about the way people were treating their neighbors,” Van Til said.

That experience motivated her to go to Minneapolis when she got the call about faith leaders gathering to protest.

“It’s like a monster that just diverts its angrier and angrier attention to another place,” Van Til said. “It felt far away, but so close to home.”

The interfaith coalition Van Til joined was organized by a group called MARCH. In its call to action for faith leaders, MARCH invoked a telegram written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965, calling on clergy from across the country to join him in marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery to protest segregation and demand voting rights for Black citizens.

“Clergy came from across the country. Among them was Rev. James Reeb, who was brutally beaten and later died from his injuries,” MARCH stated on its website. “It is in that same spirit — and with that same clarity — that we issue this call now.”

In Minnesota, the local Unitarian Universalist Association put out a call for donations for cold-weather gear to keep visiting faith leaders warm in the freezing temperatures, Van Til said.

The Rev. Julie Van Til bundles up against the cold in Minneapolis on Jan. 22, 2026. (Julie Van Til)

“We had tables of outerwear, innerwear, underwear, boots, hats, gloves, warmers, anything out-of-towners would need to survive in, not just -20°, but the windchill factor on top of that,” Van Til said. “That is an example of the goodness that I saw everywhere.”

While in Minneapolis, Van Til was hosted by a local family, one member of whom patrolled around the local middle and high schools twice daily.

“It’s easy to drive around and feel like nothing is happening,” Van Til said. “If you are your average middle or upper class person, and you’re not taking public transportation, you could drive from your home and to a familiar grocery store, and maybe to work and back, and never know that anything is happening.”

Or, she said, you could suddenly come across car horns blowing and crowds gathering.

“I was corrected in saying, by someone I was patrolling with, I said, ‘Oh, there’s a protest,’” Van Til said. “He said, ‘No no, that’s protection.’ And I thought that was really powerful that people were coming out on the streets, not as a political protest first and foremost. It was as a violence deterrent, to keep their neighbors alive.”

A protester holds a sign with a Bible quote on Jan. 23, 2026 in Minneapolis. (Julie Van Til)

While Van Til was patrolling, other faith leaders in the coalition were protesting in other ways, including around 100 clergy members who were arrested for kneeling in front of the main terminal of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in protest of deportation flights.

“Jesus and his followers gave us plenty of ways to resist when that authority was being unjust,” Van Til said. “Non-compliance. Gumming up the wheels of the system just enough to maybe help people pause and realize what they’re doing. Showing mercy to them when they’re not showing mercy to you.”

The same day, Van Til joined a protest march in downtown Minneapolis that drew thousands.

Protesters march through downtown Minneapolis in protest of the immigration crackdown on Jan. 23, 2026. (Julie Van Til)

Van Til was on the plane home Saturday morning, she said, when she got word that Alex Pretti had been shot and killed in Minneapolis.

“I wanted to turn around and go back so badly,” Van Til said. “But we’re really called to do the non-sexy work of connecting with people and caring for our neighbors right where we are, to keep that movement going. And the movement matters. That’s why Alex was out there.”

One of the things that struck her most on her return, she said, was the positive response of her congregation in Flossmoor. When she came back, many people thanked her for having gone to Minneapolis.

“I feel like that shows the impulse of so many people around our nation, really, who want to help, but in particular Christians, who are longing for a representation in the media of Jesus loving the neighbor, and standing with the vulnerable,” Van Til said. “It was powerful for me to see how much it meant to them, that I went and represented that for them.”

elewis@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/flossmoor-pastor-interfaith-protest-minneapolis/ 

As the planned data center footprint in Yorkville continues to grow, a request to rezone a portion of land so it could one day host a data center failed to secure a positive recommendation from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in January, but a future City Council vote could still move the matter forward at a later date.

The proposal brought to the commission — by Matt Gilbert of Chicago-based Green Door Capital, who presented the rezoning petition on behalf of Yorkville Nexus V LLC — is for the rezoning of about 130 acres of land south of Corneils Road and east of Beecher Road, west of the nearby Caledonia neighborhood, on which a data center could be built in the future.

Gilbert presented the project at the commission’s Jan. 14 meeting, at which a public hearing on the proposal drew comments from numerous residents opposed to it.

The project would join what may one day be a corridor of data center campuses in Yorkville in the northeast quadrant of Eldamain Road and Route 34.

According to a map from the city, the area being proposed for rezoning sits just south of another proposed data center campus — called Project Steel — and directly north of a possible CyrusOne data center campus that has been proposed in the area.

A little further north sits the controversial 1,000-acre Project Cardinal, which in November got preliminary approval from the city. And southwest of the land in question is another CyrusOne site, which got approval from the city in 2024, according to Yorkville City Administrator Bart Olson. CyrusOne also has a data center property nearby on Aurora’s far East Side.

Yorkville has become a sort of hub for data center projects, in part due to the area’s proximity to a ComEd substation. But with these proposed developments has come significant resident opposition.

“We’re aware of the differing views in the community surrounding the data center development in general on this site, and development in general on this site,” Gilbert said while presenting the rezoning request at the January meeting.

The petition considered by the commission in January seeks to rezone the western portion of the property under consideration from a multi-family residential use to a manufacturing use so a data center could be built on it. The request also asks that the eastern portion of the land be rezoned from residential use to agricultural and remain farmland.

That layout is meant to provide about 50 acres to “serve as a buffer between the Caledonia neighborhood and any future development west of (Rob Roy Creek),” according to Gilbert, who said the adjustment was based on concerns from the city. He also pointed to plans for things like landscaping buffers at the site.

At the January meeting, Gilbert pointed to the area’s proximity to a nearby ComEd substation, and said this land has been targeted by the city for development. He noted that the development plan for the property would be two buildings, each with connected administrative buildings, but that construction would be at least three to four years down the line.

Green Door Capital owns the parcel of land, Gilbert said at the meeting, but noted that it is not a data center user. Even if the rezoning is approved, he noted, a developer would still have to come back before the city with a Planned Unit Development, or PUD, that would need to be approved in order for a development to be built there.

In an interview with The Beacon-News, Olson said that, in addition to the data center projects that are further along in the approval process, there are several other portions of land in Yorkville in a similar position to the 130 acres currently under consideration by the city — in that a petitioner is seeking to rezone portions of land for industrial uses, thereby enabling the landowner to market the land to a data center developer.

And, as these projects have cropped up, the city has sought to standardize how it evaluates and proceeds with them.

Last June, for example, Yorkville approved an amendment to a portion of its Unified Development Ordinance, seeking to establish regulations specific to data centers, according to documents from the city. It includes requirements related to things like landscape buffering, maximum height, noise mitigation and appearance standards. Any future development plans have to comply with these standards.

But the rezoning classification for the portion that would hold a future data center did not get the approval it was seeking, and was shot down by the Planning and Zoning Commission at its Jan. 14 meeting.

Commissioners evaluated the petition on standards related to the proposed project’s alignment with the city’s comprehensive plan, its compatibility with existing and planned uses and zoning of nearby properties and the length of time the property has been vacant, among other considerations. They ultimately determined that the land parcels in question did not meet all of the city’s standards for rezoning them as proposed.

But the potential rezoning of the land, though rejected by the commission, is not yet over. It’s tentatively still set to go to the Yorkville City Council for a final vote at its Feb. 10 meeting. But because the commission voted it down, Olson said, the request will require a supermajority of the council in order for it to pass.

However, like the other data center projects headed for Yorkville, the potential project has generated further pushback from residents, a number of whom spoke against the rezoning proposal at the public hearing held at the January Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Their comments addressed the proposed development’s proximity to residential areas and cited concerns about things like noise pollution, property values and energy costs.

Olson noted that it takes a number of steps for a project to be approved, and pointed out that data centers aren’t “necessarily something the city asked for” — developers and landowners have to apply for such projects to occur.

But Yorkville has been seeking development as a means of reducing the property tax burden on homeowners, he said. And the city and its surrounding areas are continuing to grow rapidly, with Kendall County currently the fastest growing county in the state.

But now, with projects coming down the line, Olson said the city has been doing its research on the potential issues related to data centers and attempting to address resident concerns. And it has been posting “clarifying information” about the proposed projects on Facebook, he noted, in the interest of correcting “some of … the misconceptions about what’s being proposed specifically in Yorkville.”

“We’re trying to just show people, ‘Yes, we have a concern about this, too, and here’s what we’re doing as a result of it,’” Olson said.

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/rezoning-for-potential-data-center-rejected-by-yorkville-commission-city-council-vote-planned-for-february/ 

Bank Of America, JPMorgan Chase To Match $1,000 Contributions To Children’s Accounts

Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/29/2026 – 14:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bank-america-jpmorgan-chase-match-1000-contributions-childrens-accounts 

Costco’s famed $4.99 rotisserie chicken is under fire in a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that the big box warehouse falsely advertised that its birds were preservative free.

Two California shoppers say Costco mislead customers nationwide by prominently advertising its rotisserie chicken as containing no preservatives, while discreetly listing two added preservatives — sodium phosphate and carrageenan — in fine print in the ingredient list.

“Costco Wholesale Corporation has systemically cheated customers out of tens—if not hundreds—of millions of dollars by falsely advertising its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken as containing ‘no preservatives,’ ” according the complaint filed in California’s Southern District Court last Thursday.

Sodium phosphate and carrageenan are common food additives. Sodium phosphate is used to preserve moisture and enhance flavor in processed foods, while carrageenan is added to thicken and stabilize products like meats.

Studies have linked excessive sodium phosphate intake to kidney strain and cardiovascular risks, and carrageenan to digestive inflammation and gut irritation. However, the Food and Drug Administration says both are safe to use at approved levels.

Costco did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment, but said in a statement to USA Today that it had removed the no preservatives statements in store and online in order to “maintain consistency among the labeling on our rotisserie chickens and the signs in our warehouses/on-line presentations.”

The two plaintiffs, Bianca Johnston and Anatasia Chernov, purchased Costco rotisserie chickens at stores in Victorville, California, in 2024 and San Marcos, California, in 2025 believing they were preservative free due to the prominent signs saying so, according to the complaint. Both shoppers say they prefer to buy foods that are preservative free when possible.

The lawsuit states that without accurate advertising customers are unable to make informed decisions on whether to purchase the chicken and compare pricing to Costco competitor’s products.

In photos included in the complaint, Costco signs promote the chicken as being USDA Grade A and containing no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

With a price tag under $5, Costco’s well-loved rotisserie chicken is cheaper than similar products at other grocery stores. Retail analysts have described it as a “loss leader,” meaning that it is sold at little to no profit in order to entice customers to shop at the store and spend money on other items.

The case comes as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement brings greater national scrutiny to ultra-processed foods contributing to higher demand for goods that are marketed as being sans preservatives.

The complaint alleges that Costco violated consumer laws in California, where the chickens were purchased, and in Washington, where Costco is headquartered. Plaintiffs are seeking to bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of people who purchased the rotisserie chicken in California and across the country.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/costcos-rotisserie-chicken-lawsuit/ 

There has been tremendous outcry from Antioch residents over plans to redevelop Centennial Park, an 8.6-acre facility that features picnic tables, a pavilion, a baseball field, tennis courts and — most importantly to some residents — an extensive wooden playground that serves as the park’s most unique feature.

Last week, the village unveiled its new renderings for a redeveloped playground, as part of a $1.2 million project that’s partially covered through grant funding.

“The village is well aware of the sentimental attachment that the community has,” Antioch Assistant Village Administrator Jim Moran said. “It’s a very special park.”

The wooden playground was built in 1992 through the efforts of more than 2,000 community members. The playground, which features wooden castles, towers, and tunnels that only children can fit through, was produced by Leathers and Associates, a playground construction company based in Ithaca, New York, that specialized in coordinating community-led construction of large, wooden playgrounds, primarily throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

“It’s a big deal for the community because that playground … not only is it very unique, but it’s community-built,” village resident Kevin Korecek said, adding that his father, Laddie, who owned Johnson Jewelers of Antioch, helped to build the park. “It was a huge community effort that got that playground built in the first place, so when I saw all of these ideas of what they’re going to do with the playground, it was kind of like a slap in the face.”

Plans to redevelop the park started in 2023, when Antioch hired the Hitchcock Design Group, a landscape architecture company, to create a comprehensive master plan for the village’s park system, Moran said. The master plan called for improvements at the 34-year-old park, and the Village Board adopted it in 2024.

The park will also be receiving a new pavilion as part of the redevelopment plan. (Erin Yarnall/For the Lake County News-Sun)

“Part of the master plan outlined improvements throughout our park system that it recommended making,” Moran said, adding that the expected lifespan of the playground was approximately 20 years.

The village had the group apply for an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant (OSLAD) through the state of Illinois.

“Hitchcock felt that the Centennial Park project would be the project that most aligned with the OSLAD requirements,” Moran said.

A $600,000 matching grant was awarded to the village for the renovations in December of 2024.

Community members said it was a “slap in the face” to get rid of the 34-year-old playground. (Erin Yarnall/For the Lake County News-Sun)

In October of last year, the village presented different options for the playground’s design and heard overwhelmingly negative comments about every design from residents. A new rendering of what the new playground will look like was released on Jan. 21, which Director of Parks and Recreation Katie Kotloski said will be the design the village will use.

“This park is a part of Antioch and its history, and it’s so disappointing that this current administration is willing to knock it down and put in a cookie-cutter park,” former Antioch resident Austin Adams said.

Adams was so dismayed by the redevelopment of the park that he circulated a petition to save Centennial Park, which has more than 3,800 signatures.

“A lot of people have a strong opinion on this matter, but I felt like not a lot of people were being heard,” he said.

Some residents suggested the park will lose its unique qualities.

“It looks like every other park that’s around,” Korecek said, referring to the latest renderings. “I’ve lived in Antioch for my entire life, and my dad instilled a sense of community in me. Antioch is an important town to me.

“It’s been changing a lot, and it’s taking away a lot of the charm of the town,” he continued. “This is just another thing that will take away from that charm.”

Village officials said that another reason they have to renovate the playground is that accessibility laws and codes have changed since the playground was built.

“When you make significant changes to playgrounds, you have to adhere to the latest accessibility and laws that govern playgrounds,” Moran said. “It basically made it cost-prohibitive and unrealistic to be able to alter it in some fashion without a complete renovation.”

He said that if the village were to rebuild the same playground, the cost would exceed $1 million for the playground itself, which the village could not afford.

“This entire park renovation, which deals with a new pavilion, a fitness station, bag toss, and other features, has a pricetag of $1.2 million, with the village paying half and the state paying half,” Moran said.

Other residents said that while they have fond memories of the playground, they acknowledge that the accessibility of the new park will be more inclusive for more children.

“Nostalgia is nice, but I think people need to remember that that needs to be put aside so we can do what’s best for kids now,” former village resident Jordan Palmer said. “We loved it when we were little, but let’s give kids now the opportunity to have those same feelings.

“You never want to see something that you have fond memories of go away, but you also have to be realistic,” Palmer said.

The village plans to recognize the 1992 community-led effort to build the playground through “a plaque, or a remembrance piece,” according to Kotloski, but plans to move forward with the new design for the playground.

Antioch will solicit bids in March, and construction is expected to start the following month. Plans call for the park to reopen in September.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/centennial-park-antioch/ 

Por WAFAA SHURAFA y TOQA EZZIDIN

DEIR AL-BALAH, Franja de Gaza (AP) — Israel entregó los cuerpos de 15 palestinos el jueves, pocos días después de recuperar los restos del último rehén israelí, dijo un funcionario del Ministerio de Salud de Gaza.

Esto representa el último intercambio de rehenes y detenidos entre Israel y Hamás llevado a cabo como parte de la primera fase del alto el fuego mediado por Estados Unidos alcanzado en octubre.

La Cruz Roja ayudó a facilitar el retorno de los cuerpos. Fueron llevados al Hospital Shifa en la Ciudad de Gaza, dijo Zaher al-Wahidi, portavoz del Ministerio de Salud.

El retorno de todos los rehenes restantes, vivos o muertos, era una parte clave de la primera fase del alto el fuego que pausó la guerra.

Israel acordó devolver 15 cuerpos palestinos por cada rehén recuperado, según los términos del alto el fuego. No está claro si los cuerpos liberados el jueves eran de detenidos palestinos que murieron bajo custodia israelí o cuerpos tomados de Gaza por tropas israelíes durante la guerra.

Israel ha liberado aproximadamente a 2.000 prisioneros palestinos bajo el acuerdo de alto el fuego, muchos de los cuales fueron capturados por tropas israelíes durante la guerra de dos años y mantenidos sin cargos. También ha devuelto los cuerpos de 360 palestinos a Gaza, donde las autoridades han batallado para identificarlos.

El Ministerio de Salud de Gaza, parte del gobierno dirigido por Hamás, ha publicado fotos de los fallecidos para que las familias los identifiquen. De los cuerpos devueltos por Israel, unos 100 han sido identificados por las familias, dijo Al-Wahidi.

El lunes, Israel anunció que encontró e identificó los restos del último rehén israelí, el policía Ran Gvili, tras una extensa búsqueda en un cementerio en el norte de Gaza.

El ataque del 7 de octubre de 2023 a Israel que inició la guerra mató a unas 1.200 personas y 251 fueron tomados como rehenes. Gvili, un policía de 24 años conocido cariñosamente como “Rani”, murió peleando contra milicianos de Hamás.

El retorno de su cuerpo cerró un capítulo doloroso para el país y despejó el camino para la siguiente y más desafiante fase del alto el fuego, que exige el despliegue de una fuerza de seguridad internacional, el desarme de Hamás, la retirada de soldados israelíes y la reconstrucción de Gaza.

Casi 500 muertos en Gaza desde que comenzó el alto el fuego

Mientras el enviado estadounidense Steve Witkoff anunció el lanzamiento de la segunda fase de la tregua a principios de este mes, el fuego y los ataques israelíes continúan matando a palestinos en toda Gaza casi a diario.

El fuego israelí mató a dos palestinos el jueves en el área de Jan Yunis, en el sur de Gaza, según el hospital Nasser, donde fueron llevados los cuerpos. Funcionarios de salud dijeron que los dos hombres fueron asesinados en áreas que no están controladas por Israel.

Otro ataque israelí en el centro de Gaza mató a un palestino e hirió a otros, según el Hospital Mártires de Al-Aqsa, a donde fueron llevadas las víctimas.

El Ministerio de Salud de Gaza dijo que unos 492 palestinos han sido asesinados desde el alto el fuego. No distingue entre civiles y combatientes en sus cifras. La agencia mantiene registros detallados de bajas que, en general, son considerados confiables por agencias de la ONU y expertos independientes.

El ejército israelí ha dicho que algunos de los muertos en los últimos meses estaban en la línea que divide las áreas controladas por Israel y Gaza, y que ha atacado a aquellos que representan una amenaza para sus tropas.

El cruce fronterizo entre Gaza y Egipto podría abrirse pronto

Para los palestinos separados de sus familias por la guerra y las decenas de miles de personas fuera de Gaza que buscan regresar a casa, la apertura del cruce de Rafah en la frontera con Egipto ha tardado demasiado.

Se espera que el cruce se abra pronto, han dicho funcionarios israelíes, pero se desconoce cuántas personas podrán entrar y salir de Gaza.

Se están realizando preparativos para permitir la salida de un número limitado de personas que resultaron heridas durante la guerra y necesitan viajar al extranjero para recibir atención médica.

El primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ha dicho que el cruce no estará abierto a mercancías por ahora. El paso, la principal puerta de Gaza al mundo exterior, está prácticamente cerrado desde mayo de 2024.

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Ezzidin y Samy Magdy informaron desde El Cairo.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/israel-devuelve-cuerpos-de-palestinos-el-ltimo-intercambio-con-hams-como-parte-del-cese-del-fuego/ 

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Rong Niu’s pink sequined dress shimmered under the arena lights at a recent University of Miami men’s basketball game.

The popular halftime performer known as Red Panda finished her signature seven-minute set, looked up at a crowd of fans chanting her name and flashed a smile before dismounting.

Cameras rose instantly. A Hurricanes band member shouted, “I love you, Red Panda!” A security guard shook his head in disbelief as a nearby fan asked aloud, “How does she do that?” Members of the Hurricanes dance team lined up for photos with her before she made her exit.

Niu has grown somewhat accustomed to the fanfare over decades performing at NBA, WNBA and college basketball games — her first halftime show was a Los Angeles Clippers game in 1993. Still, even after sports fans rallied around her following a frightening fall during a WNBA game in July, she can hardly put words to what the support means to her.

“I feel so much support,” Niu said after performing Wednesday at Miami’s home game against Stanford. “It’s beyond support — I don’t know. I don’t have a better word to describe that feeling. That was beyond appreciation.”

Niu comes from a family of performing acrobats. She has been doing it since age 7, when her father first discovered her talent by helping her balance bowls and bricks on her head at their home in China’s Shanxi province.

Her act is composed of her riding a custom-built unicycle, which stretches about 8 feet above the court, and balancing custom-made bowls on her lower leg before flipping them atop her head.

During intermission of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx, Niu fell off her unicycle and crashed to the court a minute into her performance. She remained down for several minutes, was eventually helped off by wheelchair and later diagnosed with a broken left wrist.

“I now realize I was disoriented. It was not just pain right here,” Niu said Wednesday, pointing to her left wrist, which she recalled being swollen and in immense pain. “I wasn’t very clear because of the impact. They said, ‘Can you walk?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and then I tried to stand up and walk. And then, I think I was passing out.”

She spent 11 hours in a Minneapolis hospital with a pair of Lynx staffers with her the entire time. As she lay in the hospital bed, she wondered what could have gone wrong during the act she’d performed so many times.

“I’m not saying I’m that good or anything,” she said. “I generally don’t fall. Bowls fall, because the bowls are going into the air and sometimes I’m not able to control (them). But riding the unicycle … it shouldn’t be out of control.”

Niu returned to the arena after being released from the hospital. Her unicycle was in the same place she’d left it in her dressing room.

She began to inspect it, checking the rotation of the wheel, looking at the handle. Then she noticed one of her pedals was slightly bent. She typically wraps her equipment very carefully when she travels, but it had somehow been damaged in transit — whether during security checks or on the airplane, she’s not sure.

“Normally I would set up the unicycle. I will test it. I test like this,” she said, turning her wheel as she demonstrated her process of checking the equipment. “I test it. But I didn’t test (the pedal).”

Niu still shudders at the memory of the fall, which required surgery and about four months of recovery, but she received an outpouring of support on social media, including from Fever star Caitlin Clark, as well as cards and gifts.

She returned to action Oct. 23 for an Amazon Prime event, then back to the NBA court Nov. 1 for a game between the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center.

Returning to the court hasn’t been easy.

“I still have the thoughts,” she said. “I still have the thoughts when I start pedaling.”

But as fans chant her name, forgoing halftime trips to concession stands and restrooms to watch her perform, Niu is filled with both gratitude and motivation.

“I want to show that I can do this,” she said. “But (when) I couldn’t do it, they still chanted for me. I feel I owe them something. I feel very appreciative. I don’t have the best words to describe that feeling, but it’s a lot of support. It goes in my heart.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/red-panda-fall-what-went-wrong/