Latest news with #LoyolaUniversityChicago
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Daywatch: Pope Leo XIV officially begins his papacy
Good morning, Chicago. Chicago native Pope Leo XIV called for unity in an increasingly divided world yesterday during his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square, marking the official start of his historic papacy as the first American-born pontiff. The 69-year-old Augustinian priest, a longtime missionary, also urged care for the environment and well-being of the poor, causes championed by his late predecessor Pope Francis. 'Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,' the new pope, who grew up in the south suburbs, declared during his homily. 'In this time … we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest.' Travelers from the Chicago area were in attendance, hoping to get a glimpse of their homegrown pontiff. Among these spectators were students from Loyola University Chicago's Arrupe College. 'For me, it's a moment in history,' said Esdaini Lopez, 20, who lives on the Southwest Side of Chicago. She was raised in an atheist household but has been exploring her faith since attending a Jesuit school. 'It's really a beautiful thing,' she said. Read the full story from the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos and see Brian Cassella's photos from Vatican City. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: a Mass at Rate Field to celebrate Pope Leo XIV, what predated the Dexter Reed killing by police and when 'Hamilton' will return to Chicago. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said yesterday. Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson is spending federal tax dollars to rent a congressional district office on the South Side from his longtime business partner, powerful city developer Elzie Higginbottom, at more than twice the rate paid by the previous tenant. Jackson last spring moved the district office into the first floor of a high-rise in the Theodore Lawless Gardens apartment complex that is owned and managed by Higginbottom. A Chicago political powerbroker who has been an ally of Illinois governors and Chicago mayors for decades, Higginbottom is a close friend of the Jackson family, including the congressman's father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The five tactical officers for months were on the radar of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. From mid-2023 through March 2024 — the month 26-year-old Dexter Reed was killed in a shootout during a traffic stop in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand — those five cops were named in at least four separate COPA investigations that stemmed from traffic stops initiated in the Chicago Police Department's Harrison District (11th). The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund's budget has fluctuated over the last 10 years, ranging from as low as $9 million to as high as $31 million. It has always relied on unsteady funding streams and survived a lawsuit against the state that caused its state dollars to be inaccessible for a couple of years about a decade ago. The Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives threatens an Illinois program that provides scholarships to minority graduate students who agree to stay in the state and work in the education field. Northwestern University is launching a new research institute to study young adults' mental health, made possible by a $25 million donation from an anonymous donor. The Institute for Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being will bring together researchers across various fields from psychiatry and neurobiology to communication studies and social policy. Housed in the psychology department at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the institute will work to translate findings into wellness programs that directly benefit Northwestern students and 'beyond,' according to a news release. Water is sacred and central to the way of life of Indigenous tribes in the Great Lakes region. For generations, the interconnected streams, rivers and lakes have been a source of food, transportation, and cultural identity through ceremonies and traditions. That is why they have been fighting for over a decade to remove the Line 5 pipeline not only from land they own but also from proximity to the life-giving watershed. The route to Kilmer Elementary School is about a mile and a half each way for Hamid Azizi, who heads out every afternoon to walk his daughters home. What would seem like a mundane activity for most is a joyous occasion for the father of seven, who arrived in Chicago a little more than a month ago. The 30-minute walk has been Azizi's easiest journey in many years. At the start of the summer of 2021, his family fled its village in Afghanistan, moving quickly and often to evade the Taliban, which swiftly took control after United States armed forces began withdrawing from the region following a 20-year war. The first round of this season's City Series ended yesterday at Wrigley Field with the Cubs' 6-2 win, the first competitive game of the weekend. The crosstown rivals won't meet again until July 25-27 on the South Side, where the importance of the series will likely increase if the Cubs remain in a tight divisional race. Here are three takeaways from the Cubs' weekend. White Sox left the door open and the Cubs took advantage to complete the 3-game sweep in the City Series Column: Cubs sweep the City Series and get the last laugh on the White Sox When it comes to optimism, Charity Hope Valentine bests ever other character in a Broadway musical, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. Whatever life throws at the dance hall hostess from the 1996 musical 'Sweet Charity' by Cy Coleman, Neil Simon and Dorothy Fields, the titular heroine dusts (or dries) herself off and carries on. Her travails range from financial impecunity to employment instability and from getting stuck in an elevator to dealing with a crummy boyfriend. Each and every time, she abides. The Broadway musical 'Hamilton' will return to Chicago in 2026, the producer Jeffrey Seller announced yesterday. The first national touring company of Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit will play the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., from March 4 to April 26.
Chicago Tribune
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: Pope Leo XIV officially begins his papacy
Good morning, Chicago. Chicago native Pope Leo XIV called for unity in an increasingly divided world yesterday during his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square, marking the official start of his historic papacy as the first American-born pontiff. The 69-year-old Augustinian priest, a longtime missionary, also urged care for the environment and well-being of the poor, causes championed by his late predecessor Pope Francis. 'Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,' the new pope, who grew up in the south suburbs, declared during his homily. 'In this time … we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest.' Travelers from the Chicago area were in attendance, hoping to get a glimpse of their homegrown pontiff. Among these spectators were students from Loyola University Chicago's Arrupe College. 'For me, it's a moment in history,' said Esdaini Lopez, 20, who lives on the Southwest Side of Chicago. She was raised in an atheist household but has been exploring her faith since attending a Jesuit school. 'It's really a beautiful thing,' she said. Read the full story from the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos and see Brian Cassella's photos from Vatican City. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: a Mass at Rate Field to celebrate Pope Leo XIV, what predated the Dexter Reed killing by police and when 'Hamilton' will return to Chicago. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said yesterday. Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson is spending federal tax dollars to rent a congressional district office on the South Side from his longtime business partner, powerful city developer Elzie Higginbottom, at more than twice the rate paid by the previous tenant. Jackson last spring moved the district office into the first floor of a high-rise in the Theodore Lawless Gardens apartment complex that is owned and managed by Higginbottom. A Chicago political powerbroker who has been an ally of Illinois governors and Chicago mayors for decades, Higginbottom is a close friend of the Jackson family, including the congressman's father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The five tactical officers for months were on the radar of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. From mid-2023 through March 2024 — the month 26-year-old Dexter Reed was killed in a shootout during a traffic stop in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand — those five cops were named in at least four separate COPA investigations that stemmed from traffic stops initiated in the Chicago Police Department's Harrison District (11th). The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund's budget has fluctuated over the last 10 years, ranging from as low as $9 million to as high as $31 million. It has always relied on unsteady funding streams and survived a lawsuit against the state that caused its state dollars to be inaccessible for a couple of years about a decade ago. The Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives threatens an Illinois program that provides scholarships to minority graduate students who agree to stay in the state and work in the education field. Northwestern University is launching a new research institute to study young adults' mental health, made possible by a $25 million donation from an anonymous donor. The Institute for Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being will bring together researchers across various fields from psychiatry and neurobiology to communication studies and social policy. Housed in the psychology department at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the institute will work to translate findings into wellness programs that directly benefit Northwestern students and 'beyond,' according to a news release. Water is sacred and central to the way of life of Indigenous tribes in the Great Lakes region. For generations, the interconnected streams, rivers and lakes have been a source of food, transportation, and cultural identity through ceremonies and traditions. That is why they have been fighting for over a decade to remove the Line 5 pipeline not only from land they own but also from proximity to the life-giving watershed. The route to Kilmer Elementary School is about a mile and a half each way for Hamid Azizi, who heads out every afternoon to walk his daughters home. What would seem like a mundane activity for most is a joyous occasion for the father of seven, who arrived in Chicago a little more than a month ago. The 30-minute walk has been Azizi's easiest journey in many years. At the start of the summer of 2021, his family fled its village in Afghanistan, moving quickly and often to evade the Taliban, which swiftly took control after United States armed forces began withdrawing from the region following a 20-year war. The first round of this season's City Series ended yesterday at Wrigley Field with the Cubs' 6-2 win, the first competitive game of the weekend. The crosstown rivals won't meet again until July 25-27 on the South Side, where the importance of the series will likely increase if the Cubs remain in a tight divisional race. Here are three takeaways from the Cubs' weekend. When it comes to optimism, Charity Hope Valentine bests ever other character in a Broadway musical, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. Whatever life throws at the dance hall hostess from the 1996 musical 'Sweet Charity' by Cy Coleman, Neil Simon and Dorothy Fields, the titular heroine dusts (or dries) herself off and carries on. Her travails range from financial impecunity to employment instability and from getting stuck in an elevator to dealing with a crummy boyfriend. Each and every time, she abides. The Broadway musical 'Hamilton' will return to Chicago in 2026, the producer Jeffrey Seller announced yesterday. The first national touring company of Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit will play the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., from March 4 to April 26.
Hans India
09-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Heart has sweet taste receptors, can sense artificial sweeteners: Study
Researchers have found that the heart possesses 'sweet taste' receptors, similar to those on our tongues, and stimulating these receptors with sweet substances can modulate the heartbeat. The discovery opens new avenues for understanding heart function and potentially for developing novel treatments for heart failure. The new research found that these receptors are not just present on heart muscle but also functional. When the researchers stimulated these receptors in both human and mouse heart cells using aspartame, a common artificial sweetener, they observed a significant increase in the force of heart muscle contraction and accelerated calcium handling – key processes for a healthy heartbeat. While taste receptors are traditionally associated with the tongue and our ability to perceive flavours, recent studies have shown that these receptors exist in other parts of the body, where they likely play different roles. This new study is the first to identify specific 'sweet taste' receptors, known as TAS1R2 and TAS1R3, on the surface of heart muscle cells. 'After you eat a meal, it's been shown that your heart rate and blood pressure actually are increasing,' said Micah Yoder, a graduate student in the lab of Jonathan Kirk at Loyola University Chicago. Previously, this was thought to be a neural axis that's being signaled. 'But we're proposing a more direct consequence, where we have a spike in our blood sugar after eating a meal, and that's binding to these sweet taste receptors on the heart muscle cells, causing a difference in the heartbeat,' he added. Intriguingly, the researchers also found that these receptors are more abundant in the hearts of patients with heart failure, suggesting a possible link to disease. Further investigation revealed that stimulating the receptors triggers a cascade of molecular events within the heart cells, involving key proteins that control calcium flow and muscle contraction. Additionally, their research may explain why high consumption of artificially sweetened beverages is linked to arrhythmogenesis, or an irregular heartbeat. Not only are these sweet taste receptors particularly stimulated by artificial sweeteners like aspartame, overstimulation of these sweet taste receptors lead to a an increase in arrhythmic like behaviour in the heart cells, researchers found. However, further research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of stimulating these receptors in the heart as well as how these receptors might be targeted to strengthen the heart in the case of heart failure. The work was set to be presented at the 69th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. The Biophysical Society has been established to lead development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics.
The Intercept
28-02-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Landlord Convicted in Hate Crime Stabbing of 6-Year-Old Palestinian American Boy
For two years , Joseph Czuba, had a friendly relationship with his Palestinian American tenants in Plainfield, Illinois. But after the war on Gaza ignited, a switch flipped. Days after October 7, 2023, Czuba told his tenant Hanan Shaheen that she needed to move out, citing the war, and insinuated she was dangerous, Czuba's ex-wife testified. On the morning of October 14, Shaheen later told investigators that Czuba said he was angry at her for what was happening in Jerusalem. 'Let's pray for peace,' Shaheen responded. That day, Czuba attacked her and her 6-year-old son with a knife, saying 'You, as a Muslim, must die,' Shaheen recalled in testimony this week. Stabbed more than a dozen times, Shaheen escaped to the bathroom and called 911. Czuba then attacked her son, Wadee Alfayoumi, stabbing him 26 times across his body. Alfayoumi did not survive. An Illinois jury on Friday convicted Czuba, 73, of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes, bringing to a close one of the most shocking hate crime trials to shake the nation after the war on Gaza broke out. He faces up to life in prison. Czuba's hateful comments about Palestinians and Muslims took center stage in the trial this week at Will County Courthouse, about 45 miles southwest of Chicago. It included testimony from about 20 witnesses, police footage, and 911 call recordings. Hate crimes are notoriously difficult to prosecute, but experts say damning evidence of both the killing and the motive in this case likely paved the way for a guilty verdict. Jeannine Bell, a law and social justice professor at Loyola University Chicago, said there is 'abundant evidence' of Czuba's motivation based on the gruesome nature of the assault and his comments expressing anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia. In the final stretch of the trial Thursday, prosecutors played a clip of Czuba's comments about Arabs and Muslims after the stabbing. 'I can't believe all the protests of people that are supporting PLO,' Czuba said in a video from the back of a patrol car, referring to the Palestine Liberation Organization. 'It's so evil.' 'They are just like infested rats,' he said. Czuba said that he was afraid for his life and for his wife. He said he was trying to help Shaheen out, and that she couldn't afford a house. 'Didn't tell me she is a Muslim.' Czuba said he 'begged' Shaheen to 'get out for three days,' and she wouldn't leave. At one point, he said she was a 'trained fighter.' 'Let me tell you she was a problem.' Read our complete coverage Czuba's attorney, George Lenard, attempted to poke holes in the prosecutions and the police investigation, and argued that just because his client dislikes the PLO does not mean he is hateful. Abed Ayoub, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee who has been involved in civil rights advocacy for about two decades, says the common thread in hate-fueled instances is ignorance, and attackers are often people who are easily 'radicalized.' 'We need to pay attention in this country to what is driving these …individuals to do this, to commit these crimes, and it's no secret. It's the hate rhetoric itself,' Ayoub said. In Czuba's case, prosecutors said he had shown a deep interest in the war abroad and had been listening to conservative talk radio. Ayoub noted he has also seen a rise in anti-Palestinianism and Islamophobia from media and politicians across the spectrum since the war on Gaza began. 'Now we're seeing it in the open,' he said. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit civil rights organization, tracked a dramatic rise in complaints in wake of Israel's assault on Gaza. The organization said it documented 8,061 complaints in 2023 — nearly half of which were from the last three months — the highest tally CAIR has recorded since its founding in 1994. Bell, of Loyola University, noted similar spikes in hate crimes at two points since the turn of the century: after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, and during the first election of President Donald Trump. The trial comes amid an attack on civil rights legislation. Trump effectively ordered a freeze on the Justice Department's current civil rights prosecution and banning new cases. If the order remains in place, one expert says people will have to rely on a patchwork of state laws in hate crime cases. 'Our hate crimes law enforcement system simply is dysfunctional, or non-functional, and has-been.' 'That means that we cannot rely on the federal government to prosecute hate crimes, and so states are going to have to do it for there to be meaningful prosecution of hate crimes,' said Richard Wilson, a law and anthropology professor at the University of Connecticut. Most cases are tried in state court, and hate crime laws vary significantly across the U.S. Removing federal litigation could have major consequences, especially in jurisdictions with weak protections, Wilson said. Washington state and New York, for instance, have a rigorous prosecution record; South Carolina and Wyoming do not, he said. 'Our hate crimes law enforcement system simply is dysfunctional, or non-functional, and has-been,' Wilson said. While convictions like Czuba's show the importance of state law, the federal retreat poses a major problem. 'The conclusion has to be that we tolerate hate crimes,' Wilson said.
Chicago Tribune
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Kane County sheriff says Illinois bail reform to blame for increase in jail population and arrest warrants
At Thursday's Kane County Board Committee of the Whole meeting, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said the state's new bail reform is to blame for recent public safety data that shows an increase in the county's jail population and arrest warrant entries. According to the sheriff's presentation on Thursday, the average annual population at the Kane County Jail fell to 221 in 2024 (after the bail reform had taken effect), but has shot up to over 300 per day in 2025. Hain attributed much of the uptick to the institution of the Pretrial Fairness Act in Illinois. 'All it has done is put more people back in jail,' Hain told the board on Thursday. The Pretrial Fairness Act was several years in the making. In 2021, Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law the sweeping criminal justice reform legislation called the SAFE-T Act. Part of it, the Pretrial Fairness Act, eliminated cash bail. On Dec. 31, 2022, however – one day before it was set to take effect – the Illinois Supreme Court delayed its implementation to allow legal challenges over the legislation to be resolved. After a nine-month delay and the Illinois Supreme Court ruling that the bail measure was constitutional, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail. It took effect on Sept. 18, 2023. Preliminary data from 2024 about the effects found that defendants were spending significantly less time in jail awaiting trial, with the number of people detained for more than three days after their initial hearing going down from 31% to 8% in the 21 counties analyzed, according to findings from Loyola University Chicago's Center for Criminal Justice Research. Warrants issued for failure to appear in court decreased from 17% to 15%, and pretrial jail populations decreased by about 14% in Cook County and other urban counties and by about 25% in rural counties studied. The one-year findings can be found at But now, more than a year later, the Kane County sheriff is arguing that the law's intended goal has been unsuccessful in Kane County. In addition to the recent uptick in annual average jail population, Hain said there has also been an increase in arrest warrant entries – up to 30-40 per day from 2024 to 2025, compared to an average of 5-10 from 2019 to 2023. He said the Pretrial Fairness Act reduces the time those arrested spend going through the county's reentry process. 'It's just a constant revolving door now, of people in custody for seven or less days,' Hain said Thursday, expressing concern about recidivism. On Thursday, Hain noted that housing more individuals in the jail also leads to increased costs for taxpayers. He said on Thursday that if the jail population continues in the direction it has been going, there could be an increase of around $2.5 million in costs, based on the average cost per person. At the meeting, District 4 Kane County Board member Mavis Bates noted that the purpose of the SAFE-T Act and elimination of cash bail was to keep people out of jail, thereby reducing jail population. Hain attributed the increase to more rigid guidelines for judges on deciding whether or not to detain an individual. 'Making nondetainable offenses – basically dictating what judges can and cannot decide – is hurtful,' Hain said at Thursday's meeting. 'Having those pretrial release conditions that people violate and don't quite understand in some cases is wrong. … The judges (before the Pretrial Fairness Act) had more autonomy, overall, in making these decisions when it comes to the charge at the time, their criminal history and the issues at hand.'
