Illinois

CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines glided through the first part of summer, as strong travel demand pushed average fares higher, but the grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets will become a bigger challenge in the months ahead.

United said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit soared 54%, to $1.05 billion. The results beat expectations, and United slightly raised its forecast of full-year profit.

The Chicago-based airline, however, faces uncertainty because of the grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets after two deadly accidents.

CHICAGO (AP) — As a nationwide immigration crackdown loomed, religious leaders across the country used their pulpits Sunday to quell concerns in immigrant communities and spring into action to help those potentially threatened by the operation.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Trump administration is moving forward with a nationwide immigration enforcement operation targeting migrant families, despite loud opposition from Democrats and questions over whether it’s the best use of resources given the crisis at the border.

The operation could happen as soon as this weekend after being postponed by President Donald Trump late last month. It would pursue people with final deportation orders, including families whose immigration cases were fast-tracked by judges in 10 major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

PEORIA, the United States, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Sentencing phase for Brendt Christensen who has been ruled by a U.S. jury guilty of kidnapping and killing Chinese visiting scholar Zhang Yingying in 2017, started Monday afternoon at a federal courthouse in Peoria, U.S. state of Illinois.

During this penalty phase, both prosecutors and the defense lawyers would first make opening statements separately, followed by witnesses' testimony and cross-examination from both sides.

CHICAGO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures settled mixed in the trading week ending July 5, with corn rising weekly over unsatisfactory crop rating and soybeans falling sharply due to demand concerns.

The most active corn contract for December delivery was up 10.75 cents, or 2.49 percent, to close at 4.4225 dollars per bushel. September wheat was down 12.25 cents, or 2.32 percent, to settle at 5.15 dollars per bushel. November soybeans were down 28.5 cents, or 3.09 percent weekly, to close at 8.945 dollars per bushel.

CHICAGO (AP) — Joe Biden strongly defended his civil rights record on Friday, pledging to be a “president who stands against racism” and defiantly dismissing any suggestions otherwise.

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict Monday in the federal death-penalty trial of a former University of Illinois doctoral student who abducted a visiting Chinese scholar from a bus stop and killed her at his apartment.

CHICAGO (AP) — Dozing off to late-night TV or sleeping with other lights on may mix up your metabolism and lead to weight gain and even obesity, provocative but preliminary U.S. research suggests.

The National Institutes of Health study published Monday isn’t proof, but it bolsters evidence suggesting that too much exposure to light at night could pose health risks.

PEORIA, the United States, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The trial of Brendt Christensen, accused kidnapper and killer of visiting Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying at the University of Illinois in 2017, began on Monday at a federal courthouse here.

The trial began with jury selection at the central Illinois courthouse in Peoria.

Shortly after the courtroom opened at 8:30 a.m. local time (1430 GMT), Christensen and his defense team entered. Christensen wore a blue button down shirt and tan dress pants and looked calm, occasionally talking with the lawyer beside him.

CHICAGO (AP) — One of Jussie Smollett’s conditions after posting $10,000 bail amid charges he lied about being the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack was that he have no contact with two brothers police say he paid to help stage the incident, according to a case file unsealed Thursday in Chicago.

Besides that detail, the “Empire” actor’s criminal case file appears to contain little new information. The bulk of the more-than-250-page file centers on the legal battle between media organizations that wanted access to the file and Smollett’s attorneys who wanted it kept sealed.