Seven educators from Elgin Area School District U-46 received recognition through Illinois State Board of Education's Those Who Excel program, which honors teachers, administrators, and support staff making meaningful contributions to students and school communities across the state.

Syndicated columnist Michael Barone:

President Donald Trump on Friday officially requested $1.5 trillion in spending for the Pentagon next fiscal year, which would be the largest defense budget in U.S. history.

The Kane County Health Department will continue its Parent Cafés this year with a new focus on encouraging fathers and other male caregivers to participate, officials announced in a news release.

American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February. And the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%.

U.S. stocks surged to their best day since last spring, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,125 points on Tuesday as doubt swung back to hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran. The S&P 500 leaped 2.9% for its largest gain since May. Just a day before, worries about the war had sent the main measure of Wall Street’s health more than 9% below its all-time high set early this year.

A Crystal Lake-based nonprofit medical clinic is seeing a surge of clients as health insurance costs skyrocket, leaving many to go without coverage altogether.

In a throwback to Apollo, NASA’s Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-around. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come straight back.

“Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, and adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s biggest hit thus far.