Chicago Tribune – March 14 2026 – Chicago Tribune

official told The Associated Press onFridaythatroughly2,500 members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibiousassaultshipUSS Tripoli were headed for the MiddleEastinamajoraddi- tionoftroops. The official spoke under conditionanonymitybecause they weren’t authorized to publiclydiscussthematter. Marine expedition- ary units are trained and equippedtoconductamphib- ious landings, but they also specializeinbolsteringsecu- rityatembassies,evacuating civilians and disaster relief. While the deployment is a major increase of troops in theregion,itdoesnotneces- sarily indicate that a ground operationisimminentorwill takeplaceatall. The 31st Marine Expe- ditionary Unit, as well the Tripoli and other amphib- ious assault ships carrying Marines, are based in Japan and have been at sea in the PacificOceanforseveraldays, accordingtoimagesreleased by the military.

The Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing alone near Taiwan.Thatlocationputsit morethanaweekawayfrom thewatersoffIran. In an interview with Fox News, President Donald Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.” Meanwhile,alargeexplo- sion rocked a central square inIran’scapitalwherethou- sands were gathered Friday foranannualstate-organized rally to support the Pales- tinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned thatitwouldtargetthearea. There were no reports of casualties. But the decision to proceed with the mass demonstration that was attended by some senior government officials, and Israel’s threat to target the area, underscored the fierce determination on both sides nearly two weeks into a war that has rattled the global economy.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, which is more than 1,000 a daysincethewarbegan. He also sought to address concerns about the effec- tive closure of the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters: “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry aboutit.” Hegseth also said that the day would be the most intense and lethal of the U.S. aircampaigninIran. Atthesamenewsbriefing, Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed thoseremarks,saying,“Today will be our heaviest day of kinetic fires across the oper- atingarea.”

The increased pace of the attacks, in part, reflects the successoftheU.S.andIsraeli militariesathittingIran’sair defensesystems.Thestrikes haveallowedthetwomilitar- ies to fly attack aircraft over Iran, dropping many rela- tivelycheapprecision-guided bombsandlesseningthereli- anceonmoreexpensivelong- rangemissiles. Hegseth said that long- rangemunitionsnowaccount for only about 1% of the ordnance fired, a major shift since the beginning of the campaign. Sincethewarstarted,Iran has launched widespread missileanddroneattackson Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and effectively closed theStraitofHormuz,through which a fifth of the world’s tradedoilpasses. The explosion in Tehran rocked the Ferdowsi Square area midday, where thou- sands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally in which they chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”

Israel had issued a warn- ing on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast.ButfewIranianswould have seen it, as authorities havealmostcompletelyshut down the internet since the startofthewar.Footagefrom the scene showed people chanting “God is greatest,” assmokeroseinthearea.

The board had already seen significant turnover in recent months, as three commissioners appointed since the summer of 2024 are defending their seats. And two longer-serving incum- bentsarealsofightingoffprimary challengers. Whilevotersineachdistrictwill carryparticularconcernsintothe voting booth, candidates almost universally promised to tamp down property taxes and address potentialbudgethitswiththefinal wind-down of pandemic aid and cuts to federal health care subsi- dies. OPEN RACES Fourseatsopenedupthiscycle. Commissioners Bridget Degnen and Sean Morrison are stepping aside, while Kevin Morrison and ELECTION 2026 COOK COUNTY BOARD Multipleseatsinplay Four open spots, more feisty challengers may trigger heavy turnover for 17-member panel By Kate Armanini CHICAGO TRIBUNE The Chicago school board has narrowed its monthslong search for a new superinten- dent to three finalists, includ- ing the current interim CEO MacqulineKing.

The other two candidates are Meisha Porter, a former New York City schools chief, and Sito Narcisse, the former superintendent of East Baton RougeParishPublicSchoolsin Louisiana. Finalistswillinterviewwith MayorBrandonJohnsonanda communitypanel,andlater,the school board will vote to pick a new candidate at a special meeting, the board office announced in a press release Friday. The press release did notspecifyatimelineforinter- viewsorthevote. The top post in Chicago PublicSchoolshasbeenvacant since June, following the December2024firingwithout cause of former CEO Pedro Martinez amid a clash over districtfunding. Thesearchforhissuccessor has been swept up in contro- versy.Lastmonth,sevenboard membersaccusedJohnsonand his allies of “running political interference,” after the district and its executive search firm abruptlypartedways.

Earlier, in November, the search had been narrowed downtotwoout-of-statefinal- ists. But after the candidates’ names were leaked to the Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ and Chalkbeat, the process effectively stalled, and the board began conducting new CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS Search for CEO down to final 3 Some rally behind interim chief King ANTONIO PEREZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE PedestriansstruggletowalkacrossWackerDriveatJacksonashighwindsbattertheChicagoareaonFriday.Chicagoandsurrounding suburbsbracedagainstguststhatreachedupto60mph,causingpoweroutages,treelimbsanddebristoblowacrossyardsandroadsand semitruckstorolloveronhighways.OnSaturday,weatherofficialsarecallingforaslightchanceofsnowshowersbefore4p.m.,thenaslight chanceofrainandsnowshowers.ThecityisscheduledforitsannualdyeingoftheChicagoRiveranddowntownSt.Patrick’sDayparade Saturday,andfestivalgoerscanexpectconditionstobecloudy,withahighnear40.MovecoverageinChicagoland,PageA4. A ROUGH DRAFT By Rebecca Johnson CHICAGO TRIBUNE JoeHakimiangesturestoward the glittering rings sitting inside glass cases at his downtown jewelryshop,HakimianImports.

There’s the rare-colored gems he picked up at estate sales, and a sparkling 8-carat diamond that covers the finger. He even had an 18k gold brooch shaped like a tennisracquetforsalethisweek. But perhaps one of the most unique rings that ever entered thedoorsofthenearly50-year-old business is no longer in Hakimi- an’s possession. That’s because it’s back where it belongs — on the finger of the famous actress LilyCollins. Thestar’sengagementringwas stolenaboutthreeyearsagofrom a hotel in Los Angeles, but some- howitrecentlyendedupatatrade showinNewYork,whereHakim- ianunknowinglyboughtit.Asabig believer in “good karma,” he said hequicklyreturnedtheringwhen helearneditsorigins.

“Togiveafamilyheirloomback felt amazing,” the 38-year-old Roscoe Village resident told the Tribune, adding “I’m glad to put agoodfaceto(jewelers).”

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 5c4bcdc00ca0bdf3
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 20,402,886 bytes (19.458 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9374328941
• Pages: 27
• Language: English (en)

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• Total Words: 37,570
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