Why the Chicago mayor’s race matters nationally

What do to about crime is a big campaign issue in the mayoral race. There are calls to shift money away from police. One candidate says police should be able to "hunt down" criminals like rabbits.

Depending on how her reelection bid turns out, Lightfoot's story could serve as a signal to other Democrats about how difficult it is to meet voters' expectations on reforming policing. She's been criticized for her administration's response to protesters after George Floyd's murder. And far from defunding, she's increased the police budget every year she's been in office.

Kapos explained how other Democrats are watching this race in Chicago to see which candidate's messaging on policing and racial justice ends up resonating most with voters. So, other big cities are looking to see how voters decided. Does it mean that the electorate is going to want a tough on crime message in the future? With so many candidates in the field, it's likely that none of them get the majority needed to win outright today. So, the top two vote-getters would advance to an April runoff.

A new USA Today investigation finds that it's not clear how much the alerts actually help locate missing kids. Most children who get Amber Alerts are found safe. But USA Today's data shows that the alert itself only helped in about a quarter of recent cases. Critics say the alert system often moves too slowly to matter, and some families complain that their missing children were unfairly denied Amber Alerts.

There are also racial disparities. Amber Alerts are sent for Black children at about the same rate they're reported missing. But Black children in Alerts are found less often than White and Hispanic children. It's not clear why, though it's possible media outlets give less attention to missing Black children. Also, Black families may hesitate to report missing children because of distrust of police.

Law enforcement officials argue that Amber Alerts should be rare, since sending too many alerts could condition the public to ignore them. But critics say rules for alerting are too strict. Typically, officials won't send Amber Alerts related to runaway children or custody disputes. But there are calls for reconsidering this, to focus not on why the child is missing, but whether they're potentially in danger.

Some families are left to wonder whether an Amber Alert could've made a difference for their missing loved ones. La Shann Walker's daughter and grandson went missing in Gary, Indiana in 2015. She still holds onto hope.

One analyst said Adidas could strip off the branding and sell them at a discount. This is the so-called "zombie Yeezy" option. But he says this might still create PR problems.

Another option is to sell off the merchandise to discount stores in the U.S. or to retailers in developing countries. The sneakers could be sold off by the pound. One professor who's studied how fashion companies get rid of unsold stuff says the best option may be for Adidas to donate the shoes to disaster relief, like the earthquake recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Writer Jennifer Senior argues that thinking of yourself as younger than your actual age might seem like a form of denial, but it can actually be kind of optimistic. Think of it this way. If you're 53 but you feel 35, maybe it's because you still see many good years ahead of you. Senior explains that trauma can play a role in our mental age, too. For lots of people, their pre-pandemic age might be where the clock stopped.

Research finds that people tend to start rolling back their mental ages around 25. Before that, people tend to say they feel older, not younger. Senior also points to a survey asking adults what their favorite age was, and many said it's their current age. It seems like the best of both worlds to understand that you are the wisest you've ever been, but you're also still 26 in your head.