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Articles by Melissa Dai
My friend broke a world record, and it was just a side quest
In September, Northwestern fourth-year Taeyoung Lee became the youngest person to complete Ironman races on six continents, clinching a Guinness World Record at 21 years old. Image courtesy of Ryden Suzuki. Taeyoung Lee’s whole body trembled. His mouth hung open in a hollow gape. His butt was numb — strange, since he’d spent the last half of the swim thrashing his legs to bring the feeling back. He had expected warmth. It was Arizona after all, a stereotype of desert heat.
Cook County judge removed following rebuke of conspiracy-filled blog post Original
Cook County Circuit Judge James R. Brown has been removed from the bench after his reinstatement to the court drew objections from two lawyer groups over remarks they described as “inflammatory” and “wildly inappropriate.” On Monday, the Illinois Supreme Court vacated Brown’s temporary assignment, which had been set to last through Dec. 7.
Illinois Supreme Court removes reinstated judge following rebuke of conspiracy-filled blog post
Cook County Circuit Judge James R. Brown has been removed from the bench weeks after his reinstatement to the court drew objections from two lawyer groups over remarks they described as “inflammatory” and “wildly inappropriate.” On Monday, the Illinois Supreme Court vacated Brown’s temporary assignment, which had been set to last through Dec. 7.
Bar groups call for the removal of Cook County Judge James R. Brown after ‘blatantly disrespectful’ blog post
Two lawyers’ associations are calling on the Illinois Supreme Court to reverse its decision bringing a retired judge back to the Cook County bench, citing comments from a September blog post that one group called “blatantly disrespectful, insensitive, harmful, and foul.” In December, the Supreme Court announced the return of Judge James R. Brown and six other retired judges to temporarily fill vacancies in the Cook County Circuit Court. All seven have been assigned to traffic court through Dec.
FDA rarely forces manufacturers to recall dangerous medical devices, GAO report says
This story was originally published by ProPublica.The FDA rarely uses its authority to pull dangerous medical devices off the market and is so poorly staffed that it's sometimes unable to make sure companies are taking critical steps to protect patients during health emergencies, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).The inquiry by the congressional watchdog was requested nearly 2 years ago by top members of the Senate in the wake of an investigation about...
The FDA rarely forces manufacturers to recall dangerous medical devices, watchdog report finds
The Food and Drug Administration rarely uses its authority to pull dangerous medical devices off the market and is so poorly staffed that it’s sometimes unable to make sure companies are taking critical steps to protect patients during health emergencies, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
The FDA Rarely Forces Manufacturers to Recall Dangerous Medical Devices, Watchdog Report Finds
The Food and Drug Administration rarely uses its authority to pull dangerous medical devices off the market and is so poorly staffed that it’s sometimes unable to make sure companies are taking critical steps to protect patients during health emergencies, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
Senators Propose Sweeping Changes to Generic Drug Oversight
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Lawmakers at the helm of the Senate Special Committee on Aging have proposed a sweeping series of changes that could transform the way the government safeguards the quality of essential generic drugs.
Broadband’s broken promise: How federal failures and funding fights keep Native and Black farmers offline
Skip to Content Insights & Reports This article was originally published by Investigate Midwest. Kelsey Scott spotted it from her deck: a sudden lightning flash, then a flame. Lightning storms are common in rural Eagle Butte, South Dakota. When one rolled through in July, Scott had to act fast or the blaze would sweep across the 7,200-acre cattle ranch. But emergency response is complicated, Scott said, in this remote area of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.
Broadband’s broken promise: How federal failures and funding fights keep Native and Black farmers offline
In 2023, Virginian John Boyd’s combine caught fire while harvesting grain, and he was in a dead zone. He had to walk a mile and a half just to find cellular service. By then, the fire had destroyed his combine. “A complete loss, and insurance wouldn’t pay,” Boyd said. Internet access is more than a convenience for farmers and ranchers. It’s become critical infrastructure, and not only for emergency situations.
Broadband’s broken promise: How federal failures and funding fights keep Native and Black farmers offline
Kelsey Scott spotted it from her deck: a sudden lightning flash, then a flame. Lightning storms are common in rural Eagle Butte, South Dakota. When one rolled through in July, Scott had to act fast or the blaze would sweep across her 7,200-acre cattle ranch. But emergency response is complicated, Scott said, in this remote area of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Calling 911 was a game of “phone tag” with multiple dispatch centers, one of them a Bureau of Indian Affairs fire department.
Broadband’s broken promise: How federal failures and funding fights keep Native and Black farmers offline
Kelsey Scott spotted it from her deck: a sudden lightning flash, then a flame. Lightning storms are common in rural Eagle Butte, South Dakota. When one rolled through in July, Scott had to act fast or the blaze would sweep across the 7,200-acre cattle ranch. But emergency response is complicated, Scott said, in this remote area of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Calling 911 was a game of “phone tag” with multiple dispatch centers, one of them a Bureau of Indian Affairs fire department.
Faster lines, less federal oversight and rising risks at US pork and poultry plants
Reading Time: 14 minutes A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease — six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe. Another head is already coming.
Less Oversight and Rising Risks at US Pork and Poultry Plants
A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes, and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease—six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe. Unlock the Full Story with a Civil Eats Membership Expand your understanding of food systems as a Civil Eats member.
Faster lines, less federal oversight and rising risks at US pork and poultry plants Original
Apig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the … This item is available in full to subscribers. Username or Email address Password Print and web subscribers If you're a print and web subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.
Faster lines, less federal oversight and rising risks at US pork and poultry plants • Iowa Capital Dispatch Original
A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease — six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe. Another head is already coming. For a year and seven months, Lopez performed procedures like this for 10 hours a day, five to six days a week.
Faster Lines, Less Federal Oversight and Rising Risks at US Pork and Poultry Plants
This story was originally published on Investigate Midwest. A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease — six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe. Another head is already coming.
Faster lines, less federal oversight and rising risks at US pork and poultry plants - Investigate Midwest
A pig’s head arrives in front of Christopher Lopez. He knows the drill: cut into the area behind the ears, find two small lymph nodes and incise them three or four times each. Check the nose and mouth for signs of disease — six to nine seconds to finish the inspection. Wash the gloves and sanitize the knives. One to two seconds to breathe. Another head is already coming. For a year and seven months, Lopez performed procedures like this for 10 hours a day, five to six days a week.
What Happened to America’s Meat Recalls? Pandemic-Era Dip Still Lingers.
What Happened to America’s Meat Recalls? Pandemic-Era Dip Still Lingers. Published July 14, 2025 What happened to America’s meat recalls? Pandemic-era dip still lingers. After plummeting during the height of COVID-19, FSIS recalls of meat, poultry and egg products have gradually begun to rebound. But the numbers haven’t fully recovered, raising questions about what’s changed and why. Kraft Heinz recently distributed more than 367,000 pounds of turkey bacon that may be contaminated with listeria.
What Happened to America’s Meat Recalls? Original
This story was originally published on Investigate Midwest. Kraft Heinz recently distributed more than 367,000 pounds of turkey bacon that may be contaminated with listeria. On July 2, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service announced a recall of three Kraft Heinz products under the Oscar Mayer brand, produced between April 24 and June 11. The company had shipped the items nationwide and abroad to the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
What happened to America’s meat recalls? Pandemic-era dip still lingers.
Kraft Heinz recently distributed more than 367,000 pounds of turkey bacon that may be contaminated with listeria. On July 2, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service announced a recall of three Kraft Heinz products under the Oscar Mayer brand, produced between April 24 and June 11. The company had shipped the items nationwide and abroad to the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
Illinois' biometric data privacy act continues to draw controversy, criticism
You are the only person with your exact handprint – the same goes for your fingerprints, facial geometry, eyes and voice. This type of information – known as biometric data – is uniquely yours. That’s why many businesses, like Suparossa Restaurant Group in Chicago, use biometric time clocks to keep track of their employees. “We could easily keep time, and we didn’t have to monitor it because nobody could clock anybody in or out,” said Ben Cirrincione, whose family owns Suparossa.
Beware of fake missing child posts on Facebook
Scrolling through social media, you may see posts featuring missing children. You may even be asked to donate money or share the post with others to spread awareness. While it seems genuine enough on the surface, beware before you share. "What we're seeing is really, really bad," said Angeline Hartmann with the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children.
If Mental Health Responders - Not Police - Had Come to Marquis Rivera’s Home, Would He Be Alive Today?
This story, originally published by MindSite News, is the latest installment of Fateful Encounters, an ongoing investigative collaboration between MindSite News, the Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago at Northwestern University and other media outlets exploring police response to mental health crises. This work is generously supported by the Sozosei Foundation. Marquis Rivera was going to kill himself. He said so to the 911 dispatcher right before he hung up.
Beware: Fake missing child posts on Facebook
Scrolling through social media, you may see posts featuring missing children. You may even be asked to donate money or share the post with others to spread awareness. While it seems genuine enough on the surface, beware before you share. "What we're seeing is really, really bad," said Angeline Hartmann with the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children.
City of Chicago admits $35k Water bill a mistake- after NBC 5 Responds steps in to help Rogers Park landlord
When a Chicago property owner checked his bimonthly water bill in May, he discovered something unusual: an amount due of more than $35,000, nearly 100 times the amount he usually paid. He got in contact with the city, and expected the resolution to take months. With the help of NBC 5 Responds the issue was resolved within days. Enrique Espinosa likes to keep to himself, spending a lot of time at home – a three-flat building in northern Chicago that he also rents out to others.
Reimbursement deadline for recalled Phillips CPAP machines nears
Three years after one of the largest medical device recalls in history, the fallout – health-wise and financial – continues to impact many patients with sleep apnea. Now a critical deadline is approaching for anyone who purchased specific Philips CPAP machines between 2008 and 2021. As a firefighter for 22 years, Tom Lynch’s focus has always been helping others – until he was diagnosed with sleep apnea.
If Mental Health Responders – Not Police – Had Come to Marquis Rivera’s Home, Would He Be Alive Today? - MindSite News
A mother and father – a mental health crisis worker himself – grieve the needless death of their son This story is the latest installment of Fateful Encounters, an ongoing investigative collaboration between MindSite News, the Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago at Northwestern University and other media outlets exploring police response to mental health crises. This work is generously supported by the Sozosei Foundation. Marquis Rivera was going to kill himself.
Phillips CPAP reimbursement deadline approaches: Here’s what to know
Three years after one of the largest medical device recalls in history, the fallout – health-wise and financial – continues to impact many patients with sleep apnea. Now a critical deadline is approaching for anyone who purchased specific Philips CPAP machines between 2008 and 2021. As a firefighter for 22 years, Tom Lynch’s focus has always been helping others – until he was diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Thousands of dollars recovered for Oak Park children’s choir from ticketing company
An Oak Park children’s non-profit is the latest Illinois organization to say a ticket management company held their fundraising profits hostage for more than a year. The Pro Musica Children’s Chorus trusted a company called "Brown Paper Tickets" to help with ticket sales for its 2023 fundraiser. But more than a year later, the organization still doesn’t have the money raised, leading them to contact NBC 5 Responds.
How to avoid health care scam targeting 1 in 5 Illinois residents
The government spent nearly $950 billion on Medicare funding in 2022, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but scammers claimed 6% of those funds that year, which equated to around $60 billion lost to fraud, according to the Department of Justice. How does that happen? Medicare fraud comes in the form of unfamiliar charges on your Medicare account for items you haven't received or your doctor hasn't prescribed. Roughly one in five Illinois residents is on Medicare.
Evanston Ceasefire clashes with City Council over resolution
Evanston resident Maha, who is Palestinian American, said she moved her family to the city over 20 years ago for its “progressive” community — where “people are open and share values of decency, dignity and social justice.” But in the past few months, Maha, who did not provide her last name, said she’s been nothing but “disappointed and disheartened” by the city she once loved.
Evanston ASPA envisions Asian American Art and Cultural Center
To everyday passersby, the red brick building at 831 Chicago Ave. may not stand out. Standing at just two stories tall with a modest exterior, the abandoned property seems like any other vacant building. But, Melissa Raman Molitor, the founder and director of Evanston Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, has a vision — an Asian American Art and Cultural Center.
Best New Restaurant: Mensch’s Deli
Welcome to Mensch’s, the newest downtown bagel spot that has taken Evanston by storm. No matter what you order from the Jewish deli-style pop-up, blissful bursts of flavor await. Close your eyes and point anywhere on the menu; you can’t go wrong at Mensch’s. Perhaps you’ll enjoy a scrumptious pastry or freshly squeezed orange juice. Or maybe you’ll opt for an open-faced bagel sandwich, like countless customers before you. It’s these delicacies that Mensch’s is known for — and for excellent reason.
Proposed community responder program could offer police alternative
Tens of thousands of 911 calls stream into the Evanston Police Department every year. From minor disputes to critical encounters, one versatile group is tasked with handling them all: police officers. But soon, that may change. “It is really obvious, if you look at all the different things we ask our police officers to do all day, that the breadth of those tasks is beyond any one person’s set of strengths,” Mayor Daniel Biss said.
In its second year, TEAACH Act faces implementation challenges at ETHS
When Evanston Township High School junior Mia Darer visited Taiwan for the first time over a year ago, she said it was life-changing. She met family members she didn’t know she had, enjoyed cultural dishes she’d never tried and saw sights she’d never seen. The most memorable part of her “eye-opening” trip, though, were the stories she heard about her family’s culture and history, which Darer said taught her more than she’d ever known before about her Taiwanese American identity.
Side effect grips some users of birth control pills - depression
When her period first arrived when she was 12, Hannah LaCroix said her cramps were painful to the point where she struggled to get out of bed. Her menstrual discomfort mostly subsided, she said, once she began taking birth control pills at 13. But she said her period pain was soon replaced by a pain of another kind: depression.
Chinese Students Association hosts actor Arden Cho as fall speaker
Fans gathered and emotions ran high Sunday as the Chinese Students Association welcomed Asian American actor Arden Cho as its 2022 fall speaker. Communication senior Amanda Han and Bienen and Weinberg dual degree junior Mia Huang, CSA’s programming chairs, organized the event and moderated Cho’s talk in Ryan Auditorium.
Social Justice Tour sheds light on race, feminism on campus
A group of 14 students and faculty participated in a Social Justice Tour of Northwestern’s campus Thursday, exploring the untold histories of the University and delving into NU’s activist past. The tour featured six stops across the span of a mile, combining content from three preexisting, GPS-guided audio tours: the Black Student Experience Tour, the Indigenous Tour and the Feminist Tour.
Food and Farm Labor Archives
As line speeds increase and federal inspectors step back at some plants, the risks to workers, food safety, and animal welfare are rising.
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