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Christmas trees for sale at a hardware store in Mount Prospect, Ill., Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Dealing with the Christmas tree shortage

It's Christmas tree season, but this year, whether you prefer a real or artificial tree, you might find it harder to get your hands on one than in previous years. The 21st was joined by two Illinois Christmas tree farmers to talk about the factors leading to the shortage. 

U.S. fashion designer Virgil Abloh thumbs up after the presentation of Off-White Men's Spring-Summer 2019 collection presented in Paris, Wednesday June 20, 2018.
AP Photo/Thibault Camus

The life and legacy of Virgil Abloh

The Rockford born, legendary Black designer Virgil Abloh died last week after battling cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare cancer. He was 41. To talk about his the trailblazing work as a designer and the impact he’s left behind with the chief fashion critic from the New York Times

Dr. Manjul Shukla transfers Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Mass. As the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant, doctors across the country are experiencing a more imminent crisis with a delta variant that is sending record numbers of people to the hospital in New England and the Midwest.
AP Photo/Steven Senne

The virology of the omicron variant

As we are now in the colder months as well as the holiday season, where gatherings become more frequent, COVID cases and hospitalizations are surging. And while the omicron variant has yet to be detected in Illinois, health officials have a degree of certainty that it has already arrived and is just a matter of time before we find it. The 21st was joined by a professor of microbiology to discuss the new variant and the state of the pandemic. 

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