The composer calls the works a Nativity-Oratorio, with both the immediate association with Christmas, and with wider metaphorical and allegorical connections via the selected texts that serve as the lyrics for the work.

Last year, global warming reached record high temperatures — and if that news feels like déjà vu, you're not going crazy. The planet has now had three consecutive years of record-breaking heat.

A flood warning continued for much of central Illinois Tuesday, with specific flood warnings for the Sangamon River at Monticello, the Vermilion River near Danville, road closures in towns including Villa Grove and Sidney and standing water on roads in many other spots of the state.