Fortunately, there's only an average of seven cases of the plague per year in the U.S. and it can be treated with antibiotics. John Montenieri/CDCAn adult male Oropsylla Montana flea, more commonly known as the Diamanus Montana. This flea carries Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague. In late July, officials from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge shuttered an area of the park for fairly worrying safety reasons — namely, that there were prairie dogs found with a form of the bubonic plague.

CHICAGO - A former Sears site on the West Side will become a Rush University Medical Center for outpatient care, hospital officials announced Monday. The 60,000 square-foot center will be located just within the city limits, at North and Harlem avenues, where Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood abuts Elmwood Park, Oak Park and River Forest. The $70 million center will have 90 exam rooms, providing services ranging from urgent and primary care to imaging and diagnostics.

As sea lions return to their native habitats in New Zealand, experts are trying to figure out the best way for the animals to co-exist with humans. Jim FyfeAfter being hunted to near-extinction, a single female sea lion birthed the first pup in a century on the mainland in 1993 — and since then the species has been slowly coming back. Fleeing hunters 200 years ago, sea lions in New Zealand retreated to subantarctic islands hundreds of miles south.

Semi rollover on Eisenhower Expressway backs up traffic for miles FOX 32's Gabriella Premus talks about a semi rollover on the Eisenhower Expressway that has left traffic backed up for hours during the morning commute. A semi rolled over on the Eisenhower Expressway, backing up inbound traffic for miles Thursday morning in the western suburbs. The semi carrying scrap metal tipped over around 6 a.m. in the inbound lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway just past the Tri-State Tollway.

Born in upstate New York, Solomon Northup was abducted as an adult and sold into slavery in Louisiana — and then he wrote 12 Years a Slave about his experience.Interim Archives/Getty ImagesAn illustration of Solomon Northup from 1859, which originally appeared in the book Twelve Years a Slave. In 2013, movie audiences flocked to see 12 Years a Slave, which told the powerful story of a free Black man kidnapped from the North in the 19th century and sold as a slave in the South.

Built by Krupp in 1941, the Schwerer Gustav railway gun was the Nazis' "miracle weapon" that could blast through 20 feet of concrete from nearly 30 miles away.One thing stood before the Nazis — literally — as they prepared to launch war on Europe: France’s Maginot Line. Built in the 1930s, the defensive line stretched for almost 300 miles and included fortresses, gun batteries, bunkers, and minefields. To penetrate it, the Nazis developed a Wunderwaffe (“miracle weapon”) called Schwerer Gustav.

Condemned as a traitor to the English king in August 1305, William Wallace faced a torturous execution that was considered gruesome even by medieval standards.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesLegendary Scottish warrior William Wallace depicted shortly before he was tried for treason and put to a gruesome death in 1305. Anyone who has seen the 1995 film Braveheart knows that William Wallace died in an especially gruesome fashion. But the Scottish warrior’s real-life execution was even worse than in the movie.

Lightning Engulfs The Chaitén Volcano Of Chile Source: Boston.com This extraordinary image shows the sheer force of nature as the kinetic energy and friction of exploding ash turns into a crackling and beautiful lightning storm. An Incredible Lightning Storm Over The Grand Canyon Source: Birdie Guy Crackling over the ancient waterways in Arizona, this lightning storm adds further drama to the already magnificent Grand Canyon. When Lightning Struck The Eiffel Tower Source: Buzzfeed

CHICAGO - Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Il., on Thursday joined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers publicly calling for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race and his debate performance late last month reignited doubts about his ability to serve as commander-in-chief. Additionally, Rep. Eric Sorensen echoed Schneider and called for Biden to step aside in the presidential race.  In a statement, Schneider praised Biden for his accomplishments while in office but said the time had come for the president to "

The lead scientists of Voyager said, "This is an unparalleled journey, and we're still in the process of discovering what's out there."Wikimedia Commons Forty years ago today, the Voyager 1 space probe left Earth for the stars, where it is now the farthest man-made object from Earth. On September 5th, 1977 the Voyager 1 probe was fired into space, just a week after its twin, Voyager 2 had been launched. Their mission was to tour the solar system’s outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.