2 killed in extra-alarm fire

A man and a woman died in a three-alarm house fire in southwest suburban La Grange early this morning, officials said.The village's...

Read More..

Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is replacing the head of its in-house mergers and acquisitions group, David Lawee, with one of its top lawyers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Don Harrison, a high-ranking lawyer at Google, will replace Lawee as head of the Internet search company's corporate development group, which oversees mergers and acquisitions, said the source,...

Read More..

Cowboy charged after player dies in auto accident

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys practice-squad linebacker Jerry Brown was killed in a one-car accident Saturday and teammate Josh Brent was charged with intoxication manslaughter.Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said the accident happened about 2:20 a.m. Saturday in the Dallas suburb. Brent was speeding when the vehicle hit a curb and flipped at least once, Argumaniz said.Argumaniz says...

Read More..

TNT’s “Leverage” could end this month, producer warns

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – This could end up being a very un-merry Christmas for “Leverage” fans.Dean Devlin, executive producer of the TNT drama, penned an open letter to the show’s viewers on Thursday, telling them that he and fellow “Leverage” executive producer John Rogers crafted the show’s Season 5 finale – airing December 25 – as a series finale, because it just might be.TNT has not yet decided...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Rolling Stones hit NY for 50th anniversary gig

NEW YORK (AP) — "Time Waits for No One," the Rolling Stones sang in 1974, but lately it's seemed like that grizzled quartet does indeed have some sort of exemption from the ravages of time.At an average age of 68-plus years, the British rockers are clearly in fighting form, sounding tight, focused and truly ready for the spotlight at a rapturously received pair of London concerts last month.On Saturday,...

Read More..

Integrys Energy Services tapped to supply Chicago's electricity

The same company that heats homes in Chicago has been picked to provide the electricity that powers them.Integrys Energy Services,...

Read More..

Ex-Dixon official's home: Pool, baby grand, chandelier with pistols

Disgraced former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell's home has an in-ground pool, six-stall horse barn and baby grand piano in...

Read More..

Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is replacing the head of its in-house mergers and acquisitions group, David Lawee, with one of its top lawyers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Don Harrison, a high-ranking lawyer at Google, will replace Lawee as head of the Internet search company's corporate development group, which oversees mergers and acquisitions, said the source,...

Read More..

Crosby mulling options as NHL lockout drags on

CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sidney Crosby just wants to get back to work. At this point, where he takes the ice hardly matters.The Pittsburgh Penguins star said Friday the prospect of lacing up his skates in Europe is growing more appealing as the NHL lockout nears the three-month mark. The latest round of talks between owners and players broke down Thursday night, leaving Crosby "disappointed" and considering...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Long-sealed Notorious B.I.G. autopsy released

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for the family of Notorious B.I.G. said Friday it's ridiculous that Los Angeles police have not arrested anyone for the rapper's 1997 killing, which has returned to the spotlight after coroner's officials released a long-sealed autopsy report.The report revealed that injuries cause by a single bullet killed the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, during...

Read More..

O'Hare affected by United's latest computer glitch

United Airlines experienced more computer problems Friday, causing systems to slow down."We have been experiencing short-term,...

Read More..

Preckwinkle rips Emanuel, McCarthy's handling of violence

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today publicly blasted Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s crime-fighting strategy and the quality...

Read More..

Facebook in talks to buy Microsoft ad technology: reports

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is in negotiations with Microsoft Corp about acquiring advertising technology that could allow the social network displays ads on other websites, broadly expanding its advertising business, according to media reports on Thursday. Facebook is in "serious" discussions with Microsoft about a deal to purchase Atlas Solutions, an ad-serving product that...

Read More..

Roethlisberger to start against Chargers

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will start on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.Roethlisberger missed the last three weeks with a sprained right shoulder and dislocated rib but practiced for the second straight day on Thursday without incident. Roethlisberger said he felt "good" but declined to go into details. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley said he believes...

Read More..

Kristen Wiig may join “Anchorman: The Legend Continues”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Kristen Wiig is being eyed for a role in “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” for Paramount Pictures, a person familiar with the negotiations has told TheWrap.Wiig would play opposite Steve Carell, as a love interest in the sequel. The script is still being written, and no cast beyond the principals has been set.Adam McKay is directing the feature, which is being produced...

Read More..

Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

Read More..

Actor Stephen Baldwin charged in NY tax case

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Actor Stephen Baldwin was charged Thursday with failing to pay New York state taxes for three years, amassing a $350,000 debt.Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said Baldwin, of Upper Grandview, skipped his taxes in 2008, 2009 and 2010.The youngest of the four acting Baldwin brothers pleaded not guilty at an arraignment and was freed without bail. His lawyer,...

Read More..

Local sales of homes in foreclosure jump 65% in 3Q

Remember the winter of 2010-11, and the Groundhog Day blizzard...

Read More..

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck dead

Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," died Wednesday morning at Norwalk Hospital, in Norwalk, Conn., said his longtime manager-producer-conductor Russell Gloyd.Brubeck was one day short of his 92nd birthday. He died of heart failure, en route to "a regular treatment...

Read More..

Apple shares tumble 4 percent in heavy trade

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc tumbled nearly 4 percent on Wednesday, rounding off a bleak ten weeks for the most valuable U.S. company, with analysts citing factors such as increasing competition in the tablet market. The stock was one of the biggest percentage losers on the S&P 500, dropping 5.2 percent to $545.56 at one point as more than 17 million shares...

Read More..

Chiefs players head to Belcher memorial service

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Several players for the Kansas City Chiefs attended a memorial service for teammate Jovan Belcher, who killed his girlfriend and then fatally shot himself in the head.Belcher killed 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins on Saturday at the home they shared in Kansas City with their 3-month-old daughter. He then drove to the Chiefs practice facility at Arrowhead Stadium, where he killed...

Read More..

Longer tamoxifen use cuts breast cancer deaths

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen can cut their chances of having the disease come back or kill them if they stay on the pills for 10 years instead of five years as doctors recommend now, a major study finds.The results could change treatment, especially for younger women. The findings are a surprise because earlier research suggested that taking the hormone-blocking drug for longer...

Read More..

NBR Awards name 'Zero Dark Thirty' best film

NEW YORK (AP) — Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" continued to gather awards momentum as the National Board of Review named the Osama bin Laden hunt docudrama the best film of the year.The board is the second notable group to name "Zero Dark Thirty" best film, following the New York Film Critics Circle. The two early awards suggest the film may be the Academy Awards frontrunner, four years after...

Read More..

ICC lets ComEd delay smart meters until 2015

The Illinois Commerce Commission on Wednesday approved ComEd's request to delay the installation of smart meters until 2015...

Read More..

Hamstring strain could sideline Urlacher for season

Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is expected to miss the next three games and possibly the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, according...

Read More..

Intel offers debt, shares jump on stock buyback hopes

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel on Tuesday launched a $6 billion debt sale to fund share buybacks and other activities, and the top chipmaker's stock rose more than 2 percent. Intel was offering the bonds in a range of maturities from five years to 30 years, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters unit. Intel said in a filing it plans to use proceeds of the debt sale for general...

Read More..

Chiefs' LB mentioned other 'girlfriend' to police

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher spent some of his final hours sleeping in his car outside the home of another woman whom he described as his "girlfriend."Police spokesman Darin Snapp said Tuesday that the woman's apartment complex was about 10 miles from the home where Belcher shot and killed the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, 22-year-old Kasandra...

Read More..

CDC says US flu season starts early, could be bad

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu season in the U.S. is off to its earliest start in nearly a decade — and it could be a bad one.Health officials on Monday said suspected flu cases have jumped in five Southern states, and the primary strain circulating tends to make people sicker than other types. It is particularly hard on the elderly."It looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season, but only time will tell,"...

Read More..

Huston's "Infrared" wins Bad Sex fiction prize

LONDON (AP) — It's the prize no author wants to win.Award-winning novelist Nancy Huston won Britain's Bad Sex in Fiction award Tuesday for her novel "Infrared," whose tale of a photographer who takes pictures of her lovers during sex proved too revealing for the judges.The choice was announced by "Downton Abbey" actress Samantha Bond during a ceremony at the Naval & Military Club in London.Judges...

Read More..