"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

GOP: Promise that Ill. prison won't hold terror suspects

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 04:20 PM PST

The Obama administration appears poised to abandon the plan, but GOP lawmakers want assurances before they fund the conversion of the Thomson Correctional Center to a federal prison.

The Obama administration has all but officially abandoned a proposal to turn a vacant Illinois state prison into a facility for suspected terrorists now held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Panhandler killed, 2 officers hurt

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:52 PM PST

Jury rules against man who claimed torture by police

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:36 PM PST

A federal jury today ruled against an African-American man who sued the City of Chicago nearly 60 years after he says Chicago police beat and threatened him into confessing to the rape of a white woman.

White House won't defend marriage law

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 02:52 PM PST

In a key shift on gay rights, the administration says a section of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional as applied to gay couples who are legally married under state law. The administration vows not to defend the law against two lawsuits brought by same-sex couples.

The Obama administration, in a major shift on gay rights, says it will not defend in court the federal law that bars the government from recognizing same-sex marriages and giving equal benefits to gay couples.

1 person killed, 2 officers hurt in River North

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:52 PM PST

A person was killed and two Chicago police officers injured in a shooting in the River North neighborhood this afternoon, officials said.

Report: Ind. official urged shooting of protesters

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 12:54 PM PST

The Indiana attorney general's office says a deputy attorney general "is no longer employed" by the state after Mother Jones magazine reported that he had used his Twitter account to urge police to use live ammunition against Wisconsin protesters.

Protesters take control of Libyan city

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 12:56 PM PST

Residents -- not Moammar Kadafi's regime -- now rule the eastern city of Derna, but they're still demonstrating against the Libyan leader.

Days after the police were run out of town or joined the revolution, the police station was burned down and its files strewn on charred ground, residents of this coastal Libyan city still are on the streets protesting Moammar Kadafi's regime.

After holiday, Shedd dolphin now pregnant

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:29 PM PST

After an extended holiday in Miami, Tique, a 26-year-old Pacific white-sided dolphin who resides at the Shedd Aquarium, returned home last year revealing that she is in the family way.

Walmart coming to West Loop

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 12:03 PM PST

Feds toss some charges in Blago retrial

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 11:09 AM PST

In a surprise move, federal prosecutors moved today to dismiss three counts against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is scheduled to be retried on April 20.

White House drops defense of marriage law

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 10:10 AM PST

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it would not defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The Justice Department had previously defended the law, but said it had determined in a pair of cases in the federal appeals court in New York that it was no longer constitutional.

Crash kills 3 returning from wedding >> Video

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 12:52 PM PST

Two children from Chicago and a man who had just gotten married last weekend in Florida were killed this morning when a semi-trailer truck struck their SUV on a highway in Kentucky, police and relatives say.

In call, Wis. gov discussed tricking Dems >> Video

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:11 PM PST

On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.

Attorney charged with cheating clients

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 08:57 AM PST

A Chicago attorney who has been in trouble before now has been indicted for allegedly defrauding clients who sought his help in saving their homes from foreclosure.

Lindsay Lohan back in court

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 10:47 AM PST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan arrived in court on Wednesday for a hearing that could determine whether she may be returned to jail for violating probation by being charged with grand theft of a necklace.

Hope fading for N.Z. quake survivors

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 05:32 AM PST

Two people are pulled alive from the wreckage, and the official toll remains at 75, with scores missing. Tourists crowd Christchurch's airport to get out, having abandoned their belongings.

Workers continued to sift through the rubble for survivors of Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude earthquake here, but officials said hopes had dimmed that those buried would be found alive.

Wis. gov threatens to recall Dems

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:35 AM PST

Libyan leader's militias clamp down

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 07:09 AM PST

TOBRUK, Libya (AP) — Militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi clamped down in Tripoli, with the sound of gunfire ringing in the air, while protesters who control much of the eastern half of Libya claimed new gains in cities and towns closer to the heart of Gadhafi's regime in the capital.

The Fast Fix: Who is Wisconsin governor Scott Walker? (The Newsroom)

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 06:00 AM PST

The Newsroom - Five facts about Scott Walker, the newly-elected governor behind the showdown in Wisconsin over union pay and bargaining rights. Get The Fix in your e-mail inbox! Click here to sign-up for the Morning Fix newsletter. Click here for the Afternoon …

Nursing home resident killed by vehicle

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:49 AM PST

An elderly man was killed late Tuesday night after he wandered out of a Prospect Heights nursing home where he lived and was hit and killed by a vehicle close by, officials said.