"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Police: Boy steals van, drives to school

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 01:00 PM PST

GARY, Ind. -- Northern Indiana police have arrested a 14-year-old boy who allegedly stole a church van and drove it to school because he didn't want to walk from his nearby home.

Arab League asks UN to impose no-fly zone over Libya

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 01:12 PM PST

CAIRO (AP) — The Arab League called Saturday for the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, a surprisingly rapid and aggressive move for a bloc known more for lengthy deliberations than action.

Bears' Phillips: 'We expect to play football in 2011'

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 11:32 AM PST

St. Pat's celebrations begin today with river dyeing

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 10:30 AM PST

Crowds dressed in everything from traditional Irish sweaters to shocking neon green miniskirts gathered along the Chicago River this morning to see the river dyed green, the traditional start of festivities before the annual Downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade.

War of words heats up as protesters march in Wisconsin

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 03:27 PM PST

MADISON, Wis. — Thousands of protesters are marching around Wisconsin's Capitol while hundreds more have gathered in the building's rotunda as part of massive daylong demonstrations against a new Republican-sponsored law that drastically weakens the state's public employee unions.

Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 08:33 AM PST

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour -- Daylight Saving time begins Sunday.

Illinois boxing official on leave after conflict complaint

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 10:43 PM PST

Referee alleges official used position to benefit family

The state's No. 2 boxing official has been placed on paid administrative leave after a longtime referee filed a complaint accusing the official of using his position to benefit his family, the Tribune has learned.

Prosecutor: Witness in Yang trial got 'no promises'

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PST

Legal experts say that under Illinois law, friend could still face charges.

Christi Paschen has testified that her friend Marni Yang told her weeks in advance that Yang was planning to kill the pregnant girlfriend of former Chicago Bear Shaun Gayle. The self-proclaimed psychic also told jurors that she helped dispose of crime evidence 24 hours later.

Missing 15-year-old's journal shows link to rape suspect

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 01:00 AM PST

Yasmin Acree was often left unprotected by adults and child-welfare authorities. The West Side 15-year-old vanished in 2008. Recently the Tribune discovered what could be a piece of evidence in her unsolved disappearance — her diary, which includes references to a suspected serial rapist.

The 2008 disappearance of 15-year-old Yasmin Acree sparked a massive police investigation that sent detectives on hundreds of leads, including false sightings that stretched from her tough West Side neighborhood to Michigan and New York City.

Police: Witnesses say driver of NYC casino bus was driving at 'high rate of speed'; 14 dead

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 05:00 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — Fourteen people died and others were maimed Saturday when a bus returning to New York City from a casino overturned on a highway and was sliced, end to end, by the support pole for a large sign.

Giffords' condition improves by 'leaps and bounds'

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 10:13 PM PST

Doctors say the congresswoman is making a tremendous recovery, stringing words together and becoming more mobile. They hope she'll be able to attend the launch of the space shuttle commanded by her husband.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head in a Tucson parking lot in January, "is making leaps and bounds in terms of neurological progress," doctors said Friday, and there is "a good possibility" she will be able to attend the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, which her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will command in April.

Audiotape: Reagan, agents unaware he was shot in 1981

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 07:26 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Secret Service audiotape 30 years old sheds light on the chaotic aftermath of Ronald Reagan's shooting when neither the president nor his guardians realized he'd been shot, and an agent's snap decision to get him to a hospital might have saved his life.

NFL players' union decertifies; owners institute lockout

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 10:33 PM PST

Star players file antitrust lawsuit against NFL

The union representing NFL players pushed away from the negotiating table and decertified Friday, an extreme measure that leaves the federal courts to determine the immediate future of the nation's most popular sports league.

Obama hosts Blackhawks at White house >> Video

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 05:00 PM PST

Obama says it's 'a little sweeter' to salute hometown Stanley Cup champs

WASHINGTON — A celebration that began on the ice in Philadelphia back in June culminated Friday on the South Lawn of the White House.

Attorney general: Oak Park violated Open Meetings Act

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 02:34 PM PST

Oak Park Village Board violated the state Open Meetings Act when it held a closed meeting in November about a hotel and condominium project, the Illinois Attorney General's Office announced late this afternoon.

Battered Libyan rebels try to keep spirits up

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 02:01 PM PST

Fighters are all but pushed out of Ras Lanuf, and are regrouping in Port Brega and Benghazi. 'Better to die for freedom,' says a father as he buries his son, who had joined the rebels to help the wounded.

The rebels carried Fathi Ali down a dirt road to his grave.

PBS and NPR executives fear steep cuts in federal funding

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 05:24 PM PST

Public broadcasters knew they would have a tough fight keeping their federal appropriation. NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller's critical comments about the 'tea party' now have them bracing for the worst. Nearly 1,300 outlets would be affected.

Public broadcasting executives already knew they faced a stiff fight this year to protect their federal appropriation in Congress amid stern calls for deficit reduction.

Wisconsin governor signs union measure

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 01:36 PM PST

Gov. Scott Walker says the bill will protect jobs and 'make government on all levels work better.' Continued protests from Democrats and labor are expected.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed into law a bill that sharply curbs collective bargaining for most public employees, paving the way for the return of Democratic lawmakers, who fled the state in an effort to block the measure.

U.S. releases audio from 1981 Reagan assassination attempt

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 11:17 AM PST

By Deborah Charles

Dugan asks to drop appeal in Nicarico case

Posted: 11 Mar 2011 04:26 PM PST

Killer's death sentence commuted for rape, murder of 10-year-old girl

Upon hearing that his death sentence had been commuted, Brian Dugan this week instructed an attorney to drop an appeal of his 2009 conviction and sentence for the rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, of Naperville, in 1983.