"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

No threat found in suspicious Loop package

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 06:14 PM PDT

A suspicious package at a Loop high-rise caused evacuations and traffic problems for more than 4 hours today, but in the end police said it turned out not to be a threat.

Death toll at 25 in latest bout of storms in South

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 05:08 PM PDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) - The death toll this week from tornadoes and severe storms pummeling the South rose to 25 people and the nasty weather is not yet over, emergency officials and weather forecasters said on Wednesday.

Obama releases long-form birth certificate » Document

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 10:38 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday released a longer version of his birth certificate to answer Republican charges he was not born in America, and blasted "carnival barkers" who refuse to let the issue die.

Teen charged in shooting of boy outside S. Side school

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 03:15 PM PDT

A 14-year-old boy was charged today just a day after police said he shot a 12-year-old boy Tuesday afternoon outside of the victim's South Side neighborhood school.

Cardinal suspends Father Pfleger

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 04:43 PM PDT

Citing what he called threats from the Rev. Michael Pfleger to leave the church, Cardinal Francis George has removed the priest from the St. Sabina parish and has suspended his "sacramental faculties as a priest."

Obamas visit with Daley, Oprah

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 05:05 PM PDT

President Barack Obama says he was treated to "about 30 ideas" on improving Chicago, on subjects from rats to bikes, as he flew with Mayor Richard Daley to a taping of Oprah Winfrey's show today.

Bernanke defends Fed actions, downplays inflation concerns

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 12:58 PM PDT

At a historic news conference Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank's unprecedented and controversial actions to stabilize and revive the economy and tried to deflect concerns that inflation could derail the recovery.

Wettest Chicago-area April in 10 years

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 11:53 AM PDT

Feel like it's rained almost every day this month? At least a trace of rain has fallen 19 out of 27 days so far, making it the soggiest April in more than a decade.

Nation's largest Catholic health system to buy Alexian Brothers

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 10:51 AM PDT

The flurry of hospital consolidation continued Wednesday when Alexian Brothers Health System in Chicago's northwest suburbs announced plans to merge into the nation's largest Catholic-owned provider of medical care in the country.

'Empire Carpet Man' dead at 89

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 11:53 AM PDT

Lynn Hauldren, the ad copywriter who became the inspiration for the Empire Carpet Man, has died, according to an Empire spokesperson.» Video

Judge rejects plea deal for ex-fugitive doctor

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 11:09 AM PDT

A federal judge this morning rejected a plea deal for surgeon Mark Weinberger, a Chicago doctor who was arrested in the Italian Alps in 2009 after spending five years hiding in Europe while he faced federal fraud charges and hundreds of lawsuits from former patients.

Supreme Court: Firms can block class-action suits

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 08:37 AM PDT

Consumers have been able to band together to sue corporations, but the Supreme Court rules in a Southern California case that firms can force customers to arbitrate their complaints individually. The ruling is seen as a major victory for corporations.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court gave corporations a major win Wednesday, ruling in a 5-4 decision that companies can block their disgruntled customers from joining together in a class-action lawsuit. The ruling arose from a California lawsuit involving cellphones, but it will have a nationwide impact.

Afghan officer kills 9 Americans

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 10:37 AM PDT

Corps mulls breaching levee to protect Cairo, Ill.

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 08:24 AM PDT

At least 100 people have evacuated Cairo at the southern tip of Illinois as the Army Corps of Engineers considers whether to use explosives to blow a two-mile-wide hole through a levee to ease flooding.

Slain suspect may be linked to 10 shootings in Ill., Wis.

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 09:59 AM PDT

Authorities say a man killed by police in Wisconsin may be connected to at least 10 shootings there and across Illinois.

Chicago Reader getting magazine-like makeover

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 07:23 AM PDT

Smaller but slicker publication with glossy cover aimed at increasing its readers, advertisers

Dominating the lobby of the Chicago Reader's office is a long, lonely counter at which one imagines people used to line up to place classified ads that bulged from the free alternative weekly in the days before Craigslist.

Four years after Stebic disappearance, case 'stagnant'

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 04:42 AM PDT

It's been almost four years since Plainfield resident Lisa Stebic disappeared, and one of the officers involved in her case calls the investigation "stagnant."

Apple denies tracking users

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 06:51 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc. denied it is tracking the movements of its iPhone customers, but said it will provide a software update that stores less location information on phones in response to public outcry over privacy issues.

Hawks die by 1 goal | Photos

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 10:02 AM PDT

David Haugh: Add Canucks winger Alex Burrows to the list of Chicago sports villains after his game-winning goal 5 minutes 22 seconds into overtime. From start to finish in a Game 7, Burrows was the hero.

Obama releases long-form birth certificate » Document

Posted: 27 Apr 2011 06:19 AM PDT