"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

At least 30 deaths blamed on unrelenting heat wave

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:40 PM PDT

U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Monique Miller drinks from a bottle of water as she delivers mail in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia on Saturday July 7, 2012. Temperatures of more than 100 degrees were forecast in Philadelphia and excessive heat warnings were issued for several states in the Midwest as a heat wave continued. (AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek)Americans dipped into the water, went to the movies and rode the subway just to be in air conditioning Saturday for relief from unrelenting heat that has killed at least 30 people across half the country.

Youkilis homer keys Sox 2-0 win

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:52 PM PDT

2-run homer backs solid pitching from Floyd, Thornton

Kevin Youkilis lined a two-out homer over the center field wall in the fifth inning, his third homer and 12th and 13th RBI in his 12 games with the White Sox.

Libyans' emotional vote

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Libyans' emotional voteA woman celebrates with the new national flag on the streets after casting her vote during the National Assembly election in Tripoli's Martyrs square July 7, 2012. Crowds of joyful Libyans, some with tears in their eyes, parted with the legacy of Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday as they voted in the first free national election in 60 years. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Republicans hold 'Super Saturday' to energize voters

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:39 PM PDT

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Romney smiles with his wife after addressing supporters after taking part in the Wolfeboro Fourth of July Parade in WolfeboroThousands of Republican volunteers braved scorching temperatures to knock on doors and canvass voters on Saturday as the party staged its first "Super Saturday" blitz hoping to energize supporters and rival Democrats' volunteer mobilization. Republican party officials said volunteers were out in a dozen battleground states expected to see close contests in the November 6 election between Democratic President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. ...

Three antidepressants, no alcohol in Mary Kennedy's system

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 09:21 AM PDT

RFK Jr.'s Estranged Wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, Had Three Antidepressants In System At Time Of DeathMary Richardson Kennedy Had Struggled With Depression, Alcoholism

Protesters march against Mexico's president-elect

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:58 PM PDT

Thousands of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Saturday against President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto, accusing him of buying votes and paying off TV networks for support. The demonstrators, including students, leftists, anarchists and union members, shouted slogans criticizing Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and the electoral authority. Pena Nieto won Sunday's election by almost 7 percentage points, according to the official count, returning the PRI to presidential power after 12 years in the wilderness. ...

Despite facts, new Obama ad calls Romney an 'outsourcer'

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:15 PM PDT

President Barack Obama speaks at Dobbins Elementary School in Poland, Ohio, Friday, July 6, 2012. Obama is on a two-day bus trip through Ohio and Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)Undeterred by independent fact checkers that have debunked the thrust of their claims, the Obama campaign is redoubling attacks on Mitt Romney as an "outsourcer" in a new TV ad airing in eight battleground states. The 30-second spot — titled "The Problem" — claims Romney...

Israeli protesters demand military draft reform

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:17 PM PDT

Thousands of Israelis marched through Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand an end to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from compulsory military service, an issue that has put huge strain on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. "We are sick of it," Idan Miller, one of the protest organizers said at the rally. "It can be changed. It must be changed. Mr. Prime Minister, get it into your head: we are done being suckers." Police said about 10,000 people took part in the protest, but local media put the number at 20,000. ...

'Heart attack' sandwich can stay on N.Y. menu

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:50 PM PDT

New Yorkers can still order up an instant heart attack.

Heat-related deaths rise to 10

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:12 PM PDT

There have been 10 confirmed deaths related to the heat wave that assailed the Chicago area this week, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Six more cases are being investigated to see if the deaths had any connection to the heat, with autopsies expected Sunday.

Man, 87, carjacked in Evanston

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:20 PM PDT

Three teens carjacked an 87-year-old man early this morning in an Evanston parking lot, and police later found the vehicle on Chicago's South Side.

Report: Annan says efforts in Syria have failed

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:20 PM PDT

Kofi Annan Admits Peace Plans in Syria Are FailingSpecial U.N. envoy Kofi Annan acknowledged in an interview published Saturday that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed.

134 killed in southern Russia floods disaster

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:52 PM PDT

Victims of the flood rest in a temporary shelter in KrymskFlash floods deluged Russia's southern Krasnodar, killing at least 134 people in the region's worst natural disaster in decades, officials and witnesses said Saturday.

More mega projects turning to private investors

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 01:17 PM PDT

More mega projects turning to private investorsFor cities and states buried under mountains of debt, it has become a tantalizing proposition: invite private financial institutions to put up the money to fix aging schools, dilapidated rail lines and ...

L.A. schools superintendent shakes up district

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:54 AM PDT

In this photo taken Thursday, June 14, 2012 Los Angeles Unified School District LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy tours the district in Los Angeles. Developing school leadership is a cornerstone of Deasy's strategy to reform Los Angeles Unified School District and sorting through principals underscores his philosophy that nothing in the sprawling district is too minute to warrant his attention. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)Faced with a shocking case of a teacher accused of playing classroom sex games with children for years, Los Angeles schools Superintendent John Deasy delivered another jolt: He removed the school's entire staff — from custodians to the principal — to smash what he called a "culture of silence."

International donors pledging billions in Afghan aid

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:54 AM PDT

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, not pictured, at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 7, 2012. Clinton announced that President Barack Obama had designated Afghanistan as a "major non-NATO ally" shortly after arriving in the country for talks with Karzai. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)International donors will pledge $16 billion in aid for Afghanistan over the next four years in hopes of stabilizing the country after most foreign combat troops return home, a U.S. diplomat said Sunday, but the money will come with conditions to ensure it doesn't fall victim to rampant Afghan corruption and mismanagement.

In new ad, Obama challenges Romney on China trade

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:08 AM PDT

In new ad, Obama challenges Romney on China tradePresident Barack Obama is challenging Mitt Romney's promises to crack down on China's trading practices, saying in an ad released Saturday that the Republican candidate profited by allowing China to strip ...

History, violence in Libya

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:26 PM PDT

Benghazi voterJubilant Libyans chose a new parliament Saturday in their first nationwide vote in decades, but violence and protests in the restive east underscored the challenges ahead as the oil-rich North African nation struggles to restore stability after last year's ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Photos: Record-breaking heat across U.S.

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Photos: Record-breaking heat across U.S.Ten-year-old Lilly Hwang-Geddes (L) of Ithaca, New York, plays in a fountain at the Yards Park July 5, 2012 in Washington, DC. A record heat wave has been in the area for more than a week. Weather forecast predicted the hot weather will last through Sunday with possible daily triple-digit temperature. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Greek opposition leader says government won't last

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:20 PM PDT

Leader of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party Nikolaos Michaloliakos speaks at the Parliament in Athens, Saturday, July 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)The leader of Greece's main opposition party has accused the country's three-party coalition government of wanting to sell Greece's resources and public companies on the cheap.