"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

White House blasts study critical of Obama’s tax-plan

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 02:42 PM PDT

President Barack Obama speaks at the Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, Tuesday, May 10, 2011, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)The White House hit back hard late Tuesday at a study by accounting firm Ernst and Young that charged President Barack Obama's signature tax proposal could cost 710,000 jobs, claiming it's chock full of "major flaws, errors and misleading statements." Obama has called for extending Bush-era tax cuts on income up to $250,000, a move [...]

Michael Phillips' review: 2.5 stars for 'Dark Knight Rises'

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:23 PM PDT

A `Knight' to fray the nerves

"The Dark Knight Rises," which makes "The Dark Knight" look like "Dora the Explorer" and is more of a 164-minute anxiety disorder than a movie.

Clashes spread to new areas in Syrian capital

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 01:23 PM PDT

This image made from video provided by Shaam News Network Tuesday, July 17, 2012, purports to show Syrian tanks in Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS PICTURE.Syrian government forces attacked rebels with helicopter gunships in the heart of Damascus on Tuesday, escalating a campaign to crush their opponents as clashes spread to new areas, illustrating the rebels' growing reach.

British billionaire charged after wife's death

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 02:38 PM PDT

Police try to shed light on UK billionaire deathBillionaire Hans Kristian Rausing, the heir to the Tetra Pak fortune, was on Tuesday charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of his US-born wife Eva, British police said.

Conservatives work out Supreme Court anger through Gotye parody

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 02:17 PM PDT

Conservatives who feel betrayed by Chief Justice John Roberts' decision to uphold President Barack Obama's health care law last month are seeking solace in the power of song. Kathleen Burch, an intern for the conservative Media Research Center, belts out her pain in a parody of Gotye's "Somebody that I Used to Know." "You didn't [...]

Romney: Obama 'wants Americans to be ashamed of success'

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:01 PM PDT

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Central High School, Tuesday, July 10, 2012, in Grand Junction, Colo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)IRWIN, Pa.—Mitt Romney unveiled an aggressive new stump speech Tuesday, accusing President Barack Obama of being too cozy with political donors and suggesting the president wants Americans to be "ashamed of success." Speaking to several hundred supporters at a wireless services company outside Pittsburgh, Romney took aim at Obama's comments at a campaign event in [...]

U.K. government releases ‘X-Files’ UFO documents

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:21 AM PDT

UFO Spaceship Orbiting the Sun, or a Camera Glitch?In a move that seems to have come straight from 'The X-Files,' the British government recently released a trove of data relating to the U.K.'s response to the possible existence of UFOs. The 25 files and 6,700 pages of data document UFO [...]

Romney: Tax returns are just ammo

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:07 AM PDT

Obama, Romney launch attack adsIRWIN, Pa.—Mitt Romney again insisted he will not release additional years of tax returns, arguing he doesn't want to give President Barack Obama more ammunition to attack his campaign. In an interview with National Review's Robert Costa, Romney said he's already released "hundreds of pages" of tax records, with more records from his 2011 tax [...]

Globe-hopping Hillary Clinton breaks travel record

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:29 AM PDT

FILE - In this June 29, 2012 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton boards her plane following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in St. Petersburg, Russia. If diplomatic achievements were measured by the number of countries visited, Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the most accomplished secretary of state in history. Since becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton has logged 351 days on the road, traveled to 102 countries and flown a whopping 843,839 miles, according to the State Department. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)If diplomatic achievements were measured by the number of countries visited, Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the most accomplished secretary of state in history.

Utah man’s confessional obituary owns up to life of pranks

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:09 AM PDT

Val Patterson said his life motto was "Anything for a laugh." And after the 59-year-old died of throat cancer last week, he owned up to a few humorous events from his life. Patterson's obituary in The Salt Lake Tribune begins like many others, with a loving tribute to his wife, Mary Jane, and recollections of [...]

Luke Skywalker knocks Romney as ‘not human’

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:02 AM PDT

Spike TV's "2011 Video Game Awards" - ArrivalsLuke shot first? Actor Mark Hamill—still, decades later, best known for his turn as Luke Skywalker in the original "Star Wars" trilogy—is warning voters that Mitt Romney "only imitates human behavior. He's not actually human himself." No word from Hamill on whether the Republican standard-bearer is more machine, now, than man, twisted and evil. Or whether [...]

Photos: 'Demons' set ablaze in annual Nepal festival

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:38 AM PDT

Photos: 'Demons' set ablaze in annual Nepal festivalPeople carry an effigy of demon Ghantakarna as another effigy of the demon is burnt to symbolize the destruction of evil, during the Ghantakarna festival in the ancient city of Bhaktapur July 17, 2012. According to legend, the demon is believed to "steal" children and women from their homes and localities. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar (NEPAL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Video: Hand-feeding an injured dragonfly

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:07 AM PDT

Nothing says summer like the double-winged dragonflies buzzing over lakes, marshes and ponds for food. The two pairs of sheer wings and colorful elongated bodies are eye-catching. They're not just nice to look at; they eat mosquitoes and wasps and other pesky insects. Except when they are injured, like the one in this video posted [...]

Metra refitting old train cars with power outlets, new toilets

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:59 PM PDT

Metra is refitting a fleet of 1990s era coaches with new amenities, most significantly electrical outlets so riders can plug in or recharge laptops and cell phones. The rehabbing will also include new toilets, seats, pressure-sensitive doors and emergency intercoms on rail cars.

Feds charge 7 in kickback scheme

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 02:59 PM PDT

Seven people in the Chicago area have been arrested on charges of bribery conspiracy for allegedly paying kickbacks to a fictitious federal agency official in return for $25,000 cash grants from the agency, federal officials said today.

Figure in Blagojevich scandal gets 4 years' probation

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:25 PM PDT

Ali Ata, a former executive director at the Illinois Finance Authority, was sentenced to four years of probation today.

CTA plans to spend $205M to improve maintenance facilities

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:49 AM PDT

The Chicago Transit Authority will spend $205 million to upgrade bus and rail maintenance facilities over the next three years with the goal of fostering major improvements in transit service, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool said today.

Suspect in Alabama bar shooting turns himself in

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:28 AM PDT

Surveillance video captures bar shooting suspectThe manhunt for the suspect in a bar shooting that left at least 17 people injured in Tuscaloosa, Ala., early Tuesday appears to be over. Police in Jasper, Ala., say a man claiming to be the shooting suspect called 911, according to Fox's Birmingham affiliate. The man told police his location—a FedEx store in Jasper—and [...]

Sununu: The Obama campaign is a ‘bunch of liars’

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:20 AM PDT

Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, right, watches as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney fills out his candidacy papers to be on the New Hampshire ballot in the nation's earliest presidential primary, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)"I wish this president would learn how to be an American," Sununu told reporters.

Boy Scouts reaffirm ban on gays

Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:35 AM PDT

After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday emphatically reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays, ruling out any changes despite relentless protest campaigns by some critics.