"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Syria revolt reaches Aleppo; rebels target cities

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 04:45 PM PDT

RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP - This citizen journalist image shows a dead body lying in the street in the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees in south Damascus, Syria, Saturday, July 21, 2012. This week, fierce fighting between troops and rebels reached the Syrian capital, the central bastion of Bashar Assad's rule, shattering parts of the city and sending thousands of people fleeing to neighboring Lebanon and Iraq. Activists and residents reported a tense calm in Damascus Saturday but said sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard throughout the night. (AP Photo)Riding a wave of momentum, Syrian rebels made a run on Aleppo Saturday in some of the fiercest fighting seen in the country's largest city, which has been a key bastion of support for President Bashar Assad over the course of the 17-month-old uprising.

Troops march in San Diego gay parade in uniform

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 02:40 PM PDT

Betty Ayala salutes a group of veterans as she holds a sign showing her son during the gay pride parade Saturday, July 21, 2012, in San Diego. For the first time ever, U.S. service members marched in a gay pride event decked out in uniform Saturday, after a recent memorandum from the Defense Department to all military branches made an allowance for the San Diego parade - even though its policy generally bars troops from marching in uniform in parades. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)Some of the loudest cheers Saturday at San Diego's gay pride parade were for active-duty troops marching in military dress, the first time that U.S. service members participated in such an event while in full uniform.

U.S. not meeting its pledge to rebuild Haiti

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 04:34 PM PDT

In this Wednesday, June 13, 2012 photo, a woman and her daughter stand at the entrance of their tent in a camp for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Amid the horrors of Haiti's 2010 earthquake lay a promise of renewal. With the United States taking the lead, international donors pledged billions of dollars to help it "build back better," breaking its cycle of dependency. Yet 2 1/2 years later, the fruits of an ambitious $1.8 billion U.S. reconstruction promise are hard to find. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)The deadly earthquake that leveled Haiti's capital more than two years ago brought a thread of hope: a promise of renewal. With the United States taking the lead, international donors pledged billions of dollars to help the country "build back better," breaking its cycle of dependency.

Bomb kills 15, wounds 20 in northwest Pakistan

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 02:39 PM PDT

A man injured in a bomb attack in Upper Dir, seeks treatment after he was brought to Lady Reading hospital in PeshawarA bomb exploded at a compound in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing nine people and wounding 20, local government and intelligence officials said. The bombing in the compound, used by a local militia and containing residential units and an office, occurred near the village of Spin Tal in the Orakzai tribal region. The Pakistan military has been conducting operations against militant groups in the area for months. ...

Final movie rampage victims identified

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 05:23 PM PDT

Photographs of theater shooting victim Alex Sullivan are shown, Saturday, July 21, 2012, at a memorial near the movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)Ashley Moser drifted in and out of consciousness in the ICU, bullets lodged in her throat and a gunshot wound to her abdomen. In her waking moments, she called for her 6-year-old daughter Veronica.

James Holmes in solitary confinement

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 03:45 PM PDT

This photo provided by the University of Colorado shows James Holmes. University spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery says 24-year-old Holmes, who police say is the suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, was studying neuroscience in a Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado-Denver graduate school. Holmes is suspected of shooting into a crowd at a movie theater killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said. (AP Photo/University of Colorado)[Updated at 8:15 p.m. EST] CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Flags outside the Arapahoe County Detention Facility flew at half-mast Saturday for the victims killed and wounded in the Denver-area movie theater massacre. Beyond the jail's walls sits the suspected gunman police say is responsible for the rampage, one worst mass shootings in United States history. "The [...]

Suspect in Colorado shooting held in solitary confinement

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 05:04 PM PDT

The man accused in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area premiere of the new "Batman" film was being held in solitary confinement for his own protection from other inmates, authorities said on Saturday.

Rupert Murdoch quits boards of British papers

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 01:35 PM PDT

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch has stepped down as a director from a string of boards overseeing the Sun, Times and Sunday Times newspapers in Britain, the company said in an internal memo on Saturday.

One day later, shooting survivor finishes 'Dark Knight'

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 09:20 AM PDT

Theater owner: Working with police following Colorado shootingLess than one day after he escaped the chaos and carnage of the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, lifelong Batman fan Justin Davis was back at the movies with a sense of purpose. Davis, 16, was accompanied by his brother and a friend to a screening...

Bomb squads disarm traps at suspect's home

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 02:13 PM PDT

Members of law enforcement wearing body armor and helmets prepare to what ATF sources describe as a"water shot" in the apartment of alleged gunman James Holmes Saturday, July 21, 2012 in Aurora , Colo. The "water shot" is exploded and used to disrupt the device. Authorities reported that 12 died and more than three dozen people were shot during an assault at a movie theatre midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises." (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)The Colorado shooting suspect planned the rampage that killed 12 and injured dozens of others at a suburban movie theater with "calculation and deliberation," police said Saturday, receiving months of deliveries in advance that authorities believe armed him for battle and were used to rig his apartment with explosives aimed at killing first responders.

Bomb squads disarm traps at suspect's home

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 11:23 AM PDT

Aurora police: Suspect apartment set to killAURORA, Colo.--Authorities have defused the first trip wire and detonated two devices in movie shooting suspect James Holmes' "booby trapped" apartment, officials announced Saturday. A robot first cut the trip wire that was stretched across the front door, and then technicians neutralized booby traps that were behind the wire, Jim Yacone, FBI special agent, said [...]

Air Force instructor sentenced to 20 years

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 10:49 AM PDT

Air Force Staff Sgt. Luis Walker arrives for the fourth day of his trial at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, July 20, 2012. Walker is accused of sexually assaulting 10 basic trainees, with charges ranging from rape and aggravated sexual assault to obstructing justice and violating rules of professional conduct. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment. (AP Photo/San Antonio Express News, Billy Calzada)An Air Force instructor was sentenced to 20 years in prison Saturday, after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in a sweeping sex scandal that rocked one of the nation's busiest military training centers.

Suspect arrested in L.A. homeless stabbings

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 11:19 AM PDT

Police arrested a suspect in the stabbings of three Los Angeles-area homeless people in recent weeks, a man they say goes by a name signed on "death warrants" found with the wounded victims.

How newspapers covered Colo. massacre

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 09:49 AM PDT

Colorado ShootingThe deadly shooting that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater was featured on the covers of most of the world's newspapers on Saturday. While many focused on the scene of shooting, its aftermath and the grief-stricken residents of the Denver suburb, others featured James Holmes, the suspected shooter [...]

Victim: 'I'm a man of faith, but it gets tried in times like this'

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 07:51 AM PDT

Colorado shooting victims mournedDenver shooting victim Marcus Weaver wants to show mercy to the man who put two shotgun pellets in his right shoulder, but admits it's a struggle. "I'm a man of faith, but it gets tried in times like this," Weaver told Yahoo News. "I'm not saying I'm [...]

FBI, Homeland: No info about more shooting sprees

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 06:17 AM PDT

Police block the road in front of an apartment where the suspect in a theatre shooting lived in Aurora, Colo., on Friday, July 20, 2012. As many as 12 people were killed and 50 injured at a shooting at the Century 16 movie theatre on Friday. The suspect is identified as 24-year-old James Holmes. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)The FBI and Homeland Security Department say there is no information indicating plans for more shooting sprees at movie theaters around the country.

Gun deaths: A familiar American experience

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 08:33 AM PDT

Colorado Shooting: Remembering the VictimsOne of the most depressing aspects of the shooting rampage at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., is just how familiar it all is to the American experience.

Obama, Romney views have evolved toward gun rights

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 12:56 AM PDT

President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during an event at the Harborside Event Center in Ft. Myers, Fla., Friday, July 20, 2012. Obama, who was scheduled to spend the day campaigning in Florida, is canceling his next campaign event to return to Washington to monitor the shooting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney both have softened their positions on gun restrictions over the years. As they expressed shock and sorrow over the bloodshed at a Colorado movie theater, neither suggested that tougher gun control could make a difference, a notion that has faded from political debate.

As election approaches, candidates beef up spending

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 10:38 AM PDT

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a Victory town hall in Bowling GreenLess than four months until the U.S. presidential election, Republican candidate Mitt Romney's campaign is beefing up on personnel and investing more cash internally as outside groups pour millions into television ads to help him counter Democratic President Barack Obama's messaging over the airwaves. ...

Death on West Side sidewalk: A father's tears and prayer

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Nineteen-year-old Akil Partee lay on the West Side sidewalk early this morning surrounded by police and red crime scene tape, an apparent victim of circumstances outside his control.