"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Putin promises to boost Russia's military

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:15 PM PDT

Russia's military will get 1,600 new warplanes and helicopters by 2020, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, as part of efforts to strengthen the country's armed forces. Putin has worked hard to restore pride in the Cold War-era superpower's military since his first election in 2000. The planned addition of 600 military planes and 1,000 helicopters is part of a 23 trillion rouble ($720 billion)programme to re-equip a military still weakened by spending cuts prompted by the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. ...

Western states bake under extended heat wave

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:59 PM PDT

Temperatures soared into triple digits across the western United States on Saturday as a continuing heat wave strained energy supplies and sent thousands to beaches, lakes and shopping malls in search of cooler climes.

Toddler is critical after fall

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 03:59 PM PDT

A 2-year-old girl was critically hurt when she fell from a third-story porch in the Lawndale neighborhood this afternoon.

Romney: Ryan ‘appeals to the better angels of America’

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan made their second appearance together as the GOP ticket, stopping at a local pie store here ahead of a campaign rally nearby. Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside Homemades by Suzanne, where Romney and Ryan stopped in to buy pie and do a little retail politicking. As the two [...]

U.S. lawmakers call on Bahrain king to free activist

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 03:09 PM PDT

Nineteen members of the U.S. Congress have written to Bahrain's king to call for the release of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who is currently serving a three-month jail sentence for making anti-government statements on Twitter.

Fifth straight gold for U.S. women's basketball team

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:38 PM PDT

Using its familiar formula of defense and depth, the U.S. women's basketball team overwhelmed France 86-50 to win an unprecedented fifth straight gold medal Saturday at North Greenwich Arena.

Rebels carve out large enclave in north Syria

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:44 PM PDT

Residents of this north Syrian border town like to snap photos of their children atop the tank parked downtown, one of more than a dozen captured or destroyed by rebels in the battles last month that "liberated" the area from President Bashar Assad's army.

Wildfire threatens ancient forest in Spain

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 10:09 AM PDT

Officials said Saturday that a wildfire thought to be under control on a Spanish island is now spreading, threatening a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Democratic Party platform group backs gay marriage

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 11:46 AM PDT

The national Democratic Party's platform committee endorsed gay marriage Saturday for the first time and called for the repeal of a federal law that recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman.

Police embrace emerging social media tool

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 12:43 PM PDT

Minutes after a shooting near the Oakland Airport this year, the gunman was on the loose. And police Sgt. Chris Bolton quickly fired off a flurry of text alerts to thousands of nearby residents through a social media tool for law enforcement agencies.

Egyptian newspaper censored over insult to president

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 11:55 AM PDT

An Egyptian court ordered the Saturday editions of a newspaper confiscated over allegations it insulted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and instigated sectarian discord, Egypt's official news agency said.

Six U.S. soldiers killed in 24 hours in Afghanistan

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 10:47 AM PDT

Three U.S. Marines have been shot dead by an Afghan worker on a military base in southern Afghanistan, in a deadly 24 hours for NATO-led forces during which six American soldiers were killed in rogue attacks. The shooting took place on Friday night in the Garmsir district of Helmand province, where three U.S. special forces soldiers were killed by an Afghan policeman and comrades earlier in the day. ...

Putin promises to boost Russian air force

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 08:40 AM PDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Viktor Bondarev watch as they attend the Russian air force's 100th anniversary in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)President Vladimir Putin promised Saturday to re-equip the Russian air force with hundreds of new aircraft as part of an ambitious military modernization program.

Afghan policeman kills 10 fellow officers

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 10:12 AM PDT

An Afghan police officer killed at least 10 of his fellow officers on Saturday, a day after six U.S. service members were gunned down by their Afghan partners in summer violence that has both international and Afghan forces questioning who is friend or foe.

Billiken Parade celebrates youth and education

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 05:08 PM PDT

Thousands of people turned out today for the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, an annual celebration of youth and education to mark the upcoming school year.

Romney, Ryan to campaign in Wisconsin on Sunday

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 12:23 PM PDT

Mitt Romney will take a detour from his four-day bus tour of key battleground states to appear at a Sunday night rally with his vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan in the congressman's home state of Wisconsin. A Romney aide who declined to be named confirmed Romney and Ryan [...]

Why Paul Ryan is the antithesis of Mitt Romney

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 09:51 AM PDT

In 1996, bedeviled by conservative doubts about his tax-cutting credentials, Bob Dole named Jack Kemp -- the fervent champion of free-market economics – as his running mate. Sixteen years later, confronting lingering right-wing skepticism about his conservative pedigree, Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan – a former Kemp speechwriter – as his vice-presidential nominee.

$200K bail for man charged with beating dog to death

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT



Bail was set at $200,000 for a Lakeview school teacher charged with punching his dog to death. Prosecutors say he told police, "I don't know why I did it.... "I'm an animal myself."

Urlacher returns to Bears' camp

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 02:59 PM PDT

Nearly a week after he was cleared to leave training camp for personal reasons, Brian Urlacher has returned to the Chicago Bears.

Romney declares Ryan the 'intellectual leader' of the GOP

Posted: 11 Aug 2012 07:59 AM PDT

Mitt Romney formally named Paul Ryan as his running mate, saying that the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman was the "intellectual leader" of the Republican Party with the experience to tackle the fiscal crises facing the nation.