"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Comaneci: There's no stopping Gabby Douglas

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:24 PM PDT

Romanian great Nadia Comaneci believes 16-year-old Gabby Douglas can become the most famous gymnast to emerge from the U.S.

Jobs report has something for Obama and Romney

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

FILE - This combination of 2012 file photos shows U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Boulder, Colo. and Cape Canaveral, Fla. How unthinkable it was, not so long ago, that a presidential election would pit a candidate fathered by an African against another condemned as un-Christian. And yet, here it is: Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, an African-American and a white Mormon, representatives of two groups and that have endured oppression to carve out a place in the United States. How much progress has America made against bigotry? (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Charles Dharapak)With higher-than-expected job creation in July, President Obama avoided a major blow in Friday's unemployment report. But the rise in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent, up from 8.2 percent, mitigated the positive news – and handed campaign fodder to Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Wind-whipped Oklahoma wildfires destroy homes

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:35 PM PDT

Flames leap into the air as area firefighters fight a wildfire on Cemetery Road east of 120th on Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, east of Norman, Okla. A wildfire stirred by high winds sweeping through rural woodlands just south of the Oklahoma City area has set at a number of homes on fire. (AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Steve Sisney) TABLOIDS OUTA wildfire whipped by gusty, southerly winds swept through rural woodlands south of the Oklahoma City area Friday, burning several homes as firefighters struggled to contain it in 113-degree heat.

How to keep strangers from sitting next to you

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:19 PM PDT

A new study offers some helpful hints on navigating our "culture of social isolation in public places," better known as, how to keep people from sitting next to you on the plane, bus or train. Yale University's Esther Kim spent three years traveling thousands of miles across U.S. bus systems to compile her observations. "I [...]

Colorado theater shooting: Did Univ. of Colorado drop the ball?

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT

A University of Colorado Police officer gets into her patrol car on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, at the University of Colorado Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo. Suspected movie theater shooter James Holmes was studying neuroscience at the medical school and a psychiatrist there raised an alarm about his behavior. In the wake of a student's deadly attack at Virginia Tech five years ago, schools across the country put into place teams meant to bring together faculty and staff to notice and take action, when a student appears to be a threat. The school won't say if campus police ever were alerted to Holmes, or whether faculty or staff ivestigated his behavior.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the University of Colorado and other schools created "threat assessment teams" to identify and take action against students who might turn violent. After Aurora, some are wondering whether the system broke down.

Syria pleads with Russia for aid in sign of desperation

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:52 PM PDT

FILE - This June 3, 2012 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech at the parliament in Damascus, Syria. Arab countries on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 pushed ahead with a symbolic U.N. General Assembly resolution that tells Assad to resign and turn over power to a transitional government. It also demands that the Syrian army stop its shelling and helicopter attacks and withdraw to its barracks. A vote is set for Friday morning. (AP Photo/SANA, File)an indication that international sanctions are squeezing President Bashar Assad's regime.

Chick-fil-A protests: Have they gone too far?

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:20 PM PDT

Gay rights groups and others protest and hold a "kiss-in" outside the Decatur, Ga., Chick-fil-A restaurant Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 as a public response to a company official who was quoted as supporting the traditional family unit. About two dozen protesters gathered on the busy corner to voice their views. (AP Photo/David Tulis)It seems that a sandwich has become the target of partisan political debate. Ever since Dan Cathy, the president of chicken restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, voiced his opposition to gay marriage, opinions about the company have caused a lot of indigestion.

'Plain Jane Bandit' believed caught after eight heists

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:23 AM PDT

'Plain Jane Bandit' Believed Caught After Eight HeistsThe "Plain Jane Bandit," who is believed to be responsible for eight bank heists or attempted bank robberies in Southern California, has been arrested, officials said.

Alaskan fishermen save bear cub from whirlpool (VIDEO)

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:57 PM PDT

A boat  of Alaskan fishermen documented their successful, and risky, attempt to rescue a bear cub who was struggling against the river current and in danger of being pulled into a nearby whirlpool. Mike Polocz tells the Anchorage Daily News that the bear was struggling to stay afloat in the Kenai River when Polocz, his [...]

Contrast in styles mark early acts

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:56 PM PDT

Lollapalaooza brought together the musical tribes as it opened its eighth year in Grant Park – common ground this weekend for some unlikely bedfellows: Black Sabbath fans, techno fanatics and followers of folk-soul singer Michael Kiwanuka.

Earth to Mars rover, Curiosity: Have you landed?

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:54 PM PDT

Tune in to the Yahoo! live-stream on Sunday, August 5, at 10:31 p.m. PT or 1:31 a.m. ET. On Sunday night, millions of miles away, a nail-biter of a landing will be executed—or not—on Mars. The Mars rover, Curiosity, which has been traveling to the distant planet for the past eight-and-a-half months, will land on [...]

The white world of sports: What Gabby Douglas’ vault into Olympic history means

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:25 PM PDT

Gabby Douglas Makes HistoryThe 16-year-old's triumph—not to mention her poise, her maturity, her focus, her elegance—will help recalibrate what young females of color believe is within their reach.

Phelps wins 17th gold medal

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT

Michael Phelps, showing no signs of complacency after breaking every imaginable record in Olympic swimming, won the men's 100-meter butterfly gold medal at the London Games today.

Photo reveals giant Greenland iceberg heading to sea

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:59 AM PDT

Photo Reveals Giant Greenland Iceberg Heading to SeaA massive iceberg that recently cleaved from one of Greenland's largest glaciers has made its way down the fjord that confines it and is poised to float out into an ocean strait, satellite photos reveal.

After jobs report, Obama hits GOP on taxes

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:25 AM PDT

U.S. President Obama talks while on White House complex in WashingtonFighting to become the first president since World War II to win re-election with unemployment above 8 percent, Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged "more work to do" to boost job growth. The Democrat also accused Republicans of practicing "upside-down economics" that help the wealthy but neglect the middle class. Obama defended his economic record shortly [...]

Drew Peterson threatened to kill wife, her sister claims

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:38 AM PDT

FILE - In this May 7, 2009 file booking photo provided by the Will County Sheriff's office in Joliet, Ill., former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer Drew Peterson is shown. Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 drowning death of his former wife Kathleen Savio. Opening statements in his trial are scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Will County Sheriff's Office, File)Drew Peterson told his third wife Kathleen Savio he would kill her six months before she was found dead in a bathtub, Savio's sister testified in Peterson's murder trial today.

Photos: Marilyn Monroe, the LIFE covers

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Photos: Marilyn Monroe, the LIFE covers

Woman's altruism starts chain of five kidney swaps, extending lives

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

Brittman waits to take part in a five-way organ transplant swap in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - A soon-to-be wed gay couple, a retired teacher and his wife, and two pairs of fathers and sons were among those whose lives were changed one extraordinary day this week when a 35-year-old single mother of four from North Carolina donated a kidney to a stranger in New York. "I'm not losing nothing," Honica Brittman said this week, sitting in a blue and white hospital gown before surgery in which she would give, for free, the initial kidney in a chain of five kidney transplants at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. ...

How Romney's tax plan could raise middle-class taxes

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:05 AM PDT

Mitt Romney Tells Harry Reid to 'Put Up or Shut Up' on Tax Return AccusationMitt Romney's campaign is hitting back against a study released this week showing the GOP candidate's tax plan would raise taxes on the middle class while slashing the tax burden for millionaires, calling the report "biased" and "a joke."

Romney aide slams press: The week's dumbest political quotes

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:21 AM PDT

You Won't Have Rick Gorka's 'Anatomical Parts' To Kiss For A WhileEach week, the Daily Caller picks the dumbest political statements and ranks them (just for Yahoo! readers) on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the worst). Who do you think said the dumbest thing? Vote in our poll below!