"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Romney’s low-calorie speech: Long on fluff, short on substance

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:45 PM PDT

NC delegates fired up after Romney speechIn the daylight glow following the Republican big night, it is clear that the Romney campaign deliberately decided to leave the substance for the Friday night session of the convention. Except, of course, there is no Friday night session.

Makers of flame retardants sever ties with group

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 04:38 PM PDT

The world's major manufacturers of flame retardants officially cut ties today with an industry-funded front group that waged a deceptive campaign to fuel demand for the chemicals in consumer goods.

Family, NASA remember first man on the moon

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 09:31 AM PDT

Neil Armstrong Memorial: First Man on Moon Eulogized TodayNeil Armstrong, the Apollo 11 astronaut who died last weekend, was remembered today as a space pioneer, a reluctant hero and a man who bore with dignity the burden of being a national icon.

Romney views Hurricane Isaac damage in Louisiana

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks with local residents during a tour of areas flooded hurricane Isaac, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, in Jean Lafitte, La. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)Mitt Romney made a last-minute trip to the Gulf Coast to tour storm damage caused by Hurricane Isaac. The Republican nominee was invited to the region by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who joined him on a tour of Jean Lafitte, La., which was hit by severe flooding as the hurricane made landfall. Emergency crews [...]

National Geographic removes ‘hardcore huntress’ from show

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 02:45 PM PDT

In just 24 hours, one man's online petition convinced the National Geographic Channel to rethink its plans to include a big-game hunter on a new show set to debut this fall. Conservationist Tim Martell, 42, says a lifetime of watching National Geographic specials inspired him to pursue a career dedicated to preserving animals and their [...]

Up in the air with a human-powered helicopter

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 02:25 PM PDT

Students at University of Maryland are using pedal power to break a human-powered helicopter record (but hopefully to break nothing else). As surfaced by the blog Popsci, a video shows freshman Henry Enerson taking the vehicle up in the air—with nothing more than foot pedals keeping the thing above the ground—hovering eight feet up, and [...]

Third death tied to Chicago Legionnaires' outbreak

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 04:23 PM PDT

A third visitor to a downtown hotel earlier this summer has died after contracting Legionnaires' disease, city officials announced Friday.

Girl, 15, shot in West Garfield Park

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:46 PM PDT

A girl walking home from school was shot in the abdomen Friday morning in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, officials said. The girl's grandmother said she was devastated by the news. "I just want the tears to just come on down," she said.

Emanuel, McCarthy ask feds for help on South Side

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:09 PM PDT

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has asked federal law enforcement for help in combating violence and drugs in two areas of Chicago.

Photos: See the issues voters want addressed at the DNC

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Photos: See the issues voters want addressed at the DNCBy Roy A. Barnes, Cheyenne, Wyo. Medicare reform needs to be addressed at the Democratic National Convention. Specifics, not rhetoric, should be presented about how Medicare can be reformed so the under-55s, like me, will know what the Democrats' plans are to insure I'll have it when I begin to reach my later 60s, some 20 years from now. I may not agree with Paul Ryan's voucher plan for people like me, but at least he has a plan. It's time for Democrats to step up and announce their intentions of reforming Medicare in a way that's fair and realistic.

Neil Armstrong's family, NASA remember first moonwalker

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:53 PM PDT

Neil Armstrong's Family, NASA Remember First MoonwalkerThe late astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, was memorialized in ceremonies around the country on Friday (Aug. 31).

Judge again denies directed verdict for Drew Peterson

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:46 PM PDT

The judge presiding over Drew Peterson's murder trial again denied a defense motion for a directed verdict acquitting the former Bolingbrook police sergeant of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Obama vows help to soldiers, marks Iraq war end

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT

President Barack Obama walks with Gen. Lloyd Austin, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, right, to greet members of the military and their families on the tarmac, upon his arrival at Biggs Airfield at Fort Bliss, Texas, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)President Barack Obama says his administration is determined to help servicemen, veterans and their families with their economic and health care needs as conflicts overseas end or wind down and they return to the nation they have served.

Romney ‘enjoyed' Eastwood’s RNC speech, aide says

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 11:51 AM PDT

Actor Clint Eastwood addresses the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)A top adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign downplayed tensions over Clint Eastwood's rambling Republican National Convention speech, insisting the candidate thought the actor's routine was funny. Stuart Stevens, a senior strategist to the Republican nominee, said he was standing backstage with Romney as Eastwood delivered a speech in which he imagined a conversation he [...]

British teen Robson posts another upset at US Open

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 05:14 PM PDT

Britain's Laura Robson reacts during her match against China's Li Na in the third round of play at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Paul Bereswill)Laura Robson dissolved into giggles at a reference to British boy band One Direction.

300-year-old thermometer may sell at auction for six figures

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Looking to own a piece of scientific history and have a home you can take out a second mortgage on? We may have exactly the thing: a 300-year-old thermometer made by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit himself has recently appeared in a … Continue reading →

Sheriff says fraudulent dentist had patients, no license

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 11:41 AM PDT

A 32-year-old man had a thriving dental practice operating out of a home near Melrose Park, but Cook County sheriff's police said he lacked one important item: a medical license.

Waters recede in Louisiana, leaving sopping mess

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 05:05 PM PDT

Utility poles are heavily damaged in the aftermath of Isaac as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's motorcade passes through Grad Isle, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression, with the center on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain through the regions. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Floodwaters from Isaac receded, power came on and businesses opened Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, the beginning of what is certain to be a slow recovery for Louisiana.

German drug firm makes first apology for thalidomide

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 12:02 PM PDT

FILE - An April 21, 1969 photo from files showing a view of a laboratory of the pharmaceutical company "Chemie Gruenenthal", in Stolberg, near Aachen, West Germany, during an animal experiment April 21, 1969 as prosecuters came to inspect the manufacturer of the drug Thalidomide, which was prescribed by doctors as harmless sleeping drug to pregnant women and caused the miscarriage and birth of thousands of crippled children. The maker of a notorious drug that caused thousands of babies to be born with shortened arms and legs or no limbs at all in the 1960's has finally apologized. Thalidomide was given to pregnant women to combat morning sickness but led to a wave of birth defects in Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.S. Despite the words of contrition, the drug maker Gruenenthal has refused to settle lawsuits, the most recent involving class actions in Australia. (AP Photo/File)The German manufacturer of a notorious drug that caused thousands of babies to be born with shortened arms and legs, or no limbs at all, issued its first ever apology Friday — 50 years after pulling the drug off the market.

A first since '52: No talk of war in GOP speech

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:12 PM PDT

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addresses delegates before speaking at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)Mitt Romney became the first Republican since 1952 to accept his party's nomination without mentioning war.