"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Obama camp: No ‘zingers’ in the debate

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 03:47 PM PDT

Obama waves as he departs for travel to Nevada and Colorado, from the White House in WashingtonPresident Barack Obama won't be using 'zingers' against Mitt Romney when they clash Wednesday in their first face-to-face debate, a campaign spokeswoman said Sunday. And while beer has featured prominently in recent campaign swings, Obama will be sure to reach out to soda-drinkers, too. "This will be a very large audience," Jen [...]

Official: Man's NYC arrest in Lohan dispute voided

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 04:29 PM PDT

FILE - In this April 28, 2012 file photo, Lindsay Lohan attends the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington. A law enforcement official says a 25-year-old man got into an argument with Lohan, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, in her New York City hotel room over photos on a cellphone and she was physically grabbed or thrown. Authorities confirm that Christian LaBella of Valley Village, Calif., was taken into custody around 6 a.m. He faces a misdemeanor assault charge. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)A 25-year-old man initially arrested Sunday on an assault charge after Lindsay Lohan claimed he grabbed her in a New York hotel room in an argument over cellphone images was freed hours later and his arrest voided when the charge could not be substantiated, law enforcement officials said.

White Sox on verge of elimination after 6-2 loss

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 04:12 PM PDT

10th loss in 12 games means 1 more loss or Tigers win makes it official

After spending 63 straight days in first place — from July 24 until Tuesday — the White Sox are one game away from being eliminated altogether.

Boyfriend charged in beating death of New York college student

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 08:37 AM PDT

Boyfriend Charged in Beating Death of New York College StudentStudent's Mom Alerted Campus Police When Daughter Didn't Answer Phone

First debate jitters? Obama, Romney camps angle for edge

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 12:40 PM PDT

Christie, Plouffe Defend Their CandidatesAs the clock ticks toward the first presidential debate Wednesday, the Romney and Obama camps are maneuvering for position, framing the event to best advantage, hearing (but not necessarily taking) the advice of pundits,

2 dead, 1 wounded after shooting at Fla. VFW

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:47 PM PDT

Police say two people are dead and another is injured after a shooting at a central Florida Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

D.C. sniper 10 years later: ‘I was a monster’

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 12:23 PM PDT

Handout booking photo of Lee Boyd Malvo from 2003Lee Boyd Malvo, who was convicted along with John Allen Muhammad in the 2002 D.C. sniper shootings that left 10 dead and three wounded, says he remembers the killings vividly but can't explain why he did what he did. "I was a monster," Malvo told the Washington Post in a recent interview from a Virginia [...]

Officials mull seismic tests near Calif. nuke plant

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:25 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2005 file photo is the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in Avila Beach, Calif. State and federal officials are juggling concerns over endangered whales and other marine life with public safety as they mull over plans to use massive air canons to create new earthquake fault maps in two state marine reserves off the Central Coast. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. wants to use the canons to make maps of shoreline fault zones recently discovered near its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant, File)Plans to use an array of powerful air cannons in an undersea seismic study near a Central California nuclear power plant have federal and state officials juggling concerns over marine life with public safety.

Deep 7.1 quake rattles Colombia, no damage reported

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:20 PM PDT

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake centered nearly 100 miles underground rattled southwestern Colombia on Sunday but no damage or injuries were reported.

Lindsay Lohan allegedly assaulted at NYC hotel

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 12:37 PM PDT

Lindsay Lohan Allegedly Assaulted at NYC HotelABC News Reports: Actress Lindsay Lohan was allegedly assaulted early this morning by a man she had invited back to her room at a posh New York City hotel, police said. The 26-year-old actress told police she met Christian LaBella, 25, at celeb hot spot...

Ron Howard's remarks played at Mayberry Days

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:12 PM PDT

FILE - This Jan. 1983 file photo shows actor Andy Griffith posing in Los Angeles to promote his upcoming CBS-TV film, "Murder in Coweta County". Andy Griffith led by example on the set of his television show, teaching a 6-year-old boy that true leadership requires not only confidence and hard work but also humility, Academy Award-winning film director Ron Howard said in recorded remarks Sunday during a Griffith tribute at the 23rd annual Mayberry Days celebration in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It's the first Mayberry Days held since Griffith, a native of Mount Airy, died July 3 at the age of 86 at his home in Manteo. The three-day event typically attracts 25,000 to 30,000 people.(AP Photo/Wally Fong, file)Andy Griffith led by example on the set of his television show, teaching a 6-year-old boy that true leadership requires not only confidence and hard work but also humility, Academy Award-winning film director Ron Howard said in recorded remarks Sunday.

Canada says it took Guantanamo detainee early after U.S. pressure

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:49 AM PDT

File of a courtroom sketch of Canadian defendant Khadr attending a hearing at Guantanamo BayOTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada, which allowed Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr to be transferred to a prison in his homeland months earlier than expected, did so after pressure from the United States, Foreign Minister John Baird said on Sunday. Baird declined to comment on reports an angry Washington had insisted on Khadr's quick return after someone in Canada leaked a secret U.S. report on him. Khadr, 26, the youngest prisoner and last Westerner held in the Guantanamo military base, was sent back to Canada on Saturday to finish his sentence. ...

Iran's swipe at web draws anger from vast cache of internet users

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:43 AM PDT

Iran swipe at Web brings angry replyIran's cyber monitors often tout their fight against the West's "soft war" of influence through the Web, but trying to one of the world's biggest e-mail providers appeared to be a swipe too far.Complaints piled ...

Paul Ryan on tax plan: 'Too long to go through all the math’

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:15 AM PDT

Exclusive: Paul Ryan on 'Fox News Sunday'Paul Ryan says "it would take me too long to go through all the math" involved in the tax plan he and Mitt Romney are proposing. The Republican vice presidential nominee said on "Fox News Sunday" that their plan--a 20 percent across-the-board income tax cut--would focus on deductions and closing tax loopholes for  the rich, [...]

California bans gay 'conversion' therapy for minors

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 10:48 AM PDT

Capitol Alert: Gov. Jerry Brown signs pension reform billSACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill barring a controversial therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality in minors, the measure's sponsor said on Sunday, making California the first state to ban a practice many say is psychologically damaging. The move marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say so-called conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy, has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. The bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, said in a statement that Brown had signed the bill. ...

Newspaper: D.C. sniper Malvo felt like 'worst piece of scum'

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 09:24 AM PDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003 file photo, sniper shooting suspect John Lee Malvo is escorted from court after his preliminary hearing in Fairfax, Va. Convicted D.C. sniper Malvo said in a newspaper interview published Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, that the devastated reaction of a victim's husband made him feel like Convicted D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo said in a newspaper interview published Sunday that the devastated reaction of a victim's husband made him feel like "the worst piece of scum."

U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan hit 2,000

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 09:21 AM PDT

FILE- In this file photograph made on July 29, 2010, upon landing after a helicopter rescue mission, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Hedglin, right, an Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ, drapes an American flag over the remains of the first of two U.S. soldiers killed minutes earlier in an IED attack, assisted by fellow PJs, Senior Airman Robert Dieguez, center, and 1st Lt. Matthew Carlisle, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan have surpassed 2,000, a grim reminder that a war which began nearly 11 years ago shows no signs of slowing down despite an American decision to begin the withdrawal of most of its combat forces. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)The killing of an American serviceman in an exchange of fire with allied Afghan soldiers pushed U.S. military deaths in the war to 2,000, a cold reminder of the perils that remain after an 11-year conflict that now garners little public interest at home.

Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:27 AM PDT

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves at supporters during a campaign rally in GuarenasCARACAS (Reuters) - With both presidents facing tight re-election fights, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave a surprise endorsement to Barack Obama on Sunday - and said the U.S. leader no doubt felt the same. "I hope this doesn't harm Obama, but if I was from the United States, I'd vote for Obama," the socialist Chavez said of a man he first reached out to in 2009 but to whom he has since generally been insulting. Chavez is running for a new six-year term against opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, while Obama seeks re-election in November against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. ...

Medicare to begin fining hospitals over readmitted patients

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 08:49 AM PDT

West Penn Hospital Employees Worried About FutureIf you or an elderly relative have been hospitalized recently and noticed extra attention when the time came to be discharged, there's more to it than good customer service.As of Monday, Medicare will ...

Ryan: Explaining tax plan math too time-consuming

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 07:51 AM PDT

Paul Ryan Said He Doesn't Think One Debate Is 'Going to Make or Break' the CampaignPaul Ryan says it would take too long to explain the numbers behind the tax plan that he and Mitt Romney are proposing.The Republican vice presidential nominee says he and Romney want a 20 percent cut ...