"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Fire breaks out at State Department, four injured

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 04:31 PM PST

Flags Flown At Half Staff At The State Department After Ambassador Killed In LibyaA fire broke out during routine maintenance at the U.S. State Department on Saturday, injuring four maintenance workers, officials said. The fire began inside ductwork on the building's eighth floor at about 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) as workers were replacing insulation, State Department and fire officials said. Workers doused the fire with hand-held extinguishers before fire department personnel arrived, District of Columbia Battalion Chief Edward Mills said. ...

Tourists visit Texas ranch to remember 'Dallas' star Larry Hagman

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 04:33 PM PST

Southfork Ranch can be seen through a gate where fans left flowers Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, in Parker, Texas. The flowers were in memory of Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing on the TV series Dallas, set at Southfork. Hagman died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)Tourists and locals flocked to Southfork Ranch on Saturday, bringing flowers in memory of Larry Hagman, who played the infamous J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas."

Obama visits bookstore, promotes 'Small Business Saturday'

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 12:43 PM PST

U.S. President Barack Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha visit One More Page bookstore in ArlingtonPresident Barack Obama, in a bid to show support for small businesses, took his daughters on an early Christmas shopping trip on Saturday as the U.S. retail sector swings into high gear this holiday season. Promoting "Small Business Saturday," the third annual event that encourages consumers to support independently-owned local shops, Obama took his daughters Sasha and Malia to "One More Page Books" in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. ...

New trail in ex-Atlanta rail corridor draws crowds

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 01:47 PM PST

In this Nov. 20, 2012 photo, a couple walks along the Atlanta BeltLine as the midtown skyline stands in the background in Atlanta. Since an Atlanta nonprofit opened a 2.25-mile-long paved trail east of downtown last month, it has attracted a steady stream of joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists to take in spectacular views of the skyline as well as a slice of established neighborhoods that were once only seen by riding a freight train. The Eastside Trail is the latest and most visible phase of the Atlanta BeltLine, an ambitious $2.8 billion plan to transform a 22-mile railroad corridor that encircles Atlanta into a network of parks, trails, public art, affordable homes and ultimately streetcars. (AP Photo/David Goldman)Since a new urban trail opened last month in a former rail corridor in Atlanta, it has drawn crowds of joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists to take in spectacular views of the skyline and neighborhoods once seen only by train. Hundreds of trees have been planted along the paved 14-foot-wide path, while artists have added works such as windmills made of bicycle parts and colorful murals on concrete overpasses.

When it comes to gender gap, men play crucial role

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:55 PM PST

FILE - This Oct. 19, 2012 file photo shows thee audience, who were mostly women, listen behind President Barack Obama as he speaks about the choice facing women in the election during a campaign event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Sorry, fellas, but President Barack Obama's re-election makes it official: Women can overrule men at the ballot box. For the first time in research dating to 1952, the candidate whom the most men chose _ Mitt Romney _ lost. More women voted for the other guy. It's surprising it didn't happen sooner, since women have been voting in larger numbers than men for almost three decades, exit polls show. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)Sorry, fellas, but President Barack Obama's re-election makes it official: Women can overrule men at the ballot box.

Chinese-Mexicans celebrate repatriation to Mexico

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 03:23 PM PST

In this photo taken Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, Juan Chiu Trujillo, center, a Chinese Mexican poses with his sons; Juan Chiu Chan, left, and Ignacio Chiu Chan, during an interview in Mexico City. Chiu who was born in Mexico, was among thousands of Chinese Mexicans expelled when Mexico erupted into xenophobia fueled by the economic turmoil of the Great Depression. Chiu returned in 1960, along with 300 other Chinese-Mexicans, after President Adolfo Lopez Mateos paid for their travel expenses and decreed that they would be legally allowed to live in Mexico. Dozens of those Chinese-Mexicans and their descendants gather Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at a Chinese restaurant in central Mexico City to celebrate the anniversary of their return. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)Juan Chiu Trujillo was 5 years old when he left his native Mexico for a visit to his father's hometown in southern China. He was 35 when he returned.

African presidents urge Congo rebels to abandon war

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:20 PM PST

Congolese Revolution Army rebels sit in a truck as they patrol a street in SakeAfrican leaders called on eastern rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday to abandon their aim of toppling the government and leave the city of Goma they captured this week. The appeal came from heads of state of the central African Great Lakes region who fear that if left unchecked the offensive by the M23 rebels could drag the volatile, ethnically-diverse and mineral-rich region back into another bloody conflict. ...

Extra-alarm blaze reduces condo building to 'shell'

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 03:50 PM PST

Firefighters were battling a 3-11 alarm blaze in a five-story condominium building in the Morgan Park neighborhood this afternoon as parts of the upper floors of the building collapsed.

Fire breaks out at State Department., three seriously hurt

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:47 PM PST

Flags Flown At Half Staff At The State Department After Ambassador Killed In LibyaAuthorities say three maintenance workers were seriously injured after a fire broke out at the State Department headquarters in Washington.

More than 350 African migrants intercepted off Italy

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 01:35 PM PST

ROME (Reuters) - Italian coastguards said they had intercepted and picked up 358 African migrants attempting to reach Italy in two overcrowded vessels on Saturday. Two hundred and thirty-five of the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were travelling in a rickety wooden boat and the other 123 were spotted on a rubber dinghy, said the coastguards. A coastguard spokesman, who was unable to give any information on where the vessels departed from, said the migrants were all in decent health and were being transported to reception centres. ...

Massachusetts natural gas explosion damages 42 buildings

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 01:58 PM PST

Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)Preliminary investigations show more than 40 buildings were damaged in a natural gas explosion in Massachusetts that injured 18 people, building inspectors said Saturday.

10,000 march in Dublin against next Irish budget

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 11:33 AM PST

Irish protesters fill Dublin's O'Connell Street in both directions during an anti-austerity march Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. The government says it will unveil Ireland's sixth straight austerity budget next month in hopes of reducing the country's 2013 deficit to 8.6 percent, still nearly triple the spending limit that eurozone members are supposed to observe. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)About 10,000 socialist protesters marched Saturday through Dublin in opposition to government plans to unveil Ireland's sixth straight austerity budget.

Obama buys books to promote independent shops

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 05:18 PM PST

President Barack Obama, with daughters Sasha, far right, and Malia, center, goes shopping at a small bookstore, One More Page, in Arlington, Va., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)President Barack Obama made a quick trip to a Virginia bookstore for some Christmas shopping.

Corruption scandal rocks Brazilian government

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 11:57 AM PST

Brazil's President Rousseff participates in the ceremony of investiture for the new President and Vice-President of the Supreme Court in BrasiliaBRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country's deputy attorney general. Federal police raided government offices in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Friday and arrested six people for running an influence peddling ring that sold government approvals to businessmen in return for bribes. ...

Police: Drug suspect flushed confession down toilet

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 08:31 AM PST

Authorities in Florida say a man confessed to trafficking methamphetamine — and then flushed the detective's recorder down the toilet.

Supporters rally behind Jesse Jackson Jr.

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 01:54 PM PST

Two Chicago congressmen have come out to show support for Jesse Jackson Jr. and his family and say they're disappointed more politicians aren't doing the same.

Flight attendant's husband left gun in bag, attorney says

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 12:16 PM PST

An American Airlines flight attendant charged with trying to bring a gun onto an airplane at O'Hare International Airport didn't know her husband had left the gun in her bag, her attorney said today.

Pope elevates six cardinals to choose successor

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 10:11 AM PST

Pope Benedict XVI makes his way through cardinals as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)Pope Benedict XVI responded to criticism that the club of churchmen who will choose his successor is too Eurocentric, elevating six new cardinals from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. during a formal ceremony Saturday.

Massachusetts gas explosion under investigation

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 09:38 AM PST

Robert Spano, left, and Alan Hugley clean up broken glass, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, outside of Punta cana Restaurant & Bar, a few blocks from the site of a Friday-evening gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)Dozens of building inspectors began assessing homes and businesses in one of New England's biggest cities on Saturday, a day after a natural gas explosion leveled a strip club located next to a day care and heavily damaged a dozen other structures. The blast injured 18 people, many of them first responders.

Egypt's top judges slam president's new powers

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PST

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to supporters outside the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Opponents and supporters of Mohammed Morsi clashed across Egypt on Friday, the day after the president granted himself sweeping new powers that critics fear can allow him to be a virtual dictator. (AP Photo/Aly Hazaza, El Shorouk)Egypt's highest body of judges slammed on Saturday a recent decision by the president to grant himself near-absolute power, calling the move an "unprecedented assault" on the judiciary.