"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

N.J. governor pledges to vote Romney despite praising Obama

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:40 PM PST

WEB EXTRA: Gov. Christie Gives Recovery UpdateNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended his praise for President Barack Obama after superstorm Sandy, but said he would stick with his fellow Republicans and vote for Mitt Romney in Tuesday's election. "I endorsed Mitt Romney 13 months ago because I thought he was the best guy for the job," Christie said on Sunday during a news conference, reaffirming his support for the Republican candidate. But support for Romney does not mean that he cannot appreciate the "good job" that Obama did while responding to the historical storm that hit the U.S. ...

NTSB: Police chopper hit pole, crashed; 2 killed

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:24 PM PST

Law enforcement personnel embrace early Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, as others investigate the scene of an Atlanta Police Department helicopter crash that killed two officers aboard the aircraft when it crashed near a shopping center late Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Tulis)A low-flying police helicopter searching for a runaway boy hit a power line pole before it plummeted to the ground and exploded, killing both officers on board but leaving those on the ground unharmed.

Bomb shakes Damascus, opposition holds unity talks

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:15 PM PST

Residents walk on rubble near buildings which are damaged after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fired missiles at BinshA bomb exploded near army and security compounds in Damascus, Syrian television reported, and fractured opposition groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad began unity talks abroad to win international respect and arms supplies. The 50-kilogram (110-pound) bomb, near a large hotel in a heavily guarded district, was described by state media as an attack by "terrorists" - the government's term for insurgents in the 19-month-old uprising against Assad. ...

2-year-old boy killed at Pa. zoo exhibit

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:41 PM PST

This photo taken Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012 shows the exterior view of the front entrance of the Pittsburgh Zoo, where zoo officials say a young boy was killed after he fell into the exhibit that was home to a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the boy and mauled him. It's not clear whether he died from the fall or the attack, said Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. (AP Photo/John Heller)A 2-year-old boy visiting the Pittsburgh zoo was killed Sunday when he fell off a railing that his mother had put him on top of to view a pack of African painted dogs, who pounced on the child and mauled him, police said.

Judge orders 1 Fla. county to extend early voting

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:54 PM PST

South Floridians stand in line during the last day of early voting in Miami, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Despite record turnout in many parts of the state, Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected calls to extend early voting through Sunday to help alleviate long lines at the polls. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)A judge extended early voting hours in one Florida county Sunday after Democrats sued to allow more time in a presidential battleground state where more than 4 million ballots have already been cast. The move was one of many legal skirmishes in the tight contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to deal with inevitable disputes over balloting.

Another storm headed toward weather-beaten NY, NJ

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:44 PM PST

Just what New York and New Jersey need after the devastation of Superstorm Sandy — More wind.

Police seek gunman who wounded 7 at crowded fair

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:26 PM PST

Police searched Sunday for at least one gunman who wounded seven people, mostly teenagers, overnight after opening fire amid the rides at a crowded fair in Georgia.

Minor Red Line derailment disrupts North Side service

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:49 PM PST

Service on the Red Line was disrupted this afternoon because of a minor train derailment near the Granville station, according to the Chicago Fire Department and the CTA.

Bomb shakes Damascus, opposition holds unity talks

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:14 PM PST

Damage on the labour union building is pictured after an explosion in DamascusA bomb exploded near army and security compounds in Damascus on Sunday, Syrian television said, and fractured opposition groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad began unity talks abroad to win international respect and arms supplies. The 50-kilogram (110-pound) bomb, near a large hotel in a heavily guarded district, was described by state media as an attack by "terrorists" - the government's term for insurgents in the 19-month-old uprising against Assad. ...

New oil workers key bloc in all-important ND Senate race

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:13 PM PST

In this Oct. 29, 2012 photo, Patty Caldwell, right, a former Oregon resident and owner of a cleaning business in New Hradec, N.D., and her daughter, Amanda Caldwell, who also works in the business, stand outside the Dunn County courthouse in Manning, N.D., shortly after they voted early for the Nov. 6 election. The Caldwells moved to North Dakota because of available work in the state's oil-producing region, and they are voting in North Dakota for the first time this year. (AP Photo/Dale Wetzel)Shirley Meyer grew up on a ranch north of Dickinson, N.D., and has represented her rural district in the state House for a decade. But when she knocks on doors in her re-election campaign, she sometimes feels like a stranger in her own home.

Little drama but plenty of passion in final days of Obama campaign

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:48 PM PST

Obama 2012Win or lose Tuesday, the next two days will be the last President Barack Obama ever spends campaigning for public office, and he's coming to terms with it. "I've known him for 20 years. ... I've never seen him more exhilarated than he is right now," campaign strategist David Axelrod told a group of reporters [...]

Northeast power outages from Sandy finally fall below 2 million

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:14 PM PST

New York And New Jersey Continue To Recover From Superstorm SandyThe number of homes and businesses still without power nearly a week after Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. Northeast fell to 1.9 million on Sunday morning, down from 2.5 million the previous afternoon, although a quarter of New Jersey and almost a tenth of New York remained in the dark, the Department of Energy said. As of Sunday, power had been restored to critical infrastructure and preparations were being made to ensure polling places would have power on Election Day. ...

Slain Chicago officer's gun found, West Side man charged

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:27 PM PST

A man who police said had a stolen gun belonging to slain Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis stashed inside a cooler at his Austin neighborhood home has been charged.

Florida's I-4 corridor: The mother road of swing voters

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:17 AM PST

Road TripInterstate 4 bisects the center of America's most notorious swing state, running 132 miles from  Tampa, through Orlando and ending near Daytona Beach. Fifty-five percent of Florida voters live in the I-4  corridor. It is often where elections are decided in a state that has frequently switched sides, voting [...]

Romney campaign: Sandy didn’t curb momentum

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:26 AM PST

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Des Moines, IowaMitt Romney's campaign is rejecting the suggestion made by a leading Republican official that Superstorm Sandy has stalled the Republican presidential nominee's momentum heading into Election Day. In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union," former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, "The hurricane is what broke Romney's momentum. I don't think there is any [...]

Early voting extended at Florida site hit with bomb scare

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:30 PM PST

Florida Governor Scott speaks during an interview in New YorkMIAMI (Reuters) - Early voting was extended on Sunday at a central Florida polling site that was disrupted a day earlier by a bomb scare, and voters were allowed to cast absentee ballots in person in several other counties that had been plagued by long lines. Saturday was the last day for early voting in Florida, where polls showed Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney running neck-and-neck. But Orange County Elections Supervisor Bill Cowles reopened the polls at one site, a library in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. ...

Swing state voters share their stories

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Swing state voters share their storiesSupporters look on as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at the Eastern Iowa Airport on October 24, 2012 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

As 2012 campaign nears finish, 2016 questions lurk

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:54 AM PST

Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., gestures as he speaks during a campaign event at Harrisburg International airport, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Relieved to see the long, costly 2012 presidential race end? The 2016 campaign is closer than you think.

Romney camp hoping for a systematic polling bias in Ohio

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:05 AM PST

Romney pledges bipartisanship in final pushIn the last two days, six new polls of Ohio voters have been released, five of which favor President Barack Obama, by leads of 6 points, 4 points, 4 points, 3 points and 2 points. The last reports a tie, from right-leaning Rasmussen, which gave former Gov. Mitt Romney a 2-point advantage last week. Obama [...]

Bill Clinton, Paul Ryan square off in Iowa op-eds

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 08:41 AM PST

Republican vice presidential candidate Ryan attends a campaign event in MansfieldWith President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney vying for eleventh-hour undecided voters in the battleground state of Iowa, former president and Obama surrogate Bill Clinton and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan each penned op-eds published by the Des Moines Register on Sunday outlining the cases for their respective candidates. "This election is [...]