2 killed in extra-alarm fire

Workers board up a burned home in La Grange on Saturday. The fire broke out early this morning, killing a man and sending...

Read More..

Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is replacing the head of its in-house mergers and acquisitions group, David Lawee, with one of its top lawyers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Don Harrison, a high-ranking lawyer at Google, will replace Lawee as head of the Internet search company's corporate development group, which oversees mergers and acquisitions, said the source,...

Read More..

Te'o and Manziel hit Manhattan with Heisman hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was looking forward to a break after a five-city-in-five-days tour, during which he has become the most decorated player in college football."I'm just trying to get a workout in and get some sleep," he said Friday about his plans for the night.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel seemed to have more energy when he arrived at a midtown Manhattan...

Read More..

Springsteen, Alabama Shakes top Rolling Stone’s 2012 best music

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen and newcomer blues-rock band Alabama Shakes landed the top awards in Rolling Stone magazine‘s annual list of the year’s best music on Friday, which featured many of next year’s leading Grammy nominees.Springsteen‘s 17th studio album “Wrecking Ball” topped the magazine’s list of best albums, with the magazine calling it “rock’s most pointed response...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Rolling Stones hit NY for 50th anniversary gig

NEW YORK (AP) — "Time Waits for No One," the Rolling Stones sang in 1974, but lately it's seemed like that grizzled quartet does indeed have some sort of exemption from the ravages of time.At an average age of 68-plus years, the British rockers are clearly in fighting form, sounding tight, focused and truly ready for the spotlight at a rapturously received pair of London concerts last month.On Saturday,...

Read More..

Integrys Energy Services tapped to supply Chicago's electricity

The same company that heats homes in Chicago has been picked to provide the electricity that powers them.Integrys Energy Services,...

Read More..

Crews recover WWII fighter plane near Waukegan

It had been on the bottom of Lake Michigan for nearly 70 years. But a World War II-era fighter plane was finally retrieved Friday....

Read More..

Italian tax police visit Facebook's Milan offices

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police have been carrying out checks at the Milan offices of Facebook to assess whether it regularly declared its income in Italy, an investigative source and the U.S. company said on Friday. Italian officials have stepped up their efforts to collect taxes in recent months and have already targeted other big corporate names such as Google to check whether they...

Read More..

FBI agents raid sites belonging to ex-Jet, brother

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Authorities have raided northeast Indiana properties owned by former New York Jets offensive lineman Jason Fabini and his brother, but the retired player said he's not the focus of the investigation.Federal, state and local officers with the Safe Streets Task Force raided a Fort Wayne property owned by Jason Fabini, a home owned by his brother, Michael Fabini, and five other...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Alicia Keys raises $2.9M at gala, honors Winfrey

NEW YORK (AP) — During the auction portion of Alicia Keys' Black Ball Redux, one man was ready to jump his bid from $100,000 to $250,000 for a trip to South Africa — if Keys would join him and his friends."I'll go for a little more," Keys said Thursday night at the Apollo Theater, where her charity's annual gala was held.The man — pharmaceutical billionaire Stewart Rahr — didn't raise his bid, but...

Read More..

Lurie Children's Hospital sees surge in patients at new Chicago building

Executives at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago expected a "bump" in patients when the $855 million...

Read More..

Urlacher fined $21,000 for second horse-collar tackle

Brian Urlacher again has been fined for making a horse-collar tackle. (Jos...

Read More..

Apple's market cap falls below $500 billion as shares keep falling

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple's market capitalization fell below $500 billion on Thursday as shares of the world's most valuable listed company continued to slide after suffering their worst one-day decline in nearly four years. Shares of Apple Inc fell to as low as $518.63 on Thursday, declining nearly 10 percent for the week. But for the year, the stock is still up more than 30 percent....

Read More..

Bryant eclipses 30,000, Lakers beat Hornets 103-87

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kobe Bryant grinned and uttered the word "irony" as he considered the fact that the team that drafted him nearly 17 years ago was his opponent on the night he eclipsed a scoring milestone to join an exclusive club of NBA greats.It's easy to forget that it was the Hornets who drafted and then traded Bryant away back in 1996.In the years since, the Hornets have changed cities, from...

Read More..

“Community”: Jason Alexander filming “Crazy” guest spot

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Community” might be losing a Chevy Chase, but it’s gaining a Jason Alexander.Former “Seinfeld” star Alexander, who played neurotic bumbler George Costanza on the series, will guest-star on the beleaguered NBC comedy, and while the actor is tight-lipped on the details, he promises that the episode will be a doozy.“Filming a crazy episode of ‘Community’ this week,” the actor...

Read More..

Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

Read More..

Individuality takes center stage at Grammys

Fun. helped break up the sound of dance and electronic music on Top 40 radio with its edgy pop-rock grooves. Frank Ocean made a bold statement in R&B — with an announcement about his sexuality and with his critically revered, multi-genre album, "channel ORANGE." And Mumford & Sons continued to bring its folk-rock swag and style to the Billboard charts with its sophomore album.They all were...

Read More..

Clock running out for owners of prime parcels near McCormick Place

The development team behind a long-stalled plan to build hotels and restaurants just north of McCormick Place suffered a serious...

Read More..

Jazz legend Dave Brubeck dead

Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," died Wednesday morning at Norwalk Hospital, in Norwalk, Conn., said his longtime manager-producer-conductor Russell Gloyd.Brubeck was one day short of his 92nd birthday. He died of heart failure, en route to "a regular treatment...

Read More..

Apple shares tumble 4 percent in heavy trade, on mix of reasons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc tumbled 4 percent in heavy, midday trading on Wednesday, rounding off a bleak ten weeks for the most valuable company in the United States, with analysts citing a mix of reasons for the drop. The stock was one of the biggest percentage losers on the S&P 500, dropping 4.2 percent to $551.50 as more than 17 million shares changed hands, putting...

Read More..

Jets going with Mark Sanchez as starting QB

NEW YORK (AP) — Rex Ryan is sticking with Mark Sanchez as the New York Jets' starting quarterback.The team announced Wednesday morning that Sanchez, benched last Sunday against Arizona, will get the start this week over Greg McElroy and Tim Tebow when the Jets play the Jaguars at Jacksonville.Sanchez was pulled late in the third quarter, and McElroy came in and led the Jets to the only touchdown of...

Read More..

And the most overpaid actor award goes to: Eddie Murphy

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Eddie Murphy was once among Hollywood’s top box office draws, but he now has the dubious honor of being crowned its most overpaid actor, according to Forbes magazine.In its annual list, determined by the misalignment between star salaries and their films’ box office take, Murphy, once a one-man gold mine with 1980s hits such as “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills Cop”, displaced...

Read More..

Let the debate end: Grammy noms anybody's guess

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It's a brutal year to be in the Grammy nominations handicapping game.Sure, there are a few safe bets. Mumford & Sons and Frank Ocean are expected to take a share of nominations when they're announced Wednesday night on national television during "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!" in Nashville.And popular songs by Gotye, fun., Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen may land...

Read More..

South Loop residents oppose DePaul arena

The prospect of a DePaul University men's basketball arena being constructed on land just north of McCormick Place is drawing...

Read More..