Investigators trying to learn more about gunman in deadly school shooting

Chicago Tribune associate managing editor George Papajohn compares Friday's school shooting in Connecticut to Laurie Dann's 1988 school shooting in Winnetka, Ill. (Posted Dec. 14, 2012) ...

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Valve Confirms New Game Console on Its Way

In an interview with Kotaku’s Jason Schreier at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell confirmed that a “living-room-friendly PC package,” designed to “compete with next-gen consoles from companies like Microsoft and Sony,” will be available for purchase starting next year.What makes a PC a PCMost of the machines Newell described, which he expected “companies” would “start selling”...

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Amanda Bynes enters settlement in hit-and-run case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes has resolved a misdemeanor hit-and-run case after entering into a civil settlement with other drivers.Court records show Bynes entered a civil compromise to end the case and her attorney informed a Los Angeles court on Thursday. Bynes was charged with leaving the scene of accidents in April and August without providing the proper information.Defendants in certain...

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The Neediest Cases: Disabled Young Man and His Protective Mother Deal With Life’s Challenges

Though he would prefer to put his socks on without his mother’s help, Zaquan West, 25, does not have a choice. Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesJoann West is a constant caretaker for her son, Zaquan. Though Ms. West works as a receptionist, the family fell behind on rent. For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct...

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3 innovations from Chicago science scene

Julian Gordon and Prasanthi Gandhi pose for a photograph amid various air-purifying devices in their lab at Inspirotec,...

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Cook Co. state's attorney: '60 Minutes' report distorted truth

After days of scathing reviews of her "60 Minutes" interview on false confessions, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez...

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Sweet and Lowe: How a captivating Twitter feed sealed Rob Lowe’s comeback

By Virginia Heffernan@RobLowe follows 135 people on Twitter. Among them is not @HilaryASwank, the Oscar-winning ex-wife of his brother, @ichadlowe.@RobLowe does, however, follow @ikimlowe, the new wife of his brother, who helpfully identifies herself on the site as “wife of @ichadlowe.” Would @HilaryASwank, a formidable actor who does not use Twitter very often, have consented to live in her lesser-known...

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Tolkien class at Wis. university proves popular

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The vast collection of J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts initially sold senior Joe Kirchoff on Marquette University, so when the school offered its first course devoted exclusively to the English author, Kirchoff wanted in. The only problem: It was full and he wasn’t on the literature track.Undaunted, the 22-year-old political science and history major lobbied the English department and...

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The New Old Age Blog: Hospital Alarms Fail to Prevent Injury, Study Finds

When it comes to protecting older people from falls, it can take a long time to figure out what helps and sometimes an even longer time to take action against things that were supposed to help but don’t.A case in point: the so-called safety rails on hospital and nursing home beds. Their hazards, as The New Old Age reported more than two years ago, are well documented. They are intended to keep sick,...

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Push for minimum wage hike intensifies

NEW YORK — Before the recession, Amie Crawford was an interior designer, earning $50,000 a year patterning baths and cabinets...

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Man dies after falling from Mag Mile hotel while taking photos

A man trying to take a photo from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue fell 22 feet down a smokestack and...

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“The Voice” finale taps Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars and the Killers

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The season finale of “The Voice” has enlisted some high-profile talent to help send the show’s third cycle off with a bang.Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars and The Killers have been tapped to perform on the two-hour extravaganza, which will culminate with the crowning of a new champion, NBC said Wednesday.An additional special guest will be named at a later date, the...

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Another Look at a Drink Ingredient, Brominated Vegetable Oil

James Edward Bates for The New York TimesSarah Kavanagh, 15, of Hattiesburg, Miss., started an online petition asking PepsiCo to change Gatorade’s formula. Sarah Kavanagh and her little brother were looking forward to the bottles of Gatorade they had put in the refrigerator after playing outdoors one hot, humid afternoon last month in Hattiesburg, Miss. But before she took a sip, Sarah, a...

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Illinois foreclosures up for 11th month

Foreclosure activity in Illinois posted the 11th straight year-over-year increase in November, but compared with a month earlier,...

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3 dead after masked gunman opens fire at Portland mall

HAPPY VALLEY, Oregon -- A gunman opened fire inside an Oregon shopping mall on Tuesday in the middle of the busy holiday season,...

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Pope Benedict offers blessings with his first tweet

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – After weeks of anticipation, Pope Benedict sent his first tweet on Wednesday.“Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.”The tweet was sent when the 85-year-old pope tapped on a touch screen at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican before thousands of people.(Reporting...

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Anthony Jeselnik, Amy Schumer, Nick Kroll Shows get Comedy Central premiere dates

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Comedy Central has set premiere dates for new series starring comedians Anthony Jeselnik, Amy Schumer, Nick Kroll, Ben Hoffman and Nathan Fielder.The biting Jeselnik and Schumer are familiar to fans of Comedy Centrals celebrity roasts: They reliably deliver some of the most scathing and best-assembled insults. Nick Kroll stars on FX’s “The League.” And Hoffman and Fielder...

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The New Old Age Blog: The Gift of Reading

This is the year of the tablet, David Pogue of The Times has told us, and that may be good news for seniors who open holiday wrappings to find one tucked inside. They see better with tablets’ adjustable type size, new research shows. Reading becomes easier again.This may seem obvious — find me someone over 40 who doesn’t see better when fonts are larger — but it’s the business of science to test...

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Chicago best housing market -- for buyers

A sign stands outside a house for sale in the 4400 block of North Mozart Avenue in Chicago. ...

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Off-duty officer carjacked on South Side: police

An off-duty officer was robbed of her SUV and several pieces of service equipment in the 9000 block of South Crandon Avenue...

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Rate of Childhood Obesity Falls in Several Cities

Jessica Kourkounis for The New York TimesAt William H. Ziegler Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia, students are getting acquainted with vegetables and healthy snacks. PHILADELPHIA — After decades of rising childhood obesity rates, several American cities are reporting their first declines. The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like...

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HSBC to pay record $1.9B fine

HSBC has agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine to settle a multi-year probe by U.S. prosecutors, who accused Europe's biggest...

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