2 killed in extra-alarm fire

A man and a woman died in a three-alarm house fire in southwest suburban La Grange early this morning, officials said.The village's...

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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,...

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Cincinnati hires Tuberville as football coach

CINCINNATI (AP) — Texas Tech's Tommy Tuberville has agreed to become Cincinnati's next football coach.The agreement came one day after Butch Jones left to become Tennessee's next football coach, ending a week of uncertainty for the Bearcats (9-3). Cincinnati has won a share of four of the last five Big East titles and will play in the Belk Bowl.Tuberville resigned as Texas Tech's coach on Saturday...

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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...

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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,...

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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,...

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O'Hare affected by United's latest computer glitch

United Airlines experienced more computer problems Friday, causing systems to slow down."We have been experiencing short-term,...

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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...

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Vols hire Cincinnati's Jones as new football coach

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Butch Jones wasn't Tennessee's first choice as its next football coach. The Volunteers believe the former Cincinnati coach will prove he's the right choice.Tennessee announced Friday morning that Jones had agreed to become its fourth coach in six seasons, ending a tumultuous couple of days for both parties. Tennessee has scheduled a Friday afternoon news conference to announce...

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Jackson’s Hobbit: the journey begins

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Film maker Peter Jackson wants to scare children with his latest movie – and perhaps even a few grown ups.The first of the Hobbit movie trilogy – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – is about to hit theatres, and Jackson says he’s tried to hold true to its roots as a children’s fantasy story, with scary bits.“If they’re scared of the trolls great, if they’re scared of the goblins...

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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...

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Rolling Stones added to Sandy benefit concert

NEW YORK (AP) — The Rolling Stones have been added to the list of artists performing at the Superstorm Sandy benefit concert next week in New York City.Next Wednesday's bill had already included Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Who, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and others.Producers of the show said Friday they had already raised $30 million that will be distributed to storm...

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O'Hare affected by United's latest computer glitch

United Airlines experienced more computer problems Friday, causing systems to slow down."We have been experiencing short-term,...

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Driver killed after colliding with school bus near Kankakee

Scene of school bus crash near Kankakee. (WGN-TV / December 6, 2012)...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Local sales of homes in foreclosure jump 65% in 3Q

Sales of Chicago-area homes in the foreclosure process but not yet repossessed by banks soared during the third quarter, RealtyTrac...

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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...

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Apple shares tumble 4 percent in heavy trade

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Inc tumbled nearly 4 percent on Wednesday, rounding off a bleak ten weeks for the most valuable U.S. company, with analysts citing factors such as increasing competition in the tablet market. The stock was one of the biggest percentage losers on the S&P 500, dropping 5.2 percent to $545.56 at one point as more than 17 million shares...

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IOC strips 4 medals from 2004 Athens Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC has stripped medals from four athletes caught doping at the 2004 Athens Olympics — including one gold medalist — and postponed a decision to revoke Lance Armstrong's bronze from the 2000 Sydney Games.The IOC on Wednesday disqualified four athletes whose Athens doping samples were retested earlier this year and came back positive, including shot put gold medalist...

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“The Message” deemed greatest hip hop song ever

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The 1982 hit “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was named the greatest hip hop song of all time on Wednesday, in the first such list by Rolling Stone magazine to celebrate the young but influential music genre.“The Message,” which tops a list of 50 influential hip hop songs, was the first track “to tell, with hip hop‘s rhythmic and vocal force, the truth...

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Longer tamoxifen use cuts breast cancer deaths

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen can cut their chances of having the disease come back or kill them if they stay on the pills for 10 years instead of five years as doctors recommend now, a major study finds.The results could change treatment, especially for younger women. The findings are a surprise because earlier research suggested that taking the hormone-blocking drug for longer...

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Possible Wintour appointment gets London talking

LONDON (AP) — Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Quincy Adams ... and now Anna Wintour?A report suggesting that the influential editor-in-chief of Vogue is one of the candidates being considered for the top U.S. diplomatic post in France or Britain has sparked spirited debate about her qualifications, exciting Britain's glamour-hungry tabloids but raising hackles at the conservative Daily Telegraph."Anna...

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ICC lets ComEd delay smart meters until 2015

The Illinois Commerce Commission on Wednesday approved ComEd's request to delay the installation of smart meters until 2015...

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Judge to rule on Mooseheart basketball players from Sudan

A west suburban high school accepted four students from Sudan...

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