10 shot, including 4 teens, Friday afternoon and night

Shootings across the city Friday afternoon and night wounded at least ten people, according to Chicago police, including four...

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5 YouTube Videos to Help Winterize Your Home

1. Caulk TalkWestlake Ace Hardware gives a few basic steps, including caulking windows before the cold hits.Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Origami Self-Closing Stroller Is a Slick Gift for Techie Moms]If you’re lucky, you’ll only feel a slight draft through a window crack. Maybe a gust of wind under the door. Either way, that Father Winter is one mean S.O.B.Thankfully, there...

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School shooting postpones Cruise premiere in Pa.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. premiere of the Tom Cruise action movie “Jack Reacher” is being postponed following the deadly Connecticut school shooting.Paramount Pictures says “out of honor and respect for the families of the victims” the premiere won’t take place Saturday in Pittsburgh, where “Jack Reacher” was filmed.The premiere would’ve been Cruise’s first U.S. media appearance since his split from...

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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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Alvarez fires back at '60 Minutes'

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

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Look How Much of the World Doesn’t Use Social Media (or the Internet)

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Adele’s “21″ is top-selling U.S. iTunes album of 2012

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British singer Adele notched another accolade on Thursday as iTunes announced that her Grammy-winning album “21″ was the top-selling record of 2012 in its U.S. store, extending the disc’s successful run almost two years after it was released.Adele, 24, who last year became the first artist to secure three iTunes milestones with top-selling album, single and artist of the year,...

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Recipes for Health: Red Cabbage, Carrot and Broccoli Stem Latkes — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesI love finding things to do with broccoli stems. I find that allowing the cabbage mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before forming the latkes allows the cabbage to soften a bit, and the latkes hold together better. 5 cups shredded red cabbage 1/2 pound carrots, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 1/2 cups shredded peeled broccoli stems ...

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Retailers scramble to woo shoppers in final days before Christmas

The holiday crunch is on at the mall, and Toys R Us is opening all its stores for 88 straight hours until Christmas Eve. And,...

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Quinn, Emanuel assail court's concealed carry decision

Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday indicated he would like to see assault weapons banned in Illinois as lawmakers this spring revise...

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Google Maps makes its way back to the iPhone

(Reuters) – Google‘s navigation tool has returned to the iPhone, months after Apple‘s home-grown mapping service flopped, prompting user complaints, the firing of an executive and a public apology from Apple’s CEO.The Google Maps app will be compatible with any iPhone or iPod Touch that runs iOS 5.1 or higher, the company said in a blog post. (http://link.reuters.com/jek64t)Apple launched its own...

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Margo Martindale joins FX’s “The Americans”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Margo Martindale, who won an Emmy for her role on FX’s “Justified,” is returning to the network on the new spy series “The Americans.”The show, which stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell as an undercover KGB couple in Reagan-era America, premieres January 30. Martindale has signed on to appear in at least eight episodes as “Claudia,” a KGB illegal who delivers assignments to...

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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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Snow-making at ski resorts goes high tech

Mother Nature has been a fickle manager of snowfall lately, sending an avalanche of powder to ski resorts across the country...

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Cardinal George: Doctors 'couldn't find any evidence of cancer'

Medical tests have shown that Chicago's Cardinal Francis George appears to be free of cancer, he said in a wide-ranging interview,...

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‘Evita’ to close in January when Big 3 leave

NEW YORK (AP) — The Broadway revival of “Evita” — faced with trying to replace Ricky Martin, Elena Roger and Michael Cerveris — will instead close when the Big Three leave early next year.Producers of the Tony Award-nominated revival of Tim Rice‘s and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s landmark musical said Tuesday night they have decided against plans for an open-ended run after Martin, Roger and Cerveris leave...

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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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HSBC to pay record $1.9B fine

British-owned bank HSBC is paying $1.9B to settle a US money-laundering probe. The bank was investigated for involvement in the transfer of funds from Mexican drug cartels and sanctioned nations like Iran. (Dec. 11) ...

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Fare hikes, elimination of bus routes focus of CTA budget hearing

The second CTA fare hike in five years and a controversial plan that eliminates at least a dozen bus routes to free up money...

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“The Colbert Report” mames new co-executive producer, head writer

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “The Colbert Report” has promoted former supervising producer and head writer Barry Julien to co-executive producer, series host, writer and executive producer Stephen Colbert said Monday. In addition to Jullien’s promotion, Opus Moreschi, previously a writer for the series, has been moved up to head writer on the Comedy Central news-show spoof.Julien joined “The Colbert...

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Personal Health: When Daily Stress Gets in the Way of Life

I was about to give an hourlong talk to hundreds of people when one of the organizers of the event asked, “Do you get nervous when you give speeches?” My response: Who, me? No. Of course not.But this was a half-truth. I am a bit of a worrier, and one thing that makes me anxious is getting ready for these events: fretting over whether I’ve prepared the right talk, packed the right clothes or forgotten...

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'Dollar Menu' sparks McDonald's rebound

McDonald's took Wall Street by surprise Monday morning, with a November same-store sales report that beat expectations and showed...

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Off-duty police officer shot

A police command center vehicle at the scene of the shooting. (Adam...

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HTC still tripping Samsung up in Windows Phone race

It is not clear that Samsung (005930) even cares — but HTC (2498) continues outmaneuvering its far bigger rival when it comes to Windows Phones. The budget HTC Windows Phone 8S is no available from UK operator Three starting at the notably low £17 per month contract price. This is about half of what the monthly contract price of Samsung’s ATIV S Windows Phone model is expected to cost in the UK. Once...

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Half a century on, Rolling Stones rock Brooklyn

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fifty years since their first London jam sessions, the Rolling Stones kicked off the U.S. leg of a brief anniversary tour with a vibrant show in New York on Saturday that belied their years – wrinkles and nostalgia aside.Drummers wearing gorilla masks warmed up the crowd packed into Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as black-clad women swung their long tresses in rhythm.Mick Jagger pranced,...

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