Man killed in extra-alarm fire

Scene of La Grange fire (WGN-TV) (December 8, 2012) ...

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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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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...

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Singer James Taylor suggested for lead role in “Lincoln”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Singer-songwriter James Taylor says he doesn’t see the resemblance, but he was pitched – without success – to play the role of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the new film.Taylor told a packed audience at the National Press Club on Friday that Oscar-winning musician John Williams – who composed the soundtrack for “Lincoln” – had pushed for Taylor to play the lead role in Steven...

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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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Lupus forces singer Toni Braxton into LA hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles.The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she's been hospitalized because of "minor health issues" related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. "But no worries!," Braxton wrote to fans. "I will be out any day now."The 45-year-old singer of "Un-break My Heart" revealed two...

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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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Michigan GOP approves right to work amid protests

LANSING, Mich. — Republicans slammed right-to-work legislation through the Michigan House and Senate Thursday, drawing raucous...

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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 next coach

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee selected Cincinnati's Butch Jones as its fourth football coach in six seasons, ending a tumultuous couple of days for both parties.The university has scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. Friday to announce the hiring, which was first reported by VolQuest.com. Cincinnati already has announced Jones' resignation."I would like to thank Butch Jones for his time at...

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“Star Trek Into Darkness” trailer sports a very vengeful Benedict Cumberbatch

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Benedict Cumberbatch carries a galactic grudge in the new trailer for “Star Trek Into Darkness.”The first look at what’s next for Capt. Kirk and crew is an explosion-rich one, but the best special effect on display in the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel is Cumberbatch‘s Shakespearean-infused threats of global devastation.“You think your world is safe,” he says in a voice dripping...

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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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AP Interview: Jackson, cast discuss 'The Hobbit'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Many fans are eagerly anticipating a return to the fictional world of Middle-earth with next week's general release of the first movie in "The Hobbit" trilogy. Director Peter Jackson and the film's stars speak to The Associated Press about making "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey":— Jackson on shooting at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24: "We've seen...

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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...

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Police break up dog fight in Dolton

Eight people have been arrested after police busted a dog fighting...

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Samsung files redacted copy of Apple-HTC deal in U.S. court

(Reuters) - Lawyers for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd filed a redacted copy of a 10-year patent licensing agreement between Apple Inc and Taiwan's HTC Corp in a U.S. court late on Wednesday following a judge's order. The Korean electronics company had earlier filed a motion to compel Apple -- with which it is waging a bitter legal battle over mobile patents across several countries -- to...

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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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Snooki, JWOWW host MTV's New Year's Eve show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — New York's Times Square is getting a little bit Jersey for New Year's Eve.MTV says "Jersey Shore" stars Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWOWW" Farley and comedian Jeff Dye will host the network's live New Year's Eve special from Times Square."MTV's Club NYE 2013" will also feature performances from Ke$ha, Ne-Yo, Sean Kingston, Rita Ora and others. Ke$ha described the final night...

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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...

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Classes resume today as suburban teachers end strike

Teachers in Community Unit District 300 reached a deal with the school board late Tuesday to end a one-day walkout in the large...

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EU imposes record $1.92 billion cartel fine on Philips, five others

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Philips, LG Electronics, Samsung SDI and three other firms were fined a record 1.47 billion euros ($1.92 billion) by EU antitrust regulators for fixing prices of TV and monitor cathode-ray tubes for nearly a decade. The European Commission slapped the biggest penalty, of 313.4 million euros, on Dutch-based Philips on Wednesday. LG Electronics came in second with a...

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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 has announced Wednesday morning that Sanchez, benched last Sunday against Arizona, will get the start 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 the...

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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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Capitalism and socialism wed as words of the year

NEW YORK (AP) — Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012.Traffic for the unlikely pair on the company's website about doubled this year from the year before as the health care debate heated up and discussion intensified over "American capitalism" versus "European socialism," said the editor at large, Peter Sokolowski.The choice...

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