Daily Archive : Sunday November 17, 2013

News

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    A front of clouds moves quickly over Randall Road from the west Sunday afternoon in St. Charles. Despite heavy rains and high winds, the Chicago area was spared the worst of the storms that tore through the Midwest on Sunday.

    Suburbs face power outages, flooding, but spared worst of severe weather
    By Jessica Cilella
    While tornadoes touched down in portions of central Illinois Sunday, causing widespread damage, the Chicago area seemed to be spared the worst of the severe weather. Severe thunderstorms that passed through the area featured 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail, according to the National Weather Service.

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    A tornado swept through Washington, Ill., Sunday.

    Tornadoes, damaging storms sweep through Midwest
    Associated Press
    Dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, leaving at least six people dead and unleashing powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees. Illinois took the brunt of the fury as the string of unusually powerful late-season tornadoes tore across the state.

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    “The big focus is on Washington, D.C., and deficits and tax increases,” says DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin. But “under-the-radar government — quiet, sleepy, unaccountable” areas of government like special districts often go overlooked.

    Illinois: Land of too many taxing bodies?
    Bloomberg
    Nothing thrives in Illinois like local government -- almost 7,000 units that tax, spend and drive up debt in a state struggling to pay off vendors and cover almost $100 billion of unfunded pension liabilities. More than any other state, Illinois illustrates how local taxing bodies flourish across the United States, whether urban or rural, Republican or Democrat.

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    Military leaders, from right, legal counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brig. Gen. Richard C. Gross, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Judge Advocate General of the Army Lt. Gen. Dana K. Chipman, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Staff Judge Advocate to the Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Vaughn A. Ary testify at a Senate hearing on June 4.

    Senate showdown over military sexual assault bill
    Associated Press
    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has secured public support from nearly half the Senate, but not enough votes, for her proposal to give victims of rape and sexual assault in the military an independent route outside the chain of command for prosecuting attackers.

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    A typhoon survivor waits for a chance to board military transport planes from the U.S., Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore on Sunday at the damaged Tacloban airport, Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines.

    Philippine president to camp in Tacloban
    Associated Press
    President Benigno Aquino III said Sunday that he will stay in typhoon-battered Leyte province until he sees more progress in the aid effort following complaints from survivors that they have yet to receive proper help.

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    Lt. Cmdr. Mike DeVito, left, aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, helps a member of the Filipino Air Force carry a box of relief supplies in support of relief efforts in the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan on Saturday.

    Aid missions boost US troops’ image, readiness
    Associated Press
    U.S. military support can be critical when disasters like the Phlippines typhoon strike, staging massive humanitarian relief missions for allies in need isn’t just about being a good neighbor. They can be a strategic and publicity goldmine for U.S. troops whose presence in Asia isn’t always portrayed in such a favorable light — and a powerful warning to countries that aren’t on board.

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    President Barack Obama, third from right, with first lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Malia, and Sasha, second from left, and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, right, watch a basketball game between his brother-in-law Oregon State Beavers Coach Craig Robinson’s team play against the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday in College Park, Md.

    Obamas attend Oregon State-Maryland basketball game
    President Barack Obama and the first family checked out an early-season basketball matchup Sunday between Oregon State University and the University of Maryland.

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    Dan and Karen Burris of Lisle, whose son Ryan is serving in the U.S. Navy, receive a Blue Star Service Banner Sunday at VFW Post 3873 in Naperville from Glenn Granat of American Legion Post 43.

    Families receive Blue Star banners to honor military service
    By Mark Black
    Naperville American Legion Post 43 and VFW Post 3873 presented Blue Star Banners on Sunday to families with loved ones serving in the armed forces. Families with spouses, children and even grandchildren serving were on hand at the Judd Kendall VFW Post in Naperville to accept their Blue Star Banners, a certificate and a lapel pin to show support and honor their loved ones.

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    Northwest suburban police planning traffic crackdowns
    Daily Herald report
    Several Northwest suburban police departments will be putting extra officers on duty through the Thanksgiving holiday as part of a crackdown. Among the participating departments are Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Buffalo Grove and Wheeling. Most towns are beginning the stepped up enforcement today and it will continue through Dec. 1. “Whether you’re going across town or across the state this...

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    Dr. Alan Shatzel, medical director of the Mercy Telehealth Network, is displayed on the monitor RP-VITA robot at Mercy San Juan Hospital in Carmichael, Calif. The robots enable physicians to have a different bedside presence as they “beam” themselves into hospitals to diagnose patients and offer medical advice during emergencies.

    Robots let doctors ‘beam’ into remote hospitals
    Associated Press
    The doctor isn’t in, but he can still see you now. Remote presence robots are allowing physicians to “beam” themselves into hospitals to diagnose patients and offer medical advice during emergencies.

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    Police officers detain two gay rights activists holding a poster reading “Homophobia is Russia’s Disgrace” during a protest outside the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games organizing committee office in Moscow on Sept. 25.

    Foes of Russia’s anti-gay law ponder new tactics
    Associated Press
    The four-month campaign protesting Russia’s ban on “gay propaganda” is entering a new phase, as activists try to heighten pressure on the Olympics’ top corporate sponsors to speak out before the Winter Games in Sochi.

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    North Chicago man charged in police chase, armed robberies
    Daily Herald staff report
    A North Chicago man is in custody after fleeing from the scene of an armed robbery and leading police on a car chase through Waukegan, Zion and Winthrop Harbor Thursday, according to police. Waukegan police officers responded at 12:39 p.m. to an armed robbery alarm and a 911 call reporting an armed suspect had forced employees to a backroom and demanded cash at a Payday Loans store at 2510 Grand...

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    Pakistan’s former President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf will face trial for treason under Article 6 of the constitution for declaring a state of emergency in 2007 and suspending the constitution.

    Pakistan to try ex-President Musharraf for treason
    By Associated Press
    Pakistan’s government plans to put former President Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason for declaring a state of emergency and suspending the constitution while in power, the interior minister said Sunday.

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    Ethan Burkhart of Libertyville swims the breast stroke Sunday during the Gateway to Gold talent identification event Sunday at Lake Forest High School. The event was hosted by the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association to recognize individuals who could represent the country at the Paralympic Games.

    Paralympic hopefuls take to the pool to show their talents
    By Steve Zalusky
    About 25 young swimmers took to the pool at Lake Forest High School on Sunday to for a talent evaluation clinic aimed at identifying potential competitors for future Paralympics Games.

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    Bruce Moore of Palatine samples pizzas Sunday during the Palatine Jaycees Pizza Showdown at Durty Nellie’s Bar and Grill. The Palatine Jaycees hold the annual contest to determine who makes the best pizza in the area. This year’s winner was Vini’s Pizza.

    Storms can’t keep pizza fans from Palatine showdown
    By Matt Arado
    Apparently, the appeal of pizza is weatherproof. The Palatine Jaycees held its annual Pizza Showdown fundraiser at Durty Nellie’s on Sunday, and organizers say the intense storms that ripped through the area didn’t keep people away.

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    Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef has come to be known as Egypt’s Jon Stewart.

    Popular Egypt satirist breaks with private station
    Associated Press
    The production company of Egypt’s widely popular satire show said Sunday it has decided to leave the private station that took it off the air after it lampooned the military and the recent nationalist fervor gripping the country.

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    Gurnee police continue search for fatal hit-and-run driver
    By Steve Zalusky
    Gurnee police continue to search for the driver who struck and killed a Gurnee man and injured his dog in a hit-and-run crash early Saturday morning. Police believe Timothy Fleming, 31, may have been chasing his dog when they were struck.

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    In this April 17, 2006 file photo, Writer Doris Lessing, 86, sits in her home in north London. Doris Lessing, the free-thinking, world-traveling, often-polarizing writer of “The Golden Notebook” and dozens of other novels that reflected her own improbable journey across the former British empire, has died, early Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. She was 94. The author of more than 50 works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Lessing explored topics ranging from colonial Africa to dystopian Britain, from the mystery of being female to the unknown worlds of science fiction.

    Nobel author Doris Lessing dies at 94
    Associated Press
    Doris Lessing, the Nobel prize-winning, free-thinking, world-traveling and often-polarizing author of “The Golden Notebook” and dozens of other novels that reflected her own improbable journey across the former British empire, died Sunday. She was 94.

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    Black Ram Restaurant reopens in Des Plaines
    Daily Herald report
    The Black Ram Restaurant in Des Plaines that closed in March 2009 has reopened under new ownership, officials said. An official ribbon cutting attended by local Des Plaines leaders and chamber of commerce leaders was held last week at the restaurant, located at 1414 E. Oakton St.

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    This Nov. 19, 1863, photo made available by the Library of Congress shows President Abraham Lincoln, center with no hat, surrounded by the crowd at the dedication of a portion of the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pa. as a national cemetery.

    Gettysburg Address is a sacred, but elusive text
    Associated Press
    Like the Pledge of Allegiance or “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the Gettysburg Address is a sacred American text, so fully absorbed into the culture that phrases such as “four score and seven years ago” and “of the people, by the people, for the people” are as familiar as any song lyric or line of poetry. But it’s an elusive text, as well.

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    Christy Coleman, left, director of the American Civil War Center at Tredegar Iron Works, left, and Waite Rawls of the Museum of the Confederacy pose in front of the ruins of the old Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Va., Wednesday.

    2 Civil War museums in Virginia team up
    Associated Press
    The Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center are joining forces to build a $30 million museum in Richmond with the goal of creating the top Civil War museum in the nation 150 years after the deadliest conflict fought on U.S. soil.

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    Sergio Batista, of Aurora, does some target practice at the Blackwell Forest Preserve archery range as the sun starts to dip below the horizon. Batista has been shooting for about 3 years and does mostly target shooting, but is starting to get into hunting.

    Images: The Week in Pictures
    This edition of The Week in Pictures features photos of the first real snow of the season in the suburbs, a human chain of high school students, and the closing ceremony of the Moving Wall memorial.

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    Des Plaines accepts winter clothes donations
    Daily Herald report
    The city of Des Plaines is collecting new hats, gloves, mittens and scarves for those in the community who are in need, officials said. Donations for the Mitten Tree Project are being accepted starting today through Dec. 13 at eight locations in town.

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    Climate change topic of panel discussion
    Daily Herald report
    Conserve Lake County, Brushwood Center and the Lake County Forest Preserve District will host a panel discussion on climate change from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center, 21950 N. Riverwoods Drive, Deerfield.

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    Bears player at Woodland Intermediate
    Daily Herald report
    Woodland Intermediate School in Gurnee will welcome Chicago Bear Isaiah Frey during two assemblies at the school Tuesday.

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    3-year sentence for St. Charles man for child porn
    By Harry Hitzeman
    A 34-year-old St. Charles man recently was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography possession. Refugio M. Padilla Jr., of the 7N200 block of Barb Hill Drive, also must pay a fine of $2,365, according to court records.

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    New Route 41 access to open
    Daily Herald report
    Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital will host a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, to mark the opening of the new Route 41 access road into the hospital campus.

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    Lincolnshire prescribed burns
    Daily Herald report
    The village of Lincolnshire will conduct multiple prescribed burns during the next two weeks.

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    A second front of clouds moves quickly over Randall Road from the west Sunday afternoon in St. Charles.

    Images: Strong storms hit Illinois
    Storms hit the Chicagoland area causing area flooding and tornado warnings throught the suburbs. The Chicago Bears football game was delayed for over an hour due to the weather.

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    This photo provided by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry shows debris at the crash site of the Russian passenger airliner, Boeing 737, near Kazan, the capital of the Tatarstan republic, about 450 miles east of Moscow, Sunday.

    50 killed in Boeing plane crash in Russia
    Associated Press
    A passenger airliner crashed and caught fire Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard, officials said.

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    Ardell Walker

    Chicago man charged with trespassing on O’Hare tarmac
    By Matt Arado
    A 23-year-old Chicago man faces a felony trespassing charge after walking onto the tarmac at O’Hare International Airport on Saturday, authorities said. Chicago police arrested Ardell Walker, of the 5200 block of west Van Buren Street, at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday after an airport employee notice Walker standing on the tarmac.

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    Aurora man charged with possession of child porn
    By Steve Zalusky
    An Aurora man is being held by Kendall County authorities on allegations he possessed child pornography, police announced. Cullen Brice Martin, 33, of the 2100 block of Wildhorse Lane, faces seven felony counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

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    Nonprofits tell Elgin 'We need funding'
    By Elena Ferrarin
    The Elgin Public Museum is in dire financial straits and needs the city's help, its executive director said during a public budget hearing on Saturday. Peggie Stromberg was among 47 people who addressed the Elgin City Council during a three-and-a-half hour meeting packed by a crowd of 175 or so at the The Centre of Elgin. Most were clients and staff members of Elgin-based nonprofits who advocated...

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    Frenchman escaped 11 months captivity in Nigeria
    Associated Press
    A French engineer kidnapped in northern Nigeria 11 months ago escaped on a motorcycle without paying ransom and will fly back to France on Sunday, police said.

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    As ban on printed 3-D guns ends, extension sought
    By Associated Press
    As the technology to print 3-D firearms advances, a federal law that banned the undetectable guns is about to expire. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says he’s seeking an extension of the law before it expires Dec. 9.

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    Nazi loot hoarder says he won’t relinquish art
    By Bloomberg News
    Cornelius Gurlitt, whose secret hoard of 1,406 artworks was seized in Munich by German authorities, says he doesn’t want to relinquish any of the art and is demanding its return, Spiegel magazine reported.

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    Separate attacks kill at least 6 people in Iraq
    Associated Press
    Iraqi officials say separate attacks have killed at least six people in different areas of the country. Police say the deadliest of Sunday’s attacks was in the capital’s eastern New Baghdad neighborhood, where a car bomb missed a police patrol but killed three civilians and wounded 10. Another car bomb in the eastern Sadr City area killed one civilian and wounded 11.

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    Pope Francis shows a box shaped like a pill box but which contains a rosary during his traditional Sunday appearance in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. Pope Francis said that the rosary is like a medicine for the heart and small boxes containing rosaries were distributed to faithful at the end of Pope’s traditional Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

    Pope jokes he’s a pharmacist, prescribing prayers
    By Associated Press
    Joking that he’s like a pharmacist, Pope Francis is promoting prayer as medicine for the heart. Appearing on Sunday at his studio window, Francis held up a rosary in a box designed to resemble a packet of pills, before volunteers distributed thousands of those boxes, which feature a design of a human heart.

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    Wis. DNR plans series of deer hunt chats
    By Associated Press
    Wisconsin wildlife officials are planning a series of online chats on deer hunting ahead as the start of the nine-day gun season approaches.

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    Packers’ Hall of Fame to close until April 2015
    By Associated Press
    The Packers’ Hall of Fame in Lambeau Field will be closed for over a year as part of the atrium renovation project.

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    Bears to honor teen who survived brain tumor
    By Associated Press
    A teenager who had a large tumor removed from her brain two months ago is slated to be honored by the Chicago Bears.

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    Religious leaders show support for organ donation
    By Associated Press
    A group of religious leaders is speaking out to assure the faithful that organ donation does not run counter to their religious beliefs.

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    Chicago youth theater to be honored by first lady
    By Associated Press
    A Chicago youth theater organization is among about a dozen groups that will be honored during a ceremony with first lady Michelle Obama.

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    Midwest under high storm threat
    By Associated Press
    A number of Midwestern states are awakening to the threat of a high risk of severe thunderstorms. The National Weather Service says parts of Illinois, Indiana, southern Michigan and western Ohio are at the greatest risk of seeing tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds Sunday.

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    Genevieve Cipriano, 18, of Glen Ellyn looks over her bedroom, designed by Special Spaces Chicagoland, a Naperville nonprofit organization that creates dream bedrooms for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

    Glen Ellyn teen gets room makeover on 'cancerversary'
    By Justin Kmitch and Elena Ferrarin
    Genevieve Cipriano, 18, of Glen Ellyn, got a room makeover from Special Spaces Chicagoland. Genevieve, a former varsity gymnast, lost her right leg in 2012 to osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. “It's so heartwarming to know someone out there cares and took time out of their day to do this for me," she said.

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    Vista Health oncologist Dr. Nilesh Mehta says the game of carrom is similar to pool. Mehta is vice president of the U.S. Carrom Association and a champion himself.

    Local doctor a cancer buster and carrom champ
    Burt Constable
    Trying to defeat cancer is what Lake County oncologist Dr. Nilesh Metah does for a living. In his free time, he's a national doubles champion in his boyhood game of carroms. “In my house, we didn't play this to fool around. You played to win,” remembers Mehta, who often did. “I was the carrom champ throughout my medical school.”

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    This is a general view inside St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, during funeral Mass for President John F. Kennedy, Nov. 25, 1963.

    Kennedy's presidency a milestone for suburban Catholics
    By Jessica Cilella
    Admiration for John F. Kennedy was widespread among suburban Catholics in the 1960s. As the nation's first and only Roman Catholic president, Kennedy signified a new era for the religion, whose followers had faced discrimination in the country's past. Yet many realize the sadness they felt when he died wasn't due to their shared faith. It was because they lost the nation's Commander In Chief.

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    Mourners stand in a line which lasted through the night, to pay their respects to the slain President John F. Kennedy, in Washington, with the illuminated U.S. Capitol in the background.

    JFK mementoes kept 50 years mark awful day
    By Jamie Stengle and Christopher Sullivan
    Agents riding in the Secret Service vehicle just behind the president scanned the jubilant throngs, which thickened as the motorcade neared downtown. At one point, the cars slowed, then halted for a group of students. “There was a banner: `Mr. President, please stop and shake our hands,”’ Secret Service agent Clint Hill says. “Whenever that happened, we knew pretty well he was going to stop.”

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    Workers continue the process of demolishing chemical waste incinerator Tuesday at the Anniston Army Depot in Anniston, Ala. The Pentagon spent $10.2 billion over three decades burning chemical weapons stored in four states. Now, with those chemicals up in smoke and communities freed of a threat, the Army’s in the middle of another, $1.3 billion project: Demolishing the incinerators that destroyed the toxic materials.

    Army scrapping chemical weapons incinerators
    Associated Press
    At the incinerator complex at the Anniston Army Depot — where sarin, VX nerve gas and mustard gas were stored about 55 miles east of Birmingham — the military this week said it’s about one-third of the way into a $310 million program to level a gigantic furnace that cost $2.4 billion to build and operate.

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    A lone person walks through a devastated landscape Saturday in Guiuan, central Philippines.

    Water a pressing concern for typhoon survivors
    Associated Press
    It took several days for aid groups to bring large quantities of water to Tacloban, the eastern Philippine city where the typhoon wreaked its worst destruction. By Friday, tankers were arriving. Philippine Red Cross workers sluiced water into enormous plastic bladders attached to faucets from which people fill jerry cans, buckets, bottles and whatever other containers they might have.

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    NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution probe, MAVEN, is set to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday.

    NASA’s newest Mars flyer will explore atmosphere
    Associated Press
    The robotic explorer called Maven is due to blast off Monday on a 10-month journey to the red planet. There, it will orbit Mars and study the atmosphere to try to understand how the planet morphed from warm and wet to cold and dry.

Sports

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    Jimmie Johnson with his daughter, Genevieve, greet fans during driver introductions before the NASCAR Sprint Cub Series auto race in Homestead, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

    Jimmie Johnson wins 6th NASCAR championship
    Associated Press
    Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach. Johnson staked his claim as one of the most dominant competitors Sunday by winning his sixth Sprint Cup title in eight years. "We'll see if I can get seven," Johnson said. "Let's wait until I hang up the helmet until we really start thinking about this."

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    Bears kicker Robbie Gould smiles as he comes off the field after kicking the game winning field goal in overtime during Sunday’s game in Chicago.

    Bears overcome multiple twists and turns
    By Bob LeGere
    The Bears only had to overcome a 10-point deficit against a formidable opponent and deal with a potpourri of inclement weather along with a two-hour delay to climb back to the top of the NFC North with a 23-20 overtime victory over the Ravens at windy and stonmy Soldier Field Sunday.

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    McCown knows his role with Bears
    By Bob LeGere
    Josh McCown showed once again why he's the ideal backup quarterback, and it's not just because he's peerformed well in all four games he's played this season.

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    Patrick Sharp scores a goal past Sharks goalie Antti Niemi on a penalty shot during the third period of the Hawks’ victory Sunday night.

    Hawks’ Crawford stronger than ever
    By Tim Sassone
    Patrick Sharp scored 2 goals, the second coming in the third period on a penalty shot, while Brandon Pirri, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg were the other goal scorers Sunday night for the Blackhawks, who rebounded nicely from Saturday’s disastrous 7-2 loss at Nashville with a 5-1 victory over San Jose at the United Center.

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    Corey Crawford deflects a shot by San Jose on Sunday. Crawford has played in 19 of the Hawks’ 21 games and has recorded 13 victories.

    Hawks’ Khabibulin goes on IR
    By Tim Sassone
    The Blackhawks placed goalie Nikolai Khabibulin on injured reserve Sunday with a lower-body injury suffered in the first period of Saturday’s blowout loss at Nashville. To take Khabibulin’s roster spot, the Hawks recalled Antti Raanta from Rockford.

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    Bears defensive end David Bass smiles as he runs untouched into the end zone on his 24-yard interception return Sunday.

    Young Bears provide a defensive jolt
    By Joe Aguilar
    A flash lit up Soldier Field. On a soggy Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, young Bears defensive linemen flashed potential in a 23-20 overtime victory, providing the kind of jolt a beaten-up “D” has lacked most of this season.

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    Players leave the field early in the first quarter Sunday as play was suspended for damaging storms that hit the Chicago area and beyond.

    Bears do well on very little solid ground
    By Bob LeGere
    It was almost like two completely different games for the Bears Sunday during a bizarre day at Soldier Field. They got off to a rough start but rallied after a two-hour weather dealy to defeat the Ravens in overtime.

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    Bears quarterback Josh McCown, who has not thrown an interception this year, understands his role with the team, which is a big help to coach Marc Trestman.

    Quarterback controversy? Not for Bears, there isn’t
    By Mike Imrem
    Quarterback controversy? What quarterback controversy? Bears' coach Marc Trestman goes to great lengths to avoid even the hint of one between Josh McCown and Jay Cutler.

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    Bears tight end Martellus Bennett sheds the tackle of Ravens defender James Ihedigbo for a 43-yard overtime reception that set up the game-winning field goal Sunday.

    Bears find the will, a way to win
    By Barry Rozner
    The Bears are staying alive in the playoff race despite a rash of injuries to very important players, and at the same time developing a belief in their coach and in each other that’s rather impressive. They showed it again Sunday in their victory over the Ravens.

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    Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20), left wing Patrick Sharp, center, and defenseman Duncan Keith (2) celebrate after Sharp scored a goal against the San Jose Sharks during Sunday’s second period at United Center.

    Blackhawks pound Sharks 5-1
    Associated Press
    Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including one on a third-period penalty shot, and Kris Versteeg had a goal and an assist to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night at United Center.

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    Seattle Seahawks’ wide receiver Percy Harvin (11) joins a group of players in kneeling on the field after the Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings 41-20 in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Seattle.

    Seahawks top Vikes for 13th straight at home
    Associated Press
    SEATTLE — With less than a minute left in the first half, Pete Carroll decided to give Percy Harvin a shot at the kind of game-changing play the Seattle Seahawks waited an extra there months to finally see. Against his former team, Harvin made certain to deliver. Harvin’s 58-yard kickoff return late in the first half set up Russell Wilson’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 10 seconds left in the second quarter, and the Seahawks rolled to their franchise-record 13th straight home win beating the Minnesota Vikings 41-20 on Sunday. Harvin made his highly anticipated Seattle debut after missing the first 10 weeks of the regular season following hip surgery. While he was mostly a decoy offensively, he provided two of the biggest plays as the Seahawks improved to 10-1 and stayed on top of the NFC heading into their bye week. Harvin pulled in a juggling third-down conversion for 17 yards in the second quarter that led to Lynch’s second TD run and gave Seattle the lead for good. Then came his kickoff return at the end of the half that helped give the Seahawks take a 24-13 lead at the break. Wilson and Marshawn Lynch wouldn’t let Harvin’s debut take the entire spotlight. Wilson had two touchdown passes, each showing off his unique skills, while Lynch had two touchdowns running and one receiving. Wilson was done early in the fourth quarter after completing 13 of 18 passes for 230 yards and a career-best passer rating of 151.4. Coming off consecutive games rushing for more than 100 yards, Lynch was held to 54 yards on 17 carries. Seattle put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers on poor decisions by Christian Ponder. He threw behind Peterson and was intercepted by Bobby Wagner, the turnover that led to Wilson’s second TD pass. Three passes later, Ponder threw into the belly of Walter Thurmond and he returned the interception 29 yards for his first career touchdown. Ponder was replaced by Matt Cassel for the final 12 minutes, and he was intercepted by defensive tackle Clinton McDonald off a deflected pass on his first possession.Ponder played well in the first half, completing nine of 13 passes for 114 yards and a 38-yard touchdown to Jarius Wright, who badly beat Richard Sherman for the score that tied it at 10 early in the second quarter. But Ponder could do nothing in the second half with the Vikings not running a play in Seattle territory on their first five drives of the half. Peterson finished with 65 yards on 21 carries after running for 182 yards last season in Seattle. The Vikings played without wide receiver Greg Jennings, who was a surprise inactive due to an Achilles’ tendon injury. Harvin’s big moment was the result of Seattle being aggressive at the end of the first half. Seattle called its first timeout with 59 seconds left after Peterson fumbled a pitch from Ponder at the Seahawks 28. On third-down, Ponder threw underneath to Joe Webb, who stepped out of bounds rather than staying in and forcing Seattle to use another timeout. Blair Walsh hit from 45 yards to cut the lead to 17-13, but Seattle had 48 seconds and two timeouts to use. Then came the moment Seahawks fans had waited for. Catching the kickoff 4 yards deep in the end zone, Harvin sprinted untouched through the middle of the Vikings’ coverage before Marcus Sherels pulled him down from behind at the Minnesota 46. It took Wilson only 36 seconds to find the end zone. After a run by Robert Turbin and completions of 12 and 10 yards ate up Seattle’s final two timeouts, Wilson dropped a perfect pass to Baldwin and just beyond the reach of Xavier Rhodes for a 24-13 halftime lead. Harvin was given a chance to return after starting returner Jermaine Kearse suffered a concussion earlier. The 24 points matched Seattle’s high for a first half this season having also scored 24 against Jacksonville.

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    New York Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle breaks away from Green Bay Packers cornerback Micah Hyde (33) and Tramon Williams (38) for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J.

    Packers drop to .500 with loss against Giants
    Associated Press
    EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants are back in the playoff hunt and the Green Bay Packers are falling out of it without Aaron Rodgers.Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul scored on a spectacular, leaping 24-yard fourth-quarter interception return and the resurgent Giants won their fourth game in a row with a 27-13 victory over the slumping and injured-riddled Packers on Sunday. Eli Manning threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Rueben Randle, and Brandon Jacobs added a 1-yard run as the Giants (4-6) handed the Packers (5-5) their third straight loss, their longest skid since a five-game losing streak near the end of 2008. Two of the three losses have come with former NFL MVP Rodgers sidelined with a broken collarbone. While Scott Tolzien played well at times in his first NFL start, the Giants intercepted him three times, setting up 10 points. Pierre-Paul’s pick early in the fourth quarter gave New York a 14-point lead.The winning streak following a 0-6 start improbably has moved the Giants within 1½ games of first-place Philadelphia (6-5) in the weak NFC East. They are a game behind second-place and idle Dallas (5-5), which will play here next Sunday.The Packers, who got a 1-yard TD run by Eddie Lacy and two field goals by Mason Crosby, including a 57-yarder, fell a game behind Chicago and Detroit in the NFC North.Tolzien finished 24 of 34 for 339 yards and no touchdowns.The Giants never trailed, but they never put the Packers away until the interception by Pierre-Paul, who was questionable all week after injuring a shoulder against Oakland last week. He didn’t practice until Friday and his status was uncertain until the inactives were announced just before the game.Pierre-Paul didn’t do much until the fourth quarter with New York clinging to a 20-13 lead.On a first and 10 from the Packers 30, Tolzien, who was a practice squad player until a couple of week ago, dropped back, turned to his left and tried to throw a quick out. Pierre-Paul, who has struggled this season after back surgery in June, jumped, snagged the pass and dashed all alone to the end zone.The Giants had the better of the play in the first half, holding the ball for almost 20 minutes. They jumped to a 10-0 lead on Manning’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Randle and Josh Brown’s 40-yard field goal.The touchdown reception was Randle’s sixth in the last six games, and he set it up with a 32-yard punt return. Manning finished 25 of 35 for 279 yard and an interception.A 30-yard pass to Victor Cruz, who had eight catches for 110 yards, and a 5-yard run by Jacobs on a fourth-and-1 at the Packers 36 set up the field goal.Tolzien threw passes of 25 yards to Jordy Nelson and 45 yards to James Jones on consecutive plays to set up a 24-yard field goal by Crosby on the next series.The Giants mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half, with a three-and-out series that started with an incomplete pass. Taking over at their own 37 with no timeouts, Tolzien hit on passes of 9 yards to Jarrett Boykin and 15 yards to Nelson, setting up Crosby for a 57-yard field goal on the final play. It was a yard shy of his Packers’ record and it was the longest against the Giants. Brett Conway of Washington kicked a 55-yard against them in 2001.

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    Miami Dolphins tight end Charles Clay (42) is congratulated by running back Lamar Miller (26) after Clay ran 39 yards for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Miami Gardens, Fla.

    Embattled Dolphins stop Chargers
    Associated Press
    MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ryan Tannehill watched the final play from the sideline, hopping anxiously as an opponent’s desperation heave hung in the air, then letting out a jubilant scream when a teammate swatted the ball to the turf.At the end of a dismal week, the Miami Dolphins finally had something to celebrate.Brent Grimes broke up Philip Rivers’ final pass in the end zone as time expired, and the embattled Dolphins beat the San Diego Chargers 20-16 Sunday.Tannehill threw for 268 yards, including a 39-yard score to Charles Clay, who broke two tackles on the play. Miami managed 104 yards rushing behind a makeshift line.The victory came amid a harassment scandal that raised questions regarding the team’s locker room culture. An NFL special investigator will question players this week about the relationship between offensive tackle Jonathan Martin and guard Richie Incognito.“There’s a lot going on, but we’re not focused on that,” Tannehill said. “We’re focused on football.”The Dolphins (5-5) won for only the second time in the past seven games. They’re still in contention for an AFC wild-card berth, despite a dreadful defeat last Monday at Tampa Bay and the distractions of the harassment case.“We’re fighting through this,” tackle Tyson Clabo said. “Someone’s got to get that last wild-card spot. Why not us?”The Chargers (4-6), who were plagued by penalties and missed tackles, lost their third game in a row.“We made too many mistakes from start to finish,” coach Mike McCoy said. “We hurt ourselves way too much.”Trailing by four points, San Diego started from its own 17 with 1:54 left and drove to the Miami 25. On the final play, a harried Rivers lofted a pass toward Vincent Brown in the end zone, but the 5-foot-10 Grimes leaped to slap the ball away.Rivers threw for 298 yards and Ryan Mathews ran for 127, including a career-best, 51-yard dash to set up a field goal. But the Chargers had 10 penalties for 76 yards, including two infractions that cost them 11 points in the first half.“Ten penalties, that’s a lot,” Rivers said. “We’re not playing well enough to overcome those things.”Miami played at home for the first time since the scandal broke. The stands were less than two-thirds full, and an airplane banner reflected the mood by calling for the firing of general manager Jeff Ireland, who has long been in disfavor with fans. Because center Mike Pouncey missed the game with an illness, the Dolphins had three backups starting on the offensive line. Martin missed his third consecutive game while undergoing treatment for emotional issues, and the suspended Incognito sat out his second game.Working behind the patchwork line, Tannehill was sacked four times, increasing his NFL-high season total to 41. But Miami averaged 5.5 yards per rush to limit the Chargers’ time of possession.As usual, the Dolphins went with pass plays two-thirds of the time. On the game’s opening drive, they marched 76 yards — with all but 2 coming through the air — for a field goal.Penalties repeatedly hurt the Chargers. Corey Liuget was flagged for roughing the passer to negate a teammate’s fumble recovery at the San Diego 1, and two plays later the Dolphins scored a touchdown for a 10-7 lead.Liuget said he didn’t see Tannehill get rid of the ball.“It was a costly penalty for us,” Liuget said. “I wish I could get that one back. It’s not a great feeling at all.”A scrambling Rivers hit Antonio Gates for a 5-yard touchdown with a minute left in the first half, but the quarterback was flagged for throwing past the line of scrimmage, and the Chargers settled for a field goal that made it 10-all at halftime.A drive in the second half stalled after receiver Keenan Allen was flagged 15 yards for taunting, and the Chargers defense was penalized four times for offsides.

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    New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley (5) kicks the game winning field goal as Luke McCown holds at the end of regulation in the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. The Saints won 23-20.

    Saints beat 49ers 23-20
    Associated Press
    NEW ORLEANS — Marques Colston capped a record-setting day with a 20-yard reception to get the Saints into field goal range, and Garrett Hartley kicked a 31-yarder as time expired, lifting New Orleans to a 23-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.Hartley, who had missed four field goals in the Saints’ previous three games, made all three of his field goal attempts in the fourth quarter — he earlier hit from 21 and 42 yards. The Saints (8-2) overcame three turnovers, a failed fourth down conversion and a 20-14 deficit.Colston finished with five catches for 80 yards to become the Saints’ all-time leader in yards receiving with 7,922, passing Eric Martin’s two-decade-old mark of 7,854. Colin Kaepernick completed 17 of 31 passes for only 127 yards and was sacked three times as the Niners (6-4) lost their second straight.

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    Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown (12) looks to pass during Sunday’s game in Chicago.

    Images: Bears vs. Ravens
    The Chicago Bears hosted the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at Soldier Field in stormy weather that featured a stoppage in the game for an hour. The Bears won the game 23 - 20 in overtime on a Robbie Gould field goal.

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    Pacers forward Paul George is defended by Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, middle, and center Joakim Noah during Saturday’s Bulls victory. It would benefit either of these teams to get the No. 1 seed in the East.

    Sorting out good, bad in NBA Eastern Conference
    By Mike McGraw
    There is an awful lot of parity in the Eastern Conference three weeks into the season. To help sort things out, let's run down the standings and ask, Are they good?

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    Bulls game day
    Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center, 7 p.m.TV/radio: Comcast SportsNet/ ESPN 1000-AMAt a glance: The Bobcats are off to a decent start at 5-5. But remember last year they started 7-5, then lost 18 in a row. Charlotte’s balanced offense is led by PG Kemba Walker (15.3 ppg), SG Gerald Henderson (13.2) and backup Ramon Sessions (12.1). Former Utah PF Al Jefferson (15.0 ppg) has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and is questionable for this contest. First-year coach Steve Clifford has cut back on his workload after experiencing chest pains a few weeks ago but has returned to the bench.Next game: Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, 7 p.m. Thursday — Mike McGraw

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    Bears running back Matt Forte breaks away from a diving Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs after taking a handoff from Josh McCown during the first quarter of Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.

    Bears beat Ravens in OT after long delay
    Associated Press
    The Bears had to wait out a long rain delay and put in extra time to come away with a much-needed win.Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to lift the Bears to a 23-20 victory over Baltimore Sunday in a game delayed about two hours by a torrential downpour.Justin Tucker tied it for the Ravens with a 21-yard field goal at the end of regulation.The big delay came after Tucker kicked a 52-yard field goal with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. Fans were ordered to take cover. Players headed to the locker rooms as heavy rains and winds whipped through Soldier Field. They emerged about two hours later with the sky clearing and the sun coming out, but the rain and wind returned in the third quarter, turning the stands into a sea of ponchos.Gould won it with a 38-yarder on third-and-8 with 8:41 left in OT, and the Bears (6-4) came away with the win after dropping four of six.They were leading 20-17 with 10:33 remaining in regulation after Matt Forte scored on a 14-yard screen from Josh McCown, dodging three or four defenders along the way, but the Ravens (4-6) made one big push down the stretch to send it to overtime.They drove from the 16 to the 2, getting a one-handed catch from Dallas Clark on a fourth down at 44. After Joe Flacco overthrew Torrey Smith in the back of the end zone on third down, Tucker tied it at 20-all with 3 seconds left.McCown threw for 216 yards with Jay Cutler sidelined by a high left ankle sprain. Alshon Jeffery had seven catches for 83 yards. Forte added 42 receiving and 83 rushing.Julius Peppers had two sacks. David Bass returned an interception for a touchdown, and Jonathan Bostic set up a field goal by Gould at the end of the first half with an interception.The Ravens were able to get their ground game going, with Ray Rice rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown against a team that’s struggled to stop the run. But Flacco had a rough day, throwing for 162 yards and getting picked off twice.The Bears scored 10 points in a 12-second stretch in the second quarter, on a 20-yard field goal by Gould and a 24-yard interception return by Bass. He picked off Flacco at the line and ran untouched to the end zone, Chicago’s fourth interception return for a TD this season, but Baltimore immediately answered with an 80-yard scoring drive.Flacco lofted a 5-yard scoring pass between two defenders to Smith to put the Ravens back on top, 17-10, with 4:08 left in the half. But an interception at midfield by Bostic with a minute left led to a 46-yard field goal by Gould as time expired, making it a four-point game at the half.And what a strange half it was.Play was stopped just after 12:30 p.m. and didn’t resume until 2:25. There were reports of at least one tornado touching down in Illinois and extensive damage in at least one part of the state. At Soldier Field, long lines formed in the upper deck as drenched fans tried to make their way toward the tunnel with lightning striking near the stadium.The rain was so heavy it looked as if the Chicago skyline was gone. Fans in suites and reporters in the press box were ordered to move away from the glass. At one point, a spectator ran across the field and got tackled by about three or four security guards before being escorted away.Fans were finally allowed to return to their seats at 2:07 p.m. as the skies temporarily cleared, and they let out a big roar when Bears players started trotting onto the field three minutes later. The rain made for a messy field, with players slipping and sliding.

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    Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (26) leaps for more yardage as he tries to evade Detroit Lions strong safety Glover Quin (27) and the defense in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

    Lions lose in Pittsburgh
    Associated Press
    PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers gave their critics and the Detroit Lions a vivid reminder on Sunday.The window might be closing on the Steelers and their enigmatic quarterback. It’s not shut. Not yet.Roethlisberger passed for 367 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the final 5 minutes as the Steelers rallied to beat the Lions 37-27.Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 147 yards and two scores and Pittsburgh’s defense rebounded from a horrific second quarter to shut out Detroit in the second half. The Steelers (4-6) have won two straight and kept the Lions (6-4) winless in Pittsburgh for 58 years and counting.Matthew Stafford threw for 362 yards with two touchdowns and an interception to become the Lions’ all-time leading passer. Calvin Johnson hauled in six passes for 179 yards and both scores, but Detroit’s two stars disappeared over the final 30 minutes.Stafford completed just three of 16 passes in the second half, with none of the completions going to Johnson.Still, the Lions entered the fourth quarter with the lead thanks to a 27-point deluge in the second quarter. Detroit had a chance to push the advantage to a touchdown but rather than have David Akers attempt a short field goal, the Lions opted to run a fake. Holder Sam Martin, however, fumbled while fighting for the necessary 5 yards and the Steelers recovered.Pittsburgh responded with a 16-play, 97-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion and ended with Roethlisberger flipping a pass to Will Johnson for a 1-yard score to put the Steelers in front 30-27.Stafford tried to hit Johnson in triple-coverage, but Pittsburgh’s Will Allen picked it off and returned it to the Detroit 34. Five plays later, Roethlisberger floated the ball to a wide-open Jerricho Cotchery for a 20-yard touchdown and the comeback was complete.Detroit’s collapse was hard to imagine during an explosive first half as Johnson and Stafford did whatever they wanted.Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor said last week he couldn’t wait for the chance to go “mano-a-mano” with the NFL’s best receiver. Like nearly every player who has lined up across the line of scrimmage from Johnson over last three years, the matchup looked like a mismatch.At least, for a while.Taylor landed a blow early, knocking down the first pass Stafford threw Johnson’s way. The 11-year veteran and his befuddled teammates couldn’t get a hand on the second. Or the third. Or pretty much anything else the Lions and their superstar wide receiver felt like doing.The Lions spotted the Steelers a 14-0 first-quarter lead as Roethlisberger hit Brown for touchdowns of 34 and 47 yards, an avalanche of points for Pittsburgh’s sputtering offense but barely a blip for one of the league’s most explosive offenses.Detroit needed to hold the ball for 6:37 to set a franchise record for points in a quarter. Johnson, as he tends to be, was right in the middle of it. He started the onslaught with an impossibly easy 79-yard touchdown, taking a heave from Stafford at the Pittsburgh 40 and then practically jogging into the end zone to make it 14-10.Johnson was at it again the next time the Lions had the ball, beating the coverage to the inside for a 19-yard score to tie the game at 17.Taylor became so frustrated that at one point he was flagged for holding and pass interference on Johnson on consecutive plays late in the first half, though the penalties served their purpose. Rather than get a last-second touchdown to go up by 10 at the break, the Lions were forced to kick a field goal and settle for a 27-20 lead.All of that momentum, however, vanished as quickly as it appeared.Rather than adding to a resume that includes a road win at Chicago and a thrilling comeback against Dallas, the Lions continued a flabbergasting pattern of erratic play while the Steelers stoked — for another week at least — whatever flicking postseason hopes they have of getting back to .500 and perhaps beyond.

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    Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey (43) celebrates with wide receiver Tiquan Underwood (11) after scoring on a 43-yard touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Tampa, Fla.

    Rainey, Bucs win again, top slumping Falcons
    Associated Press
    TAMPA, Fla. — Bobby Rainey rushed for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns Sunday to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 41-28 victory over the struggling Atlanta Falcons.A waiver wire pickup who’s filling in for the injured Doug Martin and Mike James, Rainey scored on first-half runs of 43 and 3 yards. He caught a 4-yard TD pass from Mike Glennon in the third quarter to help the Bucs (2-8) win for the second straight time following an 0-8 start.The Falcons (2-8) have lost four straight by a combined score of 135-61.The 5-foot-8, 212-pound Rainey also ran for 45 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown in a 22-19 victory over Miami the previous week. He’s been with the Bucs for four games after beginning the season as a kick returner and backup running back with the Cleveland Browns.

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    Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon (12) spikes the ball over the goalpost after scoring on a 74-yard pass reception against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Cincinnati.

    Bengals score 31 in 2nd quarter, beat Browns
    Associated Press
    CINCINNATI — No overtime this time. The Bengals brushed aside their intrastate rival with one record-setting quarter.Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and Cincinnati returned a blocked punt and a fumble for touchdowns during a 31-point second quarter that set a Bengals record and swept the AFC North leaders to a 41-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.The Bengals (7-4) head into their bye week with their division lead intact and two rough weeks washed away by 15 minutes of domination. They’d lost their last two games in overtime, tying the NFL record and allowing the Browns (4-6) to draw close.No NFL team has ever played three straight overtime games. By halftime, the Bengals had this one in hand. It ended as the most lopsided game in the intrastate series since Cincinnati’s 30-0 win in Cleveland in 2006.Dalton had a horrid start that helped Cleveland get a promising early lead. He threw two passes that were picked off by Joe Haden, who ran one of them back 29 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.When the quarter ended, Cleveland fell apart.Dalton threw touchdown passes of 25 yards to Jermaine Gresham and 6 yards to Mohamed Sanu, emerging from his recent funk. He has thrown eight interceptions in his last three games, a major factor in the two overtime losses.The Bengals were just getting started on the highest-scoring quarter in their history.Undrafted rookie Jayson DiManche blocked Spencer Lanning’s punt and safety Tony Dye — promoted from the practice squad one day earlier — returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. Cleveland hadn’t had a punt blocked in 20 years.One minute and 50 seconds later, linebacker Vontaze Burfict forced Chris Ogbonnaya to fumble after a catch and ran the ball back 13 yards for another touchdown. Mike Nugent’s 41-yard field goal capped off the quarter and made it 31-13.The 31 points matched the second-most allowed by the Browns in one quarter. They hadn’t done it since they gave up 31 in the second quarter at Houston on Dec. 9, 1990. The club record is 35 points allowed in the first quarter of a 35-7 loss at Green Bay in 1967.Dalton threw another touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, giving him three overall. He was 13 of 27 for only 93 yards.Jason Campbell threw a 74-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to Josh Gordon, who got a step on Dre Kirkpatrick, but had an otherwise disappointing showing. Campbell hadn’t thrown an interception in 90 attempts this season, but was picked off three times. He set a career high with 56 pass attempts and completed 27 for 248 yards.The Bengals went conservative to run down the clock in the second half, when heavy rain moved in. Cincinnati avoided the nasty weather that caused a delay in Chicago’s game.Haden had his first two-interception game while shutting down A.J. Green. He stepped in front of a sideline throw to Green for his interception and touchdown. Haden held the 2012 All-Pro receiver to two catches for 7 yards, ending his club-record streak of five straight games with at least 100 yards.

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    Houston Texans’ Darryl Sharpton loses his helmet as he tackles Oakland Raiders’ Rashad Jennings during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Houston.

    McGloin leads Raiders over Texans
    Associated Press
    HOUSTON — Rookie Matt McGloin threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL start and the Oakland Raiders extended the Houston Texans’ franchise-record skid to eight games with a 28-23 victory on Sunday in coach Gary Kubiak’s return from a mini-stroke. McGloin, an undrafted free agent, was 18 of 32 for 197 yards in place of an injured Terrelle Pryor. Kubiak wasn’t on the sidelines, instead coaching upstairs from the booth on doctor’s orders two weeks after collapsing at halftime of Houston’s game against Indianapolis. Houston (2-8) had a chance to take the lead late. But Matt Schaub’s pass to Andre Johnson on fourth down from the 8 was broken up in the end zone to give Oakland (4-6) the win.

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    Philadelphia Eagles running back Bryce Brown (34) escapes the grasp of Washington linebacker Perry Riley during the first half of an NFL football game in Philadelphia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

    Eagles beat Washington, take 1st place
    Associated Press
    PHILADELPHIA — Nick Foles threw for 298 yards and ran for a touchdown, LeSean McCoy had two TDs rushing and the Philadelphia Eagles snapped a 10-game home losing streak with a 24-16 victory over Washington on Sunday.A year after finishing 4-12 under Andy Reid, Chip Kelly’s Eagles (6-5) are first in the NFC East. They’re a half-game ahead of idle Dallas (5-5). Washington, the defending division champions, fell to 3-7. The Eagles hadn’t won at the Linc in 413 days since defeating the New York Giants on Sept. 30, 2012. Down 24-0 in the fourth quarter, Washington rallied behind Robert Griffin III’s TD passes of 62 yards to Darrel Young and 41 yards to Aldrick Robinson and both 2-point conversions. RG3 then drove Washington to the Eagles 18 before his pass off his back foot was intercepted by Brandon Boykin.

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    Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd (15) runs past Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Will Blackmon (24) for a 91-yard touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

    Cardinals beat Jaguars 27-14
    Associated Press
    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Carson Palmer threw for 419 yards and two scores and did not throw an interception for the first time all year, leading the Arizona Cardinals to a 27-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.Michael Floyd had a career-high 193 yards receiving, including a 91-yard touchdown on a catch-and-run. Will Blackmon was beaten on the play, and then slipped off the receiver and rolled into cornerback Alan Ball to set Floyd free the rest of the way.The Cardinals (6-4) won their third straight game.The Jaguars (1-9) at least scored a touchdown at home for the first time this year. On fourth-and-2 from the 38 on the opening drive, Chad Henne found tight end Danny Noble behind the defense for a 62-yard score. It was Noble’s first NFL reception.

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    Buffalo Bills free safety Jairus Byrd celebrates an interception with teammate Kyle Williams during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in Orchard Park, N.Y.

    Bills D rattles Jets in 37-14 win
    Associated Press
    ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Kyle Williams-led Bills defense and gusting winds in Buffalo combined to be too much for the New York Jets and rookie quarterback Geno Smith.Williams had two sacks and forced a fumble, and Jairus Byrd had two interceptions as the Bills turned four turnovers by Smith into 17 points in a 37-14 win Sunday. Starting with EJ Manuel’s 34-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Graham, Buffalo scored 17 points over a span of 2:50 to build a 20-0 lead with 65 seconds left in the first half. Safety Da’Norris Searcy put the game away with 1:14 left in the third quarter when he returned an interception 32 yards to make it 34-7. Marquise Goodwin also scored on a 43-yard catch for Buffalo.The Bills (4-7) snapped a three-game skid and enter their bye week by winning for only the second time in seven games.The Jets (5-5), coming off their bye, continued their string of inconsistent outings in having failed to yet win or lose consecutive games this season. They became the NFL’s first team to alternate wins and losses through the first 10 games of the season.Manuel, selected 16th overall out of Florida, outdueled fellow rookie Smith, the second QB drafted in April, by going 20 of 28 for 245 yards passing and two scores. And he did so with Buffalo playing minus both starting receivers: Stevie Johnson (groin) and Robert Woods (sprained left ankle).Smith, a second-round pick out West Virginia, finished 8 of 23 for 103 yards before being yanked in favor of Matt Simms after three quarters. He’s now gone a combined 36 of 72 for 377 yards passing, with no touchdowns and five interceptions in his past three games. Smith has particularly struggled on the road, where he dropped to 1-4 and thrown four touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Overall, he has eight touchdowns, 14 interceptions and has lost four fumbles.The blustery conditions didn’t help, with the game played on an overcast day with wind gusts approaching 30 mph.Then again, Smith didn’t help himself with his interceptions to Byrd. Both came on passes over the middle, with Byrd having to hardly move in picking them off.Smith’s day did not get off to a good start. He spent one play on the sideline before returning after being drilled in the midsection by Williams on the Jets opening possession.Smith’s day ended with 13 minutes left, and Simms took over. Simms marched the Jets on a six-play, 62-yard drive, capped by a 13-yard pass to Jeff Cumberland with 9:36 left.The Jets other score came on Chris Ivory’s 1-yard plunge on fourth down midway through the third quarter.The Bills took control in the final minutes of the first half.Manuel’s touchdown pass to Graham put the Bills ahead 10-0 with 4:05 left.On the second play of the Jets’ next possession, Williams broke in around the right side and knocked the ball out of Smith’s hand. Manny Lawson recovered the fumble and, Summers scored two plays later.Smith forced another turnover two plays into the Jets next possession, when he forced a pass over the middle intended for Cumberland. Byrd intercepted that one, which set up Dan Carpenter’s 42-yard field goal.The Jets offense sputtered. It managed just 57 yards and three first downs in the first half. New York endured a stretch of five consecutive possessions in which it combined for 4 yards, no first downs and committed two turnovers on 13 plays.The conditions were so tough that a tear-away portion of the football-field sized American Flag came undone during the national anthem. The Bills also elected against erecting several vending tents inside and outside the stadium gates.Jets kicker Nick Folk missed his first field-goal attempt of the season after a 48-yarder sailed wide right in the swirling winds inside the stadium. Folk’s streak ended at 23 straight, one short of matching the franchise record set by Jay Feely from 2008-09. Folk’s last miss was a 30-yard attempt that was blocked in the Jets’ season finale at Buffalo last year.

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    Chicago woman on champion U.S. curling team
    Associated Press
    FARGO, N.D. — Erika Brown, Debbie McCormick, Jessica Schultz and Ann Swisshelm earned the U.S. women’s curling spots in the Sochi Olympics on Saturday night.The Brown rink beat Allison Pottinger’s team 8-7 to sweep the playoffs at Scheels Arena.“We all wanted to get back there, that’s for sure,” Brown said. “Everyone played so great all week, but the last three games we really played the best we could when we needed to.”Brown, from Madison, Wis., was the vice skip in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. McCormick, from Rio, Wis., advanced to her fourth Olympics. Schultz, from Minneapolis, and Swisshelm, from Chicago, each earned their second Olympics berth.The men’s team will be decided Sunday in the final match between John Shuster of Duluth, Minn., and Pete Fenson of Bemidji, Minn.

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    Savegnago head to state
    By Darryl Mellema
    Marisa Savegnago is going to finish her high school girls swimming senior season at the place everyone in the state wants to be — the IHSA Finals in New Trier.

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    Wolves enjoy high-five winning streak
    Special to the Daily Herald
    The Chicago Wolves extended their winning streak to five games Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over Midwest Division-leading Grand Rapids at Allstate Arena.Forward Nathan Longpre (goal, 2 assists) and defenseman Cade Fairchild (2 assists) paced the offense for the Wolves (9-6-0-1).

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    Rachael Fara, left and Caroline Wolf, right, of Benet console each other after their loss to Mother McAuley in the Class 4A championship girls volleyball match on Saturday in Normal.

    Images: Benet vs. Mother McAuley, 4A State Volleyball Finals
    Benet Academy made it to the title match but was defeated by Mother McAuley for the 4A State Volleyball title Saturday night in Normal.

Business

  •  
    Forbes Media, which is controlled by the Forbes family, includes Forbes magazine, which has covered wealth and finance since 1917.

    Forbes Media puts itself up for sale
    Associated Press
    The president and CEO of Forbes Media says the family owned magazine publisher has put itself up for sale. In a Friday letter to employees, Mike Perlis said that Forbes Media has received “more than a few” indications of interest from potential buyers.

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    Brenden Hartnet, left, and Sydnee Mencuri, center, celebrate after purchasing the Sony PlayStation 4 console during its midnight launch event in San Francisco on Thursday.

    Over 1 million PlayStation 4s sold in first day
    Associated Press
    Sony says it sold more than 1 million of its PlayStation 4 video game consoles during their first 24 hours on the market. The consoles went on sale Friday in the U.S. and Canada.

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    A visitor sits in the cockpit of a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, manufactured by BAE Systems Plc., during the 13th Dubai Airshow at Dubai World Central in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday.

    Boeing takes $100 billion in orders from Gulf
    Associated Press
    Chicago-based Boeing Co. dominated on the first day of the Dubai Airshow, netting $100 billion in orders at an event that showcased the spending power and aggressive expansion efforts of the Middle East’s Gulf Arab carriers.

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    Shoppers stand in line outside a Best Buy department store before the store’s opening at midnight. Thanksgiving is slowly becoming just another shopping day as at least a dozen major retailers are planing to open Thursday.

    All day shopping frenzy on Thanksgiving?
    Associated Press
    Black Friday shopping, the annual rite of passage on the day after Thanksgiving, continues to creep further into the holiday as more stores open their doors a day early. It’s a break with tradition. Black Friday, which typically is the year’s biggest shopping day, for a decade has been considered the official start to the busy holiday buying season.

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    Twitter’s scintillating stock market debut punctuated a procession of highly anticipated coming-out parties over the past two-and-half years, providing a springboard for a new generation of rapidly growing startups to make the leap to Wall Street.

    Beyond Twitter: The next wave of tech IPOs brews
    Associated Press
    Twitter’s scintillating stock market debut punctuated a procession of highly anticipated coming-out parties over the past two-and-half years, providing a springboard for a new generation of rapidly growing startups to make the leap to Wall Street. The next wave of potentially hot IPOs includes trendy services such as AirBnB, Square, Spotify, Dropbox, Uber, Snapchat, Pinterest, Box, Scribd, Flipboard and King.com.

  •  
    Leacroft Green places a package to the correct shipping area at an Amazon.com fulfillment center, in Goodyear, Ariz. Amazon is teaming up with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver packages on Sundays. The Seattle company said Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, that Sunday delivery will be available this week to customers in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Amazon and the Postal Service plan to roll out service to “a large portion of the U.S. population” next year, including Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix.

    Amazon’s Sunday plan further crumbles the wall between week, weekend
    The Washington Post
    The tradition of a seventh day set aside for family, worship and rest has been crumbling for years as states relaxed laws prohibiting gambling, shopping and even hunting on Sundays. The popularity of smartphones and the creation of an always-online culture has spurred greater demand — and ability — to have it all, right now, anytime. “We are moving toward a society where email and social media have caused the week and weekend to blur,” said Jonathan Gruber, a professor of economics and labor at MIT.

  •  

    4 keys to scrutinizing Medicare Advantage cuts
    Associated Press
    Ominous warnings about Medicare Advantage plans have sounded for more than a year now. Health insurers say federal funding cuts to these privately run versions of Medicare will force them to whack plan benefits, hike premiums or leave some geographic markets entirely as they continue to fight rising health care costs. The government is paring back the money it provides for this coverage as part of its effort to fund the health care overhaul, which aims to cover millions of uninsured people.Plan changes are starting to crystallize for Medicare Advantage customers who are about a month into the annual open enrollment window in which they can search for new coverage. Benefits experts say patients are seeing fewer plan choices this year, and more are losing doctors from their insurance coverage networks. Open enrollment lasts until Dec. 7, and many customers wait until the final weeks to pick a plan. Here are some important points to consider if you’re still shopping.1. Expect fewer plan choices The total number of Medicare Advantage plans offered next year will slip more than 5 percent to 2,522 from 2,664, according to the market analysis firm Avalere Health.How much that matters to you will depend greatly on where you live and the coverage that you have. Avalere says most counties across the country will see some decrease in the number of plans available, with those in the South and Midwest generally seeing more.Some preferred provider organization, or PPO, plans are more vulnerable to funding cuts because they feature large networks of doctors or care providers. That expense can squeeze profitability for insurers.If your plan was among the ones being scrapped for next year, you should have received a cancellation notice prior to Oct. 1. 2. Check on your doctor The nation’s biggest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, UnitedHealth Group Inc., expects to trim the number of doctors in its network nationally by 10 percent to 15 percent by the end of next year. The insurer declined to say how many doctors are in that network. It provides Medicare Advantage coverage for more than 2.9 million peopleUnitedHealth has been restructuring its Medicare Advantage business since 2010 to absorb rate reductions, said Jack Larsen, CEO of the insurer’s Medicare and retirement business. It has already worked on things like cost cutting and fraud prevention. “This is one more step in what has been a number of steps to keep these plans affordable over a number of years,” he said, adding that the doctor cuts will focus mainly on specialists, not primary care. Regardless of whether your insurer has announced physician cuts, it pays to double check that the doctors you see will still be in your plan’s network. The costs for care sought outside an insurer’s network can be much higher. 3. Scrutinize details Insurers are pushing to make the premiums they charge attractive and affordable even as they absorb the funding cuts. That means they may skimp on some benefits or charge you more for a hospital stay, so don’t swoon if you see a particularly low premium.“It’s more important this year than ever that people look below the surface,” said Ross Blair, a senior vice president for eHealthMedicare.com, a division of eHealth Inc.Plans usually cut extra benefits like dental or vision coverage first when they look to control premium growth, said Eric Maddux, director of Medicare services for eHealthMedicare. Then they may start raising the patient’s cost sharing responsibilities.That means a patient may have to pay $300 per day for the first several days of a hospital stay instead of $250. It also may mean bigger co-payments at the doctor’s office, a higher deductible or larger annual out-of-pocket maximum.Blair said the average cap for out-of-pocket expenses has climbed to about $4,800 this year from $4,400.

  •  

    More investors going to target-date mutual funds
    Associated Press
    It may seem primitive to some, but not so long ago most investors figured out for themselves how much of their 401(k) retirement plan to put into stocks or bonds. Now, more are letting a target-date mutual fund take care of that, particularly younger workers.

  •  

    Strayer Education lowers tuition while cutting jobs and campuses
    The Washington Post
    Strayer Education announced recently that it was slashing tuition, eliminating jobs and closing campuses as it tries to cut costs to deal with a recent falloff in enrollment.

  •  

    Teens flee Abercrombie for upstarts as phones top malls
    Bloomberg
    Young consumers with spare cash once thronged the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters for clothing that telegraphed their identities, the new generation is poorer, shuns logos and socializes more on the Internet than at the mall. They’re also increasingly global fashion citizens, mixing garments from brands across the world that are now accessible from their smartphones.

  •  

    Doing a little more is not always doing the best for you
    By J. Gerald Suarez, Special to The Washington Post
    Too frequently, we try to top off our own tank. We add one more meeting to our schedule, we write one more email, make one more call, we drink one more cup of coffee, we see one more client, we put in one more hour of work before calling it a day. Unfortunately in life, we not only top off the tank, but too often use the “wrong gas” as we pursue goals that lack meaning.

  •  
    A seamless sticker is displayed next to the menu in the window of a restaurant in New York’s Times Square. Eat24, GrubHub, Seamless, Delivery.com and a growing list of smaller online ordering services have changed the way people order takeout.

    Shift in ordering takeout a sweet and sour tale
    Associated Press
    Eat24, GrubHub, Seamless, Delivery.com and a growing list of smaller online ordering services have changed the way people order takeout and delivery. Instead of dialing a restaurant, hungry souls go online, or open a smartphone app, to order their next meal. Competition to sign up restaurants and customers is fierce. The companies constantly update their social media accounts, hand out coupons and even advertise on porn sites to stand out.

  •  
    Kmart’s new rent-to-own program is drawing complaints from some consumer groups.

    Kmart rent-to-own program turns $300 TV into $415 buy
    Bloomberg
    Kmart is introducing a rent-to-own program charging the equivalent of 100-plus percent annual interest, a move into a business that has drawn criticism for hurting low-income consumers. “The rent-to-own industry promises consumers the American dream of ownership,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a Boston-based consumer group. “But its contracts provide for very high-cost payments, and it is difficult to complete the contract.”

Life & Entertainment

  •  
    The Baker house has a sunken family room area viewed as one walks into the Great Falls, Va., home. Just outside are the patio and the pool.

    Longtime buildjng pro designs a ‘forever’ home
    By Michele Lerner
    You might expect Josh Baker, who owns a remodeling business, to constantly tinker with his own home. But Josh and his wife, Jill, always knew they wanted to stay in their Great Falls, Va., home for their entire lives, so their plan allowed for lifestyle changes right from the beginning.

  •  
    This publicity file photo released by Walt Disney Studios and Marvel shows Chris Hemsworth in a scene from “Thor: The Dark World.” “Thor: The Dark World” continued its box-office reign with $38.5 million in its second week, holding off ì”he Best Man Holiday,” according to studio estimates Sunday.

    'Best Man' nearly topples 'Thor' at box office
    Associated Press
    Disney's “Thor: The Dark World” continued its box-office reign with $38.5 million in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Sunday. Opening 15 years after the original “The Best Man,” Universal's “The Best Man Holiday” opened strongly with $30.6 million.

  •  
    This March 5, 1989 file photo shows actors Ryan O’Neal, left, and Farrah Fawcett at the premiere of the film. “Chances Are,” in New York. Jury selection could begin as early as Thursday, Nov. 21, in a Los Angeles courtroom in a dispute between O’Neal and the University of Texas at Austin over the ownership of an Andy Warhol portrait of Fawcett.

    Trial to decide fate of Warhol portrait of Farrah Fawcett
    Associated Press
    Andy Warhol’s artwork has always grabbed attention and sparked discussion, but one of his portraits of Farrah Fawcett is about to receive scrutiny of a different kind in a Los Angeles courtroom. The case centers on a relatively simple question: Does one of Warhol’s depictions of Fawcett belong to her longtime lover, Ryan O’Neal, or should it join its twin at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin?

  •  
    In this Feb. 11, 2011 file photo, Director Angelina Jolie smiles during the press conference of the film “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” at the 62 edition of the Berlinale, International Film Festival in Berlin. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Awards to Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Jolie. All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s 5th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 16, 2013, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Center in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.

    Jolie, Martin moved to tears at Governors Awards
    Associated Press
    Angelina Jolie, Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury were moved to tears at the film academy’s fifth annual Governors Awards. Each of the entertainers accepted honorary Oscar statuettes Saturday at a private dinner at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Italian costume designer Piero Tosi was also honored, but did not attend the ceremony.

  •  
    The average Turkey Day dinner will cost $49.04, or just 44 cents less in 2013 than it did in 2012.

    Thanksgiving dinner price down slightly from last year
    Associated Press
    Here’s another reason to be thankful this holiday season — the cost of putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table is down slightly from last year.But don’t bank on those savings for any big Black Friday splurges. The average Turkey Day dinner will cost $49.04, or just 44 cents less this year than it did in 2012. And while every penny counts, if you need to do any traveling to belly up to the big meal, increases in airline and train tickets mean that 44 cents won’t get you very far.The good news is that after some steep price hikes during the economic downturn about five years ago, food prices have remained mostly stable this year. It’s a welcome change from 2011, when the cost of Thanksgiving dinner jumped $5.73, up from $43.47 in 2010, according to the annual informal survey of consumer grocery prices performed by the American Farm Bureau Federation.The group estimates the cost by averaging non-sale food prices around the country based on feeding 10 people a meal of turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk. And yes, their estimates account for the need for those all-important leftovers.The credit for this year’s slight drop in price goes to stable commodity and fuel prices, both strong drivers of the prices consumers pay at the store, says Ricky Volpe, a research economist with the USDA’s Economic Research Service. He says overall grocery prices are down about one-tenth of a percent since January.One exception — poultry. Though the Farm Bureau didn’t detect a price increase in turkey since last year (they actually found the price for a 16-pound bird down 47 cents), Volpe says consumers shouldn’t be surprised if that component of the meal jumps as much as 5 percent over last year. Higher demand and feed prices are to blame.However, you might save a bit of cash on gas when you head to the grocer to get your turkey. At the moment, drivers are paying about 25 cents less per gallon than they were a year ago, with a national average of $3.19, according to travel tracker AAA. And while the group hasn’t issued a prediction for gas prices the week of Thanksgiving, they say that in recent years prices generally have dropped in the weeks leading up to the holiday.Need another reason to drive? The average domestic airfare is up 9.5 percent from last Thanksgiving to $313, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp., which tracks tickets sold by online and by traditional travel agencies. Meanwhile, Amtrak prices in September (the most recent month for which data were available) were up more than 4 percent over a year ago.Consumers won’t be able to do much about the cost of travel, but there’s always plenty of ways to spend less — and a lot more — on food.The Farm Bureau estimate budgets $2.18 for a dozen brown-and-serve dinner rolls. But if you’re willing break out a recipe and bake your own, a home cook could cut almost a dollar off that price. On the flip side, if you’d prefer to leave the cooking to others and purchase a ready-to-eat meal from a grocer, expect to pay a premium for the convenience, maybe $75 or more.Likewise, if your tastes lean to the organic or heirloom end of the food spectrum, you won’t find turkey for $1.36 a pound as the Farm Bureau did. Budgeting two or three times that is a safer bet.And since it’s impossible to escape holiday creep, we might as well break the bad news about your Christmas roast. Beef prices are at or near record highs this year, so you can expect to pay as much as 2.5 percent more than last year for that succulent rib roast you’ve been waiting all year for.

  •  

    Daughter-in-law turning molehills into mountains
    By Carolyn Hax
    Q. Each year, my mother-in-law sends out a (ridiculously braggy and self-righteous) holiday “letter.” She recently sent a group text to my husband, his sister and me asking for our favorite pictures from the year to include in her Christmas letter. I plan to call her and say that although I’m thankful for her thinking of us, we will again be sending out our own holiday card and do not need to be explicitly included in hers. Am I just stirring up unnecessary trouble?

  •  
    Actress Betsey Means, pictured, will portray American poet Emily Dickinson in the “I Dwell in Possibility: An Intimate Evening with Emily Dickinson” program at the Byron Colby Barn in Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.

    Sunday picks: Meet Emily Dickinson in Grayslake
    By Scott Morgan and Laura Stewart
    Actress Betsy Means introduces fans to Emily Dickinson at the Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake. The Grammy Award-winning Robert Cray Band plays blues at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. And Larry Yando reprises his role as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman production of "A Christmas Carol," in previews this weekend.

  •  
    Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from “12 Years A Slave.” From “12 Years a Slave” to “The Butler” to “Fruitvale Station,” 2013 has been a banner year for movies directed by black filmmakers. Like seldom before, African American stories are being told on the big screen without white protagonists.

    In banner year for black films, the hope is for momentum
    By Jake Coyle
    Oprah Winfrey has heard this story before. A wave of high-profile films about black people receives accolades. A heart-warming trend of greater on-screen equality is declared. Hollywood basks in its multiculturalism — and then returns to business as usual.

  •  
    Will Forte plays David Grant, left, and Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant in “Nebraska,” about a booze-addled father who makes to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

    ’Nebraska’ continues allure of black-and-white films
    By Jake Coyle
    Black-and-white movies are a rarity today, but they nevertheless cling to a persistent and exceptional existence among more flashy fare at the multiplexes. Usually black-and-white is attempted by ambitious young filmmakers or veterans with enough industry pull. Yet audiences have proven open-minded about black-and-white: The crowd-pleasing 2011’s “The Artist” won best picture without the benefit of color or sound, just as did Steven Spielberg’s black-and-white “Schindler’s List” (1993).

  •  
    Isabelle Triezenberg, 21, looks more like a cheerleader or camp counselor than a recovering heroin addict. But in many ways she exemplifies a new generation that is less intimidated by the drug. She is shown outside the drug court’s recovery home in Joliet last month.

    Mexican cartel finds more buyers for cheap, potent heroin among Midwestern youth
    By Andrew Martin
    Kaelan Mondragon’s death last March in Wheaton was one of 43 fatal heroin overdoses so far this year in DuPage County. County coroner Richard Jorgensen said heroin deaths increased to 43 last year from 26 in 2011. Similar spikes in fatal heroin overdoses have been recorded in other counties surrounding Chicago. Neighboring Will County had 53 last year, up from 30 in 2011.

  •  
    The Doctor Who of the BBC series is an alien given to moodiness, wacky fits and bizarre non sequiturs. The 12th and newest Doctor is Peter Capaldi.

    ‘Doctor Who’ at 50: Charming but a little too alien
    By Hank Stuever, The Washington Post
    In television’s vast universe, there is perhaps no acquired taste that is more difficult to acquire than the taste for “Doctor Who,” BBC’s long-running sci-fi series about an alien dandy who navigates the time-space continuum in a phone-booth-style British police box. It’s been on (and off, and then on again) for five decades, but despite its increased popularity, “Doctor Who” remains steadfastly niche.

  •  
    “The Valley of Amazement” is the latest book by Amy Tan.

    Amy Tan tells sweeping tale in new book
    By Kim Curtis, Associated Press
    The prolific and award-winning Amy Tan has delivered yet another sweeping tale of mothers and daughters that spans continents and generations. “The Valley of Amazement” begins in Shanghai in the early 1800s where she introduces readers to Lucia Minturn, who owns a high-end courtesan house, and her daughter, Violet, who grows up there among the women and their customers. Through choice — or perhaps by accident — Violet ends up abandoned in Shanghai while her mother sets sail for San Francisco.

  •  
    The herb garden at Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve in Niles, Mich., is well-worth a visit.

    Michigan towns lure suburbanites with promise of relaxation
    Daily Herald Report
    Harbor Country, as it is known just across the Indiana border into southwest Michigan, is only about 90 minutes away from Chicago’s suburbs. But it’s another mindset away from the stresses of day-to-day life. “Our eight towns are like one big town with an abundance of green space,” says Kim Pruitt, marketing coordinator for the Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce. “Beautiful sandy beaches, vineyards, woods and preserves set the tone for a creative and relaxed environment.” It’s a culturally rich area with myriad options for lodging, relaxation and entertainment.

  •  
    An X marks the spot on Elm Street where the first bullet hit President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, near the former Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Sixth Floor Museum, background, on Dealey Plaza in Dallas.

    Dallas sites tied to JFK’s killing still resonate
    By Jamie Stengle, Associated Press
    A 1930s-era movie theater. A county hospital. An old brick rooming house. A bustling airport. Sites associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, are scattered throughout Dallas and beyond. As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the murder, the places connected to Kennedy’s final hours — and to his killer, Lee Harvey Oswald — still resonate. “I like to think of it as ordinary places with extraordinary stories,” said Dallas city archivist John Slate.

  •  
    This stirrup vessel is a form popular with pre-Columbian people mainly located in Peru — but is it old?

    A pre-Columbian stirrup pot — or is it?
    By Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
    Q. My grandfather was a buyer for Wrigley Chewing Gum and he frequently visited South and Central America to buy, well, gum. He brought back from one such trip this pottery vase. Can you identify this item and suggest whether it belongs in a museum, is collectible or is of little value?

  •  
    Cedar wreath with weather resistant bow and berry picks, at Treetime in Lake Barrington.

    Holiday decorating expands with themes throughout the home
    By Jean Murphy
    “Less” may be “more” when it comes to most of today’s decorating. But that adage goes out the window when it comes to the holidays. It seems every year the decorations in local homes only get more and more elaborate, said Laurie Kane, owner of Treetime Christmas Creations in Lake Barrington.

  •  
    This simple fire pit was made from tumbled concrete pavers with diagonal edges that may be used as is, or add a metal insert as shown here.

    Fire up your backyard landscaping
    By Maureen Gilmer
    A fire pit is quite doable for anyone with a backyard who wants to create a relaxing evening outdoor amenity. Fire extends your outdoor living season well beyond the summer months by warming outdoor spaces.

  •  

    Bleach or acid solution may help ligthen water stains
    By Henri de Marne
    Q. A leak wetted my interior paneling. At the extremities of the water stains, as they dried, a very dark coloring has occurred. Do you know of any method or product that can be used to minimize or eliminate the dark coloring?

  •  
    Wall-mounted bathroom faucets provide a very trendy look and can make it easier to clean the sink or counter, since the entire faucet is raised off the deck.

    Wall-mounted faucets can top standard faucet choices
    By Ed Del Grande
    Q. We would like to put in a wall-mounted faucet. Will that be more expensive than putting in a regular faucet that just mounts on the sink?

Discuss

  •  

    Editorial: It’s time for bipartisan solutions on health care
    The Daily Herald Editorial Board
    A Daily Herald editorial says the only thing more frustrating than the problems exposed with the inept implementation of the federal health care law is the inability of Democrats and Republicans to work together to solve them

  •  

    When it comes to sports coverage, you just can’t win
    By Jim Davis
    We try really, really hard not to show bias when it comes to our sports teams. But that's a tall order when you're dealing with so many fanatics, says Jim Davis, DuPage/Fox Valley news director.

  •  

    The entrepreneurs of outrage
    By Michael Gerson
    Columnist Michael Gerson: Do religious conservatives really want their faith to be known for its fears?

  •  

    Voters must act to rebuild state reputation
    A Northbrook letter to the editor: There’s been lots of talk about the relative importance in the selection of “second banana,” the Illinois governor’s running mate. But frankly speaking, I believe all that talk is of little or no consequence, or interest, to the scores of citizens of Illinois that I know who, like myself, care far more about who is chosen as the guy at the top.

  •  

    Enforcing parking laws a matter of safety
    A Schaumburg letter to the editor: On the Sunday morning news on Nov. 10, the Illinois secretary of state announced a major crackdown on those who park illegally in handicapped spaces during Bears games. Great move,

  •  

    Obama deceptive about ACA from beginning
    A Palatine letter to the editor: For three years he has been lying to us. Had he been truthful about this from the beginning, it’s very possible he wouldn’t have been re-elected.

  •  

    Mandatory sentencing bill deserved to fail
    An Elk Grove Village letter to the editor: The NRA and the ISRA would have backed it if it had said repeat felons. The way it was written, it could have a law-abiding person get jail time for forgetting his FOID card. It was aimed at the law-abiding and concealed-carry people.

  •  

    Strong military keeps world peace
    A Wheaton letter to the editor: The United States has largely kept the global peace since World War II — global casualties from World War I were 37 million, and World War II were 60 million. Conflicts that have followed these, including Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq, while all horrible, pale in comparison.

  •  

    Bishop should end policy of exclusion
    An Algonquin letter to the editor: In yet another disappointing letter read to us during Mass, Bishop David Malloy of the Rockford Diocese slammed the Illinois General Assembly for the passage into law of SB10 which legalized same-sex marriage in our state.

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