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Daily Archive : Wednesday December 25, 2013

News

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    Keanu Reeves stars in “47 Ronin.”

    Reeves comes off bogus in 'Ronin'
    By Peter Debruge, Variety
    In Japan, the story of the 47 ronin is so central to the country's national identity that a special word exists for the act of retelling it: Chushingura. But despite this long tradition of flexible reinterpretation, the Hollywood-backed “47 Ronin” takes such liberties with the underlying legend that a different term comes to mind, one better suited to American actor Keanu Reeves'...

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    Ill. Lottery officials: Double-check old tickets
    Associated Press
    Illinois Lottery officials are asking people to take another look at those old lottery tickets. There are two unclaimed winning tickets that were purchased in Chicago almost a year ago. One is for the $100,000 Lucky Day Lotto prize and another is a $250,000 Mega Millions prize.

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    Saudi women look at jewelry at a gold fair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With global attention focused on upheaval elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia quietly intensified its clampdown on dissent in 2013.

    Activists say 2013 dark year for Saudi rights
    Associated Press
    With global attention focused on upheaval elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia quietly intensified its clampdown on dissent in 2013, silencing democracy advocates and human rights defenders with arrests, trials and intimidation in what reformists say was one of the darkest years ever for their efforts in the powerful U.S.-allied Gulf state.

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    NJ tribe sues makers of film ‘Out of the Furnace’
    Associated Press
    The movie’s villain, played by Woody Harrelson, has the last name DeGroat, which is common among the Ramapough. Tribal members identify as descendants of the Lenape or Lunaape Nation, with some Dutch and other European ancestry in their heritage. Most of the 17 plaintiffs in the suit have the DeGroat last name.

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    Rockie Douglas

    Beach Park man accused of 3 carjackings, death of 11-year-old
    By Steve Zalusky
    The Beach Park man suspected of three carjackings in the Chicago area and causing the accident that killed an 11-year-old Chicago boy is in Milwaukee County Jail, awaiting extradition to Illinois, authorities said. “We were able to pin his car against the wall with two other cars, to make sure he wouldn’t flee,” said Ed Farrell, supervisory inspector with the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional...

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    Edward Snowden says his “mission’s already accomplished” after leaking National Security Agency secrets that have caused a reassessment of U.S. surveillance policies.

    Snowden: Surveillance worse than Orwell’s ‘1984’ envisioned
    Bloomberg
    Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, in a Christmas message on a London television station, called government surveillance worse than anything envisioned by George Orwell in his novel “1984.”

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    Phyllis and Will LaRiviere of Naperville are all smiles at the 30th annual Christmas senior luncheon, hosted by the Naperville Park District and Naperville YMCA, on Wednesday.

    Naperville seniors have a jolly Christmas
    By Paul Michna
    “I had nobody for the Christmas holiday, so I decided to come here,” said George Smith, a 46-year resident of Naperville. Smith was one of more than 200 people who took part in the Christmas luncheon for seniors, held Wednesday by the Naperville Park District and the YMCA at the Chicago Marriott Naperville.

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    Eric and Cynthia Haynes of Elgin and one of their daughters, Payla, 10, plate up at Lazarus House’s annual Christmas brunch at the Free Methodist Church in St. Charles on Wednesday.

    Christmas at Lazarus House a Fox Valley tradition
    By Laura Stoecker
    Close to 200 people gathered for Lazarus House's annual community dinner at the Free Methodist Church in St. Charles on Christmas Day. The potluck family-style meal brings people of all backgrounds together to spend the holiday making conversation and new friends.

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    Woman in North Aurora shooting enters second-chance program
    By Harry Hitzeman
    A 22-year-old woman who was arrested on drug charges after two men were shot in a drug-related break-in at a North Aurora apartment in fall 2012 has been admitted to Kane County's Deferred Prosecution Program.

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    Des Plaines City Clerk Gloria Ludwig, left, serves Christmas dinner to Marta Androne of Schaumburg and Hilda Hoffmann of Des Plaines.

    Holiday food and fellowship for Des Plaines seniors
    By Steve Lundy
    Christmas spirit was in the air as 20 volunteers served a holiday dinner to about 100 seniors at the Frisbie Senior Center in Des Plaines Wednesday. “It means everything,” said Des Plaines City Clerk Gloria Ludwig as she served plates of food with a Santa hat on her head. “We are serving the community, people in need that don’t have anywhere else to go."

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    Water damage stains are visible on the inside of the Capitol Dome during a tour on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. Scaffolding will begin to cover the Capitol dome this spring when the $60 million restoration project begins. This is the first major renovation since 1960.

    Capitol’s historic dome set for 2-year renovation
    Associated Press
    A world-famous symbol of democracy is going under cover, as workers start a two-year, $60 million renovation of the U.S. Capitol dome. Curved rows of scaffolds, like Saturn’s rings, will encircle it next spring, enabling contractors to strip multiple layers of paint and repair more than 1,000 cracks and broken pieces.

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    Prospect Heights police Cpl. Scott Minniear and Andrea Ricard of St. Alphonsus Ligouri Parish with gifts donated to the 2013 Giving Tree.

    Prospect Hts. police donate to Giving Tree
    Daily Herald report
    The Prospect Heights Police Association donated more than $500 in gifts, purchased and wrapped by members of the Prospect Heights Police Department and their families to the 2013 Giving Tree Program which provides Christmas gifts to the children of struggling Prospect Heights families.

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    Missing Wisconsin woman found in Wheaton
    Associated Press
    An 82-year-old Wisconsin woman who was missing for more than a day was found safe about 80 miles away after she collapsed in a grocery store in Wheaton. Jean Fox told store employees she thought she was in Racine.

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    A man walks through what is left of a neighborhood in Washington, Ill., a day after the Nov. 17 tornado ripped through the central Illinois town.

    Pastor’s church focused on post-tornado recovery
    Associated Press
    A pastor whose church was central to cleanup efforts after deadly tornadoes swept through central Illinois last month said it’s time for a new phase of recovery.

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    Professor Kevin Stein is in the middle of his third term as Illinois’ poet laureate.

    Laureate puts own stamp on Illinois poetry
    Associated Press
    A decade ago this month, Kevin Stein was chosen for a daunting task: following two Pulitzer Prize winners, Gwendolyn Brooks and Carl Sandburg, as the poet laureate of Illinois. Ten years later the Bradley University professor has put his own signature on a position that is unpaid but considered crucial to widening appreciation for the art form.

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    The state legislature allowed last year, for the first time, a highly regulated river otter trapping season.

    Otters make major comeback in Illinois
    By Tracy Moss, The (Champaign) News-Gazette
    Illinois’ largest member of the weasel family has made one of the biggest comebacks in the state’s endangered species history. Their ranks have gone from only 100 in pockets of extreme southern and western Illinois in the late 1970s to 15,000-plus statewide today.

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    7 hurt on amusement park ride in Utica
    Associated Press
    Seven people were treated and released from a northern Illinois hospital after receiving minor injuries when an indoor amusement park ride malfunctioned at Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort in Utica.

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    Quinn has Christmas lunch with sailors
    Associated Press
    The governor’s office said Wednesday that the Chicago Democrat had Christmas lunch in Berwyn with more than 100 service members from Naval Station Great Lakes.

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    Decapitated body found in Chicago apartment
    Associated Press
    Chicago police are investigating after finding the decapitated body of a 41-year-old man inside an apartment on the city’s Northwest Side. Charges are pending against an 18-year-old man.

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    In this photo from Dec. 20, 2013, certified enrollment specialist Richelle Baker, right, talks to Martha Medina, left, and her daughter Martha, both from Hialeah, Fla., at a Healthcare Insurance Marketplace office in Miami. The mother and daughter checked the different insurance plans and decided to go home a discuss the different options available to them.

    Study finds confusion over health insurance vocabulary
    Washington Post
    Hundreds of thousands of Americans have spent the days leading up to Christmas trying to navigate the HealthCare.gov website — with varying degrees of success. But even for those who successfully enrolled for insurance coverage, that’s only one big hurdle behind them. The next is understanding how their plan works.

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    Chris Serrano, left, and Clifton Webb kiss after being married, as people wait in line to get licenses outside of the marriage division of the Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office in Salt Lake City, last Friday.

    Gay marriage’s latest frontier: state courts
    Associated Press
    Advocates on both sides of the gay marriage debate predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that overturned part of a federal ban on gay marriage would create a pathway for states to act. They were right.

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    An Egyptian police major general points towards a sign with Arabic that reads, “yes to the constitution, Egyptians love their country,” in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday. The constitutional referendum will be held on Jan. 14 and 15.

    Egypt names Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group
    Associated Press
    Egypt’s military-backed interim government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization Wednesday, intensifying its campaign of arrests and prosecutions targeting its members and tightening the noose on the group’s network of charities and businesses.

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    Pope Francis delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the City and to the World) message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday. Francis wished for a better world, with peace for the land of Jesus’ birth, for Syria and Africa, as well as for the dignity of migrants and refugees fleeing misery and conflict.

    Pope’s Christmas wish: hope for a better world
    Associated Press
    Pope Francis offered Christmas wishes Wednesday for a better world, praying for protection for Christians under attack, battered women and trafficked children, peace in the Middle East and Africa, and dignity for refugees fleeing misery and conflict around the globe.

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    Peoria Co. may get drunken driving memorial signs
    Associated Press
    The families of drunken driving victims might soon be able to put up roadside memorial signs in Peoria County.

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    Rev. Jackson making Christmas visit to county jail
    Associated Press
    The Rev. Jesse Jackson and other clergy members from Chicago will visit inmates at Cook County Jail this Christmas Day.

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    Cardinal George celebrating Christmas Mass at jail
    Associated Press
    Francis Cardinal George plans to celebrate Christmas with a Mass at the Cook County Jail and by visiting hospitalized children.

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    This photo provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles via the Reno Gazette-Journal and KXTV News 10 shows Alan Frazier. Frazier, who complained he had a botched 2010 surgery, left a suicide note outlining plans for his attack before targeting physicians in a deadly rampage at a medical office that left one doctor dead and another critically wounded, police said Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013.

    Nevada gunman told patients to flee before killing
    Associated Press
    Newly released 911 tapes paint a scene of panic and terror inside a Reno medical building where dozens of callers hid in bathrooms and exam rooms from a suicidal gunman who killed one doctor and shot another at a urology clinic where he said he’d had a vasectomy that ruined his life.

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    Las Vegas cab driver finds $300K in back seat
    Associated Press
    Las Vegas cab driver Gerardo Gamboa thought someone left a bag of chocolates in the back seat. But this stash turned out to be cold hard cash.

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    U.S. Embassy in Kabul attacked on Christmas Day
    Associated Press
    The U.S. Embassy in Kabul was hit by indirect fire before dawn on Christmas Day but no Americans were hurt, as attacks elsewhere in Afghanistan killed at least six people Wednesday, officials said.

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    EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, shakes hands with Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, during midnight Christmas mass at the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

    Worshippers rejoice in Jesus’ Bethlehem birthplace
    Associated Press
    Pilgrims are celebrating Christmas Day in the ancient Bethlehem church where tradition holds Jesus was born. Worshippers filled the fourth-century Church of the Nativity complex Wednesday with candles illuminating the sacred site and the sounds of joyous prayer filling its halls.

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    In this picture provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the City and to the World) message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

    Text of pope’s Christmas message
    Associated Press
    The Vatican’s official English-language translation of Pope Francis’ Christmas message, delivered on Wednesday in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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    The 1992 Tom Lynch painting.

    Images: Tom Lynch Christmas Day paintings
    For several years, Aurora artist Tom Lynch's holiday paintings have graced the the front page of the Daily Herald's Christmas Day edition. Here's a look back at many of the paintings.

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    An original painting by Tom Lynch, an acclaimed watercolorist from Naperville, has graced the Daily Herald front page each Christmas Day for decades.

    Our Tom Lynch Christmas card to you: Joy and peace
    Our traditional Tom Lynch Christmas card to you evokes feelings of family and home.The acclaimed watercolorist from Naperville has painted our Christmas Day art each year for decades.

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    Rob Szymkowski, with Burke Transport Service in Libertyville, places a gas line hose back on to his truck after delivering diesel fuel to IDOT in Arlington Heights.

    IDOT work must go on, despite weather
    By George LeClaire
    It was a bitterly cold day Tuesday, but the work continued at the Illinois Department of Transportation maintenance facility in Arlington Heights.

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    Karen Beith, center, with her husband, Bill, and granddaughters Grace, Gretchen and Gabby.

    ‘Healing tree’ helps Elburn family deal with mom’s cancer
    By Harry Hitzeman
    After the holidays, the Christmas tree at the Beith home in Elburn won't come down anytime soon. "Becky's Healing Tree" has been up since December 2012 and symbolizes how much three Huntley girls want their mom to recover from cancer.

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    Dawn Patrol: Payday store robbed; baby-sitter charged with hurting infant
    By James Fuller
    Volunteerism abounds in suburbs on Christmas Eve; firefighter charged with punching woman works for West Dundee, Carpentersville departments; baby-sitter accued of harming infant; Des Plaines payday loan store robbed; Bulls kick off Christmas action for NBA.

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    National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, in Hong Kong.

    Snowden says his mission accomplished
    By Barton Gellman/The Washington Post
    MOSCOW — The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words.“What time does your clock say, exactly?” he asked.He checked the reply against his watch and described a place to meet.“I’ll see you there,” he said.

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    Great Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, left, listens to Samantha Power, the United States U.N. Ambassador, before a United Nations Security Council meeting Tuesday at U.N. headquarters.

    U.N.sending more troops to South Sudan
    Associated Press
    The Security Council voted to temporarily increase the number of U.N. military personnel in South Sudan from 7,000 to 12,500, and the U.N.’s international police contingent from 900 to 1,323.To reach the new levels, the resolution authorizes the temporary transfer of troops, police and equipment from the U.N. missions in Congo, Darfur, Abyei, Ivory Coast and Liberia.

Sports

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    Houston Rockets forward Omri Casspi congratulates guard Jeremy Lin on a play during the second half of Wednesday’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs.

    Rockets knock off Spurs 111-98
    Associated Press
    James Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds, leading the balanced Houston Rockets to a 111-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

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    Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook, left, and Duncan Keith, right celebrate with goalie Antti Niemi their 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference finals Sunday, May 23, 2010 in Chicago. The Blackhawks swept the series 4-0.

    Defensemen huge reason Hawks are scoring in bunches
    Associated Press
    Forget Patrick Kane’s flashy moves and Jonathan Toews’ steady play. Same for the rest of the talented forwards on the Blackhawks. Instead, check out the players who line up right behind the team’s biggest stars. The Hawks’ athletic defensemen play a prominent role in the NHL’s most potent offense.

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    Center Roberto Garza, a 13-year veteran including the last nine with the Bears, has anchored an offensive line featuring the same five players starting in all 15 games this season — including rookie Kyle Long, left. The others, who are not pictured, are Jermon Bushrod, Matt Slauson and Jordan Mills.

    Time to shine spotlight on offensive line
    By Bob LeGere
    It hasn't gotten as much credit as the skill-position players, but the Bears' offensive line has paved the way for much of the unit's success this season. The same five guys have started up front for the Bears in all 15 games — left tackle Jermon Bushrod, left guard Matt Slauson, center Roberto Garza, right guard Kyle Long and right tackle Jordan Mills.

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    Battling barracuda in Keys an angler’s delight
    By Mike Jackson
    It was the only time to sneak away for a few days of sun and scrumptious Florida stone crabs.It was a perfect time to recharge our batteries. So, to the Flordia Keys we drove from Boca Raton, full of anticipation and hopes that the puffy, white clouds wouldn’t obstruct some of the sun’s rays.

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    Miami Heat center Chris Bosh, top, blocks a shot by Los Angeles Lakers forward Xavier Henry during the second half of Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles.

    Miami beats Lakers 101-95 for 6th straight victory
    Associated Press
    Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had 23 points apiece, and LeBron James added 19 points in the Heat’s sixth straight win. Bosh grabbed 11 rebounds and Ray Allen made four 3-pointers for 12 points, helping Miami improve to 5-0 against the Lakers on the holiday.

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    Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Kyle Orton, left, and Tony Romo warm up for a game against the Oakland Raiders. Orton is expected to start Sunday night against Philadelphia.

    Orton appears set to start for Cowboys
    Associated Press
    Kyle Orton will make his first start at quarterback in his two seasons with the Cowboys on Sunday night, unless Tony Romo can recover from a herniated disc. Dallas will be playing a winner-take-all game at home against the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East title and a playoff berth.

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    Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is sacked by Dallas Cowboys defensive end George Selvie (99) as defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (97) helps on the play during their Oct. 20 game.

    Foles still hears about 1 bad game
    Associated Press
    QB Nick Foles has given fans of the Philadelphia Eagles plenty of gifts this year. But for all of his accomplishments, Foles is constantly reminded about his first game against the Cowboys.

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    Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien skates away as Edmonton’s Andrew Ference (21), Jordan Eberle (14) and Ales Hemsky (83) celebrate a goal during the first period of Monday’s game in Edmonton, Alberta.

    Honeymoon over for Winnipeg Jets
    Associated Press
    Winnipeg Jets tickets, once hard to come by, are now readily available. Those who do attend have booed their 16-18-5 team for inconsistent play that has the club sitting near the bottom of its new, tough Central Division.

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    The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant has a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau of his left knee.

    No Kobe on Christmas
    Associated Press
    Kobe Bryant wasn’t happy about spending Christmas Day on the sideline, unable to help the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant leads the NBA with a record 15 appearances on Christmas Day, but he’s out an expected four to six weeks with a fracture in his left knee.

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    Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant shoots against New York Knicks forward Kenyon Martin, center, as guard J.R. Smith, left, and forward Amare Stoudemire watch during the second half of Wednesday’s game at Madison Square Garden.

    Durant, Thunder roll over Knicks
    Associated Press
    Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by the middle of the third quarter, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 123-94 victory Wednesday over the New York Knicks, who played without Carmelo Anthony.

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    The Packers’ Clay Matthews walks off the field after an injury during the first half of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Green Bay, Wis.

    Matthews out for Bears game
    Associated Press
    Packers linebacker Clay Matthews will miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears for the NFC North title after aggravating a right thumb injury.

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    Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has an NFL-worst 14 turnovers since Week 11.

    Stafford takes heavy blame for Lions’ fall
    Associated Press
    There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Detroit Lions’ fall from the NFC North driver’s seat to a Week 17 game with no playoff implications. It’s particularly hard to ignore the performance of quarterback Matthew Stafford during the team’s late-season slide.

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    Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch has passed for 2,676 yards and 23 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 22 scores and even caught a touchdown pass in leading the Huskies to a 12-1 record.

    NIU’s Lynch could make history in Poinsettia Bowl
    Associated Press
    Jordan Lynch will make a run at history Thursday night when he suits up for the final time for No. 24 Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl against Utah State. Lynch already owns the major college record for yards rushing for a quarterback with 1,881. With 119 yards, he can become the first player to rush for 2,000 yards and throw for 2,000. “I’m just really proud of him and wish I had him for about 10 more years, but we don’t,” NIU coach Rod Carey said.

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    Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson lines up a shot during the first half of the NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center Wednesday in New York.

    Healthier Bulls win in their PJs, beating Brooklyn 95-78
    By Mike McGraw
    Taj Gibson had a big game in his hometown of Brooklyn, leading six players in double figures as the Bulls rolled past the Nets 95-78. While Gibson scored 20 points, the Bulls took advantage of a healthier lineup. “It’s good to get guys back,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Our starters were very solid and our bench guys did a great job. Taj was super.”

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    Carlos Boozer, left, and Joakim Noah relax as the Bulls close out the host Brooklyn Nets 95-78 on Wednesday.

    Bulls could mess up one of best opportunities in sports history
    By Mike Imrem
    Judging by their Christmas game at Brooklyn, the Bulls are in danger of missing a great opportunity. They simply might not be pathetic enough to qualify for the NBA draft lottery out of the even more pathetic NBA East.

Business

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    Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the members of a task force to assess the impact of the closure of dozens of Dominick’s grocery stores.

    Emanuel names members of grocery task force
    Associated Press
    Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the members of a task force to assess the impact of the closure of dozens of Dominick’s grocery stores. Parent company Safeway Inc. said in October it would stop operating 72 Dominick’s stores in the Chicago area by the end of the year. Only a few of the stores have been bought by competitors.

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    Package handler Chris Addison arranges packages before loading a delivery truck at a FedEx sorting facility in Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 16.

    Santa’s sleigh delayed after snags at UPS, FedEx
    Associated Press
    Santa’s sleigh didn’t make it in time for Christmas for some this year due to shipping problems at UPS and FedEx. The delays were blamed on poor weather earlier this week in parts of the country as well as overloaded systems.

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    What if you missed the Christmas Eve deadline and still want insurance in 2014, as the health law requires of most Americans? You may be without health insurance for a month, but you can still sign up for coverage that will start in February.

    Health insurance coverage: What’s next?
    Associated Press
    The deadline has passed, and so too the surprise grace period, for signing up for health insurance as part of the nation’s health care law. Now what? For those who were able to navigate the glitch-prone and often overwhelmed HealthCare.gov website, there’s still work to be done to make sure success online leads to actual coverage come the new year.

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    Lisa Donlea, 41, of Irvine, Calif., holds her breath and hopes the Covered California enrollment site will go to the next step, Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in Laguna, Calif. It did after 12 minutes. The federal health insurance exchange enrollment took nearly two hours for Donlea and a counselor to complete due to the website’s slowness.

    Health insurance guide: 3 next steps for enrollees
    By The Associated Press
    The Christmas Eve deadline to enroll via HeatlhCare.gov for health care insurance that starts Jan. 1 has passed. Here are some tips for those who met the deadline and those who didn’t.

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    Taxi driver Porfirio Valdez of the Bronx with his 2006 Lincoln Town Car, which originally was black. The green paint job has almost doubled his income.

    NYC taxi drivers see green as new cabs cruise outside Manhattan
    Bloomberg News
    The greening of the New York taxi — a symbol of the city akin to the Brooklyn Bridge or Empire State Building — is lowering the bar of entry for owner-drivers like Valdez who had been priced out a market where a yellow-cab permit is valued at more than $1 million. It’s also ushering in a new era of transportation for the 6.7 million New Yorkers, or about 80 percent of the population, who live in neighborhoods where hailing a yellow cab is virtually impossible.

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    CGI Federal, the company responsible for building the problem-plagued website for the Affordable Care Act, won the job because of what federal officials deemed a “technically superior” proposal, according to government documents and people familiar with the decision.

    HealthCare.gov site builder mishandled previous projects
    The Washington Post
    CGI Federal, the company responsible for building the problem-plagued website for the Affordable Care Act, won the job because of what federal officials deemed a “technically superior” proposal, according to government documents and people familiar with the decision. Not considered in the 2011 selection process was the history of numerous executives at CGI Federal, who had come from another company that had mishandled at least 20 other government information technology projects more than a decade ago.

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    An earth mover, and a dump truck move through the open lignite pit at Liberty Mine adjacent to the Mississippi Power’s Kemper County energy facility in central Mississippi near DeKalb. The plant, America’s newest, most expensive coal-fired power plant is hailed as one of the cleanest on the planet, thanks to government-backed technology that removes carbon dioxide and keeps it out of the atmosphere. Once the carbon is stripped away, it will be used to do something that is not so green at all — extract oil. Power companies sell the carbon dioxide to oil companies, which pump it into old oil fields to force more crude to the surface.

    Obama pushes more oil production to clean up coal
    Associated Press
    America’s newest, most expensive coal-fired power plant is hailed as one of the cleanest on the planet, thanks to government-backed technology that removes carbon dioxide and keeps it out of the atmosphere. But once the carbon is stripped away, it will be used to do something that is not so green at all. It will extract oil.

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    FBI probe shows risks of local stadium boom
    From 1993 to 2003, at least 86 minor-league baseball stadiums collectively costing almost $1.5 billion opened in the U.S. and Canada with at least partial public funding, according to public documents and local news reports. It was the biggest boom in the more than 100-year history of minor-league baseball, almost 60 percent more than the number that opened in the 1930s, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt used ballpark construction to create jobs during the Great Depression.

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    TJane Mahoney stands at a counter in the KU Bookstore on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. About 320 colleges and universities offered tuition guarantees during the 2012-13 school year, according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data done by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. The schools represent about 6.7 percent of the nation’s nearly 4,800 institutions where students receive federal financial aid. Tuition rates for freshmen are guaranteed for four years at Kansas.

    Fixed rates are latest in college tuition plans
    Associated Press
    The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says about 320 colleges and universities offered guarantees during the 2012-13 school year. The programs aren’t discounts. Students sometimes pay more than standard tuition in their first two years to offset lower rates in the last two.But students say the programs help control costs by allowing them to budget wisely and borrow less.

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    The year 2013 was great for the average investor, but few market strategists believe that 2014 will be anywhere near as good.

    Stock market resolutions for 2014
    Associated Press
    2013 was a great year for the average investor, but few market strategists believe that 2014 will be anywhere near as good. The simple strategy of buying U.S. stocks, selling bonds and staying out of international markets isn’t going to work as well as it has, they say. Some of Wall Street’s biggest money managers have come up with a few resolutions to help your retirement portfolio have a good year.

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    Experts expect the economy to modestly improve in 2014.

    Predictions from market experts for 2014
    Associated Press
    It is an understatement to say stock market investors had a good year in 2013. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index soared 28 percent, its best year since 1997. Including dividends, it gained 30 percent. What lies ahead after this historic year? The AP asked leading market analysts and investment managers where they see the Standard & Poor’s 500 index winding up by the end of 2014 and why.

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    Clayton Thomas, left, and Andrea Astarloa, EMTs at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Owyhee, Nev. The tribes who live at Duck Valley are part of hundreds of tribes owed an estimated $2 billion by the federal government for contract support costs. Despite two U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the tribes’ favor, government officials have settled less than one percent of the claims.

    Tribes’ battle with U.S. shakes up the world of federal contracting
    The Washington Post
    When the federal government reneged on its agreement to fully compensate the Shoshone-Paiute tribes for running a hospital on the Duck Valley reservation, the Washington contracting world barely noticed.

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    Paul Nys drives to the edge of his property in Rainier, Ore., where the neighboring property is owned by a timber company. The timber company has completely cleared the hillside of trees, something Nys acknowledges they “had to do,” but Nys and a dozen other timber-lot owners are hoping to help cover their medical expenses by selling carbon credits generated by their forest land.

    Initiative pays people money to leave trees standing
    Associated Press
    Trees act as “carbon sinks,” each one a great big straw that sucks carbon dioxide out of the air and into the tree and its root system. In a voluntary carbon market, companies that pollute or use lots of power, especially in the health care industry, seek to offset their carbon emissions by buying up the carbon-absorbing capacity of farms like Paul Nys'. Through a system established by the initiative, the carbon would be bundled and sold to health care companies, and Nys will pocket dollars based on the 20-year carbon-absorbing capacity of his trees.

Life & Entertainment

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    Older women sit most of their day as researchers question harm
    By Nicole Ostrow
    Older women spend two-thirds of their day not moving around, generally getting up every half-hour for periods of movement, according to a study designed to help researchers understand patterns of sedentary behavior.

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    Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba) waits in a South African jail for 27 years in the face-based drama “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”

    Mandela's 'Long Walk' a long, plodding drama
    By Dann Gire Daily Herald Film Critic
    Justin Chadwick's “Mandela” presents the story of beloved South African leader Nelson Mandela with so much reverent respect, its good intentions nearly choke us. Idris Elba bears little actual resemblance to Mandela. Yet, the movie uses the real Mandela in newsreel footage, photos and on posters. Why constantly thwart the audience's ability to suspend its disbelief?

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    Old boxing rivals Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (Robert De Niro), left, and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) agree to a decades-delayed bout in “Grudge Match.”

    Stallone, De Niro knocked out by supporting cast in ‘Grudge Match’
    By Stephanie Merry
    Most actors fight being pigeonholed. Sylvester Stallone punched his way into being typecast and isn’t rushing to abandon his perch. In the last 37 years, he’s portrayed, among other macho characters, boxer Rocky Balboa six times, and what does he do in the meantime? He stars in “Grudge Match” as Henry “Razor” Sharp, a former light heavyweight champ. Razor inexplicably fled the sport in his heyday, avoiding a tiebreaking fight with rival Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (played by Robert De Niro).

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    Dann & Raymond’s Movie Club looks at the films of Paul Newman, including the Chicago-shot “Road to Perdition.”

    Reel life: Dann & Raymond celebrate Paul Newman
    By Dann Gire
    Dann supplies this week's Reel Life film notes and touts the next Dann & Raymond's Movie Club entry, "The Films of Paul Newman" at the Schaumburg Township District Library on Jan. 2.

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    1959 Chevrolet Apache Suburban

    Son’s 1959 Chevy Suburban is a lot like Dad’s
    By Matthew Avery
    Tom Duensing saw firsthand the usefulness of a capable vehicle decades ago while spending miles on the road with his father in Kane County. His dad, Don Duensing, owned a wholesale food business and relied on a mid-1950s Chevrolet panel truck, much like the 1959 Chevy Suburban Tom owns today.

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    A quick and easy decorating idea is to encircle simple votive candles with coordinating washi colors.

    For quick and easy decorating, think washi
    By Jennifer Forker, Associated Press
    Washi tape — adhesive but easily removed and available in hundreds of colors and patterns — is putting a new spin on decorating. The original thin, sheer tape derived from rice paper was imported from Japan and pounced on about eight years ago by scrapbooking fans and other paper crafters. Its popularity has grown as a creative and simple way to add a personal touch to gifts, wrapping or party decorations.

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    This undated publicity photo provided by Republic Records shows the album cover for “Yours Truly,” by Ariana Grande. With the help of the epic Kenneth ìBabyfaceî Edmonds, the 20-year-old Grande crafted an album that harks on 90ís R&B and highlights her gorgeous, rich tone that mirrors Mariah Carey and at times, Toni Braxton.

    AP music writers’ top 10 albums of the year
    By Mesfin Fekadu and Chris Talbott
    From the goovy melodies of Ariana Grande to th electrifying solo project of Dawn Richard, 2013 was a great year for music. Associated Press Music Writers Mesfin Fekadu and Chris Talbott pick their top 10 albums of the year.

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    John Wells, left, directs actress Meryl Streep during the filming of “August: Osage County.” Streep was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy for her role in the film.

    To be Meryl Streep, it takes work
    By Jake Coyle, Associated Press
    “A big chunk of meat” is how Meryl Streep describes the sprawling, combative dinner scene at the core of “August: Osage County.” In a career filled with sublime crescendos, it’s a showstopper: a knockout feast of everything that has made Streep the greatest American actress.

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    Visitors take photographs of the world heritage site of Stonehenge, England. It has been standing for thousands of years, so Britain’s ancient Stonehenge monument was due for a makeover.

    Ancient Stonehenge gets modern-day revamp
    By Jill Lawless, Associated Press
    After thousands of years, Stonehenge has had a makeover. But visitors may initially feel something is missing: the prehistoric monument itself. Tourists now arrive at a gleaming new timber-and-glass visitor center some 1.5 miles from Stonehenge. The famous stone circle tucked into the rolling green landscape is nowhere to be seen. It’s a teasing introduction to the site, where new facilities and landscaping are designed to “restore the dignity” of Stonehenge, and transform the way more than 1 million visitors a year see it.

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    A dummy of a policeman is placed at a desk as part of an installation at the nuclear shelter from Cold War era at five star Jalta Hotel in downtown Prague, Czech Republic. To mark the 55th anniversary, the hotel began to turn the bunker into an Iron Curtain museum whose first part was opened to the public in November.

    Secret bunker under Prague hotel opens to public
    By Karel Janicek, Associated Press
    One thing was for sure when foreigners stayed at a prestigious Prague hotel during the Cold War era — their telephone conversations were carefully monitored by secret police in a hidden underground bunker some 66 feet under the building. The Jalta hotel at Wencaslas Square in the heart of the Czech capital was built in 1958. It was used as a center for surveillance operations that targeted western visitors staying at one of the several international hotels in Prague at the time. To mark its 55th anniversary, the bunker has been turned into a museum. It opened to the public recently.

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    Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) battles Donnie (Jonah Hill) for the telephone in one of many comic sequences in Martin Scorsese’s fact-based movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

    Scorsese’s ‘Wolf’ a Wall Street comedy with dramatic chops
    By Dann Gire
    “The Wolf of Wall Street” is an operatic ode to greed, gluttony, and selfishness. Nobody gets killed, making this about the closest thing to a Christmastime Martin Scorsese movie since “Hugo” — uh, except for the eyeball-popping graphic nudity and kinky sex stuff.

Discuss

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    Editorial: Remember, it is also blessed to receive
    The Daily Herald Editorial Board
    A Daily Herald editorial urges us to graciously receive the gifts of service given us.

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    Observing advent with the homeless boys
    By Terry Mattingly
    Columnist Terry Mattingly: Then came this crucial detail, the moment when Mary “brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” All of this was familiar territory for the two Cone sons, but not for the two foster children living with the family.

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    Losing today for the unknown
    By Donna Brazile
    Columnist Donna Brazile: We are losing the present, overlooking things happening right where we live, eat, pray and work.

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    Find common ground in different scriptures
    A Plainfield letter to the editor: As an Ahmadi Muslim, I revere and love Jesus just as my Christian brothers and sisters do. This is because the Quran states, “Oh Mary, God gives thee glad tidings of a word from him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honored in this world and in the next and of those who are granted nearness to God (3:46).

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