“Star Trek Into Darkness” has warped its way to a $70.6 million domestic launch from Friday to Sunday, though it’s not setting any light-speed records with a debut that’s lower than the studio’s expectations. The latest voyage of the starship Enterprise fell short of its predecessor, 2009’s “Star Trek,” which opened with $75.2 million.

On television, Winnetka native Charlotte Ross is often cast as an aggressive, and, shall we say, not-so-nice woman. She's no pushover in her latest role, either, as Olivia Vincent, the shrewd dance squad director on "Hit the Floor." The sexy new series debuts May 27 on VH1. "I gravitate to strong women roles," said Ross, 45. "I've played many variations of Eve Donovan.

At 16, Danaca Fiedler of Arlington Heights is already a seasoned baker, crafting treats for her parents and five siblings on a near weekly basis. "What really inspires me is thinking of what friends and family will love," Danaca says. "When I'm baking, I always want it to be for my family and friends and hope they will like it."

Sometimes, as we all know, the best things come in small packages. That can also be true of outdoor living spaces. While many people like to be able to spread out when they are outside, some of the most charming outdoor spaces are those created in a small entryway, balcony, courtyard or patio.

Among the swords, the wrenching letters home and the haunting photographs in the Museum of the Confederacy's new exhibit on Gettysburg, few artifacts embody the ferocious battle more than the eight battle flags recovered from the bloodied fields where Pickett's Charge was fought. The flags, among more than 500 in the museum's extensive collection, are the centerpiece of "Gettysburg: They Walked...

My main goal in reading Khaled Hosseini's new book, "And the Mountains Echoed," was to avoid crying. I failed within the first 20 pages. Much like Hosseini's earlier works, his latest book is bathed in sadness and despair, with the requisite occasional ray of hope. "And the Mountains Echoed" is powerful and haunting. This book is akin to a collection of short stories from pre-2001 and post-2001...

Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and founding member of The Doors who had a dramatic impact on rock 'n' roll, has died. He was 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says Manzarek died Monday at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. He had bile duct cancer.

Perhaps Prospect Heights native Hans Fleischmann pours so much of himself into a daring production of Tennesee Williams' classic "The Glass Menagerie" because he developed the production's vision while living in a van on the street. “It's 2 in the morning, and there is this guy talking loudly right outside my van. He just sounds like this Hollywood jerk,” recalls the 37-year-old...

Seth MacFarlane is too busy to host the Oscars in 2014. The multitalented comedian says on Twitter that he "tried to make it work schedule-wise, but I need sleep."

A proposal to convert a house into a mosque is back before DuPage County's zoning board of appeals after a federal judge ordered that the county take another look at the project. “The decision to reject ICWS didn't comply with the law,” said Mark Daniel, the attorney representing the center. “They (county officials) have a chance to fix it.”