NHL lockout officially over

Chicago Blackhawks winger Bryan Bickell talking about the end of the NHL lockout and the challenges of playing a shortened season. Bickell talked Friday following an informal practice at Johnny's IceHouse West.

By Chris Kuc




Tribune reporter

9:38 p.m. CST, January 12, 2013

It's back to work for the NHL.

The lockout that paralyzed the league for 119 days officially ended Saturday night when the NHL and NHLPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding -- a mini version of the collective bargaining agreement -- after the union ratified the agreement that was reached last Sunday earlier Saturday.

The Blackhawks will start training camp on Sunday.

As previously reported, the Chicago Blackhawks will open the season Jan. 19 with an afternoon game against the Kings in Los Angeles. The NHL released the regular-season schedule and the Hawks face a tough test right out of the gate with 10 of their first 12 games on the road while Disney on Ice and the Bulls occupy the United Center.
The Hawks' home opener is Jan. 22 against the St. Louis Blues.

ckuc@tribune.com

Twitter @ChrisKuc

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Microsoft taps Krikorian to help run its Xbox business

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it hired technology entrepreneur Blake Krikorian to help run its Interactive Entertainment Business as the world’s largest software company plans bigger things for its Xbox gaming console.

Krikorian will be corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business, reporting to Marc Whitten, chief product officer for the division, Microsoft added.

The appointment follows Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Krikorian’s company, id8 Group R2 Studios, which had developed an application that allows users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.

Microsoft is trying to transform Xbox from a gaming device into a broader service that controls most aspects of home entertainment, including music, movies, TV and sports.

“We look forward to his contribution to our team as Xbox continues to evolve and transform the games and entertainment landscape,” Whitten said in a statement.

Krikorian’s Sling Media – which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007 – made the Slingbox device for watching TV over the Internet.

Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc’s board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet’s largest retailer.

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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Milan Fashion Week starts on somber note

MILAN (AP) — Milan Fashion Week started off on a somber note Saturday, as the design world maintained a vigil for the missing CEO of the family-run Missoni fashion house.

The Italian National Fashion Chamber urged the fashion community to post messages on social networks to keep pressure on authorities not to abandon the search for Vittorio Missoni and five others who disappeared aboard a twin-engine plane near Venezuelan islands on Jan. 5.

Designers expressed their solidarity with the family on the first day of menswear previews Saturday.

“No one better than me can understand the pain and anguish that they are experiencing, the suffering of the sister Angela,” Donatella Versace told Italian reporters before her menswear preview. Versace’s brother, Gianni, the founder of the company, was killed by a gunman in Miami in July 1997.

Despite the uncertainty, the Missoni fashion house confirmed its menswear preview show for Sunday. In a message posted on Facebook, designer Angela Missoni, Vittorio’s sister, expressed gratitude for messages of support. Their brother, Luca, a trained pilot, was in Venezuela helping with the search.

“They did very well to confirm the appointment with the new collection. Vittorio would have done the same,” said Mario Boselli, head of the fashion chamber.

Thirty-seven brands were holding fashion shows to present their menswear collections for next winter over four days.

___

DOLCE&GABBANA

Dolce and Gabbana’s menswear collection for next winter is pure masculinity, infused with southern romanticism.

With motifs of winter roses, illuminated Madonnas and baroque embossing, the 2014 winter menswear collection evokes the design house’s Sicilian roots. And to drive home the point, the designing duo chose ordinary Sicilians as their models, as they have done in the past, filling the runway with men who were more muscular, with more pronounced features and often shorter than those usually seen in fashion.

Cinched high-waist pleated pants strongly suggested a bygone era. Trouser lengths varied from calf to ankle, straight or cuffed, while jacket, coats and vests ranged from short waist cuts to long overcoats.

In its most basic iteration, the collection featured black pants paired with white blousons or dark ribbed sweaters — the clothes of a craftsman, a fisherman, a laborer. Detailing like an overlay of white lace on the blousons elevated the look far above mere utility.

And there were also garments fitting of the merchant class — rich brocade jackets and thick furry overcoats and velvet suits. These more formal clothes, including a dark suit jacket overlayed with white lace and finished with velvet trim, could be worn for business, a personal celebration or to Sunday Mass.

___

BURBERRY PRORSUM

Tradition meets innovation in Burberry Prorsum‘s new winter looks for men.

The “I Love Classics” collection — or made more technology-friendly, I (heart) Classics — focuses heavily on outerwear, from the classic trench and duffel, to topcoats, Chesterfields and bombers.

While diving deep into Burberry’s archives, designer Christopher Bailey managed also to have fun, adding a touch of whimsy with repeating heart motifs and oversizing military-inspired accents.

“I liked the idea of celebrating things that are familiar, classic, the kind of classic Burberry, classic menswear,” Bailey said backstage. “But I wanted to be playful as well.”

Bailey married innovation and levity in traditional coats made of light-weight transparent rubber with a repeating heart lining. Bailey said Burberry developed the rubber to be silky to the touch. Cashmere also gets special treatment, with new finishes and bonding to alter the texture.

Colors followed the classic line — camel, bone, olive, navy and black — with deep reds and dark royal purple.

Maintaining a light mood, animal prints also accented classic bags, complementing the Burberry check pattern, and also adorned shoes and boots. Animal print sunglasses complete the look.

___

JIL SANDER

Tall, almost Puritan collars gave gravitas to Jil Sander’s first winter menswear collection since returning to the label she founded.

The ample lapels made prominent in the collection for next fall/winter often contrasted in tone or texture with the jacket or sweater they accented, and were sometimes layered over more traditional notched lapels. Short-cropped hair kept the focus on neckline.

Suit jackets were kept mostly shorter and allowed to billow slightly in the back. This permitted whimsical layering with longer sweaters underneath — and most of the suits were finished with sweaters, crew necks or mock turtlenecks, rather than shirts. Pants were straight, and ankle-length, giving way to well-polished boots.

While the looks adhered to the line’s minimalist credo — simplicity and clean lines — there was nothing austere about it.

The colors and fabrics were both lush and luxurious. Crimson, cobalt and pine contrasted soothingly with more sober grays and black. Even strong shades were easy on the eyes. Materials included chunky corduroy, cashmere knit and leather.

For fun, Sander offered sleeveless pull-over vests, leaving arms and shoulders bare, and sometimes bi-colored in Harlequin fashion. For more serious moments, there were double-breasted pinstripes, distinguished with monochrome panels.

___

ZEGNA

Cyber-kinetic patterns give energy to classic looks by Ermenegildo Zegna.

Zegna signals a push for innovation in the title of the collection: “Style for Change.”

Zegna zips up the double-breasted suit with graphic lines, while repeating patterns of dots fused into lines give motion to overcoats.

Gray dominates the collection, giving it an urban flair.

The basic look forms around suits, paired with slim, elegant ties or scoop-neck sweaters. Trousers are straight cut without being tight, and might include a cummerbund that elongate the look.

Much attention is flourished on collars, which when small might be decorated with a clip, or when oversized adorned with a clasp.

Textures operate in contrast. Soft alpaca coats are worn over tailored suits.

Shoes taper to a point, while bags span a range from travel backs to computer totes.

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City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.

“We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.

Under the order, pharmacists will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunizations to children.

While children and older people tend to be the most likely to become seriously ill from the flu, Mr. Cuomo urged all New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that deaths from the flu had reached epidemic levels, with at least 20 children having died nationwide. Officials cautioned that deaths from pneumonia and the flu typically reach epidemic levels for a week or two every year. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by how long the death toll remains high or if it climbs higher.

There was some evidence that caseloads may be peaking, federal officials said on Friday.

In New York City, public health officials announced on Thursday that flu-related illnesses had reached epidemic levels, and they joined the chorus of authorities urging people to get vaccinated.

“It’s a bad year,” the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu. Our message for any people who are listening to this is it’s still not too late to get your flu shot.”

There has been a spike in the number of people going to emergency rooms over the past two weeks with flulike symptoms – including fever, fatigue and coughing – Dr. Farley said.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mr. Cuomo made a public display of getting shots this past week.

In a briefing with reporters on Friday, officials from the C.D.C. said that this year’s vaccine was effective in 62 percent of cases.

As officials have stepped up their efforts encouraging vaccinations, there have been scattered reports of shortages. But officials said plenty of the vaccine was available.

According to the C.D.C., makers of the flu vaccine produced about 135 million doses for this year. As of early this month, 128 million doses had been distributed. While that would not be enough for every American, only 37 percent of the population get a flu shot each year.

Federal health officials said they would be happy if that number rose to 50 percent, which would mean that there would be more than enough vaccine for anyone who wanted to be immunized.

Two other diseases – norovirus and whooping cough – are also widespread this winter and are contributing to the number of people getting sick.

The flu can resemble a cold, though the symptoms come on more rapidly and are more severe.

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The story behind Tribune's broken deal

At the end of 2007, real estate tycoon Sam Zell took control of Tribune Co. in a deal that promised to re-energize the media conglomerate. But the company struggled under the huge debt burden the deal created, and less than a year later, it filed for bankruptcy.

One of Chicago's most iconic companies — parent to the Chicago Tribune — was propelled into a protracted and in many ways unprecedented odyssey through Chapter 11 reorganization.

On Dec. 31, after four years, Tribune Co. finally emerged from court protection under new ownership, but at a heavy cost. The company's value was diminished, its reputation was tarnished and its ability to respond to market opportunities during its long bankruptcy was constrained.

Tribune Co.'s bankruptcy saga began as an era of superheated Wall Street deal-making fueled by cheap money was coming to an end. The company's tale is emblematic of the American financial crisis itself, in which a seemingly insatiable appetite for speculative risk using exotic investment instruments helped trigger an economic collapse of historic proportions.

Tribune reporters Michael Oneal and Steve Mills, in a four-part series that begins today, tell the story of Tribune Co.'s journey into and through bankruptcy, throwing a spotlight on the key decisions and missed opportunities that marked a perilous time in the history of the company, the media industry and the economy.

Read the full story, "Part one: Zell's big gamble," as a digitalPLUS member.
To view videos and photos and for a look at the rest of the series visit, chicagotribune.com/brokendeal.

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Wife of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from council post

Chicago Tribune political editor Eric Krol phones in to discuss the resignation of Alderman Sandi Jackson and the future of the Chicago City Council. (Posted: January 11, 2013).

After weeks of rumors and equally strenuous denials, Sandi Jackson resigned as Chicago's 7th Ward alderman Friday, the latest chapter in the stunning, scandal-laced downfall of what had been one of the city's most prominent and powerful political duos.

The decision by Ald. Jackson, who was elected in 2007, came less than two months after husband Jesse Jackson Jr. quit the congressional seat he had held for 17 years amid ongoing federal ethics probes into his campaign finances and a diagnosis of bipolar depression.

In her resignation letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Sandi Jackson alluded to her husband's medical problems by saying she was dealing with "very painful family health matters," making no mention of whether she had become ensnarled in his legal problems. She said the ward and the city "deserve a partner who can commit all of their energies to the business of the people."

"I value the public trust which has been bestowed upon me and take my responsibility to safeguard the interests of my constituents seriously," wrote Jackson, whose resignation is effective Tuesday. "Likewise, I am unapologetically a wife and a mother and I cannot deny my commitment to those most important personal responsibilities."

Ald. Jackson could not be reached for comment, and Jackson Jr. declined to comment at the couple's Washington home.

The mayor, in a statement, thanked Jackson for her service and leadership and said the process "to identify a replacement" will begin early next week. It will be Emanuel's first appointment of a City Council member since his 2011 election as mayor.

A month ago, political chatter swirled that she might seek the South Side and south suburban 2nd Congressional District seat given up by her husband. But Sandi Jackson denied she was interested in the job and vowed to stay on the City Council.

"I will finish my term. I intend to finish my term," she said then. "Unless something catastrophic happens — I could step outside and get hit by a bus today."

Then-Rep. Jackson Jr. appeared to try to shield his wife in his Thanksgiving eve resignation letter to Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. In the letter, Jackson Jr. publicly acknowledged for the first time that he was under federal criminal investigation into alleged misuse of campaign dollars.

"I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," the former congressman wrote. "None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties, and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right."

For years, the former congressman had used his federal campaign fund to pay his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars as a political consultant. Since 2006, Jackson Jr.'s federal campaign fund has sent more than $280,000 to Sandi Jackson's two local campaign funds, state records show. Such transfers are legal.

Jackson Jr. had often noted his decision to run for Congress in 1995 was motivated by his wife, who had worked in Washington and on Democratic campaigns prior to their 1991 marriage. She previously had worked for the U.S. Export-Import Bank and was deputy director for training at the Democratic National Committee.

In February 2007, she was elected as 7th Ward alderman after defeating Darcel Beavers, the daughter of Cook County Commissioner William Beavers. Darcel Beavers had been appointed to the council by then-Mayor Richard Daley. Jackson later defeated Commissioner Beavers as Democratic ward committeeman.

Those victories were steps toward erasing once-powerful political rivals, including brothers William and Robert Shaw, and an attempt to create a dynasty of Jackson-backed politicians. Those Jackson Jr. allies, though, now largely have gone by the wayside, including former state Sen. James Meeks, former state Rep. David Miller of Lynwood and former state Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson. Kelly is seeking Jackson's former congressional seat among 17 Democrats that have filed.

But the Jackson brand became tarnished in late 2008 when allegations surfaced that supporters of the then-congressman offered to raise up to $6 million for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for the governor appointing him to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama's election.

Then-Rep. Jackson never was charged in the case that sent Blagojevich to prison, but a House ethics committee probe into the allegations was later eclipsed by a Washington-based federal criminal investigation of his campaign fund use.

In addition, Jackson Jr. apologized after reports surfaced in 2010 that a fundraiser had flown a female "social acquaintance" to Chicago at the congressman's request. Sandi Jackson issued her own statement at the time, saying the couple had for months been trying to deal quietly with the "painful and unfortunate situation."

Still, Jackson Jr. easily won re-election last year, despite having taken an initially undisclosed medical leave from Congress in June. His lone general election campaign outreach effort was an automated call to voters placed shortly before the election.

Since he stepped down, rumors persisted that Sandi Jackson also would vacate her aldermanic seat, which she held by traveling from the family's Washington home to attend City Council meetings. Her decision Friday was a surprise to some, not as much to others.

"I didn't see very many good things coming," Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, said of the Jacksons' saga. "I thought it would get more and more publicity, and none of that would be flattering."

"She was one of my favorite colleagues," said Ald. Willie Cochran, 20th. "It makes me heavy-hearted because of the troubles her family is having."

Emanuel had been preparing for an eventual resignation, sources close to the mayor indicated. But the 7th Ward political territory has been decimated by what has happened to the Jacksons, as well as to William Beavers, who is facing federal corruption charges.

Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said the mayor "is looking for someone who has a history of community involvement and engagement" and is expected to set out his plans by early next week.

Tribune reporters David Kidwell and John Byrne in Chicago and Katherine Skiba from Washington contributed.

hdardick@tribune.com

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A sense of dread shrouds Nintendo’s Wii U

The latest Wii U sales numbers are out from Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom — and unease is deepening. In Japan, Famitsu Magazine reported Wii U weekly sales slipping to 70,000 units from 76,000 units during the important period ending in January 6. This is the week many Japanese teenagers spend their New Year’s money and sales of consoles tend to bounce. During the week, the portable 3DS sold 305,000 units, up sharply from the already impressive 266,000 units in the previous week. The seven-year-old Sony (SNE) PlayStation 3 managed to increase its sales to 64,000 units from 54,000 units. The equally ancient PSP climbed to 53,000 from 34,000. Even the star-crossed PS Vita managed to vault to 31,000 from 18,000.

[More from BGR: LG reportedly halts Nexus 4 production to make way for new Nexus device]

As Wii U sales are mired close to PlayStation 3 levels in Japan, it is getting hammered by the aging Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 in America. NPD just reported that Xbox 360 moved 1.4 million units in December while Wii U limped through the holiday season with 460,000 units. This is below the 600,000 unit level that the earlier Wii console managed years ago against a much younger console competition in 2006. Back then, Wii launched head-to-head with Sony’s PlayStation 3 in the US market, and the Xbox 360 had been launched just one year earlier.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry Z10 shown off in leaked marketing materials]

In 2012, Wii U debuted against two rival home consoles that were more than half a decade old. The results are not pretty. Meanwhile in the U.K., the Wii U shifted 40,000 units during its launch weekend, but none of the titles cracked the top 10 of the GfK game software chart.

It is clear that the lack of compelling software is hurting Wii U right now. Nintendo (NTDOY) wanted to push it out well before the buzz around the next generations of Sony and Microsoft consoles started building. The problem with the rush is that Wii U is now facing several fallow months before big titles arrive. The January-April sales period could be spectacularly ugly and may cause real damage to Nintendo’s home console reputation if it leads to U.S. sales dipping below 300,000 a month and Japanese sales dipping below 30,000 a month. The danger here is that if consumers start suspecting that the Wii U is a lame duck, they may choose to wait for one of the big rival vendors to roll out some spectacular hardware next winter.

All in all, it’s hard to avoid the notion that the console gaming universe is shrinking. In the U.S., game software sales contracted by a disastrous 26% in December. PS Vita is in dire straits and may leave Nintendo’s 3DS as the only viable portable console in 2014. Wii U is wobbling badly, possibly leading to a 2014 scenario when only Sony and Microsoft are left standing in the home console battle. U.S. consumers are still wild about huge, violent console epics like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and Halo. Those are titles that define PlayStation and Xbox. The casual gaming that defines Wii U is under siege by the smartphone/tablet gaming frenzy that shows no sign of abating.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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“Gangster Squad” takes $650K in midnight showings, battle with “Zero Dark Thirty” awaits

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Warner Bros.’ “Gangster Squad” grossed $ 650,000 in midnight showings Thursday night, a strong start to what should be a weekend-long fight for the box-office crown.

Ruben Fleischer’s tale of cops and organized crime in mid-20th century Los Angeles will duke it out with Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty,” the Oscar contender that expands to almost 3,000 screens this weekend.

Box office experts projected “Zero Dark Thirty” would eke out the win before the weekend began, though it remains a close race with both movies looking at openings of about $ 20 million.

“Gangster Squad,” which stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn, has a breezy action feel, and runs under two hours. Despite a strong cast, reviewers have not responded warmly to the film, which charts at 43 percent on Metacritic and 34 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Academy rewarded “Zero Dark Thirty” with five Oscar nominations on Thursday buffeting its pursuit of viewers despite its two hour and 37 minute length.

Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

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No Jail Time for Doctor, 85, Convicted of Drug Charge

The former doctor sat in courton Friday waiting to be sentenced for a crime that breached every tenet of his professional code. He had run his house in Staten Island like a drug mill, selling the prescription painkiller oxycodone to all comers — including undercover federal agents. The guideline sentence for his crimes was up to six years.

But just by the look of the defendant, Felix Lanting, it seemed likely that he would never serve that much time. Frail and hunched-over at 85, he could only hope to live that long. And with a wife even frailer who depends on him for care, he posed a special challenge for the sentencing judge, Roslynn R. Mauskopf.

A lawyer for Mr. Lanting, James R. Froccaro, asked that his client receive no jail time at all.

“I’m agonizing about what to do,” said Judge Mauskopf, who presided over the case in United States District Court for the Eastern District.

Mr. Lanting’s crimes are typically committed by men a generation younger. A 2010 investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that in seven months, Mr. Lanting wrote and sold more than 3,000 prescriptions for oxycodone, an average of 15 per day, seven days a week.

Neighbors complained about the foot traffic. A relative of someone who overdosed on the pills attacked the front door of Mr. Lanting’s house with an ax. Mr. Lanting hired bouncers to protect his growing business, but they did not stop the undercover agents. When F.B.I. agents arrested him, they found $37,000 in cash and 100 solid silver bars. Eighty thousand dollars more turned up in a safe-deposit box.

In court on Friday, Mr. Lanting, who lost his medical license, stood and pleaded for his life and that of his wife. “I beg the court not to put me in jail because my wife will die,” he said. “I am the only one who is taking care of her.”

He began to cry. “I’m very sorry. I made a mistake. If I could undo it, I would. I’m begging you please.” Judge Mauskopf called a five-minute recess to think.

“If there ever were a case that cried out for mitigation, it is this one, based on the defendant’s age and based on the responsibilities to his wife,” Judge Mauskopf said when she returned. But she said she wanted to punish him.

She sentenced him to six months of house arrest, five years of probation and a $25,000 fine. She said Mr. Lanting might have to get someone else to take his wife to her medical visits.

“You need to feel the restrictions on your liberty,” she said. “The fine is meant to hurt and to punish you for what you did.”

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U.S. to review Boeing 787 design, safety

Two new incidents involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner have been reported in Japan -- a crack in the cockpit and an oil leak. Norah O'Donnell reports.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it will launch a high-priority and comprehensive review of Chicago-based Boeing's new 787's critical systems, following a rash of malfunctions this week, such as a battery fire and fuel leaks. However, federal transportation officials also supported Boeing, saying repeatedly that the plane is safe.

"We are confident about the safety of this aircraft," said Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta, adding that a priority in the review will be the plane's electrical systems. He said he would not speculate on how long the review would take.

The review, an unusual move for the FAA that will not ground planes or halt production of new 787s, will examine the plane's design, manufacture and assembly, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"Through it, we will look for the root causes of recent events and do everything we can to make sure these events don't happen again," he said. "I believe this plane is safe and I would have absolutely no reservation of boarding one of these planes and taking a flight."

Boeing shares were down 2.5 percent in midday trading to $75.15.

The announcement comes amid yet more reports Friday of problems with the highly anticipated "Dreamliner" jet, including a cracked cockpit window and another oil leak on a Japanese carrier. They add to a rash of other reported problems this week, most seriously a battery fire on a parked 787 in Boston, an incident under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane model is in use in Chicago for temporary United Airlines flights between Chicago O'Hare and Houston. Chicago-based United has five other 787s in service domestically. "We continue to have complete confidence in the 787 and in the ability of Boeing, with the support of the FAA, to resolve these early operational issues," a United spokeswoman said. "We will support Boeing and the FAA throughout their review."

Next week, LOT Polish Airlines plans to begin operating the region's first regular flight on a 787 between O'Hare and Warsaw, Poland. That inaugural flight is still planned for Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. All told, Boeing has delivered 50 Dreamliners to customers around the world, many to Japanese carriers.

Aviation experts have said the planes are safe and that glitches are common on new models of planes, especially ones as revolutionary as the 787, which uses mostly composite materials instead of metals to create an aircraft that's more lighter, more fuel-efficient and more comfortable for passengers. However, other observers have said the concentration of problems in a short period and the media attention they garner is damaging the reputation of Boeing, which was already under scrutiny for delivering the Dreamliner to customers more than three years late. The plane's list price is about $207 million.

The latest problems came Friday, when Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways said a domestic flight from Tokyo landed safely at Matsuyama airport in western Japan after a crack developed on the cockpit windscreen, and the plane's return to Tokyo was cancelled.

"Cracks appear a few times every year in other planes. We don't see this as a sign of a fundamental problem" with Boeing aircraft, a spokesman for the airline said. The same airline later on Friday said oil was found leaking from an engine of a 787 Dreamliner after the plane landed at Miyazaki airport in southern Japan. An airline spokeswoman said it later returned to Tokyo after some delay. No one was injured in either incident.

Boeing said Friday the 787 logged 50,000 hours of flight, with more than 150 flights occurring daily, and that its performance has been on par with the Boeing 777, which it calls "the industry's best-ever introduction" of a new airplane. "More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA," Boeing said in a statement. "We remain fully confident in the airplane's design and production system."

Ray Conner, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Friday that the recent problems were not caused by Boeing's outsourcing of production or by ramping up production too quickly.

"We are fully committed to resolving any issue that affects the reliability of our airlines," he said.

gkarp@tribune.com

Reuters contributed
 

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Ex-Sen. Bradley to walk Hobson down aisle to wed Lucas

Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, is the new chairman of After School Matters. (E. Jason Wambsgans / July 10, 2012)

By Cheryl V. Jackson




Special to the Tribune

8:08 p.m. CST, January 10, 2013

When Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson weds cinematic icon George Lucas, the bride will be given away by former U.S. senator and New York Knicks star Bill Bradley.

“Bill is walking me down the aisle,” Hobson said Thursday night at Groupon headquarters, 600 W. Chicago Ave., during the company’s women mentoring program kickoff.

The Chicago executive said she met Bradley when she was 17, and he has been a mentor and father figure since. When he joined Starbucks’ board, he brought her along as a director.

When Hobson became engaged to the “Star Wars” creator, she informed Bradley it was time to step up.

“I told him, ‘Hey! You’ve got a job to do!’” she said. “He started crying.”

Hobson did not disclose where or when the wedding will take place.

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Baby Bones Found Scattered in Ancient Italian Village

SEATTLE — The death of an infant may not have been an occasion for mourning in ancient Italy, according to archaeologists who have found baby bones scattered on the floor of a workshop dating to the seventh century B.C.

The grisly finds consist of bone fragments uncovered over years of excavation at Poggio Civitate, a settlement about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the city of Siena in what is now Tuscany. The settlement dates back to at least the late eighth century B.C. Archaeologists excavating the site have found evidence of a lavish residential structure as well as an open-air pavilion that stretches an amazing 170 feet (52 meters) long. Residents used this pavilion was as a workshop, manufacturing goods such as terracotta roof tiles.

In 1983, scientists uncovered a cache of bones on the workshop floor, consisting mostly of pig, goat and sheep remains. But among the bony debris was a more sobering find: two arm bones from an infant (or infants) who died right around birth.

In 2009, another baby bone surfaced at the workshop, this one a portion of the pelvis of a newborn. [See Images of the Infant Bones]

The bones “were either simply left on the floor of the workshop or ended up in an area with a concentration of discarded, butchered animals,” said Anthony Tuck, an archaeologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who presented an analysis of the bones Friday (Jan. 4) at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Abandoned bones

The discovery of the discarded infant bones in an area used for work could suggest that the people who labored in the workshop had little social status, Tuck said. They may have been slaves or servants whose lost infants would garner little sympathy from the community at large.

However, a third find complicates the picture. In 1971, archaeologists found an arm bone from another newborn or near-term fetus pushed up against the wall of the lavish residence along with other bones and debris. It seems as if someone swept the debris up against the wall, not differentiating between baby bones and garbage, Tuck said. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]

There’s no way to know whose infant came to rest up against the wall of a wealthy person’s home, said Tuck, who plans to submit the findings to the journal Etruscan Studies. Perhaps the infant belonged to a desperate servant, or perhaps to a member of the family. If so, it may be that even high-status families didn’t consider babies worth mourning when they died in infancy.

The possibility can sound horrifying to modern ears, Tuck said.

“This kind of new data makes people a bit uncomfortable,” he told LiveScience. “People have a tendency to romanticize the past, especially in a place like Tuscany. When we have direct evidence for this kind of behavior, it can be a little tricky to present.”

Death in infancy

Nevertheless, Tuck said, there is reason to think that people have not always given infants the same community status as adults or older children. However, baby bones tend not to preserve well, which makes it difficult to know how ancient Italians in Tuscany treated their deceased infants.

Very few signs of infant burial appear in central Italian cemeteries from this time period, though, Tuck said. The handful of coffins containing baby bones that have been found are loaded with ornaments and jewelry, suggesting that only families of great wealth could have given a lost baby an adult-style funeral.

Even in modern times, societies have sometimes seen babies as belonging to a different category than adults, Tuck said. In areas of extreme poverty and stress that have high infant mortality, the death of a newborn may not trigger many outward displays of mourning, he said.

And many cultures have naming traditions that only recognize the baby’s identity significantly after birth. For example, in traditional Jewish culture, a baby boy’s name isn’t revealed outside the family until the bris, or the ritual of circumcision eight days after birth. According to superstition, naming the baby before then would attract the attention of the Angel of Death.

The Maasai people of Africa give their newborns temporary names until a ceremony as late as age 3, in which the child receives a new name and has his or her head shaved to symbolize a fresh start in life.

On the other hand, not all ancient cultures differentiate between the burials of babies and adults. Stone Age infant graves found in Austria in 2006 date back to 27,000 years ago and contain the same beads and pigments as adult gravesites.

The people who lived in Poggio Civitate more than 2,000 years ago have left little evidence of how they viewed infants, but Tuck and his colleagues expect more finds to emerge as the researchers continue to dig in the Tuscany hills. More evidence that high- and low-class babies were buried differently would suggest that the civilization had a rigid hierarchy, they said.

Images of more than 25,000 objects recovered from the site can be found at Open Context, an open-source research database developed by the Alexandra Archive Institute.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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ABC Chief Says Network Needs Hits, Will Abandon “All-Star” Format for “Dancing”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – ABC entertainment president Paul Lee summed up his fall season by saying his network has “a lot to shout about, and we also have a lot to do.”

Lee’s network finished the fall in fourth place in the key 18-49 demographic and third place in total viewers. He lamented the fall’s lack of any “big breakout hits on broadcast on any of the networks and on ABC in particular.”

NBC, which passed ABC and its other rivals to become fall’s top-rated network in 18-49, might dispute that: It has touted the new drama “Revolution” as a hit.

Lee assessed his network’s fall at a Television Critics Association panel on Thursday. He said he was particularly disappointed not to see better numbers for reality standby “Dancing With the Stars,” which adapted an “all-star” format in the fall and brought back former contestants. He said that for its spring cycle, the show would go back to recruiting fresh talent, in hopes of drawing a younger audience.

Looking for a positive spin on the disappointing ratings for the show – which still averages 16 million total viewers per episode – he said the dancing this fall may have been too good.

“It turns out people like to have bad dancing as much as they do good dancing,” he said.

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Fatally Ill, and Making Herself the Lesson

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. — It was early November when Martha Keochareon called the nursing school at Holyoke Community College, her alma mater. She had a proposal, which she laid out in a voice mail message.

“I have cancer,” she said after introducing herself, “and I’m wondering if you’ll need somebody to do a case study on, a hospice patient.”

Perhaps some nursing students “just want to feel what a tumor feels like,” she went on. Or they could learn something about hospice care, which aims to help terminally ill people die comfortably at home.

“Maybe you’ll have some ambitious student that wants to do a project,” Ms. Keochareon (pronounced CATCH-uron) said after leaving her phone number. “Thank you. Bye.”

Kelly Keane, a counselor at the college who received the message, was instantly intrigued. Holyoke’s nursing students, like most, learn about cancer from textbooks. They get some experience with acutely ill patients during a rotation on the medical-surgical floor of a hospital. They practice their skills in the college’s simulation lab on sophisticated mannequins that can “die” of cancer, heart attacks and other ailments. But Ms. Keochareon, 59, a 1993 graduate of Holyoke’s nursing program, was offering students something unique: an opportunity not only to examine her, but to ask anything they wanted about her experience with cancer and dying.

“She is allowing us into something we wouldn’t ever be privy to,” Ms. Keane said.

So it was that a few weeks later, two first-year nursing students, Cindy Santiago, 26, and Michelle Elliot, 52, arrived at Ms. Keochareon’s tiny house, a few miles from the college. She was bedbound, cared for by a loyal band of relatives, hospice nurses and aides. Both students were anxious.

“Sit on my bed and talk to me,” Ms. Keochareon said. The students hesitated, saying they had been taught not to do that, to prevent transmission of germs. What they knew of nursing in hospitals — “I’m here to take your vitals, give you your medicine, O.K., bye,” as Ms. Santiago put it — was different, after all.

They had come with a list of questions. Ms. Keochareon was suffering from pancreatic cancer, and they had researched the disease ahead of time. They were particularly curious about why she had survived for so long. She had lived with her illness for more than six years — an extraordinary span for pancreatic cancer, which often kills within months after diagnosis.

Why, the students asked, had she managed to keep eating and keep on weight? What was she taking for the pain? How long had it taken for doctors to give her a diagnosis?

“They ask good questions,” Ms. Keochareon said one morning, her lips stained red from the liquid oxycodone she was sipping frequently between doses of other drugs. “I forget half the stuff I learned as a nurse, but I remember everything about pancreatic cancer. Because I’m living it.”

For Ms. Keochareon, this was a chance to teach something about the profession she had found late and embraced — she became a nurse at 40, after raising her daughter and working for years on a factory floor.

“When I was a nurse, it seemed like most of the other nurses were never too happy having a student to teach,” she said, lying in her bedroom lined with pictures of relatives, friends, and herself in healthier times. “I loved it.”

A Last Project

Now, her disease had left her passing the days watching Animal Planet, reading a book about heaven and calling friends — so much that her cordless phone never left her side. She also was planning meticulously for her death, down to the green wool cardigan and embroidered shirt she would be buried in. But Ms. Keochareon wanted more as she prepared to die. The project she envisioned would be not just for students, but also for her — a way to squeeze one more chapter out of life.

Spending time with the dying is not fundamental to nurse training, partly because there are not enough clinical settings to provide the experience. The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium, a project of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, has provided training in palliative care to some 15,000 nurses and nursing instructors around the nation since 2000, focusing not just on pain management but also on how to help terminally ill patients and their families prepare for death.

In addition, some students do rotations with hospice nurses, said Pam Malloy, the project’s director. But Ms. Malloy said that nursing schools still do not focus on end-of-life care nearly as much as they should. “We live in a death-denying society, and that includes nursing,” she said. “People have begun to understand it’s important, but we’re nowhere where we need to be at this point.”

In their conversations with Ms. Keochareon, the students learned that her symptoms had included a burning sensation after eating, for which doctors prescribed an acid blocker. Then came wrenching abdominal pain, which she said doctors dismissed as psychosomatic. She also developed diabetes, another potential sign of pancreatic cancer, and itchiness, possibly from blocked bile ducts.

In 2006, after she had felt sick for several years, a doctor finally ordered a CT scan, and the cancer was diagnosed. Ms. Keochareon was 53 and working at a hospital in Charleston, S.C. She was told that she would probably die within a year or two.

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Boeing to cut 40% of jobs, space at Texas plant

Guest are reflected in a Dreamliner fuselage at the jet's debut July 8, 2007, at the Boeing plant in Everett, Wash. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters / January 10, 2013)

5:06 p.m. CST, January 10, 2013

Boeing Co. said it will cut a little more than 40 percent of jobs, or 160 positions, at its El Paso, Texas, plant in response to planned U.S. defense budget reductions.

The company said it will trim occupied square footage 50 percent at the plant by moving from three buildings to one. The plant in Texas manufactures electronics for a variety of Boeing products.

The cuts will be completed by the end of 2014, the company said.

Boeing announced a major restructuring of its defense division in November that would cut 30 percent of management jobs from 2010 levels, close facilities and consolidate several business units.

The company's shares closed at $77.09 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

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Bucks' strong second half enough for victory over Bulls

New coach Jim Boylan chuckled pregame Wednesday night when asked if he discussed what happened the last time the Bucks visited the United Center.

"I don't think you want to bring up the fact you were down 27 points midway through a third quarter," Boylan said.

This time, the Bucks "only" trailed by 15 in the opening period, but the comeback carried the same weight. Preventing the Bulls from posting their first, four-game winning streak this season, the Bucks stormed back behind a scintillating performance from Brandon Jennings for a 104-96 triumph.

Jennings scored 20 of his 35 points in the third period, mocking Nate Robinson's winged airplane routine on two of his four 3-pointers in the period.

"I don't know what set (Jennings) off," Boyland said. "It's two guys (him and Robinson) who like to talk a lot. Maybe that set him off."

That the Bucks rallied despite beating the Suns at home on Tuesday while the Bulls rested made the victory all the more impressive. Boylan is 2-0 since replacing the departed Scott Skiles on Monday.

Larry Sanders posted eight blocks as the Bulls shot 29.8 percent in the second half and the Bucks, who lead the league in this department, blocked 15 shots overall. Mike Dunleavy added 16 points and four 3-pointers off the bench as the Bucks displayed a solid team effort.

"Sanders' presence around the basket is intimidating," Boylan said. "Guys go in there and are looking for him.

The Bulls' last gasp faded when Marco Belinelli missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 69 seconds left and failed to close the 100-96 deficit. Belinelli later followed with a frustration foul on Sanders, who blocked his attempt on the next possession.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with his sixth straight double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Jennings' high-arcing teardrop jumper with 4 minutes, 59 seconds remaining continued his torrid night.

Typically, Kirk Hinrich guards Jennings, but he missed his fifth game this season with the right elbow injury suffered in Monday's victory over the Cavaliers.

"Having Kirk out was a huge factor because of the pressure he applies to Brandon in the backcourt, which is significant," Boylan said.

Thibodeau did his typical cat-and-mouse game regarding Hinrich's replacement, not telling stadium personnel Robinson was starting until 20 minutes before tipoff despite Boylan already announcing it. But Robinson announced his presence quickly, sinking his first three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in the opening period.

That's when things were rolling for the Bulls. That didn't last.

"We gave Jennings space," Thibodeau said. "He's going to make shots. We started off the game and had a good edge. Then we started trading buckets and they picked up steam. They got to every loose ball, made all the effort plays. You usually get what you deserve. We got what we deserve.

"If you don't play with great intensity, particularly when you have people out, you're not going to give yourself a chance to win.

kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

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‘Liquipod’ takes smartphone waterproofing on the road

Amid a sea of Ultra-HD TVs, smart washing machines and various other gadgets, waterproofing expert Liquipel took to CES 2013 to make two announcements. The firm, which adds an interior and exterior waterproof nanocoating to cell phones, revealed a new and improved waterproofing material that is even more effective than its first-generation solution. Liquipel also unveiled its new “Liquipod,” a portable machine that can waterproof gadgets anywhere in the world while device owners wait, according to TechCrunch. Previously, Liquipel required customers to ship their handsets to the company’s offices for treatment.

[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $ 45 Straight Talk plan]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

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“Les Miserables” soundtrack tops Billboard album chart

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The soundtrack to the big screen adaption of Broadway musical “Les Miserables” topped the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, edging out British folk rockers Mumford & Sons.

“Les Miserables” sold 92,000 albums in the week, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan, a 32 percent decline from last week for the star-studded production featuring the singing of Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. It was the No. 2 album last week.

The soundtrack had the poorest showing for a No. 1 album since Christian hip-hop and pop artist tobyMac’s “Eye on It” topped the chart in September with 69,000 in sales.

Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” rose to the second spot from No. 8, finishing behind “Les Mis” by only a thousand albums sold. The British band’s second album was boosted by a sale price and heavy promotion on the Apple iTunes Store.

Country-pop star Taylor Swift, whose album “Red” spent the past four weeks atop the chart, dropped to third.

“American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips’ “The World from the Side of the Moon” took fourth and British boy band One Direction’s “Take Me Home” was fifth on the chart.

U.S. album sales for last week, which totaled 6.26 million, rose 8 percent compared to the same week last year.

A total of 34.53 million songs were downloaded last week, a 5 percent increase from last year.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Jackie Frank)

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Americans Under 50 Fare Poorly on Health Measures, New Report Says

Younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction, according to a new analysis of health and longevity in the United States.

Researchers have known for some time that the United States fares poorly in comparison with other rich countries, a trend established in the 1980s. But most studies have focused on older ages, when the majority of people die.

The findings were stark. Deaths before age 50 accounted for about two-thirds of the difference in life expectancy between males in the United States and their counterparts in 16 other developed countries, and about one-third of the difference for females. The countries in the analysis included Canada, Japan, Australia, France, Germany and Spain.

The 378-page study by a panel of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council is the first to systematically compare death rates and health measures for people of all ages, including American youths. It went further than other studies in documenting the full range of causes of death, from diseases to accidents to violence. It was based on a broad review of mortality and health studies and statistics.

The panel called the pattern of higher rates of disease and shorter lives “the U.S. health disadvantage,” and said it was responsible for dragging the country to the bottom in terms of life expectancy over the past 30 years. American men ranked last in life expectancy among the 17 countries in the study, and American women ranked second to last.

“Something fundamental is going wrong,” said Dr. Steven Woolf, chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, who led the panel. “This is not the product of a particular administration or political party. Something at the core is causing the U.S. to slip behind these other high-income countries. And it’s getting worse.”

Car accidents, gun violence and drug overdoses were major contributors to years of life lost by Americans before age 50.

The rate of firearm homicides was 20 times higher in the United States than in the other countries, according to the report, which cited a 2011 study of 23 countries. And though suicide rates were lower in the United States, firearm suicide rates were six times higher.

Sixty-nine percent of all American homicide deaths in 2007 involved firearms, compared with an average of 26 percent in other countries, the study said. “The bottom line is that we are not preventing damaging health behaviors,” said Samuel Preston, a demographer and sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who was on the panel. “You can blame that on public health officials, or on the health care system. No one understands where responsibility lies.”

Panelists were surprised at just how consistently Americans ended up at the bottom of the rankings. The United States had the second-highest death rate from the most common form of heart disease, the kind that causes heart attacks, and the second-highest death rate from lung disease, a legacy of high smoking rates in past decades. American adults also have the highest diabetes rates.

Youths fared no better. The United States has the highest infant mortality rate among these countries, and its young people have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and deaths from car crashes. Americans lose more years of life before age 50 to alcohol and drug abuse than people in any of the other countries.

Americans also had the lowest probability over all of surviving to the age of 50. The report’s second chapter details health indicators for youths where the United States ranks near or at the bottom. There are so many that the list takes up four pages. Chronic diseases, including heart disease, also played a role for people under 50.

“We expected to see some bad news and some good news,” Dr. Woolf said. “But the U.S. ranked near and at the bottom in almost every heath indicator. That stunned us.”

There were bright spots. Death rates from cancers that can be detected with tests, like breast cancer, were lower in the United States. Adults had better control over their cholesterol and high blood pressure. And the very oldest Americans — above 75 — tended to outlive their counterparts.

The panel sought to explain the poor performance. It noted the United States has a highly fragmented health care system, with limited primary care resources and a large uninsured population. It has the highest rates of poverty among the countries studied.

Education also played a role. Americans who have not graduated from high school die from diabetes at three times the rate of those with some college, Dr. Woolf said. In the other countries, more generous social safety nets buffer families from the health consequences of poverty, the report said.

Still, even the people most likely to be healthy, like college-educated Americans and those with high incomes, fare worse on many health indicators.

The report also explored less conventional explanations. Could cultural factors like individualism and dislike of government interference play a role? Americans are less likely to wear seat belts and more likely to ride motorcycles without helmets.    

The United States is a bigger, more heterogeneous society with greater levels of economic inequality, and comparing its health outcomes to those in countries like Sweden or France may seem lopsided. But the panelists point out that this country spends more on health care than any other in the survey. And as recently as the 1950s, Americans scored better in life expectancy and disease than many of the other countries in the current study.

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Walgreen defends Express Scripts, Alliance Boots moves

Coming off a tumultuous year in which Walgreen lost millions of customers in a contract dispute with a pharmacy benefits manager, executives of the Deerfield-based pharmacy chain sought to reassure shareholders on Wednesday of better days ahead.

At its annual meeting at Navy Pier, Walgreen leaders told a lively crowd of about 2,000 that its new international footprint, a loyalty card and other initiatives, including an enhanced selection of fresh foods and a continued expansion of health care services, have positioned the company for long-term success.

Walgreen Chief Executive Greg Wasson defended its controversial decision a year ago to walk away from a contract with the pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co., whose customers accounted for nearly 11 percent of the total prescriptions Walgreen's filled in 2011. As a result, Walgreen hemorrhaged sales throughout much of the year and its share price tanked.

Shareholders peppered Wasson about the decision, which analysts and others have said could result in the permanent loss of some of its customers.

Nonetheless, Wasson said, "I believe we're a much stronger company today ... it was absolutely the right thing for our shareholders in the long term."

Wasson also faced heat for its decision last June to shell out $6.7 billion for a 45 percent stake in a European pharmacy chain.

Investors sent Walgreen shares down more than 9 percent after the announcement that it would acquire a portion of Alliance Boots GmbH, pushing its stock price below $29, a level not seen for nearly two years.

Michael Pryce-Jones, a senior governance researcher for CtW Investment Group, an activist group that works on behalf of union pension funds, said Walgreen entered into the deal at the wrong time and paid too much.

"The fact is, this is too big a bet going on in a very troubled part of the world," Pryce-Jones said of the deal.

Pryce-Jones implored Walgreen's board to consider bringing the measure to a vote at its 2014 annual meeting, a year before the company is expected to acquire the remaining 55 percent of Alliance Boots.

Walgreen Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon said the company conducted "a tremendous amount of due diligence" before agreeing to the pact, which he said remains a "compelling strategic opportunity."

pfrost@tribune.com | Twitter: @peterfrost

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Attorney: Poisoned lottery winner's widow has 'nothing to hide'

The widow of a West Rogers Park man who died of cyanide poisoning weeks after winning a $1 million lottery jackpot was questioned extensively by Chicago police last month after the medical examiner's office reclassified the death as a homicide, her attorney told the Tribune on Tuesday.

Authorities investigating the death of Urooj Khan also executed a search warrant at the home he had shared with his wife, Shabana Ansari, according to Steven Kozicki, her attorney. Ansari later was interviewed by detectives for more than four hours, answering all their questions, the attorney said.

"She's got nothing to hide," Kozicki said.

The mystery surrounding Khan's death — first reported by the Tribune in a front-page story Monday — has sparked international media interest.

Cook County authorities said Tuesday that they plan to go to court in the next few days for approval to exhume Khan's remains at Rosehill Cemetery. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Medical Examiner Stephen J. Cina said he sent a sworn statement to prosecutors laying out why the body must be exhumed.

"I feel that a complete autopsy is needed for the sake of clarity and thoroughness," Cina said.

Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office, confirmed that papers seeking the exhumation would be filed soon in the Daley Center courthouse.

Khan, who owned a dry cleaning business on the city's North Side, died unexpectedly in July at 46, just weeks after winning a million-dollar lottery prize at a 7-Eleven store near his home. Finding no trauma to his body and no unusual substances in his blood, the medical examiner's office declared his death to be from natural causes and he was buried without an autopsy.

About a week later, a relative told authorities to take a closer look at Khan's death. By early December, comprehensive toxicology tests showed that Khan had died of a lethal amount of cyanide, leading the medical examiner's office to reclassify the death a homicide and prompting police and prosecutors to investigate.

While a motive has not been determined, police have not ruled out that Khan was killed because of his big lottery win, a law enforcement source has told the Tribune. He died before he could collect the winnings — about $425,000 after taxes and because he decided to take a lump-sum payment.

According to court records obtained by the Tribune, Khan's brother has squabbled with Ansari over the money in probate court. The brother, Imtiaz, raised concern that because Khan left no will, his 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage would not get "her fair share" of her father's estate. Khan and Ansari did not have children.

Al-Haroon Husain, an attorney for Ansari in the probate case, said the money was all accounted for and the estate was in the process of being divided up by the court. Under Illinois law, the estate typically would be split evenly between the surviving spouse and Khan's only child, he said.

Kozicki, Ansari's criminal defense attorney, said his client adored her husband and had no financial interest in seeing harm come to him.

"Now in addition to grieving her husband, she's struggling to run the business that he essentially ran while he was alive," Kozicki said. "Once people analyze it, they (would) realize she's in a much worse financial position after his death than she was before."

Reached by phone Tuesday evening at the family dry cleaners, Ansari denied reports that she had fed her husband a traditional Indian meal of ground beef curry before he died. She said he wasn't feeling well after awakening in the middle of the night. She said he sat in a chair and soon collapsed. She then called 911.

Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, speaking Tuesday at an unrelated news conference, remarked that he had never seen a case like this in 32 years in law enforcement.

"So I'll never say that I've seen everything," he told reporters.

jmeisner@tribune.com

jgorner@tribune.com

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AP Exclusive: Richardson pressing NKorean test ban

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that his delegation is pressing North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and to allow more cell phones and an open Internet for its citizens.

Richardson told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang that the group is also asking for fair and humane treatment for an American citizen detained in North Korea.

“The citizens of the DPRK (North Korea) will be better off with more cell phones and an active Internet. Those are the three messages we’ve given to a variety of foreign policy officials, scientists” and government officials, Richardson said.

He is accompanied by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Google Ideas think tank Director Jared Cohen on what Richardson has called a private, humanitarian trip. Schmidt, who is the highest-profile U.S. business executive to visit North Korea since leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago, has not spoken publicly about the reasons behind the journey to North Korea.

The high-profile visit comes just weeks after North Korea launched a long-range rocket to send a satellite into space. Washington has condemned the launch as a banned test of missile technology.

Schmidt, who oversaw Google‘s expansion into a global Internet giant, speaks frequently about the importance of providing people around the world with Internet access and technology. Google now has offices in more than 40 countries, including all three of North Korea’s neighbors: Russia, South Korea and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship.

He and Cohen have collaborated on a book about the Internet’s role in shaping society called “The New Digital Age” that comes out in April.

Using science and technology to build North Korea’s beleaguered economy was the highlight of a New Year’s Day speech by leader Kim Jong Un.

New red banners promoting slogans drawn from Kim’s speech line Pyongyang’s snowy streets, and North Koreans are still cramming to study the lengthy speech. It was the first time in 19 years for North Koreans to hear their leader give a New Year’s Day speech. During the rule of late leader Kim Jong Il, state policy was distributed through North Korea’s three main newspapers.

___

Follow AP’s bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at www.twitter.com/newsjean.

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No joke: Obama to screen TV comedy “1600 Penn” at White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A “trophy wife” as first lady, a hapless college-aged son who burns down a fraternity house, and a daughter frantically taking pregnancy tests in a White House bathroom – this TV comedy had better be funny.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is slated to hold a private screening at the White House with the cast and crew of “1600 Penn,” an NBC series about a dysfunctional first family.

The show, co-created by Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for Obama, stars Bill Pullman as U.S. President Dale Gilchrist and Jenna Elfman as his first lady, and is named after the street address of the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A preview of the show, which premieres on Thursday, features first son “Skip,” played by the show’s co-creator Josh Gad, being rescued by the Secret Service after starting a fire at his college fraternity house.

“‘Meatball’ is in the oven,” an agent says into his lapel microphone, using the code name for the hapless Skip as he is hustled into a waiting black SUV.

But the show, which is apolitical, aims lower than other recent television dramas about the White House, like Aaron Sorkin’s drama series “The West Wing” or HBO’s dark satire “Veep.”

“We really wanted to dissect what it meant to be a family in the most extraordinary of circumstances – and what’s more extraordinary than being the first family?” Gad told reporters last month.

So will Obama laugh?

The screening in the White House’s family theater is “closed press,” meaning pool reporters won’t be there to document whether the comedy hits home.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Beech)

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: No joke: Obama to screen TV comedy “1600 Penn” at White House
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