Polls open to find likely successor to ex-Rep. Jackson Jr.

Election Day in Cicero and 2nd District. Polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters are headed to the polls today to pick the likely...

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Italy parties seek way out of election stalemate

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's stunned political parties looked for a way forward on Tuesday after an election that gave none of them a parliamentary majority, posing the threat of prolonged instability and European financial crisis. The results, notably by the dramatic surge of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic Beppe Grillo, left the center-left bloc with a majority in the lower...

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Wall Street turns lower on Italian worries

(Reuters) - For the first time in decades, the United States is making steady gains in the number of high school students earning diplomas, putting it on pace to reach a 90 percent graduation rate by 2020, according to a new analysis released Monday. But the good news comes with a big asterisk: students with learning disabilities and limited fluency in English face long odds to finish high school,...

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Johnson back on top with 2nd Daytona 500 victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson went two years without a title and suddenly became an afterthought at the Daytona 500.All the attention went to Danica Patrick and a handful of other drivers.Not that it mattered Sunday, because look who pulled into Victory Lane.Five-time is back. Not that he ever went away.Johnson won his second Daytona 500 on Sunday, a year after he completed just one lap...

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Majority of Missouri Tan Salons Allow Preteens

Missouri. Call it the artificial sunshine state … at least for preteens allowed to enter tanning booths and beds there.Missouri is one of 17 states that have no minimum age restrictions on tanning salon use and does not require parental consent, despite a proliferation of scientific evidence linking indoor tanning to skin cancers.Now, doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

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Boy, 16, charged with Bucktown home invasion, assault

Chicago Tribune reporter Adam Sege with Sunday's Chicago overnight...

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Powers to offer Iran sanctions relief at nuclear talks

ALMATY (Reuters) - Major powers will offer Iran some sanctions relief during talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week if Tehran agrees to curb its nuclear program, a U.S. official said on Monday. But the Islamic Republic could face more economic pain if it fails to address international concerns about its atomic activities, the official said ahead of the February 26-27 meeting in the central...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Daytona ready for race, willing to relocate fans

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Fans feeling unsafe after the horrific crash at Daytona International Speedway can change seats for NASCAR's biggest race.Track President Joie Chitwood says workers successfully repaired a section of fence — 54 feet wide and 22 feet high — that was shredded Saturday when Kyle Larson's car went airborne on the final lap of a second-tier race and crashed through the barrier...

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Serious Stargazing: Spot Bright Star Sirius This Week

Around this time of year, I often get lots of inquiries concerning a certain very bright star-like object shining over toward the southern part of the sky. It’s Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky. Granted, the planet Jupiter currently shines three times brighter and appears much higher in the sky, but while Jupiter shines with a steady, silvery glow, Sirius will remind...

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