Chicago Sun-Times

First lady to high school grads: Live your dreams

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:04:05 -0500

First lady Michelle Obama had some advice for some Tennessee high school graduates: Strike your own path in college and life, and work to overcome inevitable failures with determination and grit. Mrs. Obama spoke for 22 minutes to the graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School on Saturday in her only high school commencement address this year.

2 fires north of LA persist after long fire week

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:04:47 -0500

A pair of persistent wildfires continued to burn in the hills and mountains around Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles on Saturday, though authorities were slowly getting the upper hand.

Funeral-goers describe Texas swindler Estes as loving

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:05:39 -0500

Billie Sol Estes may have been infamous as a swindler who spent time in prison for Texas-sized schemes, but his family and friends say he was a loving, generous man who once gave his Cadillac to a stranger who needed a ride. About 300 people gathered for Estes’ funeral Saturday, four days after he died in his sleep at the age of 88.

Up to 60 injured after car drives into Virginia parade

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:15:31 -0500

About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town.

Deputies: 86-year-old Florida mom shoots, kills son

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:14:56 -0500

Authorities say an 86-year-old central Florida mother has confessed to fatally shooting her son in self-defense.

Imprisoned Ohio Amish complain about schooling

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:14:19 -0500

Some of the Amish sentenced in beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio are upset with federal prison education requirements.

Majority of number combos picked for Powerball pot

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:22:00 -0500

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It’s all about the odds. With the majority of possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, someone is almost sure to win the game’s highest jackpot on Saturday night, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that’s after taxes.

Probe begins after Connecticut commuter trains crash

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:13:58 -0500

Officials are describing a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut. They say it’s fortunate no one was killed.

FBI executes search warrant in ricin letter case

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:13:32 -0500

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are executing a search warrant Saturday in the case of two letters containing the deadly poison ricin that were intercepted this week at a post office in Washington state.

Republicans hope IRS scandal will snag health-care law

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:33:07 -0500

Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax-enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama’s health-care law.

Obama agenda marches on despite controversies

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:35:22 -0500

Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama’s agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.

US slams Russian anti-ship missiles going to Syria

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:32:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration denounced Russia on Friday for providing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime with anti-ship missiles, saying the weapons would only worsen a war that Washington and Moscow have been promising to work together on stopping.

Hagel orders review of sex-abuse prevention

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:28:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved in programs designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault, an acknowledgement that assaults have escalated beyond the Pentagon’s control.

CBO: Obama budget cuts deficits $1.1T by 2023

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:26:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress’ nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday.

Benghazi probe co-chair subpoenaed by House panel

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:24:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has subpoenaed the co-chairman of the independent review board that investigated last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, to answer questions about the panel’s findings behind closed doors.