Fare hikes, elimination of bus routes focus of CTA budget hearing

The second CTA fare hike in five years and a controversial plan that eliminates at least a dozen bus routes to free up money...

Read More..

Google’s Gmail service suffers disruption

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Several Google Inc Web products, including the popular Gmail service, appeared to go dark for users on several continents on Monday.Google confirmed that “service disruptions” had affected Gmail and Google Drive, its online storage service. The two products are part of Google’s Apps suite, a Microsoft Office rival that caters to both consumers and businesses.By 10:10 a.m....

Read More..

Jenni Rivera’s family hopes Mexican-American singer still alive

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The family of Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera said on Monday they are holding onto hope that she may still be alive, although U.S. officials said earlier that she died on Sunday in a plane crash in Mexico.“In our eyes, we still have faith that our sister will be OK,” Rivera’s brother Juan told reporters outside the family house near Long Beach, California.“We thank God...

Read More..

Rate of Childhood Obesity Falls in Several Cities

PHILADELPHIA — After decades of rising childhood obesity rates, several American cities are reporting their first declines. The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Neb. The state of Mississippi has also registered a drop, but only among white students. “It’s been nothing but bad news for 30...

Read More..

'Dollar Menu' sparks McDonald's rebound

McDonald's took Wall Street by surprise Monday morning, with a November same-store sales report that beat expectations and showed...

Read More..

Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera feared dead in plane crash

The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Jenni...

Read More..

In giant “garage sale”, Japan’s TV giants hawk $3 billion of assets

TOKYO (Reuters) – Panasonic Corp, Japan‘s struggling maker of Viera brand TVs, owns more than 10 million square meters of office and factory space, dormitories for its workers and sports facilities for its rugby, baseball and women’s athletics teams.As it battles for Christmas shoppers’ wallets in the year-end holiday season, the sprawling electronics conglomerate is also seeking buyers for some of...

Read More..

UK hospital says royal prank call appalling after nurse death

LONDON/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) – The London hospital that treated Prince William‘s pregnant wife Kate condemned on Saturday an Australian radio station that made a prank call seeking information about the duchess, after the apparent suicide of a nurse who answered the phone.There has been renewed soul-searching over media ethics after Jacintha Saldanha, 46, the nurse who was duped by the station’s...

Read More..

Italy Grapples With Polluting by Ilva, a Giant Steel Maker

Alessandro Penso for The New York TimesThe Ilva steel plant, in Taranto, Italy, above, employs thousands of workers but is seen as a health threat by residents and courts. TARANTO, Italy — Every morning, Graziella Lumino cleans the black soot from her kitchen window, which looks out on the hulking Ilva steel plant where her husband, Giuseppe Corisi, worked for 30 years. After he died this...

Read More..

Huppke: Don't be afraid to hire people with disabilities

One of the best experiences of my life was watching Jamie Smith, a young man with autism, leave his routine in Chicago, travel to the Special Olympics World Games in the chaotic Chinese city of Shanghai — and succeed.Jamie's success — managing in a foreign country and bringing home a silver medal — was the result of one thing: hard work. And I've...

Read More..