Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:00 pm | Loading…

• Related: VA to ease way for veterans to get stress disability
• Related: Soldiers in Colorado slayings tell of Iraq horrors

Chief opens Illinois 'supermax' prison to show reforms

TAMMS -- Although he's confined to his cell for all but about an hour on most days, Steven Wuebbels doesn't mind being isolated at Illinois' lone "supermax" prison -- a place human rights activists consider inhumane.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 2:30 pm | Loading…

• Related: 'Dangerous' man gets 30 years for escape try at Pontiac prison
• Related: State outlines Tamms reforms

Salvation Army kicks off holiday campaign with $370K goal

BLOOMINGTON -- Bells have begun ringing throughout Bloomington-Normal and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Nov 20, 2009 | 2:50 pm | Loading…

• Related: Salvation Army campaign raises $367,600, tops goal
• Related: Looking for rare coins or a wedding ring? Try the Salvation Army auction

Atlantis awaits word of astronaut's baby girl on Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Atlantis' astronauts anxiously awaited word on the birth of one crewman's daughter Friday, as they moved more supplies into the International Space Station and geared up for another spacewalk.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:05 pm | Loading…

• Related: Astronauts get set for 1st spacewalk of mission
• Related: Big Hubble instruments now Smithsonian artifacts
• Related: Shuttle crew includes surgeon and former NFL pick

HCC postpones discussion on benefits for domestic partners

NORMAL -- Heartland Community College leaders are postponing discussion whether to offer benefits to unmarried couples, but a decision must be made by July.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:20 pm | Loading…

• Related: Heartland trustees hear pitch for training center near stadium
• Related: Tuition rise likely steep at Heartland next year

FBI investigating use of stun gun on 10-year-old

OZARK, Ark. -- The FBI has dispatched investigators to Arkansas to look into a police officer's use of a stun gun on a 10-year-old girl who refused to take a shower.

Nov 20, 2009 | 11:55 am | Loading…

Death of man found in mobile home ruled homicide

BLOOMINGTON -- The death of a man whose body was found in a south-side mobile home has been ruled a homicide.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm | Loading…

Friends and family pitch in, help widow harvest fields

ROANOKE -- In years past, Joyce Hodel spent the harvest season in the classroom while her husband, Steve, picked corn.

Nov 20, 2009 | 11:50 am | Loading…

GOP lawmakers who heard Burris testimony react

SPRINGFIELD -- Republicans who heard U.S. Sen. Roland Burris' testimony first-hand said Friday they agree with the Senate decision to admonish him.

Nov 20, 2009 | 1:45 pm | Loading…

Illinois launches online hospital report cards

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois has launched an online tool consumers can use to find an unprecedented amount of information on hospitals and surgical centers.

Nov 20, 2009 | 7:15 am | Loading…

• Related: Illinois Health Care Report Card Web site

Daily Digest 11/21/09

Nov 20, 2009 | 5:10 pm | Loading…

Teen pleads guilty in violent Border Patrol murder

A 17-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to murdering a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times in head, neck and torso in the mountains east of San Diego.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:35 pm | Loading…

Fate of black teacher in Mo. case rests with jury

A jury is deliberating the fate of a black school teacher charged with assaulting white police officers in Missouri

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:35 pm | Loading…

Calif. launches probe into scam targeting churches

California is investigating several companies suspected of bilking churches nationwide of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent computer leasing schemes, authorities said Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:25 pm | Loading…

UN committee targets Iran's rights violations

A key U.N. committee approved a resolution Friday urging Iran to halt the persecution of political opponents following the country's disputed presidential election and release those still detained.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:20 pm | Loading…

Police: NC girl raped, killed on day she was taken

A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying…

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:10 pm | Loading…

Afghan police are weak link in security force

Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:10 pm | Loading…

Sears Tower plot leader gets 13-year prison term

The ringleader of a group described by prosecutors as plotting terror attacks on Chicago's Sears Tower and FBI offices in hopes of sparking an anti-government insurrection was sentenced Friday to 13 1/2 years in prison by a federal judge.

Nov 20, 2009 | 4:05 pm | Loading…

Pa. university students upset about fitness class

A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:50 pm | Loading…

Planes ready to leave Brunswick, Maine Navy base

The rumble of Navy patrol aircraft flying overhead will soon be a thing of the past as the remaining P-3 Orions depart from Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:50 pm | Loading…

UC students occupy buildings to protest fee hike

Students barricaded themselves inside buildings on University of California campuses to protest a 32 percent increase in student fees and budget cuts that have led to slashed programs and lost jobs.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:45 pm | Loading…

Murder trial move to LA a setback for transit cop

The decision to move Johannes Mehserle's trial to Los Angeles County is a setback for the former transit officer charged with killing an unarmed man on New Year's Day.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:20 pm | Loading…

Pa. judges in juvenile kickbacks case win immunity

Two former Pennsylvania judges accused of taking kickbacks to supply private detention facilities with juveniles have been granted partial immunity from civil liability.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:20 pm | Loading…

SC lawmakers to take up impeachment of governor

South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday.

Nov 20, 2009 | 3:15 pm | Loading…