jcpenney. one person injured and one home flattened after a north suburban explosion ... >>good afternoon i am robert jordan in for steve sanders. >>and i'm dina bair. we welcome our viewers for watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. wgn's muriel clair is live in skokie with the latest >>as you could probably see over my shoulder there's still lots of activity going on here one person has been transported to nearby st. francis hospital we have yet to learn what his condition has the explosion

occurred around 9:00 this morning at 8734 campbell and skokie affair the force of the explosion was so strong that ripped away the facade of the two-story building sending the bricks and glass flying and the noise could be heard at least a block away ... >>i woke up to a loud bang and i looked out the window and there was glass blowing out i got my mom and my sister out of bed and told them there was a fire when i got dressed and came outside there was a man on the ground while my sister was telling everyone to move the cars out of the way i grabbed the man i sat him down across the street police came and got into an ambulance >>the building had already exploded for it and out we're ready and one victim in the building we are unsure if he was the man walking by or we are investigating this >>fire officials say that the building was under renovation

the cause of the explosion is under investigation fire officials say that it has all the hallmarks of a gas explosion and we have seen the gas company on the scene investigating sometime later today there may be a better understanding of what took place here this morning in skokie muriel clair live for wgn >>a deadly fire in lake station indiana killed a 29 year-old woman and injured her two young children judy wang reports from comer children's hospital >>the boys aged 1 and 3 are in critical condition both are heavily sedated on respirators relatives say that they did get encouraging news this morning from the doctors to report signs of improvement. >>we are very optimistic they are just babies but they are resilient they are fighters like their mother was she was a tough

girl ... >>while relatives are empty beds out of the children they await the corner identification of the mother using dental records because of the badly burned body >>it happened in the 2200 block on wayne street in lake station earlier that day the mother hosted a birthday party for the children concerned when he could not reach her later that evening her boyfriend saw the house on fire and called 911 several people tried desperately to get into the home the youngest was found in his crib at a young boy underneath in the bedroom the woman's body was found near the front door in the living room >>the young boy is burned on his legs and his back and do the right area pop he may get off the respirator sooner and the younger boy three-year-old may

come off the respirator after some more time >>we're all trying to get through this is a family the best way we know how with lots of support >>she would never come out of the house without those babies >>my heart is broken >>the indiana state fire marshal is investigating with authorities there is no suggestion of foul play or evidence >>a broken water main has forced officials in east chicago indiana to shut down schools and issue a boil order the pipe burst yesterday morning at the intersection of alder street and columbus drive. it falls forced all nine schools in east chicago to cancel classes until tomorrow ... city officials are telling residents and business owners to boil all cooking and drinking water for at least five minutes they also say that people should

conserve the water officials have not said how long the boil order will last >>suspected home invaders caught by police using an i phone application are set to face a judge this afternoon police say that aaron smith and joe parker are responsible for six home invasions in one case there accused pistol whipping a woman forcing her and two others into a bathroom at gunpoint authorities used a gps monitoring application on that victim's own to track down the suspect's >>the u.s. state department is renewing a program to train police officers in mexico and officials want help from the chicago police department in 2009 at least a dozen c pd officers travel to mexico to train recruits in cities plagued by dangerous drug cartels now the state department is looking to expand that program to 32 states in mexico in october officials met with chicago police superintendent garry

mccarthy to encourage him to renew chicagos participation in the program >>a democratic proposal that would weaken state pension reform legislation has won approval from a house panel and could go before the full house today legislation passed less than two weeks ago would stop the process of basing public pensions on bigger union salaries it would also cake to well-paid teachers union lobbyists out of the pension system there were able to join after substitute teaching for just one day the new proposal makes an exception for current union officials on leave from their regular jobs to get more lucrative pensions and allow the two lobbyists to stay in the pension system >>the illinois legislature is back in springfield today for a special session to keep jobs in illinois lawmakers are breaking up a tax relief bill that failed in a new effort to get the entire package approved the first bill would offer about

$100 million to the cme group ... c b o e holdings and sears to keep their headquarters in illinois his second bill would increase the state's earned income tax credit and a third would reportedly hike the personal standard deduction is a vote could come as early as today. next at noon: the supreme court will have its say in a highly controversial immigration dispute between the obama administration and the state of arizona >>a billionaire nba owner announces that he will run for president against russian prime minister vladimir putin >>and later an impending crisis for chocoholics in a shortage of cocoa could send chocolate prices soaring ... ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] little owen wanted to play

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a funeral is being held today for a virginia tech police officer killed the latest shooting on that campus ... rock or a veteran and father of five eric kraus was gunned down last week ... the shooter killed himself ... >> former penn state football coach joe paterno has been hospitalized with a broken pelvis he fractured his pelvis when he slipped and fell at his home over the weekend the injury does not require surgery joe paterno turns 85 later this month and is also being treated with chemotherapy for lung cancer. he lost his job last month after criticism that he did not do enough when sexual

assault allegations surfaced against his longtime defensive coordinator jerry sandusky and jerry sandusky is due in court tomorrow for a preliminary hearing where his alleged victims are expected to testify. after jerry sandusky is accused of rape and molestation and a grand jury report made public last month and he was arrested again last week on new charges the cases involved an alleged victim's all came into contact with terry sandusky through his pennsylvania charity the second mile. >>president obama's is meeting today with the prime minister of iraq to discuss the united states withdrawal of troops from that country as of yesterday's 6000 u.s. troops remain in the rack but they are scheduled to leave by the end of the month president obama met with the iraqi prime minister at the white house this morning and later they attended a wreath laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery president obama said that the two nations will create a comprehensive

partnership that includes trade relations and building up the iraqi democratic system >>iranian leaders are not too eager to give up the u.s. drone that crashed last week saying that they're in the final stages of blocking the aircraft's software secrets they also claim they will then reverse engineer the drone to build their own u.s. officials say that it's unlikely unless iran can get help from russia or china the drone was reportedly flying a cia mission over i ran when it crashed >>it former central american dictator heads home after 22 years abroad and he did not exactly get a hero's welcome man well noriega arrived yesterday in panama the 77 year-old was ousted from office over two decades ago by u.s. forces spending most of that time an american prison on drug charges he went to france after serving his time but was recently extradited to panama to face

murder charges there >>the russian billionaire who owns the nba's new jersey nets will challenge russian prime minister vladimir putin in elections next march the announcement my mchaleby mikail prokhorov follows massive anti- government protests in russia thousands of russians took to the street after the vladimir putin party united russia was able to retain its majority in parliament despite big losses in last week's elections over the strong objections of the supremobama administration the supreme court has agreed to decide whether arizona can

enforce its controversial immigration law federal courts have blocked a key parts of that state's law supporters argued illegal immigration was creating financial hardships and safety concerns for its residents and that the federal government has long failed to control the problem the obama administration and immigration rights groups have opposed ef [ male announcer ] in 1894, a small town pharmacist set out to create a different kind of cold remedy using powerful medicine and natural ingredients from around the world.

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the roller coaster ride on wall street continues because of europe investors are taking a second look at the european union summit and they have come to the conclusion that nothing decisive has happened there so that puts the pressure on the markets today the dow is down by 230 points in current trading ... this will be the busiest day

for federal express in the history of its company ups expects that it expects to send 26 million packages on the 22nd of december >>u.s. farmers are in joining its best run in decades thanks to high crop and livestock profits they should go up $200 billion this year ... a 20 year survey by branstad staffing shows that workers would be more inclined to put in longer hours and take pay cuts and lose their jobs oakland california could take

center stage once again today in the occupy protests ... activists with the occupy movement say they will try to shut down ports threat california and several other states last month protesters booth briefly succeeded in shutting down the port of oakland at the fifth busiest in the country police kept their distance then but in addition to oakland activists say there will try to shut down ports in l.a. long beach portland oregon seattle houston and anchorage alaska lowe's home improvement may face a national boycott after pulling commercials may reality show about american muslims. the retail chain stopped advertising on all american muslims after a conservative group known as the florida family association complained the group said that the reality show was " propaganda that hides the islamic agenda is clear and present danger to american liberties and traditional values ... >>lowe's it released a written

apology but has not reinstated those television ads >>you could soon be spending more on that box of holiday chocolate experts say a worldwide shortage of cocoa beans could mean a big lead in the price of chocolate manufacturers blamed the shortage on a growing taste for cocoa in china and the rising demand for dark chocolate due to its health benefits chocolate makers may have to increase the use of nuts and other ingredients to block out chocolate bars if demand out ways supply >>this friday december 16th is free shipping day more than 2000 merchants will offer free shipping and delivery by christmas free shipping day started four years ago off right after the nation plunged into recession it is now part of the holiday shopping season like black friday and cyber monday a list of participants on the web site free shipping de .com

>>facebook and e cards have not killed the traditional christmas card they're actually making sending them easier the post office gave americans a little reminder this holiday season ... >>mail plenty of holiday cards we need them >>even the most clever each card is not the same as receiving one in the traditional u.s. mail and hanging it on your mantel >>the red stamp application for the i pad and the i phone has a customized card applications along with choicest for delivering via u.s. mail social media ... and at the android

applications have options for illustrations or photography and messages you can't send for $1.99 printing on heavyweight postcards and postage arriving by u.s. mail anywhere in the united states ... there are more expensive models available with the templates on various tablets coming up next in the midday news thousands of catholics it turned out for a mass to celebrate our lady of guadalupe and later it is attempting to sneak a bit when you are making those holiday cookies but there is a new warning about the dangers of eating undercooked cookie

julian crews is live at our lady of guadalupe shrine on these maryville campus with a look at that pilgrimage celebration >>nearly 500 years ago it is believed that the virgin mary appeared before an indigenous mexican man an event that is still remembered today mothers with young children and playing for yet young ones are in des plaines today leaving candles and flowers at the shrine of our lady of guadalupe for mexican- americans and many hispanics it is a moment of great emotion >>it's very powerful the image we pray to her as a sign of hope and honor

>>this woman grew up in the chicago neighborhood where her parish plant a pilgrimage march 2nd des plaines to pay tribute to the patron saint of mexico >>it is an awesome icon and image to look up to latinos in particular have such a great patron saint to look up to its an offering of so much inspiration to women of all cultures the u.s. catholic church is 39 percent hispanic but in chicago is even bigger than this ... this event in des plaines is the largest religious event in the united states they come from all over chicago and from across the country to celebrate with more than one and a thousand people every year but with unseasonably

warm temperatures this december before it ends tonight many are predicting a quarter of a million will have made the pilgrimage to des plaines the closing mass for the today festival has spent scheduled for 8:00 tonight alberto rojas will preside >>julian crews for wgn news >>tom skilling will be next with the heavy rain coming up in the fall forecast >>stay with

i am not complaining that winter is not feeling like it's here yet ...

>>it's kind of a no show winter around here when you think of what we had last year ... and you're about 11 degrees colder last year than we were at this time now ... temperatures are already in the 40's and the clouds in the sun are mixed there is a big storm rolling in through southern california and the southwest united states heading this way ... it could bring substantial rain and thunder the wave pattern and the cumulus clouds show the shifting wind at altitude the forerunner of some kind of weather system coming ... there is activity northwest of the city right now ... california arizona and new mexico are sending us a front ... there is

a winter storm watch in kansas and colorado there are storm warnings and flood watches in parts of new mexico there is some heavy weather going on now the southwest ... 43 degrees in chicago today ... there is a cool air mass extending out of canada that we will feel in time but it is not barbaric cold ... it is 39 degrees currently in madison wisconsin 43 degrees here in chicago. ... we are two degrees higher than we were 24 hours ago ... the call there and

the warm air will be allowing this jet stream spinning up the big storm system that's the cold air from the rockies and the moisture from the gulf. the wind chill is not bad at 39 degrees ... we have temperatures in the forties across the region it's in the 40's in winnetka and kenosha ... the normal high as in the mid 30's and we are in bonus territory ... 43 degrees at o'hare 42 degrees at midway and 45 degrees here in lincoln park ... nowhere is there snow on the ground across the region naperville is currently 39 degrees ... we have big changes

coming this week there's a storm system lifting into the midwest and precipitation is impressive tuesday night into thursday is going to be the cooler air and precipitation ... it will be warm wednesday night ... we expect a half-inch up to 2 in. on our models of rainfall ... as these storms consolidate from out west the gulf of mexico will open up with moisture and a couple of showers will be going through and will have a good rain coming through midweek ...

not clear if there will bees any significant snow on the backside of these rainstorms ... no where will we see any of arctic air coming from canada ... here we are by wednesday morning those at the embedded heavy showers that will light not by thursday and then the cold there comes ... snow should be substantial in colorado in the mountains of new mexico but that is not gonna be

making its way toward chicago ... we will be 45 degrees tomorrow ... 60 degrees in st. louis the warm air is running up into the midwest with those embedded thunderstorms before the cold front comes through by the weekend ... by thursday morning we're in single digits in parts of north dakota here is the 10 day forecast looking toward the christmas holiday: we have a low of warm air collapsing into cool air for the weekend another storm system will warm things up early next week then we get moderately clear after that no cold air mass coming down to us with a

gusto so that's pretty interesting only four of 10 christmases here in chicago are quite it is never a slam-dunk that you would have a white christmas ... the rain will stay to the south and north west area of the city tonight mostly cloudy in mile for this season ... 30 degree temperatures overnight mostly cloudy mild and breezy maybe a sprinkle or shower tomorrow the high will be 41 degrees it will be windy and rainy on wednesday with embedded thunderstorms later in the day or night a high temperature will be 53 degrees ... and that will peek at night ... isn't that something very unusual weather

... after four tough winters we deserve it! >> time now for today's trivia which poem became the lyrics for the song i heard the bells on christmas day ... the answer is st

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. the bears managed to contain tim tebow for 57 minutes ... but all he needed was three minutes and a few bears mistakes. the bears had the lead banks to marion @barber ... in the third quarter he scored the bears' only touchdown he rushed for 108 yds

there were up three with two minutes left in the game and instead of running out the clock he ran out of bounds and gave denver enough time for a game- tying field goal on to over time the bears already in field-goal range when marion barber fumbled the ball tim tebow then set up a 51 yd game-winning field goal the bears lost 13-10 and have lost three in a row >>this time of year a dozen present a great position but we are in position to make it to the playoffs and that's what we have to work on >>the bears lost ground in the wild-card race the lions up six on minnesota vikings on the 1 yd line with seven seconds left but joe webb fumbled the ball away the lions held on to win 34-28 the falcons also want to move one game ahead of the bears in the wild-card standings >>the blackhawks struggled for

most of the game against the sharks but only down one with a minute left there will when the face-off and andrew brunette redirected marian hossa to shotstie with a shot in overtime is marian hossa shooting once again and patrick sharp not in the rebound for the game-winning goal the blackhawks 13-2 they have won four of their last five games that's a look at sports your live illinois lottery drawing is next ... good afternoon here are the midday winning numbers ... here are the winning pick three numbers: 4 9 1

here are the winning pick four numbers: 6 9 4 3 ... the mega- millions jackpot is over 100 million ...

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championships in new orleans but they need a little help. the columbus park chicago chargers and cheer squad are celebrating a successful season and called a news conference yesterday to make their hopes and dreams public. to make it to the new orleans gumbo classic starting next friday the chargers have to come up with $350 for each of the 100 participants that is $35,000 they are appealing to chicagoans for help ... >>we are pleading to help our kids go to new orleans for the championship they worked extremely hard this year they've listened well to us done everything that we have asked of them and we just a little bit of help ... >>the chargers have tried other fund-raising efforts including candy sales that their travel fund is still short. on the medical watch a drug used to protect bone health in

younker breast cancer patients also improves survival the drug is zometa or zoledronic acid austrian researchers report pre menopausal breast cancer patients who took zometa had a 36% reduced risk of death and a 28% reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence the effect was as beneficial on survival as chemotherapy >>few women undergo breast reconstruction after a mastectomy despite the cosmetic and psychological advantages researchers analyzed breast cancer data over the past decade the report less than one in four women within days of breast cancer opted for immediate reconstruction about 36 percent of women with early stage cancer got the procedure breast reconstruction is covered by medicare and medicaid and private insurance but sometimes there is a copay and the researchers say that out of

pocket charge may be a stumbling block >>when you are baking those holiday cookies experts say that the raw dough should go in the oven not in your mouth the centers for disease control believe rock flour not takes could make people sick researchers suspect that flour because it does not go through specific process to kill pathogens the cdc says that manufacturers should think about formulating ready to bake cookie dough to be safer lunch break is we all have internal plumbing. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems or trouble emptying your bladder

do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips throat or tongue stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? ask your doctor today... ... about taking care with vesicare. 3q

he's an expert in cooking and gardening entertaining and so

much more ross sveback is back ... and for more and great ideas we have a great stew recipe very good for the run-up to the holidays ... i am taking a 3 lb. boneless pork shoulder that i have cut into quarters and m. browning in a pot ... i am softening the onions and i am

adding a can of chopped tomatoes i have 3 c. of chicken stock and a half a cup of maker's mark bourbon and a half a cup of maple syrup ... that's locally tapped maple syrup by the way and we have to 28 oz cans of cannily any beansellini white beans .. along with tomato paste and chopped sage we steer this together after steering we take

the pork and we place that in the stock pot with the drippings from the browning reduction ... this will simmer for 3 hours covered. after two hours it you need to remove the cover so that it gets thicker ... i made a bacon and a sage crumble and that's made with bacon sage and bread crumbs to put on top of the stew ... for additional inspiration i took my caramel

rolls recipe and made that with a shot of maker's mark so that can be shared christmas morning and i am and a bit of a whiskey mood i also have a maple syrup high pie and i made it marshmallows with maple syrup as well ... and these are some offerings that

will be featured in more magazine ... these are aromatherapy products ... i am going to a giveaway ... i love this pie dish so that will be offered to one lucky viewer along with some of the local burtons maple syrup ... if you go on to the websites wgntv.com or my website where you can register for my e-mail you ken

when the prize to get more information about the soakedp and of course the recipes ... >>wgntv.com/midday will have all the information ... we will be right back

and now the answer to today's trivia question: which poem eventually became the lyrics for the christmas song i heard the bells on christmas day? the answer is christmas bells written in 1864 by henry wadsworth longfellow ... >>weekends shirley sting we can sureuy

sing about t his weather today... >>the colder air will be coming down until later in the week for the moment we are partly sunny the clouds are increasing to the west there will continue to do that we have a cloudy night had and that system coming from california and the southwest is coming up tomorrow and wednesday we will get some showers tomorrow a break at midnight ... light rain showers that won't be widespread it's only tomorrow night that that

expands we may have some thunderstorms wednesday into wednesday night with temperatures rising into the fifties ... the wind gusts by wednesday morning will be 30 to 35 mi. per hour from the south bringing the warm air into the chicago area accompanying map rain coming down ... and here we are through sunday ... there is a ribbon of snow by the time we reach christmas week that begins on sunday with the low pressure system if it works out it's a dead on hit for snow christmas week between christmas and new year's not next week ... we will see if that times out or not ...

moving to the north ... 41 tomorrow 53 wednesday 52 thursday it gets colder friday saturday sunday 3435 up to 40 degrees with thunderstorms coming wednesday we make it 2 in. of rain out of that system that's lots of water we haven't seen that the while we will have more this evening >>thank you so much for turning us today we hope you have a great afternoon remember that we are back at 5 and 9 and tom skilling will have more on that rainstorm have a good afternoon everybody