more than eight years after american troops invaded iraq ... the long and often unpopular war is officially over today. good afternoon i am steve sanders >>and i'm dina bair. we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web ... the united states and iraq marked the end of the war with a ceremony in baghdad nearly 4500 u.s. troops and tens of thousands of iraqis were killed

in the war that began with the bombing of baghdad and led to the downfall of saddam hussein u.s. soldiers rolled up the flag of american forces in iraq during today's ceremony secretary of defense leon panetta was among those paying tribute ... >>more than 30,000 wounded warriors ... many of whom still struggle with serious life altering injuries ... >>in fallujah the scene of some of the worst fighting there is celebration in the streets with some burning american flags and waving photos of their deceased loved ones >>11th-hour negotiations are underway right now here at city

hall chicago alderman are still trying to strike a deal on new boundaries for the city's 50 wards ... dick mell has been overseeing marathon sessions ... the 2010 census reveals a big jump in the number of hispanics while the african american population dropped by over 180,000 people ... the latino caucus once are redrawing of the map to reflect increased words and the black population is negotiating to hang on to the wards that they currently have >>how close are we? >>i think six percentage points

on one end and eight percentage points on another and but this is by far the worst of redrawing session we have had because of the radical shifts in the democratidemographics ... >>no word from the black caucus on the flurry of negotiations in the maneuvering >>the latino caucus said they will submit their own plan to the city clerk if there is no proposal from anyone else within the next hour as >>a man and a woman are charged with committing horrible abuses against the woman's son. vernon d. widner and tina louise graham are accused of doing everything from having a boy with a horsewhip to locking him inside of a camel they allegedly abused their 14 year-old for more than two years at their home will indiana the teenager said that he often ran away from home to

get away from the abuse authorities have known about the alleged abuse since september 2010 beneficial a murder investigation is underway in riverdale after a man was shot at least 19 times inside of an apartment complex julian crews is live in real the riverdale with the latest >>people are not speculating on what happened here but the public can be reassured according to police that the killer will not be striking again >>we're rolling out random act of violence we believe the offender knew the victim we cannot rule if it was dripdrug- related or domestic at this time >>there are scores of investigators descending on the crimes train here in riverdale at west 144th ... additional

clues and more witnesses are being sought the victims' relatives are shedding light on what could have happened here ... hoston gee was a salted as he opened the door to the apartment the neighbors heard more gunshots than they could count the man according to the coroner's suffered an astounding 19 bullet wounds the gunman was clearly enraged according to the viciousness of this attack ... >>there were numerous gunshots that sounded like they were so close the first thing we did was duck for cover >>police are being tight-lipped about the investigation there are many unanswered questions at this hour speaking with the victim's sister at the chicago tribune quoted her talking about her brother saying " you reap what you so " exactly what this

means in context we cannot say when it comes to motive it is not clear at this point in time >>police are confident they will solve a crime based on what they're hearing from the family and from the witnesses >>the chicago bears receiver sam hurd was arrested last night in chicago on federal drug charges. according to the u.s. department of homeland security he told an undercover agent that he wanted to buy up to 10 kilos of cocaine and a half ton of marijuana per week to distribute in the chicago area the bears released a statement saying they are disappointed in the circumstances and will deal with them once they have all of the information he was 8 receptions for 109 yds this season the man who drove 11 mi. from

miami edens expressway overnight has been charged with drunk driving happened to 230 this morning the man is now charged with d.u.i. reckless driving up and alcohol and no insurance police say that he avoided dozens of cars on the slick runway and as he continued to drive the expressway in the opposite direction of traffic no one was injured officials received at least 15 calls about an s u v driving the wrong way glen cove police finally caught up with him at tower road >>former gov. rod blagojevich reports for prison he could be entered into a drug treatment program rod blagojevich has requested to enroll in the nine month substance-abuse program under the treatment he would attend daily therapy sessions and other educational activities if he completes the program he could shave a year off of his 14 year sentence the move raises the question whether blagojevich really suffers from substance

abuse or if he is just looking for ways to reduce his sentence coming up next in this new and our the italian jury that cleared american student amanda knox is now explaining how they reached their decision and congress has been here before the government is facing renewed

say they did so because of lack of evidence. a new report published today allies the reason for reversing the october verdict. in the report that judges says that the prosecution's evidence " did not prove in any way " the guilt of knocks and her boyfriend and added that he believes meredith kercher was killed by a single assassin despite the lack of hard evidence the prosecution said that it will likely appeal the acquittal appeals cannot be

filed in italy before the judge publishes the jury's reasoning for its verdict. >>high-ranking lawmakers say they're working behind the scenes to help end the stalemate over the payroll tax extension and government funding bills. house speaker john boehner senate majority leader harry reid and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell met privately for about an hour last night when the senate opened its session this morning harry reid indicated lawmakers would first take up the spending proposal to keep the government funded past friday he also said that he and mitch mcconnell have been in discussion on the payroll tax measure and are hopeful they can reach agreement on that plan over the next few days. >>the republican presidential candidates will face off tonight in sioux city i'll let it is their final debate before the iowa caucuses and a potential political experts say that the

stakes cannot be higher for all involved former house speaker newt gingrich holds the lead in iowa campaign polls as he does nationally if you are in the military or a veteran and looking to buy a home in illinois there is a new program that will make doing that a lot easier. governor quinn announced today the welcome home heroes program. it will provide $10,000 grants for down payments and closing costs. it will offer also will offer loans the 4% for a 30 year mortgage and give an extra tax credit of up to $20,000 this program is on a first-come first-served basis it is expected to help about 1000 people for more information please go to our web site wgntv.com/weblinks. a long legal fight is over and chicago's metropolitan water reclamation district now has approval to move ahead with the

final stages of the deep tunnel project the city's massive 130 mi. underground sewer line has been under construction for nearly 40 years but it has been delayed repeatedly due to funding issues and engineering problems yesterday the united states and illinois epa announced a legal settlement that will force the district to complete several key reservoirs within the next five years it will also force the district to take several steps to build more rain gardens green roofs and other projects it will cut down on run off the entire project will be completed in 20209 online dish more than seven years after the death of a 21 year-old man his mother is still looking for answers if the case involves the nephew of former mayor richard daley and a drunken brawl 21 year-old david koschman of mount prospect died 11 days after he was punched in

the face of the nephew of former mayor daley after a drunken argument in the early morning hours of april 25, 2004 the two men engaged in an argument on the sidewalk near division and dearborn and things got out of hand and the young man was punched in the face causing him to fall hitting his head on the pavement he would die later from blunt trauma to the head there have been contentions that the investigation may have been compromised >>on the public record there have been ongoing regularities and lapses in the manner in which this investigation into his death was handled >>i just want my son david to rest i want him to know that i did everything as his mother to

take care of him now and in the hereafter i feel that had their roles been reversed and if my son was the one who levels that punch that i would be visiting him in prison how could this happen? he was my heart and soul ... >>we have made calls to the cook county state's attorney's office and to the police involved in the investigation we are awaiting information >>the day's top business stories are of next and it was a service call like no other a cable repairman found a 500 lb. bear sleeping in a customer's basement and live music this midday from renowned blues rock guitarist kenny wayne she pherd... his new cd hal i go is

out now and he will be performing tonight at the house of blues here in chicago...

business headlines live from the new york stock exchange big headlines ... the number of people filing for unemployment unexpectedly dropped last week

to the lowest in three years it's a good indicator force consumer spending >>and freddie mac says that 30 year mortgage interest rates have dropped to their lowest on record >>the question is will you be able to refinance amid tighter lending standards >>christine lagarde ahead of the imf is working diligently on at the european debt crisis and the market is showing a higher response today ... toyota and subaru are the top picks in safety ... toyota had 15 vehicles qualifying as top

safety pecks subaru is the only automaker to have all 2012 models are in that safety rating ... because of the rise and mobile gadgets inappropriate behavior can go a barrel and a heart beat human resource consultants are advising people to be extra careful this year at the office parties siri may have a new competitor there are reports that google is improving on its course control system for the android phones the code name for the update majel. that's the voice of the computer

in star trek google is trying to match the more sophisticated siri system found in the apple i phone 4 asp >>a cable repairman in new jersey earned his service fee after a bizarre encounter in a customer's basement his surprise was hiding in the dark it was a bear the man said he was working away and drilled a hole in the ground when he awoke the sleeping giant and when he pointed his light toward the noise he saw the big guy standing there so he booked out of the house >>the bear was estimated to be more than 500 lbs. workers tried to tranquilize the bear but he ran from the house the tranquilizers' eventually took hold and he will be taken to state land there's no word on how that bear got into the basement ... >>coming up next we have more live music from grammy nominated

artist kenny wayne shepherd..

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medicine flavored with natural honey instead of artificial flavors and dyes. so you can feel good about what you take to feel better. for a grammy award but kenny wayne shepherd can. the world-renowned a blues rock guitarist is out with a new cd; " how i go " which just debuted at number one on the billboard blues album chart >>we had one of the members of the late helen wolfowlin' wolf's band..

and lots of other of my idols ... people still love blues here in chicago every time we visit this city we tried to bring at and make it extra special for chicago ... i was influenced early at the age of seven i met stevie ray vaughn ... his drummer has been in the band with us for years we have a stellar lineup we're really excited to be here and the new cd is doing really well it came out in august the fans really dig it it has been the first

studio record we've done in a few years and many are saying it's our best we are going to do our first single off this new album ... [music "never lookin' back" by kenny wayne shepherd]

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>>there were over 3 in. in the southern suburbs and here in chicago we ended up with a respectable inch and a half of accumulation >>we have two-thirds the amount of snow across the lower 48 united states than we did last year 7% of that amount has only hit chicago ... there is an alberta clipper that may bring us some snow flurries on saturday but the prospects for a white christmas made depend on elements that may produce more rain and snow >>there are gale force warnings on like michigan many counties along the lake on the michigan side are under wind advisory this storm is tracking to the

west south of james spader right now the powerful back side wingsnds is making things a lot cooler ... another storm is developing passing to the self outh we may see a couple of snowflakes by saturday but the milder pacific air will be following a cold front and by sunday for the bears game we should be a bit warmer. the forecast is for all this winter to be continuing at 30 m.p.h. it will come down quickly tonight and will be wendy again when the sun shine returns tomorrow ... it may also get windy saturday afternoon and

that will continue sunday ... >> the arctic air continues to bottle up to the north of us. we are 14.5 degrees warmer this december than we were last december so far. what we have is a return to more seasonable temperatures but looking at the next two weeks we are averaging above normal temperatures and there are no signs of a massive arctic outbreak just chunks of cool air blowing through every couple of days with wind gusts today at 35 mi. per hour currently tracking at o'hare airport. it feels like december

today we have 73 percent humidity the barometer is rising in the wind is sustained at 0 hera 24 mi. per hour hare @ 24 mph here is where the rain came down yesterday ... the heaviest in the southern suburbs. between two and three and half inches ... galesburg at 3 in. the next five days will be 6.2 degrees above normal chill

coming and notwithstanding. the sunshine will be back tomorrow with mild weather expected by sunday for the bears game about 40 mi. per hour40 degrees with 18 mi. per hour wind by kickoff time the rain and snow showers will develop in michigan to the north but we will not seek significant snow ... there are a couple of flurries that will not be widespread and they will clear out tonight. coming back for the update later in the broadcast we will take a look at what is in store for

christmas weekend ... a second as system will be in friday or saturday of next week ... the clouds are blustery wind producers ... temperatures will go down to 27 degrees at o'hare. the wind it will be weighed down and diminished by morning tomorrow will be seasonably cold at 36 degrees and overcast mostly cloudy saturday with a flurry of high temperature 38 degrees back into the 40's for sunday and monday and you can't beat that ... it's time now for today's trivia: where was the story " a

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it's time for sports ... it battle between the top two teams in the west lived up to the bill and an was decided in a shootout the blackhawks made the trip to minnesota both teams scored twice in the second period and third jonathan toews breaks the time he also had one assist but the wild would tide that up again and in the shootout patrick kane fake out the goalie and scored on an open net the hawks could win in four-three and pick up a point on minnesota now only to back in the west conference bubbles newest shooting guard

will be at practice in deerfield today veteran rep hamilton signed a two-year deal after he was released by the detroit pistons hamilton averaged 14 points last season and won an nba title in 2004 he will begin alongside derrick rose who said he expects his assistant to go up now it is unclear if rep hamilton will play in the first preseason game against the indiana pacers tomorrow runningback matt forte will not play in sunday's bears came from his back up marion barber is now being forced to talk to the media he regularly declines interviews and he has not talked about is too costly mistakes against the broncos the nfl warned him that he will be fined if he does not talk this week city promises to speak to the media today >>that's a look at sports your live illinois trying for the lottery is next >>here are the winning kick three numbers: 9 0 9

>>here are the winning pick four numbers: 9 2945 a mega-millions jackpot is $135 million.

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in the medical watch a fathers' smoking may be linked to his children's risk of leukemia australian researchers report that children whose fathers smoked at all around the time of their conception are 15 percent more likely to develop a childhood cancer known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and those whose fathers smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day around the same time for 44 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disease the study found that smoking by mothers had no impact on their children's risk of developing leukemia according to a new study teenagers are smoking and drinking less but using marijuana more researchers at the university of michigan said that one in 15 high school seniors reported smoking pot on a daily or near daily basis that is the highest rate since 1981

and 11 percent of teenagers admitted to using synthetic marijuana over the past year at the same time teenage drinking and smoking are at historic lows and continue to drop >>stringing those christmas lights for the holidays could be hazardous to your health the consumer product safety commission said that injuries involving falls from ladders cuts from broken glass ornaments and other decorating activities are on the rise more than 13,000 people were treated in emergency rooms during november and december last year that's up from 10,000 in 2007 christmas tree fires are blamed for about

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celebrated pastry chef she is the author of best-selling cookie swap she is back to share some holiday cookie magic from her new book ultimate to cookies >>lots of people approached the holiday baking season with much trepidation feeling they have to keep up with the " neighborhood martha stewart " >>but i combine store-bought elements and key tools which creates this cookie snow globe ... and you can use it and

incorporate it into your table settings ... so let me show you how we put this together ... we are going to create a background ravinia @vignette.. >>usaid's julia that the key to this is to get the technique of rolling the dough very fan >>i like to use a combination of both butter and shortening said that the cookie dough spreads less as it bakes >>i am doing a 3-d project ... >>and to give the icing that smoothes look what is the consistency for this icing? >>i am using very thick royal

icing to make my outline piping element ... if the icing is too thick you will leave to many lumpy tracks so i am going to loosen up what's in this pastry bag and i am going to fill in between my lines and look at house move that this is it is a different consistency for the border ... to complete the snow globe here is what this looks like ... i have let this icing dried overnight because we want

to put the store bought sugar snowflake elements on top. >>so cheating is ok here! >>so i am making variations on different icing to ensure adhesion. i have top coated this a ring that was cut from two cookie rounds. i am icing the back to make it at here to the previous two layers ... the the

next step is to take this loose icing and put the fake snow in the vignette it's all done with the wet icing it's really a glowing exerciseue-ing excercise.. and to i like to just lastly finished off an inner border to frame the scene.

you will be signing your book and doing some tastings at the book cellar 4736 north lincoln avenue right here in chicago. if you like information on this recipe and how to put this together or to get more information about the book by julia usher please go to wgn

and now the answer for today's trivia question: where was a christmas carol written? the answer of course was the united kingdom ... >>it is getting more december like out there we are looking at

a self word plunge of cooler air the 30's are forecast for tomorrow and saturday but they are still above normal temperatures for this time of the year. let's look at how the wind will stay blowing through the evening even through midnight we have 30 mi. per hour gusts but they will drop down quickly tomorrow. we will be down to single digits peak wind overnight tomorrow. there was lots of rain that fell in the southern suburbs yesterday. 42 degrees currently at o'hare and at midway ...

the temperatures will drop to the upper 30's for the remainder of the day and that will be the case tomorrow temperatures will be in the mid 30's we will inch up to 38 degrees on saturday there may be a slight snow flurry then it will be partly sunny and breezy and 40 degrees on sunday for the bears game that will hold through monday with a better chance of rain for tuesday. we may get a snow flurry for christmas but it's a bit dodgy right now ... happy thursday and stay warm today >>thank you for joining us

today. we hope you have a great afternoon. we leave you know with more music from kenny wayne shepherd ... he is performing tonight at the house of blues here in chicago.