firefighters are on the scene in will county after a house explosion. 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. firefighters are at the scene of a house explosion in will county

at this hour. the explosion happened at 25831 redstone in manhattan... a village about 50 miles southwest of chicago. we have no information yet about the cause ... or if anyone was injured. we will continue to cover this story, and bring you more details as we learn them. a cook county corrections officer is killed in a hit-and- run crash... now police are searching for the driver. wgn's nancy loo is live near cook county jail... here outside the jail you can see a small memorial ... many are demanding the driver that was responsible to the right thing after causing the death of a devoted officer loving mother and heroic bakes sister >>i wish whoever did this would turn themselves and ... she didn't deserve this ... >>she lived her dream and became an officer and she died being her she wanted to be it's just tragic how she'd had to die ... they're desperate for the capture of the hit-and-run driver who killed this wife and

mother heading for work before 11:00 last night ... >>she was an amazing person in a place as big as this one she was well known for her dedication ... she was tragically taken away from all of us last night >>according to witnesses she was hit by a blue van with blue and white stripes and she was trying to cross over california ... she was on her way to work at the prison the impact center into the ed delaney which was accidently hit and she was penned by a second car of dying from injuries there after ... >>many say that crossing california has been a work place challenge here ... >>it's really a hazard they need to put a traffic light here >>you don't expect to have to worry about your safety coming to the job we know where we work

we know what to expect on the inside we don't expect to have to worry about trying to get here ... >>co-workers on the late shift did not want to comment as they left this morning ... many say she loved her job and cherished her husband and daughter and their family time together ... >>the main cause is that van without that impact she would not have banned new that patrol car >>the second car involved was a department vehicle the officer driving the squad car is taking the tragedy quite hard ... the department had been asking the city for a crosswalk here for some years

the fate of an illinois lawmaker may be decided in chicago today. a state house committee is holding a hearing on whether to sanction state representative derek smith over his federal bribery charges. wgn's tonys francisco is covering the hearing and joins us live from loop with the latest. tonya ... >>the hearing is concluding as we speak. rep smith is not here that is because of the advice of his attorney he said his client wants to speak but he advised him not to because of the ongoing criminal matter ... smith was arrested in march after federal prosecutors say he took a $7,000 bribe from a mole asking for help getting a $55,000 state grant for day care center ... the prosecutors say they have transcripts of taped phone calls about smith discussing this with the mall ... fellow lawmakers are now

weighing his political future determining whether enough their ethics violations they're deciding whether or not to punish him with expulsion or such other sanctions ... >>the people of illinois would be better served to hear that they have heard the evidence and then there was a decision as opposed to we decided because if someone is pressuring us to move forward to make a decision prior to an election so we can get his seat >>this is not a trivial matter it's a crime that representative smith allegedly participated in by using his public position it goes to the core of why we are here to serve in springfield ... they will deliberate as to whether they will bring charges or sanctions against rep derrick smith that should happen they will come back into the open

hearing to announce the charges before any of this takes effect they will need to go before the full house and that will require a vote ... attorneys for representative smith said he's not worried about losing his seat because he knows he has great support from constituents in his district

has been empaneled to investigate a deadly altercation that involved a nephew of former mayor daley richard r. j. vanecko and some of his buddies got into an argument with 21 year-old david koschman and his friends are n rush street in april 2004 someone punched or shoved him causing him to fall in his head he got 11 days later no charges were filed since then there have been questions over whether richard vanecko received special treatment the grand jury has full subpoena powers and the authority to force witnesses to testify under oath ...

a man serving a life sentence woman's womb, then killing her and her two children.... could kennelly is holding an evidentiary hearing this morning, to consider the possiblity of a new trial. fedell caffey was convicted of killing debra evans in 1995, other two children. but caffey's lawyer says his right to put on a defense was to disclose one of their team members was allegedly buying drugs from a key witness in the case. attorney has declined to comment on the allegation. a buddhist priest hiding in alaska is back in the chicago area this morning to face charges of sexual assault. "cam-nong bual ubol" who used work and live at a budhist temple in stickney township, was arrested yesterday, in anchorage where he was working as a dishwasher. he arrived with two cook county sherrif's investigators at o'hare early this morning. the 61 year old ubol is accused of fathering a child with a 15 worked at the stickney temple. last year "the survivors network for those abused by priests" contacted police to investigate. ubol fled to alaska when a paternity test confirmed he was the father. the stage is set for drew peterson's murder trial. the former bolingbrook police officer is charged with killing his third wife, kathleen savio. in the final pre-trial hearing yesterday, the judge said wiretapped savio's house. jury selection starts monday.

an american eagle plane flying diverted to peoria last night.. after a report of smoke in the cabin. american eagle flight 3773 was carrying 53 passengers and a crew of four. the plane landed safely in peoria and the passengers were evacuated. one passenger suffered a minor ankle injury while getting out of the plane. they took a bus back to o'hare. an american airlines spokeswoman tells wgn it's unclear if the plane was diverted because of the weather in chicago or because of the smoke report. -- it has spent a rare sight in chicago this summer the city and the suburbs are drying out from a heavy rainstorm lightning caused a house fire in the 3800 block of new land avenue in chicago stunning square neighborhood storms in marengo and carpentersville knocked down several trees and have left

many without power at the storm's peak 121,000 to co-med customers were left without electricity mostly in the western in the northern regions but crews have been working to restore power to as many homes as possible we would like to take this moment to wish someone a very happy birthday the brookfield zoo has its oldest during the tang maggie turning 51 years old she is the oldest of her kind it that is living in an accredited suit in north america should receive national attention in 2004 at issue is diagnosed with a high-profile trip condition and lost 90 lbs. you can visit her ♪ ♪ ♪ pop goes

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trayvon's parents, appearing on cbs this morning, had a response to zimmerman's statement that he was following "god's plan." >>i don't think it is god's plan that he murder and an innocent child ...george zimmerman is currently free on bail, awaiting trial on murder. syrian state tv has shown video of president bashar al- assad with his new defense minister. these are the first images shown of the president since the bombing yesterday that killed several top officials of his regime. there was nothing in today's video to indicate immediately when it was taken. some reports have suggested assad might have left damascus. syria's defense minister and assistant minister.. the interior minister.. and the president's security adviser were all killed in yesterday's suicide bombing t the national security headquarters. a very troubling report about security gaps at flight schools in the u.s. a new government study shows illegal immigrants have been able to take classes... even though non-u.s. citizens and visa holders are supposed to undergo a 'security threat

assessment' before they can enroll. the report says some of the 26,000 people who completed flight training in the last six years were never vetted. these findings come eleven years after al-qaeda terrorists used their flight training in the u.s. to carry out the attacks on the world trade center towers. >>is it not true that based on your report the transportation security administration can not assure americans that for inter nests are not in this country learning to fly airplanes ...? >>in my opinion, no. busted a flight school in boston that was primarily training illegal immigrants. the report also found about 30 percent of flight schools that offer student visas to foreigners are not even

a security snafu may be unfolding at the olympics in london. an olympics contractor has failed to supply enough guards for the games. so the british government has been forced to call in some 35- hundred troops to fill the void. the security company has apologized for the shortfalls and is promising to reimburse police forces that are helping out. london's police commissioner says his department hasn't been asked to patrol any olympic sites. but he also says he doesn't think his officers will be needed. the olympics open in eight days.

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saw increasing numbers of ding ling quincy rates and foreclosures speaking of housing we have an unexpected drop in previously owned homes sold last month the pace fell to its lowest level in eight months that's a sign that the housing recovery is taking time to develop ... cheaper more distressed properties might be flooding the market ... the new batman movie is expected to ring and high box office numbers $198 million for an opening weekend is projected that could be the second largest film debut of all time behind

the avengers ... frito-lay wants you to come up with an award winning recipe for a new potato chip you could win $1 million for this ... usa today reports that the winning chip will be decided by a crowd sourcing vote ... better than expected earnings are driving the market's upward today a decision is expected today in sauk village about alternatives for i'm on break sweetheart. [ woman ] you know you don't have to put up with this. those annoying period

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sauk village leaders tell restaurant and grocery store owners they're on their own... until a polluted water problem is fixed. randi belisomo is live in sauk village with details on an emergency meeting this morning. >>there weren't many cancers in today's meeting for business owners the answer that most took

away from it is that they are on their own for an undetermined amount of time and have to come up with alternative sources for water usage ... it does not also appear that there would be reimbursed ... >>can we still use the water or not? >>no was the answer to that question at village hall at this mandatory meeting for food establishment owners ... the state environmental protection agency said that the vinyl chloride levels are still detected in the water and this causes kidney liver damage and increases risk for cancer officials are working on emergency planning and are providing residents with bottled water they said they have not identified the source of the vinyl chloride ... alternative processes will not be complete in infrastructure building in

time and it will be at great cost ... the reporting was far worse than expected ... there is another alternative which is air stripping quicker and more efficient but the village has to approve this ... there wasn't much to say to the business owners this morning >>the only thing i asked from the village i was here a long time i would think there would of watch out for us when all is said and done if they don't do that i have to weigh my options about continuing to do business here >>we're getting a song and dance they did not answer questions honestly they don't want anyone to know anything ...

>>volunteers are getting together to work up a plan on how to best distribute the bottled water to residents ... the marin village board will meet again this evening overnight storms are continuing to cause damage around chicagoland. a fire erupted in southwestern lyons -- after severe weather caused a gas leak in the area. firefighters were called to the gas line fire on 43rd street earlier this morning. homes are being evacuated near the area, and police have closed 1st avenue between 47th and plainfield road as crews work in the area. firefighters don't know exactly how the blaze began -- but suspect lightning could be responsible. contract negotiations are back on for chicago public schools and the teachers union. both sides rejected a fact finders contract recommendations yesterday. now, c-p-s and the teachers union have 30-days to reach a deal... or the teachers can go on strike. the leading issues are the longer school day, class sizes and curriculum resources. c-p-s negotiators are also trying to come up with 330- million dollars if teachers get their 15-to-20-percent raises in year one. the district faces a 665-million dollar budget deficit.

oprah winfrey has cut one more tie to chicago. on tuesday... winfrey finally sold her streeterville condo for 2.75 million dollars. that's less than half of the highest listed price. she bought the unit back in 2006 for 5.6 million dollars. however... she changed her mind shortly after the purchase and never actually moved in. the condo was listed in 2008 for six million dollars. the buyer of the 4600 hundred square foot unit has not yet been identified. still to come this midday .... tom skilling has your full forecast!

for as large an area as one would expect for a summer grain eve and this was welcome ... at midway airport the rain came down very hard it was the heaviest so far this year ... fetch we received many pictures from our viewers ... at wrigley field the game went well but then in the final moments the heavens opened and the gusty wind and rain came ...

this lightning shot was captured by one of our storm chasers ... lots of light in last night ... it appears that the severe weather threat has moved to the cells of us ...south... we will have a gorgeous day but the heat and humidity will return in time for this weekend ...

all of these storms are pulling away ... a few more could develop ... the people downstate are disappointed they did not receive quite as much ... over two and a half inches at midway ... half of that fell in a half- hour. here are some mothers accumulation totals around the region...

we have 76 degrees right now ... it was 99 yesterday in rockford. here you can see some of the wind gusts since midnight ... there were significant wind gusts up to 80 mi. per hour in some spots ...

here you can see the front of the next wave of rainstorms and thunder ... that's through the plains states ... we are five degrees cooler than we were 24 hours ago there is no wind out at o'hare at the moment but we expect that to come from the northeast this afternoon ... there is plenty of heat it has just been pushed away the canadian high pressure and the

wind blowing from the northeast is driving the temperatures here for the next couple of days wheat looking at widely scattered showers at about 3:00 this afternoon we will begin the gate de tomorrowde tomorrow with some showers in the southern suburbs ... you may be able to shut down the air-conditioning tomorrow ... it will be more comfortable ... today mostly cloudy and humid with overcast skies. tonight scattered showers it

will be cooler with lowering humidity we will be down to 69 degrees tomorrow we began the day with cloudy skies ... it will get breezy and warm with sunshine last year amid seasonable at 84 degrees ... very light wind for the afternoon the temperatures will heat up once again 92 degrees saturday 95 degrees sunday and high 90s monday and tuesday of next week ... we are going to watch for clusters of storm activity as the temperatures increase >>we hope it's not too late for those farmers ...

time for today's trivia: what is the name of the cloud sometimes referred to as the "mother-of-pearl cloud"? a. low level cumulous b. nacreous c. aurora borealis the answer is ahead in this hour of the wgn midday news. not once in my life did i ever think i would have heart disease. she just didn't fit the profile of a heart event victim. she's healthy, she eats properly. i was pushing my two kids in a stroller when i had my heart event. i've been on a bayer aspirin regimen ever since. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i know if i take my bayer aspirin i have a better chance of living a healthy life. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart at i am proheart on facebook.

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the mega-millions jackpot tomorrow night is $37 million time for sports: injuries forced another rookie to take the mound for the white sox. recent call-up pedro hernandez became the tenth pitcher to start a game this season. but the young lefty did not last very long in boston. sox already down 4-1 in the fourth, and cody ross hits a 3- run homer... his second of the game, and 15th this year. next batter is adrian gonazalez, and he adds on with a solo home run... hernandez gives

up eight earned runs in just four innings. he was sent back to the minors right after the game. the sox only manage four hits, and get blown out 10-1. jose quintana pitches the finale tonight. will ferrell sharing some deep dish pizza with ryan dempster at wrigley. the marlins lead 1-0 in the fourth, when starlin castro leads off the inning with a solo home run to tie it... his eighth. cubs lead 2-1 with the bases loaded in the seventh, and pinch-hitter jeff baker doubles in two runs... part of a 4-run inning. the umps called the game after a long rain delay in the eighth. so the cubs win 5-1. former sox pitcher mark buehrle takes the mound for miami in the finale this afternoon. cooperstown, new york is getting ready for ron santo's induction ceremony this weekend. the hall of fame is already decked out for the occasion, but official events don't start until saturday. dan roan will be there the rest of the week, concluding with the ron santo special sunday night at 9:30.

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[ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac. in medical watch.. a warning for older people about drinking alcohol. a new study suggests binge drinking among older men and women increases the risk for cognitive decline and memory loss. researchers followed more than five thousand american adults aged 65 and older for eight years. those who admitted binge drinking at least once a month were two and a half times more likely to experience cognitive

and memory declines as those who did not binge drink. the study defined binge drinking as four or more drinks on one occasion. a diet rich in oily fish can significantly improve a man's chances of surviving prostate cancer. harvard researchers followed more than 500 men over 20 years. they report, men with prostate cancer who regularly ate the highest amounts of omega-3 fish oil were up to 40 percent less likely to die from the disease. another study last year found that fish oil reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in prostate cancer tissue.. potentially reducing the chances of the disease spreading to other parts of the body. one in ten deaths worldwide can be blamed on lack of physical activity.. putting it on a par with the dangers of smoking and obesity. harvard researchers report inactivity causes an increase in deaths from coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes breast cancer and colon cancer. in 2008, lack of exercise caused more than five point three million deaths worldwide. the harvard report is among five studies in the british medical journal "the lancet" on the

global health impact of inactivity.. timed for release just before the start of the 2012 olympics in london. lunchbreak is next. amy hanten is known as 'the cooking mom' ...she's teaching us how to make home-made ice cream!

it's time for a lunchbreak... we're making homemade ice cream ... she's known as "the cooking mom' . amy hanten is a midwest mom who blogs and post recipes on her popular website the cooking mom dot com. her ice cream recipe started with a discovery of a family heirloom. this is the one your father used to make ice-cream for you when you're a kid >>we were getting ready to sell my grandmother's cottage after 60 years and we were packing everything and we found this ... i have such memories my dad made ice cream he was the hit of the party at all the family gatherings ... here is the coolest part tucked inside of this machine or his handwritten recipes! for his world-famous vanilla ice cream!

the recipe is still golden this is a real dinosaur of a machine but it's a great memory this is a very simple recipe ... i am all about family gatherings and easy meals and simple recipes ... here's the recipe: 2 cups heavy cream 1 c. half and half..... 1 c. of sugar a teaspoon and a half of vanilla and a pinch of salt

there are inexpensive models and they're the manual versions ... you can find these said yards sales these are quite fun i brought along some other recipes for summer a shrimp boil three in greedy and fruit depigredient fruit deip using marshmallow fluff

and a great coleslaw recipe ... we always liked plain vanilla ice cream but you can add anything ... you can also serve this basic vanilla ice cream recipe with any kind of fruit ... we invite you to share recipes

amy hanten, thanks so much for joining us. you can see the recipes at her website: thecookingmom.com for today's recipe or to watch the segment again, log on to: wgntv.com/midday.

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ordinary brand. bounty. let the spills begin. time now for the answer to today's trivia question: what is the name of the cloud sometimes referred to as the "mother-of-pearl cloud"? a. low level cumulous b. nacreous c. aurora borealis the answer: b. nacreous we have seen those recently they are turbulent but they look iridescent there are so many different latin names for these clouds ... the cumulus clouds over the bumpy ones and the stratus clouds are the flat ones ... >>was that storm a breakthrough last night tom skilling?

>>we need between nine and 15 in. of rain to break the drought across illinois ... not much happening right now the buckle in the jet stream is bringing in some cool air but we get another hot dome warming up this weekend there is high pressure tomorrow the high-pressure system sitting way up in quebec ... the dry area will re-enter chicago tomorrow so it will be comfortable before the warm weekend ... we will have light breezes at the lakefront for the short-term we will be in the '80s we will fall back to the '70s over nine tomorrow we will return to the '80s the

heat will return we will be into the mid-90s saturday and sunday and higher temperatures for early next week. out in the plains states and the prairie is it is over 100 degrees the heat is coming back in our direction ... 81 degrees at the chicago shoreline right now expect the upper 90s next week with a few thunderstorms thanks for joining us today. we hope you have a great afternoon. remember we are back at 5:00