Southwest airlines jet skids off runway
A Southwest Airlines jet landing at Chicago's Midway International Airport skidded off a runway and slammed into vehicles on a nearby street, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 10 others Thursday night.
Runway conditions were reported to be "fair to poor" by a pilot who landed just minutes ahead of the jet, according to www.washingtonpost.com.
The accident killed 6-year-old Joshua Woods of Indiana. He was riding in the back seat of his family's Pontiac sedan singing along with a Bruce Springsteen Christmas song when the 737 crashed through a chain-link fence and hit the car.
"Snow was definitely having a significant impact on both airports' operations," said Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for Chicago Airport System, which operates both Chicago's Midway and O'Hare airports.
The reverse thrusters that should have slowed the jet did not work when pilots tried to deploy them, federal investigators said after interviewing the crew. The pilots said they tried to manually apply thee brakes as soon as they realized the plane was not slowing down, according to CNN.com.
The accident ends a stretch of nearly three years without a fatal commercial aviation accident in the United States.
- KATE OCZYPOK
Comedian Richard Pryor dies
Comedian Richard Pryor, famous for his raunchy and side-splitting acts that knew no bounds, died Saturday of a heart attack at a Los Angeles hospital, according to The Washington Post.
Pryor, 65, had been in deteriorating health for several years due to multiple sclerosis. During the 1970s and early '80s, he was one of the most popular comedians, and had several hit movies, sold millions of recordings and continually sold-out shows. He became the first person to win the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for Humor in 1998.
Pryor began his career as a neutral comic, but soon turned his act into a hilarious yet penetrating social commentary on taboo subjects. His material came from the experiences of working-class black Americans, and helped to bring black culture into the mainstream. He railed against the nation's inequalities and injustices in his acts.
Pryor's personal life was marked by arrests, violence, divorces and drug abuse. In 1980, he set himself on fire while freebasing cocaine, jumped out a window and ran down the street. He received severe burns over half his body and almost died, but made the incident a part of his comedy routines.
Pryor's career blazed the way for younger comedians, black and white alike, like Dave Chappelle, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams, whose raunchy acts would never have been accepted, according to the Post.
- KELLY KERR
Intelligent design professor assaulted
The University of Kansas professor who sparked controversy with a proposed course entitled, "Intelligent Design, Creationism, and Other Religious," was assaulted last Monday morning, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education.
Professor Paul Mirecki said he was beaten by two men with a metal object who had been tailgating him in their pickup truck. The assailants were white men between the ages of 30 and 40, and, according to Mirecki, angry about his comments about Christians. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office confirmed an ongoing investigation and a search for the men.
Mirecki declined to describe his injuries beyond saying that he had bruises. He told the Chronicle that he had received hundreds of angry emails about the course, which was cancelled after it was revealed that Mirecki had made several mocking remarks about fundamentalist Christians. Mirecki cited the level of publicity the course had received.
- KELLY KERR
Jay Severin to begin new talk show
In a city of talking heads, add one more to the roster. Former political consultant and local radio talk show host Jay Severin will begin a new national talk radio show on Jan. 3 after signing a syndication deal with Infinity Broadcasting, according to Infinity's web site.
Severin, the former host of the Boston-based political talk radio show "Extreme Games" who is known for his affection for Asian women and dislike of Hillary Clinton, will host "Jay Severin Has Issues," which will air locally on WJFK 106.7.
He has recently been involved in a couple of mini-scandals involving false claims of winning the Pulitzer Prize and a journalism award from Columbia University, and some controversial remarks about what he would like to do to Muslims, according to the Boston Globe.
- RYAN GRANNAN-DOLL
CIA agent Plame ends 20-year career
Valerie Plame ended her 20-year CIA career last Friday, according to The Washington Post.
Plame, who worked in the Counterproliferation Division, was outed by conservative columnist Robert Novak over two years ago. She frequently traveled overseas had many dangerous assignments that remain secret, according to The Washington Post
She will stay on the CIA's payroll until January, using built-up leave time to hasten her departure, according to CNN. She will spend her days caring for her 5-year-old twins, CNN reported.
-R.G.D.
