Free Republic

Photo courtesy of FDA Doctors need to be on the lookout for lead poisoning in children as the latest tally of kids exposed to the toxin after consuming pouches of cinnamon-flavored apple puree climbed to 22, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. In a health advisory the agency sent out to healthcare providers, officials said any provider who has such a patient should report it to local health authorities. The agency added that it is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state and local partners to investigate the link. But there are already...

How much did it cost Notre Dame to get rid of Charlie Weis? Start with $6,638,403. And keep counting until December 2015. Notre Dame made an initial "termination payment" to Weis of more than $6.6 million and will continue to cut smaller checks to its former football coach for the foreseeable future, according to federal tax documents obtained by the Tribune on Thursday. Weis' apparent buyout is revealed on the Form 990 Notre Dame must submit to the Internal Revenue Service. It was made available to the Tribune upon request. Weis' total severance pay — which was subject to debate...

Chicago’s rising homicide rate spiked on Tuesday with a murder-suicide that left three people dead and three more bodies found in a car. Police Supt. Jody Weis knows that he will ultimately find himself on the hotseat for the surge. But, he’s got a new defense. Police Supt. Jody Weis is making a distinction between indoor and outdoor homicides. He's creating a new category of "indoor" homicides — and downplaying what police can do about them..

Cheeseburger Charlie out at Notre Dame....

It was an eerily warm November morning when I arrived in South Bend yesterday with my son, Gary, to attend the Notre Dame-Navy battle. "What a beautiful day for a game!" I exclaimed to my son as we listened unsuspectingly to the band's pre-game rendition of the Notre Dame Victory March. Little did we know that we were not about to witness a football game, but a funeral. For not only did the Naval Academy's efficient yet stunning 23-21 victory, their second in three years against the Irish after Notre Dame had defeated them 43 years in a row,...

<p>When I saw the final score of the Notre Dame-USC game, something about it caught my eye. It wasn’t that USC demolished the Irish. The score itself — 38-0 — looked familiar.</p> <p>So I did some checking and found that not only did Notre Dame lose to Michigan by that same 38-0 score last month, it also lost to Michigan 38-0 under Tyrone Willingham.</p>

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said Monday that quarterback Jimmy Clausen's citation for transporting alcohol as a minor is a simple case of ignorance of the law. "I think it's out of ignorance -- and by ignorance I mean lack of knowledge," Weis said. "I don't think he was defiantly trying to get himself into trouble with the law." Weis said he himself didn't know it was illegal for someone who's underage -- Clausen is 19 -- to drive someone who is of legal drinking age to a liquor store to buy alcohol. He used...

Mistrial declared in Notre Dame coach's malpractice case Mistrial declared in Notre Dame coach's malpractice case By MARK PRATT, Associated Press Writer February 20, 2007 AP - Feb 20, 12:20 pm EST BOSTON (AP) -- A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis' medical malpractice lawsuit after a juror collapsed and several doctors -- including the two defendants -- rushed to his aid. The juror, an older man, began moaning as he listened to an expert testifying in defense of Massachusetts General Hospital surgeons Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin. Weis claims they botched his care after...

Notre Dame announced today that it will earmark the $4.5 million dollar check the school will receive for participating in the Sugar Bowl to build head football coach Charlie Weis a space-age belt that has a better chance of containing his girth long-term. “This is a safety issue above all else,” said Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White. “We are doing this to protect our players, students, faculty and everyone in the Notre Dame community because one day soon the current eight-foot strip of leather he is currently wearing will break free and injury a lot of people. And trust...