Free Republic

An Al Qaeda terrorist on the FBI’s most wanted list for years crossed back and forth into the United States from Mexico to meet fellow militant Islamists in Texas and piloted an aircraft into the Cielo Dorado airfield in Anthony, New Mexico, law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch. The same Al Qaeda operative helped plan the 2009 bombing of talk-show superstar Oprah Winfrey’s Chicago studios and the iconic Sears Tower (renamed Willis Tower), a story that Judicial Watch broke just last week. His name is Adnan G. El Shukrijumah (also known as “Javier Robles”) and over the weekend he was...

The Chicago studios of talk-show superstar Oprah Winfrey and the iconic “Sears Tower” (renamed Willis Tower) were the targets of a terrorist truck-bomb plot in 2009. But initially unbeknownst to federal authorities, two of the conspirators recently were arrested for unrelated state crimes in different parts of the country. The alleged bombers targeted Ms. Winfrey’s Harpo Studios because they resented her popularity and power, while the tower was selected because of its obvious landmark status. The bomb plot itself, planned in 2009, was inspired by militant Islamist hatred of American military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to law...

A California family visiting the Willis Tower in Chicago said they heard the glass flooring on its 103rd floor Skydeck begin to crack Wednesday night while they were taking in views of the city. A spokesman from the building said the sound came from the coating on the glass and the family was never in danger, The Chicago Sun-Times reported. “Occasionally this happens, but that’s because we designed it this way,” he told the paper. “Whatever happened last night is a result of the protective coating doing what it’s designed to.” …

As United and Continental executives hammer out plans to meld their airlines into the world's largest carrier, construction speeds ahead on one of the merged company's loftiest emblems: United's cutting-edge operations center in the Willis Tower. Where Bank of America traders once tracked the world's financial markets, United's dispatchers will guide thousands of its airplanes around the globe from the tower's 28th floor. It's the highest of nine floors United will occupy in the tallest skyscraper in the U.S.

CHICAGO – The Sears Tower, one of the world's iconic skyscrapers and the tallest building in the U.S., was renamed the Willis Tower on Thursday in a downtown ceremony, marking a new chapter in the history of the giant edifice that has dominated the Chicago skyline for nearly four decades. Mayor Richard Daley unveiled the tower's new name on a large black sign in the lobby with the help of Joseph Plumeri, the Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, the London-based insurance broker that secured the naming rights as part of its agreement to lease 140,000 square feet of...

CHICAGO: The tallest building in the United States and a prominent feature in Chicago's skyline, the 110-storey Sears Tower will from today be called by a new name — Willis Tower. The official renaming of Sears Tower to Willis Tower and the unveiling of the building's new signage would be presided over by insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings Chairman and CEO Joseph Plumeri here. Earlier this year, the London-based insurance broker had won the naming rights for the tower after it negotiated a deal with Sears' management to lease 140,000 square feet of office space at 14.50 dollars a square...

The tallest building in America is getting a new name. Chicago's Sears Tower will be renamed Willis Tower after London-based Willis Group Holdings. The insurance broker announced the name change and other details of its agreement with the building's owners Thursday. Willis is moving five offices and nearly 500 employees into the 110-story building. The move is expected to be completed by late summer. Willis will occupy more than 140,000 square feet at $14.50 a square foot.