Coffee drinkers more likely to live longer, study finds

MILWAUKEE — One of life’s simple pleasures just got a little sweeter. After years of waffling research on coffee and health, even some fear that java might raise the risk of heart disease, a big study finds the opposite: Coffee drinkers are a little more …

TB patient charged in Calif. for not taking medication

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities in California took the unusual step of jailing and charging a tuberculosis patient who they say refused to take medication to keep his disease from becoming contagious.

Health officials said Armando Rodriguez, 34, of Stockton has active tuberculosis, which can …

Lead poisoning guidelines revised; more kids considered at risk

In an important shift announced Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut in half the amount of lead that will lead to medical monitoring and other actions in children ages 1 to 5. Now any child with more than 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood will be considered at risk.

Defense will not call John Edwards, mistress to testify

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Attorneys for John Edwards expect to rest their case Wednesday without calling the two-time Democratic presidential candidate or his one-time mistress to the witness stand.

Edwards’ defense team had presented little more than two days of testimony and evidence. Prosecutors spent nearly …

Trove of original Abraham Lincoln documents found in Japan

A trove of Lincoln papers discovered in Japan are shedding new light on one of Illinois’ favorite sons, a top Lincoln researcher said Tuesday. The more than 100 documents — more than half of which were previously unknown to researchers — compiled at a university near Tokyo amount to a microcosm of Lincoln’s career.

More jobs open to female soldiers

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Female soldiers this week are moving into new jobs in once all-male units as the Army breaks down formal barriers in recognition of what has already happened in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The policy change announced earlier this year is …

Drug to hold off Alzheimer’s?

WASHINGTON — Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease — by testing possible therapies in people who don’t yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed. The most ambitious attempt: …

Mitt Romney pins ‘prairie fire of debt’ on Obama

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday painted President Barack Obama as a reckless steward of the country’s economy and, as proof, pointed to “a financial crisis of debt and spending that threatens what it means to be an American.” …

Geithner: JPMorgan Chase loss shows need for tough rules

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday that the recent $2 billion trading loss by JPMorgan “helps make the case” for tougher rules on financial institutions, as regulators continue to implement the 2010 law aimed at policing Wall Street.

Top cop: Neighborhoods also will have more police during NATO

Despite extraordinary police resources devoted to the NATO Summit, Chicago neighborhoods will get a 15 percent increase in police protection this weekend, thanks to 12-hour shifts and the decision to cancel days off, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Tuesday.

City allows stage, sound system at protest spot near McCormick Place

NATO protest organizers on Tuesday announced they’d locked down the last piece of their protest puzzle — permission from the city to set up a stage and sound system three blocks from McCormick Place, which as close to the summit as they’ll be allowed gather.

Obama keeps up with Kardashians, Avengers, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama can hold his own when it comes to pop culture: He’s up on “The Avengers” superheroes, has a handle on the Kardashians and says he catches up with TV hits during long flights on Air Force One. But the president …

Florida mom kills 4 kids, then herself

PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. — A Florida mother who fatally shot her four children before killing herself Tuesday called three of the kids who had sought help from a neighbor back to the house before firing the fatal shots, authorities said. Thirty-three-year-old Tonya Thomas fatally …

Central Illinois man sues, alleging geese attacked

A man who says he was seriously injured after being attacked by geese while working at a Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Motors North America plant in Normal is suing the company, saying it failed to protect him from the geese.

‘Forever Marilyn’ statue lands in Palm Springs, Calif.

The giant statue of Marilyn Monroe that was in Chicago for about 10 months has a new home — Palm Springs, Calif.