Just as Senate Dems secured enough votes to open up President Obama's Health Care plan for debate, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is headed for an early-week visit to troops in Iraq. Sen. Burris, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is part of a delegation that will, as an aide told the Tribune, "examine security and political developments in the region." Burris will be joined by Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, (both Oregon), Tom Udall (New Mexico) and Michael Bennet (Colorado), all fellow Dems. The delegation will return by Thanksgiving. Last week, Burris was cleared by a Senate ethics committee of any wrong-doing stemming from his testimony about his communications with then-governor Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat he now holds, but it did earn him an admonition from the panel.

Proving you can auto-tune anything. [via]

Anyone who has received a $100 ticket in the mail for blowing through a traffic light is familiar with red-light cameras. Beginning in 2003, these cameras have been installed at some of Chicago's busiest interactions in an attempt to curb traffic accidents. But are they meeting their goal?

       

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Blackhawks Roll Past Oilers

Today looks like a lot like yesterday and that's pretty okay in our book. Sunny skies and highs in the lower 50s is a nice Sunday in late November as far as we're concerned, especially with "chance of snow" in the forecast for a few days from now. Tonight, lows drop to the mid 40s under partly cloudy skies.

       

You didn't think we were gonna make it through a whole day without mentioning Oprah again, did you? Well, we'll be brief. We've already revisited the controversy over this year's season premiere which was filmed downtown in early September. But readers who've been this site for a bit might remember that Stoplman and my predecessor, Margaret, attended the 2008 season premiere, filmed in Millennium Park and featuring a slew of Olympic athletes from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Be sure to check out the entire story and even more photos here.

A West Side man now faces three felony charges for allegedly planting fake bombs at two prominent downtown buildings, Chicago Breaking News reports.

We've all done it: Google or Facebook stalk old friends from college or high school. One guy did it a few years ago and made quite a discovery about an old high school friend. (Mostly SFW, a few naughty words) [via]

Three men were arrested earlier this week for a rash of Craigslist-aided robberies that began in October, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Heading downtown for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival? You won't be alone: the Trib reports 800,000 are expected at the fest which has already kicked off and runs all day, climaxing with a parade this evening from 5:30 p.m. til 6:55 p.m. Of course, there are some reroutes and traffic issues to deal with if you're heading downtown for any reason. If you're taking the CTA, be sure to check in here for their bus reroutes and if you're driving, here's a list of road closures, courtesy of the Tribune.