Nationally-syndicated conservative radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday that she would not be renewing her show's contract, up for renewal at the year's end, following the media blitz surrounding her racist 11 "n-words" in five minutes on-air tirade last week. more ›

As heartbreaking photos of the oil spill's effect on the wildlife of the Gulf Coast made the rounds on the internet and the spill itself stretches even further east, President Obama took to Larry King to address the situation. Calling it "unprecedented," Obama also expressed outrage at the situation, saying, "You know, I am furious at this entire situation, because this is an example of where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions. And it is imperiling not just a handful of people, this is - this is imperiling an entire way of life and an entire region for, potentially, years." The federal government has also charged BP $69 million for clean-up costs. more ›

As if we haven't heard enough about the impending LeBron James sweepstakes (yes, we're guilty, too) two more stories are popping up. While we think it'd be nice to have LeBron playing home games at the United Center, we didn't shell out cash for a new billboard downtown calling for LeBron to come to Chicago. But one group of fans did, purchasing a billboard at Grand and LaSalle trying to woo LeBron into signing with Chicago. And according to the website, the group is looking into buying a second billboard, this one on LeBron's home turf of Akron, Ohio. Ouch. Whether this can successfully counter Cleveland's own wooing remains to be seen. But we cordially offer this suggestion: perhaps donating to LeBron's favorite charity might be a better way of wooing him? Or at least showing him some sort of spirit among fans he's looking for. more ›

If you haven't overdosed on Blagojevich-ing with Good Morning America and The View this morning, perhaps you'll find yourself glued to Larry King Live (or even ABC's NightLine) this evening. We're assuming he'll rehash all the Oprah-centric senatorial questions, as well as repeating his talking points about Impeachment Proceeding Rule 8b and how unfair all this is to him. Since it's Larry King, we're also going to assume there will be questions like "What's it like being governor" and "Gee, you've got a goofy last name" and "So, why are you here again?" more ›

Tomorrow at high noon in Springfield, Governor Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial will get underway but the Governor will be nowhere near the State Capitol. Instead, he'll be making the media rounds, hitting up talk shows, a move that cost him the services of superstar defense attorney Ed Genson. At least one local network (ABC 7) has said they'll stream the events in Springfield live tomorrow and suspect more will join. But what of the interviews? If you're close to a TV and what some unintentional comedy to get your week started, you can catch Blago on the following programs: more ›

For those of that'll be staying at home tonight, curled up on the couch with a nice chardonnay and some bonbons, the Must-Cringe TV is Drew Peterson's appearance this evening on Larry King Live. Now, in a perfect world, we'd never know a thing about Mr. Peterson and he'd be going about his normal life as a Bolingbrook cop, and his wife du jour would be alive and well. However, we're not privy to that magical land of rainbows and sunshine. more ›

If you saw a haze hanging over downtown this morning...nevermind, that joke's too easy. The Doggfather kicked off a two-night stand at the House of Blues last night on his current tour promoting his new record, Ego Trippin' (due out March 11th), and left our ears ringing. more ›

We were downtown at work yesterday when a co-worker said "What's with the protest outside? There's someone chanting for justice or something." Knowing from the "Saturday Plans" post that The Lady herself, Paula Deen was appearing, this was a head-scratcher. Who could be so upset at a TV chef? Besides the obvious, of course. more ›

As John Edwards buckles down and tries to keep his presidential bid moving forward while his wife deals with the return of cancer, the two other major Democratic players — Hillary and Barack — have been in the news lately for their stands not just on gay marriage, but the morality of homosexuality in general. After Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune that "homosexual acts between... more ›

Oprah may not want to run for president herself, but she thinks Barack Obama would make a swell Commander in Chief. After apologizing for her lawyers' sending Oprah for Prez organizer Patrick Crowe a cease-and-desist letter, she told Larry King yesterday that Obama would be her favorite candidate in '08. And if politics is anything like every book, food, or piece of merchandise Oprah touches, then millions of middle-aged housewives will vote for Obama if he runs. more ›

When Chicagoist had our first real job as assistant manager of a Crown Books, we quickly learned the power of suggestion…by Oprah. This was before she actually had a book club or anything. All an author had to do was to was go on her show and whatever book they were talking about was sold out by the end of the program. Soon, the women got wise and would call within the first five minutes. Books we hadn’t touched in months were flying off the shelves. When she decided to sell her own cookbook, we had to beat the housewives away with a stick. more ›

Mancow sidekick Cowboy Ray Hoffstatter died last night from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident on South Archer in November. The driver, described as a woman who appeared to be drag racing a black Honda Civic, still hasn't been found. more ›

Along with everyone else, Chicagoist has been watching as Katrina formed, advanced, and finally plowed over New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Our hearts go out to everyone who was there and who lost family and friends, their homes and possessions. In some ways, this storm was reminiscent of Hurricane Andrew, a Category 4 hurricane that immobilized Miami-Dade County (and one Chicagoist staffer) in 1992. Both storms crept slowly towards their target, leaving Miami and... more ›

Chicagoist has always had a love/hate relationship with the news. For all its faults, we love it anyway. Sort of like a dog that pees the rug and chews our furniture but nuzzles against us at night to tell us about our how the economic stability of Chile might affect our country’s foreign policy. And we know the big cliché in the news biz is that nothing really happens in August, but it doesn’t seem like the local and national MSM are even trying anymore (and apparently neither are we...). more ›