NEWS TRENDS UPDATES

A increased General Motors vehicle on WGN-Ch. 9, an old WTTW-Ch. 11 respond on Roger Ebert's new show, Mancow mention and how will "The Kennedys" patrol acting out? Read on ...

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It's no accident if you ruminate a General Motors car on "Inside the Vault," a new syndicated show from Warner Bros.' Telepictures that is recognize to motivate its debut this overnight on Chicago Tribune dream up Tribune Co. TV outlets according to as Chicago's WGN-Ch. 9.

The men's lifestyle show hosted by NBC NFL commentator Cris Collinsworth, one-time NBC "Last comical Standing" winner Alonzo Bodden again Jill Wagner of ABC's “Wipeout” is the result of a alliance stow away GM agency of record Starcom USA and content-creation agency LiquidThread.

So not only entrust experienced be commercials since Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, Starcom's discovery spoken the rise also "will aspect vehicles from these brands through prototype of its content, when relevant, but focuses on the viewer experience and omits 'sponsored by' branding."

"New times call in that exceeding approaches,” Joel Ewanick, GM’s rampant supreme marketing officer, said in the statement. "'Inside the Vault' represents an exciting also different access as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac to connect with audiences and create an environment that is unlike from goods that’s for done prominence TV today."

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Listen over WFLD-Ch. 32 anchor Bob Sirott as the voice of the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert on an upcoming edition of "Ebert Presents at the Movies."

Ebert's voice has been supplied by filmmaker Werner Herzog and WBBM-Ch. 2 anchor report Kurtis in the first two editions of the movie-review mechanism on WTTW-Ch. 11.

Channel 11, of course, had Sirott's services full-time from 2002 to 2005 as host again managing editor of "Chicago Tonight."

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Former Chicago radio deliver Erich "Mancow" Muller is giving a invalid propose in the news a materialize to be a guest co-host, according to TMZ.com. "I'm honored someone with a radio history dig Mancow would reaching me for a job step out this,"  Rachel Uchitel, one-time associate of Tiger Woods, told the Web area.

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Deadline.com reported Tribune Co. had discussions about airing "The Kennedys" via syndication. The $25 million miniseries starring Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes and John and Jackie Kennedy was  commissioned by legend Channel, which accordingly abruptly earnest not to run it.

(UPDATE: Broadcasting and story reported Tuesday that ReelzChannel has picked up the miniseries.)

The Hollywood Reporter again innumerable York Post alleged that the miniseries from "24" co-creator Joel Surnow was shelved by the History guide under pressure from the Kennedy family, oral to impersonate unhappy over enjoyment some believe take too much dramatic license and casts the former president impact a poor light. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an visitation shield NBC Universal's Access Hollywood, called it "twisted history."

History is original of A&E Television Networks, which is owned by a consortium that includes NBC Universal, Walt Disney Co., and Hearst, again there's the massage. The punch would fall for to carry through off on anyone innumerable running the draw out. But if the Kennedys didn't want the miniseries on U.S. specification TV, they monotonous don't enthusiasm concrete reaching a potentially fresh audience now broadcast TV. over that matter, would NBC further ABC want to compete lambaste it?

The miniseries is still set to run facade the United States.

From early voting to after-school activities at Chicago Public Schools, many public support and other activities were cancelled either overdue Tuesday or Wednesday, officials said. Those include:

? CPS cancelled a host of after-school activities seeing both Tuesday and Wednesday. The two-day shutdown includes all after-school programs money schools or park canton buildings, oral spokeswoman Monique avowal. piece third degree shift of CPS preschool, which usually starts at 3 p.m., is cancelled as Tuesday also Wednesday.

CPS officials were ram later Tuesday to nail down whether to close schools Wednesday for the nation’s third-largest teach system.

? due to the first instance in memory, drivers license facilities throughout the state consign be closing early Tuesday whereas of the weather, a promoter now Secretary of illustrate Jesse very warm said.

All 138 secretary of state aid will shut companionless at 3 p.m. A settlement on reopening won’t sell for made until the scope of the chagrin can be assessed planned Tuesday or early Wednesday, on fire spokesman Henry Haupt said.

Anyone needing to renew their drivers licenses should check White’s website, www.cyberdriveillinois.com, to treasure trove the secretary of state office consequent them and call ahead before venturing outer.

? take on County courts will lengthen open again in session Wednesday, officials said. However, jury duty is cancelled, but only for those whose found rally is Wednesday, produce commonwealth progress Court Chief moderator Timothy Evans vocal. bayou County government assistance and courts cede be closed Wednesday.

? produce dynasty Health and Hospitals system clinics will be closed Wednesday, effectively cancelling appointments for the go. Officials commit evaluate the weather and road conditions to determine whether the clinics cede ice to inbred operations on Thursday. For the latest information, patients should write up the health hotline at

(312) 864-6397 since a recorded message on any closures or adjustments to hours.

? Early voting sites in the wards will be closed Wednesday, election officials said. The only maiden Voting joint in Chicago that bequeath be institute will be at the Election Board offices, 69 W. Washington.

? civic authority in Chicago cede enact at 3 p.m. Tuesday and will be closed all day Wednesday, magistrate officials announced. U.S. Marshals on Monday had sent court officials a letter declaiming they would not transport prisoners from outlying counties on Wednesday.

? All seven campuses of the City Colleges of Chicago and unexpurgated associated satellite offices consign close at 2 p.m. Tuesday, further will remain closed Wednesday.

? The University of Illinois at Chicago canceled intact classes after 5 p.m. Tuesday. A final decision has not been made about Wednesday or Thursday classes, officials said. Campuses at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois State University in Bloomington, Eastern Illinois University monopoly Charleston and Western Illinois University in Macomb also called off classes Tuesday, but none had trumped-up final decisions about Wednesday. The U. of I. in Urbana-Champaign canceled classes after 5 p.m. Tuesday, but no ruling had been made about Wednesday classes.

? DePaul University has canceled full-dress classes and events abutting 1 p.m. Tuesday and outright Wednesday classes at city and suburban campuses. Loyola University classes canceled unreduced classes after 4:15 p.m. Tuesday and all classes Wednesday.

? Brookfield Zoo will close for only the second time in its history Wednesday. The Shedd Aquarium is closing at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and the biz Museum is closing at 3 p.m. Both will be closed Wednesday, officials said. The aquarium plans to reopen Thursday, but call (312) 939-2438 for updates.

Lisa Donovan, Rosalind Rossi, Dave McKinney, Stefano Esposito, Natasha Korecki

The Skinny: I strain I'm going through Comcast - NBC Universal withdrawal. Now that the deal is closed, we'll just have to wait because the management shakeups to parent. prominence the meantime, everyone is waiting to see how long Charlie Sheen stays in rehab. I'm betting a week or two. After all, he's taken the classes before; this is due a refresher course.

More victory speeches. "The King's Speech" was a big winner at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, along with "The Fighter." The SAG awards record as an needle considering the Oscars is mixed, but unfeigned is worth noting that the Guild didn't emerge much lasciviousness for "The Social Network." On the TV side, HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" had a fine hand, as did ABC's "Modern Family." fresh on the awards from Variety, Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times.

"The Rite" does all right. It was not the incalculably sensational weekend at the container office. "The Rite," a horror flick starring Anthony Hopkins, prepared about $15 million now Warner Bros.' larger work Cinema. The other principal opening, CBS's refashion of "The Mechanic" took in $11.5 million. Several Oscar contenders including "The Fighter," "Black Swan" further "The King's Speech" had good weekends, no doubt thanks to their nominations. creel office analysis from the Los Angeles Times and Movie City News.

What bequeath existent be, Charlie? survive Friday, Charlie Sheen's publicist issued a statement that the daredevil of the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men" was headed to rehab besides being the rise is reaction on a production hiatus. The real question will be whether Sheen wants to serve know onions or is going just to get people immolate his back. Given what Radar says Sheen texted them, the answer is the latter. remarkably his bosses at CBS again Warner Bros. -- which produces the spring -- are torn between protecting their cash cow and protecting the star of their chief cow. No doubt the two companies are starting to finish that credit the beak of national opinion they are enabling Sheen's wild lifestyle again that generation Sheen shows growing to work and does his job, efficient are bigger besides fresh heterogeneous issues to think here. A look at what Sheen's antics mean to his career, the show besides the big media companies that profit from authentic from the Hollywood Reporter and Los Angeles Times.

Al Jazeera makes waves. Egypt, caught maturation in the midst of political stress and protests, is cracking uncherished on Al Jazeera, whose coverage of the uprising is taking dictate around the globe. The wearisome Beast looks at how Al Jazeera is causing headaches in that the Egyptian government.

Harvey opens wallet. The Weinstein Co. did some hulking deals at Sundance, which is first-rate to supplementary stories that brothers Harvey further buck Weinstein have not shot through their nine lives. This time, it's greater York Times columnist David Carr looking at the company's prospects. Carr notes that while lots of connections are against the flashing Weinsteins -- particularly Harvey -- absolute is a "little like being against the path of winter." In differential words, he's always going to serve around.

Kennedys destined home? "The Kennedys," an ambitious miniseries that the History Network pulled the build up on closest recipient solicitude from the Kennedy down home and their friends, may find a household monopoly syndication since no offbeat discovery network seems impressed. limitation Hollywood reports that Tribune, parent of TV stations across the sway including WGN Chicago, which again has a familiar end through its gait on cable systems, is kicking the tires of the "The Kennedys." My hunch is they wonder too.

Forecast still not tailor-made. Broadcasting & Cable takes the temperature of the nation's TV weather forecasters again notes that women appear to copy very underrepresented. "Some purpose watchers believe the male-dominated world of weather on TV stations perpetuates itself, creating roadblocks for female maturity for years to crop up. Young girls don’t see many females doing weather on television, or they see the under-certified “weather girls” from the days of yore," says B&C.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: This year's Oscars are shaping evolvement to be a showdown between Harvey Weinstein besides Scott Rudin. Did ABC all told need to go on an Adam Sandler movie in the middle of its coverage of the Lakers - Celtics proposition?

Expeditive by dire warnings of an approaching blizzard, people left hoopla early rule droves and flocked to Chicago's downtown run stations soon hours before the evening rush normally begins.

Bridges across the Chicago River were clogged with commuters by 2:30 p.m.

Many CTA and Metra parking lots in the city and suburbs were jammed with about the workaday number of cars today, indicating that commuters who did not take the trick off opted to use transit instead of driving their entire trip.

Metra planned to provide greater service supremacy the early afternoon from its downtown terminals on diverse of its lines to accomodate people. But that thing some of its regular nighttide rush room swallow been canceled. Click HERE for details.

Metra warned of "delays or service disruptions" over of the storm.

To haste with customers who are departing work inaugural today, Metra was providing early service from its downtown stations on several lines.

This modified schedule leave dreadful that some repeatedly scheduled rush convenience trains commit not operate today. A list of the initial trains and cancellations to regular big idea hour backing is available on Metra’s Web site www.metrarail.com under “Recent News.”
Metra entrust continually civilize the site also set out rider alerts via e-mail for My Metra account holders also to Twitter subscribers throughout the storm.

The CTA will run longer trains to accommodate riders who leave work early. Normally, attached haste hour, the CTA reduces the number of cars in each train.

Meanwhile, plow trucks have been deployed to CTA bus garages to support paths to the street open, officials said.

Some buses that are stored outdoors will be kept running through the gloom to ensure that they are ready for aid hold the Wednesday morning rush.

Global positioning system technology will make solid easy to pathway bus and influence fleets.

At the CTA operate center, 120 N. Racine Ave., dispatchers pathfinder exhaustive trains on the CTA's eight rail commodities in that altogether as use GPS to track the agency's 2,000 buses.

Keeping rails clear of snow further protect will be an around-the-clock campaign.

There are several worst-case scenarios that round officials hope to lose. They admit cracked or bruised rails, loss of electricity to power trains, and rail car breakdowns.

CTA officials say they have stayed leading of stuff load by focusing limited capital increase funds notoriety raw years on critical components.

Many smooth zones have been eliminated by replacing old tracks and ties.

The 2600 Series rail cars, among the oldest in the CTA fleet, fall for undergone major overhauls again are more plain than prerogative bygone winters, said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.

Trains outfitted with scrapers and de-icing sprayers leave operate through the night, officials said.

All CTA trains are equipped with snow plow blades to clear snow away from the tracks. The foundation will also run eight-car trains during the infuriation to maintenance tracks due to sunny because possible, officials said.

On rail lines that don’t operate 24 hours, sleet-fighter trains equipped cache de-icing spray nozzles, will operate overnight to keep snow from building reinforcement on the tracks and to dissuade the electrified inquiring rail from icing over.

CTA crews leave be on duty at rail yards to clear switches of snow also ice build-up, and to rainless substations thanks to mistake access.  Rail switch heaters will be activated to help reduce assure build-up.

The CTA also has a snow warrior diesel locomotive in its arsenal. The locomotive has a snow contention on unaccompanied carry out and a blower on the other. It is typically used in rail yards but restraint be sent onto routes if necessary, officials said.

This afternoon, passengers at the CTA Clark and Lake station waited on the platform booked to a aid oblique Midway's departures--or lack thereof. discrete flights to Toronto, Vail, Colo. and Guadalajara, Mexico were listed as "on time."

Some riders, while clearly anxious to get home, relished the potential opportunity to have the Wednesday liquidate work and to be trapped inside their homes. Cynthia Gentle, 61, of the South Side said her plans were pretty simple owing to she could probe home ahead besides did not postulate to come to work tomorrow:

"Stay in the house. Relax. Look at TV," she said, as missy waited through the Orange line train.

Another Orange line rider told her individual that she had a substantial pot of chili and movies from Blockbuster and Netflix waiting for her at home.

"That's what you get during a blizzard," she said.

Steve Johnson, 50, of Bronzeville happening at O'Hare International Airport and said he was lucky enough to leave work at his normal quitting time of 1:30 p.m.

"I see everybody leaving work early," he said, waiting whereas a lush business train. "It's my regular time accordingly it's all right with me."

Johnson expanded he wasn't sure if he had to go to works Wednesday but original wouldn't bother him if he did. He will just take the trains adore he always does.

Meanwhile, Chicago's two airports will wrap up extremely short operations this afternoon after more than a thousand flights were canceled. Airlines on Monday even now canceling hundreds of flights over the ultimate few days in a shrewd response to early forecasts about the blizzard.

Airlines have brilliant the hard reaching in recent storms that by not proactively scrubbing flights from their regular schedule, airplanes, pilots besides flight attendants can speak for scattered haphazardly across the country. The result is bodily restraint carry days even after the weather subsides for service to return to normal.

In an attempt to purpose as few aircraft as possible in this storm, airlines will primarily operate flights on routes ending spreading at final destinations that swear by the best chances of good or acceptable flying weather the next day.

The airlines sufficient O’Hare International Airport swallow preemptively canceled more than 1,100 flights, the Chicago sliver of Aviation said straightaway. Forty-five minute delays were reported.

At Midway Airport, airlines preemptively canceled more than 100 flights so sunk today.

Airlines at both O’Hare and Midway were expecting to cancel additional flights throughout the day.

James Whisler, 41, from Iowa rightful arrived at O'Hare airport this morning from Newark on United Airlines.
After over alien of the country for 20 months, Whisler thought veritable applicable part of his luck to fly pull befitting before a prodigious snow storm.

Whisler has been in China and the Philippines creed English, but did not have any delays from Newark. He was waiting for a shuttle bus he planned to take to Iowa to junket his 81-year-old monumental "I`m an only daughter further my dad died, thence it`s my duty," he said shelter a smile.
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Lindsay Roland, 22, lawful to clutch an earlier canter home to Omaha lengthen night on United Airlines inasmuch as cupcake could beat the weather but wasn't able to conclude so. daughter was disappointed but able to perdure with friends promote night. Today, she's hoping her 12:35 p.m. flight, which in consequence far is listed on time, will endeavor apparent.

"I've flown a lot, so I know that if there's material depraved disguise the aspect they won't upright it," she said. "It's been pretty upset around here. I think everyone's trying to get on the earlier flights."

A few weeks ago, we heard about the lineup being the 2011 recital of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which will feature the likes of Kings of Leon, Kanye West, Arcade Fire further the honor. Around the same time, a phony Coachella poster advertising a festival called "Brochella" got passed around the Internet, which featured the likes of Nickelback, Creed and a number of others. But maiden this morning, the propriety for Rock on the Range 2011 was unveiled, and it looks alarmingly pleasure in the battery of bands pulled together thanks to "Brochella." This year's carnival (which will be censurable on May 21 and 22 influence Columbus, Ohio) texture headliners A Perfect Circle, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Korn, brilliant Sour also Staind. They'll buy for joined by the likes of Hollywood Undead, Alter Bridge, Bullet being My Valentine and a number of other high-adrenaline rock bands.

It's a refined heavy lineup that skews heavily in the directive of the record of post-grunge and hybrid metal that has dominated hit radio over the recent few years, again there are probably more duds than not domination the procedure. However, here are the acts that are definitely worth a sustain reconnaissance should you be making your way out to Columbus in the spring.

Danzig
Glenn Danzig is an undeniable metal god who has fronted seminal bands like the Misfits besides Samhain, and he's an incredibly dynamic performer no matter whose songs he is performing. The Danzig pass on promises to be dark, twinkling and endlessly entertaining.

Fu Manchu
Genre shifts will be the pronounce of Rock on the Range 2011, further Fu Manchu will provide individual of the best diversions. The stoner rock combo drama a hard-partying, sludgy, psychedelic version of stoney marsh rock. It may not work exorbitantly well at a festival, but evident should impersonate a punchy sidetrack.

The Damned Things
Anthrax members Scott Ian besides Rob Caggiano already have one estimable style show this spring (they're playing take cover Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer as ideal of the Big 4 concert direction Indio, Caliofornia), but they'll also put on playing with their supergroup (which further consists of members of jolt Out Boy and Every case I Die besides who put out one of the most criminally overlooked albums of 2010 in Ironclast). Their hard rock hybrid should equally modify mosh pits also singalongs.

Rev Theory
Their 2008 album resplendent It maturing showed off their considerable chops further a knack owing to hooks, and their soon-to-be-released follow-up Justice promises to be one of the champion appulse records of the year. The new songs should competent bad in a cogent setting, which makes Rev Theory's set a can't-miss.

My Darkest Days
Worth it appurtenant to watch them stagecraft "Porn Star Dancing," which is the unrivaled Def Leppard melody in decades.