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Police bust live sex show at Syracuse movie theater

Robert McCoppin

In this photo taken Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, Mike Stoll, 29, and his wife Addie King, 26, of Brick, N.J. describe their ordeal while aboard the Costa Concordia cruise liner that ran aground in Giglio, Italy on Jan. 13. (AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Mary Frank)

Elderly cruise ship survivor says crew was no help

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 11:04am

CHICAGO -- If Jim Salzburg learned one lesson from surviving the wreck of the Costa Concordia, it's to depend on himself and his loved ones in an emergency.

His only other advice: Keep your cell phone and passport at hand.

Salzburg, 70, his wife Jo, 69, who live in far northwest suburban Richmond, and their daughter Mary-Jo, 39, were among the passengers who survived the ordeal -- with no thanks, he said, to the ship's crew. At least 11 people were reported dead and another 29 missing.

Costa Concordia, Cruise ship, Cruise ship industry, Sinking, International Read more Comments

White suburbanites going from pain pills to heroin

Robert McCoppin Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 11:23am

CHICAGO -- Hurt in a car crash, a Geneva, Ill., woman got hooked on the painkiller Vicodin. When one doctor stopped prescribing it, she got it from others and was sneaking around so much that her husband thought she was cheating, said her counselor, Jake Epperly.

The face of drug addiction, experts say, is increasingly white, suburban and upper-middle class. New users include older adults seeking relief from pain and teens looking for a high.

Features, Addiction, Drugs, Heroin Read more Comments

Illinois man turns in $150,000 he found in his garden

Robert McCoppin Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - 8:33pm

CHICAGO -- A McHenry County, Ill., man who lost his house but found $150,000 in his garden may have a shot at keeping the money.

Money, National Read more Comments

Regular teen Facebook users more prone to drug, alcohol abuse

John Keilman, Robert McCoppin Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 9:05am

The eternal struggle to keep young people away from bad influences has moved to a new frontier: A research organization said Wednesday that teens who regularly log onto Facebook and other social networks are considerably more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than teens who don't visit the sites.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that teens who spend time on the networks are likely to see images of their peers drinking or using drugs -- images that could help to convince them that substance abuse is a normal, acceptable activity.

Features, Drug abuse, Facebook, Social media, Social Networking, Teens, Alcohol Read more Comments

McHenry County (Illinois) Coroner Marlene Lantz displays prescription medicines that belonged to two individuals who recently died, leaving a supply of unused pills. The pills will be destroyed but Lantz wonders why they can't be used for others who need them. (Keri Wigington/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Unexpired medication goes to waste

Robert McCoppin Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 9:39am

CHICAGO -- When people in Illinois die or just no longer needs their prescriptions, there's virtually no legal way to get them into the hands of other patients -- no matter how sick or needy they are.

Yet the practice of recycling sealed, unused medications occurs in dozens of other states. And proponents say the practice not only widens access to life-saving drugs for those who can't afford them but also prevents the medications from clogging up landfills or, worse, polluting the water supply.

Features, Drugs, Hospitals, Medical treatment, Prescription drug use Read more Comments