Arrest made in August murder

Arrest made in August murder

A 30-year-old man from Norcoss, Ga., has been arrested and extradited to Illinois, where he faces charges of first-degree murder in the Aug. 10 murder of a North Side man.

A news affairs spokesperson told the Defender that Jerome Martinez was arrested recently in Norcross and charged with the murder of Samuel Percival, of the 7300 block of North Ridge. Percival was shot to death while in a barber shop in the 7100 block of North Clark, sustaining fatal wounds to the face and head.

Martinez is facing first-degree murder charges. Police said the assailant was known to the victim and a verbal altercation led to the shooting.

In an …

Iran says it forced down Western plane

Iranian news reports claimed Tuesday that Iran forced down a Western aircraft that accidentally entered its airspace, then allowed the plane to continue to Afghanistan after questioning its passengers.

The state-owned Al-Alam, Iran's official Arabic-language television station, quoted an unidentified senior Iranian military official as saying the plane belonged either to a British or Hungarian relief agency and had been traveling from Turkey to Afghanistan.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "We're looking into the various and conflicting reports coming from the Iranian `news' agencies, but do not have any information at this time that would …

Veteran Bondra on board

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon finally went outside theorganization to bolster the roster Sunday, signing veteran forwardPeter Bondra to a one-year, incentive-laden contract.

The signing was the first big move Tallon made since long-terminjuries shelved his two major offseason acquisitions, Martin Havlatand Michal Handzus, two weeks into the season.

Though Havlat returned to the lineup Saturday, the Hawks stillneed the offense that Bondra provided over the course of 16 NHLseasons. He had two 50-goal campaigns in his 14 seasons with theWashington Capitals. Last season, hampered by a leg injury, he had21 goals and 39 points in 60 games for the Atlanta Thrashers. …

Duke Prosecutor Says He Will Resign

RALEIGH, N.C. - Breaking down in tears at his ethics trial, Mike Nifong abruptly quit as district attorney Friday after admitting he got "carried away" with statements during his discredited rape prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players.

Catching even his attorneys by surprise, Nifong said he would resign and regretted making improper statements about the players.

"My community has suffered enough," Nifong said at his trial on allegations that he violated rules of professional conduct.

State prosecutors who took over the case have declared the players innocent.

The North Carolina State Bar alleges Nifong withheld DNA test results from the …

Starbucks Profit Rises 35 Percent

Starbucks Corp. said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 35 percent, despite a slowdown in store openings and a drop in U.S. traffic.

Shares plummeted in after-hours trading.

For the 13 weeks ended Sept. 30, the world's largest chain of coffee houses posted net earnings of $158.5 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $117.3 million, or 15 cents a share for the same period last year.

Quarterly revenue was $2.44 billion, up from $2 billion last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were projecting 21 cents a share on $2.43 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales, a key measure of a retailer's health, …

GOP candidates waiting and hoping for 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Get ready for the big tease.

Republicans positioning for a possible presidential run are, to varying degrees, courting donors, testing messages and plotting strategies. They're visiting early primary states, wooing key activists and, all the while, stirring interest as they gauge whether to launch full-fledged campaigns.

"We can see 2012 from our house," Sarah Palin quipped recently, setting off another round of will-she-or-won't-she speculation.

But even though Nov. 3 is the unofficial start of the 2012 campaign, don't expect a surge of Republicans to declare their intentions anytime soon.

From Mitt Romney to Tim Pawlenty, few if any GOP …

Something old, new

Direct mail and the Internet are projected to be the big winners in the race for advertising dollars this year.

Media buyer Universal McCann projects that U.S. companies will increase ad spending in local and national media by 4.8 percent in 2007, for a total investment of $298.8 billion. The biggest gainers over 2006, by …