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Federal investigators helped by a conscientious paroled killer say they foiled a plot to abduct, extort and electrocute a wealthy man in a scheme they say borrowed elements from a television show and sought to blame the killing on the planned victim's cat.
A federal judge sentenced the architect of a timeshare telemarketing scheme that bilked $30 million from 22,000 victims to more than 15 years in prison Monday, waving off the new mother's sobbing claims of remorse.
In six years of trapping, one thing has become apparent to Cody Champ: His pursuit of animal pelts isn't cheap, costing him $100 a week just for gas. So, it's little wonder the Illinois man welcomed a recent state law that allows him to get a few freebies, even if he needs a shovel and good gloves.
The text was about something innocuous: A request to go to the county fair. It set off a highway pileup that took two lives, injured dozens and left two school buses and a pickup truck in a crumpled heap.
An Illinois farmer made so much money this year he made loan payments on one tractor a year in advance and exchanged some older ones for newer models. An Iowa farmer upgraded his combine and also paid off debt, while an elderly Oregon farmer poured into retirement funds a bundle of his $2 million take from a well-timed sale of much of his turf and equipment.
Whether it's the state's shaky finances, its recent tax hike or strict gun laws, downstate Illinois knows it can always vent its frustration by blaming Chicago.
Mike Meyer was nervous about letting an obsessed acquaintance anywhere near his sprawling collection of Superman treasures. When the man finally talked his way into his home, Meyer got a real-life lesson in truth, justice and the American way.
Carolyn Anderson likes to chat up the growers at her local farmers market in Missouri, at times hanging out behind the beds of pickup trucks brimming with ears of corn.
The Illinois Supreme Court has thrown out an Illlinois jury's $43 million award against Ford Motor Co. in a product-liability lawsuit linked to a fiery 2003 crash that killed a Missouri man and disfigured his wife.
An Illinois Supreme justice's successful bid to keep his seat last year was the nation's costliest retention election in a quarter century, legal-reform groups said Thursday in a report raising worries that increased money going into once-ignored races could undermine the judicial system.
Even with cattle theft rampant in much of the nation's midsection, Oklahoma rancher Ryan Payne wasn't worried about anyone messing with his cows and calves. By his estimation, his pasture is so far off the beaten path "you need a helicopter to see it."
An aspiring rapper on trial over what authorities say was a note threatening a Virginia Tech-like killing spree set off "alarm bells" days before the writings surfaced on his college campus by pressing to get firepower he ordered from a gun dealer, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.
A southern Illinois woman who authorities say hid her young son, often in a crawl space, for nearly two years as part of a custody dispute has been ordered to spend two years on probation without more jail time.
In large part due to their faith, Mark Zartman and Beth Banuelos swung open their families' doors to children from broken homes in southern Illinois. Over the years, some two dozen kids have found refuge with the Zartmans and about 50 with the Banueloses.
As their imprisoned father listened by telephone, a boy and his sister who police say were gunned down by their mother were laid to rest in a single white casket Thursday after pastors urged those grieving to turn to scriptures in the absence of answers about the killings.
The deal for Peabody Energy, the world's biggest private-sector coal company, and a partner to buy Australia's Macarthur Coal for more than $5 billion concludes more than a year of pursuit and continues widespread consolidation in that energy sector.
A man who police say strangled his wife before being gunned down by a sheriff's deputy spent weeks saying farewell to relatives while displaying erratic behavior involving a sword and biblical hallucinations with his spouse, one of the man's sisters said Friday.
A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges that her telemarketing companies pitching bogus timeshare deals bilked $30 million from more than 22,000 victims across North America and Puerto Rico.
Less than a week after one of the nation's deadliest tornadoes wiped a big chunk of Joplin off the map, the city is beginning to shift its focus toward the next challenge: rising from the ruins. And the town that gained fame as a stop along Route 66 can use the road maps drawn by other storm-savaged communities that have endured the same long journey.
An apparent tornado struck the downtown of one of the state's largest cities on Wednesday afternoon, scattering debris, toppling trees and frightening workers and residents. Several injuries were reported.
A judge imposed a life sentence Monday for a former Marine and pastor's son convicted of strangling his wife and their two sons in their beds, opting against the death penalty in a state where capital punishment soon will be outlawed.
The swollen Mississippi River has swamped houses in Memphis and threatens to consume many more, but its rise has been slow enough that some people were clinging to their normal lives just a bit longer. That much was clear Sunday from an unexpected smell — barbecue — in a neighborhood that already lost three houses.
A former Ohio-based Air Force official convicted of mistreatment after sending racy text messages and photos to female subordinates is getting his 20-month prison sentence cut to four months.
A federal marshal killed in a gun battle with a St. Louis felon he was helping to arrest is being remembered as a courageous member of an agency where death on the job was a rarity until recent weeks.
Two executives with a Florida-based telemarketing company admitted in federal court Monday that they sold bogus auto-service warranties in a scheme federal prosecutors say garnered nearly $40 million from 15,000 customers over two years.
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