Chicago Jazz Festival moving to Millennium Park

After more than three decades at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park, the Chicago Jazz Festival will be leaving the venue for Millennium Park, according to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

Though in recent years the Chicago Jazz Festival has expanded to Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion and other Loop venues, the Petrillo and its nearby stages have been the event’s focal point.

This summer, the 35th annual festival will be physically restructured.

The opening night, on Aug. 29, as in recent years will unfold at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park and will double as the closing night of the “Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz” series.

On Aug. 30, the fest will play the Pritzker Pavilion plus stages in the park’s Chase Promenade, just north and just south of the Cloud Gate sculpture.

On Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, the Chicago Community Trust Young Jazz Lions Stage will be added to the mix, the emerging musicians performing on the Harris Theater Rooftop, in Millennium Park.

In addition, performances sites may be added elsewhere in Millennium Park, with concerts also taking place at the Chicago Cultural Center, said Michelle Boone, commissioner of DCASE.

This year’s artist in residence will be Chicago percussionist Hamid Drake.

For more information, visit chicagojazzfestival.us.

hreich@tribune.com
Twitter @howardreich

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With an air kiss or empty hug, Te’oing is Twitter craze

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Manti Te’o, the Notre Dame linebacker entangled in a girlfriend hoax that gives a whole new meaning to the term “air kiss,” is inspiring a new fad racing through social media: Te’oing.

An avalanche of pictures of people hugging empty chairs or puckering up to an otherwise empty room were posted to Twitter with the hashtag #Te’oing days after the college football star’s story about his girlfriend’s cancer death was exposed as a fraud. Not only did she never have leukemia, she never existed.

Notre Dame officials said Te’o told them he had been duped into believing he had an online relationship with the fictitious woman.

“Te’oing – Mile High Club edition” read one tweet with a photo of a man hugging the air in an airplane bathroom, an apparent reference to the whispered practice of having sex in mid-flight.

Clint Eastwood was hailed in several tweets as a “Te’oing” pioneer for the actor’s interlude with an empty chair at the 2012 Republican Convention. Other tweets showed Ronald McDonald Te’oing on his cozy bench and President Barack Obama spending quality time Te’oing with a vacant seat.

“Just some afternoon bubbly with my baby” said one Te’oing tweet with a photo of a man clinking his champagne flute against another that appeared to be suspended in mid-air.

The snarky social media frenzy recalled another similar trend called the “Tebowing,” named for New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, who frequently kneeled for on-field prayers and inspired copy-cat poses by people whose pictures flooded social media last year.

In its own riff on emptiness and romance, a Kentucky minor league baseball team, the Florence Freedom, has announced it will give away Manti Te’o Girlfriend Bobblehead dolls – actually empty boxes – to the first 1,000 fans at the May 23 game.

One section of the Florence, Kentucky, stadium has been reserved “for fans to sit with their imaginary friends, girlfriends/boyfriends or spouses” who may be caught on the “pretend kiss cam” and are invited to compete in an air guitar contest or an imaginary food fight.

(Writing by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Vicki Allen)

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Bob Dylan considering Dylan Thomas centenary show in Wales

LONDON (Reuters) – American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan may play a special concert in Wales to mark the centenary of the birth of Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet after whom he may or may not have named himself.

The member of parliament for West Swansea, Geraint Davies, said he had asked Dylan if he would perform in the city as part of a series of commemorative events next year.

“Bob Dylan named himself after Dylan Thomas. I have asked Bob Dylan whether he would be prepared to give a centenary concert in Swansea, in order that he could blend his music with Dylan Thomas’s poetry,” Davies said in the British parliament on Thursday.

“Sony Music has come back and said that Mr. Dylan is thinking very positively about the idea.”

Dylan, 71, was born Robert Allen Zimmerman and the reason he picked his adopted name while a young folk singer in Minnesota has long been debated by fans.

The most popular theory is that he did indeed name himself after the Welsh poet, though another says it was after Marshal Matt Dillon in the TV Western “Gunsmoke”.

Dylan Thomas, whose works include “Under Milk Wood” and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, was born in Swansea in 1914 and died in New York 1953 after a drinking binge.

Bob Dylan still tours regularly and his latest recording “Tempest”, released last September, was hailed by the critics.

(Reporting by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Liguori named CEO of Tribune Co.

Peter Liguori named CEO of Tribune Co.

Television executive Peter Liguori was named the new chief executive of Tribune Co. Thursday, taking the reins of the reorganized Chicago-based media company weeks after its emergence from bankruptcy.

In a widely expected announcement, Liguori, 52, a former top executive at Fox Broadcasting and Discovery Communications, was confirmed by Tribune Co.'s new seven-member board, which met for the first time Thursday in Los Angeles. In Chicago, Tribune Co. owns the Chicago Tribune, WGN-Ch.9 and WGN-AM.

"It can be daunting; I tend to view it as being exciting," Liguori said in an interview about his new job. "It's just a company of tremendous media assets with big iconic brand names, and many of those names are in major markets."

Liguori said he looked forward to leading Tribune Co. into a new era, focusing on content development across all media platforms. And despite speculation by analysts and industry insiders that the company was unlikely to retain its full portfolio of TV stations and newspapers, Liguori said he is hoping to keep Tribune's broadcasting and publishing businesses together under one roof.

"I don't care if it's newspapers or TV or digital operations or our other media assets: I'm hoping to make them work together," Liguori said. "And I'm really interested in building the company through innovation and through commitment to our mission of creating compelling content and best-in-class services."

Liguori replaces Eddy Hartenstein, who has been CEO of Tribune Co. since May 2011. Hartenstein will remain on the board and continue as publisher of the Los Angeles Times. He also will serve as special adviser to the office of CEO, according to Liguori.

"Eddy has done an exemplary job taking this company through some very, very rough times," Liguori said. "He has done a very good job as the publisher of a key asset, and I will benefit from having his advice and counsel and institutional knowledge at my side."

Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008, saddled with a total of $13 billion in debt after real estate investor Sam Zell completed his $8.2 billion buyout less than one year earlier. It emerged from Chapter 11 on Dec. 31, 2012, with a healthy balance sheet, owned by its senior creditors: Oaktree Capital Management; Angelo, Gordon & Co.; and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Bruce Karsh, president of Los Angeles-based investment firm Oaktree, the largest Tribune Co. shareholder with about 23 percent of the equity, was named chairman of the new board, which also includes Liguori; former Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinsohn; entertainment lawyer Craig Jacobson; Oaktree managing director Ken Liang; and Peter Murphy, a former strategy executive at Walt Disney Co.

A Bronx native and Yale graduate, Liguori is a former advertising executive who transitioned into television more than two decades ago. He is credited with turning cable channel FX into a programming powerhouse during his ascent to entertainment chief at News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting. More recently, he was chief operating officer at Discovery Communications Inc., where he helped oversee the rocky launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network. He became interim CEO in 2011 after the previous executive was forced out; he left the company when Winfrey made herself CEO of OWN. Liguori has been working since July as a New York-based media consultant for private equity firm Carlyle Group.

Liguori said job one will be assessing Tribune Co.'s diverse portfolio of assets, which include 23 television stations; national cable channel WGN America; WGN Radio; eight daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times; and other properties, all of which the reorganization plan valued at $4.5 billion after cash distributions and new financing.

Despite its roots as a newspaper company, broadcasting has supplanted the declining publishing segment as the core profit center for the company. Liguori acknowledged broadcasting will be a focus going forward, but not necessarily at the expense of Tribune Co.'s newspaper holdings.

"I'm tasked to be a chief executive officer and a general businessman, and I'm going to take the same principles that I've used in broadcasting, and (extend) them out to all of our business," he said.

Liguori became president of Fox's FX Networks in 1998, when it was a small basic cable channel airing mostly reruns. Elevated to CEO in 2001, he remade FX by offering edgy original programming such as the "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me," creating a string of first-run successes.

Unlocking the value of WGN America, which lags top cable networks such as TBS and FX, will be a priority, Liguori said.

"In this very co-dependent media environment, it's not just sitting there and focusing on how quickly we could grow the bottom line," Liguori said. "The bottom line is the outcome of great content, great marketing, which will drive great ratings, which will attract advertisers, which will further our relationship with affiliates, and will lead to natural growth based on the fact that we have high levels of usership."

Content development will also be key for Tribune Co.'s other media properties, including newspapers, Liguori said.

"I look at the newspapers and appreciate what we do for the local communities, and do recognize that the newspaper business is challenged right now," he said. "But how do we innovate, how do we go out and create stories, create coverage, servicing community and spreading that content across all media platforms?"

In the face of digital competition and sagging publishing industry revenue, Tribune Co.'s newspaper holdings have declined to $623 million in total value, according to financial adviser Lazard. With some newspaper owners expressing interest in acquisitions, Liguori said: "I have a fiduciary responsibility to hear those out."

"Those would be evaluated on an as-come basis. However, with all that being said, it's my job to make sure it doesn't stop me from focusing on our day-to-day business and growing the assets that we have."

He added: "Newspapers are a core part of our business."

Further, Liguori said all of Tribune Co.'s assets will be assessed, with an eye toward maximizing performance, and ultimately, value for the company. That includes real estate holdings such as Tribune Tower in Chicago and Times Mirror Square in Los Angeles, which were on the block until they were taken off the market in 2009.

"In places like Chicago and LA, particularly, there's a bunch of underutilized space that's being leased and has high demand and getting very good rates," Liguori said. "As I look toward the real estate assets, I've just got to ascertain what the value of the properties are and are we best utilizing them."

With a clean balance sheet and the company operating profitably, Liguori said strategic acquisitions will also be on the table, as Tribune aspires to be more of a growth company going forward.

"I think it really changes the driving mission of Tribune versus the past four years, where it undoubtedly had to be a bit shackled," he said. "I look forward to seeing what possibilities are out there and with great financial rigor and diligence, determining whether or not acquisitions would help us."

While the first board meeting was held in Los Angeles, Liguori said it doesn't presage a westward migration for the 166-year-old Tribune Co.

"The corporate office will continue to be in Chicago, and I'm going to be spending considerable time there," Liguori said. "There's great tradition and great history of Tribune being an iconic brand in Chicago."

rchannick@tribune.com | Twitter @RobertChannick

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Teen shot after high school game: 'His mom thought he was safe'

The aunt of 17-year-old Tyrone Lawson, who was shot and killed after watching a prep basketball game between Simeon and Morgan Park, talks about her nephew.

Pamela Wright had dropped her son off at Chicago State University for a basketball game and was waiting for him to call back when she got the awful news.

Her son Tyrone Lawson had been shot, apparently as he ran from a fight that had spilled out of the gymnasium Wednesday night.

"It hurt so bad," said Lawson's grandmother, Barbara VanHughs, 70, clutching a photo of Lawson and crying. "My baby."

Police say an argument broke out while players were in a handshake line after the game between Simeon Career Academy and Morgan Park High School. The dispute spilled into the parking lot near 95th Street and King Drive and someone pulled out a gun and shot Lawson around 9:30 p.m., officials said.

Lawson was shot twice in the back while running away, said Kurtistein Bailey, his 41-year-old aunt. Amid the chaos, someone knelt down and told Lawson to get up but he couldn't move, his grandmother said.

"This was at the school where his mom thought he was safe," Bailey said. "His mother thought he was safe there. That's why she let him go."

Lawson had called his mother earlier in the day, asking if he could go to the game. "Mom, can I go to the basketball game? It's only $10," Lawson had asked, according to VanHughs.

His mother dropped him off and waited for him to call back, she said.

A fight broke out at the end of the game, and video shows security getting players off the court. It was unclear what the fight was about. Nothing outside ordinary bumps and physical contact appeared to have happened during the game between the two schools, which are located on Vincennes Avenue about 30 blocks apart.

University police issued a message to its officers, asking them to watch for a Jeep. It was pulled over east of the school and two people were taken into custody, officials said. Police said they found a gun inside the Jeep.

The Jeep's owner told the Tribune this afternoon that she was not aware of any gun in the car. "I was not there," the owner said. "I don't know what happened."

CPS spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus said the district worked with the university and Chicago police to provide security at the game.

Sainvilus said there was a significant security presence both inside and outside the gym, and there had been screening to prevent anyone from carrying guns into the game. All fans were also searched.

The university released a statement Thursday morning saying it was "deeply saddened by the tragic shooting death."

“(Chicago Public Schools) periodically uses the university’s athletic facility to provide a neutral setting for student sporting events. This is the first such incident to occur on the campus of Chicago State University where CPS students have played many times over the last three years," the statement said.

"Additional security is provided by the university and all external partners during high school sporting events. Arrests have been made and university officials are awaiting the outcome of a full investigation to learn details about the shooting incident.”

Relatives said Lawson was an honor student at Morgan Park and hoped to study engineering in college next year. They remembered him as "high-spirited" and "loved by all," a popular student with friends on the basketball team.

Bailey said Lawson loved animals, and took care of snakes, an iguana and turtles over the years. His aunt said he loved animals so much he gave up his bedroom for his 2-year-old dog, Midnight, and slept on a futon in another room.

VanHughs said she helped raise Lawson while his mother traveled for her job. Family members described the two as having a strong relationship.

"He was definitely a momma's boy," Bailey said. "They were very close and he was her only child."

CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett ordered extra security personnel for the two high schools today. Crisis teams, including counselors, also have been deployed at Morgan Park.

Contributor Mike Helfgot and Tribune reporters Peter Nickeas, Rosemary Regina Sobol and Jeremy Gorner contributed to this story.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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Amazon holiday results to show sales tax impact

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Acting as a tax collector may have hurt Amazon.com, Inc’s holiday sales analysts and industry executives said, but they expect to know more when the internet retailer reports its fourth-quarter results on January 29.

Best Buy Co., an archrival of Amazon in consumer electronics, saw holiday online sales increase in three states where Amazon started collecting sales tax ahead of the period.

“There was a little softness in states where Amazon is now collecting sales tax,” said R.J. Hottovy, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “That isn’t surprising to me. It levels the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers.”

Critics of Amazon argued it had an unfair advantage because most retailers have had to collect state sales tax on online sales for years because they have stores and other physical operations in these locations.

But many states, hungry for extra tax revenue in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, introduced new laws requiring that Internet-only retailers also collect sales tax. Brick-and-mortar retailers hope the requirement will reduce Amazon’s price advantage and help them recoup lost sales.

CHANNELADVISOR DATA

Amazon, the world’s biggest Internet retailer, began collecting sales tax of 7.25 percent to 9.75 percent in California on Sept 15, about two weeks before the start of the fourth-quarter. Third-party sellers on Amazon.com saw a drop in sales during the quarter, compared to other states, according to an analysis by e-commerce firm ChannelAdvisor.

It also started collecting sales tax in Pennsylvania in September and in Texas in July.

Amazon’s fourth-quarter results should provide clues on whether consumers changed their shopping habits when faced with higher taxes on their purchases from the company’s website.

ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell more online, analyzed its clients’ sales on Amazon.com in California, and compared them to other states before and after the sales tax kicked in.

Before Amazon began collecting the tax in California, ChannelAdvisor client sales were 5 percent to 10 percent above other states. The week before the September 15 start of the tax, sales spiked as high as 70 percent compared to other states.

“The surge before the tax went into effect was much larger than I thought it would be,” said Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor. “Californians definitely bought a lot in the three or four days before the tax went into effect.”

After Amazon began collecting tax, its California sales leveled with other states. Then, in early November, they slipped as much as 10 percent below other states, ChannelAdvisor data showed.

During one of the busiest holiday periods, in late November and early December, sales dipped further in California vs other states. Toward the end of the holiday period, client sales in California recovered, the data showed.

“There was a sales impact of about 10 percent at the worst point of the dip,” Wingo said. EBay, another Amazon rival, is an investor in ChannelAdvisor. Wingo also owned Amazon shares, but sold them in the fourth quarter for personal tax-related reasons.

Amazon’s tax collection in California had the most impact on fourth-quarter sales of more expensive items priced at $ 200 to $ 250, Wingo said.

PRICES, PROFIT

Amazon probably lowered prices by 8 percent to 9 percent on items most affected by this, although it is tricky to separate such reductions from the usual holiday season promotions that were also happening, Wingo said.

The extra price competition may dent Amazon’s profitability in the fourth quarter, Morningstar’s Hottovy said.

Amazon is expected to make 52 cents a share in the fourth quarter, on revenue of $ 22.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In late October, the company forecast operating results ranging from a profit of $ 310 million to a loss of $ 490 million.

Hottovy expects $ 22.4 billion in revenue and an operating loss of $ 210 million, or a $ 135 million loss after excluding stock-based compensation and other operating expenses.

BEST BUY

In California, Texas and Pennsylvania, Best Buy said it saw a 4 percent to 6 percent increase in online sales during the holiday versus the rest of its chain.

The retailer also saw an increase of 6 percent to 9 percent in online orders that are picked up in its stores in those three states compared with the rest of its chain.

Overall, Best Buy reported better-than-expected holiday sales last week, sending its shares up more than 10 percent.

“This makes Amazon equal to everyone else. They no longer have that sales tax advantage,” said Anne Zybowski, vice president of retail insights at Kantar Retail. “If this had happened to Amazon when they were just a bookseller years ago, they may not be as big as they are now.

Despite the tax changes, Amazon’s consumer electronics prices were still at least 5 percent below Best Buy’s during the holiday season, Zybowski said. But Best Buy may have benefited from even a small change in this area.

“Particularly in consumer electronics, any narrowing of Amazon’s price advantage at the margin is important because Best Buy brings service and other shopper benefits to the category,” she said.

Best Buy will take away people’s old TVs when they buy a new one and the company’s Geek Squad service will install devices in shoppers’ homes, services Amazon does not provide, she noted.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment when asked if the company saw an impact on fourth-quarter sales from the collection of sales taxes in the three states.

In the past, Amazon executives have said there was little or no impact from such changes in other regions.

Several analysts have argued that shoppers use Amazon for its vast product selection and convenient, fast shipping and returns, and not just its low prices.

“While not great for Amazon, it’s just one of many consumer benefits its service offers,” said Ken Sena, an analyst at Evercore Partners. “And while there may be early effects from this change, I still see usage trends remaining in Amazon’s favor.”

(Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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“Diff’rent Strokes” star Conrad Bain dies at 89

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Conrad Bain, best known for his role on the 1970s and ’80s television comedy “Diff’rent Strokes” as a wealthy, white New Yorker who adopts two young black boys from Harlem, has died at age 89, his daughter said on Wednesday.

Bain, who starred opposite the young Gary Coleman on the NBC sitcom as his adoptive father, Philip Drummond, died of natural causes at a comfort-care facility in Livermore, California, east of San Francisco, on Monday. He was three weeks shy of his 90th birthday, according to his daughter, Jennifer.

Born in Alberta, Bain served in the Canadian Army during World War Two, became a U.S. citizen in 1946 and went on to a career as an actor on Broadway and television. He often played erudite, professional characters such as lawyers, executives, politicians or doctors.

Following a recurring role on the daytime vampire drama “Dark Shadows” as an innkeeper, Bain broke into prime-time comedy with a supporting role on Norman Lear‘s “All in the Family” spin-off “Maude,” which starred Bea Arthur in the title role.

On “Maude,” Bain played a conservative physician and next-door neighbor, Dr. Arthur Harmon, who was frequently at political odds with the outspokenly liberal Maude but was best friends with Maude’s husband, Walter.

At the end of that show’s six-year CBS run in 1978, Bain landed his own sitcom, “Diff’rent Strokes,” in which he played Drummond, a rich, widowed industrialist who takes in the two young sons of his housekeeper after she dies, creating a racially mixed family in an era when depictions of such households were rare on TV.

Joining Drummond’s 13-year-old daughter, Kimberly, and a ditzy new housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett, the two boys, precocious 8-year-old Arnold, played by Coleman, and his quieter 12-year-old brother, Willis, find themselves in the lap of luxury as they adjust to a new life on Park Avenue.

The show ran for eight seasons, 1978-1986, on NBC, and went into wide re-run syndication around the world. Coleman’s oft-repeated line to his brother, “What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” became a pop culture catch phrase.

Coleman, who grappled with a series of financial, legal and domestic woes later in life, died in May 2010 at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Bain returned periodically to the stage during the show’s network run and reprised the Philip Drummond role on a 1996 episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which starred Will Smith as a young rapper from a tough Philadelphia neighborhood who ends up living with wealthy relatives in California.

Bain also briefly co-starred on prime-time TV in the 1987-88 season in the Fox network political comedy “Mr. President,” as the loyal chief of staff to the title character, played by George C. Scott.

Bain is survived by his daughter and two sons, Mark and Kent.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Dan Grebler)

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Well: Life, Interrupted: Brotherly Love

Life, Interrupted

Suleika Jaouad writes about her experiences as a young adult with cancer.

There are a lot of things about having cancer in your 20s that feel absurd. One of those instances was when I found myself calling my brother Adam on Skype while he was studying abroad in Argentina to tell him that I had just been diagnosed with leukemia and that — no pressure — he was my only hope for a cure.

Today, my brother and I share almost identical DNA, the result of a successful bone marrow transplant I had last April using his healthy stem cells. But Adam and I couldn’t be more different. Like a lot of siblings, we got along swimmingly at one moment and were in each other’s hair the next. My younger brother by two years, he said I was a bossy older sister. I, of course, thought I knew best for my little brother and wanted him to see the world how I did. My brother is quieter, more reflective. I’m a chronic social butterfly who is probably a bit too impulsive and self-serious. I dreamed of dancing in the New York City Ballet, and he imagined himself playing in the N.B.A. While the sounds of the rapper Mos Def blared from Adam’s room growing up, I practiced for concerto competitions. Friends joked that one of us had to be adopted. We even look different, some people say. But really, we’re just siblings like any other.

When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 22, I learned just how much cancer affects families when it affects individuals. My doctors informed me that I had a high-risk form of leukemia and that a bone marrow transplant was my only shot at a cure. ‘Did I have any siblings?’ the doctors asked immediately. That would be my best chance to find a bone marrow match. Suddenly, everyone in our family was leaning on the little brother. He was in his last semester of college, and while his friends were applying to jobs and partying the final weeks of the school year away, he was soon shuttling from upstate New York to New York City for appointments with the transplant doctors.

I’d heard of organ transplants before, but what was a bone marrow transplant? The extent of my knowledge about bone marrow came from French cuisine: the fancy dish occasionally served with a side of toasted baguette.

Jokes aside, I learned that cancer patients become quick studies in the human body and how cancer treatment works. The thought of going through a bone marrow transplant, which in my case called for a life-threatening dose of chemotherapy followed by a total replacement of my body’s bone marrow, was scary enough. But then I learned that finding a donor can be the scariest part of all.

It turns out that not all transplants are created equal. Without a match, the path to a cure becomes much less certain, in many cases even impossible. This is particularly true for minorities and people from mixed ethnic backgrounds, groups that are severely underrepresented in bone marrow registries. As a first generation American, the child of a Swiss mother and Tunisian father, I suddenly found myself in a scary place. My doctors worried that a global, harried search for a bone marrow match would delay critical treatment for my fast-moving leukemia.

That meant that my younger brother was my best hope — but my doctors were careful to measure hope with reality. Siblings are the best chance for a match, but a match only happens about 25 percent of the time.

To our relief, results showed that my brother was a perfect match: a 10-out-of-10 on the donor scale. It was only then that it struck me how lucky I had been. Doctors never said it this way, but without a match, my chances of living through the next year were low. I have met many people since who, after dozens of efforts to encourage potential bone marrow donors to sign up, still have not found a match. Adding your name to the bone marrow registry is quick, easy and painless — you can sign up at marrow.org — and it just takes a swab of a Q-tip to get your DNA. For cancer patients around the world, it could mean a cure.

The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic. On “Day Zero,” my brother’s stem cells dripped into my veins from a hanging I.V. bag, and it was all over in minutes. Doctors tell me that the hardest part of the transplant is recovering from it. I’ve found that to be true, and I’ve also recognized that the same is true for Adam. As I slowly grow stronger, my little brother has assumed a caretaker role in my life. I carry his blood cells — the ones keeping me alive — and he is carrying the responsibility, and often fear and anxiety, of the loving onlooker. He tells me I’m still a bossy older sister. But our relationship is now changed forever. I have to look to him for support and guidance more than I ever have. He’ll always be my little brother, but he’s growing up fast.

---

Suleika Jaouad (pronounced su-LAKE-uh ja-WAD) is a 24-year-old writer who lives in New York City. Her column, “Life, Interrupted,” chronicling her experiences as a young adult with cancer, appears regularly on Well. Follow @suleikajaouad on Twitter.

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US, EU and Japan ground Dreamliners

Federal officials say they are temporarily grounding Boeing's 787 Dreamliners until the risk of possible battery fires is addressed. (Jan. 16)

With its new plane ordered to stay on the ground, Boeing Co. confronts a full-fledged crisis as it struggles to regain the confidence of passengers and the airline customers who stood by the 787 Dreamliner during years of cost overruns and delivery delays.

A second major incident involving "a potential battery fire risk'' prompted the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday to temporarily ground all 787s operated by U.S. carriers until it is determined that the lithium-ion batteries on board are safe.

The order affects United Airlines, which is the first U.S. customer. The FAA gave no indication how soon the plane could resume flying.

On Thursday, the European Aviation Safety Agency followed suit, grounding all Dreamliners in Europe.

Japanese airlines grounded their 787s Wednesday after an emergency landing and five days after the FAA and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared that the flying public is safe on Dreamliners. When it offered those assurances Friday, however, the FAA also announced a comprehensive review of the 787's design, manufacture and assembly.

Ethiopian Airlines grounded its four 787s Thursday for "precautionary inspection."

The grounding represents a significant setback for Chicago-based Boeing, which is marketing the fuel-efficient, mainly carbon-composite jetliner as a vision of the future of commercial passenger aviation. The development of the plane was marred by long production and delivery delays, but it is selling well and has customers around the world.

"We stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the traveling public of the 787's safety and to return the airplanes to service," Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. He said Boeing is working with the FAA to find answers as quickly as possible.

Chicago-based United Airlines has six 787s, but it has been flying only one on flights between O'Hare International Airport and Houston. The airline said Wednesday night that it will accommodate customers on other planes. The domestic 787 flights were to end in late March, when United's first 787s were to begin serving international routes. 

United said it "will work closely with the FAA and Boeing on the technical review as we work toward restoring 787 service."

Foreign carriers are not affected by the FAA order, but LOT Polish Airlines canceled its inaugural flight celebration at O'Hare on Wednesday night, even before the flight landed from Warsaw.

"We just think it would be inappropriate to go ahead with the activities," said Frank Joost, regional sales director of the Americas for LOT. He described the FAA grounding of 787 flights as a "surprise."

LOT also canceled the Dreamliner's return flight to Warsaw. Passengers hoping to depart on the 9:55 p.m. flight said they were disappointed. Many were rebooked on Lufthansa through Munich.

Suzy Zaborek, 27, of Chicago was at Chicago O'Hare on Wednesday night waiting for her father to arrive from Poland aboard the 787. He came home early specifically to ride on the inaugural flight.

Zaborek had not been following the Dreamliner woes in recent weeks and the dramatic groundings on Wednesday.

"I'm glad I didn't know because I wouldn't have let him get on on of those," she said.

The FAA decision to ground all U.S.-registered 787s was the direct result of an in-flight incident involving a battery earlier in the day in Japan, FAA officials said. It followed another 787 battery fire that occurred Jan. 7 on the ground in Boston.

Both failures resulted in the release of flammable materials, heat damage, smoke and the potential for fire in the electrical compartments, the FAA said.

"Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the FAA that the batteries are safe," the regulatory agency said. The statement said the FAA will work with Boeing and airlines "to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible."

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Obama unveils biggest gun-control push in decades

At the White House earlier today President Obama unveiled a set of gun control measures intended to prevent and reduce violence in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. (Posted: January 16, 2013).

WASHINGTON—

President Barack Obama proposed a new assault weapons ban and mandatory background checks for all gun buyers on Wednesday as he tried to channel national outrage over the Newtown school massacre into the biggest U.S. gun-control push in decades.

Rolling out a wide-ranging plan for executive and legislative action to curb gun violence, Obama set up a fierce clash with the powerful U.S. gun lobby and its supporters in Congress, who will resist what they see as an encroachment on constitutionally protected gun rights.

Obama presented his agenda at a White House event in front of an audience that included relatives of some of the 20 first-graders who were killed along with six adults by a gunman on December 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

"We can't put this off any longer," Obama said, vowing to use "whatever weight this office holds" to make his proposals reality. "Congress must act soon."

Until now, Obama had done little to rein in America's gun culture during his first four years in office. But just days before his second inauguration, he appears determined to champion gun control in his next term with a concerted drive for tighter laws and other steps aimed at preventing new tragedies like the one at Newtown.

The proposals stem from a month-long review led by Vice President Joe Biden, who on orders from Obama met with advocates on both sides, including representatives from the weapons and entertainment industries.

Obama's plan calls on Congress to renew a prohibition on assault weapons sales that expired in 2004, a requirement for criminal background checks on all gun purchases, including closing a loophole for gun show sales, and a new federal gun trafficking law - long sought by big-city mayors to keep out-of-state guns off their streets.

He also announced 23 steps he intends to take immediately without congressional approval. These include improvements in the existing system for background checks, lifting the ban on federal research into gun violence, putting more counselors and "resource officers" in schools and better access to mental health services.

ASSAULT WEAPONS BATTLE

The most politically contentious piece of the package is Obama's call for a renewed ban on military-style assault weapons, a move that Republicans who control the House of Representatives are expected to oppose.

The Newtown gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, used a Bushmaster AR-15 type assault rifle to shoot his victims, many of them 6- and 7-year-olds, before killing himself.

Underscoring the tough political fight ahead, the National Rifle Association, launched a scathing advertising campaign against Obama's gun control effort and deployed its representatives in force on Capitol Hill.

The NRA, which says it has about 4 million members, took aim at Obama in a stinging TV and Internet spot, accusing him of being "just another elitist hypocrite" for accepting Secret Service protection for his two daughters but turning down the lobby group's proposal to put armed guards in all schools.

As he announced the new gun measures, Obama was flanked on the stage by children from around the country chosen from among those who sent letters to him about gun violence and school safety.

"We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad," a boy wrote in a portion that Obama read from the podium.

With gun ownership rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, gun restrictions have long been a divisive - and risky - issue in American politics.

But polls show that public sentiment shifted in favor of increased gun-control measures after the Newtown shooting, and Obama hopes to take advantage while there is a mood for action in Washington.

However, the White House is mindful that the clock is ticking. The usual pattern after U.S. shooting tragedies is that memories of the events soon fade, making it hard to sustain a push for gun policy changes.

Obama acknowledged the political challenges but made clear that he is prepared to take on the NRA, despite its widespread support among Republicans and significant backing among Democrats.

He warned that opponents of his effort would try to "gin up fear" and urged lawmakers to think more about the safety of schoolchildren than trying to "get an 'A' grade from the gun lobby that supports their campaign."

Obama's plan appears to tread cautiously on the question of whether violent movies and video games contribute to the gun violence, which would open up issues of freedom of expression.

A senior administration official said, however, that Obama would be asking for $10 million for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the root causes of gun violence, including any relationship to video games and media images.

Seeking to jump-start his plan, Obama also nominated Todd Jones to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, quietly abandoning Andrew Traver, whose nomination for the job has long been stalled. Jones is currently the acting director of the law enforcement agency.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Roberta Rampton, Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Alistair Bell and Paul Simao)

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