Agent Says Chicago Marathon Champ Rita Jeptoo Failed Doping Test

STELLENBOSCH, South Africa (AP) -- Chicago Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo failed a doping test in September, the Kenyan runner's agent said Friday.



Federico Rosa told The Associated Press that Jeptoo tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition test in Kenya weeks before she won a second straight Chicago Marathon title on Oct. 12.



"This is true," Rosa said in a telephone interview.



Rosa said Jeptoo's "A" sample had tested positive and they were waiting for her backup "B" sample to be tested. Rosa declined to name the substance.



Rosa said he had learned of the positive test "a few days ago."



"We will legally go after the person or the people that convinced Rita to do this," Rosa said, adding Jeptoo's management had "nothing to do with" any doping. "I am sorry for Rita."



The 33-year-old Jeptoo has won back-to-back titles at the both the Chicago and Boston Marathons and leads the World Marathon Majors series.



The series said earlier Friday that it had postponed Sunday's awards ceremony because of the positive test.



"No athlete can win the World Marathon Majors Series title who has been in breach of IAAF anti-doping rules," the series said.



The IAAF said in a statement that it was "not in position where it can confirm or deny" Jeptoo's positive doping test.



"The case remains in the confidentiality phase," the IAAF said, "although that should be lifted within the next week."



Jeptoo's failed doping test comes as Kenya is under close scrutiny for a recent spike in doping cases.



A report into doping in Kenya was released this month. The investigation found that the East African country has problems with athletes from a number of sports using banned substances.



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Chicago Sun-Times Sells Suburban Papers To Tribune Publishing Co.

CHICAGO (AP) — The parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times announced Friday it has sold six daily newspapers and 32 weeklies in the Chicago suburbs to Tribune Publishing Co., casting the sale as an effort to more forcefully move into digital media.

Sun-Times owner Wrapports LLC said the deal will allow it to focus on its new Sun-Times Network, which launched Friday and centers on a mobile news app tailored to local audiences in 70 U.S. cities. The sale also will financially strengthen the Chicago Sun-Times, the company said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"This transaction and our aggressive digital push will expand the Sun Times brand and ensure the Chicago Sun-Times is self-sustaining and financially healthy," Wrapports CEO Timothy Knight said in a statement.

The strategy shifts the media landscape in one of the country's last two-newspaper towns, where the Sun-Times has grappled with declining circulation. Financial hits and changes in direction have resulted in multiple rounds of layoffs, including of its entire photo staff last year, and led to a 2009 filing for bankruptcy protection.

"Basically what they're saying is that they're moving as much they can out of the print side of the business to try to move into being a digital news brand that's recognized not only in Chicago but around the country," said Alan Mutter, who runs the Newsosaur blog and teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Wrapports announced earlier this week that the mobile news app would present national entertainment, sports and political coverage from the Sun-Times along with items aggregated from other media sites in each local market.

Its success will depend on whether it can draw enough eyeballs in places where there's less familiarity with the Sun-Times brand and where there's already a plethora of news aggregators and other media sites, Mutter said.

"I have concerns about whether they can actually bring this to sufficient scale to make this into a business," he said.

Tribune Publishing said buying the papers, which include the Aurora Beacon-News, The Naperville Sun and The Southtown Star, will help the company expand its "hyper local" news content, diversify revenue sources and draw more advertisers.

"These are great brands. They are engrained in the communities that they are in," said Bob Fleck, who will oversee the new papers as publisher and general manager.

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11 Times It's OK To Tell A Woman To Smile

If you've been on the Internet in the past couple days, you've probably seen that viral video showing all the catcalls one woman received while walking around New York City for 10 hours. If you haven't -- go watch it.



As its 16-million-plus YouTube views suggest, the video -- despite presenting problems of its own with its execution -- resonated with many women who have to endure such unsolicited comments on a daily basis, and whose complaints often fall on deaf ears. It's a compliment! You should be flattered! Except a catcall is a bullshit compliment and thinly veiled sexual aggression.



Telling someone to smile might seem particularly innocuous -- you just want her to look happy! But that, too, is a directive that undermines a woman's agency in the name of making her prettier, and thus less threatening. Indeed, the actress who refused to smile in the aforementioned video is now receiving rape threats from viewers who totally missed the point.



The point is this: Don't tell us how to look when we're out doin' our thing. These are pretty much the only situations where it's OK to tell a woman you don't even know to "smile." Ahem.







1. You are a professional photographer taking a picture.











2. You are a sign at a store telling someone they're under surveillance.











3. You are Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.











4. You are dentist tryin' to get a look at some chompers.











5. You are dressed as a clown at a child's birthday party.











6. A woman just asked you, "Do I have lipstick on my teeth?"











7. You are Charlie Chaplin or Lily Allen.











8. You are directing a toothpaste commercial.











9. You are quoting Dr. Seuss.











10. You are the host of "Candid Camera."











11. You are this bird.









And that's it. Got it?



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Last-minute vote influences in Illinois's gubernatorial election

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Dave McKinney resigned from his position as Springfield bureau chief after 19 years this month. He said ownership of the paper succumbed to pressure from the Bruce Rauner campaign over a story it didn't like.



In a blog post about his resignation, McKinney said he was taken off his political beat while the paper looked into accusations of a conflict of interest between McKinney's wife, Ann Liston, a Democratic strategist and the outcome of the story. McKinney said there had been no conflict of interest and that he felt like the paper no longer supported him as a reporter.



Friends and political rivals Dave Lundy and Chris Robling discussed whether this would have an effect on Rauner's election efforts.



From Lundy:

[W]hat happened here is...almost Nixonian in its malevolence. Rauner's team had apparently compiled a dossier on Dave McKinney's new wife Ann Liston and was prepared to unload it when they felt threatened by a bad McKinney story. Despite the fact that the story they objected to was reported by Carol Marin and Don Mosely, in addition to McKinney, they successfully pushed to have the paper's top political reporter sidelined three weeks before a major election. It's also worth noting that the Rauner folks didn't object one iota or demand some disclaimer on his reporting when Dave McKinney was writing all of his anti-Quinn pieces on the violence initiative. Over the course of the last year, McKinney probably wrote five negative stories on Governor Quinn for every one he wrote on Rauner. But please don't let the facts get in the way.

From Robling:

This story matters little to voters and it should.



But it became a tempest in the tea pot of Illinois political newsies, especially Democrats, because they saw it as an aid in alienating Bruce Rauner from women voters -- a key political objective in the bailout of the foundering campaign of Hapless Pat Quinn, Illinois demi-Governor.

Read the rest of Lundy and Robling's thoughts on this controversy at Reboot Illinois.



Voter turnout could be another last-minute influence in this election. Both candidates are pushing their supporters to go out and vote Nov. 4. Which kinds of voters decide to show up or sit out the election could make or break the race for both candidates. It's happened before. Watch Madeleine Doubek and Matt Dietrich explain at Reboot Illinois.







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13 of the Creepiest Haunted Bars and Restaurants in America

By: Kristin Hunt



We've all outstayed our welcomes at bars and restaurants from time to time, but some places have pesky customers who have been there for ages. Literally. At these 13 creepy joints, the spirits extend well beyond a nice whiskey list. They include murdered cowboys, slain prostitutes, victims of serial killers, and even the dude who shot Alexander Hamilton. Here are rap sheets for some of America's greatest places to drink with the dead.



More: The World's 10 Weirdest Restaurants





Credit: Flickr/Scott from TX



Poogan's Porch



Charleston, SC

Although it would be adorable, Poogan's Porch isn't actually haunted by a canine poltergeist. The restaurant's namesake went to the light long ago, but the same cannot be said for Zoe St. Amand, a spinster schoolteacher who died in the building in the 1950s. Zoe is apparently a fan of rotating place settings around the tables and forging food orders, as well as hurling bar stools at the staff and busting open doors when she's pissed off. If only Poogan were there to calm her down.





Credit: Old Town Pizza



Old Town Pizza



Portland, OR

Owner Adam Milne is ostensibly the man in charge of this pizza joint, but it's Nina who really runs the show. The ghost has been hanging around the place for a century, and it is not for sentimental reasons. Nina was a sex slave who entertained clients at the Merchant Hotel, where Old Town Pizza now stands atop the city's infamous Shanghai Tunnels. Missionaries came to town and promised to rescue her if she gave up the pimps, which she readily did. Only those guys weren't too pleased about it, and decided to throw her down the elevator shaft as punishment. She supposedly scratched her name into a brick on that elevator shaft, which is now part of a booth, and today frequently appears to watch the patrons eat. If you smell any faint perfume or spot a ghostly chick in a black dress, you've just met Nina.





Credit: Muriel's Jackson Square



Muriel's



New Orleans, LA

In a city like NOLA, haunted buildings are a dime-a-dozen. And while Muriel's doesn't boast the most horrific backstory, it's seen some dark deeds. In the late 1700s, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan bought the burned-out mansion and restored it to its old charms. Then, in a classic future-ghost move, he bet the entire house in a poker game, which he lost. Because he couldn't bear to leave the place, he killed himself on the second floor, right around where the Seance Lounges stand today. Jourdan spends most of his time there -- he pops up as a shimmery light rather than a complete ghostly form, but he still knocks on the brick wall with the gusto of a full-fledged apparition. And he's got company. Paranormal investigators picked up the voice of a woman in the Seance Lounges, and there's definitely another poltergeist in the Courtyard Bar who's big on smashing glasses. Once they all complete their nightly shenanigans, they presumably enjoy a nice dinner at Jourdan's reserved table, which the staff sets with bread and wine each night.





Credit: Flickr/Brandie Heinel



Tonic Room



Chicago, IL

Plenty of patrons could tell you about the weird mists that show up in selfies they snapped, or the ghostly gangster they swear they saw at the bar, but nothing will scare you more than the Tonic Room's actual history. Members of the Irish North Side Gang frequented the bar in the 1920s before clearing out to make way for the American chapter of Golden Dawn. For those unaware, Golden Dawn is not a forgotten easy-listening jam: it's a secret society that's big on ancient Egyptian symbols and also human sacrifice. In fact, a girl who went with her father to one of these Golden Dawn meetings in the '30s swears she witnessed a ritual killing in the Tonic Room basement. After the murder cult left, a dude named Frederic De'Arechaga turned the space into an occult store in the '60s. He claimed to be a male witch, because of course he did.





Credit: One if by Land, Two if by Sea



One if by Land, Two if by Sea



New York, NY

Many places brag about having ghostly hookers or conmen, but only this NYC spot boasts the spirit of noted Alexander Hamilton-murderer Aaron Burr. The restaurant actually used to be his carriage house back in the day, and everyone thinks he's stuck around with his daughter, Theodosia, to haunt the living. They routinely knock things over, creep down the stairs, and generally pester the patrons -- though they may have additional partners in crime. A parapsychologist who's visited the place claims there are really 20 ghosts there, all from different time periods, including a Ziegfeld Follies girl who might just high-kick you in the back.





Credit: Stone's Public House



Stone's Public House



Ashland, MA

Stone's Public House takes its name from original owner John Stone, who was a very bad man according to one paranormal expert. After speaking with the six to seven spirits who allegedly live at the bar, ghost whisperer Ralph Bibbo claimed they told him Stone killed a boarder who won big in a card game in 1845. He then forced the few witnesses to help him bury the guy in the basement, and made them all promise to take the secret to their graves. But they must have felt guilty, because they never went to their graves. Instead, they float around the bar, making occasional ruckuses and silently judging your drink order.



Want to get spooked while eating and drinking? Head to Thrillist.com for 7 more of the creepiest haunted bars and restaurants in the country!



More from Thrillist:



How To Get Into The 14 Best Speakeasies In America



The 18 Worst Halloween Candies Known To Man



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How Average Neighborhood Dogs Are Helping Communities Take A Bite Out Of Crime

Walking the dog may be a mundane, everyday activity for some people. But in certain neighborhoods, the daily strolls have become the latest strategy for crime prevention.



Chicago suburbs such as Morton Grove, Northbrook and Prospect Heights are among the most recent towns to get on board with Dog Walker Watch, a crime prevention program launched in April by the National Association of Town Watch.




A Dog Walker Watch participant listens with her four-legged friend during a training session in Bloomington, Minnesota, earlier this year.




“The idea behind it is that there are 75 million dog walkers in the country. The issues is, when they’re out walking, they’re texting, listening to music, checking email, talking on the phone," National Association of Town Watch Executive Director Matt Peskin told The Huffington Post. "But we see those people as extra eyes and ears for local law enforcement to report on crime."



Roughly 1,000 areas have registered as DWW communities, about 350 of them cities in all kinds of neighborhoods "all across the board," Peskin said.




Handouts at a Dog Walker Watch training session in Bloomington, Minnesota, earlier this year.




Peskin said people who walk their dogs are out at all hours and are familiar with their area -- qualities that make them the ideal people to spot suspicious activity.



So, how does the process begin? Registered community members work with a local police officer for a single, hour-long session in which they learn how to better observe and report potentially criminal activity in their neighborhoods.



"[Training] is geared toward things like residential burglary," Peskin said. "What criminal will do nowadays is case the home: Go in a back window or a gate … that kind of person is very difficult to spot if you’re not familiar with what goes on in your neighborhood."





A Dog Walker Watch participant listens with her four-legged friend during a training session in Bloomington, Minnesota, earlier this year.




The instructions are typical of neighborhood watch training -- take note if someone doesn't appear to have a destination or if gates and doors that are usually closed are left open -- though Peskin notes DWW "definitely tells people not to get physically involved" if they see a suspicious person.



"We’re very sensitive to that with all the George Zimmerman stuff,” Peskin said in reference to the shooting death of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin by the local neighborhood watch coordinator.



The program targets dog walkers who are routinely out in the neighborhood anyway, though Peskin notes participants don't need to have dogs to participate -- they can simply be residents who enjoy walking the neighborhood.





A Dog Watcher Walk participant in Bloomington, Minnesota, is ready for patrol.




Adam Tabor, an officer in Morton Grove, Illinois, where a DWW recently started up, told the Chicago Tribune he hopes the program does more than deter crime; he hopes it builds "a bridge between the police department and residents."



Peskin said while it's too early to measure the effect of the program, participants so far "love it." DWW has made crime prevention more social, he said, which has led to greater buy-in.



“My daughter lives in Philly and I've seen the neighborhoods have more scheduled actives [since DWW] — a dog costume parade for example," Peskin explained. "It’s a new generation of people that are becoming homeowners or renters and they care about where they live. I think we went through a long period of time where people didn’t care. Then we had things like 9/11 and different types of disasters, and people thought 'If we want to make this better, we have to do this.'"



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Illinois Governor's Race Pushes Democrats To Dig Deep

CHICAGO (AP) — At first blush, Illinois would seem to be a lock for an incumbent Democratic governor: The population leans left. Democrats control most of state government, and this year's race is likely to turn on the Chicago area, one of the few places President Barack Obama can still bring large crowds to their feet.



But Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is battling to survive against Bruce Rauner, a wealthy businessman Republicans are banking on to exploit the state's deep economic problems and reputation for cronyism. If he wins, the victory would help complete a near-sweep of the Midwest by the GOP. The stakes, amid a tough midterm election climate, worried Democrats enough that they shifted to an "Obama-style" campaign, employing a strategy the president used in key battlegrounds in 2008 and 2012. It wasn't seen as necessary in Obama's home state — until now.



Quinn, the often-folksy Chicago Democrat who has campaigned with his 97-year-old mother, notes that he also was counted out four years ago but eked out a win. Known as a tireless campaigner, he's held his own despite the state's many crises and assures voters he will power through to Election Day.



"I ain't sleepin'," he says.



Rauner, who's sunk more than $25 million into his own campaign, has blasted Quinn over Illinois' massive budget problems and a plan to make a temporary income tax increase permanent. The first-time candidate also has tried to cast doubt on Quinn's claims he cleaned up state government after taking over for imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.



"I can't be bought, bribed or intimidated," Rauner says.



Republicans see Illinois as a chance to not only pick up a governorship but also to deliver "a real gut punch" to Obama and his party, said Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He and other Republicans say winning would send a clear message that even voters in Obama's home state no longer embrace his policies.



U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, disagreed that the race between Quinn and Rauner is a referendum on the president's agenda.



But he acknowledged that if Quinn loses, some will see it as a loss for Obama, who came to Chicago earlier this month to campaign for Quinn, then cast his ballot for him and rallied volunteers at a campaign field office. First lady Michelle Obama also stumped for Quinn, as did Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.



"There clearly is an investment in Quinn's candidacy," Durbin said.



Quinn and other Democrats have campaigned as defenders of the middle class, supporting policies such as an increase in the minimum wage — which Obama also vigorously promotes — and painting Rauner as an out-of-touch multimillionaire who belongs to a $140,000 wine club.



A series of Quinn ads have picked apart deals made by Rauner's private-equity firm, accusing him of outsourcing jobs, putting investments in the Cayman Islands and slashing expenses at a chain of nursing homes so deeply that residents died.



Quinn has also been helped by organized labor, which saw Rauner's early anti-union comments as a sign he could try to curtail government unions the way Gov. Scott Walker did in Wisconsin. Though Rauner has toned down his rhetoric since the primary, unions have continued spending millions to defeat him.



Even before the race became heated, Illinois' top Democrats were collaborating on a plan to counter the typical drop in turnout among the party's base in midterm elections and the historically bad results for a president's party during his final term.



They're using what Durbin calls an "Obama-style model," a coordinated campaign that makes heavy use of both public and private data to identify which voters are most likely to support Quinn and other Democrats and then get them to the polls. Campaigns have used the systems for years — the Illinois GOP has its own voter-information effort — but it was Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns that are credited with fine-tuning it to great success, and Durbin says Illinois Democrats are using lessons learned from those campaigns.



The strategy also focuses heavily on absentee and early voting, with special emphasis on college campuses. The Democrat-controlled Legislature this spring extended early voting and gave the OK to same-day voter registration and on-campus Election Day absentee voting.



Republicans have faced some setbacks, such as when lawyers for top Democrats successfully argued for the Illinois Supreme Court to throw out a Rauner-backed term limits proposal that his campaign had hoped would help get his supporters to the polls.



But they say they're implementing their own efforts to increase turnout, and they feel good about their candidate — and their odds.



___



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