Allie Long, a senior at Lena-Winslow High School, came to school bleary-eyed Wednesday after a whirlwind tour to look at a college in Arizona. Despite being tired, the teen is still riding on a high after finishing fifth and sixth at the state finals for the IHSA State Speech Tournament held in Peoria this past weekend.

Brigitte Aznaran says her teacher, Evelyn Tirado, grabbed her arms, sat on her and punched her.

Associated Press movie writers David Germain and Christy Lemire are boringly in lockstep on their picks for this season's top Academy Awards categories, depriving them of their usual snide debate over who's going to win.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, No. 8 Ohio State beat slumping Illinois 83-67 to improve their Big Ten record to 11-4. Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points to lead the Buckeyes. Here are three thoughts on the game: Sending a message Ohio State's poor shooting killed the Buckeyes in recent losses...

On the day the towers fell Jordan Lifander was really a volunteer in Cedarhurst on Long Island. He did not "survive" the disaster any more than those of us who watched it on television.