The billionaire maker of Beanie Babies admits to not paying taxes on offshore bank accounts. Paris Schutz has more on a government crackdown that could nab more tax cheats in the future.

We share what you had to say about factory farming and our interview with vegan activist Gene Baur, founder of Farm Sanctuary, in tonight's viewer feedback.

Chicago and Cook County home prices are up nearly 12 percent in the second quarter of 2013. We get the latest on the housing recovery from Geoff Smith, the Executive Director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and Loretta Alonzo, the 2012 president of the Illinois Association of Realtors.

We hear the latest on the big rollout of the CTA’s new Ventra card fare payment system, the status of the CTA’s Ashland Avenue Bus Rapid Transit proposal, and the CTA’s push to keep riders away from the dangerous third rail and oncoming trains.

The horrors of the meatpacking industry are well-documented in history but the current state of meat production may be equally as grim. We talk with the “conscience of the food movement,” vegan activist Gene Baur. See before-and-after photos and read stories of Farm Sanctuary’s successful rescues.

Will the U.S. government run out of money and shut down within the month? We take a look at how the country got back to fighting against the debt limit clock.

Your coupon cutting days could be over with mobile coupon and daily deal apps revolutionizing how consumers save money. Our panel analyzes the mobile couponing trend and shares tips on the hottest coupon apps. Read 10 tips for a novice couponer.

North Side residents are battling a plan to clear-cut 14 acres of trees along the Chicago River from Irving Park Road to Montrose Avenue. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Chicago Park District say the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration plan will restore the riverbank by Horner Park. But opponents want the native old-growth trees left alone for the $6.5 million project.

Chicago’s newest harbor is only one-third full. Critics say it's the Park District's high fees that are keeping boaters away. Elizabeth Brackett has the story. Read an article.

How is the CTA faring in day one of the rollout of the controversial new Ventra system? Paris Schutz has the details.

After the messy ouster of his predecessor, Metra's new interim executive director Donald Orseno tells us how he intends to drive the scandal-ridden commuter rail agency forward.

What is a Bitcoin? Where do they come from and how are they used? And why are more and more governments taking a careful look at this first-ever cyber currency?

Nadav Shoked, Assistant Professor of Law at Northwestern University, and Tina Feldstein, President of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance, join us to discuss the pros and cons surrounding the city’s controversial plan to expand McCormick Place with a 10,000 seat arena for DePaul University’s basketball team, as well as adding two hotels. 

How much is a CEO worth? Matt Kiefer, Associate Research Director for Crain’s Chicago Business, joins us to take a look at the paychecks some Chicago-area CEOs are taking home and how they compare nationwide.

CVS has opened a massive mail order pharmacy in Mount Prospect. We tour the facility and hear what the company's CEO has to say about the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

Joel Weisman and his panel of journalists take on changes in journalism in this web extra conversation. Was the sale of The Washington Post to Jeff Bezos a vanity purchase? And what changes are ahead at the Sun-Times and Crain’s? Watch the web extra video.