Ask Alpana

Ask Alpana: Summer Drinks

With temperatures creeping toward the 100-degree mark, how does a beer shake sound? Check Please! Host and Master Sommelier Alpana Singh tells us about a trending summer drink.

• Ask Alpana your own question and watch previous segments
• As Seen On Chicago Tonight: Wine

Alpana’s Picks for Starter Wines for New Wine Drinkers

• Rose: Crios Rose of Malbec, Argentina $10.99 - “It has bright cranberry and raspberry flavors with a really vibrant, juicy almost sweet finish. This is a good stepping stone for getting in to red wines.”
• Riesling: Mirassou Riesling, California $7.99 - “Features flavors of green apples, honeysuckle and sweet peaches.”

Spice and Herb-Infused Liquors

• Fernet Branca   
• Averna
• Benedictine
• Cynar, Artichoke-Based Liquor

Health

Cell Phones & Cancer Risk

Do cell phones cause cancer? And what exactly does the World Health Organization have to say about it? A Chicago scientist who contributed to the latest report joins us to clarify the findings.

• More on the Story: Tips to reduce cell phone radiation exposure
• Are you concerned about possible cancer risk from cell phones?
• Scientist David McCormick's bio and research
• WHO press release
• National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet: Cell Phones & Cancer Risk
• American Cancer Society: Cancer Causes: Cell Phones
• Environmental Working Group: Cell Phone Radiation Exposure

Blagojevich Trial 2011

Prosecutors Finish Cross-Examination

Prosecutors finished cross-examining Rod Blagojevich today. Closing arguments are expected tomorrow and the case should be in the hands of the jury by Thursday. Elizabeth Brackett has the latest.

• Chicago Tonight's Blagojevich Retrial page

Viewer Feedback

Viewer Mail

We hear what you had to say about recent stories when we read some of our viewer mail.

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Politics

John Dean on Watergate Scandal

It's been almost 40 years since the Watergate burglaries and subsequent cover up. We have former Nixon White House counsel John Dean here to discuss the impact the scandal has had on politics, the law and more.

• More on the Story: Videos of Dean's 1973 testimony and Nixon's statements to public

Blagojevich Trial 2011

Prosecutor Grills Blagojevich on Senate Seat

Much of the back and forth between Rod Blagojevich and Prosecutor Reid Schar during today's cross-examination has to do with the intention behind the former governor's words. Elizabeth Brackett breaks down Day 25 of the Blagojevich retrial.

• Chicago Tonight's Blagojevich Retrial page

The Week in Review

The Week in Review with Joel Weisman

This week on Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, Gov. Pat Quinn is considering vetoing a number of major bills the Illinois lawmakers passed at the end of the legislative session this week. Examining casino expansion, ComEd rate hikes and the new state budget are on his summer to-do list. Rahm Emanuel flexes his political clout just two weeks into mayoral tenure, convincing legislators to pass the perennial gambling expansion and a once-dead workers' compensation overhaul. Former Governor Rod Blagojevich's cross-examination starts testily. And in sports, the White Sox sweep the resurgent Red Sox as the Cubs season seems to already be over.

Guests:

• Mary Ann Ahern of NBC 5 News
• Natasha Korecki of the Chicago Sun-Times
• Greg Burns of the Chicago Tribune
• Lester Munson of ESPN

More on the Story:

• More on the Story: Week in Review (5/30 - 6/3)
• Weekend Events Around Town: 6/3 - 6/5

Blagojevich Trial 2011

Blagojevich Keeps Talking

For two years, we wondered if Rod Blagojevich would take the stand. Now, we wonder if he'll ever leave it. Elizabeth Brackett recaps the former Illinois governor's fifth day on the hot seat.

• Chicago Tonight's Blagojevich Retrial page

Politics

Civil Union Ceremony

More than 30 same-sex couples convened at Millennium Park this morning to exchange vows and take part in one of Illinois' first civil union ceremonies. Ash-har Quraishi was there and reports on the historic celebration.

• More on the Story: Web article and slideshow of the event
• Are Civil Unions a good thing for Illinois?

Ask Geoffrey

Ask Geoffrey

From the outside, this Hyde Park bank looks more like a museum dedicated to the history of the automobile. We find out more about the building in tonight's Ask Geoffrey.

• Ask Geoffrey Baer your own question
• The Original L Lines
• Metropolitan West Side elevated in Jazz Age Chicago
• Ritz Garage article in the Chicago Reader