Howard's HR Backs Halladay, Phils Win Game 1

Ryan Howard hit a huge home run, Roy Halladay overcame a shaky start and the Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 Saturday night in the opener of their NL division series.

Howard shook off his season-ending strikeout last October to hit a go-ahead shot in a five-run sixth inning.

Halladay retired the last 21 batters he faced as the NL East champions began their all-or-nothing postseason run with a comeback win.

Game 2 is Sunday night, with Cliff Lee pitching for Philadelphia against Chris Carpenter, who is starting on three days' rest.

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Man Arrested for 65th Time Charged With Assault

A woman and her two small children escaped a home in unincorporated Northbrook after her attacker fell asleep, ending a week-long captivity during which the woman repeatedly beaten.

Francisco Tirado, 27, of the 3700 block of Salem Walk in unincorporated Northbrook, was charged Friday with two felony counts of aggravated domestic battery and one felony count of aggravated unlawful restraint, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff’s office.

The arrest was the 65th since 2001, the release said.

Tirado was also charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of interference with emergency communications related to domestic battery, according to the release.

Tirado returned to his home heavily intoxicated Sept. 22 and was confronted by the woman after he urinated on the bathroom floor, the release said. He then began to beat and kick the woman.

He also shoved her head into a toilet and hit it against it as well, the release said.

Tirado took the woman to the home of one of his family members in the Jefferson Park neighborhood the next day, where he chocked her until she nearly lost consciousness, the release said.

Tirado stopped the attack when he saw a family member approaching, but then ordered the woman to drive him back to his home, the release said.

The woman tried to drive to the Chicago Police Jefferson Park District station at 5151 N. Milwaukee Ave., but Tirado held a knife to her throat and held his hand across the neck of her 5-week-old baby.

Tirado spit in the child’s face as well as the face of the woman’s 16-month-old toddler and threatened to kill both children, the release said.

Two woman and her children escaped Tirado’s home Thursday after he fell asleep Thursday, according to the release.

Tirado appeared in Skokie bond court Friday, where Cook County Judge Marcia Orr set bond at $300,000, the release said.

The judge also issued an order of protection and barred Tirado from contact with the woman or her immediate family.

Tirado is schedule to appear in court again Oct. 7.

Tirado’s previous arrests include aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic battery and striking and spitting in the face of a law enforcement officer, the release said.

Cain Courts Tea Partiers in Schaumburg

Fresh off his victory in last week's Florida straw ballot, businessman and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was in Schaumburg on Saturday, courting attendees at TeaCon, the Midwest's Tea Party convention.

"This nation has become a nation of crisis that's dragging us down. We have an economic crisis. We have an entitlement spending crisis," he told audience of an estimated 700 people.

"Herman Cain's message is clearly resonating," Chicago Tea Party director Steve Stevlic said of the former Godfather's Pizza CEO.

While Tea Party members more closely-align themselves with Republicans, many of those at the convention on Saturday described themselves as independent thinkers who haven't yet chosen a candidate to support.

"I consider myself a member of the common sense party. Take in less than you spend. And I'm here because I thoroughly believe in that. I have to run my house that way. I think my elected officials should run their house that way," said one man.

Issues like ObamaCare are too costly and too intrusive, they say.

The convention at the Renaissance Schaumburg also featured remarks Rep. Joe Walsh (R-McHenry). Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota spoke via video.

The event comes on the heels of a recent poll that shows a decline in Tea Party support among Americans. The Opinion Research/CNN poll (.pdf), taken Sept. 23-25, found just 28 percent with favorable opinions of the Tea Party, while 53 percent took an unfavorable view of the movement.

Former Polish President to be Honored in Chicago

Former Polish President Lech Walesa will be honored in February with an award from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

Walesa will accept the Lincoln Leadership Prize during a ceremony Feb. 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago.

The award recognizes people whose "lives and actions exemplify Lincoln's legacy of leadership," said the foundation's CEO, Carla Knorowski.

Walesa is a former shipyard worker and Nobel Peace Prize winner who in 1990 became the first democratically-elected president in Polish postwar history. He served until 1995.

He first became known for his struggles to win worker's rights in Poland.

"I am honored to be awarded the Lincoln Leadership Prize," he said in a statement. "This prize from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation also pays homage to the Polish nation which more than two decades ago peacefully and democratically conducted an economic and social revolution.  As a result of this transformation, Poland entered a period of prosperity and justice."

Walesa visited Chicago in January and October 2010 to support Republican Adam Andrzejewski in his campaign for the governor's office.

Past winners include Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Astronaut James Lovell Jr. and the late NBC television journalist Tim Russert.

A Pampered Pooch Can Live a Longer Life

The expression "it's a dog's life" comes from the assumption that there's just nothing better -- no clock to punch, no bills to pay, no worries, no stress.

But massage therapist Athena Arnado, who is used to finding stress and getting rid of it, said dogs can have bad days and stressful weeks, too.

"Loud noises don't bother us as much," said Arnado. "We know what loud noises are, where they are coming from. Dogs don't necessarily know that."

So Arnado took what she already knew and started applying it to dogs.

"Every time I was at the dog park, and a dog would approach me or pass by me, I would stop and I would basically ask his permission, basically communicate that I wanted him to come to me," said Arnado. "And the dog would come to me and I would start massaging him just using the human techniques that I had learned. And every one of them responded well to it."

 

She may not be the first masseuse for canines, but she may be one of the more generous. Arnado is eager to give her trade secrets away, even to her clients who actually pay the bills.

"Even just a five-minute massage a day can increase longevity and improve the quality of life for your dog," she said.

Arnado said it's just one more thing your pets will adore you for. And there is even a fast version, if they'll let you stop.

Arnado has created a video to teach pet owners how to massage their pets called "Take 5 for Fido," available through Arnado's website.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Speaks Candidly in New Vanity Fair Article

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a freewheeling interview to writer Michael Lewis that appears in the latest issue of Vanity Fair.

It's part of a longer piece analyzing what ails the Golden State's economy.

In the article, Schwarzenegger said a number of things that might surprise people.

He told Lewis that when he announced he was going to run for governor on "The Tonight Show," it was an "impulse."

"This will freak everyone out. It'll be funny," he's quoted as saying. "And two months later, I was governor."

He told Lewis that he came into office with boundless faith in the American people, and figured he could always appeal to them.

Lewis went on a wild bike ride with the former governor in which Schwarzenegger rode the wrong way down one-way streets and shifted in and out of traffic. The ride turned into somewhat of a metaphor for the governor's life with Schwarzenegger telling him "no one has had this kind of crazy, wild ride."

No Guns for Medical Marijuana Users

Federal law states it is illegal to possess a firearm if you use a controlled substance. Marijuana -- even medical marijuana -- is considered a controlled substance.

In a response to multiple gun dealers, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explained, "There are no exceptions in federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law."

Sixteen states, including California have legalized medical marijuana. The state has issued almost 57,000 medical marijuana cards, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Gun rights advocates and medical marijuana advocates are saying this policy is a violation of the second amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Licensed gun dealers cannot sell a gun or ammunition to anyone that indicates on the paperwork that they are using a controlled substance, or if the dealer has a "reasonable cause to believe" person uses drugs. Reasonable cause includes even talking about drugs.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Gary Marbut with the Montana Shooting Sports Association said this puts an unreasonable burden on gun dealers to police their customers.

"Their business is to be merchants, not to be cops. Unfortunately, the federal licensing scheme complicates that. It sounds as if the (ATF) is expecting them to drift further into the cop role," Marbut said.

The Justice Department however believes that part of the responsibility of selling guns is to keep them away from people who are prohibited from having them.