East Aurora High School students were evacuated from the building Thursday morning after smoke bombs were found in a bathroom.

ST. CHARLES -- The attorney for Elias Diaz continues her search for a woman who might have information to clear Diaz of his role in the 1996 death of Nico Contreras.

ST. CHARLES -- The statewide campaign warns: "You drink, you drive, you lose."

PLAINFIELD -- One of Plainfield's historic buildings got a splash of unwanted modern embellishment during the weekend.

AURORA -- Fewer hours in court and more fine money coming back to the city could be two benefits of an ordinance change that allows police to issue tickets in small marijuana possession cases.

YORKVILLE -- Residents should expect to pay nearly $18 more to take their trash out every two months, after the Yorkville City Council approved a refuse surcharge this week.

GENEVA -- The Kane County Forest Preserve District this week sold $8 million in bonds to fund most of the renovation of Elfstrom Stadium here.

Joe Birkett is renowned for fighting like a lion when the time comes to secure convictions and extract penalties of the wrongdoers who cross his path in the courtrooms of DuPage County.

Sugar Grove allows for police to write tickets -- instead of making arrests -- for first-timers caught with marijuana.

Empty threats to blow up the building left Waubonsie Valley High School about half empty Wednesday.

Robert Veach of Yorkville is used to getting strange looks from drivers and passers-by as he drives his "Gizmo" around town. Among behemoth SUVs and four-door sedans, Veach has a ride that seats only him, and maybe a bag or two of groceries in the back compartment. At a stoplight, he can rest his feet right on the road, like in a Flintstones cartoon.

AURORA -- There are a dozen bicycles parked in the city of Aurora's newest bicycle locker room that opened Monday.

How long should it take to examine the impact of Canadian National Railway Co.'s proposed buyout of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad?

NORTH AURORA -- The owners of a Randall Road restaurant have been charged with stealing money and obtaining stolen appliances from two suburban businesses last year.

The Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Fund 5K Run/Walk for Reading will take place at 7:30 a.m. Sunday at River Woods Elementary School, 2607 River Woods Drive, Naperville. Proceeds will benefit the fund.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

AURORA -- Aldermanic hopeful Hal Beebee calls Aurora "my town."

Kaneland High School is making some changes to familiarize students with the Prairie State Achievement Exam.

Mediation between the legal counsels of Indian Prairie School District 204 and Neighborhood Schools For Our Children took place as planned Tuesday. No plans were made for a follow-up meeting.

An experienced principal will be the new leader at Geneva's Western Avenue Elementary School.

Twenty years ago this spring, as the city was creating its Freedom Trail riverwalk between city hall and Pottawatomie Park, some St. Charles movers and shakers remembered a statue of an American Indian had stood in that area. Placed there in 1911, it remained at the park until succumbing to wear and vandalism in the 1970s.

A Sugar Grove family displaced by a house fire earlier this month has found a new place to call home. Wyvonda Clark and her six children, Danriean, 18; Devontae, 15; twins Daeshawn and Deshawn, 14; Dwight, 8; and Devieanna, 4, moved into a three-bedroom duplex in Plano over the weekend. Though the home isn't quite as big as their rental in Sugar Grove was, Clark is thrilled to be settled again.

WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday because of the loss of Arctic sea ice but also cautioned the decision should not be viewed as a path to address global warming.

CHICAGO -- Dining on foie gras -- a delicacy made of duck and goose liver -- soon will be legal again in Chicago.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- State senators potentially killed an effort to change the embattled moment of silence for schools law Wednesday after a confusing debate that mixed religious differences and personal criticism.

WASHINGTON -- By a strong, veto-proof majority, the House passed a $290 billion farm bill with increased subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor amid rising grocery prices while sprinkling in pet projects that lawmakers can take home to voters this election year.