Feds propose overhaul for child care centers

Federal health officials proposed Thursday to overhaul 500,000 child care centers across the country, beefing up safety standards including background and fingerprint checks for employees and requiring states to better monitor the facilities.

Cubs planning $300 million Wrigley renovation

CHICAGO | The Chicago Cubs plan on restoring Wrigley Field, with or without the city's help.

NHL lockout forces canceled games through Oct. 24

The NHL said Thursday that it has canceled the hockey season through Oct. 24, a total of 82 games, because of the ongoing lockout.

NHL lockout forces canceled games through Oct. 24

NEW YORK | What seemed inevitable for the NHL has now become reality. The league canceled the first two weeks of the regular season on Thursday, the second time games have been lost because of a lockout in seven years.

Regular refs back; Goodell apologizes to fans

NEW YORK | The replacement officials are gone and the NFL is sorry it took so long. Now fans can go back to complaining about the calls made by the regular refs.

Chicago teachers vote to return to classroom

CHICAGO | Teachers agreed Tuesday to return to the classroom after more than a week on the picket lines in Chicago, ending a combative stalemate with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over evaluations and job security, two issues at the heart of efforts to reform the nation's public schools.

Job cuts to cost Motorola tax credits in Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. | Google Inc.'s plan to cut more than 700 jobs at Motorola Mobility's operations in Illinois means the company will lose the tax credits it receives from the state, and experts say it underscores just how little the kind of perks that big companies often insist they need real…

NCAA moves closer to sweeping penalties overhaul

INDIANAPOLIS | Nearly a year after promising to impose harsher sanctions on the most egregious rule-breakers, NCAA leaders endorsed a proposal Thursday that would make schools subject to the same crippling penalties handed to Penn State.

NFL offseason busier than ever, not in a good way

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was one of three players critical to their teams' chances this season who were arrested just one week before some camps open. The others were Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil.

NFL offseason busier than ever, not in a good way

NEW YORK | Bounties and bans. Replacement refs and rules changes. Tebow and Manning.

NHL players hammer out strategy as CBA talks loom

CHICAGO | NHL players are getting a better grasp on the issues at hand as the union braces for negotiations with owners on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Fine reduced in death of SeaWorld trainer

ORLANDO, Fla. | Physical barriers between trainers and killer whales are a viable way to prevent hazards to workers at SeaWorld, an administrative law judge ruled in a decision that also reduced a federal fine against the theme park in the death of a trainer from Northwest Indiana.

Obama ad features steelworkers to undercut Romney's record on jobs

WASHINGTON | President Barack Obama is casting Mitt Romney as a greedy, job-killing corporate titan with little concern for the working class in a new, multi-pronged effort that seeks to undermine the central rationale for his Republican rival's candidacy: his business credentials.

A roundup of recent Indiana newspaper editorials

Test aims to end social promotions in Indiana schools

Neighbors fret about plan for 'Field of Dreams'

Should we build it, and would they come?

Strong 3 months of hiring as U.S. adds 227,000 jobs

It's the latest display of the breadth and strength of the economic recovery. The country has put together the most impressive three months of job growth since before the Great Recession.

Some college baseball players might stay in school

BERKELEY, Calif. | Last year, California catcher Chadd Krist turned down close to $50,000 to return for his senior season in college rather than sign with the White Sox as a 13th-round draft pick.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum heads 142 in arbitration

NEW YORK | San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum headed 142 players filing for arbitration on Friday and is set to ask for a record salary when figures are exchanged this week.

Marlins: Guillen can get the most out of Zambrano

MIAMI | Carlos Zambrano will get a much-needed fresh start with the Miami Marlins. The Cubs traded their former ace Wednesday for Marlins right-hander Chris Volstad, pending physicals and approval by Major League Baseball, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

Claims lowest since April '08 as job market improves

In the latest sign that the economy is surging at year's end, unemployment claims have dropped to the lowest level since April 2008, long before anyone realized that the nation was in a recession.