OFFBEAT: Illness prompted Essany's TV talk show hiatus

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Florida men ID'd as Gary plane crash victims

CROWN POINT | Two men from St. Augustine, Fla., were identified late Friday as the victims in a plane crash Wednesday morning in Gary.

Gary officials discuss plane crash

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and fire and police officials talk with the media about a plane crash.

Crews suspend search after report of plane down in lake

Authorities suspended their search early Wednesday of Wolf Lake, Lake Michigan and the Calumet River for a report of a plane that may have attempted a water landing late Tuesday night.

Revisiting the 1933 crash of United Flight 23 in Chesterton

In 1933, Melvin Purvis — who in less than a year would become famous for the capture of bank robber and escape artist John Dillinger —stepped in to investigate the downing of United Flight 23. On a transcontinental flight, the Boeing 247 was on its way from Newark, N.J., to Oakland, Calif., …

Oklahoma State tragedy hits close to home for Freeman

VALPARAISO | Tragedy struck the Oklahoma State basketball program again Thursday night as women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna were among four victims who died in a plane crash in Perry County, Ark.

Plane out of Valparaiso crashes in Ohio

VALPARAISO | A private plane with four people aboard en route from Valparaiso to Salem, Ohio, crashed upon landing at the Salem Air Park. Only minor injuries were reported.

Russia's alteration of plaque illustrates regime's true colors

The tragic plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, on April 10, 2010, robbed Poland of almost 100 leaders and was cause for a recent pilgrimage to the site by mournful Poles.

Beecher man walks away from Newton County plane crash

A Beecher man is in good condition after walking away from a single-engine plane crash Thursday in a Newton County cornfield.

Polish leader, 95 others dead in Russia jet crash

MOSCOW | Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died on Saturday when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia, killing 96, officials said.

Plane crashes in Phuket, Thailand

PHUKET, Thailand | A passenger plane filled with foreign tourists crashed Sunday as it tried to land in pouring rain on the island of Phuket, splitting in two and bursting into flames, officials said. At least 88 people were killed. (Watch the video from the Associated Press.)