Hasta La Gadget!

In the past two years, residents of Bethel, Conn., have been hit by three massive snowstorms that knocked out power for days. Each time, nearby cell towers that rely on electricity failed, preventing people from communicating with the outside world.

“Our cell phones became completely useless,” Bethel resident Matt Knickerbocker recalled. “You can’t call in an emergency. You’re completely out of touch.”

On Friday, with a massive winter storm barreling into the Northeast, the resiliency of cell phone networks was tested again. The blizzard arrived as federal regulators were still debating how to fix weaknesses in wireless towers that were exposed by Hurricane Sandy three months ago.

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With Valentine’s Day right around the corner and romance in the air, we couldn’t think of a better opportunity to consider bringing some more love into the house.

This week, we’ve rounded up another group of Chicago-area pets currently up for adoption in and around the city. They are all in need of and ready for their new forever homes.

Scroll down to check out photos of local adoptable rescue cats, dogs and rabbits from a number of area shelters. To our knowledge, they’ve been spayed or neutered and are up to date with their vaccinations. Contact the shelter named to learn more about each animal.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — District of Columbia prosecutors received scores of emails from citizens upset because NBC television journalist David Gregory was not criminally charged for displaying a high-capacity ammunition magazine on his “Meet the Press” show.

Prosecutors received roughly 50 emails demanding that Gregory be charged, plus more than 150 others expressing outrage in the days after officials decided to not prosecute him. The Associated Press obtained the messages through a public records request.

The emails were sent by people from around the country, including some self-identified gun owners and Second Amendment supporters, who accused prosecutors of hypocritically and unevenly enforcing D.C.’s strict gun laws and of giving Gregory preferential treatment. Some said the decision underscored the absurdity of strict gun laws and set a bad legal precedent; others sarcastically asked if they’d be similarly shielded from prosecution if they brought ammunition magazines to the nation’s capital.

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The revelry turned to tragedy.

Amid the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl parade on Tuesday, a teenager was fatally stabbed, and an 11-year-old suffered head trauma when he was trampled outside M&T Bank Stadium, the Baltimore Sun reports.

The stabbing victim, Deontae Smith, 15, was just a few blocks away from the route where he was shown in police video being attacked by someone in purple as others in Ravens apparel watched, the Sun notes.

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There’s a growing trend among North American boozers: sucking down shots through beef marrow bones. Yes, the Bone Luge sounds macabre, savage, disgusting, and fratty, but don’t let the name fool you. It’s a high-end (read: expensive) affair, but all the pomp isn’t just for show. It’s actually, you know, good. More »