Cook County Jail's security, healthcare and living conditions violate the inmates' constitutional rights, according to a recently concluded investigation by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago.

The current cover of the New Yorker magazine, featuring a drawing of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his wife Michelle implying they are terrorists, has brought a storm of controversy that extends beyond the Hudson River.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis is defending his officers' performance in the midst of a rise in the city's murder rate. But he acknowledges a need to beef up some policing tactics while improving communications with city aldermen.

The lawsuit filed last week by former WMAQ-Ch.5 television reporter Amy Jacobson and her husband contains numerous complicated allegations against CBS Broadcasting Inc. and others, who she holds responsible for her loss of livelihood and emotional distress, among other legal claims.

A long narrative preceding a list of nine counts is easy enough to parse. But the language of each count contains legal jargon that non-lawyers might find difficult to understand. We've enlisted the help of media and libel lawyer David P. Sanders to sort it all out.