Topic: Al Capone

Patrick Fitzgerald, nemesis of Rod Blagojevich, steps down

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Thursday ruled out two options for his next career move, saying he’s not wired to run for office and quipping, 'Can you see me as a defense attorney?'

12 days of disaster that changed Chicago forever

Author Gary Krist looks back at 1919 and the blimp crash, murder, and race riot that made the Chicago the metropolis we know today.

The tax man taketh -- and sometimes giveth

From outside, the workings of a big bureaucracy like the IRS seem mysterious and arbitrary. From the inside, it all makes perfect sense. Actually, you could say that about most workplaces.

The pope in Cuba: a reporter's notebook

Beyond the frustrations of reporting in Havana lies the real story: Cuba, for all its romance and beauty, remains an authoritarian state, writes Girish Gupta.

9 best books featuring notorious figures

Thomas Craughwell lists these books as the best myth-busting histories centered on notorious figures. 

HBO makes great TV from books

More and more popular books are becoming HBO series. Here are some of the most well-known.

Gift ideas: 'Harry Potter,' Adele, 'Law & Order,' and 'Super Mario 3D'

Your gift list can get long with nieces and nephews, grandparents and friends all needing a present this holiday season. Try a few of these items that are sure to please like 'Winnie the Pooh,' 'Ken Burns: Prohibition,' and the video game 'Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.'

'Prohibition' – so much more than gangsters and flappers

This Sunday (8 to 10 p.m. EDT) Ken Burns turns his prodigious research efforts and illuminating camerawork loose on America's failed attempt to sober up.

The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll, by Preston Lauterbach.

A groundbreaking history of the black juke joints that birthed rock 'n' roll.

'Dramatic change' to marijuana laws? What bill before Congress would do.

A new bipartisan bill would remove marijuana from the company of heroin and cocaine in federal regulations, leaving it to the states to legalize pot – or not. Inter-state trafficking would remain a federal crime.

How Rahm Emanuel might reinvent Chicago politics

He takes over a city that will test his legendary toughness and may become a laboratory for addressing the problems that plague urban areas in hard times.

City of big shoulders: Mayors past

A look back at some of the men and one woman who have led Chicago from the mayor's office.

4 great summer books for middle-grade readers

Once school is out, will your young reader be likely to pick up a book? The answer is yes – if the right title is at hand. Here are four strong summer reading choices for kids from ages 9 up.

Mafia arrests: Four of the most famous mob busts in history

The FBI announced one of the biggest mob busts in history on Thursday. Here are four other major law enforcement wins against American gangsters.

The economics of Al-Qaeda in Iraq

Where does the money trail lead, for Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)?

Ideas for a better world in 2011

To start the new year off right, the Monitor asked various thinkers around the world for one idea each to make the world a better place in 2011. We talked to poets and political figures, physicists and financiers. The results range from how to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world to ways to revamp Hollywood.

Spain's 'Operation Greyhound' nabs one of the country's most decorated athletes

Marta Domínguez, world champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, was one of 14 athletes, coaches, doctors, and others arrested in Spain's latest anti-doping investigation.

Get Capone

Journalist Jonathan Eig presents a compelling portrait of America’s all-time favorite crime boss.

The rocky shores of Alcatraz bloom once again

Alcatraz is a forbidding landscape, but its rocky gardens – once tended by prisoners and families of the guards – are being restored, and bloom once again.

AIDS, sex, and crime: Why is Darren Chiacchia facing jail time?

Barbaric laws about AIDS mean Darren Chiacchia could spend up to 30 years in jail for exposing his partner to HIV without revealing his condition.

Ahead of spring break, State Dept issues travel alert for Mexico border

Travel alert places emphasis on a few hyper-violent cities and states near the Mexico border. It comes as many US college students and families are making travel plans for spring break.

The Kremlin banished Khodorkovsky. Why a new trial?

In Russia, public support is waning for the Kremlin’s aggressive pursuit of the former oil tycoon, who was shipped off to Siberia in 2005 after crossing swords with Putin.

Best children's books of 2009

Bestselling children's books, according to IndieBound*

Al Capone Shines My Shoes

This sequel continues the adventures of the children whose parents work on Alacatraz Island.