children of firefighter edward stringer in the limousine behind me on their way to the private burial service. thousands of firefighters came from all across north america gathering here to support edward stringer's family and also to honor the memory of their fallen comrade. >> ed stringer -- a true warrior to the end. gave the ultimate sacrifice that people of our city and our nation. it's been a day of emotion for the family of edward stringer. the fallen firefighter's mother, joyce, has been too overcome with grief to talk publicly. but in letter red at fiewn -- read at the funeral mass, stringer's mother thanks those who tried to rescue the trapped firefighter buried underneath rubble in chicago's south shore neighborhood last week. we would like to thank all on scene who worked feverishly to extricate my son and all the trapped and injured firefighters. earlier today the late firefighters engine 63 truck rolled up to st. rita's with stringer's uniform adorning the front bumper. 2 was the end of a 30 block procession from the oak lawn funeral home to 77 and western where an ocean of firefighters stood at attention to honor and respect stringer's memory. >> when a tragedy like this happens, it doesn't matter where it is. we in the fire service we are a family. we are a huge family and a loss like this is felt nationwide. >> nationwide and across international borders, of course, that mishap last week, the death of the two firefighters beamed out across north america and across the world for that matter, this has been an emotional day. firefighters coming from across north america to honor the memory of the fallen firefighters edward stringer. on the south side of chicago, julian crews, wgn news. we thank you for that report. stringer's fellow firefighter corey ankum being honored today. visitation for ankum begins tomorrow afternoon at the church of god at 63 and dorchester from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 at night. his funeral is thursday morning at 11:00. also at the church he will be layed to rest at lincoln cemetery at 123 and kedzie. funerals will be kiried live on cltv and our website, wgntv.com. nearly three dozen firefighters from gary were laid off the day after christmas. 34 jobs were cut as part of the town's 2011 budget. the cuts equal 20% of the city's firefighters. fire officials say this could have a detrimental effect on the department's ability to respond to multiple fires. the town is suffering financially and being forced to make tough decisions. the layoffs will save gary more than a million dollars a year. autopsy is plned -- planned today on a law student who fell inside a club in chicago's loop. happened at union league club christmas eve. sources say 26-year-old eric of frankfurt had just finished dinner with his father when he fell two stories to the bottom of the some stairs. he suffered head injuries and died. police say the fall appeared to be an accident. he was a law student at george washington university and home for the holidays. officials at sugar loaf mountain ski resort in maine say about six people were hurt when a chair lift derailed. the skiers were sent plummeting as far as 30 feet to the slope below when the lift derailed at the resort. winds were about 40 miles per hour at the time and about 220 people were on that lift. sugar loaf officials say none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. ski patrols have been evacuating the lift. snow is stopped falling but the problems caused by the massive east coast blizzard could go on for a few more days. patricia woo reports from new jersey when 30 inches of snow had fallen. the worst of the powerful winter storm may be over but millions of east coast residents and visitors still have a mountain of problems. >> a lot of snow. it was up to my thigh when we came tout shovel. >> storm that began christmas weekend dumped over 30 inches of snow in new jersey stirred up wind gusts of 80 miles per hour in massachusetts and left tens of thousands of people without power in connecticut. air travel was especially hard hit. monday alone weather grounded more than 4,000 flights. new york's three major airports shut down for nearly 24 hours. they slowly began to resume operations monday evening but with all the backlog officials say it could be days before some travelers are able to fly. >> in a storm like this when schedules were disrupted there are multiple delays, diversions and cancellations. sometimes the airlines get aircraft and air crews that are in the wrong city. so until they can get them back in the right city, they won't have a normal operation. subway riders are hoping for an easier commute. passengers captured these images monday after snow and ice left hundreds stranded for hours. no heat no nothing. officials say it could have been much worse. >> state offices here in new jersey are closed for the day as residents are still being urged to stay off the roads. reporting for wgn news, patricia woo. the chicago aviation department says operations are back to normal today at the city's airports after major disruptions caused by the east coast storm. 200 flights were canceled at o'hare and midway yesterday. 150 flights were grounded on sunday at two airports and about 1700 travelers made unscheduled visits to chicago when eight international flights were diverted to o'hare because of the bad weather on the east coast. analysts are sounding the alarm higher gas prices are on the way. how high? wgn's randy belesomo is live on the north side with some answers. hi, nancy. we were at $3.56 a gallon here and the prices will likely keep climbing higher especially if the weather gets worse. average retail gas prices in the city have risen 6.9 cents a gallon. averaging $3.30 a gallon yesterday. that's 54 cents a gallon higher as we look ahead to 2011, we anticipate better economy and that's going to factor in to the oil prices which will factor on the gasoline prices. >> reporter: oil analysts are predicting the next decline in prices in may of 2011. live on the north side, randy belesomo, wgn news. next at midday, investigators pinpointing the cause of a fatal fire. and an abandoned warehouse in new orleans that killed eight people. if you depend on one of those rapid refunds at tax time, you may not be able to get one from the nation's largest tax preparation company. and tony and saturday night fever made the cut. find out which iconic films were added to the national film registry. fire killed eight people in new orleans. it broke out early this morning in an abandoned warehouse. a group of homeless people were burning wood in a barrel to keep warm when the flames spread. temperatures in new orleans dipped below freezing overnight. a fire department spokesman says some of the victims may have been knocked unconscious by carbon monoxide. two people survived. a suspect is in police custody after a shooting that killed a georgia state trooper. chadwalk lacroix was shot last night in atlanta and died on the way to the hospital. he was trying to stop a car that crashed after a short chase. the lacroix and the driver of the car fought and the trooper was shot twice. atlanta police say the suspect then drove off notice trooper's car. but was arrested a short time later. the u.s. embassy in london was a terror target. state department confirms that after several suspected terrorists were suspected in england. 12 men were picked up. three were released. the other nine appeared in court yesterday. british police say there is evidence the men researched poitance targets on the internet, carried out reconnaissance and tested various bombs in preparation for the attack. president obama is expected to announce his new economic adviser when he returns from his holiday in hawaii. decision comes after the resignation of lawrence summers. his choice to signal a new economic direction as his administration tackles the high unemployment rate. among the possible nominees yale president leven and investment banker roger altman. pat quinn is floating a new idea for easing the state's financial crisis he calls it a debt bond. the state would borrow $15 billion to balance the budget and pay a lot of overdue bills. supporters say would actually save money because the state would pay less in interest than it's now facing in penalties to service providers and there is still talk in springfield of a possible state income tax hike but nothing been decided. chicago mayoral candidate danny davis is promising a more transparent city government if he is elected mayor. david listed several reform proposals. he would do away with back door deals and get the city council more involved. he is having attorneys look at chicago's parking meter contract to see if it can be renegotiated. to government being the same ol' soup just warmed over. and rehashing of what already been and that's why we plan to bring something different. >> davis says he would invoke a city ordinance to stop paying former police commander john burge's legal fees. burge was convicted of lying about the torture of suspects earlier this year. you husbands and wives, listen up, the stiff jail sentence one man is facing for reading his wife's e-mail. and pickpockets are getting high-tech help to rip you off. how they might be able to steal your information without touching your wallet. it's an apes iter that will impress your guests this new year's eve. panchetta wrapped figures ahead in lunch break. h&r block may not be able to offer its clientds rapid refunds for their tax returns this year. tax prep company used to offer clients short term loans based on their anticipated tax returns. the problem is with the company that h&r block uses to provide funding for the returns. hsbc holdings says it will no longer offer the short term loans. high-tech pickpockets are using technology to get your credit card information without even touching your wallet. this security specialist shows just how easily it is done. using a credit card reader bought online and a notebook computer all a criminal has to do is get close to your wallet and all your information shows up on his computer. credit card numbers, expiration dates and even your name. criminals working in a large crowd can get thousands of numbers in a few hours. you have a chase card. here is the expiration date and your number. >> that's it. >> also at risk u.s. passports issued since 2006. they contain technology tacan be scanned just like a credit card. security experts recommend putting those credit card in secure sleeves and id holders to block information from being scanned. a husband faces up to five years in prison for reading his wife's e-mail. 33-year-old leon walker is charged under a michigan law normally used to prosecute identity theft. prosecutors say walker who is the woman's third husband hacked into her e-mail account and allegedly found out she was having an affair with her second housebound who has a history of violence. walker contacted her first husband who used information to gain custody of her small son. leon walker goes to trial in february. bliem angie lau live at the cme group in chicago. reality is about to set in when we get those january bills. retailers are merry with cliet over the spending this holiday. according to the international council of shopping centers and goldman sachs, sales at stores opened 5% in the week ending christmas. compared to the same time last year. meanwhile, fair compare.com says get ready for higher prices from chicago based united continental. the airline is adding a $20 round trip surcharge on future travel on peak days. that according to fair compare.com. if all the same move by american airlines and delta most of their domestic flights yesterday. and not so warm news from the home front. s&p day shiller on home prices in 20 u.s. cities show that prices dropped more than forecast in october compared to the year before. all signs that housing will remain weak link even as the u.s. recovery accelerates into the new year. chicago homes dropped 0.13%. lastly, when it comes to homes if we could choose our neighbors. zillo's annual celebrity neighbor survey says most people would prefer not to live next to these guys. the cast of the mtv reality show jersey shore including snooky. rather them stay right where they are. least desirable neighbors in 2010. person people would like to be neighbors with, sandra bullock. right now on wall street, stocks are drifting between gains and losses retail sales and confidence in home prices offered a mixed outlook and we are seeing a mixed market right now. live at the cme group in chicago, angie lau, bloomberg news. 25 films have been selected for preservation in the national film archives. and this includes a sci-fi classic. i am your father. >> no. no. it's not true. that's impossible. >> you know it's true. >> the empire strikes back. considered by many fans the critics to be best of all "star wars" films and credit moments like this one where darth vader reveals he is luke's father. other inductees this year include the pink panther from 1964. the exorist from 1973. all the president's men from 1976. saturday night fever from 1977. and airplane, one of the funniest films of all time from 1980 and nancy wants to know why the film dude, where's my car -- >> it's overlooked. >> where was it? >> all the great cinematic achievements. ahead, why your snoring could be annoying. the link to a dangerous sleep condition. making it easier for you to purchase the perfect pooch. new pet store law that could help you make a more informed decision. >> you may have heard her voice on national commercials. kim devine her album square one is available at itunes now. @b state environmental inspector says spill of raw sewage in the kankakee river has been contained but the effect of wildlife is being studied. explosion in the water treatment plant yesterday blew out a holding tank. that blast destroyed a methane gas storage facility. it sent raw sewage and sludge into the river. environmental officials say the spill has minimal threat to public health. epa will monitor the spill if any effect it has on the environment. suburban man with a history of violence is held on $8 million bond in the beating death of his aunt. 24-year-old anthony rappaport admitted to using a baseball bat to kill nancy rappaport on christmas day because he said he was tired of being nagged. police say the pair argued frequently and authorities are called to their home in wilmette several times including the day of the attack. deadly beating took place shortly after police left the home. police in northbrook are looking for a bra thief. they say someone stole more than 150 bras from a victoria secret store on december 20. that's more than $10,000 in merchandise. police say they have no idea how a thief could have taken so many items without being seen. they have no suspects in custody. new pet store law goes into effect january 1. it gives consumers full disclosure about a future pet before the sale is final. the law requires stores to provide details about an animal's vaccinations, health, breeder history and price. currently stores only have to give that information if you ask. it will be posted near the pet's cage. >> a lot of people tend to jump the gun when they look at a new fluffy critic they like. and some people don't care about the information that should be coming along with the pet. making it a requirement to be upfront about where the animals come from, if it's had vaccinations or medical work done is good for the consumer. law making exceptions for shelters who often don't know an animal's history. the pet store law is among 200 new laws that go into effect on new year's day. some of the new laws will hit the pocketbook of politicians and their employees. new public workers will have new pension rules that will raise the retirement age to cap their earnings. there will be limits on campaign contributions and candidates for governor and lieutenant governor in illinois will run as a team in the primaries. new laws require a violence hotline for chicago public schools so anyone can give anonymous tips on potential violence. drivers face stricter penalties. and anyone convicted of aggravated dui will be required to serve at least 85% of their sentence. 2011 will be the year of the rabbit in japan. as you can imagine, rabbit themed merchandise is selling out fast. a hotel in tokyo is offering are apet shaped cakes for new year's celebrations. cakes are covered in pic cream with bunny faces that are made of macaroons and at the rabbit cafe customers with enjoy drinks with a real life rabbit on their laps. more weekends restaurants have up to two hour wait and ancient time rabbits were thought to bring good luck and safety to families. just thought you should know. reproduce more stuff. speaking of the new year, we may be ringing it in with rain. jim ramsey's forecast is next. check out this home video from new jersey. a time lapse video camera captured the snow as it inched up. it covers up a yardstick on the table. some parts of new jersey now have 32 inches of snow. that's a lot of snow. >> it sure is. are we going to see our snow melting? >> i think it will be all gone by friday afternoon because we were looking at temperatures coming close to if not surpassing 50 degrees by friday. there will be rain around the area. one of the problems this is going to create is because of the snow cover out there the warm air pushing over the snow will produce fog. we were looking at probably sharply limited visibilities both thursday and friday. in fact, a chance we may have fog across the area tonight as well. we put that in the forecast. today we had not a bad day out there. sort of a sun/cloud mix around the chicago area. temperatures already have surpassed yesterday's high temperature of 22. we are up to 25 currently in the chicago area. and we may see our temperatures eclipse 30 before temperatures start moving back the other way today. as you can see out to the immediate west of us, temperatures already 30 or better. but there is plenty of warm air down to the south and our winds will be more southwesterly turning southerly than southeasterly over the next couple of days. plenty of cold air up north and stay up north and not bother the chicago area. temperatures across the region at the moment fairly similar from one spot to another. the snow cover is helping to keep the air cooler and one of the reasons we could see 50 on friday is thursday we will take a big, big chunk out of that snow cover. winds have turned westerly. wind speeds are in the range between about 5 to 15 miles per hour. they will continue that way during the afternoon and that's helping to produce a windchill value that is a little cooler well out in the western suburbs over the downtown area. the air temperature and the windchill is a little bit cool. not a whole lot. this is a big storm coming in through the pacific northwest this morning. we are watching that closely. notice the light snow that crossed the chicago area this morning. and moved into northern indiana. if you saw snow flurry out there that's the culprit. this is just a consequence of a little cloud cover that built over the area earlier this morning. our computers show a little lake-effect snow on the other side of lake michigan. watch this. see the rain and even mix moving up with time into the mid-mississippi valley. that we are expecting to visit b the chicago area about thursday morning as you can see here. thils not going to be a major rain by any stretch. but because of all of the snow cover on the ground and the fact that we have frozen ground, there may be drainage problems because of that. how much snow? about .2 of an inch is what the computers are spitting out. here is our forecast for the afternoon. we are look agent a cloud/sun mix in chicago. continued cool. high temperature 29 to 33. tonight cloudy periods. areas of fog 17 to 23-degree low temperatures. wednesday morning sunshine. but it's going to cloud over and perhaps again a sprinkle during the afternoon and could be a rain/snow mix. thursday cloudy skies and here we go again, areas of fog. rain at times but take a look at those expected highs temperatures. 42 to 46 degrees. that's going to feel like springtime but there will be as we say some rain and that warm air pushing over the snow will produce some fog. dew points rise the snow cover will dils appear and we may see some bare ground around here by saturday morning. okay. thank you. here is today's trivia question. the first medical x-ray was taken on this day in what year? 1875? , 1882? , 1895. the answer still ahead on the wgn midday news. 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[ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin reactions, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ it feels wonderful. i don't smoke. i don't smoke. [ male announcer ] it's a new year. so, ask your doctor about chantix. and find out how you could save money on your prescription go to chantix.com to learn more and get terms and conditions. it's come down to at nfl's final week to determine playoff positions. the bears have a good chance of securing the number two seed in the nfc but will need a little help to get the number one seed if the eagles lose tonight, the bears are guaranteed at least the number two seed and first round bye. the bears could control their own fate and secure it with a win sunday in green bay. if they finish with the same record, the bears own the tie breaker with the eagles after beating them in november. bears still have an opportunity to earn the top spot in the nfc after the falcons lost last night. their first loss at home after trailing late, drew brees orchestrated a drive in the fourth to give the saints a 17- 14 lead and the win. the bears -- thises possible as we said if the bears win in green bay with both the falcons and saints losing their game on sunday, the bears own the tie breaker with the falcons but not the saints. don't ask me to explain all that. patrick kane will probably return to the hawks tonight. he hasn't played since hurting his ankle december 5. and practiced yesterday and didn't have a problem. he will wait until after the skate to make a decision. marty turco will start in goal again as cory crawford recovers from the flu. northwestern business to play in the first ever ticket city bowl in dallas new year's day. they left evanston yesterday. third straight bowl game appearance for the cats under pat fitzgerald. by now they understand the process. >> this is our first bowl game as group. i think it will be a little unique. now we have been three straight our guys know the routine and know the expectations and now the number one expectation is to win and that's what we are prepared to do and find a way to get that done. and that's a look at sports. your live illinois lottery drawing is next. great job! great check-up! ♪ i'll see you next time. ♪ ok. [ dr. ashley ] my patients also love to know they did a great job caring for their teeth. that's why i recommend a rinse like crest pro-health complete with fluoride. it helps you get a better dental check-up. crest rinse makes the difference. in fact, it provides all these benefits. giving you a clean, healthy mouth. a more complete way to a better dental check-up. ahh. [ dr. ashley ] new crest pro-health complete rinse. contaminated alfalfa sprouts clipged to a nationwide salmonella outbreak may have been grown here in illinois. food and drug administration has issued a warning to avoid alfalfa sprouts and spicy sprouts from the tiny greens organic farm in urbina. the farm's sprouts were sold in stores and jimmie johns restaurants more than 80 people in 15 states say they got sick after eating at jimmie johns. half of the cases were from illinois. chocolate and strawberry goes well together and now scientists are learning more about their genetic make up. antioxidants in cocoa and strawberry plants could one day lead to genetically modified versions of both that would be even more nutritious and easier to grow. on the medical watch today, your choice of baby formula could impact every thing from your child's risk of developing obesity to diabetes and other diseases. new research suggests infntses who drank cows milk based formula gained weight faster because they were overfed. babies that took a protein -- based formula had similar growth patterns to breast-fed infants. the study funded by the u.s. national institute of child health and human development. new research shows exercising during pregnancy benefits mother and child. women who stay fit gain about a pound less than women who don't. encourage exercising three times a week up to one hour starting in the first or second trimester. staying active has positive effects on mood and insulin sense of itty. women who gain more weight tend to have heavier babies who may grow up to be overweight. loud snoring may do more than prompt your spouse to give you a kick. it may signal sleep apnea. a problem depriving you of enough sleep to make you dangerous. sleep apnea could trigger a car crash or a heart attack. but scientists are testing a new implanted pacemaker device that might keep airways open by zapping the tongue during sleep. sleep apnea is a result of the tongue relaxing too much while you snooze and scientists think a mild electrical jolt will keep it toned and where it belongs. there will be a new channel on tv starting sunday. antenna tv will feature classic tv shows on wgn 9.2 or comcast digital channel 353. "three stooges" is one of the classics you will be able to watch. in order to make ten gallons of beer, pour one can of hoax -- >> hops. >> and a can of malt into a large crook. >> crock. >> crock. >> then fill crock with hot water. >> hot water. hottie. >> quit clowning. >> get the hot watter all right, sir. >> go on. >> launches new year's eve. that's followed by the bennie hill marathon. other programming includes all in the family, sanford and sons, threes company and maude. i can't wait. >> you have to be ready for it. >> lunch break is next. we are making a spanish inspired hors d'oeuvre to ring in the new year with. and more live music from kim devine. we welcome you back with lunch break. chef david from tasha, the -- is here and what are we cooking up today? >> cooking some stuffed figs wrapped with peru-shotta and roasted almond. >> what's in the filling? >> in the filling we have the cheese, roasted almonts. all we do is just -- we blend it up in the food processor for a few minutes until the almonds are crushed together. >> for people who aren't familiar with karbala cheese. >> it's a -- it's some type of blue cheese. >> very strong. >> yes. very strong. >> what else did you put in there? >> roasted almonts -- almonds. we blend them up. quick blend. >> and a paste. >> comes out to kind of a paste. we grab the figures. >> so you take one figure and that's a dried fig? >> that's a dried fig. >> we are just pushing the inside inwards. grab a little bit of the filling. >> where can you buy a dried fig? >> buy it at any dominick's, jewel's. >> is that a seasonal item? >> yeah. >> so you have your fig. stuffed with that filling and then what? >> and then we get some peru- shotta, wrap it-- >> very low cal. i can tell. toothpick is to -- >> keep it together. >> all right. >> once we got that set, we have a little bit here warmed up and the saute' plan, just a little olive oil just to -- we are cooking them to get to a crispy consistency. >> after how long do you think? >> only takes about two or three seconds. not much. oil is heated up nice and warm. >> how much would you plan for if 24 is your hors d'oeuvre for a party. would you plan two or three? >> i would recommend three per person. around three per person. >> how many calories do you think each one of those things is? >> tell you the truth? i don't know. >> you don't add. when it comes to the new year. what would you serve it with? what other items would you put out with it? >> this is a spicy potatoes roasted in a tomato sauce. served with our excellent sang ria. >> what else have you got here? >> pie yaia. espeniala. pork, chicken and spanish sausage. these guys are almost done. >> and they smell fantastic. i wish you had smell-o-vision. anything with bacon and panchetta is good. whatever recipe you are cooking up, throw bacon on it makes it better. what did you put on? balsamic? >> balsamic vinegar with a red wine. just we are reducing it a little bit. reduce a little bit. >> smells fantastic. >> located at 802 west randolph. if you don't feel like hosting this new year's eve, throwing a new year's eve party. the doors open at 9:00 p.m. purchase tickets just check out the website. and for more information on the recipes check out wgntv.com/midday. thank you so much. it smells fantastic. happy new year. i'm looking to save in insurance. don't want to deal with a lot of flibbity-flab or mumbo-jumbo. sounds like you need to name your price. no gobbledy-gook? never. do i still get all the dagnabbit coverage i need? sure. we give you a quote and you can adjust your price up and down to find something that works for you. ♪ this thing is okey-mcsmokey skiddly-doo. great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. now the answer to today's trivia question. first medical x-ray was taken on this day in what year? the answer is 1895. >> thank you for giving me the answer, steve. >> you gave me the answer. you guessed right. >> we lucky once in awhile. let's check our teaches across the country. right now 25 degrees at chicago. we are en route to high temperature probably around 30 degrees or so. few morning flurries but it's going tube cloud/sun mix the rest of the day around chicago. look at what the satellite depiction is showing you. seven-day forecast, the rain moves in here early wednesday evening and mix with a little snow in the beginning and start as snow but then the changeover will occur and passing rain showers thursday and friday as temperatures surge and look for patchy, patchy nothing. areas of dense fog i think will be more than patchy fog for the two days. but we cool down as we go into the weekend with maybe highs only in the 20s by sunday. >> from 50s to the 20s. thank you for joining us today. have a great afternoon. we are back at 5:00 and 9:00. we leave you with more live music from kim devine. she will be singing "national anthem" tonight at the bulls game. enjoy. ♪[ music ]