US to Return $10M Stolen Art Stash to Italy

Welcome to the capital of Illinois ... doh

(NEWSER) - Chicago hosts a NATO summit later this month, and NATO officials have a handsome new video out trumpeting the choice of the city. The problem, points out the Chicago Tribune , is that said video needed a fact-checker:

• It referred to Chicago as the capital of Illinois. Sorry, Springfield.
• It said President Obama "grew up" in the city. Sorry Honolulu and Jakarta.
• It said the Tribune was founded by Col. Robert McCormick. Sorry James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, and Joseph KC Forest.

Teen beat white because of anger over case: cops

(NEWSER) - A black teenager in suburban Chicago told police that he beat up a white youth during a robbery because he was angry about the Trayvon Martin case, according to the state attorney's office. Alton Hayes, 18, has been charged with a hate crime, as well as aggravated battery and attempted robbery, the Chicago Tribune reports. More»

It calls burnings 'political, necessary, and compelling'

(NEWSER) - An Italian art museum is so mad about the budget cuts coming its way that it has begun burning art works in protest. The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum's eccentric director, Antonio Manfredi, set fire to a painting by French Artist Severine Bourguignon yesterday, the BBC reports, and let it burn until it was completely destroyed. He's promising to do the same thing to three paintings a week until funding improves, in a protest he's dubbed "Art War." More»

Last meal before jail: fast food

(NEWSER) - As Rod Blagojevich's car headed to prison from the Denver airport yesterday, it didn't stop at the entrance of the correctional facility. Then it passed by again. Turns out the former Illinois governor and his lawyer got lost, then opted to grab Blago's last lunch before serving his time, according to the lawyer. The meal was provided by fast-food burger joint Freddy's, MSNBC reports. "You're the guy from the Apprentice," said a woman as he posed for photos. More»

'Fertility Tree' not so fertile any more

(NEWSER) - What a bunch of weenies. A group of Italian restorers has been accused of scrubbing away several phallic symbols in a refurbished fresco. Some 25 penises and testicles appear to have gone missing from the medieval Tree of Fertility art work, reports the Telegraph . "Many parts of the work seem to have been arbitrarily repainted," said a local politician who has called for an investigation. "The authenticity of the fresco seems to have been compromised by a restoration effort that did not respect the original character of the work." More»