CHICAGO, Dec. 5  -- U. S. retailers put an extra 217,200 people to work in November, the smallest number of employees added in the month since 1988, a private research firm said.

CHICAGO, Dec. 4 - Oprah Winfrey has told "Access Hollywood" that, contrary to reports, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" may not end in 2011.

Winfrey told the entertainment news program she doesn't plan to pull the plug on her syndicated talk show when the Oprah Winfrey Network kicks off on cable in 2011 on the Discovery channel.

"I'm not done!" Winfrey said. "I'm a very multi-dimensional woman. I can do a show. I can have OWN. I can have a magazine. I can do radio."

CHICAGO, Dec. 4  -- The Chicago Tribune continued staff reductions this week in the wake of declining revenues, an in-house memo said.

"We must respond quickly to declining revenues and prepare for the future," Editor Gerry Kern wrote in the memo, Crain's Chicago Business reported.

"That means we must evaluate the size of the staff, its skills and organization in order to match the business and our goals," the memo said.

More than a dozen newsroom employees were told their jobs would be eliminated by the end of the week, Crain's reported.

Further cuts are expected within a month, the report said.

CHICAGO, Dec. 4  -- Jonathan Toews put Chicago in front with the second of three unanswered third-period goals Wednesday, giving the Blackhawks a 4-2 win over Anaheim.

Towes scored with 1:35 to play to make it 3-2, taking advantage of a wildly bouncing puck that slammed into the end boards and hopped back in front of the Anaheim net.

Chicago began the third period facing a one-goal deficit, but Martin Havlat tied it with 5:45 to go in the stanza. Dave Bolland produced an empty-netter with nine seconds remaining.

The Blackhawks ended a three-game losing streak. Cristobal Huet made 30 saves for his fourth win of the year.

After winning four in a row, the Ducks have dropped two straight. Jonas Hiller made 37 saves in defeat.

CHICAGO, Dec. 3  -- Nearly 700 United Airlines mechanics will lose their jobs in January, much earlier than expected, a source said.

Crain's Chicago Business reported Wednesday the job cuts are part of the airline's plan to lay off 7,000 workers, or about 13 percent of its work force. The company is grounding 100 older Boeing 737s and reducing its capacity to help cut maintenance and fuel costs.

The cuts, announced in July, had been expected to take place by the end of 2009, the newspaper reported.

CHICAGO, Dec. 3  -- U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the undercover probe into police corruption in the Chicago area is "ongoing" and could result in others being charged.

So far the FBI sting has resulted in charges against 15 law enforcement officers for providing what they thought was protection for a dozen large-scale shipments of cocaine and heroin, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

Thirteen of the officers have been freed without bail. Two others are serving with the Illinois National Guard in Afghanistan, Fitzgerald said.