Kimmel says he expects to run 3rd in late night

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel says he expects to settle in at third place in the ratings behind Jay Leno and David Letterman, even as one week of direct competition suggests a healthy competition.

There were backstage smiles at Kimmel's Los Angeles studio Friday after Nielsen ratings showed the ABC comic had his largest audience ever on Thursday. This is the first week for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in the 11:35 p.m. time slot, directly competing with Leno on NBC and Letterman on CBS.

Kimmel announced that Matt Damon would be a guest on his Jan. 24 show — really. Damon's been the subject of a long-running joke, with Kimmel frequently joking at the end of his show that he ran out of time and couldn't get Damon on the air as planned.

"People like the drama of late night — 'Who will be the king of late night?'" Kimmel said. "Johnny Carson retired with the crown. There will be no king of late night anymore."

Kimmel finished second behind Leno in viewership Tuesday, his first night in the time slot, and third the next two nights. ABC looks most closely at the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, however. Among those youthful viewers, Kimmel finished second to Leno on Tuesday, virtually tied with him Wednesday, and won handily Thursday, Nielsen said. He gained in young viewers each of the three nights.

The numbers are close. Among all viewers Thursday, Leno was seen by 3.4 million people, Letterman by 3.29 million and Kimmel by 3.17 million, Nielsen said.

"It's an encouraging start for them," said Brad Adgate, researcher at Horizon Media. "This is something where they aren't looking at the first week. They're looking at a year from now, three years from now, five years from now when Leno and Letterman may leave their desks."

Kimmel, whose show spent a decade airing a half hour later, said he didn't explicitly push ABC to move him up. But he did let his bosses know he was ready. Asked when he let them know, he joked, "probably the first night."

The later time slot had benefit, though.

"It allowed me time to develop, instead of what usually happens, which is you have to develop the show under the hot spotlight," he said.

Damon was part of a turning point for him. When the actor performed in a lewdly titled short film with Kimmel's then-girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, it got a great buzz and directed attention to the program.

Kimmel said Letterman called to wish him well in his new time slot. Leno hasn't, although that's not a surprise: Kimmel is firmly in the Letterman camp as a fan and has been sharply critical of Leno.

"You can't discount the legacy the 'Tonight' show has had and how ingrained it is in people's habits," Kimmel said. "You can't discount that. We were No. 1 last night (in the young demographic), but don't get used to it."

Some high-profile Kimmel assignments during the past year, including speaking the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, prepared him for the move, said Jill Lederman, the show's executive producer.

"There were so many things that happened for him last year that we felt there was this groundswell of support," Lederman said. "Every time he had one of those opportunities he did a beautiful job, he executed it so seamlessly. That has ushered us into a whole new chapter of this show's life."

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U.S. to review Boeing 787 design, safety

Two new incidents involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner have been reported in Japan -- a crack in the cockpit and an oil leak. Norah O'Donnell reports.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it will launch a high-priority and comprehensive review of Chicago-based Boeing's new 787's critical systems, following a rash of malfunctions this week, such as a battery fire and fuel leaks. However, federal transportation officials also supported Boeing, saying repeatedly that the plane is safe.

"We are confident about the safety of this aircraft," said Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta, adding that a priority in the review will be the plane's electrical systems. He said he would not speculate on how long the review would take.

The review, an unusual move for the FAA that will not ground planes or halt production of new 787s, will examine the plane's design, manufacture and assembly, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"Through it, we will look for the root causes of recent events and do everything we can to make sure these events don't happen again," he said. "I believe this plane is safe and I would have absolutely no reservation of boarding one of these planes and taking a flight."

Boeing shares were down 2.5 percent in midday trading to $75.15.

The announcement comes amid yet more reports Friday of problems with the highly anticipated "Dreamliner" jet, including a cracked cockpit window and another oil leak on a Japanese carrier. They add to a rash of other reported problems this week, most seriously a battery fire on a parked 787 in Boston, an incident under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane model is in use in Chicago for temporary United Airlines flights between Chicago O'Hare and Houston. Chicago-based United has five other 787s in service domestically. "We continue to have complete confidence in the 787 and in the ability of Boeing, with the support of the FAA, to resolve these early operational issues," a United spokeswoman said. "We will support Boeing and the FAA throughout their review."

Next week, LOT Polish Airlines plans to begin operating the region's first regular flight on a 787 between O'Hare and Warsaw, Poland. That inaugural flight is still planned for Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. All told, Boeing has delivered 50 Dreamliners to customers around the world, many to Japanese carriers.

Aviation experts have said the planes are safe and that glitches are common on new models of planes, especially ones as revolutionary as the 787, which uses mostly composite materials instead of metals to create an aircraft that's more lighter, more fuel-efficient and more comfortable for passengers. However, other observers have said the concentration of problems in a short period and the media attention they garner is damaging the reputation of Boeing, which was already under scrutiny for delivering the Dreamliner to customers more than three years late. The plane's list price is about $207 million.

The latest problems came Friday, when Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways said a domestic flight from Tokyo landed safely at Matsuyama airport in western Japan after a crack developed on the cockpit windscreen, and the plane's return to Tokyo was cancelled.

"Cracks appear a few times every year in other planes. We don't see this as a sign of a fundamental problem" with Boeing aircraft, a spokesman for the airline said. The same airline later on Friday said oil was found leaking from an engine of a 787 Dreamliner after the plane landed at Miyazaki airport in southern Japan. An airline spokeswoman said it later returned to Tokyo after some delay. No one was injured in either incident.

Boeing said Friday the 787 logged 50,000 hours of flight, with more than 150 flights occurring daily, and that its performance has been on par with the Boeing 777, which it calls "the industry's best-ever introduction" of a new airplane. "More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA," Boeing said in a statement. "We remain fully confident in the airplane's design and production system."

Ray Conner, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Friday that the recent problems were not caused by Boeing's outsourcing of production or by ramping up production too quickly.

"We are fully committed to resolving any issue that affects the reliability of our airlines," he said.

gkarp@tribune.com

Reuters contributed
 

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Emanuel to unveil new Chicago gun control ordinance

Senator Dick Durbin met with some of Chicagos top law enforcement officials today to focus on preventing gun violence in Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today indicated he will put forward his own city gun control ordinance in the next few days after state lawmakers did not reach agreement on the divisive issue.

Emanuel refused to give details about what specifically his proposal will address. But he said he isn't willing to wait until state lawmakers take up gun control. Last month, a federal appeals court tossed out the state's longstanding ban on carrying concealed guns in public. The court gave the state six months to set up new rules.

During his remarks today, Emanuel hit on several of the firearms regulations he has said he would like to see in place at the state level since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut.

"Waiting is not a strong suit of mine," Emanuel said when asked today about the General Assembly's failure to pass a proposed state ban on assault weapons. "First of all, I believe there's, I know there's a majority in the state, an overwhelming majority in the city for a ban on assault weapons, clips, and comprehensive background checks on all sales, wherever they take place, wherever the location may be. And there's also a majority in the legislature."

There was not, however, enough votes in the Illinois Senate last week to pass bans on assault weapons and high-capacity clips. A new legislature featuring greater numbers of Democrats was sworn in Wednesday.

Emanuel also has spoken in recent weeks about the need for laws requiring people to report if their guns are lost or stolen.

Emanuel said he will introduce his gun legislation to the City Council at its meeting next week. It would then have to receive a committee hearing before coming back to the full council for a vote at a later date. "I will not wait when it comes to protecting our neighborhoods, our communities, our children, the residents in the city of Chicago," he said.

The mayor has been dogged by rising gun violence during his first term. His predecessor, Richard Daley, saw a city handgun ban overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Even when Chicago banned handguns, the city continued to be plagued by shooting violence for decades.

Emanuel acknowledged the possibility of a court fight over his upcoming plan.

"We have run it through the (city) corporation counsel, we believe this stands the muster of the court," he said.

"I can do certain things in the city," Emanuel added. "We're going to take those steps and do that."

The mayor also nodded to the fact stronger gun regulations in Chicago will have limited impact if the state and federal governments don't also take action.

"I hope this will not only be the responsibility I take for what I control. I hope it will be a spur to action for Springfield to take the steps that are necessary for them," he said during remarks at the Budlong Woods library on the Northwest Side.

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Lumia sales lift Nokia results and turnaround hopes

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia said strong sales of Lumia smartphones helped its mobile phone business achieve underlying profitability in the fourth quarter, raising hopes the struggling handset maker may be past the worst.

The Finnish company, which has been losing market share to Samsung and Apple, said the better-than-expected result was also helped by cost cuts, a stronger-than-expected performance from its Nokia Siemens Networks unit and 50 million euros ($65.2 million) in patent royalties.

The surprise announcement lifted the shares to nine-month highs and eased pressure on Chief Executive Stephen Elop, who has been trying to prove his February 2011 decision to switch to Microsoft Windows software was the right one.

Elop was seen to be running out of time after saying that the transition would take two years. Success of the high-end Lumia smartphones has been considered crucial for the company's survival, and investors had said Elop would need to quit or change strategy if sales did not pick up by early 2013.

"We're very pleased with the Lumia response," Elop told analysts, although he added that sales of the latest 920 models, which use the new Windows Phone 8 software, had been constrained by a shortage of supplies.

Nokia estimated fourth-quarter operating margin in its mobile phone business was between break-even to 2 percent. It previously forecast the margin to be around minus 6 percent.

Official results, including more details on its profit and cash position, are due on January 24.

Fourth-quarter net sales in devices and services were about 3.9 billion euros ($5.09 billion), Nokia said. It sold a total of 86.3 million devices. Smartphones accounted for 6.6 million units, of which 4.4 million were the Windows-based Lumia handsets.

Nokia shares rose 10.8 percent to 3.32 euros as some investors cheered the rare positive announcement from Nokia and traders scrambled to cover their short positions.

Nokia had 17 percent of shares out on loan, according to Markit data, making it one of the most "shorted" stocks in Europe.

STILL NEED EVIDENCE

The company said that conditions remained tough despite the stronger-than-expected fourth quarter, and forecast its margin to be around minus 2 percent in the first quarter of this year.

"We continue to operate in a competitive environment with limited visibility," Elop said.

Some analysts were skeptical about the success of the Lumia strategy. Nokia would not say how many of the Lumias it sold were the newest models rather than the heavily discounted ones launched earlier.

Many also noted Lumias sold in the fourth quarter still make up a small portion of global smartphone sales in the same period, estimated at over 200 million.

"4.4 million Lumias sold is not yet a promise of a turnaround," said Inderes analyst Mikael Rautanen, who had just downgraded the shares to "sell" on Tuesday.

Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu said he was still negative about the shares, rating them "underperform".

"Last year, in order to sustain Lumia volumes, Nokia had to cut prices very rapidly, driving gross margins close to zero. We believe this will repeat this year," he said.

Redeye analyst Greger Johansson said it was too early to call it a turnaround.

"They will have to prove a lot more until you can say that," he said. "I'm not still convinced that they are going to manage to succeed with those new smartphones. They have to sell a lot more in volumes until you can say that."

($1 = 0.7667 euros)

(Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Goodman and Sophie Walker)

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Researchers: NFL's Seau had brain disease

When he ended his life last year by shooting himself in the chest, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease often linked with repeated blows to the head.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health said Thursday the former NFL star's abnormalities are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The hard-hitting linebacker played for 20 NFL seasons with San Diego, Miami and New England before retiring in 2009. He died at age 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot in May, and his family requested the analysis of his brain.

"We saw changes in his behavior and things that didn't add up with him," his ex-wife, Gina, told The Associated Press. "But (CTE) was not something we considered or even were aware of. But pretty immediately (after the suicide) doctors were trying to get their hands on Junior's brain to examine it."

The NIH, based in Bethesda, Md., studied three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's, and said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."

"It was important to us to get to the bottom of this, the truth," Gina Seau added, "and now that it has been conclusively determined from every expert that he had obviously had CTE, we just hope it is taken more seriously. You can't deny it exists, and it is hard to deny there is a link between head trauma and CTE. There's such strong evidence correlating head trauma and collisions and CTE."

In the final years of his life, Seau had wild behavioral swings, according to Gina and to 23-year-old son, Tyler, along with signs of irrationality, forgetfulness, insomnia and depression.

"He emotionally detached himself and would kind of 'go away' for a little bit," Tyler Seau said. "And then the depression and things like that. It started to progressively get worse."

He hid it well in public, they said, but not when he was with family or close friends.

Seau joins a list of several dozen football players who were found to have CTE. Boston University's center for study of the disease reported last month that 34 former pro players and nine who played only college football suffered from CTE.

The NFL faces lawsuits by thousands of former players who say the league withheld information on the harmful effects of concussions. According to an AP review of 175 lawsuits, 3,818 players have sued. At least 26 Hall of Famer members are among the players who have done so.

The National Football League, in an email to the AP, said: "We appreciate the Seau family's cooperation with the National Institutes of Health. The finding underscores the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of CTE.

"The NFL, both directly and in partnership with the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and other leading organizations, is committed to supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety of athletes at all levels."

NFL teams have given a $30 million research grant to the NIH.

The players' union called the NIH report on Seau "tragic."

"The only way we can improve the safety of players, restore the confidence of our fans and secure the future of our game is to insist on the same quality of medical care, informed consent and ethical standards that we expect for ourselves and for our family members," the NFLPA said in a statement.

"This is why the players have asked for things like independent sideline concussion experts, the certification and credentialing of all professional football medical staff and a fairer workers compensation system in professional football," it said.

Seau is not the first former NFL player who killed himself and later was found to have had CTE. Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling are the others.

Before shooting himself, Duerson, a former Chicago Bears defensive back, left a note asking that his brain be studied for signs of trauma. His family filed a wrongful-death suit against the NFL, claiming the league didn't do enough to prevent or treat the concussions that severely damaged his brain.

Easterling played safety for the Falcons in the 1970s. After his career, he suffered from dementia, depression and insomnia, according to his wife, Mary Ann. He committed suicide last April.

Mary Ann Easterling is among the plaintiffs who have sued the NFL.

Tyler Seau played football through high school and for two years in college. He says he has no symptoms of brain trauma.

"I was not surprised after learning a little about CTE that he had it," Tyler said. "He did play so many years at that level. I was more just kind of angry I didn't do something more and have the awareness to help him more, and now it is too late."

Gina Seau's son Jake, now a high school junior, played football for two seasons but has switched to lacrosse and has been recruited to play at Duke.

"Lacrosse is really his sport and what he is passionate about," she said. "He is a good football player and probably could continue. But especially now watching what his dad went through, he says, 'Why would I risk lacrosse for football?'

"I didn't have to have a discussion with him after we saw what Junior went through."

Her 12-year-old son Hunter has shown no interest in playing football.

"That's fine with me," she said.

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Kimmel’s pot jokes earn invite from Calif. college

ARCATA, Calif. (AP) — Humboldt State University in California has invited Jimmy Kimmel to deliver the school’s commencement address after he joked about its marijuana research program.

The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” devoted three minutes of his late-night show in November to poking fun at the new program.

Kimmel’s faux recruiting commercial said students could look forward to low-pressure careers such as dog walking, organizing drum circles and occupying Wall Street.

University spokesman Jarad Petroske said Thursday the school has not heard from Kimmel. The comedian’s publicist Alyssa Wilkins did not reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking a response.

Humboldt State President Rollin Richmond and student body president Ellyn Henderson revealed they sent Kimmel a letter last month saying they found parts of the skit funny but thought it unfairly portrayed the campus community as a bunch of pot-obsessed slackers.

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Flu season strikes early and, in some places, hard

NEW YORK (AP) — From the Rocky Mountains to New England, hospitals are swamped with people with flu symptoms. Some medical centers are turning away visitors or making them wear face masks, and one Pennsylvania hospital set up a tent outside its ER to deal with the feverish patients.

Flu season in the U.S. has struck early and, in many places, hard.

While flu normally doesn't blanket the country until late January or February, it is already widespread in more than 40 states, with about 30 of them reporting some major hot spots. On Thursday, health officials blamed the flu for the deaths of 20 children so far.

Whether this will be considered a bad season by the time it has run its course in the spring remains to be seen.

"Those of us with gray hair have seen worse," said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

The evidence so far points to a moderate season, Schaffner and others say. It looks bad in part because last year was unusually mild and because the main strain of influenza circulating this year tends to make people sicker and really lay them low.

David Smythe of New York City saw it happen to his 50-year-old girlfriend, who has been knocked out for about two weeks. "She's been in bed. She can't even get up," he said.

Also, the flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in a variety of other viruses, including a childhood malady that mimics flu and a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." So what people are calling the flu may, in fact, be something else.

"There may be more of an overlap than we normally see," said Dr. Joseph Bresee, who tracks the flu for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most people don't undergo lab tests to confirm flu, and the symptoms are so similar that it can be hard to distinguish flu from other viruses, or even a cold. Over the holidays, 250 people were sickened at a Mormon missionary training center in Utah, but the culprit turned out to be a norovirus, not the flu.

Flu is a major contributor, though, to what's going on.

"I'd say 75 percent," said Dr. Dan Surdam, head of the emergency department at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Wyoming's largest hospital. The 17-bed emergency room saw its busiest day ever last week, with 166 visitors.

The early onslaught has resulted in a spike in hospitalizations. To deal with the influx and protect other patients from getting sick, hospitals are restricting visits from children, requiring family members to wear masks and banning anyone with flu symptoms from maternity wards.

One hospital in Allentown, Pa., set up a tent this week for a steady stream of patients with flu symptoms. But so far "what we're seeing is a typical flu season," said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

On Wednesday, Boston declared a public health emergency, with the city's hospitals counting about 1,500 emergency room visits since December by people with flu-like symptoms.

All the flu activity has led some to question whether this year's flu shot is working. While health officials are still analyzing the vaccine, early indications are that it's about 60 percent effective, which is in line with what's been seen in other years.

The vaccine is reformulated each year, based on experts' best guess of which strains of the virus will predominate. This year's vaccine is well-matched to what's going around. The government estimates that between a third and half of Americans have gotten the vaccine.

In New York City, 57-year-old Judith Quinones skipped getting a flu shot this season and suffered her worst case of flu-like illness in years. She was laid up for nearly a month with fever and body aches. "I just couldn't function," she said.

But her daughter got the vaccine. "And she got sick twice," Quinones said.

Europe is also suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. Flu reports are up, too, in China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo. Britain has seen a surge in cases of norovirus.

On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC. That's an estimate — the agency does not keep a running tally of adult flu deaths each year, only for children. Some state health departments do keep count, and they've reported dozens of flu deaths so far.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness and can help themselves and protect others by staying home and resting. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Of the 20 children killed by the flu this season, only two were fully vaccinated.

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AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.

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Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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Kimmel's pot jokes earn invite from Calif. college

ARCATA, Calif. (AP) — Humboldt State University in California has invited Jimmy Kimmel to deliver the school's commencement address after he joked about its marijuana research program.

The host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" devoted a segment of his late-night show to poking fun at the new academic program, which the university says is probably the first dedicated to examining marijuana through the lens of disciplines such as geography, politics and economics.

"They will probably just end up playing Ultimate Frisbee or something," Kimmel dead-panned during the bit that aired in late November, after the university first publicized the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research.

The sketch also included a faux recruiting commercial saying students who attended could look forward to low-pressure careers such as dog walking, organizing drum circles and occupying Wall Street. Kimmel joked that the program would probably make getting into Humboldt more competitive than Yale.

University spokesman Jarad Petroske said Thursday the school has not heard back from Kimmel, who also was invited to make a public appearance at its Arcata campus in the fall if his schedule prevents him from speaking at graduation ceremonies in May.

The comedian's publicist Alyssa Wilkins did not reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking a response.

Humboldt State President Rollin Richmond and student body president Ellyn Henderson revealed this week they sent Kimmel a school baseball cap and good-natured letter last month saying they found parts of the skit funny but thought it unfairly portrayed the campus community as "a bunch of pot-obsessed slackers." A visit to campus, they wrote, would give him "a chance to grow a little and make up for it."

"We figure you owe us," the letter read. "Humboldt State provided you with just over three minutes of pretty good material, which must be worth quite a bit for a nationally televised program."

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Jewel-Osco stores to be sold to Cerberus group

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said today. (WGN - Chicago)

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said Thursday.

The deal, valued at $3.3 billion, also includes the Albertsons, Acme, and Shaw stores.

The announcement ends months of speculation that all or parts of the troubled grocery chain would be sold to New York-based Cerberus, an investment firm. Supervalu acquired Jewel in 2006 as part of a larger, complex acquisition of the Albertsons company.

Supervalu also reported earnings of $16 million, or 8 cents per share, in the third quarter ended on Dec. 1, compared with a year-earlier loss of $750 million, or $3.54 per share.

Excluding an after-tax gain related to a cash settlement from credit card companies and after-tax charges primarily related to store closures, it earned $5 million, or 3 cents per share.

As part of the deal, which includes $100 million in cash and $3.2 billion in debt, the five grocery chains will be acquired by AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus. Other investors in the deal include Kimco Realty Corp, Klaff Realty, Lubert-Adler Partners and Schottenstein Real Estate Group.

Following the sale, which is expected to close in the spring, a newly formed entity called Symphony Investors, led by Cerberus, will purchase up to 30 percent of Supervalu's outstanding shares for $4 each, representing a 50 percent premium over the stock's 30-day average. If Symphony cannot acquire at least 19.9 percent of the outstanding shares at that price, Supervalu must issue additional stock.

Wall Street has long expected Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu to sell some or all of its assets.

Following the deal, Supervalu will consist of its wholesale grocery business, the Save-A-Lot discount chain, and traditional grocery chains like Cub, Shop N' Save and Hornbacher's.

In a call with investors, outgoing CEO Wayne Sales said the deal brings Supervalu "a very strong balance sheet," and the ability to focus on investments in price reductions, fresh produce, and customer experience at its remaining chains. 

The new company is smaller, "with more bandwidth and leadership" to focus on its wholesale business, Save-A-Lot, and its traditional grocery stores, he said.

Sam Duncan, 61, will replace Wayne Sales as CEO. Duncan was CEO of Office Max from 2005 to 2011, and prior to that, was CEO of ShopKo, a Midwestern grocery chain. Five unidentified board members will resign as part of the deal, making room for Duncan, Albertsons CEO Robert Miller, and three new appointees. The size of the board will shrink from 10 to seven.

Concurrent with the announcement, Supervalu announced that it has secured access to a $900 million asset-based credit facility, and a $1.5 billion loan.

This deal ends a long and difficult year for one of the country's largest grocers.

Last April, Supervalu reported a loss of $1.04 billion for fiscal 2012, which included a $519 million operating loss and $509 million in interest expense. Sales also declined 3 percent, to $27.9 billion. In July, the company said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale. Soon after, the company dismissed CEO Craig Herkert, with Chairman Wayne Sales stepping in to helm the troubled grocer.

Cerberus, an investor in the deal to acquire Albertsons in 2006 was long seen as the leading candidate. Last week, rumors that Supervalu was near a deal with Cerberus sent stock soaring nearly 15 percent.

In September, Supervalu said it would 60 underperforming stores, primarily from the Save-A-Lot and Albertsons chains. No Jewel locations were identified at the time. The announcement was particularly troubling to investment community because Save-A-Lot, a hard discount chain, has been Supervalu's primary growth vehicle.

Supervalu has long acknowledged that many of its stores are not price competitive. In 2012, it homed in on Jewel-Osco and the Chicago market. Supervalu surveyed customers and lowered prices throughout the store. When the company reported results for its second fiscal quarter in September, (Supervalu CEO Wayne) Sales said that Jewel had been "competitively priced throughout the store" for about six weeks.

Sales said that the initiative had resulted in "dramatic improvement" in how consumers "think about the quality of products we sell, how they feel about the service they get in various departments" and that the company was pleased with increased unit sales.

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Hall of Fame pitches a shutout: No players elected

Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades. (Jan. 9)

Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens finally faced a jury Wednesday that would decide whether they are worthy of the Hall of Fame, and the verdict was a resounding no: For the first time since 1996, no players were selected for induction.

Sosa, the former Chicago Cubs slugger, received only 12.5 percent of the vote, which keeps him on the ballot for at least one more year. Players with fewer than five percent fall off the ballot. Clemens was named on 37.6 percent of ballots and Bonds on 36.2 percent.

A Sosa representative said her client's only comment was that "it was an honor to be nominated" and he would be doing no interviews Wednesday.

The inclusion of the Steroids Era players on this year’s ballot overshadowed those who were thought to have the best chance of being voted into baseball’s hallowed shrine in Cooperstown: former Chicago White Sox outfielder Tim Raines, the Houston Astros’ long-time duo of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell and All-Star pitcher Jack Morris.

Biggio was the top vote-getter with 68.2 percent, followed by Morris at 67.7, Bagwell at 59.6, Mike Piazza at 57.8 and Raines at 52.2. Induction requires 75 percent of the vote.

Also in contention was former Cubs closer Lee Smith, who was on the ballot for the 11th time but received only 47.8 percent of the vote.

Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson acknowledged the awkwardness of the result.

"Obviously, no one in Cooperstown was rooting for a shutout, but we have a great respect for the process," Idelson said.

This Hall of Fame eligible class had received more attention than most because of the inclusion of Bonds, who won seven MVP awards; Clemens, who won seven Cy Young awards; and Sosa, who won a National League MVP award after his famous 1998 home run duel with the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire.

In a statement, Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner called the results of the balloting "unfortunate, if not sad."

"Those empowered to help the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum document the history of the game failed to recognize the contributions of several Hall of Fame worthy players," Weiner's statement read. "To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify. Moreover, to penalize players exonerated in legal proceedings -- and others never even implicated -- is simply unfair.

"The Hall of Fame is supposed to be for the best players to have ever played the game. Several such players  were denied access to the Hall today. Hopefully this will be rectified by future voting.”

McGwire, the only one of those who publicly has acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs, has failed seven times in his Hall of Fame election bid. Former Cub Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for a drug, has failed three times and received only 8.8 percent of the votes Wednesday.

The so-called Steroids Era has caused division within the electorate, comprised of 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association. They historically have been very stingy with their votes, especially considering it takes 75 percent to be included in the summer induction ceremonies.

Here were the vote totals:

Craig Biggio 388 (68.2%), Jack Morris 385 (67.7%), Jeff Bagwell 339 (59.6%), Mike Piazza 329 (57.8%), Tim Raines 297 (52.2%), Lee Smith 272 (47.8%), Curt Schilling 221 (38.8%), Roger Clemens 214 (37.6%), Barry Bonds 206 (36.2%), Edgar Martinez 204 (35.9%), Alan Trammell 191 (33.6%), Larry Walker 123 (21.6%), Fred McGriff 118 (20.7%), Dale Murphy 106 (18.6%), Mark McGwire 96 (16.9%), Don Mattingly 75 (13.2%), Sammy Sosa 71 (12.5%), Rafael Palmeiro 50 (8.8%), Bernie Williams 19 (3.3%), Kenny Lofton 18 (3.2%), Sandy Alomar Jr. 16 (2.8%), Julio Franco 6 (1.1%), David Wells 5 (0.9%), Steve Finley 4 (0.7%), Shawn Green 2 (0.4%), Aaron Sele 1 (0.2%), Jeff Cirillo 0, Royce Clayton 0, Jeff Conine 0, Roberto Hernandez 0, Ryan Klesko 0, Jose Mesa 0, Reggie Sanders 0, Mike Stanton 0, Todd Walker 0, Rondell White 0, Woody Williams 0.

 dvandyck@tribune.com

Twitter @davandyck

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