Nation in brief: O’Hare cancels 200 flights

Dense fog and a low cloud ceiling forced airlines to cancel more than 200 flights at O’Hare International Airport on Friday at the start of the busy holiday travel season.

Flights in and out of the nation’s second-busiest airport were delayed by up to two hours, airport spokesman Gregg Cunningham said.

Midway International Airport reported delays of up to 45 minutes, but did not report any cancellations.

The National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory for northern Illinois Friday morning, and meteorologists said the low visibility would likely continue through Saturday morning.

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo.

Gift argument ends in stabbing

A woman stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife following an argument that began when she accused him of opening a Christmas present early, authorities said Friday.

Misty Johnson, 34, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony, and misdemeanor domestic battery. Her husband, Shawn Fay Johnson, 34, was treated at a hospital for a wound to the chest, police said.

Authorities said Shawn Johnson called 911 just before 1 a.m. Wednesday to report that his wife had stabbed him. He told police that his wife started arguing with him over his opening a Christmas present, according to court records.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

More temblors shake Aleutians

Two significant earthquakes that shook Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands were followed Friday by two smaller quakes, but there were no reports of any damage or injuries.

The temblors were probably aftershocks of a magnitude-7.2 quake that hit the seismically active but sparsely populated island chain Tuesday along a dynamic fault line, said geophysicist Guy Urban of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer.

NEW YORK

Rove receives big book deal

GOP strategist Karl Rove has agreed to write about his years as an adviser to President Bush in a deal worth over $1.5 million with former colleague Mary Matalin’s conservative imprint at Simon & Schuster, officials said Friday.

Rove, the architect of Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns and one of the most influential political advisers of his time, signed the deal with Threshold Editions, the imprint’s publisher and executive vice president Louise Burke said.

Rove’s agent, attorney Robert Barnett, said Threshold was chosen over eight other bidding publishers. Threshold didn’t say how much Rove would be paid, but the bidding reached at least $1.5 million.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

Football throws result in death

A 15-year-old boy threw a football against a pregnant teen’s stomach twice, causing the baby to be born prematurely and die hours later, authorities said.

State prosecutors are reviewing the case to determine whether to file charges. Neither the boy nor the baby’s mother, also 15, was identified.

Maria Schneider, assistant state attorney in charge of the Juvenile Division, said she likely will make a decision on charges in January.

“This is not straightforward. This is not cut and dry,” Schneider said. “This is a sensitive matter. We didn’t want to rush to judgment.”