Author: chicagoinquirer

by Agency reports CHICAGO  — A tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, prompting passengers to take shelter and disrupting hundreds of flights. There were no immediate reports of injuries. A confirmed tornado was on the ground around 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. “This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east. There are additional circulations along the line south of O’Hare. Seek shelter if in the warned area,” it said. By 8 p.m. the weather service said the Chicago forecast area was “currently tornado warning free.”…

By Emeka ObasiUntil Ishaq Oloyede assumed office as Registrar in 2016, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was in bazaar mode. His predecessor, Dibu Ojerinde, is still in court trying to explain how five billion naira failed him and four of his children.While Ojerinde is facing allegations of stuffing his pockets with billions of naira, Oloyede has been stuffing the Federal treasury with returns. Indeed, there is so much money coming to and leaving JAMB. Where it goes depends on the discretion of the Registrar.Ojerinde is a first class professor. The first Nigerian Professor of Tests and Measurements. When…

by Brian Slodysko and Eric Tucker WASHINGTON  — When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind. Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons -– and an inducement to prospective donors. Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado’s law school in 2019, one official in Boulder suggested a “larger donor to staff…

by Chris Megerian, Seung Min Kim and Karl Ritter VILNIUS, Lithuania  — NATO opened its summit Tuesday with fresh momentum after Turkey withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a significant move toward Sweden’s membership and it will alleviate tension in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. The deal was reached after days of intensive meetings, and it’s poised to expand the alliance’s strength in Northern Europe. “Rumors of the death of…

JERUSALEM  — Israeli protesters blocked highways leading to Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv on Tuesday, at the start of a day of countrywide demonstrations against the government’s planned judicial overhaul that has divided the nation. The demonstrations came the morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval for a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with the contentious proposed changes to the judiciary despite widespread opposition. The legislation is one of several bills proposed by Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies. The plan has provoked months of sustained protests by opponents who say it…

by Christina A. Cassidy and Linley Sanders Few Republicans have high confidence that votes will be tallied accurately in next year’s presidential contest, suggesting years of sustained attacks against elections by former President Donald Trump and his allies have taken a toll, according to a new poll. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds that only 22% of Republicans have high confidence that votes in the upcoming presidential election will be counted accurately compared to 71% of Democrats, underscoring a partisan divide fueled by a relentless campaign of lies related to the 2020 presidential election. Even as…

by Ed White PONTIAC, Mich.  — Two sons of the late singer Aretha Franklin gave opposing opinions Monday about the Queen of Soul’s final wishes, testifying in an unusual trial that will determine whether a 2014 handwritten document found in couch cushions will lead her estate. Franklin died in 2018 at age 76 without a formal, typewritten will, and five years later her legacy still is tied up in a suburban Detroit court after a niece found different sets of handwritten papers at her home. The issue for a jury: Does a 2014 document count as a will under Michigan law? If so, it could…

by Agency reports EVANSTON, Ill.  — Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday amid a hazing scandal that called into question his leadership of the program and damaged the university’s reputation after it mishandled its response to the allegations. Fitzgerald’s dismissal completed a rapid fall from grace for the former All-American linebacker, the star of the 1995 Northwestern team that won the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl after years of losing. The 48-year-old Fitzgerald had been firmly entrenched at his alma mater, an annual fixture on any list of college coaches with the most job security. “The…

by Kate Brumback ATLANTA  — A grand jury being seated Tuesday in Atlanta will likely consider whether criminal charges are appropriate for former President Donald Trump or his Republican allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating since shortly after Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021 and suggested the state’s top elections official could help him “find 11,780 votes,” just enough needed to beat Democrat Joe Biden. The 2 1/2-year investigation expanded to include an examination of a slate of Republican fake electors, phone calls…

by Emeka Obasi What a reunion it was for Kola Adebayo and Kayode Ojo, two cousins who did not know each other until soccer brought them face to face. It was not a pleasant story. Their mothers, Taiwo and Kehinde lived, apart. Adebayo was sent to his aunt’s house in Ibadan by her twin sister. He decided to do that after a game between his school, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta and St. Andrew’s College Oyo. That match continues to haunt Adebayo who won the Gothia Cup, Sweden in 1980 with Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria ( YSFON ) and…