Author: chicagoinquirer

by Joe McDonald SHANGHAI  — Global and Chinese automakers plan to unveil more than a dozen new electric SUVs, sedans and muscle cars this week at the Shanghai auto show, their first full-scale sales event in four years in a market that has become a workshop for developing electrics, self-driving cars and other technology. Automakers are competing to roll out faster, more luxurious, more feature-drenched electric vehicles in the technology’s biggest, most crowded market. The ruling Communist Party has invested billions of dollars in subsidies to buy an early lead in an emerging industry. Established global brands face intense competition…

by Josh Dubow SACRAMENTO, Calif.  — De’Aaron Fox finished off a dazzling playoff debut that was years in the making and had one more task to do. With the home crowd counting down following an exhilarating return to the postseason, Fox pressed the button and lit the ceremonial beam, letting out 17 seasons of frustration for Sacramento. “Sacramento showed out tonight,” Fox said. “But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team through thick and thin — really thin. It’s just a testament to the way they are.” Fox was the biggest reason why,…

by Agency reports KHARTOUM, Sudan  — Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary force battled fiercely Saturday in the capital and other areas, reportedly causing more than 200 deaths and injuries while dealing a new blow to hopes for a transition to democracy and raising fears of a wider conflict. The country’s doctors’ syndicate said late Saturday that at least 27 people had been killed and more than 180 wounded. But the Sudan Doctor’s Syndicate added that there many uncounted casualties, including military and RSF personnel in the western Darfur region and the northern town of Merowe. The clashes capped months…

by Gary Fields WASHINGTON  — Extreme views adopted by some local, state and federal political leaders who try to limit what history can be taught in schools and seek to undermine how Black officials perform their jobs are among the top threats to democracy for Black Americans, the National Urban League says. Marc Morial, the former New Orleans mayor who leads the civil rights and urban advocacy organization, cited the most recent example: the vote this month by the Republican-controlled Tennessee House to oust two Black representatives for violating a legislative rule. The pair had participated in a gun control protest inside the chamber…

by Emeka Obasi There is every reason to celebrate Highlife maestro, Mike Ejeagha, the man who turns folklore and proverbs to sweet music, maintains his integrity and leaves listeners filled with much respect for culture. At 93, wisdom is still flowing from his fountain. Ejeagha is different. Each of his tracks comes with lyrics that teach about life. He does not just sit down to toss his guitar around without passing a message. Music is the food of love, you will love folklore, folktales and freedom of choice through what comes out as ‘ akuko n’egwu ( story through music).…

by Tim Reynolds MIAMI — Max Strus had another 3-pointer taken away in an elimination game. He and Jimmy Butler made sure it didn’t matter. The playoffs await. Strus and Butler — who was doubled over at times in the final moments, heaving for every breath — scored 31 points apiece, and the Miami Heat closed the game on a 15-1 run to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night. “Our team has obviously not been perfect this year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But I do know one thing about the men in that locker…

by Alanna Durbin Richer, Eric Tucker and Nomad Merchant BOSTON — A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused in the leak of highly classified military documentsappeared in court Friday as prosecutors unsealed charges and revealed how billing records and interviews with social media comrades helped pinpoint the suspect. Among the revelations: That the platform Discord provided information that helped lead the FBI to guardsman Jack Teixeira, and that Teixeira used his government computer to search for the word “leak” on the day last week when news media reports revealed that classified documents had been improperly disclosed. President Joe Biden said the…

by Sam Mednick SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal — When the gas rig arrived off the coast of Saint-Louis, residents of this seaside Senegalese town found reason to hope. Fishing has long been the community’s lifeblood, but the industry was struggling with climate change and COVID-19. Officials promised the drilling would soon bring thousands of jobs and diversification of the economy. Instead, residents say, the rig has brought only a wave of problems, unemployment and more poverty. And it’s forced some women to turn to prostitution to support their families, they told The Associated Press in interviews. To make way for the drilling…

by Ashraf Khalil WASHINGTON  — Conservative mega-donor Harlan Crow purchased three properties belonging to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his family, in a transaction worth more than $100,000 that Thomas never reported, according to the non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica. The 2014 real estate deal shines a new light on Thomas’s decades old relationship with Crow, a real estate magnate and longtime financier for conservative causes. That relationship and the material benefits received by Thomas have fueled calls for an official ethics investigation. ProPublica previously revealed that Thomas and his wife Ginni were gifted with hundreds of thousands of…

by Nomad Merchant WASHINGTON  — The suspect was relatively easy to find. In a social media world that produces traceable digital fingerprints, it didn’t take long for federal authorities and journalists adept at sifting through data to land on the name of Jack Teixeira. Teixeira, 21, who served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested Thursday in connection with the far-reaching leak of classified documents that have shaken capitals from Washington to Kyiv to Seoul with revelations of U.S. spying on allies and foes alike and the disclosure of sensitive military intelligence about the war in Ukraine. Attorney General…