Author: chicagoinquirer

by Cora Lewis and Adriana Morga NEW YORK  — The Federal Reserve has raised its key interest rate yet again in its drive to cool inflation, a move that will directly affect most Americans. On Wednesday, the central bank boosted its benchmark rate by a quarter-point to 5.1%. Rates on credit cards, mortgages and auto loans, which have been surging since the Fed began raising rates last year, all stand to rise even more. The result will be more burdensome loan costs for both consumers and businesses. On the other hand, many banks are now offering higher rates on savings…

by Christopher Rugaber WASHINGTON  — The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive. In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed removed a sentence from its previous statement that had said “some additional” rate hikes might be needed. It replaced it with language that said it will now weigh a range of factors…

by Juan A. Lozano and Nomaan Merchant CLEVELAND, Texas  — A four-day manhunt in Texas for a gunman accused of killing five neighbors ended Tuesday not far from the site of the shooting when authorities, acting on a tip, said they found the suspect hiding underneath a pile of laundry in the closet of a house. Francisco Oropeza, 38, was captured without incident near Houston and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from his home in the rural town of Cleveland, where authorities say he went next door and shot his neighbors with an AR-style rifle shortly before midnight Friday after…

by Dan Gelston Joel Embiid began the long process toward NBA MVP as a towering soccer prospect in Africa who never picked up a basketball until he was a teenager. Once he changed sports for good, Embiid became a generational — albeit often-injured — talent. And, the affable center quickly became the face of the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuilding effort more commonly known as The Process. He embraced the nickname and is introduced before every home game as Joel “The Process” Embiid. Embiid can now add MVP. The All-Star center and two-time league scoring champion, Embiid, who had long lobbied for…

by Agency reports OTTAWA, Ontario — There appears to be celebrity interest in buying the Ottawa Senators, the National Hockey League team for sale in Canada’s capital city. Rap impresario Snoop Dogg said in an Instagram post Monday that he was “looking forward” to being part of a bid by Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks, who would be the first Black owner of an NHL team. “I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY,” Snoop Dogg wrote. Last week, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds was reportedly linked to a bid that would top $1 billion for the team. Neither Sparks nor Reynolds…

by Fatima Hussein WASHINGTON  — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged congressional leaders “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible” to address the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority. She added that it is impossible to predict with certainty the…

by Emeka Obasi We all chart our different courses. Benson Ikenna Ejindu is more known as Life Patron of Enugu Rangers Veterans while Innocent Ejima Egbunike turned out as one of the best quarter milers in the world. However, Ejindu defeated Egbunike in the 100 metres dash at the Enugu Sports Festival decided at Polo Field in 1979. It was such a feat that the former used the race as CV when he got a job at the Presidential Hotel, Enugu before relocating to America where he is making things happen. Donnie Ikpa told the story. ” Ejindu’s claim to…

by Gene Chamberlain LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — The Chicago Bears entered the NFL draft looking to help quarterback Justin Fields while bolstering one of the league’s worst defenses. GM Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus felt they accomplished both to varying degrees with their 10 total picks. And they started Saturday’s final rounds by giving their third-year quarterback more explosive assets. The initial help for Fields came on Thursday night with first-round tackle Darnell Wright, but continued on the final day Saturday when the Bears picked Texas running back Roschon Johnson and Cincinnati wide receiver Tyler Scott in the fourth…

by Lisa Mascaro WASHINGTON  — “We thought we could die.” The Russian invasion had just begun when Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Ukraine, the House speaker then the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to lead a congressional delegation to Kyiv. Pelosi and the lawmakers were ushered under the cloak of secrecy into the capital city, an undisclosed passage that even to this day she will not divulge. “It was very, it was dangerous,” Pelosi told The Associated Press before Sunday’s one-year anniversary of that trip. “We never feared about it, but we thought we could die because we’re visiting…

by Danica Kirka LONDON  — King Charles III lives in a palace, travels in a chauffeur-driven Bentley and is one of Britain’s richest men, but he’s similar to many of his subjects in one very basic way: His family life is complicated — very complicated. There’s a second wife, an embarrassing brother, and an angry son and daughter-in-law, all with allies who aren’t shy about whispering family secrets in the ears of friendly reporters. The new king will hope to keep a lid on those tensions when his royally blended family joins as many as 2,800 guests for Charles’ coronation on May 6 at Westminster…