Author: chicagoinquirer

by Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Zeke Miller and Kevin Freking WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and resolve the looming debt crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, the House speaker said. A deal would avert a catastrophic U.S. default, but risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides with the concessions made to reach it. The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke earlier Saturday evening by phone, said McCarthy, speaking Saturday night. The country…

by Ben Finley NORFOLK, Va.  — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Auto club AAA said in a travel forecast that this holiday weekend could be “one for the record books, especially at airports,” with more than 42 million Americans projected to travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more. Federal officials said Friday that the number of air travelers had already hit a pandemic-era high. But for Manuel Castañeda Jr.,…

by Agency reports SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Illinois lawmakers finally approved a new state budget early Saturday, sending it to Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature with just over a month to spare before it takes effect with the new state fiscal year July 1. The Indiana House approved the $50.5 billion spending plan on a 73-38 vote just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday after it passed the Illinois Senate 34-22 early Friday. The General Assembly delivered the budget to Pritzker more than a week late after lawmakers failed to meet a self-imposed May 19 deadline to adjourn despite Democrats controlling…

by Bobby Caina Calvan NEW YORK  — Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman to deliver a commencement speech at West Point, lauded graduating cadets Saturday for their noble sacrifice in serving their country, but noted they were entering an “unsettled world” because of Russian aggression and the rising threats from China. “The world has drastically changed,” Harris told the roughly 950 graduating cadets. She referred to the global pandemic that took millions of lives, as well as the fraught shifts in global politics in Europe and in Asia. “It is clear you graduate into an increasingly unsettled world where…

by Lisa Mascaro, Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking and Fatima Hussein WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden said a deal to resolve the government’s debt ceiling crisis seemed “very close” late Friday, even as the deadline for a potentially catastrophic default was pushed back four days until a week from Monday. The later “X-date” threatened to open another week of frustrating negotiation between House Republicans and the White House over the risk of a default that could throw the U.S. economy into chaos and sap world confidence in the nation’s lleadership. Yet President Joe Biden was upbeat as he left for…

by Kyle Hightower BOSTON  — The Boston Celtics have looked elimination in the face four times this postseason and still haven’t blinked. Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 on Thursday night in Game 5 to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics won their second straight and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2. The Celtics are halfway to becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to…

by Nicole Winfield ROME  — The archbishop of Chicago urged the Illinois attorney general on Thursday to provide information about newly uncovered cases of clergy sexual abuse that were included in a statewide investigative report, saying he would gladly add the names on his list of credibly accused priests if the claims were substantiated. In his first interview since the report was released Tuesday, Cardinal Blase Cupich expressed surprise that the 125 new cases involved some priests he had never heard of. He voiced dismay that the attorney general’s office hadn’t forwarded the new claims to the archdiocese to look…

by Tim Reynolds MIAMI  — Down nine early in the third quarter, down 3-0 in the series, the Boston Celtics knew their season was completely on the brink. Three minutes later, everything looked different. Jayson Tatum had 33 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 17 points and the Celtics staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by running away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 on Tuesday night. “We were just trying to save our season,” Tatum said. They most definitely found a way to do that. The two big differences:…

by Andrew Seligman LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Justin Fields donned his cap and gown and walked in Ohio State’s graduation ceremony two weeks ago, another big moment for him in a stadium where he produced so many. The former Heisman Trophy finalist earned a degree in consumer and family financial services. “I think at the age of 11 or 12 I made a promise to my dad, we were in the car on the way to baseball practice, baseball game or something like that,” Fields said. “And he made me promise him that. It was a great moment for my…

by Kathleen Foody CHICAGO  — More than 450 Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, the state’s attorney general found in an investigation released Tuesday,revealing that the problem was far worse than the church had let on. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference that investigators found that 451 Catholic clergy abused 1,997 children in Illinois between 1950 and 2019, though he acknowledged that the statute of limitations has expired in many cases and that those abusers “will never see justice in a legal sense.” “It is my hope that this report will shine light…