Author: chicagoinquirer

by Kevin McGILL, Mark Sherman and Sara Cline WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court on Monday lifted its hold on a Louisiana political remap case, increasing the likelihood that the Republican-dominated state will have to redraw boundary lines to create a second mostly Black congressional district. For more than a year, there has been a legal battle over the GOP-drawn political boundaries, with a federal judge, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and opponents saying that the map is unfair and discriminates against Black voters. The map, which was used in Louisiana’s November congressional election, has white majorities in five of six…

by Agency Reports For the first time in his more than 20-year rule, President Vladimir Putin’s power appeared to hang in the balance this weekend. And even though the rebellious Russian mercenary forces who descended on Moscow have turned back, Putin will struggle to project the image of a man in total control that he once did. That could set the stage for further challenges to his rule at home and could weaken Russia’s hand in the war in Ukraine. With spectacular ease and a stated aim of ousting Russia’s defense minister, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner troops swept into Rostov-on-Don, a city of 1.1 million…

by Tim Reynolds Chris Paul’s pursuit of an NBA championship is taking him to the Golden State Warriors, after they agreed to the framework of a trade Thursday that will send Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The trade also includes a package of draft capital, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been finalized and approved by the NBA. ESPN first reported the agreement was struck by the teams. “I’m excited,” Paul, who is on a book tour, told…

by Brian Mahoney NEW YORK  — Victor Wembanyama was the presumed No. 1 pick for months, the rare certainty in an NBA draft process that’s often a guessing game. Yet as the clock above the stage he was facing ticked all the way down to zero, butterflies set in. “Longest five minutes of my life,” Wembanyama said. The San Antonio Spurs are confident he will be worth the wait. The Spurs took the 19-year-old from France who arrives with enormous expectations to become basketball’s newest sensation on Thursday night, triggering chants of “Wemby! Wemby” from a group of Spurs fans…

by Geoff Mulvihill, Kimberlee Kruesi and Claire Savage One year ago Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness. Twenty-five million women of childbearing age now live in states where the law makes abortions harder to get than they were before the ruling. Decisions about the law are largely in the hands of state lawmakers and courts. Most Republican-led states have restricted abortion. Fourteen ban abortion in most cases at any point in pregnancy. Twenty Democratic-leaning states have protected access to abortion. Here’s a look at what’s changed since…

by Jones Aleccia and Laura Ungar For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation’s restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves. The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals — what’s now being referred to as “cell-cultivated” or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates. The move launches a…

WASHINGTON  — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted a 2008 trip to a luxury fishing lodge in Alaska from two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court, and he did not disclose the trips on his financial disclosure for that year, ProPublica reports. A story published late Tuesday by the nonprofit investigative journalism organization states that in July 2008 Alito flew to a remote corner of Alaska aboard the private plane of businessman and Republican donor, Paul Singer. A hedge fund founded by the billionaire has brought roughly a dozen cases before the court since…

by Rebecca Santana WASHINGTON  — Ammar Rashed has a stack of letters from U.S. troops attesting to his work during some of the most dangerous days of the Iraq War. But six years after he applied to immigrate to the United States under a program for interpreterswho helped America, he is still waiting. “You don’t have to keep me and my family suffering for, for years waiting,” said Rashed during a Skype interview from Jordan, where he lives. “It’s really frustrating.” Rashed is among thousands of Iraqis, many of whom risked their lives by working closely with Americans during the war…

by Mathew Lee BEIJING  — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials Monday, as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring. Blinken met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi for about three hours, according to a U.S. official, but it is still not confirmed if Blinken will meet President Xi Jinping before he departs in the late evening. Neither Blinken nor Wang made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat…

by Doug Ferguson LOS ANGELES  — Wyndham Clark always carried the message from his late mother to “play big.” Nothing was bigger than Sunday when he held off Rory McIlroy with one clutch shot after another to become a U.S. Open champion. The final act was two putts from 60 feet away on the 18th hole at Los Angeles Country Club, and the 29-year-old Clark pumped his fist when it settled a foot away. He tapped that in for an even-par 70 and a one-shot victory over McIlroy and so many other stars. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in…