Author: chicagoinquirer

by Margaret Stafford and Jim Salter LIBERTY, Mo. — The 84-year old man who shot Ralph Yarlwhen the Black teenager went to his door by mistake pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case that has shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America. Andrew Lester walked into the courtroom with a cane and spoke quietly during Wednesday’s hearing, his first public appearance since last week’s shooting. Authorities say he shot Yarl, a 16-year-old honor student, first in the head, then in the arm after Yarl came to his door because he had confused the…

by John O’Connor SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Chicago’s mayor-elect on Wednesday attempted to dispel the often-contentious relationship between the nation’s third-largest city and the rest of the state, telling a joint session of the General Assembly, “There’s more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.” Brandon Johnson, whose victory in the mayor’s race this month provided a welcome boost for progressives, played to his fellow Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate. He extolled the “Blue Wall” they’ve built and pledged to “be a partner in this incredible, progressive body that has delivered for people across…

by Agency Reports KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Black teen Ralph Yarl was shot twice, in the head and arm, after going to the wrong home in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his younger brothers. Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, told police he fired at honors student Yarl, 16, out of fear last week. But whether Lester will ultimately claim self-defense in court has yet to be seen. The case raises anew questions about race relations in the United States. Here’s a look at what happened, where the criminal case stands, how the teen is faring and the role…

by Samy Magdy CAIRO  — For the last three days, Howeida al-Hassan and her family have been hunkered down in the first floor of her home in the Sudanese capital, sleeping on the floor as sounds of airstrikes and gunfire surround them. This is the life of millions of Sudanese trapped in their homes since violence suddenly erupted over the weekend between forces loyal to the country’s top two generals. Civilian life has come to a standstill as tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters from the military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, battle it out in densely…

by Margaret Stafford and Jim Salter KANSAS CITY, Mo.  — As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in on Tuesday. Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon and was released. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is…

by Jonathan Mattise NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson never guessed he’d be expelled for leading a gun control protest on the House floor after a deadly school shooting. Nor did he predict that he’d be propelled into the national spotlight, placing his state at the forefront of the conversation on gun regulations. Activism had yielded results for years for the 28-year-old son of a preacher and a teacher. At age 15, he prodded a school board to get his Memphis high school more textbooks. After college, he fought a planned oil pipeline through wetlands and poor, predominantly Black…

by David Bauer, Randall Chase and Geoff Mulvihill WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election. The stunning settlement emerged just as opening statements were supposed to begin, abruptly ending a case that had embarrassed Fox News over several months and raised the possibility that network founder Rupert Murdoch and stars such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have to testify publicly. “The truth matters. Lies have consequences,”…

by Jack Jeffery and Samy Magdy KHARTOUM, Sudan  — The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force that have been battling the past four days for control of the country agreed on Tuesday to a 24-hour cease-fire, Arab media reports said. Hopes for at least a pause in the violence came as intensified fighting threatened to spiral even further into chaos. Millions of Sudanese in the capital and in other major cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as the two forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gunbattles in the street. Over the past…

by Jill Lawless BELFAST, Northern Ireland — An American architect of Northern Ireland’s historic 1998 peace accord on Monday urged its feuding politicians to revive the mothballed Belfast government, as a current political crisis clouded celebration of the peacemaking milestone. Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell told a conference to mark a quarter century since the Good Friday Agreement that Northern Ireland’s leaders must “act with courage and vision as their predecessors did 25 years ago,” when bitter enemies forged an unlikely peace. Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy who chaired two arduous years of negotiations that led to the accord, joined…

by Michael R. Sisak NEW YORK  — Republicans upset with Donald Trump’s indictment are escalating their war on the prosecutor who charged him, trying to embarrass him on his home turf partly by falsely portraying New York City as a place overrun by crime. The House Judiciary Committee, led by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, is holding a field hearing Monday near the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The committee’s Republican majority is billing it as an examination of the Democrat’s “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies. One committee member, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, tweeted that…