Author: chicagoinquirer

by Steve Douglas LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi, wearing a black Qatari robe over his blue-and-white Argentina shirt, kissed the World Cup,shuffled toward his teammates and hoisted the golden trophy high in the air. It was an iconic sight that finally — definitively — places the soccer superstar in the pantheon of the game’s greatest players. Messi’s once-in-a-generation career is complete: He is a World Cup champion. In probably the wildest final in the tournament’s 92-year history, Argentina won its third World Cup title by beating France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw featuring two goals…

by Eric Tuckerband Doug Feinberg The return of Brittney Griner to the United States in a dramatic prisoner swap with Russia marked the culmination of a 10-month ordeal that captivated world attention, a saga that landed at the intersection of sports, politics, race and gender identity — and wartime diplomacy. Griner had for years been known to fans of women’s basketball — college player of the year, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star who dominated her sport. But her arrest on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February elevated her profile in ways neither she nor her…

ROME  — Pope Francis has revealed in an interview published Sunday that shortly after being elected pontiff in 2013 he wrote a resignation letter in case medical problems impede him from carrying out his duties. Speaking to the Spanish newspaper ABC, Francis said he gave the note to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who then was the Vatican secretary of state. The pontiff added that he presumes that the prelate currently in that Vatican No. 2 role, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, now has the written instruction. Francis, who turned 86 on Saturday, had surgery in 2021 to repair a bowel narrowing and has…

by Michael Tarm CHICAGO  — A judge on Saturday set bond at $50,000 for the father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people at a July 4 parade who is accused of helping his son get a gun license years before the shooting on a suburban Chicago main street. Robert Crimo Jr., 58, looked somber and tired in his first appearance before a judge since voluntarily surrendering to police Friday. His lawyer, George M. Gomez, told the judge Saturday that the father of three would be able to pay the required bond amount for his release. Crimo, a…

Copy StoryMore OptionsClose by Samy Magdy CAIRO  — Around midnight in mid-November, Libyan militiamen in two Toyota pickup trucks arrived at a residential building in a neighborhood of the capital of Tripoli. They stormed the house, bringing out a blindfolded man in his 70s. Their target was former Libyan intelligence agent Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, wanted by the United States for allegedly making the bomb that brought down New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, just days before Christmas in 1988. The attack killed 259 people in the air and 11 on the ground. Weeks after…

by Kathleen Foody and Michael Tarm CHICAGO  — The father of an Illinois man charged with killing seven people in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb has been charged with seven felony counts of reckless conduct, prosecutors announced Friday. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Robert Crimo Jr. surrendered to police on Friday and will have a bond hearing Saturday. Rinehart said the charges are based on Crimo sponsoring his then 19-year-old son’s application for a gun license in 2019. “Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is set to play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing a practice this week because of an illness, while receiver Chase Claypool was ruled out due to a knee injury. Fields was a full participant in practice Friday for the second straight day after sitting out on Wednesday. He missed the game at the New York Jets on Nov. 27 because of a separated nonthrowing shoulder, then threw for a season-high 254 yards and ran for a 55-yard touchdown against Green Bay two weeks ago. Fields needs 95 yards to…

by Bobby Caina NEW YORK  — Throngs of spectators lined the streets of New York on Thursday as colorful, high-flying balloons helped usher in the holiday season during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The annual tradition, which dates back nearly a century, packed streets as a procession of giant inflatables and floats streamed for more than 40 blocks from Central Park to Herald Square. Children balanced atop metal barricades and hung from scaffolding to watch the balloons amid mostly sunny skies and a slight breeze. “Blue, Blue. There’s Blue,” yelled Divyam Kumar, 6, as his father helped balance him and…

by Gerald Imray DOHA, Qatar — Joy for the Williams family of Spain on Wednesday at the World Cup. Then despair for the same Williams family, who are also of Ghana, on Thursday. Williams brothers Iñaki and Nico have managed to mark both sides of their family’s heritage in the most incredible way at this World Cup in Qatar by playing for two different countries. They were both born in Spain but their parents are from Ghana. Nico was part of the Spain team that beat Costa Rica 7-0 on Wednesday in the tournament’s most compelling performance so far. He…

LUSAIL, Qatar – Neymar was pictured in tears on the Brazil bench after leaving his team’s 2-0 win over Serbia to begin their World Cup campaign in Qatar on Thursday, after picking up an injury to his right ankle. He will now have to wait between 24 and 48 hours to find out if he will play again at this year’s World Cup, according to team doctors. The Brazil forward was subjected to nine fouls throughout the game by a physical Serbian side and was replaced by Antony in the 80th minute after spending some time on the ground at the Lusail Iconic Stadium following a hard tackle by Nikola Milenkovic. – World…