Author: chicagoinquirer

by Eric Tucker WASHINGTON  — Former Vice President Mike Pencetestified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter. Pence’s appearance before a grand jury in Washington scrutinizing the president he once loyally served is a milestone in the Justice Department’s investigation and likely gives prosecutors a key first-person account about certain conversations and events in the weeks preceding the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It also carries significant political implications, coming as…

by Dan Sewell CINCINNATI  — Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional guests willing to bare all — sometimes literally — as they brawled and hurled obscenities before a raucous audience, died Thursday at 79. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show. Springer called it “escapist entertainment,” while others…

by Emily Wagster Petus JACKSON, Miss.  — The white woman who accused Black teenager Emmett Till of whistling at and accosting her — which caused his 1955 lynching in Mississippi and galvanized a generation of activists to rise up in the Civil Rights Movement — has died at 88. Carolyn Bryant Donham died in hospice care Tuesday night in Westlake, Louisiana, according to a death report filed Thursday in the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office. Her death marks the last chance for anyone to be held accountable for a kidnapping and brutal murder that shocked the world. Till’s mother, Mamie Till…

by Amy Beth Hanson and Sam Metz HELENA, Mont.  — Moves to stifle the voice of the first transgender woman elected to Montana’s legislature over her stand on gender-affirming care for children may have silenced her in the chambers of the state House, but Rep. Zooey Zephyr said she’s confident they’ve only amplified her message to constituents at home and others watching across the nation. “There are many more eyes on Montana now,” Zephyr said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But you do the same thing you’ve always done. You stand up in defense of your community and…

by Andrew Seligman LAKE FOREST, Ill. — While raving about Jalen Carter’s talent, Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham revealed little Tuesday when it comes to whether the team would feel comfortable taking a chance in the draft on the Georgia defensive tackle. “I think the more time you spend around him, the more you realize he’s a good player, but you get to know him more as a person,” Cunningham said. Cunningham said there’s “no denying” Carter’s talent, but will make “the best decision for us and our organization.” The Bears come in with the No. 9 overall…

by Elliot Spagat SAN DIEGO  — U.S. immigration offices have become so overwhelmed with processing migrants for court that some some asylum-seekers who crossed the border at Mexico may be waiting a decade before they even get a date to see a judge. The backlog stems from a change made two months after President Joe Biden took office, when Border Patrol agents began now-defunct practice of quickly releasing immigrants on parole. They were given instructions to report to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at their final destination to be processed for court — work previously done by the Border…

by James Robson MANCHESTER, England  — Kevin de Bruyne scored twice as Manchester City beat first-place Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday to take control of the Premier League title race. While the defending champions remain second in the standings, Arsenal’s lead was cut to two points, with City having two games in hand. A third league title in as many years is now in sight for manager Pep Guardiola, whose team is in contention for a treble of trophies including the Champions League and FA Cup. Arsenal proved no match for City in a game that always looked likely to have…

by Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak NEW YORK  — At first, she thought helping Donald Trump shop for a women’s lingerie gift at a luxury department store would simply be “a funny New York thing.” Even when, according to E. Jean Carroll, the then-businessman motioned her to a dressing room as they dared each other to try on a see-through bodysuit, she imagined something like a “Saturday Night Live” sketch she’d written. But soon, “my whole reason for being alive in that moment was to get out of that room,” Carroll testified Wednesday in the trial of her rape…

by Jessica Cresko WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court is speaking with one voice in response to recent criticism of the justices’ ethical practices: No need to fix what isn’t broken. The justices’ response on Tuesday struck some critics and ethics experts as tone deaf at a time of heightened attention on the justices’ travel and private business transactions. That comes against the backdrop of a historic dip in public approval as measured by opinion polls. Deeply divided on some of the most contentious issues of the day — including abortion, gun rights and the place of religion in public life…

by Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking WASHINGTON  — House Republicans passed sweeping legislation Wednesday that would raise the government’s legal debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer. The bill passed by a razor-thin 217-215 margin. Biden has threatened to veto the Republican package, which has almost no chance of passing the Democratic Senate in the meantime, and the president has so far refused to negotiate over the debt ceiling which the White House…