Author: chicagoinquirer

by Jesse Bedayn DENVER — Sitting in front of a hulking red tractor, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Tuesday making Colorado the first state to ensure farmers can fix their own tractors and combines with a “right to repair” law — which compels manufacturers to provide the necessary manuals, tools, parts and software. Colorado, home to high desert ranches and sweeping farms on the low-and-level plains, took the lead on the issue following a nationwide outcry from farmers that manufacturers blocked them from making fixes and forced them to wait precious days for an official servicer to arrive…

by Farnoush Amiri, Mathew Lee and Aamer Madhani WASHINGTON  — The Taliban have killed the senior Islamic State group leader behind the August 2021 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead, according to the father of a Marine killed in the attack who was briefed Tuesday by military officials. Over the weekend, the U.S. military began to inform families of the 11 Marines, the sailor and the soldier killed in the blast at Abbey Gate during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. And those family members shared the information in…

by Will Weissert WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden has formally announced he’s seeking reelection. But he’s also still the president, with roughly 20 months left in his term regardless of whether he wins a second one on Election Day 2024. With Tuesday’s campaign video release, Biden is following through on months of saying he intended to seek reelection. Top Democrats have remained solidly unified behind the president, despite his low approval ratings and many Americans saying they’d rather not see the 80-year-old Biden try for four more years in the White House. But all that has meant Biden faced relatively…

by Zeke Miller WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024,asking voters to give him more time to “finish this job” he began when he was sworn into office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his…

by Samy Magdy CAIRO  — Sudan’s warring generals pledged Tuesday to observe a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to pull Africa’s third-largest nation back from the abyss. The claims were immediately undercut by the sound of heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital of Khartoum. Residents said warplanes were flying overhead. Several previous cease-fires declared since the April 15 outbreak of fighting were not observed, although intermittent lulls during the weekend’s major Muslim holiday allowed for dramatic evacuations of hundreds of diplomats, aid workers and other foreigners by air and land.…

by Tim Reynolds MIAMI  — Jimmy Butler had the game of his life, and the Miami Heat had a comeback for the ages. Butler scored 56 points — tying the fourth-best scoring performance ever in an NBA playoff game — and the Heat roared back from 14 points down in the final quarter to stun the Milwaukee Bucks 119-114 on Monday night to put the NBA’s top overall seed on the brink of early elimination. The 56 points also became Butler’s career high, as well as a franchise playoff record. And the 14-point fourth-quarter comeback became Miami’s biggest of the…

by Kristie Rieken HOUSTON  — Ime Udoka has been hired as the new coach of the Houston Rockets, a source familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday. Udoka led the Celtics to the NBA Finals last season, then was suspended for this season after the disclosure of an inappropriate relationship with a female Celtics employee. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team had not officially announced the move. He replaces Stephen Silas, who was fired after three seasons. The Rockets had the worst record in the previous two seasons and…

by Evelyne Musambi NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday compared the dozens of starvation deaths among the followers of a pastor in the south of the country with the results of terrorist acts, as the new death toll rose to 73. He maintained that the pastor, Paul Makenzi, who is in police custody, should be in prison. “What we are seeing … is akin to terrorism,” Ruto said. “Mr. Makenzi … pretends and postures as a pastor when in fact he is a terrible criminal.” Makenzi was arrested on suspicion of telling his followers to fast to…

by Danica Kirk LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is a man in a hurry. After waiting nearly 74 years to become king, Charles has used his first six months on the throne to meet faith leaders across the country, reshuffle royal residences, stage his first overseas state visit and hold a sleepover at Windsor Castle that included the coach of the England soccer team. Then there was the big news: He opened the royal archives to researchers investigating the crown’s links to slavery. “We are already surprised by the Prince Charles who was turned into King Charles and who…

by Dylan Lovan CARROLLTON, Ky.  — A Louisville police officer who fired the fatal shot that killed Breonna Taylor has a new job in law enforcement in a county northeast of the city. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday confirmed the hiring of Myles Cosgrove, who was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in January 2021 for violating use-of-force procedures and failing to use a body camera during the raid on Taylor’s apartment, according to media reports. About a dozen people showed up in downtown Carrolton Monday morning to protest his hiring, holding signs and chanting “Cosgrove has…