Author: chicagoinquirer

by Michael Phillis and Mathew Daly WASHINGTON  — Federal officials sued a Louisiana chemical maker on Tuesday, alleging that it presents an unacceptable cancer risk to the nearby majority-Black community and demanding cuts in toxic emissions. Denka Performance Elastomer LLC makes synthetic rubber, emitting the carcinogen chloroprene and other chemicals in such high concentrations that it poses an unacceptable cancer risk, according to the federal complaint. Children are particularly vulnerable. There is an elementary school a half-mile from the plant. The former DuPont plant has reduced its emissions over time, but the Justice Department, suing on behalf of the Environmental…

by Susie Blann KYIV, Ukraine  — Drones that the Kremlin said were launched by Ukraine flew deep inside Russian territory, including one that got within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of Moscow, signaling breaches in Russian defenses as President Vladimir Putin ordered stepped-up protection at the border. Officials said the drones caused no injuries and did not inflict any significant damage, but the attacks on Monday night and Tuesday morning raised questions about Russian defense capabilities more than a year after the country’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Ukrainian officials did not immediately take responsibility, but they similarly have avoided directly…

by Chinedu Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was declared winner of Nigeria’s presidential election early Wednesday, with the two leading opposition candidates already demanding a revote in Africa’s most populous nation. Election officials’ overnight announcement was likely to lead to a court challenge by his main opponents Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. Abubakar also finished second in the last vote in 2019, then appealed those results before his lawsuit ultimately was dismissed. On Tuesday, the two leading opposition parties had demanded a revote, saying that delays in uploading election results had made room for irregularities.…

by Chinedu Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria — Election officials declared ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election early Wednesday, with the two leading opposition candidates already demanding a revote in Africa’s most populous nation. The overnight announcement was likely to lead to a court challenge by his main opponents Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. Abubakar also finished second in the last vote in 2019, then appealed those results before his lawsuit ultimately was dismissed. On Tuesday, the two leading opposition parties had demanded a revote, saying that delays in uploading election results had made room for irregularities.…

by Sara Burnett CHICAGO  — Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters on Tuesday denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, issuing a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the nation’s third-largest city. Vallas, a former schools CEO backed by the police union, and Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, advanced to the April 4 runoff after none of the nine candidates was able to secure over 50% of the vote to win outright. Lightfoot, the first Black woman…

LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — The Chicago Bears hired longtime Tennessee Titans assistant Luke Steckel as assistant offensive line coach on Tuesday. Steckel spent the past two seasons as the Titans tight ends coach and had served in a variety of roles on their staff after being hired in 2013. The move comes three weeks after Tennessee announced he was moving to run game analyst, with Tony Dews switching from coaching running backs to tight ends. Steckel interviewed for the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator opening, but that job went to Kellen Moore last month. Steckel also spent four years in…

by Mark Sherman and Jessica Greeks WASHINGTON  — Conservative justices holding the Supreme Court’s majority seem ready to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans. In arguments lasting more than three hours Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts led his conservative colleagues in questioning the administration’s authority to broadly cancel federal student loans because of the COVID-19 emergency. Loan payments that have been on hold since the start of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago are supposed to resume no later than this summer. Without the loan relief promised by the…

by Sara Burnett CHICAGO  — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is fighting for reelection Tuesday after a history-making but tumultuous four years in office and a bruising campaign threaten to make her the city’s first one-term mayor in decades. Lightfoot in 2019 became the first Black woman and first openly gay mayor of the third-largest U.S. city, and only the second woman to hold the office. But Lightfoot, a former prosecutor and head of a city police review board, now faces serious challenges from multiple candidates, who have hammered her over crime that spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and a leadership…

PARIS — World Cup champion Lionel Messi edged Kylian Mbappé again, this time to take FIFA’s best men’s player award on Monday. The best women’s player was Spain’s Alexia Putellas for a second straight year. After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappé’s France last year in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote against Mbappé and Karim Benzema and secured the FIFA prize for the seventh time in 14 years. He won the World Cup at his record-equaling fifth attempt. “It was a crazy year for me,” Messi said. “I could fulfil my (World…

by Chinedu Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria  — Some frustrated Nigerians cast their ballots with flashlights while others stood watch at their polling stations as counting got under way late Saturday amid fears of vote tampering after a day of delays in Africa’s most populous nation. Election officials blamed the delays on logistical issues, though other observers pointed to the upheaval created by a redesigned currency that has left many unable to obtain bank notes. The cash shortage affected transport not only for voters but also election workers and police officers providing security. Voting ended well beyond schedule in many places after…