Author: chicagoinquirer

by Greg Beacham LOS ANGELES  — Nikola Jokic was far from his usual dominant self while mired in foul trouble, and Jamal Murray cooled off after his scorching first half. The Denver Nuggets’ big early lead disappeared entirely in the fourth quarter of Game 3, and the Lakers’ home crowd was in a frenzy. The Nuggets weathered every setback and calmly, methodically took control with a poise worthy of champions. With one more victory, they’ll finally get the chance to play for their first rings. Murray scored 37 points, Jokic added 24 points and eight assists and the Nuggets rolled…

by Jimmy Golen BOSTON  — Jimmy Butler went forehead-to-forehead with the Boston Celtics and came away with another decisive victory. Butler scored 27 points, hitting back-to-back buckets to tie the game and give Miami the lead, and the eighth-seeded Heat left Boston with a 111-105 victory Friday night and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Butler added eight rebounds and six assists. When Grant Williams started jawing with the Miami star — with both players drawing technical fouls for the double head-butt — Butler stared down Williams and the Heat refused to relent. “I love that gnarly version…

by Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and Zeke Miller WASHINGTON  — Debt limit talks resumed at the U.S. Capitol late Friday, a sudden turnaround after negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to “pause” negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences.” The official, who was granted anonymity to talk about the private discussions, confirmed late Friday the talks were back on. “We’ll be back in the room tonight,” McCarthy said on Fox Business News. President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to strike a deal with Republicans led…

by Zeke Miller, Foster Klug, Josh Boak and Elaine Kurtenbach HIROSHIMA, Japan — President Joe Biden told allies Friday he was approving plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies worked to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. The Group of Seven leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to take part in their summit on Sunday. The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court got rid of a pandemic-related immigration case with a single sentence. Justice Neil Gorsuch had a lot more to say, leveling harsh criticism of how governments, from small towns to the nation’s capital, responded to the gravest public health threat in a century. The justice, a 55-year-old conservative who was President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, called emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis that killed more than 1 million Americans perhaps “the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.” He pointed to orders closing schools, restricting church services, mandating vaccines…

by Tom Withers CLEVELAND  — Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, an unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87. A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side. “To the world, he was an activist, actor, and football star,” Monique Brown wrote in an Instagram post. “To our family, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts…

by Agency reports KYIV, Ukraine  — Loud explosions sounded above Kyiv early Tuesday as Russia launched an intense air attack on the capital using a combination of missiles launched from the air, sea and land. Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration. It is the eighth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive. It also comes…

by Rebecca Santana WASHINGTON  — The number of migrants encountered at the southern border fell 50% during the last three days compared with the days leading up to the end of a key pandemic-era regulation, U.S. officials said Monday. But a high number of migrants are still in U.S. custody, although the number has fallen “significantly” since last week, said Blas Nunez-Neto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security. The ability of U.S. Border Patrol to hold migrants has been a key concern as more migrants came to the border in the days leading…

by Kate Brumback ATLANTA  — The Georgia prosecutor who’s investigating whether Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state fought back Monday against the former president’s attempt to remove her from the case and exclude certain evidence. Trump’s Georgia legal team in March asked the court to toss out the report of a special grand jury that had been seated in the case and to prevent prosecutors from using any evidence or testimony stemming from the panel’s investigation. They also asked that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office be…

by Emeka Obasi Three members of the 1980 African Nations Cup winning Green Eagles were products of the University of Lagos. Adokiye Amiesimaka, Felix Owolabi Akinloye and Frank Onwuachi led the Akokites to gold two years earlier. UNILAG hosted the Seventh Nigerian Universities Games (NUGA) in 1978. They defeated the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN)) to win the soccer gold medal. One prominent member of the Nsukka Lions squad was Patrick Ekeji who also was a Green Eagle. Ekeji was senior to the trio and grew up in Lagos before the Civil War forced him back to Biafra. He played…