Author: chicagoinquirer

by Kevin Freking and Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — The Senate Judiciary chairman has invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify next month on ethical standards at the court, a hearing that would undoubtedly focus on business transactions and travel involving Justice Clarence Thomas. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said that there has been a “steady stream of revelations” regarding Supreme Court justices “falling short of ethical standards expected of other federal judges.” “The time has come for a new public conversation on ways to restore confidence in the Court’s ethical standards. I invite you to join it, and I look forward…

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO  — The Chicago Bears already used the draft to address their glaring need for a playmaking receiver. They still have big holes to fill. The Bears come in needing better protection for quarterback Justin Fields and help on the defensive line, starting with the No. 9 overall pick. General manager Ryan Poles already made one huge splash when he traded the No. 1 overall selection to Carolina for receiver DJ Moore and moved down eight spots. The Bears also got a haul of picks from the Panthers in that blockbuster deal. At No. 9, there are…

by Agency reports Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put that nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders. Both sides have tens of thousands of fighters, foreign backers, mineral riches and other resources that could insulate them from sanctions. It’s a recipe for the kind of prolonged conflict that has devastated other countries in the Middle East and Africa, from Lebanon and Syria to Libya and Ethiopia. The fighting, which began as Sudan attempted to transition to democracy, already has killed hundreds of people and left millions trapped in…

by Jack Jeffery and Samy Magdy KHARTOUM, Sudan  — Sudan’s rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat. Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country’s top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday. The…

by Emily Wagster Pettuse JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi sheriff says in a new court filing that there’s no point in serving an arrest warrant on a white woman in the 1955 kidnapping that led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till because last year a grand jury decided not to indict the woman. Till’s kidnapping and killing became a catalyst for the civil rights movement when his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in their hometown of Chicago after his brutalized body was pulled from a river in Mississippi. Jet magazine published photos. The Mississippi arrest warrant for…

by Jill Colvin and Emily Swanson WASHINGTON  — Former President Donald Trump has emerged largely unscathed politically from his New York indictment. But a new poll suggests that investigations in Georgia and Washington could prove more problematic. Only 4 in 10 U.S. adults believe Trump acted illegally in New York, where he has been charged in connection with hush money payments made to women who alleged sexual encounters, according to the new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. More — about half — believe he broke the law in Georgia, where he is under investigation for…

by Margaret Stafford and Jim Salter LIBERTY, Mo. — The 84-year old man who shot Ralph Yarlwhen the Black teenager went to his door by mistake pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case that has shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America. Andrew Lester walked into the courtroom with a cane and spoke quietly during Wednesday’s hearing, his first public appearance since last week’s shooting. Authorities say he shot Yarl, a 16-year-old honor student, first in the head, then in the arm after Yarl came to his door because he had confused the…

by John O’Connor SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Chicago’s mayor-elect on Wednesday attempted to dispel the often-contentious relationship between the nation’s third-largest city and the rest of the state, telling a joint session of the General Assembly, “There’s more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.” Brandon Johnson, whose victory in the mayor’s race this month provided a welcome boost for progressives, played to his fellow Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate. He extolled the “Blue Wall” they’ve built and pledged to “be a partner in this incredible, progressive body that has delivered for people across…

by Agency Reports KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Black teen Ralph Yarl was shot twice, in the head and arm, after going to the wrong home in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his younger brothers. Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, told police he fired at honors student Yarl, 16, out of fear last week. But whether Lester will ultimately claim self-defense in court has yet to be seen. The case raises anew questions about race relations in the United States. Here’s a look at what happened, where the criminal case stands, how the teen is faring and the role…

by Samy Magdy CAIRO  — For the last three days, Howeida al-Hassan and her family have been hunkered down in the first floor of her home in the Sudanese capital, sleeping on the floor as sounds of airstrikes and gunfire surround them. This is the life of millions of Sudanese trapped in their homes since violence suddenly erupted over the weekend between forces loyal to the country’s top two generals. Civilian life has come to a standstill as tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters from the military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, battle it out in densely…