Author: chicagoinquirer

by Jonathan Mattis and Kimberlee Kruesi NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The second of two Black Democrats who were kicked out of the Republican-led Tennessee House followed his colleague back to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their expulsion for participating in a gun control protest propelled them into the national spotlight. State Rep. Justin Pearson, of Memphis, was sworn in Thursday outside the Statehouse. The day before, Shelby County commissioners unanimously voted to reinstate him. “Yes indeed, happy resurrection day,” Pearson said as he signed paperwork for his return. “There will be a new building of this building,…

by Eric Tucker, Tara Copp and Michael Balsamo WASHINGTON  — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested Thursday in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues, a breach that has raised questions about America’s ability to safeguard its most sensitive secrets. The guardsman, an IT specialist identified as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, was taken into custody without incident after FBI officers converged at his Massachusetts home. He is to be charged under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to remove or transmit classified national defense information,…

by Ellen Knickmeyer and Hanna Archirova WASHINGTON  — Ukraine’s leaders say they don’t see a major U.S. intelligence leak as gravely damaging future offensives. A key reason: They have long held back on sharing their most sensitive operational information, doubting Washington’s ability to keep their secrets safe. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said this week that only Ukrainians know some battle plans and other operational information, not the Americans, their most important ally. That means the leak of secret military documents, including some assessing Ukraine’s battlefield strengths and weaknesses against Russia, may not have been enough — so far — to…

by Ian Harrison TORONTO — Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in a play-in tournament game Wednesday night. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 in the third quarter before LaVine carried them back. He scored 17 points in the third as Chicago cut the gap to nine, then added 13 more in the fourth to help the Bulls advance. Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine was “phenomenal” against the Raptors. “His…

by Karen Mathews NEW YORK  — Electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, the attorneys general in several states announced Wednesday. The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. is the latest in a string of recent legal agreements Juul has reached to settle lawsuits related to the way it marketed addictive nicotine products. Critics said Juul was trying to lure children too young to smoke.…

Prosecutors rest case in Illinois utility corruption trial CHICAGO — Prosecutors rested their side of the trial Wednesday against four people accused of seeking favors for Illinois’ largest electric utility by arranging $1.3 million in contracts and payments for associates of a powerful state politician. Michael Madigan, the former House speaker, is not in court and faces his own separate trial. But he’s been a key part of the evidence presented over 17 days. Longtime Madigan ally Ed Moody got more than $300,000 between 2012 and 2018 through ComEd’s contracts with various firms. He testified Tuesday that he believed the money…

by Adrian Zainz MEMPHIS, Tenn.  — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the Legislature after a Memphis commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight. Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position. “The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel…

by Agency reports MIAMI  — Quin Snyder’s bags were packed in February for an overseas trip. He was going to spend time with some friends and family, see some coaches he’s gotten to know over the years. Then the Atlanta Hawks called with a job offer, to bring him on as coach. And now Snyder’s bags are packed again — for the playoffs, starting with a trip to Boston. Trae Young scored 25 points, Clint Capela grabbed 21 rebounds and the Hawks earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 in a…

by Will Weissert and Sara Burnett CHICAGO  — Donald Trump won the White House in 2016 by breaking up the famed electoral “blue wall,” snatching the Midwestern battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania, from Democrats. He lost the White House four years later when those same states flipped to Joe Biden. Both parties are already zeroing in on the Midwest ahead of next year’s presidential election, each choosing to hold their national conventions in the region. Republicans will have their event in July 2024 in Milwaukee, the largest city in the swing state of Wisconsin. Democrats announced…

by Adrian Sainz MEMPHIS, Tenn.  — Commissioners in Memphis are scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to return a Black Democrat to the Republican-led Tennessee House after he and a Black colleague were kicked out of the Legislature following their support of gun control protesters. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners set a vote to determine whether Justin Pearson will be sent back to the Legislature in Nashville. Republicans banished Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville that left…