Author: chicagoinquirer

CHICAGO  — Former President Barack Obama is about to hit the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 8 election, but he came home Monday with the former first lady to vote. The two came to Chicago to vote in the city where Michelle Obama was born and raised and where the former president began his political career, first working as a community organizer before he was elected as a state senator, a U.S. senator and ultimately, president. They arrived at the Chicago Board of Elections Supersite in downtown Chicago shortly after 12:30 p.m. They chatted with poll workers, shook hands,…

by Aaron Morrison NEW YORK  — Gwen Carr sat up straight in her seat as she heard lines of dialogue delivered by the actor portraying Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy whose lynching in Mississippi in 1955 catalyzed the U.S. civil rights movement. “As I watched that film, I became Mamie Till,” Carr said last month at a private advance screening of “ Till,” the Orion Pictures and United Artists biopic that debuted Friday as the first ever feature length retelling of the historic atrocity and Till-Mobley’s pursuit of justice for Emmett. Carr is the…

by Jill Colvin NEW YORK — In Donald Trump’s assessment, Mike Pence “committed political suicide” on Jan. 6, 2021. By refusing to go along with the former president’s unconstitutional push to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Pence became a leading target of Trump’s wrath and a pariah in many Republican circles. But the final weeks of the intensely competitive 2022 election suggest the former vice president’s fortunes have shifted as he lays the groundwork for his own potential campaign for the White House in 2024. The man who was booed last year at a conservative conference is now…

BC-FBN–Bears-No Offense by Jay Cohen CHICAGO  — It was Justin Fields. It was the offensive line. It was the receiving corps. The Chicago Bears struggled on offense again, and there was plenty of blame to go around. Fresh off an encouraging second half at Minnesota, Fields and the Bears were shut down by Jonathan Allen and the Washington Commanders on national television. Chicago came up empty on three drives inside the Washington 10 during an ugly 12-7 loss Thursday night. “Plenty of opportunities in the game that we just didn’t finish,” Fields said. “So we’ve just got to get better…

by Tara Cops and Lolita C. Baldor WASHINGTON  — Ukrainian leaders are pressing the U.S. and Western allies for air defense systems and longer-range weapons to keep up the momentum in their counteroffensive against Russia and fight back against Moscow’s intensified attacks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday said allies are committed to sending weapons “as fast as we can physically get them there.” And he said defense leaders meeting in Brussels are working to send a wide array of systems, ranging from tanks and armored vehicles to air defense and artillery. But there are still a number of high-profile,…

by David Keyton, Frank Jordans and Paul Wiseman STOCKHOLM  — Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, who put his academic expertise on the Great Depression to work reviving the American economy after the 2007-2008 financial crisis, won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences along with two other U.S.-based economists for their research into bank failures. The Nobel panel at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip Dybvig on Monday for research that shows “why avoiding bank collapses is vital.” Their findings in the early 1980s laid the foundations for regulating financial markets, the…

Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked because of posts by the rapper, now known legally as Ye, that were widely deemed antisemitic. A Twitter spokesperson said Sunday that Ye posted a message that violated its policies. In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. That’s an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON. In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever…

by Danica Coto SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres submitted a letter to the Security Council on Sunday proposing the immediate activation of a rapid action force following a plea for help from Haiti as gangs and protesters paralyze the country. The letter, which was seen by The Associated Press but has not been made public, said the rapid action force would be deployed by one or several member states to help Haiti’s National Police. That force would “remove the threat posed by armed gangs and provide immediate protection to critical infrastructure and services,” as well…

MINNEAPOLIS  — The Chicago Bears were driving late and trailing by a touchdown when Ihmir Smith-Marsette caught a 15-yard pass and reached the Minnesota 39. The second-year receiver had juked past Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr. with a cut and a stiff-arm to gain a crucial first down. Smith-Marsette then hesitated with two defenders in front of him, trying to make another move to pick up more yardage. Dantzler came up from behind and stripped the ball from Smith-Marsette to seal Minnesota’s 29-22 victory. “Knowing we had a chance to potentially tie the game or win it if we go…

CHICAGO  — Kenyan runners Benson Kipruto and Ruth Chepngetich won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, while Emily Sisson finished second and set a record for an American woman. Kipruto finished in 2:04:24 — 25 seconds ahead of 2021 winner Seifu Tura Abdiwak of Ethiopia. John Korir of Kenya was third at 2:05:01. Chepngetich was the top woman for the second consecutive year, finishing in 2:14:18. Sisson ran the course in 2:18:29, followed by Vivian Jerono Kiplagat of Kenya at 2:20:52. More than 40,000 runners competed in the 26.2-mile event. Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the wheelchair division…