Author: chicagoinquirer

by Tim Reynolds Golden State is in the playoffs. LeBron James is heading to the play-in tournament. And the Minnesota Timberwolves lost Rudy Gobert to a fight with a teammate, then won a battle to improve their playoff hopes. The final day of the NBA season was predictably wild — with tons of unpredictable elements as well. It took until the 1,230th and last game of the year went final, but the Western Conference playoff and play-in bracket are finally set, highlighted by the Los Angeles Clippers and defending champion Golden State Warriors getting a few days off knowing that…

by Agency reports NASHVILLE, Tenn.  —Nashville officials are poised to vote Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republicancolleagues for their gun control protest on the Tennessee House floor after a deadly school shooting — essentially, sending him back after a long weekend. Nashville’s metro council has called the meeting to address the vacancy left by the expulsion on Thursday of former Rep. Justin Jones. Many councilmembers have publicly commented that they want to send Jones back to the statehouse. The vote will happen as state lawmakers hold their first floor sessions since last week’s…

by Doug Ferguson AUGUSTA, Ga.  — Jon Rahm turned the longest day into his sweetest victory, starting Sunday with a four-shot deficit in the morning chill and finishing in fading sunlight as the fourth Spaniard to become a Masters champion. Rahm closed with a 3-under 69 to pull away from mistake-prone Brooks Koepka. He won by four shots over Koepka and 52-year-old Phil Mickelson, who matched the low score of the tournament with a 65. He is the oldest runner-up in Masters history. It was Mickelson who declared Rahm would be among golf’s biggest stars even before the Spaniard turned…

by Emeka Obasi Ejike Ekwueme abandoned active soccer to pursue a career in Law. He played the game to the highest level in the Nigerian league before relocating to the United Kingdom. I put him to task recently on what the Eagles manager must do to excel. Jose Peseiro sounds like the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC). Ekwueme holds a PhD in Law from the University of London so I sent the gaffer to Ekwueme Chambers for code of conduct lectures. ” If you want to succeed as Super Eagles manager, you need to iron out many issues. Look…

by Brian Melley LONDON — King Charles III plans to take a short cut and smoother ride to Westminster Abbey for his coronation, trimming the procession route his mother took in 1953 as he aims for a more modest event that will include some modern touches, Buckingham Palace said Sunday. The lower-key ceremony May 6 will still be steeped in ancient traditions and adorned with royal regalia from the Crown Jewels, but will also feature its own bespoke emoji, reflecting the first British crowning of the social media era. Queen Elizabeth II’s was the first coronation televised 70 years ago.…

KYIV, Ukraine  — Weekend shelling by Russian forces killed at least seven civilians, Ukrainian officials reported Sunday as Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby used their traditional Easter messages to highlight the war in Ukraineand other conflicts around the world. While Russia continued to concentrate on seizing all of Ukraine’s industrial east, two other provinces – Kharkiv in the northeast and Zaporizhzhia in the southeast – came under missile, rocket and artillery fire, the Ukrainian military reported. The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said two communities there were hit by bombs from warplanes late Sunday, but…

by Scott Held CHICAGO — Zach LaVine scored 17 points and DeMar DeRozan added 16 to help the Bulls end the regular season Sunday with a 103-81 win over the Detroit Pistons. Killian Hayes had 26 points and Jaden Ivey scored 16 for the Pistons, who finished an NBA-worst 17-65. Up 67-64 at the end of the third quarter, the Bulls put in their reserves. The bench crew, led by Carlik Jones’ 11 points, put the game away with an 11-2 run midway through the final period. Chicago had the 10th spot in Eastern Conference standings locked up, and travel…

by Jonathan Mattise NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two former Black Democratic lawmakers who were expelled by Republican colleagues in Tennessee say they want to be reappointed, then elected back to their seats, following their ouster for a protest on the House floor urging passage of gun-control measures in the wake of a deadly school shooting. Nashville’s metro council is likely to reappoint Justin Jones to the seat during a specially called Monday meeting. The Shelby County Commission plans to announce soon when it will meet to fill the vacancy left by Justin Pearson’s expulsion. Likewise, commissioners can reinstall Pearson, who is from Memphis. Both former lawmakers told NBC’s…

by John O’Connor SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Illinois’ new secretary of state and Democrats in the General Assembly are pushing back against a rise in challenges to books shelved in libraries. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the state librarian, is spearheading legislation that would make state grants to libraries contingent on their establishing “a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books.” At stake is about $61 million annually to 1,600 public and school libraries. The legislation, HB2789, sponsored by Naperville Democratic Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, won House approval 69-39 last month and awaits action by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Illinois would be…

by Mogomotsi Magome JOHANNESBURG  — A South African convicted murderer who faked his death to escape from prison has been arrested in Tanzania following a two-week manhunt, police have announced. South African officials are going to Tanzania Sunday to begin to extradite Thabo Bester, 35, dubbed the “Facebook Rapist” as he used the social media platform to lure at least two women he was convicted of raping. He was also found guilty of killing one. Bester was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 and it was reported in May last year that he died in a fire in his prison…