Author: chicagoinquirer

by Colleen Long WASHINGTON — The White House and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Thursday that a Republican-led proposal to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weekswould endanger the health of women and have severe consequences for physicians. “If passed and enacted, this bill would create a nationwide health crisis, imperiling the health and lives of women in all 50 states,” according to a preliminary analysis of the bill by Jennifer Klein, the White House Gender Policy Council chairwoman, that was obtained by The Associated Press. “It would transform the practice of medicine, opening the door to doctors…

LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Chicago Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith missed his second consecutive practice Thursday because of a hip injury, leaving his status for this week’s game in question. The Bears are scheduled to host former coach Lovie Smith and the Houston Texans on Sunday. Smith has played every snap this season. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams said before practice he expected him to be ready to play “as far as I know.” Smith, who does not have an agent, missed the preseason after he opted to “hold-in” with contract extension talks at a standstill. The 2018 first-round draft pick…

Boeing Co. will pay $200 million to settle allegations that the company and its former CEO misled investors about the safety of its 737 Max after two of the airliners crashed, killing 346 people. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it charged the aircraft maker and former CEO Dennis Muilenburg with making significant misleading public statements about the plane and an automated flight-control system that was implicated in the crashes. Neither Boeing nor Muilenburg admitted wrongdoing, but they agreed to orders that include penalties of $200 million for Boeing and $1 million for Muilenburg, who was ousted in…

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are planning to discipline coach Ime Udoka, likely with a suspension, because of an improper relationship with a member of the organization, two people with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the reigning Eastern Conference champions have not revealed any details publicly. The exact punishment, including the length of the possible suspension, has not been determined. One of the people who spoke with the AP said the Celtics have decided that assistant coach Joe Mazzulla will take over the team…

WASHINGTON  — A federal appeals panel has lifted a judge’s hold on the Justice Department’s ability to use classified records seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit is a victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for it to immediately resume its use of the documents as it evaluates whether to bring criminal charges in its investigation into the presence of top-secret government records held at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. The government had argued…

by Mark Kennedy Sidney Poitier was not expected to live. He was born two months premature to uneducated tomato farmers in the Caribbean. His father planned to use a shoe box as a makeshift coffin. Poitier’s rise from that humble origin to become an Oscar-winning box office draw and civil rights figure who remade Hollywood seems almost scripted, almost too good to be true, but such was Poitier, a life well lived. The new documentary “Sidney” respectfully traces that life, delivering a portrait of a striver hoping to improve everything he did every day. “I truly, truly try to be…

UNITED NATIONS — President Joe Biden declared at the United Nations on Wednesday that Russia has “shamelessly violated the core tenets” of the international body with its war in Ukraine as he summoned nations around the globe to stand firm in backing the Ukrainian resistance. Delivering a forceful condemnation of Russia’s seven-month invasion, Biden said reports of Russian abuses against civilians and its efforts to erase Ukraine and its culture “should make your blood run cold.” He referenced President Vladimir Putin’s announcement Wednesday that he had ordered a partial mobilization of reservists, a deeply unpopular step that sparked protests in…

CHICAGO  — A Chicago state senator was indicted Tuesday on federal charges that he sought a bribe to oppose legislation that would have required a statewide evaluation of red-light camera systems. Sen. Emil Jones III, the latest public official implicated in the bribery scheme, also was charged with lying to the FBI, prosecutors said. Prosecutors allege that Jones, a South Side Democrat, told an individual with an interest in the camera system operator SafeSpeed that he would protect it from legislation in the General Assembly in exchange for $5,000 and a job for an unnamed associate. Prosecutors did not name the…

CHICAGO  — Eight people were rushed to hospitals after being injured when an explosion Tuesday tore through the top floor of a Chicago apartment building, officials said. The explosion at the 36-unit, four-story apartment building in the South Austin neighborhood occurred at about 9 a.m., officials said. Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Marc Ferman told reporters a few hours later that the department had finished searching for potential victims and was “confident” that nobody remained trapped inside the building, of which much of the top floor had collapsed. He said technical crews had shored up the upper floors to allow…

ATLANTA  — A Republican Party official in Georgia told a computer forensics team to copy components of the voting system at a rural elections office two months after the 2020 election and spent nearly all day there, contradicting her sworn deposition testimony about her role in the alleged breach of the equipment, a new court filing says. The filing late Monday is part of a broader lawsuit challenging the security of the state’s voting machines that has been drawn into a separate investigation of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in Georgia. The apparent breach happened on…