Author: chicagoinquirer

by Doug Feinberg NEW YORK  — Aliyah Boston has been the consensus No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft all season. The Indiana Fever, who own the top choice, just had to wait for the South Carolina star to make it official she was going to enter this year’s draft. Boston had the chance to return to South Carolina for her COVID season, but opted to enter Monday night’s draft instead. “I think Aliyah Boston is a legitimate first pick option,” Fever general manager Lin Dunn said on a conference call. “I’ve watched her play very closely this year. Her…

by Wanjohi Kabukuru MOMBASA, Kenya — Gobonamang Kgetho has a deep affection for Africa’s largest inland delta, the Okavango. It is his home. The water and wildlife-rich land is fed by rivers in the Angolan highlands that flow into northern Botswana before draining into Namibia’s Kalahari Desert sands. Several Indigenous and local communities and a vast array of species including African elephants, black rhinos and cheetahs live among the vibrant marshlands. Much of the surrounding region is also teeming with wildlife. Fisher Kgetho hails from Botswana’s Wayei community and relies on his pole and dug-out canoe to skirt around the…

JALALABAD, Afghanistan  — Afghan religious scholars Saturday criticized a ban on female education, as a key Taliban minister warned clerics not to rebel against the government on the controversial issue. Girls cannot go to school beyond sixth grade in Afghanistan, with the education ban extending to universities. Women are barred from public spaces, including parks, and most forms of employment. Last week, Afghan women were barred from working at the U.N., according to the global body, although the Taliban have yet to make a public announcement. Authorities present the education restrictions as temporary suspensions rather than bans, but universities and…

AUGUSTA, Ga.  — Live updates from Saturday’s second and third rounds of the Masters (all times local): 10:35 a.m. Tiger Woods has backed into more history at the Masters. On a cold, rainy morning, Woods made his 23rd consecutive cut at the Masters despite closing the weather-delayed second round with back-to-back bogeys. He ties the record shared by Gary Player and Fred Couples. Woods has never missed the Masters cut since turning professional. Woods finished the round with a 1-over 73 and walked off the course a shot above the projected cut line of 2-over 146. But the line climbed…

The Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC) has come a long way since its inception in 1984 as the only service provider for Ethiopians in Chicago. It later expanded its coverage to Africans and all immigrants in the city. As of today, it has resettled over 800 refugees and assisted thousands of immigrants to adjust to cultural change. The ECAC’s executive director, Dr. Erku Yimer, counted his blessing and challenges in an interview with the editor of Chicago Inquirer Joseph Omoremi. Excerpts:             Inquirer: What is ECAC and what is the basis of your existence?             Yimer: We are a community…

1 of 248 results by Schuyler Dixon DALLAS  — Kyrie Irving had a seat next to Dallas owner Mark Cuban, and fellow All-Star Luka Doncic wasn’t far away in sweats after his limited duty was finished. Neither was available to address how the Mavericks essentially pulled the plug on their season before they were eliminated from the postseason. That chore was left to coach Jason Kidd — again. Coby White scored 24 points and the short-handed Chicago Bulls rallied past the depleted Mavericks 115-112 on Friday night, eliminating Dallas from play-in contention a year after the club reached the Western…

by Doug Ferguson AUGUSTA, Ga.  — The notion that players who joined LIV Golf would risk being sharp and properly prepared for the majors doesn’t apply to Brooks Koepka. It never really mattered how much or how well Koepka was playing. The majors always seemed to bring out his best. Based on two rounds at the Masters, they still do. Gaining confidence and a bit of swagger in his step, Koepka breezed around Augusta National without a bogey on Friday for a 5-under 67, giving him the lead over U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett and allowing him to take shelter…

by Paul Wiseman WASHINGTON  — America’s employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, suggesting that the economy remains on solid footing despite the nine interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has imposed over the past year in its drive to tame inflation. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, just above the 53-year low of 3.4% set in January. At the same time, some of the details of Friday’s report from the Labor Department raised the possibility that inflationary pressures might be easing and that the Fed might soon decide to pause its rate hikes. Average hourly wages were up…

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  — Tennessee Republicans have expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislaturefor their role in a protest calling for more gun control. Here’s a look at what could happen next: WHAT HAPPENED? Republicans voted Thursday to expel two Black lawmakers who last week approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant after joining protesters calling for passage of gun-control measures. The protests followed the March 27 shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville. Six people were killed, including three 9-year-old children. GOP leaders argued that the move…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday he was not required to disclose the many trips he and his wife took that were paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. Describing Crow and his wife, Kathy, as “among our dearest friends,” Thomas said in a statement that he was advised by colleagues on the nation’s highest court and others in the federal judiciary that “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.” Thomas did not name the other justices or those in the…