Author: chicagoinquirer

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday said Ethiopians already in the United States could remain for at least 18 months amid a war in Ethiopia’s north that pits federal troops and their allies against Tigray’s rebellious leaders. The Homeland Security Department estimates that 26,700 Ethiopians who were in the United States on Thursday will be eligible for Temporary Protected Status. “ Ethiopian nationals currently residing in the U.S. who cannot safely return due to conflict-related violence and a humanitarian crisis involving severe food shortages, flooding, drought, and displacement, will be able to remain and work in the United States…

by Samantha Hendrickson and David  Sharp COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s a busy Friday afternoon at a Somali restaurant on the northeast side of Columbus, home to second-largest Somali population in the United States. The smell of spices is just as robust as the loud conversation, and the East African restaurant is crowded after afternoon prayers at the nearby mosque. The hubbub grows when a familiar face swaggers in — Ismail Mohamed, a young Somali lawyer and candidate for the Ohio Legislature. Elders and youth alike clamor to say hello. The excitement that someone from their community could represent them in…

by Emeka Obasi Business continues to look up for oil and gas giant, Oilserv as new frontiers emerge even in a highly competitive and irregularly inclement global environment. The Nigerian conglomerate is deeply involved in huge projects spanning the West African Sub Region up North to Morocco and across the seas to Europe. The war in Ukraine has turned Western Europe away from gas supplies through Russia. The import is that eyes will be on markets elsewhere. Oilserv is fully prepared to be in the mix, providing services from across the Mediterranean. Chairman of Oilserv, Sir Emeka Okwuosa is an…

by Janie McCauley SAN FRANCISCO  — After all those thrilling NBA Finals battles of last decade, Stephen Curry and LeBron James can still put on a spectacular show well into their 30s. Opening night between these two greats showed why Curry’s team is on top these days. Curry began the season with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds despite a slow start, and the Golden State Warriors beat James and the Los Angeles Lakers 123-109 on Tuesday night after receiving their championship rings in a pregame ceremony. “I’m thrilled with the win,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Ring night is…

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…