Author: chicagoinquirer

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…

by Justin Spike and Adam Schreck ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine  — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called the attack that damaged the huge bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea “a terrorist act” masterminded by Ukrainian special services. The Kerch Bridge, which holds important strategic and symbolic value to Russia in its faltering war in Ukraine, was hit a day earlier by what Moscow has said was a truck bomb. Road and rail traffic on the bridge were temporarily halted, damaging a vital supply route for the Kremlin’s forces. “There’s no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at…

WASHINGTON  — Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville asserted that Democrats support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people because “they think the people that do the crime are owed that.” The first-term Alabama Republican spoke at a Saturday evening rally in Nevada featuring former President Donald Trump, a political ally. His comments were part of a broader critique in the final weeks before the Nov. 8 election, when control of Congress is at stake, about how Democrats have responded to rising crime rates. But Tuberville’s remarks about reparations played into racist stereotypes about Black people committing crimes. “They’re not soft on…

by Adam Schreck and Vasilisa Stepanenko KHARKIV, Ukraine  — An explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia on Saturday, damaging a key supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. Russian authorities said a truck bomb caused the blast and that three people were killed. The speaker of Crimea’s Kremlin-backed regional parliament immediately accused Ukraine of being behind the explosion, though Moscow didn’t apportion blame. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge and some lauded the destruction, but Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility. The bombing came a…

WASHINGTON  — For most Americans, Friday’s September jobs report was welcome news: Businesses kept hiring at a brisk pace, unemployment fell back to a half-century low and average pay rose. Yet for the Federal Reserve, the jobs figures highlight how little progress they’re making in their fight against inflation. With the Fed more likely to keep raising borrowing costs rapidly, the risk of recession will also rise. Employers did pull back slightly on hiring last month, and average wage gains slowed. But economists say neither is falling fast enough for the Fed to slow its inflation-fighting efforts. As a result,…

by Paul Wiseman WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers slowed their hiring in September but still added 263,000 jobs, a solid figure that will likely keep the Federal Reserve on pace to keep raising interest rates aggressively to fight persistently high inflation. Friday’s government report showed that hiring fell from 315,000 in August to the weakest monthly gain since April 2021. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.7% to 3.5%, matching a half-century low. The Fed is hoping that a slower pace of hiring would eventually mean less pressure on employers to raise pay and pass those costs on to their customers…

by Gene Chamberlain LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Impatience is something Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver Darnell Mooney cannot afford. The Bears (2-2) made small strides in Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the New York Giants and hope to build on those against the Minnesota Vikings (3-1) this week, even with the offense mired near the bottom of the league in most passing categories. “I understand the process we have to go through with our offense and everything being new, everybody still learning and just trying to believe in the offense itself,” Mooney said. “It’s a process. It’s a…