Author: chicagoinquirer

by Gene Chamberlain LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is doing his best to ward off negative thoughts after a losing start to the season. Williams — 21 of 35 for 210 yards — couldn’t beat the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night and he did more damage at times with his legs during the 27-24 loss in Ben Johnson’s first game as coach of the Bears. “There was a lot of positive that came out of that,” Williams said Wednesday. “Obviously, we had negatives. Within that game, kind of how coach Johnson said, we had more negative…

by Wyatt Grantham-Philips NEW YORK  — Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup is here. The tech giant on Tuesday unveiled four new models that mark the latest editions to its marquee product. That includes the introduction of the iPhone Air, which Apple says is its thinnest smartphone yet. And, as seen in years past, its newest phones boast better cameras, longer lasting batteries and a handful of other upgrades across the board. The latest devices come with a new a A19 chip, which will particularly help power Apple’s artificial intelligence features. Tuesday’s lineup mark the first phones Apple has released since President…

by Rob Maaddi Jalen Carter’s penalty for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sends a message to the rest of the league. Carter is losing $57,222 for the infraction, the equivalent of his game check for Week 1 because the NFL considers the punishment a one-game suspension with time served. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle didn’t play a snap after he was ejected from Philadelphia’s 24-20 victory over Dallas on Thursday. Carter is expected to be on the field when the Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch on Sunday. The team could impose its own…

by Gene Chamberlain LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — The process of getting to know his quarterback has Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson looking for answers after only one game, along with overall offensive consistency. Losing a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter of a 27-24 opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings showed Johnson both the strengths of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams and also problems he’s had since his rookie season. “It was up and down,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We had mixed results. There were some things that he did that were top notch and I would put him up there…

by Christopher Rogaber and Lindsay Whitehurst WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled Tuesday that embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her position while she fights President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire her. The ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert more control over the traditionally independent Fed, which sets short-term interest rates to achieve its congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment. Congress has also sought to insulate the Fed from day-to-day politics. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb late Tuesday granted Cook’s request for a…

by Lindsay Whitehurst WASHINGTON  — The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard during his law enforcement interventionin Washington, with the city’s top legal official saying the surge of troops amounts to a forced “military occupation.” Brian Schwalb, the district’s elected attorney general, said in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, which now involves more than 1,000 troops, is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. “No American jurisdiction should be involuntarily subjected to military occupation,” Schwalb wrote. The Republican president has already said he plans to send the…

by David A. Lieb JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  — Missouri lawmakers are meeting in a special session to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to bolster Republicans’ chances of retaining control of Congress in next year’s elections. The special session called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday and will run at least a week. Missouri is the third state to pursue the unusual task of mid-decade redistricting for partisan advantage. Republican-led Texas, prodded by Trump, was the first to take up redistricting with a new map aimed at…

by Will Weissert and Sophia Tareen WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ready to order federal authorities to mobilize and combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition from elected leaders and many residents in both cities. Asked by reporters in the Oval Office about sending National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added, “I didn’t say when.” “I have an obligation,” the president said. ”This isn’t a political thing.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, scoffed at the notion of sending military troops and…

by Andrew Seligman LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson hopes to be ready for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Monday night. He just wasn’t ready to make any promises after missing all of training camp because of a groin injury he suffered while working out in the summer. “I’m doing everything I can to play,” he said in his first comments since last spring. “I know I had a good workout this morning, so I’m feeling good, probably the best I felt all offseason — well, training camp, per se —…

\by Joey Cappelletti and Bill Barrow WASHINGTON  — JB Pritzker took a water taxi along the Chicago Riverwalk, past one of Donald Trump’s famous downtown towers. The gleaming and heavily trafficked tourist district was a deliberate backdrop on the day the Illinois governor directed a defiant message toward the White House: “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.” The governor’s protests, however, may not matter. After Trump’s National Guard deployments to Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C. this month, the Republican says his next targets for federal intervention may be two…