By Emeka Obasi He is Chief of the Air Staff wearing the rank of an Air Marshal. Beyond that,  the name Sunday Kelvin Aneke animates celebrations in many bases around the country, beginning from the Sam Ethnan Barracks,home of 651 Base Service Group, Ikeja. In the past, an Air Force base commander was like a tin God, dreaded by his subordinates and avoided by kids in the community. Now, Aneke has brought himself to the level of tiny tots and families of service personnel. I sat down recently to chat with people from Sam Ethnan Barracks. One of them opened…

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria’s parliament approved a resolution Sunday to send troops to Niger, making it the first time Algerian soldiers will be deployed abroad since 1973, when they were sent to support Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war. Authorities have not released any information about when and where exactly the Algerian army detachment will be deployed, or how many soldiers will be involved. Algerian Sen. Belkacem Boulghiti said troops would be sent “to protect Algeria’s economic and strategic interests, particularly its oil facilities in Niger.” “We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission…

by David Crary Two Catholic bishops have expressed regret about agreeing to a White House meeting that produced a publicly distributed photo of them praying with President Donald Trump. Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, in a statement titled “A Public Apology,” said Sunday that he had received many questions and comments — some of them distraught — about the meeting on Thursday which he and 11 other bishops attended. He said the meeting was speedily publicized by the White House with photos and a video, without consent of the participants, and less than two weeks away from the midterm elections. “I…

by Jesse Bedayn McALLEN, Texas  — The Ford Expedition rumbled to a stop and Cindy Banda’s bedazzled flip-flops landed on the asphalt of the Houston cancer center’s vast parking lot. She threaded through the rows of cars, a tally of patients who gather here to sit with chemotherapy needles or lie on radiation machines. The elevator dinged open. A year ago in this building, surgeons removed Banda’s right breast, and she still didn’t know whether treatment had expunged the cancer from her body. Doctors had told her it would be tough to beat. “I’m more of a positive person myself,”…

by Jacqurline Ganun and Steve Peoples DETROIT — Former President Barack Obama on Saturday seized on what he described as cruelty and indecency coming from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, stepping into one of the nation’s ugliest midterm fights as he worked to rally Democratic voters in two Midwestern battlegrounds. First in Ohio, Obama took aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also defended the ad, even as Republican leaders across Ohio, including…

by Josh Boak and Jill Colvin WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — President Donald Trump cast his ballot in the midterm elections Saturday, saying he voted for all Republicans in Florida before speaking at a Georgia rally. Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived at their West Palm Beach polling location at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office together after the president spent the morning at his nearby golf course. Trump has been criticized in the past for voting by mail despite his long history of railing against that method of submitting ballots. Asked if he voted the party…

by Jacqueline Ganun and Steve Peoples Former President Barack Obama on Saturday seized on what he described as cruelty and indecency coming from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, stepping into one of the nation’s ugliest midterm fights as he worked to rally Democratic voters in battleground Ohio. Obama took specific aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also defended the ad, even as Republican leaders across Ohio, including Gov. Mike DeWine, have called…

by Nicholas Riccardi RALEIGH, N.C.  — In 2022, Democrat Wiley Nickel ran as a moderate and narrowly won North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District by about 9,000 votes. Two years later, the current congressman, Republican Brad Knott, ran as a conservative and coasted into the U.S. House by more than 70,000 votes. Voters didn’t change their minds. Politicians changed their voters. The Republican-controlled legislature redrew the state’s congressional map to transform what was one of the last remaining swing districts in the South to a safe GOP seat. Lawmakers split the rectangular 13th District into an hourglass shape that carved out…

by Sarah Pankin and Alanna Durkin Richer NORFOLK, Va.  — Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, one of the state’s most powerful Democrats, was charged Thursday with leading what authorities alleged was a wide-ranging criminal enterprise that acquired and distributed large quantities of marijuana and laundered the proceeds. Lucas, who has been in elected office for decades, used her political power to insulate the operation from scrutiny, according to an indictment charging her and six other defendants, including several of her relatives. She “put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve,” said U.S. Attorney General…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO (AP) — Round 2 went to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. Williams passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears cooled off Drake Maye and the New England Patriots with a 30-24 victory Thursday night. It was the second meeting between the young quarterbacks since they were part of the 2024 NFL draft. Maye, who was selected by New England at No. 3, directed the Patriots to a 19-3 victory over Williams and the Bears when the longtime friends were rookies. But Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, leaned on Luther Burden and…