Author: chicagoinquirer

by Lisa Mascaro WASHINGTON — No longer in charge, Sen. Mitch McConnell has been speaking his mind, the long-serving GOP leader rejecting President Donald Trump’s more high-profile Cabinet nominees — alone at times, among the Republicans, casting his no votes. When it came to Pete Hegseth, now the defense secretary, who faced allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive behavior toward women, McConnell said the combat veteran had “failed, as yet, to demonstrate” he was ready for the job. The “desire to be a change agent is not enough,” McConnell said. On Tulsi Gabbard, who was sworn in this week as…

by Illia Novikov and Efrem Lukatsky CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER STATION, Ukraine (AP) — A drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, punching a hole in the structure and briefly starting a fire, in an attack Kyiv blamed on Russia. The Kremlin denied it was responsible. Radiation levels at the shuttered plant in the Kyiv region — site of the world’s worst nuclear accident — have not increased, according to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, which said the strike did not breach the plant’s inner containment shell. In this photo…

by Michael R. Sizak and Larry Neumeister NEW YORK — An assistant U.S. attorney involved in prosecuting New York City Mayor Eric Adams became at least the seventh person to resign from the Justice Department in a standoff over the future of the corruption case, telling the department’s second-in-command Friday that it would take a “fool” or a “coward” to meet his demand to drop the charges. Prosecutor Hagan Scotten became the latest casualty in an epic showdown between Justice Department leadership in Washington and its office in New York, which has long prided itself on its independence. Scotten, along…

PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, hitting the mark against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night with a free throw late in the third quarter. The 36-year-old Phoenix Suns forward, who recently was voted to his 15th All-Star team, joins LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain in the 30,000-point club. Julius Erving also hit the mark when combining his points scored in the NBA and ABA. “It’s a true honor to be in the same category as those players who helped…

by greg Beacham LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic was the last starter introduced by the Los Angeles Lakers, an honor normally reserved for LeBron James. When Doncic jogged into the spotlight on a darkened court through a cordon of his new teammates, his new fans stood and roared while wearing thousands of gold T-shirts with his name and number. Even a young superstar could feel the magnificence of the moment. “I was a little nervous before,” Doncic said. “I (don’t remember) the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court again, it was…

by Zeke Miller and Michelle L. Price WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose 14-year sentence for political corruption charges he commuted during his first term. The Republican president called the Democratic former governor, who once appeared on Trump’s reality TV show “Celebrity Apprentice,” “a very fine person” and said the conviction and prison sentence “shouldn’t have happened.” “I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with,” Trump said at the White House as he signed the pardon. Blagojevich…

by Eliaser Ndeyanle, Farai Mutsaka and Gerald Imray OSHAKATI, Namibia — Sam Nujoma, the fiery, white-bearded freedom fighter who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, coming to be known as the father of his nation, has died. He was 95. Nujoma’s death was announced Sunday by current Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, who said Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalized in the capital, Windhoek. “The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken,” Mbumba said in a statement. “Over the past three weeks, the Founding…

by Maria Cheng LONDON — The head of the U.N. AIDS agency said Monday the number of new HIV infections could jump more than six times by 2029 if American support of the biggest AIDS program is dropped, warning that millions of people could die and more resistant strains of the disease could emerge. In an interview with The Associated Press, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said HIV infections have been falling in recent years, with just 1.3 million new cases recorded in 2023, a 60% decline since the virus peaked in 1995. But since President Donald Trump’s announcement the…

by Rob Maaddi NEW ORLEANS — Yo Philly: Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni are world champions. A ferocious Philadelphia Eagles defense tormented and frustrated Patrick Mahomes while Hurts made all the plays the offense needed. So much for the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for a Super Bowl three-peat. It wasn’t even close. Cooper DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Josh Sweat pressured Mahomes all night and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship. Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush push to earn…

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH AND TIA GOLDENBERG Updated 3:36 PM CST, February 8, 2025 Share DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday in the latest exchange of a ceasefire that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza. The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a handover ceremony sparked outrage in Israel and could increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire beyond its current six-week phase. Netanyahu has signaled he would resume the war, even…