Author: chicagoinquirer

by Gerald Imray CAPE TOWN, South Africa  — Rwanda has become the third African nation to enter into a deal with the Trump administration to accept migrants deported by the United States. The Rwandan government said Tuesday it has agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the U.S. for resettlement but didn’t immediately give any more details, including when they would arrive or what Rwanda got, if anything, out of the deal. The U.S. has already deported eight men it said were dangerous criminals who were in the U.S. illegally to South Sudan and another five to Eswatini. Here’s…

by Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria  — Nigerian customs said they seized more than 1,600 parrots and canaries that were being transported from Lagos international airport to Kuwait without a permit, in one the biggest wildlife trafficking seizures in years. The seizure is a sign of positive change in the fight against illegal wildlife trade, as Nigeria is a major hub in the global trade in protected species, Mark Ofua, West Africa spokesperson for the international non-governmental organization Wild Africa, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Customs agents seized ring-necked parakeets and green and yellow fronted canaries, two protected species, at…

by Joey Cappelletti and Andrew Demillo A standoff in Texas over redrawn U.S. House maps sought by President Donald Trump sharply escalated Sunday when dozens of Democratic legislators left the state to block a vote, followed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott warning them that he will seek their removal from office if they don’t return. The revolt by Democrats, and Abbott giving them until Monday to come home or face efforts to strip them of their elected positions, pushed a widening fight over congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections into new territory. At the center of the deepening…

by Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria  — It is like any other church in Nigeria ‘s megacity of Lagos. A lectern faces rows of plastic chairs. A biblical quote is written on a beam above. There is a music section, with a set of drums. Sash-wearing church wardens move around to enforce order. But it is also different. For hours, the only sounds are exclamations and thunderous bursts of drums, with their vibrations the cues for when to pray, kneel or respond to the preacher’s calls for “Hallelujah.” This is a church for deaf people in Somolu, a mixed-income suburb, where…

by Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti WASHINGTON  — The Senate is leaving Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!” Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year,…

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA said Saturday that the individual who threw a sex toy on the court at an Atlanta Dream game earlier in the week was arrested and that any person throwing objects onto the court will be ejected from the arena and face a minimum one-year ban. The incident in Atlanta occurred late in the fourth quarter of the Dream’s game against Golden State on Tuesday in College Park, Georgia. On Friday, another sex toy was thrown in Chicago under a basket after a whistle was blown to stop play during the third quarter of Golden…

by Stephen Groves WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate rejected an effort Wednesday from Sen. Bernie Sanders to block the sale of U.S. bombs and firearms to Israel, though the vote showed a growing number of Democrats opposed to the arms sales amid widespread hunger and suffering in Gaza. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, has repeatedly tried to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel over the last year. The resolutions before the Senate on Tuesday would have stopped the sale of $675 million in bombs as well as shipments of 20,000 automatic assault rifles to Israel. They again failed…

by Gene Chamberlain LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Quarterback Caleb Williams’ confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining. Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson’s offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack. “I think as of right now I think I’m rolling,” Williams said. “I’m pretty smooth with it as of right now.” It’s not perfect, as the offense continued Wednesday at practice to have difficulty getting into the end zone…

by Wafaa Shurafa, Sammy Magdy and Sally Abou Aljoud DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the U.S. Mideast envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israel’s military offensive and blockade have led to the “worst-case scenario of famine”in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has…

by Renata Brito MASERU, Lesotho  — The deafening roar of hundreds of sewing machines has gone silent. Spools of thread in every color are covered in dust. The warehouse is dark and empty. In the tiny African nation of Lesotho, clothing manufacturer Tzicc’s business has dried up in the face of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. A few months ago, work was steady. The factory’s 1,300 employees have made and exported sportswear to American stores, including JCPenney, Walmart and Costco. But when Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners in April, Lesotho found…