Author: chicagoinquirer

by Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro WASHINGTON  — Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that House lawmakers should start returning to Washington “right now” after a small group of Senate Democrats broke a 40-day stalemate late Sunday evening and voted with Republicans to move forward with legislation that would end the government shutdown. It is unclear when the Senate will hold final votes on the legislation. But Johnson said the “nightmare is finally coming to an end” after the Senate voted 60-40 to consider a compromise bill to fund the government. “We have to do this as quickly as possible,”…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO  — Caleb Williams threw a touchdown pass and scrambled for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, helping the Chicago Bears beat Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants 24-20 on Sunday. Led by Williams, Chicago scored the last 14 points after Younghoe Koo’s 19-yard field goal gave New York a 20-10 lead with 10:19 left. C.J. Gardner-Johnson had two sacks for the Bears (6-3), including one on Russell Wilson on a key third down in the final period. Williams sparked the rally with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze, making it 20-17 with 3:56…

by Mary Clare Japonick and Kevin Freking WASHINGTON  — Senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, hoping to find a bipartisan resolution that has eluded them as federal workers have gone unpaid, airlines have been forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for millions of Americans. As the weekend session was set to begin Saturday, it was uncertain whether Republicans and Democrats could make any headway toward reopening the government and breaking a partisan impasse that has now lasted 39 days. President Donald Trump…

by John Seewer Hundreds of flights at the busiest airports in the U.S. are being scratched this weekend as airlines move forward with reducing air service due to the lingering government shutdown. So far, the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandated slowdown across the airline industry that began Friday hasn’t caused any widespread disruptions. But it has widened the impact of what’s now the nation’s longest federal shutdown. “We all travel. We all have somewhere to be,” said Emmy Holguin, 36, who was flying out of Miami Saturday to visit family in the Dominican Republic for the week. “I’m hoping that the…

by Andrew Seligma CHICAGO  — Coach Ben Johnson understands the position his Chicago Bears are in and what’s at stake the rest of the way. The Bears (5-3) have won five of six, including three of four since their bye, to jump into the playoff race in Johnson’s first season. The last thing they need is a letdown against the struggling New York Giants after winning one of the wildest games in recent memory last weekend at Cincinnati. “The message to our guys going out of the bye week was we had to find a way to win three out…

by Steve Megargee MILWAUKEE  — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists and the Milwaukee Bucks opened their NBA Cup title defense with a 126-110 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The Bucks improved to 9-0 in the NBA Cup’s group play stage during the event’s three-year history. Milwaukee lost to Indiana in the semifinals two seasons ago and beat Oklahoma City 97-81 last year in the NBA Cup title game. Antetokounmpo scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks pull away. He shot 16 of 32 from the floor, the first…

by Mary Clare Jalonick WASHINGTON  — Senate Majority Leader John Thune pleaded with colleagues on Friday to “end these weeks of misery” as many Democrats pledged to vote against reopening the government until President Donald Trump and Republican leaders negotiate with them on an extension of health care benefits. A small group of Democrats has been negotiating with Republicans on a deal that would end the shutdown. But the contours of that agreement would only come with the promise of a future health care vote, rather than a guarantee that Affordable Care Act subsidies are extended by the end of…

by Daniella Matar and Tim Reynolds MILAN  — The NBA is targeting October 2027 as a potential launch date for the new Europe-based league that it and FIBA have been working to make happen, a league official said Friday. NBA Europe managing director George Aivagolozu, speaking at a conference in Milan, said the first season of the new league might be described as “a semi-opening,” indicating that not all of the slots in the planned 16-team league could be allocated at that time. The 16-team model calls for 12 permanent franchises, Aivagolozu said. He listed current target countries as Britain…

by David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Scott Bauer BOSTON  — President Donald Trump ’s administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to block a judge’s order that it distribute November’s full monthly SNAP food benefits amid a U.S. government shutdown, even as at least some states said they were moving quickly to get the money to people. The judge gave the Trump administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency…

by Tran Nguyen SACRAMENTO, Calif.  — California Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new U.S. House map that California voters decisively approved at the ballot. Proposition 50, backed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, is designed to help Democrats flip as many as five congressional House seats in the midterm electionsnext year. The lawsuit claims the map-makers illegally used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters, and asks the court to block the new boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit…