Author: chicagoinquirer

by Dave Cambell MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards was determined to keep Minnesota’s spirits up, from the flight home after a frustrating trip to Oklahoma City into a crucial game in these Western Conference finals. Positive energy is never hard for him to find. Edwards had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists in just three quarters for the Timberwolves in a 143-101 victory on Saturday night in Game 3 that cut the Thunder’s lead in the series to 2-1. “Just ultimate pressure on the ball,” Edwards said, “and shoot it as much as I can.” Julius Randle added 24 points…

by Bill Barrow PAINTSVILLE, Ky. — Janet Lynn Stumbo leaned on her cane and surveyed the two dozen or so voters who had convened in a small Appalachian town to meet with the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. A former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, the 70-year-old Stumbo said the event was “the biggest Democratic gathering I have ever seen in Johnson County,” an enclave where Republican Donald Trump got 85% of the presidential vote last November. Paintsville, the county seat, was the latest stop on the state party’s “Rural Listening Tour,” a periodic effort to visit overwhelmingly white, culturally…

by Valerie Gonzalez and Elliot Spigot McALLEN, Texas — The Trump administration has continued releasing people charged with being in the country illegally to nongovernmental shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border after telling those organizations that providing migrants with temporary housing and other aid may violate a law used to prosecute smugglers. Border shelters, which have long provided lodging, meals and transportation to the nearest bus station or airport, were rattled by a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that raised “significant concerns” about potentially illegal activity and demanded detailed information in a wide-ranging investigation. FEMA suggested shelters may have…

by Thomas Adamson and John Leicester PARIS — A Paris court on Friday found the ringleader and seven other people guilty in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, but did not impose any additional time behind bars for their roles in what the U.S. celebrity described as “the most terrifying experience of my life.” The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants’ ages — six are in their 60s and 70s — and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose sentences that he said “aren’t very severe.” He said that the nine years between…

by Samya Kullab and Hanna Arhirova CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange Friday, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine. “It’s very important to bring everyone home,”…

by Collin Binkley WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off Harvard’s enrollment of foreign students, an action the Ivy League school decried as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands. In its lawsuit filed earlier Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.” “With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to…

by Jonel Aleccia The supermarket chain Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold in eight states because product testing found elevated levels of lead, according to federal health officials. Publix recalled 4-ounce Greenwise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches sold at more than 1,400 stores. The pouches were produced by Bowman Andros, a French company with a manufacturing plant in Mount Jackson, Virginia, according to the company’s website. Publix issued the voluntary recall on May 9, but it wasn’t added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall list until late Thursday. The potential contamination was…

Y CLIFF BRUNT Updated 11:37 PM CDT, May 22, 2025 Share OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 21 field goals and 13 of 15 free throws after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game. “I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start,”…

by Jean-Yves Kamale and Mark Banchereau KINSHASA, Congo — Congo’s senate has voted overwhelmingly to lift former President Joseph Kabila of his parliamentary immunity, paving the way for his prosecution over his alleged support of a rebel insurgency in the country’s east. “The Senate authorizes the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila’s immunity,” Senate speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde said Thursday after the vote. Kabila has not commented on his immunity being lifted. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said the former president is accused of “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectional movement” in the country’s east. Earlier…

by Collin Binkley WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands. In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.” “With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard…