Author: chicagoinquirer

Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France on Wednesday. Their lawsuit filed in the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte accuses the stock car series and the France family of using anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport. “We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition, and winning,” the two teams said in a joint statement. “Off the racetrack, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive…

ATLANTA, GA – Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter, who has lived longer than any U.S. president in history, celebrates his 100th birthday on Tuesday. Carter, a Democrat, served a single term as president from January 1977 to January 1981. His decades of humanitarian work after leaving office, including the promotion of human rights and alleviating poverty in countries around the world, earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. His birthday, which comes 19 months after he entered hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, is being marked by the broadcast of a tribute concert by stars of country, rock…

By Bo Erickson CORCORAN, California – California is so heavily Democratic that neither the party’s presidential candidate Kamala Harris nor her Republican rival Donald Trump even bother to campaign here. It is an entirely different matter, however, in the fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The state is home to six of the 38 most competitive House races, according to a Reuters analysis, and five of those seats are held by Republicans. With Democrats seeking to overturn the Republicans’ narrow 220-212 House majority, California is a key battlefield with contested districts stretching in a band from east…

WASHINGTON – Ralph de la Torre will step down as CEO of troubled Steward Health Care next week, the company said on Saturday, after he was held in criminal contempt by the U.S. Senate for refusing to testify about cost-cutting decisions at the group’s 31 hospitals before it filed for bankruptcy. In a statement, the Dallas-based company said de la Torre would no longer serve as its CEO and chairman as of Oct. 1 as part of an agreement in principle reached earlier this month. A spokesperson for de la Torre confirmed that the former heart surgeon “has amicably separated…

by David Lewis and Jessica Donati DAKAR – Mali’s military-led authorities have arrested four employees of Canadian miner Barrick Gold, two sources said on Friday. All four are senior Malian employees, one of the sources said. Barrick is the world’s second-largest gold miner and one of Mali’s top gold producers, but like other international miners it has been under growing pressure in the West African country since a junta seized power in 2020. A government official based in the region and speaking on condition of anonymity said four Barrick employees had been arrested for alleged financial crimes. Barrick declined to…

WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over Republican rival Donald Trump in six U.S. swing states and is tied in a seventh, according to a Bloomberg poll of likely voters released on Friday. Her leads in individual states are within the poll’s statistical margin of error, underscoring that the Nov. 5 contest could be decided by the narrowest of margins, it said. The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows Harris leading by 7 percentage points in Nevada, 5 points in Pennsylvania, 3 points in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, and 2 points in North Carolina. The two…

By David Shepardson NEW YORK – District Judge Reed O’Connor said Friday he will hold a hearing on Oct. 11 to consider objections from relatives of those killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes to the planemaker’s agreement to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy. On July 24, the planemaker finalized an agreement to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration and pay up to $487 million after breaching a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Family members of some of the 346 people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 argue the fine is…

by Luc Cohen NEW YORK -New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish nationals, as the Democrat resists mounting calls from within his own party to resign. Adams, 64, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker at his first appearance in the case in Manhattan federal court. He wore a dark blue suit with a purple dotted tie, and stared straight ahead as Parker explained the five felony counts he faces, including bribery and wire fraud. “I am not guilty, your honor,” Adams…

by Amy Tennery NEW YORK – The Chicago Marathon plans to honour the late Kenyan marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum at next month’s race, a year after he smashed the men’s world record in the Windy City. Kiptum was aged only 23 when he put on a performance for the ages to break the tape in two hours and 35 seconds. He died in a car accident four months later, cutting short his promising career. Organisers have planned a moment of silence at the starting line to honour Kiptum and a brief exhibit celebrating his career at the pre-race expo, with…

by Steve Holland, Patricia Zengerle and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv repel Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a major commitment. The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 81 miles (130 km). The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukrainians to do it at safer distances. The bomb, capable of…