by Mark Kennedy NEW YORK — Hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars — including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep — are urging Americans “fight to defend and preserve our constitutionally protected rights” in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. More than 430 movie, TV and stage stars as well as comedians, directors and writers added their names to an open letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union that argues it is “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” The move comes less than a week…

by Sam Magdy CAIRO — Egyptians reacted with outrage this week after officials said that a 3,000-year-old bracelet that had belonged to an ancient pharaoh was stolen from Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum and then melted down for gold. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said in televised comments late Saturday that the bracelet was stolen on Sep. 9 while officials at the museum were preparing artifacts for an exhibit in Italy. He blamed “laxity” in implementing procedures at the facility and said that prosecutors were still investigating. The bracelet, containing a lapis lazuli bead, belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned…

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO — Ben Johnson had just presented game balls to Caleb Williams and Tremaine Edmunds in a raucous locker room. There was one more to give. Williams tossed the ball to Johnson and the players mobbed their coach. After two brutal losses to start the season, the Bears sure felt better after this. Williams tied a career high with four touchdown passes and Chicago gave Johnson his first win as an NFL head coach by beating the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 on Sunday. “It’s awesome,” Williams said. “The trust and belief and hard work and just all of…

by Lisa Mascaro WASHINGTON  — As a possible federal shutdown looms, the Democratic leaders of Congress are demanding a meeting with President Donald Trump to negotiate an end to what they call “your decision” to shutter government offices if no action is taken by the end-of-the month deadline. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said Saturday that Republicans, at Trump’s insistence, have refused to enter talks. Democrats are pushing to preserve health care programs as part of any deal to keep government running past the Sept. 30 funding deadline. “We write to demand a meeting in connection with your…

LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — The Chicago Bears placed star cornerback Jaylon Johnson on injured reserve on Saturday after the two-time Pro Bowler indicated during the week he might have season-ending groin surgery. Johnson left a blowout loss at Detroit last week after he was hurt breaking up a pass. He said Monday in his weekly appearance on WSCR-AM that the groin “as a whole just needs to get repaired” and that he was “trying to see what’s the best option.” Johnson missed training camp, the preseason and the season opener because of a groin injury. But he said he suffered…

by Rebecca Santana PARK RIDGE, Ill. — It was 3:30 a.m. when 10 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gathered in a parking lot in the Chicago suburbs for a briefing about a suspect they were hoping to arrest. They went over a description of the person, made sure their radios were on the same channel and discussed where the closest hospital was in case something went wrong. “Let’s plan on not being there,” said one of the officers, before they climbed into their vehicles and headed out. Across the city and surrounding suburbs, other teams were fanning out in…

by Andrew Wilks ISTANBUL  — There is “absolutely no evidence” that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin wants to negotiate peace in Ukraine, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency said Friday in an outgoing speech. Richard Moore, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 as it is more commonly known, said Putin was “stringing us along.” “He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed,” Moore said. “Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he – and many…

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO  — The Chicago Bears all but slammed the door on building an enclosed stadium in the city, with team president Kevin Warren writing in a letter to fans on Monday that the team’s “future home” is in suburban Arlington Heights. “Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily,” Warren said. “This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding. The Bears draw fans from all over Illinois, and over 50 percent of our season-ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.” The Bears sent the…

by Lauran Neerguard WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Thursday to shut down a Miami organ donation group, calling it “failing” because of underperformance, unsafe practices and paperwork errors. The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency is one of 55 organ procurement organizations, or OPOs, nonprofit agencies around the country that coordinate the recovery of organs from deceased donors and help match them to patients on the nation’s transplant waiting list. The administration cited an investigation that found a 2024 case where an unspecified mistake led a surgeon to decline a donated heart for a patient awaiting surgery. In a news…

by Mary Clare Jalonick WASHINGTON  — The Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees at once, voting for the first time under new rules to begin clearing a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democrats. Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups of lower-level, non-judicial nominations. Democrats had forced multiple votes on almost every one of Trump’s picks, infuriating the president and tying up the Senate floor. The new rules allow Senate Republicans to move multiple nominees with a simple majority vote —…