Author: chicagoinquirer

by Daniel Trotta ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA – Four top aides to North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor resigned on Sunday, three days after CNN reported that he once called himself a “black NAZI!” and proposed bringing back slavery in comments posted on a pornography website. Mark Robinson, an African American who denied making the comments, announced that his campaign manager, finance director, deputy campaign manager and senior advisor had stepped down from their roles with the campaign without saying why. Robinson currently serves as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor. North Carolina’s gubernatorial campaign has implications for the presidential contest on the…

by Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON – Enhanced background checks have blocked thousands of gun sales to people under the age of 21 and those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes in the past year, the White House said on Sunday, a year after President Joe Biden set up a new office to accelerate work on preventing gun violence. Homicides have dropped 17% in the period, building on the largest-ever drop in homicides in 2023, the White House said. It said data from the Gun Violence Archive showed that mass shootings were also down 20% to date in 2024 compared to a…

by Bo Erickson WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday proposed a three-month stopgap funding bill that excludes an immigration-related measure demanded by Donald Trump, as lawmakers look to avert a month-end partial government shutdown. Johnson laid out the plan in a letter to colleagues released just eight days before the government’s current $1.2 trillion in discretionary funding runs out on Sept. 30. The chamber will aim to vote on the measure on Wednesday, according to a source with knowledge of the plan. Failure to act by then would furlough thousands of federal workers and…

INDIANAPOLIS – Jonathan Taylor ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, Trey Sermon added a rushing TD and Jaylon Jones snagged two interceptions to boost the host Indianapolis Colts to a 21-16 victory against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Indianapolis (1-2) overcame a pair of Anthony Richardson interceptions, succeeding with its ground game while shoring up what had been a suspect run defense. The Colts had 150 rushing yards compared to 63 for the Bears (1-2). Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft, was 33-of-52 passing for a career-high 363 yards and his first…

by Gabriella Borter ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – An intimate crowd gathered around a blue bus and listened intently while Hadley Duvall, an abortion rights advocate and a supporter of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, told how she was raped and impregnated by her stepfather at age 12. Duvall ultimately had a miscarriage but said that under new abortion laws in her home state of Kentucky, she would have been forced to carry the pregnancy to term. Aleyda Garcia, 53, held a Harris campaign sign in Spanish and teared up. Her son Brandon Rodriguez, 18, wiped a drop from his mother’s cheek. A…

by Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON – Michael Montalvo has served 37 years in U.S. federal prison for leading a criminal enterprise that sold tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine in California and during that time he has earned a law degree and helped other inmates obtain their freedom through a program called compassionate release. But due to a quirk in the law, the 78-year-old Vietnam War veteran is barred from seeking compassionate release himself. He has two options to get out of prison: death or persuading President Joe Biden to grant him clemency. Montalvo is one of more…

by Jonathan J. Cooper PHOENIX — Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her efforts to win over voters who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, enlisting prominent members of the faith to make the case in pivotal Arizona that Donald Trump does not align with the church’s values. Her state campaign announced on Thursday an advisory committee to formalize the outreach to current and former members of the church, widely known as the Mormon church. With nearly 450,000 church members in Arizona, about 6% of the state’s population, Latter-day Saints and former church members could…

By Gabriella Borter and Stephanie Kelly FARMINGTON HILLS, Michigan -A star-studded virtual event hosted by Oprah Winfrey Thursday night to build enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ campaign was marked by teary moments and celebrity endorsements, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers across social media. Winfrey hosted the “Unite for America” event with activist group Win with Black Women, that aimed to register people to vote and bolster Harris in states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan that are set to decide the Nov. 5 election. Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year old Georgia woman who died in…

y Ahmad Ghaddar, Trixie Yap and Shariq Khan LONDON/SINGAPORE/NEW YORK – Oil refiners in Asia, Europe and the United States are facing a drop in profitability to multi-year lows, marking a downturn for an industry that had enjoyed surging returns post-pandemic and underlining the extent of the current slowdown in global demand. The weakness is a further sign of soft consumer and industrial demand, especially in China, because of slowing economic growth and rising penetration of electric vehicles. New refineries coming on stream in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have added to the downward pressure. Refiners such as TotalEnergies…

Tina Charles of the Atlanta Dream became the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder on Thursday night. The 13-year WNBA veteran grabbed three rebounds during the first quarter of the regular-season finale against one of her former teams, the host New York Liberty, to surpass Sylvia Fowles with 4,007 rebounds and counting for her career. The record came on an offensive rebound less than four minutes into the game. She, in fact, had two offensive rebounds on one Atlanta possession before Allisha Gray scored on a driving layup. Charles, 35, had starred for the Connecticut Sun (2010-13), Liberty (2014-19), Washington Mystics (2021),…