Author: chicagoinquirer

Chauncey Billups and Vince Carter were among those enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday night. Billups and Carter headlined a 2024 class that featured 13 inductees, seven who went into the Hall of Fame as players. Both Billups and Carter were members of that group, which also included Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Seimone Augustus, Dick Barnett and Michele Timms. Bo Ryan, Charles Smith and Harley Redin joined the Class of 2024 as coaches, while Doug Collins, Herb Simon and Jerry West were selected as contributors. West, who died in June at the…

By Abhirup Roy and Chris Kirkham SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla’s reveal of a robotaxi designed as a low-slung, two-seater, sporty coupe – quite the opposite of a typical taxi with room for several passengers and luggage – flummoxed investors and analysts. CEO Elon Musk served up the cool design for the prototype of the Tesla robotaxi, dubbed Cybercab, at a much-hyped event near Los Angeles late on Thursday. These will go into production some time in 2026 and cost less than $30,000 a pop, he said. But in true Musk style, he skipped over expectations of how a two-seater…

CHICAGO -Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich put on a performance for the ages as she obliterated the women’s marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday, taking nearly two minutes off the previous best to win in an unofficial time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds. Chepngetich ditched the competition by the halfway mark and ran through a chorus of cheers through the final straight as she claimed her third title in Chicago and crushed Ethiopian Tigst Assefa’s previous record of 2:11:53, set last year in Berlin. Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede crossed the line seven minutes and 36 seconds later while Kenyan…

by Trevor Hunnicutt ST PETE BEACH, Florida -After surveying battered communities and debris-filled streets in Florida, President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to continue supporting the state’s recovery from Hurricane Milton, the second major storm to pummel the region in recent weeks. Rising floodwaters, fuel shortages and power outages are hindering cleanup efforts from the storm that made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane and residents struggling to rebuild their lives amid the compounded devastation left by both Milton and the earlier Hurricane Helene. Residents of hard-hit St. Pete Beach are “heartbroken and exhausted and their expenses are piling up,”…

LONDON – Rookie Caleb Williams tossed a career-best four touchdown passes to lead the Chicago Bears to a 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in London. Williams continued to impress, completing 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards and an interception. He also ran for 56 yards on four attempts. His four scoring tosses helped the Bears (4-2) win their third game in a row. It was Williams’ third multi-touchdown performance in his past four starts. He finished with a 124.4 passer rating.Jacksonville (1-5) failed to put together back-to-back wins after snapping a four-game losing streak last week.…

by Jeff Mason WASHINGTON -Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, released a letter from her doctor on Saturday that pronounced her in good health and fit for high office, in an effort to draw a contrast with her counterpart, Donald Trump. In a memo distributed by the White House, the vice president’s physician, Joshua Simmons, said Harris’s most recent physical exam in April was “unremarkable,” that she maintains an active lifestyle and “very healthy diet” despite a busy schedule, suffers from seasonal allergies and sporadic hives, does not use tobacco and drinks alcohol only in moderation. “She possesses…

by Abhirup Roy and Chris Kirkham SAN FRANCISCO – Tesla’s reveal of a robotaxi designed as a low-slung, two-seater, sporty coupe – quite the opposite of a typical taxi with room for several passengers and luggage – flummoxed investors and analysts. CEO Elon Musk served up the cool design for the prototype of the Tesla robotaxi, dubbed Cybercab, at a much-hyped event near Los Angeles late on Thursday. These will go into production some time in 2026 and cost less than $30,000 a pop, he said. But in true Musk style, he skipped over expectations of how a two-seater robotaxi…

The WNBA Finals will expand to a best-of-seven series for the first time in 2025, the league announced Thursday ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 championship series between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. The league has never seen a best-of-seven playoff series, but the 2025 Finals will mark the first and utilize a 2-2-1-1-1 format — meaning the higher seed will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 and the lower seed will host Games 3, 4 and 6. Among other changes on the way for the burgeoning league, the regular season will grow from 40…

by Lewis Krauskopf and Suzanne McGee NEW YORK – The health of the U.S. consumer moves into the spotlight next week, with investors watching corporate earnings reports and retail sales data for further confirmation of the economic resilience that has boosted equity markets this month. As earnings season kicks off, stocks are on a roll. The benchmark S&P 500 is set to post its fifth straight weekly gain and is hovering near a fresh record high after rising over 21% this year. Driving the gains is a string of encouraging economic data that have all but dispelled the slowdown fears…

LONDON – The U.S. presidential election, the most consequential vote for financial markets in an election-packed year, is weeks away. With Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump locked in a close race to win the Nov. 5 election, we look at what matters most for world markets. EUROPE IN THE BALANCE For European equity markets, a Trump victory could spell trouble for export-heavy sectors, particularly German automakers such as BMW but also LVMH and other luxury goods makers as concerns of renewed trade tensions loom. Barclays has warned of possible “high single-digit” percentage drops in European earnings…