Author: chicagoinquirer

by Mike Catalini and Gene Johnson SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order denying U.S. citizenship to the children of parents living in the country illegally, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional” during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution promises citizenship to those born on U.S. soil, a measure ratified in 1868 to ensure citizenship for former slaves after the Civil War. But in an effort to curb unlawful immigration, Trump issued the executive order just after being sworn in for his second term…

by Adriana Gomez Licon President Donald Trump is poised to sign the first bill of his new administration, and it is named after a slain Georgia nursing student whose name became a rallying cry during his White House campaign. If signed into law, the Laken Riley Act would require the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes. The bill won bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Here are some things to know about the Laken Riley Act: Who was Laken Riley? Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing when she went…

by Jamie Stengle DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The order is among a flurry of executive actions Trump has quickly taken the first week of his second term. Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “everything will be revealed.” Trump had promised during his reelection campaign…

by Mike Catalini Attorneys general from 22 states sued Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s move to end a century-old immigration practice known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status. Trump’s roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he’s talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain amid what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle over the president’s immigration policies and a constitutional right to citizenship. The Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights advocates say the question of birthright…

by Brian Kelley LONDON — Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made a rare apology to Prince Harry in settling his privacy invasion lawsuit and will pay him a substantial sum, his lawyer announced Wednesday. News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun,” attorney David Sherborne read from settlement statement in court. It was the first time News Group Newspapers has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a…

by Mogomotsi Magma CARLETONVILLE, South Africa (AP) — A specialized camera was lowered late last year into an almost 2.6-kilometer- (1.6-mile-) deep mineshaft in South Africa where hundreds of miners were reported to be trapped, starving, dehydrated and desperate to get out. With no architectural plans of the actual mineshaft and its levels and tunnels, the camera reached 1,280 meters (4,200 feet) underground and gave rescuers their first visuals: A large group of miners was seen standing around on a level, clearly waiting for help to arrive. Rescuers brought the camera to the surface and then sent it back down,…

by Julie Watson and Megan Janetsky TIJUANA, Mexico — They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments — finally — to legally enter the United States. Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the…

by Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Michelle L. Price WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump began erasing Joe Biden ’s legacy immediately after taking office as the nation’s 47th president on Monday, pardoning nearly all of his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and issuing a blizzard of executive orders that signal his desire to remake American institutions. It was an aggressive start for a returning president who feels emboldened and vindicated by his unprecedented political comeback. Four years after being voted out of the White House, Trump has a second chance to launch what he…

by Dyepkazah Shibayan ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian military has mistakenly killed hundreds of civilians in airstrikes targeting armed groups in the nation’s conflict-battered north over the years, many of them locals bombed in their villages. The latest misfire was on Saturday when the Nigerian air force bombarded rebels in the conflict-battered northwestern Zamfara State but ended up erroneously killing civilians working with a community security outfit, the state government said. Residents told the Associated Press that at least 20 civilians were killed. Since 2017, the military has killed about 400 civilians, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research…

by David Bauder MSNBC President Rashida Jones says she is stepping down after four years leading the liberal news network, her move coming on the eve of a second Trump administration and after changes in corporate ownership. Jones, in a memo to staff on Tuesday, said that she is leaving to “pursue new opportunities.” She’ll be replaced on an interim basis by Rebecca Kutler, a former CNN executive who joined MSNBC in 2022. In Jones’ tenure, MSNBC has generally displaced CNN as the second-rated cable news-focused network behind Fox News Channel. Its ratings are sharply down since Donald Trump’s election.…