Author: chicagoinquirer

by Michael R. Sisak NEW YORK  — Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers. Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina confirmed Thursday that the Manhattan district attorney’s office has invited the former president to testify next week as prosecutors near a decision on whether to proceed with what could be the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president. “To me, it’s much ado about nothing,” Tacopina told the Associated…

by Geir Moulson BERLIN  — Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, with several people killed and wounded, police said. “We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals,” police spokesperson Holger Vehren said of the shooting in the Gross Borstel district of Germany’s second-biggest city. He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded. Police did not confirm German media reports, which named no sources, of six or seven dead. David…

by Agency reports STUART, Fla.  — Tiger Woods’ girlfriend wants to nullify a nondisclosure agreement following a six-year relationship with the professional golfer. Attorneys for Erica Herman filed a complaint seeking declaratory judgment on Monday in Martin County, Florida, circuit court, according to online court records. The couple had been living together in the area, according to the complaint. Martin County is located directly north of Palm Beach County. Woods and Herman have not publicly announced the end of their relationship, which began in 2017. She had been seen regularly with him at major championships, such as the 2019 Masters…

by Mathew Barakat FAIRFAX, Va.  — Frozen human embryos can legally be considered property, or “chattel,” a Virginia judge has ruled, basing his decision in part on a 19th century law governing the treatment of slaves. The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner – delivered in a long-running dispute between a divorced husband and wife – is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving into a time in Virginia history when it was legally permissible to own human beings. “It’s repulsive and it’s morally repugnant,” said Susan Crockin, a lawyer and scholar at Georgetown…

by Mary Clare Jalonick The Democratic support for the resolution, which comes as murders have spiked over a number of years in D.C., is a shift for Biden and his party and could allow Congress to nullify the city’s laws through the disapproval process for the first time in more than three decades. A look at the politics and precedent of Wednesday’s Senate vote on D.C. crime laws: THE DISTRICT’S NEW LAWS The overhaul of D.C.’s criminal code was approved late last year by the D.C. Council after years of failed attempts. It would redefine crimes, change criminal justice policies…

by Pat Graham DENVER  — Sorry, Giannis, the NBA wanted back that rebound. Your fourth triple-double of the season, too. Some might say nice try, others have an issue with what is known as stat padding. When Milwaukee MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to orchestrate his 10th rebound Sunday night in the final seconds of the Bucks’ win against Washington, it sent the world of social media into overdrive. Along with it, dredged up conversations about the touchy topic of stat padding, which insinuates that someone, whether it be on the basketball court or even in the world of online…

by Leslie Ambriz LOS ANGELES  — Angela Bassett has a presence that feels warm and inviting but also demands your respect. The actor moves like true Hollywood royalty, knowing her worth, dedicated to her craft and remaining confident yet humble throughout a decades-spanning, award-winning career. On a Tuesday in January, Bassett would wake up just before 3:45 a.m., unable to fall back asleep. In just two hours, she would hear Riz Ahmed announce her name as a best supporting actress Oscar nominee for her performance as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Bassett remembers turning to wake up her…

BOLINGBROOK, Ill.  — A suburban Chicago teenager pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the fatal shootings of his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the child’s father. Byrion Montgomery, 17, appeared before a Will County judge in Joliet. Montgomery is charged as an adult with multiple crimes, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and home invasion. He has been jailed and bail is set at $20 million. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office said he would be appointed a public defender. The shooting in Bolingbrook, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Chicago, was reported about 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Montgomery was…

by Aamer Madhani and Kim Chandler SELMA, Ala. (AP) — President Joe Biden used the searing memories of Selma’s “Bloody Sunday” to recommit to a cornerstone of democracy, lionizing a seminal moment from the civil rights movement at a time when he has been unable to push enhanced voting protections through Congress and a conservative Supreme Court has undermined a landmark voting law. “Selma is a reckoning. The right to vote … to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it anything’s possible,” Biden told a crowd of several thousand people seated on one side…

by Steve Peoples LACONIA, N.H.  — Steve Shurtleff was at Joe Biden’s side in 2019 when he filed papers in the New Hampshire State House to run for president. He repeatedly trekked across the state with Biden to court primary voters. And when Biden ultimately won the presidency, it was Shurtleff, then the Democratic state House speaker, who proudly sealed the envelope that carried New Hampshire’s four electoral votes — including his own name — to the U.S. Senate. But on the eve of a new election season, Shurtleff, like a majority of Democrats across the country, feels that one…