Author: chicagoinquirer

by Chris Megerian WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has a simple reelection pitch to voters — let him “finish the job.” So what does that mean? What’s left for him to get done? Unlike Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who has been releasing videos and statements detailing his agenda, Biden hasn’t formally released his plans as part of his campaign.But his ambitions are no secret, and his goals for child care, community college and prescription drugs have been laid out in detail during the Democrat’s first term. He also has unfulfilled promises on civil rights,…

by Jill Colvin NEW YORK  — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land. Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term. His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President…

by Sarah Rankin RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s state House will soon have its first Black speaker in its more than 400-year history after the chamber’s incoming Democratic majority on Saturday chose Del. Don Scott to serve in the post. Scott was unanimously elected speaker-designee by the House Democratic Caucus, the group said in a news release. The full House of Delegates will vote to officially confirm him on the first day of the 2024 legislative session. “Virginia voters sent a resounding message on Tuesday that they wanted a Commonwealth that moved forward and that is exactly what I intend to…

by Andrew Seligman CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears weren’t too concerned about appearances. All that mattered was that they came out on top. D’Onta Foreman ran for a touchdown and the Bears boosted their shot at the top pick in the draft, beating the Carolina Panthers 16-13 on Thursday night. “At the end of the day, man, all the hard work we put in, even with it not being pretty it still feels amazing,” Foreman said. “You know what I mean?” The prime-time matchup between teams among the bottom five in the NFL delivered about as much drama as expected.…

by Nicholas Riccardi WASHINGTON  — Democrats had plenty of good news to celebrate in Tuesday’s off-year elections and more evidence that they can win races centered on the national debate over abortion. Abortion rights supporters won an Ohio ballot measure and the Democratic governor of beet-red Kentucky held onto his office by campaigning on reproductive rights and painting his opponent as extremist. A Democrat won an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after campaigning on his pledge to uphold abortion rights. And Democrats took full control of the Virginia statehouse, blocking Republicans from being able to pass new abortion…

by Jocelyn Noveck NEW YORK  — Tennis legend Serena Williams told a glittery fashion industry audience how fashion became a favored mode of expression as she grew up in the public eye, with the tennis court serving as her runway. “I knew when I was a little girl that I was different, so I explored fashion and style as a way to distinguish myself,” Williams said as she accepted the Fashion Icon award Monday night from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. “In many ways for me, the tennis courts became my runway, and the U.S. Open was my…

by Joseph Omoremi CHICAGO, IL -A joint release of 229 pages out of 510 pages reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S State Department on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria with no incriminating documents in it has forced the plaintiff to seek the full release of all sealed and redacted documents. In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Columbia Aaron Greenspan of PlainSite website and one of the founders of Facebook social network cited nine reasons while a full disclosure of the files of Tinubu and his associates should be disclosed adding…

by  Wafaahurafa, Bassem MroueR and Federman DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel knocked out internet and communications in the Gaza Strip in stepped-up bombardment Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from contact with each other and the outside world and creating a near-blackout of information, as the military said it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory. The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago. Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit…

by Chinedu  Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria  — Africa’s fashion industry is rapidly growing to meet local and international demands but a lack of adequate investment still limits its full potential, UNESCO said Thursday in its new report released at this year’s Lagos Fashion Week show. Currently valued at $15.5 billion worth of exports annually, the earnings from the continent’s fashion industry could triple over a decade with the right investment and infrastructure, according to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, who launched the organization’s first report on fashion in Africa in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos. With a young population of 1.3 billion…

by Chinedu Asadu ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Supreme Court refused Thursday to void the recent election of President Bola Tinubu and dismissed the political opposition’s challenges, which argued that the vote was flawed and that Tinubu was not qualified to seek or hold the presidency. The court held in a majority ruling that the grounds of the challenges were “devoid of merits,” ending a dispute that had put Africa’s most populous country on the edge after the February election. An appeals court in Nigeria also rejected the petitions last month. Two other candidates in the election separately challenged Tinubu’s win,…