Author: chicagoinquirer

by Jonel Aleccia The supermarket chain Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold in eight states because product testing found elevated levels of lead, according to federal health officials. Publix recalled 4-ounce Greenwise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches sold at more than 1,400 stores. The pouches were produced by Bowman Andros, a French company with a manufacturing plant in Mount Jackson, Virginia, according to the company’s website. Publix issued the voluntary recall on May 9, but it wasn’t added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall list until late Thursday. The potential contamination was…

Y CLIFF BRUNT Updated 11:37 PM CDT, May 22, 2025 Share OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 21 field goals and 13 of 15 free throws after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game. “I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start,”…

by Jean-Yves Kamale and Mark Banchereau KINSHASA, Congo — Congo’s senate has voted overwhelmingly to lift former President Joseph Kabila of his parliamentary immunity, paving the way for his prosecution over his alleged support of a rebel insurgency in the country’s east. “The Senate authorizes the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila’s immunity,” Senate speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde said Thursday after the vote. Kabila has not commented on his immunity being lifted. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said the former president is accused of “treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectional movement” in the country’s east. Earlier…

by Collin Binkley WASHINGTON (AP) — Harvard University is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands. In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.” “With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard…

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG – JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending bill could help bring stability but it is not conducive to deficit reduction. The bill cleared a crucial hurdle on Wednesday, as the U.S. House of Representatives voted roughly along party lines to begin a debate that would lead to a vote on passage on Thursday. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. “I think they should do the tax bill. I do…

by Gerald Imray JOHANNESBURG — The sentiment in South Africa ahead of its leader’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday was one of fear and trepidation. “Into the mouth of Trump hell” was how one newspaper headline described his mission. South Africans worried that President Cyril Ramaphosa was exposing himself to the kind of public thrashing that Trump and Vice President JD Vance meted out on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media three months ago. But after being confronted by Trump with baseless allegations that there are widespread killings of…

by Alanna Durkin Richer, Eric Tucker and Mike Catalini WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers who arrested the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention center, New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor announced Monday. Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the charge of assaulting, impeding or interfering with law enforcement on social media, but court papers providing details were not immediately released or publicly available online. At the same time, Habba announced that her office was dismissing a misdemeanor case brought against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested after he…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation. The court’s order, with only one noted dissent, puts on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals. The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to…

by Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister NEW YORK — Singer Dawn Richard told jurors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial on Monday that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her if she told anyone she saw him physically abusing his longtime girlfriend. Richard testified that Combs made the threat the day after she witnessed the Bad Boy Records founder punch and kick Casandra “Cassie” Ventura after taking a swing at her with a skillet. Richard said he told her and another woman who saw the attack that “we could go missing” if they didn’t stay quiet. Assistant U.S.…

by Josh Boak, Zeke Miller and Katie Maries Davies WASHINGTON — Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire negotiations, President Donald Trump said Monday after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending the three-year war. The conversations did not appear to yield a major breakthrough. It was not clear when or where any talks might take place or who would participate. Trump’s announcement came days after the first direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022. Those negotiations Friday in Turkey brought about a limited exchange of prisoners but no pause in…