Author: chicagoinquirer

by Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Geoff Mulvihill NEW YORK  — Thirteen Republican state attorneys general are cautioning CEOs of the 100 biggest U.S. companies on the legal consequences for using race as a factor in hiring and employment practices, demonstrating how the Supreme Court’s recent ruling dismantling affirmative action in higher education may trickle into the workplace. The state attorneys general sent a letter to the CEOs on Thursday arguing that the controversial June ruling declaring that race cannot be a factor in college admissions — consequently striking down decades-old practices aimed at achieving diverse student bodies — could also apply to private entities, like…

CHICAGO  — Dwyane Wade is joining the Chicago Sky ownership group, becoming the latest high-profile figure to invest in the WNBA. Wade will invest in his hometown team once the league’s Board of Governors approves the sale. The Chicago Sky sold a roughly 10% stake in the team to a group that included Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts last month. “I think D-Wade joining the organization is a huge milestone for us,” Sky star Kahleah Copper said. “Having a former player who has done it at the highest level is big time.” The three-time NBA champion confirmed on Twitter that…

by Gary Fields, Claire Savage and Teresa Crawford CHICAGO  — The Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to step down from leading the Chicago civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded in 1971, the organization announced Friday. “Reverend Jesse Jackson is officially pivoting from his role as president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. His commitment is unwavering, and he will elevate his life’s work by teaching ministers how to fight for social justice and continue the freedom movement,” the organization said in a statement. “Rev. Jackson’s global impact and civil rights career will be celebrated this weekend at the 57th annual Rainbow…

by Michael Tarm CHICAGO  — Two separate shootings 2,000 miles (3,218 kilometers) apart. One killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The other killed 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Both were motivated by racial hate. Both involved gunmen who later claimed mental illness. But earlier this year, the Justice Department authorized the death penalty only for the case in Pittsburgh, where jurors will soon answer the weightiest of questions: Should Robert Bowers be put to death? Bowers’ trial is in the penalty phase after his June conviction for the 2018 antisemitic attack. A federal judge last Friday gave Patrick Crusius…

by Andrew Dalton and Leslie Ambriz LOS ANGELES  — Leaders of Hollywood’s actors’ union voted Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down. It’s the first time two major Hollywood unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was the actors’ guild president. In an impassioned speech as the strike, which begins at midnight, was announced, actors’ union president and former “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher chastised industry…

by Claire Savage and Rick Callahan CHICAGO — National Weather Service teams were surveying storm damage Thursday in the Chicago area and northeast Illinois, where fierce winds from tornadoes ripped roofs from buildings, downed trees and sent residents scrambling for safety as sirens sounded. Four teams from the weather service headed out Thursday morning to inspect storm damage reported Wednesday across numerous areas of the Chicago metropolitan area and points farther west to determine if tornadoes caused that damage, said Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Chicago area office. As of Thursday afternoon, the weather service confirmed at…

by Josh Boak WASHINGTON  — The politics of inflation took a sharp turn Wednesday with a report showing consumer prices rose at the slowest pace since the early months of Joe Biden’s presidency. Republicans have hammered Biden over the cost of groceries, gasoline, utilities and more, saying his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and push for electric vehicles were responsible for pushing inflation to a four-decade high. The GOP argument has resonated with voters, but the report on consumer prices for June suggests that inflation has eased dramatically without any of the job losses that some economists and Republican leaders said would occur. Prices…

BC-EU–NATO Summit, 13th Ld-Writethru Jul 12, 2023 9:47 PM – 1241 words By CHRIS MEGERIAN, LORNE COOK and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press Eds: UPDATES: Adds video.; With AP Photos.; AP Video. by Chris Megerian, Lorne Cook and Seung Min Kim VILNIUS, Lithuania  — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed fresh pledges of weapons and ammunition to fight Russia’s invasion along with longer-term security commitments from the West on Wednesday even as he expressed disappointment over the lack of a clear path for his country to join NATO as the alliance wrapped up its annual summit. “The Ukrainian delegation is bringing…

by Aaron Morrison The Black Lives Matter movement hits a milestone on Thursday, marking 10 years since its 2013 founding in response to the acquittal of the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Gunned down in a Florida gated community where his father lived in 2012, Martin was one of the earliest symbols of a movement that now wields influence in politics, law enforcement and broader conversations about racial progress in and outside the U.S. BLM activists and organizations plan to mark a decade of the movement with in-person and virtual events. Calls to action include a renewed push…

by Agency reports CHICAGO  — A tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, prompting passengers to take shelter and disrupting hundreds of flights. There were no immediate reports of injuries. A confirmed tornado was on the ground around 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. “This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east. There are additional circulations along the line south of O’Hare. Seek shelter if in the warned area,” it said. By 8 p.m. the weather service said the Chicago forecast area was “currently tornado warning free.”…