Author: chicagoinquirer

by Sam Mednick NIAMEY, Niger  — The leader of mutinous soldiers who ousted Niger’s democratically elected president said Saturday night that they will return the country to civilian rule within three years. Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani gave no details on the plan, saying on state television only that the principles for the transition would be decided within 30 days at a dialogue to be hosted by the junta. “I am convinced that … we will work together to find a way out of the crisis, in the interests of all,” Tchiani said, commenting after his first meeting with a regional delegation seeking…

by Michael Marot INDIANAPOLIS  — Anthony Richardson’s home debut was put on hold Saturday night. Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger took care of business. Four days after learning Richardson would be the opening-day starter, Minshew responded by leading Indianapolis to its first score against the Chicago Bears and Ehlinger rallied the Colts for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 24-17 victory. “I liked the way our guys finished there at the end, offensively and defensively,” Shane Steichen said after his first victory as a head coach. “It’s good to get a win.” For second-year Bears coach Matt Eberflus, it was his first preseason…

by Alanna Durbin Richer The Justice Department is seeking 33 years in prison for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents filed Thursday. The sentence, if imposed, would be by far the longest punishment that has been handed down in the massive Jan. 6 prosecution. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a separate case, has the received the longest sentence to date — 18 years. Tarrio, who once served as…

by Bill Barrow ATLANTA  — Several Republican White House hopefuls are set to greet a conservative conference with hopes of making up ground against Donald Trump. But his shadow may be especially difficult to escape in the city where he was most recently indicted. Trump won’t speak at The Gathering, an Atlanta event by syndicated radio host Erick Erickson taking place Friday and Saturday about 10 miles from the jail where the former president has to surrender before next Friday on a racketeering indictment related to the 2020 election. Six of his 2024 rivals, meanwhile, are scheduled for onstage interviews…

by Alex Vega and Matt Ott The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than 20 years, grim news for would-be homebuyers already challenged by a housing market that remains competitive due to a dearth of homes for sale. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.09% from 6.96% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.13%. It’s the fourth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate and the highest since early April 2002, when it averaged 7.13%. The last time…

by Michael R. Sisak NEW YORK  — Rudy Giuliani glared across a Washington hearing room as a lawyer seeking his disbarment after the Jan. 6 insurrection asked: How did this man, celebrated as “America’s mayor” after 9/11, become a leader of an attempt to overturn a national election? “It’s like there are two different people,” Hamilton “Phil” Fox III, the lead prosecuting attorney for the agency that disciplines Washington lawyers, said last December. “I don’t know if something happened to Mr. Giuliani or what.” Giuliani — feted, knighted and named Time magazine’s person of the year for his leadership as…

by Emily Wagster Pettus BROOKHAVEN, Miss.  — Citing errors by police, a Mississippi judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of two white men accused of chasing and shooting at a Black FedEx driver who was making a delivery. Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Case, are charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy and shooting into the vehicle driven by D’Monterrio Gibson in January 2022. Gibson, now 25, was not injured. But the chase and gunfire led to complaints on social media of racism in Brookhaven, about an hour’s drive south of the state capital, Jackson. Judge David Strong said…

by Michael Marot WESTFIELD, Ind.  — Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore has been anticipating the final week of training camp ever since he knew it would end with two joint practices against the Chicago Bears. Sure, like many of his teammates Moore wants to return home after spending nearly three weeks at the Grand Park training complex in Westfield, Indiana. But he circled these practices for another reason; he was eager to spend some time with the coach who gave him his first big breakfive years ago, then-Colts defensive coordinator and current Bears coach Matt Eberflus. “I think about foundation,…

by Sam Mednick NIAMEY, Niger  — Insurgents killed 17 soldiers and wounded nearly 24 in the first major attack in half a year against the army in Niger, where Western powers fear a coup by the elite presidential guard last month is weakening a rare ally against jihadi violence in West Africa’s Sahel region. Niger was one of the last democratic countries in the region south of the Sahara and France and the U.S. have about 2,500 military personnel there who were training Niger’s forces. France also conducted joint operations with its former colony, but since the coup Paris and Washington have…

by Kate Brumback ATLANTA  — Putting 19 people on trial at the same time is a difficult assignment for any prosecutor — whether or not one of those defendants is a former president of the United States running to reclaim his old office. The sprawling racketeering indictment returned this week by a grand jury in Atlanta presents a wide range of challenges. A big one is political: Finding jurors who don’t have unshakeable opinions about Donald Trump and others in his orbit. Beyond that, with so many defendants, prosecutors and defense lawyers will labor to keep the names and conflicting stories straight for…