Author: chicagoinquirer

by Mike Schneider ORLANDO, Fla.  — The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” The NAACP, long an advocate for Black Americans, joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors.…

by Zeke Miller, Eloise Morton and Susie Blann HIROSHIMA, Japan  — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren’t occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow’s insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen. Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelenskyy said: “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.” “We are not throwing people (away) to die,” Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian through an interpreter. “People are the treasure. I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I cannot share with you the…

by Mathew Lee WASHINGTON  — Sudan’s warring factions have agreed to a new short-term ceasefire, U.S. and Saudi mediators announced on Saturday, after several previous attempts to broker a truce that holds have failed. Meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces signed off on a seven-day ceasefire that is due to take effect on Monday 9:45 p.m. local time in Sudan, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement. The ceasefire could be extended if both sides agree. “Both parties have conveyed to the Saudi and U.S. facilitators their…

by Zeke Miller and Josh Boak HIROSHIMA, Japan  — President Joe Biden planned on Sunday to speak directly with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, hoping to salvage talks to raise the debt limit that have stalled in recent days while he was abroad at the Group of Seven summit. GOP lawmakers are holding tight to demands for sharp spending cuts, rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House for reducing deficits. Biden and world leaders at the gathering for industrial nations in Japan had been closely tracking the negotiations, looking for signs of a compromise that would ensure the federal government can keep paying…

by Greg Beacham LOS ANGELES  — Nikola Jokic was far from his usual dominant self while mired in foul trouble, and Jamal Murray cooled off after his scorching first half. The Denver Nuggets’ big early lead disappeared entirely in the fourth quarter of Game 3, and the Lakers’ home crowd was in a frenzy. The Nuggets weathered every setback and calmly, methodically took control with a poise worthy of champions. With one more victory, they’ll finally get the chance to play for their first rings. Murray scored 37 points, Jokic added 24 points and eight assists and the Nuggets rolled…

by Jimmy Golen BOSTON  — Jimmy Butler went forehead-to-forehead with the Boston Celtics and came away with another decisive victory. Butler scored 27 points, hitting back-to-back buckets to tie the game and give Miami the lead, and the eighth-seeded Heat left Boston with a 111-105 victory Friday night and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Butler added eight rebounds and six assists. When Grant Williams started jawing with the Miami star — with both players drawing technical fouls for the double head-butt — Butler stared down Williams and the Heat refused to relent. “I love that gnarly version…

by Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and Zeke Miller WASHINGTON  — Debt limit talks resumed at the U.S. Capitol late Friday, a sudden turnaround after negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to “pause” negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences.” The official, who was granted anonymity to talk about the private discussions, confirmed late Friday the talks were back on. “We’ll be back in the room tonight,” McCarthy said on Fox Business News. President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to strike a deal with Republicans led…

by Zeke Miller, Foster Klug, Josh Boak and Elaine Kurtenbach HIROSHIMA, Japan — President Joe Biden told allies Friday he was approving plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies worked to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. The Group of Seven leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to take part in their summit on Sunday. The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court got rid of a pandemic-related immigration case with a single sentence. Justice Neil Gorsuch had a lot more to say, leveling harsh criticism of how governments, from small towns to the nation’s capital, responded to the gravest public health threat in a century. The justice, a 55-year-old conservative who was President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, called emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis that killed more than 1 million Americans perhaps “the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.” He pointed to orders closing schools, restricting church services, mandating vaccines…

by Tom Withers CLEVELAND  — Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, an unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87. A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side. “To the world, he was an activist, actor, and football star,” Monique Brown wrote in an Instagram post. “To our family, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts…