Author: chicagoinquirer

by MacDonald Dzirutwe LAGOS  –     Bola Tinubu will be sworn in as Nigeria’s president on Monday under the cloud of a disputed election and pressure to quickly improve economic and security conditions, which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. Two of Tinubu’s main opponents in the February election are challenging his victory on the basis of fraud claims, and a tribunal will on Tuesday start hearing their main arguments. A ruling is not expected before September. Buhari, a taciturn former military ruler, leaves Africa’s biggest economy and most populous nation deeply divided. The election had galvanised…

by Steve Peoples CHICAGO  — During Donald Trump’s first visit as president to Chicago, a frequent target in his attacks on urban violence, he disparaged the nation’s third largest city as a haven for criminals and a national embarrassment. At a recent town hall, Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy sat alongside ex-convicts on the city’s South Side and promised to defend Trump’s “America First” agenda. In return, the little-known White House hopeful, a child of Indian immigrants, found a flicker of acceptance in a room full of Black and brown voters. The audience nodded when Ramaswamy said that “anti-Black racism is on the…

by Agency reports May 28 – The Boston Celtics were three seconds away from being eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals when Derrick White inbounded the ball to Marcus Smart. Instead of being a spectator, White darted toward the left corner and with no Miami Heat players around him, headed toward the basket as Smart’s shot went in and out. His instincts put him in perfect position to score on a tip-in just before the buzzer sounded as Boston scored an unlikely 104-103 victory. “It doesn’t do no good to stand in the corner there whether he makes it or…

by Adam Kealoha Causey DALLAS  — When Tina Turner died at age 83, I found myself drifting back to the fourth grade, to the day I truly discovered her voice. I was on Thanksgiving break — bored — when I decided to rummage through my parents’ old cassette tapes in search of entertainment. What I found was astonishing: an album called “Private Dancer.” “I look up to the stars with my perfect memory. I look through it all and my future’s no shock to me.” “Who was this magnificent woman?” I thought as the lyrics of the song “I Might…

by Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Zeke Miller and Kevin Freking WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and resolve the looming debt crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, the House speaker said. A deal would avert a catastrophic U.S. default, but risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides with the concessions made to reach it. The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke earlier Saturday evening by phone, said McCarthy, speaking Saturday night. The country…

by Ben Finley NORFOLK, Va.  — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Auto club AAA said in a travel forecast that this holiday weekend could be “one for the record books, especially at airports,” with more than 42 million Americans projected to travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more. Federal officials said Friday that the number of air travelers had already hit a pandemic-era high. But for Manuel Castañeda Jr.,…

by Agency reports SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — Illinois lawmakers finally approved a new state budget early Saturday, sending it to Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature with just over a month to spare before it takes effect with the new state fiscal year July 1. The Indiana House approved the $50.5 billion spending plan on a 73-38 vote just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday after it passed the Illinois Senate 34-22 early Friday. The General Assembly delivered the budget to Pritzker more than a week late after lawmakers failed to meet a self-imposed May 19 deadline to adjourn despite Democrats controlling…

by Bobby Caina Calvan NEW YORK  — Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman to deliver a commencement speech at West Point, lauded graduating cadets Saturday for their noble sacrifice in serving their country, but noted they were entering an “unsettled world” because of Russian aggression and the rising threats from China. “The world has drastically changed,” Harris told the roughly 950 graduating cadets. She referred to the global pandemic that took millions of lives, as well as the fraught shifts in global politics in Europe and in Asia. “It is clear you graduate into an increasingly unsettled world where…

by Lisa Mascaro, Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking and Fatima Hussein WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden said a deal to resolve the government’s debt ceiling crisis seemed “very close” late Friday, even as the deadline for a potentially catastrophic default was pushed back four days until a week from Monday. The later “X-date” threatened to open another week of frustrating negotiation between House Republicans and the White House over the risk of a default that could throw the U.S. economy into chaos and sap world confidence in the nation’s lleadership. Yet President Joe Biden was upbeat as he left for…

by Kyle Hightower BOSTON  — The Boston Celtics have looked elimination in the face four times this postseason and still haven’t blinked. Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 on Thursday night in Game 5 to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics won their second straight and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2. The Celtics are halfway to becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to…