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The 42-year-old Elizabeth City, North Carolina, man was shot to death Wednesday by a deputy sheriff trying to serve a search warrant.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Andrew Brown Jr.’s easy smile, which belied hardship, loss and troubles with the law, was memorable for his dimples, his relatives said. He was quick to crack a joke at the family gatherings he tried not to miss after losing both of his parents. He encouraged his children to make good grades even though he dropped out of high school himself. Above all, he was determined to give them a better life than he had.

The 42-year-old Elizabeth City, North Carolina, man was shot to death Wednesday by a deputy sheriff trying to serve a search warrant. An eyewitness said Brown tried to drive away, but was shot dead in his car. The shooting prompted protests and demands for accountability in the eastern North Carolina city of about 18,000. The deputy, who has not been identified, has been put on leave pending a state investigation.

Despite his hard life — Brown was partially paralyzed on his right side by an accidental shooting, and he lost an eye when he was stabbed, according to aunt Glenda Brown Thomas — “Drew,” as he was called, looked for the humor in things.

“He had a good laugh, a nice smile. And he had good dimples,” Thomas said in an interview Thursday, a day after her nephew was killed. “You know, when he’s talking and smiling, his dimples would always show. And he was kind of like a comedian. He always had a nice joke.”

His cousin Jadine Hampton said Brown often entertained relatives with his humorous stories at family gatherings, including a socially distanced celebration in October of their grandmother’s 92nd birthday, the last time Hampton saw Brown. Photos that Thomas shared with an AP reporter show him smiling at a church ceremony held to honor his grandmother as woman of the year.

“Great heart,” said Hampton, 51, who lives in Atlanta. “Everybody would just wait to hear him tell a story because it would be like a comedian telling the play-by-play about something that happened.”

Brown had seven children of his own and helped take care of others, Harry Daniels, an attorney representing the family, said Thursday.

Hampton said Brown was a proud father.

“Although he didn’t finish school, he pushed them to finish school,” she said. “I believe a few of them were on honor roll.”

Court records show Brown had a history of criminal charges stretching back into the 1990s, including a misdemeanor drug possession conviction and some pending felony drug charges.

When he was 12 or 13, his mother was slain in Florida, Thomas said. Not long afterward, he dropped out of school around the 10th grade. She said her nephew was a good basketball player but had trouble with reading comprehension. Several years ago, his father died in federal prison after a medical procedure, Thomas said.

With his own troubles with drugs and the law, Brown had trouble keeping a job, Thomas said. But she said he still found ways to earn money to support his children, including card games and shooting pool. She said he sent his father money every month when the older man was in prison.

Another aunt who helped raise Brown in the absence of his parents, Martha McCullen, said it’s hard to find a job, especially with a criminal record, in Elizabeth City, where 1 in 5 live in poverty.

“Because they’re convicted … they can’t get no jobs,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

Despite Brown’s past trouble with the law, several relatives and friends said they never knew him to be a violent person.

“No matter what his past reflects, it still doesn’t give him (the deputy) the right to shoot him, period,” said Daniel Bowser, who said he had been friends with Brown for 30 years.

Authorities have said little about how the shooting transpired and have not revealed what the search warrant was for. On the day before the shooting, nearby Dare County had issued two arrest warrants for Brown on drug-related charges including possession with intent to sell cocaine, according to court documents released Thursday. The sheriff’s offices in Pasquotank and Dare counties and the prosecutor who oversees both places, District Attorney Andrew Womble, didn’t immediately respond to emails asking about the arrest warrants.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II has said a deputy from his department shot Brown, but that a Dare County law enforcement officer was also present.

The state Bureau of Investigation will turn over its findings to Womble, who said Wednesday that he was looking for “accurate” not “fast” answers.

An eyewitness said that deputies fired at Brown multiple times as he tried to drive away. The car skidded out of Brown’s yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street. A car authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes.

While the deputy was wearing an active body camera, it has yet to be released. In North Carolina, a judge generally has to approve release of police video, and no timetable has been given.

“We’re waiting for the bodycam footage because we really just don’t know what happened,” said Brown’s cousin Hampton. “But if this is a case where he was killed, running away, unarmed, then we absolutely are going to pursue justice in whatever capacity that can be.”

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Kunzelman reported from College Park, Maryland. Associated Press writer Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

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Few details were released about the shooting, which happened near Mannheim Road.

Shots were fired during a chase involving Chicago police on the Eisenhower Expressway during the Thursday evening rush.

Few details were released about the shooting, which happened about 4:15 p.m. during a police chase near Mannheim Road, according to Illinois State Police Trooper Kyle Barrett. It was unclear if police fired shots or if anyone was hit, he said.

Chicago police spokesman Tom Ahern also could not provide details, beyond confirming there was police activity in the area.

Illinois State Police said they shut down all eastbound lanes of I-290 at Mannheim Road about 4:35 p.m. for the investigation.

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The rest of the Blackhawks were searching for solutions during the second intermission Wednesday when Vinnie Hinostroza turned to Brandon Hagel, trying to pump him up.

“He was saying…if we get out there, let’s be Bash Brothers,” Hagel said after the game, unable to hold back a grin. “We got out there, and I guess we were Bash Brothers with that final goal.”

Hagel eventually scored the overtime goal against the Predators to secure the Hawks’ second-ever win (and first win since 1987) after trailing by three with 10 minutes left.

Hinostroza, meanwhile, set up Hagel for the overtime goal with a slick zone entry. He also forced a Roman Josi turnover that led to Hagel’s assist on Pius Suter’s first-period goal and scored himself off a Kirby Dach pass in the middle of the third-period comeback.

The Chicago native and former Hawks prospect has been a revelation since his Apr. 2 reacquisition, tallying seven points (and a 55.3% shot-attempt ratio) in his first eight Hawks games this season after recording zero points (and a 41.9% shot-attempt ratio) in nine games with the Panthers.

His tenacious work ethic, blazing speed and colorful, optimistic personality have instantly made a difference on and off the ice.

“That earns a lot of respect with the guys,” coach Jeremy Colliton said Thursday. “When you play that hard and are willing to do the dirty work, you become pretty popular inside the walls of the dressing room.”

Colliton’s hands-on coaching style — in contrast with Joel Quenneville’s hands-off approach in Florida — has aided Hinostroza’s abrupt career turnaround.

“It’s nice to have someone that believes in you,” Hinostroza said Wednesday. “It’s nice, on off-days, to get with the coaches and watch some video. They want every guy here to succeed. They work individually here with guys… It’s nice to be here.”

But Hinostroza’s own renewed commitment is the key factor in his turnaround.

He spoke at length last week about how his disastrous Panthers stint — most of which he spent as a healthy scratch — gave him time to reflect on his hockey career so far and what it meant to be in the NHL. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted again,” he said.

And since returning to his hometown, Hinostroza has created instant, tangible chemistry with every fellow Hawks wing he has played with.

First it was with Dominik Kubalik, who gave Hinostroza his first two points of the season by depositing goals off his passes Apr. 8 and 10 against the Stars. Kubalik said the two of them knew “right away…what to expect from each other.”

Next it was with Patrick Kane, one of surprisingly few Hawks holdovers from Hinostroza’s 2015-2018 tenure. Kane and Hinostroza teamed up twice in the win over the Red Wings last weekend.

“I’ve always liked playing with Vinnie,” Kane said Sunday. “It was nice to develop that chemistry and feel we were creating chances, had the puck a lot and [were] making plays out there. I’m looking forward to seeing what that brings here.”

And now it’s with Hagel, the only Hawks skater who might be able to beat Hinostroza in a race.

They look and play the opposite of the original Bash Brothers — 1980s Oakland A’s stars Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco — but the point of the nickname isn’t factual accuracy.

“Their speed is so key,” Colliton said. “It helps our team so much to get out of the ‘D’-zone, push the pace and get through the neutral zone…[and] have more of a forecheck.”

“We have to bring the energy, play hard and be some of the guys first [in] on the forecheck — playing chippy, hitting guys,” Hinostroza added. “When we get out there, we just look at each other and it’s kind of like the Bash Bros.”

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I served as a Chicago Police Officer for 30 years. From 2004 to 2008, I was detailed to the Organized Crime Unit, adding a civil prosecution component to narcotic sales-related street corner conspiracy cases.

In those street corner conspiracies, oftentimes arrests were made of individuals with small amounts of narcotics who suffered from substance use disorder. Arresting them and locking them up was — and still is — a huge waste of resources and human potential.

It was while working on those cases that I saw firsthand the devastation to lives and the cost to society caused by the War on Drugs. Law enforcement consistently over-prioritizes arresting people for drug possession at the expense of other police work, to the point where many serious crimes go unsolved.

The clearance rate for rape cases in Chicago hovers around only 20%, and less than 45% of the city’s homicides were solved in 2020. The clearance rate for nonfatal shootings in our city tends to be even lower.

The justice system cannot address these serious crimes without reexamining how our resources are spent, particularly how they are spent on health and social issues such as drug use.

One of the best ways to ensure that law enforcement agencies stay focused on the most serious priorities is to change low-level drug possession laws. Right now, many of these offenses are graded as Class 4 felonies. People convicted of felonies are presumed to be dangerous. But drug use is not a problem that police, courts, prisons or criminal records can solve. Drug use is a health issue best addressed by health experts.

That is why I support Illinois House Bill 3447, which would reduce many drug possession offenses from a Class 4 felony to a misdemeanor. This bill would allow police to focus resources where their expertise can be most useful: investigating and interrupting serious crimes. As the primary agents of public safety, police time and energy should be spent responding to those urgent and life-threatening situations.

The bill also provides for arrest diversion in the form of behavioral health assessments and access to treatment, rather than incarceration. This component could be a significant step in healing the fractured relationship between the police and the community caused by the War on Drugs. Public safety improves when police are addressing the problems communities actually want us to solve. As an officer, I relied on community contacts for investigative leads, but few people feel safe even talking to us and drug arrests are a significant factor for this reluctance.

The distrust of communities in the police is aggravated by the fact that highest-intensity drug policing happens in low-income communities and communities of color, which are the same neighborhoods that suffer from the most violence. These communities want to be safe, but harsh drug policies work against that community safety.

HB 3447 should also reduce recidivism. Those convicted of misdemeanor drug possession won’t face counterproductive barriers to voting, finding a job, attending college and more. Removing these barriers vastly improves a person’s chances of success and reduces the likelihood of reoffending.

Research on the impacts of similar reforms in other states bears this out. Just last year, a study published in the journal of Criminology and Public Policy found that California’s voter-approved proposition to change drug possession felonies to misdemeanors led to “lower overall rearrest and reconviction rates than people with comparable convictions and criminal histories.”

Over three decades in law enforcement, I worked on community policing, organized crime, and drug and gang investigations. I’m disappointed that our efforts fell short, but House Bill 3447 is a chance to correct course. Let’s direct our attention to the safety issues on which police can truly make a difference.

Officer David Franco, now retired, was a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department and a representative of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), a nonprofit group of police, judges, and other criminal justice professionals who support policies that make communities safer.

Send letters to [email protected].

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Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 57 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 43 degrees. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the afternoon and a high near 58 degrees.

Top story

Foxx says she should have known what prosecutor would say in court about police shooting of Adam Toledo

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx acknowledged today she should have known what one of her top deputies was going to say in court about the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo because it was a “heater case.”

“My name is on the door. Anything that happens that comes from the state’s attorney’s office, I am responsible for. I don’t believe in pushing blame or the buck,” Foxx told the Sun-Times.

“In this instance, the public was relying on information that our office presented to the court and the media relied upon that wasn’t fully accurate. I own that.”

Foxx has placed veteran prosecutor Jim Murphy on administrative leave because, according to a statement from her office, Murphy “failed to fully present the facts” during a bond hearing when he didn’t specifically state Toledo was unarmed at the moment a Chicago police officer shot him.

During an April 10 bond hearing describing allegations against 21-year-old Ruben Roman — who was arrested at the scene of Adam’s shooting in Little Village — Murphy told a judge Toledo had a gun in his right hand a moment before he was shot.

“The officer tells [Adam] to drop it as [Adam] turns towards the officer. [Adam] has a gun in his right hand,” Murphy said in court. “The officer fires one shot at [Adam], striking him in the chest. The gun that [Adam] was holding landed against the fence a few feet away.”

Read Fran Spielman’s full story here.

More news you need

1. A man has been charged in a brazen, midday road-rage shooting on Lake Shore Drive that critically wounded a toddler in early April. Deandre Binion, 25, faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, Chicago police said.
2. A lawsuit filed today against two Evanston police officers alleges they used excessive force in a June 2018 incident in which they used a Taser on a man, causing him to hit his head on a curb. Ronald Louden says police had no reason to approach him, but the city claims the suspect was resisting arrest after a loaded gun was found in his car.
3. Police fired gunshots while arresting an armed man this morning on the western end of the 606 Trail in Logan Square. No one was injured in the incident, which police allege occurred as officers confronted a 28-year-old man wanted in “several crimes involving a weapon just prior to his arrest.”
4. The vaccine “Hunger Games” are over: Chicago finally has enough COVID-19 vaccines to give a shot to anyone who wants one. Thanks to a “softening” of vaccine demand in other parts of Illinois and growth in supply provided by the federal government, “you can get one today, no excuses,” said Dr. Allison Arwady.
5. DePaul University and Columbia College will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus in the fall. The private schools say they’ll offer vaccines on campus this month and grant religious or medical-based exemptions to the rule.
6. It could be another four years before Chicago’s long-sought casino opens, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned state gambling regulators today to not let the process drag on any longer than that. Lightfoot, who invited developers to submit bids, said the Gaming Board needs “to speed up” its work to investigate and authorize the city’s eventual choice.
7. How much do you know about this year’s Academy Award nominees? Test your knowledge with our Oscars quiz before Hollywood’s big night this weekend.

A bright one

‘Secrets of the Whales’: Amazing footage shows not just how the sea mammals look, but how they live

Incredible. Amazing. Awesome.

The four-part Disney+ series “Secrets of the Whales,” directed with award-level skill by Brian Armstrong and Andy Mitchell, is among the finest nature documentaries film critic Richard Roeper has ever experienced.

This Earth Day offering is an astonishingly well-photographed deep dive into the worlds of orcas, belugas, sperm whales, narwhals and humpbacks — essentially disparate species with their own communities and friend groups, their own unique languages and culture, their own unique family dynamics and their own special histories.

The Disney+/National Geographic crews take us to the far ends of the waters of the Earth to capture these beautiful and intelligent creatures, with visuals so stunning and locales so exotic, it’s almost as if we’re on another planet — or we’ve traveled back in time.

“Whales have culture,” says narrator Sigourney Weaver (a perfect choice) at the outset of the series. “Each family speaks a unique language. They love deeply, play with joy and mourn their dead. Whales are just like us.”

That sounds like a dash of the ol’ Disney anthropomorphic hyperbole — but by the time the journey reaches its conclusion, we’re all-in on that statement.

Read Richard Roeper’s full review of the new nature series that debuted today on Disney Plus.

From the press box

Our beat reporters’ position-by-position Bears draft preview hits outside linebacker, where the team may need help soon given it can move on from Robert Quinn after this year.

Essential Quality figures to be the favorite when the odds post next week for the 2021 Kentucky Derby, but the Blackhawks analyst and NBC handicapper Eddie Olczyk is leaning toward a different horse for the 147th Run for the Roses.

More change for Loyola: Cameron Krutwig announced today he’s entering the NBA Draft after the Ramblers’ recent Sweet 16 run.

Your daily question ?

Happy Earth Day! What’s the best way to enjoy the outdoors living in Chicago?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: Has not commuting to the office during the pandemic made you rethink how you view work and/or career goals? Here’s what some of you said…

“100 percent! I love working from home! I don’t think I can ever go back to five days in office or the long commute!” — Lucia DiNicola Bertrand

“I’m hoping it makes businesses rethink requiring bodies to sit in an office when it’s not necessary.” — Lin Liston

“What do people do with themselves all day? I’m a homebody but working from home is not for me.” — Agnes Magdalena

“It’s made me 100% sure I don’t want to have to go to the office five days a week ever again.” — Shannon Heath Jeropke

“I struggled at first, but now I love working from home. Work life balance is a little more balanced now. No sitting in traffic for hours, spending money on lunch, gas. I love it!” — Joy Murphy

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

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The Dave Matthews Band on Thursday announced the rescheduled and additional dates for its 2021 North American summer tour, including two dates at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island.

The band will perform Aug. 6 and 7 in Chicago; tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. April 27 at ticketmaster.com.

As part of the tour, Matthews & Co. are pledging to plant one million trees this year with the help of fans who add an optional $2 to their ticket price. The money will help fund the “Plant a Billion Campaign” from The Nature Conservancy. More information on the program can be found at www.plantabillion.org/DMB.

Here are the dates for the tour, which kicks off July 23 in North Carolina:

• 7/23 – Raleigh, North Carolina – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
• 7/24 – Charlotte, North Carolina – PNC Music Pavilion
• 7/27 – Alpharetta, Georgia – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
• 7/28 – Tampa, Florida – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds
• 7/30 – West Palm Beach, Florida – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
• 7/31 – West Palm Beach, Florida – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
• 8/6 – Chicago – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
• 8/7 – Chicago – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
• 8/11 – Clarkston, Michigan – DTE Energy Music Theatre
• 8/13 – Noblesville, Indiana – Ruoff Music Center
• 8/14 – Noblesville, Indiana – Ruoff Music Center
• 8/18 – Syracuse, New York- St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
• 8/20 – Mansfield, Massachusetts – Xfinity Center
• 8/21 – Columbia, Maryland – Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 8/24 – Gilford, New Hampshire – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
• 8/25 – Gilford, New Hampshire- Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
• 8/27 – Burgettstown, Pennsylvania- The Pavilion at Star Lake
• 8/28 – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
• 9/3 – George, Washington – Gorge Amphitheatre
• 9/4 – George, Washington – Gorge Amphitheatre
• 9/5 – George, Washington – Gorge Amphitheatre
• 9/8 – Bend, Oregon – Les Schwab Amphitheater
• 9/10 – Irvine, California – FivePoint Amphitheatre
• 9/11 – Irvine, California – FivePoint Amphitheatre
• 9/15 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Summerfest
• 9/17 – Saratoga Springs, New York – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
• 9/18 – Saratoga Springs, New York – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
• 9/21 – Wantagh, New York – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
• 9/22 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
• 9/28 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
• 9/29 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
• 10/8 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
• 10/9 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
• 10/11 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
• 10/13 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
• 10/15 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
• 10/16 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
• 11/6 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
• 11/9 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
• 11/10 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena

For more information, visit http://www.davematthewsband.com.

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Listen this week as Keepin’ It 100 fans from around the world take control of all 32 NFL teams to make the ultimate fan mock draft!

Expect lots of laughs, rules, and surprises as it’s anyone’s guess how insane the night will get as the fans take control!

The post Keepin It 100 – The Live Fan Mock Draft! first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More

WASHINGTON — The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international cooperation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America’s return to the fight against global warming.

Neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping immediately followed the United States and some of its developed allies in making specific new pledges to reduce damaging fossil fuel pollution during the first day of the two-day U.S.-hosted summit. But climate advocates hoped the high-profile — if glitch-ridden — virtual gathering would kickstart new action by major polluters, paving the way for a November U.N. meeting in Glasgow critical to drastically slowing climate change over the coming decade.

The entire world faces “a moment of peril” but also “a moment of opportunity,” Biden declared, speaking from a TV-style chrome-blue set for the virtual summit of 40 world leaders. Participants appeared one after the other onscreen for what appeared to be a mix of live and recorded addresses.

“The signs are unmistakable,” Biden said. “The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction keeps mounting.”

Biden’s new U.S. commitment, timed to the summit, would cut America’s fossil fuel emissions as much as 52% by 2030. It comes after four years of international withdrawal from the issue under President Donald Trump, who mocked the science of climate change and pulled the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.

Biden’s administration this week is sketching out a vision of a prosperous, clean-energy United States where factories churn out cutting-edge batteries and electric cars for export, line workers re-lay an efficient national electrical grid and crews cap abandoned oil and gas rigs and coal mines.

But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the administration’s plans as costly and ineffective.

“This is quite the one-two punch,” McConnell said in a Senate speech Thursday. “Toothless requests of our foreign adversaries … and maximum pain for American citizens.”

At the summit, Japan announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target and South Korea said it would stop public financing of new coal-fired power plants, potentially an important step toward persuading China and other coal-reliant nations to curb building and funding of new ones as well.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of the leaders shown watching summit proceedings in the coronavirus pandemic’s familiar Brady Bunch-style multibox conference screen, said his nation would up its fossil fuel pollution cuts from 30% to at least 40%.

Travel precautions under the pandemic compelled the summit to play out on livestream, limiting opportunities for spontaneous interaction and negotiation. Its opening hours were sometimes marked by electronic echoes, random beeps and off-screen voices.

But the summit also marshaled an impressive display of the world’s most powerful leaders speaking on the single cause of climate change.

China’s Xi, whose country is the world’s biggest emissions culprit, followed by the United States, spoke first among the other global figures. He made no reference to disputes over territorial claims, trade and other matters that had made it uncertain until Wednesday that he would even take part in the U.S. summit. And he said China would work with America in cutting emissions.

“To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. It’s as simple as that,” Xi said.

Putin and his government have been irate over Biden’s characterization of him as a “killer” for Russia’s aggressive moves against its opponents, and he is under pressure this week over the declining health of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny. But he made no mention of those disputes in his own climate remarks.

“Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges,” Putin said. Russia by some measures is the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel fumes.

Climate efforts in recent years have proved a forum where even rival world leaders want to be seen as putting aside disputes to serve as international statesmen and women, even though the cumulative output of fossil fuel emissions is still hurtling the Earth toward disastrous temperature rises.

The pandemic made gathering world leaders for the climate summit too risky. So Biden’s staff built a small set in the East Room that looked like it was taken from a daytime talk show.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris joined Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House climate envoy John Kerry at a horseshoe-shaped table set up around a giant potted plant to watch fellow leaders’ speeches.

The format meant a cavalcade of short speeches by world leaders, some scripted, some not. “This is not bunny-hugging,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the climate efforts. “This is about growth and jobs.”

The Biden administration’s pledge would require by far the most ambitious U.S. climate effort ever, nearly doubling the reductions that the Obama administration had committed to in the Paris climate accord.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of many allies welcoming the U.S. return after Trump..

“I’m delighted to see that the United States is back, is back to work together with us in climate politics,” Merkel declared in her virtual appearance. “Because there can be no doubt about the world needing your contribution if we really want to fulfill our ambitious goals.”

Pope Francis contributed a video from the Vatican, saying, “I wish you success in this beautiful decision to meet, walk together going forward and I am with you all the way.”

The new urgency comes as scientists say that climate change caused by coal plants, car engines and other fossil fuel use is worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and that humans are running out of time to stave off catastrophic extremes of global warming.

Leaders of smaller states and island nations buffeted by rising seas and worsening hurricanes appealed for aid and fast emissions cuts from world powers.

“We are the least contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but the most affected by climate change,” said Gaston Alfonso Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He called for debt relief and more international assistance to recover from storms and the pandemic to prevent a flow of climate refugees. His people he said, are “teetering on the edge of despair.”

Longtime climate policy experts, no strangers to climate summits with solemn pledges, watched some speeches with skepticism. After Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro promised an end to clearcutting in the Amazon, Dan Wilkinson of Human Rights Watch’s environmental programs noted, “It is going to be hard for anyone to take it seriously until they actually start taking steps.”

___

Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, Joe McDonald in Beijing, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, David Biller in Rio de Janeiro, Nicole Winfield in Vatican City, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Aamer Madhani, Seth Borenstein, Lisa Mascaro and Alexandra Jaffe in Washington contributed to this report.

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A Morgan Park man has been charged with the brazen, midday road-rage shooting on Lake Shore Drive that critically wounded a toddler in early April.

Deandre Binion, 25, faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, Chicago police said.

Investigators determined he fired shots on April 6, striking 22-month-old Kayden Swann in the temple, police said.

Prosecutors have already charged Jushawn Brown with unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting. In his initial court hearing, prosecutors said Brown was driving his car on Lake Shore Drive, with Kayden in the rear seat, when an SUV that attempted to merge onto the highway nearly struck his car near Soldier Field.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Brown pulled over and yelled at the driver of the SUV, and the two exchanged words until the driver of the SUV pulled out a gun and showed it to Brown while asking him, “What did he want to do about it,” prosecutors said.

Brown took out his own gun and placed it on his lap before trying to drive away from the SUV, which followed him.

The driver of the SUV fired several shots at Brown’s car near the Shedd Aquarium, striking it several times. One of the bullets smashed through the rear passenger window and hit the boy in the head.

Brown continued to drive north until he lost control and crashed.

A good Samaritan picked up Brown, Brown’s girlfriend and the child and drove them to Northwestern Hospital. The boy was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Kayden suffered a severe brain injury and was put in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator, doctors said. Earlier this week, doctors said the child was out of intensive care and showing “remarkable progress.”

Binion was expected to appear in court on Friday, police said.

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Activists in Chicago are calling the decision by the federal government to end “no-match letters” a win for immigrant workers.

The Social Security Administration announced this month it was ending the practice of mailing “Employer Correction Request Notices” to employers. The notices, better known as “no-match letters,” were sent to workplaces when an employee’s name or Social Security number on W-2 forms did not match the agency’s records. The errors could create issues for a worker who later seeks Social Security benefits, according to the agency.

The federal agency said it will instead focus on “efforts on making it a better, easier, and more convenient experience for employers to report and correct wages electronically.”

Immigration advocates said the notices were used to target immigrant workers. The letters caused some people to lose their jobs or were used as a form of retaliation against immigrant workers who were organizing to address workplace conditions, said Jessie Hahn, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, during a virtual news conference.

Screenshot

Jorge Mujica of Arise Chicago said immigrant workers had reached out to the Chicago-based organization, which advocates for workers, during the past two years.

“Many thousands of essential workers who had been producing and packing and transporting and many times delivering food to the door of those working remotely were hit with no-match letters again,” Mujica said. “Essential workers started losing their jobs because of the mistakes of the Social Security Administration database.”

In March, a dozen members of Congress, including some from Illinois, wrote a letter to the federal agency asking it to suspend the use of no-match letters. U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, in a video message played during the virtual conference said he was among those who sent the letter, describing the no-match letters as costly and putting workers in a vulnerable position.

Alfredo Sanchez, a board member of Arise Chicago, said he was abruptly fired from a job at a Loop restaurant years ago after his employer received a letter.

“That was before I knew Arise Chicago,” Sanchez said. “Arise Chicago showed me my rights and I learned my rights. I learned that these letters are just for errors to be fixed not for firing.”

Elvia Malagon’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

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