EDITOR’S NOTE:The Lindsey Stirling concert on Aug. 10 was canceled due to weather. Per a Tweet from the venue, the show has been rescheduled to Aug. 20. Ticketholders are being notified via email.
Lindsey Stirling is excited about marking her first concert appearance in Chicago since her 2017 Lollapalooza performance.
“Getting to now stand on stage and perform music and see what it means to people in-person after so long makes me remember how powerful music is to not only connect people,” said Stirling, an Arizona native. “It’s a language that goes beyond words.”
The show, scheduled for Tuesday, is one of 35 that Stirling has as part of her Artemis Tour (which is scheduled to end Sept. 10 at Milwaukee’s Summerfest). The show features tracks from Stirling’s fifth and latest album, “Artemis,” which debuted in September 2019 at No. 1 on Billboard’s dance/electronic albums chart before the pandemic rocked the live entertainment industry into desolation for over a year. Kiesza, an uptempo Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist who transcends genre, will join Stirling in her Chicago show, performing songs from her latest album, “Crave.”
Lindsey Stirling
When: 7 p.m. Aug. 10
Where: Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S Linn White Dr., Northerly Island
Stirling’s tour name is inspired by the Greek goddess Artemis, a huntress with a wild nature and proclivity to dance. Stirling is known for her ability to draw her bow across the strings of her violin with an electric enthusiasm while dancing en pointe in a modern ballet style.
“This tour and this album is all inspired by [the ‘Artemis’] comic book that I wrote,” Stirling said. “It really gives a new life to the whole process of writing and touring. … And it’s been especially fun trying to bring that story to life, not only through the music videos, but then to really think outside the box for the tour, from the costuming to the videos we play on the screen to the style of dancing we do. It makes for a very entertaining, colorful show.”
Her tour costumes are reminiscent of a wilderness left behind in the modernization of society. Folklore is ever-present in the thematic approach, fused with electronic dance music and classical violin. The set is bold and colorful, pulling from the storyline of her comic book series to bring light to her life and others’ during dark times.
Lindsey Stirling says her battle for perfection is something she has long dealt with, driving her to anorexia, and ultimately overcoming her eating disorder through therapy.Sydney Takeshta
“We’ve all been so deprived of these kinds of experiences and interactions, so there is just this really special feeling of gratitude that’s very powerful and very tangible,” Stirling said. “Even if you don’t come to my show, I highly recommend going to anyone’s show at this time because I think it’s a special time that won’t last forever. It’s something that anyone who experiences it is going to remember for the rest of their life.”
Stirling has been in the spotlight for more than a decade, getting her start as one of the first YouTube music sensations and appearing on “America’s Got Talent” in 2010.
Over the course of the past year (Stirling had not performed since 2019), she said she’s battled with a feeling of inadequacy. The first few tour shows were the most difficult because of that struggle; she cried in her dressing room after performing.
But her battle for perfection is something Stirling said she has long dealt with, driving her to anorexia, and ultimately overcoming her eating disorder through therapy.
“Now when I feel those feelings, I get reminded that I’m stepping onto the stage in the wrong way, if I’m stepping on the stage worrying that people are going to think I’m not enough,” Stirling said. “The show is about them — the fans. I really hope that when people hear my music they believe they can fight, because we often build the box that we live in.”
She continues to promote her nonprofit charity, The Upside Fund, to help families in need during the ongoing pandemic.
In Stirling’s spare time, she enjoys watching the TV show “Nashville” because of its authentic depiction of the music scene and multi-dimensional characters. Her guilty pleasure, though, is hit sitcom “New Girl.”
“I’m very excited to come back to Chicago,” Stirling said. “Back in the day before I ever had a band and I was just playing on my own with an iPod and a violin, one of the first shows I ever did was a showcase in Chicago. I’ll never forget that I walked a long way to Lou Malnati’s and learned I could only order a really large pizza and not eat by the slice. I asked a random guy on the street if he would like to split a pizza with me. I still have him in my phone as Chicago Tom.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot insisted Wednesday that a ritual at the medical examiner’s office normally afforded to police officers killed in the line of duty was canceled Saturday night to avoid “exponentially delaying” the family of slain officer Ella French.
Lightfoot said First Deputy Police Supt. Eric Carter made that decision and “I support what he did.”
“There was no official honor guard that night. There was, let me choose my words carefully, [a] well-meaning but not well-organized group that wanted to hijack the procession. Which would have meant that the family would have been delayed exponentially in getting to the morgue,” the mayor said.
“Given the new restrictions that the new coroner has put in place, that wouldn’t have been fair to them. … So, a call was made under those circumstance to focus on the family. Eric Carter made the right call. I support what he did. And I’m horrified that, in this moment, people are trying to savage him for whatever agenda or purpose.”
The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Wednesday that rules for processions haven’t changed since pandemic began.
“First responders have always gathered in the office parking lot and dock to pay respects to fallen police officers and firefighters. … At no time did personnel from the Medical Examiner’s Office try to impede officers or bagpipers,” the office said.
On the police scanner, Carter’s voice is heard impatiently declaring: “We don’t have 20 minutes for this s—.” He demanded the Chicago Fire Department ambulance bearing French’s body be taken directly into the medical examiner’s office, skipping the Emerald Society’s traditional playing of bagpipes.
“We’re not waiting on the bagpipes. Go ahead and get the vehicle inside,” Carter is heard saying on a recording.
“Take it all the way inside. Do not stop.”
Lightfoot stood firmly behind the first deputy, calling him an “incredible public servant” and a “dedicated veteran” who does not deserve to be vilified.
“What people don’t like is that he wasn’t part of the friends-and-family program. He did his job and came up through the ranks and worked his tail off and, now he’s the first deputy,” she said.
“It’s really hard when the media becomes ferocious in propagating a story that’s just not true. Eric Carter deserves our respect and our thanks for his service — both as a Marine and now, as a police officer for many, many years.”
The mayor was told repeatedly that the wounded officer’s father, a retired Chicago police officer himself, didn’t want her on the floor of the University of Chicago Medical Center where his son was being treated in the intensive care unit. But Lightfoot ignored his wishes and got a tongue-lashing from the father.
Shortly after, Lightfoot walked out into the hallway and suffered another indignity. Officers gathered to pray for French and her wounded partner turned their backs on the mayor as she approached.
The mayor made no effort to hide her anger when asked Wednesday why she ignored the family’s wishes.
“I’m not gonna respond to that. I don’t force my way anywhere. And that’s offensive, frankly, that you would ask me that question. … It really does a disservice to the moment that we’re in,” she said.
“Come on. Give me a break. What else are you gonna mine from the bottom of the chum barrel? You’re better than that. You’re better than that. You’re better than that.”
As for the hallway show of disrespect, Lightfoot said it’s part of a broader societal problem.
She argued that we’re living at a time when people “don’t respect each other,” have “lost our empathy for one another” and where shooters like the brothers charged in the shooting of French and her partner have “no regard for the sanctity of life.”
“People feel like it is their right to spew hatred at everyone that they don’t agree with or make fun and mock — usually anonymously and cowardly from social media. Not confronting somebody directly. But using the power of the pen and the keyboard to just spew unbelievable hate,” Lightfoot said.
“This is a larger question than what may have happened with 10 or 15 officers Saturday night. Why do we think it is OK for people to engage in such nasty, officious talk orally or worse on social media, then have it repeated by media as if it is fact and true? … The media plays a very important role in our democracy. But you lose me when it’s a race to the bottom, and it’s all about the fight and it’s all about the conflict.”
CONCORD, N.H. — An off-the-grid New Hampshire man’s days living as a hermit appear to be over.
“River Dave,” whose cabin in the woods burned down after nearly three decades on property that he was ordered to leave, says he doesn’t think he can return to his lifestyle.
“I don’t see how I can go back to being a hermit because society is not going to allow it,” David Lidstone said.
Even if he could rebuild his cabin, Lidstone, 81, said, “I would have people coming every weekend. So I just can’t get out of society anymore. I’ve hidden too many years, and I’ve built relationships, and those relationships have continued to expand.”
Lidstone, a former logger, chopped his firewood and grew his food in the woods along the Merrimack River in the town of Canterbury. He initially built the cabin with his wife, from whom he’s now estranged.
He said he’s not grieving the loss of his life in isolation.
“Maybe the things I’ve been trying to avoid are the things that I really need in life,” said Lidstone, who drifted apart from his family, including his daughter and three sons. “I grew up never being hugged or kissed or any close contact.
“I had somebody ask me once, about my wife: ‘Did you really love her?’ And the question kind of shocked me for a second. I … I’ve never loved anybody in my life. And I shocked myself because I hadn’t realized that. And that’s why I was a hermit. Now, I can see love being expressed that I never had before.”
On July 15, Lidstone was jailed on a civil contempt sanction and told he’d be released if he agreed to leave the cabin following a property dispute that dates to 2016. Landowner Leonard Giles, 86, of South Burlington, Vermont, wanted Lidstone off the property — undeveloped and mostly used for timber harvest — that Giles’s family has owned since 1963.
Lidstone previously said a prior owner in the family gave his word years ago that he could live there but had nothing in writing. He later disputed he was even on the property.
In court Wednesday, both sides agreed to arrange for Lidstone to collect his cats and chickens and remaining possessions.
A fire destroyed the cabin Aug. 4, hours after Lidstone defended himself during a court hearing. He was released from jail the next day after the judge ruled that he how had less incentive to return to “this particular place in the woods.”
Smoke rises Aug. 4 from the burnt remains of a cabin in Canterbury, N.H., inhabited by 81-year-old David “River Dave” Lidstone, who for 27 years has lived in the woods of New Hampshire along the Merrimack River in the solar-paneled cabin. Canterbury, N.H., Fire Department
People across the country have offered to help Lidstone by raising money or offering a place to live.
I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of the population loves pizza. Whether it be a classic cheese or a meat lovers or a veggie za, most people can’t resist. With that being said, not everyone can have them. And what I mean by that is people are Gluten intolerant and sometimes it’s hard finding a good pizza that won’t make your stomach turn and land you in the bathroom for the rest of the night. Luckily though many restaurants and pizzerias have come to the realization that they need to be inclusive when it comes to dietary restrictions. And I found 8 of the best places to order gluten-free pizza in Chicago. All my fellow GF eaters can now rest easy knowing that they won’t have to skip out on a Netflix and pizza night. For more GF friendly restaurants, check out our guide here.
For Robert’s Pizza and Dough Company, a proper slice of pizza, when folded, cracks but does not break. Striking a perfect balance between “crunch and chew”, they mix, rest, ferment, and rise their dough. Their dedication to the perfect dough is what makes their pizza one of the best. And unlike some places, they offer ALL of their yummy pizza on a gluten-free crust. So if you were dying to try one but were worried, don’t be! Some of my personal favorites (yes I’m GF) are The Jay, made with house made fennel sausage, calabrian peppers, fresh mozz, tomato sauce, and the Cali Italia, made with asiago, mozzarella, and Gorgonzola cheese finished with fig preserve, prosciutto di parma, balsamic reduction, and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
I actually recently went to Homeslice because I wanted to see what the hype was about. And I can tell you this, if you want great vibes with plenty of photo ops AND delicious pizza, then you’ve come to the right place. All of their signature pizzas can be ordered with a gluten-free crust! S However, it is only limited to the small pies. But, trust me, their “small” isnt quite so small. I opted for their “Boyler Room” pizza and it’s verye simple, just cheese, marinera and pepperoni. But it was one of the best pepperoni pizzas I’ve ever had. Some of their other staples include, the BMZ (Big Meaty Ziser) made with canadian bacon, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, cheddar, mozzarella, provolone & a ranch base, and the Lew-Wow, made with canadian bacon, pineapple, mozzarella, provolone & a marinara base.
I’ve heard great things about Roots, but have never really tried it, but I know they’r eknown for their malt crusts! And like Homeslice, all of their 12” crusts can be prepared gluten-free and the cheese subsittuded to Vegan cheese. They even have some collabs featuring Joanna Stachon, Rick Ortiz, Jimmy Bannos Jr, and Brian Fisher. Joanna Stachon’s Pub Royale Butter Chicken Pizza features butter sauce, marinated chicken, ginger, curry, onions, paneer, methi, chili oil, lime and mozzarella. Rick Ortiz’s Antique Taco Chili Cheese Curd Pizza features chorizo chili, cheddar curds, chihuahua cheese, mozzarella, pickled jalapeños and onions, avocado cream, tortilla strips, black olives and scallions. Jimmy Bannos Jr’s Purple Pig ‘Nduja Sausage Pizza features ‘Nduja sausage, tetilla cheese, giardiniera and mozzarella. And finally, Brian Fisher’s Entente Korean Fried Chicken Pizza features red pepper sauce, garlic puree, kimchi, mozzarella, smoked gouda, Korean fried chicken, scallions, sesame seeds and cilantro.
View the full menu and other pizza selections here.
Lou Malnati’s gets bonus points for creativity with its “crustless” deep-dish pizza. The crust is actually a super-thin sausage patty, which makes this deep-dish extra sloppy. It tastes better than it sounds, but we wouldn’t recommend adding any heavy toppings because you might feel like a pig by the end of it. You can also order a gluten-free Crust, gluten-free Cheese, gluten-free Lou, or a gluten-free Malnati Classic.
With over 10 kinds of pizzas, all of which can be prepared gluten-free, Spacca Napoli has something for everyone. Worried about cross-contamination? Don’t, they offer a choice between two cooking methods: on a sheet in the pizza oven with the regular pizzas, or in a separate oven on its own. Ingredients are carefully sourced from trusted vendors, many of which are unavailable anywhere else in Chicago. Some of their pizza staples include the Cinque Formaggi, made with fior di latte, gorgonzola, fontina, caiocavallo, and pecorino, and the Puttanesca, made with blended San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, anchovies, black olives, capers, Piennolo tomatoes, and parmigiano reggiano.
Chicago’s Pizza may be the only pizzeria in Chicago to offer gluten-free pizza in three Chicago styles: thin, stuffed, and deep-dish. All three are made with this spot’s own gluten-free dough, which it’s perfected over several years, practically making them pioneers in the field of gluten-free pizza-making. For toppings, you can’t go wrong, but the prosciutto and goat cheese on thin crust is something special.
Giordano’s is a Chicago Classic so I would highly recommend trying their pies if you haven’t already. They offer 4 kinds of crusts and you can request it to be gluten-free. Of course, theyre famous for their stuffed deep dish, so I would recommend trying the Chicago Classic which is made with pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers & onions and/or the Bacon BBQ Chicken made with BBQ-basted chicken, bacon & balsamic onions. They replace the marinera with BBQ sauce too!
Although not known for their pizza, they do have quite a selection of gluten-free items, including some pies. They have 5 options, which if you have a hard time deciding, this might be the perfect spot for you. Their za’s are the following, Margherita made with tomato sauce, basil leaves, and fresh mozzarella, Funghi made with mushrooms, squash, caramelized onions, and parmigiano, Gamberi made with shrimp, calamari, onions, tomato, pesto, and pecorino, Salsiccia made with crispy prosciutto, sausage, bacon, fontina, tomato, and red onions, and the Bianco made with fresh mozzarella, pecorino, fontina, caramelized onion, arugula, and prosciutto.
Maritza Bandera did everything she was supposed to do. She graduated high school, went to college, earned a master’s degree, found a career that pays well, got married and had kids.
But there’s one thing she and her husband have yet to do: buy a home. And post-pandemic, that’s becoming increasingly more difficult — at least in the neighborhood she’s called home for over 25 years.
“It’s heartbreaking to an extent that even someone like myself is being priced out of the area as it relates to homeownership,” Bandera said. “We probably earn double the average salary for our household in the area and we would love to stay here, but it is becoming harder and harder to find a home within our price range.”
Bandera grew up on Chicago’s Northwest Side in Belmont Cragin, a neighborhood where, as in much of Chicago, the housing market is hot. Owning a home in the neighborhood she loves is, she fears, becoming a distant dream.
In June, the median list price of homes in Belmont Cragin was $360,000 — up 19% from June 2020, according to Realtor.com. But the median sale price in the neighborhood was even higher: $375,000, indicating people were willing to overpay to get the home they want.
To stay within their family’s budget, Bandera said she hopes to spend about $250,000 on a home. They could manage $300,000 — but it would be tight.
“I’m always keeping an eye out for homes as I am driving by and I saw these beautifully rehabbed bungalows — don’t get me wrong, they’re gorgeous — but they were up on the market for almost half-a-million dollars,” Bandera said. “I don’t understand who they are building these houses for and how can they even afford that kind of price tag in this neighborhood.”
A house for sale in the 4800 block of West Montana Street, in Belmont Cragin.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Belmont Cragin, where Latinos make up more than 80% of the population, has a median annual household income of about $51,689 — less than the citywide median of $58,247, according to census data.
“I am happy these developments are coming here. I mean, Lord knows we need it. But I just wonder how this is going to affect people like me,” Bandera said. “Can we stay here? I hope so, but I’m not sure anymore.”
Bandera’s not even sure her family can stay in Chicago.
Geoff Smith, executive director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, said neighborhoods like Belmont Cragin aren’t alone in seeing housing prices rise since the start of the pandemic.
People have been diving into the housing market to take advantage of record-low interest rates, he said, but demand outstripped supply. Fewer homes were being put up for sale and even fewer new homes were being built.
In Chicago, new builds have steadily declined since 2016, and that drop became even steeper during the pandemic.
In 2020, the city approved nearly 30% fewer permits for new construction than in 2019, according to city data. The drop in new permits in 2020 is about 37% compared to 2018.
What hasn’t changed is that new construction continues to be concentrated mostly in North and Northwest Side neighborhoods.
“More times than not, these constructions are happening in densely populated and in more wealthy communities — and it’s not like new homes are being built on empty land,” Smith said. “New constructions in Chicago are usually de-conversion jobs, where they turn a traditional two-flat into a single-family home.”
A similar trend could happen with the rising costs of single-family homes in neighborhoods that haven’t been touched by gentrification, Smith said. Families who have worked their way up the economic ladder and are in the position to own a home may not be able to buy one in their own community.
As inventory thins in the Chicago area, Smith said, he expects people could start to look beyond their first-choice neighborhood. More affluent people trying to buy in Logan Square, for example, could get discouraged by repeated bidding wars and may look at nearby Hermosa, Avondale or even Belmont Cragin, where Bandera lives.
Those buyers could offer more than the asking price, leaving a neighborhood’s typical buyer out of luck.
The Institute for Housing Studies also monitors housing affordability. Its Cook County House Price Index measures the quarterly prices of single-family homes.
The report groups neighboring communities and suburbs into 33 submarket categories to see how prices are fluctuating. The latest report, issued in April, compared the fourth quarter of 2020 with the same period in 2019. It found the biggest annual price increases occurred on the South and West sides.
Despite having the bulk of the city’s new construction permits, the North Side’s annual single-family prices either remained flat or even decreased.
According to that index, the areas with the largest increase in single-family sale prices in that time frame were in the submarkets of Englewood/Greater Grand Crossing (23.7%), Humboldt Park/Garfield Park (20.1%) and Auburn Gresham/Chatham (17.3%).
The only markets to see year-over-year price declines were in higher-value, more stable markets. These include Lake View/Lincoln Park (-5.2%), Lincoln Square/North Center (-1.7%) and West Town/Near West Side (-0.8%).
“It’s interesting that the areas that saw a slight dip in sale prices over the year also tend to be areas that have the most new constructions,” Smith said.
A way to combat that is to develop affordable homes and rental units in communities that need it. And indeed, some Chicago neighborhoods are essentially untouched by development, with vast stretches of vacant land. Affordable homes there could help people in those neighborhoods accrue wealth.
But it’s a balancing act, Smith said.
“The problem you run into with a rush of development is gentrification,” Smith said. “There has to be a concerted effort in making sure the development happening is what the community wants and that affordability for everyone remains at the center of it.”
Maritza Bandera and Roberto Parra with their children, (left to right) Arielle, Eliel and Gabriel in front of their home in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. They are renting now and want to buy, but prices in the area are rising.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The Institute for Housing Studies hasn’t yet published its report on the first quarter of 2021, but the National Association of Realtors has, and it shows sale prices continuing to rise.
The median sale price of single-family homes rose at an annual pace of 16.2% — a record high since 1989. The nation’s median sale price was $319,000 in the first quarter of 2021 compared to nearly $275,000 in the first quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.
That rate of growth was mirrored in metro Chicago, where the median single-family home prices rose from nearly $262,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2020 to nearly $304,000 at the same time this year.
“The lower scale market is the one that is just unusually tough,” Hernandez said. “It is usually pretty easy to close on a house over the $450,000 mark but anything under $225,000 is just tough.”
Pre-pandemic, Hernandez said, buyers would be able to look at several homes and take their time before buying, weighing the pros and cons of each property. Now, they look at one or two homes, then have to make an offer while still walking through.
“There is definite fatigue for the lower-end buyers because not everyone has it in them to offer $10,000 or even $20,000 over asking price,” Hernandez said. “This isn’t a market for everyone, but I’m just telling people to be patient and we can find them a home that makes sense for them.”
Hernandez said buyers also are realizing it’s no longer possible to find a Northwest Side home priced under $250,000 that’s also “move-in ready.” Maybe on the South Side, he said — and even then, it may need some work.
But the Northwest Side is all Bandera knows, and those rising prices beg the question: How were her parents able to do it decades ago, when they first bought a home in Belmont Cragin?
Both she and her husband make sizable salaries compared to her parents, but the idea of owning a home in the same neighborhood is slipping away.
“Our goal is to stay here because this is all we know and this is where all our family is at,” Bandera said. “But I won’t lie, it may no longer be possible. We are starting to look at some nearby suburbs since owning a home here seems to be such an obstacle.”
A man is facing charges for his alleged role in a shooting that left five people wounded last month in Gresham on the South Side.
Devon Harding, 21, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in the July 14 shooting in the 7900 block of South Justine Street, Chicago police said.
Five people were hit, four men and a woman. Three of the victims were listed in critical condition at the time as they were taken to hospitals. They ranged in age from 27 to 50.
It was the second mass shooting in Chicago that day.
Hours earlier, four women and a man were shot in West Garfield Park on the West Side. As in Gresham, they were gathered on a sidewalk in the 4600 block of West Monroe Street when someone approached with a gun and shot them shortly after midnight, police said.
Harding was arrested Tuesday in Gresham after allegedly being identified as one of the suspects who participated in the shooting on Justine, police said.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban seized three more Afghan provincial capitals and a local army headquarters Wednesday to complete a blitz across the country’s northeast, giving them control of two-thirds of the nation as the U.S. and NATO finalize their withdrawal after a decades of war.
The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast as well as Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance, even as its lost a major base in Kunduz. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek help in pushing back the insurgents from warlords linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption. He also replaced his army chief of staff.
While the capital of Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain the control of the slivers of the country it has left. The government may eventually be forced to pull back to defend the capital and just a few other cities.
“I think what I would say to President Ghani is if you remain spread out everywhere, the Taliban will be able to continue to apply their current approach with success,” warned Ben Barry, the senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “You’ve got to do a bit more than stopping the Taliban. You’ve got to show you can push them back.”
The success of the Taliban offensive also calls into question whether they’d ever rejoin long-stalled peace talks in Qatar aimed at moving Afghanistan toward an inclusive interim administration as the West hoped. Instead, the Taliban could come to power by force — or the country could splinter into factional fighting like it did after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
The multiple fronts of the battle have stretched the government’s special operations forces — while regular troops have often fled the battlefield — and the violence has pushed thousands of civilians to seek safety in the capital.
The U.S. military, which plans to complete its withdrawal by the end of the month, has conducted some airstrikes but largely has avoided involving itself in the ground campaign.
Humayoon Shahidzada, a lawmaker from the western province of Farah, confirmed Wednesday to The Associated Press his province’s capital of the same name fell.
Taliban fighters dragged the shoeless, bloody corpse of one Afghan security force member through the street, shouting: “God is great!” Taliban fighters carrying M-16 rifles and driving Humvees and Ford pickup trucks donated by the Americans rolled through the streets of the capital.
“The situation is under control in the city, our mujahedeen are patrolling in the city,” one Taliban fighter who did not give his name said, referring to his fellow insurgents as “holy warriors.”
The crackle of automatic weapon fire continued throughout the day in Farah.
Hujatullah Kheradmand, a lawmaker from Badakhshan, said the Taliban had seized his province’s capital, Faizabad. An Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about an unacknowledged loss, said Baghlan’s capital, Poli-Khumri, also fell.
The Afghan government and military did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the losses.
The insurgents earlier captured six other provincial capitals in the country in less than a week.
On Wednesday, the headquarters of the Afghan National Army’s 217th Corps at Kunduz airport fell to the Taliban, according to Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a provincial council member in Kunduz, and lawmaker Shah Khan Sherzad. The insurgents posted video online they said showed surrendering troops.
The province’s capital, also called Kunduz, was already among those seized, and the capture of the base now puts the country’s northeast firmly in Taliban hands.
It wasn’t immediately clear what equipment was left behind for the insurgents, though a Taliban video showed them parading in Humvees and pickup trucks. Another video showed fighters on the airport’s tarmac next to an attack helicopter without rotor blades.
In southern Helmand province, where the Taliban control nearly all of the capital of Lashkar Gar, a suicide car bomber targeted the government-held police headquarters, provincial council head Attaullah Afghan said. The building has been under siege for two weeks.
The rapid fall of wide swaths of the country to the Taliban raises fears that the brutal tactics they used to rule Afghanistan before will also return, including severe curtailing of women’s rights. Some civilians who have fled Taliban advances have said that the insurgents imposed repressive restrictions on women and burned down schools, and there have been reports of revenge killings.
In the face of the rapid deterioration in Afghanistan, Germany and the Netherlands both announced Wednesday they’d suspend deportations to the country.
Speaking to journalists Tuesday, a senior EU official said the insurgents held some 230 districts of the over 400 in Afghanistan. The official described another 65 in government control while the rest were contested. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal figures.
In addition to the northeast, much of northern Afghanistan has also fallen to the Taliban, except for Balkh province. There, warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Mohaqiq planned to mobilize forces in support of the Afghan government to push back the Taliban.
Dostum in particular has a troubled past, facing investigations after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion for killing hundreds of Taliban fighters last year by letting them suffocate in sealed shipping containers.
On Wednesday, Dostum said that the Taliban “won’t be able to leave north and will face the same fate” as the suffocated troops.
Ghani meanwhile ordered Gen. Hibatullah Alizai to replace Gen. Wali Ahmadzai as the Afghan army chief of staff, according to an Afghan official who spoke to the AP and local media reports. The Defense Ministry official spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be made public.
Alizai was the commander of the Afghan army’s Special Operations Corps — the elite troops that, along with the air force, have been forced to do most of the fighting as regular forces have collapsed. That’s even after a 20-year Western military mission and billions of dollars spent training and shoring up Afghan forces.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — North Carolina-based Elevation Worship and singer-songwriter Brandon Lake are each nominated for seven awards at the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards, and Elevation’s lead singer and songwriter Chris Brown earned nine nominations.
The 52nd annual Dove Awards are planned for Oct. 19 in Nashville, Tennessee, where the leading voices in gospel and worship music will be honored.
Steven Furtick, the pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina and songwriter for the worship group, had 10 nominations, making him the top non-artist nominee. Other artists with several nominations include for KING & COUNTRY, CeCe Winans, Ed Cash and Zach Williams.
Artist of the year nominees include Elevation Worship, for King & Country, Lauren Daigle, Phil Wickham and Zach Williams. Gospel artist of the year include CeCe Winans, Jonathan McReynolds, Kirk Franklin, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Travis Greene.
The GMA Dove Awards will be taped Tuesday, October 19 at Lipcomb University’s Allen Arena. The broadcast will air October 22 on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).Tickets for the in-person event are on sale at www.doveawards.com.
The NCAA infractions committee said Wednesday that its years-long investigation into the Baylor sexual assault scandal would result in four years probation and other sanctions, though the “unacceptable” behavior at the heart of the case did not violate NCAA rules.
The NCAA ruling came more than five years after the scandal broke at the world’s largest Baptist university, leading to the firing of successful football coach Art Briles, and the later departures of athletic director Ian McCaw and school president Ken Starr.
In its ruling, the NCAA said the allegations centered on conduct never before presented to the Committee on Infractions, “namely, that Baylor shielded football student-athletes from the institution’s disciplinary process and failed to report allegations of abhorrent misconduct by football student-athletes, including instances of sexual and interpersonal violence.”
The panel said Baylor admitted to moral and ethical failings in its handling of sexual violence on campus but argued “that those failings, however egregious, did not constitute violations of NCAA legislation.”
“Ultimately, and with tremendous reluctance, this panel agrees,” the ruling said.
The NCAA said the case that led to penalties involved Level II and III impermissible benefits and drug testing violations in Baylor’s football program, and Level II violations involving the institution’s student host program.
Along with the four years probation and a $5,000 fine, Baylor will face recruiting restrictions during the 2021-22 academic year. There could also be a vacation of all records in which athletes competed while ineligible, which came during a time when Baylor won two Big 12 titles and had four 10-win seasons in a span of five years.
Coming off a rough opener to start off summer league play, the Chicago Bulls completely flipped the script on the San Antonio Spurs in their second game en route to a tight 92-89 victory. However, this was no ordinary victory for the ChicagoBulls.
The Chicago Bulls young players continued to show out in their win over the Spurs.
Many of the standout players from the opener continued to build on their great starts in their second game. Patrick Williams dropped 30 and what stood out to me was his commitment to continue shooting despite his slow start. Marko Simonovic was 5-5 from the field in the first half and once again displayed his toughness in the interior.
However, when the Spurs closed the gap on Chicago at the end of the fourth quarter, there were a few contested shots I would have liked to see Simonovic finish. He’s young and his play so far has inspired enough confidence in me to believe that he will keep getting stronger and more consistent finishing shots in the paint.
The rookie, Ayo Dosunmu also had a great second game against San Antonio. One of the things I said Ayo needed to demonstrate to contest Coby White‘s role on the team would be to play tenacious defense. His four steals in Tuesday’s game are early, positive signs that he could be a great defender in the Chicago Bull’s backcourt this season if he continues to develop.
Furthermore, Ayo’s communication on defense is another aspect of his game that jumped out at me in his performance versus the spurs. Patrick Williams noted that Ayo has already become one of the more vocal leaders on the squad. This was definitely backed up by Ayo’s mic ‘d-up audio as he was constantly engaged on defense by constantly communicating with his teammates to support them on defense.
However, the best thing about this game is that the Bulls bounced back quickly after they blew a 17 point lead just the day before. They came out flat, went down early, but fought back and came back against San Antonio.
The Chicago Bulls overcame a 22 point deficit to beat the Spurs.
Furthermore, when the game was close down the stretch, I saw a much better offense that had constant motion leading to easy baskets. Devon Dotson, especially, despite his subpar game to that point, had a beautiful pass to a cutting Patrick Williams for a layup that iced the game for the Chicago Bulls.
I realize that this is only summer league and many of these players will max out as rotation and depth players on the bench, but to truly compete with the likes of Milwaukee and Brooklyn in the conference, the Chicago Bulls will need an “all hands on deck” effort. This is what makes this year’s summer league the most exciting one (for the Chicago Bulls) in ages and so far, the team’s young talent is giving us plenty to be excited for once the regular season gets underway.
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