With 70% of the ballots counted, Isabel Díaz Ayuso was backed by 44% of voters, up from 22% in the last election two years ago.

MADRID — Madrid’s conservative leader, a champion of relaxed measures against the coronavirus and a scourge of the left-wing central government’s handling of the pandemic, looked on course for a solid victory in a regional election Tuesday.

With 70% of the ballots counted, Isabel Díaz Ayuso was backed by 44% of voters, up from 22% in the last election two years ago. Three rival left-wing parties together had 41%.

The preliminary results gave Díaz Ayuso’s Popular Party 64 seats in the 136-seat regional assembly, more than double from 2019 but short of the 69-seat majority needed to form a government.

Vox, the far-right party that mixes Spanish patriotism and populism and is shaping up as Díaz Ayuso’s new choice for legislative support, was set to win one more regional lawmaker, rising from 12 seats to 13.

Voters shunned the liberal center-right Citizens party that was Díaz Ayuso’s junior coalition partner before she called the early election seeking to broaden her power base. The centrist party, which is trying to keep afloat also at the national level, lost all of its 26 regional lawmakers because it failed to reach the 5% vote threshold.

The preliminary results were a blow for the regional Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, losing 11 assembly seats, from 37 to 25.

Sánchez’s government’s junior coalition partner, the anti-austerity United We Can, obtained 10 seats, up from seven in 2019, after leader Pablo Iglesias quit his Cabinet position to run in Madrid.

More Madrid, a new upstart regional party led by a staunch defender of public health and education against the conservatives’ austerity and privatization record, grew from 20 to 24 seats.

Despite a persistent high infection rate that has recently plateaued, Madrid residents voted in droves, shooting the turnout to more than 69% of the 5 million eligible voters by 7 p.m., an hour before voting ended and up from 59% in the 2019 regional election.

Long queues of socially distanced voters formed outside polling stations in schools, sports centers and even a bullring. Authorities imposed strict voting requirements to prevent the spread of infections: double masks, separate entrance and exit paths for voters and plastic screens for election workers.

Older adults were encouraged to cast their ballots during a 2-hour period mid-morning and the hour before polls close was reserved for people quarantining because of COVID-19.

The Madrid region is Spain’s main economic engine and the country’s busiest transportation hub. It’s home to 14% of Spain’s 47 million people but has recorded nearly one-fifth of the country’s 3.5 million confirmed virus cases and of the national pandemic death toll of over 78,000.

The only incident reported was a brief semi-naked protest by the activist group Femen who held signs reading “It’s not patriotism, it’s fascism” outside where Vox’s main candidate voted.

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About 5:50 p.m., the 31-year-old was in the 7800 block of South South Shore Drive when someone opened fire, striking him in the hand, groin and leg, Chicago police said.

A man was killed in a shooting Monday in South Shore, police said.

About 5:50 p.m., the 31-year-old was in the 7800 block of South South Shore Drive when someone opened fire, striking him in the hand, groin and leg, Chicago police said.

The man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t identified the man, but an autopsy Tuesday ruled his death a homicide.

Area Two detectives are investigating.

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Hoerner (left forearm strain), Arrieta (right thumb scrape) and Winkler (right triceps tendinitis) are expected be back soon thanks to several off-days in the next week.

The Cubs made a flurry of roster moves Tuesday, putting infielder Nico Hoerner (left forearm strain), right-handers Jake Arrieta (right thumb scrape) and Dan Winkler (right triceps tendinitis) on the 10-day injured list. The team recalled lefty Kyle Ryan and right-hander Keegan Thompson, and selected infielder Ildemaro Vargas from Class AAA Iowa.

“We’re optimistic about everyone,” manager David Ross said before Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Dodgers. “I don’t think they’re very serious [injuries].”

Hoerner’s IL stint comes after his collision with outfielder Ian Happ in Sunday’s loss to the Reds. Hoerner said before the Cubs’ doubleheader that there was some soreness after Sunday’s game, but nothing too severe. But after meeting with trainers Monday, things had progressed, leading to the team’s decision to put him on the IL.

“I was pretty stressed in the outfield, just not knowing what condition he was in,” Hoerner said. “Pretty shaken up. Just seeing a friend leave the field like that doesn’t feel good at all. So when I could go back to the locker room and see him and he was in good spirits, that definitely made me feel good because it was probably the scariest baseball play I’ve been a part of.”

It appeared Happ took the worst of the collision, but has come away from the scary scene better than many expected. The 26-year-old outfielder is still undergoing tests, but has cleared the team’s concussion protocols.

“Tests seem to be all good,” Ross said. “He’s pretty sore in a lot of different areas. He ran through a ton of tests yesterday to make sure he was fine and I think all the tests I know have come back and he’s in a good place.”

Hendricks twirls seven-inning complete game in Game 1

Things didn’t go well for starter Kyle Hendricks in the month of April as he sported a 7.54 ERA over the first month of the season. But in first start in May, Hendricks looked like the ace the Cubs need him to be as he tossed a seven-inning, complete game in the Cubs’ 7-1 victory over the Dodgers in Game 1.

Hendricks went to work after the Cubs took a commanding first-inning lead and held a tough Dodgers’ lineup in check, allowing just one run one seven hits over seven innings of work. He struck out six batters and walked one.

“I did a much better job just intent-wise,” Hendricks said. “Going pitch-to-pitch. [Willson] had me locked in on that. The boys going out and putting up four runs early was huge to help me have that confidence to go attack, which I’ve been trying to do better.”

It was the first time this season a Cubs starter has pitched seven innings and just the second a starter has reached the seventh inning since Trevor Williams did it on April 5 against Milwaukee.

“I think Kyle looked a lot more like himself from the jump,” Ross said after the Game 1 victory.

Alzolay to start Game 3 vs. Dodgers

Right-hander Adbert Alzolay will start the series finale vs. the Dodgers on Wednesday, replacing Arrieta, who was scheduled to make the start before going on the IL. Alzolay had his best start of the season in his last outing, pitching six innings and striking out six against the Braves.

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How many basketball lovers in 2021 fail to understand that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar belongs — simply must be — on the sport’s Mount Rushmore as clearly and automatically as Michael Jordan and LeBron James?

We might as well dispense with the formalities and give Nuggets center Nikola Jokic his first MVP award right now.

That’s what you get when you strap your Jamal Murray-less team across your broad shoulders and carry it — despite many outsiders assuming the situation is hopeless — on a 9-2 tear that puts the clamps on a top-four seed in the Western Conference. Murray’s ACL tear last month was a cruel blow to the Nuggets, but Jokic will bring the franchise its first MVP and the center position its first MVP since Shaquille O’Neal won the award in 2000.

In a refreshing throwback to a time when big men ruled the sport, Jokic and 76ers center Joel Embiid almost surely will finish 1-2 in the voting. What a couple of players they are. So dynamic, so skilled, so unstoppable when they really get rolling.

But wait. Let’s not kid ourselves. And let’s not mislead our readers who aren’t yet old enough to stand on their front lawns and yell at clouds as white as the stubble on their chins.

Though the game in many ways gets better and better — and though many of the best players now are, hands down, better than many of the best players of previous generations — basketball has suffered an irreparable disconnect when it comes to the center position. That’s an admittedly long-winded way of saying the best centers of yore would’ve eaten Jokic and Embiid for breakfast.

No one more so than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

I was reminded of Abdul-Jabbar Tuesday when a photo taken exactly 10 years prior popped up on my phone. It was of Abdul-Jabbar, then 64, in Los Angeles, where I interviewed him for a magazine feature. During that interview, we discussed at length the limelight he’d generally taken pains to avoid from the time he arrived at UCLA until long after his 20-year NBA career was over. He had no doubt it had bridled media praise of his career to such an extent that younger fans were no longer automatically counting him as one of the three or four greatest players ever.

“Sometimes people just can’t see through the fog,” he said then. “Maybe I’m a victim of that.”

Even the Lakers had, Abdul-Jabbar felt, kind of forgotten about him. This despite his six rings (five won in L.A.) and — a decade later, still NBA records all — six MVPs, 19 All-Star appearances and 35,318 points scored. Not to mention his three straight national titles won at UCLA as the greatest player the college game has ever seen.

Other ex-Lakers made themselves extremely visible, while the shy, scholarly Abdul-Jabbar remained what had often been mischaracterized as aloof. Somehow, by 2011, five statues had gone up outside Staples Center and not one of them was of a goggles-wearing, sky-hooking No. 33. How could Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya all have been immortalized before him? It boggled the mind — not just his — and understandably offended him.

“It doesn’t make me happy,” he said. “It’s definitely a slight. I feel slighted.”

The story created a real hubbub and, in 2012, Abdul-Jabbar’s statue went up in front of Staples. It was long overdue. And the memory of it makes me wonder how many basketball lovers out there in 2021 fail to understand that Abdul-Jabbar belongs — simply must be — on the sport’s Mount Rushmore as clearly and automatically as anyone else. Yes, that includes Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Carve Jordan, James and Kareem into that mountainside, I say, and let everyone else fight to be Guy No. 4.

JUST SAYIN’

No, I can’t tell you who my Guy No. 4 is. I’ve never been able to decide.

But what about the Mount Rushmore of centers? Who’s on there with Kareem? Is Bill Russell an automatic? Is Shaq? What about Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon? Are Jokic and Embiid even in the top 10?

Wait, scratch that last question. It was off topic and uncalled for.

• As one-two punches go, the injuries to outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert that have cost the White Sox two of their most talented players are stunning. But nobody’s stopping this fight yet. Not even close.

The Sox will weather this barrage of bad luck for as long as their starting rotation will carry them. It’s the wrong question to ask if Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Yermin Mercedes and company can put enough runs on the board. The right one: Can Carlos Rodon and Lance Lynn keep leading the way?

• New ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was a state-of-the-art athletic director at Northwestern, but he left Evanston without having confronted the hardest issue facing successor Mike Polisky: What do do about Chris Collins and a basketball program that has disappeared since reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2017?

The Wildcats have had four straight losing seasons — with a dreadful Big Ten record of 19-58 — since that high point. Collins is signed through the 2024-25 campaign. Polisky won’t be able to ignore the purple elephant in the room for long.

• Meaningless Blackhawks games vs. meaningless Bulls games:

Discuss.

Better yet, don’t.

• Note to brand-new Bears quarterback Justin Fields: Take a deep breath, pal. Everything’s great. There’s no pressure. Just go about your business and be the best player you can be.

We’ll handle the rest, starting with figuring out who’s going to make your 2041 induction speech in Canton, Ohio.

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Do you want to sip cocktails, take pictures, and win two tickets to an upcoming Cubs game? We thought so. OK, party people of Wrigleyville, have any plans for Cinco de Mayo? How about sippin’ on some limited time libations with your best friends AND give yourself a chance to win 2 tickets to a Chicago Cubs game, courtesy of Perrier! OK, now that sounds like a ~grand slam~ way to fiesta (sorry, we had to). 

Here’s what’s going down:

Your favorite sparkling water in a green bottle, Perrier, is partnering with popular Wrigley neighborhood bars Mordecai, Swift & Son’s Tavern, HVAC Pub, and Sheffield’s to offer a specialty Perrier cocktail + a chance to win a pair of Chicago Cubs tickets to an upcoming home game. All you have to do—and we cannot stress enough how simple this is—is order a cocktail, post on Instagram, and you’ll be entered!

For your chance to win, follow these steps:

First, you’ll need to post the specialty Perrier Cinco de Mayo cocktail on your Instagram page between May 3rd and May 6th. Be sure to tag @perrierusa and tag that respective bar’s Instagram handle as well. The final caveat is you need to use these hashtags: #sweepstakes and #PerrierXCincoChicago to be officially entered. The winner will be randomly selected on May 7th! Super easy, right?

We’re making it even easier, too. Here are the handles for every bar participating: @mordecaichicago, @swiftandsonstavern, @hvacpub, @sheffieldschi.

Delicious adult bevvies for Cinco de Mayo

If you’re looking for something more robust, try the Cinco Smoke at Mordecai. This drink includes lapsang infused reposado tequila, cynar, banana, mineral water. Or if you’re more in the mood for light and refreshing, go with the Perrier Paloma at Swift & Sons. You really can’t go wrong when you combine blanco tequila, grapefruit, lime, and Perrier sparkling water. Plus, HVAC Pub and Sheffield’s will have their own speciality Perrier drinks, just ask your server for more details. 

So grab your friends, neighbors, Tinder date, Grandma or whomever and get your drink on with Perrier for a chance to win those stadium seats. Take me out to the baaallgame. Salud, amigos!

Perrier Featured Image Credit: Perrier

The post Perrier Teams Up With 4 Wrigleyville Bars So Fans Can Win 2 Free Cubs Tickets appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who called the early election by dissolving her center-right coalition, had set off to broaden her power base and open up to an alliance with the far-right.

MADRID — Madrid residents voted in droves Tuesday for a new regional assembly in an election that tested the depths of resistance to virus lockdown measures and the divide between left-wing and right-wing parties.

Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who called the early election by dissolving her center-right coalition, had set off to broaden her power base and open up to an alliance with the far-right. She has criticized the national left-wing government’s handling of the pandemic and resisted strict infection-control measures.

An opinion survey conducted before the vote and published as voting stations closed predicted that Díaz Ayuso would earn a solid victory with 43% of the votes. That level of support would more than double the number of seats for her conservative Popular Party in the Madrid assembly, according to the GAD3 survey of 8,500 voters.

The poll was conducted by phone between April 17-May 3 and has a 1% margin of error.

Long queues of socially distanced voters formed outside polling stations Tuesday in schools, sports centers and even a bullring, despite concerns due to the high rate of new infections.

More than 69% of the 5 million eligible voters had voted by 7 p.m., an hour before voting ended, up from 64% in the previous regional election in 2019.

Authorities imposed strict voting requirements to prevent the spread of infections: double masks, separate entrance and exit paths for voters and plastic screens for election workers.

Older adults were encouraged to cast their ballots during a 2-hour period mid-morning and the hour before polls close was reserved for people quarantining because of COVID-19.

Díaz Ayuso has gained increasing popularity among voters who in recent elections were attracted to the populism of Vox, an upstart far-right party that could become kingmaker in Tuesday’s election.

The Madrid region is Spain’s main economic engine and the country’s busiest transportation hub. It’s home to 14% of Spain’s 47 million people but has recorded nearly one-fifth of the country’s 3.5 million confirmed virus cases and of the national pandemic death toll of over 78,000.

The only incident reported was a brief semi-naked protest by the activist group Femen who held signs reading “It’s not patriotism, it’s fascism” outside where Vox’s main candidate voted.

Official results are expected later Tuesday night.

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Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

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 cloudy with a high near 56 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 44 degrees. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 60 degrees.

Top story

Lightfoot sets goal to ‘fully open’ Chicago by July 4

McCormick Place will reawaken from its 14-month, pandemic-induced slumber with the July 15 return of the Chicago Auto Show — and Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her goal is to get the city “fully open” by July 4.

“I am working night and day toward this goal. … But, we and I need you to continue to be on this journey with us. And that means getting vaccinated now — as soon as possible,” Lightfoot told reporters at McCormick Place, where details of the auto show return were announced today.

“Every day that our COVID-19 metrics continue to tick downward brings us a day closer to being able to put this pandemic in the rearview mirror. And we are too close to accomplishing this mission to give up now. Our goal … is to be fully open by July 4th.”

Getting Chicago “fully open” by July 4 weekend also could mean the return of Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago and the Air & Water Show, the city’s most popular and iconic summer events.

“Don’t skip to the end of the chapter, There’s more coming,” the mayor said.

Just last week, Lightfoot vowed to be more cautious than other major cities in reopening Chicago. She said the last thing she wanted to do is to move too quickly, only to be forced to shut things down yet again.

Asked how that jibes with her goal of being “fully open by July 4th,” the mayor cited “steady progress” in all the health metrics that Chicago follows and “modeling” that suggests those trends will continue.

Read Fran Spielman’s full story with the latest on Chicago’s reopening plans here.

More news you need

1. The 2021 Chicago Auto Show will be a trial run of sorts for other conventions awaiting green lights. There will be an outdoor section, tickets will be sold online only and masks will be required. Mitch Dudek and Rachel Hinton have more details on how the convention will be held.
2. TY Johnson, a 17-year-old local basketball star who’s committed to play at Loyola, was shot last night in Englewood when someone in a passing car opened fire on him and an 18-year-old woman while they were outside. Johnson was grazed in the back of his head and brought to a nearby hospital; he’s now at home and resting.
3. Indiana landed back on Chicago’s coronavirus travel quarantine list today as the neighboring state sees a surge in cases. The travel order, which calls for those returning from Indiana to quarantine for 10 days, doesn’t apply to people who are two weeks removed from their final vaccine dose.
4. Keegan-Michael Key, the former Second City star who went on to co-create the iconic sketch show “Key & Peele,” will host “Saturday Night Live” for the first time later this month. Key, who left Chicago in 2004 to join “Mad TV,” will host the May 15 episode with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo.

A bright one

CSO plans to resume in-person concerts May 27 at Symphony Center

The sounds of in-person classical music are returning to Symphony Center.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association today announced the first CSO concert performances with live audiences in attendance at Orchestra Hall (220 S. Michigan) since the pandemic shutdown of all performing arts venues in March 2020.

The series of concerts, programmed in conjunction with maestro Riccardo Muti, will take place May 27-June 13 “and feature music for brass and percussion, string ensembles and orchestra,” today’s announcement said.

©Todd Rosenberg Photography

The concerts will be presented with adherence to current state and city COVID-19 guidelines for public events, including reduced-capacity audiences, mandatory face masks for audience and staff, hand-sanitizing stations, and an HVAC fresh air system that meets current standards.

Due to social distancing guidelines, musicians must be a minimum of six feet apart on stage, which means the orchestra will be reduced to 45 musicians on stage depending on the program (some concerts will feature smaller, CSO ensembles).

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. May 11, at cso.org or by phone at (312) 294-3000.

Get more details on the upcoming CSO schedule from Miriam di Nunzio’s full story here.

From the press box

The Cubs put three players – infielder Nico Hoerner and pitchers Jake Arrieta and Dan Winkler – on the 10-day injured list today. The team added Ildemaro Vargas, Kyle Ryan and Keegan Thompson to the big league roster to fill those spots.

If it is audition time for the sinking Bulls, unheralded wing Javonte Green is ready to prove his worth, Joe Cowley writes. Green, 27, put up seven points and three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench in the loss to Philadelphia last night.

Your daily question ☕

What was it like when you saw a “Star Wars” movie for the first time?

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: What do you think of the proposal to rename Lake Shore Drive after Chicago founder Jean Baptiste Point DuSable? Here’s what some of you said…

“It’s a very bad idea. Lake Shore Drive is neutral and descriptive. It is the jewel in the necklace of Chicago that we all enjoy. Honor the lake, which is the true reason we’re all here. Also, why put thousands through an address change that no one asked for or wants? Just do not do this.” — Roberta Naftulin Siegel

“They can name it anything they want. It will always be Lake Shore Drive. It’s always going to be Sears Tower, and it’ll always be Comiskey Park.” — Jan Hughes

“Seriously wasting our taxpayers money and time. They really should be focusing on more important matters and issues rather than changing the name of a street that’s been perfectly fine.” — Evelyn Ruby

“Absolutely not. It is Lake Shore Drive and should remain as it runs along the lake. There are several areas already named DuSable, including a museum, which is great.” — Kathy Scardina

“Change Columbus Drive to DuSable instead. Lake Shore Drive is iconic and known around the world.” — Julie Randall Petertil

“Great idea! What better tribute to the city’s founder? Maybe it’s long overdue.” — Robert Michael Jones

“Great idea to honor Chicago founder, but like a proposal to rename Columbus Drive through Grant Park instead of Lake Shore Drive. Could also replace the Columbus statue with DuSable.” — Lainey Elaine

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

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TY Johnson, a DePaul Prep star and Loyola recruit, and TaKiya “TK” Howard, a De La Salle Institute student who’s expected to play at Murray State University in Kentucky next season, were injured in the South Side shooting.

Two high school seniors, both bound for Division I college basketball, were wounded in a drive-by shooting Monday night in Englewood.

TY Johnson, a DePaul Prep star and Loyola University recruit, and TaKiya “TK” Howard, a De La Salle Institute student expected to play at Murray State University in Kentucky next season, were shot outside Johnson’s South Side home, according to school officials and family.

Howard, 18, and a friend had been heading to get ice cream when they stopped at Johnson’s place in the 7000 block of South Throop Street, Howard’s mother Kimberly Howard said.

Johnson, 17, was talking to the women through the window of their car as they sat outside his apartment when shots were fired from a passing car, the mother and Chicago police said.

Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert just before midnight and found the two, police said. They were unable to provide a description of the vehicle. A source said at least 19 rounds were fired.

Johnson was grazed in the back of his head and brought by ambulance to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, police said. Johnson is now resting at home and is said to be OK, according to a source.

Howard was struck once in the ear and taken to St. Bernard Hospital by her friend, said her mother, who met them there a short time later.

“I was able to see her and I was able to kiss her,” Kimberly Howard said. “She looked up to me, she was responsive, she was coherent, and that’s a good thing.”

Howard said the bullet is lodged in her daughter’s neck near her carotid artery. TK Howard was later transported to Stroger Hospital, where she was undergoing a procedure Tuesday afternoon, her mother said.

“TK, she’s fighting. She’s young, she’s fighting. And she was trying to assure me, ‘Everything’s OK, I’m OK.’ It’s draining, it’s just draining, that’s all,” Kimberly Howard said.

Howard was expecting an update on her daughter later in the day. “Right now, I’m just waiting,” she said. “I’m gonna stay here until I take my baby home.”

No one was reported in custody.

Both Johnson and Howard were standout players at their respective schools and preparing to take the next jump in their careers.

Johnson, a 6-foot-3 guard, has signed with Loyola and is expected to play for the Ramblers next season.

“Our primary concern is that Ty has a full and quick recovery,” the university said in a statement.

Johnson is a two-time Sun-Times All-Area player and was this past season’s breakout star. He led the Rams to the Chipotle Clash of Champions tournament title and the No. 1 ranking in the area while averaging 20.2 points.

Howard is a 5-foot-10 guard who was selected to the All-Girls Catholic Athletic Conference White Division team in all four years at the De La Salle Institute. She committed to playing at Murray State University for the 2021-2022 season, the school announced in November.

“TaKiya will bring athleticism, a scorer’s mentality and toughness to our team. We are excited to add her to our Racer family,” Coach Rechelle Turner said at the time.

Murray State Women’s Basketball officials declined or did not respond to several requests for comment Tuesday.

In March, Howard claimed the record for the all-time scoring leader in De La Salle girls basketball history, according to the Beverly Review, with 1,198 points.

Contributing: Sun-Times Wire

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