Midwest
JB Pritzker huddles with Chicago-born Pope at Vatican to rip ICE ops
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker meets with Pope Leo XIV
Illinois Democratic Gov. Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, a fellow native of the Land of Lincoln, at the Vatican this week. (Credit: REUTERS — No use Fox Weather/Outkick)
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was granted an audience with fellow Illini Pope Leo XIV, where the two exchanged gifts and discussed their collective criticisms of President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” ICE enforcement mission.
“Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions,” Pritzker said in a statement after the meeting, which was set up with the help of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.
Pritzker and Leo reportedly discussed their reservations about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Illinois and Chicago, specifically, with the governor saying that the Pope agreed with his feeling of pride that “the people of Chicago stood up against the oppression that’s been brought on immigrants.”
Pritzker told Chicago’s NBC affiliate that the Pope has strong feelings about ICE’s activities, and that the pontiff wanted to hear Pritzker’s views and asked questions about the state of Midway Blitz.
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Pope Leo XIV greets Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at the Vatican, Vatican City. (Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS)
Leo was reportedly heartened when told the operation appeared to be winding down in Chicago, according to Pritzker’s comments.
Earlier this month, a group of U.S. bishops released a statement supported by Leo that criticized some of ICE’s operations – including mass deportations – and spoke of public fears about the missions.
Released from Baltimore, the statement – endorsed by a vote of 216-5 with three clergy abstaining – read in part that bishops are “bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ [and] are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”
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Leo had also called into question whether people who oppose abortion but agree with the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” can be considered “pro-life.”
“If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts; there’s a system of justice,” he told the Italian press at the time, adding that leaders should look for ways to treat people with dignity while enforcing the law.
But, he added that every nation has its own right to determine immigration procedures and laws.
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“No one has said that the United States should have open borders,” Leo, born Robert Prevost, said.
Pritzker said of his audience that “you could feel [the pope’s] humanity.”
“It was a special moment, even for this Jewish boy,” he said.
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The governor also invited Leo to visit Chicago and presented him with a case of “Da Pope” beer from local Illinois brewery Burning Bush.
“We’ll put that in the fridge,” the Pope quipped as he smiled at the gift.
The last papal visit to Chicago was in 1979 when John Paul II held an audience at Grant Park, according to Capitol News Illinois.
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Pistons vs Magic Game 1 reaction, lessons learned and what must change
Omari Sankofa II, Shawn Windsor and special guest Bryce Simon react to Detroit Pistons’ Game 1 NBA playoff loss to Orlando Magic, April 19, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena.
How in the world did things get so bad so fast for the Detroit Pistons?
In just one outing in the 2026 NBA playoffs, they went from top-seeded darlings of the Eastern Conference to punching bags punked by an 8-seed short on rest but long on resilience and toughness.
“I would say they ‘outphysical-ed’ us today,” Pistons wing Ausar Thompson said after the Orlando Magic stole Game 1 of the first-round NBA playoff series, 112-101, at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, April 19. “One, because they got more rebounds than us. They forced more turnovers.”
Yes, this was always going to be a physical series. Though you would think the Pistons, owners of the NBA’s second-best defense and playing at home, would have a sizable advantage.
It also should have helped them that they were coming off six days’ rest, as opposed to the Magic coming off winning a play-in game just 47 hours earlier.
It didn’t help that Pistons star Cade Cunnigham was playing in just his fourth game since suffering a collapsed lung and missing 11 games. He scored a game-high 39 points, but he didn’t operate as smoothly as usual, with just four assists (far off his 9.9-assist season average) while committing three turnovers.
Another indictment of the Pistons’ worrisome play: Tobias Harris (19 points) was Cunningham’s only teammate who scored in double digits. Meanwhile, all five Magic staters did so, led by Paolo Banchero’s 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
And just like that, the Magic came out firing, scoring 35 points in the first quarter and never trailing.
“Yeah, just that we came out a little too tight, lax, whatever the word is, maybe both for some of us, but just didn’t come out with the right energy,” Cunningham said. “Gave them life further on. And then, you know, we had to deal with that for the rest of the game. We were better in stints, but can’t dig a hole like that.”
He’s right. The Pistons can’t dig a hole like that in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Because if they do, and they lose, the Magic would not only have homecourt advantage – they got that with Sunday’s victory – but could close out the series without another win in Detroit, with three of the next four games coming in Orlando.
That’s precisely what makes Game 2 a must-win game for the Pistons. It’s bad enough they lost the opener at LCA, where they were 31-9. But now they’ve let the Magic set a hard-edged tone in the kind of the game that could lead them to steal the series.
“I know that they feel great about this game,” Cunningham said. “This was a big win for them. They came in, they handled their business and stole one on the road. That’s what you want to do in the playoff series.
“So I’m sure that they feel great about that. Obviously, we’re sick about losing this one. It’s a long series, though. There’s no confidence dropped from us. We know that team. They know us. So it’ll be a long, fun series.”
Cunningham might be right, because the Pistons are arguably the better team. They have enough talent and more depth.
What the Pistons don’t have is the advantage of desperation. They had an excellent season from start to finish, closed with a 60-22 record, and wrapped up the East’s top seed on April 4.
The Magic, meanwhile, have been playing with fire (and not always the good kind) down the stretch, while their fifth-year coach, Jamahl Mosley, entered the postseason on the hottest of hot seats after his squad went 0-7 in road playoff games over the past two seasons.
To make things even worse, the Magic lost the regular-season finale to the Boston Celtics – well, their reserves, at least – to blow their chance at the 7-seed and homecourt in the play-in tournament. Then Orlando lost to the Philadelphia 76ers (on the road, of course) in the first play-in game before beating the Charlotte Hornets (in Orlando) to advance to a best-of-seven series – featuring four road games – vs. the Pistons.
Now, it looks like the Magic have found their form, as they routed the Hornets, 121-90, and stunned the Pistons. And just like that, Mosley went from hot seat to just plain hot.
Banchero wouldn’t go so far as to say the victory set up his team to steal the series, but he didn’t deny it was exactly the kind of start Orlando needed.
“It’s just a good win for us as a team getting it on the road against a great team and 1-seed,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we got to come back Wednesday, you know, reciprocate it, you know?
“They’re not going to lay down. They’re going to turn it up. So we’ve got to be ready for that. And it’s just one-game-at-a-time mentality, you know? That’s what it’s got to be. It’s the first of four.”
Yes, it’s just the first of four wins the Magic needs to advance. If the Pistons don’t find an answer quickly, the math – and hardly anyone else – won’t be on their side when they head to Central Florida this weekend.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
Milwaukee Wave coach Marcio Leite 2025-26 team’s evolution in MASL
See first-year Milwaukee Wave head coach Marcio Leite discuss the roles of younger players and veterans as the 2025-26 MASL season begins.
The Milwaukee Wave had been in the awkward position of trying to sell tickets to the MASL championship series without knowing when it would actually host a game.
The questions were answered late April 19, when the San Diego Sockers beat the St. Louis Ambush in the other semifinal in overtime. Their series didn’t even start until four days after the Wave eliminated the Baltimore Blast with victories in a regulation Game 2 and knockout Game 3 at the UWM Panther Arena.
Now the finals are set for two of the most decorated teams in arena soccer.
The Wave will host Game 1 at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 and then the series will finish at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, with Game 2 at 9:30 p.m. April 24 and a potential Game 3 at 9 p.m. April 27.
Three versions of the Sockers have totaled 16 championships in various indoor league with the latest iteration founded in 2009 owning six of those. The Wave has seven.
First-year Wave head coach Marcio Leite has won titles with both franchises.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A 21-year-old man was killed after a motorcycle crash early Friday morning in Minneapolis, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Fatal motorcycle crash
The backstory:
The State Patrol responded to the crash at about 1:20 a.m. on April 17 on northbound I-35W at Johnson Street in Minneapolis.
Authorities say a man operating a Suzuki motorcycle was heading northbound on I-35W when it made contact with the left side median guard rail before it continued to head north. It traveled for about another quarter mile before coming to rest on the right side guard rail.
Authorities located the motorcycle’s operator on the left side shoulder. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crash under investigation
Crash victim ID’d:
The State Patrol identified the motorcyclist as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger of Minneapolis. According to a GoFundMe set up for the family, Neuberger is the oldest of seven children.
What led up to the crash remains under investigation.
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