AMAZON BUYS WHOLE FOODS. In its biggest acquisition ever, Amazon is making a huge move into the grocery business by buying a chain of 460 high-end brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S., in Canada and in the U.K.
■ How Whole Foods got so big in the first place.
■ The Tribune’s Eric Zorn lists 10 reasons Cook County should suspend plans to slap a new tax on sweetened—and zero-sugar, zero-calorie—drinks. No. 5: “It will almost certainly end free refills.”
■ Nestle is considering selling off its candy division, including Butterfinger and Baby Ruth.
‘WE NEED… TO HAVE THE SUN-TIMES VIEWED AGAIN AS THE WORKING-CLASS CHICAGO NEWSPAPER.’ A potential buyers’ group that includes several labor organizations is sharing its view of what the paper can be under new ownership.
■ Media analyst Ken Doctor: The labor team seems to have the edge over the Tribune’s parent Tronc.
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SHOOTING NEAR MILLENNIUM PARK.
In one of at least 14 shootings in Chicago from Thursday afternoon through early Friday, a 21-year-old man was shot and wounded across the street from the park just before 8:30 p.m.
■ DNAinfo: Cops describe the victim as “gang affiliated” and “uncooperative with investigators.”
ONE BALL WASHES ANOTHER. A 10-year deal to oversee a Tiger Woods-designed merger of the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses is going to a group co-founded by (surprise!) Mayor Emanuel’s former campaign manager.
■ President Trump has chosen the woman who planned his son Eric’s wedding to run New York’s federal housing programs.
TRUMP CONCEDES. On Twitter this morning, the president allowed for the first time he’s “being investigated” for his decision to fire FBI boss James B. Comey.
■ Vice President Pence is lawyering up.
‘SENATE REPUBLICANS CAN’T ANSWER SIMPLE AND CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HEALTH CARE BILL THEY’RE CRAFTING IN SECRET.’ Vox asked eight senators things like “What problems is this bill trying to solve?” and got lots of nonanswers.
■ Trump has reversed his campaign promise to deport undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as little kids.
■ … But he’s rolling back an order aimed at protecting the undocumented parents of kids born here.
THOUGHTS FOR TODAY.
■ Fusion’s Anne Branigin on the congressional baseball game attack: “Bigoted Homophobe Steve Scalise’s Life Was Saved by a Queer Black Woman.”
■ Washington Post editorial board member Jonathan Capehart: “Iowa Rep. Steve King is right. ‘America has been divided,’ and he helped divide it.”
■ Scott Pelley signs off tonight as CBS Evening News anchor, a night after delivering an essay in which he attributed the attack to “words,” and challenged “all of us — presidents, politicians, reporters, citizens, all of us — to pause, to think again” before saying the first words that come to mind.
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■ Citing Jones’ theories that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was staged, lawyers for the victims’ families are threatening legal action against NBC.
‘SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A SOUVENIR T-SHIRT AND A STOMACHACHE.’ A Tribune review of the remade Navy Pier finds it “not exactly … an authentic Chicago experience.”
■ The Chicago Park District’s outdoor pools are now open for business.
CARBONDALE: ECLIPSE CENTRAL.
Downstate Illinois is abuzz in anticipation of its role at the center of a cosmic event Aug. 21.
Your ad here. Email Ads@ChicagoPublicSquare.com.
Some of what you missed in yesterday’s Annex:
- Cook County to stop prosecuting some traffic offenses because it lacks resources, Foxx’s office says
- Northern Illinois University president to resign after report alleges mismanagement
- Powerball, Mega Millions to drop Illinois due to state’s budget crisis
- Rauner calls special session amid gridlock, end-of-month deadline
- Ebony owes freelancers more than $200,000, union claims
- A Mexican Town Is Giving Americans Something Donald Trump Can’t: Affordable Dental Care
- Facebook Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Find Extremist Posts
- (Also a typo: “NUI” instead of “NIU,” but don’t hold that against Annex.)
THANKS. To Matt Smith for help with this issue of Square.