TRUMP’S DOUBTS. The president reportedly has reservations about the Graham-Cassidy health care overhaul.
■ Sponsor Cassidy says his bill protects people with preexisting conditions—because Trump tweeted it does.
‘IF YOU LEAVE BEFORE A YEAR, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU MADE A MISTAKE.’ A Republican lobbyist is among those who tell Politico a fast-growing number of White House staffers are planning to jump ship.
■ Trump’s Agriculture Department is hiring campaign workers who aren’t farming experts.
■ Axios’ chart of Google search trends since Jan. 20 demonstrates how the Trump administration has “jumped from one four-alarm news fire to another.”
■ A short history of the word—from Chaucer to Tolkien.
■ But both men’s use of the word “fire” is more worrisome.
‘DISGRACEFUL.’ A suburban village council member condemns the Illinois Department of Transportation’s approval of red light cameras for already-safe intersections—after the camera company made a fat donation to an influential state senator.
■ The Tribune’s timeline of the affair.
■ The Chicago school system’s inspector general accuses schools CEO Forrest Claypool of “whitewashing” ethics violations by the system’s top lawyer.
‘HORRIFYINGLY LARGE.’ That’s the way new research quantifies the increase in fetal deaths linked to Flint’s 2014 adoption of lead-poisoned water.
■ A Shedd Aquarium vice president encourages people to click to oppose Trump administration plans to weaken the 2015 Clean Water Rule.
MARS TO CHICAGO. Mars Inc.’s Mars Food division—owner of the Uncle Ben’s brand, among others—is moving its HQ from Los Angeles to Chicago’s Goose Island neighborhood.
■ Tribune graphics show just how big Amazon’s HQ2 could be in Chicago.
Your ad could be here. Find out how by emailing Ads@ChicagoPublicSquare.com.
■ An Instagram post about a rape-and-death threat received by a Guardian reporter got turned into an ad on Facebook.
■ Chicago’s new “Mount Rushmore”: A huge mural downtown honoring the city's iconic women.
EVEN THOUGH HE’S DEAD AND SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF HIS LIFE BEHIND BARS FOR MURDER. “Aaron Hernandez just became the most dangerous man in football,” according to USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour.
■ Hernandez’ diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows you don’t need to play for long in the NFL to sustain damage.
UBER AND OUT. London’s transport authority says that, at the end of this month, it’s killing Uber’s license to operate in the city.
■ “Relatively poor reviews” of the new iPhone may be suppressing turnout at Apple stores around the world.
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
■ The link to the item in Wednesday’s edition of Square about Chicago’s troubled Bottled Blonde establishment was wrong. It’s been fixed on the website. Thanks to reader Mike Braden for the (belated, but still valued) catch.
■ Thanks to reader Chris Koenig for link suggestions today.