'Ignorance and stupidity' / Stormy Daniels' story / Cranberries singer's death

‘Ignorance and stupidity.’ Leveling that insult at a Republican running for Illinois governor, Democrat Chris Kennedy abruptly walked out of a candidate forum yesterday.
Three Democrats running for governor concede they all smoked pot … in the past.

‘Whoever used such a visceral, disrespectful, dehumanizing adjective … ought to be held accountable.’ As “a visibly red-faced” Vice President Pence sat in the pews, a Maryland pastor denounced President Trump for using the phrase “shithole” (or was it “shithouse”?) to describe African nations and Haiti.
Trump accuses Illinois’ “Senator Dicky Durbin” of lying about that fateful moment.
Durbin: Unleash the tapes.
In a swipe at fellow Republicans denying Durbin’s account, Sen. Lindsey Graham says, “My memory hasn’t evolved. I know what was said.”
The Washington Post:Inside the tense, profane White House meeting on immigration.”
CNN’s Chris Cillizza: “Trump’s history of fomenting and exploiting racial animus for his own personal/political gain is beyond dispute.”

Stormy Daniels’ story. Slate editor-in-chief (and Chicago native) Jacob Weisberg recalls his 2016 conversations with a woman The Wall Street Journal reports was paid $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
One of Daniels’ friends says Daniels invited her to “come hang out” with her and Trump. (Stormy Daniels photo: Glenn Francis.)

More diverse policing? City records show the number of minority applicants to serve as Chicago cops is up, but white recruits are still getting hired at a faster pace.
Mayor Emanuel: Give the city’s new Water Department chief more time to clean up workers’ racist and sexist behavior.
Citigroup is promising to close the pay gap for its female and minority employees.

‘The optics … are terrible.’ A Sun-Times editorial suggests Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx stop taking campaign contributions from property tax lawyers her office opposes in court.
In a letter to aldermen, the ACLU calls on the City Council to deny a $5.5 million subsidy to Illinois’ largest Catholic health system because of its anti-abortion policy.

‘Even those women don’t look like how they appear.’ The president of CVS Pharmacy says the company is banning photo manipulation of images in its store-brand makeup marketing. (After-and-before images: CVS.)
McDonald’s pledges to recycle all packaging in its restaurants by 2025.

One more Republican. That’s all Democrats in the Senate say they need to reverse an FCC decision to end internet neutrality. Either way, they expect to use the vote to spotlight vulnerable Republican candidates who don’t stand against the FCC.
See the awful user interface that facilitated the erroneous warning of a nuclear attack on Hawaii.

Cranberries singer’s death ‘not being treated as suspicious.’ Despite the sudden nature of Dolores O’Riordan’s passing, police say they have no reason to suspect foul play.
Her “startling, steely voice enchanted audiences on hits such as ‘Linger’ and ‘Zombie.’(2010 O’Riordan photo: Alterna2.)
Gospel singer Edwin Hawkins, whose “Oh Happy Day” inspired George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” has died.
Longtime Chicago-area journalist Kyle Leonard—son of renowned critic and radio host Roy Leonard—is dead at 55.

Subscribe to Square.