Trump’s hush money. In uncharacteristically well-typed tweets, President Trump acknowledges he repaid his personal lawyer Michael Cohen $130,000 given to porn actress Stormy Daniels—money Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani surprisingly revealed Wednesday had been “funneled ... through [Cohen’s] law firm and the president repaid it.”
■ Nevada Independent editor Jon Ralston: “It’s not the tough interviewers that get you in trouble; it’s when you are with the friendlies … that you screw up.” (Cartoon: Keith Taylor.)
■ ThinkProgress editor-in-chief Judd Legum: “Even if you accept Trump’s argument that a $130,000 payment made days before the campaign had nothing to do with improving his electoral chances, Trump still may have legal liability.”
■ The Daily Mail: Trump may have broken the same law that got ex-Illinois Congressman Dennis Hastert sent to jail.
■ Read up: Federal Election Commission rules on “personal loans from the candidate.”
■ Another Trump harassment accuser, Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, is demanding recordings from the show’s owner.
■ Stephen Colbert bids farewell to his favorite Trump lawyer.
■ RedState: “Why Is Jeff Sessions Still The Attorney General?”
‘People just started scattering.’ Tension ran high on a Southwest Airlines jet whose window developed a crack after takeoff from Chicago yesterday.
■ A tiny hole saved passengers from disaster.
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Too-windy city. About 200 residents of a Bronzeville apartment building have lost their housing for at least a few days after high winds ripped off the building’s roof.
■ What creates the Midwest’s annual tornado outbreaks?
■ The Tribune’s John Kass: (link corrected) “Emanuel figured he wouldn’t be liked, so he decided to be feared.” (Screenshot: Chicago Sun-Times.)
The 606, expanded. As a Chicago River business and residential district takes shape near Lincoln Park and Bucktown, developers are talking about extending the city’s elevated bike-and-hike trail—and maybe a light-rail passenger train line.
■ A 15-year-old riding a CTA bus was among 14 people shot in 9 hours in Chicago.
■ A bill to crack down on teenage carjackers has passed the state Senate.
■ The co-owner of the iconic Superdawg hot dog stand has died. (Photo: Superdawg on Twitter.)
■ Beer baron John P. “Jack” Glunz, who brought Wisconsin’s Leinenkugel to Chicago, is dead at 82.
Charlie Rose’s thorny past. The Washington Post says his “misconduct was widespread at CBS and three managers were warned.”
■ Columnist S.E. Cupp condemns female NBC employees’ letter defending Tom Brokaw against charges of sexual harassment as “exactly the kind of thing that creates a culture of intimidation.”
■ Looking for diversity in journalism? Don’t look at sports departments.
■ The Daily Beast: “The American president’s attacks on reporters and reporting have become a ‘trademark excuse for media repression’ around the globe.”
■ After a screwup in Florida, the Tribune’s sibling Sun-Sentinel paper is banning ads for guns. (Hat tip to Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources newsletter.)
‘We’ve got to make sure this isn’t an attempt to run and hide.’ British authorities say Cambridge Analytica’s declaration of bankruptcy won’t derail an investigation into its political ad marketing.
■ The Onion: “Cambridge Analytica Offers 75% Off All Facebook User Data For Blowout Closing Sale.”
Hamilton tickets. A fresh block—for performances in Chicago through Jan. 20—goes on sale Tuesday.
■ Up for auction: Obi-Wan’s lightsaber and Ben Hur’s chariot.
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