Screen spleen. President Trump planned an address tonight to take, in the words of the AP, “his election obsession to primetime.”
■ At Chicago Public Square’s deadline, TV networks had yet to announce whether they’d air the thing live.
■ Poynter media critic Tom Jones: They need to weigh “the public’s need to know against the risk of amplifying falsehoods.”
■ ProPublica: As CBS (and possible CNN) parent Paramount needed approval for billion-dollar deals, Federal Communications Commission officials took pricey gifts from the company.
■ Politico: Trump’s speech puts Republicans in a tough spot, too.
One Republican. That’s all it’d take to derail the nomination of Trump’s sycophantic and evasive attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche …
■ … as the Senate today was hearing witnesses about his qualifications.
■ You can watch here, live or after the fact.
■ Collaterally attacked by Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy in yesterday’s hearing: Chicago’s ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
■ See that here.
Man, oh man. In a move that Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth ironically labels “gender-affirming care,” Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has announced what The Atlantic (gift link) calls “a questionable plan to monitor the hormone levels of every service member over 30.”
■ A new acronym for your vocabulary: Marco Rubio’s State Department has begun flinging around “FLT”—“far-left terrorism,” which investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein says takes Republican dogma “to another level of crazy.”
■ Expat Chicago journalist Kevin Williams, now living in Portugal: “The Iran war is going to continue because … people have gotten used to paying what fuel costs now.”
‘Thanks for the 💩, Trump.’ The American Prospect traces the worst diarrhea outbreak of the century—the “MAHA Trots”—back to the president …
■ … which makes this an apt time to revisit a 2019 cartoon from the late Keith J. Taylor:
■ Michael Kosta on The Daily Show: “We cut the funding for the program that tracks forever diarrhea, and now people are getting forever diarrhea. Let me see if I can figure this out.”
Vance’s security detail ‘fed up.’ Secret Service agents have shared concerns with MS NOW about the vice president and his office pressing them for inappropriate and unprecedented use of their services.
■ They’ve also created coins and stickers to mock those demands.
Teachers cut. Chicago Public Schools are laying off 760 teachers and furloughing all staff—that is, docking their pay—for five days that had been designated as non-attendance days for kids.
■ ProPublica: “Public money is fueling an explosion of private schools. States often don’t care how they’re run.”
‘Unacceptable Risk.’ That’s the assessment of Google Search’s AI Overview and AI Mode in a new report from kid- and parent-centered Common Sense Media.
■ Former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal tech reporter Geoffrey Fowler: “Google’s unavoidable AI answers do kids’ homework, invent facts and miss signs of crisis.”
■ The Illinois State Board of Education’s AI guidance for schools and districts was written in part with help from artificial intelligence.
Hazy-crazy days of summer. More than 100 wildfires in Ontario have blanketed the Chicago region in smoke …
■ … sticking us with some of the world’s worst air …
■ … so try to keep your breathing to a minimum?
Chill in the air. The Tribune reports (gift link) ICE enforcement in Chicago is on the rise, with at least four vehicle encounters this week.
■ Chicago’s inspector general says a police department cadet has quit after revelation that he goose-stepped across a high school stage and saluted while wearing a Nazi-like uniform as a student at Jones College Prep—and his mom, also a department employee, reportedly faces dismissal, too.
‘A $425 million risk worth taking.’ With some reservations, a Tribune editorial backs City Council approval of a big infrastructure outlay to support a privately financed Chicago Fire stadium in the South Loop.
■ Also OK’d: $200+ million for the undeveloped Foundry Park site on the North Side.
Tollway thoughts? Got an opinion on plans for Illinois’ largest-ever passenger tollway increase? You have just a couple of weeks to submit them online or at public hearings.
■ Taking the CTA to or from downtown over the next two weekends? Be ready to walk a bit, because three stations will be closed Saturdays and Sundays.
‘Save Standard Time.’ Noting opposition to a congressional push for daylight saving time throughout the year, columnist Eric Zorn says it would mean that “sunrise in Chicago …will be after 8 a.m. from Dec. 4 until Feb. 3.”
■ This wouldn’t be America’s first shot at year-round DST.
Rest in peace, Jim. Zorn notes the passing of longtime Tribune technology columnist James Coates, whose 1990s reporting on the rise of the internet partially inspired your Square columnist to make the leap from radio to the web.
Stand tall, Squarians. Continuing our occasional roll call of those whose support keeps this thing coming: Thanks, Jon Langham, Amy Reynaldo, Kathy Manofsky (again!), Bill Drudge, Sally Noble, H. Evan Williams, Norm Spiegel, Werner Huget, Jon Hilkevitch, Richard Milne, David Colaric, Lisa Krimen, Stephen Schlesinger, Sharon Halperin, Susan Benloucif, Myrel Cooke, John Morath, Sherie Palmer, Bill Oakes, Libbey Paul, Frank Maggio, Alice Cottingham, Doug Strubel, Glenn Jeffers, Robert Clifford, Charles C. Allen II, Charles Marker, Len Jaster, Beth Mrkvicka, Marge and Hank Arnold, Michael Soriano, Cassandra West, Kathy Wyman and Doug Waco, Thomas Yoder, Scott Knitter, Sandy Kaczmarski, Kristina Zaremba, Kathleen Clark, Denise Pondel, Susy Schultz and Jack Ohman.
■ Join them today for any amount—even just $1, once—and see your name atop tomorrow’s list.
■ If you’re a first-timer, we’ll run your name in italics.
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