May cause ‘sudden death.’ 404 Media has found a user manual for those electric gloves Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to give thousands of its officers. (Link requires an email address, but 404’s worth it.)
■ You can read the manual here.
■ An ICE agent has pleaded guilty to attacking a lawyer and activist who was recording his actions at a Brookfield gas station in December.
■ Public Notice says White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller “is making his dreams come true: accelerating the arrest and removal of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant kids.”
■ WBEZ: Free after six months in ICE detention, a Chicago tamale vendor is beginning to rebuild her life.
■ Evan Hurst at Wonkette: Newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche “indicts former SPLC woman for defrauding Nazis or something.”
‘Trump used a plane full of his friends as bait.’ Columnist Brian Tyler Cohen marvels that President Trump’s catering-cart escape from Turkey to avoid a threat from Iran put in jeopardy the lives of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the president’s aides and members of the advance team.
■ Columnist, CNN contributor and former Illinois U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “The reporters who served as the literal human shields are furious.”
■ For late night hosts, the story’s the gift that keeps on giving: Jimmy Kimmel sub Anthony Anderson calls it “Operation Pig in a Blanket.”
■ Satirist Andy Borowitz: “Trump Regularly Hides in Catering Truck to Avoid JD Vance.”
Don’t let the gold-emblazoned doors hit you on the way out. Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is ending her time as the youngest person ever to hold that job …
■ … and one of the most lying-est …
■ … although Poynter concedes that “she actually showed up.”
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “She’s stepping down … to spend more time lying to her family.”
‘Flames and debris everywhere.’ Among the devastation yesterday’s storms wrought on Indiana: A deadly home explosion.
■ Axios: “Tuesday's derecho wasn't just a storm; it was a stress test.”
■ The region faced a fifth straight day of rain today.
■ Cook County’s summer heat deaths now total at least 11—more than any year in a decade.
‘Common Sense Democrats.’ Chicago-born journalist and documentary filmmaker Jonathan Alter: “It’s time to shelve the terms ‘Democratic Socialists’ and ‘Moderate Democrats’ for good” …
■ … and he says it’s common sense “to refuse to fill out any yes/no candidate questionnaires like the one from the ACLU that helped cost Kamala Harris the presidency” (2025 link).
■ Columnist Eric Zorn: Democratic Socialists of America candidate Francesca Hong’s defeat in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary is “a blessing in disguise for progressives.”
■ USA Today’s Chicago-based Rex Huppke: “What the heck am I supposed to do with my ‘DEMOCRATS ARE ANTI-AMERICAN SOCIALIST SCUM!’ yard sign?”
■ Columnist Heather Delaney Reese warns of “Trump’s plan for a ‘National Security Emergency’ for the midterms.”
‘Does anybody know this election is happening?’ Chicago 312’s H Kapp-Klote is shocked at the low profile for November’s first full election of Chicago School Board members.
■ A federal judge’s rejection of Illinois law that granted undocumented students in-state tuition at community colleges and public universities means those students—and the institutions serving them—have to figure out what happens now.
‘Safe ride specialists.’ That’s what the Chicago Transit Authority’s calling dozens of people who’ll begin riding trains next month to handle riders experiencing violence and mental health crises.
■ They’ll be deployed on the Red, Blue and Green lines.
Not so fast. Illinois is sticking by its child vaccine guidelines despite Trump’s executive order to the contrary.
■ Chicago, too.
■ The president’s scheme for spacing out shots would require drugmakers to revive manufacturing routines they haven’t used for decades.
■ DAME magazine: “America’s public health system was too easy to break.”
‘Making the entire journalism profession look bad.’ That’s news watchdog Mark Jacobs’ take on a New York Times report (gift link) that Forbes’ top editor has been fired after revelation he took a secret $6 million payout from the founder of a research firm that works with Forbes.
■ CNN’s Brian Stelter ponders those “CNN for sale” signs.
Starry eyes. Photos capture yesterday’s total solar eclipse over Europe …
■ … and the Perseid meteor shower.
‘Apps filming your screen and shipping the video to strangers.’ Tech columnist Kim Komando says that should be a bigger fear about phones than the covert recording of your conversations …
■ … and she cautions against Facebook’s request for a video selfie to verify that you’re a “real human.”
‘Chicago is a burgeoning home for queer pickup basketball.’ Tribune sportswriter Julia Poe (gift link): “Playing basketball with trans women has substantially improved every aspect of my life over the last two years.”
■ Some of those White Sox pope hats given away Tuesday night have been selling online for a tidy profit.
Thanks. Pam Spiegel made this edition better.
A Chicago Public Square public service announcement in honor of an old friend
