Progressives’ big win. With what the AP describes as “a massive victory … in a battleground state,” former Wayne County (Detroit) health director Abdul El-Sayed has defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
■ El-Sayed’s campaign manager: “This was always going to be the many versus the money, and tonight, we have shown that Michiganders want money out of politics.”
■ Evan Hurst at Wonkette: “Against approximately 75 gajillion dollars in outside spending for one candidate, the other one—the Arab Muslim progressive candidate—came out on top.”
■ Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer: “El-Sayed’s win … is a shot across the bow at a political establishment desperately trying to cling to power.”
■ Columnist and former Illinois U.S. Rep. Marie Newman: “The magical fairyland Corporate Dems made up so they can take tons of corporate and conservative donor money and then talk in vague terms with no real solutions is not working very well.”
■ The AP rounds up takeaways from yesterday’s contests.
Whoops. Politico: A Trump-backed Michigan Republican congressional candidate lost yesterday’s primary to an opponent who’d dropped out last month.
■ Accused of providing two young female aides with lavish gifts, commenting on their appearance, inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sending them notes of affection, North Carolina Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards is folding his reelection campaign …
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “The Republican Party would have an abuser problem, if it had any moral center at all—but it doesn’t.”
■ House Democrats are adding a dozen Republican congressional seats to a list of those they think they can take in November.
About time. Gov. Pritzker’s signed a bill making Illinois the 49th state in the union to assume regulatory control over homeowners and automobile insurance rates.
■ The law requires companies to justify proposed price hikes.
Best hospitals. Two in Chicago have made the top 20 in U.S. News’ annual rankings.
■ See how yours rated here.
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch marvels at the right’s continued rage about COVID: “We must never forget the truth about 2020.”
■ Chicago Public Schools’ ex-chief operating officer faces charges of defrauding two pandemic relief programs.
Books backup. Block Club: As the Chicago Public Library grapples with a staffing shortage, thousands of returned volumes are piling up, unshelved.
■ The Sun-Times: When dumpsters full of books showed up outside former Acero schools, parents and teachers sprang into action.
Another Colbert out at CBS. Stephen Colbert’s daughter is quitting her job as an associate producer at 60 Minutes.
■ Popular Information: CBS News New York has quietly—without an editor’s note—fixed a report that falsely claimed “thousands of 9/11 victims’ families are asking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend this year’s solemn remembrance ceremony.”
■ Columnist and former Chicago TV news exec Jennifer Schulze on David Ellison’s New York Times opinion piece (gift link) defending his effort to take over CNN: “His first network—CBS—is a raging dumpster fire.”
■ Media monitor Simon Owens: “Ellison’s claim that he’s not overtly political is plainly silly.”
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “At no point did Ellison address his relationship with the Trump administration. … Trump’s name is not mentioned once.”
■ Press Watch proprietor Dan Froomkin: “The Reflecting Pool story is about Trump’s grip on reality, but the press corps won’t go there.”
Media mayhem. After 61 years, a California rock radio station has laid off all its human DJs.
■ The E.W. Scripps company is cutting 268 jobs at its dozens of TV stations across the country.
‘Beware of Apple Upgrade.’ Advisorator Jared Newman flags sketchy things about Apple’s new way to buy its products.
■ … joining the ranks of people such as Mike Nowak (again!), Mike Dessimoz, Bob Zeni, Tina Birnbaum, Ben Orzeske, Claire Barliant, Aya A, Chris Beck, Ronald Melody, David Clauter, Alan Dikty, Karen Gray-Keeler, Stephanie Blatt, Julia Knier, Joel Hood and Sherry Skalko, Allen Matthews, John Knox, Chris Goldrick, Bruce Steinberg, Debbie Becker, Julia Winn, Christine Mackey, Jeanne Mcinerney, Maureen and Jerry Peifer and Kaiser, Janean Bowersmith, Danny Horvath, Jill DeVaney, William O’Donnell and J.J. Tindall.
