RUSSIAN PRESSING. In a House hearing about President Trump’s complaints he was wiretapped by the Obama administration, FBI boss James Comey confirms the FBI is investigating Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, including the possibility of links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
■ Realtime analysis by The Wall Street Journal.
■ A former Gorsuch student complains Gorsuch suggested last year that women manipulate maternity leave.
■ His confirmation could land a blow against environmental causes. (Note: He was 15 when his mom, the first woman to head the Environmental Protection Agency, was “forced to step down, her reputation in tatters.”)
■ Seven players to watch during the hearings.
TRUMPISM’S HEART. Writing for The Atlantic, Molly Ball calls Kellyanne Conway the unsung architect of the president’s policies. (And her husband’s in line for a top job at the Justice Department.)
■ Trump’s budget director: “The only way to get truly universal care is to throw people in jail if they don’t have it.”
■ The president has deployed political aides as “eyes and ears” across his Cabinet agencies.
YOU, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER. ProPublica is recruiting “civically engaged people to … fact-check what members of Congress are sending to their constituents” regarding health care legislation. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Share email and postal mail they send you.
■ An American College of Physicians executive on the Republican plan: “I’ve never seen a bill that will do more harm to health.’
POLITICS BY ADDITION. Ex-University of Chicago math professor and current State Sen. Daniel Biss was set to announce on Facebook today that he’s going to join a growing field of Democratic candidates for governor.
■ Illinois scientists are mapping their plans for a Chicago march for Earth Day. (Tribune link; paywall possible.)
■ Geologists are launching a helicopter survey to figure out where Lake Michigan’s shoreline is going (Tribune).
■ Development will claim two Chicago softball fields. (Sun-Times link; beware painful pop-up ads.)
LIVE HERE OR ‘BYE.’ Dan Mihalopoulos takes a critical look at Chicago’s residency rule for city employees.
■ A police union presidential candidate defends his suburban home: “My wife can live wherever she wants.” (Both Sun-Times links.)
■ The number of Illinoisans on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people has dropped by one.
AMAZON’S CHICAGO STORE. Its first brick-and-mortar outlet here opens Tuesday (Tribune).
■ Online sellers and Walmart are killing grocery stores’ profit margins.
SESAME STREET‘S AUTISTIC MUPPET. Meet Julia.
■ Sesame Street might not have happened without federal help, but it no longer gets direct government funding.
‘GET OUT TELLS US HOW FAR WE STILL HAVE TO GO.’ Entertainment reporter Sharon Waxman reflects on Jordan Peele’s movie: “A thriller that makes us think about race because it places the viewer at the center of a racial conspiracy.”
■ The movie’s star calls it “12 Years a Slave: The Horror Movie.”
800 CLUB, HERE WE COME. Chicago Public Square’s 700th subscriber has arrived. You’ll learn this insightful news consumer’s name as soon as we get permission. (Your move, J.S.!) Subs always available free here.