ONE CITY UNDER TRONC. The Chicago Tribune parent company Tronc’s bid to buy the Sun-Times is what one former Trib editor calls “an inevitable transaction.”
■ Digital strategist Scott Smith on Twitter: “So Tronc would own …”
■ Media critic Michael Miner: The deal raises the prospect of death for the Reader.
■ Billionaire owner Sam Zell on his time owning Tronc progenitor Tribune Co.: “Maybe I was too rough. But I wasn’t wrong about where the business needed to go.”
TRUMP ADMITS IT. On Twitter this morning, the president confirmed he shared sensitive security info with Russian officials—and insisted he has an “absolute right” to do it.
■ … Tossing his allies under the bus—again.
■ Vox: “Trump is a serious threat to American national security.”
■ At least one Republican senator sees the White House in “a downward spiral.”
■ Remember when House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned Hillary Clinton for “recklessness with classified information” (from July)? And those times when Trump tweeted about the evils of mishandling classified information?
■ Jennifer Van Laar in RedState.com: Trump has “forgotten that perception is reality.”
■ David Brooks: “When the World Is Led by a Child.”
■ Kellyanne Conway reportedly told the Morning Joe team after defending Trump during the campaign, “Blech. I need to take a shower.”
ACLU v. JEFF SESSIONS. Politico says the national American Civil Liberties Union is investing for the first time in local district attorney races—supporting a cohort of progressive candidates who could undermine the attorney general’s push to toss the book at nonviolent drug offenders.
■ Commentary from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul: “Sessions’ sentencing plan would ruin lives.”
■ W. Va. reporter: “I was arrested for asking [U.S. Health Secretary] Tom Price a question. I was just doing my job.”
■ Aldi’s launching a $180 million remodeling of its Chicago-area stores—part of a broader assault on Walmart.
■ McDonald’s apologizes for a UK ad suggesting a Filet-o-Fish sandwich could cheer up a boy grieving his father’s death.
‘CULTURE OF RACISM.’ The Chicago City Council Black Caucus is demanding an audit of the city Water Department to end a “pervasive” problem exposed by an investigation of an ex-alderman’s son’s alleged use of his city email to sell guns.
■ New Northwestern University research: Living in a segregated neighborhood may drive up African Americans’ blood pressure.
‘I GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU.’ That’s what witnesses say a woman now charged with murder said before she allegedly used her Jeep to kill a romantic rival—the daughter of a Chicago cop.
■ The victim’s last words on Facebook.
■ The Chicago airport cop who dragged a passenger off a United Airlines jet had just returned to work after a suspension.
■ Mark Brown in the Sun-Times: “One of the wealthiest people in America was allowed to receive a real estate tax break on an extremely valuable home … on the basis that he ran the property into the ground.”
■ To dig Chicago’s schools out of a budget hole, City Hall sources tell the Sun-Times Mayor Emanuel’s considering new taxes on downtown businesses and “high net-worth individuals.”
INSIDE APPLE’S ‘MOTHERSHIP.’ WIRED’s Steven Levy serves up a tour of the company’s massive new HQ—including custom-built door handles and a two-story yoga room covered in stone.
■ Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, his wife, and the College Board are launching a program aimed at helping millions of students better prepare for college and beyond.
■ How the U.S. dodged a bullet in the “WannaCry” ransomware attack.
TODAY’S SOUNDTRACK. Heard during production of this edition of Chicago Public Square.
A Square advertiser
