[Chicago Public Square returns Aug. 14.]
MURDEROUS CHARITY. Shortly after the stabbing of a Chicago high-rise resident, the two men sought in connection with his murder—a Northwestern University associate professor and an Oxford University bursar—reportedly drove to Lake Geneva to give money in the victim’s name to the public library there.
LET’S SEE WHO CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE. President Trump is launching a 17-day “working vacation” during White House renovations.
■ … Which begs comparison to his criticism of Barack Obama’s vacation time.
■ Journalists are getting nostalgic: “I remember when August was a very slow time for news.”
■ Illinoisans are finding Wisconsin vacations don’t let them escape smog.
GRAND JURIES EXPLAINED. The Guardian explores what news that U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller has one means for President Trump.
■ Trump’s pick for Chicago’s new U.S. attorney has both Illinois Democratic senators’ support.
■ The Mooch’s aborted White House gig could cost him millions.
■ Late-night TV made hay with Trump’s leaked phone calls: “We cannot say we went to a strip club. Your wife will ask and my wife will ask, and it’s best if we just say we had some steak and we went to bed early. But this only works if we both do it.”—Seth Meyers.
■ The diplomatic community is getting a few chuckles, too.
■ BuzzFeed: Nine things Trump said in those calls—superimposed on photos of Lucille Bluth.
■ Atlantic senior editor David Frum: Those leaks are dangerous.
■ Chicago’s now tied with Orlando for top destination among convention planners.
■ Two Chicago spots have made Architectural Digest’s list of “Stunning University Libraries Around the World.”
■ Chicago City Colleges will freeze tuition and property taxes.
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY FOR POT. The game’s publisher is teaming up with the Marijuana Policy Project to back legalization of marijuana use among adults.
■ The Tribune’s Mary Schmich finds that support for Cook County’s new sweetened drink tax can “spoil a social evening.”
UNRELATED ITEMS.
■ Researchers at Yale University have identified a prehistoric sea worm with 50 spines.
■ McKay Coppins in The Atlantic: “What Republicans could do about Trump.” (Drawing by Marianne Collins. Copyright Royal Ontario Museum.)
‘IT’S HURT MY WALLET FOR SURE.’ A guy who last year said he was making $10,000 a month off “fake news” websites tells USA Today Facebook’s crackdown on junk is having an impact.
■ Nieman Lab: Facebook is now paying its fact-checking partners—and giving them more to do.
■ Rick Kaempfer in Illinois Entertainer: “In a world that appears to deliver us more information more quickly and more voluminously than ever before, we actually have far fewer unbiased news gatherers providing us that information.”
■ In a tiny Iowa town’s special election, not one person turned out to vote.
■ The Tribune’s Mary Schmich finds that support for Cook County’s new sweetened drink tax can “spoil a social evening.”
■ Researchers at Yale University have identified a prehistoric sea worm with 50 spines.
■ McKay Coppins in The Atlantic: “What Republicans could do about Trump.” (Drawing by Marianne Collins. Copyright Royal Ontario Museum.)
‘IT’S HURT MY WALLET FOR SURE.’ A guy who last year said he was making $10,000 a month off “fake news” websites tells USA Today Facebook’s crackdown on junk is having an impact.
■ Nieman Lab: Facebook is now paying its fact-checking partners—and giving them more to do.
■ Rick Kaempfer in Illinois Entertainer: “In a world that appears to deliver us more information more quickly and more voluminously than ever before, we actually have far fewer unbiased news gatherers providing us that information.”
■ In a tiny Iowa town’s special election, not one person turned out to vote.