Chicago Public Square will take off the week of July 2. Be here again July 9. Meanwhile: Updates on Facebook and Twitter.
‘Damn paper’ published. Hours after the murders of four of its journalists and a sales assistant, the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Maryland, nevertheless went to press for today’s edition.
■ … because, in the words of one of the paper’s reporters, “I don’t know what else to do.”
■ … but its editorial page was “intentionally left blank to commemorate victims of Thursday’s shootings at our office.”
■ The victims include an editor and columnist who was brother to author Carl Hiaasen—and who once joked about his ideal job, “I would like to be paid for the occasional amusing remark or for simply showing up promptly to work and bringing in cookies from time to time.”
■ The suspect, charged with five counts of murder, had a long-running feud with the paper. [Link corrected, 10:50 a.m.]
■ The paper’s former editor says he wasn’t surprised to learn the suspect’s identity.
■ Poynter: Journalism is difficult and dangerous work.
■ Security’s been increased at the Tribune and its sibling Tronc-owned papers.
■ [Adding updating coverage, 11:26 a.m.] A prosecutor says the shooter barricaded the exit so workers couldn’t escape.
‘A violent attack on innocent journalists doing their job is an attack on every American.’ Hours after President Trump ignored reporters’ shouted questions about the Capital Gazette attack, his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, tweeted those words.
■ Chicago activist Father Michael Pfleger says he’s getting “a lot of hate” for his plans to shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway with a protest against gun violence July 7.
■ A bullet hit a CTA Blue Line train early Friday on the Northwest Side.
■ At least eight people—including two women—were shot and wounded Thursday in Chicago.
‘Don’t get cute with us.’ On his visit to Wisconsin Thursday, Trump issued a warning to Harley-Davidson, planning to shift some production overseas because of the president’s trade policies.
■ Meanwhile, Don Jr. zipped in and out of City Hall, Ald. Brendan Reilly says, to talk about plans to market Trump Tower Chicago’s stubbornly empty riverfront space: “We don’t want a big disco party out on the river.”
■ In his first public comments in months, Barack Obama told Democrats they could learn a few things from Republicans.
■ Ex-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is ready to sink $80 million into flipping the U.S. House to Democrats.
■ Uber is launching dockless, electric bike-sharing in Chicago beginning Monday.
■ In the northwest suburb of Long Grove, a 112-year-old historic bridge, just entered this month in the National Register of Historic Places, has been wrecked in a truck accident.
Walgreens’ Amazon affliction. Amazon’s move into the pharmacy business has cost Walgreens a lot of investor confidence.
■ Amazon is also now offering you the chance to start your own business—delivering Amazon stuff, armed with Amazon-branded vans and Amazon-branded uniforms.
■ This is it for Toys R Us stores. [Link updated, 11:57 a.m.]
‘It’s about putting pressure on the right people so that they change their ways.’ Ex-Blackhawks Stanley Cup champ Daniel Carcillo talks to Chicago magazine about his lawsuit against the NHL over traumatic brain injuries.
■ Baseball has a “concussion protocol.”
■ Some consolation: The heat will help fruiting plants and veggies.
Everybody’s doin’ it. Former Ch. 2 and CBS network news anchor Antonio Mora is leading a new news website, News and News, programmed by “professional curators” who “constantly monitor hundreds of sources and bring you the most informative stories.”
■ Media critic Robert Feder (third item) notes the project is backed by a hedge fund manager.
■ … unlike Chicago Public Square, which is backed by you.
Corrections, as of 11:22 a.m.
■ Thanks to Dave Mausner for flagging the bad link corrected above.
■ Thanks to Mike Braden for noting a comma missing in the Don Trump Jr. item.