The NRA’s ‘implosion.’ Wondering for whom to root in the National Rifle Association’s civil war? The Bulwark’s Charlie Sykes explains it’s a grifter-vs.-grifter battle.
■ The man arrested in the shooting massacre at a California synagogue was known, until Saturday, as a successful student and accomplished pianist …
■ … but, on the dark side of the internet, he apparently showed another side of his personality.
■ Updating coverage: At least one is dead after a gunman—who was still being sought—fired into a Baltimore neighborhood gathering Sunday afternoon.
■ The Tribune: Video released by Chicago’s police watchdog agency shows cops firing at a man accused of firing at them.
Marriott vs. Airbnb. The hotel chain is reportedly getting into the home-sharing market.
■ A suburban office park is offering workers free Lyft rides to and from nearby Metra stations.
■ A 23-year-old woman died early Sunday in a fiery Uber crash on the Stevenson Expressway in Chicago.
Rockford’s Lightfoot pitch. With full-page ads in today’s Chicago newspapers, Rockford’s political and business leaders appeal to Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot to support a casino for Rockford—and they promise in exchange to support a casino in Chicago.
■ Lightfoot’s choice of a venue for her swearing-in is … ironic.
Historic jokes. Daily Beast columnist Dean Obeidallah says historian and Alexander Hamilton author Ron Chernow outclassed President Trump—and was funnier, too—in the spotlight at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
■ See his speech.
■ At her alternative Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Samantha Bee slammed the president for boycotting the real thing: “Imagine being the most powerful man in the world and you can’t listen to a comedian razz you for five minutes?”
■ Meanwhile, the president was razzing wolf-crying actor Jussie Smollett—but crediting him for a new campaign slogan: “This is MAGA country.”
■ Time: “Kyler Murray, a black man, was the No. 1 NFL draft pick. Trump congratulated the No. 2 pick instead.”
■ Trump’s latest milestone, by The Washington Post’s tally: More than 10,000 falsehoods since becoming president.
■ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg on what will get the Democratic electorate to the polls: “Is not the prospect of four more years of Donald Trump motivation enough? Do we really need to toss in the death of the Republic to keep focused?”
Need a measles shot? NPR explains it’s not a bad idea for many adults …
■ … but Americans born before 1957 are most likely immune because they would probably have been exposed to the virus directly.
The butterfly effect. Environmentalists say the Illinois agricultural industry is using a campaign to protect the monarch butterfly as cover for bad legislation on endangered species. (Photo: Julie Meyerson Ross. Yes, relation.)
■ A growing number of states are banning celebratory balloon launches: “People don’t really realize that it’s littering.”
The Posting Dead. New research suggests that, within 50 years, the deceased will outnumber the living on Facebook.
■ Vice News: How Fox News dominates Facebook.
■ Wired: What to expect tomorrow from Facebook’s annual developer conference—after a very bad year for the company.
■ The New Yorker: The emerging 5G cellular network, with its promise of “total connectivity,” also will be “especially susceptible to cyberattacks and surveillance.”
Avengers smashes. Avengers: Endgame this weekend broke more records than you can throw a hammer at, making more than 40 times as much as the film in second place—which was also a Marvel movie.
■ The New York Times rounds up a spoiler-rich list of answers from the movie’s screenwriters.
■ The Trib’s Christopher Borrelli lists 22 great things about 22 Marvel movies.
If you’ve read this far … You should consider joining the people—including Suzanne Vestuto, Janet Grimes, Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, William Wheelhouse, Janet Holden, David Mausner, John Kierig, Julia Winn, Stephanie Kiesling and Werner Huget—who make Chicago Public Square possible through their financial support. Just pennies a day will get you into The Legion of Chicago Public Squarians.