‘A supreme violation.’ In his closing remarks at last night’s Jan. 6 hearings, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger let Donald Trump have it …
■ … asserting that Trump didn’t just “fail to act” to avert the Capitol riot that day in 2021—“he chose not to act” …
■ … a decision that Rep. Liz Cheney said in her closing remarks constituted “a purposeful choice to violate his oath of office.”
■ Testifying anonymously, a White House national security officer said members of Vice President Pence’s Secret Service detail feared for their lives amid screams to say goodbye to families.
■ Outtakes from Trump’s Jan. 7 video address showed him refusing to say “The election is over.”
■ A text exchange revealed what Politico describes as “an unguarded look into the disgust” among even his senior campaign aides: “Shitty not to have even acknowledged the death of the Capitol Police officer.”
Meanwhile …
■ The Arizona Republican Party’s censured the state’s Republican House speaker for testifying to the Jan. 6 committee.
■ A criminal investigation reportedly will examine what happened to Jan. 6 Secret Service texts.
Biden’s ‘teachable moment.’ That’s how the White House chief of staff is portraying the president’s contraction of COVID-19.
■ While the White House has dismissed questions about how Biden got it, Stephen Colbert theorized he “wished on a cursed monkey’s paw for any ‘positive’ news.”
■ The Onion: “Virus Unsure How To Make Biden’s Body Any Weaker.”
■ Politico’s Jack Shafer: “Get well, Mr. President! And don’t lie about your health.”
■ Politico: “In public, Trump downplayed the pandemic. In private, he was freaking out.”
‘You don’t just shut down the middle of a large city where people live so grown adults can race large noisy cars in a circle for a day.’ Men Yell at Me columnist Lyz Lenz bestows her “Dingus of the Week” honor on Mayor Lightfoot for welcoming NASCAR to Chicago.
■ Dingus or not, the mayor gets to appoint yet another alderman …
■ … to replace the City Council’s fourth-oldest member.
■ A gay Oklahoma mayor’s resignation after threats reflects a troubling trend across the country.
‘I’m worried about Chicago.’ Columnist and Vox cofounder Matt Yglesias: “While the shift to remote work is a challenge for all kinds of places … it’s a dire threat to places like Chicago.”
■ At least four people were hurt and six people were in custody in connection with a stabbing incident on a CTA Red Line train early today …
■ … but it wasn’t clear who was a victim and who wasn’t.
■ The CTA is shocked: “This kind of violence is absolutely unacceptable.”
■ Frustrated commuters have launched a guerrilla campaign to press for CTA reform.
Current events. Your next Amazon delivery may come courtesy of an electric van built in Illinois …
■ … and your next medical checkup may come courtesy of Amazon.
None America News. The largest pay-TV platform still carrying the reactionary One America News channel is dropping it.
■ The news media watchdog service Newsguard—which helps guide Chicago Public Square editorial choices—has downgraded Fox News’ [update, 11:24 a.m.: and MSNBC’s] credibility to red: “Fails to adhere to several basic journalistic standards.”
■ NiemanLab introduces you to a 25-year-old’s reporting on YouTube “for people who don’t watch the news,” Channel 5 News—not to be confused with Chicago’s WMAQ-TV.
Robocall relief? The FCC is ordering U.S. phone companies to crack down on those damned automated “extended vehicle warranty” calls—or face penalties themselves.
■ Here’s where to file a complaint of your own.
It’s so hot … CNN has assembled a disturbing list of symptoms that the world is warming.
■ Tree rings from the southwestern U.S. suggest the region hasn’t seen a drought this severe in 1,200 years.