‘Take a jackhammer to the Trump sign.’ Citing Donald Trump’s call to terminate the Constitution and the criminal tax fraud convictions of his company, the Tribune editorial board is reversing itself and calling for removal of his name from the building at 401 N. Wabash Ave.
■ Among Trump’s latest embraces of wackadoodle types: A QAnon devotee who bragged on social media that she chatted him up about a variety of conspiracy theories.
■ Charlie Sykes for Politico: Trump sees antisemites as a constituency.
■ TechDirt’s Mike Masnick: “Hello! You’ve Been Referred Here Because You’re Wrong About Twitter And Hunter Biden’s Laptop.”
■ A Florida Republican who sponsored that state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill—banning classroom discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation—faces charges of pandemic relief fraud.
‘Don’t play Wordle today.’ Count columnist Neil Steinberg among those supporting New York Times staffers engaging in a one-day walkout …
■ … its first such experience in decades.
■ Here’s a list of alternatives to scratch your puzzle itch.
■ Also: Furdle.
Journalism ‘preservation’ forestalled. Under fire from tech giants Google and Facebook/Meta and public interest groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and Common Cause, legislation that would exempt news publishers and broadcasters from antitrust laws to negotiate with tech companies has been yanked from a defense spending bill.
■ Inside Facebook: The company’s reportedly forbidding internal staff discussions of “very disruptive” topics, including abortion, gun rights and vaccines.
■ The First Aid Kit newsletter on health care offers five tips in shopping for health insurance—beginning with “Don’t start … on Google.”
Indiana vs. TikTok. Illinois’ neighbor to the east has become the first state to sue TikTok—in this case, accusing the platform of failing to protect kids from adult content and deceiving users about their data’s privacy from the Chinese government.
■ Apple’s pledge to increase security for users’ iCloud data isn’t sitting well with the FBI.
Hot(ter) in here. Axios Chicago notes that the city’s winters have on average gotten waaaaay warmer since 1970 …
■ … and white Christmases are getting rarer.
Pickwick pickup? News that the owners of Park Ridge’s landmark Pickwick movie theater plan to close the business has sparked interest from potential new operators.
The day the sky fell. Today marks 50 years since United Airlines Flight 553 crashed into homes on the Southwest Side, killing dozens—including CBS news correspondent Michele Clark …
■ … for whom the city named a West Side high school near which a 15-year-old boy on Tuesday became at least the 35th child killed in Chicago this year.
■ Chicagoans are on notice over a string of at least 11 armed robberies within five hours across five neighborhoods early Wednesday—all linked to a black Kia SUV.
■ Chicago cops report a record year for gun confiscations— but concede it’s not making much difference.
‘As funny and resolutely Chicago as ever.’ The Trib’s Will Lee and Nina Metz review Season 3 of the comedy series South Side.
■ Meanwhile, in real life: A Chicago cop’s been relieved of his police powers pending an investigation of accusations he urinated into a Florida bar’s ice machine.
One day left … to nominate Chicago Public Square for best newsletter and best blog in the Reader’s Best of Chicago poll.
■ While you’re at it, nominate a bunch of other stuff, too.
Correction. Yesterday’s Square got it wrong: Two Trump Organization companies were convicted on 17 state counts. Thanks to reader—and lawyer—Ron Schwartz for the catch.
■ Yesterday’s invocation of the word nimrod struck a positive chord with readers, including Mark Wukas—who notes its pejorative sense arose from Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes.
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