Unfriendly skies. Updating coverage: A widespread—and, at Chicago Public Square’s deadline, still unexplained—computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration briefly grounded all of the United States’ departing aircraft, leaving thousands of flight delays and cancellations in its wake.
■ One aviation consultant compares the system taken down, Notice to Air Missions, with advisories notifying motorists a road is closed ahead.
‘This will save lives.’ Gov. Pritzker’s signed a law immediately banning the sale of assault weapons in Illinois.
■ He recited the names of seven people gunned down at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade.
■ Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland, Florida, massacre, tweeted: “This is what leadership looks like.”
■ Politico: “Pritzker slays the gun lobby.”
■ Surprise: The Illinois Rifle Association says it’ll take the ban to court.
Insult to injury. A Chicago City Council member who accidentally shot himself last fall says he’s rethinking his support for Mayor Lightfoot—because she didn’t call to see how he was doing.
■ Add Ald. Chris Taliaferro to the list of those demanding the Lightfoot administration fire a cop who lied about his ties to the ignoble Proud Boys.
Lethal weaponization. Republicans now in charge of the U.S. House have named Donald Trump booster Jim Jordan to lead a Committee on Weaponization of the Federal Government—which will, among other things, have access to classified information as it probes … the probes of Trump.
■ Trump’s former right-hand man, Allen Weisselberg, is off to five months in jail.
Phony titles, low pay. Popular Information details how companies including Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Jiffy Lube, Burger King, GNC, H&R Block, Dairy Queen, Subway, Jimmy John’s, Little Caesars, Office Max and KFC are using titles such as “guest experience leader,” “director of first impressions” and “coffee cart manager” to deny low-wage workers overtime compensation.
Plugged into the future. A flock of suburbs—including Aurora, Oak Park, Skokie and Glencoe—have been picked to pioneer the next steps for Chicago-area electric vehicle usage.
■ The Intercept: Hours after founder Elon Musk trumpeted a new “self-driving” feature, surveillance footage caught a crash in which the Tesla of a motorist claiming to have been using that mode injured nine people, including a 2-year-old child.
■ Commuters can expect upgraded tracking systems for Metra trains and CTA buses.
‘Cascading climate disasters.’ The Conversation links scars from California’s 2018 wildfires to the rivers of muddy water that have inundated communities this month.
■ Columnist Elliot Kirschner says California’s wave of devasation leaves him with “the sickening sense of a world out of balance.”
■ The Onion: “Fugitive Bolsonaro Coup Supporters Hide Deep In Amazon Rainforest’s Last Remaining Tree.”
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch: “Deport Bolsonaro ASAP, arrest Steve Bannon—and maybe stop future insurrections.”
Media melancholy. An annual report on the state of journalism finds publishers a lot less confident this year than last.
■ C-SPAN wants to resume its multi-camera coverage of Congress …
■ … and it has support from reactionary Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who calls the traditional staid view “antiquated” and “boomer-fied.”
■ Politico’s cut ties with a reporter who tweeted of the late Pope Benedict XVI: “Homophobic pedophile protector and Hitler Youth alumnus dead at 95.”
‘One minute you’re making mint tea at home, the next minute you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled organization.’ Host Jerrod Carmichael wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room at last night’s scandal-scarred Golden Globe Awards.
■ Chicago’s share of the honors included best actor for Jeremy Allen White in the Chicago-made The Bear and best actress for Chicago-trained comedian Quinta Brunson in Abbott Elementary.
■ Saturday Night Live veteran Leslie Jones will be guest-hosting The Daily Show beginning Tuesday.
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