School daze. A senior prank gone awry at a prep school in Niles left a cow wandering …
■ … before it could be relocated to the Hooved Animals Humane Society in Woodstock.
■ A bomb scare that evacuated Glenbard West High School proved unfounded.
■ An ex-coach of the girls’ track team at Downers Grove South High School has been accused of paying girls to give him revealing photos of themselves.
‘This group … reflects the diversity and vibrancy of our city.’ Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s named the leaders of his transition team …
■ … and they’re seeking your ideas.
■ Johnson joined political strategist David Axelrod for a new edition of The Axe Files podcast.
‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not.’ Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll minced no words with Donald Trump’s lawyer on the stand in her civil lawsuit against Trump.
■ Noting that social media trolls have labeled her “liar, slut, ugly, old,” she testified, “I couldn’t be more proud to be here.”
‘No one now will be held to account.’ A minister whose cousin, Emmett Till, was kidnapped and lynched in 1955 mourns the death of the woman whose accusations triggered the crime, before she ever accepted responsibility.
■ The Conversation: How the Till case defined civil rights history.
‘Liberals are supposed to be the helicopter parents. But here are these supposed Southern tough guys who have so little faith in their own children’s ability to navigate a complicated world … that they … jam the law books with prohibitions of every … whisper that there are lives other than their own.’ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg marvels that “the eternally aggrieved have turned their sights on ... wait for it ... Maybelline.”
■ USA Today columnist Rex Huppke: “Montana Republicans tried to erase a transgender lawmaker. Instead, they created a hero.”
Dingus of the Week. Lyz Lenz’s pick: Far-right podcaster Steven Crowder, who’s going through a divorce …
■ … and who’s been caught on video emotionally abusing his wife.
Inside the ‘pink slime’ machine. The Washington Post exposes a private web portal that let Illinois Republican campaigns request stories and shape coverage in a network of partisan publications that presented themselves as local newspapers (2020 link).
■ The state’s Democratic Party chair condemns “an unacceptable precedent that … shatters the line between news and propaganda.”
Disney divide. Politico surveys the ways in which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ war with The Walt Disney Company is playing out among other prominent Republicans.
■ The Onion pretends to survey Disney World employees’ reaction.
Last chance to see. A tree older than the City of Chicago—a bur oak at the Lincoln Park Zoo—is set to meet its maker Monday.
■ Coming to Navy Pier next year: An immersive, virtual tour, FlyOver Chicago …
■ … which you can sample in a brief video clip here.
■ The president of the Grant Park Advisory Council asks—and, in asking, answers—the question “Is NASCAR worth the mess that it will cause to Grant Park and Chicago?”
‘One of the most visually stunning trips to Neverland ever.’ Critic Richard Roeper bestows three stars on Peter Pan & Wendy, debuting today on Disney+.
■ Michael Phillips calls it “unexpectedly strong.”
■ The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager: “Disney’s desire to endlessly mine its popular properties for profit is wedded to a belief that remakes are most likely to succeed if they’re safe and comforting replicas.”
■ TechHive exposes some powers you didn’t know your streaming device remote had.
‘Remember what America signifies to the rest of the world.’ Late Late Show host James Corden signed off last night, calling on viewers to “look for the light, look for the joy.”
■ Watch other late-night TV hosts bid Corden farewell.
‘Newsworthy firings, music, mascots, and more.’ That’s some of what awaits you in this week’s news quiz, whipped up by past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel.
■ Your Chicago Public Square columnist got a disappointing 5/8 right. Can you beat that? (Image: Before-and-after shots of the mascot in question.)
■ Readers who support Square at the Advocate level or better get Thursday-night access to the quiz.
■ What better day to do so than today, National Superhero Day?
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.
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