‘There was blood. And a bullet hole on the wall. Two inches from me. And a bullet in my friend’s back.’ On Facebook, WXRT DJ Terri Hemmert* shares her experience at a New Orleans restaurant Friday night, when someone shot and killed a waiter …
■ … and, in the process, wounded one of the Chicago friends there to celebrate Terri’s birthday at Jazz Fest.
■ The shooters—who witnesses say seemed to have automatic weapons—remained at large.
Gun shops ‘thrilled.’ After a federal judge blocked Illinois’ ban on military-style firearms, buyers lined up en masse outside suburban retailers.
■ Cops from more than 200 jurisdictions were hunting a Texas man who killed four adults and a 9-year-old boy after the boy’s father—a neighbor—asked the guy to stop firing his gun in his yard as midnight neared.
■ Two teens are dead and four others wounded after police say a 19-year-old opened fire at a Mississippi house party.
■ Chicago’s weekend gun violence toll included at least five dead and 26 wounded.
■ And police say an employee at the Target store on State Street was stabbed while confronting a shoplifter.
An appeal to his ‘better nature’? Hah. Although headlines have characterized Mayor Lightfoot’s letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as “urging” and “pleading,” make no mistake: She’s threatening him if he doesn’t stop busing immigrants to Chicago.
■ HBO’s John Oliver last night: President Biden’s immigration policies have “disappointed in a lot of ways” and may become even more disappointier.
■ See the full segment here.
Can one city ban the abortion pill? Danville, Ill., is poised to find out.
■ The American Civil Liberties Union is ready to fight a battle that could cost the town “a million dollars.”
‘To understand why Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida should lose in his quest to punish Disney … it is first necessary to talk about tow trucks … in Northlake, Ill.’ Columnist David French explains the connection.
■ DeSantis is beefing up his assault on voting rights.
‘We actually had a Rupert Murdoch joke that I decided on the fly to drop, just because Biden’s Rupert joke was so spot-on.’ Roy Wood Jr. Monday-morning quarterbacks his and President Biden’s performances at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner …
■ … which you can watch here.
■ The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet notes the Chicago ties that bound both speeches.
An oath to Charles—from everywhere. Britons watching the coronation of their new king Saturday will be asked to pledge their allegiance to him—from their couches or wherever.
■ The ceremony won’t go without protest.
Newsbots’ rise. NewsGuard’s identified 49 news and info websites that seem to have been composed almost entirely by artificial intelligence software—“with no editor in sight.”
■ On the other hand, ZDNET reports, “AI might soon let us talk to animals.”
Another last goodbye. Aerosmith’s “Peace Out” farewell tour is headed to Chicago …
■ … for a Sept. 15 show.
■ If a ticket doesn’t fill the bill for a Mother’s Day gift, consider Consumer Reports’ list of other recommendations.
Chicago Public Square’s secrets. Media watcher Simon Owens’ Entrepreneur’s Tech Stack blog spills the beans.
■ Your support helps pay for many of those tools.
* And friend and once-upon-a-time morning radio teammate to your Square columnist.