Oh, Ohio. A special—and controversial—election today could determine whether abortion remains a protected right in that state.
■ FiveThirtyEight: The ballot referendum is “part of a widespread pattern of Republicans making it harder to get initiatives on the ballot.”
■ Politico: The results “will show to what degree Republicans … get squeezed on abortion by a very conservative base at the expense of the moderate, suburban and independent voters they need to win close races.”
‘Thousands … may be denied the opportunity to take AP Psychology.’ Popular Information: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has duped journalists into reporting that a dispute over whether students can receive what the American Psychological Association has called “fundamental” lessons on gender orientation has been resolved.
■ PolitiFact: Vice President Harris’ claim that states have banned the teaching of Latino history relies on flawed examples.
Expressway shooting. Shots fired along the Dan Ryan early this morning tied the early rush hour in knots. And then a three-vehicle crash did the same.
■ A Chicago man charged with shooting and killing a 9-year-old girl Saturday night was due in court today.
■ A neighbor says the guy had said something earlier about kids “being too loud.”
■ A bill outlawing gun ads aimed at children is set to become the law in Illinois …
■ … with approval from Gov. Pritzker, whom MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow calls “pugnacious.”
‘An effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments.’ A letter from Illinois’ whole congressional delegation calls on President Biden to grant the Chicago area federal help in recovering from the damage wrought by storms in June and July.
■ A massive wave of storms through the eastern U.S. left at least two dead, thousands of flights delayed or canceled and more than a million customers without power.
■ A Sun-Times editorial: The state and federal governments need to take action to fix south suburbs’ water problems.
■ Call it: July was by far Earth’s hottest month on record.
■ Heated: Your electric bill payments to ComEd are funding climate delay.
Brother, can you spare $10,000? That’s how much Metra spent in May to send staff and board members on a train trip from Chicago to Will County, to hold a meeting in Joliet.
■ 16 transit-oriented organizations have issued an open letter calling on Mayor Johnson to pick a “bold and visionary” transportation chief for Chicago.
He started at WGN-TV’s mailroom. Exorcist and French Connection director William Friedkin is dead at 87.
■ He made news in 1961 when he yanked his name from the credits of a Ch. 7 concert special whose sponsors demanded the removal of a song about civil rights.
■ The Hollywood Reporter: He redefined the horror genre.
■ And he guest-starred on The Simpsons.
The race to pervert AI. The Washington Post’s Will Oremus (gift link to you, courtesy of Chicago Public Square): Tech firms are paying hackers to figure out what it takes to make artificially intelligent chatbots deceptive and dangerous.
■ Casey Newton at Platformer: Journalists covering Twitter X overlord Elon Musk need to ratchet up their bullshit detectors.
■ Musk says he may need “surgery” before a “cage match” with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.