Who bombed whom? Visiting Israel, President Biden told Prime Minister Netanyahu that a deadly explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital seems to have been the work of “the other team” …
■ … but a Palestinian diplomat says Israel did it “intentionally.”
■ Media writer Tom Jones: “It was fascinating—and a bit rattling—to see how major newspapers shifted their headlines regarding the hospital attack.”
■ Biden administration staffers with Muslim backgrounds tell HuffPost that they “worry about retaliation at work for questioning Israel’s conduct.”
■ The Onion: “Americans Explain How They Are Ignoring The Israel-Hamas War.”
‘This is, after all, the man who, when told not to look at the sun during an eclipse, looked into the sun.’ Politico’s Jack Shafer ponders what judges will do when Donald Trump inevitably breaks their gag orders.
■ After what The Associated Press calls “a surprisingly large” Round One flop, Trump’s choice for House speaker, Jim Jordan, was set to try again today.
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Jordan is a flamethrower who was one of the original organizers of the right-wing Freedom Caucus.”
■ Popular Information namechecks corporations that pledged to stop donating to Republicans—including Jordan—who tried to overturn the 2020 election but that now are backing him.
■ Charlie Sykes at The Bulwark: Jordan’s rationale for his election amounts to “We have a political terrorism problem in the House, so we need a terrorist in charge to keep it under control.”
■ The Daily Show’s Michael Kosta compared the House to Sen. Mitch McConnell: “Totally frozen, and no one knows how to fix it.”
■ Lest we forget how the House speaker job has long been intertwined with scandal, here’s an interview your Chicago Public Square columnist conducted 30 years ago today with former Speaker Jim Wright—first to resign under fire for ethical impropriety (2015 link).
■ He had lovely handwriting.
‘An elected official using the power of a public office for their own political good. They don’t get to do that.’ Chicago’s inspector general hails the Board of Ethics decision to slap Ald. Jim Gardner with an unprecedented $20,000 fine for retaliating against a critic by directing city workers to issue unjustified citations against him.
■ The departing president of the Chicago Police Board warns the City Council to reject an arbitrator’s ruling that would let cops accused of wrongdoing take their cases behind closed doors.
Pritzker’s big push. The governor’s launching a national nonprofit group to protect and expand abortion rights and fight extremism across the country.
■ It’s called “Think Big America,” and here’s its introductory video.
■ The Literary Activism newsletter compares a House hearing tomorrow, under the banner “Protecting Kids: Combating Graphic, Explicit Content in School Libraries,” to the congressional frenzy over comic books in the ’50s.
■ You can stream the hearing here beginning at 9:15 a.m. Chicago time.
Halloween arson. Chicago police are on the lookout for a man linked to a spate of fires set at North Center neighborhood homes decorated for the holiday.
■ They’ve shared a description of the guy, who seems to be doing these evil deeds in the middle of the night.
■ The Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli introduces you to six of Illinois’ “haunted objects.”
■ Coming from nowhere last year, Barbie has rocketed into the roster of this year’s most popular Halloween costumes.
■ Resurrected from the archives: A never-rebroadcast 1994 interview with the author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll.
Lights out, Chicago. Conservationists are calling on McCormick Place to end the slaughter of birds slamming into its walls by turning off its lights nightly.
■ The Onion: “Windex Releases New 40-Story Bottles For Streak-Free Skyscrapers.”
Zero-emission trains. The biggest competitive federal grant Metra’s ever won will bring self-propelled cars onto Chicago-area tracks.
■ A Sun-Times editorial: Chicago’s resurrected Environment Department needs to get a lot bigger.
■ Cook County’s recent property tax hike will power what Board President Toni Preckwinkle calls a “new era” for the county’s forest preserves.
Colbert’s COVID cancellation. After giving virtual production a shot Monday night, Stephen Colbert canceled Tuesday night’s show because the virus was getting the best of him.
■ Suspect you have it? Experts tell HuffPost, “the safest time to test is as soon as you feel sick.”
Unlike Congress. The Chicago Reader’s scheduled just one round of nominations for its Best of Chicago awards. If Chicago Public Square makes the finals for Best Email Newsletter and Best Independent Website, it pledges to compete with honor in the finals.
■ Email a screenshot of your Square nominations to Bestof@ChicagoPublicSquare.com and see your name in this space tomorrow.