Earthquake. Southern Illinois was rattled overnight.
■ The quake’s center, near Waltonville, borders the infamous New Madrid seismic zone …
■ … but people as distant as Mundelein (280 or so miles away) reported having felt it.
‘CNN is pretty good when it doesn’t suck.’ Stop the Presses journalism critic Mark Jacob says efforts to “appear fair to MAGA propagandists raise questions about the network’s direction as we … enter a crucial election year.”
■ The AP: Fake Trump electors from 2020 are playing key roles in the 2024 race.
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: Donald Trump’s “aligning his supporters with a global far-right movement to destroy democracy.”
■ Public Notice: “Republican leaders are trashing diversity initiatives,” because the Supreme Court gave them “permission to indulge their worst selves.”
Speaking of worst selves … Roseanne Barr on Saturday delivered an “unhinged rant” about “Communists! With a huge helping of Nazi fascists thrown in! Plus one caliphate!”
■ It happened at AmericaFest, a celebration of far-right Christian nationalism and antisemitism ring-led by Arlington Heights-born reactionary Charlie Kirk—once dubbed “Kid Trump” (2018 link).
Tripledemic trepidation. Chicago-area doctors are sounding an alarm about a simultaneous rise in hospitalizations across the country for COVID-19, influenza and RSV infections.
■ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Get your shots now.
Will Apple owe you? The company’s agreed to a $25 million settlement—on the order of $30-$50 each—for people who participated in its App Store Family Sharing program from 2015 to 2019 …
■ … in connection with a lawsuit accusing it of misleading just how much the deal let families share.
■ You’ll probably get a notice automatically, but you can also apply here.
U.S. steal. Japan’s Nippon Steel has a deal to acquire iconic American company U.S. Steel …
■ … including the Chicago area’s Gary Works, the Portage Midwest Plant and the idled East Chicago Tin mills.
■ Nippon says it’ll honor all U.S. Steel’s labor deals.
Record strike’s end? Columbia College Chicago says it has a tentative deal with part-time faculty, potentially ending the longest strike by adjunct professors in U.S. history.
■ After teaching at Columbia for 48 years, WXRT DJ Terri Hemmert* has delivered her “final final exam.”
‘I can finally enjoy the show again.’ While some fans are celebrating Mayim Bialik’s separation from Jeopardy! …
■ … others are condemning as antisemitism Sony Pictures Television’s decision to let her go …
■ … even though Sony says it hopes “to continue to work with her on primetime specials.”
If you find Chicago Public Square useful … As the year nears its end, you can help keep this service coming in a few ways:
■ Vote for Square in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago poll, where it’s a finalist for Best Email Newsletter and Best Independent Website or Blog.
■ Underwrite the rising cost of Square’s production and distribution with a financial contribution of as little as $1, once.
Sorry about that. Friday’s edition arrived on some devices with a typeface that was
WAY TOO BIG.