Call to arms. A day before the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, President Biden this afternoon was to deliver an address commemorating that assault.
■ Politico: Biden’s aiming to contrast Donald Trump with George Washington.
■ Columnist Evan Hurst: “Any assistance Wonkette can offer helping [Biden] be as mean as the moment demands, we are here, and we are professionals.”
■ The Guardian: A watchdog report concludes the attempted coup never ended.
■ CNN’s Oliver Darcy: “The Big Lie … is now the dominant thinking among Republicans.”
■ The AP: Three years later, one of the biggest unsolved mysteries remains the identity of a pipe bomber.
Illinois, too. Five voters here have added the state to the list of those where Trump’s presidential ballot slot is under challenge.
■ Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin on the fate of such challenges across the nation: “You can bet on the Supreme Court’s abject partisanship.” (Gift link courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters.)
Bigger News If He Weren’t Dept. Trump’s on the list of people associated with dead financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
■ The Onion: “Report: List Of So-Called Elite Perverts Lacks Star Power.”
Republicans’ second thoughts. Presidential candidate Chris Christie admits he made a mistake when he backed Trump in 2016.
■ Contender Nikki Haley on CNN last night: “Trump was the right president at the right time. I agree with a lot of his policies. But … we won’t survive” another Trump term.
■ Commentator Van Jones: Haley’s attempt to clean up her comments on the cause of the Civil War were “painful.”
Florida giveth, Florida taketh. PolitiFact says Florida Gov. and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis got this much right on CNN: Obama deported more people than Trump did.
■ DeSantis’ surgeon general is spreading fresh rubbish about COVID-19 vaccines.
■ For the first time in a year, Chicago’s COVID status is back up to “medium.”
‘A foreboding TikTok video.’ Just before shooting up an Iowa high school, a 17-year-old posted a menacing social media message.
■ A new Illinois law requires schools to plan for cops’ quick entrance in a crisis.
Yellow Line’s back. For the first time since a Nov. 16 accident, CTA trains are running to and from Skokie.
■ The Tribune editorial board is sad to see Metra’s 10-ride pass pass away.
Auto no-Show. Stellantis—parent to Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Fiat—is ending a nearly-century-long run at the Chicago Auto Show.
■ It blames “a challenging U.S. automotive market.”
Mideast war ‘censorship.’ The Intercept reports that CNN has been running its coverage of the conflict in Gaza past an Israel-based team of “journalists who operate under the shadow of the country’s military censor.”
■ A CNN staffer: “Every single Israel-Palestine-related line for reporting must seek approval from the [Jerusalem] bureau—or, when the bureau is not staffed, from a select few handpicked by the bureau and senior management.”
■ Ahead of a visit from the U.S. secretary of state, Israel’s defense minister offered a vision of the war’s next phase—including a scaled-down “new combat approach.”
■ Discourse Blog columnist Katherine Krueger on the war’s collateral impact across college campuses: “I really never want to hear about Harvard again.”
‘Substack at a crossroads.’ One of the most influential writers on the email newsletter platform, Casey Newton of Platformer, is among those putting the squeeze on the company for its accommodation of Nazis.
■ Disclaimer: Chicago Public Square has a backup—idle until further notice—outpost on Substack.
■ Get more than 7 of 8 answers correct and you get to brag you’re newsier than your Chicago Public Square columnist.
■ Lyz Lenz’s Dingii of the Week: “New Year, new you” people.
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Rising star. Yesterday’s Square misstated the number of stars critic Richard Roeper bestowed on the new movie He Went That Way. It was two.
■ Reader Jim Parks was first to report the error.
■ Mike Braden made this edition better.
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