‘Trump’s bad day.’ Law professor Joyce Vance reviews yesterday’s federal appeals court hearing on Donald Trump’s contention that he should be immune from prosecution for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
■ Stephen Colbert: “Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the president, who is currently Joe Biden, could order SEAL Team Six to assassinate his political rival, who is currently Donald Trump.”
■ Trump says if he loses this case, Barack Obama and George W. Bush could face prosecution for their acts in office.
■ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst: “A Fox News correspondent blatantly lied to viewers about what happened.”
■ Ex-Sun-Times and Tribune editor Mark Jacob (“now allowed to have opinions”): Playing dumb, mainstream media reporters “know who’s telling the truth and who’s lying. But they’re afraid to tell the public directly.”
■ USA Today columnist Rex Huppke: “I ignored Trump … for two weeks. The volume of stupidity I missed is unreal.”
‘Pointless shams.’ Public Notice says that people, with good reason, have been tuning out the Republican presidential debates …
■ … like tonight’s, which features a one-on-one confrontation between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis …
■ … whose repressive library law has empowered a Florida school district to ban dictionaries because they define words like, um, sex.
■ Ask him about that, why don’tcha, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash?
■ Columnist Dan Pfeiffer makes the case for Chris Christie to stay in the race. (Update, 5:36 p.m.: Too late.)
‘It’s truly hideous.’ Columnist Will Bunch says this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day “will be overshadowed by Republicans deciding which brand of white supremacist moves on to Milwaukee’s GOP convention and maybe the White House.”
■ The Sun-Times offers 10 ways to mark the day in Chicago.
Meh. Although the far western suburbs got something like 6 inches of snow yesterday, Chicago got more like 3.
■ But more’s on the way—maybe.
■ Record-breaking low temps next week could hinder Iowa’s caucuses.
‘What the hell?’ That was a 73-year-old man’s reaction to finding himself trapped in his condemned Harvey apartment by plywood nailed to the doors and windows …
■ The Onion, with a Chicago dateline: “Luxury Condos Demolished Minutes After Completion To Build Even Fancier Condos.”
Losing gamble. Bally’s Chicago casino delivered close to $10 million less than the city planned last year …
■ … but the company says visits are on the rise …
■ … and Lollapalooza sent the city record revenue in 2023.
Pedal push. The price of using Chicago’s Divvy network of bikes and scooters will jump by almost 10% next month.
■ The Chicago school board’s getting $20 million from the U.S. EPA to buy up to 50 electric school buses.
Not-so-supermarket. The Lever says that, in Kroger’s push to take over Albertson’s—in Chicago, think Mariano’s + Jewel—Kroger’s been bragging about “its partnership with a blueberry grower that hired a labor contractor accused of orchestrating one of the largest human trafficking rings in modern U.S. history.”
■ Gov. Pritzker says United Airlines has assured the state it plans to keep its headquarters here.
‘Stop calling it a six-week ban.’ Columnist Lyz Lenz says journalists should start referring to abortion limits pending in Iowa and elsewhere as what they are: Total bans.
■ The Biden administration’s won a first landmark privacy settlement for those seeking abortions—keeping a company from tracking and selling data about people’s medical visits.
‘Amazon is about to eat the TV universe.’ The Hollywood Reporter says that when the company later this month turns on ads for almost all its Prime Video viewers—including those watching the NFL and NASCAR—it’ll instantly gain the reach of broadcast TV, with the targetability of a tech company …
■ … but it’s also laying off hundreds of workers across its Prime Video and MGM Studios teams.
■ The struggling Los Angeles Times—once owned by the former Tribune Co.—is in the hunt for a new top editor.
‘Shoddy and misleading.’ Columnist Jesse Singal says reporting on Substack’s “Nazi problem” has been greatly exaggerated …
■ … but one of those who first spotlighted the issue, The Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas, is leaving Substack nevertheless …
■ … as is Chicago climate journalist Mike Fourcher.
■ Substack critic Casey Newton’s changing the subject: He says Facebook and Instagram parent Meta needs to do more than tweak its settings to cut its harm to teenagers.
Short subjects. Help Chicago Public Square:
Thanks. Cate Plys made this edition better.