Trump on the hook. A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s contention that he’s immune from prosecution on charges he plotted to subvert the 2020 election.
■ The court’s 57-page decision was unanimous …
■ … and what Politico calls “a major win for special counsel Jack Smith.”
■ Read it here.
■ But, of course, it’s subject to appeal.
Bus dumping. Axios: One of Chicago’s strategies in cracking down on bus companies delivering migrants to the city is charging the bus companies with dumping waste illegally …
■ The migrant influx triggered a huddle yesterday in Chicago for Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Johnson and Cook County Board President Preckwinkle.
‘Streets and segregation.’ The Sun-Times takes a historic dive into the birth of Chicago’s expressways—and their role in cementing the city’s racial divides.
■ Amid concern over police staffing shortages, a City Council committee’s voted to require the Police Department to study again how cops are deployed across the city.
CTRL-SALT-DELETE. That’s one of six winning names in Chicago’s second annual contest to name its snowplows …
■ … one of which honors retiring WGN-TV weather guru Tom Skilling …
■ … but snow’ll be hard to find for a while, because Chicago’s in line for record-high temperatures this week …
■ … and maybe just one more cold snap after that.
Transpo troubles. Honda’s recalling three-quarters-of-a-million cars to fix faulty airbag sensors.
■ New problems with Boeing’s 737 Max fuselages may delay delivery of 50 planes.
Not-so-free speech. The Cook County state’s attorney has filed criminal charges against two Black Northwestern University students who published a parody satire of the student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern—accusing the university of being “complicit in genocide of Palestinians.”
■ The Intercept: The case relies, ironically, on “an obscure anti-KKK law” that exists only in Illinois and California.
■ The Daily Northwestern editorial board itself “objects to the prosecution of our peers” …
■ … as does a Change.org petition.
■ Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin: “All sides would benefit from regime change—in Israel.” (Gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters.)
‘Why are billionaire newspaper owners so damn cheap?’ Press Watch proprietor Dan Froomkin says foundations aren’t much better.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn: “The die probably has been cast for daily ink-on-paper publications.”
■ The Heated newsletter: Remember when The New York Times podcast The Daily swore off fossil fuel sponsorships? Not so much now.
Blue Sky’s up there waiting. After almost a year as an invitation-only app, would-be Twitter successor Bluesky is open to the public today.
■ Unlike a lot of tech startups, it’s set up as a public benefit corporation …
■ … funded by one of Twitter’s founders.
■ ZDNET’s Sabrina Ortiz: “I just tried Google’s ImageFX AI image generator, and I’m shocked at how good it is.”
Six years ago this month … Chicago Public Square launched an innovative opportunity for readers to support this newsletter (February 2018 link). No paywall arose, no content was restricted to a generous few. It wasn’t much different from public broadcasting’s model, but it was rare in the email news biz—although it’s become far more popular in the years since.
■ Readers who’ve stepped forward since then to keep this service coming include Martin Fischer, David Boulanger, Eric Hochstein, Jim Holmes, Ben Segedin, Patricia Winn, Emily Blum, Lisa Krimen, Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, Molly Allscheid, Stephan Benzkofer, Dave Connell, Julie Ross, Barb Powers, Ira Pilchen, Dave Tan, Craig Koslofsky, Lawrence Weiland, Elan Long, Thomas Yoder, Cate Cahan, Robert Clifford, Gary Strokosch, Vidas Germanas, Alice Cottingham, Laurie and Bill Bunkers, J. Michael Williams, Jon Langham, John Meissen, Meredith Schacht, Chris Goldrick, Meghan Strubel, Beth Botts, Holly Wallace, the Skubish Family, Joseph Sjostrom, Nina Ovryn, Randy Young, Maria Mooshil, John Evans, Anne Costello, Christa Velbel, Edie Steiner, JoBeth Halpin, Julia Winn, David Mausner, Jim Parks, John Culver, Sabrina Deitch, Lynne Stiefel, Brian J. Taylor, Paul Pasulka, Nancy Hess, Donna Barrows, Russ Williams, Neela Marnell, Harlene Ellin, Liz Strause, Suzanne Vestuto, Ed McDevitt and Griz Alger.
■ Join them today for any amount you choose—even just $1—and see your name here tomorrow.
■ Mike Braden made this edition better.