Back to it. Live updates: After a day off, Donald Trump’s trial on charges of falsifying documents to cover up his frantic efforts to prevent damaging disclosures in the waning days of the 2016 election resumed today …
■ … beginning with dismissal of more than half the day’s first jury panel.
■ Experts tell Politico that the “totally uncommon” presence of two lawyers on Trump’s jury could benefit him.
■ Also from Politico: Why Biden world’s gone quiet on this trial.
■ Historian and MSNBC commentator Ruth Ben-Ghiat calls the trial a “small miracle that is … the polar opposite of authoritarianism.”
■ The Bulwark’s Jonathan V. Last, the sarcastically “proud shareholder” of DJT stock, reports that it’s “doing great.”
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Russian propaganda has infiltrated American politics through Republican lawmakers and media figures.”
■ Ex-Labor Secretary—and former Justice Department lawyer under Republican President Gerald Ford—Robert Reich traces the party’s downfall back to Richard Nixon.
■ Bringing his career full circle after stints at The New York Times, ESPN and ABC, University of Chicago-spawned statistician and journalist Nate Silver’s relaunching his “FiveThirtyEight presidential model” on a self-owned Substack newsletter.
‘They are putting out defective airplanes.’ A Boeing engineer tells the Senate that the company’s rush to crank out product has imposed shortcuts that could lead to jetliners breaking apart …
■ … and says, “I was told, frankly, to shut up.”
Rats! Block Club Chicago: Oz Park’s getting a new playground that will evict a giant underground rat colony.
■ Maybe it’ll drop the city down a few notches on this list (August link).
‘He trashed his own institution in public, and did it loudly.’ Columnist Jack Shafer says the case of National Public Radio business editor Uri Berliner—who quit yesterday—is evidence that “the newsroom rebellion has shifted into a higher gear.”
■ Dozens of NPR employees want management to publicly and pointedly rebuke Berliner’s criticisms.
■ NPR’s own public editor, Kelly McBride: “I wish NPR would talk more about how and why it makes decisions.”
■ Editor & Publisher takes a look ahead to the future of local news websites.
‘Disingenuous.’ Mayor Johnson’s rejecting a campaign to give voters power to recall a mayor.
■ Ex-Gov. Pat Quinn’s on board with the effort.
‘Blocking the way to O’Hare is no way to win hearts and minds.’ Columnist Eric Zorn says pro-Palestine protesters’ tactics aren’t helping their cause …
■ … and he takes issue with Jewish lawmakers’ refusal to meet with Johnson to discuss antisemitism: “I reject the idea that adults who may disagree on a matter of great importance shouldn’t sit down and talk to one another.”
■ Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024 includes the Chicago-born mother of a hostage held by Hamas.
■ Google’s fired 28 workers who protested that the company’s deal with Israel’s government could contribute to the deaths of Palestinians.
■ Columnist Jacob Sullum: The U.S. Supreme Court whiffed on a chance to protect peaceful protest.
‘We need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.’ The Chicago City Council’s OK’d extra security precautions for this summer’s Democratic National Convention here.
■ For the first time since 2022’s July 4 mass shooting, Highland Park is planning an Independence Day parade.
Steph-en! Steph-en! Steph-en! Colbert’s taking The Late Show on the road for the first time—to broadcast live from Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre the week of the Democratic convention, Aug. 19-22.
■ He has deep ties to the city.
■ Last night he reprimanded Trump: “You keep my friend Jimmy Kimmel’s name out of your weird little wet mouth!” …
■ … but Kimmel was delighted to spend most of last night’s monologue firing back at Trump.
■ Beatle Ringo Starr will play New Lenox in September.
‘My dad, Jason, would lament how he could not … see one of his childhood homes … because the building was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the Congress Expressway.’ Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet celebrates a new federal program to heal the city’s “urban removal” scars.
■ The Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli previews Shame of Chicago, Shame of the Nation—a four-part series debuting tonight on WTTW, exposing Chicago’s history of housing discrimination and weaponized real estate policies. (A gift link, courtesy of those who support Chicago Public Square.)
■ Critic Richard Roeper gives 3 1/2 stars to We Grown Now, a movie set in 1992 Chicago—against the backdrop of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis’ murder.
Are you Uber verified? To protect drivers from unscrupulous passengers, the app’s going to add a blue checkmark to users whose identities have been confirmed.
■ If you’re not verified automatically, you can upload a government-issued ID.
Don’t miss the 2024 Spring Music Festival at Frank Lloyd Wright’s stunning UNESCO World Heritage-designated Unity Temple in Oak Park, Saturday, April 27, at 7 p.m. Get your tickets here.
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.