‘A unified Reich.’ Yeah, Donald Trump’s social media account went there with video that boastfully mirrors Nazi terminology.
■ His campaign attributes the post [since deleted] to a staffer who “clearly did not see the word.”
■ President Biden’s campaign says Trump’s “telling America … he intends to … rule as a dictator.”
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Trump is promising to destroy our democracy and usher in authoritarianism.”
Now they have something in common with Trump himself. Live updates: Prosecutors and defenders in the New York criminal case against Trump have rested …
■ … and the judge has sent jurors home until closing arguments begin Tuesday.
■ … after a day in which the judge cleared the courtroom of reporters and called out a Trump team witness …
■ … specifically: “If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.”
■ Jimmy Kimmel: “I’ve gotta say, I don’t think a defense has ever been more rested than this one.”
■ Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow envisions a Trump trial daydream: “The Wall has been built, and it is both big and beautiful! Women’s menstrual cycles are being monitored by the NSA for signs of illegal reproductive health care activity! And the entire country loves Trump!”
■ Dan Froomkin at Press Watch: Trump’s decision not to testify in his defense should be a banner headline.
■ Variety: Billionaire investor—and former Washington Commanders owner—Dan Snyder is furious about the portrayal of a young Trump in a movie whose production he funded.
‘I fervently hope that Trump will be elected in November.’ That’s how a conservative commenter winds up an exchange with columnist Eric Zorn about the politics of the Mideast war.
■ Israeli government officials today seized broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press—accusing it of violating a new law by providing images to Al Jazeera, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called “a terror channel.”
■ The Lever: The four largest U.S. weapons makers—companies profiting from that war—have rejected shareholder pressure to expose their emissions policies and human rights practices.
■ Human rights lawyer and George Clooney wife Amal Clooney says she’s one of the experts who recommended the International Criminal Court seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and leaders of Hamas.
Primaries to watch. Among races on the ballot coast to coast today: Challenges to Trump’s Georgia prosecutor, Fani Willis, and the judge overseeing that case.
■ Willis told Rachel Maddow last night that threats have forced her to move out of her home.
■ NewsGuard: Beware fake social media accounts declaring that they won’t vote for Biden.
■ Following Stephen Colbert’s lead, Jimmy Kimmel will host a Biden fundraiser next month.
■ Biden’s top guy at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.—you know, the agency that guarantees your money if your bank fails—is quitting in the face of a report that condemned a toxic workplace culture at the FDIC (May 7 link).
‘Unrelenting’ storms. They were headed this way late today …
■ … with “all weather hazards possible.”
■ A new study concludes that Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” is sustaining “vigorous melting,” threatening more extreme sea-level rises than previously predicted.
Missing the point. A Tribune investigation concludes that the Chicago Police Department’s falling short in its federal consent decree pledge to track incidents in which cops point their weapons at people.
■ A five-time felon on parole’s being held on federal charges, accused of opening fire across the street from Wrigley Field May 5.
■ Police see no charges against a baker at the Near North Side Eataly marketplace after he allegedly pulled a gun on two coworkers.
■ The hunt was on for a burglary crew that hit at least 10 Chicago bars, restaurants and stores over the course of five hours late last week …
■ … and, separately, two men riding bikes and armed with guns during six armed Rogers Park robberies this month.
Suburban smackdown. Chicago magazine rounds up a list of “Best Places to Live in the Suburbs” …
■ … including a key comparison: Evanston vs. Oak Park.
Hey, kids! Get lost! As of July 1, an Idaho public library becomes an adults-only joint …
■ … because it’s too small to comply with the oppressive terms of a new state law requiring “grown-up” books be kept away from children.
■ Chalkbeat and Block Club: Chicago’s influx of migrant kids “is exposing the cracks in a school system that has for years struggled to fully comply with state and federal laws around bilingual education.”
Young drivers’ break. On Saturdays through the summer, 10 Illinois Secretary of State facilities will add teens-only hours for first-time seekers of licenses and permits.
■ Carfax has updated its list of vehicles most often targeted for catalytic converter theft.
The shrimp did it. CNN explains how Red Lobster’s misguided “endless shrimp” promotion drove it to bankruptcy.
■ The Onion: “Red Lobster Runs All-You-Can-Grab Copper Wiring Promotion.”
Scarlett heaver. OpenAI has pledged to silence its ChatGPT voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 movie Her …
■ … a thing the company did after she turned down its request to lend her real voice.
■ Casey Newton at Platformer: OpenAI’s treatment of Johansson should worry everyone.
■ But, hey, The Washington Post’s adding AI-generated audio to its politics- and policy-focused newsletters.
■ Wired: How to strip your personal info from Google search results.
Thanks. Patrick Olsen made this edition better.