Water, water. The dregs of Hurricane Beryl left the Chicago region under a flood watch through this afternoon …
■ … as a water main break left a big stretch of the city under a boil order …
■ … but with free bottled water available for those who need it.
‘Dishonoring the badge.’ Chicago’s inspector general slams the police department for shutting down its investigation of eight cops tied to the fascist Oath Keepers.
■ Read the full report.
Merger, schmerger. The leaders of the CTA, Metra, Pace and their parent Regional Transportation Authority say they don’t need to become a single agency; they just need more money.
■ For the third year in a row, Chicago’s expressway shootings are down.
Stephanopoulos: Sorry for saying what I think. President Biden’s handpicked interviewer last week, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, says he regrets saying he doesn’t think Biden can last another four years in the White House.
■ CNN media watcher Oliver Darcy: “The interview has effectively backfired, with Biden failing to even convince Stephanopoulos.”
■ Add former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the roster of those not ruling out a Biden backout.
■ Columnist and Fox News veteran Krystina Alarcon Carroll: The departure of a Philadelphia radio host who copped to asking scripted questions of Biden leaves lots of questions unanswered.
■ The Onion: “Biden Team Holds Rapid-Fire Series Of Public Events Featuring President Waving From Very Far Away.”
‘Politico Kidnaps Hillary Clinton From Chappaqua, Puts Her In Dumb Presidential Poll.’ That’s Wonkette’s Evan Hurst ripping Politico a new one: “These are not serious people.”
■ The Onion’s Point/Counterpoint: “Hillary Clinton Is Polling Ahead Of Joe Biden vs. Did Somebody Say Hillary Clinton?”
■ Newsweek speculates on what a Kamala Harris presidency would look like.
■ Columnist and former Tribune editor Charlie Madigan is intrigued: “Trump, of course, has bladdered away support from women all over the place, and would have a hard time slapping around two women on the Democratic ticket, although in his stupidity, he might try.”
■ Asserting that Biden “has an extremely weak hand,” stats wizard Nate Silver offers seven reasons why “Democrats should call his bluff.”
■ Critic Bill Carter: “Biden’s late-night reckoning has arrived—and it’s not pretty.”
DNC ‘nightmares.’ The Sun-Times says the Democratic National Convention at the United Center threatens to disrupt service at and transportation to nearby hospitals.
■ More than 12,000 have volunteered to work at the convention.
‘Those good times are purely fictional.’ Donald Trump niece Mary L. Trump takes a cynical eye to reports that next week’s Republican convention in Milwaukee will attempt to cash in on the nation’s “collective amnesia” by boasting about the “good times” Americans had during the Trump administration.
■ Law prof Joyce Vance: “For the first time in eight years, the Republican Party has a platform. It’s not written in Sharpie, but it might as well be.”
■ USA Today’s Rex Huppke: It’s “basically a bunch of random capitalized words – PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, REBUILD OUR CITIES—generated, I assume, by an authoritarian-leaning AI that was fed a Trump rally transcript.”
■ ProPublica profiles a militant anti-abortion Wisconsin pastor who was once a political pariah but now is shaping Republican politics.
■ Reader columnist Ben Joravsky: “Voters don’t really care about democracy. This is great news for the Trump campaign as he’s proposing to eliminate it.”
‘Terrifying blueprints.’ That’s Chicago journalist and author Rick Perlstein’s take on the anchor of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025—but he says most of it “is too dumb to accomplish anything at all.”
■ Still, Progress Report says, it would screw workers.
■ Popular Information: Trump’s proposal to end federal taxation of tips is a “trick” that “could have a detrimental effect on most tipped workers.”
■ Washington Post columnist Will Oremus: The tech winners under Trump’s 2024 platform are crypto, AI and Elon Musk …
■ … but Trump’s threatening Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with prison.
■ HuffPost: “Trump isn't being quiet. But for once, nobody's paying attention … and he probably hates it.”
■ Late-night hosts are having fun speculating on Trump’s running mate.
Who wouldn’t want an obit headline like this? “Former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, defense hawk who called human-caused climate change a ‘hoax,’ dies at 89.”
■ The Conversation: “Can humanity address climate change without believing it? Medical history suggests it is possible.”
Checks out. As of next week, add Target to the growing roster of retailers who won’t take personal checks from shoppers.
■ If the merger between Jewel parent Albertson’s and Mariano’s parent Kroger happens, expect 35 stores in Illinois—including eight in Chicago—to be sold.
■ Route Fifty: “Gas taxes can’t pay for roads much longer, but Amazon deliveries might.”
■ The American Prospect: America needs a formal, Congressionally appropriated division to fight price-fixing.
You, on the dark web. Google’s making free a previously for-paying-customers-only service that alerts users to leaks of stolen account information.
■ Later this month, it’ll be available here.
CNN ax falls. Reorganizing ahead of yet another push into the digital space, the network says it’ll lay off 100 staffers.
■ The likely president of the likely-to-merge Paramount Global and Skydance Media was fired from NBCUniversal for sexual harassment.
Email: It’s the bomb. Media columnist Simon Owens: Substack’s becoming a hotbed of local news experimentation …
■ …witness two newspaper columnists whose newsletters are generating more income than they made at their old jobs.
■ You can join their celebrated ranks for any amount you choose—one-time (cool!) or recurring (cooler!)—and then see your name in this space tomorrow.
■ Also: Get $5 off a Square sweatshirt or hoodie.
■ Also: Get $5 off a Square sweatshirt or hoodie.