‘Horrific.’ Mayor Johnson is among those appalled by a tweet—since removed—from Chicago City Council member Brendan Reilly, showing a photo of a pager with the words “Mazol Tov,” seemingly congratulating Israel on the explosion of devices that killed dozens and wounded thousands.
■ He also tweeted “Hezbollah scum f-d around & found out. Karma’s a b*tch.”
■ A second wave of explosions yesterday involved walkie-talkies and solar energy systems.
■ Although Israel had yet to acknowledge its responsibility, its defense minister has declared “a new era in this war” …
■ … and The New York Times explains “How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse.”
■ The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates … international humanitarian law.”
‘Another day, another d’oh!’ Columnist Eric Zorn: The council “delivered a sharp rebuke” to the mayor, voting 33-14 to deprive him of power to pull the plug on the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire-detection tech …
■ … after debate that Politico’s Shia Kapos says delivered “edge-of-your-seat” drama, with “smart” and “lofty” speeches …
■ … but Johnson says he’ll veto the ordinance that would veto his authority.
■ CWBChicago: ShotSpotter alerts led to three gun arrests in under an hour Monday.
■ The council’s also approved an ordinance giving the city’s ethics board power to fine and suspend lobbyists who donate to a mayor’s campaign.
‘The latest Trump assassination attempt is not really that interesting.’ Lawyer and columnist Lisa Needham yawns: “People trying to shoot at Trump is the unfortunate consequence of a society where guns are far easier to get than, say, mental health treatment.”
■ American Freakshow columnist Nina Burleigh: “Trump has always urged his rally-goers to beat protestors. He now promises to embark on a ‘bloody’ deportation project while suggesting his supporters will engage in violence if he loses.”
‘You may never see me again.’ Trump says he’ll visit the troubled—troubled, remember, because of lies he and his running mate, JD Vance are spreading—town of Springfield, Ohio, sometime soon … but may not make it out alive.
■ Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin: “Oops: Cat at center of JD Vance’s pet-eating claims is alive and well.” (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
■ MSNBC contributor Brian Tyler Cohen: “As important as it is to keep Trump away from presidential power, it’s equally urgent to prevent Vance from succeeding him.”
■ ProPublica: Emails reveal how Vance’s Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, struggled to deal with unrest after police killings in the spring of 2021.
‘Harris is now reaping the rewards of big, secret political donations.’ The Lever: Despite presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ history of decrying dark money, her campaign is benefitting from untraceable millions.
■ The Teamsters union has chosen to sit this presidential election out.
■ Writing from Alabama, law professor Joyce Vance shares a collection of “Harris signs in a place where you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find them”—including this one:
■ The plainspoken Jeff Tiedrich: “Kamala is running a near-perfect campaign and it’s driving the press insane.”
Bears offensive. A coalition of environmental and civil justice groups are teaming up to kill plans for a new lakefront stadium.
■ They say those billions of bucks would be better spent on affordable housing, health care and neighborhood park improvements.
‘The rules would likely change the design of what America drives permanently.’ The Sun-Times examines the potential impact of federal regulation to make big honking SUVs and trucks less likely to kill pedestrians.
■ Block Club Chicago: A deadly stretch of Pulaski Road’s in line for safety upgrades.
‘You know that house you couldn’t afford? Well, a half-point decrease means that now you can afford a bus ticket to drive past it.’ The Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng isn’t impressed by the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since the onset of the pandemic …
■ … which may signal lower borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and more …
Stink relief? While Chicago’s warm spell endures, rain’s maybe on the way tonight or tomorrow …
■ … which may bring relief for those with sensitive senses of smell.
A second moon. Beginning next week, Earth’s mate will be joined by an asteroid that’ll temporarily orbit the planet.
■ Astronomers report the longest detected pair of jets streaming from a black hole.
‘We are not real.’ To protect journalists from Venezuela’s oppressive president, a group of media organizations has created a news show anchored by artificial-intelligence-created presenters.
■ Alex Garcia’s Media Moe considers reporters’ safety—beginning this way:
‘Gripping, engrossing television.’ Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper bestows 3 1/2 stars on HBO’s new Batman spinoff series, The Penguin …
■ … which Time’s Judy Berman calls “a stylish, dumbed-down Trump allegory.”
Chicago Public Square mailbag. Reader Garry Jaffe takes issue with yesterday’s edition—or, more precisely, with a joke told by The Daily Show’s Chieng: “There were more attempts to kill Lincoln. One other was before he was even president, that was planned I believe to happen in Baltimore.” And Garry’s right.
■ Benjy Blenner writes: “I watched the Harris interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (with the link you supplied, so extra thank you) and I noticed something that I also saw during the debate. Journalists (and really everyone in the media) treat Kamala and Donald much differently but report as if they are the same. … They ask her to elaborate, to expand, to defend. They cut her off mid-sentence and hold her to task. Yet they just let Trump do whatever he wants. …Then the responses and thoughts go to the vice president’s ‘inability’ to be ‘clear’ and ‘concise’ or that she tripped up on a single word. Nothing about Trump’s inabilities or being a threat to everyone. … Do they not realize they are playing into Republicans’ hands?”
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