Sentenced … to nothing. Updating coverage: The judge in President-elect Trump’s hush money case has formally sentenced Trump—but chose to impose no punishment.
■ Still, it confirms Trump as the first guy to assume the presidency as a convicted—and sentenced—felon.
■ Trump calls the sentence “despicable.”
■ The ruling comes after the Supreme Court refused to intervene.
■ Balls & Strikes editor Jay Willis offers sarcastic reassurance: “I, for one, find Sam Alito’s explanation of his phone call with Donald Trump very reasonable and not at all weird.”
Awkward. The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic deconstructs the interpersonal dynamics in the pews as Trump attended yesterday’s funeral for former President Jimmy Carter.
■ Columnist Jack Ohman: Barack Obama and Trump “looked like they were discussing their most recent round of golf over drinks.”
Fires compared. Revisiting this city’s 1871 conflagration, NBC Chicago concludes its magnitude “pales in comparison to the Palisades fire” ravaging California …
■ … although the Chicago death toll—at least 120, maybe 300 or more—far eclipses the casualties in Los Angeles.
■ Ex-Chicagoans displaced by the fires include former Mayor Lightfoot’s aunt and uncle, who she says “lost everything, literally everything.”
■ A 31-year-old Chicago native who moved there last year says she “just didn’t know how fast things could spread.”
■ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein paraphrases President Biden’s “tone deaf” remarks on the destruction: “Sorry you lost your home but hey I’m a great granddad, isn’t that something?”
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch: “Delusional Emperor Trump fiddles while L.A. burns.”
■ Updating coverage: Milder winds might give firefighters a break …
■ … their ranks bolstered by hundreds of people trained as former firefighters who had been in prison.
■ Columnist Evan Hurst: “Scumbags” blaming the fires on “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs are really “just saying the ‘N’-word.”
■ Rolling Stone: “The L.A. fires have started a misinformation storm.”
■ The New York Times (gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters) contrasts how news outlets on the left and the right have covered the disaster.
■ The American Prospect: Big banks have picked an inopportune moment to abandon their commitments to address the climate crisis.
■ Chicago’s snowfall so far this season is way below average.
Not so secret—now. Opening a political “black box,” The Prospect has published a previously undisclosed list of the Democratic National Committee’s membership—people who will decide, among other things, how the 2028 presidential selection process plays out.
■ Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman has agreed to become the first sitting Senate Democrat since the election to meet with Trump.
■ 15,000 doctors have signed a letter appealing to the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Trump’s health secretary.
■ The Atlantic (behind a paywall): “Tens of millions of American Christians are embracing a charismatic movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, which seeks to destroy the secular state.”
‘Viewer discretion is strongly advised.’ Answering several Freedom of Information Act requests, the village of Oak Park has released body camera footage from officers and sergeants at the scene of the killing of Police Detective Allan Reddins outside the town’s main Public Library the day after Thanksgiving.
■ Chicago cops’ misconduct stands to cost the city $34 million more.
Tick, tock. Updating coverage: The Supreme Court today was considering a possible U.S. ban on the TikTok app.
■ Live audio was streaming on the web.
■ Chicago-area small businesses dread the prospect.
■ Wired: If the ban’s upheld, “it won’t disappear from your phone—but it will get messy fast.”
‘I’m a proud racist.’ That’s one of the examples of speech now permitted on Facebook and Instagram—as spelled out specifically in corporate training materials obtained by The Intercept.
■ 404 Media reports rebellion in parent company Meta’s ranks: “It’s total chaos.”
■ Google searches for “how to permanently delete Facebook” are soaring.
■ Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Perfectly challenging. Past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel has cooked up an eight-question quiz for the new year.
■ Your Chicago Public Square columnist nailed all eight questions—plus a bonus. ✅✅✅✅✅✅✅✅
■ Did you know Square supporters get an early heads-up on each week’s news quiz? Check out all the perks here.
Kohl’s holes. Two Chicago-area locations are among the 27 Kohl’s department stores slated for closing across the country …
■ … and Macy’s is closing one in Springfield.
‘Imagine attending a funeral where the person who has died speaks directly to you, answering your questions and sharing memories.’ The Conversation: Artificial intelligence has already made that a reality—redefining death, memory and immortality.
■ Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait sees eight reasons for the news biz to be optimistic and paranoid about AI.
Thanks. Maria Mooshil made this edition better.
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