‘Resist.’ Mayor Johnson’s cheering on protesters of Donald Trump’s immigration policies …
■ … although at least one Chicago City Council member tells Axios “a percentage of these protesters are determined to cause damage and anarchy.”
■ Of the 17 people arrested at Tuesday’s Chicago protest, four face felony charges—including one accused of spitting in a cop’s face.
■ As the search for a suspect continued, a woman hit by a car that sped through that demonstration talked to reporters about her broken arm and other injuries.
■ Demonstrations have been spreading nationwide.
■ Illinois will see no shortage of protests Saturday.
■ Johnson was scheduled to take questions from listeners live on WBEZ today from (correcting time) 12 to 1 p.m.
■ Reminder: The “No Kings” protests and the president’s big birthday military parade coincide with Pope Leo’s virtual address to a crowd at Sox Park. (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
■ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst has lots of questions about that “almost all white” crowd of troops who cheered on Trump Tuesday at Fort Bragg …
■ … where his attempt to mock Joe Biden backfired, as noted by The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic: “Most people would’ve gone with ‘brightest bulb’ or ‘sharpest tool,’ but Donald Trump took half of both and smushed them together. That is what makes him the cream of the litter.”
■ Trump’s now deployed more troops to Los Angeles than the U.S. has in Iraq and Syria combined.
■ PolitiFact spotlights misinformation about the L.A. protests.
‘Grab ’em by the posse comitatus.’ Law & Chaos: “If there was any doubt that the president intends to use the military to occupy American cities, the administration has now dispelled it.”
■ Former Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan: “If you are going to be protesting … turn off biometric access to your phone (if you bring a smartphone at all, that is), and also check out this list of other tips from EFF and from veteran organizers.”
■ Columnist Eric Zorn’s counsel: “Keep calm and mind the optics.”
■ Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich: Protesters’ solidarity “is the silver lining on the dark Trumpian cloud.”
■ LAist, with a reminder of what all the protest’s about: A website tracking ICE raids nationwide has been overwhelmed with users seeking help and sharing updates.
Pritzker in the hot seat. The governor was due at Chicago Public Square’s email deadline to appear before the Republican-controlled U.S. House in defense of Illinois’ “sanctuary status” for immigrants.
■ Video was set to stream here.
Walmart wrangle. The Daily Beast: A billionaire Walmart heiress’s full-page newspaper ads condemning Trump and cheering on the protests has sparked a MAGA backlash.
■ Politico explains how Les Misérables—a performance of which Trump attended at the Kennedy Center last night—“makes MAGA’s rebel hearts sing.”
Rider refunds. Uber says it’s begun paying back Chicago customers overcharged a total of $1.78 million in congestion fees between January and April.
■ ComEd’s launching a $10 million relief fund to help nonprofit organizations and low-income customers pay their electric bills during what looks to be a hot summer.
■ People can apply here next month.
■ Columnist Matthew Yglesias: Trump’s “beautiful” bill stands to raise electricity prices even more, leaving the nation with “no policy support whatsoever for wind, solar or emerging technologies.”
‘No survivors.’ That was the police assessment at the crash in India of an Air India flight to London. (Update, 11:43 a.m. At least one person did survive.)
■ The plane crashed into a building attached to a medical college.
■ The AP has assembled photos of the devastation.
Well, maybe one King. Chicago schools’ new CEO is Macquline King.
Our Beach Boy. A Tribune editorial celebrates Brian Wilson, the “musical mastermind” who died this week at 82 …
■ … during which he recorded much of his album Imagination …
■ … whose title track was co-written with Chicago radio host Steve Dahl …
■ … and which he promoted with a performance for cable channel VH-1, recorded at the St. Charles East High School auditorium.
■ Pictures show his house as it was when it was up for sale in 2011.
■ Five years ago, in the thick of the pandemic, Wilson delivered a memorable solo performance for Stephen Colbert’s show.
■ Pulitzer winner Mary Schmich: Wilson “created the first, and to this day most beloved, record I ever owned.”
■ Variety picks Wilson’s 20 greatest songs …
■ … but don’t forget that he was obsessed with the song “Shortenin’ Bread” …
■ … witness this medley of times he incorporated the song in his own work.
A suit for ‘nudifiers.’ Indicator: Facebook parent Meta is going to court against the company behind online services that can transform a single photo of a real person into a synthetic video of them undressing, or depict them in a range of sex poses.
■ Meta also pledges to step up its online safeguards.
‘World class cowards.’ Columnist Andy Borowitz sets aside his humorist hat to condemn ABC for 86’ing correspondent Terry Moran: “I am more grateful than ever that I don’t work for corporate media. I work for you.” (You know, like Chicago Public Square.)
■ But Eric Zorn says Moran had to go.
■ Moran has launched a Substack newsletter that already has close to 24,000 subscribers.
■ Set for this afternoon: A House vote on what CNN’s Brian Stelter calls “the closest NPR and PBS have ever come to a complete loss of taxpayer support.”
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■ Thanks. Curtis Noel, Ron Schwartz and Chris Koenig made this edition better.