‘The only acceptable deaths are those that are made in America.’ In what LateNighter’s Jed Rosenzweig tags as the longest Daily Show episode ever, Jon Stewart contrasted America’s aggressive response to acts of violence committed by foreigners or immigrants with its apathy in the face of similar acts committed by Americans …
■ … like the murder of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband by a man who now faces federal and state charges …
■ … which law professor Joyce Vance details here.
■ Prosecutors say he had others on his hit list.
■ The AP has assembled a timeline tracing the shooter’s footsteps from early Saturday until his surrender Monday.
■ American Freakshow columnist Nina Burleigh scrutinizes “the warrior mindset of the peculiar strand of white Christian nationalism that ‘ordained’” the suspect.
■ President Trump says he won’t call Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz about the shootings because it would be a waste of time.
■ Snopes: It’s true that Walz once appointed the suspect to an advisory board.
■ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein: Minnesota cops fueled an “insane conspiracy theory” about the assassin …
■ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein: Minnesota cops fueled an “insane conspiracy theory” about the assassin …
■ … amplified by Utah Sen. Mike Lee—singled out by Stewart last night for special contempt …
■ … and called out by Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith: “Have you absolutely no conscience? No decency?”
■ Or, as Wonkette’s Evan Hurst puts it: “Smith And Staff Concur That Mike Lee Is A Real Piece Of Sh*t.”
■ Wired tracks the rapid evolution of far-right conspiracy theories about the shooting—to protect the MAGA movement. (If you hit Wired’s paywall, paste that link into an incognito window.)
It’s coming from inside the White House! Jen Rubin at The Contrarian: “The violence and incitement are coming from Trump.”
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones reviews 10 years of Trump, 10 years of media attacks.
■ Politico editor-in-chief Katie Sanders, rereading Trump’s 2015 presidential announcement speech: “I’m struck by Trump’s consistency.”
■ Columnist Eric Zorn on the prospect that Trump might pardon convicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan: “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
‘I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable.’ A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for research related to racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people.
■ Protect Democracy special counsel Shalini Goel Agarwal: “This is far from the end of the effort to protect science, knowledge, and discovery from politicization by an autocratic agenda … but it’s a mighty strong start.”
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: Judges keep pushing back on Trump’s destructive moves.
■ Popular Information: Trump’s about-face on roundups of immigrants in the agricultural and hospitality industries benefits his top donors.
■ A bill before California lawmakers could subject local, state and federal law enforcers who cover their faces in the course of official business to misdemeanor charges.
‘The Trump slump.’ Gov. Pritzker’s signed a state budget shaped by tough choices—which he attributes to “lagging national economic growth estimates … high tariffs and bad policy choices” under the Trump administration.
■ Politico’s Shia Kapos: “Pritzker v. Trump. Get used to it.”
‘Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!’ That’s Trump on social media yesterday, echoing Israel’s threat to hundreds of thousands of Iranian residents.
■ In These Times: Chicago Jewish activists opposed to Israel’s military policies have launched a hunger strike.
Drug dangers. ProPublica: “For more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.”
■ Wonkette’s Marcie Jones: “Doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs … can refuse to treat patients based on certain personal characteristics”—like whether they’re unmarried, or, you know, Democrats.
‘There’s no one I would trust more with my location, my passwords and financial information, my text messages and recordings of my phone calls than Donald J. Trump and his abundantly ethical family.’ USA Today’s Rex Huppke welcomes news that the Trump family business is launching a mobile phone service.
■ Seth Meyers: “Best of all, you won’t have any need for a friends and family plan.”
■ Wired has nine urgent questions about the company …
■ … and offers a guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance.
He may yet sleep easy. Although Trump sycophant and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s been found guilty of defaming a former worker with a voting equipment company …
■ … he dodged a big financial hit and his company escaped unscathed.
‘F__k ICE.’ Block Club reports that Chicago’s James Beard Foundation Award-winners, named yesterday, used the occasion to condemn Trump administration policies.
■ Motel 6’s longtime commercial voice—and NPR veteran—Tom Bodett is suing the chain.
It’s baaaaack. Downtown street closures begin Thursday ahead of the 2025 edition of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.
■ Today’s high temperatures are a prelude to some potentially big storms.
Streaming rising. The Nielsen ratings service marks “a historic milestone”: Streaming’s share of all TV usage last month topped broadcast and cable’s shares combined.
■ Fired by ABC News after condemning Trump lackey Stephen Miller, Terry Moran’s now doing just fine on Substack.
Chicago Public Square mailbag. Reader Benjy Blenner calls for escalating rhetorical resistance to Trump’s administration: “We need to stop saying that ‘This is Trump.’ Trump is a symptom. This is Republicans. Every. Last. One. Everyone just says ‘No Kings,’ but we have a king only because Republicans are enabling it. Why don’t we call that out?”
■ Stop the Presses columnist Mark Jacob’s disappointed by how quickly the “No Kings” protest story faded: “By Sunday, it was barely mentioned on the homepages of many major news websites.”
■ Yesterday’s Square misidentified the site on which readers are invited to share their photos of iconic locations or newsworthy events—including the “No Kings” demonstrations: It’s a Flickr group, where all are welcome. (Photo: Ving60618’s contribution.)
■ Mike Braden made this edition better.