As other daily email news briefings abandon you this week … Chicago Public Square’s still here. Let’s get to it:
■ In a private note to colleagues obtained by the Times (gift link), the correspondent who reported the segment wrote: “Pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
■ She compares it to one of the show’s most infamous embarrassments: The suppression in 1995 of an interview with a high-ranking tobacco industry whistleblower (2016 link).
■ CBS says the story will air—eventually.
■ The decision came from the news division’s new chief, Bari Weiss …
■ … who, among other things, wanted to add an interview with Trump consigliere Stephen Miller.
■ CNN’s Brian Stelter lays out evidence suggesting “Weiss was pressured by the Trump admin … to hold the story once it was publicized” …
■ … and he reports that 60 Minutes staffers are threatening to quit.
■ CBS overlord Paramount’s upping its effort to snatch Warner Bros. Discovery out of Netflix’s clutches.
■ The Times brings receipts for this one: “Hundreds of big post-election donors have benefited from Trump’s return to office.”
Circular firing squad. In Turning Point USA’s first gathering since the assassination of its founder, Charlie Kirk, conservative leaders expended lots of energy insulting one another.
■ Columnist Robert Hubbell: Vice President Vance spewed the audience with “white supremacist language” and refused to “condemn antisemitic forces in MAGA.”
■ Columnist Steven Beschloss: “This deeply craven and ambitious man proves over and over that—with greater power—he will extend Trump’s demagoguery and divisive messages of hate.”
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson eviscerates Vance’s assertion that “the only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.”
■ “Queen of Rap” Nicki Minaj was there to praise Trump and Vance.
■ A Bridgeport neighborhood record store has received a death threat for selling “Black music, rap music, Spanish music.”
‘Flagrant violation of the deadline.’ Law professor Joyce Vance marvels at “the possibility Congress might actually … do something” about the Trump administration’s failure to comply with the Epstein Transparency Act’s requirement of the files’ full release last Friday.
■ Wonkette’s Marcie Jones: “What was released was heavily redacted, including a 119-page document that was blacked out entirely. Though the word ‘Trump’ still appears in the release more than 600 times, derp! And certain things were added, too.”
■ Wonkette’s Marcie Jones: “What was released was heavily redacted, including a 119-page document that was blacked out entirely. Though the word ‘Trump’ still appears in the release more than 600 times, derp! And certain things were added, too.”
■ Mediaite complicated things by erroneously illustrating the story with a gag image that digitally inserted a Saturday Night Live cast member into an archival shot of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
■ Below the Beltway’s created “a searchable database for the Epstein Files, including everything the DOJ wants hidden.”
‘The house is on fire, and the mayor and City Council are fighting over an array of squirt guns.’ Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg is unimpressed by dueling plans to resolve Chicago’s budget crisis: “Jacking up the tax on plastic bags just won’t do it.”
■ Axios breaks ’em both down.
■ The Tribune: Cook County property tax troubles have triggered school district budget problems—and demands for reform.
Crooks got cash. The Sun-Times reports that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and ex-Ald. Edward Burke—both convicted criminals—still have the option of dipping into their multimillion-dollar campaign funds for personal use if they choose.
■ The New York Times (gift link): “Trump has unabashedly adopted the trappings of royalty.”
Waymo trouble. A massive power outage that shut down traffic lights paralyzed a fleet of robotaxis.
■ The Times: Uber cleared violent felons to drive. Then passengers accused them of rape.
‘Welcome everyone by shouting Six-Seven! and waving your arms.’ DadWrites proprietor Michael Rosenbaum offers tips for avoiding embarrassment at your holiday dinner.
■ Author and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich makes a case for not greeting older people with “You look great!” (Which your Square columnist got a lot at a funeral a couple of weeks back.)
■ The Current warns you to beware holiday scams: AI-powered email hoaxes designed to exploit last-minute shoppers’ insecurities about gift deliveries delayed.
■ Block Club: Chicago’s in line for what could be one of its warmest Christmas Days ever.
‘I consider Public Square’s value … inestimable.’ Those lovely words last week accompanied a reader’s year-end contribution to help keep this service coming.
■ Yes, financial support is great—but so is something that won’t cost you a cent and that you can do in less than a minute: A vote or two for Square in the Reader’s Best of Chicago poll, which closes New Year’s Eve.
Thanks. Al Slater and Mike Braden made this edition better.
Thanks. Al Slater and Mike Braden made this edition better.