Mississippi Goddam. Democrat Scott Colom’s been elected that state’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction—its first new Democratic senator since 1947.
■ Columnist Charlotte Clymer: “Don’t call it the Mississippi Miracle. This was grit and heart all the way through.”
■ Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias: “If Republicans had had their way, these ballots never would have been counted.”
■ Mississippi’s first most recent previous Black senator: Blanche Bruce, who served from 1875 to 1881 …
■ … but who wasn’t wasn’t directly elected by the people.
■ Bloomberg (gift link): “Democrats won the South. Now their challenge is to keep it.”
■ That subhead’s a nod to a song by Nina Simone.
■ Progress Report: Democrats have now flipped almost 600 seats across the nation.
‘Note to Democratic leadership: Not a great start.’ Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes has a message for 11 party members—including Illinois’ Jonathan Jackson—who missed Tuesday night’s vote on impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
■ … which failed by just seven votes.
■ Their absence drew mockery from Desi Lydic at The Daily Show: “Even Mitch McConnell finds a way to show up for work, and he died years ago.”
‘Why Hegseth is hated by so many.’ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein: “One might think that the secretary … would be popular among ordinary service members. He isn’t.”
■ Hegseth and his staff got reprimanded on Veterans Day by a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
■ See that moment here.
Dear Whistleblowers … Trump administration whistleblower turned documentarian Miles Taylor shares tips for those considering doing the same now.
■ Columnist Shanley Hurt: “The White House has apparently received the election results and concluded that the real threat to the republic is someone asking follow-up questions” …
■ Columnist and former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “By preemptively threatening Democrats investigating his administration, Trump confesses to his own corruption.”
■ Columnist/lawyer Mitch Jackson on Republicans’ choice for Senate House minority leader: “Jim Jordan is the guy who couldn’t answer a simple question about speaking to Trump on Jan. 6.”
‘Few individuals have been more instrumental to the White House’s campaign to weaken the First Amendment.’ Reporters Without Borders is calling for Congress to impeach Trump’s sycophantic Federal Communications Commission chair.
■ Critic Bill Carter: “If it does … a big reason will be: Late-night television.”
‘The most-cited legal scholar of the latter half of the 20th century.’ The New York Times (gift link) notes the death of former federal appeals court judge and former University of Chicago law professor Richard Posner.
■ The Tribune (free link): “Known as a conservative at the time of his appointment, Posner … often came down in favor of more liberal issues such as gay marriage and abortion rights.”
■ Chicago federal Judge April Perry has shut down the Trump Justice Department’s effort to derail a hearing into prosecutorial misconduct in the “Broadview Six” case.
Flush with success. Chicago’s first self-cleaning public restroom is open for, you know … business.
■ Peoples Gas customers are due to get $56 back in credits on their bills this month.
‘The Great Lakes Century!’ Satirist and Politically Correct Bedtime Stories author James Finn Garner says the Chicago region’s time is now—and he has receipts to prove it.
■ Speaking of books for kids, journalist and Medill Innocence Project founder David Protess has published Bedtime Stories Only a Grandparent Can Tell.
Outta there. After exposure of an affair that raised national and corporate security concerns, artificial intelligence tech leader Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has quit as head of one of the world’s largest companies.
■ The Associated Press shares what we know about the woman at the center of the scandal.
■ Huang’s successor, at least temporarily: The woman who’s been the company’s chief financial officer.
‘Hey Google, nice try. We don’t want your Gemini.’ That was the chant outside the company’s Chicago HQ yesterday as parents protested its imposition of AI features on schools using its basic search function.
■ A Tribune editorial (gift link): “Google without the AI … shouldn’t be an impossible ask.”
■ The Onion: “The only corporation that should have this much power over our school system is Ticonderoga.”
■ The Investigative Project on Race & Equity: Black and Latino teens are bearing the brunt of Chicago’s curfew enforcement.
Sweet sorrow. Ferrara Candy Co.’s closing its Little Village plant in April, laying off more than 150 workers …
■ … but they can apply for other jobs in the company.
■ Speaking of endangered jobs: Amazon’s launched delivery by drones in the south and southwest suburbs.
‘1,000 journalists laid off in 30 days.’ The 4th Estate: “News organizations are bleeding staff, and no one is paying attention.”
■ The Online News Association, founded in Chicago in 1999, is at the end of its rope.
■ Poynter columnist Kristen Hare: “I’m not sure if it’s the end of an era [or] the era was already over.”
■ Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi: “National news outlets landed the biggest stories of the 2026 campaign … revealing the hollowing out of newsrooms in towns and cities across the country.”
■ ProPublica co-founder Dick Tofel: “The sheer aggregate scale of American nonprofit news is strong evidence that there has been a market failure. … There is no meaningful provision in our society … of nonprofit hamburgers or clothes or cars. The market amply provides them.”
Square mailbag.
■ Mike Braden noted that Monday’s edition misspelled the last name of Chicago City Council member Gardiner.
■ Barry Koehler on Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias’ critique of Sunday’s 60 Minutes: “If you’re going to report an article damning the show for not asking about election lies, then it would only be fair to report on Jon Stewart’s piece on The Daily Show, which gave 60 Minutes credit for what it did reveal.” Related: Columnist Parker Molloy says, “60 Minutes edited Trump the way he sued them for editing Harris.”
■ Braden, Jim Haglund, Chris Koenig, Julie Ross, Joan Pederson and Marj Halperin made this edition better.
‘I hope you won’t retire since Dems are taking over. We have two years+ of MESS yet to come and cover! 💗’ Those kind words accompanied a pledge of support for Chicago Public Square. If you pitch in as little as $1, just once, your name will appear atop the next roll call of gratitude in this space …
■ … you know, like Paul Crossey, Patrick Olsen, Jerry Ostergaard, Michael Weiland, Michelle Paulsen, Allan Hippensteel, Bernard Schoenburg, Mary Godlewski, Joe Lynn, Virginia Mann, Mike Krauser, Sandy Kaczmarski, Lawrence Weiland, David Weindling, Paula Donato, Sara Burrows, Ryan Bird, Susan Parks, Gary Strokosch, Ryan Osborn, Wendy Greenhouse, John Evans, Julie Vassilatos, Ann Marie Testa, Michele Bukowski, Bob Izral, Ila Lewis, Rosemary Caruk, Art Golab, Colette Verdun, Carolyn Potts, Ben Orzeske, Mary Paxson, John Iltis, Larry Perlman, k.h., Peter Economos, Timothy Gallagher, Rick Kogan, JM, Laura Braden Temple, Bob Kaige, Cheryl Foertsch, Mike Salerno, Audrey Sostak, Keith Huizinga, Craig Cheslog, Stephanie Goldberg, R Carney, Amy Dixon-Kolar, Judith Galleazzi, Michael James Hovel, Jane Hirt, Victoria Long, Maureen Stratton, Dave Connell, Myrel Cooke, Joan Pederson, Jill Chukerman, Rebecca Ewan, James Gardner, Norm Hirsch, Martha Swisher, Victoria Quero, Fredric Stein, Maryanne Peterson, Marc Morency, Ann Johnson Arellano, Andy Buchanan, Sandy & Jeremy Lipschultz, Sam Hochberg, Steve Cooper, Susan Franer, Sonya Booth, Judy Davy, Ronald A. Fox, Bruce Buursma, Tim Ward, Charles Marker, Dan Shannon, Michael Phillips, John Kowalski, Robert Alan Innocenzi, Laurel Breuer, Jean Moran, Jean Remsen, Paul Kungl, Matt Baron, Cory Brown, Hilary Mac Austin, Jeanette Mancusi, David Augustus, Lynn Gilly, Glenn Jeffers, Beth Marcou, Lisa Price, Robert S. Gold, Mike Schultz, Becky Brofman, Jeanne Mcinerney, Neal Kleemann, Mark Zegan, Rick Hutt, Timothy Sheridan, Kathy Burger, Andy Simon, Tony Judge, Another Debbie Becker, Jeanne Loshbough, Mark Edwards, Deborah Kadin, Mana Ionescu, Scott Sachnoff, Laurie Huget, Steve Nidetz, Shelley Krause, Danny Horvath, Judith Alexander, Roy Plotnick and Rhona Taylor.
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