What it means / News quiz / Weekly Dingus / Special offer

Chicago Public Square returns in force Monday. Around the clock and through the weekend, get your fix of breaking news and commentary—including consequences of and reaction to the tax and spending legislation Donald Trump was set to sign this afternoon—via the Square Bluesky account.

■ Also: The Onion’s accounting of “What’s In Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.”

‘Go 8-for-8 and award yourself a gold sparkler.’ The Conversation’s quizmaster, past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel, has whipped up a news quiz that hinges on “a patriotic smorgasbord of grilling, soft drinks, car crashes and the Great Lakes.”

■ Go at least 7-for-8 and you get to brag you beat your Square columnist (X✔X✔✔✔✔✔).

‘The What If We Made Out With Mark Zuckerberg Inside a Shuttered Rural Hospital Bill finally passed because Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski ultimately caved and voted yes.’ And so Murkowski lands columnist Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week honor.

■ Pulitzer winner Dave Barry on Independence Day’s significance: “Our Founding Fathers—men such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Grizzly Adams and Lin-Manuel Miranda—…declared that Americans were … finally free, in the immortal words penned by Thomas Jefferson: To spell ‘color’ and ‘humor’ without that stupid u; to put ice cubes in soft drinks; to pronounce all the syllables in ‘Worcestershire’; and to legalize dentistry.”

Special holiday offer. You know how you normally can support Chicago Public Square for any amount you choose? This Independence Day weekend, you can support Square for just half that amount …

■ … so long as that amount is at least $2 …

■ … because there’s a $1 minimum.

■ PayPal works, too.

■ Mike Braden made this edition better.

‘A quisling of journalism’ / Pritzker’s choice / ‘Burn this place to the ground’

Let’s be independent together. Chicago Public Square will take the next couple of days off. But you’ll find The Conversation’s weekly news quiz in your inbox as usual Friday.

■ As ever, you can follow breaking news and commentary through the long weekend via the Square account on Bluesky.

‘A quisling of journalism.’ That’s Stop the Presses columnist Mark Jacob’s assessment of CBS parent Paramount’s $16 million settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit over 60 Minutes’ editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. (Image: ChatGPT.)

■ CNN’s Brian Stelter: “CBS News did nothing wrong. But its parent company still paid the price.”

■ Not-coincidentally: Paramount needs federal approval for its sale to a company controlled by the son of a tech billionaire who’s backed Trump.

■ In its defense, the company says the settlement doesn’t include an apology.

■ Ex-Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “Coward billionaire … Shari Redstone’s deal with Trump is a deal with the devil—and it threatens us all.”

■ Pulitzer winner Gene Weingarten snarks: “See? BS.”

■ It may not be over: The Freedom of the Press Foundation has said it’ll sue over the settlement itself (May link).

■ Zeteo: “The BBC refused to air this film on Gaza—so now we’re releasing it to the world.”

■ Longtime Chicago TV executive Bill Applegate is dead at 79.

■ At Applegate’s retirement in 2014, local media journalist Robert Feder reviewed his 45-year career.

Well, it’s a bit shorter. Updating coverage from the AP: The U.S. House was gathering for a climactic vote on the Senate’s slightly trimmer—now just 887 pages—version of Trump’s “sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities.”

■ The AP updates what’s in the Senate version …

■ … which you can read for yourself here.

■ Jeff Tiedrich: “I’d love to predict the imminent demise of the Republican Party, because none of this shit is popular. … But the average MAGA is basically the guy from Memento, who literally can’t remember what happened five minutes ago.” (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)

■ Senate action took at least some House members by surprise—prompting a scramble back to D.C.

■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “While the measure slashes public welfare programs, it pours $170.7 billion into immigration enforcement.”

Gator garbage. PolitiFact takes a microscope to things Trump said as he visited Florida’s detestable “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention facility in the Everglades.

■ Law prof Joyce Vance: The official White House social media account shared “an absolutely disgusting image, associating Trump with the alligator and swamp-snake guarded prison.”

‘We should be ashamed of ourselves.’ A Chicago City Council member’s among those frustrated by a failure to investigate police cooperation in a federal raid on an immigration office last month …

■ … even though city law limits cops’ role in immigration actions.

And now on a ‘Do Not Hire’ list. A Chicago lifeguard accused of murder has quit before he could be fired.

■ Outraged community members want more from the Chicago Park District.

Pritzker’s choice. As his present lieutenant governor runs for the Senate, the governor’s picked former deputy governor and veteran state lawmaker Christian Mitchell as his running mate for next year.

■ Mitchell’s leaving his present job at the University of Chicago.

Schools out … $7 billion. The Trump administration’s withholding almost that much for K-12 schools—money that was supposed to go out yesterday—creating a massive budget crunch for educators across the country.

■ WBEZ: Chicago schools are cutting staff assigned to special education students.

‘Riders rise up.’ With public transit in Illinois tottering at the edge of a fiscal cliff, organizers have set July 12 for a rally demanding state lawmakers get back to Springfield and figure things out.

■ Streetsblog Chicago: “Trump’s USDOT secretary wants you to drive to Midwest landmarks. Here are some car-free alternatives.”

Welcome to ‘Plastic Free July.’ Here’s what you can do to play along.

■ ProPublica: “Trump’s first EPA promised to crack down on forever chemicals. His second EPA is pulling back.”

Hard times at Microsoft. In its second mass layoff this year, the company’s cutting thousands of workers …

■ … as it bets big on artificial intelligence.

‘Burn this place to the ground.’ Men Yell at Me columnist Lyz Lenz sees a millennial revolution brewing.

■ Wisconsin’s Supreme Court liberal majority has struck down a 176-year-old ban on abortion.

Looking for fireworks on the 4th? You won’t find ’em at Navy Pier this year.

■ Here’s where they will be.

A Square public service announcement

The James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy is working to ensure all children have justice in the courtroom, access to the classroom, and restoration in their community. Learn more and support their free lifeline of integrated legal, mental health and restorative services for youth and families at moran-center.org.