Dems’ dilemma. Updating coverage: Ahead of a midnight deadline, Senate Democrats faced a choice of helping pass a continuing resolution that would let President Trump continue to devastate government—or voting no and letting the government shut down for lack of funding …
■ … and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he’d help pass the resolution …
■ … enraging House Democrats, who voted almost unanimously the other way …
■ … including New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who’s reportedly being encouraged to challenge Schumer in a primary)…
■ … and Illinois’ Sean Casten.
■ Lawfare editor-in-chief and Washington Post alumnus Ben Wittes writes that Trump and Schumer have this in common: “Both negotiate with terrorists and give away all their negotiating leverage preemptively.”
■ Trump niece/critic Mary L. Trump says Democrats have locked themselves into a false choice: “Let Republicans take responsibility for their bill. … If there were to be a shutdown, it would not be because of anything the Democrats did.”
Back to work. Two federal judges are ordering the Trump administration to rehire—at least temporarily—thousands of probationary workers.
■ Jimmy Kimmel: “You know, there was a time when firing people was the only thing Donald Trump was good at.”
‘DOGE-bags.’ Gov. Pritzker went there yesterday, condemning Trump and Musk’s “bootlickers” for their moves to eliminate the Education Department.
■ A new Justice Department “Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism” aims to investigate alleged antisemitism at college campuses here.
■ The Associated Press: Trump’s administration is in talks to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Africa.
■ A University of Michigan historian: “Superhero comics tell the story of Jewish America.”
‘Way outside the bounds of the legal guardrails.’ Chicago immigration lawyers and the ACLU are taking the Trump administration to court, accusing federal agents of violating immigrants’ rights.
■ Public Notice columnist Lisa Needham: Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest “is an attack on the Constitution.”
■ Trump’s Homeland Security deputy secretary seems unable or unwilling to explain the arrest.
■ Mahmoud’s suing Columbia.
■ The Wall Street Journal (gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters): Scrambling to avoid becoming Trump’s next target, universities nationwide are canceling events and rescinding grad school offers.
■ The AP: More than 50 campuses are already under the microscope.
The week in Musk. Looking back, Musk Watch declares the White House now a Tesla dealership.
■ Musk’s still high on Hitler: Yesterday, he retweeted a post exonerating the dictator for the murders of millions.
■ Wired identifies “the 10 DOGE Operatives Inside the Social Security Administration.”
■ USA Today’s Chicago-based columnist Rex Huppke: “The time for Americans to demand Elon Musk’s removal from the federal government is now.”
Chicago’s ‘hate spree.’ Unraveled identifies a cluster of local white nationalists responsible for “racist, anti-immigrant, and antisemitic messaging” across Chicago and its suburbs, including “stickering, leaving flyers on vehicles, displaying banners over highways, and demonstrations at holiday events.”
■ Key to the revelation: “Leaked phone call audio obtained from an antifascist activist who was vetted into the group’s inner circle.”
Curtains! The nation’s nominal vice president, JD Vance, was booed last night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
■ Columnist Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week: Trump Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, for cutting $1 billion to buy food from local farms for schools and food banks.
■ Andy Borowitz jokes: “Trump’s 200% Tariff on European Alcohol Causes Pete Hegseth to Angrily Resign.”
Reasons to be cheerful. Ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich offers 10 things to justify modest optimism in the face of “horrendous Trump news.”
■ Stephen Colbert on the theft of wheels from Teslas in a Texas parking lot: “I do not condone this, but I do appreciate your tire-less efforts.”
‘Go 8 for 8 and give yourself a gold star.’ Quizmaster and past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel doesn’t really hand out prizes for his weekly news quiz. But if you make it to the end, you’ll learn how to land a copy of his new book—which, as of this writing, is the No. 1 new release in Amazon’s Words, Language & Grammar Reference section.
■ Your Chicago Public Square columnist went a middlin’ 6 for 8.
‘How great is a nation, really, if you can’t drink the water?’ Columnist Neil Steinberg mourns the Environmental Protection Agency’s imminent demise.
■ Journalist Dan Rather: The Trump administration’s rebranding of the EPA “goes further than our worst nightmares when it comes to protecting the earth and human life.”
■ Your Local Epidemiologist tackles questions about MMR and measles protection.
Wild wildlife. Chicago’s newest celebrity critter: “Ida Beav Wells.”
■ The Onion: “More Americans Moving Away From Urban Areas For Rural Life Where They Have Escalating Feud With Beaver.”
Did you see it? The “Blood Worm Moon” appeared in Chicago skies overnight, as the sun, Earth and moon aligned so that Earth cast its shadow on the moon.
Chicago Public Square mailbag. Sun-Times reporter Tim Novak writes to clarify his status as the paper offers—and some staffers accept—buyouts: “I retired on my own terms, a decision I announced weeks earlier. … The Sun-Times wishes me to continue to produce stories at my own pace, and I am delighted to continue in this new capacity.”
■ Addressing criticism that Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s office hasn’t been welcoming public comment, reader Benjy Blenner writes: “For the last month, I have called Sen. Duckworth, Sen. Durbin and my congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, every weekday. … About 70% of the time, I get a person at Sen. Duckworth’s office. 99% of the time, I talk to a person at Rep. Schakowsky’s. I have never talked to anyone at the Durbin office. While I do wish that Sen. Durbin answered his phones, if Mr. Collins isn’t getting even voicemail, he’s clearly not calling the right numbers. The key is to find the local offices. I had to call a lot before I got numbers that worked.” Blenner adds that Durbin’s team did personally answer his email. And he shares these numbers:
312-353-4952 for Durbin312-886-3506 for Duckworth773-506-7100 for Schakowsky
■ Want to reach others in Congress? 5calls.org spares you the research. And Indivisible Chicago says now’s the time to do it.
■ And updating yesterday’s item about the bricking of Google Chromecast devices: The company says it’s rolling out a fix.
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