Mark your calendars for this Friday, March 13! Swing by our local journalism pop-up at Co-Prosperity from 5-7PM to meet the humans behind some of Chicago's coolest independent newsrooms: the Chicago Reader, Lumpen Radio, and @injusticewatch.org
No injuries or deaths have been reported, though first responders were still checking for victims/assessing damage, the Kankakee County Sheriff said.
The tornado touched down intermittently before strengthening near Kankakee, per NWS meteorologist David King.
📸: @tylerplariviere.bsky.social
Another Midway Blitz defendant in Chicago is opting for trial, a federal judge is told this afternoon.
This time it's Jose Mauricio Rosas-Hernandez:
From @wsj.com:
"Of the 279 people accused by officials on X of attacking federal officers in the past year, 181 were U.S. citizens, the Journal found. Close to half of those Americans were never charged with assault. None have been convicted at trial."
www.wsj.com/us-news/immi...
The government’s official story would unravel in court — refuted by video surveillance, crime scene photos and witness statements.
Press conference not happening today at noon; has been pushed to tomorrow at 2 pm.
Per press release:
Update: Sarah Afzul, the woman's sister, told me that Naqvi has been released from a detention facility in Wisconsin, where she was transferred overnight and they've been reunited with her
FYI—we've watched Dodge County jail transport officers at Broadview before, this is a known connection point for ICE detainees:
Update: Cook County Sheriff said CBP agents told them they have no idea who she is and she was never at the facility and advised the family to file a missing person report
i might be sick but i have the world baseball classic going on two screens so everything is actually fine
it bears repeating that the Texas Supreme Court ruled that AG opinions such as these do not constitute nor overrule law. the 2023 gender affirming care ban *does not* outlaw mental health servces for children with gender dysphoria. as of now ken paxton's legal opinions of are just that: opinions
Talla Mountjoy has sat by her phone since the U.S. and Israel attacked. Bombs razed her family's neighborhood in Tehran, but they've been safe so far.
Due to communication blackouts, she can only wait for their calls.
“I just want to be able to connect with my family in real time again."
Ibrahim Abusharif, a Northwestern professor stuck in Jordan after the attacks closed local airspace, called it "yet another American-Israeli war in the Middle East"
“[The attacks] are close to the Gaza playbook with health centers and schools being targeted. It’s hard to believe that’s accidental.”
“U.S. military action may gain surface level removal of a dictator,” said Iranian Chicagoan Narimon Safavi. “[But] I don’t know if I want to be liberated by people like Netanyahu and Trump.”
w/ @kwashburn.bsky.social
“‘The persecution is the point,’ said Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Legislature, who received the [Kansas Dept of Revenue] notice on Wednesday.” To underscore that: a Kansas state legislator is among those whose driver’s license will be voided. (🎁 link:)
Johnnie Flournoy is 74 years old. He's been incarcerated since the early 1990s, and he's been going blind for much of that time. And Illinois prisons have just been letting it happen. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...
Trump is screwing up the science of sex -- and that has implications for everyone's health care. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Five months after his Operation Midway Blitz case fell apart, Ray Collins still has to warn potential employers, "I was arrested for a felony."
Still, he says "they can't tarnish who I am."
On the people left to pick up the pieces after winning in court: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Waymo didn’t give a timeline of the test or roll out, and aren’t authorized in IL (yet — Buckner’s bill could change that).
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said it was looking forward to engaging all involved parties “as we pursue constructive dialogue with our partners in Springfield.”
Cost is also a question.
Obi, a rideshare price comparison company, found that Waymos cost an average of 12.7% more than an Uber and 27.3% more than a Lyft — all more expensive than the city’s transit system, which Whitehouse worried would lose legislative resources to a “shiny distraction.”
The NTSB is also investigating in Austin, Texas, after complaints of Waymos operating unsafely around school buses.
CA’s robotaxi rules say they only have to report crashes in testing (within 10 days) and an annual report on when a human takes over the car. New rules are expected later this year.
But there are concerns about a lack of safety and accountability.
A CA cyclist is suing Waymo after a passenger opened the door when the vehicle parked in a bike lane, hitting the cyclist and throwing her off her bike, only to be hit by another Waymo dropping off another passenger in the bike lane.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, who filed a bill to establish a self-driving car pilot, said it was “a vital step toward safer streets and more accessible transportation for all our neighborhoods” in a statement from the company, which touted itself as fighting DUIs and transporting people with epilepsy.
Way no said human drivers began driving its vehicles Wednesday to help the company map the city “to lay the early groundwork for operations in Chicago.”
The cars will be used east of the Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways, from the South Loop to Wrigleyville. A timeline for the test wasn’t provided.
While the cars still have drivers (for now), Bike Lane Uprising’s Christina Whitehouse wishes the energy was aimed at transit — namely working CTA elevators.
“It’s been put on the backburner for so many years, and [public transit] has the opportunity to be great, accessible and affordable.”
🧵/7
"Books are being challenged in Scottish schools. Librarians fear a 'chilling effect' on freedom of speech"
A third are LGBTQ+
www.theferret.scot/books-scotti...
Good morning freaks & geeks! The Chicago Reader Union starts bargaining for our new contract today 🐀 🔥 Our members are united, dedicated, & strong. Follow along here & on Instagram (@chicagoreader.union) to learn how you can support us in the weeks to come.
It's gonna be a hot union spring. Workers at The TRiiBE are organizing!!! Sign their letter demanding TRiiBE management recognize their union 👉 actionnetwork.org/letters/were...
We, the staff at @thetriibe.com are unionizing. Please support us in our efforts and sign our petition.
actionnetwork.org/letters/were...
PHOTOS: I went hunting for the Chicago Waymo fleet and found them in a parking garage near the Thompson Center.
