France next week will ban unsolicited telemarketing calls under a new law aimed at protecting consumers from intrusive sales pitches and shielding vulnerable people from fraudulent commercial practices. https://to.pbs.org/4wcaKxr

France is banning unsolicited telemarketing calls starting next week

France next week will ban unsolicited telemarketing calls under a new law aimed at protecting consumers from intrusive sales pitches and shielding vulnerable people from fraudulent commercial practice...

pbs.org

Aaaaand THIS is why we love Chicago ❤️ The Budos Band right now playing a free concert in Millennium Park 🎶🎶

Despite everything going on in the world, I’m still happy to find things that surprise, amaze, and amuse. Well done, Toronto Man.

Massimo (mirror)@rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 3d ago

A Toronto man ran 1,105 kilometers (687 miles) over a year, carefully planning his routes to form the shape of a dancing figure. Original post

This should be front page news everywhere. Just astonishing. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/u...

Trump Demanded Details of Agents’ Interview of Comey, New Filing Says

The request suggests the intense personal involvement of President Trump in investigating one of his longtime critics, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey.

nytimes.com

My Chicago Sun-Times series on Lithuania in 2026 is up! I spoke with Lithuanians about democracy, defense/NATO, tariffs, history and basketball. chicago.suntimes.com/nation-world... Or easier: suntimes.com/lithuania The Chicago Sun-Times has NO PAYWALL. We are nonprofit public media. (1/7)

Chicago's Baltic Bond: Lithuania, America and Democracy

Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Stephanie Zimmermann and photo editor Ashlee Rezin traveled to Lithuania for two weeks in April as the Pulitzer Center’s 2026 Richard C. Longworth Media fellow...

chicago.suntimes.com

The 26-story Art Deco building on the Chicago River's South Branch was the first office building in the city built above railroad tracks and the first with a public plaza.

Former Chicago Daily News building now a city landmark

chicago.suntimes.com

Weird sky over the Kennedy Expressway just now.

The US built the greatest talent magnet ever, attracting the smart, skilled, and striving. They’d come to study, then stay and build things here, or leave with positive impressions and fruitful connections. Helped make the US wealthy and powerful. Then America chose to throw it away. And for what?

Ben Allen@evodynamics.bsky.social · 3w ago

Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...

AP: ICE agent who killed a man in Maine has a “troubling past” and lifelong mental health issues that “further challenges how thoroughly the Department of Homeland Security has vetted recruits as it went on a hiring spree to help carry out Trump’s immigration crackdown.” apnews.com/article/ice-...

AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to c...

apnews.com

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.” Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/b...

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

The Justice Department is seeking to compel testimony from reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One. The Times called the move a “brazen act.”

nytimes.com

A federal judge on Wednesday said it was “rich” that prosecutors had sought a longer sentence for Trent Schneider, given that President Trump pardoned scores of Jan. 6 rioters.

Suburban Chicago man gets 3 years in prison for saying Trump, others ‘should all be executed’

chicago.suntimes.com

So Trump's gas stations are the capitalist system at work ... but Mamdani's grocery stores are Karl Marx's sickle and hammer crushing the American Dream? thehill.com/policy/energ...

White House launching dozens of ‘Freedom Fuel’ gas stations

The White House has launched 25 “Freedom Fuel” gas stations in an attempt to provide Americans a cheaper option at the pump. “The FIRST Freedom Fuel Network gas station has LANDED in Philadelphia, …

thehill.com

the average price of gas when Biden left office was $3.12. Trump wants to throw a parade for himself over one station where it's $3.47.

What matters for Europe now: to accelerate the production of defence equipment. Here Europe and Ukraine will be stronger together by integrating our respective defence industries. Giving us speed, mass production and innovation. link.europa.eu/mwKqck

If I were the coach — and I would not be, as I only follow soccer/football a little bit — I would voluntarily bench Balogun for this game and try to win without him. That seems like the most honorable way out of this mess. #FIFA #USMNT

Is the gash in the room with us?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump has repeatedly claimed vandals cut a 350 foot gash. That claim is echoed in a legal filing by your department. What evidence do you have? BURGUM: Ah, well we have the actual cuts that were made S: There's a 350 foot gash? B: Well it's multiple gashes that add up to 350 feet

Here’s how some people marked the Fourth of July/250th birthday in Chicago, by @ericathompson.bsky.social who talked to folks at the Obama Center. (No paywall at your nonprofit newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times!) chicago.suntimes.com/arts-and-cul...

Obama Presidential Center visitors share 'bittersweet' reflections on America's 250th birthday

Attendees at "The People's Fourth" event discussed the country's progress and unrealized potential.

chicago.suntimes.com

Who here was a kid during that glorious summer of ‘76 and the bicentennial?

Happy 10th anniversary of this essay about the dangers of Donald Trump, written by... JD Vance. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Opioid of the Masses (From 2016)

To many, Donald Trump feels good, but he can’t fix America’s growing social and cultural crisis, and the eventual comedown will be harsh.

theatlantic.com

The white supremacist group, Patriot Front, was seen marching through Capitol Hill this morning.

This isn't made to be a criticism of Phil specifically, but I think this photo is a good example of when it's important to put race as a descriptor in alt-text for screen reader users. This photo is extra horrifying because it's a Black woman who is surrounded by Patriot Front on the metro.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · last mo.

"Members of the group Patriot Front ride the metro as a commuter looks on, during the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2026. REUTERS/Cheney Orr"

"Members of the group Patriot Front ride the metro as a commuter looks on, during the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2026. REUTERS/Cheney Orr"

ICYMI — Independence Day weekend protest: “Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity for them to honor their oath,” Air Force Major Jason Watson said. Air Force Detains Officer Who Called for Trump’s Impeachment at Capitol www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/u...

Air Force Detains Officer Who Called for Trump’s Impeachment at Capitol

nytimes.com

Various military jets flying over DC right now as they practice for tomorrow's extravaganza celebrating Trump's birthday. (Sorry, I meant the 250th anniversary.) Everything is rumbling here in Northwest DC from flyover practice runs. Insane schedule for tomorrow.

Reading this, my mind went straight to the Monty Python song “Every Sperm is Sacred” — but satire has apparently become reality (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/u...

Support Builds on the Right for Prosecuting Women Who Get Abortions

nytimes.com

Con artists posing as ICE agents and immigration officers have used WhatsApp and fake court hearings to bilk vulnerable people out of their savings with empty promises to fix immigration problems. As mass deportations continue, scam complaints soar. (Published April)

Immigration Scams Surged as Trump’s Sweeps Lured Desperate People to Eager Defrauders

Con artists posing as ICE agents and immigration officers are using WhatsApp and fake court hearings to bilk vulnerable people out of their savings with empty promises to fix immigration problems. As ...

propublica.org

Five people get the same heart test at the same hospital yet get five wildly different prices. The price for one person is $973. The price for someone else is $1,721. UChicago data scientists helped me pull back the veil to explain why. (No paywall!) (1/3) chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Hospital billing was supposed to be made simpler, but federal law has failed, Sun-Times investigation finds

Consumer advocates say there are steps you can take to protect yourself. For planned diagnostic tests, for instance, people should shop around and in some cases check a hospital's discounted cash pric...

chicago.suntimes.com

CNN has posted video of the "American flag blue" waterproofing paint peeling from the floor of the Reflecting Pool. x.com/KitMaherCNN/...

Here at the Reflecting Pool where a big chunk ofTrump's blue paint-apoxie has peeled off the bottom of the pool and is bobbling in the water.

Alexandra Jost, the Russian propagandist know for disseminating Kremlin propaganda dressed up as lifestyle content on behalf of Russia Today, has just been placed under EU sanctions. Don’t expect ‘Sasha Meets Europe’ anytime soon.