Daywatch: Key takeaways from the opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial
Good morning, Chicago.
Monday’s opening statements in the first criminal trial of a former American president provided a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Donald Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges on multiple fronts.
Lawyers presented dueling narratives as jurors got their first glimpse into the prosecution accusing Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to squelch negative stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign. Here’s a look at some key takeaways from opening statements.
Today in the trial, a longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes.
Also today, prosecutors are expected to tell a judge that Trump should be held in contempt over a series of posts on his Truth Social platform that they say violated an earlier gag order barring him from attacking witnesses in the case. Trump’s lawyers deny that he broke the order.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Johnson laments officer’s shooting death, says ‘policing alone’ won’t solve Chicago’s gun violence
The mayor’s remarks came on the heels of the early Sunday morning shooting of Luis Huesca as the 6-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department was heading home from his shift. The off-duty cop, just two days shy of his 31st birthday, was the first Chicago police officer slain in just under a year and the first instance of an officer killed since Mayor Brandon Johnson assumed office last May.
Logistics Campus at former Allstate headquarters off to slow start, with plans for lab-grown meat plant on hold
Announced with great fanfare in September, California-based Upside Foods said it would invest $140 million in the facility and create at least 75 new jobs, from warehousing and logistics to food production. Upside was expected to begin operations at the new plant, dubbed “Rubicon,” in 2025.
Instead, it will “significantly expand” its smaller California production facility, known as “EPIC,” before building out and launching large-scale operations in Glenview, the company announced.
Senators show confidence in Johnson’s O’Hare rebuild plan
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to tweak the massive, delayed rebuild of O’Hare International Airport got a major vote of confidence Monday from Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
Jury finds tenant guilty of dismembering beloved Rogers Park landlord
Almost everyone agreed that Frances Walker was cherished by neighbors, family and her tenants. Even the attorneys defending the woman accused of killing Walker said friends and family of the Rogers Park landlord “loved her to her core.”
The pandemic exposed staff shortages at nursing homes. A new White House push aims for a remedy.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the first rule to set minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes and require that a certain portion of the taxpayer dollars they receive go toward wages for care workers is a long-overdue “milestone” that recognizes their value to society.
Harris announced the rules in Washington before she flew to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to meet with nursing home care employees. In the battleground state, the Democratic vice president also held a campaign event focused on abortion rights.
Environmental groups, schools mobilize for Earth Day across Far South Side
After her brother died of asthma in 2009, Jermica Davis said she felt pulled to environmental justice work. This year, she spent her Earth Day picking up trash around Altgeld Gardens, the public housing community where she and her brother grew up.
Schools and environmental groups across the Far South Side mobilized for the holiday Monday, organizing trash pickups and cleanups. Davis was joined by more than 50 volunteers picking up trash down Hazel Johnson EJ Way in the Riverdale neighborhood, while more than 100 students gathered in neighboring Roseland, working down 111th Street.
Chicago Bears to announce plans Wednesday for new domed stadium on lakefront
The Bears have set noon Wednesday to announce plans for a new domed stadium on the lakefront.
The team said it plans to present a “state-of-the-art, publicly owned enclosed stadium, along with additional green and open space with access to the lakefront for families and fans, on the Museum Campus.”
NFL draft: Green Bay Packers could still look to upgrade secondary even after adding Xavier McKinney
The Green Bay Packers made a big investment in their secondary by signing safety Xavier McKinney from the New York Giants.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Packers address that area again early in the draft.
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson pledged $10M for Maui wildfire survivors. They gave much more.
When Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson launched the People’s Fund for Maui, which benefitted people who lost their homes in the wildfires, they committed $10 million and asked others to join them. At the time, the request was met with some criticism, given especially Winfrey’s wealth and extensive estate in Maui.
In the end, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a longtime nonprofit that helps celebrities administer charitable work and that managed the distribution of the funds, said it raised almost $60 million.
Callie Siskel’s poetry book ‘Two Minds’ connects with her late father Gene Siskel
Her first book, “Two Minds,” is a collection of nearly 50 poems dedicated to her father and is a stunning and stirring piece of work.
Many of the poems have been in the works for a decade, reworked and revised, and some have been previously published in such publications as The Paris Review, The Atlantic and Ploughshares. Five years ago, she began to enter various poetry contests and then started the arduous, rejection letter-filled chore of approaching publishers until W.W. Norton & Company made the right choice and published the handsome hardcover, illustrated with a photo from the Art Institute.
Experts share tips to bringing the right wine for any occasion
Choosing a bottle of wine can be a stressful task. Especially when that wine is meant for someone else.
If you’re daunted by trying to decide what wine to bring to a party, the perfect bottle for a hard-to-please mother-in-law or something to entice a prospective paramour, consider some tried-and-tested tips from Chicago wine experts.