Good morning, Chicago.
President Joe Biden’s ability to run for reelection faced crucial tests yesterday as he prepared for questions at a highly anticipated press conference and his team met privately with skeptical senators on Capitol Hill.
He forcefully declared he would stay in the race and would win. “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started,” Biden said as he insisted his support among the electorate was strong.
More House Democrats called for him to exit the race — including a second from Illinois — and he made a notable flub ahead of the press conference.
In announcing a compact that would bring together NATO countries to support Ukraine, Biden referred to the nation’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” to audible gasps in the room. He quickly returned to the microphone: “President Putin – he’s going to beat President Putin … President Zelenskyy,” Biden said.
During the press conference, he mixed up Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, saying, “I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President if she wasn’t qualified.”
Fumbles notwithstanding, the president pushed back at every suggestion that was slowing down or showing noticeable signs of decline, or that he was not in command of the job. But he was facing a growing chorus of calls from lawmakers, celebrities and other prominent Democrats to step aside from the 2024 race.
Here are some key takeaways from Biden’s news conference.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition
Donald Trump’s lawyers press judge to overturn hush money conviction after Supreme Court immunity ruling
Trump’s lawyers are urging the judge in his New York hush money case to overturn his conviction and dismiss the case in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
The former president’s lawyers wrote in papers made public Thursday that prosecutors rushed to try Trump in the spring while the high court was still considering his immunity claims.
Illinois GOP set to select one of three finalists for state chair
Illinois’ Republican leaders are set to meet virtually Friday to select a successor to Don Tracy, who resigned the state GOP chairmanship last month in frustration over party infighting.
Bally’s Chicago secures casino financing, unveils new hotel design
One week after taking possession of the Freedom Center printing plant, Bally’s has secured the needed financing to supplant it with a $1.7 billion Chicago casino complex on the 30-acre site in River West.
Bally’s announced a deal today with Gaming & Leisure Properties, a Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust, to provide $940 million to fund the construction of the permanent casino.
Chicago queer community rallies for safe return of Taylor Casey, Black trans woman and local activist still missing in the Bahamas
Friends and family of a woman who has advocated for queer young people in Chicago for more than a decade spent her birthday Thursday gathered outside of City Hall in the rain to demand answers about her disappearance in the Bahamas three weeks ago.
Fire department sexist hiring lawsuit nets $11.25 million proposed settlement
A lawsuit alleging the Chicago Fire Department used unnecessary physical tests to continue a “stubborn and purposeful” effort to block women from becoming paramedics could soon end in a $11.25 million settlement.
US appeals court says some NCAA athletes may qualify as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws
College athletes whose efforts primarily benefit their schools may qualify as employees deserving of pay under federal wage-and-hour laws, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday in a setback to the NCAA.
The court, in the latest challenge to the NCAA’s long-held notion of “amateurism” in college sports, said that a test should be developed to differentiate between students who play college sports for fun and those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work.”
Chicago Cubs complete a dominant sweep of the Baltimore Orioles after placing Cody Bellinger on the IL with a fractured finger
Just as the Cubs are starting to roll in their best stretch since April, they will be without one of their best hitters during the important lead-up to the July 30 trade deadline.
4 things to watch for as the Bulls open summer-league play, including Matas Buzelis’ pro readiness and a few local connections
The Bulls will head to the desert this week for one of the final steps of the offseason: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The Bulls will play four games before the knockout stage of the tournament: the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and Atlanta Hawks on July 19.
In appreciation: Shelley Duvall was a singular actor who thrived in the hothouse of ’70s cinema
The movie world was not a childhood dream for Shelley Duvall, but she made that world her own in a career alternately championed or too often thwarted by her directors. She didn’t look or listen or hold a close-up like anyone else. She stood out as singular, tendril-like presence in an industry full of artificial plants.
Soon-to-be renamed Revival Food Hall will remain open, rebrand under Atlanta-based hospitality management company
Not long after Revival Food Hall said they would close at the end of the month, an Atlanta-based hospitality management company announced Wednesday that it was taking over, effective immediately.
Review: ‘Last Summer’ is a gripping psychosexual triangle for a French couple and stepson
Opening this week at the Gene Siskel Film Center, the suspenseful, elegantly destabilizing “Last Summer” concerns a defense attorney, her businessman husband, her husband’s teenaged son from an earlier marriage — and a particularly dangerous corner of sensual recklessness, price unknown, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
Kali Uchis performs at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood on May 15, 2023, as part of her Red Moon In Venus Tour. Uchis is a headliner for Miche Fest this weekend. (Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune)
What to do in Chicago: Miche Fest, Smokeout and a Godzilla gathering in Rosemont
Also on our Top 10 this week, Def Leppard plays Wrigley and a Mexican dance company performs in Aurora.
