In all, groups affiliated with AIPAC spent more than $20 million to influence the outcome of four contests in Illinois’ 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th Congressional districts, according to federal campaign finance reports. https://to.wttw.com/4bwVEdz

Boyd (l.), previously the Christian publisher’s academic editorial director, will step into the role of VP and associate publisher, while Cindy Bunch (r.), who held that position for 10 of her 37 years at InterVarsity, will become senior editor-at-large.

Election Day is tomorrow! Use our Cook County judicial election guide before you head to the polls. Don’t forget: You can bring your printed selections — or your phone — with you when you vote.

I startled my dog with how loudly I cheered

Misty Copeland is always stunning, and it was so great to see her back on stage after her recent hip replacement

Who could have ever predicted this? (All of us, immediately) futurism.com/artificial-i...

Here’s an A-Z glossary of the groups that are trying to influence your vote, with financial figures reported as of Thursday morning by the Federal Election Commission.

A warning from an academict: Users of Academia.edu or any online platform should read the terms and conditions carefully, particularly when it comes to AI. And users who care about accuracy, attribution and learning should delete their accounts. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

I think it's simultaneously this and the fact that many enthusiasts seem to have a narrow sense of what job tasks are/can look like. There's a lot of "you don't understand what AI can do" coming at some of us and a legitimate response is "you don't understand what I can do, and need to, in my job."

ICYMI: Bernard Lafeyette, who cofounded SNCC and helped lead the Nashville sit-in movement before his activism in Selma for voting rights, died at 85 last week. Here's my and @kirstenfiscus.bsky.social's story in @usatoday.com: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Call for Papers: "Paul's Letter to the Romans and Christian Theology" Conference We (St Andrews and our friends at Princeton) are hosting a conference in Princeton on 23–25 October. You can propose a paper (until 31 March) and/or register at this link: ptsem.edu/event/pauls-...

Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, a U.S. citizen from Skokie, spent nearly 30 hours in custody by federal immigration officials after she was detained at O’Hare Airport last week. She was later released out of a facility in Wisconsin. Naqvi's sister called the experience "terrifying."

Fox keeps showing the Luxembourg flag 🇱🇺 instead of the Netherlands flag 🇳🇱 when their players are at bat

Readers who love nonfiction will always read nonfiction. The real shift isn’t demand, it’s attention. Books are competing in a much louder ecosystem now, but long-form thinking still and always will matter!

A WBEZ survey of the 46 Democratic congressional candidates in four key races shows the few hopefuls getting AIPAC-linked support would not answer yes or no on putting strict conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.

The Call for Papers for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, has been extended to 11:59PM ET on March 9. Don't miss this chance to engage the global community of biblical scholarship. buff.ly/4hRL28M

There are over 100 people under quarantine in Camp East Montana in El Paso due to a measles outbreak. This is due to the lack of sanitation there, experts say. This is my update to the story I wrote early today.

So cool that @authorsguild.org has a place where members can go to certify that they did not use AI in writing their books... go.authorsguild.org/account/huma...

How to use our Cook County judicial election guide in four simple steps: 1️⃣ Enter your address to find your judicial subcircuit 2️⃣ Review the candidates 3️⃣ Make your selections 4️⃣ Vote! 2026primary.injusticewatch.org

During the U.S.-Israeli attack in Iran on Saturday, dozens of people, most of them likely children, were killed when a strike hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab and a high school in Tehran, according to Iranian health officials, state media and a human rights group. trib.al/y3MsQLC

AIPAC is pouring millions of dollars into Chicago area primaries and some candidates backed by AIPAC have refused to answer questions about whether there should be strict conditions on military aid to Israel. AIPAC is supporting some of the biggest names in these races. www.wbez.org/politics/202...

who could have seen AI become weaponized by a corrupt government, except for literally everyone, as well as decades of science fiction

An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump.

PSA for UGA Press authors (all authors, really): There is a proliferation of sophisticated AI phishing scams going around. Many look legit b/c they hide behind the banner of a "book club." Please don't engage them! Here's a good blog post on the phenomenon. https://loom.ly/ahTL8A0

I'm told that it's been a year since my book on C. S. Lewis came out as an audiobook and they are running a special discount in celebration! Feel free to take a listen if you haven't had a chance already.

It's Ash Wednesday! If you're looking for Lenten companion material that's a little different from your standard devotional, I wrote a book that recommends movies for all six weeks of Lent, plus Holy Week and Easter: share.google/NQTQkr4kchEZ...

Please enjoy this. You will never see a happier pup,

“‘When the choice is between your safety and even, like, life, the choice is not, Oh, I chose to retire. No, I was pushed out,’ Papadakis says.”

"Pappas is running for re-election as county treasurer, a post she’s held since 1998. She has no challengers in the March 17 Democratic primary, and has floated running for mayor in the 2027 election," @adquig.bsky.social reports

Well, let's give it a shot again and see what we get.

I was beyond excited to get my copy of Decoy Saves Opening Day by Shohei Ohtani, and the stickers and bookmark from @honestdogbooks.bsky.social were a delightful surprise

My professor’s lecture on reading Ecclesiastes in an age of empire with “there is nothing new under the sun” felt very appropriate today.

We’re putting the finishing touches on our judicial election guide. Want to be the first to get it? Subscribe to our (free) newsletter for a first look at the guide. buff.ly/0Upa6K8

Did they also give him the necklace from 30 Rock?

Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 25, 2026

Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

Final takeaway: be nice to your publicist 🫶 There’s invisible work happening behind the scenes, and trust me, we want the coverage as much as you do. Your wins are our wins. It’s brutally competitive out there (academic books vs. commercial everything + everyone’s phone). We’re on your team :)

Hey hey, academic Booksky, first post is me doing the most publicist thing possible: 📣 sharing an interview I did about how scholars can get meaningful attention for their books. Here's a few key takeaways: yourwordsunleashed.com/ep-99-book-p...

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino lied about firing tear gas at protesters in Chicago, a federal judge ruled in November. Backgroud, from @wttw.bsky.social news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/b...

"Faith-based refugee resettlement organizations are raising alarms that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is detaining lawfully resettled refugees," reports @saraheinselen.bsky.social for @sojo.net. *lawfully resettled* let that sink in sojo.net/articles/new...

Chicago: Always Down, Never Out (No Matter What)

Lexi the dog has never watched a complete football game with me before and she is so confused this evening but enjoying all of the extra pets

This is only of the only commercials NBC/Peacock has been showing me all week

Yelling at my tv before this Bears game has even started because of how poorly these reporters are dressed for the weather.

The independent bookstore, which is closing Jan. 31, said sales dropped after Barnes & Noble opened nearby.

A lot of new nuggets in here, including the context in which ICE arrested a 5-year-old U.S. citizen and deported her to Honduras: Austin’s police chief says the girl’s mom called cops after a man she had an expired restraining order against showed up at their home.

abolish,

A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.

We’re hiring an editor in chief to execute a strategy for scrutinizing the Cook County court system, provide direction and supervision to our editorial team, and work across departments to maintain a standard of excellence that aligns with our mission. buff.ly/m2ySFTD