The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for May 3
Well, it's May and you know what that means … May Day!
Thousands rallied downtown on Thursday to commemorate the annual celebration with Chicago roots. Organized labor and activist groups marched from Union Park to Grant Park, calling for workers' rights and fair wages and protesting President Donald Trump's policies targeting immigrants, federal employees and workplace diversity programs.
The president, meanwhile, marked his first 100 days in office this week and released his 2026 budget plan, which would slash most domestic spending while increasing expenditures on national security.
Bringing to an end an almost five-year ordeal, the Chicago Park District announced Thursday they reached a deal to end a lawsuit brought over the removal of Christopher Columbus statues from city parks during the 2020 protests. In the burgeoning race for Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin's seat, Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorsed Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, giving her backing from two of the state's highest-ranking Democrats. Plus, in an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Thursday night, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he has not made up his mind about a third term and demurred on a 2028 presidential run.
Downstate, three children and a teenager were killed and several others injured Monday afternoon when a vehicle plowed through an after-school facility just outside Springfield. A Plainfield landlord was sentenced to 53 years in prison Friday for the murder of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and the attempted murder of the boy's mother in October 2023, an attack a jury found to be a hate crime spurred by the war in Gaza. And former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, the one-term leader who halted the state's death penalty before being imprisoned on federal corruption charges, died Friday in hospice in his hometown of Kankakee. He was 91.
During Wednesday night's game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, a fan fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field. The man remains in critical condition.
In other news, the 2025 Tony Award nominations were announced Thursday, including several nods for Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Portillo's is giving away free sandwiches in May and a local science teacher was named Illinois Teacher of the Year.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texas Republicans approve Trump-backed congressional map to protect party's majority
Texas legislators on Wednesday approved a new state congressional map drawn at the behest of President Donald Trump to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked passage. Republican legislators, who have dominated Texas politics for over two decades, have undertaken a rare mid-decade redistricting to help Trump improve their party's odds of preserving its narrow U.S. House of Representatives majority amid political headwinds. Legislators approved the new map in an 88-52 vote along party lines; under the body's procedural rules, final passage of the bill will require another vote that was expected later Wednesday. The map, which will have to be reconciled with the state Senate's version, has triggered a national redistricting war, with governors of both parties threatening to initiate similar efforts in other states. Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is advancing an effort to redraw his state's map to flip five Republican seats. Democratic-controlled California is the nation's most populous state while Republican-led Texas is the second most populous. The Texas map would shift conservative voters into districts currently held by Democrats and combine some districts that Democrats hold. Other Republican states -- including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri -- are moving forward with or considering their own redistricting efforts, as are Democratic states such as Maryland and Illinois. Redistricting typically occurs every 10 years after the U.S. Census to account for population changes, and mid-decade redistricting has historically been unusual. Whenever the maps are drawn, in many states, lawmakers manipulate the lines to favor their party over the opposition, a practice known as gerrymandering. Texas Democrats on Wednesday raised multiple objections to and questions about the measure. Representative John Bucy, a Democrat, said from the House floor before passage of the bill that the new maps were clearly intended to dilute the voting power of Black, Latino and Asian voters, and that his Republican colleagues bending to the will of Trump was deeply worrying. "This is not democracy, this is authoritarianism in real time," Bucy said. "This is Donald Trump's map. It clearly and deliberately manufactures five more Republican seats in Congress because Trump himself knows the voters are rejecting his agenda." Republicans argued the map was created to improve political performance and would increase majority Hispanic districts. Bucy was among the Democrats who fled the state earlier this month to deny the Texas House a quorum. In response, Republicans undertook extraordinary measures to try to force the Democrats home, including filing lawsuits to remove them from office and issuing arrest warrants. The walkout ended when Democrats voluntarily returned on Monday, saying they had accomplished their goals of blocking a vote during a first special legislative session and persuading Democrats in other states to take retaliatory steps. Republican House leadership assigned state law enforcement officers to monitor Democrats to ensure they would not leave the state again. One Democratic representative, Nicole Collier, slept in the Capitol building on Monday night rather than accept a police escort. Republicans, including Trump, have openly acknowledged that the new map is aimed at increasing their political power. The party currently controls 25 of the state's 38 districts under a Republican-drawn map that was passed four years ago. Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new map dilutes the voting power of racial minorities in violation of federal law and have vowed to sue. Nationally, Republicans captured the 435-seat U.S. House in 2024 by only three seats. The party of the president historically loses House seats in the first midterm election, and Trump's approval ratings have sagged since he took office in January. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas GOP passes Texas redistricting map to boost Trump in 2026
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Monks thanked Trump for role in peace talks between Cambodia and Thailand. Here's context
Claim: A group of Cambodian monks thanked U.S. President Donald Trump in summer 2025 for ending a war between Cambodia and Thailand. Rating: What's True: Cambodian monks on a march for peace thanked Trump for his role pressuring the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand to agree to a ceasefire following an armed conflict between the two countries. What's False: While Trump contributed to the truce, he did not "end a war" between Cambodia and Thailand. The ceasefire occurred after 5 days of armed conflict at the border between the two countries, not a sustained war, and a ceasefire refers to a temporary pause in conflict, not a permanent end. In August 2025, a claim spread online that a group of Cambodian monks had thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for ending a war between their country and Thailand. Many of the posts included one or more images that appeared to show monks in orange robes holding signs with pictures of Trump's face. The rumor spread on X, Facebook and Instagram. One post spreading the claim, from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, received over 45,000 likes on X as of this writing. These posts need context. It is true that a group of Cambodian monks thanked Trump for his peacemaking efforts. However, they expressed gratitude to the U.S. president for his role in helping broker a temporary pause in fighting, also known as a ceasefire, between Cambodia and Thailand — not for permanently ending any war between the two countries. As a result of the July 28, 2025, ceasefire agreement, Cambodia and Thailand paused fighting in a five-day armed conflict at the neighboring countries' border. While the territorial dispute resulted in the deadliest escalation of violence between Cambodia and Thailand since 2011, neither side officially declared war — and journalists and diplomats, as of this writing, have largely not described it as such. Thus, we rate this claim a mixture of truth and falsehood. Monks thanked Trump On Aug. 10, 2025, a group of Cambodian Buddhist monks participated in a march for peace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, amid reports that the two neighboring countries accused the other of violating the ceasefire. Some of these monks carried signs with a picture of Trump that said: "Thank you! Mr. President." Images of the march and these signs were available through Getty Images, a reputable image bank. Several credible news outlets, including Reuters, also published various pictures and videos of the monks with their posters, further indicating that monks did, in fact, hold up portraits of Trump alongside a message of thanks. According to Reuters, the march "stopped briefly at the US embassy to show gratitude to Trump for initiating the ceasefire agreement." Why the monks thanked Trump On July 26, 2025, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he spoke to the leaders of both countries to "request a Ceasefire, and END to the War, which is currently raging." In his post, he added that he told both countries he would not negotiate any trade deal with either side until the fighting stopped. Two days later, Thailand and Cambodia came to a ceasefire agreement. At the time of Trump's threat, both countries faced a potential 36% U.S. tariff that would have begun on Aug. 1. Three days after the ceasefire announcement, the White House announced a reduction in the tariff rate for both countries to 19%. In a July 31 exclusive, Reuters reported that Trump's call "prompted Thailand to join ceasefire talks." Snopes cannot independently verify Reuters' report. However, according to multiple reputable outlets, after Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, agreed on the ceasefire, both thanked Trump. (They also thanked Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who hosted the peace talks, and China, whose diplomats participated in the meeting.) On Aug. 7, Hun Manet also posted a letter on Facebook nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize "for his crucial role in restoring peace and stability at the border between Cambodia and Thailand." Thus, reputable reports and statements from Cambodia and Thailand's leaders indicated Trump had a legitimate and significant role in the ceasefire agreement. With this context, it is clear that the monks' thank you signs referenced Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire. Trump helped pause a conflict, not 'end a war' While Trump referred to the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand as a "war" in his Truth Social post, neither Cambodia nor Thailand have officially declared war against each other over the border conflict as of this writing, based on a search for news articles about a war declaration. The New York Times reported that Wechayachai warned on July 25 that the border dispute "could develop into war," suggesting that Thailand's leader, at least, did not consider the conflict a "war." On occasion, journalists and experts will refer to a conflict as a war even if the countries have not officially proclaimed it as such. In fact, the Merriam-Webster definition of war includes any "open and declared armed hostile conflict between states and nations," a criteria that Cambodia and Thailand's July 2025 border conflict technically met, despite the lack of official declaration. According to the United Nations, the conflict displaced more than 131,000 people in Thailand and over 4,000 in Cambodia. The Associated Press reported on July 26 that at least 32 people had died. Still, the AP, the United Nations and the U.S. State Department have not, as of this writing, referred to the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict as a war. The AP, long considered the standard for journalistic language, "considers the number of casualties, the intensity of fighting, the involvement of each party, and what each country was calling the conflict" to determine whether it describes a conflict as "war" to avoid diminishing the word's importance. As such, the claim that Cambodian monks thanked Trump for "ending a war," while somewhat accurate, may have misrepresented the scope or nature of the conflict as well as the subsequent peace talks. Al Jazeera Staff. "Thailand and Cambodia Agree to Ceasefire: Will It Stop the Deadly Fighting?" Al Jazeera, 28 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Bartlett, Kate. "Thailand and Cambodia Agree to Ceasefire. What's behind the Conflict?" NPR, 28 July 2025, "Cambodia-Thailand: Border Violence Turns More Violent and Deadly — Expert Comment." ACLED, 8 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Cheang, Sopheng, and Jintamas Saksornchai. "Tensions Linger despite Ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia." AP News, 29 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "CNBC-TV18 on Instagram: 'over 2,500 Cambodian Buddhist Monks Marched, Carrying Banners and Flags to Promote Peace with Thailand. The Monks Also Thanked US President Trump for Supporting the Cambodia-Thailand Ceasefire, Following the Worst Border Clashes between the Two Nations in over a Decade. #Cambodia #Thailand #BorderClashes #Trump #Cnbctv18digital.'" Instagram, 11 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "Definition of War." Merriam-Webster, Drury, Flora. "Why Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting at the Border?" BBC, 24 July 2025, "Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates." The White House, 31 July 2025, "How the AP Decided to Refer to the Conflict between Israel and Iran as a War." AP News, 20 June 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Manet, Hun. "ស្របតាមសំណូមពររបស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរទាំងក្នុងនិងក្រៅប្រទេស និងដើម្បីជាការថ្លែងអំណរគុណចំពោះឯកឧត្តមប្រធានាធិបតី Donald Trump..." 7 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Nachemson, Andrew. "Thailand, Cambodia Border Tensions Continue as Talks Conclude in Malaysia." Al Jazeera, 7 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Narin, Sun, et al. "Thailand Warns of War with Cambodia as Deadly Clashes Enter 2nd Day." The New York Times, 25 July 2025, "On Ceasefire Deal between Cambodia and Thailand." U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand, 8 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "Over 2,500 Cambodian Buddhist Monks Marched, Carrying Banners and Flags to Promote Peace with Thailand. The Monks Also Thanked US President Trump for Supporting the Cambodia-Thailand Ceasefire, Following the Worst Border Clashes between the Two Nations in over a Decade." 11 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Reuters. "Cambodian Buddhist Monks March to Support Peace with Thailand | REUTERS." YouTube, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Reuters Staff. "Thailand and Cambodia Trade Accusations but Fragile Truce Holds." Reuters, 30 July 2025, Ry, Roun, and Reuters. "A Buddhist Monk Holds a Portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump during a March for Peace, in Phnom Penh." Reuters Connect, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. ---. "Buddhist Monks Hold Portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump during a March for Peace, in Phnom Penh." Reuters Connect, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. Saksornchai, Jintamas, and Sopheng Cheang. "Tens of Thousands Flee Thailand-Cambodia Fighting." AP News, 25 July 2025, "Secretary Rubio's Phone Call with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Prak - United States Department of State." United States Department of State, 27 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. TANG CHHIN Sothy , and AFP. "A Cambodian Buddhist Monk Holds a Placard Showing a Portrait of US..." Getty Images, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. TANG CHHIN SOTHY, and AFP. "A Cambodian Buddhist Monk Holds a Portrait of US President Donald..." Getty Images, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. ---. "Cambodian Buddhist Monks Take Part in a March for Peace in Phnom Penh..." Getty Images, 10 Aug. 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "The Ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand." U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand, 28 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "The Ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand - United States Department of State." United States Department of State, 28 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. The White House. "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Continues Enforcement of Reciprocal Tariffs and Announces New Tariff Rates." The White House, 7 July 2025, Titthara, May, and Jonathan Head. "Cambodia and Thailand Agree to 'Immediate and Unconditional Ceasefire.'" BBC News, edited by Ayeshea Perera, 28 July 2025, Trump, Donald J. "Just Spoke to the Prime Minister of Cambodia Relative to Stopping the War with Thailand. I Am Calling the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, Right Now, to Likewise Request a Ceasefire, and END to the War, Which Is Currently Raging. We Happen to Be, by Coincidence, Currently Dealing on Trade with Both Countries, but Do Not Want to Make Any Deal, with Either Country, If They Are Fighting — and I Have Told Them So! The Call with Thailand Is Being Made Momentarily. The Call with Cambodia Has Ended, but Expect to Call Back Regarding War Stoppage and Ceasefire Based on What Thailand Has to Say. I Am Trying to Simplify a Complex Situation! Many People Are Being Killed in This War, but It Very Much Reminds Me of the Conflict between Pakistan and India, Which Was Brought to a Successful Halt." 26 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025. "UN Urges Restraint as Thailand-Cambodia Clashes Displace Thousands; Security Council Meets." UN News, 25 July 2025, Wongcha-um, Panu, and Poppy Mcpherson. "Exclusive: Trump's Call Broke Deadlock in Thailand-Cambodia Border Crisis." Reuters, 31 July 2025, Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
Texas House passes redistricting bill stalled by AWOL Democrats
The Texas House on Wednesday passed a highly contentious, mid-decade redistricting bill – just days after dozens of Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, ending a two-week-long effort to block the legislation backed by President Trump. In a 88-52 party-line vote, Republican state lawmakers approved the newly drawn congressional map, which could net the GOP up to five additional seats in Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm election. In the partisan showdown over House Bill 4, Democrats fumed over the timing of the redistricting push and also claimed the legislation undermined minority representation, violated voting rights protections and lacked public input. Advertisement 3 More than 50 Democrats stalled House Bill 4 for about two weeks after they fled the state capital earlier this month. REUTERS State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D), one of several Democrats who fled to Chicago prevent the House from establishing a quorum, accused Republicans of drawing up the new map 'in the cloak of darkness' and not giving the Texas Legislative Black Caucus – which she said, 'potentially will lose two seats' – a 'role in this process.' State Rep. Todd Hunter (R), the author of the bill, shot back: 'You absolutely did … but you left 17 to 18 days.' Advertisement 'Now you're getting on the microphone saying, why didn't I involve you? Well, I wasn't going across state lines to find you. I was here,' Hunter continued. 'Don't come into this body and say we didn't include you – You left us for 18 days, and that's wrong,' he later added. In defense of the legality of the effort, Hunter argued that 'redistricting can be done at any point in time.' 'The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,' he added, noting that he believes Supreme Court precedent is on his side. Advertisement Countering claims that minority Texas residents are being harmed by redistricting, Hunter noted that 'four of the five new seats are hispanic majority … that's a pretty strong message, and it's good.' 3 The Texas Capitol filled with protesters ahead of debate on the redistricting bill. AP 3 Democratic Texas Rep. Mihaela Plesa on Tuesday tore up the Department of Public Safety escort form that Democrats returning to the state capital were forced to sign in order to leave the chamber. Getty Images Of the more than 50 state Democratic lawmakers that fled the state capital earlier this month in opposition to House Bill 4, 20 were listed as absent for Wednesday's session, however several appeared to show up before the final vote. Advertisement The Rotunda at the Texas Capitol filled up with protesters opposed to redistricting on the morning of the final vote. The gallery also had to be warned on several occasion to not applaud Democrats debating against the measure. The Republican-controlled House shot down all 12 Democrat-proposed amendments ahead of the vote, including a bid to block the implementation of the new map until the federal government releases files related to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats, in an attempt to stretch out the debate, also sought to add amendments delaying the new map from taking effect until 2028 and linking implementation to the establishment of an independent redistricting commission and a federal court ruling that the map does not suppress minority voters. The majority of the missing Dems returned Monday – amid threats of arrest, removal from office and after paychecks began being withheld – and were only allowed to leave the chamber after they agreed to be released into the custody of a Department of Public Safety officer, who would ensure they return for the redistricting vote. Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier (D) refused to sign the permission slip imposed by Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows and slept in the chamber for the two nights leading up to the vote. The runaway lawmakers decided to make their return after an initial special session was adjourned Friday and after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to redraw district lines in the Golden State in a bid to cancel out the Texas GOP's new map.. The Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement that they would 'launch the next phase in their fight against the racist gerrymander that provoked a weeks-long standoff with Governor [Greg] Abbott and President Trump.' 'Don't delete your emails, don't delete your text messages,' state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D) – one of several Democrats promising a legal challenge to the new map – warned Republican lawmakers just before the vote.
