Chicago Sun-Times - All | At 100 Years Old, This Chinese Grandma’s Favorite Thing to Do is to Ride the CTA Alone to Explore Chicago

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Hedge‑fund owners have been buying up and dramatically downsizing local newspapers across the United States, stripping communities of vital news coverage and driving many outlets out of business. In Chicago, journalists and community leaders are pushing back by launching nonprofit news projects, seeking public‑funding support, and mobilizing readers to preserve independent reporting that holds power accountable and keeps neighborhoods informed.

Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/?entry-link-at-100-years-old-this-chinese-grandmas-favorite-thing-to-do-is-to-ride-the-cta-alone-to-explore-chicago

#Hedgefunds #Chicago #nonprofitnews #localjournalism #independentjournalism

You Got What You Asked For

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 20, 2026 — 7:20 p.m. PHST

There was a moment when a simple idea spread:

Information should be free.

It was part of the language of movements. Part of the language of Occupy. Part of the belief that knowledge should not be locked behind institutions, paywalls, or gatekeepers.

Fair enough.

You got what you asked for.

More than 5,000 essays.
Years of work.
Patterns documented.
Systems analyzed.
Available to anyone with an internet connection.

Free.

What “Free” Actually Means

Free does not mean effortless.

Free does not mean costless.

Free does not mean that no one had to build it.

Every piece in this archive required:

• time
• thought
• structure
• revision
• maintenance

Every piece had to be written. Stored. Organized. Preserved.

Free to access does not mean free to produce.

That distinction matters.

The Part That Was Skipped

It is easy to say “information should be free.”

It is harder to ask:

• Who creates it?
• Who maintains it?
• Who ensures it is still there tomorrow?

Because once those questions are asked, the answer is unavoidable:

Someone is doing the work.

The Work Is Here

This is not theoretical.

This archive exists.

It is not an idea. It is not a proposal.

It is a working system of long-form documentation built over more than a decade.

And it is available, right now, without charge.

That was the goal.

That was the promise.

What Was Never Solved

What was never clearly addressed was sustainability.

Not access.

Not distribution.

Sustainability.

If knowledge is to remain free to access, then it must still be supported in some way.

Otherwise, it disappears.

Not because it lacked value, but because it lacked support.

A Simple Reality

You cannot have:

• free access
• long-term continuity
• independent production

without some form of support behind it.

That is not ideology.

That is logistics.

No Abstraction

This is no longer a theoretical conversation.

The work is here.

It is accessible.

It is being maintained.

The only remaining question is simple:

Now what?

The Ask

If you believe in free knowledge, then this is where that belief meets reality.

The work exists.

If it has value to you, support it.

If it doesn’t, don’t.

But the idea that knowledge can be free without cost to anyone was never sustainable.

You got what you asked for.

The question is whether you intend to keep it.

If you read this and it matters, help me keep it going: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WPSNews

For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com

WPS News archives are available through Amazon for long-term preservation and library distribution.

"The secret ingredient of independent journalism? It's you.

The Kyiv Independent is free to read and independent of outside influence, thanks to our community. Their support allows us to keep reporting — independently and fearlessly. We are now on a quest to find 4,000 new members and show that Ukrainian independent journalism can thrive, if it's backed by readers who believe in a free press from Ukraine."

https://kyivindependent.com/membership/

#TheKyivIndependent #Ukraine #pressfreedom #freepress #journalism #independentjournalism

CW: Political corruption, institutional weaponization, global conflict

The Grip on the Flow: Navigating America's Hidden Political Crises (Mid-May 2026)
WASHINGTON D.C. / CIVICOHUB — While legacy media networks remain bogged down by algorithmic clickbait and controlled narratives, a massive recalibration of power and transparency is unfolding right now across the United States.

For CivicoHub, we have conducted a deep, unfiltered sweep of the most critical political events trending this week—May 17, 2026. From multi-billion-dollar taxpayer settlements to the historic unsealing of classified government files, here is the factual reality of what is happening in US politics today, completely free of corporate spin.

I. The $1.7 Billion Taxpayer "Slush Fund"
The intersection of the justice system and political loyalty has reached an unprecedented flashpoint this week. Breaking reports have confirmed that the administration is finalizing a deal to drop a massive $10 billion personal lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in exchange for the creation of a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded compensation pool.

According to the terms being deliberated, this fund—styled as a "Truth and Justice Commission"—would be used to compensate individuals the administration claims were "wrongfully targeted" by government "weaponization," notably including over 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol events. Lawmakers have publicly blasted the move as "outright corruption," arguing that it weaponizes the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund to reward political loyalists without congressional oversight. This maneuver effectively bypasses standard checks and balances, directly transferring public tax dollars to political allies under the guise of legal settlements.

II. The Spectacle of the China Summit
Information sovereignty requires real-time access to global events, yet the narrative surrounding America's foreign policy is actively being managed to project stability amidst ongoing, massive international conflicts, specifically the 2026 Iran war.

The President returned to Washington this weekend following a highly anticipated two-day summit with China's Xi Jinping. While the administration touted the trip as yielding "fantastic trade deals" regarding Boeing aircraft and agriculture, independent analysis and international reporting confirm that the summit was heavy on pageantry but failed to secure any tangible breakthroughs regarding Iran, AI regulation, or the highly contested status of Taiwan. The administration's suggestion that US arms sales to Taiwan are a "negotiating chip" has heightened anxieties on the island and reveals a shifting global power dynamic that legacy media is hesitant to fully unpack.

III. The Grift of "Political Commerce": The $59 Million Phone
The intersection of political branding and consumer commerce has sparked intense scrutiny this week. Nearly a year after the Trump Organization launched "Trump Mobile," collecting roughly $59 million in $100 pre-order deposits for a branded gold smartphone, widespread consumer anger is mounting.

Despite an estimated 590,000 deposits collected, the company scrubbed original release dates and quietly updated its terms to state that the deposit represents only a "conditional opportunity" to purchase the device, with no guarantee it will ever be produced. While Trump Mobile recently claimed the heavily-delayed phones will finally begin shipping "this week," the incident exposes the lack of accountability and consumer protection when political branding shields commercial ventures from standard regulatory scrutiny.

IV. The Unprecedented UAP Disclosure
In an entirely unexpected pivot that has dominated alternative and independent networks this week, the administration has initiated a massive, historic declassification of government files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) and extraterrestrial life.

Following a direct presidential mandate earlier this year, the Department of War (DOW)—under Secretary of War Pete Hegseth—launched the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). This ongoing, rolling release, which began on May 8, 2026, covers previously classified historical documents spanning decades. While some transparency advocates view this as the ultimate triumph of information sovereignty, skeptical analysts question the timing of the release, viewing it as a potential strategic distraction from the administration's controversial domestic financial maneuvers. Regardless of intent, the release of these files marks a profound shift in how the government handles once-anomalous data.

Fact Check & Verification Sheet (Current as of May 17, 2026)
1. The $1.776 Billion IRS Settlement Proposal

Status: TRUE

Claim: The DOJ is finalizing a deal for the administration to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.776 billion taxpayer fund to compensate political allies and January 6 defendants.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/17/federal-funding-trump-ballroom-jeopardy-senate-ruling
https://www.everettpost.com/national/trump-administration-to-create-1-776b-truth-and-justice-commission-to-compensate-allies-sources/

2. The Hyped, But Stalled China Summit

Status: TRUE

Claim: The May 2026 diplomatic summit in China yielded no major breakthroughs on Taiwan, AI, or the ongoing war in Iran, despite administration claims of massive trade deals.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/15/trump-china-visit-iran-agreement-xi-jinping-elusive
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/05/17/asia-pacific/politics/trump-taiwan-china-analysis/

3. The Delayed "Trump Mobile" Phone

Status: TRUE

Claim: Trump Mobile collected an estimated $59 million in deposits for a gold smartphone that faced severe delays and shifting consumer terms, drawing intense scrutiny before recently announcing initial shipments.

Sources:
https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/trump-phone-late-not-made-in-u-s/
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/trump-phone-will-finally-ship-this-week-after-months-long-delay/

4. The UAP/UFO Mass Declassification

Status: TRUE

Claim: The Department of War is releasing an unprecedented trove of UAP/UFO records to the public via a new reporting system called PURSUE.

Source:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-begins-release-ufo-files/

Tags: #CivicoHub #SovereignSocial #USPolitics2026 #InformationSovereignty #GovernmentTransparency #Accountability #UAPDisclosure #Geopolitics #IndependentJournalism #Fediverse

CW: Political corruption, environmental hazards, global geopolitical instability

The Grip on the Flow: Navigating America's Hidden Crises
WASHINGTON D.C. / CIVICOHUB — While mainstream media networks ossify into pre-packaged narratives and algorithmic clickbait, a quiet war for truth is unfolding across the American political and legal landscape. The real stories shaping the future of the nation are often buried beneath the noise.

Independent journalist, attorney, and leading Gen Z voice Aaron Parnas continuously exposes what the established order prefers to keep in the shadows through his platform, The Parnas Perspective. For CivicoHub, we break down the critical flashpoints from this month (May 2026) where corporate overreach, technological advancement, and political power frontally collide with the interests of the sovereign citizen.

I. Financial Conflicts and the Illusion of Accountability
The intersection of law, governance, and wealth in the United States has increasingly mutated into a protected marketplace for the elite. Recent independent investigations have broken stories regarding massive corruption allegations tied directly to the highest levels of government.

Reports indicate widespread controversies surrounding the administration trading stocks and cutting closed-door deals while the public grapples with soaring prices and economic instability. While an ordinary citizen faces immediate federal prosecution for insider trading or financial deception, the political elite remains dangerously insulated. This dynamic exposes a two-tiered justice system where the powerful evade accountability, underscoring the reality that demanding transparency in the US requires confronting deeply entrenched oligarchic structures.

II. Geopolitical Instability and the Failed Summit
Information sovereignty requires real-time, unfiltered access to global events, yet the narrative surrounding America's foreign policy is heavily managed. Over the past week, intense geopolitical friction has come to a head with a highly anticipated summit in China.

Despite attempts by legacy media to spin the narrative, independent reporting has highlighted that the summit severely fractured, with the administration reportedly "rattled" and "shaken" as negotiations collapsed and global protests expanded. The vacuum created by geopolitical instability forces critical thinkers to abandon traditional cable news pools and seek out decentralized, uncensored spaces to understand the actual stakes of America's shifting position on the world stage.

III. The Human Cost of the AI Arms Race
While the corporate sector aggressively pushes the narrative of artificial intelligence as a pure technological miracle, the physical infrastructure required to power this leap is having devastating, localized consequences.

Independent investigations this month have taken a dark turn, uncovering the severe environmental and public health impacts of massive AI data centers on surrounding American communities. The localized pollution and heavy resource extraction required to maintain these centers are actively harming citizens. When multinational corporations and tech billionaires prioritize a technological arms race over human life and environmental safety, independent journalism becomes an essential act of civic defense.

Fact Check & Verification Sheet (May 2026 Data)
1. Executive Corruption and Stock Trading

Status: TRUE

Claim: Massive corruption allegations have surfaced regarding elite stock trading and backroom deal-making during a period of soaring national prices.

Verification: Aaron Parnas broke this down in his May 2026 broadcast titled "Breaking: Massive Corruption Uncovered as Trump Trades Stock and Cuts Deals."

Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-parnas-perspective/id1869165949

2. The Collapsed China Summit

Status: TRUE

Claim: The recent diplomatic summit in China failed, leading to international tension and a weakened U.S. negotiating position.

Verification: Covered extensively by Parnas in multiple May 2026 episodes, including "Breaking: Trump Caves to China as Summit Fails and Protests Grow" and "Trump Rattled and Shaken as China Issues Stark Warning."

Source: https://aaronparnas.substack.com

3. The Dark Turn of AI Data Centers

Status: TRUE

Claim: The aggressive expansion of AI data centers is causing severe pollution and health hazards, actively harming American communities.

Verification: Parnas dedicated a specific investigative episode to this environmental crisis in May 2026, titled "Breaking: Data Centers Kill Americans as AI Race Takes Dark Turn," focusing on the lethal localized pollution generated by these facilities.

Source: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-parnas-perspective/id1869165949

Tags: #CivicoHub #SovereignSocial #InformationSovereignty #USPolitics #CorporateAccountability #AIDataCenters #Geopolitics #IndependentJournalism #Fediverse #AaronParnas

Context & Background:
The Untold Story of Aaron Parnas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhEc_mFdDjU

https://dominusmarkham.com/the-jones-effect/

#MediaLiteracy
#IndependentJournalism
#Disinformation
#FollowTheMoney
#HoldThemAccountable
#writingcommunity
#freedomofspeech

Writing for the Unborn

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 3, 2026, 10:05 a.m.

Most of what I write will not be read today. That is not pessimism. That is structure. The timeline I’m working on does not reward immediacy. It rewards survival. Platforms shift, audiences drift, and attention resets every morning like nothing came before it. If I measure the work by what happens in the first twenty-four hours, then the work will always look like failure. So I don’t. I measure it by whether it still exists when someone goes looking for it later.

That changes how you write. You stop trying to win the moment and start trying to leave a record. You choose clarity over cleverness. You document what actually happened, not what plays well. You accept that most people will scroll past, and that some of the people who need it most have not even been born yet. That is the audience. Not the crowd. Not the algorithm. The future reader who stumbles into a piece of writing and realizes someone was paying attention when it mattered.

For more from Cliff Potts, see https://cliffpotts.org

If this work helps you understand what’s happening, help me keep it going: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WPSNews