The Evening Rush for Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013

The latest stupid D.C. gossip war involves Sen. Dick Durbin (left). | Getty Images

He said, they said

OMG, you guys, did you hear what happened in D.C.? It’s so crazy, y’all. So apparently a GOP House member told President Obama, “I can’t stand to look at you.” At least, that’s what Dick Durbin posted on his Facebook, which was all, like, why would he do that if it wasn’t true, right? Well, then the White House TOTALLY threw him under the bus and was all like, “Uh, nuh-uh, that didn’t happen.” And then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was all like, “Uh, yeah it did, dude, Dick is totes right on this.” Then the White House was all like, “Oh, yeah, my bad.” But… what the heck does that mean? And then it looks like maybe the Deputy Chief-of-Staff is the one who was spreading these false rumors and now I’m totally unfriending him on Facebook. And this is what our leaders in D.C. talked about today. [Sun-Times, TPM]

Jury gets beating case

The jury is now deliberating the case against a man accused of beating two women with a baseball bat in 2010. [Sun-Times]

Fight the power

The Reader’s Ben Joravsky looks at how likely it is “independent” will be successful at actually keeping Mayor Emanuel from burying legislation. [The Reader]

Dillard dally

Kirk Dillard claims that Mayor Emanuel’s endorsement of Gov. Quinn in that race is actually a way to help out his pal Bruce Rauner who’s involved in the Republican primary. Makes sense to me. [Sun-Times]

Make your pick!

The Chicago History Museum is crowd-sourcing its next exhibit so here’s hoping for a “History of the Tamale Guy” display. [Chicagoist]

Highway to the Danger Zone

The Tollway speed limit might soon come close to the speed people actually drive while ignoring the speed limit. [Sun-Times]

Reprieve

The bad news: You still have to file your taxes next year. Good news: you’ll have an extra two weeks thanks to the government shutdown. [WaPo]

Nuh-uh

The judge doesn’t believe you, Kevin Trudeau, so you get to stay in jail. [Sun-Times]

Tight squeeze

You’re not fatter (though, come on, you could stand a trip to the gym, ya know?) — those airplane seats are getting smaller. [Gawker]

Helping the cause

A great read on Bears WR Brandon Marshall and his quest to help destigmatize mental illness. [Sun-Times]

The Bright One

The Sun-Times Editorial Board delves into how it’s really the city’s 2015 budget — and the impending pension crisis — that matters most. [Sun-Times]

Commute

Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally

FINALLY! Someone has used science for an invention that actually matters: a device that can chill a beer in less than a minute. [Reviewed.com via Fark]