Mike Davis

1 week ago | wbez.org | Mike Davis |Courtney Kueppers

Organizers of some prominent Chicago cultural events have received official notices that their federal grants are canceled as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to hollow out the country’s leading federal arts funder. After announcing major changes to the National Endowment for the Arts’ grantmaking programs, Trump said Friday that he is clawing back grant dollars that have already been promised for this year.

1 week ago | dailycallernewsfoundation.org | Mike Davis

The mask is off. Apple and Google aren’t just phone makers or software providers: they are unelected gatekeepers of the digital economy. Their two-company stranglehold on the app ecosystem through iOS and Android–used by roughly 315 million Americans–is crushing innovation, fleecing developers and consumers, and kneecapping American tech leadership. Momentum is building against these twin monopolies in America and abroad. Just look at the last few weeks to see that the tide is turning. Today, Rep.

2 weeks ago | wbez.org | Mike Davis

The Steppenwolf-backed family drama Purpose garnered six nominations for Tony Awards this morning, illustrating Chicago’s keen ability to incubate shows that rouse even the center of the theater world. Thursday’s announcement of nominations for the 78th Tony Awards are more than a symbol of theater making a comeback in New York. The nomination list shows that it has also been a great year for Chicago.

2 weeks ago | sfntoday.com | Mike Davis

(College Station, T.X., April 29, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced a second round of payments coming this week for specialty crop producers through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, providing up to $1.3 billion in additional program assistance. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) already delivered just under $900 million in first round payments to eligible producers.

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Mike Davis

Chicago’s Doc10 film festival — one of the only documentary-exclusive film fests in the country — is celebrating its 10th anniversary at a high-pressure time for the art form. The festival programs a highly selective list of 10 films and screens them through May 4. Yet filmmakers say the surge of streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu has shifted demand away from more complex or highly political docs and toward commercialized films featuring cults, pop stars and celebrities.