Names and faces
■ First lady Melania Trump pushed back Saturday after photos she tweeted of herself overseeing a White House construction project generated an online backlash. “I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities,” the first lady said in a new tweet. She included a hashtag for Be Best, her program to teach children to be civil online. On Thursday, the first lady tweeted a series of pictures, including two of herself wearing a hard hat while reviewing blueprints for a tennis pavilion that’s going up on the south grounds. Some critics said the photos were insensitive during the global coronavirus scare. Others referred to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in their comments. The White House has said no public funds will be used for the project.
■ The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday refused to throw out charges against former Empire actor Jussie Smollett that accuse him of staging an attack against himself and rejected his effort to remove the special prosecutor in the case. Smollett’s lawyers argued in an emergency petition that Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and misinterpreted the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor. The court did not explain its decision to reject the arguments by Smollett’s lawyers. Smollett, 37, was initially accused by Cook County prosecutors of falsely reporting to police that the purported attack was real. Sixteen counts of disorderly conduct originally filed against him were dismissed. After another investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb, six counts of the same charges were filed against Smollett, to which he has pleaded innocent. Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019. He said they made racial slurs and yelled insults against homosexuals, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing. Weeks later, police accused Smollett of paying two black friends to help stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary as an actor on the Fox series Empire.