Hey there! It’s Tuesday, and I’m in the process of child-proofing my apartment because my 7-year-old nephew is visiting this week. He thinks my building is haunted and, to be fair, it does look like something out of a horror movie. Here’s what you need to know today.
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1. Biden to unveil plan to curb the spread of the delta variant
President Joe Biden will address the nation on Thursday and outline his plan for stopping the spread of the highly contagious delta variant and boosting COVID-19 vaccinations.
It’s not clear what the president’s strategy will entail, but his speech comes as a surge in cases, mostly among the unvaccinated in states with low vaccination rates, coincides with the start of the new school year. And the economy is beginning to show cracks, as hiring last month saw a major slowdown that raises questions about the path of the U.S. recovery.
In another sign that the nation’s efforts to contain COVID-19 are facing a major setback, there were 99,270 people in hospitals over the Labor Day weekend this year, up 160% from last year, according to The Washington Post. [WaPo]
Meanwhile, what are the odds of a vaccinated person developing a breakthrough illness? It could be less than 1 in 10,000 in Chicago, reports The New York Times. [NYT]
2. 4-year-old boy among those killed in Labor Day weekend violence in Chicago
Mychal “MJ” Moultry Jr., a 4-year-old visiting from Alabama, died yesterday after he was shot while getting a haircut Friday night in the city’s Woodlawn neighborhood.
His mother, Angela Gregg, is pleading for the public’s help in finding the killer of her son.
“The police don’t know anything yet because no one is talking. No one is coming forward,” Gregg told the Chicago Tribune. “People aren’t answering their doors, and the people that are answering their doors are saying they don’t know anything. … Somebody in Chicago knows something.” [Tribune]
At least 66 people were shot over the holiday weekend, including seven children who were wounded. [Chicago Sun-Times]
3. What happens now that millions of Americans have lost enhanced jobless aid?
More than 7 million Americans are being cut off from emergency unemployment benefits that officially end today, raising concerns that many people will fall into poverty and potentially jeopardize the nation’s economic recovery.
A growing body of research shows that jobless Americans did not return to the workforce in significant numbers in states that ended the benefits early this summer. Instead, people cut back on spending money at restaurants and other businesses that have struggled to survive during the pandemic.
Reasons for why people did not return to work range from the delta variant’s spread to a lack of affordable child care services.
“I worry that we’re pinning heavy hopes on the economic upside of turning off these benefits when these benefits weren’t the primary factor holding people back from returning to work, and they’re also providing an important boost to spending,” said Fiona Greig, co-president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute. [Washington Post]
4. Illinois lawmakers want coal power plants closed by 2045, but road ahead remains hazy
Illinois lawmakers this week are expected to consider a new green energy plan that puts significant benchmarks on phasing out fossil fuel-burning power plants, including one of the nation’s leading air polluters, reports WBEZ’s Dave McKinney.
That plant, the Prairie State Energy Campus, would have to cut emissions by 45% by 2035, according to the proposal crafted by House Democrats. Prairie State, as well as a municipally-owned coal plant in Springfield, would also have to reduce its carbon footprint by 100% by 2045.
The House is scheduled to review the new plan on Thursday, and it competes with a Senate proposal that does not include benchmarks for reducing emissions, though it does call for Prairie State to shut down by 2045.
Gov. JB Pritzker has slammed the Senate plan, saying it allows Prairie State to continue polluting the air for decades longer. [WBEZ]
Meanwhile, more than 200 medical journals are warning that climate change is the “greatest threat” to global public health. [NPR]
5. Marvel’s Shang-Chi breaks record for Labor Day weekend
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the first Marvel film with an Asian actor as the lead, racked up an estimated $90 million in its first four days and set a new record for the holiday weekend.
The Labor Day weekend is typically a slow time for movie theaters. But Shang-Chi beat expectations and made $75.5 million in its first three days. That tops the previous record set in 2007 by Rob Zombie’s Halloween, which made $30.6 million.
Shang-Chi is currently only available to watch in theaters, and its success will no doubt have an impact on other movie studios that simultaneously release films on streaming platforms and in theaters. [Variety]
Here’s what else is happening
- The Taliban began forming its own government in Afghanistan as protests continue to roil the country. [AP]
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today signed new voting restrictions into law. [Axios]
- A “whistleblower” website for people to report prohibited abortions in Texas keeps getting taken down. [Washington Post]
- Jill Biden, the first first lady to work while living in the White House, is returning to the classroom. [AP]
Oh, and one more thing …
One of Chicago’s greatest independent bookstores is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month. I’m talking about Quimby’s Bookstore in Wicker Park, home to a treasure trove of zines and books you might not find anywhere else in the city.
“We’re still here. And it’s kind of weird,” owner Eric Kirsammer told Block Club Chicago. “This type of store, in a way, shouldn’t be in this neighborhood now, with designer boutiques around the corner and stuff like that.”
If you’ve never been to the store, you should really check it out. Among the eclectic books I’ve discovered there was a book of Russian prison tattoos and hilarious Harry Potter fan fiction that is, well, intended for adults. [Block Club Chicago]
Tell me something good …
So my husband and I have our nephew this week, and we’d like to know: What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
There was a brief moment when my siblings and I were all at the same grade school, so we walked together in the mornings to class. There was this one house that always left its newspaper on its front yard, so my brother would pick it up and hurl it on top of the home’s roof.
We would laugh so hard that we’d collapse on the ground because we couldn’t get enough oxygen into our lungs to produce the sound of laughter. I can’t imagine how many newspapers were stuck on that roof by the time we all left for middle school.
Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.
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