Hey there! It’s Friday, and this week was a rollercoaster, and this 90-degree weather is not helping. Here’s what you need to know today.

(By the way, if you’d like this emailed to your inbox, you can sign up here.)

1. Most federal aid for Illinois renters is sitting in the bank

Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid for Illinois renters and landlords remains unused, raising questions about whether state and local officials can deliver the benefits quickly enough to avoid a housing crisis.

Gov. JB Pritzker recently extended the state’s ban on evictions to Sept. 18, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a federal moratorium will not immediately impact Illinois residents.

But housing advocates are already pushing Pritzker to further extend the deadline because officials are slow to deliver aid to residents at risk of losing their homes, reports NBC Chicago. [NBC]

Illinois and local municipalities received more than $834 million set aside by Congress in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, and only about 36% has been distributed since January, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Treasury Department.

Jose Sanchez Molina, a deputy press secretary for the governor’s office, said in a statement that “Illinois’ eviction moratorium is still winding down in order to give the renters and landlords time to utilize all available resources for relief.” He added that “Illinois remains a national leader in dispersing rental assistance and will continue to do so as the eviction moratorium comes to an end.”

In Chicago, only $18 million of the city’s $79.9 million in federal funds has been given to residents in need, according to the Chicago Housing Department. A spokeswoman said the city did not begin dispersing the federal funds until mid-June, when the city’s application period ended.

The sluggish pace comes as more than 126,000 Illinois residents say they are likely to face eviction or foreclosure in the next two months, according to census data released last week. A little over 36,000 households have received emergency assistance funds, according to the Treasury Department.

2. Another attack in Kabul is likely, White House says

National security advisers have told President Joe Biden that another attack in Kabul is likely, and the next few days “will be the most dangerous period to date,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement today.

At least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members were killed in an attack yesterday at Kabul’s international airport, where evacuations of Americans and allies are racing against an Aug. 31 deadline for the removal of all U.S. troops. The death toll from yesterday’s attack is likely to rise.

Officials are “taking maximum force protection measures” at the airport, Psaki said.

ISIS-K, or Islamic State Khorasan, has claimed responsibility for the attack, and commanders have updated Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on plans to develop ISIS-K targets, NPR reports. [NPR]

3. Chicago’s public schools are not ready to open, teachers union says

Hundreds of thousands of students are expected to return to Chicago’s public schools on Monday, and the Chicago Teachers Union says the school district has not taken adequate steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within classrooms.

CTU President Jesse Sharkey today blasted Mayor Lightfoot, saying in a statement that her bargaining team is “stripping away several health and safety protocols that were in place in the winter and spring — mitigations that even they said kept people safe.”

Lightfoot, however, said she is concerned that remote learning has a negative impact on students. [Chicago Tribune]

As students head back to another school year during a pandemic, educators and health care workers say they have been preparing to address a growing mental health crisis among teenagers. [WBEZ]

4. COVID-19 infections appear to have plateaued in Chicago

City officials are reporting a seven-day average of 443 cases per day as of Aug. 22. That’s a 7% decrease from the previous week. Hospitalizations are also down 9% to 29 per day, and the average number of deaths is around three per day. The city’s positivity rate is 4.2%. [COVID Dashboard]

But looking more broadly at Illinois as a whole, the state is reporting an average of 3,632 cases per day as of yesterday, up 21% from the average two weeks ago, according to The New York Times. The average number of statewide hospitalizations is 2,094 per day, an increase of 37%.

Hot spots have mostly emerged in southern parts of Illinois, where Gov. Pritzker has said intensive care units are at risk of becoming overwhelmed. [NYT]

5. Scientists discover fossil of a four-legged whale

As NPR reports, “We regret to inform you that your nightmares are about to get worse.”

A team of scientists found a 43 million-year-old fossil of a now-extinct amphibious four-legged whale, and they found it in [checks notes] the Sahara Desert.

There’s an artistic rendering of the whale in the link, and it’s … making me really glad I’m not swimming at the beach right now. Not only did the thing have four legs, but it had a raptor-like feeding style, according to the scientists.

The new whale is called Phiomicetus anubis, which the scientists named in part after Anubis, the canine-headed Egyptian god associated with mummification and the afterlife. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• A Florida judge ruled Gov. Ron DeSantis can’t bar schools from mandating masks for students. [NPR]
• Ida has strengthened into a hurricane and could hit Louisiana as a Category 3 storm. [AP]
• Officials in Washington state said they’ve eradicated a nest of nearly 1,500 murder hornets. [NPR]
• Looking for something to watch and like horror movies? The new Candyman is in theaters today. [A.V. Club]

Oh, and one more thing …

A lot of readers recently told me how much they enjoyed Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ when I asked for movie and TV show recommendations.

Actor Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard, grew up in Chicago and recently talked to WBEZ’s Reset about how the city helped him prepare for his role on the acclaimed TV series, such as seeing Steve Carell, Chris Farley and Tim Meadows perform in Chicago. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

Since it’s my nephew’s birthday this week, I’d like to know: What was one of the best gifts you ever received?

Cecilia Naughton writes:

“The best gift I ever got was a bicycle. It was the Christmas of my 12th year, and my father taught middle school ag-ed. So money was tight. He was able to buy and fix up five used bikes for us five kids. Two blue and white banana-seated Huffys, one red, and one silver Schwinn and mine. A purple English racing bike brand named ‘Royal Union,’ which of course became the Royal Onion. Fifty years later, we still talk about the Christmas of the bikes.”

And Regina writes:

“A single red rose and toy carousel. I was in college. My boyfriend was broke, I was broke … we barely had enough for mac and cheese, and yet he gave me a red rose and the carousel he made out of a cookie tin bottom and plastic animals he bought at a resale shop. I still have it forty years later.”

Thanks for all the responses this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone, but it was nice hearing from y’all!