A cheaper vaccine. AstraZeneca says its COVID-19 vaccine is up to 90% effective—and easier and less costly to distribute than other promising candidates.
■ The BBC: How they did it so quickly—without cutting corners.
Hard choices. In Chicago and across the country, families are making painful last-minute changes in their Thanksgiving plans.
■ Radio Health Journal: Holiday gatherings at home can be as dangerous as bars and restaurants in the pandemic.
‘No one wants to work at a nursing home.’ In the words of one of more than 700 workers on strike today at 11 Chicago-area homes owned by Infinity Healthcare Management, “The poverty wages that nursing home workers are paid … creates a staffing crisis and forces good workers to leave.”
■ WBEZ: Chicago-area workers from every sector of the economy have filed more than 1,000 complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about unsafe conditions in the pandemic.
■ The Arm and a Leg podcast: How to avoid a surprise big bill for COVID tests.
Happy Thanksgiving. You’re fired. With no public explanation, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin has dismissed four employees, including her chief of staff …
■ … even though they’ve—in her words—“served us well, with dignity and proficiency.”
COVID cycle crimes. Bike thefts are up dramatically in Chicago (link added) as people avoid mass transit in the pandemic.
■ The Chicago Stolen Bike Registry reports submissions up 48% year-over-year.
■ Cheaper fares are on the way for south and southwest suburban Metra commuters.
Trump’s ‘new norm: He’s just a secondary story.’ As the president continues obstructing the transition of power, CNN’s Brian Stelter says, “President-elect Joe Biden … is filling the void.”
■ The Associated Press: Trump’s “dizzying game of legal hopscotch” has proven “a disaster in court, where judges uniformly rejected … claims of vote fraud.”
■ NBC News: With almost all the votes counted, the race wasn’t that close.
■ Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was “waiting for the end of the internal political confrontation” before congratulating Biden.
Policy notes. Biden’s reportedly picked his secretary of state …
■ … who’d represent a sharp contrast to Trump’s foreign policy …
■ … and who is also a rock guitarist with two singles on Spotify.
Mall shooting suspect’s a 15-year-old. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, police say a teenager was responsible for injuring eight people at a Milwaukee-area mall Friday.
■ 1980s teen star Ricky Schroder kicked in some of the cash that freed Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse.
‘Skyline artistry.’ Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin previews and reviews acclaimed architect Jeanne Gang’s soon-to-open Vista Tower, Chicago’s third-tallest building …
■ The Chicago History Museum is planning a $10 million renovation.
‘Spectacular.’ Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington hails WBEZ’s plans for Thanksgiving weekend broadcasts of (link added) a radio version of Lookingglass Theatre Company’s pandemic-felled production of Her Honor Jane Byrne.
■ The Trib’s Chris Jones raves about American Blues Theater’s “live and in-person via Zoom, every night” production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
2020 in one word? No. Oxford Dictionaries couldn’t pick a single word of this unprecedented year. It picked a bunch …
■ … including mail-in.
‘You are doing an amazing job reducing my stress with your edited and accurate news briefs. Thank you.’ — Unsolicited reader praise over the weekend for Chicago Public Square. If you’re of a similar mind, you can show your appreciation with a vote for Square in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago poll …
■ … and a one-time tip (bodacious!) or continuing pledge (bodaciouser!) to help keep Square coming.
■ Or simply share it with a friend.