‘The one thing Trump did right.’ The CDC’s final OK of new COVID-19 shots for everyone over the age of 6 months prompts USA Today columnist Rex Huppke to wonder why the Republican Party doesn’t give Donald Trump more credit for leading the original vaccine’s quick development.
■ Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina: Even though this is the first time the feds aren’t paying for shots—although most health insurance plans will—University of Michigan analysis concludes the out-of-pocket cost is worth it, especially for those over 65.
■ No insurance? Chicago will be administering the vaccine free.
Cold discomfort. FDA advisers have unanimously concluded that the leading decongestant ingredient—phenylephrine, used in popular versions of Sudafed and Dayquil, among others—ain’t worth squat.
■ Here’s what to check your medicine cabinet for.
‘It’s a little horrifying.’ A fresh wave of bomb threats yesterday heightened security at libraries in Chicago, Aurora, Addison and Evanston.
■ At a U.S. Senate hearing on library book bans across the nation, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias—who spearheaded Illinois’ groundbreaking ban on such bans—laid a little snark on Louisiana’s benighted Sen. John Kennedy.
■ A majority of the City Council’s poised to push a rewrite of the city’s hate crime ordinance to let Chicagoans report noncriminal “hate incidents” with a call to 311.
‘Omnishambles.’ That’s how historian Heather Cox Richardson describes the U.S. House of Representatives’ return to work amid fights over government funding and extremists’ demands to impeach President Biden.
■ CNN’s Stephen Collinson calls this “the most predictable impeachment investigation in American history.”
■ The Bulwark’s Charlie Sykes: “The goal here is to flood the zone with shit, to devalue impeachment by making sure that everybody is impeached.”
■ The Biden administration sent a letter to U.S. news executives, encouraging them to “ramp up” scrutiny of House Republicans for opening “an impeachment inquiry based on lies” …
■ … and, speaking of lies: New York City’s pension funds and the state of Oregon are suing Fox Corporation—in which they’re shareholders—alleging that it failed them by spreading 2020 election falsehoods, exposing it to “robust defamation claims.”
■ InfoWars host and conspiracy theorist Owen Shroyer’s been sentenced to 60 days in jail for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Migrant misfortune. The Sun-Times reports that Chicago faces a 2024 budget shortfall of $538 million—more than a third of it tied to an influx of refugees …
■ … whom Axios Chicago says have been sent here from Texas and Denver—using federal funding.
■ The Onion: “ICE Agent Torturing Migrants Moved By Resiliency Of Human Spirit.”
DePaul students robbed. Block Club Chicago: The Lincoln Park campus is ramping up security after a weekend crime wave.
■ The Associated Press: “Cash bail disproportionately impacts communities of color. Illinois is the first state to abolish it.”
Child poverty doubles. Mother Jones: The share of American children living under impoverished conditions grew from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% last year …
■ … with much of the credit for that leap, Popular Information notes, attributable to (kind-of) Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
‘No one will miss that cursed Lightning charger.’ A Tribune editorial hails Apple’s decision—under European pressure—to shift to USB-C for its new phones (gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters).
■ PC Mag delivers a hands-on review of the new line.
■ TidBITS: Apple’s product rollout focused far more than previous events on the company’s environmental impact.
■ A French watchdog agency has ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12—and may order a recall—contending it emits too much electromagnetic radiation.
All-you-can-drink’s end. McDonald’s is sunsetting self-service soda stations …
■ … which may improve some people’s health, if not their bank balance (Sept. 5 link).
■ Disney’s New York headquarters is reportedly infested with … wait for it … mice.