Hey! It’s Friday. And I got my nephew the biggest T. rex toy I could find for his birthday. (Thanks to all the readers who sent in recommendations!) Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Lightfoot orders city hiring freeze, layoffs loom

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s hiring freeze affects all city departments and positions, including police, and comes just days before she is expected to unveil her plan to tackle the city’s $1-billion-plus deficit.

A city spokeswoman said the hiring freeze also affects about 3,000 current job vacancies. She said layoffs are possible.

Lightfoot is scheduled to give a prime-time address next Thursday to lay out her plan for closing the city’s enormous budget gap. [WBEZ]

2. Special prosecutor appointed to investigate Jussie Smollett case

A Cook County judge today selected a former federal prosecutor to probe the alleged hate crime hoax plotted by Jussie Smollett and the abrupt dismissal of the charges against the now-former Empire actor.

The judge gave Dan Webb, one of the top lawyers in Chicago, a wide net in his investigation, which could lead to new charges against Smollett and create political problems for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx as she seeks reelection.

Foxx recused herself from the case after she talked to a Smollett relative about the investigation. Foxx also talked to Tina Tchen, former first lady Michelle Obama’s one-time chief of staff, who spoke on behalf of the relative. [WBEZ]

3. Amazon fires alarm world leaders

The record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest have alarmed world leaders, who are calling for the protection of one of Earth’s largest sources of oxygen.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants world leaders to discuss the massive fires when they meet in France tomorrow for the Group of Seven summit, which includes the U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K.

The estimated 2,500 active fires in the Amazon have garnered international outrage.

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has characterized protections of the rainforest as obstacles to economic growth. [NPR]

In response to the fires, France and Ireland are threatening to not ratify a trade deal between the European Union and a bloc of South American countries that includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. [BBC]

4. China and Trump trade new volleys in trade war

Beijing today said it will slap tariffs on $75 billion-worth of American goods, such as automobiles and agriculture products, if President Donald Trump carries out his threat to place additional taxes on Chinese imports next month.

Trump tweeted that he “will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon.” He also “ordered” U.S. companies to “immediately start looking for an alternative to China.” 

The latest escalation in the trade war sent U.S. stock markets plummeting. [NPR]

As the trade war between the White House and Beijing escalates, raising concerns of a U.S. recession, the head of the Federal Reserve signaled there might be future interest-rate cuts to help boost the economy. [NPR]

5. Demolitions and vacant lots aren’t helping Englewood

Englewood and West Englewood have had the second and third most demolitions among Chicago’s neighborhoods since 2008, yet developments aren’t coming in quickly enough, leaving large stretches of vacant lots, according to an analysis from the Chicago Sun-Times.

The West Town neighborhood saw the most demolitions, but it also saw far more new-construction permits than the greater Englewood neighborhood.

Some residents say the vacant land is driving people away, and a Harvard Business School professor and Englewood native suggested that is the point.

“What we are seeing in the area at the moment is a cleansing. I believe the master plan is to clear all of these poor African Americans out of here, and then they’ll start gentrifying this area,” he said. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• A cyanide and ammonia spill at an Indiana beach has area residents demanding answers. [WBEZ]

• Former Chicago Congressman Mel Reynolds said he was tortured in Africa. [WBEZ]

• Celso Piña, a renowned Mexican musician who performed regularly in Chicago, died earlier this week. [WBEZ]

• Chicago’s Music Box Theatre is celebrating its 90th birthday. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

A Belgian man sat on a toilet for nearly five days this week to earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Jimmy De Frenne, who is studying to become a bus driver, gave himself a goal of sitting on the porcelain throne for 165 hours in the middle of a bar where friends and family members could see him.

But De Frenne only made it to 116 hours, which isn’t bad because apparently there is no official record.

De Frenne was given five-minute breaks every hour so he could catch up on sleep and, ironically, go to the bathroom. The toilet he sat on was not hooked up to plumbing. [Reuters]

Tell me something good …

What’s your favorite cartoon, whether currently or from your childhood?

Roger Luekens writes:

“Most listeners will probably not remember going to ‘the show’ (translate: to the movie theater) on Saturday afternoon to watch a newsreel, a serial drama with a new episode each week, and a ton of cartoons with more than 100 other kids. I come from the era of Woody Woodpecker, Tom & Jerry, and Porky Pig, but my favorite was the Roadrunner. Its humor was and is quite clever, in my opinion, and it was created all with only a dialogue of ‘Beep, Beep.’”

And Douglas Teaney writes:

“My favorite cartoon is Archer, hands down. Thank goodness they decided to give it one last 11th season to wrap things up.”

Thanks for all the responses to this week’s question! I’ll be spending the weekend watching cartoons with my nephews!

Have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday.