Hey there! It’s Wednesday. And I slept for 12 hours last night. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. So about those doorbell cameras …

Turns out the Chicago Police Department is teaming up with Ring, Amazon’s video doorbell company, and critics say the partnership could create a huge surveillance network that raises privacy concerns.

The partnership will be tested in a pilot program, though a Police Department spokesman did not share details like where the program will be launched or how long it will last.

So how does this work? The Police Department reportedly will request videos from Ring, which will then reach out to customers for consent. But Ring said customers can opt out of receiving requests. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. Connecting the dots in federal probe of Ald. Carrie Austin

The feds are looking into Chester Wilson Jr., who makes a little more than $118,000 a year as Ald. Carrie Austin’s chief of staff. That makes him one of the highest paid aides in the Chicago City Council.

In addition to his gig at City Hall, Wilson owns real estate on the Far South Side. But he fell behind on property taxes on his buildings, owing tens of thousands of dollars in taxes, interest and fees for just one dilapidated building. Then stepped in a businessman named Boris Nitchoff, who bought Wilson’s debt for a few hundred dollars in 2016.

Now, federal authorities are looking at both men in a wide-ranging investigation connected to Austin. No one has been charged with any wrongdoing. [WBEZ]

3. Lightfoot’s ticketing reforms sail through City Council

The reforms are designed to provide more relief to motorists who owe the city money from tickets and fines. Lightfoot’s plan reduces fines, expands payment plans and stops suspensions of drivers’ licenses for non-moving violations.

The mayor’s plan was approved unanimously by the City Council. The plan also adds $15 million to the city’s $838 million budget shortfall. [WBEZ]

Today’s move comes after an investigation by WBEZ and ProPublica Illinois found that the city’s ticketing program disproportionately affects low-income and black communities. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Lightfoot formally introduced her regulations on recreational marijuana. Her plan calls for banning the sale of pot in most of downtown when it becomes legal in Illinois on Jan. 1. [Chicago Tribune]

And aldermen backed a plan that would allow the city to release a secret report on the Laquan McDonald shooting. [NBC5]

4. Saudi Arabia says Iran “sponsored” oil attack

Saudi officials today displayed the wreckage of drones and cruise missiles that they say prove Iran was behind the weekend attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

Rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Saudi officials said evidence collected so far rules out Yemen as the launch site of 18 drones and seven cruise missiles that were used in the attack. A major question remains: Were the weapons actually fired from Iran?

President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials have blamed Iran. But Tehran says it wasn’t involved and threatened to retaliate against attacks on Iran.

In a sign that tensions continue to escalate, Trump today ordered the U.S. Treasury to “substantially increase” sanctions against Iran, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attacks on Saudi Arabia an “act of war.” [BBC]

5. So who won the Israeli election?

It’s unclear because neither party secured enough votes for an outright win. So now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party and the centrist Blue and White party will have to try forging a governing coalition, which will likely come down to who can gain support from Israel’s third party.

Either way, yesterday’s election isn’t great news for Netanyahu, who is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. He failed to create a governing coalition after last April’s election, and this week’s do-over didn’t give him a stronger mandate. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• The nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise released a back-to-school PSA that might be disturbing for some viewers. [WBEZ]

• Illinois’ child welfare agency opened 24 new cases into alleged abuse by Catholic priests. [Chicago Tribune]

• Lollapalooza received a $645,000 clean-up bill. [Chicago Tribune]

• Did you know WBEZ and Comedy Central teamed up on a podcast, South Side Stories? Because there are two new episodes out today. [Apple]

Oh, and one more thing …

From Mary Jane to chronic, there are nearly 300 names for marijuana. WBEZ talked to a linguist from the University of Chicago (because we obviously don’t have an internal expert) about some of the many names for weed, whether you should use them, and what are their origins and backstories. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

What games do you enjoy playing, either board games or video games or anything else?

Meg Joray writes:

“What a timely question. I haven’t played video games since having kids 7 years ago (or very often prior to that) … until last month, when we bought a Nintendo Switch.

“Since then, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has taken over my husband’s and my free time. And sleep time. We had to implement an every-other-day custody arrangement of sorts, and may have to set up parental controls to lock ourselves out at a reasonable bedtime. HA! It has its downfalls (limited weapon stash being our main complaint), but the puzzles add a double layer of enjoyment and the game world is engrossing. Obviously.”

And Steph Powers tweets:

“Our gaming group has been together since college. When we’re not playing D&D, we throw down a variety of board games (Dice Throne, Clank!, Thornwatch, etc). We’ve started the legacy version of Betrayal at the House on the Hill, & so far it’s great!”

What are your favorite games? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

Have a nice night! I’ll see you tomorrow. And if you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.