Lead story: The tragic shooting outside the Empire State Building Friday — the latest in a string of mass shootings this summer — did what few other news stories have done: upstage violence here in Chicago, where 19 people were shot the night before, including eight people shot in a single incident — a mass shooting on its own. The city reminded everyone of its violent reputation over the weekend, though: At least nine people were killed and 28 injured in shootings between Friday afternoon to early Sunday evening. Police have arrested two suspects in one of those incidents, a homicide in Bronzeville. There was also a resurgence of mob activity as a roving group of two dozen teenagers caused havoc along Michigan Avenue on Saturday night.

Adding to police woes (supposedly) is a new study that shows city gangs have a pretty easy time getting their guns right in their own backyards. Police Supt. Garry McCarthy spent the weekend promoting a huge drug bust and has continued to say crime in Chicago is really a perception problem; he said of the CPD, “We’re not winning, we’re not losing. We’re basically treading water.” After another weekend like this, I think it’s safe to say the city is drowning.        

Also: With Tropical Storm Isaac moving northwest and away from Tampa, it looks like the GOP Convention will go on as planned, albeit in a slightly shorter form than originally planned. With today’s activities canceled because of the weather, the GOP will squeeze everything they possibly can into the next three days. WBEZ reporters Tony Arnold and Alex Keefe are reporting from Tampa, and I’ll do my best to collect stories from the convention here, too. A warning to Mitt, though: Your speech conflicts with my Fantasy Football draft so keep it quick, OK? 

And then: Speaking of Isaac, the storm is expected to make it to hurricane status soon and is also expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast; some models take it almost dead center over New Orleans. While the storm will likely hit very early on Wednesday morning, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, there’s nothing to indicate this storm will be as nearly destructive as that one. At last report, the National Hurricane Center forecasted Isaac will make landfall as a Category One storm. That’s still strong enough to do plenty of structural damage and flooding, though, so the coastal communities have been on high alert since earlier in the weekend.

RIP: This weekend, the nation lost a true hero: former astronaut Neil Armstrong. Armstrong will always be remembered as the first man to set foot on the moon, but he was more than that: a test pilot who worked for NASA in the years leading up to his famed Apollo 11 mission and a renowned engineer. While Armstrong’s life post-lunar landing wasn’t full of colorful exploits like his Apollo 11 mate Buzz Aldrin –  who punched out a conspiracy theorist and has made multiple pop culture appearances – Armstrong remained dedicated to the exploration of space and to his career as an engineer. The wonder we felt when the Curiosity rover landed on Mars earlier this month was something everyone felt for Armstrong. It’s hard to believe that moon landings became passé; the last one happened almost 40 years ago. But that landing will remain one of humanity’s greatest achievements and most indelible images. Armstrong’s words remind us of how we reached for the impossible and succeeded, and of a time when anything seemed within our reach.

Elsewhere

• Speaking of Armstrong, here’s an unread eulogy for the Apollo 11 crew originally written in 1969 in case they didn’t survive the trip to the moon and back. Nixon’s speech was also the inspiration for this amazing episode of the Podcast The Truth.
• Today in not-shocking-at-all news, there were plenty of signs that accused Aurora mass shooting suspect James Holmes was in trouble.
• A Maryland murder trial is the new epicenter of the debate over using MRI scans as lie detectors.
• Apple came out a big, big winner in its lawsuit against Samsung.
• Killing trees so we can save them? Sounds sadistic to me.
• There’s a lion on the loose in Essex, England and monkeys on the streets of Tampa.
• Revisiting nine weird Wonder Woman villains. 

Looking ahead

• The drought continues but the Chicago area did see some relief last night with extended heavy rains, resulting in minor flooding, including on Lake Shore Drive.
• The Reader’s Steve Borgia takes a different look at poverty in the city’s black neighborhoods and how it’s just as deadly as homicides.
• An alderman wants the new food truck ordinance to get a second look to figure out how ice cream trucks factor in.
• It’s good Gov. Quinn is putting aside pension reform to focus on the more important issues.            
• Some local women have been on a road trip to Todd Akin’s Missouri offices as a result of the rep’s recent verbal diarrhea.
• Rahmbo finished the triathlon three minutes faster than he did last year. Afterward, he blamed unions for slowing him down even more.
• Okay, guys, I think the Children’s Museum has now officially run out of ideas.
  

Sports

• Tough news for the Bears as the move into the final week of the preseason. Wide receiver Johnny Knox has been placed on the PUP list and will miss the season’s first six weeks, and rookie safety Brandon Hardin was placed on injured reserve.
• Huzzah! Rejoice! For Chris Volstad has finally won a game! Bring him the finest meats and cheeses in the land and regale him with songs of his mighty battle won!
• White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd, who’s already seen time on the DL this year, exited the Sox game early yesterday with the ominous-sounding elbow discomfort.
• Speaking of the Sox, Saturday’s huge blow-up could get manager Robin Ventura suspended but no one will bother with Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson because, let’s be honest, the guy is awful and no one cares.
• You know what announce isn’t awful? Vin Scully. The man is 84 and makes Hawk sound like a babbling baby. Scully announced yesterday he’s coming back for another season of Dodger baseball, his 65th overall in the booth.
• Just like Volstad, the Sky snapped a big losing skid, beating the Connecticut Sun to end their losing streak at nine games.
• Already without starting QB Tommy Rees because he couldn’t outrun a cop, Notre Dame will also start the season without the services of their top running back, Cierre Wood.

Finally
While Neil Armstrong’s passing grabbed headlines this weekend, it overshadowed the death of Jerry Nelson, who for many years voiced the popular Sesame Street character The Count (as well as Robin, Kermit’s nephew, and Gobo from Fraggle Rock).