Hey there! It’s Friday, and there’s been breaking news all day. Here’s what you need to know. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Chicago Public Schools wants academic year to begin with a mix of in-person and online classes

Chicago Public Schools unveiled a preliminary reopening plan today that will see most students dividing their weeks between in-person and online classes, reports WBEZ’s Sarah Karp. The school district also wants preschoolers in school full-time while the oldest students — high school juniors and seniors — will take classes entirely online.

The district’s plan comes after the Chicago Teachers Union this week called for the next academic year to begin entirely online. School officials said today’s plan will change if COVID-19 cases spike.

The school district is hosting a set of virtual community meetings starting the week of July 27. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, in the neighboring suburb of Evanston, students will begin the upcoming school year remotely. [Chicago Tribune]

New cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Illinois. Today, state officials announced 1,384 news cases and 22 new deaths. The rolling, seven-day average in daily cases was 1,060 as of yesterday, according to The New York Times. On July 10, the daily average was 873. [WBEZ]

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration recently said stricter restrictions could return if the average number of daily cases surpassed 200. But city officials told WBEZ that is not the only number they’re watching. [WBEZ]

And Gov. JB Pritzker this week revised his reopening plan as the number of new cases has increased. WBEZ’s Al Keefe put together this easy-to-read guide on what’s in the new plan. [WBEZ]

2. ComEd will pay $200 million fine for alleged bribery scheme connected to House Speaker Michael Madigan

ComEd’s day of reckoning arrived today, less than a year after WBEZ first reported that federal authorities were investigating the utility giant over allegations it hired politically connected employees and consultants in exchange for favorable government actions, like electricity rate increases.

Under an agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, ComEd admitted it steered jobs, contracts and payments to allies of Public Official A, who later was identified in a court filing as Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

ComEd was charged with bribery, but that charge will be dropped so long as the company pays a $200 million fine and complies with regulations for three years.

Madigan, who has not been charged, denies any wrongdoing.

Gov. JB Pritzker said Madigan “must resign” if the allegations against him are true. [WBEZ]

3. Majority of Americans now “strongly” disapprove of Trump’s handling of pandemic, poll finds

Only 38% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, down from 46% in May, according to a poll released today from The Washington Post and ABC News.

The survey also found that 52% of the public now “strongly” disapproves of Trump’s handling of the public health crisis. The president also faces a credibility problem, with more than 6 in 10 of Americans saying they do not trust what he says about the outbreak.

A majority of Americans — 63% — said it’s more important to contain the spread of the coronavirus even if it hurts the economy, and 8 in 10 people said they wear face masks most of the time or all of the time while in public, the poll found. [Washington Post]

4. Task force report says 18 states in the “red zone” should roll back reopenings

An unpublished document prepared for the White House’s coronavirus task force suggests 18 states need to enact tougher restrictions, such as closing bars and gyms and capping social gatherings at 10 people, according to The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom.

“The fact that it’s not public makes no sense to me,” Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told the center. “Why are we hiding this information from the American people? This should be published and updated every day.”

The document, dated July 14 and obtained by the center, says 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases, meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. [Center for Public Integrity]

Meanwhile, The New York Times used survey research data to create a map that estimates where in the country Americans are wearing face masks. [NYT]

5. Confederate flags are effectively banned from U.S. military bases

Without using the word “ban” or naming the Confederate flag, the Pentagon today rolled out a carefully worded policy that “flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols,” according to a memo from Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Officials told The Associated Press that the policy is a “creative way” to ban the Confederate flag without angering President Trump, who has defended the flag as well as Confederate monuments and statues. The policy includes a list of flags that can be flown on bases. The Confederate flag is not one of them. [AP]

Here’s what else is happening

• Protesters in Portland say federal authorities in unmarked vans are detaining them. [Oregon Public Radio]
• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, says her cancer has returned and she is undergoing chemotherapy. [NPR]
• Fifteen women say they were sexually harassed and verbally abused by former Washington Redskins employees. [Washington Post]
• Capt. Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old British man who raised more than $40 million for health care workers by walking laps in his garden, was knighted today. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

I usually only hear screams when I close my eyes during work meetings, but Iceland is broadcasting screams from people around the world.

The country’s tourism arm, Promote Iceland, has a website where folks can relieve stress by recording their screams. The website shows a large yellow speaker in idyllic countryside settings where the screams are broadcast.

“You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out,” Promote Iceland says. [CBS News]

Tell me something good …

I’ve been watching A LOT of trashy television shows lately (Bravo’s Below Deck) and I’d like to know: What show or shows have you been watching since the pandemic started?

George Gerdow writes:

“Over the weekend of Juneteenth, I binged on Watchmen, which HBO offered free in commemoration of the holiday. As I was just about to start teaching an online course on United States history from Reconstruction to the Present, I felt I was time-tripping between events portrayed in the series, especially the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, and the George Floyd protests, 7th Kavalry, Proud Boys, Cyclops, KKK. Class has taken on a rare urgency.”

Thank you so much to everyone who reached out this week. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone, but it was a pleasure hearing from y’all.

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday.