Hey there! It’s Thursday, and with this weather, I might have to move backwards in my five-phase plan for wearing pants and go back to athletic shorts. Here’s what you need to know today.(PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Enhanced employment benefits, set to expire soon, helped prop up the economy

The federal government’s $600 boost to weekly unemployment payments not only allowed laid off workers to recover lost income, but it also appeared to motivate them to spend more than they did before the pandemic, according to a new analysis from JPMorgan Chase Institute and the University of Chicago.

The additional $600 supplement to jobless benefits is scheduled to expire at the end of the month unless Congress and the White House can reach a deal on extending the payments. If the enhanced benefits end, the consequences would extend beyond laid off workers to businesses that enjoyed the spike in spending. [New York Times]

The news comes as retail sales climbed 7.5% last month, according to records released today by the U.S. Commerce Department. [NPR]

Meanwhile, jobless claims in the U.S. topped 1 million for the 17th week in a row. [AP]

2. “I don’t think about it a ton,” says man in demographic that makes up a huge amount of Chicago’s COVID-19 cases

The Chicago Tribune talked to young adults after news that 30% of new cases in the city were from people between the ages of 18 and 29.

“I don’t think about it a ton,” a 25-year-old Wicker Park resident told the newspaper. “I think, if I get it, I’m healthy. I’ll be OK. That’s reckless. I know.” [Chicago Tribune]

Meanwhile, cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Illinois. State officials today reported 1,257 new confirmed cases and 25 additional deaths. The rolling, seven-day average in daily cases was 1,057 as of yesterday, according to The New York Times. On July 9, the daily average was 826. The state’s positivity rate is 3.1%. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union is urging school district officials to begin the upcoming school year remotely. [WBEZ]

And here’s an informative guide to Gov. JB Pritzker’s revised reopening plan that divides the state into 11 zones. [Chicago Tribune]

3. Russian hackers are trying to steal vaccine research

The U.S., British and Canadian governments are today warning health care organizations that Russian hackers are using phishing and malware to try and gain access to vaccine research.

Western intelligence agencies believe the hacking group known as Cozy Bear is behind the attacks, which mark a new front in the cyber wars with Russia. Cozy Bear is one of the more successful hacking groups that’s believed to be affiliated with Russian intelligence agencies, and they were implicated in the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee. [NPR]

The attacks come as researchers are optimistic about a vaccine candidate being tested in the U.S. An experimental drug boosted the immune system in ways scientists had hoped for, and it will now move forward to a final round of testing later this month.

The potential vaccine is developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. [AP]

4. Republican convention in Florida will be scaled back next month

Florida’s massive outbreak of COVID-19 has caused the Republican Party to announce a number of changes to next month’s nominating convention. Attendance will be restricted to about 2,500 party delegates for the first few days, and the convention will include both outdoor and indoor events.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said a number of safety measures will be in place, such as temperature checks and COVID-19 testing. The convention is scheduled to take place Aug. 24-27. [NPR]

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump shook up his campaign this week as several polls show him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Veteran political operative Bill Stepien will replace Brad Parscale as campaign manager, a change that comes less than four months before the November election. [New York Times]

5. Ex-top cop Eddie Johnson drank “several large servings of rum” before officers found him passed out

That’s according to a report released today from City Hall’s top watchdog, which accuses former Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson of driving drunk before apparently passing out behind the wheel of a city-issued car for nearly two hours.

The report from Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s office provides more details about the night when police officers found Johnson asleep behind the wheel last fall, which caused Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fire Johnson just weeks before he was scheduled to retire.

The inspector general’s investigation accused Johnson of repeatedly lying about what caused him to fall asleep. The report also said multiple officers failed to conduct a sobriety test and allowed Johnson to drive himself home. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Chicago police refused to work with federal immigration agents 14 times in the last three months, according to a city report. [WBEZ]
• A high school in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood voted to remove cops from its campus, the second public school to do so. [Block Club Chicago]
• The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to restore voting rights for some felons in Florida. [Washington Post]
• Here is what we know, and what we don’t know, about the unprecedented hack on Twitter yesterday. [BBC]

Oh, and one more thing …

Scientists have finally found an answer to an age-old question: How many hot dogs can a person eat in 10 minutes?

“The answer is 83,” said Dr. James Smoliga, a veterinarian and exercise scientist who teaches at High Point University in North Carolina.

That may sound like a lot, but gray wolves can pack it away like no one’s business, eating about 11 hot dogs per minute. And bears can eat eight hot dogs per minute.

Bon appétit! [New York Times]

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?

Jeanine writes:

“Avatar: The Last Airbender! Our son was just a little too young for the show when it first aired, but now that it’s on Netflix, our whole family is watching it together and loving it! We’re glad our son (now 18!) skipped it so we can now all enjoy it for the first time.

“We only watch one episode per day so we can spend our daily quarantine walks through the neighborhood discussing what we’ve seen and what we think will happen next. We should finish the series right before our son starts his first semester at college.”

What have you been watching? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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