Hi! It’s Monday, and Hunter’s out this week. I’ll try to insert an appropriate amount of snark. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. U.S. Supreme Court hands abortion-rights a victory

In a win for abortion-rights advocates, the Supreme Court today struck down a Louisiana law that required doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The law was nearly identical to a Texas law struck down by the court in 2016.

Abortion opponents had high hopes that the now-conservative majority would reverse course, but Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four liberals and cited adherence to precedent to invalidate the Louisiana law.

This analysis by NPR shows why abortion will likely be an important issue in the 2020 election. [NPR]

The Supreme Court also decided it will not hear a challenge to a new federal death penalty procedure, meaning the government could resume executions for the first time since 2003. [Washington Post]

2. More than a dozen Illinois laws go into effect Wednesday

The changes starting on July 1 include a higher gas tax, steeper penalties for distracted drivers and requiring LGBTQ history and civics be taught in schools. Find a list of the new laws here. [Chicago Tribune]

And Illinois’ minimum wage workers will start making $10 an hour on Wednesday — the second wage hike this year. The raise is part of a bill that will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, in phases, by 2025.

On Jan. 1, the minimum wage increased in Illinois from $8.25 to $9.25. [Herald-Review]

Speaking of employment, job seekers face more competition as working from home becomes permanent and employers are recruiting out-of-state for remote workforces. [Chicago Tribune]

3. Two more children shot to death in Chicago

A 10-year-old girl and a boy just under 2 years old were shot and killed Saturday in separate shootings, adding to a grim count of children killed in recent weeks. Five children were fatally shot in Chicago on the weekend of June 20-21.

Through the first six months of 2020, Chicago has seen a 25% increase in shootings over the same period in 2019, according to Chicago Tribune data. [Chicago Tribune]

And the upcoming Fourth of July weekend is generally one of the most violent weekends in Chicago. Last year, six people were killed and 63 were wounded by gun violence.

In anticipation of a violent weekend, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said 1,200 additional officers will hit the streets starting Thursday. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Only 2 states are reporting a decline in new coronavirus cases

Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only two states that are reporting a decline in new cases compared to the week before — and 36 states reported an increase. [CNN]

In Illinois, the seven-day positivity rate remains low at 2.7%. There were 738 new coronavirus cases announced today and 14 deaths — the lowest single-day death toll since March. [IDPH]

The pandemic is continuing to reveal gaps in the health care system. An investigation by WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch found that Illinois’ lack of a central agency overseeing patient transfers leaves small hospitals scrambling to find beds for their sickest patients. [WBEZ]

And Gov. JB Pritzker is facing criticism over his handling of COVID-19 in prisons. [WBEZ]

5. Chicago’s coronavirus has “taken over the world”

A genetic mutation of coronavirus that dominated Chicago’s outbreak has now spread around the world — leaving researchers scrambling to figure out why.

Early research shows the strain, known as “G,” is as much as 10 times more infectious than the original strain found in China, and is also tied to the outbreaks in Europe and New York City. The mutation changes just one amino acid of about 1,300 — but seems to allow the virus to attack cells easier.

“We were shocked,” one scientist said of G. “Voilà! It was just this huge increase in viral transduction.”

The good news is G doesn’t seem to make patients sicker than other strains or lead to more deaths. It also doesn’t change the virus’ response to antibodies, so vaccines in development now — based on the original strain — should still be effective against G. [Washington Post]

Here’s what else is happening

• Mississippi votes to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its flag. [NPR]

• The Boeing 737 Max can start flight tests. [CNN]

• Walmart will reopen all Chicago stores by the end of the year after looting. [Block Club Chicago]

• The Golden State Killer pleaded guilty to 106 attacks. [LA Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

If you’re like me and haven’t seen Hamilton yet, you’re in luck. It’s coming to Disney+ on July 3.

Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda told NPR’s Weekend Edition the musical is just as relevant today as when it first hit Broadway in 2015.

“In the Obama era, some felt it was hopeful,” Miranda said. “In the Trump era, some felt it was defiant. And in this moment right now, what I’m seeing is the language of revolution everywhere. And so the language of revolution present in this show from 244 years ago is being felt again in this different way by the Black and brown future of this country.”

Miranda added that he hopes this “oldest art form of any” will be back in theaters soon, but that for now, fans will get to “see what the original show looked like as filmed.”

Now, which of my friends is a Disney+ subscriber? [NPR]

Tell me something good …

Speaking of theater, since my first high school performance in ninth grade, I’ve loved everything about the stage and have participated in community theater into adulthood.

In fact, my husband proposed to me on stage at the end of one of my favorite shows I’ve been in: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. If you haven’t seen the Broadway version, it’s an incredibly moving story of friendship and hope in the face of injustice.

Do you have a favorite theater performance? Feel free to tweet or email me your responses, and they might be shared here this week.

Thanks for reading and 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.