Good afternoon! And happy birthday to my husband, Joshua! We’re grabbing banana splits as soon as I’m done with this newsletter. Speaking of which, here’s what you need to know today.

1. The Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to restore full access to an abortion pill

The Justice Department today said it will ask the Supreme Court to block a ruling by a federal appeals court that limited access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

The appeals court late last night ruled the pill can still be used, but it said the drug cannot be distributed through the mail and limited its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, the AP reports.

Mifepristone has been available for millions of women for more than 20 years. But a Texas lawsuit argues the Food and Drug Administration’s initial approval of the drug was flawed. [AP]

Democrat-led states have begun stockpiling abortion medications in response. In Illinois, clinics tell the Chicago Tribune they are coming up with backup plans if mifepristone is no longer available. [Chicago Tribune]

2. Getting around Chicago is a huge pain right now. How are you dealing with it?

Seriously, I was on DuSable Lake Shore Drive forever yesterday morning.

And some of my friends were saying traffic on the Kennedy Expressway is horrible now that it’s under construction.

AND what is up with gas prices lately?

Getting around the city feels like an endurance test, so WBEZ wants to know how you’re reacting.

Are you taking a different commute to work these days? Have you ditched the car entirely or found a different bike route? Tell us in the form in the link, and your answers will help inform our reporting. [WBEZ]

3. Biden moves to expand health care coverage to DACA recipients

The Biden administration today proposed a plan that would allow immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to qualify for health insurance through Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

“They’re American in every way except for on paper,” President Joe Biden said in a video posted on his Twitter page. “We need to give Dreamers the opportunities and support they deserve.”

An estimated 580,000 people last year were enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which shields some immigrants from deportation and allows them to work legally in the U.S.

But DACA recipients are still denied many benefits available to U.S. citizens and can’t join federally funded health insurance programs like Medicaid, which has seen a surge in demand during the pandemic. [AP]

4. You may be able to charge an electric vehicle at … Taco Bell?

More restaurants and retailers will provide charging stations in an effort to attract more customers, a move that coincides with a national push to get more electric vehicles on the road in the coming years, reports my colleague David Struett.

“Taco Bell opened its first charger in California and plans to open more elsewhere,” Struett reports. “Subway said it would open EV charging ‘oasis’ locations, resembling drive-in diners.”

More than 51,000 electric vehicles are registered in the Chicago area. But there’s only about 1,300 public charging stations across Illinois, a huge problem amid national efforts to boost electric vehicles and curb car pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week proposed new emissions standards so strict that two-thirds of new vehicles sold in 2032 could be electric. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. The intimacy industry is booming

Chicago’s theater scene appears to have enthusiastically embraced intimacy choreographers, who help performers navigate through simulated love and sex scenes, reports my colleague Stefano Esposito.

This shift is aimed at better protecting artists against mistreatment and harassment.

Intimacy professionals work side by side with directors to work through issues, like if a scene calls for a kiss, should it be a peck or more passionate? And how long should it last?

“We aren’t the sex police. We are trying to make sex depicted on stage and screen as safe as possible,” said Laura Sturm, a professor at Columbia College Chicago. The school this fall will begin a yearlong, graduate-level program in stage and screen intimacy. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested in connection to the leak of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war. [AP]
• Mourners gathered today for the funeral of Lt. Jan Tchoryk, one of two Chicago firefighters who died on the job last week. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• NASCAR says it will put special mufflers on race cars to help reduce noise from this summer’s Chicago street race. [Block Club Chicago]
• Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” sneakers sold at auction for $2.2 million. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

“Picture a bowl cut but with the bangs straight across — and the sides shaved clean,” writes my colleague Nereida Moreno.

She’s talking about The Edgar, a haircut that generates a lot of opinions and has gained widespread popularity among Gen-Z Latinos in recent years.

“Kids ask for that haircut and the parents get upset because it’s like, ‘What did you cut?’ And you hear the kids arguing with their parents, like, ‘This is the way I like it,’ ” said Victor Batrez, owner of Empire Cutz in McKinley Park. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

I’ve got the windows open and listening to music, trying to enjoy this great weather while it lasts. And I’d like to know what songs put you in a great mood?

Joyce Miller-Bean writes:

“Two songs that never fail to put me in a great mood are Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s version of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and Laura Nyro’s ‘Sweet Blindness.’ I’m going to happily listen to both songs now.”

Chris writes:

“De La Soul’s ‘The Magic Number.’ It’s fun, creative and a great intro to golden era hip hop for kids. That can actually be said for the entire 3 Feet High and Rising album, which recently came to streaming services.”

And Leigh writes:

“I like to play Sublime when the sun is out and my car windows are down. Maybe not the most appropriate choice for a 40-something mom in an SUV, but it makes me feel like a grungy little 19-year-old again!”

Feel free to email me, and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.