Good afternoon! It’s piping plover time. Imani, the son of Monty and Rose, returned to Chicago’s Montrose Beach. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Northwestern students clash with police over an antiwar camp

Dozens of protesters set up an encampment this morning on the university’s campus in Evanston to protest the war in Gaza, my colleague Isabel Funk reports.

Tensions appeared to escalate when police arrived and told demonstrators they risked arrest if tents were not taken down. (University officials barred non-student news media from covering the protest.)

Protesters then formed a human chain to prevent police from pushing through to the encampment. As of noon, no arrests had been made.

The protest comes as similar student demonstrations have sprung up at campuses across the nation in recent days, including Columbia University in New York, Emerson College in Boston and the University of Southern California.

Some universities have called in police to break up demonstrations, resulting in scuffles between students, faculty and police. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. Hamas releases a video showing a hostage with Chicago roots

The video is the first sign of life of Hersh Goldberg-Polin since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, The Associated Press reports. It’s unclear when the video was taken.

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Golberg and Jon Polin, are Chicago natives. Last week, Rachel Goldberg was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in 2024.

“This distressing video serves as an urgent call to take swift and decisive action to resolve this horrific humanitarian crisis and ensure the safe return of our loved ones,” his family said in a statement.

Twelve U.S. citizens were captured by Hamas, and five have Illinois connections, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told the Sun-Times. Natalie and Judith Raanan, the Evanston daughter and mother, were released by Hamas on Oct. 20. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. A new Bears stadium could cost taxpayers $1.5 billion

Team officials say the plan to build a domed stadium on the lakefront would require at least $325 million in public funding for initial infrastructure upgrades, my colleague Mitchell Armentrout reports.

After that, two additional infrastructure phases that would “maximize the site” and bring “additional opportunities for publicly owned amenities” could bring taxpayers’ tab to $1.5 billion over about five years, according to Karen Murphy, the team’s executive vice president of stadium development. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, critics of the project question why Mayor Brandon Johnson, who campaigned on a social service-driven agenda to “invest in people,” is siding with the Chicago Bears.

“With Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration standing with the Bears, it is clear the city is willing to put private interests ahead of public benefit and cheer-on this ill-conceived and expensive effort to build a gargantuan domed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront,” Sun-Times columnist Lee Bey writes. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. TikTok vows to sue over a potential ban

President Joe Biden this week signed legislation forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the social media platform or be banned.

But the new law faces an “uphill battle in court,” The Associated Press reports.

“Critics of the sell-or-be-banned ultimatum argue it violates TikTok users’ First Amendment rights,” the AP reports. “The app’s China-based owner, ByteDance, has already promised to sue, calling the measure unconstitutional.” [AP]

At the same time, Biden’s campaign will stay on TikTok and is using “enhanced security measures,” Axios reports. [Axios]

Meanwhile, Reuters reports ByteDance would “prefer shutting down its loss-making app rather than sell” if all legal options are exhausted. [Reuters]

5. Animals get stressed out during eclipses

And it’s apparently our fault.

Last month’s eclipse provided scientists with an opportunity to study how animals react to the astronomical event.

Biologist Adam Hartstone-Rose and a team of researchers, zookeepers and high school students observed nearly three dozen different species at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, NPR reports.

He found that animals were noticeably less stressed compared to the “quite dramatic behavior” he saw during an eclipse in 2017. His hypothesis?

There were fewer screaming people near the animals.

“This is seemingly really strong evidence that animals that exhibit anxiety during an eclipse are anxious not because of the eclipse itself, but because of the human reaction to the eclipse,” Hartstone-Rose said. “We think that the animals are just much more perceptive of our own emotionality during an eclipse than we previously sort of gave them credit for.” [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical of former President Donald Trump’s claim of blanket immunity. [NPR]

• Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes conviction, a big victory for the #MeToo movement, was overturned by New York’s highest court. [NPR]

• Paris’s Moulin Rouge lost its windmill sails. [BBC]

• The Lord of the Rings trilogy is returning to theaters. [Hollywood Reporter]

Oh, and one more thing …

This Saturday is going to be bumping for bookworms as an annual indie bookstore crawl returns, my colleagues Phyllis Cha and Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis report.

“It’s the day I’ve been looking forward to for months,” said Sarah Collins, who hopes to visit more than a dozen bookstores over the course of 12 hours.

Participants get a “passport” and collect “stamps” for proof of visitation. No purchase at the stores is needed to get a stamp.

Hitting up 10 bookstores earns visitors a 10% discount at all participating locations for a year — and visiting 15 equals a 15% discount.

“We’re really lucky to live in a city that has so many indie bookstores that I sort of just love this idea that there’s this day that we can all get together and celebrate as a community,” Collins said. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

With the weather warming up, what are your favorite restaurants for outdoor dining, whether it’s a patio or a rooftop?

Beth Casey writes:

“We love having an ice cold beer at Bacino’s on the lakefront at Diversey Harbor. There’s a driving range and mini golf too!”

And Kathryn L. Koch writes:

“I lived in Carol Stream as a 7 year old in 1961-1962. My father was transferred from Whippany, NJ (we were all from NYC originally) to work in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. He designed vending machines and jukeboxes for Canteen. One of our favorite things was to go to the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago and have Bismarck [or German egg] pancakes. My family is of German descent and this was heaven! I still find lingonberries and make this delight.”

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