Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and I’ll be honest: I wish it were Friday already. But alas, it’s not meant to be. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Chicago is “getting close” to a point where it can lift mask and vaccine mandates, top doc says

Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s top public health official, today said the city is not currently in a position to lift mask and vaccination requirements for many businesses, but she said that could change next week.

The news comes as Gov. JB Pritzker is preparing to lift a statewide mask mandate on Feb. 28. Chicago officials initially signaled they would follow the state, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot this week said she is not prepared to put down an “artificial date” for ending the requirements.

So what is the plan? Arwady says three of four risk metrics must fall under a certain threshold. Those metrics are average daily caseloads, the positivity rate and the number of hospital beds and intensive care beds that are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

So far, the city’s positivity rate of 2% is the only metric that has hit a benchmark for removing mandates. The other factors remain too high, Arwady said. [NBC5]

Meanwhile, state officials are not tracking who is receiving COVID-19 treatments that can keep patients out of hospitals, further raising questions over access to medical care during the pandemic. [WBEZ]

2. The University of Chicago faces calls to pay $1 billion in reparations

Students and residents near the University of Chicago say the school should pay a total of $1 billion in reparations over 20 years for its role in segregating and gentrifying the South Side, reports Block Club Chicago.

“If [the university is] going to stay here and be the major presence in this community, they need to do something to contribute to the community,” said Patricia Tatum, a longtime Woodlawn resident.

A coalition of community groups and a student organization are demanding the university annually give more than $70 million for affordable housing grants, rental assistance and education programs.

A university spokesperson did not address the coalition’s specific demands, but said the school “has engaged with community concerns over many years and is taking many of the steps that community residents and elected officials have suggested.” [Block Club Chicago]

3. Lightfoot can now appoint someone to the City Council. Who will she pick and how will she do it?

Mayor Lightfoot can now appoint someone to the City Council after a federal jury found Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson guilty of income tax fraud this week.

State law requires Thompson to resign from his seat representing the city’s 11th Ward. Lightfoot has 60 days to name a replacement, and the City Council has 30 days to act on her choice, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

But it’s not clear what process the mayor will use. When it comes to vacancies on the council, the mayor can pretty much do whatever he or she wants.

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley would just straight up pick someone without any public input. But facing calls for more transparency, Daley began accepting applications, though the process was still opaque. (I wrote about it waaay back in the day when I reported on politics.)

Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel went several steps further and created a committee to review applications and conduct interviews. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Families of victims in the Sandy Hook massacre reached a settlement with the maker of the gun used in the attack

The families of nine victims killed in the attack have agreed to a $73 million settlement with Remington, which made the AR-15-style rifle that killed 20 students and six educators.

“These nine families have shared a single goal from the very beginning: to do whatever they could to help prevent the next Sandy Hook. It is hard to imagine an outcome that better accomplishes that goal,” Josh Koskoff, an attorney for victims’ families, said in a statement today.

Two years after the 2012 tragedy, the families sued Remington Arms Co., alleging the manufacturer marketed and sold assault rifles to civilians, “prioritizing profit over public safety.”

The gun maker filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and its assets were sold off. But Remington’s four insurers have all agreed to pay the full amount of coverage available, Koskoff said. [NPR]

5. Biden warns the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains possible as Putin says he’ll pull back some troops

President Joe Biden today said U.S. officials have not been able to verify Russia’s claim that it is withdrawing some troops along Ukraine’s border, saying “an invasion remains distinctly possible.”

Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had decided to “partially pull back troops,” a signal that the Kremlin may be trying to de-escalate the situation.

But Putin did not say how many troops were being pulled back and where they were going. And NATO officials and European allies say they haven’t seen signs of de-escalation yet.

In recent days, concerns grew that Russia could soon attack Ukraine and quickly seize the nation’s capital of Kyiv with more than 130,000 troops surrounding the country. [AP]

Here’s what else is happening

• A longtime accountant for former President Donald Trump says a decade of his financial statements are unreliable. [NPR]
• Prince Andrew reached a settlement with a woman who says she was trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein when she was a minor. [NPR]
• Scientists warn that ocean water along the U.S. coasts will rise about a foot by 2050. [NPR]
• Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will host this year’s Oscars. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

A third person has been cured of HIV.

Scientists today announced a woman of mixed race has been cured of HIV, news that “opens up the possibility of curing more people of diverse racial backgrounds than was previously possible,” reports The New York Times.

“The fact that she’s mixed race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact,” Dr. Steven Deeks, an AIDS expert who was not involved in the work, told the newspaper.

Scientists used a method involving umbilical cord blood, which is more available than stem cells and doesn’t need to be as closely matched with a patient.

Nearly 38 million people are living with HIV worldwide, and about 73% are receiving treatment. Women account for more than half of all cases, and scientists believe the infections progress differently in women than men. [NYT]

Tell me something good …

I can’t stop thinking about how spooky the trailer is for Jordan Peele’s new movie, Nope, that will be out this summer. So I’d like to know: What movie or TV show actually scared you, either now or as a kid?

Kristin E. writes:

“Despite being 13 years old, I had to sleep in my parents’ room for like a week after I saw the Brendan Frasier version of The Mummy. That 1999 CGI was TOO SCARY FOR ME.”

And Laura Brown writes:

“I was about 5 when E.T. came out. The majority of the movie is enjoyable for children, but the scene where those men come into the house with their hazmat suits and loud, echoing breathing to take E.T. away absolutely terrified me!!”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah, and your responses might be shared here this week.

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