Hey there! It’s Twosday, or 2/22/22 — a rare palindrome date sparking celebrations across the globe. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Chicago to drop most indoor mask mandates on Feb. 28

In less than a week, you’ll no longer need to wear a mask and show your vaccine card at most indoor public spaces like bars, restaurants and gyms, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced today. The city will lift its mask mandate and vaccination requirement on Feb. 28, mirroring Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to do so at the state level.

Masks will still be required in Chicago public schools, on public transit, at day cares and in health care settings.

“My goal is to make sure that we never have to shut down our economy again,” Lightfoot said. “I don’t sit here with a crystal ball able to predict what the future is, but I feel very confident that we are on the right path and that we’re moving in the right direction.”

The city’s COVID-19 metrics have been improving as the omicron surge wanes, with several hitting “lower risk” status. Still, businesses can keep mitigations in place if they choose. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Hong Kong plans to test its entire population for COVID-19 in March as the city grapples with its worst outbreak yet. [AP]

2. Biden says Russia’s military actions in Ukraine are the start of an invasion

President Joe Biden today announced a sweeping set of sanctions in response to what his administration says is “the beginning of a Russian invasion” of Ukraine.

“We’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western finance,” Biden said. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”

The economic action came after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk, two breakaway regions of Ukraine, as independent republics and announced plans to deploy “peacekeepers.” On Tuesday, the Russian legislature officially approved the deployment of troops beyond Russia’s borders.

In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ordered his government to halt certification of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was set to deliver natural gas to Germany from Russia. [NPR]

3. Three men who killed Ahmaud Arbery convicted of federal hate crimes

A Georgia jury today found Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan guilty on all counts in a federal hate crimes trial. The three men, all white, were convicted in a state trial last year of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man jogging through their neighborhood.

In the federal case, prosecutors set out to prove that race was a motivating factor in the killing, calling on witnesses to testify about racist interactions and highlighting racist posts made by the defendants. Defense attorneys argued their clients pursued Arbery because they believed he was a burglar, not because he was Black.

The three men were sentenced to life in prison on the state murder charges last month. They now face a maximum life sentence on the federal charges. [NPR]

4. U.S. home prices were up 18.8% in 2021

If you bought a house last year, you probably paid a lot more for it than you would have two years ago. Home prices rose 18.8% in 2021, the largest increase in 34 years, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index.

The South saw the biggest gains, the index finds, with prices up more than 27% in Phoenix, Tampa and Miami.

In Chicago, average home prices were up 12.2% in 2021 compared to the previous year.

What’s driving the surge? Demand for homes has increased as Americans relocate during the pandemic, said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale has been limited, creating more competition. [CNN]

5. U.S. women’s soccer team reaches $24 million settlement in equal pay lawsuit

It’s a big day for equality in sports: The National Women’s Soccer Team has reached a proposed settlement in its lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The class-action suit alleged that female soccer players were consistently paid less than male soccer players despite being more competitively successful. The women’s team won the World Cup in 2019, while the men’s team failed to qualify in 2018.

Under the tentative agreement — which is contingent on the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement — team members will receive a total of $22 million in back pay along with access to a communal fund to aid in post-career ambitions. U.S. Soccer has also pledged to provide an equal rate of pay between the men’s and women’s teams moving forward.

“We feel like this is a huge win,” Megan Rapinoe, captain of the Seattle-based OL Reign and the women’s national team, told The Athletic. “We’ve all been in the trenches of it for so long. I think I honestly don’t even understand how monumental this is.” [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• A local nonprofit will provide full scholarships for college or vocational programs to every student at five CPS high schools. [WBEZ]

• Howard University got a $2 million grant to digitize a collection of Black newspaper archives, including old editions of the Chicago Defender. [AP]

• The family of a military veteran who died by suicide in Chicago police custody is suing the city. [WBEZ]

• The CTA hopes to transition to an all-electric bus fleet by 2040. [Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

This calls for a sting operation: Across California, beekeepers are being hit with a wave of thefts — right in time for pollination season.

Over the past few weeks, more than 1,000 hives were reported stolen as beekeepers rented them out to local orchards, the Associated Press reports. Why all the buzz over bees? The tiny pollinators are crucial to the production of almonds, the state’s most valuable crop.

To ward off future hive heists, beekeepers are now turning to GPS trackers, hidden cameras and even nighttime orchard patrols to keep their colonies safe.

“We have to do what we can to protect ourselves,” said Helio Medina, who lost 282 hives worth an estimated $100,000 last year. “Nobody can help us.” [AP]

Tell me something good …

What are you looking forward to the most during spring?

Jim writes:

“I am looking forward to opening my windows, but not just for ventilation. My two cats love sitting on the windowsill and will run to the windows when they hear me open them.”

And J.R. writes:

“Not wearing 10 layers just to walk down the street to see my barber. Plus I can get my light jacket with all the buttons on it out of the closet. Easier to look fashionable when you don’t look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man when going outside.”

What about you? Feel free to email or tweet us, and your responses might be shared here this week.