Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and I’m hoping my husband doesn’t read this because he loooves plants. WBEZ is giving houseplants to folks who make a $15-per-month pledge to the station. Your support helps keep this newsletter free. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Gas prices hit new records in the U.S.

The average price of a gallon of gas hit new records throughout the nation today amid a 40-year high in inflation, a pandemic that still is not over and the first major war in Europe in decades.

In Chicago, the average today hit an all-time high of $4.70, according to AAA. And Illinois also broke a new record with $4.42 per gallon. Nationally, the average was $4.17 per gallon, the most ever.

“It just sucks,” David Shin told Block Club Chicago as he filled up his tank in Chicago. “Almost $5 for regular. Crazy. But there’s not an option for me not to fill up.”

The average driver in Chicago could pay $700 more on gas this year than in 2021, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings app GasBuddy. [Block Club]

And gas prices could further climb after President Joe Biden today announced a ban on Russian oil imports, a step that comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers in both parties to further punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. [NPR]

The rise in gas and oil prices is raising concerns on Wall Street that the U.S. may be heading toward a recession. The thinking here, just to simplify, is Americans will begin pulling back on spending.

But some economists say a recession isn’t certain because the economy remains strong, with wages increasing as employers compete for workers. [CNN]

2. The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine grows

Nearly two weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 2 million people have fled the war-torn country, according to a United Nations refugee agency. At least half of them are children.

The vast majority have crossed the border into Poland, where officials and an army of volunteers are racing to provide aid and shelter.

Amid the growing humanitarian crisis, Ukraine again accused Russian forces of shelling evacuation routes intended for civilians fleeing from battle zones.

In Ukraine, the defense ministry said a second Russian general was killed. Russian Maj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov died in fighting near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate says. [NPR]

3. Florida lawmakers approve a bill regulating how LGBTQ issues are discussed in public schools

The legislation, which critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, now heads to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will likely sign it into law.

The controversial bill would prohibit discussions of sexual identity and gender orientation in kindergarten through third grade, and Democrats and activists say it will negatively impact LGBTQ students.

The legislation also says “age appropriate” lessons can be given to older students, but Democrats and activists say that’s vague. And the bill would allow parents to sue school districts for violating the law.

“It just seems like in politics today, we have gone down a road where we are scared to just step up and make sure we are not hurting people,” state Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones, a Democrat, said through tears as he urged his colleagues to vote against the bill. [Washington Post]

4. A lawyer at the center of Evanston’s lifeguard abuse scandal landed a Cook County job

Jennifer Lin should catch much of the blame for Evanston’s mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints from teenage girls and young women who worked at the city’s beaches, according to an investigative report released last month from a law firm hired by the town’s city council.

When she was the city’s top human resources manager, the lawyers say, Lin was primarily at fault for Evanston’s yearlong delay in looking into the “pervasive” harassment and abuse suffered by lifeguards and other beach workers.

Despite the heavy criticism in the independent counsel’s report, Lin landed a more than $117,000 job with Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez’s office.

A spokesman for Martinez defended the hiring of Lin, saying she was deemed the most qualified applicant for the position in a process overseen by a federal monitor who watches over personnel matters in the office to prevent patronage. [WBEZ]

5. St. Patrick’s Day parades return to Chicago this weekend

Here’s your warning that it’s going to be party city in Chicago this weekend with large crowds expected for two St. Patrick’s Day parades.

First up is the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade that kicks off downtown on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. It will be a cold but sunny day with a high of 25 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

And yes, the Chicago River will be dyed green, beginning at 10 a.m.

Then on Sunday, there’s the South Side Irish Parade that starts at noon. As Block Club Chicago reports, it’s the “largest neighborhood-based St. Patrick’s Day Parade outside of Dublin, drawing as many as 150,000 revelers.” [Block Club Chicago]

Here’s what else is happening

• An anti-lynching bill named after Emmett Till, and championed by Rep. Bobby Rush, is heading to President Biden’s desk. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• The first trial connected to the Jan. 6 attack ends with a guilty verdict on all five counts. [NPR]
• Apple today announced a new budget iPhone. [CNBC]
• The National, Mitski and The Roots are headlining this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival at Chicago’s Union Park. [Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

If you’re feeling stressed out, I’m right there with you after writing this newsletter for the past three years.

Maybe I need a pep talk from a kindergartener. Elementary students at a small town in California created Peptoc, a free hotline that dispenses positive vibes.

If you dial 707-998-8410, you’ll get the following instructions:

“If you’re feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.”

The students got help from their teachers Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss.

“I thought, you know, with this world being as it is, we all really needed to hear from them — their extraordinary advice and their continual joy,” Martin said. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

OK, sounds like the inevitable is coming: We may soon have to return to the office. So, what is the funniest or most embarrassing thing to happen to you at work?

Jenny writes:

“I am wholly responsible for the funniest AND most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me at work. I was starting my day with some nice kefir. I went to shake it up, as one does, and didn’t realize the top was not screwed on all the way.

“Kefir went everywhere — all over my keyboard, my monitor, my chair, my hair, my face, my snappy little work outfit. This was in an open office format, so at least 10 people saw me do this. When he stopped laughing, my work buddy said it looked like I had shook it all over myself on purpose.

“I was gifted several bottles of kefir at my going away party the following year.”

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