Hey there! I was looking at what you can and cannot bring to the renaissance fair and learned the vast majority of musical instruments are banned due to “an unfortunate number of people who have brought instruments and attempted to busk in our streets.” I really want to learn more about that story. But here’s what you need to know today.

1. Murders and shootings are falling in Chicago

Police data show that murders and shootings continued their downward trajectory through August, offering some hope a spike in violence during the pandemic is easing.

But carjackings and crimes on public transportation remain higher than last year, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

So far, murders are down 16% this year and the number of people shot is down about 19.5%.

That trend, however, is not playing out in the downtown area, which has seen at least 72 shootings, up from 56 reported the same time last year. The number of homicides has also doubled to 18 compared to last year.

Meanwhile, carjackings have risen by 6%, and crime on Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains has spiked by 40%. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. A year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, thousands of refugees in Chicago remain in limbo

The vast majority of the 85,000 Afghans who resettled to the U.S. last year are under a deadline to apply for asylum if they wish to stay. And thousands of refugees who have already applied are nervously awaiting a decision.

Among them is Meena, who worked in the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan and would have likely been a target of the Taliban as it took control of the country.

Meena escaped Afghanistan and now works in Chicago with RefugeeOne, a resettlement agency where she’s part of a newly formed four-person asylum team.

“I have nightmares where I feel that I am still in Afghanistan and the Taliban are searching for me and they’re going to kill me or my family,” said Meena, who asked that her last name be withheld out of concern for the safety of friends and family in her home country. “I cannot go back.” [WBEZ]

3. Red flag laws have been used just four times in Chicago since 2020

That’s according to The Associated Press, which found that red flags laws, touted as a step in preventing gun violence, are barely used across the nation.

The AP “found such laws in 19 states and the District of Columbia were used to remove firearms from people 15,049 times since 2020, fewer than 10 per 100,000 adult residents.

“Experts called that woefully low and not nearly enough to make a dent in gun violence, considering the millions of firearms in circulation and countless potential warning signs law enforcement officers encounter from gun owners every day.”

Red flag laws in Illinois failed to prevent the suspect in the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park from obtaining weapons even though officers reported him as a potential danger to the public. [AP]

4. Some good news for Chicago Public Schools

Attendance rates for the city’s public schools are closer to their pre-pandemic levels, report my colleagues Nader Issa and Sarah Karp. The school district today announced that more than 93% of students showed up to classes on the first day of school.

“Officials are considering the rate an accomplishment after pandemic attendance struggles — and given it’s the earliest start to a CPS school year in modern memory after an unusually short summer,” my colleagues report. “The district credited its summer programs, jobs and other opportunities with keeping families engaged and ready to return on Aug. 22.”

Attendance dipped during the pandemic, with 84% of students showing up on the first day of school in the 2020-21 academic year. First-day attendance averaged around 94.3% in the four years preceding COVID-19. [WBEZ]

5. Chicago will add more pickleball courts as the sport’s popularity takes off

As “pickleball mania” hits Chicago, fans of the sport have become increasingly frustrated over Chicago’s lack of courts, especially as other cities have made infrastructure investments, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

But the Chicago Park District announced this week it will add at least 50 more pickleball courts in the next three years.

Currently, the only dedicated pickleball location in Chicago is at Gwendolyn Brooks Park on the South Side. [Chicago Sun-Times]

My colleague Mitch Dudek recently talked to pickleball players at Mandrake Park in Bronzeville, where R&B jams played from a bluetooth speaker as matches unfolded.

“It’s like a family. A brotherhood,” said Leroy Archibald, a retired mail carrier who credits the sport for helping save his life after struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• A federal judge today unsealed a list of items seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. [NPR]
• Hiring in the U.S. slowed down last month but remained strong as the Federal Reserve tackles inflation. [NPR]
• The Chicago Bears will unveil their plans for an Arlington Heights stadium on Sept. 8. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• NASA is aiming to launch its new moon rocket tomorrow. [AP]

Oh, and one more thing …

Hold the phone, we can now create oxygen on Mars?

A toaster-sized device that’s currently on the red planet can make oxygen from carbon dioxide — akin to a small tree on Earth, reports The Washington Post, citing a study recently published in the journal Science Advances. [WaPo]

Well that’s it. Give me a bunch of those space toasters. I’m packing my bags, putting on the Flaming Lips and saying sayonara.

Tell me something good …

With the Chicago Sky in the WNBA semifinals this week, I want to hear about your all-time favorite sports memories.

Karen Sternfeld writes:

“My favorite sports moment of all time was Kendall Gretsch’s win of the wheelchair division in the 2021 Paralympic Triathlon race in Tokyo.”

And Luis Alfredo Narváez Gete writes:

“I’m a big soccer fan and love to hear stories of the multiple venues in which professional soccer games have been played.

“My favorite story is from Wrigley Field hosting the AS Roma-Zaglebie Lubin soccer match 10 years ago, during the summer of 2012. I don’t think the experience of watching a soccer match in the friendly confines will be matched, except if and when soccer returns to then-Comiskey Park. As a South Sider, that would be an awesome event to be a part of.”

Thank you to everyone who wrote in this week. I’m sorry I couldn’t share them all, but it was nice hearing from you!