Good afternoon! It’s Monday, and I had the existential nightmare of realizing I’ll be in my 40s by the time Marvel releases a Fantastic Four movie. Can we please speed things up a little? Here’s what you need to know today.

1. The U.S. is running out of time to contain monkeypox

The number of cases reported in the U.S. have grown so rapidly in recent weeks that health experts say a larger response may be necessary to contain the outbreak — if containment is still possible, reports NPR.

“We’re losing daylight,” UCLA epidemiologist Anne Rimoin, who has studied monkeypox for decades, told NPR. “Every day that we aren’t continuing to push forward on all fronts, the less likely it is that we will be able to contain it.”

As of Friday, there were 2,891 cases of monkeypox in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Illinois, officials have identified 238 known cases, with the vast majority reported in Chicago. [NPR]

Some researchers worry that monkeypox could mutate and become a greater threat to humans.

“One study published in 2008 warned that if monkeypox were to be introduced to an unvaccinated population, the virus could capitalize on the situation and become an epidemic,” reports NPR. [NPR]

2. Demand rises for abortions in Illinois since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade a month ago

Abortion providers in Illinois are calling for more state funding and an expansion of clinics as an influx of out-of-state patients have created long wait times, especially in the southern part of the state, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

In downstate Fairview Heights, wait times have risen from three to four days previously to as long as three weeks, the newspaper reports. And in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, one clinic has seen the number of in-person clients increase by 130% over last year.

“To some extent, the people who are the most concerning to me are the ones I haven’t seen because they don’t have the resources and opportunity to travel for an abortion,” said Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

“We know that there are people who are already marginalized and don’t have good access to health care, that those are the ones that these bans and restrictions are going to hurt the most.” [Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, state lawmakers in Indiana today gathered at the Statehouse to consider an abortion ban that provides exceptions in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is in danger. [Indianapolis Star]

3. An Illinois cafe was vandalized ahead of a drag show, the latest attack as far-right extremists target LGBTQ events

A cafe in northwest suburban Lake in the Hills canceled a sold-out drag queen brunch over the weekend after several windows were broken and hateful messages were spray painted on the building.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged with a class 4 felony hate crime and criminal damage to property, authorities say.

“We are appalled by the senseless hate crime,” Ray Bogdanowski, village president for Lake in the Hills, said in a statement. “The fact that the suspect had come to our Village from a town 60 miles away is also disturbing.” [ABC7]

Across the country, far-right and white-supremacist groups have increasingly targeted LGBTQ events, justifying their attacks with “false claims that gay and transgender people — and sometimes perceived ideological opponents — are preying on children,” reports The Washington Post.

Last month, several members of the Proud Boys disrupted a Drag Queen Story Hour at a public library in California. [WaPo]

4. Three plans to keep the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field will cost anywhere from $900 million to $2.2 billion

Mayor Lori Lightfoot today unveiled three plans to renovate Soldier Field in an attempt to keep the Chicago Bears from moving to Arlington Heights.

“Lightfoot outlined three options for Soldier Field, one of which calls for a domed stadium,” reports Fran Spielman at the Chicago Sun-Times. “A second option would go without a dome but would still make the stadium a ‘top-tier’ playing site for an NFL team, Lightfoot promised. The final option involves renovating Soldier Field to continue housing the Chicago Fire soccer club and other events.”

But it’s not 100% clear how the city would pay for the renovations beyond possibly selling the naming rights to the stadium.

And it doesn’t sound like the Chicago Bears are all that interested. In a statement, the team said: “The only potential project the Chicago Bears are exploring for a new stadium development is Arlington Park.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. Rescue groups are beginning to find homes for 4,000 beagles who were bred for research

More than a dozen of the roughly 4,000 beagles in the custody of a research facility in Virginia have been brought to their new, temporary homes, reports NPR.

It was the first of many deliveries as hundreds of rescue groups across the country are mobilizing in the coming weeks to rehome the beagles.

“Finding partners who can make space and find homes for around 4,000 dogs in the summer — a time of year when animal shelters already are over-capacity — will be a feat of epic proportions,” Kitty Block, president of The Humane Society of the United States, wrote on her blog. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• President Biden’s symptoms from COVID-19 “have now almost completely resolved,” according to a letter from his physician. [NPR]
• A power struggle is underway over the leadership of the Illinois Democratic Party. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• A new initiative on Chicago’s West Side aims to prevent opioid deaths, which have hit record levels in the city. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Chicago’s Disability Pride Parade returned after two years of virtual events during the pandemic. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

Sometimes I’ve wondered how much the Infinity Gauntlet would be worth in real life. I’m talking about the magical glove the mad titan Thanos used to wipe out half of all life in one of the Avengers movies.

Well, it turns out the answer is more than $25 million.

Marvel unveiled a real-life Infinity Gauntlet holding six precious gemstones over the weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con.

“Fans and collectors are a very important consumer for Marvel, since they truly live the Marvel lifestyle every day and are always seeking to connect with the brand in new and unique ways,” said Paul Gitter, senior vice president of Marvel Consumer Products.

Not sure how many fan boys and girls have more than $25 million, or whether Marvel really needs to expand its audience with millionaires, but OK. [Deadline]

Tell me something good …

Good grief, it’s almost August? Where did the summer go? While we still have time to enjoy the warm weather, I’d like to know what is your favorite song of the summer?

I’d be excommunicated from the Parliament of Gays if I didn’t mention “One Kiss” by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa.

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