Hey there! It’s Friday, but I can’t stop thinking about the awesomeness that is “Club Thursday.” Teacher of the year, folks. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. A COVID-19 surveillance program hits a problem: Chicago’s winter

Remember how scientists were like, “Hey, we can track COVID-19 through wastewater! Isn’t that awesome?”

Well, turns out the method is no match for Chicago’s winter.

“Public health officials were unable to collect some wastewater samples as part of a coronavirus surveillance program because the sewage froze during extreme cold snaps this winter,” reports WBEZ’s Matt Kiefer and Brett Chase with the Chicago Sun-Times.

Health officials and scientists recently discovered the problem when samples turned up very low amounts despite a surge in cases during the omicron wave.

“Obviously, this is a very big concern for us,” said Laura Clements, senior project manager for the University of Illinois-based research group Discovery Partners Institute that is working with the city and state. [WBEZ]

2. A Daley will go on trial for the first time

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson on Monday will become the first member of the Daley political dynasty to face a federal criminal trial. He will also be the first sitting member of the Chicago City Council to go on trial in more than two decades.

Thompson is accused of lying on his federal tax returns about a $110,000 loan he received from a little-known bank that was shut down for massive fraud. Thompson’s lawyer has said the mistake was due to the alderman’s “lack of organization and lack of attention to the details.”

As the Chicago Sun-Times reports, the charge “threatens to end the political career of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley’s grandson, the only Daley family member of his generation to hold public office.” [Sun-Times]

3. The GOP declares the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “legitimate political discourse”

The extraordinary statement, about an attack that resulted in nine deaths and injured more than 150 officers, came down today as the Republican National Committee voted to censure U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Both lawmakers are part of the House committee investigating the attack, which in recent weeks has gotten closer and closer to former President Donald Trump’s inner circle.

In a resolution, the party said Cheney and Kinzinger were participating in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

The news comes just days after Trump said that, if re-elected in 2024, he would consider pardons for people who were convicted in the attack. [New York Times]

4. China confronts its biggest criticism during the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics

The Games are officially underway after the Olympic flame was delivered to a snowflake-looking cauldron in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium this morning.

And the symbolic moment confronted a major criticism facing the nation. China said cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang, one of the two torchbearers to light the cauldron, was of Uyghur heritage.

China is accused of committing genocide against the Uyghur Muslims, who have been targeted by mass detentions and re-education campaigns. That is partly why the U.S. and several other countries are staging a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics. [NPR]

Meanwhile, figure skater Nathan Chen gave the U.S. an early lead. [NPR]

And here’s a look at the athletes with ties to Illinois. [Chicago Tribune]

5. The U.S. added 467,000 jobs last month despite omicron

Talk about a stunner. Economists were expecting an abysmal jobs report for the month of January, as the highly contagious omicon variant pushed caseloads in the U.S. to record highs.

But employers added more jobs than even the rosiest estimates were predicting.

“Omicron, Schmomicron,” economist Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a research note. “This is a much stronger report than expected.”

With the addition of 467,000 jobs last month, the U.S. is now inching closer to pre-pandemic levels. The nation, which lost 22.4 million jobs in the early days of the pandemic, is now down 2.9 million jobs. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Nine people were arrested during a protest over the release of former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• The Taste of Chicago will be “bite-sized” this year to help free up police resources during the summer, when violence typically surges. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• The pandemic and inflation are hitting Chicago’s street vendors especially hard. [WBEZ]
• Beginning today, several public libraries in Chicago will hand out free copies of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s new children’s book to kids who show their library cards. [Block Club Chicago]

Oh, and one more thing …

The top NCAA basketball player “has become a kind of torch bearer for Jewish athletic pride,” reports The New York Times.

Ryan Turell, the top scorer in the nation, says he turned down several offers at Division I schools to go to a small Jewish university and become a “Jewish hero.”

He attends Yeshiva in New York City, which has a student population of about 2,600 undergrads, and has quickly become a celebrity and put the college on the map.

“I got an email this morning from someone in Australia, who wanted to know where he could buy a Y.U. jersey,” Elliot Steinmetz, the school’s head coach, told the Times. “He wanted to wear it around the streets of Sydney. I get contacted by Jewish people in Alaska, England, South America. Pretty much everywhere.” [NYT]

Tell me something good …

So I’m babysitting the nephews today, and I’d like to know what fun activities you like to do with young kids.

Catherine Principe writes:

“Here’s a tried and true fun activity for kids and adults of all ages. I’ve been doing this for years as an environmental educator in Chicago, Boston and New York!

“Have you ever made snow cream? Ice cream, with snow! Grab a spoon because it’s delicious and loads of fun to make! It’s a great way to practice measuring for kids, too. You’ll need a measuring cup, spoon to stir with, an ice cream scoop and two bowls for tools.”

Catherine shared this recipe for folks who are interested in trying out snow cream, which I had no idea was a thing until now.

Thanks for all the responses this week. They really helped, and I’ll have a blast with the nephews!