Hey there! It’s Wednesday, and my dog, Princess Leia, is getting fed up with my antics. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. A highly contagious COVID-19 variant is in the U.S. Here’s what you need to know

The variant, known as Delta, currently accounts for more than 6% of new infections in the U.S., according to federal officials, and health experts are concerned it could become the dominant strain and fuel surges of new outbreaks.

Delta, which first emerged in India, has swept the U.K., where the highly transmissible variant is responsible for more than 60% of infections.

Here’s the good news: Early research shows that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were 88% effective against the Delta variant. But the first shot of the vaccine was only 33% effective.

Health experts, pointing to that research, say people who are only partially vaccinated need to remain vigilant until they are fully inoculated. [NPR]

In Chicago, about 53% of the population is at least partially vaccinated, and about 45% are fully vaccinated. The city is reporting an average of 82 cases per day and a positivity rate of 1.4%. [COVID Dashboard]

2. What Biden hopes to accomplish on his first presidential trip to Europe

President Joe Biden departed the White House this morning for an eight-day visit to Europe, where he will meet with allies and have a highly anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden is expected to spend the next week reasserting America’s leadership role on the global stage and rallying allies to tackle pressing issues, like ending the pandemic, confronting climate change, addressing a disruptive Russia and heading off China’s growing influence. [NPR]

Biden heads to Europe buoyed by a recovering U.S. economy and a robust vaccination program, but some of his biggest legislative priorities are hanging in the balance, like his $1 trillion infrastructure package.

Yesterday, negotiations with a group of Republicans fell apart, raising questions about how the president can get the 60 votes needed in the Senate. [NPR]

3. A record number of Americans, including Republicans, support same-sex marriage

A new Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage, a new record since the organization began tracking the issue in 1996. That’s also a 10% increase since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme ruled all states must recognize same-sex marriages.

Gallup also found that 55% of Republicans for the first time support same-sex marriage. When it came to Democrats, 83% indicated their support, which is about the same level as previous years.

In 1996, just 27% of all Americans supported legal recognition of gay and lesbian marriages. [NPR]

4. Is a 21-member school board in Chicago too big?

Illinois lawmakers are expected to return to Springfield next week to vote on a plan to create an elected school board in Chicago.

The Chicago Sun-Times talked to education experts and looked at school boards in other cities to see how Illinois’ plan stacks up. Among the interesting points is how the nation’s 10 largest school districts with elected boards have fewer than nine members, whereas the proposal before Illinois lawmakers would create 21.

Some experts interviewed by the newspaper said a large board could make board members more accountable to the voters they represent, while others criticized the move as being too large to accomplish anything. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Illinois lawmakers next week will also consider Gov. JB Pritzker’s green energy plan that could put the state on a path of reaching 100% carbon-free power by 2050. [Chicago Tribune]

5. The Chicago City Council largely fails at overseeing the Police Department, study finds

Only 15% of agenda items considered by the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety in the last 20 years had anything to do with the Chicago Police Department, according to a recently released study from the Chicago Justice Project, a nonprofit advocacy group.

The study also found that 80% of items considered between 2000 and 2020 were unrelated to police oversight.

Those findings come as the City Council faces pressure to use its legislative powers to hold the Police Department more accountable.

Later this month, a political showdown is expected over how to create civilian oversight of the department. One plan would create an elected board with the authority to hire and fire the police superintendent. Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposes that proposal and has introduced her own plan, which opponents say is watered down. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• The Biden administration is investigating how tax information on the nation’s wealthiest people got into the hands of ProPublica. [CNN]
• The U.S. plans to send 500 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to almost 100 nations over the next two years. [AP]
• Former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis reportedly made audio and video recordings of private discussions with former Illinois Houses Speaker Michael Madigan. [Chicago Tribune]
• Most police departments in the U.S. continue to refuse sharing information with the FBI about how often officers use force. [Washington Post]

Oh, and one more thing …

The Chicago Transit Authority later this summer will move a 127-year-old building, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The historic building — a six-flat located in the North Side’s Lakeview neighborhood — is in the way of the CTA’s Brown Line flyover project. Instead of demolishing the building, the public transit agency is moving the building 30 feet out of the way.

The CTA bought the building for $1.75 million in 2016, and it will cost another $1.75 million to move and restore it, the Tribune reports. [Trib]

Tell me something good …

What movie are you excited to see this summer?

Paul Lockwood writes:

“What movie do I want to see this summer? Top Gun: Maverick — I feel the need for speed after all of the months that our theaters were closed, so I may just have to Cruise my way there on opening night.”

And Christine Gentes writes:

“I want to see In The Heights. My grandmother lived in Washington Heights when I was a kid. I’d love to see if I remember anything about the neighborhood.”

What are you looking forward to watching this summer? Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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