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1. Lightfoot withholds vaccines from hospital that wrongly vaccinated Trump Tower staff and Cook County judges

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration announced Loretto Hospital will stop receiving first doses as city officials review the hospital’s vaccination strategies.

The move comes after hospital officials twice this week admitted they did not know who is currently eligible for vaccinations, a shocking development that comes as many Chicago residents who are currently eligible say they are struggling to secure a shot.

WBEZ earlier this week reported that 13 Cook County judges and their spouses were offered shots this month when they are currently ineligible. That followed reporting from Block Club Chicago about improper vaccinations taking place at Trump Tower, where a top official at Loretto Hospital owns a condo. [WBEZ]

Even as City Hall cracks down on the hospital, another story emerged that further raises questions about what vaccination guidelines were being followed at Loretto.

Block Club Chicago reports today that Loretto Hospital administered more than 200 shots at a suburban church attended by the hospital’s CEO, George Miller. The first vaccinations took place in early February, when supplies were especially limited.

Hospital staff members told Block Club Chicago that they questioned why Loretto was handing out shots in the suburbs when West Side residents in the hospital’s service area were struggling to secure appointments. [Block Club Chicago]

2. Biden and Harris meet with Asian American community leaders in Atlanta

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris today will discuss this week’s tragic shootings with community leaders at Emory University in Atlanta. Biden yesterday ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and all federal buildings. [NPR]

More information is becoming publicly available about the victims of Tuesday’s mass shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area. Eight people were killed, and six of the victims were women of Asian descent. [NPR]

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office faces mounting criticism as it investigates the shootings. The office’s spokesman, Capt. Jay Baker, has been taken off the case after he said the suspected gunman had a “bad day.”

Baker had previously posted messages on his Facebook page that promoted a racist T-shirt that blamed China for the pandemic. [NPR]

What should you do if you witness an attack on an Asian American? Catherine Shieh, the anti-hate coordinator at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, has been giving intervention training sessions as the nation reports a surge in anti-Asian racism. [WBEZ]

In a new episode of WBEZ’s Nerdette, reporter Esther Yoon-Ji Kang talks about her personal reaction to the shootings in Atlanta. [WBEZ]

3. CDC reduces recommendation for social distancing in schools to 3 feet

In a major policy revision, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today recommended distancing masked students in elementary schools to 3 feet instead of 6 feet. However, officials said the six-foot guideline remains in place for the broader public.

The CDC’s move follows a similar one taken by Illinois officials earlier this month. The federal agency also said spacing can be reduced to 3 feet in middle schools and high schools so long as infection rates are low. The CDC removed its recommendation of using plastic shields around desks because their effectiveness remains in question.

The news comes as the Biden administration is racing to meet a self-imposed deadline to reopen a majority of schools within the president’s first 100 days in office. [NPR]

Here’s a look at how a mix of in-person and virtual learning is playing out in one Chicago classroom. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is opening up vaccine eligibility on Monday to people who work in high education, government and the media. But that doesn’t include Chicago, which is following its own timeline. [WBEZ]

4. FBI director vows to “keep digging” into the U.S. Capitol attack

In a rare one-on-one interview, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested to NPR that the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is far from over.

“We intend to see this to its conclusion, no matter how many people it takes us to devote to it, no matter how long it takes us to do it, we’re going to see it to the end,” Wray said. He added, “If we have the evidence to charge somebody and they committed a crime on that day, I expect them to be charged.”

Wray has increasingly issued warnings about the growing threat of domestic terrorism within the U.S. He said the number of such investigations has roughly doubled to about 2,000 since September, and he expects that number will grow even higher this year. [NPR]

Meanwhile, the Illinois House censured a downstate Republican who attended the pro-Trump rally in D.C. that preceded the deadly insurrection. [WBEZ]

Supporters of former President Donald Trump have suggested the insurrection has been overblown because the rioters were not really “armed.”

But an NPR review of charges connected to the attack shows that some suspects carried a wide range of weapons that include stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats and flagpoles wielded as clubs. [NPR]

5. More than 8 in 10 Illinois residents live in areas where lead-contaminated tap water has been found in the last six years

That’s according to an analysis published today from the Chicago Tribune that suggests brain-damaging lead is more prevalent in drinking water than previously known.

“Too many people still get their water from what essentially is a lead straw,” said Miguel del Toral, a former EPA scientist who worked in Flint, Michigan and East Chicago, Indiana, where high levels of toxic metal were found in tap water.

According to the Trib, south suburban University Park has the worst problem. But looking at the entire state, almost 60% of Illinois’ water systems had at least one home with greater levels of lead than the federal limit for bottled water. [Chicago Tribune]

Here’s what else is happening

• Germany’s health minister warned the country does not have enough COVID-19 vaccines to stop a deadly variant-driven third wave. [NPR]
• Michigan is reporting a huge spike in COVID-19 cases that health experts warn could be the beginning of another national wave. [CNN]
• President Biden appears close to selecting nominees for several ambassadorships. Will former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel be included? [Axios]
• Nerdette this week recaps the Oscar-nominated Promising Young Woman. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

My husband and I last night tried watching director Zack Snyder’s Justice League that was released yesterday on HBO Max, and we didn’t know it’s four hours long.

Today’s Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR looks at whether the movie is worth the time, and I really could have used that yesterday.

Snyder was originally tapped to oversee the film, but he stepped away due to a family tragedy. So Joss Whedon took over, ordered a ton of revisions and released a version that got mixed reviews. So diehard fans mounted a campaign for the studio to release Synder’s cut, and here were are.

By my count, Aquaman takes off his shirt at least three times before jumping into the ocean, and it’s not clear why. Does he do this every time he takes a dive? Is the shoreline littered with his tank tops? [NPR]

Tell me something good …

What sports moment, past, present or future, would you want to have front row seats for?

Eileen writes:

“I would like to relive and be on the sidelines of the ’85 Bears, to see any of Walter Payton’s great runs, and maybe the time ‘Refrigerator’ Perry picked Walter up and threw him over the goal line! So what if it was illegal? It was great theater and fun!”

Thanks for all the responses this week. I’m sorry I couldn’t share them all, but it was nice hearing from y’all.

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