Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and one day I will become Florida’s watermelon queen and my reign of terror will be legendary! Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Race is on to vaccinate adolescents 12 to 15

City-run sites in Chicago will begin vaccinations for 12- to 15-year-olds on Thursday, a huge milestone that offers some relief to families that are nervous about school reopenings.

An advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to meet tomorrow and make a recommendation on authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 to 15. The Food and Drug Administration yesterday gave the vaccine the go-ahead.

Sites in Chicago that will begin vaccinating children 12 and older are: Wrigley Field, Chicago State University, the United Center, Daley and Wright colleges, Loretto Hospital and Apostolic Faith Church. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, an audit found that more than half of Loretto Hospital’s early vaccine doses went to white and Asian people even though city officials expected the hospital to prioritize Black and Latino communities, reports Block Club Chicago and the Better Government Association. [Block Club]

The Biden administration reached a deal with Uber and Lyft to provide free rides to vaccination sites until July 4. [Axios]

2. Violent clashes continue across Israel and Palestinian territories

Warlike violence between Hamas and Israel continued to escalate today, with hundreds of rockets fired from Gaza resulting in the deaths of two Israelis. The Associated Press reports that Israel’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system seemed to be overwhelmed.

At least 28 Palestinians have been killed in Israel airstrikes since yesterday, including 10 children, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military said at least 16 of the dead were militants.

Officials in Egypt tried brokering a cease-fire, AP reports, but the violence still gained momentum. [AP]

There are several issues driving this latest conflict, one of which was a violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. As The New York Times explains, the mosque is frequently a flash point in tensions because it’s located on a site sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews. [NYT]

3. Senate Democrats seek to expand voting access as some Republican-controlled states approve limits

A Senate committee is expected to vote as soon as today to advance an expansive elections bill that, if enacted, would override ballot restrictions recently approved in states with Republican-controlled legislatures.

But the bill’s pathway through the Senate appears dicey, as Democrats would need support from at least 10 Republicans to overcome a filibuster.

The bill would require states to hold in-person early voting, offer no-excuse absentee voting and provide automatic and same-day voter registration, among other things. [Politico]

4. Rahm Emanuel is expected to be nominated as ambassador to Japan

President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as his ambassador to Japan, according to several media reports. It’s not clear when the announcement will be officially made, but once it is, Emanuel’s nomination will go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

And Emanuel is expected to face criticism from liberals for his handling of the police killing of Laquan McDonald. It was an open secret that Emanuel wanted a cabinet position in Biden’s administration, but progressives, most notably U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fiercely opposed the idea. [AP]

5. What the Golden Globes controversy says about who wields power in Hollywood and how they use it

NBC this week announced it would not air the Golden Globes next year as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that puts on the awards, faces mounting criticism for its lack of diversity. The Los Angeles Times this year reported that none of the association’s voting members are Black.

Promises were made to reform the organization, but that wasn’t enough for Amazon, Netflix and WarnerMedia, which recently announced they are cutting ties with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association unless it takes swift action. Legacy entertainment companies followed the TV streamers, and stars began distancing themselves from the Golden Globes, with Tom Cruise returning three awards.

The controversy illustrates how TV streamers are using their growing power in the film industry to call out Hollywood for its shortcomings with diversity, Axios reports. [Axios]

Here’s what else is happening

• A school shooting in Russia left at least nine people dead. [NPR]
• Seventy-one dead bodies were found in India’s Ganges River as the country battles a record surge in coronavirus cases. [AP]
• Prosecutors will seek hate-crime charges against a white man charged in the Atlanta-area spa killings. [Washington Post]
• Broadway shows like Hamilton and The Lion King will return in September. [CNN]

Oh, and one more thing …

The unexpected death of architect Helmut Jahn has reignited the debate over whether Chicago’s Thompson Center should be preserved, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The state owns the building, and Gov. JB Pritzker put it up for sale last week, raising the possibility that a new owner could tear it down. Pritzker this week praised Jahn but said the Thompson Center is “not the greatest example of his work.”

Jahn died Saturday after he was hit by two vehicles while riding his bicycle near his home in suburban St. Charles. Ward Miller, the executive director of Preservation Chicago, told the Sun-Times that the architect’s death “really does cement the argument that the Thompson Center should be preserved.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

As we get closer to the big reopening, I’d like to know what you’re looking forward to as life gets more normal.

Kayla Palmisano writes:

“I am looking forward to having physical contact with someone other than my girlfriend and/or my dog in over a year. I saw a glimpse of that this weekend — my best friend was graduating college and I was able to attend the short ceremony. Afterwards, we went to take a picture together and as we turned to smile side by side, we touched cheek-to-cheek — it was a touch I haven’t felt in 16 months, so I almost started crying!”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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