Daunte Wright became a father while he was still a teenager, and seemed to relish the role of a doting young dad, his family and friends said.

A family photo shows a beaming Wright holding his son, Daunte Jr., at his first birthday party. Another shows Wright, wearing a COVID-19 face mask and his son wearing a bib with the inscription, “ALWAYS HUNGRY.”

Wright, 20, was fatally shot Sunday by a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. As protesters and civil rights advocates called for justice and police accountability over his death, his family asked people to also remember his life.

“He had a 2-year-old son that’s not going to be able to play basketball with him. He had sisters and brothers that he loved so much,” his mother, Katie Wright, said Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

His aunt, Naisha Wright, said he was “a lovable young man.”

“His smile — oh, Lord — the most beautiful smile,” she said.

An older cousin, Mario Greer, said he and Wright loved seeing each other on holidays, especially on the Fourth of July, when they liked to shoot off Roman candles together.

Wright attended three different high schools, including Edison High School in Minneapolis, where he was voted “class clown” as a freshman.

Jonathan Mason, who worked as a youth development specialist and mentor at the school, said Wright was a gregarious, popular student who had many friends.

“He was a charismatic kid. He would joke with you, and he was so witty,” Mason said. “He was one of those kids that everybody looked up to.”

Wright played on the freshman and junior varsity basketball teams, and was known for having a good left-hand shot, Mason said.

During mentoring sessions, Wright would talk about what he hoped to do with his life, Mason said.

“He said, ‘I want to be an NBA player, I want to be a fashion designer, I want to be a business owner,’ ” Mason recalled. “I said, ‘If you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be.'”

The two also talked about how Black men should behave during encounters with police, because of the history of Black Americans being shot by police during traffic stops and other encounters.

“I talked about if they pull you over, make sure your hands are on the top of the steering wheel, don’t reach for anything,” Mason said.

“He would always say, ‘Man, why we gotta do all that just for people not to kill us?’ “

Wright moved to Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis in 2018, where his sister is also a student. Principal Yusuf Abdullah said he left after one semester and then went to Stadium View School.

“We got to know Daunte really well through his sister. Many staff worked with him through the years, trying to build a relationship with him, connect with him,” Abdullah said.

He said Daunte wasn’t a difficult kid, but had some of the typical issues of teenagers: “A troubled life? No. I think just along the lines of a teenage life.” He wouldn’t elaborate.

“He was a good kid — excitable,” he said.

Police have described the shooting of Wright as “an accidental discharge” that happened as officers were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant after stopping his car for having expired registration tags. Wright’s mother said he called her just before he was shot and told her police had pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.

The city’s police chief, who resigned Tuesday, said he believed the officer who shot Wright, Kim Potter, meant to use her Taser on him, but instead shot him with her gun. A prosecutor on Wednesday charged Potter, who also resigned, with second-degree manslaughter.

According to court records, Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

A search of court records shows Wright had a minor criminal record, with petty misdemeanor convictions for possession/sale of a small amount of marijuana and disorderly conduct.

After he was killed Sunday, his family learned of a connection between Wright and George Floyd, the Black man whose death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer nearly a year ago sparked nationwide protests. Floyd’s girlfriend, Courteney Ross, said she worked with Wright while he was a student at Edison High School. Ross was a teacher’s assistant and counselor at the school, said Mason, who worked with Ross.

“(I’m) crushed. It’s enough that Floyd is gone, but for one of my youths to be gone as well,” Ross said Tuesday during a protest against police brutality in Minneapolis.

“He was just a wonderful, beautiful boy,” Ross said.

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AP writer Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis; Kat Stafford in Detroit; and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner also contributed to this report.

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MILWAUKEE – Things can’t get much worse for the Cubs’ offense right now and sooner or later, things are going to have to improve, even with 150 games left this season.

Following a much-needed win that was capped off by Willson Contreras’ game-winning home run, the Cubs offense had another lackluster showing against the Brewers, ending a rough, six-game road trip with a 7-0 loss to the Brewers.

The offense has looked lost at times this season and with just four hits in Wednesday’s series finale in Milwaukee, there haven’t been many signs of life.

“It’s something we have to get better at,” president Jed Hoyer said. “We have to have better at-bats, we have to keep going, Obviously, we are going to swing the bats better than we have. I think that sort of goes without saying but at the same time, there are certainly some things that we’ve struggled with that are carryovers from not just last year, but the previous years.”

Through 12 games this season, the Cubs are hitting .162 as a team with 59 hits, which ranks 29th in MLB and a National League-leading 29.4% strikeout rate. Brewers’ ace Corbin Burnes didn’t have much problem going through the Cubs’ lineup in Wednesday’s loss, striking out 10 over six innings.

The Cubs have now had five or fewer hits in eight of their 12 games this season and scored more than four runs in a game twice. They’re averaging an MLB-worst 2.7 runs per game. Even with a veteran group of hitters, it’s hard not to notice hitters who might be pressing in hopes of getting the team out of their current rut.

“I thought I saw that in Pittsburgh more than I did here, to be honest with you,” manager David Ross said.”I just think this was some good pitching [in Milwaukee]. When we faced Pittsburgh, I thought we were trying a little harder than we were here. I thought the quality of the at-bat was a little better here.

“I still think we’ve got some work to do. We got to put the ball in play a little more. Take our singles when they give it to us. We can’t live and die by the home run. I know we’re built to slug, but we have to move the baseball a little bit better, especially when we get opportunities to score off the really good pitchers. We’ve got to take advantage of that.”

The Cubs needed to get off to a fast start for many reasons, and the offensive woes have been a big reason that hasn’t happened. They had the opportunity to take advantage of the rebuilding Pirates and an injured Brewers team, but after stumbling out of the gate during this 12-game stretch, the road doesn’t get any easier.

Three of the best teams in the NL await the Cubs after their off-day on Thursday as the Braves, Mets and World Series champion Dodgers all lurk over the next two weeks. By the first week in May, the “small” sample size will be large enough to know what this Cubs team is made of.

“I think it’s just a tough stretch that we’ve been on,” said Jake Arrieta, who allowed three runs over five innings. “We’re gonna have periods of struggles like this throughout the season. We’ll have ups and downs. We’ll also have periods where we go 9-1, 8-2 and things tend to balance themselves out over the course of a six-month season.

“There has been some frustration, but it’s not going to do us any good to dwell on it too long and take it for more than what it is. I think it’s just a period of 10 games or so where we haven’t found a way to get things going the way we would like.”

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Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will remain in limbo a while longer after U.S. health advisers told the government Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the potential risk really is.

The reports are exceedingly rare — six cases out of more than 7 million U.S. inoculations with the one-dose vaccine. But the government recommended a pause in J&J vaccinations this week, not long after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca vaccine, a shot made in a similar way but not yet approved for use in the U.S.

At an emergency meeting, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrestled with the fact that the U.S. has enough vaccine alternatives to do without the J&J vaccine for a time, but other countries anxiously awaiting the one-and-done shot may not.

One committee member, Dr. Grace Lee, was among those who advocated tabling a vote. She echoed concerns about getting more data to better understand the size of the risk and whether it was greater for any particular group of people.

“I continue to feel like we’re in a race against time and the variants, but we need to (move forward) in the safest possible way,” said Lee, of Stanford University.

The clots under investigation are highly unusual. They occurred in strange places, in veins that drain blood from the brain, and in people with abnormally low levels of clot-forming platelets. The six cases raised an alarm bell because that number is at least three times more than experts would have expected to see even of more typical brain-drainage clots, said CDC’s Dr. Tom Shimabukuro.

“What we have here is a picture of clots forming in large vessels where we have low platelets,” Shimabukuro explained. “This usually doesn’t happen,” but it’s similar to European reports with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The clot concerns could undermine public confidence in a vaccine many hoped would help some of the hardest-to-reach populations — in poor countries or in places like homeless shelters in the U.S.

“We know we are fighting a war against COVID-19,” Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief, said Tuesday. But when it comes to side effects, “we don’t, in the United States, have a lot of tolerance for friendly fire.”

Health officials recommended the J&J timeout in part to make sure doctors know how to recognize and treat the unusual condition. On Wednesday, the CDC said four of the six women with the unusual clots were treated with a blood thinner named heparin — a treatment the government is warning doctors to avoid.

The U.S. set up intensive systems to track the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, knowing that side effects too rare to have occurred in studies of thousands of people could pop up once millions rolled up their sleeves. Shimabukuro said spotting such a rare potential risk amid the nation’s huge vaccine rollout “is an example of a success story for vaccine safety.”

The setback for J&J comes as the worldwide death toll from COVID-19 approaches 3 million, including more than 560,000 who perished in the U.S., which continues to report tens of thousands of new infections every day and an average of almost 1,000 deaths.

So far, the J&J vaccine has been a minor player in U.S. vaccinations. More than 122 million Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, the vast majority with shots made by Moderna or Pfizer, and nearly 23% are fully vaccinated.

Both companies are on track to have delivered 300 million doses each by mid- to late July — and federal health authorities stress that there are no signs of the unusual clots with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Vaccinations are slower in Europe, where many countries have struggled for supply. J&J delayed some of its European deliveries amid the clot evaluation, but Poland said it would use the batch it already has in hand. European medical regulators plan to issue their own evaluation of the J&J clot issue next week.

When those weird clots were spotted after AstraZeneca vaccinations, scientists in Norway and Germany raised the possibility that some people are experiencing an abnormal immune response, forming antibodies that disable their platelets. That’s the theory as the U.S. now investigates the J&J reports.

Health officials caution against confusing the normal flu-like symptoms that occur a day or two after many COVID-19 vaccination with the clot concern. The problematic clot symptoms, such as severe headache or severe abdominal pain, have occurred about a week to three weeks after the J&J shot.

For vaccine recipients, the headlines can be scary. Holli Vrenon, 35, who got her J&J shot three or four weeks ago in Reno, Nevada, had flu-like symptoms after the vaccination and asked her brother, a doctor, what to think.

He told her to monitor her symptoms but not to worry too much, “but obviously it worries you,” Vrenon said. “If they’re suspending it, obviously people are getting side effects.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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The Chicago Department of Transportation announced Wednesday the Lake Shore Drive Bridge over the Chicago River is set to be raised Thursday night for “testing and maintenance” the same day the city plans to release video of 13-year-old Adam Toledo’s fatal shooting by police in Little Village.

CDOT spokesman Michael Claffey said the bridge will be raised between 10 p.m. Thursday and 5 a.m. Friday for “testing and maintenance ahead of boat run season” and says the closure is not related to the video release.

A spokesperson for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office declined to comment.

Northbound traffic will be detoured via Monroe Street, Columbus Drive and Illinois Street, while southbound drivers will exit Lake Shore Drive at Grand Avenue and return via Columbus Drive and Monroe Street, Claffey said.

The bridge raising is a yearly practice in which every bridge over the river is lifted sequentially before boats leave mainland shelters to dock in Lake Michigan for the summer, according to Claffey.

The city’s plans to release the video Thursday of Adam Toledo being killed by police March 29 in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue. Adam’s family, which asked the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to delay the video release, viewed the footage Tuesday evening.

The city came under fire last summer for raising bridges into downtown during protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The decision, along with the mayor’s call to stop CTA trains from entering the Loop, made it difficult for protesters to leave downtown, according to a scathing inspector general report on how the Chicago Police Department handled the protests.

Contributing: Manny Ramos, Fran Spielman

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BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — A white former suburban Minneapolis police officer was charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter for killing 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright in a shooting that ignited days of unrest and clashes between protesters and police.

The charge against former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kim Potter was filed three days after Wright was killed during a traffic stop and as the nearby murder trial progresses for the ex-officer charged with killing George Floyd last May.

The former Brooklyn Center police chief has said that Potter, a 26-year veteran and training officer, intended to use her Taser on Wright but fired her handgun instead. However, protesters and Wright’s family members say there’s no excuse for the shooting and that it shows how the justice system is tilted against Blacks, noting Wright was stopped for expired car registration and ended up dead.

“Certain occupations carry an immense responsibility and none more so than a sworn police officer,” Imran Ali, Washington County assistant criminal division chief, said in a statement announcing the charge against Potter. “(Potter’s) action caused the unlawful killing of Mr. Wright and she must be held accountable.”

Intent isn’t a necessary component of second-degree manslaughter in Minnesota. The charge — which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison — can be applied in circumstances where a person is suspected of causing a death by “culpable negligence” that creates an unreasonable risk and consciously takes chances to cause a death.

Potter, who was being held on $100,000 bail, was scheduled to make her initial court appearance Thursday afternoon. Her attorney did not respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Potter, 48, and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned Tuesday, a day after the City Council voted to fire the city manager, who controls the police force. Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards said Wednesday that because Potter resigned, she is entitled to “all accrual and benefits that is due.” Mayor Mike Elliott has said that the city had been moving toward firing Potter when she submitted her resignation.

AP

Police say Wright was pulled over for expired tags on Sunday, but they sought to arrest him after discovering he had an outstanding warrant. The warrant was for his failure to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Body camera video that Gannon released Monday shows Potter approaching Wright as he stands outside of his car as another officer is arresting him.

As Wright struggles with police, Potter shouts, “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” before firing a single shot from a handgun in her right hand.

The criminal complaint noted that Potter holstered her handgun on the right side and her Taser on the left. To remove the Taser — which is yellow and has a black grip — Potter would have to use her left hand, the complaint said.

Wright family attorney Ben Crump said the family appreciates the criminal case, but he again disputed that the shooting was accidental, arguing that an experienced officer knows the difference between a Taser and a handgun.

“Kim Potter executed Daunte for what amounts to no more than a minor traffic infraction and a misdemeanor warrant,” he said.

Experts say cases of officers mistakenly firing their gun instead of a Taser are rare, usually less than once a year nationwide.

Transit officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison after responding to a fight at a train station in Oakland, California, killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant in 2009. Mehserle testified at trial that he mistakenly pulled his .40-caliber handgun instead of his stun gun.

In Oklahoma, a white volunteer sheriff’s deputy for Tulsa County, Robert Bates, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter after accidentally firing his handgun when he meant to deploy his stun gun on Eric Harris, a Black man who was being held down by other officers in 2015.

Potter was an instructor with Brooklyn Center police, according to the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. She was training two other officers when they stopped Wright, the association’s leader, Brian Peters, told the Star Tribune.

Brooklyn Center announced a curfew of 10 p.m. Wednesday — the fourth night in a row that the city has taken that action. Elliott, the mayor, urged people to protest without violence, saying “your voices have been heard.”

Outside Potter’s home in Champlin, north of Brooklyn Center, concrete barricades and tall metal fencing had been set up and police cars were in the driveway. After Floyd’s death last year, protesters demonstrated several times at the home of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer now on trial in Floyd’s death.

About 90 minutes before Tuesday’s curfew, state police announced over a loudspeaker that the demonstration outside the city’s heavily guarded police headquarters had been declared unlawful and ordered the crowds to disperse. Protesters launched fireworks toward the station and threw objects at officers, who launched flashbangs and gas grenades, then marched in a line to force back the crowd. The number of protesters plummeted over the next hour, until only a few remained. Police also ordered all media to leave.

Brooklyn Center, a suburb just north of Minneapolis, has seen its racial demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Hispanic.

However, Elliott has acknowledged that the police force has “very few people of color.”

___

Bauer contributed from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press writers Doug Glass and Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis; Tim Sullivan in Brooklyn Center; and Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report.

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Chicago aldermen held a spirited debate Wednesday about launching an unprecedented local crackdown on rogue tow truck drivers who rush to accident scenes, snare damaged vehicles and hold them hostage until rattled motorists pay exorbitant fees.

The City Council’s Committee on License and Consumer Protection did not vote on the ordinance that calls for the city to establish a first-ever license for tow truck operators, require a $250 license for every truck they use and license the locations where vehicles they tow are stored.

License Committee Chairman Emma Mitts (37th) and others want more time to consider AAA’s request for a waiver that could excuse the motor club from record-keeping requirements that would slow down the motor club’s towing operations.

Mitts said she wanted “more discussion to make sure we are all in agreement.” But it was apparent from the tone of the debate and the horror stories told about rampant towing abuses on Chicago streets that the crackdown championed by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) is coming.

“This is an effort to tackle an industry that’s just been out of control. Wild, wild west. Second-worst in the country,” a frustrated Villegas told his colleagues after Mitts insisted on holding the ordinance in committee. “At a time when people are being taken advantage of, this is not the time to hesitate…We need to get this done.”

Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareno agreed it was high time for Chicago to get tough to prevent “rampant” abuses by “rogue” towing companies that appear unsolicited at accidents and “take advantage of rattled vehicle owners.”

“In some cases, resident vehicles have been held at ransom. … Owners are often forced to pay thousands to recover their vehicles. And in many cases, the vehicles may be left in random locations, difficult for our investigators to locate,” Escareno said.

Sgt. Keith Blair of the Chicago Police Department’s Major Auto Theft Unit described towing abuses as a “very serious problem” that has “overloaded” CPD and hampered its ability to investigate the number of vehicles towed illegally from crash scenes.

Many rogue tow-truck drivers monitor police and fire department radio frequencies, Blair said, often beating first responders to the scene.

“They’re using any method necessary to try and obtain control of an unsuspecting victim’s vehicle. Promising them free rental and other promises that they never fulfill. And they end up holding these cars hostage,” Blair said.

“They’re closely aligned in some areas with gangs. … Much like we see gang conflicts, we see gang conflicts among tow drivers as well.”

The ordinance also would prohibit certain acts, such as:

o Stopping “at or near” an accident scene or near a damaged or disabled vehicle to solicit the vehicle owner unless summoned to the scene by law enforcement, other city or state agencies or the vehicle owner or his or her representative.

o Making any false, misleading or threatening statements to the vehicle owner for the purpose of coercing the owner to engage the operator’s towing services, such as claiming to be affiliated with a government agency or insurance company that would cover the towing cost.

o Holding a towed vehicle against the owner’s will until the motorist agrees to pay a “ransom” fee that amounts to thousands of dollars to release it.

Five years ago, the tilted playing field between towing companies that snatch cars off Chicago streets and parking lots and motorists who own those vehicles got a bit more level.

The City Council approved a “towing bill of rights” in response to an avalanche of complaints about Lincoln Towing, the company made famous in the Steve Goodman song, “Lincoln Park Pirates.”

Then-Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) led the charge for the bill of rights just three months after a tense public hearing on the towing issue that featured a heated exchange between Pawar and Allen Perl, an attorney representing Protective Parking Services doing business as Lincoln Towing.

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Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a chance of sprinkles and a high near 51 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 38 degrees. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 53 degrees.

Top story

COPA to release video, other materials related to the killing of Adam Toledo on Thursday

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said it will release video and other materials related to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo tomorrow.

“COPA has remained sensitive to the family’s grief and is carrying out this release in accordance with the City’s Video Release Policy,” Ephraim Eaddy, spokesman for COPA, said in a statement. “COPA’s core values of integrity and transparency are essential to building public trust, particularly in incidents related to an officer involved shooting, and we are unwavering in our commitment to uphold these values.”

The materials will include footage from body-worn cameras, third-party video, transmissions from the Office of Emergency Management & Communications, SpotShotter recordings and case incidents.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she has seen “multiple videos” of the fatal shooting of Toledo by Chicago police on March 29, but won’t talk about what she saw in them.

Asked about the video at an unrelated event in Jackson Park, Lightfoot refused to describe what she saw or the conclusions she drew from that viewing, for fear of compromising ongoing investigations by the COPA and the Cook County State’s attorney’s office.

The mayor would only reiterate what the Toledo family said after its own private showing on Tuesday: that public release of the shooting videos would be delayed out of deference to the family.

“This is a difficult set of circumstances. First and foremost, we have a family that is still incredibly in the throes of grief. A mom and father who have lost their son, siblings who have lost their brother. Grandparents. I want to be respectful of the family,” the mayor said after joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Jackson Park to announce the start of “pre-construction” work tied to the Obama Presidential Center.

Read Fran Spielman and Manny Ramos’ full story here.

More news you need

1. Staff at CPS high schools stayed home today in protest of the district’s plan to send high schoolers back into classrooms starting next Monday. While teachers were expected back at work two days ago, CTU continues to negotiate with CPS on what the union called a “fairly limited set of issues.”
2. Chicago Fire Department policies are “insufficient” to combat discrimination and sexual harassment, an inspector general report said. In a survey of 285 CFD employees by the IG’s office, 26% reported having experienced sexual harassment “at least once” at the department.
3. Initial construction work related to the Obama Presidential Center is starting in Jackson Park, officials announced today. Former President Barack Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama will attend the groundbreaking for the center, which is likely to be in September.
4. Nearly a quarter of all Illinois residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said today while expressing hope that the state is tamping down the current surge of cases. Over the past week, roughly three Illinoisans got a vaccine every two seconds, per state data.
5. More than 2,400 Illinois residents have applied to be reimbursed by FEMA for funeral expenses after losing a loved one to COVID-19. Learn more about who qualifies for the program, which started Monday and offers up to $9,000 per burial.
6. A Springfield man who allegedly carried a “Trump” flag onto the floor of the U.S. Senate during the U.S. Capitol breach is the latest person from Illinois to face charges in connection with the riot. Thomas B. Adams Jr. is the sixth person from the state to face federal charges in connection with the breach.
7. State Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford said today she tested positive for COVID-19. Lightford has returned to her west suburban home, where she’ll join committee meetings through Zoom despite “aching an awful lot.”

A bright one

Aaron Rodgers as ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host: Chicago contestant stumped by Packers question

You can’t make this stuff up.

So the guest host of “Jeopardy!” is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and he’s reading this clue from the Title Waves category: “In the 1960s these Midwesterners earned 5 NFL championship trophies.”

The response from the three contestants … crickets.

“Green Bay Packers?” Rodgers said, making the appropriate face and stretching out his arms in disbelief.

Not Erick Loh, the pastor from California, or returning champ Dennis Chase, the biotech project manager originally from Massachusetts, or Norah Webster, a meeting planner from Chicago, could come up with the answer.

A triple stumper.

(Norah, you were our best hope if for no other reason than your city’s proximity to Green Bay and the possibility that maybe you’re a Bears fan or almost certainly know a few.)

When Loh correctly responded to the next clue from the same category about the Boston Celtics, Rodgers couldn’t resist. “Oh, you know that one, huh?” he quipped.

Read the full story for more as the Packers’ star quarterback acquits himself well to his TV gig – as much as Bears fans might hate to admit it.

From the press box

Willson Contreras delivered the game-winner last night for a Cubs offense badly in need of something to get the crew out of its swing-and-miss-from-the-heel ways.

The Chicago Golden Gloves boxing tournament has been canceled for the second straight year due to the pandemic. It’s a major setback for the boxers who’ve been training for months to compete in the event, Sam Kelly writes.

And recent Blackhawks additions Brett Connolly and Vinnie Hinostroza have already started making a positive impact on the ice. The Hawks, who have won three of their last four, will try to stay hot tomorrow night against the Red Wings.

Your daily question ☕

How concerned are you about the Cubs/White Sox two weeks into the season?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: How has the pandemic affected your relationship with your faith? Here’s what some of you said…

“It’s been hard not going to church. Watching on YouTube is not the same. However, my faith is my strength and my Zoom small group Bible studies have been a lifeline for my soul.” — Brenda G. Whitson Marquis

“At first it was so hard. I honestly can only think of two times in all my 77 years that I’ve missed Mass and I’ve taught Religious Ed for 24 years, so I truly missed being there. However, emailing, texting, Zooming, and good old fashioned letter writing have kept me in touch with my class and fellow parishioners. And after being fully vaccinated I was able to return on Palm Sunday. I feel blessed.” — Karen Klein Siciliano

“I consider myself a solidly devout Catholic and having Mass on TV on Sunday morning has been very helpful. But I’m at the point now where I’d like to go back to my parish for Mass. However, with the COVID cases rising again, I’m somewhat apprehensive.” — Mike Walsh

“My faith in God is intact, but my faith in humanity sure has suffered during this pandemic!” — Anna Casey

“It has strengthened my faith. Watching Mass at home every Sunday has allowed me to break it down for my children and ensure they understand Mass, the Eucharist, and the other components and it has allowed me to watch Masses from Mexico which I prefer.” — James Gonzalez

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

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Check out answers to frequently asked questions, including: Am I eligible for a coronavirus shot? Where can I get one? Can I go to a pharmacy? How long do I have to wait?

As Chicago expands its COVID-19 vaccination program, here are some answers to questions on who can get the shots and where to get them.

Who’s eligible for the vaccine?

General public aged 16 and older: All state residents 16 and over are eligible for shots beginning April 12.

Chicago says it will open up eligibility to everyone on April 19. But Chicago residents are encouraged to go to the suburbs or even to Indiana or other states to get appointments if permitted.

Who is eligible in Chicago?

• Health care and nursing home workers: Health care workers as well as employees and residents of nursing homes and congregate facilities have been eligible since December and those individuals can still be vaccinated.

• Seniors and essential workers: In late January, Chicagoans age 65 and older and more than 300,000 essential workers became eligible for the vaccine. The group includes police and firefighters, correctional workers, grocery store employees, educators and transit employees. Go to www.chicago.gov/covidvax for a full list.

• Residents with high-risk medical conditions: In late February Illinois expanded the eligible group to include residents 16 and older with high-risk medical conditions. Examples of conditions given by the state include obesity, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, smoking, heart conditions, chronic kidney diseases, cancer, solid organ transplant, sickle cell disease, pregnancy and persons with disabilities.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said each local health department will determine the process for those vaccinations.

Suburban Cook County started vaccinating those with health conditions March 26, while Chicago started March 29. The city has a broader list of health conditions for this eligible group, though smokers aren’t included on the list.

• Additional essential workers: Are eligible as of March 29 in Chicago. The city has said that group will include workers in: transportation and logistics; water and wastewater; food service; construction; finance, including bank tellers; information technology and communications; energy; legal; media; public safety like engineers; and higher education.

How do I sign up to get vaccinated? Where do I go?

Vaccinations are handled through appointments either through a doctor or other health care provider, a pharmacy or an employer. There are also designated sites for mass vaccinations run by cities and counties.

Chicago residents who are eligible can register for appointments via zocdoc/vaccine. More information is available at covidcoach.chicago.gov/.

A map of Chicago vaccinations sites is at chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid19-vaccine/home.html.

Suburban Cook County residents can check eligibility at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/.

Go to https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location for a map of locations around Illinois.

Among the sites offering vaccines:

The United Center: Since March 10, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been operating a mass vaccination site at the United Center. Officials have limited who is eligible for an appointment there to all residents 16 and older from certain ZIP codes in vulnerable areas of the city as well as all seniors who live in Chicago.

As of April 12, those ZIP codes include 60608, 60609, 60619, 60620, 60621, 60623, 60624, 60628, 60629, 60632, 60636, 60639, 60644, 60649, 60651, 60652, and 60653.

More details are at chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid19-vaccine/home/united-center.html of by calling 312-746-4835.

Pharmacies: The city lists several where members of eligible groups under the state’s guidelines can sign up to get the vaccine:

• Walgreens at walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19

• Jewel-Osco at mhealthappointments.com/covidappt

• Walmart at walmart.com/cp/1228302

• Mariano’s at marianos.com/i/coronavirus-update/vaccine

• Chicago Costco Pharmacies (Lincoln Park)

• Chicago Costco Pharmacies (Medical District)

• CVS at www.cvs.com

What if I don’t have a doctor or health care provider?

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced an outreach plan to engage residents in 15 South Side and West Side communities, largely areas of the city that include many uninsured residents with poor access to health care. The city is working with hospitals, health clinics and other local organizations to inform neighbors on vaccination details. For theses communities, the city has widened the eligibility rules. Go to the city’s Protect Chicago page for more details.

Will it cost me money to get the vaccine?

The vaccine is free to everyone.

Do I need multiple shots?

To be fully effective, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines approved for COVID-19 each require a second dose, which will either be three or four weeks apart from the first dose. Typically your second appointment is scheduled at the time you receive your first dose.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine only requires one shot.

Experts say all the vaccines are very effective against stopping infections and extremely effective against preventing severe infections. Individuals will not be able to choose which vaccine they get.

Do I still need to wear a mask after getting the vaccine?

Two weeks after getting the second shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, your chance of contracting the virus will be dramatically reduced. No vaccine is completely protective but both of the COVID therapies are more than 90% effective. Johnson and Johnson, which was tested more recently in more countries and against more variants of the virus, is more than 70 percent effective, which officials say is still excellent.

But because there has not been research yet on whether you can still spread the virus to others, officials recommend continuing to take precautions like mask wearing even after you get vaccinated. The CDC said that those who have been fully vaccinated can follow looser restrictions when interacting with others who also have been inoculated.

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Players led by Alex Morgan asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reinstate the part of their suit that U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner threw out last May when he granted a partial summary judgment to the U.S. Soccer Federation.

SAN FRANCISCO — Players on the women’s national soccer team have asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court decision throwing out their lawsuit seeking equal pay to the men’s team.

Players led by Alex Morgan asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reinstate the part of their suit that U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner threw out last May when he granted a partial summary judgment to the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“For each win, loss and tie that women players secure, they are paid less than men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination,” players’ spokeswoman Molly Levinson said in a statement. “A pervasive atmosphere of sexism drove this pay discrimination.”

Appeals are assigned to three-judge panels. The 9th Circuit estimates that oral arguments in civil appeals will be scheduled 12-20 months from the notice of appeal and 9-12 months after written briefs have been completed.

The U.S. has won the last two Women’s World Cups and is the favorite in this summer’s Olympic women’s soccer tournament.

Players sued the USSF in March 2019, contending they have not been paid equitably under their collective bargaining agreement that runs through December 2021, compared to what the men’s team receives under its agreement that expired in December 2018. The women asked for more than $66 million in damages under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Klausner threw out the pay claim last May, ruling the women rejected a pay-to-play structure similar to the one in the men’s agreement and accepted greater base salaries and benefits than the men, who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The sides reached a settlement Dec. 1 on working condition claims that Klausner approved Monday. The deal calls for charter flights, hotel accommodations, venue selection and professional staff support equitable to that of the men’s national team.

The USSF says it pays equally for matches it controls but not for tournaments organized by soccer’s world governing body.

FIFA awarded $400 million in prize money for the 32 teams at the 2018 men’s World Cup, including $38 million to champion France. It awarded $30 million for the 24 teams at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, including $4 million to the U.S. after the Americans won their second straight title.

FIFA has increased the total to $440 million for the 2022 men’s World Cup, and its president, Gianni Infantino, has proposed FIFA double the women’s prize money to $60 million for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where FIFA has increased the teams to 32.

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Even though its titular character always does just the opposite

Meiselman is put-upon. Everything and everyone in his world is bent on humiliating and belittling him, so he plots his revenge.…Read More