William Knowles

Iran says it will not toll ships in the Strait of Hormuz, instead charging fees for “environmental protection.” -IRNA

If you're worried about ticks, put up an owl box. The animal driving most Lyme disease in the eastern US is the white-footed mouse. Ticks that feed on them are far more likely to come away infected than ticks that feed on other animals. The bigger the local mouse population, the worse the next year's tick year. A single barred owl pair raising chicks can take hundreds of rodents in a breeding season. Owls also don't carry Lyme. The bacterium can't survive their digestive tract, so an owl that eats an infected mouse is a dead end for the disease. Researchers at the Cary Institute, the leading lab on Lyme ecology, have been explicit about this: "Landscapes that support predators have reduced Lyme disease risk." One owl box on its own isn't going to fix a tick year. But a yard with owls, foxes, bobcats, and weasels in it has fewer mice, and a yard with fewer mice has fewer infected ticks. If you have woods or fields nearby, a properly sized barn owl or screech owl box (different species, different boxes) is one of the most useful single things you can do for tick exposure at the landscape scale. Match the box to the owl that lives near you. The mouse is the problem, owls are the solution.

Unauthorized large gatherings can quickly become dangerous, and early this morning, after curfew hours, we saw that firsthand. I am grateful to the officers who responded diligently to help keep people safe and relieved that the officers who were injured are in fair condition. I continue to call on parents and guardians to know where their children are and to help ensure they are safe and accounted for. There also must be accountability for the individuals who participated in the violent and reckless behavior. My administration is creating opportunities and safe spaces for young people, but families, communities, and city leaders all have a role to play in keeping our young people safe.

Senior administration official says the Iran agreement will not be signed today, but indicated progress on a deal. "If the Iranians make significant accommodations on the enrichment question then we will make significant accommodations on sanctions relief,” the official said. On the nuclear issue, the current plan is to deal with the entire stockpile of enriched material. "If you have a final deal where the Iranian are enriching, then you don't have a final deal,” the official added.

This is an insane looking street takeover on Lower Wacker.