Bloody hot day in autumn

Even though the first day of September is also the first day of meterological autumn, in Chicago it usually feels more like July than October. Today is definitely a July day, with the heat index at O'Hare already almost 39°C. Cassie and I took our long walk this morning for that reason.

Elsewhere:

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is doing what incompetents usually do: hiding his bad decisions from the press.
• Molly White outlines regulatory capture in the US crypto market, including a new 400-page proposed rule from the SEC that will make life a lot easier for cryptocurrency scammers.
• Speaking of scammers, the OAFPOTUS's plan to steal Venezuelan oil is not just awful foreign policy, it's also deeply stupid.
• A cache of training materials from Soviet Russian intelligence shows how the GRU and FSB are training the next generation of hackers at Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
• Scammers have charged Chicago White Sox fans thousands of dollars for parking for years with no arrests.
• NIMBYs in River Forest, Ill., are throwing cold water on the O'Hare Flyer because they don't want passenger trains zipping through their leafy suburb.

Finally, my Brews & Choos buddy was at Wrigley Field yesterday watching the Cubs hit a record NINE home runs in their 17-3 slaughter of the Milwaukee Brewers. Her texts during the game were epic and, sadly, not repeatable here. Alex Bergman alone got 3 home runs for the second time in his career. The Cubs (78-60) are currently 7 games behind the Brewers (85-53) and tied with the Phillies for the wild card spot, with only 24 games left in the season. (The White Sox are 3 games ahead of Cleveland at 72-65, which hardly seems fair.)