Daywatch: Lightfoot says vaccine status deadline will not be lifted | Climate change may be causing Lake Superior’s algae blooms | Ranking pumpkin foods at Trader Joe’s

Good morning, Chicago.

Get ready to bundle up or pay up to stay warm this winter: The price of natural gas, driven by supply chain disruptions and increased demand, is projected to nearly triple.

In vaccine booster news, U.S. health advisers said Thursday that some Americans who received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago should get a half-dose booster to increase protection. The panel will discuss Johnson & Johnson boosters Friday.

And in downtown real estate news, Tribune Tower Residences are complete, with amenities such as an indoor golf simulator and an herb garden. Make yourself at home.

— Paul Day

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Former Eric Ferguson co-host Melissa McGurren files suit, alleging ‘sham investigation’ into misconduct complaints at WTMX

Chicago radio host Melissa McGurren on Thursday accused her former employer, Hubbard Radio Chicago, of defamation in a new lawsuit that includes fresh allegations that WTMX-FM management perpetuated a culture of discrimination to protect cash cows such as popular morning host Eric Ferguson “at any cost.”

Despite police union threat to ignore Friday’s vaccine status deadline, Mayor Lightfoot says rule will not be lifted, city warns of disciplinary action

With the police union’s threat that thousands of Chicago police officers will defy Friday’s deadline to report their COVID-19 vaccine status, city officials reiterated that the rule will be enforced and that those who don’t comply will be subject to disciplinary action.

Lake Superior is among the fastest-warming lakes on the planet. Climate change may be the culprit behind its algae blooms, too.

Algae blooms have cropped up in all the Great Lakes. But unlike the others — warmer, shallower and surrounded by sources of agricultural runoff — Lake Superior is cold, deep and nutrient poor. It is among the fastest warming lakes on the planet, and climate change may be the culprit behind its algae blooms, too.

She begged strangers, but no donors stepped up to save her son. Now, she hopes to save other children’s lives — and maybe her own.

When Andrea Whitsett’s son Patrick was sick, she pleaded with strangers to save his life. She pleaded at folding tables set up at events, at his Bronzeville school, anywhere she could tell people about stem cells and how her son needed them.

Unable to find a donor for her son, who died in 2015, Whitsett keeps fighting for more donors of all backgrounds.

The 30 best (and worst) pumpkin-flavored foods at Trader Joe’s, ranked

What follows is not for indiscriminating pumpkin people.

It’s more for the pumpkin curious. It’s also not everything pumpkin at Trader Joe’s — instead, this is how the Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli ranked Trader Joe’s pumpkin items that offer that fast pumpkin fix, from best to very worst.