The NBA postponed tonight's game between the Bulls and the Detroit Pistons at the United Center, and Thursday's game in Toronto against the Raptors, due to multiple COVID-19 infections.

Why it matters: The Bulls are amidst the worst COVID outbreak in the NBA this season with 10 players and two broadcasters in health and safety protocols, all of whom are reportedly boosted.

• The Bulls petitioned the league for the postponement, but it wasn't until yesterday afternoon that the league responded.
• The Chicago Department of Public Health had concerns and that played a part in the NBA's decision, per ESPN.
• It's the league's first postponement this season.
• The NBA's deadline for players to be boosted is December 17.

State of play: More than half the team has entered health and safety protocols over the past two weeks, including stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.

Origin story: The Bulls played the Charlotte Hornets on November 30. Later that week, the Hornets announced five of their players had entered COVID-19 protocols.

Outstanding questions: Are the 10 players in health and safety protocols boosted?

• Do the players and staff follow safety protocols while traveling?

What they're saying: According to Bulls broadcaster Stacey King, he was scheduled to get a booster the day he tested positive.

• "I don't wish this on anyone! No telling how I might have felt if I wasn't fully vaccinated."
• The team did not respond to our requests for comment on the players' vaccination status and other questions.

What's next: The games will be made up later in the season.

• The next game on the schedule is Sunday against the Lakers at the United Center.

Penn & Teller are back on the (virtual) Chicago stage. They returned to their Vegas residency this fall after more than 400 days away from performing.

Why it matters: The world famous magicians have been performing for three decades in Chicago and are on video performing a card trick in Jamie Allan’s Magic Immersive at 360 N. State Street.

• "A lot of magic has come out of Chicago," Penn Jillette tells Axios. "The great thing is that it has started up again. You have big magic theaters, dedicated places for it. Chicago has always been a wonderful place for us."

Between the lines: What makes Penn & Teller special is how they bring the audiences with them. It's not about tricking them, but showing them how they are being tricked.

• "Magic deals with what reality is. It's a very important intellectual form," says Jillette. "Magic is automatically immersive because it is the unwilling suspension of disbelief."
• "As music is wonderful at dealing with love, magic is wonderful at dealing with truth."

What's next: Penn & Teller have a small role in this new show, but that's not stopping them from planning for their own shows here in the future.

• "I really feel most at home and we have great audiences here. I'm always so happy to play Chicago. We'll be coming back as soon as we can to do a Penn & Teller show."

When in Chicago: "There's a lot of good vegan food. We just went to Sunda and it was just amazing. I think that's my go-to Chicago restaurant."

⛑ Chicago groups are readying supplies for tornado relief in Kentucky. (Sun-Times)

Four arrested after protests over a permit for Southside Recycling. (Block Club Chicago)

🏒 The Blackhawks game was postponed yesterday because of the Calgary Flames' COVID outbreak. They are back on the ice Wednesday. (NBC Chicago)

We recently wrote about the most common items officials stop passengers from taking on planes at O'Hare. But what about arriving international passengers?

• Turns out, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also finds lots of no-no's in that carry-on luggage.

What they're confiscating: "[Prohibited] seeds for planting, meat, plants with soil and other prohibited fruits and vegetables," CBP spokesman Steven Bansbach tells Axios, referring to prohibited non-USDA inspected meats.

• "In fact [last week] … a traveler arrived in Chicago with a whole raw goose in their checked luggage. Travelers keep our agriculture specialists and K9s on our toes."

💭 Monica's take: As someone who lost $200 worth of fine Spanish ham to one of those pesky sniffing dogs at O'Hare, I feel for the goose carrier.

Between the lines: What did they do with the goose? "We steam, sterilize and incinerate seized items," Bansbach wrote.

Today's local gift has some vavoom to it. Family vavoom.

The gift: Family portraits done in a vintage style. Usually these photo shoots are more adult-themed, but Vavoom Pinups owner Heather Stumpf is offering fun for the whole family.

The photo shoot: It's a vintage snow globe pop-up photography studio in the heart of Wicker Park. Stumpf has done the snow globe pop-up for the past three years and has shot over 100 clients.

Extras: Access Stumpf's massive collection of vintage clothing and props, or pay more for hair and make-up done in vintage style.

Price: $350 for the snow globe package.

• The pop-up runs through December 24th.

Thank you to everyone who sent us holiday photos! Keep them coming.

This photo is from reader Henry Kisor, who wrote:

At the Three Crowns Park retirement community in Evanston Dec. 11, the Nordic Voices of Chicago choir laid on a Swedish tradition called the Feast of Santa Lucia and the Festival of Lights (the woman playing Santa Lucia should herself be canonized for her miraculous ability to hold that pose unmoving for nearly an entire hour).