“Do you know what this is?”
Some additional technical difficulties prevented yesterday’s newsletter from going out (sigh), so here’s an extra-large batch. Have a safe, good weekend.
With 1 million new cases in the past 15 days, the US has now passed 4 million total coronavirus cases, with hospitalizations reaching a record high.
1/33 | Vox
California now finds itself at the center of the pandemic twice over.
2/33 | The New York Times
In Southern California, Huntington Beach has come “to symbolize resistance to many of the coronavirus safety rules.” Thankfully, a pair of West Hollywood comedians are on the case.
3/33 | The Morning News
Disease experts explain how they make charts to help people navigate risk during a pandemic.
4/33 | WIRED
Related: Tips on how to persuade people to wear masks from an FBI hostage negotiator.
5/33 | SFGATE
Heading into November, the Election Assistance Commission is neglecting key responsibilities, and two of its four commissioners are repeating the president’s unfounded warnings about vote by mail.
6/33 | ProPublica
Donald Trump’s deployment of federal forces is transforming his political war on big cities into “something much closer to the real thing.”
7/33 | The Atlantic
Trump cancels the Republican National Convention in Florida. Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivers a lesson in decency on the House floor.
8/33 | CNN, The New Yorker
Related: Women who have run for office describe the worst sexism they’ve experienced in politics.
9/33 | FiveThirtyEight
As Republican Senators continue to argue over federal unemployment benefits, it's now too late to reprogram state systems without a gap in payments.
10/33 | Politico
Education Secretary DeVos says children are "stoppers" of COVID-19—which is not only wrong for our current virus numbers, but false.
11/33 | The Washington Post
Black Mainers account for approximately 23% of coronavirus cases in a state where they're less than 2% of the population.
12/33 | The Washington Post
A series of portraits of Black women who work in hospitals, schools, and retail, by Brooklyn's Aya Brown. See also: Paintings by Esiri Erheriene-Essi “re-imagine more humane and liberating narratives than what has gone before.”
13/33 | Aya Brown, BOOOOOOOM
Vic Mensa, Aja Monet, and other artists appear on the album "Defund the Sheriff," calling on Los Angeles County to divest funds away from the police.
14/33 | The Morning News
“The camera was truly objective. It wasn’t shaking, it wasn’t moving.” Reinaldo Marcus Green, director of the excellent Monsters and Men, on the amateur footage capturing police brutality.
15/33 | IndieWire
A map shows which law enforcement agencies in the US are using what surveillance technologies.
16/33 | The Atlas of Surveillance
In Nairobi's settlements, policing provides the “de facto forms of urban infrastructure” that shape how people live—and die.
17/33 | The New York Review of Books
One little-known player quietly reshaping smaller police departments around the US: the insurance industry.
18/33 | NBC News
The subminimum wage, used to pay service workers as little as $2.13 an hour, turns out to be a relic of slavery.
19/33 | Politico Magazine
A profile of climate activist Jamie Margolin focuses on what it's like to manage a national movement while you're in high school.
20/33 | The New York Times Magazine
See also: Caity Weaver annotates nearly everything she Googled for four days as a reporter. Also, a round-up of apps that Charles Darwin would have used.
21/33 | Google Docs, Clamsplaining
The idea of expeditionary solitude—from space voyages to wilderness travel—has too long been gendered for lone male explorers.
22/33 | BLDGBLOG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects on her nine female classmates at Harvard Law School.
23/33 | Slate
The Science Museum in London has a question for the public: "Do you know what this is? No, seriously, can you tell us?"
24/33 | MetaFilter
Scientists capture the first direct image of a planetary system around a star like our Sun, located about 300 light-years away.
25/33 | SciTechDaily
Start-ups that provide end-of-life services find sudden demand for "tombstone generators" and final tweets.
26/33 | The New York Times
Travel ad spending is starting to rebook across Europe.
27/33 | Digiday
How Costco convinces brands to self-cannibalize: it's not the same margins as a private label, but it’s not unprofitable.
28/33 | Napkin Math
A remarkable visualization of wealth uses a single pixel to help you understand the vastness of Jeff Bezos's riches (and much more).
29/33 | Matt Korostoff
Early returns from Germany suggest—among other quirks from this strange sporting season—that home field advantage disappears without fans.
30/33 | The New York Times
Baseball is (mostly) back, with 60 games planned this season. Ahead of Thursday's opening game between the Nationals and Yankees, players on both teams kneeled before the Star-Spangled Banner.
31/33 | USA Today, Twitter
Your weekly soothe: A boyfriend rates wedding dresses.
32/33 | TikTok
Finally, we were reminded of this epic 2014 history of the New York Times Style Section, thanks to a recent profile of TMN favorite Choire Sicha.
33/33 | The Awl, Study Hall
And now a brief chat with a recent Sustaining Member, Sue R.
Hi, Sue! How did you hear about us? I’ve been enjoying TMN and the Tournament of Books for a number of years, having been introduced by my daughter-in-law Bridget Fitzgerald. Bridget was a contributor years ago.
We love Bridget! What role does TMN play in your daily reading? I appreciate TMN daily for its mainstream news but especially for the interesting stories I don’t find elsewhere. We all need diversion now.
We do indeed. I’ve shared both news and book links with friends, family, and my book group often. I’m sorry I didn’t donate sooner and am proud to be a sustaining member! Keep up the good work.
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