DGS, MF.
Spain imposes a state of emergency on Madrid to bring down COVID-19 infection rates. Cases are inching up in New England. The WHO sets a new daily record. / BBC News, The New York Times, The Associated Press
Wearing masks doesn’t harm your health, but the idea has lived on through multiple debunkings. / The Atlantic
Related: See if you can pass a “Spot the Troll” quiz (it’s hard!). / Spot the Troll
Dr. Fauci confirms the recent White House gathering for Amy Coney Barrett was a super-spreader event. / BBC News
President Trump invites two thousand guests to hear him speak today from a White House balcony. / CNN
"Mr. Trump has been eating a steady media diet of comfort food in recent days, making the most of soft interviews with some of his most supportive media personalities." / The New York Times
A timelapse video shows how the virus has torn across the United States since March. / STAT
Related: “Say Goodbye to Your Local Coffee Shop in America's Cafe Shakeup.” / Bloomberg
The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has grown to near-record size. / CNN
In Alaska, the Yup’ik people are still trying to recover a culture that was devastated by 1919's so-called Spanish Flu. / Atlas Obscura
Geneva introduces a minimum wage of $25 an hour, the highest in the world. / Business Insider
A British Columbia research project gave homeless people $7,500 each. “The results were beautifully surprising.” / CBC
For a reset in US relations with Africa: new policies centered on economic justice and “the democratic aspirations of the continent’s youth.” / Dissent
Every wonder why the planet in Google Earth is so sunny, so smooth, never snowy? It's called "Universal Texture." / Real Life
"Planner World" encompasses the online masses who enjoy organizing their lives with paper planners. / WIRED
Ina Garten, aka “the long tail of comfort cookery,” is famous and famously happy, and even she doesn’t have a problem with that. / The Cut
We’re glad to see some of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen cooks moving on with their own projects after the magazine's blowup, like when Sohla El-Waylly makes 18th-century mac and cheese. / The Morning News
Novelist and Super Rooster judge Rumaan Alam says he wrote his new book using a secret Twitter account. / Shondaland
Incidentally, thanks to Jason for the reminder, “It’s Decorative Gourd Season...” / Kottke, McSweeney’s
And now a brief chat with a recent Sustaining Member, Brannon A.!
Hi, Brannon! I believe you're a big Tournament of Books fan? I have been a ToB fan since the beginning, I think. Every year I get excited when people start talking about the NCAA basketball tournament because I know it means that my favorite tournament is happening soon.
We hear you! Go, books, go! I'm not a member of the Commentariat, though, because I have a weirdly strong preference for reading books in paperback form, and those generally aren't available by Tournament time. So I follow along in the Tournament—really appreciating the "No Spoilers" rule—add books to my wishlist when they seem interesting, and buy them when they come out in paperback. I've read 10 of the 16 Super Rooster finalists, and I guess I'm rooting for The Orphan Master's Son.
What got you to the ToB in the first place? I can't remember—it has been at least 15 years! But I can tell you that I've never missed a year since. I do all my Christmas shopping by looking at the previous year's bracket, buying multiple copies of my favorite book from that year and giving them to my friends.
THREE BASKETBALLS of thanks to Brannon and all of our supporters! If you haven't already, please consider becoming a Sustaining Member or making a one-time donation today. 🏀🏀🏀
Got a correction, or a link we should consider? Email us! (Or just reply to this email.)
Your Headlines are written by TMN's Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin and arrive in your inbox, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest Headlines all day long at TMN.