May 9, 2014

• Out of all US citizens, men in Portland are most likely to ride a bike to work.
• In 39 states (but not New York), Brooklyn is now the most common female baby name beginning with B.
• Iowa’s never elected a woman to Congress, but that may change, with many female candidates vying for a seat in the Senate seat and two in the House.
• Rwanda, Andorra, and Cuba have the highest percentage of female legislators.
• Founder of Mother's Day later fought to have it abolished, concerned it had been undermined by corporate greed.
• Related: After experiencing a double masectomy, a writer rejects that which used to mean most to her: books.
• Thirty-one percent of reports the World Bank has put online have never been downloaded, ever, by anyone.
• Ukraine’s economic and political instability hampering the Chernobyl cleanup.
• Obama has made some foreign-policy mistakes, but calling them failures misses the point: he's a realist.
• Britain and the EU should downgrade relations with India if far-right politician Narendra Modi is elected Prime Minister.
• New "justice app" will get you paid when an international carrier delays a flight without good reason.
• Amazon patents taking photos on a white background.
• Sixteen steps and some very strange pictures explain how to stop a wedding "with class and dignity."
• Digital distribution said to be killing foreign-language film on America's large screens and small ones.
• Spotify removes totally silent album called "Sleepify" that earned a band $30,000.
• List of corporate time equivalents.
• See also: Our somehow-still-slightly-relevant guide to New York jargon.
• New short story by Lydia Davis: "Old Men Around Town."