Several Asian countries rush to implement tough new restrictions to fight variants of the coronavirus. / The Associated Press

Five undervaccinated clusters, mostly in the South, put the entire United States at risk. / CNN

BLK, the dating app for single Black people, has a new song encouraging users to "vax that thang up." / AdWeek

President Biden makes his case for full withdrawal from Afghanistan, acknowledging the United States' failures. / The New York Times 

Noah Millman: The political climate in Europe has gone conservative, and may soon be more distinctly right-wing than the US. / The Week

The White House censures 10 more Chinese firms that have links to alleged human rights abuses and surveillance. / Reuters

See also: "The fascinating but unnerving world of dictator food projects." / Gastro Obscura

Your life is likely a little more expensive right now, "but is it time to start hoarding gold under your mattress? Probably not." / Vox

Scientists warn against advertisers "weaponizing sleep"—e.g., trying to make you dream about their bad beer. / The Guardian

The UK wants net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Filling the seas with wind farms is essential—and so, it seems, is capitalism. / The London Review of Books

Ed Yong explains how Australia's forests are the birthplace of birdsong. / The Atlantic

California, gripped by severe drought, asks its residents to reduce their water usage by 15%. / The Associated Press

All the shipping and dry cleaning makes renting clothes the worst "answer" to fashion's sustainability crisis. / The Guardian

Contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race spend upwards of $40,000 on costumes in order to compete on the show. / VICE

Ever since "Cat Person" blew up the web in 2017, a woman suspected the author had secretly based it on her life. She was right. / Slate

Naomi Osaka: "It's O.K. Not to Be O.K." / Time