China struggles with new outbreaks of Covid-19's delta variant ahead of the Winter Olympics in February. / The Week

A study says "funny or cute memes" made people feel more confident in their ability to face the global health crisis. / The Washington Post

Substandard and falsified coronavirus vaccines and medical products are becoming pervasive. / STAT

Frozen fish vending machines are proving popular in Covid-era Japan. "It's nice to be able to take your time to decide what to get without having in-person interactions." / The Japan Times 

See also: Leos are more likely to get vaccinated than any other Zodiac sign, Scorpios are the least likely. / The Guardian

California fought to follow Germany and Japan to save Americans from doing their taxes. Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, has worked relentlessly to keep taxes complicated. / The Los Angeles Times

A private-equity firm forbids its employees from using the word "deal." / The Wall Street Journal

Turkey orders the expulsion of ambassadors from 10 countries, including the United States, France, and Germany. / Reuters

Sudan's military appears to have launched a coup, detaining the civilian prime minister. / BBC News

The head of NASA suspects there are other Earth-like planets in the universe. / Quartz

How do you find a book when you can't remember the title or the author? / Lithub

Related: An appreciation of the "Best American" book series, including those that have been discontinued. / The Chicago Tribune

Researchers discover that years of ivory poaching in Mozambique have led to a greater proportion of elephants who've rapidly evolved to not grow tusks. / NBC News

The "coolest event in running" is said to be an underground relay that begins at the Santa Monica Pier and ends at the Las Vegas Strip. / InsideHook

See also: When Alexi Grewal won gold in the 1984 Olympics, it wasn't because he was wearing spandex. / Vimeo