Chaos and desperate crowds at Kabul airport. Five people have been killed as people try to flee the Taliban. / The Guardian, Reuters

"To blame Afghans for not getting their act together in light of… history is just wrong." / The New Yorker

Officials in Haiti say at least 1,297 people are dead after Saturday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake. / BBC News

July was Earth's hottest month on record. / NOAA

An artist covers a working Austrian meteorological station in 23-carat gold to bring attention to the climate emergency. / Snow Guarantee

Global warming appears to be making the bodies of animals smaller. / Vox

Animal shelters use odd names—Catty McCatFace, or Skull Crusher the kitchen—to attract attention to their animals. / The Washington Post

Wall Street is experiencing a year of record profits, yet many young bankers are having doubts about whether the work involved is worth it. / NPR

A small group of white-collar workers admit to working two full-time remote jobs during lockdown. / The Wall Street Journal

The co-founder of the fact-checking website Snopes published dozens of articles containing plagiarized material. / BuzzFeed News

The mystery behind HBO's White Lotus had nothing to do with who wound up dead, but who had the power to escape. / Slate

See also: A global collection of subway door closing announcements, beeps, and chimes. / Open Culture

The new James Webb Space Telescope, if it works, will enable scientists to see deeply into the past. "The universe is laid out like a book. You can turn to any page you want." / The New Yorker