Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to re-establish diplomatic ties, a move that was facilitated by China. / The New York Times

Singapore rates its Covid performance: several big calls right, several big mistakes. / The Straits Times

Zeynep Tufekci: Actually, the science is quite clear that Covid masks work. / The New York Times

Congress came together in a rare show of bipartisanship this week—to preserve Washington "as America's continental colony." / Vox

It's time to change our clocks, again, and the debate over daylight saving time rages on. / Bloomberg

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Medical Association both favor permanent standard time, which preserves morning light. / NPR

A University of California medical school becomes one of the nation's most diverse without using race in admissions—by revolutionizing how medical students are chosen. / STAT

Your weekly white paper: US high school graduation rates have increased by 10-18% over the past two decades. / ScienceDirect

A new book argues that cities should be "the conservation sites of the 21st century." / Undark

Unrelated: A Caribbean island is for sale for $30 million. / Fortune Realty

Also unrelated: Pablo Pascal says there's no good Mexican food in New York. / L.A. Taco

It's been two years since the Beeple NFT sold for $69.3 million. Since then, speculators have lost interest and institutions have moved in. / Artsy

See also: A person tries to reconstruct a shredded five pound note. / Kottke

A study of Hollywood action movies since 1962 finds 33% have a male protagonist with a first name starting with the letter J. / Slate

This week, we launched the 19th annual Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes. Check out all the match discussion here. / Tournament of Books