The US pledges $55 billion to the African continent over the next three years, playing catch-up to China’s investments. / Reuters, South China Morning Post

Elections across Africa are becoming increasingly competitive. / The Economist

Ukrainian commanders say Russia may be planning a new attack on Kyiv early next year. / BBC News

Unrelated/related: How to shut down a nuclear site. / The Guardian

For customers with bad credit, car dealers make loans available for luxury vehicles but not more practical cars. / The New York Times

A round-up of science stories “that restore our faith in humanity.” / Scientific American

Will artificial intelligence do for office jobs what swords did for guns, or what pornography did to sex? / Dynomight

A lawsuit about cheating on an exam reveals some weird misconceptions about twins. / Science Fictions

MacKenzie Scott shares details on the more than $14 billion she’s given to 1,600 non-profits since 2019. (Here’s her website.) / The Guardian, Yield Giving

The Swift-Ticketmaster fracas deepens, as ADA-compliant seats get scooped up, leaving disabled fans in the cold. / Cosmopolitan

Many holiday songs popular in the 1950s are rising to the top of the charts. / Bloomberg

A company is buying rights to small artists' songs that have become streaming hits. / The Verge

"I can’t think of a device that has brought more musical enthusiasm into my life this year." Why to want a Theremin. / WIRED

See also: Recent pictures of tech markets around the world. Also, a conversation with composer John Adams. / Rest of World, Conversations with Tyler

A critics poll names a woman’s 1975 film as the best of all time—a movie that takes a radically feminist approach to cinema. / British Film Institute