As fighting winds down in a ruined Syria, Iran and Russia compete for influence and spoils of war. / The Washington Post

A senior official with Hamas says he expects a ceasefire with Israel "within a day or two." / BBC News 

Analysis of the Israeli leadership’s grim status quo, divided between the “annexation camp” and the “control camp.” (The “equality camp” is long gone.) / Vox

How Texas managed to sign into law one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion measures. / Texas Monthly

A medical resident explains how doctors can talk about race and racism with their patients. / STAT

A new typeface celebrates Black graphic designers in history. Meanwhile, the University of North Carolina denies tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project. / It’s Nice That, The Raleigh News & Observer

Quantum computing is something we struggle to even begin to understand. A video about recent initiatives helped. / The Morning News

To work out the fate of crypto-investing, watch what the banks do next. / The Economist

The tiny Veracruz mountain town of Piedra Parada feeds the international craze for amethysts. / Atlas Obscura

Astronomers spotted the highest energy light ever on the Tibetan plateau, a big leap toward "understanding the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays." / Science

Japan is developing intercontinental passenger spaceships that could fly between the world's major cities in two hours. / The Mainichi

See also: Incredibly dense, imaginary cityscapes from Japanese pencil artist Yota Tsukino. / Spoon & Tamago

Seoul's sewage treatment plants are "unable to handle" the amount of erectile-dysfunction drugs showing up in wastewater. / CNA

Dwayne Johnson accounts for a third of all Asian or Pacific Islander protagonists in Hollywood films from 2007-2019. / The Los Angeles Times

A hotel with an infinite number of rooms... eventually fills up when an “infinite party bus” arrives. / The Morning News

In case you've ever thought a website's terms and conditions pop-ups were trying to attack you—there's a game for that. (Or, are you tired of URLs being too darn short?) / Terms and Conditions, URL Lengthener

Related/unrelated: What it’s like to be scammed online by a foot fetishist. / Webworm