The Senate appears to be on track to give final approval to the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan. / The Associated Press

The EU mounts one of its largest ever firefighting operations to tackle wildfires in Italy and Greece. / The Guardian

Half of all invasive species in the ocean have only been studied once. / Hakai

Retailers and restaurant chains throw away vast amounts of products. A "trash walk" with a New York woman who rifles their garbage. / The Guardian

North America once featured some 14,000 (!) varieties of apples. Photographs from a New Mexico orchard rescuing fruit trees. / High Country News

The birdhouse at George Lucas's ranch is a replica of his 50,000-foot house and roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. / Futility Closet

Unrelated: Patricia Lockwood wants you to read Marian Engel's novel Bear, and not just for the ursine sex. / The London Review of Books

Poll closes at midnight! To tell us how to improve this newsletter generally. / Google Forms

Thanks to movable type, the written word got cheaper and more plentiful, and English's ludicrous spelling systems grew alongside. / Aeon

Julie Sedivy: Rediscovering the language that your family spoke prior to English can reconnect you with feeling nurtured. / Nautilus

Dan Kois comes to terms with his minor role in the death of the Segway. / Slate

Pat forde: "I've Covered Nine Olympics. Nothing Prepared Me for Seeing My Daughter Win a Medal." / Sports Illustrated

Pictures of parties' aftermaths, by Finnish photographer Jussi Puikkonen. / Jussi Puikkonen

Dolly Alderton: Single people in the pandemic are re-feeling their teenage loneliness—and sometimes their teenage rapture. / The Cut

"And suddenly the rapper was ascending into the open oculus of the stadium." In case you missed Kanye's recent listening party. / GQ