China's ambassador to France questions the sovereignty of former Soviet states, a comment China afterward deemed "totally unacceptable." / The Guardian

North Dakota becomes the latest state to ban abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies in the first six weeks. / Associated Press

An analysis into the regionality of America's gun violence shows the Deep South is the deadliest of all the major regions of the US. / POLITICO

The American Library Association releases its latest Most Challenged Books list—the titles that were 2022's top targets of school and library bans. / Literary Hub

High-resolution radar data adds more than 19,000 undersea volcanoes to the 24,000-plus that were cataloged 10 years ago. / Science

Scientists studying infants' feces identify 232 new viral families, the prevalence of which may be due to babies' immature immune systems. / The Washington Post

Capitalism: Explosions are great because they mean progress. Counterpoint: Last week's SpaceX launch rocked a nearby city and caked it with sand. / 1517 Fund, The Daily Beast

"Locals can't purchase anything." The cost of living is spiraling out of control in Marfa. / Axios

From post-Prohibition legalization to the French Paradox: the alcohol industry's long history of obscuring the dangers of booze. / Slate

A gamer and filmmaker is visiting museums around the (real) world to see all the artworks featured in Animal Crossing. / Hyperallergic

"I'm ChatGPT, and for the love of god, please don't make me do any more copywriting." / McSweeney's

Spotify radio's side hustle may be about playing the exact same generative tracks under different song titles and artist names. / Spotify, Twitter

See also: How iTunes "opened the gates to sludge—where playlists completely untethered tracks from albums and even artists." / WIRED

An appreciation of the Smiths' instrumentals. / Boing Boing