The FBI says there was a record increase in murders—a nearly 30% jump—in the US last year. / USA Today

See also: Originally stolen from a Wisconsin shop, a single handgun has been linked to 27 shootings in Chicago, including two homicides. / Chicago Tribune

Using a technique called "paper terrorism," a man briefly hijacked a Newark woman's home, claiming he's unbound by US laws. / The New York Times

More and more, Facebook wants to become its own nation—a hostile one, at that—and should be negotiated with accordingly. / The Atlantic

Maps have historically been used to political ends. The same is true now, when maps are updated on phones—without us knowing. / The New York Times

"She, too, had an appointment for an abortion scheduled in Dallas." Texas women in need of abortions are traveling to neighboring states. / San Francisco Chronicle

See also: China is making it harder for women to access abortion services, pushing some to seek out potentially unsafe procedures. / Quartz

What may be the only surviving copy of late Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda's We Shall Fight HIV/AIDS album has been located. / Goats and Soda

Paul Ford: This is the dot-com era of climate, with vast sums of cash being pumped in—and no real plans in place. / WIRED

Covid, poor pay, and Amazon are among the reasons America has a shortage of school bus drivers. / The Hustle

"These were America's first teenagers and they were hanging out together as they do today." Decoding 20,000-year-old footprints. / The Guardian

A Sketchfab user has made it possible to 3D print your own museum of classical art and sculpture. / Hyperallergic

"It's difficult to describe Party in a Spreadsheet in a way that makes sense." A theatrical play in Google Sheets. / The Verge

Selections from the US Dept. of Agriculture's watercolors of fruits and nuts, created between 1886 and 1942. / The Guardian

Growing art with mold in petri dishes, by Daria Fedorova. / Colossal