A massive explosion in Beirut kills at least 100 people and injures more than 4,000. Photos show a city in tatters. / BBC News, Al Jazeera

A study finds Americans feel overwhelmed by the volume and speed of news they see online. / Knight Foundation

How to evaluate COVID-19 news? You want to find sources that are not trying to promote a political narrative. / Scientific American

An interview with the Atlantic’s star coronavirus writer Ed Yong on the coronavirus sources he values most (e.g., Helen Branswell). / CNN

The latest from Branswell: Prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 vaccines being "reactogenic," basically a little bit painful. / STAT

In case you hadn't heard, some COVID‑19 survivors in the United States have been hit with seven-figure medical bills. / The Guardian

Mona Chalabi: That database recently obtained by ProPublica finds New York City spending almost $21,000 per minute on the NYPD. / The Guardian

Los Angeles voters will decide whether to divert hundreds of millions from police to community investment initiatives. / LAist

A town in Kentucky hires social workers in lieu of more cops and sees immediate positive results. / Wave 3 News

Intelligence officials are trying to tie activists considered “antifa” to the Kurds, enabling warrantless search and surveillance. / The Nation

"It's super radical to love yourself as a Black person in this time." Linda Diaz wins NPR's 2020 "Tiny Desk" contest. / All Songs Considered

Related: The graffiti of Black Lives Matter. / Artsy

Nigerian artist Patrick Onyekwere shows how to draw hyperrealistic portraits with a ballpoint pen. / The Morning News

See also: Tatsuya Tanaka adds face masks to his daily dioramas. / Miniature Calendar

To celebrate the return of basketball, artist Victor Solomon transforms a dilapidated court with a centuries-old Japanese technique that employs gold-dusted resin. / HYPEBEAST

In Japan, a "wakaresaseya" agency can be hired (at great expense) to break up your spouse's romantic affairs. / BBC Worklife

Interstellar, released in 2014, re-entered theaters in China recently and made $2.6 million, a pandemic record. Meanwhile, the live-action adaptation of Mulan will debut online. / Quartz, The Verge

One problem with the Western conventions of recipe writing? Too much power to the person claiming authorship. / Bon Appétit

Since the coronavirus pandemic, the cost of groceries has been rising at the fastest pace in decades. / The Washington Post

Walt Disney Co. posts its first quarterly loss since 2001 thanks to the hit on theme parks. And thanks to lockdown, a study finds the workday is nearly an hour longer. / The Wall Street Journal, Marginal Revolution

The airline industry has an opportunity to bounce back leaner and greener, but only if the government doesn't protect incumbents. / The Economist

This week's armchair travel: A report of bikepacking and mushroom foraging in Narnia, aka the Oregon Timber Trail. / The Radavist

"The draw of the hobby lies a lot in difficulty progression." Competitive lockpickers find community online. And a chemist devises a train-related twist to an inspection of the periodic table. / c|net, Chemistry Blog

Finally, some brief inspiration from the anecdotal history of physics. / Futility Closet