Scratch me if you can
Israel carries out large-scale attacks across Syria, targeting airports and strategic military infrastructure. / Al Jazeera
The United States carries out dozens of airstrikes on over 75 Islamic State targets. / Politico
Anne Applebaum: The end of the Assad regime creates something new, and not only in Syria. / The Atlantic [+]
Thoughts on what it's like to be a Palestinian research scientist in Gaza and the West Bank. / The New York Times [+]
A profile of a beloved, powerful oncologist in Helena, Mont., who's suspected of harming his patients. / ProPublica
See also: A profile of a San Francisco engineer who picks up garbage for a hobby. / CBS News
Less than 20 percent of Americans have gotten the updated Covid booster. Doctors explain why it's a good idea. / Goats and Soda
People in New Jersey are reporting an uptick in drone sightings. Officials don't know where they're coming from. / The New York Times [+]
A round-up of some of the year's best astronomy photographs. Also, a round-up of the year's best gadgets. / Royal Museums Greenwich, dezeen
A "professional scratcher" is someone who drags their nails across a client's back for $100 an hour or more. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
Saahil Desai swoons over the Ooni oven. "There has simply never been a better time to make pizza at home." / The Atlantic [+]
Unrelated: A NFL quarterback gifts himself a replica of the modern Batmobile. / Robb Report
And in case you need ideas for holiday gifting, last week we announced the short list for the 2025 Touranment of Books! / The Tournament of Books
And now a brief chat with a new Sustaining Member, Moti L.!
Moti, how did you find us? I encountered the Tournament of Books for the first time when Lightning Rods was a contestant back in 2012; as a huge Helen Dewitt fan, I fell into the discussion around it, and ended up sticking around. I signed up for TMN a few years after that.
Awesome! Can we ask, what keeps you coming back? The Tournament is one of the places online where I feel like people are really engaged in trying different books and having serious informed discussions around them. It's an open and welcoming literary community, and one of two places online where I actually read the comments, let alone taking part in them. It makes March worthwhile for me instead of driving me to want to tear that page out of the calendar and time-skip from February to April.
Well, we're so glad you're here. Any particular reason you decided to support today? As we're always hearing, this is a difficult time out there for media and for literary community. I want TMN and ToB here for me going forward, and so I want to help support it. I'm considering it like buying a ticket to my favorite yearly event, non-family version! From that view, it's more than worth it.
Thanks to readers like Moti 🦊 and our other supporters, we're here—for you! Please make today the day you become a Sustaining Member.
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Your headlines are sourced and composed by Rosecrans Baldwin (☜) and Andrew Womack, Monday through Friday. View this edition and the latest headlines at TMN.