Super radical.
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? 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 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
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 soon 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 Kurdish groups, thereby 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 demonstrates how to draw hyperrealistic portraits with just a ballpoint pen. And Tatsuya Tanaka adds face masks to his daily dioramas. / The Morning News, Miniature Calendar
To celebrate the return of basketball, Victor Solomon transforms a dilapidated court with a centuries-old Japanese technique that employs gold-dusted resin. / HYPEBEAST
A "wakaresaseya" agency in Japan can be hired (at great expense) to break up your spouse's romantic affairs. / BBC Worklife
Interstellar, released in 2014, re-enters theaters in China and makes $2.6 million, a pandemic record. Meanwhile, the live-action adaptation of Mulan will debut online. / Quartz, The Verge
One problem with Western conventions around recipe writing? Too much power to the person claiming authorship. / Bon Appétit
Recently, 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 greener, but only if the government doesn't protect incumbents. / The Economist
This week's armchair travel: A report on 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
And now a brief chat with a recent Sustaining Member, Krissy M.
Hi, Krissy. When did you find us? Oh gosh, ages ago, like I think I was around for the first Tournament of Books, and before that.
We're talking 2005 or so. Where were you living at the time? I’d moved to Brooklyn after school and took a night shift job: long stretches of uninterrupted time to write. The best of intentions, but I wound up spending a bit of those nights playing Flash games and surfing the net. Somewhere in there I stumbled on The Morning News. It was like finding a museum (and a tour guide) around the theme of “things you might find of interest”—and here, in my own borough!
We love to hear it! You have illuminated some strange times. Thanks for being there then, and now. This is my first donation and I’m sorry it’s been so long coming, but it won’t be my last. Please please please keep the lights on!
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR to Krissy and all of our supporters. If you haven't yet, join the gang by becoming a Sustaining Member or making a one-time donation today. Thank you. 💖
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