Why everything is suddenly behind plastic
Statistics, anecdotal evidence, and "unconventional indicators" suggest Covid-19 may have swept through large parts of China. / The Economist
Helen Branswell: Do you need to keep up with Omicron's ever-expanding offspring? Not really. / STAT
Twelve people are responsible for 65% of disinformation about Covid vaccines on social media. / Your Local Epidemiologist
A sympathetic novel about Vladimir Putin is a bestseller in France, read by the prime minister and other heads of state. / The New York Times
See also: Channing Tatum and Roxane Gay are writing a romance novel together. Also, AI can write and illustrate a short book for you from one prompt. / Glamour, InstaNovel
One job that may make a comeback in the age of AI: secretaries. / Noahpinion
Assessing the state of abortion rights at each level of government, 50 years after Roe and seven months after Dobbs. / Wake Up to Politics
Is everything behind plastic at your local drugstore? To the extent that there's been a spike in shoplifting, it correlates to the growth of online retail. / Curbed
A website designer creates a website to showcase the people who've copied his website designs. / Copy Dennis
Unrelated: A couple pictures of a monochromatic room. / The Exploratorium
Who was Beethoven's Elise? A new book suggests Für Elise was named by someone else, after the composer's death. / The Guardian
Praise for an update to a book on modern English usage. "For anyone interested in language, it's catnip." / The Millions
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Your headlines are sourced and written by Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest headlines at TMN.