explosion $300 million in aid pledge to help the survivors of massive Beirut explosion Séamus Bellamy

videos Trailer for Capernaum, a "neorealist movie" about street kids, slum life, modern slavery and migration Cory Doctorow

News Marvel's Jewish superhero Sabra gets a Soviet makeover Ellsworth Toohey

israel Israel's supreme court orders army to start drafting ultra-orthodox men Rob Beschizza

politics Indiana Republican who won primary election while facing murder charge is convicted of manslaughter Rob Beschizza

elon musk Twitter accused of violating US sanctions by selling subscriptions to terrorist groups Mark Frauenfelder

terrorism Hamas terrorists used synthetic amphetamine to "suppress fear and anxiety" during attack, says IDF and US Mark Frauenfelder

books Missouri pastor on upcoming book-burning: "If God told me to burn the book Clifford the Big Red Dog, then I'd burn the book Clifford the Big Red Dog" David Pescovitz

flags Here is the 2023 "Best Countries" list from US News and World Report David Pescovitz

cover songs Fall Out Boy re-wrote "We Didn't Start the Fire" for 1989-2023 Thom Dunn

music Animated feature Black is Beltza, Basque music, and the political art of Fermin Muguruza Elías Villoro

eighties Listen: famous 1980s singers impersonated by Tony Abou Jaoudeh Rusty Blazenhoff

politics Foreign tourists paid $4500 a person for a safari-like "U.S. Election Tour" Thom Dunn

crimes Armed woman robs bank of her own money David Pescovitz

free speech Satanic Temple rents space at Ohio public school for "After-School Satan Club," unsurprisingly angers some parents David Pescovitz

volkswagen This 1967 21 window VW Bus is just darling Jason Weisberger

guitars Someone's selling a "haunted" acoustic guitar for $666 Thom Dunn

new york times The NY Times presents 74 of its "favorite facts" for 2020 Mark Frauenfelder

News President Emmanuel Macron of France tests positive for coronavirus, with symptoms of COVID-19 Xeni Jardin

coronavirus Dogs are being trained to sniff out COVID-19, and they're better than the tests Thom Dunn