by The Morning News
We asked some of our favorite journalists, writers, and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2023, and what were the least?

We’ll be back with more headlines on Jan. 3. In the spirit of giving, here are some charities and groups favored by TMN contributors. Happy holidays!

The Clean Air Task Force works to reduce air pollution in the US and beyond by pushing for the technology and policies to reach a zero-emissions future. / Clean Air Task Force

Patagonia Action Works connects people with environmental groups working in their community. / Patagonia Action Works

Sunrise Movement helps young people organize and act to fight the climate crisis and environmental injustice. / Sunrise Movement

Global Empowerment Mission is working to provide immediate relief to families in Israel and Gaza. / Global Empowerment Mission

Palestine Legal advocates for people whose rights have been violated for expressing pro-Palestinian opinions. / Palestine Legal

All for Armenia provides immediate and long-term support for the Indigenous Armenia refugees from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. / All for Armenia

Plan International helps girls and young women in developing countries reach their potential. / Plan International

Black & Pink works in a variety of ways to support incarcerated LGBTQI people. / Black & Pink National

The Asian American Writers Workshop offers crucial resources to writers at an intersection of migration, race, and social justice. / The Asian American Writers Workshop

National Coast Watch keeps a watchful eye over the United Kingdom’s coastline, via a network of 60 stations and over 2,700 volunteers. / National Coast Watch

The Augusta Heritage Center dedicates itself to preserving and protecting traditional American art forms like blues, gospel, Old Time, and percussive dance. / The Augusta Heritage Center

HAAM helps Austin’s working musicians with affordable health care focused on prevention and wellness. / HAAM

The UK-based MS Society funds global research into the treatment and prevention of multiple sclerosis. / MS Society

Give Directly facilitates direct cash transfers and lets people spend the money however they need. / Give Directly

Charity Navigator helps you find and research charities that fit your reasons for giving. / Charity Navigator

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As Israel expands the ground war against Hamas, the Palestinian death toll tops 20,000—nearly 1% of Gaza’s population before the war. / AP

There’s scant evidence to support Israel’s claims that Hamas was using Gaza’s largest hospital as a command and control center. / The Washington Post [+]

An analysis of aerial imagery purports Israel used 2,000-pound bombs in south Gaza after ordering civilians to evacuate there. / The New York Times [+]

See also: Maps and diagrams show how Israel pushed nearly 1.9 million Palestinians—85% of Gaza’s population—into a tiny corner of the region. / The Washington Post [+]

A deep dive into how, in 1970, the FBI weaponized a New York Times article on antisemitism to sow divisions between Black and Jewish communities. / Twitter

By assembling an antisemitism advisory group whose political beliefs align with influential donors, Harvard is ignoring its own antisemitism experts. / Jewish Currents

The Pentagon wants to pursue a “new nuclear gravity bomb that would be 24 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.” / Salon

After 16 months of silence that began after Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, the US and China resume military talks. / Semafor

No white Christmas: Record heat across the US next week will mean temperatures 20 to 35 degrees above average. / Axios

See also: How extreme heat is changing tourism. / Fast Company

“Since air in warmer climates tends to absorb and dampen higher frequency sounds, languages there developed more sonorous and resonant sounds that could better withstand that distortion.” / Atlas Obscura

Readers weigh in on their 10 favorite Longreads picks of 2023. / Longreads

See also: Five video essays worth your holiday downtime. / Hyperallergic

“Percentages are reversible. Working out 4% of 50 will give you the same result as 50% of 4.” A wealth of simple yet effective life hacks. / Reddit

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The Pentagon says China hopes to double its nuclear arsenal to over 1,000 operational warheads by 2030. / BBC News

In all likelihood the United States will continue to seek nuclear primacy “behind a screen of superficially reasonable rhe…

The Europaen Union reaches a deal on how “to collectively receive, manage and relocate the irregular arrival of migrants.” / Euronews

Some thoughts on the current state of citizenship, and how the concept has been declining since the 1960s. / Sidecar

Askfhsjkd, kkkk, awdjyt—how different societies laugh online. / rest of world

The Colorado Supreme Court rules that former President Trump cannot appear cannot appear on the state’s primary ballot next year. / Axios

Harry Litman: We are in for a wild and woolly constitutional ride over the next 16 days. / The Los Angeles Times

An investigation into a Chinese gang’s abusive online scam operation. / The New York Times [+]

On January 1, 2024, a version of Mickey Mouse enters the public domain—a guide to what you can do with it. / Duke Center for the Study of Public Domain

Photographs from inside a Seattle coffee museum. Photographs of regional eggnogs. Photographs of a Nordic winter. / Sprudge, The Eggnog Project, Colossal

A series of “reading parties” in New York City invites guests to enjoy books together quietly. / The New York Times [+]

Selections for the year’s best movie posters. The year explained in 84 sentences. / Creative Review, The Ringer

Related: “This was the year of breathing through our noses.” / GQ

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Footage of a volcano in south-west Iceland erupting, following weeks of seismic activity. / BBC News

The United States announces a 10-nation task force to protect ships traveling through the Red Sea. / The Associated Press

The British Library suffered a massive cyberattack back in October, and the library’s reading rooms “are now zombies.” / Public Books

Why are Americans getting slightly shorter? Nutrition, inequality, access to modern medicine, etc. / The Washington Post [+]

Unrelated: Unpacking the “cockroach theory” of crypto to explain why Bitcoin is up by almost 150% this year. / The Economist

Most Americans think crime has gone up. They’re wrong. / NBC News

An investigation into San Francisco car thieves using glitter bombs. / YouTube

Confessions of a public defense attorney. “Clients lie to me—exclusively to their own detriment.” / Singal-Minded

An assessment of Lancaster, a California town that’s become “a darling for the new urbanism movement.” / SF Gate

Scientists are making transparent wood. Meanwhile, Japanese artisans make “the world’s clearest ice.” / Knowable Magazine, The Kid Should See This

Related: Ten of this year’s most significant material innovations. / dezeen

Why are there “12 days of Christmas?” The answer is the Moon. / Atlas Obscura

Portions of the internet believe the family in Home Alone afforded their big house because the dad was a gangster. / Mental Floss

Askfhsjkd, kkkk, awdjyt, ?????—how different societies laugh online. / rest of world

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Migrants from as far away as Africa and China are making their way through the jungle between Colombia and Panama to reach North America. / AP

Fifty years ago, US auto regulations loosened the definition of “trucks,” setting in motion an epidemic of bigger and bigger cars and more and more pedestrian deaths. / Slate

See also: Tesla’s massive US recall was an opportunity to improve the safety of its Autopilot software, if only federal authorities had pushed harder. / Clean Technica

VW is bringing buttons back to its cars following complaints about its touch controls, which one reviewer called “likely the worst I’ve ever come across.” / The Drive

Homelessness in the US has increased by around 12% since last year, and is at its highest number since reporting began in 2007. / Axios

See also: A San Diego veterinarian who treats the pets of homeless people is CNN’s Hero of the Year. / The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Who your dad voted for [in the presidential election] could influence your risk for a very serious [football-related] ailment or injury.” / The Washington Post [+]

When breastfeeding struggles arise, physicians are becoming quick—and, some parents and pediatricians argue, too quick—to recommend tongue-tie releases. / The New York Times [+]

See also: Charges are filed against a cardiologist who performed medically unnecessary procedures on elderly patients as part of a Covid testing company’s referral network. / New York

“You go into a bookshop…and you can’t move for books with snow and bodies.” On the UK tradition of Christmas murder mysteries. / Atlas Obscura

At nearly eight inches tall, Rembrandt’s smallest known formal paintings will go on display for the first time in almost 200 years. / Hyperallergic

Geography quiz: Can you label all the states? / xkcd

“If you go to a rave, no one tells you that it’s been 20 years since anyone called them ‘raves.'” Explaining Bourdieu’s theory of taste. / Dynomight Internet Newsletter

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A binder of classified intel on Russian election interference went missing at the end of Trump’s presidency, and still hasn’t been located. / CNN

The British Library’s vast digital collections vanished in a cyberattack. The physical editions remain intact, but we lost something nearly as essential: access to knowledge. / Public Books

Following news that thousands of items have been stolen from the British Museum, an independent review says the museum should keep better records of its artifacts. / The Guardian

See also: “The irony of British Museum thefts is not lost on nations awaiting return of looted artifacts.” / Arab News

In building its brain collection, the Smithsonian targeted DC’s most vulnerable populations, an investigation finds. / The Washington Post [+]

“To think of fanzines is to think of our younger, stumblebum selves. Warmly, bemusedly. Was that who I was? Oh God—I’m still that person now!” An exhibit on 50 years of zines. / 4Columns

Water has become a precious commodity in California, which is now reexamining the water rights it granted settlers who arrived over a century ago. / The New York Times [+]

See also: Ocean waves have long been posed as an answer to California’s energy needs, yet the reality is the technology remains frustratingly out of reach. / CalMatters

Culture war war: Texas and California being on the same side in the forthcoming Civil War movie makes no sense, only it makes perfect sense. / The Ringer, VICE

“There is something paradoxical about trying to pin a name on an age characterized by extreme uncertainty.” How should we name our current era? / The New Yorker

Writing checks may seem anachronistic today, yet the same method of payment—extending credit to cover a transaction—is exactly what underpins our financial system. / Bits About Money

Why don’t musicians pump out holiday songs every year? The lure of nostalgia—and the public domain—would spawn more versions of “Jingle Bells” than you could ever want. / Monday Economist

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There were 34 legal abortions in Texas in the first half of the year, far below the expected number of cases where the mother’s health is in danger. / STAT

See also: “No sector of the Texas economy is immune.” Fifty-one Texas businesses sign onto a letter challenging the state’s abortion ban. / The Hill

A marketing team at Cox Media says it can use smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to eavesdrop on people’s conversations and target ads. / 404 Media

This week we learned that dolphins have fingers, only they’re concealed by flippers. / Live Science

“That’s three and a half hours on a treadmill, singing the entire time.” Attempting Taylor Swift’s tour training regimen. / Outside

A fascinating blend of interactive art and storytelling in this heartbreaking story of long Covid. / The New York Times [+]

It’s not exactly true that we stop paying attention to new music as we age, it’s that the ways we pay attention change. / Can’t Get Much Higher

“For the next four and a half minutes, it’s like being reunited with your first and truest love.” Writers list their five favorite songs by the Cure. / Welcome to Hell World

A look back at 2023 in shoegaze—more than a revival, the distortion-soaked genre seeped into a wide range of unexpected music. / Pitchfork

The best rejected book covers of 2023. / Fast Company

“The family you choose will always stick together, no matter what you might pull.” The secret queer history of Studio Ghibli films. / IndieWire

When subversive art was snuck onto the sets of Melrose Place. / Dezeen

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The House of Representatives votes to authorize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. / BBC News

Related: “An impeachment inquiry into Biden very likely does not happen without organizations like Fox News rewarding members of Congress.” / Reliable Sources

A report says the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the soldiers it had when it invaded. / Reuters

Polish infrastructure circles are being “roiled” by a train company threatening white-hat hackers. / 404 Media

A skirt returned to an H&M store in London traveled 15,467 miles only to be dumped in a vacant lot in Mali. / Atmos.earth

Related, via Nextdraft: “This is what happens to all the stuff you don’t want.” Because “we’re all addicted to cheap stuff.” / Nextdraft, The Atlantic, Vox

TikTok users say Pantone’s choice of “peach fuzz” for color of the year prioritizes “the interests of tech conglomerates.” / Hyperallergic

In India, “looking like a wow” would likely beat “rizz” for phrase of the year. / rest of world

A giantess fetish—a sexual desire for giants—is said to be the hot kink for 2024. / Mashable

An online database records scents culled from 16th- to early 20th-century European art. / Smithsonian Magazine

“There can’t be many footballers who have gone from playing for a military team to the cover of Vogue in a few months.” / The Athletic

Some thoughts on what it’s like to be a North Korean novelist. “You’re saying I need protecting from something?” / The Dial

Correction: A link yesterday was labeled Oregon when it should’ve been Maine, ayuh.

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