Venezuela severs diplomatic relations with countries that question its disputed presidential election. / Semafor
Heather Cox Richardson: At this country's most important revolutionary moments, it has seemed as if the country turned on a dime. / Letters From an American
Political rallies and fundraisers are moving to Zoom. E.g., star-studded “white dudes for Harris.” / axios, USA Today
“To say that mainstream dating apps are in their flop era is not a controversial statement in 2024.” On the return of the meet-cute. / Harper's Bazaar [+]
See also: DIY dating apps apparently are trending. / Bustle
Some notes on how to tell the difference between a genuine trend and something machine-made. “There's a very slim line between 'Everyone is doing it!' and 'The algorithm is algorithm-ing.'” / The Trend Report
Unrelated: You may not know the Likert scale, but “you've probably been Likerted your whole life.” / The Offing
Art experts say the supposed Last Supper moment from the Olympics' opening ceremony was actually inspired by a painting of Olympian gods. / The Guardian
Dvora Meyers on the weird combo that is gymnastics scoring, surveillance, and AI. / The Verge
How that “flying cauldron” in Paris was fabricated. What exactly is this summer's mascot? Also, dating apps are thriving at the Games. / dezeen, Boing Boing, Betches
And in case you didn't know, swimmer Katie Ledecky hasn't lost a 1500m race in 14 years. / NBC News
Your weekly wanderlust: Hikes in California, coffeeshops in Turkey, Costco in Cancún. / Outside, Sprudge, The Paris Review