Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro moves Christmas to October, to distract from his seemingly stealing the election. / The Guardian
An Iranian writer is sentenced to 12 years in prison for tweeting a period to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. / NPR
Lebanon's former central bank governor, arrested over alleged financial crimes, is said to be “the world's worst banker.” / Reuters, The Economist
Margaret Sullivan breaks down “an ugly case” of false balance in the New York Times. / American Crisis
Republicans are upset that Americans aren't talking more about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. / Semafor
See also: An art-world wishlist for the next American president. / The Art Newspaper
A session in the sauna at the Finnish embassy is said to be one of DC's more oveted invitations. / The New York Times [+]
Whatever happened to the Bolivian women who skateboard in Indigenous garb? The 300 young Afghan musicians who fled the Taliban? / Goats and Soda
Cyber attacks rose 30 percent in 2023, with the United States as the top target. / techradar
An anarchist collective teaches people how to make DIY versions of expensive pharmaceuticals. / 404 Media
As “the Jevons paradox” explains, even if autonomous vehicles work perfectly, they are likely to increase total emissions and crash deaths. / The Verge
See also: New research says the costs of expanding roads in American cities are three times greater than the potential benefits. / Bloomberg CityLab
Fashion writer Samuel Hine travels the world with Balenciaga's Denma as the designer learns how to let go. / GQ
An American will play in the men's final at the US Open for the first time since 2006. / The Wall Street Journal [+]