Meet Washington’s Cutest Resident

Still recovering from COVID-19, President Donald Trump on Monday returned from the hospital, promptly removing his face mask at the White House to wave to television cameras. “Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he wrote on Twitter, even as more members of his team including Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive. Trump is not “out of the woods” yet, his doctor said. America isn’t either, with cases rising nationally.

2. Man on the Moon

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, currently infected with COVID-19, said he would don a “moon suit” if necessary to attend a confirmation vote for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Amy Coney Barrett. Never mind that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the virus can travel airborne and spread to people more than 6 feet away. Is it safe for the Senate to go ahead? Vote on Twitter. Meanwhile teachers in Zimbabwe are boycotting school because of a shortage of hand sanitizer, clean water and protective gear.

3. Fight for the Future

It’s on. In Kyrgyzstan, protesters broke into parliament to demand the annulment of last weekend’s national election that they claim was rigged to help President Sooronbai Jeenbekov consolidate power. They also released former President Almazbek Atambayev, accused of corruption, from a detention center.

4. Venezuelan Victory

A major court victory could help the South American nation retrieve $1.8 billion worth of gold reserves currently held by the Bank of England. Money can’t buy you basic sensitivity though. Investment bank Credit Suisse has apologized for a birthday party act where a Black performer dressed as a janitor and danced on stage. Tidjane Thiam, who was CEO at the time and is from Ivory Coast, had walked out of the room.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has revealed the gender of the six-week-old baby of its celebrity panda couple Mei Xiang and Tian Tian (watch them on this special cam). Father panda Tian Tian is apparently a painter — zookeepers showed off his blue brush strokes on a canvas for the gender reveal. The baby will join siblings in China when it turns four.  

1. New Zealand

When the bombshell revelation about the country's leader is that she once smoked cannabis, you know you’re not in America. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern faces conservative National Party leader Judith “Crusher” Collins, who patronizingly referred to Ardern as “dear” in their latest debate. Better than calling your opponent a “clown.” They’re fighting the Oct. 17 election over housing, mental health and plastics. You see, they’ve already effectively defeated COVID-19.

2. Bolivia

Conservative interim President Jeanine Áñez has accused Argentina of interfering in Bolivia’s Oct. 18 election. The country’s ex-leader Evo Morales is in exile in Argentina, while his left-leaning party’s presidential candidate leads polls ahead of a vote that could indicate which way Latin America’s political winds might blow in this new decade.

3. Tanzania

President John Magufuli has projected himself as a messiah against corruption. But he has also banned political rallies since 2016 and cracked down on all opposition. The Oct. 28 vote won’t be free or fair. Just how much Magufuli feels the need to rig the election will be a truer measure of how unpopular he is.

Remember this line from the Goo Goo Dolls song, “Iris”? "When everything feels like the movies ..." That's how Moreno-Garcia, born and raised in Mexico, recalls her childhood, buried in books and films. Her parents worked at a radio station and her debut novel, Signal to Noise, is about friends who cast spells after listening to music. Enchanted yet? (Photo credit: Martin Dee, 2017)

2. Yoon Ha Lee

The Korean American author grew up between Seoul and Houston and his stories will pitchfork you into a future of militaries powered by artificial intelligence and spies searching for lost spaceships. But Lee, who identifies as queer, is also breaking gender boundaries in science fiction, introducing trans characters.

3. Namwali Serpell

It took the Zambian author nearly 20 years to write her debut novel, The Old Drift. The masterpiece was worth the wait, capturing Zambia's space program and a future of mass surveillance where microdrones inject HIV vaccines. After winning the U.K.'s top science fiction prize, the Arthur C. Clarke award, in September, she donated the award money to protesters seeking justice for Breonna Taylor.

What’s your favorite speculative fiction book?

OZY CEO and co-founder Carlos Watson will appear on LinkedIn News today at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT to discuss his hit YouTube talk show, the future of media and America’s ongoing tumult. Tune in live here — and follow Carlos on LinkedIn to stay up to date.

FromCatholic priests topolice officers,school students tohealthcare workers, everyone’s dancing to this South African gospel-inspired song that has rapidly emerged as the world's anthem of hope amid the pandemic, topping searches on the song-recognition app Shazam in September and inspiring a dance routine from soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. What are you waiting for?

2. WAP

The chart-topping song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion has spawned a range of dance videos — but it’s the routine on TikTok by Guam choreographer Brian Esperon that's winning over a legion of fans, including Cardi B herself.

3. I Am a Disco Dancer 2.0

Tiger Shroff is the cream of Bollywood’s current generation of dancers. This year's I Am a Disco Dancer 2.0 is a crappy movie butthe 30-year-old’s moves are silken and stunning.

Order the best Chinese meal possible and settle down for dinner with master chef Chu and his family in Ang Lee’s classic comedy set in Taipei. You’ll be salivating from the opening scene.

2. Like Water for Chocolate:

Chiles and cilantro meet forbidden love in this Mexican film where food is a metaphor for emotions and tears ingredients for cakes. Watch it with pork carnitas and some steaming Mexican hot chocolate.

3. Big Night

Simple pasta won’t do. Keep this for the weekend, and spend the time to prepare timpano and then watch the incredible pasta dish that Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci make in the iconic movie about food and assimilation.

We asked you to match weather words to their meanings. Linda F., Elizabeth B., Jay S., Linda W., Kim H., Eborica, Robert M., Kristine W., Barry J., Sunny S., Anthony S., Helen C., V. Gillis, Leigh C., Maynard H., Lynette M., MaryLou G., William P., Heather M., Greg N., Jon T., Deborah R. and Raymond D. — you all got it right!!!! 

a. Horribly sultry: Swullocking

b. Little balls of snow: Graupel

c. Spring with warm days, chilly nights: Sugar Weather