Will D.C. Witness Another Riot Today?

1. Jan. 6 Repeat?

The U.S. Capitol Police are bracing for the threat of possible violence today from QAnon supporters of President Donald Trump, who wrongly believe he is preordained to return to office on March 4. The House of Representatives called off a planned Thursday session because of the threat, and instead passed a major police reform bill named after George Floyd on Wednesday night. (Sources: ABC, WaPo, NPR)

2. ‘Neanderthal Thinking'

That’s how President Joe Biden described the decisions of states like Texas and Mississippi to relax most COVID-19 restrictions — even as Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest state, is going the opposite way, toughening measures at a time the virus is surging in that country. Meanwhile, police have found hundreds of fake vaccine vials in South Africa and China, and Interpol believes this is just the “tip of the iceberg.” (Sources: NYT, Reuters, Al Jazeera, FT)

3. Violent Wednesday

Myanmar witnessed its deadliest day since the February coup with 38 people killed yesterday amid clashes between protesters and security forces. And a man in Sweden stabbed eight people, prompting the police to investigate potential terrorism links. (Sources: CNN, Sky News)

4. Bully Barbs

It appears no one can put up with living in Kensington Palace. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave up, moving to the U.S. and leaving behind their royal titles. Now one of their former aides has accused Markle of bullying staff members so badly that they quitthe household. Markle has said she’s “saddened” by the allegations, which come days before the broadcast of a much-awaited interview with Oprah Winfrey. Who do you believe? Vote on Twitter or here. (Sources: Guardian, Independent)

Well, here’s one interpretation of that saying. Three Argentinian breweries sunk beer deep in the Mar del Plata to age it, but divers have stolen 185 gallons of the artisanal drink. The breweries will just have to grin and beer it.

1. Ellen Ochoa

She started out as a lab geek, earning patents as a researcher at NASA. But it was written in the stars that she would get closer to them than most people might do. In 1993, she became the world’s first Hispanic female astronaut. Now, the classical music fan is making sure a new generation of women takes to space, inspiring them through her experiences as America celebrates Women’s History Month.

2. Aicha Evans

She’s literally driving change. Evans helped Intel transform itself from a PC-centric company to a data-focused firm. As the CEO of Amazon-owned Zoox now, the Senegal-born Evans is the first African American woman at the head of a self-driving car company. She had to “overcome a lot” as a Black woman in tech, Evans says. And she’s using her platform as a top Silicon Valley executive to amplify calls for racial equity.

3. Yanbing Li

Google — like many other western giants — is locked in a tech race with Chinese rivals. So it makes sense that one of its strongest weapons is … Chinese. A Tsinghua University, Cornell and Princeton graduate, Yanbing is vice president of engineering at Google, where she heads the company’s cloud services platform. She loves wearing high heels — so much so that a former boss once joked as she left that  firm, that Yanbing wasn’t leaving “big” shoes but “high” shoes to fill.

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1. Tourney Changes

The NCAA is taking the NBA’s bubble approach: teams will need to stay on dedicated hotel floors and the 67 games will be played only in the state of Indiana. The bracket won’t consider geography. Instead it’ll be based most on rankings. While March Madness was held without fans last year, the NCAA will permit fan attendance at 25 percent venue capacity this time round. 

2. COVID-19 Testing

A positive test could cost your team the championship. Every team’s “tier 1” travel party — which includes players, coaches, trainers, medical staff — must have seven consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before arriving in Indiana. Once they arrive, they will be required to wear a device for contact tracing. A team’s failure to compete because of infections will mean its opponent will automatically advance to the next round.

3. Streaming

While CBS has broadcast rights for both the Final Four and national title game, they can be streamed on NCAA’s website. Other streaming options include CBS’ streaming service (which is rebranding as Paramount Plus) and fuboTV.

1. Women in Black

They rule, at least in parts of southwestern China, where the 47,000-strong Mosuo community lives. One of the world’s last matriarchal societies, there’s plenty that’s fascinating about the Mosuo — like how women are allowed to publicly have multiple male lovers. But visually, nothing’s as impressive as the black headdresses adorned with pearls that the women wear.

2. Aussie Bush Hat

It was Crocodile Dundee’s signature brim (minus the crocodile teeth). Traditionally made with rabbit fur, it may look like a cowboy hat, but it’s way cooler.

3. Bowler Hat

Originally designed in 19th century Britain to help horse riders keep their hats on while passing under low-hanging branches, the bowler hat is now ubiquitous headgear for Quechua and Aymara women in Bolivia. They were introduced to the country in the 1920s, originally for male railway workers. But they proved to be too small — so women adopted them.

What’s your favorite hat? Send us a photo and tell us why.

What are the four differences in the two images?

1. Djibouti Bananas Fritters

You’ll findvariants of fried bananas in multiple cultures — but nothing quite as special as Djibouti’s fix for overripe bananas. Whether for breakfast or dessert, this recipe is perfect. Mix the fruit into batter before frying. Serve with powdered sugar or honey … or if you can’t wait, you can gorge on them plain.

2. Alcapurrias

I’m calling it “meatanana”. And it’s good enough that you might come up with your own name for this Puerto Rican street food, consisting of fried banana stuffed with your meat or seafood — crab, shrimp or lobster — of choice.

3. Pisang Goreng

If you can’t tell by now, fried bananas are the theme and in Indonesia, they’re commonly served with ice cream and drizzled with honey or even a little coconut cream.

The image on the right had a pair of dice, a shadow, a missing wheel and a flying object. 

Christine L., Ojo A., Janet W., Arline M., Kathleen S., Cindy A., Kathleen C., Shelly G., Soraya S., Honorato P., William P., Karen S., William P., Graham F., Pete B., J.A. Rene, Bruce S., Bob S., Mike M., T.J. Sortino, Bobette W., Ruth, Gary T., Sarah L., Sandy B., Barbara S., Greg W., Hieu P., Mary B. and Susan O. — you got it right!!! 

Read tomorrow’s Whiskey in Your Coffee to see who else found the four differences.