Biden-Beijing Breakdown Over Hong Kong

Tensions between China and the West peaked Thursday with Beijing refusing to meet a senior State Department official whose visit was meant to set the stage for a meeting between the countries’ leaders. President Joe Biden in turn said the U.S. would warn American companies of the dangers of operating from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who’s previously been accused of being soft on China, demanded greater transparency from Beijing on the origins of COVID-19. Will U.S. companies flee Hong Kong? Vote here or on Twitter. (Sources: FT, SCMP, Bloomberg, BBC)

2. Water Wreck

Devastating floods have swept through Germany and Belgium, leaving more than 80 people dead and at least 1,300 missing. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meeting with President Biden at the White House, described it as a “catastrophe.” (Sources: Guardian, AP, NYT)

3. Africa: COVID Capital

Deaths from COVID-19 have spiked by 43 percent over the past week in Africa as the continent rapidly emerges as one of the world’s most worrying hot spots amid a severe vaccine shortage and overwhelmed health facilities. (Source: Al Jazeera)

4. Haiti Inside Job?

Haitian officials have taken the security chief of the presidential palace into custody nine days after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse by gunmen who managed to enter his house seemingly without much resistance. (Sources: WaPo, CNN)

5. Press in Peril

Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist, was killed in Afghanistan Friday while covering a battle between government forces and the Taliban. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, veteran Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries died yesterday a week after he was shot in the street. (Sources: BBC, Reuters) 

They’re an illusionist’s nightmare. Scientists have found that Eurasian jays can see through magic tricks that fool humans. It turns out bird brains are things to be proud of.

The Filipina Chicago native is the first openly trans woman of color to appear in Vogue and the first Black and Asian American transgender model to appear in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She experienced homelessness growing up and was raised by a single dad who was her strongest supporter when she transitioned. Now she’s planning to step off the magazine pages and onto your screens as an actress. Watch her on The Carlos Watson Show.

2. Halima Aden

The 23-year-old Somali American stunned the world in 2019 as the first supermodel to grace Sports Illustrated in a hijab and burkini — three years after turning heads by appearing in the Miss Minnesota pageant wearing a hijab. Aden, who spent the first seven years of her life in a refugee camp in Kenya, insisted in her contracts that she be allowed to wear the hijab. And though she announced last November that she was quitting modeling because it conflicts with her religious beliefs, Aden still hopes to represent Somalia at Miss Universe.

3. Karen Vega

She started modeling for her seamstress grandmother at the age of 14. Now 19, Vega has Mexico’s top designers and publications seeking her out as she breaks boundaries as the first Indigenous Oaxacan model to feature in Vogue. Vega views Roma star Yalitza Aparicio as her role model — and that’s exactly how a new generation of Indigenous Mexican models might soon see Vega.

4. Megan Rapinoe

The soccer star is as famous for her activism as she is for her prowess on the field. The 35-year old was recently recruited by embattled brand Victoria’s Secret to help with their reboot. The pink-haired winger will help form the “VS Collective” to replace the “Angels.” Can Rapinoe reverse the dominant “male gaze” of the brand?

Superstar model Heidi Klum and her Making the Cut co-star Tim Gunn reveal why they left Project Runway to start their own show on Amazon. Plus, Klum talks about her daughter following in her footsteps in the modeling industry — and why she and Tim have been effectively “married” for 17 years. Watch later today. 

1. Swim Caps

The international governing body for swimming has banned the use of caps specifically designed to accommodate natural Black hair from the Tokyo Games, saying they don’t fit the “natural form of the head.” That’s sparked fresh charges of racism in a sport with a long history of discriminating against people of color.

2. Limits on Activism

The International Olympic Committee has long frowned upon mixing politics with sports. But in recognition of the growing activism that’s taken over the sporting world, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, the IOC has made a concession for Tokyo: Activism will be allowed, just not during events or on podiums. It’s unclear if that will work, though. American Noah Lyles, the men’s 200-meter favorite, raised a gloved fist during trials in June. Will he do the same while receiving a medal in Tokyo?

3. Breastfeeding Mothers

As with the right to protest, organizers of the Tokyo Games initially landed themselves in hot water by banning family members of athletes from Japan during the Olympics as a part of pandemic restrictions. But multiple athletes who are breastfeeding mothers protested, pointing out that the rule forced them to choose between their babies and the Olympics. The IOC finally buckled last month and allowed athletes to bring their babies.

The Seychelles islands are home to the world’s largest, heaviest and arguably most suggestive seeds (see image above). But the coco de mer tree is endangered, with only 8,000 mature trees alive today, prompting the African island nation to launch a program allowing residents to apply to grow the palms on their property. They expected 50 or so applications but got double that with 104 residents requesting the seeds — and a chance to keep the species alive.

2. Seedbox

With pods that look like ornate wooden boxes with designs carved onto their tops, this plant has some of the most beautiful seeds you’ll ever see. It flowers between June and August before the fruits that inspire its name start appearing.

3. Lotus Pod

If you have trypophobia (a fear of clusters of closely packed holes), this seed might not be for you. The pods start bright green with tiny seeds nestled in the surface, then dry and turn into a woody, maraca-like vessel. 

Ever wish you could say “oh snap” without saying “oh snap”? There needs to be an emoji for that. There’s a rumor that a snapping emoji could be coming out in 2022, and oh snap, it is about dang time!

2. Tearful Hug

Over the past year in particular, most of us have lost someone we knew. But how do you grieve via text when emojis of hugs either have a face that’s smiling or, at best, a heart? Can we have some tears, please?

3. Boiling Water

It’s like watching water boil. If you’re often waiting for someone to respond, it kind of feels like watching water boil. That cursed little typing bubble just isn’t enough. You need an emoji pot overflowing with boiling water. 

Share your wittiest caption for the image above. We’ll pick three winners!