Everybody loves Merkel. Her likely successors? Not so much. The chancellor’s popularity is soaring as she nears the end of her reign. https://politi.co/3hmWU5n
Boris Johnson’s first year in No 10: Election victory, Brexit secured, a divorce, a baby, and a brush with death. Tim Shipman tells the riveting story of the PM’s turbulent debut. https://bit.ly/3hjg1Ns
Arthur Herman: Bringing the factories home: Any new industrial policy has to make the U.S. less vulnerable to Chinese suppliers. https://on.wsj.com/3eP2Thw
China expands its amphibious forces in challenge to US supremacy beyond Asia: China is launching new amphibious assault ships and beefing up its marines. Its main aim is to project power far from home, but it is also strengthening its ability to invade Taiwan. https://reut.rs/3fLaO0H
Watch this: @BBCPolitics #Marr asks Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming to explain footage from China of handcuffed and blindfolded detained people https://bit.ly/30tv40n
Investors bet Europe’s recovery will have green tint: WSJ reports, shares in renewable-energy companies, and insulation providers have advanced this year. Investors are betting these firms will benefit from the European Union’s ambitious proposal to stop damaging the environment by 2050, which the bloc aims to bake into its economic recovery plan. https://on.wsj.com/30wFwUH
John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman, dies: After years of putting his body and his freedom on the line as an activist, he spent more than three decades in Congress. https://politi.co/3jovCNR
Pew Research Center: Congress soars to new heights on social media: Democratic lawmakers post more content on Twitter, while the median Republican member now averages more audience engagement than the median Democrat across platforms. https://pewrsr.ch/32Fn7I7
"As a collective, the 116th Congress maintains over 2,000 active official, campaign and personal accounts on Facebook and Twitter (not counting institutional accounts that periodically change hands, such as committee chair or leadership accounts) with over a quarter-billion total followers between them."
"Republican lawmakers tend to receive more engagement on their posts than Democrats when viewed at the level of the median lawmaker. But when viewed as a whole – that is, by examining all the shares, retweets, favorites and reactions to congressional social media posts – Democrats receive the bulk of that engagement."
Marketing and the science of ‘knowing what economists are wrong about’: Rory Sutherland, the British advertising veteran, rails against a business culture that preaches rational, data-driven decision-making over all else. http://bit.ly/2WV1W28
Lee Richardson has proved the perfect fit as Liverpool’s performance psychologist: The man who has gone from the dugout at Chesterfield to a key part of the backroom team at Anfield. https://bit.ly/3fULzcG
For parents who can afford it, a solution for fall: Bring the teachers to them https://wapo.st/2Bjon8E
#BrigadoonGapYear
AP: High school sports face many obstacles as school year nears
"Already some states, including Tennessee, Arizona, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Washington, have announced fall sports will have at least a delayed start. Prep sports heavyweights like Texas, Florida, and California all have big decisions coming up fast."
This LA music producer is obsessed with houseplants: See how they amplify his work https://lat.ms/3fM1JES
