Morning Coffee Link Roundup (1/4/23)

Today is Wednesday! Another work day! And this is only a four-day week, so next week will take some getting used to.

I know schadenfreude is the easy reaction here, but it's actually very alarming that McCarthy isn't getting the votes because he's not extreme ENOUGH. For those of us in populations these powerful, evil people are trying to eliminate, it's harder to laugh. G.O.P. Fight Over Speaker Enters Its Second Day (NYT) 

Blasts Reported Near Russian Air Base In Crimea, Moscow Again Hits Ukraine’s Energy Grid (RFE)

Burkina Faso rights group alleges 28 dead in ethnic killings (WaPo)

Hey, here's some good news: FDA to allow pharmacies to dispense abortion pills to patients (CNN)

Antisemitism isn’t new. So why did 2022 feel different? (Vox)

‘A whole new perspective’: Jennifer McClellan could become first Black woman to represent Virginia in U.S. House (The 19th*)

China’s covid data is bad. An epidemiologist says that is making the surge nearly impossible to track. (Grid)

It's not too late to get a COVID booster — especially for older adults (NPR)

Gravestone-encircled ‘Hardy Tree’ falls in London (The Guardian)

Beyond "Lord of the Flies": On The New Wave of Feminist Survival Thrillers (CrimeReads)

And some longer reads:

How the war in Ukraine is tearing apart families in Russia: A ‘conflict with our parents’ (Grid)

How the Worst Fears for Democracy Were Averted in 2022 (NYT)

After the Club Q shooting, drag queens say they're upping security measures (NPR)

‘It’s Not Enough.’ SNAP Recipients Struggle Amid High Food Prices. (Civil Eats)

I love this column: Shop Talk: The Year in Review (CrimeReads)