New from Taffy Brodesser-Akner: What Happened to Val Kilmer? He's Just Starting to Figure It Out. Cancer has taken his voice, but the unlikeliest movie star in Hollywood history still has a lot he wants to say. (NYT)

This week, a judge thew out a very large portion of the USWNT's gender-discrimination case. I'm not a legal expert, but from my reading of his judgment, it reads like he took a very Scalia-esque rigid interpretation of the situation. Because god forbid anyone considers the nuances of living in the real world. Anyway, this is a very good article about the team and the history of the case. (New Yorker)

Remember when Florence Pugh had had it with a-holes commenting on her Instagram post that celebrated Zach Braff's birthday? She's not done talking about it yet. I'm not a big Zach Braff fan, but I am a big fan of Pugh going off on people. (Dlisted)

The high cost of cheap fashion: our clothes are turning the planet into one big plastic soup. (The Correspondent)

Is "Wellness" Just Being Well-off? (The Cut)

Perfect headline: Why in the world are so many Karens bitter about Archie's birthday video? (Celebitchy)

Did Ana de Armas cut Ben Affleck's hair? If she did, I'm stunned they didn't do this on their patio in full view of the paparazzi. So thirsty, these two. (Lainey Gossip)

Every single night I turn on PBS Newshour and every single night I spend that hour trying to decipher what's on Judy Woodruff's bookshelves. Thankfully, someone is already on the case. (Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that Anna Wintour wears sunglasses inside her own house?) (NYT)

Guac 'n' Roll: How a Recycled College Menu Design Became a Classic Led Zeppelin Poster. (Collectors Weekly)

Typefaces have personality - and can be political. (The Conversation)

I don't know if this is real fur (and if it is, GROSS!), but the rest of it is stunning:

Rihanna's stylist shared the dress she was supposed to wear to this year's Met Gala pic.twitter.com/tea9GOcu2S

— PRADANGEL (@angeIictearss) May 6, 2020

How Sally Rooney Gave Normal People Radical Politics. (Jacobin)

How Animal Crossing's fake industries let players afford real rent amid COVID-19. Amid quarantine, New Horizons provides an outlet for creativity and commerce. (Ars Technica)

What if superheroes got the pin-up treatment? (Attitude)

Advice on raising kids during coronavirus: Be "The World's Okayest Mom". (Yahoo)

PulpoPerdida thinks R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War is well written, but the last few chapters are increasingly grim. "It's most certainly not the light fantasy read that I know many people are craving in the context of a pandemic, but if you like your fantasy grim, and rooted strongly in history, then it is certainly a compelling read." What kinds of books are you reading? (Cannonball Read 12)

I don't think we talked about this yet. Congrats to Anderson Cooper!

View this post on Instagram

I want to share with you some joyful news. On Monday, I became a father. This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He is named after my father, who died when I was ten. I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. My son's middle name is Morgan. It's a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad liked the name morgan because I recently found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me. Wyatt Morgan Cooper. My son. He was 7.2 lbs at birth, and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy. As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth. Most of all, I am grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, and watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him. It is an extraordinary blessing - what she, and all surrogates give to families who cant have children. My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues.

A post shared by andersoncooper (@andersoncooper) on Apr 30, 2020 at 6:51pm PDT