Philadelphia freedom (indoors) was nice while it lasted.

Happening in the World: Yesterday, Pakistan’s parliament chose Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister, after the previous prime minister Imran Khan was ousted in Sunday’s no-confidence vote. Khan was voted out after the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled that his attempts to block previous no-confidence motions were unconstitutional. Sharif formerly served as the prime minister for Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous region, and his new government can remain in place until August 2023, when elections will take place. (BBC)

Happening in the USA: On Monday, Philadelphia became the first major US city to reinstate its mask mandate starting on April 18, following a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. In Philadelphia, the city’s confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen over 50% in the last 10 days, the threshold upon which city guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. Health officials believe that the current spike is the result of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of Omicron. (AP)

Happening in NYC: Yesterday morning, the State Liquor Authority approved new guidelines to allow restaurants to serve to-go alcoholic beverages if customers buy them along with a “substantial” menu item like a sandwich, soup, or salad. These new guidelines come two days after Governor Hochul and lawmakers finalized a $220 billion state budget that will allow restaurants to serve sealed alcoholic beverages with takeout orders. Violating the measure by serving beverages without any “substantial” menu items could result in an establishment having its liquor license suspended or revoked. (Gothamist)

Happening in our Community: Today from 6 to 8 pm, the Center for Jazz Studies’ “Such Sweet Thunder” event series will present “Toni Morrison Reads Othello,” a discussion about Morrison’s play Desdemona. In this conversation, Jean Howard, a Shakespeare scholar; Farah Jasmine Griffin, a Morrison scholar; and Rebecca Kastleman, a scholar of contemporary drama, will discuss Toni Morrison’s radical reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy. The event will take place in Buell Hall’s East Gallery, with registration required to attend.

Gorgeous Philadelphia via Flickr