Heat waves across the US, Canada, parts of Europe and Siberia brought soaring temps this week. And, after the killing of Black American George Floyd, several African countries urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate police brutality in the US. The rights office conducted a global investigation, and the new report confirms that police brutality toward people of African descent has been allowed to continue with impunity. Also, in his new short story collection, “Alien Stories,” writer E.C. Osondu uses science fiction to explore the many meanings of “alien.”