Indholdsfortegnelse for July 18, 2025 i The Week Magazine

Whatever happened to “90 deals in 90 days”? When Trump announced a three-month pause on his crushing Liberation Day tariffs back in April, he promised that countries would rush to Washington to strike trade agreements. Well, here we are, 90 days later, and as I put fingers to keyboard there are just three deals—sort of. There’s what officials have described as “an agreement on a framework for a deal” with China, an “agreement in principle” with the U.K., and a handshake deal with Vietnam. Trump is now trying to speed up negotiations with the other 87 holdout countries by sending them letters detailing the potentially crippling tariffs they’ll have to pay if they don’t strike a deal by the new deadline of Aug. 1. (See Best Business Columns, p.34.) But…

■ America’s 250th birthday celebrations next July will include an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout “on the grounds of the White House,” President Trump said last week. The official residence of the U.S. president has never hosted a hyper-violent mixed martial arts fight, or any kind of sporting event. Trump said he expects a crowd of up to 25,000 people at the fight, which the White House can apparently accommodate because “we have a lot of land there.” ■ An American Airlines flight from Puerto Rico to Dallas turned around after a passenger noticed his seatmate receive a text message that read “R.I.P.” Suspecting a suicide mission, the traveler alerted flight attendants. The plane returned to San Juan, where the seatmate told authorities he’d received a condolence text after the death…

Boise, Idaho Imperfect crime: Bryan Kohberger, a onetime criminology graduate student, admitted last week to stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in a case that transfixed the state and still has not yielded a motive. The four victims, all 20 or 21 years old, had returned to their shared house late on a Saturday night in November 2022 and were found dead in or near their beds. Two other housemates were not attacked; one spotted a person outside but could not identify them. Police used DNA from a knife sheath and phone records to arrest Kohberger a month and a half later. The defense had prepared to argue at trial that there was evidence of another person at the scene, and that Kohberger’s autism diagnosis should exempt him…

Dmytro Chorny spent three years as a prisoner of war in Russia, said Daniel Boffey in The Guardian. The Ukrainian marine was captured in April 2022, when Russian forces overran the besieged Azovstal metal plant in Mariupol. Chorny, now 23, says the beatings—with spiked batons and cattle prods—began as soon as he stepped off the prison transport. With his fellow POWs, he was ordered to stand all day and recite Russian propaganda songs; those who got words wrong were hit at the knees or attacked by dogs. Chorny was interrogated with a bag over his head—still wet with the snot and blood of the previous victim—and his fingers hooked up to an electrocution device. “It was not a questioning process, it was torture,” he says. After one three-hour torture session,…

Nick Catoggio The Dispatch Bribery is now “responsible corporate practice” in President Trump’s banana republic, said Nick Catoggio. Trump’s lawsuit claiming CBS edited a 2024 60 Minutes interview to clean up answers by his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, “would have been laughed out of any court in the country” because of First Amendment protection of editorial decisions. But despite a “slam-dunk defense,” the network’s parent company, Paramount, last week paid Trump $16 million to settle the case. Paramount issued no apology for CBS’s editorial choices—a “tacit acknowledgement” that the settlement was actually an eight-figure bribe made to ensure that the “proudly vindictive” president doesn’t scuttle Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, which requires federal approval. Not coincidentally, ABC paid a $16 million bribe to Trump to settle another bogus lawsuit.…

Editorial La Nación House arrest is supposed to be a punishment, said La Nación. But our former president, the Peronist left-winger Cristina Kirchner, isn’t so much serving time as politicking from home. Convicted of corruption for steering public contracts to cronies, the 72-year-old has just started a six-year jail sentence, which she is allowed to serve at her Buenos Aires apartment because of her age. That would be fine if she did so quietly. Instead, Kirchner is taking every chance to whip up her supporters—thousands of whom gather daily in the streets outside her apartment to pay homage—and turn her sentence into a “tool of political propaganda.” First, she sent the crowd a recorded message claiming that she’s a victim of partisan persecution. Then she began going out onto her…

Regular use of marijuana doubles your risk of dying from heart disease, an alarming new analysis of health studies shows. The analysis, which pooled medical data from 200 million patients across 24 studies, also found that people who use marijuana have a 29% higher risk of heart attack and a 20% higher risk of stroke than those who abstain. Researchers said the risks to the heart appear to be similar whether a user smokes weed or eats edibles. The analysis “raises serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,” epidemiologist Lynn Silver of the University of California, San Francisco, who wasn’t involved in the study, tells CNN.com. “If I were a 60-year-old person who had some heart disease risk, I would be very cautious about using cannabis.…

Maria Reva’s “startling metafictional” debut novel “creates beautiful, purposeful chaos,” said Carole V. Bell in the Los Angeles Times. In 2022 Ukraine, two would-be mail-order brides, including one who is also a biologist determined to save endangered snails, hatch a plot to kidnap a dozen of the male clients of a matchmaking service. One of those bachelors emerges as the novel’s third main character, and as the Russian invasion begins, “black humor flows freely” and Reva’s “forceful mashup of storytelling modes” calls attention to the war’s senseless violence and the compromises that fiction demands. As the novel proceeds, “a variety of voices, forms, and ideas springs forth with playful inventiveness,” said S. Kirk Walsh in The Washington Post. Reva, who was born in Ukraine, weaves in interview transcripts, meeting minutes,…

Waiting for Britney Spears by Jeff Weiss (MCD, $19) Jeff Weiss’ “incredibly entertaining and frequently insane” first book is “a throwback to the days of Hunter S. Thompson–like gonzo journalism,” said Allison Stewart in The Washington Post. Weiss began his career as a tabloid reporter on the Britney Spears beat, and he recounts the pop star’s rise and fall with both relish and great sympathy. His lightly fictionalized first-person story gives readers “a more 3D Britney than the one in her own 2023 memoir” and reads like “a kinetic fever dream.” The Last Supper by Paul Elie (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $33) Paul Elie’s “gripping” new snapshot of 1980s culture “places the reader in the thick of a convulsive era,” said Marc Weingarten in the Los Angeles Times. Elie focuses…

“The Lorde of yore is back and better than ever,” said Chris Kelly in The Washington Post. On her fourth album, the New Zealand–born former teen wunderkind who “changed the game for alternative pop” has moved past the “easy-listening psychedelia” of 2021’s Solar Power and delivered an 11-song set that “percolates with subtle club beats” and “warm-blanket” synths, but leaves “plenty of white space” for her signature phrasings. It “plays like the counterpoint to Charli XCX’s Brat”: a study in the messiness of young adulthood that’s less a party soundtrack than a “headphone masterpiece.” To my ears, Virgin is the 28-year-old’s “most piecemeal work to date,” said Jon Caramanica in The New York Times. It’s the sound of one of our most thoughtful pop stars “futzing around with aftermarket Charli…

(PG-13) A hero returns, in surprising earnest. Superman movies “should always be fun,” and the latest reboot for the DC Comics hero is at least that, said Maureen Lee Lenker in Entertainment Weekly. James Gunn, who directed the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, has restored “light, humor, and romance” to a fictional world that had become too serious in recent incarnations, and“a superb bunch of actors” fill the main roles. But while David Corenswet is “a marvel” as the new Man of Steel, capturing the superhero’s earnestness, Gunn’s “muddled mess” of a script prevents the film from soaring. Gunn jumps right into it, said Ann Hornaday in The Washington Post. As the movie opens, Superman has already arrived in Metropolis, is working undercover at the Daily Planet, and is dating…

Tour de France: Unchained As Tour de France riders head into this year’s mountain stages, pedal into this excellent series for a behind-the-scenes look at the grit and grind of past races. The recently released Season 3 focuses on last year’s battle between the Tour’s top two contenders: Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Netflix Inspired to Ride This one’s for the diehards: Ride along with the amateur cyclists competing in the Trans Am Bike Race, a grueling, 4,200-mile trek across the continental U.S. undertaken without support teams or the promise of prize money. $1 on demand The Armstrong Lie Filmmaker Alex Gibney chased Lance Armstrong in pursuit of a story that seemed too good to be true. It was. When Armstrong confessed to doping in 2013, Gibney reassembled his footage…

■ Freecampsites.net is a great resource “if you just want somewhere to put down a tent—and are willing to rough it.” It points you to some of the best free campsites you can find on public land, including state and local parks. Most won’t have bathrooms, running water, or electricity. ■ Recreation.gov is the go-to site for national parks and wilderness areas. These sites offer “a little more in the way of amenities,” but they do charge fees. ■ Hipcamp is “essentially an Airbnb-type service” for campsites on private land. It expands your camping options, and many of the sites offer some level of amenities. ■ The Dyrt is similar to Hipcamp, with sites offered by individuals or smaller companies. With either service, “pay close attention to the listing and…

Rogé Karma The Atlantic The Sun Belt is tightening as a cheap housing haven, said Rogé Karma. “Everyone familiar with America’s affordability crisis knows that it is most acute in ultra-progressive coastal cities in heavily Democratic states.” Yet over the past decade, home prices have actually been rising most sharply in places like Phoenix and Atlanta. Southern cities such as Dallas have sprawled out to the limits of a reasonable commute and now “have to find ways to increase the density of their existing urban cores and suburbs.” That reality is beginning to collide with “the seemingly universal human tendency to put down roots and then oppose new development.” In Texas, a 1927 law “originally introduced as a way to preserve segregation” has been revived and wielded as a way…

■ In 1995, the city of Keene, N.H., was used as the fictional Brantford in Jumanji, a kids’ classic starring Robin Williams. In one sequence, locals were chased by a CGI stampede of elephants, rhinos, and zebras. In June, for the movie’s 30th anniversary, Keene held a parade, and quarter-mile “Rhino Rumble Road Race,” with runners in inflatable animal costumes. “To be here today and be able to have our own stampede is kind of awesome,” said Juniper Thurston, who watched the filming when she was 13. ■ A dog at a church adoption event in Virginia demonstrated a surprising nose for medical emergencies when she saved a man from a seizure. Sienna, a 3-year-old lab and pit bull mix, bounded straight for Josh Davis at the event, refusing to…

GOATs, after competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut dominated the field at the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City’s Coney Island. He scarfed 70.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes—short of his 76-dog record, but enough to win Chestnut his 17th title in 20 appearances. Accessorizing, after researchers at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia noticed a group of apes wearing blades of grass in their ears or backsides. “Like humans, other animals also copy seemingly pointless behaviors from one another,” said primatologist Edwin van Leeuwen. “That in turn may offer insights into the evolutionary roots of human culture.” Travelers, after the TSA announced that fliers will no longer have to take their shoes off while going through airport security. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the footwear rule,…

Paris Swim in the Seine: Paris opened the Seine to public swimming this week for the first time since 1923. Generations of Parisians have been unable to take a dip because the water was so polluted, but thanks to the $1.6 billion effort to clean the river up for the 2024 Olympics, it’s now pristine. The project involved building rainwater reservoirs, upgrading antiquated water treatment plants, and connecting 20,000 homes to the sewer system so they would no longer flush directly into the river. Paris now has three swim sites with lifeguards that can accommodate 1,000 swimmers a day; another 14 sites are planned outside the city. Mayor Anne Hidalgo went to the swim site by Île Saint-Louis to welcome the very first swimmers, and one of them called out…

Pedro Pascal misses everything about his mother, said Karen Valby in Vanity Fair. A child psychologist, Verónica arrived in the U.S. from Chile at age 22, having fled Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship with her doctor husband and two children—including a 9-month-old Pedro. Pascal, now 50, remembers her beauty, kindness, and sense of humor. “She couldn’t get past a fart of any kind without it absolutely destabilizing her into hysterics,” he says. “She thought they were the most hilarious, wonderful thing in the world.” But Verónica, Pascal recalls, was also “very deep-feeling, very out of reach in a way.” He was 24 and a struggling actor in Los Angeles when his mother died by suicide. Suddenly, audition rejections felt inconsequential. “You can’t break me,” he recalls thinking, “I’m already broken.” Six months…

Jennifer Schulze Substack Let’s call “Alligator Alcatraz” what it really is—“an American concentration camp,” said Jennifer Schulze. The new migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades for 5,000 migrants is an open-air jail of large tents that house cages and bunk beds, surrounded by fences topped with razor wire. To the giddy delight of MAGA fans, Gov. Ron DeSantis constructed the camp in a swamp infested with alligators and pythons, with no protection against the state’s 100-degree heat, humidity, and hurricanes. In celebration, Florida’s Republican Party has begun selling “Alligator Alcatraz” swag, and on Fox News, hosts joked about escaping migrants being eaten by gators and snakes. A grinning President Trump posed in front of the cages and later told Fox that any escapee had better not “run in a…

“One of the great ironies of history is that the triumph of MAGA has led to the piecemeal destruction of everything that once made America great, and on every level. Its power derived from a reliable trade network, with logistical chains that were the wonders of the world, combined with a huge alliance network, and the greatest scientific and technological institutes in the world. It is systematically destroying all of those strengths far more thoroughly than any enemy could. The lesson the Americans once taught the British, they are teaching the rest of the world: There are no necessary nations. There are no permanent global orders.” Stephen Marche in The Guardian…

Amanda Ghahremani Toronto Star “The U.S. immigration system is collapsing before our eyes,” said Amanda Ghahremani, yet the Canadian government “remains willfully blind to the dangers this poses to Canadian citizens, residents, and asylum seekers.” For years, we’ve sent asylum seekers who cross into Canada from the southern border back to the U.S., which is considered an appropriate deportation destination “on the basis that it is a democratic country that respects human rights.” But the brutal truth is that the U.S. no longer qualifies as that. Since Donald Trump took office for the second time, trans people have been forced to flee, while brown-skinned people are being grabbed off the streets. Just two weeks ago, Johnny Noviello, a Canadian citizen who’d been a permanent U.S. resident since 1991, died in…

Maria Nicolau El Pais The old myth of customers “starving at haute cuisine tables” is becoming a reality, said Maria Nicolau. After eating what was supposed to be a full meal at a hot new Barcelona restaurant recently, I left so hungry that I ducked into a Turkish kebab shop on the way home. Bites arrived on beautifully shaped plates, looking gorgeous but hardly nourishing—think “three teardrop peas with a slice of smoked sardine” for $30. It was just enough to whet the appetite and “prime me for a fulfillment that never came.” I know, I know: Discussing portion size at a gourmet restaurant is rude. We dine in these establishments to experience something sublime, not to stuff our faces. And I’m sure that providing a glorious “gastronomic experience” isn’t…

President Trump “is coming for your citizenship,” said Jonathan V. Last in The Bulwark. The Department of Justice recently issued a memo telling its lawyers that the president has ordered them to “maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings” against foreign-born U.S. citizens accused of crimes. Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles publicly called for the administration to deport New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim immigrant and naturalized citizen, calling him a “communist” and terrorist sympathizer; Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that these allegations “should be investigated.” Revoking citizenship “sounds like crazy talk,” but federal law allows the government to denaturalize anyone who lied when applying for citizenship. The DOJ is now expanding that category to include citizens who are gang members and national security threats. In defiance of the…

The story of how Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to create I Love Lucy “has been told often enough from Ball’s side,” said Ty Burr in The Washington Post. In a “welcome” new biography of the couple’s less-celebrated half, author and journalist Todd S. Purdum “gives us Arnaz’s life story, and it’s an often surprising one.” Most people still think of the actor, musician, and producer as the straight man to one of America’s greatest comediennes. “And he was that guy. But he was most definitely not only that guy.” For one thing, he was, as the book’s subtitle proclaims, the man who invented TV, and “the hyperbole is merited.” Here, at last, Arnaz finally receives “his rightful due as a protean force, perhaps the protean force, in…

When Catherine Lacey couldn’t decide whether it was better to write about a bad breakup as fiction or nonfiction, she did both, said Keziah Weir in Vanity Fair. The acclaimed novelist’s latest work, The Möbius Book, is designed to be read front to middle, then spun upside down and read to the same midpoint. In one half, Lacey reflects on her rocky six-year relationship with fellow novelist Jesse Ball, referred to only as the Reason. “That’s the name that I gave him in my notebook so that I could write about him without throwing up,” she says. In the other half, two women spend Christmas night reviewing their own recent breakups while ignoring a pool of blood seeping in under the door from a neighbor’s apartment. Neither story is exclusively…

Think of the latest duets album from Barbra Streisand as “a cozy, comforting hug,” said Melissa Ruggieri in USA Today. Like 2014’s Partners, it assembles a panel of A-listers, this time including Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande for a trio performance that, surprisingly, is “steeped in restraint.” But while it’s a shame that this “holy trinity of glorious sound” was wasted on a generic ballad, “highlights are many.” Even the first-ever pairing of Streisand with Bob Dylan “doesn’t disappoint,” largely because for their cover of 1934’s “The Very Thought of You,” Streisand “coaxed Dylan to actually sing.” Some stars fare less well, said Helen Brown in The Telegraph (U.K.). “Neither Sting’s ‘Fragile’ nor James Taylor’s ‘The Secret o’ Life’ gain much from being turned into two-handers.” But Paul McCartney brings…

(R) A woman navigates life after a tragedy. Funny, poignant, and wise, Eva Victor’s directorial debut is also “one of the year’s best films,” said Odie Henderson in The Boston Globe. Victor stars as Agnes, a newly hired English professor struggling to carry on in the wake of what the film refers to as “the bad thing,” which we soon learn was sexual assault by her graduate school adviser. But Victor “isn’t out to make Agnes a pitiable figure.” Agnes is instead “the sort of multifaceted, beautifully drawn-out protagonist you rarely see in movies,” said David Fear in Rolling Stone. The violation is depicted elliptically, in a way that speaks to Victor’s storytelling talent, and the movie as a whole comes across as “sorry/not sorry about calling out the manner…

Nivea Men Maximum Hydration Nourishing Lotion “Most men don’t want to fuss with buying three different body lotions for different purposes,” and this aloe-powered balm “does it all: your body, yes, but also your easily cracked hands and sensitive face.” $11, walgreens.com Source: Men’s Journal Panasonic Body Groomer GK80 “There’s a lot to love about this groomer,” including its ergonomic design and unique V-shaped head that “allow you to trim even the hardest-to-reach crevices with ease.” It comes with two comb attachments. $115, amazon.com Source: Men’s Health Dopp Admiral Travel Kit A “classic option” from the brand that gave travel kits their name, Dopp’s 10.25-inch leather bag is both “built to last and luxurious.” It’s “great for oblong items like a hairbrush,” and it also has a convenient carry loop. $55,…

Nvidia became the first company to top $4 trillion in market capitalization, said Samantha Subin and Kif Leswing in CNBC.com. The chipmaker beat Microsoft and Apple to the staggering mark this week, riding an AI-fueled rally that has seen its shares rise more than 1,000% since the start of 2023. “The company has positioned itself as the decisive leader in creating the graphics processing units that power large language models,” and after a tumble in January when a leaner AI startup, DeepSeek, emerged in China, Nvidia and other tech stocks have rebounded strongly on Wall Street. X-it: CEO Yaccarino leaves Musk’s social network Linda Yaccarino abruptly stepped down this week as chief executive of Elon Musk’s social media platform X, said Mike Isaac in The New York Times. Yaccarino was…

■ A comeback for meme-stock mania Meme stocks and money-losing long shots are leading the market once again, said Jack Pitcher in The Wall Street Journal. “Of the 14 companies in the Russell 3000 index that have more than tripled since April 8, 10 don’t generate any profits,” a sign that investors “have reacquired a taste for speculation.” Among the highest-flying recent performers are Avis and Carvana, two stocks that last rallied during the Covid era. Another company, Aeva, which develops sensors for self-driving cars, is up 457% since the market’s April bottom, pushing its market capitalization above $1.8 billion—despite making only $9 million in sales. Investors have also “flocked to leveraged exchange-traded funds,” such as the ProShares UltraPro QQQ, “which aims to triple the daily return of the Nasdaq…

Bill Moyers was a legend in public broadcasting, known for deep dives into scandals like Watergate and the Iran-Contra affair. He’d always been idealistic: He started out in politics, working in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, where he helped create and run the Peace Corps and found the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When he moved to journalism, his primary mission was still public service. Soft-spoken and cerebral, Moyers specialized in long-form documentaries and interviews delving into knotty issues such as inequality, race, crime, and government corruption. He did stints at CBS and NBC but spent most of his career at PBS, free from what he called the corrupting constraints of corporate media. “In a profit-seeking environment,” he said, “you do not get rewarded for telling the hard truths about America.”…

Michael Madsen was nothing like the roughs he portrayed on screen. His film persona was badass outlaw, capable of severing a cop’s ear in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) and burying a woman alive in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), and he portrayed so many thugs that one reviewer called him a “rent-a-heavy.” But in private, the actor was a poet who didn’t feel comfortable with his image as a pugnacious renegade. “I’m not that guy,” he said in 2018. “I sure as hell had my rabble-rousing days, but sooner or later you have to get over that.” Born in Chicago to a filmmaker mother and a firefighter father, Madsen started out as a mechanic and a paramedic, said The New York Times, and turned to acting at age 23…

Having handed Trump a big legislative win, Republicans are now “fretting it will lead to some ugly electoral losses” in the midterms, said Lisa Kashinsky in Politico. Recent polls indicate “voters broadly dislike the megabill,” with some showing 2 to 1 disapproval margins. Democrats are gearing up “to weaponize the bill,” as they did after Republicans tried and failed to repeal the Obama-era Affordable Care Act in 2017—an effort followed by the loss of 40 GOP House seats in 2018. A voter backlash “is not guaranteed,” said Perry Bacon Jr. in The Washington Post, and in fact “seems unlikely.” Voters undeniably like Medicaid, which was expanded by the ACA and now covers 1 in 5 Americans. But Democrats have seen “little electoral benefit” in states where they expanded Medicaid, and…

IRS says churches can endorse candidates In a win for evangelical groups, the IRS announced this week that religious leaders can endorse political candidates in church without endangering their nonprofit status. The 1954 Johnson Amendment banned nonprofit organizations from political campaigning, though the tax agency has rarely punished religious leaders for political statements. In response to a lawsuit brought by two churches and a Christian broadcasters association, the IRS agreed to an exemption allowing religious centers to promote candidates to their congregations. It’s not clear whether houses of worship will be able to promote candidates via their websites or social media accounts. Diane Yentel, head of the National Council of Nonprofits, said she expects political operatives to start funneling funds to candidates through religious nonprofits, “receiving generous tax breaks at…

Joan Baez knows she’ll be forever linked with Bob Dylan, said David Browne in Rolling Stone. The singers met on the folk scene in the early 1960s and had a brief but tumultuous romantic relationship—one that continues to attract attention from Dylan obsessives. “If you look me up and Google me,” says Baez, 84, “there’s maybe one thing on me, and then it’s directly to ‘Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.’” For years, Baez felt anger toward her former lover. She was the more successful musician when they met, but after he exploded to fame, she was treated as a support act by both Dylan and his fans. Baez says she let go of her bitterness a decade ago, while painting a portrait of a young Dylan in her studio. “I…

■ Pop star Katy Perry is “disappointed and sad” that her ex, Orlando Bloom, has eagerly embraced the bachelor life after the pair called off their six-year engagement, a source told the Daily Mail. The couple announced last week that their relationship had been “shifting over the past many months to focus on co-parenting” their 4-year-old daughter, Daisy. Just days before the release of that statement, Bloom, 48, attended the Venice wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez alone, and partied on a yacht with other celebrities. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was later seen chatting with Leonardo DiCaprio’s model girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, and strolling through Venice with newly single actress Sydney Sweeney. An insider said that while Perry, 40, accepts Bloom is free “to behave like an…

Jim Geraghty National Review “How do you get a conspiracy theorist to stop believing in the conspiracy?” asked Jim Geraghty. “Put him in charge of revealing the conspiracy.” The Trump administration announced this week that its hyped Jeffrey Epstein investigation found that the sex trafficker did not keep a “client list” of liberal celebrities and Democrats, and that he took his own life in prison. Members of the MAGA cult had insisted Epstein was murdered to protect his elite clients, and shortly after taking office, Attorney General Pam Bondi threw gasoline on the fire by saying she’d uncovered a “truckload” of new evidence about Epstein and had his client list “on my desk.” Just before he was named FBI deputy director, Trump loyalist Dan Bongino began “talking up Epstein’s connections…

Laurie Wastell The Spectator The “so-called musical act” Bob Vylan deserves all the blowback it’s getting for its antics at the Glastonbury Festival—but no jail time, said Laurie Wastell. At its performance, the English punk-rap duo chanted “Death to the IDF” (the Israel Defense Forces) and repeated the “implicitly genocidal pro-Palestinian slogan: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’” Of course the fans, a crowd of “Millennial morons,” joined in. Because the band was calling for the death of, “in effect, the entire Jewish state,” the backlash has been understandably severe. The band has seen several of its gigs canceled, including appearances at other big European festivals, and its U.S. travel visas were revoked. But now British police are investigating the lead singer for possible crimes, including…

During a two-month trial in Manhattan, federal prosecutors successfully exposed Sean “Diddy” Combs as “a vile pervert,” said Dana Bazelon in Slate. Yet the hip-hop mogul “(mostly) beat the rap.” Jurors last week acquitted Combs of racketeering and sex trafficking, charges that carried a potential life sentence, and instead found him guilty of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors had sought to portray Combs, 55, as the kingpin of a criminal enterprise. The evidence against him included graphic testimony from two former girlfriends, who detailed a pattern of brutal coercion dating back to 2008. He pressured the women to have sex with male prostitutes during drug-fueled “freak-off” parties, “extorted them with the videos he made of them doing it, and beat them when they tried to…

“Men and nations do act wisely, when they have exhausted all the other possibilities.” Israeli diplomat Abba Eban, quoted in The Washington Post “When society’s values are corrupted, it is the duty of the individual to uphold true morality.” Henrik Ibsen, quoted in Time “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.” Biologist E.O. Wilson, quoted in The Knowledge “Democracy is a living, breathing thing, and if you don’t give it oxygen, it can die.” Gloria Estefan, quoted in El País (Spain) “It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” Friedrich Nietzsche, quoted in Psychology Today “The presidency is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, quoted in the Sun Journal “As soon as we abandon…

■ AI is now ready to flatter you People who regularly use ChatGPT and other AI models are complaining that chatbots “prioritize flattery over accuracy,” said Avery Lotz in Axios. Since AI tends to adjust its answers to align with users’ views, a bot can come across as overly flattering or agreeable, or as Open AI CEO Sam Altman said, “it glazes too much.” In April, OpenAI rolled back software updates after some users reported that its bot cheered on people “who stopped taking their medications with answers like ‘I am so proud of you. And—I honor your journey.’” A recent study also found that AI assistants change accurate answers when questioned by the user. The chatbots appear to be “trained to deliver responses that are highly rated by humans”—even at…

Nanobots may be the solution to sinus infections, reports The Guardian. Researchers in China and Hong Kong have successfully used micro-robots measuring about 2.5 micrometers—as small as specks of dust—to wipe out bacterial infections in rabbits. The researchers injected swarms of the robots into the sinus cavity with a tube and used electromagnetism to coax them toward the infection. Once in place, the swarms were heated, which kicked off chemical reactions. The robots’ motion helped loosen the pus blocking access to the bacteria, while the reactive oxygen compounds they produced killed the bacteria itself. There were no notable side effects and no damage to nasal cells. Researchers hope bots could one day replace antibiotics for treating sinus infection, with the patient simply blowing the bots into a tissue after treatment.…

Laura Lippman’s new novel, Murder Takes a Vacation, follows a shy widow on a European getaway that turns into a deadly adventure. Lippman was recently named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Below, she lists six favorite books about quests. Possession by A.S. Byatt (1990). Two young scholars, in competition with other academics, race to find out the truth behind love letters written by an important 19th-century poet. By turns satiric and poignant, the novel finds its climax on a dark and stormy night in a churchyard. But it’s the quiet devastation of the final chapter that will haunt you. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (1967). Two suburban siblings run away and set up camp in New York City’s Metropolitan…

Karol G’s latest hit album is “a bright compendium of 20 songs, all pulling from different parts of Latin-pop history,” said Julyssa Lopez in Rolling Stone. The Colombian star’s career went “stratospheric” with 2023’s chart-topping Mañana Será Bonito, and this follow-up is the 34-year-old’s tribute to the music that shaped her: “baroque ’80s ballads, soaring vallenatos, merengue from dance parties in family living rooms in Medellín.” Keeping things “carefree and breezy,” she “loads up the album with Easter eggs,” including a sing-along with 1990s star Thalía and a duet with 65-year-old Marco Antonio Solís on “Coleccionando Heridas,” a gorgeous ballad. “Put some respect on Karol G’s name,” said Tatiana Lee Rodriguez in Pitchfork. After a decade of award-winning urbano recordings, she’s playing stadium tours and “even has her own Bratz…

“It’s next to impossible to generalize about New Zealand whisky,” said Susannah Skiver Barton in Food & Wine. The South Pacific nation has just 16 active distilleries, all founded this century. But thanks to “a culture of creativity,” varied regional climates, and loose laws, that small band of producers is offering whisky lovers everywhere “an exciting world of flavors to explore.” Pokeno Origin ($55). Pokeno’s core single malt is “a refreshing, at times delicate whisky with notes of vanilla, sea salt, jasmine, and lemon.” Behind those results: North Island barley and native-wood casks. Scapegrace Anthem ($60). Manuka wood smoke lends this South Island whisky “an intriguing pungency, floral and thick,” which mingles with its notes of “sweet malt and hot cinnamon.” Cardrona the Falcon ($227). This “elegant” South Island single…

■ Wooden cutting boards. The high temperatures of a dishwasher’s cycles “can cause even the strongest wood to warp, bend, crack, or split.” Ditto for wooden utensils and bowls. ■ Insulated mugs. High water pressure and heat damage the vacuum seal that allows insulated vessels to keep beverages cold or warm. ■ Wine glasses. Nine in 10 wine glasses are too delicate to survive repeated mechanical washings. ■ Vintage plates and cookware. The older an item is, the more likely that it’ll be damaged. “Even if it’s labeled dishwasher-safe,” it may be “prone to chipping or cracking.” ■ Kitchen knives. A prolonged soak can cause high-carbon steel to rust, and high temperatures can damage a knife’s handle. ■ Nonstick and copper cookware. Though nonstick pans are “technically” dishwasher safe, the…

■ Amazon could reach 350 million global Prime members by year’s end, up from 200 million in 2021, JPMorgan estimates. Amazon’s July “Prime Day” has been stretched to four days and is expected to generate $23.8 billion in sales. Sherwood News ■ Aircraft departing from the U.S. in 2023 accounted for 65% of the world’s private jet flights that year, as well as 55% of the 19.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases emitted by private jets, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. The Washington Post ■ Amid scrutiny following a series of manufacturing issues and in-air safety incidents, Boeing delivered 60 airplanes last month, the firm’s highest total since December 2023, just before a door plug from an airborne 737 Max 9 blew out shortly after takeoff.…

AI might not be ready to take your job yet, said Billy Perrigo in Time. AI company Anthropic recently conducted an experiment to see if its chatbot, Claude, “could successfully run a small shop in the company’s San Francisco office.” The shop “was actually just a small fridge with an iPad attached,” but Claude was tasked with procuring the inventory (with $1,000 to start), setting prices, and communicating with customers about what items to supply. Things began smoothly until Anthropic’s employees persuaded Claude to start “giving away items for free.” Then they went further. The bot “refused their attempts to get it to sell them illegal items, like methamphetamine,” but it did accept an order for 40 tungsten cubes. Things got weirder when Claude hallucinated conversations with nonexistent customers, once…

The world’s only nonprofit Antarctic research program, Oceanites (oceanites.org), has been counting and studying Antarctic penguins since 1994. Scientists rely on its penguin database, as do krill fishers, tour operators, and governments. Through field visits and drone footage, Oceanites scientists have collected penguin data from more than 250 different places in the polar region, where temperatures are warming rapidly. The number of penguins in the area directly correlates to ocean temperatures, which are warming due to climate change, and the resulting shrinking sea ice. Penguins depend on the ice, on which they breed and raise their chicks, who molt there for weeks. Melting sea ice has even moved some penguins into habitats beyond their traditional colonies. In its field studies, Oceanites also analyzes the effects of ship-based tourism on penguin…

Jonathan Levin Bloomberg The unemployment rate might be low, but it’s hard to find a job these days, said Jonathan Levin. The June jobs report released last week showed that the economy added 147,000 jobs and the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%, “a number that economists have long considered just about as good as it gets.” However, a closer inspection doesn’t reveal “an economy that’s firing on all cylinders.” Consider that, of those jobs added in June, 73,000 came from the government (mostly state and local). The rest were primarily driven by growth in the health care and social assistance category. The small decline in the unemployment rate also “seemed to stem from people leaving the labor force—not usually a good thing.” That rate could reflect the foreign-born workforce contracting…

Jimmy Swaggart was larger than life, even when his misdeeds brought him low. The Pentecostal minister started as a $30-a-week itinerant Louisiana preacher and rose to become the head of a televangelism empire in the 1980s, raking in $150 million a year and broadcasting music-​filled services to more than 140 countries. An old-school, thundering counterpoint to more genteel peers such as Jim Bakker, Swaggart would stride the stage, warning of hellfire and shouting, “Satan, you’re in for a whupping!” Then, in 1988, it all began to fall apart. After a rival minister shared photos of him entering a seedy motel with a prostitute, Swaggart delivered a histrionic apology before 7,000 parishioners. Through copious tears, sobbing and shouting, Swaggart abased himself, stirring the crowd into such a frenzy that some began…

This week’s question: The Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band that plays generic ’70s rock, is now racking up more than 1 million listeners a month on Spotify. If the group were to release a rock song encouraging listeners to abandon human artists and embrace AI-produced music, what would it be titled? Last week’s contest: A man flew for free for six years—taking at least 120 trips on seven airlines—by posing as a flight attendant. If Hollywood were to make a crime caper about this well-traveled counterfeit crew member, what would it be titled? THE WINNER: “High Planes Grifter” Evelyn Eman Delmar, Northbrook, Ill. SECOND PLACE: “Fakes on a Plane” Ken Kellam III, Dallas THIRD PLACE: “The Man Who Flew Too Much” Anthony Race, Great Barrington, Mass. For runners-up and complete…