SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " speaker " 835 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
APSU to spotlight tech, economic development leaders during fall Legends of Business series
The Austin Peay State University College of Business and Legends Bank will bring guest speakers to campus this fall as part of the Legends of Business speaker series.
Data center bill could help shield Americans from rising energy costs
WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing Americans' energy bills from spiking because of nearby data centers, according to Speaker
Ikea supersized its cheap Bluetooth speaker and added an optical input
The new Badkruka speaker can wirelessly connect to your mobile devices or tether to your home theater.
Charlie Kirk built a political movement. His followers say politics was never the point
Speakers Glenn Beck and Michael Knowles said Kirk will be remembered for religious impact
Iran war largely ignored at the Republican midterm convention
Aside from mentions by Trump and top administration officials, speakers at the convention mostly avoided talking about the war.
Fact check: Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention
President Donald Trump delivered another rapid-fire series of false claims on the second night of Republicans’ midterm convention on Thursday. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did his own barrage of wrongness. And various other speakers uttered statements that were untrue, misleading or missing critical context.
Fact check: Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention
(CNN) — President Donald Trump delivered another rapid-fire series of false claims on the second night of Republicans’ midterm convention on Thursday. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did his own barrage of wrongness. And various other speakers uttered statements that were untrue, misleading or missing critical context.Here is a fact check of some of the assertions from the final day of the convention. This is not intended as a comprehensive list of Thursday’s falsehoods.Trump’s many false claimsTrump made numerous false claims, some of which he also made in his longer speech Wednesday.Trump claimed that there were “no empty seats” in the Dallas arena as he spoke Thursday, which was visibly untrue. CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene, who was there, wrote in a live chat right after Trump made the claim that “I’m looking at rows of empty seats” and that “the idea that there are ‘no empty seats’ is just laughably untrue,” though she also said the room was mostly full. Trump has for years made false claims about supposedly never having had an empty seat.Trump further inflated one of his favorite fictional figures, claiming Thursday that “$22 trillion” in investment has come into the US; on Wednesday, he had put it at “over $20 trillion,” and even that lower figure has no apparent basis in reality. As of the time he spoke Thursday, the White House’s own website claimed there had been “$11.2 trillion” in “major investment announcements” this term, not “over $20 trillion,” and the White House figure was itself a major exaggeration of actual investment.Trump, talking about elections, lied that “there’s never been bigger cheaters” than Democrats; there is no basis for broadly describing Democrats as election cheaters. For the second straight night, Trump falsely claimed that the Biden administration allowed “25 million people” to pour into the country, though that number is nowhere close to correct. Trump again falsely claimed that former President Joe Biden and other Democrats “created the worst inflation in American history,” though even peak Biden-era inflation, 9.1% in June 2022, was far from the all-time record of 23.7%; it was a 40-year high, but the rate then fell sharply before Trump returned to office.Trump also baselessly claimed that Democrats would “defund the police” and give “voting rights and welfare to 25 million illegal aliens” if they won the midterms. Republicans will still control the White House in 2027 and 2028 and the president would be in position to veto any such changes if a Democratic-controlled Congress sought to make them, but there is no indication that Democrats want to do so. Also, even groups favoring strict immigration policies estimate that the total undocumented population is far less than “25 million” or even 20 million.As he did Wednesday, Trump claimed the US now has the world’s lowest prescription drug prices. The assertion is so broad that it is unclear what exactly Trump is referencing. But experts told CNN they highly doubt that the prices for brand-name drugs in the US are generally less than they are in other countries, and the Trump administration has not provided details to prove the claim.“It’s tough to claim that you’re getting the lowest prices anywhere in the world and then also not have any evidence to support that,” said Andrew Mulcahy, a senior health economist at RAND, while Diederik Stadig, senior healthcare economist at financial institution ING, said, “To say that the US now has the lowest drug prices in the world is at this moment not true.”And as he did Wednesday, Trump said “more Americans are working today than ever before” – which is true but nearly meaningless, since the number of people working in the US generally rises over time simply because the population rises over time.“There are more Americans working because there are more Americans. That’s the entire analysis,” Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan professor of public policy and economics, wrote in his newsletter in August.RFK Jr.’s false claims on the pandemic, Trump’s record and moreFalse claim about Democrats and the 2024 electionKennedy unsuccessfully ran for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination before withdrawing to run as an independent and then eventually endorsing Republican candidate Donald Trump. In Kennedy’s Thursday convention speech, he complained of how the Democrats handled the nomination race.At one point, he said, “For the first time in history, they cancelled their own convention. No voter ever cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris, no elected delegate was ever consulted; the party of ‘No Kings’ simply anointed a queen.”Kennedy is entitled to express unhappiness about how quickly Democratic leaders coalesced around then-Vice President Harris after Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the race in July 2024, after the primaries were over and less than four months from Election Day. But it’s not true that the party canceled its convention or that delegates didn’t get any say.The convention was held; it was a four-day event in Chicago in August 2024. Democratic convention delegates officially nominated Harris in a virtual roll call vote in advance of the convention. It’s true that Harris was the only candidate on the roll call ballot, but that’s because she was the only candidate who gathered enough delegate signatures to appear on the ballot.It’s clear that party elites’ backing of Harris played a key role in the unusual nomination process. But Kennedy’s specific allegations that the convention was abandoned and delegates were cut out of the process are not true.False claim that Democrats closed ‘every church’ during the Covid-19 pandemicWhile attacking Democrats, Kennedy claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, “They closed every church in our country for a year.”It’s not true that every church in the country was closed for a year, nor even that every church in a Democratic state was closed for a year.Every state issued some type of guidance or order about social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, but many states – including some led by Democrats and some led by Republicans – incorporated religious exemptions into those limitations on social interactions.According to a Pew Research Center analysis from April 2020, 15 states allowed religious gatherings to continue without a limit on their size. That set of states included Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which all had Democratic governors. And at least two states with Republican governors, Alaska and Idaho, were among the states that prohibited religious gatherings at least briefly.False claim that Trump ‘ended nine wars’Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has ended “eight wars.” Kennedy went one higher on Thursday, declaring, “President Trump has ended nine wars.”That’s false. Trump hasn’t even ended eight wars.Trump’s list of eight includes two situations that were never actually wars during his tenure: a diplomatic dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia and a mysterious supposed situation between Serbia and Kosovo. The list also includes a war, involving Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that hasn’t actually ended despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration.In addition, the list includes the war between Israel and Hamas, but Israel continues to conduct frequent attacks in Gaza despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreement. And it includes the brief 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran, though Israel proceeded to join the US in starting another war against Iran in 2026.Claim about reversing a decline in longevityKennedy speaking of the Trump administration, claimed Thursday: “We have now reversed a 30-year decline in longevity. “Kennedy referenced preliminary data that he said he had received from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, but it’s unclear what metric of longevity he’s referring to.CDC data shows that US life expectancy had been steadily increasing for decades before a sharp drop during the Covid-19 pandemic. Life expectancy had already started to rebound in 2022, under the Biden administration, and reached a new record high in 2024 before Trump’s second term began.Preliminary data shared by the CDC in July suggests that life expectancy probably hit another record high in 2025.CNN has reached out to HHS for clarification on Kennedy’s comments.Claim that Democrats ‘lost 360,000 children’Speaking about Democrats, Kennedy said: “They somehow lost 360,000 children and they turned our federal government into the biggest child trafficking operation in world history.”Trump and other Republicans have made similar claims. But there’s no basis for the assertion that Democrats “lost” so many children or that the federal government was engaged in human trafficking.A 2024 report from the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reported that more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children failed to appear as scheduled for immigration court hearings after being released or transferred out of custody between fiscal years 2019 and 2023 – a period that, notably, includes two years and four months under the first Trump administration. The report also said that 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children during this period were not given notices to appear in court.The report said that ICE had “no assurances” these children “are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.” But it did not say all the children were actually “lost” and did not definitively assert that any of them were trafficked – let alone that the government was somehow involved in a trafficking operation. And, again, the report spanned parts of both a Republican administration and a Democratic administration.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told CNN in 2024: “Long story short, no, there are not 320,000 kids missing. 32,000 kids missed court. That doesn’t mean they’re missing, it means they missed court (either because their sponsor didn’t bring them or they are teenagers who didn’t want to show up). The remaining 291,000 cases mentioned by the (Office of the Inspector General) are cases where ICE hasn’t filed the paperwork to start their immigration court cases.”Vance on inflation, crime and taxes on Social SecurityA false claim about the media and Biden-era inflationVice President JD Vance mocked the media during part of his speech on Thursday. But he made a false claim about Biden-era inflation while lampooning how the media supposedly challenged him over another false claim on that subject.Vance said: “The president and I would go during a campaign, we’d say, ‘You know, inflation is as high as it’s been in 100 years,’ and the fake news would say, ‘No, no, no, it’s as high as it’s been in 68 years.’ That ain’t good, ladies and gentlemen.”Mainstream journalists, at least, wouldn’t say that inflation under Biden was as high as it had been “in 68 years.” Rather, CNN and others noted that peak inflation under the Biden administration, 9.1% in June 2022, was the highest in about 40 years.Vance is entitled to make his general point that this correction still doesn’t make Biden-era inflation sound good, but his specific number was, again, wrong. And he didn’t acknowledge that inflation fell sharply under Biden after hitting the 40-year high, declining to 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump and Vance were inaugurated.The rate was 3.4% in July 2026, the most recent month for which data is available.Trump didn’t end taxes on Social SecurityVance claimed, “We’ve ended taxes on Social Security.” Several other convention speakers, including Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Ohio House candidate Derek Merrin, similarly said the administration has achieved “no tax on Social Security.”It hasn’t. The big domestic policy bill Trump signed in 2025 did create an additional, temporary $6,000-per-year tax deduction for individuals age 65 and older (which phases out for individuals earning $75,000 per year or more), but as the White House has implicitly acknowledged, millions of Social Security recipients will continue to pay taxes on their benefits even before the temporary new deduction expires after 2028.The Social Security Administration said in 2025 that “the bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.Claim about violent crime rate under BidenWhile criticizing the Biden administration, Vice President JD Vance claimed Thursday that the US “became a country where violent crime exploded, unless, of course, you could afford private security.”But violent crime did not explode under Biden. In fact, as FactCheck.org reported last month, data collected and published by the FBI shows that the national violent crime rate was at a lower level in 2023 and 2024, the last two full calendar years of Biden’s term, than it was in 2020, the last full calendar year of Trump’s first term. The year 2020 was highly unusual in many ways – violent crime jumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic – but Biden nonetheless left office with violent crime lower than it was when he took over. In fact, the 2024 violent crime rate was even lower than the 2019 rate under Trump before the pandemic.There was an increase in violent crime during the earlier part of Biden’s term. But given the subsequent decline, it’s misleading at best to claim violent crime “exploded” with no further context.Asked earlier this month about Trump’s similar previous claims to have reversed a Biden-era upswing in violence, crime data expert Jeff Asher said in an email: “No, crime began dropping significantly in 2023 during the Biden administration. Murder fell at record rates in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and, while 2026 may not feature a record decline nationally, it is still on track to see a sizable double-digit decline this year. Violent crime similarly fell nationally in 2023 and 2024, though the drops were more muted than the decline that was recorded by the FBI in 2025.”Other GOP speakersMike Johnson’s false claim about the inflation Republicans inherited from BidenSome other speakers at the convention took aim at inflation under Biden. House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that “Republicans inherited from the Biden administration record-high inflation.”That’s not true. The inflation rate was 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump took over. That’s lower than the most recent rate, 3.4% in July 2026, and nowhere close to the all-time record of 23.7%, which was reached in 1920, or the highest point of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, 14.8%, which was reached in 1980.Johnson correctly said moments later that inflation reached “a 40-year high of 9.1% inflation” under Biden. But a 40-year high is not an all-time record. More importantly, Johnson didn’t explain that 9.1% was much higher than the rate Trump inherited or that the 9.1% rate occurred in June 2022, with roughly two-and-a-half years left in Biden’s term.The cumulative increase in prices from the beginning of the Biden administration to the end was also not the highest in US history. Federal figures show that beginning-to-end inflation under Biden was less than half of that during Carter’s term.What Johnson left out of his claim about a congressional resolutionWhile attacking Democrats as extreme, Johnson said: “Just last week, nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against condemning socialism and Marxism. They voted against it.”But the resolution didn’t use the word “Marxism.” And Johnson didn’t mention that the resolution wasn’t only about condemning socialism. Rather, it contained other language that Democratic leadership said was the focus of the party’s opposition to the resolution.The resolution’s first provision said it “condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.” But its fifth provision said it “calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act,” Trump’s favored elections bill, which contains various provisions opposed by many Democrats.So while it’s very possible many Democrats would have opposed the resolution even without its expression of support for the SAVE America Act, the call to pass this elections bill served as a poison pill that ensured most Democrats wouldn’t support it.“House Resolution 1490 explicitly calls for enactment of the so-called SAVE America Act, which is the top legislative priority of far-right extremists,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement last week.A New Mexico candidate left out key context in an attack on his opponentGreg Cunningham, a Republican House candidate in New Mexico, used some of his Thursday speech to criticize his Democratic opponent, Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Cunningham said of Vasquez: “He even voted against a resolution honoring the sacrifices and service of the brave men and women in law enforcement who protect, every day, our communities.”But Cunningham left out important context about the resolution. While its focus was expressing support for law enforcement, its preamble contained statements praising the Trump administration and criticizing “leftist activists,” “progressive politicians” and “sanctuary city policies” for allegedly making law enforcement less safe.In other words, a House member might vote against such a resolution, as the vast majority of Democrats did, because they disagreed with conservative components of it, not the general expressions of support for law enforcement. (CNN has reached out to Vasquez’s campaign and House office for comment on his vote.) It’s common for parties to write resolutions in a way that would make it difficult for opponents to support but would open those opponents to campaign attacks if they voted “no.”An Ohio candidate’s misleading attack about Democrats and votingMerrin, the Republican candidate running against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur for a House seat in Ohio, claimed in his speech, “While Democrats talk about letting illegal immigrants vote in our election, Republicans fight for proof of citizenship, photo ID and fair elections.”It’s a big country, so it’s possible some Democrat somewhere is talking about letting undocumented people vote in some election. But Merrin’s claim is misleading at best. There is no proposal from Democrats in Congress to let undocumented people vote in the 2026 midterms – the election Merrin appeared to be referring to when he said “our election” – or vote in future federal elections.CNN has reached out to Merrin’s campaign for an explanation of his claim.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise invoked a similar theme in his speech Wednesday, claiming that Democrats had voted last week “to allow illegals to vote in our federal elections.” But there was no congressional vote on letting undocumented immigrants vote in any elections.Rather, there was a vote on the non-binding Republican resolution that included multiple provisions, including one that “reiterates the notion that American elections are for American citizens only,” one supporting Trump’s favored elections bill and one denouncing socialism.Opposing that multi-clause resolution doesn’t necessarily mean someone supports voting by any non-citizens, let alone non-citizens in the country illegally.This article has been updated with additional items.CNN’s Deja Oliver contributed to this report.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Fears of a Democratic Wave Push Texas to Center Stage at G.O.P. Convention
A parade of speakers focused on crucial races in the reliably red Texas, where Democrats are running close, or even ahead, of Republican nominees.
Workforce Summit speaker to tackle 'the generation divide'
She was one of the most attended speakers at last year's WIN in Workforce Summit – and this year she's back with a message that's applicable across workplace generations.
Key takeaways from day one of the Republican midterm convention
The two-day convention ends tonight, but not before many other speakers address the event, including Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. NPR's Tamara Keith joined us to break down the events.
Tunisia: Authorities must immediately release Rached Ghannouchi amid severe fair trial violations and serious health concerns
Tunisian authorities must release prominent opposition politician Rached Ghannouchi, quash his convictions and end the politically motivated prosecutions against him marred by significant due process violations, Amnesty International said today. The organization is also urgently calling for him to receive access to adequate healthcare pending his release. The 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party and former Speaker of Parliament has been held in arbitrary detention since his arrest in April […]
Fact-checking the Republican midterm convention night 1
Some of the speakers at the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday made false or misleading claims.
Fact-checking the Republican midterm convention night 1
(CNN) — Some of the speakers at the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday made false or misleading claims.
How 9/11 changed NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin's life and set her on a path to politics
Labor Day rally held in Ellsworth
Uplifting workers was a key focus of Monday's Labor Day rally in Ellsworth, which featured multiple speakers, musicians and a march led by veterans down Main Street.
CobbleStone® Announces Four Business Solutions Director John O'Brien as Featured Speaker at User Conference 2026
/PRNewswire/ -- CobbleStone Software, a recognized leader in contract lifecycle management (CLM) and contract artificial intelligence, is pleased to announce...
Optimal Blue announces initial speaker lineup for 2027 Summit
IMAGE CAPTION: Optimal Blue announces initial speaker lineup for 2027 Summit | Optimal Blue today announced its initial speaker lineup for its 2027 Optimal Blue Summit, including Analyst, ESPN Monday
Revival of Hope returns to Winterville with national speakers, mental health workshops
The free, two-day community event will run Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, under a large tent on East Fire Tower Road in Winterville.
Andrew Davis Returns to Mission for Inaugural Small Business Expo
Internationally recognized marketing speaker and bestselling author Andrew Davis is returning to Mission to serve as the keynote speaker at the inaugural Mission Small Business Expo, a free, daylong event that connects entrepreneurs with information, resources and opportunities to grow their businesses.
CSU biology professor delivers talk on extremophilic microorganisms, research advancements
Thomas Santangelo began the department of biology’s fall semester seminar series at Colorado State University strong, presenting the progressive research behind microorganisms in extreme environments and how those observations can inform future research about biological resilience and adaptation. Santangelo, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at CSU, was the main speaker of the “Surprises...
Leading Public Health Through Uncertainty: Insights from the PH WINS Pulse Check
State and local public health workers report growing strain amid recent sociopolitical changes that affect their day-to-day. At de Beaumont’s recent webinar, speakers shared and discussed data from the PH WINS Pulse Check, a 2026 survey designed to gather the perspectives of individual public health workers, including how workforce conditions have shifted since the Public […]
What’s on tap for third season of Cedar Rapids Storytellers?
Four speakers will share true, personal stories on the theme of “Against The Grain.” Also in entertainment news, Orchestra Iowa is branching out with a Barrels & Brass concert series.
At a Labor Day weekend rally in Concord, the economy and politics are top of mind
Speakers outside the New Hampshire State House urged people to get out the vote for Tuesday's state primary election.
Qalibaf Mocks Bessent’s ‘Liftoff’ Claims, Highlights US Economic Pressures
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf responded to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks about the US economy and oil prices, highlighting mounting economic and financial pressures facing Washington.
The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers
Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??
BCM to feature radio personality Dallas Wayne
BRISTOL — Join the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. for their next Speaker Session featuring musician and radio personality Dallas Wayne.
Dresses For Pink hosts health fair
Dresses for Pink and Lily Missionary Baptist Church will host a free health and wellness fair Sept. 19 in Letohatchee, offering screenings, speakers, nutritioni...
Black Mamas Matter Alliance to host maternal health confernce and training in Atlanta
Today the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA, Inc.) has announced the plenary speakers for its 2026 Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute® (BMHC26) taking place September 10–12, 2026, at the Renaissance Waverly Atlanta Hotel and Convention Center (2450 Galleria Pkwy SE). Founded and led by BMMA, Inc., the Black Maternal Health Conference and Training […]
Warrior Defined: Men’s mental health event in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Warrior Defined is a men’s mental health event that gives back to local nonprofits. The event is taking place on September 25 to talk about issues theyR…
Mike Johnson presses Democrats on court-packing: ‘Put their money where their mouth is’
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered a vote on packing the U.S. Supreme Court that was doomed from the get-go but aimed at getting Democrats on the record for
GOP Lawmakers Discuss Economic Development At W.Va. Chamber Business Summit
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – The final day of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce 90th Annual Meeting and Business Summit at the Greenbrier wrapped up Friday morning with Republican lawmakers talking about the state’s economic future. House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, moderated a panel discussion with House Judiciary Committee Chairman JB Akers, R-Kanawha; state Sen. […]
Foldable 'iPhone Ultra' Still Likely to Be Missing These Five Features
Apple's first foldable iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone Ultra," is expected to launch without at least four features that will be present on the iPhone 18 Pro models, despite a price tag of at least $2,000. The iPhone Air lacks Ultra Wide and Telephoto rear cameras, a SIM card slot, and stereo speakers.
Paul Ryan: Current state of politics ‘fundamentally unserious’
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) blasted the current state of American politics, arguing that both parties have focused on embracing populism rather than serious efforts to rein in the natio…
Looking for health information in Spanish? Discover UCHealth’s news site and Facebook community.
As Colorado's Hispanic population continues to grow, UCHealth offers trusted health information in Spanish, interpreter services and a welcoming community for Spanish speakers.
Apple Is Testing a Four-HomePod Surround System, Code Suggests
Apple appears to be working on some major new HomePod home theater features, including a four-speaker surround sound system and a new "Party Mode," according to code found in audioOS 27 beta 8, and shared on the MacRumors forums by member pdfu. References in the software for the second-generation HomePod suggest the ability to tune for a setup with front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right HomePods.
Qalibaf Mocks US over Oil, Treasury Yield Pressures
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Parliament speaker warned that the US is facing growing pressure from rising oil futures prices, elevated Treasury yields and the depletion of the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), saying the consequences of US’ policies are increasingly difficult to conceal.
The Woodlands Chamber announces Speakers for the 2026 Woodlands Area Business Summit
The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce an impressive slate of speakers for the 2026 Woodlands Area Business Summit, presented by
Speakers, Panelists Announced for Sept. 15 ‘Making Democracy Work’ Conference
This is a story about the speakers and panelists for the Sept. 15 Millersville University conference 'Making Democracy Work.'
PARCA to host Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter for speaker series
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama is hosting Cook Political Report's Amy Walter as part of its 2026 speaker series
Keynotes announced for Iowa Startup Week
Iowa Startup Week has announced the agenda for the four-day event designed to spotlight and celebrate entrepreneurship in Iowa. The event will be held in Des MoinesSept. 28 through Oct. 1. The following keynote speakers are among those that have been announced:
Anker’s Sleep Speaker uses radar and flower power to help you relax
The Sleep Speaker uses millimeter-wave radar synced to binaural beats and lighting to deepen relaxation.
Two Democrats bail out Speaker Mike Johnson after he faces internal revolt
Speaker Mike Johnson nearly lost control of the House floor — again — because of a group of disgruntled conservatives.
The 21 seats Mike Johnson says will decide the House majority
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, is eyeing 21 seats that will determine the House majority in the November midterm elections, including Colorado’s Congressional District 8. Johnson pointed to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s 21 toss-up seats, before rattling off a list of the races he is watching particularly closely. “Those 21 or so seats that are […]
Johnson quells House GOP rebellion to advance anti-socialism resolution
A group of House Republicans threatened to upend Speaker Mike Johnson's plans this week in protest of his handling of federal spending.
Sony’s new party speakers have more bass, more LEDs, and more connectivity
Sony’s got three new party speakers for bass lovers.
House to vote on stopgap funding bill as lawmakers scramble to avoid government shutdown
Speaker Mike Johnson to launch a floor vote designed to prevent any federal shutdown before the November midterms
JBL Just Introduced A Trio Of Wi-Fi Speakers For Whole-Home Audio
The Cove series is a major departure for JBL.
Mothman Festival announces vendor, safety, entertainment updates ahead of September return
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Preparations are continuing for the 2026 Mothman Festival, with organizers announcing new guest speakers and live music acts while sharing updates on vendors, security and tips
How to improve your audio quality on Apple CarPlay
Make the music in your car sound better by making some easy tweaks to improve CarPlay's audio quality. You don't need to upgrade your car speakers just yet.
Politics Now: August 29, 2026
This week on Politics Now with host John Langeler: Nevada sues over the Colorado River plan House Speaker Michael Johnson campaigns in Las Vegas Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto on escalating …
Herring Gut Coastal Science Center's Learn-Discover-Grow Series: OCEAN GREENS
Seaweed in the past has been a misunderstood part of our marine world. Until recently it has always been seen through the lens of a slimy gross weed that no one likes to touch while swimming. Now, seaweed is being seen as a way to help diversify careers, feed livestock, and help solve climate change. This Learn Discover Grow event will focus on highlighting the importance of seaweed and how mid coast businesses are utilizing these ocean greens. First we will watch the film “Ocean Greens” (link below) online at the WaterBear network. We will then take time to talk to our wonderful guest speakers about how they use seaweed in their business! Our speakers are, Allison Lakin from Lakin’s Gorges Cheese, Gabriela Acero from wolfpeach, and Lauren & Greg Soutiea from the Causeway Restaurant at the Craignair. Watch the video ahead of time: Title of video: Ocean Greens Link: https://www.waterbear.com/player/62389235111f77a1b677ded9 Create an account, it's free. Guest speakers: Allison Lakin, Lakin’s Gorges Cheese at East Forty Farm Gabriela Acero, Wolfpeach Lauren & Greg Soutiea, The Causeway Restaurant REGISTRANTS WILL RECEIVE A ZOOM LINK PRIOR TO THE EVENT
Maine candidates call for faster approvals to spark housing
Former House Speaker Hannah Pingree said the state needs to ensure that it has a trained workforce to produce more housing and that it will be important for the new governor to set a tone that housing is a critical economic need.
Gov. Sanders appoints former House speaker to Arkansas TV commission
Gov. Sarah Sanders announced the following appointments: Arkansas Educational Television Commission Jeremy Gillam, Greenbrier, to the Arkansas Educational Television Commission. Term to expire March 23, 2034. Replaces Woody Freeman. Gillam...
Commencement Speakers’ Politics Vary by Institution Type
A new study from researchers at Georgia State and New York Universities finds that commencement speakers skew liberal. But the type and location of the institution can make a difference in who is invited to speak.
Developer highlights philosophy, successful projects in North Texas
Monte Anderson, a nationally recognized developer, speaker and educator, encouraged area developers to be creative with underused neighborhood developments instead of tearing them down as available land becomes scarce. Anderson...
Colorado lawmaker, House leaders named in workplace-retaliation lawsuit
A former legislative aide has filed a lawsuit alleging she was mistreated, illegally directed to perform campaign work and harmed by a House leadership structure she says was fragmented, politicized and ineffective at protecting employees. The lawsuit, filed by Jennifer Chick, names Littleton Democratic Rep. Sheila Lieder, House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillon and House […]
House Speaker Mike Johnson headed to New Mexico to campaign for Greg Cunningham against Gabe Vasquez
House Speaker Mike Johnson is headed to New Mexico on Tuesday to campaign with Greg Cunningham, the Republican candidate looking to oust Democratic Congressman Gabe Vasquez in the sprawling Second Congressional District covering Southern New Mexico and Albuquerque’s Westside. This story was originally published at New Mexico Political Report, a nonprofit news service covering politics […]
GOP Iowa governor candidate Zach Lahn touts economic populism at event
Republican governor candidate Zach Lahn presented an agenda to Iowa business leaders that he said was built around an “economic sort of populism.\
Invest more in human capabilities as AI advances, health leaders urge
Speakers at HIMSS26 APAC say better health outcomes would require redesigning health systems to harness AI.
Entertainment Commentator, Speaker & Analyst Scott Steinberg
Entertainment commentator, on-air analyst, keynote speaker and consultant Scott Steinberg. Pop culture consulting expert: Music movies TV video games books - 3000 brands served!
5 Car Speaker Upgrades With Superb Audio Quality
These five car speaker upgrades can transform your audio system with richer sound, clearer vocals, deeper bass and superb overall audio quality.
Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly
President Trump’s son-in-law and the man in line to be speaker of a Democratic-led House discussed how Democrats and the administration could work together.
Letter to the editor: Politics explains frequent commission speakers
Lawrence Brannen says politics is the reasons for the frequent return speakers at Richmond County Commission.
WHO RUNS MARYLAND POLITICS NOW?
ByThe Maryland Wire The Machine Didn’t Die — It Broke Apart Mike Miller is gone. Steny Hoyer is retiring. The two men who helped define Maryland political power for generations are disappearing from the map. Nobody has inherited all of what they controlled. Instead, Maryland power has fractured among Wes Moore, legislative leaders, county organizations, federal figures and a new generation fighting to connect the pieces. By The Maryland Wire For decades, there were two names in Maryland politics that required almost no explanation. Mike Miller. Steny Hoyer. You didn’t necessarily have to agree with them. You didn’t even have to like them. But everyone understood something: Not social-media power. Not cable-news power. Not the temporary power that comes from one big election. They possessed political infrastructure. Relationships. Institutional memory. Donors. Staff. Allies. County leaders. Lobbyists. Legislators. Operatives. And the ability to connect people who needed something with people capable of delivering it. Today one is gone. The other is preparing to leave Congress after more than four decades. And Maryland faces a question it hasn’t had to answer in generations: The answer may be: Nobody. At least not the way Miller once did. Maryland’s old machine wasn’t inherited by one person. It fragmented. And now several ambitious political networks are competing to assemble the pieces. Miller presided over the Maryland Senate for 33 years, becoming one of the longest-serving legislative leaders in American history. He stepped down as Senate president in 2019 and died in January 2021. (Behavioral and Social Sciences) But Miller’s real power wasn’t the title printed on his door. It was the accumulation of relationships behind it. Miller came from Maryland’s old Democratic organization and developed into an extraordinarily adaptable political operator, retaining authority even as the Senate around him became younger and more liberal. (The Washington Post) He understood something fundamental: politics is information. Who wants what? Who owes whom? Which senator needs help? Which county executive wants something in the budget? Which committee chairman can move a bill? Which lobbyist represents which client? Which candidate should receive support today because that candidate could be a senator ten years from now? Miller knew the answers because he’d spent decades collecting them. Miller’s influence wasn’t confined to elected officials. Former Miller aides became prominent Annapolis lobbyists. Maryland Matters noted figures such as Joseph Bryce and Timothy Perry among the high-profile lobbyists who had once served as top Miller aides. (Maryland Matters) That was one of Miller’s greatest political achievements. He didn’t merely accumulate power around himself. He produced alumni. Staffers became lobbyists. Legislators became committee chairs. Allies became power brokers. And decades of relationships reinforced one another. By the end, Mike Miller wasn’t simply a person. He was an ecosystem. Hoyer’s network was different. Miller’s power was rooted in Annapolis. Hoyer connected Maryland to Washington. He served in the Maryland Senate before winning election to Congress in 1981 and ultimately became one of the longest-serving members of the U.S. House and a longtime No. 2 in House Democratic leadership. In January 2026, Hoyer announced that he would retire rather than seek another term. (The Washington Post) His influence stretched through: Prince George’s County, Southern Maryland, Congress, federal agencies, donors, campaign organizations, and generations of Democratic candidates. And Hoyer had something machine builders value enormously: a succession network. That became obvious almost immediately. When Hoyer announced his retirement, Maryland’s 5th Congressional District exploded with candidates. Twenty-four Democrats entered the race. But when the votes were counted, the winner was Adrian Boafo, Hoyer’s former campaign manager. Boafo wasn’t running without establishment help. He was endorsed by Hoyer. He was endorsed by Governor Wes Moore. And he ultimately won the Democratic nomination. (AP News) In his victory speech, Boafo described the result as voters deciding it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.” (AP News) That phrase captures the transition perfectly. Hoyer’s seat isn’t simply being vacated. Parts of his network are being transferred. But they aren’t being transferred to another Steny Hoyer. They’re being absorbed into a newer political constellation. And standing prominently inside that constellation is Wes Moore. If someone forces you to name the single person sitting nearest the center of Maryland Democratic politics today, the answer is Governor Wes Moore. The 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary underscored the scale of his position. Moore won renomination overwhelmingly, receiving roughly 88% of the Democratic primary vote. (WBAL-TV) But raw votes tell only part of the story. Look at the party infrastructure. The Maryland Democratic Party says Steuart Pittman ran for state party chairman in 2025 “at the suggestion of Governor Wes Moore.” Pittman took office that July. (The Maryland Democratic Party) That’s important. Governors traditionally influence their state parties. But party leadership plus fundraising, endorsements, executive appointments and national relationships creates the beginning of something bigger: a political network that could survive the governor’s term. Moore also played a role in the Hoyer succession by backing Boafo. That’s how political organizations reproduce themselves. You support tomorrow’s politician today. And that’s the distinction that matters. Moore has enormous statewide visibility. Miller had decades of accumulated legislative control. Moore can endorse candidates. Miller could influence the environment in which legislators lived every day. Committee assignments. Leadership positions. Legislative priorities. Relationships that had been accumulating since before many current lawmakers entered politics. Moore may have a larger national profile than Miller ever possessed. But he doesn’t possess Miller’s half-century of Annapolis memory. Nobody does. Which is why the modern Maryland political structure looks less like a pyramid and more like several power centers connected by overlapping relationships. One of those centers belongs to Senate President Bill Ferguson. Ferguson controls an institution no governor can simply command. The Senate. Maryland’s official 2026 legislative records identify Ferguson as Senate President. (Maryland General Assembly) That means influence over: committee structure, Senate leadership, legislative priorities, confirmations, and negotiations with the House and governor. But Ferguson is not Mike Miller 2.0. Miller’s extraordinary longevity allowed him to become almost inseparable from the institution. Ferguson possesses the office. Miller possessed the office plus decades of political mythology and accumulated relationships. Those aren’t the same thing. The House now has its own new center of gravity. Official 2026 legislative records identify Joseline Peña-Melnyk as Speaker of the House of Delegates, alongside Ferguson as Senate President. (Maryland General Assembly) That makes the current Maryland governing triangle: Executive power. Senate power. House power. None fully controls the others. And that fact alone demonstrates how different modern Maryland is from the Miller era. The governor proposes. The legislature disposes. Committee leaders negotiate. County interests intervene. And political coalitions shift issue by issue. That’s not one machine. That’s a networked power structure. Then there’s U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks. Her significance isn’t that she is the new Hoyer. She isn’t. Hoyer spent decades constructing his network. Alsobrooks brings something different: Prince George’s County roots, a statewide electoral organization, a United States Senate platform, and relationships with national Democratic leaders. That makes her a critical bridge between Maryland and Washington at precisely the moment Hoyer leaves. Hoyer’s retirement therefore doesn’t necessarily weaken Prince George’s influence. It changes who carries it. Prince George’s itself is undergoing a dramatic generational transition. Official 2026 results show Aisha Braveboy winning the Democratic County Executive primary with 87,944 votes and 73.31% of the vote. (Maryland State Board of Elections) That’s political infrastructure. Prince George’s is one of Maryland’s central Democratic vote engines. A county executive with that level of primary support gains: appointments, budget influence, organizational relationships, donor access, and a platform for cultivating the next generation of political leadership. Braveboy therefore isn’t merely another person on the Maryland power map. She controls a place from which a political organization can be built. Boafo is particularly interesting because he sits almost perfectly at the intersection between the old and new worlds. He worked for Hoyer. Hoyer endorsed him. Moore endorsed him. Then Boafo beat an enormous Democratic field for Hoyer’s seat. (AP News) That doesn’t make him powerful on Hoyer’s scale. He’s just beginning. But it illustrates how power actually transfers: not through a ceremonial handoff, but through endorsements, donors, staff, relationships, and voter confidence. Boafo may become Hoyer’s congressional successor. He will not automatically inherit Hoyer’s 40-plus years of political capital. That part has to be rebuilt. This is the part that often gets overlooked. When a machine breaks apart, power doesn’t only move upward. Some people’s relationships become less valuable. Former Miller aides still know Annapolis. Former Miller allies still possess institutional memory. Veteran lobbyists don’t forget how legislation works. But something fundamental disappeared when Miller did: the common center. The person capable of connecting all of them instantly was gone. That changes the value of a political network. Imagine knowing everybody in Annapolis. Useful. Now imagine the person who introduced many of those people, appointed committee chairs, influenced Senate priorities and understood decades of relationships is simultaneously Senate President. Much more useful. Remove that person and the individual relationships remain. But the system becomes decentralized. First: Bill Ferguson. The Senate’s institutional relationships now run through his leadership rather than Miller’s. Second: the House leadership. With the Miller-Busch generation gone, today’s House leaders are building their own committee chairs, alliances and relationships. Third: Wes Moore. Moore became governor after Miller was gone. That distinction matters. Earlier governors had to operate with Miller sitting across State Circle. Moore entered office during a generational reset. Instead of negotiating with the old machine, he has the opportunity to help build the next network. Fourth: Angela Alsobrooks and the emerging Prince George’s generation. Hoyer is leaving. Miller is gone. The county’s political leadership now belongs to another generation. Fifth: politicians who were outside the old Miller organization. When someone dominates an institution for 33 years, inevitably some politicians develop within that organization and others outside it. Miller’s departure created room for people who may never have risen as quickly under the old structure. That’s the biggest point. If Mike Miller’s power had simply transferred to Bill Ferguson, Maryland would still have a machine. If Hoyer’s influence simply transferred to Boafo, Maryland would still have a machine. If every county leader simply took orders from Moore, Maryland would have a machine. None of those things happened. Instead: Moore controls the statewide executive platform. Ferguson controls the Senate. Peña-Melnyk controls the House. Alsobrooks has statewide and federal reach. Braveboy has Prince George’s executive power. Pittman leads the state Democratic Party after Moore encouraged him to seek the role. (The Maryland Democratic Party) Boafo represents the beginning of the post-Hoyer congressional generation. And Baltimore, Montgomery County, organized labor, donors and other county organizations maintain their own centers of influence. That’s not one machine. If you want to understand where Maryland power is moving, don’t simply watch office titles. Watch endorsements. Who does Moore support? Who does Alsobrooks support? Who gets Ferguson’s allies? Who gets House leadership? Who gets Hoyer’s blessing? Who gets labor? Who gets major donors? And most importantly: That is where the new Maryland network becomes visible. The Boafo race was a textbook example. Hoyer’s successor didn’t emerge randomly from 24 candidates. He had ties to the outgoing incumbent and support from the governor. The old network and the emerging one overlapped. And voters chose him. (AP News) Moore may ultimately become the most important person in determining whether Maryland develops another durable statewide political organization. But the test isn’t whether Moore himself remains popular. The test is what happens to the people he supports. Which delegates become senators? Which senators become committee chairs? Which county officials become executives? Which staffers become candidates? Which appointees become statewide leaders? Who gets his donor network? Who gets his political advisers? Who eventually gets his endorsement when Maryland faces a post-Moore gubernatorial succession fight? That’s how we’ll know whether Moore was merely a successful governor— or the founder of another generation of Maryland power. There’s another category worth watching: politicians who came from Miller’s Maryland but remain active in the new one. Dereck Davis is one. Anthony Brown is another. Veteran legislators and former officials throughout the state still possess old relationships that newer politicians don’t. These people can function as bridges. That’s important because political systems rarely reset completely. The new machine usually grows partly from pieces of the old one. Donors don’t disappear. Lobbyists don’t disappear. Operatives don’t disappear. Institutional memory doesn’t disappear. They find new centers of gravity. If you want one name: His overwhelming 2026 Democratic renomination, executive authority, national profile and influence within the Maryland Democratic Party make that difficult to dispute. (WBAL-TV) But saying Moore “runs Maryland” the way Miller once ran the Senate would oversimplify the reality. Maryland power today looks more like this: WES MOORE Statewide organization.Appointments.Fundraising.Executive government.National Democratic relationships. BILL FERGUSON The Senate.Committees.Confirmations.Legislative leverage. JOSELINE PEÑA-MELNYK The House.Committee leadership.Budget and legislative leverage. ANGELA ALSOBROOKS Statewide electoral organization.Federal platform.Prince George’s relationships.National Democratic connections. AISHA BRAVEBOY Prince George’s executive organization.County government.A major Democratic vote base. THE POST-HOYER GENERATION Boafo and the emerging political class that will have to rebuild Hoyer’s Washington-Maryland network rather than simply inherit it. It did something more interesting. Mike Miller’s influence was too personal, too old and too deeply rooted in his own relationships to be inherited whole. Hoyer’s network is too extensive and too intertwined with decades of congressional politics to fit neatly inside one successor. So the pieces are moving. Toward Moore. Toward Ferguson. Toward Peña-Melnyk. Toward Alsobrooks. Toward Braveboy. Toward younger candidates and new county organizations. And toward veteran political survivors who understand both eras. That’s the next chapter of Maryland politics. The person who eventually connects: Annapolis, Prince George’s, Montgomery County, Baltimore, labor, business, donors, the Maryland Democratic Party, and the congressional delegation will possess something Maryland hasn’t truly seen since Miller’s heyday. Not merely another elected official. And maybe that’s why searching for “the next Mike Miller” is the wrong exercise. There may never be another one. The more important question is: Miller spent half a century becoming that person. Hoyer spent decades becoming another version of it. Maryland’s current political leaders are still competing for the privilege. And until somebody actually connects all those pieces, the most accurate answer to the question “Who runs Maryland?” may be the most fascinating one of all: No one does. Not anymore. But there are plenty of people trying. Sources University of Maryland and Maryland Matters — Miller’s 33-year Senate presidency and political legacy. (Behavioral and Social Sciences) Washington Post historical reporting — Miller’s rise from Maryland machine politics and ability to retain power as the Senate evolved. (The Washington Post) Maryland Matters — former top Miller aides who moved into Annapolis lobbying and the changing Senate power structure. (Maryland Matters) Washington Post and Reuters — Hoyer’s January 2026 retirement announcement after more than four decades in Congress and his long Democratic leadership career. (The Washington Post) Associated Press — Adrian Boafo’s 2026 victory in the Democratic primary to succeed Hoyer, including Hoyer and Moore’s support and Boafo’s “pass the torch” remarks. (AP News) Maryland Democratic Party — Steuart Pittman’s official biography stating that he sought the state chairmanship at Moore’s suggestion. (The Maryland Democratic Party) Maryland General Assembly — official 2026 records identifying Bill Ferguson as Senate President and Joseline Peña-Melnyk as Speaker. (Maryland General Assembly) Maryland State Board of Elections — official 2026 Prince George’s County results showing Aisha Braveboy’s dominant County Executive primary victory. (Maryland State Board of Elections) 2026 election reporting — Moore’s overwhelming Democratic gubernatorial primary victory. (WBAL-TV)
Multilingual people may have brains up to 13 years younger
People who speak several languages may have brains that age more slowly, with four-language speakers showing brains that appeared about 13 years younger than those of monolinguals. Starting earlier and becoming highly fluent were also linked to a stronger effect.
Iran’s Top Politicians Urge an End to the War
The country’s president and its parliamentary speaker say Tehran needs to negotiate an exit and shore up its economy while it has leverage.
San Francisco female Democrats rally to Scott Wiener's defense
Several powerful female political leaders in San Francisco are pushing back against Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her letter ripping House candidate Scott Wiener.
Hawgs Illustrated Sports Club luncheon speakers announced for fall
Arkansas football coach Ryan Silverfield will kick off the weekly fall luncheon schedule on Aug. 27.
Google Home update lets you set light color temperature to your favorite kelvin using voice commands
Google Home is rolling out an update that addresses some of the most overlooked pain points for the voice assistant,...
Google Home Gets Big Voice Update With Several Improvements
Google is rolling out a fresh update to Google Home and Gemini for Home this week, bringing with it improved voice assistant controls for several items (like Spotify), as well as consistent...
Charles vows to cut Maine spending in bid for governor
Charles faces former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree, a Democrat, and state Sen. Rick Bennett, an independent, on the fall ballot.
Speaker Menin calls push against Mayor Mamdani at 9/11 ceremony ‘absolutely inappropriate’
City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Wednesday rejected calls for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11
(For Southeast Asia) Introducing Pulse Elevate – Sony Interactive Entertainment’s first wireless speakers for desktop gaming
Pulse Elevate features ultra-low latency, lifelike gaming audio, and a built-in mic - all in a portable form factor.
Maui Small Business leaders get hands-on with AI to save time, drive growth
A small group of small business owners and leaders of non-profits gathered on Aug. 14 to grow their business with AI. The half-day workshop was hosted by Maui Economic Development Board and presented by Marc Rix, an international adviser, speaker, consultant and trainer.
PlayStation's $220 Pulse Elevate Wireless Speakers Arrive November 12
PlayStation's $220 Pulse Elevate wireless speakers arrive November 12.
PlayStation’s wireless gaming speakers launch in November
The $219.99 speakers offer “lifelike sound,” Sony says.
Planned Parenthood endorses Matt Dunlap in Maine 2nd CD race
The Cook Political Report lists the race as “likely Republican,” although House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Maine on Monday as part of a tour to promote Republican candidates across the country.
PlayStation's Official Desktop Speakers Arrive in November for $220
Pulse Elevate speakers coming soon
House Speaker Mike Johnson stumps for LePage in Maine 2nd CD race
With workers in hard hats behind him, Johnson touted LePage’s difficult childhood of abuse, his post-graduate degree, his business background and his two terms as governor.
Mike Johnson taunts Hakeem Jeffries for losing Dems' civil war 'in his own backyard'
Speaker Mike Johnson says Democrats are in an "open civil war" after DSA-linked candidates backed by Zohran Mamdani toppled Jeffries' allies.
Sonos Put Speaker Controls On Your iPhone's Lock Screen (Again)
Sonos released an app update that takes advantage of Apple's Live Activities system.
Making computer science more accessible beyond English
When Siddhartha Jayanti sat down to write the first computer science paper in Telugu, an Indian language with approximately 100 million speakers, he realized he first had to solve a problem that had little ...
Women in Business Awards 2026
Celebrate 244 Women in Business nominees at our 9/17/26 luncheon in Irvine, featuring keynote speaker Charlene Reynolds of John Wayne Airport. Reserve your seat.
Corgi races delight fans at Rockingham County Fair
Pounding music blared from loudspeakers at a small enclosure at the Rockingham County Fair on Friday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks about Colorado politics, supports Rep. Gabe Evans
Graham Platner to speak at labor rally
Former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a Labor Day rally in what may be one of his first public appearances since a sexual assault allegation ended his candidacy.
Laguna Beach business leaders get public safety update
Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert was a guest speaker during the Chamber of Commerce’s government affairs meeting on Aug. 6.
Graham Platner to speak at labor rally, one of his first public events since ending Maine campaign
Former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a Labor Day rally in what may be one of his first public appearances since a sexual assault allegation ended his candidacy
Some residents upset over recent approval of Mooresville mosque
One speaker cited violence in Nigeria by Islamist extremists as a reason for concern in Mooresville.
How San Francisco's ridiculous housing prices are defining the race to replace Pelosi
As San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and Sen. Scott Wiener fight to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, their track records on affordable housing could be decisive in the tight race for Congress.
Sporting KC co-founder Cliff Illig to headline KC Sports Impact Panel at KU exhibition closing event
The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design’s “Shaping the Future of Football” exhibition concludes Aug. 21 at Keystone CoLAB in Kansas City with the KC Sports Impact Panel. Featured speaker Cliff Illig, principal owner and co-founder of Sporting Kansas City, will discuss Kansas City’s 2026 FIFA World Cup opportunity, the fan experience, and the future of sports, entertainment and economic growth in the region.
Ramstad: A good governor’s race is at hand for Minnesota businesses
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth is the best Republican, but DFLer and U.S. Sen. Klobuchar is a heavy favorite who is liked by businesspeople.
Don’t miss opportunity to learn how your food business can avoid common mistakes made during inspections
Join Hawaiʻi Commercial Kitchens from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 13 for a free workshop with guest speaker retired Hawaiʻi Department of Health inspector John Nakashima to walk you through what a strong plan actually requires; only 4 in-person spots remained available as of afternoon of Aug. 11, but Zoom participation is an option, so register today!
Amanda Serrano Among 4 New Speakers Joining Sportico RISE Lineup
At RISE Women’s Sports, industry leaders will come together on Sept. 10 in New York City to examine where women’s sports stands today and what comes next. Among them are Amanda Serrano, Kim Stone, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Jason Wright, four voices bringing distinct perspectives on the opportunities and challenges shaping the business of women’s …
Google Unveils $29 Pixel Tag to Take On Apple's AirTag
Google today introduced the Pixel Tag, its answer to Apple's AirTag. Pixel Tag is Google's first item tracker, even though Google implemented an item tracking network two years ago that's been used by third-party devices. The Pixel Tag is made from stainless steel, and it is IP67 water- and dust-resistant. There's a built-in speaker that can play a sound when an item it's attached to is lost, and a button that causes a sound to play on a connected smartphone.
Food businesses: Learn how to avoid common mistakes made during inspections
Join Hawaiʻi Commercial Kitchens from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 13 for a free workshop with guest speaker retired Hawaiʻi Department of Health inspector John Nakashima to walk you through what a strong plan actually requires, including recordkeeping and monitoring habits that matter most when an inspector shows up.
Minnesota is first state to set all-female matchups for the biggest races
Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michele Tafoya are running for Senate, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) and state House Speaker Lisa Demuth are running for governor.
Local legislators and town officials visit URI to learn about environmental and science research in action
KINGSTON, R.I. – Aug. 12, 2026 – The University’s land- and sea-focused work was showcased last month for local legislators and municipal leaders, letting them see and hear up close all the ways URI research can serve their constituents. Many had visited campus before—as speakers, parents or program attendees—but the morning forum in July let […]
Business Chief Opens Speaker Applications for CXO Summit 2026
London, 11 August 2026 - Business Chief, a BizClik Media brand, has opened speaker applications for the CXO Summit 2026, inviting Chief HR Officers, People & Culture Leaders, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Finance Officers and CEOs to join its flagship executive event. The summit, which brings together C-suite leaders to address critical challenges facing modern enterprises, from AI disruption to economic uncertainty. The event has already secured an impressive lineup of speakers from global or