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Junior Caminero Hit By Pitch During MLB All-Star Game, But The X-Rays Negative
Tampa Bay Rays Junior Caminero left the MLB All-Star game after being hit by a pitch in the third inning.
Sports Humanitarian Awards to World Cup final: New York's blockbuster sports week
Follow our live coverage as the Sports Humanitarian Awards, ESPYS, Fanatics Fest, World Cup final and more turn the Big Apple into the center of the sports world.
Sports Humanitarian Awards to World Cup final: New York's blockbuster sports week
Follow our live coverage as the Sports Humanitarian Awards, ESPYS, Fanatics Fest, World Cup final and more turn the Big Apple into the center of the sports world.
Colorado receives $5.8 million in federal weatherization assistance grants
Colorado has received nearly $6 million in federal funds through the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program after U.S. senators expressed worries about potential delays. In May, U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Susan Collins, R-ME, issued a letter urging Energy Secretary Chris Wright to release nearly $360 million in WAP funds […]
Sports Humanitarian Awards to World Cup final: New York's blockbuster sports week
Follow our live coverage as the Sports Humanitarian Awards, ESPYS, Fanatics Fest, World Cup final and more turn the Big Apple into the center of the sports world.
Landon Donovan: Lamine Yamal Instills 'Real Fear' In Defenders
FOX Sports analyst Landon Donovan praised Spain's Lamine Yamal for his performance in the World Cup semifinal victory over France.
Workshop gives Marquette County small business owners tips on hiring in the modern world
Topics included what candidates look for in a company and how to make yours more enticing for potential hires.
Amazon Has the Lowest Price on a GeForce RTX 5070 Graphics Card That I've Seen So Far This Year and It Features Triple-Fan Active Cooling
The ASUS Prime RTX 5070 GPU has 12GB of VRAM and a robust triple-fan cooling system.
New York becomes first state to freeze new AI data centers in move critics warn could drive away jobs
Dem Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the nation's first statewide moratorium on new AI data centers while officials develop new environmental standards.
UCA College of Business Global Accreditation Extended
The University of Central Arkansas College of Business has successfully achieved the extension of its business program accreditation by the
Fort Pierre couple’s love of math, science, engineering still inspiring South Dakota youth
For Gary and Connie Grittner, investing in young people has always been about creating opportunities that can change the course of a life. Gary knows this firsthand. As a young teen, he attended a summer science camp that sparked his own interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). That experience led him to pursue his doctorate in chemistry and reinforced his belief that exposing students to STEM at an early age can shape their futures. [ ](https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/alleged-cryptocurrency-conman-released) [ Alleged cryptocurrency conman released pending fraud trial ](https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/alleged-cryptocurrency-conman-released) Jonathan Ellis · 11:03 AM [ Read full story ](https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/alleged-cryptocurrency-conman-released)
Lindsey Graham's career and influence on American politics
Learn about the life and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham
Healthy Products Boost The Future And Economics Of Housing
Health and wellness are key considerations for homes, but it has to start with the products and raw materials.
Review of MP security needed after Widdecombe death, Burnham says
The expected next prime minister says politics has "darkened" in the decade he has been away from Westminster.
Bellingham, Messi Lead England-Argentina Rivalry's Next Chapter
England and Argentina face off in the World Cup semifinal match. Here's everything to know.
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.
Kylian Mbappé Misses The Final, But He Is Already A World Cup Legend
Despite coming up just short in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Kylian Mbappé has compiled a World Cup résumé that is simply unbelievable.
University of Chicago scientists create "artificial leaf" that could be used for wireless implants
What University of Chicago scientists call an artificial leaf that mimics photosynthesis could be useful for wireless medical implants and other technologies.
How Lindsey Graham’s keen ability to read the moment propelled him to political relevance for 3 decades
Sen. Graham repeatedly moved in the direction South Carolina and Republican politics were headed rather than where they had been.
Christopher Nolan sparks fresh backlash after calling 'The Odyssey' criticism 'irrelevant'
Critics slammed Nolan's response to "The Odyssey" casting backlash involving Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, and the film's modern language choices.
Majority of Fort Worth Council supports data center pause. Will it happen?
The majority of Fort Worth City Council wants a temporary moratorium on data centers. A supermajority is needed. This comes after the Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted not to recommend new rules for data centers within the city. Lone Star Politics speaks with Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck, one of the leaders of the effort.
Lone Star Politics: July 12, 2026
This week on Lone Star Politics, Fort Worth City Council is taking the next steps after the zoning commission voted not to recommend new rules for data centers within the city. Plus, a lawsuit at Texas Tech is looking to clarify the line between censorship and academic freedom.
43 Years Ago, Scientists Dropped Gophers Onto a Volcano. Today, They’re Tiny Heroes.
A bunch of gophers helped restore the plant life around Mount St. Helens after the devastating eruption in May 1980.
National Science Foundation selects URochester to lead new laser tech program
The National Science Foundation has chosen the University of Rochester to lead a $15 million laser technology program, boosting Rochester's optics innovation cluster.
Fall sports updates and information
The fall sports season will be here before we know it! Here are some key summer details for students and families as we look forward to the coming season. Registration begins: High school football (grades 9-12): July 17 All other high school fall sports (grades 9-12): July 24 Modified football (grades 7-8): July 27 All other modified fall sports (grades 7-8): July 31 Please register via Final Forms. Sports physicals: All student-athletes interested in trying out for a fall sport must have an up-to-date physical submitted to Final Forms in advance of the first day of tryouts and practices. Families are encouraged to get a completed physical from their child's physician. If you are unable to get a physical from your child's physician, you can schedule a physical with Whitney Young's school-based health center by calling (518) 573-2556. Appointments will be available at Albany High School in room 4253 during July on the following dates: Thursday, July 16 between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Again, you must call (518) 573-2556 to schedule your appointment and receive instructions. Whitney Young does require paperwork that must be filled out by the child's parent or guardian in order for them to be seen by the provider. Tryouts & practices begin: High school football (grades 9-12): Aug. 17 All other high school fall sports (grades 9-12): Aug. 24 Modified football (grades 7-8): Aug. 27 All other modified fall sports (grades 7-8): Aug. 31 High school student-athletes are encouraged to take part in our open gym sessions during July and August in preparation for the fall sports season. Stay tuned for fall practice schedules and competition schedules, which will be posted on our Athletics page! If you have additional questions, please contact the Athletics Department at (518) 475-6310. Let's go Falcons!
In football and also in politics, we must balance high hopes with realism
Letter: Absurdly high expectations for the new prime minister will only lead to anger and resentment, writes Colin Montgomery – we new a new political ballgame
Change voting system before next election, Davey urges Burnham
The Lib Dem leader urges incoming PM Andy Burnham to "be brave" to fulfil his promise to change politics.
Darline Graham Nordone to join Senate. Who is Lindsey Graham's sister?
Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will take his U.S. Senate seat moving from helping people with disabilities to high-profile politics.
2026 NASCAR Odds: Denny Hamlin Favored For North Wilkesboro; Kyle Larson Second
NASCAR is heading to North Wilkesboro for the first points race at the track in 30 years. Who will take the checkered flag? Here are the early odds.
'State of States' analysis shows Florida outperforms in small business development
Insurance costs pose a challenge, but that's largely mitigated by low taxes.
Killings of three British politicians in a decade shine light on febrile political mood
For the third time in a little over a decade, British lawmakers stood up one-by-one in Parliament on Monday, paid tribute to a slain politician, and echoed each other’s fears about the rising tide of violence in politics.
UVA Center for Politics talks August primary, early voter turnout
With only a few weeks left until election day, early voting for Virginia’s August congressional primary has lagged behind numbers in the same races two years ago.
These Church Members Disagree on Politics. Together They’re Wiping Out Medical Debt.
A politically diverse congregation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been raising money to retire millions of dollars of medical debt in the surrounding community.
Unlike Other Stars at the World Cup, Messi Never Talks Politics
The Argentine soccer phenomenon about to lead his country into the semifinals does not deviate from the script of the perfect, silent celebrity
Leonard Spencer lands support from West Orange Political Alliance
Spencer touted his support for small businesses and investments in workforce development.
How Brad Stevens Saved the Red Sox
The Celtics' big move has overlapped in Boston.
Politics & Power: Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical calls on Catholics to put human dignity first in age of AI
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, challenges Catholics — and the world — to think carefully about how artificial intelligence is reshaping human life. Catholic leaders across the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond say the message is clear: technology must always serve people, not the other way around.
Breaking Down the A's Alarming Trends Heading Into the Break
From Emerson's firing to Suarez's emergence, a look at what's driven the A's collapse since June 15 — and which storylines could carry into the second half
Consumer inflation cooled more than expected in June as gas prices fell
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the consumer price index (CPI) eased in June as consumer price growth slowed after a recent surge caused by the Iran war.
Stewardship beyond politics
What does Public Lands Rule repeal mean for wildlife professionals and conservation?
Johns Hopkins APL’s Yee and Murchie Honored for Lasting Impact in Space Science | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Scientists Sam Yee and Scott Murchie were jointly awarded APL’s Lifetime Publication Achievement Award for work that has documented discovery, driven space missions, shaped scientific priorities, and advanced the field.
For Whom the Strait Tolls | WSJ Politics Newsletter for July 14
Plus, Lindsey Graham’s sister to fill his Senate seat, and how China’s Xi Jinping now manages Russia’s Vladimir Putin
Pound marches higher as investors focus on UK politics
The pound rose against the dollar on Tuesday as investors took profits after the U.S. currency's recent climb to more than one-year highs ahead of key U.S. inflation data later in the day, while holding steady against the euro.
Bipartisan bill seeks to bolster AI use in pediatric cancer care
Members of the Childhood Cancer Caucus are proposing the Accelerating Innovation for Kids Act, aimed at fast-tracking the deployment of this tech in pediatrics.
Courts won’t settle the fight over AI and creative work: Politics will
“We’re going to live in a world where all of the capital and power concentrates into the hands of five or six companies. That’s not a free society. That’s
Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem
Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future
Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem
Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future
How a Promising Navy Drone Boat Program Got Mired in Politics
Navy acquisition reforms upended a $2.1 billion contract competition. When it was over, several companies with ties to the Trump administration had made the cut.
Want to open a business in downtown New Orleans? A new program is offering cash to help.
Strip clubs, smoke shops, massage parlors and psychics are ineligible.
Too many stories, too little space
Well, this week’s column presents a problem: there are far too many things in Colorado Politics of interest, and I want to write about them all. But given my kindly editor is unlikely to let me expand my column to booklet length (Ed: correct), I’ll just have to mention a few things in a concise […]
Payback politics? Wu backs challengers to state senators who blocked her tax plan
In a highly unusual move in the insular world of Massachusetts politics, Wu is the first mayor in recent memory to openly campaign against state senators who have blocked her priorities.
Beauty Meets Entertainment: The Modern Marketing Play
Executives at E.l.f. Beauty, MAC Cosmetics, Liquid I.V., David Protein and Maybelline talk marketing integrations that work.
The science of sponge anxiety
Kitchen hygiene is one of those topics where common sense, science, and social media often collide. A new study suggests that the humble kitchen sponge is remarkably good at harboring bacteria and spreading them to food-contact surfaces.
‘Gutfeld!’: No one wants to see politics at a concert
Fox News contributor Tyrus and the ‘Gutfeld!’ panel analyze several trending headlines.
Pepperdine University Awarded Prestigious Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association All-Sports Trophy
The DI-AAA ADA All-Sports Trophy is awarded to the institution that has the highest earned point total across all sports programs, including both the full season of regular conference play and postseason results.
Auburn Physics Graduate Student Receives National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Auburn physics graduate student Cordell Umland has been selected as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) recipient for 2026. This prestigious fellowship supports outstanding graduate students in STEM fields and provides three years of financial support, including a $37,000 annual stipend.
Rowing Science: Effect of Boat Mass on Rowing Biomechanics
Did you know that each kg of added boat mass reduces rowing speed by 0.15%? This is about 2.5 times
Money out of Politics faces petition signature challenge as campaign works toward November ballot
The challenge says a ballot measure to limit political donations from Michigan’s public utilities and large government contractors didn’t collect enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
2026 World Cup Odds: Back Spain In Double Chance Market Against France
What's the best way to wager on the Spain-France semifinal match? Will Hill breaks it down.
How Lindsey Graham’s death quickly changes a busy Senate: From the Politics Desk
Plus, the latest on the war with Iran.
High-Level Educational Tour in Poland Reveals Lessons in Democratic Resilience | Pomona College in Claremont, California
Professor of Politics Mietek Boduszynski and his sister, Monica Chellam ’04, recently organized and led “Poland’s Democratic Journey,” an educational tour in Warsaw for senior American political and civic leaders focused on democratic resilience.
Charles Carlin on Knowles-Nelson Stewardship fund politics
Charles Carlin on maneuvering over funding of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
'We'll be out of business': Jensen Huang bet his last dollars on a chip he never held in his hands
In 1997, with dwindling cash, the Nvidia CEO ordered mass production of a graphics chip tested entirely in a simulator.
John P. Morgan honored with emeritus status
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 26 years, Morgan provided many years of distinguished contributions and leadership to the Department of Statistics and the College of Science.
The Quintessential Trump-era Politician
In 2020, I wrote an article about collaboration and collaborators. The title was History Will Judge the Complicit, and it started with the story of two famous East Germans, Markus Wolf and Wolfgang Leonhard, who both landed in East Berlin just after the end of the war. Although they came from very similar backgrounds, the former stuck with the regime, eventually becoming its spy boss; the latter, horrified by the brutal reality of Soviet-style communism, escaped. By way of juxtaposition, I also wrote about Lyndsey Graham and Mitt Romney. These two men also made very different decisions when confronted by Donald Trump’s assault on the ideals that they had both grown up believing: A glance at their biographies would not have led many to predict what happened next. On paper, Graham would have seemed, in 2016, like the man with deeper ties to the military, to the rule of law, and to an old-fashioned idea of American patriotism and American responsibility in the world. Romney, by contrast, with his shifts between the center and the right, with his multiple careers in business and politics, would have seemed less deeply attached to those same old-fashioned patriotic ideals. Most of us register soldiers as loyal patriots, and management consultants as self-interested. We assume people from small towns in South Carolina are more likely to resist political pressure than people who have lived in many places. Intuitively, we think that loyalty to a particular place implies loyalty to a set of values. But in this case the clichés were wrong. It was Graham who made excuses for Trump’s abuse of power. It was Graham—a JAG Corps lawyer—who downplayed the evidence that the president had attempted to manipulate foreign courts and blackmail a foreign leader into launching a phony investigation into a political rival. It was Graham who abandoned his own stated support for bipartisanship and instead pushed for a hyperpartisan Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. It was Graham who played golf with Trump, who made excuses for him on television, who supported the president even as he slowly destroyed the American alliances—with Europeans, with the Kurds—that Graham had defended all his life. By contrast, it was Romney who, in February, became the only Republican senator to break ranks with his colleagues, voting to impeach the president. “Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office,” he said, is “perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.” In the wake of Graham’s unexpected death on Saturday, I wrote about him again. He was, in many ways, the quintessential politician of Trump’s Washington, a man who shifted 180 degrees. Graham had been a fervent American patriot, proud reserve officer and military lawyer; he became one of the most important defenders of a president who believes soldiers are “suckers and losers” and shows no respect for law of any kind. As his politics changed, his language grew coarser and his behavior grew worse: He urged Israel to “level the place” in Gaza, and insulted the Danish prime minister in Munich, prompting a colleague, Senator Elissa Slotkin, to issue an apology. Here’s an excerpt from the article, which you can read in The Atlantic (gift link here) Like his close friend John McCain, Graham believed that America should stand at the center of a broad democratic alliance. The few times I met him were in that context, at the Munich Security Conference or at other European-American gatherings, which he once attended with great regularity. He also took seriously the practice of American democracy at home. In a 2014 conversation with The Atlantic, he described himself as a pragmatic politician who eschewed populist slogans. “I know Washington is broken, but what’s broken about it is everybody yelling and nobody trying to fix it,” he said. “I’m trying.” When Donald Trump first appeared in U.S. politics, Graham recognized him immediately for what he was: the spokesman for an alien ideology, one radically different from the idealistic patriotism that Graham had practiced and preached since childhood. Trump privately mocked the military that Graham loved as nothing but “suckers and losers.” He put falsehoods, cynicism, and personal greed at the center of his politics, while expressing disdain for transparency, accountability, and democracy itself. In 2015, Graham described Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” who should “go to hell.” Also as a “nutjob.” When Trump won, Graham understood, as did so many others, that he would have to make some important choices. For a while, he went silent. In the spring of 2016, I saw him at one of those conferences in Europe. He seemed too depressed to speak. But then, like many other Republicans—and, more important, like many other people who have lived under political occupation or experienced radical regime change—he made the decision to abandon his previous ideals, to bury the patriotism that was once so important to him, and to become, instead, a loud, opportunistic collaborator. As I wrote in 2020, it’s very hard to look in to anyone’s heart and to understand their motivations from the outside. But it does seem that Graham had a deep need to be relevant, to be in the game, to be a player, at any cost. And that, rather than any particular achievement, is what he will be remembered for. Continuing to monitor conflicts of interest, ostentatious emoluments, outright corruption and policy changes that will facilitate outright corruption. (Read my original article, Kleptocracy Inc and check out the SNF Agora Institute chart) June 27 Trump diverted funds from more than 900 projects nationwide—including safety upgrades at national parks—to finance beautification projects around Washington, including $700,000 used to fix a White House walkway. June 28 After a years-long Department of Justice investigation into Abbott Laboratories over its management of a baby formula facility where potentially deadly bacteria turned up enough evidence to criminally charge the firm, top department officials instead opted for a financial penalty—illustrating the department’s move away from strict corporate enforcement under the Trump administration. June 29 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stacked the Defense Policy Board—which is charged with providing independent national security recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of Defense—with Trump allies, including tech billionaire Marc Andreessen, who has invested in defense contractors like OpenAI and SpaceX, after purging the panel last year. Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Axon—which makes about 90% of US tasers—two weeks before ICE solicited bids for a $220 million taser contract. The White House unveiled limited-edition US passports for America’s 250th birthday, featuring a portrait of Trump overlaid on the Declaration of Independence. June 30 Trump made around $1.2 billion from his various crypto companies last year, including more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial and $600 million from sales of his meme coin. Trump is considering issuing 250 pardons to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. These are expected to be largely doled out through the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s informal network of intermediaries. White-collar defense attorneys say they can typically win pardons for clients for $2 million. Last year, Trump administration officials awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Clark Construction for the White House ballroom—negotiations in which the president was directly involved. July 1 The Amazon MGM Studios documentary about Melania Trump earned the First Lady more than $10 million. Trump made hundreds of individual stock purchases worth as much as $12.8 million the day before his announcement pausing “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days sent the S&P 500 soaring nearly 10%—one of the largest single-day gains ever. Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral saw record surges in revenue during Trump’s first year in office, earning $77.5 million and $121.9 million respectively, compared to average annual revenues of $25 million and $75 million during Trump’s first term. Entities across the Persian Gulf paid more than $300 million to Trump’s businesses last year, including $263 million from the sale of half his stake in World Liberty Financial to a firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a top UAE royal and brother of the country’s president. Kash Patel failed to properly disclose his stock purchase of a Department of Justice contractor, MicroStrategy, worth up to $250,000 last year, despite laws requiring disclosure within 45 days of the trade. July 2 Trump has been directing administration officials to steer more government contracts—so far worth more than $2.4 billion—to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin aerospace firm, after Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, donated to the White House ballroom project, and reached a $40 million deal to license a Melania Trump documentary. Alongside the billions he made from cryptocurrency last year, Trump earned millions of dollars from real estate licensing fees, including $21 million from organizations in the UAE and $9.2 million in Saudi Arabia, along with smaller sums from merchandise sales, including $4.7 million from Trump Watches and $35,920 from 45 Guitar, a guitar brand endorsed by the president. House Democrats accused consultants tied to the Trump administration of financial fraud, alleging they gave prospective donors to America250—the bipartisan committee created by Congress to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial—the banking and routing numbers for Freedom 250, the White House’s fund for events like the UFC cage fight. Democrats also allege that Freedom 250’s CEO traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos to solicit donations from foreign government officials and business leaders. The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of gun regulations would lift the prohibition on mailing handguns to individuals, a significant win for GrabAGun—the direct-to-consumer firearm retailer on whose board Donald Trump Jr. sits and in which he holds a 1.1% ownership stake. GrabAGun currently must rely on a middleman to transfer firearms to customers. Trump’s financial disclosure revealed that he made more than 21,000 securities trades during his first year back in office, growing his investment account to at least $858 million across stakes in around 1,600 companies, compared to the 13 total trades Joe Biden made during his entire presidency. July 4 Nearly 1 million people who bought the president’s meme coin—Trump Coin—collectively lost $3.8 billion on the token, while he walked away with $636 million. July 6 Shares of Dell closed up 4.4% after Trump recommended people buy the firm’s computers during a speech announcing the launch of Trump investment accounts for children, boosting the more than $1 million worth of shares the president owns in the company. July 9 Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh named crypto investor and Trump ally Marc Andreessen to a task force aimed at modernizing the Federal Reserve, including rethinking its approach to inflation—a key factor keeping interest rates elevated. Palm Beach International Airport has officially changed its name to Trump International Airport—a move that will require Florida to pay royalties to the president’s family for licensing his name. I was there a few months ago, during a trip to Barcelona. The sculptures were a revelation, I’d never seen so many together before. Each one has its own personality. Enjoy the good weather, if you are lucky enough to have it. History Will Judge the Complicit The Quintessential Politician Autocracy Inc Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
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