Politics

Throwing Money at the Situation

What's going on: The Republican midterm convention — nicknamed “Trump-a-Palooza” by the RNC chair — brought one big and unusual campaign promise. In a speech on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that if Republicans take both the House and the Senate, he’ll give every American $5,000 to spend within the US. Trump called the payments a “Trump dividend,” comparing it to how “a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.” Then, yesterday, Trump promised to give voters even more money in the form of a $500 rebate to those he says have been “ripped off” by the Affordable Care Act. The cash will arrive before the midterms, in the next few weeks, he said.

Is this even legal?: Some Democrats say no — or in the words of Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), it’s “corrupt and blatantly illegal" — but it’s not immediately clear. Federal law prohibits outright bribery but allows campaign promises that would financially benefit all voters, like lowering taxes. Experts say that both the $5,000 “Trump dividend” and the $500 ACA rebate may require Congressional approval. Another reason to hold off on adding items to your online shopping carts: Trump made similar promises in the past and didn’t follow through, including a DOGE dividend and a $2,000 payment that was supposed to be funded by tariffs. Economists say the $5,000 payment would add over $1 trillion to the national debt and worsen inflation.

Related: Trump Also Told Voters, “Pretend That I Am Running” (The New York Times gift link)

Rogue Agents

AI Bots, Meet Capitol Hill

What's going on: There’s a scene in I, Robot where Will Smith’s character reminds the machine in question about all the things it cannot do: It can’t sleep, dream, do art, or write a symphony. Well, Will Smith, it turns out, they can lie. In July, some 700 OpenAI bots went rogue during an exercise and hacked Hugging Face, an AI startup. The bots were searching for the answers to a test and cheated to get them (relatable?). But what’s more concerning is that they tampered with evidence to hide the fact they cheated. Bad bots. Now, a Senate subcommittee on disaster management (hello, that’s saying something) has opened an investigation into the incident. In a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this week, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) called OpenAI’s behavior “reckless” and wants Altman to provide more answers. It shouldn’t be that hard, Sam. Just ask ChatGPT for help.

What it means: The alarming part isn’t just that the AI bots cheated — it’s that they tried to conceal their behavior, and OpenAI wasn’t transparent about it. In the past week, there have been several warnings from AI researchers about the existential threat AI poses to humanity. Maybe it’s time to pass that “AI Kill Switch Act”? Some have even suggested a federal system like the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) but for artificial intelligence. While individual states have taken measures to hold AI companies accountable, Capitol Hill has been incredibly slow to create any type of guardrails. The Hugging Face attack isn’t even the first incident of its kind — raising the question: How often have the bots gone rogue, and what else have they tried to hide?

Related: AI Could Be Stealing Your Ideas (The New York Times gift link)

Match Point

Game. Set. History. 

What's going on: For the first time since 1972, a Black American man will play in the final of the US Open Tennis Championships. The match featuring Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will take place later today inside Arthur Ashe Stadium — named for the last player to do it. Shelton’s road to the semis included a record-setting five-set quarterfinal against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz into the wee hours of Wednesday morning (3:33 am to be exact). The only thing better than how he’s playing tennis right now is his enviably adorable relationship with soccer star and number one hype woman Trinity Rodman (whose hilarious “What about me?” is so relatable). And we’ll never forget Tiafoe and fellow American Alex Michelsen showing us how real men act in defeat with the “hug heard round the world.” We almost forgot about toxic masculinity for a minute.

What about the women?: Williams sisters Venus and Serena returned to play doubles together for the first time in four years, serving peak tennis nostalgia and delivering ESPN a 17% increase in viewership. Even when they lose (which they did in a tiebreaker to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint), we all win. Also winning? Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, who won their respective semi-finals last night and will go head-to-head in Saturday’s final. As always, there was no shortage of celebrity sightings and jaw-dropping, high fashion moments off — but mostly on — the court (thank you, Coco and Naomi). Don’t let the influencers claim the drama with their bright lights and bad etiquette. The real good drama is right where it belongs: on the court.  

Related: Sydney Sweeney Bares It All for Sports Trading App (Variety) 

What’s on My Holiday Wish List

Ali, Senior Commerce Director, here. Believe it or not, the holidays are on their way. Every year, my mom asks me to keep a running list of things I may want gifted — so even though I’m still sweating when I step outside, I’ve done as she’s asked and started a list.  Here’s what I have so far:

• Jellycat’s garlic Amuseables, because I am a spooky girl at heart.

• A few of the new bras I swear by (right now it’s on sale for only $30). 

• An exfoliating peppermint soap that successfully wakes me up in the morning.

• The pair of anti-chafing shorts I’ve tested that work under dresses or as a comfy evening lounge piece.

Quick Hits

♥️ Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick got outdoorsy for their 38th wedding anniversary. Canoe believe how cute they are?

🫐 If you want to get more antioxidants, experts say you should snack on these six foods. We’ll be pairing number two with number four for added deliciousness. 

🪴 This might be the reason why your houseplants keep dying. It’s not too late to develop a green thumb.

🧣 The latest in “everyone is dressing like it’s 2006”: Skinny scarves are back. We’re regretting getting rid of our sparkly stash from Wet Seal. 

💇 Maple cream, cherry glaze, dark chocolate. These aren’t donut flavors, they’re hair colors trending for fall. We’re hungry. 

👭 Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston joked about how they once “shared a boyfriend” in the ‘90s. An iconic bestie origin story.