Thank you

Updates, news, sparkles

“You’re going to fatigue the family thread.” — Anne Dickerson

Hello everyone. I like to think you are indefatigable.¹

Thank you for joining this week and welcome to all our new subscribers. I will continue the morning reading experiment next week. And thank you to those of you who have signed up for paid subscriptions.

Here’s a review of some experiments and traditional work this week in case you missed any of it:

This week I wrote about the presidency and the Iran war, reflected briefly on our love of Dollywood and examined the mounting bottlenecks created by artificial intelligence. On the Gabfest we discussed the Supreme Court ruling on mail ballots, the U.S. trade war with Canada, and AI security in “Please Do Not Ruin the Post Office”.

I also tried a few experiments inspired by my morning reading: Experiment 1 and Experiment 2.

“The Morning Ballet” wasn’t an experiment at all, but visual proof of the exciting action in Navel Gazing, Episode One. I also posted Episode Four of Navel Gazing, “John Dickerson explores the meanings of a giant bed, initials and The Sopranos”. You can browse the full archive at JohnDickerson.com.

A lovely note form reader Beth Kapocias echoing the themes of Navel Gazing Episode Four:

I’ve been enjoying your Navel Gazing Podcast as much as your Stack the Week offering. I can see that it takes a bit of doing, so I wanted you to know your efforts are appreciated.

Yesterday my daughter and I were returning from a trip to Washington DC. Before the train left the station, she took out her watercolor field box, and asked if we’d brought along any water (she hasn’t yet got the hang of filling the water container). When we realized we neglected to bring a bottle of water, I remembered I’d packed my watercolor field box I’d used in 1993. I said perhaps there’s water in there from the 1900’s. And indeed, there was! Her eyes widened, as she was astounded to be painting with water from another century and another continent away.

A few items from the morning news:

Trump wanted lower rates. His Fed chairman just put a rate increase on the table.

Donald Trump selected Kevin Warsh after repeatedly attacking the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too high—and Trump reportedly sought reassurance that his nominee would lower them. But Warsh promised to protect the Fed’s independence, and his August 28 Jackson Hole speech demonstrated what that can mean in practice.

Warsh said inflation remained too high and suggested that rate increases might be necessary. In a matter of hours, traders raised the estimated probability of a September increase from 35% to nearly 58%, while the two-year Treasury yield jumped from approximately 4.22% to 4.35%.

Bank of America will pay $72.5 million to as many as 75 Epstein accusers.

A federal judge gave final approval to Bank of America’s $72.5 million settlement with as many as 75 women who accused the bank of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse. Bank of America denied knowing about Epstein’s trafficking operation and admitted no wrongdoing. The settlement provides a financial consequence without resolving the underlying question of what the bank knew—or should have recognized—while servicing Epstein and his associates.

In 250 years, Americans have elected only three Black governors. Eight are on ballots this year.

Thousands of people have served as American governors, but voters have elected only three Black governors in the country’s history: Virginia’s Douglas Wilder, Massachusetts’ Deval Patrick and Maryland’s Wes Moore. All three are Democratic men. This year, eight Black major-party candidates—including five Democrats and three Republicans, and both men and women—are appearing on gubernatorial ballots. Even if none wins, the field is historically unprecedented. If several win, an office that has remained overwhelmingly white for 250 years could change visibly in a single election.

A Tree Keeps Growing in Brooklyn.

A silver maple stood in the middle of what two Brooklyn developers considered an ideal building site. It was approximately six stories tall, with a trunk five feet across—and removing it would have been the conventional real-estate decision. Instead, the developers spent approximately $400,000 redesigning and constructing their project around the tree. They compared the decision to rescuing a geriatric dog: financially irrational, perhaps, but difficult to resist once the living thing was in their care.

Now some sparkles:

Wildlife Photography.

I find these photographs transporting: The Wildlife photographs of the year.

A Record at the Plate.

“I just wanted to do something spectacular,” 12-year-old Carsynn Meyer told USA Today after hitting a double in her final at-bat of Nevada’s regional championship victory over Montana. The hit helped send her team to the Little League World Series, where Meyer became the first girl under the tournament’s current format to reach the United States championship game. Looking into the stands after the double, she remembered hearing the crowd screaming.

The achievement carried more than half a century of history. In 1972, 12-year-old Maria Pepe pitched three games for a Little League team in Hoboken, New Jersey, before officials forced her off the roster because girls were barred from the program. The resulting court case compelled Little League to admit girls in 1974, although Pepe had already aged out. Meyer first visited Williamsport in June for an all-female tournament named in Pepe’s honor. Two months later, she returned with her Nevada teammates—the boys “CarCar” had played beside for years.

Faster!

Everything feels like it moves so fast these days. Even the Universe is speeding up: A new analysis of Type Ia supernovas disputes recent suggestions that the universe’s expansion has begun to slow. Cosmic expansion still appears to be accelerating, leaving dark energy in its commanding—but entirely mysterious—place in the prevailing account of the universe.

1. Wait, where are you going?