President Joe Biden believes the world is at an inflection point. In his final speech as POTUS in front of the United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, Biden said Tuesday when he entered political life more than 50 years ago, the world was in turmoil. “Our country was divided and angry and there were questions about our staying power and future,” he said. In some ways he sees the mid 2020s similarly.
“My fellow leaders, I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history, where the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come,” he said. “Our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those pulling us apart.”
One piece of advice Biden had for world leaders was to pass the baton. “My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more than staying in power,” he said. Of his term in office, Biden said there was “so much more I wanted to get done,” but, “I decided after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward.” George Washington wouldn’t be pleased with our modern-day political parties or foreign entanglements, but he might appreciate his successor’s thoughts on a timely retirement. — Hunter
FLOTUS announces women’s health research initiative:
First Lady Jill Biden announced during a Clinton Global Initiative meeting Monday that the Pentagon will spend $500 million a year on women’s health research. “This money is going to study arthritis and chronic fatigue and cardiovascular health — it's a big deal, and it's about time,” she said.
FLOTUS was also in New Orleans Monday with Rev. Al Sharpton and others for the funeral services of Sybil Morial, a civil rights leader who founded a Louisiana voter turnout group and fought against segregation. In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said Morial “will be remembered for the light she brought to this world.”
Harris gets historic polling bump:
An NBC News poll released this week shows Harris’ favorability has risen 16 points since June, to 49%. That’s the biggest jump in any politicians’ favorability in the history of NBC polling going back to former President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks, the network says.
Trump gave a mom $100 for her groceries:
During a visit to a grocery store in Kittanning, Pa., on Monday, Trump handed one mother of three a $100 bill. “Here, it’s going to go down a little bit,” Trump told her, according to Fox Business. “It just went down $100. We’ll do that for you from the White House.” Trump, who has liabilities of more than $100 million related to various cases he’s facing, recently launched his latest licensed direct-to-consumer product, the Trump Coin. It costs $100.
Harris will be a no show at the Al Smith this year:
For the first time in 40 years, a presidential candidate is skipping the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner where candidates roast each other for charity. Harris won’t be at the Oct. 17 dinner because she’ll be campaigning in a swing state, her campaign said. Trump will attend.
Named for a former New York governor who became the first Catholic major party presidential nominee in 1928, the white-tie dinner benefits Catholic charities and it’s hosted every Democratic and Republican nominee going back until 1984 when Democratic nominee Walter Mondale declined to attend. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said organizers “were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome” and hopeful she still might be able to make it.
Emhoff grabs Whataburger in Texas with Beto:
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff raised $1 million at an Austin fundraiser Tuesday, and while he was in Texas, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) took him to Whataburger, a restaurant that inspired his campaign branding. Voter registration is up among young people, which O’Rourke said people were calling “the Kamala effect. Young people are getting registered to vote in record numbers.”
Melania Trump to give rare interview to Fox News:
Former First Lady Melania Trump is set to give her first interview in more than two years Thursday with Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt. The interview, to promote her forthcoming book Melania, will come amid questions about who paid Trump to speak at a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans. Trump said in financial disclosures she was paid $237,500 by the group to speak at its April fundraiser, but the president of the Log Cabin Republicans denies having paid her for her appearance.
Hillary Clinton says Harris has performed “flawlessly”:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on The Tonight Show to promote her book Something Lost, Something Gained. Like Britney Spears getting divorced after turning in the manuscript for The Woman In Me so it ended up going unmentioned in the book, Clinton’s new book doesn’t touch the big news about Biden dropping out because “I turned it in before everything changed,” Clinton said.
“I couldn’t write about it because the book was at the printer,” she said, so she recorded an epilogue to talk about how she felt. Host Jimmy Fallon jokingly suggested Clinton was jealous of Harris potentially being the first female president, but Clinton said no, that wasn’t the case. “I was thrilled, I was excited, I was exhilarated.” she said, heaping praise on Harris who she said has “performed flawlessly” since entering the race.
Brett Favre announces Parkison’s diagnosis during congressional hearing:
Speaking at House Ways and Means Committee hearing on welfare reform Tuesday, former NFL quarterback Brett Favre said he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a brain disease that people who have concussions are at heightened risk of developing.
Favre was on the Hill to testify about Prevacus, a company researching concussion drugs he raised money for that the Mississippi Department of Human Services said in a lawsuit misused government funds. Favre has denied wrongdoing and said at the hearing he “lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others” because it’s “too late for me.”
Someone found a copy of the Constitution in a filing cabinet:
One of eight known surviving signed ratification copies of the U.S. Constitution was found in a North Carolina filing cabinet. “I’ve never found anything this exciting,” Ken Farmer, an antiques appraiser who came across the document in a folder, told The New York Times. Brunk Auctions, an auction house, said the document was found in a plantation in Edenton, N.C., when it was being cleared out in 2022, and the copy is being auctioned off with a starting bid of $1 million on Sept. 28, the anniversary of Congress agreeing to a new Constitution.
🦠 Americans can order free COVID-19 tests beginning this month. U.S. households will be able to order as many as four nasal swab tests at COVIDTests dot gov when the federal program reopens. [Associated Press]
💳 Justice Department accuses Visa of debit network monopoly that impacts price of “nearly everything.” Visa’s moves over the years have resulted in American consumers and merchants paying billions of dollars in additional fees, according to the DOJ, which filed a civil antitrust suit in New York for “monopolization” and other unlawful conduct. [CNBC]
🎭 California bills protecting actors, performers from A.I. replicas signed into law. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two bills into law that set out to protect actors and performers from artificial intelligence replicas of their likeness or voice being used without their consent. [CBS News]
🏀 Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA playoff game breaks TV record on an NFL Sunday. An average of 1.84 million people tuned in to watch Clark's postseason debut despite the fact that it was an NFL Sunday and it turned into a blowout in the second half. [Sports Illustrated]
Diddy hit with new civil suit:
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, is now being sued by a woman who accused the musician of drugging and raping her and filming it. “For decades, she remained silent and did not report the crime out of fear that defendants would use their power to ruin her life, as they had repeatedly, explicitly threatened to do,” attorneys for the woman wrote in the suit.
Janet, no, why?:
In an interview with The Guardian published Saturday, Janet Jackson said Harris is “not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.” After the reporter said Harris is both, Jackson said she “was told that they discovered her father was white.” An apology attributed to Jackson given to BuzzFeed from a man who claimed to be her manager ended up being unauthorized, a rep said, but the rep did not offer any follow-up authorized apology from the singer.
The Weeknd has more songs reach 1 billion streams on Spotify than any other artist:
The Weeknd’s song “After Hours” has become his 18th to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, more than any artist. He’s followed by Drake with 17, and the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is the most-streamed song ever on Spotify, with nearly 4.5 billion streams.
OK, so the next Gaga album is a Joker soundtrack:
Sorry to anyone hoping for Chromatica II this week. Lady Gaga said her next album Harlequin will be a “companion album” to her forthcoming film Joker: Folie à Deux. The 13-track album comes out this Friday on Sept. 27, and billboards that read “LG6.5,” as in her sixth-and-a-half album, suggests a full-on seventh studio album is still around the corner. In a previous social media post, Gaga indicated “LG7” is coming in October.
Xtina talks debut album with Sabrina:
Sabrina Carpenter said she was “freaking out” when she met Christina Aguilera to record “What A Girl Wants” together for Aguilera’s The 25th Anniversary of Christina Aguilera (Spotify Anniversaries Live). A longtime fan, Carpenter asked Xtina how she knew her debut album was finished.
“It was a time where the label sort of made the choices,” Aguilera said. “I don’t know, if it was up to me I’d probably would have had more ballads or something. I was still exploring who I wanted to be as an artist.” Still, she said the experience led her to record her stellar follow-up Stripped. “Everything leads you to the next place in your life,” Aguilera said.
Charli XCX and Lorde did the “Girl, So Confusing” remix live:
Charli XCX was joined by some special guests on the New York City stop of her Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan. Addison Rae performed “Diet Pepsi” with the duo while Lorde dropped by for a performance of the “Girl, So Confusing” remix. Kelley Heyer, the creator of the “Apple” dance, was the evening’s Apple Girl, and she also had a special guest in the form of a woman who photobombed her performance.
Katy Perry’s comeback isn’t working:
Reviews are in for Katy Perry’s comeback album 143, and they are brutal. Critics said the album “doesn’t have a single redeeming song,” is “uninspired and forgettable,” and “a failed attempt to rekindle her glory years.” “Drifting through the winds of popular culture and probably wanting to start again at least occasionally, it seems reasonable to assume that in 2024, Katy Perry feels like a plastic bag,” wrote Pitchfork, which gave the album a 4.5 rating.
Levi’s is collabing with Beyoncé:
GQ’s October 2024 cover star Beyoncé has something coming from Levi’s. The denim brand posted an image that resembles the art for the singer’s Cowboy Carter album and tagged her, writing, “INTRODUCING: A New Chapter.” Wrote one fan in the comments, “She gives us everything except the visuals.”
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