One Bite at the Apple

NYC's Big Bet, Hush Money Closing Arguments

"Jay-Z is pushing to get it. Nas wants a piece. The owner of the Mets is spending a fortune to win. A subsidiary of the Yankees is trying, too. Manhattan’s biggest commercial landlord is all-in. The Hudson Yards crew wants it, and so does the man behind Coney Island. A former police commissioner is wrapped up in this. And a former governor. And Eric Adams’s closest confidant. And the guy who owns Donald Trump’s old golf course. And the head of a private intelligence firm." What's the big prize everyone seems to want a piece of? A casino in NYC, or what one insider describes as "a license to print money, literally." It's the city that never sleeps which provides 24 hours a day for customers to drop their money into slot machines. Yes, terrestrial casinos are still a goldmine even though we're all carrying casinos around in our pockets. Noah Shachtman in NYMag: New Jackpot City. Eleven rivals. Countless billions. One prize: the right to build a casino in the heart of New York. How big is the opportunity? Consider what the bidders are offering in return for the license. "New Yorkers may be used to grandiosity, to shrugging at a new skyscraper like it’s another foothill in a mountain chain. The casino deal is different. The opportunity is so gargantuan that the bidders are promising, almost as add-ons, to spend billions to solve some of the city’s most challenging engineering feats and to build concert halls, apartment towers, science centers, public schools, parks, even a museum of democracy. These are projects that would ordinarily merit headlines all on their own. In this contest, they’re mere loss leaders." The only thing bigger than the Big Apple is three cherries in a row on a slot machine.

2

Best Actor

Maybe the only quicker way to make money than running a casino is running a ponzi scheme. In The New Yorker, the always-excellent Evan Osnos provides the details on one such effort performed by a struggling actor. Master of Make-Believe. "Zach Horwitz was charged with thirteen counts of fraud, in the service of what prosecutors called an 'intricate illusion'—the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history. He had raised more than six hundred and ninety million dollars by deceiving hundreds of investors, beginning with his closest friends. A woeful actor onscreen turned out to have been an astonishingly convincing performer in life." Ironically, this story reads like the treatment for a movie or limited series. Maybe they should make it into one and give a piece of the action to all the folks that got ripped off by Zach Horowitz.

3

Moth Gall

"These moths belong to a group of insects—Lepidoptera, the order that includes butterflies and moths—that’s been around for hundreds of millions of years, well predating us, much less our taste for luxe outerwear. What the larvae are after, though, is not sweater-specific; they’re hungry for keratin, a hardy protein found in fur, feathers, horns, claws, hooves, and other animal adornments." Moths have become so well-adapted to your closet that, "they don’t really live outside anymore." Your home is their home and they're tough to get rid of. The Atlantic (Gift Article): Sweater-Eating Moths Are an Unbeatable Enemy.

4

Distressed Out

Democracy dies in darkness... And in bad editorial choices? A couple weeks ago, we learned the very disturbing news that an upside down flag had been flown outside of Samuel Alito's house. But the story itself wasn't new. It was just unreported. Three years ago, WaPo investigated the same flag story and opted not to publish it. Did they make the right choice? "The wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told a Washington Post reporter in January 2021 that an upside-down American flag recently flown on their flagpole was 'an international signal of distress' and indicated that it had been raised in response to a neighborhood dispute." WaPo (Gift Article): Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag signal of distress. (Housewives of SCOTUS is gonna be Bravo’s biggest show.)

5

Extra, Extra

You Talking to Me? Both sides are completing closing arguments in the NYC Trump trial. And outside the courtroom, Robert De Niro clashed with Trump supporters. Strange days indeed. Here's the latest from CNN and NBC. Meanwhile, the more important cases continue to be delayed and otherwise saddled. Judge Cannon denies special counsel request to bar Trump from making statements about law enforcement.

+ Rafah Strikes: A day after an airstrike hit a camp for displaced persons, Israeli tanks have been seen in central Rafah. Here's the latest from CNN and BBC.

+ TSA for Effort: Traveling this summer? Prepare for crowds. "Five of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history have occurred in 2024." TSA sets new record Friday for most travelers screened in a single day. Or avoid the crowds and go to ... Hawaii? Hawaii visitors uncertain about going as traveler numbers decline.

+ Where The Sun Shouldn't Shine: "Most researchers have understood conspiracy theories and alternative beliefs as being a product of poor education or misinformation spread on social media. But recent research has found that support for them exists regardless of educational level or income. Some of the most privileged people in U.S. society hold deeply conspiratorial beliefs, as do sports fans, yogis and video game enthusiasts." What QAnon supporters, butthole sunners and New Age spiritualists have in common.

+ X Post Facto: Worried about Elon Musk's outsized wealth and influence? Worry more. Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion to fund its race against ChatGPT and all the rest.

+ Down Goes the Champ: Thanks in part to an unfortunate draw, Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of the French Open. Consider this: Nadal has won 14 French Open championships and this was just his 4th loss in his last 116 matches at Roland Garros. Rafael Nadal loses to Alexander Zverev in what may be his French Open farewell.

+ Colorful Commentator: Everyone has a funny and/or touching story about Bill Walton. And every one of those stories is different. In addition to being a college and pro basketball great and the most notable Deadhead, Walton was a color commentator for humanity. ESPN: Hall of Famer Bill Walton, 2-time champ at UCLA and in NBA, dies. The Ringer: Bill Walton’s Long, Strange Trip to Basketball Immortality. LA Times: Appreciation: Bill Walton’s kindness and wonderful wackiness made us the grateful ones. If you haven't seen it, check out the documentary, The Luckiest Guy in the World.

+ Heeee's Out: Major League Baseball's strike zone just got a little more accurate. MLB umpire Ángel Hernández retiring after 3 decades. Here are just a couple looks at his bad calls.

6

Bottom of the News

"The town is home to Europe’s biggest swinger community. Tens of thousands of couples head to the town from across Europe every year to swap partners. But right now, the town is reeling from an entirely new scandal which has the rest of France shaking its head in collective bemusement and amusement." One assumes the mayor and his fortune teller, both currently in jail, are neither bemused nor amused. French town reels from fortune teller scandal.

+ There was laughter, cheering and a whole lot of bruises at this year's annual Gloucestershire cheese rolling event. I’m both lactose and crowd-intolerant. This isn’t for me…