Posts by Sophie Clearwater
The Oldest American Idea About Capitalism
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the country’s forgotten tradition of expanding opportunity through investment deserves a second look. Unsplash+ Near the end of his life, Benjamin Franklin did something unusual for a founding father. He set up a loan fund. Franklin spent his early years in his brother’s print shop, working for…
Read MoreWhy the Legend of the Montauk Monster Will Never Die
The Montauk Monster’s legend lives on. Eli Neugeboren for Observer “It looked like nothing I’d ever seen before,” Ryan O’Shea told Newsday reporter Joye Brown. “It looked like it died angry… I kept thinking, ‘Boy, I hope its mother isn’t around.’” He was referring, of course, to the Montauk Monster, a house cat-sized… something that…
Read MoreSpice Girls’ Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm Marries Chris Dingwall in Stunning Victoria Beckham Dresses
Mel C and Dingwall first met on the dating app Raya three years ago before going on their first date in The Land Down Under. “The spark was immediate,” she said. “I was 49 when I met Chris and I was in a really good place. We had a date in Australia, and it’s been difficult to…
Read MoreHow Livestreamed Child Abuse Is Challenging How We Think About Online Privacy
“We’ve seen it in Latin America, throughout Africa, other parts of Southeast Asia,” says Mike Tsittakalakis, the acting division chief at the Department of Homeland Security Cybercrime Center. “It’s a huge number just for the Philippines but we know it’s not just happening there.” The primary consumer base remains the U.S., though Australia, France, Germany,…
Read MoreKhloe Kardashian Shares Promise Grandma Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon Made Before Death
Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon had a message to deliver. After the mom of Kris Jenner—and grandmother to Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner—died on July 16 at the age of 91, Khloe shared the promise the matriarch had made to her grandchildren about their father, the late Robert Kardashian. “I know Heaven welcomed…
Read MoreThe Essentials With Bobbi Brown: Sag Harbor Farm Stands, Duryea’s and Jones Road Sunscreen
Bobbi Brown is spending Fourth of July weekend in Sag Harbor with 20 houseguests—”all relatives and grandchildren and pregnant nieces,” she tells Observer, sounding less like a woman under siege than like one exactly where she wants to be. Outside, the East End is broiling through a heat wave. Inside, the makeup artist, who sold…
Read More‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher’s troubled son accused of killing cat —possibly in microwave: officials
The troubled son of notorious “Long Island Lolita” Amy Fisher has been charged with killing his pet cat — possibly by putting it in the microwave, according to officials. Brett Anthony Bellera, 25, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Armenti, 36, have both been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after their cat, Reaper, was found burned…
Read MoreThe Cost of America’s Broken Immigration System
Over 520 million people from all walks of life call the United States, Mexico, and Canada home. Our histories, our economies, our cultures—and yes, our crises—are inextricably linked, stretching far beyond our shared border. We must work to build the safest, most prosperous, and most opportunity-rich region in the world: one where hard work is…
Read MoreHigh taxes are already killing New York’s future
Of course, even if New York weren’t on course to hike taxes again in the near future, the ones it already imposes are slowly killing the entire state. That was made even more plain by the new Citizens Budget Commission analysis showing our ever-shrinking share of the nation’s top earners, a decline that now costs…
Read MoreTrump, Rubio and a Zombie State In Venezuela
Some say they left behind the fear of denouncing the state’s negligence because they have nothing else to lose. Social media spread videos of police and soldiers looting the ruins and of volunteers facing them, something unthinkable before the Jan. 3 incursion humiliated the armed forces. Many Venezuelans have understood for years that this is…
Read MoreWhat to Know About the Tate Brothers’ Arrest
“Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free,” McBride said in a statement Saturday. “America does not do Britain’s political dirty work. Not here. Never.” What are the new charges? The Crown Prosecution Service, in a statement after the arrest, said it charged the brothers related to alleged offenses between July 2010 and August 2017 involving…
Read MoreAI’s Execution Problem
The human question at the center of AI Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of AI execution is its relationship to people. Too often, AI is framed as a replacement for human capability. That framing is not only simplistic; it is strategically wrong. The future is not about replacing the workforce; it’s about augmenting it. We…
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