Gossip
California stiffs feds on $20B loan — taxpayers pick up the tab
Deadbeat California lawmakers still haven’t paid off a $20 billion federal loan for unemployment claims during the pandemic — and struggling businesses are picking up the ballooning tab instead....
Hochul vetoes bill to recognize Long Island Indian nation as leaders rail that gov ‘just doesn’t get it’
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed another bill that would have recognized the sovereignty of a Long Island Native American group — riling tribal leaders who said the Democrat “just doesn’t...
Don’t Miss: Tatiana Trouvé’s Maps of Memory and Collapse at Palazzo Grassi
Tatiana Trouvé, Hors-sol, 2025. Part of “Tatiana Trouvé. The strange Life of Things” in Venice. © Tatiana Trouvé, by SIAE 2025 Ph. Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto / Marco...
Nostalgia Is Not a Strategy: Rethinking Competitiveness in 2026
In a world of geopolitical rivalry, supply-chain vulnerability and rising costs, competitiveness has become a strategic balancing act. Unsplash+ Competitiveness is not a new concept. It is likely embedded...
Observer’s Guide to the Best Dance Coming to New York City This Winter
In late winter, you can see the French-Algerian choreographer Hervé Koubi’s uplifting Sol Invictus. STERNALSKI Winter in New York City can be cold and bleak, but thankfully, it’s also...
Failing grades for Newsom from his own state auditor
California’s nonpartisan auditor just failed eight state agencies run by Gavin Newsom, sending a clear message to residents: your state is broken. While Newsom has hailed California’s laughable cost-cutting...
Oslo Museums Face the Contradictions in their Collections
Chaza Charafeddine, Divine Comedy Series: Untitled V, 2010. © Chaza Charafeddine One cold Oslo morning in mid-November, the kind where each hour of daylight is a gift and the...
5 Days of Art in Hong Kong: Ancient History, Contemporary Culture and Endless Contrasts
This is a city where the old and the new coexist. Photo: Christa Terry for Observer I’ve never been to Asia before, and in the weeks leading up to...
When Philanthropy Loses Trust, Design Becomes Civic Infrastructure
Design, long used to protect institutions, may be philanthropy’s most effective tool for rebuilding trust. Unsplash+ Philanthropy, once broadly regarded as a force for civic good, is increasingly now...
Meet the Power Couple Behind Kim Kardashian’s $5B Skims
Jens Grede (L) and Emma Grede attend the NikeSKIMS Launch Event at Nike House of Innovation on Sept. 24, 2025 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for SKIMS...
