The World
North America
(Jul) U.S. commits to big beautiful tax cuts, law enforced deportation, Medicaid cuts, and adding $3.3T to deficit.
(Jul) Blackstone REIT CEO, Wesley LePatner was killed in Manhattan by mass shooter Shane Tamura.
Asia
Africa & Middle East
(Jul) Sudanese led by paramilitary RSF create parallel government to challenge army backed leadership in Khartoum.
(Jul) Cameroon elections will not include opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, and incumbent Paul Biya looks to retain role.
(Aug) Netanyahu orders complete occupation of Gaza, under grounds to free all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
(Aug) Azerbaijan and Armenia sign peace treaty in U.S. White House, partnering with Turkey. Iran cautiously watches.
(Sep) Chinese Sino-Metals accused of covering up massive toxic spill in Zambia, polluting Kafue Rive with cyanide.
Europe
(Jul) PM Keir Starmer confirms the UK will acknowledge Palestinian statehood unless Israel initiates a ceasefire in Gaza.
South America
(Aug) Following Colombia and Ecuador, Uruguay legalizes euthanasia as President Orsi states it 'respects patient choice'.
(Aug) After 20 years, Movement Towards Socialism, Bolivia’s ruling party is annihilated with only two seats in Assembly.
(Sep) Venezuela calls out U.S. “gunboat diplomacy” as warships, and the Nuclear-powered USS Newport, arrive on its coast.
Sport & Combat
Toronto, Canada (July 17th, 2025)
1903, Cincinnati Ohio, Major League Baseball (MLB) was founded.
The established National League (NL circa 1876) connected with the energy of the American League (AL circa 1901) to become the premier baseball league. The goal was simple; become the ultimate league to draw players, who at the time were moving from one minor league to the next. Today, ‘the Show’ is stacked with 30 professional North American teams and is the third-wealthiest global sports league.
Throughout its storied history American baseball has created legends in every generation, alongside scandals in every other generation. The game introduced us to Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, and even now Shohei Ohtani, who are respected household names. On the other hand, the game has been stained by the Black Sox scandal of throwing the World Series in 1919, similar to when Pete Rose was banned for gambling on his own games in 1989. The 2000’s revealed players in that cohort relied on steroids to lead the homerun highlights. More recently, in 2017 the Houston Astro’s World Series win has an asterisk due to being caught cheating by reading pitching signs from the dugout.
Recognized as America’s National Pastime; Baseball and the MLB are also deeply interwoven into large American culture movements. During the civil rights era, the MLB broke down barriers allowing players from the Negro league to join in the late 1940’s, although with a fight. Later in the 1960’s players unionized to form the MLBPA, to set bargaining terms with the owners. Baseball echoed the struggles in the American civil world, as much as it entertained.
In the 21st Century, the world and media sped up, and it was questionable if baseball could keep up. Yet the rules of the game quickly followed suit, resulting in faster more predictable timelines for games, and television experience introduced pitcher’s boxes and new tools, yet the game stayed the same as ever on radio.
In a year where many of us clamor for stability and a sense of tradition, baseball is a comforting space. The game exudes summer, a spirit of excellence, and a place to set memories under the bright lights above the outfield. As we have just passed the All-Star game mid-season break, predictions leading to the playoffs and the Fall Classic, a Best-of-Seven ‘World Series’ (developed by the New York ‘World’ newspaper), are unpredictable.
The leaders in each of 6 divisions (3 NL / 3AL) showcase it is a tight season where a breakout August run in the 162 games season could reveal a prime contender. As the teams scrap it out, the L.A. Dodgers look poised to repeat their win from last year, but not before the Detroit Tigers who are seeing a resurgence in one of their better years in the last 40 years.
Dinerscape
Toronto, Canada (August 15th, 2025)
A juicy hamburger, toasted buns, with a side of fries, a vanilla milkshake, and an iconic homemade apple pie; the makings of every good Diner menu all across America, teamed alongside ‘the local special’ and a hot cup of coffee.
In 1912, Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney with John Hanf set up their first lunch wagon in the Transfer Station neighbourhood in Union City, NJ. A food truck, of sorts, servicing all folk coming in on foot looking for a good meal. Years later in the 1920’s, Jerry O’Mahoney Inc. set the trend to build prefabricated dining cars, known as ‘Lunch Cars’, designed to represent a trains dining car, particularly that of the Burlington Zephyr.
By 1940, over 2,000 ‘diners’ had popped up throughout the Northeast. These all-in-one diner’s inexpensively fed the public with comfort food staples off the flat top grill or out of the fryer. Patrons were grabbing a spot at the long counter to read a newspaper or huddling into a booth with friends to chow down.
Into the 1960’s over 5,000 diners had spread across America, with regional and immigrant influences expanding the menu to include Coney Island hot dogs, Greek gyros, Philly cheesesteaks, Southern fried chicken, biscuits, and grits. The diner quickly became a symbol, a neon sign seen far from the road, calling out the home for comfort food, welcoming everyone ‘from milkmen to actors to debutantes to teamsters’ all at a reasonable price.
The Diner became synonymous with American values, open to all (even women and minorities started to gain access) to eat at the working man’s restaurant. Artists would gather their late nights in New York, Churchgoers would pile in after Sunday sermons, teenagers would re-group after school to gossip. Pure Red-White-and-Blue Americana.
As the 1970’s came about, Fast Food restaurants began to take over reign of the common persons restaurant and diners began to wane. Instead the restaurant setting became a ‘comfort’ backdrop for ‘Happy Days’, ‘Alice’, and ‘Grease’, for an American audience who have felt they have always been there since the beginning of history.
In the 1980’s the day-to-day relevance of Diners faded just as their nostalgic power grew to be seen as a cultural watermark, representative of a simpler and honest time.
The Diner exists but as a relic of a time lost in a ‘Back to the Future’ movie with Michael J. Fox and the rest of the cast. It represents America so concisely that modern politicians capitalize on it with photo-ops on their campaign trails, like The Red Arrow Diner in New Hampshire. They want to showcase their connection to the everyday man as they order a cheeseburger and a pickle, just like every proper red-blooded American.
