A hand-crafted flower market and the best of the VMAs

“Robots are Here”…in The Founders Museum

In what seems like an ongoing attack on history and the arts, the White House has teamed up with PragerU (a conservative nonprofit organization that is not an accredited university) to establish “The Founders Museum” — an in-person and online exhibition of American history from a “patriotic” lens. The Founding Fathers are lauded through AI-generated depictions, while contentious issues from the country’s history (like slavery) are glossed over.

Educators and historians are concerned about how this (coupled with the current administration’s demand for changes at the Smithsonian) will impact how US history is taught and understood. The 40 AI-generated videos, in particular, blur the lines between fact and fiction. These historic figures are seen saying things they’ve never said and incorporating certain language that is actually used by conservative contemporary commentators. For instance, an AI-generated John Adams is seen saying, “Facts do not care about your feelings.” He is not known for saying this, but guess who is? PragerU presenter Ben Shapiro.

What makes this unveiling of “The Founders Museum” and the subsequent rewriting of history all the more dystopian is the First Lady’s public address about AI last week, which started with: “The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction.” Melania Trump (now colloquially known as “MelanAI”) continued, “During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children – empowering, but with watchful guidance.”

It seems the expertise of humans is being overlooked and the use of AI-generated propaganda is being celebrated. The way AI is being utilized and talked about by the government is alarming, to say the least…

DWTS Announces Its Cast

Like The Little Engine That Could, Dancing With the Stars keeps chugging along. After being demoted to Disney+ and then returning to ABC a year later, the campy show where B-list celebrities and star athletes fight it out on the dance floor is back for its 34th season.

Some contestants were announced earlier in the summer, including Robert Irwin, Alix Earle, and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt. But now we have the full announcement just ahead of the September 16 premiere, and it’s as weird and wacky as ever. Where else would you get a world where Corey Feldman and Olympian Jordan Chiles share a stage? Personally, I love that Dylan Efron, riding high off his time on The Traitors, is getting another chance to be on our screens. Plus, we’ve got Andy Richter as arguably the most random casting choice.

Richter follows a long line of funny men who have taken to the ballroom, from Andy Dick to Jeffrey Ross. It will be interesting to see if Richter will be light on his feet or ushered out in the first half of the competition, which often happens to comedians.

Another contestant we’ll be keeping an eye on is Hilaria Baldwin. Alec Baldwin’s wife is an “interesting” character to say the least, particularly given the Boston-born entrepreneur’s Spanish accent controversy. She’s paired with Gleb Savchenko, a fan-favorite pro who made headlines when he romanced his partner last year. Expect to see Baldwin in it for the long haul; she has major dance experience.

Before we leave you, we’d be remiss not to mention ABC’s promo images for DWTS. What have they done to Julianne Hough? The pro turned co-host is the victim of bad Photoshop, with her head, particularly on the banner, looking just….off. Note to photo editors, it’s 2025…can’t we do better?

• 🕯️ Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani passed away at 91. His company, Armani Group, says the nonagenarian was working “until his final days.” Boss girls everywhere thank him for his contributions to fashion — especially for his popularized power suit for women.

• 💣 Banksy has made a statement once again, but this time, he might have risked his anonymity. On Monday, the British artist posted an image of his latest stencil, showing a judge beating a bloodied protester with his gavel. The image is believed to reference a recent pro-Palestine protest where nearly 900 people were detained. Painted on a side of London’s Royal Court of Justice, a heritage building, the piece was quickly covered, and police are investigating the matter. If he’s called to court for the incident, Banksy would be forced to reveal his real name.

• 💐 Ready for fall flowers? Artist Cj Hendry’s flower market is returning to NYC later this month. From September 19-21, visitors to Rockefeller Center can enjoy the “Flower Market 2.0” immersive installation filled with 27 varieties of hand-crafted flowers, one of which each visitor can take for themselves.

• ⛓️‍💥 Between the Lines: Prison Art and Advocacy, a recent exhibition at The Museum of International Folk Art, featured the work of incarcerated artists. The works on display offered a wide range of mediums, though there were similar themes of symbolic freedom/imprisonment and a celebration of one’s culture and love for family.

• 🖼️ Amy Sherald has had an eventful few months since pulling her “American Sublime” show from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery due to potential censorship. Now, she’s relocating the exhibition to Baltimore Museum of Art. It’s scheduled to open on November 2 and run through April 5, 2026.

• 🧠 Psychiatrist Dr. Karen Norberg knit an anatomically correct replica of the human brain. It took her 9 months to complete this brain, which she revealed is a female brain. How is this determined? Dr. Norberg has said, “It has a robust corpus callosum, reportedly an attribute women have that’s superior to men’s.” (A strong corpus callosum is associated with improved inter-hemispheric communication and intellectual performance.)

• 🎨 An Italian master’s 18th-century painting that’s been missing for 80 years was found hanging in the background of an estate agent’s website. The painting, “Portrait of a Lady” by Guiseppe Ghislandi, was looted by the Nazi occupation in Europe and has just been recovered in Argentina. This is just one of hundreds that were looted from a Jewish art dealer by a senior Nazi official who fled to South America.

• 📻 The VMAs were on Sunday, airing for the first time on CBS in addition to MTV. While some people care all about the big winners (Lady Gaga) and best performances (Sabrina Carpenter), we’re always most excited about the fashion. The VMAs have always been known for bold fashion moments, and this year’s show didn’t disappoint. Here’s the best and worst dressed according to Tom+Lorenzo, some of our favorite fashion bloggers.

• 💿 Fresh off her victory in court, Cardi B proves she’s a savvy queen by releasing Courtroom Editions of her upcoming album Am I The Drama? In a genius marketing move, the three different covers have all the best Cardi B faces from her time on the stand. Even if you aren’t a fan, you have to respect her hustle. Still not convinced? Watch her take to the streets, literally, to sell her wares.

• 📺 Ever since The White Lotus Season 3 ended, speculation began about where the fourth season of Mike White’s hit show would take place. After all, the location stars in the show just as much as the actors do. While HBO hasn’t officially confirmed it, outlets are reporting that a new quirky cast of characters will be jetting off to France. Now that the country is set, everyone is scrambling to see which of France’s Four Seasons hotels will inspire the narrative.

• ⚖️ Originally airing in 2019, The Case Against Adnan Syed transformed the way documentaries impact those who are currently incarcerated. Now, two years after it was initially set to premiere, the doc is back with part 5, which chronicles the reexamination of Syed’s case after the original series and his subsequent release from prison. Watch the trailer now and tune into HBO or HBO Max on September 18 at 8 pm ET to see the episode.

• 🕹️ Hadouken! Street Fighter is back with an updated film adaptation of the beloved video game. Thirty-two years after 1994’s cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme film, a new version will hit cinemas. Set for release in October 2026, the cast, which includes 50 Cent, Jason Momoa, and Andrew Koji, was confirmed via cool graphics that compared them to their video game counterparts.

• 💃 Reality TV Roundup: Housewives Edition

  • Potomac’s “Grande Dame” Karen Huger was released from prison (in full makeup, of course) on September 2 after serving six months for a DUI charge. It appears Bravo cameras were there to catch the moment, which makes us wonder if they’ll be adding episodes to the upcoming season, which premieres on October 6. Given that the season trailer heavily mentions Karen, it’s likely this OG Potomac housewife won’t be off our screens for long.

  • It’s been over a year since The Real Housewives of New Jersey have graced our screens. With the cast at odds with each other, everyone was looking to see what Bravo would do (and whether they’d keep Theresa Giudice or Melissa Gorga on the cast). If recent reports of test filming are true, it looks like Melissa is here to stay and Theresa will be sashaying away.

  • The highly anticipated return of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is almost here. Utah’s finest return for their sixth season on September 16 at 8 pm ET/PT and we can’t wait. If you haven’t yet watched the trailer, please do, it looks great.

• 🏝️ In other reality TV news: Australian Survivor: Australia V The World had its finale and the world took it home! The iconic Parvati Shallow (from the US) won this global season that was arguably one of the best-ever seasons of any Survivor. Her social gameplay is a marvel to watch. Even as a viewer who gets to see confessionals of other players, it always felt like Parvati had a better grasp of what was going to happen than we ever did. That’s why she was always on the right side of the vote and her name was never written on parchment until it meant voting for the winner — a victory she claimed in a landslide.