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Adam Scott debuted at the @PresidentsCup before Jackson Koivun was born ... and the veteran Australian's passion to win a Cup has never wavered. “I’m different in so many other ways … I think I’m the same in my passion for the game.”

Marisa Tomei: The Oscar They Tried to Explain Away She was 28 years old. A young actress from Brooklyn whose résumé was filled with soap operas, small television appearances, and supporting roles few people remembered. Standing beside her on Oscar night were four of the most respected actresses in the industry—women with decades of acclaim behind them. When the winner was announced, the room seemed stunned. And what happened afterward would follow her for years. Her name was Marisa Tomei. This photograph was taken on March 29, 1993, during the 65th Academy Awards—the night she won an Oscar and unintentionally exposed some of Hollywood’s deepest assumptions about who deserves recognition. Born on December 4, 1964, in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood, Tomei grew up in a hardworking family. Her father, Gary, was a trial attorney. Her mother, Patricia, taught English and encouraged her daughter to refine her speech—not because she wanted Marisa to hide where she came from, but because she knew the entertainment industry could be unforgiving toward anyone who sounded different. Ironically, the voice people once viewed as a disadvantage would later become one of her greatest strengths. Her passion for acting began early. At 12 years old, she saw A Chorus Line on Broadway and left the theater knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Throughout high school, she immersed herself in drama productions, earning a reputation as one of the strongest performers in every show she joined. After graduation, she enrolled at Boston University to study theater. But opportunity arrived quickly. While still a student, she landed a role on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, appearing in 19 episodes as Marcy Thompson. The opportunity convinced her to leave college and pursue acting full-time in New York City. The years that followed were filled with auditions, acting classes, off-Broadway performances, and small screen appearances. She had minor roles in films like The Flamingo Kid and The Toxic Avenger, along with television work that helped her stay employed but did little to make her a household name. Like thousands of aspiring actors, she kept working and waiting. Then came My Cousin Vinny. Released in 1992, the comedy starred Joe Pesci as an inexperienced lawyer trying to defend his cousin in a murder case. Tomei played Mona Lisa Vito, Vinny’s fiancée—a sharp-witted Brooklyn woman whose expertise in automotive mechanics ultimately helps save the case. On paper, it looked like a supporting role in a light comedy. On screen, it became unforgettable. Tomei’s performance was energetic, precise, hilarious, and remarkably authentic. Every expression, every line delivery, every gesture felt perfectly calibrated. The film’s most famous scene—Mona Lisa Vito dismantling the prosecution’s argument while testifying as an automotive expert—instantly became one of the great comedic courtroom moments in movie history. Audiences loved her. Critics noticed. And the Academy nominated her for Best Supporting Actress. The competition was intimidating. Judy Davis. Joan Plowright. Miranda Richardson. Vanessa Redgrave. All acclaimed veterans. All widely respected. Many industry observers assumed Vanessa Redgrave would take home the award. Marisa Tomei was viewed as an outsider. Then came Oscar night. The presenter was Jack Palance, the legendary actor who had won an Academy Award himself the year before. He opened the envelope. Then he read the winner's name: “Marisa Tomei.” The audience reacted with visible surprise. Tomei walked to the stage, accepted her award, and delivered an emotional speech filled with gratitude. That should have been the end of the story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Almost immediately, rumors began circulating. A bizarre theory spread through Hollywood suggesting that Jack Palance had somehow read the wrong name from the envelope and accidentally announced Tomei instead of the actual winner. According to the rumor, the Academy supposedly decided not to correct the mistake in order to avoid public embarrassment. The story had no evidence behind it. Yet it spread rapidly. Entertainment publications repeated it. Industry gossip amplified it. The rumor became so widespread that many people treated it as fact. The Academy quickly responded. Academy president Karl Malden publicly confirmed that the results were accurate. Price Waterhouse, the accounting firm responsible for safeguarding the ballots, also verified that the correct winner had been announced. Every official check confirmed the same thing: Marisa Tomei won. Fairly. Legitimately. Without any mistake. But the damage had already been done. Years later, Tomei admitted that the rumors deeply affected her. The conspiracy theory was never really about Jack Palance. It was about perception. Many people simply could not accept that a young actress from Brooklyn had defeated a field of prestigious dramatic performers with a role in a comedy. The assumption was clear: A loud, funny, working-class character with a strong accent wasn't supposed to win an Oscar. If she did win, then something must have gone wrong. Rather than reconsidering their assumptions, some chose to question the result itself. Tomei responded the only way she could. She kept working. In 2001, she earned another Academy Award nomination for In the Bedroom, delivering a powerful dramatic performance that showcased a completely different side of her talent. In 2008, she received a third Oscar nomination for The Wrestler, where her emotionally raw performance earned widespread critical praise. By that point, any suggestion that her earlier success had been a fluke had become impossible to take seriously. Three Oscar nominations. One Oscar win. A career spanning decades. And a body of work that consistently proved her talent. Years later, a new generation discovered her through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where she portrayed Aunt May in multiple Spider-Man films that collectively grossed billions of dollars worldwide. Through every stage of her career, she remained what she had always been: A hardworking actress who continued to let her performances speak for themselves. Look again at that photograph from March 1993. A 28-year-old woman stands there holding an Academy Award she earned through talent, preparation, and one unforgettable performance. Many people spent years trying to explain away that victory. Marisa Tomei never needed to. She simply kept showing up. Kept working. Kept proving herself. And eventually, the work became impossible to argue with. Sometimes the strongest response to doubt isn't defending what you've earned. It's continuing to earn it until nobody has a credible argument left.

Billy Mills: The Dream That Refused to Die There was a time when a young man sat alone in a hotel room, convinced his life had no meaning and no future. The pain of loss, rejection, and loneliness had become so overwhelming that he saw no place for himself in the world. That young man was Billy Mills. Born in 1938, Mills was a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation and grew up on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation, one of the most impoverished regions in America. Tragedy struck early. His mother passed away when he was eight years old, and by twelve he had lost his father as well. In just a few years, he became an orphan. Before he died, Billy's father left him with words that would stay with him forever: "Your wings are broken now, son. But one day, you may soar with the wings of an eagle." Those words became a guiding light. Billy discovered a talent for running and eventually earned a scholarship to the University of Kansas. Yet success did not shield him from prejudice. On one occasion, a photographer preparing a team picture reportedly told him to step aside because of the color of his skin. The rejection cut deep. Combined with years of hardship and discrimination, it pushed him toward one of the darkest moments of his life. Alone in a hotel room near Louisville, he came close to giving up entirely. Then something happened. Whether it was memory, instinct, or something spiritual, he felt his father's presence. A single word echoed through his mind: "Don't." Instead of surrendering, Billy grabbed a pen and wrote down an impossible dream: "Olympic gold medal. 10,000 meters." At the time, there was no reason to believe it would ever happen. He wasn't the world's best runner. He wasn't even considered a serious Olympic contender. But from that night forward, he chased that dream with everything he had. Around the same period, he met Patricia, the woman who would become his wife in 1962. Through every challenge, she remained a source of strength and stability in his life. After college, Mills joined the United States Marine Corps as an officer while continuing to train. His path was anything but easy. He battled hypoglycemia and diabetes, conditions that often drained his energy during long-distance races. Yet he remained determined to compete in the event many believed he was least suited for: the 10,000-meter run. Against the odds, he qualified for the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team. Few people paid attention. His personal best was nearly a minute slower than the world record held by Australia's legendary Ron Clarke. When the team arrived in Tokyo, some officials didn't even consider him important enough to receive the same level of equipment given to expected medal contenders. Billy Mills was not expected to win. On October 14, 1964, nearly forty athletes gathered on a damp cinder track inside Tokyo's National Stadium. From the start, Ron Clarke drove the pace hard. One by one, runners fell behind. Amazingly, Billy Mills stayed with the leaders. As the race entered its final stages, only three men remained in contention: Clarke, Tunisia's Mohamed Gammoudi, and Mills. Then disaster struck. While navigating through lapped runners during the final lap, Mills was bumped and lost momentum. Gammoudi surged ahead. Mills dropped back. His blood sugar was crashing. His vision began to blur. The cameras focused on the favorites. Nobody was watching Billy Mills. Then, with roughly 100 meters remaining, he glanced toward another runner and believed he saw the image of an eagle. Instantly, his father's words returned: "The wings of an eagle." A thought flashed through his mind: "I can win." Mills moved into an open lane and unleashed the most powerful sprint of his life. The television commentators were still describing the battle between Clarke and Gammoudi when analyst Dick Bank suddenly shouted the words that would become famous: "Look at Mills! Look at Mills!" In an astonishing burst, Mills flew past both men. He crossed the finish line first. Time: 28:24.4 Olympic Record. Not only had he won gold, but he had shattered expectations and produced one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history. To this day, Billy Mills remains the only American ever to win Olympic gold in the men's 10,000-meter run. After the race, he searched for the runner whose uniform supposedly displayed the eagle. There wasn't one. No eagle had been there. The image existed only in his mind. The strength he needed had been within him all along. Mills' remarkable journey later inspired the 1983 film Running Brave. He entered multiple halls of fame and received numerous honors throughout his life. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal. More than half a century after his victory, he returned to the Olympic stage in Paris in 2024 to donate his historic Team USA tracksuit to the Olympic Museum. Yet Billy Mills often says the greatest reward was never the gold medal. It was healing. The race in Tokyo helped him overcome years of pain and self-doubt. It proved that the dream he had written down during his darkest hour had been worth believing in. In keeping with Lakota tradition, Mills chose to share his blessings with others. In 1986, he co-founded Running Strong for American Indian Youth, an organization that continues to provide food, water, housing assistance, and opportunities to Native communities across the United States. Today, Billy Mills continues to inspire people around the world. Alongside Patricia, his wife of more than six decades, he has spent his later years encouraging young people to dream beyond their circumstances. His greatest victory was not defeating Ron Clarke or Mohamed Gammoudi. It was defeating the voice that told him he didn't belong. And after winning that battle, he dedicated his life to making sure others never had to fight it alone.

Every Fourth of July, we celebrate the great deeds of our past. We reflect upon the courage and wisdom of our forefathers—of Washington and Jefferson, of Adams and Franklin—and the virtues of the good and faithful citizens who brought victory to the cause of liberty. The people of our country, trusting in “the protection of divine Providence,” wagered all that life holds dear to win independence. The reward of their strenuous efforts, of mind and muscle, is a citadel of freedom where human ingenuity has flourished and produced great prosperity and happiness. Over the past two and a half centuries, Americans have added to their freedom an ethic of industriousness and stewardship, building and investing in the capital markets that were born together with our Nation and continue to propel it forward. May today we celebrate 250 years of freedom with all the pomp and fireworks that are fitting for this great national moment. Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸

Teghan Skiba was a four-year-old girl living in Smithfield, North Carolina, with her mother, Helen Reyes, and Helen’s boyfriend, Jonathan Richardson. They lived in a barn on Richardson’s grandparents’ property, which lacked basic amenities such as running water and a bathroom. The only bedding available was a solitary air mattress on the floor. Despite the grim living conditions, Teghan was described as a “very energetic, vivacious and lovable child.” She loved the colour purple, butterflies, and catching lady bugs in her grandmother’s garden. She was born to Helen and Jerry Skiba, but due to the fact Jerry was serving time at Craven Correctional Institute in New Bern after a felony drug trafficking conviction, he was not involved in his daughter’s upbringing. Much like Jerry, Richardson also had a criminal record. He had a conviction for simple assault and injury to personal property. This case related to an incident in 2007 when he broke the windshield of his then-girlfriend’s car during an argument. He was given six months’ probation and ordered to pay restitution. He was also convicted in Wayne County in 2008 of driving while impaired. On 6 July, 2010, Teghan was left in the care of Richardson while her mother, Reyes, went to New Mexico for Army Reserves training. Just ten days later, Richardson brought Teghan to UNC Hospitals at Chapel Hill where it was discovered she was suffering from “severe bodily injuries.” Richardson had told medical personnel in the emergency room that Teghan had fallen out of bed. Upon closer inspection, however, Teghan was found to be covered in bite marks, cuts and had suffered severe head trauma. There was also evidence that Teghan had been tortured and sexually assaulted. Police were immediately called to the hospital. One of them commented: “You think about how bad you think it is, and it’s that times ten. There’s no excuse for it. It was really just a disgrace to the sanctity of human life for a human body to be tortured like this. It was just a senseless act of violence.” That night, Richardson was arrested on a felony child abuse charge, and over the weekend, medics worked tirelessly to try and save Teghan. On Monday morning, however, she tragically succumbed to her injuries. In announcing the sad development, Johnson County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said: “Over this past weekend, a community, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses and medical staff came to love a little four-year-old girl, Teghan Skiba, who was a victim of child abuse.” The child abuse investigation swiftly transformed into a murder investigation, and detectives embarked on the family’s home where they searched the barn and also a room inside Richardson’s grandparents’ home, where he sometimes stayed. They seized a handful of ominous items including guns, knives, duct tape and drug paraphernalia.

Today I am announcing META-Bench, the first pure intelligence benchmark for AI. It leverages the hit auto-battler strategy game, TFT. I SWEAR I AM NOT TROLLING let me explain. The industry suffers from labs overfitting and giving us models that score high despite being fundamentally low IQ. Over the years there have been many attempts at benchmarking AI with competitive gaming. I am going to explain the failure points, and why META-Bench is truly the first of its kind. Chess. When picking a game to benchmark with, chess is the obvious first choice. It has clear rules, large player base, and a well defined elo system. The issue with static rule games though is that the best strategies can be figured out ahead of time and baked into the model during the training process. Too easily hacked. Memorizing more strategies is not a proof of intelligence. Dota2/ League. We’ve all heard of OpenAI Five. The issue with benchmarking on a MOBA is that reaction speed is a meaningless metric. We do not need our highly intelligent AI to be able to respond at the speed of top human pro players. And truth be told, we are years away from a LLM that is able to play MOBAs at the highest levels off of vision alone, even though the problem is seemingly solved years ago. What we need is a game that: - Has defined rules but cannot be results hacked during the training process - Large ecosystem of human players - Clear cut results and an elo system - Results that is not reaction time dependent There is only ONE game in the world that meet all the requirements needed for this benchmark. Teamfight Tactics. For those unfamiliar, TFT is a strategy based auto-battler created by Riot Games with ~100 million monthly active players worldwide. It is a highly competitive multiplayer turn based game. It’s as if Chess and League of Legends had a baby that’s born to be an AI benchmark: - There is a new set released every 3 months. - Time limitations in the 10-40 second range rather than the milliseconds required for MOBAs - Skill based enough for esports yet uncertain enough to require reasoning over hard scripts “Can’t labs just train models to be good at TFT?” Nope and the reason why it’s unhackable comes down to how the benchmark itself is set up. Due to the fact that the entire game is changed every 3 months and patched every 2 weeks, any data on a previous TFT set is effectively useless when it comes to raw pattern recognition. Strategy wise, there are core concepts that carries over from set to set. That’s why we have the same players hitting the highest elo every season even though each set is so different. Any efforts at overfitting here can be fully negated if the benchmark harness used for all models has every core strategy built in. You are never going to beat a carefully curated harness layer with strategy training at the model layer. By presenting the models in the harness with the same core strategic concepts, the only difference in outputs will be its ability to reason across the different scenarios of each game. The luck elements of TFT already ensures that no 2 games will be the same in the reasoning required. Run the models against each other enough times and you will have a clear winner. Aka, the world’s first true IQ test for AI. I really, really want to know which AI model would win this. So I am going to build this. Not too sure how I’m going to fund it yet so if you would like to invest HMU. I’m also looking to put together a small team of individuals who are both high elo in TFT and highly experienced with agentic AI. And if you are even remotely curious on the results, like and help share this post 🫡