The G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains is unfolding exactly as these gatherings always do: world leaders are making jokes, trading pleasantries, and occasionally letting slip the kind of unguarded remarks that reveal far more than prepared statements ever could. So far, the hot mic moments have been thin, but the week is young, and history suggests they are coming.
Donald Trump drew laughs by announcing "I'm the boss!" upon entering a meeting room. Giorgia Meloni has been bragging about quitting smoking in May. Keir Starmer managed to offer some World Cup commentary on Cape Verde's goalless draw with Spain before being caught asking, in what one imagines was a wounded tone, "Are they having a meeting?" in reference to the temporary absence of Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was a small, painfully human moment.
Previous summits have delivered richer material. In 2011, President Obama was caught on a hot mic complaining to Nicolas Sarkozy about Benjamin Netanyahu, groaning "You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day." Jacques Chirac once dismissed the UK's cuisine at a European summit, declaring "You cannot trust people who have such bad cuisine. It is the country with the worst food after Finland." These moments, more than any communique, reveal what world leaders actually think.
This week's real story, however, may not be coming from the summit at all. The New York Times Magazine published a devastating investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's final weeks at the Metropolitan Correctional Center before his death in 2019, just 35 days after his arrest at Teterboro airport. The facility, notorious for its poor conditions and lack of funding, has since closed. It once housed Bernie Madoff and John Gotti.
Upon arrival, Epstein reportedly said simply: "Oh, this is bad. This is really bad." He initially landed in general population, where someone immediately tried to extort him. He was then moved to the high-risk unit. To maximize time outside his cell, Epstein spent hours in meetings with his lawyers, discussing what information he might offer prosecutors in exchange for a reduced sentence. According to the reporting, he repeatedly returned to Donald Trump, scribbling on a legal pad: "Trump is a total con artist, smoke and mirrors" and "Never had money." Yet the notes suggest he had little of consequence to offer that prosecutors didn't already know.
The magazine also addressed one persistent conspiracy theory. For a time, Epstein shared a cell with Nicholas Tartaglione, a quadruple murderer, an arrangement that seemed suspiciously convenient. Experts explained, however, that convicted murderers awaiting sentencing are considered ideal cellmates precisely because they have the strongest incentive to avoid additional crimes.
Meanwhile, the NHS has issued an unusual public health advisory. During major England World Cup matches, A&E visits drop by up to 17,000 patients as crowds gather in pubs to watch. The health service is urging people not to delay seeking care until the final whistle. After England games end, A&E visits spike by 10%, driven by injuries consistent with falls and assaults.
Brooklyn Beckham has released a DoorDash commercial that leans into meta-humor about his complicated family circumstances and his path to fame. The strategy of celebrities owning the scandal that defines them has worked before. Winona Ryder posed with security guards in a Marc Jacobs ad after her shoplifting arrest in 2001. Charlie Sheen embraced his reputation for instability in a Fiat commercial. Beckham's effort apparently resonated, at least more than his usual public appearances tend to.
Something strange is happening with bees. Across multiple walks to and from school this week, large, fuzzy bees have appeared stranded on their backs, legs waving uselessly in the air. The sheer numbers and their apparent malfunction create an eerie sensation, as if we're watching the opening frames of a disaster film, when animals begin responding to signals humans cannot detect. Flipping them right-side up provides only temporary relief, as many promptly flip back again. Whatever is happening with bee populations, it feels ominous.
Author James Rodriguez: "The G7 will generate its share of diplomatic theater, but the real unease this week lies in Epstein's last days and whatever's gone wrong with the bees."
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