New York Magazine 8/7-8/20/17

1 Olivia Nuzzi’s story on Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s romance gave the pair a chance to explain the nature of their tumultuous relationship with the president (“Donald Trump Is Not Invited to the Wedding,” July 24–August 6 ). “I worked about 6 months on and off for MorningJoeback in 2009, and I think this profile does a good job capturing them,” tweeted BuzzFeed’s Charlie Warzel. Of particular interest to some was Scarborough’s refusal to rule out a future presidential candidacy. The story led CNN’s Chris Cillizza to write an article on how “Joe Scarborough is starting to look like a presidential candidate.” But Nuzzi quickly batted this down, tweeting, “As the author of the story, let me just say: No, he isn’t.” Others criticized the fact that the two…

ON JUNE 19, in a courtroom in Downtown Brooklyn, a federal judge took up the enigmatic case of an individual known as John Doe. According to the heavily redacted court record, Doe was an expert money launderer, convicted in connection with a stock swindle almost 20 years ago. But many other facts about his strange and sordid case remained obscured. The courtroom was filled with investigative journalists from numerous outlets along with lawyers petitioning to unseal documents related to the prosecution. “This case,” argued John Langford, a First Amendment specialist at Yale Law School who represented an editor from Forbes, implicated an “integrity interest of the highest order.” The public had a right to know more about Doe’s history, Langford argued, especially in light of “the relationship between the defendant…

Aras Agalarov RUSSIAN-AZERBAIJANI PROPERTY DEVELOPER Worked with the Trump Organization on stillborn plans to build a Trump tower in Moscow and in 2016 brokered the connection between Don Jr. and Russian emissaries. Tevfik Arif KAZAKH-BORN BUSINESS MAGNATE Arif, a former Soviet official, and Sater co-founded the Bayrock Group, a property-development firm that built Trump Soho. Robert Armao POLITICAL FIXER A veteran of Nelson Rockefeller’s staff who tried to help Sater broker a nuclear deal in Ukraine. Andrii Artemenko UKRAINIAN POLITICIAN Worked with Sater on an unsuccessful, Putin-friendly plan to help the Trump administration end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Milton Blane IN TERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER Quietly did contract work for U.S. intelligence. He allegedly recruited Sater to help the FBI, back in the ’90s, gather information on a Soviet radar…

SATURDAY IN THE Hamptons, the hedgerows are trimmed, the hydrangeas are bushy, and the sun is at peak performance. Outside Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee in Amagansett, a group of men and women in luxury sportswear are gathered, and the air fills with the soothing sound of high-end gossip. Chappaqua … We stayed there … His first wife … Adirondack chairs … The best … Chappaqua. But all is not right with the world, one is reminded, as a new figure trudges up the path. It’s Alec Baldwin, clad in a navy-blue blazer, a grim look on his face. The smooth jazz of conversation slows, then stops. As in the city, the unspoken rule out here is that celebrities are to be left alone, but as Baldwin approaches the door, one…

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S APPROVAL rating has dropped by about one percentage point per month and now sits in the mid-30s. At the current rate, it would hit zero in September 2020. (A highly unlikely possibility, though with Donald Trump, anything is possible.) Measured in less quantifiable terms, Trump’s political decline has not occurred in so linear a fashion. It has happened, as Ernest Hemingway wrote about bankruptcy, gradually and then suddenly. After half a year of comic internal disarray, even in the face of broad public dismay, Trump’s administration had, through most of July, managed to hold together some basic level of partisan cohesion with a still-enthusiastic base and supportive partners in Congress. This has quickly collapsed. Signs of the disintegration have popped up everywhere. The usual staff turmoil came to…

WHEN ASHLEY GRAHAM walked the runway for Michael Kors in February, it was obvious that a star had been born. Graham did not look incredible because of her size or in spite of her size; she just looked great, full stop, and we knew we wanted her for our cover. // As the writer Ashley C. Ford explains, women of all sizes are demanding, and finding, better clothing options than they’ve ever had before (though there’s certainly a long way to go and a great opportunity for the smart designers and brands that get there first). // It’s an interesting moment, in fact, to consider who fashion is for. We sent Portland, Oregon–based photographer Holly Andres on a cross-country voyage, armed with the clothes of the season, to dress and…