Stop slacking, allies.
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Everyone knows the song.It’s a warm summer night, the top of the seventh inning has just concluded, and the organ begins to ring throughout the stadium. It’s time to whip out the singing voice for one of America’s most iconic tunes — "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." At a time when baseball fandom was overwhelmingly male-dominated, the character of Katie stands out as an unusual creation for the era.Yet few baseball fans, let alone Americans at large, know the true history behind the 118-year-old symbol of our country’s pastime.To get to the beginning, we must travel back to the time of President Theodore Roosevelt. The year is 1908: The Ford Model T makes its debut in the automobile market; New York City drops the very first New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square; and the Grand Canyon is declared a national monument.The story goes that Jack Norworth was riding a New York subway train when he was inspired by a sign he saw that read, “Baseball Today — Polo Grounds.” Norworth quickly developed the lyrics to the song, with Albert Von Tilzer composing the music.The irony? According to reports, neither of these men had ever been to a baseball game. Norworth did not attend a game until 32 years later in 1940.Norworth and his then-wife Nora Bayes would go on to debut the tune during a vaudeville act at the Amphion Theater in Brooklyn. The song was quickly recorded by multiple different groups, with both the Edward Meeker and the Haydn Quartet versions finding mass success. Although only the chorus is sung at baseball games today, the original song contains multiple verses that tell the story of Katie Casey (later changed to Nelly Kelly by Norworth) — a “baseball mad” fanatic who would rather have her boyfriend take her to the ballgame than to the theater. At a time when women did not even have the right to vote, let alone the fact that baseball fandom was overwhelmingly male-dominated, the character of Katie stands out as an unusual creation for the era.The earliest documented instance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" being played at a baseball game was during a Los Angeles high school game in 1934. The song made its Major League debut later that year during Game 4 of the 1934 World Series.Stadium bands began regularly performing the tune during games in the mid-20th century. However, the way baseball fans engage with the song today — singing it during the seventh-inning stretch — was popularized by Chicago White Sox announcer Harry Caray in the 1970s. Caray later brought the tradition to the Chicago Cubs when he became their announcer in 1982. In 2001, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was ranked #8 on the "Songs of the Century" list, and later in 2010, Edward Meeker's recording was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.So next time you find yourself indulging in America's pastime, remember to buy some "peanuts and Cracker Jack" so that you can "root, root, root for the home team" — but never forget: "For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, at the old ball game."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
If no one truly knew how good the U.S. national team was before the World Cup started, then no one had even the slightest clue of how good its defense was.
President Trump is redefining what it means to be a U.S. ally in the AI era.Why it matters: For the White House, it's now about how partners can help the U.S. win the AI race.For decades, shared values and security interests have underpinned alliances with Europe and other partners around the world. Under Trump, that's no longer enough.As AI becomes central to economic and military power, frontier AI models, chips and infrastructure are turning into new instruments of American influence.Driving the news: The Trump administration is blocking allies from accessing the world's most powerful models, playing it close to the vest and criticizing Europe for not having its own robust AI industry.With export controls on Fable and Mythos lifted on Tuesday, Anthropic and the Trump administration are continuing Project Glasswing efforts, which the company previously said would give access to Mythos to 150 more organizations across more than 15 countries.Fable is also back.Commerce retains the power to pull back access when it deems appropriate. "The problem we have is that we are leading everybody by a lot," Trump said in a recent interview with "The Axios Show." "Europe has to be very careful. They're losing their way entrepreneurially."Trump pointed to the U.K. not tapping into energy sources in the North Sea because of environmental concerns: "It's crazy." Between the lines: The Trump administration's AI restrictions are part of a broader transactional approach to alliances.Catch up quick: Vice President JD Vance's speech last year at the Paris AI Summit set the stage for a confrontational relationship with the European Union.The U.S. was quick to rebuke the EU's focus on safety over innovation with Trump entering his second term laser-focused on deregulation. But the president now finds himself behind an ad hoc licensing regime that's creating its own regulatory uncertainty, both domestically and abroad.OpenAI's GPT-5.6 was forced into a staggered rollout last month due to government concerns.What they're saying: European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier on Wednesday said the bloc is looking forward to "intensifying" discussions with Anthropic to gain access to Mythos through Project Glasswing and that, in the meantime, it has access to GPT-5.5-Cyber.The EU has a delegation in the U.S. to determine the scope of a future tech dialogue, the frequency of meetings and the level at which they'll be held.The dialogue is expected to include frontier AI models, chip supply chains and cybersecurity."But we have one clear line," Regnier said, "which is that our sovereign legislation is not up for negotiation."Omran Sharaf, the United Arab Emirates' assistant foreign minister for advanced science and technology, told Axios "it's very important that trusted partners and strategic partners are included in the process."That way it is "synchronized and we're applying similar standards in controlling such technologies, rather than having something that gets imposed."The big picture: AI is changing what the White House wants in its alliances.Just last week, the EU and several European governments signed onto Pax Silica, the U.S.-led effort to secure AI supply chains and critical minerals, even as the White House restricts their access to frontier AI models.For the U.S., Europe is all of the above: a restraint, an indispensable partner and a competitor.The administration is simultaneously rejecting Europe's AI rules, inking deals with the region to secure supply chains and blocking access to cutting-edge technology.The bottom line: With the most advanced AI, allies will have to adjust to being considered trusted U.S. partners only in some cases."The conclusion that governments are coming to is: We'll be part of Pax Silica, yes. We'll work with the U.S. ecosystem where we can. We'll build around what we can't," A.J. Bhadelia, Cohere's head of global government affairs and external affairs, told Axios.
Republican Party lawmakers, fed up with taking the blame for President Donald Trump's failures, are launching pre-emptive strikes ahead of the upcoming midterm election, according to a new report.In interviews with NBC News, GOP senators and operatives unloaded on the president, saying he's already setting the stage to blame Republicans if the party suffers losses in November. Trump has already latched onto the failure to pass the SAVE America Act as "his weapon of choice," they noted.A Republican senator, speaking anonymously to avoid Trump's wrath, laid it bare: if Republicans lose seats in November, Trump "will blame it on us and the fact that we didn't pass the SAVE Act, and nobody will believe it but him."For Trump, "everything is a zero-sum game," the lawmaker told NBC. "He likes to dominate people, and he's a bully, and he's f------ things up as fast as he can, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."Resentment is festering across Republican circles over Trump's quixotic fixation on rewriting the nation's election laws—a bill that GOP operatives view as "strategically misguided." A longtime Republican operative advising key Senate races bluntly observed that the president "blames Republicans for most of his problems. I'm sure he will try to blame the Senate."The operative added that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), "cannot manufacture votes," and that Trump has himself to blame for for alienating outgoing Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The operative argued those lawmakers have no longer have any incentive to bow to Trump's demands. "They will vote their conscience and not for Trump's wishes," the operative said. "Trump’s fixation on the voting bill baffles some Republican strategists, who believe his focus is misplaced," NBC News reported. "A savvier approach to the midterms would be for him to sign and celebrate measures aimed at reducing costs and making daily life more affordable for American families, such as the housing bill."“Poll after poll shows affordability is the top issue, and he’s got signature legislation on his desk that he won’t sign,” one strategist complained. "So that tells you where his head is on the midterms."
Tucker Carlson said that he’s going to help build a third party, although he denied that he intends to run for president as its candidate. The conservative […]
Two federal courts struck down separate Trump administration voter citizenship verification efforts within the same week this June, and the wins for plaintiffs came with an asterisk neither side has fully reckoned with. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, sitting on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, vacated the administration’s overhaul of the SAVE database, […]
