Sept. 18: Pete Hegseth ’03 Says He Won’t Run for President

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth ’03 said on social media that he isn’t considering a presidential run in 2028, shutting down reports to the contrary. — WJLA

Ret. Gen. David Petraeus *85 *87 was nearly struck by a Russian drone that hit a train station in Ukraine where he was taking a civilian train after attending a security conference in Kiev. — The New York Times

In an op-ed, Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser ’81 discussed President Trump’s proclamation allowing the duty-free import of about 660 million pounds of inexpensive beef from unknown origins. — The New York Times

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell ’82 is under investigation to find out whether he engaged in inappropriate behavior with women; the state hired an outside firm for the job. — The New York Times

In an essay, David Treuer ’92 wrote that at Princeton he found people who were eager to hear about stereotypical negative experiences of Indians and were disappointed to find that his upbringing in a Minnesota Ojibwe community wasn’t that bad. — The New York Times

In his opinion dismissing a harassment lawsuit against the singer Lizzo, Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha ’83 said that the plaintiff lacked evidence and that some behaviors by co-workers are “part of the ordinary tribulations of the workplace.” — Billboard

Author Jennifer Weiner ’91 donated $30,000 to the second cycle of a fellowship she created to give six Philadelphia-area writers $5,000 grants to support their writing journey. — Metro Philadelphia

Jennifer Chayes *83, dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley, discussed how math she helped create over 20 years at Microsoft has led to the inner workings of artificial intelligence today. — Science Friday

In an op-ed, former Colorado Rep. Ken Buck ’81 outlined reasons why the U.S. national debt is about to surpass an eye-popping $2 trillion and said voters should demand the government get it under control. — Newsmax

Harvard professor Danielle Allen ’93 discussed the Declaration of Independence and the “perpetual struggle to bring the reality into alignment with the ideals.” — The Kansas City Star

“Going back and thinking about that period of time caused me to realize, wow, you actually were going through something incredibly intense and handling it as well as you could have at the age that you were … . So it gave me a lot more love and respect for my 16-year-old self, in a way.”

— Laura Hankin ’10, explaining how she mined her own teenage experiences to write the script for the film Don’t Say Good Luck. — What’s On Netflix?

Writer and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’91 published an 80,000-word serialized novel for free on Substack, titled Last Days in Two Nations (A History in Eighteen Minds), marking her return to fiction after a decade away. — The Wall Street Journal

Ken Citron ’87 was named the new CEO of Julien’s Auctions; previously he was CEO of The Fine Art Group. — PR Newswire

Princeton professor Charles Fefferman *69 credited the two mathematicians whose work was heavily used by AI to solve one of the Millennium Prize Problems posed in 2000 by the Clay Mathematics Institute. — Quanta magazine

Vasudha Bharathram ’26 was a high school student when she emailed a retired Columbia mathematician to ask for help learning math; today she’s a Princeton grad student. — The New York Times