Author: openjargon

• Cressida Cowper almost has a redemption arc in "Bridgerton" season three.
• This did not happen in the book the show is based on.
• Here's how the show and novels differ.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Bridgerton" season three and "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton."

"Bridgerton" season three, part two fails to deliver on Cressida Cowper's new redemption arc from earlier in the season.

Before season three, Cressida (Jessica Madsen) is the typical pretty mean girl, bullying and gossiping about the other main characters.

This changes in season three, part one after Cressida befriends Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie). The series shows how this new relationship helps both characters grow and explains the circumstances that made Cressida the way she is.

"Bridgerton" book fans may be surprised by this, as it's nothing like the source novels by Julia Quinn. Eloise and Cressida never become friends there, and she is successful in finding a husband.

Changes like this are not uncommon in "Bridgerton." The series has been a major success for Netflix, with the first two seasons both being among the streamer's top 10 most-watched series ever.

It got there in part by taking a lot of liberties with the books that are its inspiration.

But season three, part two follows the source novels more closely, making Cressida the villain again.

Here's how Cressida's story differs from the book.

Cressida is no longer a one-note bully in "Bridgerton" season three

Cressida appears in two "Bridgerton" books: "The Viscount Who Loved Me," which was source material for season two, and "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton," which underpins season three.

In "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton," Cressida is a vain, mean bully and a widow in London's high society.

She was previously married to a nobleman, Lord Twombley, who has yet to appear in the Netflix series. However, he dies before the beginning of "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton," leaving Cressida a widow and struggling for money.

The unmarried Penelope Featherington is one of Cressida's main targets. In the books, both women are in their late 20s.

In the show, Cressida and Penelope's circumstances are different, as they are both in their early 20s and unmarried.

In season three, part one, we learn that Cressida's parents are pressuring her to get married. While Cressida is still mean to Penelope in part one, the audience learns that her mean public persona is a facade to hide her insecurities about her marriage prospects and loneliness.

Cressida's new friendship with Eloise is one of the best parts of the season

In season three, Cressida builds a new friendship with Eloise Bridgerton.

This is a completely new storyline for the TV show, and it works well because it allows both characters to evolve.

Jessica Madsen, who plays Cressida, told Business Insider that the new friendship helps Cressida open up.

"She's changing, and they hold a beautiful mirror up to each other," Madsen said. "They're not defensive, and they do hold a mirror up being like, 'What you did wasn't cool.'"

Eloise learns how to help a friend and hold space for their opinions, while Cressida learns how to be less cruel.

The characters' chemistry also sparked theories about a blossoming queer romance between the two. Throughout season three, Cressida seeks out Eloise at almost every event, even after her parents forbid it.

Madsen told BI that she would love for the pair to have a friends-to-lovers arc. However, their friendship does not turn romantic in season three, part two.

Cressida blackmails Penelope for a different reason than in the book.

In "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton," Lady Danbury offers £1,000 — a huge sum — to anyone who can discover the gossip writer's identity. The hunt forces Lady Whistledown's retirement.

When Cressida tries to take credit for Lady Whistledown to get the bounty money, Penelope writes one last gossip paper to expose Cressida as a fraud.

Cressida later discovers Lady Whistledown's real identity, and she blackmails Penelope for money. But Penelope's husband, Colin Bridgerton, reveals Penelope's identity before Cressida can expose her, forcing Cressida into exile.

"Bridgerton" season three, part two, makes minor changes to this storyline.

In episode five, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) offers a bounty of £5,000 and starts a hunt for Lady Whistledown.

Cressida comes forward, but it's because she needs the money to stop her parents from marrying her to an old man.

The rest of the story follows a similar arc, with Cressida finding out Penelope is Lady Whistledown and blackmailing her. But this time, Penelope willingly decides to expose herself to the public.

In Cressida's last scene in season three, she is in a carriage, seemingly going to live with her aunt in Wales.

These changes make Cressida an empathetic villain, which is much better than her book counterpart.

Madsen told BI that Cressida's storyline shows how tough life was for women during the Regency era.

"As the season progresses, we really see the weight of her situation and what her options are, which are incredibly limited," Madsen said. "The options that are available to her are devastating to her."

However, the story sacrifices Cressida's character growth and her friendship with Eloise.

In part two, Eloise does not help at all during Cressida's marriage dilemma and cuts her off after Cressida comes forward as Lady Whistledown.

The show does not really explain why their friendship grows so distant so quickly, especially since Cressida doesn't directly harm Eloise.

Hopefully, this is something the writers can fix in the next season of "Bridgerton."

• Two telehealth execs have been accused of running an illegal drug scheme.
• The DOJ says the executives raked in $100 million by doling out millions of phony prescriptions.
• And they didn't even back down when they found out some of their patients had overdosed, the DOJ alleges.

Two executives of a California-based telehealth company have been arrested and accused of running an illegal Adderall drug scheme to the tune of $100 million.

In a press release on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced the arrests of Ruthia He, the founder and CEO of Done Global Inc., and David Brody, the digital health company's clinical president, in California.

The DOJ alleges that the two executives committed health care fraud by remotely distributing Adderall and other stimulants to patients for no medical purpose and then submitting false claims for reimbursement of the drug.

Prosecutors accuse the pair of not backing down even after they learned Done members had overdosed and died.

"The individuals charged today allegedly disregarded the first rule of medical care—do no harm—in order to maximize profits, and there is no place for such fraud in our healthcare system," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in the DOJ's press release.

Done Health and attorneys for He and Brody didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The DOJ accuses the defendants of luring drug seekers to the subscription-based healthcare service through millions of dollars of deceptive social media advertisements.

They then encouraged doctors in their network to prescribe Adderall, even when the patient didn't qualify, helping them make $100 million in revenue from prescriptions of more than 40 million pills, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors say He and Brody ordered that doctors keep initial patient consultations to under 30 minutes, then set up an auto-refill option to keep patients' prescriptions flowing without the need for follow-up appointments.

The defendants also discouraged doctors from continuously caring for patients by refusing to pay them for any medical visits beyond the initial consultation, prosecutors allege. Instead, He and Brody paid them for the number of prescriptions they doled out, according to the DOJ.

He and Brody, the DOJ alleges, kept the plan going after they were told that people had been posting social media explainers on how to use Done to get easy access to Adderall and other addictive drugs.

In addition to the drug conspiracy charges, He and Brody were also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Prosecutors allege the pair learned about a grand jury subpoena and "deleted documents and communications," spoke through encrypted messages, and didn't provide the subpoenaed documents to the grand jury.

This is the first time that anyone has been charged for operating an illegal drug distribution scheme through a telemedicine company, according to the DOJ.

Both He and Brody face up to 20 years in prison.

• "Bridgerton" season two didn't have quite as many sex scenes as season one. 
• If you wanted more Kanthony sex, though, season three has heard your prayers. 
• Here's where Kate and Anthony end up by the end of season three.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Bridgerton" season three.

"Bridgerton" season two may have had fewer sex scenes than its predecessor. But if you were clamoring for more intimate relations between fan-favorite couple Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton, your time has finally come.

Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) were the focus of "Bridgerton" season two. Their relationship developed as Anthony courted, proposed to, and nearly married Kate's younger sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran) — but of course, he ended up marrying Kate instead.

For enemies-to-lovers fans, it was an absolute feast. And while season two may not have had the same level of actual sex as season two, it's this humble author's opinion that it was no less sexy for it. Have you ever seen two people yearn and bicker so deeply and lovingly? It's delicious.

But if you've felt deprived of Kanthony sex, fear not — season three has heeded your call.

Don't worry, Kate and Anthony are having a lot of sex, and not all of it heir-making

At the advent of season three, Anthony and Kate, now the Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton, have returned from their honeymoon. And they are very happy together.

The couple gets their first solo scene of the season about 26 minutes into episode one, where we find them together in bed in Bridgerton House. It's a slow, sensual morning — some kissing, a hand splayed across Anthony's back — before Anthony ducks beneath the sheets, his hand clasped with Kate's over her bosom.

This is sex for pleasure and passion's sake, not any kind of clinical heir-making. Kate says as much after they're interrupted by voices outside their bedroom door, after Anthony remarks that nothing else in the house could be nearly as important as them "making an heir" to the Bridgerton name.

"We have to start somewhere," he says, splayed across the sheets. I don't think you need me to tell you that this entire sequence is very hot and charming, but just in case — it is very hot and charming.

Later in episode one, Kate suggests to Anthony in the study that they prolong their honeymoon and put off the responsibilities of managing the Bridgerton estate a while longer. Anthony seems to agree enthusiastically, picking up his wife, laying her back on the desk, and dramatically shoving a stack of papers to the floor.

It's just the kind of newlywed festivities that people have likely been expecting, and it makes sense now that Kate and Anthony are no longer the show's major players (that would be Penelope and Colin). And more importantly, it makes sense with where their characters are at — these sequences give us a better sense of their relationship and priorities.

They also feel like a cheeky response to criticisms about season two, given that much of the time we spend with Kate and Anthony together in episode one this season is basically them just being really horny for each other (good for them!!!!!!). There are plenty of sweet moments too, though, including an unscripted kiss for the couple at Lady Danbury's ball that Bailey told Business Insider he came up with.

While a full season of yearning was reward enough in and of itself, a little smut never hurt anyone either.

Kanthony still may get that heir — and some new adventures

By season three, part two, Kate and Anthony have returned to London after their extended honeymoon. By this point, Kate is pregnant, and she and Anthony decide to share the news with their family at Colin and Penelope's engagement party.

In episode seven, Kate and Anthony sit Colin down to make sure that he's doing well before his wedding, and that there isn't a rift between him and Penelope. They share some marital advice, with Kate citing the work that it took for her and Anthony to cultivate their own romance.

But by the wedding breakfast, Kate and Anthony are considering how they want to live their own lives going forward. Kate has heard from her sister Edwina, who wrote that her husband had helped her develop a love for the outdoors. Kate expresses her desire to ride her horse back in India, and Anthony tells her that he would love to see her town.

"In fact, I should love to see it soon, before our child comes," he says.

Anthony suggests traveling to India to prepare for the birth, and tells Kate that he would like for their child to know their heritage in India. And given that he's never been, Anthony wishes to know his wife's heritage as well.

The moment seems like it could be a convenient write-off for the couple, now that they're no longer the main focus of the "Bridgerton" story. But Simone Ashley, who plays Kate, told reporter Josh Rom at the series' UK screening Wednesday that Kate wasn't going away.

"Kate Sharma is here to stay," she said.

All eight episodes of "Bridgerton" are now streaming on Netflix.

• Apple is using its own silicon to run new AI features, but it needs Google to train its AI models.
• As the AI wars heat up, tech giants are tapping unusual partnerships behind the scenes.
• Google employees faced a technical crisis after Apple requested more TPUs for AI training.

When Apple pulled back the curtain on its new AI features this week, much was made of the company's partnership with OpenAI that will put ChatGPT on millions of iPhones — a position Google had tried to negotiate for itself.

But Apple and Google had for months been working together behind the scenes, with Google giving Apple access to its data centers to train the iPhone maker's new AI models.

For years, Apple has leaned on Google and Amazon's cloud services to store data for its products. For example, when Apple device users do iCloud backups they are often stored in Google's data centers. It's not a deal that either company tends to talk about, but it gets Apple access to thousands of Google's machines, helping it provide many of the software features iPhone users love and rely on.

TPUs OMG

When it came to training the AI models that power the iPhone maker's new Apple Intelligence, the company asked for additional access to Google's Tensor Processing Units for training. TPUs are chips specifically designed for AI and Google rents these out via its cloud service, as an alternative to Nvidia GPUs.

Apple's request created a scramble inside Google in April, when Googlers became aware of technical issues that could have stop them delivering what Apple wanted on time.

It was known internally as an "OMG," a Google term for one-off urgent incidents that don't quite warrant a code red. A war room was convened inside Google, according to a person with direct knowledge of the incident.

"Bigfoot"

The team delivered for Apple after a few very long days, the person said. But it was a close call that could have spelled bad news for Apple, which has earned the nickname "Bigfoot" among Google Cloud employees because of how much of Google's data centers it uses.

Spokespeople for Google and Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The partnership underscores how far behind Apple still is in the generative AI race. Most of the impressive features of AI models must be at least partly handled in massive energy-sucking data centers, which companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon have spent years building. As a result, Apple is having to lean more heavily on these rivals as it tiptoes into the AI race.

As some eagle-eyed Apple watchers spotted, Apple's technical documentation hints at the Google partnership, with a mention that its AI models were trained using a combination of methods "including TPUs and both cloud and on-premise GPUs."

When users actually try out Apple's new AI features, much of the work will happen on the device itself. More intensive tasks will be handed off to what Apple is saying are special data centers running new Apple-designed silicon. Where these servers are actually located remains unclear.

Unexpected partnerships

But Apple is faced with a new reality where cloud computing and the chips to train AI models are a hot commodity, forcing it to tap partners that it also competes against.

For example, Apple's deal with OpenAI will give users access to a more advanced chatbot than Apple can offer in the form of ChatGPT. It's also a boon for OpenAI, which gets new access to Apple's vast user base.

The AI wars are forcing tech companies to forge these crucial, and sometimes unexpected, relationships. On Tuesday, Microsoft and Oracle announced a new deal that will give Microsoft access to Oracle's cloud servers for handling some OpenAI workloads. Previously, OpenAI ran exclusively on Microsoft's servers.

Bloomberg previously reported that Google and Apple were also in talks to bring Google's Gemini AI to iOS devices. So far a deal has failed to materialize, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

Speaking in an interview after the keynote, Apple executive Craig Federighi made it clear that Apple is open for business when it comes to AI partners, and even namechecked Google.

"We want to enable users ultimately to choose the models they want, maybe Google Gemini in the future," he said. "Nothing to announce right now."

• Clearview AI has agreed to a novel class-action lawsuit settlement: Handing out stakes in itself.
• The company pulled photos of people from the web to create its facial recognition technology.
• Now, it's agreed to give those people part of a 23% share of the company to settle the suit.

Your face could make you a shareholder in Clearview AI, thanks to the terms of a potential settlement of a lawsuit against the company.

The company has agreed to give people whose visages it used to create a facial recognition app a collective 23% stake in the company, The New York Times reported Thursday. Clearview and the plaintiffs suing the company reached the agreement in advance of the class-action going to trial.

Clearview used a wide variety of photos of people posted online to develop its technology, meaning that virtually anyone could claim to be part of the class in the lawsuit and claim some of the stake, the NYT reported. Law enforcement officials from local police departments to the FBI have used Clearview's technology, according to the report. The US Army was also a client of the company.

Lawyers leading the charge against Clearview argued that the company's approach violated the privacy of people whose photos it used.

Clearview opted to offer a stake instead of cash payments since the company could "go bankrupt before the case made it to trial," according to the NYT.

The settlement still needs to be approved by a US District Court judge, the NYT reported.

"Clearview AI is pleased to have reached an agreement in this class-action settlement," Jim Thompson, a partner at Lynch Thompson and lawyer for Clearview, told Business Insider through a spokesperson. The spokesperson did not respond to a request for further comment on the settlement.

The proposed settlement gives people whose photos were used by Clearview a stake in the company's future. Those who claim some of the 23% could benefit if the company goes public or is acquired, for example. Advertisements promoting the settlement would be placed on social media sites like Facebook.

But the proposal also contains an irony for the people whose photos Clearview AI used.

"Now you have people who are injured by Clearview trampling on their privacy rights becoming financially interested in Clearview finding new ways to trample them," Jay Edelson, a class-action lawyer, told the NYT.

Privacy remains a big concern for many as AI rollouts continue. On Monday, Apple executives outlined a plan for AI that they said would protect user privacy as the company added features to its latest operating system.

While the company is adding an integration with OpenAI on the iPhone and other devices, for example, customers will have to opt in to use it.

• The Supreme Court threw out a ban on bump stock devices.
• The devices allow rifles to fire bullets quickly and were used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
• Justice Samuel Alito wrote Congress would agree with a ban, but still struck the ban down.

There's "little doubt," Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote, that Congress would have considered bump stocks akin to a machine gun.

The devices — which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire bullets at nearly the rate of machine guns — were banned by federal authorities in 2018 after the Las Vegas shooter used them to kill 60 people and wound over 400 more.

But Alito and the other conservative justices still ruled to throw out the ban, saying the text of Congress' definition of machine guns —which the ban was based on — wasn't explicit enough.

"The statutory text is clear, and we must follow it," the textualist justice wrote.

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule that classified bump stocks as "machine guns."

The devices use a gun's recoil to reactivate the trigger faster, allowing weapons to be fired at upwards of 800 rounds per minute.

The ATF had previously allowed the devices but reclassified them during the Trump administration after the carnage of the October 1, 2017 shooting, in which the shooter fired down on concertgoers from a nearby hotel.

But Michael Cargill, a gun shop owner from Austin, Texas, sued the federal government. He argued it had been too broad in interpreting firearms law and that Congress never explicitly meant to ban bump stocks, challenging the law on statutory grounds, not Second Amendment protections.

In its decision Friday, the court's conservative justices agreed.

Writing for the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said that the bump stock couldn't be considered a machine gun because it doesn't fire more than one bullet per trigger pull — it accelerates how many times the trigger is pulled.

"A bump stock does not convert a semi-automatic rifle into a machinegun any more than a shooter with a lightning-fast trigger finger does," Thomas wrote.

Alito, in his concurrent opinion, said the "horrible shooting spree" in Las Vegas proved that a bump stock could cause the same kind of killing as a machine gun.

But Alito said Congress needs to be explicit that it wants to ban bump stocks, too, by amending the law or passing a new one.

"Now that the situation is clear, Congress can act," Alito said.

In a dissenting opinion joined by the other liberal members of the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor trashed the decision as "artificially narrow" and warned it'll have "deadly consequences."

"When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck," she wrote.

• In June 2024, Forbes compiled a list of colleges with the most billionaire alumni.
• Of the 12 universities represented, seven are Ivy Leagues.
• University of Pennsylvania ranks No. 1, with 36 billionaires.

The US is home to over 700 billionaires, so unsurprisingly, many ultra-rich elites attended the same top universities.

In June 2024, Forbes released a list of the colleges with the most billionaires in their alumni network. Ivy Leagues dominated the list, as seven of the most prestigious institutions had upwards of 11 billionaire graduates. (Brown University was the only Ivy not included.)

The billionaires across the 12 colleges listed have a combined net worth of nearly $1.7 trillion. This number only includes the net worths of graduated alumni, so the contributions of college dropouts like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are not included in the calculations.

From Harvard to USC, here are the colleges with the most billionaire alums, per Forbes' report. (The net worths were accurate as of June 2024.)

The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is just one of 36 billionaires to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania.

With a net worth of $211.1 billion, the Tesla and SpaceX founder is one of three dozen billionaires who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, having studied economics and physics, Forbes and BI reported.

Other notable alumni include former president Donald Trump, designer Tory Burch, and Estée Lauder heirs Leonard, William, Aerin, and Ronald Lauder.

The billionaires who've graduated from this school have a net worth of $367 billion.

Located in Silicon Valley, Stanford University has produced 30 billionaires, including tech giant Evan Spiegel.

Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel created Snapchat alongside fellow Stanford University undergrad Bobby Murphy in 2011.

Forbes reported that Spiegel dropped out in 2012 to pursue the app's development full-time, but he returned in 2018 to finish his remaining credits and graduate with a degree in product design.

Spiegel is just one of many Stanford alums who have pursued careers in tech entrepreneurship. DoorDash founders Andy Fang and Stanley Tang also attended the university during undergrad.

Stanford's billionaire graduates have a total net worth of $90 billion.

One of Harvard University's 28 billionaires is Airbnb cofounder and CSO, Nathan Blecharczyk.

Blecharczyk graduated from Harvard in 2005 with a degree in computer science.

The university's alumni page reported that during its 2015 Summer Camp program for students interning in Silicon Valley, Blecharczyk said he was drawn to the university because "there were people who were not just passionate about what I was interested in but about so many different topics."

Other billionaires who have graduated from Harvard include Tom Werner, cofounder and chairman of Fenway Sports Group, and Jim Koch, creator of Sam Adams.

While famous names like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg also attended the prestigious Cambridge Ivy, both are dropouts, so their net worths are not included in the alumni total of $261 billion.

Yale University has produced 19 billionaires, who have a total net worth of $149 billion.

It includes members of the Mars family — the second-richest family in the US and best known for making iconic candy like M&M's, Snickers, and Twix — FedEx founder Fred Smith and Pinterest founders Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra.

Robert F. Smith, the richest Black man in America, is one of 13 billionaires who attended Cornell University.

Robert F. Smith graduated from Cornell in 1985 with a degree in chemical engineering.

Although he accumulated wealth as the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, he credits Cornell and his engineering background with his success.

"I have had the privilege of being a Cornell graduate with a degree in engineering. I credit much to my career success to being an engineer by training. Engineers solve problems and fix things," Smith said after the university named the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering after him in 2016, per the Cornell Chronicle.

Other ultra-rich alumni include fifth-generation members of the SC Johnson family, Moderna cofounder Robert Langer, and Workday and PeopleSoft cofounder David Duffield.

Cornell's billionaire alums have a total net worth of $60.4 billion.

The University of Southern California isn't just known for its athletics; the private university has produced 12 billionaires.

George Lucas, the renowned storyteller behind the "Star Wars" universe, graduated from USC's School of Cinematic Arts in 1967, per the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

The first "Star Wars" movie was released 10 years later, and now Lucas has a net worth of $5.3 billion.

Outside entertainment, the university has produced several real estate moguls, including Rick Caruso and Edward Roski Jr., and Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff.

USC's 12 billionaire alums have a total net worth of $72.5 billion.

Princeton University in New Jersey has produced 12 billionaires, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Princeton's 12 billionaire alum have the second-highest combined net worth of $292 billion thanks to Bezos, the second-richest man in the world with a $203.6 billion fortune.

Other notable Princeton alumni who have achieved billionaire status include investor Carl Icahn, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's list of prestigious graduates includes 11 billionaires.

With a total net worth of $88.3 billion, MIT's alumni network features prominent entrepreneurs in tech and engineering.

MIT's nanoscience research building on the Cambridge campus is named after billionaire Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, who graduated in 1994. Dropbox founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi also met as students at MIT.

Two of Dartmouth College's 11 billionaire alumni have served on its board of trustees.

Lone Pine Capital hedge fund founder Stephen Mandel Jr., a third-generation Dartmouth graduate, chaired the board of trustees from 2010 to 2014, per Forbes.

Apollo Global Management cofounder Leon Black also served as a trustee of Dartmouth and donated $48 million to build the Black Family Visual Arts Center on campus in Hanover, New Hampshire, Forbes reported.

Dartmouth's wealthiest alumni have a net worth of $48.5 billion.

Among Columbia University's 11 billionaires is New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Kraft, worth an estimated $11.1 billion, has donated $8 million to Columbia since graduating in 1963. Those funds contributed to the construction of Columbia and Barnard's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life in New York City.

HIG Capital CEO Sami Mnaymneh, Mediacom founder Rocco Commisso, and Third Point hedge fund founder Daniel Loeb are also Columbia graduates.

The net worth of Columbia's billionaire alumni is $49.5 billion.

Ten graduates of the University of Michigan went on to become billionaires.

Google cofounder Larry Page remains the University of Michigan's wealthiest graduate with a net worth of $146.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Other billionaire alumni, including Related Companies founder Stephen Ross and Groupon cofounder Eric Lefkofsky, bring the total net worth of the University of Michigan's richest graduates to $181 billion.

The University of California, Berkeley has also produced 10 billionaires.

The net worth of all 10 billionaire graduates of UC Berkeley totals $30.4 billion. Charles Simonyi, one of the Microsoft developers behind Word and Excel, is the university's richest graduate, with a net worth of $7.7 billion.

• Global temperatures continue to increase, with 2023 recording the warmest numbers on record.
• In 2021, Oregon, Utah, and Washington broke heat records.
• The hottest temperature recorded in US history was 134 degrees Fahrenheit in California in 1913.

The hottest temperatures recorded in the US were in the summer of 2023, but many of the highest recorded temperatures in each state happened decades ago.

According to the official climate government website, Earth's temperature has risen by an average of 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, and 2023 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850.

But global temperature rise doesn't mean it just gets hotter everywhere at the same rate. In fact, according to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), some states in the US reached their all-time toastiest temperatures hundreds of years ago.

Here's a list of every state and its hottest day on record, from the high 90s to above 130 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NOAA.

ALABAMA: 112 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: September 6, 1925

Location: Centreville

 

ALASKA: 100 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 27, 1915

Location: Fort Yukon

ARIZONA: 128 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 1994

Location: Lake Havasu City

 

ARKANSAS: 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 10, 1936

Location: Ozark

 

CALIFORNIA: 134 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 1913

Location: Furnace Creek (formerly Greenland Ranch)

COLORADO: 115 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 2019

Location: John Martin Dam

CONNECTICUT: 106 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 15, 1995

Location: Danbury

Torrington, Connecticut, also reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit on August 23, 1916.

DELAWARE: 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 21, 1930

Location: Millsboro

FLORIDA: 109 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 1931

Location: Monticello

GEORGIA: 112 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 20, 1983

Location: Greenville

Louisville, Georgia, also reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit on July 24, 1952.

HAWAII: 100 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: April 27, 1931

Location: Pahala

IDAHO: 118 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 28, 1934

Location: Orofino

ILLINOIS: 117 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 14, 1954

Location: East St. Louis

INDIANA: 116 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 14, 1936

Location: Collegeville

IOWA: 118 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 20, 1934

Location: Keokuk

KANSAS: 121 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 24, 1936

Location: Alton

Fredonia, Kansas, also reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit on July 18, 1936.

KENTUCKY: 114 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 28, 1930

Location: Greensburg

LOUISIANA: 114 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 10, 1936

Location: Plain Dealing

MAINE: 105 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 1911

Location: North Bridgton

North Bridgton, Maine, also reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit on July 4, 1911.

MARYLAND: 109 degrees Fahrenheit

Dates: July 10, 1936

Location: Cumberland

Frederick, Maryland, also reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit on July 10, 1936. Cumberland, Maryland, reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit on August 7, 1918, and August 6, 1918. Keedysville, Maryland, reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit on August 6, 1918. Boettcherville, Maryland, reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit on July 3, 1898.

 

MASSACHUSETTS: 107 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 2, 1975

Location: New Bedford

Chester, Massachusetts, also reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit on August 2, 1975.

MICHIGAN: 112 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 13, 1936

Location: Mio

Stanwood, Michigan, also reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit on July 13, 1936.

MINNESOTA: 115 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 29, 1917

Location: Beardsley

MISSISSIPPI: 115 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 29, 1930

Location: Holly Springs

MISSOURI: 118 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 14, 1954

Location: Union

Warsaw, Missouri, also hit 118 degrees Fahrenheit on July 14, 1954.

MONTANA: 117 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 5, 1937

Location: Medicine Lake

Glendive, Montana, also reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit on July 20, 1893.

NEBRASKA: 118 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 24, 1936

Location: Minden

Hartington, Nebraska, also reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit on July 17, 1936. Geneva, Nebraska, reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit on July 15, 1934.

 

NEVADA: 125 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 1994

Location: Laughlin

NEW HAMPSHIRE: 106 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 4, 1911

Location: Nashua

NEW JERSEY: 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 1936

Location: Runyon (near Sayreville)

NEW MEXICO: 122 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 27, 1994

Location: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (near Loving)

NEW YORK: 108 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 22, 1926

Location: Troy

NORTH CAROLINA: 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 21, 1983

Location: Fayetteville

NORTH DAKOTA: 121 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 6, 1936

Location: Steele

OHIO: 113 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 21, 1934

Location: Gallipolis

OKLAHOMA: 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 12, 1936

Location: Altus

Altus, Oklahoma, first hit the record on July 19, 1936. Poteau, Oklahoma, also reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit on August 10, 1936. Alva, Oklahoma, reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit on July 18, 1936.

OREGON: 119 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 2021

Location: Pelton Dam

Moody Farms Agrimet, Oregon, also reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit on June 29, 2021. Pendleton, Oregon, reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit on August 10, 1898.

PENNSYLVANIA: 111 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 1936

Location: Phoenixville

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, also hit 111 degrees Fahrenheit on July 9, 1936.

RHODE ISLAND: 104 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 2, 1975

Location: Providence

SOUTH CAROLINA: 113 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 2012

Location: Columbia

SOUTH DAKOTA: 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 15, 2006

Location: Fort Pierre

Gann Valley, South Dakota, also hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit on July 5, 1936.

TENNESSEE: 113 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: August 9, 1930

Location: Perryville

Perryville, Tennessee, also hit 113 degrees Fahrenheit on July 29, 1930.

TEXAS: 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 28, 1994

Location: Monahans

Seymour, Texas, also hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit on August 12, 1936.

UTAH: 117 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 2021

Location: St. George

St. George, Utah, also hit 117 degrees Fahrenheit on July 5, 1985.

VERMONT: 107 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 7, 1912

Location: Vernon

VIRGINIA: 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 15, 1954

Location: Balcony Falls

Columbia, Virginia, also hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit on July 7, 1900, and July 5, 1900.

WASHINGTON: 118 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: June 29, 2021

Location: Hanford

WEST VIRGINIA: 112 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 10, 1936

Location: Martinsburg

Moorefield, West Virginia, also hit 112 degrees Fahrenheit on August 4, 1930.

WISCONSIN: 114 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 13, 1936

Location: Wisconsin Dells

WYOMING: 115 degrees Fahrenheit

Date: July 15, 1988

Location: Diversion Dam

Basin, Wyoming, also hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit on August 8, 1983.

Sara Kiley Watson contributed to an earlier version of this article. 

• Some famous LGBTQ figures are worth billions after inheriting empires or building companies. 
• In 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially became a billionaire.
• Giorgio Armani is worth $12.3 billion, while DreamWorks founder David Geffen is worth $8.1 billion.

Each June, Pride Month recognizes the historic struggles, accomplishments, and contributions of members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Among these achievements is reaching millionaire or billionaire status. Many high-profile professionals who just so happen to be LGBTQ+ have amassed huge fortunes thanks to their success across various industries.

Here are 11 of the richest LGBTQ+ people in the world.

Elton John has been in the music industry for decades, earning a fortune worth $81 million, according to Forbes.

John began his music career in England and became known for his flamboyant and outrageous costumes. Quickly, he became a cultural phenomenon, launching his decade-spanning career. 

John's five-year-long Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which concluded in 2013, had more than 6 million people in attendance and grossed $939 million, Billboard reported. It remained the highest-grossing tour ever until Taylor Swift took the top spot with The Eras Tour, which kicked off in March 2023 and is still ongoing as of June 2024. So far, it's grossed over $1 billion.

Plus, John has been with his partner, David Furnish, for nearly three decades.

Ellen DeGeneres' net worth is estimated at $450 million, according to Forbes.

DeGeneres began her career as a standup comedian and eventually landed a successful sitcom, "Ellen," in the late '90s.

In 1997, the sitcom aired "The Puppy Episode," in which DeGeneres' character, Ellen Morgan, tells Laura Dern's character, Susan, that she's gay. The episode ran the same year that DeGeneres publicly came out as a lesbian on the cover of Time Magazine and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

In April 2022, DeGeneres reflected on the episode's impact on her daytime talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," in honor of its 25th anniversary.

"When I came out, people warned me that it was going to ruin my career. They were right for awhile. For exactly three years, I lost my career. But look at me now," DeGeneres told the studio audience.

"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" ended that year after a 19-season run following a series of "toxic workplace allegations" made by her staff and guests. DeGeneres apologized on the show in 2020, and in 2024, told Rolling Stone what happened was "devastating."

"I just hated the way the show ended. I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way," she added.

She's been married to Portia de Rossi since 2008, and they live in Los Angeles.

In 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially became a billionaire. He is now worth $2.2 billion.

Cook became CEO of Apple in 2011 after the death of its founder, Steve Jobs. A decade later, the company is nearing a market value of nearly $2 trillion, making Cook a billionaire. His net worth is $2.2 billion, according to Forbes.

Despite his billionaire status, he lives in a relatively modest home in Palo Alto, per Square Yards.

He came out as gay in 2014, becoming the first out CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

"There's been a lot of people that came before me that made it possible for me to sit here today, and I needed to do something to help those people that were in a younger generation," Cook told People en Español in 2019 of his decision to come out.

Jennifer Pritzker, a hotel heiress, is the only openly transgender billionaire in the world with a net worth of $2.2 billion.

A former lieutenant in the Army, Pritzker inherited part of the Hyatt hotel fortune, giving her a net worth of $2.2 billion, Forbes reported.

She came out as transgender in 2013 without much fanfare, but she made headlines in 2017 when President Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

Before this, Vanity Fair reported Pritzker supported Trump and donated large sums to his campaign, but the ban prompted her to support Biden in his bid for the presidency.

Norwegian businessman Stein Erik Hagen is worth $2.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Per Forbes, Hagen founded the supermarket chain Rimi with his father in the 1970s, Forbes reports, and is a major shareholder of the consumer goods conglomerate Orkla. He was Norway's ninth wealthiest person in 2023, according to Norwegian business magazine Kapital.

Hagen, who is bisexual, publicly came out on one of Norway's biggest talk shows, "Skavaln," in 2015, saying he only came to understand his sexuality "well into adulthood," The Local, an English language Norway website, reported.

Fashion designer Domenico Dolce is worth $2.3 billion, per Forbes.

After meeting in a club, Dolce and Stefano Gabbana started a fashion brand together in 1985. The company's signature animal print made waves at fashion events, eventually solidifying Dolce & Gabbana's place in fashion history. 

In a 2017 interview with Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, Dolce said that he was tired of being called "gay," The Guardian reported.

"The word 'gay' was invented by those who need to label people, and I don't want to be identified by my sexual choices," he said.

Dolce's business partner, Stefano Gabbana, is also worth $2.3 billion.

Gabbana told the Chicago Tribune that he and Dolce ended their romantic relationship three years before news of their split became public in 2003. The former couple still own the company and design together.

"It's another style of love," Gabbana said. "The love story continues, but it's different."

Jon Stryker is an heir to a medical equipment company. Forbes reports his net worth at $5.3 billion.

Stryker's grandfather founded Stryker Corp., a medical supply company that sold $18.4 billion in equipment in 2022, Forbes reported.

One of the heirs to the family fortune, Stryker is a philanthropist who donates large sums of his money to charities and scholarships. So far, Forbes reports that he has given away upwards of $700 million.

Stryker also founded the Arcus Foundation, which fights for LGBTQ+ rights and ape conservation.

PayPal's cofounder Peter Thiel is worth $7.2 billion, according to Forbes.

In 1999, Thiel co-founded PayPal, which was meant to be a simple way to exchange money via devices. He was CEO of the company up until eBay acquired PayPal, and his stake in the company was said to be worth $55 million. Thiel was also an early investor in Facebook, and he founded a data analytics company, Palantir, which is valued at $20 billion, according to Forbes. 

He now lives with his husband, Matt Danzeisen, in Los Angeles.

David Geffen, the cofounder of DreamWorks, is worth $8.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Starting as a Hollywood talent agent, Geffen made the foundation of his fortune when he created record labels Asylum Records, Geffen Records, and DGC Records, Forbes reported.

In 1994, he created the DreamWorks film studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bloomberg reported. Geffen also has a large real estate portfolio and a $2 billion art collection.

In 2007, Out magazine called Geffen the most powerful gay man in the country.

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani's fortune is worth about $12.3 billion.

Armani began his career in the military after leaving medical school, Forbes reported.

In the '70s, he started designing menswear clothing, but his career really took off when he started designing for Richard Gere in 1980. Since then, Armani's brand has expanded into an empire, which includes accessories, interior design, and hotels.

The famously private designer spoke about his sexuality in a 2000 interview with Vanity Fair, saying, "I have had women in my life. And sometimes men."

• "House of the Dragon" season two introduces even more dragons.
• Some dragons, like Vhagar, have had multiple different riders.
• Others, like Vermithor and Dreamfyre, have been introduced or mentioned but are still riderless.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" season one.

"House of the Dragon" season two continues to explore the "Game of Thrones" timeline before the likes of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) were even born.

The latest chapter of the HBO franchise will pick up after the events of the season one finale, which saw Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) distraught after the death of her son, Lucerys Velaryon, at the hands of her half-brother, Aemond Targaryen.

Although the ending of "Game of Thrones" divided audiences, the franchise is still a lucrative property for HBO and Warner Bros., so it's unsurprising that they've expanded the universe with "House of the Dragon." Several other projects are also in development, including the Princess Nymeria series — titled "Ten Thousand Ships," and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms."

But until those prequel shows come to fruition, "House of the Dragon" season two (and the already-ordered season three) will continue to deliver all the political intrigue, raunchy romantic drama, and flame-spitting monsters that fans could wish for.

Here's a refresher on all the dragons in "House of the Dragon."

Vhagar is the largest dragon.

Vhagar is the largest dragon in the Targaryens' brood, and the show has made sure to show off how intimidating she is in the few aerial scenes she's had so far.

Vhagar is the oldest dragon of the ones owned by House Targaryen in "House of the Dragon," and was previously ridden by Visenya Targaryen during King Aegon I Targaryen's reign years before the series picks up.

Laena Velaryon rides Vhagar first.

While Visenya Targaryen rode Vhagar in the past, Princess Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) was first to own her in the "House of the Dragon" timeline. We even see her flying alongside her husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), as they head back to Pentos.

Unfortunately, Laena goes through a traumatic birth in episode six that puts both her and her child at risk, and she forces Vhagar to end her suffering by incinerating her with that all-important phrase: "Dracarys."

Aemond Targaryen rides Vhagar after Laena's death.

After Laena's tragic death at the end of episode six, a young Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton) sneaks out in the middle of the night to try to tame her dragon, Vhagar. Surprisingly, instead of being incinerated or being turned into a dragon snack, the young boy manages to take control of the largest dragon in Westeros. 

Aemond taking Vhagar for himself is also the reason he ends up losing an eye, as a fight breaks out between the Targaryen and Velaryon children, and Lucerys slashes his uncle with a dagger. 

An eye for a very powerful dragon? That's one hell of a trade. The pair have another face off at the end of season one, but we'll get to that later.

Caraxes has a neck like a snake.

Caraxes might not be the biggest dragon in the gang, but he's longer than most of the others thanks to his snakelike neck. He's also got bright red scales, which gives him a very distinct look.

He was originally owned by Aemon Targaryen, the son of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, before the prince's death at the hands of Myrish pirates.

Daemon Targaryen commands Caraxes.

Caraxes is owned by the infamous Prince Daemon Targaryen, who constantly rebels against his brother in the series. He even takes Dragonstone (and a dragon egg) for himself alongside his consort, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), and uses Caraxes to intimidate Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and his forces when they try to oust Daemon from the castle in episode two.

However, that doesn't go very well when another dragon shows up…

Syrax has yellow scales.

Thankfully, Otto and the soldiers get some dragon backup of their own with Syrax, a yellow dragon of a similar size to Caraxes. She's a much younger dragon compared to the likes of Vhagar and Caraxes, but she's no less vicious.

It's one of the reasons that Daemon backs down when he's confronted on the bridge to Dragonstone. Although that might also have to do with who was riding Syrax.

Rhaenyra Targaryen rides Syrax.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Milly Alcock as a child) commands Syrax from the beginning. The series shows the formidable teenager riding the yellow dragon in the first two episodes.

Her willingness to face off against her uncle Daemon is probably one of the reasons he starts to be attracted to her in the first place.

The older Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) later gives one of Syrax's eggs to Aemond, the son of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).

Vermax is a small dragon in the pit.

Vermax is much younger than most of the other dragons in the series and doesn't tower over people like Vhagar, Caraxes, and Syrax. He first shows up in episode six, as the dragonkeepers lead him out to Rhaenyra and Alicent's children.

Vermax also has a distinct look, with green scales and a red spine, but he doesn't see any combat in season one.

Jacaerys Velaryon is learning how to control Vermax.

Vermax belongs to Jacaerys Velaryon (Leo Hart), and he's still learning to control the young dragon as he takes lessons from the dragon keepers about how to use the "dreary" command. They're clearly paying off because Vermax responds by roasting a goat on command.

Poor goat.

Seasmoke takes part in the Stepstones conflict.

Seasmoke is another of the Targaryens' dragons, but he's given to the Velaryon family because Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) married Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), aka the Sea Snake.

Seasmoke is a silver and gray dragon, who proves to be a pivotal weapon in the War for the Stepstones.

Seasmoke is ridden by Laenor Velaryon.

Seasmoke belongs to Rhaenys and Corlys' son, Laenor (Theo Nate), and he's the one who saves Daemon in the War for the Stepstones when he goes up against the Crabfeeder and his forces.

Laenor eventually marries Rhaenyra and they have children after the time jump in season one, though their children are actually fathered by Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).

After Laenor's faked death, Seasmoke is currently riderless in Dragonstone. But according to the books, he'll eventually get an unexpected new rider. 

Meleys is also called the "Red Queen."

Meleys is a very large red dragon and she's been seen a few times in "House of the Dragon," first showing up as she heads to King's Landing next to Seasmoke and Laenor Velaryon.

But Meleys is becoming a key weapon against Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). And her explosive entrance in episode nine's Dragonpit coronation scene is one for the ages.

Rhaenys Targaryen still flies Meleys.

Meleys is ridden by Laenor's mother, Rhaenys, who is King Viserys I Targaryen's cousin. She and Corlys are quick to suggest that the king marries Laena when she's 12 years old. Thankfully, he declined and married Alicent instead.

It's worth remembering that Rhaenys is also the one who warns Rhaenyra that she is in a dangerous position as successor to the Iron Throne because most men don't want a woman ruling Westeros.

Rhaenys proves that she's just as dangerous as anyone else in House Targaryen when she crashes Aegon's coronation with Meleys in episode nine.

Dreamfyre was meant for Baelon Targaryen.

There's also Dreamfyre. Don't worry if this isn't instantly ringing any bells, because she's only mentioned briefly back in the small council meeting during episode two.

Dreamfyre gets name-dropped because Daemon steals one of her eggs that was intended for Rhaenyra's baby brother, Baelon Targaryen, who died briefly after Queen Aemma gave birth to him in episode one.

Princess Helaena will eventually ride Dreamfyre, according to the book.

Viserys and Alicent's daughter, Princess Helaena (played by Evie Allen), hasn't become a major part of "House of the Dragon" yet. But she will eventually be the one to ride Dreamfyre, as per the 2018 "Fire and Blood" book by "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin.

No spoilers, but an older Helaena (played by Phia Saban later in season one and in season two) becomes a vital part of the civil war, dubbed the "Dance of Dragons" that tears apart House Targaryen.

Daemon finds Vermithor under Dragonstone.

The finale introduces Vermithor, who is one of the riderless dragons living on Dragonstone. It's definitely helpful for Rhaenyra and Daemon to have several dragons that could be tamed in time for a coming civil war. Although Vermithor isn't as big as Vhagar, he's still a towering beast.

The finale introduces him when Daemon goes wandering into the caves underneath Dragonstone.

Fans who have read "Fire & Blood" will know that Vermithor will remain riderless for a little longer. No spoilers, but the person who ends up flying the dragon into battle is from the unlikeliest background. Expect to see a lot more of Vermithor as the Dance of Dragons really kicks off in future seasons.

Arrax clashes with Vhagar.

The finale also gives audiences another new dragon, Arrax, a much smaller dragon than many of the others ridden by House Targaryen. He has pearlescent scales with red spines and is a nimble flier — as seen in the finale when he dives through rocky terrain to escape Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and Vhagar.

Unfortunately, Arrax disobeys his rider by briefly attacking Vhagar, and the larger dragon also ignores Aemond and responds with brutal force. After chasing Arrax for a while, Vhagar kills the younger dragon and his rider with a single chomp with his massive jaws. 

It's at that moment that Aemond knows he messed up because Vhagar's impulsive violence causes Rhaenyra to go to war.

Lucerys Velaryon rides Arrax.

Arrax belongs to Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), and he was given the dragon by King Viserys as a way of dispelling the rumors about him being the son of Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr). But the finale is the first time we see Lucerys and Arrax fly together because Rhaenyra sends them on a diplomatic mission to speak with Lord Borros Baratheon (Roger Evans). 

Unfortunately, Aemond got there first, and he tried to get revenge on Lucerys for cutting his eye out when they were children. But Borros intervenes, which is why Aemond takes to the skies with Vhagar instead.

Their chase ultimately leads to Vhagar chomping Lucerys and Arrax, which was an accident. But obviously, Rhaenyra doesn't see it like that. Oh dear.