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A luxury cruise ship is currently being held off the coast of West Africa after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus—a rare infectious disease typically carried by rodents—killed three passengers and infected three others. The World Health Organization (WHO) shared the news of the suspected outbreak in a post to X. According to the organization, one case of hantavirus on the ship, MV Hondius, had been confirmed through laboratory testing, and there are five additional suspected cases. Of those six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa. According to an official update from Dutch company Oceanwide Expe…

Say what you will about Crumbl Cookies. It’s always sure to get a reaction. Earlier this month, when a sudden swirl of social media rumors began to suggest that the polarizing bakery chain was closing down, some of the online reactions were downright gleeful. “Too sweet and too expensive!” went one typical comment. The chatter was so loud that Crumbl cofounder Sawyer Hemsley took to TikTok to dispel the rumor, explaining that the fast-growing chain is just moving offices as it prepares for its next wave of expansion. But while reports of Crumbl’s demise may be premature, the chain has in fact closed a number of locations over the last few years following a pe…

The founders of Crumbl are stepping down. The move comes amid a “planned transition” for the cookie chain, the leaders shared in an X post on Monday. The post, shared by CEO Jason McGowan, explained that he, along with co-founder and chief brand officer Sawyer Hemsley, as well as chief technology officer Bryce Redd will all be leaving their roles permanently. The three will remain in their positions until they find outside replacements through “rigorous hiring process.” The post explained that the leaders would remain closely connected to the brand with McGowan becoming chairman of the board and Hemsley and Redd as board members. “I believe now is the right time …

CoreWeave and Nvidia announced Monday that the AI chipmaker has invested another $2 billion as part of a plan to accelerate the buildout of more than five gigawatts of artificial-intelligence (AI) factories by 2030. That’s on top of its previous $3.3 billion investment. CoreWeave is a cloud computing platform focused on artificial intelligence. According to a release from Nvidia, the chipmaker bought CoreWeave Class A common stock at $87.20 a share, which “reflects it’s confidence in CoreWeave’s business, team and growth strategy as a cloud platform built on NVIDIA infrastructure.” The news sent shares of CoreWeave, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWV) up 12% in Monday mornin…

Onetime cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a $40 billion crash revealed his crypto ecosystem to be a fraud. Victims said the 34-year-old financial technology whiz weaponized their trust to convince them that the investment — secretly propped up by cash infusions — was safe. Kwon, a Stanford graduate known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” apologized after listening as victims — one in court and others by telephone — described the scam’s toll: wiping out nest eggs, depleting charities and wrecking lives. One told the judge in a letter that he contemplated suicide after his father lost his retirement money in the scheme. …

In 1996, the cellular phone industry lost $650 million to fraud. Criminals with electronic scanners could pluck your phone number right out of the air and clone it onto another device. Your bill would spike. You’d have no idea why. And if you complained, good luck getting anyone to take you seriously. That same year, AT&T started running ads on New York subways, ferries, and buses warning people about cellular theft. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the technology. If you were paying attention in the ’90s, you’d have been forgiven for thinking cell phones were a mess. Confusing billing. Rampant fraud. A patchwork of state regulations that couldn’t keep…

For all of the risks and potential dangers associated with crypto, it is still becoming an increasingly mainstream asset. That’s according to the latest data from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a non-profit aimed at helping Americans better understand cryptocurrency and digital assets. One in five Americans currently owns cryptocurrency in some shape or form, according to the NCA’s 2025 State of Crypto Holders Report. The report, which was produced with The Harris Poll, also finds that nearly 40% use crypto to pay for goods or services, and that two-thirds say that crypto “has a positive impact on their lives.” The data was sourced from a Harris Po…

Picture this: You walk into a coffee shop, order a latte, and pay with your phone. To you, it feels like checking out with Venmo. And to the cashier, it’s business as usual. But behind the scenes, something different is happening: You just paid with crypto. This isn’t science fiction—it’s already happening. From Starbucks to Walmart, retailers are rolling out crypto acceptance, and consumers are responding. Surveys show 39% of U.S. crypto holders have shopped with crypto (with 9% doing so daily), while 23% of non-holders say they’d use crypto if they could shop with it. That’s millions of shoppers who want the choice to pay with digital assets, but don’t realize t…

The CEO of Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek, announced on Thursday that he was laying off 12% of the company’s staff. Marszalek cited AI as the driving factor behind the layoffs. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Thursday, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek took to X to announce that the company was cutting 12% of its staff. Marszalek cited AI as the reason for the layoffs. In the X post, Marszalek said that Crypto.com was “joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI” and suggested that those who do not embrace artificial intelligence won’t be around for long. “Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail,” Marszalek wr…

President The President recently promised to make America the “crypto capital of the world.” And his administration is working hard to make that pledge a reality. White House officials have established a working group on digital asset markets and directed federal agencies to craft a strategy to cement U.S. leadership. The president’s legislative team, meanwhile, helped push the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act),through Congress earlier this summer, thus creating the first federal framework for stablecoins. And they’re working to pass the Clarity Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act), which would finally settle dispute…

This week in branding news, Volvo released its first-ever entirely AI-generated ad, fashion brand Pretty Little Thing attempted to overhaul its brand image, and Crystal Light made a late bid on the canned cocktail craze. Here’s everything you need to know. Volvo veers into the uncanny valley The news: Volvo just released a new AI-generated ad, and it doesn’t include a single car. That was probably a mistake. Big picture: The ad, which aired in Saudi Arabia, is Volvo’s first spot made entirely with AI. Created by the agency Lion, the minute-long video used Midjourney for visuals, Runway editing software for touch-ups, and ChatGPT for narration. It’s essentially …

CSX railroad announced Monday that it had replaced its CEO less than two months after an investment fund urged it to either find another railroad to merge with to better compete with the proposed transcontinental Union Pacific railroad or fire outgoing CEO Joe Hinrichs. The outgoing CEO, who came to the railroad in 2022 after a long career with Ford, focused on repairing CSX’s relationship with its workers and labor unions and unifying the team after a bitter contract fight. But Ancora Holdings, which helped spur major changes at Norfolk Southern, said CSX’s operating performance deteriorated significantly under Hinrichs’ leadership. Hinrichs resigned to clear the way…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and health officials in several states are investigating a multistate Salmonella infection outbreak linked to whole cucumbers grown in Florida and shipped around the country. As a result of the ongoing investigation, health officials have recalled whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29, 2025, and May 19, 2025. As of Monday, 26 people have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella. Cases have been reported in 15 states. Nine people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. Several pe…

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a multistate investigation of a Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers believed to have been grown by Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida. That outbreak has so far sickened 26 people in 15 states. And now, that outbreak has caused Walmart to recall a select cucumber product from some of its stores. Here’s what you need to know about Walmart’s cucumber recall. What’s happened? On May 22, Walmart announced that it was recalling a select cucumber product over fears that it had the possibility of being contaminated with Salmonella…

Hi there! My name is Marcus Collins, DBA, and I study culture and its influence and impact on human behavior at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Each week, this column will explore the inner workings of organizational culture and the mechanisms that make it tick. Every entry will be accompanied by an episode from my podcast, From the Culture, that digs deeper into the culture of work from my conversations with the organizational leaders that make it all happen. If culture eats strategy for breakfast, then this is the most important conversation in business that you are not having. Sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a beat. …

The country that gave the world ABBA punches far above its weight in global pop music. In early April, Zara Larsson was the fourth-biggest female artist on Spotify, behind Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean, and Raye. The month prior, Larsson had become the first Swedish artist to top the Billboard Global 200. Her fans were delighted. So were Swedes. Sweden’s music industry is a clear example of soft power. An army of Swedish songwriters and producers appear in the credits of pop hits. Max Martin has written more chart-toppers than anyone except Paul McCartney. The Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, and Robyn are household names. With a population of just 10.6 million people, Sw…

AI is transforming the world of work—and many people are unhappy about that fact. KPMG’s 2025 American Worker Survey found that 52% of workers worry that AI will take their jobs, with that figure rising to 60% for Gen Z. A recent report by the AI firm Writer found that almost a third of employees report sabotaging their company’s efforts towards AI transformation. There are few, if any, parallels for this level of resistance to the adoption of a technology in the modern workplace. Yet most businesses that fail to adapt to the emergence of AI will soon find themselves out of business altogether. In early 2023, Eric Vaughan, CEO of the enterprise software company Ignit…

I’ve read a lot of books on building a culture at work. A lot of the advice is well intentioned but to me overly complex. A 20-step framework is a lot harder to live by than a simple operating principle. Culture is something people feel and live more than implement. Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz wrote in his book What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, “It’s not the values you list on the wall. It’s not what you say in company-wide meetings. It’s not your marketing campaign. It’s not even what you believe. Who you are is what you do.” For me, culture is created through actions. It’s the choices leaders make every day that shape how peop…