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Many Americans are likely to see massive changes to their taxes in 2026, especially seniors. That’s largely due to President Donald The President’s so-called big, beautiful bill, a massive 940-page bill signed into law over the summer that includes an array of new tax write-offs but also fails to renew some previous deductions from the Biden administration. One change is a $6,000 deduction for seniors. Here’s what to know. Who qualifies for the new senior tax deduction? The President’s tax and spending law introduced a $6,000 deduction for qualifying seniors ages 65 and older, on top of the current additional standard deduction for seniors under existing law. Taxpayers must attain age 65 on or before the last day of the taxable year to be eligible. The $6,000 senior deduction (or $12,000 for a married couple where both spouses qualify) applies to an eligible individual earning up to $75,000 in modified adjusted gross income, or up to $150,000 for joint filers. It is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers. Taxpayers must include the Social Security number of the qualifying individual(s) on the return, and file jointly if married, to claim the deduction. How does the deduction impact Social Security? The deduction is meant to offset upcoming federal taxes on Social Security payments. Older taxpayers could be taxed up to 85% based on their “combined income,” which is calculated based on a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income plus half of their Social Security benefits, according to CNBC. Anything else to know? According to the IRS, the deduction expires at the end of 2028, right before The President leaves office, making this a temporary deduction effective for tax years 2025 through 2028. View the full article

It’s rare that your esoteric, impossible-to-pronounce, decade-long research project becomes a technology so crucial to national security that the President of the United States calls it out from the White House. But that’s exactly what happened to Dr. Eric Wengrowski, the CEO of Steg AI. Wengrowski spent nearly a decade of his life advancing steganography, a deeply-technical method for tracking images as they travel through the machinery of the modern Internet, as the focus of his PHD at Rutgers University. After earning his degree, Wengrowki and a team of co-founders rolled his tech into a small startup. For several years, the company grew, but mostly toiled away in relative obscurity. Then, AI image generators exploded into the public’s consciousness. And for Wengrowki and Steg’s team, everything blew up. Durable Marks I met Wengrowski during the pandemic, when we both volunteered to help a media industry trade group rapidly pivot its yearly in-person conference to a Zoom format. For years, I only knew Wengrowski as a cheerful, highly-intelligent floating head in my video chat window. I even interviewed him for my YouTube channel from the COVID-safe confines of our respective home offices. When I finally met him in person in San Francisco in 2023, I discovered that he’s actually a towering 6 feet 3 inches tall. It was one of those iconic pandemic professional meet-cute moments people joke about, where you find that someone you’ve virtually “known” for years looks totally different in person. What wasn’t different about Wengrowski in real life was his intense interest and passion for his chosen field. Steganography (pronounced STEG-an-ography, like the “Steg” in “stegasaurus”) is a technique for embedding an invisible code into the pixels of an image. Basically, a complex algorithm subtly changes selected pixels in a way that’s invisible to human perception. Images look no different after being marked with a steganographic watermark than they did before. Yet, when special software looks at the marked image, the unique code embedded in its pixels comes through clearly to the software’s computerized eyes. The presence of that code lets companies like Steg track a marked image back to its source with extremely high accuracy. Crucially, because the code is embedded directly into the image’s pixels, it’s also nearly impossible to remove. Bad actors can easily crop out a physical watermark from an image’s pixels, or use a tool like Photoshop to scrub data from the image’s IPTC or EXIF metadata fields. In contrast, because steganographic watermarks live directly in the visual part of the image itself, they travel with the image no matter where it goes. And they survive the most common image-related funny business that nefarious people might try to use to remove them. All steganographic watermarks can survive things that amateur image thieves might try, like aggressive cropping, or even the common practice of taking a screenshot of an image in order to stealthily steal it. But Steg’s tech goes even further, Wengrowski told me in an interview. If for example you load an image watermarked by the company’s tech on your computer screen, take out your phone, and photograph the physical screen, the company’s watermarks will survive in the new image on your phone. Your nefarious copy will remain traceable to the original with Steg’s tech. AI Explodes Everything When Wengrowski originally developed Steg’s technology, he knew it was cool. And he had a hunch that it was useful for something. But exactly what that “something” might involve wasn’t originally clear. In the early days, Steg slowly grew by helping companies with legal compliance and image protection. Steg would embed its watermarks in copyrighted images, for example, and then trace where those images ended up. If someone stole and used a copyrighted image without permission, Steg’s embedded watermarks could be used to prove the theft and could help lead to a legal settlement. The company also worked to safeguard things like pre-release images of a new product. If a company sent top-secret images of a new phone (marked with Steg’s tech) to a supplier, for example, and those photos suddenly ended up as a leak in TechCrunch, the company could trace the embedded watermark and know who to blame. That was enough for Steg to grow slowly and steadily improve its tech. Then, in 2022, everything changed. All at once, OpenAI released its Davinci image generation model (remember the avocado chairs?), Midjourney rolled out its then world-beating image generation tech, and Google leaned into image generation within its Bard and later Gemini AI models. Almost overnight, the world was awash in AI images. And very quickly, they became so realistic that everyday people had trouble knowing what was real and what was AI generated. This presented a huge problem for AI companies. They wanted to release their tech far and wide. But they fretted about the potential societal (and legal) consequences if their images were used for deepfakes to deceive people, or even to sway elections. And more broadly, anyone with an interest in the veracity of images suddenly had a huge problem knowing what was real and what was AI-generated. Everything from news reporting to war crimes tribunals rely on imagery as evidence. What happens when that imagery can be quickly and cheaply spun up by an AI algorithm? Yes, AI companies can physically watermark their images (such as by adding a little Gemini star in the lower right), or embed “Generated by AI” markers in their images’ metadata. But again, removing those markers is child’s play for even the least sophisticated scammers. With AI image generators storming the world, the origins and veracity of every image online was suddenly called into question. Thank You, Mr. President That led to a bizarre situation for any deeply technical person pursuing their random, highly-specific passion in relative obscurity. On October 30, 2023, Wengrowki woke to find that then-president Joe Biden had issued an executive order specifically calling out AI watermarking tech, highlighting it as a crucial factor in national security, and ordering all Federal agencies to use it. Specifically, Biden’s order mandated “embedding information” that is “difficult to remove, into outputs created by AI — including into outputs such as photos, videos, audio clips, or text — for the purposes of verifying the authenticity of the output or the identity or characteristics of its provenance, modifications, or conveyance.” The order also specifically called for the rapid development of “science-back standards and techniques for…labeling synthetic content, such as using watermarking.” Biden framed this as mission critical–the term “national security” appears 36 times in his executive order. Basically, Biden was mandating the use of tech like steganography, and specifically calling it out from the White House. When that happened, Wengrowski told me, everything went crazy. Since the order–and the corresponding growth of AI imagery more broadly–Steg’s revenue has increased 500%. Moreover, protecting the integrity of images appears bipartisan–Wengrowski told me that AI watermarking has been embraced by both the Biden and The President administrations. In an extremely tight AI job market where top researchers can command eight-figure salaries, Steg now employs five machine learning PHDs devoted to improving its technologies. Although Wengrowski couldn’t share his customer list on the record, I can vouch for the fact that it’s wildly impressive. While keeping its legal compliance and image tracing side alive, Steg has expanded aggressively into the world of cybersecurity and AI image watermarking. For AI companies that want to ply their trade without ruining humanity’s trust in visual media, Steg’s tech is a lifeline. Companies can embed a steganographic watermark directly into AI images the moment they’re generated. For the life of an image, the code travels with it, even if it’s reposted, edited or altered. If that image is used as a deepfake or used to manipulate or harass people, the company that created it can quickly read the embedded steganographic watermark in its pixels, definitively label it as a fake, and quickly dispel any damage the image might cause. If you’ve created an AI image in the last year, you’ve almost certainly used steganography without even knowing it. Most major AI image generation companies now use the tech. Many use Steg’s. And in a world where AI images are so good that they easily fool most detectors (and even trained forensic image analysts), many companies see steganography as the only bulwark against AI’s total destruction of any truth still left in the visual world. A Wild Ride For Steg and for Wengrowski personally, it’s been a wild ride. Right as Biden issued his order, Wengrowski became a father, and now juggles the everyday struggles and joys of a young parent with the rigors of such things as constant travel and testifying in state legislatures. The rise of AI imagery has also revealed some counterintuitive challenges. When Steg first launched, Wengrowski told me, he expected that people would yearn for a technology that could prove whether an image was real or fake. In reality, he was surprised by how little people care. Many people are fine with seeing AI generated content, as long as it’s funny, informative or otherwise engaging. Whether or not it’s properly labeled as AI matters very little to them. More pointedly, it matters very little to the social media platforms that disseminate the content, too. Again, though, for the companies who create that content–and who face legal and reputational risk if their tech runs awry–it matters an awful lot. Wengrowski tells me that Steg is continuing to improve its tech, making its watermarks even harder to beat. The company is also entering the emerging field of “poisoning.” New software that Wengrowki showed me invisibly alters images in ways that trip up common deepfake algorithms. If someone tries to turn the “poisoned” image into a deepfake, it comes out garbled and illegible. The tech works both when images are used for training deepfake models, and when a bad actor tries to create a deepfake of a specific person. The idea is that an influencer, for example, could upload “poisoned” images of themselves to their social media. The images would look normal to human users. But if someone tried to deepfake the influencer, the poisoned images would thwart them. Wengrowki told me he’s especially excited to use the tech to help protect young influencers and teens in general, who are often targeted in abhorrent cyberbullying attacks involving explicit deepfakes. More broadly, though, Wengrowski’s story is an inspiring one for anyone grinding away on an as-yet unproven technology, convinced of its value but unsure whether the world will ever see their work. Reflecting on Steg’s success, Wengrowski acknowledged that “It’s probably best to start a business with a clear plan and an understanding of product/market fit.” But in his words, “There’s also something to be said for knowing a technology is cool, continually improving it even if you have no idea where that will lead, and just trusting that eventually it will have some value for the world.” In Steg’s case, that’s indeed been a winning formula. View the full article

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If you want to optimize your recruiting workflow, it’s vital to start by evaluating your current process. Identifying inefficiencies can lead to improvements that save time and resources. Collaborating with hiring managers to clearly define job roles is likewise important. Moreover, streamlining your screening methods and enhancing the candidate experience will make a significant difference. Finally, consider how an effective onboarding program can support new hires. Comprehending these steps can transform your recruitment strategy. What comes next? Key Takeaways Assess and analyze the current recruitment workflow to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks for targeted improvements. Collaborate with hiring managers to create precise and aligned job descriptions that reflect organizational goals and required skills. Streamline the screening process using automation and pre-employment assessments to enhance efficiency and objectivity in candidate selection. Improve candidate experience through effective communication and timely feedback, ensuring candidates feel valued throughout the recruitment process. Develop a structured onboarding program that integrates new hires into the company culture and provides ongoing training and support. Assessing Your Current Recruitment Workflow How effectively is your recruitment workflow functioning? Evaluating your current recruitment workflow is vital for identifying inefficiencies. Start by reviewing each step, from job requisition to onboarding, to pinpoint areas that need improvement. Gather feedback from hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates to understand their experiences and pain points. This collective input will provide valuable insights into the challenges your recruiting workflow faces. Additionally, utilize hiring software analytics to uncover hidden inefficiencies, such as bottlenecks and high candidate drop-off rates, which mightn’t be immediately visible. Establish a structured roadmap for improvement based on your evaluation findings, ensuring each step is targeted toward enhancing efficiency. Regular evaluations of your recruitment workflow can lead to reduced time-to-hire and an improved candidate experience, in the end optimizing your entire recruitment process. Defining Job Roles and Requirements A well-defined job role is the cornerstone of an effective recruitment process. By collaborating with hiring managers, you can create precise job descriptions that clearly outline responsibilities and expectations. These descriptions should align with your organization’s goals and culture, attracting candidates who fit well. To streamline the screening process, specify the required skills, qualifications, and experience, establishing minimum and desirable criteria. Utilizing data from previous hiring processes can improve the accuracy of your job role definitions. Here’s a simple table to guide you in defining job roles: Aspect Details Responsibilities Outline key tasks and duties Required Skills List crucial skills and qualifications Cultural Fit Reflect organization’s values Adaptability Regularly update to match market needs Understanding the full cycle recruiting meaning allows you to optimize this stage effectively, ensuring you attract top talent. Streamlining the Screening and Selection Process To improve the efficiency of your recruitment efforts, streamlining the screening and selection process is essential. Implementing recruitment automation, such as automated resume screening tools, can greatly reduce initial screening time by up to 75%. This allows you to quickly filter out unqualified candidates, focusing on those who meet your criteria. Conducting initial phone screens helps assess candidate suitability and cultural fit, enabling you to concentrate on high-potential candidates for in-depth interviews. Integrating customized pre-employment assessments offers objective evaluations that can predict job performance with a 60-80% accuracy rate. Furthermore, leveraging video interviews for remote hiring expedites the process, allowing multiple stakeholders to assess candidates simultaneously from different locations. Involving diverse stakeholders in the selection process can lead to a 50% reduction in hiring biases, ultimately enhancing overall hiring decisions. These strategies work together to create a more efficient and effective recruitment workflow. Improving Candidate Experience During Recruitment Improving the candidate experience during recruitment is essential for attracting top talent and nurturing a positive organizational reputation. Effective communication plays a key role; 78% of candidates appreciate timely updates on their application status. By implementing recruitment process automation, you can provide clear and transparent information about the hiring process, reducing candidate anxiety—67% of job seekers prefer knowing each step. Offering timely feedback after each stage is critical, as 62% of candidates report it positively influences their perception of your organization. Personalizing the experience by addressing candidates by name and acknowledging their qualifications is important, with 69% valuing this approach. Remember, a smooth and respectful process can greatly improve your organization’s reputation; 80% of candidates who’ve a positive experience are likely to share it online or with others. Prioritize these strategies to improve candidate satisfaction and strengthen your employer brand. Onboarding and Integrating New Hires When new hires join your organization, a structured onboarding program is crucial for helping them feel welcomed and informed right from the start. It should cover important topics like company policies, culture, and job-specific training. Clearly communicating performance expectations and establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) during onboarding allows new employees to understand their roles and how success is measured. To improve workplace integration and morale, facilitate connections among new hires and existing team members through social events and mentorship programs. Additionally, provide ongoing training and development opportunities during this phase to encourage continuous growth and help new hires adapt effectively. Incorporating automated hiring processes can streamline onboarding tasks, making the experience smoother. Finally, solicit feedback from new hires about the onboarding process to identify areas for improvement, ensuring a more effective and engaging experience for future employees. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 C’s of Recruitment? The 5 C’s of recruitment are Competence, Compatibility, Commitment, Culture, and Communication. Competence evaluates candidates’ skills necessary for the job. Compatibility assesses how well candidates fit within the team and role expectations. Commitment reflects their dedication, often seen in career history. Culture examines alignment between candidates’ values and the organization’s environment, essential for retention. Finally, Communication gauges how effectively candidates can convey ideas and collaborate with others, enhancing overall team dynamics. What Are the 7 Steps of the Recruitment Process? The recruitment process involves seven key steps. First, you identify hiring needs by clarifying the position’s purpose. Next, you craft a detailed job description outlining qualifications. Then, you source candidates through job boards and social media. After sourcing, you screen applications using tools and initial phone screenings. Following that, you conduct interviews to evaluate candidates. Finally, you make a selection and onboard new hires, ensuring they integrate smoothly into the organization. What Are the 5 Steps of the Recruitment Process? The recruitment process consists of five key steps. First, you’ll conduct an intake session to clarify job requirements with hiring managers. Next, you’ll create a structured job posting to attract suitable candidates. After that, you’ll screen resumes and perform initial conversations to assess fit. Then, you’ll conduct interviews to evaluate candidates’ skills and cultural alignment. Finally, you’ll extend an offer to the selected candidate, including salary discussions and necessary approvals. What Are the 3 P’s of Recruitment? The 3 P’s of recruitment are People, Process, and Performance. First, you need to engage the right individuals, like hiring managers and recruiters, to align on candidate qualifications and culture fit. Next, establish a structured process that guides you from job requisition to onboarding, ensuring consistency and efficiency. Finally, focus on performance by measuring key metrics such as time-to-hire and quality of hire, allowing you to refine your recruitment strategy continuously. Conclusion By following these five fundamental steps, you can greatly optimize your recruiting workflow. Evaluating your current process helps identify inefficiencies, whereas clearly defined job roles guarantee alignment with organizational goals. Streamlining screening through automation improves efficiency, and enhancing candidate experience promotes positive interactions. Finally, a structured onboarding program is vital for integrating new hires. Implementing these strategies not merely improves recruitment effectiveness but additionally contributes to long-term organizational success and employee satisfaction. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Essential Steps to Optimize Recruiting Workflow" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you want to optimize your recruiting workflow, it’s vital to start by evaluating your current process. Identifying inefficiencies can lead to improvements that save time and resources. Collaborating with hiring managers to clearly define job roles is likewise important. Moreover, streamlining your screening methods and enhancing the candidate experience will make a significant difference. Finally, consider how an effective onboarding program can support new hires. Comprehending these steps can transform your recruitment strategy. What comes next? Key Takeaways Assess and analyze the current recruitment workflow to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks for targeted improvements. Collaborate with hiring managers to create precise and aligned job descriptions that reflect organizational goals and required skills. Streamline the screening process using automation and pre-employment assessments to enhance efficiency and objectivity in candidate selection. Improve candidate experience through effective communication and timely feedback, ensuring candidates feel valued throughout the recruitment process. Develop a structured onboarding program that integrates new hires into the company culture and provides ongoing training and support. Assessing Your Current Recruitment Workflow How effectively is your recruitment workflow functioning? Evaluating your current recruitment workflow is vital for identifying inefficiencies. Start by reviewing each step, from job requisition to onboarding, to pinpoint areas that need improvement. Gather feedback from hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates to understand their experiences and pain points. This collective input will provide valuable insights into the challenges your recruiting workflow faces. Additionally, utilize hiring software analytics to uncover hidden inefficiencies, such as bottlenecks and high candidate drop-off rates, which mightn’t be immediately visible. Establish a structured roadmap for improvement based on your evaluation findings, ensuring each step is targeted toward enhancing efficiency. Regular evaluations of your recruitment workflow can lead to reduced time-to-hire and an improved candidate experience, in the end optimizing your entire recruitment process. Defining Job Roles and Requirements A well-defined job role is the cornerstone of an effective recruitment process. By collaborating with hiring managers, you can create precise job descriptions that clearly outline responsibilities and expectations. These descriptions should align with your organization’s goals and culture, attracting candidates who fit well. To streamline the screening process, specify the required skills, qualifications, and experience, establishing minimum and desirable criteria. Utilizing data from previous hiring processes can improve the accuracy of your job role definitions. Here’s a simple table to guide you in defining job roles: Aspect Details Responsibilities Outline key tasks and duties Required Skills List crucial skills and qualifications Cultural Fit Reflect organization’s values Adaptability Regularly update to match market needs Understanding the full cycle recruiting meaning allows you to optimize this stage effectively, ensuring you attract top talent. Streamlining the Screening and Selection Process To improve the efficiency of your recruitment efforts, streamlining the screening and selection process is essential. Implementing recruitment automation, such as automated resume screening tools, can greatly reduce initial screening time by up to 75%. This allows you to quickly filter out unqualified candidates, focusing on those who meet your criteria. Conducting initial phone screens helps assess candidate suitability and cultural fit, enabling you to concentrate on high-potential candidates for in-depth interviews. Integrating customized pre-employment assessments offers objective evaluations that can predict job performance with a 60-80% accuracy rate. Furthermore, leveraging video interviews for remote hiring expedites the process, allowing multiple stakeholders to assess candidates simultaneously from different locations. Involving diverse stakeholders in the selection process can lead to a 50% reduction in hiring biases, ultimately enhancing overall hiring decisions. These strategies work together to create a more efficient and effective recruitment workflow. Improving Candidate Experience During Recruitment Improving the candidate experience during recruitment is essential for attracting top talent and nurturing a positive organizational reputation. Effective communication plays a key role; 78% of candidates appreciate timely updates on their application status. By implementing recruitment process automation, you can provide clear and transparent information about the hiring process, reducing candidate anxiety—67% of job seekers prefer knowing each step. Offering timely feedback after each stage is critical, as 62% of candidates report it positively influences their perception of your organization. Personalizing the experience by addressing candidates by name and acknowledging their qualifications is important, with 69% valuing this approach. Remember, a smooth and respectful process can greatly improve your organization’s reputation; 80% of candidates who’ve a positive experience are likely to share it online or with others. Prioritize these strategies to improve candidate satisfaction and strengthen your employer brand. Onboarding and Integrating New Hires When new hires join your organization, a structured onboarding program is crucial for helping them feel welcomed and informed right from the start. It should cover important topics like company policies, culture, and job-specific training. Clearly communicating performance expectations and establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) during onboarding allows new employees to understand their roles and how success is measured. To improve workplace integration and morale, facilitate connections among new hires and existing team members through social events and mentorship programs. Additionally, provide ongoing training and development opportunities during this phase to encourage continuous growth and help new hires adapt effectively. Incorporating automated hiring processes can streamline onboarding tasks, making the experience smoother. Finally, solicit feedback from new hires about the onboarding process to identify areas for improvement, ensuring a more effective and engaging experience for future employees. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 C’s of Recruitment? The 5 C’s of recruitment are Competence, Compatibility, Commitment, Culture, and Communication. Competence evaluates candidates’ skills necessary for the job. Compatibility assesses how well candidates fit within the team and role expectations. Commitment reflects their dedication, often seen in career history. Culture examines alignment between candidates’ values and the organization’s environment, essential for retention. Finally, Communication gauges how effectively candidates can convey ideas and collaborate with others, enhancing overall team dynamics. What Are the 7 Steps of the Recruitment Process? The recruitment process involves seven key steps. First, you identify hiring needs by clarifying the position’s purpose. Next, you craft a detailed job description outlining qualifications. Then, you source candidates through job boards and social media. After sourcing, you screen applications using tools and initial phone screenings. Following that, you conduct interviews to evaluate candidates. Finally, you make a selection and onboard new hires, ensuring they integrate smoothly into the organization. What Are the 5 Steps of the Recruitment Process? The recruitment process consists of five key steps. First, you’ll conduct an intake session to clarify job requirements with hiring managers. Next, you’ll create a structured job posting to attract suitable candidates. After that, you’ll screen resumes and perform initial conversations to assess fit. Then, you’ll conduct interviews to evaluate candidates’ skills and cultural alignment. Finally, you’ll extend an offer to the selected candidate, including salary discussions and necessary approvals. What Are the 3 P’s of Recruitment? The 3 P’s of recruitment are People, Process, and Performance. First, you need to engage the right individuals, like hiring managers and recruiters, to align on candidate qualifications and culture fit. Next, establish a structured process that guides you from job requisition to onboarding, ensuring consistency and efficiency. Finally, focus on performance by measuring key metrics such as time-to-hire and quality of hire, allowing you to refine your recruitment strategy continuously. Conclusion By following these five fundamental steps, you can greatly optimize your recruiting workflow. Evaluating your current process helps identify inefficiencies, whereas clearly defined job roles guarantee alignment with organizational goals. Streamlining screening through automation improves efficiency, and enhancing candidate experience promotes positive interactions. Finally, a structured onboarding program is vital for integrating new hires. Implementing these strategies not merely improves recruitment effectiveness but additionally contributes to long-term organizational success and employee satisfaction. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Essential Steps to Optimize Recruiting Workflow" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

US president says military build-up will continue until return of oil and assets ‘they previously stole from us’View the full article

Alphabet’s robotaxi venture plans to expand to dozens of cities, including London and New YorkView the full article

Robinhood is betting that its customers want to trade on absolutely everything. On Tuesday, the popular stock-trading app unveiled a slate of updates to its prediction markets business, aggressively expanding into sports. Now, Robinhood users can trade contracts tied to specific professional football players’ performances, as well as pre-packaged combos for individual games. Early next year, customers will be able to combine up to ten outcomes — such as winners, spreads, and totals — into a single, custom-built contract. Robinhood’s news site, Sherwood, is also launching a new sports newsletter, Scoreboard. Eventually, Robinhood plans to launch contracts that span not just multiple games, but multiple categories, from sports to climate to politics. “If customers say they’re looking to trade a specific category or specific event, we’re all ears,” Adam Hickerson, Robinhood’s senior director of futures and prediction markets, tells Fast Company. Robinhood’s entrance into prediction markets can be seen as a natural culmination of the trajectory it set into motion years ago. For the uninitiated, prediction markets allow people to trade on real-world events by buying and selling contracts. These events can range from sports matches to political elections to who Time will name as its “Person of the Year.” Since Robinhood launched prediction markets in late 2024, they’ve become the company’s fastest growing line of business: In the third quarter of 2025, it reported that users traded 2.3 billion prediction-markets contracts. Then, in October alone, that figure reached 2.5 billion. The most popular contracts have been in sports. Robinhood maintains that users are not gambling, as trading on the market sets the odds, not the platform itself. Still, the sports contracts tap into an enthusiasm for sports speculation. According to Pew, 22% of adults in the US have bet money on sports in the past year. Among men under 30, that figure rises to 36%. Robinhood isn’t the only app getting in the game: Fanatics, a global sports platform, just launched a predictions-market app, becoming the first sportsbook to do so. Some regulators believe decision markets cross the line into gambling. Numerous states have sent Robinhood cease-and-desist letters, demanding prediction markets stop offering sports contracts. In response, Robinhood sued New Jersey and Nevada earlier this year, maintaining that its markets are completely legal. There is no sign of regulatory turmoil dampening Robinhood’s ambition. In November, the company announced plans to start its own prediction market, launching an exchange with Susquehanna International Group. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Hickerson says. From meme stocks to prediction markets In 2013, Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt founded Robinhood as an easy, commission-free way for users to trade on their phones. Business boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as bored Americans, flush with stimulus checks, flocked to the app. The online brokerage became known for its popularity among young adrenaline junkies who treated investing less like retirement planning and more like a mobile game. Robinhood’s supporters applauded the company for democratizing finance. Critics, meanwhile, slammed it for encouraging users to trade stocks like gamblers betting on sports. In 2021, legendary investor Charlie Munger told CNBC that Robinhood was “a gambling parlor masquerading as a respectable business,” calling it a “sleazy, disreputable operation.” The anti-Robinhood backlash boiled over during the GameStock saga, when users fueled a trading frenzy that drove meme stocks to absurd highs. In the aftermath, Robinhood dialed back on its so-called gamified elements, removing a confetti animation that accompanied certain achievements. In a February 2021 hearing before Congress, Tenev testified that the “vast majority” of Robinhood’s customers were long-term investors, not day traders buying meme stocks. Eventually, however, Robinhood acknowledged the importance of its active day traders — users less interested in traditional stocks and far more interested in riskier products like cryptocurrencies. “These are our most engaged customers that generate the lion’s share of our revenue,” Tenev told the Wall Street Journal in November. “We put our best people on active traders.” Robinhood keeps these valuable customers happy by letting them invest in whatever their hearts desire. Increasingly, that means prediction markets. Betting on predictions Prediction markets have been around for more than a century. They have primarily existed as a niche curiosity, not a major focus for investors, amateur or professional. Then came last year’s election. More than $3.3 billion was traded in 2024 presidential election contracts, mostly on prediction market Polymarket. Robinhood launched its own contracts a month before the election, its first foray into the prediction markets. By the time The President won — as forecast by the markets — the concept of prediction markets had cemented itself in the American mainstream. At the time, it was not legal for Americans to use Polymarket. As a result, it operated offshore, although Americans likely still used it via VPNs and thanks to Polymarket’s reliance on cryptocurrency. Reports alleged that much of the election-trading volume came from “wash trading,” which inflates market activity and is a form of market manipulation. In January, Kalshi launched “100% legal” sports trading in all 50 states, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The next month, Robinhood announced a partnership with Kalshi for Super Bowl contracts. But mere hours after the announcement, Robinhood cancelled the contracts, at the request of the CFTC. The agency had “serious concerns” that the contracts “may not be permissible under the law,” CFTC a representative said at the time. Robinhood was undeterred. In March, just ahead of the NCAA basketball tournament, the company launched its prediction markets hub, still in partnership with Kalshi. A CFTC official told Sportico that the agency had “no legal justification to prevent Robinhood from offering access to these contracts.” Robinhood is competing not only with Polymarket and Kalshi, but also Coinbase, which is reportedly planning to introduce prediction markets thanks to its own partnership with Kalshi. Defining ‘gambling’ Laws on gambling — and how regulators interpret those laws — are set to be one of Robinhood’s biggest obstacles when it comes to decision markets. Kalshi and Robinhood maintain that their users are trading, not gambling. Kalshi and Robinhood do not make money based on outcomes, but instead earn revenue via transaction fees. They emphasize that, unlike sportsbooks, prediction markets do not take bets or set odds. For example, if the New England Patriots are playing the Tennessee Titans, a user who thinks the Titans will win could buy shares on the “yes” position. Shares will be less expensive if Tennessee is the underdog, but the price is set by the markets’ perceived probability. If the Titans win, each winning share pays out $1, while those who picked the Patriots are left empty handed. If regulators agree with decision markets’ line of reasoning, companies like Robinhood and Kalshi should be able to offer sports contracts online in all 50 states, including states where sports betting is illegal or restricted. Gambling is banned for people under 21, but 18-year-olds are typically allowed to trade event contracts. Many sports-betting regulations — such as safeguards to prevent game fixing — do not currently apply to prediction markets. Not every regulator is convinced by decision markets’ arguments. In addition to New Jersey and Nevada, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois, and Arizona have sent Robinhood and other decision markets cease-and-desist letters. Nonetheless, the decision markets have amassed some powerful allies. In January, Donald The President, Jr. joined Kalshi as a strategic advisor. Polymarket’s return to the U.S. and its legalization came, in part thanks to the president’s son becoming an investor and advisor. In September, President The President nominated Kalshi board member Brian Quintenz to chair the CFTC. A month later, The President Media announced a prediction market partnership involving Crypto.com and Truth Social. Everything, everywhere, all at once Folding sports contracts, stock trades, online banking, and crypto into a single app will inevitably upset traditionalists. Old-school investors might also be skeptical of Robinhood’s other announcements on Tuesday, focused on artificial intelligence: upgrades to its AI-powered investing assistant and the launch of personalized daily Digests that analyze users’ portfolios. For Robinhood, the grab bag of choices is the point. “Everything comes down to: What does the customer want?” Hickerson says. Robinhood takes feedback seriously, he said, and executives have heard “loud and clear that these are some features that they really want to trade on.” Scrolling through the contracts on any prediction market reveals just how many topics inspire speculation. As of Monday, more than $17,000 in contracts had been traded on Kalshi related to the topic: “What will Vlad Tenev say during the Robinhood keynote?” (Trading activity indicates a 72% chance that Tenev says “sport.”) “Ultimately,” Oren Naim, Robinhood’s vice president of platforms, says, “our long-term vision for the company is to become your one-stop shop for anything — any financial need — across the board.” View the full article

Administration cites war and weak governance without citing evidence of specific security threats from nations listedView the full article

Suzanna’s Kitchen, a Georgia-based food production company, has issued a recall of 62,550 pounds of fully cooked, bone-in breaded chicken products. The chicken, which was distributed nationwide, was recalled over mislabeling. While the product was labeled with a product code that classifies it as non-allergen-containing, the product contains soy. According to the recall notice, which was issued on December 12, the affected product is the eight-piece cut, bone-in breaded chicken portions that were produced on October 16, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mark of inspection and establishment number printed on the side of the package is “P-1380.” According to the USDA, soy is one of the “big nine” allergens and could result in serious allergic reactions. “Symptoms of food allergies typically appear within minutes or up to two hours after a person has eaten or has come into contact with the food to which they are allergic,” the department’s website explains. It also notes that common signs of an allergic reaction include hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of the tongue, lips, face, throat, and vocal chords; a drop in blood pressure, and more. It’s unlikely that the products will be found in home refrigerators, as it was distributed to restaurants across the country. However, restaurant-goers with soy allergies should be aware of the heightened concern. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says restaurants should carefully check their stock. “FSIS is concerned that some products may be in restaurant refrigerators or freezers. Restaurants are urged not to serve this product; these items should be thrown away,” the recall notice states. The notice also said there have been no confirmed illnesses due to the affected products, but that consumers concerned about a potential illness should contact their healthcare provider immediately. Otherwise, questions about the recall can be directed to Dawn Duncan, Customer Service Director, Suzanna’s Kitchen, at dduncan@suzannaskitchen.com, the notice states. The USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline is also available for questions at 888-674-6854. View the full article

Upsized deal was closely watched as a sign of investor appetite for new listingsView the full article

The trade group's letter to FHFA Director Bill Pulte pointed out that lenders were facing credit report price hikes for four straight years. View the full article

FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets for teams’ most loyal fans following a global backlash and some will get $60 seats for the final instead of being asked to pay $4,185. FIFA said Tuesday that $60 tickets will be made available for every game at the tournament in North America, going to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations decide how to distribute them to loyal fans who have attended previous games at home and on the road. The number of $60 tickets for each game is likely to be in the hundreds, rather than thousands, in what FIFA is now calling a “Supporter Entry Tier” price category. FIFA did not specify exactly why it so dramatically changed strategy, but said the lower prices are “designed to further support travelling fans following their national teams across the tournament.” The World Cup in North America will be the first edition that features 48 teams—up from 32—and is expected to earn FIFA at least $10 billion in revenue. But fans worldwide reacted with shock and anger last week on seeing FIFA’s ticketing plans that gave participating teams no tickets in the lowest-priced category. The cheapest prices ranged from $120 to $265 for group-stage games that did not involve co-hosts the United States, Canada, and Mexico. FIFA had set those prices despite the co-hosts having pledged eight years ago—when they were bidding for the tournament—that hundreds of thousands of $21 tickets would be made available. Criticism from fans, especially in Europe, had been increasing for several months over plans for “dynamic pricing” plus extra fees on a FIFA-run resale platform—both features which are common in the U.S. entertainment industry but not to soccer fans worldwide. Fan anger intensified last week when it became clear loyal supporters would have no access to the cheapest category tickets and that fans who wanted to reserve a ticket for all of their team’s potential games—through the final—would not get refunded until after the tournament. In another climbdown Tuesday, FIFA said it would waive its administrative fees when refunds are made after the July 19 final. View the full article

The latest employment numbers have dropped—and the job market still looks tough for workers. Today’s jobs report shares data from November, which was delayed due to the government shutdown that lifted last month. As jobs growth has slowed in recent months, the unemployment rate has climbed to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September and the highest it has been in four years. Employers added only 64,000 jobs in November, and the market also shed 105,000 jobs the month prior. Wage growth has stagnated to a degree that hasn’t been seen since 2021. The jobs report seems to confirm what many workers are likely encountering as they try to navigate the current job market: Employers are simply not hiring at the same rate, due to economic uncertainty and the The President administration’s crackdown on immigration. The current climate has been described by experts as “low hire, low fire,” which means the workers who do lose their jobs are struggling to find new employment. The share of Americans who have been out of work for over six months has jumped to 1.9 million, when it was 1.7 million a year ago. That’s not great news for people affected by the layoffs sweeping through companies like UPS and Amazon, which had raised alarm bells about the broader labor market. On the whole, however, the jobs report indicates employers are not cutting jobs at a concerning rate: Initial claims for unemployment insurance are still relatively low, which is usually a measure of whether layoffs are roiling the economy; (The job losses from October also reflect the exit of over 150,000 federal workers who had accepted deferred resignation offers and are no longer on the payroll.) The rising unemployment rate seems to be fueled by the hiring slowdown—which has left workers who are laid off with fewer job opportunities. At the same time, however, economists say that a decline in immigration has kept the unemployment rate lower than it should be, since there are fewer people entering the labor force. That might explain why the unemployment rate isn’t even higher, given the hiring outlook, though Black workers are also seeing a significant spike in unemployment—a sign that the labor market might be weakening. It’s a confusing picture for people who are seeking new jobs or entering the workforce. The jobs report tells us that the labor market has, in fact, cooled, but perhaps not to the extent that you might expect amid recurring reports of layoffs. There are a number of other factors that workers are up against: Artificial intelligence is fueling fluctuations in the workforce, with some employers citing the technology as they issue layoffs, though that might not be the true reason for shedding workers. Still, there don’t seem to be clear recession indicators—at least for now. There might even be a glimmer of hope for workers in the job growth figures from November: While the gains were modest, it looks like private employers may be slowly starting to hire more, particularly in the healthcare sector. View the full article

Kraft Heinz announced on Tuesday that new CEO Steve Cahillane will join the food giant to help steer its split into two companies. The former head of Kellanova joins the ailing food giant after years of declining sales and slow growth, and as shares are down 75% since 2017. In 2026, the company will split into two independent, publicly traded companies, Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co., with the first focused on condiments and the Heinz ketchup brand, and the second on Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables brands. Cahillane comes on board January 1, 2026 and will serve as chief executive officer of the first of those companies, which will rebrand as Global Taste Elevation Co. and continue to house the Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese brands, along with Heinz. “I’m confident the planned separation will accelerate the Company’s ability to compete and win in today’s environment,” Cahillane said in a statement. Cahillane brings a wealth of industry experience to Kraft Heinz, having most recently served as chief executive of Kellanova, where he oversaw the recent acquisition by Mars and the expansion of household brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, and Kellogg’s. More notably, he led Kellogg Company through the successful separation of its North American cereal business and the launch of Kellanova, a global snacking powerhouse. That experience that should come in handy in the coming months. “Steve is uniquely qualified to lead this organization into the future, and we are delighted he will be taking on the role of CEO,” Kraft Heinz’s chair Miguel Patricio said in a statement. Kraft Heinz financials In its third quarter earnings, the food giant reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61, beating analyst estimates. However, revenue fell short of expectations, with the company reporting a year-over-year net sales decline of 2.3%. View the full article

Hollywood studio and streaming company open to new bid but there are doubts over Ellison funding View the full article