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Tesla is recalling more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. because the front lights are too bright, which may cause a distraction to other drivers and increase the risk of a collision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall includes certain Cybertrucks with a model year between 2024 and 2026. The vehicles were made between Nov. 13, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2025, with operating software versions prior to 2025.38.3. The agency said that Tesla is not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the condition. Tesla, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, is issuing a free software update to correct the issue. Earlier this month, federal regulators opened yet another investigation into Tesla’s self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing that it was looking into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using the company’s so-called Full Self-Driving mode, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. The new probe adds to several other open investigations into Tesla technology that could upend Musk’s plans to turn millions of his cars already on the road into completely driverless vehicles with an over-the-air update to their software. In March, U.S. safety regulators recalled virtually all Cybertrucks on the road. The NHTSA’s recall, which covered more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right side of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash. On Wednesday, Tesla reported a fourth straight decline in quarterly profit, even as sales rose. The automaker reported third-quarter earnings plunged 37% to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. That marked the fourth quarter in a row that profit dropped. And even the revenue rise, a welcome relief from a sales plunge earlier in the year due to anti-Musk boycotts, came with a significant caveat: Customers rushed to take advantage of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired on Oct. 1, possibly stealing sales from the current quarter. —Michelle Chapman, AP business writer View the full article

Small business owners may want to brace themselves as new insights from the latest CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Index reveal an uptick in inflation concerns. With 71% of respondents believing that prices will continue to rise, many are grappling with the distinct threat inflation poses to their operations and profitability. This marks an increase from 66% in the previous quarter, with only 28% now convinced that inflation has peaked, down from 32%. The Small Business Index offers a window into the thoughts and feelings of entrepreneurs across the nation, providing vital information that could influence business decisions. The survey explicitly highlights that small business owners rank rising prices as their leading concern, with 24% identifying it as the biggest risk they currently face. In a climate where consumer demand (17%), tariffs (10%), supply chain disruptions (10%), and rising interest rates (10%) follow closely behind, it becomes clear that maintaining financial health is a priority for many. “Inflation is and will continue to be an essential topic for small businesses,” stated a spokesperson from SurveyMonkey. This sentiment resonates deeply within the small business community, where every percentage point in pricing can impact the bottom line significantly. Rising prices not only threaten margins but can also disrupt consumer spending behavior. Understanding how these changes might influence the market becomes critical for small business owners. For instance, some may find it necessary to adjust pricing strategies or seek new suppliers to mitigate cost increases. Others may have to reevaluate their offerings or enhance value propositions to attract budget-conscious consumers. SurveyMonkey’s findings also suggest that small businesses are acutely aware of the interconnectedness of these challenges. With consumer demand lagging behind other concerns, operators may need to invest more rigorously in customer engagement strategies or marketing to sustain sales amid inflationary pressures. Fostering strong customer relationships can be essential, allowing businesses to navigate through tougher market conditions more effectively. However, there are challenges tied to these concerns that owners should keep in mind. Rising operational costs can make it tough for small enterprises to remain competitive. Small businesses often operate on thinner margins than larger corporations, making even slight hikes in operating expenses difficult to absorb. Accordingly, business owners should not only track inflation trends but also explore avenues for increasing efficiency. Implementing technology solutions or refining processes may help stem costs and maintain profitability. Additionally, the survey statistics indicate that supply chain issues continue to plague small businesses, remaining a top concern for 10% of respondents. Budding entrepreneurs may want to explore diversifying their supply chain or investing in local suppliers to reduce dependency on overseas shipping—an approach that can reduce delivery times and increase responsiveness. The complex landscape of inflation, consumer sentiment, and operational strategy creates a pressing need for small business owners to engage with these issues proactively. “Being informed is key to surviving and thriving in today’s economic environment,” the SurveyMonkey spokesperson added. This underscores the importance of leveraging tools such as the Small Business Index for ongoing market analysis. As inflation fears rise and rank prominently among business ownership concerns, small enterprises must not only adapt but also consider the broader market implications. The road ahead may be filled with challenges, but with vigilance and strategic foresight, small businesses can find their footing. For more detailed insights and ongoing updates, refer to the original SurveyMonkey report here. Image via Envanto This article, "71% of Small Business Owners Fear Inflation Will Keep Rising" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small business owners may want to brace themselves as new insights from the latest CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Index reveal an uptick in inflation concerns. With 71% of respondents believing that prices will continue to rise, many are grappling with the distinct threat inflation poses to their operations and profitability. This marks an increase from 66% in the previous quarter, with only 28% now convinced that inflation has peaked, down from 32%. The Small Business Index offers a window into the thoughts and feelings of entrepreneurs across the nation, providing vital information that could influence business decisions. The survey explicitly highlights that small business owners rank rising prices as their leading concern, with 24% identifying it as the biggest risk they currently face. In a climate where consumer demand (17%), tariffs (10%), supply chain disruptions (10%), and rising interest rates (10%) follow closely behind, it becomes clear that maintaining financial health is a priority for many. “Inflation is and will continue to be an essential topic for small businesses,” stated a spokesperson from SurveyMonkey. This sentiment resonates deeply within the small business community, where every percentage point in pricing can impact the bottom line significantly. Rising prices not only threaten margins but can also disrupt consumer spending behavior. Understanding how these changes might influence the market becomes critical for small business owners. For instance, some may find it necessary to adjust pricing strategies or seek new suppliers to mitigate cost increases. Others may have to reevaluate their offerings or enhance value propositions to attract budget-conscious consumers. SurveyMonkey’s findings also suggest that small businesses are acutely aware of the interconnectedness of these challenges. With consumer demand lagging behind other concerns, operators may need to invest more rigorously in customer engagement strategies or marketing to sustain sales amid inflationary pressures. Fostering strong customer relationships can be essential, allowing businesses to navigate through tougher market conditions more effectively. However, there are challenges tied to these concerns that owners should keep in mind. Rising operational costs can make it tough for small enterprises to remain competitive. Small businesses often operate on thinner margins than larger corporations, making even slight hikes in operating expenses difficult to absorb. Accordingly, business owners should not only track inflation trends but also explore avenues for increasing efficiency. Implementing technology solutions or refining processes may help stem costs and maintain profitability. Additionally, the survey statistics indicate that supply chain issues continue to plague small businesses, remaining a top concern for 10% of respondents. Budding entrepreneurs may want to explore diversifying their supply chain or investing in local suppliers to reduce dependency on overseas shipping—an approach that can reduce delivery times and increase responsiveness. The complex landscape of inflation, consumer sentiment, and operational strategy creates a pressing need for small business owners to engage with these issues proactively. “Being informed is key to surviving and thriving in today’s economic environment,” the SurveyMonkey spokesperson added. This underscores the importance of leveraging tools such as the Small Business Index for ongoing market analysis. As inflation fears rise and rank prominently among business ownership concerns, small enterprises must not only adapt but also consider the broader market implications. The road ahead may be filled with challenges, but with vigilance and strategic foresight, small businesses can find their footing. For more detailed insights and ongoing updates, refer to the original SurveyMonkey report here. Image via Envanto This article, "71% of Small Business Owners Fear Inflation Will Keep Rising" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Personalized vaccines that steer the immune system to fight unique cancer cells show promise, but another powerful way to treat cancer might be hiding in plain sight. People being treated for advanced skin and lung cancer lived longer if they had received a Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to new research published in the journal Nature. Both vaccines work using mRNA, which prompts cells to make a virus-like protein that triggers a useful immune response and teaches the body how to protect itself. When a team working to develop personalized mRNA cancer vaccines found that those vaccines were mostly effective due to the broad immune response they prompted – not their custom-built nature – they decided to see how well widely available mRNA vaccines worked at the same task. The team analyzed records from almost 1,000 advanced cancer patients at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, comparing outcomes between people that had received one of the two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and those who hadn’t. They found that lung cancer patients vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna shot lived almost twice as long after starting cancer treatment. Patients with aggressive melanoma who received an mRNA vaccine also showed improved outcomes, but people in that group lived for so long their average survival time couldn’t be determined in the study. Non-mRNA vaccines like those used for the flu did not show the same positive effect. The patients with the biggest benefit were given the vaccine within 100 days of beginning the immunotherapy known as checkpoint treatment and those whose cancer looked the least likely to respond well to treatment. The research team believes that the immune response from mRNA vaccines sets up the immune system for more effective checkpoint treatment, which instructs T cells to work overtime to hunt down cancer in the body. “The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine acts like a siren and activates the immune system throughout the entire body” Adam Grippin, co-author and radiation oncologist at MD Anderson told Nature. “… We were amazed at the results in our patients.” Defunding the future Future research will continue to explore the powerful potential of mRNA vaccines to fight cancer, but the path won’t be easy. Science funding in the U.S. has taken a massive hit across the board under the second The President administration, but the situation is especially grim for mRNA research. In August, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the government would cancel $500 million in federal funds for mRNA vaccine research, throttling one of the most promising lanes of research with life-saving potential for everything from future pandemics to cancer and HIV. In a video explaining the decision to slash mRNA research, Kennedy announced that he believed science using mRNA “poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses” and HHS would be “moving beyond the limitations of mRNA for respiratory viruses and investing in better solutions.” During Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine development program during The President’s first term lauded even by his critics, the president hailed Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine as a “medical miracle.” “This is one of the greatest scientific accomplishments in history,” The President said at the time. Experts across the medical world agree, with epidemiologists issuing particularly dire warnings about America’s future without mRNA research. “There is no upside,” Harvard Professor of Epidemiology Bill Hanage said of the cuts to mRNA vaccine development. “There is only downside. We would be fighting any future pandemic with one hand tied behind our back.” View the full article

Oil prices spiked Thursday after the U.S. announced massive new sanctions on Russia’s oil industry in an attempt to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. U.S. benchmark crude jumped 5.8%, to $61.91 per barrel midday Thursday, and analysts say if the situation remains static, U.S. consumers will soon be paying more at the pump. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said while it was difficult to predict with certainty because of the number of moving parts, consumers will likely see a bump in prices as early as next week, if not sooner. “We’ll probably start to see motorists be impacted by the sanctions at the pump in the next couple days and it might take five days for that to be fully passed along,” De Haan said, adding that the full impact also depends on whether the Russian or U.S. positions change. “Russia will feel pressure to come to the table in light of the new developments or President The President may react when he sees oil prices rising to levels that become uncomfortable, so I don’t think this is going to be very long-lasting,” De Haan said. Oil prices have been relatively low for the past few years and last week the cost for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude fell below $57, its lowest level since early 2021. The price for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude did rise near $79 a barrel early this year, just before President Donald The President took office, a price not necessarily considered outrageously elevated by most analysts. The broad, extended decline in oil prices pushed the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. last week under $3 for the first time since December of last year, according to GasBuddy. For much of 2025, inflation has been held mostly in check, partly due to cheaper prices at the pump. However, that could change quickly as higher energy costs have a downstream effect on prices for virtually all products and services across industries. “The impact to a lot of Americans is that products derived from cruel gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel are all likely to see price increases,” De Haan said. The main reason oil and gas have stabilized at lower levels this year is that the group of countries that are part of the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has continued to boost production. Earlier this month, OPEC+ leaders announced they would raise oil production by 137,000 barrels per day in November, the same amount announced for October. The group has been raising output slightly in a series of boosts all year after announcing cuts in 2023 and 2024. Russia is the leading non-OPEC member in the 22-country alliance. The group’s next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2. The sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil follow calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on The President to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economic engine that has allowed Russia to continue to execute the grinding conflict even as it finds itself largely internationally isolated. The European Union on Thursday announced its own measures targeting Russian oil and gas. The price for Brent crude, the international standard, rose $3.26 on Thursday to $65.85 per barrel. —Matt Ott, Associated Press business writer View the full article

Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time. Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE’koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant’s Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality. Copilot’s cute new emoji-like exterior comes as AI developers face a crossroads in how they present their increasingly capable chatbots to consumers without causing harm or backlash. Some have opted for faceless symbols, others like Elon Musk’s xAI are selling flirtatious, human-like avatars, and Microsoft is looking for a middle ground that’s friendly without being obsequious. “When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico’s face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you,” said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel.” In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in “study” mode. It’s also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft’s Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. “It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time,” said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we’re much more ready for things like that today.” Reimer, co-author of a new book called “How to Make AI Useful,” said AI developers are balancing how much personality to give AI assistants based on who their expected users are. Tech-savvy adopters of advanced AI coding tools may want it to “act much more like a machine because at the back end they know it’s a machine,” Reimer said. “But individuals who are not as trustful in a machine are going to be best supported — not replaced — by technology that feels a little more like a human.” Microsoft, a provider of work productivity tools that is far less reliant on digital advertising revenue than its Big Tech competitors, also has less incentive to make its AI companion overly engaging in a way that’s been tied to social isolation, harmful misinformation and, in some cases, suicides. Andreou said Microsoft has watched as some AI developers veered away from “giving AI any sort of embodiment,” while others are moving in the opposite direction in enabling AI girlfriends. “Those two paths don’t really resonate with us that much,” he said. Andreou said the companion’s design is meant to be “genuinely useful” and not so validating that it would “tell us exactly what we want to hear, confirm biases we already have, or even suck you in from a time-spent perspective and just kind of try to kind of monopolize and deepen the session and increase the time you’re spending with these systems.” “Being sycophantic — short-term, maybe — has a user respond more favorably,” Andreou said. “But long term, it’s actually not moving that person closer to their goals.” Part of Microsoft’s announcements on Thursday includes the ability to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to “troll your friends,” which is different from the “intensely collaborative” AI-assisted workplace Microsoft has in mind. Microsoft’s audience includes kids, as part of its longtime competition with Google and other tech companies to supply its technology to classrooms. Microsoft also said Thursday it’s added a feature to turn Copilot into a “voice-enabled, Socratic tutor” that guides students through concepts they’re studying at school. A growing number of kids use AI chatbots for everything — from homework help to personal advice, emotional support and everyday decision-making. The Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry last month into several social media and AI companies — Microsoft wasn’t one of them — about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions. That’s after some chatbots have been shown to give kids dangerous advice about topics such as drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. The mother of a teenage boy in Florida who killed himself after developing what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with a chatbot filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Character. AI. And the parents of a 16-year-old sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in August, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life. Altman recently promised “a new version of ChatGPT” coming this fall that restores some of the personality of earlier versions, which he said the company temporarily halted because “we were being careful with mental health issues” that he suggested have now been fixed. “If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it,” Altman said on X. (In the same post, he also said OpenAI will later enable ChatGPT to engage in “erotica for verified adults,” which got more attention.) —Matt O’Brien, AP technology writer View the full article

Claimants said 36mn consumers would be entitled to damages of about £1.5bnView the full article

Sora, OpenAI's short-form AI video platform, has been available for iPhones for the past few weeks. Users have spent that time generating hyper-realistic vertical videos that, despite their watermarks, might already be fooling people on the internet. I, for one, see nothing good about a tool that can make these types of videos from simple prompts, perhaps outside the sheer novelty alone. But the app is undeniably popular, and, as expected, OpenAI is continuing to "improve" it. On Wednesday, the head of Sora, Bill Peebles, shared a roadmap of updates coming to the app, from cameos for your pets to video editing tools. Sora will soon let you make cameos of anything you wantPeebles says that "character cameos" are on their way in the coming days. When this feature drops, you'll be able to make cameos of just about anything you want, including your pets (Peebles suggests your dog or guinea pig), stuffed toys, as well as AI-generated characters Sora may have produced in your past videos. Cameos are a defining, and controversial, Sora feature. It lets you scan your likeness into the app so you can create videos featuring yourself. Not only that, you can remix videos with cameos of anyone else who has scanned themself into Sora—assuming their permissions allow you to use their cameos. It's impressive tech, but it raises major ethical concerns, considering you can make someone else do or say things they never signed off on. Now, apparently, you'll also be able to do the same with the family cat or your childhood stuffed animal. Following these additional cameo options, Peebles says you'll be able to see "the latest trending cameos in real time." I'm guessing the idea is to browse the most popular cameos on the platform, and, if you want to, add them to your own videos. Sora is also getting basic video editing tools. According to Peebles, this starts with the ability to stitch multiple clips together, though other "powerful new features" will follow. Peebles says the Sora team is also working on reducing "excessive moderation," which he acknowledges is "super annoying" to users, as well as improving the app's performance. Speaking of apps, Android users will soon have their chance to try Sora. Right now, the app is iOS-only, but Sora's Android version is "actually coming soon," Peebles says. A reminder to be wary of what you see on the internetAs critical and cynical as I am about Sora and services like it, I can see the utility here. I imagine people will get a kick out of being able to put their pets in any situation they want. And if they want to make fried eggs sing a song, or a stuffed animal say "hello," more power to them. But my main concerns with this app are not assuaged by any of these updates: Sora still lets you generate convincing videos with a simple prompt, with the only safeguard a watermark that's easy to remove if you know where to look. People were already falling for fake videos on the internet before these tools came along; now, it's becoming way too difficult to know whether what you're watching is actually real or not. If you ask me, you're better off assuming all of it is fake. Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. View the full article

While expectations that another federal rate cut is on the way next week, other economic trends may be having a larger influence on mortgage lending. View the full article

President Donald The President has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and terrorism. Zhao had asked The President for a pardon previously. He has deep ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. launched in September. The President’s most recent financial disclosure report reveals he made more than $57 million last year from World Liberty Financial, which has launched USD1, a stablecoin pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio to the U.S. dollar. World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates would be using $2 billion worth of USD1 to purchase a stake in Binance. Zhao also has publicly said that he had asked The President for a pardon that could nullify his conviction. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday that the Biden administration prosecuted Zhao out of a “desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry.” She said there were “no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,” though Zhao had pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program. “I failed here,” Zhao told the court last year. “I deeply regret my failure, and I am sorry.” —Will Weissert, Associated Press View the full article

The Spotify app is currently experiencing crashes and freezing on Android, the company has acknowledged after about two weeks of pressure from listeners. A fix is purportedly on the way, but in the meantime, there are a few steps you can take to get your music going. Reports of problems with the Android Spotify app first started on the Spotify help forums, although they have since spread to social media as well. Those affected complain that the app either freezes when opening, or crashes midway through listening. Others mention that problems only pick up when connecting to wifi—Spotify has since confirmed that "the issue doesn't occur while using mobile data." According to Spotify, the company is aware of the problem and is working on a solution. Additionally, Spotify says most complaints are coming from Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel users, although the cause is unclear. While there could be a problem with these devices specifically (a user on Reddit has theorized that the culprit might be Chromecast compatibility), because these are also popular Android phones, it could just be an issue with sample size. Regardless of phone model, not all users on Android are affected. While listening on my Pixel 10, I experienced no difference from using the app on my iPhone 15 Pro. If you are an Android user and are currently unable to use the Spotify app normally, try these solutions while waiting for an official fix: Listen on mobile data insteadBecause the issues with the Spotify app are limited to wifi, the simplest solution to the problem is to use mobile data instead. While it's not an ideal solution, as not everyone has unlimited data, it's a simple fix for those who do. Disconnecting from wifi depends on your model of phone, although you can usually find the toggle by swiping down from the top of the screen. Use the web playerWhile it's not as convenient as using the Spotify app, you could try using the browser version of Spotify instead to get around the issue. Click here to access it. Note, however, that the web player will try to swap over to the Spotify app if you have it installed, so you'll either need to temporarily uninstall it, or adjust your browser's permissions to keep it from redirecting links to the app. On my Pixel 10, this is under Settings > Apps > Default apps > Opening links > Spotify, although your phone's controls might be different. Note that the web player also lacks a few features, such as downloads. Try a different wifi networkWhile this isn't an ideal solution if your home wifi network is affected, Spotify says the bug is currently only affecting "certain WiFi networks." If you find yourself in the office or at a coffee shop, it's worth connecting to their wifi to see if the problem persists there. View the full article

As weather disasters become more and more frequent, the home insurance system feels broken for Americans across the country. Now, the advocacy nonprofit Consumer Reports is trying to implement a “homeowners insurance bill of rights” to codify baseline protections across all 50 states. According to a survey from the group, homeowners have seen their insurance rates climb—like Sierra in North Carolina, whose insurance spiked 43% last year, with her provider citing the “increased regional weather risks” as well as Hurricane Helene’s impact specifically. They’ve been denied payouts, like Charmian in Illinois, who says their provider refused to pay for hail damage on their roof. Hail storms are becoming both more frequent and more damaging as global temperatures rise. And some homeowners have been outright abandoned as insurance companies flee high-risk states and drop long-time customers. Because of the growing risk of wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters, homeowners have been dropped in states including California, Florida, and Louisiana, among others. Vicki in California is one example, even after she spent money on fire protection measures. An industry ‘almost universally disliked’ Sierra, Charmian, and Vicki are some of the more than 500 Consumer Reports members who shared their insurance stories with the nonprofit when it began to look into the home insurance market. Consumer Reports rates all sorts of products and services, from appliances to electric vehicles to anti-virus software. But it only just started covering insurance providers this year. The focus on home insurance was prompted by the January wildfires in Los Angeles—and the news that major providers like State Farm and other insurers had canceled hundreds of policies in the months before that disaster hit. “It’s really been a flood of heartbreaking stories of people who have lost their homes that didn’t even know that they were in extreme weather risk regions and didn’t have sufficient insurance or even insurance at all to help rebuild,” says Sara Enright, Consumer Reports senior director of safety and sustainability advocacy. Consumer Reports put out the call for stories from its members that January, and received responses filled with frustrations like reduced or eliminated coverage and skyrocketing rates from all 50 states. In September, Consumer Reports revealed its ratings of best and worst homeowners insurance, the first time it did such a list. The nonprofit looked at 28 providers, but after surveying 24,000 policyholders, only three received a Consumer Reports recommendation. “That’s pretty poor showing,” Enright says. “This is an industry that’s almost universally disliked by its customers.” Nine rights for homeowners The insurance industry is clearly struggling with the realities of climate change, and the extent to which extreme weather is becoming more common. The scale of damage is increasing to such an extent that traditional insurance models no longer apply to our current reality. Consumer Reports wanted to help figure out some solutions. “We felt that there are things that the insurance industry could do to ease the pain on their customers in the meantime, as they figure out their business model under a world in which extreme weather events are going to occur more frequently,” Enright says. So the nonprofit got to work writing up a Homeowners Insurance Bill of Rights, one that prioritized consumer voices. Along with more than 500 stories from members, it engaged more than 56,000 consumers in total to get feedback, which it then analyzed for certain themes. It also partnered with advocates that have studied insurance, like United Policy Holders and the Consumer Federation of America. It came up with nine rights it says all policyholders should be guaranteed, and which would make the home insurance market more fair: A clear, plain-language explanation of what is—and isn’t—covered by your policy Knowing which risk factors are used to determine eligibility and set rates Fair access to coverage based on property risk, not your finances Receiving written notice and a full explanation well in advance of major changes to your insurance policy Benefitting from incentives to “harden” your home against severe weather or wildfire risk Insurance security during and after declared States of Emergency No penalties for inquiries and unpaid claims Prompt, full, and fair payment on a claim Immediate and adequate financial support for emergency housing and essentials Some of these rights seem obvious, or like they’d already exist—like clear language around what a policy covers. But policies may not actually be that transparent to homeowners. It’s also an intentional way to call out how the industry can seem unfair, and unaccountable to its customers. “A lot of the rights cover things where you’re like, ‘Why doesn’t that exist?’” Enright says. “Right after a disaster, don’t drop your home insurance policy right—that’s not legally required in most states, and that just seems like a very low hanging fruit for insurers to be able to say ‘no we’re not going to abandon you in your time of need.’” A patchwork system Though some of these rights aren’t legally required in certain states, the majority are already covered by at least one state law. The problem is that the insurance industry is a patchwork system, with different requirements and responsibilities from state to state. “We believe that those rights should then be extended to all policyholders, to create a stronger protection network for everybody,” Enright says. Consumer Reports wanted to ensure that these rights were possible, and that they could get onboard. Though it’s a fact that companies will drop customers in high-risk areas like California, the nonprofit didn’t feel it could call for a change to such business practices. Canceling policies because the risk is too high, or hiking insurance rates are “business decisions that have to be made in the time of climate change,” Enright says. “Obviously we think that those should be overseen by state regulators, but it’s not something that we thought we could voluntarily ask insurance companies to say that they would stop doing.” But the bill of rights does call for actions like providing enough advanced notice so homeowners can respond, fight back, or find a new provider before their insurance ends. The full bill of rights also shares some tips for what homeowners can do to protect themselves in the meantime, before these rights are (hopefully) enacted—suggestions like asking if any risk scores were used to determine their premiums, and how they could improve their risk score to lower their rate. There’s a customer education component to this crisis, Enright adds; many people don’t even know their basic home insurance package doesn’t cover flooding, for example. Consumer Reports next steps Still, Consumer Reports wants the insurance companies to adopt these rights, and state legislators to codify them. They were formed so as not to require dramatic business changes, Enright says, and Consumer Reports is also reaching out to all 28 insurers it rated this year to talk about how they can implement these changes. “Our hope is that insurers will see some value in adopting, as an industry, universal rights that will level the playing field for all of them so that they are competing on customer service as much as anything else,” she says. The nonprofit is also reaching out to industry groups and talking to state legislators about putting consumer protection policies in place. The insurance industry is legislated at the state level, so that’s where Consumer Reports is focusing. Consumer Reports also launched a petition asking for signatures in support of the Homeowners Insurance Bill of Rights. At the federal level, like around FEMA or federal flood insurance, details are still up in the air as the The President administration has cut departments and slashed services. The President’s moves to gut the NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, may actually increase home insurance premiums and make companies drop even more homeowners, experts warned back in February, because the data that department once provided is crucial to understanding risk. Though Consumer Report’s member stories reveal how frustrated homeowners are with their insurance companies, Enright wants to note that this effort isn’t about painting insurers as bad actors. “This is a story about us adapting to extreme weather events driven by climate change,” she says. “We have to work together. We need the insurance industry to be strong so that communities can get through extreme weather events and be resilient. We need to find solutions that work both for insurance companies as well as consumers.” View the full article

China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday it will focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology, a long-running push that has become more pronounced as the U.S. has imposed increasingly tight controls on access to semiconductors and other high-tech items. The announcement by state media came in a communique after a four-day meeting that approved a draft of the party’s next five-year development plan. China faces “profound and complex” changes and rising uncertainty, it said. The communique did not directly mention the trade war with U.S. President Donald The President. China’s leader Xi Jinping is expected to meet The President for talks in South Korea next week. Since returning to the White House, The President has ramped up tariffs on imports in an effort to compel manufacturers to shift factories to the United States. That has added to pressure on the Chinese economy at a time when the leadership is struggling to resolve a prolonged downturn in the property market and stoke stronger domestic demand. But China has managed to keep exports growing by shifting to other markets, and the statement signaled the government is confident it can counter external threats with domestic policy tools, said Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis, a French investment bank. “It means China will likely demand more from the U.S. to reach a deal, if one is to be reached,” he said. The communique contained few surprises, largely echoing the policy direction set out by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who wants to build China into a tech leader and global power with a robust military able to command respect and exert international influence. It provided only a broad overview of the coming 2026-2030 five-year plan, indicating its scope without details. More information may be released in the coming days, but the full plan won’t be known until March, when the legislature gives a rubber-stamp approval to the plan at its annual meeting. “The general impression of the communique is that it highlights much more continuity than change,” said Xin Sun, a senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian Business at King’s College London. Ng said that compared to the previous plan five years ago, the government is deepening its push for technological self-sufficiency, income redistribution and a transition to clean energy. The country’s industrial policy has driven the rapid development of the electric car and wind and solar industries in recent years and has turned now to robotics and artificial intelligence. The party will “accelerate the all-out green transformation of economic and social development,” the statement said. It said that China would continue to boost domestic demand and spending, an objective that economists said is important for the country’s economic growth, though it didn’t signal any significant change to that approach. China has rolled out various policies to help increase consumption — such as subsidies for consumer loans and child care and trade-in programs for electric vehicles and appliances. Economists are watching for more measures to support consumption by the year’s end. Beijing said this week it is still on a “solid foundation” to achieve its full-year official growth target of around 5%, after China’s economy grew 4.8% in the July to September quarter. The meeting of the party’s Central Committee was notable for the low number of deputies, an indication of Xi’s deep purges among the Communist Party’s top ranks. Out of 205 members, 168 attended the meeting, the communique said, along with 147 out of 171 alternates. Eleven alternates were made voting members to fill vacancies on the committee. The party meeting chose a replacement for China’s second-highest-ranking general. He was expelled from the party along with eight other senior military officials on suspicion of corruption, the Defense Ministry announced just days before this week’s meeting. Zhang Shengmin was named vice chair of the Central Military Commission, the top military body. He was already a member of the commission and holds the rank of general in the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force. He is secretary of the commission’s Discipline and Inspection Commission, which investigates corruption. The elevation of Zhang shows an emphasis on political loyalty and anti-corruption as Xi continues a push to modernize China’s military, Sun said. —Ken Moritsugu, Huizhong Wu, and Chan Ho-Him, Associated Press Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed. View the full article

Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe AI is changing the way we work at lightning speed. Tools that once felt experimental are now handling everything from scheduling to drafting reports. By 2030, executives predict only 1/3 of work will be fully done by humans. That leaves us with an urgent question: How do we future-proof our skills? As part of our 2025 AI Collaboration Index report, we asked leaders and knowledge workers around the world: As AI takes over more routine tasks, which human qualities will matter most? Their answers reveal a clear direction. Taken together, their answers highlight the timeless skills that become even more valuable in an AI future. Below, we’ll unpack five top skills to invest in for an AI-powered future, along with practical ways to strengthen those skills and weave them into your everyday work. The top 5 human skills for the future of work with AI 1. Critical thinking Related Article How to build critical thinking skills for better decision-making By Kat Boogaard In Productivity What it is: The ability to analyze information, weigh evidence, and form sound judgments. Why it matters: Our research shows 42% of knowledge workers admit to trusting AI outputs without verifying them due to time pressures. Without critical thinking, speed translates to risk. How to build it: Treat AI as a sparring partner, not an oracle. Ask it to show sources, generate counterarguments, or stress-test its own answers. Instead of defaulting to the first output, push it to “show its work.” Build a habit of slowing down your thinking before making calls. Even a brief pause helps activate deeper reasoning. Techniques like a simple pre-mortem exercise – or imagining what could happen during a project, both good and bad, and planning accordingly – sharpen your ability to spot twists and turns and strengthen your reasoning over time. 2. Creativity What it is: The capacity to generate new ideas, identify subtle connections, and turn imagination into tangible outcomes. Why it matters: As routine work becomes automated, creativity is emerging as even more of a competitive advantage than it was before. The World Economic Forum ranks creative thinking among the top skills for the future of work. In an AI-enabled world, the ability to spark original ideas – and refine AI’s suggestions into something fresh – is what sets humans apart. How to build it: Use AI as a brainstorm buddy. Ask it for divergent exercises, rapid-fire prompts, or “bad ideas only” to unlock new directions and spark truly original ideas. You can also use AI to quickly prototype concepts—whether that’s a mock design or a sample script—so you can spend more energy refining and iterating, Seek inspiration outside your usual lane. Studies show cross-disciplinary exposure boosts creativity. For example, if you’re in marketing, you might look to architecture, art, or even biology to spark breakthrough ideas. Build time into your week to explore industries, media, or disciplines far from your own. 3. Emotional intelligence What it is: The ability to recognize or tune into emotions – your own and other people’s – and use that awareness to guide how you respond. Why it matters: Emotional intelligence (also called EQ) isn’t just a “nice to have.” Research shows it’s a strong predictor of job performance across roles, and it has a direct impact on your ability to make sound decisions, build stronger relationships, and manage your own stress. In an AI-driven workplace, EQ only grows in importance. AI can analyze sentiment, but it can’t build trust, strengthen connections, or rally a team around a big idea. That’s on us humans. How to build it: Do a quick end-of-day “emotion check-in.” Write down what frustrated you, what energized you, and how you reacted. Psychologists call this affect labeling – naming emotions out loud. It sounds simple, but studies show this practice reduces stress and makes it easier to regulate your reactions the next time around. Use AI for role-play. Ask your chat tool to behave like an upset customer or skeptical boss, and practice your response. Then ask AI to critique your tone and clarity. Think of it as a safe space to rehearse tough conversations. 4. Technical proficiency From the PlaybookEmbracing new technology can be challenging, especially when it’s as powerful as AI. Build your team’s confidence in AI with the AI Innovation Day Play, a focused day of learning and doing with AI. Run the Play What it is: The ability to effectively use, understand, and adapt to digital tools and systems that power modern work – including AI. Why it matters: If you can’t work strategically with the tools of your trade, you risk getting stuck on the sidelines. Teams with higher AI technical proficiency don’t just use it to automate busywork – they unlock the full spectrum of AI’s potential by collaborating with it and embedding it across team workflows. Our data shows this strategic approach to AI improves the very nature of collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving. How to build it: Jam with AI, regularly. Block off a weekly “practice block” with your team to try new tools, prompts, or AI-enhanced workflows. Our research shows that making time to experiment with AI can boost creativity by 21%, and buy you back hours down the road. Focus on impact, not just speed. Don’t just use AI to go faster – use it to go further. Ask yourself: Are we solving problems in innovative ways, or just automating the old ones? Fortune 1000 execs expect AI to help teams tackle nearly 2x as many innovative ideas in the next five years. Now’s the time to experiment and push boundaries. 5. Decision-making Related Article This is how effective teams navigate the decision-making process By Kat Boogaard In Teamwork What it is: The ability to weigh information, risks, and context to choose a path forward. Why it matters: AI can crunch numbers and serve up options, but it can’t tell you what truly matters, weigh trade-offs, or take accountability for the call. Strong decision-making is what lets you filter the noise (which is extremely loud in the age of AI), identify blind spots, and turn AI’s insights into smart, human-centered action. How to build it: Make your goals and priorities visible to AI. When you connect your objectives or team OKRs to your AI tools, you get more relevant recommendations and avoid wasted effort. Pressure-test your options with AI. Before making a decision, ask AI to “surface risks, generate counterarguments, or highlight what you might be missing.” Make fast, reversible decisions – and learn from them. Teams don’t need to wait for perfect information. And that’s not always realistic. Make small, low-risk decisions quickly, then use AI to analyze outcomes and pivot if needed. This “test and adapt” mindset helps teams move forward, even in uncertainty. Our research shows that while daily AI use has doubled and perceived productivity gains are up 33%, only a small fraction of companies see true AI-enabled transformation at the team or org level. That gap underscores a truth: raw tools don’t build thriving teams; human skills and better processes do. So in strengthening these skills, teams don’t just keep pace with AI. They unlock its power to multiply their impact. Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe The post 5 skills teams need to thrive in the age of AI (and how to build them) appeared first on Work Life by Atlassian. View the full article

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of a digital-first world, the need for tools that enhance productivity and streamline operations is more pressing than ever. Recognizing this shift, Slack has partnered with industry leaders to launch a suite of tailored solutions aimed at helping organizations break down silos and foster collaboration. The initiative aims to establish what is termed a “digital HQ,” a unified platform that integrates different tools and connects people with the workflows essential to their work. According to Slack, companies of any size can reap the benefits of such a platform, but many small business owners are often left wondering: how can they practically implement these solutions? Slack recently announced the first wave of its Partner Industry Solutions, developed in collaboration with Salesforce consulting partners. These solutions are geared toward specific industries, addressing the unique needs and challenges of sectors like financial services, manufacturing, and retail. With an increasing focus on equipping companies with more personalized and effective digital tools, this launch represents a significant step forward in digital transformation. “What the world’s largest and most influential consultancies have recognized is that every customer needs a digital HQ,” says Richard Hasslacher, Vice President of Slack Alliances & Channels. This underscores the belief that the successful embrace of digital tools can revolutionize how businesses operate. By utilizing Slack and Salesforce’s Customer 360, small business owners can gain access to industry-specific features that streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. For example, one solution focuses on reducing customer churn in wealth management through predictive analytics. Another targets the onboarding process for manufacturing suppliers, making it easier to manage relationships and logistics. This level of specificity allows small businesses to tailor their digital strategies in ways that directly serve their operational goals. With an extensive network of Slack-certified consulting partners—including industry giants like Accenture, Deloitte, and IBM—small business owners can find support that suits their particular industry needs. These partners bring decades of experience to the table, offering services ranging from strategic advisory to organizational change management. Implementing these tailored solutions could mean less time spent figuring out how to integrate new systems and more focus on driving business growth. However, while the benefits are substantial, small business owners should also consider potential challenges. Integrating a comprehensive digital strategy requires investment—both in terms of time and resources. Not every business will have the same capacity to adapt swiftly to new technologies, especially in fields where staff members might be accustomed to more traditional processes. Additionally, the process of digital transformation often involves change management, which can be daunting. It’s crucial for small business leaders to prepare their teams for the transition, ensuring that employees are adequately trained and supported to make the most of these new tools. If not handled well, such transitions can lead to resistance among staff or undermined productivity during the shift. Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Alliances & Channels at Salesforce, highlights Slack’s role in successfully advancing organizations’ digital transformation plans: “Slack helps organizations advance and accelerate their digital transformation plans, which can benefit the many businesses already using Salesforce.” For small business owners keen to explore these new offerings, the Slack Partner Industry Solutions can be discovered through Salesforce’s AppExchange platform. This provides a convenient avenue to identify partners that can help maximize investment in digital tools. As the landscape of work continuously evolves, engaging with industry-specific solutions like those launched by Slack and its partners could be pivotal in adapting to new norms. By breaking down silos and fostering collaboration, small businesses stand to enhance their productivity and improve their operations in an increasingly complex market. For further information on Slack’s Partner Industry Solutions, visit the original announcement here: Slack Blog. Image via Envato This article, "Slack and Salesforce Unveil Tailored Industry Solutions for Digital HQs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of a digital-first world, the need for tools that enhance productivity and streamline operations is more pressing than ever. Recognizing this shift, Slack has partnered with industry leaders to launch a suite of tailored solutions aimed at helping organizations break down silos and foster collaboration. The initiative aims to establish what is termed a “digital HQ,” a unified platform that integrates different tools and connects people with the workflows essential to their work. According to Slack, companies of any size can reap the benefits of such a platform, but many small business owners are often left wondering: how can they practically implement these solutions? Slack recently announced the first wave of its Partner Industry Solutions, developed in collaboration with Salesforce consulting partners. These solutions are geared toward specific industries, addressing the unique needs and challenges of sectors like financial services, manufacturing, and retail. With an increasing focus on equipping companies with more personalized and effective digital tools, this launch represents a significant step forward in digital transformation. “What the world’s largest and most influential consultancies have recognized is that every customer needs a digital HQ,” says Richard Hasslacher, Vice President of Slack Alliances & Channels. This underscores the belief that the successful embrace of digital tools can revolutionize how businesses operate. By utilizing Slack and Salesforce’s Customer 360, small business owners can gain access to industry-specific features that streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. For example, one solution focuses on reducing customer churn in wealth management through predictive analytics. Another targets the onboarding process for manufacturing suppliers, making it easier to manage relationships and logistics. This level of specificity allows small businesses to tailor their digital strategies in ways that directly serve their operational goals. With an extensive network of Slack-certified consulting partners—including industry giants like Accenture, Deloitte, and IBM—small business owners can find support that suits their particular industry needs. These partners bring decades of experience to the table, offering services ranging from strategic advisory to organizational change management. Implementing these tailored solutions could mean less time spent figuring out how to integrate new systems and more focus on driving business growth. However, while the benefits are substantial, small business owners should also consider potential challenges. Integrating a comprehensive digital strategy requires investment—both in terms of time and resources. Not every business will have the same capacity to adapt swiftly to new technologies, especially in fields where staff members might be accustomed to more traditional processes. Additionally, the process of digital transformation often involves change management, which can be daunting. It’s crucial for small business leaders to prepare their teams for the transition, ensuring that employees are adequately trained and supported to make the most of these new tools. If not handled well, such transitions can lead to resistance among staff or undermined productivity during the shift. Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Alliances & Channels at Salesforce, highlights Slack’s role in successfully advancing organizations’ digital transformation plans: “Slack helps organizations advance and accelerate their digital transformation plans, which can benefit the many businesses already using Salesforce.” For small business owners keen to explore these new offerings, the Slack Partner Industry Solutions can be discovered through Salesforce’s AppExchange platform. This provides a convenient avenue to identify partners that can help maximize investment in digital tools. As the landscape of work continuously evolves, engaging with industry-specific solutions like those launched by Slack and its partners could be pivotal in adapting to new norms. By breaking down silos and fostering collaboration, small businesses stand to enhance their productivity and improve their operations in an increasingly complex market. For further information on Slack’s Partner Industry Solutions, visit the original announcement here: Slack Blog. Image via Envato This article, "Slack and Salesforce Unveil Tailored Industry Solutions for Digital HQs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

President Donald The President’s administration announced Wednesday new “massive sanctions” against Russia’s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on The President to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economic engine that has allowed Russia to continue to execute the grinding conflict even as it finds itself largely internationally isolated. “Hopefully he’ll become reasonable,” The President said of Putin not long after the Treasury Department announced the sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies and their subsidiaries. “And hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.” The U.S. administration announced the sanctions as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in Washington for talks with The President. The military alliance has been coordinating deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, many of them purchased from the United States by Canada and European countries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new sanctions were a direct response to Moscow’s refusal to end its “senseless war” and an attempt to choke off “the Kremlin’s war machine.” Bessent added that the Treasury Department was prepared to take further action if necessary to support The President’s effort to end the war. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.” The announcement came after Russian drones and missiles blasted sites across Ukraine, killing at least six people, including a woman and her two young daughters. The attack came in waves from Tuesday night into Wednesday and targeted at least eight Ukrainian cities, as well as a village in the region of the capital, Kyiv, where a strike set fire to a house in which the mother and her 6-month-old and 12-year-old daughters were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said. At least 29 people, including five children, were wounded in Kyiv, which appeared to be the main target, authorities said. Russian drones also hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, later Wednesday when children were in the building, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. One person was killed and six were hurt, but no children were physically harmed, he said. Rutte, in his Oval Office appearance, went out of his way to underscore that the weaponry the U.S. is selling Europe to provide to Ukraine has been essential to helping stop many attacks like the one that ravaged the kindergarten. “We need to make sure that the air defense systems are in place, and we need the U.S. systems to do that, and the Europeans are paying for that,” Rutte said. “It is exactly the type of actions we needed, and the President is doing that and trying everything to get this work done.” Zelenskyy said many of the children were in shock. He said the attack targeted 10 separate regions: Kyiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy and Sumy. Peace efforts stall The President’s efforts to end the war that started with Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago have failed to gain traction. The President has repeatedly expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to budge from his conditions for a settlement after Ukraine offered a ceasefire and direct peace talks. The President said Tuesday that his plan for a swift meeting with Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” European leaders accused Putin of stalling. Meanwhile, in what appeared to be a public reminder of Russian atomic arsenals, Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces. Zelenskyy urged the European Union, the United States, and the Group of Seven industrialized nations to force Russia to the negotiating table. Pressure can be applied on Moscow “only through sanctions, long-range (missile) capabilities and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,” he said. More international economic sanctions on Russia are likely to be discussed Thursday at an EU summit in Brussels. On Friday, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing — a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine — is to take place in London. Zelenskyy credited The President’s remarks that he was considering supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for Putin’s willingness to meet. The American president later said he was wary of tapping into the U.S. supply of Tomahawks over concerns about available stocks. Russia has not made significant progress on the battlefield, where a war of attrition has taken a high toll on Russian infantry and Ukraine is short of manpower, military analysts say. Both sides have invested in long-range strike capabilities to hit rear areas. Ukraine says it hit key Russian chemical plant The Ukrainian army’s general staff said its forces struck a chemical plant Tuesday night in Russia’s Bryansk region using British-made air-launched Storm Shadow missiles. The plant is an important part of the Russian military and industrial complex, producing gunpowder, explosives, missile fuel and ammunition, it said. Russian officials in the region confirmed an attack but did not mention the plant. Ukraine also claimed overnight strikes on the Saransk mechanical plant in Mordovia, Russia, which produces components for ammunition and mines, and the Makhachkala oil refinery in the Dagestan republic of Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 33 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including the area around St. Petersburg. Eight airports temporarily suspended flights because of the attacks. In other developments, Zelenskyy arrived Wednesday in Oslo, Norway, and after that flew to Stockholm, where he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages. The President says Russia is on the agenda for upcoming Xi talks The U.S. president is expected to meet next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders travel to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Beijing has not provided Russia with direct support in the war, but has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment. The President has said he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all NATO countries stopped buying oil from Russia and placed tariffs on China of 50% to 100% for its purchases of Russian petroleum. “I think he could have a big influence on Putin,” The President said of Xi Jinping. Beijing has yet to confirm that The President and Xi will meet. —Aamer Madhani, Susie Blann, Fatima Hussein, Associated Press Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova, Illia Novikov, Samya Kullab, Andrea Rosa, Yehor Konovalov, and Josh Boak contributed to this report. View the full article

In order for artificial intelligence to live up to its promise, it must be part of the physical world around us View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company, covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on the implications of OpenAI’s official entry into the browser game with its ChatGPT Atlas. I also talk to Stanford HAI’s James Landay about the AI industry’s UX design challenges, and examine “AI czar” David Sacks’s recent X skirmish with Democratic billionaire Reid Hoffman. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @thesullivan. With OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas, the AI browser war officially kicks off Using the internet with the help of an AI is a real thing—and it became even more real Tuesday when OpenAI, the generative AI industry’s de facto avatar, announced the release of its new ChatGPT Atlas browser. A new race has begun to reinvent the Chrome-style browser experience we’ve used for so long: The race to reinvent the browser around natural language AI. Think of Atlas as an extended workspace and set of features around ChatGPT, specialized for fetching, parsing, and organizing web content. For months, I’ve been using the ChatGPT desktop app. I simply hit a keyboard shortcut, a small chat window appears toward the bottom of my screen, and I ask my question. When I click a source link within the answer, a new Chrome tab opens up behind the chat window. When talking to ChatGPT within Atlas, there’s no need to open that new Chrome tab—everything opens within Atlas. The chatbot stays open on the right, so I can ask it questions about the web page I’m viewing. OpenAI has some other ambitious ideas about how artificial intelligence can be used in browsing. Importantly, Atlas can leverage its memory of the user’s past browsing behavior so that it can more thoughtfully suggest ways of finding and organizing new data or web content. For example, it might remind the user of a specific piece of data they searched for within the same subject area at some point in the past. The user can control how much the browser “remembers,” OpenAI says. Atlas goes beyond fetching web content. It offers to act as the user’s agent, interacting with websites on the user’s behalf. This could mean planning a theater date (complete with dinner reservations, for example) or buying concert tickets when they become available. This kind of autonomous agent is something of a holy grail, both for AI labs trying to build enterprise (work) AI and companies building consumer AI. I’ve heard numerous tech company executives talk as if agents are already advanced enough to make a big difference in business and personal life. Other execs and experts I’ve spoken with say that the agent revolution will not happen this year, and maybe not even next year. That’s because the AI models behind the agents still aren’t good enough to reason through complex tasks. They also still can’t process all the contextual information needed to safely complete high-stakes tasks involving real money (like all the small considerations involved in booking a plane ticket), influential AI researcher (and OpenAI cofounder) Andrej Karpathy points out in a recent podcast. There are other hurdles, too. An entire technology ecosystem must form to accommodate new AI agents, says Devi Parikh, co-CEO of the agentic AI company Yutori. The websites and services of today are built for human users, so agents must learn how to click buttons, scroll pages, and search menus. They might work more reliably if they could exchange data with a website or service via an application programming interface (API) or some other secure and standardized handshake. Because it’s so crucial that users trust these AI agents, she says, AI companies would be wise to err on the conservative side in talking about what AI agents can really do; giving users a bad first impression could damage trust and make them hesitant to rely on agents. While Atlas is getting lots of attention, Google has been (more quietly) upgrading its Chrome browser with AI. Just last month, the company added a spate of features that make its Gemini AI a bigger part of Chrome, saying that the browser is “entering a new era powered by AI.” Within Chrome, Gemini can summarize content, organize tabs, and ask questions about web pages. Google’s new AI search function, now called “AI Mode,” shows up at the top of a wider range of searches and can also be called up using a keyboard shortcut. But Google is building these features onto an existing browser-slash-search tool. That’s very different from building an AI-first browser from scratch as OpenAI did. It’s also true that Google has introduced the AI features in such an understated way that many users probably don’t even know they’re there. (I saw the shortcut to AI Mode in Chrome’s search bar for the very first time Tuesday.) And Google is also freighted with a decades-old business model that knows how to make money from the traditional “10 blue links” search results. So it has to be very careful about how and when it pushes Chrome users toward AI search, which represents a very different revenue model. At any rate, lots of AI talent and money will go into building a new way of using the internet in the coming months and years. Let’s hope the end result is something that helps users more than exploits them. Stanford’s Landay: AI labs need to invest more in product design Lots of people are using AI chatbots now, but the vast majority are free-tier users who employ the tools’ most basic features. They might be comfortable chatting with the AI about some personal matter, but less likely to use it to build a website. At work, they might be apt to look up a policy document, but less comfortable working with the tool to build a report or spreadsheet. The big challenge of designers within AI labs like OpenAI or Google is to build the user interface of AI tools in a way that invites people to use those deeper features, which can offer far greater rewards than the basic ones. But designing software products with UX that’s approachable and easy to use may not be the forte of AI labs, says James Landay, a Stanford computer science and engineering professor who co-directs the university’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). Landay, who specializes in human-computer interaction, consults for a number of tech companies in the Bay Area. A user interface could mean a piece of computer hardware or a software experience that mediates a human’s interaction with an AI. Landay says one of the big challenges of building interfaces for tech products has been that it’s very hard to anticipate the broad set of use cases that people may have, and the user interfaces people might prefer for each of them. Even on the Zoom call I had with Landay, several interface options are available—he may prefer audio-only on a phone, while I may prefer a half-screen mode on my laptop. As for AI apps, a small chat window might be fine for some use cases, while others might call for voice interaction. Still others may need a UX built for viewing images or video. Landay says with AI, it’s unlikely that a dominant form of interface will emerge to muscle out other modes. People will likely want to interact with the technology in a variety of different ways—some old and some new. A slice of the consumer market may decide that the best way to use AI is within the lenses and earpieces of augmented reality glasses. Some may like the idea of an ambient AI in the home, always ready to offer intelligence at the sound of their name (“HAL . . .”). Landay says the big AI labs haven’t yet moved very far away from the chatbot interface. He says these companies employ people who are primarily interested in natural language AI, so they naturally favor a text-based interface. The AI companies have so far focused most of their energy on improving the models themselves, and relatively little on developing productive ways for humans to interact with the AI. OpenAI’s engagement with the design guru Jony Ive is a sign that the company is at least aware of the need to develop a practical human interface for AI, and willing to invest in possible solutions, Landay says. Ive has indeed invented captivating entry points to mobile computing technology (iPhones and Apple Watches), but AI is another paradigm, and one that might not lend itself easily to an “ideal” piece of hardware or software UX. The David Sacks–Reid Hoffman skirmish on X was mainly about Anthropic David Sacks, the former VC who now works as the “AI czar” in the The President administration, and Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn cofounder and big-time Democratic donor, got into a skirmish on X this week. It revealed some things about the politics of AI. On October 20, Hoffman started a thread: “I want to state plainly: In all industries, especially in AI, it’s important to back the good guys. Anthropic is one of the good guys.” Further down, Hoffman points out that others—including Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI—are trying to deploy AI in a way that balances innovation and safety, and is “enormously beneficial for society.” He adds that some AI labs (he doesn’t name names) are making decisions that disregard societal considerations, including some whose bots “sometimes go full fascist.” (Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot reportedly has praised Hitler, dabbled in Holocaust denialism, and ranted about “white genocide” in South Africa.) Whether it was the part about Anthropic or the dig on fascist bots is unclear—but Sacks was triggered. He clapped back: “The leading funder of lawfare and dirty tricks against President The President wants you to know that ‘Anthropic is one of the good guys.’” Hoffman responded, charging that Sacks didn’t read his full post, adding that it’s “particularly rich” that someone in the The President administration would accuse someone else of “lawfare and dirty tricks.” The MAGA-fied Sacks naturally has no love for Hoffman, a major Democratic donor. But he also sees Anthropic as a political enemy. His response: “The real issue is not research but rather Anthropic’s agenda to backdoor Woke AI and other AI regulations through Blue states like California.” Anthropic supported California’s Senate Bill 53 (aka the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act), which Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law. Sacks seems to suggest, without citing evidence, that Anthropic is working to get similar laws passed in other states. Sacks also says that Anthropic opposed The President’s “Big Beautiful [spending] Bill,” the original version of which contained a 10-year moratorium on any new state-level AI regulations—language that was decisively voted out of the bill in the Senate before passage. More AI coverage from Fast Company: This is the world’s first vertical take-off AI-piloted fighter jet Ukraine reveals powerful sea drone with AI capabilities in the Black Sea Prince Harry, Meghan join open letter calling to ban the development of AI ‘superintelligence’ Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government is getting complicated Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

Berlin says Washington should not target subsidiaries of Russian oil company located in GermanyView the full article

Tycoon joins a growing list of crypto executives given legal relief by US presidentView the full article

Transparency comes up a lot with respect to the use of AI in journalism. There are obvious reasons for this—journalism is all about bringing transparency to what happens in the world, after all—and AI is a new thing that many people (rightly) view with skepticism. But that desire for transparency brings an opportunity to improve audience trust, something that’s in short supply lately. In fact, a recent report on the use of AI in news media from the Reuters Institute showed a pretty clear pattern of audiences’ trust declining the more AI was used in the journalistic process. Only 12% of people were comfortable with fully AI-generated content, increasing to 21% for mostly AI, 43% for mostly human, and a respectable (but, notably, not amazing) 62% for fully human content. The data points to a fairly obvious takeaway that, if trust is your goal (which in journalism, it certainly is), you should use less AI, not more. But we’re actually seeing precisely the opposite trend: Newsrooms worldwide are ramping up AI operations, with most major outlets, including The New York Times, using it in their process. Still others are using it to assist in creating content. ESPN, Fortune, and CoinDesk are just three examples of major, respected outlets leveraging AI to help write their articles. Flipping the skepticism of AI What’s going on? Sure, there are industry pressures to incorporate AI, but the data suggests that you might sacrifice trust with your audience. That’s a difficult problem, but it can be mitigated by prioritizing transparency. The data from the Reuters report creates a clear trend line, but it’s important to keep in mind the question was generic, asking about comfort levels regarding “AI- and human-led news,” and not about a specific use case. That’s why it’s important to provide a fuller understanding of what AI’s actually doing—say, sorting through hundreds of video transcripts to zero in on specific topics, or writing a first draft of “just the facts” that the reporter then scrutinizes and adds to—rather than just putting “AI-assisted” labels on things. That can mitigate the risk of losing trust somewhat, and this kind of transparency, done right, might even buttress it. I thought about this when I recently built an AI project around my work. I host a podcast for The Media Copilot where I interview leaders in media, tech, and journalism every week. However, once I publish a podcast, it fades quickly. A new one comes along the following week, and although I capture specific insights in short clips and articles, those also don’t last long, and then that conversation—which is likely still relevant—is trapped in the past. So I took every single podcast I’ve done and put them all in a single folder in Google NotebookLM. That tool applies AI to the folder’s contents so anyone can extract insights from it. If you have questions about the use of AI in media and journalism, just ask, and you’ll be able to hear what people like The Atlantic‘s Nicholas Thompson, Reuters’ Jane Barrett, and the AP’s Troy Thibodeaux think about it. And because it’s grounded in only the podcast transcripts (and not all the junk on the internet), the chance of the notebook making something up is very low. The craft table of journalism You can apply this idea to journalism more broadly. If you break down what a journalist does when creating a story, they typically gather things like research, interviews, specific documents, and the history of their reporting on a topic. In the process of writing, they curate the most important parts of that information, then apply their judgment—informed by experience and their target audience—to craft a story. You might call that last part the reporter’s lens. But it’s really just one lens among many that someone could look through at the material. A person with a different background, priorities, and knowledge of the subject might want to apply a different lens. You can think of this as a variation of the idea of “content remixing,” except that idea is usually concerned with format. This is remixing for audience. A podcast about all the latest news in AI, for example, might focus on the most popular headlines for a general audience, the biggest market-moving events for investors, or the most noteworthy technical advancements for developers. They might even focus on the same stories, just with different details called out and expanded on. Beyond the audience opportunity, though, is one of trust. Many news consumers distrust what they see in the media today. If you drill down on many of the complaints, which are often about political bias, the issue is rarely about the underlying facts and more about the lens the reporter has put them through. This is where AI tools like NotebookLM can serve as a kind of window into how journalists curate their information. By allowing a glimpse into the raw material—the interviews, the research, the unfiltered facts—readers might better understand how journalists arrive at their conclusions. It could demystify some of the process, making it less about “just trust us” and more about “here’s how we got here.” Of course, not every story could or should get this kind of treatment. Journalists are often entrusted with confidential material and sources that require anonymity, so an open-door approach to the “raw material” of the story simply wouldn’t be possible. Redaction is an option, but that would likely sow even more doubt in the conspiracy-minded. Making journalism interactive But for some stories, AI could help create a new, more transparent kind of journalism—one that’s more interactive. Imagine if readers could use AI to navigate the same corpus of information and draw their own conclusions or even generate their own version of the story. Certainly, few readers will want to dive this deep, but for that curious minority, it could be a fascinating new layer. In a sense, it turns the journalist into a kind of information curator, where the reader gets to apply their own lens. That feedback loop could have trust benefits for the journalist, too. By deconstructing the process this way, they might have a better understanding of their own lens: where they’re applying it, how it affects the story being told, and how other lenses change the picture. That perspective would inform how different audiences interpret their stories, which will hopefully lead to stronger stories. In the end, we won’t know if this approach is helpful for trust until we try it. It’s an experiment in making journalism not just something you consume, but something you can interact with. And whether it’s an academic exercise or a new genre, it’s at least a step toward understanding how we shape the lenses that shape our news. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Fire TV sticks have one advantage over every other streaming stick: They're owned by Amazon, which means they're more likely to get discounted. Right now, for instance, you can get Amazon's best streaming stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, for $39.99 (originally $59.99). Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote (2023 Model) $39.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal Get Deal $39.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $20.00 Two of the biggest competitors in the streaming stick market are Roku and Fire TV Sticks, and committing to one or the other comes with pros and cons, so make sure to know what they are before making your decision. Fire TV Sticks excel at their voice assistance, which makes sense since they use Alexa to execute your commands. If you already have Amazon’s Alexa devices in your house, you can take full advantage of this since you won't even need to click on your remote to boot it up. If you have a soundbar hooked up, the Fire TV Stick will let you control it using the same remote. It comes with a new 2.0 GHz quad-core processor, Dolby Vision support, DHR10+ support, 16GB storage, and more. One of the advantages of using a Fire TV Stick is that you can install Kodi on it, which essentially gives you free access to virtually anything you can stream. If you're an Xbox gamer (or want to be one), you only need to get an Xbox remote to play their games over the cloud through the Xbox app (no console needed). The Fire TV Stick 4K Max has the most storage with 16GB, the best wifi support with Wi-Fi 6E, and the best voice assistant with Alexa Voice Remote Enhanced. At its current price, it's cheaper than the more budget alternatives. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Wireless Earbuds — $114.80 (List Price $129.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen, 2023) — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Shark AV2501AE AI XL Hepa- Safe Self-Emptying Base Robot Vacuum — $299.99 (List Price $649.99) Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam, White with Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen), White — $59.99 (List Price $99.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Contract closings increased 1.5% to an annual rate of 4.06 million in September, the highest in seven months, according to National Association of Realtors figures released Thursday. View the full article

Breaches are an unfortunate reality of the digital era. Chances are, some of the companies you trust your data to are going to get hacked, and sensitive information stored on those servers is going to leak. If you've been online for a long time, that means quite a bit of your data is floating around various corners of the internet. While there isn't one centralized database for all the stolen credentials on the web, one researcher has compiled quite a large database, that you can check to see if your email address is affected. 183 million email addresses Cybersecurity researcher Synthient has compiled a massive database of stolen credentials from sources across the internet, amounting to 3.5 terabytes of data. (That's 3,584 gigabytes). The vast majority of this data—91% of it—has been noted by other researchers already. But because the database is so huge, the 9% that's new represents a large pool of credentials we haven't seen before. The database itself contains 183 million unique email addresses, along with both the websites they were attached to, as well as the passwords used to log into them. According to security researcher and blogger Troy Hunt, 9% of that figure represents 16.47 million credentials that have never been reported in any previous data breach. Hunt reached out to "a bunch" of his subscribers to see whether any of them could find their credentials in this database. One subscriber verified that the database contained a password that they did previously use with their Gmail account, while another confirmed the database contained websites they frequently visited. At this time, there's no reason to believe the database isn't legitimate. These 183 million email addresses—and their associated websites and passwords—are just floating around the internet, while over 16 million of them have never been seen before. Yours could be among them. How to check if your credentials are in this databaseThe entire database of 183 million email addresses has been uploaded to Have I Been Pwned. The site catalogues websites that have experienced data breaches, as well as the accounts that were involved. All you need to do is enter your email address in the provided field, and Have I Been Pwned will check it against its database to see whether the address has been involved in any known breaches. As such, if your email address is included in this latest database, it'll show up here. It doesn't look like any of my personal email addresses are in this database, but they've been included in plenty of other breaches. View the full article