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UnitedHealth Group, America’s largest insurer, is facing yet another crisis. The company’s stock price (NYSE: UNH) plummeted in early trading this morning after a new report alleged that the private insurance provider is facing a probe from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over its Medicare billing practices, a claim UnitedHealth Group denies. Here’s what to know: UnitedHealth’s Medicare billing practices Shares in UnitedHealth Group fell this morning after the Wall Street Journal published a report stating that the $400 billion company was under investigation by the DOJ over its Medicare billing practices. The report states that the investigation is a civil fr…

The prospect of banning the sale of so-called lab-grown meat might seem like a no-brainer in Nebraska, where beef is king, but some of the proposal’s staunchest opposition has come from ranchers and farming groups who say they can compete without the government’s help. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen — one of the largest pork producers in the country — is behind the push to ban cultivated meat, saying he wants to protect ranchers and meat producers. The Republican governor signed an executive order last August to keep state agencies and contractors from procuring lab-created meat, even though it could be years before such products are on store shelves. A number of ranchers and…

In a James Bond shakeup that stirred the film industry, Amazon MGM announced Thursday that the studio has taken the creative reins of the 007 franchise after decades of family control. Longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they would be stepping back. Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli formed a new joint venture in which they will co-own James Bond intellectual property rights—but Amazon MGM will have creative control. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The deal is expected to close sometime this year. “With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and c…

T-Mobile is making moves to make sure it’s “first” among first responders. The mobile giant announced that as a part of its T-Priority solution—a portion of T-Mobile’s 5G network that’s set aside specifically for use by first responders, to avoid network congestion and slowdowns during emergencies—it’s signed a contract with the City of New York to be the single carrier for the city’s public safety network comprising more than 40,000 personnel, and is allowing free limited-time access to T-Priority through its first responder rate plans. Additionally, the company is partnering with others in the industry to create an advanced 5G ecosystem, which should help numero…

The one-bedroom cottage with a woodsy vibe reminded Heather McAlpine of the home she lost to the brutal Los Angeles-area wildfires. But only two hours after seeing the listing, the rental was snapped up. She is one of tens of thousands of people displaced by the fires who is now competing for housing in a region that is among the most expensive and competitive in the country, partly due to lack of supply. McAlpine, had lived in her Altadena house for four years and is now staying with her boyfriend. She isn’t surprised by spiking rents. “I know they’re expensive, and it sucks,” she said. Tenants who were just getting by before the fires now face a daunting housing sea…

While having lunch with a few fellow business owners recently, our conversation turned to the topic on every entrepreneur’s mind—artificial intelligence. It turns out that AI tools have quietly woven themselves into our daily routines, whether we’re brainstorming, researching, or synthesizing data, were also using it in slightly different ways. Tools like ChatGPT are like Swiss Army Knives for productivity and creativity. It’s no surprise that in the latest McKinsey Global Survey on AI, 65% of organizations reported regularly using AI—the technology is here to stay. That said, leaning too heavily on AI can go awry. If you delegate content creation to ChatGPT, for …

Fast-fashion clothing chain Forever 21 is reportedly getting ready to shutter hundreds of locations as it considers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. If it does, it would be the second wave of mass store closings and second bankruptcy that the chain has undergone in less than six years. Here’s what you need to know about Forever 21’s reported closures. Forever 21 may close 200 stores—or all of them This week, Bloomberg reported that Forever 21 may close 200 locations in the United States as part of a potential second bankruptcy process that the retailer is considering. If Forever 21 can’t find a buyer during the bankruptcy process, the chain would report…

I was watching comedian and political commentator Bill Maher talk about Reverse Improvement (RI), and it struck me how profoundly relevant this idea is to the leadership challenges highlighted in this article and the themes we’ve explored in my upcoming book, TRANSCEND: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI. Reverse Improvement, as Maher describes it, occurs when technological progress unintentionally diminishes core human skills and values. Maher’s idea of RI isn’t just about clunky tech updates or frustrating software upgrades—it’s about a much larger, more insidious phenomenon: how technological “advancements” can subtly, and sometimes drastically, lead to the erosion of…

Disability rights could be under threat. People with disabilities are protected from discrimination and given equal access to education, healthcare, employment, and public services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. However, Republican attorneys general in 17 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia) have sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), asking courts to declare Section 504 unconstitutional. Last May, HHS required that 504 services be provided to people experiencing gender dysphoria. T…

Yellowjackets is back with more chaos, more wilderness—and a main title that is grungier than ever. Ever since the first season premiered in 2021, the show’s opening credits have been one of the most frenetic on television. Blink and you’ll miss something. Set against the grungy song “No Return” by Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, the title is meant to feel like an assault on the senses. It is 90 seconds long, and the longest frame lasts about a second. This makes for a tense intro, in which our brains are bombarded with flickering images faster than we can process them. And that’s precisely the point. “We want this to be glitched so much that if someone takes a still, the…

After years of working in PR and branding for luxury beauty, Jaimee Lupton decided to break away and disrupt the space by making beauty products that are accessible. With her business partner and real-life partner Nick Mowbray, she launched Monday haircare in 2020. Lupton saw a gap in the market for a brand that was targeted toward a younger demographic. There were few haircare brands that addressed the needs of younger customers, and even fewer who knew how to speak to those customers through their branding, messaging, and packaging. Lupton knew the power of a personalized message, and she created Monday with that in mind. The haircare company has received its …

In recent months, we’ve seen a wave of companies (including Amazon, JPMorgan, and Dell) and the federal government announce plans for a full-time return-to-office for workers. Other companies have slowly increased the numbers of the days they require in-office weekly. The subsequent pushback from many employees has been intense, with workers signing petitions, opting into “coffee badging” routines (where they swipe their badges, grab a coffee, and head home), or quitting all together. As multiple elements of psychological safety are broken by actions such as these, there is often some collateral damage. After accepting countless changes needed to survive and thr…

Within Walmart, employees known as merchants make decisions about which products the company carries online and in stores, as well as pricing for those items. Naturally, the job involves plenty of data analysis, with merchants breaking down sales numbers by product category, sales channel, region, brand, item characteristics, and other factors. But manually running all of those reports and examining results using tools like Excel can be time-consuming, especially when merchants need to run multiple reports. “You can see how these reports can become time-consuming when analyzing customer behavior across so much data,” says Brian Knapp, senior vice president for mer…

You may have noticed that the Google-owned video-sharing site’s infamous red play logo is now rendered in a softer, more pinkish hue. That’s because user research revealed that the company’s logo color rated as one of its top three most outdated design elements. Last updated in 2017, YouTube’s old brand color was a pure red that users perceived to be “too loud when implemented in key UI moments,” Robyn Lee, YouTube’s visual design lead, said in a Google Design blog post. From top: The old red vs. the new [Image: YouTube]The old red had other technical problems, too, like rendering orange on some screens and causing a burn-in effect on TVs—a major issue considering YouTube…

This year, high-profile companies like Amazon and JPMorgan have embraced strict policies to get their employees back into the office full time, eliminating the option of hybrid work altogether. With limited exceptions, workers who choose not to comply with these new mandates are unlikely to keep their jobs—let alone get a raise. One company, however, is willing to shell out thousands of dollars to lure workers back to the office. According to a CNBC report, the celebrity video platform Cameo has promised each of its employees an additional $10,000 annually in exchange for coming into the company’s Chicago-based office four days a week. “We really felt like we want…

With TikTok’s future in the U.S. still uncertain, Substack is doubling down on attracting video creators. As of yesterday, creators can now publish video posts directly from the Substack app—a feature previously limited to desktop. This update marks a significant shift, enabling creators to upload, publish, and monetize videos entirely from their phones. They can instantly reach subscribers via email, app notifications, or both, streamlining content distribution like never before. “This isn’t just about adding video, it’s about creators building more engaged communities that make independent publishing stronger than ever,” Substack cofounder and CEO Chris Best tel…