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Palestinian leaders say they will defy attempts to remove them from their landView the full article

Trump ally Elon Musk has said agency will be dismantledView the full article

Is LinkedIn the new TikTok? Short-form video is now the fastest-growing category on LinkedIn, growing at twice the rate of other post formats on the platform. According to LinkedIn, total video viewership surged 36% in the first quarter of 2025. Now, LinkedIn is doubling down on video with new features to boost discovery and engagement. The full-screen vertical video experience, first launched on mobile, is now coming to desktop. Users can tap a video, swipe through more, and explore a new video tab for TikTok-like scrolling. Videos are also getting front-and-center placement on the platform. Now, when you search a topic, relevant videos will appear in a swipeable carousel. A bigger follow button in the full-screen player makes it easier to keep up with creators, and viewers can check out a quick profile snapshot and other videos without leaving the player. For users looking to capitalise on the video push, LinkedIn has also launched nano-learning courses on topics including video hooks, editing, repurposing content, and LinkedIn Live. “Across LinkedIn, we’re seeing our members have widespread success when it comes to posting short-form video,” Laura Laurenzetti, executive editor of LinkedIn News tells Fast Company. “From small business owners to CEOs to Gen Z creators and more, video on LinkedIn is the new frontier for professional success—which is why we’re excited to be rolling out a suite of new tools that make the video creation and viewing experiences on LinkedIn even stronger.” While LinkedIn might not be the first place people go to doomscroll, it’s quickly becoming a powerful tool for creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses. Since March 2024, LinkedIn has been pushing hard to attract video creators, launching a TikTok-style vertical feed filled with career advice, industry news, and other content. The move seems to be paying off with video uploads jumping 34% year-over-year in Q4 2024, according to LinkedIn. LinkedIn creators are also seeing the results. Top executives are jumping in, with CEO video posts rising 23% in the past year. Deeptech VC Alex Leigh recently reported two million impressions a week after just three months posting consistently three times a day on LinkedIn. Last month, content creator Piper Phillips saw 13.8 million views on a video made on her phone in 10 minutes. “I missed the opportunity to be an early adopter of TikTok and Reels,” she wrote in a post. “I do ~not~ intend on making the same mistake for LinkedIn video.” View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should we give everyone the day after the Super Bowl off? I live in Chiefs territory and run a small business. My colleagues have requested that I close the office the day after the Super Bowl. I’m not inclined to grant this request, as our leave policies are very generous. I think everyone has plenty of time to take off if they choose. How common are Super Bowl office closures? Not very common. It’s certainly a nice thing if you want to do it, but it’s perfectly reasonable to expect people to use PTO if they want the day off. Related: is my employee lying about using sick time for the Super Bowl? 2. I was asked out on LinkedIn I had a perfectly pleasant conversation with someone at a cafe I frequent near my workplace. We traded names and a few quips, and then my food was ready and I popped out after saying I’d see him around. I thought I heard him ask the cashier if I was single as I trotted out the door but shrugged it off, thinking it was for the best to not be too vain and I could have misheard (and I’ve never seen him before, despite the two of us apparently both being regulars). I’ve got a good rapport with the staff and figured there was no way I hadn’t mentioned my long-term partner at some point over the last two years I’ve worked in the neighborhood. Someone would tell him, right? I proceeded to not think about it for the rest of the weekend, checked my email bright and early Monday morning, and found a very flirtatious message attached to a LinkedIn invite. That’s when I remembered I was wearing my branded work jacket that day. Heck. Do I ignore it? Delete it? Take a hiatus from my favorite cafe and hope I don’t see him around the neighborhood? I can do all these things, I’ll just be depressed to take a hiatus from the best cappuccino in the neighborhood. I know it’s not a crime for someone to shoot their shot, but … agh! That’s my professional LinkedIn! Yeah, it’s not great for someone to use a business networking site that way — especially if he did hunt you down via your branded work jacket. But it happens, and the social/work line on LinkedIn has been getting awfully blurry for a while. There’s no reason you need to stop going to your favorite cafe. He took a shot, he missed, and one hopes he can handle that with a reasonable amount of maturity. If he’s in any way creepy or harassing to you, you should feel free to inform the cafe where you’re both regulars, but you’ve got decent odds that won’t happen and you don’t need to plan on avoiding him just in case it does; cross that bridge if and when you have to. As for the message itself: if you prefer to ignore it, you can. Plenty of people don’t check their LinkedIn often or ever. That said, unless he’s given you a reason to think you would be better off not engaging at all (which doesn’t sound like the case), I’d figure it’s worth investing in a quick “no thanks,” so that if you do run into him again that will already be out of the way. 3. Company is trying to make low-performing coworkers job harder so they’ll quit I was recently in a meeting with a senior manager. Although I’m not in management, the work I do requires working with them regularly and requires a certain level of confidentiality. Something that was mentioned outside of our work scope really bothered me: I had mentioned that I’d heard an employee a few levels below them was struggling. They told me that yes, that person’s manager was told to make their job difficult so they would quit. Hence why they were struggling. This really bothered me from an ethical standpoint. And it’s actually the second time I’ve heard it, although there were some extenuating circumstances with the first person. Is this a normal thing to do? Is this just bad management practice? I’ve managed people in the past and would not feel comfortable with this. To date this company has been great, but they do have a track record of not firing people despite years of repeated poor performance. You have to almost break the law for then to consider firing you. But this? It just feels wrong on so many levels. Yes, it’s wrong, and it’s terrible practice. It’s terrible practice because it’s unethical and inhumane, and because it’s a fundamental dereliction of duty; managers are responsible for giving clear and actionable feedback, letting people know when they’re falling short, working to help them improve, and then letting them go if after that they’re not performing at the level needed. It’s not at all surprising that an organization that won’t fire people would resort to this; both of those things (never firing, no matter how warranted, and mistreating someone until they leave on their own) are symptoms of management that’s incompetent and unable to appropriately exercise authority. (Also, what if the employee digs in and never leaves? Their manager will just accept bad performance forever, no matter how severe?) You should be very, very wary of a company that operates like this. 4. Coworker is opening mail and packages addressed to me Is it okay for a coworker to open work-related mail and packages that I have ordered and have my name on them? If it were me, I would just put the unopened package on the coworker’s desk but maybe I’m overreacting. It depends on your company’s practices. From a legal standpoint, it’s fine; postal regulations say that mail delivered to an organization, even if addressed to a specific person, is delivered to the organization itself, and the organization can decide how to distribute it from there. But is this person charged with opening and distributing mail for your company or are they just being nosy? If they are charged with it, you can try asking them to simply deliver your mail unopened, although it’s possible they’ve been specifically told they need to open things. On the other hand, if they’re just being nosy, you can ask them to stop. 5. The sleep shifts I depend on for income have been taken away I have recently been covering in a different location due to the area needing a team leader. I work in care and often need to do sleep shifts (shifts where you sleep on-site so you are available in case of emergency). These sleep shifts have been a regular source of income for the past five years, and I depend on them to get by. When my boss first approached me about covering in the new area, they made a verbal promise that I would still get my sleep shifts. But now, three months later, my sleep shifts are non-existent and I am losing wages that I desperately need. My sleeps cover my car expenses and, as I am covering in a different area that requires me to drive there to work, I am afraid that when I get paid next I will be unable to get anywhere due to not being paid my promised sleeps. This would mean resigning, as I would not be able to travel to the area I am covering. The area I am covering in is 100 miles away from my normal place of work. Because this is no fault of my own, would I be able to take my boss to court for lost earnings and essentially being forced out of a job due to my boss going back on their promise and making me quit due to my wages being severely cut through no fault of my own? I have a young family and this unexpected wage cut is going to severely affect me and my children. There is another team leader who is also covering in the same area as me and is still getting there sleep shifts, so why have my sleep shifts been taken away and theirs haven’t? It feels like a personal attack, favoritism, and I am being set up to fail. I have approached my boss several times over this issue and I just get fobbed off each time. There’s no legal cause of action unless (1) your sleep shifts were taken away for a discriminatory reason (like because of your race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristic) or as retaliation for exercising a legally protected right (like reporting harassment), or (2) you have a written employment contract promising those shifts for a specific period of time (although most U.S. workers don’t have contracts and I’m guessing you would have mentioned it if you did). I know you said you’ve approached your boss about the issue, but have you spelled out explicitly that you literally can’t stay in the job without the sleep shifts? If not, it’s worth making that clearer (as long as it’s really true — you don’t want to say that if in reality you’d stay until you find something else). View the full article

Decision to stop backing SBTi comes as Amazon founder seeks to curry favour with Donald TrumpView the full article

Consulting bosses hope for shot in the arm from renewed ‘energy and excitement’ about M&AView the full article

‘Bazooka’ tool being considered as bloc’s trade ministers express support for punitive action if necessaryView the full article

The frontrunner to become chancellor has bold plans for economic reform, but a flirtation with the far-right has hurt his campaignView the full article

Nigel Farage’s party more popular than ruling Labour party and Conservative oppositionView the full article

Meta has introduced an expanded labeling system for advertisements created or significantly edited using its in-house generative AI tools. The company says this initiative is part of its ongoing effort to increase transparency and accountability in digital advertising. The labeling system applies to ads featuring images or videos that have been significantly modified by Meta’s AI-powered marketing tools. Depending on the level of AI involvement, labels will either appear in the three-dot menu of an ad or directly next to the “Sponsored” label. Meta outlined a multi-pronged approach to determining when to apply these AI labels: If an advertiser uses Meta’s generative AI tools but makes only minor modifications to an image or video, no label will be applied. If significant edits are made, a label will be placed in the three-dot menu or next to the “Sponsored” label. If the AI tools generate a photorealistic human, the AI label will always appear next to the “Sponsored” label. This labeling system was gradually introduced last year and will continue rolling out throughout 2025. Meta also plans to expand its transparency efforts by addressing ad images made or modified using non-Meta generative AI tools. The company says it will refine its approach in collaboration with experts and stakeholders as expectations and AI technologies evolve. Meta emphasized that this labeling initiative is only the beginning of its broader AI transparency strategy. Users will continue to have access to tools such as the “Why am I seeing this ad?” feature, which provides insights into ad targeting methods and allows users to adjust their ad preferences. As generative AI technology advances, Meta says it remains focused on ensuring responsible AI use while giving users greater visibility into how AI-generated content appears in their advertising experience. Image: Meta This article, "Meta Expands AI Transparency in Advertising with New Labeling System" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The absence of guidance on what tech companies are buying as they raise their bets on AI begins to stretch credulityView the full article

Traders had expected Beijing to weaken its currency following a weeklong market holidayView the full article

Adobe has introduced new generative AI capabilities in Acrobat AI Assistant aimed at simplifying contract analysis for businesses and consumers. The enhancements allow users to quickly understand complex terms, compare multiple agreements, and verify contract details with greater efficiency. AI-Powered Contract Intelligence Contracts play a crucial role in daily business operations and consumer transactions, yet they often contain dense language that can be difficult to interpret. A survey conducted by Adobe Acrobat found that nearly 70% of consumers have signed contracts without fully understanding the terms, while 64% of small business owners have avoided signing agreements due to a lack of confidence in their comprehension. “Customers open billions of contracts in Adobe Acrobat each month and AI can be a game changer in helping simplify their experience,” said Abhigyan Modi, senior vice president of Adobe Document Cloud. “We are introducing new capabilities to deliver contract intelligence in Adobe AI Assistant, making it easier for customers to understand and compare these complex documents and providing citations to help them verify responses, all while keeping their data safe.” Key Features of Acrobat AI Assistant The new AI-driven contract intelligence features in Adobe Acrobat include: Automated contract recognition: The AI Assistant identifies contracts, including scanned documents, and generates summaries and highlights of key terms. Straightforward explanations with citations: AI-generated summaries include clickable citations for users to verify contract terms directly within their documents. Version comparisons: Users can analyze up to 10 different contracts simultaneously to detect discrepancies, inconsistencies, and critical changes. Secure sharing and e-signatures: Contracts can be reviewed and signed within the same platform, streamlining collaboration and approval workflows. Adobe emphasized that Acrobat AI Assistant adheres to strict data security protocols. The company does not train its AI models on customer data and prohibits third-party language models from using Adobe customer data for training purposes. The AI Assistant supplements large language models (LLMs) with proprietary AI and machine learning technologies, enhancing its ability to accurately interpret document structures and content. Acrobat AI Assistant, which launched in February 2024, has gained rapid adoption, with customer interactions in the app doubling quarter over quarter by the end of 2024. The contract intelligence capabilities are available across desktop, web, and mobile platforms in English, with support for additional languages forthcoming. The AI Assistant is available as an add-on for both free Adobe Reader and paid Acrobat users at a subscription price of $4.99 per month. Image: Adobe> This article, "Adobe Expands Acrobat AI Assistant with Contract Intelligence Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Adobe has introduced new generative AI capabilities in Acrobat AI Assistant aimed at simplifying contract analysis for businesses and consumers. The enhancements allow users to quickly understand complex terms, compare multiple agreements, and verify contract details with greater efficiency. AI-Powered Contract Intelligence Contracts play a crucial role in daily business operations and consumer transactions, yet they often contain dense language that can be difficult to interpret. A survey conducted by Adobe Acrobat found that nearly 70% of consumers have signed contracts without fully understanding the terms, while 64% of small business owners have avoided signing agreements due to a lack of confidence in their comprehension. “Customers open billions of contracts in Adobe Acrobat each month and AI can be a game changer in helping simplify their experience,” said Abhigyan Modi, senior vice president of Adobe Document Cloud. “We are introducing new capabilities to deliver contract intelligence in Adobe AI Assistant, making it easier for customers to understand and compare these complex documents and providing citations to help them verify responses, all while keeping their data safe.” Key Features of Acrobat AI Assistant The new AI-driven contract intelligence features in Adobe Acrobat include: Automated contract recognition: The AI Assistant identifies contracts, including scanned documents, and generates summaries and highlights of key terms. Straightforward explanations with citations: AI-generated summaries include clickable citations for users to verify contract terms directly within their documents. Version comparisons: Users can analyze up to 10 different contracts simultaneously to detect discrepancies, inconsistencies, and critical changes. Secure sharing and e-signatures: Contracts can be reviewed and signed within the same platform, streamlining collaboration and approval workflows. Adobe emphasized that Acrobat AI Assistant adheres to strict data security protocols. The company does not train its AI models on customer data and prohibits third-party language models from using Adobe customer data for training purposes. The AI Assistant supplements large language models (LLMs) with proprietary AI and machine learning technologies, enhancing its ability to accurately interpret document structures and content. Acrobat AI Assistant, which launched in February 2024, has gained rapid adoption, with customer interactions in the app doubling quarter over quarter by the end of 2024. The contract intelligence capabilities are available across desktop, web, and mobile platforms in English, with support for additional languages forthcoming. The AI Assistant is available as an add-on for both free Adobe Reader and paid Acrobat users at a subscription price of $4.99 per month. Image: Adobe> This article, "Adobe Expands Acrobat AI Assistant with Contract Intelligence Features" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Prince founded vast business development network focused on Africa and AsiaView the full article

Global leaders recently gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, under the theme of “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” What exactly is the “Intelligent Age” and, more importantly, how can we ensure that everyone can participate in this new age? WEF defines the Intelligent Age as a transition away from the Industrial Age to a new phase of human civilization. It’s a clear and compelling definition. But what is much less clear is the conversation about the importance of equity and how to approach it. There are many ways leaders can consider equity as they build and adopt AI and other frontier technologies: clear global policies, reaching new markets, financial incentives and disincentives, and the moral imperative. At UNICEF USA, we believe that the relatively simple ingredients of collaboration and information can drive better solutions for everyone in Intelligent Age. Deepening collaboration across business, government, and civil society can usher in more equitable approaches. The benefits of this type of collaboration will reach a wider range of people and create a more powerful and sustainable Fourth Industrial Revolution. Here are several ways that UNICEF is approaching these collaborations. Responsible tech development Companies play an essential role in responsible innovation. And many are already successfully embracing that role. For example, UNICEF cofounded the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) project with the LEGO Group, supported by the LEGO Foundation. RITEC aims to make child rights and well-being a primary consideration in the design and development of digital technology. The project is delivered in partnership with university and child-focused organizations such as the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, the University of Sheffield, and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. We need to include children’s views on decisions that directly affect them; children disproportionately face opportunities and risks from emerging technologies. Think about it: Companies that cater to children and families need to consider their users. We know that consumers are paying attention as safety and inclusivity matter to them: 78% of consumers and 86% of teens believe digital experiences have a positive impact on their lives, but 64% said they would consider switching technology providers if an incident breached their trust. As part of the RITEC project, there is a free toolbox for the gaming industry to advise them on how to design digital play experiences with children’s well-being in mind. The toolbox builds on research with children in 18 countries and collaboration with designers from 35 online gaming companies of different sizes, and from 15 countries. Job-relevant skills Many of today’s youth are not able to keep up with skills, hindering social and economic progress. Passport to Earning, a global program developed by UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, includes support from cross-sector partners and founding members including consulting companies like Accenture and PwC, but also government and philanthropic organizations including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Al Ghurair Foundation (supporting Arab and Emirati youth. The program runs on Microsoft’s Community Training, a cloud-based learning platform, so young people aged 15-24 can access content local to their communities, even in low-bandwidth areas. The next phase will partially focus on integrating an AI-skills curriculum onto the program’s offerings, to help ensure young people have the right skills to thrive in an AI-powered economy. It sounds simple but this is revolutionary because it means that young people—even those who are not in school, in any type of skills training programs, or can’t always access the internet—can still gain free and relevant skills that will position them for quality jobs. By 2027, Passport to Earning aims to train and certify 8 million youth in AI and digital skilling. AI has the potential to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and be a driver in finding new and innovative solutions to issues that have long prevented children from equitable access to resources. Other initiatives In education, we are working with philanthropic and finance partners to convene disability and AI experts to fast-track accessible digital textbooks development, bridging barriers to learning by including sign language, narration, interactivity, and translation for people with disabilities. We and our partners also work hard to make sure that technology’s benefits of don’t come at the expense of human rights, like privacy and equality. Sharing best practices on how to empower and protect children is critical to preventing harm today that would have life-long negative impacts. There is not only a responsibility for companies to ensure their policies and products respect children’s rights, but there also is an opportunity for more innovative collaboration between the private and public sectors. As the world navigates quickly evolving technologies, I encourage companies to collaborate with the public sector and civil society to ensure equity. At the same time, open the door to opportunities that foster innovation and collaboration, enhancing a competitive edge through global workforce development, and improving children’s lives and their futures. Michele Walsh is executive vice president and chief philanthropy officer of UNICEF USA. View the full article

Members of Congress told ‘Doge’ has been given limited ‘read-only’ access to the systemView the full article

There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart’s controls. —Aeschylus MANY people view fear as a negative, crippling emotion. However, it can act as a potent stimulus that enhances performance if we take the time to understand – and modulate – its power. The Sweet Spot of Fear Table tennis Olympian Amy Wang has had plenty of practice performing in the face of fear. She’s won the US National Table Tennis Championships in age categories of nine, ten, eleven, and thirteen before winning multiple open women’s national titles. Wang does, indeed, get scared when playing before a large crowd or on a big international stage. “But I need some kind of fear to boost my adrenaline to help me get ready,” she explains. In fact, Wang has a preferred level of “nervousness” while playing a match. On a one-to-ten scale, “Five to seven is the best for me,” she says. “If I’m not feeling any nerves before the match, it means I don’t care. I relax and don’t focus properly.” Wang’s coaches can easily tell when she’s overly nervous during a match. Usually, it’s enough to remind her to loosen up and take one point at a time to bring her back down to her preferred range. And when she’s not nervous enough? A sort of self-correcting mechanism kicks in. “If I’m too chill during a match, my opponent will start catching up, which will eventually increase my nervousness level,” she says. “But it’s better to start off at the right place.” It’s Only Human Fear is a natural human emotion, and it exists for a reason. It causes adrenaline to surge through our bodies, increasing heart rate and flow to the brain and muscles to help us escape predators or defend ourselves against rivals. It’s in our DNA. Luckily, we don’t need to run from saber-toothed tigers in the twenty-first century. Nonetheless, we still encounter stressful situations, mental or physical. And yet, our hormonal stress response – pumping out adrenaline and cortisol – has not evolved. In fact, the human biological alert system can’t tell the difference between a saber-tooth tiger encounter, a critical table tennis match at the US Open, or a high-stakes sales presentation. So, denying fear or trying to block it out is futile. And unnecessary. Once we learn to harness the energy of fear and minimize its dark side, we can enhance our performance in the direst of times. Five Methods to Optimize Your Performance in the Face of Fear Throughout decades of intense competition and various business challenges, I’ve researched, collected, and experienced many ways of channeling fear. Here are some practical tips to not only perform, but excel, in fearsome situations. • De-fang fear. Preemptively tell it, Come in, fear. The door is open. I’ve been expecting you. This simple, welcoming stance can lessen fear’s sharp bite from the beginning. It sounds deceptively simple, but I’ve benefited from doing this for many years now. Without the heavy dread, fear loses its discomforting emotional grip, but still transfers its biochemical power to fuel clarity of thinking and quickness of movement. Throughout decades of intense competition and various business challenges, I’ve researched, collected, and experienced many ways of channeling fear. Here are some practical tips to not only perform, but excel, in fearsome situations. • Switch modes. When needed, remove yourself from primal fight-or-flight mode – where your sympathetic nervous system causes shallow chest breathing and elevates your heart rate and blood pressure. Calm your primal brain by literally looking to your right, and your left, and confirming that there is no threat from a predator. You are not being chased by a lion or getting threatened by a cave dweller with a club. Then take several deep belly breaths – imagine pulling a string tied to your belly button, straight out in front of you. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system, engaging a calming, “rest and digest” mode. As you exhale, tell yourself: I am safe, I am warm, I am relaxed… (repeat this until it sinks in). The reverse works, too: Pump up your excitement levels by puffing up your chest to breathe deeply and rapidly. Throughout decades of intense competition and various business challenges, I’ve researched, collected, and experienced many ways of channeling fear. Here are some practical tips to not only perform, but excel, in fearsome situations. • Create your own “reset” switch. Our brain can “change itself constantly by creating new neural pathways,” wrote neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart in Forbes. Rewiring the brain simply requires “practice of a new behavior which will sufficiently challenge the brain to think in a new way.” Focusing on a favorite word or mantra (e.g., “I’m just grateful to be here” or “I was born for this moment”) can instantly connect you with a certain empowering memory or confident mindset. Repeat this as needed before, during, and after stress-inducing situations. Throughout decades of intense competition and various business challenges, I’ve researched, collected, and experienced many ways of channeling fear. Here are some practical tips to not only perform, but excel, in fearsome situations. • Give yourself a “freak-out” period. A law school professor of mine once talked to us about the stress of final exams. Yes, there can be a lot riding on them. If you’re the type of test-taker who starts to sweat and freeze up from fear when the blank test lands on your desk, do the counter-intuitive: go ahead and (quietly) panic. Allow yourself one minute to imagine the worst, failing out of law school, fainting during the exam, whatever. Let the fear rush through your head and body for the full minute. Then let it wash away as you breathe deeply three times and relax. You’ve used up your immediate anxiety quotient, and can still tap into a deeper well of adrenaline to boost your mental activity. Now it’s time to simply start, calmly, on the first question of the test. And then the second, and third. Throughout decades of intense competition and various business challenges, I’ve researched, collected, and experienced many ways of channeling fear. Here are some practical tips to not only perform, but excel, in fearsome situations. • Finally, don’t worry about your zit – everyone else is worried about their own zit. That’s Gary Vaynerchuk’s advice, which I love. We all have an inner voice adept at pointing out our insecurities. Our blemish. Our accent. An unusual presentation style or unconventional backhand stroke. And when we’re consumed by self-consciousness, we operate at a fraction of our potential. But here’s the liberating truth: everyone else is too busy wrestling with their own demons to fixate on yours. Instead, shift from self-scrutiny to valuable service. Focus 100% on listening, contributing, and participating with others in the moment. The fear will start to fade, replaced by genuine confidence born of purpose. When you learn to accept fear as part of the success equation, you’ll stop spending energy trying to fight it. Then, you can leverage the super-power of focus and energy it brings. This leads you and others on the path to bravery and accomplishment. Justin Bookey is an award-winning marketing strategist, former lawyer, and competitive table tennis player who has won medals at the US Open and the US national championships. He has collaborated with leaders at prominent companies like Disney, Sony, Honda, Qualcomm, and XPRIZE. His accomplishments include Emmy-nominated feature documentaries and Telly, Viddy, and ADDY award-winning digital marketing campaigns. He also founded PongFit, a nonprofit promoting fitness and community through ping pong. His new book is Ping Pong Leadership: 18 Principles to Succeed at Any Table in Business, Sports, and Life (Amplify Publishing, 2024). Learn more at Ping Pong Leadership. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. * * * View the full article

US president makes comments as he holds talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Growing up, I was obsessed with helping my mom cook. Though she would dabble in making Italian food or try out popular boxed ingredients of the time, most nights featured what she knew best—giant pots of Thai comfort fare and heaping mounds of jasmine rice. My childhood of ad hoc cooking lessons taught me two things: Jasmine rice goes with everything, and anything can taste good with the help of one of five bottled Asian sauces. I'll assume you have the rice covered, so let me tell you about these sauces. Fish sauce This sauce gives you the most flavor bang for your buck. The thin, reddish-brown liquid is made by fermenting small fish, like anchovies, with salt for up to two years. The juice extracted from the mixture is a pungent sauce that brings a blast of umami to any and everything it touches. Add a few drops to fill out the flavor profile of your stir fry, or use it as a major ingredient, like in Thai som tum salad. For fish sauce newbies, just add a few drops to a hearty dish with many components. You’ll notice a difference in flavor, but you won’t be overwhelmed by fishy flavor. I don’t consider myself much of a fish-head, and this sauce really does taste like fermented fish, but somehow it just works. You can use fish sauce during cooking or as a finishing sauce while eating. I like to add a few dashes to hamburger meat, or make a nam jim with chili peppers and sliced garlic to drizzle it over eggs and rice; and Claire likes to use it to funk up butter, tuna, and chili. Whichever fish sauce you find will be the best one, but if you have a choice, I like: Squid Brand Fish Sauce Oyster sauceThe name might include another sea-faring friend, but oyster sauce is entirely different from fish sauce. There are a few sauces that might be described as “oyster sauce,” but in this case I’m talking about a dark brown sauce that’s so thick it’s almost gelatinous. Oyster sauce is often made with oyster extracts, soy sauce, and thickeners, and is both sweet and salty. Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce to deepen the flavors of a dish, or use a few tablespoons as the primary ingredient of a sweet and savory sauce. I add oyster sauce to beef stews in the winter, and use it to build the quintessential sticky glaze for chicken pad see ew. My favorite oyster sauce: Mae Krua Oyster Sauce I usually use a combination of two or three sauces in a noodle stir-fry like this one. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann Mushroom soy sauce It might be easy to box-in soy sauce as a mere salty condiment, but this liquid gold is as nuanced as wine. I usually keep at least three different types of soy sauce on hand, because they all provide something different. And I need them. All of them. Mushroom soy sauce can range from thin and medium-brown in color, to slightly viscous and nearly black. Mushroom soy sauce is made using dried black mushrooms and a light soy sauce, and though it doesn’t taste exactly like the fungi, it does taste notably earthier than standard soy sauce. I use light brown mushroom soy sauce rather liberally in dishes, or as a replacement for “regular” soy sauce. If I’m making a pot of turkey chili and looking for a salty, earthy flavor, I’ll splash this in to add some depth to the tomato base. My fridge houses: Dek Som Boon, also called Healthy Boy Brand Mushroom Soy Sauce Black mushroom soy sauceSometimes, if you’re adding fish sauce and regular soy sauce to a dish already, you don’t necessarily need another salty component. A teaspoon of black mushroom soy sauce, however, gives an entire stir fry a beautiful dark brown color with a touch of sweet, earthy umami, and much less salt. This type of soy sauce still uses dried black mushrooms for added flavor, but the mushroom extracts are added to dark soy sauce, instead of a light one. Dark soy sauce is usually aged longer than the light variety, and some bottles might even include molasses. I like Pearl River Bridge superior black mushroom soy sauce for its dark color and sweet flavor. I splash it (lightly!) into my fried rice, along with regular soy sauce and Golden Mountain Sauce. My go-to: Pearl River Bridge mushroom flavored superior black soy sauce Golden Mountain SauceThe four products I’ve mentioned so far are types of sauces, and you could explore different brands to find your favorite, but Golden Mountain Sauce is a brand of very special seasoning sauce. The ingredient list consists of “soybean sauce,” made from soybeans, corn, water, sugar, and salt. The flavor is salty, malty, savory, and ever-so-slightly sweet. It’s incredibly flavorful, and it’s my favorite all-purpose sauce by a long shot. There's just something about it that tastes like nothing else around. It's perfect dashed upon leftover rice with an egg. (A little dose will do it, but when I was a kid I had to make sure every grain of rice had a pool of this sauce around it.) Golden Mountain Sauce is great in stir fries, as a dipping sauce for dumplings, and is an exceptional partner for eggs, but you can sprinkle it over anything to improve the flavor. If you can’t find Golden Mountain Sauce, you can try the very similar Maggi Seasoning, but keep your eyes peeled for the real deal with a green and yellow label at your local Asian grocery stores. Or you could order it, of course: Golden Mountain Sauce View the full article

This week, President Trump adviser Elon Musk’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seems to have gained full access to the Department of Treasury’s payments system responsible for processing trillions of dollars of spending, and containing sensitive personal data about hundreds of millions of Americans including bank accounts, tax data, Social Security numbers, tax refunds, Medicare benefits, and home address. If this concerns you, you’re not alone. Judging from social media, many Americans are overwhelmed with the sheer volume of changes coming from the Trump administration, and are worried about what is happening with our federal government. In short, “people are creeped out,” according to Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, who along with Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent’s decision to grant Musk and DOGE access to sensitive government payment systems. “It is difficult to know all the things that Elon Musk is doing inside the Treasury Department because of a lack of transparency,” Barbara McQuade, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan under President Barack Obama, told Fast Company. Now, DOGE, whose staff has largely operated in secret, communicating through encrypted messages on Signal, according to the Wall Street Journal, is starting to rack up legal challenges. On Monday, a coalition of labor unions and the Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit suing the Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to halt the “unlawful ongoing, systematic, and continuous disclosure of personal and financial information” to Elon Musk and other members of DOGE, or to any other person. The lawsuit alleges all three defendants illegally allowed the coalition’s members’ records to be shared with Musk’s DOGE. The Alliance for Retired Americans and the labor unions, which include the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union, are represented by lawyers from Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund. What is DOGE and what kind of authority does it have? Trump created DOGE through an executive order on his first day in office, creating a temporary government organization with a mandate to “moderniz[e] Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” But there are many questions about who actually works for DOGE, if the agency is hiring existing government employees or employees from Musk’s various companies, and if DOGE staff are overstepping their legal authority. (Wired recently reported a 25-year-old engineer at DOGE now has administrative privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.) DOGE was originally a joint project that Musk would run with Vivek Ramaswamy (who ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary before endorsing him), along with Bill McGinley, who was named DOGE’s legal counsel. Both Ramaswamy and McGinley have since left, which some have suggested could signal infighting and perhaps a disagreement over how DOGE would function among the group. Musk, meanwhile, was recently classified as a “special government employee,” which basically allows him to work at the White House for some 130 days before he’s required to file the necessary financial disclosure forms required of White House employees. This is concerning for a number of reasons, as he hasn’t been properly vetted yet, and because as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, which both rely on government contracts, Musk potentially has a number of conflicts of interest. View the full article

The AI search firm Perplexity routinely lets users try out state-of-the-art large language models on its site, but the company moved quickly to put Chinese company DeepSeek’s new R1 model front and center in its user interface. That offers users a chance to find out what the buzz is all about, without sending their data through the DeepSeek app, which is hosted in China. While some AI thought leaders such as Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner, Scale AI’s Alexander Wang, and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey hurried to debunk or downplay DeepSeek’s achievements, Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas believes the Chinese company’s models are something special. “In the past few years, there have been a handful of revolutionary moments in AI that have transformed the landscape,” Perplexity cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas wrote in a subscriber email Tuesday. “I wholeheartedly believe that this is yet another moment.” Users of Perplexity’s free and premium tiers can now choose to use DeepSeek via a menu button within the search bar. (Users can also select OpenAI’s o3 mini model.) “It’s one of the core models,” says Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko. “And what’s really neat about it is we’ve also developed a user interface . . . where you can actually see the chain of thought, so you can actually see how the model is thinking in real time, and that’s something that was never possible before.” Because DeepSeek operates within the People’s Republic of China’s regulatory framework, the company had to prevent its models from talking about politically sensitive topics, such as the Tiananmen Square protests. Perplexity was able to remove those guardrails from the open-source version of DeepSeek-R1. Perplexity also says any user data shared with the chatbot stays with the company’s servers in the U.S. and Canada; nothing is shared with DeepSeek or China. Of the models available on Perplexity, DeepSeek R1 is unique in that it shows the “chain of thought” the LLM followed to reach an answer. Some of the innovations the DeepSeek researchers put into its models were driven by a need to economize on computing power. The company said it trained its models, for example, using less-powerful Nvidia H800 chips after the U.S. chip bans cut off access to Nvidia’s most powerful GPUs. The end result was the creation of models that show state-of-the-art intelligence while requiring far less computing power than comparable models to run. That’s good for Perplexity. “There are efficiencies,” says Shevelenko. “I mean, I think we’re still too early to know the exact inference cost breakdown, but just the fact that it’s open-source and you’re not paying the private model provider, that’s already the major efficiency.” View the full article

A record $1.39 billion will be legally wagered in the United States on Sunday’s Super Bowl match-up between the two-times defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the American Gaming Association said on Tuesday. In years past, the trade group representing the U.S. casino industry did not break out an estimate solely for legal bets but rather one for all wagers, including those placed online, with a sportsbook, unlicensed bookmaker or casually with friends. But with years of legal operations in several U.S. states, the AGA said it now analyzes historical revenue data and other trends to develop a legal wager estimate for major U.S. sports betting moments. The AGA’s estimate for Super Bowl bets is up 11.2% from the $1.25 billion that gambling and research firm Eilers & Krejcik predicted would be legally bet on last year’s NFL championship in Las Vegas between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. “No single event unites sports fans like the Super Bowl, and that excitement extends to sports betting, with this year’s record legal handle reflecting its widespread appeal,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a news release. “This figure underscores the positive impact of the legal market—from protecting consumers to generating tax revenue that benefits communities across the country—while enhancing the game experience for all.” In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal ban on sports betting. Since the ruling, 38 states and the District of Columbia have now legalized sports betting in some form. The NFL’s championship game creates an annual betting bonanza and this year’s edition will be played in New Orleans for a record-tying 11th time. The Chiefs, appearing in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years and seeking an unprecedented third consecutive NFL championship, are slight favourites to beat the Eagles in a rematch of the February 2023 title clash. —Frank Pingue, Reuters View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Soon after Nvidia's new RTX 5080 and 5090 gaming GPUs went up for sale last week, they sold out pretty quickly—which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has tried to buy one of its graphics cards before. According to PC parts seller Newegg, the company’s stock sold out “within minutes,” and none of the big-name retailers I’ve checked today have cards available. While that might sound like a success on Nvidia’s part, consumers and reviewers alike are responding to the short supply with ire, accusing Nvidia of a “paper launch,” a term for when a company only releases enough units to say that a product released on schedule, without actually making it readily available. Starting at $999 for the 5080, these products were always going to be for a premium market, but buying them now can mean going through resellers, which could cost you twice as much and means supporting the same scalpers that make stock so hard to find in the first place. Luckily, there are still a few steps you can take to get a new Nvidia graphics card through official means, although it will take some trial and error. But with enough diligence, you can be sure to get in line for a new card as soon as stock opens up. Sign up for notifications Credit: Best Buy It’s boring, I know, but major retailers including Newegg, Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H offer the opportunity to sign up for stock notifications when a product is in limited supply. (You’ll usually see this to the right of or underneath a grayed out buy button on the product page.) These will often be incorporated into a wish list feature, so you can quickly check in on all of your desired products and keep track of them—useful if you have a specific PC build in mind. Try visiting your local MicrocenterMicrocenter is a popular electronics store that sets itself apart by offering the majority of its goods only in-store. Currently, its stock is as sold out as everyone else’s, although a big banner at the top of the store’s website says it’s working hard to restock as soon as possible. Shopping at your local Microcenter drastically reduces your competition: rather than having to compete with the entire world, you only have to compete with your local community. Even better, you can still look products up online to ensure stock is available before making the trek to the brick-and-mortar location. Simply visit the product page, input your store (assuming your cookies don’t tip off your location for you), and you’ll know before visiting whether your visit will be fruitful. Some products will also let you reserve a unit for in-store pickup before arriving, although for new GPUs, Microcenter is more likely to take a first-come, first-served mentality. Follow the right social media accountsGetting notifications when a product comes into stock is well and good, but ideally, you’re getting prepped to click the “buy” button well before it’s even available. That’s where industry insiders come into account. These are social media users who, through protected sources, sometimes know when sales happen before they go live. There are entire publications and newsletters dedicated to this, although you sometimes have to use your best judgment when knowing who to believe. My favorite account for this purpose, personally, is @Wario64 on X and Bluesky. Down-to-earth with a good (but not overbearing) sense of humor, they haven’t let me down yet. In-Stock-Alerts-US has also proven reliable in the past, as has journalist Matt Swider. Unfortunately, many accounts that have been useful in the past have since stopped updating. Alternatively, you can also use a stock tracking website like NowInStock.net or TrackaLacker to track stock across various storefronts. Avoid resellers whenever possibleGoing through the above process might seem annoying, but trust me, buying through a reseller is only going to make things worse for everyone. Yes, eBay is where you’ll find the most stock, but it’s also going to cost you way more than going through official sources, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll end up getting the real deal, or a GPU that hasn’t been used. That said, when it comes to GPUs, Amazon can be as bad as eBay. Third-party sellers are abundant there, and it can be easy to confuse a legit seller with one that's a little more dubious. If you want to go through Amazon, be sure to check the “Sold by” tag underneath the buy button before you add anything to your cart. That will tell you who you're actually buying the product from. Just buy a pre-built PC Credit: Maingear It might sound like sacrilege to a hardcore PC builder, but if you’re looking to get your hands on a new GPU as soon as possible, it can be easier to bite the bullet and go with a pre-built model. That’s because manufacturers like Maingear and Cyberpower often get special stock earmarked for them, and because their PCs are customizable, more expensive than a GPU alone, and are just all-around harder to stack in a warehouse somewhere, they’re less attractive to scalpers. You’ll still pay a premium with this route, but you’ll get a whole PC alongside your GPU, plus save yourself the labor of construction. And if you price it right, you might actually still save money over what you’d pay for a resold card alone. View the full article

Alphabet's Q4 revenue rose 12%, driven by AI advancements, cloud growth, and infrastructure investments. The post Google’s Q4 Earnings Point To An AI-Focused Future appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article