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Beeline's product division, dubbed Beeline Labs, will be rolling out an AI-powered quality control product for mortgage lenders. View the full article

Anthony Obi never imagined the night of Jan. 7 would be the last time he’d step inside his safe haven. The Houston rapper, known professionally as Fat Tony, has lived in the Altadena neighborhood for a year and says he and his neighbors were prepared for heavy winds and perhaps a few days of power outages. “I totally expected, you know, maybe my windows are going to get damaged, and I’ll come back in like a day or two and just clean it up,” said the rapper. But residents like Obi woke up the following morning to news that thousands of homes and entire neighborhoods had been burned to ash, destroyed by flames that wiped out large areas of Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Although the neighborhoods are on opposite ends of the county, they are known hubs for many of the city’s creative community, housing filmmakers, actors, musicians and artists of various mediums. “LA is not just rich, famous people who have giant mansions that were destroyed,” said visual artist Andrea Bowers, who is assisting artists recover. “So many members of our community lost everything, they lost all their artworks and their archives, that’s irreplaceable, a lifetime of labor and a lifetime of research.” “A lot of my collectors lost their homes,” said figurative and conceptual artist Salomón Huerta, who lost his Altadena home of three years to the Eaton Fire and worries the art scene in LA will downsize as a result of the wildfire. “Before the fire, I was in talks with certain collectors. And then, after the fire, they’re not in a good place to talk. I’m hoping that there’s support so that the art scene can still thrive. But it’s going to be tough.” Obi and Huerta lost not only personal treasures, business opportunities and homes but also vital equipment and professional archives, adding to their emotional burden. Huerta left behind slides and transparencies of past work that he had planned to digitize for an upcoming book. “Everything’s gone,” Obi said. “All of my stuff that is related to Fat Tony music that was in that house is gone, and it was the motherlode of it.” From aftermath of one fire, a support network is born Kathryn Andrews never imagined she’d experience another wildfire in her lifetime. The conceptual artist was forced to flee her Pacific Palisades neighborhood as smoke drew near, the second time in four years she’s had to escape a wildfire. She lost her Juniper Hills property to the 2020 Bobcat fire, which burned a large section of rural Los Angeles County. “I’ve already experienced one home being burned. I think you have a different focus after that. Maybe we become a little bit less attached to material things. And we began looking at a bigger long-term picture, thinking about, you know, how we live together in community, how we live in relation to the land and how we can work together to solve this,” she said. Andrews is the co-founder of relief effort Grief and Hope, which aims to support creatives financially as they enter the long road ahead and was founded alongside a group of gallery directors, art professionals and artists like Bowers, Ariel Pittman, Olivia Gauthier, and Julia V. Hendrickson. “Our primary goal is getting people triage money for just whatever the most emergent need is,” said Pittman. The fundraising effort began shortly after the fires broke out with a Go Fund Me seeking $500,000. They have now raised over $940,000 of their new $1 million goal via non-profit art space The Brick. As of Tuesday, Grief and Hope has received more than 450 inquiries, and Pittman says the funds will be evenly distributed to applicants. The deadline for artists to submit a needs survey has concluded, but the relief effort will continue fundraising until mid-March. Grief and Hope also has five different groups of volunteers providing peer-to-peer support, helping with medical needs, safety issues, and renter’s issues and collecting survey data to better serve their creative community. “These are people who already have made very long term commitments in their work, including the five of us, towards building community and building sustainability around artists and art workers in our city and beyond,” said Pittman. For Grief and Hope, creating a more sustainable future for artists throughout the city begins with affordable studio spaces and housing. Creative tools lost, and a long road ahead For photographer Joy Wong, losing her home of eight years meant losing the beauty of Altadena. She describes the overall area as “a pocket of heaven.” “I didn’t want to leave,” said Wong who safely evacuated with her husband and 2-year-old daughter. “We were just so in love with this house, and it wasn’t just my house. It was also my studio space.” Many, like Obi, Wong and Huerta, have started GoFundMe accounts. Meanwhile initiatives and relief efforts have popped up around Southern California ready to assist with clothing donations, art supplies, professional equipment for creatives and more. “I’m applying to everything,” said Obi, who needs to replace his instruments and recording equipment. Wong said she’s received much support from family, friends and colleagues. “I think I just have to kind of lean on the community and get back into shooting,” she said. “I got to get all my gear back, too. It’s going to be a long road, but it’ll be OK.” How some artists see L.A.’s arts scene can be reborn Superchief Gallery co-founder and director Bill Dunleavy said he believes that this is an opportunity to rebuild long-needed infrastructure for the arts throughout Los Angeles. “Quite a lot was lost and in the areas affected by the fire. And it’s going to affect rent prices and studio prices and art markets and everything else,” said Dunleavy. “I’ve been so impressed with the amount of compassion that people feel and the sense of duty people have felt to help with this. … I hope that continues into the coming years.” Creative director Celina Rodriguez said she hopes freelance artists and creatives continue to work and shoot production or projects throughout the city, rather than leaving because of the wildfires. “Having lost so many locations that we would shoot, typically in Malibu, Topanga, the Palisades, all throughout. We will have to absolutely come together and figure out how we can continue working in Los Angeles … and urging people to shoot productions here,” she said. Rodriguez and Dunleavy began collecting donations at the Downtown Los Angeles gallery and within 48 hours transformed it into a bustling donation center with over 150 volunteers. The duo are now working with displaced families to make sure their daily needs are being met. Dunleavy said the relief effort has only encouraged him to take this work beyond just the donation center and explore the possibilities of non-profit work for the community. “All of our wheels are turning now that we’ve seen the power that just self-organizing can have.” —Leslie Ambriz, Associated Press View the full article

The Long Island-based company, which is in the middle of a makeover, saw its stock price rise sharply after reporting a net loss that was less than what analysts expected. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. There are so many techniques you can use to help you declutter your home, but they all have the same end goal: reducing the volume of junk lying around your house and organizing what remains. Where these techniques differ is in their methodologies: Some are better suited to larger homes or larger volumes of stuff, for instance. Some are ruthless, while others leave some wiggle room for items you are hesitant to part with. Here are some of my favorite decluttering techniques, so you can find one that will help you downsize with minimal stress. Before you start decluttering, keep these questions in mindBelow, you'll find 17 great techniques, approaches, and methods, but basically all of them will require you to, at some point, assess your possessions one by one and determine whether you're going to keep it or not. No matter which technique you choose, you'll have to make individual decisions over and over again, so you need to have criteria in mind before you start (and while you're selecting the method you think will work best for you). Some of the approaches here come with questions baked in, like Marie Kondo and Peter Walsh's methods, which suggest, respectively, that you determine whether an item "sparks joy" or fits with the overall vision you have for your space. Others leave the question-asking to you, so I suggest ones like this: "When was the last time I used this?" This can help you determine if you even actually use the thing you're considering getting rid of. "Do I want the job of managing this item?" This helps you realistically frame the commitment and responsibility that holding onto something will demand of you. "Would I know I had this if I needed it?" This is useful for cleaning spaces like junk drawers, which are full of those items you make excuses to hold onto "just in case." For more ideas that can shape how you approach your decluttering no matter which method you choose, here's a list of my favorite eight criteria questions. Micro-decluttering, for going bit by bitThis technique is ideal for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the scope of the task facing them. It has been trending on cleaning blogs for some time, and while the phrase is novel, the idea is well-established: Instead of cleaning a whole room at once, choose small sections to tackle instead. So, instead of organizing the bathroom in a day, start with the medicine cabinet. The whole bedroom? No. The nightstands? Yes. The entire kitchen? Instead, start with the silverware drawers. Obviously, you’ll get around to all the other “micro” spaces within those rooms eventually, but focusing one a small section allows you to witness immediate results, revel in the feeling of accomplishment that brings, and consider whether you have the capacity to tackle another section right away. It's similar to the ski-slope method below, but even less regimented, since there are no rules about the order you need to clean in. You can dedicate a week to sprucing up small sections of one room, or you can switch from room to room every time you clean. The ski-slope method, for when you're overwhelmedAnita Yokota's ski-slope method was born from her experience as a licensed therapist and interior designer and is meant to help you declutter in a way that won't be overwhelming for you mentally. She outlines the method in her book Home Therapy: Interior Design for Increasing Happiness, Boosting Confidence, and Creating Calm, suggesting you imagine your messy room like a ski slope, zig-zagging from section to section instead of working in a straight line. Rather than looking at the space as a whole (a huge mess you'll never be able to clean!), start in one corner or section and work from there: Clean, declutter, and organize. Move to the next side or section and do it again. Continue moving through the room, working from side to side. As you finish each section, you can pause for a break if you need to, then pick back up where you left off. The move-out method, for when you need some urgencyThis approach from Katie Holdefehr, author of Embrace Your Space and associate editorial director at Real Simple, will put a bit of a push behind your efforts, which can be helpful for people who struggle to find motivation to clean or declutter. When you use the move-out method, you act as if you're actually moving out of your home and into a new one, except the "new" home is actually the one you already have, just cleaner and better. Set a made-up move-out date for a few days from the present, then box up everything in one room the way you really would if you were moving, categorizing items into boxes based on their uses. Start asking yourself, "If I were moving, would I really want to bring this with me into my new space?" Imagine what your ideal home would look like and what would be in it, plus whether the item you're considering would be worth all the effort of packing, boxing, protecting, hauling, unpacking, and putting away in a real-life relocating situation. If it wouldn't be, get rid of it. Once everything is boxed up, clean the room thoroughly, making it new again, and unpack. Ideally, wait a few days to unpack, so you can get a sense of which things you actually miss or need while they're boxed away. When you unpack, feel free to declutter even more, getting rid of what you didn't even miss and prioritizing only what you want in your "new" home. Repeat in various rooms over time. One thing to keep in mind: The move-out date is important. That's what gives you the sense of urgency and push you need. Once you commit to it, don't push it off. Treat it as if you were really moving out and had no choice but to get packing. Project 333: For when the closet is out of handAdhere to the TikTok-famous Project 333, which comes from comes from Courtney Carver's Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More, if you want to pare down your wardrobe and create a "capsule wardrobe" of basic, mix-and-matchable pieces over time. Start by selecting 33 pieces of clothing, jewelry, and accessories (excluding underwear or sentimental, everyday-wear jewelry), then box everything else up for three months. At the end of that time, you'll have combined your 33 pieces to make outfits and will have a better sense of what you really need for daily wear and what you own that might be good for donating. For a similar approach, you can adapt the Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule, recognizing that you use about 20% of your stuff 80% of the time, whether that's the clothes you wear every day, the kitchen tools you use to make your most common meals, or anything else that you reach for the majority of the time. Once you start identifying the 80% of things you rarely use, it becomes pretty easy to give them the boot. The 12-12-12 method, for when you have a lot of stuffThis is one of the longer-term methods on the list and it calls on you to overhaul your lifestyle a bit. When you use the 12-12-12 method, you find 12 things to throw away, 12 things to donate, and 12 things to put away—every day. With 12 in each category every day, you're dealing with a number small enough to work with in an achievable way but big enough to make an impact on your clutter. Of course, you can move that number up or down slightly to accommodate your own needs, but the real idea here is that you get in the habit of identifying what you can get rid of and what needs to be organized and put away every day. The organizational triangle, for getting and staying declutteredAnother longer-term, lifestyle-altering approach is the use of the Organizational Triangle, a concept from by pro organizer Andrew Mellen, the man behind The Most Organized Man in America's Guide to Moving and Unstuff Your Life: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good. This three-tiered approach provides a simple process for maintaining a clutter-free home: Every item needs a home. Keep like with like. Use a "something in, something out" approach. By making sure you get into the habit of putting everything where it belongs (and getting rid of things that don't belong anywhere), storing everything with related items, and getting rid of one thing every time you bring something new in, you can not only get organized, but stay organized. The five-second rule, for making quick decisionsThe five-second rule is a trick you can use when you're decluttering to make fast decisions about what stays and what goes. It's a widely adaptable technique from organizational coach Mel Robbins, who advocates for it in her books. Basically, you should make major decisions in under five seconds, counting down five, four, three, two, one so your brain senses some urgency. At the end of the countdown, you have to make a choice—when you're decluttering, you'll decide whether to keep something and find a place for it or toss it or donate it. In your heart, you already know which items are useful and need to stick around. Instead of deliberating over the decision, make it fast and keep going so you don't lose momentum. If you're really stuck after five seconds, there are two questions you can ask yourself to illuminate the right choice: According to organizational gurus the Minimalists, you should ask yourself, "Could I replace this item for less than $20?" and "Could I replace it in less than 20 minutes?" If the answer to both is yes, that thing can go. The space you'll save by tossing it will be worth the $20 you may spend in the unlikely event you ever need it again. KonMari, for creating a happier homeArguably the most famous method on the list, Marie Kondo's KonMari method leaves a little room for the items you care about, even if they have fewer practical uses than others. Kondo's method of organizing follows a few simple steps designed to ensure “you will never again relapse to clutter.” Here’s what she calls for: Commit yourself to tidying up. Imagine your ideal lifestyle. Finish discarding first. Tidy by category and not by location. Follow the right order. Ask yourself if it sparks joy, and get rid of it if it doesn't. The Peter Walsh method, for building the home of your dreamsWalsh method is similar to Kondo's, but a little stricter. Compare her steps with his and spot the differences: Empty your space. Create a vision for the space and set an intention for it. Sort everything you removed into a “vision” pile and an “out-the-door” pile. Get rid of the “out-the-door pile” by donating or throwing everything away. Move everything from the “vision” pile back into the space. Fully emptying your space is more intense than just organizing it as-is, so choose this technique if you really need an overhaul. "Decluttering at the Speed of Life," for everyday maintenanceThe Decluttering at the Speed of Life method comes from Dana K. White, who has chronicled her “deslobification” journey on a blog since she began in 2009. She took notes of all her wins and failures as she sought to find a way to declutter without getting overwhelmed, keeping track of what worked and what didn’t—and ultimately published a book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff. To utilize her technique, select a small area, and do these five things: Start with trash, like receipts, wrappers, bags, anything that is broken, expired food or products, or anything you simply don’t need or use at all. Throw all that away. Do the easy stuff. Put everything out of place back where it belongs. Categorize “duh clutter,” or anything that could be donated. Keep a box on hand and toss anything worthy of donation into it. Ask yourself one or two decluttering questions. First, “If I needed this item, where would I look for it?” If you can instantly think of an answer, take the item where it belongs. If you can’t think of an answer, ask a follow-up: “If I needed this item, would it occur to me that I already had one?” Get rid of the thing if the answer is no. Finally, make it fit. Only keep what you have space for and organize those. Throw a packing party, for an objective approachAnother intense, room-clearing option is the "packing party," which also comes from the Minimalists. To throw a packing party, invite your friends over and have them help you pack everything in the room into boxes, as if you were moving, and label those boxes. For three weeks after that, live your life as normal, only pulling things out of the boxes if and as you need them. At the end of the three weeks, go through whatever you haven't needed and commit to throwing or donating most of it. This method helps you "move back in" to a cleaner space full of only the things you really need. Dymo LetraTag 200B Bluetooth Label Maker $34.94 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.90 Save $3.96 Shop Now Shop Now $34.94 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.90 Save $3.96 "365 Less Things," for long-haul declutteringColleen Madsen's unique 365 Less Things technique is a slow burn. It will take a year to complete, but at the end of that year, you'll be living in a cleaner, more organized space—and will have built up the habits that can keep it that way. All you do is commit to getting rid of one thing every day for a year. The goal here isn't instant progress, but incremental progress that you can learn from. Set a reminder in your phone for every day at a certain time and, when the alarm goes off, find one thing to get rid of. You can donate it, sell it, or throw it away, but it has to go. The beauty of this method is that while it takes time, the time is actually beneficial: Eventually, it'll become second nature to find and get rid of one thing in your home every day. Plus, decluttering so incrementally is a lot less overwhelming than other methods of home cleaning and organization, so it's perfect for if you're feeling too put-upon by the daunting task. The calendar method, for when you need structureAnother technique that is similar to 365 Less Things is the calendar method. This is a little faster and more structured, so it's ideal if you have a lot of things to throw out and want to get rid of them all relatively quickly, but haven't built up the habit of being able to do that yet. Start on the first of the month and get rid of one thing. On the second day, get rid of two. On the third, out go three. You see where I'm going with this. On the 30th, you'll get rid of 30 things. In a month with 31 days, you'll end up doing away with nearly 500 items. This works well because it slowly builds that decluttering muscle. On the first day, you might really struggle to part with one thing, but the more you do it, the easier it will get. Plus, as the days go on, you'll start noticing results, which will motivate you down the stretch. The before-and-after technique, for when you need motivationIf you're a more visual person, the Before and After approach from Becoming Minimalist is for you. Pick a small section of your home, like a countertop or junk drawer, and snap a picture of it. Then, clean it up. Just focus on the small area you photographed. Once you’re done, take a new picture and compare the two. Do this any time you have a few minutes to dedicate to a minor cleaning task, so the pics are right next to each other in your camera roll. When you can see the difference just by swiping between the two photos, you’ll feel motivated to keep going. Without the pictures, it can be hard to remember what the mess even looked like, so you won’t stay as motivated to clean or keep it clean. (If you need more motivation, here are my favorite tools to help you declutter and the best apps to help you keep your cleaning on track.) The 10/10 theory, for when you need clarity on an item's valueWhen you're decluttering, you'll inevitably pick up an item that you're really not sure if you should keep or toss. It may be a little sentimental or you may start playing the classic mind game of, "But what if I need this later?" That's where the 10/10 theory comes in. This is an exercise you complete before decluttering. Make a list of your 10 most expensive items. Then, make one of the 10 things you own that bring you the most joy. Keep going. Try a list of the 10 things you use the most, the 10 you use least, the 10 things you could never replace, or 10 things you could very easily replace, either in terms of speed or money. Once you start reframing how you think of the "value" of your possessions, you begin to see patterns about what is worth keeping and what really isn't. Doing this ahead of time and noticing what you place value on will help you when you get down to the nitty-gritty of actually decluttering. The chaos method, for when you need to declutter things you've already organizedThe so-called "chaos" method is perfect for helping you assess how much stuff you really have and if you even have the space to hold it all. It's perfect for anyone whose clutter and junk is at least semi-organized, put away somewhere out of sight. Pull it all out and dump it into a pile, which will be your "chaos." Then, sort, categorize, and declutter everything, moving through the pile one item at a time, until you have a bunch of smaller piles. Once you have your smaller piles and categories, you can see just how much volume is in each, then decide where they should go within the closet again. You can put them in the most logical, economical space (ideally a container!) and make that decision based on how much space they really need. It's easy to let junk pile up if it's out of sight and out of mind, but just because you have everything jammed into a closet or drawer doesn't mean it's really, truly organized. You have to haul it all out and see its real volume. Just make sure you do this in small increments. Don't do your entire bedroom at once, for instance, but go drawer by drawer, closet by closet, etc. The magic basket, for when you need a daily routineHalf the battle when you're decluttering comes from keeping the things you choose to keep more organized. Over the course of a day, you move your stuff around, use it, discard it, and don't always put it away again right away. Over time, this can cause some issues and mess up your whole home. One easy way to tackle the ever-present issue of clutter maintenance is to create a simple schedule. Use the "magic basket" technique: Every evening, go around your home with a basket and drop in anything that's out of place. Your home will look better right away, you'll achieve a feeling of accomplishment, and you'll sleep better, all without having to put anything away and overwhelm yourself. The next day, when you're feeling fresh, take the basket back around and put its contents where they belong. Do both steps every day to space out the amount of time you spend cleaning. You'll built a solid routine that will become a second-nature habit, plus not feel so overwhelmed by the volume of what you need to do, since it's split up. View the full article

Russell Vought, should he be confirmed by the full Senate, would join a short list of those able to lead the CFPB, as his predecessor Mick Mulvaney did, per the requirements of the Vacancies Act. View the full article

Meta is removing the Audience Types option from Advantage+ catalog ads that use the sales objective, pushing advertisers toward its AI-driven targeting tools. This change reflects Meta’s broader strategy of automating ad targeting, betting that its AI can better match products with potential buyers than manual audience selection. The big picture. While the change removes some manual controls, Meta’s automated targeting has been showing stronger performance metrics, according to their internal data, suggesting this could benefit advertisers despite the reduced direct control. Key details: Advantage+ catalog ads dynamically display products based on user behavior, using data from Meta Pixel or app SDK. The system personalizes product displays based on individual user interests, intent, and actions. These ads can appear as single images, carousels, or collections. Yes, but. Advertisers aren’t losing all targeting control. They can still create catalog custom audiences based on product interactions, retarget potential customers who’ve shown interest and include/exclude specific audiences from seeing ads. Why we care. The removal of “Audience Types” from Advantage+ catalog ads might initially seem like a limitation, but Meta’s data suggests their AI-driven targeting actually performs better than traditional manual targeting methods. This is because an AI system’s job is to process vast amounts of user behavior data in real-time, identifying patterns and connections that human advertisers might miss. The system analyzes user interests, browsing behavior, purchase intent, and past interactions to make more precise targeting decisions. However, this change also requires advertisers to adapt their approach. While you’re losing some direct control over audience selection, important targeting capabilities through catalog custom audiences are not going away. Between the lines. This update signals Meta’s growing confidence in its AI targeting capabilities. The company is essentially saying its automated systems can outperform human-selected audience targeting. What you need to know. To maintain advanced targeting options, advertisers will need to: Have Meta Pixel or app SDK installed. Create custom audiences manually. Use more advanced targeting setup processes. Bottom line. While this change may initially feel like a loss of control, Meta’s data suggests their automated targeting could actually improve ad performance – as long as advertisers are willing to trust the algorithm. View the full article

DeepSeek makes users liable for travel and litigation expenses if they violate its terms and the violation leads to legal action. The post DeepSeek Terms Make Users Liable For Company’s Travel Expenses appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Retired Navy SEAL commander Rich Diviney on empathy: “A lack of empathy in any leader obviously is a huge detriment huge detriment. But too much empathy can be just as damaging. It’s hard to be productive if you’re functioning at the whim of other people’s emotions. Empathy is an invaluable tool, so long as it is properly calibrated.” Source: The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance II. Nikos Mourkogiannis on purpose: “Purpose is preparation for doing what is right and what is worthwhile. As such it creates a sense of obligation. But this obligation is not a weight or a drag in any way—it’s a way of knowing what you can and can’t do. Because Purpose provides certainty, it also provides confidence. All of that comes together to contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage. ‘Do the right thing and do well’—a new way of saying ‘Do well by doing good.’” Source: Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. None are believed to have survived the Wednesday night collision, which caused both aircraft to plunge into the frigid Potomac River. What to know about the aircraft: Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk There are about 5,000 Black Hawks in use around the world, according to the aviation site FlightGlobal.com. The twin-engine, four-blade helicopter is manufactured by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The aircraft involved in Wednesday’s collision was an Army version. There are other variants made for the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, and for specialized duty such as intelligence gathering. The Black Hawk made its debut in 1979. The helicopters have been involved in numerous U.S. military operations, including the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in May 2011, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the invasions of Panama and Grenada. It is perhaps best known as the namesake aircraft in the 2001 war film “Black Hawk Down,” about a U.S. helicopter shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the civil war there. Others have crashed over the years on training missions. Bombardier CRJ700 The passenger jet was manufactured by Quebec, Canada-based conglomerate Bombardier Inc. The CRJ program was sold in June 2020 to the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which no longer makes them but continues to produce parts. The twin-engine aircraft comes in several versions capable of seating between 68 and 78 passengers. It is a commonly used regional aircraft used for medium and shorter flights, with more than 900 produced since it was introduced in May 1999. Bombardier said in 2015 that the CRJ700 series accounted for 20% of all departure flights in North America, with about 200,000 flights per month. The plane in Wednesday’s crash was registered as N530EA and manufactured in 2010, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The jet was operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, PSA Airlines. —Curt Anderson, Associated Press 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. It can get a bit confusing to decide between the standard iPad, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro. For the most budget-friendlyoption, the iPad 10th gen is your best bet. For those looking for top-of-the-line specs, the iPad Pro is the way to go. If you're somewhere in between, that's where the iPad Air's sweet spot is. Right now, the latest 11-inch M2 Wifi iPad Air is $499 (originally $599), and the Wifi + Cellular version (if you don't want to rely on wifi) is $649 (originally $749)—for both models, those match their lowest-ever prices, according to price-tracking tools. Storage: 128GB, Camera: 12MP Front/Back, Wifi: Wi-Fi 6E, Security: Touch ID. iPad Air 11-inch (WiFi, M2) $569.05 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $599.00 Save $29.95 Get Deal Get Deal $569.05 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $599.00 Save $29.95 Storage: 128GB, Camera: 12MP Front/Back, Wifi: Wi-Fi 6E, Cell: 5G, Security: Touch ID. iPad Air 11-inch (WiFi + Cellular, M2) $649.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $749.00 Save $100.00 Get Deal Get Deal $649.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $749.00 Save $100.00 SEE -1 MORE Although $100 off doesn't sound like a ton for such an expensive item, it's still impressive given it is a flagship Apple product that came out less than a year ago. The M2 chip isn't new, but it is a powerful processor, especially for a tablet. The iPad Air gives you about 10 hours of juice depending on your use. You'll get Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, stereo speakers, Touch ID to log in, a 12MP wide-angle front camera, and a rear 12MP camera. There is no IP rating protection against the elements, though. This smaller 11-inch version has a 2,360 by 1,640-pixel resolution on its LCD screen with a 60Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. Some newer features include split-view screens, subject lift, and live text features. You can read more about the M2 iPad Air from PCMag's "excellent" review. A new addition for accessories on the iPad Air is being able to use the Pencil Pro, but it's still compatible with the more basic Apple Pencil (the Pencil Pro is worth the extra money, though). You might also consider the Magic Keyboard if you want to use it as a laptop. View the full article

As part of a partnership agreement the two companies entered into, the Ramquest and E-closing platforms have shifted ownership for an undisclosed price. View the full article

Contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to a National Association of Realtors index released Thursday. View the full article

Mortgage lenders still need to monetize mortgage servicing rights quickly amid the sluggish housing market, representing more opportunities for the firm. View the full article

Google launches AI-powered "Ask For Me" to make business calls, starting with auto repairs and nail salons. The post Google Launches AI Phone Assistant To Call Businesses For You appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Scheduling a project is done in the planning phase. A project schedule gets into the details, including tasks and subtasks. A master schedule provides a more broad-stroke approach to scheduling, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important. To understand the importance of a master schedule, we’ll define the term in project management, compare it to a project schedule and explain what it needs to include to thoroughly review the project. What Is a Master Schedule? A master schedule is a comprehensive high-level timeline that outlines the major phases, tasks and milestones of a project from start to finish. It serves as the central document that provides an overview of the project’s key activities, deadlines and interdependencies. The master schedule is a crucial tool for project managers because it helps ensure that tasks are executed in the right sequence and on time. It provides clarity to the project team and stakeholders about progress and deadlines and helps identify potential bottlenecks early on, enabling proactive management and adjustments. In complex projects, the master schedule may be broken down into more detailed schedules for individual workstreams or subprojects, but the master schedule remains the overarching framework for managing the project. That’s why most project management software has Gantt charts, which are commonly used for creating a master schedule. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts and roadmaps that visualize the project timeline, all key activities and phases, including milestones for one project or multiple projects. Our Gantt chart and roadmaps link all four types of task dependencies to avoid delays and cost overruns as well as filtering for the critical path to identify essential tasks. It schedules tasks, phases and projects, allocates resources and monitors progress. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/light-mode-CTA.jpgProjectManater’s Gantt charts and roadmaps make powerful master schedules. Learn more Master Schedule vs. Project Schedule The master schedule and the project schedule are both essential components in project management. However, they serve different purposes, have different scopes and levels of detail and are used by different stakeholders. Let’s compare the two. Scope The master schedule has a broader scope. It represents the entire project’s timeline at a high level, including all key phases, milestones and deliverables. It typically includes all major tasks but doesn’t go into deep detail about each task. The project schedule, on the other hand, has a narrower scope and provides more detailed information about each specific task or work package. It breaks down the tasks from the master schedule into smaller, actionable steps, with specific start and end dates, assigned resources and task durations. Level of Detail The master schedule contains high-level information about major phases and milestones. It might only show the critical path and key milestones, focusing on the project’s overall timeline and important checkpoints, without getting into the granular details of each task. The project schedule is much more detailed. It lists all the individual tasks, their durations, dependencies, responsible team members and resource allocation. It provides the necessary information to manage and track day-to-day activities, often including specific deadlines for smaller components or deliverables. Purpose The purpose of the master schedule is to provide an overview of the entire project. It helps to track the major milestones and phases, ensuring that the project is moving forward according to plan and within the overall timeframe. It ensures the project aligns with its goals and timeline and serves as a reference for high-level reporting to stakeholders. The purpose of the project schedule is to manage and coordinate the specific activities so that tasks are completed on time and within scope. It serves as a more actionable document used for daily management, providing detailed timelines for the team and ensuring that resources are effectively utilized. It is also used for managing risks, tracking progress and adjusting timelines. Users Senior management, project managers and key stakeholders typically use the master schedule. It helps them get a high-level view of the project’s status and make strategic decisions based on overall progress. It is generally used in executive meetings, for reporting and high-level project tracking. On the other hand, project managers, team members and departmental heads use the project schedule. It’s the primary tool for those directly involved in the day-to-day execution of the project. Team members rely on the project schedule to understand their tasks and deadlines, while project managers use it to monitor progress, manage resources and adjust the plan as needed. What Should Be Included in a Master Schedule? A master schedule provides a high-level overview of a project, capturing essential elements that help ensure its successful execution. Here’s a brief breakdown of what should be included. High-Level Timeline: Spans the entire project duration, from start to finish. Key Milestones: Represents significant events or checkpoints in the project. Key Deliverables: Results of a project that embodies its main goals. Critical Path: The critical path of a project is the longest sequence of tasks that determine the project’s completion time. Dependencies Among Tasks, Phases or Projects: Tasks, phases and projects that cannot start or finish until another starts or finishes. Resource Schedule: Identifies key resources needed for each phase or major task. Potential Risks: High-level view of risks that might affect the timeline. When to Make a Master Schedule Creating a master schedule varies based on the type of industry or project one is managing, as different sectors have distinct requirements. Below are considerations in a variety of settings. Manufacturing & Production In manufacturing, a master schedule is referred to as a master production schedule (MPS). It differs from a production schedule, which is a more detailed, short-term plan used to organize and manage specific production activities, focusing on daily or weekly tasks, to ensure efficient workflow and address immediate operational needs. A master production schedule is a high-level, long-term planning tool that outlines what products need to be products, in what quantities and by when, based on forecasted demand, inventory levels and capacity constraints. It provides a strategic framework for aligning production with business goals, feeding detailed requirements into project schedules. Program and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) The master schedule manages multiple projects or programs simultaneously, aligning them with organizational objectives and ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately across initiatives. Construction Here, master schedules are crucial for coordinating tasks, managing subcontractors and ensuring timely project completion within the agreed-upon budget. Master Schedule Template To create a master schedule, download this free Excel timeline template. It can map activities, processes or projects that will be executed over a timeline that can expand across a year. It provides the same high-level overview that a master schedule does. /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Excel-Timeline-Template.webp Use this free template to create a project timeline, product roadmap timeline, strategic roadmap timeline and more. It will help adjust planning needs over a six-month, year or multiple-year timeframe. Benefits of Making a Master Schedule Master planning helps to achieve project objectives, manage resource constraints and track project progress, among other things. Creating a master schedule is a good idea for both personal time and management. Let’s explore some key advantages more deeply. Allows Organizations to Allocate Resources Effectively Across Projects A master schedule provides a clear overview of all projects an organization is working on. This allows project managers to see where resources are needed and avoid over-allocating them to one project while neglecting others. It also helps to plan for better resource availability and identify potential conflicts or overlaps in resource usage, which avoids resource conflicts. Project managers can also monitor how resources are being used across multiple projects to ensure no resource is overused or overburdened, and it allows for adjustments if there are bottlenecks. Facilitates Capacity Planning and Monitoring of Resource Utilization By providing a comprehensive overview of all upcoming projects, tasks and deadlines, the master schedule enables organizations to forecast the resources required for each project or phase. Understanding the scope of work in advance, ensures organizations have the necessary resources. Project managers can balance the workload and assess whether the current resource capacity can meet the demands of all projects and whether additional resources are needed. They can also monitor resource utilization, which helps to identify bottlenecks, optimize efficiency and adjust for changes. Helps Make Progress Reports for Stakeholders Another benefit is that a master schedule offers a visual representation of the project timelines, milestones and deadlines, which makes it easier to communicate project progress to stakeholders. It breaks down the project into key milestones and deliverables. Progress reports can then note whether these milestones have been met as well as identify delays and issues. How to Make a Master Schedule With ProjectManager To get the most out of the master schedule, create it with ProjectManager. Our award-winning project and portfolio management software has robust Gantt charts to create project timelines, plus features that allocate resources, track costs and visualize and report on the status of projects, programs and portfolios in real time. To make one, simply sign up for a free trial and get access to the software for 30 days. There’s no credit card information required. Then follow these steps. Create Timelines with Gantt Charts Once logged in, create a new project or import one from a spreadsheet or even a Microsoft Project file. If a new project, add tasks and subtasks with start and end dates. Milestones can also be set to indicate the end or one phase and the beginning of another, for example. As this data is inputted on the Gantt chart spreadsheet on the left, it will automatically populate the timeline to the right. /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Manufacturing-gantt-chart-light-mode-costs-exposed-.png Allocate Resources and Costs On the Gantt chart, under each task, assign resources. These can be human resources, such as team members, or nonhuman resources, such as equipment, tools, costs, etc. Be sure resources are allocated efficiently. Use the team page to get an overview of the team’s activities (this page can be filtered by progress, priority and more) or visit the color-coded workload chart that shows resource allocation across the project or projects. From this page, users can balance the team’s workload to keep them working at capacity while avoiding burnout. /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/workload-page-resource-management-lightmode.png Visualize the Status of Projects, Programs and Portfolios with Real-Time Dashboards Once the baseline is set on the Gantt chart, the software constantly updates with real-time data that can be used to track progress and performance. Project managers can toggle to the real-time project or portfolio dashboard, depending on whether they’re managing one project or multiple projects. Here they’ll find easy-to-read graphs and charts that display live data on time, cost, workload and more. It’s like getting an instant status report. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Dashboard-light-mode.jpg Create Reports In Minutes Users can also set up notifications for task updates, approaching deadlines and overdue tasks to ensure that team members and stakeholders stay informed. Customizable reports also track key metrics like task completion percentages, timelines and resource usage. A status or portfolio status report can be created with a keystroke and filtered to give project managers details they need to deliver projects on time and within budget. Or filter for a more general overview to share with stakeholders and keep them informed. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Reports-Light-2554x1372-1.png Related Project Scheduling Content A master schedule is part of project scheduling in project management. For those interested in learning more about the larger picture of mastering things like a workback schedule, schedule variance and more, follow the links below to some of our more recent articles on the subject. Mastering the Workback Schedule: 5 Essential Tips Schedule Management: Process, Tools and Templates Schedule Variance: What Is It & How Do I Calculate It? How to Use a Schedule Maker for Projects How to make a CPM Schedule: CPM Scheduling Basics Schedule Performance Index (SPI): An Introduction 5 Essential Tips for Schedule Control in Project Management ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post What Is a Master Schedule in Project Management? appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned the actions of the army helicopter pilot and air traffic controller ahead of a deadly midair collision in Washington and quickly veered into politics to speculate that Democrats and diversity initiatives shared blame for the deaths of 67 people. As Trump spoke, a federal investigation into the crash was just getting started and first responders were still working to recover bodies from the wreckage of the commercial jet and army helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport Wednesday night. Speaking from the White House — just over three miles from the scene — Trump at points acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the nation to pray for the victims. But he moved nonetheless to assign blame. Trump said “we are one family” as he expressed condolences for the crash. He then proceeded to attack political opponents and unleash grievances about diversity initiatives. “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website,” Trump said. He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.” Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be geniuses. “They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.” Trump said he had no evidence to support his claims that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and hiring preferences played a role in the crash, allowing that “it just could have been.” He defended doing so “because I have common sense.” The plane crash marked the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020. Trump said “we do not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions.” Then he proceeded to hold forth at length about what happened, at one point wondering if the helicopter pilot was wearing night vision goggles. Trump declared that “you had a pilot problem” and the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” And he questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly.” He also mused about the air traffic controller, saying of the two aircraft, “for whatever reason they were at the same elevation,” adding “they should have been at a different height.” Vice President JD Vance, new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all lined up behind Trump to praise his leadership and echo his concerns about DEI programs and hiring. “When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means on the one hand, you’re not getting the best people in government,” Vance said, “But on the other hand, it puts stresses on the people who are already there.” Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary under former President Joe Biden, calling him “a disaster.” “He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said. Complaining about the previous administration, Trump continued, “their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse.” Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.” He added: “As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying.” Trump made a point to tell Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday as Buttigieg’s replacement, “It’s not your fault.” Duffy took the White House podium alongside Trump and declared, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.” Duffy added, “We will not accept excuses.” Despite the crash, Trump said he “would not hesitate to fly.” —Zeke Miller and Chris Megerian, Associated Press View the full article

Most video editing software works through re-encoding—essentially, uploading the file so it can be broken apart and stitched back together. This is necessary for advanced editing techniques but has some downsides. It's slow, for one thing, and the encoding process isn't lossless, meaning videos can look worse over time. This is a particularly vexing problem when all you want to do is cut a bit from the beginning or end of a file. Lossless Cut is an open source application for Linux, Windows, and Mac that can trim videos without the need for encoding. The changes to the original file are basically instantaneous and totally lossless. It's a great tool if all you ever do when editing video is remove the bits at the start or end that you don't want. It's also potentially a great companion tool for traditional editing software, as it makes it easier to cut clips to size before importing. To get started, open the application and drag a video file to the window—it will open immediately. Use the finger buttons, located to the left and right of the play button, to mark which parts of the video you'd like to remove from the beginning and the end. When you're ready press Export—you'll instantly have a shorter version of your video. Credit: Justin Pot There's also a button for rotating the video, and another for taking a screenshot. You can hit the Toggle advanced view button to see a few more options. My favorite is the ability to add both thumbnails and sound waves to the editing timeline, allowing you to be a little more precise with your cuts. The advanced view also lets you types times manually, instead of clicking. There's more here to play with, but not much, which is kind of the point: This is a very simple tool by design. In my testing, most of the videos I messed with worked without a hitch, though the officially support formats include MP4, MOV, WebM, Matroska, OGG and WAV files. Audio codecs supported include FLAC, MP3, Opus, PCM, Vorbis, and AAC. Supported video codecs include H264, AV1, Theora, VP8, VP9, and H265. LosslessCut is free if you download it from Github. Alternatively, you can buy it for $18.99 from the Mac App Store or for $19.99 from the Microsoft Store. Purchasing the app from the store supports the developer, though you can also donate directly if you'd rather not give a cut to Apple or Microsoft. Give it a try next time you're cutting your own videos back to just the good parts, or trimming downloaded YouTube videos to a friendlier size. View the full article

Nations Lending claims two former branch managers diverted business to CMG Financial before leaving to their new place of employment. View the full article

Former Barclays boss shared information on deals and clients with late sex offender, regulator claimsView the full article

A Silicon Valley airport that is on the approach to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) will no longer have air traffic controllers guiding planes starting Saturday, the airport’s manager said in a Wednesday notice. Current controllers for the San Carlos Airport (SQL) have resigned after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) changed air traffic contracts to a firm that would pay controllers “significantly” less than their current compensation, the notice states. Airport manager Gretchen Kelly said its request for temporary FAA staffing for the tower was denied. The San Carlos Airport has more than 25 aviation-related businesses and about 500 aircraft, according to city data. The letter came just hours ahead of a deadly crash of a military helicopter with an American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Fast Company has reached out to the FAA for comment. The agency has been operating without an administrator since Mike Whitaker stepped down on January 20. President Trump named a new acting administrator for the agency on Thursday morning at a press conference related to Wednesday’s crash. Kelly said the airport is “working closely” with the office of Congressman Kevin Mullin, who represents the area, “to push the FAA to meet its obligation to provide air traffic services at SQL.” It’s also exploring options to return the control tower to its previous contractor or find FAA staffing. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Have you ever switched gyms and tried to do your usual workout, only to find that the machines are a lot harder—or maybe a lot easier? Before you start questioning your strength or your training, you need to know something: you can’t trust the numbers on the weight stack, and you shouldn’t expect them to match from gym to gym or even machine to machine. What do the numbers on the weight stacks mean? When you’re looking at a cable machine, or any type of strength training machine with a stack of rectangular weights, there is probably a little sticker on each plate with a number. Sometimes those numbers are in pounds, and they represent the weight of the plate itself. If you were to take the 10 pound plate off the machine and weigh it, it would weigh 10 pounds. (Probably.) Sometimes they are in kilograms. If it doesn’t say which, there’s no easy way to know for sure. It also doesn’t really matter, for reasons I’ll explain below. And sometimes, plate stacks aren’t labeled with weights at all. You just know that if you’re strong enough to work with the plate labeled “5”, you’re stronger than if you could only use the machine at the “4” setting. How many pounds are you lifting? It’s not telling, and to be honest it doesn’t matter. Pulleys and levers change how heavy the weight feels Even when the numbers on the machine are accurate, they’re not really helpful. Let’s say there’s a cable stack where each plate is 10 pounds, and you can use 5 plates for a certain exercise. You are moving 50 pounds of iron. But are you really applying 50 pounds of force to move that iron? Not necessarily. As you may or may not remember from your school days, pulleys and levers can make it easier or harder to move a weight. If you’re doing a cable crossover on a LifeFitness Signature Series Dual Adjustable Pulley machine, the one below, you’re getting a 4:1 mechanical advantage. When you put the pin in the stack where it says 52.5 pounds, you may be lifting 52.5 pounds but you only need about 13 pounds of force to do that. Cable machines are simple enough that a company can publish their ratio, like LifeFitness did. (For some more examples: Rep’s Athena pulley system has a 2:1 ratio, so that 20 pounds feels like 10 pounds, whereas their lat pulldown has a 1:1 ratio, so 10 pounds feels like 10 pounds.) But when it comes to other types of machines, there may not be a simple answer. A given gym contraption may have a combination of pulleys, levers, and other devices, and they may provide different amounts of assistance depending on how you adjust the machine or what exercises you are doing. Machines have different designs (and maintenance schedules)With all of that in mind, you now know that the weight you feel like you’re moving is different from the weight labeled on the stack. But what does that tell us about comparing one machine to another? Machines can have different designs, especially if they are different models or come from different manufacturers. One gym might have a 4:1 cable machine, while another might have a similar machine with a 2:1 ratio. One gym’s leg press might be a horizontal style with a weight stack, while another is an angled leg press that you load with plates from the free weight section. You shouldn’t expect 200 pounds on one to feel like 200 pounds on the other. Even when two gyms have the exact same make and model of machine, one may be harder to move than the other. Maybe Gym A has an older machine that’s built up some rust, while Gym B has a newer model that was just oiled yesterday. How to track your progress when you train on different machinesNow that we know that every machine is different, and the labels don’t necessarily mean what they say, how are you supposed to handle that? Unfortunately, there’s no simple solution. If you alternate between two gyms, your best bet is to keep notes separately for each one. In your notebook or your strength training app, just track “leg press Planet Fitness” as separate from “leg press Crunch.” (Most apps will let you duplicate and edit the exercise entries.) If you drop into a variety of mystery gyms—maybe you travel a lot—try programming your workouts by RPE. Instead of doing four sets of 12 reps of 70 pounds, think of it as four sets of 12 reps at an 8-out-of-10 difficulty. That might be 70 pounds on the stack at one gym, 65 at another, and 72.5 at a third, but it doesn’t matter. You’ll still be getting a good workout at all three. View the full article

This week's highlights featuring some great market news from Dell'Oro. Enjoy. The post Roundup: Wi-Fi 7 drives return to market growth this year, ACT Fibernet deploys Aprecomm, Matter update appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

On Thursday, United Parcel Service (UPS) predicted downbeat 2025 revenue as it cut back service with its largest customer, Amazon, in order to focus on more profitable businesses. The decision will cut Amazon’s transported volumes by more than 50% by the second half of 2026. The unexpected announcement came with disappointing revenue results, with UPS failing to meet expectations for 2024. UPS’s Q4 revenue was $25.3 billion, slightly below the predicted $25.42 billion. This decision came at a time when UPS is struggling due to a decline in parcel demand following the e-commerce boom of the pandemic and an increase in shipments from discount online retailers such as Shein and Temu. UPS stock was down more than 14% as of Thursday afternoon, after falling during premarket trading. The decline was on track to break the current record for the stock’s worst day, which occurred in July 2024, as MarketWatch reports. Shares have lost half their value since 2022, though the company said that carrying less freight for Amazon will eventually boost its revenue per piece. “Amazon is our largest customer, but it’s not our most profitable customer,” CEO Carol Tomé told investors on a conference call Thursday. “Foundational changes” Amazon and its affiliates represented about 12% of UPS revenue in 2023, which is nearly all of its United States package business. The package carrier is hoping to gain volume from more profitable segments, such as healthcare-product shippers, small- and-medium-size businesses, and international markets. UPS expects revenue of about $89 billion for 2025, down from $91.1 billion in 2024. The parcel service has brought all of its UPS SurePost products in-house and will launch multiyear “efficiency reimagine” initiatives to drive about $1 billion in savings by rethinking its business design. The company aims to cut costs by closing buildings, reducing the size of its vehicle and aircraft fleets, and decreasing the size of its workforce. “We are making business and operational changes that, along with the foundational changes we’ve already made, will put us further down the path to becoming a more profitable, agile, and differentiated UPS that is growing in the best parts of the market,” said Tomé in the annual earnings report. In 2025, UPS expects average daily U.S volume to drop about 8.5% year-over-year while revenue per package is projected to increase by 6%. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I just saw the below post on LinkedIn, and I thought I’d send it along and get your thoughts on this strategy. After years of reading your blog, it makes me cringe so much. (Why would you write someone a reference if you weren’t their manager? Why would you pester every person at every interview stage with this letter? What if it’s not helpful information for them? Etc.) But everyone in the comments was praising this, saying how it’s so actionable and helpful and “gold,” which I found perplexing. Curious to hear your take on these kinds of strategies, especially as these sort of “advice posts” become more common. This is the post: Just went through a RIF but weren’t impacted? Are you saying, “let me know what I can do” to the people impacted? Stop. Here’s your play — the Reference in Advance play — or RIA, as the kids call it: 1. Write an email reference template for the person — helps if you were the direct manager or person that hired them — but doesn’t have to be. 2. Tell the person to send you the email addresses of the people of every interview they have. 3. Ask the person when the interview is and when they need it sent. 4. Then copy and paste your letter and send it to those people IN ADVANCE of the interview (makes people stand out immediately, nobody really does this before an interview). 5. You can send it more than once to a specific company as they move through the process by forwarding it to the new people, referencing that you sent it to the previous and wanted to share with them as well. The results can be pretty astounding. And in total, it should take 15 minutes to write the letter and 30 seconds for each send. Put your action where your (maybe empty but maybe you really mean it but don’t know what to do) words are. And we were just saying that there are fewer gimmicks these days! This is indeed a bad idea. First, written references aren’t a thing in most fields (although there are some exceptions, like teaching and some parts of law). When most hiring managers are ready to talk to references, they want to ask about the things that matter most to them, and most will want to talk — so we can hear tone and hesitations and ask follow-up questions. Plus, no one puts critical info in reference letters, so they’re not terribly useful. (I also don’t see anything in this advice about making sure the letters are nuanced or speak to what the job the person is applying for requires, so they really won’t carry any weight.) Second and more importantly, this behavior is way too salesy and annoying. It’s going to look like the candidate is the one organizing it, and it’s going to make them look pushy and out of touch with how hiring works. It will not make them stand out — or at least, it won’t make them stand out in a good way; it is likely to make them stand out in an annoying way. And then sending the letter over and over as the process moves on? It’ll just keep annoying people, and at some point when they realize they’re all getting the same letter, it’s going to feel really spammy. Third, the hiring manager won’t know anything about who these letters are coming from. Are they all your friends? Family members? Is the candidate herself emailing the letters from a bunch of fake email accounts? Someone actually did this to me years ago and it was concerning, not impressive. To be clear, it’s different if the person contacting your interviewer knows them personally. If you hear that I’m interviewing Valentina Warbleworth who used to work for you and you email me to rave about how great she is, that’s something that will carry weight — because I know you, I know your judgment, and it’ll be clear that it was our existing relationship that moved you to do me the favor of giving me intel on a candidate. None of that is in effect with a bunch of unsolicited letters from strangers that will appear to be coordinated by the candidate herself. View the full article

Google is launching a limited test using AI to automatically generate background images for Shopping Ad product listings. How it works. The AI system will: Generate contextual background scenes for existing product images. Maintain the original product appearance without alterations. Require human review and approval before ads go live. Why we care. This update represents a significant shift in how product photography can be handled in ecommerce advertising. Moreover, since product presentation directly influences consumer purchasing decisions, this automated enhancement could potentially improve conversion rates without requiring additional investment in creative assets. On the other hand, do you want Google automating the image that shows on the background of shopping ads, when we have hears advertisers lack of confidence in AI being able to reflect brand guidelines in AI generated creatives accurately? Worth noting. Advertisers can opt out of the test if they prefer to maintain complete control over their product imagery. The big picture. This move aligns with Google’s broader strategy of integrating AI across its advertising products, potentially democratizing access to high-quality product presentation for smaller retailers who can’t afford professional studio photography. First seen. This update was first brought to our attention by Samantha Noble, founder of Biddable Moments, who shared an email from Google on LinkedIn: What we’re watching. How consumers respond to AI-generated backgrounds and whether this leads to measurable improvements in shopping ad performance. Bottom line. Google is betting that AI-enhanced product imagery will drive better ad performance, though advertisers maintain the final say in whether their products participate in this experimental feature. View the full article