ResidentialBusiness

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. I’m getting a flood of questions about resumes, so here are seven resume questions and answers. 1. Can my resume just list my last two jobs and leave the earlier ones off? The company I’m currently employed by is closing. It was sudden and, while not completely unexpected, it’s still a blow. I’m dusting off ye olde resume, but I’m torn on what to leave in and what to leave out. The issue is my age. I was at the employer before this one for 25 years, until they, too, closed. I was lucky with CurrentJob because the owner is my age, and the ageism that is rampant, (yes, yes it is) wasn’t an issue. Now, however, I’m thinking of only putting CurrentJob and OldJob (a total of 30 years work history) on my resume and leaving off earlier jobs that really don’t pertain to the type of work I’m looking for and won’t boot me out of the hiring process just by virtue of showing my age. Is this okay to do? I already tint my hair (something my mom told me to do after her experiences in job hunting after a certain age) and I just don’t want to be discounted because I’m not young. It is absolutely okay to only list the last two jobs. In general, you really only need your resume to go back 15 or so years. In your case, you’ll need it to go back further than that since you were at the previous job for so long, but you definitely don’t need to include anything before that. Keep in mind that a resume is a marketing document, not a comprehensive account of everything you’ve ever done. You’re allowed to pick and choose what to include based on what makes you the strongest candidate for the job you’re applying for. In many/most cases, jobs from 20+ years ago really won’t strengthen your candidacy and so it makes sense to leave them off. (Occasionally there’s an exception to this, like if an older job was extraordinarily impressive or it shows a long-running interest in a field that your more recent job history doesn’t show — but most of the time it makes sense to leave older jobs off.) Related: how far back should your resume go? 2. Can I combine two positions on my resume? Can I combine two positions on my resume? I did the same job on two different teams within the same organization for a year each; the first was a fixed-term contract for maternity cover, the second was a toxic team, where I started in March 2020 and I couldn’t stay longer for my own physical and mental health. Since leaving that team, I’ve been in my current (very similar) role in the same industry for four years. My current manager understood why I was leaving the old team when she hired me, as my old boss had a reputation in our industry. Now I’m looking for a similar role in a different sector, and I’m not sure how to best present my experience. I know that job-hopping is generally frowned upon, so would it be acceptable to lump the two previous roles together as “two years working as an X at Y” or should I keep them separate? I’ve not got much job history before this as I graduated in 2018. Since the jobs were both at the same organization, it doesn’t really raise job-hopping concerns; job-hopping is about moving from company to company, not moving around within a company. But regardless, you can list it this way: Groats Academy, July 2019 – November 2020 Oatmeal Stirrer, July 2019 – February 2020 Oatmeal Taster, February 2020 – November 2020 * achievement * achievement * achievement On the other hand, if your title was the same in both positions, then you can just list the title once, without separating it out like that. But if the two titles were different, you should list them both (so that the info your company verifies will match up with what you listed). 3. Can I combine two positions on my resume, part 2 I’m updating my resume and wondering if I need to separate duties for two roles that were similar — think payroll senior specialist and payroll manager. If I was in each role approximately the same amount of time, can I just combine the two as far as the accomplishment bullets? I am including both roles with their dates, so this isn’t to present things as if I was the manager the whole time. Also, as far as measurable accomplishments, will it look strange/bad if I have more as a specialist (I do) than I did as the manager? You can combine them the exact same way as shown in #2 above — where you list both titles and the dates you held them, but combine accomplishments for both. (Note this only makes sense to do when the roles are similar; you wouldn’t do it if the work of each was very different.) Your second question is moot if you’re combining them, but if they were separated out: it wouldn’t look bad if you had more accomplishments as a specialist than as a manager unless you a manager for much longer than you were a specialist. In that case, I might advise balancing them out a little more (meaning cutting some of the specialist accomplishments unless they’re all so impressive that none should be sacrificed). 4. Education section of a resume when you don’t have a degree I got my GED over 20 years ago, but due to a combination of money, undiagnosed ADHD, and chronic illness, I never completed even an associate’s degree, despite many attempts over the years. In the past, I just left education off my resume entirely, but I’m unsure how that would go nowadays, especially since I’ve been a paralegal for years at this point. How would you recommend handling it? (Many people, including some in the legal industry, don’t realize that anyone can be a paralegal and there is not a required certification, although there are many programs that do so. I was merely fortunate enough to be taken under the wing by an amazing attorney who worked her way through law school as a paralegal herself.) Just keep leaving the education section off your resume. If you don’t have anything to put there, it’s completely fine to just skip it. If you think the coursework you did complete would strengthen your resume, it’s fine to include something like “coursework in taco analysis at the University of Dinner,” but you don’t have to include it if you don’t think it adds anything. Related: should you list coursework on your resume? 5. When you attended college but didn’t graduate Due to struggles with mental health (to greatly simplify a complicated situation), I ended up withdrawing from my state university in 2018 after attending for four years. I did not receive a diploma, and I was more than a semester away from doing so. I did spend a couple years at community college after this, but again, did not receive any degree. When applying for my current job, I was still attending community college, and had my state university on my resume (dates attended listed, no mention of graduation). Now I’m more at peace with the thought that I may never go back to college, but I’m wondering how to address it on my resume. In an interview or cover letter, I know I could talk about how I’ve learned my own strengths and weaknesses, as well as knowledge and experience you can only achieve from higher education! But because I will be essentially stuck in the service industry for the foreseeable future, I don’t know if it matters to put university on a resume when I’m applying. It also feels a little icky because one might assume that because I attended for four years, I obtained my degree. So should I leave in my “education”? Should I drop the dates and just say “no degree acquired”? See the answer above! You don’t need to include it at all if you don’t think it strengths your candidacy, but it’s also fine to have an Education section that says something like: University of Dinner, 2014-2018 or University of Dinner, 2014-2018 (coursework only) or University of Dinner (coursework only) or University of Dinner, 2014-2018 Tacotown Community College, 2019-2020 You’re not implying you have a degree if you don’t specifically call out that you don’t, but it’s also fine to clarify like in the second and third examples above. It’s also fine to remove the years; in general, the further away you are from when you attended, the more you should just leave them off entirely. At some point the years aren’t not relevant anymore, and at some point you’re also getting closer to age discrimination considerations. You don’t have to include the years. 6. What dates to list for a job when I left for a month but then came back In December, I left Employer 1 to go to Employer 2, but due to restructuring was terminated from Employer 2 in January. Employer 1 never backfilled my role and I accepted their offer to basically pick up where I left off, beginning in February. As I started again at Employer 1 in February and did not work there at all in January, I don’t think it is accurate for my resume in future job searches to say “Employer 1 – Beginning date—current,” as that would imply there was no break in service and that I worked there in February. I don’t plan to include Employer 2 on my resume, given my short tenure and lack of real accomplishments while there. How should my future resumes account for the break in service at Employer 1 in February without getting unwieldy or confusing? Like this: Employer 1 June 2023 – December 2024, February 2025 – present 7. Listing a less skilled, less relevant current job on a resume I was laid off from my job over a year ago. While I’m still applying for jobs in my field, I was recently lucky enough to get set up with a long-term temp job … in an unskilled position with absolutely no relevance to my experience or industry (think experienced journalist turned grocery store cashier). How do I list this on my resume? I don’t want it to be the first thing recruiters see, but I obviously want to show that I’m taking initiative and paying my bills even if the job market is slow. One option is to divide your Experience section into Relevant Experience and Other Experience, and list the irrelevant stuff under the latter. But you also don’t need to include it at all if you don’t think it strengthens your candidacy for a particular job. View the full article

Easing regulations on the GSEs will likely drive elevated activity in non-QM if or when it occurs, leaders at the real estate investment trust also said. View the full article

Like it or not, public speaking is a big part of any leader’s job description, and even heads of state are not immune. President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening (March 4, 2025) for the first time since his second term began. It is technically not a State of the Union speech, but we’ll get into all that and how to watch it live below: A brief history of the State of the Union American presidents are constitutionally mandated to give updates to Congress about the state of the union. The exact number and timing of these progress reports are not specified. In recent history, presidents tend to tackle this duty in late January or early February. George Washington set the precedent of giving a speech to a joint session of Congress and his successor, John Adams, followed his example. Thomas Jefferson broke this tradition and gave his updates via a written report because he didn’t want to appear like a monarch. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson revived the in-person speech. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge brought the address to the radio. The first televised address was given by Harry Truman in 1947. Why isn’t tonight’s speech a state of the union? It’s a case of semantics. Because this is the first year of President Trump’s second term, this is officially considered a joint address, even though the speech will be similar to a State of the Union. House Speaker Mike Johnson invited Trump via a letter sent in late January. It is expected that next year will be his first official State of the Union. What will Trump talk about? Given Trump’s unpredictable nature, truly anything can happen. There are prominent issues that will most likely be covered, one of which involves a possible government shutdown. Federal funding is set to expire on March 14 with no clear plan in place to move forward. On February 27, Trump took to Truth Social and blamed former president Joe Biden for the lack of budget. Additionally, he endorsed a continuing resolution that would fund the government until September. Historically, presidents use their State of the Union or joint address speeches to ask Congress for support in carrying out their political agenda. President Trump does this less frequently than his predecessors. According to Hoffman and Howard, he never made more than 24 requests in his speeches, while the average is 31. Instead, Trump began his second term by issuing a record-breaking number of executive orders, some of which are already being challenged in court. Critics also believe that the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, may be unconstitutional, since Musk was not confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, Trump’s quest to cut government spending is also on shaky constitutional grounds, because Congress is supposed to control the purse strings. Other diplomatic issues, such as newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada and Trump’s Oval Office disagreement with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, might make the cut as well. How can I watch or stream Trump’s speech tonight? The stage is set for an intriguing night of political theater. The speech is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET, but most networks will have some sort of pre-show coverage. (C-SPAN’s coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.) Those with an over-the-air antenna or traditional cable subscription, you can tune into the network of your choosing. For those who cut the cord, live-TV streaming services that carry TV networks as part of a bundle will have the speech. Those include: Fubo Sling YouTube TV Hulu + Live TV Free live-streaming services from the major TV networks are another easy way to watch the speech if you’re not paying for cable. Those include: NBC News Now ABC News Live CBS News Streaming Network Additionally, NPR will cover the speech on your local station and the NPR app. It will also be broadcasting on YouTube, as will PBS NewsHour, which is also embedded below. Immediately following Trump’s address, the Democrats will get their chance to weigh in. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan will do the honors in English. Representative Adriano Espaillat of New York’s 13th congressional district will respond in Spanish. Representative Lateefah Simon of California’s 12th district, technically a Democrat, is also speaking for the Working Families Party. View the full article

More than a decade after Casey Anthony was accused of murdering her daughter in one of the country’s most notorious murder cases, this weekend she emerged on TikTok to reintroduce herself. “This is my first of probably many recordings on a series that I’m starting,” Anthony says in the three-minute-long video recorded from her car. “I am a legal advocate. I am a researcher. I’ve been in the legal field since 2011 and in this capacity, I feel that it’s necessary, if I’m going to continue to operate appropriately as a legal advocate, that I start to advocate for myself and also advocate for my daughter.” Anthony became a national figure when her 2-year-old daughter went missing in the summer of 2008. The child’s body was found in December of that same year in a wooded area behind the Orlando home of Anthony’s parents. Anthony was ultimately found not guilty of her daughter’s murder in 2011, despite significant pushback from the public. She was, however, convicted of lying to law enforcement. In the TikTok video Anthony introduces viewers to her daughter Caylee Anthony and her parents, George and Cindy Anthony. “This is not about them,” she says. “The whole point of this is for me to begin to reintroduce myself.” Comments have been switched off but the video currently has over 3.3 million views at the time of writing. Anthony also used the video to announce she’s launching a Substack newsletter, where she will “give a voice to people” and “give people tools and resources that they can utilize.” Anthony added that there will be an email address available for people to reach out to her on a limited basis regarding “legal matters.” “As a proponent for the LGBTQ community, for legal community, women’s rights, I feel that it’s important that I use this platform that was thrust upon me and now look at as a blessing, as opposed to the curse that it has been since 2008,” she says. In her first post on the blogging platform, Anthony wrote that “the presumption of innocence is a sacred right” adding, “that is not an opinion, it is a fact. We are plagued by a rush to judgment before someone even steps foot into a courtroom. Once a verdict is read, however long the process takes, the public must trust that the system worked the way it was intended.” Comments remain open on her Substack posts, and Anthony has proven willing to respond. Hitting back at one of the comments, she wrote, “Sadly, if you were to ever be put in a position where you would need a legal defense, you would want someone like me helping to represent you. Someone who knows what it’s like to be accused.” View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I'm Lifehacker's resident marathon runner and senior finance writer. And now, I'm merging my two worlds. Running is often touted as one of the most accessible sports—just lace up and go, right? But as many runners discover, what starts as a "free" activity can quickly transform into a significant investment. Last week I broke down what it looks like to invest in proper running gear. And now, I'm turning my eye to the world of races. You might think you'll never get into races. I was like you, once: a casual runner who scoffed at the idea of paying money to run. Then you get coerced into running a 5k for charity or something. Then you feel the high of crossing the finish line. You realize how intoxicating it to push yourself to longer distances, to have strangers cheering your name, to simply set your sights on a goal and work toward it. Now, six marathons later (and so many smaller distances along the way), I understand how people budget races into both their finances and fitness. Of course, once you enter the world of racing, costs can add up quickly and vary dramatically depending on your approach to the sport. So let's take a look at the financial commitment involved in running organized races. The casual runnerFor those who participate in a handful of local races each year, running remains relatively affordable. As a minimalist runner who does sign up for a marathon a year (and some shorter races leading up to the main event), I fall in this category. Typical annual expenses: 3-5 local 5K/10K races: $25-50 each ($75-250 total) One half-marathon: $75-120 Basic running shoes: $80-120 (replaced annually) No-frills running clothes (see more here): $100-200 Optional race photos: $20-40 per event Total annual cost: $330-730 Casual runners can keep costs down by focusing on community races organized by local running clubs, which often have lower entry fees than commercial events. Early bird registration can also save 15-30% off standard entry fees. Many casual runners also use free training plans available online rather than paying for coaching. The dedicated road racerRunners who focus on performance and participate in multiple races throughout the year face a more substantial financial commitment. Keep in mind, a lot of these are upfront costs for investing in gear that will last years. For instance, you probably won't be buying a new smartwatch annually. Typical annual expenses: Races of varying distances: $100-1,000 One or two major marathons: $150-350 each Premium running shoes: $130-180 (two to three pairs annually) Technical running apparel: $300-500 GPS watch: $200-500 (amortized over two to three years) Race photos/videos: $100-200 Training plan or app subscription: $100-300 Total annual cost: $580-1,630 These runners often join running clubs ($40-150 annually) for the social aspects and training benefits. They might also invest in regular sports massages ($70-120 per session) or recovery tools like foam rollers, massage guns, and compression gear ($150-300). Brooks Women's Ghost 16 GTX $165.17 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $165.17 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg The destination racerThose who combine their love of running with travel face the highest costs. Typical annual expenses: Two to three local races: $100-200 Two to three major destination races: $150-350 each Travel costs (flights, accommodations, food): $1,000-3,000+ per destination race Premium running gear (technical clothing, shoes, watches): $300-500 Race insurance: $50-100 per major race Total annual cost: $1,600-4,100+ The World Marathon Majors (Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, and Tokyo) are particularly expensive, with entry fees up to $350—not to mention extremely competitive qualification standards or lottery systems to sign up in the first place. International races may also require additional expenses like travel insurance and vaccinations. Garmin Forerunner 55 $163.26 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $199.99 Save $36.73 Shop Now Shop Now $163.26 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $199.99 Save $36.73 The trail/ultra runnerNow I'm speaking outside of personal experience, but I am manifesting a future in ultra distances for myself. Fun fact: "Ultra marathon" refers to any distance longer than a marathon. A 30-miler and an 100-miler would both be called ultras. Neat! Naturally, ultra runners and trail enthusiasts face unique cost considerations for specialized gear requirements and remote race locations. Typical annual expenses: Three to five trail races: $50-100 each One to two ultra marathons: $150-500 each Trail-specific shoes: $130-180 (2-3 pairs annually) Specialized gear (hydration vest, headlamp, trekking poles): $300-600 Weather-appropriate apparel: $400-800 Navigation tools: $100-300 Required safety equipment: $200-500 Total annual cost: $1,630-3,980 Ultra events often have higher entry fees due to their length and the support required from the organizers. Many require specific safety equipment like emergency blankets, whistles, and first aid supplies. Remote race locations can also increase travel costs significantly. CamelBak Hydrobak Hydration Pack $50.55 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $60.00 Save $9.45 Shop Now Shop Now $50.55 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $60.00 Save $9.45 Look out for hidden costsRegardless of runner type, several hidden costs can impact your budget: Race day parking: $10-30 per event Post-race celebration meals: $20-50 per event Physiotherapy or sports medicine appointments: $80-150 per session Cross-training (gym membership, yoga classes): $300-1,000 annually Nutritional supplements and race-day fuel: $100-500 annually Race cancellation or postponement fees Cost-saving strategiesLike I mentioned above, I'm a marathon runner who refuses to spend more than $1,000 a year on my hobby. Here's how I save on costs I can't avoid altogether: Volunteer at races: Many events offer free future entries to volunteers. Register early: Take advantage of early bird pricing. Seek out package deals: Some race series offer discounted entries when you sign up for multiple events. Shop end-of-season sales: Stock up on gear when prices drop. Consider virtual races: These typically have lower entry fees and no travel costs. While racing costs can add up, I still find the most valuable aspects of running—the endorphin rush, sense of achievement, and community connection—are more than worth it. When you consider the costs associated with your preferred style of running, you can make informed decisions about which races and experiences are worth the investment for you. View the full article

A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for environmental regulators to limit water pollution, ruling for San Francisco in a case about the discharge of raw sewage that sometimes occurs during heavy rains. By a 5-4 vote, the court’s conservative majority ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority under the Clean Water Act with water pollution permits that contain vague requirements for maintaining water quality. The decision is the latest in which conservative justices have reined in pollution control efforts. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court that the EPA can set specific limits that tell cities and counties what can be discharged. But the agency lacks the authority “to include ‘end-result’ provisions,” Alito wrote, that make cities and counties responsible for maintaining the quality of the water, the Pacific Ocean in this case, into which wastewater is discharged. “When a permit contains such requirements, a permittee that punctiliously follows every specific requirement in its permit may nevertheless face crushing penalties if the quality of the water in its receiving waters falls below the applicable standards,” he wrote. One conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court’s three liberals in dissent. Limits on discharges sometimes still don’t insure water quality standards are met, Barrett wrote. “The concern that the technology-based effluent limitations may fall short is on display in this case,” Barrett wrote, adding that “discharges from components of San Francisco’s sewer system have allegedly led to serious breaches of the water quality standards, such as ‘discoloration, scum, and floating material, including toilet paper, in Mission Creek.’” The case produced an unusual alliance of the liberal northern California city, energy companies and business groups. The EPA has issued thousands of the permits, known as narrative permits, over several decades, former acting general counsel Kevin Minoli said. The narrative permits have operated almost as a backstop in case permits that quantify what can be discharged still result in unacceptable water quality, Minoli said. With the new restrictions imposed by the court, “the question is what comes in place of those limits,” Minoli said. Alito downplayed the impact of the decision, writing that the agency has “the tools needed” to insure water quality standards are met. —Mark Sherman, Associated Press View the full article

A new study examines how AI search tools vary in handling health, legal, and political topics. The post How Google, ChatGPT, & DeepSeek Handle YMYL Searches appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

The credit score simulator only uses the Classic FICO scorecards available at each of the repositories, not the most up-to-date version, FICO 10T. View the full article

America is trying to undo the very system of open trade that it createdView the full article

Capacity and resource planning are related but separate processes that you'll use as you assign work to your team. Here are the similarities and differences between them and when to use each, so you can make sure work is completed on time and on budget. The post Capacity Planning vs Resource Planning: Key Differences appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Over the past two weeks, a series of actions by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has seemed to validate the concerns of those who warned about having an outspoken vaccine skeptic in the nation’s leading health role. As the U.S. experiences its worst flu season in more than a decade, a multistate measles outbreak, and surging cases of avian flu in poultry, dairy cattle, and people, federal agencies under Kennedy’s command have put the brakes on key initiatives designed to protect us against these very problems. On February 20, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the postponement of a scheduled Marsh 13 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an expert panel that develops national vaccine recommendations. On February 27, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that an upcoming meeting of an independent advisory panel that recommends which variant of the seasonal flu vaccine should be produced, was canceled. The same week, Bloomberg broke the news that HHS is reevaluating a $590 million contract with Moderna for the development of an mRNA vaccines for bird flu that was granted in the last days of the Biden administration. Fast Company spoke, on record and on background, with experts in industry, government, and public health about the potential impact of impact of these decisions now—and in the future. Will drug makers know what flu vaccine to make next year? Here’s the good news. “The flu vaccine strain selection is part of a global process led by the World Health Organization,” says Rick Bright, who served as director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an agency within HHS, from 2016 to 2020. Bright explains that after the WHO’s annual meeting to determine the next year’s flu strain, the U.S. government holds a duplicate meeting to where they consistently endorse he same strain selection. “If the FDA were to come through a month after the WHO meeting and say, we would prefer to have a different strain, it would be a significant delay because the manufacturer would have to make a specific vaccine just for the United States,” says Bright. “That’s never happened and never will.” The WHO announced its northern hemisphere recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for the 2025–2026 flu season on February 28, which the WHO says were informed by input from the CDC. (President Trump has signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO, but it won’t go into effect until January 2026.) “We have already begun production for the 2025-2026 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere and will be ready to support final strain selections in time for the season,” said a spokesperson for Sanofi, the largest seasonal flu vaccine manufacturer globally, via an emailed statement. Even without the meeting, there still seems to be some form of guidance coming from the U.S. government. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon has stated that “the FDA will make public its recommendations to manufacturers in time for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-2026 influenza season.” A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline, a major producer of flu vaccines, said via email: “We continue to work with the FDA on its flu strain recommendation for the U.S.” Will there be delays in other vaccines? The postponement of the February meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) set off alarms among health experts, prompting an open letter from the nonprofit Partnership to Fight Infectious Diseases. Signed by dozens of medical associations, advocacy groups, and leaders in medicine and public health, the letter calls for the meeting to be rescheduled “to ensure Americans receive the information needed to protect themselves against vaccine-preventable illnesses, confirming immunization’s importance in the mission to make America healthier.” The American Academy of Pediatrics joined the call for prompt rescheduling. “We’re alarmed that the meeting has been postponed, particularly in one of the worst flu seasons in years,” AAP president Susan J. Kressly, MD announced. “The AAP relies on this information when forming our own recommendations for child and adolescent vaccine schedules.” The meeting delay could also impact the ability of insurers to make coverage decisions about vaccines for the coming year, a process that often begins in the spring. A draft agenda for the meeting included votes on new meningococcal, chikungunya, flu, and RSV vaccines, and discussion of an FDA-approved influenza nasal spray. According to a statement on the ACIP website, the meeting was postponed “to accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting,” and “ACIP workgroups met as scheduled this month and will present at the upcoming ACIP meeting.” When that meeting will happen isn’t clear—a new meeting date has not been announced. (Politico has reported that Kennedy is considering removing members for alleged conflicts of interest.) It’s also worth noting that the ACIP meeting information page has no updated instructions or the required docket number for submitting a public comment. Drug makers are expressing confidence they can continue to deliver vaccines in time—at least for now. The 2025 Immunization Schedules approved by ACIP were adopted by the CDC last October. “It’s important to note that this does not affect current CDC recommendations for available vaccines,” a spokesperson for Pfizer said via email. “We will be prepared to address any future ACIP agenda items pertaining to Pfizer when the meeting is rescheduled.” What’s happening with bird flu vaccines? Variants of H5N1 highly pathogenic bird flu have moved from poultry to dairy cattle in 17 states. And there are now 70 confirmed cases in people. So far, the virus has not been transmitted from person to person. But if that happens, we’re going to want a vaccine right away. Will we have one at the ready? There are currently three licensed H5N1 vaccines—made by GSK, CSL Seqirus, and Sanofi. The GSK and Sanofi vaccines are made in eggs. The CSL vaccine is produced by growing viruses in cell culture. There is a stockpile of these vaccines, but none are currently available commercially, and “none of it is matched to the most recently circulating strains of the virus,” says Bright. “If a pandemic were to take off, they would need to refresh and update those vaccines and using the egg-based technology, it would take six to nine months to make that new strain to get it out on the street.” As we saw during COVID, mRNA-based vaccines can quickly target new virus variants, and are much faster to produce. With support from BARDA, Moderna has been developing an mRNA-based vaccine for avian flu for the past several years. That vaccine candidate is on the verge of entering pivotal phase 3 trials. So, it was a surprise when last week, Bloomberg reported that the government was reviewing a nearly $600 million contract with Moderna, signed in the last days of the Biden administration. The funding was intended to to help the company develop and test its H5N1 vaccine and vaccines for four other subtypes of pandemic-potential influenza. (Currently, there are no mRNA-based flu vaccines.) “Four years of the Biden administration’s failed oversight have made it necessary to review agreements for vaccine production,” Andrew Nixon, the HHS director of communications, told Stat, to explain the contract review. If the funding goes away, “I don’t see Moderna pursuing this,” says a source familiar with BARDA’s drug-development partnerships. “There’s no other purchaser for avian flu vaccine.” Jonathan Kagan, the scientific cofounder and president of Corner Therapeutics, a biotech developing mRNA-based immunotherapies for cancer, says, “if I were in the business of making an infectious disease vaccine, I would be sweating a lot more about what happens with Moderna. They are a bellwether, a canary in a coal mine.” (A spokesperson for Moderna had no comment on the contract review.) It’s worth noting that Pfizer is also developing an mRNA based avian flu vaccine, now in a Phase 1 study. Kagan and others are hopeful that if U.S. funding goes away, a well-funded international nonprofit—The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, UNICEF, Wellcome Trust, or the Gates Foundation—might step in to maintain the momentum. And the review could be just a review. However, says Bright, “everything that this new administration’s done in the first month regarding H5N1 indicates they don’t take this threat seriously. They’ll be flat-faced when they see this virus take hold and start spreading human to human. Within weeks of a human-to-human transmission of H5N1, they will tuck their tails and run.” 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. Bowers & Wilkins is known to make high-end audio products like headphones and speakers. You might see their speakers on luxury cars or expensive monitors. The Pi6 earbuds are their "budget" earbuds, but are still expensive, normally going for $249. However, you can get them right now for $168.08, the lowest price they've ever been according to price-tracking tools. Bowers & Wilkins Pi6 Wireless Earbuds AptX Adaptive, 12mm Drivers, Bespoke Active Noise Cancelling, 3 Built-in Mics, 15-Min Quick Charging $249.00 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $249.00 at Amazon The Pi6 are a step down from the more premium Pi8 wireless earbuds, both of which came out in 2024. Despite this being the product where cuts were made to make it a "budget" option, the audio quality stayed premium. I've had these earbuds for almost a year and consider them one of the best sounding earbuds I own. You'll get support for SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Classic codecs, which explains the great audio. The soundstage is detailed, and it has Bowers & Wilkins' usual crisp sound signature. The fit is comfortable and light. Despite not having hooks, I felt like I could take them on a run without issues. However, the Pi6 aren't perfect. They lack Spatial Audio, a find-my-headphones feature, and the app can be buggy. Although I may sound picky, these are basic features other earbuds at this price point have. But at the discounted price of $168, I'm willing to look past those issues. The drivers are 12mm and provide a decent ANC. You can expect about eight hours of battery life and another 24 hours with the case. You'll get Bluetooth 5.4 and an IP54 rating for water resistance (you shouldn't submerge them underwater). The earbuds also have three microphones so people can hear you clearly. If you're looking for good quality audio with hi-res playback and good ANC and battery life, the Pi6 earbuds offer great value for your money at their current price. View the full article

Powerful storms were threatening communities across the country Tuesday with weather ranging from fire in the Southern High Plains to blizzards in the Midwest. Forecasts also predicted dust storms in the southwest, tornadoes in the South and blizzard conditions in the Central Plains, and were forcing forcing some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The city moved up and shortened the celebration’s two biggest parades. Police were also expected to help keep the parades moving to the finish before winds picked up, authorities said. The weather wasn’t stopping Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats Tuesday and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd. “We was coming out rain, sleet or snow,” Jones said. The alarming forecast was one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts across the U.S. could put lives at risk. Country faces a number of weather threats Dust storms brought near-zero visibility to parts of New Mexico and west Texas on Monday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue Dust Storm Warnings. “Widespread blowing dust” was expected Tuesday, said the weather service office covering Midland and Odessa, Texas. The week’s strong weather system will bring “a threat of blizzard conditions, high winds, flash flooding, severe weather, dust storms, and critical to extreme fire weather conditions to the nation’s heartland,” according to a weather service update Monday. The Central Plains and Midwest were bracing for blizzard conditions later Tuesday that forecasters warned could “make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening.” The Nebraska Department of Transportation warned that conditions could mean low visibility and whiteout conditions across the state and urged travelers to adjust their plans for Tuesday afternoon and into the night. On Tuesday, twisters, damaging winds and large hail were all possible as a strong storm system was set to move across the nation’s midsection into Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the federal Storm Prediction Center warned. Tornado watches and warnings were issued Tuesday morning in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma early Tuesday morning brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. Power outages were climbing Tuesday morning in the storm’s wake, with nearly 400,000 customers without power in Texas and another 25,000 knocked offline in Oklahoma, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. The bullseye for a heightened risk of severe weather was an area stretching from east Texas to Alabama that’s home to more than 7 million people. Cities under threat included Baton Rouge and Shreveport in Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama. Region braces for severe weather during Mardi Gras New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick ordered parade-goers to not bring umbrellas, tents or “anything that could fly in the wind and cause mayhem.” Just outside New Orleans in neighboring Jefferson Parish, officials canceled planned Mardi Gras Day parades due to anticipated high winds and thunderstorms. “This is disappointing, but our top priority is ensuring the well-being of everyone in our community, and we must always prioritize safety above all else,” Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said in a statement. Mardi Gras floats “could become unstable” and heavy winds could “blow down trees and power lines,” the National Weather Service warned, adding gusts of up to 60 mph (97 kph) were expected Tuesday afternoon. In Pointe Coupee Parish, near Louisiana’s capital city of Baton Rouge, the incoming weather forced drastic changes to one of the oldest Mardi Gras celebrations in the state. The parade there was scheduled to roll without any bands, marching teams or dance groups — a staple of Carnival Season parades. Officials also moved up the start time and urged residents to immediately remove all tents and trash afterward “due to the dangers they can present during weather.” Other cities with Mardi Gras parades watching forecasts Elsewhere, large crowds were expected Tuesday for Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama. Police said they were monitoring the forecast and would announce any celebration changes. Other cities hosting large events included Biloxi, Mississippi, where an annual parade was set for Tuesday afternoon. In downtown Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle, organizers were planning a Big Easy-style festival that included food trucks, dancing, live entertainment and a low country seafood boil. —Jeff Martin and Jack Brook, Associated Press Associated Press writers Sara Cline, Freida Frisaro, and Susan Montoya Bryan contributed to this report. View the full article

Jennifer Moss is a journalist, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and co-founder of the Work Better Institute. Her book The Burnout Epidemic was among Thinkers50’s 10 Best New Management Books for 2022. What’s the big idea? Leaders don’t need to take a ton of time overhauling company culture to create workplaces where employees want to spend their time. Simple shifts and incremental changes can foster community, fuel purpose, boost productivity, and deliver meaning to every team member. Jobs that employees actually like are the ultimate capitalist business strategy. Below, Jennifer shares eight key insights from her new book, Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants. Listen to the audio version—read by Jennifer herself—in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Hope. We can’t blame growing detachment from work on one thing. A behavioral mindset shift has happened in response to polycrisis, meaning multiple crises that collided to make each individual crisis worse. The pandemic, climate disasters, accelerated AI adoption, political and economic instability, and war have changed our collective psychology and priorities. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly seven out of ten people feel overwhelmed by the number of crises in the world, with climate anxiety topping the list. This is why we are asking ourselves big existential questions: Why am I here? What is the point? Is this worth my time? Research finds that when facing the finitude of life, you start mentally reorganizing your priorities. If work feels like a grind, our subconscious brain sees it as a threat. We will have less patience for what we see as wasting precious time. If we want a thriving work culture, leaders need to burn past playbooks. The strategies we used to rely on for motivation, engagement, productivity, and retention are no longer effective. People don’t just want better jobs—they want better lives. “The strategies we used to rely on for motivation, engagement, productivity, and retention are no longer effective.” We are in the middle of a global hope crisis. The 4th Annual Mental State of the World Report reveals that global mental well-being has remained at a post-pandemic low, with 41 percent of adults experiencing significant worry, and one in three attributing declining mental health to work. Yale researchers have found that feelings of powerlessness against complex environmental issues contribute to despair and anxiety in workers. Without hope, organizations stagnate and people lose the ability to imagine their role in a better future. Some say hope isn’t a strategy, but I interviewed military leaders who told me that hope is the only strategy in their world. They shared that hope develops resilience. It gives people the courage to be steadfast in their goals despite extreme adversity, helps them thrive in uncertain environments, and strengthens team cohesion. Hope activates the brain’s problem-solving regions, making employees more effective under pressure. Leaders can build an evidenced-based hope strategy that increases optimism and moderates uncertainty. 2. Purpose. The workforce is rejecting meaningless work. 63 percent of employees say they don’t feel their jobs contribute to something meaningful, and over 40 percent are considering switching jobs—or even careers—to find more purpose in their work. Meanwhile, employees who feel their work aligns with their values are three times more likely to stay, even in high-pressure environments. Purpose is the ultimate retention tool. I spoke with Adam Grant, world-renowned psychologist and bestselling author, who has a deep understanding of the importance of purpose-driven work. He advised that we stop worrying so much about getting people aligned with the company’s mission statement. Instead, we should attach individuals’ values and goals to their job’s daily tasks to help them see how their effort counts for the bigger picture. With interviews and insights from companies doing it right, the examples in my book demonstrate novel ways to connect meaning and purpose to work. 3. Community. Work feels like going to school without art, gym, or recess. We are not having fun. We have stopped focusing on building friendships because we are so time-starved. But loneliness is a real threat to mental health, and it negatively impacts business outcomes like productivity and retention. Leaders need to rebuild relational and social energy at work. We need friendships to make the workday feel energizing and joyful. Employees with strong social connections at work are 50 percent more productive and three times more likely to stay with their company. It’s easy to blame remote and hybrid work as the culprit for lack of cohesion, but that is a myth. Community comes from re-establishing rituals and making them fit new work modes. Just putting people in a physical space together is not the answer. I suggest rethinking building community not as a question of where, but more so as a matter of when, how, and with whom. 4. Compassion. Empathy in leadership requires active listening. Compassion is actioning what was heard. In the age of rapid technology adoption, fear of obsolescence is at an all-time high. 78 percent of workers are anxious about losing their jobs to automation. Leaders must lead with compassion to address these fears. “78 percent of workers are anxious about losing their jobs to automation.” Compassionate leadership is kind and strategic. It builds psychological safety, allowing employees to adapt to change and embrace innovation. Compassion is the skill that leaders require if they want to calm anxiety and create teams that trust the future. In the book and my recent LinkedIn course—“From AI Anxiety to Action: A Leader’s Guide to AI Readiness”—I offer tips for leaders to meet fear and uncertainty with open conversations about AI, validating fear of the unknown, sharing the vision, and showing employees how AI will support their roles. 5. Freedom. Flexibility has become a right, not a perk. Data shows that 87 percent of employees want flexible work options, yet there has been a growing divide between what employees and leaders define as flexibility. A return-to-office mandate may seem like a completely fair request from an employer’s perspective, but employees see it as a clawing back of their fundamental right to freedom. Interviews with economists like Nicholas Bloom and Mark Ma offer interesting data on how companies thrive with more flexibility and what happens when that goes away. There are ways to rethink the office and make it a place where people choose to come. 6. Openness. Generational divides are massive. The American Psychological Association says that ageism is the last socially acceptable prejudice, especially with the rise of what researchers are calling youngism, which is anger and criticism toward younger cohorts. But on the other end of the spectrum, Boomers have told me, “I don’t see how I fit into this current workforce,” and it’s why they’re retiring in mass and earlier than our labor force can afford. We need to do an audit of the language we use at work. Are we rolling our eyes as we speak about the other generation? Do we laugh at headlines that read, “Boomers Can’t Even Google” or “Millennials Could Afford a Home if They Stop Eating Avocado Toast”? Are we using terms like lazy, entitled, or past their prime? If so, this needs to stop. Cross-generational collaboration can unlock innovation, creativity, and mutual respect. We need a nuanced approach to supporting each generation, such as life stage benefits that recognize different needs at various ages. Different generations have surprisingly vast similarities as well as unique, distinctive work needs. 7. Belonging. Diversity and inclusion efforts have become a hot-button topic. I add an A for accessibility at the end of DEI, making it DEIA. I find it more helpful to think of DEIA as a belonging strategy. Part of why these programs have been so openly attacked is that they haven’t performed well. These programs have also created a lot of othering, putting people on opposite sides of the fence. “I find it more helpful to think of DEIA as a belonging strategy.” Completely eradicating DEIA is not the answer. It focuses on diversity as a core component of a good culture, and it is also the right move for capitalists. It would be catastrophic to lose diverse talent because data shows they exponentially improve business outcomes. I suggest we go back to the drawing board on our DEIA efforts. Belonging is about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Belonging must be systemic, not situational, because employees who feel they belong are 167 percent more likely to recommend their workplace to others, amplifying recruitment and retention. 8. Recognition. Work isn’t working for women. In the U.S., we have the narrowest executive pipeline for women. Globally, we saw a decrease of females in the C-suite for the first time in over two decades. That representation is already marginal, with only 11 percent holding these positions. Keeping women in these roles is critical. We have to stop talking about retaining and promoting women as some sort of benevolent strategy that is easy to scrap when cost-cutting. Instead, we need to look at this as a business strategy. Women in leadership are good for business. A recognition strategy by leaders means recognizing people’s worth regardless of demographic data. Research by O.C. Tanner indicates that employees are 18 times more likely to produce great work if they are recognized for the value they contribute. I spoke with scientists like Nobel prize-winning economist Claudia Golden, experts like Rachel Thomas from LeanIn.org, and academics like Anita Williams Woolley from Carnegie Mellon to dissect why work is holding women back and what leaders need to do to fix it. Despite the heaviness we may feel about work, it is not impossible to turn things around. Simple strategies and tactics can cause incremental changes that build something better. Leaders have a chance to build cultures that inspire, connect, and bring out the best in people. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission. View the full article

Soon, all businesses will be able to use Meta’s AI to power live, 24/7 customer service that can interact with customers on behalf of businesses on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Meta announced advancements in business AI—including the customer service AI agent that will make purchases and can respond to voice prompts from a user—at a conference Tuesday morning. “We are at an amazing and historic moment,” said Clara Shih, the VP of Business AI at Meta. “We are on the cusp of AI being in the hands of every consumer and every business.” Over 600 million conversations between a person and a business occur in a day on all of Meta’s social platforms. With its new pilot program, Meta hopes to utilize its Llama AI model to help entrepreneurs and small business owners scale their businesses. As soon as today, Meta users may begin to see business AI featured on ads from brands. Users can ask questions live on the ad page, and the AI agent will answer using data from the business’s Meta footprint (analyzing previous posts and customer service messages). Business owners can also input their own data sources. Businesses can design these agents, which can operate both straight off of ads and also through DMs or Messenger, at no cost right now as the pilot program kicks off. Meta is currently working on specifics for pricing in the future. Business owners can also delegate which tasks they want the AI agent to handle, and which tasks they want the AI to hand off to a live customer service representative. Tasks that the business AI can tackle include managing returns and exchanges, providing product recommendations, handling purchases, and similar services. Shih said that providing these tools to all businesses, regardless of size, is “democratizing access” to powerful technology, which mainly large businesses have previously been able to implement. “Fortune 500 companies have huge IT departments and can afford to piece together everything to make AI work . . . they’re fine tuning their models,” Shih said. “But if you’re a small business or even if you’re a medium-sized business, you don’t even know what fine tuning means. You shouldn’t have to.” These upcoming AI agents are different from the typical pre-programmed chatbots that users may encounter: The text sounds more natural, they are embedded into Meta’s social media services, and they are often easier to set up. In a January earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he expects 2025 to “be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.” View the full article

iPhone maker has filed a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal over demand to access encrypted dataView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When Tim Cook posted "There's something in the AIR" on X this week, it seemed to imply the company was soon dropping the hotly anticipated M4 MacBook Air. After all, it's the only major Mac (aside from the Mac Studio) that Apple hasn't upgraded with the M4 chip, so it only makes sense the company would refresh the line. As it turns out, however, Apple had a different plan for consumers. If you want a new MacBook Air, you'll still need to settle for the M3 chip. If you want a new iPad Air, however, you're in luck. On Tuesday, Apple announced two brand new iPads: an iPad Air, which now sports the M3 chip, and a base iPad, that now runs the A16 chip. As with any new devices, both of these new iPads come with perks previous models didn't, and, as such, it might seem like the logical choice for anyone looking for a new Apple tablet to pick up. If you had your eye on a new iPad Air, the M3 would be the best one, right? The thing is, I don't think so. Not much new with the M3 iPad AirObjectively, yes: This new iPad Air is the best one Apple has ever made. It has Apple's M3 chip, which Apple says is nearly two times faster than the M1 iPad Air (notice how they skip the M2 iPad Air here). That M3 chip enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a first for the iPad Air, so lighting effects in games and graphically intensive apps should look better. The thing is, the M3 chip is the only thing that's new on this iPad Air. Everything else is exactly the same as it is with the M2 iPad Air: You have your choice between an 11-inch and 13-inch device, in the same four color options; the displays are identical whether you go M2 or M3; the front and rear cameras are exactly the same; both use USB-C and Touch ID in the top button (no Face ID on these iPads); both devices are compatible with Apple Intelligence (if you even care about that); both have the same battery life; and both support the same Apple Pencils. If someone placed both iPads side by side, you'd never know which was which. In fact, if you used these iPads side by side for a week, you probably wouldn't be able to tell which was which. While the M3 chip is faster than the M2 chip, it likely won't feel that way in real-world use, considering the chips here have the same number of CPU and GPU cores. The M3 chip in the MacBook Air, on the other hand, has two extra GPU cores compared to the M2 MacBook Air. As such, the difference in performance between these two iPads is going to be less—which is to say, imperceptible to the vast majority of people who use an iPad. So, yes, the M3 iPad Air is the best you can buy. But that's because it slightly improves on the already-great tablet Apple made in the last go-around, which really only slightly improved on the tablet that came before it. The only other new iPad Air announcement Apple made on Tuesday was a refreshed Magic Keyboard, but even it is compatible with older iPad Air models. You should buy an old iPadI love my iPad. I use it every day to catch up on the news, message friends, and browse the web. There was zero reason I needed an M1 chip to power those tasks back in 2021 when I bought the tablet, and, to be honest, virtually zero reason I need that M1 chip in 2025. Everything I do on an iPad, my iPad Air from 2014 could probably handle (albeit very slowly). It's a problem plaguing the iPad line in general. Apple builds these tablets with incredible hardware, a fantastic combination of high quality screen and powerful processors—and yet, it all powers the same, souped-up version of iOS. iPadOS, for the most part, simply cannot push the M-series chips anywhere close to their limits. Sure, there are professional apps and demanding games available on the App Store to give your iPad something to work with. But really, iPadOS is nothing for even my M1 iPad Pro to handle—even when I have multiple windows open at once with Stage Manager. The point is, you probably don't need the M3 chip in the latest iPad Air. Hell, you probably don't need the M2 chip. But if you're looking for a new iPad Air in March of 2025, I'd highly recommend looking for the latter. Now that Apple has moved on to a new iPad Air model (at the same $599 price point, no less) the M2 version is likely to see some decent discounts across various stores. The new iPad Air isn't due out until March 12, so you might need to give it some time, but expect stores like Amazon and Best Buy to cut the price of the older model while selling the newer one at full price. Even today, you can get the 256GB M2 iPad Air for $649 on Amazon, which doubles the storage of the base model Air for an extra $50. Consider an iPadLet me rephrase: Consider the entry-level iPad, which Apple confusingly calls "iPad." Alongside the M3 iPad Air, Apple also dropped the 11th-generation iPad. Like the Air, this new iPad doesn't change all that much from the 10th-generation iPad. There are really two big changes, and one small one: The screen is 0.1 inches larger on the new iPad (pretty small); the base model doubles the storage from a tricky 64GB to a useable 128GB (without changing the price tag); and the new one runs the A16 chip found in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15, which should offer a decent performance bump over the A14 in the 10th-gen iPad. The rest is about the same: a decent, bright display; a nine-to-10 hour battery life; USB-C charging; identical front and rear cameras; the same Apple Pencil support. The new iPad does leave a couple things behind: It ditches the nano-SIM slot in favor of relying entirely on eSIM, while also losing support for True Tone on the retina flash feature. But it does support Smart HDR 4 over the 10th-gen iPad's Smart HDR 3. But that's getting into the nitty-gritty: The 11th-generation iPad represents the best iPad for most people, as long as you can live without some of the perks the iPad Air (or even iPad Pro) offers. You won't get the best quality display in Apple's lineup, or the fastest processor. But that A16 chip is going to be more than enough to run iPadOS for years to come. The same purchase principle that I discussed with the iPad Air applies here as well: Stores are likely going to discount the 10th-gen iPad once Apple starts selling the 11th-gen. I'd encourage anyone who wants an iPad for basic iPad tasks to try that route, but I also think the 11th-gen iPad is a pretty good value as-is. Even in the face of tariffs, Apple didn't raise the price on the iPad, while at the same time doubling the storage to 128GB. That means you get an all-around great Apple tablet for $349, $250 less than an iPad Air. You could use those savings to buy a Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, or just pocket the rest and enjoy the iPad itself. At the end of the day, none of Apple's iPads are a bad buy—but while each tier offers additional perks and features you may or may not enjoy, the overall "iPad experience" is the same. The question is, how many perks and features can you cut, while still enjoying the overall experience as much as you would with the more expensive model? For the vast majority of people, I'd say that answer is the 11th-gen iPad. But, if possible, head to your local Apple Store or tech outlet to try them out for yourself. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. One of the oddest things about interviewing people for jobs has always been how frequently candidates say they don’t have any questions when I ask what I can answer for them. This is a job they’re considering spending a large chunk of their waking hours at for the next however many years, and it’s likely to have a significant impact on their day-to-day quality of life and progression in their career. Surely there’s something they’d like to know about. At New York Magazine today, I talk about why people don’t ask questions in interviews, why that makes a bad impression, and 10 especially strong questions you can ask that will help you figure out whether the job is right for you. Head over there to read it. View the full article

Lenovo has introduced a new lineup of AI-powered Yoga and IdeaPad laptops at MWC 2025, along with software advancements and innovative concept designs aimed at enhancing creativity and productivity. The company’s latest AI-driven devices include the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, the IdeaPad Slim 3x, and the Yoga Solar PC Concept, which leverages renewable energy to power a laptop. “As we push the limits of AI innovation higher than ever, it is important to remember that delivering access to AI for all is equally a core tenet of Lenovo’s philosophy,” said Jun Ouyang, Lenovo’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Segment, Intelligent Devices Group. “With the announcement of innovations like the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, the IdeaPad Slim 3x, and the Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Concept, Lenovo has delivered a suite of new devices and proofs of concept that empower end users to let their creativity shine, their ‘process’ unbounded by the processing of their PC thanks to AI-powered innovation.” Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Concept: Harnessing Solar Power for Computing One of Lenovo’s unveilings at MWC 2025 is the Yoga Solar PC Concept, which features a built-in solar panel with a 24% energy conversion rate. The device utilizes ‘Back Contact Cell’ technology to maximize solar absorption and employs a Dynamic Solar Tracking system to adjust charging settings for optimal energy efficiency. According to Lenovo, the solar panel can generate enough power in 20 minutes of direct sunlight to provide one hour of video playback. At just 15mm thin and weighing 1.22kg, the Yoga Solar PC Concept is the world’s first ultraslim solar-powered PC, reflecting Lenovo’s vision of integrating renewable energy into personal computing. New Yoga AI Laptops with Aura Edition Enhancements Lenovo’s Yoga lineup expands with two new Aura Edition devices, developed in collaboration with Intel. The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (16”, 10) and the Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition (14”, 10) feature Smart Modes for adaptive performance, Smart Share for cross-device content sharing, and Smart Care for AI-driven support and troubleshooting. The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition is designed for creators, featuring an Intel Core Ultra processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, and a 3.2K PureSight Pro tandem OLED display with 1600 nits of peak brightness. Lenovo X Power machine learning technology optimizes power consumption and thermal management, ensuring high performance while keeping the device cool and quiet. For portability-focused users, the Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition features Intel Core Ultra 9 processors, 32GB RAM, and a 14.5” 3K OLED PureSight Pro display. The device balances AI-enhanced performance with portability and long battery life. IdeaPad Slim 3x: AI-Powered Productivity for All The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x (15”, 10) offers AI capabilities and future-proof storage expansion in a budget-friendly device. Featuring a Snapdragon X processor with a 45 TOPS NPU, the laptop provides AI-powered productivity, extended battery life, and a durable metal design tested to MIL-STD-810H standards. The laptop supports Copilot+ AI experiences and allows for SSD storage expansion, making it a flexible and long-lasting productivity tool. Innovative Proofs of Concept: AI and Sustainability Beyond commercial products, Lenovo showcased multiple proof-of-concept (POC) designs at MWC 2025: Solar Power Kit for Yoga: A detachable solar panel using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) to optimize energy conversion, enabling mobile solar charging. AI Display with NPU Inside: A monitor featuring a discrete NPU, allowing non-AI PCs to leverage AI-powered tasks such as local Large Language Models (LLMs) and intelligent content recognition. Lenovo AI Stick: A USB-C-powered NPU device that enables non-NPU PCs to run AI-enhanced applications, including graphics acceleration and AI-driven search. Expanding AI-Powered Connectivity Lenovo and Motorola also announced AI enhancements to Smart Connect, an ecosystem integration tool. The update includes natural language search, AI-powered file retrieval, and voice-activated commands for seamless multi-device management across Lenovo and Motorola devices. Image: Lenovo This article, "Lenovo Unveils AI-Powered Innovations at MWC 2025" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Lenovo has introduced a new lineup of AI-powered Yoga and IdeaPad laptops at MWC 2025, along with software advancements and innovative concept designs aimed at enhancing creativity and productivity. The company’s latest AI-driven devices include the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, the IdeaPad Slim 3x, and the Yoga Solar PC Concept, which leverages renewable energy to power a laptop. “As we push the limits of AI innovation higher than ever, it is important to remember that delivering access to AI for all is equally a core tenet of Lenovo’s philosophy,” said Jun Ouyang, Lenovo’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Segment, Intelligent Devices Group. “With the announcement of innovations like the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, the IdeaPad Slim 3x, and the Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Concept, Lenovo has delivered a suite of new devices and proofs of concept that empower end users to let their creativity shine, their ‘process’ unbounded by the processing of their PC thanks to AI-powered innovation.” Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Concept: Harnessing Solar Power for Computing One of Lenovo’s unveilings at MWC 2025 is the Yoga Solar PC Concept, which features a built-in solar panel with a 24% energy conversion rate. The device utilizes ‘Back Contact Cell’ technology to maximize solar absorption and employs a Dynamic Solar Tracking system to adjust charging settings for optimal energy efficiency. According to Lenovo, the solar panel can generate enough power in 20 minutes of direct sunlight to provide one hour of video playback. At just 15mm thin and weighing 1.22kg, the Yoga Solar PC Concept is the world’s first ultraslim solar-powered PC, reflecting Lenovo’s vision of integrating renewable energy into personal computing. New Yoga AI Laptops with Aura Edition Enhancements Lenovo’s Yoga lineup expands with two new Aura Edition devices, developed in collaboration with Intel. The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (16”, 10) and the Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition (14”, 10) feature Smart Modes for adaptive performance, Smart Share for cross-device content sharing, and Smart Care for AI-driven support and troubleshooting. The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition is designed for creators, featuring an Intel Core Ultra processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, and a 3.2K PureSight Pro tandem OLED display with 1600 nits of peak brightness. Lenovo X Power machine learning technology optimizes power consumption and thermal management, ensuring high performance while keeping the device cool and quiet. For portability-focused users, the Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition features Intel Core Ultra 9 processors, 32GB RAM, and a 14.5” 3K OLED PureSight Pro display. The device balances AI-enhanced performance with portability and long battery life. IdeaPad Slim 3x: AI-Powered Productivity for All The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x (15”, 10) offers AI capabilities and future-proof storage expansion in a budget-friendly device. Featuring a Snapdragon X processor with a 45 TOPS NPU, the laptop provides AI-powered productivity, extended battery life, and a durable metal design tested to MIL-STD-810H standards. The laptop supports Copilot+ AI experiences and allows for SSD storage expansion, making it a flexible and long-lasting productivity tool. Innovative Proofs of Concept: AI and Sustainability Beyond commercial products, Lenovo showcased multiple proof-of-concept (POC) designs at MWC 2025: Solar Power Kit for Yoga: A detachable solar panel using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) to optimize energy conversion, enabling mobile solar charging. AI Display with NPU Inside: A monitor featuring a discrete NPU, allowing non-AI PCs to leverage AI-powered tasks such as local Large Language Models (LLMs) and intelligent content recognition. Lenovo AI Stick: A USB-C-powered NPU device that enables non-NPU PCs to run AI-enhanced applications, including graphics acceleration and AI-driven search. Expanding AI-Powered Connectivity Lenovo and Motorola also announced AI enhancements to Smart Connect, an ecosystem integration tool. The update includes natural language search, AI-powered file retrieval, and voice-activated commands for seamless multi-device management across Lenovo and Motorola devices. Image: Lenovo This article, "Lenovo Unveils AI-Powered Innovations at MWC 2025" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Software helps, so here are three tips for choosing it. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

Software helps, so here are three tips for choosing it. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

The world’s biggest fast-food chain by locations isn’t Starbucks, KFC, or even McDonald’s. It’s Mixue Ice Cream and Tea. The Chinese quick service restaurant chain currently has about 45,000 storefronts across Asia and Australia, according to the research firm Technomic. That’s about 2,000 more than McDonald’s’ global store count and 5,000 more than Starbucks’s. But the boba tea purveyor really picked up broad attention when it debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday—and raised an IPO of $400 million. Shares surged by around 43% before by the end of the day, bringing the company’s total valuation to $10 billion. (Storefronts aside, McDonald’s’s market cap is over 20 times that size at almost $223 billion, and Starbucks’s market cap is over 10 times at $129 billion.) Mixue was founded almost three decades ago in 1997. But for many Americans, its massive stock market debut might be the first they’re hearing of the company. Here’s what to know about the beloved chain. What’s on the menu? As the name suggests, Mixue specializes in ice cream and bubble tea, offering a curated selection of sundaes, ice cream cones, smoothies, milk tea, and fruit tea. Popular options include treats like the super boba sundae (vanilla ice cream, sweet caramel or brown sugar syrup, and boba topping), brown sugar bubble tea, and lemon black tea. Why is Mixue so popular, and what sets it apart from U.S. chains? The main driver of Mixue’s popularity is its competitively low prices. Drinks and ice cream typically range between six and 10 Chinese yuan, which converts to around 83¢ and $1.40, respectively. Even in China’s highly saturated bubble tea market, those kinds of numbers stand out. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ernan Cui, a Beijing-based analyst for research firm Gavekal Dragonomics, noted that Mixue’s low prices have helped attract customers during an economic downturn: “People are chasing more cost-efficient products,” she said. Another key element of Mixue’s success is its expansion strategy. Several analysts have noted that Mixues tend to be relatively small by square footage but located in areas of high foot traffic, like near a university campus or squeezed between other popular shops. As the chain grows, this helps give the company a sense of ubiquity and build brand trust among repeated customers. Both Starbucks and McDonald’s have tried their hands at incorporating a more trendy menu that somewhat reflects Mixue’s strategy. Starbucks launched boba offerings in the summer of 2024. McDonald’s launched spin-off snack and bev concept store CosMc’s in December 2023. But aside from featuring significantly lower prices than either Starbucks or CosMc’s (a grande Starbucks boba cost around $7, while most of CosMc’s beverages land around the $5 range), Mixue stands out due to the relative brevity of its menu. Despite continuously expanding its locations, the company has kept its selection limited to the beverage and ice cream space, steering clear of any actual food for the time being. What about the branding and mascot? Mixue has gotten its branding down to a science. It centers around three main elements: sound, color, and character. To start, the chain has found a way to live rent-free in the minds of its regulars by blasting its signature jingle on a loop in many of its stores. The earworm is set to the tune of “Oh! Susannah” with lyrics that translate to, “I love you. You love me. Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.” While this strategy has created a sort of Pavlovian effect in customers, it’s unsurprisingly less pleasant for workers. “​​I worked in Mixue for two months and this song is killing me,” one former employee wrote under a lyric video of the tune. “If I hear this song one more time I’m going to die, this song is haunting me everywhere,” another commenter wrote. The Mixue branding stands out in storefronts and on socials with its simple, bright red-and-white color palette and bubbly font. Perhaps most recognizable, though, is the brand’s mascot: A somewhat confounding snowman-slash-superhero figure named Snow King. He’s pleasantly round, wears a red cape, and holds an ice cream cone on a stick like a scepter. Both Snow King and the brand jingle debuted around 2018, and the mascot has since become integral to the brand’s image and social media channels. Across Mixue’s various local accounts, Snow King can be seen in a mascot suit interacting with members of the public and participating in various trends—sort of like the Duolingo bird, but for bubble tea. View the full article

With iOS 19 expected to be unveiled in June 2025 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), rumors about its features have been coming in fast. Although none of these rumors can be confirmed at the moment, they still give us a good idea about what Apple might be considering behind the scenes. Since AI is the flavor of the month, Apple Intelligence improvements are expected for iOS 19, but the camera app might also be getting some attention. Here's everything that's been leaked so far. The merging of Siri and Apple IntelligenceAccording to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple plans to merge Siri with Apple Intelligence sometime during the iOS 19 patch cycle. Yes, the assistant is currently listed as being part of Apple Intelligence, but behind the scenes, it's supposedly got a new LLM in the works that would unify its currently split architecture and allow it to more frequently handle complex requests. As of now, its AI features are much more limited, and most of Siri doesn't use AI at all. Gurman says he expects the merger to be completed by spring of 2026 with the launch of iOS 19.4. His report states that, originally, Apple's plan was to launch a more conversational Siri in the same update, but that's been delayed and is not expected to be unveiled at WWDC 2025. Gurman also indicates that because Apple has not yet completed last year's Apple Intelligence feature rollout, any as yet unannounced features shouldn't be expected for a while. A Camera app redesignAbout a month ago, YouTuber FrontPageTech revealed a leaked redesign of the iPhone's Camera app. He claimed to have seen a video of the rumored redesign and recreated it for a video. The render primarily focuses on the control system. Instead of swiping left or right to switch between camera modes, this leak indicates that we may see just two options when we open the app—photos and videos. Swiping switches between them, while tapping reveals more options such as panorama or spatial videos. You can also see a slightly larger viewfinder in the render, but all of this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Even if the sources are credible and the information accurate (other leakers have doubted FrontPageTech before), a lot can change between now and release. Features get shifted around all the time during development, and you can expect some of that with iOS 19 as well. No major UI changesThe FrontPageTech leak also suggests that Apple won't be making other major UI changes in iOS 19. With iOS 18's development not yet complete despite WWDC 2025 being right around the corner, I do have to agree that looks unlikely that big UI changes would follow so soon. Your iPhone will (probably) run iOS 19With no major UI redesign expected, there's no reason for Apple to axe more phones from the iOS 19 update lineup. Citing a source within Apple, French website iPhoneSoft.fr reports that any phone that runs iOS 18 should be compatible with iOS 19 as well. However, the iPad 7 will supposedly not be so lucky, as the website says it will not be included in the iPadOS 19 update. View the full article

Excess cash flow will pay timely interest and protect against realized losses in the rated certificates before being paid out to the class X notes. View the full article