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Three steps to use. By Jody Grunden Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud Go PRO for members-only access to more Jody Grunden. View the full article

María Corina Machado’s odds surged on Polymarket hours before official announcementView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. As someone who's completed six marathons over six years, I approached Garmin's marathon training plans with cautious optimism. After all, Garmin dominates the running tech space, and their watches are virtually ubiquitous among serious runners. Surely their training plans would reflect the same attention to detail and runner-focused design? Plus, I’m already a huge fan of racing with my no-nonsense Garmin Forerunner 165. After months of following the program (and eventually customizing it), here's what I learned about the reality of trusting your watch to get you to the finish line. Racing a half-marathon with the Garmin Forerunner 165. Credit: Meredith Dietz How Garmin's run coach worksGarmin's run coach offers personalized, adaptive marathon training programs that adjust based on your performance metrics and recovery data. Your watch data drives your training, with workouts that evolve based on how you're actually responding rather than blindly following a static plan pulled from a book. The system analyzes metrics like your VO2 max, training load, recovery time, and recent workout performance to tailor each session. When you crush a tempo run, the plan might push you a bit harder next time. If your recovery metrics suggest you've overtrained, it dials things back. It's smart, responsive training that theoretically removes the guesswork. However, I wouldn’t recommend blindly trusting whatever shows up on your wrist. What Garmin gets rightThe speedwork, tempo runs, and interval sessions were genuinely helpful. Having these structured workouts automatically adjusted to my current pace meant I wasn't second-guessing whether I was running too hard or too easy. The watch would beep when I drifted out of my target zone, keeping me honest during those tough threshold efforts. The adaptive nature of the program also shines during the day-to-day grind. Recovery runs automatically adjust based on how your body is responding. If you're showing signs of fatigue, the plan gives you easier days. This attention to recovery is rare in cookie-cutter training plans, and I both appreciate and depend on it. Where Garmin falls shortThe most glaring issue with Garmin's marathon training plans is its overly conservative approach to long runs. As any experienced marathoner knows, the long run is the cornerstone of marathon preparation—it's where you build the aerobic base, practice race-day fueling, and develop the mental fortitude to push through mile 20 and beyond. Some specific examples from my experience: A 34-minute recovery run recommended on a day when my own intermediate plan called for five miles. A 90-minute long run when I was planning an 18-miler (which actually takes me closer to three hours). Credit: Meredith Dietz Garmin clearly has safety and recovery in mind, which is admirable. But here's the reality: if you're crazy enough to be training for a marathon, you've already committed to pushing beyond normal comfort levels. The long runs that feel "inherently crazy" are simply necessary. If I'd relied solely on Garmin's workouts, I wouldn't have gotten those crucial 20-milers that prepare you for race day. Yes, the three-hour run isn't a rigid rule—it's a guideline to cap training runs since injury risk increases beyond that point. Some coaches advocate for shorter long runs with a focus on quality over quantity. But for many runners, especially those new to the marathon distance, getting one or two 20-milers under your belt builds irreplaceable mental toughness. Personally, I always risk a little more time on my feet to ensure I'm truly prepared, and it's never hurt me. Perhaps equally frustrating is Garmin Connect's "stay tuned for more" approach to future workouts. The platform often won't show you upcoming long runs or key sessions until just days before, making it difficult to plan your training calendar effectively. As runners, we need to see the big picture. We need to know when that crucial 20-miler is scheduled so we can plan our weekend, arrange childcare, or adjust work commitments. While you can move workouts around once they appear, long runs are major time commitments that ideally should be mapped out from day one of training until race day. Strong foundation, but customization is keyGarmin's marathon training plans are solid and convenient, but they're better used as a starting point rather than gospel. By most training standards, Garmin sits on the lower end for long run distance and overall weekly mileage. Following their plan strictly would be survivable, but not ideal or practical for many runners looking to truly prepare for 26.2 miles. Setting up your Garmin training planGetting started is straightforward: Open the Garmin Connect app or website. Navigate to Training > Training Plans, Select your goal race (marathon) and target date, Answer questions about your current fitness level and running experience, Choose your goal (finish, set a PR, or hit a specific time). The plan syncs automatically to your watch, and workouts appear in your daily training calendar. Once set up, your watch will prompt you to start the scheduled workout when it's time to run. The workouts include detailed instructions, target paces or heart rate zones, and real-time feedback during your run. Garmin Forerunner 165 $240.00 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $240.00 at Amazon How to customize your Garmin training for successUse Garmin's adaptive features for your daily runs and speedwork, but take control of your long runs and overall mileage progression. 1. Reference an established planLook at free, time-tested programs—like those from Hal Higdon—to understand what your training should look like at different phases. Between one and two months out from race day, you should have several runs in the 16- to 20-mile range. Use this as your benchmark to evaluate whether Garmin's recommendations are on track. 2. Know what to prioritizeWhen customizing your plan, focus on: Long run progression: Your longest runs should gradually build to 18-20 miles (or around three hours, for slower runners). Peak weekly mileage: Know what total weekly mileage you should hit during your peak training weeks. Consistency over perfection: It's better to complete 90% of a slightly ambitious plan than 100% of an overly conservative one. 3. Use Garmin's "Create Workout" featureThis is where the magic happens. Garmin allows you to create custom workouts and load them into your training calendar: In Garmin Connect, go to Training > Workouts > Create a Workout. Build your custom long run: Set distance goals, add fueling reminders, or program pace ranges. Schedule it to replace Garmin's recommended workout. The workout syncs to your watch, giving you the same guided experience with your custom parameters. You can create workout templates for your key long runs, tempo sessions, or any other workout you want to follow. This way, you still get the benefit of your watch guiding you through the workout with real-time feedback, but you're following a training progression that actually prepares you for marathon day. 4. Let Garmin handle the detailsWhile you override the long runs, let Garmin's adaptive system manage your recovery runs and easy days, and fine-tune your speedwork intensities. This gives you the best of both worlds: proven long-run progression from established marathon programs, plus data-driven daily adjustments from your Garmin. The bottom lineI still consider myself a loyal Garmin user—but a strategic one. The interface is excellent, the adaptive features are genuinely helpful for day-to-day training, and having structured workouts pushed to your watch eliminates decision fatigue. However, blindly following the marathon plan would have left me underprepared for race day. With a little customization and the willingness to push beyond Garmin's conservative recommendations, you can create a training experience that combines the best of data-driven coaching with the proven principles that have gotten millions of runners to the finish line. Your watch is a powerful training tool—just don't let it hold you back from the big miles that make marathoners. View the full article

The other day, a friend confessed her new nightly routine: hiding in the bathroom for ten minutes after putting her kids to bed. The reason wasn’t to scroll TikTok, but to breathe. “It’s either that or cry into the mac and cheese,” she laughed. It struck me: parenting in 2025 often looks like quietly triaging our own stress while juggling work deadlines, permission slips, Slack pings, and dinner prep. Headlines scream about the youth mental health crisis, but what rarely makes the front page is the state of the people raising those kids. Working parents are running on fumes. And here’s the part we can’t gloss over: our kids’ emotional health is directly tied to ours. As psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Raghu Appasani explained to me, emotional regulation is contagious. “Both the calm and the chaos are felt by children. When parents experience chronic stress or burnout, it doesn’t just live in their nervous system. It shapes the family’s emotional climate,” he said. Even babies, before they can speak, sense our tension. Over time, parental stress can erode a children’s sense of safety, making the world feel less predictable than it is. Neuroscience backs it up. A child’s developing brain learns to self-regulate by co-regulating with their parent’s nervous system. In other words, if we’re running on fumes, so are they. The good news is, there are practical ways to flip the script, and we don’t need a three-day meditation retreat to do it. A few ideas: Micro-pauses matter. Before you rush from Zoom call to carpool, take 60 seconds in the driveway to breathe. Literally. These moments act like emotional shock absorbers, resetting your nervous system so you show up calmer and more present. Leverage digital tools as check-ins, not crutches. Dr. Raghu, Chief Medical Officer for the child-centered wellness app Ginko, recommends InsightTimer and Calm to help adults regulate stress through guided mindfulness. Other platforms, like Wysa, provide exercises to track mood and offer coping strategies. He’s also a fan of journaling tools like Daylio or Stoic, which offer quick “check-ins” that can help you notice when you are sliding into burnout. Pair parenting with prevention. If therapy apps like BetterHelp make it easier to fit sessions into a packed schedule, think of it as mental fitness, not just as a crisis hotline. The reality is that self-care isn’t indulgence. It’s infrastructure. Just like we maintain the Wi-Fi so homework can get done, we need to maintain our mental bandwidth so our kids can feel steady. Shielding them from every stressor isn’t possible. But modeling how to downshift, recover, and stay connected? That’s a parenting lesson with lifelong returns. View the full article

YouTube is piloting a “Second Chances” program letting some terminated creators request a new channel with a fresh start. The post YouTube Lets Some Terminated Creators Request A New Channel appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

US president signals he may cancel planned meeting with Xi Jinping over the moveView the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. You might not think of Netflix as a gaming company, but games are most certainly a part of their business. While the vast majority of us Netflix subscribers simply stream TV shows and movies on the app, the company also offers access to games, free of charge as part of a Netflix plan. These aren't all throwaway titles, either: Netflix has licensed some notable names here, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Oxenfree, and Heads Up! But while Netflix's games have largely been mobile-only for the past few years, the company is trying something new. This week, Netflix is rolling out games you can play on your TV, all without having to leave the Netflix app. You don't need a dedicated gaming controller, or to rely on something like a TV remote, to play. Instead, players control the game from their smartphones. What a time to be alive. At launch, you can't simply play any of Netflix's existing mobile titles on your TV. Instead, the company has licensed five party games that weren't yet part of its games library, designed to be played with others around the TV. These titles include: LEGO Party!: This is Mario Party but with LEGOs, complete with mini-games, maps, and LEGO characters. Boggle Party: Up to eight players can try to find words in a jumbled letter grid. Pictionary: Game Night: Guess what the other person is drawing before the time runs out. Tetris Time Warp: Play different versions of Tetris, including the 1984 original and the classic Gameboy version. Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends: One person in the group is the odd one out, and doesn't know what anyone else is talking about. The group needs to figure out who that person is. LEGO Party! and Tetris Time Warp are both preexisting games you can play on other platforms, but it seems the other three are making their debut on Netflix. How to play Netflix games on your TVTo try out any of these fives games when they're available in your market, open the Netflix app on your smart TV, then scroll to the "Games" tab. Choose a game, then use your smartphone as the controller. View the full article

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to other readers. * If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer. The post open thread – October 10, 2025 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

A potentially worrisome trend is emerging among young adults. Instead of landing a job and moving to the big city after graduation, many are moving back into their childhood homes instead. About 1.5 million more adults under 35 live with their parents today than a decade ago. That’s a 6.3% jump, more than double the rate of growth for the young adult population overall. The issue is affordability. Over the past decade, urban rents have climbed about 4% per year, while wages for full-time workers have increased by only 0.6% annually. That means it’s harder than ever to live in a big city on the typical salary—especially if you’re a new graduate without much work experience. The situation is even more challenging for aspiring homeowners: The median house price in the U.S. has risen about 90% in just 10 years, or more than 6% each year. And as prices rise—the median home sells for more than $400,000 now—so too do the ages of homebuyers. The median first-time U.S. homebuyer is 38 years old, up from 31 about a decade ago. Why is the rent so high? Put simply, there isn’t enough housing. As an economist, I know that when demand rises faster than supply, prices have to increase. And supply is severely limited in the places where people most want to live: big cities such as New York and San Francisco. In most of these cities, planning and zoning laws prevent developers from building enough to meet demand. For example, rezoning a plot of land from commercial to residential often requires mountains of paperwork. And in many cities, objections from neighbors can stall a proposed development. These are just two of many obstacles local governments throw in homebuilders’ way. One city that has tried something different is Austin, Texas. After deliberately relaxing its zoning laws a few years ago, Austin has seen a boom in home construction. Rents fell by 10% in one year and by as much as 22% in two years after that change. By making it easier to build, Austin has made it cheaper to live there. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Austin has a far lower share of its young adults living with their parents than many other cities do. Just 6% of working adults in the Austin metro area live with their parents, one analysis found, versus nearly 14% in Greater San Antonio and 20% in Greater Los Angeles. The pros and cons of living with the ’rents One obvious advantage of living with parents is that they tend to charge below-market rents, or nothing at all. That makes it easier to save for a deposit on a house, helping young adults get on the property ladder sooner than they would otherwise. Indeed, homeownership rates among those 25 to 34 have risen slightly since 2016. There are also potential disadvantages, however, particularly when it comes to socializing. Living at home with parents can make it much more challenging to meet new people. This, in turn, could partly help explain why Americans are getting married and having children later in life. These delays might not seem important, but they can leave people feeling like they’re behind in life, which can affect their health and well-being. I also wonder whether living with parents is indirectly making young adults unhappier at work. That’s because older adults often live far from the urban centers where young people are most likely to find jobs directly related to their degrees. Job satisfaction rates are substantially lower among 18- to 29-year-olds than among the rest of the working population. A problem for the entire US The housing shortage isn’t just an issue for young adults. A recent analysis I found insightful was headlined “The housing theory of everything.” It argued that the issue helps explain at least part of the current malaise in the U.S. economy. For example, when people can’t live and work where they want, they’re unable to use their talents fully. That contributes to the relatively slow productivity growth the U.S. has experienced in recent years. Similarly, if people can’t live in areas where they might meet and work with like-minded individuals, they have fewer opportunities to share ideas, which can hinder innovation. And if the housing shortage is indeed encouraging young adults to delay having children, it could make it harder for the U.S. to fund Social Security and other government programs in the future. Making it easier to build new homes in places people want to live and work could go a long way to easing these problems. It’s possible high rents translate into high barriers to adulthood, too. Rohan Shah is assistant professor of economics at the University of Mississippi; Institute for Humane Studies This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

Yet another food retailer has joined the growing list of companies that have recalled pasta-related products over the last few weeks. Sprouts Farmers Market, a supermarket chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with stores across more than two dozen states, has voluntarily recalled select lots of Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad due to a risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. On October 9, a recall notice was published to the website of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with this recalled product. According to the notice, the recall is in response to Sprouts being alerted by its supplier, Fresh Creative Foods, that the pasta within the pasta salad could potentially be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Fast Company has reached out to Fresh Creative Foods for comment. Which products are impacted by the recall? The affected lots of Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad were packaged in plastic containers and sold from the “grab and go” section of stores or packaged directly from in-store deli service counters. Here are the specific product details: Grab and go: Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad (UPC 2-15786-00000): Best use by dates from October 10, 2025, to October 29, 2025. Deli service counter: Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad (UPC 2-15587-00000): Best use by dates from October 10, 2025, to October 29, 2025. The affected items were sold in the following states: Alabama Arizona California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Kansas Louisiana Maryland Missouri North Carolina New Jersey New Mexico Nevada Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wyoming Don’t eat the affected product If you purchased the affected product, you should throw it away or return it to your local store for a full refund. To reduce the risk of cross-contamination, the FDA recommends taking extra care to clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that have come into contact with the product. If you have any questions about the recall, call Sprouts Customer Relations at 480-814-8016 or submit a form at the Sprouts website. The list of retailers recalling pasta products is growing Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a food safety alert regarding a Listeria outbreak linked to prepared pasta meals. According to the CDC, the outbreak has hit 15 states. It has sickened 20 people, with 19 requiring hospitalization. Four people have died due to the outbreak, which dates back to last year. Sprouts is one of many retailers that have voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat pasta products in the weeks following the CDC’s alert, although the notice does not mention the outbreak. Here are some other recent pasta-related recalls to be aware of: Ready-to-eat pasta meals from Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Walmart More pasta meals sold at Albertsons and Trader Joe’s Kroger pasta salads What is Listeria and who is at risk of infection? Listeria is a disease-causing bacteria that can be spread to and from foods. Listeria infection is caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. As the Mayo Clinic notes, healthy people rarely become very ill from Listeria infection. However, the disease can turn deadly for some. Pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk for infection. View the full article

Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad said Friday it is launching flights to Kabul, making it the latest airline to offer direct routes to the Afghan capital. Etihad, which announced a record $476 million profit in 2024, said the new service responded to “growing demand” for travel between the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan and that the three weekly flights starting in December would support “trade, travel, and community ties.” “The UAE hosts one of the largest Afghan communities in the Gulf, with around 300,000 Afghans living and working in the country, according to the Afghan Business Council,” the airline said in a statement. “The new flights will further strengthen these economic and social ties while enhancing connectivity through Abu Dhabi.” Other international carriers flying direct to Kabul include Turkish Airlines and FlyDubai. The oil-rich UAE has forged close ties with the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan in recent years. In June 2024, the Emirati leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met a top official and Cabinet member, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who had a U.S. bounty on his head over his involvement in an attack that killed an American citizen and other assaults. A few months later, the UAE accepted the credentials of a Taliban government ambassador. Even though the Taliban are largely isolated from the West, due to their restrictions on women and girls, they have successfully established bilateral relations with regional powers. In July, Russia became the first country to recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. And, on Friday, India said it was upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy. —Associated Press View the full article

Threads has rolled out a new feature aimed at enhancing community engagement on its platform: Communities. This initiative provides small business owners with a fresh avenue to connect with their audience and foster deeper relationships within niche interest areas. As Threads expands its capabilities, it’s crucial to explore how these Communities can be leveraged effectively. Designed as casual, public spaces, Communities on Threads allow users to engage in conversations about a variety of popular topics, from basketball to TV shows. Currently in the testing phase, this feature covers over 100 interests, paving the way for users to join discussions that resonate with their passions. “Communities build on features like custom feeds and topic tags to help you meaningfully connect with people who share your interests,” Threads notes. This functionality can be particularly beneficial for small business owners looking to cultivate a loyal customer base. By joining or even creating a community relevant to their sector, businesses can position themselves as thought leaders while fostering a sense of belonging among their customers. The membership is public, meaning that communities you join will be visible in your profile and feed menu. This transparency can be advantageous for small businesses. For instance, if a local bakery joins or initiates a “Baking” community, it showcases its expertise and passion, potentially drawing in clients who share a similar interest. Connecting on shared hobbies creates a natural platform for promoting services or products organically. Each community features a custom Like emoji tailored to the topic, which enhances the engagement experience. For example, in a book-related community, members may use a stack of books as a Like, reinforcing their affinity for the topic. This personalization contributes to the overall interactive experience, making it easier for members to bond and engage, which is important for businesses seeking to build community around their brand. Exploring and joining communities on Threads is straightforward. Users can search for communities by name or simply tap on a community tag in their feed. By offering over 100 communities in its initial rollout, Threads is encouraging users to discover those that align with their interests. This approach supports small business owners in identifying and connecting with potential customers who are already enthusiastic about related topics. However, while the introduction of Communities provides exciting opportunities, small business owners should also be mindful of potential challenges. With the public nature of community membership, businesses need to maintain a consistent and professional presence, ensuring that their engagement reflects their brand identity. Furthermore, the landscape of these communities is evolving. As Threads plans to introduce special badges for standout contributors and establish ranking systems within communities, it’s essential for businesses to remain active and engaged to gain visibility. The competition to stand out may intensify as more users flock to these spaces, making consistent, quality engagement critical. “We’re also working on ranking within communities and the For You feed so that you see the most relevant posts first,” Threads states. This will enhance user experience by surfacing the information that’s most pertinent to them, requiring businesses to stay up-to-date on community trends and effectively target their content. Small business owners should also remain cautious about the time commitment required to nurture these communities. As engagement increases, the task of monitoring discussions and contributing meaningfully may demand more resources than initially anticipated. Prioritizing effective time management will be vital for businesses hoping to leverage these new features without detracting from other critical operations. As the Threads platform continues to evolve, small business owners have a unique opportunity to capitalize on community engagement to build brand loyalty and connect with their audience in meaningful ways. Stay informed about these developments by reading more on Threads’ official announcement here: Threads Communities Announcement. This article, "Threads Unveils Communities: Connect Over Shared Interests in Real-Time" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Threads has rolled out a new feature aimed at enhancing community engagement on its platform: Communities. This initiative provides small business owners with a fresh avenue to connect with their audience and foster deeper relationships within niche interest areas. As Threads expands its capabilities, it’s crucial to explore how these Communities can be leveraged effectively. Designed as casual, public spaces, Communities on Threads allow users to engage in conversations about a variety of popular topics, from basketball to TV shows. Currently in the testing phase, this feature covers over 100 interests, paving the way for users to join discussions that resonate with their passions. “Communities build on features like custom feeds and topic tags to help you meaningfully connect with people who share your interests,” Threads notes. This functionality can be particularly beneficial for small business owners looking to cultivate a loyal customer base. By joining or even creating a community relevant to their sector, businesses can position themselves as thought leaders while fostering a sense of belonging among their customers. The membership is public, meaning that communities you join will be visible in your profile and feed menu. This transparency can be advantageous for small businesses. For instance, if a local bakery joins or initiates a “Baking” community, it showcases its expertise and passion, potentially drawing in clients who share a similar interest. Connecting on shared hobbies creates a natural platform for promoting services or products organically. Each community features a custom Like emoji tailored to the topic, which enhances the engagement experience. For example, in a book-related community, members may use a stack of books as a Like, reinforcing their affinity for the topic. This personalization contributes to the overall interactive experience, making it easier for members to bond and engage, which is important for businesses seeking to build community around their brand. Exploring and joining communities on Threads is straightforward. Users can search for communities by name or simply tap on a community tag in their feed. By offering over 100 communities in its initial rollout, Threads is encouraging users to discover those that align with their interests. This approach supports small business owners in identifying and connecting with potential customers who are already enthusiastic about related topics. However, while the introduction of Communities provides exciting opportunities, small business owners should also be mindful of potential challenges. With the public nature of community membership, businesses need to maintain a consistent and professional presence, ensuring that their engagement reflects their brand identity. Furthermore, the landscape of these communities is evolving. As Threads plans to introduce special badges for standout contributors and establish ranking systems within communities, it’s essential for businesses to remain active and engaged to gain visibility. The competition to stand out may intensify as more users flock to these spaces, making consistent, quality engagement critical. “We’re also working on ranking within communities and the For You feed so that you see the most relevant posts first,” Threads states. This will enhance user experience by surfacing the information that’s most pertinent to them, requiring businesses to stay up-to-date on community trends and effectively target their content. Small business owners should also remain cautious about the time commitment required to nurture these communities. As engagement increases, the task of monitoring discussions and contributing meaningfully may demand more resources than initially anticipated. Prioritizing effective time management will be vital for businesses hoping to leverage these new features without detracting from other critical operations. As the Threads platform continues to evolve, small business owners have a unique opportunity to capitalize on community engagement to build brand loyalty and connect with their audience in meaningful ways. Stay informed about these developments by reading more on Threads’ official announcement here: Threads Communities Announcement. This article, "Threads Unveils Communities: Connect Over Shared Interests in Real-Time" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The future belongs to those who build, evolve, and admit their mistakes. Gear Up for Growth With Jean Caragher For CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more Jean Marie Caragher. View the full article

The future belongs to those who build, evolve, and admit their mistakes. Gear Up for Growth With Jean Caragher For CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more Jean Marie Caragher. View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google Business Profiles has a new way to report review extortion scams...View the full article

Billionaire hedge fund manager’s CIFF has focused donations on issues such as climate changeView the full article

Pope Leo XIV encouraged international news agencies on Thursday to stand firm as a bulwark against the “ancient art of lying” and manipulation, as he strongly backed a free, independent and objective press. History’s first American pope called for imprisoned journalists to be released and said the work of journalists must never be considered a crime. Rather, journalism is a right and a pillar upholding “the edifice of our societies” that must be protected and defended, he said. “If today we know what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine and every other land bloodied by bombs, we largely owe it to them,” Leo said of journalists. “These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information is not manipulated for ends that are contrary to truth and human dignity.” Leo’s comments came in a speech to executives of international news agencies belonging to MINDS International, a consortium of leading agencies including The Associated Press. In his five months as pope, the Chicago-born Leo has spoken out strongly on the need to protect freedom of expression and the rights of journalists. In his first meeting with reporters right after his election, Leo called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press.” More recently, he insisted that journalism was “not only an act of justice, but a duty of all those who long for a solid and participatory democracy.” In a letter to a crusading Peruvian journalist repeatedly sued for her work, Leo affirmed the freedom of the press was an “inalienable common good.” On Thursday, he strongly encouraged news agencies amid a double crisis they are facing, with economic pressures threatening their survival and consumers increasingly unable to distinguish truth from lies. “I urge you: Never sell out your authority!” Leo said. He quoted Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism” in asserting that the world needs free and objective information. He cited her warning that “the ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.” Leo said even with the challenges posed today by artificial intelligence, news agencies must stand firm. “With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing,” he said. “You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.” Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. —Nicole Winfield, Associated Press View the full article

With Halloween on the horizon, Chicago Costume is stuffed. Packaged costumes, including superheros and Japanese animation characters in both kid and adult sizes, dangle near colorful wigs and bottles of fake blood. Downstairs, vintage clothes from the 1970s beg for one more boogie night. The frightening possibilities mask the work that’s gone on behind the scenes to stock the family-owned shop and its sister store for the spooky season. Owner Courtland Hickey said he ordered 40% fewer costumes this year because of President Donald The President’s tariffs on products from China. To fill the gap, Hickey and his mother, Chicago Costume founder Mary Hickey Panayotou, looked to their decade’s worth of unsold costumes and accessories to see what could be repackaged or repurposed. The tariffs made new imports more expensive, and storewide price increases might spook customers, he said. “If people have less money in their pocket to spend, … then costumes are going to be lower on their list,” Hickey said. “So the more we have to invest in new products, the riskier it is for the business because we aren’t going to sell it.” Tapping the old inventory required sorting through several thousand items stored in backrooms and a warehouse. Vintage pieces once reserved for rentals combined with fresh items became sets. A surplus of black robes became the foundation for Halloween wizards, judges, choir members and graduating students, Hickey said. “They’re a staple piece that gets transformed by the accessories we pair with them,” he said. Courtland Hickey Some of Chicago Costume’s 35 employees also got busy sewing fabric scraps and foam material into imitations of the miter headdresses worn by high-ranking Catholic clergy. Paired with a robe, the headwear would let someone dress up as Pope Leo, a Chicago native. Panayotou founded Chicago Costume in 1976 by custom-designing and renting costumes for the Windy City’s theater companies. It fast became a destination for non-actors looking for Halloween outfits. Commercially made children’s costumes followed, and a stockpile of capes, masquerade masks, “Star Wars” kits and other leftovers grew from there. “I’m kind of a hoarder,” Panayotou said. “I didn’t want to throw stuff away. So there’s a lot of accessory items and pieces. Here’s the dress, but we have only one glove.” Having excess inventory typically is avoided in retail, but the practice has given Chicago Costume a supply cushion during what has been an unpredictable 2025 for import-reliant segments of the industry, including toy manufacturers and stores. Hickey said tariffs weren’t on his radar until he and and other Chicago Costume staff members met with suppliers at the Halloween & Party Expo in January. Whether The President would impose duties on Chinese goods after his inauguration the following week was a big topic of conversation at the Las Vegas event, he said. On Feb. 1, the president signed the first tariff order of his second term. Hickey already had ordered his usual number of new costumes but put fulfillment and delivery on hold when the tariff rate on imports from China ballooned to 145% in April. Nearly 90% of the costumes Chicago Costume sells in stores and online are made in China, in line with the costume industry average, he said. Some suppliers already had products ready and said they would not charge him extra, Hickey said. Others said he would have to pay more to cover the cost of tariffs. “Take it or leave it,” he recalls being told. “I pretty much left it.” Other small businesses that rely on Halloween describe similar their own tariff-related woes. Trick or Treat Studios, which designs masks based on characters from popular horror movies as well as costumes and props, laid off 15 employees, one-fourth of its staff, in May, co-founder Christopher Zephro said. Zephro uses factories in China to make plastic masks but said he is reducing the amount of work done there and shifting it to Mexico, where his latex masks are manufactured. In the meantime, he raised prices by 15%. At Chicago Costume, which generates well under $1 million dollars in annual sales, shoppers will see fewer sales promotions and discounts, Hickey said. Children’s costumes of officially licensed characters and bulky sets will cost at least 25% more, he said. A lederhosen costume, for example, is priced at $49.99, or $10 more that it did a year ago. Hickey, who has served on the board of the National Costumers Association for 20 years, initially saw a silver lining in The President’s tariffs. Big retail chains have siphoned sales from independent costume shops with the help of cheap costumes from China, he said. In May, Hickey published a column on the National Costumers Association’s website that outlined Chicago Costume’s can-do, environmentally superior approach this year. He hoped it would galvanize the trade group’s 100 independent store members — a group that numbered 220 a decade ago — to dust off old stock, reorganize their shops and prepare for “a potentially great Halloween.” Tariffs have “peeled back the curtain on just how deep our reliance on cheap overseas manufacturing has become,” he wrote. “If this shift hurts Amazon dropshippers, Spirit Halloween, or Walmart’s over-imported costume lines, I’m not going to mourn. In fact, I see it as a chance for us to reclaim what made local retail special.” Some of Hickey’s idealism has since faded. The impact of tariffs on Halloween played out differently than he expected. The largest retail chains doubled down, flooding the market with cheap costumes and dropping prices to hold onto customers. “It’s been a lot harder than I hoped, but I still believe that optimism, adaptability, and differentiation are what will keep independent costume shops like us alive,” he said. Chicago Costume is used to embracing challenges. To keep revenue flowing year-round, the stores cater to cosplay fans and themed parties. The Hickey-Panayotou family has a separate business making mascot costumes for the Chicago Bulls and other professional sports teams, and acquired a theatrical services company founded in 1886 along with its collection of period pieces. Diversifying made it easier to rotate and refurbish old stock instead of slashing prices after Halloween or throwing pieces away, he said. For a customer who wanted to be a Hollywood diva, his wife, Erin, who handles social media for Chicago Costume, paired a robe trimmed with feather boas from the vintage collection with a new cigarette holder, hat and pair of sunglasses. Total cost: $65. Damien Johnson, 53, is a longtime Chicago Costume patron whose birthday is Oct. 31. He has spent as much as $300 on his Halloween getups and said he would never shop online or at discount stores. Despite his loyalty, Johnson delayed his costume-buying by a month this year. He also gave himself a spending cap. Transforming himself into the clown-faced Pennywise character from Stephen King’s “It” will come to $90, including hair and makeup. “I always overbought.” he said. “This year, I am good.” Terry Chea contributed from Santa Cruz, California. —Anne D’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer View the full article

With search traffic flat and AI accelerating zero-click, publishers face a survival test that demands SEO maturity and sharper strategies. The post AI Survival Strategies For Publishers appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Oil prices declined on Friday, after settling around 1.6% lower in the previous session, as the market’s risk premium faded after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza. Brent crude futures were down 66 cents, or 1%, at $64.56 a barrel at 1016 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 61 cents, or 1%, to $60.90. “Finally having some kind of peace process in the Middle East is lowering the shoulders a little bit,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. This could ease fears about crude carriers passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, he said. BOTH BENCHMARKS ON TRACK FOR WEEKLY GAINS Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement on Thursday in the first phase of U.S. President Donald The President’s initiative to end the war in Gaza. Under the deal, which Israel’s government ratified on Friday, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza, and Hamas will free all remaining hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel. Numerous vessels have been attacked by the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since 2023, targeting ships they deem linked to Israel in what they described as solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza. On a weekly basis, Brent was up around 1% and WTI was relatively flat, so far. Both benchmarks fell steeply last week. Prices climbed about 1% on Wednesday to a one-week high because of stalled progress on a Ukraine peace deal, a sign that sanctions against Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, could continue. The Gaza ceasefire deal means the focus can move back to the impending oil surplus, as OPEC proceeds with the unwinding of production cuts, said Daniel Hynes, an analyst at ANZ. A smaller-than-expected November hike in output agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) on Sunday eased some of those oversupply concerns. “Markets’ expectations for a sharp ramp up in crude supply have not manifested themselves in substantially lower prices,” BMI analysts said in a note on Friday. “The most recent rise in production is lower than previously feared, contributing to a slight rise in prices for the week,” they said. Investors are also worried that a prolonged U.S. government shutdown could dampen the American economy and hurt oil demand in the world’s largest crude consumer. Additional reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan —Anna Hirtenstein, Reuters View the full article

America’s defense technology sector is rapidly expanding. Top talent, ambitious founders, and serious capital are flooding into a mission that matters, delivering products and solutions that will send us to the moon, deploy unimaginably capable unmanned aerial devices, and redefine what’s possible in modern warfare. It’s an exciting moment—one full of possibility and potential. But here’s the problem: while everyone is focused on the moonshots, we’re overlooking the foundation. The unsexy stuff. The quiet, mission-critical gaps that don’t make headlines but could leave us dangerously vulnerable. We’re building skyscrapers without checking if the ground beneath us is solid. I’ve spent decades navigating this ecosystem—from antitrust law to Capitol Hill and building critical technology at Palantir for Defense, Intelligence, and Public Health. And I can tell you: America’s national security demands the big bets. But if we want true resilience, we need to get serious about filling the gaps. Here’s where we’re falling short—and how we can fix it. The barrier to entry? It’s not paperwork—it’s people Government go-to-market is notoriously hard. Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)—these acronyms form their own labyrinth, sidelining products and burning through runway. But the real barrier isn’t the bureaucratic maze. It’s the human one. Success in this space requires identifying, cultivating, and maintaining relationships with every critical stakeholder group throughout a program’s lifecycle. There’s no shortcut. And the complexity multiplies because every agency and department operates differently. They have distinct cultures, decision-making processes, and procurement rhythms. Then there’s the churn. People rotate roles. Administrations change every four years. Priorities shift. Which means yes, you do have to rebuild relationships constantly. This reality demands a level of operational maturity, business development sophistication, and long-term investment that most startups simply can’t sustain. Innovation gets hampered before it even starts. We’re funding moonshots—and ignoring everything else These sky-high barriers create a funding environment that rewards only the most ambitious ideas: building America’s missile defense shield, designing next-generation autonomous drones, launching satellites into low-Earth orbit. These projects are critically important. They must get done. But what about everything else? For every loud leap forward, there are thousands of quiet, mission-critical problems leaving us exposed. Not because they’re unsolvable, but because they fall outside traditional models of scale, funding, and attention. What good is a billion-dollar drone without a reliable charging system? Why are life-saving field surgeries still being conducted with techniques from Vietnam? Why is mission-critical data being stored on local hard drives? Yes, we need hydrogen-powered autonomous jets. But we also need better military construction techniques. Better gimbals. Better field logistics. The unglamorous stuff that keeps the glamorous stuff running. Platforms need products—and we don’t have enough Despite an abundance of platforms, we’re facing a shortage of components. Companies like Anduril and Palantir are building some of the most ambitious, technically sophisticated defense platforms ever created. But here’s the catch: They’re not incentivized to populate those ecosystems with specialized applications—nor should they be. Their business models reward scale and horizontal integration, not the painstaking work of solving narrow, specific mission problems. The result? Platforms without components are like operating systems without apps: powerful in theory, underutilized in practice. Real value emerges when platforms are filled with verticalized, specialized tools tuned to specific mission sets, environments, and workflows. What’s missing is an ecosystem that supports a new generation of builders—small, agile companies creating plugins, widgets, and mission-focused modules that integrate seamlessly into existing infrastructure. This requires new funding models that reward precision problem-solving, not just scale. Speed isn’t optional anymore—it’s survival In an age of exponential technological change, speed is strategy. For five decades, we’ve overvalued perfection: building exquisite, bespoke systems engineered to the exact specifications of a single mission. We’ve undervalued iteration—especially in the field where conditions change rapidly. That approach won’t cut it anymore. We need to identify what’s needed today and ship it to the frontlines as fast as possible, anticipating and removing blockers before they become catastrophic delays. It’s time for a “build fast, fix faster” mindset. That means embracing edge manufacturing, hardening supply chains with domestic production, and structuring R&D teams for maximum autonomy. Yes, some projects require decade-long timelines. Some problems demand ambitious, wide-reaching platforms. But we also have urgent gaps in our resilience that demand urgency to fix. Build with your users, not for them Iteration and urgency only work with partnership. I’ve seen too many well-intentioned solutions developed at breakneck speed that completely miss the mark. Why? Because they were built in a vacuum. Teams delivered what they thought was needed instead of what was actually necessary. Usually, it’s because they lacked the prerequisites for success: direct access to end users, their leadership, and a deep understanding of program requirements. Every product lifecycle should begin with a concrete demand signal. What’s the urgent problem blocking mission success today? Not what you assume it is—what the people on the frontlines are actually experiencing. Warfighters. Field operators. Career civil servants. Then build alongside them. Attend field exercises. Sit in the mud. Watch systems fail in real conditions. Learn from the people whose lives depend on your technology working. Surface these solutions to leadership. Invest in problems and solutions that have buy-in from every level. Because defense technology is ultimately public service—and a team sport. Like any team sport, listening matters more than speaking. Everyone has a role to play to win. The path forward We’re not short on vision, talent, or commitment. What we need now is alignment: between technologists and operators, platforms and products, and urgency and execution. The opportunity in front of us is extraordinary. If we can bridge the gap between innovation and implementation, we won’t just build better systems. We’ll build a stronger, safer, more resilient future—one that can handle both the moonshots and the fundamentals that keep them flying. View the full article

While technology has become an important channel for information among homebuyers, many still see real estate agents as smarter than any other resource. View the full article

OpenAI has announced Instant Checkout on ChatGPT. ChatGPT acts as an intermediary agent for commerce purchases on behalf of the customer. This provides a foundation that connects people and businesses for the next era of agentic commerce. What does the buying process look like? The Instant Checkout flow keeps ChatGPT at the center of every step – from discovery to payment confirmation. After finding a product through conversations with ChatGPT, the user taps “Buy” and confirms payment and shipping. ChatGPT passes this signal, and the merchant then gathers fulfillment options. ChatGPT presents these options to the user who makes a selection. This information is again passed to the merchant by ChatGPT. The merchant calculates the tax and final price. ChatGPT renders that total to the user, who then confirms the purchase. ChatGPT gathers secure payment tokens and other details and passes them to the merchant. That merchant then accepts or declines the order. The payment processor then charges the payment method, and confirmations cascade down the line: merchant, ChatGPT, and user. How ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout stacks up to Perplexity’s ‘Buy with Pro’ Instant Checkout on ChatGPT sounds similar to Perplexity’s “Buy with Pro,” which launched last November. The difference? ChatGPT’s version: Drops the “free shipping” perk. Removes the paid-subscriber limitation. Gives merchants a faster path to participate – all with the potential to scale much faster given ChatGPT’s far larger user base. Dig deeper: ChatGPT Shopping is here – and it’s changing ecommerce SEO rules Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. The opportunity – and early friction – in ChatGPT’s checkout experience This underscores the importance of measuring brand and product visibility in ChatGPT and properly optimizing product feeds for agentic commerce experiences. Though this experience is launching as organic/non-sponsored for now, we expect it’s only a matter of time before OpenAI rolls out a paid placement version. With that noted, it remains to be seen if consumer behavior will keep up with technology. At the moment, performing a transaction requires significant prompting and allows for limited selection, resulting in a poor user experience, at least for this first iteration. What’s available now? Instant Checkout is currently available for U.S. merchants who sell on Etsy, supporting single-item purchases only. This is the first stage of the rollout, with more merchant integrations expected over time. How merchants can participate Merchants who want to move forward can: Integrate their products into ChatGPT Search results. Enable Instant Checkout through the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). Merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases – refunded if the product is returned – while the experience remains free for users. ChatGPT acts as the user’s AI agent, securely passing information between the user and the merchant. ACP is designed to be straightforward to integrate and flexible across payment processors and platforms. How organic visibility works in ChatGPT Product results are organic and unsponsored, ranked based on relevance to the user’s query and the context of the conversation. The embedded shopping experience must be triggered by user intent during the conversation. When that happens, ChatGPT displays product cards that allow users to purchase directly. Instant Checkout items do not receive preferential ranking, according to OpenAI. However, when multiple merchants sell the same product, ChatGPT considers: Availability. Price. Quality. Whether the merchant is a primary seller. Whether Instant Checkout is enabled to optimize the experience. Dig deeper: How ChatGPT search ranks products and merchants How orders, payments, and fulfillment work Orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled by the merchant using their existing systems. Stripe users can enable payments with a single line of code. When someone places an order, ChatGPT sends the necessary details to the merchant’s backend via ACP. The merchant then: Accepts or declines the order. Processes the payment. Manages fulfillment and customer support as usual. What’s still evolving Many details are still emerging around how ChatGPT will operate the broader Instant Checkout function. Our team is closely tracking several areas, including: Fees and cost structure: While OpenAI has said merchants will pay a small fee on completed purchases, the exact amount has not been disclosed. Shopify integrations: These are next in line, opening Instant Checkout to more than a million Shopify merchants once available. The specific steps for merchants to activate and run the integration have not yet been detailed by OpenAI. Beyond Shopify: Additional merchant integrations are in development. Revenue optimization capabilities: Basket size, cross-sell, and up-sell functionality – including support for multi-item transactions – are still being defined. Global reach: For now, Instant Checkout is limited to U.S. consumers. Dig deeper: When AI agents do the shopping: Insights from 100 conversations with ChatGPT Agent mode Preparing product feeds Now is the time for merchants to review how complete and descriptive their product data is. Feed quality directly impacts how well ChatGPT can match products to conversational prompts and generate accurate responses. There are key aspects of a client’s feed that can help determine fit: Are key product descriptors present – especially those that influence customer decisions? In the conversational context of ChatGPT queries, these attributes carry high value. How complete is the product schema? The more structured information provided, the more effectively ChatGPT can reference those details in responses. Example: height, width, and depth measurements of a nightstand. The richer and more structured your feed, the stronger your visibility potential in ChatGPT’s embedded shopping experience. Next steps for merchants Merchants can apply through OpenAI’s Instant Checkout form. (Etsy and Shopify sellers are automatically covered.) OpenAI will onboard eligible merchants on a rolling basis. In the meantime: Prepare and validate your product feeds. Begin building integrations. Track organic product visibility within ChatGPT’s shopping experience. Optimize product pages for high-intent prompts that trigger embedded shopping. View the full article

James was charged with one count of alleged bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment made public on Thursday follows allegations from The President administration officials that James engaged in mortgage fraud. View the full article