As the conflict in the Middle East intensifies, Americans living and traveling abroad are being asked to exercise increased caution. The U.S. State Department issued a “worldwide caution” travel advisory on July 18, 2026. “Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the advisory read. “The Department of State advises Americans worldwide, and especially in the Middle East, to exercise increased caution,” it continued. “Americans abroad should follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.” The agency said that U.S. diplomatic facilities, including…
Author: Staff Writer
Something has shifted in the way that most companies engage with their customers in recent years, with automation playing a heavier role in a customer’s experience. While efficiency is important, it can also create distance between a person and a brand. This focus on transactions has created a remarkable opening for small businesses. Consumers today are looking for something that’s become surprisingly hard to find: a genuine relationship with the businesses they choose. In fact, 74% of consumers say that a lack of human connection will drive them to abandon a brand after a few bad experiences. I’ve spent my…
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. In January 2023, Brad Wilson had begun interviewing for a coveted position—CEO of the online caregiving marketplace Care.com—when his family received devastating news. Wilson’s wife, Ashley, was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. The couple, whose children were 10, 12, and 13 at the time, decided he should continue pursuing the role. Wilson says they believed, based on conversations with physicians, that Ashley had years…
The release of Kimi K3, an artificial intelligence model created by a former computer science graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, has rocked parts of social media and the AI commentariat. The model, developed by Moonshot AI—a Chinese lab cofounded by that ex-student, Yang Zhilin—has wowed many observers with its capabilities. “Kimi K3 demonstrates the U.S. moat in building frontier AI software is not as durable as many of us had hoped,” says Ryan Fedasiuk, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “We should expect Chinese AI labs to continue distilling and freely releasing a version of the American frontier…
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your article on the private blog. You give the details and behind-the-scenes view that others have no idea about at all. You had forecast back in 2018 that Iran reached a major turning point that would escalate their militant posture. That forecast was on point. Do you see any options here for the US regarding Iran? Jim ANSWER: The 2018 marked a significant turning point where Iran adopted a more confrontational and militant posture. This shift was primarily a direct response to the US decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and re-impose…
Critterz was one of the first feature films built primarily with AI. But OpenAI abruptly shut down Sora, the tool its director, Nik Kleverov, was relying on. Kleverov, who is chief creative officer of the production company Native Foreign, makes the case that AI isn’t killing Hollywood but is about to reinvent it. He breaks down why 2026 is year zero for mass adoption of AI in the film industry, and why human talent is more in demand than ever when great storytelling is the goal. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by former…
QUESTION: Are you just supporting Trump with his conspiracy theory about the 2020 election? Joshua ANSWER: The fact that the press keeps blasting Trump claiming the 2020 was not rigged and in Pennsylvania they claim Trump lost every legal challenge so that somehow proves he was wrong is just absurd. Courts are also political. Why do they fight so hard about which president will appoint people to the Supreme Court if the law was just the law? Rigging elections have been a passtime for thousands of years. Even Joseph Stalin commented on that practice famously saying its the people who…
The IMF has once again reduced its outlook for global growth, pointing to persistent geopolitical tensions, expanding trade barriers, and growing uncertainty surrounding conflicts stretching from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Global output is now expected to grow at roughly 3% this year, a pace well below the historical average. Modern economists often separate military conflict from economic performance as though they are unrelated subjects. Every prolonged conflict diverts resources away from productive investment and toward military production. Steel that might have built factories instead becomes armored vehicles. Microchips are directed into missile systems rather than consumer electronics. Governments…
Something has fundamentally changed in America, and it should concern everyone regardless of politics. The press was never supposed to decide what the public is allowed to hear. Their job was to report the news. Somewhere along the way, they decided their real job was deciding which information is acceptable and which information should be filtered before it ever reaches the public. When President Trump delivered his address on the newly released election-related documents, several major television networks chose not to carry it in full. ABC and NBC declined to air the speech on their broadcast networks. CBS began…
If you’ve been using Perplexity for a while, you’ve probably figured out the basics. You know it gives you straight answers instead of a giant wall of sponsored results and recipe blogs. That’s fine, but if you’re only typing basic questions into the primary search bar, you’re barely scratching the surface. There are a handful of deeper tools tucked into the prompt box, Spaces, and follow-up workflow that completely change how the engine works. If you aren’t using them, you’re missing out on some of the best parts of the platform. Let’s look at the features you should actually be…