Category: Business

• Tim Cook unveiled Apple's generative AI strategy, called Apple Intelligence, at WWDC 2024.
• The strategy includes new AI features in the upcoming iOS 18, Mac, and iPad updates. 
• Key features include a smarter Siri and priority notifications.

Tim Cook unveiled Apple's generative AI strategy, which it calls "Apple Intelligence," at its Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this week.

At its biggest conference, Apple revealed a bunch of cool AI features that will be launched through its upcoming software update, iOS 18, and on its latest Mac and iPad operating systems.

Apple also officially announced its partnership with OpenAI, which will see it integrate ChatGPT into its software and let users search for queries that they can't do through its revamped Siri.

Here's a recap of what was announced.

Siri's getting a lot smarter

Apple's digital assistant, Siri, will be much more helpful. You can type in instructions instead of just speaking to it. It will be able to carry out tasks within other apps for you, like sending a photo to a friend that you're looking at.

Summarize and proofread emails

You'll be able to get summaries of emails through Mail and peek at the first couple of lines of one without having to open an email.

Apple said Mail is also getting a "Smart Reply" boost, which will offer suggestions for automatic responses.

It could also help you switch up the tone of what you're writing through a prompt.

Say goodbye to those annoying notifications

You'll be able to get a summary of your notifications, which will be organized by priority of what's the most important.

It will also have a "Reduce Interruptions" feature that Apple says will "help users stay present" in whatever they are focused on. It will only ping you a notification for something that could be considered urgent, Apple said, citing a text about an early daycare pickup as one example.

Record and transcribe audio files in the Notes app

It will also summarize the audio files you record in its Notes and Phone apps, which could be pretty handy for work meetings.

Search through your photos and videos with keywords

Searching with keywords will make it even easier to pull up a specific photo or video you're looking for. And if there's someone you want to remove from a photo, you can use its "Clean Up" tool to remove them or unwanted objects.

Create AI images while you're chatting with your friends

Apple is bringing "Image Playground" to its Messages app, which allows users to create animations, sketches, and illustrations.

Users can also create a "Genmoji" — an animated version of yourself — to use in messages. It's a bit like a Bitmoji where you can personalize it to look like you or your friends and use it to express a whole range of emotions while texting.

• Ukraine targeted an airbase in Russia's Rostov region with at least 70 drones, an official said.
• Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, confirmed the attack to The War Zone.
• The operation targeted Su-34 bombers used by Russia to drop glide bombs on Ukraine.

Ukraine struck a military airbase in Russia with at least 70 drones on Thursday, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Defense Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, told The War Zone.

The mass attack was launched at Morozovsk airbase in Russia's Rostov region, almost 200 miles from the Ukrainian border.

A satellite image of an airfield close to Morozovsk shows what appear to be multiple Su-34 fighter-bombers.

A security source told Sky News that the Ukrainian attack was designed to target the jets that Russia has used to drop powerful glide bombs on Ukraine.

They added that the strikes were part of a "sustained campaign to degrade the Russian Air Force."

The extent of the damage caused by the attack is not yet known. Budanov told The War Zone that they were "waiting for information" on whether any targets were destroyed or damaged.

But one Russian Telegram channel, The Kremlin Snuff Box, claimed that six Russian military personnel were killed in the strikes, citing sources in the Russian General Staff.

"Most of the drones were shot down, a few failed. We have six dead, including two military pilots. And more than ten wounded," one source said, per the channel.

It is not the first time that Ukraine has targeted the Morozovsk airbase.

In early April, Ukrainian forces carried out another large drone assault on the site, destroying "at least six fighter bombers," damaging another eight planes, and killing 20 Russian soldiers, a Ukrainian law enforcement official told Politico.

A video shared on social media at the time appeared to show the strikes.

Russia has increasingly used glide bombs — some weighing more than 3,000 pounds — to batter Ukrainian targets.

The cheap projectiles are made by attaching wings and satellite navigation systems to old Soviet-era bombs. Russian bombers are then able to release them from safer distances, making it hard for Ukraine to counter such attacks.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in March that Russia's use of the bombs was its "main advantage on the battlefield," allowing its forces "to destroy the targets of the strikes and advance through the ruins."

• Matan Gans is a former software development engineer at AWS. 
• He's been a victim of Big Tech's sweeping layoffs since graduating college.
• Coinbase rescinded an offer days after his graduation. Months later, Gans was laid off from Amazon.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matan Gans, a former software development engineer at AWS and startup founder. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I graduated from Brown University in 2022, I was weighing up two exciting job offers — one from Google and one from Coinbase.

Google was kind of a dream job for me, but the job was in-person and meant uprooting my life in Boston and moving to California.

I also had a return offer from my previous summer internship with Amazon Web Services, which I choose not to accept because it was based in Seattle.

The Coinbase job was fully remote, so I was faced with this difficult decision of staying on the East Coast or moving to the West Coast.

I ended up deciding to stay in Boston and accept the Coinbase offer. I was a bit hesitant because although cryptocurrency was going through a big hype at the time, I was really excited about the idea of going into Big Tech and having a stable job.

It was difficult to say no to Google, but it just came down to the remote working opportunity.

But a week after graduation I got an email from Coinbase saying they were rescinding my offer amid a round of layoffs.

Flood of support

It was obviously disappointing and really shocking — I'd been excited about the Coinbase job.

It took a while to get over this initial shock. I decided to post on LinkedIn about it because I saw others were doing so.

The response was amazing — I had recruiters flooding my LinkedIn inbox and loads of support from people in the tech industry. I even got fast-tracked to the last round of interviews for one company looking to scoop up laid-off Coinbase employees.

My manager from a summer internship I did at Amazon also got in touch. He offered me a job on the same team I'd done my internship with. Although the team was based in Seattle, he said the company had a remote option that would allow me to work from Boston.

Although I had another offer on the table, I accepted the Amazon job.

It felt like a safer choice because it was a Big Tech company — and I already knew the team.

I started working as a software development engineer at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in August 2022. The job turned out to be fantastic and I learnt a lot.

Amazon layoffs

When Amazon started cutting jobs, it was a big shock.

The sweeping layoffs were obviously concerning given that I'd already been through a similar situation just months earlier.

There was a sense within the company that the layoffs wouldn't reach AWS because it was profitable. I survived the first two rounds of cuts in early 2023 and gradually started to feel secure in my job again.

But, in February 2023, Amazon announced a return-to-office policy.

This was alarming as the main reason I took the job was because of the remote option. I was living with my partner in Providence, Rhode Island, so the commute to the Boston office would have been long.

Not only that, but my team was still based in Seattle.

I could have made the commute to the Boston office work, but I started to get the sense from my manager they'd rather have me in Seattle. I told them if I had to relocate I would, but I'd rather stay where I was.

My managers tried to move me to another team located in Boston and never implied my job was in jeopardy.

But then, on a regular Tuesday morning, I logged onto my computer and found I had lost access to the company Slack. Sure enough, when I opened my email I discovered I'd been laid off.

The two people laid off from my team were remote workers. I don't know why I was cut — I tried to push for a reason but the company told me it was a mix of things and not just because I was remote.

The new normal

I posted on LinkedIn again after I was laid off from Amazon but it went much less viral this time.

It didn't get this stream of responses I had received after my Coinbase offer was rescinded.

It felt like all the tech companies were doing huge layoffs. I applied to a few jobs and got a few automated rejections, but each day I was seeing more people laid off.

At the beginning I regretted not taking the original job at Google. Although Google did some layoffs, they didn't axe as many roles proportionally as Coinbase did.

Over time, I've learned not to have regrets around that choice.

I think the work experience at Google would have been very similar to Amazon. It might even have been worse for me because I would've been so far away from from home and my personal relationships on the East Coast.

Post-layoff life

Since I was laid off from Amazon, the main thing I've been doing is setting up my own start-up.

On the side, I also teach with a program that offers extracurricular coding and AI research to students and volunteer as a coding instructor with another program.

I also took some contact software engineering work with very early stage startups. I was interested in entrepreneurship after having experienced big tech and trying out these jobs inspired me to start building my own venture.

My main takeaway about getting laid off is how hard it can be to mentally reconfigure your life.

My immediate reaction for several months was disillusion with the with Big Tech, but now I feel positive about my experiences. This feels like a really good time in my life to not take a straightforward path.

There is a silver lining to the layoffs as they allowed me to take to time out, find myself, and figure out what I enjoy.

• A Russian tank fell into a crater and was targeted by Ukrainian drones, new footage appeared to show.
• Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade claims to have destroyed eight Russian tanks in the Donetsk region.
• The battle was in one of the "most tense" areas along the front line, Ukraine's General Staff said.

A new war video from the battlefield in Ukraine appears to show a Russian tank falling into a crater when fleeing Ukrainian fire.

The footage, released by Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade, begins by showing drone video of an oncoming column of Russian armor. The vehicle at the front of the company is taken out by an explosion. Debris can be seen flying up into the air.

Drones then attack the rest of the column of tanks and armored vehicles.

One of the tanks, when crossing a field, drives into a large crater. A drone then targets the tank as at least one Russian soldier attempts to flee.

A second video shows the tank engulfed in flames and exploding.

Business Insider could not independently verify the video or the claims made in the caption.

According to the video's caption, eight Russian tanks and eight infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) were destroyed. The video was taken in Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, one of the "most tense" areas along the front line, according to an update by Ukraine's General Staff.

"Ukrainian defense forces continue to make efforts to stabilize the situation and inflict major fire damage," the update said.

Later on June 14, in comments to Ukrinform, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesman for the Khortytsia grouping of forces, a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, confirmed the brigade's claims.

"In the Pokrovsk axis, our Defense Forces destroyed eight Russian tanks and disabled two more. That's 10 in total. This makes up a tank company," he said.

"In addition, in this section of the front, during the said period, our defenders destroyed eight more armored fighting vehicles, two artillery systems, and four other vehicles (one more damaged)."

Voloshyn didn't specify when the video had been filmed but said 242 Russian troops had been killed or wounded during fighting in Pokrovsk.

"Our Ukrainian defenders did a good job yesterday and disposed of plenty of Russian hardware, and even more so Russian invaders along with their equipment," Voloshyn said.

• Fermented foods are rich in probiotics and can increase gut microbiome diversity. 
• Mass-produced, processed, fermented foods may not be as beneficial. 
• A gut-health dietitian recommends eating a variety of fermented food and buying locally-made items.

Studies have shown that fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kimchi, are good for gut health.

Made when live bacteria or yeast are added to ingredients like tea, milk, or vegetables, fermented foods contain probiotics, which are the "good" bacteria in our guts.

Fermented food can increase the diversity of the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the colon lining. This can impact digestion, the immune system, and the brain. Experts believe that the more diverse the microbial community, the healthier it is.

But with Big Food cashing in on this discovery, it's easy to be sold products that doesn't deliver.

"Lots of things are being mass produced at the moment in the fermented food space, and they're not necessarily as good quality," Tanzil Miah, a gut-health specialist dietitian at The Gut Health Clinic in London, UK told Business Insider.

A new lawsuit, for example, has claimed that someone would need to drink more than four cans a day of the "gut-friendly" soda Poppi, which claims to aid gut health, to receive any potential health benefits.

Miah shared her three top tips for getting the most benefit out of fermented foods.

Eat multiple servings per day

Miah eats two servings of fermented foods a day. This could mean around two to three tablespoons of yogurt or kefir, or 30 grams of aged cheese, she said.

There's compelling evidence to suggest that eating multiple servings of fermented foods daily can be beneficial for gut health.

A 2021 study from Stanford University found that people who ate around six servings of fermented foods a day for 10 weeks had increased microbiome diversity compared to those who ate a high-fiber diet. They also had reduced inflammation biomarkers.

Eat a variety of fermented foods

It's also important to eat a variety of different fermented foods, Miah said, because the gut microbiome thrives on diversity.

"We still haven't discovered all the secrets of the microbiome yet. But one of the things we know for sure is our gut microbiome loves diversity," Miah said.

Eating plant-based foods, probiotic foods, and prebiotic foods, which are found in plants like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, leads to a more diverse microbiome with more types of beneficial bacteria, she said.

Buy locally and check labels

Due to the explosion of the gut-health trend, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha are now available at most grocery stores. But oftentimes, they're mass-produced and contain far more ingredients than you might realize, Miah said.

"They lose some of that goodness in the processing and batch production," she added.

Some might even be considered ultra-processed foods (UPFs) because they contain five or more ingredients, including some you wouldn't find in a regular kitchen. UPFs are linked to many health problems and typically contain little fiber and few nutrients, meaning they're not particularly nourishing for the microbiome.

Miah recommended buying locally-made fermented foods when possible or checking the nutritional labels of products in the store before buying them.

"Go to a local market or a farmer's market or something like that," she said.

• China's newest aircraft carrier is a substantial capability jump as it builds a modern blue-water navy.
• Carriers are important to China's national identity and vision of being a great power.
• Carriers are also useful tools China can use to address a variety of strategy and security issues.

China is building a fleet of aircraft carriers, making technological and capability jumps at a breakneck pace.

Carriers bring new aviation capabilities to its navy, but the flattops also appear to be key elements of China's vision for the future, giving it the ability to project strength and influence as a great power.

China's latest carrier is the Fujian, a large, conventionally powered vessel that underwent sea trials earlier this spring. By all accounts, Fujian is a marked improvement over China's first two carriers — it's the only warship in its class and bigger than its Soviet-style predecessors, boasting a larger potential air wing.

Most notably, the Fujian lacks the ski-jump style ramp that is prominent on China's Shandong and Liaoning carriers. Instead, its flight deck is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult launch system like the US Navy's new Ford-class carriers.

For now, China and the US are the only countries with this technology, which allows them to launch heavier aircraft with more fuel, supplies, and weapons more efficiently and effectively, adding new assets and options to the air wing.

The big leap from the ski jump to the catapult system is already significant, but China also skipped steam-powered catapults, which would've been a natural next step from the ramps.

The move shows China is attempting to push technological boundaries while building and developing new carriers, reinforcing the view that with major shipbuilding capacity on its side, China can develop, test, and field capabilities faster than its competitors.

"Now it's getting into a pace of understanding what it needs to successfully put an aircraft carrier into the water, and you combine that with its shipbuilding prowess and you have a recipe for a lot of carriers getting built in a short amount of time," said Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow with the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

China's shipbuilding strengths and political motivations to build carriers are propelling it towards its blue-water navy future. China is planning to build and deploy six carriers in total by 2035, which would give China a fleet just over half the size of the American carrier force, though numbers alone aren't everything.

China has a roadmap for its ambitions in the coming decades. By 2027, its People's Liberation Army is expected to be fully modernized, per a command from Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, giving it the ability to invade Taiwan should it decide to do so. And by 2049, China has goals for a national transformation into a modern power with a "world-class military."

The "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" is a core Chinese ambition with different interpretations. US Army Maj. Kyle Amonson and retired US Coast Guard Capt. Dane Egli wrote in a 2023 Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs article that this monumental Chinese effort "has been the ultimate goal for President Xi" and that the goal is the "emergence of China as the leading global power by 2049."

"In this era of strategic competition, no strategic goal is more ambitiously anticipated than the annexation of Taiwan," they wrote, as this would establish "Xi's standing in history" and help him consolidate greater power.

Connected to the 2049 goal, to be realized within one hundred years of the founding of the People's Republic of China under the Chinese Communist Party, is China's desire "to have a naval presence and project power globally," Funaiole explained, noting that while it may not be accomplished in the same way as the US, China wants the ability to flex its muscles, "and aircraft carriers are a big part of how it sees itself being able to accomplish those goals."

Such a future — one where China's carriers sail the globe like the US Navy — is not necessarily hard to imagine, given that while China faces plenty of domestic and economic woes at this time, it's chasing the US military might at a speed and ability that clearly concerns US officials and military leaders.

Aircraft carriers are symbols of military strength. With thousands of sailors on board, dozens of combat aircraft, and often surrounded by other warships with their own capabilities, these flattops can represent a nation's far-reaching influence, making them as much a status symbol as a naval warfare asset.

For China, having aircraft carriers allows it to enjoy many of those perks. It gives it the ability to project power across the East and South China Seas, out into the Western Pacific, further into the Indian Ocean, and potentially beyond. With that type of physical presence, Funaiole said, China can enhance its ability as a power broker in those regions.

And beyond their military purposes, carriers can lend to diplomacy, signaling, and humanitarian assistance. They can ensure proper sea lanes of communication and trade, as well as favorably position China in regions like the Gulf states and allow it to challenge the US Navy's status as a guarantor of international trade.

While some of these have been lesser priorities for China, the carriers provide Beijing with options.

Funaiole explained that China may have a different mindset from the US on how to use its carriers, instead wanting the ability to project power when it wants and where it wants, which is different than how the US spreads its influence.

For the US, carriers are just one tool which, when combined with US bases, logistics hubs, humanitarian projects, and military installations in other countries, it uses to create a large network of allies and partners. "The US has a very different mindset about what it is in the world versus how China sees its role in the world," Funaiole said.

Part of that may come from China's history. As retired Cmdr. Michael Dahm of the US Navy, and Peter W. Singer, a strategist at New America and author, wrote for Defense One earlier this month, defeat at the Battle of the Yalu River in 1894, as well as the larger "Century of Humiliation" that followed, weigh heavily on the minds of the Chinese and PLA Navy's leadership.

These factors, combined with how long China has wanted to build aircraft carriers and how the vessels reflect national pride, create a situation where the success of its carrier program is directly tied to its success in becoming a great power, if not a leading world power.

But just because China is building carriers quickly doesn't mean it can bypass the growing pains that come with carrier operations. China's biggest problem will be fielding the right talent and getting them the experience needed, something the US has mastered through over a century of carrier operations.

China's carrier force is a little over a decade old, meaning its most senior leaders are still getting their feet wet and may not have the expertise to train newer people. And with the technological jumps between carrier types, that learning gap only grows.

China, of course, can and does learn from the decades of US trial and error, but that doesn't mean it can build what Guy Snodgrass, a former defense official and US naval aviator, described as the "connective tissue" necessary to conduct carrier operations, generate big sorties, and seamlessly bring every element together, from aviation to maintenance and logistics, without actually experiencing it. Some things can really only be learned by doing them.

• Donald Trump shook Sen. Mitch McConnell's hand, signaling a peace between the top two Republicans.
• The former president has repeatedly torn into Senate minority leader since leaving office.
• Both men now recognize the benefits to playing nice with each other once more.

Former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have decided to play nice, again.

On Thursday, Trump returned to the Capitol for the first time since the 2020 election. It was also his first time back since his supporters stormed the building on January 6, 2021. At the time, the two top Republicans in Congress, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and McConnell, then the Senate Majority Leader, blamed the sitting president for the riot. McCarthy eventually made peace with Trump, but McConnell didn't talk to the former president for years. According to reports at the time and since then, the longest-serving GOP Senate leader came close to voting to convict Trump of inciting the violence.

"The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us," McConnell said of the House's 2021 impeachment proceedings, according to journalists Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin's book "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future."

Those past tensions were nowhere to be seen on Thursday.

McConnell said that the meeting was "really positive." Even Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the only Republican to vote to impeach Trump twice, was in attendance at the large gathering of the Senate GOP.

"We had a really positive meeting, he and I got a chance to talk a little bit, we shook hands a few times, he got a lot of standing ovations, it was an entirely positive meeting," McConnell told reporters, per Politico. "Mitt Romney was there, as well, and I can't think of anything to tell you about it that was negative."

Trump wants to avoid the appearance of disunity that would distract from his coronation as he is crowned the Republican Party's presidential nominee for the third straight time in Milwaukee. There's also a block of traditional, Reagan-loving Republicans that remain skeptical of returning Trump to the White House. McConnell considers himself a card-carrying member of that wing, having staked perhaps the last major fight of his legacy on a massive foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

McConnell wants the Senate majority back. He recognizes how Trump could help the GOP despite calling the former president's political standing "diminished" less than two years ago. The path back to power is favorable to the GOP on paper because the majority runs through states Trump won easily in 2020 like Montana and Ohio. Polls show the Democratic incumbents in those states are hanging tough for now.

McConnell is also thinking about his next act. Now, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, McConnell has said he will step down from the role after the election. According to Axios, he's already considering becoming chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. It would give him major sway on topics like defense spending, where he favors more interventionist foreign policy than Trump.

The pair are also behind Trump's biggest legacy: a more conservative judiciary. McConnell needed a GOP president to cement a conservative majority on the US Supreme Court. Trump's legacy will continue to be shaped in the years to come by his three nominees on the high court and the scores of lower court judges.

McConnell and Trump are still an odd pairing

Trump has far more in common with Republicans in the House, where allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia hold power, than the Senate GOP, which is still dominated by lawmakers skeptical of Trump's foreign and trade policy.

McConnell is the perfect encapsulation of this. The 82-year-old Kentuckian is known for saying very little in halls of the Capitol, to his colleagues' chagrin. Trump, according to an author of a forthcoming book about the Apprentice, has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of every celebrity that has crossed him. McConnell's memoir is entitled "The Long Game," while Trump redefined how Americans view the presidency through 140 and later 280-character messages on a platform created for its ephemerality.

Still, their Cold War has unnerved Republicans.

Trump did not respond to his post-January 6 isolation well. In September 2022, he asked if McConnell had a "DEATH WISH" because he supported legislation that Trump said McConnell knew he opposed.

"Mitch McConnell, the Broken Old Crow, has just conceded, for absolutely nothing and for no reason, the powerful Debt Ceiling negotiating block, which was the Republicans' first-class ticket for victory over the Democrats," Trump said in December 2021 over a deal McConnell struck to avoid the US defaulting on its debt.

Trump repeatedly lashed out at McConnell and former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. The former president went so far as to engage in patently xenophobic attacks against Chao, McConnell's wife, who resigned from the Trump administration in the wake of the January 6 attack. Trump was extremely unhappy that McConnell repeatedly worked with President Joe Biden, his former Senate colleague, on bipartisan legislation that never came to fruition when Republicans controlled the White House, particularly a sweeping infrastructure law.

Amid his pique, Trump pushed Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to challenge McConnell for the right to lead Senate Republicans. McConnell easily won, but their contest laid bare the frustration some Republicans had about the Cold War between two of their leaders.

But for all the insults, McConnell has always pledged to support the GOP nominee. In April 2022, journalist Jonathan Swan seemed perplexed that McConnell could potentially support the very man he called "practically and morally responsible for provoking" the Capitol riot.

"Well, as the Republican leader of the Senate, it should not be a front-page headline that I will support the Republican nominee for president," McConnell said. "I think I have the obligation to support the nominee of my party."

It remains to be seen what, if any, obligation Trump will have to McConnell in the coming months.

• My dad was a Jamaican immigrant who beat all odds and became an entrepreneur. 
• My mom died when I was 19 and I when my dad died many years later, I thought I knew how to grieve.
• But our relationship was different, we had a unique bond, and so the pain was different. 

My dad was the living embodiment of the American dream and my hero. He wasn't a superhero in a billion-dollar blockbuster — he was a real-life miracle worker, seemingly making the impossible a reality.

A Jamaican immigrant with only a fourth-grade education, my father arrived in Providence, Rhode Island, armed with nothing but an indomitable spirit. Against all odds, he became a successful entrepreneur and accomplished his goal of providing a good life for his family.

My earliest memories of my dad are from when he was 40, just two years younger than I am now. That's when he "made it."

In 1994, we moved from our cramped apartment into what was once his workshop. He transformed it into a cozy one-story home and later added a second level. Our new home featured a circular driveway, a white fence, a brick gate, and a balcony off the master bedroom. For a man who grew up with an outside toilet — an outhouse, as they call it back home — and walked his neighborhood streets barefoot, he'd accomplished the ultimate dream, providing a good life for his family.

I thought I knew how to grieve

The bond we shared was unique. We're both Geminis, with birthdays just four days apart, creating a dynamic that often felt like looking into a mirror — sometimes a reflection I wasn't ready to face. He raised me as a single parent after my mom began shuttling between her native Chicago and Providence when I was 9. This was the 90s, a time before FaceTime, emails, or voice notes. Parenting happened through letters, phone calls, and annual visits. Tragically, my mother died when I was 19.

When I lost my dad in 2022, I foolishly thought I knew how to grieve, having already lost my mom. But I was wrong. The relationship was different, and the pain was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

The only time I didn't see him regularly was during the pandemic, when FaceTime calls from Los Angeles to the East Coast kept us connected. Once we were both vaccinated, I flew home to see him. A few days before I arrived, he suggested a road trip to New Jersey to visit family. I was annoyed at the last-minute change because I already had plans with friends in motion, but I still agreed to take the trip, and I'm so glad that I did. The spontaneous trip to Jersey during Labor Day weekend 2021 took me back to my childhood, filled with road trips to the Jamaica Colosseum Mall in Queens, NY, with old-school soca music providing the soundtrack.

That trip was the last time I saw him.

I still struggle to find the words to describe how I feel

Though the world didn't end during the pandemic, mine shattered. I lost my father under traumatic circumstances — until this day, his case is unsolved and remains a missing persons case. Navigating grief while playing amateur detective and trying to hold on to some semblance of life was the hardest thing I've ever faced. Almost three years later, I still struggle to find the words to articulate how I feel. Through it all, this experience has deepened my empathy and driven me to help others in their grief, believing that no one should have to navigate such pain alone.

This inspiration led me to create "Sorry For Your Loss (Cards)." This greeting card company and community aim to support those grieving by providing resources and simplifying how to show up for someone you love during the most difficult time in their life. Each card features a heart-shaped QR code, allowing recipients to share how they need people to show up for them because dealing with loss is hard enough — helping someone heal shouldn't be. My hope is to not only support people through their grief but also to help restore their joy. Our community events will reflect this energy, incorporating wellness practices and uplifting activities.

Here's how I honor my dad during Father's Day

While I miss my father terribly, I've found a lot of healing and inspiration through my grief. This doesn't mean I don't have difficult days; it's just changed my outlook on life. Now, I have more appreciation for the people I love and my experiences. I'm also more present than I was in the past.

If your father has transitioned into your guardian angel, here are some heartfelt ways to honor him:

• Write a letter: Pouring your feelings onto paper can be a therapeutic release.
• Visit a significant place: Revisit a location filled with cherished memories.
• Donate: Make a contribution to a charity in your father's honor. Last year, we honored my dad with a memorial at the local library in my childhood neighborhood.
• Gather with friends and family: Surround yourself with loved ones to share stories and love.
• Request letters or videos: Ask family and friends to share their favorite memories of your dad, creating a collection to revisit whenever you miss him.
• Create a dad playlist: Compile songs that remind you of your father.
• Honor yourself: If your relationship with your father was complicated, it's OK to take your time and decide how or if you want to celebrate his life.

There's no right way to grieve. Only you can determine the best way to remember and honor your loved one

• Ukraine used a Patriot missile to down a prized Russian A-50 spy plane earlier this year.
• The hi-tech A-50 is crucial for Russia's early warning, command, and control during air operations.
• A senior US officer called the destruction of the A-50 a 'SAMbush.'

A senior US Army officer has confirmed that Ukraine used a Patriot missile system to down a Russian A-50 spy plane back in January.

Speaking at the Fires Symposium event last month, Colonel Rosanna Clemente, the assistant chief of staff of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, said that Patriot launchers were "being used to protect static sites and critical national infrastructure" in Ukraine.

"Others are being moved around and doing some really historic things that I haven't seen in 22 years of being an air defender. And one of them is a 'SAMbush,'" she said, referring to surface-to-air missile ambushes that Ukrainians have been performing.

"They're doing that with extremely mobile Patriot systems that were donated by the Germans because the systems are all mounted on the trucks."

She added that Ukrainian anti-aircraft teams used this tactic "to engage the first A-50 C2 system back in January."

On the same day, Ukraine also claimed to have shot down an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post.

The A-50, produced by manufacturer Beriev, is a crucial spy plane that allows Russia to detect incoming Ukrainian missiles and identify ground targets. The aircraft can also act as a mobile command-and-control center to direct Russia's air strikes and other attacks. It has a range of over 3,000 miles and can stay airborne for about eight hours.

The plane has been a "key enabler for Russian operations over Ukraine providing airborne early warning of threats as well as command and control functionality," according to British intelligence.

Ukraine claimed it downed a second A-50 in February, though it is not yet clear what weapons were used in this instance.

Russia now only has around 5 operational A-50s left, reports say.

In March, Ukraine also attempted to strike the Beriev manufacturing plant where Russia refurbishes and modernizes its A-50s, the think tank the Institute for the Study of War said.

Russian sources claimed that the plant was repairing an A-50 that had been previously damaged in a drone attack.

• Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall are developing a TV series called "Singularity."
• Hall told Business Insider that Downey Jr. plans to direct the pilot episode, which would mark the Oscar-winner's directorial debut.
• Hall said the series had to be revised due to similarities with "Succession."

Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr.'s friendship goes back to the mid-1980s when the two met on the set of the John Hughes classic "Weird Science" and soon after were cast members on "Saturday Night Live."

Though their career trajectories diverged — Hall went from '80s teen idol to character actor, Downey Jr. from unknown to "Iron Man" — the two have remained close friends. In fact, Hall is the godfather of Downey Jr.'s son.

Now, the old friends are in development on a TV series that would mark Downey Jr.'s directorial debut.

"We wrote a TV series together, we're calling it 'Singularity,' and it's based on an idea Downey had," Hall told Business Insider.

Hall said the two have been developing it for years (it was first announced by The Wrap in 2016), and it took even longer to get off the ground once they realized what they wrote was similar to the hugely popular HBO series "Succession."

"We had to change things because it wound up being too similar to 'Succession,'" he said. "What I mean by that is I would have played one of three sons, and the father was this tycoon industrialist. It's more of a comedic tone than 'Succession,' but it mirrored it too much, so we had to change things. Downey and I actually had a Zoom session the other day with a top producer who will hopefully come on board."

Hall also revealed that "Singularity" would mark Downey's directorial debut.

"He might direct the pilot and some other episodes along with being in it," Hall said of Downey Jr. "He's committed to being a part of it."

After four decades in the business on screen, Hall said he's focusing more on work behind the scenes. Along with developing "Singularity," Hall also wrote a feature script that he plans to direct.

"It has been a passion and desire for me to do that for many years now," Hall said of trying his hand as a writer-director. "It's the next evolution in my career, being behind the camera."