Category: Business

• Neanderthals may have caught the same viruses that cause modern colds, cold sores, and some cancers.
• It's possible ancient humans introduced these unfamiliar viruses to their relatives.
• Understanding these ancient viruses may shed light on Neanderthals' extinction and modern diseases.

Neanderthals may have suffered from some very familiar diseases 50,000 years ago, which could have contributed to their downfall.

Researchers studying ancient Neanderthal DNA found traces of three viruses that cause colds, cold sores, genital warts, and cancer.

And ancient humans might have been the ones who started spreading these bugs, according to the scientists who recently published their work in the peer-reviewed journal "Viruses."

Most Neanderthal experts think the species went extinct due to various causes, from changing climate to low fertility rates to human interactions. Trying to recover from illnesses — especially unfamiliar ones introduced by distant cousins — likely wouldn't have helped.

Poor health from "these types of infections can have a negative impact when you are competing with another species," Marcelo Briones, one of the researchers who found the viruses, told Business Insider via email.

Not only could these ancient viruses contribute to our understanding of Neanderthals' extinction, but they might help us learn more about the modern versions still infecting humans today.

Siberian bones with ancient viruses

About 54,000 years ago, a small community of Neanderthals lived in Chagyrskaya Cave in Southern Siberia.

Briones and his colleagues studied the sequenced DNA data of two Neanderthals from the cave — an adult male and a boy — to look for evidence of three viruses they thought might have contributed to the species' extinction: adenovirus, herpesvirus, and papillomavirus.

The adenovirus can cause respiratory infections like colds or flu, while herpesviruses can cause cold sores or genital warts, depending on the type. Some cancers, like cervical cancer, are linked to the papillomavirus.

This isn't the first time researchers have found inert (no longer infectious) ancient human viruses. A 2021 study documented the discovery of adenovirus in 31,600-year-old human teeth from Siberia.

The adenovirus, herpesvirus, and papillomavirus found in this more-recent study are nearly 50,000 years old, according to the researchers — 20,000 years older than the adenovirus found in the Siberian teeth.

That's around the time some experts estimate humans and Neanderthals interbred, between 60,000 and 50,000 years ago. In addition to swapping DNA, humans and Neanderthals probably passed around diseases.

It's not clear if newly introduced viruses would have caused the same symptoms in Neanderthals that they do in present-day humans. While infections likely induced an immune response, it's difficult to tell how severe resulting illnesses would have been, Briones said.

One 2016 study suggested interbreeding with Neanderthals may have boosted humans' immunity to previously unknown diseases. However, the Neanderthals may have been less lucky.

"A cold does not have to be fatal to decrease hunting efficiency or reproductive ability," Briones said. With an already small population, getting sick with new illnesses might have contributed to Neanderthals' extinction roughly 40,000 years ago.

The difficulty with ancient DNA

Learning more about how these ancient diseases have changed over tens of thousands of years could shed light on how they affect modern humans.

Some viruses never leave your body. "They have a huge impact on human health because they are long-lived infections," said Sasha Tabachnikova, a PhD candidate studying herpesvirus at Yale School of Medicine. Recent research has linked Epstein-Barr — a type of herpesvirus — with multiple sclerosis, for example.

Tabachnikova, who wasn't involved in the paper, is excited about the possibility of studying how an ancient virus has evolved since the Neanderthals' era. But that type of research is likely a ways off.

Ancient DNA is tricky to work with. It degrades and breaks into short fragments. The longer a sequence of DNA is, the easier it is to identify.

"When the sequence is too short, you will find them everywhere, in all types of genomes," Diyendo Massilani, an assistant professor of genetics at Yale, said. That can lead to misinterpretations in the data.

Viruses already have shorter DNA strands than humans do. That means tools used to study ancient human DNA might not work for viruses, Sally Wasef, a paleogenetics researcher at Queensland University of Technology, told New Scientist.

Massilani also had some concerns with how the researchers were interpreting the ancient DNA. "They probably have a good idea," he said, but they need to adjust some of their methods to strengthen their results.

Briones said he and his colleagues plan to do more research to confirm their findings.

• Israel used US-made bombs to strike a UN-run school in Gaza, a CNN analysis found.
• Israeli forces attacked the school, serving as a refugee camp for 20,000 people, overnight.
• The IDF said it was targeting Hamas militants operating inside the school.

Israel used US-made bombs to strike a school in Gaza, killing dozens of people, CNN reported.

The United Nations-run school was being used as a refugee camp, housing about 20,000 displaced people, when at least three missiles struck it overnight, a local journalist told CNN.

CNN analyzed video of the strike and consulted a weapons expert to determine that Israel used US-made explosives in the attack.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the attack on Thursday, saying it was targeting a Hamas compound of 20 to 30 militants that were operating inside the school, NBC News reported.

Palestinian health officials said dozens of refugees were killed, including women and children, while a spokesperson for the IDF said he didn't know of any civilian deaths, NBC News reported.

"We were asleep here, (and) we suddenly saw rockets falling. I went down holding my child, we were both injured, my relative was martyred in that room," local journalist Jaber Abu Daher told CNN, adding that Israel's prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is killing the civilians, he is not killing militants."

"It's innocent people asleep in a UNRWA facility… what did children and elderly do? What did they do to him? He is looking for Hamas people? Go look for them, why are you killing us in schools?"

The IDF spokesperson said Israel had postponed the strike twice in an attempt to avoid killing civilians, NBC News reported.

The strike is the latest Israeli military action that's sparked international outcry as its war against Hamas drags on. Last month, airstrikes in southern Gaza killed at least 45 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Those health authorities say tens of thousands have been killed in Israeli bombings since the war began last October, after Hamas launched terror attacks across the border, killing hundreds and taking hostages.

The overnight airstrike on the school in central Gaza also represents another challenge to US President Joe Biden, who has urged Israel and Hamas to come to a cease-fire deal and pressured the US ally into avoiding civilian casualties.

Biden is facing pressure from his left flank in the US from progressive voters who accuse him of supporting "genocide" by backing Israel's campaign.

• My wife and I recently married, and we are both freelancers, struggling to get gigs.
• The stress sometimes causes us to fight, but we learned how to support each other.
• We prioritize communication, alone time, and self-care.

We got married in February this year, and since then, my wife, Dhara, has been struggling to land freelance gigs. Finding work is way more difficult than actually doing it. I have been freelance writing since 2014, and my wife started her freelance career in 2019, so I know this for a fact.

My wife sent out dozens of cold emails to potential clients and got one guy to respond, but he ghosted her. She has also applied for full-time jobs, but nothing panned out.

While I've had a consistent flow of clients, I faced similar situations before we got married. I lost a high-paying, long-term client a few years ago and couldn't land a new gig for seven months.

Suffice it to say that freelancing is difficult, and it's even more difficult when your life partner is in the same boat. To make sure we support each other and keep our marriage healthy, we follow a few important guidelines.

Prioritize communication

We often try to find time to talk about each other's work. We also discuss shared and individual priorities so that we know what's important to each other each week. Communicating needs, responsibilities, and expectations helps us build trust. Failing to do so leads to unwanted heartburn and arguments for us.

We practice jointly deciding how to allocate time and resources based on our collective priorities. Through communication, we are able to work together to ensure everything gets done without sacrificing much.

Self-care

Freelancing is challenging. We found that not being physically, mentally, and emotionally fit will lead to stress, depression, and arguments in our house.

Sitting is unhealthy, and I sit in one position for hours. I'm trying to change that. I quickly walk around every few hours or so and stretch a bit to avoid a stiff back. I also hit the gym in the evening to calibrate my mental peace and keep in shape. Walking is a great source of ideas and much-needed clarity. It's a feel-good time for me.

Dhara is a rockstar. She does the household chores while looking for gigs, so she doesn't have to sit in one place for long hours.

Alone time

I love spending time with myself. While my wife hasn't yet bought into this idea, she respects my need for solitude. I often go quiet and observe my thoughts; this is meditation for me. It helps me gather myself, slow down, and focus.

Having alone time doesn't always mean solitude. It also means doing what you love without having to justify it. I love sports, so I enjoy watching a game by myself.

We encourage each other to pursue hobbies, interests, and social activities that bring us closer to ourselves.

Monetize arguments

My wife and I argue a lot, and that's OK. I found that our arguments allow us to grow, learn, and strengthen our relationship. Arguments can be healthy for us as long as we don't turn the arguments into fights where we throw personal attacks.

To further turn our arguments into a positive thing, we started paying a fine of $6 each every time we argued. It's a new practice we started when we got married. This money can then be used for shopping, traveling, or anything else we are both involved in.

Help each other professionally

I have been freelancing longer than my wife has, so I know a thing or two about this corner of the professional world and try to share that with my wife. I've taught Dhara how to use LinkedIn to find prospects and how to pitch to prospects.

I've also created a website for her where she can blog. I then optimize her content for search engines, increasing the chances of getting leads.

In return, I employ Dhara as a beta reader, explaining the content I've written to her. If she understands and likes it, I know I've done well.

We just got married, but it already feels like I've found my best friend. We get to spend our romantic and professional lives together. It just requires a lot of patience, which comes after investing years in one person.

• The era of electric air taxis is near, with eVTOLs expected to fly commercially starting next year.
• One expert said eVTOLs fly at low altitudes and could create airspace and security challenges.
• This article is part of "Transforming Business: Infrastructure," a series exploring the advancements reshaping US infrastructure. 

The US's first electric vertical-takeoff and -landing aircraft are expected to fly commercial passengers as soon as 2025.

At launch, these zero-emission, piloted air taxis — which take off and land like a helicopter but fly like an airplane — are expected to hop between city centers and major airports as a faster and more efficient alternative to driving. The battery-powered vehicles are also much quieter than the noisy helicopters that commonly fly over densely populated cities.

According to the Royal Aeronautical Society, more than 10,000 eVTOLs are on order worldwide in deals worth some $60 billion.

Carriers, including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic Airways, as well as noncommercial operators like the US Air Force, have placed orders for the new type of aircraft.

The investments signal confidence in the futuristic eVTOLs and the burgeoning market for urban air mobility, which JPMorgan analysts have predicted could be worth about $1 trillion by 2040.

However, the widespread commercialization and expansion of eVTOLs will depend on public acceptance and how regulators and operators address infrastructure challenges both on the ground and in the air.

Existing landing zones will need to be electrified with expensive chargers

With up to 200 of the US-based Archer Aviation's Midnight aircraft on order, United is expected to operate the US's first commercial eVTOL route starting in 2025.

In June, the aircraft received federal approval to fly commercially as a Part 135 operator, meaning it can run non-scheduled operations like on-demand private charters. It still needs further approvals to fly for airlines like United, but the latest certificate puts it one step closer.

United's planned hopper service is set to fly 10 to 20 minutes between downtown Manhattan and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, offering an alternative to a drive that often takes more than an hour.

A later, second United eVTOL route is planned between Chicago's city center and O'Hare International Airport.

All the eVTOL destinations have established spots for the electric aircraft to take off from and land on. This type of operation is favored because the landing spots don't take up much space and can be placed near high-density sites such as sports arenas, finance districts, or concert venues.

Archer's chief growth and infrastructure officer, Bryan Bernhard, told Business Insider that Midnight would primarily use these existing heliports or VTOL-specific "vertiports" to start. It also plans to repurpose already-built city infrastructure, such as parking-garage rooftops, as additional landing zones.

Regardless of location, facilities that want to welcome eVTOLs like the Midnight must invest in chargers. Bernhard said Archer's would be expensive to purchase and install but would not put a massive new strain on the power grid.

He said the challenge lay in striking the right balance between battery conservation and terminal convenience when choosing where to place landing zones.

"We're utilizing existing assets and existing routes, so it'll be easy to integrate into that," he said. "But you want to be strategic on where the charger is so the vehicle doesn't have a long taxi path before it can take off."

Bernhard added that the Midnight's charger had about the same power output as a high-speed EV charger.

Newly built vertiports may not be welcome in less-urban areas

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst, told BI that the continued development of high-density batteries was crucial to eVTOL operators' hope of carrying more people and cargo longer distances.

This would lead to the need for newly built vertiports.

Joby Aviation, the first and only other US eVTOL manufacturer to secure an FAA certification, has, for example, partnered with eVTOL infrastructure provider Skyports to build four vertiports around Dubai.

A Joby spokesperson told BI the company's global operations, which it plans to also extend to places like Japan, would "blend into the background" and not disrupt daily life.

"We worked with NASA to analyze the acoustic footprint of the aircraft, demonstrating that at takeoff, it is quieter than a conversation at a distance of 100 meters and is barely perceptive when flying overhead at an altitude of just 500 meters," Joby said.

Across the world, Rani Plaut, the CEO of Air, an Israeli company developing a two-seater eVTOL, told BI that the more infrastructure built to support the growing air-taxi market, the quicker the public would become accustomed to it.

Harteveldt said, however, that this unique challenge of public acceptance would be particularly difficult in less-urban communities.

"There could be an opportunity to build new vertiports in places like office parks or shopping centers," he said. "However, one thing we know to be true is that communities will not want eVTOLs buzzing in and out at all times, even if they're electric."

Harteveldt suggested that the optimal places for new vertiports were on top of or adjacent to convention centers or on waterfronts in places like New York City and San Francisco.

Fortunately for operators, the Federal Aviation Administration's official vertiport guidance, coming in 2025, is set to be performance-based. Bernard said the fewer regulatory requirements would make building new US facilities quicker and less costly.

eVTOL operators need to consider airspace safety, security, and efficiency

While manufacturers will face infrastructure challenges on the ground, the industry must also figure out how to efficiently incorporate eVTOLs into the airspace network.

Airspace is used by everything from helicopters and passenger airliners to private jets and student pilots — meaning everyone has to work together with air-traffic control to safely share the skies.

Bernhard said the first couple of years of flying the Midnight would involve a few vehicles on existing and approved aviation routes and that Archer intended to use the same operating procedures that exist for other rotorcraft vehicles.

He said opening newly certified pathways and new landing locations would take another few years, but conversations about the logistics of air traffic management would ignite.

While the era of air taxis is almost here, Harteveldt said he didn't see eVTOLs littering the skies anytime soon. He said this "Jetsons"-like dream would be limited by safety and noise restrictions, especially since the eVTOLs would be flying at lower altitudes.

"How do you ensure these aircraft don't intentionally do anything that jeopardizes safety and security in places like Washington, DC, or London or Paris, and many others," he said. "You aren't going to want to have these eVTOLs operating in proximity to some of these places."

• Hunter Biden may be doomed to lose his clear-cut criminal gun trial this week.
• He's laid the groundwork for appeals, arguing he's only charged because he's the president's son.
• Experts told Business Insider that he may have a point — but appeals courts may not buy it.

For all the drama, the trial against Hunter Biden is pretty simple.

When the president's son bought a .38-millimeter Colt Cobra handgun on October 12, 2018, he was required to fill out a government form that asked whether he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to" a "controlled substance."

He marked "no" on the form and then paid $900 in cash.

Given the mountain of publicly known evidence that Hunter Biden did, in fact, use cocaine in that time period, federal prosecutors brought an indictment against him. They accuse him of lying on the form and unlawfully owning a firearm.

In his opening statement at the trial this week, Biden's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, urged jurors in the Wilmington, Delaware, federal court to acquit his client. He argued that terms like "user of" and "addicted to" are open to interpretation.

Prosecutors got straight to the point once opening arguments concluded. One of the first pieces of evidence they presented to the jury was a section of Biden's memoir. They played portions of the audiobook — narrated by Biden himself — where he described struggling with addiction over a four-year period that overlapped with the gun purchase.

"These are the bread and butter of the US attorney's office," Sarah Krissoff, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor and top lawyer at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, told Business Insider. "They know how to put on a tight gun case."

Biden's trial is not necessarily a lost cause. His lawyers may still convince jurors that he was seeking treatment and didn't consider himself an addict on the day he filled out that form, nor the 11 days in October 2018 that he owned the gun. The jury — in his father's home state of Delaware — may still end up deadlocked or acquit him.

But Biden's legal team already has their eyes set on higher courts.

The politicization defense

Decisions from US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, have made Biden's uphill climb steeper.

In a series of rulings before the case went to trial, she dismissed arguments from Biden's lawyers that would have allowed him to put on a stronger defense case. Some of those motions argued the case was fundamentally unfair, and should have never been brought.

Biden's team — led by Lowell, who has previously represented politicians including Jared Kushner and Sens. Robert Menendez and John Edwards — has aggressively appealed the decisions.

None of the appeals stopped the case from going to trial before higher courts could consider their merits. But they can still be taken up at a later date if Biden loses the trial.

Biden's primary arguments revolve around the notion that he is the victim of "selective and vindictive prosecution."

The criminal investigation originated under the authority of David Weiss, who was appointed as US Attorney for Delaware by Donald Trump. He brought the indictment during the administration of President Joe Biden, who promised not to interfere with the case. US Attorney General Merrick Garland, too, appointed Weiss as a Justice Department Special Counsel to keep him insulated from outside influences.

This arrangement has perversely allowed Weiss to politicize the proceedings unchecked, Hunter Biden's lawyers argued.

Last summer, Weiss and Biden's lawyers reached a deal that would result in a diversion agreement for the gun charges and a guilty plea for a separate set of tax crimes, where Biden failed to pay at least $1.4 million to the IRS. But that fell apart in a court hearing when Noreika questioned the deal's technical mechanisms.

Amid the chaos, Trump and Republicans in Congress enthusiastically pressured Weiss to charge Biden in the gun case, as well as the separate criminal tax case in California. When Weiss brought the indictments instead of continuing to negotiate a plea deal, those same Republicans gloated.

"They made it clear that they wanted Mr. Weiss to keep this litigation alive through the presidential election (regardless of merit) and for him to bring more serious charges as a foil for the investigations and prosecutions of former President Trump," Hunter Biden's lawyers wrote in a December filing.

Everyone wanted a plea deal — except Republicans

Legal commentators — and even some Republican politicians — have pointed out the highly unusual application of the criminal gun charges.

One of them, for falsely filling out the government's gun sales form, is typically slapped on as an additional charge in a larger gun-related case, like a gun-trafficking prosecution, experts told Business Insider. There's no evidence that Biden even loaded or used the gun before his brother's widow, Hallie Biden, threw it out.

Another charge, for possessing a firearm by a person who has used or is addicted to a controlled substance, is even more rare. And according to Krissoff, federal prosecutors in Manhattan had a rule not to bring the charge at all.

"Absent this individual's status as Hunter Biden, it would be very unlikely that this case would've been brought," Krissoff, now a defense attorney at Cozen O'Connor, said.

The rarity of the charges demonstrates the whole prosecution is political, according to Duncan Levin, a former New York federal prosecutor.

"I have never heard of a case that is brought as a stand-alone false claim on an application — ever," Levin said. "Lying to gun dealer? I think there are fewer than 300 brought a year, of 25 million background checks. I think it speaks for itself."

A separate federal appeals court in Texas ruled last year that the application of the statute in a different criminal case even violated the Second Amendment.

"Obviously, the conduct that the government ought to be addressing is whether somebody is on drugs and high while they're shooting a gun," Levin said. "Not whether somebody used cocaine two weeks ago and then picks up a gun at some point, and goes to a range. It's incredibly vague what the statute even means."

The Constitutional flimsiness of such a case is why it makes more sense for everyone to agree to some kind of non-prosecution deal, Levin said. The same applies to the tax charges in California, after Biden had already paid back the taxes and was prepared to plea guilty, Levin said.

And, in fact, that's what was supposed to happen. Everyone wanted a plea deal except for Republican politicians.

"Hunter Biden was never the president. He's not running for office. He's not a public official. He is a private person," Levin said. "And these charges are at very most de minimis. They're the type of charges that not only would typically result in a pretrial diversion, they were supposed to result in a pretrial diversion. The fact that this is on trial is due to politics, clear and simple."

According to Krissoff, plea deals fall apart under a judge's scrutiny all the time. When that happens, the prosecutors and defense lawyers usually pick up the pieces and try to craft a new agreement, she said. It's usually much easier than going to trial.

"Pleas go south all the time while you're in the courtroom, or when you're walking into the courtroom, and it can be unclear whether or not the plea is going to get through for various reasons," she said. "The judge asked a lot of hard questions and the plea didn't make it through. That has happened many times to me in my life, so I'm sure it will happen more."

Biden's attorneys have argued that the diversion agreement on the drug charges was still binding even without the judge's approval, and so the charges should be tossed.

Noreika denied the motion, as well as Biden's requests to dig deeper into the Justice Department for potential evidence of political pressure.

But forcing prosecutors to uphold the diversion agreement on the gun charges — which would not cover the tax charges — may have the strongest chance on appeal, according to Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor in California.

"It was idiotic to blow up the deal," Rahmani said. "I'm sure they regret it."

Before Biden and his lawyers can go to the appeals, though, they have to finish the trial.

Biden does have some defenses to muster, Levin said.

"Hunter Biden had just gotten out of an 11-day program and was living with somebody who was sober at the time," he said. "I think it's a pretty crabbed way of looking at it, to say he was an addict at that time — he was clearly committed to his recovery and had just finished a rehab program."

Given how many arguments the judge has already rejected, however, there's a strong chance the president's son will be a convicted felon before the end of the week.

"By the time they get to this point, the prosecution usually has a very strong hand," Krissoff said. "Creative defense attorneys can do some damage and be very effective, so we'll see. But I doubt even Hunter Biden is optimistic."

• The share of US homes seeing price declines has hit its highest level since 2022, Redfin said.
• Three of the four metro areas are in Texas, and the other is in Oregon.
• It could be a sign that national price growth will soon start softening.

More than 6% of US homes are seeing price declines, the biggest share since November 2022, according to a new Redfin report.

Four major US metros are spearheading this trend, three of which are based in Texas.

Home-sale prices declined the most in Austin, sliding by 2.9% on an annual basis. That's followed by San Antonio and Fort Worth, both with a 1.2% drop. Prices in Portland, Oregon slid 0.9%.

This is the first time since January that prices dropped in this many cities, the real-estate brokerage said. Even as nationwide housing prices continue to trek higher — notching a new all-time high average in May — the softening in those four metro areas could signal that broader price growth will soon soften.

At the same time, active listings are sitting on the market for longer, indicating waning demand. In part, that's as runaway home costs have priced out buyers: At least for Austin, Redfin cited near-record housing costs as the reason behind falling prices.

In an April report, the firm had already noted that the Texas market was host to a number of depreciating metros, a pattern also seen in Florida. In both states, the pandemic triggered heavy construction to make room for remote workers, who were attracted to these states due to their price advantage.

But now, some are moving away to more competitive metros, Redfin then said.

To be sure, housing supply is strained nationwide, adding to why US prices keep rising. Currently, US inventory holds just over 3 months worth of supply, where 4 to 5 months is considered a balanced market.

Potential homebuyers are still kept out by high mortgage rates as well, with the 30-year fixed rate above 7%. Although housing analysts expected it to fall to the 6% range through 2024, many now see the rate as unlikely to change this year.

• 13 protesters were arrested after barricading themselves in the office of Stanford's president.
• Participating pro-Palestinian students are suspended, and seniors won't graduate, Stanford said.
• A public safety officer was injured by protesters, according to the university.

Thirteen pro-Palestine protesters were arrested at Stanford University Wednesday after they barricaded themselves inside the school president's office building.

Protesters occupied Building 10 — where the offices of Stanford's president and provost are located — to demand the university divest from companies supporting Israel's war in Gaza, according to The New York Times.

Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez said in a statement that a public safety officer was injured by protesters. Damage was done inside the building, and graffiti outside conveyed "vile and hateful sentiments."

The statement said that arrested students will be immediately suspended, and seniors will not be allowed to graduate.

The Stanford Daily reported that one of its journalists covering the protest was among those arrested.

"We respect the rights of journalists at demonstrations under California Penal Code 409.7," a Stanford University spokesperson told Business Insider, "but those rights do not include trespassing in a locked building and being barricaded inside."

Saller and Martinez also said Wednesday that an encampment at Stanford protesting Israel's war had been removed.

"The situation on campus has now crossed the line from peaceful protest to actions that threaten the safety of our community," they wrote. While the university values "peaceful and reasoned debate," it condemns "any actions like those that were taken today."

Roughly 3,000 protesters have been arrested on US college campuses, according to the Times. The 13 arrests at Stanford are dwarfed by the upwards of 200 arrests that previously occurred at Columbia University and UCLA.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello! Next time you shop at T.J. Maxx or Marshalls and speak to an employee, be sure to smile — you might be on camera. Some stores are having workers wear body cameras to deter shoplifters.

In today's big story, we're looking at why the US economy is on track (again) for a soft economic landing. (This time it might be for real.)

What's on deck:

• Markets: Another company just joined the $3 trillion club.
• Tech: Jack Dorsey gave $10 million to a Twitter alternative whose founder is devoted to a fascist "guru."
• Business: A new NBA deal could mean trouble for your favorite NBC and Peacock shows.

But first, we're cleared for landing.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Another economic turnaround

It took longer than expected, but the US economy is finally on track for a soft landing.

After a scary few months of economic data that had investors fearing a recession and stagflation, the tides have turned again.

Recent data showing inflation and the labor market cooling have given hope that a soft landing is in the cards — and may even be underway — for the US economy, writes Business Insider's Madison Hoff.

Before we get any further, I understand your hesitancy to buy into the economic predictions of an industry that has largely gotten it wrong.

The year started with optimism of more rate cuts than the Fed was projecting amid a Goldilocks economy. But those dreams were quickly dashed when inflation unexpectedly ticked up in the first quarter.

More recently, the data has been moving in the right direction again. Fears of an interest-rate hike, an absolute nightmare scenario for the market, have completely subsided. And the Fed's long-promised relief might finally be back on the menu.

But why does it still feel like the economy stinks?

Even though a recession hasn't materialized, a "vibecession" has had Americans feeling bummed for the past few years.

Inflation cooling should help with that. But it's still above pre-pandemic levels, which might be why many Americans aren't convinced things are getting better.

But a slowing job market is the real killer of people's perception of the economy. The shift is necessary for the Fed to consider rate cuts, but it poses a problem for Americans who feel their dollar doesn't go as far.

Yes, unemployment remains low, but people also don't have the opportunity to find new jobs that might pay better. The end result has plenty of people feeling trapped.

Interest-rate cuts, which could come as soon as September, could change that. The relief might make businesses feel more comfortable getting aggressive with hiring.

But there's no guarantee the habits picked up when times were tough — like Big Tech's "year of efficiency" — aren't here for good.

3 things in markets

1. So about that soft landing… Not everyone is convinced the US economy is heading in the right direction. The French bank SocGen is sticking to its recession prediction, pointing to slowing manufacturing activity as one sign of a potential downturn. UBS also sees plenty of red flags, like retail investors pushing into the market, as a sign of a stock market bubble.
2. Nvidia joins the $3 trillion club. The AI darling became the second-most-valuable company in the world, reaching a market valuation of $3.01 trillion. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is signing women's chests at tech events.
3. Why the Fed should cut rates in July. Prominent economist Mohamed El-Erian cited a slew of cooling indicators in support of why the Fed should — but probably won't — cut rates next month. "We've had nothing but negative surprises," he told Fox Business.

3 things in tech

1. Tim Cook is about to announce something big. At Apple's WWDC event on Monday, Cook is expected to unveil the company's newest plans to dominate the internet — this time through a partnership with OpenAI.
2. Jack Dorsey unwittingly funded a fascist guru's follower. Dorsey gave $10 million to a Twitter alternative, Nostr, and its anonymous founder. A BI investigation uncovered the founder's identity — and discovered he was a follower and student of well-known Brazilian fascist "guru."
3. How Apple helped Amazon. Apple alerted Amazon to unusual activity with its data-deletion process last year, according to internal docs obtained by BI. It led to an internal investigation which found that AWS was failing to delete data from closed cloud accounts.

3 things in business

1. Why gentle parenting went bust. Gentle parenting was meant to replace an "authoritarian" form of child-rearing with one grounded in empathy and negotiation. But some parents are discovering the time- and energy-intensive method produces decidedly ambiguous outcomes.
2. The NBA's new streaming deal could affect your favorite shows. Even if you don't care about basketball, a new deal could bring some change. The Wall Street Journal reported Comcast will be making programming changes to accommodate, and pay for, the new $2.5 billion a year deal.
3. OpenAI's new deals could be a lifeline or a curse. Sam Altman's AI company has been making a slew of deals with publishers over the past few months, offering cash in exchange for their content. Critics and dealmakers say it could benefit publishers — or blow up in their faces.

In other news

• What Modi's narrow win means for India's future.
• Biden spoke so low during a key White House meeting that some attendees struggled to understand his words, report says.
• I'm always trying to save money, and I found a strategy that doesn't cost me joy.
• Apple TV+ is making a big brand partnerships hire as it warms up to advertising.
• Walmart is giving US hourly workers new bonuses that increase the longer they've been at the company.
• How Apple's efforts to dominate the AI arms race fell apart.
• Get ready to make less money off your investments, says a private equity executive.

What's happening today

• Novelis shares are expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
• Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Jack Sommers, deputy editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London.

• This year, Satya Nadella marks 10 years at the helm of Microsoft.
• He's previously been voted one of the top CEOs of his generation.
• Here are some of his principles for leading and managing a team and company.

Satya Nadella celebrates 10 years as CEO of Microsoft this year.

His leadership has been credited with revitalizing the company's culture, driving growth in partnerships, and even guiding the company in dethroning Apple as the world's most valuable public company earlier this year.

So what is his management approach that has helped him achieve such success?

Here are some of his best leadership and management advice over the years:

Create clarity

Nadella says being able to "create clarity when none exists" is the "most important attribute that any leader needs to have."

"You don't need a leader when everything is well-defined, and it's easy, and all you have got to do is follow a well-written plan," he said in a 2019 interview with Chicago Booth Magazine. "But in an ambiguous situation, where there cannot be complete information, that is when leadership will matter. Your ability to come into an uncertain time and an uncertain future and bring about clarity is key."

Energize people

Nadella also looks for job candidates who can "create energy."

"There is no simple thing that is always under your control, so the idea that you have got to create energy all around you is another element—you have got to really pick up the skills to do it," he also told the magazine. You have got to be at your evangelical best. You have got to have followership all around you."

"In the long run EQ trumps IQ," he also said on the subject in 2014. "Without being a source of energy for others very little can be accomplished."

Deliver success

A leader must also be able to "create success in what is an overconstrained space," he says.

"Life is an overconstraint problem," he said in the magazine interview. "So you can't say, 'You know what? I'm just waiting for you to remove all the constraints and I'll be perfect.' When leaders come in and say, 'I'm not able to do this or I'm not able to drive success or achieve success because of all these exogenous factors,' guess what? Everything is exogenous."

Listen in meetings — and be decisive

Nadella has also offered advice for running meetings.

"Listen more, talk less, and be decisive when the time comes," he said in a 2015 interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Foster psychological safety

Nadella says he's big on fostering psychological safety at work, which creates an environment where employees don't fear punishment for asking questions, sharing concerns, or making mistakes.

"The psychological safety that you create around you, especially the more senior you are, becomes super important," he said in an interview at the 2022 Wharton Future of Work Conference. "One technique of that is to share your own fallibility because that gives confidence to others."

Be empathetic

Nadella doesn't consider empathy a soft skill; in fact, he thinks it's "the hardest skill we learn," he said in a 2023 interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.

"If you have empathy for your people, they will do their best work and you'll make progress," Nadella said in a 2020 episode of LinkedIn's "Hello Monday" podcast.

He added that empathy also helps foster innovation.

"Innovation is about meeting the unmet unarticulated needs of customers," he said on the podcast. "What's the source of it? You could say it's design thinking, but design thinking is empathy."

• Former Stanford undergraduate Molly Cantillon is the founder of NOX, a personalized AI assistant.
• The platform's goal is to understand its users and proactively execute tasks.
• Cantillon believes generative AI has broken down the barriers to who can disrupt the industry.

This is an as-told-to conversation with Molly Cantillon, a Stanford dropout and founder of NOX, a personalized AI assistant.

In the same way people cradled iPhones in their hands for the first time 17 years ago, this generation will never forget the first time they used ChatGPT — it felt like true magic.

It shattered the Silicon Valley tech barrier by bringing together people across cultures, occupations, and income levels with renewed optimism about the future. You can't go into a coffee shop without seeing it light up someone's screen.

I saw ChatGPT as a prologue to something more profound: A sophisticated personal assistant who understood me better than I understood myself.

People crave having someone they can consult before making big decisions, someone who replies on demand, coaches them from afar, and proactively completes tasks by considering important, forgotten details. It's the kind of companion Hollywood and sci-fi have always fantasized about but hadn't been possible before the generative AI revolution.

NOX, the personal AI assistant I built, was created to fill that void.

I'm building NOX to help people like me stay sane

I initially built NOX as a hardware solution in June 2023. I envisioned it as a wrist-worn recording device that would act as a second brain by capturing and recalling every detail of my daily interactions. It would store all my memorable conversations, action items, and even the small details I had noticed about a friend.

After that summer, I returned to Stanford with a box of jailbroken watches, distributed them to my friends, and waited for their feedback.

I would get texts throughout the day that their watch was overheating or had just died. As I troubleshot, I realized that the product's true value wasn't just in gathering data about its surroundings, but its ability to execute tasks proactively on behalf of the user.

With the help of OpenAI's models and tools, I pivoted NOX into a pure software solution that does exactly that. It integrates every stream of information and stimuli a person encounters, interprets them, resurfaces the most important details, and, most importantly, takes action.

So if you need an Uber to your next appointment NOX will book a trip. When you wake up in the morning, it'll give you a rundown of the meetings you have planned for the day. You can ask NOX to push one back if you have a conflict. It'll also call people on your behalf, book appointments, text your friends with updates on your life, and set goals and help you track them. The more memories and connections NOX accumulates about someone, the more it can refine its understanding of them and provide personalized insights.

We have over 500 users on the platform, including star athletes like professional Tennis player Reilly Opelka, and a waiting list of over 10,000.

It's us against the Goliaths.

I left Stanford in December to build full-time. I raised money a week after and have since landed checks from prominent angel investors and OpenAI's startup fund. I also assembled the most brilliant hackathoners worldwide by stalking sites like Github, ProductHunt, and Devpost (shoutout to our founding engineer, Aayush Pokharel). I convinced them to live with me on air mattresses in Palo Alto.

My life has been unstable throughout the process as I juggle commitments, hundreds of emails, and constant meetings. In some sense, I'm building NOX to help people like me stay sane. It reflects my attempts to balance my obsessive drive with genuine happiness — hacking until 3 a.m. and getting up for my 4-mile run at 8 a.m.

Some might say we're a group of college dropout nobodies gunning after a crown jewel: A personalized AI assistant. It's us against the Goliaths. How could we ever disrupt an industry and outpace major corporations?

But generative AI has made it easy to create something valuable fast. The rules are being rewritten at a breakneck pace, so the advantage has shifted toward the newcomers. After years of dreaming about building something big, the playing field feels level for the first time.

We're not making grand promises about the future. We're just focused on building something insanely cool and embracing imperfections.

Here's a closer look at NOX. You can sign up at heynox.com.