Bloomberg: How AI is shaping the 2026 US midterms, as public anger grows against data center expansion and the AI industry emerges as one of the biggest financial backers  —  From data center backlash to boundless cash from tech billionaires and concerns about deepfaked campaign ads, AI is everywhere in the 2026 US elections.

Reuters: LSEG: tech companies have raised $3.1B from mainland China stock market listings YTD, up 5x+ from a year earlier, as AI and chip companies drive onshore IPOs  —  China's onshore technology IPOs are on track for their strongest year since 2023 as Beijing seeks to bolster listings of chip …

The author said she realized her anger wasn't ajust bout dryer balls. AnthonyRosenberg/Getty Images Everyone in my family of six is responsible for their own laundry. When it's time for me to do mine, there are never any dryer balls for me to use. One day, I got super frustrated by this and realized I had to take things into my own hands. My four kids have had chores since they were young. I believe that many hands make light work and that teamwork in a family home is important. I also know that chores teach kids life skills they can carry into adulthood. Because there are six of us, we each have a designated laundry day for our clothes, sheets, and towels. Each of my four kids, the youngest being 9-years-old, does their own laundry on their day. Sounds good, right? It was, until it wasn't. Of all things, a dryer ball did me in. Looking back, I'm glad it did, because it sparked an important change in our family dynamic. It was my day to do laundry In our house, we use wool dryer balls, dabbed with a skin-safe essential oil with every load of laundry. Every time it was my laundry day, I would find only one or two (of my supply of 10) dryer balls waiting for me. This happened for weeks on end. I would repeatedly ask my family to return the dryer balls they accidentally scooped out of the dryer with their laundry and took to their bedrooms. Yet, week after week, I would, on a good day, have only two dryer balls at my disposal. Recently, it was my laundry day, and there it was: one graying, dingy ball, all by itself in the dryer, lonely and rather useless. Rage filled my soul. I'm convinced part of my anger could be blamed on perimenopause (estrogen, where art thou?), while the rest of my rage felt like hurt. My needs weren't considered — as they often aren't when you're a partner and mom. Was it my job to once again beckon and plead for missing dryer balls? Deal with the sighs and "not now; I'm busy" replies? Should I create a wanted poster and offer a reward? The author said she felt like her family wasn't taking her needs into consideration, so she took matters into her own hands. Courtesy of Rachel Garlinghouse. I did something for myself I decided that I was tired of reminding, begging, and chasing. I grabbed my water bottle and purse, announced I'd be back later (not sure anyone was even listening to me), and headed to my favorite store, T.J. Maxx. If I were going to shop for something as boring and infuriating as dryer balls, I wanted to at least be somewhere that generates dopamine. I managed to secure an eight-pack of bright-white, perfectly rounded dryer balls, along with a few other items to reward myself for surviving a stressful morning Now, every week, when I take my basket of dirty laundry into the laundry room, I shove as much as I can into the washing machine. There, at the bottom of my basket, are all eight dryer balls, waiting to do their job — just for me. Once all my laundry is dry, I scoop the dryer balls out of the dryer, drop them into the bottom of my empty basket, pile the warm, clean laundry on top, and saunter away to my room, satisfied that I've won some sort of battle. I'm looking out for myself more The reality is, moms and partners give so much every day to ensure that their families, of any size or form, have what they need. Females have been conditioned to be nurturing, selfless, exhausted caregivers. This comes at a tremendous cost to many of us. Our batteries are never fully charged. In fact, I'm convinced we all run on "low battery" mode almost all of the time. For some, you might wonder why dryer balls were mere objects that sent me over the edge. For others, you completely understand. At some point, we want someone to care for us in the many ways we relentlessly care for others. Now, I'm caring for myself. After the dryer ball incident, I realized the many ways I wasn't setting boundaries with my family. The majority of these situations were what most would consider small things, but any parent will tell you that the little things quickly add up to a crumbling mountain. I am continuing to learn how to set, adapt, and hold to boundaries to lessen my load, and I don't just mean my laundry load. Read the original article on Business Insider

Bloomberg: The rapid pace of AI progress has created a pervasive fear of missing out across Silicon Valley, fueling anxiety among founders, executives, employees, and VCs  —  Claude Code is cutting into sleep time.  —  Matt Van Horn, a serial entrepreneur and father of four, never turns his laptop off anymore.

Instagram users could soon see more ways to tune their content.

Not everyone is buying Elon Musk’s vision for orbital data centers.

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC: Sports clips' rise on platforms like YouTube has left broadcasters debating whether to use them to attract younger viewers or protect their subscription revenue  —  As the New York Knicks clinched their first championship in 53 years and the NBA notched its highest Finals series ratings since 1998 …

The author hired an Argentine au pair to take care of her kids. Courtesy of the author Our family's friendship with an Argentine au pair deepened during the 2022 World Cup. Argentina's championship run became a shared tradition and lasting connection. Years later, that friendship inspired a trip to Argentina and continues across continents. When an au pair from Argentina joined my family in 2022, I expected convenient childcare and a cordial friendship. I did not expect to wake up at 4 in the morning to watch her country play in the World Cup. After all, my family had never even watched an entire soccer game together. But by the end of the tournament, we were painting our faces blue and white, putting photos of Kylian Mbappe in the freezer, and watching the games on cellphones in the grocery store. Without warning, we had become Argentina fanatics. We watched Argentina win the 2022 World Cup The night before the semifinals, my husband, daughters, and I decided to display our team spirit. We cut triangles from printer paper at the kitchen table. Then we filled each pennant with drawings of sky-blue stripes, golden suns, and attempts at soccer balls and threaded the whole thing onto a length of light blue yarn. The author and her kids made a banner for Argentina's games. Courtesy of the author The next morning, we hung the bunting above the television, ensuring it would be one of the first things our au pair, Yulca, would see when she woke up. A few days later, with Argentina heading for the final, Yulca carefully packed the bunting as we traveled for early family Christmas celebrations. We draped it along my parents' fireplace mantle, hoping Santa might grant an early wish. We watched on the edges of our seats through every minute of regular play, every minute of extra time, and every kick of the penalty shootout. When Gonzalo Montiel scored the final penalty, Argentina had won one of the most dramatic matches of all time. Yulca collapsed into tears. Video calls poured in from relatives celebrating in the streets back home. My dad, who had patiently sat through every minute of the match, was finally free to change the channel. Amid the chaos, I opened my phone and ordered a last-minute Christmas gift: an official Argentina championship jersey. The $120 price tag was far beyond anything I'd buy for myself, but I knew we'd just experienced a moment worth commemorating with stripes, embroidery, and the all-important third star. Our au pair taught us about her culture Over the next nine months, Yulca showed me how to fold empanadas and taught us the many rules of drinking mate. She wore the jersey all the time, a symbol of both her Argentine pride and the close relationship she'd developed with our family. The author and her kids traveled to Argentina to visit their au pair. Courtesy of the author When Yulca returned to Argentina in 2023, something strange happened: the girl who sobbed when her brother called from the streets of their hometown was homesick for the United States. We exchanged messages and voice notes almost daily, bridging the distance even when we couldn't visit each other. Unfortunately, air travel to Argentina is wildly expensive. But in 2025, a flash sale on tickets to Buenos Aires showed up on Instagram one day when I was feeling financially reckless. A dream trip that had always felt too expensive was suddenly within reach. The tickets even included extra luggage, which was perfect for hauling a large suitcase of Yulca's items across the equator. Before I knew it, my daughters and I were boarding a plane. We flew to Argentina to visit our au pair When we arrived in Yulca's small hometown in northern Argentina, the first order of business was to unpack the oversize suitcase. Before the trip, I'd searched the nooks and crannies of my house to find everything she wasn't able to fit in her suitcase when she'd returned home. I'd packed a special item right on top: the homemade World Cup bunting. The memories of watching the World Cup together flooded back as we hung it over her bedroom window, 5,000 miles away from where we last cheered for Argentina together. But my daughters and I needed our own reminders of that World Cup. So, we made our way to downtown Posadas to purchase Messi jerseys. Now, Yulca wears her American-purchased jersey in a small town in Argentina, and I'm wearing my knockoff in North Carolina. After washing mine just a couple of times, the decals are visibly cracked, and the backing of the embroidered logo doesn't lie flat. But every time I wear this $12 jersey that cost nearly $7,000 in travel to get, I smile as I say to myself: there's nothing more Argentine than a fake jersey from Paraguay. As we get ready to cheer for la Albiceleste from two different hemispheres, the third stars on our jerseys represent a long-awaited victory for Argentina. For us, the stars are a physical reminder of the monthlong soccer tournament that cemented a friendship strong enough to span 5,000 miles. Read the original article on Business Insider

Brad Paisley is urging Tennesseans to protest a proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo. Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Country music star Brad Paisley is protesting a proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo. Paisley called it a "monstrosity" and urged local leaders to block its construction. The Nashville Zoo's petition to stop the data center development has almost 530,000 signatures. A proposed data center next to the Nashville Zoo is drawing pushback from local community members, including 14-time Country Music Award winner Brad Paisley. Paisley called the proposed data center — backed by DC Blox, a digital infrastructure company — a "monstrosity" in an Instagram video on Friday. He compared the development, which he said was unfolding without the permission of residents, to AI stealing intellectual property from musicians. "It's without the blessing of those who are going to be affected by it," Paisley said. "Look, Nashville, we have to fight this. We have to set a precedent, because if we can win this and we can stop that from happening where we don't want it, it's a precedent that will help other communities." He added, "I'm calling on our elected leaders to find a solution to this that's going to benefit everybody." Paisley criticized the data center in a separate video earlier this month, calling it an "absolute nightmare scenario." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brad Paisley (@bradpaisley) In a statement, DC Blox said it was aware of Paisley's "social media commentary." It said the data center, which would have an eventual capacity of about 50 megawatts, is not intended to power AI. Data centers have been around for decades, hosting data for things like websites and social media. Large AI data centers, meanwhile, typically have capacities in the hundreds of megawatts or more. "We want to clarify that the data center is designed to function as a digital connectivity hub and not as a large AI factory," the company said in its statement. "Designed to meet Middle Tennessee's surging digital demands, the data center is part of the essential infrastructure that supports and enables the entire community, from residents to local businesses." DC Blox said such data centers actually help artists like Paisley. "In fact, it is this digital infrastructure that enables artists like Mr. Paisley to distribute and stream their music globally, engage with fans on social media, and utilize video platforms to share their voices," the company said. "All these daily digital services rely on data centers and internet connectivity, as is being proposed for Nashville, and without them, the music industry would not be what it is today." A growing number of Americans are resisting large-scale data centers, which are essential to powering AI. Tech companies want to build more facilities to support rapidly advancing AI systems, but are struggling to convince Americans to support construction in their communities. Many critics are concerned that the sprawling developments could worsen water resources, air quality, noise levels, and local wildlife. While the Nashville data center is smaller than many of the country's larger AI-focused facilities, its proximity to the Nashville Zoo has raised concerns about its potential impact on the animals and the surrounding environment. A permit filed with Nashville's Department of Codes and Building Safety in May said the development would include a nearly 70,000-square-foot single-story building. Local council member Courtney Johnston said the data center would sit about 300 feet from one of the zoo's facilities. The Nashville Zoo's petition has over 529,000 signatures as of Saturday. Change.org In response, the zoo urged community members to sign a petition to stop the data center earlier this month. As of Saturday, the petition has gained almost 530,000 signatures. "How are we to know this new data center will not lead to irreversible damage to the animals we exist to protect?" the zoo wrote in its petition. "We cannot afford to find out years from now how this facility has negatively impacted our 1.4 million visitors, our local community, or the 3,000 animals entrusting us with their care." A spokesperson for the zoo told Business Insider that it's exploring whether to take legal action. "As we move forward, we have taken the next step in our fight against the proposed data center. Our Land Use Attorney has filed a zoning appeal with the city," the spokesperson said. "The goal of this appeal is to overturn the permits that DC BLOX has filed and that have been approved. Additionally, we are working with an environmental rights lawyer to assess any legal actions we can take in regards to the protected species on our property and the proposed data center's property." Some local politicians are also fighting back. Council Member Rollin Horton has proposed legislation that would cap the size of data center construction and where they are built. Johnston, meanwhile, has proposed a temporary data center moratorium in Nashville and Davidson County. "Like so many municipalities, Nashville was caught flat-footed, not having 'data center' defined in our code for purposes of regulating that land use and protecting our sensitive areas like the zoo, schools, parks, and neighborhoods," Johnston told Business Insider. "We are working hard to rectify that with a current text amendment going through the legislative process." In addition to the moratorium, Johnston said she is challenging the zoning administrators' land use determination alongside the Nashville Zoo's counsel. "The Southern Environmental Law Group is also closely watching this development as it relates to the Endangered Species Act," Johnston said. "As a community and a government and as the elected representative of the zoo and this area of Nashville, I am, and we are, doing everything we can to stop this project from being built out next to our zoo." Read the original article on Business Insider

Kate Park / TechCrunch: Tokyo-based Sakana AI's Fugu and China-based 360's cybersecurity model Tulongfeng claim to rival Anthropic's banned Mythos and Fable 5 amid the US export ban  —  On Wednesday, Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 reportedly unveiled Tulongfeng, an AI tool it says can go head-to-head with Anthropic's Mythos.

Recordings of laughter from humans and other great apes suggest that the distinctive rhythm of "ha ha ha" emerged in a common ancestor that lived at least 15 million years ago.

Paul Meade, the Apple vice president in charge of the Vision Pro headset, is reportedly leaving the company to join OpenAI’s hardware team.

The author said applying for a job for the first time in more than 20 years had some unexpected challenges. She persevered and landed a job as a test proctor. Courtesy of Trisha Daab. The last time I applied for a job was more than 20 years ago. My résumé needed a major update, which led me to go through old paper files. After a lot of work, I applied and landed a job. Recently, I paid off my student loans ahead of schedule. Along with the joy of saying goodbye to 10 more years of payments, I unexpectedly felt open to doing something completely different. I stepped away from my marketing career in 2023 to focus on something I was more passionate about, writing. I will continue to write, but I've realized that I crave more regular interaction with people in my day-to-day life. I spotted a listing at a local high school for advanced placement (AP) test proctors — a job I hadn't known existed. That's how I found myself applying for a job for the first time in 20 years. I had forgotten a lot The last job I completed a traditional application for was in corporate America in 2004. Since then, my jobs have come through networking and recruiters, some of which didn't even require a formal application. Applying for a job in 2026 was a new experience. It started similarly with an online application requesting work experience, education, and references. The difference this time around was me, my priorities, and 20 years of work experience. My résumé needed a major update I was surprised to realize that I hadn't updated my résumé since 2014. One of the biggest challenges was finding the dates I needed to include. When did I start grad school? Did I start that job in April? How old are those references? It was hard to know these things for sure. Thank goodness for LinkedIn. I had kept that updated with my writing work, the marketing role I left in 2023, and many of the dates I hadn't thought about in years. The author said she had to dig up old resumes, including one with her maiden name, to get dates and other important info from her work history. Courtesy of Trisha Daab. As for the earlier part of my career, well, that took some digging. I found a few hard copies of outdated résumés from the early 2000s; one even had my maiden name on it. They were a good starting point, though, and a trip down memory lane. These were crafted before AI, electronic résumé readers, and writing résumés tailored to job descriptions. They aren't riddled with corporate speak and data. There are no budgets or sales figures to prove what I had achieved. They are, of course, one page. The process was involved Once dates and work experience were located and entered, I could move on. Now it was time for step two, verifying what I said in my application. For starters, every job working with kids seems to be done through a system that requests the employer's name, phone number, email, and a contact name. That's a lot of information that I can admit I didn't readily have at hand. This even included my stint as a preschool teacher in high school, a children's hospital in college, and volunteering at my kids' schools this year. Just thinking about the preschool I worked at in 1996 was an experience, let alone finding a phone number and remembering my manager's name. Next was fingerprinting. A process that the employer made super easy. It's all electronic, no black ink involved. The author landed a job as a test proctor and has since applied to be a substitute teacher. She said the application process went much faster the second time around. Courtesy of Trisha Daab. I landed a job My application was submitted successfully. Soon after,k I was hired, trained, and proctored multiple tests. Being a proctor, I was in a high school, engaging with staff in a new way, not as a parent or volunteer, but as an employee. I was with students in a role of authority instead of feeding them dinner, and that felt like a good fit. By day two of proctoring, I realized how much I loved being in the school and helping the students and staff. Since then, I've obtained my substitute teaching license and completed another application with a local school district. It went much faster this time! Read the original article on Business Insider

Politico: AI executives and lobbyists say they are seeking regulatory clarity from the Trump administration but are wary of pressing for answers, fearing retaliation  —  The unpredictability was on display again Friday when the Trump administration partially rescinded its export ban on Anthropic's …

The author enjoys going to bed early. Courtesy of the author I struggle to function when I stay out late, disrupting my sleep schedule. I believe more entertainment and social events should happen earlier in the day. Sleep has become more valuable to me than nightlife as I've gotten older. The last time I left my house for a nighttime event that had me awake past midnight was Elton John's concert in Detroit during his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. By the time my spouse and I were seated at 8 p.m., during the opening bars of "Bennie and the Jets," I was already wondering how I was going to survive not just the night but the next two days as well. Before this concert, the last time I was sentient past midnight was during my engagement in Rome — I learned the hard way that Romans eat late dinners and stay up even later. The author and her husband went to see Elton John. Courtesy of the author Am I being hyperbolic? Sure. I clearly survived the experience. But that doesn't mean I wasn't kicking and screaming the entire time. I wake up early I routinely wake up around 5:30 a.m. (without an alarm), and I am rarely outside my home beyond 8 o'clock at night, let alone partying in a distant city. I don't even eat after 6 p.m., unless something actually prevents me from stuffing my face, like an appointment I can't reschedule or a family gathering that involves a late dinner. I am typically in bed with a cat or two, a night mask plastered to my forehead, a bite splint firmly affixed to my lower jaw, and a book in hand by 7:30 p.m. With summer around the corner, the sun stays up later than I do. The author wakes up early without an alarm clock. Courtesy of the author Sometimes, if I'm feeling spicy, I text my friends with young kids to "brag" about my recumbent position (while they're wrangling bathtime, teeth-brushing, and bedtime resistance). Thankfully, they are all still friends with me. I can barely function if I'm not in bed early When I was growing up, my parents used to say, "Nothing good happens after midnight." I'll do one better: Nothing good happens after 8 p.m. I am 46 years old and absolutely done pretending that nightlife is desirable. If I don't abide by my early schedule, I can barely function the next day. And this doesn't mean a little bit of brain fog that can be knocked out with a morning cup of coffee. I'm talking, the sort of knock-down, drag-out sleep-deprived incoherence that has me wondering whether I remembered to put on pants, a question that doesn't occur to me until I'm shopping for produce at the grocery store. And all because I deviated from my rigid sleep/wake schedule. The truth is, there are very few scenarios, events, and people for whom I will stay awake past 9 or 10 o'clock at night. I believe I'd only need one hand to count the invitations that would seduce me into that choice. My husband accepts this about me, and while he can do what he wants, he mostly follows suit. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, friends, and a plethora of musicians and comedians. I grew up wanting to be a professional singer. I am now an author for children, and — perhaps ironically — many of them are young enough to have curfews that prevent them from staying up past a certain time to read. That delights me. Children need their sleep. We all need our sleep. But unless you're Elton John or Afroman — yes, I have tickets to the rapper's Freedom Of Speech tour this summer — I'm sorry, do I look like a bat or a tree frog to you? I'm afraid we'll have to meet during the day. Read the original article on Business Insider

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BI In 2022, the founder of software company Domo stepped down as CEO after he was accused of sexually assaulting an employee on a work trip, an allegation he denied. A year later, he came back to lead the company. Since then, the troubles of the once-hot startup have worsened, rocked by executive departures, new competition from AI agents, and the drunken-driving arrest of its founder and CEO, Josh James. James was arrested last year on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after crashing his BMW into a mailbox, according to bodycam footage and a police report reviewed by Business Insider. He pleaded not guilty and has an upcoming hearing scheduled for July. The incident hasn't previously been reported. In December, James said on an earnings call that he had checked himself into a residential substance abuse treatment center and was reducing his duties to "focus on recovery." Then in January, the company said its chief operating officer, Mark Maughan, had resigned with a multimillion-dollar separation agreement to settle allegations of physical contact. The company didn't provide any further details on the incident. The company's share price has fallen about 80% over the past year, knocked in part by a downturn in software stocks driven by advances in artificial intelligence. Domo said in June that its annualized recurring revenue no longer met the minimum required for its loan covenants and that it didn't have enough cash on hand to repay its outstanding balance of $137 million in principal and related fees. Domo entered into a forbearance agreement giving the company until July 31 to enter into an agreement to sell the company. Domo, which formally began exploring strategic alternatives in February, said in June that it was in advanced talks on a potential transaction. Domo was once valued at $2.8 billion. Its market capitalization on Friday stood at $133 million. Analysts say the leadership changes, along with threats to the business posed by artificial intelligence, have contributed to Domo's share price decline. James controlled 76% of the voting power at Domo as of April 30, thanks to supervoting Class A shares that give him 40 votes per share, compared to one vote per Class B share sold to the public, according to a company filing. This story about James' second go-round at helming the company he founded, and the decline of one of the most influential software companies in Utah's fast-growing tech hub, is based on interviews with more than a dozen former employees, as well as internal documents, company filings, and police records. Josh James founded Domo, a data-analytics company, in 2010. Business Wire/AP Through the company, James declined an interview. Domo didn't comment on the arrest, Maughan's departure, or the company's decline in revenue. Domo's board members didn't respond to requests for an interview. Maughan, through his lawyer, declined to comment. Early Domo investor John Richards, managing partner at Startup Ignition, said James and his founding team in the early days were "excellent entrepreneurs in terms of looking out for their investor interests." Richards, who has since sold all his shares, noted that other companies have improved their fortunes by bringing back a founder into the CEO role, as Apple did with Steve Jobs. "Companies have to move faster," Richards said. "They need kind of a benevolent dictator. Is Josh the right one? I don't know… If his personal issues prevent him from being that Steve Jobs-like character, they should see if they can find another strong leader." A car crash Shortly after 4 a.m. one morning last August, Sandy City police arrived at a quiet residential neighborhood south of Salt Lake City where a gray BMW iX had crashed into a mailbox, scattering mail and stone debris. The driver — a man with disheveled hair, wearing an olive green polo shirt and cargo shorts — was James. He stumbled as he walked around, arms crossed, and spoke with the police, the video shows. Red and blue emergency-vehicle lights flashed over the scene. James told the police that he had been drinking alcohol, the police report says. Later, during his blood test at the police station, James told officers he had sponsored police softball teams. "I clearly fucked up, or I wouldn't be here," he added. James was arrested on a DUI charge after crashing his BMW into a mailbox. Business Insider James was a prominent entrepreneur in Utah's Silicon Slopes tech hub. He made his name by founding the software firm Omniture and selling it to Adobe. James founded Domo, a data-analytics company, in 2010. Its aim was to deliver live business data to customers through dashboards and apps. The company was backed by VCs like Benchmark, BlackRock, GGV Capital, and Glynn Capital. It went public in 2018, and by 2021, its valuation had reached $2.8 billion. Many analysts expected Domo to be the next big cloud acquisition after Salesforce bought Tableau, a major rival to Domo, and Google snatched up the similar Looker. James held onto his company. A former employee accused James of sexually assaulting her during a business trip in November 2021. James was never charged with a crime related to the allegations, and investigating officers concluded that there was insufficient evidence. James stepped down as CEO in March 2022. An interim CEO, John Mellor, took over. A year later, James was back at the helm. Around the time of his return, a slew of company leaders left, including Mellor; the chief operating officer, Catherine Wong; the chief legal officer; the chief financial officer; and three board members. James had a single-minded focus on sales. In a booklet distributed to employees upon his return in 2023, titled "Josh James Startup Rules," the founder told staffers: "I only care about sales. Don't talk to me about marketing, booth, HR, comp, legal, etc. Can be fixed later with $$$$$$$." Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, or Signal at rosal.13. Here's our guide to sharing information securely. In a 2024 memo to staff, James said he had returned to the CEO role because Domo was facing challenging business headwinds, "and as the person who is most intimately familiar with the company's operations, the Board and I felt I was best equipped to help us overcome them," according to a copy of the memo reviewed by Business Insider. In the same memo, which James sent to staff after Business Insider reported on the 2021 sexual assault allegations, James denied the allegations, saying there were no interactions between him and the woman involved "that could even be mistaken as inappropriate contact or non-consensual contact." James's return to the helm didn't bring the stock turnaround that investors had hoped for. Domo's revenue growth was slowing. And things were about to get worse. On September 29, OpenAI published blog posts sharing how it was using AI-powered sales, support, and contract tools. Investors saw them as a threat to software-as-a-service companies, causing a stock sell-off among software companies, including Domo. 'Alleged physical contact' In December, James spoke to analysts on a conference call about the company's quarterly earnings results. The company's bottom line wasn't the only topic on the call. "Over the past several months, I've taken a hard and honest look at my relationship with alcohol," James said on the December earnings call. "I periodically used it as a crutch during moments of stress. And once I started drinking, I sometimes struggled to know when to stop." Referring to his Mormon faith, he said: "This pattern doesn't align with the person I want to be for myself, for my family, my faith, or the people I lead." Domo appointed Chief Technology Officer Daren Thayne as interim principal executive officer, following James's reduction in duties. Thayne didn't respond to requests for comment. In January, the company said it had agreed to part ways with its COO, Maughan. The separation agreement included a cash payment of $1.5 million, accelerated vesting of Maughan's restricted stock units, and another $1.9 million in stock over the next three years, according to a company filing. The payout was "made in part to settle accusations of physical sickness arising from alleged physical contact" to Maughan's person, the company said. Domo and Maughan's attorney declined to provide additional details on the incident that precipitated the settlement. The SaaSpocalypse In February, the SaaSpocalypse hit. Software stocks slid because of investor fears about the impact of competition from AI tools. It started when Anthropic introduced a new plugin for its Claude Cowork AI agent that could perform clerical tasks such as tracking compliance and reviewing legal documents. That sparked a sell-off in software stocks that snowballed into an event that tanked the whole market. The S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index, from which Domo was recently removed because of the drop in its market cap, declined 10% over the past year. Domo's stock fell about 80% in the same period. Patrick Walravens, a Citizens JMP analyst, said fewer customers are renewing their Domo subscriptions, and "there's almost no growth" in Domo's business. Although the company has incorporated AI into its products, Walravens said, it faces competition from larger companies with competing AI solutions, such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and Snowflake. "The world is moving on from traditional business intelligence," Walravens said. "It's still nice to have some dashboards and some graphs, but for so many things, you just want to ask someone. You want to ask your application." James returned to his full-time CEO duties in April. In June, Domo reported a 1% decline in quarterly revenue to $79.4 million. The company has reported losses every quarter since it went public in 2018. James and his wife — whom he met when she was a junior salesperson at Domo — have spent most of their time in Japan in recent months, former employees said. The couple listed their house in Utah for sale in September, according to real estate listings. Read the original article on Business Insider

Max Kim / New York Times: A look at South Korea's four vocational “meister” schools that train students to work in semiconductor manufacturing, leading to jobs at Samsung and SK Hynix  —  Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in Eumseong County, South Korea, is the oldest vocational high school …

A team cut their AI inference bill by more than half. Three months later, customer satisfaction was dropping and the cost savings were tied to the quality loss. Cost-optimization routing layers are a Pareto trap, and here's the detection methodology that catches them in days instead of months. The post We Built a Routing Layer to Cut Our AI Costs. It Broke the Product. appeared first on Towards Data Science.

Earlier this year, I moved to Australia to be with my husband. Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar I moved from India to Australia to be with my previously long-distance partner. It's been harder than I expected to find a job and rebuild my career in a new place. I've been making the most of this uncertain time by networking and focusing on the positives. The email arrived on a Monday morning. I was at the study desk, the one my husband built before I moved here, in a house that still feels more his than mine. As soon as I saw the email's subject line, I knew what was inside: a warm message letting me know that the team would be moving forward with another candidate. When I pressed for feedback, the recruiter explained that they had found someone with stronger experience in the Australian market. The rejection felt entirely logical, but also hard to absorb. The role was entry-level; meanwhile, I have 10 years of professional experience as a writer, editor, and communications specialist. I knew that moving countries would mean a grueling job hunt, but I didn't fully understand how disorienting it would be to have a decade of work suddenly feel like it doesn't quite count. It feels like I need local experience to land a job, but I need a job to gain local experience Finding a job has been much tougher than I expected. Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar I moved to Melbourne in January after marrying my husband, who has been living here for nearly two decades. We'd been in a long-distance relationship between India and Australia for over a year, and my eventual move was something we'd planned throughout our relationship. I arrived on a bridging partner visa, which would give me full work rights. I'd planned my move well. What I hadn't planned for was how challenging a career transition would be. For most of my career, I've worked in India. However, nearly every job listing I've encountered here asks for demonstrated experience engaging Australian stakeholders, familiarity with the Australian media landscape, or a track record of pitching to local news outlets. The subtext feels consistent: Prove you already understand how this place works before we let you work in it. I understand the logic, as someone who's hired people myself. I know managers want someone who can hit the ground running, but it still stings. I am 31 — mid-career by any measure — and it feels like I have to begin again from scratch. I've since learned there's a term for this kind of professional mismatch: underutilization. A 2024 Australian report conducted by Deloitte Access Economics found that almost half of the country's migrants are working below their skill level. The problem is structural. Employers want local experience, but local experience requires local employment. My job hunt is affecting how I see myself, but connecting with people here has helped For the first time in my adult life, I'm financially dependent on someone else. My husband is kind about my situation, and reassures me every day that things will start looking up — but financial dependence, even in a loving and equal partnership, feels isolating. Over the past five months, I've realized that work is not just a source of income for me. It's how I structure my day and stay motivated. It's how I introduce myself to new people. Losing that, even temporarily, has felt scary. In the evenings, I scroll through LinkedIn and watch former colleagues get promoted, start businesses, and announce their successes. I'm not envious, exactly, but there's a sense of fear and grief that comes with watching everyone else move forward while I stand still. In the absence of a job, I'm trying to make the waiting feel productive. I've been trying to focus on the positive. Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar As someone who's written about work and careers for most of my professional life, I've always understood — at least intellectually — that careers are built through relationships as much as credentials. Moving abroad has forced me to understand what that actually looks like in practice. Over the last few months, I've reached out to communications professionals, consultants, and my partner's friends across Australia. A lot of my cold outreach has gone nowhere, but some emails have led to useful advice and warm introductions. Others have simply helped me understand the unspoken rules of a professional culture I'm still learning. Sometimes, it feels strange to ask questions that might feel basic for someone at my career stage, but I've come to think of networking as less of a job-search tactic and more as a way to find community and rebuild my confidence. Talking to other immigrants and professionals who've been through similar transitions has also shown me just how common my experience is, and how much slower and messier finding work in a new country can be. I'm still finding my footing This chapter has also helped me see my life beyond the job search. After all, my previously long-distance husband and I are finally building a life in the same place. I have a neighborhood I'm starting to know by feel, morning walks I look forward to, and a city I'm learning to navigate a little better each day. These may seem like small things, but they're helping Melbourne feel more familiar. I still don't have a job, but what I do have is a clearer understanding of what rebuilding a professional identity in a new country actually requires: patience, humility, and more coffee catch-ups than I ever expected. Read the original article on Business Insider