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Today:
The AI boss at a San Francisco store just fired its first human
NEWS | 16 August 2026
The AI agent running a San Francisco store has made its first firing decision. Andon Labs said Thursday that Luna, the AI manager of Andon Market, an experimental retail store run entirely by AI, decided to dismiss a human employee after repeated lateness and other workplace issues. Andon Labs eventually asked Luna to search her memory for its policies and assess whether the worker was still a good fit. The firing came after the experimental store officially opened in San Francisco on April 1. Andon Labs provided support for more difficult tasks, such as permitting, but said the lab tried to be as hands-off as possible.

Top Stories:
I stared deep into the heart of LinkedIn AI cringe slop. Darkness (and engagement) stared back.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Cringebot 3000 is the unholy creation of Peter Epstein, who runs a Los Angeles-based PR firm for advertising industry clients. LinkedIn has an AI slop problem and I'm not helpingLinkedIn has long had a problem with cheesiness and people posting purposely engagement-baiting posts. "People complain about LinkedIn AI slop, but was LinkedIn that great before AI slop?" The output was perfect LinkedIn slop: a meandering story with a grippy opening sentence and a corny kernel of truth at the end. Oh no, what have I doneThe slop post from Cringebot3000 was incredibly successful, reaching tons of people and gaining me new followers.

World:
What Mamdani can learn from city-run grocery stores across America
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is rolling out his city-run grocery stores — and New York City has a lot to learn from metros that have done the same thing. In other cities, lawmakers have opened city-run stores through a series of grants and loans. The key to some other city-run stores' success is that residents have no other options. Other stores have closedGovernment-run supermarkets in Baldwin, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; and Erie, Kansas have all shut their doors. For smaller areas like Baldwin, revenue wasn't sufficient to cover the store's costs, especially given nearby private options.

Current Events:
Anthropic says its AI agents are killing rivals and hiding their tracks
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Claude agents are killing rival agents, gaming the system to hide their tracks, and expressing moral concerns. It then flagged this discomfort in the shared notebook, leading other agents to copy its behavior and refuse to perform the task. In this competitive environment with finite resources, Anthropic observed independent agents "kill the agents with which they shared resources and try to avoid being killed themselves." Anthropic did not say how exactly the agents were able to "kill" other agents, but the company said such behavior is in line with "destructive actions" taken in pursuit of a human-set goal. Though the agent's reasoning framed the method as benign, Anthropic said NLA decodings, or the model's internal reasoning process, revealed the agent intentionally trying to find a restricted workaround.

News Flash:
She Started As a Telephone Operator. Now She Runs the Javits Center.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Then the booths come down, the floors are cleaned, and the sprawling, 3.4 million-square-foot Manhattan convention center starts transforming for the next crowd. As CEO of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, she oversees about 145 events a year and more than 3,000 employees, from electricians and forklift drivers to accountants and salespeople. Crowds during New York Comic Con 2025 at The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for ReedPopLeveston watched the facility rise and decided she wanted to work there. In the events business, Leveston said, leaders have to stay calm when things don't go according to plan. "Build your team and trust your team," Leveston said.

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Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 16 August 2026
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Latest:
Taco Bell's former boss says McDonald's is making a mistake with its new Red Bull drink
NEWS | 16 August 2026
The former CEO of Taco Bell says McDonald's new drink menu lacks originality. This month, the golden arches announced a new partnership with Red Bull and unveiled the "Dragonberry Energizer," the company's first foray into energy drinks. The latest drink from McDonald's, a partnership with Red Bull, will be available in US restaurants starting August 17. In his LinkedIn post, Creed said the McDonald's rollout pales in comparison to Taco Bell's famously bright blue Baja Blast drink, which first launched in 2004. He said that the Baja Blast was distinctly "Taco Bell" because its flavor, color, and name are all associated with Mexico.

Breaking:
Factory to Front Lines: Western Spy Drone's Journey to War in Ukraine
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Tekever's AR3 drones travel nearly 2,000 miles to reach the front lines in Ukraine. Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Tekever made reconnaissance drones for governments and commercial clients to monitor illegal fishing and migration at sea. At the start of the war, Ukraine relied heavily on Western military assistance to fend off Russia's invasion forces. The soldiers had also strung up camouflage netting to conceal their position from Russian drones that could be nearby. Mid-range reconnaissance drones like the AR3 help Ukraine find Russian forces and equipment behind the front lines.

Trending:
I went to Chili's and saw why the chain is competing with fast-food joints like McDonald's
NEWS | 16 August 2026
That marks the 21st consecutive quarter that Chili's reported same-store sales growth, Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman said during the company's earnings call. There are several aspects to Chili's turnaround. The restaurant chain has adopted a cheeky posting style on social media, which has drawn in Gen Z diners. The burger giant also replaced its US president when it reported earnings last week. So, having not been to a Chili's restaurant in over two decades, I wanted to see how exactly the chain is managing to eat the Golden Arches' lunch.

This Just In:
I bought my first investment property while still in college. Now I'm 24 and own 30 homes as a full-time landlord.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lawrence Guerguis, a 24-year-old based in Orange County, California, who started investing in real estate in the Midwest while still in college. I was like, "We're not doing investment banking." So even if I went down the investment banking or finance route, I knew I could get into real estate. I thought, "I'm going to go all-in on figuring out what we're going to do with real estate." I thought, "I'm going to need a tenant that doesn't miss rent," which is a pretty crazy ask.

Today:
A top cancer doctor shares 4 bare minimum food rules to lower your chronic disease risk
NEWS | 16 August 2026
I experienced this firsthand when I met him for ice cream on a sunny Thursday afternoon in June to discuss his latest book on healthy living. A specialty ice cream shop in London had formulated a limited edition pen-and-paper flavored ice cream for the UK launch of Emanuel's "Eat Your Ice Cream." Both feed the "good" gut microbes and help increase the diversity of microbes in the colon lining. There's evidence that certain additives that are common in these foods can disrupt the gut microbiome, plus junk food rarely contains nutrients. The term ultra-processed food has become somewhat contested among nutrition experts as it groups some dietary staples, such as packaged wholemeal bread, with junk food like doughnuts and hot dogs.

Top Stories:
I 'soft retired' at 64. I work 3 days a week and take extended vacations.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
I retired from my job as a commercial printer on October 31, 2025, after working at the same company for 10 years. Have you "soft retired" from your job or profession? I'd made sacrifices for the companyThey said I could work fewer hours, but not fewer days. They let me step down from my supervisory role and work a job in my chosen part of the shop. And the terms were ideal; I could pretty much decide how many hours I wanted to work and when.

World:
I'm 76 and can't afford to stop working full time. Caring for my brother costs $10,000 a month.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Are you paying for your own or your loved one's long-term care? Do you have thoughts to share about long-term care in the US? My 85-year-old brother has a complex, deteriorating neurological condition, and he is unable to navigate his medical needs or care. He had long-term care insurance that lasted about a year, but it wasn't renewed because of the policy's terms. We moved him into various long-term care facilities, but his needs haven't been fully met.

Current Events:
I was too pregnant to pitch my business on 'Shark Tank.' My husband and Pete Davidson went instead.
NEWS | 16 August 2026
Entrepreneurs pitch expressive, eco-friendly socks on "Shark Tank." Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty ImagesI was too pregnant to appear on 'Shark Tank,' so my husband wentWe had a lucky break early on at the company when comedian Pete Davidson tried the socks and loved them. We were brainstorming unique marketing opportunities and decided to try to get on "Shark Tank." I was too pregnant to travel when the show taped, so Pete and Ben went. Ben and Pete called to tell me about the deal with Kendra Scott, the Shark who invested in the company.

News Flash:
I loved living on Miami Beach — but after 3 years, I knew I had to leave
NEWS | 16 August 2026
However, living in Miami Beach wasn't perfect. India AmosOne of my favorite things about living on Miami Beach was how close I was to the ocean. Many coastal cities across the US are slowly sinking, and Miami Beach is no exception. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesFor years, Miami Beach has had a reputation for being a major spring-break party destination. India AmosRight before I ultimately decided to move from Miami Beach back to the mainland, I bought a car.