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Today:
Stripe says the singularity has arrived. Here's what they told investors about it.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Stripe says the singularity already arrived — more than eight months ago. The letter makes the Stripe leaders the latest tech execs to declare the singularity is already here. Several AI experts previously told Business Insider that they did not agree with Altman's take. Stripe's letter to investors came as the company announced Wednesday it was acquiring OpenRouter, an AI model marketplace startup. We view this as a growing advantage as we venture into the vicissitudes of the singularity," the letter said.

Top Stories:
'Dune: Part Three' ticket demand overwhelmed AMC's website. Its CEO called the glitches 'intolerable and inexcusable.’
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Some fans of the "Dune" franchise had to duke it out like Paul Atreides to snag tickets during AMC's latest ticket launch. In an X post, AMC CEO Adam Aron said high demand for "Dune: Part Three" temporarily slowed or "glitched" its online ticketing system on Tuesday. "Ticketing traffic across AMC's website and mobile app reached levels approximately three times higher than what we experienced during the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ticket launch, which itself followed strong advance sales for The Odyssey ticket launch before that," Aron said. Fans of the Greek epic rushed online ticket drops, causing platform crashes, while resellers hawked tickets for as much as $600. Ticket resellers are major players in the entertainment and events industries, despite pushback from artists, studios, and the US government.

World:
Amazon is rolling out drone delivery to 500 cities. Here’s how to see if they'll deliver to your house.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
The sight of Amazon's delivery drones buzzing over their homes could soon be the norm for a growing chunk of Americans. Amazon said Prime Air is expanding its drone delivery service to almost 500 US cities and towns by the end of this year. On the homepage, customers can click into the drop-down menu and find "Drone Delivery" under the "Programs & Features" section. Once a customer selects "Drone Delivery," they'll be taken to the drone delivery webpage, which includes a map of current and future locations. Walmart has also ramped up its own drone delivery service over the last year, bringing it to 100 more stores in places like Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa.

Current Events:
Moderna stock price soars 177% on melanoma vaccine success
NEWS | 20 August 2026
After making its name as a vaccine-maker during the COVID era, Moderna has been looking for its second act as a major drug developer. Moderna stock surged 177% to $174.38 on Wednesday after reporting successful results in a late-stage trial for a melanoma drug, in partnership with Merck. The vaccine's effectiveness is in reducing the recurrence of melanoma and is given alongside Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug from Merck. The jump in Moderna's stock price comes after a difficult five-year stretch following COVID-era heights. Still, Wednesday's gain brings the company's year-to-date gain to 445%.

News Flash:
Silicon Valley has a new insult for performative hustle posts: 'grindslop'
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Founders whom Wang looked up to criticized him; his friends publicly posted their reasons for disagreeing with him. Grindslop refers to people who share publicly just how hard they work, or expect others to work. No, he said, because it was about hard work. Though she said her portfolio companies don't post grindslop, some emulate its habits: 996 schedules, air mattresses. "Initially, startups were basically a bunch of nerds working on hard problems that they found fun," Shah said.

Sponsored:
SmartSync Data Sync App
SPONSORED | 20 August 2026
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Latest:
High Ticket Demand Brings Movie Fans Back to Theaters for 'Dune'
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Earlier this summer, Imax 70-millimeter Imax tickets for "The Odyssey" spurred a ticket-buying frenzy, leading to platform crashes and resellers flipping seats for $165. The in-person Dune line marks the reversal of one larger movie-going trend: the rise of advance digital ticketing. The lines remain an anomaly in the wider exhibition business, spurred by demand for the 70-millimeter Imax format, which is only shown in around 25 theaters in the US. Jerry Walsh, who had tried and failed to get "Odyssey" tickets, arrived at the Upper West Side theatre at 6 a.m. armed with folding chairs. Emmanuel Ruiz (right) and Luis Delcarpio (left) working from the "Dune" line.

Breaking:
Why the Lakers Cost $12.5 Billion; Why NFL TV Deals Could Get Tougher.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
The best argument for that price: The value of sports TV deals is the one thing that keeps going up, even as the rest of TV contracts. You can listen to our entire conversation, which also includes a look at Apple's sports strategy, and the WNBA's approach to media deals, on my Channels podcast. John Ourand: In the past, all the valuations of [pro sports] teams were heavily weighted by the fact that media rights deals keep going up by 10%, 20% per year. But media executives I talk to say, "If they're basing [the Lakers] valuation on future media rights deals, that's a mistake." After the NFL did $110 billion in TV deals in 2021, the networks were crying poor.

Trending:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the UK 6 years after they left. Here's a timeline of their relationship with the royals.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
On May 2, 2025, Harry lost his legal challenge requesting automatic security for his family when they visit the UK. He also said he, Meghan, and their children continue to be the subject of "neo-Nazi and extremist threats," putting them in danger without ample security. "The UK is my birthplace and will always be part of who I am," he said. He added that he "would love a reconciliation" with the royal family but that his battle for security in the UK is "the sticking point" in their relationship. "Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book.

This Just In:
Zohran Mamdani Clamps Down on Small Things That Infuriate New Yorkers
NEWS | 20 August 2026
The DCWP has sent tens of thousands of notices to businesses over noncompliance with New York City laws. "This City Hall seems to understand that smaller-scale everyday stuff like this isn't trivial or low-brow." "It sends the message that City Hall cares about you when someone is ripping you off." Using City Hall to hunt down everyday rip-offs is not a Mamdani invention. The real test is whether fixing enough small things convinces New Yorkers that his government can fix some big ones, too.

Today:
I've traveled to over 70 countries. Here are 5 cities I always tell my friends and family to visit.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Every few months, I get an irresistible urge to pack my backpack and send myself to a new environment. Having grown up between multiple cultures and countries, travel awakens a part of my identity that stays dormant at my home base in New Jersey. My love of travel has brought me to over 70 countries during my 33 years of life, and some places have really stuck with me. Here are five of my favorite cities around the world that I always tell my friends and family to visit.

Top Stories:
Silicon Valley employees are flexing their limited-edition customized Swiss watches
NEWS | 20 August 2026
Some Silicon Valley workers are taking their résumés off LinkedIn and putting them on their wrists, showing off rare, customized watches from Swiss manufacturer Tudor. The latest round of wrist-flexing began when a post highlighting custom watches made for Googlers circulated on Monday. Boris Power, OpenAI's head of applied research, responded with a picture of the custom OpenAI version, complete with the phrase "Good Research Takes Time," engraved on the back. Sebastian Speier, a former Instagram employee who now works for Perplexity, also shared a picture of a customized watch. The Pelagos model, used for Google's custom watches, retails for about $4,500.

World:
I'm 68 and chose 'soft retirement.' I work 3 days a week and keep my benefits.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
This story is based on an interview with Tina Bonanno, 68, a KPMG information architect, from Northern New Jersey. It meant five months of disability leave from my IT job at KPMG, but I pushed through and returned to my position. I'd talked to my financial advisor at the end of 2024 and said, "How do I look for a retirement?" If they needed me for meetings outside those times, I'd be willing to attend, within reason. Working five days a week no longer suited me because I needed more than Saturday and Sunday to decompress.

Current Events:
I stepped back from a successful VC career. The hardest part was the ego hit.
NEWS | 20 August 2026
The same brain I always hadMy identity crisis started after I left because I moved to Connecticut, where I didn't know anyone. I don't know why that matters, but after I quit my job, I was still trying to prove myself. My answer was, "I'm quiet because I don't know what to say." I'm like, "I don't know. I'm so fortunate to be here because of my hard work, but ambition for the sake of ambition feels stupid now.

News Flash:
NBA star Jaylen Brown says there's a downside to wealth that people don't talk about
NEWS | 20 August 2026
NBA star Jaylen Brown said that getting rich came at a cost to his relationships. Brown began gaining recognition for his basketball skills at a young age, and his growing profile helped ease some of the financial pressure on his family. "It wasn't necessarily monetary wealth, but you could see wealth was being accumulated," Brown said. Brown started to get opportunities that many of his peers — who, like him, grew up in single-parent households with limited resources and opportunities — didn't have. Navigating how success changed his interactions with others had been "the hardest part," because it "puts you on an island, isolates you," Brown said.