Theres a quote from Charles Bukowski framed on my office wall:What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.
Were in that fire right now. For 25 years, our company has moved people to show up for entertainment. Then the world changed. Entertainment changed. Technology changed. Almost overnight, we had to throw the old playbook out the window.
So, we paused. We looked inward and asked the hard question: Do we rebuild what we had or transform into what we need to be for the future?
Companies need to choose the second. For us that meant becoming culture-led, not as a slogan or a rebrand, but as the infrastructure for how we operate. Becoming culture-led doesnt just guide values; it can become an operational advantage.
FROM SILOS TO CONNECTION
We stopped organizing ourselves around deliverables and started paying closer attention to what moves people. What makes them care, pause, laugh, click, and share.
Inside entertainment, wed spent decades learning how to meet people in emotional moments. We began applying that same emotional fluency to everything we do: from car launches to hospitality marketing, and CPG storytelling. Not by forcing those categories to feel like entertainment, but by applying what wed learned about timing, tone, and human connection in places where meaning matters more than ever.
A clear example was our work launching God of War Ragnarök for PlayStation. Instead of defaulting to an action-forward montage, we leaned into the childparent relationship at the heart of the game. That emotional center drove record results. We didnt get there by chasing categories. We got there by rethinking how we listen, interpret culture, and act on insight.
A CHANGE IN HOW THE WORK MOVES
Empowering culture-led work to emerge from an organization requires operational change.
Were restructuring our strategy, creative, editorial, and social teams to be leaner and faster. Were bringing them into the same room at the start of every project. Its not perfect yet, but the work is already moving differently.
We introduced informal culture briefs to stay close to whats resonating with people right now. Not whats trending, but what feels real and honest. That proximity keeps us grounded in how people live, not just how marketers talk.
The result has been work guided by less formula and more heart, stronger briefs that adhere closer to consumers realities, and faster movement of ideas to production.
LEARN TO SAY NO (WITHOUT FEELING SICK)
We also had to get serious about what were willing to walk away from.
In entertainment, the rule has always been simple: dont turn down work. You never know when the next thing is coming. That mindset builds hustle and burnout.
A few months ago, for the first time, we turned down entertainment work that would have been a no-brainer any other year. But it didnt align with who we are becoming, and that was reason enough to walk away from the opportunity.
Culture isnt just what you invite in. Its what youre willing to say no to.
Every time weve made that choice, weve seen sharper focus, more ownership, and greater momentum. The team feels lighter, clearer, and more confident in where were steering the ship.
THE REAL ADVANTAGE WAS NEVER THE CATEGORY
The same instinct that led us to center the human relationship in God of War Ragnarök is the one that revealed what wed been building all along in entertainmenta space that trains you to make people feel something fast. You have seconds to earn attention, emotion, and trust.
Over time, we realized that skill, emotional fluency, cultural timing, and instinctive connection were the real advantages. Not the form. Not the category.
In hindsight, its what strategist Rita McGrath would call a transient advantage. A capability, not a credential. Something portable. Something that evolves as culture shifts.
Once we recognized that, the question became how to operationalize it.
HIRE TO PUT CULTURAL FLUENCY INTO PRACTICE
Becoming culture-led takes more than intention. It takes structure.
Were building that now through cultural roundups, shared language, and clearer boundaries. Not buzzwords. Practical ways to stay connected to how people think and feel.
Were also changing how we hire. Experience still matters, but curiosity, self-awareness, and genuine growth mindset matter more. Alignment is becoming just as important as what client someone may bring in the door.
Were learning to protect the culture were building by setting boundaries, by saying no, and by choosing clarity over comfort. Every time we do, we move forward.
Were not done. And we probably never should be.
That Bukowski quote doesnt say what matters is whether you make it through the fire. It says how you walk through it is what matters.
Thats the challenge for leadership right now. Not avoiding change. Just walking through it honestly and with intention.
Companies that treat culture as a core capability, not a campaign or a slogan, are the ones ready for whatever comes next.
Michael McIntyre is the CEO of MOCEAN
When my mom was dying, hospice came daily and stayed for about ninety minutes. They answered questions, checked what needed to be checked, and did what good professionals do: They made a brutal situation feel slightly less impossible.
And then they left.
Ninety minutes go fast when you are watching your mother decline. The rest of the day stretches out in a way that does not feel like time so much as exposure. Every sound becomes a data point. Every small change feels like a decision you did not train for. Her breathing sounds strange. What do we do? How often should we turn her to avoid bedsores? What is the diaper situation, exactly?
That was the gap, the long, quiet stretch between professional help. In those hours, what you want most is not a miracle. It is simply someone to ask.
AI ENTERED MY LIFE IN A WAY I NEVER EXPECTED
AI found its way into my life when I least expected it. Not as a replacement for care or love, and not as a shortcut around grief. It was a tool that did not get tired. A place to put the questions you are embarrassed to ask. It was a way to stop spiraling long enough to make the next decision.
Before we reached hospice, my moms illness had already become a full-time information problem. Over the last few years of her life, her heart and kidney disease worsened, and the complexity multiplied with it. There were doctors and specialists, tests, lab results, scans, phone calls, and constant medication changes. The burden of continuity fell on us, and it was easy to feel like we were one detail away from missing something important.
I kept feeling disappointed that I was not managing the data better. The dates. The times. The medication lists. When tools like ChatGPT took a leap forward, I suddenly had something I did not have before: A resource that could help me understand what I was looking at and organize what I could not hold in my head.
In practice, it was not one magical capability. Depending on the day, AI played different roles: assistant, organizer, translator, sometimes just a calm voice to complain to that could talk back. I built multiple custom GPTs with specific jobs. One focused on medications. One helped me draft clear messages to doctors. One existed for the dumb questions, the ones you hesitate to ask because you think you should already know. Another served as a simple health profile, a place to store key details so I could reorient myself when I was exhausted.
It might sound like overkill until you have lived long enough inside the healthcare system to realize how inconsistent it can be. People change. Portals change. Instructions change. That little AI team was consistent. It was there at any hour when my brain was foggy, and I needed to turn a messy thought into clear words.
It even became emotional support in a way I did not anticipate. I built something like a caregiver therapist, somewhere I could say what I was feeling, including guilt, and got feedback that, even though I knew it was an algorithm, still brought real solace.
AI WAS NOT PERFECT
This is the part people do not like to say out loud. AI gave wrong information sometimes. It forgot a medication from a spreadsheet. It dropped something from a list. It did not remember a doctor when I asked. If you use these tools in caregiving, you must double-check, especially with medication, reminders, and timing. You must treat it like a friend who knows a lot but can be flaky.
Still, even with those limitations, the difference was profound. This was never about delegating love. It was about delegating the parts of the experience that did not need to consume the last of my cognitive energy.
When my mother finally passed, the AI journey took another turn. It became a project manager for funeral arrangements and the memorial service. It helped me think through practical details, such as food for 30 people and what flowers might cost. It helped me craft a eulogy by taking a messy voice memo, my unstructured stories, and the tone I wanted, and shaping it into an arc in my voice at a time when I could not simply turn on my best writer brain.
In some ways, the most startling part is that I have a control group. My father passed away about three to three and a half years ago, right before the age of AI. The difference between then and now has been night and day. With my mother, having these tools did not make it easy in the way people mean when they say easy. It made it more dignified for everyone, including her.
WHAT CHANGED WAS NOT GRIEF. IT WAS THE OVERWHELM
Dignity is not the absence of pain or a tidy emotional arc. Dignity is being able to show up without drowning in chaos. It is being able to look your mother in the eye and be present, instead of being trapped inside your own spinning mind, trying to remember whether you wrote down the one thing that could change everything.
In the end, the most important thing AI gave me was not an answer. It gave me room. Room to think, to breathe, to steady myself, to stay with my mother instead of disappearing into logistics and fear.
Grief will always demand something from you. It demands tears, memory, love, and the kind of courage that does not feel like courage while you are living it. But it also demands paperwork, phone calls, deadlines, and decisions made on days when you can barely form a sentence. AI did not carry the grief. It carried some of the weight around it, so I could carry her, and then carry myself, with a little more dignity.
Edwin Endlich is president of the National Alliance for Financial Literacy and Inclusion and chief marketing officer at Wysh.
Paramount Skydance is taking another step in its hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying Monday that it will name its own slate of directors before the next shareholder meeting of the Hollywood studio.
Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix.
Warner Bros. is in the middle of a bidding war between Paramount and Netflix. Warners leadership has repeatedly rebuffed overtures from Skydance-owned Paramount and urged shareholders to back the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.
Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery said its board determined Paramounts offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.
David Ellison, the chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, said Monday that it’s committed to seeing through its tender offer. We do not undertake any of these actions lightly,” he said in a letter to shareholders of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. has yet to schedule its annual meeting or a special meeting to consider the Netflix offer, and Paramount did not name any potential candidates for the board.
Associated Press
Muhammad Ali once joked that he should be a postage stamp because thats the only way Ill ever get licked.
Now, the three-time heavyweight champion’s quip is becoming reality.
Widely regarded as the most famous and influential boxer of all time, and a cultural force who fused athletic brilliance with political conviction and showmanship, Ali is being honored for the first time with a commemorative U.S. postage stamp.
As sort of the guardian of his legacy, Im thrilled. Im excited. Im ecstatic, Lonnie Ali, the champ’s wife of nearly 30 years, told The Associated Press. Because people, every time they look at that stamp, they will remember him. And he will be in the forefront of their consciousness. And, for me, that’s a thrill.
This image released by the United States Postal Service shows a commemorative Muhammad Ali stamp featuring a 1974 Associated Press photo of Ali. [Photo: United States Postal Service via AP]
A fighter in the ring and compassionate in life
Muhammad Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. During his lifetime and posthumously, the man known as The Greatest has received numerous awards, including an Olympic gold medal in 1960, the United Nations Messenger of Peace award in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Having his face on a stamp, Lonnie Ali said, has a particular significance because it’s a chance to highlight his mission of spreading compassion and his ability to connect with people.
He did it one person at a time, she said. And that’s such a lovely way to connect with people, to send them a letter and to use this stamp to reinforce the messaging in that life of connection.
Stamp to be publicly unveiled
A first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Muhammad Ali Forever Stamp is planned for Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, the birthplace of the famed boxer and home to the Muhammad Ali Center, which showcases his life and legacy. That’s when people can buy Muhammad Ali Forever Stamps featuring a black-and-white Associated Press photo from 1974 of Ali in his famous boxing pose.
Each sheet of 20 stamps also features a photo of Ali posing in a pinstripe suit, a recognition of his work as an activist and humanitarian. Twenty-two million stamps have been printed. Once they sell out, they won’t be reprinted, U.S. Postal Service officials said. The stamps are expected to generate a lot of interest from collectors and noncollectors.
Because they’re Forever Stamps, the First-Class Mail postage will always remain valid, which Lonnie Ali calls an ultimate tribute.
This is going to be a Forever Stamp from the post office, she said. It’s just one of those things that will be part of his legacy, and it will be one of the shining stars of his legacy, getting this stamp.
Creating a historic stamp
Lisa Bobb-Semple, the USPS director of stamp services, said the idea for a Muhammad Ali stamp first came about shortly after his death almost a decade ago. But the process of developing a stamp is a long one. The USPS requires people who appear on stamps to be dead for at least three years, with the exception of presidents.
As the USPS was working behind the scenes on a stamp, a friend of Ali helped to launch the #GetTheChampAStamp campaign, which sparked public interest in the idea.
We are really excited that the stars were able to align that allowed us to bring the stamp to fruition, said Bobb-Semple, who initially had to keep the planned Ali stamp secret until it was official. Its one that weve always wanted to bring to the market.
Members of the Citizen Stamps Advisory Committee, appointed by the postmaster general, are responsible for selecting who and what appears on stamps. Each quarter, they meet with Bobb-Semple and her team to review suggestions submitted by the public. There are usually about 20 to 25 commemorative stamp issues each year.
Once a stamp idea is selected, Bobb-Semple and her team work with one of several art directors to design the postage. It then goes through a lengthy final approval process, including a rigorous review by the USPS legal staff, before it can be issued to the public.
Antonio Alcalá, art director and designer of the Muhammad Ali stamp, said hundreds of images were reviewed before the final choices were narrowed to a few. Finally, the AP image, taken by an unnamed photographer, was chosen. It shows Ali in his prime, posing with boxing gloves and looking straight into the camera.
Alcalá said there’s a story behind every USPS stamp.
Postage stamps are miniature works of art designed to reflect the American experience, highlight heroes, history, milestones, achievements and natural wonders of America, he said. The Muhammad Ali stamps are a great example of that.
A candid figure on war, civil rights and religion
Beyond the boxing ring, Ali was outspoken about his beliefs when many Black Americans were still fighting to be heard. Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali changed his name after converting to Islam in the 1960s and spoke openly about race, religion and war. In 1967, he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War.
That stance cost Ali his heavyweight championship title and barred him from boxing for more than three years. Convicted of draft evasion, he was sentenced to five years in prison but remained free while appealing the case. The conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971, further cementing his prominence as a worldwide figure.
Later in life, Ali emerged as a global humanitarian and used his fame to promote peace, religious understanding and charitable causes, even as Parkinsons disease limited his speech and movement.
Ali’s message during a time of strife
The commemorative postage stamp comes at a time of political division in the U.S. and the world. Lonnie Ali said if her husband were alive today, he’d probably block a lot of this out and continue to be a compassionate person who connects with people every day.
That approach, she said, is especially important now.
We have to mobilize Muhammads life and sort of engage in the same kinds of acts of kindness an compassion that he did every day, she said.
Susan Haigh, Associated Press
Shares of the budget airline Sun Country were flying today after the carrier announced an upcoming merger with Las Vegas-based competitor Allegiant.
In a press release published on January 11, Allegiant shared its plan to acquire Minneapolis-based Sun Country in a $1.5 billion cash and stock transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Per the release, the merger will bring together a shared customer pool of nearly 22 million annual fliers across 175 cities and more than 650 routes. It will also give Allegiant access to Sun Countrys multi-year partnership delivering packages with Amazon Prime Air, which Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson told CNBC was a major part of the deal.
News of the acquisition comes as other budget carriers, like Spirit Airlines, struggle to compete in an increasingly exclusive airline industry. As of market close on Monday, Allegiants stock was down about 6%, whereas Sun Countrys shares soared by over 10%.
Budget air carriers fight an uphill battle
For small, low-cost air carriers, profitable business is a turbulent affair.
According to October data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation, a whopping 68.5% of total airline market share in the U.S. is cornered by four major companies: Delta, American, Southwest, and United. As those four powerhouses leverage their outsized financial power to battle it out over offering more and more premium perks for fliers, smaller companies are left struggling to keep up.
One example of this pattern is Spirit Airlines, the beleaguered carrier that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice since November 2024. Spirit hasnt made a profit since 2019indeed, as of late 2024, it had lost more than $2.4 billion since that time as it was unable to recover from pandemic-based losses.
The company attempted to lessen its debt load through a proposed sale to JetBlue, but that ultimately fell through in 2022 when it was challenged by the Department of Justice. In recent months, Spirit has announced its second bankruptcy, canceled all routes to 12 major cities, and furloughed 1,800 flight attendants.
While corporate mishandling is certainly partially responsible for Spirits troubles, its difficulties reflect larger hurdles for small air carriers in an industry where resources have become increasingly siloed. One way to address those issues is, as demonstrated by Spirits attempted sale to JetBlue, to merge with another company. Now, Allegiant and Sun Country appear to be attempting something similar by pooling their aircrafts, routes, and flier bases to meet traveler demands.
The combination will create a leading leisure-focused U.S. airline, the press release reads, expanding service to more popular vacation destinations across the United States, as well as international destinations, and providing more people with access to affordable, convenient air travel.
On the red carpet of the 2026 Golden Globes, several celebrities used their garments as vehicles of protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and spoke openly about their dissent against the current Trump administration.
But on the events actual stage, political commentary was noticeably absent compared with years past.
Popular American awards shows have long been criticized for primarily uplifting the voices of white, male, affluent creators. But, equally, the stages of these events have been used as platforms for public figures to speak out about current politics and social justice.
In 1973, Marlon Brando famously rejected his best actor Oscar statuette at the Academy Awards and sent Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American woman, to deliver a speech on his behalf. More recently, in 2018, Seth Meyers made numerous jokes at Trumps expense at the Golden Globes.
This year, though, political commentary on the Golden Globes stage was kept to a few passing comments and oblique references. It’s a shift that reflects a broader trend of Hollywoods elite seemingly turning a blind eye to the current state of affairs during Trumps second term.
“The most important thing in the world”
To glean any kind of political statement from last nights show, one might have needed to perform a close reading.
Comedian Nikki Glasser opened the ceremony with a vague allusion to pretty much everything happening outside of Hollywood, calling the Golden Globes without a doubt the most important thing happening in the world right now.
Others followed with similarly discreet jabs, including one comment from director Judd ApatowI believe were in a dictatorship nowneatly sandwiched within a stream of jokes.
Even when the film One Battle After Anothera satire about revolution that critiques anti-immigration groupswon multiple awards, no statement was made directly about the current administration.
Compare that tenor to 2017, when, just months after Trump was elected for his first term, one of the Golden Globes’ most viraland impactfulmoments came when Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech to publicly call out the president.
Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick them all out, well have nothing to watch except football and mixed martial artswhich are not the arts,” Streep said.
Her speech came years before Trumps National Guard ever brutalized protestors in the streets, before the Department of Homeland Security separated thousands of children from their parents, before ICE agents starting showing up at schools and community centers across the country, and before agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good just last week.
Yet, somehow, it would have looked out of place at last nights comparatively apolitical event.
“Of course, this is for the mother”
To be fair, several celebrities did make an effort to speak up. Stars including Wanda Sykes, Natasha Lyonne, and Jean Smart wore pins reading Be Good as a reference to Renee Nicole Good. Others sported pins with the phrase Ice Out.
In a preshow interview with Variety, Sykes explained her pin: Of course this is for the mother who was murdered by an ICE agent, and its really sad.”
Mark Ruffalo also spoke more directly, telling Entertainment Tonight: Weve got, literally, storm troopers running around terrorizing. And as much as I love all this, I dont know if I can pretend like this crazy stuff isnt happening.”
In another interview with USA Today, Ruffalo added: “[Trump is] a pedophile. He’s the worst human being. If we’re relying on this guy’s morality for the most powerful country in the world, then we’re all in a lot of trouble.”
But, notably, these comments were shared on the red carpet, to be consumed by readers at disparate news outletsrather than on the main stage itself, to millions of viewers at home. When the evenings stars got their moments in the limelight, they largely opted to stay quiet.
“Am I brave, or are they cowards?”
The literal sidelining of political commentary at the 2026 Golden Globes may be disappointing to fans who want celebrities to speak out about injustices, but it’s not surprising, given Hollywoods about-turn since Trumps second term began.
Celebs like Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Barry Jenkins, and others who once strongly criticized the president have lately been quiet. Lawrence herself recently spoke on this change, stating in an interview with The New York Times The Interview podcast that weve learned election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for.
But as Refinery 29 aptly observes in a recent article, thats not entirely true. Taylor Swifts endorsement of Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election drove more than 400,000 people to the vote.gov site in 24 hours, it points out. And Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlans advocacy for Palestine aid organizations has helped raise more than $2 million to date.
Speaking to Refinery 29 after this years Golden Globes show, actress and activist Jameela Jamil refuted the idea that her own advocacy is brave.
Am I brave, or are they cowards? she said. I think theyre being greedy and weird and disappointing. Look at the billions of eyeballs on all of us collectivelythere should be no outliers of the industry who are the outspoken ones . . . out there on their own with this amount of privilee.
The Justice Department has threatened the Federal Reserve with a criminal indictment over the testimony of Fed Chair Jerome Powell this summer regarding its building renovations, Powell said over the weekend.
It is a major escalation by the administration after repeated attempts by President Donald Trump to exert greater control over the independent institution.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting the short-term interest rate, and even threatened to fire him. Powells caution has infuriated Trump, who has demanded the Fed cut borrowing costs to spur the economy and reduce the interest rates the federal government pays on its debt. That anger has not subsided even after the Fed cut interest rates in three of the final four months of 2025.
Trump has also accused Powell of mismanaging the U.S. central banks $2.5 billion building renovation project. In a sharp departure from his previous responses to attacks by Trump, Powell described the threat of criminal charges as simple pretexts to undermine the Feds independence when it comes to setting interest rates.
While there has been a limited response from Republican lawmakers, there have been several early breaks with the party.
If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none, said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on the Banking Committee, which oversees Fed nominations.
Trump is already seeking to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. The allegation was made over the summer by Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the Federal Housing Administration.
Here are some reasons why the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve is guarded so closely.
Why the Fed’s independence matters
The Fed wields extensive power over the U.S. economy. By cutting the short-term interest rate it controls which it typically does when the economy falters the Fed can make borrowing cheaper and encourage more spending, accelerating growth and hiring. When it raises the rate which it does to cool the economy and combat inflation it can weaken the economy and cause job losses.
Economists have long preferred independent central banks because they can more easily take unpopular steps to fight inflation, such as raise interest rates, which makes borrowing to buy a home, car, or appliances more expensive.
The importance of an independent Fed was cemented for most economists after the extended inflation spike of the 1970s and early 1980s. Former Fed Chair Arthur Burns has been widely blamed for allowing the painful inflation of that era to accelerate by succumbing to pressure from President Richard Nixon to keep rates low heading into the 1972 election. Nixon feared higher rates would cost him the election, which he won in a landslide.
Paul Volcker was eventually appointed chair of the Fed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and he pushed the Fed’s short-term rate to the stunningly high level of nearly 20%. (It is currently 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years.) The eye-popping rates triggered a sharp recession, pushed unemployment to nearly 11%, and spurred widespread protests.
Yet Volcker didn’t flinch. By the mid-1980s, inflation had fallen back into the low single digits. Volcker’s willingness to inflict pain on the economy to throttle inflation is seen by most economists as a key example of the value of an independent Fed.
Investors are watching closely
An effort to fire Powell would almost certainly cause stock prices to fall and bond yields to spike higher, pushing up interest rates on government debt and raising borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt. The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury is a benchmark for mortgage rates.
All major U.S. markets slid Monday at the opening bell, bond yields edged higher and the value of the U.S dollar declined.
Most investors prefer an independent Fed, partly because it typically manages inflation better without being influenced by politics, but also because its decisions are more predictable. Fed officials often publicly discuss how they would alter interest rate policies if economic conditions changed.
If the Fed was more swayed by politics, it would be harder for financial markets to anticipate or understand its decisions.
While the Fed controls a short-term rate, financial markets determine longer-term borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans. And if investors worry that inflation will stay high, they will demand higher yields on government bonds, pushing up borrowing costs across the economy.
In Turkey, for example, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan forced the central bank to keep interest rates low in the early 2020s, even as inflation spiked to 85%. In 2023, Erdogan allowed the central bank more independence, which has helped bring down inflation, but short-term interest rates rose to 50% to fight inflation, and remain high.
The Fed’s independence doesn’t mean it’s unaccountable
Fed chairs like Powell are appointe by the president to serve four-year terms, and have to be confirmed by the Senate. The president also appoints the six other members of the Fed’s governing board, who can serve staggered terms of up to 14 years.
Those appointments can allow a president over time to significantly alter the Fed’s policies. Former president Joe Biden appointed four of the current seven members: Powell, Cook, Philip Jefferson, and Michael Barr. A fifth Biden appointee, Adriana Kugler, stepped down unexpectedly on Aug. 1, about five months before the end of her term. Trump has already nominated his top economist, Stephen Miran, as a potential replacement, though he will require Senate approval. Cook’s term ends in 2038, so forcing her out would allow Trump to appoint a loyalist sooner.
Trump will be able to replace Powell as Fed chair in May, when Powells term expires. Yet 12 members of the Feds interest-rate setting committee have a vote on whether to raise or lower interest rates, so even replacing the Chair doesnt guarantee that Fed policy will shift the way Trump wants.
Congress, meanwhile, can set the Fed’s goals through legislation. In 1977, for example, Congress gave the Fed a dual mandate to keep prices stable and seek maximum employment. The Fed defines stable prices as inflation at 2%.
The 1977 law also requires the Fed chair to testify before the House and Senate twice every year about the economy and interest rate policy.
Could the president fire Powell before his term ends?
The Supreme Court last year suggested in a ruling on other independent agencies that a president can’t fire the chair of the Fed just because he doesn’t like the chair’s policy choices. But he may be able to remove him for cause, typically interpreted to mean some kind of wrongdoing or negligence.
It’s a likely reason the Trump administration has zeroed in on the building renovation, in hopes it could provide a for cause pretext. Still, Powell would likely fight any attempt to remove him, and the case could wind up at the Supreme Court.
Christopher Rugaber, AP economics writer
Americans stressed by high grocery bills have one bright spot to look forward to in 2026. Value-minded grocery chain Aldi is coming to more cities around the country, with 180 new stores set to open in the U.S. this year.
Aldi is a compelling option for grocery shoppers on a budget. Founded in Germany, the company envisioned itself as a discount grocery store from day one. Aldis aggressive U.S. expansion will meet the needs of more shoppers seeking a no-frills grocery experience without compromising on quality a niche shared by Aldi competitors like Costco and Trader Joes.
The budget grocery chain currently operates in 39 states across more than 2,600 stores in the U.S. By the end of 2026, it plans to add 180 new stores, with some states getting their first Aldi, including a new location in Portland, Maine. The grocer is expanding aggressively in the West in particular, with 50 stores planned for Denver and Colorado Springs alone over the next five years. Phoenix will get 10 new Aldi locations in 2026, with 40 planned by the end of 2030 and four new Las Vegas area stores are on the way in the next few years as well.
These strategic investments are all about making sure customers can continue to count on us for the quality, affordable groceries and enjoyable shopping experience they love, Aldi CEO Atty McGrath said in a press release. As we look ahead to our next 50 years in the U.S., well continue to earn shopper loyalty by staying true to whats made ALDI successful: keeping things simple and delivering real value.
Beyond the West, Aldi is pushing deeper into the Southeast U.S. through its 2024 acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of grocery chain Winn-Dixie. The company will continue converting many of those locations into Aldi stores, with 200 set to be finished by the end of next year.
Aldi builds its brand
As Americas fastest-growing grocer, Aldi is focused on entering new markets, but the company is also refining aspects of its brand in the process.
Late last year, Aldi began putting its own brand on its in-house products, communicating more clearly with customers that they can only buy many of the things they enjoy at Aldi. Private label is the core of what we do, Scott Patton, Aldis chief commercial officer, told Fast Company. Im not going to say we invented it; I would say weve perfected it.
More than 90% of the grocers offerings are private label, but that fact isnt always apparent to shoppers a problem the company plans to solve. The overall sentiment was, on average, customers didnt know that was an Aldi brand, Kristy Reitz, Aldis director of brand and design, told Fast Company. Now if they shop us a little less frequently, they think they can find that brand elsewhere, and in fact its a private-label brand to Aldi.
The K-shaped economy and Aldi
Aldis booming business isnt a coincidence. Its stores command a loyal following by combining high quality with affordability, but its the latter thats really weighing on the minds of U.S. shoppers right now.
According to a poll by the Associated Press last year, an overwhelming majority of American households are worried about the high cost of groceries. Around half of people polled said that the high cost of groceries was a major stressor, with only 14% reporting that they werent worried about how much they pay to stock the fridge.
No matter what you call it, rich Americans are getting richer while much of the rest of the country is struggling to make ends meet. That K-shaped economy is taking shape in a number of ways, but the crux of it is that lower and middle income consumers are wrestling with a higher cost of living taking a bigger bite out of their earnings while the wealthiest Americans, buoyed by stock market highs, just keep spending.
Because the cost of basic needs like food and housing has soared in recent years and American wages havent kept up, many people in the U.S. feel left in the lurch. That leaves a lot of potential Aldi shoppers hunting for deals on the essentials.
Other stripped down discount shopping options are also booming. Costcos share price has more than doubled since the current inflationary streak began, with shoppers flocking en masse into its warehouses to stock up on high quality, low markup goods and groceries.
Its no surprise that refreshingly non-predatory brands are inspiring small armies of devoted followers who evangelize about the good deals they find. People stressed about their grocery bills have found a safe haven with stores like Aldi and Costco and for anyone who isnt, theres always Erewhon.
Facebook owner Meta has named Dina Powell McCormick, a former Trump administration adviser and longtime finance executive, as president and vice chairman of the tech giant.
Powell McCormick previously served on Meta’s board of directors where, the company notes, she was deeply engaged in accelerating its artificial intelligence push across platforms. In her new management role, Meta says Powell McCormick will help guide its overall strategy, including the execution of multi-billion-dollar investments.
The news, announced Monday, quickly gained the applause of U.S. President Donald Trump. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, the Republican president said the move was a great choice by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and noted that Powell McCormick had served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction.
Zuckerberg said in a statement that Powell McCormicks experience in global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, made her uniquely suited to help Meta in its future growth.
Powell McCormick is a veteran of two presidential administrations and the Republican National Committee. She worked as a national security adviser at the start of Trump’s first term, and also held roles in the White House and the Secretary of State’s office under President George W. Bush. She is married to U.S. Sen. David McCormick, who served in high-level positions in the Commerce and Treasury departments under Bush before he joined hedge fund Bridgewater Associates and rose to become CEO.
And Powell McCormick has a long background in finance. She spent 16 years in senior leadership at Goldman Sachs, but was most recently vice chair, president and head of global client services at merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners. She’s also held a handful of other corporate board positions including at oil giant Exxon Mobil.
According to a securities filing, Powell McCormick had previously resigned from Meta’s board in December, eight months after joining as a director.
The addition of Powell McCormick to Meta’s management team arrived amid wider efforts from California-based Meta to boost its ties with Trump, who was once banned from Facebook. Like other powerful tech CEOs, Zuckerberg has dined with the president at the White House and doubled down on U.S. investment promises worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Last year, the company also appointed Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White to its board, another familiar figure in Trump’s orbit.
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP business writer
AP Reporter Marc Levy contributed to this report.
Iran hasn’t changed its flag, but the emoji for it has changed on X, the social network previously known as Twitter.
Iran’s tricolor flag features green, white, and red horizontal stripes, with the country’s national emblem displayed in its center white stripe. But some opposition groups use a historical flag that instead shows a golden lion holding a sword in front of a sun.
Since ongoing anti-government demonstrations erupted in Iran in December, that lion-and-sun version of the flag has been used as a symbol of protest around the world, including in demonstrations over the weekend in Los Angeles and London, where one protester held the flag at the Iranian embassy after taking down the national flag.
Now it’s also on X.
[Images: x.com/Twemoji]
After an X user asked the site’s head of product, Nikita Bier, to update the flag last Thursday, Bier responded, “Give me a few hours.” The updated emoji appeared first on the web browser version of the site before rolling out to iOS devices.
Other emoji vendors like Google and Facebook still use the standard emoji of Iran’s national flag, so the lion-and-sun flag isn’t available on most platforms, and it’s also not available for X on Android devices.
The change on X, though, meant that accounts tied to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly found their bios displaying an emoji that could be construed as anti-regime. Iran’s foreign ministry has since removed the emoji from its bio.
X previously used default Apple emoji on iOS, but since 2023, it has used its own native emoji, according to Emojipedia. X last redesigned an emoji in 2024, when it changed its pistol emoji from a green water pistol back to an actual pistol.
Protests in Iran began on December 28 over deteriorating economic conditions. They have reached every province in the country. At least 572 people have died, and more than 10,600 people have been detained, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization. X users in the country haven’t had much of a chance to use or sound off about the new emoji, as Iran shut down internet access and telephone lines last Thursday.
