Last June, after almost a full year on the job hunt, Jordan Williams landed a role at a high-growth, United Kingdom-based outdoor apparel brand that was looking to build out its US operations.
Passenger Clothing was well positioned for expansion: The company landed orders with REI, Scheels and others; and Williams, a Portland, Oregon-based outdoor industry veteran, was excited for the ride.
Until April.
It’s a big day for Nintendo fans. The gaming giant’s new console, the Switch 2, arrives on store shelves globally after being announced in April — marking Nintendo’s first major console launch since the original Switch arrived roughly eight years ago.
And fans have clearly been waiting; 2.2 million people applied for a lottery system to buy the Switch 2 in Japan, according to a translation of an X post from Nintendo in April. Nearly all US Best Buy stores opened just after midnight to accommodate eager fans.
The Switch 2, priced at $450 in the US, can be played in handheld mode, when propped up on a table; or on a TV when plugged in to its accompanying dock, like its predecessor. While the formula is the same as that of the original Switch, Nintendo has made significant upgrades to the hardware, including giving its new console a larger screen, upgraded versions of the Joy-Con controllers and new social features.
Wild cockatoos in Sydney, Australia have learned to drink from twist-handle water fountains, turning the knob with their feet and using their body weight to keep it open. They even queue to have a drink, waiting to take turns on the fountain, footage shows.
The behavior qualifies as a new local tradition, according to a study published Wednesday (June 4) in the journal Biology Letters that analyzed videos of these cockatoos showing off their fountain-manipulating skills.
The Big Bang is often described as the explosive birth of the universe — a singular moment when space, time and matter sprang into existence. But what if this was not the beginning at all? What if our universe emerged from something else — something more familiar and radical at the same time?
In a new paper, published in Physical Review D, my colleagues and I propose a striking alternative. Our calculations suggest the Big Bang was not the start of everything, but rather the outcome of a gravitational crunch or collapse that formed a very massive black hole — followed by a bounce inside it.
This idea, which we call the black hole universe, offers a radically different view of cosmic origins, yet it is grounded entirely in known physics and observations.
More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remained active Sunday and diminished air quality in parts of Canada and the U.S., according to officials.
Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there warned the number could climb.
Smoke was worsening air quality and reducing visibility in Canada and into some U.S. states along the border.
The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another power plant, this time an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid.
The department’s order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, regarding the Eddystone power plant just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the department’s second use of federal power under President Donald Trump to require a power plant to keep operating on the mainland United States.
Constellation Energy had planned to shut down Eddystone’s units 3 and 4 on Saturday, but Trump’s Department of Energy ordered the company to continue operating the units until at least Aug. 28. The units can produce a combined 760 megawatts.
Donatos Pizza is launching its first fully autonomous pizza restaurant in June, introducing a robot-operated kitchen at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in partnership with Appetronix and HMSHost.
The new location, situated before security in front of Concourse B, will be open 24/7 and operated by HMSHost. It will feature robotics and data science technology to deliver made-to-order pizzas quickly and efficiently for airport travelers. Customers will be able to watch their pizzas being prepared in real-time, offering both speed and an engaging experience.
As summer travel ramps up, Airbnb is once again activating its anti-party technology across the United States to deter potentially disruptive bookings over Memorial
Airbnb announced on May 19, 2025, that it will again activate its anti-party technology across the United States for the Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. This marks the fourth consecutive year the company has deployed these defenses to reduce the risk of unauthorized parties on the platform.
Apple is reportedly accelerating development on their new wearable: AI-powered smart glasses designed to compete directly with Meta’s Ray-Bans. According to Bloomberg, the Cupertino-based company is targeting a late 2026 launch and has begun preparing large-scale prototypes for production.
This new report clarifies and updates earlier information reported by our publication, which speculated that Apple would debut its smart glasses alongside custom chips based on Apple Watch architecture. At the time, sources suggested that chip production would begin in summer 2026. However, Bloomberg now confirms that Apple aims to start producing significant quantities of the smart glasses themselves — not just their components — by the end of 2025, signaling a more aggressive timeline than previously expected.
Key Takeaways
The financial landscape is more dynamic than ever. With the rapid advancement of technology and the complex weave of globalization, traditional financial strategies are being upended. Professionals like Peter Orszag Lazard represent a growing cadre of leaders adept at guiding their firms through the uncertainties of this evolving landscape. By understanding these shifts, firms safeguard their operations and leverage new opportunities for growth and innovation. Today, financial strategy is not just about numbers. It’s about understanding the larger global picture. The velocity of change means that staying static is not an option. Organizations must continuously innovate to maintain relevance. This tumultuous environment demands agility and foresight, encouraging us to redefine what financial strategies mean for the future.
Dispatches From The Front 