The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping new sanctions campaign against Iran yesterday, a major switch in strategy after months of fighting and failed negotiations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dubbed the effort “Operation Economic Outcast,” saying the US will target Iran’s ability to trade, move money, and access the global financial system.

According to officials:

What is the goal? The administration hopes that pushing more economic pressure on Iran can force them back to the negotiation table without expanding US military operations any further.

China, which is Iran’s largest buyer of oil, is already seeing some of the downsides of being associated with the nation:

Iran, meanwhile, is threatening retaliation: Its officials have warned countries against participating in America's economic campaign, while the country blacklisted 45 tankers operating around Hormuz and threatened them with fines, detention, or confiscation of their cargo yesterday.

🌎 Why is this important? If the economic pressure brings Iran back to negotiations, Americans could benefit from more stable oil and gas prices. On the other hand, retaliation or additional sanctions spreading to major trading partners (like China) could instead increase energy costs and global economic uncertainty.

Track what's changed, recent data, what we're watching next, and more with our Watchlist.

The US and Canada are heading toward another showdown. After tariff negotiations collapsed on Friday, Canada vowed to retaliate against American goods starting next month.

Meanwhile, both governments are blaming each other for the breakdown.

Much like two siblings, through a lot of bickering back and forth. Despite having a long history as some of the world’s closest trade partners and allies, the last couple of years have proved difficult:

Although they tried to work it out… it didn’t. Negotiations collapsed, but it’s unclear which side ultimately derailed the talks, as both governments say the other added unworkable conditions at the last minute.

Since a deal couldn’t be completed, the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods.

Canada will hit back: Canada has yet to announce which products it will tariff, but Prime Minister Mark Carney says the response will match US levies “dollar for dollar” and target many of the same industries.

This is no small spat: Canada sends around $382 billion worth of goods to the US per year, accounting for roughly 72% of all its exports. Tariffs are a large part of the US’s trade policy; explore a tariff tracker here (with charts).

🌎 Why does this matter? The renewed trade war could raise prices on everything from agricultural products and furniture to clothing and electronics as businesses absorb the new tariffs. Perhaps more importantly, continued escalation would threaten the deeply intertwined supply chain between the two countries, potentially leading to job losses and cut investment.

We’re tracking the US’ relationship with a wide range of countries. Click below to see live updates on US-China, US-Iran, and more.

“Ghost jobs,” or listings companies post even though they aren’t actively trying to hire someone, have become so common that lawmakers in several states want to outlaw them.

They are, much like a two-week-old Tinder match who still hasn’t responded to your texts. Despite what many prospective workers may think, it’s not a bad résumé that’s leaving you with no response:

Why are ghost jobs even a thing? Sometimes, it’s simply because an employer had planned to hire but ended up eliminating the position and was slow to take the posting down.

Other times, though… it’s for more nefarious reasons. A recent survey found 38% of recruiters said they posted ghost jobs to maintain a presence on job boards when they aren’t hiring, while 36% use them to test how well listings perform. Some applicants believe companies use them to gather data or signal growth to investors.

Over the past few months, there has been a bipartisan push from several states to cut down on the practice that’s leaving job seekers hanging:

Employers are only part of the problem… according to Texas. The Lone Star State launched an investigation into LinkedIn last month, alleging the company not only promotes ghost jobs, but profits from them.

🌎 How does this affect you? Cracking down on ghost jobs could save applicants hours of wasted work and give workers a much clearer picture of how strong (or weak) the job market really is.

Track the latest updates on the job market, AI-related layoffs, remote work, and more with our curated index.

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Two senators sent a letter to TikTok last week after internal documents revealed the company intentionally disabled a safety feature for millions of US users as part of an experiment.

The safeguard was designed to prevent users from becoming trapped in “filter bubbles” of repetitive and potentially harmful content. Bloomberg reports that TikTok removed it for 10% of users to create a control group, exposing them to harmful videos.

It was all just to measure engagement. The internal document described balancing safety against the company's ability to measure effects on daily active users and other core metrics. The senators argue this suggests TikTok knowingly exposed some users to greater risk simply to see whether a safety measure could hurt views, likes, and comments.

TikTok was already under fire for safety concerns: It comes as the social media platform just settled with the US Department of Justice for hundreds of millions of dollars over allegations it violated child safety protections.

This isn’t anything new: Last week, Meta began its own landmark federal trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram violated child privacy laws and were deliberately designed to keep young users addicted (see more).

🌎 Why should you care? TikTok (and Meta’s) cases suggest courts are increasingly willing to hold social media companies responsible for how their platforms affect children. They could set a precedent that pushes the entire industry toward stricter age verification, stronger privacy protections, and less addictive designs for children.

See the latest updates on related topics like cybersecurity, AI adoption, digital privacy, and more with our Technology index.

Struggling to find work? Sorting through endless ghost jobs? New research suggests that simply responding quickly to recruiters can significantly improve your chances of landing work.

…even if they ghost you. Researchers analyzed millions of interactions on Fiverr and found that the longer freelancers waited to respond to prospective clients, the less likely they were to get the job. Follow-up experiments found:

This extends outside of freelance work: Employers interviewed by researchers said that they don’t necessarily favor quick responders simply because they're impatient, but because those who respond quickly appear more organized, motivated, dependable, or capable of getting things done.

Speed matters earlier in the process as well: A separate analysis of 1.7 million job applications found that applying within the first day of a posting (or being among roughly the first 100 applicants) can improve the odds that a résumé is actually reviewed.

🌎 Why is this important? The trend could turn job searching into a more “always-on” process, where regularly checking messages and replying the same day becomes almost as crucial as crafting the perfect response.

> Researchers developed electronic skin that can detect pressure and temperature with 10 times the sensitivity of current sensors, potentially allowing amputees to feel sensation through their prosthetics.

> Nearly 40% of music released worldwide last month was created at least partly using AI, with at least 23% being fully AI-generated, according to an analysis of more than 1 million tracks.

> Since the launch of ChatGPT, more than 33% of published webpages show signs of being written or substantially edited by AI, according to a Pew analysis of nearly half a million webpages.

> A Chinese humanoid robot named Lightning ran the 100-meter dash in 9.32 seconds, beating Usain Bolt’s (human) world record of 9.58 seconds.

> Depression may halt the production of new brain cells, scientists have found for the first time, making it harder for the brain to adapt to new experiences and separate them from negative memories.

> Giant invasive arachnids, named Joro spiders, are spreading across the US Southeast. Despite their 4-inch leg spans and enormous webs, researchers say bites are incredibly rare and typically cause only mild, short-lived symptoms.