Author: wildgreenquest@gmail.com

Group health insurance might be going the way of the pension. Just like companies swapped guaranteed pensions for 401(k)s and handed employees the responsibility of managing their own retirement, a growing number of employers are now handing workers cash instead of a company-picked health plan, Bloomberg reports. The reason for the shift is economics. Group plan costs are expected to hit $18,500 per employee this year, a 6.7% jump, the steepest increase in 15 years, according to Mercer. Employers are responding by ditching traditional group plans whole sale. More than 20,000 companies switched to Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) in 2026,…

Key Takeaways Lila Ibrahim is Google DeepMind’s first chief AI readiness officer. Her career began in an Indiana cornfield, not an AI lab. She entered DeepMind without formal AI training but managed to earn a C-suite AI role. Lila Ibrahim’s route to the top of Google DeepMind started at the age of 14, when she spent summers detasseling corn in Indiana for “$1-something” an hour. It was a grueling job that left her sweating, scraped up and certain that she wanted another kind of life.  “I grew up in really humble beginnings,” Ibrahim recently told Fortune. Her immigrant parents were…

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Baby Boomers value trust, consistency and direct mail marketing. You should focus on traditional outreach and email follow-up. Generation X values straightforward messaging, value and proof (reviews, testimonials, case studies and before-and-after examples). Millennials value convenience, personalized mail and entertaining marketing. Use search, social media and location-based ads, and stay connected with personalized email, retargeting ads and direct mail retargeting. Gen Z values authenticity, creativity, speed, social proof and unique mail. They respond well when you feel real, unique and worth their attention. At PostcardMania, my marketing consultants work with…

Key Takeaways NFL great Kyle Van Noy’s show “Elite Eatz” features conversations with amazing athletes about life on and off the field. This week, Kyle takes Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson down to Manhattan Beach for a Mexican food summit to remember. Hungry for some inside the NFL talk? Then check out “Elite Eatz,” Kyle Van Noy‘s YouTube series where the two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker sits down with fellow football greats over a meal and digs in on food, as well as the physical grind and mental toughness it takes to succeed. In this episode, Van Noy heads to…

DeFlock claims that Yosemite National Park has installed the controversial surveillance technology. The NPS says the cameras are part of a system to monitor congestion and parking. Amid a summer of overcrowding and traffic concerns, the park’s website says the cameras are license-plate readers designed to reduce wait times (Photo: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images)Published August 17, 2026 01:54PMIs Yosemite National Park using Flock cameras?A crowdsourced organization that compiles locations of surveillance cameras around the United States recently reported that there were at least five cameras inside Yosemite. DeFlock.org, a volunteer-run project that lets anyone add camera locations…

The latest Long Read on the Outside Podcast takes listeners down the Lower Owyhee, a scenic river in eastern Oregon that was too shallow for traditional whitewater rafts.Published August 17, 2026 12:11PMAcross the West, whitewater guides have had to grapple with a similar problem throughout 2026: bone-dry rivers. Last fall, writer Owen Clarke took an innovative tour down the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon during its lowest flow of the season. The secret to the trip were inflatable packrafts, which sit just a few inches into the water. These rafts allowed Clarke and his group to navigate rocky and tight…

Published August 17, 2026 10:11AMOn August 10, Jackson, Wyoming resident Maggie Schwartz was hiking on Teton Pass, following a trail she hikes nearly every day, when a black bear knocked her face-down into the brush.The bear proceeded to bite Schwartz on her butt. “I must have flipped myself over onto my back,” Schwartz told Outside, “because I remember being on my back and her continuing towards me. I put my feet up on her chest and was screaming and fumbling around.” Schwartz reached for her bear spray, got both hands on the bottle, and then sprayed it directly into the…

A physical therapist shares an easy routine to build arm strength. These moves will improve your posture and help you move efficiently on the trails.Listen to this articleListen (Photo: Canva)Published August 17, 2026 09:43AMAdding strength work to an already active lifestyle involving climbing, hiking, and running probably seems daunting. But strength training can build stability, help prevent injury, and keep you moving for as long as possible.Many of us will prioritize the lower body with what time we do have. And just as many will neglect the arms. I get it—legs provide the propulsion you need to run and hike.…

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Don’t implement AI to advertise it — solve a specific, real workflow problem first. The best AI tools create more human connection, not less of it. Custom beats cheap: a tailored solution outperforms a rushed off-the-shelf one every time. Integrating AI tools into your business workflows offers enormous potential. Automate processes. Streamline workflows. Increase overall productivity. However, there are critical pitfalls that cause friction losses and customer frustration, especially among those who appreciate personalized services and the human connection.  Here’s a breakdown of three core mistakes to avoid, based on…

The forecast is far from a lock, but it gives skiers another reason to start obsessing over this winter. (Photo: Courtesy of Jay Peak)Published August 17, 2026 08:14AMIt’s August, so naturally we’re obsessing over what the coming winter might bring. Enter the Farmers’ Almanac with its annual analysis and predictions—right on time and giving us even more weather cud to chew as we melt in the summer heat.According to the Almanac, which has been sharing its winter outlooks for over 200 years, the 2026–2027 winter forecast calls for a season of sharp contrasts, including an active storm track across the…