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Today we're covering online “pig butchering” scams, nation-wide layoff trends, and the difficult reality of fighting to be yourself.

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The Department of Justice announced Wednesday its largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure related to "pig butchering" scams, officials said. Federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize more than $225.3 million in cryptocurrency from a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network. The U.S. Secret Service called it their largest crypto seizure in history, with FBI and Secret Service using blockchain analysis to trace the illicit funds.

"Pig butchering" scams involve perpetrators developing relationships with victims, often romantic, to gain trust before convincing them to send cryptocurrency investments. The scheme gets its name because victims are "fattened up prior to slaughter," according to the complaint. Scammers establish contact, build relationships, secure funds, then disappear when victims grow suspicious of the fraudulent investment opportunities. Ways to avoid digital scams here.

The seized funds affected more than 400 suspected victims worldwide, including dozens of confirmed U.S. residents who suffered losses. Matthew Galeotti from DOJ's criminal division stated this represents the latest action protecting Americans from cryptocurrency-based fraud schemes. Officials indicated the seized funds will eventually be returned to rightful owners through the forfeiture process. Read more about this social engineering tactic here.

Corporate America is slashing white-collar workforces as leaders embrace a new philosophy that fewer employees drive faster growth, officials said this week. U.S. public companies have reduced staff by 3.5% over three years, according to Live Data Technologies. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced Tuesday that AI will eliminate certain jobs, while one in five S&P 500 companies have shrunk over the past decade.

Major corporations are restructuring around efficiency rather than traditional cost-cutting measures. P&G announced 7,000 job cuts (15% of nonmanufacturing staff) to create "smaller teams," while Estée Lauder and Match Group each eliminated 20% of managers. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's finance chief told investors that "flatter is faster," noting the company reached its smallest size in a decade. See how bosses are trying to boost productivity here.

Tech investor Jason Lemkin recently stated that companies with 500-plus employees believe they don't need 30-40% of their teams. This trend reflects growing belief that excess staffing slows company performance, with AI enabling organizations to accomplish more with reduced headcount. On the other end of the spectrum, this map shows where more workers are quitting their jobs.

Honda successfully launched and landed its first experimental reusable rocket at a test facility in Taiki Town, Japan, the company announced this week. The 21-foot tall rocket weighing over 2,800 pounds flew for 56.6 seconds and reached 890 feet altitude before landing within 14 inches of its target using four retractable legs. This marks Honda's entry into the space industry after announcing rocket development plans in late 2021 (see more).

The automotive manufacturer is leveraging technologies from its automated driving systems to develop launch capabilities for the growing satellite market. Honda's research and development subsidiary conducted the test at a facility that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) helped establish as a "space town" through public-private partnerships. The company cites increasing satellite demand as potentially benefiting its other business operations. See the 1-minute video.

Honda aims to achieve suborbital launch capability by 2029, reaching altitudes above 62 miles. However, the company hasn't finalized commercialization plans and acknowledges its rocket research remains in fundamental phases. While suborbital flights represent significant progress, Honda must decide whether to compete with SpaceX and Blue Origin for orbital launch services that can deploy satellites into space. Can Honda rival SpaceX?

Jeff Bezos weaponized biological metaphor as business philosophy, where distinctiveness requires constant energy or you die. "The world wants you to be typical—in a thousand ways, it pulls at you. Don't let it happen." Drawing from Richard Dawkins, he argues that just as living bodies must work continuously to maintain differentials from their environment, companies must expend energy to avoid becoming typical.

Most fail because they underestimate the metabolic cost of differentiation. "The fairy tale version of 'be yourself' is that all the pain stops as soon as you allow your distinctiveness to shine." Bezos rejects the fantasy of effortless authenticity. "Being yourself is worth it, but don't expect it to be easy or free. You'll have to put energy into it continuously."

The dangerous balance: energy expenditure without guaranteed outcomes. His framework treats differentiation as biological imperative rather than strategic choice—maintain distinctiveness or face organizational death. "You have to pay a price for your distinctiveness, and it's worth it." Read this page. See the letter.

Early Alzheimer's detection through blood tests FDA-approved. These blood tests don't just diagnose symptomatic patients, they predict future dementia risk in healthy individuals years before symptoms appear. pTau217 measures brain tangles, a core Alzheimer's feature, with higher levels indicating faster cognitive decline. In one example, Bryan Johnson reduced his pTau217 by 28% using HBOT therapy. The game-changer: you can now assess and potentially address Alzheimer's risk decades early, when intervention might actually matter. Full thread here.

> Texas Democrats ask Tesla to delay Sunday robotaxi launch until September’s autonomous-driving law (More). | Waymo wants to test robo-taxis in NYC (More).

> Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors in 6-3 ruling (More).

> American investor Steven Wood seeks Swatch board seat to revive luxury brands amid China sales plunge (More).

> Candy giant Mars misses EU deadline to offer remedies for $36B Kellanova takeover amid antitrust review (More).

> Tucker Carlson clashes with Ted Cruz in heated 2-hour interview over Iran, Trump foreign policy (More).

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