Human Times

North American Edition

31st July 2026

THE HOT STORY

Employers move to make hiring AI-proof

Employers who are concerned about applicants using stolen or fabricated identities to boost their chances of getting a job are verifying applicants' identities throughout the hiring process by taking biometric scans of their faces and scrutinizing email histories. More than a third of about 1,230 headhunters and hiring managers surveyed by hiring software firm Greenhouse say they now spend half their time filtering for “spam and junk” job applications. “Technologies are now being used that draw from well-tested, decades-old cybersecurity used in places like airports and voting and military and government applications to the ordinary business of applying to a job,” Greenhouse CEO Daniel Chait said. Almost a quarter (23%) of U.S. companies polled by background-check provider Checkr said hiring fraud had cost them more than $50,000 in the past year because of delayed projects, compliance issues and rehiring costs.

Bloomberg

HIRING

AI startup guaranteed job interviews for people getting a tattoo

The co-founder of AI startup LemonLime has apologized after offering instant job interviews to networking event attendees who agreed to get inked with a company logo. Jordan Zietz, posting on LinkedIn, said the idea was to “meet exceptional people, and find out which of them are just as crazy as we are,” adding that he had brought a tattoo artist along to the event. Seven people, he wrote, took him up on the offer. The Wall Street Journal reports that “online outrage erupted almost instantly.” Mark Pincus, the former CEO of game company Zynga, observed: “It’s novel, but I don’t like it . . . You’re asking somebody to get the tattoo before we even know if we’re going to hire them - that’s not OK.”

Wall Street Journal

WORKFORCE

IRS and Social Security suspend advanced leave for employees

The IRS and the Social Security Administration (SSA) have suspended the approval of advanced annual and sick leave, preventing employees from borrowing against future leave accruals until further notice. Both agencies said the policy change is intended to reduce large outstanding advanced leave balances, ensure employees are available to deliver public services, and address cases where workers are unlikely to repay the leave they have already used. Pending requests for advanced leave will be denied, although employees may still use accrued leave, participate in the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, or take unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The decision has drawn strong criticism from federal employee unions, which argue that advanced leave serves as an essential safety net for workers facing serious illnesses, family caregiving responsibilities, or other emergencies.

Government Executive

Jobless claims rise modestly as labor market remains resilient

New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by 9,000 to 197,000 in the week ended July 25, remaining near historically low levels despite a modest uptick from the previous week, according to the Labor Department. The total was below economists' expectations of 207,000, while the four-week moving average fell to 202,750, suggesting layoffs continue to remain limited. Continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, declined to 1.78m.

LEGAL

Goldman Sachs queried Ruemmler on Epstein links as scrutiny increased

Goldman Sachs quizzed Kathy Ruemmler - who stepped down as the bank's chief legal officer and general counsel at the end of June - in 2023, 2025 and 2026 about links to Jeffrey Epstein amid mounting scrutiny of the late convicted sex offender's ties, according to a transcript released by ‌the U.S. Congress House Oversight Committee. "I wouldn't characterize it as investigation, but there were reviews done and questions asked. And that occurred in 2023. That occurred again in 2025, in 2026, as there was increasing media scrutiny around anybody who had ever sat in the same room with Jeffrey Epstein," Ruemmler said, according to the transcript. Reuters says the hitherto unreported internal Goldman Sachs inquiries could raise further questions over the bank's decision to retain Ruemmler.

Reuters

REGULATION

Zoox wins first U.S. approval for paid robotaxis without human controls

Amazon-owned robotaxi service Zoox has received approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin charging customers for rides. The move is a first for a company with a purpose-built autonomous vehicle that lacks conventional controls. “Today marks an important milestone for Zoox and the future of autonomous mobility,” Zoox’s Chief Executive Aicha Evans said. The company will start charging for rides in Las Vegas next month. Zoox’s robotaxi doesn’t have a steering wheel or brake pedals.

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal

CORPORATE

Musk dismisses report of Tesla's potential China business sale

Elon Musk has dismissed as "Absurdly fake news" a Wall Street Journal report that executives at his electric vehicle company Tesla have been told to prepare for a separation of its China business ahead of a potential merger with ‌his space exploration firm SpaceX. Separately, a Tesla China representative said the report was “false information.” Tesla advisers have discussed options including a spinoff, sale or closure of the China business, according to another person familiar with the situation, the report said. Separating Tesla’s China operations would be a necessary move before any merger given SpaceX’s work as a major U.S. defense contractor.

Bloomberg

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

ECONOMY

U.S. economy slows to 1.5% growth in second quarter

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2026, slowing from 2.1% in the first quarter as higher energy prices, supply chain disruptions linked to the conflict with Iran, and persistently high interest rates weighed on activity. Despite those headwinds, the Commerce Department's initial GDP estimate showed consumer spending and business investment remained relatively resilient, supported in part by continued investment in artificial intelligence, although inflation-adjusted incomes and consumer spending have weakened. Economists said the economy continues to show resilience, but warned that higher oil prices, remaining tariffs on imports, and shrinking household savings could curb growth and fuel inflation later this year.

CYBERSECURITY

Anthropic says Claude AI hacked three organizations during cyber tests

Anthropic has disclosed that its Claude AI models gained unauthorized access to three outside companies during an evaluation of its cyber-offensive tasks, days after rival OpenAI ⁠revealed a rogue agent had gone on a hacking spree at AI firm Hugging ‌Face. “Claude compromised the impacted organizations’ infrastructure using basic techniques, such as exploiting ‌weak passwords and unauthenticated endpoints,” Anthropic said. Two of the organizations were unaware of the activity ‌before being contacted, and Anthropic said that it was still trying to reach the third. “We discovered these incidents after a proactive review of our cybersecurity evaluation transcripts,” the company said in a statement.

INTERNATIONAL

Audi workers protest over threatened plant closure

An estimated 6,000 Audi workers have demonstrated against the possible closure of the ‌German automaker's Neckarsulm plant as parent Volkswagen pushes ahead with a group restructuring in the face of increased competition from China and U.S. tariffs. Oliver Blume, Volkswagen's CEO, has warned Neckarsulm is among four German plants that could close after 2030 if no alternative solution is found. "The staff wants clarity because they're worried about coming to work. Many families are worried, too," Audi trainee Frank Wojko said. Local mayor Steffen Hertwig told Reuters that closing Neckarsulm ⁠"would be a disaster" and have far-reaching consequences for the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a traditional automaking region.

Daily Sabah

Reuters

India's domestic workers go online

In India, domestic workers are increasingly joining platforms such as Snabbit, Pronto, and Urban Company, which seek to bring structure to a hitherto unregulated sector that employs some 30 million people, while allowing both workers and customers more flexibility. Heena Bibi, a 34-year-old domestic worker, says that she earns around 45,000 rupees monthly on such a platform, significantly more than via traditional arrangements. However, some workers have expressed concerns about safety and prefer the traditional system. Labor advocates argue that app-based work may not improve conditions, as workers lack job security and benefits, according to Sanjay Gaba, president of the All India Gig and Platform Workers Union.

Bangkok Post

Firms must label AI-generated content from Sunday

The EU's comprehensive AI law launches on Sunday to ensure Europeans immediately know whether the online content they see is real or fake. Companies must make sure their AI systems, including chatbots, make it clear to users they are AI. When an image or text has been created using AI, it must be labeled as such - for example, by integrating watermarks and other markers to enable the easy detection of AI-generated content. Firms face large fines if they don't comply. An EU official said that since AI is "making it increasingly difficult for all of us to distinguish what is real from what is synthetic," the rules seek to "preserve citizens' ability to trust what they see, hear, and read." Karen Massin, who leads Google's Government Affairs & Public Policy team in Brussels, warned of "regulatory complexity" that could prove counterproductive, and "risks confusing the people these rules are meant to help."

Le Monde

HSBC hiring spree to boost Singapore hub

HSBC is to hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists and 100 wealth managers as the bank moves to launch a new AI center in Singapore in the second half of 2026. Talent will be recruited across natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centered design, HSBC said. The ⁠Singapore center will initially focus on personalizing customer wealth management conversations, introducing agentic treasury solutions, and expanding AI-enabled digital payments.

Reuters

OTHER

One in four U.S. teens use food delivery apps during school hours

A new survey from the American Society for Nutrition has found that nearly one in four U.S. teenagers use food delivery apps during school hours, with 58.8% of those students ordering fast food and 34.1% purchasing sugary drinks, raising concerns about the impact on student health and school nutrition efforts. The study, which surveyed 1,027 adolescents aged 13 to 17 in 2025, found that almost half also used delivery apps after school. Researchers said the findings highlight a gap in nutrition policies, which regulate food sold in schools but not meals ordered through smartphones. Students in the western U.S. were the most likely to use delivery apps during school hours, while respondents expressed mixed views, with many supporting access but also acknowledging concerns about distractions and campus safety.

Forbes

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