Month: July 2026

Photo by Anurag Jamwal

“I can’t think of a time a declaration was denied” for a state that met FEMA and NOAA standards, says a former FEMA official. The former official was granted anonymity to speak about Trump’s recent decision to override his own agencies to deny four Democratic states requesting disaster relief.

Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York were all denied their requests for federal disaster relief. The paralyzing February “Blizzard of 2026” dumped record snowfall across the East Coast- breaking historical records (e.g. 37.9 inches in 24 hours on Rhode Island). This led to those states’ unprecedented snow removal costs- aid requests for $227 million altogether. 

Presidents do retain sole authority to grant federal disaster aid to states. But it is highly unusual for a president to deny a governor’s request after FEMA field offices have verified that damage estimates exceed pre-established levels. Recent FEMA data and an AP analysis note that during this term Trump has approved 80% to 89% of requests from Republican-governed states, while denying roughly 40% to 77% of aid to Democratic states. WH spokesperson Abigail Jackson insists there is no politicization of disaster aid: “President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him — gone are the days of rubber stamping FEMA recommendations.”

Previous administrations have usually approved snow assistance requests regardless of partisanship. For example, when former Republican governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum (now Interior Secretary) sought snow assistance after a 2022 snowstorm, his $1.7 million request for storm damage was just above his state’s FEMA threshold. It was approved in 23 days by then-president Biden.  

Trump has shifted his original rhetoric from abolishing the agency to instead applying unprecedented cost-cutting moves. The administration has been actively working to heavily scale back the scope of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The administration is:

• Proposing a reduction of the federal government’s share of disaster aid from a minimum of 75% to 50% (needs Congressional approval). 
• Delaying approval of disaster aid– Trump is averaging a month and a half to declare disasters, as opposed to average disaster approval times of less that 2 weeks for predecessors Obama, both Bush presidents, and Clinton. Delays seriously impact citizens waiting on personal recovery aid for housing, call centers and relief teams, or local and state governments needing large-scale debris removal or infrastructure repairs.  
• Cancelling hazard mitigation programs such as FEMA’s BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). $750 million in pre-disaster grants were abruptly ended mid-award cycle under the Fiscal Year 2024 (NOFO) Notice of Funding Opportunity. (BRIC was later ordered restored after legal challenges).

There are Congressional worries about “deteriorating readiness” at FEMA. FEMA has been experiencing structural disarray and leadership turnover- with heavy downsizing, hiring freezes, understaffing, and cycling through 5 different leaders over the past 16 months.

Cameron Hamilton was the first of five acting leaders at FEMA since last January- terminated by Kristi Noem after he went against Trump’s initial assertion that FEMA should be abolished. In his FEMA director role, he had publicly resisted the idea of shuttering FEMA, testifying to the House Appropriations Committee- “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”   He was fired the following day. 

Now that previously fired FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton has been nominated by Trump as FEMA’s permanent administrator, it signals that Trump may support changes to FEMA rather than outright elimination of the agency. While debate over FEMA’s future will continue, one fact is clear: when disasters strike, citizens need timely effective taxpayer-funded resources to rebuild their lives. The fundamental role of government has always been to make those resources  available when Americans need help most. 

ChatGPT maker OpenAI recently disclosed that during an internal cybersecurity evaluation, one of its AI agents went beyond its testing environment and hacked into another AI company’s infrastructure while trying to complete its assignment. Open AI later said that two of its most capable AI models were the ones responsible for the cyberattack which targeted the AI startup Hugging Face. 

Hugging Face had detected the intrusion into its data processing systems and had suspected that it was caused by an AI agent acting on its own. Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue called it “an attack unlike anything we’ve seen before” and later learned that OpenAI was responsible for it.

The OpenAI System Found a Path Researchers Hadn’t Considered. 

OpenAI company clarified that its AI model went to “extreme lengths to achieve a rather narrow testing goal,” and found a way to access the open internet without human direction, in order to “gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation.” During the test, their AI model demonstrated capabilities the researchers hadn’t anticipated. It was able to:

• Solve its assigned goal in unanticipated ways
• Exploit a previously unknown vulnerability to escape its isolated testing environment (sandbox)
• Gain unauthorized internet access to Hugging Face’s servers using stolen credentials.

Some critics say that OpenAI is unfairly portraying their technology as having “gone rogue”– assigning human characteristics and behaviors to an AI system that isn’t human- even if it has been trained to communicate and behave in human-like ways. The incident was significant in exposing how powerful goal-directed AI can be without the proper safeguards and constraints in place- not because AI suddenly developed human self-awareness. 

Did AI Go Rogue- or Just Solve Its Assignment? 

In reality, the AI system was following a specific task it had been given. Researchers had explicitly instructed it to use “complex attack paths” to test how well it could identify and exploit vulnerabilities in a computer system. The evaluation was designed to test the model’s maximum offensive cyber capability in order to understand what potential attackers might be able to do- so as to improve systems against future attacks. OpenAI company’s originally assigned task has now been described as poorly bounded- it gave the AI system an objective without enough constraints on how to achieve it. 

Industry experts are calling for OpenAI and other labs to improve their safeguards. According to Gina Neff, head of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, security tests like this are done within secure environments called sandboxes where labs can observe what the models can do. “In this case, it looks like OpenAI didn’t make a secure enough sandbox.”  Instead the AI agent attacked its sandbox limits, and found a way to bypass the restrictions. Once outside, start-up Hugging Face was identified as a likely source for meeting its test goal, and the AI model then gained access to internal company systems. 

This event is a reminder that the challenge facing the AI industry is not just building more powerful technology. It is also designing equally powerful safeguards, testing environments, and constraints to make sure AI systems reman aligned with the goals they are given.   

Clem Delangue, co-founder/CEO of Hugging Face summarizes this cyber event:

“This incident, possibly the first of its kind, proves a point we’ve long believed: AI safety won’t be solved by any single company working in secret. It will be solved in the open, collaboratively, with broad access to AI for every defender, everywhere.”

Photo by Tara Winstead

For decades, success in the travel industry was measured by volume- large group tours, full flights, high hotel occupancy, big conventions and trade shows, bustling tourist destinations. That formula is changing. 

In 2026 and beyond, high-value travelers have become the most sought-after customers for the travel industry. This industry trend is to target high net-worth consumers wanting to invest in premium services and accommodations, exclusive experiences, and tailored itineraries. Rather than focusing on visitor numbers alone, airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and destinations are measuring their success by revenue per traveler. 

This traveler value vs traveler volume shift is partly driven by America’s K-shaped economy- a widening gap in discretionary spending between affluent travelers and budget-conscious consumers hit hard by inflation and rising costs. Travel brands are investing heavily in products and services designed to attract travelers with the greater spending power.

Who are these high value travelers?

Market shares of this high-value group can be generally divided into these consumer segments:

Bluxury– This bluxury group accounts for 31% of the market. These travelers combine business with indulgence- corporate trips with personal enjoyment added in. They spend on premium air travel in business or first class, lounge memberships, VIP airport services, and gravitate towards luxury hotels and resorts, small-ship cruises, personalized experiences, and wellness retreats. Products like comprehensive travel insurance, flexible fares, private transfers, premium luggage delivery and concierge planners tend to be purchased by this group. 

Cash Rich/Time Poor– The second largest group of high value travelers are the 24% segment that are cash-rich and time-poor. These travelers make room in their busy schedules to spend on  highly customized travel. Perks that especially appeal to this group are nonstop flights, lounges that can become productive workspaces, airport fast-track services, VIP terminals, baggage delivery, or private transfers. These travelers want products that keep them from wasting time standing in a line. 

Special Occasion– The third high value group makes up 20% of the market segment. These consumers are special occasion travelers- using strategic upgrades and loyalty points for memorable milestones. This traveler group makes trips that are marking an important life event- destination weddings, luxury cruises for family reunions or retirement trips, bucket-list destinations, and multigenerational travel. This group spends extra on upgrades, long stays, elegant meals, additional excursions, and photographers.

Opulence Seekers– Opulent travelers make up 18% of big spending travelers- guided by influencers or focused on social media. These travelers want status, indulgence, and extraordinary luxury- in the form of presidential suites, private islands, overwater villas, or castles. With this group, conspicuous consumption is their experiential opulence. 

Always luxury travelers are the 4% segment that demand the highest end travel, as it is simply part of their normal high-end consumer lifestyle. VIP access to concerts and sporting events, designer wellness, luxury shopping, private aviation, luxury rail and chauffeured transfers are a given.

Independent and affluent travelers are the final 3% market segment, that specifically value freedom, self-pampering, and trusted advice for personalized escapes. These customers do not want a rigid itinerary or standard packages, rather choosing flexibility and curated local experiences based on insider recommendations. Artisan workshops, local food tours, private cooking classes and cultural immersion are their travel experiences.

Here are some industry strategies directed at high value travelers:

Airlines are creating “hotel rooms in the sky” and luxury airport experiences. For example, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Air France La Premiere and Qatar feature onboard private suites with various amenities. United Airlines offers comprehensive international business-class experiences (business class lie-flat seats, luxury bedding and noise-cancelling headphones) along with airport Polaris Lounges throughout their airport system for business class travelers on long-haul international flights.

Hotels are no longer simply offering expensive rooms. Luxury hotels such as The Ritz Paris, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah (the world’s only 7 star hotel), The Brando (a private island resort once owned by Marlon Brando),  Aman New York, Six Senses Zighy Bay, and many others, compete on exclusivity. These luxury hotels offer:

• VIP transportation– airport pickup, private helicopters or yacht transfers, complimentary house cars with chauffeurs (e.g. The Penisula Hong Kong offers custom Penisula green Rolls-Royce Phantom limos). 
• Personal butlers & concierges (even for the kids), packing/unpacking services, garment pressing. 
• Unique experiences– private villas, candlelit dinners or movies on a private beach, wine tastings with a sommelier, unique spas (e.g. Six Senses spa rooms with 2 Arabian hammam steam baths and an ice cave), naturalist guided tours for events (e.g. witnessing green sea turtle nesting near The Brando).
• Exclusive spaces such as executive/club lounges, members-only pools, private beach clubs, after-hours museum visits or backstage concert experiences.

Loyalty programs reward the highest-spending customers (not just frequent customers). Airlines, credit card companies and hotels are rewarding their high spenders with upgrades, concierge services, exclusive events, VIP customer service, and elite status perks.

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) seek visitors generating the greatest economic impact. Destination brands want visitors that stay longer, international markets, and experiential visitors. Beyond sightseers and day trippers, DMOs market to these travelers with boutique wineries, golf or wellness retreats, and culinary experiences.

Travel companies are offering personalized marketing (across all marketing segments). Hotels like Marriott International or Hilton use data from loyalty programs to utilize personalized marketing. Hotel recommendations, room upgrades, spa offers, service upsells, and destination suggestions use customer data, loyalty history, AI, and browsing behavior. Delta Air Lines and United use their customer and loyalty data- for upgrade offers, vacation packages, co-branded credit card promotions and destination recommendations. Expedia, Airbnb, and booking.com utilize personalized marketing as well.

This strategy built on high value consumers is a well-justified one. Airlines have long catered to a small percentage of travelers that generate the largest share of their profits. Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian recently pointed out that their premium consumers are immune to geopolitical conflict and are “not delaying their investment in the experience economy.” So it is not surprising thatDelta reported a 9.4% increase ($14.2 billion) in Delta’s first quarter revenue, compared to a year ago- revenue growth led by premium, corporate and loyalty spending. 

So the shift from traveler volume to traveler value- by attracting high-value travelers- is more than a passing trend. It represents a fundamental change in how the travel industry measures success. As airlines, cruises, hotels, and destinations compete for travelers who spend more, the industry is moving from a volume-based model to a value-driven one.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives