TOGETHER WITH

👋 Good Morning. Amazon just pushed a one-click AI video studio to every Marketplace seller, Air India’s Dreamliner crash has regulators grounding clipboards, and Windows Copilot Vision now lives on your desktop like a helpful highlighter ghost. Meanwhile, Jimmy Buffett’s $275 M estate is headed for a Margaritaville-sized court fight, and Mattel tapped OpenAI to make Barbie chatty. Buckle up—Friday’s feed is humming.

Also, if you ever have feedback, spot a great story, or want something added in the newsletter — shoot me an email. I read and reply to every single one.

What’s Merging Today:
• 🎥 Amazon drops AI video ad maker
• ✈️ Dreamliner crash sparks global probe
• 💰 Buffett estate erupts in legal showdown
• 👓 Windows rolls out Copilot Vision tools
• 🧸 Mattel pairs Barbie with OpenAI brains

MERGE MINDBLOWERS

🔋 80-20 Battery Sweet Spot
Lithium-ion cells last up to 2× longer when you keep them between 20 %–80 % instead of fully charging. Most phones now let you cap charge in settings—flip that switch and postpone buying your next battery.

👀 20-20-20 Vision Hack
Staring at screens? Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Ophthalmologists say it cuts digital-eye strain by ≈50 %—basically free insurance for your retinas.

🥛 Fridge Door Tax
Milk stored in the back shelf (not the door) stays 3–4 days fresher because temperature swings at the door can hit +10 °F each opening. Slide your pricey probiotics inward and skip the sour-milk surprise.

📶 Foil-Backed Wi-Fi Boost
A piece of kitchen foil curved behind your router can double signal strength forward (university-tested). Instant, $0 directional antenna—great for banishing dead zones without a new mesh system.

💤 90-Minute Nap Rule
Set naps for ≈90 minutes, not 60. That’s one full sleep cycle; you’ll wake during light sleep, avoiding grogginess and boosting memory consolidation nearly as much as a full night’s REM.

TODAY IN AI

Amazon makes ‘Hollywood-ish’ ads

Amazon Ads flipped the switch on its upgraded AI Video Generator, now live for every U.S. seller running Sponsored Brands. Feed it a single product shot (or an old TikTok) and the system:

• Auto-storyboards six options with motion shots, virtual models, text overlays, music beds, and Amazon-sourced lifestyle footage.

• Transforms stills to 21-second clips—complete with pets or people using your product—then lets you drop in logos and headlines.

• Summarizes existing how-to footage: paste a YouTube URL and it finds the punchiest bits for an ad cutdown.

Early beta data shows click-through rates up to 1.3× vs. static Sponsored Brand placements, according to Amazon’s Jay Richman. The tool is free, lives inside the ad console, and took just nine months to evolve from a sleepy 8-second beta to high-motion scenes.

Why it matters: Generative-video is going from novelty to hygiene. Shopify, Meta, and Google have similar pilots, but Amazon controls the last mile of purchase intent—and just removed the “can’t afford video” excuse for 2 million+ Marketplace sellers.

TODAY IN TECH

Dreamliner disaster rattles global aviation

What happened: Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London, slammed into a student hostel barely 90 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12. Of the 242 people aboard, only one survivor—a British passenger—has been confirmed. The jet’s landing gear stayed down and flaps never retracted, according to early video analysis. Black boxes were recovered from the hostel roof within hours.

Fallout so far

• India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the probe with the NTSB and EASA on site.

• Boeing shares slid -5% in after-hours trading; regulators in the EU, U.S., and Japan signaled fleet inspections.

• Tata-owned Air India pledged ₹25 lakh ($30k) to each victim’s family and fast-tracked counseling teams.

Why it matters: It’s the first fatal crash for a Dreamliner—a type Boeing banks on for mid-haul growth—and the deadliest Indian accident since 2010. Expect renewed scrutiny of 787 software and maintenance records, plus political heat on India’s fast-growing but overstretched aviation sector.

TODAY IN BUSINESS

Jimmy Buffett’s $275M trust issues

Jane Slagsvol Buffett just sued accountant Richard Mozenter, co-trustee of the late singer’s marital trust, alleging he:

1. Withheld basic statements for 16 months after Buffett’s 2023 death, projecting her annual income at “under $2 M”—a figure she calls implausible.

2. Bills $1.7 M+ a year in fees while controlling nearly all of her net worth, including a 20% stake in Margaritaville Holdings (hotels, casinos, cruises).

3. Stonewalled property transfers tied to homes in Florida, New York, and St. Barts that were meant to remain hers.

Mozenter filed a countersuit in Florida seeking her removal as co-trustee. A California court set an Aug 14 hearing.

Why it matters: Estate fights aren’t just for Roy-family TV. Even an iron-clad celebrity brand can unravel when succession planning fails. Wealth advisors are waving this case as Exhibit A for adding independent oversight and mandatory reporting clauses long before the will is read.

MERGE TOOLS

AI tools worth your time

🎙️ Lip Sync AI 
Turn any still headshot into a talking, perfectly synced video in seconds.

🎓 Mindsmith 
Build and update SCORM-friendly e-learning modules with drag-and-drop AI assistance.

📔 Automateed 
One-click creation of ebooks, coloring books, even audiobooks—images and narration included.

🖌️ HAMA 
Brush away photobombers, signage, or stray exes; AI cleans the scene instantly.

🔗 Composio 
Securely hook LLM agents into 90+ SaaS tools (CRMs, HRMs, you name it) without brittle Zap-style hacks.

🛠️ Want More? Check out our Top 50 AI Tools.

PRESENTED BY THE RUNDOWN AI

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

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WHAT ELSE IS MERGING

Quick hits worth a scan

🖥️ Copilot Vision lands on Windows: AI overlays context highlights system-wide.

🌦️ DeepMind debuts Weather Lab: public AI cyclone forecasts go live.

🗣️ Siri upgrade slips to spring ’26: Apple delays big AI revamp.

🎥 Runway Gen-4 adds Reference Upload: video AI keeps characters consistent.

🧸 Mattel teams with OpenAI: Barbie and Hot Wheels get chatty.

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Until next time,

Matt & The Morning Merge team.