Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

A regional supermarket chain is offering to buy pennies in a two-for-one deal. Sound like pennies from heaven? Too good to be true? The news comes a day after the U.S. Mint pressed its final penny on November 12 in Philadelphia, following an order from President Donald The President to stop making the one-cent coins back in February. Market 32 and Price Chopper grocery stores are inviting customers to double the value of their spare change by bringing in their pennies this Sunday, November 16, for “Double Exchange Day.” The only catch is that customers will receive a gift card instead of cold hard cash for their trouble, according to a statement on the company’s w…

Speaking multiple languages may protect both your brain and body by slowing down the biological aging process, increasing resilience as you get older, according to a new international study. Published in Nature Aging journal, the paper, titled “Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries,” looked at data from 86,149 Europeans and found that those who spoke multiple languages experienced slower biobehavioral aging compared with those who only spoke one language. It concluded that speaking multiple languages may slow the biological processes of aging and protect against age-related decline.…

A grocery store is offering to buy pennies in a 2-for-1 deal. Sound like pennies from heaven? Too good to be true? The news comes a day after the U.S. Mint pressed its final penny on November 12 in Philadelphia, following an order from President Donald The President to stop making the one-cent coins back in February. Market 32 and Price Chopper stores are inviting customers to double the value of their spare change by bringing in their pennies this Sunday, November 16 for “Double Exchange Day.” The only catch is that customers will receive a gift card instead of cold hard cash for their trouble, according to a statement on the company’s website. Market 32 is a…

Verizon is planning to cut about 15,000 jobs in the telecommunications company’s largest-ever layoffs as part of a restructuring under its new CEO, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The layoffs, affecting about 15% of its workforce, are set to take place as soon as next week, the person said. Verizon’s shares rose about 1.4% on the news. They have largely stagnated over the last three years, with a gain of 8% compared with the S&P 500’s near-70% rise. A Verizon spokesperson declined to comment. The cuts, following the appointment of former PayPal boss Dan Schulman as CEO in early October, are aimed at its non-union management …

What makes some people instantly likable? How can you make people want to be around you, to work with you, and follow your leadership? You may think it comes down to charisma that some people have and others don’t. In fact, there’s a simple habit that will make you instantly more likable. It’s the secret behind “magnetism,” according to Emma Seppälä, lecturer at the Yale School of Management and author of The Happiness Track. In a piece for Psychology Today, she cites research showing that “positive practices“—small moments of gratitude and caring toward other people—can turn you into one of those magnetic people others find irresistible. Showing genuine interest in o…

Circle Internet Group released its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, November 12, announcing a 66% jump in revenue and reserve income year-over-year (YOY). The $740 million figure stemmed, in large part, from a 97% increase YOY of average USDC in circulation. USDC, Circle’s flagship cryptocurrency stablecoin, is pegged to the U.S. dollar. It’s also one of the largest stablecoins in the world. In August, Circle announced Arc, a public blockchain designed specifically for stablecoins, such as USDC. In the earnings report, Circle claimed that over 100 companies are taking part in the launch of Arc public testnet. Jeremy Allaire, cofounder, CEO, and chairman…

Space weather forecasters issued an alert on Tuesday for incoming severe solar storms that could produce colorful northern lights and temporarily disrupt communications. In the past few days, the sun has burped out several bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections that could reach Earth Tuesday night and early Wednesday. The potential severe geomagnetic storms could disrupt radio and GPS communications, according to forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How bright the auroras are and how far south they are visible will depend on when the solar bursts get here and how they interact with Earth’s atmosphere. The vibrant displays could b…

Watch out, Dr. Pepper: Mr. Pibb is in the house. After almost 25 years, Coca-Cola announced in late October that it’s bringing back Mr. Pibb, its spicy cherry soda that first launched in 1972. If you were born after the turn of the century, chances are you may have never seen a can of Mr. Pibb. That’s because, in 2001, Coca-Cola renamed and rebranded the drink to Pibb Xtra, and it’s remained largely untouched since then. Now, Coca-Cola is giving Mr. Pibb another chance. The company is reformulating the beverage, adding extra caffeine, and giving the entire brand a makeover. Its new branding is a combination of burgundy, red, and black, complete with an eye-catchin…

Three paintings from famously chill public television legend Bob Ross sold Tuesday for more than $600,000 at auction. The paintings were the first of 30 Ross works being sold to benefit public TV stations hurt by cuts in federal funding. At the live auction at Bonhams in Los Angeles, a serene, snow vista called “Winter’s Peace” that Ross painted entirely during a 1993 episode of “The Joy of Painting” went for $318,000 to a bidder on the phone. “For a good cause — and you get the painting,” auctioneer Aaron Bastian said during the bidding. He invoked a common sentiment of Ross, who died in 1995, during a brief lull. “Bob would remind you that this is your world, and you …

The worst part of any medical is waiting for results. That can be especially true of sexual health tests. Those conducted in person can take 24–48 hours, but if they’re submitted via at-home collection kit and mailed to a lab, it can take even longer. A new test from diagnostics company Visby Medical, launching nationwide today is changing that. Now that it’s successfully completed a pilot period, the company is bringing a 30-minute, lab-accurate PCR test for three common sexually transmitted infections to women at home. From a self-collected vaginal swab, the $149.99 test can diagnose chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis—three common infections that can all easi…

With all the news in the quantum world this month—including DARPA’s new list of the most viable quantum companies, and Quantinuum’s announcement of “the most accurate quantum computer in the world“—IBM, not to be outdone, put out a statement of its own. The top-line message: We’re doing great! IBM’s quantum program is hitting all the milestones it’s set out in its most recent road map—and it is accelerating progress toward a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, by shifting production of its quantum processors out of its research labs to an 300mm quantum advanced 300mm wafer fabrication facility at the Albany NanoTech Complex. The move will double the speed at…

Six hundred employees just packed up their desks and quit their jobs at Paramount Skydance. The mass exodus happened after the company, formed by Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount Global, told employees that they were instating a five-day back-to-office mandate, set to begin on January 5. The company, led by new CEO David Ellison, let staffers know that if they didn’t plan to come back to the office, they could take a buyout deal starting on September 15. However, the media giant likely didn’t expect to be handing out quite so many severance packages. According to company disclosures filed on Monday, around 600 employees in the Los Angeles and New York …

Last week, Fast Company reported that regional banking giant TD Bank is planning to close more than 50 U.S. locations by the end of January. But TD Bank isn’t the only regional bank closing branches. In October, Citizens Bank disclosed that at least 14 branches throughout the United States will shutter, according to public filings. Here’s what to know and where they were located. Why is Citizens Bank closing branches? Reached for comment by Fast Company, a Citizens Bank spokesperson said its retail footprint is constantly changing along with people’s banking habits. “We regularly review customer banking patterns and make thoughtful adjustments, opening ne…

Oscar-winning actors Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey have made deals with voice-cloning company ElevenLabs that will allow its artificial intelligence technology to replicate their voices. Caine said in a statement that ElevenLabs is “using innovation not to replace humanity, but to celebrate it.” “It’s not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere,” said the 92-year-old British actor in a written statement. McConaughey also said he is investing in the New York-based startup and has had a relationship with it for several years. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. McConaughey said the de…

Just a week after self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani made history as New York City’s first Muslim to be elected mayor, fellow Democrat Jack Schlossberg—President John F. Kennedy’s (JFK’s) grandson—announced he is also running for office in New York City, in the Empire State’s 12th Congressional district. If elected, he would represent New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both men are among a wave of young, progressive, charismatic candidates calling for change, amid a backlash to not only Donald The President’s second-term agenda, but also a historically unpopular Democratic Party that many feel are doing too little, too late. That list of pr…

America’s aviation system is straining under the weight of the longest government shutdown on record: thousands of flight cancellations, long delays at major airports, and frustrated travelers nationwide. In an unprecedented move, the Federal Aviation Administration last week ordered airlines to scale back domestic flight schedules, saying the cuts are meant to ease pressure on an overstretched system and help manage air traffic control staffing. Unpaid for more than a month, some air traffic controllers have begun calling out of work, citing stress and the need to take on second jobs—leaving more control towers and facilities short-staffed. The numbers show t…

World Labs, the AI model developer cofounded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, has released its 3D-space generating model, “Marble.” At the Marble Labs website, creators can now input text prompts, images, or videos of pieces of a real-world environment. Marble uses them to create full 3D environments, which can include interior spaces or expansive exterior ones. Marble can reconstruct, generate, and simulate 3D worlds—think of it as a type of “world model.” In an interview with Fast Company, Li describes world models as a “significant” evolution of the generative AI era. “The large world model is really a significant step towards unlocking AI’s capability,” a category she ca…

If you’ve ever been hit with a sketchy text warning you of an overdue toll road payment or mysterious U.S. Postal Service fees, you’ve likely been targeted by one of the largest cyber scams sweeping the globe. Now, Google is suing an international cybercrime group it believes is responsible for the ubiquitous text-based phishing scheme, which may have raked in as much as $1 billion over the last three years. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Google alleges that 25 people are part of a sprawling scam operation that is known as “Lighthouse” and was designed to swipe the logins and passwords of victims caught in its web. The Lighthouse scam hinges on tricking people w…