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Time magazine has named the “Architects of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year, a decision that has sparked significant backlash from gamblers who lost out on semantics. The companies behind AI tools and infrastructure aren’t “AI” in the literal sense, so prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket ruled that anyone betting on “AI” doesn’t win. As author Parker Molloy pointed out on Bluesky, gamblers on the site are not pleased. “Someone please explain to me how this is not a trick?” one user complained after betting on billionaire Elon Musk on Kalshi. “Person of the year is a singular title…” “ThE aRcHiTeCtS oF AI,” another user wrote. “Fuck you pay me.” Others remained insistent that the platform owes them a payout. “This pretty clearly should’ve resolved to yes,” one user wrote. “If you bought AI, reach out to Kalshi support because ‘AI’ is literally on the cover and in the title ‘Architects of AI.’” On Kalshi, anyone who bet on any of the “Architects of AI”—including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg, Lisa Su, and Demis Hassabis—still won the bet. Those who bet their products, however, did not. People who bet on this on Kalshi are not pleased. Lol — Parker Molloy (@parkermolloy.com) 2025-12-11T16:19:54.852Z Polymarket explained the decision in a note. “This market is about the person/thing named as TIME’s Person of the Year for 2025, not what is depicted on the cover. Per the rules, “If the Person of the Year is ‘Donald The President and the MAGA movement,’ this would qualify to resolve this market to ‘The President.’ However if the Person of the Year is ‘The MAGA movement,’ this would not qualify to resolve this market to ‘The President’ regardless of whether The President is depicted on the cover,” it said. “Accordingly, a Time cover which lists ‘Architects of AI’ as the person of the year will not qualify for ‘AI’ even if the letters ‘AI’ are depicted on the cover, as AI itself is not specifically named.” People spent more than $19 million betting on the Time Person of the Year on Kalshi and more than $55 million betting on the Time Person of the Year on Polymarket. “I can’t believe an unregulated gambling market let people bet frivolously and then took all their money,” one Bluesky user mused. View the full article

President Donald The President was sued on Friday by preservationists asking a federal court to halt his White House ballroom project until it goes through multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is asking the U.S. District Court to block The President’s White House ballroom project, which already has involved razing the East Wing, until it goes through comprehensive design reviews, environmental assessments, public comments, and congressional debate and ratification. The National Trust, a privately funded organization, argues that The President, by fast-tracking the project, has committed multiple violations of the Administrative Procedures Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, while also exceeding his constitutional authority by not seeking congressional approval for a project of such scale. “No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever—not President The President, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit states. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.” No more work should be done, the Trust argues, until administration officials “complete the required reviews—reviews that should have taken place before the Defendants demolished the East Wing, and before they began construction of the Ballroom—and secure the necessary approvals.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not immediately respond to Associated Press questions about the lawsuit and the project, including whether the president had any intention of consulting Congress. The President has emphasized since announcing his plans that he’s doing it with private funding, including his own money. But that would not necessarily change how federal laws and procedures apply to what is still a U.S. government project. The President, a Republican, already has bypassed the federal government’s usual building practices and historical reviews with the East Wing demolition. He recently added another architectural firm for a ballroom that itself would be nearly twice the size of the White House before the East Wing’s demolition. The President has said a ballroom is overdue for the White House, previously complaining that events were held outside under a tent because the East Room and the State Dining Room could not accommodate bigger crowds. The President, among other complaints, said guests get their feet wet if it rains during such events. The White House is expected to submit plans for The President’s new ballroom to a federal planning commission before the year ends, about three months after construction began. Will Scharf, who was named by The President as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at the panel’s monthly meeting last week that he was told by colleagues at the White House that the long-awaited plans would be filed in December. “Once plans are submitted, that’s really when the role of this commission, and its professional staff, will begin,” said Scharf, who also is one of the Republican president’s top White House aides. He said the review process would happen at a “normal and deliberative pace.” —By Bill Barrow, Associated Press View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We travel for a wide variety of reasons—vacations, business, family obligations—and in a variety of different ways, but there’s one constant: The actual traveling can be hectic, stressful, and expensive. Considering Americans took nearly 2 billion trips in 2025 alone, that stress can be pretty epic. From planning to de-boarding, travel can be a challenge—that is, unless you know and utilize these hacks. There are a lot of travel hacks out there in the wild, many of them dubious, but when a hack actually works to lower your costs, increase your comfort, or simply solve an irritating problem, it’s kind of magical. Here are the essential travel hacks everyone should be implementing, whether you’re traveling for pleasure, business, or any other reason. Get a vacuum-seal travel backpackYou may have been instructed at some point to roll your clothes to make your packing more efficient. It’s not that this doesn’t work—rolling clothes tightly can improve your packing and unpacking experience. But there’s an even better way: Vacuum-sealing. You can use vacuum-sealed storage bags to compress your clothes, allowing you to fit more into your bag (or to travel much lighter with a single carry-on), but there’s a downside: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may require you to uncompress your clothes for a special check as you pass through security, which can wreak havoc on your packing. A better choice is a carry-on backpack with an included pump, like this. If you are flagged for a special inspection, you can quickly re-compress everything and be on your way. Travel during off-peak timesIf your main goal for travel is to see exotic places, have new experiences, or even see old friends, traveling off-peak is a powerful hack. Off-peak simply means going places when most tourists aren’t there. Most people travel for pleasure during the warmer months, for example, so deciding you’re going on a European tour in February nets you cheaper flights, cheaper hotel rooms, and less crowded everything. Start using packing cubesRaise your hand if this has ever happened to you: You realize you need something from a piece of luggage you spent six hours carefully organizing, compressing, and zipping closed. You dig through everything to find what you need, and then re-packing that bag is a sweaty, stressful fail. That’s where packing cubes come in. Packing cubes don’t necessarily shrink your clothes and other possessions, but they make the whole experience of packing, unpacking, and actually finding stuff while you’re traveling much easier. They turn your chaotic piles of clothing and supplies into geometric cubes that can be organized individually and removed and replaced in your luggage easily. Because you’re dealing with uniform cubes, popping stuff in and out of your suitcase won’t result in a nervous breakdown, either. Stash clothing in carry-on pillowsIt’s truly a time to be alive: You can now purchase so-called “basic” economy airline seats that don’t allow a carry-on. And carry-on fees and restrictions are increasing as well. If you’re attempting to travel with just one small bag, you may find it a struggle—and that’s where the pillow hack comes into play. The basic idea is simple: Grab a neck pillow or pillowcase, remove the stuffing, and jam in some extra clothes instead. The pillow can still be used as a pillow (your clothes act as the cushion), but you get to smuggle extra stuff on the plane. It does work, though it works best with the neck pillow option—bringing an enormous pillowcase filled with jeans and T-shirts is going to be less successful fooling unamused flight crews. Mount your phone horizontallyEntertaining yourself on long flights can be a challenge, especially if your whole survival plan involved sleeping for ten hours and you can’t seem to get comfortable. If your plane doesn’t offer convenient screens (I’m very fond of the “tiny screen up in the air four rows ahead of me” arrangement, myself), or the entertainment choices available aren’t appealing, you can always load up a device with movies, shows, and games. If you find yourself stuck with just your phone for a screen, you can improv a phone holder from the barf bag typically supplied in the pocket of the seat in front of you, as demonstrated here. By clipping the bag between your phone and its case, then clipping the top of the bag under the fold-down tray, you can mount your phone horizontally at the right height for watching content. This could be a real sanity-saver (assuming you don't need to use that bag for, well, other purposes). Pay for everyday expenses with a travel credit cardYou’re spending money practically every day anyway—but by putting all those expenses on a credit card that awards you miles or points toward travel (and then paying that card off in full every month) you’re essentially getting free travel coupons. You’re going to buy groceries anyway, so why not get a hundred miles every time you do? Many travel credit cards offer large sign-up bonuses of anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 points (or more) once you spend a certain amount on the account, so by paying your everyday bills for a few months using the card you can fund an entire trip for free. Reverse-image-search your Airbnb before you bookBooking a place to stay on your trip can be a hassle, and you have to wonder if you’re getting the best deal. An Airbnb might look ideal but put a big dent in your budget—but it may be listed elsewhere, and possibly for less money. You can find out using Google’s “reverse image lookup.” Pick a photo from the Airbnb listing, search for the image on Google, and other rental platforms will probably show up—or a link to a hotel’s direct web page. If nothing else, the image search might identify the apartment building or hotel depicted, which can give you a leg up on the pricing. There are also tools like HiChee that will compare listings across several platforms for you, but where’s the fun in that? Use a pants hanger to clip your curtains closedYou drag yourself, exhausted, into a hotel room at night and don’t notice that the curtains on the windows are hanging loose. You collapse into bed, and then you’re awakened at 6 a.m. by a vengeful sun, shining through the gaps in those curtains. This hack is so simple, but it can make a big difference in your sleep quality: Take a pants hanger from your hotel closet (the ones with the metal clips) and clip your room’s curtain shut. When the morning sunlight tries to infiltrate your room and wake you up first thing in the morning, the clips will keep it out. Store one shoe in the hotel safeIf you use the safe supplied in your hotel room to store some valuables or your essential travel documents, the worst thing you can do is forget them when you check out. A quick hack to ensure that doesn’t happen is to put something you can’t possibly forget in there as well. Some folks suggest a shoe, figuring that when you’re getting dressed for the next leg of your journey, you’ll definitely notice if one shoe is missing. But this will work with anything, as long as you choose something you can’t possibly leave without. Download offline maps before you leaveWe once lived in a world where finding your way around a new area meant paper maps and confusing directions from friends that referenced a lot of fast food restaurants as landmarks. These days, we have access to military-grade GPS systems, and a pleasant computer voice will tell us to turn right in one hundred feet. That’s amazing when you’re traveling in an unfamiliar place—until you lose your internet connection. A great hack is to download offline maps of your destinations before you leave on your trip. You can do this with Google Maps or using an app like HERE WeGo. This requires some planning, as you have to download the maps while you have a signal, but once you have them downloaded you can use them more or less as you normally would, getting directions and seeing distances clearly. Take a moment to do this before every trip, and you’ll never be lost again. View the full article

End of deliveries by Denmark’s mail service bodes ill for the epistolary formView the full article

The holiday season means time with family and new memories, but it can also mean lots of spending—sometimes too much. From gifts to travel plans to grocery shopping, costs can pile up and become overwhelming, especially in a difficult economic environment. Holiday shopping can bring joy, but it’s important to stick to a budget and avoid going into debt, said shopping expert Trae Bodge. “I’m really emphasizing that shoppers look for ways to save as much as possible this season. So we don’t bring that debt into the next year,” Bodge added. Here are some expert recommendations to make the most out of your budget this holiday season: Plan your gift list and shop around Planning your gifts as far in advance as possible can be a great way to save money, since it gives you more time to compare and shop around, said Kiersti Torok, a social media content creator known on Instagram and TikTok as Torok Coupon Hunter. Torok plans her shopping months in advance. She buys the chocolate and candy for her children’s Christmas stockings right after Halloween, when they’re on sale. And it’s not too early to think about next year — her Christmas decorations are always bought on clearance, especially after Christmas. “If you wait until two, maybe three, days after Christmas. Things will start to hit 75% off. And that’s when I shop for my kid’s birthdays, because they’re in July,” Torok said. Compare prices When you’re looking to buy a gift, Bodge recommends comparing prices with other stores, looking for coupons, and signing up for emails from your favorite stores. That way, you can buy the item when it’s at its lowest price. “I’m always looking for maybe a coupon code, so I can save a certain percentage off. Or I can earn cash back or get a free shipping offer. I really believe in those tools and use them every single time I shop,” Bodge said. To find deals more easily, Bodge recommends installing browser extensions on your computer. Some of her favorites are PayPal Honey and Rakuten. Lately, Bodge has also noticed the increasing use of artificial intelligence to both find holiday gift ideas and sales. However, AI search engines are not very good at finding up-to-date deals, she said. Bodge recommends that you search for deals on the store’s website or on sites like RetailMeNot. If you can’t find an item on sale, find a coupon, or wait to see if you can find it cheaper somewhere else. Save on groceries by using coupons If you’re the host of your family’s holiday celebration, you might be rushing between going to the grocery store, cooking a large meal and decorating your house. But, it’s best if you don’t let the holiday rush distract you from saving on groceries. Coupons are a great way to reduce costs so you can keep your meals on budget, and possibly use that money for other expenses. Most grocery stores offer coupons, either in paper form, on their website, or in their apps. Couponing can be time-consuming, but the tradeoff can be saving hundreds of dollars on groceries, according to Torok. If you’re trying couponing for the first time, she recommends taking small steps. “If you’re looking to save money and you never couponed before, my biggest advice is to pick your favorite store you’re most comfortable with and download their app,” Torok said. Once you feel comfortable using coupons with your preferred store, Torok recommends that you start comparing prices with other stores near you. This way you can shop for the best deals and save money. If you’re looking to maximize your savings, she also recommends taking advantage of websites that give you cash back on your grocery shopping. Examples include Top Cash Back and Ibotta. Buy in bulk and stock up on groceries When preparing for your big holiday meal, a useful tactic to save is to buy in bulk and then freeze it for when you need it, recommended Alli Powell, grocery shopping expert. “Anything that you can stock up on and freeze at a (lower) price point, then take it out of the freezer to use later, it’ll be such a benefit. This is something I try to do year-round,” said Powell, who hosts Grocery Getting Girl, a blog and Instagram page dedicated to budget-friendly grocery shopping. Large grocery stores typically offer sales around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, and this can be a perfect opportunity to buy in bulk and put it away for another time, Powell said. Be careful with store credit cards and buy now, pay later deals Proceed with caution when it comes to acquiring store credits cards or making purchases using buy now, pay later. If you’re shopping in person this holiday season, you’ll likely be offered a store credit card at checkout, often paired with a large discount on your current purchase. Bodge recommends that you only get a store credit card if you know you can pay it off in full each month and have good credit card habits. “If there’s a retailer that you shop with regularly and you are responsible with your credit cards, opening a credit card can be very beneficial,” Bodge said. If you decide to acquire a store credit card, it’s important that you know how much interest will be charged. Store credit cards, like traditional credit cards, affect your credit score. Similarly, making purchases using buy now, pay later is only recommended when you are sure you can afford to make all the payments on time. Buy now, pay later loans were not previously reported to the three major credit reporting bureaus, but consumers will soon see the them impact their FICO credit scores. When it comes to travel, flexibility pays A common mistake when making travel plans is to not allow yourself much flexibility on your flights, said Kyle Potter, editor of Thrifty Traveler, a travel and flight deal website. To save money on your travel, first book the flights and then the rest of the accommodations, that way you can allow yourself to be as flexible as possible with the dates of your flights. “Start with the flights first, because that gives you the freedom to shift your travel dates by even just a day. Especially over the holidays,” Potter said. Potter recommends that you track prices and set alarms for flights on Google Flights. ___ The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. —Adriana Morga, Associated Press View the full article

Managing your social media can be challenging, but using an editorial calendar can simplify the process considerably. With five free templates available, like HootSuite’s customizable Google Sheet and HubSpot’s strategic planning spreadsheet, you can organize your posting schedules effectively. Social Media Examiner likewise offers a detailed calendar, whereas ClickUp improves your workflow with project management features. Jotform provides templates for various platforms, ensuring you stay consistent. Discover which template fits your needs best. Key Takeaways HootSuite’s customizable Google Sheet format helps organize posting schedules across major platforms for consistent engagement. HubSpot’s single spreadsheet simplifies posting strategies with dedicated sections for daily posts and monthly campaigns. Social Media Examiner’s detailed day-by-day planning template is designed for high content volumes and easy integration. ClickUp offers a project management tool for content planning, allowing categorization by platform and status for workflow efficiency. Jotform provides templates for various platforms and includes a Monthly Planning Calendar for year-round campaign scheduling. HootSuite’s Social Media Content Calendar When you want to improve your social media strategy, HootSuite’s Social Media Content Calendar can be a valuable tool. This free editorial calendar is offered in a customizable Google Sheet format, supporting major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. You can easily organize your posting schedules, ensuring consistent engagement across all accounts. The calendar features an evergreen content library tab, which helps you maintain a steady flow of relevant content, eliminating the stress of last-minute planning. With quick download options available, you can implement this free social media editorial calendar template into your strategy almost immediately. By streamlining your content planning process, HootSuite empowers you to focus on creating high-quality posts instead of scrambling for ideas. HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar serves as an efficient tool for managing your social media strategy across various platforms. This single spreadsheet streamlines your entire posting strategy, featuring dedicated sections for daily posts and monthly campaigns. You can customize the template to fit your specific content planning needs, ensuring organized scheduling. With tabs for each social platform, it’s easy to manage content customized to different audiences. Plus, you can download the calendar template for immediate use, providing a quick start to optimizing your social media management efforts. Here’s a quick overview: Feature Description Customizable Adapt to your content planning needs. Multiple Platforms Manage posts for different social channels. Tabs for Each Platform Easy navigation for customized content. Quick Download Start using it immediately. Consistent Presence Maintain a structured online engagement. Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Calendar Template Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Calendar Template is an invaluable resource for teams managing high volumes of content across various platforms. This Google Sheets format offers a detailed day-by-day view, making it straightforward for effective planning. Designed for ease of use, it allows teams to organize their posting schedules efficiently. You can download the template for immediate implementation, which helps you seamlessly integrate it into your workflow. It includes dedicated sections for different social media platforms, enabling clear organization of content. With its user-friendly design, the template streamlines the content planning process, considerably reducing the chances of last-minute scrambles. By utilizing this tool, you can improve your content strategy and enhance overall productivity. ClickUp’s Social Media Content Calendar ClickUp’s Social Media Content Calendar serves as an influential project management tool customized for users looking to streamline their content planning and organization. This versatile calendar allows you to plan and categorize content by platform and status, greatly enhancing your workflow efficiency. With a library of templates at your disposal, you can easily prioritize posts according to your marketing goals and streamline the content creation process. Moreover, ClickUp enables you to store ideas for future posts, allowing for improved planning and organization of upcoming content strategies. The platform also facilitates collaboration among team members, ensuring seamless communication and task assignments during the content creation process. Plus, a free plan is available, making it accessible for smaller teams or individuals. Jotform’s Social Media Calendar For those looking to improve their social media strategy, Jotform’s Social Media Calendar offers a robust solution with templates that cater to various platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. This versatile tool features a Monthly Planning Calendar for scheduling campaigns throughout the year, ensuring thorough content management. Moreover, it includes a Content Repository to track created content, allowing for easy reuse and preventing duplication. You can likewise benefit from a direct upload template for HubSpot, which automates the post scheduling process. Plus, the user guide offers social insights from marketing expert Samantha Meller, helping you optimize your strategy. Feature Description Benefit Monthly Planning Calendar Schedule campaigns throughout the year Thorough content management Content Repository Track and reuse created content Prevents content duplication HubSpot Upload Template Automate post scheduling Increases efficiency Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Customize a Social Media Calendar Template? To customize a social media calendar template, start by selecting a format that suits your needs, such as Google Sheets or Excel. Next, input your key dates and events, then add columns for each platform you’ll use. Include specific content ideas, posting times, and any relevant hashtags. Adjust colors and fonts for better visibility, ensuring it aligns with your branding. Regularly update the calendar to reflect changes in strategy or content focus. Can I Use These Templates for Multiple Social Media Platforms? Yes, you can definitely use these templates for multiple social media platforms. Most templates are designed to be flexible, allowing you to adapt content for different channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You’ll want to tweak the format and messaging to suit each platform’s audience and character limits. Are These Templates Compatible With Mobile Devices? Yes, these templates are typically compatible with mobile devices, allowing you to access and edit them on the go. Most modern templates are designed to be responsive, meaning they adjust to various screen sizes, including smartphones and tablets. You can easily view your calendar and make necessary updates without needing a desktop computer. Just guarantee you’re using compatible apps or software that support the template format for a seamless experience on your mobile device. Do I Need Design Skills to Use These Templates? You don’t need design skills to use these templates effectively. They’re created to be user-friendly, allowing you to customize layouts and content easily. Most templates come with pre-set designs, so you can simply input your information without needing advanced design knowledge. Furthermore, many platforms offer tutorials or guides to help you navigate the features. This makes it accessible for anyone looking to improve their social media presence without extensive graphic design experience. How Often Should I Update My Editorial Calendar? You should update your editorial calendar regularly to stay relevant and organized. Aim for at least once a month, but consider weekly updates if your content or audience needs change frequently. Review performance metrics, audience engagement, and industry trends during these updates. This will help you refine your strategy and guarantee your content aligns with your goals. Staying proactive with your calendar can improve your effectiveness in reaching your target audience. Conclusion Utilizing free social media editorial calendar templates can greatly improve your content management strategy. Tools like HootSuite, HubSpot, Social Media Examiner, ClickUp, and Jotform each offer unique features customized to different needs. By implementing these templates, you can streamline your posting schedule, boost engagement, and maintain consistency across platforms. Adopting an organized approach not just reduces planning stress but likewise allows you to focus on creating quality content that resonates with your audience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Free Social Media Editorial Calendar Templates You Need" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Managing your social media can be challenging, but using an editorial calendar can simplify the process considerably. With five free templates available, like HootSuite’s customizable Google Sheet and HubSpot’s strategic planning spreadsheet, you can organize your posting schedules effectively. Social Media Examiner likewise offers a detailed calendar, whereas ClickUp improves your workflow with project management features. Jotform provides templates for various platforms, ensuring you stay consistent. Discover which template fits your needs best. Key Takeaways HootSuite’s customizable Google Sheet format helps organize posting schedules across major platforms for consistent engagement. HubSpot’s single spreadsheet simplifies posting strategies with dedicated sections for daily posts and monthly campaigns. Social Media Examiner’s detailed day-by-day planning template is designed for high content volumes and easy integration. ClickUp offers a project management tool for content planning, allowing categorization by platform and status for workflow efficiency. Jotform provides templates for various platforms and includes a Monthly Planning Calendar for year-round campaign scheduling. HootSuite’s Social Media Content Calendar When you want to improve your social media strategy, HootSuite’s Social Media Content Calendar can be a valuable tool. This free editorial calendar is offered in a customizable Google Sheet format, supporting major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. You can easily organize your posting schedules, ensuring consistent engagement across all accounts. The calendar features an evergreen content library tab, which helps you maintain a steady flow of relevant content, eliminating the stress of last-minute planning. With quick download options available, you can implement this free social media editorial calendar template into your strategy almost immediately. By streamlining your content planning process, HootSuite empowers you to focus on creating high-quality posts instead of scrambling for ideas. HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar serves as an efficient tool for managing your social media strategy across various platforms. This single spreadsheet streamlines your entire posting strategy, featuring dedicated sections for daily posts and monthly campaigns. You can customize the template to fit your specific content planning needs, ensuring organized scheduling. With tabs for each social platform, it’s easy to manage content customized to different audiences. Plus, you can download the calendar template for immediate use, providing a quick start to optimizing your social media management efforts. Here’s a quick overview: Feature Description Customizable Adapt to your content planning needs. Multiple Platforms Manage posts for different social channels. Tabs for Each Platform Easy navigation for customized content. Quick Download Start using it immediately. Consistent Presence Maintain a structured online engagement. Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Calendar Template Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Calendar Template is an invaluable resource for teams managing high volumes of content across various platforms. This Google Sheets format offers a detailed day-by-day view, making it straightforward for effective planning. Designed for ease of use, it allows teams to organize their posting schedules efficiently. You can download the template for immediate implementation, which helps you seamlessly integrate it into your workflow. It includes dedicated sections for different social media platforms, enabling clear organization of content. With its user-friendly design, the template streamlines the content planning process, considerably reducing the chances of last-minute scrambles. By utilizing this tool, you can improve your content strategy and enhance overall productivity. ClickUp’s Social Media Content Calendar ClickUp’s Social Media Content Calendar serves as an influential project management tool customized for users looking to streamline their content planning and organization. This versatile calendar allows you to plan and categorize content by platform and status, greatly enhancing your workflow efficiency. With a library of templates at your disposal, you can easily prioritize posts according to your marketing goals and streamline the content creation process. Moreover, ClickUp enables you to store ideas for future posts, allowing for improved planning and organization of upcoming content strategies. The platform also facilitates collaboration among team members, ensuring seamless communication and task assignments during the content creation process. Plus, a free plan is available, making it accessible for smaller teams or individuals. Jotform’s Social Media Calendar For those looking to improve their social media strategy, Jotform’s Social Media Calendar offers a robust solution with templates that cater to various platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. This versatile tool features a Monthly Planning Calendar for scheduling campaigns throughout the year, ensuring thorough content management. Moreover, it includes a Content Repository to track created content, allowing for easy reuse and preventing duplication. You can likewise benefit from a direct upload template for HubSpot, which automates the post scheduling process. Plus, the user guide offers social insights from marketing expert Samantha Meller, helping you optimize your strategy. Feature Description Benefit Monthly Planning Calendar Schedule campaigns throughout the year Thorough content management Content Repository Track and reuse created content Prevents content duplication HubSpot Upload Template Automate post scheduling Increases efficiency Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Customize a Social Media Calendar Template? To customize a social media calendar template, start by selecting a format that suits your needs, such as Google Sheets or Excel. Next, input your key dates and events, then add columns for each platform you’ll use. Include specific content ideas, posting times, and any relevant hashtags. Adjust colors and fonts for better visibility, ensuring it aligns with your branding. Regularly update the calendar to reflect changes in strategy or content focus. Can I Use These Templates for Multiple Social Media Platforms? Yes, you can definitely use these templates for multiple social media platforms. Most templates are designed to be flexible, allowing you to adapt content for different channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You’ll want to tweak the format and messaging to suit each platform’s audience and character limits. Are These Templates Compatible With Mobile Devices? Yes, these templates are typically compatible with mobile devices, allowing you to access and edit them on the go. Most modern templates are designed to be responsive, meaning they adjust to various screen sizes, including smartphones and tablets. You can easily view your calendar and make necessary updates without needing a desktop computer. Just guarantee you’re using compatible apps or software that support the template format for a seamless experience on your mobile device. Do I Need Design Skills to Use These Templates? You don’t need design skills to use these templates effectively. They’re created to be user-friendly, allowing you to customize layouts and content easily. Most templates come with pre-set designs, so you can simply input your information without needing advanced design knowledge. Furthermore, many platforms offer tutorials or guides to help you navigate the features. This makes it accessible for anyone looking to improve their social media presence without extensive graphic design experience. How Often Should I Update My Editorial Calendar? You should update your editorial calendar regularly to stay relevant and organized. Aim for at least once a month, but consider weekly updates if your content or audience needs change frequently. Review performance metrics, audience engagement, and industry trends during these updates. This will help you refine your strategy and guarantee your content aligns with your goals. Staying proactive with your calendar can improve your effectiveness in reaching your target audience. Conclusion Utilizing free social media editorial calendar templates can greatly improve your content management strategy. Tools like HootSuite, HubSpot, Social Media Examiner, ClickUp, and Jotform each offer unique features customized to different needs. By implementing these templates, you can streamline your posting schedule, boost engagement, and maintain consistency across platforms. Adopting an organized approach not just reduces planning stress but likewise allows you to focus on creating quality content that resonates with your audience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Free Social Media Editorial Calendar Templates You Need" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. More than 37 million Americans moved last year—and while that’s actually a historic low, one thing that hasn’t changed is the levels of hair-tearing stress the experience can inspire. Everything about moving, from packing to hiring movers to switching utilities, comes with a little spice of stress and anxiety. Even the most competent and careful planning can leave you with an ulcer and an incipient nervous breakdown as you try to pack your entire life into a truck and transport it to another location. There are lots of little ways to reduce that stress and make moving a little easier. These hacks can help anyone, no matter how far you’re moving or what your housing situation might be, because they each reduce the friction a tiny bit without much effort. Whether the big day is tomorrow or next month, take a moment and employ a few of these moving hacks to make the day a little less nightmarish. Get free boxesBuying moving boxes can be pricey—U-Haul sells kits that range from about $150 to $460, depending on the size of your household, for example. That’s not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but after paying for everything else associated with a new home, saving a few hundred bucks is a worthy hack. Luckily, there are several ways to get your mitts on some free boxes, from companies like U-Haul that connect its customers to platforms like Freecycle where people often post used boxes for free pickup. And there’s always the old standby of contacting local grocery stores and the like to see if you can dumpster dive for some old boxes. If you start collecting boxes early enough, you can save yourself stress and money. Size your boxesWhen collecting or buying moving boxes, most of us just grab what’s available and wind up with a Tetris-like assortment of sizes and shapes. If at all possible, make all of your moving boxes the same size. This will make packing them into a truck or van a lot easier and more efficient, and make stacking them onto a handtruck or cart a lot faster and more stable. There will be obvious exceptions to this rule of thumb—garment boxes, television boxes, etc.—but the more you can make your boxes uniform, the faster things will go. Stretch wrapMoving stuff like desks or dressers often means playing whack-a-mole with drawers and doors that keep popping open, or having to make multiple trips because nothing fits together snugly. The answer is stretch wrap. You’ve seen professional movers use this stuff, but you can easily buy your own. And you should—it makes combining oddly-shaped things into one unit easy, it can be used to ensure drawers and doors stay closed, and protects your stuff from incidental damage caused by your enthusiastic but careless friends who are just in it for the free pizza. Vacuum bagsSometimes moving can feel positively Kafka-esque in its suffering. For example: You put in some effort to score a bunch of boxes only to discover that each box fits approximately one fluffy sweater. Sure, that’s an easy carry, but now you have to go find 100 more boxes—or start thrusting your clothes into garbage bags. Or, get yourself some vacuum storage bags. The same physics that allows you to store an entire winter wardrobe in the space under your bed will make your move a lot more efficient, shrinking down those bulky items to a more manageable size. Once shrunk, you can then roll or fold the bags to fit efficiently into boxes. Bonus: The plastic bags will also protect your clothes during the move, ensuring they don’t arrive stained, dusty, or torn. Rubber band doorsIt’s a ritual of moving: Propping the door. You’re up and down, in and out, and the front door keeps swinging shut and latching, forcing you to constantly fish out your keys or fobs to open it up. There’s an easy hack for this, though: Take some (relatively large) rubber bands (you might need more than one), loop them over both knobs, and lay it against the latch so it’s pushed in. Now the door won’t latch, so you can just push or pull it open as needed. Have a "go bag"Sometimes, when packing up stuff for a move, you can fall into a bit of a trance and become a packing machine, just madly shoving everything into boxes and bags. And then you arrive at your new home and you can’t brush your teeth, find the bandages, or find utensils to eat your victory Doordash. A great hack is to set up a “go bag” with all the essentials you might need. Treat it like staying one night in a hotel and bring everything you need to be comfortable, like hygiene products, toilet paper, basic utensils, and cleaning products. Throw in anything you might need: dry socks, fresh underwear, pet food, baby supplies, a first aid kit. This way, when you’re exhausted from the move, you won’t have to search through a pile of boxes looking for your toothbrush. Hangers and trash bagsTransporting your finery safely can be challenging, especially if you’re moving yourself. Wardrobe boxes can help protect your clothes during the move, but they’re also bulky and cost money, and you have to take the time to drag your clothes out of the closet and transfer them to the box. There’s a hackier way: Separate your clothes into groups, then slide a trash bag up from the bottom to envelope the whole group of clothes and secure the plastic ties around the tops of the hangers. In a few minutes your whole closet is wrapped up and ready to go. You can combine this with a wardrobe box if you have one, but if not, your clothes are protected and your closet is instantly organized and ready to be emptied out. Keep track of the contents of your boxes Moving houses can descend into chaos so quickly we often make our future selves miserable. What starts off as a relatively organized effort becomes a mad dash to cram stuff into boxes and finish the project, which means future you is stuck with a load of boxes filled with random stuff, and there will always be at least one treasured item that just seems to have dropped through a portal into another dimension. You can prevent this with a simple hack: Mark each box with a number and take a photo of the contents of every box before you tape it shut and stuff it into the van. Sure, you could be more meticulous and have a spreadsheet, color-coded system of stickers, or other more robust way of tracking each box’s contents, but the photo method blends well with the barely-held-together chaos of many house moves. Later, when you’re searching for something, a quick scan of your photos will tell you precisely which box you put it inside. Take pics of wire hookupsIt’s amazing how wires proliferate as if they’re an alien species infiltrating our world. Everything seems neat and tidy in your house, and then comes moving day and you realize that each television, desktop computer, and device has at least one—and sometimes several—cords associated with it. Keeping them all straight when moving to a new place can be a real pain. While cords like HDMI cables are usually interchangeable between devices, that won’t be the case if your laptop uses a USB-C-to-HDMI cable, and sometimes your cables are ideally sized—a short HDMI cable between a Roku and your TV, for example, won’t hang down and be an eyesore. To ensure you put everything back the way it should be without tearing your hair out, take photos of the back of your devices before you disassemble them for transport. Being able to see exactly where every cord goes and how it was set up will save you a lot of time and trouble on the back end of your move. Clean while you packCleaning is a huge part of moving. If you’re renting, it’s a vital aspect of your plan to get your security deposit back. If you’ve sold a place, it’s just the right thing to do (and might even be stipulated in your sale contract). A simple but powerful hack: Don’t wait until you’ve moved everything out to clean. While it might seem like a completely empty house would be ideal for cleaning, it’s also kind of overwhelming. An empty room is just as easy to clean, and tackling each space as you clear it out instead of leaving it all to the end will make cleaning seem like less of a chore. Plus, alternating between packing and cleaning will actually make both go a little more smoothly, because at least there will be some variation. View the full article

The executive order described state legislation on artificial intelligence as a cumbersome patchwork, and pledged to develop a national framework. View the full article

Kyiv and European allies seek to strengthen their hand as Washington-led peace talks reach critical phaseView the full article

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the FHA-insured loan caps for low- and high-cost areas, which are set based on conforming loan limits. View the full article

A New Hampshire municipal issue stretches the bounds of what state borrowing is forView the full article

Whether you're an academically inclined student looking for study hacks, or a more creative person who's just looking to work smarter instead of harder, there are lots of little ways to make getting through school a little easier. Even as students deal with increased competition and rising costs, you can make life just a little bit easier with each of these hacks. Make the most of student discountsEveryone knows about student discounts on laptops, streaming platforms, and some productivity services. However, there are plenty of other great deals for students that aren't as widely known. For instance, you can get a Setapp subscription for 50% off as a student, which gives you a year of access to over 200 Mac apps. You can also get some great deals such as scoring a free year of Google's Gemini Pro if you're a U.S. college student (the offer expires on January 31, 2026). If your college provides you with a .edu email address, that's an easy way to score student discounts with practically every digital service. Some institutions let you keep that email address even after you graduate, as long as you keep the account active. You can also keep your student ID after graduation to get a few more discounts. Although it's not always considered ethical to get student discounts when you're working, this method could help you tide over a difficult time financially, as rent and bills tend to hit a lot harder when you're working on a low wage at the start of your career. 3D printing is sometimes better than buyingI've visited a few universities that have 3D printers their students can use for free (my editor went to one). If that's the case with your college, then you can use it to save yourself a bit of money by 3D printing objects you'd otherwise end up buying. These can include desk lamps, phone stands, small desk organizers, and much more. If you're mechanically savvy, you can even print small car parts that are expensive or hard to find. Even if your university doesn't have a 3D printer, it's not too hard to find stores or websites where you can upload a design and get the finished product shipped to you. Quite often, 3D printing is a lot cheaper than buying new or even used items. You can check out the FunctionalPrints community and Makerworld for great 3D printing ideas, and often, downloadable design models. This means that you can take the design to a 3D printer near you and get it printed easily. Consider writing your notes by hand Credit: Joel Cunningham I had a rough time studying in high school, as I got distracted immersing myself in novels, video games, and the internet. When I started college, I noticed that my focus time was lower when I was using computers to study. So, I switched to writing notes by hand ,and it was like a switch flipped in my brain. When I read those notes ahead of exams, I was able to recall the parts of the class I wrote them down in, which noticeably improved my scores. I took the GMAT exam a few years ago and I got a pretty decent score all thanks to handwriting all of my notes, and solving all math problems by hand. I'm not a gifted math student, and in spite of that, I did pretty well in the math exam, only because I avoided using my iPad or Mac for studies. Of course, I used those devices to read textbooks, but I did all my note-taking and problem solving by hand. While I prefer old-school methods like pen and paper to handwrite notes, you can also use modern technology to your advantage here. An iPad with an Apple Pencil, or something like the reMarkable tablet, can make a great study tool. The reMarkable uses an e-ink screen that mimics real paper, which makes it feel far more like an actual notebook than using an iPad. Use meditation apps to reduce anxietyWhile exercise is my number 1 recommendation to anyone who's looking to relieve anxiety, it's not always possible to make time for workouts during busy periods as a student. If you're in this boat, I highly recommend using a free meditation app to reduce anxiety and focus better on studies. During my GMAT prep, I was confronting multiple demons at once. I was quite scared of math, tests, and had a crippling fear of failure. I had a 40-minute train ride back from work and I used it to do a 20-minute guided meditation on Headspace's free tier. Doing this for a few weeks helped me calm down immensely. On the day of the test, I remember being completely unfazed by the difficult questions, and I was able to follow all the exam strategies my tutor had suggested. My score was a lot higher than what I was expecting, and most of it was down to getting my anxiety out of the way. You can use any free meditation app to get started. Remember that you don't need to sit under a tree in the forest to meditate. You can start wherever you are. Try a few different study methodsI must admit that I really didn't know about any study methods when I went to university, and I just did whatever helped me remember things. Working at Lifehacker has been an eye-opening experience in many ways, and one of those is learning that you can actually use more than one method to grasp difficult subjects. My colleague Lindsey Ellefson has written at length about the best study methods, and you should definitely give it a read to see if a different study method can help you. I'm now a big fan of the Feynman method, which says that once you've finished studying a topic, you should explain it to someone who knows nothing about it. If you're able to do this and answer follow-up questions the person has, then it means you know the subject pretty well. If not, it's time to study again. I generally don't encourage using AI too much to study, but you can tell ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini that you're using the Feynman method to study a concept, and explain what you've learned. These tools will help you identify what you've explained correctly and ask decent follow-up questions to help you deepen your understanding of the subject. Try flashcard apps for faster learning Credit: Brainscape Pretty much every student has used flashcards to study in school, but it's not easy to keep making flashcards for every subject when you have way too much to study. This is when it's a good idea to outsource the work to flashcard study apps. These are great tools to commit things to memory, and particularly useful when you're trying to learn a new language, memorize chess openings, or if you're studying for exams. You can try Brainscape if you want pre-made flashcards, which eliminates the effort of generating the cards, too. It's great both for students prepping for a specific exam and for adults learning different skills. The variety of pre-made cards is vast, and you probably won't ever have to make any cards on the app. The free tier lets you use text, and the paid version lets you access audio, images, removes limits on studying, and many more useful features. It costs $20/month, $96/year, or $200 for a lifetime membership. Don't forget the Pomodoro techniqueAt times, the simplest advice is the best. I only learned about the Pomodoro technique after I started working, and I still wish I'd known about it during my student days. The concept is simple: Follow a schedule where you study or work on a project for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. Rinse and repeat until your large task is done. The work and break time intervals should be changed based on what works best for you. If you like the idea of using a dedicated app to follow this technique, you should consider FocusPomo, which has a solid 4.5/5 score in Lifehacker's review. The biggest downside of this app is that you still have to check your phone to use it, and if that's a no-go for you, then you can try alternatives such as following this 3-hour Pomodoro study video or using a Pomodoro app that works in your desktop browser, such as My Study Life. Block distractions to focus better Credit: Lindsey Ellefson You should definitely use a distraction blocker app to stop doomscrolling and focus on what you need to do. Be it studying, journaling, meditation, or any other hobby you're fond of, using distraction blocking tools can help you focus at a time when every major internet company is out to get your attention. You can try tools such as Cold Turkey or StayFocusd, both of which let you block distracting websites for free. Similarly, Steppin is a great distraction blocking tool for your smartphone. Befriend the power napWhen you're focused on studies, don't neglect the importance of a healthy sleep cycle. Ideally, you want to use the wind down feature on your phone to remind you that it's time to stop using all apps and get to bed. On iPhones and Android phones, you can also quickly switch to grayscale mode at bedtime, which is another way to trick your brain into getting off the screen. I find that I sleep better when all my gadgets aren't right next to my bed. But more than that, I highly recommend taking a power nap when you're tired. Sometimes, I get home from a long day and I feel too tired to do much. If I'm able to take a 30-minute nap, I often wake up refreshed and feeling a lot better. Adding a little bit of rest to your day can make a big difference to your ability to get things done, so you should consider adding power naps to your day. In case you find it hard to relax and sleep, I've had good results with progressive muscle relaxation. It's a simple technique that requires you to tense and relax various muscles in your body, which in turn helps you relax enough to go to sleep. The Insight Timer app has a great guided relaxation exercise by Shinzen Young, which I've used more often than I can count. Consider a change in locationOnce again, this may sound like simple advice, but it's incredibly effective. Whenever I've found it hard to study or complete assignments at home, it's always helped to go sit at a library or a cafe to get work done. A lot depends on how good the public libraries are in your locality, but even if that's not an option for you, try to see if you can go to a friend's place or anywhere other than your usual place for assignments. Sometimes, a change in environment can help you get work done faster. If that doesn't help break a pattern of procrastination, then you can consider gamifying the process. You can use Stickk as a motivational tool to stick to your goals. The app makes you commit to donating money or posting on social media if you don't meet your goals, which is one way to put something real on the line as a penalty for not honoring your commitment. There are plenty of tools to help you stay on track with your commitments to hobbies or academics, so there's bound to be one that works for you. View the full article

This week, a new fashion boutique quietly opened in SoHo. Much like its neighbors, H&M and American Eagle, the new shop features racks of affordably priced, trendy apparel. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was another fast fashion label, but it’s not: it’s Target. Target has retrofitted its existing SoHo store as a “design-forward concept store,” with a focus on fashion and beauty. The store’s entrance, which features a long hallway drenched in the brand’s iconic red, is full of racks with sparkly skirts and faux-fur jackets for holiday parties. Target has dubbed this area “The Drop” and will feature new, seasonal merchandise that is updated every six to eight weeks. The brand says it will refresh the area with wellness-focused products for New Year’s resolutions in January, and giftable items for Valentine’s Day in February. The store offers a glimpse into what Target might be cooking up in its efforts to engineer a much-needed turnaround. This past year was calamitous for Target, capping off several years of decline. It began with a boycott, led by Black consumers, who felt that the retailer had let them down by purporting to support diversity in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, then dropping most of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts when The President was elected. Last month, it reported a drop in quarterly sales, after four years of flat revenue. In the company’s earnings call, incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke (who is set to replace Brian Cornell in February) declined to say when Target’s sales were likely to turn positive again. (We reached out to Target for commentary, but it did not make a spokesperson available by the time of publication.) As I’ve written before, Target’s struggles don’t stem from a single problem. Stores have become disorganized, checkout lines are long. Groceries are an important way to get customers into stores, but they make up less than a quarter of Target’s overall business (as compared to 60% of Walmart’s). And more broadly, Target’s customer base of well-heeled, urban consumers no longer think of it as “Tar-zhay,” the place to buy elevated, well-designed products at an affordable price. Fiddelke has the difficult task of getting Target out of this position. In August, when he was appointed as the next CEO, he articulated three strategies for cleaning up the mess: improving the in-store experience, incorporating technology to improve efficiency, and turning Target back into a destination for style and design. The new concept store in New York appears to be one effort toward reminding Target that it was once the go-to big box store for a trendy outfit. The power of design It makes sense that Fiddelke is looking to design to help steer Target out of this rough patch. After all, design is arguably what enabled Target to become one of the country’s top big box retailers in the early 2000s. But the world has changed over the last two decades, and it’s unclear whether the strategy will allow Target to stand out now. Target first came up with the idea of democratizing great design in 1999, when it launched a multiyear partnership with the architect Michael Graves on a collection of elevated home goods at affordable prices. The sales of the first line weren’t spectacular, but Target was committed to the concept, and over time, sales took off, elevating the retailer’s image. Over the next two decades, Target collaborated with the top fashion designers of the era, from Proenza Schouler to Anna Sui to Missoni. This coincided with a period of steady growth in the 2000s and early 2010s, and led to a loyal customer base. But Target no longer corners the market on democratic design. Many other retailers have taken a page from Target’s successful playbook of partnering with designers. High-low designer collabs are now a fixture of fast fashion brands like H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo. And now, Target’s biggest competitor—Walmart—is stepping up its game, when it comes to fashion. In 2021, Walmart hired the designer Brandon Maxwell to redesign two of its in-house fashion lines and has been popping up at New York Fashion Week for the last three years to signal that it wants to be a contender in the fashion landscape. An economic uphill battle The bigger problem is that in our current economic climate—when Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation, a slowdown in hiring, and the looming threat of a stock market crash—many consumers are pulling back on discretionary spending. And design-forward products, like clothes and home goods, are nonessentials. Part of the reason that Walmart’s business is booming is that it specializes in selling groceries at the lowest possible prices, which is appealing to Americans of all socioeconomic backgrounds. In its most recent financial results, Walmart says it has been gaining market share with families that make more than $100,000 a year. It’s likely that some of these customers are coming from Target, which has historically attracted a wealthier customer than Walmart. If Target wants to lean back into design, it can’t just do what it has done in the past. There are many other fashion brands—including many in Soho—that are very good at churning out the latest affordable styles. Target needs to innovate and offer something fresher and distinct from the rest of the marketplace. It will be hard for Target to compete on price, since Walmart’s scale allows it to get lower prices from suppliers. But there are other ways to stand out. Target could focus on the quality and durability of its products, which would be appealing to consumers looking to maximize their purchases. It could partner with global designers that offer a different point of view. It could focus on the sustainability of its design. It just can’t rehash as 20-year-old strategy in the hopes that it’ll work again today. View the full article

Onetime cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a $40 billion crash revealed his crypto ecosystem to be a fraud. Victims said the 34-year-old financial technology whiz weaponized their trust to convince them that the investment — secretly propped up by cash infusions — was safe. Kwon, a Stanford graduate known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” apologized after listening as victims — one in court and others by telephone — described the scam’s toll: wiping out nest eggs, depleting charities and wrecking lives. One told the judge in a letter that he contemplated suicide after his father lost his retirement money in the scheme. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said at a daylong sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court that the government’s recommendation of 12 years in prison was “unreasonably lenient” and that the defense’s request for five years was “utterly unthinkable and wildly unreasonable.” Kwon faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. “Your offense caused real people to lose $40 billion in real money, not some paper loss,” Engelmayer told Kwon, who sat at the defense table in a yellow jail suit. The judge called it “a fraud on an epic, generational scale” and said Kwon had an “almost mystical hold” on investors and caused incalculable “human wreckage.” More than the combined losses in FTX and OneCoin cases Kwon pleaded guilty in August to fraud charges stemming from the collapse of Terraform Labs, the Singapore-based firm he co-founded in 2018. The loss exceeded the combined losses from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood’s frauds, prosecutors said. Engelmayer estimated there may have been a million victims. Terraform Labs had touted its TerraUSD as a reliable “stablecoin” — a kind of currency typically pegged to stable assets to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices. But prosecutors say it was an illusion backed by outside cash infusions that came crumbling down after it plunged far below its $1 peg. The crash devastated investors in TerraUSD and its floating sister currency, Luna, triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.” Kwon tried to rebuild Terraform Labs in Singapore before fleeing to the Balkans on a false passport, prosecutors said. He’s been locked up since his March 2023 arrest in Montenegro. He was credited for 17 months he spent in jail there before being extradited to the U.S. Kwon agreed to forfeit over $19 million as part of his plea deal. His lawyers argued his conduct stemmed not from greed, but hubris and desperation. Engelmayer rejected his request to serve his sentence in his native South Korea, where he also faces prosecution and where his wife and 4-year-old daughter live. “I have spent almost every waking moment of the last few years thinking of what I could have done different and what I can do now to make things right,” Kwon told Engelmayer. Hearing from victims, he said, was “harrowing and reminded me again of the great losses that I have caused.” Victims say losses ruined their lives, harmed charities One victim, speaking by telephone, said his wife divorced him, his sons had to skip college, and he had to move back to Croatia to live with his parents after TerraUSD’s crash evaporated his family’s life savings. Another said he has to “live with the guilt” of persuading his in-laws and hundreds of nonprofit organizations to invest. Stanislav Trofimchuk said his family’s investment plummeted from $190,000 to $13,000 — “17 years of our life, gone” during what he described as “two weeks of sheer terror.” Chauncey St. John, speaking in court, said some nonprofits he worked with lost more than $2 million and a church group lost about $900,000. He and his wife are saddled with debt and his in-laws have been forced to work well past their planned retirement, he said. Nevertheless, St. John said, he forgives Kwon and “I pray to God to have mercy on his soul.” A prosecutor read excerpts from some of more than 300 letters submitted by victims, including a person identified only by initials who lost nearly $11,400 while juggling bills and trying to complete college. Kwon had made Terra seem like a safe place to stash savings, the person said. “To some that is just a number on a page, but to me it was years of effort,” the person wrote. “Watching it evaporate, literally overnight, was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.” “What happened was not an accident. It was not a market event. It was deception,” the person added, imploring the judge to “consider the human cost of this tragedy.” Kwon created an “illusion of resilience while covering up systemic failure,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi told Engelmayer. “This was fraud executed with arrogance, manipulation and total disregard for people.” —Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this report. View the full article

A federal appeals court on Thursday backed a ruling that held Apple in civil contempt for brazenly defying an order designed to open its iPhone app store to other payment systems besides its own, but the decision also reopened a door for the company to collect commission from the rival options. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals mostly validated a scalding contempt order issued in April by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for violating a key part of her September 2021 findings in a legal battle instigated by video game maker Epic Games. But the Ninth Circuit’s 54-page decision overturned one key part of Gonzalez Rogers’ civil contempt crackdown that prohibited Apple from collecting commissions when consumers make an e-commerce purchase within an iPhone app through a payment systems that operate outside of Apple’s control. The appeals judges decided the ban that would have prevented Apple from imposing fees on rival payment options was too severe and ordered Gonzalez Rogers to reopen the case to determine a fair commission rate that the Cupertino, California, company, can charge. The ruling provided some general guidelines for how Gonzalez Rogers might determine a fair commission on external payment systems, but didn’t make any suggestions about what the percentage might be. Neither Apple nor Epic immediately responded for requests for comment late Thursday. But the appeals decision agreed Apple had made a mockery of Gonzalez Rogers’ attempt to create more payment competition in the iPhone app store as part of a case that began in 2020. That’s when Epic, the maker of the Fortnite video game, filed a lawsuit alleging Apple had set up a price-gouging system within the iPhone app store that had turned into an illegal monopoly. Epic’s case targeted Apple’s iron-clad control over all its devices and software — an approach that has become known as the company’s “walled garden.” As part of the strategy, Apple required all in-app purchases on iPhones to be made through its own payment processing system while collecting commissions ranging from 15% to 30%. Those commissions have become a huge moneymaker within a services division that brings in more than $100 billion in annual revenue for Apple. Although Gonzalez Rogers rejected Epic’s assertion that the iPhone app store had turned into an illegal monopoly in her 2021 decision, she ordered Apple to allow links to alternative payment options to be displayed within apps. Apple continued to fight the alternative payment option in appeals before being rebuffed by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2024. The company then announced it would charge commissions ranging from 12% to 27% on iPhone app purchases made on alternative payment options — rates that remained so high that few developers decided to offer other choices. That prompted Epic to allege Apple was in contempt of court, a claim Gonzalez Rogers embraced after a series of testy court hearings last year and earlier this year that led her to conclude the company’s efforts to allow alternative payment systems into the iPhone app store was little more than a “sham.” —Michael Liedtke, AP technology writer View the full article

They say no one actually uses their phones for phone calls anymore. That's not really true, though maybe the "Phone" app does get underused. Instead, many of us have turned to chat apps for our calls. FaceTime, WhatsApp, Messenger—these apps are now our go-to choices for getting in immediate touch with friends and family. (Not that I'm complaining: The call quality is usually better, anyway.) But one thing the Phone app—and traditional phone calls—have on these chat apps is voicemail. For decades, when you called someone and they didn't answer, you could "leave a message after the tone." That way, when the person saw they had a missed call, they didn't need to guess what you wanted to say. If it was important, they'd hear about it, and call you back. If it wasn't, they could choose to call back when it was convenient. Voicemail isn't dead: You can still leave these messages if you call someone the old fashioned way. But since many of us choose to use our chat apps of choice, we've largely lost this practice. It's been wholly replaced with text messages and voice notes: If they don't answer the call, you can simply text them what you wanted to talk about, or record a voice note to achieve a similar end. Some chat apps are trying to bring voicemails back, however. The first major player on my radar was FaceTime: Back in 2023, Apple made it possible to leave video and audio messages for people whenever they didn't pick up a FaceTime call. It's a small but logical feature: Sure, there are other ways to leave a message. But it just makes sense given the history of phone calls to present the option as soon as someone misses your call. How WhatsApp voicemails workNow, WhatsApp is getting in on the feature. The company first started testing missed call messages in August, before rolling out the option in full on Thursday. Now, when you try calling someone in WhatsApp and they miss it, you have the option to leave either a video or an audio message—depending on what type of call you started. Again, these are functions you could initiate already in the app itself: You could simply record a video saying what you want to say, and send it to the recipient, or record an audio note letting them know to call you back. But this built-in option isn't only convenient, it establishes voice messages as a standard for missed WhatsApp calls. Interestingly, WhatsApp says this new feature "will make voicemails a thing of the past." As it see it, it's actually keeping them alive. View the full article

Ford Motor Co. has stepped up technology in its popular F-150 pickup to combat the ever-evolving techniques car thieves have at their disposal. It is the latest cat-and-mouse move that the automaker hopes will help customers avoid the costly and frustrating process that occurs when vehicles are swiped and includes a feature that won’t allow an engine to start even if a key fob is in the pickup. Motor vehicle thefts recently have been on the decline in the U.S. after several years of increases. Still, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that more than 850,000 vehicles were stolen in the U.S. in 2024, pegging losses at $8 billion. But thefts dropped 23% during the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to an analysis by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Ford’s F-150 was in the top 10 of most stolen models. “F-150s have been the bestselling vehicle for decades, so there are a lot of them on the road,” said Christian Moran, Ford Secure general manager. “Thieves do like to go after pickup trucks. They also like to go after the contents that are often in pickup trucks. Oftentimes, there are people who have thousands of dollars worth of tools and products in the back that are valuable above and beyond what the vehicle is worth.” Ford’s Stolen Vehicle Services, which was launched with the 2024 F-150 model year, added a “Start Inhibit” feature that allows owners to disable an F-150’s engine from a smartphone by using the FordPass app. This makes it impossible for a thief to start the pickup. That was expanded in the 2025 model year to include the F-250 Super Duty pickup. Ford plans to extend it to other vehicles in the 2026 model year. The security package comes with the purchase of a pickup and is included for one year once activated. The cost after the first year is $7.99 per month. Technology matching wits with thieves F-150 owners can receive alerts to their smartphones of potential thefts that include an unauthorized person entering their pickup, whether doors are ajar and if the vehicle is moved or towed. One of the strongest features of the security package is the coordination with police agencies, Moran said. It works this way. Once an owner realizes or is notified that their pickup has been stolen, the owner is encouraged to call police and file a report. The owner then contacts a Ford call center, which confirms with police that a theft report was completed. The call center coordinates efforts with police to use “Start Inhibit” to shut down the engine and to pinpoint where the pickup stopped. “Usually, within an hour is when we try to work as hard as we can to get those vehicles,” said Officer Ibrahim Kakish, a member of the Detroit police commercial auto theft section. “The sooner we get the vehicle, the better. The vehicle is more likely to be intact.” Security measures up, thefts trending down Auto theft is lucrative as some vehicles, especially high-end and luxury models, are targeted for resale. Other stolen vehicles are used to commit crimes like carjackings and smash-and-grab robberies at jewelry, liquor and other retail stores. “We used to say most of the people stealing cars were joyriders,” said Thomas Burke, a retired New York City police detective and a current director with the Chesapeake, Virginia-based International Association of Auto Theft Investigators. “There are very few joyriders, now,” Burke added. “It’s all professional. They steal them, change the (vehicle identification) numbers and sell them.” Thieves seek out easy targets like key fobs left in vehicles. They also break into a vehicle to reprogram its computer to accept another key, Burke said. But it appears security measures are working. “In New York in 1990, we had 196,000 cars stolen in one year,” Burke said. “This year, so far, a little over 10,000 have been stolen, and that’s out of more than 3.5 million cars registered.” Motor vehicle theft in Detroit decreased from 9,260 in 2023 to 8,408 last year, according to the city’s police department. So far this year, there have been 1,837 fewer thefts than in 2024. “We’re finding out ways that they’re stealing vehicles, and we work with companies to try to get that stopped,” Kakish said. —Corey Williams, Associated Press View the full article

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has recently unveiled its Trainium3 UltraServers at AWS re:Invent, a major leap in AI technology that small businesses should keep on their radar. These new servers, powered by AWS’s revolutionary Trainium3 chip, promise to enhance the performance and efficiency of AI training and inference, offering a more accessible way for smaller organizations to leverage artificial intelligence. Trainium3 UltraServers deliver significant improvements, with claims of up to 4.4 times more compute performance, quadrupled energy efficiency, and nearly four times the memory bandwidth compared to their predecessors. This is crucial as small business owners increasingly seek ways to streamline operations and reduce costs, particularly in areas demanding heavy computational power like AI development. For small businesses, the ability to run extensive AI workloads faster translates to practical benefits. By leveraging the Trainium3’s capabilities, companies can expect reduced training and inference costs, with some reported savings reaching up to 50%. For instance, businesses such as Anthropic and Karakuri are already experiencing these cost reductions, optimizing their resources and budgets. “Trainium3 UltraServers enable faster AI development with lower operational costs,” said a spokesperson from AWS. This advantage could empower small enterprises to innovate and implement AI solutions that were previously feasible only for larger corporations with substantial budgets. The potential of these servers extends to powering larger models and serving inference at scale. Small business owners exploring applications like machine learning for customer insights or automated content generation may find these capabilities particularly beneficial. The ability to scale up to 144 Trainium3 chips allows for handling extensive workloads without the need for significant upfront investments in hardware. Furthermore, Visionary firms such as Decart have achieved remarkable outcomes with the new technology, reporting four times quicker inference for real-time generative video while cutting GPU costs in half. This opens the door for small businesses involved in creative industries to adopt AI solutions that enable dynamic video content creation and other resource-intensive tasks. Nonetheless, small business owners should also be mindful of potential challenges. Transitioning to the new infrastructure which includes integration of Trainium3 UltraServers can demand technical expertise that managers may not have readily available. Business leaders must consider the learning curve associated with adopting new technologies as well as ongoing support and operational expenses related to the implementation phase. Moreover, while AWS is known for its broad ecosystem, ensuring compatibility with existing systems is paramount. Small organizations typically operate with tighter budgets and resource constraints, making it essential to weigh the initial costs against anticipated benefits carefully. As the landscape of AI technology rapidly evolves, small businesses should stay informed and engaged with opportunities like AWS’s Trainium3 UltraServers to harness AI’s transformative power. The cost savings and operational efficiencies gained from effectively leveraging these servers can position smaller players in a competitive market. The introduction of Trainium3 UltraServers heralds a new era for businesses looking to tap into AI’s capabilities affordably and effectively. Interested businesses can explore further details about Trainium3 UltraServers and their advantages at the original announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Amazon Unveils Trainium3 UltraServers for Breakthrough AI Performance" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has recently unveiled its Trainium3 UltraServers at AWS re:Invent, a major leap in AI technology that small businesses should keep on their radar. These new servers, powered by AWS’s revolutionary Trainium3 chip, promise to enhance the performance and efficiency of AI training and inference, offering a more accessible way for smaller organizations to leverage artificial intelligence. Trainium3 UltraServers deliver significant improvements, with claims of up to 4.4 times more compute performance, quadrupled energy efficiency, and nearly four times the memory bandwidth compared to their predecessors. This is crucial as small business owners increasingly seek ways to streamline operations and reduce costs, particularly in areas demanding heavy computational power like AI development. For small businesses, the ability to run extensive AI workloads faster translates to practical benefits. By leveraging the Trainium3’s capabilities, companies can expect reduced training and inference costs, with some reported savings reaching up to 50%. For instance, businesses such as Anthropic and Karakuri are already experiencing these cost reductions, optimizing their resources and budgets. “Trainium3 UltraServers enable faster AI development with lower operational costs,” said a spokesperson from AWS. This advantage could empower small enterprises to innovate and implement AI solutions that were previously feasible only for larger corporations with substantial budgets. The potential of these servers extends to powering larger models and serving inference at scale. Small business owners exploring applications like machine learning for customer insights or automated content generation may find these capabilities particularly beneficial. The ability to scale up to 144 Trainium3 chips allows for handling extensive workloads without the need for significant upfront investments in hardware. Furthermore, Visionary firms such as Decart have achieved remarkable outcomes with the new technology, reporting four times quicker inference for real-time generative video while cutting GPU costs in half. This opens the door for small businesses involved in creative industries to adopt AI solutions that enable dynamic video content creation and other resource-intensive tasks. Nonetheless, small business owners should also be mindful of potential challenges. Transitioning to the new infrastructure which includes integration of Trainium3 UltraServers can demand technical expertise that managers may not have readily available. Business leaders must consider the learning curve associated with adopting new technologies as well as ongoing support and operational expenses related to the implementation phase. Moreover, while AWS is known for its broad ecosystem, ensuring compatibility with existing systems is paramount. Small organizations typically operate with tighter budgets and resource constraints, making it essential to weigh the initial costs against anticipated benefits carefully. As the landscape of AI technology rapidly evolves, small businesses should stay informed and engaged with opportunities like AWS’s Trainium3 UltraServers to harness AI’s transformative power. The cost savings and operational efficiencies gained from effectively leveraging these servers can position smaller players in a competitive market. The introduction of Trainium3 UltraServers heralds a new era for businesses looking to tap into AI’s capabilities affordably and effectively. Interested businesses can explore further details about Trainium3 UltraServers and their advantages at the original announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Amazon Unveils Trainium3 UltraServers for Breakthrough AI Performance" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in statements Friday that their dissents from this week's interest rate decision were spurred by inflation concerns and a lack of sufficient economic data. View the full article

In the past decade, AI’s success has led to uncurbed enthusiasm and bold claims—even though users frequently experience errors that AI makes. An AI-powered digital assistant can misunderstand someone’s speech in embarrassing ways, a chatbot could hallucinate facts, or, as I experienced, an AI-based navigation tool might even guide drivers through a corn field—all without registering the errors. People tolerate these mistakes because the technology makes certain tasks more efficient. Increasingly, however, proponents are advocating the use of AI—sometimes with limited human supervision—in fields where mistakes have high cost, such as health care. For example, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2025 would allow AI systems to prescribe medications autonomously. Health researchers as well as lawmakers since then have debated whether such prescribing would be feasible or advisable. How exactly such prescribing would work if this or similar legislation passes remains to be seen. But it raises the stakes for how many errors AI developers can allow their tools to make and what the consequences would be if those tools led to negative outcomes—even patient deaths. As a researcher studying complex systems, I investigate how different components of a system interact to produce unpredictable outcomes. Part of my work focuses on exploring the limits of science—and, more specifically, of AI. Over the past 25 years, I have worked on projects including traffic light coordination, improving bureaucracies, and tax evasion detection. Even when these systems can be highly effective, they are never perfect. For AI in particular, errors might be an inescapable consequence of how the systems work. My lab’s research suggests that particular properties of the data used to train AI models play a role. This is unlikely to change, regardless of how much time, effort, and funding researchers direct at improving AI models. Nobody—and nothing, not even AI—is perfect As Alan Turing, considered the father of computer science, once said: “If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent.” This is because learning is an essential part of intelligence, and people usually learn from mistakes. I see this tug-of-war between intelligence and infallibility at play in my research. In a study published in July 2025, my colleagues and I showed that perfectly organizing certain datasets into clear categories may be impossible. In other words, there may be a minimum amount of errors that a given dataset produces, simply because of the fact that elements of many categories overlap. For some datasets—the core underpinning of many AI systems—AI will not perform better than chance. For example, a model trained on a dataset of millions of dogs that logs only their age, weight, and height will probably distinguish Chihuahuas from Great Danes with perfect accuracy. But it may make mistakes in telling apart an Alaskan malamute and a Doberman pinscher, since different individuals of different species might fall within the same age, weight and height ranges. This categorizing is called classifiability, and my students and I started studying it in 2021. Using data from more than half a million students who attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México between 2008 and 2020, we wanted to solve a seemingly simple problem. Could we use an AI algorithm to predict which students would finish their university degrees on time—that is, within three, four or five years of starting their studies, depending on the major? We tested several popular algorithms that are used for classification in AI and also developed our own. No algorithm was perfect; the best ones—even one we developed specifically for this task—achieved an accuracy rate of about 80%, meaning that at least 1 in 5 students were misclassified. We realized that many students were identical in terms of grades, age, gender, socioeconomic status, and other features—yet some would finish on time, and some would not. Under these circumstances, no algorithm would be able to make perfect predictions. You might think that more data would improve predictability, but this usually comes with diminishing returns. This means that, for example, for each increase in accuracy of 1%, you might need 100 times the data. Thus, we would never have enough students to significantly improve our model’s performance. Additionally, many unpredictable turns in the lives of students and their families—unemployment, death, pregnancy—might occur after their first year at university, likely affecting whether they finish on time. So even with an infinite number of students, our predictions would still give errors. The limits of prediction To put it more generally, what limits prediction is complexity. The word complexity comes from the Latin plexus, which means intertwined. The components that make up a complex system are intertwined, and it’s the interactions between them that determine what happens to them and how they behave. Thus, studying elements of the system in isolation would probably yield misleading insights about them—as well as about the system as a whole. Take, for example, a car traveling in a city. Knowing the speed at which it drives, it’s theoretically possible to predict where it will end up at a particular time. But in real traffic, its speed will depend on interactions with other vehicles on the road. Since the details of these interactions emerge in the moment and cannot be known in advance, precisely predicting what happens to the car is possible only a few minutes into the future. AI is already playing an enormous role in health care. Not with my health These same principles apply to prescribing medications. Different conditions and diseases can have the same symptoms, and people with the same condition or disease may exhibit different symptoms. For example, fever can be caused by a respiratory illness or a digestive one. And a cold might cause a cough, but not always. This means that health care datasets have significant overlaps that would prevent AI from being error-free. Certainly, humans also make errors. But when AI misdiagnoses a patient, as it surely will, the situation falls into a legal limbo. It’s not clear who or what would be responsible if a patient were hurt. Pharmaceutical companies? Software developers? Insurance agencies? Pharmacies? In many contexts, neither humans nor machines are the best option for a given task. “Centaurs,” or “hybrid intelligence”—that is, a combination of humans and machines—tend to be better than each on their own. A doctor could certainly use AI to decide potential drugs to use for different patients, depending on their medical history, physiological details, and genetic makeup. Researchers are already exploring this approach in precision medicine. But common sense and the precautionary principle suggest that it is too early for AI to prescribe drugs without human oversight. And the fact that mistakes may be baked into the technology could mean that where human health is at stake, human supervision will always be necessary. Carlos Gershenson is a professor of innovation at Binghamton University, State University of New York. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

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The U.S. Mint unveiled the designs for coins commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence next year. They depict the founding documents and the Revolutionary War, but so far, not President Donald The President, despite a push among some of his allies to get his face on a coin. The Mint abandoned designs developed during Joe Biden’s presidency that highlighted women’s suffrage and civil rights advancements, favoring classical depictions of America over progress toward a more inclusive society. A series of celebrations are planned next year under the banner America 250, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. All U.S. coins show the year they were minted, but those made next year will also display 1776. The President, at least for now, isn’t getting a coin No design was released for a $1 coin, though U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, whose duties include oversight of the U.S. Mint, serving as a liaison with the Federal Reserve and overseeing Treasury’s Office of Consumer Policy, confirmed in October that one showcasing The President was in the works. A draft design showed The President’s profile on the “heads” side, known as the obverse, and on the reverse, a depiction of The President raising his fist after his attempted assassination, The words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” appear along the top. By law, presidents typically can’t appear on coins until two years after their death, but some advocates for a The President coin think there may be a loophole in the law authorizing the treasury to mint special coins for the nation’s 250th birthday. Neither the Mint nor the Treasury Department responded when asked whether a The President coin is still planned. The new designs depict classical Americana New designs will appear only on coins minted in 2026, with the current images returning the following year. The nickel, dime and five versions of the quarter will circulate, while a penny and half dollar will be sold as collectibles. Five versions of the quarter are planned depicting the Mayflower Compact, Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Gettysburg Address. The dime will show a depiction of Liberty, a symbolic woman facing down the tyranny of the British monarchy, and an eagle carrying arrows in its talons representing America’s fight for independence. The commemorative nickel is essentially the same as the most recent nickel redesign, in 2006, but it includes two dates on the head’s side instead of one, 1776 and 2026. Two collectible coins are planned A half dollar coin shows the face of the Statue of Liberty on one side. The other shows her passing her torch to what appears to be the hand of a child, symbolizing a handoff to the next generation. The penny is essentially the same as the one in circulation, which was discontinued earlier this year and will be produced only as a collectible with two dates. Prices for collectible coins were not released. The Mint sells a variety of noncirculating coins on its website, with a vast range of prices reflecting their rarity. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps founding, for example, a commemorative half dollar coin is available for $61, while a commemorative $5 gold coin goes for $1,262. Up to 750,000 copies of the former will be minted, but no more than 50,000 of the latter. The abandoned designs Congress authorized commemorative coins in 2021. During the Biden administration, the Mint worked with a citizens advisory committee to propose designs depicting the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, abolitionism, suffrage and civil rights. Those designs included depictions of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Ruby Bridges, who was escorted to school by the National Guard at age 6 years amid opposition to racial integration at public schools. Those designs represented “continued progress toward ‘a more perfect union,'” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, quoting a phrase from the preamble to the Constitution. “The American story didn’t stop at the pilgrims and founding fathers, and ignoring anything that has happened in this country in the last 162 years is just another attempt by President The President to rewrite our history,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. —Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press View the full article