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Hello again, and thank you, as always, for spending time with Fast Company’s Plugged In. Apple is legendary for figuring out what people want before they realize they want it. But since 2021, its MacBook Pro hasn’t been like that at all. Instead, this venerable laptop’s recent design has reflected Apple’s willingness to trust its customers’ judgment—even when it’s been at odds with the company’s own instincts. In part, that’s because of a 2016 reimagining of the MacBook Pro that didn’t stick. Atypically, Apple then went on to reverse many of the changes it had made. The fancy function-key replacement known as the Touch Bar went bye-bye. And several mundane-but-use…

Yesterday, Target Corporation announced news that no one wants to hear—especially just before the holidays. The Minneapolis-based retail giant informed employees that it is gearing up to eliminate 1,800 corporate roles at the company. Here’s when the layoffs will happen and what it means for the company and its employees. Target to cull its corporate workforce by 8% On Thursday, Target’s chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke, who is set to become the company’s new CEO in February, reportedly sent a memo to employees at the 440,000-strong company. According to numerous media reports, Fiddelke’s memo didn’t beat around the bush: the company has decided …

One of my Bentley University students put it plainly the other day: “AI taking entry-level jobs is a ‘when,’ not an ‘if.’ But in venture capital, 70% of the decision is reading the founder and team—and that’s something AI can’t do.” That simple breakdown , 70% people, 30% product—flips the usual narrative about finance. For decades, finance was defined by numbers. Analysts lived and died by the spreadsheets. Today, AI can run discounted cash flows, parse a term sheet, and size a market faster than any junior associate. But if you talk to people in venture capital, they’ll tell you the math has never been the most important part. The numbers matter, of course, but the …

President Donald The President announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad opposing U.S. tariffs that he said misstated the facts and called “egregious behavior” aimed at influencing U.S. court decisions. The post on The President’s social media site came Thursday night after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he aims to double his country’s exports to countries outside the U.S. because of the threat posed by The President’s tariffs. The President’s call for an abrupt end to negotiations could further inflame trade tensions that already have been building between the two neighboring countries for months. The President post…

I will never forget the day I realized how rare it is to see businesses support parents—or what a huge impact even the tiniest efforts can make. “We’re just going to run into the store for a few quick things!” I called to my two kids with confidence as I unloaded them from the car, skipping the bulky stroller and putting my 1-year-old in the shopping cart seat. But what should have been a simple trip took a turn when we unexpectedly needed to visit the restroom. As any mom knows, this is where things can start to unravel: You can’t take the cart inside, so what are you supposed to do with your not-yet-walking child while you help the bigger one use the toilet? A…

It used to be that artificial intelligence would leave behind helpful clues that an image it produced was not, in fact, real. Previous generations of the technology might give a person an extra finger or even an additional limb. Teeth could look odd and out of place, and skin could render overly blushed, like something out of Pixar. Multiple dimensions could befuddle our models, which struggled to represent the physical world in a sensical way: Ask for an image of salmon swimming in a river, and AI might show you a medium-rare salmon steak floating along a rapturous current. Sure, we were in the uncanny valley. But at least we knew we were there. That’s no longer…

Kering released its third-quarter 2025 financial results on Thursday, showing it reduced the slump it had seen in the previous quarter. The French luxury goods house, which owns brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent, reported 3.42 billion euros ($3.97 billion) in group revenue, down 5% year-over-year (YOY) compared to a 15% drop in quarter-two. It also beat Wall Street’s estimate of a 9.6% decline, according to consensus estimates cited by Reuters. Kering attributed the reduced revenue YOY, in part, to a negative currency effect of 5%. Luxury is in a lull As a whole, luxury brands have struggled in recent years, with blame boomeranging be…

Alaska Airlines said its operations have resumed Friday after it had to ground its planes for hours because of an information technology outage. The airline said in a statement that 229 flights were canceled because of the outage and that more flight disruptions were expected as it worked to “reposition aircraft and crews.” Alaska Airlines said it is working on getting travelers affected by the disruption to their destinations. It asked that passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport. The grounding Thursday affected Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights. Hawaiian Airlines, which was bought by Alaska Air Group last year, said its fl…

The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures, on charges of illegal sports betting has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of professional sports gambling across the U.S. Since widespread legalization, the multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy to place wagers on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. It’s just about impossible to go to a basketball, football, baseball or other pro game today — or watch a matchup on TV — without seeing ads for sports betting. Fans can place wagers from their stadium seats, whil…

Toy retail brand Toys “R” Us will open new flagship stores and seasonal holiday shops just in time for the holidays. The initiative is in partnership with specialty retailer Go Retail Group, the company said. The locations will feature products from popular brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Nerf, Lego, and Paw Patrol. Some of the new stores have already opened their doors. According to the company, additional stores will open throughout the season. Here’s where you can shop Consumers will be able to do their holiday shopping at the following new Toys “R” Us locations: Flagship stores: Chicago Premium Outlets — Aurora, IL Camarillo Premium …

President Donald The President was geared up for a show of federal force in San Francisco, a city he’s blasted as everything wrong with liberal governance. Then conversations with some of the Bay Area’s most prominent tech leaders and the mayor changed his mind. “I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, very successful people,” The President told reporters Thursday at the White House, specifically referencing Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable tech companies, and Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce. He said they told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime. “So we are holding off that su…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Since mortgage rates spiked in 2022, many large homebuilders have tried to make homes more affordable by shrinking them, stripping them down, or pushing buyers farther out. Allan Merrill, CEO of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes—a publicly traded builder with a $710 million market capitalization and the 23rd-largest single-family homebuilder last year—believes that’s the wrong approach. “The way I think about it is, I don’t want to sell you a cheaper home,” Merrill told ResiClub last week. “I want to sell you a home that costs you less every month to live i…

Snack maker Mondelez is using a new generative AI tool to cut costs for the production of marketing content by 30% to 50%, a senior executive told Reuters. The packaged food manufacturer began developing the tool last year with IT firm Accenture and expects that it will be capable of making short TV ads that would be ready to air as soon as next year’s holiday season, and potentially for the 2027 Super Bowl, said Jon Halvorson, Mondelez’s global senior vice president of consumer experience. The Cadbury chocolate producer has invested more than $40 million in the tool, Halvorson said, adding that savings would grow if the tool is able to make more elaborate videos.…

You might have a tough time getting your hands on a pumpkin spice latte over the next few days. Starbucks Workers United, the union representing more than 12,000 workers across 650 stores nationwide, is planning to picket and stage rallies outside 60 locations of the coffee chain this weekend. Seventy rallies and pickets will take place from today through November 1, the union said. Today the union will begin voting on a work strike authorization, stemming from demands for new contracts that address better staffing hours, higher pay, and “resolution for hundreds of outstanding unfair labor practice charges,” according to the union. Starbucks has faced a …

This month, Southwest Airlines unveiled a new cabin design that’s already rolling out in new planes across its fleet. It includes slimmer seats, updated amenities, and lots and lots of blue. The new cabin was revealed on October 14, and there are currently six aircrafts in operation with the revamped design. For Southwest, this design is part of what it calls a larger “transformational plan.” So far, that plan has included nixing some of its most iconic brand features—like its “bags fly free” policy and flat cost open seating arrangement—in order to compete in an airline industry that’s increasingly reliant on charging ancillary, “premium” fees to drive up profits. …

China‘s leaders are vowing to reduce reliance on foreign advanced technology and spur stronger domestic demand as it weathers “high winds” amid elevated trade tensions with the U.S. An outline of the ruling Communist Party’s blueprint for the next five years was laid out in a 5,000-word communique released Thursday after a four-day top level meeting in Beijing, just days ahead of planned talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald The President. Five-year plans are a throwback to the days of Soviet-style central planning. China still relies heavily on them to map out policy priorities and decide on funding. Party “plenum” meetings like the on…

The The President administration is deliberately pulling up the welcome mat for people seeking legal status in the United States. This Monday, the federal government rolled out a new civics test for green card holders applying for U.S. citizenship—an exam that critics have said is needlessly more complex than its predecessor. Applicants who filed for naturalization prior to October 20 will continue to take the 2008 version of exam. However, those submitting applications after that date will be subject to the 2025 civics test, with special provisions extended to applicants 65 or older who have been permanent residents for at least 20 years. Matthew Tragesser,…

Three different Coca-Cola sodas are being recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a result of the “potential presence of foreign material (metal) in the product.” Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages LLC ordered the voluntary recall for cans of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola, and Sprite on October 3—which the FDA subsequently announced earlier this week on October 20. “We can confirm all recalled product has been removed from the market,” a Coca-Cola Company spokesperson told Fast Company in an emailed statement. “[We] voluntarily recalled a very limited quantity of [the] 12oz cans (12-, 24-, and 35-packs) in the state of Texas. This action was taken …

It’s time to crown the champion of America’s pastime—even if a Canadian team earned its way into the battle. The first pitch of the 2025 World Series will be thrown out tonight: Friday, October 24. The Toronto Blue Jays will try to stop the Los Angeles Dodgers from becoming the first team since the 2000 Yankees to win consecutive championships. The Blue Jays will also try to prevent Shohei Ohtani from making any baseball history. Both feats are a tall order. Let’s take a look back at how the two teams got here and speculate on Ohtani’s potential firsts before we get into how to watch the World Series. The road to the World Series Ironically, the Blue …

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here. Not everything creative needs a prompt. The Web is increasingly flooded with AI-generated images and videos, much of it aimed at kids. Sometimes it’s nice to break free of that synthetic media. As a dad of 10 and 12-year-old daughters, I appreciate resources for kids and families that celebrate human imagination, curiosity, and hands-on exploration. I had a fruitful recent conversation about resources for kids with a fellow dad, Kevin Maguire, who writes the great newsletter The New Fatherhood. If you’re a dad looking…

This week, news reports revealed that Meta would be cutting hundreds of jobs in its AI division. The layoffs will impact employees who work on AI products, research, and infrastructure. They come after Meta went on a hiring spree to shore up its AI efforts. But despite the job cuts, Meta’s chief AI officer told the Wall Street Journal that the company would, however, continue hiring “AI native” talent—a term that seems to have quietly slipped into the corporate lexicon amid the AI arms race. For the last decade, the term “digital native” has been circulating to describe Gen Z, as many of them don’t know life without the internet. The cohort following them, Generat…

The rules for collecting Social Security are changing in 2026. Two of the most important things to know if you’re collecting benefits: Your monthly check payments will increase, and if you’re planning on collecting benefits before retirement age and still plan to work, your checks could be reduced or even paused. For more on this, read on. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will increase benefits Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 75 million Americans will increase 2.8% in 2026, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Friday. However, due to inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living, ma…

One of Hollywood’s crown jewels is on the block: WarnerBros. Discovery, the parent company of HBO, CNN, and major movie franchises like Harry Potter and the D.C. universe, officially confirmed this week that it is open to a sale. The company has already received multiple offers, but wouldn’t disclose any of the parties bidding for its assets; potential acquirers reportedly include Paramount Skydance, Netflix, Comcast, Amazon and Apple – a who’s who of the modern streaming landscape. The disclosure followed public overtures from Paramount, which reportedly was willing to pay as much as $24 per share, or around $60 billion total, for the publicly traded media company. W…

By noon on a recent Tuesday, my calendar had already decided what kind of manager I would be. Back-to-back 1:1 meetings until the end of the day. Nothing was on fire, yet nothing was moving either. That might be fine in a slow cycle. It is not fine when you are releasing new features in real time and your best engineer has three recruiters in her inbox. In this market, teams don’t just compete on comp alone. They compete on how much freedom they have to actually create and build. We ran a simple test at my company. We canceled the standing 1:1. We kept space for new hires and anything sensitive, like a performance review. Everything else moved to an as needed basis.…

Google Flights is one of the most popular flight aggregators on the web. The site lets users search millions of flights to find the best routes and prices that meet their needs. Unsurprisingly, millions of people use Google Flights to find the best deals on holiday tickets. And the search for cheap flights has also led to many nuggets of so-called conventional wisdom that, if followed, will supposedly help you find the cheapest fares. But with the holidays rapidly approaching and finding the best deals on flights at the top of mind for millions of Americans, I wanted to find out if these bits of conventional wisdom were actually true—particularly when it comes to Goog…