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Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart. This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft’s self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for…

Airbnb may finally pay the price of long-simmering tensions about overtourism in Spain. The Spanish government announced on Monday that it has fined the online rentals giant 64 million euros ($75 million) for advertising unlicensed rental listings in the country. This decision is the latest in several months of back-and-forths, as the government previously ordered Airbnb to remove more than 120,000 listings it identified as unlicensed. While Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry said the fine was a final decision and couldn’t be appealed, San Francisco-based Airbnb is reportedly planning to challenge it in court. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request fo…

In special education in the U.S., funding is scarce and personnel shortages are pervasive, leaving many school districts struggling to hire qualified and willing practitioners. Amid these long-standing challenges, there is rising interest in using artificial intelligence tools to help close some of the gaps that districts currently face and lower labor costs. Over 7 million children receive federally funded entitlements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees students access to instruction tailored to their unique physical and psychological needs, as well as legal processes that allow families to negotiate support. Special education…

AI has become a race, but we’re mistaking velocity for progress. Companies are competing to deploy the latest model. Product teams are racing to ship new features. Nations are racing to claim technological dominance. Speed is the metric of the moment: Who can scale fastest? Who can automate more? Who can move first? In the short term, that logic makes sense. Yet speed is a fragile advantage. Eighty-four percent of enterprises plan to increase investment in AI agents this year. AI is moving from an assistive tool to autonomous systems. That shift changes everything. Model size and deployment velocity will not define the next era of AI. It will be defined by…

A teenager who admitted being “addicted to speed” behind the wheel had totaled two other cars in the year before he slammed into a minivan at 112 mph (180 kph) in a Seattle suburb, killing the driver and three of the five children she was transporting for a homeschool co-op. After sentencing Chase Daniel Jones last month to more than 17 years in prison, the judge tacked on a novel condition should he drive again: His vehicle must be equipped with a device that prevents accelerating far beyond the speed limit. Virginia this year became the first state to give its judges such a tool to deal with the most dangerous drivers on the road. Washington, D.C., already is using it…

As the festive season gets into full swing, young corporate employees are taking to social media to flex their high-budget company holiday parties. “My company just brought in a whole glam squad to do our hair and makeup in the office before our holiday party,” one TikTok creator posted. The video shows an office full of employees getting their hair curled and makeup touched up. “Sometimes I love corporate America,” she wrote in the caption. The comments were full of people desperate to know which company, and industry, she works in. “My company has an $11 per person food budget,” one wrote. “This is pre-covid tech company energy and I love it for you,” ano…

Spirit Airlines is hanging on by a thread –but it is hanging on. The budget airline announced a plan Tuesday that would put it on track to exit its second bankruptcy in less than two years and stay in operation. The arrangement will keep the company alive while shrinking its expenses and operations down to an even smaller size than what it aimed for during its first bankruptcy, which it filed for in November 2024. With financial support from its creditors, Spirit says it plans to emerge from bankruptcy in late spring or early summer. The company plans to keep its core identity as a value carrier that can still offer fliers “the lowest fares in the sky” while bolst…

Spirit Airlines has rejected a merger offer with Frontier as it prepares to exit bankruptcy. Wednesday, Frontier made its second offer to merge with the bankrupt Spirit Airlines, but Spirit rejected it on the grounds that it was financially insufficient. In 2022, Frontier offered to acquire Spirit for $2.9 billion, but the offer was ultimately rejected when Spirit chose to accept a higher offer from JetBlue (which was later blocked for antitrust concerns). Frontier Airlines put forward its current merger offer in hopes of creating a strong, low-fare airline together. “We have long believed a combination with Spirit would allow us to unlock additional v…

With Black Friday just about three weeks away, retailers and shoppers have one thing on their mind—Christmas, the busiest and most profitable time of the year. And now, with Halloween behind us, Spirit Halloween has pivoted to holiday-themed Spirit Christmas, featuring festive decor, gifts, holiday apparel, and interactive displays—including nutcrackers, inflatable lawn Santas, and ugly Christmas sweaters. The retail chain, owned by Spencer Gifts, launched nearly a dozen Spirit Christmas stores throughout the Northeast in 2024. This year, Spirit Christmas is opening 30 store locations in 12 states in the Northeast and Great Lakes area, including its flagship …

Spirit Airlines looks like it’s getting spirited away. The airline is preparing to shut down, after attempts to establish a $500 million bailout from the The President administration fell through, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Negotiations for the government lifeline had been underway for weeks as Spirit’s cash reserves dwindled, but investors have reportedly balked at the prospect of the federal government becoming a majority owner of the company. Despite reports saying that the company is prepping to cease operations, a company spokesperson declined to comment when asked by Fast Company, and said that “Spirit is operating as usual.” O…

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…

Would you want to be in a group chat with your favorite sports celebrities and athletes? You’ll have your chance this fall thanks to a collaboration between WhatsApp and OffBall. OffBall, a year-old sports media startup that focuses on careful curation for its followers, announced on Friday that it was bringing back The Chat, which it had previously conducted with sports stars such as LeBron James. The franchise is designed to get users to participate in big group chats and discuss sports or anything else. High-profile personalities—such as professional athletes or others—also take part, and everyone can text or message each other like any other group chat, or s…

In 2021, newly relocated to San Francisco from New York City, Danielle Snyder Shorenstein went with her husband to her first Golden State Warriors game. She wasn’t a sports fan, really, and especially not a Bay Area sports fan. “I identify as a New Yorker,” she says. Having owned and run a fashion and jewelry brand called Dannijo with her sister, Jodie Snyder Morel, since 2008, and looking around at the game merch, she thought to herself how unlikely she’d be to wear any of it. Over the course of the season, Shorenstein continued to go to games with her husband and began experimenting with her own take on fanwear. She cut up a jersey, added a crochet collar, some cry…

The bible tells us to “love your enemies,” and major sports teams seem to be taking that doctrine seriously. Or at least their stadium concession stands are. Fans come to stadiums for the game, but they almost always indulge in the food, too—which typically reflects the cuisine of their home team’s city. But now, baseball and football stadiums have begun offering some local bites of their opponents’ teams in a bid to sell more concessions. On March 27, Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, stadium food for the Washington Nationals will offer a new signature concession item: a platter of loaded nachos dubbed the “Stolen Plate Special.” The toppings on those cheesy…

Utah-based outdoor retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse may be closing some of its stores in the near future. “As part of the Company’s review of its stores, we have identified about five stores for potential closure due to underperformance and lack of profitability,” Sportsman’s Warehouse wrote in its Fiscal Year 2025 financial results press release. Sportsman’s Warehouse did not respond to Fast Company’s request for comment on which stores it identified at the time of publication. Sportsman’s Warehouse has 148 locations spread across 32 different states. The brand is mostly centered around western states, with 17 stores in California, 14 in Washington, and 13 in U…

Shares in Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT), the world’s largest music streamer, are surging this morning. As of this writing, the Swedish company’s stock price is up 18% to above $489 per share after the company reported blowout fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings. Here’s what you need to know. Spotify’s Q4 2025 surpasses expectations On Tuesday, Spotify reported its Q4 2025 earnings, which outpaced investor expectations. Here are the music streamer’s most salient metrics for the quarter, which ended on December 31: Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 751 million (up 11% year over year) Premium Subscribers: 290 million (up 10% year over year) Total Reven…

When a new song attributed to country singer Blaze Foley, “Together,” appeared on his Spotify profile last year, something didn’t seem right. For starters, Foley had been dead for more than two decades, and the cover art featured AI artwork of a man who wasn’t Foley, and the song wasn’t uploaded by Foley’s longtime distributor. Fake tracks have appeared on various artist profiles, including easy-listening act The Sweet Enoughs, and Australian bands Alpha Wolf and Thy Art Is Murder. Smaller artists are not safe either, with musician Catherine Brennan taking to TikTok saying “in the past two weeks I’ve had two albums released under my name that are not mine.” Spoti…

Starting today, you can use Spotify to knock out a 10-minute Pilates session, a weighted glutes circuit, or a bit of morning yoga. The music platform just announced its first foray into the fitness world (not counting the 150 million user-generated playlists on the app, of course). Under the new “Fitness” section, all users will be able to access a library of content, including follow-along videos, from popular fitness creators like Chloe Ting and Yoga with Kassandra. The new feature also includes a partnership with Peloton, which makes a catalog of more than 1,400 ad-free Peloton classes available to Spotify’s Premium subscribers. Whether you’re a runner, weight…

Everything from coffee to a used car is more expensive these days, and now your music streaming service is too. Spotify announced this week that it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers – again. Spotify Premium plans will jump up to $12.99 from $11.99 starting with the next billing date. The streamer last increased prices for U.S. users in 2024 after a decade-plus run of charging $9.99 for ad-free listening on its premium individual streaming plan. The main individual plan isn’t the only Spotify subscription getting a price hike. Discounted student plans are getting bumped up to $6.99 from $5.99, the Duo two-person plan will go to $18.99 from $16.99 and the stre…

Shares of Spotify Technology SA were put on the spot this morning as the Swedish audio-streaming company announced that CEO Daniel Ek will be transitioning out of the role at the end of the year. He will be replaced by two new co-CEOs: Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s current co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer. Ek will remain with the company and oversee its long-term strategy and capital allocation, and provide guidance in his new role as chairman of the board. Kicking and streaming Investors may take some time to absorb the news. Spotify stock, listed in the U.S. and trading on t…

Shares in music streamer Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) are up nearly 9% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings results for its fiscal 2024. It was a quarter that ended the music streamer’s first full year of profitability. And saw many important metrics increase by double-digit percentages. Here’s what you need to know about Spotify’s Q4 2024 earnings. SPOT Q4 2024 earnings by the numbers Spotify posted several investor-pleasing metrics today. Here are the main highlights of Spotify’s Q4 2024: Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 675 million (up 12% Y/Y) Premium subscribers: 263 million (up 11% Y/Y) Tot…

Spotify Wrapped 2025 is here, and it’s inspired by mixtapes, DIY aesthetics, and all things pre-internet. After plenty of anticipation, Wrapped has now debuted for the eleventh year in a row. As public interest in Wrapped has mounted exponentially each year—and other brands have flocked to dupe the format—Spotify has been compelled to continuously up the ante on its own design concept, and this year is no exception. Wrapped 2025 comes with 12 brand new features, each intended to make the experience more personalized than years past. In the music world (and everywhere else), 2025 has been a year dominated by conversation around the explosion of AI technology. In S…

The numbers are in for Spotify Wrapped: After the streaming music app dropped its popular year-in-review recap for 2025, the company said it has already seen a huge increase in user engagement, hitting 200 million users just 24 hours after the recap’s release, a 19% increase year-over-year (YOY). Compare that with last year, when it took 62 hours to hit that same number. Why the uptick in user engagement? One reason could be because the platform is growing. A look at the numbers shows Spotify’s monthly active users grew 11% YOY to 713 million in Q3 of 2025, according to the company’s third quarter earnings report. Spotify Wrapped is for sharing Sharing …