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From the Three Graces in ancient Greek and Roman mythology to the Three Wise Men in the Bible, the number three has been revered throughout history as a symbol of balance and harmony. Jackie and Shadow, the internet-famous bald eagles of Big Bear, California, would probably agree—their last egg has officially hatched, bringing their final chick count this season to three. These little fluffs might not have names yet but that hasn’t stopped 1.73 million people and counting from following their journey. Let’s break down the numbers and timeline of Chick 3’s arrival in the nest. The webcam that captured the attention of the world The bald eagle live streams a…

2025 has not been a good year for retail store closures so far. High-profile chains, including Joann fabrics, Walgreens, and Big Lots, have shuttered locations across the country. And now Dollar General is joining them. Here’s what you need to know. Dollar General Corporation to close 141 stores Dollar General Corporation is the owner of the popular chain of Dollar General discount stores and the PopShelf retail chain. The company has now announced it will shutter 141 stores across both brands. Dollar General Corporation made the store closure announcement yesterday in its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2024 earnings report. As part of that report, the comp…

You don’t need tickets to see Metallica in concert anymore—just a $3,499 Apple Vision Pro headset. Starting today, Apple Vision Pro users can experience Metallica’s 2024 Mexico City concert as an immersive, ultra-high resolution experience complete with 180-degree video and Spatial Audio. The concert, filmed on September 29 as part of the sold-out finale of Metallica’s M72 World Tour, includes fan-favorites like “One” and “Enter Sandman.” “With Metallica on Apple Vision Pro, you feel like you’re right there: front row, backstage, and even on stage with one of the biggest bands of all time,” Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of Marketing Communications, said in a…

Qatar will provide natural gas supplies to Syria with the aim of generating 400 megawatts of electricity a day, in a measure to help address the war-battered country’s severe electricity shortages, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported Friday. Syria’s interim Minister of Electricity Omar Shaqrouq said the Qatari supplies are expected to increase the daily state-provided electricity supply from two to four hours per day. Under the deal, Qatar will send two million cubic meters of natural gas a day to the Deir Ali power station, south of Damascus, via a pipeline passing through Jordan. Qatar’s state-run news agency said that the initiative was part of an ag…

We all know influencing can pay well—but just how well? Philadelphia-based influencer Brandon Edelman, known online as @bran_flakezz, recently went viral on TikTok after revealing he made $768,000 last year, primarily from brand partnerships and creator funds. After taxes and expenses, he pocketed net earnings of just over $300,000. Known for his self-described “feral party content,” Edelman discussed his TikTok career on Your Rich BFF, a finance podcast hosted by Vivian Tu. “So $768,000 is the top number, 20 percent of that goes to management, so we’re down to, like, what $550k? From $550k, $200,000 of that goes to taxes,” Edelman said. “Just the way it goes. Now…

In his February 2025 cover story for The Atlantic, journalist Derek Thompson dubbed our current era “the anti-social century.” He isn’t wrong. According to our recent research, the U.S. is becoming a nation of homebodies. Using data from the American Time Use Survey, we studied how people in the U.S. spent their time before, during, and after the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic did spur more Americans to stay home. But this trend didn’t start or end with the pandemic. We found that Americans were already spending more and more time at home and less and less time engaged in activities away from home stretching all the way back to at least 2003. And if you t…

Gucci announced Thursday that the Balenciaga artistic director Demna will take over the creative direction of the Italian luxury fashion house, starting in July. Gucci and its French parent Kering said in a statement that Demna “has redefined modern luxury, earning global recognition and cementing his authority on the industry.” Demna, who goes by one name, has been at Kering-owned Balenciaga for a decade. He brings with him the title of artistic director. “I am truly excited to join the Gucci family,” he said in a statement. “It is an honor to contribute to a house that I deeply respect and have long admired.” Demna showed his latest and last Balenciaga ready-to-wear…

Twelve people were taken to hospitals after an American Airlines plane landed at Denver International Airport on Thursday and caught fire, prompting slides to be deployed so passengers could evacuate quickly. All of the people transported to hospitals had minor injuries, according to a post on the social platform X by Denver International Airport. Flight 1006, which was headed from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth, diverted to Denver and landed safely around 5:15 p.m. after the crew reported engine vibrations, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. While taxiing to the gate, an engine on the Boeing 737-800 caught fire, the FAA added. …

As Trevor Murphy pulls up to his dad’s 20-acre (8-hectare) grove in one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, he points to the cookie-cutter, one-story homes encroaching on the orange trees from all sides. “At some point, this isn’t going to be an orange grove anymore,” Murphy, a third-generation grower, says as he gazes at the rows of trees in Lake Wales, Florida. “You look around here, and it’s all houses, and that’s going to happen here.” Polk County, which includes Lake Wales, contains more acres of citrus than any other county in Florida. And in 2023, more people moved to Polk County than any other county in the country. Hit in recent years by hurr…

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning that more than a million taxpayers are still eligible to receive a share of more than $1 billion in refunds—but they need to act quickly. Here’s what you need to know. Over $1 billion in refunds still to be claimed The refunds are due to people who have yet to file their 2021 tax return. The IRS says the total potential value of the refunds still to be claimed is estimated to be $1,025,336,800. As many as 1,142,000 taxpayers are eligible for part of that payout and the median refund amount is estimated to be $781 per taxpayer, the agency says. That means half of the people who are due refunds will receive…

If you’ve bought bottled water from Trader Joe’s, you’ll want to be aware of a recent recall published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). That’s because the recall involves water in glass bottles that present a laceration risk. In total, about 61,500 bottles are included in the recall. Here’s what you need to know. What is being recalled? The recall involves select lots of Gerolsteiner brand sparkling water sold at Trader Joe’s. The water was manufactured by Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG in Germany. Here are the details of the recalled product: Product name: Gerolsteiner 750ml Sparkling Water Bottles Lot numbers: 11/28/2024 …

State officials are warning Americans not to respond to a surge of scam road toll collection texts. The texts impersonating state road toll collection agencies attempt to get phone users to reveal financial information, such as credit or debit cards or bank accounts. They’re so-called smishing scams — a form of phishing that relies on SMS texts to trick people into sending money or share sensitive information. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she received one purporting to be from the statewide GeauxPass toll system. “It is a SCAM,” Murrill posted on Facebook this week. “If you ever receive a text that looks suspicious, be sure to never click on it. You don…

In Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose, Martha Beck, PhD, writes that “anxiety always lies.” When I asked her why, she highlighted one of the book’s central teachings: When you seek the truth beneath your anxious thoughts, you discover that many of them aren’t real. This newfound awareness is transformative. It dismantles anxiety’s prevailing narrative that in order to be safe, you must live in fear. “So many people tell me: But, the world is in bad shape right now,” Beck shares. “I say: Yes, and doesn’t that require us to show up as our calmest, most committed, and competent selves?” “Anxiety does not do that, it just tells li…

Nothing strikes fear in a leader’s heart more than an upcoming announcement. Yet big changes and announcements are the turning point for many organizations. Whether its layoffs, acquisitions, launches, or reorganizations, the pressure to “get it right” is real. Company performance, team morale, retention, and public image are all on the line. Unfortunately, most leaders rely on advisers and experts when it comes to how, when, and what to communicate. Well-meaning attorneys, publicists, or CFOs typically water down the message, and the company ends up with something that is factual but uninspiring. Oftentimes, that message is also ambiguous with no plan, next steps, or…

If optimizing your social media privacy settings feels important but overwhelming, a company called Block Party may be able to help. Founder and CEO Tracy Chou has long been known for advocating for diversity in the tech industry. And like many diversity advocates, and women and people of color in technology, she’s experienced plenty of harassment online, along with outright stalking. She founded Block Party after realizing that tech platforms themselves didn’t make it particularly easy to optimize settings for privacy and security. The initial Block Party product focused on the platform then called Twitter, helping users easily filter out spam, harassment, and o…

As the 30th season of Major League Soccer (MLS) kicked off last month, the league unveiled an interesting new design addition: Each of its 30 teams sported a custom Apple TV logo on the left sleeve of its uniform featuring the colors and graphic elements of the team’s identity incorporated within the familiar Apple icon. For example, the Chicago Fire version includes the six-pointed star from the city’s flag and the team’s crest, while Atlanta United’s is filled with the characteristic five red and black stripes that adorn the club’s shirt. This effort, part of MLS’s 10-year deal with Apple to stream the league’s matches, represents an innovative step forward in its appro…

Building a high-growth business is all about timing and making the right moves at the right moments. Whether it’s knowing when to expand into new retail spaces or recognizing a buzzy product that can skyrocket your brand, the journey is full of strategic decisions and challenges. As founders scale their businesses, they must navigate everything from cash flow management to mastering social media. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in determining how a business can not only grow but thrive in a competitive market. This past weekend at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW, Danielle Guizio, owner and designer of Guizio; Kat Hantas, cofounder of tequila brand 21Seeds;…

On the morning of January 14, 2025, just hours before my stress test during an annual physical, I received devastating news from a colleague at a global financial institution. A 45-year-old Black man, a highly respected managing director at our firm, had unexpectedly died from a heart ailment. While texts of grief poured in from mourning colleagues throughout the day, I was struck by a sobering realization. I had become disturbingly accustomed to hearing such tragic news about successful Black men in professional circles. Just a few months earlier, another industry peer—the first Black chief information officer of a major U.S. bank—suffered a debilitating stroke that …