What's on Your Mind?

America’s defense technology sector is rapidly expanding. Top talent, ambitious founders, and serious capital are flooding into a mission that matters, delivering products and solutions that will send us to the moon, deploy unimaginably capable unmanned aerial devices, and redefine what’s possible in modern warfare. It’s an exciting moment—one full of possibility and potential. But here’s the problem: while everyone is focused on the moonshots, we’re overlooking the foundation. The unsexy stuff. The quiet, mission-critical gaps that don’t make headlines but could leave us dangerously vulnerable. We’re building skyscrapers without checking if the ground beneath us is s…

Delaware is trying to protect its status as the corporate capital of the world amid fallout from a judge’s rejection of billionaire Elon Musk’s landmark Tesla compensation package, although critics say fast-tracked legislation will tilt the playing field against investors, including pensioners and middle-class savers. A Delaware House committee was expected to vote Wednesday on the bill, which is backed by Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer who says it’ll ensure the state remains the “premier home for U.S. and global businesses” to incorporate. Backers say it’ll modernize the law and maintain balance between corporate officers and shareholders in a state where the courts, for a…

Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs on Monday after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash. Deliveroo announced the bid after markets closed in Europe on Friday. On Monday, the company also said that it was suspending a $133.5 million share buyback it had announced last month. Deliveroo said Friday that its board has informed DoorDash that if a firm offer is made at the financial terms provided, it will recommend the bid to its shareholders. Deliveroo added that its board has decided to engage in talks with DoorDash about the possible offer and has given the company access to du…

The return-to-office (RTO) push at companies such as Amazon and AT&T—which both required employees to be back in the office full-time this month—has been met with discontent and frustration from much of their workforces. Some Amazon employees have said they are looking for new jobs, if they haven’t left already, while people at both companies have reportedly struggled to even find an open desk. But other leaders are not letting the prospect of low morale or limited workspace derail their plans to return to the office full time in 2025. According to a memo obtained by Business Insider, the latest addition to the mix is Dell, which had already tested the waters with…

Dell on Tuesday nearly doubled its annual profit growth target for the next four years, betting on robust demand for its servers that power artificial intelligence workloads. The company, whose customers include Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI and CoreWeave, lifted its expectations for annual growth in adjusted earnings per share to at least 15% from around 8%. Dell also said it expects compounded annual revenue growth between 7% and 9% for the next four years, up from its prior view of 3% to 4%. Insatiable demand for servers that provide the computing power needed to run services such as ChatGPT has turned Dell into one of the biggest winners of the generative AI …

Deloitte Australia will partially refund the 440,000 Australian dollars ($290,000) paid by the Australian government for a report that was littered with apparent AI-generated errors, including a fabricated quote from a federal court judgment and references to nonexistent academic research papers. The financial services firm’s report to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was originally published on the department’s website in July. A revised version was published Friday after Chris Rudge, a Sydney University researcher of health and welfare law, said he alerted the media that the report was “full of fabricated references.” Deloitte had reviewed th…

A passenger jet flipped onto its roof while landing in Toronto, Canada, the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. While at least 18 people were injured, all 80 people on board the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis survived the crash Monday. Here are some things to know about the crash: What caused the airplane to flip? Communications between the tower at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and the pilot were normal on approach and right now it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down. Were strong winds a factor in the crash? Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken has said the runway was dry …

The longest government shutdown on record cost Delta Air Lines an estimated $200 million, CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday in the first disclosure by a U.S. airline regarding the shutdown’s financial impact. Bastian told investors that refunds “grew significantly” while bookings slowed amid the uncertainty in air travel caused by the 43-day shutdown, contributing to Delta’s loss of about 25 cents per share. The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, led to long delays at major airports and historic flight cancellations at 40 of the country’s busiest airports as more unpaid air traffic controllers missed work, citing additional stress and the need to take on side jobs. As the shutdo…

After watching videos of a Delta Air Lines jet catch fire upon landing and flip over on a Toronto runway, it’s fair to wonder how anyone could have survived. But aviation experts said it was not surprising that all 76 passengers and four crew walked away from Monday’s disaster, with 21 people suffering minor injuries and only one still hospitalized on Wednesday. It’s a credit, they said, to advances in plane design as well as a crew that flawlessly executed an evacuation plan. “When I first saw (footage of) that aircraft upside down at the airport, I was like: ‘How can that happen? And how can anybody survive that?’” Michael McCormick, an assistant professor and p…

Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed. “Every day that goes by, the…

As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people. The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children. The Danish government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their…

Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) told investors it is closing another 30 restaurants, for a total of 180 closures combined in 2024 and 2025, while reporting fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. (It had previously said it would close a total of 150 locations.) The move is part of the restaurant chain’s plan to jumpstart its waning growth. Denny’s, like many fast-food and casual-dining chains, has been struggling in recent years due to inflation, changing customer habits, and skyrocketing food prices. It’s just one of many major chains to announce store closures recently, a list that includes TGI Fridays, Shake Shack, and Wendy’s as well. But Denny’s told Fast Compa…

Denny’s is the latest restaurant chain to add a temporary egg surcharge due to the rising cost of eggs caused by a nationwide shortage and the current bird flu outbreak. Last month, Waffle House added an upcharge of 50 cents per egg. Meanwhile, many supermarket chains, including Trader Joe’s, Market Basket, and big-box retailers including Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club, have raised prices and limited the number of cartons shoppers can buy. “This pricing decision is market-by-market, and restaurant-by-restaurant due to the regional impacts of the egg shortage,” Denny’s told Fast Company in a statement. “We will continue to look for ways to provide options on our m…

Denny’s said Monday that it’s being acquired by a group of investors in a deal that will take the breakfast chain private. Denny’s board unanimously approved the deal, which values Denny’s at $620 million including debt. Denny’s will be purchased by private equity investment company TriArtisan Capital Advisors, investment firm Treville Capital and Yadav Enterprises, which is one of Denny’s largest franchisees. Under the agreement, Denny’s shareholders will receive $6.25 per share in cash for each share of Denny’s common stock they own, or a total of $322 million. That represents a 52% premium to Denny’s closing stock price Monday. Denny’s shares jumped 47% in after-hour…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. A beautiful object, expertly designed, can bring you joy throughout your busy day, unless you are unable to use it because of a permanent, temporary, or situational disability. How does design fail or succeed in creating an inclusive experience for all? As CEO of Michael Graves Design, I am deeply committed to advancing the functionality and accessibility of everyday products, with a special…

As society becomes increasingly aware of people’s diverse needs, accessible design has become the hot topic. Years ago at Michael Graves Design, our president Donald Strum, our chief design officer Rob Van Varick, and I were reviewing student portfolios. All the designs were about sustainability. Today, we see a lot of focus on accessibility. We love it. This makes sense, because gaining empathy for your products’ future users is at the core of product design. The design community is ready for accessibility. Our challenge today is proving that it makes great business sense. At Michael Graves Design, we have long embraced accessible design; our North Star is activities…