If its one thing that can consistently break the internet, its pets.
Take Pancho the diva: The 1-year-old English cream mini dachshund started his career early in the fame-hungry world of LA, and is now a celebrity with 148,000 followers on Instagram.
We created this personality of this dog that is a diva and a brat who loves the lavish, luxury lifestylebut his poor little parents cant afford it, says his owner, Felix Levine, entrepreneur and host of the popular podcast Unlike Me. He and Serena Kerrigan, founder of the dating game Lets F**ing Date, are seasoned content creators, so when friends joked about giving their new dog an online persona, the idea stuck.
We thought maybe a Dear Diary, I hate my parents vibe, Felix recalls.
The content quickly evolved into vlogs with AI-powered voice-overs, where Pancho shared his spoiled rants at his parents. And the idea gained momentum: from Central Park to a European summer, Panchos following snowballedgaining 30,000 followers in just two weeks.
Brands took notice. Panchos first deal was with Five Below, followed by partnerships with Pet Life Unlimited, Target, Amazon, and even Kiehls. (Yes, the skincare giant now has a dog line). From toys to gourmet snacks and premium grooming, each partnership was endorsed with his signature diva flair.
Serena Kerrigan and Pancho [Photo: Courtesy of Felix Levine]
The pups collabs don’t scream ‘ads’, and thats precisely why it works. In the last month alone, his posts reached 24 million viewers and drew over 9 million engagements, a rate many of his fellow human influencers would feel a twinge of envy for. With affiliate links, brand partnerships, and his own storefront, Pancho has a mini-media empireand hes only turning one.
Levine and Kerrigan declined to disclose exactly how much revenue Pancho has generated, but confirm its in the six figures.
The “petfluencer” trend isn’t new. But it’s just as profitable as ever.
Charming, and delivers results
A study published earlier this year in The Journal of Advertising Research found that pet influencers outperform human influencers, particularly since theyre seen as more sincere and trustworthy than their human counterparts, who are often met with skepticism due to perceived commercial motives.
Social media endorsements from petfluencers have been shown to generate stronger consumer responses, including higher engagement and greater willingness to pay.
Pancho [Photo: Courtesy of Felix Levine]
Lead researcher Dr. Laura Lavertu, a lecturer in marketing at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, echoes this idea: Petfluencers offer distinct advantages compared to human social media influencers. While human influencers often persuade through relatability or aspiration, petfluencers are seen as more genuine. They have no hidden agenda, no baggage, no scandals.
The study also noted that as the number of sponsored posts by human influencers rises, their perceived sincerity declinesa phenomenon researchers call influencer fatigue, which in turn makes pets a more credible alternative. (The more fur or legs you have, the more credible you are, apparently.)
Some have even become household names: As reported by Forbes, TikTok user @princesshoneybellex, a big-shot Australian cat influencer, earned $74,148 in 2023 alone, surpassing the U.S. average salary.
Could your pet create a cash flow?
Our four-legged friends offer brands countless opportunities in the pet care market, which is anticipated to reach over $427.75 billion by 2032.
And its not just pet-focused companies cashing inlarger brands like Dyson are tapping into the rise of petfluencers, partnering with celebrity pups to extend their reach in a way that resonates directly with pet owners.
In today’s oversaturated media landscape, where ads are swarming from every corner, partnering with a celeb pet might be your smartest marketing move.
As noted by The Journal of Advertising Research, people follow and engage with petfluencers for the joy and entertainment that they bring, and are, overall, universally loved given their ability to communicate with diverse audiences and transcend cultural differences.
When Pancho first came home weighing just a pound and a half, his owners thought they were getting a dog. As it turns out, hes now running his own business, landing brand dealseen managing his own intern to keep up with his demanding schedule.
Leaders learn to say things with confidence. You may assume that people will be more prone to listen to you when you speak forcefully and with a sense of belief. Despite your best efforts, though, youre going to say something incorrect every now and again. You might get out ahead of a story only to find out that things were not as they seemed initially. You might just have your facts wrong.
Regardless of why you erred, you still have to be willing to admit that you were wrong.
Happily, there is an easy way to do this, though you may find it hard to do at first.
You have to admit you were wrong. Yup. Thats right. You just have to come out and say it. There is a simple formula for admitting you were wrong.
Do it right away
Let everyone know as soon as possible after you find out that you said something that was not correct. Dont sit on the error for days. It is best if everyone hears it from you rather than having someone else discover the mistake first and make your admission feel like a reaction.
Of course, if someone else does point out that what you said was incorrect, you should verify that they are correct and then immediately thank them for providing the feedback. You might even credit them in your statement
After all, you want the people who work for you and with you to own their mistakes. The best way to demonstrate that you value corrections is to issue your own quickly. In addition, by thanking people who pointed out errors, you encourage others to step forward with errors they notice as well. That helps to keep the organization functioning with good knowledge.
Use simple declarative sentences
There is some embarrassment that can come along with making mistakesparticularly when youre new to leadership. You may think that leaders need to be infallible. As a result, you may not want to put a dent in your reputation by saying that you were wrong.
To cover for this embarrassment, you may use tortured sentences to avoid owning the error. You may resort to the passive voice (Mistakes were made . . .) or use lots of qualifiers (When speaking about the upcoming sales meeting, I inadvertently left out . . .) or cast blame elsewhere (Sadly, when I spoke, I was relying on . . .)
It turns out that great leaders dont need an air of infallibility, they need to project transparency. You create trust by being honest, not by being right all the time. Simply saying something like, Recently, I told you X. Actually, Y is true, is incredibly effective. And, again, speaking in this way encourages other members of your team to come forward and admit when they have said something wrong.
Do a postmortem
Of course, just because you admit when youre wrong doesnt mean that it is good to be wrong. Youd like to minimize the number of times that you have to walk back something you said.
It is important to figure out why you ended up making a statement that was not true. Perhaps you spoke too quickly without verifying information. Perhaps you relied on sources that did not have the full story. Perhaps you made intuitive leaps that led you astray.
If you have trouble figuring out how you might have gone wrong, consider talking to a colleague or mentor about the situation and walking through it with them. You might find that just talking it through helps you to figure out where you went wrong. And their expertise may bring to light problems with your process that led to you saying something wrong.
When mentoring some of your direct reports, you might even want to refer to the errors in your own judgment that you discover. That way, you can help the people working for you to make a different set of mistakes rather than having to repeat yours to learn for themselves.
We are living in turbulent times and there is no reason to expect that things will become less so in the future. During such moments our emotions become strained and pushed to their limits. Stress increases as emotions are stretched, making it increasingly important that we are able to recognize the effects of it in ourselves as well as others in our environment.
[Image: Dexterity Books]
Becoming acutely aware of ourselves and others we are interacting with in this type of environment is paramount to building healthy relationships in the workplace and all areas of our lives. In my book, Emotional Intelligence Game Changers, I delve into how to navigate difficult times. Here are four ways emotional intelligence can help you navigate turbulent times.
1. Manage triggers
During crisis situations, heightened emotional self-awareness allows us to recognize our triggers. Rather than reacting from our emotions, this allows us to pause, take time out, and respond after we have allowed our emotions to settle down and think things through from a rational perspective. This helps us make reasoned decisions, rather than acting impulsively from our emotions.
2. Sustain relationships
Turbulent times can cause relationships to become strained as everyone feels increased pressure. If this is left unchecked, relationships that would normally stay positive could become fractured. To prevent this, we need to become more empathic and actively listen to others. Emotionally intelligent people have learned to use these tools to help overcome misunderstandings, build support networks, and develop a sense of collaboration and community around them.
3. Build coping strategies
It is hardly surprising that turbulent times cause our stress levels to elevate to new highs. Emotionally intelligent people have developed coping strategies that help them thrive, even during times of unusually high stress. For example, they are aware of and continually practice asking for help, mindfulness, openness, and strategic vulnerability. Modeling these habits helps others they are involved with build their own coping strategies.
4. Deescalate conflict
Conflicts, which are a constant in normal times, will spiral during troubled times, both in intensity and frequency. This requires increased empathy and the ability to listen to and get to know others on a deeper, more personal level. Emotional intelligence allows us to go beyond surface biases and stereotypes as it allows for more curiosity in our interactions with others.
Instead of jumping to judgement and conclusions, it allows us to dig deeper to find out what the other person is going through during this time. Instead of reacting, emotional intelligence allows us to ask relevant questions that will help lower defenses and find out more about what motivates and drives others. Being able to form connections at a deeper level allows us to gain a much better understanding of what motivates and drives them. Even though we may not agree with them, this sets up the basis for a much healthier relationship with them.
As the founder, chair, and CEO of the Exceptional Women Alliance, I am fortunate to be surrounded by extraordinary female business leaders. Our purpose is to empower each other through peer mentorship that provides personal and professional fulfillment within this unique sisterhood.
This month, Im pleased to introduce Sammie Dabbs. Sammie is passionate about building and scaling high-performing commercial organizations. As chief commercial officer, she oversees revenue strategy, sales, and marketing alignmentdriving growth through a combination of operational rigor and customer-centric innovation. With a proven track record of leading teams, entering new markets, and unlocking sustainable revenue, Sammie brings a front-line perspective on how companies can thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex business landscape.
Q: As a chief commercial officer, how do you define your core mandate?
Dabbs: My mandate is to be the architect of growth. That means aligning sales, marketing, customer success, and revenue operations into one unified strategy. I dont see these as separate functionstheyre different parts of the same engine. My job is to ensure that engine runs smoothly, efficiently, and with clear direction. Ultimately, a CCO has to deliver consistent revenue performance, but the path there requires strategy, executional discipline, and a relentless focus on the customer.
Q: Why is sales and marketing alignment such a challenge for many organizations?
Dabbs: Sales and marketing often grow up in silosdifferent metrics, different budgets, different perspectives. Marketing says, We delivered leads. Sales says, Those leads arent qualified. Its a cycle of finger-pointing that hurts the business. Alignment requires shared ownership of pipeline, shared KPIs, and constant communication. In my role, I set a single commercial target, so everyone is working toward the same number. When sales and marketing win together, the customer feels it.
Q: What have you found to be the biggest barrier to growth?
Dabbs: Complexity. Companies layer on too many tools, too many initiatives, too many prioritiesand in the process, they lose focus. The real barrier isnt the market; its internal misalignment. Ive seen teams hit their stride when we strip away the noise, focus on ideal customers, and empower reps with clear messaging and support. Simplicity and executional discipline will beat complexity every time.
Q: Whats your approach to leading a commercial team?
Dabbs: I believe in clarity and accountability. Teams need to know the strategy, their role in it, and how success will be measured. Then its about coaching for execution and celebrating wins along the way. Im very data-driven, but data is only useful if it drives action. I set targets, track outcomes, and make adjustments in real time. At the same time, I want teams to feel empowered to bring forward ideas from the fieldwe learn the most from our customers.
Q: How do you think about the role of marketing in driving revenue?
Dabbs: Marketing is no longer just a brand functionits a revenue driver. A strong marketing team generates demand, accelerates pipeline, and positions sales to succeed. But that only happens when marketing is tied directly to commercial strategy and accountable for pipeline contribution alongside sales. When marketing owns revenue, they create campaigns that resonate with buyers, not just campaigns that look good on paper.
Q: Technology is changing the commercial function rapidly. Whats your philosophy on tools like AI and automation?
Dabbs: Technology is essential, but its not the strategyits the amplifier. AI and automation can make sales and marketing faster and smarter, but they dont replace human judgment or relationships. My philosophy is: Get the fundamentals right first. If you dont have clear positioning, a disciplined process, and strong teams, no tool will save you. But if you do, then technology allows you to scale, personalize, and optimize in powerful ways.
Q: Can you share an example of a commercial pivot that made a major impact?
Dabbs: One example is when we restructured our go-to-market model to focus on fewer, higher-value customer segments. Instead of spreading resources thin across too many markets, we doubled down on accounts where we could deliver outsized value. That shift required marketing to retool messaging and sales to change their targeting, but the results were dramatichigher win rates, shorter sales cycles, and better customer retention. Sometimes growth is about addition, but more often its about focus.
Q: If you had to give one piece of advice to other executives leading commercial teams, what would it be?
Dabbs: Treat growth as a company-wide responsibility, not just a sales number. Every functionproduct, finance, operationscontributes to the customer experience. As CCOs, we have to be the integrators, making sure the entire business is aligned around delivering value to customers. When you break down silos and build a culture of accountability, growth becomes sustainable.
Larraine Segil is founder, chair, and CEO of The Exceptional Women Alliance.
Many organizations are racing to build AI strategies, but too often they focus on adopting the latest tech, rather than creating the environment to support it. The reality is that lasting transformation is fueled by people, which requires companies to take a good look at their culture.
At Architech, thats exactly what we did. By prioritizing and rewarding innovation, we aligned our culture with our AI strategyand it worked. This year, we are proud to be recognized as one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Workplaces. We are one of 10 companies globally recognized by Fast Company for excellence in AI, automation, and machine learning.
Heres how we built an award-winning culture.
MAKE INNOVATION REPEATABLE
Innovation comes from people. At Architech, we operationalized that idea by creating an Innovation Lab, a dedicated R&D space where curiosity thrives and exceptional geeks are celebrated as heroes.
Backed by a 10% reinvestment of revenue, our Innovation Lab provides the time and tools to tackle real problems. One of our standout successes: an intelligent collections application that earned a spotlight in Microsofts AI Lunch and Learn series. Infrastructure and investment create a foundation for continuous innovation, enabling organizations to tackle its top priorities.
INNOVATION THRIVES WHEN EVERYONE PARTICIPATES
We launched a company-wide AI Innovation Challenge in September, 2024 inviting every employee to identify their own workplace challenge to solve and to tackle organizational inefficiencies using AI.
Over three months, cross-functional teams reimagined workflows and built automation tools that reduced friction, accelerated delivery, and inspired new client offerings. The challenge sparked experimentation and breakthroughs from the bottom-up. Among the most impactful was an automated quality assurance testing system that improved consistency and freed our teams to focus on creativity. We celebrated winning ideas at the town hall and they became a badge of honor for employees. We continue to spotlight the most creative employee-led breakthroughs with a monthly AI Innovation Award.
Innovation happens when people are given the tools, trust, and time to experiment.
LEARNING FUELS INNOVATION
With AI knowledge scarce across tech companies, upskilling and mentorship have become the real differentiators.
At Architech, internal knowledge-sharing sets the pace: We offer project showcases, AI Bytes Learning Series, and real-time experimentation to create a culture of continuous growth.
We launched Elevate, a four-week technical bootcamp for interns led by Architech experts in product, design, data, AI, and engineering. Mentees solve real business challenges using cutting-edge tools and are encouraged to explore what inspired them the most. One finalist team built an AI-powered customer support platform and graduated knowing the AI fundamentals, and with the confidence for the next step in their tech careers.
Today, our internal expertise in emerging technologies is pushing us further than external experts ever could. Our mentors are emerging as leaders, armed with new courage and bold ideas. We endeavor to empower our people and build a culture where learning drives innovation forward and grows innovators from within.
EMBED INNOVATION INTO CULTURE
We also created an AI Incubator to drive technology forward and a Responsible AI Governance Committee to ensure guardrails are in place to safeguard our company and clients.
Nearly 50% of our workforce participates in the incubator, with active workstreams exploring real-world applications of AI: code review, test automation, developer productivity, and data enablement.
AI experimentation is embedded into the daily flow of work on all our teams, from engineering to operations. Our CEO hosts training sessions, leads open discussions, and reinforces the expectation that everyone experiments with AI, every day.
This is what transformation looks like: Its fueled by inspiration, grounded in discipline, and powered by people.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Theres no app for transformation. Theres something better: culture. Thats what powers our AI strategy and our people are leading the way.
To transform your AI strategy into culture, make it:
Inclusive: Invite every employee to contribute and celebrate progress.
A habit: Bring change into the daily rhythm of work.
A growth engine: Teach, mentor, and invest in skills development across the organization.
Repeatable: Build systems that last.
If your people arent part of your AI strategy, you dont have one.
Lara Shewchuk is COO and CFO of Architech.
Artist Edel Rodriguez is famous for his satirical images of Donald Trump. Since 2016, hes produced dozens of images of the president in an ultra-simple, pop-art style. But for Rodriguezs new cover of The New Yorker commemorating Zohran Mamdanis victory in the New York City mayoral race, he threw that signature look out the window.
The illustration, which will run on the November 17 issue of The New Yorker, shows Mamdani smiling broadly as he holds onto the handrail on an M train headed to Queens. Around him, New Yorkers of all walks of lifeincluding a young woman with a dog in her bag, a child with her mother, and an elderly gentleman in a fedorajostle to board and deboard the car. The whole picture is made in expressive, sketch-like lines and depicted in toasty hues of brown and rust orange. It has a hand-drawn, humanistic quality that none of Rodriguezs illustrations of Trump possess.
View this post on Instagram
With the Trump stuff, I wanted to create imagery that was so visually basic and a bit dumbfor it to not have any gesture, or line, or anything soft, he says. The images are meant to be a bit like traffic signs: all symbols and conceptual shapes, intended to get the viewer to pay attention, but not to attract real visual interest. I actually want you to be repelled by it, he says.
Looking beyond Trump
During Trumps first term in office, Rodriguez published over 125 satirical illustrations and 25 magazine covers depicting the president as everything from a massive wrecking ball to a flaming trash can, always in a bright orange hue and typically with an angry-looking, wide-open mouth.
As an immigrant born in authoritarian Cuba, Rodriguezs personal history is deeply tied to his work. Back in 2018, he compared Trumps rhetoric to that of Fidel Castros. At that time, he saw his satirical Trump art as a warning of what was to come. Now, he says, those warnings have come to fruition.
The frustration with the second Trump term is, like, I already warned you everything I could warn you about and you still voted for this guy, Rodriguez says. You’re Latino, and you still voted for this guy. What can I do now? I’m able to find a few ways to tell the story in a different manner, but the purpose of it is different in the second term.
View this post on Instagram
Most recently, Rodriguez created an image of Trump using the Burger King logo that reads No King, an image that was widely used throughout the national “No Kings” protests. But while hes continuing to work on imagery of the president, hes now looking to branch out into other projects that center on less negativity, he says. When The New Yorker selected him to illustrate its cover of Mamdani, he saw it as an opportunity to work on something more uplifting.
The difference is night and day. I mean, it’s so much more enjoyable, Rodriguez says. When you have an opportunity to do something more positive, it feels good. What I like about [Mayor Mamdani] is that it’s positive, but it doesn’t feel like propaganda. It is just showing a scene. I don’t generally like to do anything that says, Vote for this guy.
What makes Zohran Mamdani different
Like many of Mamdanis supporters, Rodriguez first learned about Mamdani through his social media content. Mamdanis campaign team posted videos of him walking through New York City, speaking casually to viewers about his vision for an affordable NYC for all. In one series of videos, Mamdani tried to pitch himself to all New Yorkers by speaking in fluent Bangla and Urdu, as well as in Spanish, a language that hes still working on. Rodriguez was struck by Mamdanis willingness to leave clips of his own Spanish-speaking errors in the final videoa move that, he says, was a rare choice from a politician that showed Mamdani is fallible, and not perfect.
What’s made him so popular is that he’s very relatable in many ways, Rodriguez says. I think it was that idea of just riding the subway with everyone else and not taking an Uber or a black car around town, or the way he just showed up in bodegas and would do a little video.
The week before the mayoral election, that idea of Mamdani as a regular New Yorker inspired Rodriguez to reach out to The New Yorkers longtime art editor, Françoise Mouly, with a few sketches for a potential cover. Having worked with Mouly in the past, Rodriguez says he occasionally sends her ideas “as they pop into my head,” to get her feedback and workshop together.
His rough sketch first ideas included images of Mamdani subway surfing with the New York City skyline behind him; driving a cab across different boroughs; conducting the M train; and riding inside the M train as a passenger. Mouly, and The New Yorkers editor-in-chief David Remnick, liked the last concept the best.
I have been talking to artists about the mayoral election for a while, Mouly says. Of course it’s a good topic for The New Yorker. Last week, Edel sent a flurry of sketches, anticipating a victory by Mamdani. All of Edel’s ideas showed Mamdani connecting with people everywhere in the five boroughs. The most succinct way to show that was the idea we went with: simply showing him with his bright and winning smile in the melting pot of the subway.
With Moulys final approval, Rodriguez had less than a day to finalize his illustration ahead of the November 4 election. While Rodriguez lives in New Jersey with his wife today, he previously lived in Brooklyn while attending Pratt Institute and later while serving as an art director at Time magazine. During that era, Rodriguez was a frequent subway riderand, like most art students, had often used the commute to sketch fellow passengers. He used those memories of fellow subway passengers to fill out the scene around Mamdani.
If you’ve ridden the subway, that’s how it is, Rodriguez says. It’s always like, the girl with the bag and the little puppy, and maybe a punk rock kid, and maybe a Hasidic Jew, and then a mom with a kid, and a guy in a hoodie. Whatever character popped into my head as I was drawing, that’s what I drew, pretty much until I filled the page. I probably could have drawn 20 more characters.
Ultimately, Rodriguezs work captures a quality Mamdani has managed to convey that most politicians cant even come close to: relatability.
Weve all been on the trainits totally packed, its not pleasant, he says. But if your politician or your mayor is there with you, it just makes him more relatable. I wouldn’t show Andrew Cuomo or Trump that way.
United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines said they will refund tickets for customers who will be flying starting on Friday, November 7, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports, expected to affect some 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily.
The reductions come amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has created a shortage of air traffic controllers, some of whom are not being paid.
“Any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to flyeven if their flight isn’t impacted,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “That includes non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.”
News of the refunds comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the air traffic controller shortage could result in disruptions, and would likely “lead to more cancellations.”
American Airlines told Fast Company that it expects the vast majority of its customers travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled. As schedule changes are made, American said it will proactively reach out to those impacted customers.
“During the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are cancelled for any reason or who choose not to travel will be able to change their flight or request a refund, without any penalty,” American Airlines confirmed in an email statement to Fast Company.
The airline also urged leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown: “We remain grateful to the air traffic controllers, TSA officers, CBP officers and other federal employees who are working right now without payall to get our customers where they need to be safely.”
In a statement on its website, Delta Air Lines said it expects to operate most flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international flights.
“We are providing additional flexibility to our customers traveling to, from or through the impacted markets during the impacted travel period to change, cancel or refund their flights, including Delta Main Basic fares, without penalty during this travel period,” it said.
Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines have not yet determined a refund policy, according to USA Today.
Both the airlines and experts recommend using the airlines’ mobile apps for the latest information on cancelations and delays.
40 U.S. airports likely to be most affected by delays
The FAA has not finalized the list of the 40 airports that will be affected by 10% flight reductions. But New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles airports are likely to be among them.
Here is a preliminary list, according multiple sources including ABC News, CBS News, and USA Today:
Anchorage International (ANC)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
Boston Logan International (BOS)
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
Dallas Love (DAL)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Denver International (DEN)
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
Honolulu International (HNL)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Indianapolis International (IND)
New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Orlando International (MCO)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Memphis International (MEM)
Miami International (MIA)
Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
Oakland International (OAK)
Ontario International (ONT)
Chicago O`Hare International (ORD)
Portland International (PDX)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
San Diego International (SAN)
Louisville International (SDF)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
Teterboro (TEB)
Tampa International (TPA)
United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines said they will refund tickets for customers starting on Friday, November 7, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports, which is expected to affect some 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily.
The reductions come amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has created a shortage of air traffic controllers, nearly 11,000 of whom are not being paid.
“Any customer traveling during this period is eligible for a refund if they do not wish to flyeven if their flight isn’t impacted,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement. “That includes nonrefundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.”
News of the refunds comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the air traffic controller shortage could result in disruptions and would likely “lead to more cancellations.”
American Airlines told Fast Company that it expects the vast majority of its customers travel will be unaffected, and long-haul international travel will remain as scheduled. As schedule changes are made, American said it will proactively reach out to customers who are affected.
“During the impacted travel period, customers whose flights are canceled for any reason, or who choose not to travel, will be able to change their flight or request a refund, without any penalty,” American Airlines confirmed in an email statement to Fast Company.
American also urged leaders in Washington to reach an immediate resolution to end the shutdown: “We remain grateful to the air traffic controllers, TSA [Transportation Security Administration] officers, CBP [Customs and Border Protection] officers, and other federal employees who are working right now without payall to get our customers where they need to be safely.”
In a statement on its website, Delta Air Lines said it expects to operate most flights as scheduled, including all long-haul international flights.
“We are providing additional flexibility to our customers traveling to, from, or through the impacted markets during the impacted travel period to change, cancel, or refund their flights, including Delta Main Basic fares, without penalty during this travel period,” the company said.
Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Alaska Airlines have not yet determined a refund policy, according to USA Today.
The airlines and travel experts recommend using the airlines’ mobile apps to get the latest information on cancellations and delays.
40 U.S. airports likely to be most affected by delays
The FAA has not finalized the list of the 40 airports that will be affected by 10% flight reductions. But New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles airports are likely to be among them.
Here is a preliminary list, according to multiple sources including ABC News, CBS News, and USA Today:
Anchorage International (ANC)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
Boston Logan International (BOS)
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI)
Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
Dallas Love (DAL)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Denver International (DEN)
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
Honolulu International (HNL)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Indianapolis International (IND)
New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Orlando International (MCO)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Memphis International (MEM)
Miami International (MIA)
Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
Oakland International (OAK)
Ontario International (ONT)
Chicago O`Hare International (ORD)
Portland International (PDX)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
San Diego International (SAN)
Louisville International (SDF)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
Teterboro (TEB)
Tampa International (TPA)
If sweating it out on a Peloton helps you stay fit, be sure to see if youre affected by a major new recall from the exercise bike maker.
Peloton issued a major recall for some bike models on Thursday, warning that the seat posts of affected models could break and potentially injure their users. The recall is based on three reports of seat post malfunctions. In two of those incidents, Peloton users were injured after falling off the bike. Though the number of incidents is very small, the recall applies to 833,000 units manufactured in Taiwan and sold in the U.S.
The recall affects Peloton Original Series Bike+ units with model number PL02 and serial numbers that start with T. The bikes were manufactured between December 2019 and July 2022 and were sold through Peloton, Dicks Sporting Goods, eBay, and Amazon from January 2020 through April 2025. Another 44,800 units sold in Canada were also recalled, though no falls or malfunctions were reported outside the U.S.
The integrity of our products and our Members well-being are our top priorities, Peloton said in a statement provided to Fast Company. We are taking this opportunity to make replacement seat posts available to all affected Bike+ users, and we encourage them to contact us to receive the redesigned seat post as soon as possible.
To find your bikes serial number, look inside the front fork, behind the front fork, or behind the flywheel. Once you locate it, you can look up the serial number on Pelotons website to see that bike models history.
Peloton users with affected models should take a break from cycling until they are able to get a fix from the company. Happily, that fix is pretty straightforward: Peloton will send you a new seat free of charge. Just order the replacement seat post online or contact customer service by phone. Installing the new post looks pretty straightforward, and owners can follow an instructional video from Peloton to do it themselves at home.
The new recall is the second time the company has had to issue a warning about the safety of its seat posts. In 2023, Peloton announced a voluntary recall of seat posts for its original Bike model, similarly sending out replacement parts due to worries about the post breaking and causing people to fall off. Peloton said the seat post problem posed a risk to users with larger builds who weighed 250 pounds or more, though no injuries were reported at the time.
Peloton says that bikes manufactured after 2023 include redesigned seats that eliminate the risk associated with both seat post recalls. At a high level, the design and quality enhancements include a fail-safe mechanism intended to ensure that in the rare event of a break, the seat will not detach from the post, mitigating the risk of injury, a Peloton spokesperson told Fast Company. We feel confident about the quality of our redesigned seat post. We are also committed to continuously innovating on our product quality and designs.
Peloton will report its quarterly earnings later on Thursday, though that call will likely turn toward the new recall as well, and not just be about the companys financials.
Peloton pedals in some new directions
Last month, Peloton announced that it would raise prices across its subscriptions and its workout hardware. The company is also throwing its weight behind advanced tech on new high-end equipment options that integrate computer vision and AI to track users movement and personalize their workouts.
Peloton also recently launched a new Pro line of commercial workout bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines designed for high-use areas like hotel gyms, where wear and tear can add up much more quickly than on an at-home machine that sees a fraction of the use.
Today’s consumers want the flexibility to work out anytime, anywhere, and that means they expect top-tier fitness amenities in the places where they live, work, and travel, Peloton chief commercial officer Dion Camp Sanders said of the companys new line, which paired with the launch of a new commercial business division.
President Donald Trump unveiled a deal Thursday with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand coverage and reduce prices for their popular obesity treatments Zepbound and Wegovy.
The drugs are part of a new generation of obesity medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists that have soared in popularity in recent years.
But access to the drugs has been a consistent problem for patients because of their cost around $500 a month for higher doses and insurance coverage has been spotty.
Coverage of the drugs for obesity will expand to Medicare patients starting next year, according to the administration, which said some lower prices also will be phased in for patients without coverage. Starting doses of new, pill versions of the treatments also will cost $150 a month if they are approved.
(It) will save lives, improve the health of millions and millions of Americans, said Trump, in an Oval Office announcement in which he referred to GLP-1 as a fat drug.”
Thursday’s announcement is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to rein in soaring drug prices in its efforts to address cost-of-living concerns among voters. Drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca recently agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid after an executive order in May set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay.
As with the other deals, its not clear how much the price drop will be felt by consumers. Drug prices can vary based on the competition for treatments and insurance coverage.
Obesity drugs have become increasingly popular, but are costly
The obesity drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness. In clinical trials, they helped people shed between 15% and 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases.
Patients taking these drugs usually start on smaller doses and then work up to larger amounts, depending on their needs. Because of obesity being considered a chronic disease, they need to take the treatment indefinitely or risk regaining weight, experts say.
The fast-growing treatments have proven especially lucrative for drugmakers Eli Lilly and Co. and Novo Nordisk. Lilly said recently that sales of Zepbound have tripled so far this year to more than $9 billion.
But for many Americans, their cost has made them out of reach.
Medicare, the federally funded coverage program mainly for people ages 65 and over, hasn’t covered the treatments for obesity. President Donald Trumps predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule last November that would have changed that. But the Trump administration nixed it last spring.
Few state and federally funded Medicaid programs, for people with low incomes, offer coverage. And employers and insurers that provide commercial coverage are wary of paying for these drugs in part because of the large number of patients that might use them.
The $500 monthly price for higher doses of the treatments also makes them unaffordable for those without insurance, doctors say.
Medicare now covers the cost of the drugs for conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but not for weight loss alone.
Trump showing he is in touch with cost-of-living concerns
The effort to lower costs barriers to popular GLP-1 drugs comes as the White House is looking to demonstrate that Trump is in touch with Americans frustrations with rising costs for food, housing, health care and other necessities.
Republican gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia faced a drubbing in Tuesdays election in which dour voter outlook about the economy appeared to an animating factor in the races.
Roughly half of Virginia voters said the economy was the top issue, and about 6 in 10 of these voters picked Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor, powering her to a decisive win, according to an AP voter poll.
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill won about two-thirds of voters who called the economy the top issue facing the state, the poll found. She defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli. More than half of New York City voters said the cost of living was the top issue facing the city. The Democratic mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won about two-thirds of this group.
The White House sought to diminish the effort by the previous Democratic administration as a gift to the pharmaceutical industry because the proposal did not include adequate price concessions from the drug makers.
Trump, instead, consummated a belt and suspenders deal that ensures that Americans arent unfairly financing the pharmaceutical industrys innovation, claimed a senior administration official, who briefed reporters ahead of Thursdays Oval Office announcement by Trump.
Another senior administration official said coverage of the drugs will expand to Medicare patients starting next year. Those who qualify will pay $50 copays for the medicine.
Lower prices also will be phased in for people without coverage through the administrations TrumpRx program, which will allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. starting in January.
The officials said lower prices also will be provided for state and federally funded Medicaid programs. And starting doses of new, pill versions of the obesity treatments will cost $149 a month if they are approved.
The officials briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Doctors applaud the price drop
Dr. Leslie Golden says she has roughly 600 patients taking one of these treatments, and 75% or more struggle to afford them. Even with coverage, some face $150 copayments for refills.
Every visit its, How long can we continue to do this? Whats the plan if I cant continue?, said Golden, an obesity medicin specialist in Watertown, Wisconsin. Some of them are working additional jobs or delaying retirement so they can continue to pay for it.
Both Lilly and Novo have already cut prices on their drugs. Lilly said earlier this year it would reduce the cost of initial doses of Zepbound to $349.
Dr. Angela Fitch, who also treats patients with obesity, said she hoped a deal between the White House and drugmakers could be the first step in making the treatments more affordable.
We need a hero in obesity care today, said Fitch, founder and chief medical officer of knownwell, a weight-loss and medical care company. The community has faced relentless barriers to accessing GLP-1 medications, which has ultimately come down to the price, despite the data we have supporting their effectiveness.
Tom Murphy, Aaamer Madhani, and Jonel Aleccia, Associated Press
