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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday that two groups of travelers will now be able to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints at airports a whole lot faster: families traveling with kids, and members of the military. It’s yet another win for travelers, who can now keep their shoes on through TSA security checkpoints before boarding their flights. Here’s what to know. What are the new TSA airport security rules for families with kids? TSA is adding a dedicated lane for families with children at security checkpoints called Families on the Fly,” based on a pilot program in Orlando, Florida, which was chosen for its proximity to Disney World. We are implementing new measures that will streamline hospitality for families that travel,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the Nashville International Airport on Thursday. “There will be expanded areas that will give them the benefit of recognizing that they have children with them, and will help make sure that we have the ability to take care of them and their families as they go through this expedited process with their kiddos. Noem added that families will also get a $15 discount if they enroll in TSA pre-check, and promised, in her words, “less pat downs.” The family lanes will first roll out at airports where families often travel with children. She did not specify which ones. What are the new TSA airport security rules for military members? Last month, Homeland Security implemented a special security checkpoint lane for uniformed military members called the “Honor Lane.” Those lanes are currently available at 11 airports and will be expanded nationwide, particularly near military bases. Noem also said Gold Star familiesfamily members of military servicemen and women who died while in service to their countrywill get free enrollment in TSA pre-check.
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E-Commerce
When you become a parent, your concept of free time gets redefined in the most brutal way. You start fantasizing about solo grocery runs. You get excited when a dentist appointment means sitting in a chair in silence. And dont even get me started on the thrill of closing (and locking) the bathroom door. Parenting swallows every spare minute like a hungry hippo. Between permission slips, dinner planning, bedtime negotiations, and locating whatever oddly specific object your kid needs for school tomorrow, your own needs dont make the list. Add in the demands of a job or trying to keep a career from flatlining while your toddler wipes yogurt on your Zoom shirt and suddenly me time feels like a myth. But heres the thing no one tells you: carving out time for yourself isnt selfish. Its survival. And it doesnt mean you love your family any less. It just means you also love yourself, whichfun factyour kids need to see more of. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} Step One: Ditch the Martyr Act. Its Not a Good Look Somewhere along the line, we were sold the idea that the best parents sacrifice everything. They pour every ounce into their families and never, ever ask for a refill. But lets be real. Exhausted, resentful parents are not fun to live with. They dont make great partners. They dont make patient caregivers. And theyre one burnt pancake away from a breakdown. What actually helps our kids? Seeing us take care of ourselves. Seeing us value our time, our dreams. Seeing us rest. Yes. Rest. Its not lazy. Its necessary. You cant run on empty and function like a human being. Step Two: You Have to Take the Time. No Ones Handing It Out Time wont tap you on the shoulder and say, Hey! Heres an hour to write/take a nap/go on a walk. You have to go after it like its the last slice of pizza and everyones pretending not to be hungry. You may have to get up a little earlier (I know, but hear me out). Or coordinate with a partner or fellow parent for a kid-swap. And yes, that might mean blocking off your work calendar with an appointment thats really just you taking a sanity stroll around the block or sitting in your car to eat a croissant in peace. Thats okay. Weve all done it. No guilt. Step Three: Redefine What Self-Care Means for You Not everyones version of self-care involves face masks or golf. For some, its a quiet workout. For others, uninterrupted time on a passion project. Maybe its updating your résumé or watching something without talking animals. Sometimes self-care is messy. Its writing one paragraph with a baby monitor on one side and laundry on the other. It might mean finishing a work project with a hot coffee and zero interruptions because work can be fulfilling too (when youre not doing it under duress). Its texting a friend, I need an hour. Can we trade off next week? Its choosing yourself again and again. Step Four: Guilt is Lying to You Lets talk about guilt. That ever-present gremlin whispering, Youre missing quality time, or You should be organizing the closet. Guilt isnt your inner compass. Its your inner saboteur. Doing something for yourself doesnt mean youre neglecting your family. It means youre showing up as a more grounded, fulfilled version of yourself. Even if that fulfillment comes from finishing a presentation in silence or eating lunch without someone asking for a bite. And if your kids miss you for an hour? Theyll survive. More importantlytheyll see what it looks like to honor your own needs. Step Five: Let Them See You Do It Kids dont just listen. They watch. If we constantly run ourselves ragged and call it love, theyll think thats what theyre supposed to do too. Let them see you say no. Let them hear, Im doing something for me right now. Let them know work matters to you too, whether its because you love it or because it pays for the chicken nuggets. Thats not abandonment. Thats modeling emotional intelligence and boundaries which are two things theyll thank you for. Well, probably much, much later, but still.) {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
OpenAI should continue to be controlled by a nonprofit because the artificial intelligence technology it is developing is too consequential to be governed by a corporation alone. That is the message from an advisory board convened by OpenAI to give it recommendations about its nonprofit structuredelivered in a report released Thursday, along with a sweeping vision for democratizing AI and reforming philanthropy. We think its too important to entrust to any one sector, the private sector or even the government sector, said Daniel Zingale, the convener of OpenAIs nonprofit commission and a former adviser to three California governors. The nonprofit model allows for what we call a common sector, that facilitates democratic participation. The recommendations are not binding on OpenAI, but the advisory commission, which includes the labor organizer Dolores Huerta, offers a framework that may be used to judge OpenAI in the future, whether or not they adopt it. In the commission’s view, communities that are already feeling the impacts of AI technologies should have input on how they are developed, including how data about them is used. But there are currently few avenues for people to influence tech companies who control much of the development of AI. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, started in 2015 as a nonprofit research laboratory and has since incorporated a for-profit company with a valuation that has grown to $300 billion. The company has tried to change its structure since the nonprofit board ousted its CEO Sam Altman in Nov. 2023. He was reinstated days later and continues to lead OpenAI. It has run into hurdles escaping its nonprofit roots, including scrutiny from the attorney generals in California and Delaware, who have oversight of nonprofits, and a lawsuit by Elon Musk, an early donor to and founder of OpenAI. Most recently, OpenAI has said it will turn its for-profit company into a public benefit corporation, which must balance the interests of shareholders and its mission. Its nonprofit will hold shares in that new corporation, but OpenAI has not said how much. Zingale said Huerta told the commission their challenge was to help make sure AI is a blessing and not a curse. To grapple with those stakes, they envision a nonprofit with an expansive mandate to help everyone participate in the development and trajectory of AI. The measure of this nonprofit will be in what it builds, who it includes, and how faithfully it endures to mission and impact,” they wrote. The commission toured California communities and solicited feedback online. They heard that many were inspired by OpenAIs mission to create artificial intelligence to benefit humanity and ensure those benefits are felt widely and evenly. But, Zingale said many people feel they are in the dark about how its happening. They know this is profoundly important whats happening in this Age of Intelligence, but they want to understand better what it is, how its developed, where are the important choices being made and whos making them? he said. Zingale said the commission chose early on not to interact with Altman in any way in order to maintain their independence, though they quote him in their report. However, they did speak with the companys senior engineers, who they said, entered our space with humility, seriousness, and a genuine desire to understand how their work might translate into democratic legitimacy. The commission proposed OpenAI immediately provide significant resources to the nonprofit for use in the public interest. For context, the nonprofit reported $23 million in assets in 2023, the most recent year that its tax filing is available. The commission recommend focusing on closing gaps in economic opportunity, investing in AI literacy and creating an organization that is accessible to and governed by everyday people. For OpenAIs nonprofit to fulfill its mandate, it should commit to more than just doing good – it should commit to being known, seen, and shaped by the people it claims to serve, they wrote. The commission suggested opening a rapid response fund to help reduce economic strains now. Zingale said they specifically recommended funding theater, art and health. We’re trying to make the point that they need to dedicate some of their resources to human to human activities, he said. The commission also recommended setting up a requirement that a human lead the nonprofit, which Zingale said is a serious recommendation and a sign of the times.” Thalia Beaty, Associated Press Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
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E-Commerce
Wall Street is drifting on Friday toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in morning trading after setting its all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 107 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2% after coming off its own record. Norfolk Southern chugged 3% higher after an AP source said its talking with Union Pacific about a merger to create the largest railroad in North America, one that would connect the East and West coasts. Any such deal, though, would likely face tough scrutiny from U.S. regulators. Union Pacifics stock fell 1%. Netflix, meanwhile, dropped 5.7% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. Analysts said its not a surprise the stock was sluggish after it had already soared 43% for the year so far, coming into the day. Thats six times more than the gain for the S&P 500. It was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Stronger-than-expected profit reports for the spring helped several other stocks rally. Charles Schwab climbed 3.1%, Regions Financial rose 4.5% and Comerica added 1.7%. Chevron climbed 0.5% after saying it had completed its acquisition of Hess. The buyout got its go-ahead following a favorable arbitration ruling for Chevron about some of Hess assets off Guyanas coast. In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a report suggested U.S. consumers may be feeling less fearful about coming inflation. They’re bracing for inflation of 4.4% in the year ahead, down from last month’s projection of 5%, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s survey. That’s important because expectations for high inflation can feed into behaviors that create a vicious cycle keeping inflation high. Overall sentiment, meanwhile, was a hair better than economists expected but still well below its historical average. Consumers are unlikely to regain their confidence in the economy unless they feel assured that inflation is unlikely to worsen, for example if trade policy stabilizes for the foreseeable future, according to Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.43% from 4.47% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with its short-term rates, also dropped. It fell to 3.87% from 3.91%. A top Fed official, Gov. Chris Waller, said late Thursday that the Fed should cut its overnight interest rate as soon as its next meeting in a couple weeks. That follows sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who has been castigating the Fed for holding interest rates steady this year instead of cutting them, as it did late last year. Lower rates could give the economy a boost, and Trump has also implied they could help the U.S. government save money on its debt payments, though thats uncertain. The interest rates Washington has to pay on its longer-term debt can depend more on what bond investors think than on what the Fed does, and they can even move in opposite directions. The chair of the Fed, meanwhile, has been insisting that he wants to see more data about how Trumps tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. The downside of lower interest rates is that they can give inflation more fuel, and prices may already be starting to feel the upward effects of tariffs. Traders on Wall Street still think its much more likely that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates in September, rather than later this month, according to data from CME Group. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. Hong Kongs Hang Seng jumped 1.4%, but Tokyos Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament on Sunday that could wipe out the ruling coalitions upper house majority. Stan Choe, Associated Press AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
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E-Commerce
The business model for movie theaters has been under threat since at least the 1980s with the widespread adoption of the VHS. DVDs, streaming, and the COVID-19 pandemic have only compounded the issue. According to Octane Seating, 63% of Americans watch movies at home, which isnt happy news for big chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal. This is in addition to video games, smartphones, prestige TV, and every other form of media that competes for your attention in the 21st century. Popular movie chains have been forced to get creative to stay afloat. Tactics such as luxury reclining chairs and top-shelf alcohol havent been enough. A new controversial way to bring in needed revenue is to add additional non-trailer advertisements in the preshow, increasing the length from 1520 minutes to 30. So if you want to see a summer blockbuster flick, plan accordingly. Lets take a look at the timeline for this change and if it has impacted audience behavior. Cinemark and Regal lead the way In 2019, Cinemark and Regal reached an agreement with National CineMedia to add additional commercials in the preshow slot. One of these was dubbed a platinum spot and would play right before the attached trailers. The movie chains reportedly received 25% of the revenue collected from these prominently displayed ads. National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski promised that this would not deter audiences, as a similar practice was already standard in Europe. We dont believe it will be a significant issue for exhibitors or consumers, he explained in an interview with Deadline at the time. AMC jumps on the longer preshow bandwagon AMC initially rejected the idea, but six years later is changing its tune. On July 1, AMC joined Cinemark and Regal. The chain also made sure its patrons were aware of the change by emphasizing it in a disclaimer for ticket buyers. When news of AMCs change of policy broke, the movie chain issued a statement explaining the decision. AMC claims this change will not keep audiences away from theaters but doesnt explicitly say anything about watching trailers. While AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theatres, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance, the statement explained. This is a strong indication that this NCM preshow initiative does not negatively influence moviegoing habits. How has this impacted the audience? While theater chains may claim the practice hasn’t impacted attendance, the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic and entertainment industry strikes make it difficult to isolate the exact reason for any changes in audience behavior. Thanks in part to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon of two summers ago, 2023 was the best summer box office since all of this drama came about, bringing in $13.6 billion globally. Last year, meanwhile, saw a 10.3% decline domestically over 2023, according to Comscore. In June of this year, as reported by Deadline, Gower Street Analytics predicted the summer season would make around $12.4 billion in global box office revenue. Moviegoers appear to be holding steady. However, even though audiences are still showing up, they are starting to skip the trailers. According to Steve Bucks firm EntTelligence, only 60% of audiences were present for them this year. The numbers get lower in the movie-centric cities of Los Angeles and New York. Only 42% of Angelino cinephiles were present for every trailer, down from 55% last year. Only 42% of New Yorkers saw each trailer, down 5% from the previous year. These statistics to reveal a potential catch-22. While theater chains have to stay open to new sources of revenue, they may risk repeat business as fewer audience members are exposed to their full slate of coming attractions. What if a trailer plays in a movie theater and no one sees it? What good does it do? Tom Rothman, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, mused to Deadline. Its incredibly self-defeating and shortsighted. Since the beginning of the movie business, the single best inducement to see movies is trailers in movie theaters. And now, nobody sees them. Only questions remain. Will the skipping the trailers trend continue and even grow? Will this lead to opting out of going to the movie theater altogether? Time will tell. For now, be armed with the knowledge that you have extra time to get your popcorn without missing the movie should you so choose.
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E-Commerce
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