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It’s the life of a saleswoman. Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, sold 2.7 million copies in traditional album sales which include physical and digital formats in its first day in the U.S. That’s according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company. The album was released Friday. The sales are impressive for a number of reasons. Swift has broken her record for most first-week sales… in one day. Her last album, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, amassed 2.61 million equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week. The Life of a Showgirl has also become the second-largest sales week for any album in the modern era, since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. That was also accomplished in just one day. Currently, Adele’s 25, which sold 3.378 million copies in its first week in 2015 in the U.S., holds the top spot. Also, according to Luminate, The Life of a Showgirl has already broken the record for the most copies of a vinyl album sold in a single week in the U.S., with 1.2 million copies. The previous record holder? The Tortured Poets Department, which sold 859,000 copies on vinyl in its first week. Swift’s many variants may have something to do with the album’s economic success. One of her major partners, Target, carries three CD variants, titled as Its Frightening, Its Rapturous and Its Beautiful editions. There is also an exclusive vinyl release, The Crowd Is Your King edition in summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl. There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection, The Baby Thats Show Business Collection, The Shiny Bug Collection, and the standard LP and cassette, in sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl. Artwork varies throughout, likely inspiring diehard fans to pick up multiple copies. And most recently, on Saturday, Swift announced four new CD variants featuring acoustic renditions of the album’s tracks. Each edition features two different stripped-down recordings. She also dominated the box office over the weekend with her three-day event, The Official Release Party of a Show Girl, which debuted at No. 1 with $33 million in North America, according to Sunday estimates from Comscore. Maria Sherman, AP music writer
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E-Commerce
Semiconductor maker AMD will supply its chips to artificial intelligence company OpenAI as part of an agreement to team up on building AI infrastructure, the companies said Monday. OpenAI will also get the option to buy as much as a 10% stake in AMD, according to a joint statement announcing the deal. It’s the latest deal for the ChatGPT maker as it races to beef up its AI computing resources. Under the terms of the deal, OpenAI will buy the latest version of the company’s high performance graphics chips, the Instinct MI450, which is expected to debut next year. The agreement calls for supplying 6 gigawatts of computing power for OpenAIs next generation AI infrastructure, with the first batch of chips worth 1 gigawatt to be deployed in the second half of 2026. AMD also issued OpenAI with a warrant allowing the AI company to buy up to 160 million shares of AMDs common stock. That amounts to about 10% of the chipmaker based on AMD’s 1.6 billion outstanding shares. The warrant will vest based on two milestones tied to the amount of computing power deployed, as well as unspecified share-price targets.” Shares of AMD spiked 25% before the opening bell Monday. Shares of Nvidia, which have repeatedly set new record-highs this year, fell slightly. This partnership is a major step in building the compute capacity needed to realize AIs full potential, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a news release. AMDs leadership in high-performance chips will enable us to accelerate progress and bring the benefits of advanced AI to everyone faster. The deal is a boost for Santa Clara, Calif.-based AMD, which has been left behind by rival Nvidia. But it also hints at OpenAI’s desire to diversify its supply chain away from Nvidia’s dominance. The AI boom has fueled demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing chips, sending its shares soaring and making it the world’s most valuable company. Last month, OpenAI and Nvidia announced a $100 billion partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of data center computing power. OpenAI and its partners have already installed hundreds of Nvidias GB200, a tall computing rack that contains dozens of specialized AI chips within it, at the flagship Stargate data center campus under construction in Abilene, Texas. Barclays analysts said in a note to investors Monday that OpenAI’s AMD deal is less about taking share away from Nvidia than it is a sign of how much computing is needed to meet AI demand. We realize there will be delays with these deals, and that the infrastructure required largely doesnt exist today, but we would again highlight this as a proof point that the ecosystem is desperate for more compute, the Barclays analysts wrote.
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E-Commerce
The list of retailers that have yanked pasta products from their shelves continues to grow in the wake of a deadly Listeria outbreak. On October 4, grocery retailer Kroger Co voluntarily recalled deli pasta salads sold at Kroger-owned locations including Ralphs, Smith’s, and Fred Meyer, in addition to Kroger stores. The products were recalled due to a risk of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall notice was published to the website of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday. To date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have been tracking a multi-state Listeria outbreak linked to read-to-eat meals containing pasta. The outbreak, which dates back to last year, has caused four deaths and more than a dozen hospitalizations. Heres what you need to know: Which products are included in the recall? Kroger Co has recalled its Basil Pesto Bowtie Salad and Smoked Mozzarella Penne Salad products. These items were sold at deli service counters and self-service deli cases at 1,860 Kroger-owned stores, which include, Kroger, Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Gerbes, King Soopers, Payless, Ralphs, and Smith’s. This announcement follows a recall initiated by Fresh Creative Foods due to a potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination of the pasta ingredient manufactured by Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California. Recalled products have been removed from store shelves. Kroger has also been notifying customers who may have purchased the recalled products through register receipt tape messages and email alerts. Here are the specific product details for impacted products: Basil Pesto Bowtie Pasta Salad (UPC 217573-10000): Sold from September 6, 2025, through October 2, 2025, in random-weight containers sold at the deli service counter and in grab-n-go packages at the deli department. Smoked Mozzarella Penne Salad (UPC 227573-10000): Sold from August 29, 2025, through October 2, 2025, in random-weight containers sold at the deli service counter and in grab-n-go packages at the deli department. Products were sold in the following states: Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Missouri Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Mexico Nevada Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Washington West Virginia Dont eat the recalled products Customers who have purchased affected products shouldnt eat them. They should return it to a store for a full refund or replacement. If you have questions about the recall, contact Kroger by calling 1-800-KROGERS. Pasta-related recalls continue to increase This is one of several pasta-related recalls in recent days due to concerns of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. According to data from the CDC, 19 hospitalizations and four deaths have been reported following a Listeria outbreak connected to prepared pasta meals sold at grocery stores. Ready-to-eat pasta meals sold at Walmart, Trader Joe’s and Kroger were previously recalled on September 26, 2025. The FDA added a new recall notice on September 30, 2025, which included ready-made products sold at Albertsons and Trader Joe’s. Before consuming ready-made pasta products that you have in your fridge, you should verify whether theyve been included in any recent recalls. Listeria infection can be serious and even fatal Listeria infection is spread through contaminated food. According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy people rarely become seriously ill from Listeria infection. However, the disease can be fatal for unborn babies, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems. Pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk for infection.
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E-Commerce
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