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I sit with people while they complete their to-do lists. It’s been a surprising way to turn patience into a side hustle.
I never thought of myself as particularly patient. Then, my hairdresser mentioned that she’d had the same giant basket of unfolded laundry sitting in her living room for six months. I offered to come over and help — not by doing her laundry, but by being her “body double.” “Body doubling” involves…
Starbucks is closing 250 stores. Read the memo it sent to staff.
Starbucks said on Thursday that it will be closing 250 underperforming locations across North America. COO Mike Grams told staff in a memo that a review of its operations found many stores that can’t consistently deliver adequate financial performance or customer experiences. The closures represent…
The Neko scan — Spotify for longevity — is designed to be fast, convenient, and cool. But is it worth $499?
It’s sleek, Swedish, relatively affordable, and designed for efficiency. Oh, and the color scheme? Yellow and blue. No, it’s not Ikea. It’s Neko Health — the three-year-old healthcare brainchild of Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek — a new annual go-to longevity checkup for skin cancer, heart health, and…
I’ve had 2 babies in France. As an American, the biggest shock was never getting a hospital bill.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristen Seitz. It has been edited for length and clarity. At 25, I was working in Texas at an oil and gas company, feeling like this wasn’t the life I wanted. I decided I’d quit my job and teach English in Europe for a few years,
The rise of clanker customers
Customer service workers have gotten used to the now-common question coming from the other end of the line: “Wait, are you an AI?” Being mistaken for the technology your employer hopes will replace you has become a regular, if awkward, part of the job. Now, the people who staff call centers are…
Sofia Coppola says she knows a project is worth making when it scares her
Sofia Coppola says she still feels nervous whenever she begins a new movie, but considers that fear part of what makes the work meaningful. During an appearance on the “Happy Hour with Ina Garten” podcast on Wednesday, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker said she has “no idea” how a new movie will…
Trump’s bid to keep CNN, Politico, and MS NOW out of the White House has hit a snag
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on CNN, Politico, and MS NOW reporters at the White House, ordering that the outlets’ press credentials be restored while the case proceeds. US District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining…
Drones took 2 nights to lay a minefield that would have taken troops 2 weeks: Ukrainian corps
A Ukrainian army corps said it used aerial and ground drones to lay a minefield roughly a quarter-mile deep, in one of the war’s first large-scale instances of remote mining with uncrewed systems. The Third Army Corps said on Wednesday that its drones took two nights to deploy the mines, a task…
The 10 biggest announcements from Meta Connect
Gone are the heavy headsets. In Meta’s vision for its new VR era is all about glasses. Meta VR Glasses weigh just 100 grams, the company said. While the bulk is gone, Meta says the glasses are still its “most advanced device yet.” “You can wear Meta VR Glasses to comfortably watch a full movie,
Oops. OpenAI’s bot hacked an Australian government website.
Australia’s prime minister said a rogue OpenAI agent had hacked into a government website in June. Anthony Albanese said in a Wednesday media briefing in New York that an OpenAI agent had gained unauthorized access to a government Medicare statistics reporting website in June, and public and…