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I chose community college to save money. Now Yale is giving me a full ride.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Thalles de Souza. It has been edited for length and clarity. In March 2016, on a Sunday morning, police entered my house, shouting and shooting. At only 13, I woke up screaming, not sure of what was happening. When I walked into the kitchen, I…
Inside the Busiest Indian and Pakistani Restaurant in America
Aga’s Restaurant is one of the busiest in the country, serving 4,000 customers every day at its main location in Houston. Its Pakistani and Indian menu features more than 100 items. Aga’s has also transformed into the busiest single-location restaurant on Uber Eats. Pulling that off takes a huge…
I created a viral AI watermark remover. I wasn’t ready for all the attention.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Guillaume Meyer, a Paris-based tech founder and creator of a viral open-source project “Watermarks Remover,” which he made in response to Anthropic’s AI watermark announcement. His words have been edited for length and clarity. I’m an…
Gen Z, stop Venmoing your friends over half-eaten avocados and follow these 2 rules instead
Splitting the difference Most people settle their taxes in April. I used to do a bit of accounting every Sunday morning. My weekly routine wasn’t with the IRS. Instead, I’d settle up with a hodgepodge of friends I crossed paths with over the weekend. From Uber rides to rounds of drinks to…
I’m an executive coach. I tell clients not to spend Sunday night preparing for work.
Shane Arthur, an executive coach in Raleigh, North Carolina, advises clients to avoid working on Sundays — and to start their workweeks by avoiding meetings on Monday mornings. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity. I believe in startup and shutdown routines for your week. On Monday…
Inside New Yorkers’ hopes and fears over Mamdani’s city-run grocery stores
Phillip Grant is feeling optimistic. He thinks he’s the best man to operate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s city-run supermarkets. Along with being a former city economic development executive and construction entrepreneur, he’s a New Yorker who’s shocked that an orange costs $2 at his local gas station…
A mysterious free AI model is impressing developers. And nobody knows who made it.
A mysterious new AI model is making the rounds among developers — and nobody is saying who built it. Ox Alpha appeared on OpenRouter on Thursday as a “stealth model” from an anonymous third-party provider. OpenRouter describes it as a “reasoning model designed for coding, sustained agentic work…
At China’s robot Olympics, the finish line comes with a padded wall and a stretcher
The robot uprising may have to wait. For now, the machines are still running headfirst into walls, both literal and metaphorical. That reality was on grand display at the second iteration of the World Humanoid Robot Games, a five-day competition held in China where robots compete in Olympic-style…
Breaking Down My $159,000 Salary in Brooklyn, New York
Devonte Duncan, 27, lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works as a software engineer at a tech company, earning $159,000 a year. After reaching a six-figure salary, his spending quickly caught up with his income and led him into debt. Now, Devonte takes a much more deliberate approach to his finances…
I tried a recipe for a single serving of mac and cheese. It’s packed with protein and only took 20 minutes to make.
Making this recipe took me from 1 p.m. to 1:24 p.m., including the time it took for the water to start boiling and the several breaks I took to take photos. I really enjoyed this mac and cheese and already plan to make it again for a quick, fulfilling lunch. Moving forward, I think adding