Mission Everywhere

Starbucks welcomed CEO Brian Niccol in September. Spencer Platt/Getty Starbucks underwent many changes this year, and more are likely coming in 2025. New CEO Brian Niccol will face choices about Starbucks' unionized stores and its China business. Starbucks faced slumping sales and dealt with activist investors in 2024. Signs that Starbucks needed a turnaround mounted in 2024. It might get one in 2025. Starbucks' sales had slowed and even lost ground in the first half of this year. Customers and employees pointed to operational challenges for the company, such as a lengthy menu and an explosion of mobile orders. There were even two activist investors with stakes in Starbucks this summer. Then, in August, the coffee chain surprised investors by saying that Brian Niccol would take over as its CEO, replacing Laxman Narasimhan, who had held the job for roughly a year and a half. Niccol was known for turning around the Mexican grill chain Chipotle after a food poison...

A portrait of President Jimmy Carter and his extended family. Left to right: his daughter-in-law Judy Carter, grandson Jason James Carter; son Jack Carter, daughter in law Annette Carter, son Jeff Carter, wife Rosalynn Carter, daughter Amy Carter, Jimmy Carter, daughter-in-law Caron Griffin Carter holding James Earl Carter IV, and son Chip Carter. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Former President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at 100 years old.   Former first lady Rosalynn Carter died in 2023 at the age of 96. Together, they had four children and 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter were married for 77 years before the former first lady's death on November 19, 2023 at the age of 96. Jimmy Carter lived to be 100 years old before his death on Sunday. Together, they shared four children, 11 grandchildren (one grandson died in 2018), and 14 great-grandchildren.  Meet the Carter family. Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Smith Cart...

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica : The technology of passkeys is elegant, but the complexities of syncing them to password managers can contribute to platform lock-in and make them less usable   —  It's that time again, when families and friends gather and implore the more technically inclined among them to troubleshoot problems … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/WCLurgd

Former President Jimmy Carter. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Former President Jimmy Carter, who served from 1977 to 1981, has died at age 100. The 39th president of the United States was widely admired for his global humanitarian work. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He was the son of a peanut farmer from Georgia. Former President Jimmy Carter, who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to the White House and was renowned for his global charity work, has died at age 100. He died Sunday in his Plains, Georgia home, The Carter Center — the former president's nonprofit organization — confirmed in a statement posted to social media. The Carter Center in February 2023 announced that the former president would enter hospice care to "spend his remaining time at home with his family" following several hospital stays. After almost a year and a half in hospice, Carter's grandson, Jason, said the former president was "coming to the end." Carter h...

 AI data centers are gobbling up power, impacting the electricity supply. Arin Yoon for The Washington Post via Getty Images AI data centers are consuming significant power, impacting the electricity supply. Proximity to data centers correlated with distorted power readings, a Bloomberg analysis found. Big Tech companies are turning to alternative sources of energy as they build more data centers. Data centers in the United States are consuming so much power that they may be impacting the flow of electricity to millions of Americans. AI data centers are sprouting up across the country to meet the increased demand for AI, but they're also sucking up the power on which millions of Americans rely. The new tech is demanding massive amounts of energy from grids that are, in some areas, already stressed. Researchers have estimated that AI centers could need three to five times the power used by traditional facilities, Business Insider previously reported. A Bloomberg analys...

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information. Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate products and services to help you make smart decisions with your money. Jennifer Streaks. Jennifer Streaks/Insider When I got my first job, I was ready to spend my new income on a new apartment and a new car.  After my dad stressed the importance of saving, I decided to focus on different financial goals. I created the habit of saving and understanding the difference between needs and wants.  After a successful run in graduate school, I got my first job. As with most people who had been students for a long time, I thought that salary looked like a lot of money. I graduate...

Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal : Netflix's foray into live sports caps off a strong year, with its share price up 90%+ in 2024, but the stock's rich valuation sets a high bar for follow-up act   —  Foray into live sports caps a strong year, but stock's rich valuation sets a high bar for follow-up act from Techmeme https://ift.tt/nmZBaUb

Matt Burgess / Wired : Finland, Canada, the US, and other countries are testing tech for passport-free travel, including facial recognition and a “digital travel credential”   —  Smartphones and face recognition are being combined to create new digital travel documents.  The paper passport's days are numbered—despite new privacy risks. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/qf203aP

Andrew Jernigan and his family moved between Brazil and the US multiple times. Courtesy of Andrew Jernigan Andrew Jernigan, 51, has moved with his family between the US and Brazil multiple times. The last time he lived in Brazil, his children were teenagers and found the move difficult. He says that when moving with kids older than 12, parents need to think about safety and college. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Jernigan, CEO of Insured Nomads. It has been edited for length and clarity. The first time I moved to Brazil was in 2000 to marry a Brazilian woman I had been introduced to by a friend and had been writing to for quite some time. We were engaged on my first visit and married the following year after I moved there. My family has moved four times between the US and Brazil. We learned that there are more things to consider when moving with teenagers   than when moving with little kids. We moved to Brazil, so our kids could connect ...

Returns, including from the holiday shopping season, are expected to cost retailers billions of dollars again in 2024. picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images This is the busiest time of year for returning holiday gifts. Retailers from Amazon to L.L. Bean have adopted a range of return policies. Most shoppers consider whether they can make free returns when deciding where to shop. That unwanted kitchen gadget or too-big sweater someone gave you over the holidays represents a growing problem for retailers. With the holiday shopping season over, retailers now face return requests from customers at the fastest pace of the year. The days between December 26 and 28 are the busiest for returns, with up to three times more than usual, payments platform Lightspeed Commerce found in a review of returns data collected over the last two years. The amount of stuff that gets returned has been growing each year, too. Marcus Shen, the CEO of B-Stock, which resells returne...

Financial Times : Meta expects AI-generated characters to “generate and share content” and “over time, exist on our platforms”, similarly to regular accounts   —  US tech group is rolling out a range of artificial intelligence tools to drive engagement from Techmeme https://ift.tt/6q3LvjU

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Ncuti Gatwa is the new Doctor Who BBC/Bad Wolf/Nwaka Okparaeke Whovians, rejoice! Another year, another Doctor Who Christmas Special. We've put together everything you need to know about where to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special around the world, including a free streaming option. The Doctor Who holiday special has become a time-honored tradition and highly-anticipated part of the Christmas holiday, where fans can tune in to see the latest shenanigans that the beloved Time Lord has gotten up to. Last year's Doctor Who Christmas Special introduced audiences to the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), who got his own debut first season this spring. This year's holiday episode, titled "Doctor Who: Joy to the World," follows the Doctor's adventures alongside Joy, played by Nicola Coughlan (of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame), who meets the Doctor after checking int...

Tom Dotan / Wall Street Journal : Microsoft adds Copilot to Microsoft 365 in Australia and Southeast Asia and raises 365's price, a sign of how it aims to turn a profit from its AI investments   —  The tech company has made Copilot part of its 365 subscription service in several markets and raised prices from Techmeme https://ift.tt/Y4K3pkC

Ruth Reader / Politico : US federal lobbying disclosure forms reveal how Meta, with a team of 14 directly employed lobbyists, led efforts to block the passage of KOSA in Congress   —  The billionaire and his company needed Speaker Mike Johnson's help to stop legislation that would have regulated social media for the first time. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/YpilRDK

Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni. Lia Toby/Getty Images, James Devaney/Getty Images Blake Lively filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni's ex-publicist Stephanie Jones also sued his current publicists for orchestrating a campaign against Lively. Here's a breakdown of everyone involved in the saga. While the film " It Ends With Us " has already come and gone from theaters — grossing over $350 million globally along the way — the drama is still unfolding. Speculation over tensions among the film's actors began brewing over the summer, when costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni did not interact with each other during the press tour. Around the same time, Lively faced online backlash for her lighthearted promotion of the film, which tackles topics like domestic violence, and past controversies, including a resurfaced 2016 interview . But a recent bombshell legal complaint from Lively accused Baldoni of...

Elon Musk has racked up some wins — and some losses — since becoming a major MAGA power player. AP Photo/Matt Rourke Elon Musk went all-in to get Trump elected. Now, he's trying to shake up Washington. He's racked up some wins so far. But some of the limits of his influence are coming into view. Here's a running list of Musk's wins and losses since Trump was reelected. Since pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into helping President-elect Donald Trump win the 2024 election, Elon Musk has emerged as a major Washington power player. Musk has the ear of the incoming president , is set to co-lead a " Department of Government Efficiency " initiative with Vivek Ramaswamy , and has already demonstrated an ability to influence the course of major legislation . He hasn't won every single time, though. Musk's brash style has clashed at times with how Washington typically works, and he's encountered some losses here and there. Here's a ...

The Block : Analysis: Coinbase International saw its total trading volume grow 124% week-over-week to $119B+ this past week; it averaged just $2.5B per day in November 2024   —  - The weekly total is 124% higher than the previous week's total.  — The following is an excerpt from The Block's Data and Insights newsletter. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/fFBkPdC

The author (not pictured) is preparing for her empty nest by creating a travel wish list. Fiordaliso/Getty Images I'm already getting sad that all of my kids will be out of high school in half a decade. I'm also excited about all the things I'll have time to do when I'm an empty nester. I'm taking steps now — like building better friendships — to ensure I'm not lost when they leave. I realized earlier this year that if everything goes according to plan, all four of my kids will be out of high school in just five years. Even if they don't move out of the house, then I'll have a lot more free time. Right now, I'm still driving some of them around. They have school, practices, classes, and clubs. Our evenings and weekends often revolve around their plans and performances. I love being part of this whirlwind of activity. But as I think about the fact that I'm close to an empty nest , I oscillate between being excited that I'll have t...