After weeks of complaints from frustrated fans, StubHub is being sued by customers who say the ticket reseller’s inability to fulfill orders crushed their dreams of going to the World Cup. Julia Reeker Moghal and Reuben Renteria, both of California, sued the ticketing giant this week in federal court in New York, alleging that “false and misleading” sales practices left them without the tickets they purchased for group stage matches last month. The lawsuit, which seeks to become a class action, says Moghal and Renteria are among hundreds or even thousands of World Cup fans who purchased tickets only to find out that they…
Author: Staff Writer
Sephora just broke new ground in the beauty industry, becoming the first beauty retailer to launch sensory-friendly shopping hours at a global scale. During their newly announced “Quiet Hours,” Sephora stores will lower their music, adjust screens, and minimize strong scents. Avoiding these sensory triggers aims to make shopping more accessible for neurodivergent customers, including shoppers with autism and ADHD. Sephora has not yet announced a specific schedule for these hours. With the initiative, Sephora is continuing a trend started by Walmart and picked up by brands across the retail, restaurant, and entertainment industries, making space for neurodivergent customers to…
Grand Theft Auto 6 is the most anticipated game of the year (and perhaps of the decade, given the agonizing wait since the franchise’s last entry in 2013). But earlier this week, rumors started swirling that Rockstar Games would release the title via digital download only, with physical copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 being reduced to a box with a download code inside rather than a game disc. Then, on July 1, Sony dealt an even more devastating blow to lovers of physical media: Starting in 2028, new games on PlayStation consoles will only be released digitally, with all…
If anybody has it all, Taylor Swift does. And while you knew that already, brace yourself for a pushy reminder this holiday weekend, because the culmination of Swift’s storybook romance with proverbial captain of the football team Travis Kelce will apparently be a multi-day wedding flex, set in the world capital of attention: New York City’s Madison Square Garden. In addition to being recognized as one of the great American songwriters, Swift is an absolute master of publicity and brand image. So who knows if everything we think we know about her marital extravaganza is a massive head fake, and…
Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. Trump administration Okays Anthropic’s powerful Mythos-class AI models After placing export restrictions on Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models on June 12—effectively forcing their removal from the market—the Trump Commerce Department has now reversed course. But in the end, the sudden regulatory pivot may play to China’s advantage. Administration officials removed the controls Tuesday evening, after working with Anthropic for two weeks on a refined…
U.S. applications for jobless aid inched down last week as layoffs remain at historically healthy levels.The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 27 fell by 1,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 225,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.The government also released its more comprehensive June jobs report on Thursday, a day earlier than usual due to the July 4…
At the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA), we enable high-level women to mentor each other. As the nonprofit organization’s founder, chair, and CEO, I am honored to interview and share insights from some of the thought leaders who are part of our peer-to-peer mentoring. In this conversation, I speak with Michelle Westfort, chief product officer at InStride, a leading provider of strategic education and skilling solutions. Q: Before we dive in, tell us about your role at InStride and what kinds of companies you work with. Westfort: I lead product for our organization, which means I spend my days thinking about…
If your social media accounts disappeared tomorrow, would anyone miss them? I ask our team this question every year, not to challenge their work, but to assess whether we’re adding value for our audience. The brands that succeed on social media offer inspiration, education, or a genuine sense of community. They provide leadership when the world feels off course, and levity when it feels too heavy. A strong brand should be uniquely positioned to offer a distinct perspective or value for their audience, like providing expertise or teaching a new skill. At Intrepid Travel, we think about value creation in…
At race speed, Liam Lawson is listening to his engineer, watching tire temperatures, managing energy use, and making decisions that can affect lap time. In Formula 1, the flow of data has become part of the driver’s workload. AI is now changing how quickly teams can process that data and turn it into usable information. “This year with our new regulations, the energy management that we have to look after is what makes us quite physically [and] mentally tired, because there’s a lot of things we have to think about,” says Lawson, whose Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 team…
Courtney Fahnhorst was looking for a way to supplement her income when she stumbled on a LinkedIn ad seeking medical experts to help train AI models. The mother of four was already working a full-time job as a wound care and hyperbaric medicine specialist but wanted to earn some extra income to put toward a private practice she plans to open in St. Johns County, Florida, later this year. “I really needed a job that was going to be flexible but also allowed me to build some income and capital to invest in my future,” she says. “This fit the…