When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, I watched something remarkable happen. Within two months, it hit 100 million users, a growth rate that sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Today, it has over 800 million weekly active users. That launch sparked an explosion in AI development that has fundamentally changed how we build and operate the infrastructure powering our digital world.
The build up to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina have been far from ideal. The ice rink has been delayed and riddled with issues. The bobsleigh track has been controversial from the start. History shows that many Winter Olympic hosts have also been plagued by late construction completions and rising costs, but perhaps 2026 represents a tipping point.
From Senegal to Somalia and Egypt to South Africa, credit alert notifications from fintech apps such as Western Union or WorldRemit often set the mood for the rest of the day, week or even month. Transfers from workers within the continent and the diaspora to their relatives are often referred to as the black tax, whereby one person's salary and relative success can become the safety net for a whole extended family.
For decades, business leaders have complained that California's regulatory climate has overburdened companies across the state, blaming a morass of rules, permits and paperwork for pushing businesses and jobs out of state and holding back economic growth. To help measure the impact of the regulations, the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, sought to compare the number of business requirements in the state with those in other parts of the country.
Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ripped off' by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding AFFORDABILITY! At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump confirmed that he planned to ask Congress to pass the cap on credit card interest rates.
Gambling in the UK isn't just a pastime - it's a cultural fixture that touches millions of people across different age groups and regions. Whether it's buying a lottery ticket, placing a sports bet, or trying luck online, betting habits offer insight into how people spend their leisure time and how the industry is evolving under changing technology and regulation. Participation trends across the country
Healthcare spending in the United States continues its upward climb, approaching $5 trillion annually in 2023. Employer-sponsored family plans now average $27,000 per year, placing mounting pressure on households and businesses. Yet despite this spending, the country's health outcomes remain far from world-leading. The latest OECD data show U.S. per-person spending is roughly twice the OECD average, with Switzerland and Germany trailing behind as the next highest spenders.
Iranians have been struggling for nearly two weeks with the longest, most comprehensive internet shutdown in the history of the Islamic Republic - one that has not only restricted their access to information and the outside world, but is also throttling many businesses that rely on online advertising. Authorities shut down internet access on Jan. 8 as nationwide protests led to a brutal crackdown that activists say has killed over 4,000 people, with more feared dead.
"For this not to be a bubble by definition, it requires that the benefits of this are much more evenly spread," Nadella said, as quoted by the FT. The "tell-tale sign of if it's a bubble," he added, would be if only tech companies were benefitting from the rise of AI. He gave the example of a pharmaceutical company using AI to accelerate drug trials;
At the same time, children's development and families' needs do not end when the bell rings or when they enter kindergarten; continuous afterschool programming from early childhood through adolescence is critical. To fully realize the goals of universal childcaresupport working families, advance educational equity, and strengthen the economyNew York City must extend this vision to K12 students and make universal afterschool programming a core part of the solution.
The study by the Fraser of Allander Institute found that the professional men's and women's game, alongside the national teams, generated 820m during the 2023/24 season when fan spending was included. Without spectator-related expenditure, the sport's direct economic contribution stood at 545m, supporting the equivalent of 9,245 full-time jobs rising to14,315 with matchday spending added. Attendances at professional matches involving Scottish teams topped 6.8 million during the 2023/24 campaign.
From July 3 through 9, the Port of New York and New Jersey will host a weeklong spectacle featuring more than 60 international tall ships from more than 20 countries, more than 40 allied and U.S. naval vessels, a British aircraft carrier, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and an aerial armada of over 100 aircrafts led by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels. By the numbers alone, it's set to eclipse every Operation Sail celebration that came before it, from 1964 through 2012.
In the region, they're projecting $350-600 million in terms of economic benefits throughout the entire region. We have our hotels, which will benefit, our restaurants,
Our shows consistently generate significant revenue and boost tourism dollars in our host cities, as our delegates are deeply engaged in the communities they visit. This year, we're proud to partner with Reno, a city that understands the value of tourism and welcomes our industry with open arms - and real investment.
San Jose's quest to build a robust entertainment lineup around the major sporting events coming to Silicon Valley in 2026 has hit a key fundraising milestone, with several local and national companies and philanthropic organizations chipping in big bucks to make its vision a reality. Mayor Matt Mahan announced Wednesday that the city and the San Jose Sports Authority have raised nearly $5 million to help put on over 100 watch parties, 13 concerts, seven drone shows and projection mapping events with the Super Bowl, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and FIFA World Cup taking place in the South Bay over the next several months.
There's certainly no bad blood between the Toronto and Taylor Swift after a city report found the pop star's Eras Tour brought in an estimated $282 million in 2024. Swift held six sold-out shows in Toronto for 240,000 concertgoers in November 2024 as part of her massive Eras Tour. Globally, the tour is estimated to have made over $2 billion in ticket sales with 10 million attendees.
These are just a sampling of how this part of Ventura County is reckoning with the aftermath of federal immigration raids on Glass House cannabis farms six months ago, when hundreds of workers were detained and families split apart. In some instances, there is still uncertainty about what happened to minors left behind after one or both parents were deported.
The Trump administration has said it is immediately pausing all leases for offshore wind farms already under construction, in the heaviest blow yet to an industry that the administration has relentlessly targeted throughout the year. Trump's Department of the Interior said that it was halting the building of five wind projects due to national security risks. The department said it would work with the US Department of Defense to mitigate the risk of the wind turbine towers creating radar interference called clutter that could in some way hamper the US military.
Utility provider PG&E is hoping you'll forget about this weekend's one- to three-day power outage with a $200 credit for residential customers and a $2,500 credit for businesses, though some businesses say they lost ten times that much. The finger-pointing and blame games continue over PG&E's massive power outage that left more than 200,000 San Franciscans without electricity this weekend, as well they should.
Labour's crackdown on foreign workers could cost the UK economy millions, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned. Plans to increase the salary threshold for workers seeking to come to Britain, as part of wider changes to bring down immigration numbers, would cost between 520-710 million because thousands fewer people would be contributing to the UK economy, an independent watchdog has found.
Jerry Jones isn't content with the status quo. Even with the Dallas Cowboys' valuation exceeding $13 billion, the owner believes there's enormous potential. That revenue stream simply hasn't been fully exploited yet. He has created a business empire of merchandising, stadium entitlements, and media contracts. Still, the barrier to sports betting in Texas is the one that he has frequently failed to break through.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has reportedly told staff the cyber-raid that crippled its operations in August didn't just bring production to a screeching halt - it also walked off with the personal payroll data of thousands of employees. The breach, which was pegged as one of the most costly in UK history, includes bank account details, tax codes, and other sensitive data related to staff salaries, benefits, and former employees. In an email to both current employees and former employees, seen by The Telegraph, JLR wrote: "While investigating, we have unfortunately identified that there has been unauthorised access to some personal data we process in the context of employment and some information needed to administer payroll, benefits and staff schemes to employees and dependents. This includes data of ex-JLR team members that has been stored."
The New York State Gaming Commission will hold a Monday meeting that is expected to finalize the approval for all three full-scale NYC casino sites. The meeting will take place at the Robert F. Smith Center for the Performing Arts at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park in Manhattan. It will also be livestreamed. State officials said on the agenda will be the consideration of gaming facilities licensing for the locations that were approved by its Location Board on Dec. 1.
Anheuser-Busch will shut down its Fairfield brewery in early 2026, city officials confirmed Thursday, marking the loss of one of the community's largest employers and dealing what leaders say will be a major economic blow. Mayor Catherine Moy announced the closure in a social media post, calling the news "horrible" and "devastating." She said City Manager David Gassaway notified her Thursday morning after receiving confirmation from the company.
San Jose has greenlit up to 15 concerts annually at PayPal Park, expanding the city's largest outdoor venue into a key spot for live music. This decision opens doors for major acts to perform between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., adding to the limited options for large-scale shows in the area. The concerts stand to invigorate the local economy through hundreds of jobs tied to event operations. Visitors from afar will fill hotels, while attendees head to nearby restaurants and bars before and after shows, creating a ripple effect.
According to the revised "2025 Economic Impact of Motorcoach Travel in the United States" report, motorcoach activity generated $158 billion in total economic impact in 2024, supporting more than 890,000 jobs nationwide. New data from scheduled service operations augment previous research results from the initial impact report released in September. According to ABAF, the study was conducted by Tourism Economics and highlights the combined strength of group travel, charter operations, sightseeing, scheduled service,
New York City will probably soon see three new casinos, whose owners could rake in profits because of a recent surge in gambling in the United States that has some campaigners worried. The New York gaming facility location board this week approved three proposed casinos in the US's largest city two in Queens and one in the Bronx after determining the businesses would create new jobs and generate billions in tax revenue, according to the group's report.
From his inauguration to last month's glitzy White House dinner for the Saudis, Trump basks in the support, gifts and affirmation of the most famous AI leaders and companies in the world. The big picture: Trump has essentially fused Silicon Valley and government in a race to both beat China to all-powerful AI and rescue an economy that's treading water outside of the AI boom. He has rolled back regulations, awarded huge contracts, and downplayed concerns about AI safety or downside risk.
