Author: Editor

This-as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kylie Genter, 36, a Haenyeo diver on Jeju Island, South Korea. It’s been edited for length and clarity.I’d been teaching English in South Korea for four years when I learned about the Haenyeo — female freedivers who harvest seafood without using modern equipment. I was interested. So, in the summer of 2018, I completed diving lessons with the hopes that maybe I could work with them one day.A few years later, my Korean husband, a scuba diver, read on a diving group chat that a small village on the southwestern side of…

Albertsons is curbing health care benefits for employees due to rising healthcare costs.Starting next year, the grocery giant will no longer offer medical insurance plans to employees’ spouses and domestic partners who have jobs that provide such coverage. The grocery giant detailed the change in an open enrollment guide posted to its website.Albertsons said it expects its healthcare costs to increase 9.5% next year due to inflation, higher prescription drug costs, provider consolidation, and shortages in the healthcare workforce.”Like employers across the country, Albertsons Companies continues to navigate rising health care costs while working to provide associates with access to…

YouTube’s ad revenue growth is slowing down — and missed analysts’ estimates in the third quarter.YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, reported $11.2 billion in third-quarter YouTube ads revenue, a 9% increase from a year ago. That falls below the $11.43 billion analyst consensus estimate. Its ads revenue growth also slowed from the previous quarter, when it pulled in about $11.1 billion, a 13% increase from the previous year.While YouTube’s ad revenue was weaker than expected, it wasn’t all bad news. The company said it now has over 150 million YouTube Music and Premium subscribers, up from 125 million in March 2025.YouTube has…

A FedEx delivery truck is seen in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on July 25, 2026. Marcin Golba | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesFedEx on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines and raised its full-year outlook for its newly realigned fiscal year. Shares of the company fell slightly in extended trading.Here’s how the company performed for the period ended Sept. 30 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $3.74 adjusted vs. $3.36 expectedRevenue: $22.86 billion vs. $22.42 billion expectedThe company reported net income…

The Federal Trade Commission is asking companies from food delivery services to airlines about how they use personalized prices.The Commission said on Wednesday that it sent orders to the companies asking for details about what kind of personal information they use to determine prices. The orders target a wide range of companies, from retailers Walmart and Target to food delivery services Uber and DoorDash to airlines like Delta and United.”Consumers deserve to know whether companies use their web surfing habits or other personal data to estimate the highest price they can charge each consumer,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson.”Workers…

The second-to-last Federal Open Market Committee meeting in 2026 has come and gone, with some new information unveiled at Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference.The FOMC decided in its meeting to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, although two members dissented.That comes as the inflation rate has been above the Fed’s 2% target, while unemployment remains low. Warsh also announced a shake-up to next year’s FOMC meeting plans.Here are three large takeaways from Wednesday’s Fed meeting.Two dissentsWhile last month’s 25-basis-point hike was a unanimous 12-0 decision, the October vote to hold rates steady was 10-2. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack wanted…

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as was widely expected. The rate remained unchanged after a 10-2 vote, where 2 officials voted to hike rates by 25 bps.Fed chair Kevin Warsh, who began his term leading the central bank in May, said the Fed is working to deliver future price stability and quash inflation during the Federal Open Market Committee press conference following the hold announcement.”The period right in front of us is information rich,” Warsh said.He added: “We’re going to be able to figure out what’s the appropriate protocol, as part of this package that we started to…

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday reported mixed quarterly results and said its restaurant-level operating margin shrank.But the burrito chain saw traffic and same-store sales grow during the quarter as low-income consumers spent more, bucking industry trends, and CEO Scott Boatwright projected a strong finish to the year. Shares of the company rose 7% in extended trading.”Broader consumer and industry headwinds may continue, but initiatives across our recipe for growth strategy are building and giving us more tools to win in any environment,” Boatwright said on the company’s earnings conference call. “We are still in the early stages of this work,…

November 11 marks the 100th birthday of Route 66, the iconic American highway that runs from Chicago to California.I grew up in St. Louis, right along the old route, so, in honor of the anniversary, I set out to drive part of it.Along the way, I met people who’ve kept the road’s legacy alive and their businesses afloat.However, for every store that has survived, I was surprised to see even more motels, gas stations, and restaurants boarded up.They stood as phantoms of a forgotten era. Their neon signs went dark long ago.These are the ghost towns of Route 66 that…

On Sunday, a small crowd took to the streets of Boston to protest, holding signs, chanting, with one person even appearing in full costume and face paint. The protest took place in front of the Back Bay headquarters of insurance company Liberty Mutual. The protest was not against some sort of corporate malfeasance, political, or even a social justice issue.They were protesting the existence of Liberty Biberty, the new fuzzy yellow mascot that appears in the insurance giant’s TV ads.People, for some reason, really hate the Liberty Biberty puppet.There’s a Facebook page with over 40,000 people devoted to hating it.…