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Some California hospitals are about to hand new parents a new state-sponsored freebie: roughly a month’s worth of diapers. Loading audio narration… Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced what he called a first-in-the-nation, statewide program that will give families 400 free diapers before they leave the hospital after giving birth.The program starts this summer.The initiative, called “Golden State Start,” will launch at roughly 65 to 75 California hospitals in its first year, the governor’s office said. The state said those hospitals account for about a quarter of California births.The first wave of hospitals primarily serves low-income families, though state officials…

Disney’s first approach to Trump 2.0: Give Donald Trump what he wants. Loading audio narration… Now it’s trying something different: The opposite.In a filing with the federal government this week, Disney pushed back against its attempt to regulate which guests can appear on “The View,” calling those efforts “unprecedented” and a threat to free speech.And while Disney’s fight in this case is theoretically with the Federal Communications Commission, not the president of the United States, we should be clear about this: FCC head Brendan Carr was placed in the job by Donald Trump, and acts as if he is an…

A cup of coffee and strawberry frosted donut with sprinkles are arranged for a photograph at a Dunkin’ Donuts Inc. location in Los Angeles, California, U.S.Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDunkin’ and Buffalo Wild Wings owner Inspire Brands has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, the company announced on Friday.If Inspire goes public, it will be one of the biggest-ever restaurant offerings. Roark is reportedly seeking a valuation of roughly $20 billion.Inspire was founded in 2018 through a merger between Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, backed by private equity firm Roark Capital. Then came more acquisitions: Sonic…

Claims of historic performance are often exaggerated on Wall Street. But April was one for the record books. Loading audio narration… The sharp rebound across global markets pushed stocks to all-time highs, with the S&P 500 rising more than 10% in April. Hedge Fund Research called it a “historic gain” for the industry, with the average fund up 4.8% — the second-best monthly return since 2009, behind only November 2020.And still there were funds that stood out for their eye-popping performance.Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global, the long-running stockpicking firm, was up 15% in its flagship hedge fund strategy, putting it at…

Chili’s has pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in casual dining, and CEO Kevin Hochman says the strategy behind it isn’t complicated. Loading audio narration… The chain has had steady sales growth over the past four years since Hochman took over as president of parent company Brinker International, which also owns the Italian casual-dining chain Maggiano’s.”It’s two things,” Hochman told Business Insider of the company’s growth. “We have a saying here: marketing brings them in, and ops brings them back.”In other words, flashy ads and viral menu items like the chain’s cheese-pulling mozzarella sticks and Triple Dipper appetizer combo,…

When I moved from California to Spain in 2019, I knew my life would change — but I didn’t expect how deeply it would shift the way I moved through the world. Loading audio narration… During my first few weeks as a language assistant, a Spanish teacher I worked with invited me for a drink in Cartagena’s city center on a Thursday afternoon. As we walked through the marble streets, I was surprised to see the plaza filled with people.Beyond restaurants and bars being packed, the streets themselves were buzzing with couples on benches, families walking with no particular destination,…

What’s the new normal for a company whose CEO is all in on AI and cutting jobs as a result? Look no further than DeepL’s layoffs memo. Loading audio narration… The German AI translation startup recently cut about 250 employees, over 21% of staff. In his message posted on LinkedIn, founder Jarek Kutylowski checked all the boxes for the new-age layoff memo: smaller teams, fewer management layers, more AI, and the old reliable “founder mode.”Recent layoffs at Block, Atlassian, and more have taken a similar tack. The layoff playbook is here — and DeepL is the latest exemplar.Breaking down DeepL’s…

Rupert Murdoch used the NFL to help build his media empire. Now he wants Donald Trump’s help to keep the NFL in line. Loading audio narration… That’s the takeaway from a new Wall Street Journal story about Murdoch’s fight with America’s most powerful sports league. The paper reports that Murdoch personally lobbied Trump at a White House dinner in February, warning that if the NFL continued to sell more games to streamers like Amazon and Netflix, it could damage broadcast networks like Fox.Soon after, the Federal Communications Commission opened an inquiry into sports rights moving from broadcast TV to streaming.…

Michael Burry sold his entire stake in GameStop this week after CEO Ryan Cohen launched a takeover bid for eBay. Loading audio narration… The investor of “The Big Short” fame, who counted GameStop among the three largest holdings in his stock portfolio, wrote on his Substack that he closed the bet because he’d been hoping for Cohen to strike a different kind of deal.Burry — who’s gone from neurology resident and blogger, to hedge fund manager, to online writer — said it was “remarkable how a scalpel can be used differently than a meat cleaver.” He was likely comparing his…

Whoop fitness wearable.Courtesy: WhoopWearable fitness tracker Whoop announced on Friday it will introduce in-app access to on-demand licensed clinicians for users in the United States.The new feature comes alongside a suite of health and artificial intelligence-driven features launching globally that will allow users to connect their continuous biometric data with medical guidance in real time.Many of the new features are included in the price of membership, though live video consultation for U.S. users will come at an additional cost. Pricing and details will be available when that option launches this summer, according to the company.”Whoop is a membership, and we…