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The biggest American automakers all but abandoned sedans and coupes in recent years as they rushed to compete in the pickup truck and SUV markets.Many domestic buyers also shifted toward those bigger vehicles. Still, there’s a market for cars, as Japanese, Korean and German brands sell hundreds of thousands of smaller passenger vehicles in the U.S. annually.The resilience of the sedan market and concerns that high prices are driving away customers have led some American automakers to reconsider their lineups.With the average price for a vehicle hovering around $50,000, a compact sedan that starts at about $22,000 is an attractive…

Donald Trump is giving Americans a fair amount of reasons to drink these days — threatening to obliterate Iran, or flirting with a takeover of Greenland. But the president is, perhaps counterintuitively, also part of why people are laying off the booze. Trump’s policies and rhetoric are killing America’s buzz.Americans are drinking less than they have in decades. While a long-term cultural shift toward moderation is very real, the immediate cyclical indicators — meaning the regular ebbs and flows — are all pointing down. And Trump is nudging them in that direction.The amount of alcoholic beverages consumed across major markets…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chef Rene Johnson, the founder of Blackberry Soul Fine Catering and entrepreneur behind Link and Thrive, a mentorship program for business owners. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I didn’t even like food as a kid. What I loved was being with my grandmother, who always made everything from scratch, and the way our family gathered around her food. That’s where it started for me — not with cooking, but with connection.I was her first granddaughter, and I always say she channeled me the most. I…

Once in a while, something happens in tech land that’s prime meme fodder. The latest: A shoe company suddenly — and seemingly inexplicably — pivots to go all in on AI. Loading audio narration… Allbirds found itself the subject of many jokes on social media on Wednesday. Investors in the long-beleaguered company, though, had something to celebrate. Its stock price shot through the roof after it rebranded itself as NewBird AI and said it would provide GPU compute-as-a-service.Have a look at some of these top-tier comedy offerings:#1 As Ross Geller once yelled in a legendary ‘Friends’ episode: ‘PIVOT!’#2 Someone’s going…

NATO member Latvia’s national security analysts have released a report estimating that Russia has spent an additional $130 billion trying to buy Western goods while being sanctioned. Loading audio narration… Published last week by the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), the government analysis said the estimate was based on spending from 2022 to 2025, translating to an annual $32.5 billion loss.That estimated figure is just for imports of Western goods. The international sanctions, imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, also mean the country has lost hundreds of billions from its export markets and assets frozen by Western banks.The Latvian analysts…

When I ripped open my first snail-mail art print from Trinity Shiroma, I couldn’t help smile. Loading audio narration… Out of the envelope fell a beautifully intricate watercolor painting of Casa Battló in Barcelona that doubled as a postcard. It was wrapped in a handwritten letter explaining its architectural significance, and by a black-and-white print of Spanish tiles, meant to be colored in by the receiver.I’ve never been big on postcards or snail mail, but holding this piece of art in my hands, I understood the hype.Shiroma, a 25-year-old architect-turned full time artist in Florida, started her snail mail club…

Allbirds isn’t only pivoting to AI — it’s pivoting away from its core environmental principles. Loading audio narration… Once dubbed the favorite shoemaker of Silicon Valley, Allbirds announced Wednesday it was transitioning from footwear to AI compute infrastructure and becoming NewBird AI.The company said it planned to buy GPUs, or powerful chips, and become a GPU-as-a-service company. It’s also selling off its footwear assets and its original name, meaning Allbirds-branded shoes could continue to be made, under new ownership.The company partially answered questions about what that might mean for Allbirds’ status as a company committed to ESG — environmental, social,…

The top executive at ESPN addressed his staff after the latest round of layoffs at its parent company, Disney. Loading audio narration… Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, sent a memo about the cuts to his employees on Wednesday. The memo, obtained by Business Insider, said that all ESPN employees affected by the cuts have already been notified.The layoffs, which began Tuesday, were the first at Disney under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who took over in March.Read Pitaro’s memo below:Team:As Josh D’Amaro shared, our industry and our businesses are undergoing profound change, and we must continue fostering a more agile and…

Spirit Airlines airplanes taxi on the tarmac at New York’s Laguardia Airport in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., Nov. 7, 2025.Ryan Murphy | ReutersSpirit Airlines could liquidate as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters that had not yet been made public.The budget carrier has been struggling to regain its footing from its second bankruptcy in less than a year, but it now faces the added challenge of a spike in the price of fuel. Fuel is airlines’ biggest expense after labor.”We don’t comment…

Disney is offering severance to employees affected by its latest round of layoffs, the first under new CEO Josh D’Amaro. Loading audio narration… Laid-off staffers will receive a severance package based on their level and length of tenure at the company, according to guidelines in Disney’s employee handbook, which was viewed by Business Insider.Here’s a summary:These payouts align with the severance offers received by four employees who were laid off this week and spoke with Business Insider. Two of these people said they also received a prorated bonus, paid vacation days, and continued health coverage for several months.A Disney spokesperson…