Author: Editor

It’s no secret that people buy a staggering amount of stuff at Costco.The wholesale club saw net sales of nearly $270 billion last fiscal year, and shoppers can’t get enough of the chain.With this rising popularity has come a tighter enforcement of Costco’s membership policy, with new scanners at the front door and ID checks at self-checkout.However, there’s a reason the company started cracking down on freeloaders, similar to Netflix.Despite selling billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise, Costco generally doesn’t profit from those sales as much as typical retailers like Walmart or Target do. Last year’s average merchandise markup, or gross margin…

With reported months-long consulate and embassy delays, Google and Apple say employees on H-1B visas should stay put in the U.S. right now to avoid the risk of getting stranded abroad. The latter tech company’s headquarters campus is seen in Mountain View, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple and Google are warning some U.S-based employees on visas against traveling outside of the country to avoid the risk of getting stuck coming back, as the Trump administration toughens vetting of visa applicants, according to recent internal memos from the tech companies that were reviewed by…

John Lowery, chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and a state representative (center) is comforted, as he cries tears of joy. Lowery and other members of the tribe gathered in Washington, D.C., to mark the passage of a bill granting full federal recognition on Wednesday. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP After a 137-year struggle, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has finally received full federal recognition from the U.S. government. Members of the Native American tribe shed tears as it reached the historic milestone in Washington, D.C., this week. Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery witnessed…

The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building on Dec. 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The Department of Justice started releasing files related to the life, death and criminal investigations of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein Friday. Files continued to be posted on its “Epstein Library” website on Saturday. But NPR identified more than a dozen files released by the DOJ on Friday that are no longer available Saturday afternoon, including one that shows President Trump’s photo on a desk among several other photographs. The removed files also show various…

In 2017, I moved from Los Angeles to Panama to teach English.My first year in the country was filled with excitement. I was based in Panama City, and I found it easy to make friends through the many dance classes and meet-ups.My social life felt full, and most weekends were spent wandering through Casco Viejo (the downtown area), trying to find the best rooftop bars and underground nightclubs playing a mix of Reggaeton and pop music.Soon, though, the fast-paced lifestyle, combined with the constant traffic and sweltering heat, became overwhelming. I grew tired of living in a city of millions…

Mississippi Supreme Court justices listen to arguments in Jackson, Miss., on July 6, 2023. On Friday, a judge ordered special elections for the court after earlier finding that the electoral map used to select justices violates the Voting Rights Act. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption toggle caption Rogelio V. Solis/AP JACKSON, Miss. — A judge on Friday ordered special elections for the Mississippi Supreme Court after earlier finding that the electoral map used to select justices violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in August ordered Mississippi to redraw the map, which was enacted…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 61-year-old Doug Beachy, a Cincinnati-based business owner who bought a vacation home with Pacaso in 2022. Pacaso is a platform for fractional ownership of luxury vacation homes. The company allows multiple individuals to co-own a second home and share ownership of the property. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.I’ve been married to my wife, Jamie, for 37 years. We have four married children and 16 grandchildren. Our oldest grandchild is 12, and our youngest isn’t quite one yet.Once our kids started having children, they all moved back closer…

When I got long COVID, I moved back in with my parents. I slowly settled into life back at home for the first time in eight years and had a routine of dinner and TV with my parents in the evenings, along with the occasional weekend coffee with a friend.Time crept by, and I couldn’t imagine what the next steps of my life would be. I wasn’t sure if I would recover, return to work, or live alone again.After a year, I was getting more restless as my symptoms improved, and I wanted to move on to the next step.…

Build-A-Bear Workshop wasn’t always a retail winner.The toy store, known for its interactive experience of building and accessorizing stuffed animals, has gone through a significant turnaround since CEO Sharon Price John took the helm of the company over a decade ago.”When I first came in 2013, that assessment of the brand was strong,” she told CNBC. “We don’t have a broken brand, we have a broken business, and when you started doing interviews, you really understood how much this brand meant to people.”The company found initial success in malls in the early 2000s, but Build-A-Bear’s stock plunged after the 2008…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Baz Costello, 48, who lives in Brighton and Hove, UK. He recently decided to start his own company after growing frustrated with his job search. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.I was a consultant for a big digital consultancy up until November last year. I worked there as both a product lead and was also the chair of the neurodiversity employee resource group.At the start of this year, I went back to contracting, and then I learned I had prostate cancer. It was stage one, and I was…