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Americans may want to pay closer attention to where they’re shopping online this holiday season.With tariffs hitting foreign goods shipped to the US, consumers could end up with surprise bills tucked in their packages. Some customers have received unexpected charges when international deliveries arrive at their doorsteps, for example.To avoid paying extra for your gifts this year — or at least figure out if you’ll be on the hook for customs fees — you’ll need to read the fine print on retailer websites.Do your research before you purchaseFirst, take note of the retailer or seller’s location. If it’s shipping from…

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., discusses the Trump administration’s tax cuts and their impact on affordability on ’The Bottom Line.’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that American households will see “very large refunds” in the tax filing season early next year following policy changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Bessent spoke to NBC10 Philadelphia on Tuesday ahead of an event touting the Trump administration’s economic policies and said that American taxpayers could see sizable refunds following the enactment of the OBBBA.The treasury secretary noted that the tax law included retroactive provisions for policies that will impact what taxpayers owe on…

2025-12-12T20:03:02.040Z Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky WhatsApp Copy link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. The Waldorf Astoria in New York City reopened in July after an eight-year, $2 billion restoration. Residents of its new luxury condominiums gain access to exclusive amenities such as the Empire Club. The business center and lounge features private offices, curated artwork, and 24-hour room service. At the Empire…

Disney’s billion-dollar OpenAI deal isn’t the only way the company is embracing AI. In recent months, the Mouse House has been quietly adding new AI tools to its arsenal and encouraging staff to use them.”They clearly see where things are headed,” a longtime software engineer at Disney said. This marked a shift from this summer, when Disney had seemed “hesitant to rely on AI tools,” they said.Disney has given its employees access to several AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot and Amazon’s Q Developer. Thanks to Disney’s OpenAI deal, employees will also soon have access to the enterprise version of ChatGPT,…

Given the length of time it can take for the new season of your favorite TV show to come out, it’s understandable that you might want a little video recap of what’s happened so far.Ideally, that recap is accurate.Fans of Amazon’s hit show “Fallout” said that wasn’t the case in its AI-made synopsis of season one, released ahead of the hit show’s new season next week. Fans quickly spotted factual errors, and Amazon Prime Video took down the recap.One Redditor said the AI feature told viewers that a flashback featuring the Ghoul (one of the main characters, played by Walton…

It’s not just grocery prices that are high — it’s also the shopping baskets, or at least some of them.A Chanel handbag cosplaying as a grocery basket sold for $152,400 at auction on Thursday, breaking brand records.The piece — the rare, runway silver and black lambskin leather shopping basket bag from 2014 — sold for more than 10 times its low estimate of $15,000 at the online auction from Christie’s.That’s a lot of money, but far from the most expensive handbag ever sold.In July, Hermès’ original Birkin bag — worn by Jane Birkin, herself — sold for $10.1 million, becoming…

A voter carries his son as he walks into the Oak Creek Town Hall to drop off his ballot on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, in Oak Creek, Colo. Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images The Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against four more states as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to access sensitive voter data. The DOJ is also suing one Georgia county, seeking records from the 2020 election. The department has now filed suit against 18 states — mostly Democratic-led, and all states that President Trump lost in…

In Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who turns the mammal metropolis of Zootopia upside down.DisneyThe Walt Disney Co. tallied its second billion-dollar film of 2025 with the help of a determined bunny and mischievous fox.”Zootopia 2″ is set to top $1 billion at the global box office on Friday, according to company estimates, joining the live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” as the only Hollywood-made films to cross the benchmark this year. Heading into the weekend, the film had tallied $232.7 million domestically and $753.4 million…

Every year around mid-December, a familiar panic sets in for millions of holiday shoppers. It’s the shipping cutoff, that ominous date when guaranteed delivery by Christmas becomes impossible without exorbitant fees.For many retailers, this date represents the psychological finish line for online shopping. But this is a strategic error. According to retail industry insights, the shipping cutoff isn’t the end; it’s an opportunity.While marketers view the calendar in distinct shipping windows, shoppers view it through the lens of fulfillment options. Last year, shoppers completed, on average, about a quarter (24%) of their holiday shopping in the two weeks before Christmas…

By our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband and I had moved twice for his job. We were in our 20s and excited for new experiences. It was easy to embrace the chaos of moving then.When a third opportunity to relocate was presented, the choice wasn’t so easy anymore. Our family had grown; we now had a baby to consider. This move would take us from Houston to California, a place we’d barely visited. The whole idea felt exciting, but what would it be like to move halfway across the country with a baby in tow?Having a baby made us think…