Verizon will lay off up to 20% of its non-union workforce.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Verizon said Thursday that it will lay off more than 13,000 employees.
The company started 2025 with about 100,000 employees.
New CEO Dan Schulman said the cuts will make Verizon "faster and more focused."
Verizon plans to lay off 13,000 employees, its new CEO said Thursday.
The job cuts will make Verizon "faster and more focused," Verizon's CEO Dan Schulman said in a message to employees. Bloomberg earlier reported the news.
Schulman's message said the cuts are meant to reduce costs and focus Verizon on "delighting our customers."
"The actions we're taking are designed to make us faster and more focused, positioning our company to deliver for our customers while continuing to capture new growth opportunities," Schulman said.
Schulman became Verizon's chief executive last month and has said he wants to create a "simpler, leaner, and scrappier" company.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
I (not pictured) have figured out how to make packing to visit our family way less stressful for me.
Imgorthand/Getty Images
I regularly travel by plane from New York to Sarasota, Florida, to visit my in-laws.
Packing stressed me out until I realized I could store essentials at my mother-in-law's place.
Now, my husband and I travel light, and I worry less about packing and checking bags.
A few years ago, my husband's brother and his family moved from our hometown in New York to Sarasota, Florida. Some time later, my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law followed.
Now, my husband, our two daughters, and I travel to Sarasota at least once a year, sometimes more.
I'm always excited for my kids to see their grandmother and spend time with their cousins, and I enjoy hanging out with my in-laws in the warm weather, catching up on each other's lives. We shop, laugh, eat, and laugh again.
I love these trips — but I used to hate packing for them.
Packing required too many lists and too much time
Over and over again, I'd pack a full suitcase filled with everything I could need: summer clothes, hoodies for the chilly air-conditioned Florida restaurants, bathing suits, shoes, a dressier outfit that I never wore but always brought just in case.
And, of course, I'd have my least favorite thing to pack: an abundance of toiletries for my hair, skin, and body. My Type-A, list-making personality didn't allow me to just throw these items in my bag.
Instead, I'd start with a list, then take an inventory of what I had and shop for anything I still needed.
From there, I'd write down what could go in my carry-on versus what needed to be in my checked luggage and organize everything into packing cubes and zip-up bags.
This process usually took up to three days to complete. It was madness.
Then, my husband put me onto a life-changing travel trick
One year, my husband had the brilliant idea to stop packing for these trips altogether.
As soon as we arrived in Sarasota, he headed to Walmart, where he purchased a few pairs of shorts, underwear, undershirts, and some T-shirts and button-downs.
Because his mom has the space to spare, when we left to go back home to New York, his clothes stayed in Florida.
My husband realized buying clothes at Walmart and leaving them with family in Florida would save him a lot of time and space for packing.
: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The next time we visited, after I'd spent days packing and organizing, he simply put his iPad, a book, and some good ol' New York bagels in a bag and off he went to the airport. It was awe-inspiring.
Before our visit last Christmas, I took a page out of his book. I packed clothes and shoes, but only clothes and shoes.
While there, I visited that same Florida Walmart and bought everything else I needed: a toothbrush, floss, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, deodorant, and more.
Once our trip came to an end, I left it all there at my mother-in-law's, tucked away in a closet. When we went down the next summer, I again only had to pack clothes. It was so much easier.
This hack has eliminated all the stress of packing for these trips
I look forward to packing light on my next trip to Sarasota.
Delpixart/Getty Images
I love that I can get ready for these trips so quickly now and that I'll never have to go through the headache of packing toiletries to visit family again.
Next time, I won't even be bringing clothes.
Our time in Florida is incredibly laid-back — we mostly stay in and visit casual restaurants. We go to the movies and sometimes to the beach. I don't need my favorite shorts, go-to T-shirts, or that just-in-case dressy outfit. I just need something to wear, anything.
For the next trip, I'm packing only my devices and medicine, buying some essentials after we land, and leaving them there when we depart. When our daughters stop growing, I'll do the same for them.
One day, traveling there will be the easiest thing I do all year. We'll throw a few items in our little carry-on bags, make a quick stop at the bagel store, and be on our way.
The September jobs report was delayed due to the government shutdown.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The US added 119,000 jobs in September, exceeding the expected 53,000.
Unemployment unexpectedly ticked up.
The data release was delayed due to the government shutdown.
The US added 119,000 jobs in September, far more than the 53,000 economists expected, and unemployment unexpectedly increased to 4.4% from 4.3%.
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August's job growth was revised from a gain of 22,000 to a loss of 4,000, and July's growth was revised from a gain of 79,000 to 72,000. "With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 33,000 lower than previously reported," BLS said.
Economists expected the unemployment rate to remain steady after two consecutive months of 0.1 percentage point increases. Unemployment has been at least 4% since May 2024.
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The longest government shutdown in US history delayed the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report, originally scheduled for October 3.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday there won't be an October jobs report, which would have been released at the start of November barring the shutdown. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said recently that payroll estimates for last month can still be calculated, but "we will never know what the unemployment rate was in October."
While payrolls are based on a survey of businesses and government agencies that likely still have their October employment records and can report those to the BLS, unemployment is based on a survey of households, which wasn't collected during the shutdown. The agency said it will extend the data collection period for November and will publish that report on a delay, but still in December.
Private data providers like ADP, Revelio Labs, and others were able to partially fill the gap for September and October hiring changes, but economists and market watchers have been eagerly awaiting the delayed official figures.
The Federal Open Market Committee's December meeting is scheduled to be the last one of the year. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September and October. CME FedWatch, which showed the chances of the Fed changing rates, indicated before the jobs report a roughly 70% chance that rates would be held steady. That was up from a virtual coin toss before the BLS announcement that the November jobs report would be delayed until after the meeting.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Advertiser spending on creators is expected to hit $37 billion in 2025, according to a new IAB report.
The category's growth comes as legacy formats like linear TV lose audience.
More marketers consider creators a "must buy" than other emerging categories, such as commerce apps.
Marketers are racing to work with creators this year, with US ad spending in the category estimated to hit $37 billion by year's end, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
That's up 26% year-over-year.
The vertical is growing four times as fast as the overall media industry, per IAB's analysis.
For context, the largest digital ad segment tracked by the IAB last year was search, at $102.9 billion.
The 2025 spending estimate on creators is nearly triple the amount from 2021, when social-media consumption was booming amid the pandemic lockdown.
There are three things driving the spike in interest in creators among brands, said Zoe Soon, an IAB VP who focuses on emerging advertising channels like the creator economy and gaming.
First, influencers have a "built-in distribution" network to serve ads across social channels. Second, they have proven cultural relevance among young people. And third, they have the ability to connect with "ad-avoidant" Gen Z consumers at a time when there are "diminishing places that you can reach them," Soon said.
Creators are now considered more of a "must-buy" than other emerging ad categories like connected TV and commerce media among the roughly 450 US ad spending decision-makers who responded to the IAB's survey between July and August.
IAB earlier projected connected TV ad spending would hit $26.6 billion in 2025.
"Creator content is outperforming brand-led content across almost all metrics," Dontae Mears, an SVP of influencer marketing at Weber Shandwick, told Business Insider.
Here are three key takeaways from IAB's report:
1. The creator ads business is eating up spending from legacy channels
A few years ago, it was tough to get a brand advertiser to put more than an experimental budget behind influencer campaigns. That's not true today. Marketers know they have to invest in creator content if they want to reach some audiences, even if it's harder to scale than a campaign run on Facebook or Google.
If creators are "driving the cultural zeitgeist," and you have other channels that advertisers are not seeing as effective anymore, "it makes sense that they start moving those dollars over," said Chris Bruderle, IAB's VP of industry insights and content strategy.
2. Mid-tier creators reign supreme
Mid-tier influencers with between 50,000 and 500,000 followers were the most commonly hired by respondents to IAB's survey.
Sixty-one percent of respondents said they hired mid-tier influencers, followed by 55% who said they worked with either macro influencers (500,000 to 1 million followers) or micro creators (10,000 to 50,000 followers).
VIPs and celebrities were the least popular, with 30% of respondents saying they worked with the cohort.
The IAB's Soon attributed the popularity of mid-tier creators to their ability to drive sales for brands while also having enough scale to generate some broad brand awareness.
3. AI is top of mind for marketers
While creators can offer authenticity to marketers, AI is still very much in play among those who responded to the IAB's survey.
According to the IAB, about three in four brands are either already using or planning to use AI tools. A bulk of that use is going toward tasks like editing content, writing creator partnership briefs, and A/B testing. Lower on the list: working with "synthetic creators" — otherwise referred to as virtual or AI influencers.
"AI is really helping us develop the right strategy," Mears said. "Being able to analyze a lot more of that initial input data of who's the consumer that we're going after, what are the kind of messages that resonate with them, what are the trending topics, what are the cultural sparks?"
That work then helps guide partnership briefs and planning, he said.
A passenger dropped a laptop down the side of a seat while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
This posed a fire risk, so the plane had to turn around and divert to Dublin.
United Airlines Flight 925 ultimately reached Washington, DC, five hours later than planned.
A United Airlines plane was forced to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean when a passenger dropped a laptop down the side of a business-class seat.
Wednesday's Flight 925 took off from London and was supposed to land at Washington Dulles International Airport about eight hours later.
However, two hours into the journey, the Boeing 767 turned around while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. It was over 250 miles from Ireland's west coast.
Data from Flightradar24 shows it diverted to Dublin, touching down shortly after 8 p.m. local time — more than three hours after takeoff.
United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside US working hours.
Online aviation enthusiasts picked up a message sent from the plane's Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). It said a passenger dropped a laptop between the side wall and armrest of a business-class seat, and that it appeared to be stuck.
This would pose a safety risk due to the laptop's lithium battery. If overcharged or damaged, it can result in thermal runaway, leading to rapid temperature increase.
Since the laptop was inaccessible, the crew might not know if it had caught fire until it was too late. That's the same reason many airlines have tightened their rules on power banks this year.
The United plane spent nearly three hours on the ground in the Irish capital, departing at 11 p.m. Passengers ultimately reached Washington, DC, five hours later than planned, at 1:14 a.m.
This isn't the first time a passenger's lost device has forced a diversion.
Five weeks ago, a similar incident occurred on another United Airlines flight, en route from Washington, DC, to Rome.
The pilots told air traffic control that a passenger dropped their laptop, which fell into the plane's cargo hold.
"We don't know the status of it, we can't access it, we can't see it," he added. "So our decision is to return to Dulles and find this laptop before we can continue over the ocean."
A customer shops for groceries at a Walmart store in Toronto, Canada, Nov. 17, 2025.
Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images
Walmart posts strong sales growth for Q3.
The retailer is gaining market share by attracting both low and high-income shoppers.
Outgoing CEO Doug McMillon will be succeeded by John Furner in January.
Even in challenging times, Walmart continues to deliver solid results.
The retail giant posted strong sales for the third quarter, with a 4.5% increase in same-store sales, beating analysts' expectations. Its e-commerce division saw a 27% increase during the quarter.
"We're gaining market share, improving delivery speed, and managing inventory well. We're well-positioned for a strong finish to the year and beyond that, thanks to our associates," outgoing CEO Doug McMillon said.
McMillon is set to retire in January and be succeeded by John Furner, who heads-up the company's US division.
Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, and more than one in four grocery dollars in the US is spent at one of Walmart stores. That scale gives the company a unique lens into the financial health of American households.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
White House dinner with the Saudi royal family on Tuesday.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump hosted a White House dinner for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The dinner was attended by nearly 50 American CEOs and executives from different industries.
The guest list included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Business leaders, including Elon Musk and AMD CEO Lisa Su, joined a dinner with President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday.
The guest list, shared by the White House, included members of the Saudi government and royal family, as well as almost 50 US business executives. Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo also attended.
The dinner was the Tesla CEO's first public visit to the White House since his bitter feud with Trump this summer, following Musk's departure from his role as leader of the White House DOGE Office.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev were on the guest list, but it is unclear if they attended the event.
Here is a list of US executives who attended the high-profile dinner.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Elon Musk attended the White House dinner.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk made a rare public appearance at the White House since his falling-out with Trump earlier this year, after stepping down as the informal head of the White House DOGE Office.
The world's richest man and head of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, Musk exerts significant influence in technology, energy, and artificial intelligence — industries central to both the US and Saudi economic ambitions.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
Jensen Huang appeared in one of David Sacks' photos of the evening.
Yui Mok – Pool/Getty Images
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang attended the White House dinner as one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence and chipmaking.
Nvidia's CEO's presence underscored the pivotal role of advanced computing in US-Saudi economic relations and the global competition to dominate AI technology.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
The Apple CEO was among the business leaders seen at the White House dinner.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Apple chief Tim Cook joined the White House dinner as one of the most powerful figures in global business, representing a tech giant that shapes everything from consumer tech to privacy standards.
His appearance highlighted Apple's pivotal role in US innovation — and its importance to any conversation about the future of tech and trade.
AMD CEO Lisa Su
The AMD CEO also joined the dinner.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP
AMD's Lisa Su was among the high-profile executives at the White House dinner, bringing the perspective of one of the world's top chipmakers.
As the leader driving fierce competition in semiconductors — a sector vital to both AI development and global supply chains — Su's inclusion signaled the critical importance of her industry to US strategy.
Late on Wednesday evening, Su shared photos from the dinner, including one of her sitting with Ronaldo.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman attended the White House dinner as one of Wall Street's most outspoken figures.
Known for his bold market bets and influence in finance and policy circles, Ackman's presence reflected the growing alignment between political power and the capital shaping global markets.
President of OpenAI Greg Brockman
OpenAI's president, Greg Brockman, was at the dinner.
Errich Petersen/Getty Images for SXSW
OpenAI president Greg Brockman joined the White House dinner as a key architect behind the modern AI revolution.
His invitation underscored the growing importance of artificial intelligence in diplomacy and economic strategy, with OpenAI's technology now at the center of global debates about innovation and regulation.
David Sacks posted a selfie from the dinner on X on Tuesday and said, "Great night!
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Venture capitalist and White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks was among the attendees at the dinner, reflecting his growing influence at the intersection of tech, politics, and finance.
As both an early investor in major startups and the chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Sacks embodies the blend of innovation and policymaking that defined the evening's guest list.
In December, Trump appointed Sacks as White House's AI and crypto czar, guiding the government on policy and regulation around the digital asset industry.
Coinbase's chief, Brian Armstrong, attended the White House dinner as the leading voice in America's cryptocurrency industry.
His presence showed the increasing importance of digital assets in global finance and the White House's commitment to engaging with fintech leaders who are shaping the future of money.
My family moved from Texas to Tanzania a decade ago, and it wasn't easy.
We learned to ask for help and not to rush the language barrier.
Now that we're moving to Portugal, we have tools in our belt to make the transition easier.
My family and I had been in Tanzania for two days and found ourselves in Zanzibar. We had just moved from Texas and came to the beautiful archipelago for language learning. Quickly, we realized that we had no idea what it would be like to adapt to a new culture.
It was Ramadan, and in Zanzibar — outside the tourist area — this meant closed restaurants, shuttered groceries, and recommendations to refrain from even drinking water in public until after dark. The cultural norms, so normal for our hosts and neighbors, were way out of our comfort zone and, unfortunately, our realm of understanding.
Still, my family of four made it our mission to connect with our Tanzanian neighbors. Once we settled in Dar es Salaam, we began the real work of adapting to a new culture as an American family. It took us 11 years.
Recently, a new opportunity in Portugal opened up. The process of grieving our home in Tanzania is still ongoing, but we have hope that our move to Portugal will be guided by the lessons we've learned over the last decade.
Here are three lessons that will help us as we make our second international move — with our now family of six.
1. Ask questions and ask for help
When we first moved to Tanzania, we reached out to people to ask questions about lifestyle, home, and community. It still wasn't enough. This time we will be asking even more.
We have already connected with Portuguese and expat friends. We found others who had lived in Tanzania before, as well as a Portuguese real estate agent. My partner has an "auntie" in Portugal, whom she knows through her grandmother, and now this auntie has become our local host as we navigate the newness of Lisbon.
These are the "first people" everyone needs to settle into a new country, helping to navigate everything from turning the lights on in the apartment to the "real" places to shop for ceramics.
We will lean on them before we branch out to build an even stronger community.
2. Learn the language at our own pace
When we first moved to Tanzania, my partner and I felt pressure to become fluent in the language as quickly as possible.
We did fairly well, but we could have enjoyed those first years even more if we were more relaxed about the learning process. Others fall at the other end of the spectrum and don't try to learn the language at all.
In Portugal, I'd like our family to land somewhere in the middle — eagerly learning Portuguese and cultural norms for the sake of knowing others more fully and navigating daily situations, but without pressure to reach a certain level.
Learning language and culture is a process, and everyone goes at their own pace. I found that locals know you are trying, and usually, friendly people will help you along the way.
3. Find the bright spots in the stress
During our time in Tanzania, we tried to discover the "bright spots" about where we lived. It was easy to complain about the things that are different or difficult, so we're going to put in real work to find places of refuge and activities in Portugal.
These aren't a "fix" for the challenges of adapting to and learning a new culture, but they can be places or bits of fun that provide stress relief.
For Portugal, we have already identified some of these places and activities, but we're open to finding more once we officially make the move.
Moving to Portugal will be an adjustment, but we're excited
This time around, we feel more prepared for our transition to Portugal than we ever did when we first moved to Tanzania. We are now a family of 6, but having a bigger family doesn't mean extra worry. We are all well-equipped with emotional toolboxes to help us navigate our new normal. Not to mention we have each other if times get tough.
Beyond knowing what to take with us to provide a little bit of comfort and familiarity, we also know that our accumulated knowledge and understanding about how to adapt to a new cultural environment will help us to adjust quickly.
We look forward to new adventures, relationships, and opportunities to grow as we begin our next chapter in Lisbon.
I tried to avoid looking like a tourist in Scotland, but I made some mistakes along the way.
Amanda Shammas
On my first trip to Scotland, I made some mistakes that caused me to feel like a total tourist.
Despite having five days to explore the country, I never tried traditional Scottish food.
I had no local currency with me and ended up in situations where having it would've been helpful.
Between hiking in a trench coat and only carrying US dollars, I probably looked like the ultimate tourist on my recent trip to Scotland.
As someone who frequently travels to the UK, I thought I'd be prepared for my first trip to Edinburgh.
However, I ran into a few awkward moments, including packing missteps, planning errors, and a few surprises along the way.
Here are seven mistakes that made me feel like a total tourist.
I didn't pack the right outfits for Scotland's diverse terrain.
Amanda Shammas
When I started planning what clothing to pack for this trip, my mind immediately went to all the outfits I'd saved on Pinterest — things like trench coats, boots, tights, and sweaters.
However, none of that accounted for the amount of walking I had to do in Scotland, or the variety of terrain I encountered.
For example, when I plugged in a destination on Google Maps, I would see warnings like "steps ahead" or "steep elevation change." As I followed these walking routes, I had to navigate hidden staircases in alleyways, steep hills, and forest paths.
So, there I was, trying to make my Instagram-worthy outfits work through rugged, muddy trails, while locals breezed by in leggings, windbreakers, and sneakers.
Next time, I'd definitely pack some athleisure and a good pair of walking shoes.
Despite having five days to explore the country, I missed out on trying traditional Scottish food.
Amanda Shammas
On the plane ride home, I found myself thinking back on the trip and all the fun I had. And then it hit me — I never even tried traditional Scottish food.
During my travels, I tried lots of other types of restaurants, from Italian to Indian. Somehow, though, I never made it to a proper Scottish place.
Everything I ate was still incredible, but looking back, I can't help but feel like I missed out. I made it all the way to Scotland and didn't try black pudding, meat pies, or haggis.
It feels a little silly that I was in the heart of it all and somehow skipped over one of the most iconic parts of the culture.
Following social media recommendations without further research threw off my schedule.
Amanda Shammas
Before the trip, my friends and I researched tons of places to visit. I kept seeing TikTok videos of a farm just outside Edinburgh with Highland cows.
Every video started the same way. Someone would walk into the farm, and bam — there were the cows right in front of them. I didn't think to look into it any further.
When we arrived, we asked a group of people which direction the cows were. They pointed to the very top of an incredibly steep mountain and said, "up there."
It turns out, the online videos had left out the part where visitors had to hike for an hour up a grueling incline to see the cows.
Once again, I found myself hiking up a mountain in my full trench coat and styled hair, passing people who were decked out in hiking boots and gear. I don't think I have ever screamed "tourist" more.
By the time we got to the top, we'd also completely thrown off our schedule for the day, ending up sweaty, disheveled, and smelling like the farm, rushing to a dinner reservation.
The experience was incredibly cool, and I'll never forget seeing the cows up close. But next time, I'll definitely do more research in advance.
I thought I could explore Edinburgh Castle without a guide, but I ended up feeling lost on my own.
Amanda Shammas
In my opinion, the iconic Edinburgh Castle is a must-see when visiting Scotland.
After we purchased our tickets, the website offered an option to add an audio tour to listen to while walking around the grounds. However, my friends and I decided not to purchase it.
Without the audio guide, though, it was hard to make sense of everything, and we ended up wandering about aimlessly, hoping we didn't miss anything too important.
We did our best, but I'm sure there were some cool things we completely overlooked, simply because we didn't know they existed.
Looking back, it would’ve been worth it to add on the audio tour and save ourselves the confusion, especially because it only cost a couple of extra pounds.
It would’ve been helpful to have local currency on me instead of relying on credit cards.
Amanda Shammas
I don't always take out local currency before I travel because it can feel like a hassle. So, on my last few trips to the UK, I relied on my cards.
However, this time around, I ran into a few situations where having pounds on hand would've been really helpful.
For example, we visited a pub that didn't accept my type of credit card, so my friend had to cover the cost for me. Plus, there were moments when I wanted to tip impressive street performers, but I only had US dollars.
Next time, I'll definitely pull out money before I go. It's helpful for emergencies or those little moments when cards won't suffice.
I took rideshares everywhere, which was convenient — but also costly and limiting.
Amanda Shammas
As an American, the idea of driving on the opposite side of the road always freaked me out. It sounded like one of those things I'd never, ever attempt. However, when it came down to it, we had to find a way to get around, so we opted for Uber.
We Ubered everywhere — restaurants, pubs, farms, and even castles. I hadn't realized how much we stuck out until a guy at a pub casually joked, "Americans Uber everywhere instead of walking."
It was definitely the easiest option, but also pretty costly. And honestly, it didn't give us the same freedom renting a car would've.
Looking back, I wish I'd faced my fear and tried renting a car. It would've opened up more possibilities to explore beyond the city and the ability to come and go wherever we pleased.
Only exploring Edinburgh made me feel like I missed out on all the other places Scotland has to offer.
Amanda Shammas
There is no doubt that Edinburgh was absolutely stunning. However, I felt like we only scratched the surface of what Scotland has to offer.
There's so much more I would like to see, like Glasgow, the Highlands, or the gorgeous landscapes on the Isle of Skye.
I think three to four days in Edinburgh could've been just enough to soak in the city's charm. However, with a bit of extra time to hop on a bus or take a day trip somewhere else, we could've gotten a much more complete feel for the country.
