David Lidsky's Blog, page 211

Trump to sign order making English the official language of the United States

The executive order would overturn a mandate from the Clinton era requiring language assistance for non-English speakers receiving federal services.

Trump wants to make English the official language of the U.S.—and is using an executive order to deliver the action, White House officials tod CNBC on Friday. This marks the first time in the history of this country that it will have an official language.

Bic’s CEO explains why he’s stepping down at 46, and what’s next

Gonzalve Bich led BIC through a major transformation, but now he’s ready for a new challenge.

Do you know how many pens are in the average American household? The answer is 114—and Gonzalve Bich, CEO of Bic, the French manufacturing giant for pens, lighters, shaving razors, and more, is likely one of the few people in the world to know that.

‘A pbj burger on the menu’: Millennial burger joints are getting roasted on TikTok

TikTok users are calling out the hipster burger spots of the 2010s.

Many things are considered distinctly millennial: a man bun, avocado toast, axe-throwing bars. Now you can apparently add millennial burger joints to that list.

OpenAI unveils its new GPT-4.5 large language model

The model underwent more training than any model before it and is said to feel more ‘human’ and possess a better general knowledge of the world.

OpenAI released a new base model on Thursday called GPT-4.5, which the company said is its best and smartest model for chat yet. It’s not a reasoning model like OpenAI’s o1 and o3 models, but it can be used to train other models to be reasoning models. Notably, GPT-4.5 was trained using 10 times the computing power (scores of GPUs in data centers) than its predecessor, GPT-4o. 

Midlife women are in the spotlight

What businesses can learn about supporting aging women from the cultural shift in Hollywood.

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.

Trump tariff threats have Americans ‘doom spending.’ Here’s why that’s bad

According to a recent survey, Americans are coping with economic uncertainty the best they can . . . with their credit cards.

From the rising cost of eggs and the staggering cost of housing, the constant chaos from mass government firings to the tariff threats against Canada and Mexico, Americans are struggling to cope with rampant economic uncertainty the best way they can: doom spending.

Trump Republicans kill a rule that charged Big Oil for methane emissions

The Biden-era rule aimed to control the planet-warming ‘super pollutant.’ But Republicans in Congress prefer fossil fuels.

The Republican-controlled Congress has voted to repeal a federal fee on oil and gas producers who release high levels of methane, undoing a major piece of former President Joe Biden’s climate policy aimed at controlling the planet-warming “super pollutant.” The fee, which had not gone into effect, was expected to bring in billions of dollars.

What to know about the 24-hour ‘economic blackout’

The planned economic blackout is scheduled to run from midnight ET Thursday through 11:59 p.m. ET Friday.

A grassroots organization is encouraging U.S. residents not to spend any money Friday as an act of “economic resistance” to protest what the group’s founder sees as the malign influence of billionaires, big corporations, and both major political parties on the lives of working Americans.

Warby Parker to open eyewear shops in Target stores: Here’s the full list of locations coming in 2025

The partnership marks the first time the DTC glasses brand will sell its goods through a separate retailer.

Love Warby Parker glasses but wish they were available in more locations? You’ll be happy to know that Target is partnering with the optical brand to bring designer-quality eyewear at affordable prices via five “shop-in-shops” in 2025, the retail giant announced on Thursday.

MacArthur Foundation to increase giving for two years in response to Trump’s foreign aid freeze

The MacArthur Foundation is expected to grant out around $150 million more over the next two years.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a “crisis” prompted by the Trump administration‘s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants.