Passengers walk through the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Nov. 7, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesMajor airports across the United States were subject to a 4% reduction in flights on Nov. 7, 2025, as the government shutdown began to affect travelers.
Sharp spikes in calls for food assistance are rare outside of natural disasters. AP Photo/Eric GayBetween January and mid-October 2025, calls to local 211 helplines from people seeking food pantries in their community held steady at nearly 1,000 calls per day.
Until the end of October, China had refused to purchase a single soya bean from the US’s 2025 harvest. It usually spends tens of billions of dollars on the crop, which is a key ingredient in animal feed, so the boycott hit US farmers hard – and affected food systems far beyond US and Chinese borders.
Some 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images NewsThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has helped low-income Americans buy groceries for decades with few disruptions.
Women are increasingly occupying top leadership roles across organisations, political parties and even nations. This may seem unequivocally like a good thing. Yet, many of these roles are undertaken in precarious circumstances, with inherent risks that might make them unattractive to men.
When it comes to inquiring about – ahem – certain products, shoppers prefer the inhuman touch.
That is what we found in a study of consumer habits when it comes to products that traditionally have come with a degree of embarrassment – think acne cream, diarrhea medication, adult sex toys or personal lubricant.
American households have become dependent on Amazon.
The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or next-day every year. In remarkably short order, the company has transformed from an online bookseller into a juggernaut that has reshaped retailing. But its impact isn’t limited to how we shop.
American households have become dependent on Amazon.
The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or next-day every year. In remarkably short order, the company has transformed from an online bookseller into a juggernaut that has reshaped retailing. But its impact isn’t limited to how we shop.
Australia’s recycling system has been lurching from one crisis to another for decades. Soft-plastic schemes are collapsing, kerbside contamination is on the rise, and states are still struggling to coordinate a coherent national approach.
Tariffs on imports have been at the heart of Donald Trump’s economic policy since the start of his second term in the White House. And while the president believes that tariffs will be beneficial to the US economy, many eminent economists disagree. Here are three reasons why.
