🌎 AI Takeover

An executive order on AI regulation is causing a big fight

Where’s Skynet when you need it? Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that attempts to establish a “single national framework” for AI, fueling a firestorm of opinions among both parties.

What does the order do?

The executive order directs a range of federal agencies to take steps toward a single, uniform federal standard for AI regulation and to keep states from enacting their own AI rules.

Why have all AI regulations under one roof? The Trump administration argues that a patchwork of more than 1,000 state-level AI bills and laws will stifle innovation, burden companies working on the tech, and weaken US competitiveness, especially in the global AI race with China.

• Almost half of all states have some form of AI regulation, according to the BLCP (see map).

Some experts say that having “one central source of approval” for AI rules (rather than 50 different state ones) would certainly help American AI companies, which have collectively spent trillions on the technology, pursue their ambitions more easily.

It’s sparked some… different opinions

The aftermath is following a well-known script, with debates more or less falling along party lines:

• Democrats argue the order could undermine state authority and weaken consumer protections like safety and discrimination safeguards in AI systems.

• Republicans, including Trump, largely praise it as a necessary step toward streamlining regulations that encourage corporate innovation and economic growth.

Regardless of who’s in the right… the order is likely to face legal challenges. Since executive orders don’t have the same legal power as laws passed by Congress, efforts to enforce them (like suing states or tying compliance to federal funding) could be challenged in court and take years to resolve.

Appetizers are more popular than ever… which is a bad sign?

Looks like we’ve found a greasy new recession indicator. Despite high food inflation, consumers are still eating out in droves. But instead of ordering high-priced meals, many are sticking to apps to keep their bills budget-friendly.

Economists call this an “appetizer economy”

The surge in starter meals comes as US consumers continue to feel the squeeze from rising food costs, which have outpaced inflation in many categories:

• Recent Consumer Price Index data show that meat and poultry prices have climbed by about 15% since the same time last year.

• Government figures show that full-service restaurant meals cost 4.2% more in September than they did a year ago.

To get away from meal prices (both out and at home), eaters are hoping to stretch their food budgets by rotating toward finger foods:

• Mozzarella sticks, pickle chips, and cheese curds (the ultimate pre-meal cuisine) saw sales jump about 33% this year.

What does this tell us? The data is a sign that rising food costs are quietly reshaping eating habits, pushing consumers to get more creative (and more snack-focused) to make their food budgets last.

The “appetizer economy” isn’t alone: All the economic uncertainty has people searching for other, more informal recession indicators, like the Pepperoni Price Index, as Americans increasingly tighten their belts, both literally and figuratively.

Dark matter “nuggets” may help us understand more about our universe

But if I eat it will I become a black hole? Astronomers, to their surprise, have detected a massive amount of ultraviolet light spread across the Milky Way, much more than can be explained by known stars, gas, and dust within our galaxy.

Experts believe the mysterious glow is coming from clumps of dark matter they’re, rather scientifically, calling “nuggets”.

A puzzling light

The glow, which has the shortest wavelengths in the ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum, was first noticed in the 2010s and appears to originate from regions beyond the solar system.

But that’s not the only reason it has puzzled scientists: Traditional light sources, like hot stars or known gas emissions, don’t produce enough of this light to explain what’s being seen, suggesting something else is causing the extra glow.

So what can it be?

Astronomers have proposed a new theoretical explanation that suggests the glow might come from a new type of dark matter, specifically a form called axion quark nuggets.

• These nuggets (if they exist) would be tiny, dense objects made of antimatter and dark matter, invisible particles that make up around 85% of all matter in the universe.

But how do the nuggets create light? When the antimatter in these nuggets collide with ordinary matter, they destroy each other and convert their energy into light, which results in the ultraviolet photons seen by astronomers.

Looking forward: That process, called an annihilation, could offer a rare insight into the nature of dark matter and potentially help resolve long-unanswered questions about our universe’s structure and evolution.

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Investors cheer as Lululemon’s CEO steps down

I’m getting Deja Vu. After nearly seven years of leading the company, Lululemon announced last week that CEO Calvin McDonald will step down from his role effective in January, much to the delight of investors.

Soon after McDonald announced his exit, the company’s stock rallied roughly 10% in after-hours trading.

In a nosedive

McDonald’s departure comes after over a year of sales struggles and disappointment, marking a challenging period for Lululemon’s business, particularly in the US market:

• Before McDonald’s resignation, the retailer’s stock had dropped over 50% this year.

• In its latest earnings report, the company slashed its outlook for the third quarter in a row and said US revenue fell for a second consecutive quarter.

The slump got so bad that Lululemon’s founder, Chip Wilson, took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, lambasting the company, arguing that McDonald's could “speak to Wall Street” but not to consumers.

What’s with the sluggish sales? Execs say the drop was driven by stale product offerings, fading interest among Gen Z, and tougher competition from cheaper, more popular rivals. The problem was only made worse by tariffs, which the company expects will cut full-year profits by about $210 million.

What can they do to fix it? McDonald’s resignation marks a reset for the 27-year-old brand, and its next CEO will need to claw back the cultural relevance it once boasted by leaning into bolder collaborations and edgier marketing that tends to bring in younger customers, per a Business of Fashion analysis.

JetBlue is opening its very first airport lounge

Ahhh, another area to spend $500 to have a drink in a (semi) private space. JetBlue, which is typically known as a budget airline, opens its new airport lounge called BlueHouse at New York City’s JFK airport this week.

What’s in it?

The facility, tucked in the corner of Terminal 5, is described as a “home away from home” that’s designed to provide a premium experience for passengers (who aren’t on a budget). The lounge includes:

• Two floors where customers can utilize the free high-speed WiFi, an abundance of power outlets, and indulge in a complimentary seasonal menu.

• An art deco style decor, complete with a library, work pods to offer more privacy, social areas, a game room, and some rather interesting neon signs in the bathrooms (see pictures).

BlueHouse can accommodate around 140 people, so it’s smaller than other lounges hosted by higher-end airlines like Delta, United, and American, which are also trying to compete for premium customers.

• JetBlue says BlueHouse is part of a broader plan to open a network of lounges to try to increase profitability by appealing to big spenders.

How does one get inside? Passengers can access the lounge by spending at least $25,000 on JetBlue tickets, buying first-class seats on a European flight, carrying the airliner’s Premier World Elite Mastercard, or by getting one of the limited day passes purchased at the airport or online.

Catch up on this week’s weird news

 > Nearly 2,400 golden retrievers showed up at a park in Buenos Aires earlier this month, breaking the world record for the biggest meetup of the beloved breed.

 > A 3-year-old boy from India has become the world’s youngest officially rated chess player, earning a 1,572 rating from the International Chess Federation after defeating several opponents in their 20s.

 > Paleontologists have recorded almost 18,000 dinosaur tracks and swim traces in Bolivia, revealing how Cretaceous-era creatures walked, ran, and swam along the ancient coastline.

 > Scientists observed killer whales and dolphins teaming up to hunt salmon for the first time, with dolphins acting as “scouts” and orcas doing the capturing.

 > According to a recent Pew Research Center survey on teen social media habits, nearly 20% of teens say they’re on TikTok and YouTube "almost constantly."