Social media scams cost Americans over a $2.1 billion

 

Social media scams cost Americans over a $2.1 billion in 2025. The future looks even worse.

 

The US FTC says social media is the most dangerous channel for financial fraud, with Americans losing a record $2.1 billion in 2025. This surge represents a massive eightfold increase in losses, far outpacing the damage caused by traditional email or text-based scams. Roughly 30% of all reported fraud now originates on social networks, with Facebook leading as the primary source of financial loss, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. At the same time, AI-generated imagery is getting eerily realistic, and it’s utterly easy to fake voices, too. The reports of crimes with deepfakes material is rising, and it seems there is little immediate respite in sight.

Get out jail cards

 US reportedly dropping charges against Indian billionaire Adani. According to the New York Times, the Justice Department is set to drop corruption and fraud charges against Gautam Adani as soon as this week, after the billionaire hired a new legal team led by one of President Trump’s personal lawyers. The attorney, Robert Giuffra, reportedly told prosecutors that Adani, who’s worth $104 billion, would invest $10 billion in the US economy if the charges were dropped. Adani was indicted by the Biden administration in 2024 for allegedly planning to bribe Indian government officials for solar contracts and lying about it when attempting to secure American investments.

Japan tests humanoid robots to handle airport luggage

 

Japan tests humanoid robots to handle airport luggage. Let’s hope it solves the human problem.

 

According to SITA’s Baggage Insights Report, one in five bags is damaged or pilfered at airports. That’s not even accounting for the delayed and lost luggage. And yeah, I’ve seen how badly the luggage is handled by human workers. Can robots solve the problem? Japan Airlines is launching a trial of humanoid robots at Tokyo’s Haneda airport to address labor shortages. Made by Unitree, these 130cm-tall robots will move cargo and luggage on the tarmac. The test, which is supposed to last until 2028, aims to reduce the burden on workers. But I dearly hope these robots learn how to handle fragile luggage and save us from the misery of broken items. I would pay to avail the services of robots if they aren’t reckless with my luggage.

Concerts tours are dying from ‘blue dot fever’

 Concerts tours are dying from ‘blue dot fever’

Nick Iluzada

The Pussycat Dolls are the latest music act to cancel swaths of a US arena or stadium tour amid lagging ticket sales. It’s part of a spreading epidemic the industry is calling “blue dot fever,” after the blue dots that represent unsold seats on Ticketmaster’s website. Others who recently succumbed include Meghan Trainor, Zayn, Jelly Roll, and Post Malone. Trainor and Zayn abandoned all of their US arena dates, while Post Malone and Jelly Roll shut down one-third of their co-headlining US stadium tour. Those venues had more open seats than a 4pm Friday work meeting, but only the Pussycat Dolls publicly blamed poor sales for canceling. Why so blue? Mainly, everything is more expensive: The average concert ticket price in 2026 is $144, up from $115 last year and $82 in 2020. Meanwhile, the cost of gas has exploded since the start of the Iran war and hurt the profit margins of tours that rely on transportation to get between locations. Also: There’s stiff entertainment competition this summer from the FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted in North America. Big picture: Three weeks ago, a jury found Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, guilty of acting as a monopoly. However, some experts believe that it may not lead to a long-term decline in ticket prices.

Half of Gen Z Would Rather Live in the Past

Half of Gen Z Would Rather Live in the Past: Survey
48% of Gen Z is concerned or anxious about AI.
BY MATT NOVAKUPDATED APRIL 24, 2026, 2:24 PM ET

READING TIME 2 MINUTES

© Shutterstock / Prostock-studio
READ LATER COMMENTS (28)

Gen Z doesn’t feel great about the state of the country right now.

Among 18 to 29-year-olds, 80% say the U.S. is on the wrong track, 76% disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the job of president, and just 25% expect life for Gen Z to be better than for previous generations, according to a new survey from NBC News.


Gen Z’s attitudes toward technology and history might be among the most interesting insights from the new survey, with nearly half of respondents (47%) saying they’d like to live in the past. That response was more popular than the number of people from that generation who said they’d like to live in the present (38%) and dwarfed those who wanted to live in the future (15%).

It appears that at least some of this longing for the past is rooted in apprehension about emerging technology. 48 percent of respondents said they were either concerned or anxious about AI, either because it would require new skills to keep up or because it could force them to change careers.

Twenty-seven percent said they’re not worried about AI and believe it won’t really affect their jobs. Just 25% said they’re optimistic about AI, believing it will allow them to do their job better.

You see the nostalgia for a previous era in trends emerging, like the retro-style landline phone called the Tin Can, which has gone viral in the past year. And as Bloomberg noted in a recent article about the Tin Can, retro tech is almost being thrust upon Gen Z, as countries like Australia ban social media for kids under 16.

Nostalgia for a previous era obviously isn’t that weird. In fact, by the late 2000s, there were articles being written about how Millennials were pining for the world that existed before the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. And when boomers flocked to see the film American Graffiti in 1973, set in the early 1960s, they were romanticizing an era that they were either too young to appreciate in the same way or didn’t remember at all. Likewise, in 1993, the movie Dazed and Confused was set in 1976 and, for Gen X, represented a way of life many in that generation wanted to “return” to.

There were also some surprising responses in the new survey when it came to Gen Z’s familiarity with so-called prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Just 7% said they were currently “investing” in prediction markets. Sixty-seven percent said they were not participating in prediction markets, while 26% had not even heard of them.

Nostalgia isn’t uniform across Gen Z, as you can imagine. Just 33% of young Black adults in the generation said they wanted to live in the past, compared to 52% of whites, according to NBC. That likely has something to do with the prolific and systematic racial discrimination of the 20th century (especially before the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and the existence of chattel slavery in the 19th century.

The survey didn’t drill down specifically on that question. But it seems like a safe bet.

Beef is getting bougie

 Beef is getting bougie

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A new study found that proteinmaxxing by gorging on steak tips is extremely effective at slimming down...your wallet. US beef prices have soared in recent years due to cattle herds shrinking to record lows, spurring many carnivores to pivot to the other dominant source of protein—chicken. As domestic beef production declined 4% last year, wholesale beef prices rose 13% in February from the same month last year, according to government data. The supermarket price tag of a pound of ground beef, aka the go-to for the budget-conscious, reached $6.75 in January, compared to $5.03 two years prior. Shoppers aren’t the only ones hit with sticker shock: Steakhouses say they’ve been forced to either absorb soaring beef costs to the detriment of their profits, or risk driving customers away with higher prices or reduced portions. Swapping steak for wings While surveys show more Americans view meat as important to their diets, they might be starting to cut back on beef. Americans ate 58.5 pounds of red meat on average last year, down from 59.1 pounds in 2024, according to USDA estimates. It projects beef intake will decline 2% this year. Industry observers say that bargain hunters typically aren’t forsaking cow meat all together, but are instead trading down from filet mignon to value cuts like sirloin. Some are pivoting to chicken, which is 30% to 40% cheaper than ground beef. Tyson Foods reported selling 3.7% more chicken in the last three months of last year, while beef sales dropped 7.3%. Chicken is top of the food chain…when it comes to fast food. The likes of Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken have had an expansion bonanza in recent years, while burger-centric value chains like Burger King are struggling with declining margins. Meanwhile, McDonald’s recently beefed up its chicken offerings by adding sauce-lathered and seasoned McCrispy Strips to its menu.

Netflix wants you scrolling clips on your phone

 Netflix wants you scrolling clips on your phone

Nick Iluzada

Netflix is finally acknowledging that most people looking to kill time while waiting for the bus would rather scroll 30-second videos than watch The Irishman. The streaming service launched a short-form vertical video feed called Clips as part of an app revamp unveiled in the US and eight other countries yesterday. While it sounds like Netflix is entering TikTok’s turf, the streamer insists that Clips won’t be the place to witness a day in the life of a 28-year-old who works in private equity in New York. Instead, Netflix’s algorithmic feed serves clips from the shows and movies in its content library to help viewers discover new titles: Eventually, it’ll also feature clips from podcasts, a content genre Netflix has invested heavily into in recent months, as well as live events. The streamer will soon let users choose collections of video genres they want to watch, like romance and reality TV. Big picture: Netflix says Clips is meant to meet people where they’re at—namely, on their phones—to command their eyeballs when they’re not in front of a TV. Netflix’s streaming rivals Peacock and Disney+ also recently launched vertical video feeds.

A new Rolling Stones album — Foreign Tongues — is on the way | CBC News

A new Rolling Stones album — Foreign Tongues — is on the way | CBC News

A new Rolling Stones album — Foreign Tongues — is on the way

Album will include late drummer Charlie Watts in one of his final recording sessions

Maria Sherman · The Associated Press · Posted: May 05, 2026 10:14 AM PDT | Last Updated: May 5

Listen to this article

Estimated 3 minutes

The Rolling Stones perform in New York City at a celebration for the release of their album Hackney Diamonds in October 2023. The Stones are set to release a new album — Foreign Tongues — later this summer. (Evan Agostini/Invision/The Associated Press)

Social Sharing

Sometimes, you can always get what you want: On Tuesday, The Rolling Stones confirmed that they'll release a new album, Foreign Tongues, on July 10.

They also released a new single, titled In The Stars.

To celebrate, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood will attend an album announcement event in Brooklyn this afternoon.

The Stones' last album was 2023's Hackney Diamonds. It was their first album of original material in 18 years — since 2005's A Bigger Bang. It was also their first full-length release since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021. He appeared posthumously on two of that album's 12 tracks.

According to media materials for the album, Foreign Tongues will also include a special appearance from Watts from one of his final recording sessions before his death, as well as contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, The Cure's Robert Smith and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

• Why Charlie Watts was 'the secret' and 'the glue' that held the Rolling Stones together for almost 60 years

"I love doing these recording sessions in London at Metropolis. It was a very intense few weeks recording Foreign Tongues," Mick Jagger said in a statement.

"We had 14 great tracks and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it's not too big so you can feel the passion in the room from everyone."

The Stones worked closely with Oscar-winning pop producer Andrew Watt (known for his work with Post Malone and Justin Bieber, to name a few) on Hackey Diamonds, and that relationship continues with Foreign Tongues.

A taste of 'Foreign Tongues'

Speculation surrounding a new Stones' album has been going around for weeks. First, posters appeared around London with the band name The Cockroaches, a pseudonym the Stones have used in the past, along with a QR code.

The code led to thecockroaches.com and a sign-up page. Once users signed up, they received a confirmation message from Universal Music — the Stones' label. Representatives did not provide The Associated Press with comment or confirmation at the time.

Eventually, it lead to a white label, vinyl-only release of the track Rough and Twisted using The Cockroaches name — the first true tease of Foreign Tongues decipherable only by their most dedicated fans.

Then, in the week leading up to their announcement, billboards with the band's iconic mouth and tongue logo began appearing in major cities around the world with the words "Foreign Tongues" in various languages: "Fremmede Sprog," "Vreemde Tongen," "Dayuhang Dila," "외국어," and "Langues Étrangères" among them.

Around the same time, the band's official website was updated to feature video clips stylized to look like surveillance footage of them in the studio.

On Sunday, the band shared a slide puzzle graphic fans believe is the album artwork, depicting a cartoonish collage of the members' faces. And they were correct; it was the official album cover.

There was also a short video clip, just 10-seconds long, that appeared to tease a new song.

Protein is now in *gestures broadly at everything*

 Protein is now in *gestures broadly at everything*

mailcaroline/Adobe Stock

There was a time when if you heard someone mention “protein,” they were wearing a fluorescent tank top and on their way to a GNC at the local mall. Now, protein is everywhere. There are more powder options and awful-tasting bars available than ever before. It’s emphasized at restaurants and in products you never thought would be a protein source (toaster pastries???). It’s all part of a tectonic shift in culture: Americans are pursuing healthier lifestyles and consuming more protein and fewer carbs. The protein–GLP-1 connection The increase in popularity (and affordability) of GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy in the last few years lines up perfectly with the spike in demand for protein: A 2025 Gallup report found that 12% of Americans (~30 million) were taking weight loss drugs, up from 6% in 2024. A separate study said that share was just 2.9% in 2019. The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey showed that 71% of Americans have increased their protein intake. Research from Cargill found that, six years earlier, only 48% were upping their protein consumption. Businesses jumping on the trend: General Mills did $100 million in sales in the US in its fiscal 2024 from its protein cereals alone. PepsiCo—the makers of Doritos Protein—expects the protein category to continue to grow. Meanwhile, a study funded by the beef stick company Chomps found that protein snacks are growing at three times the rate of the overall snacking industry. Going after the health-conscious: Writing “protein” on a bag of chips or tub of ice cream appears to be working. A 2025 survey from the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association found that 46% of GLP-1 drug users are more likely to purchase a frozen food product if it has high-protein content. Bottom line: With the prices of GLP-1s coming down, and more pill forms on the way for people who hate needles, the demand for protein may only increase. The expectation is that the global protein market, which was valued at $56 billion last year, will surpass $100 billion by 2034, per research from a food and beverage consultancy.

$50 for a movie ticket

 $50 for a movie ticket

Niv Bavarsky

Dinner and a movie? In this economy? We have reached the point where a date night with two movie tickets can run you $100—and that doesn’t even include popcorn. Regal Cinemas recently sold out in mere minutes for $50 tickets to see Dune: Part Three projected in 70 millimeter IMAX film over its December opening weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal, which notes it’s part of a larger premium movie ticket trend: Last year, 17% of film tickets sold were for theaters with bigger screens and better sound (typically at a higher cost), compared with 13% in 2021. Cinema-goers snap up seats in these theaters faster than others, so theater owners are building more of them. By the end of last year, AMC had 517, which is 30% more than the chain had in 2021. But the WSJ says Hollywood studios aren’t sold on movie theaters going big on screens and prices, fearing that upcharging the most devoted cinephiles could backfire by turning a night at the movies from a bit of fun to a special occasion.

A sub-2 marathon twofer

 A sub-2 marathon twofer

Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Quite the feat. Quite the feet. Two runners officially broke the two-hour marathon mark in London. (Take that, robots!) Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe ran 26.2 miles in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds, shattering the world record by more than a minute. Then, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha crossed the finish line 11 seconds later—not a bad effort for his first-ever marathon. Let’s hope they both BQ’d. Sawe and Kejelcha were wearing Adidas shoes, as was the top woman, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, a nice tailwind for the German shoe company, which has been looking to get a leg up in the performance sports market. According to Bloomberg and researcher Circana, the US market for running shoes was up 13% year over year through February, hitting $8.1 billion.

Trader Joe's customers sue over coffee's caffeine levels

Trader Joe's customers sue over coffee's caffeine levels
By
Megan Cerullo

April 24, 2026 / 3:27 PM EDT / CBS News
Add CBS News on Google

Some Trader Joe's coffee drinkers are angry they didn't get their caffeine fix, according to a new lawsuit filed against the retailer.

Customers allege in a class-action lawsuit filed in California on Thursday that Trader Joe's deceptively advertised its French Roast Low Acid whole bean coffee, leading them to believe it contained more caffeine than it did.

Four plaintiffs who purchased the Trader Joe's coffee product, sold at the retailer's stores across the country, allege the grocer failed to disclose that the product contained less caffeine than typical coffee products. Plaintiffs allege Trader Joe's falsely advertised its coffee by not indicating low caffeine content.Trader Joe's

It is common practice, attorneys for the plaintiffs claim, to indicate a coffee product's caffeine content only when "some process is used to reduce the amount of caffeine contained therein."

"For example, full caffeinated coffee does not have any special labeling denoting that it is fully caffeinated, but 'decaf' and 'half-caff' coffees are labelled as such," the suit states.

While testing shows that the French Roast Low Acid coffee contained half the caffeine of a regular blend, it was not labeled accordingly, the suit claims, leading consumers to "purchase the product believing that it is fully caffeinated when it is not."

Trader Joe's did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment on the lawsuit.
Seeking damages

The suit claims that consumers rely on caffeine to fuel their work and personal lives.

"It is so common that it is now cliché that coffee drinkers depend on the caffeine contained therein to provide them with the energy they need to get through the day. Accordingly, the amount of caffeine in a coffee blend affects a consumer's purchasing decision," the suit states.

A low-caffeine drink would not suffice for regular coffee drinkers, it adds. If they did choose to purchase a "half-caff" product, they would pay less for it, the lawsuit states.

Plaintiffs are seeking damages and for Trader Joe's to stop selling the product through misleading marketing, according to the lawsuit.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

LIV Golf may be a lost ball after Saudis pull support

  LIV Golf may be a lost ball after Saudis pull support

Hector Vivas/Getty Images

This is why Shania Twain says to dance with the one that brought you: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced yesterday that it will stop funding LIV Golf, its high-paying disruptor league, leaving players who defected from the PGA Tour in the lurch. This is probably the end of LIV, at least in its current form. The upstart league is looking for new investors after the PIF confirmed weeks of speculation that it was pulling out. But it’s tough to imagine who might be willing and able to fill the Saudi-sized hole left in LIV’s business after the current season ends in August: As LIV’s sole backer, the PIF poured $5+ billion into the league since co-founding it in 2021. It reportedly spent $100 million per month on LIV this year. And the league is bleeding money. Despite luring top talent with extravagant tournament purses and contracts worth up to $300 million, LIV struggled to sustain US fan interest. Looking ahead…LIV players who violated their PGA Tour contracts to join LIV may have some groveling to do. “There were rules, and they were broken,” the PGA Tour’s CEO said this week. The league recently offered four elite players a way to come crawling back from LIV, but only one took the deal, at a cost of up to $90 million in reentry fees.

Everything is reality TV now

 Everything is reality TV now

Screenshot via @MrBeast/YouTube

The number of reality TV series may have dropped in recent years, but that’s not because there’s a shortage of Kardashians. Instead, much of that drama and unpredictability has moved to different platforms or bled into other aspects of our lives. Don’t forget to subscribe: It’s no secret that cable—the lifeblood of reality TV—is having connection issues. According to Business Insider and media advisory firm Madison and Wall: Nearly 90% of US households paid for a cable TV subscription in 2010. Now, that number is about 50%. Meanwhile, YouTube accounts for nearly 13% of viewing time in the US, the New York Times reported, citing Nielsen data. A lot of that content is unscripted, like the videos put out by Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, who is basically a reality-TV/game-show host with more than 430 million YouTube subscribers (and who has successfully taken a show to Amazon Prime Video, too). Living the stream Livestreaming has also supplanted the more voyeuristic aspects of reality TV. And, like VH1’s run of reality shows in the 2000s, even celebrities are getting in on the action. Per Axios: Livestreaming platform Twitch has more than 21 million active streamers. Year over year, athlete and celebrity streams are up by nearly 20%. Social studies: Social media and the influencer economy are carrying on the spirit of reality TV. Audiences used to watch strangers cook, lose weight, and find love on 30- or 60-minute episodes. Now, that’s five minutes on Instagram. Politics has had a distinctly reality-TV flavor, too: Lawmakers have firmly joined in the influencer space, starting podcasts and getting major exposure through short, fiery clips, sufficiently Jersey Shore-ifying our social feeds. And, back in 2017, the New York Times reported that President Trump (himself a former reality TV star thanks to The Apprentice) instructed aides to think of each day as an episode of a TV show.

Soldier in Maduro raid charged over $400k bet

 Soldier in Maduro raid charged over $400k bet

Maduro after his capture. XNY/Star Max/Getty Images

Federal prosecutors allege a US soldier involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro took advantage of his access to classified information to win $400,000 by betting on the timing of Maduro’s ouster on Polymarket. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, was involved in the planning of the raid as of early December 2025, and placed 13 bets by the end of that month on the Venezuelan leader being out by Jan. 31, prosecutors claim. The US captured Maduro in early January. Van Dyke faces years in prison if convicted on the charges, which include unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, commodities fraud, and others. Unpredictable actors Though prediction markets have rules against market manipulation, Van Dyke is hardly the first accused of cheating on them. Polymarket’s rival Kalshi recently fined and suspended three candidates for betting on their own elections. And some try to make their own luck: Paris police are currently investigating suspected tampering with meteorological equipment after some recent wins in long-shot Polymarket bets on local weather. The French national weather service believes someone may have messed with a sensor at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, which the prediction market used to gauge the city’s temperature. Weather enthusiasts speculate that meddlers might’ve used a hairdryer to heat the air around the sensor, creating anomalous temperature swings that led to big payouts, Le Monde reported.

Sullivan & Cromwell Apologizes to Judge for AI Hallucinations in Motion - Business Insider

Sullivan & Cromwell Apologizes to Judge for AI Hallucinations in Motion - Business Insider


AI hallucinated — and now an elite law firm is profusely apologizing to a federal judge
By Kelsey Vlamis Follow

A lawyer from the elite law firm has apologized to a bankruptcy judge for AI errors. DAVID DEE DELGADO/Reuters
Apr 21, 2026, 2:15 PM GMT-7

A partner at the elite Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell wrote an apology letter to a federal bankruptcy judge for a court filing that contained AI hallucinations.

Andrew Dietderich, co-head of Global Finance & Restructuring at the firm, said in the April 18 note that a prior filing contained inaccurate citations and other errors, including AI hallucinations.

"'Hallucinations' are instances in which artificial intelligence tools fabricate case citations, misquote authorities, or generate non-existent legal sources," Dietderich's letter said. "We deeply regret that this has occurred."

A chart attached to the letter showed that the motion contained incorrect case names and numbers and apparently fabricated quotes from cases.

Dietderich said the errors by Sullivan & Cromwell, which represented the bankrupt firm Prince Global Holdings, were caught by the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which represented creditors, and that he'd thanked them and apologized. Sullivan & Cromwell — a 140-year-old firm with more than 1,000 attorneys — has comprehensive policies when it comes to using AI and that there are safeguards to avoid this exact scenario. The firm's policies weren't followed, and the errors also made it past the firm's review process for citations, he said.

Dietderich wrote to Manhattan-based Chief Judge Martin Glenn that he and the firm were "keenly aware of our responsibility to ensure the accuracy of all submissions."

"I take responsibility for the failure to do so," he said, adding they would submit a corrected version of the filing.

A representative for the firm and Dietderich did not respond to inquiries from Business Insider. A representative for the judge also did not respond.

When it comes to AI hallucinations in legal work, Sullivan & Cromwell has company.

Fake legal citations have become more common since 2023, according to legal researcher Damien Charlotin, who keeps a public database of AI hallucinations in legal cases.
AIRead comments

Fair-weather college fans

 Fair-weather college fans

The Washington Post/Getty Images

Even after rigorous research on cost, culture, fit, size, and location, your college choice may have come down to something as unpredictable as the weather. According to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, students are less likely to apply to a college if they visited the campus when the weather was bad, no matter how sunny your tour leader’s disposition may have been. Researchers at Amherst College discovered that applications dropped 10.1% when a campus tour was comparatively hot, 5.9% when it was cold, 4.9% when it was cloudy, and 8.3% when there was precipitation. So, a school’s application rates literally depend on whether it has a good atmosphere or not.