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The National Park Service will offer free admission to U.S. residents on President Donald Trump‘s birthday next year which also happens to be Flag Day but is eliminating the benefit for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth. The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name, and legacy. Last year, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day and Juneteenth which is June 19 but not June 14, Trump’s birthday. The new free-admission policy takes effect Jan. 1 and was one of several changes announced by the Park Service late last month, including higher admission fees for international visitors. The other days of free park admission in 2026 are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelts birthday (Oct. 27) and the anniversary of the creation of the Park Service (Aug. 25). Eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated, removes two of the nation’s most prominent civil rights holidays. Some civil rights leaders voiced opposition to the change after news about it began spreading over the weekend. The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven, Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, wrote on social media about the new policy. Kristen Brengel, a spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that while presidential administrations have tweaked the free days in the past, the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is particularly concerning. For one, the day has become a popular day of service for community groups that use the free day to perform volunteer projects at parks. That will now be much more expensive, said Brengel, whose organization is a nonprofit that advocates for the park system. Not only does it recognize an American hero, it’s also a day when people go into parks to clean them up, Brengel said. Martin Luther King Jr. deserves a day of recognition For some reason, Black history has repeatedly been targeted by this administration, and it shouldnt be. Some Democratic lawmakers also weighed in to object to the new policy. The President didnt just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans struggle for civil rights and freedom, said Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Our country deserves better. A spokesperson for the National Park Service did not immediately respond to questions on Saturday seeking information about the reasons behind the changes. Since taking office, Trump has sought to eliminate programs seen as promoting diversity across the federal government, actions that have erased or downplayed America’s history of racism as well as the civil rights victories of Black Americans. Self-promotion is an old habit of the president’s and one he has continued in his second term. He unsuccessfully put himself forward for the Nobel Peace Prize, renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in the nation’s capital and had a new children’s savings program named after him. Some Republican lawmakers have suggested putting his visage on Mount Rushmore and the $100 bill. David Klepper, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
IBM announced on Monday it is acquiring Confluent for $11 billion, sending shares of the data streaming platform up about 29% in morning trading. By midday trading, at the time of this writing, Confluent (NasdaqGS: CFLT) stock was holding steady, up 29%. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) stock was up about 1.5%. Confluent provides a leading open-source enterprise data streaming platform that connects, processes, and governs reusable and reliable data and events in real time, foundational for the deployment of artificial intelligence. The deal is an example of how IBM is actively engaging in the increasingly competitive, high-stakes AI arms race that’s now dominating technology companies. Why is this a big deal? The deal is one of the largest in recent memory for IBM, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company is paying $31 a share for Confluent in an all-cash deal. Confluent will continue to operate as a distinct brand and business within IBM after the close of the deal (which is subject to regulatory approval). “Data is at the heart of what companies need to do to harness AI, modernize their operations, and build the next generation of applications; and Confluent is at the heart of what companies need to harness their data,” Confluent CEO Jay Kreps said in a statement. “IBM sees the same future we doone in which enterprises run on continuous, event-driven intelligence, with data moving freely and reliably across every part of the business.” IBM and Confluent together will enable enterprises to deploy generative and agentic AI better and faster by providing trusted communication and data flow between environments, applications, and APIs [application programming interfaces], IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a press release. With the acquisition of Confluent, IBM will provide the smart data platform for enterprise IT, purpose-built for AI. IBM financials At the time of this writing midday Monday, IBM had a market capitalization of $292.12 billion, while Confluent had a $10.44 billion market cap. For the third quarter of 2025, IBM beat Wall Street’s estimates for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS). Its AI book of business surpassed $9.5 billion, up from $7.5 billion during the second quarter.
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E-Commerce
The Nordic countries are no strangers to the long, dark winter. Despite little to no daylightplus months of frigid temperaturespeople who live in northern Europe and above the Arctic Circle have learned how to cope mentally and physically with the annual onset of the winter blues, which can begin as early as October and last into April for some. The winter solstice will occur Dec. 21, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. While sunlight increases daily after that, winter won’t be over for a while yet. The Associated Press spoke to experts in Norway, Sweden, and Finland about the winter blues. Here’s how they suggest looking for light, literally and figuratively, during the darkest months of the year: Maintaining sleep and social habits are key Dr. Timo Partonen, a research professor at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, said the dark winter affects our circadian rhythm. With limited daylight, our internal body clocks cannot reset or synchronize properly and it throws off our sleep. We may sleep longer in the winter, he said, but we don’t wake up refreshed and can remain tired the rest of the day. Partonen recommended trying a dawn simulator, sometimes known as a sunrise alarm clock, to gradually light up your bedroom and ease you awake. In addition to being more tired, we’re more likely to withdraw from others socially in the wintertime. We’re more irritable, Partonen said, and more prone to fights with friends. It’s important to maintain our relationships, he said, because symptoms rarely improve in isolation. And since keeping up with exercise is also key to combating the winter blues, consider inviting a friend along for a workout. It could also help keep off the wintertime weight gaintypically 2 to 5 kilograms (4 to 11 pounds) a year, Partonen saidthat’s fed by cravings for carbohydrates, especially in the evenings. Light therapy encouraged for a range of symptoms Millions of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from seasonal depression. Also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, patients typically have episodes of depression that begin in the fall and ease in the spring or summer. A milder form, subsyndromal SAD, is recognized by medical experts, and theres also a summer variety of seasonal depression, though less is known about it. Scientists are learning how specialized cells in our eyes turn the blue wavelength part of the light spectrum into neural signals affecting mood and alertness. Sunlight is loaded with the blue light, so when the cells absorb it, our brains alertness centers are activated and we feel more awake and possibly even happier. Researcher Kathryn Roecklein at the University of Pittsburgh tested people with and without SAD to see how their eyes reacted to blue light. As a group, people with SAD were less sensitive to blue light than others, especially during winter months. That suggests a cause for wintertime depression. In severe cases, people need clinical support and antidepressant medications. Christian Benedict, a pharmacology professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, suggests light therapy for people with SAD as well as those who have a milder case of the winter blues. Its not like its a fate, an annual or a seasonal fate, and you cannot do anything about it, Benedict said. There are possibilities to affect it. A routine of morning light therapy, using devices that emit light about 20 times brighter than regular indoor light, can be beneficial for both people with and without SAD. The light therapy helps to kickstart your circadian rhythm and increases serotonin in your brain, Benedict said. Research supports using a light thats about 10,000 lux, a measure of brightness, for 30 minutes every morning. Special lights run from $70 to $400, though some products marketed for SAD are not bright enough to be useful. Your insurance company might cover at least part of the cost if youve been diagnosed with SAD. Partonen recommended using both a dawn simulator and a light therapy device each day before noon. Yale has tested products and offers a list of recommendations, and the nonprofit Center for Environmental Therapeutics has a consumer guide to selecting a light. Prioritizing a positive outlook as a survival strategy And don’t forget to, well, look on the bright side. It’s crucial to embrace winter instead of dreading it, according to Ida Solhaug, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Troms, also known as the Arctic University of Norwaythe world’s northernmost university. Prioritize a positive outlook as a survival strategy and learn to appreciate the change in seasons. It’s a typical Norwegian way of thinking, she said, that can make all the difference when there’s very little daylight for months. It’s part of the culture, she said. And don’t forget to take advantage of both outdoor and indoor hobbies, she said. Inside, channel hyggethe Danish obsession with getting cozyand snuggle up on the couch with blankets and a movie. But don’t hibernate all winter. After the film finishes, head outside with a thermos for fika, the traditional Swedish coffee break. Even during cloudy days, a quick walk in the fresh air will help, she said. And if you’re brave enough, do a cold plunge like many people in the Nordics. Solhaug tries to jump into the frigid waters off the coast of Troms, an island 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, at least once a week, adding that it makes her feel revitalized during the long winter. Challenge yourself to look for light in the darkness, she said. After all, as many Nordic people say, theres no such thing as bad weatheronly bad clothing. Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, too, had some tips for how to tackle Nordic winters. When asked in an interview with The Associated Press last month how to survive the cold season, he had some very specific advice. Take an ice bath and then followed up by a sauna and do one more ice bath, one more sauna, then a shower and go out there. Youll manage, Stubb said. Stefanie Dazio, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A Cinnabon worker in Wisconsin has been fired after a racist outburst directed at two customers went viral, the Georgia-based cinnamon roll chain said. Cinnabon posted a statement on social media that the worker, who it did not identify, was immediately terminated by the franchise owner over a disturbing video of the incident. Their actions and statements are completely unacceptable and in no way reflect the values of Cinnabon, our franchisees, or the welcoming environment we expect for every guest and team member, the company added in a follow-up statement to The Associated Press on Sunday. The video was posted on TikTok and showed a white, female employee cursing at and taunting the customers from behind the counter as one of them recorded the encounter. At one point she is seen on video uttering a racial slur and saying, I am racist and Ill say it to the whole entire world. Dont be disrespectful. The employee is also recorded giving an obscene hand gesture at customers and exchanging expletives with one of the persons at the store. The TikTok user who posted video said the incident happened while she and her husband were taking a break from shopping Friday at a mall in Ashwaubenon, a suburb of Green Bay. The customer said she ordered a caramel pecan cinnamon roll and had asked the worker to add more caramel as it didn’t appear to have enough. She said she began recording after the worker snapped at her and derided her hijab. An online fundraising campaign to support the customers described them as a black Somali Muslim couple that’s been traumatized by the incident. A competing campaign to purportedly benefit the fired worker, meanwhile, has raised tens of thousands of dollars. That effort appears on the same Christian crowdfunding platform where hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised for a Minnesota woman who admitted to using a racist slur against a Black child at a playground earlier this year.
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E-Commerce
On November 26, a water leak at Paris Louvre Museum damaged between 300 and 400 historical books in the Egyptology and scientific documentation section. Then, on December 8, workers at the museum voted to initiate a strike over poor working conditions. And thats only a drop in the bucket compared to the Louvres overall woes so far this year. For years, the Louvre has been struggling with a combination of old, weathered infrastructure and increased foot traffic brought about by mass tourism. But in 2025, the museum has been hit by the full consequences of operating out of a relatively un-updated building to house some of the worlds most influential (and valuable) art. Heres everything you need to know about the Louvres horrible, no good, very bad year. A leaked memo reveals the extent of the problem The year began with a letter that foreshadowed what was to come for the Louvre. Near the end of January, a private document, written by museum director Laurence des Cars for the French culture minister Rachida Dati, was leaked to the media. In it, des Cars described a museum struggling to accommodate its daily influx of visitors and protect its artwork due to deteriorating spaces, lack of crowd flow measures, and poor environmental controls. Visiting the Louvre is a physical ordeal; accessing the artworks takes time and is not always easy, des Cars wrote. Visitors have no space to take a break. Around the same time, the Louvre announced plans for a massive renovation designed to address these challenges. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the overhaul would include a new entrance on the Seine river, a stand-alone room to house the Mona Lisa, and several new underground rooms to control foot traffic. Changes to the museum were slated to begin in 2026 and take around a decade to completebut, as later months would prove, the situation at the museum had already reached a boiling point. The Louvre shuts down in June The first major disturbance at the Louvre took place on June 16, when the institutions own staff members rallied to shut it down. That day, thousands of ticketed patrons waited outside the museums iconic glass pyramid, to no avail. It was a rare occurrence for the Louvre, which has only closed a few other times during war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a few brief walkouts. The strike came due to staffs concerns around mass tourism and overcrowding. A crown jewel heist fit for the big screen Perhaps the most memorable calamity at the museum came in October. In a stunt that flummoxed the public (and is likely destined for Netflix adaptation), a group of thieves broke into the Louvre in broad daylight via a basket lift, cut its window panes with a glass cutter, stole nine pieces of priceless jewelry in less than seven minutes, and escaped on motorbikes. Since the stunning scene, at least eight people have been arrested in connection with the heist, but none of the jewelryworth more than $100 millionhas been found. For obvious reasons, the event has resulted in widespread criticisms of the museums security measures. Water damage and yet another strike Now, the Louvre has taken two more blows just before the end of the year. On November 26, a water leak damaged between 300 and 400 books that date from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, in the museums Egyptology and scientific documentation section. A spokesperson for the museum told CNN that the leak happened when a valve, which forms part of a now defunct plumbing system, was opened by accident. The system was shut off earlier this year in anticipation of the coming renovations. The spokesperson added that while the books in question are used regularly by readers, they arent the only copies in the world. And this morning, workers at the Louvre announced that theyre planning this years second strike to hold the museum accountable for difficult work conditions and security weaknesses. In a letter announcing the action, addressed to Dati and viewed by the AP, the unions involved said the museum was in crisis, noting that visiting the Louvre has become a real obstacle course for millions of visitors. Fast Company has reached out to representatives from the Louvre for comment on the issue. The strike is scheduled to begin next Monday, December 15.
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E-Commerce
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