 |
|
|
|||||
A grocery store is offering to buy pennies in a 2-for-1 deal. Sound like pennies from heaven? Too good to be true? The news comes a day after the U.S. Mint pressed its final penny on November 12 in Philadelphia, following an order from President Donald Trump to stop making the one-cent coins back in February. Market 32 and Price Chopper stores are inviting customers to double the value of their spare change by bringing in their pennies this Sunday, November 16 for Double Exchange Day. The only catch is that customers will receive a gift card instead of cold hard cash for their trouble, according to a statement on the company’s website. Market 32 is an updated, rebranded name for some Price Chopper stores. Dual-branded Market 32 and Price Chopper stores are located in the Northeast, in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. The reason for the 2-for-1 deal may be a bit less altruistic than it seems. Since pennies are going out of circulation, that means more businessesgroceries especiallywill need more of them in the short term. Customers can bring in their pennies either the old-fashioned wayrolled up in a sleeve (remember that, Gen Xers?)or as loose coins to the customer service desk at the supermarkets. They can bring in up to a total of $100, which gets you a $200 gift card, or a minimum of 50 cents for a $1 gift card. However, the offer is good for one day only. Cash transactions remain an important part of how we serve our customers, and for those who prefer to pay with cash, we want to make sure we can continue providing the same great checkout experienceright down to the penny, Blaine Bringhurst, president of Market 32 and Price Chopper said in a statement. “We also know a lot of families across our six-state footprint are facing hardships right now, and this is another unique way our team is working to provide support.
Category:
E-Commerce
While a deal to make Grok available across the federal government is now in place, the agency facilitating the partnership with Elon Musk’s controversial chatbot has yet to incorporate it into its own flagship AI platform due to ongoing internal safety testing.Both lawmakers and advocacy groups have criticized the Trump administrations interest in Grok, over concerns about Musks deepening relationship with the US government and the chatbots antisemitic and otherwise offensive rants, from back in July. After the company said it fixed the apparent glitch causing the bot to call itself MechaHitler, the General Services Administration in September unveiled that Grok for Government,” an enterprise version of the xAI chatbot, would be available to federal agencies at a steep discount. But as of Wednesday, a GSA-managed repository for an app designed to expedite the Trump administrations plans to deploy AI across the government does not include Grok, though it does feature chatbots from Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The USAi platform, launched earlier this year, is supposed to be a testing ground for government to experiment with a wide range of large language models and how they might integrate them into government work. (In that vein, the GSA has also developed some suggested prompts for government workers now communicating with their new AI agents and looking to keep them in check. They suggest that government workers tell these chatbots: You are a helpful assistant that works for a government agency Never knowingly make false statements or deceive users Remain neutral, factual, and nonpartisan at all times. … You do not prefer or recommend specific political views, groups, religions, companies, products, or enterpriseRedirect users’ requests around potentially controversial or polarizing topics quickly. )The GSA says that while Grok is now available to government agencies, its up to their respective officials to evaluate the technology for themselves, since its own evaluation, which is supposed to include bias and safety testing, of Grok is ongoing. At GSA, Grok for Government and xAI are currently undergoing internal safety assessments a required step in the USAi review and authorization process prior to integration in USAi, a GSA spokesperson says. Agencies prepared to fully invest in their own AI solutions can now buy access to AI models directly through GSAs Multiple Award Schedule, many of which are currently offered at discounted rates via GSAs OneGov deals. In these situations, federal agencies are responsible for independently evaluating the AI models it intends to use. Grumbles on Grok Earlier this summer, government coders seemed primed to integrate Grok into USAi. After the chatbot started spewing antisemitic and other offensive content, the government initially defended its work with xAI. Still, a planned deal with the company was apparently put on pause, only to be relaunched following a push from the White House. Around that time, GSA said that tools involving USAi, the government-wide AI app, are supposed to undergo pre-launch bias and safety evaluations. Then, in September, Grok went on sale to federal agencies, through a deal facilitated through GSA.Late last month, the Trump administrations nominee to lead the GSA told the Senate hed be open to reviewing the deal with xAI and assessing whether there was incompleteness to the process. It remains unclear whether any federal agency has taken xAI up on using Grok, though xAI also has a major Defense Department deal.The confusion is a reminder that the government is still figuring out its relationship with major large language model firms. For now, the government seems to be moving ahead with helping federal workers interact with ChatGPT, Llama, Claude, and Gemini. This story was supported by the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism.
Category:
E-Commerce
The headache of planning a ski trip stands in sharp contrast to the freedom of effortlessly slicing down the slopes once you actually get up the mountain. If youre tired of worrying about squeezing all of that gear into your car or wrestling with tire chains in the cold, Ubers latest option for getting you to the slopes is one way to go. The company continues to broaden the services you can book through its app, and now Uber wants you to not only hail one of its rides up the mountain, but also book your ski pass on the way. Through a partnership with Vail Resorts, Uber is offering an option to buy an Epic Pass through the app. The Epic Pass, sold by Colorado ski giant Vail, is one of the big two multi-resort passes that avid skiers and snowboarders buy each season to unlock access to a huge swath of slopes. (The other option, the Ikon Pass by Vails rival Alterra Mountain Company, isnt available through the Uber app.) The Epic Pass packs a punch as far as ski destinations go, offering unlimited access to Colorados Vail and Breckenridge resorts, Park City in Utah, Heavenly in California, and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada. Right now, the main pass will set a single adult back $1,121, though prices go up the closer it gets to opening day. Other passes offer a handful of mountain days at a discount for what individual lift tickets would cost, but booking one through Uber doesnt confer any special perks. After the Epic Pass sales period closes in December, Uber users will apparently be able to book normal lift tickets to any Vail resort through the app. We are thrilled to offer skiers and snowboarders alike a convenient and reliable way to get to the mountain this season, Uber’s director of engineering Adib Roumani said in a press release. “With Uber Ski, you can spend more time enjoying the fresh mountain air and less time worrying about how to get there. Uber on ice Uber will also continue to offer specially outfitted rides through Uber Ski, which is a special tile that pops up seasonally in the services area of the app. The company first added this option back in 2019, giving riders in many mountain-adjacent U.S. cities a way to know that their ride can a) actually make it up a mountain, and b) fit bulky skis and snowboards. Since its launch, Uber has expanded Uber Skis area to include more snowy spots in the U.S., as well as in France and Switzerland in Europe. Support for Canadian slopes is on the way soon, according to the company, and all Uber Ski rides can be booked up to 90 days in advance. Uber Ski is just the latest premium offering from the ride-booking company, which advertises a dizzying array of ride options, from UberXL (for groups of up to six passengers, like the ones available through Uber Ski) and Uber Premier (luxe rides) to Uber Pet (for when your non-human companion comes along). Ubers increasing push into niche and luxury optionsand partnerships like the one it just struck for the Epic Passcan help the company cash in beyond its core ride-booking business. Unless youre a seasoned pro, the logistics of carting your gear up a mountain in inclement weather can put a damper on a ski day before it even gets started. For families and friend groups that travel away from home for an extended trip or only make it to the slopes a few days each season, Uber Ski offers a compelling transportation optionespecially if youre splitting the bill.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||