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Everyone is talking about it in group chats, at the supermarket, and at the gas pump. No, it’s not Heated Rivalryit is the “monster” winter storm that is set to hit the U.S. this weekend, traveling from Texas across the Southwest, into the Southeast, and finally into the Mid-Atlantic states and into New England. The storm is forecast to dump a whopping ten to 20 inches of snow, creating dangerous conditions for about half the nation, according to the Washington Post. Widespread heavy snow, sleet, damaging ice, and a potential nor’easter could affect as many as 230 million Americans from Friday, January 23 to Monday, January 26, bringing temperatures below zero, according to the Weather Channel. While it’s too early to predict the storm’s exact path and snowfall, heavy snow is forecast for Memphis, Nashville, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City, and Boston. How to prepare for the winter storm The weather could create dangerous travel conditions, both on the roads and in the air, and has the potential for power outages amid freezing temperatures. Here are some tips from the National Weather Service (NWS) on what you can do to prepare before the storm: Make an emergency supply kit with things like a first aid kit, flashlight, cell phone charger, batteries, food and water, gloves, hates, boots and warm winter clothing For your car: Get a full tank of gas, snow shovel and brush, blankets, and jumper cables In case your heat goes out, here’s what to do, according to the NWS: Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing. Remove layers to avoid overheating, perspiration, and subsequent chill Close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors Close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat Do not run a generator inside your home or garage The National Weather Service says food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat, so eat and drink lots of water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcholohic drinks to prevent dehydration. Cold air is hydrating. Stay safe and warm out there!
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E-Commerce
One of the giants of the gaming business has tumbled off a cliff. Ubisoft, the French game publisher best known for the Assassin’s Creed series, just announced plans to dramatically reorganize its business. In the process, the company will kill six games it had in the works, including a long-awaited Prince of Persia title that was expected this month. Ubisoft shares dropped by more than 30% following the news. The game publisher said the changes are designed to make it more agile in order to drive a sharp rebound for the company, which has seen its stock tank over the last five years. To chart that course, Ubisoft said it will selectively close the game studios it operates in Halifax and Stockholm, while restructuring other studios based in Abu Dhabi, Malmö, and Helsinki. The company will consolidate its studios into five genre-specific creative houses that combine game production and publishing. The company described the desperate measures as a major reset to set itself on a path to sustainable growth. For the year, Ubisoft now expects net bookings of roughly $1.5 billion euros, down by $330 million from its previous guidance. It is a radical move, relying on a more decentralized creative organization with faster decision making and best-in-class cross functional core services supporting and serving each Creative House, Ubisoft Founder and CEO Yves Guillemo wrote in press release, emphasizing that the changes would provide deep cost reduction designed to rightsize the 17,000-person company. Beyond the now-axed remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which Ubisoft said did not meet its new enhanced quality criteria, the publisher will abandon four unannounced games, including three new IPs and a mobile title. A dramatic decline for a AAA heavyweight The changes afoot at Ubisoft demonstrate a stunning fall from grace for a company synonymous with the gaming industry. The French gaming giant publishes many hit titles beyond its long-running Assassin’s Creed franchise, including the Tom Clancy series, Far Cry, Rayman, Just Dance, and Watch Dogs. Ubisofts retreat symbolizes bigger shifts in the gaming industry, but also avoidable failures. The pandemic-era game industry boom times that saw many gamers holed up at home, desperate for entertainment are now over. Persistent inflation means gamers have less cash on hand to spend, particularly after the cost of many new releases jumped up to $70. Meanwhile, big AAA studios like Ubisoft are looking to trim back budgets as the cost of making games goes up. Many people working in the gaming industry are hanging onto their jobs by a thread in the face of mass layoffs, if they havent decamped for another field altogether. Ubisoft has also made many of its own missteps. The publisher was forced to face its own demons during the gaming industrys recent cultural reckoning, which revealed patterns of pervasive sexual harassment and workplace discrimination at some game companies. Last year, three former Ubisoft executives were found guilty of fostering a culture of psychological and sexual harassment by a French court. The French game maker has also suffered from a few high profile game failures, including the 2024 release of Star Wars Outlaws - a release Ubisoft expected to be a major money maker. That games problems cascaded into Ubisofts next major release, Assassins Creed Shadows, which the company delayed in light of the softer than expected reception for the prior game. Ubisofts role in shaping the gaming trends of the last decade is hard to overstate. At its best, the companys games are praised for their sprawling, meticulously-detailed open worlds. But after many releases and many iterations, that formula may have overstayed its welcome. The game publisher has faced widespread criticism in recent years for churning out cookie-cutter open world games bloated by too much filler content. Gamers have more choice than ever in 2026, and theyre not afraid to opt for innovative indie titles handcrafted by small teams over AAA stalwarts that are growing stale. On the one hand, the AAA industry has become persistently more selective and competitive with rising development costs and greater challenges in creating brands, Guillemo said in Ubisofts announcement. On the other hand, exceptional AAA games, when successful, have more financial potential than ever.
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E-Commerce
If you have travel plans this weekend and dont necessarily need to travel, you may be in luck. A massive winter storm is forecasted this weekenddubbed Winter Storm Fern by the Weather Channeland could bring crippling ice and heavy snow to more than 30 states stretching from Arizona to Maine. With some 230 million Americans potentially affected, many airlines are preemptively warning travelers about potential weather-related disruptions and offering travel waivers in advance. The major U.S. carriers have issued alerts to travelers with flights scheduled out of airports across more than 20 states, though the terms for changing your travel plans can vary significantly by airline. If you plan to change your travel plans, for example, you will generally need to rebook in the next few days and choose new travel dates within the next year. But its also important to gauge your expectations: Dont expect to score some cash from this storm. In September, the Department of Transportation updated its lengthy fly rights guidelines and cautioned that amenities to stranded passengers vary by airline, even if the cause is weather or something else beyond the carriers control. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers waiting at the airport; there are no federal requirements, according to information from the Transportation Department. Contrary to popular belief, for domestic itineraries, airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled. Here are how the big four airlinesAmerican Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlinesare preparing for this weekends storm, along with some of the other popular U.S. carriers. AMERICAN AIRLINES: CHANGE FEES WAIVED American Airlines has issued a travel alert for more than 30 different airports and is likely to see some major disruptions, as its main hub is at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The National Weather Service is currently forecasting that the Dallas metro area could see cold rain beginning on Friday that will gradually transition into freezing rain and sleet, before eventually becoming snow by Sunday. If you are booked on an American flight with travel scheduled for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you can change your trip, and the change fee will be waived. However, you must follow a few rules: The fee will be waived if you can travel some other time until next Wednesday, January 28; dont change your origin or destination city; and rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference to upgrade. To take advantage of the waiver on change fees, you will need to rebook your trip by this Sunday, and your travel must be completed within one year of the original ticket date. DELTA AIR LINES: FARE DIFFERENCES WAIVED Delta Air Lines, with its main hub at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, could fare somewhat better, as the Atlanta area is on a winter storm watch and slightly below the threat of the worst of the winter storm. That said, the airline has issued a travel advisory for more than 40 airports in 10 states. Affected travelers have until next Wednesday, January 28, to rebook traveland rebooked travel must occur on or before that date to be eligible for the fare difference to be waived. However, a fare difference may apply, the airline cautions, if you upgrade your original booking class. If youre not able to reschedule your travel to meet these rebooking guidelines, you may cancel your original reservation and apply the unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for travel within one year of the original issue date. UNITED AIRLINES: CHANGE FEES, FARE DIFFERENCES WAIVED With its headquarters in Chicago, United Airlines is very accustomed to dealing with winter weather disruptions, and the city isnt in the eye of this particular winter storm. Unlike American and Delta, United has issued two separate travel alertsone for the Eastern U.S. and the other for the Southern U.S.and they encompass two slightly different time periods. The travel alert for the Southern U.S. could affect airports in nine states, according to United, and applies to flights scheduled for Friday through Sunday. Meanwhile, the travel alert for the Eastern U.S. could affect airports in 14 states and the District of Columbia, and applies to flights scheduled for Saturday and extending through Monday. The options for United travelers who face potential disruptions are the same: Reschedule your travel plans, and the airline will waive change fees and fare difference. To qualify, the new flight must depart on or before next Wednesday, January 28, for flights on the East Coast, and on or before next Thursday, January 29, for flights in the South. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: LONGER WINDOW FOR REBOOKING Southwest Airlines, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, has always done things a little differently than its bigger competitorsand that extends to how it is handling potential disruptions from the winter storm. Its main hub is at the Dallas Love Field Airport, so like American, Southwest is likely to see some impact to its flights and has issued a travel advisory for airports in 15 states and D.C. The airline was just deemed the best in The Wall Street Journals ranking of airlines for 2025, beating out rivals in every category measured. If youre a Southwest passenger with a reservation to, from, or through one of the airports on its list, you can enjoy a longer rebooking period of 14 days within the original date of travel to take advantage of the waiver in fare difference. Whats more, if you decide to cancel your trip, you may be eligible for a refund for the unused ticket, along with any optional travel charges you have already paid for on affected flights. As is true of all of the airlines, be sure to read the specific rules before making changes. HOW OTHER AIRLINES ARE PREPARING Airlines have more leeway than many passengers may realize on how they handle travel disruptionsand thats quite evident if you scroll through the Department of Transportations < href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-cancellation-delay-dashboard">airline cancellation and delay dashboard. That dashboard details how 10 different U.S. carriers handle controllable disruptionsa cancellation or delay that was due to circumstances within the airlines control. As the agency cautions, airlines similarly can chart their own route for how to handle weather disruptions. If you have a ticket issued by Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines, which are under the same ownership, you can change or cancel your trip without a fee. The same is true for passengers on flights with Frontier Airlines and JetBlue, though the latter offers a slightly longer rebooking period (through January 31). Finally, low-fare and regional airlines may provide even fewer accommodations to travelers affected by this weekends disruptions.If you have a ticket with Spirit Airlines, the carrier will waive fare differences on rebooked tickets, though its travel advisory makes no mention of what happens if you cancel your trip. Allegiant Air has issued a travel alert for 15 cities it serves, but makes absolutely no mention of what accommodations it will offer to impacted travelers. And Breeze Airways has similarly issued a travel advisory, though the airline indicates that affected travelers will be notified with optionsand its typical accommodations vary widely, depending on the length of the delay or type of disruption.
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E-Commerce
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