U.s. Jobless Claims Fall To 5-year Low

ChatGPT’s itinerary had a few missteps, but I also have the chatbot to thank for a newfound love of kayaking. I was dipping a paddle through the Bolinas Lagoon when the gray blob caught my eye. A moment later, it disappeared under the water. Then I noticed other such blobs: a group of seals, keeping a watchful eye and distance from the kayak.

New Hampshire is one of nine states with a ban on race-based Affirmative Action, but it’s also one of the least diverse states in the country. A decade after the ban it’s had little impact. Carl Jean-Baptiste was a junior at Plymouth State University when he discovered that the state he immigrated to and lived in for a decade had a ban on affirmative action.

In Norway, R&D is underway on what will likely be the world’s first cruise ship to run solely on renewable energy and batteries. Last year, the Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten (Norwegian for “the fast route”) set an ambitious goal: By the end of the decade, it would begin sailing a zero-emissions cruise ship.

Developed by a firm that works closely with Ikea, this flat-pack couch upends conventional design. The couch is the most comfortable seat in most homes, but it’s also the most uncomfortable seat to get into your house. Heavy, bulky, and requiring a team of geometry PhD students to navigate up a staircase, a couch is one of the great annoyances of moving.

Call them ADUs, ‘granny flats,’ or in-law suites, but these small-scale homes could be the key to greater housing density and affordability. A newly built accessory dwelling unit in Los Angeles. Alisha Jucevic/The Washington Post via Getty Images To many people, the image of a nuclear family in a stand-alone house with a green lawn and white picket fence still represents a fulfillment of the American dream.

Sony and Stellar Works envision a more design-focused future for the smart home. In 2018, Sony proposed a world with invisible technology. The Hidden Senses exhibition, which was held during Milan Design Week that year, included a candle holder that doubled as a light switch, a stone-like object that could change the volume of a nearby speaker when moved, and a bird sculpture whose shadow took flight when you grazed it with your finger.