April 2023

On Thursday, Twitter users noticed some blue verification check marks were disappearing. That is because Elon Musk, the company’s owner, made some changes to the verification requirements. Now, in order to receive the checkmark, users have to pay the $8 monthly subscription fee. Earlier, Musk announced on Twitter that this change was a way of “treating everyone equally.” He also alleged that the subscription service could...

Snapchat is now allowing all users access to the AI chatbot that only its paid subscribers have been able to use. Chapchat’s customizable AI chatbot offers “recommendations, answers questions, helps users make plans and can write a haiku in seconds, according to the company. It can be brought into conversation with friends when it’s mentioned with “@MyAI.” Users can also give it a name and design...

Since California outlawed most flavored tobacco, sales of RJ Reynolds’ menthol-free coolant have been soaring. R.J. Reynolds product complies with the California state ban containing an artificial, flavorless cooling chemical instead of menthol. The ban, which went into effect on Dec. 21, 2022, prohibits in-person stores and vending machines from selling flavored tobacco products and tobacco product flavor enhancers. RJ Reynolds’ is committed to giving customers a...

If you hate the stress of flying and the time wasted going through security and waiting on layovers, then a Southern California startup might have a solution. Dreamstar Lines Inc. is introducing a “hotel train” that would take passengers from a city center or suburban train station and deliver them to their destination while they slept. “A "short haul" flight is anything but -- when you consider...

Early Tuesday morning, Southwest Airlines had to pause its departures due to technical problems leading to thousands of delayed flights, CNBC reported. Dan Landson, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, claimed “a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost.” By 11:35 a.m. the Federal Aviation Administration had lifted the ground stop for the airline, but by then many travel plans had been...

Last week, Disneyland announced it would be hosting the first-ever “Pride Nite” for two nights during June, which is considered pride month. According to a press release from Disney, “Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite is a separately ticketed event which celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, and will be held on June 13 and 15, 2023, inside Disneyland park. This after-hours event includes themed entertainment, Disney...

On Sunday, as fans of Netflix’s reality show Love is Blind anticipated the live reunion of season 4, they were met with disappointment. Netflix announced the event would be delayed by 15 minutes, until ultimately deciding the reunion would be taped for streaming. When Netflix subscribers clicked on the show to view the livestream, they were met with a screen that said, “It’s almost time! The...

On Monday, Apple introduced the Apple Card savings account from Goldman Sachs which offers users a 4.15% annual percentage yield. Users must have an Apple Card, but the account requires no minimum deposits, no fees and no minimum balance requirements. The Apple Card reward program, Daily Cash, offers up to 3% back on purchases and all rewards earned will now be deposited to the savings account,...

Philadelphia cream cheese has entered a partnership with H&H Bagels in New York City to bring customers a limited edition product, a full unsliced bagel filled with creamy Philadelphia cream cheese. As if it couldn’t get any better, the bagel is also tax-free. The tax-free, limited edition bagel will be available from Friday, April 14 through Tax Day, Tuesday, April 18. Philadelphia stated in a press...

Tired of Twitter’s 280-character limit? You might want to check out the new subscription option. The company recently started allowing its Blue subscribers to tweet up to 10,000 characters per tweet as well as supporting bold and italic format, CNBC reported. Twitter’s Blue subscription was relaunched at the end of last year and costs 8$ a month for web users and $11 a month for iOS users....