How Costco sells such cheap gas so cheap | CNN Business

June 4, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In its 50-year history, Costco has never seen such demand for gas.

Many of its stations have been so overwhelmed that they’ve had to call in tanker trucks multiple times a day to avoid running dry, Costco said this week during its quarterly earnings call. A growing number of customers are buying just enough to top up their tanks, concerned about what tomorrow’s prices may be.

As prices have surged above $4 nationwide – and above $6 along the West Coast – Costco has become America’s destination for cheap gas. Well, relatively. Costco routinely undercuts local gas stations by around 30 cents a gallon.

NASA confirms fireball meteor exploded over northeastern US with force of 230 tons of TNT | Live Science

June 3, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

NASA has confirmed that a bright fireball meteor exploded in the sky over New England on Saturday (May 30), releasing the equivalent energy of about 230 tons of TNT and generating a sonic boom heard across multiple U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

The meteor was relatively small — about 5 feet (1.6 meters) in diameter, NASA wrote in a statement on X. However, it faced incredible friction while tumbling through the atmosphere at about 42,000 mph (67,000 kilometers per hour). The meteor broke the sound barrier as it split apart roughly 31 miles (50 km) over Earth, raining debris onto Cape Cod, according to NASA.

Heading a soccer ball just once is enough to raise levels of proteins associated with brain damage | Live Science

June 3, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Heading a soccer ball just once is enough to temporarily release proteins into the blood that are associated with damage to brain cells, a new study suggests.

For two of the six proteins tracked, their levels rose higher the more frequently and the harder soccer players headed balls. The study authors say that while this could be evidence of acute brain injuries, further studies are needed to determine whether the cumulative effects of heading could increase a player’s risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s.

Intuit Unveils QuickBooks Workforce: A Game-Changer for HR Management | Small Biz Trends

May 15, 2026May 14, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Small and mid-market businesses face a daunting challenge: managing HR duties across numerous disconnected tools, resulting in inefficiencies and wasted resources. Intuit aims to address this issue with the launch of QuickBooks Workforce, a comprehensive human capital management (HCM) solution. Set to revolutionize how businesses handle workforce management, this new platform is embedded directly within existing QuickBooks applications, promising a more efficient and integrated approach to HR tasks.

QuickBooks Workforce consolidates a range of essential functions—from hiring and onboarding to payroll, benefits administration, and performance management—all within a single platform. According to Intuit, many small businesses utilize anywhere from 7 to 25 different tools to manage their workforce, resulting in an annual cost of about $120,000. QuickBooks Workforce directly tackles this fragmentation by automating and synchronizing various HR processes, thereby reducing overhead and administrative burdens.

Lyft and United Airlines Launch First-Ever Pay with Miles Feature | Small Biz Trends

May 15, 2026May 14, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In a groundbreaking move for travel convenience, Lyft has partnered with United Airlines to allow MileagePlus members to use their accumulated miles to pay for rides directly through the Lyft app. This innovative feature, announced on April 29, 2026, marks the first collaboration of its kind in the U.S., effectively bridging the gap between air travel and ground transportation. For small business owners who value efficiency and cost-effectiveness in managing travel expenses, this integration may offer a significant advantage.

The “Pay with Miles” feature is designed for all United MileagePlus members who link their accounts to Lyft. Once linked, users can seamlessly redeem miles for eligible rides, which include everyday trips, airport travel, and premium services. For small businesses often juggling tight budgets and frequent employee travel, this new option can enhance not just convenience but also financial flexibility. Members can cover the full fare or split payment with a credit card when their miles are insufficient to cover the entire ride cost.

Mount Dukono: I led hikers up an Indonesian volcano and then it erupted | BBC News

May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

An Indonesian guide who led a group of hikers up Mount Dukono has described the harrowing moment they were caught up in Friday’s eruption, which killed three people in his group.

Reza Selang narrowly escaped being crushed by a large rock ejected from the crater, which landed on two other hikers right beside him.

“There are no words. Until now, I still feel torn apart, I still can’t believe it… right now, I am deeply devastated,” he told the BBC over the phone on Monday.

Indonesian authorities have said two Singaporeans and one Indonesian were killed in the eruption, while the other hikers were safely evacuated from the mountain located on Halmahera Island in North Maluku.

Kodiak AI raises $100M at a steep discount, sending its stock tumbling 37% | TechCrunch

May 8, 2026May 7, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Kodiak AI’s stock tumbled 37% in after-hours trading Thursday after the self-driving truck startup disclosed it had raised $100 million by selling shares at a steep discount — a sign that investors were willing to back the company but not at its current market price.

The company sold shares at $6.50 each, well below its closing price of $9.10, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The raise also included warrants — instruments that give investors the right to buy additional shares later at a set price, in this case as low as $6.

The financing came from existing backer Ares Management and several unnamed institutional investors.

Elon Musk’s lawsuit is putting OpenAI’s safety record under the microscope | TechCrunch

May 8, 2026May 7, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Elon Musk’s legal effort to dismantle OpenAI may hinge on how its for-profit subsidiary enhances or detracts from the frontier lab’s founding mission of ensuring that humanity benefits from artificial general intelligence.

On Thursday, a federal court in Oakland, California, heard a former employee and board member say the company’s efforts to push AI products into the marketplace compromised its commitment to AI safety.

Rosie Campbell joined the company’s AGI readiness team in 2021, and she left OpenAI in 2024 after her team was disbanded. Another safety-focused team, the Super Alignment team, was shut down in the same time period.

GameStop makes daring bid for eBay, hoping to rival Amazon | CNN Business

May 5, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

GameStop has offered to buy ecommerce giant eBay for $55.5 billion, a tie-up that the video game retailer’s boss believes could produce a “legit competitor” to Amazon.

The offer comes amid something of a revival at eBay, which has pushed to reinvent itself in the face of rising competition from the likes of Walmart, Amazon, Shein, and Facebook Marketplace.

GameStop — which became a household name during the meme stock craze of 2021 — has offered $125 per share for eBay, half in cash and half in stock, the company announced Sunday. That represents a 46% premium to eBay’s closing share price on February 4, the day GameStop started building a 5% stake in the company.

You’re paying for the jet fuel shortage when you fill your car with gas | CNN Business

May 5, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The global oil market is wildly complex, with thousands of interconnected parts all working seamlessly together to keep the world’s economy humming. Most of the time, no one notices.

Until it breaks.

It’s been two and a half months since the war with Iran ruptured the crude oil market, and the aftershocks are starting to show up in unexpected ways. Among the many quirks: A European jet fuel shortage – that Americans are paying for at the gas pump.