America’s wealthiest people have urged each other to give away more of their money since at least 1889, the year Andrew Carnegie argued that the richest should give away their fortunes within their lifetimes, in part to lessen the sting of growing inequality.

So, what stands in the way of the wealthiest people giving more and giving faster?

Philanthropy advisers say some answers are structural, like finding the right vehicles and advisers, and some have to do with emotional and psychological factors, like negotiating with family members or wanting to look good in the eyes of their peers.

Piyush Tantia, chief innovation officer at ideas42, points out that unlike everyday donors, who may give in response to an ask from a friend or family member, the wealthiest donors end up deliberating much more about where to give.

His advice is to think about philanthropy as a portfolio, with different risk levels and strategies ideally working in concert. That way it’s less about the outcome of any single grant and more about the cumulative impact.

Private and open conversations between donors also help them move forward, advisers have found. The Center for High Impact Philanthropy runs an academy that convenes very wealthy donors, their advisers, and the heads of foundations to learn together in cohorts.

But executive director Kat Rosqueta said, that sometimes donors struggle with seeing how to make a difference, given that philanthropic funding is tiny compared to government spending or the business sector.

Cara Bradley, deputy director at the Gates Foundation, said the scrutiny of billionaire philanthropy also means they feel a huge responsibility to use their funds as best as possible.

Deborah Small, a marketing professor at Yale School of Management, said, in general, current social norms value anonymity in giving, which is seen as being more virtuous because the donor isn’t recognized for their generosity.

“It would be better for causes, and for philanthropy as a whole, if everybody was open about it because that would create the social norm that this is an expectation in society,” she said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Tech giant Panasonic has converted its 50-year-old microwave production facility in Cardiff, Wales, to operate entirely on renewable energy.

This project, the company’s first in Europe, integrates solar, hydrogen fuel cells, and battery storage to power the factory sustainably.

Inside, workers continue assembling microwave ovens, and the hope is that this entire operation will be using energy generated on-site from renewable sources.

Robert Blowers, Managing Director, Panasonic Manufacturing UK says, As part of the Panasonic Manufacturing UK 50th anniversary, Panasonic Corporation have invested in the first European Panasonic HX facility, and that's going to be based here in Cardiff. That's a combination of solar system, that's a combination of storage battery and hydrogen fuel cells to power the microwave oven facility in Panasonic Manufacturing UK using 100% on-site renewable energy.

The renewable energy system combines solar photovoltaic panels (PV), hydrogen fuel cells, and battery storage units to provide a reliable power source for the factory.

This system ensures the factory is self-sufficient, a strategic move as Panasonic seeks to reduce reliance on external power sources amid global energy instability.

The technology, part of Panasonic's RE100 project, was successfully trialed in Japan and is now being implemented in Europe for the first time.

Shigeki Yasuda, Senior Engineer who worked on the RE100 project at Panasonic says, On sunny days solar PV covers the demand (in electricity) for the factory, but on cloudy or rainy days fuel cells start up immediately and covers demand for the factory.

The factory was officially unveiled on December 3, 2024, at a ceremony attended by Panasonic executives, local politicians, and dignitaries.

Masahiro Shinada, Panasonic Corporation's CEO, says investing in hydrogen is a pivotal moment for the company, and he looks forward to a future where hydrogen is used more often as a way to shift to renewable energy.

Panasonic says the Cardiff facility will serve as a model for future projects in Europe, showcasing renewable energy’s potential for industrial operations.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Seafaring pioneers are spearheading a comeback for wind power in the shipping industry, to try to make a dent in its huge carbon footprint.

The international merchant fleet of more than 100,000 ships that transports most of the world’s trade is responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Now the return of ocean-going cargo ships that mainly use sails for propulsion could help solve shipping’s need for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Captain of the Grain de Sail II cargo carrier Yann Jourdan says, “We always use the sails and only the sails. I mean, we don’t use the engine, even in really bad weather.”

With its aluminum hull, two giant carbon-fiber masts, mechanized systems for hauling and adjusting the billowing sails, and its bridge bristling with high-tech navigation gear, Grain de Sail II is a supercharged modern update of the sailing clippers of yesterday.

The speediest of its four crossings so far to New York took 17 days, and just 15 days on the return trip.

“Last crossing, we did a maximum speed of 18 knots and an average speed of 11 knots,” says the captain.

The cleanest of the new vessels spearheading wind’s embryonic revival are almost pure-sail vessels like Grain de Sail II.

Half the length of a soccer field and able to carry 350 tons of goods in its hold, it uses its diesel engine only to maneuver in and out of port.

“We want to not only reduce the carbon footprint, we want to kill it,” says Jacques Barreau, co-founder of the Grain de Sail firm with his twin brother, Olivier. They used profits from their chocolate-making and coffee-roasting business in western France to finance their first sail-powered cargo ship, the Grain de Sail I.

He foresees a future with thousands of sailing cargo vessels.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The mobile clinic is one of several health programs offered by libraries across the U.S.—from tiny rural town libraries to large urban systems. They offer fitness classes, food pantries, cooking classes, conversations about loneliness and mental health, and even blood pressure monitors that can be checked out just like books.

The public health programs leverage libraries’ reputation as sources of reliable information and their ability to reach people beyond formal healthcare settings. No money, insurance, language skills, or ID required, no limits on age. All are welcome.

Libraries are “the last true public institution,” said Jaime Placht, a health and well-being specialist at the Kansas City Public Library system in Kansas City, Missouri, which has a full-time social work team. “The library is a public health space.”

The Kansas City Public Library, along with Milwaukee and several others, is part of the American Heart Association’s Libraries with Heart program. Several Kansas City branches have blood pressure stations—which Placht said have been used 13,000 times—as well as take-home blood pressure kits that have been checked out nearly 100 times. The program started there about a year ago.

“We have patrons that say, ‘Because I used the blood pressure monitor at the library, I went and saw my physician for the first time in a long time,’” Placht said.

There is no local public health office in Jarrell, Texas, a small town between Austin and Waco. But there is a nonprofit library that can connect patrons to mental health help. It’s one of nine rural libraries in central Texas that receives funding from the St. David’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of one of the state’s largest health systems.

The public library in Smithville, Texas, which also gets money from the Libraries for Health program, stocks boxes of surplus food from area farmers and builds programs that help teens, older adults, and parents address isolation. The library’s peer support specialist has gone from working with four to five people a month to nearly 60 in the community southeast of Austin.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Campbell’s is ditching the soup—at least in name. And the change has now received the shareholders’ green light.

Campbell Soup Co. announced its intention to change its name several months ago, saying it wanted to instead be known as the (slightly shorter) Campbell’s Co. Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the change.

In a statement, CEO Mark Clouse maintained that this “subtle yet important change” will retain the company’s iconic name “while reflecting the full breadth of our portfolio.”

New Jersey-based Campbell’s hasn’t been exclusive to the soup business for some time. The company also owns brands like Prego sauce and Goldfish crackers—and completed a $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands, the maker of Rao’s pasta sauces, earlier this year.

Still, the 155-year-old food seller is most famous for its namesake canned soups, adorned with red and white labels. Its new name won’t change that, the company says—noting the Campbell’s soup brand or packaging will not be affected.

“We love soup and always will,” Clouse stated. “The iconic red and white Campbell’s soup labels that consumers love will be on shelves forever.”

The new name will officially be effective following an amendment filing to the company’s certificate of incorporation.

Campbell’s is far from the first to attempt such a makeover. From Dunkin’ to KFC, a handful of other food companies have also rebranded themselves over the years—often shedding the mention of a specific item they were known for with a shorter corporate title, or even an updated logo, in hopes of emphasizing other business.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Disabled people who use rideshare apps Lyft and Uber say their experience is not a seamless task of pressing a few buttons and being whisked to their destination minutes later. Instead, people who use wheelchairs and guide dogs have watched drivers cancel rides, charge cleaning fees for guide dogs, or outright refuse to take them where they need to go.

The rideshare companies plan to push app updates soon to address cancellations and misunderstandings, but advocates and disabled users say they want to see drivers be better educated about how to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and want the companies to put in stricter discrimination policies. The new app features are just “window dressing,” said Lynn Dubinsky, who works for a guide-dog training school in San Rafael, California.

While rideshare apps aren’t the only option for disabled people across the U.S.—public transit agencies must also have ADA-compliant buses and trains and offer paratransit options like shuttles—the disabled community relies on rideshare more than others, according to the 2022 U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Robert Silva has had issues with rideshare drivers because of his folding wheelchair, which he has used since losing his right leg in a car accident. The 34-year-old from Alameda, California, said he once tried ordering a rideshare five times in an hour and a half to go to Disneyland before a driver accepted his request.

“They just see me in a wheelchair first thing, and they’re expecting that there’s going to be a lot of baggage there,” said Silva, who usually can get into a vehicle without assistance. “I’m sure when they see me they think it’s going to be a lot more work than it actually is.”

Uber and Lyft said their disability policies include following the ADA and not denying rides to people solely because they have a guide dog. The companies also said new drivers are made aware of the policies during onboarding, and that established drivers get occasional reminders of disability policies. If drivers wrongfully decline to accommodate riders because of a service animal, they face a potential ban.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Many of us have felt it, and now it's official: brain rot is the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year.

Oxford University Press said that the evocative phrase gained new prominence in 2024, with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before.

Oxford defines brain rot as the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.

The word of the year is intended to be a word or expression that reflects a defining theme from the past 12 months.

Brain rot was chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers. It beat five other finalists: demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore.

While it may seem a modern phenomenon, the first recorded use of brain rot was by Henry David Thoreau in his 1854 ode to the natural world, Walden.

Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said that in its modern sense, 'brain rot' speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time.

It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology. It's not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year, he said.

Last year's Oxford word of the year was rizz, a riff on charisma, used to describe someone's ability to attract or seduce another person.

Collins Dictionary's 2024 word of the year is brat—the album title that became a summer-living ideal.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people’s regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday—a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation—has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it.

Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expected consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on December 2 (Monday), 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season’s—and the year’s—biggest shopping day for e-commerce.

Online spending was expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. that Monday night, per Adobe—reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute.

For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

Consumer spending for Cyber Week—the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.

At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies have been rising. More shoppers than ever are also on track to use “buy now, pay later” plans this holiday season, which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts, and other items.

Other data showed physical stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the huge crowds that were once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes.

RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that its early data showed store traffic on Black Friday was down 3.2% in the U.S. compared to last year, with the biggest dip happening in the Midwest.

Jie Zhang, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, told The Associated Press ahead of the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend that he expected shoppers to “indulge themselves a bit more” when it comes to “self-gifting,” increasing interest in categories like self-care.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Being a lighthouse keeper is probably one of the loneliest jobs in the world.

Yet, it’s been Leo op den Brouw’s work and life for the past 25 years on Gabo Island, off the coast of East Gippsland, Australia.

But now, the time has come to pass on the responsibility to the next generation.

Despite the isolation, he's loved every minute of it. He's especially fond of his marine neighbors. “Well, we're sort of stuck out in the ocean, so we see a lot of marine life,” says op den Brouw.

Whales, sea eagles and one of the planet’s biggest colonies of little penguins are some of the companions op den Brouw shared the island with.

But now, after two and a half decades, it’s time for him to pass the baton.

“I feel sort of sad to be leaving the place because I thought I'd be here till they dragged me off kicking or screaming or in a box. But, time moves on and got this young bloke who's pretty interested and very keen,” says op den Brouw.

The ‘young bloke’ op den Brouw is referring to is Sandy Duthie. And the historic significance of the job is not lost on the new recruit.

“I'm hoping eventually to find a beautiful rhythm to tie in with Gabo's rhythm. There's a huge responsibility, and a lot of it is self-driven,” says Duthie, originally from Aberdeen, Scotland.

For Duthie, that responsibility is a blessing.

For close to 200 years, the lighthouse on Gabo Island has literally been a beacon for the locals of East Gippsland on the mainland 500 meters away.

It’s now up to the next generation of caretakers to make sure this landmark is preserved.

“The island, to me, is a really important part of Australian non-Indigenous history, and I'd like to see it kept in good order and accessible to the average Australian,” says op den Brouw.

Like op den Brouw before him, Duthie will spend six months living on the island—one month on, one month off—shared with another caretaker.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Paintings by the world-famous Moomins creator Tove Jansson are on show in Finland.

The exhibition at the Helsinki Art Museum marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of Jansson’s book The Moomins and the Great Flood, which introduced the creatures to the world.

Prior to the success of the Moomins, Jansson first made a name for herself as a talented artist who painted on commission in public spaces during the 1940s and 1950s.

The exhibition features her public murals, including sketches that were found in her studio and have never before been shown to the public.

“This exhibition at HAM—Helsinki Art Museum—is special because it’s the first time we can see the wholeness of Tove Jansson’s all public artworks that she has ever made,” says Heli Harni, curator of the exhibition.

Five original murals and several competition paintings, as well as photographic reproductions of works that couldn’t be moved to the museum, are displayed at the exhibition called Paradise.

Harni hopes the exhibition will show visitors Jansson’s creative versatility.

“It’s a bit different than her storytelling in her books. And as we know, Moomin books and the story of Moomins going and building their own Paradise in the Moomin Valley,” she says.

The exhibition also features a display of early edition Moomin books.

“It is the jubilee year of the first Moomin book, as we know The Moomins and the Great Flood. And this theme is kind of connected to also this exhibition. And we have also here animation from the first book,” says Harni.

While an exhibition dedicated to Tove Jansson must of course refer to the Moomins, the focus is centered on her public works for factory walls, hospitals and nurseries.

Jansson’s works, some with hidden Moomins, will be on display in Helsinki until April 2025 before some of the creations depart for Japan on a two-year tour.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.