‘A Lobstrosity’: Social Media Is Losing It Over Martha Stewart’s Latest Meal Posting

Martha Stewart is no stranger to controversy and raising brows, but her latest Instagram post has many scratching their heads and questioning her culinary taste.

On Instagram Wednesday, Stewart posted photos of a meal she had at the newly opened dining experience Maison Barnes, which is connected to the upscale Café Boulud in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The lifestyle maven dined on various dishes, including pâté, salads, vegetables, desserts and, most notably, a “roast chicken and lobster.” The land and sea combo had the 82-year-old’s followers reeling.

In the first photo she posted, the dish shows a whole chicken placed inside a lobster to create what many of her fans started calling a “chobster.”

Naturally, the unusual photograph had many talking, trying to figure out what — and how — exactly Stewart was eating.

“That’s a lobstrosity,” one commenter wrote.

“Martha what in fresh hell,” another joked.

Unbothered, Stewart didn’t seem to think twice about the look of the dish, barely addressing it in the caption.

“The wine list is sophisticated and excellent and the service delightful I cannot wait to return,” she wrote nonchalantly.

According to Café Boulud’s website, Maison Barnes is “dedicated to cultivating the French art de vivre,” featuring a series of different “salon-like rooms.”

The establishment does not list its menu online, and Café Boulud did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur‘s request for comment on what exactly the “chobster” is.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/martha-stewart-leaves-internet-confused-after-dinner-post/471581

This Retailer Is the Latest to Remove a Major Feature From Its Stores Due to Rising Theft

Following the path of other retail chains like Target that are trying to combat rising theft in stores, discount chain Five Below has decided to scale back on self-checkout stations, opting for cashier-only options in over 1,500 locations.

In a Q4 2023 earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Joel Anderson told investors that the “most significant” change the company made during the quarter was to limit self-checkout registers and put a store associate up near the front of the store.

Anderson said that the decision to limit self-checkout was in direct correlation with crime inside certain store locations and that additionally, the stationed personnel helped make the shopping experience more seamless for those entering the store.

“What we do know is that in higher crime rate index stores, the shrink is higher than lower crime index stores,” he told investors. (Shrink in retail refers to a discrepancy between what a store’s inventory list shows versus the number of products actually in stock.)

He further explained, “And we know that our self-checkout stores are higher than non self-checkout stores. So, the opportunity really rests immediately in tightening up our policies and how we operate in our … high crime index self-checkout stores.”

Anderson said that the company hopes to have 75% of transactions across the chain made with the help of an associate with a goal of having 100% made with the help of an associate in the highest-shrink, highest-risk store locations.

Other security measures that the company plans to implement against theft include checking receipts as customers exit the stores and putting guards around the stores.

“We intend to measure progress as soon as Q2 when we perform a limited number of store counts,” he said. “While we are confident these measures will help us over time … we have not included any financial impact for shrink reduction in our 2024 guidance. Lastly, at Five Below, we always play offense and intend to aggressively pursue returning to pre-pandemic levels of shrink, or offsetting the impact over the next few years.”

The chain joins fellow discount retailer Dollar General which announced earlier this month that it would be removing self-checkout from 300 high-risk stores and offering associate-assisted checkout to 9,000 more stores.

Five Below currently has around 20,000 stores across the country.

The retailer was down just over 13% year over year as of Friday afternoon.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/this-retailer-becomes-next-chain-to-nix-self-checkout/471574

‘Not Performing at Our Potential.’ Nike Sends Revenue Warning To Investors As It Changes Course

Nike warned investors on Thursday that its sales revenue could fall as it cuts back on classic shoes and focuses on innovating new products.

The company expects revenue to dip by a low-single-digit percentage in the first half of its fiscal year, beginning in June, according to Reuters. Nike CFO Matthew Friend told investors in a post-results call on Thursday that the company intends to make fewer of its classics, like Air Force 1s and Pegasus running shoes, in favor of new products.

“We know Nike’s not performing at our potential,” Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said on a conference call, according to Bloomberg. “It’s been clear that we need to make some important adjustments.”

^{Nike shoes at a Macy’s store on March 21, 2024, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)}

Donahoe told investors that new running shoes were on their way this year, including shoes targeted at “everyday runners” with Nike Air cushion support.

Back in December, Donahoe told investors about a $2 billion savings plan to cut costs over the next three years. In February, the company stated that the plan would involve reducing its global workforce of 83,700 employees by 2%.

Nike is the world’s largest sportswear retailer, according to Statista, outpacing competitors like Adidas and Puma in footwear revenue by at least $15 billion in 2022. Footwear makes up the majority of Nike’s profits at 68%, according to the same source.

The retail giant has recently faced challenges due to shifting consumer demand for the look and feel of shoes and industry competitors like Hoka and On, per a Reuters report.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/nike-warns-investors-revenue-might-shrink/471569

Costco Closes Its Food Court to Non-Members, Leaving $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo Fans Devastated

Shoppers enticed by Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, which has stayed the same price since 1985, but not by the wholesale store’s $60 annual membership fees may be out of luck — the company is making its food court “members only.”

And there are reports that Costco is already taking steps to enforce the policy at certain locations. A Reddit user posted on Thursday that at a Costco location in Conroe, Texas, the person at the door checking receipts wanted to see the food court receipt.

Earlier this month, a Costco location in Orlando, Florida posted: “Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court.”

In January, a Costco in Issaquah, Washington went further than ever to enforce a member-only space, by asking members to scan their cards before entering the warehouse.

^{Costco Kirkland Signature $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, which has maintained the same price since 1985 despite consumer price increases and inflation, at the food court outside a Costco Wholesale Corp. store on June 14, 2022 in Hawthorne, California. Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP}

According to Costco’s earnings report from fiscal year 2023, memberships generated $4.58 billion in profit, which is 73% of Costco’s net profit of $6.29 billion.

Statista data shows that the 2023 figure was an increase from the $4.22 billion generated by Costco memberships in 2022 and the $3.88 billion that memberships brought in for the company in 2021.

Costco memberships start at $60 per year for a Gold Star or business membership and go up to $120 annually for an executive membership. Costco has not raised the cost of memberships for 7 years, since 2017.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/costco-cracks-down-on-non-members-eating-in-its-food-court/471514

Buckingham Palace Is Hiring a New Communications Assistant After Months of Speculation Surrounding Kate Middleton

The Royal Family and Buckingham Palace have been in the middle of a public relations disaster over the last few weeks due to the speculation surrounding Kate Middleton — from her being “missing” to official accounts releasing edited photos.

On January 17, Kensington Palace released a statement claiming that Middleton had undergone a successful abdominal surgery and would return to public duties on or around Easter on March 31.

Now, eagle-eyed fans of the Royals have noticed that Buckingham Palace quietly posted a new job listing for a new Communications Assistant that reports directly to the Private Secretary’s Office.

The role is 37.5 hours per week and calls for several different qualifications, including “an eye for detail” and “strong written communication skills,” plus proficiency in “copywriting and editing for various audiences” and the “ability to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, demonstrating initiative and adaptability to meet tight deadlines.”

Candidates must also have a “basic” knowledge of Excel and will be expected to “produce content for a variety of platforms, including media advisories, social media updates, and feature articles” as well as “provide administration support such as diary planning and facilitating the accreditation process for State Visits” among other tasks.

The salary for the role, however, seems to be low for all of the above at just £25,642.50 per year, or roughly $32,443.79.

Still, according to Glassdoor, the average salary of a Communications Assistant in London is currently £25,835 per year, which would put the position’s salary at just slightly under the average.

“The Royal Communications team promotes the work, role, relevance, and value of the Royal Family to a worldwide audience,” the listing reads. “The reaction to our work is always high-profile, and so reputation and impact will be at the forefront of all that you do.”

The Royal Communications team gives candidates 25 days of PTO and 15% contributed to a non-contributory pension plan as well as a complimentary lunch every day.

Interested candidates can apply here through July 4.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/buckingham-palace-is-hiring-a-new-communications-assistant/471523

Video Shows Neuralink’s First Human Brain Chip Patient Playing Chess: ‘It Has Already Changed My Life’

Elon Musk’s brain tech startup Neuralink, which develops brain implants for people with physical disabilities to control computers with their thoughts, livestreamed a video on Wednesday showing the first-ever user doing several tasks with his mind.

Noland Arbaugh, 29, a former Texas A&M University athlete, was paralyzed in a diving accident in 2016 and has no sensation below his shoulders. In January, Arbaugh was the first human patient to trial the brain chip.

On Wednesday, he demonstrated how he was able to use a mouse cursor, play online chess, and pause music.

https://t.co/OMIeGGjYtG

— Neuralink (@neuralink) March 20, 2024

Arbaugh stated that he was able to stay up until 6 a.m. playing Civilization 6, a turn-based strategy video game, because of the chip.

“It’s not perfect, I would say that we have run into some issues,” he said in the video. “I don’t want people to think this is the end of the journey. There’s a lot of work to be done but it has already changed my life.”

The Neuralink chip, which is a coin-sized implant called Telepathy, works within a part of the brain that controls movements. According to the company, the chip takes a user’s brain activity and allows them to operate devices like computers and smartphones through intention — without needing to move.

Arbaugh explained that he first had to differentiate between imagined movement and attempted movement. He would attempt to move his right hand in different directions, developing more of an intuition for how to imagine the cursor moving.

“Basically, it was like using the force on the cursor,” he said, later adding that he would “just stare somewhere on the screen” and the cursor would move where he wanted it to.

Users on X expressed hopes and fears for the technology.

There’s this thing tho… pic.twitter.com/FekG7e1BkF

— Satoshi Club (@esatoshiclub) March 20, 2024

Existing technology on the market for people with disabilities includes eye-tracking tech from companies like Tobii Dynavox, which can translate minute eye movements into text, and then into synthetic speech.

Companies like Blackrock Neurotech and Paradromics are also working on brain implants.

Though the brain implant technology is still in its preliminary stages, Musk pointed to its long-term potential.

“Long-term, it is possible to shunt the signals from the brain motor cortex past the damaged part of the spine to enable people to walk again and use their arms normally,” Musk claimed.

Neuralink, which only follows Musk on X, asked “Who’s next?” on the platform on Thursday.

The startup’s first clinical trial, which the company calls “the first of its kind to be performed in people” is open to human recruitment now for those with limited or no ability to use both hands because of ALS or a spinal cord injury.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/neuralink-brain-chip-patient-plays-chess-with-his-mind/471516

‘Absolutely Brilliant Marketing’: Dunkin’s Latest Marketing Stunt Praised as ‘Culturally Relevant’ by Gen Z

Short King Spring is upon us and it looks like Dunkin’ is cashing in on the reason for the season.

For background, “short king” has become a term of endearment for men — usually under 5’9 — whose “his lack of height has nothing to do with his perception of his own self-worth,” according to Urban Dictionary.

In a play on the term, Dunkin’ announced on Tuesday that a small, iced regular coffee will be renamed “The Short King” on the Dunkin’ App through March 26 to celebrate the beginning of Spring. In Massachusetts, where Dunkin is headquartered, spring can also be a very short season.

“This honorary name will only be available for a limited time through March 26, so make sure to grab a small iced coffee for yourself… or the short king in your life,” the company said in a release.

The new ad campaign caused quite a stir on social media, especially on X where many found the concept “genius” and “hysterical.”

Dunkin’s Short King spring campaign on Instagram has me CACKLING. Now this is marketing ??????

— Wanja the Multifaceted Storyteller (@wanjanjama) March 21, 2024

Absolutely brilliant marketing by Dunkin. Culturally relevant, funny, and incentivizes people to go to the app to actually see it actually listed as the “Short King”

This is why Dunkin is winning even with mid coffee. https://t.co/hcjoqk8yQs

— Modsix (@ModsixGaming) March 19, 2024

it’s only the second day, but so far i laugh every time i open the dunkin app to order an iced coffee and they suggest that i order a short king. just excellent marketing work

— Courtney OConnell (@thegingerninja_) March 20, 2024

I became a dunkin girlie just in time to celebrate a true short king renaissance https://t.co/WsEmGAMGeW

— Jimmy Sprinkles ?LIVE (@_JimmySprinkles) March 19, 2024

Dunkin’ also promoted the temporary menu swap on its social channels, including Instagram, where the chain created a mini-animation that shows the small coffee being crowned by two larger-sized beverages, officially becoming the king.

The lead of the “Short King” campaign, Director of Brand Engagement at Dunkin’ Kemma Kefalas, touted the success of the concept on LinkedIn, noting that the idea was to take a term that was deeply rooted in Gen Z culture and bring it to the mainstream — and the company’s wider customer base.

“There’s never a dull moment working for a brand that empowers us to put culture at the forefront…where all the short kings can see,” she wrote.

This isn’t the first time this year that Dunkin’ has taken an out-of-the-box approach to its marketing techniques.

During Super Bowl LVIII, the chain debuted a 60-second commercial — its second ever — with famed Dunkin’ fan, Oscar winner Ben Affleck alongside an A-list cast of “DunKings” that included fellow Boston-native Matt Damon, rappers Jack Harlow and Fat Joe, NFL legend and former New England Patriot Tom Brady, and Affleck’s wife, actor and singer Jennifer Lopez.

[embedded content]

The YouTube video of the clip has since garnered 4.7 million views.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/dunkin-praises-short-kings-in-spring-marketing-stunt/471517

Why Royal Caribbean Isn’t Going All in on Massive Cruise Ships Despite the Wild Success of Its New Icon of the Seas

^{This article originally appeared on Business Insider.}

Earlier this year, guests at Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay private island were the first to revel at the historic sight of the world’s largest cruise ships, Icon of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas, docked side-by-side.

The vessels towered over their communal dock like skyscrapers, casting a dark shadow over their relatively tiny shared pier.

Together, they can accommodate about 19,250 people.

^{Cruise ships like the Icon of the Seas will spend the majority of their trip at sea. Pieter De Boer via BI}

At 1,196 feet long and weighing 248,663 gross tons, the Icon of the Seas is a sight to behold. When it launched in late January, the giant vessel upstaged its eight-foot shorter predecessor, the Wonder of the Seas, as the world’s biggest.

At the time, it was no surprise: Every new Royal Caribbean ship seemed to dethrone another Royal Caribbean ship for this title.

But not for long.

The company’s smaller ships, important for diverse trips, are aging.

^{Royal Caribbean saw the largest booking day ever when reservations opened for the Icon of the Seas in October 2022 — more than a year before the ship’s official launch. Brittany Chang/Business Insider}

The company is synonymous with its mega vessels. And they’ve been mega-hits: Michael Bayley, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, has repeatedly called the Icon of the Seas the “best-selling product” in the company’s history.

Royal Caribbean is set to launch four more megaships by 2028 — representing about a third of its total fleet. So far, most of the megaships’ scheduled sailings are in the Caribbean.

The other 21 smaller vessels tend to have more specialized itineraries, Patrick Scholes, the managing director of lodging and leisure-equity research at Truist Securities, told Business Insider.

^{Royal Caribbean International via BI}

Given their trimmer sizes, these vessels can operate more sailings outside the Caribbean, which often reel in high fares and customer satisfaction for the company, Jay Schneider, the chief product-innovation officer at Royal Caribbean Group, told reporters in January. Think of the Mediterranean, Alaska, and South Pacific itineraries — the latter are especially important as the cruise line continues to ramp up business in Asia.

But these destination-flexible cruise liners are aging as Royal Caribbean continues to unveil their giant counterparts. The company launched its four oldest Vision-class ships, with a maximum 2,730-guest capacity, between 1996 and 1998.

They’re tiny and old compared to the 2-month-old, 7,600-guest Icon of the Seas.

Looking ahead, Royal Caribbean plans to return to the basics: smaller cruise ships.

^{Royal Caribbean’s oldest ship is the 2,440-guest Grandeur of the Seas, which first set sail on December 14, 1996. Royal Caribbean International via BI}

Despite the cruise line’s success with mega-vessels, Schneider said Royal Caribbean is now considering a new class of ships that would start “smaller” — noting that he was “careful to say small, but less-than-large.”

“The reality is, families want to go on vacations not just in the Western and Eastern Caribbean where a ship like Icon can get into,” Schneider said. “They want to stay with our brand and journey to different destinations that require more versatility in ship size.”

Desirable destinations such as French Polynesia and Venice, Italy, have limited visiting cruises, including size restrictions, to curb pollution and overcrowding. But, as Schneider said, small-vessel-enabled specialized itineraries are also important to travelers.

^{The pool was surrounded by several hot tubs. Brittany Chang/Business Insider}

Giant mass-market floating resorts also often attract first-time cruisers, enamored by their family-friendly water parks and Broadway-style shows. But after a few good vacations at sea, these no-longer-new-to-cruising guests might start craving quieter ships or more bespoke itineraries.

“Alaska cruises tend not to be the first-time cruiser,” Scholes told BI. “I don’t really see Icon of the Seas doing a Norwegian Fjord or Alaska trip.”

Plus, “there’s probably only so much demand for these giant ships,” Scholes said.

Royal Caribbean has already succeeded in the first part: bringing in a swath of new cruisers with its megaships. Now, it has to retain them.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/icon-of-the-seas-best-selling-but-smaller-boats-trending/471512

Glassdoor Under Fire for Reportedly Adding Real Names to Profiles Without Consent

Glassdoor, the jobs website acquired by Recruit Holdings for $1.2 billion in 2018, allows employees to leave anonymous, honest reviews about their employers — and had a history of protecting its users against legal pressures from corporations.

But a new report found that Glassdoor has been adding real names to user profiles without consent, per Ars Technica.

The saga began when Monica, a Midwest-based software professional who did not disclose her last name, wrote a March 12 blog post saying they joined Glassdoor 10 years ago and have contributed reviews. But earlier this month, after emailing support to request help removing information from their account, their real name was added to their profile.

Monica claims the support team took their real name from the email request.

“Glassdoor now requires your real name and will add it to older accounts without your consent if they learn it, and your only option is to delete your account,” the post said.

The post has since prompted backlash against Glassdoor as users worry about giving personally identifiable information to the company — and possibly getting fired for giving reviews about their current employers.

Legacy users like Monica didn’t have to input their real names when accessing Glassdoor originally — only an email address. The changes began when the company started integrating social features from Fishbowl, an app for workplace-related conversation, which is also owned by its parent company, in July.

Glassdoor’s terms of use, revised last month, state that portions of a user’s profile, including their names and profile pictures, “may be visible to other users and the public.” In certain circumstances, users can share their profiles with third parties, but Glassdoor reassures them that their profiles “will not publicly include or link” to the content they submit “semi-/anonymously.”

Glassdoor’s privacy policy states the company may collect profile information, including names, resumes, ages, pictures, phone numbers, connected social media, and more from its users.

After the integration began, Glassdoor started requiring users to disclose their full names, job titles, and employers. Several legacy users who hadn’t shared their full names with Glassdoor found when they logged on that their names had been added to their profiles without them knowing, according to Wired.

“You can’t both be verified and anonymous,” Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a pro-privacy organization, told Wired. “You can’t both be a social network and a confidential reporting space. You can do one of those well, or you can do both of them badly.”

Glassdoor did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/glassdoor-adding-real-names-to-anonymous-accounts-report/471459

MacKenzie Scott Donates $640 Million to Non-Profits After Elon Musk’s ‘Ex-Wife’ Comment on X

Philanthropist and billionaire MacKenzie Scott, who helped to co-found Amazon with her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos, has made another landmark donation to hundreds of organizations in need.

On Tuesday, Lever for Change and Scott’s organization, Yield Giving, announced that an impactful $640 million had been donated to 361 different nonprofits after the two organizations held an open call for “community-focused organizations” seeking funds that focused on advancing “the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means.”

Lever for Change said that the open call received 6,353 total applications and had planned on only awarding 250 organizations with $1 million each but expanded the award pool. Now, 279 of the top applicants would receive $2 million each, and another 82 would receive $1 million each.

“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, in a company release. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

Winning applicants span 38 states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico in both urban and rural settings.

Scott’s latest round of donations follow comments made by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a now-deleted post from March 6 on X, which not-so-subtly took a shot at Scott and her divorce from Bezos.

“Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse’ should filed [sic] be listed among ‘Reasons that Western Civilization died,” Musk wrote.

Scott received an estimated $38.3 billion worth of Amazon stock (roughly 19.7 million shares worth 4% of the company) as part of their divorce settlement and has pledged to donate over 50% of her total wealth in her liftime or in her will to charity via the Giving Pledge.

Scott is known for mass donations to smaller organizations in large sums. For example, in December 2023 she announced through Yield Giving, that $2.15 billion had been donated to non-profits during that year.

The billionaire also made history in October 2022 when she donated $84.5 million to the Girl Scouts of the USA, the largest donation ever from a single individual.

According to Bloomberg, Scott’s net worth is an estimated $36.5 billion.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/mackenzie-scott-donates-640b-to-nonprofits-after-musk-post/471456