Amazon AMZN -1.26%
plans to install more of its Just Walk Out technology at NFL stadiums and college campuses throughout the U.S. in the fall, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
As part of the expansion, Amazon is adding six new stores at Lumen Field in Seattle, where it first launched the cashier-free concept back in 2022, and seven stores at Commanders Field near Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, it’s opening its first store at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. With the additions, there are now more than 80 sports stadiums across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada that use the technology.
In the realm of higher education, Amazon has over 30 university stores around the world using the technology. This fall, students can expect to see the tech-enabled stores at several new campuses:
- Emory University
- University of Maine
- Loyola University
- Endicott University
- Lindenwood University
- Ursinus College
- Texas Christian University (TCU)
- University of Virginia
What is Just Walk Out Tech?
Just Walk Out technology is Amazon’s AI-powered system that lets shoppers pick up items and leave a store without going through traditional checkout lines. It uses sensors and computer vision to track purchases and automatically charges customers through their Amazon accounts. The technology is similar to that used in Dash carts, which Amazon has insisted in the past is not used to spy on shoppers.
Amazon first introduced Just Walk Out technology in 2018 at the opening of its Amazon Go Store in Seattle. By 2019, the technology had expanded to additional locations, including grocery stores and third-party retailers. In 2024, it finally made its way to stadiums and college campus, despite earlier indications that it would be phased out of Amazon Fresh stores.
Fall fanatics can take their obsession one step further by turning it into a side hustle.
Personal finance platform FinanceBuzz is looking to hire a "pumpkin spice pundit" to taste-test fall food products from Trader Joe’s.
The platform said it's looking for someone to taste and evaluate the retailer's "fall-inspired Pumpkin Palooza foods."
The individual will be tasked with rating over 20 pumpkin-flavored food and drink products, like pumpkin waffles and pumpkin-spice ginger brew.
Among the Trader Joe's fall lineup is this "fall zucchette pasta" and "pumpkin Alfredo sauce." (Chris Borrelli/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
FinanceBuzz will use ratings to help shoppers decide which foods to budget for and "which to skip."
The pumpkin spice pundit will receive $1,000 for the effort, along with a $500 Trader Joe’s gift card to cover the food cost.
"Groceries are an essential part of everyone’s budget — and usually a good chunk of the monthly spending," FinanceBuzz said on its website.
"It’s disappointing when you branch out, buy a new food to try, and it ends up being a let-down."
FinanceBuzz is not affiliated with or endorsed by Trader Joe’s – but they are "big fans" of their seasonal items, spokesperson Chris Lewis told FOX Business.
The pumpkin spice pundit will receive $1,000 for his or her efforts, along with a $500 Trader Joe’s gift card to cover the food cost. (iStock; Trader Joe's / Fox News)
While there are "dozens" of new food products released every year, Lewis pointed out that there might not be room in everyone's budget for all of them.
"Pumpkin season is a major passion for some people, so we wanted to find a true superfan to critique this year's fall lineup and help our readers shop," he wrote in a statement.
"This is a serious job posting. If you're someone who cares about pumpkin season, has a great sense of taste, and is willing to have some fun as we get closer to autumn, we want to hear from you."
Interested applicants must be over 18 years old and live near a Trader Joe’s in the U.S.
The pundit will be tasked with rating more than 20 pumpkin-flavored food and drink products, like pumpkin waffles and pumpkin-spice ginger brew. (John Carl D'Annibale /Albany Times Union via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The pundit will be expected to photograph each fall-inspired item — purchasing one of each — and will then rate each product on several criteria, including preparation difficulty, taste, and more.
Applications can be submitted at financebuzz.com/pumpkin-side-hustle before the Sept. 10 deadline.
The U.S. Open has one cocktail that’s well on its way toward outpacing the combined prize money for both singles champions.
The cocktail is pricey. It retails for $23, but customers can keep the collectible souvenir cup, at least while supplies last. Crafted with Grey Goose vodka and topped with fresh lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and a garnish of tennis ball-inspired honeydews, the easy-to-make cocktail is scoring big at the U.S. Open.
Since its debut in 2007, the Honey Deuce cocktail has grown from a niche offering to the standout feature of the international tournament. In 2023, over 450,000 Honey Deuce cocktails were sold at that year’s U.S. Open, Grey Goose said on its website, noting that since 2011, more than 2 million have been sold.
As the Honey Deuce cocktail wins over fans’ taste buds, this year’s event could also be set to break another record: attendance.
Lew Sherr, chief executive officer of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), told the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) that he’s “confident” this year’s three-week event will smash the 1 million visitor mark, thanks to an extra day and more programming —proving that the only thing bigger than the Honey Deuce’s popularity is the event itself.
Over the years, the signature drink’s popularity has skyrocketed. In 2023, Grey Goose and the U.S. open said they would be extending their 17-year partnership.
Elon Musk launched his artificial intelligence startup xAI last July, and it now has “the most powerful AI training system in the world.” The cut decision, according to a strategies
The training cluster, called Colossus, is powered by 100,000 Nvidia H100 graphics processing units, or GPUs, and is expected to double in size to 200,000 chips, including 50,000 of Nvidia’s more powerful H200 chips, “in a few months,” Musk said. While AI rivals including OpenAI and Meta also have hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s chips, Colossus, which was brought online in about four months, has the most processors of an individual AI computing cluster in the world.
“Excellent work by the team, Nvidia, and our many partners/suppliers,” Musk said on his social media platform, X.
Colossus will be used to train the next generation of xAI’s large language model (LLM) called Grok, which is meant to rival OpenAI’s GPT-4. Musk said xAI expects to release Grok-3 by December.
In June, xAI announced it had chosen Memphis, Tenn. to house its supercomputer. Both Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer have partnered with xAI to build the supercomputer. Dell chief executive Michael Dell congratulated Musk on X, saying, “It’s an honor for @DellTech to be part of this important AI training system.”
xAI raised $6 billion in a Series B funding round in May, which included heavyweight investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. The round pushed xAI’s valuation to $24 billion.
Meanwhile, xAI is facing blame from local advocates in Memphis for making pollution worse from its use of gas-powered turbines, as smog in the city exceeds national air quality standards. In a letter to the Shelby County Health Department in August, the Southern Environmental Law Center said xAI’s supercomputer “requires an enormous amount of electricity,” and that the startup “has installed at least 18 gas combustion turbines over the last several months” to meet that demand, with more possibly coming.
The startup “apparently has not applied” for the air permits required before the installation and operation of some of the turbines, the SELC said. The environmental nonprofit is asking the health department to confirm if xAI is operating its turbines without an air permit and to order the startup to stop operating until it gets the permit.
Ireland introduced more flexible work permit regulations from 2 September, aiming to address labor market needs and retain existing talent, reports The Economic Times. These changes are expected to make it easier for foreign workers and employers to navigate the permit process.
The Employment Permits Act 2024, applicable to individuals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), aims to facilitate eligible employment and residence in Ireland. The government has emphasized that these changes will make the permit system more adaptable, enabling it to respond swiftly to shifts in the labor market.
Under the updated rules, some employment permit holders will be able to switch employers after nine months, a move designed to enhance worker mobility. Additionally, a new seasonal employment permit will be introduced to meet the specific needs of sectors like fruit picking, which rely heavily on seasonal labor. Peter Burke, Ireland’s minister for enterprise, trade, and employment, announced that the improvements to the Employment Permits Acts would create a more adaptable system while ensuring employees’ rights are maintained.
Subcontractors will now have access to the employment permit system, broadening opportunities for foreign workers in various industries. The new rules will also impose additional requirements on employers, including provisions for training and accommodation support for permit holders.
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Social affairs minister Eddy van Hijum has told companies that employ large numbers of foreign workers via staffing firms that they have to get their house in order or face a ban on using temporary staff, reports DutchNews.nl. The ban, Van Hijum said, would be an additional measure that could be taken if the results of efforts to stop the exploitation of foreign workers do not pay off.
“We have to make progress now,” Van Hijum said in a briefing to MPs. “The problems have continued for too long. Employers have to get their sectors organized properly. Companies should treat their workforce decently and not pass the problems on to wider society. Everyone has the right to a proper standard of living, including labor migrants.”
Van Hijum’s decision follows reports from labor inspectors about staffing agencies that sack a disproportionate number of workers and research by SOMO (The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) into problems in the meat industry, which relies heavily on foreign workers.
Van Hijum said he hoped to have a clearer picture of the options early next year. “A ban would be a far-reaching step, a last resort,” he said. “That is why we are looking at the situation carefully.”
The minister, who represents the centrist NSC political party (New Social Contract) in the cabinet, said he is also working on draft legislation that would allow him to close down staffing agencies that break the rules.