Author: Reporter

Modern cars come in a fantastic variety of shapes and sizes, but far fewer explore the more vibrant shades of the color wheel. The most popular colors for new cars in North America are white, black, gray and silver, according to automotive paint supplier BASF. Together, they constitute about 80% of the colors in new-car production. Drivers seeking more personality might opt for an automaker’s red, blue or forest green offering, but what if you prefer something more expressive? In the past, you would have been limited to an expensive paint job. Today there is another option: a vinyl...

Since her arrest at a protest at the University of Massachusetts, Annie McGrew has been pivoting between two sets of hearings: one for the misdemeanor charges she faces in court, and another for violations of the college’s conduct code. It has kept the graduate student from work toward finishing her dissertation in economics. “It’s been a really rough few months for me since my arrest,” McGrew said. “I never imagined this is how UMass (administration) would respond.” Some 3,200 people were arrested this spring during a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments protesting the war in Gaza. While some colleges...

With a compact mirror in one hand and an eyelash curler in the other, Grace Xu told her roughly 300,000 TikTok followers she was likely about to be laid off. She was right, she tells them in a subsequent clip. But she was planning to pursue a different career anyway: as a content creator. “I guess the decision has been made on my behalf,” she tells viewers in the video posted earlier this year. “The universe has spoken.” By all accounts, the U.S. job market is holding strong, with employers adding 303,000 workers to their payrolls in March. The...

When Anna Branch, 37, had her hours at work reduced in 2019, she suddenly noticed ads for an app called EarnIn. “You know how they get you — the algorithms — like they’re reading your mind,” Branch said. “The ad said I could get up to $100 this week and repay it in my next pay period.” Branch, who was working as an administrative assistant in Charleston, South Carolina, downloaded the app and added the suggested “tip.” The cash helped her cover expenses until payday, when the app debited the borrowed $100, plus $14 for tip. Five years later,...