Who needs YouTube videos of people arranging objects in pleasingly symmetrical formations when Jason Momoa has been cast as Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl movie? Deadline reports that Momoa has been tapped to play the DC Comics antihero alongside Milly Alcocks Supergirl in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Momoa confirmed in an Instagram post that Warner Bros. has reached out, alluding to his long-held ambition to play Lobo, one of the most bombastic characters that DC Comics has to offer: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)And who could blame him? Resemblance is not enough to make good superhero casting, but Momoa and Lobo have it spades. But its also undeniable that Lobo is also a match for the sorts of roles Momoa clearly favors: Big personalities, strong physicality, and healthy amounts of humor. Lobo yes, just Lobo began his editorial life in 1983 as a little used alien villain created by Keith Giffen and Roger Slifer, but hit his stride in the 1990s, when Giffen, artist Simon Bisley, and other creators significantly revamped him as a parody character. In the 90s, Lobo became a huge-haired, Kiss-look-alike, cigar-chomping, space-motorcycle riding, hooked-chain swinging intergalactic bounty hunter; a rude, crude, murdering dude manufactured as a send-up of the Punisher, Wolverine, Judge Dredd, and every other 90s comic leaning into x-treem violence and grit. But, to paraphrase another DC Comics movie, you either die a parody or live long enough to see yourself become a character everybody loves for exactly the parts of you that were supposed to be over the top. Lobo abides, with his trademark sci-fi minced oaths (bastich, fraggin), his space chopper, his insistence on referring to himself as the Main Man, and his ability to somehow smoke cigars in the vacuum of space. Hes totally self-interested and strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Superman but so annoying that even low-powered heroes find him as infuriating as he is frighting.One place you wont find him, however, is the actual comic book Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow but he fits right in with the series format, a travelogue of the strangest parts of DC Comics interstellar landscape, either as a supporting character or as a swap-in for the comics main villain, a space outlaw that a space farmgirl hires Supergirl to enact vengeance upon. Momoa, of course, made quite a meal out of playing Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the Justice League and Aquaman movies and its nice that that hasnt prevented this particular confluence of perfect casting. Momoas perfect for Lobo, and hopefully Lobo will be perfect for Supergirl.

Ah, the holidays. A time for joy, merriment, and vegging out. Maybe you use the time to marathon Christmas movies. Maybe you use the time to catch up on the best media of the year that you missed. Or maybe you share a YouTube obsession with your friends and loved ones.This year, Polygon is marking the last week of December with YuleTide YouTube, celebrating some of our favorite creators, series, and videos on YouTube with all of you. There will be music. There will be games. There will be controversies. There will be granular examinations of niche topics. Maybe youll even learn something along the way!So sit back, relax, and enjoy our curated journey through the archives of YouTube as we share our various obsessions with you. And have a very, very happy holiday season, from all of us at Polygon.It doesnt feel like the holidays without Aunty Donnas Christmas pudForget Yule logs, you want 12 hours of lo-fi shrimp to relax toWatching this YouTuber restore old consoles is oddly satisfyingThese charming mini movies will teach you about the people who live in the coldest town on EarthHomestar Runner is on YouTube now, so you should rewatch the absurdity of Teen Girl SquadBobbyBroccolis science controversy videos give you great stories to tell at partiesThis YouTube scientist makes knives out of random stuff and its mesmerizingThis Yuletide, give yourself the soothing gift of gab and a good resin model videoApparently This Is War AMVs will forever have a grip on internet fandom spacesThis Heavy Rain player failing every quick-time prompt is a balm for my cynical soulTriple Js Like A Version covers are the perfect pick-me-up for the winter blues

Some of the greatest hits to grace the PlayStation 5 have thankfully been ported over to PC. If you missed the chance to play these awesome games on their native hardware, Fanatical has discounted just about every formerly PlayStation-exclusive title to its lowest price ever through Jan. 2. These discounts are even better than whats available during the Steam Winter Sale, making this a fantastic opportunity to pick up modern classics like God of War Ragnark, or Returnal, or even newer titles like Helldivers 2 or Lego Horizon Adventures. While youre welcome to use your mouse and keyboard or your favorite Bluetooth controller to play the PC versions of these titles, you can experience features like adaptive triggers and haptic feedback by investing in a DualSense controller and using it in wired mode with your PC.

Its time you write alt text on every meaningful image.No more excuses. Include alt text onimages.Many people have been using AI tools, like ChatGPT and AltText.ai, to write alt text for them. These tools are simpleall you do is upload an image and click a button. So whats theproblem?Though the AI tools describe the image it was prompted to write alt text for, it doesnt convey the purpose of theimage.You may be thinking, Well, at least I provided alt text. Yes, thats true. But by only providing alt text to check the box doesnt mean you automatically pass WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards.WCAG requires non-text content to include a text alternative that serves an equivalent purpose (WCAG 1.1-Text alternatives). So, people who use a screen reader must be given text-based information on images so they interpret a webpage the same as a sightedperson.*Meaningful images convey important information on the webpage, even if theyre supporting text adjacent to the image. If the image isnt meaningful, its decorative and requires null alt text <alt="">.Why is alt text that important?Imagine if you have low-vision or are blind; you rely on a screen reader to consume web content. Screen readers, like JAWS and NVDA, convert digital text from the markup into synthesized speech to be read to the user (WebAIMDesigning for Screen Reader Compatibility).The content must be implemented properly to give the same experience as any sighted user. For visuals like images, a screen reader says, Graphic, then reads the images alternative text (if provided).You dont need to know much about HTML or its attributes, but you must understand and use the <alt> attribute.When an <alt> attribute is applied to an <img> element, screen readers have more information about the image it relays to the user. If no <alt> attribute is used (or if left blank), users are left to guess what the h*ll is in theimage.Screen readers speak the alt text to users after identifying an image from theHTMLPros and cons of using AI to generate alttextThere are always two sides to every story. Before taking a side, lets discuss the pros and cons of using AI to generate alttext.ProsEfficient: If you have many images to generate alt text (if none of your websites images have alt text), AI can help expedite the process since manually writing is time-consuming.Consistent: If you use the same AI model, it can keep the voice and tone similar for each instance of alt text for consistent messaging.Baseline: If you find writing alt text to be challenging, AI can give you a jumping off point to further modify to suit the webpagecontent.Scenarios to useAIBulk image processing for initialdraftsNon-critical imagesConsLack of context: Alt text should describe the image in the context of the webpage, but AI only describes the image itself, so screen reader users wont get additional details.Inaccurate: AI isnt factual or precise 100% of the time, so alt text is subject to errors with misleading descriptions or misidentified objects.Privacy: In order to get alt text, you must upload images to an AI model; this may raise questions around user or company data security.Scenarios to avoidAIComplex images (likegraphs)Content for highly regulated industries (like healthcare)Bar chart titled Efficiency Optimization by Branch, via Highcharts demoDos and donts for writing alttextTreat alt text with equal importance to the content always visible on the interface. Hearing alt text spoken by a screen reader is how many users perceive webpages, and poor alt text (or none at all) hinders their ability to do so (W3CTips and Tricks for AltText).Do:Keep alt text short but descriptiveHave a maximum of 140 characters (including spaces)Describe the information the image is displaying rather than the imageitselfUse proper grammar (like capitalize the first letter and end the sentence with aperiod)Describe what happens when the image is selected (for actionable images)For example, the alt text for a home icon that links to the homepage should say Home, rather than Houseicon.<a href="icon-button/house.png> <img alt="Home." src=""><a/>Dont:Start the alt text with Image of or Photo ofscreen readers already announce its describing animageInclude alt text for decorative imagesuse <alt= ""> so screen readers skipitAdd bias to alt textuse A woman in a pink hat. versus A beautiful woman in an ugly pinkhat.Describe an entire chart or graph in the alt textuse plain text to describe the image and position it adjacent to theimageFor example, insert a block of plain HTML text adjacent to a complex chart or graph so non-sighted users can also access the charts information (W3CAlt Text for ComplexImages)Plain text explaining the complex graphs positioned on the left of the graph, image via JohnHopkinsIts time to roll up your sleeves and write alt text for every image on your website. Its an easy fix for a major accessibility issue.Alt text helps websites comply with WCAG standards, and improves everyones experience from better screen reader output to improvedSEO.If you have trouble writing alt text, you can turn to AI (with caution) to help give you a starting point. But alt text should put the image in the context of the webpage versus just describe the imageitself.What do you think? What have been your experiences using AI to write alttext?ResourcesWebAIMTechniques to write alternative textWCAG 2.0, Guideline 1.1- Text AlternativesWebAIMDesigning for Screen Reader CompatibilityW3CTips and Tricks for AltTextW3CAlt Text for ComplexImagesJohn HopkinsAlternative Text forVisualsSection 508Authoring Meaningful Alternative TextShould AI write your alt text? was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.Because time marches ever onward, 2025 is almost here. If you're setting a resolution to keep your home in better shape, congrats on the big step. Even if you're not, there are some cleaning tasks that should be dealt with as the new year rolls in. Some are annual, some are habit-building, and some are useful for the winter months. Here's your checklist of everything to clean to kick off 2025. Start by decluttering your fall and holiday itemsThe first thing on your list should be a seasonal attack. Start your New Year's cleaning by getting rid of all your fall essentials and lingering holiday stuff. Obviously, this means storing or getting rid of your Christmas tree, packing away your Santa statuettes or menorah, and reverting your home to whatever its pre-holiday status was. But you can go deeper. Seasonally swapping out your basics is a major part of maintaining a tidy home. Rotate lighter jackets to the back of the coat closet (or put them in storage with other off-season wear by utilizing under-bed storage containers or similar), swap rain boots for snow boots, place the heavier linens on your bed, and put the rake in storage while you get down the shovel. When it comes to keeping the house organized, there are some key rules to keep in mind: Similar items need to be stored together and everything you own must have a designated place. Putting non-seasonal items together and out of the way frees up your access to what you actually need at any given time of year. Doing this as the first step of your New Year's cleaning routine sets you up well for the rest of winter. As you're working through this step, don't be afraid to truly declutter, either. Use whatever decluttering method works best for you to really assess everything you're putting away. While fall is still fresh in your mind, think critically and objectively about what you used, what you didn't use, and what could actually stand to be tossed or donated so it doesn't take up unnecessary storage space. Clean your radiator, if you haven'tI forgive you if you haven't cleaned your radiator yet for the year. It has been unseasonably warm in many parts of the country, but it's almost January now and luck's soon to run out. This isn't a hard thing to do, fortunately, although it might seem intimidating because of all the crevices on the device. What you need is a hair dryer or compressed air. First, manually remove any big clumps of dirt or dust you can see, then point the nozzle of your dryer or air can into the crevices of the radiator at an upward angle so the air pushes dust up and out. Avoid facing the machine head-on, as this can push dirt deeper in, which we do not want. After that, clean up the debris that came out and wipe the radiator's exterior down with some soapy water. If you didn't do your fans and vents yet, either, it's time. For all air purifiers and fans, pop out the filter and give them a good cleaning per manufacturer instructions. With the machine unplugged, wipe down the exterior with soapy water and let it dry fully before plugging it back in or, in the case of box fans, putting them in storage for the winter. While you're at it, use the same methods from the radiator cleaning to clean out any built-in vents, including those on baseboards and in ceilings like the bathroom. This isn't an all-the-time cleaning duty, so prioritize it during your New Year's sprint. Tackle your annual cleaning tasksSome cleaning tasks are maintenance-oriented. You have to vacuum, sweep, and wipe things down on a regular basis, after all. Other jobs, though, only need to be done periodically. Sure, you could wait for spring cleaning to roll around, or you could get on them right away and start the new year off fresh. A few examples for your consideration: Thoroughly clean all appliances, pulling them out from the wall and vacuuming behind them before embarking on a deep clean of the interior.Deep clean your carpets and upholstery, hiring a pro or renting a heavy-duty machine for the job.As mentioned, clean vents and air ducts, but call a pro for an inspection if you haven't had one in the last three years.Clean your mattress, wash your mattress cover, and wash your pillows, not just your linens.Clean inside all your windows, like between panes, screens, and sliding tracks (but wait for spring cleaning if it's too cold where you live to justify opening them).Wash your shower curtain, liner, and bath mat.This is also a time to tackle the things you should be doing a little more frequently than annually, but never seem to come up during regular weekly cleanings. I'm talking wiping your baseboards and walls, dusting your blinds, and sanitizing high-touch surfaces like light switches and remotes. Prepare for a cleaner yearFinally, as you're doing all this, take note of what's really messy so you can pay more attention to it in the new year. It's never too late to start a new cleaning routine, and I recommend creating a detailed cleaning schedule that moves you through different rooms over the course of a month and only cleaning in scheduled, 15-minute bursts once a day. Set an intention to create and stick to a schedule as one of your New Year's resolutions, then make sure you follow through. It's a lot easier to clean in small increments without getting overwhelmed than it is to dedicate entire days or weeks to fixing up a space that's gotten out of hand.

If you like to use the start of the new year to set goals or build habits, you may have considered switching up your approach to your personal financeswhether that's trying to commit to a budget (again) or ruthlessly cutting all non-essential spending for the entire year. Unfortunately, neither of those is easy (or even realistic), as your relationship with money is emotional and complex and you often need to dig much deeper to effect change. That said, if you do have financial goals for 2025 and want to spend more intentionally in order to reach them, it's worth considering implementing a "low-buy period." Here's where to start, and why low-buying can be better than trying to go cold turkey.What is a "low-buy" period? A low buy (or low spend) period generally involves cutting back on discretionary spending in certain areas without eliminating it completely. After covering all of your essentialshousing, groceries, transportation, healthcare, etc.you look for ways to reprioritize and reduce spending on the fun (or extra or unnecessary) stuff, based on what matters most to you. This is different from no-buy/no-spend challenges, which typically restrict all discretionary purchases: no restaurants or takeout, no new clothes or personal items, no concert tickets, etc. There is no single or rigid set of rules for low buying, since what matters to you is personal. For example, if you love dining out with friends, maybe you reduce the frequency of those outings from once a week to twice a month, and replace the remaining meals with a lower-cost alternative (like a potluck at someone's home). Or if you are redecorating your home, maybe you set a limit on the number of items you purchase each month, or try to shop used or secondhand first. The larger goal of a low-buy period is to spend more intentionally, which can also help you spend less on unnecessary things and work toward other financial goals, like paying off debt or saving for a big purchase. How to try a low-buy approachIf you want to try a low-buy approach, start by identifying your reason for doing so. If you start cutting back on things you love (or spending habits you want to change) without a clear intention, you'll likely get distracted or lose steam quickly. Your "why" could be anything from reducing credit card debt or increasing what you can save or invest to changing your relationship with impulse shopping or reducing overall consumption. You can also set a specific goal to repurpose your money, such as saving X amount to put toward your emergency fund or your retirement account. Next, set a realistic timeframe. Start smalla week or a monthespecially if you have never looked at your spending habits before. You can always extend your low-buy period for longer. Set milestones (like opportunities for tiny wins!) along the way to check in and assess how you're doing. Finally, identify what matters to you and how your money helps you align with those things. If you value experiences, don't cut event tickets out completelyrefocus on a select few that you're most excited about, or purchase cheaper seats. If you love giving gifts, make them meaningful and for special occasions (like a birthday) rather than frequent and expensive. Focus on spending that is high-value and genuinely pleasurable rather than restricting for the sake of restricting. Five strategies for a successful low-buy periodThere are also a few common strategies for a successful low-buy period: Create an "order of operations" for your purchases. If you do have to shop, exhaust your free or low-cost options before buying new. Kara Perez of Bravely Go suggests shopping your own home first, then trying "buy nothing" groups, borrowing, trading, repairing, and thrifting. Make one-to-one replacements. Instead of adding toiletries or cleaning supplies to your collection, replace exactly what you have only once you have run out. This can reduce spending on disposables that end up half used (or unused). Keep track of your spending. If you get to the end of a low-buy period and don't have any data, you won't really know how it went. Use a spreadsheet to write down expenses (including date and amount) or subscribe to a budgeting app. Unsubscribe. As minimialist YouTuber Christina Mychas says, ignorance is bliss. Unsubscribe from email lists and reduce time spent watching influencer hauls so you aren't bombarded with opportunities for mindless spending. Seek out support. tell the people you live, work, and spend time with about what you're doing and how they can help you. You can also find communities (such as r/nobuy) where you can learn more.

When you set a goal, it should be S.M.A.R.T., or so suggests the standard advice (even some of ours!). That stands for Specific, Measurable, something, something, Time-boundtheres disagreement on what a couple of the letters stand for, which is your first hint that maybe theyre not that important. It turns out the SMART goals framework doesnt encompass all the ways that goal-setting can help us. If you ask me, you actually shouldnt turn every goal into a SMART goal. Here's why.SMART goals weren't invented for self-improvementLets take a minute to consider the history. As much as we hear SMART goals discussed in the context of fitness goals or new years resolutions, youd think they sprung from the realm of self-improvement. But no: Their origins are in the management world. In 1981, business consultant George Doran wrote an article entitled Theres a S.M.A.R.T. way to write managements goals and objectives. In this article, Doran argued that goals are often nebulous, and that a goal that is specific and clearly stated will be more effective. The SMART acronym was intended to provide structure to goal-setting, so that managers could deliver their orders to workers with clear targets and measurements in place. That structure makes a lot of sense when a goal is really a communication tool used between people on a team. "The boss wants this thing, by this date, and here's how we'll know when we've achieved that" is a lot better than, "the boss wants us to do better." But the SMART framework doesn't make a lot of sense for individuals setting goals for themselves. In fact, the letter A originally stood for "assignable," in the sense that you could assign the goal to a specific worker or team, which obviously isn't going to work when the task at hand is getting your butt off the couch to run more. Fitness and self-improvement gurus have simply rewritten the acronym and changed its focus.What does SMART stand for? Originally, Doran said that a SMART goal ideally has five qualities: SpecificMeasurableAssignable (to an employee or group)Realistic (given your resources)Time-related (having a timeline)Doran never said that all goals need to fit the SMART criteria, and in fact emphasized there are plenty of appropriate goals in the workplace that only tick off a few of these boxes. He also said SMART goals can and should live alongside more abstract goals. But the self-improvement industry took the basic structure and ran with it, judging goals by how well they align with a new set of SMART criteria. You'll see different definitions, but they tend to go something like this: SpecificMeasurableAchievable or Attainable (this is equivalent to Realistic in the original definition, and is here because Assignable doesn't make sense for individuals)Relevant (to your intereststhis is a new addition, since Realistic got renamed and they needed another R)Time-bound (having a deadline)That's one metric removed (assignable), one added (relevant), and one subtly changed (time-bound rather than time-related). All that said, I don't think focusing on SMART goals is as helpful as it's made out to be. The structure can be limiting, shift your focus to things that aren't your actual goals. Here's what I mean.The downsides of SMART goalsSMART goals are often thought of as an improvement on vague statements like I want to get in shape, but I would call them more of a bait-and-switch. By the time youre done defining your goal, you end up with a pass-fail test with a deadline and a metric. Is this really whats going to motivate you?When you make a goal Specific and Measurable, you learn to focus on certain actionsarguably a good thingbut lose sight of things that dont fall into those categories. If you only want to lose weight, and youre counting the pounds, what happens to your ability to retain muscle mass and strength? What happens to your ability to enjoy food without obsessing over calories? What happens to the types of exercise you would normally find fun but that dont provide the maximal calories-burned-per-minute? You get tunnel vision, and thats not necessarily a good way to approach a goal. When you make a goal Attainable or Realistic, youre not allowing yourself to dream big. If youre aiming to improve, wouldnt you want to try something thats a challenge specifically because you might fail? How much do you think youll ever succeed if you only stick to goals that you are 100% sure you can attain? Finally, making a goal Time-bound is setting an artificial barrier. What happens if you get to the deadline and havent done the thing? Was it all for naught? If youre talking about a corporate quarterly deadline, maybe. But if youre working on your own goals for your own reasons, time doesnt really matter, does it? Self-improvement doesnt have a finish line. If you couldnt get to 100 pushups by X date, arent you still stronger than when you started? Couldnt you keep working and see if you can get to 100 pushups in another month? Choosing a deadline doesn't mean that you "should" be able to achieve the goal by the deadline. Consider SMART goals to be benchmarks or minimumsWhen you ditch SMART goals, you may be a bit lost at firstadmittedly they do provide a good structure for clearly stating something you want to work toward. This thing isnt your overall goal, but perhaps it can be helpful as part of the process. So think about setting some time-bound, measurable tests as minimums to be sure youre on track. That turns them into process goals, not outcome goals. For example, you might commit to running four times a week over the next month. Thats not the same thing as a nebulous goal like getting better at running, but it's not a traditional SMART goal like "run a half-marathon in two hours or less on April 20th." Think bigger when you set your real goalsWhat kind of goal would you set if it didnt have to be realistic or rigorously specified? As Ive written before, I think it makes the most sense to think of fitness goals (or any goals, really) in terms of a question. Deliberately remove one or more of those SMART parameters and push yourself to see what you can achieve when its no longer a pass/fail test. Take away the deadline and ask: How soon can I get to a [goal weight] deadlift? Or take away the specificity requirement and ask: How fast can I run by the time this race comes up? Or take away the measurement aspect, and see what happens if you just do stuff. Have fun. Push yourself. What will happen? How will your life change? You dont need numbers you can track on a spreadsheet to try things and see how they turn out.

Owning a Playdate comes with the perk of already having access to 24 games at no additional cost from the bundled-in Season One and some pretty good ones to boot. But there are a ton of great games outside the Season One offerings too, for when youve finished the whole batch or, for newer players, while youre waiting for new games between the weekly drops. Here, Ill highlight some of the best games Ive played so far from the Playdate Catalog. Itll mainly be split two ways: games that use the crank and games that dont. There are also a couple of titles that arent quite games, but are worth checking out all the same. Games that use the crank Games that dont use the crank Comics, visual novels and more Check out our entire Best Games series including the best Nintendo Switch games, the best PS5 games, the best Xbox games, the best PC games and the best free games you can play today. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/best-playdate-games-190049201.html?src=rss

2025 may be a more financially sound year for many Americans. Thats because on January 1 of the new year, the minimum wage for workers in 21 states will climbsome more significantly than otherswith more states to follow later in the year.In 2025, a total of 23 states and 65 cities and counties will raise base pay in a hike that will impact about 9.2 million American workers by a total of $5.7 billion.Of course, the wage increases will vary widely from state to state and county to county. According to an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report, California, Colorado, and Washington State are leading the charge when it comes to widely upping minimum wage. 29 cities and counties in California will increase their minimum wages in January, with every locality that is raising their wage reaching at least $17 an hour except in Oakland, the report states.In Colorado, four localities will raise the minimum wage, with Denver hitting $18.81/hour. Washington State will see seven localities increase minimum wagewith Tukwila, Washington, reaching the highest in the country at $21.10/hour in 2025. Boulder County is set to reach $25 an hour by 2030.Other states will climb to $15/hour for the first time in the new year. Thats true for Illinois, Delaware, and Rhode Island. Delaware will make the biggest jump with an increase of $1.75/hour in order to hit the $15/hour mark in 2025.Of course, not every state is making such notable increases to base pay. Ohio, for example, will only add 25 cents to hourly pay, going from $10.45 to $10.70, due to an inflation adjustment, even though the state hasnt significantly upped minimum wage since 2007. According to EPIs Family Budget Calculator, there is no county where an Ohio worker can earn less than $17.73 an hour and maintain a modest, but adequate, standard of living, the report notes.Millions of workers will see bigger paychecks in 2025, either as a direct result of the pay boost or other increases that will come due to company pay structures. Most of the impacted workers (58.2%) will be women. Black and Hispanic workers will see more of a benefit than others, too. Black Americans account for 9.1% workforce in states being pay bumps, but are 11.3% of affected workers. 19.5% are Hispanic, but 38.8% of Hispanic workers will see boosts. And more than a quarter (25.7%) of affected workers are parents.Experts say that while increases may be moderately helpful, they wont be overwhelmingly life-altering. Remember that a full-time worker earning $17 per hour is only earning $35,360 annually pretax, Yannet Lathrop, NELPs senior researcher and policy analyst, told USA Today. Those wage levels wont make workers wealthy, but they will help with paying for the basics, for a few luxuries (hopefully).She added, Those higher wages may also improve their mental and physical health, their ability to access credit, and may lead to better educational outcomes of their children.Federally, minimum wage hasnt budged from $7.25 an hour since 2009. About 20 states still use that rate, including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which were all battleground states in the 2024 election.The new report estimates that nearly one in five of the millions of workers who will be impacted by the increase in minimum wage next will have household income that puts them below the poverty line. Half (49%), are twice below it.Find the full report, including each states 2025 minimum wage, here.

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry as a dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters.Trump, in an interview with the New York Post on Saturday, praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the U.S. The topic has become a flashpoint within his conservative base.Ive always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. Thats why we have them, Trump said.In fact, Trump has in the past criticized the H-1B visas, calling them very bad and unfair for U.S. workers. During his first term as president, he unveiled a Hire American policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.Despite his criticism of them and attempts to curb their use, he has also used the visas at his businesses in the past, something he acknowledged in his interview Saturday.I have many H-1B visas on my properties. Ive been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. Its a great program, Trump told the newspaper.He did not appear to address questions about whether he would pursue any changes to the number or use of the visas once he takes office Jan. 20.Trumps hardline immigration policies, focused mostly on immigrants who are in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority issue for his supporters.But in recent days, his coalition has split in a public debate largely taking place online about the tech industrys hiring of foreign workers. Hard-right members of Trumps movement have accused Musk and others in Trumps new flank of tech-world supporters of pushing policies at odds with Trumps America First vision.Software engineers and others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and say they are a critical tool for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated.Michelle L. Price, Associated Press