Google has agreed to a new investment of more than $1 billion in generative AI startup Anthropic, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC.

Steven Rinella is a busy man. As the founder and on-air face of MeatEater, a weekly reality-TV show, he oversees an ever-expanding empire of content and commerce focused on an outdoor lifestyle. But Rinella, the businessman, is not too busy to be Rinella, the outdoorsman.My wife reminds me now and then, you should be very careful who you complain to,' Rinella tells Fast Company. I have no real problems to report when it comes to outdoor time.Even during years when hes spent as many nights on the road as home in Bozeman, Montana, with his family, Rinella still makes time each spring to go fishing in Alaska and, every October, for a youth-only deer hunting event in Montana, which no opportunity in the world would pull him away from.But for the better part of two decades, Rinella has been seemingly everywhere doing everything. Hes written 15 books, created 12 seasons of the MeatEater TV show, and recorded scores of podcast episodes and videos, all of which has helped MeatEater, the media company, amass millions of loyal fans and more than $100 million in annual revenue.While legacy media companies are struggling, MeatEater is thriving. Led by podcasting, its most profitable asset, the company posted nearly 40% top-line revenue growth in its media division in 2024. MeatEater is also turning a profit with products that cater to the tens of millions of American hunters and anglers who spend about $150 billion annually. The company employs nearly 130 people spread across offices in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. And this past year, MeatEater opened a flagship store near its Bozeman headquarters.Finding the content sweet spotSome upcoming MeatEater projects are just as exciting for Rinella and will keep him just as busy. The year kicks off with a new TV show, Hunting History with Steven Rinella, that premieres January 28 on the History Channel. In the eight-episode series, Rinella hunts down some of the most beguiling mysteries that occurred in the wild, bringing his unique perspective to challenge past assumptions and reexamine what might have happened.[Photo: Will Warasila/A+E Networks]The show perfectly blends Rinellas interests, and he suspects it will resonate with longtime fans as well as viewers whove never picked up a fishing pole or a hunting rifle. We always try to find that sweet spot where that world of the outdoors merges with great stories.The key is to hook people on the beauty of wild places. The 50-year-old has found that, with everything he does, hes having two very different conversations simultaneously.In one, Rinella is sharing his love of the outdoors with like-minded people, wanting to help them fill out their knowledge base and deepen their relationship with the natural world. In the other conversation, Rinella is speaking with people who are uneasy in the outdoors, and he strives to show them that a beautiful, rewarding lifestyle awaits.A content-to-commerce successNewcomers to the Rinellaverse will find plenty to sink their teeth into, with MeatEaters massive catalogue spanning videos, TV shows, podcasts, and books. Viewers, listeners, and readers often become fans and then customers, and MeatEater has beefed up its line of products to keep them sated.The company has found success in a content-to-commerce model by highlighting products the MeatEater team uses and loves. In 2019, MeatEater acquired First Lite, a popular line of technical hunting apparel. It has since expanded its products umbrella acquiring FHF Gear, Phelps Game Calls, and Dave Smith Decoys.These brands are a natural extension of the MeatEater universe, Rinella says. He credits CEO Jason Bergsman with having the foresight to identify that content-to-commerce opportunity early on.Before taking the helm at MeatEater, Bergsman was a founding member of the Chernin Group, an investment firm that poured $50 million into MeatEater in its early days. Hes sat on the board since Rinella founded the company in 2018.[Bergsman] was very forcefulpleasantly forcefulin pushing us to think of the commerce business as a business in and of itself, Rinella says. Weve been able to do that really successfully lately without, in any way, compromising the integrity of the products we put out, so thats been really exciting.MeatEater leaders are optimistic about launching a couple more owned-and-operated stores in the coming year based on the early success of its flagship. There, shoppers can find company-owned brands heavily showcased, in addition to books and products from other brands it owns plus offerings from select partners.Its a pretty well-rounded shopping experience and really kind of gathers the whole portfolio of what MeatEater is all about in the store, Rinella says. Bergsman adds that in the future, fans can expect to find more MeatEater products elsewhere, including at Scheels, a chain of sporting-goods stores with locations in 16 states.History: A real franchise playThis year marks a more coordinated focus on American history across MeatEaters various tentacles. Its a real franchise play, says Bergsman.History has long been an interest of Rinellas. In his 2006 debut book, The Scavengers Guide to Haute Cuisine, he chronicled a yearlong quest to live off the land re-creating recipes from Auguste Escoffiers 1903 magnus opus, Le Guide Culinaire.Now, other history-focused projects on the docket include two audiobooks, live events at three universities in Montana and Wyoming, an American history-focused version of the MeatEater trivia board game, and at least a couple new podcasts. One, focused on the history of the American West, set to launch this spring, reunites Rinella with someone influential to his career: Dan Flores, a professor emeritus of American History and a New York Times best-selling author.How I approach my interest was really shaped by the time I spent studying under [Flores] at the University of Montana, says Rinella, who completed an MFA in creative writing there after a stint as a professional trapper and fur trader. Its really cool for me.More kid-focused projects in the worksThese types of full-circle moments seem to happen frequently. For instance, Rinella landed on the name MeatEater because, while working on the original TV show in its early days, he was spending his evenings reading books about animals to his then-toddler and noticed how often any variety of critters were described as meat-eaters.The word spoke to me, he says. The word brings to mind a certain survival sensibility, a certain tenacity, self-sufficiency.[Images: Random House]All these years and two more kids later, Rinella is now introducing MeatEater to younger generations. Two of his most-recent booksCatch a Crayfish, Count the Stars and Outdoor Kids in an Inside Worldlanded on the New York Times Best Seller list, and MeatEater has created a handful of podcasts for kids that were well-received. More programming and product lines that encourage kids to get outside are in the works, Rinella says.A 2024 survey of 9,000 MeatEater fans confirms that such business moves make sense: The majority of respondents were parents of children under age 10, and a whopping 94% of these parents said they consume MeatEater content as a family.Even if MeatEater remains his passion, keeping his family in focus is as important for Rinella, who says he now prefers to be in the wilds with kidsbe it his or his buddiesrather than alone. Im just at that point in life; so long as Im getting outside with them, Im pretty happy.

Starbucks decision torestrict its restroomsto paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom policies that has left Americans confused and divided overwho gets to usethe loo and when.Rules about restroom access in restaurantsvary by state, city and county. New York requires restroom access for customers at food establishments with 20 or more seats. California requires larger restaurants to provide restrooms for customers and guests, but only if they were built after 1984. In Chicago, restaurants dont need to have restrooms for customers unless they serve liquor.Its so mish-mash, said Steven Soifer, the co-founder and treasurer of the American Restroom Association, which advocates for clean, safe and well-designed public toilets. If (a retailer) is serving food and drink, its a health hazard if there isnt a public bathroom.Starbucks opened the can, so to speak, when it said last week it was reversinga 7-year-old policythat invited anyone to hang out in its stores or use the restroom, regardless of whether they bought anything. Starbucks new code of conduct, which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores, also bans discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping,drug useand asking strangers for money.Reaction to the coffee chains rule change forpotty privilegeswas heated and divided. Many said Starbucks had the right to restrict restroom access to paying customers.I do think its up to Starbucks to set the atmosphere in their stores, Paul Skinner, 76, a retired firefighter in Daytona Beach, Florida, told The Associated Press. If theyve decided that their paying customers are going to be better served by limiting restroom access, it doesnt make me mad. Im not going to stop going there.But Skinner said he also doesnt mind when homeless people occasionally visit his local Starbucks, and he sometimes offers to buy them breakfast.I think about all the people who dont have housing who would love to wander into a Starbucks and get warm, he said. Now theres one more place they arent welcome.Other patrons lamented the change and said it didnt reflect Starbucks often-stated goal of being a welcoming, community-oriented coffeehouse.Norman Bauman, 81, a semi-retired science writer in New York, said he stopped going to his local Starbucks to read, meet people and maybe buy a coffee when the store hung an Employees Only sign on its sole restroom.I used to sit in a coffee shop once or twice a week and read my science journals. I always wondered how they could survive with customers like me, Bauman said.Social media posts ran the gamut. Some said the change was overdue, and that Starbucks open-door policy had invited trouble and left fewer seats available for paying customers. But others criticized the company, saying the new policy made them much less likely to patronize Starbucks.Starbuckssaid its new code of conduct matched those of other big retailers. The Associated Press reached out to several other restaurant chains to ask about their restroom policies, includingMcDonaldsand the parent companies ofDunkin, Burger King and KFC. None responded.But the National Retail Federation said businesses have a right to set limits on restroom use.Stores and restaurants are private property, and these establishments have a right to enforce certain conduct in compliance with local, state and federal laws and regulations that ensures the health and safety of the customers they serve and the people they employ, the federation said in a statement.Starbucks stressed this week that the code of conduct is meant to end disruptive behavior.We know there will be times when a customer needs to use the restroom before theyve made a purchase, or maybe uses the restroom and then decides against making a purchase, and of course that is OK, Starbucks spokeswoman Jaci Anderson said.Starbucks also said it will comply with any local laws requiring bathroom access for non-customers. But thats where things get murky.Most states and the District of Columbia follow the International Plumbing Code, which sets minimum regulations for plumbing systems. The code says businesses must make toilet facilities available to customers, patrons and visitors, said Soifer, who is an adjunct professor at the Adelphi University School of Social Work in addition to his duties at the American Restroom Association.But Andrew Rudansky, a spokesman for New Yorks Department of Buildings, said the International Code Council, which developed the plumbing code, has published separate commentary making clear that restrooms are intended for people involved with the activities of the establishment and not just passersby.Other states and cities use the Uniform Plumbing Code or the National Standard Plumbing Code as the basis for their regulations. Those codes also refer to restrooms as being for customers.But Soifer said even the term customer is ambiguous.If I walk into a Starbucks and Im thinking of ordering something but Im not sure, am I a customer? Sure, he said. A homeless person may also be a customer, he pointed out, but might be discouraged from using the restroom.To add to the confusion, at least 20 states have passed versions of theRestroom Access Act, which requires retailers to let people with certain medical conditions, like Crohns disease, use their restrooms, even if those restrooms are usually reserved for employees.The wider issue, Soifer said, is a lack ofpublic restroom facilitiesin the U.S. If there were more public facilities, he said, there would be less pressure on retailers like Starbucks.The number one complaint tourists have about visiting the U.S. is, Where are your public toilets? he said. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP business writer

Image via MidjourneyYes, we might just get GTA 6 before we get the PS6 Sonys PlayStation 6 rumors are circling the internet, almost like clockwork to steal the Nintendo Switch 2s spotlight. A potential 2027 launch date puts it just far enough away to feel like a distant dream but close enough to start getting excited. The details? Theyre already intriguing.While we dont know what the new PS6 will look like (Sony pulled a fast one on us last year with fake rendered images), we do have a clear picture of what its internal architecture will be like. The company has already placed orders for chipsets and components, so tracking that chain of command isnt difficult, giving us a fairly clear picture of the PS6s specs.Image via MidjourneyAn AMD UDNA GPU seems to be at the heart of the system, and thats big news for gaming performance. If youre wondering what that means for you, think faster load times, better graphics, and smoother gameplay. The addition of 3D V-Cache tech makes it sound like lag could be a thing of the past, even during intense sessions in visually demanding games.Built on AMDs RDNA 5 architecture, likely using a 3nm process, this chip should run cooler and use less power than what were used to. Thats a win for anyone whos ever had their console crank up its fans mid-game. Pair that with GDDR7 memory, and the system could handle massive amounts of data without breaking a sweat. Imagine booting up a sprawling open-world game and diving in almost instantly.Timing might be the smartest part of this story. By 2027, the gaming world will be ripe for a shakeup. Competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo will have their own new systems in the mix. Sonys choice to wait could give them an edgenot by rushing, but by refining. But hardware alone doesnt sell consoles. You know that. Its about the games. What kind of exclusives will Sony deliver to make the leap feel worth it? The PS5 had its fair share of hits, but expectations are higher now.Image via MidjourneyThe PS6 could bring more polished interfaces, smarter integration with services, or even features we havent thought of yet. Small changes, like improved haptics or a more ergonomic controller, could make a big difference. Hey, a new controller to also maneuver their new AFEELA EV from CES? Why not?Of course, these are still just rumors. The talk of the SoC being design complete suggests Sony is deep in development. Pre-silicon validation means the hardware is being tested for reliability. If it passes, production could start soon. That puts us on track for the 2027 launch people are whispering about.So, whats in it for you? If youre an early adopter, youll probably get to experience cutting-edge gaming before anyone else. For those on the fence, the value might come down to price, features, and whether your favorite developers embrace the platform. Either way, the PlayStation 6 feels like something worth keeping on your radar.The post Sony PlayStation 6 Rumors Point to 2027 Launch with Game-Changing AMD UDNA GPU first appeared on Yanko Design.

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The purported specifications of the iPad 11, iPhone SE 4, and 2025 iPad Air models have appeared online, and contradictions include the iPad 11 not getting Apple Intelligence support.The availability of Apple Intelligence on iPad 11 is still in questionOn Wednesday, an anonymous social media account with a verifiable track record published detailed information on multiple unreleased Apple products. Earlier in the day, the leaker claimed that the fourth-generation iPhone SE, the iPad 11, and the 2025 iPad Air models would all ship with iOS 18.3 preinstalled.The leaker has since returned with even more information on these devices, but some of their recent claims raise more questions than answers. Rumor Score: Unlikely Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums