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As protests in Iran intensify, satellite technology has become one of the only ways for people in the country to circumvent a total internet blackout and heavy restrictions on phone service. Now, as a number of people in the country turn to SpaceXthe company now providing free access to Starlinkthere are growing calls for Apple to get involved, too. At least one member of Congress has now reached out to Apple urging the company to turn on satellite texting in Iran. The office of Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican from Georgia, confirmed to Fast Company that theyd been in touch with Apple about opening up satellite messagingwhich lets iPhone users send messages even when there is no wifi or cellular servicein the country, though they didnt say what response, if any, they might have received from the company. That outreach comes after, on Wednesday, Carter called on the company to do so publicly. Apple, the leading phone brand in the world, must enable satellite messaging for Iran so they can message family and report atrocities being committed by the Iranian regime, said Carter in a social media post. Some activists have called for Apple to turn on satellite-based messaging, a service that the company is quickly rolling out. One of these calls, which as of Thursday night racked up nearly half a million views on X, reads: During this nationwide blackout, the brutal killing of civilians has started in the past 24 hours. We urgently call on Apple to enable Satellite Messaging for users inside Iran, or confirm whether the service is already active and functioning without interference. Communication is a lifeline. Lives depend on it, the person added. It isnt immediately clear if this is something Apple can do, or what Apple might have already turned on in Iran. Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Globalstar, the satellite telecommunications company that supports Apples satellite-based texting service, did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. Theyre expensive, but iPhones are used throughout Iran, and the government recently lifted restrictions on newer models. Still, Apples website says that the satellite-based texting feature is currently only available to people in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan, assuming theyre using an iPhone 14 or a newer model. Apple also offers another satellite-based service, called Emergency SOS, for texting emergency services, though, again, Iran isnt one of the countries where its available. When asked about SpaceX and Starlink, a spokesperson for the State Department Fast Company on Wednesday, the administration is committed to helping to preserve and protect the free flow of information by the most effective means to the people of Iran in the face of the Iranian regimes brutal repression. But the spokesperson did not address Fast Companys follow up questions about outreach to Apple, specifically. Neither did Florida Senator Rick Scott, who commended SpaceX for making Starlink available in Iran earlier this week. I would welcome anything anything from any company, any government that can help people to send even one byte of data, Amir Rashidi, who focused on internet security and digital rights at the Miaan Group, which has been tracking the communications blackout in Iran, to Fast Company earlier this week.
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E-Commerce
A major fast food franchisee has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The franchisee, Sailormen Inc., operates 130 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen locations in Florida, and like the franchisees of other big-name fast food chains in recent years, has faced numerous economic headwinds. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On January 15, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Sailormen has been a Popeyes franchisee since the 1980s, and it currently operates 130 locations of the popular fried chicken chain. The conditions leading to the companys bankruptcy filing centered on increased debt burdens, driven by several factors. Those factors include, among others, the national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on restaurant operations, consumer choice, high inflation, increased borrowing rates, and an increasingly limited qualified labor force, the company said in its filing. As reported by Restaurant Business, in 2023, Sailormen parent company, Interfoods of America, had a deal to sell 16 Sailormen-owned locations to another company, but that deal fell through, leaving Sailormen liable for the lease payments on those stores, significantly contributing to the companys financial woes. According to court documents, Sailormen Inc. owes around $130 million to various lenders, some of whom are suing the company. How does this bankruptcy affect Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen? Its important to note that the bankruptcy does not involve Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen or its owner, Restaurant Brands International (RBI). Sailormen Inc. is a separate legal entity from RBI and only franchises Popeyes stores. However, the bankruptcy filing of a large franchisee is sure to worry other franchise owners about the health of the Popeyes brand. To address those concerns, the president of Popeyes in the U.S. and Canada, Peter Perdue, reportedly sent out a note to relevant parties addressing the bankruptcy. According to the note, which was obtained by Restaurant Business, Perdue told other franchisees that Sailormens bankruptcy announcement does not reflect the healthy unit economics that you are experiencing in your restaurants. Of the four major fast food brands owned by RBIBurger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Firehouse Subs Popeyes ranks third in number of locations. Burger King is by far the largest RBI chain, with nearly 20,000 locations, followed by Tim Hortons with around 6,000 locations. Popeyes has around 5,000 locations worldwide, and Firehouse Subs has fewer than 1,500. In its most recent quarterly report, for the third quarter 2025, RBI reported net sales of $2.45 billion, an increase of 6.9%. However, much of that gain came from sales increases at its Tim Hortons and Burger King stores, noted CNBC. During the quarter, Popeyes saw same-store sales decline 2.4%. Fast Company reached out to Sailormen and RBI for comment. Will Popeyes store close? In Sailormen’s bankruptcy filings, it made no mention of the possibility of store closures, though no closures are by any means certain. In the memo sent to franchise owners regarding Sailormens bankruptcy filing, Popeyes president Peter Perdue reportedly addressed possible closures. While no one wants to find themselves in a process like this, we certainly believe that a large majority of their restaurants will continue to operate in the Popeyes system, he wrote. Sailormen is by far the first major quick service restaurant (QSR) franchisee to seek Chapter 11 protection. In recent years, a number of major fast food franchise owners have filed for bankruptcy. This includes the November 2023 bankruptcy filings for Wendys franchisee Starboard Group and Burger King franchisee Premier Kings. And last April, another major Burger King franchisee, Consolidated Burger Holdings, also filed for Chapter 11. Many of these franchisees have reported the same struggles as Sailormens, including foot traffic that never recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic as well as inflationary pressures.
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E-Commerce
Put down Wordle. New brain-exercise-for-the-day just dropped. Can you read 900 words per minute? a viral post that has been doing the rounds on X, challenges. Try it. If you made it to 600 words per minute, thats more than twice the speed of the average reader. If you made it to 900, congratulationsaccording to some back-of-the-napkin math, that makes you 278% faster than the national average (which is 238 words per minute). By that same logic, it could take you around 40 seconds to read this 600ish word article. But should it? As one X user pointed out, this is like brainrot for reading. Or as Jane Ollis, medical biochemist and founder at AI-powered neurotech company Sona, told Fast Company, Its the cognitive equivalent of watching Netflix on fast-forward. The challenge uses a technique called rapid sequential visual presentation, or RSVP. The effect is bizarre, almost meditative, as your eyes passively absorb huge quantities of words at a rapid-fire pace. Eye movements shorten, the inner voice gets kicked out of the room, and the brain starts guessing what comes next, explains Ollis. There’s another factor to consider when we read really fast. Its neural autocomplete, says Ollis. Very efficient. Not always accurate. Research backs this up. Getting rid of sub-vocalizationsor hearing words in your mindmay increase reading speed, but has been shown to reduce comprehension of what is being read. And doing away with those extra eye movements, by placing words one on top of another rather than along a sentence (like in the X post), has also been found to have a similar effect on comprehension. You know roughly what happened, but you wouldnt bet your reputation on the details. And neuroscience tells us that the good stuffinsight, memory, and learninghappens when the brain slows down enough to actually chew the information, explains Ollis. When people try to read at extreme speed, the brain doesnt suddenly get smarter. It gets lazier in a clever way. For the deluge of text we consume on a daily basis (more than at any other time in history) this skill isnt unhelpful. From checking emails to scanning work documents to perusing social feeds, these are all effective use-cases for this kind of speed reading approach. (Its also a pretty fun challenge, to be honest.) But the best way to read faster, without reducing comprehension, is simply to read more. In a world obsessed with speed, Ollis says, attention might be the most rebellious skill we have.
Category:
E-Commerce
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