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The Trump administration is backtracking on a plan that would have forced airlines to give passengers cash as compensation for late flights. The Department of Transportation tossed out the proposal, which the Biden administration set into motion late last year, according to a filing posted on Thursday. In the filing, government officials called the decision Consistent with Department and administration priorities. The new rule would have implemented a tiered system that required airlines to pay passengers between $200 and $775 for flight delays of more than three hours, depending on the duration of the delay. The same rule would have required airlines to rebook passengers dealing with canceled flights for free. This action were announcing is another step forward into a better era for commercial air travelwhere the flying public is better protected and passengers arent expected to bear the cost of disruptions caused by airlines, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the time, noting that airlines received more than $50 billion in federal bailouts during the pandemic to keep them afloat. Airlines also would have been required to cover meals, overnight lodging and transportation for passengers stranded from a flight cancellation or delay. The compensation would have been required in instances when the flight disruption was caused by an airline, like in instances of software meltdowns and mechanical issues. In a statement to Fast Company, a Department of Transportation spokesperson said that the agency will reconsider other extra-statutory federal rules from the Biden administration that go beyond regulations put in place by Congress. We will faithfully implement all aviation consumer protection requirements mandated by Congress, including the requirement to refund ticket prices to passengers in the case of airline canceled or substantially delayed flights when consumers choose not to travel, the spokesperson said. Trumps record on airlines During his tenure, Bidens Department of Transportation focused on implementing consumer-friendly regulations for the airline industry and addressing some of the post-pandemic chaos that saw flight cancellations and delays soar. In some instances, the requirements would bring U.S. airlines into parity with its European counterparts, which are required to provide compensation for late and canceled flights when the circumstances are not out of their control. In the U.S., airlines can opt in to compensating disgruntled fliers, but the customer service experience around disrupted flights is notoriously uneven. In contrast, Trump has emphasized deregulation across the board an agenda that will inevitably see the current administration peeling back many Biden-era rules. How those priorities will shake out for U.S. airlines and their passengers remains to be seen. So far, Trump has made efforts to revamp the threadbare air traffic control system. That move garnered praise from industry group Airlines for America, which celebrated the passage of Trumps so-called Big Beautiful Bill and the presidents vision for a golden age of air travel. Few people have had the gumption to take on the vast undertaking of modernizing our nations complex ATC system, but President Trump and Secretary Duffy addressed the dire need quickly and are acting with urgency, Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio said. The industry group also applauded the TSAs decision to allow fliers to keep their shoes on, a major policy change the agency said would modernize and enhance traveler experience and shorten wait times in security lines. Airlines might be happy with Trumps deregulatory bent, but they are likely less pleased with the White Houses chaotic tariff crusade. With new tariffs in place, airlines stand to pay huge additional sums on top of the already massive cost of an aircraft when importing planes and parts built abroad into the U.S.
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Buying an abandoned golf course and restoring it from scratch sounds like a dream for many golf fans. For one man in Maine, that dream is now reality. A user who posts under the handle @thefairwayfields on TikTok and YouTube,(and who lists his real name only as “Tye,” purchased the abandoned golf course in Chesterville, Maine, earlier this year. After picking up golf last year, he quickly realized there wasnt anywhere to play within 40 minutes. So he decided to build his own course. @thefairwayfields Not in the best shape but well get there Fairway Fields original sound – thefairwayfields Tye detailed his vision for the abandoned course on his TikTok account, which includes an outdoor simulator bay, a normal driving range, as well as an Airbnb, which can be used as a venue for weddings and other events. The purchase also came with a trove of out-of-use equipment and vintage golf clubs he plans to restore. He has since named the project Fairway Fields. @thefairwayfields Fairway Fields – phase 1 American Nights – Zach Bryan Balancing the restoration with a full-time job, Tye began posting updates in June. His videos struck a chord, helping Fairway Fields attract nearly 800,000 followers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, with many clips reaching millions of views. Has potential to be the greatest TikTok series of all time, one TikTok user wrote. My new life goal: buying an abandoned golf course with the boys, joked another. A third user commented: If I won the lottery I wouldnt tell anyone, but there would be signs. (Fast Company has reached out to Fairway Fields for comment.) @thefairwayfields Hole 1 day 1 – Fairway Fields – John (Songs Station) – user52912547838 In one video, Tye shows how far he has come in restoring the greens to their former glory. In another, he documents the painstaking process of reviving maintenance equipment unused for a decade. @thefairwayfields Hole 1 day 1 – Fairway Fields – John (Songs Station) – user52912547838 The progress in just a few months has been striking, with a loyal community eager to see the project succeed. Some commenters have offered their labor, others their money via GoFundMe, and many say theyll travel across the country once Fairway Fields opens. That may be soon. In his latest video, Tye announced the range portion of the course should open to the public next week. @thefairwayfields Fairway Fields from a birds POV suono originale – New60s70srevenge ̵ New60s70srevenge
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E-Commerce
Apples annual iPhone event is happening next week, when the company is expected to unveil a range of new devices that includes its thinnest phone to date. Its also the first iPhone event since the embarrassing Apple Intelligence flub earlier this year, which saw the company push back AI-powered Siri features announced last year all the way into 2026. Apple is rarely first to introduce cutting-edge new features, instead preferring to wait until it can offer a differentiated take on technology thats ready for the mainstream. With AI, though, Apple has essentially issued a mea culpa; it actually wanted to jump into the fray, but just couldnt get ready in time. With that in mind, its worth looking at the current smartphone landscape to see what the new iPhones will be going up against. Apple made the case last year that AI would transform the smartphone experience, even if it whiffed on actually shipping anything to that end. So what about the alternatives? {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Google Pixel 10 Pro The just-announced Pixel 10 Pro phones are Googles most advanced yet when it comes to AI capabilities, and arguably the most AI-forward options on the market. Googles AI focus with the Pixel 10 line goes right down to the decisions it made with the Tensor G5 system-on-chip, which was designed in-house and, for the first time, fabricated on TSMCs leading-edge 3nm process. But that hasnt brought a huge leap in performance; instead, Google is devoting a huge amount of the die space to Tensor cores, which handle on-device processing tasks. That means that the Pixel 10 doesnt perform all that well in benchmarks or gaming compared to other current flagship phonesGoogle is putting its silicon where its mouth is when it comes to the importance of AI. This year, Magic Cue is the most prominent new AI feature, and its notably reminiscent of what Apple claimed the iPhone would be able to do with Apple Intelligence. Its a context-aware feature that proactively surfaces information from across your other apps; for example, if youre in a chat and a friend mentions a restaurant reservation thats buried in another inbox, Magic Cue will suggest the information and relevant actions right there within your current app. This all runs on-device using Googles Gemini Nano model. Pixel phones have long been ahead of the curve when it comes to processing language on-device. The auto-transcribing Recorder app is a godsend for journalists, while the ability to automatically add translated subtitles to any audio or video in real time opens up whole new worlds of content. This year, the Pixel 10 adds the ability to translate phone calls in real time, meaning the person on the other end of the call hears you talking in their language in what sounds something like your own voice. Its hard to say exactly how reliant the Pixel phones are on their AI-focused silicon, because most of these features simply dont work on other phones. What is clear, though, is that Google has identified AI as the biggest differentiator for its own smartphones, which historically have been a minor player in terms of market share. This feels like more of a long-term play rather than something that will attract most consumers today. But its hard to deny that the Pixel 10 Pro offers the most advanced and complete implementation of AI technology on a smartphone today. Samsung Galaxy Samsung, meanwhile, didnt shower itself in glory during the years when it was pushing its Bixby voice assistant on everyone, but Galaxy phones are in much better shape today when it comes to AI. Although much of the Galaxy AI suite relies heavily on Googles own technology, Samsung has implemented it in smart ways and benefits from tight collaboration with Google. The Circle to Search feature, for example, which scans whats on your screen for text and visual information and lets you search based on that, actually made its debut on Samsung phones in 2024 before later coming to Googles own Pixel. Samsung has also been up to speed when launching features like real-time Gemini Live chat across its phones and watches. And all of this works alongside Samsungs own system-level implementation of features like generative photo editing, writing and translation tools. Samsungs Galaxy Z Fold 7 is also the most advanced foldable phone available in the U.S., a form factor that Ive found is particularly well-suited for AI workflows. The square-ish inner screen can be an awkward fit for many mobile apps, but ChatGPT and Gemini have handy column-based interfaces that give more real estate for responses, which often include tables or other formatting that can be difficult to read on a regular phone screen. AI apps are also especially well-suited for multitasking; foldable phones let you essentially run two full-size phone apps at once, which is very helpful when editing and cross-referencing. Apple iPhone Part of the reason the botched Apple Intelligence rollout was so surprising is that it felt like Apple should have this in the bag from a hardware perspective. Apple Silicon is the envy of the entire tech industry, with Apples homegrown chips powering unbeatable performance across Macs and iPhones alike. The A17 chip in last years iPhones does have a lot of theoretical AI capability due to the large on-board NPU, which Apple calls the Neural Engine, but its difficult to see how that truly improves the current iOS experience. Right now the chip mostly seems to be deployed to speed up core functionality like photo processing and Face ID scanning, which isnt nothing, but might not be maximizing the potential of the silicon. There is definitely a conceivable future where Apple delivers the best overall AI smartphone experience due to its on-device capabilities, but despite its hardware advantage, right now were nowhere close. Its unlikely that the iPhone 17 lineup will do anything to change thatat least not until Apple gets its AI software in order. That said, Apple is much better at keeping software leaks under wraps than its hardware. Its possible the new iPhonesand the new chip that powers themwill come with some new AI features that were developed separately from the Siri disaster. Itll be interesting to see to what extent next weeks iPhone announcement does or doesnt mention AI. But regardless of whats in the pipeline, the bar has already been set a whole lot higher than where the iPhone is currently at. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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