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  • Iran security chief threatens neighbors against economic measures

    Iran security chief threatens neighbors against economic measures

    The new leader of Iran’s top security body is threatening neighbors against joining new U.S. efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Egypt is trying to revive Iran-U.S. negotiations. And Iraq and Iran say Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil to transit the Strait of Hormuz. France and Saudi Arabia are expected to discuss plans to bypass the waterway.

    Meanwhile, Israel has carried out strikes in Syria and in Gaza.

    Iran’s new top security adviser issues threats

    The hard-line new leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council threatened Tehran’s neighbors against joining the new U.S. effort to hurt Iran’s economy, and accused the United States of increasing global nuclear insecurity with months of war.

    “If (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” he said in an interview with the state broadcaster that aired Saturday.

    Mohsen Rezaei was named this month as part of senior appointments widely seen as hardening Tehran’s political and military stance. His interview with IRIB is his most extensive public statement since then.

    Rezaei said Iran would target oil-shipping routes out of the Persian Gulf — alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz — if neighbors join what he described as the economic war against Iran. Those neighbors would be considered enemies and “we will target their interests,” he said.

    U.S. President Donald Trump in the past week has vowed to increase Iran’s pain by imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation. Iran has lived under sanctions for years.

    Rezaei said discussions with Oman, located on the other side of the strait, over management of it were ongoing, and said fees would be imposed. Iran asserted control over what was seen as an international waterway shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28.

    Rezaei also vowed to make changes to Iran’s diplomacy and bring new capabilities to what he called the next war. He warned the U.S. against sending more military personnel to the region, and said the U.S. had increased nuclear insecurity because countries see that participating in international monitoring efforts, as Iran has done, is no protection against attack.

    Egypt tries to revive U.S.-Iran negotiations

    The top diplomats for Egypt and Iran discussed efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table to settle the war, Egypt’s foreign ministry said.

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty also discussed the Iranian-Omani talks, the ministry said.

    Araghchi briefed Egypt’s foreign minister about “Iran’s view of ongoing developments, the course of negotiations and their challenges,” the ministry said, without elaborating. Araghchi confirmed the call. Separately, Araghchi said he had a call with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir,

    Iran and Iraq say some Iraqi oil is facilitated through the strait

    The governments of Iraq and Iran said Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil, natural gas, and other supplies, but there were few details.

    “There is facilitation for some ships carrying Iraqi oil in the Strait of Hormuz,” Iraqi President Nizar Amidi said in comments published Saturday by the state-run news agency, adding that Iraq doesn’t have a national carrier for transporting oil.

    Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said a number of Iraqi oil tankers have been permitted to transit. It was not clear how many or what Iran might have received in return.

    Syria says an Israeli drone strikes inside a village

    An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle wounded one person on Saturday in the southwestern Syrian village of Beit Jin, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. Syria’s foreign ministry said several civilians were injured and called the strike a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty.

    The Israeli military said it targeted a “terrorist who advanced terror attacks in final stages of preparation,” without elaborating. It wasn’t immediately clear if it was the same strike.

    Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes around Syria after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in late 2024, mainly destroying army assets to keep them out of the hands of his successors.

    Messages differ on the Golan Heights

    In an interview on Friday with Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack said Israel “still” occupies the Golan Heights in violation of U.N. resolutions.

    Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday in a statement called Barrack’s remarks “full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict Trump’s own position.”

    Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The U.N. considers the territory occupied Syrian land. But in March 2019, Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of U.S. policy.

    French president, Saudi crown prince will meet

    French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to discuss plans to develop alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz during the Saudi leader’s two-day visit to Paris that starts on Sunday, according to officials in the presidency who weren’t authorized to be publicly named.

    Proposals include increasing trade through Omani ports outside of the Persian Gulf, expanding or doubling pipelines in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and developing new rail links, the officials said.

    France and Saudi Arabia have formed a task force on energy and logistics connections between the Middle East and Europe that is scheduled to meet at the ministerial level Monday. The officials said the work would focus on identifying the most strategic projects, securing financing, and establishing roles for French companies.

    An Israeli strike in Gaza kills 1 Palestinian

    An Israeli strike on the backyard of a house in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded another Saturday, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

    Israel’s military said it targeted Sharif al-Hasanat, a Hamas commander who “advanced terror attacks and took part in efforts to restore Hamas’ underground infrastructure.” Days earlier, a U.S. negotiator reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks while seeking to make progress on the ceasefire.

  • Trump urges court to reject BBC’s bid to secure records from his family in defamation case

    Trump urges court to reject BBC’s bid to secure records from his family in defamation case

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has urged a federal judge to reject the BBC’s request for the court’s help in securing testimony and documents from three family members in response to his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster.

    The BBC is trying to gain “politically-driven leverage” over Trump by serving subpoenas on daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Donald Trump Jr., personal lawyers for the Republican president argued in a court filing Friday.

    U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Miami did not immediately rule on the dispute.

    Kuntz, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, inherited the president’s lawsuit from another judge less than a week ago. Court filings did not immediately specify a reason for the case’s reassignment. The previous judge has set a February trial date.

    In May, a process server working for the BBC tried to serve subpoenas on Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their residence but encountered Secret Service agents who said they were not authorized to accept it, according to the president’s lawyers. They said the process server also visited Trump Tower in New York several days later in a failed attempt to serve Donald Trump Jr.

    In a court filing last week, the broadcaster asked for the court’s permission to serve subpoenas on Trump’s family members by certified mail instead of in person.

    Trump’s lawsuit, filed in December, accuses the BBC of deceptively editing portions of the speech that he delivered near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. The suit claims the BBC spliced together separate parts of Trump’s speech to intentionally misrepresent what he said.

    The lawsuit alleges the BBC aired its documentary a week before the 2024 presidential election in “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the outcome to Trump’s detriment.

    “The relief that the BBC’s Motion seeks cannot be segregated from the politically charged discovery campaign that it is based on, and which has already been ruled as improperly overbroad by this Court,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

    The BBC has apologized to Trump for the misleading edit, but it denies defaming him.

  • Postal Service publishes finalized plan to restrict mail ballots

    Postal Service publishes finalized plan to restrict mail ballots

    WASHINGTON — The Postal Service on Friday published regulations that would restrict mail voting, its latest effort to comply with President Donald Trump’s call to restrict the popular practice just months before the midterm elections.

    In a 95-page final rule, the Postal Service clarified how it would carry out an executive order Trump signed in March, which sought to restrict mail ballots and create state-by-state lists of citizens to help determine voting eligibility.

    In the rule, the Postal Service said that it would deliver mail ballots only in states that shared voter data with the federal agency.

    Before the Postal Service accepts ballots into its system, the agency would review every envelope for compliance with the new standards, including by checking that the recipient was enrolled with the Postal Service to receive a mail ballot.

    If the regulations are enacted, the Postal Service would not deliver mail ballots to states that do not comply.

    Trump’s executive order was largely blocked by federal courts this summer, and the Postal Service said in its rule published Friday that it would “not take actions to implement the rule specifically for the 2026 election unless and until the government obtains relief from those injunctions.” In a filing to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department said that the government would not enforce the final rule unless the court ruled in its favor.

    The Supreme Court is reviewing the issue and could rule at any time.

    A Postal Service spokesperson on Friday declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

    Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims that mail voting is “cheating,” even as he has voted by mail in multiple elections, including earlier this week.

    The president has acknowledged that combating fraud is not the only reason to target the practice. In March, he told Republican lawmakers that passing a strict voter identification law cracking down on mail ballots, which Democrats now use more than Republicans, would “guarantee the midterms” for his party.

    This article originally appeared in the New York Times.

  • TikTok settles with U.S. over child privacy concerns for $400 million

    TikTok settles with U.S. over child privacy concerns for $400 million

    WASHINGTON — TikTok on Friday reached a $400 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department that accused the company of illegally gathering children’s information.

    The 2024 suit, filed under the Biden administration, claimed that TikTok had gathered data from users under the age of 13 without parental permission. The suit accused TikTok of knowingly allowing children to create accounts and of failing to honor parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts.

    TikTok violated federal privacy law along with a 2019 agreement with the government in which the app promised to take steps to protect children’s privacy, according to the government.

    Under the settlement announced Friday, TikTok will pay $300 million. The Justice Department also asked the court to eliminate the 2019 agreement, after which TikTok would pay the government an additional $100 million, according to a Justice Department news release.

    The settlement is the latest by the Trump administration, as it takes a softer approach toward ongoing government litigation against several major companies.

    In March, the Justice Department settled a lawsuit that accused Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster, of illegally maintaining a monopoly. The government also reached a settlement last year that allowed the technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise to buy a rival, Juniper Networks, over the objection of some state attorneys general.

    The settlement between TikTok and the government also marks the latest win for the popular short-video app under the second Trump administration.

    During President Donald Trump’s first term, he signed an executive order to force the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it. But TikTok successfully sued to block that ban. In 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban the app unless it was sold to a non-Chinese owner.

    After Trump returned to office, he repeatedly delayed enforcement of that law. In January, ByteDance announced that it had reached a deal, hammered out with the U.S. government, that spun off its American operations to a group of non-Chinese investors.

    Stanley E. Woodward Jr., an associate attorney general, called the settlement “a major victory for American children and parents” in a statement. A spokesperson for the U.S. version of TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    This article originally appeared in the New York Times.

  • Federal judge vacates Trump policy that suspended processing of immigration visas from 75 countries

    Federal judge vacates Trump policy that suspended processing of immigration visas from 75 countries

    A federal judge in New York has vacated a Trump administration policy that suspended the processing of visas from 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration deemed likely to require public assistance in the United States.

    U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, set aside the policy Friday as “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio exceeded his authority by issuing the policy, which “runs afoul” of the Immigration and Nationality Act by mandating “the refusal of visas to eligible applicants without any basis in law,” the judge ruled.

    Judge says power lies with consular officers

    Vargas said the policy also undermines the congressional requirement that puts consular officers at the forefront of any visa decision.

    “Congress imbued these officers with exclusive authority and discretion to determine if an immigrant is eligible for a visa based upon review of specific and detailed criteria set forth in the statute,” she wrote. “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”

    The policy was challenged by two nonprofit organizations along with 11 individuals, including six whose family members had been refused visas. The remaining five are outside the country and had filed “employment-based petitions” to come to the United States.

    Advocates say keeping families apart is cruel

    “We welcome this ruling because, at its heart, this case is about keeping families together,” said Anna Gallagher, the executive director of CLINIC, a national nonprofit that provides training, resources, and support to a network of immigration legal service providers and was one of the plaintiffs.

    “Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and recognize the family as the foundation of society,” she said in a statement. “This decision affirms both those values and the rule of law, allowing families to once again move forward toward reunification.”

    Another plaintiff is African Communities Together, a Harlem-based nonprofit. One of its leaders called the ruling “a tremendous victory for the rule of law.”

    “This unlawful and racist ban caused immeasurable harm, cruelly keeping families and loved ones apart,” Diana Konate, deputy executive director for policy and advocacy, said in a statement. “Today, we are elated to tell our community members: this ban is no more.”

    Trump expands his anti-immigration agenda

    President Donald Trump has imposed a growing list of immigration and travel bans mostly for people from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The State Department said Saturday that the Trump administration is “protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants,” and that it would not comment on pending litigation.

    At the time the policy was issued, the State Department said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the 75 countries in accordance with a broader order in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges.” Relying on Council of Economic Advisers data, the State Department said that more than 30% of households with immigrants from these countries received some form of public assistance.

    A separate notice sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates said that non-immigrant visa applicants also should be “fully vetted and screened” for the possibility that they might seek public benefits in the United States.

    The cable, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press, noted several times that the applicant must prove they won’t apply for public benefits while in the U.S., and that consular officers who suspect the applicant might apply should require them to fill out a form proving their financial bona fides.

    The ruling is the latest example of the courts upending Trump’s immigration agenda. In June, a federal judge struck down a Trump administration policy that made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to enter and stay in America — affecting elements like asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship applications. That judge said the policy threw countless immigrants’ lives “into indeterminate legal limbo,” and accused the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law.

  • 3 things about the brain that actually get better with age

    3 things about the brain that actually get better with age

    When people think about getting older, many picture an inevitable decline in health.

    But that isn’t always the case. You can improve with age, both mentally and physically. This mindset may even be beneficial; having negative ideas about aging is linked to worse health outcomes, almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    While the aging process, like life as a whole, varies from person to person, research shows that there are aspects of brain health that can actually continue improving well past your midlife. Here are three examples of the silver linings to going gray.

    Fewer regrets

    Living without regrets is a common maxim but an uncommon reality. About 90% of people say they have at least one major life regret, research shows.

    “Many of us might worry that we will reach the end of life and have these really big regrets that we can never resolve, and they may take some solace in knowing that that is a very, very common experience,” said Julia Nolte, an assistant professor of economic psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

    But getting older seems to lessen both the sting and the frequency of regrets.

    In a recent study published in the journal Emotion, Nolte and her colleagues analyzed how age affected feelings of major regret in 90 adults ranging in age from 21 to 89. Older adults reported they had fewer major regrets within the past year than younger adults. In fact, older adults were more likely to say they didn’t have any recent regrets. And when older adults did have a major recent regret, they were less likely to be about relationships or their dealings with other people.

    In older adults, major regrets both recent and lifelong were more likely to be about missed opportunities or the road not taken. Also, older adults had fewer “hot” emotions such as anger or frustration in response to thoughts of what might have been.

    “Older adults tend to be more likely to say, ‘I don’t have recent big regrets,’” and when they do, the negative emotions are less impactful, said Nolte, who conducted the study when she was a psychology graduate student at Cornell University. “I think that that’s something to look forward to and to help decrease these age-related negative stereotypes a lot of us carry.”

    More knowledge

    As you age, you might be more forgetful and slower at mental processing. But on average, older adults actually perform better on tests requiring knowledge or language.

    For example, adults in their 70s and 80s scored higher on vocabulary knowledge than those in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, according to a large 2019 study.

    Your ability to quickly reason through and adapt to new situations — called fluid intelligence — tends to peak in early to middle adulthood, around your 20s by some measures. But your ability to apply all your accumulated experiences, facts, and skills — known as crystallized intelligence — remains stable or continues to improve through the seventh decade of life, research finds.

    A 2022 study, which followed almost 9,000 adults for up to 18 years, found normal age-related decline of fluid abilities was still largely linked with increased crystallized abilities.

    As you get older, your hard-won knowledge and experience may still be growing.

    More wisdom

    Older people may not only continue to grow in knowledge, but also in wisdom.

    Wisdom is a complex personality trait that includes having empathy and compassion, as well as the ability to self-reflect, self-regulate, and accept different perspectives, said Dilip Jeste, a geriatric neuropsychiatrist and president of the World Federation for Psychotherapy, who has researched wisdom since 2008.

    Having higher wisdom is linked to better overall health and emotional well-being throughout the lifespan, research shows.

    There’s evidence that older adults on average measure higher than younger adults on different components of wisdom, including empathy, emotional regulation, and self-reflection, Jeste said.

    Not everyone who gets old is necessarily wise — there are many ready examples to the contrary. But by and large, “people who have these components of wisdom, as they get older, they tend to become wiser,” said Jeste, who wrote a 2025 review on wisdom and aging.

    For example, during the isolation and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone felt lonelier. But unexpectedly, older people generally fared better with their mental health than younger people.

    When researchers asked why the older people had better resilience despite being at higher risk, “they said, we have been through problems like this before when we were growing up,” said Jeste, who wrote about this finding.

    And they had made it through.

  • An ‘influencer’ degree? Colleges bet on content creator major as critics question its value

    An ‘influencer’ degree? Colleges bet on content creator major as critics question its value

    Ask a teen what they want to be when they grow up, and there’s a fair chance being an influencer is on their list.

    Digital media and the people who star in it have been cultural mainstays for teens’ entire lives, so creating social media, video, or podcast content seems a natural, albeit nontraditional, career path. And now they can earn a college degree in that very field.

    Arizona State University recently launched a new bachelor’s degree in content creation, offered through its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The curriculum overlaps with that of ASU’s mass communication and media studies degree, with the major departure being a slate of specialized electives on podcasting, studio production, and on-camera presence.

    ASU’s announcement was met with swift criticism from many sides — from people who feel content creation is not a legitimate profession to those who question the value of a college degree in launching a social media career.

    But the ASU program is not the first of its kind.

    And the university, which declined an interview request about the new program, is not the first to offer content-creation courses.

    Universities, eager to compete for a shrinking student population, are rolling out new majors intended to prepare students for today’s careers. Whether they lead to jobs can be up for debate.

    College courses in content creation have riled critics

    Many higher education institutions have started offering classes focused on the burgeoning content-creation industry over the past couple years, and several have certificate or minor programs. Syracuse University, Quinnipiac University, and Colorado State University offer minors, and St. Bonaventure University announced a content-creation major last winter.

    To Brooke Erin Duffy, a communication professor at Cornell University, these college programs represent an inflection point. During the past year, Duffy said, institutions in education and beyond have been acknowledging content creation as a viable career path — even if the term influencer itself hits a nerve.

    On social media, influencers are everywhere, sharing shopping recommendations and lifestyle content or promoting beliefs about health or politics. Because even influencers with relatively small followings have loyal audiences, brands also often pay them to talk about products.

    The image of a prototypical influencer, Duffy said, is usually a “young girl who is snapping selfies and just reaping in tremendous rewards for seemingly not doing anything.”

    But that’s not the reality for many content creators, who are working on media production, audience retention strategies, brand partnerships, and business relationships associated with their online presence.

    “It is a time-consuming, labor-intensive job that often doesn’t pay well — at least in the beginning,” Duffy said. “But a lot of that gets concealed behind … this assumption that it’s a dream job.”

    The creator economy is booming, but not everyone reaps the riches

    Even if someone has the skills to make it in content creation, it isn’t easy to break in.

    Social media is already a crowded field, and it’s going to get even more competitive in the coming years, said Max Willens, a principal analyst at Emarketer who covers the creator economy.

    Emarketer forecasts that social media creator revenue in the U.S. will climb above $20 billion this year, but Willens said it’s important to contextualize what that means for individual creators.

    “The overwhelming majority of that money is not going into creators’ pockets,” he said, even though their content and their followers form the foundation of the lucrative field.

    Influencers can earn money from social media platforms, which reward high engagement, and some earn commission if people buy a product they’re promoting. But the largest share of influencers’ earnings comes from sponsored content — getting paid to talk about a brand or product. Willens said he expects the amount brands spend distributing and amplifying creator content will eventually surpass the amount creators earn making it.

    The idea that a specialized college degree will “suddenly turn people into viral content machines deserves a bit of a reality check,” Willens said.

    Duffy noted that becoming an influencer often is perceived, incorrectly, as a path to get rich quick. Colleges that introduce content-creation degrees may be hoping to attract new students — and their parents — who are looking for “a job that will pay off,” Duffy said. “Whether or not it does is another story.”

    A degree’s price is also a factor: At ASU, base tuition for Arizona residents is about $12,000 per academic year, excluding scholarships, but the total cost of attendance can exceed $37,000 after factoring in room, board, and other fees. For students from outside of Arizona, tuition is more than $35,000 and the total cost of attendance is around $60,000 before scholarships.

    Creators see value and transferable skills in these programs

    While many content-creation students may be hoping to become viral sensations, Phoenix-based creator Aiesha Beasley said she could see programs like ASU’s being valuable even to those without that dream.

    “Having a digital presence and a personal brand is very important nowadays,” Beasley said. Building a platform and sharing that personal brand online can help a person network and gain entry to settings they may not have had access to otherwise, she said.

    Beasley, who has been a full-time content creator for three years after more than a decade posting online, works with small businesses to help optimize their social media presence. She noted that ASU’s courses would teach several transferable skills in fields such as communications and marketing.

    Content creator and actor Sammy Cristerna graduated from Arizona State University this spring with a degree in sociology and political science, but said he “absolutely” would have taken classes in the content-creation program and considered the major if it had been available.

    The courses, Cristerna said, would have been useful in learning how to negotiate brand deals, maximize monetization opportunities, and cultivate and keep an audience. Some of those skills can be self-taught through experience, he added. Still, “it’s nice to have that formal education.”

    The one thing Cristerna said he isn’t sure will translate in the classroom is personality.

    To connect on camera, a person needs to have “good energy,” he said. “That’s hard to teach.”

  • Target bets shoppers want to buy trendy snacks and drinks in grocery revamp

    Target bets shoppers want to buy trendy snacks and drinks in grocery revamp

    Target Corp. has long struggled with its grocery identity: whether it wants to be a discounts-driven everyday chain or a cool, zeitgeisty retailer. Its latest big bet indicates it’s chosen the latter.

    The company has been overhauling its grocery aisles since the spring, hoping the upscale Tarzhay success it once had with stylish apparel and home goods in the early 2000s can be revived in food. It’s expanding the size of the section by more than 20% in nearly 150 remodeled stores and more than 50% in 300 new locations, carving out additional space for fresh produce and trendy items while cutting back on some pantry staples that shoppers aren’t buying or can get elsewhere.

    The strategy, intended to help reverse three years of weak sales, contrasts with what rivals in the $1 trillion U.S. grocery industry are doing. As competition intensifies, Walmart and Kroger are lowering prices across the board to appeal to inflation-weary, cost-conscious consumers. Target’s share is tiny in comparison, and the pressure is on to sell the right products at the right price or risk falling further behind.

    At a Target store in West Hollywood, Calif., the coffee aisle is stocked with pink and green packages of collagen-infused strawberry matcha latte powder and mushroom-coffee brands Ryze and Everyday Dose. Nearby, healthier packaged food additions include gluten-free pumpkin spice cereal, sour melon candy made with less sugar, and Khloé Kardashian’s protein-dusted popcorn. Target is also broadening its Asian food selection, giving prime shelf space to sesame miso noodles, jars of chili crisp, and peach-flavored soju.

    Several shoppers said they’d noticed new brands and layout improvements, but the changes hadn’t yet made a difference in how they shop at the chain.

    “I’m just buying groceries out of the convenience of already being here,” said Emma Woods, 29, as she grabbed a few items, including Frosted Flakes and Yoplait, for an upcoming girls weekend. She said she still prefers to do the bulk of her food shopping at Whole Foods Market, Ralphs, and Trader Joe’s.

    “The selection just isn’t as large as a larger grocery store that I could go to, and I think the prices aren’t as competitive,” the dancer from Los Angeles said. “For me, it might be a lost cause.”

    Dwarfed by grocery rivals

    The grocery makeover is a crucial piece of Target’s attempt to rejuvenate its operations and boost traffic. The retailer estimates the move will generate more than $2 billion in growth over the next few years.

    Since 2023, revenue has been shrinking as shoppers spend at a slow pace because some of the merchandise hasn’t been resonating the way it did in the past. New chief executive officer Michael Fiddelke has pledged to improve Target’s product assortment, store experience, and technology, identifying food among the primary areas of focus along with baby, home, apparel, toys, gadgets, and sports.

    Target for years has debated how much food to sell and how to pitch itself against competitors. It’s sold many packaged goods, which have a simpler supply chain, rather than a full-fledged offering. As a result, food has been an afterthought for many shoppers, tacked on to the end of their Target runs or a holdover in between their main grocery trips.

    “I don’t think people wake up and say, ‘I need groceries, I’m going to go to Target,’” said Joe Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.

    Target wants that to change and sees significant opportunity: More than half of its customers buy groceries when they shop at the chain. And food, which makes up less than 25% of its revenue, has been growing faster than most divisions.

    So far this year, Target has added roughly 4,600 new food items — including probiotic coconut yogurt, mini rice cakes drizzled with chocolate, and frozen sour candy mixes — and more than 60 new brands during the second quarter. The retailer expanded the space allotted for Asian food products by about 75% and beefed up offerings of noodles and snacks in the category after sales rose more than 25% in the last year.

    “Food and beverage is a powerful opportunity to make life easier for busy families and drive our business forward,” John Conlin, senior vice president of food and beverage merchandising at Target, said in a statement. Its grocery offerings, which have had strong sales momentum, are deepening customer loyalty and driving more frequent trips, he said.

    But Target has substantial ground to make up. The retailer is dwarfed by Walmart, Costco, and Kroger, whose food businesses are roughly 12 times, six times, and five times bigger, respectively. Like Target, the three giants are increasingly selling trendier items — but they’re also using their scale to lower prices and emphasize value at a time when budget-conscious consumers are searching for bargains. U.S. food prices are expected to rise further in the back half of the year.

    Shoppers buy groceries at a Walmart Superstore in Secaucus, N.J., in 2024. Walmart’s food business is roughly 12 times that of Target.Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

    Walmart, known for offering affordable everyday goods, has said it will continue to lower prices. After announcing summertime deals in July, Walmart U.S. chief merchandising officer Julie Barber told staff that when the company leans on value, customers respond. “From beef and fresh produce to beverages, grilling essentials, toys and more, these investments reinforce what customers expect from Walmart: incredible value when it matters most,” she wrote in a memo viewed by Bloomberg News.

    Kroger has pledged to make the biggest price cuts in years to compete more effectively. New CEO Greg Foran, a former Walmart executive, told Bloomberg that prices have to come down across thousands of items and that the company would save costs by importing merchandise and using technology more effectively. Costco, meanwhile, is lowering prices of eggs, beef, and other items.

    Target lags many rivals when it comes to price. Identical national-brand food items cost about 5% more at the chain than they do at Walmart, according to data firm Attain, and one of the widest price gaps between the two is found in the snack section. It found that meat prices are relatively similar. Target said it’s priced competitively in food staples.

    Curating a treasure hunt

    Target is carving its own path. Instead of doing it all, the company is focusing on curation, a spokesperson said. It’s doubling down in areas where consumers are showing stronger interest, carrying an assortment of national, emerging, and store brands that reflects “evolving tastes, interests, and wellness needs.”

    The hope is that refreshed food aisles filled with coveted, unique products will become the reason people visit. With some new items, Target said, shoppers are willing to spend more to try them.

    Shoppers check out the food selection at a Target store at the Springfield Mall in Delaware County in 2009.CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

    “It has never been able to crack it in food,” said Jackie Lewis, a market intelligence lead at consultancy Harvest Group. “They are finally embracing the mantra that works for them in the rest of the store: exclusivity, buzziness.”

    The changes are helping attract more shoppers and creating a treasure hunt experience, with Target’s food sales growing in dollars and outpacing total company growth, according to Harvest Group’s analysis.

    “I buy more here now than I did previously,” said Sean Wesslund, a 40-year-old human resources consultant, while shopping at a Target in Highland Park, Ill. The store recently began offering more sustainable, healthier options such as regenerative organic certified coffee, which he likes to purchase along with basics like cereal, granola bars, and cheese. He said he sees Target becoming a cross between Whole Foods and Albertsons.

    At a Target in Falls Church, Va., Sam Fowler and his fiancée, Lindsay Nesmith, were perusing the display of noodles, including Buldak spicy ramen.

    “Things we would go to H Mart for, they now have here,” said Fowler, a 26-year-old TV producer. The couple does most of their shopping for bulk goods at Costco, but will supplement at Target for meals they are cooking that evening.

    Grocery is among a number of areas that Target is reworking. The company is adding new, exclusive items across its baby department and expanding concierge services where shoppers can get one-on-one guidance from experts. It’s launching beauty studios in hundreds of stores, and offering more trading cards and cell phone accessories across its entertainment, toys, and tech section.

    In March, Fiddelke unveiled a $6 billion plan to reverse Target’s sales slump and to reclaim the retailer’s reputation as a place to go for affordable yet stylish apparel and home goods.

    Target recruited fashion designer and TV personality Isaac Mizrahi this summer to fill the newly created role of creative director at large. Mizrahi has been brought in to mentor Target designers, advise on product design and innovation, and forge new partnerships.

    Fiddelke is also remodeling Target stores and improving staffing. The company has more than 100 full-scale remodels underway, with a goal of reaching 130 this year, Fiddelke said Tuesday.

    Second-quarter sales results released Wednesday suggest the changes are having an impact. The CEO said the latest quarter was “an important step forward in the plan we laid out earlier this year to open a new chapter of growth for Target.”

    Target also reported an increase in the number of customers going to its stores and shopping on its website from May through July.

    “We’re encouraged by the progress made so far, and we’re also clear-eyed about the important work still ahead,” Fiddelke said.

    Executives at several upstart food brands said they’re encouraged by the revamp. Many have inked exclusive deals with Target, ensuring their products are sold only at the chain.

    Snackish, a new clean-label potato chip brand, launched nationwide in June only at Target. The Snackish customer “wants to be the first one of her friend group to find the new thing that’s trendy” and is Instagramming her finds, founder Tara Bosch said. “We wanted to show up where she is and Target is where she shops.”

    Scoot, a brand of frozen lemonade pouches, highlights on its packaging that it’s only available at Target, complete with the retailer’s bullseye logo. This summer, refrigerated dough brand Sweet Loren’s rolled out its first exclusive-to-Target item: a snickerdoodle cookie dough. The company was confident it would draw new customers into Target, founder and CEO Loren Castle said.

    “These emerging brands, these better-for-you brands are actually what the Target guest is looking for,” she said. “It’s the reason they’re able to compete in grocery. It’s what they’re relying on to build the future.”

    Shopper Joy Shaw isn’t so sure. She went to the West Hollywood Target for school supplies this month and figured she’d also grab “lunch box stuff” including string cheese, cheddar squares, Sun Chips, and Activia yogurt drinks. The 51-year-old nurse said she’d like to see a wider selection of produce and meat, noting she wasn’t able to find ground chicken.

    “If they’re trying to be the go-to place for groceries, then they need to have the foundation of what we really need first,” she said. “Cool snacks, you can pretty much get anywhere else.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this article.

  • Dear Abby | Child’s baby talk grates on woman’s nerves

    DEAR ABBY: I’ve been seeing “Brad” for nine months. We both have children of our own. He has a daughter, and I have a son.

    The little girl is a few months older than my 7-year-old son. I can see myself having a family with Brad. However, one of my biggest pet peeves is when children use baby talk. Brad’s daughter seems to be doing it more and more, and it’s driving me crazy! My son doesn’t talk like that, and when he has, I’ve corrected the situation. It’s not just because it’s his daughter; I would feel this way with any other kid who spoke like this.

    I don’t think Brad notices. I have tried addressing it with his daughter by telling her that big girls don’t talk that way, but it has been futile. I feel the need to bring this up with Brad, but I’m afraid my reason is not valid. I don’t want to tell him, “Have her stop because she’s annoying the heck out of me.” Brad has addressed some things with my son, and I’ve been OK with it. I think we can speak openly about our concerns in regard to each other’s children. I need help with wording my dilemma without sounding like a harpy. Please help.

    — BEYOND ANNOYED

    DEAR BEYOND ANNOYED: Brad’s daughter uses baby talk because that is how the adults in her life have spoken to her. If they had used plain English instead, she wouldn’t be speaking the way she does. I agree that you can’t tell this man that what she’s doing drives you up a wall. Instead, explain to him that if she does this around other children, she is likely to be teased for it and that it’s time to teach her to speak properly. You can’t control what her mother does, but her father could be helpful in this situation once he recognizes that it may create problems for her.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: I’m an 82-year-old retired librarian, openly gay and a member of the Friends of the Library. The Friends group I’m active in is associated with a branch library I managed more than 50 years ago. The current branch manager is a gay man around 30 years of age. I see him at the meetings of Friends as well as when I visit the library for my own reading. I’d be lying if I said I’m not attracted to him, but I have no romantic designs, and there’s no way he would think of me in those terms. I’d like to invite him to lunch, as an act of friendship, but in view of my attraction to him (which he may be aware of), I’m afraid it may seem a little creepy. Should I ask him to lunch or just try to put him out of my mind?

    — TORN IN TEXAS

    DEAR TORN: You may want to believe you “have no romantic designs,” but you’re clearly open to the idea. Instead of a one-on-one lunch, why not invite him to a social gathering as part of a larger group? That will keep your overture friendly rather than romantic. As you get to know him better, if you find you still want more than friendship, either confess your feelings or take a step back to end the self-torture.

  • Horoscopes: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). It’s not every day you get to start with the fun part. It’s like eating ice cream for breakfast. When you launch into the part you’re excited about, you’ll steer with an enthusiasm that keeps gaining momentum into next week.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You resonate with the most down-to-earth aspects of the new season. You’re all about the work, and people trust you because of this. You’ll keep falling into fortunate circumstances involving more pay than you ask for.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ve many talents, but you’re now becoming aware of the one that’s going to get the most play this season. When you narrow your focus, you make an impact. You add to your portfolio. You build on your reputation.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Some of the most frustrating relationships you’ve known have also been the source of your favorite memories. So you know that solid ties are worth working on, and in the season ahead, you’ll do what it takes.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). When your solar season comes to a close, it can feel a bit like driving home from the party. Maybe you don’t want it to be over, but you must admit you’re relieved. And there’s something fun about anticipating the next chapter.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re already feeling the potential. It’s like you found the “easy” button of life. The others are finally picking up what you’ve been throwing down for months now. No more having to explain the assignment. Full cooperation is coming.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re favored to get what you want today. Whatever your ambition, picture the end result before you get into it. When you know “finished” looks like, you’ll avoid wasting time polishing what’s already perfectly lovely.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You probably won’t be able to keep your ambitions a secret anymore because it would be like keeping blueprints a secret when you’re already building the house. Everyone who drives by sees what you’re up to, and they’ll be both impressed and envious.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’re coming into a season of cutting back on the events, the travel, the expansion so you can make good on your recent promises. No new orders because all the fun will be in fulfilling the ones that are already on your ticket.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). To prepare for the weeks ahead, keep a “Done” list beside your “To Do” list so you can look back in awe of how much actually happened. It would seem almost unbelievable without the evidence in your own handwriting.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Here’s a habit that will hold you in good stead in the season ahead. End every week by throwing something away: an old file, a broken tool or a forgotten obligation… because your sweetest progress will have as much to do with subtraction as addition.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your usual brilliance will shine even brighter when you put your planning time on the schedule. The season ahead shows you permanently eliminating certain problems with nothing but a notebook, coffee and successive blocks of uninterrupted thinking time.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 22). It’s your Year of the Phoenix. Every reinvention comes with better costumes, brighter colors and a larger audience. By the time this birthday year is over, you’ll have an entirely new understanding of the limitless nature of your gifts. Your enthusiasm proves wonderfully contagious. More highlights: Your ideal customers fall in love with your work, someone with impeccable taste adopts you into their circle, a lucky purchase multiplies in value. Libra and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 18, 7, 29, 10 and 43.