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Have You Been to the Sixth-Worst McDonald’s in America?

21 October 2026 at 16:47

There is virtually no way I could have resisted Sylvie McNamara’s dispatch from her journey to a disreputable McDonald’s in Stafford, Virginia. I’ve listened to my share of the Doughboys podcast, and regularly debate burger rankings with my son. What’s more, I went to high school just two miles down the road from this particular location, whose aggregated Google reviews won it dubious distinction in a nation of interchangeable fast-food franchises. Thankfully, McNamara’s lighthearted investigation, which invites readers to consider Robert Caro and teenage commitments to the social contract, will satisfy you no matter your relationship with the Golden Arches. It reminded me of tongue-in-cheek alt-weekly features, a few pleasurable Paris Review web essays, and that episode of Mystery Show where Starlee Kine goes deep with a Ticketmaster employee. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, I loved it.

I asked the employee for an explanation. “I think I can give you real insight,” he said. “It be the certain workers we got.” He himself is a high schooler, but he said that “we’re starting to get more younger managers. As soon as they turn 18, they’re getting a manager spot. I think my general manager’s 20. It’s a lot of kids getting these manager titles and positions, but they’re not really managers.”

I told him that to be honest, that environment sounded kind of fun.

La stretta di TikTok sui video di scontri e danneggiamenti. Social pronto a rimozioni, blocchi e limiti alle Live

21 October 2026 at 15:47

Dalle immagini degli scontri, dei saccheggi e delle violenze a Milano come in altre città ai contenuti che alimentano la tensione. TikTok si trova a fare i conti con il peso della propria piattaforma nella diffusione delle proteste giovanili. I video delle manifestazioni, diventati virali in diversi Paesi, raggiungono in particolare gli utenti più giovani, mentre cresce la necessità di distinguere la documentazione degli eventi dall’incitamento alla violenza. È in questo contesto che il social network annuncia un rafforzamento delle attività di moderazione e l’attivazione di una task force dedicata. Anche se proprio grazie alle immagini diffuse sono stati identificati due minorenni autori di saccheggi di cui uno di appena 11 anni.

La posizione dell’azienda è netta: “La società condanna ogni forma di violenza e non consente contenuti che la incitano o promuovono attività criminali”. TikTok precisa, tuttavia, che non tutti i filmati delle proteste possono essere considerati allo stesso modo. “Distinguiamo tra i contenuti che documentano le proteste e quelli che incitano alla violenza, garantendo l’accesso alle informazioni e il dibattito pubblico, contrastando al contempo l’uso improprio della piattaforma. In risposta ai recenti disordini, abbiamo attivato una task force e rafforzato le attività di moderazione, anche attraverso tecnologie di riconoscimento di immagini e audio”. Proseguiranno inoltre la rimozione dei video che violano le regole, la sospensione delle dirette e il blocco degli account responsabili delle violazioni.

L’attività di monitoraggio coinvolgerà anche partner esterni, tra cui fact-checker indipendenti, chiamati a collaborare nell’identificazione di possibili minacce emergenti. A questo si aggiunge il blocco dei termini di ricerca che rimandano a contenuti di incitamento alla violenza o ad attività criminali, nel tentativo di limitarne la reperibilità all’interno della piattaforma.

Le restrizioni riguardano anche i guadagni generati dai contenuti in diretta. TikTok ha infatti annunciato limitazioni temporanee ad alcune funzionalità di monetizzazione delle Live legate alle proteste, per evitare che gli eventi vengano trasformati in un’occasione di profitto. “Sono state limitate temporaneamente alcune funzionalità di monetizzazione delle dirette relative alle proteste, per prevenire eventuali forme di sfruttamento economico”, ha spiegato l’azienda. La strategia punta dunque a intervenire su più livelli: dalla circolazione dei video alla loro reperibilità, fino agli eventuali vantaggi economici derivanti dalle dirette. Una stretta che mira a contenere la diffusione di contenuti che alimentano la violenza, senza equiparare automaticamente la cronaca delle proteste alla loro promozione.

L'articolo La stretta di TikTok sui video di scontri e danneggiamenti. Social pronto a rimozioni, blocchi e limiti alle Live proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Giorgia Meloni “non contraria” al divieto social per i minori. Opposizioni: “Stupiti, lo blocca da un anno. Teme Trump e Big Tech?”

21 October 2026 at 14:49

Giorgia Meloni non dice di essere favorevole al divieto social per i minori di 14 anni. Però “non è contraria e ostile”, mentre esplodono proteste in piazza e il governo teme interferenze straniere, grazie ad internet e alle piattaforme tecnologiche. Avrebbe potuto approvare un decreto legge, lascia trapelare su Repubblica, ma preferisce lasciare mano libera al Parlamento sul ban per giovanissimi. Eppure, da circa un anno il governo non consegna i pareri ministeriali alla Commissione del Senato. Senza quei documenti, il disegno di legge 1.136 incardinato a Palazzo Madama, non può essere approvato dal Parlamento. Infatti è bloccato da un anno, malgrado sia firmato da Fratelli d’Italia e sostenuto da anche dalle opposizioni. Da mesi il Movimento 5 stelle indizia Giorgia Meloni di congelare il divieto social per non irritare Donald Trump e i colossi tecnologici statunitensi. La senatrice pentastellata Barbara Floridia ricorda la misura ferma da circa un anno e pone la domanda alla premier: “Forse teme di pestare i piedi alle Big Tech e quindi a Trump?”. Un sospetto espresso dalla collega di palazzo Madama Marianna Madia (Italia Viva) sulle pagine di Repubblica il 28 aprile scorso.

Il timore: interferenze straniere, grazie alle piattaforme, per alimentare le contestazioni

Ora, secondo il quotidiano diretto da Stefano Cappellini, i massimi vertici del governo discutono sul ban tecnologico per i minori, anche perché “è sempre più chiaro che una qualche forma di regia esterna potrebbe aver mosso i giovani in piazza”. Ieri anche il ministro Guido Crosetto ha sostenuto la teoria della disinformazione russa sui social come fattore delle contestazioni violente. Oggi, secondo il Financial Times, le autorità europea hanno aperto un’indagine sul ruolo della propaganda straniera nel fomentare manifestazioni in Francia e in Italia. A Bruxelles e Roma sospettano interferenze dall’estero, una guerra ibrida per manipolare le giovani menti europee. Dunque palazzo Chigi auspica un emendamento parlamentare al Decreto sicurezza approvato dal governo, durante la procedura di conversione in legge, per difendere i minori dalla propaganda online.

La senatrice di Fratelli d’Italia Lavinia Mennuni, interpellata da ilfattoquotidiano.it, rilancia verso le opposizioni l’invito di Meloni: il ddl “può essere votato o inserito con un emendamento nel Decreto sicurezza che andrà in Aula”, dichiara la parlamentare. La proposta include l’abbassamento della soglia d’età per l’ingresso nei social network. Il provvedimento n. 1136 incardinato al Senato prevede 15 anni, l’asticella “più appropriata”, secondo la senatrice. Ma considerando “l’ampio consenso delle forze parlamentari sulla soglia dei 14 anni, procediamo pure in questa direzione”. Alla modifica parlamentare è favorevole Casa Riformista con Marianna Madia, co-firmataria del divieto social fermo a Palazzo Madama: presenteremo “subito un emendamento all’ultimo Decreto sicurezza, e chiederemo di firmarlo a tutti gli altri gruppi parlamentari. Capiremo allora quale sarà la vera disponibilità della presidente Meloni”, annuncia la deputata. Che si dice “sbalordita dalle parole della presidente Meloni”, giudicato come uno “smaccato tentativo di rimediare a un ritardo di cui porta tutta la responsabilità”.

Mennuni (FdI) rilancia la proposta di Meloni: “Votare il ddl o un emendamento”. Malpezzi: “Pd l’ha proposto a marzo, richiesta respinta”

Ora Meloni e Fratelli d’Italia aprono all’emendamento con il divieto social a tutela dei minori. Ma “il partito democratico ha più volte presentato la modifica in Parlamento per dare via libera al ban, e ci è sempre stato detto che è inammissibile”, dice a ilfattoquotidiano.it Simone Malpezzi. Il testo della senatrice Pd è giunto a fine marzo per correggere un altro pacchetto sicurezza presentato dal governo, dopo l’esortazione del ministro dell’Istruzione Giuseppe Valditara ad approvare lo stop per l’accesso alle piattaforme da parte dei giovanissimi. La prof accoltellata da un tredicenne in una scuola di Trescore, in provincia di Bergamo, aveva scosso l’opinione pubblica occupando le cronache dei quotidiani e dei talk show. “L’emendamento è stata anche mossa per provocare Meloni”, scoprendo il suo bluff sul divieto social, aggiunge l’esponente dem. Ora il Pd voterebbe l’emendamento al nuovo Decreto sicurezza? “Non so cosa farà il partito”, dice Malpezzi rilanciando la palla nel campo di palazzo Chigi. “Piuttosto, Meloni per l’ennesima volta si dice ‘non contraria’. Ma allora, chi è contrario nel suo governo? Ci dica cosa vuole fare l’esecutivo”, conclude la senatrice.

Floridia (M5s): “Prima il governo finanzi l’educazione digitale nel Decreto scuola”

“Stiamo lavorando al Decreto scuola e abbiamo proposto un emendamento per finanziare l’educazione digitale nelle scuole”, dice Barbara Floridia a ilfattoquotidiano.it. “Noi l’abbiamo introdotta, ora vediamo cosa farà il governo la prossima settimana”, prosegue la senatrice. Il Movimento 5 stelle sarebbe favorevole a votare il divieto social come emendamento al ddl sicurezza, come chiesto da Meloni e rilanciato da Lavinia Mennuni? “Dipende dall’emendamento – risponde Floridia – Sostenerlo o astenersi, per votare contro il Decreto sarebbe la strada da percorrere”, avvisa la pentastellata. “Ma non ha senso votare nulla se non finanzieranno l’educazione digitale a scuola per i più giovani”, prosegue la senatrice. Che lancia la stoccata sull’agenda di Meloni: “Ci stiamo occupando del burqa, nel decreto Scuola, mentre ragazzini di 11 o 12 anni manifestano in modo violento. Quali sono le priorità del governo?”.

L'articolo Giorgia Meloni “non contraria” al divieto social per i minori. Opposizioni: “Stupiti, lo blocca da un anno. Teme Trump e Big Tech?” proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt broke down how he sees AI agents changing C-suite jobs

21 October 2026 at 14:14
A suited speaker points toward the audience while seated onstage before a blue digital backdrop.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said AI could make companies flatter by taking over some planning and coordination work.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

  • AI is changing how executives oversee their companies, Eric Schmidt said on the "In Good Company" podcast.
  • Google's former CEO described several ways execs he knows use AI agents to manage staff.
  • He described one company that uses AI assistants to ensure that staff are following its core values.

Eric Schmidt thinks the CEO of the future will have an AI assistant that can see across the entire company. For employees whose job is to keep a sprawling business coordinated, that could be bad news.

In an episode of the "In Good Company" podcast, the former Google chief executive described assistants that check whether company activity aligns with a leader's values, follow up on projects, and help identify ways to increase profits.

He argued that the technology could make businesses faster and flatter, with fewer people needed to plan, relay information, and move numbers around.

Schmidt sees little time for companies to adjust. He said competition in AI is fiercer than the PC-versus-Mac or Android-versus-iPhone battles: a model can take roughly six months to build, another two to test, and then be overtaken within five months of release.

"Time compresses every cycle," he said.

He also rejected the idea that AI is a bubble, pointing to Anthropic's rapid revenue growth. Schmidt said the company had grown faster than a record set during his time at Google, calling it "real money with real customers."

The changes he envisions are already visible in smaller experiments, he said. Schmidt gave the example of two founders he knows who ask an AI assistant every Friday to flag anything happening at their company that conflicts with their values.

Another executive created an AI version of himself that checks on an employee's progress, gives him instructions, and responds when he needs help, Schmidt said. That exchange sounded potentially abusive and worried him, he added, though he also saw how it sped up the executive's decisions.

Schmidt said his days as CEO were consumed by meetings, 12 hours a day, five days a week, as he listened to people explain projects and decisions. He thinks AI platforms can eliminate much of that "coordination tax": the effort of gathering updates, passing them upward, and keeping teams aligned.

For a company with 10,000 employees, Schmidt guessed AI could leave "a couple of thousand people who you don’t need."

He cited a friend whose fast-growing company cut 20% of its staff, including the "glue people" who handled planning and coordination. The friend later told Schmidt he had received death threats over the cuts.

Schmidt said companies would still need people who build products, make sales, speak with regulators, and lead teams. His advice to workers whose roles were disappearing was that executives should transition them "legally and humanely."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Europe’s Budget Battle Is Becoming a Test of Its Global Ambitions

21 October 2026 at 11:40

 

Europe wants cheaper energy, stronger industries, secure borders and the capacity to sustain Ukraine. Its budget negotiations are exposing the difficulty of paying for those ambitions while protecting established spending programmes and containing national contributions.

Wednesday’s European Parliament debate on the October EU summit brought that contradiction into focus. The dispute over the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework is becoming a test of whether Europe can translate geopolitical urgency into durable financial commitments.

According to Parliament’s account of the debate, European Council President António Costa wants agreement before the year’s end. He advocated an ambitious budget while keeping national contributions reasonable, alongside progress on new EU revenue sources.

Those objectives are politically attractive. Reconciling them will require difficult choices over spending, taxation and the distribution of authority.

MEPs challenged the assumption that the Union can keep expanding its responsibilities without providing additional resources. Speakers identified support for Ukraine, industrial competitiveness, agriculture, regional development and household living costs among competing priorities.

Their argument has force. A budget negotiated around yesterday’s compromises risks leaving Europe poorly equipped for tomorrow’s threats. Yet calls for ambition become less persuasive when they avoid specifying which programmes deliver measurable European benefits.

The emerging distribution of cuts illustrates the problem. As EU Today previously reported, the Irish presidency’s compromise proposed reducing the Commission’s plans by approximately €141 billion, with competitiveness and security facing proportionately deeper reductions than agriculture and cohesion spending.

That creates an uncomfortable possibility: the policies most closely associated with Europe’s strategic renewal could become bargaining chips in negotiations dominated by established beneficiaries.

Protecting farmers and poorer regions has clear economic and political justification. Nevertheless, preserving familiar allocations while squeezing newer priorities would undermine leaders’ repeated promises to strengthen European independence.

Energy offers perhaps the clearest example of why spending decisions and structural reform must advance together.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs that dependence on imported fossil fuels and the absence of a genuine European energy union were weakening Europe. Costa emphasised affordable production and modernised electricity grids.

The implication is significant. Industrial subsidies cannot indefinitely compensate for an energy system that leaves European manufacturers facing persistently high costs. Cross-border connections, infrastructure investment and better market integration therefore belong at the centre of competitiveness policy.

Von der Leyen also pressed governments to complete the single market and avoid making European rules more complicated through national implementation. Her argument highlights a limitation of the budget debate: additional money cannot, by itself, remove regulatory fragmentation.

The same distinction applies to China. The Commission president described heavily subsidised Chinese competitors and promised action on dependencies, supply chains and market access. Such measures require coherent enforcement and political resolve alongside investment.

Ukraine adds a security imperative that cannot readily be postponed. Costa linked Ukrainian and European security, while MEPs warned about the consequences of weakening support. Long-term commitments require predictable financing rather than recurring emergency bargains.

But the budget dispute also concerns who controls the money.

As EU Today’s reporting on regional concerns explained, local leaders fear that restructuring could concentrate investment decisions in national capitals, weakening regional influence and potentially widening disparities.

That warning deserves attention. A larger European budget would not automatically produce more balanced development. Allocation rules, accountability and local participation will help determine whether spending strengthens cohesion or reinforces existing advantages.

New revenue sources could ease pressure on national contributions, but they cannot make financing politically painless. Costs ultimately fall somewhere, and governments must explain the distribution honestly.

The central challenge is therefore broader than securing agreement on a headline figure. Europe needs a settlement that protects essential commitments, finances credible common priorities and demonstrates results.

MEPs are right to demand resources consistent with Europe’s responsibilities. Governments are entitled to demand discipline. The failure would be a compromise that satisfies neither requirement: expensive enough to provoke domestic opposition, yet too fragmented to provide the strategic capacity Europe’s leaders insist is indispensable.

Main Image: Denis LOMME: © European Union 2025 – Source : EP

The latest K-beauty craze is made from dead Americans' skin. Now it's aiming for the US.

21 October 2026 at 11:00
Close-up of a woman's face and neck with a blue-gloved hand holding a syringe. The center of the syringe is cut out and filled with a human skin texture

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

A hot, new beauty treatment driving tens of millions of dollars in sales around the globe is now aiming for the US market. Its unusual ingredient: skin from dead Americans.

Each year, tens of thousands of Americans donate bodily tissue upon their deaths, generally by checking a box at a motor vehicle department or through an authorization made by a loved one. Over the past few years, tens of millions of dollars' worth of donated skin has traveled from American tissue banks to biotech companies in South Korea, the beauty capital of the world. There, among other uses, it is turned into injectable beauty treatments.

The maker of the market-leading Korean brand said last week it has signed a distribution contract to introduce its skin-derived injection to the US market next year. It isn't clear whether the product can be sold in the US without approval from federal regulators.

Business Insider traced the tissue supply chain to understand how donor tissue from, say, San Antonio can end up for sale at a clinic in Seoul — and how much money is being made along the way.

People who donate tissue "have no idea of how much money is changing hands in the course of all of this," Ana Iltis, a professor at Wake Forest and former president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, told Business Insider. "With tissue donation, there's a lot of money at stake."

Donors and their families can't be paid for organ or tissue donations under US law.

A K-beauty trend

For decades, American plastic surgeons have used products made from human tissue for skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries. That practice includes aesthetic uses — such as cartilage for a nose job or skin for a breast augmentation — though many doctors prefer to use the patient's own tissue for such procedures.

Now, skincare treatments made from human tissue can be purchased for a few hundred dollars and administered at a med spa or dermatology clinic in under an hour. In South Korea, a mecca for cutting-edge beauty treatments, at least 10 biotech companies are making or planning to introduce skin-derived injections.

They are the latest generation of a treatment known among beauty obsessives as "skin boosters." Get your algorithm just right, and your social-media feeds will soon be full of before-and-afters showing off the purported benefits of these products. They depict patients, typically women and sometimes young ones, going from dull to dewy, fine-lined to smooth.

This year, the skin-derived injections are projected to generate $75 million in sales in South Korea, according to analysts at Yuanta Securities.

No brand is bigger than Re2O, which one dermatologist on Instagram called "the Love Potion No. 9 for cells." It accounts for between 60% and 70% of sales in the category, according to L&C Bio, its manufacturer.

A client lies under towels while a practitioner uses a syringe and handheld device during a facial treatment.
South Korea is a mecca for cutting-edge beauty treatments.

JUNG YEON-JE/ Getty Images

Re2O notched the equivalent of more than $17 million in sales in the first half of this year, helping swing the company to an operating profit of about $11 million after a loss of about $326,000 in the same period last year, L&C Bio said. It has expanded the product line with Re2O Fine, marketed for more delicate skin, and is planning to launch a human fat-derived filler next year.

The company said it sold 700,000 units of Re2O as of September. It is available in Singapore and China, and has been approved in the United Arab Emirates, Peru, and Thailand.

Last week, L&C Bio said that it has signed a contract to deliver at least $60 million of Re2O to the US over the next five years. The company also said it may explore acquiring US tissue banks with its US distribution partner.

L&C Bio's plan to introduce Re2O to the US could spark a regulatory showdown. L&C Bio has said Re2O falls into a category of products such as skin grafts that don't require approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Some products that manufacturers claim qualify to be sold under this category don't actually meet the applicable criteria, the FDA told Business Insider. The agency said it wouldn't discuss any specific products under investigation.

"Products derived from donor skin that have been decellularized, dried, and ground into a powder for injection as a cosmetic 'skin booster' may raise significant questions" and may have to go through a more complex regulatory approval process, the agency said.

L&C Bio said it wouldn't comment on its discussions with regulators.

Bar chart showing L&C Bio's quarterly revenue rising steadily from 17.7 billion South Korean won in the first quarter of 2025 to 38.8 billion won in the second quarter of 2026.

Re2O's biggest competitor, CellREDM, came onto the South Korean market in late 2025. It has been such a success that in the quarter ended June 30, operating income for its maker, Hans Biomed, soared to over $3 million after barely eking out a profit in the year-earlier period.

The tissue business

"In the human tissue business, access to raw materials is the lifeblood of the industry," L&C Bio's founder and CEO, Whan Chul Lee, said in Korean in a February interview with a South Korean news outlet.

For his company and its competitors, that lifeblood flows from the United States.

Roughly 90% of all the human tissue used in South Korea is imported, according to South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Less than 4% of South Korean adults are registered to donate organs, and even fewer donate tissue. Korean biotech companies have turned primarily to the US, where well over half of adults are registered donors.

Cadaver skin is collected in the US by organ procurement organizations, known as OPOs, and tissue banks. In the transplant system, skin is treated as a tissue, not an organ.

After tissue is collected, its route can vary. A nonprofit OPO often transfers it to an American tissue bank. The tissue bank pays a fee to the OPO, depending on factors like the amount and quality of tissue recovered. The fee covers the cost of the tissue recovery as well as a margin that supports other programs offered by the OPO.

Tissue banks — which can be nonprofit or for-profit entities — supply donor skin to Korean biotech firms.

Much of the US skin supplied to South Korea is used for more traditional medical purposes, like skin grafts for burn victims. L&C Bio makes such therapeutic products and says it prioritizes supply for them.

A person walks in a subway station by ads for plastic surgery.
Tens of millions of dollars' worth of donated skin has traveled over the past few years from American tissue banks to biotech companies in South Korea.

Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

L&C Bio spent more than $25 million on donor skin from US tissue banks between 2023 and 2025 and $3.8 million in the first half of this year, according to corporate filings. The company told Business Insider that a quarter of its skin supply is used to make Re2O.

Organ distribution is coordinated by a public-private partnership with the federal government. Tissue is handled differently. It is distributed through commercial relationships.

The more traditional business aspects of the tissue industry have been a subject of debate since the federal law governing America's organ recovery and distribution system was enacted in the 1980s. In a system that relies on altruism, money changing hands could affect public trust, Jerold Mande, who helped write the National Organ Transplant Act, told Business Insider.

There is little data on American attitudes toward tissue donation. A survey of more than 1,000 families of donors in the US published in a 2010 academic journal found less than 30% said they thought it was acceptable for donated tissues to be processed and distributed by for-profit companies.

Revenue from tissue, primarily skin and bone, drove 93% of American OPO profits between 2013 and 2017, or a total of about $107 million per year in profit at 51 OPOs, according to a study in the medical journal Transplantation. The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations called the study outdated, said the money collected for tissue helps fund other life-saving work, and objected to the study's use of the word "profit."

"Reimbursed funds go directly back into the organization, supporting organ procurement as well as aftercare programs for donor families such as bereavement support and grief counseling," said Jenny Daigle, a spokesperson for the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. Organizations must have a margin and reserves to remain financially stable, she added.

Human tissue donations help millions of people in the US each year, including skin for burn victims, bone for cancer survivors, and eyes for the visually impaired, Daigle said.

Organ donor option in driver license
Tens of thousands of Americans donate bodily tissue each year upon their deaths, often by checking a box at a motor vehicle department.

Patrick Sison/ AP Photo

Regenerative Biologics, a Florida tissue bank, provides all the skin for Re2O, L&C Bio confirmed to Business Insider.

Regenerative's CEO, Sandy McCann, said her tissue bank acts as an intermediary, supplying skin collected by other organizations, and provides L&C Bio only with skin from donors who have given consent for international and cosmetic use. If other American tissue banks have skin that they can't use, "many times we can place it where someone can," she said.

Regenerative had just over $16 million in annual revenue in 2024 and 2025, according to reports filed with a Florida regulator.

By reviewing South Korean government records and images of product packaging, Business Insider identified two other US tissue banks, South Texas Blood and Tissue and RTI Surgical, that supply tissue for skin-derived injectable beauty treatments made by Korean companies.

South Texas Blood & Tissue supplies skin used to make South Korea's No. 2 brand, CellREDM. The tissue bank is based in San Antonio, sometimes called "Military City, USA" because of the large military base there. Educational materials on the tissue bank's website say that donor skin "heals patients suffering from burns or other traumatic wounds, and in reconstructive surgeries, including those wounded during military service."

South Texas Blood & Tissue said each of its tissue donors helps an average of 75 recipients. International distribution and commercial use are longstanding practices in the tissue industry, the group said. Tissue donor families have the option to decline cosmetic, international, or research use, the group added.

"Our top priority is to serve as good stewards of these tissue donations, and to ensure that all tissue we recover has the greatest impact possible," it said.

RTI, a Florida tissue bank that does business as Evergen, said it transfers a small amount of unprocessed donor skin to DOF, a tissue bank in South Korea that manufactures the skin-derived injection product Juveacell. RTI added that it is "dedicated to honoring the generosity of donors and their families."

The Axel Springer Global Reporters Network harnesses the resources of the company's newsrooms to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces and analysis. It allows journalists — including those from POLITICO, Business Insider, The Telegraph, WELT, BILD, Onet and Fakt — to collaborate on major stories for an international audience of hundreds of millions across platforms: online, print, TV and audio.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The job seekers who still want to work from home full-time

21 October 2026 at 10:39
Andie Allan
Andie Allan wants to work remotely in part so she can care for her German Shepherd, Luther.

Courtesy of Andie Allan

  • Still dreaming of logging on in comfy clothes? Fully remote jobs are getting harder to land.
  • Remote roles accounted for 9% of LinkedIn postings in September, yet drew 33% of applications.
  • If you want a remote position, be prepared to show you can communicate well and thrive from afar.

When Andie Allan scans job listings, her dog, Luther, is never far from her mind — or her side.

The 92-pound German Shepherd has a spot on the couch in Allan's home office. Allan, a marketing manager who hasn't worked full-time in person in more than a dozen years, is looking for a job that lets her remain fully remote, in part so she can stay close to Luther.

More than six years after the pandemic ushered in a work-from-home revolution, many office workers have gotten used to skipping some commutes and having more flexibility outside their 9-to-5. Others have embraced a return to in-person collaboration.

Entirely remote work remains relatively uncommon: In September, 12.1% of US full-time workers were fully remote, according to Stanford data.

For some, these remote setups are a preference. For others, it can make holding down a job feasible alongside factors like caregiving responsibilities or disabilities.

The search for remote jobs can be tough, however, unless you have an especially in-demand or niche skill set. In the US, fully remote roles made up 9% of job postings on LinkedIn in September, yet drew 33% of applications, the company said.

Competition for those roles has also increased as many companies have returned to the office, at least part-time. The number of applicants per remote job rose 10% from a year earlier, according to LinkedIn.

Candidates seeking these roles might need to show employers they can succeed without regular office time — contrary to what some corporate leaders might prefer. Allan is using her track record of remote work as a selling point when applying. She points to the successful products she launched while working with global teams she rarely met in person.

Allan said she's happy being at home, even if it means forgoing opportunities. Commuting to an office from her home outside London could work, Allan said, "If I was 25 and had no ties and wasn't married to a German Shepherd."

More jobs require in-office time

Access to remote jobs also isn't evenly spread across industries. LinkedIn found that it was most common in technology, information, and media; financial services; and administrative and support services.

Winston Murdock, who's dialed in from home since 2010, works in one of the more remote-friendly corners of the job market as a software team lead. He and his wife bought their house outside Atlanta with an extra bedroom for his dedicated office.

Years ago, Murdock said, a recruiter approached him about a job that would have paid more but required a two-hour round-trip commute on weekdays. Murdock and his wife considered the added costs of childcare, gas, vehicle wear and tear, lunches, and work clothes fancier than a T-shirt.

"There's maybe a number that will get me to choose to be back in the office," Murdock said. "That number was not it."

Murdock said he loves his role at a Canadian software company and plans to stay, in part because of the remote arrangement. He would consider office work only if he lost his job.

How to find fully remote work

For workers looking for a new role, office time is increasingly part of the bargain. Robert Half, the staffing firm, said in a July report that a shift toward in-office work meant "more competition for fully remote roles and a near guarantee that new opportunities will come with at least some in-office time."

The relative scarcity of remote jobs makes a targeted search especially important, said Markos Korvesis, a career coach who helps people find such roles. He said job seekers often don't know how to tailor their résumés to show they are a good fit for logging on from outside an office.

Korvesis spends most of his time in Vietnam and has worked from more than three dozen countries over the last eight years. He recommends that job seekers highlight that they're up to date with AI tools and have solid experience using a variety of communication platforms, from Slack to Discord.

People should point to examples of how they've worked across offices, nations, and cultures, Korvesis said. It's important, he said, to be specific: If you've worked with teams in five time zones, say so.

Korvesis said those details can show that a candidate is prepared to thrive in a remote environment.

The challenges of WFH

Landing a remote job is only one of the difficulties. Chad Albert, who lives in South Florida and helps customize and sell software used in healthcare, said technology has made it easier to collaborate across distances, yet communicating through a screen can make it harder to connect with colleagues.

Albert said he makes an effort to pay attention when coworkers talk about their hobbies or what they did over the weekend.

The goal is to be a bit more outgoing and engage people in some side conversations, he said, adding that otherwise, "You wind up living on an island."

With fewer remote openings and more applicants per posting, the job search can demand persistence.

From her home southwest of London, Allan has been looking for a full-time marketing role since May 2025. Last year, she said she was in a "blind panic, applying for everything," submitting more than 1,000 applications.

Now, Allan said, she is being more deliberate. Unless she fully fits the criteria, she doesn't apply, she said. Allan also remains upfront with prospective employers about Luther, who gets at least three walks a day, including one at lunchtime.

"If they get me, great," she said. "And if they don't, well, maybe it's not a great fit."

Do you have a story to share about your work setup? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Rubio’s Central Asia pitch is about more than minerals

21 October 2026 at 07:07

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Samarkand on October 19 with nearly 300 American business leaders, seeking to deepen US commercial ties with Central Asia. Washington’s renewed interest will matter less for how many agreements it produces than for whether American investment helps the region move beyond being merely a supplier of raw […]

The post Rubio’s Central Asia pitch is about more than minerals appeared first on Asia Times.

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