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Every January, were bombarded with resolutions rooted in consumptionbuy this, try that, subscribe to something new. For Gen Z, this consumer-first vision of the New Year feels outdated and hollow. Instead, Gen Z is turning to peers for a community-driven soft start to the year ahead. Popularized on TikTok, January resets offer a modern alternative to the outdated idea of resolutions. This shift from consumer-driven goals to community-supported resets is especially visible in how Gen Z is approaching health and wellness in 2026. Its not surprising either. Earlier in 2025, millions of young people took to social media to publicly document their quit journeys using #QuitNic. The content didnt resemble traditional wellness influencer culture. It wasnt polished or aspirational. It was candid and raw, discussing withdrawal, setbacks, cravings, and the emotional work of quitting. The transparency resonated. Comment sections became support networks. More and more young people posted their own progress. Quitting nicotine became a shared, communal wellness actnot a private health struggle. GEN Z PLANS TO QUIT As we enter this new year, this momentum continues. Truth Initiative data shows that 67% of nicotine users ages 1824 plan to quit in 2026, with 60% planning to quit within the next year. Their primary reason: to improve mental and physical health. The trouble is that quitting has never been more urgent or more complex. Todays nicotine market has been deliberately engineered for dependence. Nicotine products are larger, cheaper, and more potent than ever before. Even as unit sales declined, the total amount of nicotine sold in e-cigarettes surged by 249% from February 2020 to June 2024. From disposable e-cigarettes to high-potency nicotine pouches, and smart vapes with screens, games, and Bluetooth connectivity, these products are flooding the market illegally. Its happening faster than oversight can keep up. Its no wonder that quitting often feels like trying to outmaneuver an industry designed to restrict freedom and undermine agency. The result? Millions of young people remain trapped in a cycle of nicotine addiction. New research shows that the share of daily middle and high school e-cigarette users who attempted to quit but were unable to rose from 28.2% to 53% between 2020 and 2024, and a Truth Initiative study of teens who vape indicated that 76.2% vaped within 30 minutes of waking up, pointing to signs of growing nicotine dependence. For young adults aged 18-24often dubbed the JUUL generationnicotine use remains stubbornly high, with many dual-using cigarettes or newer pouch products, like ZYN, VELO, or on!. THE NEED FOR EVIDENCE-BACKED TOOLS A wide body of evidence shows that young adults make more quit attempts than any other age group, yet they are the least likely to use evidence-based quit support. Why? Many arent aware of quitting resources available to them. Leaning into this Gen Z social movement, Truth Initiatives Quit Collective pulls together influencers who are acting on the #QuitNic trend. By supporting them with real resources, like EX Program from Truth Initiative, our organization is bringing light to the conversations about nicotine that have otherwise been stigmatized or ignored. While Gen Z is listening to social influencers online, we also know from focus groups and qualitative data that they are looking for evidence-based tools. Truth Initiatives approach is to pair advice from experts and experienced quitters in a free and confidential program. It guides users every step of the journey, from understanding triggers to coping with cravings. It meets young people where they already areon their phones, online, and on social platformsmaking support accessible in real time. Gen Z is absolutely walking into 2026 with goals and aspirations. By prioritizing genuine connections and well-being, theyre redefining what it means to set intentions for the year ahead. In the process, they are offering a lesson for organizations and brands alike: Authenticity beats aspiration, connection matters more than consumption, and wellness cant be built on systems that profit from dependence. Kathy Crosby is CEO and president of Truth Initiative.
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E-Commerce
Investors are feeling less hot about the makers of cooling systems for data centers after the CEO of Nvidia Corp. stoked concerns that demand for their products could dry up. Shares of Modine Manufacturing Co. led declines in this sector, tumbling as much as 21% Tuesday before recovering some of those losses to close about 7.5% lower. Other makers of water-cooled systems and similar productsincluding Johnson Controls International PLC, Trane Technologies PLC, and Carrier Global Corp.also fell as much as 6.2% on Tuesday. To blame? The next generation of Nvidias computer chips, announced on Monday, which won’t require the same type of cooling systems. Thats because the new Rubin platform will feature extreme codesign that integrates chips, trays, racks, and more, Jensen Huang, the chipmakers CEO, said during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Monday. 100% liquid-cooled system Describing the 100% liquid-cooled system thats now in production as a breakthrough, Huangs brief remarks in a hourlong-plus presentation managed to rattle investors, as chillers have previously been a crucial component in data centers. The comments create some questions/concerns about the longer-term positioning of chillers within data centers over time, particularly as liquid cooling becomes more prominent, Baird analyst Timothy Wojs wrote in a note to clients, as Bloomberg reported. Liquid cooling allows systems to operate at higher temperatures, Wojs added. More fallout from CES And makers of cooling systems werent the only victim of Huangs CES comments: Shares of Amphenol, which makes cables, sensors, and other connectors for data centers, fell as much as 6.6% on Tuesday before ending the day 1.1% higher amid worries that its products would no longer be needed, as Barrons reported. While Huangs comments caused turmoil in other parts of the stock market, Nvidia stock also fell even as the S&P 500 notched a new record high on Tuesday. The stock closed nearly 0.5% lower.
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E-Commerce
Nvidias Jensen Huang is one of the tech industrys longest-serving chief executives, leading the chipmaker since cofounding it in 1993. Now hes the recipient of a long-standing technology award: the IEEE Medal of Honor, established by a predecessor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1917. Huang was named the recipient of the medal (and an accompanying $2 million prize) at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 6 in recognition of his lifetime of work in accelerating computingthe technique of using specialized chips like Nvidias graphics processing units to speed specialized operations such as rendering images for video games, crunching numbers for scientific research, or, critically for the industry today, powering artificial intelligence. Nvidia reached an unprecedented $5 trillion market valuation in October, with its chips providing much of the computing power behind todays AI. It just is so important to have this kind of compute power at our fingertips, to be able to make advances so quickly, says Mary Ellen Randall, president and CEO of IEEE. Nvidia released what it calls the first GPU, the GeForce 256, in 1999. At the time, the chip was principally recognized for advancing computer gaming, letting developers and artists add unprecedented levels of graphical detail without compromising speed. Under Huangs leadership, the company soon began work on CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), a system that enables developers to harness the parallel processing capabilities of its chips for a variety of computational tasks. That proved to be critical for recent advances in AI; Nvidias chips and development platforms today power AI technologies such as ChatGPT and other large language models, as well as autonomous vehicles and industrial robots. Nvidias market capitalization has fallen since its October high amid questions about a possible AI bubble, including concern about Nvidias investments in AI firms that in turn purchase its chips. But the company maintains a valuation of more than $4 trillion as huge swaths of the economy seek to harness artificial intelligence software that its chips are optimized to run. We’re in unprecedented times where AI is accelerating everything, says Randall. Advances by Huang and his Nvidia colleagues build on the work of previous winners of the Medal of Honor, first awarded by the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1917 to Edwin Howard Armstrong, who was pivotal in developing radio-related technologies including FM broadcasting. Other early recipients included Lee de Forest, whose work with vacuum tubes paved the way for todays transistor-powered electronics; Claude Shannon, known for his groundbreaking work tying mathematics to electronic circuitry and digital computation; and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. The Institute of Radio Engineers merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1963, forming IEEE, a nonprofit that in November announced its membership had grown to 500,000 across 190 countries. Today Medal of Honor recipients are selected by IEEEs board of directors based on consultation with a team that includes past IEEE presidents, previous award winners, and other esteemed members of the organization, Randall says. Several recent recipients of the IEEEs top award have been innovators in computer and internet technology, including Ethernet cocreator Robert Metcalfe, recognized in 1996, and Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, instrumental in developing the internets core TCP/IP data routing protocol, recognized in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Other Medal of Honor winners from the chipmaking industry include former Intel CEO Andrew Grove, recognized in 2000; Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, awarded in 2008; Morris Chang, founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), recognized in 2011; and Broadcom cofounder Henry Samueli, last years award recipient. Randall says Huangs work builds upon the innovations of previous Medal of Honor recipients while helping to pave the way for tomorrows technologies. All those types of things are fundamental to how we got to today, she says. And this is certainly a very important step in the transition of technology for the future.
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E-Commerce
Nvidias Jensen Huang is one of the tech industrys longest-serving chief executives, leading the chipmaker since cofounding it in 1993. Now hes the recipient of a long-standing technology award: the IEEE Medal of Honor, established by a predecessor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1917. Huang was named the recipient of the medal (and an accompanying $2 million prize) at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 6 in recognition of his lifetime of work in accelerating computingthe technique of using specialized chips like Nvidias graphics processing units to speed specialized operations such as rendering images for video games, crunching numbers for scientific research, or, critically for the industry today, powering artificial intelligence. Nvidia reached an unprecedented $5 trillion market valuation in October, with its chips providing much of the computing power behind todays AI. It just is so important to have this kind of compute power at our fingertips, to be able to make advances so quickly, says Mary Ellen Randall, president and CEO of IEEE. Nvidia released what it calls the first GPU, the GeForce 256, in 1999. At the time, the chip was principally recognized for advancing computer gaming, letting developers and artists add unprecedented levels of graphical detail without compromising speed. Under Huangs leadership, the company soon began work on CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), a system that enables developers to harness the parallel processing capabilities of its chips for a variety of computational tasks. That proved to be critical for recent advances in AI; Nvidias chips and development platforms today power AI technologies such as ChatGPT and other large language models, as well as autonomous vehicles and industrial robots. Nvidias market capitalization has fallen since its October high amid questions about a possible AI bubble, including concern about Nvidias investments in AI firms that in turn purchase its chips. But the company maintains a valuation of more than $4 trillion as huge swaths of the economy seek to harness artificial intelligence software that its chips are optimized to run. We’re in unprecedented times where AI is accelerating everything, says Randall. Advances by Huang and his Nvidia colleagues build on the work of previous winners of the Medal of Honor, first awarded by the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1917 to Edwin Howard Armstrong, who was pivotal in developing radio-related technologies including FM broadcasting. Other early recipients included Lee de Forest, whose work with vacuum tubes paved the way for todays transistor-powered electronics; Claude Shannon, known for his groundbreaking work tying mathematics to electronic circuitry and digital computation; and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. The Institute of Radio Engineers merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1963, forming IEEE, a nonprofit that in November announced its membership had grown to 500,000 across 190 countries. Today Medal of Honor recipients are selected by IEEEs board of directors based on consultation with a team that includes past IEEE presidents, previous award winners, and other esteemed members of the organization, Randall says. Several recent recipients of the IEEEs top award have been innovators in computer and internet technology, including Ethernet cocreator Robert Metcalfe, recognized in 1996, and Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, instrumental in developing the internets core TCP/IP data routing protocol, recognized in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Other Medal of Honor winners from the chipmaking industry include former Intel CEO Andrew Grove, recognized in 2000; Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, awarded in 2008; Morris Chang, founder of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), recognized in 2011; and Broadcom cofounder Henry Samueli, last years award recipient. Randall says Huangs work builds upon the innovations of previous Medal of Honor recipients while helping to pave the way for tomorrows technologies. All those types of things are fundamental to how we got to today, she says. And this is certainly a very important step in the transition of technology for the future.
Category:
E-Commerce
Stocks rose on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon and approached more all-time highs. The S&P 500 added 0.6% and is hovering around the record it set in late December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 482 points, or 1%, after setting a record on Monday. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% as of 3:01 p.m. Eastern. Big tech companies were making some of the most notable moves. Amazon, which has reached into both retail and technology, surged 3.7%. It is one of the most valuable companies in the world and its outsized stock valuation helped counter losses elsewhere in the market, including a 1.7% loss from Apple. Micron Technology rose 8.8%, also helping to lift the market. Nvidia, which is often the biggest force behind the market’s direction, wavered throughout the day and was down most recently by 0.2%. Sandisk surged 25.8% for the market’s biggest gain. The stock’s value has jumped more than 800% since spinning off from Western Digital last February. The gains have been driven by artificial intelligence and the resulting demand for data-storage hardware. Western Digital rose 17.2%. Technology companies, especially those focused on artificial intelligence, are being closely watched this week during the industry’s annual CES trade show in Las Vegas. AI advances helped propel the broader market to a series of records in 2025. Investors will be watching companies for any updates that could shed more light on the big corporate investments in AI technology. The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2% to $57.13 per barrel, pulling back from sharp gains a day prior when the market reacted to U.S. forces capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a weekend raid. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.7% to $60.70 per barrel. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.18% from 4.15% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, rose to 3.48% from 3.45% late Monday. Gold prices rose 1% and silver prices rose 5.7%. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil. The metals have notched record prices over the last year amid lingering economic concerns brought on by conflicts and trade wars. Markets in Europe and Asia gained ground. Outside of company announcements, Wall Street is preparing for several updates on the U.S. labor market this week, along with reports on the services sector and consumer sentiment. They will help paint a clearer picture of how vital parts of the economy closed out 2025 and the direction they could take in 2026. On Wednesday, the U.S. government will release its report on job openings for November. The October report showed that U.S. job openings had barely budged. Weekly unemployment data will be released on Thursday and the broader monthly employment report, for December, will be released on Friday. Outside of the employment reports, the Institute for Supply Management will release its latest services sector update on Wednesday, while the University of Michigan will release its latest consumer sentiment survey Friday. They are both widely monitored because the services sector makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy, and consumer sentiment has been shaky under the weight of higher prices and economic uncertainty. The Fed will be analyzing all of that data and more ahead of its next meeting in late January. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate three times late in 2025 to try and counter the economic impact of a softer jobs market. Lower interest rates on loans can help bolster economic activity. Cutting rates also risks fueling inflation at a time when it remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target and could potentially reheat. Rising inflation could counter any benefit from lower interest rates and weigh more heavily on the economy. Wall Street expects the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its January meeting. Damian J. Troise, AP business writer AP business writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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E-Commerce