/Top Stories/ Last Updated: Sat, Feb 22nd, 2025 @ 7:36am EST

Fast Company

Emily Guy Birken

Did you get a 1099-K? New IRS rules will impact millions of gig workers and freelancers

The proliferation of third-party payment apps combined with a lower income threshold set by the IRS means you may receive a 1099-K this year. Here’s how it may affect your 2024 tax return.

Somewhere between 25% and 35% of working Americans are gig workers–either as a supplement to their primary income or as their full-time job. And for many gig economy workers, cash apps and marketplaces offer a simple and convenient way to receive payments. Enter the IRS form 1099-K.

Fast Company

Lance Lambert

Housing market map: Zillow just revised its 2025 home price forecast

Zillow projects that U.S. home prices will rise 1.1% between January 2025 and January 2026.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

Wired Top Stories

Andy Greenberg, Lily Hay Newman

$1.4 Billion Stolen From ByBit in Biggest Crypto Theft Ever

Plus: Apple turns off end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups in the UK after pressure to install a backdoor, and two spyware apps expose victim data—and the identities of people who installed the apps.

Wired Top Stories

Ayurella Horn-Muller

Why Is Chocolate So Expensive Right Now?

Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and other climate impacts are throttling cocoa production and driving up chocolate prices.

Mashable

Crypto scammers are using Elon Musks DOGE to defraud people

Public and private alarm has spiked since Elon Musk officially began executing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's agenda by gaining access to sensitive databases, dismantling federal agencies, and unceremoniously firing workers by the thousands.

But now there is another reason to worry about DOGE: Scammers are capitalizing on increased interest in its actions in order to defraud people of cryptocurrency, according to the online protection company McAfee, which researches and...

Mashable

Microsoft Office 2019 is on sale for $35 — pay once and use it forever

TL;DR: Hurry and grab lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more with a Microsoft Office 2019 license for Windows at $34.97 through February 23.

Your credit card is exhausted from all of today’s subscription fees. While you probably don’t want to cancel Peacock and never see the ending of Yellowstone or say goodbye to two-day shipping with Prime, you could swap your Microsoft 365 subscription for a Microsoft Office lifetime license.

Instead of spending $7 monthly (or $70 yearly),...

Mashable

Ditch the brick — this half-off mini smartphone fits anywhere

TL;DR: The NanoPhone packs essential smartphone features into a tiny, portable design for 50% off at $99.97 until March 30 (reg. $199).

Sick of lugging around a phone that’s practically the size of a tablet? If you’re someone who values portability without sacrificing functionality, then the NanoPhone could be exactly what you need. This little powerhouse — on sale for $99.97 — includes the smartphone features you need into a device so compact, it could practically disappear in your...

Mashable

Consolidate your AI tools into one powerhouse — just $100 for lifetime access

TL;DR: Ditch the AI clutter and get one tool that does it all — the 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan is available for a one-time payment of $99.99 (reg. $540).

Managing multiple subscriptions for all your creative and professional needs? That’s more juggling than anyone needs — and it’s pricey, too.

Get a lifetime subscription to 1minAI on sale for $99.99 — it's a single platform packed with the tools you’d normally need a bunch of apps to accomplish. From content writing and image...

Mashable

PlayAIBox Apple CarPlay

TL;DR: Enjoy wireless CarPlay, Android Auto, and built-in streaming services with the PlayAIBox Wireless Adapter, on sale now for $84.97 (reg. $129) while supplies last.

Tired of plugging and unplugging your phone for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto? The PlayAIBox Apple CarPlay & Android Auto Wireless Adapter offers you the freedom and convenience you want on the road. For just $84.97 (reg. $129), this compact gadget upgrades your car with seamless wireless connectivity and built-in streaming...

Mashable

Want one of our $230 MacBooks? They’re almost gone…

TL;DR: We have fewer than 50 refurbished MacBook Airs left in stock at $230 (reg. $999).

A MacBook for $230 might sound too good to be true if you haven’t heard of refurbished laptops. But this model, restored to like-new condition and backed by a 90-day warranty, is an excellent choice for anyone on a budget but still craving Apple quality.

Check out this laptop’s specs:

Run Microsoft Office, browse the web, and multitask with an Intel Core i5 and 8GB of RAM

Enjoy a 13.3-inch display with...

Mashable

The best reason to see the imminent total lunar eclipse

There are a number of compelling reasons to catch the looming March 13-14 total lunar eclipse, which will be visible in the entire lower 48 states and greater Americas.

Perhaps the best one is that no two such eclipses are the same. That means, weather permitting, you'll witness something unique.

Total lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth, and moon are in alignment, allowing Earth to cast a shadow on the moon and block most sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. But our planet's...

Mashable

Every potential TikTok buyer we know about

The fight to ban TikTok is far from over.

It started in 2019, when U.S. legislators first started banning TikTok from government devices, but it reached a fever pitch in 2024 when then-President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that would ban TikTok unless it divested from its parent company, ByteDance. This all happened because of a fear that TikTok poses a national security threat since its parent company is based out of China and subject to Chinese intelligence laws which could...

Mashable

Some UFOs may be hidden from our national leaders

An unassuming loophole might be giving the U.S. government and its private contractors free rein to withhold evidence of unidentified craft traveling well above our skies — in outer space.  

That's the argument made by former Capitol Hill policy advisor and attorney Dillon Guthrie, published this January in the Harvard National Security Journal, a publication run by Harvard Law School. Guthrie spent three years as a legislative assistant to Senator John Kerry covering national security...

Mashable

A secretive U.S. spaceplane just snapped a stunning view of Earth

From time to time, the U.S. military shows glimpses of its X-37B spaceplane, which can travel to space for years at a time.

We just got another glimpse. The U.S. Space Force — which took the reins from the Air Force's expansive military operations in space in 2019 — has released a view the robotic craft took from Earth's orbit. You can see a portion of the X-37B and an outstretched panel above a view of a partially shadowed Earth.

"An X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and...

Mashable

Webb telescope finds Milky Way black hole never stops strobing light

Scientists have discovered that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way buzzes with activity, shooting out a nonstop stream of flares into space. 

A new study using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a variety of light coming from the black hole Sagittarius A* — or rather its accretion disk, the ring of rapidly spinning material that surrounds it. 

While some flares are reminiscent of the ephemeral flickers of a candle, lasting just seconds, others are...

BuzzFeed - Latest

Get 8/14 Right On This Quiz And Prove You're Nearly A Psychology Pro

I don't mean to psych you out...

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BuzzFeed - Latest

35 Products You Should Buy Now If You Want Your Home Clean And Tidy All Year Long

December 2025-you is gonna be so proud you bought these at the start of the year.

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BuzzFeed - Latest

What's Your Soulmate's Initial Based On The Foods You're Drawn To?

It's written in the stars and your taste buds!

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BuzzFeed - Latest

31 Things That Must Have Been Designed By Geniuses

Inviting these brilliant products into your life is a pretty genius move as well, TBH.

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Fast Company

Tom Barnett

The next wave of AI is here: Autonomous AI agents are amazing—and scary

A chief data officer explains why you need to pay attention to the rise of autonomous AI agents.

The relentless hype around AI makes it difficult to separate the signal from the noise. So it’s understandable if you’ve tuned out recent talk about autonomous AI agents. A word of advice: Don’t. The significance of agentic AI may actually exceed the hype.  

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