Survey: American Consumers' Confidence Remains Steady

Six people have died in 2024 in subway surfing incidents. A dangerous trend inspired by the popular mobile game Subway Surfers sees young kids and teens catching rides on top of moving trains—sometimes with fatal consequences.

OpenAI released its search tool to ChatGPT Plus users Thursday, and has plans to extend it to free users in the future.  Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here.

Asian countries’ financing needs to cope with climate change ranging from $102 billion to $431 billion a year—far exceeding the $34 billion committed in 2021-2022. Countries in Asia will suffer worse damage from the climate crisis than other regions and are falling far behind in spending on improvements to limit the damage and adapt to changing weather patterns and natural disasters, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released Thursday.

The search function, which rolls out to paid users today, could eventually have a corrosive effect on Google’s search ads business. OpenAI is launching internet search functionality within its ChatGPT AI chatbot. For paid subscribers, the chatbot will now be able to integrate up-to-date web information into its answers.

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change. Crews searched for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings Thursday as people tried to salvage what they could from their ruined homes following monstrous flash floods in Spain that claimed at least 140 lives.

Xcel Energy plans to spend $45 billion on capital investments in the next five years with about $22 billion of that to be spent in Colorado as the utility prepares for what it calls a significant shift in energy demand. Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and CEO of the Minneapolis-based company, announced the investment plan during an earnings call Thursday.