There are no hard-and-fast rules about how much you should tip at the holidays, but some tipping norms have become a social convention. For example, giving your barber a holiday bonus equal to the cost of one haircut has become a customary way to show thanks for year-round service. (See “Your Giving Guide,” below, for…
The FDA’s announcement follows the administration’s April 2025 pledge to phase out certified color additives from the American food supply by the end of 2026—a commitment that has yet to be backed up by any regulatory directive and relies largely on voluntary industry cooperation. The timeline already appears to be slipping: On its website tracking…
Putting aside their exorbitant cost, the trouble with prescription hearing aids is the prescription. Find a doctor. Get an appointment. Sit in a waiting room. Suffer through an hour of testing before getting the hard sell on a pair of hearing aids. Why, the indignity of it all is even worse than going deaf. Telehealth…
It’s called Minamitorishima, and it’s a small atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most remote islands in Japan’s vast archipelago, so much so that it lies nearly 2,000 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. Yet from the depths of the surrounding seas may come a tremendous gift for the country’s economy. It is…
In 2017, Hulu made television history by becoming the first streaming network to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, thanks to the phenomenon that was The Handmaid’s Tale (which returned in April for its sixth and final season). While Netflix has largely cornered the streaming market on original movies—and even managed to persuade A-listers like Guillermo del…
“If your tires are less than 30 percent worn, you can get away with replacing just one tire and placing it on the rear axle,” says Ryan Pszczolkowski, Consumer Reports’ tire program leader. “If the tires are all approaching 40 to 50 percent worn, I would recommend you buy two of the same tires you…
When you set up kids mode, you’ll be prompted to put in your child’s name and their birthday, which allows Amazon to recommend books appropriate for their age. You can make multiple kid profiles, but you’ll need a PIN or passcode to switch off kids mode and return to regular Kindle mode. I set up…
“The restoration kits work, and they’re very much a DIY project that you can do in your garage or driveway,” says Ibbotson. “You’ll see much better at night after using these kits.” (Find out how Consumer Reports tests headlights.) If you prefer not to restore the lens yourself, body shops often offer this service. Either…
Don’t judge the pressure by eyeballing a tire. Modern tires bulge slightly, making them look a little underinflated, even when they’re not. This effect can be exaggerated on a soft surface, such as a dirt road or gravel driveway. At least once a month, use a tire gauge to check the pressure in all four…
To test these new ideas, researchers are exploring the infant universe through simulations. “There’s actually been really remarkable progress since Webb launched, really in the last year or so, on numerical simulations,” Somerville told attendees, adding that these new simulations “perhaps are more appropriate and more informative for interpreting observations in the high-redshift universe.” As…
