Plus: The NFL’s Highest-Paid Players 2025 |
Good morning,
The Trump Administration handed the airline lobby a win last week, axing a proposed Biden-era policy to provide refunds to customers impacted by flight disruptions.For delays due to factors within an airlines’ control, the rule would have mandated that airlines pay passengers up to $300 for domestic delays of three to six hours, and up to $775 for flight delays lasting nine hours or more. Lobbying group Airlines for America, which spent roughly $5.7 million on political campaign donations in 2024, called the regulations “unnecessary and burdensome.” But passenger advocacy groups say consumers are losing out, as U.S. policy lags regions like Europe, which has more robust protections for travelers.
Let’s get into the headlines, |
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| In the largest U.S. copyright settlement of all time, Anthropic will pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit from a group of authors and publishers. They accused the AI giant of pirating literary works to train its chatbot, Claude, though Anthropic did not admit to any wrongdoing in the case. The U.S. labor market faltered in August, with unemployment reaching 4.3% and a far worse than expected 22,000 nonfarm jobs added, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. It was the first such data released by the agency since President Donald Trump ousted its leadership for alleged data manipulation, and its next closely-watched report will be inflation figures this week. |
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 | | Illustration by Alice Lagarde for Forbes; Photos by Kevin Sabitus/getty images; Brennan Asplen/getty images; Michael Owens/getty images; Winslow Townson/Stringer/getty images; Jamie Squire/getty images |
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| After an offseason of acrimony with the Dallas Cowboys that ended last month with a blockbuster trade to the Green Bay Packers, defensive end Micah Parsons has a new, four-year deal that sets NFL contract records for total value ($188 million), average annual value ($47 million) and guaranteed money ($136 million)—for a non-quarterback. That last qualifier is important because, as well paid as the 26-year-old edge rusher is about to be, football’s most important position remains in control of the financial huddle, claiming eight of the 10 spots on this year’s list of the NFL’s highest-paid players. Together, the NFL’s 10 highest-paid players are set to bring in $571 million this season—down 18% from last year’s record of $693 million but still the second-highest total in the 16-year history of Forbes’ ranking, comfortably ahead of 2023’s next-best $508 million. Parsons lands at No. 6 overall, and is due to make an estimated $48.2 million during the 2025 league year before taxes and agent fees. Travis Kelce, who these days is perhaps better known as Taylor Swift’s fiancé but in his day job still suits up as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is the only other non-quarterback to make the 2025 list, coming in at No. 8 with an estimated $47.3 million. At the top of the ranking this year is Kelce’s teammate Patrick Mahomes, who claims the No. 1 spot on the earnings list for the first time ever with an estimated $78 million. |
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| “Mahomes signed a record-setting extension in 2020 but now ranks just 14th at his position with his contract’s average annual value of $45 million, after a wave of huge deals over the last three years. (He leads the pack with his total earnings, thanks to an estimated $28 million off the field),” says Forbes assistant managing editor Brett Knight. “The pay spike is not confined to quarterbacks, either: This offseason featured record contracts at 10 positions as the NFL continues to set new revenue highs, pushing up its salary cap and sending team values skyrocketing to an average of $7.1 billion this year.” |
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| Pongsakorn Pongsak brought Thai coconut water overseas through his brand IF, the world’s second-largest coconut water company by market share, and it has made him one of Thailand’s wealthiest. As health-conscious consumers turn to plant-based drinks such as coconut water, he sees an opportunity to bring the business to the U.S.—the world’s largest market for the drink. |
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| WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
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| Jeff Bezos may be the fourth wealthiest person in the world today, but the billionaire got his start flipping burgers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Miami—and he’s not alone. By Forbes’ count, at least 14 billionaires earned early paychecks at fast-food chains, including Binance founder CZ, who previously worked at McDonald’s and then Chevron, and Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves, who started at chicken finger specialty chain Guthrie’s before striking out and starting his own rival company. |
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| Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson decried President Donald Trump after he appeared to suggest his administration would go to “WAR” with Chicago and deploy National Guard troops in the city as part of a broader crime crackdown. Trump called the city the “MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” despite other U.S. cities having larger violent crime rates last year. South Korean nationals, who were detained by U.S. immigration authorities last week following a raid on a Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, will return to their home country voluntarily instead of being deported, authorities in Seoul said Monday. Trump said foreign companies investing in the U.S. must respect the country’s immigration laws, after around 300 South Korean nationals were taken into custody. |
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| An upcoming report from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will link use of the painkiller Tylenol during pregnancy to a potential cause for autism, despite the drug’s maker insisting that the medicine is safe. Previous studies have failed to find a connection between acetaminophen, the key drug in Tylenol, and increased autism risk, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has previously identified the drug as “one of the only safe pain relievers for pregnant individuals during pregnancy.” |
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| President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” but the name change won’t actually be official without congressional approval. The government used the name “Department of War” until after World War II, when various military departments were consolidated into one agency. |
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| The release of the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has spurred increased sales of the classic novel on Amazon. The movie trailer has drawn controversy for its casting choices, overtly sexual tone and apparent inconsistencies with the original story: |
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504% | The increase in sales of the 1997 Wordsworth Classics edition of the book between Thursday and Friday | |
| 98th | Where the book landed on Amazon’s bestseller list as of Friday morning | |
| 1847 | The year the novel was originally released |
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| If you’re feeling disheartened by rejections amid your job search, there’s one research-backed strategy that helps land interviews: tailoring your résumé. It shows that you’ve taken time to read the job description and helps the hiring manager understand why you’re a good fit for the role. Look over the skills and competencies mentioned in the job posting, and you can even use ChatGPT to help insert those keywords into your résumé—just be sure to check its work. |
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| GAMES | | QUIZ | | After President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring the federal government to stop issuing paper checks, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau announced it would officially make the switch. Which of the following agencies has also been directed to move away from paper checks? | | A. | Social Security Administration | | B. | Department of Education | |
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