America isn’t kicking its junk food habit anytime soon. Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, Snowballs, and Ho Hos, has risen from the snack graveyard, squeezing out sweet profits after The J.M. Smucker Co. acquired it last year.

What explains Hostess’ comeback?

Ironically, its 2012 bankruptcy. The subsequent viral “RIP Twinkies” outpouring of grief reignited interest in the brand, which first released the CupCake in 1919 and its notorious Twinkie in 1930. For millennials, Hostess treats were a lunchroom staple (for the lucky kids). Turns out nostalgia is more powerful than Ozempic.

Fake returns: Digital shoplifting is a real threat

Alzheimer’s: AI could help with early diagnosis

Strange: A $139 muzzle for quieter gaming

(Source: Shutterstock)

A certain amount of theft has always been a problem for retail stores, but “digital shoplifting” is on the rise for e-commerce stores. Not sure how people steal something from an online storefront? It’s called “refund fraud,” and it doesn’t require that you be a genius hacker:

• Buyers claim a package was lost or stolen after it’s been delivered, and demand their money back (or, less commonly, call their bank to dispute the charge), but keep the item.
• They receive and use a product, then return it anyway.

If you’re sweating a bit thinking maaaaybe you’ve even engaged in a touch of digital shoplifting yourself, you’re not alone. Half of millennials and zoomers who earn over $100,000 per year admit to it, according to Socure. Many even consider this a form of “consumer advocacy,” exclusively targeting major corporations like Amazon and Target.

(Only 18 percent of survey respondents who earn under $100,000 admit to digital shoplifting. Make of that what you will — especially if you’re in the luxury market.)

Fraudulent returns cost retailers about $25 billion annually, according to the National Retail Federation. Before you burn your e-commerce pitch deck, though, keep in mind this is only 6 percent of all returns; the vast majority of your customers are honest. (Packages do get lost, stolen, and damaged.)

Incorporate a ballpark figure for such refunds into your annual losses budget, consider chargeback insurance, and stay focused on the return that truly matters: ROI.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Artificial intelligence helps many of us whip up documents, summarize meetings, and the like, but it might eventually help in a far more important way: early Alzheimer’s detection and treatment.

A machine-learning study from UC San Francisco recently identified 14 risk factors that can predict dementia up to seven years in advance of onset. That’s important because, as Alzheimer’s Association CEO and president Dr. Joanne Pike explained at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, “We have seen in the data that the earlier someone is diagnosed … the better their outcomes.”

Someday, Pike believes, such technology “could prevent up to 45 percent of dementia cases worldwide” by getting at-risk patients “in the diagnostic pipeline faster.”

As the medical community explores AI diagnosis, experimental treatments are emerging as well. For example, Toronto digital therapeutics firm LUCID is researching how AI-created music playlists can “reduce … anxiety and agitation” and “improve quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.”

Only time will separate hope from hype, but if AI can learn how to write emails and detect dementia? That’s a future we can all cosign. 

(Source: Metadox)

Speaking of innovation, here’s something no one asked for: a $139 gamer muzzle. Thanks to gaming accessories maker Metadox’s OMBRA Soundproof Mask, you can finally enjoy your living room sans debates about Assassin’s Creed’s “historical accuracy.” 

The OMBRA’s thick polyester and memory foam bury an integrated mic and pair of earbuds, latching onto a user’s melon with an unsettling number of straps. Metadox claims the device offers 10 to 30 decibels of noise pollution reduction during rowdy online gaming chats, and reviewers from PC Gamer have independently backed that claim by test-shouting expletives.

That’s good news for roommates and partners seeking tranquility, but at what cost? Metadox is offering its cybermuzzle for $139, plus whatever’s left of your (least) favorite gamer’s dignity.

Written by Elizabeth Barton, Dan Ketchum and Dawn Allcot.