For shops like Anima Mundi in Brooklyn, New York, business is booming. The company, which means "world soul" in Latin, focuses on natural herbs with medicinal purposes. And, since the beginning of the pandemic, revenue has doubled as has the number of employees and capacity.
"[Anima mundi] is a very deep biochemical concept considered to be the soul of nature, the presence of nature, which is also in us," Anima Mundi owner and herbalist Adriana Ayales said. "Human beings also contain the Anima Mundi. It's that which connects us all and becomes the collective energy that we all share as living beings."
Oftentimes, people are looking for an elixir to spice up their romantic side.
"Something I think everybody loves, the love potion section of herbalism," Ayales said. "There's so many amazing herbs for us to activate all these reproductive centers, or just beyond that. They're just also joy boosters. They're heart-opening allies."
The worldwide herbal medicinal industry is supposed to reach $84 billion this year, according to Global Industry Analysts. The group expects it to grow to $111.6 billion by 2026.
As a child Ayales found herself connected to spiritual energies. While her grandmother was more connected to psychic energies, she herself was drawn to nature.
"For many of us that have lived in cities and still live in cities, it's so hard to connect," she said. "So I think herbs is that real connection to reconnect to this ancient source that we're all from and a part of."
It's not just seeking natural solutions to life's issues. People are tapping psychics and tarot readers for help. At the top of Dante Sabatino's client requests is advice on partners or on relationships with friends and loved ones.
"What most people will look for in readings are guidance, direction, and insights," Sabatino said. "Some people look for other feelings like validation in what's happening in their life, hope, relief from stress and strain. And also, sometimes people like to know questions about when things could happen."
Sabatino is a busy man, booked almost two months in advance at this point. The U.S. psychic service industry reached $2.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 1.5 percent this year, per IBIS World. And, younger generations especially Gen Z are looking to the stars based on social media posts and searches, especially on Pinterest.
"Our world is changing and people want to know," he said. "People are searching from a soulful level, and there's answers about questions that they can't find, maybe just in ordinary daily life, and are looking for more."
As we seek new meaning as things open up, people open to new sources of insight, he added.
"Our evolution of our society is moving into opening up doors and questions," Sabatino said. "Ancient wisdom is part of what people find to be important, and there's a wealth of knowledge there. I just think it's a curiosity of where we are as a race and as for society."
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
