• Facebook has announced a new monetization program for creators. Facebook Content Monetization is meant to lure creators from TikTok as the company looks to build out its flagship social media property.

With the threat of a TikTok ban fading for now, Facebook is ramping up efforts to get creators to post their work on its platform.

The company has announced a new monetization program that will let creators make money simply by sharing photos and videos on the Facebook site. (Instagram has its own monetization program.)

Applications are being accepted at this website for the program’s beta. And at least one member of that beta program claims to have made $5,000 so far posting videos he would have normally posted without financial incentives.

Facebook has already sent invitations to one million creators to join the beta program, but is looking to expand it. Earnings will be based on engagement, total views, and plays. Public videos, reels, photos, and text posts are eligible to earn money.

Facebook has, for months, been trying to win the attention of creators. While Instagram has a healthy creator community, Meta’s flagship property has had trouble attracting them. In January, the company offered a $5,000 bonus to creators with an existing presence on other social platforms. TikTok remains the most popular destination for creators, but the lingering threat of that platform disappearing has made several of them diversify their outlets.

Over the course of the next year, the new Facebook Content Monetization program will replace Ads on Reels, In-Stream Ads and the Performance bonus programs. As part of the change, the company is streamlining its dashboard for creators to make it easier to see how their monetization efforts are going.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Consumers are forgoing bags of Doritos and packs of cigarettes as convenience stores across the U.S. face sales declines. It’s another sign of stress for Americans, who are dealing with ever-changing tariff policies, fears of stagflation, and a potential recession.

Sales volume at U.S. convenience stores dropped 4.3% in the year ending Feb. 23, according to data from Circana, a Chicago-based market-research firm, and first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Refrigerated and frozen products, tobacco, and general food sales saw some of the steepest declines.

The sales slip comes as working-class and middle-class households are pulling back spending and overall consumer sentiment is dropping due in part to President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war and fast-changing tariff policies. Top CEOs like JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon are becoming increasingly worried about the possible inflationary and recessionary effects of the president’s evolving policies.

There are other factors at play, like higher gas prices, WSJ reported. Though the cost is coming down now, it has been elevated, meaning people have less to spend on a quick snack or drink inside a gas station’s convenience store. And some consumers are looking for healthier options.

And it’s not just convenience items. Consumers say they are planning to pull back discretionary spending in a number of areas, according to McKinsey & Co., including apparel, footwear, and electronics. In general, Americans have less in their checking and savings to absorb higher prices.

That said, Jeff Lenard, vice president of media and strategic communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores, says some of the lost consumer dollars stores are experiencing in packaged food is going toward prepared food in the stores, so not all is lost. Still, he says consumer sentiment is not strong and stores “really need to fight for customers.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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NOME, Alaska (AP) — Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, celebrating with fist pumps to a cheering crowd and posing for photos with his two floral wreath-adorned head teammates, Hercules and Polar.

Holmes was first to the finish line in the Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast. The race began March 3 in Fairbanks after a lack of snow forced changes to the route and starting point.

That made the normally 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race a staggering 1,129 miles (1,817 kilometers) across the Alaska wilderness. Holmes finished in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.

“It’s hard to put into words, but it’s a magical feeling,” Holmes said shortly after crossing the finish line. “It’s not about this moment now. It’s about all those moments along the trail.”

Holmes, who was competing for the eighth time, previously finished in the top 10 five times, including third last year and in 2022. In his first Iditarod, in 2018, his seventh-place finish earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

Born and raised in Alabama, Holmes left at age 18 and worked as a carpenter in Montana for three years. He arrived in Alaska in 2004 and found adventure running dogs on a remote location of the Yukon River.

“It’s been a truly amazing 10 days and I soaked in every part of it — the lows, the highs, the in-betweens. … I’m really proud of these dogs and I love them. And they did it. They deserve all the credit,” Holmes said.

He gave a special salute to his two lead canines, Hercules, his half-sprint dog, and Polar, saying, “He’s the brains behind the operation.”

Holmes now lives in Nenana, where he works as a carpenter and lives a subsistence lifestyle. From 2015 through 2023, he was a cast member of “Life Below Zero,” a National Geographic program that documents the struggles of Alaskans living in remote parts of the state.

Besides the lack of snow north of the Alaska Range that forced the change of starting point to Fairbanks, race organizers also had to make changes to the ceremonial start in Anchorage.

With snow trucked in to cover streets in the state’s largest city, the usual parade route there was shortened from 11 miles to under 2 miles (from about 18 kilometers to under 3.2 kilometers), and the number of dogs was reduced.

Only 33 mushers started in Fairbanks, tied with 2023 for the smallest field ever. The drop in participants has raised concerns about the viability of the race, which has had to contend with inflation, climate change and pressure from animal rights groups.

One dog died in this year’s Iditarod: a pregnant female on the team of musher Daniel Klein, who under race rules scratched due to the death.

Nearly a third of the mushers quit early, including eight who scratched and two who were withdrawn for not being competitive.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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