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By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — American shoppers are expected to spend more during this holiday shopping season than last year despite economic uncertainty and rising prices.

The 2025 forecast from the National Retail Federation on Thursday estimates that shoppers will collectively spend between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion in November and December, an increase of 3.7% to 4.2% compared with last year.

Retailers rung up $976 billion in holiday sales last year, the group said.

“We’re seeing really positive behavior and engagement from consumers, ” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay told reporters on a call Thursday. “In fairness, that’s been somewhat of a surprise.”

But Shay said more Americans are growing selective and they’re focused on discounts. And while spending is expected to be up again, the growth of that spending may be in decline.

That is still greater than the average increase of 3.6% between 2010 to 2019. Americans ramped up spending after that during the coronavirus pandemic. Holiday season sales rose 8.9% in 2020 and soared 12.5% in 2021, according to the NRF. read more

By JAMES BROOKS

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — In 2021, Danish video game live-streamer Marie Watson received an image of herself from an unknown Instagram account.

She instantly recognized the holiday snap from her Instagram account, but something was different: Her clothing had been digitally removed to make her appear naked. It was a deepfake.

“It overwhelmed me so much,” Watson recalled. “I just started bursting out in tears, because suddenly, I was there naked.”

In the four years since her experience, deepfakes — highly realistic artificial intelligence-generated images, videos or audio of real people or events — have become not only easier to make worldwide but also look or sound exponentially more realistic. That’s thanks to technological advances and the proliferation of generative AI tools, including video generation tools from OpenAI and Google.

These tools give millions of users the ability to easily spit out content, including for nefarious purposes that range from depicting celebrities Taylor Swift and Katy Perry to disrupting elections and humiliating teens and women. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of flights set for Friday are already being cut at major U.S. airports as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s effort to phase in 10% reductions because of the government shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration is imposing the reductions to take pressure off air traffic controllers, who are federal employees and have gone without pay during the shutdown.

In addition to reduced flight traffic, the shutdown has led to more flight delays, with experts advising travelers to check flight statuses before heading to the airport, among other tips.

Here’s a closer look at what to know about the reductions.

Which airports are affected?

The list of airports facing reductions includes 40 airports with Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Miami, Newark and San Francisco among them. A full list of airports facing reductions is here.

Nearly 500 flights have already been canceled for Friday, according to www.FlightAware.com. That’s more than four times higher than the number of flights cancelled Thursday. read more

United Parks & Resorts experienced drops in theme park attendance and revenue in the third quarter of 2025, but SeaWorld Orlando numbers are up for the year so far, according to executives reacting to the company’s earnings report.

Overall, attractions attendance was 6.8 million for the July-September period, a decrease of 3.4% from a year earlier. Total revenue was $511.9 million, a decrease of 6.2% from 2024.

“We’re obviously not happy with the results we delivered in the quarter,” United CEO Mark Swanson said in a conference call Thursday. “Performance during the quarter was negatively impacted by an unfavorable calendar shift, poor weather during peak holiday periods, a decline in international visitation and less than optimal execution.”

Positives in the report, he said, were a 1.1% increase in per-capita spending inside the theme parks and that attendance at SeaWorld Orlando is up for the first nine months of 2025. The per-cap level has grown in 20 of the past 22 quarters, he said. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up for the first time in five weeks after falling to its lowest level in more than a year last week.

The average long-term mortgage rate moved up to 6.22% from 6.17% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.79%.

Last week’s average rate the lowest since Oct. 3, 2024, when it was 6.12%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. The average rate rose to 5.5% from 5.41% last week. A year ago, it was 6%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year yield was at 4.09% at midday Thursday, down from 4.16% Wednesday. read more