• I grew up in El Salvador, where I was given freedom at a young age.
• Now that I'm raising my kids in the US, I want them to have independence, too.
• I let my 8-year-old walk to school alone, and I taught her to cook at 7.

Growing up in El Salvador, my parents taught me to be independent from an early age. When I was about 6 years old, I would go pick up small items at la tiendita (the corner store) or grab some tortillas down the road from my house by myself.

A couple of years later, I started walking to my elementary school by myself, about 1 kilometer (a little over half a mile) away. Then, my parents started a tiendita business in front of the house, and I began helping them with sales when I was 10 years old and knew basic math.

Naturally, I want my kids to be independent too, but what that looks like is a little different than what I experienced growing up. I moved to the US as a young adult, got married, and am raising my two children, ages 8 and 1, here.

While many kids here don't have the same freedom I did in El Salvador, my wife and I are trying to do things differently. Here are some ways we're letting our oldest explore her world on her own.

We let her walk to school by herself when she turned 8

My daughter's school is within walking distance. We have been walking her to school for the past few years. When she was about to turn 8, she said, "I want to walk to school by myself."

That day, my heart sank; I wasn't ready for it, but she was.

We began practicing having her be the leader, walking to school, stopping and looking both ways at the stop sign, and telling us it was safe to cross. For her 8th birthday, we let her walk to school alone for the first time. It was a proud moment for me, and it gave me peace of mind that we could see her cross the only street she had to cross by herself.

A minute later, the crossing guard texted my wife, letting her know that our daughter had made it to the school grounds OK, and that, moving forward, she would send a thumbs-up emoji every time our kid crossed the street with her. That gave me extra peace of mind.

We had her start taking the dog out by herself when she was 7

When our oldest daughter was 3 years old, she began asking for a dog.

Eventually, she got her wish, and while she's the family dog, we're having her increasingly take on more responsibility for her care.

When my daughter turned 7, she started taking our dog out in our front yard by herself. She is still getting used to picking up the dog's poop, but for the most part, she does a good job of taking her dog out independently.

She's also in charge of feeding her and playing with her. We still have to give her daily reminders, but she does the work herself.

She started running a lemonade stand when she was 4 and a half

In El Salvador, I learned about money and hard work early in life, so I want my daughter to learn that as well.

When my daughter was 4 and a half years old, my wife and I helped her set up her first lemonade stand. We went to the grocery store to buy the lemons, and then at home, I taught her how to make homemade lemonade. She helped wash the lemons, squeeze them, add the sugar, and stir the lemonade.

When we set up the lemonade stand, I sat with my daughter and taught her how to serve her customers. The first lemonade stand was a success; even though she was selling the lemonade for only $1 a cup, she made over $60, mostly from tips. People are very generous and really encourage entrepreneurship in our town. Now it's become an annual tradition. This summer, I think she'll be ready to be out there by herself.

I started teaching her how to cook by herself when she was 7

I want my daughter to know how to make full meals when she's older and become a good cook like me.

Last summer, when she was 7, I started teaching her how to make pupusas (a Salvadoran dish), omelets, pasta, and pancakes.

As a matter of fact, on the morning I wrote this essay, she made pancakes for our whole family from scratch under my supervision. She collected the ingredients, mixed them together, and cooked them in a frying pan. She did incredibly well, but still needs a little more practice flipping them.

Looking ahead

As my daughter grows older, I will continue to help her become more independent and have our youngest follow in her footsteps.

I also hope to follow my parents' example by teaching them both to drive in their early teenage years, to be hardworking people, and to know how to live and take care of themselves by the time they're both adults.

• Star quants Yiming Zhang and Darko Kirovski are leaving systematic trading powerhouse Jump Trading.
• The influential researchers worked in the HFT's vaunted Jump Core Strategies group.
• Jump Trading had a record quarter in the first quarter of 2026, amid market turbulence.

Two top researchers at Jump Trading Group are leaving the quantitative trading firm.

Yiming Zhang and Darko Kirovski, who joined the proprietary trading firm in 2009 and 2011, respectively, resigned this week, the company confirmed.

Both were influential researchers in one of the largest and most profitable units at the firm, Jump Core Strategies, known for its prowess in high-frequency trading.

"Yiming and Darko were instrumental in Jump's growth over the last 17 years, and we'll be forever grateful for that," Jump cofounder Paul Gurinas said in a statement to Business Insider. "They will be friends of the firm forever."

It could not immediately be confirmed where Zhang and Kirovski are headed next. Zhang declined to comment, while Kirovski did not respond to a request to comment.

In a bio tied to a 2023 public speaking appearance at his alma mater, UCLA, Kirovski said that "he has had as much fun as any human in research has ever had at Jump Trading's jcs group, one of the biggest market makers on the planet."

"Interestingly, for more than a decade the group has been running probably the largest machine learning operation in the world unbeknownst to most," the bio continues.

Chicago-based Jump is among a cadre of privately held, highly secretive high-speed trading firms that dominate many of the world's largest financial markets. Similar to peers including Jane Street, Citadel Securities, and Hudson River Trading, Jump has grown substantially since the pandemic in 2020, when many of the market makers capitalized on the unprecedented volatility to print record profits.

The market volatility that pushed big banks to record trading revenues in the first quarter of 2026 has similarly benefited systematic market makers. Jump had its best quarter on record, one person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

Founded in 1999, Jump now has more than 2,000 employees — up from 1,100 in 2022 — spread across eight countries and 13 offices, according to its website, and trades across most asset classes. Like its peers, it has also diversified beyond high-speed market making — high-volume trading at fractions of a second that add up to billions in annual profits — into strategies that involve holding securities for longer periods.

So-called mid-frequency trading, which has traditionally been the domain of quant hedge funds such as D.E. Shaw and Two Sigma, can play out over minutes, hours, or even days and relies on predictive signals derived from statistical research.

Many of the best quant trading firms have relied on machine learning techniques to develop trading strategies for years, long before the agentic AI craze ushered in by OpenAI, Anthropic, and other artificial intelligence labs.

• Around 100,000 university students travel to the US each summer under the J-1 Visa program.
• Small and seasonal businesses rely on these workers to supplement their workforce.
• However, shifting international dynamics and scrutiny of the US immigration process could affect applicants.

Small and seasonal US businesses rely on about 100,000 international students to boost their staff each summer.

This year, though, demand threatens to outweigh supply.

"We're seeing the same number of businesses participate. However, the requested number of supplemental participants might be slightly less," Kasey Simon, president of United Work & Travel, told Business Insider. "Five to 10% less overall."

The company is a designated sponsor of BridgeUSA's Summer Work Travel program. In the spirit of cultural exchange, the program invites full-time university students from across the globe to work temporarily in the US. To do so, they must obtain a J-1 visa.

These student workers are a key part of America's workforce, appearing at popular tourist destinations like Ocean City, Cape Cod, the Texas coast, and the Florida Panhandle around peak season.

"Smaller seasonal businesses typically rely on the international workforce to supplement their domestic workforce and give them added support during the shoulder seasons," Simon said. "The first few weeks of the season, American workers are still in school, and by the end of the season, they've left the resort town."

The student workers cover a wide range of hospitality and tourism roles, including lifeguards, bartenders, theme park attendants, retail staffers, and restaurant servers.

However, Simon said uncertainty surrounding the visa process and shifting geopolitical relationships could rattle would-be participants, leaving some businesses in a lurch.

Now hiring?

President Donald Trump has maintained a hard line on immigration during his time in office, enacting full or limited visa suspensions for numerous countries. The administration has also enhanced the vetting and screening process for visas, including online presence reviews.

Although J-1 is a non-immigrant visa, Simon said delays in the vetting process could disrupt the pipeline. Hold-ups at a US embassy could mean student workers arrive later than scheduled, forcing businesses to operate at limited capacity. Business owners often oversee students' lodging as well, so rent on an empty room accumulates.

Noise surrounding the US's immigration policies could also dissuade some participants.

"There are also certain countries, depending on their relationship with the United States, that may not open appointments or be willing or able to issue as many visas as they once had," Simon said. "For example, Russia used to be very popular on this program. It's not as popular as it used to be. Pre- COVID, China was extremely popular, and now it's just gaining back its popularity."

Other events, like hurricanes or natural weather events, play a role, too.

"Whatever happens in the world can impact who's participating," he added.

Additionally, Simon said many of the student workers depend on the money they earn during the summer.

"If our economy is not as strong or powerful as it once was, it may impact an individual's willingness to participate," Simon said.

For small businesses, the fallout can be costly.

"If it's a hotel, they may not be able to service all of their rooms on a daily basis or may not be able to open their restaurant, which would be reduced revenue," Simon said. "The impact is direct."

Cultural exchange

Despite all the variables, Simon said US business owners have come to expect uncertainty.

"They're prepared for things like that, and the employers who are properly educated in the program embrace it," Simon said. "They make it work."

For many businesses, the cultural exchange is just as significant as securing employees.

"We're at a point now where we have children of past participants coming on our program. It is so valuable. Not just for the seasonal businesses, but for the United States as a whole," Simon said.

Simon said he's optimistic that the program will continue to flourish, even with everything happening in the world.

"There are a significant amount of challenges, but year after year, the program has proven its value," Simon said.

• Greg Abel has replaced the legendary Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO.
• Tim Cook, who took Apple's reins from Steve Jobs, has shown how to successfully follow an icon.
• Cook forged his own path, playing to his strengths while protecting what Jobs built.

Greg Abel has taken on the Herculean task of succeeding Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO.

If he's looking for guidance, there's one person in particular who's followed in the footsteps of a business icon and taken their company to even greater heights.

"I don't think anyone can appreciate what Greg Abel is going through right now better than Tim Cook," Kevin Carpenter, the author of "The Berkshire Beat" newsletter, told Business Insider.

Two legends, two companies

Grasping the full weight of expectation on Abel and Cook requires understanding the legacies they inherited.

Buffett spent six decades transforming Berkshire from a failing textile mill into a $1 trillion conglomerate that owns scores of businesses including Geico, Dairy Queen, and BNSF Railway, and holds huge stakes in public companies such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and American Express.

The late Steve Jobs, who cofounded Apple 50 years ago, pioneered a personal-computing revolution, built an iconic brand, and changed the fabric of society with inventions such as the iPhone.

Both men became synonymous with their companies, and transcended the business world to become pop-culture icons with hordes of passionate followers.

Perceived as singular geniuses in their fields — Buffett in investing and Jobs in consumer technology and marketing — they achieved such extraordinary success that they seemed irreplaceable.

Yet nothing lasts forever. Buffett, 95, handed Berkshire's reins to Abel at the start of this year, while Cook took over from Jobs shortly before his death in October 2011.

With Cook at the helm, Apple has roughly quadrupled its net sales and net income to $416 billion and $112 billion respectively last financial year, catapulting its market capitalization from around $350 billion to $4 trillion.

Cook and Abel didn't respond to requests for comment.

Guard the culture

Cook has fiercely protected the fundamental values that Jobs built Apple around.

He recently told "CBS Sunday Morning" that those principles include collaboration, focus, "insanely great" execution, obsession with the user experience, and creating "magic" for customers by owning the intersection of hardware, software, and services.

In similar fashion, Abel pledged to steward Berkshire's "foundational values" in his first letter to shareholders in February: its decentralized model, integrity, financial strength, capital discipline, risk management, and operational excellence.

Cook may be in charge but he still sees Apple as Jobs' baby. "His DNA is deep in this company," the executive said. "We revere him."

He added that Jobs' "greatest invention wasn't a product — it was Apple itself."

Abel paid similar homage in his letter, writing that Buffett and his late business partner, Charlie Munger, "combined world-class capital allocation" with "vision and leadership" to create Berkshire, and he was "committed to strengthening the great legacy" the pair built.

Forge your own path

Cook hasn't been afraid to diverge from Jobs.

He revealed to "CBS Sunday Morning" what Jobs told him after informing him that would be Apple's next CEO: "His advice to me was: 'Never ask what I would do. Just do the right thing.'"

Jobs explained to Cook that he didn't want Apple to suffer the same "paralysis" as Disney did after its founder died with management "sitting around and talking about what Walt would do."

"I'll never forget that," Cook said. "It was such a gift for me because he took off of my shoulder this question of 'What would Steve do?'"

"I just put my head down and thought, 'I'm going to be the best version of myself,'" he added.

Cook's greatest challenge was reshaping Apple to operate without Jobs, Tripp Mickle, the author of "After Steve," a book about the decade at Apple after Jobs' death, told Business Insider.

"Steve Jobs had made every major decision, especially on product development and marketing," Mickle said. Cook changed that so "decisions were made collectively" by Apple's executive team, and products such as the Apple Watch were developed by "a group of leaders," Mickle said.

Cook has also focused more on operations and financials than Jobs did. He's expanded into China, harnessing the nation's manufacturing nous to massively ramp up iPhone production, and supercharging sales and profits by selling to a mushrooming middle class.

John Longo, the author of "Buffett's Tips," told Business Insider that Abel is likely to emulate Cook in charting his own course.

"Abel will want Buffett's spirit to always be with Berkshire, but he will not run the firm by asking, 'What would Warren do?" Longo said.

"Rather, he will stay in his own circle of competence and make decisions he believes are best for the firm over the long term," the finance professor and fund manager said.

Longo added that Abel's background as an operator could see Berkshire buy fewer individual stocks and make more acquisitions instead.

He also predicted Abel will break from Buffett by introducing a modest dividend, funded by Berkshire's vast cash reserves — a record $373 billion on December 31 — and robust cash generation. He noted that Cook reinstated Apple's dividend within a year of becoming CEO.

Harness your strengths

Cook has brought a different set of skills to Apple.

He's "leaned on his sales and production expertise to make the iPhone ubiquitous," and wrangled its chipmaking team to build a better processor that "breathed new life into its Mac business," Mickle said.

"Cook's process has been method over magic," he continued. "Where Jobs became regarded as a great innovator, who introduced products that upended industries, Cook became known for steering Apple's business success, as it became the world's largest company for a decade."

The flip side is that Cook's Apple has "shed some of its reputation for innovation," Mickle said, pointing to its scrapped plans to build a self-driving car, its lackluster HomePod, and its Vision Pro headset flop.

"Successors to iconic leaders often succeed not by imitation but by bringing different strengths," Larry Cunningham, the author of several books about Berkshire and the director of the University of Delaware's Weinberg Center, told Business Insider.

"Cook knew he was not Jobs and didn't care to be," he added.

Carpenter said that Cook's incredible success at Apple is "in large part because he embraced his own strengths rather than trying to be a poor imitation of Steve Jobs."

Buffett, who made a fortune for Berkshire by investing in Apple, has repeatedly praised Cook for building Apple into a global behemoth by scaling manufacturing and distribution and establishing a global supply chain.

The Berkshire chairman recently told CNBC that Cook "couldn't have done what Steve Jobs did," but Jobs "would not have done as well" with the version of Apple that he handed to Cook.

"I imagine Buffett would say the same" about Abel, Carpenter said.

"Abel's operations acumen is just what Berkshire needs in the future as wholly-owned subsidiaries continue to become a bigger and bigger part of the business," he added.

Chris Ballard, the managing director of Check Capital Management, told Business Insider that Berkshire shareholders can expect Abel to add value in different ways to Buffett.

Abel "isn't going to be the 'Oracle of Omaha' who gives long philosophical lectures at the annual meeting; he should be the guy who knows exactly why BNSF's profit margins are lagging and how to fix them," Ballard said.

Paul Lountzis, a longtime Berkshire shareholder and the president of Lountzis Asset Management, told Business Insider that Abel can prove himself a worthy successor to Buffett by doing what he does best — just like Cook has in the post-Jobs era.

"Greg needs to be Greg and not try to be Warren," Lountzis said, as that will empower him to "utilize his own unique strengths to continue to build Berkshire."

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Better looks, better odds

If you're not intentional about your appearance, you might be overlooking real currency in the workplace.

Whether you care or not, your appearance is shaping real outcomes in the workplace. That includes how you're perceived, how ambitious you seem, access to promotional opportunities, and even higher compensation.

It's why Business Insider created Hot at Work, a new series that explores how appearance and beauty standards shape opportunity, pay, and confidence at work.

We've explored modern beauty standards and how some professionals feel pressured, often self-imposed, to spend $12,000 to present a youthful appearance to fit in with their industry. Or how executives are getting plastic surgery to look less irritable and more approachable on the job.

Our reporters have also explored the downsides of maximizing your appearance at work. For example, one writer spoke to professionals who refrain from wearing designer clothes at work because it can send the wrong message about money management.

Experts are also doling out advice if you're still facing the "do I or don't I" wear jeans to the office conundrum.

You could write off thinking about your appearance as superficial, but others are gaining by using it as a strategy.

• Iran's military says it has resumed control of the Strait of Hormuz.
• It says the action is in response to the US blockade of Iran's ports.
• Opening the strait was a central demand for a two-week ceasefire that took effect on April 8.

Iran's military on Saturday accused the United States of acts of "piracy" and "sea robbery" in its blockade of its ports — and that in response it was resuming control of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Control over the Strait of Hormuz has been returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is under strict management and control by the Armed Forces," a spokesman said.

In a statement to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, the spokesman insisted that until the US ended restrictions on the free movement of vessels to and from Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz "will remain tightly controlled and unchanged from its previous status."

Iran announced on Friday morning that the strait was open for maritime traffic, and mid-afternoon data showed that commercial vessels were passing through the strategic waterway, though only a small number.

President Donald Trump greeted the news in a Truth Social post, writing that "Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for passage."

The market reaction to the announcement saw stocks climb higher and oil fall.

Hours later, a large group of vessels sailed toward the strait but inexplicably turned away, ship-tracking data shows, raising questions about the status of this critical chokepoint.

Opening the strait has been a central demand since the start of a fragile ceasefire earlier this month and amid the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The strategic Strait of Hormuz is a narrow chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and a major artery for global shipments of oil and natural gas.

• Banks are pouring billions into AI, reshaping jobs, culture, and power on Wall Street.
• Leaders, some of whom are tracking AI use, have been pressed on how the spending is paying off.
• Here's everything we know about how banks from JPMorgan to Wells Fargo are using AI.

Wall Street is betting big on, and pouring billions into, AI — and leaders have had to answer for their spending.

During banks' first-quarter earnings last week, analysts pressed some executives on how those giant investments are paying off, whether in productivity gains or head count changes. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan had to explain why his company is an AI beneficiary, rather than a victim; Citi executives were asked about their "philosophy" on hiring and resourcing during "this new AI regime."

And with Anthropic's Mythos model stoking cybersecurity fears, CEOs faced heightened scrutiny on safety, too. April's earnings calls came just one week after many Wall Street CEOs attended an impromptu meeting at the Treasury to discuss the powerful new AI model.

The pressure to demonstrate returns on AI isn't new. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, for example, defended his bank's spending on a January earnings call, saying he is trying to keep the company from falling behind. The bank has an annual technology budget of almost $20 billion.

By comparison, Bank of America spent around $13 billion on tech in 2025. Speaking at a conference in February, Moynihan said that the bank plans to spend 10% more on technology development in 2026.

As banks rapidly weave generative AI into everything from trading floors to back offices, the technology is reshaping not just workflows, but workplace culture. It's changing what it means to be a software engineer, how junior bankers stand out, and even the roles inside the C-suite. The shift, it seems, is only just beginning.

Here's what we know about how Wall Street banks are embracing AI.

JPMorgan Chase

The nation's biggest bank is putting a lot of effort toward making sure it's an early mover in AI.

The firm is keeping close tabs on how its tens of thousands of engineers are using AI, Business Insider reported. One dashboard tracks how much developers use GitHub Copilot and classifies them into "light," "heavy," or "non" users. The bank has also updated objectives for its engineers, who are now expected to "drive excellence" by adopting AI, according to posts on the company intranet.

In February, JPMorgan reorganized its commercial and investment bank to "maximize the impact of AI," according to an internal memo reviewed by Business Insider. Each major business in the division now reports to Guy Halamish, the newly named chief operating officer of the CIB. The move is part of an effort to speed up AI adoption.

JPMorgan Chase's asset management unit made its own big move in 2026, announcing plans to discontinue a long-held practice of using external proxy advisors for shareholder voting in the US. In place of external human advisors, the firm is launching an in-house AI platform, called Proxy IQ, to support shareholder decisions.

JPMorgan has rolled out its proprietary genAI platform to more than 200,000 employees — seeking to reengineer workflows for everyone from coders to portfolio managers. CEO Dimon is himself a "tremendous" user of the bank's generative AI suite.

The firm is investing in a skilled AI workforce, and executives have offered an inside look at how it's training employees to use its tools.

• JPMorgan's analytics boss lifts the lid on how America's biggest bank is schooling 300,000 workers on AI
• Here's what its execs revealed about how AI is reshaping the bank at its 2025 investor day.

Dimon has previously said he's out to win the AI arms race, and he thinks JPMorgan's $2 billion AI investment has already matched its cost in savings.

Wells Fargo

Business Insider spoke to Saul Van Beurden, the bank's Head of AI, about how AI is fueling the bank's post-asset cap growth.

The firm uses a "hub and spoke" model for its AI architecture, with Van Beurden's small team as the central hub and each business line's generative AI lead as a spoke. AI agents, he said, are becoming central to some of the highest-impact use cases.

When Business Insider spoke to Van Beurden in March, the bank wasn't mandating that its employees use AI.

Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf has previously said that generative AI tools have already made the bank's engineers up to 35% more productive.

Wells Fargo also tapped Amazon Web Services executive Faraz Shafiq to lead AI products and solutions, the latest in a string of high-profile tech poachings on Wall Street.

Bank of America

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has said AI is already embedded across the firm, from consumer banking to institutional clients.

Clients have interacted with Bank of America's virtual assistant, Erica, more than 3.2 billion times since the tool launched in 2018, the bank said in March. As of last year, more than 90% of employees used Erica for Employees.

Moynihan shed light on some of the models that use AI at the bank when speaking at the February conference. There is, he said, a model that puts out a daily markets report, and others that help draft pitch books. In March, the firm rolled out a tool to help financial advisors prepare for client meetings.

Citigroup

Citigroup has taken a bottom-up approach to embedding AI throughout the business, with 4,000 employees trained as something of AI stewards.

The firm's AI tools are now available to 182,000 employees in 84 countries, and CEO Jane Fraser said on a fourth-quarter earnings call in January that adoption of the proprietary tools is above 70%. Fraser said during third-quarter earnings that generative AI tools have saved 100,000 developer hours a week with automated code reviews — "a very meaningful productivity uplift."

The bank launched the pilot of agentic AI for 5,000 colleagues in September.

"It allows complex, multi-step tasks to be completed with a single prompt, and the early results are very promising, and we'll expand access to this in the months ahead," said Fraser. "Finally, we have launched a firm-wide effort to systematically embed AI in our processes end-to-end."

She also highlighted several tools to help its wealth management advisors. Citi hired an AI leader from Morgan Stanley last year to help revamp its wealth technology. The bank is using AI to speed up the client onboarding process and retire outdated software, Tim Ryan, the head of technology, told Reuters.

In June 2025, the bank doubled down on its AI ambitions, appointing new leadership to helm its tech transformation.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman put $6 billion behind its technology spend this year, but David Solomon, the bank's CEO, said he wished it were more.

He said he would like to be at least $8 billion, but "I can't afford it because I've got to deliver returns," he said at a conference in early October.

A definitive statement about how AI will affect Goldman came from a memo to employees in October announcing the third iteration of the cross-bank initiative, OneGS. The memo said the plan would leverage AI to drive efficiency at the firm, slow hiring, and result in a "limited reduction" of roles.

Goldman, like its peers, has been rolling out tools, including an internal AI assistant, to all employees this summer. The bank has been working with Anthropic to develop AI agents that can automate a number of internal functions, Marco Argenti, the chief information officer, told CNBC in February. The project focused on accounting for trades and transactions and on client onboarding, he said.

Yet employees have been using AI long before the effort with Anthropic, as some have told Business Insider.

• 7 Goldman Sachs insiders explain how the bank's new AI sidekick is helping them crush it at work
• Goldman is assembling a growing arsenal of AI tools. Here's everything we know about 5.

Goldman's top partners and Solomon are eager to see AI rev up their businesses. From realizing internal productivity gains to capturing more business as clients look to raise money for anticipated AI development and acquisitions, here's what the top echelon is expecting.

• Goldman's tech boss discusses the future of AI on Wall Street — and how it will reshape careers
• David Solomon says AI means Goldman needs 'more high-value people'

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley's CFO, Sharon Yeshaya, lifted the curtain on some of the firm's progress on AI during an earnings call last year.

She highlighted DevGen.AI, a tool that, from January to June, had saved developers more than 280,000 hours, or 11,666 days, they would have previously dedicated to deciphering outdated code, Business Insider previously reported.

Parable, an interactive tool that analyzes and summarizes data, and LeadIQ, an AI-powered lead distribution platform that matches users of its workplace and self-directed platforms to the bank's financial advisors, were also spotlighted in the call.

A survey of Morgan Stanley's interns also gave a peek into just how popular and useful AI has been for the industry's youngest cohort. ChatGPT is their favorite tool by far, with 72% of Morgan Stanley's interns saying they use it daily or several times a week. The bank was early to have a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

Morgan Stanley also spoke with Business Insider about bringing employees' AI ideas to life. Here's a look at that process.

• Morgan Stanley has 30 AI projects in the pipeline. Here's how the bank sources employees' ideas for inspiration.

• Ukraine's counter-drone tech has surging interest amid Iran attacks, but exports are limited.
• A Ukrainian interceptor drone maker said it wants its tech proven beyond Ukraine.
• It worries that if it doesn't get involved soon, "someone will take our place."

The Iran war could be a big opportunity for Ukraine's battle-proven counter-drone tech, but one company says it worries it will miss its window without export access.

The US and its allies in the Middle East are now facing drone threats that Ukraine has fought for years, driving demand for low-cost interceptor drones. Many are built by Ukrainian firms, but exports of battlefield tech remain tightly controlled.

Stanislav Hryshyn, the co-founder of Ukrainian company General Cherry, which makes drones and interceptor drones used by Ukraine's forces, said deploying his company's interceptors abroad would give it the chance to prove that its interceptors work in conflicts other than Russia's war against Ukraine.

Hryshyn said the company has seen a surge in interest and inquiries since the Iran war began and Tehran started firing Shahed drones and missiles at US allies. Other firms report similar demand, especially in the Middle East and Europe. But Ukraine's export rules prevent many defense tech sales abroad.

He said his desire to help isn't only about the business that could come with selling his gear for use in the war. It's also about gaining "this new level of expertise and experience" that Ukrainian companies have not had before.

"For us to receive this new experience, expertise, new layer of using our product, that's critical," he said. "Money is very secondary to this."

It's one thing to prove effective against Russia. It's another to prove it in a different war — and directly support US allies.

But without fast access to those markets, he warned, Ukraine's industry could lose its edge. "This window of change is closing right now," he said. "Someone will take our place."

A host of companies outside of Ukraine are also making interceptor drones. Hryshyn fears delays will let foreign firms scale faster, pushing partners toward non-Ukrainian suppliers with ready stock.

Interceptors are in demand

The war with Iran is showing that interceptor drones are "now very critical, not just for Ukraine, but also for other countries as well," Hryshyn said. Iran and Russia's actions mean "the Pandora's box is open" to new and widespread drone threats.

Ukraine has already been helping in the Middle East. Zelenskyy said last week Ukrainian personnel had shot down drones in multiple countries in the region, without specifying exactly where or what systems were used. He said more than 200 Ukrainian military experts are advising regional partners.

Zelesnkyy also said that Ukraine could supply partners with more than 1,000 interceptor drones a day if backed by sufficient investment to scale production.

But direct sales are another matter. Without them, companies risk losing their technological lead as rivals copy and scale similar systems.

Hryshyn said he understands the restrictions — "we are at war," he said. But he argued exports could strengthen Ukraine's position.

Much of Ukraine's defense industry says exports would actually boost domestic production. Without them, companies are limited to producing only what Ukraine can afford on a constrained defense budget. Foreign sales would bring in revenue to expand output — including for Ukraine's own military.

One Ukrainian defense industry leader told Business Insider that interceptor exports could ultimately mean more interceptors for Ukraine's military. Ihor Fedirko, CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry, said the sector can produce 2.5 times more interceptors than Ukraine can currently buy and far more with added funding. "What we can get from our allies in terms of export is like extra money into our industry," he said.

He added that joint production with allied countries — already growing — could benefit both partners and Ukraine's war effort.

Hryshyn said some agreements may emerge, even if not public. Fedirko said companies are preparing for potential policy changes allowing exports.

Ukraine's counter-drone tech is drawing interest because it's battle-tested and fills a major gap in modern air defense.

Many of Ukraine's partners, including the US, have highly capable air defense systems, but the tremendous expenditure of expensive interceptors is not sustainable against low-cost drones.

An Iranian Shahed drone costs around $50,000, but each PAC-3 interceptor missile for the US-made Patriot air defense system costs around $3.7 million. A Ukrainian interceptor drone, which typically costs $6,000 or less, is a more appealing and effective option.

Ukraine's results have reinforced that case. In March, officials said they were stopping about 90% of incoming Russian drones and missiles using a mix of interceptors, air defenses, and mobile units.

• High gas prices due to the war in Iran are hitting many ride-hailing drivers' bottom lines.
• One driver for Uber and Lyft said he's rethinking which trips he takes because of gas prices.
• Long trips to remote places look less attractive, Bill Lewis said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bill Lewis, a ride-hailing driver who lives in Pennsylvania. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I live in the Poconos. I used to commute to New York City from here. I was a trader on stock exchanges for 25 years.

I started as a clerk and worked my way up. When the algorithms took over the floor, they laid us off. Now, I'm dealing with algorithms again as a driver.

I drive for Uber and Lyft absolutely full time — seven days a week, about 75 hours a week. People from out of town need rides, especially on weekends during the summer, but for the most part, I'm taking the same people to work each day.

I take between 22 and 28 rides a day. Sometimes, I do long rides to the Allentown airport, but for the most part, I'm within 25 miles of my house every day.

Gas is always a huge expense for me. I drive a Prius, but I still fill up six to seven times a week. Before the war in Iran started, a fill-up cost me about $22. Today, it cost me $31 for the same exact tank.

I've changed my driving habits to try to save money.

Some of my rides take me far out of town to remote places where I might not get a ride back toward home. Now, those trips aren't worth it, because it's going to cost me more in gas to get back into town and claim another ride.

I've also started taking back roads when I can. The highway might be four or five minutes quicker, but in my area, taking smaller roads is often more direct and saves miles. If I can save on gas, that adds up after a while.

I hope the ride-hailing apps add a gas surcharge to help drivers cover higher costs. That's what they did four years ago when gas prices went up after Russia invaded Ukraine — they charged passengers an extra $0.45 to $0.55 cents per ride. There's not a customer I know who wouldn't understand if the companies did that again.

Some weeks, I'd probably make an extra $80 if the apps offered that again. So far, Uber and Lyft have offered cashback on gas through partner apps, or if you use their debit cards, which I don't have.

I'm getting by with my hybrid, though, which gets around 50 miles per gallon. If you're driving a regular car that gets 25 to 30 miles per gallon, I don't see how this kind of work is profitable.

Do you have a story to share about Uber, DoorDash, or another gig app? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

"I have always seen myself as a very ordinary person with no real athletic ability," said Linda Kelly.

Still, at 80, she has completed multiple half-marathons and routinely hikes, bikes, and runs around her part-time home in Anchorage, Alaska.

Kelly is as fit as someone decades earlier, with the lab results to prove it. Her son, cardiologist Dr. Jake Kelly, put Kelly to the test on a treadmill and found she had an exceptionally high VO₂ max, the gold standard of cardio fitness.

The metric measures your body's ability to use oxygen during exercise, and research links higher levels to a longer life.

Kelly told Business Insider she's never followed any extreme exercise plan or strict longevity routine. Instead, it's the result of tiny yet consistent movements that accumulated over her lifetime.

Some people think staying fit into old age requires intense training, but research suggests consistency matters more. And Kelly is living proof of how powerful it can be to invest in simple, sustainable habits: walking every day, running when you can, and making time for yourself.

"It's what every ordinary person can do, and who knew it would turn out to have such great benefits," Kelly said.

Exercise over the years

From a young age, Kelly said she loved every opportunity to exercise, from high school gym class and volleyball practice to long runs or bike rides.

As she got older, life got busy as she started a career and a family. Still, Kelly found ways to move every day, logging "probably a million miles" by just walking with her twin baby boys in a stroller, or pedaling on a DIY stationary bike. Her husband helped her build it by mounting a bike frame and some cinder blocks.

She also got plenty of steps in at work as a teacher, preferring to interact with students rather than stay behind a desk.

"I never liked sitting still," she said. "My goal was [to] achieve one interaction of eyeball-to-eyeball with every kid … every day."

Kelly retired in 2013. She had lived in several states — Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana — before moving to Anchorage, where her son, Jake, lives.

Throughout her life, her philosophy has been to embrace the joy of movement for its own sake.

"You don't have to be talented to move. That's the beauty of it. You don't have to have the grace of a ballerina to feel the joy of moving," Kelly said. "That's sustained me all my life."

Why VO₂ max matters

VO₂ max has become an incredibly hot topic (and a point of pride) as growing research suggests it's a key predictor of a longer, healthier life.

While Kelly may not have set out to be a star athlete, her stats would be the envy of gym bros and longevity nerds alike. Her son Jake measured Kelly's health data with a Garmin fitness watch, a portable VO₂ max analyzer, and a treadmill test.

She scored 30.7 ml/kg/min, a strong result for someone in their 50s. For her age group, it's elite.

A higher VO₂ max number indicates better fitness, trainers previously told Business Insider. And a good VO₂ max for a woman in her 50s is 24.6 ml/kg/min, according to the Cleveland Clinic. For a woman in her 40s, around 27.7 is considered good.

Kelly's score was higher than both benchmarks and off the charts for her age group. Research suggests that VO₂ max tends to decline steadily over time, often dipping well below 30 ml/kg/min in women by age 80.

Still, Jake said he sees a high VO₂ max as a reflection of a simpler longevity metric: how durable a person is over time. Kelly is a textbook example of how to set yourself up for longevity because she wasn't chasing a specific fitness metric, but instead focusing on her overall ability to keep moving, her son said.

"Later in life, if you have the capacity to walk faster, to go upstairs, to lift your suitcase, then you have physiologic reserves," he said. "That means your heart, lungs, liver, muscles, mitochondria are all working and you have capacity to do things."

Jake, 45 years old and an endurance athlete himself, wasn't surprised by the results. He always knew his mom was exceptional. "She's the one who taught me," he said.

A daily movement routine

Kelly hasn't slowed down at 80.

These days, she splits her time between Alaska, where she moved to be closer to Jake, and a farming town in rural Texas. There, she takes care of her own housework, yard work, and enjoys running and biking on the country roads.

She and her husband travel extensively, preferring to live like locals when possible by renting apartments in the places they visit rather than staying in resorts.

No matter where she is in the world, Kelly said exercise is still a key part of her day. She starts her mornings with a dynamic yoga-inspired routine, alternating between poses and counter-poses. It takes 20 to 30 minutes, can be done with limited space and equipment, and leaves her feeling spry.

"I don't do well in a yoga class holding a pose for three minutes going 'ommmm' because it's too slow for me," she said, adding that by the time she finishes her specialized routine, "I don't have much pain or stiffness."

She takes daily walks with her 13-year-old giant schnauzer. "He has the heart of a much younger dog. Exercise works for your dog, too," Kelly said.

Along with the exercise, she keeps a busy social life thanks to fitness groups and her community. Spending time with friends is linked to longer life, and can also help people stay more active, research suggests.

In Anchorage, Kelly is part of a hiking group led by an 89-year-old marathon runner, with the youngest member being 55. In the winter, she stays active with water aerobics at the local fitness center three to four times a week.

Kelly isn't a fan of the treadmill and doesn't think working out should feel like a chore. "You don't have to get up at 4 in the morning to run on the treadmill for an hour and a half. Go outside and walk for 10 minutes," she said.

The takeaway

As a cardiologist, Jake said we can all learn from his mom's longevity-boosting routine, incorporating habits accessible to almost anyone, even if you have a busy schedule or can't make it to the gym.

First, start walking. Getting your steps in every day is the foundation of a healthy heart.

From there, add a little intensity, aiming for Zone 2 effort, a comfortably hard pace. Try walking on an incline or picking up the pace, so you're sweating but not so out of breath that you can't hold a conversation.

As you build fitness, increase the intensity for short bursts that challenge you. Then, incorporate strength training. Even small amounts of resistance exercise can support healthy muscles and bones, promoting longevity.

Finally, stay consistent, Jake said. Exercise only works if you keep it up for the long term, and small, daily movements add up to big benefits.

"What I learned from my mom is that fitness stacks over time. She had many years where she didn't go to the gym or anything, but she walked her dog," he said. "If you do that for 80 years…you're going to do great."

• No matter what trends come and go, monograms remain an integral part of men's fashion.
• They were initially used to differentiate clothes at the dry cleaners. Now they're status symbols.
• Monograms are most effective when used on custom-tailored clothing.

Charlie Tran always knows what items are his. He labels everything with his initials.

In recent years, the 28-year-old tech consultant from Texas purchased monogrammed button-down shirts, a Yeti cup etched with his name, an intialed stationery set, and more.

"Everyone's trying to find themselves, especially in this day and age, by using social media and copying influencers," Tran said. "But that's not what I want anymore. I want something of my own."

So he's been personalizing his belongings.

Monograms aren't flashy by any means — you might miss them if you're not looking hard enough — but they've become an effective status symbol for men. They show up as small initials embroidered on dress shirts or handkerchiefs, etched onto whisky glasses, or printed on wallets. Though subtle, they signal that you've put thought — and money — into how you present yourself.

"Monograms let you know that the wearer has achieved a certain level of success; they can afford to [customize something] from a time and a financial perspective," Brian Lipstein, the founder of the tailoring and image consulting business Henry A. Davidsen, told Business Insider.

And in the modern era of copy-and-paste fashion, more men are looking for ways to stand out without being loud about it. For many, monograms are the answer to signaling taste and status while keeping things understated.

From coins to clothes

Monograms were intended to be practical — a marker of who owned the garment.

Lipstein, who also serves as president of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, said they can be traced back to 300 BC, when they first appeared on ancient Greek coins. Artists and royal families later used monograms to mark special pieces, and they also came into use for clothing during the Middle Ages.

"The larger purpose of monograms was for identification," Lipstein said. "It's a personalization, identification, and marking of property that essentially says, 'This is mine.'"

They remained useful for centuries, especially for distinguishing common clothing items at dry cleaners, he added. Shirts, specifically, were typically embroidered with monograms across the waist so that the initials remained hidden but could easily be found by the owner.

Monograms are still useful as identification markers, but their purpose has expanded in recent decades. Most commonly, luxury brands use them to create flashy, coveted prints. The bigger the monogram, the more obvious it is that you're wearing a designer piece.

Think Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci. You could recognize their monograms anywhere.

As a result, consumers now use personal monograms similarly: as status symbols. They're exclusive, intentional, and cost extra.

"If somebody wears a monogram on their shirt, the assumption is that the person had it custom-made for them," Lipstein said. "Most people buying off the rack aren't thinking to that level of detail. They're not going to make the time or effort to find someone to do the embroidery, take it there, and pay to get it done."

Unlike designer monograms, though, personal initials are typically quieter. Shoppers want their monograms to be more visible, but not flashy.

When designing shirts, Lipstein advises clients to choose the waistband or the left cuff as the placement for their monograms.

"We choose the left cuff over the right because it's customary to shake hands with our right, regardless of whether you're right-handed or left-handed," he said. "So if you're shaking hands with your right and the monogram's there on the cuff, it could be perceived as throwing it in somebody's face. The left is a little more subtle."

It's also become popular for men to request embroidery of their full signatures. Lipstein said it's one of the most personal monograms you can have, and also a conversation starter.

A truly one-of-a-kind luxury

When asked how he feels seeing his initials on his belongings, Tran paused.

"I'm trying to think of a really profound answer, but really, I just like to see my name," he said. "It reminds me of my family, my heritage, and where I come from."

Even if other people don't see his initials, he knows they're there. They transform each item from basic to meaningful.

"It's a form of luxury to have something that's your own," he said.

And it's not only the initials themselves that can make an item or garment feel more personal. It's the entire design process.

Lipstein said Henry A. Davidsen offers about 50 monogram styles and 60 thread colors for custom pieces. Clients can also choose unique placements, such as on a pocket or a tail.

Those without a personal tailor can turn to any number of retailers for personalized goods.

Brands like Mark and Graham have made monograms their entire business, while companies like Tumi, L.L. Bean, Williams Sonoma, and even Apple offer monogram options at small fees.

Regardless of visibility, each monogram can be equally effective.

"When you know there's a monogram, it's in your subconscious that you're wearing something that was made for you," Lipstein said. "It's a reminder to you how special that piece is and how intentionally it was designed."

At formal events and in professional settings, that can be beneficial. Research suggests that what you wear can shape your confidence and overall work performance.

Entering the world of monograms

So where do you start? The answer is anywhere, though accessories are a good place to begin.

Tran said his first monogrammed piece was an embroidered L.L. Bean tote bag. "I've always seen them around, and I thought it would be a cool thing to have and slap my name on it," he said.

Once you're ready to move on to clothes, the process becomes a bit more detailed. You could, of course, bring a shirt you already own to a tailor and have it monogrammed. However, Lipstein said that defeats the purpose.

"It wouldn't be truly yours, in the sense that you didn't get to design it and have it made perfectly for you," he said. "I don't think it would add a lot of that subconscious confidence."

Instead, he recommends meeting with an image consultant to determine which garments you need and which styles work best for you. From there, consultants can typically introduce you to a tailor who can monogram.

"It's not just one element [that makes an outfit]," Lipstein said. "It's gotta be a 360-degree approach."

• Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" on Friday.
• Stocks jumped amid hopes of an economic resurgence after weeks of gloomy forecasting.
• Markets pros laid out the areas of the market they're bullish on with maritime trade flowing again.

The stock market was in party mode on Friday after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was open again.

The development came as a massive relief to investors who had been fretting that a prolonged obstruction of energy flows could keep oil prices elevated and stoke a new bout of inflation.

Now, things are looking up for the economy again, and Wall Street pros think that a lower risk of inflation clears the way for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

"With the Strait of Hormuz now reopening, there's renewed optimism that broader economic momentum can re‑emerge," said Charles Rinehart, chief investment officer at Johnson Investment Counsel.

But besides the broader stock market, where are the best places to put your money to benefit from an economic resurgence if the reopening of the Strait holds? We asked a few Wall Street pros for their highest-conviction calls. Here are the three are

Small-caps

Mike Reynolds, Glenmede's VP of investment strategy, said small-caps are primed to jump for a few reasons.

One is that smaller stocks are cyclical, meaning they tend to move with economic growth trends.

Another is that the Fed is more likely to slash rates now, and smaller firms are more sensitive to borrowing costs.

Third, they should benefit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by being able to deduct research and development costs from their tax liability more immediately.

"We think all signs point toward small caps having a really banner year in 2026," he said.

Funds that offer exposure to this trade include the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB), the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), and the Dimensional US Small Cap ETF (DFAS).

Emerging markets

When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March, emerging market stocks were among the hardest hit by the conflict, particularly stocks in Asia. That's because their economies are heavily reliant on oil coming out of the Middle East.

With the Strait reopened, Asian EM stocks should be primed to pop, according to Stephen Parker, JPMorgan Private Bank's co-head of Global Investment Strategy.

He told Business Insider that Asian EM stocks tied to the AI trade still have strong fundamentals, and have been thrown out with the bathwater during the recent sell-off.

"The fundamental story in Asia, specifically tied to the tech sector, the supply chain related to AI hardware story in places like Korea, Taiwan, and China creates a really interesting opportunity, particularly when you think about valuations which still look heavily discounted compared to the US," Parker said.

Some funds that offer exposure to this trade include iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF (EEMA) and the Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (SCHE).

The Magnificent Seven

Lance Roberts, the chief strategist at RIA Advisors, which oversees around $2 billion, said that it's a perfect time to buy the Magnificent Seven stocks—Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Tesla.

Valuations for the group of mega-cap tech titans, which investors have tended to pay a premium for, have fallen in recent weeks to levels on par with the rest of the market — the cheapest they've been since 2015.

"I think the Mag Seven are back, because they have the most earnings growth and they had a big reduction in valuation," Roberts said.

Funds that offer exposure to the Magnificent Seven stocks include the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK).

• Chris Whalen thinks hot inflation will weigh on the US economy for years after the Iran war ends.
• The veteran analyst says supply disruptions in the Middle East will take a long time to normalize.
• He said he expected inflation to rise to the high single-digits, about double its current rate.

Investors see the Iran war as all but over, but a market vet warns the effects will be felt a lot longer than Wall Street might realize.

Chris Whalen, an investment banker, longtime analyst, and the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, thinks the inflation shock from the Iran war had already been baked into market and economic forecasts.

Yet, even though markets got a boost after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was open to ships on Friday, it will likely take a long time for oil markets to normalize, and Americans could be dealing with the inflationary impacts for years to come, he told Business Insider this week.

"This is a very delicate ecosystem that we have messed with," he said of the oil markets. "I would double whatever inflation estimates people had before the war."

The 1-year expected inflation rate was 2.5% in February, according to data from the Cleveland Fed.

Whalen said the inflation rate rising into the high single digits was plausible, implying the rate would nearly double from current levels. Consumer prices accelerated to a 3.3% yearly pace in March.

"Opening the Strait is great. The inflation impact will be with us for months or years," he told BI in an email after Iran announced the Strait was "completely open" on Friday.

Inflation has been the chief worry on Wall Street lately. The idea is that higher oil prices from the war could feed inflation across other parts of the economy, since oil is a key input for goods ranging from fuel to plastic to industrial components.

Markets breathed a sigh of relief when Iran announced the reopening of the Strait, but supply kinks that have been created since the start of the conflict will likely take a long time to smooth out, Whalen said.

He pointed traffic around the Strait of Hormuz, which had been significantly disrupted in the past month. The shipping routes that were upended and the supply chain chaos could take months or even years to normalize, Whalen said.

The same issue applies to energy infrastructure, which takes years and significant money to rebuild. One report from Rystad Energy estimates it could cost as much as $58 billion to restore infrastructure in the Middle East damaged by the war.

The US will likely try to "adjust" for the loss of supply in the Middle East by ramping up its own production, but that will also take years to set up the proper infrastructure, Whalen added.

"All of these little systems moving energy, moving refined products, have been disrupted. You've also disrupted the supply infrastructure in the Gulf," Whalen said. "You're talking about months or years, depending on how much damage."

"Is that the end of the world? No, but it's going to continue to put horrible pressure on consumers," he added of the inflationary impact.

Whalen said he believes that the economy could eventually tip into full-blown stagflation — a situation where prices spiral while the economy slows — by 2028. The scenario, which slammed the US economy in the 1970s, is often regarded as the worst-case for markets, and is thought by policymakers to be even more difficult to resolve than a typical recession, as high inflation prevents the Fed from cutting rates.

• Jet fuel prices have surged since the Iran war started, prompting airlines to raise ticket prices.
• Travel gurus say booking flights with points or miles is best when cash prices are high.
• For those who haven't yet accrued points, signing up for a credit card can help.

If you've built up a stash of airline points or miles, now is the time to use them for your next vacation.

Global jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the Iran war began, rising to almost $200 per barrel.

Fuel is airlines' second-highest cost after labor, and many carriers are trying to offset price hikes by increasing fuel surcharges, bag fees, and ticket fares.

As the cost of vacation rises, travel experts say cashing in on rewards instead of paying out of pocket for a flight could now be a smarter move.

"The Points Guy always recommends booking with any points and miles you have stashed away, especially when cash prices are high," Clint Henderson, managing editor of The Points Guy, told Business Insider.

Henderson has been doing exactly that, using his own points and miles to get ahead of potential fare increases and added fuel charges. He said he has already booked trips through spring next year to destinations such as Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Travelers usually accrue miles and points by flying on a specific airline and being part of their membership program, or by having a specific credit card that accrues points for everyday spending. Some are general travel cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve; others are co-branded with the airline, like Delta's American Express Gold Card.

"With most points and miles programs, at least in the US, you can cancel and get your points back," he said, "so I don't have to worry in case these trips don't pan out."

That safety net is particularly important as travel becomes unusually volatile. Recent US government funding lapses strained air traffic control and airport security staffing for weeks, triggering widespread airport delays and flight cancellations. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has also squeezed capacity in key connecting hubs.

For travelers who haven't built up a balance of points, Henderson said it might be worth opening a new credit card that offers a large sign-up bonus to help cover the cost of an upcoming trip. Capital One, Chase, and American Express all currently offer sign-up bonuses ranging from 75,000 points to over 100,000 points when you hit a certain spend threshold.

TJ Dunn, a Canada-based loyalty programs expert and founder of All Points West Travel Consulting, said signing up for a co-branded credit card can also come with another useful perk: a free checked bag. Some of these cards have a $0 annual fee.

In a bid to offset skyrocketing jet fuel costs, the US's biggest airlines — American, Alaska, Southwest, Delta, JetBlue, and United — have already hiked checked bag fees.

"A single trip can often justify the card's annual fee on checked baggage fee savings alone," Dunn said.

For those already on a loyalty program, Dunn said there's little point to holding onto rewards for too long: "The magic of compound interest just doesn't exist in loyalty programs, and your points are only going to lose value over time rather than appreciate."

To get the most out of points, Dunn said, it's best to be flexible with dates and destinations. "Leaving a day earlier or later, or flying into or out of a different city, could be the difference between paying 50,000 points or 100,000 points for your trip," he said.

NerdWallet travel analyst Sara Rathner told Business Insider that the timing of the fuel hikes comes during an already busy travel season, as we emerge from spring break and head into summer.

She said that traditionally, the best way to use points has been for pricey, long-haul international trips, but now that domestic travel costs are rising, this is also a worthwhile use of points.

"Point values can vary," Rathner said. "You're better off saving cash by using your points and miles now instead of saving them for something in the future, because cash is cash; you could always use it for something else."

• Dr. Julie Chen, an integrative medicine physician, has a few longevity habits to reduce her risk of disease.
• She said it's preferable to prevent instead of treat disease.
• Chen strength-trains, prioritizes sleep, and practices intermittent fasting.

Dr. Julie Chen, an integrative medicine physician, is a big fan of preventive habits.

"If someone's at the precipice of disease, it's much easier to recover them than it is for them to fall off the cliff and try to get them back," whether they're at risk of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes, she told Business Insider.

"For people to stay really healthy and optimize their longevity and functionality, it's about staying ahead of that curve," Chen, an advisor for the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the chief medical officer of the precision medicine company Radence, added.

Over the past decade, her work and research has inspired her to pick up multiple longevity habits, from prioritizing her sleep to adding more strength training to her routine.

She prioritizes sleep — and tested for sleep apnea

Out of all her longevity habits, Chen said sleep is the one of the most important, as lack of sleep is linked to a higher risk of health issues like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

She aims to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, as recommended by doctors.

Chen also got tested for sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops during sleep and leads to drops in oxygen levels, even though she doesn't really snore and isn't overweight — two common risk factors. While the process involved first an at-home test and then a study at a clinic, she appreciated having peace of mind. Doctors are divided over whether it is beneficial for people to get tests when they don't have any concerning symptoms or risk factors.

"Knowing how important sleep is for brain and cardiovascular health, I did get that done," she said. "I'm also a big fan of not guessing at your health."

Her workouts mix cardio and compound strength exercises

Chen aims to work out six mornings a week for at least 30 minutes, ideally 45, opting for a mix of strength training and cardio.

She starts on a Peloton bike or treadmill for about 20 minutes, then for the rest of the time does ab, leg, and arm work, focusing on compound exercises that target several body parts at once. She loves combining a squat with an overhead press or holding planks to activate her arms and core muscles.

When she was younger, she did more cardio and would regularly go on six to seven-mile runs. As she's gotten older, she's incorporated more strength training to build up her muscle mass, which naturally depletes with age.

She sees exercise is one of her most important habits. "Exercise is a huge factor for cardiovascular health, brain health, metabolic health, almost everything," she said.

She rotates her meals and takes supplements to get enough nutrients

Dietitians typically recommend getting nutrients from whole foods, and Chen makes sure to rotate her meals to get as many different ones as possible.

She usually includes a protein base, like roast chicken, grilled salmon, or shrimp, and vegetables like mixed greens, spaghetti squash, pea sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Eating a wide variety of whole foods has a range of health benefits, including boosting gut health by diversifying the gut microbiome.

"Without the foundation of the right kind of diet, it's very hard for the body to build or for it to heal," Chen said.

When it comes to vegetables, Chen prioritizes eating the rainbow given their high fiber content and anti-inflammatory benefits.

"Sometimes, people will just eat spinach and that's the only salad they eat," she said.

Chen also gets regular blood work to check her vitamin levels, and takes supplements, like B vitamins and vitamin D, to fill any gaps. She said that because of modern mass food production practices, foods might be selected for their shelf life and appearance over their nutritional density. Supplements can help when intake or absorption is limited.

"If there are any days where I don't get to control my diet as much, I look at what else I need to do, she said, such as taking protein supplements.

Intermittent fasting and green tea help her energy levels

On most days, Chen practices intermittent fasting, a form of time-restricted eating. While intermittent fasting schedules can vary, Chen doesn't eat between 9 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Research suggests that intermittent fasting has some benefits, like helping to control blood sugar levels. Because it can result in calorie restriction, some people find it helpful for fat loss, but the results can be mixed.

Chen said "everyone is different" and recommended working with a clinician to figure out if intermittent fasting is right for you. It isn't recommended for those who have struggled with disordered eating, for example.

In her case, she has found it "very helpful" in helping her body feel less inflamed. Some research suggests fasting can reduce certain markers of inflammation.

While she fasts, she has as much green tea and water as she wants. Green tea is associated with multiple health benefits, such as good brain and cardiovascular health and possibly helping lower cholesterol.

"Again, not cooking cutter — there are definitely things that people need to watch out for," Chen said. If you have a history of heart rhythm issues, she suggested talking to a doctor before introducing more caffeine into your diet.

In her case, she likes getting a steady stream of caffeine and antioxidants throughout the day.

• New York officials have proposed a pied-à-terre tax on non-primary homes worth over $5 million.
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani namechecked billionaire Ken Griffin when he announced the levy.
• Griffin would be one of many big-name billionaires affected, from Donald Trump to Jeff Bezos.

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani introduced a new pied-à-terre tax in a video on Wednesday, standing in front of a limestone tower on Central Park South and calling out one of its residents, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, by name.

Griffin is far from the only billionaire who would shoulder such a tax, which Mamdani and New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed earlier this week.

The levy on non-primary homes worth more than $5 million would apply to those who live abroad, in other states, and elsewhere in New York state, as well as to investment properties, and would be in addition to current property taxes.

The state has not said publicly how it would determine a residence's value, whether a home is a primary residence, or how much homeowners would pay. City Hall did not respond to questions about those details. While market value determines the assessed value for one to three-family homes in New York City, condos and co-ops — the vast majority of New York apartments — are assessed by a more complex formula.

The tax, part of Hochul's state budget proposal, would generate an estimated $500 million a year, according to Hochul's and Mamdani's offices.

In the announcement, Mamdani's office mentioned Griffin, who spent $238 million on a Midtown penthouse in 2019, and Russian auto dealer Alexander Varshavsky, who bought a Columbus Circle apartment for $20.5 million in cash.

"This pied-à-terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich," Mamdani said in the video.

Within 24 hours, big-name billionaires and businesspeople attacked the proposal, with critics arguing it could drive investment out of the city.

"Mamdani likes the tag line 'Tax the rich.' Unfortunately, his policies will harm the constituencies he is supposedly trying to help," Bill Ackman wrote on X.

The new tax would apply to 13,000 properties, Hochul's office estimated, and several of the individuals behind those apartments could be hard to identify, having purchased their homes through trusts or LLCs.

Here are eight prominent figures from finance, entertainment, and real estate who would likely be affected by the proposed policy. Their representatives declined or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jeff Bezos

In 2023, Bezos very publicly decamped to Miami, purchasing several properties on the private island of Indian Creek and leaving at least some of his Seattle homes behind.

He's held onto his New York real estate empire. From 2019 to 2021, he purchased five apartments inside 212 Fifth Avenue, a condo building in Manhattan's Nomad, spending more than $100 million. He had previously purchased four apartments at 25 Central Park West with his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott Bezos, though it's unclear who retained ownership of them in the divorce.

Bezos, the world's third-richest person with a net worth of $269 billion according to Bloomberg, also owns homes in Beverly Hills, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Western Texas, and Hawaii.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Jay-Z and Beyoncé, famously from Brooklyn and Houston, respectively, have called California — where they own a Bel-Air mansion and a record-breaking Malibu estate — home for about a decade.

The pair, worth a combined $3.8 billion, according to Forbes, kept their Tribeca loft, where they married in 2008. The apartment has no doubt ballooned in value since Jay-Z purchased it for $6.85 million more than two decades ago.

Steve Cohen

While hedge fund titan Cohen primarily lives on an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, known as 30 Crown, he also owns another mansion 40 miles south. His 30,000-square-foot home in the West Village, which took years to construct, sits on multiple lots that Cohen purchased for more than $60 million in total in 2012.

Worth $17.4 billion, according to Bloomberg, Cohen has built a portfolio that includes an estate in East Hampton and a home in Delray Beach, Florida.

Michael Dell

Dell, the Texas-based founder of Dell Technologies, broke city records when he purchased a $100 million penthouse in 2014.

His 11,000-square-foot apartment was the first New York City residence to surpass $100 million and is located in the luxury tower One57 on Billionaires' Row, a stretch of Midtown Manhattan known for investment properties. Dell is worth $170 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Ken Griffin

Namechecked in Mamdani's announcement, Griffin owns multiple apartments in New York City. He's better known as a Chicagoan than a New Yorker and made headlines for ditching the Midwestern city for Miami in 2022.

In New York, his $238 million purchase on Central Park South set a nationwide record in 2019. Last year, he dropped another $45 million on a nearby Park Avenue co-op, and he's since doubled down, spending $38 million on the adjoining duplex, The Wall Street Journal reported the same day the pied-a-terre tax was announced.

Griffin, who is worth $48.3 billion according to Bloomberg, also owns homes in London, the Hamptons, Miami, and Palm Beach.

Stephen Ross

An advocate for moving to Florida, real estate mogul Ross made Palm Beach, where he lives in an oceanfront estate known as The Reef, his permanent residence during the pandemic.

While Ross, who is worth $16.5 billion, according to Bloomberg, has since sold many of his New York properties, he still owns at least one apartment in the city: the penthouse in 35 Hudson Yards, which his firm, Related Companies, developed.

Howard Schultz

The former Starbucks chief left Seattle for Miami earlier this year, buying a $44 million penthouse on the water.

Brooklyn-born Schultz, who Forbes estimates is worth $3.5 billion, held onto the $40 million West Village penthouse he purchased in 2017. The apartment, with a wraparound terrace and four bedrooms, is in a top-tier building that boasts a garden, pool, and golf simulator.

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump, who is worth $6.4 billion, according to Forbes, was one of several business titans who criticized the policy, posting on Truth Social that Mamdani is "DESTROYING New York."

Trump, who lives in D.C. and votes in Florida, still owns property in his hometown of New York. Most famously, he has a triplex in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. The apartment, the subject of yearslong investigation by Letitia James, measures about 11,000 square feet.

• Some members of Dubai's expat community who left temporarily during the Iran war are returning.
• Amid the ceasefire, UAE schools are reopening, and in-person work is ramping up.
• `A private education and relocation expert said some residents are putting contingency measures in place.

The cautious return to Dubai is underway.

It's been over a week since a ceasefire was agreed between the US and Iran. The school gates are reopening, workers are gradually returning to face-to-face meetings, and expats who left temporarily are coming back.

Sandy Zanella, a doctor and mindfulness coach, moved to Dubai from the US over five years ago. Two weeks after the war broke out, Zanella and her family went to her husband's native Italy.

After speaking with friends in Dubai and hearing that life is going on as normal, she has decided to return with her two kids on Saturday. Zanella said she feels "privileged to have this kind of opportunity" to temporarily leave, but would return even if there were no ceasefire.

"The uncertainty of things is kind of heavy, but what can we do?" Zanella said, referring to her life being in Dubai right now.

Safe haven status

Over the past few decades, Dubai has marketed itself as a safe haven for expats, offering zero income tax, high salaries, and a luxury lifestyle.

The city has been home to millions of expats from across the world across the past few decades; they make up around 90% of Dubai's population, per UAE government data.

But its safe-haven status flipped overnight when the Iran war broke out at the end of February.

Iran struck the UAE with drones and missiles as part of a wider retaliation against the US and its allies in the region, causing casualties and damage to buildings and infastructure. Residents, who were initially advised to stay indoors and work from home, reported loud booms from missile interceptions and distant explosions.

Tens of thousands of travelers were stranded in the UAE after the airspace around the region was closed as the war kicked off. Hotels began slashing prices and promoting staycations to offset a drop in tourism. Schools switched to distance learning, and spring break was moved forward. Some expat families, like Zanella's, took advantage of this to temporarily leave Dubai.

Many packed up and left altogether. Citing official estimates, the Financial Times reported earlier this month that 30,000 British residents left the UAE since the start of the war, though it is too early to say how many have permanently left.

Not all residents of Dubai were able to leave. For migrant workers, many of whom work in manual labor and as drivers for wealthy expats, the regional conflict has made life more difficult. Jason Nemerovski, a researcher at Equidem, a human rights and labor rights organization, said many have reported salary cuts.

"I think that is the key thing to understand when you are making a comparison between someone from "Western countries" and a Pakistani delivery rider — this was a decision made out of desperation, not desire," Nemerovski told Business Insider, about migrant workers' decision to move to Dubai.

Nemerovski told Business Insider that a delivery rider he spoke to on Thursday said he plans to leave if he can find an opportunity elsewhere, but says people would rather stay despite the risks due to a lack of work opportunities in their home country.

And with the ceasefire holding for now, some expats are deciding to return to their lives in Dubai, albeit with some caution.

A new kind of normal

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority, which oversees private education in Dubai, announced on Wednesday that schools and higher education institutions will resume in-person teaching from Monday. School bus services also resume that day.

The UAE government advised private-sector employees to work remotely for the days following the outbreak of the war. While some residents returned to the office in the early days of the conflict, more appear to be shifting to in-person work.

Charli Wright, owner and CEO of Dubai-based marketing agency JWI, told Business Insider that after a few weeks of working from home, her team has been back in person.

Wright said clients are pushing for in-person meetings, and she has continued hiring and interviewing candidates.

Chantelle Thompson moved to Dubai from the UK at the end of January with her husband and three children. Despite the Iran war, her family chose to stay in Dubai, and she said leaving the city was never a consideration.

While she faced issues in obtaining the birth certificates required for her visa to the UAE due to postal delays, she said, aside from that, things are "running as normal." The family is now completing their relocation and arranging for their dogs to come to Dubai.

"Until we really knew what's going on, I didn't feel comfortable bringing them out here," Thompson said of her pets. "Now we've assessed the situation, we feel more comfortable getting them over."

Antonio Masih, a director at Pawsome Friends, which offers a pet relocation service in Dubai, said that while March was a "very stressful time" with over 70 to 80 inquiries a day for pet relocation out of the UAE, things have calmed down considerably since the ceasefire.

"I think there's a bit of normality now in Dubai. It's definitely calmed down a lot now," Masih told Business Insider.

"I think if you give it probably about another two weeks, I think everything will be back to normal," he added.

Send My Bag, which offers luggage delivery and relocation services, told Business Insider that there was a 543% increase in shipment orders coming out of the UAE since March 1.

Adam Ewart, the CEO, said that while they are processing small shipments out of the UAE — a behavior that suggests a more temporary move — they have started to see some larger orders leaving the UAE.

Shipments to the UAE were down 50% in the first week of the war and flat the second week. Ewart said they are picking up again, but this is partly because of family at home sending presents and care packages to relatives in the UAE.

"It makes sense that at a time like this, family in another country would be increasing this activity to show their thinking of their loved ones living in the region," said Ewart.

The wait-and-see approach

While some expat families are moving back, Hilesh Chavda, a partner at London-based law firm Spencer West, told Business Insider that he has not had any new inquiries about relocating to the Middle East, despite it being a popular destination for UK-based families.

And for those who have remained in Dubai, caution nonetheless remains. Sandy Zanella, who plans to return this weekend, said she's excited to get back to her life in Dubai. However, the uncertainty of the ceasefire means she does not yet feel confident about having her children at school full-time.

"It's the part that I can't control," she said. "I trust the teachers and everything, but it's too many hours where you can get alarms, alerts."

Angus Gibson, founder and director of Treberys Private, a private education and relocation consultancy which advises HNW families, told Business Insider that there has been a shift from reactive decision-making toward contingency planning.

"Families are increasingly looking at how to preserve stability for children, whether that means staying put with the right support around them, or putting a temporary alternative in place until the picture in Dubai becomes clearer," Gibson added.

Thompson, who stayed in Dubai during the Iran war, said her children are currently being tutored at home until they start school in Dubai in August.

"We've just realised that it's become our new normal," she said of life there.

"Obviously there are a lot of people have chosen to leave," she added. But, "there is a massive sense of community here."

• Drivers can't change high gas prices, but they can adjust their usage.
• People can work from home, carpool, and combine their trips.
• AAA's David Bennett also suggests vehicle maintenance, including checking your tires.

Joshua Garcia saw the gas price writing on the wall.

Garcia, a 40-year-old in Texas, works in logistics. He's acutely aware of how much fuel costs, since he drives around 96 miles round-trip to his office daily.

In mid-December, Garcia got an EV. He said his charging costs are around $79 a month, compared to the $750 — virtually another car payment — he anticipated spending on gas in the event of the kind of unrest we're seeing in the Middle East, though he did shell out for an at-home charger. Right now, he thinks he's at a break-even point; within five or so years, should prices remain elevated, he thinks he'll save thousands annually.

Gas prices, on average, accelerated throughout March and recently began to cool, but remain elevated as the Iran war keeps oil markets on edge. The price of regular gas was $4.076 as of Friday, up from $3.790 a month ago.

Iran said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" to maritime traffic, which could bring the Persian Gulf region's massive oil production back to global markets. However, it will still likely take some time for prices at the pump to fall back to normal.

Changing gas prices are reshaping American drivers' everyday lives, whether through cutting back on trips or shaking up their budgets. Saving on gas can require taking the effort to check on your vehicle and being flexible with your schedule.

"Take care of your vehicle, and it'll take care of you," David Bennett, senior automotive manager at AAA, said. "Take your time when you're on the roads, plan accordingly, plan ahead."

Here are eight things you can do to cut back on gas spending.

Consider what grade of gas your vehicle actually needs

Bennett suggested considering the recommended versus the actual required octane rating. He said to check your owner's manual for this.

Manufacturers might say, "'Oh, we recommend 93 octane, but 87 is OK.' Well, if it's just recommending it, that's not required," Bennett said. "So at that case, then 87 or mid-grade 89 is perfectly acceptable, and the vehicle will run very efficiently and run fine versus you putting in the higher octane gas, which is costing you 20, 30 cents more a gallon."

Check on your vehicle

Drivers saving money on gas "really comes down to keeping their vehicle fuel efficient and running properly," Bennett said.

He added to check tire pressure; properly inflated tires help the vehicle move more easily. Most cars have a decal on the driver's side door showing the proper inflation amount.

He also said if you see any warning lights on the dashboard, go get that checked out.

"That yellow check engine light is indicating that there is a fault within one of the engine management systems," he gave as an example. "You could have a bad sensor or bad wire that's causing it not to run as efficiently as it should."

Change when you commute

Bennett suggested working from home if possible or commuting outside peak traffic hours. If you're stuck heading to the office in rush hour, you can turn off your vehicle if you are sitting motionless in traffic.

Bennett also suggested traveling outside peak hours if you are going on road trips this summer. "The busy times are going to be in probably late afternoon, rush hour, things like that," he said. "So do your driving either before or after, so that way you're not sitting in traffic idling."

David G., a 45-year-old consulting director in California, said he's opted to work from home to save on costs. He's also been using his e-bike to drop his kids off at school.

"If gas prices remain this high or continue to surge, then I will continue to avoid driving whenever possible," he said. "The problem is that high fuel prices have knock-on effects that will affect all aspects of modern American life, so I foresee forgoing future vacations, less purchases, and overall adopting more austerity measures."

Watch your speed

"Excessive speeding will decrease your gas mileage," Bennett said. "Your fuel economy essentially peaks around 50, 55 miles an hour on most cars. And then as you start to increase your speed, you could affect the gas mileage between 10 and 14%."

Plan out efficient routes

If you have a few errands to tackle or are planning a summer getaway, Bennett said to consider the most efficient way to drive.

"Is it a loop? Instead of crisscrossing the city, let's see if there's a more efficient route to do this on all five stops," Bennett said.

Combining multiple errands into a single trip and carpooling can help cut down on costs.

"Think through your day," Bennett said.

Take out items you don't need

Bennett suggested removing items that are adding weight and that you don't need in the vehicle.

"As you put more things, you're carrying around — sporting equipment or luggage that you've left in there, or you have a car carrier on top of the vehicle that you used last summer and you may use it in another month or two for your summer trip — take that off," he said. "That's all going to create drag and then decrease your gas mileage."

Take advantage of fuel rewards programs

Some savvy shoppers are leveraging new credit cards or points to ease the pain at the pump.

Austin Goodrich, a 41-year-old project manager in Michigan, has been banking points at Meijer, a local grocery chain; he can redeem 10,000 points for a dollar off a gallon of gas, which he uses to fill up his car and a five-gallon tank for his lawn equipment.

"I have thought about trying to have my wife or one of my kids that also has their own car come in behind me before I hang up the handle" to double up on points, Goodrich said. "I think my family would be too embarrassed to do that with me."

Goodrich keeps an eye on in-store promotions and has switched his prescriptions to Meijer to take advantage of the points ecosystem.

Travel to cheaper gas options

Where you fill up can also make a difference; while it might be burdensome, taking the time to locate a better pump might pay off.

"Instead of pulling into the nearest gas station solely out of convenience, use a gas-finding app to pinpoint the cheapest fuel options along your route, helping you to avoid populated or central areas where prices typically surge," said Lora Monfared, head of consumer card products at Bank of America.

• William Butterton started experimenting with side hustles after having his first kid.
• He was looking for relatively passive hustles that would leave him enough time to spend with family.
• ATM placement has proven to be the most passive, while selling sports cards can be lucrative but very hands-on.

William Butterton likes to tinker.

"I had invention journals when I was a little kid," he told Business Insider. "I always wanted to be an inventor."

Through his 20s and early 30s, those ideas mostly stayed on paper. He was comfortable in his day job and didn't feel much urgency to build something on the side — until he had his first daughter.

"That's when I started really thinking about how I could bring some extra money in, but without sacrificing that safety net that I had built at my job," he said. "As your family grows, the benefits and incentives that you have at a full-time job, especially a government one, become really important."

Butterton works as an electrical engineer for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport, Washington. His schedule gives him some room to experiment with side projects: He works 36 hours one week and 44 the next.

His most passive income stream: ATM placement

When Butterton discovered ATM placement on Instagram and TikTok, the side hustle seemed relatively low stakes.

"The more I looked into it, the more I was like, 'OK, there's really no risk in trying this, outside that original financial obligation of $2,500 to buy the ATM.'"

Butterton is wary of the term "passive income," but of all the businesses he's tried, he said that an "ATM is the closest thing that I have personally found," he said. "You're only there for 10 minutes to load it up, and then you're on your way."

He and his business partner started Viking Vendors in 2022. As of March 2026, they had five ATMs and three vending machines. They split about $1,500 in monthly profit, according to terminal activity summaries viewed by BI.

He said beginners are better off starting with ATMs than vending machines, which require more time and heavy lifting.

Right now, he and his partner each spend about an hour a week servicing their eight machines, but the more machines you own, the less passive the business becomes. He knows another operator with more than 100 ATMs who spends his days loading machines and struggles to take time off because the business demands constant attention.

Butterton estimates he could probably double his current fleet while keeping the business relatively passive. At the end of the day, though, "I love owning a business, but I'm not passionate about ATMs," he said. He sees the side hustle as a relatively low-stakes way to learn the ropes of running a business.

His most time-intensive side hustle: sports cards

Butterton started another side hustle after his second daughter was born. This time, the idea came from a hobby. He and a longtime friend were spending money opening sports cards and started wondering whether they could turn that interest into a business.

They noticed that some traditional local card shops were struggling, while online sellers using live-streaming platforms and social media were thriving. In 2024, they hosted their first stream on Whatnot, a platform where users buy and sell items in online video auctions. Setting up the stream is relatively cheap and easy — Butternton set up a camera in his garage — but actually making money required a lot of trial and error.

The early returns were rough: "That first stream, we got burned. You're just trying to figure out how to even use the website, and you end up losing money."

Still, they stuck with it, streaming once a week for hours on weekend nights. They called their business The Pack Daddies.

"For a couple of months there, we were sitting up there for about $5 an hour," he said. "We'd always joke that there's not a job in America that pays worse than this."

Their consistency eventually paid off. From July through December 2024, he said they sold about $20,000 worth of inventory. In the next 10 months, they expanded into other trading cards, including Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, and sales topped $100,000. Their follower count on Whatnot also grew to about 7,500.

The card business has much more upside than the ATM business, he said, but it's also far less passive. Streams can last for hours, and they've also started setting up at local card shows to sell in person.

It's also riskier. While ATM purchases are occasional — they bought machines for $2,500 to $3,000 each — the card business can involve moving tens of thousands of dollars of inventory each month.

"If you're not keeping up with your sales, that is a recipe for disaster," he said.

Still, he finds the business more personally rewarding. He enjoys interacting with customers at trade shows, changing live-streaming formats in real time, and using skills from his engineering background, such as laser engraving customized bottle openers to incentivize first-time buyers.

His big flop: cutting boards

Not all of Butterton's ideas have worked. At one point, he tried making and selling cutting boards, but quickly realized he was in an oversaturated market and competing against woodworkers who were faster and more skilled.

"I'm not super great at woodworking, and there are a lot of people that are really good," he said. "It takes me longer, I can't sell my products for as much, and the return on investment was just not there."

That experience helped sharpen his business philosophy: Instead of competing in a crowded market, he'd rather sell tools to the people already in it.

"During a gold rush, you want to be the guy selling the shovel, not the guy digging for gold," he said. So rather than keep making cutting boards, he pivoted to a complementary product: a food-safe wood finish made with ingredients like hemp oil, white beeswax, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, and orange peel oil.

The economics were much better. He said he could make 50 cans in an hour for about $5 each and sell them for $15. He built a website for the company, One-Eyed Willy's, and started selling the product at trade shows and online, though the business never took off as much as his ATM or collectible card ventures did.

After trying several side hustles, Butterton is now thinking about consolidation: "If I remove one and put that much more time into the other, could I make even more?"

For now, he's still balancing his government job, family life, and a portfolio of side hustles — and learning which ventures are worth the effort.

• Christopher Santoso, a UX designer, has struggled to find a job since getting laid off last year.
• Despite job rejections and ghosting, Santoso remains determined and continues to upskill.
• Supportive friends have helped Santoso manage financial struggles during unemployment.

Christopher Santoso, 37, is a UX designer who lives in Chicago. He has been looking for a job since May 2025 after getting laid off. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It's been a tough time. Last year, I had a job interview with a large company here in Chicago. I worked with a recruiter, followed their framework, and felt like I killed it. I told a story about how I did each project. I also had a close friend who knew one of the people interviewing me, so I thought the odds were in my favor. Not getting that job flipped my perception of things.

More recently, in one week, I had five interviews. It was during my birthday week. I was like, "The stars are in my favor." I was checking my zodiac apps. I thought, "Everything's going great. I'm going to kill it."

For a different job, I had several interviews. The third one was in-person. I felt like I was in good hands after that interview — even if it was going to be a "no," I was going to get a response. The last thing I heard was that I was still in consideration for the role.

A couple of weeks went by, and I still hadn't heard from the recruitment company that works with the employer. I reached out to the hiring manager and tagged the recruiter I was working with, but I didn't hear back, so I followed up again. I don't like doing that; it makes me uncomfortable. I thought, if I come off as annoying, just tell me and say "No."

Finally, I asked a friend who had a contact at the company to try to find out what was happening. My friend said that they were no longer hiring for that role. I'm just floored. This ghosting is insane.

Survival mode

I'm not going to lie, it's been tough. I have rent and bills to pay. I had to take out a loan to buy a computer, just to look for a job. I thought things would be OK by the beginning of this year.

When I get into survival mode like this, I tend to stay in my apartment. But going out and being around friends has also made me realize that I have a really supportive community of people who are willing to help me out.

I'm trying not to lean on my network. I'm very afraid to ask for help, to be honest, because I sometimes see it as a form of weakness. Society has modeled it that way.

This year has humbled me. One of my friends, on his final unemployment check, bought me groceries. He was really insistent on making sure that I was OK.

At the beginning of the year, my college friends that I'm really close with paid my January rent. I didn't ask for that. I do not want to ask that of them, but they did it because they care. My one friend who led that charge also paid my internet, phone, and electricity bills. I took food stamps at the beginning of March to keep me afloat.

I have determination

I'm two months behind on rent. I worry about when my landlord is going to serve me an eviction notice. I have so much stuff, partly because I've been involved in the music scene and have a lot of gear. I've been trying to sell some of my equipment, but people are pinching their pennies right now.

As far as hustling goes, I don't have a car, but I've looked at apps like Taskrabbit, being a shopper, and part-time jobs. You can't find those jobs either.

I've been trying to do what I can with what I can control. I've been taking my mind off things by upskilling with design programs like Figma.

I'm stubborn and have the will, grit, and determination to survive. I want to feel like I'm productive in society by leaving a legacy, whether it be big or small, and inspiring somebody the way I felt inspired when I started drawing, using Photoshop, or using the internet and coding on MySpace.

I want to center back around that joy. I experience some of that by cooking, and I recently redesigned my portfolio. The tools are a lot easier, and what would have taken me three months can now be done in a week, so I am somewhat hopeful.

Life is life. You can only control so much, but I will bounce back.

Do you have a story to share about your job search? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

• Biohacking is a rapidly growing trend that mixes technology and wellness to promote longevity.
• Silicon Valley is home to many of the newest biohacking technologies and remedies.
• I visited a wellness event in San Francisco to learn the biohacking tips tech founders swear by.

I first heard about biohacking on social media about a year ago, after coming across Bryan Johnson, a famous biohacker who spends $2 million a year to stay alive as long as possible. His Instagram bio ambitiously reads, "We may be the first generation who won't die."

It's fair to say I was intrigued.

Biohackers optimize their bodies and minds to live longer and better. So, when I walked into Shack15, a members-only social club in San Francisco, for a biohacking event, I expected to see a bunch of Bryan Johnson dopplegangers — people in matching smartwatches, obsessively tracking their bodies and chasing immortality. Instead, I found something much more typical.

Despite biohacking often being framed as a way to live longer, at this event, most people weren't chasing immortality. They just wanted to feel better now, whether they live long or not.

I attended the event to understand how Silicon Valley's wellness, work, and tech cultures collide, and to hopefully steal some tips ultra-productive founders use to feel their best. But while the technology was innovative, the biggest biohacks were much less extreme than I expected and cost nothing.

Tickets ranged from $79 to $229

One ticket cost $79 for general admission, though I was granted free access with a media pass. The most expensive tickets were $229.

The five-hour event, a partnership between wellness event brands BayDreaming and Biohack Miami, featured a full calendar across multiple rooms, including yoga, DJ sets, brunch, and speakers on longevity.

There was always something to be doing, but my interest was drawn to the main hub where wellness companies promoted their products or services, often offering free trials.

Call me a guinea pig, because if it's a free trial, I'll try anything.

I tried out B12 shots, audio tactile beds, and red light therapy

I signed my life away on a waiver before jumping right in with a B12 injection, which the doctor told me would give me an energy boost. I took the shot in my right arm, but throughout the day, I didn't notice any change.

Then, I tested out an audio-tactile bed that vibrates to music — and I swear it felt like my body was sinking into the ground in the most relaxing way.

A red-light vest was less convincing. It's supposed to reduce pain and inflammation wherever the light touches, but the vendor told me it likely wouldn't work well through my clothes. This ruined any hope of the placebo effect, since I had to keep our clothes on.

Some other treatments I didn't get an opportunity to try were hydrogen therapy and an IV drip.

Some treatments cost thousands of dollars

While testing the products was free, most companies were selling products or services that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The audio-tactile bed for relaxation starts at $2,600, and a wearable bra insert designed to track women's health data costs $200.

Maybe I'm just salty because these items are out of my budget, but the prices made me question, "Are the health benefits really worth the cost?"

There was a surprisingly diverse population

I expected a room full of wealthy founders in luxury gear. When I scanned the space for expensive sneakers or watches, I only found myself burning holes into people's generic-brand workout clothes with my gaze. I looked down at my Target leggings and beat-up running shoes with a sigh of relief.

Surprisingly, I even noticed age and body diversity among the people there.

I naively expected anyone who'd adorn the title "biohacker" to be a young person harrowingly obsessed with physical appearance, with little to no room for diversity, but I was happily wrong.

People were skeptical of the technology

When I talked to some of the patrons, a lot of them were hesitant to try the technologies. They wondered about the potential side effects of an IV drip or questioned the efficacy of some of the sound therapies.

"I don't really believe in that," 26-year-old startup founder, Pouya Rezvani, said about brain-mapping.

While these patrons paid money to attend the event, it seems they have their hesitancies when it comes to using new technology that hasn't been proven or regulated.

Even though the biohacking community is "living in the future" in some regard, it appeared to me that human skepticism has yet to catch up.

Many of the wellness remedies offered were expensive and pretty big-time commitments

I was surprised to see that many of the people I spoke with didn't find expensive and time-consuming remedies worth it.

Aleks Chojnacki, a 31-year-old head of partnerships in AI technology, says, "I'm rushing from thing to thing. So if it's too much of an additional weight into my day and my schedule, I know I'm probably not going to maintain it."

Thirty-two-year-old founder of Etho wellness club, Mikey Margolin, agrees. "I come from a mindset that wellness does not have to be expensive. I think that this culture of biohacking and wellness is amazing in the sense of optimizing you as a human being, but we are given all those tools on this planet to optimize ourselves without having to spend any money. And that can be as simple as getting sunlight."

Most wellness participants just wanted to focus on the basics: food, sleep, and friends

When I asked people about their longevity routines, almost no one mentioned high-tech treatments. Instead, they kept coming back to the basics.

Barry McCabe, a 34-year-old who runs a sports performance technology company, told me, "It's cool to see all the new ideas and new innovation and new waves of trends coming on the market. But for me, it's the basics: sleep, mental well-being, and good food."

Many of the day's activities, from yoga to guided breathwork, were just about reducing stress and boosting well-being. Project manager, Maike Kleier, says, "I just want to feel good now, and if that increases my lifetime, that's great."

• Shortly after moving to Chicago, I got scammed by three well-dressed strangers in a park.
• I'm a smart, competent adult. I didn't think I would ever fall for something like this.
• Months later, I'm still disputing the $15,000 charge with my credit card company.

Eight months ago, our family of six packed up our life in New Jersey and moved to Chicago — my husband, our kids ( 6 and 4), and our tiny, exuberant Maltipoo, Ace, who experiences the world at a high volume of delight.

By February, I was still exploring the city. Still learning the rhythm of it, the specific grit and beauty of a Chicago winter. February 18th felt like a small miracle: one of those rare, sunlit days where the air softens just enough to remind you that spring is actually going to come — finally.

I had a packed workday, back-to-back meetings, and the usual mental juggling act of deadlines and school pickups. But one meeting ended early, and suddenly I had a rare, unexpected sliver of time. Enough for a real walk, not the rushed loop I usually did with Ace between calls. This walk turned out to be far from the mind-clearing break from my day I was anticipating, though.

A quick decision on a rare, beautiful day

My dog and I wandered a little farther than usual, from my neighborhood of Bucktown toward nearby Wicker Park, the sun warm on my face, the old and new houses a beautiful juxtaposition. I was half-listening to a voice memo from a friend, half-running through my mental to-do list, already calculating when I'd need to head back for preschool and kindergarten pickup. It was a small pocket of ease inside a very full life.

I walked from Bucktown to Wicker Park down a quiet residential street, a pretty mix of old and new houses and apartment buildings with beautiful gardens and old trees. Three people stopped me — two men and a woman, all wearing black suits, holding clipboards and stacks of fliers. They looked official in that vague but convincing way.

"Hi," one of them said brightly. "We're special education teachers raising money for the family of a student who passed away. Would you be willing to donate?"

I hesitated for a fraction of a second, but I was distracted, mid-thought, already moving through the interaction. Of course, I thought. That's deeply awful. I can give something. It felt like the kind of small, decent thing I could do in the midst of my busy day.

I made my donation via Apple Pay on their phone and wrote my name on their clipboard. I said I would give $20. As I tapped to pay, they kept me busy — more clipboards, handshakes, chatter, while they handled their own phone. They were effusive with gratitude, thanking me, shaking my hand, and even crouching down to pet my dog. One of them laughed and said he didn't really like dogs, but he liked mine. That tracks, as Ace is a love bug.

The charge wasn't $20; it was $5,000. Three times.

As soon as I walked away, I had a weird feeling, an unmistakable flicker of unease. I pulled out my phone and opened my bank app, more out of instinct than logic.

The charge wasn't $20; it was $5,000. Three times. $15,000.

On the most beautiful day I'd had in months, in a neighborhood that was just starting to feel like home, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. Oh shit.

I also had a meeting with a potential new client in 30 minutes. Before then, in a flurry, my hands shaking, I called the police, my husband, my mom, and the bank that issued the credit card I had used to attempt to donate $20 to the family of a dead kid.

I filed a fraud claim, still shaky, still hoping there had been some kind of mistake that could be quickly undone. Nine days later, I got the notice: denied.

I called the bank. And then I called again, and again. Each time, waiting on hold for what felt like forever, explaining the story from the beginning, trying to sound calm, reasonable, and not cry.

Eventually, they reopened it — not as a fraud, but as a billing dispute. Their reasoning: I had authorized a charge. I had intended to pay $20. The problem, they said, wasn't that it happened — it was the amount

But the $15,000 is still sitting on my statement nearly two months later. Every time I open the app, I feel it again, a rush of dread.

The police told me I'm not alone

When I called the police, they told me this sort of thing happens all the time. That these groups move around, that they're practiced, that they know exactly how to catch people in a moment of distraction or goodwill. They suggested I take a photo if I see them again.

I keep thinking about that — how ordinary it all felt. How I am, by all reasonable measures, a competent, careful, fairly skeptical adult. I manage a household, a career, and a thousand daily decisions. And still, in the space of a few distracted minutes on a sunny afternoon, I handed over everything they needed.

There's something about the story they chose — a deceased child, special education — that still gets under my skin. As a mom, it sparked something in me that felt urgent, human, nightmarish, unquestionable. And then there was the warmth of it: the eye contact, the handshakes and thank yous, the way they pet Ace so enthusiastically, laughing, connecting. Thinking about it still makes me nauseous.

I'm still sitting with a lot of feelings — and the $15k charge

I'm a writer, and so putting things down on the page is how I process, metabolize, and make sense of the world. I'm still in it, still adding another call to the bank to my calendar (ugg) between deadlines and my daughter's ballet classes.

I think about why I said yes so quickly. How the story of a child's death cut through everything else.

I don't have a tied-in-a-bow takeaway yet, just this lingering awareness of how porous those moments are, how easily care, distraction, and trust blurred together. How most people are truly, deeply good, and how, sometimes, that's exactly what fraudsters are counting on.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karl-Anthony Towns, a 30-year-old basketball player for the New York Knicks. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

When people ask me what gives me an edge, I say it's confidence, but all of that confidence comes from training. If there are no lights and no fans, my confidence is built in the gym.

I'm a player on the New York Knicks. My father played and coached basketball, which inspired me to pursue the sport, among other things. When I was at St. Joseph High School in New Jersey, our team won a state championship in 2014.

In college, I played for the Kentucky Wildcats and started my NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015. I joined the Knicks in 2024 and have played for them for almost two years.

Truly believing in my work and my abilities gives me an edge. I think anyone else in the NBA feels that way as well.

Here's what a typical day looks like for me.

I wake up at 6 a.m. and have a light, liquid breakfast

I'm not a big breakfast guy, which is funny, because everyone says it's the most important meal of the day. A lot of guys I know don't like eating in the morning because we don't like to feel heavy.

When I wake up, I have 16 ounces of water and then black coffee, MCT oil (derived from palm kernel and coconut oils for an energy boost), and chicken bone broth.

I go to practice at 7 a.m.

Of course, on game days, which are about three to four days a week during the season, you want to be hydrated, but staying hydrated even on off-days is important — the more hydrated you are, the quicker the body recovers.

I drink water all day. Sparkling water is my favorite. Starting at 7 a.m., I'm at practice all day, so I'm always being handed Gatorade bottles and water.

At the Knicks facility, we have our hydration tested. A lot of us check our hydration throughout the day, even when we leave the facility, to make sure we're at a good level.

Lunges are my favorite mobility workout

When I was in high school, my favorite compound exercise was the deadlift, which works the entire body.

Now that I'm older, I prefer lunges, chin-ups, and goblet squats for working multiple muscle groups. Lunges especially help with my mobility, working my legs and quads.

After dealing with a meniscus tear a few years ago, it's been awesome to see how my body has reacted and recovered from it. It's the only surgery I've ever had, and I wouldn't have known how my body could bounce back if it hadn't happened.

Don't underestimate your toes

A lot of the players get work done on our feet — massages, rolling out our feet with a lacrosse ball or tennis ball, picking up and lowering the ball to work on the contraction.

I'm a believer in strengthening the toes. When I played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a lot of players would practice barefoot, gripping the floor, getting our feet and our toes into it, obviously working out the muscles and ligaments.

Our feet always swell up because we run so much, so I'll take some Advil. It's great to have that still working for inflammation after all these years of playing basketball. (Editor's note: Towns recently partnered with the company to promote its Advil Exchange program, which encourages consumers to check their medicine cabinets for expired over-the-counter pain medications and replace them with Advil).

My lunches and dinners follow a similar pattern

I have chicken as my protein, with some greens and veggies. I always like color on the plate. Carb-wise, I usually have sweet potatoes, cauliflower rice, or quinoa. During the season, when I need more carbs, I might have some white rice.

Snacks in between lunch and dinner are usually unsalted almonds, a protein bar, and electrolytes.

I'm so used to my diet at this point that I find a lot of enjoyment in it. My fiancé, Jordyn Woods, makes me try other things, like salmon or another fish instead of chicken.

All of us nap before the game

The whole team naps before each game for a max of about two hours.

It's part of the routine. We shoot around, take a nap for recovery, and then go back to the stadium.

After a game, I go home, get some rest, and I'm back to practice the next morning.

• I attended the closing party for the Jefferies Private Growth Conference at Nobu Malibu.
• The mood was ebullient, with excitement about upcoming mega IPOs and fears about the war in Iran fading.
• "You'll see some tech companies look to go public in the next four to six weeks," one banker told me.

The celebrities and wannabe celebrities who usually inhabit LA's Nobu Malibu were swapped out Wednesday night by bankers in sport coats mingling with startup founders, munching on caviar handrolls while sipping lychee martinis and champagne. The good times are back.

It was the closing party for the Jefferies Private Growth Conference, where the bank pairs investors with executives from late-stage companies like Ramp and Databricks. Speed dating for startups, with wagyu beef and a prime ocean view.

The mood at this year's event was ebullient, no doubt helped by the free-flowing Nobu open bar and an energetic DJ who nearly drowned out the sounds of crashing waves.

More importantly, there was a celebration about the upcoming mega IPOs from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, mixed with relief volatility tied to the war in Iran, which faded faster than feared.

"It's remarkable how quickly things change," said one banker. "Before the conference started, we saw the largest single stock buying activity on our trading desk since COVID."

The Nasdaq Composite has been on a historic tear over the last two weeks, rising roughly 10% since the beginning of the month.

"Two weeks ago, I would have told you that we wouldn't see tech IPOs until the summertime," the banker told me. "Now I think that you'll see some tech companies look to go public in the next four to six weeks."

For months, the dominant narrative on Wall Street has been that the IPO market wouldn't truly reopen until SpaceX went public first, with its massive public market debut expected in June.

"That was the conventional wisdom coming in," he said. "But now I don't think that anyone cares."

Instead of acting as a gatekeeper, SpaceX is increasingly viewed as being so colossal that it is an event unto itself.

"People are very excited about SpaceX," the banker said. "I don't think that there will be any IPOs that try to price when SpaceX is pricing, but it's not to say that other companies can't go public before SpaceX."

Many companies are still cautious

Still, don't pop all the champagne just yet. Just because companies can go public does not mean they will.

Many startup CEOs have been unnerved by the dismal performance of former high-flying startups like Figma, which is down more than 80% since its August debut, another banker told me.

"I think they're all scared," he said. "What that ultimately leads to is a massive amount of stagnation."

Even with the recent rebound, the so-called SaaSpocalypse has left many publicly traded tech companies battered while private investors have been more forgiving, a third banker told me.

"The public market's paying lower multiples than the private market," he said. "It's hard to want to go public when you would be at a lower valuation."

For months, that combination of fear and unfavorable public-market dynamics kept companies on the sidelines, reinforcing the idea that it was safer to wait for better conditions, stronger comps, and for a blockbuster like SpaceX to test the waters first.

That caution hasn't gone away. Founders are still wary of weak post-IPO performance and lower public valuations. But the market's sudden rebound is creating a competing pressure: the risk of missing the window altogether.

As the first banker put it, describing what he's hearing from CEOs over the past several days: "I don't need to wait until June, let's go."

• Johanna Abzug wanted to sell her things when moving from Texas to Spain — so she vibe coded a marketplace.
• She tried Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp, but found that buyers were often "uncommitted."
• "I tend to like to do things the hard way," she said. "It's been so satisfying doing this."

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Johanna Abzug, a 38-year-old freelance product designer who lives in Madrid. It's been edited for length and clarity.

We moved for political reasons.

My partner and I had just had a kid, and we lived in Texas. I don't know if it was postpartum rash decision-making, but I decided this would be the best thing for our family. That was my main objective for over a year: getting us all moved.

I had these big items. When it really got down to seeing all the things that are of value, I could donate them, but I need cash. This is something I would like to sell. You keep adding onto that list, and it ended up being over 200 things that I had to sell.

I started doing things on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp, and realized this is not feasible. I cannot do this. Trying to sell a bed frame and a mattress on Facebook Marketplace, I'd get dozens of messages from people who are uncommitted: "Is this available?" or "Will you take $10 for this $1200 thing?" I don't want to deal with that.

I tend to like to do things the hard way. I searched for something that would meet the needs that I had, but I could not find one. That's why I created one.

I used Bubble, which is a no-code thing, where you basically hook up the logic behind things. I had a working prototype and made a way for me to create an inventory of what I had really quickly, and then made a sale for it.

It was like an online garage sale where people can come and add multiple things, with the idea of selling as much as I can, as quickly as I can, because I want to be done with this task.

I call it a personal pop-up sale. You make a personal inventory of your items, and then, when you're ready, you can put those items into a sale. The sale is a scheduled event, and it lasts for a certain amount of time. The offers also expire after 24 hours, which necessitates more commitment. You share it with your personal network.

Where the transaction differs from Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp is that you don't chat with the buyer until after a price is agreed upon. It's offer-based, back-and-forth to start, and can be on multiple items. The idea is to separate the transactional part of selling items online from the direct message part.

The name was actually inspired by Enya. It's Sale Away.

I ended up making my own sale and posting it on Nextdoor and Craigslist. Under 10 people went to the site, and then I stopped advertising the sale.

This one person bought a lot of my stuff. The offer was over $1,000. I guess someone was moving in, and I was moving out. The transaction went great.

Then I moved. I've always been hesitant to put myself out there, and I was like, "I can just forget about it." But it always really bothered me that I never finished the project and let other people use it. That's why I rebuilt it.

I started the project using ChatGPT, and I switched to Claude. That technology has grown so much in the three years since I created the initial prototype in Bubble. It's been such a great way to carry out the ideas that I have in my head.

Building things scratches a different itch than designing things. To be a designer is usually the second-to-last stop before it goes live. The deadlines get pushed, and it all rolls downhill. I can feel the stress of developers, and that's not something that I want.

It's been so satisfying doing this. I've always had some sort of personal thing going on the side. I am also a mom to a six-year-old, and I'm taking classes to learn Spanish while working.

This is the first thing of utility that I've built, and I definitely would not have been able to do it without vibe coding.

The must-read story in the $5 trillion hedge fund industry used to be about who made the biggest trade or launched the biggest fund. Now it's about who made the biggest hire or got the biggest guaranteed payout.

As the increasingly institutional space has veered away from star funds run by a single genius to sprawling investment platforms with dozens of investing teams, the industry has grappled with a shortage of talent.

It's now such a finite resource that top portfolio managers are commanding deals that resemble those of professional athletes, and top managers accustomed to poaching their choice of talent by paying top dollar are now developing more talent in-house to cut expenses.

Business Insider has closely covered the evolution of hedge funds. See our stories below on the state of play, how the industry is changing, and who the new stars are.

The state of play

The numbers are staggering, with guaranteed nine-figure payouts and years-long non-compete clauses, but the anecdotes of what it's like inside the biggest funds are just as startling.

Firms dangle the prospect of relocating to tax havens like Puerto Rico and Dubai to entice top traders. Recruiters are being pushed into ethical gray areas to determine the truth about potential hires. While white-collar career ladders are collapsing in other industries, hedge funds are accutally building them.

How it's changing the industry

Whenever this much money is flowing, there's bound to be ripple effects. Within hedge funds, this means the introduction of both new industry players and new roles within the largest firms.

As with any gold rush, people are picking up an ax in the hopes of carving out a little piece for themselves. It's up to the powers-that-be of the industry to decide what's real and what's fool's gold.

The competition for the top PM talent scouts

One subset of the industry that has been thrust into the spotlight during the talent shortage is the group of individuals who find top PMs.

Recruiters and business development professionals at the industry's biggest managers have seen their own worth soar in recent years. With a steady flow of fresh capital into hedge funds, this cohort is likely to remain in demand for years to come.

• Rep. Seth Moulton recently became the first member of Congress to ban staff from prediction markets.
• He told Business Insider that other lawmakers in both parties told him it's a good idea.
• Other members of Congress said that they were considering similar measures.

If you work on Capitol Hill, your boss might prohibit you from betting on prediction markets pretty soon.

"It's something we've talked about internally," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Business Insider. "We haven't put out any official guidance, but you know, that certainly seems like it would make sense."

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts recently became the first member of Congress to publicly announce that he would ban his staff from making bets on platforms like Kalshi or Polymarket.

He told Business Insider that he's received plaudits from other lawmakers in both parties, including some who approached him in the House gym.

"I've never put something out and had more immediate response from a bipartisan group of members than this," Moulton said. "People on both sides of the aisle recognize this is credibly corrupt, and we need to take action to stop it. The first thing we should do is police our own."

Amid a broad array of concerns in Washington about prediction markets, lawmakers have introduced a flurry of new bills that include both changes to the types of markets that platforms are allowed to offer and restrictions on government officials' ability to trade.

The bills vary widely in scope, ranging from measures to tackle insider trading to broader efforts to rein in an industry Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has likened to Big Tobacco.

"I hold myself to a high standard, and we hold our operation to that standard," the New York Democrat told Business Insider, saying that she believed her current office policies would likely already prohibit prediction market trading but that "it doesn't hurt to really refine the letter on it."

Yet none of those legislative proposals appear close to becoming law, particularly as the Trump administration takes a friendly approach toward the industry.

In the absence of legislation, lawmakers are left to enforce ethics rules in their own offices.

There's no hard evidence that prediction market trading is rampant among Capitol Hill staff — concerns have tended to center around the White House, given well-timed trades around recent actions in Iran and Venezuela.

The White House has denied that any staff are getting rich from prediction market trades, but in March, the administration did warn White House staffers against making prediction market trades.

"All federal employees are subject to government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of nonpublic information for financial benefit," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Still, there are ways that Capitol Hill staff could theoretically benefit from inside information to reap major profits, including on prediction markets about the length and likelihood of government shutdowns or what their boss is likely to say in a major public appearance.

Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, the sponsor of a bill that would ban prediction markets that are considered vulnerable to insider trading, indicated he saw little need to lay out an official ban in his office.

"If I go and put a policy in, or not, I don't think it makes any difference, because they just don't do it," Casar said of his staff. "I don't think it's anything that they should be allowed to do, nor is it anything I think they would consider doing."

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who introduced a bill to ban lawmakers from trading on prediction markets, told Business Insider that he'd prefer to see Congress start there.

"I think it'd be very powerful for Congress to start with the people who are at the top of the food chain, which is the members themselves," Merkley said. "If Congress is willing to go even further and ban top staff from trading, I would support that."

And Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who introduced a bill to require lawmakers and staff to disclose their prediction market trades, said that idea is "appropriate, at least for starters," but that "we'll take it from there."

"I'd be open to other good government reforms," Young said.

• More AI startups are choosing small neighborhoods and mixed-use, creative spaces.
• Downtown offices no longer suit the office culture of post-COVID startups, business experts say.
• Food delivery and local businesses could benefit from startup employees who work long hours.

Despite the pandemic, an exodus of tech companies, and a feared "doom loop," a one-two punch of return-to-office mandates and the explosion of AI startups has shifted San Francisco's tech center into smaller neighborhoods.

Together AI is one of those startups, housed in the Design District, where office space costs around $59.53 per square foot, according to a fourth-quarter 2025 report from Cresa, a commercial real estate company. That is comparably more affordable than the cost of commercial space, which has hit $70 per square foot or more in the Financial District and Mission Bay, where OpenAI's office is located.

CEO Vipul Ved Prakash told Business Insider that due to the neighborhood's creative vibe and convenient parking, more AI companies moved within a one-mile radius, and many of Together AI's customers relocated right next to the company.

"We will debug problems together or even think about partnerships and doing other stuff together," said Prakash. "It's just easier to do that in person, and I think this is how these network effects work eventually, once you have a critical mass of companies."

Companies focused on AI, such as Virtual AI, Applied Compute, Rox AI, and Curai Health, are all located in the same building as Together AI. Other AI companies with a three-block radius include Scale AI, Resolve AI, and Gamma. Together AI is currently in talks to raise a new round of funding at a $7.5 billion valuation. Altogether, these companies have a valuation of more than $40 billion.

"It all happened very organically," Prakash added.

The current startup wave isn't the first to push into smaller neighborhoods like the Design District, which was traditionally an industrial hub for material supply warehouses, furniture manufacturing, and repair shops. A previous wave of tech and innovation already showed an inclination to reimagining where the office needs to be. Airbnb, for example, established its headquarters in the Design District in 2013 and renewed its ten-year lease in 2024.

Startup employees have different needs

Richard Florida, an urban studies theorist and professor at the University of Toronto, told Business Insider that traditional office districts like the Financial District were built for a time when companies stacked knowledge workers in vertical towers, but AI startups are quickly changing the landscape.

"An office district isn't an office district anymore — it's a mixed-use area," said Florida. "Startups and interesting creative companies need cheap, reconfigurable space, and space that they can add to quickly, and that's not in the office tower."

"What we're also learning in AI is that people are working much longer hours," Florida added. "So people are in the office like 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and they need stuff around them that keeps them energized, like going out for a break, going for a walk, and doing something outside to recharge. The streets can't be dead after 5 p.m."

Geetha Rajan, director of strategy and business operations at Freshworks, specializing in AI strategy, told Business Insider she believes that the shift in startup culture will drive significant economic activity into pockets of San Francisco.

"A couple of years ago, the big bragging rights for a company was, 'I need to hire 10,000, 20,000 more people, or 50,000 more people.'" said Rajan. "But if you think about it now, it's a 10-person startup making millions of dollars already."

"Even though AI helps us be remote, the people who are building or the companies still very much like to be in person, whiteboarding, brainstorming," Rajan added, "Because at the pace at which these companies are moving, Zoom is not going to hold up to that."

Potential beneficiaries

Rajan said that the food delivery and catering scene, as well as local coffee shops, are perhaps the biggest winners as startup workers stay late at the office and come in on the weekends with little option but to order food to their workplaces.

DoorDash, for instance, wrote in its annual report that weekday lunch deliveries to San Francisco commercial addresses, such as offices, increased 15.7% from 2024 to 2025.

Rajan also said that many hackathon events and meet-and-greet-style activities for builders are now being held in quieter bars in small neighborhoods, often not far from some startup offices, bringing vibrancy to places people may have forgotten during the pandemic lockdown.

Between the Mission District and the Castro, several up-and-coming AI companies have also quietly set up offices along the main street, including Comp AI and Ace AI, just a few blocks away from the AI Start Academy.

Many startups, like Together AI, are occupying previously vacant spaces in areas that are not heavily residential. Thinking Machines Lab, the former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's startup, notably occupies a 72,000-square-foot, three-story building in the Northeast Mission that was once an old factory.

"I often find myself at one of these events in some bar in the Mission, and I say 'oh, I haven't been here in quite some time,'" said Rajan.

Previous startup waves were different

Some economic experts, however, are skeptical that the AI boom will directly translate into real economic growth for small neighborhoods or for the city at large.

Ted Egan, the chief economist of the city of San Francisco, told Business Insider that while a new company opening up is theoretically almost always good for service-based businesses immediately next to it, this new class of startups looks very different from previous waves.

Compared with the last tech boom in the Mid-Market neighborhood, which generated increased economic activity when the former Twitter moved there and brought a lineup of heavyweights like Uber and Square with it, AI startups won't leave the same economic footprint.

"I'm not sure we're seeing the same local economic impact that we've seen from tech booms in the past," said Egan. "It's not to say they're not hiring anybody, but our tech job listings in the city are about half of what they were before the pandemic."

Egan pointed to city data showing that proceeds from sales tax in the Mission grew by 8% in 2025, but he is not confident it is driven by AI start-ups.

"I think that there is a clustering effect for these companies," Egan added, "But it's just that the spending profile of the companies that are getting VCs these days is very different than in the past because AI is so compute-intensive."

The World Snooker Championship returns to the famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, for the 50th time as 32 of the world's best players compete to be crowned the world champion. In this guide, we'll explain where to watch World Snooker Championship 2026 live streams, with information on free channels and platforms.

And there's great news for snooker fans in the UK, as every frame will be shown absolutely free thanks to the BBC and its iPlayer streaming website and app. Elsewhere, the entire tournament will be available on the dedicated WST Play platform, including in the US, Canada, and Australia.

This time 12 months ago, Zhao Xintong walked out of the Crucible having made history as the first ever player from China to win the World Championship. He was superb throughout, but really stamped his authority on things by destroying seven-time champ Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semis. After that, his comfortable final win over Mark Williams and a check to the sum of £500,000 (around $675,000) seemed a mere formality.

In order to go back-to-back, however, he'll have to defy the so-called 'Crucible Curse' — no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has been able to retain the title in the five decades that the tournament has been held at the venue. And there are plenty of worthy opponents waiting to stop him, such as O'Sullivan, Williams, world No. 1 Judd Trump, and in-form 2010 champion Neil Robertson. Not to mention the record 10 other Chinese entries, with Wuhan Open winner Xiao Guodong the highest ranked among them.

Where to watch World Snooker Championship for free in the UK

As ever, the free-to-air BBC has extensive live coverage of the 2026 World Snooker Championship. In addition to televised action across its BBC One, Two, and Four channels, the broadcaster will show every single shot and pot on its free online BBC iPlayer platform and BBC Sport website. As well as smartphones and laptops, iPlayer is available to stream on pretty much every streaming device you can think of.

For an alternative commentary and analysis, UK snooker fans can also watch on TNT Sports — available with certain Sky, Virgin Media, and EE TV plans, or through an HBO Max subscription costing from $26 a month.

How to watch World Snooker Championship from anywhere

Watching the 2026 World Snooker Championship for free in the UK is easy. But try accessing BBC iPlayer when abroad and you'll discover that you can't due to geo-blocking. Thankfully, you can get around this annoyance with a VPN (or virtual private network), which will let you set your smartphone, laptop, or streaming device so that it thinks it's back in the UK.

NordVPN is currently the very best VPN you can get. It offers rapid server speeds, an easy-to-use interface, and is superb at unblocking your domestic services when traveling overseas. You can discover more in our dedicated NordVPN review or, if you're ready to sign up now, take advantage of the fact that you can cancel within the first 30 days and get a full refund thanks to the provider's money-back guarantee.

Where to watch World Snooker Championship in the US

Unlike in the UK, you have to pay to watch this tournament in the US. It is being shown on the dedicated WST Play streaming platform. Prices are in GBP, with the monthly pass costing £7. That means you can watch every match of the 2026 World Snooker Championship for less than $10.

Where to watch World Snooker Championship in Canada

Just like south of the border, there are no domestic options for watching the 2026 World Snooker Championship in Canada. That means you'll need to subscribe to WST Play. The £7 a month fee works out to around CA$13.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• Benjamin Phillips, 26, always dreamed of working at Microsoft in a gaming role.
• He received more than 50 rejections and used LinkedIn to try to land a role.
• After 15 months of rejections, he got two Microsoft offers at once.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Benjamin Phillips, 26, who is based in Seattle. He is a business program manager for Minecraft at Microsoft. Business Insider has verified his job applications and employment; Microsoft declined to comment for this story. This piece has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was about 9 years old, my dad got us our first Xbox, and it changed our world. I'm the oldest of three boys, and when we weren't playing sports outside, we were always playing Call of Duty or Halo together.

Xbox was my introduction to both gaming and Microsoft. As I went through school, I kept using the company's products, like Word, PowerPoint, and the rest of the Office suite.

It became my dream to work at Microsoft, and once I realized they had business-facing roles in gaming, those became my dream jobs.

I set up an email alert for non-technical jobs at Microsoft

Halfway through my junior year at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, I went to play professional basketball and volleyball in the Philippines, where I stayed until 2024, while also completing my undergraduate studies and an MBA.

From January 2024, I was back in the US, networking and applying for jobs, focused on getting a role at Microsoft. The first job I applied for at the company was a business marketing role. I was unsuccessful.

I set up an alert system so that whenever a non-technical role opened up, I received a weekly email notification.

Facing rejection after rejection, I tried to work out what was wrong with my résumé. I kept changing it and even hired a résumé service to help. I followed the advice of making it more action-oriented and metrics-focused.

I knew the reality of the situation: I was competing against thousands of other applicants for each Microsoft role.

I had to do things differently.

Building relationships was vital

I started cold-networking on LinkedIn. I subscribed to LinkedIn Premium and messaged anyone I could find at Microsoft. I had two university connections who worked there in junior roles and gave referrals, but I was still rejected.

In late 2024, I connected on LinkedIn with a former executive on Microsoft's Minecraft team. She told me she rarely received messages asking about her journey. We hit it off, and she gave me a heads-up on a role on the Minecraft team.

While I was waiting to hear back from the applications, I completed every LinkedIn Microsoft certification I could find.

By early 2025, I had more than 50 rejections, but as I knew from playing basketball, you only need one shot to go in.

After 15 months of silence and rejection, I got two Microsoft offers at the same time, both in April 2025. One was working on the Microsoft Surface Pro, and the other was with Xbox, working on Minecraft — the role my LinkedIn connection had alerted me to

I feel like I'm where I'm meant to be

When I got the Minecraft offer, it was my birthday weekend. I broke down, cried, and praised God.

To celebrate, my family and I went to see the Minecraft movie. Watching it, I thought, "This feels crazy. This is my company now."

When I sit in the Minecraft office, it feels like I'm my 9-year-old self again, but now I'm creating games for the next wave of kids. It feels like I'm where I'm meant to be at the right time.

• After years of waiting, Tesla owners in Europe are getting their hands on Full Self-Driving.
• Four Tesla drivers in the Netherlands said they had been wowed by the tech so far, barring a few minor mishaps.
• Owners of older Tesla models appear to have missed out, however, and some are considering legal action.

After years of delays and missed deadlines, Tesla's full self-driving tech has finally launched in Europe — and owners are celebrating.

Last week, the RDW, the Netherlands auto regulator, approved the driver-assist system that Tesla says allows its EVs to drive themselves almost anywhere under human supervision.

It marked the culmination of a long campaign that saw Tesla navigate what Elon Musk described as a "layer cake of bureaucracy." Until now, European owners have been stuck with a more limited version of Tesla's driver-assist software that can't handle intersections or change lanes on its own.

For Tesla's European fans, some of whom have been waiting nearly a decade to get access to FSD, the excitement of taking the tech for a spin for the first time was high.

"It's like stepping into the future. It's amazing," said Tim de Kraker, a venture developer from Zutphen in the Netherlands, who used his FSD first test-drive to take his son to school.

Navigating the tight streets of Amsterdam and other Dutch cities — where bike lanes, tram routes, and pedestrian crossings interweave into a tangled web that can flummox experienced human drivers — poses perhaps the toughest challenge yet for FSD.

While all four drivers Business Insider spoke to said they encountered no safety issues or major interventions, some said FSD was still getting used to the local quirks of Dutch roads, such as complex roundabouts, which are rare in the US but ubiquitous in Europe.

Patrick Sannes, a Model Y owner who lives near the city of Gouda in the Netherlands, said that when he encountered a roundabout while FSD was driving him home from work on Monday, the software became confused by roadworks on the side of the road — and failed to exit the roundabout.

"I did three turns on the roundabout, and then I decided to drive off myself," he said.

Sannes said his FSD-equipped Tesla has otherwise handled roundabouts, country lanes, and highway driving almost flawlessly, with only a few minor interventions due to overly hesitant driving.

Having waited seven years for FSD to launch in Europe, he said he was thrilled to finally surrender the wheel to the AI driver.

"It's worth the wait, but I would've loved it to be faster," Sannes said.

Alex Nichiporchik, CEO at video game developer tinyBuild and a Tesla owner for 10 years, told Business Insider that he had been impressed with FSD so far — even if the technology occasionally struggled with roundabouts, and had a tendency to frustrate other drivers by always giving way to bicycles, regardless of whether they have right of way or not.

"I'd say that in the US right now, FSD drives much better than I do. But here you can tell that it's still learning," Nichiporchik, who lives in the Netherlands and the US, said.

Unlike their US counterparts, European FSD owners downloading the software for the first time are asked to watch a video and complete a two-question quiz before they can begin using it.

This quiz — which asks drivers to identify when FSD is active and confirm they are responsible for supervising it — is likely a response to European regulations that require manufacturers to educate consumers about the limits of driver-assist tech.

Nichiporchik also said that instead of speed profiles such as sloth, chill, hurry, and "Mad Max," the European version of FSD instead allows drivers to set a maximum speed that specifies how far over the limit they want it to drive.

"The rules here are much stricter than in the US, especially where I live in Florida," Nichiporchik said, adding he thought having FSD in Europe would be "life-changing."

Speaking over the phone while being driven by FSD, entrepreneur and founder Thijs van Schadewijk told Business Insider he had immediately put the software to the test by driving through the busiest parts of Amsterdam.

"There were tourists walking around your car, bicycles and cars everywhere," he said.

Van Schadewijk's Model Y handled the congested canal-side streets with ease, he said, bar one moment where he had to take over after it tried to reverse out of a busy intersection.

"I'm very excited that we now have it. And this is the worst version of FSD we will ever have," he said.

Some Tesla owners miss out

Even as many Tesla owners celebrate FSD's long-overdue arrival, some are missing out.

The rollout appears to be limited to Tesla owners with more recent versions of the company's hardware — known as Hardware 4 — with vehicles built before 2023 not receiving the update.

In the US, Tesla vehicles with pre-2023 hardware — known as Hardware 3 — can only access a more limited version of FSD.

Musk previously acknowledged it's possible that these older vehicles may not have the hardware to handle fully "unsupervised FSD," and said Tesla would provide physical upgrades to all Hardware 3 owners if that is the case.

Mischa Sigtermans, an executive at Amsterdam-based Ryde Ventures who bought his Model 3 in 2019, feels like he's waited long enough.

After FSD began rolling out in the Netherlands without Hardware 3 support, he started a website to gather European Tesla owners to explore potential legal action over what he says are the company's broken promises.

"At some point, I lost trust in Tesla," Sigtermans told Business Insider.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

The Model 3 owner, who bought FSD in 2019, said that Tesla's marketing material at the time explicitly stated that his vehicle's hardware would be capable of supporting Full Self-Driving in the future.

Speaking on Wednesday, Sigtermans said he now had around 500 verified Tesla owners sign up to potentially participate in the collective claim via the website. That number has now grown to around 1,900, per a tracker on Sigtermans' site.

"You can't keep this up for seven years. I would rather hear them say something like, 'yeah, we can't make this promise' and communicate about it," he said.

Tesla owners in Europe can transfer FSD from one vehicle to another, according to the company's website. Tesla removed this option in the US in March.

Sigtermans said he shouldn't have to buy a new car to access software he paid 6,800 euros ($8,050) for years ago, and pointed to Musk's history of making overly optimistic promises on Tesla's FSD rollout.

"It's just the promise of this specific car that they made that they can't deliver. And it's honestly not my problem to get a new car to get FSD working. That's their promise and their problem," he said.

Iran attacked the Erbil region in northern Iraq over 400 times during its war with the US and Israel. WELT's Chief Correspondent Ibrahim Naber got exclusive access to the wreckage of Iranian weapons used to strike the Kurdistan region.

The cache of damaged weapons includes the Zolfaghar ballistic missile and the Shahed drone, which has become Iran's mainstay weapon during the war.

• OpenAI lost three executives on Friday.
• Under applications CEO Fidji Simo, OpenAI has shifted focus by cutting side projects.
• Anthropic has been gaining traction and challenging OpenAI's market position.

OpenAI lost three top executives on Friday.

Kevin Weil, who headed OpenAI's scientific research efforts after serving as chief product officer, posted on LinkedIn that his team, OpenAI for Science, is being decentralized into other research teams and that he is leaving the company.

Bill Peebles, who headed OpenAI's AI video app Sora, also announced his departure. Although Peebles didn't explain why in his post, OpenAI shut down Sora last month due to cost and compute constraints.

"I'm proud of all the sleepless nights before and after the launch this team endured in order to deploy the technology in a responsible way and help steer societal norms," Peebles wrote.

An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is unifying its business and product strategy. Prism, an AI workplace for scientists that Weil oversaw, is moving to Codex, OpenAI's AI developer assistant, which is expanding beyond coding.

Srinivas Narayanan, OpenAI's chief technology officer for its B2B applications, is also leaving to spend more time with his family, he wrote on LinkedIn. Narayanan's departure is unrelated to the other two, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The shakeup comes as OpenAI narrows its focus by cutting back on "side quests" and doubling down on selling to businesses. It's a move spearheaded by its CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, to make the company profitable as it moves towards an IPO. Simo is on medical leave for several weeks.

OpenAI has been losing some of its thunder to Anthropic, as its latest releases like Claude Code have been gaining traction with businesses and sparking fears of a 'SaaS-pocalypse.'

Anthropic has seen funding offers valuing it at up to $800 billion, Business Insider reported, more than twice its most recent valuation in February. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in a funding round it announced last month.

Have a tip? Contact Charles Rollet via email at crollet@businessinsider.com or on Signal and WhatsApp at 628-282-2811. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• The Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial traffic, Iran announced Friday.
• Real-time data showed a small number of vessels sailing through the waterway, though others turned around.
• Tehran appears to be steering ships through its waters, and a US Navy blockade remains in place.

Iran announced Friday morning that the Strait of Hormuz is open for maritime traffic, and mid-afternoon data showed that commercial vessels were passing through the strategic waterway, though only a small number.

Friday evening, a large group of vessels sailed toward the strait but inexplicably turned away, ship-tracking data shows, raising questions about the status of this critical chokepoint.

Opening the strait has been a central demand since the start of a fragile ceasefire earlier this month and amid the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said in a statement on social media Friday that "the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organization of the Islamic Rep. of Iran." The announcement follows a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Iran's coordinated route appears to refer to previously released guidance that takes ships through the northern part of the waterway closest to Iran, which has said that the route was determined by security needs. Separate from Iranian considerations, US forces have been working to establish safe passage in the strait, where mines continue to represent a potential threat.

Shipping organizations have had mixed reactions. Some welcomed the news as a positive signal, while others urged caution. It is unclear how much has changed with Friday's announcement from Iran.

President Donald Trump acknowledged Iran's Friday statement in a Truth Social post, writing that "Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for passage." The market reaction to the announcement saw stocks climb higher and oil fall.

The strategic Strait of Hormuz is a narrow chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and a major artery for global shipments of oil and natural gas.

MarineTraffic data from Friday afternoon showed that just over half a dozen commercial vessels had transited the strait since the announcement.

Data from KPler, a real-time trade intelligence platform, showed that eight commercial vessels had crossed as of 2 pm EST Friday compared to five on Thursday. The data refers to commercial fleets of crude tankers, LPG, LNG, and dry bulk vessels. Containerships are not included in the count. But by the evening, new data showed ships were turning back.

The limited number of ships that have gone through is a fraction of the pre-war normal. Before the war, the strait saw an average of over 120 transits daily.

Earlier in the week, days before the announcement on the strait, US Navy warships set up a blockade of Iranian ships and ports. Trump said the blockade will remain in effect until Washington and Tehran reach a deal to end the war.

US Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has highlighted the role of the Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the blockade during a briefing Thursday but didn't specify numbers involved.

Dozens of surveillance aircraft, refueling planes, and drones are also involved in the blockade. US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said Friday that 19 vessels have turned around to comply with blockade restrictions since it began on Monday.

The US set up the blockade amid a tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran, which was reached after more than a month of war. US military leaders have asserted that American forces remain poised to resume combat operations should the negotiations fail.

The best rain boots for women have to do more than just keep your feet dry. They should be supportive enough to walk in for hours, grippy on slick stairwells, and easy to slip on as you're rushing out the door.

To find the best women's rain boots, I tested 19 pairs over three months in real-world conditions — from wet concrete and stairwells to flooded hiking trails and riverbeds. As I walked, I evaluated each pair for waterproofing, traction, comfort, and everyday style. I also tracked how well they lasted over time, in case I saw any cracked rubber or worn-out soles.

After miles of walking in wet Colorado weather, these are rain boots I reached for anytime the skies turned gray. Whether you need a lightweight pair for errands, a durable option for rough, muddy terrain, or insulated boots that seal out the cold, damp air, these are all the top-performing styles.

Our top picks compared:

Why you can trust us

Rachael Schultz, style contributor and outdoor gear expert: As a seasoned writer on apparel built for extreme conditions, I know firsthand what to look for in terms of materials, construction, and any potential lapses in quality. To determine the best rain boots for women, I trekked in 19 pairs over a three-month period through Colorado backcountry rainstorms.

How I tested rain boots

• Tread: I tested each pair of rain boots on a variety of wet surfaces, including concrete, asphalt, matted down grass, seriously muddy trails, and slippery river rocks. Boots that hold firm on wet asphalt won't necessarily do the same in mud, so it's important to consider traction.
• Comfort on long walks: I wore each pair of women's rain boots for at least 30 minutes of walking, typically in 60-90 minute shifts, or the equivalent of 1 to 3 miles. I wore any contenders in the "rain boots for walking" category for at least two hours to make sure they didn't grow heavy or lack proper arch support.
• Waterproofing: I wore each pair of rain boots in the actual rain for at least 10 minutes to test how waterproof they are for the average storm. Additionally, I ran each pair of boots under the faucet for 3 minutes with a sock stuffed inside to make sure no water seeped in (either through the seams or due to cumulative pressure).
• Weight and clunkiness: Considering you'll be walking in these boots, a lightweight and agile design is key. As I took each boot out for walks, I considered whether my feet felt fatigued after 30-90 minutes of walking, and whether I felt tripped up by the toe of the boot.
• Style: This part is objective, but I tried to balance practicality with style when considering which boots are worth buying. I wore rain boots under jeans to go to the grocery store, over leggings for dog walks, and even with skirts when heading out to meet friends for dinner. In each of these scenarios, I noted where form met function.

Best overall: Merry People Andie Ankle Rain Boot

They're stayed comfortable from light drizzles to torrential downpours . These boots passed all my real-world tests: I walked in full-blown rainstorms (hey, the dogs must be walked), stood in puddles, and walked through wet grass without having any water seep in. The rubber outer and neoprene ankle-lining combo kept my feet dry and comfortable.

As someone who loves a supportive walking sneaker, I wouldn't wear these on an all-day city trek. But for regular rainy-day errands and outdoor chores, these are my top pick. If you need rain boots for long walks with more arch support, I recommend Bogs Hazel Chelsea Boots instead.

If you're in shorts, the ankle collars are just wide enough to let in some rain. Yet for the most part, they were narrow enough to keep out water from over the top. I walked in the Andie rain boots for over an hour and found the bolded insole provided just enough arch support to prevent fatigue.

The low-calf height is ideal for most people. These are the Goldilocks height of rain boots. With a 7-inch shaft, they're high enough to reach above the ankles on tall ladies, while they're still short enough to hit mid-calf on people 5-foot-2 and under. I'm 5-foot-5, and these come up to my lower calves. I was able to wear them both with leggings tucked in, or jeans pulled up overtop. Either way, I never felt bunched up or restricted. If you plan to wade into calf-deep water or muck, you'll probably want something taller — but for day-to-day rain protection, these will do the trick.

They're easy to slip on — and your foot stays put. A common issue with pull-on rain boots is they're either too floppy or too stiff. The Andie boots strike the perfect balance. The back pull tab and wide neoprene-finished mouth makes them easy to get on and off, while the flexible rubber has enough structure to stay upright while you slide your foot in. Once you're in, these boots hug your foot so you won't slide around inside.

You can tell these are designed specifically for women's feet, which are typically more narrow in the midfoot and heel area, while wider in the forefoot. As someone who prefers a semi-wide toe box, these fit me comfortably. I typically wear a size 7.5, and while the Andies only come in full sizes, an 8 fit me perfectly.

Their fun, waterproof design instantly brightens a gloomy day. Merry People's Andie Ankle Rain Boots are a simple design, but they're the pair I kept reaching for when heading out into the rain. They're reliably waterproof and easy to walk in without any frills: the neoprene ankle collar is loose enough to easily get your foot into, and it doesn't rub against your skin. The slight heel makes them comfortable to walk in. But best of all, the design is playful — they feel like fun rain boots made for big kids. Offered in three bright colorways and one basic black (I tested the Wave Blue), these boots make a dreary day feel a lot less gray.

Best value: Xtratuf 12" Legacy Boots

You're scoring two boots in one. If you wear rain boots often, whether because you live in a rainy climate or you work in a wet environment, then the Xtratuf 12" Legacy Boots are a surefire hit.

The foldable shafts are a major win. Pull them up to their full 12-inch height when you're splashing through deep puddles, or fold them down to mid-calf when you need extra mobility. I was surprised to find their latex neoprene (an alternative to rubber) felt super pliable, making it very easy to fold. At the same time, it felt felt robust enough that there was no sign of cracking after repeated roll-downs.

The brand is built on durability in the field. Xtraruf is a name trusted by fishermen and outdoor pros because its boots are well-thought through and built to withstand the elements. The 100% waterproof Legacy Boot is constructed with a triple-dipped technique that creates a seamless barrier to fortify against incoming rain, as well as to make them more resistant against seawater, chemicals, and acids. The latex neoprene used is soft and light for easy mobility. These boots also have a chevron, slip-resistant outsole that provides grippy traction across slick docks and boat surfaces, wet underbrush, or muddy trails — in fact, these were one of the few pairs of rain boots I tested that felt safe to walk in slippery mud.

They're comfortable enough for all-day wear. Though these boots are uninsulated (read: wear good socks!), they are built with cushioned insoles that offered me solid arch support and kept my feet from feeling overly fatigued after a few hours of walking around in them. They're designed to hug the foot snugly, and because the neoprene upper is flexible, these boots will adapt to your foot shape over time, thereby reducing hotspots. Note they do run slightly small; I typically wear a size 7.5 and the 8 just fit me. They would definitely be too tight if wore them with thick socks.

They come at a great price. Considering the durability, intentional construction, and supportive footbed, these boots are a steal at under $100. Add to that that you're essentially scoring both a tall, highly-protective rain boot and a convenient short rain boot when folded down, all in one — the value of these rain boots is unbeatable.

Best for walking: Bogs Hazel Chelsea Boots

They're comfortable and reliable to walk for miles in. One thing about me: I have high arches and chronic lower back pain, so I am unyielding when it comes to supportive walking shoes. I've tested a lot of flat-soled rain boots, but Bogs' Hazel Chelsea Boots are great for taking long walks. These have more arch support and cushioning than the our top overall pick, Merry People's Andies. With Bogs' Biobased Rebound footbed, an internal steel shank for added stability, and a grippy outsole designed for slick conditions, I felt secure on slippery cement and fatigue-free after a 3-mile walk.

The fit is secure, even if you're between sizes. I wear a size 7.5, so I was surprised that the size 8 locked in my foot as well as it did. The toe box was roomy enough for my slightly-wide feet, the midfoot felt secure, and the heel stayed put without lift (which is a huge plus for being non-lace up boots, too). These feel clearly designed with all-day movement in mind.

They have a simple, understated design. The Hazel Chelsea boots have a minimalist look and seamlessly pair with everyday outfits. I could wear them under jeans on a walk about town, or tucked outside leggings for a long day of errands. There's no loud branding, bold colors, or chunky silhouettes — just a clean, functional look that blends in (in the best way). Their aesthetic doesn't scream "rain boots," which means I felt inclined to wear them even in dry weather (a huge pro for bringing them on shoulder season travels).

The ankle entry is a little fussy — but designed for a purpose. Getting these boots on does take a bit more coordination than the wide-mouth styles I tested. You'll need both hands to affix the interior pull tabs and slide them on, so they're not great slip-on-and-go boots. I learned this time and time again when I'd try and quickly shove my feet in to chase after my dog in the front yard. That said, once they're on, those soft and flexible cuffs becomes a huge pro. They hug your ankles just enough to keep warmth in and rain out, and do so without chafing or restricting your movement. It's a little annoyance at first, but it pays off in comfort and function once you're out the door.

Most stylish: Merry People Fergie Tall Rain Boot

They're fully waterproof. Perhaps surprising considering how good-looking they are, the Fergie Boots are indeed 100% waterproof. They're made from natural rubber with a flexible neoprene lining, which were effective at keeping my feet dry and cozy while walking around town and through damp parks. I also appreciated the hidden slider on the back, which you can adjust to fit wide calves.

These are the boots that make the outfit — at a decent price. With a sleek, high shaft, chunky block heel, and English countryside flair, these boots look great with a waxed trench coat on a leisurely stroll. What's more: at under $200, they're a good price compared to similar styles. We think they're a more elegant option than the Xtratuf boots, even if they take more intent to style.

They're not well suited for petite sizes. Here's the catch: If you're under 5-foot-6, these will likely be too tall on you. On my 5-foot-5 frame, these boots came right to the bottom of my knee, which proved to be very annoying once I was walking. With every step, the shaft would slightly catch at the top and get locked in, causing the boots to crease at the ankle and pop with every step. It's not a total dealbreaker or terribly uncomfortable, but the sound did get irritating after a while. For tall folks or those prioritizing style over all-day comfort, these are still an excellent pick.

Best multi-season: L.L. Women's Bean Boots

This single pair of boots will serve you year-round. If you want a rain boot that can carry you through all four seasons — from spring showers to slushy winters — the classic L.L. Bean Boot is incredibly well-designed and easily adaptable to any forecast. Crafted from full-grain leather (which has a natural water-resistance) with the brand's signature, ultra-durable triple-needly stitching, these boots are waterproof, durable, and just roomy enough inside to let you layer thicker socks in the colder months without sacrificing comfort during the warmer ones. I wore them with standard socks in a 60°F rainstorm and my feet stayed dry and comfortable. I then layered thicker socks once the temperatures dropped to walk through park trails.

Their lace-up system intuitive and easy to adjust. These are the only lace-up rain boots on our list because the design is ideal for adjusting the fit to your sock warmth, as well as for foot security. They're easy to cinch down and keep your foot locked in place while walking. They're also easy to get on with a rear pull loop and V-stay design at the heel for added structure. The boot tongues are sewn to the sides, while the leather ages gracefully. Even straight out of the box, I didn't find the folds cumbersome to lace up. In fact, I liked how this created a seamless tongue to keep water from seeping in below the laces, even when I splashed through puddles.

They're nice for walking, but not ideal for mud. Despite having the brand's iconic chain-tread outsole, I felt they were way too slippery in mud puddles. That said, they were comfortable to walk in on all other terrain like terrain and pavement, and my feet appreciated the comfortable dual-density insole with their supportive steel shanks.

They're built to last decades. While the leather definitely has a break-in period, the material — and these boots — only get more comfortable with time. They're also built to last years (if not decades) thanks to the careful attention to details, like the triple stitch soles, strong lace holes, and durable rubber outsoles.

Best ankle boot: Hunter Play Short Rain Boot

They're stylish but practical. In true Hunter fashion, the Play Short Boot's design is clean, minimalist, and classic, so you can wear them with jeans or hiking leggings. They have a slight wedge design, which not only gives you a little height but is also good for your feet when walking long distances. All that said, their ankle height keeps them lightweight and doesn't restrict movement or trap heat the way a taller rain boot can.

They hit the sweet spot of protection and mobility. Like I mentioned, an ankle rain boot is ideal for staying dry while splashing through puddles or mud. The Play Short Boots are made of 100% natural rubber construction (a Hunter staple), which I found to be totally waterproof during testing. When I ran these under a faucet for 3 minutes straight, no water leaked in.

They're comfortable — but run large. After wearing these rain boots on dog walks, running errands, and walking through wet, grassy trails, I can attest they are very comfortable to walk in for up to an hour — although they don't have the best traction on mud. The footbed is supportive enough, the 100% recycled polyester lining effectively prevents heat build-up, and the boot, while not the most contoured, is fitted enough that I didn't feel like my feet were swimming inside the boot at all. That said, these boots run slightly large and don't come in half sizes, so I recommend sizing down.

Best insulated: Bogs Seamless Mid Boots

They're built to keep you warm on cold, wet slogs. These boots are crafted with a 5.55mm Neo-Tech upper, which delivers not only a 100% waterproof barrier, but also works to lightly insulate. I found these boots were actually too warm on a full dog walk at temperatures over 60ºF, but they were a cozy reprieve anytime I headed out when it was 55ºF or below (Bogs claims they're warm down to -40ºF). And, despite the insulation, they're pretty lightweight for walking around.

The contoured footbed is firm and supportive. Unlike a lot of rain boots that feel flat, these have a squishy but structured footbed that provided solid arch support for my high arches as I walked around town or a campground. Their contoured shape does a good job at locking in the midfoot and hugging the top and sides of the foot so you don't slide around. I did get some minor heel lift, but I suspect that's because I'm a half size and these only come in full sizes.

They're designed to be fuss-free. Bogs' Seamless line is designed without any seams between the outsole and the upper (which is where most rain boots tend to fail), so they're constructed to last for years and years. The Seamless collection comes in a handful of different variations, but I found the Mid Boots to be the perfect height to walk in. They're not bulky, but they offer more coverage than an ankle boot for muck and river wading.

The little details make them easy to put on and take off. I appreciated the reinforced handles that allowed for an easy yank on, and the built-in heel kick which lets you take them off hands-free.

Just make sure your socks are tall. The one big downside I found during testing: You must wear tall socks or full-length pants with these. I wore them with shorts on a three-day riverside camping trip, and while my feet stayed toasty dry as I waded into the water, the cuff's seam kept rubbing against my skin so much that I had to quit wearing them. I still recommend these for cold, wet weather — I'll just double check my sock length before I pack next time.

Best for extreme cold: LaCrosse Footwear Alpha Agility 1200g

They're seriously insulated. When the weather turns cold, wet, and miserable, these are boots built for the worst of it — as I learned while testing the LaCrosse Alpha Agility boots for over a year. Designed by a heritage hunting brand, these boots are overkill in the best way for navigating cold, gnarly rainstorms. With over 5mm of insulating neoprene and 1200 grams of Thinsulate Ultra, these boots are designed to keep you warm in extreme cold (LaCrosse says down to -60°F).

They make great winter boots, of course, but they're also extremely cozy whether you're schlepping through the wet woods on a late-fall hunting trip, getting through some mucky, frigid farm chores, or you simply live in an area where it rarely stays above freezing. That said, they're far too warm for temps above 40°F, in my experience.

Surprisingly, they're not too heavy. Despite all the warm tech packed in here, these boots don't feel overly heavy on your feet. They certainly have a thick sole, but the boots weigh just around 4 pounds, so they're lighter than most comparably insulated boots on the market.

They're fully waterproof and impressively grippy. Thanks to a fully seamless construction and thick, neoprene shaft, these boots have held up to everything I've thrown at them: river wading, puddle stomping, and wet woods trudging. I've also run them under a faucet to test for leaks, and no drops fell through. The tall calf offers great coverage (they reach just below the knee on me) and the rubber outsole has deep lugs that provide reliable traction, including on slippery mud.

They stay snug on long walks and are (mostly) comfy to stand in. One of the best things about the Alpha Agility boots is how well they are shaped to the foot and ankle. The fit is trim in the heel and forefoot without being constrictive, which makes them surprisingly secure for a slip-on boot. I can easily move though uneven terrain without any slippage inside the shoe or awkward clunkiness. They also have a rear cinch at the calf, which is a thoughtful touch if you want a more customized fit or need room for wider calves. I've also spent a lot of hours standing in these boots and their well-designed midsole is comfortable even after five hours of straight standing — except on concrete, in my experience.

Best budget: Baffin Prime Boot

They're durable, waterproof, and surprisingly reliable for the cost. These rain boots are constructed with Baffin's proprietary high-performance, breathable waterproofing technology (B-Tek), which gives them a fully sealed barrier that kept water out as I walked through puddles and shallow river crossings. The upper also uses an UltraFlex compound to make them more abrasion resistant. The outsole is rippled to make it more slip resistant, which I found to work quite well.

They're simple, but comfortable (albeit small). These boots are very simple and straight-forward — your classic rain boot, if you will, with a cylindrical rubber shaft that hits a few inches below the knee and a basic rubber heel for better traction when walking. The insoles aren't outstanding, but they provide enough cushioned support to stand in while fishing or walking wet trails for an hour or two. The upper material is pliable enough that they don't feel too stiff as you step or kneel.

The trade-offs are acceptable for the cost. Don't expect premium insulation or traction for serious terrain. The Prime boots' slip-resistance is solid enough for wet pavement and light trails, but it definitely won't keep you steady in deep mud or slick, steep slopes. They also run slightly small, so if you plan to wear these in temps below 55°F, I recommend going a full size up and pairing them with some warm, thick socks.

Best rain clog: Hunter Anika Slip-On Casual Clog

They're the clog cousin to the Hunter Play Short Boot. I've had the same pair of Hunter rain boots since high school, and while I get why they're iconic, they come with the same problems as most rain boots: they're clunky, heavy, awkward to store, and guaranteed to make your feet sweat. These clogs solve almost all of that. They're made from a lightweight water-repellent polyurethane foam, so they're noticeably easier to walk in than typical rubber boots. Overall, they're a better value because I'll wear them even when there's no rain in the forecast.

They're easy to slip on and off. The Anika Clogs feel like a more modern, city-friendly alternative to classic Wellies — because realistically, I'm not wading through streams in the countryside anytime soon. I keep these by my apartment threshold for anytime I need to take my dog for a quick walk in a light drizzle.

At the end of the day, they're still clogs. These won't give you the same protection as our top overall pick, the Merry People Andie Boots, especially if you plan to walk through heavy rainfall. But honestly, if it's raining hard enough that these won't cut it, I'm probably not leaving the house anyway. — Samantha Crozier, style editor, Insider Reviews

Other rain boots I tested

Xtratuf 6"Ankle Deck Boot Sport ($140): The style isn't for everyone, which is why I didn't choose them to be the best ankle rain Boot (that goes to the Hunter Play Short Boots). Still, this fully waterproof pair can seriously hold up in the elements. They also have super secure tread and are easy to pull on and off, meaning they're well worth the money.

Ariat Kelmarsh Mid Rubber Boot ($130): These were well constructed, hit mid-calf, and felt supportive and comfortable. They didn't make the top list, but are still definitely worth considering.

Ariat Kelmarsh Shortie ($120): With a neoprene ankle cuff and fully waterproof rubber body, these shortie ran boots are reliable against the elements. That said, I found the footbed wasn't the most comfortable after an hour of walking and there are better short rain boots out there at this price point (or below).

Baffin Brook ($90): Lightweight, flexible, and offering full coverage to the top of the calf, the Brook boots are a great no-fuss design with much-appreciated cushioned insoles.

Bogs Amanda II Mid ($95): These are another great, worth-your-money basic rain boot with elevated and reliable traction and a decently supportive footbed, all at a good price for the quality.

Loon'r Lo Rider ($125): Lightweight, insulated, and with top-tier traction on slippery surfaces, the Loon'r Lo Rider boots are a bit cumbersome for everyday rain boots, but they are a really great option if you need a warm, waterproof winter boot.

What to look for in the best rain boots for women

Materials: This category is very important for rain boots, where you need the waterproofness to stay reliable over time. Lower-cost PVC boots tend to crack over time, while the best rain boots are made from natural rubber or neoprene that can withstand the test of time without splitting or leaking. Look for construction details like seamless designs, triple-dipped rubber, reinforced outsoles, and double (or triple) stitching — all which signal longer-lasting performance.

Real-world needs: There are a lot of people who wear "rain boots" not as protection against the rain, but as waterproof protection against the elements. This may mean trudging through muddy fields on a farm, hiking in the wet woods while hunting, or standing against the many splashes and slips on a dock. Here, shaft height, durability, and material breathability and insulation are top priority.

Most people simply want something to protect their feet from puddles while they commute or run errands on a rainy day. If that's the case, you'll want to consider your preferred shaft height and how stylish the rain boot is, alongside its technical properties.

Waterproofing and Weather Protection: The best rain boots should be completely waterproof, meaning no rain or water can sneak in through the foot or leg shaft due to cheaply-constructed seams or insufficient material. Additionally, rain boots should keep water out of the top. They should stop high enough that puddles won't splash over the edge, and have a mouth narrow enough that rain won't drop inside from above.

Warmth and Insulation: A good pair of rain boots should keep your feet warm without overheating or feeling swampy. If you plan to wear rain boots in colder weather — whether on brisk fall strolls or through freezing temperatures — look for a boot with some amount of built-in insulation from a material, such as neoprene. A taller boot will also trap more heat than a shorter one. The thickness denotes how warm it'll be; insulated rain boots may feel too warm in more mild temperatures or during any activity where you'll generating a lot of body heat. If you'll be wearing rain boots across all seasons, consider sizing up for a boot you can comfortably add warm socks to.

Traction and Grip: Rain boots should have a grippy outsole to steady you atop slick, wet surfaces, like sidewalk pavement, barn concrete, muddy trails, or seaside docks. Look for rain boots with deep lugs or textured soles, which provide better traction and help prevent you from slipping. If you'll be walking in steeper terrain or through thick mud, opt for a more rugged tread pattern similar to what you'd see on a hiking boot.

Fit: Your rain boots should feel secure on your foot without sliding around or causing heel lift as you walk — especially if you'll be covering longer distances. Choosing a women's-specific rain boot is key for comfort, as these are contoured to the shape of a women's foot (usually with a narrower heel and midfoot, coupled with a roomier toe box).

Comfort: Comfort is crucial if you're wearing rain boots for extended periods or on daily walks. Look for features like cushioned insoles, arch support, and flexible materials that move with your foot. A boot that feels too stiff or flat may leave your feet sore after just a short time.

Shaft Height: The height of a rain boot shaft is a trade off between protection and comfort. Taller boot shafts (10-15 inches) are best for wading, unruly water (like being sprayed from a hose), and walking through wet woods. Shorter shafts (5-9 inches) offer more breathability and mobility for everyday wear and are usually sufficient to protect against puddle splashes or rain coming down. The majority of boots on our list hit just below the calf, as that's high enough to block splashes but low enough to stay comfortable across a range of heights.

Adjustability: Rain boots with features like adjustable calf straps, elastic gussets, or lace-up fronts offer a more customizable fit. These are especially nice for wider calves, or if you want to layer thick socks or pants underneath. A more tailored fit also helps keep rain from sneaking in through the top and secures the boot as you step.

Weight: Heavy rain boots can leave your legs feeling tired after a long walk. Look for boots made from lighter materials, like flexible rubber or neoprene.

Flexibility: A rain boot should bend and move with your foot, not fight against it. Flexible materials like neoprene or thinner rubber help prevent foot fatigue and make walking feel more natural, especially over long distances. Stiff boots may feel durable, but if they don't flex at the forefoot, they can quickly become uncomfortable.

Nice-to-Have Features: Look for pull tabs, kick plates that let you take the boots off hands-free, and adjustable straps or laces for when you're wearing thicker socks.

Sock pairings: The best socks for rain boots will be quick-drying, breathable, and tall enough to protect your skin from rubbing against the boot's interior. We like Merry People Crew Socks or Bombas Merino Blend Calf Socks, both of which are made from a merino wool blend to balance ventilation and moisture-wicking ability. They also add a slight extra layer of insulation.

It's no secret that purchasing a new pair of glasses can get expensive and time-consuming. Zenni, the online eyewear retailer, offers a streamlined and budget-friendly service that can help you get a stylish new pair of glasses without breaking the bank. Zenni offers everything from sunglasses to readers to prescription frames (and even some niche products, like blue-light blockers), so there's something for every eyeglass need. The retailer already offers several deals, but you can help bring the price down at checkout even more by using one of the best Zenni promo codes we've tested.

Our editors have tested out all the leading online eyewear retailers, and Zenni consistently makes the cut as one of the top options thanks to its stylish, budget-friendly glasses. The brand's in-house frames deliver impressive quality for the price, while designer options from labels like Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs prove you don't need to spend luxury-level prices to get a polished look. Zenni offers a massive selection of frames and lenses, including options for all ages and face types. For a closer look at why we like the retailer, you can check out our full Zenni review.

Zenni is already known as one of the more affordable online eyeglass retailers, but savvy shoppers can get even lower prices by using one of the many active Zenni coupon codes on their next order. To help save you some time, we've rounded up several codes below, with potential savings reaching up to 15% off at checkout. We've tested all of the codes to ensure that they're still active at the time of writing.

Today's best Zenni discount codes

Previous Zenni promo codes

Are there any other Zenni sales running at the moment?

You can check out Zenni's sale page anytime for a full list of current markdowns on their frames. At the time of writing, Zenni is also running the following promotions.

• Follow our Instagram page and WhatsApp channel for more deals and buying guides

How to use Zenni promo codes

Start by adding eligible items to your cart. From the "Shopping Cart" page, scroll down to the bottom where it says, "Have a promo code?" You can paste a discount code into the text box and click "Apply." Then, continue to checkout as a guest or with an existing account.

Can you stack Zenni discount codes?

Zenni doesn't allow you to stack multiple promo codes. Only one code can be used per purchase. If it's your first purchase in the Zenni mobile app, we recommend using the 15% off FIRSTAPP code rather than one of the many 10% off codes, which you can use on future purchases.

Zenni promo code frequently asked questions

Does Zenni offer discounts for students, teachers, and the military?

Zenni offers eligible college students, teachers, military members (active, reserve, and veterans), and military spouses a 10% discount on all purchases. First responders and medical personnel can also receive a 10% discount on orders.

People eligible for these discounts must verify their status to take advantage of the offer. These discounts can't be combined with other promo codes or offers.

If you're a student or educator, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and best teacher discounts for more ways to save.

Does Zenni take insurance?

Zenni doesn't take insurance directly. However, they will provide a detailed receipt with your order that you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

Zenni does allow you to spend FSA and HSA dollars directly on the site. Simply enter your FSA/HSA card at checkout like you would a credit or debit card. Learn more about using FSA and HSA dollars on Zenni's website.

Does Zenni offer free shipping?

Shoppers can receive free standard shipping on orders of $89 or more. Free shipping will automatically be applied once you have enough items in your cart, so you don't need to enter a promo code. Free shipping is also combinable with other offers and promotions.

How do I choose the best glasses for my face shape?

Zenni lets you shop frames by face shape on their website, so you can choose from frame shapes that typically complement your features. For example, they suggest choosing round frames if you have a square face shape or square and aviator frames for a heart-shaped face.

If you're unsure of your face shape or what would look best on you, Zenni also has a virtual try-on feature that allows you to see what any of their frames look like on your face.

Do I need a prescription to use Zenni?

Zenni offers plenty of non-prescription eyewear, so you don't need a prescription to use the site. You can shop for non-prescription readers, sunglasses, sports goggles, and blue-light-blocking glasses with Zenni.

What is Zenni's return policy?

Zenni allows shoppers to return items within 30 days of the original purchase in exchange for site credit and reimbursement of any shipping fees. For returns made within 14 days of your original purchase, you'll have the option to receive a full refund to your original payment method instead of site credit. Learn more about making returns on Zenni's website.

Can I reuse a Zenni promo code?

Zenni does not explicitly prohibit using promo codes multiple times. However, certain codes may only be applied to one order per person, so be sure to check the specific terms and conditions for the code you want to use.

How do I know which size frames to get?

If you don't know which size to get for your frames, Zenni can help. Visit the size guide on the Zenni website for information on how to measure your face and sample frames you can print out to test your size.

Looking for more eyewear? Check out our roundups of the best GlassesUSA promo codes.

Updated on April 17, 2026, to include additional information about international viewing options and a schedule of upcoming games.

The NBA postseason is underway, and the final teams are duking it out in the play-in tournament. We've rounded up everything you need to know about where to watch the NBA Playoffs, including live streaming info for those without cable.

If you don't want to read any further, the NBA Playoffs will live stream through ESPN Unlimited, Peacock, and Prime Video in the US. In the UK, Sky Sports and Prime Video will carry postseason coverage. Playoffs coverage will be split between Sportsnet and TSN in Canada. Below, we've broken down everything you need to know about tuning around the world.

Where to watch NBA Playoffs in the US

TNT is out of the NBA broadcast game in the US. Instead, the 2026 postseason will air across ESPN, ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video. The Prime Video inclusion means that even those with the most comprehensive cable package will still need to sign up for a streaming service if they're planning to watch every game of the NBA Playoffs. The Playoffs won't be available to live stream on NBA League Pass in the US because all games will be nationally broadcast.

ESPN and ABC will broadcast several games in the first and second rounds, as well as the Eastern Conference Finals. ABC will also carry the NBA Finals. All ESPN and ABC games (along with tons of other coverage from the ESPN family of channels) are available through ESPN's direct streaming counterpart, ESPN Unlimited. ESPN Unlimited costs $30 a month and serves as a one-stop shop for all things ESPN. There's also a cheaper ESPN Select plan, but this won't help you out for the NBA Playoffs.

NBC and Peacock will also carry loads of games this year, including several games in the first and second rounds, and the Western Conference Finals. You can live stream it all on Peacock, where sports-friendly plans start at $11 a month for Peacock Premium. Peacock Select, the budget plan, doesn't carry sports. You can upgrade to ad-free on-demand content and a 24/7 live stream of NBC with the $17 a month Peacock Premium Plus plan.

Prime Video is also getting in on the NBA Playoffs action. The streaming service carries the play-in tournament, along with several first and second round games. Prime Video subscriptions start at just $9 a month, but Prime Video is also included with all standard Amazon Prime subscriptions. An Amazon Prime subscription costs $15 a month and comes with a 30-day free trial for new customers.

If you'd prefer to watch through a live TV streaming service, which functions like cable (without all of the long-term contracts and equipment), then our guide to the best live TV streaming services might be able to help you out.

DirecTV is our top recommendation for a month-to-month cable alternative. You can find all NBC, ABC, and ESPN games in DirecTV's MySports genre pack. MySports carries around 20 popular sports networks and unlocks access to ESPN Unlimited. Subscriptions start at $65 a month, but new customers can get their first two months for $45 a month after a five-day free trial. To watch every game of the postseason, you'll still need to sign up for Prime Video separately.

Where to watch NBA Playoffs in the UK

Sky Sports and Prime Video will split NBA Playoffs coverage in the UK. Sky prices vary by plan and contract, and you can learn more in our guide to the best Sky TV deals and plans. Amazon Prime costs £9 a month or £8 a month for Prime Video only. New customers can get a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. The Playoffs should also be available through NBA League Pass in the UK.

How to watch NBA Playoffs from anywhere

If you're traveling abroad and hoping to keep up with your usual watch options, you can do so with the help of a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs are cybersecurity tools that let people change their device's virtual location. This way, their go-to websites and apps work from anywhere, just like they would back home. The services we've highlighted above require country-specific payment methods, so this option will work best for those who are just traveling away from home at the moment.

NordVPN is our top recommendation. It's fast, user-friendly (even for beginners), and has a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find that it's not helping you out. You can learn more in our heavily tested guide to the best VPN services.

Upcoming games

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• NJ Transit hiked train fares from $12.90 to $150 per trip for the FIFA World Cup.
• The New Jersey governor criticized FIFA's lack of funding for World Cup transportation costs.
• MetLife Stadium is set to host more than 78,000 fans, but only 40,000 train tickets are available for each match.

Soccer fans heading to FIFA World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium this summer may face a transportation bill nearly as expensive as the ticket prices.

New Jersey Transit officials announced Friday in a press release that round-trip train tickets from Manhattan's Penn Station to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will cost $150 per person for World Cup match days. It usually costs $12.90 to make the 9-mile trip from Manhattan's Penn Station to the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Officials also said in their press release that the stadium bus shuttle services will cost $80 per round-trip.

The stadium, which will host eight matches, including the July 19 final, is expected to draw more than 78,000 fans per game who will largely rely on public transit because most on-site parking will be unavailable. According to NJ Transit officials, however, only 40,000 train tickets will be sold per match day at the new price point, and they must be purchased in advance.

"This isn't price gouging," NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri said on Friday during a press briefing. "We're literally trying to recoup our costs."

The steep fare hike has sparked backlash from state leaders on both sides of the Hudson. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the state was left with a massive transportation bill after FIFA failed to contribute transit funding.

"We have inherited an agreement in which FIFA doesn't contribute a single dollar toward transportation for the World Cup. And while NJ Transit is left with a $48 million bill to safely transport 40,000 fans from the stadium to wherever they're headed, FIFA is generating $11 billion from this World Cup," Sherrill wrote on X.

"I won't stick N.J. commuters with that tab for years to come, that's not fair," Sherrill added. "FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don't, I'm not going to let N.J. commuters be taken for one."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, however, said on X earlier this week that "charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high" to her.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Nearly 250,000 people moved out of California from 2024 to 2025, per the most recent census data.
• It's not just regular people: Celebrities have left Los Angeles for places like Texas and Florida.
• Here are 28 celebrities who left LA — plus where they chose to move to and why. 

California is the US state with the most people moving out, with an estimated 229,077 people leaving for other states from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, according to the latest Census data. New York was second with 137,586 people leaving.

While California still leads the country with the most residents leaving, it was much worse in previous years.

Between 2022 and 2023, nearly 700,000 chose to leave California.

The increased threat of wildfires, coupled with a growing affordability crisis, is prompting them to choose other places across the country.

Recently, even some of the richest people in the world decided they wanted out, as a proposed tax caused several prominent billionaires to abandon the state.

Several celebrities have also decided California is no longer the place for them.

Singer-turned-talk show host Kelly Clarkson traded Los Angeles for New York City post-divorce for in 2022, while actor Sylvester Stallone said in 2024 that he and his family are "permanently" vacating California for South Florida.

Popular moving destinations for Californians include Arizona, Florida, and Texas, while some have chosen different countries completely.

Former California residents told Business Insider that their reasons for leaving the state included high taxes, expensive home prices, and challenging social and political conditions. Some celebrities remained tight-lipped when sharing details of their moves, simply saying they're looking for a fresh start. Other high-profile actors, however, admitted that the fast-paced, stressful scene in Hollywood can be another motivation.

Los Angeles, in particular, is experiencing an exodus of wealthier people in search of places where their money goes further.

Take Gus Lira, a managing partner at a private jet charter company, who had a condo in Malibu overlooking the ocean. California taxes were wearing him down, so he decided to move to Nevada.

"For me, really the main reason, and for many of the people that I know, is just taxes," Lira told Business Insider in January. "You can't get ahead when you get $100 and they take $60."

Business Insider compiled a list of 28 celebrities — some in celebrity couples — who left California for greener pastures, presented in alphabetical order by last name. We tried to include both where they moved to and why they left LA.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake left LA to shield their kids from the glare of the paparazzi.

The power couple has dealt with the paparazzi for most of their professional careers. But they had enough of their kids also having to endure it.

Since 2018, Biel, Timberlake, and their two kids have lived predominantly at their properties in Tennessee and Montana.

"You get hammered on the East Coast. You kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That's why we don't really live there anymore," said Biel in a May 2024 episode of SiriusXM's "Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa," seemingly referring to her former home of LA. "We're just trying to create some normalcy for these kids."

Dean Cain left LA for Las Vegas because of the "incredible taxation" and "horrible regulations for business" in California.

Dean Cain, best known for playing Clark Kent/Superman in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," was fed up with how things were run in California.

The actor split for Vegas in 2023.

"It's the most ridiculous large government, incredible taxation, horrible regulations for business," he told Fox News Digital in 2023. "Very anti-business."

Cain said California's personal income tax felt especially high.

"I moved to Las Vegas. I live in Nevada now," he added. "I have 10 times as nice a house. I'm not kidding. Ten times as nice a house as I had in Malibu. The house is absolutely stunningly built. Gorgeous, beautiful. Everything is brand new."

Kelly Clarkson didn't just move from LA to New York — she took her daytime talk show with her.

Kelly Clarkson felt she had a new lease on life when she moved to New York City last year.

After finalizing her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2022, she didn't just take her kids east. She also brought "The Kelly Clarkson Show" — it started taping in New York in season 5.

"I was very depressed for the last three years — and maybe a little before that, if I'm being honest. I think I really needed the change," the Grammy winner told People. "I needed it for me and my family as well. My kids are thriving here. We're just doing so much better, and we needed a fresh start."

George and Amal Clooney left LA so their kids could "get a fair shake at life" — they are now French citizens.

The Clooneys have lived the quieter life in Italy and France for years, but always had a home in LA, an English-style estate that George bought from Stevie Nicks back in 1995.

They finally sold that house in 2024 and now spend most of their time at their farmhouse in France with their twins, Ella and Alexander.

George told Esquire in 2025 why they left. "I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood," he said. "I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life."

"I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi," he added. "I don't want them being compared to somebody else's famous kids."

In late December 2025, George and Amal became French citizens.

Jesse Eisenberg moved to his wife's hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.

Actor and director Jesse Eisenberg took the pandemic as an opportunity to leave Los Angeles. Eisenberg, his wife, and their son packed up an RV and drove to his wife's hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.

"We have driven cross-country a lot, but we thought it would be prudent to isolate in an RV instead of stopping at hotels," Eisenberg told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020.

Initially, Eisenberg moved to Indiana to help take care of his late mother-in-law after she got sick and also help out at a domestic violence shelter where she worked.

But Eisenberg was happy to be in Indiana.

"I've lived in Indiana for a decade on-and-off and that's where I feel the most comfortable," Eisenberg told CBS News in February. "I'm not somebody who wants to surround myself in an industry that just feels kind of unstable."

Chris Evans wanted to be closer to family in Massachusetts.

Silverscreen superhero and Massachusetts native Chris Evans listed his Los Angeles home in May for $6.99 million, The Wall Street Journal reported, cementing his abandonment of California.

"After over a decade of amazing memories in his LA home, Chris is planning to move to the East Coast to be closer to family," Evans' listing agent Scott Moore said in a statement to People.

Evans married his wife, Alba Baptista, in Cape Cod, and now they both spend most of their time in Massachusetts.

Walton Goggins moved to New York after the pandemic.

"The White Lotus" star Walton Goggins and his wife, Nadia Conners, moved to New York's Hudson Valley during the pandemic in 2021. But, he told Architectural Digest in February, the move was less about California, and more about New York.

"We weren't running away from Los Angeles," he said. "We were running toward something."

"The pandemic opened windows of self-perception and possibility," he added. "It was an opportunity to do something different, not to start over from scratch but to change, to evolve."

Goggins, who was raised in Georgia, chose to live in a 1920s home upstate that resembles a hunting lodge — with an abundance of wood paneling and wood flooring — instead of the glitzy surroundings of Los Angeles.

John Goodman left LA in the late '80s.

John Goodman figured out a long time ago that Los Angeles wasn't for him and has been living in New Orleans since the late 1980s.

Like many, the Emmy winner first visited Crescent City to party. In the late 1970s, he showed up with his fraternity pals. A few years later, as an actor, he was shooting the movie "Everybody's All-American" alongside Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, and Timothy Hutton when he met his future wife, Anna Beth. He's been attached to the city ever since.

"I used to come down here every time I'd get a few dimes to rub together, and it felt like I was missing something unless I was here," he told "Today" in 2023. "I consider myself very lucky to be here."

Adrian Grenier left California to work on a farm in Texas.

Adrian Grenier, known mostly from his "Entourage" fame, left California for Texas in 2020.

Grenier traded the glitzy life of Hollywood for a farm 45 minutes outside Austin, Texas, where he prefers a quieter lifestyle outside the spotlight.

"I don't miss anything about that world. Listen, if you go on Instagram long enough, you're going to find some FOMO somewhere, but everyone is just pretending they're living their best life," he told Life Magazine in 2021. "Ultimately, I know that I am, so I don't even tell anybody about it."

Josh Hartnett has been living in the English countryside since the pandemic. He left Hollywood after dealing with a stalker.

The actor recently gained renewed attention thanks to movies like "Oppenheimer" and "Trap," but don't expect to find him hanging out on the Sunset Strip. Since the pandemic, he's ditched LA for the English countryside.

Hartnett and his wife, British actor Tamsin Egerton, have lived in Hampshire since COVID hit, bringing up their four kids. He's living in the UK on a marriage visa, so he can only leave the country for work for around 180 days a year.

After spending his early career in the Hollywood spotlight, Hartnett told The Guardian he loves the village country life where "nobody cares" who you are.

"This is all brand new to me," he said. "I never would have expected it. And time passes quickly. With four children, you have so much to do. In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening."

Being outside Hollywood is also safer for Hartnett. He told The Guardian that when he lived in LA, he had experiences with stalkers.

"People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me," he said. "A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn't going to be grist for the mill."

Chris Hemsworth moved his family back to his homeland of Australia right when his Marvel fame hit.

Hemsworth figured out LA wasn't for him right around the time the first "Thor" movie came out in 2011.

"We kind of were set up in LA and not enjoying it, you know?" Hemsworth said on the "SmartLess" podcast in February 2026, referring to him and his wife, fellow actor Elsa Pataky. "Like nothing was shooting there. We were filming kind of everywhere else and then you'd come home, and then paparazzi and all the sort of the trappings of, you know, living in that space."

Hemsworth and Pataky moved with their two young children to Hemsworth's native Australia and have been there ever since.

"You know, when you come back from work, you wanna go on a holiday? Like coming home for me is — it feels like a holiday," Hemsworth said. "We have a big farm and horses and motorbikes and surf."

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban moved to Tennessee to be closer to the country music scene.

A year after Nicole Kidman tied the knot with country-music star Keith Urban, the two got the heck out of LA.

In 2007, they moved to Nashville, where the Australian Oscar winner dove headfirst into Urban's world.

"That country-music community is a very warm community," she told People in 2016. "It's very protective. Keith's been a part of it for decades now. It's his home, it's our home."

In September, Kidman filed for divorce from Urban.

Lindsay Lohan left LA for Dubai and now has privacy, peace, and space.

Lohan has lived on both coasts, but she currently prefers to be in the United Arab Emirates, where she lives with her husband, financier Bader Shammas, and their two-year-old son.

In a May 2025 profile in Elle, Lohan said that when she was living in Los Angeles, she would be "stressed" about the paparazzi taking photos of her while at the park with her son. Living in New York, there's a "different kind of energy" but not as much space. Living in Dubai, she gets it all.

"I get the privacy, I get the peace, I get the space," she said. "I don't have to worry there; I feel safe."

Eva Longoria and her family split time between Mexico and Spain.

The star and producer made the decision a few years ago to move out of Los Angeles.

She now splits her time between Mexico and Spain. She told Marie Claire in 2024 that she left Hollywood behind because it felt like that "chapter in my life is done now."

While on "Live with Kelly and Mark" in April, Longoria said she loves traveling to the Andalucía region of Spain to enjoy the small beach bars and restaurants.

Joe Manganiello and Caitlin O'Connor moved back home to Pittsburgh.

Actor Joe Manganiello returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh due to concerns about rising crime in Los Angeles.

Manganiello's fiancée, Caitlin O'Connor, told Fox News Digital in January that they'd been thinking about leaving California for a while.

"The crime in Los Angeles is at an all-time high," O'Connor told Fox News Digital. "We were thinking about it for a long time, and the right house happened to come up. We went to look at it in Pittsburgh, and it was perfect for us."

O'Connor, who also grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, said that the community aspect of living in a smaller town is unlike what they've experienced in big cities like Los Angeles.

"Pittsburgh is the perfect place to start fresh," she said. "All of our neighbors are so nice, generous, and helpful. In a big city, you don't have that kind of community that we have here."

Matthew McConaughey headed to Texas to help his family.

A few years before the McConaissance led to Matthew McConaughey's best actor Oscar win, he and his wife, Camila Alves, fled Hollywood for his home state of Texas.

The two settled in Austin in 2012 after buying a 10,800-square-foot mansion. According to a profile in Southern Living, it was initially because of a "family crisis," as he needed to help his mother and two brothers. That led to the couple deciding to stay put to raise their three children there.

"Ritual came back," McConaughey said of being back in Texas. "Whether that was Sunday church, sports, dinner together as a family every night, or staying up after that telling stories in the kitchen, sitting at the island pouring drinks and nibbling while retelling them all in different ways than we told them before."

Aaron Paul left LA after the fires and landed in Paris.

"Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul left California — and the US as a whole — for Paris, he told the Daily Mail in November 2025.

The California wildfires were the impetus for leaving California, but he was done with Los Angeles in general, he said.

"When the fires happened in LA, we just knew that we were done with LA, so we sold our house in LA and moved to Paris," he told the Daily Mail.

Paul put his home in Los Angeles's Los Feliz neighborhood on the market in July 2025 for nearly $10 million, and has since cut the price by almost $2 million.

"This is Us" star Chrissy Metz packed up for the Southern hospitality of Nashville.

After 21 years on the grind in LA, Metz packed up and left town when the pandemic hit. She now resides in Nashville.

"There's a lot going on," "The Hunting Wives" star told People in April 2025. "There's obviously great music, great food. I grew up in the South, so I'm used to sort of that hospitality — it feels more communal here. In LA it was always like, 'Oh, you have an audition? What's it for? Oh, you have an audition? What for?' It was all very dog eat dog!"

Glen Powell moved to Texas after making it big in LA.

Glen Powell left Los Angeles and returned to his home state of Texas in 2024.

Powell, who had a breakout role in "Top Gun: Maverick," has lived in Los Angeles for more than 15 years, but told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that he's done enough in Hollywood and he feels he can now live elsewhere. "It's like I've earned the ability to go back to my family," he said.

Not only does living in Texas allow Powell to be closer to family, but he's also finishing his degree at the University of Texas.

"I think this is going to be good for my head, heart, and soul," he said.

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively left LA after just six months of dating.

When you know, you know. After less than a year of dating, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively packed up their stuff and left Hollywood for the suburbs of New York City.

In 2012, after six months of dating, the couple bought a $2.3 million home in Pound Ridge, New York.

"We don't live in LA. We live on a farm in New York," said the "Deadpool" star in a 2015 interview. "And we don't lead a wild and crazy life. It's not that hard. It's not a big deal."

Julia Roberts hasn't lived in LA for decades.

The Oscar winner realized many years ago that Los Angeles wasn't for her.

Roberts moved to a 32-acre ranch in Taos, New Mexico, in 1995.

The "Pretty Woman" star told Oprah back in 2003 that in New Mexico, everything is "clear."

"Around here, I come and go like it's nothing," she said. "Los Angeles is such a town of show business, and I'm a terrible celebrity. I find it difficult — it's the beast that must be fed."

Amanda Seyfried headed to Upstate New York for a taste of the simple life.

With movies like "Mean Girls" and "Mamma Mia!" in her filmography, you would think Amanda Seyfried would want to lay her head down somewhere glamorous.

But she actually prefers life on a farm.

Seyfried spends most of her time on a farm in the Catskills, a mountain range north of New York City, that she purchased in 2014, Architectural Digest reported in 2023.

"It's insane how much I can feel so accomplished and successful here without having to be in a successful movie," she told The New York Times in 2020.

Sylvester Stallone wanted a new start in Florida.

After decades of living in Los Angeles — including in his first dingy apartment on Balboa Boulevard, which would become the inspiration for his iconic character Rocky Balboa — Sylvester Stallone packed up and left town in 2023.

This was first revealed in early 2024, during season two of his reality series "The Family Stallone".

"After a long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we're going to go to Florida," Stallone said. "We're going to sell this house."

Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, gave multiple reasons for the relocation, including the desire for a fresh start after their children moved out of the family home.

Rod Stewart went back to his roots in England.

The legendary rocker decided that at 79 years old, it was time to stop traveling across the pond.

In 2023, he put his sprawling 38,500-square-foot Beverly Hills property, which he has lived in since 1975, on the market.

Selling the home is bittersweet for Stewart: "I don't want to sell it, and the kids don't want me to sell it either," he told People in 2023. "There's too many fond memories. I've lived [in LA] since 1975, and I adore the place."

But he said he's making England a more permanent home since wrapping up his latest world tour and Las Vegas residency.

Eric Stonestreet left Hollywood for Kansas City to get away from the "douchebaggery" of the business.

"Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet did not mince words when he explained why he's been living in Kansas City since the acclaimed show ended after 11 seasons in 2020.

In a September 2024 interview with long-form interview journalist Graham Bensinger, he said a big reason he left LA was to get away from all the fake people in Hollywood.

"What I realized it does is it highlights everything great about our business, the entertainment business," the actor said on what it's like to no longer live in LA. "And it highlights all the douchebaggery of our business. It amplifies it. Because I'm here, I'm dealing with people from here, and I'm going into the store and having all these authentic, real moments, and then I go to Hollywood, and you're reminded of some of the types of people that you deal with."

Hilary Swank moved to a Colorado ski town.

The Oscar winner is loving her new life in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, on 168 acres with five rescue dogs.

She and her husband, Philip Schneider, bought the land in 2016, broke ground in 2018, and finally completed the home in 2020.

A year later, she put her LA home on the market and has been living it up in the great outdoors.

"I have been looking for land since I was in my mid-20s," Swank told Architectural Digest in 2022. "I find nature to be my happiest place, and animals are my other happiest place. And to be with both of them is everything to me."

Mark Wahlberg moved his family to Las Vegas for a "fresh start."

Boston-born Mark Wahlberg set out to LA years ago to make it as an actor. Over his career, he realized he rarely stayed there to make any of his movies. So, in 2022, he packed up and moved his family to Las Vegas.

He told The Talk in October 2022 that in Nevada his four kids can more easily pursue their hobbies, including golfing, riding horses, and playing basketball.

"We came here to just kind of give ourselves a new look, a fresh start for the kids, and there's a lot of opportunity here," Wahlberg told The Talk. "I'm really excited about the future."

Everlane's Day Glove flats have deservedly become one of the brand's signature pieces. Our team has tested dozens of the women's flats over the years, but these chic, minimalist-style ballets remain the ones to beat. Their padded insoles are supremely comfortable for walking, and the soft, pliable Italian leather only gets better with age. They even have ventilation holes so your they don't end up smelling like sweaty feet.

As executive editor Sally Kaplan says in our Everlane Day Glove review, "There exists on this earth no better flat than the Day Gloves."

They're available in eight different colorways for $148 a pair, and after seven years of wear, have proven totally worth the spend. Below are our personal testimonies on why these are our top overall choice — and for more of our favorite picks from the brand, check out our full Everlane review.

Shop the Everlane Day Gloves here.

Sally Kaplan, executive editor:

I like to think of myself as an Everlane super-fan, but I'll be the first to admit that its shoes can be a bit hit-or-miss. However, when it comes to the Day Gloves, there's not a miss in sight. The photo above shows my very first pair of white Day Gloves after two years of wear, but it's been several years since then, and I'm still wearing those same white flats regularly. More recently, I purchased several more pairs (not because my first pair has given out, but because they keep launching cute new colors and I'm a sucker for a fun flat).

The reason I love them so much is that the buttery-soft leather molds to my feet so well, and the semi-cushioned sole is so comfortable for long days on my feet. There's not a ton of arch support, but there's just enough cushioning that it doesn't feel like I'm standing on hard ground, either. Though they don't have any sort of stretch by the heel tab, the leather is thin and flexible so there's no extreme stiffness, and I can wear mine all day with zero evidence of blistering or rubbing. Plus, they have two tiny holes on the medial side of the foot (aka facing the inside) for some breathability.

When it comes to sizing, you may have to experiment to get it exactly right. I wear an 8 in most shoe types and brands, and that remains true for the Day Gloves. However, I've had one situation where one color I ordered felt a little looser than others of the same size. I will say that if you have really wide feet, these probably aren't the shoes for you.

Overall, I have to say — I think these flats are more than worth the price. Everlane could definitely get away with charging more, I really appreciate that they don't.

Gabrielle Chase, senior associate style editor:

I've read all about the Everlane Day Glove Flats by researching and testing women's flats. I can't believe this is the first pair of flats I've tried with ventilation holes, when sweaty feet are such a common side effect of wearing flats.

I immediately noticed their long vamp, which is perfect who have longer toes like mine and rather avoid flats than have "toe cleavage."

Then, as I tried to break them in, I noticed they were a bit too tight (especially in the heat, when my feet swell), and I didn't like how I could see the outlines of my toes through the leather. Another reason I've neglected them was their stark whiteness, which isn't compatible with the sidewalks of New York City.

Eventually one pair of flats surpassed them, and in fact, it was their carbon copy made by Quince. I only started wearing the Quince dupes more because I preferred how the beige blended with my skin, but it's also worth considering that the Quince Glove flats are about $88 cheaper. They look almost identical, and they have the same features I love about the real deal.

When I look closely, Everlane's Day Gloves are clearly better constructed than the Quince dupes. They have a thicker, more sculpted rubber footbed, and the leather feels smoother. Nevertheless, I've worn the Quince flats for three summers straight, while I'm still breaking in my Day Gloves.

Malarie Gokey, former director of learning and development: 

As a general rule, I don't wear flats. I'm 5'2" and I like to feel tall(er) by wearing 2-3-inch heels every day. I've also just never found a pair of flats that were comfortable enough to wear all day. They always seem to chafe my ankles, pinch my toes, and feel unsupportive.

Everlane's Day Glove Flats are much more comfortable than any other flats I've tried. They actually fit my foot and move with me, not against me. The black leather is soft, comfortable, and stylish enough to go with anything. They're long in the toe, so you don't feel like your toes are running into the edges of the shoe, and the heel fits comfortably without chafing. The softness of the leather has excellent give, so I almost felt like I wasn't wearing shoes at all. That said, they're not terribly supportive, so if you need support from your shoes, these are not for you. But as far as flats go, I think they're wonderful.

I actually keep my pair at work for "shoe emergencies" when I just want to switch into something more comfortable or swap out my rain boots for a nice-looking pair of shoes. Like the Day Boots, these flats have very slim soles and delicate leather, so I imagine mine would be more worn out if I wore them more often.

Mara Leighton, former senior reporter: 

I spend a lot of time in flats, and these are definitely the most comfortable (and flattering) pair that I've worn. I haven't always had luck with Everlane shoes, but these are undeniably great.

They really do fit like a glove, and the soft, flexible Italian leather is only going to get better with repeated wear. The colors are all beautiful neutrals that have a luxe sheen in the sun, and the elongated upper converts them from an average pair of flats to a chicer iteration. And in terms of comfort, it elevated the experience: I never slipped out of them (or felt I would) and I ended the day without angry red lines from where the leather cut into my feet when they bent.

The real highlight, though, is the ventilation holes Everlane added. Flats have a habit of becoming gross, I-don't-want-to-take-these-off-in-front-of-you shoes in the hot summer months. Adding perforation to the sides to encourage airflow is the kind of upgrade I wish I had thought to look for years ago. 

The Day Gloves are much pricier than what I would normally spend on a pair of flats and I did need to size a half size up, but given how often I wear them, how comfortable they are, and how much of my closet they go with, I'd rather have one pair of these than cycle through the run-of-the-mill pairs I typically buy.

Years after I first tested them, these are still the best flats I've ever worn. I still wear them multiple times a week. Despite that, they show little signs of wear — some creasing of the leather, but nothing major.

• Anthropic released a new model, Opus 4.7. Some users on X and Reddit aren't happy with it.
• Critics say that Opus 4.7 makes mistakes, is "combative," and burns through tokens.
• Other users say that the costs are worth it. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is a fan.

Anthropic says its new AI model, Opus 4.7, should feel "more intelligent, agentic, and precise." Some users aren't feeling the joy.

The backlash to the new Claude model — a relatively rare occurrence for an AI product many view as the gold standard in AI — has gained traction on social media.

Anthropic is coming off months of widespread public celebration. The technical chops of Claude Code and Claude Cowork have boosted the company's image, and chatbot fans have long admired Claude's writing abilities. After the company's fight with the Department of Defense, Claude went No. 1 in the App Store.

But hot on the heels of Anthropic users fretting that the previous model, Opus 4.6, had been "nerfed," the early reactions to 4.7 indicate Anthropic has a growing Claude backlash on its hands.

What are people saying about Opus 4.7?

There are examples of supposed Opus 4.7 flubs across social media.

One Reddit post titled, "Claude Opus 4.7 is a serious regression, not an upgrade," has 2,300 upvotes. An X user's suggestion that Opus 4.7 wasn't really an improvement over Opus 4.6 got 14,000 likes.

In one informal but popular test of AI intelligence, Opus 4.7 appears to say that there were two Ps in "strawberry." Another user screenshot shows it saying that it didn't cross reference because it was "being lazy." Some Redditors found that Opus 4.7 was rewriting their résumés with new schools and last names. Multiple X users posited that Opus 4.7 had simply gotten dumber.

Some X users have suggested the culprit is the AI model's reasoning times. Anthropic says the new "adaptive reasoning" function lets the model decide when to think for longer or shorter periods. One user wrote that they couldn't "get Opus 4.7 to think." Another wrote that it "nerfs performance."

"Not accurate," Anthropic's Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code, responded. "Adaptive thinking lets the model decide when to think, which performs better."

In other cases, Anthropic has acknowledged there's room for improvement.

After one user specifically flagged issues with the adaptive reasoning on the Claude website, an Anthropic product manager responded that the team was "sprinting on tuning this more internally and should have some updates here shortly."

Gergely Orosz, the writer of the "Pragmatic Engineer" newsletter, posted a screenshot of Claude not knowing what OpenClaw was. Cherny chimed in to ask whether he had "web search" enabled. He hadn't, it turned out, but Orosz wrote that he had never "touched it" before.

Orosz also said he found the model "surprisingly combative." (He "gave up" and returned to Opus 4.6.) Others found that the model refused to code certain prompts or put up safety flags on simple images.

Opus 4.7 can also use up a whole lot more tokens. The model has a new tokenizer, which means that one input can cost roughly 1.0–1.35x as many tokens as it would with a previous model.

After its release, one X user said that Claude Pro subscribers could ask only three questions before hitting their limit. Another user noticed that Opus 4.7 was priced at a 7.5x premium in GitHub Copilot until the end of April. "Yeeaaah I'll stick to 4.6 for now," they wrote.

Cherny later announced that Anthropic was increasing subscriber rate limits "to make up for it."

Those upset with Opus 4.7 may look back to an old model like 4.5 — only to find that it's gone. One Reddit thread is full of self-described "heartbroken" and "grieving" fans of 4.5.

It's not unusual for AI companies to face user pushback when depreciating an older model that proved popular — look no further than when OpenAI took away GPT-4o.

As was the case with OpenAI's popular 4o model, some fans have turned to trying to bargain with Anthropic.

"Please open back support for Opus 4.5," one Redditor wrote under Anthropic's post. "4.6 is unusable and 4.7 eats usage like nuclear reactor."

Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Do people like Opus 4.7?

Not everyone is put off by the resulting pricing. "Opus 4.7 is burning through tokens like nobody's business, but it's gooooooooood," one X user wrote.

Anthropic says that 4.7 is "a notable improvement on Opus 4.6 in advanced software engineering, with particular gains on the most difficult tasks."

"Users report being able to hand off their hardest coding work—the kind that previously needed close supervision—to Opus 4.7 with confidence," the AI company wrote in its announcement.

While some users threaten to leave for OpenAI's models, others are singing Opus 4.7's praises. Startup founder Jeremy Howard described it as "the first model that 'gets' what I'm doing when I'm working."

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan wrote that he's using it for his OpenClaw, and Cursor designer Ryo Lu said he uses it for planning.

For those still skeptical of Opus 4.7, Anthropic seems to be tinkering amid the feedback.

"A lot of bugs that folks may have hit yesterday when first trying Opus 4.7 are now fixed," Anthropic staffer Alex Albert wrote on Friday. "Thanks for bearing with us."

Sephora's Spring Savings Event is back, and it's one of the easiest times of year to save on big-ticket restocks and buzzy new launches in the same cart. The sale is tiered by Beauty Insider status: Rouge gets 20% off, while VIB and Insider members get 15% and 10% off, respectively, as of April 14. The promo code you'll need online is SPRINGSALE.

The event covers a huge mix of categories (makeup, skincare, hair, fragrance), so it's a good moment to stock up on viral staples that tend to spike in search and sell out fast — think Rare Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Summer Fridays, Laneige, and other "TikTok-famous" favorites that people wait to buy until a sale hits. And if you're looking for the most consistent deal within the sale, Sephora Collection is 30% off for all Beauty Insider tiers through April 20, which is usually where the best value hides (especially for brushes, tools, and everyday basics).

Ahead, we'll break down the best Sephora deals to shop right now, including standout discounts, worth-it splurges, and the products that are most likely to disappear first once carts start moving.

Best Sephora Savings Event deals

The prices below can be obtained by applying code SPRINGSALE at checkout while signed in to your free Beauty Insider account. You can save more with a VIB or Rouge membership if you opt for a paid tier.

Is the Sephora Spring Savings Event good?

This ongoing sale is an absolute can't-miss for makeup and beauty enthusiasts. It's an excellent, rare opportunity to save on any brand or product, with no exclusions. Sales at Sephora are often limited to just one category (like lip care or luxury fragrance) or to a select few, unpopular brands.

Whether you're restocking or looking to try something new, this is the time to do it.

When does the Sephora Spring Sale end?

Sephora's Spring Sale ends on April 20. As of writing, the savings are available to all Beauty Insider members, so this is the final chance to save big across the board.

How do I get the Sephora Savings Event discount?

To save this weekend, you'll first need to be a Sephora Beauty Insider member. It's free to join — and just signing up unlocks year-round perks like account points and limited-time sales. If you opt for a higher-tier membership, you can save up to 20% as well.

After you sign in to your account, you're ready to add all your essentials and splurges to your basket. Before checkout, just remember to add the promo code SPRINGSALE to the correct field in order to get your discount.

Too late to save this weekend? Check out our roundup of the best Sephora coupons for savings around the year.

Follow our Instagram page and WhatsApp channel for more deals and buying guides.

• New York City is proposing a pied-à-terre tax on second homes valued at more than $5 million.
• The proposed tax has divided academics, think tankers, and real estate experts.
• Some say it'll drive revenue back to NYC, other say it'll have negative downstream effects.

New York City's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is making good on his campaign promise of taxing the rich.

On Thursday, Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul jointly announced a new tax proposal aimed at wealthy people who own second homes in the city.

The proposed pied-à-terre tax would tax luxury homes worth more than $5 million and could raise up to $500 million in revenue for New York City, according to the Hochul Administration.

The policy is splitting expert opinion — dividing academics, think tank researchers, and analysts among familiar lines.

Supporters see it as a practical way to raise revenue from the ultrawealthy, while critics argue it's a narrow fix that could have unintended consequences for the housing market.

Here's how smart people are reacting to the news so far.

Emily Eisner, Acting Executive Director at the Fiscal Policy Institute: 'Much-needed revenue'

Eisner, in a statement published Tuesday by the Fiscal Policy Institute, framed the proposal as part of a broader effort to align New York City's tax system with its growing wealth.

The tax "will raise much-needed revenue from wealthy property owners who do not reside in the city," she wrote. "This is an important step in building a tax code that reflects the city's immense wealth and can fund deep investments in its workforce, housing, and transit infrastructure."

The Fiscal Policy Institute is a nonpartisan think tank focused on analyzing issues related to the fairness of New York's tax system.

Over the past 15 years, New York City's revenues have failed to keep pace with its economic growth, leaving the tax system increasingly out of sync with underlying conditions, Eisner said in her statement. That gap has contributed to pressure on public services and, she said, stems in large part from the city's limited authority to adjust its tax structure in response to rising inequality.

Gabriel Zucman, professor at the Paris School of Economics: 'Absolutely nobody leaves'

Speaking at Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Tax Day forum, Zucman, a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics, pushed back on one of the central objections of the tax — that it will drive wealthy homeowners out of New York.

"It is largely indeed a myth," he said, adding that the more accurate term is "propaganda."

He said that whenever any level of government — city, state, or country — considers even a modest tax increase on the very wealthy, it often triggers warnings about people leaving. The narrative, he said, is used to push back against higher taxes.

The research, however, shows the opposite.

"There's a lot of work, careful empirical studies that have been conducted exploiting tax variation, tax increases or tax cuts, and [seeing] how this correlates with migration," he said. "The overwhelming conclusion is that it's not the case that absolutely nobody leaves."

Nicole Gelinas, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute: 'Gimmicky'

Gelinas told the Jewish News Syndicate that the proposal cannot be considered full tax reform. Instead, she said, it's "one gimmicky, tax-the-rich idea essentially as a marketing ploy as the state budget remains stalled."

Gelinas is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a public policy think tank that focuses on urban violence and public sector reform. She's also a journalist who serves as a contributing editor of City Journal — which is published by the Manhattan Institute — and a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, where she writes about urban policy and politics.

She told the JNS that while the proposal may sound good to most people without second homes, it isn't a "rational tax strategy."

A better option, she said, would be "gently discouraging keeping a house or apartment unoccupied" as part of a broader reform of property taxes.

Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens: 'Impacting homeowners at all levels'

According to Jewish New Syndicate, Freedman, the CEO of the real estate brokerage Brown Harris Stevens, wrote a memo to her staff saying the effects of the tax could extend well beyond the extremely rich.

"While this proposal is being framed as a tax on the ultrawealthy, the reality is that its impact would extend far beyond a narrow segment of the market," she said.

Freedman said that a decline in luxury property values would ripple through the broader market, compressing prices and ultimately "impacting homeowners at all levels."

James Whelan, President of the Real Estate Board of New York: 'Lost construction jobs'

Whelan, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, raised concerns about the broader economic impact, arguing the tax could discourage investment in the city.

"This annual tax will weaken the city's broader economy — all without addressing its fiscal problems in the first place. Its impact will reach far beyond a small group of owners," Whelan wrote in a statement to Business Insider. "It will not raise the amount of revenue expected, but will eliminate thousands of construction jobs, lower property values, and raise costs for New Yorkers."

He also noted that the state should shift its focus to "policies that encourage investment and housing production to create a more affordable city, not ones that stifle its growth."

Whether you're a new pet owner or a longtime fur parent, it doesn't take long to realize just how expensive supplies are. Between food, medications, vet visits, and the all-too-necessary toys and accessories, costs add up fast. Luckily, Chewy not only carries everything you need to pamper your pet, but it also offers sweet coupons and discounts to help you save along the way.

Chewy's selection goes well beyond cats and dogs. You'll also find supplies for reptiles, fish, birds, and small animals (like hamsters and rabbits), as well as specialty items for larger animals and livestock. The retailer also offers helpful services that simplify pet care at home, including a licensed online pharmacy for prescription refills and virtual vet support through Chewy Vet, which can be useful when you need quick guidance without an in-person visit.

The store runs frequent limited-time deals, seasonal sales, and category-specific discounts, but you can often save even more by applying a valid Chewy coupon code at checkout. Below, we've rounded up the best Chewy promo codes and coupons available right now so you can score the lowest price on pet food, treats, toys, pharmacy refills, and more.

Today's best Chewy promo codes

Today's best Chewy pharmacy promo codes

Previous Chewy promo codes

Are there any other Chewy sales running at the moment?

Check out the full list of markdowns and ongoing deals, including the option to shop deals by pet, on Chewy's Today's Deals page. At the time of writing, you can shop for the following deals.

Use Chewy promo codes on these items

If you purchase items we recommend in our pet guides on Chewy's site, you can easily spend enough to earn the free $20 gift card with the code WELCOME. Purchasing one of our top cat treats, the Inaba Churu Chicken Variety, for $32.96, and the ChomChom Pet Hair Remover, one of our favorite pet hair removers we've reviewed, for $24.99, puts the total price of your order over the $49 minimum to use the promo code.

• Follow us on Instagram and WhatsApp for more deals and buying guides

How to use Chewy promo codes

Start by adding coupon-eligible items to your cart. Once on the "Shopping Cart" page, you should see a list of applicable promo codes in the "Available Savings" dropdown box. Apply any of the Chewy promo codes by clicking "Apply," and you should see a checkmark to let you know that the coupon will be applied. From there, continue to checkout to enter your shipping and billing information.

Can you stack Chewy promo codes?

Chewy does allow you to stack promo codes. If multiple promotions apply to your purchase, they will be listed in your cart's "Available Savings" dropdown box. However, certain promotions may not be eligible for stacking, so be sure to check the terms and conditions.

Chewy promo code frequently asked questions

Does Chewy offer discounts for students, teachers, and the military?

As of the time of writing, Chewy does not offer special discounts for students, teachers, or members of the military, so your best bet is to take advantage of their other coupons and deals.

If you're a student or teacher, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and best teacher discounts for more ways to save on your favorite brands.

Can I get pet insurance through Chewy?

Yes, Chewy does offer insurance. Chewy's Care Plus insurance offers its customers four plans at varying price points, including everyday wellness coverage and accident and illness coverage.

Read our full Chewy pet insurance review for more information on plans and pricing.

Does Chewy offer free shipping?

Chewy offers customers free shipping on all orders over $49. For all other orders, shipping costs a flat fee of $4.95 per order.

What is Chewy's return policy?

Chewy allows you to return items for a full refund within 365 days of your original purchase. This policy does not apply to prescription medications. That said, if you received damaged or incorrect medication, Chewy will help you exchange it or provide a refund on a case-by-case basis.

Do I need a vet prescription to get pharmacy products from Chewy?

Yes, you must have a prescription from a licensed vet to order medication from Chewy. Chewy will contact your vet by phone or fax for their authorization before fulfilling your order. This process can take around three business days, so consider the timing when deciding how soon to order.

What are the benefits of choosing Chewy's autoship option?

In addition to not having to remember to reorder pet supplies and prescriptions, shoppers who use autoship can save an extra 5% on select brands for all future autoship orders. There's no additional fee for choosing the autoship option, so it may be worth it if you frequently need to order the same food, medication, or supplies.

Still shopping? Check out our roundup of the best dog subscription boxes.

Tanker ships are sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Here's what 'completely open' looks like right now.

• Stocks surged after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" to commercial shipping.
• The Nasdaq Composite capped off its longest winning streak since 1992.
• Oil prices also tumbled, with Brent and WTI dropping 9%.

The record-setting rally in stocks set new milestones on Friday after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" following Israel's ceasefire with Lebanon.

The S&P 500 topped 7,100 for the first time ever, two days after the benchmark index ended above 7,000 for the first time. More impressively, the Nasdaq Composite's 13-day streak of gains marked the best run for the tech-led index since 1992.

Oil prices plunged alongside the rally in stocks, with Brent crude down 9% to $90.56 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 11% to $84.56.

The re-opening of the Strait, a critical passage for oil and other commodities, was announced by Iran's Foreign Minister in a post on X Friday morning. The news has removed one of the market's most pervasive overhangs, with stocks being dragged lower for most of March due to fears of prolonged supply disruptions in the Middle East.

"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote.

Trump followed up with his own update in a post on Truth Social.

Major indexes soared, with the Dow advancing as much as 1,100 points and the S&P 500 on track to notch a 12-day winning streak.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET closing bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 7,126.04, up 1.2%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,447.92, up 1.79% (+869.20 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 24,468.48, up 1.52%

The news also led investors to raise their hopes for Fed rate cuts, a major catalyst for equities that had slipped further out of sight as oil prices rose last month. The odds that the Fed could trim rates a quarter basis point or more by the end of the year jumped to 52% on Friday, up from a 30% probability on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Still, some think markets aren't necessarily in the clear when it comes to the inflationary impact of the war. Joseph Bruseulas, the chief economist at RSM US, said it could take years to restore the lost oil supply from energy infrastructure that was destroyed in the Middle East amid the conflict.

"Oil prices will ease as will gasoline prices. However do not expect a return to pre war prices," he said in a post on X.

Investors, though, have proven eager to jump back into risk assets since the ceasefire with Iran took effect. Markets are feeling more confident that the conflict in the Middle East will soon draw to an end, particularly as President Donald Trump has continued to reassure investors about progress on a peace deal.

Speaking at an event in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump said that he believed that the conflict with Iran was "going along swimmingly," and that the war "should be ending pretty soon."

Much of the market's gains have been driven by investors returning to tech stocks, which have been beaten down amid AI fears and the broader Iran-fueled sell-off. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF, which tumbled into a bear market in early 2026, is up 14% since last Friday.

"The stock market's Iran-driven correction is likely over now that stocks have made new highs," Paul Stanley, the CIO of Granite Bay Wealth Management, wrote in a note. "While corrections can involve a retest of the low, we would view any retests as a buying opportunity for long-term investors."

• Sarah Hayles developed a facial injury following a routine surgery when she was 26.
• She had five years of traumatic testing before a doctor helped her "move on" with her life.
• The mom of two is raising awareness that appearances don't — and shouldn't — matter.

This interview is based on a conversation with Sarah Hayles, 44, a mining engineer from Queensland, Australia. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In August 2008, at 26, I had routine surgery to remove a pterygium. It's a tiny, non-cancerous growth on your eye, sometimes known as "surfer's eye," which, if left unchecked, could have affected my vision.

As soon as I woke up from the anesthesia, I knew that something wasn't right. It was incredibly painful, but there was also a dullness in the area, and my eyeball seemed to move more slowly.

At first, it wasn't too noticeable. But, as the weeks and months went by, my eyelid started to droop, and the eye began to turn.

I had an emergency MRI

I had repeated checkups that turned up nothing and was eventually referred to a top eye specialist in Brisbane, about 600 miles from my home in the Australian outback. He finally saw me in April 2010.

Within 15 minutes, he arranged an MRI for that same night. I asked what he thought could be wrong, and he said it could be something as serious as a brain tumor or multiple sclerosis.

It was absolutely terrifying, but they found no evidence of a tumor and, after two years of testing, ruled out MS. To this day, I still haven't been diagnosed with anything.

All I know is that I've been poked and prodded by doctors and consultants who have performed every test under the sun. Some were traumatic, such as being zapped with electricity to check for nerve damage and a lumbar puncture to analyze my spinal fluid.

The appearance of my eye deteriorated over time. I used to look in the mirror as a 30-something and think it was very noticeable. Still, compared to how it appears now, it wasn't.

A kind doctor gave me good advice

The experience put me through the wringer. I refused to have my photo taken and thought nobody would want to date or marry me.

Then, in 2013, I saw a kind, grandfatherly doctor who all but held my hand during the appointment. He said that I was beautiful, healthy, and strong, and I needed to find a way to be OK with it.

His advice put an end to all the onerous testing and waiting for definitive results that never came. "I can do this and move on," I thought to myself.

I had no psychotherapy or counseling, but I did my own research by reading books about having a positive mindset. Slowly, I became more confident.

I met my husband, Brian, 45, a diesel fitter, through mutual friends on Facebook in 2015. It was a whirlwind romance, and we got engaged and married in less than a year.

I'm so glad I have children

Our relationship taught me so much. Focusing on appearances is BS. If you do, you can easily miss the person within.

I'd always wanted to have kids, but in the years immediately following my injury, I changed my mind. I didn't think I'd have the strength to deal with their school friends pointing at me.

Now that Brian and I have Jack, 8, and Astrid, 6, I can't imagine life without them. In fact, I think they've indirectly benefited from what happened to me.

I've raised them not to judge people by the way they look. "It's all about how someone behaves and how they make you feel," I say.

Yes, I do get the occasional stare, especially from young children. Sometimes it's awkward as their parents don't know what to say, but I give them grace. Nobody is being malicious.

I want to normalize facial injuries

These days, I do a lot of keynote speaking about resilience and how I regained my confidence. I launched my Instagram account to help normalize issues like mine.

I know I could have allowed this facial injury to be something awful that ruined my life, or turned it into a positive. I'm glad I chose the latter.

Whether you're planning a celebration or building your brand, custom printed materials can make everything look more polished and professional. Vistaprint makes it easy to create everything from invitations and business cards to vinyl banners, flyers, stickers, and signage, thanks to its beginner-friendly design tools and customizable templates. Since costs can add up when you're ordering in bulk, using Vistaprint coupons or promo codes is one of the simplest ways to save on your next print order.

Vistaprint runs frequent sitewide sales and limited-time promotions, and using a Vistaprint coupon code or promo code can unlock even bigger discounts, sometimes up to 50% off your order. Many deals apply across popular categories like stationery, labels, and banners, and some offers can be used multiple times, making it easier to save on repeat orders.

Before you place your next order, it's worth checking the latest Vistaprint promo codes to make sure you're getting the lowest price on everything from everyday business essentials to custom stationery. Below, we've rounded up the best Vistaprint discount codes and active deals we've tested so you can save more on your next print project.

Today's best Vistaprint discount codes

Previous Vistaprint discount codes

Are there any other Vistaprint sales running at the moment?

In addition to their voucher codes, Vistaprint also runs several ongoing sales and promotions, all of which can be found on their "Offers" page. As of the time of writing, Vistaprint is running the following deals.

• Follow our Instagram page and WhatsApp channel for more deals and buying guides

How to use Vistaprint voucher codes

Vistaprint requires all shoppers to create an account before designing products, so start there. Once you've created an account, you can add coupon-eligible items to your cart. From the "My Cart" page, you can apply a promo code by clicking the "Have a code?" dropdown, pasting the code into the text box, and clicking apply. Once the voucher code has been applied, continue to checkout to enter your shipping and billing information.

Can you stack Vistaprint promo codes?

Vistaprint does not allow discount codes to be stacked together. Only one code may be applied per purchase.

Vistaprint discount code frequently asked questions

Does Vistaprint offer discounts for students, teachers, and the military?

Vistaprint does not offer special discounts for students or teachers in the United States, so your best bet is to take advantage of their other coupons and deals.

Military members can receive a discount on all Vistaprint purchases. To take advantage of the discount, shoppers must verify their military status.

If you are a student or teacher, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and best teacher discounts to unlock more deals.

Does Vistaprint offer free shipping?

Vistaprint offers shoppers free economy shipping on orders of $100 or more. You don't need to enter a promo code to access free shipping; just add enough items to your cart.

Does Vistaprint offer special pricing plans for businesses?

Vistaprint offers special corporate pricing plans for businesses to use to create their branding and marketing materials. Businesses that participate in one of the three corporate pricing plans (each designed for different business sizes) enjoy perks like free shipping on orders over $50, multiple logins for other team members, and ease-of-ordering features like bulk ordering and auto-reordering. Learn more about the different corporate pricing plans on Vistaprint's corporate website.

Can I reuse a Vistaprint promo code?

In most cases, Vistaprint allows you to apply a promo code to multiple orders as long as your order contains qualifying items. There are some exceptions, though, so it's best to check the terms and conditions for a coupon to confirm.

Does Vistaprint save my previous designs?

When you create an account, Vistaprint saves all your designs and orders on the "My Projects" page, so you can access your previous designs and reorder them anytime.

Does Vistaprint offer resources to help me with my designs?

Yes, you can visit Vistaprint's "Ideas and Advice" blog for resources to help you with your designs, including design tips like packaging and graphic design trends, how to choose a logo for your business, the best promotional products for building brand loyalty, and more.

Can I hire someone to design things for me on Vistaprint?

Vistaprint makes creating your own designs easy. But if you don't have the bandwidth or would rather hire a professional, Vistaprint offers design services on many of its products, including business cards, flyers, and more. Learn more on Vistaprint's website.

Can I apply a Vistaprint discount code after placing an order?

If you forgot to apply a discount code before placing your order but later found one that applies, you won't be able to apply it yourself. That said, you can contact Vistaprint's customer care team through their help center, and they can apply the code for you.

If you've been considering building a new website for yourself or your business, our roundup of the latest Squarespace promo codes has more helpful coupons.

• Social data shows more positive online sentiment toward Alix Earle than toward Alex Cooper.
• The social media stars have captivated the internet with their public feud for the past week.
• Neither star is really "winning" the spat, however.

Two of the biggest personalities in digital media, Alex Cooper and Alix Earle, are feuding, and the internet has a favorite.

Data from two social listening firms, Muck Rack and Sprout Social, showed higher negative sentiment toward Cooper than toward Earle since the public feud kicked off late last week.

That's not to say anyone's truly "winning" this clash. Earle has seen negative commentary about her increase since the feud began, and Cooper entered the dispute riding a prior wave of negative sentiment.

Sprout Social said negative sentiment around Cooper was already high before the spat began. The firm attributed this partly to some Hannah Montana fans being upset about the perceived quality of Cooper's interview with Miley Cyrus, connected to the show's 20th anniversary celebration.

"For these large female brands, there's always going to be a lot of haters who want to pull them down," said Jo Wong, GM of Pop.Store, an AI commerce company that helps creators build online businesses.

Overall, though, it's worth noting that the social listening firms found the sentiment for both Earle and Cooper was largely neutral.

A rep for Earle declined to comment, and reps for Cooper didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.

How the recent drama started

The recent drama began last week when Earle — who used to work with Cooper's company — reposted a critical TikTok about Cooper that called her an "ambulance chaser" for interviewing people at vulnerable times, among other accusations.

Cooper, 31, then posted a video calling out Earle, 25. She encouraged Earle to "say what you got to say about me," to which Earle commented, "Okay on it!!"

Internet commenters have jumped to take sides. Some on social media have criticized Cooper for building an empire on sometimes-questionable advice for young women, while others have defended her as a successful businesswoman. Earle watchers have called her passive-aggressive, while others have praised her for not directly engaging.

People are looking for an escape from the politics and war-dominated news cycle, and Cooper and Earle are delivering it, said Juda Engelmayer, a crisis PR professional whose clients include Harvey Weinstein and Diddy. He said he thought online commenters were drawn to Earle because she presents as authentic and has a younger fan base that's quick to show their support on social media.

The dustup isn't that serious — so far — and could even benefit both by introducing them to a wider audience, he said.

"No one's getting canceled for this," he said. "This is just bringing name recognition."

The social stars have a history

The social media frenzy surrounding the two women reflects their ability to command huge audiences and cut big business deals.

Earle, with more than 8 million TikTok followers, became famous for her get-ready-with-me videos in 2022 and is known for selling out products, including her new skincare line, Reale Actives.

Cooper founded the Unwell Network of podcasts, which includes her popular "Call Her Daddy" show. She's one of the highest-paid podcasters, with a three-year, $125 million deal with SiriusXM. She also has an electrolyte beverage with Nestlé called Unwell Hydration.

In 2023, the Unwell Network signed Earle to host her own podcast, "Hot Mess," but it ended after less than two years.

There's been speculation that the two don't get along — Earle took a slight jab at the situation in a 2025 interview — but this is the first time they are openly taking shots at each other.

Correction: April 17, 2026 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Jo Wong's name.

• A doctor said he's seeing a growing number of patients under age 45 with colorectal cancers.
• He recently treated a 22-year-old with stomach pain. She had a tumor so big it nearly blocked her colon.
• Symptoms of colon cancer can be subtle, so it's crucial to know the right screening options.

The patient was 22 years old and a recent college graduate, suffering from inexplicable stomach pain.

She'd had the pain off and on for about a year and assumed it was stress-related. She finished her studies and spent a busy summer working at an animal shelter, preparing to apply to veterinary school.

When she saw a doctor, she was told to wait and see if the pain resolved on its own. But when it became so severe, she went to the emergency room. Scans found a tumor large enough to cause a near blockage of her colon. She had no family history of the disease.

It was colon cancer: a growing concern for younger patients, according to Dr. Marc Greenwald, who ultimately treated the patient and wrote a case study on her care.

Greenwald, the chief of colorectal clinical services and surgeon-in-chief at North Shore University Hospital in New York, told Business Insider that while colon cancer cases are decreasing in older adults, they're on the rise in people under 45 as a growing number of young cancer patients are showing up at his hospital.

"There's no doubt that we're seeing more people," he said. "The problem is that a lot of the symptoms are somewhat subtle. If there are new symptoms for somebody, regardless of age, they should seek medical attention."

Here's what Greenwald said everyone should know about the symptoms and your options for cancer screening that could catch the disease in time for effective treatment.

Colon cancer symptoms that everyone should know

Decades ago, colon cancer cases in young people were rare.

Stomach pain and indigestion in 20- or 30-something patients would often be attributed to irritable bowel syndrome or dismissed as a minor ailment.

Today, colon cancer is the top cause of cancer-related death in people under 50, prompting doctors and patients alike to be on high alert for possible symptoms.

Most concerning is that in early-onset colon cancers, symptoms may be subtle or may not appear at all until the cancer has advanced.

Greenwald said his 22-year-old patient likely developed the tumor in her colon as a teenager, and it may have continued to grow unnoticed for years.

"The most dangerous misconception is that I have no symptoms, so I must be fine," he said. "That is really the wrong attitude because if colorectal cancer is caught before symptoms occur, your chance of a cure is much higher than if you wait for symptoms."

How to get tested for colon cancer

Early onset cases of colon cancer include patients in their 40s, 30s, and as young as their 20s. That's a problem because there are currently no screening guidelines for people under 45.

Colonoscopies, recommended starting at age 45, help detect cancer and also prevent it by removing any existing polyps or abnormal growths that can develop into tumors.

If you're too young for a regular colonoscopy, it's even more crucial to monitor any changes in your health and seek early screening if necessary.

Greenwald said patients can sometimes postpone or avoid a colonoscopy because they're anxious about the procedure or colonoscopy prep (although a Business Insider health reporter previously shared that it's easier than you might think).

There are also less-invasive alternatives to colonoscopies, such as stool tests that can be collected at home and mailed to a lab. Blood tests for cancer are currently under development, too, although their reliability can be mixed.

If you have symptoms, even minor ones like a change in bowel habits or digestion, it's important to talk to your doctor as soon as possible and find a testing option to rule out cancer.

"If you're not going to do a colonoscopy, do something to get screened," Greenwald said.

This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your qualified physician or healthcare provider.