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12 companies that have said they're doing AI-related layoffs

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 08 May 2026 16:47:48 +0000

Block CEO Jack Dorsey, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna (left to right).

Joe Raedle/Getty Images, AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Sajjad Hussain/Getty Images

Companies like Snap and Block cited AI as a factor in recent layoffs.
Coinbase's CEO said on May 5 that the company will cut 14% of its workforce, in part due to AI.
Cloudflare announced 1,100 layoffs on May 7, citing AI-driven efficiency gains and organizational changes.

Worries about AI one day replacing human workers have intensified recently — and as it turns out, that future may be here.

A number of companies have recently announced cuts staff and cited AI efficiencies as a major rationale.

A March report from career transition firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas found that so far this year, AI has been cited in 8% of job cut plans.

Amid this rash of layoffs, some have asked whether AI is replacing so many roles once held by humans or whether some degree of "AI washing" is at work. OpenAI's Sam Altman said some companies are blaming AI for layoffs that would've happened regardless.

An MIT study released last year said that 95% of corporate AI investments have generated "zero return" so far.

Even as some companies replace human workers with the technology, they may end up hiring more people because of it — or rehiring at least some of the roles they eliminated. A 2025 survey conducted by consulting firm Robert Half found that 29% of 2,000 hiring managers said they reopened positions that had been previously got rid of after implementing AI.

Here's a list of companies that have done AI-related layoffs:

Angi

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Angi, the popular contractor listing site previously known as Angie's List, said in January that it was cutting roughly 350 jobs in part because of "AI-driven efficiency improvements."

The company added that the cuts were part of a plan "to reduce operating expenses and optimize the organizational structure in support of long-term growth."

Atlassian

Last year, Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said that his company would have more engineers working for it in five years than it did then.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Atlassian announced cuts of 1,600 jobs in March, totaling about 10% of its global workforce. The move comes as the Australian-American software company says it is restructuring to focus on AI and enterprise growth.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the reduction was part of a broader effort to reposition the business for what CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes described as the "AI era."

"It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does," Cannon-Brookes wrote in a message to employees.

On the "20VC" podcast in October last year, prior to the cuts, Cannon-Brookes said he planned to have more engineers at the company in five years.

"They will be more efficient, but technology creation is not output-bound," Cannon-Brookes said.

Block

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In a post on X in February, billionaire and Block CEO Jack Dorsey said he was slashing nearly half of Block's workforce, cutting its over 10,000-person staff to under 6,000. The move came as he said business was strong and profits were growing, but a new way of working was emerging.

"We're already seeing that the intelligence tools we're creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company," Dorsey said in his memo on X.

In the company's earnings call that followed the memo, Dorsey said that more companies will follow suit in using AI to drive efficiency gains. Block is already ahead of the trend that "all companies will eventually" adopt, the CEO said.

Cloudflare

IMF

Cloudflare announced on May 7 that it will be slashing more than 1,100 roles as it reorganizes for the "agentic AI era." The cybersecurity company said in a memo that its AI usage has increased by over 600% in the last three months, and employees across departments run thousands of agent sessions each day.

"That means we have to be intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era in order to supercharge the value we deliver to our customers," the company said in the memo to staff.

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince reponded to a critical post on X saying that "very few engineers or customer-facing sales people impacted by our layoff."

He wrote that the company will continue to hire "like crazy in those roles," as it did as a startup. Cloudflare employed 5,483 people as of the end of March, meaning the cuts impacted about 20% of its workforce.

Coinbase

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

Bloomberg/Getty

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the company will be slashing 14% of its workforce, or about 700 workers.

In a post on X on May 5, Armstrong shared an email that he said he sent to workers earlier that day. In the post, he cited two factors: a volatile market and AI changing the way people work.

"Over the past year, I've watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks," Armstrong said, adding that, "the pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically."

Armstrong said the company isn't just reducing headcount and cutting costs, but "fundamentally changing" the way it operates. The CEO said Coinbase is rebuilding itself "as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it."

He shared plans for the workforce to be concentrated around AI-native pods that will manage fleets of agents. Armstrong said the company will also experiment with "one person teams" of engineers, designers, and product managers.

Crypto.com

Marco Bello/Reuters

Crypto.com announced on March 19 that it would cut 12% of its staff. The CEO, Kris Marszalek, wrote in a post on X that those impacted were in "roles that do not adapt in our new world."

"We are joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI," Marszalek wrote on X. "Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of scale and precision that was previously impossible. This is where we must go."

The company previously cut jobs in 2022 during a cryptocurrency slump and another 20% of its workforce in 2023, following the collapse of FTX.

Lores ends each day with reflection about HP's present and future.

HP Inc.

HP said it's reducing the size of its corporate workforce as a result of AI initiatives. In an earnings report last November, the company said it plans to cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs by the end of 2028, estimating the changes would save around $1 billion.

HP's earnings presentation at the time said part of its strategy was to cut costs through "workforce reductions, platform simplification, programs consolidation, and productivity measures" and to increase customer satisfaction, innovation, and productivity with "artificial intelligence adoption and enablement."

IBM

Arvind Krishna has been spent his entire career at IBM. He was made CEO of the company in 2020.

Sajjad Hussain/Getty Images

Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, told The Wall Street Journal last year that it had replaced hundreds of human resources employees with AI.

More recently, the company announced last November that it would cut thousands of workers in the fourth quarter of 2025, affecting a "single-digit percentage of its global workforce." Its CEO, Arvind Krishna, said the company is shifting priorities to hire more people around AI and quantum. He also said the company plans to increase hiring among recent college graduates over the next year.

Krishna has also said AI adoption has led to the company hiring more employees in programming and sales.

In 2023, Krishna told Bloomberg that IBM had halted or slowed hiring for back-office roles, like in human resources, that could be replaced by AI.

"I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period," he told the outlet at the time.

Klarna

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski

David M. Benett/Getty Images for Klarna

Klarna's CEO says its workforce has halved over the last four years and will shrink further in the coming years.

In an interview with Harry Stebbings on the "20 VC" podcast in February, Sebastian Siemiatkowski said there are about 3,000 employees at Klarna, and he expects the company's workforce to drop below 2,000 by 2030. The company had 7,000 employees in 2022, he said.

The CEO said the reduction is a result of layoffs and "natural attrition," which is when the company doesn't replace workers who leave.

Siemiatkowski said that "human connection" will be vital for the company, and jobs involved in that will not be replaced by AI.

"Those jobs will remain, but for the rest it's going to be definitely smaller," he said.

Klarna declined to comment further when contacted by Business Insider. A spokesperson previously said that its AI assistant handles the equivalent workload of 853 full-time agents, up from 700 at launch. The spokesperson said it was saving the company an estimated $58 million annually.

Salesforce

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says Gemini 3 is so advanced that he has stopped using ChatGPT.

AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Salesforce cut fewer than 1,000 workers in February, including employees from marketing, product management, data analytics, and its Agentforce AI product.

In an episode of "The Logan Bartlett Show" released last August, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the company was using AI agents in its customer support division to replace humans and help the company work through more sales leads.

"I was able to rebalance my head count on my support," he said in the interview. "I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000 because I need less heads."

A Salesforce spokesperson told Business Insider previously that Benioff was referencing an organizational transformation that took place over several months to reshape its customer support function.

After deploying Agentforce, the company no longer needed to "actively backfill support engineer roles," the spokesperson said, adding that it successfully redeployed hundreds of employees into other areas of the company, like professional services, sales, and customer success.

Snap

Bloomberg/Getty Images

In a memo to employees released in a regulatory filing on April 15, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said the company would cut 1,000 employees, or about 16% of its global workforce. The CEO cited "rapid advancements" in AI and "small squads" using the technology to be more efficient.

Spiegel said Snap would also close more than 300 open roles, and that US-based employees would receive four months of severance, healthcare coverage, and equity vesting. In an investor update included in the company's filing, it said the layoffs would result in roughly $500 million in annualized cost savings.

Wisetech

Wisetech is cutting 2,000 jobs.

Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Zubin Appoo, the CEO of Wisetech, said the logistics software maker is cutting 2,000 jobs, or 30% of its staff, because of AI-led efficiency.

In a conference call on February 25, Appoo said that AI enables greater productivity in less time and with fewer employees. The Sydney-based company employed about 7,000 people, according to an annual report released in October.

"I am prepared to say this clearly: the era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over," Appoo said. The technology is "unlocking levels of efficiency gains across WiseTech that were previously out of reach."

In some parts of the workforce, such as customer service, one in two workers will disappear, he added.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Best cat litter boxes

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 08 May 2026 16:47:46 +0000

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The best cat litter boxes include extra-large, low-entry boxes and hygienic stainless steel pans.

Sophia Carlisle; Will Fischer/Business Insider

The best cat litter boxes come in many designs, from basic high-sided plastic or stainless steel pans to high-tech, self-cleaning models. Choosing the right one means balancing your cat's preferences with what works best for your home. The ideal litter box will be comfortable for your cat to use and easy for you to maintain.

To find the best options, Insider Reviews reporters tested 39 litter boxes and consulted veterinarians and cat behaviorists about the features that matter most for cats of different ages, sizes, and lifestyles, including seniors, large breeds, and multicat households. Whatever litter box you choose, it should measure at least 1.5 times the length of your cat from nose to base of tail, says Molly DeVoss, certified cat behavior specialist. That's a size many traditional boxes fall short of.

My top pick is the Frisco High Sided Extra Large Cat Litter Box, which our reporters tested in two homes with four different cats. Its roomy size comfortably accommodates many cats, and its 10-inch sides do a great job of containing litter. For larger cats, those with limited mobility, or homes with specific needs, I also recommend several alternatives that strike a good balance between your cat's comfort and your household's needs.

Our top picks for the best cat litter boxes

Category	Our pick	Why we love it
Best overall	Frisco High Sided Cat Litter Box, Extra Large - See at Chewy	High sides reduce litter scatter Budget-friendly
Best low-entry for seniors and kittens	Kitty Go Here Senior Cat Large Litter Box - See at Chewy	Spacious interior Low entry and sides for easy access
Best stainless steel	Frisco Stainless Steel Cat Litter Box - See at Chewy	Durable material Nonslip bottom
Best for large cats	Kitty Go Here Jumbo Litter Box - See at Amazon	Low entry for easy access High sides reduce litter scatter
Best automatic	Whisker Litter-Robot 4 - See at Chewy	Eliminates need for scooping App sends maintenance notifications
Best covered	Frisco Hooded Cat Litter Box - See at Chewy	Spacious interior Removable hood for easy cleaning
Best DIY	Sterilite Storage Bin, 41 Quart Clear Plastic Storage Container - See at Walmart	Extra-large size Extremely affordable
Best top-entry	Modkat XL Litter Box - See at Chewy	Perforated lid captures loose litter Includes side entrance

Best overall

House cats vary in size, but most litter boxes don't provide enough room for them to do their business, including circling and digging. The Frisco High Sided Extra Large Litter Box offers most cats the room they need with a 24-by-18-inch footprint and 10-inch-high sides that help contain mess.

"I appreciate that its high sides prevent litter from scattering outside of the box," says associate home editor Kinsley Searles, whose cat has been using the box for four months. "I have a petite cat, but she's never had issues entering the Frisco litter box." The 5.6-inch entrance might be too high for cats with mobility issues, but you can add a ramp or cut a lower entrance and cover the edges with duct tape to accommodate them.

I also like its simple design. With litter boxes, simpler is better, says Sung and cat behaviorist Daniel "DQ" Quagliozzi, a certified feline behavior and training specialist. With fewer crevices, there are fewer places for urine and odors to build up, which also means there's less scrubbing for you to do. That's important, says Dr. Elena Shirley, lead veterinarian and partner at CityVet in Charlotte Uptown, who recommends replacing the litter weekly and thoroughly cleaning the box with soap and water every four to six weeks. The box is made from smooth, BPA-free, recyclable plastic that resists sticking, which makes daily scooping and deep cleaning quick and easy.

Our top pick from Frisco is also one of the simplest litter boxes you can buy.

Kinsley Searles/Business Insider

This box doesn't come with a cover, and that's another benefit. "Most cats prefer litter boxes that are uncovered," says Samantha Bell, a cat enrichment expert at Best Friends Animal Society. Covers trap ammonia odors, making the box unpleasant for cats. Open boxes also help cats feel more secure with better visibility and easy escape routes.

Best low-entry for seniors and kittens

In some cases, short- or long-term medical conditions can influence the best cat litter box choice, Shirley says. DeVoss adds that a box with a low entry is even better than ramps or stairs. My 6-year-old cat, Lyra, has a bad knee and early-onset arthritis, so I prefer low-profile boxes that she can step in and out of comfortably.

The Kitty Go Here Senior Cat Large Litter Box has a 3-inch-tall front entry for easy access. Even with a low entry, some cats — like mine — still hop over the sides. "Cats are masters at hiding their pain," says Dr. Carly Fox, a senior veterinarian at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center. They may also not recognize their own limitations. That's why I appreciate the short 5-inch rim on this litter box in addition to its low entrance — it can help reduce overexertion, no matter the route taken. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to see my cat gingerly step out through the entrance of this box, perhaps because it's a generous 11 inches wide. DeVoss also says there's no such thing as a litter box that's too big, making this model a great choice for itty-bitty kittens as well.

The Kitty Go Here Senior Cat Large Litter Box has the lowest entry of any litter box we tested.

Janelle Leeson/Business Insider

One drawback of this box is that the low entry limits the litter depth. Some cats prefer digging in a few inches, but the fill line on this box sits at about an inch. I filled it just slightly above the line, and while litter reached the edge of the entry after my cats used it, none actually tumbled out. An aggressive digger, however, will likely cause some litter to spill from the entryway. Shallow litter depth also means less clean litter is available for your cat after they eliminate, so you should scoop the box more frequently. To help manage litter scatter, I recommend pairing the box with a litter mat, such as the Gorilla Grip Cat Litter Trapping Mat.

Best stainless steel litter box

The durable Frisco Stainless Steel Cat Litter Box offers a significant advantage over traditional plastic litter boxes: It resists the scratches that plastic boxes accumulate over time. Those scratches can harbor bacteria and unpleasant odors, even when the box is cleaned regularly.

"Once you see scratches on the bottom of the box, it is time to replace it," DeVoss says. Since plastic boxes are prone to scratches, they typically need to be replaced every six months. To eliminate the need for frequent replacements, DeVoss recommends stainless steel litter boxes that can withstand a cat's claws. The downside of a stainless steel litter box is that it amplifies sound, which can be bothersome to noise-sensitive cats and people.

This stainless steel litter box from Frisco is scratch-resistant and easy to clean.

Will Fischer/Business Insider

Priced around $46, the pan offers ample space for small and medium-sized cats at an affordable price. Its nonskid base keeps it firmly in place, even during enthusiastic digging or post-litter-box zoomies. However, it lacks a tapered entry, which may make it tougher for seniors, kittens, or cats with mobility limitations to climb in and out.

Best for large cats

If you have a large cat, you need an even larger litter box. When a box is too small, your cat might perch on the edge, be smooshed against the sides, unable to turn around, dig outside the box, or worse, go somewhere else, says DeVoss. She recommends the Kitty Go Here Jumbo Litter Box, which is our top pick among the best large litter boxes.

At about $70, it is pricier than other traditional boxes, but DeVoss says its size and functionality are well worth the investment. The box measures more than 1.5 times the length of an 18-inch cat, giving many larger cats room to comfortably stretch out and cover their waste. "Cats are indeed different sizes, so you'll need to measure," she says. Large cat breeds like Ragdolls, Norwegian Forest Cats, and Savannahs are larger than the average kitty, but often still fit comfortably in an extra-large box like this one. For jumbo cats like the Maine Coon, I recommend a larger DIY box, like the Sterilite 41-Quart Storage Bin in this guide.

The Kitty Go Here Jumbo Litter Box is designed to accommodate the largest cats.

Sophia Carlisle/Business Insider

The Kitty Go Here Jumbo Litter Box also features relatively high ramped sides to reduce litter scatter from the sides. However, you may want to pair this box with one of the best cat litter mats to catch any stray litter that tumbles from the low entryway. You can also install the included gate to reduce litter scatter, but it does increase the entry height to 4.5 inches from 3.5. Without the gate, we collected 2 tablespoons of scattered litter over three days, and only 1.5 tablespoons with the gate installed.

The pan is made from durable plastic that's easy to clean and has an oversized rim for easy lifting.

Best automatic

The fourth version of Litter-Robot is a reliable machine that cleans itself and notifies you when it's time to empty the waste drawer or replace litter. You can also add a LitterHopper for automated litter replenishment. My cats happily use their Litter-Robot boxes, including previous generations 2 and 3.

The Litter-Robot 4 runs a cleaning cycle a few minutes after a cat leaves the box, so even cats in multi-cat households will never be without a clean litter box. Thanks to laser-light technology, the cylinder stops cycling if a cat enters while the cleaning cycle is running. The machine also weighs your cat every time they enter, recognizing each cat by body weight so owners can assign profiles and monitor individual bathroom activity — one of 11 optional push notifications.

Our reporter has been using the Litter-Robot 4 in her home since 2022.

Janelle Leeson/Business Insider

The machine sifts waste into a lined tray that you'll need to empty every week to two times a week, depending on the frequency of use. Even if the waste bin isn't full, emptying it proactively is recommended because cats have a heightened sense of smell. Brains says he received cleaning notifications before they seemed necessary and found that if he shook the drawer to distribute the waste more evenly, the sensor would reset. The "empty" cycle works well to remove all the litter when it needs replacing, but Brains still wipes down stuck-on debris inside and deep cleans the globe every one to three months. Weight monitoring is only accurate when the machine is placed on a hard floor or a Litter-Robot Carpet Tray. Nonetheless, I consider this self-cleaning litter box worthy of the investment.

If your cat is small or has mobility issues, you can add an attachable ramp. However, the ramp still has a 5-inch rise from the floor to the first step, so it won't work for every cat. The biggest downside is the Litter-Robot 4's high cost ($700), but it comes with a one-year warranty. If you or your cat isn't happy with the Litter-Robot 4, you can also return it within 90 days for a refund, although return shipping will be deducted.

To learn more, check out our Whisker Litter-Robot 4 review and our guide to the best automatic litter boxes.

Best covered

What a cat desires in a litter box often differs from what appeals to us humans. Case in point, covered litter boxes. While they hide mess and odors from us, they're far from feline-friendly. "Cats dislike covered boxes because this blocks the visual field," says Rachel Geller, a certified cat behavior and retention specialist and founder of All Cats All the Time, Inc. In multi-cat homes and ones with dogs, it's even more important for cats to have a clear view of their surroundings. Plus, the trapped odors inside a covered box can quickly turn it into a place cats avoid.

That said, some cats don't mind a covered box — as long as it's large, clean, and comfortable. That's why I chose the Frisco Extra-Large Hooded Cat Litter Box as the best covered litter box option. It has a larger interior compared to other covered boxes and a removable cover, giving you the flexibility to adjust the setup if your cat is hesitant. With the cover in place, a built-in charcoal filter provides extra odor control between cleanings. Even without the cover, the high sides help contain messes, which is especially useful for cats who tend to "elevator pee."

The Frisco Extra-Large Hooded Cat Litter Box features both a removable door and cover.

Shoshi Parks/Business Insider

The box has a semi-opaque plastic door to help prevent odors from escaping. As you might guess, that just traps smells inside with your cat and can make the space feel even more confining. For these reasons, it's best to remove the door, which easily snaps off.

Best DIY

When it comes to creating a DIY litter box, a wide, flat plastic storage container is an ideal and cost-effective stand-in for a traditional box. In fact, Quagliozzi and Sung often recommend their clients consider this DIY version since many traditional litter boxes are too small for more than one cat to use several times a day.

The Sterilite 41-Quart Storage Box is made from durable, clear plastic. Its interior dimensions of 29 3/8 inches by 18 inches provide a cat with plenty of room to perform natural behaviors like digging and covering their waste. A box this big is especially important for extra-large breeds such as the Maine Coon, the biggest domestic cat, which can reach up to an astonishing 40 inches in length. Because the box is waterproof, it won't leak any excess urine that goes uncaptured by the litter.

With 6-inch-high sides, the box is shallow enough for most cats to enter and exit easily, but you can also cut a low front entry. Use a pair of wire cutters to cut the entrance to your desired height and width, then tap over the edges with duct tape. People with cats that aggressively scratch and kick their litter may need to do more floor cleanup than they would with a litter pan with higher sides.

Best top-entry

Sung and Quagliozzi say cats need choices to feel secure, which includes having at least two litter box areas per cat in your home. Having more than one way in and out of a box can also make a big difference. While an uncovered box with unlimited exit routes is best, a covered box with both a top and side entrance gives your cat more control over how they come and go. For this reason, Modkat's XL Litter Box is our top recommendation for the best top-entry litter boxes.

If you'd prefer your cat not use the front entry, you can close the built-in sliding door, though our experts don't recommend it. The lid folds back for easy cleaning, and litter tracked onto the roof returns to the pan through perforations. The box comes with two reusable plastic liners and a scoop. However, Bell advises against using litter box liners. "Cats often get their claws stuck in the liner, tearing a hole in it, which causes them to dislike the box," she says.

The Modkat XL Litter Box features two entry points and a litter trapping cover.

Sophia Carlisle/Business Insider

A downside of the Modkat XL is its price, typically $190. It's one of the roomiest top-entry models available, but if you're looking for a larger box, a traditional open-top pan is your best bet.

Our top litter box picks compared

Our pick	Winner	Length x Width	High sides	Low entry
Best overall	Frisco High Sided Cat Litter Box, Extra Large	24" x 18"	Yes	No
Best low-entry	Kitty Go Here Senior Cat Large Litter Box	24" x 20"	No	Yes
Best stainless steel	Frisco Stainless Steel Cat Litter Box	23.4" x 15.5"	No	No
Best for large cats	Kitty Go Here Jumbo Litter Box	28" x 22"	Yes	Yes
Best automatic	Whisker Litter-Robot 4	18" x 19"	Yes	No
Best covered	Frisco Hooded Cat Litter Box, Extra Large	26" x 18.1"	Yes	No
Best DIY	Sterilite 41-Quart Storage Bin	29.4" x 18"	No	No
Best top-entry	Modkat XL Litter Box	21" x 16.5"	Yes	No

What to look for in a cat litter box

The best cat litter boxes are spacious, easy for a cat to access, designed to fit their preferences, and simple for guardians to maintain.

Size: Sung says cats need a space at least 1.5 times their length to scratch at the litter and bury their waste. Many litter pans advertised as "large" or "jumbo" have far smaller dimensions than our top picks. You can determine whether a box is big enough by measuring your cat's length from its nose to the base of its tail and comparing it to the dimensions of the box.

Accessibility: Not every cat is agile or motivated enough to jump up into a litter box, and top-entry boxes can be especially challenging for some cats to access. When selecting a box, consider your cat's mobility needs. Kittens, senior cats, and those with injuries or mobility limitations may benefit from a box with an entry height of about 3 inches or less. If choosing a box with a high entry and sides, look for one made of a material that you can safely modify to create a lower entry that better suits your cat's needs.

Design: Quagliozzi says cats prefer a box that doesn't distract them from their business or require them to contort their body into unnatural positions. Look for boxes that offer easy entry and allow a cat to stand flat on all four paws rather than curved or angled boxes. An open-topped litter pan is the most universally accepted by cats of all types. Some cats may be intimidated by hooded or covered litter boxes, especially if the top is low enough that the cat must crouch to do their business.

Ease of cleaning: In general, boxes with simpler designs are easier to clean. Litter boxes should be scooped at least once a day, though more frequent scooping is ideal. Geller says healthy adult cats typically use the litter box two to five times a day for both peeing and pooping. However, factors like age and health can influence this. Senior cats may urinate more often due to conditions like kidney disease, while kittens usually urinate after each feeding and may poop up to three times a day. If having a cover over your litter pan makes you forget to scoop it daily, then a litter box without a hood is a more hygienic option. If you struggle to scoop your litter box daily, an automatic or smart litter box may be the best option, though even self-cleaning litter boxes still require deep cleaning. Our experts say you'll also need to deep-clean your litter boxes every four to six weeks using water and unscented dish soap.

Material: I included metal and plastic options in this guide to the best cat litter boxes. Plastic litter boxes have a lower upfront cost, but our experts recommend replacing them every six months or at the first sign of scratch marks. DeVoss says that no matter how well the box is cleaned, scratch marks accumulate bacteria and, therefore, odors. On the other hand, stainless steel and metal litter boxes may have a higher initial cost, but they offer a longer lifespan compared to plastic options. However, noise-averse people and cats alike may dislike the sound of cat claws on metal.

How we tested the best cat litter boxes

The Kitty Go Here Senior Cat Large Litter Box gets a deep-cleaning in our reporter's bathtub.

Janelle Leeson/Business Insider

Over the past five years, we've researched popular litter boxes from major online retailers, selecting models to test based on criteria provided by the experts we consulted. Freelance reporter Shoshi Parks conducted the initial reporting for this guide and tested litter boxes with her two cats. Since then, freelance reporter Janelle Leeson and three Insider Reviews editors and reporters have tested additional boxes with six more cats. Although we haven't tested our DIY pick, it meets our experts' criteria and comes from a trusted brand.

Each litter box we tested was used for at least one month and evaluated using the methods described below. Unless a box required a specific type of litter to operate effectively, testers used their preferred substrates, including some of the best cat litters and best natural cat litters.

Ease of entry test: We measured the sides of each box and the height of any openings, and observed whether our cats appeared to have difficulty accessing the boxes. We also observed how our cats responded to each box, noting which they preferred to use more frequently.

Tracking test: For each litter box we tested, we collected the litter tracked onto the floor over three days and then compared the quantity of litter between boxes.

Cleaning test: We cleaned each litter box twice daily, observing how easy it was to access and remove the waste and how much litter stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan. After a month of use, we thoroughly cleaned each box, disposing of the litter and wiping it out completely. We noted how challenging the boxes were to clean and approximately how long it took.

Size test: For this test, we measured the length of each of our cats when standing in a relaxed position from the nose to the base of the tail. We then measured the length of each of the litter box contenders and compared the numbers. We favored larger litter boxes over smaller ones.

We also interviewed seven experts about feline litter box habits and the qualities to look for in a good litter box.

Dr. Liza Cahn is a veterinarian and consultant for Embrace Pet Insurance. She is also a freelance veterinary writer.

Molly DeVoss is a certified feline training and behavior specialist (CFTBS), certified cat behavior consultant, and Fear Free certified trainer who specializes in using positive reinforcement to modify and prevent unwanted behaviors in cats. She is the founder and owner of Cat Behavior Solutions.

Dr. Mark Freeman is a specialist veterinarian who is board-certified in canine/feline practice through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and assistant professor of community practice at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Freeman's academic and research interests include feline and canine behavior.

Daniel "DQ" Quagliozzi is a cat behavior consultant and owner of Go Cat Go! in San Francisco, California. For two decades, Quagliozzi has worked with cats at the San Francisco SPCA, San Francisco Animal Care and Control, and through his private practice, Go Cat Go!

Dr. Jamie Richardson is head of veterinary medicine at Small Door Veterinary in New York City. Richardson has worked with animals around the world, from South Africa to Hong Kong. At Small Door Veterinary, her primary interests besides general practice include preventative care, dentistry, and internal medicine.

Dr. Karen Sueda is a board-certified veterinary behaviorist who was practicing at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital when Parks interviewed her. She is also the founder of Karen Sueda Veterinary Behavior Inc., where she uses positive, pet-friendly behavior modification techniques to help pet owners work with their pets.

Dr. Wailani Sung is a board-certified veterinary behaviorist who was the director of behavior and welfare programs at the San Francisco SPCA Veterinary Hospital when Parks interviewed her. She writes on animal behavior for Vetstreet, PetMD, and Healthy Pet magazine.

Meet the expert behind this guide

Janelle Leeson, cats reporter and product tester: I combine rigorous research and reporting, real-world testing, and feline-focused insights to help readers find the best products for their cats. For this guide on litter boxes, I evaluated 39 different boxes based on their use in real homes with actual cats, consulted veterinarians and certified cat behavior specialists to understand what features matter most for cats of all sizes and life stages, and assessed each box for cat-friendliness, ease of cleaning, and odor control. My own cats were part of the testing process, helping me judge how well some of my top picks performed in everyday use.

Cat litter box FAQs

What type of litter box do vets recommend?

There isn't a single best litter box for every cat. Our experts say that most cats prefer open-top litter boxes that provide good airflow, easy entry and exit, unobstructed sightlines, and plenty of room to circle and dig. However, some cats may favor enclosed litter boxes that offer more privacy. Regardless of the style, the litter box should be at least 1.5 times the length of your cat from their nose to the base of the tail. Offering multiple types of litter boxes on different floors of your home and in various rooms gives your cat the opportunity to choose their preferred design and location. Ease of access is also important. "Make sure the sides aren't too high for your cat," says Dr. Jamie Richardson, chief medical officer at Small Door Veterinary in New York City. Boxes with tall sides and ones that are fully enclosed or top-entry can make some cats feel trapped, which may cause them to avoid the box altogether.

Do cats prefer open or hooded litter boxes?

Open-topped litter pans are the most widely accepted boxes by all types of cats. Some cats may feel trapped and be afraid to enter hooded or covered litter boxes, particularly if the interior height is so limited that they need to crouch while eliminating. "If your cat feels vulnerable and unsafe in the litter box, she may not take the time to bury her waste after elimination because she wants to get out of there quickly and prevent being ambushed in the box," Geller says. In some cases, this may lead your cat to avoid the box altogether. Additionally, Bell says covered boxes trap odors, intensifying the smell for cats, which can make them reluctant to use the box. Doors on litter box entrances, especially opaque or swinging ones, can make both matters worse.

What type of cat litter do vets recommend?

According to Dr. Liza Cahn, a veterinarian and consultant for Embrace Pet Insurance, most cats do best with litter that's unscented, clumping, and made of fine grains, such as clay litter. This type of litter closely resembles sand or dirt, which cats might choose to use in the wild.

Can a litter box be too big?

No. "Most cats won't mind a box that is a bit larger than they need, provided you keep it very clean," Richardson says. "The main concern is with litter boxes being too small."

How many litter boxes do I need?

Sung says a good general rule of thumb is to have one litter box per cat plus an extra. Dr. Karen Sueda, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, notes that some multi-cat households can get by with fewer boxes if they're extra large and scooped at least twice a day. You should also place boxes in different areas throughout your home.

Where should I put my cat's litter box?

Litter boxes should be placed in multiple locations throughout your home, including on each level, and kept away from noisy appliances like washers or dryers that could startle your cat. While you'll want to avoid busy, high-traffic areas, the box should still be close to where your cat likes to spend time with you. Geller says that a cat's field of vision also matters. Rather than placing a litter box tightly in a corner, setting it about 12 inches away from walls can improve your cat's view of their surroundings and help them feel more secure. Richardson also notes that litter boxes should be separated from the feeding areas. "Cats typically don't like to go where they eat," she says.

How often should I clean the litter box?

To keep a cat happily using their litter boxes, our experts recommend scooping them at least once a day, if not several times. In addition to daily maintenance, the litter box should be cleaned with unscented dish soap and water every four to six weeks.

How frequently does a cat use their litter box?

The typical cat uses the litter box as many as half a dozen times a day, urinating two to four times and defecating once or twice. Some cats may go more or less frequently on average. Cleaning your litter boxes at least once a day will help you monitor for medical or behavioral changes that may indicate a health problem, such as feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD).

Why is my cat peeing outside the litter box?

"If your cat is urinating or defecating outside of the litter box, see your vet to rule out medical issues, such as urinary tract infection, cystitis, or arthritis," Cahn says. If your cat gets a clean bill of health, she recommends taking a closer look at your litter box setup: Do you have the recommended number of boxes placed in different areas — one per cat, plus one extra? Are the boxes spread throughout your home in easily accessible locations? Do you scoop them daily? Cahn also recommends thoroughly cleaning any soiled areas, offering a variety of litter types (both clumping and non-clumping), reducing stressors, increasing enrichment, and finally, consulting a veterinary behaviorist if needed.

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A US Navy Super Hornet knocked out a pair of Iran blockade runners by hitting the smokestacks with precision munitions

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 08 May 2026 16:47:45 +0000

The aftermath of US strikes on an Iranian-flagged tanker.

US Central Command/Screengrab via X

A US Navy fighter jet hit the smokestacks of two Iranian tankers on Friday, disabling both ships.
The tankers were sailing in violation of the blockade of Iran's ports, the US military said.
It's the latest example of the US using strikes to enforce the blockade.

A US Navy fighter jet fired on the smokestacks of two Iranian-flagged oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, disabling both of the blockade-running vessels, the American military said.

The Navy has used force multiple times to disable Iranian commercial vessels since the US began a maritime blockade of Iran's ports last month.

US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said that M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda were sailing into an Iranian port on Friday in violation of the blockade.

CENTCOM said that an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet launched from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and fired precision munitions into the smokestacks of the unladen tankers to disable the large ships, which the military described as "non-compliant."

It's unclear what warnings the oil tankers received prior to the engagement. It's also unclear what munitions the Super Hornet fired to disable them. CENTCOM declined to provide additional details on the incident.

Super Hornet fighter jets can carry a mix of different armaments on the weapon hardpoints along the wings, including precision glide bombs and anti-ship missiles. These aircraft are also equipped with an internal 20 mm M61A2 six-barrel rotary cannon.

Friday's incident comes two days after a Super Hornet launched from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and fired several rounds from its 20 mm cannon into the rudder of M/T Hasna, disabling that Iranian-flagged oil tanker as well. The Hasna, like the Sea Star III and Sevda, was also sailing in the Gulf of Oman en route to an Iranian port.

"All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran," CENTCOM said on Friday.

An F/A-18 Super Hornet launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Emily Guillory

In mid-April, the Trump administration announced a naval blockade of maritime traffic entering and exiting Iran's ports to put pressure on its economy, which is dependent on oil exports.

More than 20 US warships and 200 aircraft, including those based on the two aircraft carriers operating in the Middle East, are involved in the blockade, which has turned around dozens of commercial vessels since it began.

In late April, Navy destroyer USS Spruance fired nine inert rounds from its 5-inch deck gun into the engine room of an Iranian-flagged vessel trying to run the blockade, marking a rare use of force by the US against a non-combat ship.

The strikes disabled the M/V Touska, which was then boarded by US Marines.

"US forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran," said Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, in a statement on Friday. "Our highly trained men and women in uniform are doing incredible work."

The naval blockade is one of several ongoing US military activities around Iran since the ceasefire started in early April and Operation Epic Fury, the large-scale American bombing campaign against the country, concluded.

The US has also launched missions to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz and to provide a defensive umbrella for commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway with warships and aircraft.

On Thursday, US forces thwarted an Iranian attack on three Navy destroyers in the Strait involving missiles, drones, and small boats.

CENTCOM said that it targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for the attacks, including missile and drone launch sites, command and control facilities, and surveillance infrastructure. The exchange of fire threatens the fragile ceasefire.

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Nintendo Switch 2 officially gets a $50 price hike in the US

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 08 May 2026 16:26:09 +0000

After less than a year on the market, the Nintendo Switch 2 is going up in price.

The company announced in a press release on its website that the device is getting a price increase in every major region, including the United States. Customers in the U.S. will pay $50 more for the console, as its price is going from $449 to $499. Nintendo did not delve into specifics in the press release, citing only "changes in market conditions," but this is almost certainly a response to the global memory shortage driven by high demand for AI data center construction.

That same memory shortage was the culprit behind recent price hikes on PlayStation 5 consoles and Motorola phones, among other tech products. Even if the reasoning is understandable, it must be stated that video game consoles rarely rise in price over time in a normal economic environment. The opposite usually occurs, typically after at least a few years on the market. Nintendo having to hike the Switch 2's price less than a year after its June 2025 launch is fairly unprecedented, at least in recent memory.

Nintendo said the changes go into effect on Sept. 1 of this year, so if you want a Switch 2, that's your deadline to get one for $450.

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Appliance giant Whirlpool says the Iran war has caused 'recession-level industry decline'

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:47:37 +0000

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Appliance maker Whirlpool says the Iran war has led to "recession-level industry decline."
The company cut its guidance for the full year when it reported earnings on Wednesday.
Whirlpool's CFO said that demand is the lowest since the Great Financial Crisis.

Appliance maker Whirlpool says it's seeing firsthand the damage the Iran war has done to the economy.

In its latest earnings report on Wednesday, the company cut its guidance for earnings per share to a range of $3 to $3.50 from the prior outlook of about $6. The stock cratered as much as 18% before paring the loss.

Zooming out, Whirlpool said the Iran war has done major damage to the industry amid a historic drop in US consumer confidence.

"[The] War in Iran resulted in recession-level industry decline in the U.S. as consumer confidence collapsed in late February and March," the report stated.

News that the Iran war may be close to an end boosted markets on Wednesday, but Whirlpool's statements highlight the wide-ranging economic impacts of the war, which has disrupted global supply chains.

That doesn't just mean higher prices for items made by Whirlpool, who owns brands such as Maytag and KitchenAid. Rising costs of both gasoline and jet fuel are making it more costly to ship items, particularly large appliances such as dishwashers and stoves.

Price increases from firms like Whirlpool are in line with predictions from finance pros who noted that the Iran war would likely spark a second wave of household inflation.

The home appliance industry is often seen as a bellwether for the broader economy, as sales offer insight into how willing consumers are to make big-ticket purchases.

Whirlpool's warning follows a historic drop in consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index fell to 49.8% in April as the Iran war dragged on. That figure is the lowest on record for the month and the worst it has been since June 2022, when shoppers were contending with surging inflation.

Whirlpool CFO Roxanne Warner told Yahoo Finance that the Iran war wasn't the only factor that impacted the company recently, also noting March's severe winter weather. But she highlighted that demand for large home appliances throughout the US and Canada is reaching lows that call to mind recession-levels.

"These are levels that last time you've seen was in the Great Financial Crisis," she said.

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Tesla recalls 219,000 cars over rearview camera bug

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Wed, 06 May 2026 16:26:42 +0000

When you put your car into reverse, it's important that the rearview camera displays what's happening behind you right now, not a while ago. Sadly, a pretty high number of Teslas are at danger of failing on that simple task.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday that Tesla is recalling 218,868 vehicles in the U.S. (via Reuters). The issue is as follows: when the car is put into reverse, the rearview camera display might be delayed "for up to 11 seconds."

The recall covers a number of Model 3, Model Y, Model ‌S, ⁠and Model X vehicles.

Tesla has already fixed the issue via an over-the-air software update, so owners needn't do anything aside from accepting the update.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Tesla has recalled vehicles over rearview camera issues. In 2024, the company recalled nearly 200,000 Model S, Model Y, and Model X vehicles over a bug that could prevent the rearview camera image from displaying at all.

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Christopher Nolans The Odyssey trailer will give you chills of mythic proportions

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:26:46 +0000

The latest trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has everything: Matt Damon trying to get home (again). The cyclops Polyphemus. Robert Pattinson beefing with Tom Holland. It's truly an embarrassment of riches — and that's before we get into the whirlpool Charybdis or the flashes of the Trojan War.

Adapted from Homer's epic, The Odyssey follows Odysseus's (Damon) decades-long quest to return home to Ithaca following the fall of Troy. He may be the wiliest of strategists, but are those wiles enough to face down the wrath of the gods?

While Odysseus weathers encounters with monsters like Polyphemus and Scylla and Charybdis, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) await his return to Ithaca. They've been overrun with potential suitors for Penelope, including the slimy Antinous (Pattinson). And when I say slimy, I mean rotten lettuce levels of slimy. Seriously, the trailer is worth the watch for Pattinson's nasty threats alone.

Damon, Hathaway, Holland, and Pattinson are only the tip of the iceberg of The Odyssey's extensive, star-studded cast. Zendaya stars the as the goddess Athena, Charlize Theron plays nymph Calypso, and Jon Bernthal and Benny Safdie play kingly brothers Menelaus and Agamemnon.

The film also stars Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, Will Yun Lee, Jimmy Gonzalez, Elliot Page, and more.

To catch these stars (and get some serious chills from The Odyssey's IMAX-shot visuals), check out the full trailer above.

The Odyssey hits theaters July 17.

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I bought a $140,000 mobile home in a Los Angeles neighborhood where houses cost millions

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:47:43 +0000

I bought a mobile home and rent the space where it sits, and the pros still outweigh the cons five years later.

Lisa Laureta

I purchased my 771-square-foot mobile home in Los Angeles for $140,000 in 2020.
My mortgage and space-rental costs come to about $2,000 a month for the two-bath, two-bedroom home.
I'd love more storage, but I'm grateful I have outdoor space and affordable monthly payments in LA.

I've been living in a 771-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath mobile home (that doesn't move) in Los Angeles for nearly five years.

I purchased it for $140,000 at the end of 2020 and rent the space in the mobile-home park where it sits. The lot price is rent-controlled, so annual increases don't exceed 3%.

Between the rental fee and my mortgage, I pay about $2,000 a month to live here — an especially good deal if you consider just how expensive LA can be.

Houses in my neighborhood regularly sell for upward of a million dollars, and it's almost impossible to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the area for under $2,000 a month — and forget about getting one with perks like in-unit laundry or a dishwasher.

My home now is also far nicer and better-equipped than anything I could afford to rent in the area. I have two parking spaces, a fenced-in yard, in-unit laundry, and a dishwasher.

Although my home isn't perfect, it's comfortable and works with my budget.

I don't have much space, but I make the most of it — especially my yard

I'm so thankful to have my home for several reasons.

Lisa Laureta

One of the best parts of my home is the private outdoor space, an incredible feat in Los Angeles.

By adding camping chairs with cupholders and a projector, my tiny backyard has become an especially great spot for the monthly outdoor movie nights I host with friends.

We drink wine, share snacks, and watch a Hallmark movie on the large pull-down screen that's mounted to the side of my house.

I love hosting friends and spending time outdoors in my own little space.

Lisa Laureta

My home's only real drawback is the limited storage: I have just two closets and a crawl space.

One closet contains most of my clothes, and the other has to hold, well, everything else: bedding for my guest bed, board games, offseason clothes, cat carriers, suitcases, craft supplies, holiday decorations, a Bissell, and much more.

I store my shoes, clothes, and other essentials in a variety of ways.

Lisa Laureta

The crawl space under my house isn't big, but it does at least provide a home for my Christmas tree for the nine or 10 months of the year I don't have it up. (Listen, if you lived alone and put up and took down your tree solo, you'd leave it up for at least two months, too.)

Since storage is lacking, I've tried hard to make the most of the dead space in my home with shelves, cabinets, and furniture that can pull double duty.

I've decorated my house with a lot of fun colors and patterns.

Lisa Laureta

The hallway to my bedroom has my washer and dryer, plus a wall-mounted unit to hold my shoes. Another hallway has a nine-cube storage unit, where I keep a lot of household necessities like tools, extra chargers, and lightbulbs.

I've gotten creative with different storage solutions and designs in my space.

Lisa Laureta

Since my guest bedroom also functions as my office and gym, I've gotten creative to make the space work.

I have a special queen bed that folds into a cabinet and a rowing machine that can be mounted on the wall when not in use. My table can collapse to be just a few inches wide and rolled right out of the room to make space.

It can be a pain to rearrange everything in the room for overnight guests, but it's worth it to have a comfortable spot to host friends and family. Guests get their own full bathroom to use during their visits, too.

Honestly, living with minimal storage doesn't feel so bad when I remember my mortgage payment is less than $900 a month.

At the end of the day, I love my home and am grateful to live in it

I'm so incredibly grateful to have been able to purchase this home for $140,000 at the end of 2020.

Lisa Laureta

My storage troubles and limited space also don't seem like such a big deal when I look at my neighborhood and remember what I paid for my home.

For reference, an adorable 830-square-foot bungalow around the corner from me recently sold for $920,000. It's not much bigger than my place, and it only has one bedroom and one bathroom.

Sure, the resale value of that house is likely going to increase and mine probably won't — mobile homes tend to lose value over time —but I can't imagine shelling out close to a million dollars for a few extra square feet and much higher property taxes.

At the end of the day, we're both living in the same beautiful neighborhood in the great city of Los Angeles — and I'm glad my monthly mortgage payment is as small as my closets.

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The Apple AirPods Max 2 have dropped to their best price yet

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:26:45 +0000

SAVE $39.01: As of May 4, the Apple AirPods Max 2 are down to $509.99 at Amazon. That's a discount of 7% or $39.01 and their lowest price since launch.

Credit: Apple

Apple AirPods Max 2

$509.99 at Amazon
$549 Save $39.01

Grabbing a new pair of over-ear headphones in this economy isn't for the faint of heart. Even on sale, the Apple AirPods Max 2 are pretty dang expensive. But this is their biggest discount to date, so it's worth calling out for you Apple fanatics out there.

As of May 4, the Apple AirPods Max 2 are down to $509.99 instead of $549 at Amazon. That's a savings of $39.01 or about 7% and their cheapest price since launching in March.

The AirPods Max 2 are the first proper upgrade to the fruit company's first (and only) set of over-the-ear headphones. It only took six years. The latest release is eerily similar to the original — they look the same, come with the same case, have the same color options, and have the same battery life and price. What's different, you ask? The internal hardware. The AirPods Max 2 now have Apple's H2 chip inside (the same as the AirPods Pro 3), which unlocks better active noise cancellation as well as several smart features. You'll now be able to toggle on/off adaptive audio, conversation awareness, live translation, voice isolation, personalized volume, loud sound reduction, and Siri interactions as you see fit.

If you already have the OG AirPods Max, you definitely should not spend $500+ on the new ones, as they're virtually identical aside from a few new smart features. But if you're an Apple fan shopping for over-the-ear headphones for the first time and you've been saving up, we highly recommend grabbing the new AirPod Max 2 while they're down to their best price ever. Minor upgrade or not, we still think they're pretty great.

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I've been on over 50 cruises as an employee and passenger. Here are 8 things you should know before booking a trip.

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sun, 03 May 2026 16:47:14 +0000

Even though I'm a seasoned cruiser, before I book, I always research the ports, the ship, and my potential cabin.

Tammy Barr

Since I've been on many cruises as a passenger and employee, I have tips for planning a great trip.
Before booking a cruise, shop around for different deals and look up the local weather and holidays.
Carefully review the details of your itinerary and the placement of your cabin before committing.

Between my many trips as a passenger and several years as a cruise-line employee, I've traveled to every continent and been on over 50 sailings.

Throughout all this time at sea, I've picked up tips for planning the perfect cruise vacation. Here are a few things you should consider before booking your next trip.

Take a close look at the itinerary and how it aligns with your ideal vacation before you book.

Tammy Barr

Obviously, you'll want to book a cruise that stops in places you're interested in. However, you should also pay attention to the ratio of port to sea days in a given itinerary.

For me, the best part of a cruise is being able to see as many places as I can. So, I seek out itineraries that primarily have port days.

Some travelers prefer a cruise that's docked for more than a day in each port, allowing them to really get to experience each stop.

Others prefer an itinerary with fewer stops spaced farther apart, resulting in more peaceful days at sea when you can enjoy the ship's amenities. (On these trips, just make sure the ship has enough onboard activities and perks you're excited about.)

Keep an eye out for holidays and events that may be happening during your trip.

Shi Yalei/VCG via Getty Images

Cruising during the holidays will affect your experience — and there are way more occasions to consider than just ones you celebrate back home.

Before sailing, I always check whether there will be holidays or events happening at each port while I'm there. In some cases, it's really cool to get to participate in local celebrations around the world while on vacation.

However, I've also seen fellow passengers surprised and disappointed when businesses are closed in Sweden on Midsummer Eve or in much of Asia during Lunar New Year.

All in all, doing some research before locking in your cruise dates will help level your expectations.

Before making any plans, look into the arrival and departure times at each port.

Tammy Barr

Ships offering similar itineraries may have departures and arrivals that differ by hours, and these times should be shown on any booking website.

Pay close attention, since the window of time you have will dictate what you can — and can't — do during that stop.

For example, if you're in Spain and need to be back on board at 4 p.m., it will be difficult to finish the long, late lunch typical of the area. However, if the ship leaves at 10 p.m., you'll have time for a long day of sightseeing before needing to return.

Understand your stateroom preferences and look at a deck plan before making your selection.

Tammy Barr

The least-expensive rooms are often listed as "guarantee" or GUAR class. For these, the cruise line will assign you a cabin, often within the category you selected, such as interior or balcony. In rare cases, you might get a free upgrade.

This can be a great deal, but if you're sensitive to sounds, smells, or movement, consider paying to choose your own cabin.

Not every room on a ship is created equal, even those within the same class. Across sailings, I've experienced noise from the ship's dance club, cigarette smoke from a nearby smoking area, and the loud winching sound of the anchor at early hours.

Now, I check deck plans online to see what is above, below, and to the sides of whichever stateroom I'd like to book. Online forums for cruisers can also be helpful for finding information about specific cabins or areas of the ship.

Always shop around.

Tammy Barr

Once you've decided on the cruise you want to book, spend time comparing different offers.

You may find a good deal on the cruise line's website, but a better one could be available through advisors or services like Costco Travel. In some cases, you can score discounted upgrades or extra onboard credit.

Always read the fine print, though, as booking directly through the cruise line may offer different cancellation policies or other protections.

If you have friends who have taken cruises and booked them through travel planners, ask them for a referral. You both may benefit, and a booking agent specializing in cruises may be able to find a deal that you cannot.

Lastly, sign up for email offers with the cruise line you're interested in — perhaps a special discount code will end up in your inbox.

Look ahead at the expected weather at your ports and pack accordingly.

Tammy Barr

A cruise ship can travel a few hundred miles a day and pass through multiple weather systems. Even if it's sunny when you embark, you may need an umbrella for your first port.

I always look ahead at weather trends before booking a trip so I can get an idea of what to expect at each stop. Then, I check local forecasts again right before I start packing for my cruise.

Regardless of the itinerary, it can often be a little colder and windier at sea than on land, so definitely bring some layers.

Prepare for seasickness, which can ruin even an experienced cruiser's vacation.

Tammy Barr

No matter how many cruises you've been on or how confident you are about your sea legs, take precautions for dealing with motion sickness before you board.

The seas are constantly changing, and factors like a ship's size and build, or even your stateroom placement, can affect motion and how your body responds to it.

I suggest you prepare by packing anti-nausea medication and ginger chews, which can help with nausea And if seasickness hits, try managing it by eating green apples (which some cruise workers swear by) and soda crackers, keeping your diet simple, and drinking plenty of water.

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JetBlue is adding 11 routes from Spirit's former Florida hub to 'fill the void.' Here's the full list.

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 02 May 2026 17:47:40 +0000

JetBlue airplane at gate waiting for boarding, Palm Beach International Airport, Florida.

: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

JetBlue says it will "fill the void" created by the collapse of Spirit Airlines.
It plans to fly 11 new routes from Fort Lauderdale, including six all-new destinations.
JetBlue says it expects to operate nearly 130 daily departures from the Florida city this summer.

Just hours after the collapse of Spirit Airlines on Saturday, rival low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways announced plans to add 11 new routes from its — and what was once Spirit's — primary Florida hub, Fort Lauderdale.

With the earliest flight starting on July 9, JetBlue listed six new destinations:

Barranquilla, Colombia — October 1
Baltimore — July 9
Cali, Colombia — October 15
Charlotte, N.C. — July 9
Columbus, Ohio — November 2
Indianapolis — November 2

JetBlue said it also would add new nonstop service from the following cities:

Nashville, Tenn. — July 9
Detroit — July 9
Houston — July 9
Chicago — July 9
Ponce, Puerto Rico — July 9

"This is really tough news for the thousands of Spirit team members affected, as well as the customers who were planning trips on Spirit," JetBlue chief executive Joanna Geraghty said.

"We got to know many of their crew members during our acquisition talks, and we're thinking about everyone whose lives are being disrupted. We want to help fill the void created by this loss."

JetBlue expects to operate nearly 130 daily departures from Fort Lauderdale this summer, marking the largest operation in its history from the airport, with 75% more daily flights than in 2025.

JetBlue is among several airlines offering to help stranded Spirit passengers in the coming days. Carriers like United and Southwest have published price-capped rescue fares on Spirit's former routes; fares are roughly $200-$400, depending on the airline.

Spirit collapsed and ceased operations early Saturday after talks with the Trump administration for a bailout fell through. In its absence, prices on routes it once served but now have less competition will likely go up.

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Warren Buffett asked Tim Cook to take a bow in a surprise speech at Berkshire meeting

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 02 May 2026 17:47:39 +0000

Getty Images; Getty Images

Warren Buffett thanked Tim Cook for making Apple such a stellar investment for Berkshire Hathaway.
The investor unexpectedly invited the Apple CEO to take a bow during Berkshire's annual meeting.
While Berkshire has pared its Apple bet, he said that Cook grew their investment to $185 billion.

Warren Buffett trumpeted his Apple bet and invited outgoing CEO Tim Cook to take a bow during Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder meeting on Saturday.

Greg Abel, who succeeded Buffett as Berkshire's CEO at the start of this year, unexpectedly announced that the legendary investor and chairman would say a few words.

Buffett — sitting in the front row and fully embracing his retired status by wearing a sweater instead of his usual suit — began by saying the transition to Abel's leadership had been "100% successful" with Berkshire's new boss "doing everything I did and then some" and "doing it better than I did."

The business icon, 95, then recalled his decision to turn over 10% of Berkshire's resources to a person "not that well known at the time." He was referring to Berkshire's roughly $35 billion investment in Apple between 2016 and 2018, and the tech giant's CEO, Cook, who announced he would step down earlier in April.

Business Insider's Theron Mohamed was watching from the press box of the CHI Health Center in Buffett's hometown of Omaha as the famous stockpicker spoke.

Buffett drew chuckles from the crowd when he joked that Berkshire had turned over management of the money to Apple to make itself "look good," and that was its "preferred way of operating."

He then underscored that Apple has turned that $35 billion, including dividends and both realized and unrealized appreciation, into $185 billion before tax.

"And I didn't have to do a damn thing," he quipped.

Apple remains Berkshire's largest position, despite the company selling the majority of its stake over the past few years.

Buffett then reflected on Apple celebrating its 50th anniversary in recent weeks. He said that Cook "succeeded a legend" when he took over as CEO from visionary cofounder Steve Jobs in late 2011, and that only a "very few percentage points of American investors had even heard" of the new boss.

"When we made our investment and turned over 10% of the resources of Berkshire, we were turning it over for Tim, and I say he's turned that into $185 billion or something pretax," Buffett added, joking that he "won't bother to compare his record to that."

Cook has overseen a massive increase in Apple's market valuation during his nearly 15 years in charge, from around $350 billion to $4.1 trillion as of Friday's close.

He's been widely credited with scaling Apple's manufacturing and distribution of hit products such as the iPhone, improving its global supply chain, and catering to China's mushrooming middle class.

"So I think it's appropriate if Tim would take a bow and our shareholders would say thanks to him," Buffett said.

Cook, sitting a few rows behind Buffett in front of the stage, stood up to cheers and applause, waving and clasping his hands together to thank the crowd.

Buffett has repeatedly heralded Apple as an incredible business and Cook as a world-class leader in recent years.

"Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more than I have made Berkshire," Buffett said at last year's meeting.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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New rules for the Oscars: AI actors are out of the race

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 02 May 2026 16:26:37 +0000

The Academy won't be handing over the golden statuette to robots anytime soon.

In new rules announced May 1, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that AI performances are not eligible for an Oscar. Filmmakers can still utilize AI tools in their submitted works, but only human actors and human-authored screenplays will be considered for the body's highest honors.

The move aligns with AI agreements won during the 2023 Writers' Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes and addresses growing tension over the presence of generative AI tools across artistic industries.

For example, a recent trailer for the upcoming historical adventure film As Deep as the Grave, featuring an entirely AI-generated recreation of the late Val Kilmer, caused widespread furor among fans who recoiled at the on-screen digital likeness. Prior to his death, Kilmer created an AI version of his speaking voice with UK tech company Sonantic. Other celebrities, like Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, have worked with AI company ElevenLabs to clone their voices, as well.

But while some celebs are getting ahead of their AI counterparts, others are fighting back against nonconsensual deepfakes writ large. Pop star Taylor Swift recently filed for trademark of her voice and image — including the phrase "Hey, it's Taylor." — amid a surge of synthetic AI likenesses of her proliferating across the internet, including ones used in data phishing scams.

The Academy announced additional rule changes for international film and acting categories, generating buzz online after several contentious Oscar campaign races in recent years. For non-English films, a country can now have multiple nominated entries instead of the previous limit of one. Similarly, actors can receive multiple nominations in the same category if their performances rank in the top five.

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The best TV deals to shop this weekend — Samsung, Hisense, and Toshiba at huge discounts

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 01 May 2026 17:26:24 +0000

The best TV deals to shop this weekend:

Best Samsung deal

Samsung 65-inch Class OLED 4K S85F Series TV (2025, 65S85F)

$1,067.95 (save $730.04)

Best Hisense deal

Hisense 75-inch U6 Pro Series Mini‑LED 4K TV (2026, 75U6SF Pro)

$899.99 (save $500)

Best Toshiba deal

Toshiba 100-inch Z670 Series Mini-LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (2026, 100Z670R)

$2,497.99 (save $1,502)

Did you know that spring is the third-best time to buy a TV? I know “third-best” sounds like a scam, but there's a real reason for it. Since CES has officially come and gone, retailers are dropping prices on "older" (i.e., basically brand new) TVs to clear out inventory — and we're even seeing early discounts on the shiny new 2026 models that just debuted at the show.

You can read the full breakdown of how this works in our guide on the best time to buy a TV, but if you're just here to shop, these are the best deals I could find this weekend.

Best Samsung deal

Credit: Samsung

Samsung 65-inch Class OLED 4K S85F Series TV (2025, 65S85F)

$1,067.95 at Amazon
$1,797.99 Save $730.04

Why we like it

If you want the deep, inky blacks and vibrant colors of an OLED screen without entirely draining your bank account, this 2025 Samsung model is the one to grab right now.

As of this weekend, the 65-inch S85F is marked down to $1,067.95, from $1,797.99, which is a 41% discount or $730 savings.

For that price, you get a built-in NQ4 AI Gen2 processor that automatically upscales whatever you're watching into sharp 4K resolution using 20 neural networks. It also features a 120Hz refresh rate to keep fast-moving sports and games looking smooth.

Best Hisense deal

Hisense 75-inch U6 Pro Series Mini‑LED 4K TV (2026, 75U6SF Pro)

$899.99 at Amazon
$1,399.99 Save $500

Why we like it

Hisense is somehow already offering discounts on its brand-new 2026 lineup, and the price drops are just too good to ignore.

Right now, you can get the 75-inch Hisense U6 Pro Series Mini-LED 4K TV for $899.99 at Amazon. That's a 36% discount (or an extra $500 in your pocket) on a TV that practically just hit the market.

The Hisense U6 Pro Series uses Mini-LED backlighting, which means the picture stays clear and detailed no matter the lighting. It also has a native 144Hz refresh rate, and Fire TV is built right in, so you can access your fave streaming apps without buying a separate stick.

Best Toshiba deal

Toshiba 100-inch Z670 Series Mini-LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (2026, 100Z670R)

$2,497.99 at Amazon
$3,999.99 Save $1,502

Why we like it

Nobody needs a 100-inch TV (at least, not IMO). But if you have the wall space and are determined to turn your living room into a home theater, you might as well get one while it's discounted.

Like the Hisense above, this Toshiba Z670 Series is a brand-new 2026 release, and it's already marked down to $2,497.99 at Amazon. That's a 38% discount or a $1,502 price cut.

More TV deals this weekend

Samsung 43-inch Q8F QLED 4K TV — $397.99 ~~$549.99~~ (save $152)
Samsung 65-inch Q7F QLED 4K TV — $427.99 ~~$629.99~~ (save $202)
Hisense 75-inch U6 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $499.99 ~~$1,299.99~~ (save $800)
Hisense 55-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K TV — $647.99 ~~$999.99~~ (save $352)
Hisense 65-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $999.99 ~~$2,199.99~~ (save $1,200)
Hisense 75-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $1,249.99 ~~$2,499.99~~ (save $1,250)

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I visited Cozey's only US store to test its best-selling sofas in person

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:47:13 +0000

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

The new Cozey pop-up store on LA's Abbot Kinney Boulevard showcases the brand's bestselling sofas and newest offerings, like headboards and washable rugs

Bronwyn Barnes/Business Insider

Cozey opened a pop-up in Los Angeles. It's the Canadian furniture brand's only US store.
I visited the store to see the furniture, including two sofas the BI Reviews team has tested.
The brand's lineup includes the Gaia sofa, an affordable alternative to the RH Cloud couch.

If you've been shopping for a new couch lately, chances are you've seen Cozey pop up in your search results. The fast-growing Canadian furniture brand has built buzz around their modular sofas, washable covers, and sleek designs that feel more attainable than many luxury competitors.

This isn't the first time Business Insider has looked at the brand. The Reviews team has already tested Cozey furniture at home, including the Shinuk outdoor sofa and the Neptune sofa bed. So when Cozey opened its only US store in Los Angeles, I stopped by to see how the brand's best-selling sofas compare in person.

Inside the Abbot Kinney pop-up, shoppers were comparing fabric swatches, sitting on sectionals, and getting help configuring layouts. It felt less like a traditional showroom and more like a stylish home, with fully staged rooms that made it easier to picture the furniture in real life.

After plenty of sit tests, and with our team's hands-on review experience in mind, these were the sofas that stood out the most.

The Gaia sofa is the one everyone's comparing to the Cloud couch

All of the fabric covers on the Cozey Gaia sofa are removable and washable.

Bronwyn Barnes/Business Insider

The Gaia sofa is the clear crowd favorite.

It has the oversized, lounge-y silhouette many shoppers love in high-end sectionals, but with more practical features and a more affordable price. The version I saw in store was displayed without arms, which gave it a modern, airy look and highlighted how flexible the modular design can be.

It's built to flex. Depending on your space, the Gaia can be configured as a loveseat, sectional, or larger U-shaped setup. It also comes in multiple fabric options, mostly easy neutrals and richer jewel tones.

Most importantly, it passed my unofficial nap test. The seat is deep enough to curl up comfortably, but supportive enough that you don't feel swallowed up.

Like Cozey's other sofas, the covers are removable and washable.

My take: If you want the plush, oversized look of a designer sectional without the designer markup, the Gaia sofa is for you. If you want a Cloud couch alternative with more substantial arms, check out the brand's Ciello sofa.

The Neptune sofa bed is best for guest rooms, home offices, and small spaces,

The Cozey Neptune sofa bed

Bronwyn Barnes/Business Insider

BI Reviews writer Jamie David Smith tested the Neptune sofa bed at home, where she found it especially practical for multipurpose rooms thanks to its fast conversion and built-in storage. Seeing it in person reinforced that impression.

It's noticeably firmer than the Gaia, but that works in its favor. This isn't the sofa I'd choose for all-day lounging. It's the one I recommend for a guest room, office, or apartment where your couch needs to work overtime.

Its biggest advantage is how easily it converts from sofa to bed and back again. There's also built-in storage for pillows and blankets, which can save valuable closet space.

The look is streamlined, not bulky, and the washable covers add another layer of practicality.

My take: The Neptune sleeper sofa is one of the smarter sleeper sofas we've tested, especially for people who are short on space.

The Atmosphere sofa is best for flexibility and big families

There were too many people trying out the Atmosphere to get a clean shot in the store.

Cozey

The Atmosphere sofa feels made for people whose homes change often.

It's a fully modular sectional sofa with tool-free assembly, so you can reconfigure it whenever you move, grow your family, or just want a new layout.

Like the rest of Cozey's lineup, it has removable, washable couch covers and optional built-in storage. It's also highly customizable, with multiple configurations and a broad fabric selection.

It's the kind of sofa that can start simple, then grow with you over time.

My take: The Atmosphere sofa is ideal for renters, big families, and anyone who hates committing to one room layout.

Our team has tested Cozey's outdoor sofa

We've tested the Cozey Shinuk outdoor modular sofa under real-world conditions.

Kinsely Searles/Business Insider

Associate editor Kinsley Searles tested the Cozey Shinuk outdoor sofa and praised its comfort, weather-ready materials, and customization options. That consistency across indoor and outdoor categories helps explain why the brand is gaining traction with shoppers looking for a whole-home look.

Read our full review of the Cozey Shinuk outdoor sofa

Why Cozey sofas are getting more popular

After seeing the lineup in person and combining that with our team's real-world testing, the brand's appeal became pretty obvious.

Cozey is offering features shoppers increasingly care about:

• Modular layouts that can adapt to your lifestyle over time

• Washable couch covers for spills, pets, and real-life wear

• Hidden storage to cut down on clutter

• Modern silhouettes that look expensive

• Easier setup than traditional furniture

• More attainable prices than many premium brands

That combination is powerful.

My favorite Cozey sofa for most people

If I were buying a sofa today, I'd choose the Cozey Gaia sofa.

It strikes the best balance of comfort, looks, versatility, and everyday practicality. It feels current, comfortable, and expensive-looking without being precious.

For a home office or spare room, I'd go with the Neptune sofa bed. For growing families, the Atmosphere sofa.

Cozey's other offerings

I was inspired by the organic-looking shelving and plush throw pillows.

Bronwyn Barnes/Business Insider

Cozey's momentum isn't just limited to living rooms. The brand also offers washable rugs, shelving and storage, beds, and customizable Sleep Kits that can turn any of their sofa models into a properly-made bed — including a couch-sized mattress topper! — for overnight guests.

Are Cozey sofas worth it?

After seeing Cozey's bestsellers in person, and comparing them to our existing Cozey sofa review coverage, I understand why the brand is growing quickly.

The sofas are stylish, practical, and designed for how people actually live now: smaller spaces, changing needs, overnight guests, pets, messes, and all.

If you've been debating a modular couch or sleeper sofa upgrade, Cozey deserves a place on your shortlist.

Why you can trust Business Insider's furniture reviews

Not everyone can visit Cozey's Los Angeles pop-up, especially since it's a limited-time space. That's exactly why hands-on testing matters.

At Business Insider, we don't recommend big ticket items like sofas based on stock photos, shopper reviews, or spec sheets alone. We see them in person, sit on them, test how they function, asses build quality, compare fabrics, and use them in our real homes over time.

Our team has already long-term tested Cozey furniture, evaluating comfort, assembly, durability, and day-to-day practicality. My visit to the store added another layer: the chance to compare the full lineup side by side, feel the materials firsthand, and see how different models actually scale in real rooms.

That combination matters, because finding a great sofa online can feel risky. That's why our furniture reviews give you answers that specs and measurements just don't cover.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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The Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower is at an all-time low price, and Amazon is offer a free cover

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:26:23 +0000

SAVE $400 + GET A FREE ROBOT GARAGE: The Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for $1,399, down from the list price of $1,799. That's a 22% discount and the lowest we've seen at Amazon. Today's deal also comes with a free Mova Robotic Lawn Mower Garage, which ordinarily costs $169.

Credit: Mova

Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn

$1,399 at Amazon
$1,799 Save $400

purchase comes with a free Mova robot lawn mower garage

Somehow, the list of household chores grows during the spring and summer. While we're mostly in hibernation over the winter, the warm weather means heading back into the yard. Unfortunately, there's maintenance to be done out there. If you're not excited about another season of mowing the lawn, consider jumping on this Amazon deal today.

As of April 29, the Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower is on sale at Amazon for $1,399, marked down from the standard price of $1,799. That works out to a $400 savings from a 22% discount. It's the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon. As a bonus, Amazon is throwing in a free Mova Robotic Lawn Mower Garage which ordinarily costs $169.

Like the robot vacuum and mops we have inside to keep the floors clean, the Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower will map your desired mowing area. After that, you can use the app to customize preferences like cutting lengths and the mowing schedule. You can also create zones within your yard and base schedules off those zones. The Mova is even capable of managing two separate maps, a feature that's ideal for homes with a front and back yard that are disconnected. This also works for anyone who owns two properties.

Mova incorporated the ability to choose between grass heights of 1.2 inches up to 3.9 inches. It's designed to mow the lawn in a "U" shaped path, and it'll return to its charging base should the battery run low. Once it's charged up, it can resume mowing where it left off. It's even designed to be capable of mowing in low-light situations.

In case you're worried, the Mova Ultra 2000 has built-in theft protection and will send an alert if it moves outside of the mapped area. You can also check in on real-time tracking for the mower in the app.

In addition to the robot mower itself, Amazon is throwing in a free garage for the robot that covers both the mower and its recharging base. The garage provides protection from harsh conditions like sun or rain, and Mova noted this addition can help extend the robot's life. Ordinarily, the garage costs $169, but it's free today with purchase of the Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower.

Before the grass gets out of control this spring, enlist the help of the Mova Lidax Ultra 2000 robot lawn mower. It's on sale for the best price we've ever spotted at Amazon and it comes with the free garage today. You'll be able to cross one more item off the chore list while earning the title of the most tech-savvy house on the block.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

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Gay dating app Sniffies just got $100 million from Match Group

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:26:31 +0000

Dating app conglomerate Match Group announced yesterday it's making a $100 million investment in Sniffies, a gay cruising app that makes "getting laid as a gay man almost too easy," according to Mashable's review.

The investment is a minority stake in the company and includes the option to acquire the remaining equity in the future, according to a press release shared with Mashable. Founder and CEO of Sniffies, Blake Gallagher, shared on LinkedIn that it will remain led by him and independently operated.

"The product, the tone, and the community will continue to be shaped by the people who use it," Gallagher continued, saying the app can now move faster to make improvements users are asking for while building it by being "grounded in real-world connection, with our community leading the way."

In the press release, Gallagher stated that with Match Group's support, the Sniffies team can improve the product and expand their network while investing in Trust and Safety (a growing issue on dating apps) and giving users what they want.

Sniffies has around three million monthly active users globally, according to the press release, and 20 million messages sent daily. And Sniffies' iOS app only launched last year, only to be pulled from the App Store shortly after.

The investment comes around a year after Match Group acquired sapphic dating app HER, which drew mixed reactions from users. The same is true for this announcement, with a Reddit thread asking, "Are we cooked?", and most comments answering in the affirmative. But how Sniffies changes with this investment is yet to be seen.

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The Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Box is over $70 off on Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:26:32 +0000

TL;DR: Amazon has the Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Box on sale for $94.32, down from its $167.76 list price. That saves you $73.44 on 24 Jumpstart Boosters, each with 20 Avatar-themed Magic cards.

Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Box

$94.32 at Amazon
$167.76 Save $73.44

The Avatar: The Last Airbender expansion has been one of the most fun to hit the Magic: The Gathering trading card game in recent times, and it’s thankfully becoming more affordable in steady price cuts.

As of April 27, the Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Jumpstart Booster Box is on sale for $94.32 at Amazon, down from its $167.76 list price. That’s a 44% discount, saving you $73.44 on the full box. Since this display includes 24 Jumpstart Boosters, that works out to about $3.93 per pack before tax.

For anyone who’s recently jumped into MTG, Jumpstart boxes are designed to make getting into the game as easy as possible. Instead of drafting, deckbuilding, or sorting through a pile of singles first, you just grab two boosters, shuffle them together, and you’ve got a playable deck ready to go.

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Lands are already included, so this is especially useful if you want something that works for quick games, newer players, or friends who like Avatar but haven’t fully fallen into Magic just yet.

This box comes with 480 cards in total, with 20 cards in each of the 24 packs. There are 46 possible Avatar: The Last Airbender-themed pack variants, letting you relive different scenes, characters, and elemental combos from the acclaimed Nickelodeon series. The packs can also be mixed with other Jumpstart boosters, giving you more ways to stretch the format later.

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18 celebrities who moved to Texas on why it's the best place for them

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 16:47:05 +0000

Glen Powell, Bella Hadid, and James Marsden all live in Texas.

Getty Images

Texas has become one of the top destinations for movers in the US.
Its business-friendly climate and lower cost of living attract people from all walks of life.
Supermodel Bella Hadid and actor James Marsden are among the celebrities who have moved to Texas.

Texas is popular for many reasons.

The second-largest US state is the birthplace of the iconic musician Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter as well as NFL star Michael Strahan and actresses Selena Gomez and Reneé Zellweger.

It's also home to a beloved football team, the Dallas Cowboys, and internationally famous festivals including South by Southwest (SXSW).

Beyond its cultural significance, Texas has a reputation for its affordability, largely due to its relatively lower cost of living and absence of state income tax. This personal finance appeal, combined with a business-friendly environment, has attracted entrepreneurs and their companies over the years.

Word has gotten out — and cities in the Lone Star State often lead lists of top places Americans are moving to.

According to a Business Insider analysis of individual-level data from the Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey, over 668,300 people moved to Texas between 2021 and 2022, the most recent time period for which data is available. This makes Texas the second-most popular destination in the US for movers, just behind Florida, which had about 739,000 inbound movers during the same period.

Several celebrities are among the hordes of movers to Texas. This reflects a broader trend of wealth realignment in the United States, where even the proverbial Joneses are moving to areas where their money goes further and the weather is more favorable.

Consider supermodel Bella Hadid, who moved to Fort Worth, Texas, this year to live with her professional horseman boyfriend, Adan Banuelos. Roseanne Barr and comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan have decamped from LA to Austin in recent years.

Many other stars have also relocated to Texas.

Business Insider has compiled a list of 16 notable celebrities and businesspeople who have moved themselves — and in some cases, their businesses — to the Lone Star State.

The list is presented in alphabetical order by last name.

Roseanne Barr traded the Hollywood Hills for 30 acres in Texas Hill Country.

Roseanne Barr.

Araya Doheny/Getty Images for DailyWire+

Roseanne Barr's son, Jake Pentland, told Us Weekly in June 2025 that his famous mother had traded the Hollywood Hills for Texas Hill Country, a region in central Texas that includes cities like Austin and New Braunfels.

"My mom lives with me, my wife, and my two daughters — she's the best grandma," Pentland told the magazine.

In a separate June interview with Fox News Digital, Barr said living in Texas is a "dream come true" and described what her new life looks like.

"I'm doing a lot of mowing. I've got a really fantastic tractor out here, and I'm mowing," Barr said. "The only problem is I don't clear the trees quite as good as I should, and I'm always hitting a tree and knocking it over, and it always hits me in the head."

Haylie Duff admitted it took a while to realize she could still have an acting career without living in LA.

Haylie Duff attends the LA Premiere of "Mira, Royal Detective" at Disney Studios on Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Burbank, Calif.

Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

A native of Texas, Duff decided with her fiancé Matt Rosenberg to pack up the kids and leave California once the pandemic hit.

At first, she was nervous that the move would hurt her career.

"I think so much of my fear of moving out of Los Angeles was that my career was there and that I would never work again or something like that," she told Fox News Digital in 2022. "And, you know, I think this has all taught us that Zoom certainly can be a very powerful tool. And we can, you know, very luckily for me, get to continue to work from here, and I get to live near my dad. I haven't lived, here, near my dad in a really long time."

Scott Eastwood loves living in Texas because it "slows life down."

Actor Scott Eastwood.

Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

The son of Clint Eastwood, Scott has been methodically building his own career, showing up in the "Fast and Furious" franchise and Guy Ritchie movies.

During his downtime in Texas, he does everything from fishing to hunting.

"I think that's why people who come to Texas really can fall in love with it," he told Flaunt in 2021 from his home in Austin. "There's more community, people are more neighborly, people are nice. It slows life down a little bit. It's not this fast-paced living in a big city like New York or Los Angeles."

Adrian Grenier's acting career is thriving in Texas.

Adrian Grenier speaks onstage during SXSW.

Gary Miller/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

In 2020, "Entourage" and "The Devil Wears Prada" star Adrian Grenier left the Hollywood Hills for a 46-acre sustainable ranch in Bastrop, Texas, a city about a 40-minute drive southeast of Austin.

While in Texas, Grenier has continued acting and most recently appeared in the short film "Self Custody," about a struggling father who loses a cryptocurrency fortune. The film was shot in Austin, near his home.

In an interview with Page Six in March, Grenier said Texas' burgeoning film and television industry will keep him in the state.

"There's $2.5 billion that the Texas state government just put into film and television projects in Texas," Grenier said. "They're building three movie studios not too far from me. I don't see any reason why we wouldn't just continue to film in Texas."

Bella Hadid said she moved to Texas for her health.

Bella Hadid.

VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images

After spending most of her life jet-setting around the world trying to conquer the modeling industry, Hadid decided recently to take some time away from the spotlight.

In early 2024, she spoke to Allure about moving to Texas to focus on her mental and physical health (she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2013), and be with her cowboy boyfriend Adan Banuelos.

"Just as I have styled myself for years now — which I still do — I love being able to do my own hair and makeup, be happy with how I look, and get ready with my girlfriends here in Texas," Hadid told Allure. "We have the best time, and I never feel like I need to do too much."

"For the first time now, I'm not putting on a fake face. If I don't feel good, I won't go. If I don't feel good, I take time for myself. And I've never had the opportunity to do that or say that before," Hadid added. "Now when anybody sees me in pictures and they say I look happy, I genuinely am. I am feeling better; my bad days now were my old good days."

Woody Harrelson is lobbying to make Texas a production hub for film and television.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios

Harrelson lived in Hawaii for many years before moving back to his home state of Texas in 2023.

Now in the Lone Star State and living just outside Austin, the actor has lobbied alongside longtime friend Matthew McConaughey to make Texas a hub for film and television production.

In 2025, the Texas House approved Senate Bill 22, which provides $300 million every two years through 2035 to support the local film industry.

50 Cent is a New Yorker, but his primary residence is in Texas.

Curtis Jackson III, also known as 50 Cent

John Lamparski/Getty Images

In 2021, the rapper-turned-television producer and entrepreneur announced on X that he was living in Houston.

Since James Marsden moved to Texas, he lives closer to his mother.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images

The star has enjoyed visiting Austin for decades but finally decided to live there in 2020.

"I love it. I've been coming here for 20 years," he told "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in 2020. "I'm much closer to my mom and everybody. I love it. It's great."

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick traded California for Texas.

Travis Kalanick.

Theo Wargo/WireImage

The former Uber CEO announced on the daily live video and audio podcast TBPN in March that he had moved to Texas in December 2025.

Kalanick joins a slew of tech billionaires, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who have left California for greener pastures.

Keith Lee fell in love with Dallas' restaurants.

Keith Lee onstage at VidCon Anaheim on June 23, 2023 in Anaheim, California.

Unique Nicole/Getty Images

The former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter turned TikTok food critic has set up shop in Texas.

After living in Las Vegas, Lee relocated to Texas in November 2024. In a December video reviewing the downtown Dallas restaurant The Wicked Butcher, he revealed that he now lives in Dallas.

"One thing I do love about the Dallas food scene — we've been here a month, a month and a half — they do have some nice fine dining restaurants," Lee said.

Matthew McConaughey wanted to be closer to family.

Matthew McConaughey UT

Getty

Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves settled in Austin in 2012 after buying a 10,800-square-foot mansion.

According to a 2024 profile in Southern Living, the move to Texas was initially because of a "family crisis," when he needed to help his mother and two brothers. The couple decided to stay put and 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."

Elon Musk moved to Texas and brought his companies with him.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

In July, Elon Musk vowed to move two of his companies, X and SpaceX, out of California and into Texas. He already moved Telsa to Texas in 2021.

In 2020, Musk announced that he had already moved to Texas himself at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council summit.

Musk has claimed to own a tiny home in Texas, and records show he bought a house in Austin in 2022.

Shaquille O'Neal has been buying up properties in North Texas.

Getty/E! Entertainment

In 2022, O'Neal bought a 5,269-square-foot home in Carrollton listed at $1,224,000 and sold it in 2024 for an undisclosed amount, though it was listed for $1.7 million, according to Realtor.com.

That year, Chexy Trust, tied to the Carrollton purchase, bought a 4,670-square-foot home in Rockwall County. In 2024, O'Neal opened a branch of his Big Chicken chain restaurant in Fort Worth.

As his footprint in the region grows, he told WFAA he plans to make the area his home base.

"I'm 75% going to move here full time," O'Neal said in June. "I have to see what's going on with TNT next year, but based on that, you'll probably be seeing a lot more of me."

Glen Powell got tired of the lack of freedom living in Los Angeles.

Glen Powell attends CinemaCon 2023.

Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage

The "Twisters" star, who is also a native Texan, moved back to Austin from Los Angeles recently to be close to his family and for his own mental health.

"When all you do is consume movies and entertainment, you could become a little self-aware and maybe derivative of yourself," Powell told USA Today. "Your personal life, there's no sort of freedom there, there's storytelling around that, and I feel like that's just not good for you on the long term."

Jared Padalecki has a soft spot for Austin.

Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Padalecki ditched Hollywood for Texas before it was a trend. The "Supernatural" star, a San Antonio native, relocated from Los Angeles to Austin with his wife, Genevieve, in 2012.

In an Instagram video taken on Austin's 24th Street in 2020, he explained why he loves the city so much.

"Austin brings me a warmth and a happiness and a peace that I have been unable to find anywhere else in my travels," Padalecki said. "I love being here."

Christine Quinn's return to her home state has brought her closer to her family.

Christine Quinn.

Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images

In 2025, former "Selling Sunset" star Christine Quinn relocated to her home state of Texas after splitting from her ex-husband, tech entrepreneur Christian Dumontet.

Quinn now lives in a suburb outside Dallas with her young son, Christian.

"I am really, really grateful to be living here," Quinn told People in January, adding that she's happy to be closer to family. "I have a sister who lives really close to me, and my son has a cousin. So it's really something that I needed as opposed to the chaos when I was in Los Angeles."

Joe Rogan ended up in Texas once the pandemic hit.

Syfy/Getty Images

Like many other celebs, Rogan left Los Angeles once the pandemic hit.

In a 2023 episode of his popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," he explained why he ended up in Texas.

"Then we went to the lake, and people are playing music and jumping in the water," said Rogan, adding that his kids "were like, 'We want to live here!'"

"That was it. Two months later, I lived here," he said in the podcast episode.

Jamie Lynn Sigler has felt more connected to her craft since moving to Texas.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler in 2020.

Jason Mendez/Getty Images

"The Sopranos" star moved to Austin in 2021 with her family, husband Cutter Dykstra, and sons Beau and Jack.

"I almost feel more connected to my craft and why I love acting," Sigler told The New York Times in 2021. "When the calls come in, it's a beautiful surprise. I'm still on things and I'm still a businesswoman and it's still my career, but I don't feel the pressure around it because we took a stand for ourselves and we made decisions for our families."

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How Critical Role and Dimension 20 conquered the world one campaign at a time

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 16:26:11 +0000

The biggest hit on the internet right now isn’t a scripted sitcom or a big-budget movie. It’s a group of friends sitting around a table, rolling dice, and creating fantastic worlds for four hours at a time. Shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20 have conquered both the internet and live audiences across the world with their imaginations and hysterical banter.

But cultural phenomenons like these aren’t forged overnight. It takes years worth of Initiative, Charisma checks and Nat 20s for these campaigns to get to where they are today. And we are going to break down why Actual Play sorcerers like Critical Role and Dimension 20 succeeded and how they hit.

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AI is igniting a love affair between Silicon Valley and the consulting industry

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:47:52 +0000

Consulting firms and Silicon Valley are growing closer than ever.

Kilito Chan/Getty Images

AI startups are increasingly relying on consultants to distribute their technology to companies.
Working with AI startups has become a key survival tactic for consulting firms.
The result: partnerships galore.

Things are getting serious.

For consulting firms, partnering with AI startups has become a key survival tactic as the technology upends everything about their industry. And for AI startups, consulting firms have become an important channel for distributing their products to companies.

This blossoming love affair between the two industries was apparent in a flurry of recent dalliances.

Google announced Wednesday it was launching a $750 million fund to help consulting firms like McKinsey, Accenture, and Deloitte roll out agentic AI to their clients.

McKinsey and Google have also created a new working group to help companies go from identifying AI opportunities to building and scaling them across the business.

Also on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was working with consulting firms like Accenture, Capgemini, and PwC to sell its AI coding assistant, Codex, to companies.

The rationale is simple: AI technology is moving so fast that Silicon Valley and the consulting industry need each other.

Ben Ellencweig, a senior partner at McKinsey who leads alliances, acquisitions, and partnerships for its AI arm, Quantum Black, told Business Insider in an interview that the firm has quadrupled its ecosystem of tech partners since the launch of ChatGPT.

He added that the depth of the firm's relationships and the level of collaboration have "grown dramatically" in the past few years.

He said McKinsey operates an "ecosystem of alliances and acquisitions" with hundreds of contributors, including key players such as AWS, Amazon, Nvidia, and OpenAI, that it leverages to tailor solutions for clients.

Amid the deluge of new products and AI startups, Ellencweig said the firm still adheres to a rigorous vetting process. "There's a bit of a dating period that we get to know each other," he said. "Partnering means a two-way street."

Given the pace of the AI boom, however, he said the firm is more willing these days to team up with smaller companies.

Former McKinsey consultants told Business Insider that these alliances also fill the talent gap needed to marry the raw models coming out of AI labs with the needs of corporate clients.

These consultants said their role is to bring these models to the enterprise level — customizing them with data, adding appropriate guardrails, and helping clients implement them in specific contexts. Many of the models fresh out of Silicon Valley simply aren't enterprise-ready, consultants said.

McKinsey says about 40% of its work now comes from generative AI-related projects. BCG said 20% of its work was AI-related in 2024.

Andy Triedman, a partner at Theory Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on data and AI, told Business Insider that tech startups have long relied on consulting firms to help sell their products to enterprise clients, but are now partnering much earlier as pressure builds to adapt to AI.

Before ChatGPT, he said, partnerships typically happened once startups reached $10 million or more in revenue — about two to four years in. Now, they're forming at the $2 million to $5 million mark, when companies are only 12 to 18 months old.

Triedman, a former Bain consultant, said the AI ecosystem around consulting firms falls into three main buckets: enterprise software startups that partner with consultants to distribute and implement their products, AI-native consulting firms that compete with traditional players, and smaller AI tools that automate core consulting work, which could become acquisition targets for bigger consulting firms.

"It's a mutually beneficial relationship between the two," Triedman said.

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New AI tool seeks to un-AI your writing

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:26:11 +0000

A new ouroboros in the tech world has emerged: There's now an AI tool to "undo" AI writing.

Sinceerly is a Google Chrome extension to edit AI-generated (or human-written) emails. The aim is to add in errors that are typically scrubbed away with AI tools and change some of the obvious AI text "tells," like the phrase "not just X, but Y." Em dashes fall into the latter category, too — but as a longtime writer, I'm fond of them and abhor how it's apparently become a signal of AI. Regardless, Sinceerly will kill the em dash, as it states on its website.

The tool has three modes: subtle, human, and CEO. Each render text more and more casual, where "CEO" mode doesn't even have correct punctuation but does tack on "Sent from my iPhone," of course.

Sinceerly is free for three email rewrites and works within Gmail. But if you want to pay $4.99 per month, you get unlimited rewrites, can switch instantly between modes, and can cache results so you can reopen them instantly.

Ben Horwitz, an investment partner at venture capital firm Dorm Room Fund, created Sinceerly, according to the website.

The concept of using AI to generate text, only to have another AI tool make it sound more human, is pretty absurd, but it might be a perfect encapsulation of popular opinion towards AI-generated copy in 2026. (Last month, major publisher Hachette dropped the novel Shy Girl due to allegations that it was AI-generated and/or poorly written.)

It might just be easier to — gasp — write text yourself.

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I caved in and got my son a Nintendo Switch so he wouldn't feel left out. I immediately regretted it.

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:47:27 +0000

The author's son started new hobbies once he stopped playing with his Nintendo Switch.

Courtesy of the author

My fourth-grade son was the only one in his class without a Nintendo Switch.
My husband and I bought him one and set firm boundaries, but still regretted it.
I noticed a shift in my son's priorities to always want to be online.

My 10-year-old son Ezra was the only one in his fourth-grade class without a Nintendo Switch. His teacher had a policy allowing students to pull out their electronics at the end of the day, so Ezra often felt left out when his friends played.

This led to relentless begging. Some of Ezra's classmates even offered to donate to a fund to help him get one.

I was a firm no. I'm not big on electronics and wasn't going to give in to the peer pressure — and I certainly wasn't going to let other kids buy him one.

But when my husband became a full-time teacher at a new school, I wanted Ezra to transfer there in the fifth-grade so they could be together. The dilemma was that Ezra loved his current educational environment. He didn't want to leave his friends and the school where he felt comfortable and made memories.

So, I struck a deal with him — a "Switch for a switch."

I regretted it almost immediately, especially after spending around $300 on the hand-held console. In the end, my husband and I let him stay at his current school for one more year instead, and rebranded the Switch as a combined Christmas and birthday gift.

We set boundaries, but still noticed a shift

My husband and I monitored what Ezra played, sticking to age ratings and avoiding shooter games. We turned on parental controls so that the device would shut off after an hour.

Even with that limit, Ezra seemed to fixate on and feel entitled to that time every day.

"When am I going to get my screen time?" he'd ask, melting down on days it didn't happen.

Road trips were less sweet, too, since he didn't even look up and out the window. "Yeah, cool," he'd say, eyes glued to his screen.

I started to notice that ordinary life no longer excited him the same way. He showed less interest in being outdoors or exploring. More often, he just wanted to sink into his beanbag chair and tune out.

He realized on his own how much time he was spending with it

One day, I caught him playing a game instead of doing his homework, and I took the device away. He didn't ask for it back. Weeks turned into months.

Then, when he was almost 12, he came to me and told me he had played games that his dad and I didn't want him to access, followed by an apology. It's been over a year and a half now, and Ezra hasn't asked for his device back.

When I inquired why, he said, "I gave it up mostly because I subconsciously knew that my life started revolving around it."

He spends his time differently

Now, he plays guitar and piano, draws, bikes, and skateboards with the kids in the neighborhood. Last week, he decided to take up pickleball.

Courtesy of the author

"I have more time to do stuff. More creativity and a longer attention span," he told me. " I get less frustrated when trying new things."

Most research suggests that kids do OK with about an hour of screen time a day. Ezra still gets that — usually by watching TV with his siblings. But now that screen time feels more intentional. It's family time, something shared, rather than something that pulls him away.

We didn't force him to give up his Switch

The fact that Ezra chose to give up his device might say something about maturity and maybe the values we've tried to model. We've talked openly about how screens can create quick, addictive hits of dopamine, and he says knowing that did influence his decision.

If I could go back, I don't know if I would've bought a Switch for him in the first place. But if I hadn't, would he always wonder what it was like? Would he have felt resentful?

Parenting is full of calls like this that you can't fully predict and never feel entirely sure about. But I do know I'm proud of my kid for making the decision to better himself on his own.

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Meta accused of profiting from scam ads in class-action lawsuit

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:26:36 +0000

This week, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C. against Meta, alleging that the company deceived Facebook users about scam advertisements and profited from it.

Tycko and Zavareei LLP and Tech Justice Law filed the complaint on April 21 under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act on behalf of the Consumer Federation of America and Washington, D.C. Facebook users. The complaint states that while Meta publicly claims to fight scams, internal documents (published by Reuters in Dec. 2025) show it's making billions off of them.

The documents show that in 2024, Meta projected that around 10 percent of its revenue — around $16 billion — would come from advertising scam and banned products. Users are apparently exposed to 15 billion "high-risk" scam ads each day, per the documents. Meta apparently charged these high-risk advertisers more while rejecting 96 percent of valid user fraud reports.

"Meta has, as a matter of company policy, deliberately profited from rampant, inexcusable harm to users on its platforms," attorney and managing director at Tech Justice Law, Sarah Kay Wiley, stated in a press release. "Meta told its users it was fighting fraud. Internally, it was charging scammers a premium for access to those same users. That is not a failure of enforcement, that is a business model built on predatory deception."

A Meta spokesperson told Mashable, "These allegations misrepresent the reality of our work and we will fight them."

"We aggressively combat scams across our platforms to protect people and businesses — last year alone, we removed over 159 million scam ads, 92 percent of which we took down before anyone reported them, and took down 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram associated with criminal scam centers. We fight scams because they are bad for business — people don't want them, advertisers don't want them, and we don't want them either," the spokesperson continued.

The complaint comes weeks after Meta announced new tools to fight scams on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram, including working with law enforcement. In recent years, Meta has reportedly rejected ads from legitimate businesses, like the sex toy shop Unbound (until they created fake ads targeted at men) and healthcare platform Daye.

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Trump on prediction markets: 'The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino'

noreply@blogger.com (mimisabreena) — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:47:23 +0000

"I don't like it, conceptually, but it is what it is," Trump said.

Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump weighed in on prediction markets — and didn't sound too happy about them.
"The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino," Trump told reporters.
It came after the DOJ indicted a US soldier for profiting off of the Maduro raid via Polymarket.

President Donald Trump sure doesn't sound like a prediction market enthusiast.

Asked on Thursday if he was concerned about the potential for insider trading on prediction markets, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was "never much in favor" of betting in financial markets.

"The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino," Trump said. "I don't like it, conceptually, but it is what it is. No, I think that I'm not happy with any of this."

"They have all these different sites, they have 'predictive markets,'" Trump continued. "It's a crazy world. It's a much different world than it was."

Reporter: There are also bets being placed on the Iran conflict. People suspect there is insider trading happening. Are you concerned?

Trump: Unfortunately, the whole world has become somewhat of a casino. I don't like it conceptually. It is what it is. pic.twitter.com/t1OPOUWHub
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 23, 2026

Trump's comments came shortly after the Department of Justice indicted a US Army soldier who was involved in the planning of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro. Prosecutors say Gannon Ken Van Dyke used classified information to reap more than $400,000 in profit on Polymarket.

That trade caught the public's attention in early January, leading to the introduction of a raft of bills on Capitol Hill to both rein in the industry and protect against potential insider trading.

On Thursday, Trump said he wasn't aware of the indictment, but joked that the case sounded like when Pete Rose, the former manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was caught betting on his own team.

"Now, if he bet against his team, that would be no good. But he bet on his own team," Trump said.

Reporter: There was a special forces soldier involved in the capture of Maduro who was arrested on suspicion of insider trading. Are you concerned that federal employees are betting on these reduction markets and potentially getting rich?

Trump: Well, I don't know about it. Was… pic.twitter.com/zmPNGuVL1s
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 23, 2026

Trump previously told The Washington Post that prediction markets are better than "fake polls," referencing the fact that both Kalshi and Polymarket gave Trump stronger odds of winning the 2024 election than traditional polling.

"They predicted me pretty right… by a landslide," Trump said at the time.

Trump's lament about prediction markets, which seemed to echo some comments that Democrats have made about the industry's impact on society, contrasts with the way his administration has approached the industry.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig, the top federal regulator of prediction markets, has moved to defend prediction market companies in the midst of legal battles with states over sports and elections betting.

"It's something that I think is valuable to society," Selig said of prediction markets in a February podcast appearance.

The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., is also financially involved in the industry, serving as a strategic advisor to Kalshi while investing in Polymarket.

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