• Uber executives have been publicly dissing Waymo in the past several months.
• The executives have called out Waymo directly or criticized AV-only operator models.
• Waymo is Uber's only partner providing fully autonomous, paid rides in the US.

Couples go through bumps, and so do business partners.

In recent months, Uber and its executives have taken direct and indirect shots at its robotaxi partner Waymo, warning against autonomous vehicle operators trying to scale on their own while also criticizing Waymo's deployment strategy and technology, with one executive sharing a video on X of a "scary Waymo moment."

The comments portray AV-only operators like Alphabet's Waymo as less scalable, less equitable, and less reliable than a hybrid approach — with a mix of human and automated drivers — that makes Uber the AV partner of choice.

Taken together, Uber's statements show the delicate role it's trying to play as an arbiter between two competing forces: cities and labor groups skeptical of driverless fleets, and AV companies seeking to usher in a new era of transportation.

"Despite the incredible progress AVs are making around the world, and the enormous potential they hold, they are still far from capable of meeting the level of reliability and ubiquity that customers and cities expect," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in February, adding that the AV operators' limits "only serve to reinforce the value of a hybrid network."

Uber and Waymo first announced a multiyear partnership in 2023, starting in Phoenix, and adding Austin and Atlanta the following year. In the last two cities, partnerships entail using Uber as the sole app to hail a Waymo robotaxi.

Since then, Waymo expanded its service — without Uber — in five more cities.

In a white paper outlining Uber's AV policy plans, published Friday by Axios, the ride-hailing company said a "two-tier transportation system" could emerge when AV operations are left to pure market dynamics, pointing to the Bay Area, where Uber said the two-tier system "is already real."

"In San Francisco, for example, AV operations have expanded into some of the wealthiest neighborhoods while remaining absent from nearby cities like Oakland," the paper said.

Waymo is the only AV operator to have scaled commercial operations across multiple cities in the Bay Area, but has yet to deploy in East Bay Area cities like Oakland or Berkeley. Uber doesn't name Waymo in the paper.

On April 17, at a panel hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, the company's public policy head for the state directly hit Waymo on the same equity issues.

"I don't want to put Waymo on blast here, but Waymo is permitted for Oakland. Oakland is a dense city. It does have a population similar to San Francisco that would be receptible to autonomous vehicles," Danielle Lam, Uber's head of local California policy, said. "Why not Oakland? Why Santa Monica? In terms of Uber's position on this, we are looking for equitable distribution."

In a statement to Business Insider, an Uber spokesperson said the company's position wasn't aimed at any specific company.

"We will make no apologies for advocating for a hybrid future, which is both provably more efficient at matching supply across the peaks and valleys of rideshare demand, and of course represents a better future for drivers than merely advocating for their replacement," the spokesperson said. "A growing number of players worldwide have L4 autonomous vehicle technology — we have proudly partnered with basically all of them, and will continue to launch AVs in new markets at a rapid rate."

A ride-hailing traffic cop

While Uber continues to bet on autonomy, the company has supported moves that could slow down AV rollouts in major cities.

Uber has said that New York City is the "largest ridesharing market in the world," making up 10% of its US trips.

Waymo has long set its target on the city, deploying a limited fleet for testing last year. In February, Waymo was dealt a blow when Gov. Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal to change the state's vehicle laws to effectively legalize robotaxi operations outside NYC.

An Uber spokesperson cited the AV industry's "failure to advance new regulation" as one of the reasons it needs to reexamine its deployment strategy.

"Today we partner with cities instead of confronting them," Andrew Macdonald, Uber's chief operating officer, wrote in a LinkedIn post.

A New York Times report on the withdrawal said the sudden pullback was related to the governor's efforts to secure support for her auto insurance reforms from labor unions that oppose driverless cars, including the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

"Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal," a spokesperson for Hochul's office told Business Insider.

A December report from CityLand quoted Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of New York Taxi Workers Alliance, calling for a "moratorium and a study" on AV testing and deployment in the city.

Josh Gold, the senior director of public policy and communications at Uber, was also quoted as saying that Desai's moratorium had a "lot of merit," according to the report.

"We need to be thoughtful about a transition," Gold was quoted as saying. "Slowing down and figuring the right path is important."

A spokesperson for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance did not respond to a request for comment.

Uber said in its white paper that it estimates 8,000 US cities where the company already operates won't support AVs in the foreseeable future, and that a hybrid network will allow the technology to "scale thoughtfully."

'Scary Waymo moment'

Uber's paper also highlighted how AV systems continue to "struggle" with edge cases as they scale.

On Monday, Waymo announced a software recall for 3,800 robotaxis after an incident in San Antonio in which a Waymo robotaxi drove into a flooded roadway.

Cases of Waymo mishaps have been well documented online as the Alphabet company continues to increase its US presence.

One such video popped up on X on April 29, appearing to show a Waymo overtaking one of San Francisco's Muni buses.

The video came from Uber's C-suite: Praveen Neppalli Naga, the company's chief technology officer, who appeared to be driving on the day of the encounter.

"Big fan of AVs, but perception ≠ judgment," he wrote, referring to Waymo's notoriously heavy sensor stack. "Edge cases matter!"

An Uber spokesperson said the post speaks for itself.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at lloydlee@businessinsider.com or Signal at lloydlee.71. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Claude's new model, Opus 4.7, came with a new tool — Claude Design.
• The tool allows users to create slide decks, graphics, and marketing collateral.
• I tested how Claude Design compares to the tried-and-true Canva for designing a presentation.

For over a decade, Canva has been one of the most popular graphic design platforms. Now, Anthropic has an opportunity to capture some of that market with AI.

Anthropic announced its latest Opus 4.7 AI model on April 16, and a day later announced the launch of Claude Design, a tool which it said allows users to "create polished visual work like designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers, and more."

Designs created by Claude Design can be exported directly to Canva, Anthropic said in the release.

The new Claude feature comes as the industry warns of a "SaaSpocalypse," in which AI threatens the business models of software companies like Canva, website builder Wix, and management platforms Workday and Asana.

To better understand the SaaSpocalyse fears, I tested how Claude Design and Canva stack up when tasked with designing the same slide deck.

For this test, I asked Claude Design and Canva's AI tool to create an improved version of the Photography 101 slide deck that I made manually in January.

I used the deck while delivering a photography workshop for reporters at Business Insider's Singapore bureau. Let's just say my photography skills are better than my design skills.

I tested Canva AI first

Canva, like other software companies, is embracing AI to fend off competition from AI. It's rolling out its AI 2.0 feature to all users, turning Canva into an agentic platform that can generate editable designs.

I tested out AI 1.0, then got an early trial also to see how 2.0 stacks up against Claude.

First impressions of Canva AI: The landing page resembled other vibe-coding platforms like Lovable, Replit, and Base44, with the slogan, "What will we design today?"

I submitted my prompt, asking for a presentation split into six sections with quizzes to test understanding, and a dark minimalist design with blue accents.

Canva then asked me to choose the audience type — casual, professional, or educational — as well as the deck's style and length. And before designing the slides, Canva presented a rough outline of what each slide would include, which I could edit.

I thought that was neat.

The slides were decent, but required editing

AI 1.0 gave me two designs to choose from. One was an immediate no, with loud elements that clashed and made the text hard to read. The graphics used were also rather simplistic.

The second design was better, but its text boxes overlapped, the text was misaligned, and it was at times minuscule. It also didn't have as many photos as I'd like. I fed Canva another prompt asking it to align and standardize the text boxes, add more pictures, and make it more engaging.

The final product was much better than the bad deck I made in January, something I could definitely use for a refresher workshop.

I repeated the same test a couple of days later with AI 2.0. The process was largely unchanged, except that I could manually change elements while chatting with the AI tool — a useful change from 1.0.

The design from AI 2.0 was a bit boring, so I asked it to regenerate the slide deck with more images and a cleaner aesthetic.

It gave me a warning — "This will use a significant amount of your AI usage since I'll need to regenerate each slide" — but I ended up with a slightly more polished presentation.

I laughed when the AI got tired of redesigning and told me the redesign was complete, even though four slides remained unchanged. When I prompted it to look again, it hit me with the good old, "You're right, sorry about that!"

It took a couple of prompts to get it to where I wanted, but I was impressed by Canva's AI generation.

We were definitely off to a good start.

Then I tried Claude Design

Next, I turned to Claude Design. I had previously tried generating a logo of my initials with Opus 4.7, and the design left a lot to be desired.

So I was not expecting a lot when I asked it to create the photography presentation.

To my surprise, Claude asked me in-depth follow-up questions before starting to design. It asked what camera I would be using, the skill levels of participants — beginners, phone-photo experienced, hobbyists — and even the exact shade of blue I wanted as an accent color.

And the deck it generated surpassed my expectations.

For example, one slide featured a graphic of the "exposure triangle," which illustrated how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed affect a photo's brightness.

Claude fixed errors without any prompting

But what impressed me the most about Claude Design was that it anticipated my needs.

In the first version, some text boxes overlapped. Without prompting, Claude started identifying and fixing these problems, acting as its own editor without needing any input from me.

The only problem I ran into with Claude Design was when I tried to change an image in one of the quiz slides. The question was about photographing a politician at a podium, but the picture was of a young man sitting in front of a circular window.

I asked Claude to change it to a picture of a politician.

Instead, it generated the image of a farmer. I tried again — it gave me a picture of the Senate. Third time, a handshake. At that point, I gave up and asked it to revert to the picture of the guy in front of the window.

It gave me some insight into the criticisms of Claude's Opus 4.7, with users saying it burns through tokens too quickly and sometimes gives ridiculous answers.

However, it responded better to other prompts. For example, it initially lumped the five editing tips into one slide, but expanded each tip into its own slide seamlessly when I asked it to.

Canva's final product was good, but in my view, Claude Design's was better and required a lot less prompting on my part.

Final thoughts

At the end of building the slide decks, I remember thinking to myself, "I'm never making slides from scratch again."

It was a close competition, but Claude Design edged it because it identified its own errors and corrected them without prompting, while Canva needed to be told what to fix.

One consideration — there is a difference in the subscription costs for both platforms. An individual subscription to Claude Pro costs $17 a month, and a Pro Max subscription costs $100 a month and allows higher token usage.

Meanwhile, Canva AI is free for use, for up to "200 Standard AI uses," per its pricing chart. Canva Pro, which offers "10x more AI than Canva Free," costs $18 a month.

And of course, if you can't choose between the two, you can use both together.

"Now, when someone creates an idea or a draft in Claude, they can instantly take it into Canva and turn it into something real where it's fully editable, collaborative, and on brand," Canva's spokesperson said. "From there, it's easy to refine, adapt across different formats, and publish or share it anywhere."

Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Lume isn't just a modern and expensive lamp; it doubles as a laundry folding genie. And to hype and humanize this alien-like robo housemaid before it starts shipping this summer, the company behind it, has launched an all-out, high-gloss social media video blitz.

There's a commercial launch video, a 10-minute-long documentary about Syncere's founders, and a behind the scenes doc about the making of that doc. The documentary opens on a sunrise, follows the founders as they make coffee, shoot hoops in a driveway, work on the Lume prototype in a backyard, and eventually end the day sitting around a dining room table with family. The videos come from Offscript, a studio that describes itself as "a storytelling company, written by filmmakers, not advertisers," for startups.

The rising trend of the cheeky and sleek launch video has "opened the floodgate for a lot of these tech companies and validated that there is a need for media," says Alli Gooch, a 27-year-old filmmaker behind Offscript. "The documentary is just kind of like a higher-end version of building in public," she says. "It all goes back to authenticity." Nearly 50,000 people have watched the Syncere documentary on X over the past month, and more than 1 million have seen the launch video.

Founders' desire to go direct, circumventing traditional media outlets to tell their story straight to their customers without scrutiny, in part fuels this pivot to original, in-depth video. Companies are also granting access to these filmmakers as technology advances swiftly. Founders feel the pressure to make customers understand what a company does and why it matters in a sea of startups that might fail. So they're splurging on star-treatment for themselves and their ideas.

Companies now "need to always be telling your company lore," says Josh Machiz, chief marketing officer at venture capital firm Lightspeed. "In this moment in AI in Silicon Valley, you need to be documenting the history of your company."

Blink, and you might miss the chance to capture your big breakthrough.

Storytelling has become one of the hottest corporate jobs. Frontier AI labs are opening communications roles with salaries of about half a million dollars, showing companies will pay a premium for someone who can make their corporate story a splash in a sea of AI slop. Founders will sit for hours-long podcast interviews with high-profile creators and shun traditional media. Andreessen Horowitz has its own news livestream that airs 8 hours a day. The venture firm also launched a New Media team last fall to give founders what they "need to win the narrative battle online." It's easier than ever to get an idea off the ground, and online attention has never been more fractured.

The most successful example of commanding attention comes from "The Thinking Game," a nearly 90-minute-long documentary that follows Google DeepMind as they develop AlphaFold, a Nobel Prize-winning AI project to sequence proteins. The film took a conventional documentary route and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, then began streaming on (Google subsidiary) YouTube last fall; it's since drawn more than 400 million views. The feature captured viewers like any other documentary, but Google, the doc's subject, is its distributor.

Most startups don't merit a feature-length film, but they still want to own conversation with short, sparkly videos on social media. Last year, more startups decided they needed launch videos, departing from a trend of leaving stealth mode via a LinkedIn post. A romcom video from the "cheat on everything" AI app Cluely garnered 13 million views on X. Friend, the much maligned white pendant AI companion, has released videos over the past year following users — including a woman who says she had a seizure while filming the short doc, and then quickly checks to make sure her companion is ok. Authenticity and humanity matter to consumers, particularly when you're trying to sell them on your AI startup. In a video announcing its new affordable MacBook Neo, Apple played with the idea that their laptops are human-made, illustrating a pair of hands crafting the various features.

"There's an acknowledgement that being able to present well on the internet has potentially huge outsized returns, and knowing how to engineer attention, command attention is extremely valuable," says Donald Jewkes, a 26-year-old software engineer-turned-filmmaker, who has worked on short videos about robotics and AI coding.

Jewkes released a 15-minute mini doc about Jmail, a project friends of his made to house Jeffrey Epstein's emails in a Gmail-like interface, last month. They built Jmail in just five hours, and more than 150 million people used it. Jmail's rise to virality is a small slice of the rampant news cycle around the Epstein files that could have gone undocumented, but Jewkes and his camera stepped in quickly after to interview the people behind the project. "The inner workings and the behind the scenes, what it felt like to be there — all of those would have been lost," Jewkes says. "I really felt the need to try and capture that and to have that on display for the world."

Companies need smart marketing to make themselves likeable in an era where innovation can feel like impending chaos for many. The public perception of AI has cooled. The only topics more unpopular among respondents to a March poll from NBC were the Democratic party and Iran. Videos of humanoid robots on social media often freak people out. Scandals at companies like FTX and Theranos have raised the onus for startups to show investors the receipts on what they're building.

These new era documentarians don't see themselves as oppositional journalists or the sort of commercial marketing a film agency might make. They're broadcasting a message about where future innovation is moving. "We're pretty aligned on what we're trying to tell, which is the story of technological and scientific progress," James Lin, a 23-year-old filmmaker, says of the companies he works for and his own interests. He's not following a company to expose scandal, but says, if he saw Theranos-like fraud or actions that didn't jibe with his values, he would think: "I can't continue on with this project, this doesn't feel right."

Lin's camera skills come mostly self-taught. He studied neuroscience, previously working as a researcher at MIT, but says that AI may drastically shift the nature of scientific research faster than automation eclipse filmmakers. "Once robotics starts to scale, they're going to be able to do science really well," Lin says, telling me that he started working with friends (including Jewkes) on a viral launch video for Waves, which makes camera glasses. Now, he's following biotech companies, and says his background in neuroscience helps him to parse the complicated topic and communicate it. "I'm not so interested in the drama as much as I am in, how does science happen?"

The tech-friendly, new media era is a boon to startups. People hate traditional ads, but younger viewers demand authenticity from the brands they support. As AI lowers the bar to creating content, the demand for quality lifts. "We're all in on tech," says Juliana Glodek, who also helms Offscript. "We can tell these stories that are on the bleeding edge of history."

Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

• Dean Grey, an entry-level software engineer, is participating in a new UBI and upskilling program.
• Grey said entry-level jobs have evaporated, and hundreds of applications went nowhere.
• Grey said the mentorship and the $1,000 monthly stipend renewed his sense of hope and structure.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dean Grey, a participant in a program by AI Commons that aims to upskill and retrain workers who have been displaced by AI alongside a monthly stipend. Grey is an entry-level software engineer who is struggling with his job search.

I never imagined I would become an early participant in what feels like a social experiment for the AI era. But after spending years trying to break into tech, only to watch entry-level jobs evaporate almost as quickly as I got there, that's exactly where I found myself.

I grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from UMass years ago. Before tech, I worked mostly in management jobs, "just sort of trucking along," as I like to joke — though eventually that became literal. I spent about 4 years working in trucking, but I knew I wanted something more stable and better paying, and tech seemed like the future. Shows like "Mr. Robot" and movies like "Hackers" made the industry feel exciting and creative.

So I saved up enough money to make the leap. I enrolled in Hack Reactor, a coding boot camp program, where I learned software engineering. At the time, I thought I was doing everything right.

I trained for a tech career as the market collapsed

After boot camp, I joined a training-to-hire company that promised to prepare people like me for jobs with large clients. The understanding was that we'd move directly into industry work afterward.

By the time my training ended, the market had changed dramatically. Hiring had slowed. Companies were suddenly obsessed with AI. Instead of moving directly into work, many of us were put on waiting lists for months. I waited about five months before eventually landing a contract position with Infosys.

It quickly became clear there wasn't much future there. Our contracts were finite, and there was really no upward mobility. I had put all of my eggs in this basket, and it was disappointing.

When that contract ended, I entered what became one of the hardest periods of my life.

Hundreds of applications met with silence

Like many people trying to break into tech right now, I sent out hundreds of applications.

I got a handful of phone screenings and two Zoom interviews that never progressed beyond the first round. At one point, it was exciting to get a rejection because a lot of companies were just ghosting me.

I burned through savings, called in favors, took gig work and temporary jobs, filled out online surveys — basically anything I could do to survive. Unemployment benefits helped for a while, but not enough to build a future.

The UBI program gave me structure and hope

When the AI Commons approached me about joining a new basic income pilot program for workers displaced by AI, I was mostly grateful not to feel alone anymore.

The program provides a monthly stipend — up to $1,000 — along with technical training, mentorship, engineering projects, and community support.

The project is still so new, and the curriculum is still developing, but it gave me a sense of hope and structure again, which matters more than people realize.

Every morning starts with standups where we discuss what we're building and what's blocking us. I meet weekly with mentors and pair-program with more experienced engineers. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm moving forward instead of standing still.

The financial support has also been such a boon and life-changing. Being behind on all my bills has been a crushing stress. But with this basic income, I'm able to focus on improving my résumé, working on projects, attending meetings, and building my network.

The stipend doesn't feel like permission to stop working. If anything, it's the opposite. It gives me enough stability to actually invest in myself again.

Now I'm building an AI chatbot to help laid-off workers

One of the biggest projects I'm working on now is an AI-powered chatbot for people navigating layoffs and unemployment.

The idea is simple: when someone loses a job, they often don't even know what questions to ask first. My chatbot is designed to guide them through the process, explain unemployment laws by state, connect them to resources, and eventually help direct them toward real human support systems.

I don't know exactly what the future of work looks like. Honestly, sometimes it feels bleak. But this program has convinced me that people can adapt if they're given enough support, time, and community to do it.

I hear a lot of criticism of UBI, mostly about how it could erode agency and meaning and might be taken advantage of.

I'm optimistic because, at the end of the day, it might just mean we transition to a new way of finding purpose, if not in what we do for a living, then in how we express ourselves or what we do creatively. I don't think that we'll ever run out of ways to find purpose in life.

• Moscow is banning people from posting on social media about drone strikes in the capital.
• The restrictions apply to almost everyone, including government officials and emergency services.
• The measure comes as Ukraine intensified its drone attacks on Moscow this month.

Moscow officials are introducing a new ban on posting about the aftermath of drone strikes in the capital, specifying that they apply to essentially everyone.

According to a statement released on Wednesday by the city's mayoral office, the restrictions prohibit individual residents, organizations, media outlets, emergency services, and government agencies from publishing "text, photos, and videos" about such attacks.

The only authorities permitted to do so are Russia's defense ministry and information channels run by the mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, per the statement.

"The capital's Anti-Terrorism Commission adopted this regulation in order to prevent the dissemination of false information," Sobyanin's website said.

Official Russian information on the effects of Ukraine's drone strikes is usually scarce, but residents regularly post videos or photos on social media of resulting fires or explosions.

Such footage has become a primary way for many open-source investigators and Ukrainian units to confirm or verify the damage caused by successful attacks.

Now, individual residents in Moscow may be fined up to 5,000 rubles, or $67, while officials may be fined up to 50,000 rubles for posting such content without permission. The fine for legal entities and organizations could stretch up to 200,000 rubles, per the statement.

The national median wage in Russia is about per month, according to Sberbank, the country's largest state-owned bank.

Sobyanin's new measure was announced as Ukraine recently ramped up pressure on Moscow in the week of Russia's annual Victory Day parade, peppering the capital with long-range drone strikes in the lead-up to the event.

The attacks, which also happened last year, forced temporary closures of some airports and prompted authorities to throttle mobile internet services in a bid to disrupt drone signals.

In an example of the type of footage now banned, damage from a recent attack on a luxury high-rise, just four miles from the Kremlin, was filmed from multiple angles by bystanders. The clips showed debris strewn across a main street, where emergency vehicles were gathered late at night.

Moscow's ban echoes a similar rule imposed in the United Arab Emirates in March, when the US and Israel's war with Iran prompted Tehran to launch waves of long-range drones at its neighbors.

Filming or posting footage of the Iranian strikes could result in penalties including deportation for foreigners, up to two years in prison, and fines totaling up to $54,449.

• SK Hynix's stock price has surged more than 200% this year, pushing it toward the trillion-dollar club.
• The South Korean company is benefiting from soaring demand for AI memory chips used by Nvidia.
• South Korea's stock market is riding the AI boom, with Samsung recently topping a $1 trillion valuation.

The AI boom is turning memory chips — long viewed as a cyclical corner of the semiconductor industry — into one of the market's hottest trades.

One of the standout winners from the trend is South Korea's Samsung Electronics, whose market value hit the $1 trillion level last week. The stock is over 140% higher this year.

This week, another South Korean chip giant is emerging as a contender for the milestone.

Shares of SK Hynix have surged more than 200% this year as demand explodes for high-bandwidth memory, the specialized chips used in AI systems.

The company's stunning stock gains have pushed its market cap to about 1,395.5 trillion South Korean won, or $935 billion.

SK Hynix is a top memory chip supplier to Nvidia, whose AI accelerators have become the backbone of the AI race.

SK Hynix's stock gains come as companies rush to build AI data centers and investors increasingly look beyond the firms that design AI models toward the hardware powering them.

"Memory is becoming one of the clearest beneficiaries of AI hardware demand," Charu Chanana, the chief investment strategist at Saxo, wrote on Tuesday.

Demand is rising as AI models grow larger and applications require more computing power and memory to handle increasingly complex workloads, Chanana added.

That shift is reshaping markets far beyond Silicon Valley.

The newly launched Roundhill Memory ETF, which trades under the ticker DRAM, has quickly become one of Wall Street's hottest AI trades, nearly doubling since its April 2 launch.

The fund holds companies including Micron, Samsung Electronics, Sandisk, and SK Hynix.

The surge in memory-chip stocks has also fueled a broader rally in South Korea, with the Kospi — the country's benchmark stock index — hitting record highs this month. The index is over 80% higher this year.

The market is so hot that Goldman Sachs recently called South Korea its "highest conviction view" in Asia, citing the country's dominance in memory chips and exposure to booming AI infrastructure demand.

• OpenAI and Anthropic are locked in a freebie war.
• Both companies announced free usage perks for Codex and Claude Code on Wednesday.
• Money is pouring into AI companies, which need to hook users — especially companies.

OpenAI and Anthropic gave their tokenmaxxing fans a midweek pick-me-up.

In posts on X published less than an hour apart on Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Claude's developer account both announced expanded access to their coding tools.

"Codex is the best AI coding product and we want to make it easy to try," Altman posted on X. He wrote that OpenAI would give companies two months of free Codex usage if they signed up within the next 30 days.

Less than an hour later, Anthropic posted that it was increasing Claude Code's weekly limits by 50% until July 13.

"Live now for all Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise users," Anthropic wrote in the post.

"We're excited to see what everyone builds!" the company added.

Anthropic's post comes less than a month after it released Opus 4.7, a model the company said improved Claude's coding and reasoning capabilities. It faced early backlash from users who said the model makes simple mistakes and is combative.

Social media users' biggest qualm — and perhaps the reason for Wednesday's free usage offer — was that Opus 4.7 burns through tokens much faster than earlier models.

With sky-high valuations — Anthropic received offers to invest at an $800 billion valuation, and OpenAI is sitting at an $840 billion valuation — the companies need to lock in customers, especially high-spending corporate accounts.

• Russia attacked Ukraine with hundreds of drones on Wednesday in an unusual daytime bombardment.
• Hours later, Russia launched more than 20 ballistic missiles at Kyiv.
• Business Insider was in the Ukrainian capital for the 24 hours of attacks.

KYIV, Ukraine — First came the seemingly endless waves of Russian drones throughout the day. Then, ballistic missiles began raining down as night fell.

In the early hours of the morning, Business Insider reporters huddled with dozens of others in a chilly, tightly packed car park-turned-bomb shelter in Kyiv. In the dim light, some people slept in their cars; others claimed one of eight beds or couches, tables, or chairs as the city shook above them.

Ukrainian air defenses fought fiercely against Russia's overnight bombardment, which included 675 drones and 56 cruise and ballistic missiles, but some munitions slipped through, reducing entire buildings to rubble. "The main direction of the attack was Kyiv," the country's air force said Thursday morning.

For hours through the night, people in the shelter did what they could as they waited out the attack. They listened to music, watched TV shows on their devices, curled up and tried to sleep, talked quietly with others, and scrolled their phones for updates.

Ukraine predicted that a heavy bombardment was coming. There were warnings, and between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, Russia launched over 750 attack and decoy drones in continuous waves across Ukraine, Kyiv's air force said. The rare daytime barrage followed the end of a three-day ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the onslaught "one of the longest massive Russian attacks" against the country. At least six people were killed, and dozens more were injured on Wednesday, officials said.

Business Insider was on the road to the north of Kyiv around midday when iPhone navigation suddenly stopped working, a sign of possible electronic warfare activity.

Russian drones were flying nearby, and it's not uncommon for Ukraine to use GPS interference to try to defeat them.

In the evening, Business Insider linked up with a Ukrainian mobile air defense unit operating outside Kyiv. They had been battling Russia's Shahed-style attack drones.

Soldiers operating a .50-caliber machine gun shot down one of Russia's drones, the unit's commander told Business Insider. At that point, Ukrainian forces had intercepted more than 700 drones across the country throughout the day.

The commander said he believed that Russia was trying to exhaust Ukraine's air defenses before switching to missiles.

Air raid sirens sounded throughout the day. Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said Tuesday that Russia had launched a large-scale air attack against its critical infrastructure and civilian targets, warning that it could turn into a "prolonged" bombardment.

"Russia plans to deploy a large number of air- and sea-based cruise missiles, as well as ballistic missiles," the GUR said. The targets include "critical infrastructure and life support systems of major cities, including energy facilities, defense industry enterprises, and government buildings."

Russian drones continued in waves. Around 1 a.m., Kyiv residents received reports of ballistic missile launches and took to the shelters. Explosions rocked the city, jolting the people sheltering in the converted car park.

Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 693 of the 731 Russian missiles and drones. Nearly 40 munitions struck their targets.

Local Telegram channels published footage said to show the moment a Russian drone struck a multi-story building in Kyiv, along with other scenes of damage across the city.

"Russia treacherously attacked Kyiv," Ukraine's State Emergency Service said, adding that "as a result of the shelling, residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in several districts of the city were damaged."

Daytime strikes followed by an overnight barrage are an emerging tactic for Russia's forces. Earlier this month, the Institute for Science and International Security, a US-based think tank, described the recent "emergence of continuous combined night-day strike cycles" as a "significant operational development" for Russia.

Video correspondent Robert Leslie contributed reporting.

• Victor Trac, now 45, grew up in South Carolina and spent a few years in Europe after college with his now-wife.
• They started a family in Austin before moving with their two kids to Spain and later New Zealand.
• After traveling along the East Coast in search of the right place to live, they settled in Portland, Maine.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Victor Trac, 45, a DevOps engineer and entrepreneur. His words have been edited for length and clarity.

Growing up in South Carolina, I was always into computers. In high school, I built and sold PCs to my friends and their parents and provided tech support before earning a degree in electrical engineering and math.

After college, my then-girlfriend Rebecca — now my wife, who I've known since elementary school — took a teaching job in France, and I followed. We later spent three years living in Germany, traveling around Europe on weekends.

By 2008, we'd returned to the US and moved to Austin as its startup scene was taking off.

Fast-forward 15 years, and Austin was no longer the intimate city we first landed in. Our kids were 9 and 12, and we saw it as the perfect time for a gap-year adventure.

We also knew Texas wasn't where we wanted to stay long term.

The family abroad

Because our kids attended a dual-language elementary school and already spoke Spanish, we decided to spend a year in Spain.

In 2023, we moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of Spain's Basque Country, and rented a furnished duplex in a walkable city framed by mountains. There was one twist: The school taught primarily in Basque, a language completely unrelated to Spanish.

My kids struggled at first — especially my daughter, who barely spoke when we arrived — but within three months, they'd both adjusted. Friendships formed, the language became easier, and the experience exceeded anything we'd hoped for.

I spent mornings trail running in the mountains, afternoons working remotely with US clients and my team, and evenings having dinner with my family. Life felt slower and more intentional than it had in Austin.

After the school year ended, we rented a camper van and road-tripped across southern Europe before visiting friends and family in Ireland.

By August 2024, we were back in the US, but our Austin house was rented out, and we weren't ready to settle down again. My wife also wanted to live somewhere with four distinct seasons, something we'd never really had in Texas.

We embarked on a "city shopping tour"

We spent months traveling the East Coast, renting Airbnbs and testing cities as potential homes while my wife homeschooled the kids and I worked remotely. By December, Portland, Maine, had emerged as the clear winner.

The timing was tricky because it was the middle of the US school year, so we decided to spend the first half of 2025 in New Zealand, where school-aged children can attend local schools for up to three months on visitor visas.

We enrolled the kids in a school in Christchurch on the South Island and headed off. At the Sydney airport, though, we hit a snag: Because we only had one-way tickets, Air New Zealand required proof of onward travel. I ended up buying expensive refundable exit tickets on my phone before we could check in.

The kids completed a school term and we did another big road trip exploring New Zealand. I spent my days playing tennis, and at one point, I even cycled the Alps-to-Ocean trail in three days, with a laptop in my backpack.

Before heading to Maine, we also spent three weeks in Japan.

Readjusting to life in the US came with its own surprises

In Spain and New Zealand, daily life felt more walkable and connected. Back in the US, we suddenly found ourselves driving almost everywhere again.

The cost of everyday life also shocked us. In northern Spain, I could grab an espresso and a fresh pincho at a neighborhood café for a couple of euros. Back in the US, even a simple coffee-and-breakfast run felt expensive, especially once tipping was added.

Some experiences abroad also changed how I viewed everyday interactions. In New Zealand, I rented an expensive camera lens with nothing more than my name written on a piece of paper — no ID or deposit required. That level of trust left a lasting impression on me.

People ask about the biggest challenge of living abroad

I honestly don't think there was one that stood out.

Spain could be bureaucratic, but we treated it as part of the adventure. Our kids also adapted remarkably well and rarely complained about the constant changes.

Staying connected with family and friends back home was easy thanks to video calls and messaging, though the time differences sometimes made planning tricky.

For now, we're settled in Portland with the kids — they're 14 and 10 — and fully immersed in school and daily life. We plan to stay at least until my daughter finishes high school.

• Prosecutors say short-seller Andrew Left manipulated the market and deceived retail investors.
• Two stock analysts who disagreed with Left's negative reports on stocks have testified.
• Left's defense has pressed the idea that disagreeing on stocks is normal and doesn't indicate fraud.

Amid the complicated financial jargon at play in short-seller Andrew Left's ongoing securities fraud trial, the defense has repeatedly returned to a simple question: Can't people disagree about stocks?

Citron Research founder Left, known for his bets on GameStop and frequent appearances on financial shows, has been accused of manipulating the market and deceiving retail investors through misleading statements. Prosecutors allege Left said one thing about over 20 stocks and then traded in the opposite direction, making over $20 million in the process.

Three days into the trial, it's becoming clearer how the defense plans to handle the prosecution's witnesses.

So far, prosecutors have focused on the stocks of two companies they say Left tweeted about and then traded on: the social media site formerly known as Twitter and Cronos Group, a cannabis company.

Prosecutors have highlighted the negative reports Left issued about those companies and called stock analysts who disagreed with his takes to testify. Meanwhile, the defense argued that disagreement over a stock does not necessarily constitute fraud.

Left issued a report in December 2018 titled "Twitter has become the Harvey Weinstein of social media" that cited an Amnesty International study documenting issues Twitter had regarding abusive content against women. He set a target stock price of $20, well below its then-trading price of around $30.

Douglas Anmuth, an internet analyst at JPMorgan, testified Wednesday that he covered Twitter at the time and disagreed with Left's report. He said issues with hate speech on Twitter were well known, and the company had taken steps to address them.

The defense pressed Anmuth on whether disagreements among analysts necessarily meant something nefarious was going on.

"Fair to say when you and any other analyst disagree, that might just be a difference of opinion, correct?" Adam Fee, Left's lawyer, asked.

Anmuth agreed, and a bit later, Fee raised the point again: "You would agree generally that reasonable people can disagree about how information in the market might impact stock prices?"

"People can disagree," Anmuth said.

On a third occasion, Fee asked Anmuth, whose Twitter price target was $45 at the time of the Citron report, whether "reasonable people" could disagree about price targets.

A similar pattern played out during the earlier testimony on Wednesday of Martin Landry, an analyst who was covering Cronos Group in August 2018, when Left tweeted a negative report about the company. Landry testified that he wrote a rebuttal report at the time that said some of Left's allegations about Cronos appeared to be "unfounded and biased."

In cross-examination, Fee noted that Landry did not accuse Left of sharing false information, but that he disagreed with the importance Left placed on certain facts.

Fee also asked, "If you said 'buy,' another said 'sell,' the guy who said sell wasn't committing fraud, correct?" Landry agreed.

Once more, he asked Landry if he agreed that "people can reasonably disagree about the value of a company."

The line of questioning seemed to align with the central argument Left's defense led with during opening statements on Tuesday: "He tells the public what he believes — the truth — and then he trades on the truth to make a profit. It's not fraud. That's trading."

Left's lawyers also leaned on his more than two decades of experience in the stock market. In their opening statement, they said he wouldn't have lasted so long in the business and had so much influence if he'd been deceiving people.

"You would not have made it 20 years picking stocks if you were influenced by improper considerations?" Fee asked Landry.

"Exactly," Landry said.

"Because people would've stopped listening, correct?" Fee asked.

"Yes," Landry said.

• LinkedIn's marketing team is embracing AI as it cuts staff, an internal memo shows.
• Marketing will also reduce its ad spending, according to an email from LinkedIn CMO Jessica Jensen.
• LinkedIn says it's positioning itself for future success as it implements "organizational changes."

The marketing team wasn't spared from LinkedIn's layoffs on Wednesday.

LinkedIn chief marketing and strategy officer Jessica Jensen sent an email saying the company is reducing roles "across our team" to cut costs.

"Growth is more competitive, infrastructure costs continue to rise and AI is reshaping how work gets done," read Jensen's email, which was viewed by Business Insider. "So we are at a point where our work is important and deeply valued, and we need to reduce costs in Marketing to ensure LinkedIn is positioned for the future we're building."

It's not clear exactly how many members of LinkedIn's marketing team got cut. A LinkedIn spokesperson declined to provide specific numbers, telling Business Insider that it is implementing "organizational changes" to best position itself for future success.

Jensen's memo says the marketing team is reducing its paid media spending. While Jensen didn't give specific examples, paid media typically means paying for Google Ads or other platforms for promotion.

LinkedIn plans to embrace unspecified "AI tools and workflows" to help staff get things done faster.

LinkedIn's product organizations have also been affected by the layoffs, as they made changes to their operations.

These cuts put LinkedIn squarely in line with the long list of tech companies that are pushing staff to use AI as they reduce head count. Cisco announced an AI-driven restructuring on Wednesday affecting about 4,000 roles. Companies like Coinbase and Block also cited increased productivity from AI as part of the rationale for their own layoffs earlier this year.

LinkedIn is investing in AI in other ways, too. It launched an "AI labor marketplace" where people can make money training AI chatbots to get better at everything from coding to nursing to finance, Business Insider previously reported.

Read the full memo Jensen sent out on Wednesday below:

Team, I want to start by saying that this team is doing extraordinary work. You're pushing our brand into new creative territory, delivering results that drive business growth, and being recognized for that in the industry — and it's making a real impact. Thank you. At the same time, we're operating in a moment that requires more focus and intentionality. Growth is more competitive, infrastructure costs continue to rise and AI is reshaping how work gets done. So we are at a point where our work is important and deeply valued, and we need to reduce costs in Marketing to ensure LinkedIn is positioned for the future we're building.

With this in mind, we're making some organizational changes, including reducing roles across our team. If your role is part of the reductions, or proposed reductions in EMEA and APAC, you will receive a calendar invite in the next hour titled 'Attendance Required: Marketing Organizational Updates.' If you do not receive this exact invite your role is not part of the reductions or proposed reductions.

To give you more context, our organizational changes are across three areas:

First, sharpening our financial focus. In addition to the difficult role reductions we're announcing today, we're also reducing our paid media and program spend, while continuing to invest where we see the highest ROI. This is about being more intentional with our resources, and creating space to fund the work that moves the business the most.

Second, focusing our investments on where we can grow and drive high ROI in FY27. That includes accelerating LMS growth, advancing our agentic hiring solutions, and building on strong momentum with Premium and Small Business offerings. We'll prioritize the consumer experiences that most directly drive engagement and revenue, concentrate our marketing investments in the US and UK, and maintain our market leadership in LSS as we continue to strengthen the product.

Third, setting teams up for success. We're continuing to bring teams together that do similar work in our Creative CoE, our Scaled Solutions org, and Small Business Marketing. We'll also embrace new AI-enabled tools and workflows that allow our human creativity and judgment to go further, faster.

To those leaving LinkedIn, thank you for the care, creativity and commitment you brought to our culture and brand. You've made a lasting impact, and we're deeply grateful. For those staying, please join me in supporting our departing colleagues as they navigate what's next. We'll come together tomorrow for an all Marketing team meeting where I'll provide more clarity and you'll have a chance to ask questions. You can learn more about the changes within each team on the Marketing Hub which will include links to updates that GBO, Product, and Engineering are sharing today as well. Your leaders will provide more context on what's happening on your team in meetings later this week.

While I know that this level of change can bring a sense of uncertainty, it can also clarify our purpose. The world needs LinkedIn now more than ever, and while these are hard choices to make, they focus our work for our short and long-term impact. Please take the time you need to process this news and give one another space at this moment. Thank you for everything you do for LinkedIn and for one another.

Jessica

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

• Jurors on Wednesday sat for a final day of testimony in the Musk v. Altman showdown.
• A trophy and a tantrum figured prominently, and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman was name-dropped.
• Closing arguments and the start of jury deliberations are expected on Thursday.

After three weeks of testimony that has shed new light on some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, the Musk v. Altman jury trial is finally coming to a close.

OpenAI wrapped up its case on Wednesday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning, and the jury is expected to start deliberations thereafter.

Musk has accused OpenAI's Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of "looting" the charity they founded together in 2015. OpenAI says Musk's claims are driven by "jealousy" and that he left the company in 2018 after failing to gain control.

On Wednesday, OpenAI trotted out a string of executives who painted a picture of a company that had no choice but to partner with a tech giant like Microsoft to compete with rivals like Google and Anthropic.

See what was revealed during the jury's last day of testimony in this blockbuster case, which has the potential to reshape the AI landscape.

OpenAI's "futurist" recalls 'tense exchange' where Elon Musk called him a 'jackass'

Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's chief futurist, was probably the most memorable witness of the day. He told jurors about a companywide meeting where Musk answered questions about his planned departure from OpenAI in 2018.

Musk told the crowd of 50 or 60 people that he was leaving OpenAI to start his own competing AI. He said he wanted to "build it very fast, because he was very worried that someone else, if they got it, would do the wrong thing with it," Achiam said.

Achaim said he challenged Musk on the safety of this approach, which he called "unsafe and reckless."

"How did Musk respond," OpenAI's lawyer Randall Jackson asked.

"Defensively," Achiam said. "We had a pretty tense exchange, and he snapped and called me a jackass."

OpenAI's lawyers sought to prove the 'jackass' exchange — with evidence

In an effort to prove Achiam's story, OpenAI's lawyers brought a trophy to court that the futurist said he received after his heated exchange with Musk.

On the witness stand, Achiam described the trophy as "a small golden jackass, inscribed with: 'never stop being a jackass for safety.'" He said his then-colleagues, Dario Amodei and David Luan, gave it to him as a thank-you for standing up to the Tesla CEO.

Lead OpenAI attorney William Savitt told reporters after the day's session that Wednesday had been the first time he'd touched the statue.

The futurist had to do without the visual aid, however. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers did not accept the trophy as evidence, so it did not appear before the jury.

OpenAI turned a Musk expert's testimony against him

Musk and Altman have presented dueling experts on a question at the core of the trial — was the nonprofit that runs OpenAI hurt or helped by its $13 billion partnership with Microsoft?

Musk's expert testified last week that the partnership was indeed hurt, supporting the Tesla CEO's contention that in partnering with Microsoft, OpenAI betrayed the company's nonprofit origins and mission.

But on Thursday, OpenAI's expert, John Coates, used Musk's expert's own pie chart and testimony against him.

The partnership has "generated value for the nonprofit that I believe he himself accepted was in the $200 billion range in his own testimony," Coates said, referencing Musk expert Daniel Schizer.

"If that's not faring well, I don't know what faring well is."

Microsoft's CTO once questioned how Reid Hoffman would feel about it partnering with OpenAI

In a scored point for Musk, the jury learned Thursday that Microsoft's own CTO once raised concerns about how OpenAI's early nonprofit donors, including LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, would react to a partnership.

"I wonder if the big OpenAI donors are aware of these plans," Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott said in a 2018 email he was asked to read aloud to jurors.

In it, Scott said he doubted donors would appreciate OpenAI using their seed money to "go build a for-profit thing."

Scott was being questioned by an OpenAI lawyer, who may have wanted jurors to quickly hear Scott's explanation: that he only had a "vague awareness" of what was happening at OpenAI at the time.

Scott also told the jury he wasn't thinking about Musk when he made the remark.

"Primarily, I was thinking about Reid Hoffman. He was the OpenAI donor I knew," Scott said, adding, "I wasn't thinking about anyone besides him."

OpenAI lawyers hit rewind on damning depos to make their case

Last week, Musk's lawyers played a series of videotaped depositions from former OpenAI board members and executives who complained about Altman, including the "culture of lying" they say he created at OpenAI.

On Wednesday, OpenAI's lawyers hit play on some of the same tapes to make a different point: Those same people supported the ChatGPT maker's partnerships with Microsoft, which is at the heart of Musk's claims.

"We realized this was the best path forward for building what OpenAI was deciding to build," former board member Tasha McCauley said about OpenAI's 2019 deal with Microsoft. She made similar statements about Microsoft's 2023 investment in OpenAI.

Former OpenAI tech chief Mira Murati also described OpenAI's dealings with Microsoft as in line with the company's mission.

"Do you think investments gave Microsoft undue control over OpenAI," the lawyer asked Murati.

"No," she said.

Correction: May 14, 2026 — An earlier version of this story misstated Mira Murati's role at OpenAI. She was OpenAI's chief technology officer, not a former board member.

I'm not as much of a purse girl as my mom, who owns probably over 100 different handbags and clutches. I prefer one bag that can do it all, which is what I wore on our most recent weeklong trip.

The Lo & Sons Aoyama 2 is the very best travel purse because it's actually three bags in one. I flew with mine as my personal item, and it stowed neatly under the seat during takeoff. I then wore it as a clutch, shoulder bag, and crossbody throughout the week.

It was tough being in the Florida sun for only a brief stint, but it gave me a peek at how useful my Aoyama 2 is going to be this summer. Here's why I think the $288 is a worthy investment ahead of peak travel season.

What's new about the Aoyama 2

Honestly, there's only two noticeable changes to the Aoyama's design. First, there's the strap — it still buckles, but there's no logo. Secondly: the key leash is elasticated, so now I can reach my lock without having to unclip them.

The branded strap was one of the main gripes shared by myself and many others who loved the Aoyama. I review clothing and shoes professionally, so it's nice to see a design team hear their people out. You can see my review of the original Aoyama in our guide to the best crossbody bags.

Otherwise, this sheepskin leather bag still feels pliable and lightweight as I remember. Overall, I love the new version for the same reasons I loved the old one: it's convertible, spacious, and sophisticated.

It matches a week's worth of vacation outfits

I wore the Aoyama 2 to a wedding rehearsal dinner in downtown Tampa, and later on a hike with my mom through the wetlands. I'd call the style elegant yet understated, which gives you the freedom to style it accordingly. It's comfortable to wear for hours at a time, as the wide strap prevents any painful digging.

Travel writer Maria Yagoda tested out the Aoyama 2 on her trip to the Maldives. She recently wore it on a 19-hour flight (the longest direct flight in the world). "It's lightweight and really comfortable to wear," she writes. "The Aoyama 2 is an imperceptible 2 ounces heavier than the original Aoyama. It still feels like air on my shoulder, even when I've crammed it full of my Nintendo Switch 2 and other random debris I accumulate throughout a vacation."

It fits a ton and keeps your phone in a clever spot

One of my favorite features is the vertical zippered pocket, which lets me reach my phone without rummaging around inside the bag. I can even take it out while the bag is still on my shoulder, which is a major advantage any time I'm in a crowded subway car.

The Aoyama 2 can fit an entire hardcover book and still has room for my everyday essentials. It also has interior mesh pockets, so you can see the bag's contents more easily instead of blindly digging around for lip balm, keys, or AirPods.

Don't be tempted by the Ivory leather colorway

I learned the hard way not to choose the Ivory leather again. My last Aoyama got discolored because last summer I carried it with me everywhere, like a toddler with a teddy bear. This time I chose Cognac, which has gold hardware that looks more elevated than your typical nylon travel purse.

The bottom line

The Aoyama 2 is not only my favorite crossbody I've ever worn — it's my favorite shoulder bag and clutch, too. I'm also not too proud to admit this is my choice bag when going to the movies. It can fit a box of Cheez-Its and a tallboy, is all I'll say.

• Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao said AI has reshaped Anthropic's white-collar work environment.
• Execution roles turned into supervisors of AI, requiring higher "talent density" across the company.
• Anthropic's AI, Claude, now writes 90% of the company's code and handles most of its finance work.

Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao says AI now writes 90% of the company's code — and it's changing what white-collar workers do all day.

Rao, on an episode of Patrick O'Shaughnessy's "Invest Like the Best" podcast published Wednesday, described a workplace inside Anthropic where AI systems increasingly handle the execution layer of knowledge work — from software engineering to financial reporting — while humans shift toward oversight, judgment, and strategy.

"We've hired a lot more people because of that," Rao said, adding that he sees Claude as a productivity "accelerant."

"That actually means that we can get a lot more done, and that even as we grow the team, those people are more productive as they come up the curve on how to use Claude within our company. And I think that's starting to be true across many companies as well. "

The comments offer a glimpse into how one of Silicon Valley's leading AI companies believes artificial intelligence will reshape white-collar jobs: not necessarily by eliminating workers outright, but by automating large portions of their day-to-day tasks and turning employees into supervisors of AI systems.

The shift is already happening inside Anthropic itself, Rao said.

"90 plus percent of our code is actually written by Claude Code," he said, referring to Anthropic's AI coding product.

The company's finance team is undergoing a similar transformation, Rao said. Anthropic now uses Claude to produce financial statements, while its monthly financial review process is "90 to 95% ready" before humans step in to review and interpret the results.

"What used to take hours to produce," Rao said of some internal reports, "now comes down to 30 minutes."

Rao argued that the productivity gains have allowed Anthropic employees to spend less time gathering information and more time making decisions about it.

"I think of it as, you know, accentuating and accelerating the talent that we already have," Rao said. "We talk a lot about how talent density beats talent mass, and I think that's true here — like, we want the densest collection of AI research talent, and inference engineering talent. And that, enabled with the best models, we think is a really winning combination."

AI's effect on the workforce

Details about how Anthropic's staff use AI come as companies across industries race to integrate the technology in the workplace. Some firms have pushed employees to adopt AI as automation capabilities improve, while others have cut jobs, citing new AI-driven efficiencies.

The shift has fueled a growing debate among economists and executives over whether AI will ultimately replace white-collar workers or make them more productive. Some warn automation could eliminate jobs faster than new ones can be created, while others argue productivity gains could ultimately increase labor demand.

As employees become more productive with AI assistance, Rao said, companies may actually expand hiring because "there's no shortage of work to do."

Still, Rao's description of the workplace inside Anthropic suggests the nature of white-collar work is already changing rapidly. He said employees increasingly oversee AI systems rather than completing tasks manually, while teams deploy "fleets of agents" that work across projects simultaneously.

"Everyone kind of becomes a manager," Rao said. "The implications of that and the productivity gain that can come from that — we're very, very early in that, but the potential for it is incredible."

The most popular phones in Samsung's smartphone portfolio aren't the uncannily thin Folds or the pen-touting Ultras; they are the Galaxy A-series phones that make up the bulk of Samsung's sales and rank among the best-selling phones in the world quarter after quarter. I expect the Samsung Galaxy A37 to replace its A36 predecessor in short order.

The A-series of phones isn't aiming at feature-chasing power users who feel the need to upgrade every year or two, though. Instead, the series aims to provide a reliable device you'll be happy keeping for a few extra years, an affordable phone that looks a heck of a lot closer to its premium flagship siblings while making a few reasonable spec sacrifices under the hood.

While none of the changes between the new A37 and 2025's A36 are earth-shattering, even the most modest of iterative updates allows the A37 to remain a worthwhile value, despite a $50 price increase.

The A37's cameras are largely unchanged outside a slight boost to the Nightography mode. Galaxy AI mostly consists of existing features (like Circle to Search) or is about a year behind the Pixel counterpart (Object Eraser and Suggested Edits). Still, it's hard to go wrong with a big screen bright enough to (mostly) read outside, 45W fast charging, and six years of promised system and security updates.

Design

Not only does the Galaxy A37 look nigh-on identical to the slightly more powerful Galaxy A57, it's identical to the rest of this year's and last year's A-series: a vertical camera bar — branded the Ambient Island by Samsung during the Galaxy S26 series launch — in the top left corner of the backplate, power button under the volume rocker on the right side of the frame, bottom-mounted SIM tray, and screen bezels just asymmetrical enough to bug you if and when you notice them around the edges of the case you will be putting on this phone.

Why am I so confident you'll be using a case? Because like every phone with a vertical, non-centered camera bar, the Galaxy A37 will teeter-totter if you try to use it flat on a table. If that isn't enough, the Gorilla Glass Victus+ covering the back of this phone felt and looked like an inoculated petri dish after less than three days of full use. Before looking at the spec sheet, I didn't even think it was glass; I just thought it was plastic with a cheap, glossy finish.

However, Samsung touts the glossy mirror finish as a key design feature 'that's made to be shown off', but it falls victim to the same slippery curse as dozens of previous Galaxy phones. When it's clean, the phone turns into a bar of soap the second your hands are sweaty. Then, after a couple of days, dead skin cells and grease from your hands turn it into a smudgy mess. Most manufacturers left glossy and mirror-finish phones behind for frosted, brushed, or matte finishes with grippier textures and cleaner aesthetics, and it's an utter shame we can't see that with one of Samsung's most popular models. But all a minor concern if you're putting a case on anyway, in all fairness.

The 'ceramic glaze' on the plastic frame, thankfully, is not slippery, and the brushed matte finish won't show every fingerprint or micro-scratch the way a mirror-finish frame does. I appreciate how it slightly bumps out around the buttons to help you feel how far up or down your grip is when you're grabbing it blind, especially since the front and back of this phone are identical Victus+ glass.

That smooth front glass made the 6.7-inch touchscreen on the A37 a breeze to scroll, stream, and drag my puzzle pieces into place, and it got plenty bright for indoor use. Outdoors is a bit trickier: most of the time, the screen was bright enough to read effortlessly, but when the phone heated up after a photo safari around Disney's Animal Kingdom or while playing Pokémon Go, the screen dimmed and became difficult to read in direct sunlight (as shown in the photo below). This throttling is a safety measure to prevent burn-in on the AMOLED panel, and it doesn't take long for things to cool back down and brighten back up once you reach the shade. However, this could be a dealbreaker for those who work outdoors.

If you're PWM sensitive — or prone to eye strain headaches — the 120Hz refresh rate isn't high enough to avoid flicker entirely, but Samsung has obtained an Eye Care Certification by SGS for the blue-blocking Eye Comfort Shield, which gets about twice as strong as the Pixel 10 series I compared it to. With this extra-yellow filter enabled, I didn't experience much strain with the A37, except when I had to turn it off for my review photos. My sensitivity is on the lower end of the spectrum, though, so your mileage may vary.

The fingerprint sensor sits quite low under the screen, meaning it doesn't overlap the number pad on your lockscreen, though my dainty thumbs had to strain a bit to reach it one-handed. It's an optical fingerprint sensor, so it's easy to tell how far off you are if your scan fails, but it can feel blinding when unlocking your phone at 3 a.m. for an insomnia doomscroll.

The Galaxy A37 technically comes in four colors, but you can't find all of them in one place. If you're buying at your carrier, the only A37 you get is Awesome Charcoal. At Samsung and most unlocked-phone retailers, you can choose between Awesome Lavender and Awesome Charcoal. We then have two retailer-exclusive colors: Awesome White at Amazon and Awesome Graygreen at Best Buy, which is my personal favorite. Dividing up the colorways across stores feels like an unnecessary absurdity in all honesty.

The phone comes unlocked in 128GB and 256GB capacities, but the main carriers are only selling the 128GB model. After three weeks of use with 197 downloaded apps and 14GB of offline music, I had 46GB remaining. Gauge your storage needs accordingly because there is no microSD slot hiding in the nano SIM tray. The 256GB model also comes with 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB, a small but very useful upgrade that's well worth considering if you're buying this phone without carrier incentives.

On that note: our review unit — and the only storage option sold by carriers and most stores — is the 128GB model with 6GB of RAM, and that is the performance we are judging this phone by.

Performance

Let's start with the obvious: the Galaxy A37 runs an Exynos 1480 from 2024 with 6GB of RAM and is not meant for gamers or power-users of any kind. While this is, on paper, a higher-performance chipset than last year's Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, you can find its limits very quickly, even without gaming. You can game on this phone — and most of my screen time with this phone was Merge Dragons and Pokémon Go — but you're going to have to fine-tune the quality settings into oblivion and then some.

Whenever I woke my phone back up during a Merge Dragons event, the game hung for about 5-8 seconds on average, and crashed while idle over half a dozen times in a single weekend. Pokémon Go would kick me back to the Niantic load screen almost every time I swapped to another app, even for just a quick Instagram DM reply. There was no GPS drift at least — something the Google Pixel 10a struggled with — but lag in the game itself seemed to pop up consistently after about an hour of continuous raids, leading to several missed throws and escapes.

For reading my webtoons, doomscrolling Threads, or bingeing YouTube, the A37 had me easily covered so long as I was only switching between 2-3 apps at a time. Gemini could be a bit slow at times when processing multimedia tasks like image creation and when deeper into research topics, but it'd only be noticeable next to a flagship. You do feel the processing lag during fast-paced photography sessions — more on that in a moment — and there were a couple of times when the phone got uncomfortably warm in my hand while not in use in 90-degree Florida sunshine, but they were rare and hard to reproduce.

While most budget phones emphasize multi-day battery life, Samsung completely avoids battery life claims for the Galaxy A37, simply calling the 5,000mAh battery — the same capacity this series has used since 2020's Galaxy A31 — "long—lasting". Unlike the 1.5-2 day battery life we see on competitors like the Google Pixel 10a and Moto G Power 2026, the A37's is strictly in the single-day range. That said, Samsung makes up for it with 45W Power Delivery charging. There's no wireless charging here, but I'd rather not have it than have 5W or 10W charging that takes forever.

Moving from hardware to software performance, One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy A37 puts Galaxy AI — Samsung should be ashamed for calling it "Awesome Intelligence" — and Google Gemini front and center during setup. However, after you finish, they fade into the background almost immediately. Suggested edits and Object Eraser in the Gallery app can be useful when they work well, but they tend to miss as much as they hit with my photos. Circle to Search remains a very handy feature, but it's nothing new; the A36 got it last year.

Samsung's software style can be a bit of an acquired taste, especially to those coming from an iPhone or a Pixel, but I've found the slightly overstuffed toolbox of One UI invaluable because it clings to useful older features that other manufacturers might've abandoned and expansive customization options with or without touching the Good Lock ecosystem.

For example, Google Pixel devices do not have a quick settings menu or a main settings menu for sound/vibrate/silent mode; it's only accessible via the volume rocker. Samsung One UI offers both, as well as Temporary Mute, which turns the sound back on after a preset or custom interval.

Samsung Modes and Routines offers almost double the premade modes Google does — including a Theater mode that keeps my paired Galaxy Watch 6 from waking up as I gesticulate at the screen — and its Apple-mimicking Routines features more diverse options and more consistent performance than the Google Assistant routines you'd see on Pixel or Motorola phones. This excess of options can be overwhelming at times and, admittedly, clutters the Settings menus, but if 'better to have it and not need it' were an Android skin, it would be One UI.

The one aspect of One UI's old feature hoarding that crosses the boundary from busy-but-useful into chaos theory is the app drawer. By default, One UI Home's app drawer is a paginated 'custom sort' that adds apps in the order that they were installed, with pre-installed apps on the first two pages. This completely manual app drawer lets users customize each page and place their apps where they want, but in practice, it just dumps you directly from the setup guide into a jumbled mess.

It's easy enough to tap the top-right three-dot menu and swap to alphabetical sort — the vertically scrolling app drawer that we see on almost every other Android phone and third-party launcher — and Samsung can't change this without facing a mob of users demanding to put their apps back. This is exactly the type of held-over feature that built the non-nerdy half of Samsung die-hards, but it would be nice to see an option for the Alphabetical app drawer at setup, maybe alongside the dark/light theme selection.

As this phone launched with Android 16, Samsung has guaranteed it will receive system updates through Android 22, as well as six years of security updates, making it one of the longest software support cycles among budget phones.

Cameras

Things haven't changed much in this department this year, even with a slight main sensor bump and Samsung's emphasis on improved Nightography mode, but it's only useful if you can stay perfectly still during the 2-4 second window. Daytime photos with the main camera are mostly vibrant thanks to Samsung's tendency to oversaturate, but zoom photography only goes to 10x, and the detail drop-off is drastic after 4x. Even 2x zoom photos take a hit on sharpness and detail preservation.

Tigers Sohni and Conrad expertly highlighted this quality step-off during pre-nap constitutionals around their Disney's Animal Kingdom enclosures, as well as how well it held up to the A37's biggest camera competitor, the Google Pixel 10a. The 10a's 48MP main camera only goes to 8x zoom, so it couldn't get quite as close in when Conrad napped in a distant gully, but Google's processing helped dial in the details on the tigers a bit better than Samsung's, which turned the 5x-10x photos into watercolors.

One area where the Galaxy A37's 2x zoom photos — and overall photo quality — did securely triumph over the Pixel 10a was during evening fireworks, but this might owe more to Samsung's camera app settings than to the hardware itself. While the Pixel has split its brightness and exposure controls into three separate sliders, once you tap on your area of focus, Samsung instead has a single exposure slider you can slide up and down, then lock into place. Samsung still tends to overbrighten night photos, producing grainy areas without a direct light source, but with the exposure slider, it's easy to yank the exposure down a bit and keep it there until you select a new autofocus target.

The result is that I spent less time fiddling with brightness and could focus instead on timing my shots to the peak of each colorful explosion, which became a rhythm-game mini-boss of its own. When taking review photos of fireworks, I'm used to seeing the briefest of pauses when I press the shutter — a millisecond review of the shot while the phone processes and saves it — but the Galaxy A37 was more than pausing. The viewfinder loitered in multi-second, stop-motion lag for about half the show as the limited RAM and older processor were quickly overwhelmed by the rapid lighting changes and back-to-back-to-back shots trying to capture as much pyrotechnics as possible.

Instead of tapping the shutter as often as possible during each volley, I had to time my shots as closely as possible, as I'd be lucky to get more than one shot off during the 3-8 seconds between each boom and fizzle. Mode-swapping suffered, too, missing the finale in the lurch between photo and video. Fireworks are a strenuous test for a camera, but it shows the same struggle you'll find during a blindingly lit stage concert or the strobing lights of a club.

So, for fireworks, the A37 gets a nice win, but for capturing human forms and faces, Samsung's left out one of the best features for group photos in years. Best Take on modern Pixels (aka Best Face on recent Samsung phones) selects the best expression from each person in a multi-frame photo capture and stitches them into one 'perfect' shot with AI. This was a godsend on the Pixel 10a, especially for selfies, and the 12MP front shooter on the A37 could've really, really benefited from some extra processing, as the feature didn't make the cut. You can find it on the slightly pricier Galaxy A57, though.

In bright daylight, selfies are no problem and quality is perfectly passable for personal or professional video calls, but both at night and inside a restaurant, it was magnitudes harder to get a selfie that was both in focus and had good expressions on both subjects, especially with my weak arm.

Another A57-only upgrade was the 12MP ultrawide camera, so we're stuck with the same 8MP sensor as the last two generations on this A37, meaning photos are noticeably dimmer and less vibrant. It's here if you need it, but you'll probably want to stick with the main 50MB sensor whenever possible.

Also dimmer and worth avoiding is the 5MP macro camera. Despite trying multiple objects of varying size, I was unable to produce a single macro photo that was properly in focus. Samsung even makes it easy to forget a third camera exists, as Macro mode is hidden in the More submenu of the camera mode carousel. Proper macro photography — especially more flexible telephoto macro — remains the province of premium phones, but if it matters on your sub-$500 phone, the 'I'll enable Macro mode when I feel like it' Pixel 10a offers less control but better quality than the Samsung Galaxy A37.

For the price segment the A37 sits in, the photos are better than most — at least for the phones we get here in the US — and if the processing speeds weren't so hampered by the chipset it's running on, it would be worth recommending, but shutterbugs should look to either the Pixel 10a or the Galaxy A57, which features an upgraded ultrawide alongside the newer processor and 8GB of RAM.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy A37?

When viewed next to its big brother, the Galaxy A57, the Samsung Galaxy A37 comes out well for the $100+ you save. Yes, the A57 has 8GB of RAM standard instead of 6GB and a 2026 processor instead of a 2024 model, but neither is particularly well-suited for gaming or heavier productivity apps, and the difference in photo quality isn't quite enough to justify the price difference for most of us.

In a vacuum, the A37 can justify itself, but once we start looking at the other phones in and around this price range, it faces some steep competition from the $499 (often $449) Google Pixel 10a. First and foremost, performance is significantly better on the Pixel 10a; I watched apps hang and games crash semi-regularly on the A37, but the only time I ran into noticeable performance issues on the Pixel 10a was swapping between the camera, Pokémon Go, and Instagram in the Florida heat. The Pixel 10a's cameras — or perhaps the AI-processing behind it — also came out ahead on detail and consistency — especially on macro photography — even if it has a slightly shorter zoom range and its lighting controls can get in the way during some night activities.

However, the Galaxy A37 has a significantly larger screen, much stronger night light, and a wider array of settings and customization options. If you're not a fan of the 'simplicity' of Pixel software, this phone can go the distance so long as you're not a hardcore gamer or an always-multitasking power user. If you are, you'll want to look for a one or two-year-old flagship during sales.

It's not the perfect budget phone — I don't know if we've seen one of those since the Google Pixel 5a — but Samsung's polished the Galaxy A37 as best it could and produced a phone you can rely on for years to come. So long as it doesn't slip out of your hand, that is.

Thanks to their desert-dwelling ancestors, cats have a lower thirst drive and may drink too little water. Complete and balanced wet food provides some extra hydration, but to support healthy organ function, it's essential that cats always have easy access to clean, fresh water. The easiest way to provide fresh water is with one of the best cat water bowls. A good bowl will be made from high-quality materials like stainless steel or lead-free ceramic, have a cat-friendly design that prioritizes head and neck comfort, and be a breeze to fill and clean.

I'm a pet health writer and cat parent myself. At almost 8 years old, my tuxedo cat Stacie is set in her ways and has a sensitive stomach, so I knew she'd have strong opinions about the bowls we tested for this guide. To find the best options, I also consulted two veterinarians and a cat behaviorist and researched dozens of products. After testing 11 bowls, Stacie and I chose the Loving Pets Bella Bowl as the best overall. It's budget-friendly, dishwasher-safe for convenient cleaning, made from a combination of durable stainless steel and poly-resin, and comes in many fun patterns and colors to fit any cat's home.

Read more about how Business Insider Reviews tests and researches pet products.

Our top picks for the best cat water bowls

Best overall: Loving Pets Bella Bowl - $7 at Chewy

Best stainless steel: PEGYY11 Nonslip Stainless Steel 2-Cup Bowls - $10 at Amazon

Best raised: Necoichi Ceramic Elevated Cat Water Bowl - $18 at Chewy

Best ceramic: Petrageous Designs Metro Oval (1 Cup) - $12 at Chewy

Best fountain: Petlibro Stainless Steel Fountain - $40 at Amazon

Best overall

The best cat water bowls are hygienic, affordable, easy to refill and clean, and come in a range of colors and patterns. The Loving Pets Bella Bowl hits all of these marks and more. Featuring an ergonomic, low-profile design ideal for cats, the bowl's interior is made from high-quality stainless steel, and the exterior consists of durable poly-resin. The 1.75 cup version we tested is also lightweight, and the perfect size to fit in one hand if need be, making refills with tap or filtered water hassle-free.

Stainless steel is most recommended by veterinarians and other experts for its resistance to bacteria and ease of cleaning, says Dr. Bruce Kornreich, the director of the Cornell Feline Health Center. He says the material also holds up well with repeated washing and daily use. The poly-resin exterior sets the bowl apart from the other best cat water bowls I recommend. The material adds greater durability, stability, and more design options than simple stainless steel bowls, such as our pick below.

The other standout feature is the nonskid rubber bottom, which keeps slipping, splashing, and messes to a minimum. While I love Stacie's long fur, it often gets wet when she drinks, leading to a mess around the bowl. With the Bella Bowl, the splashes from wet fur were minimal due to its wide rim. Keep in mind that while the bowl is dishwasher-safe, you'll need to remove the rubber base before washing.

Unlike other stainless steel bowls I tested, the Bella Bowl comes in eight different colors and patterns. If all of that isn't enough, it was also Stacie's favorite. She drank the most from it during testing and continues to use it.

Best stainless steel

Stainless steel is widely considered one of the best materials for cat bowls because it's durable, hygienic, and easy to clean. Unlike plastic, stainless steel is less prone to bacterial and biofilm growth. Biofilm is a collection of bacteria or other water-resistant microbes that live inside an extracellular matrix. It's thin, slimy, often invisible, and causes a slippery texture, says Joey Lusvardi, a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant at Class Act Cats. Additionally, research shows that tap water left in a bowl for more than 12 hours was significantly more contaminated than treated water left for the same duration. The same study also shows higher levels of E. coli contamination in bowls of long-haired cats than in those of short-haired cats. All of this to say, a stainless steel bowl is the ideal choice for keeping your cat's water more free of harmful bacteria and biofilms.

When it comes to capacity and convenience, the PEGYY11 Nonslip Stainless Steel Bowls are the best in this category by far. Each bowl holds about 2 cups of water and comes in a 2-pack, so you can switch them out between cleanings. Like my other top picks, the PEGGY11 bowls have a nonslip base. The ridged silicone bottom is perfect for cats like Stacie who take big gulps that can shake the bowl.

Another feature I liked was how well the bowls held up to daily cleaning. Stainless steel rinses better than ceramic because it's nonporous and lightweight. And I could simply toss the bowls in the dishwasher without worrying about damage. After several days, I didn't see the slimy biofilm that often forms around the edges of water bowls.

While the bowl's materials are excellent, it only comes in gray, making it a poor choice for cat parents who want a pop of color. Additionally, while handwashing the bowl, the ridged bottom caused water to splash onto the sink, my hands, and my shirt.

Best raised

Elevated water bowls are designed to bring the basin up to a cat's natural drinking height, reducing neck strain from bending down, says Dr. Elizabeth Goedeke, medical director at VCA French Creek Animal Hospital. These types of water bowls are best for older cats and those with arthritis or other mobility issues. Stacie was familiar with this type of water bowl because its elevation and design are similar to those of the Necoichi bowl she had used for months before we started testing.

My top pick, the Necoichi Ceramic Elevated Cat Water Bowl, is a non-porous porcelain bowl that is free of heavy metals, including lead and cadmium, and is dishwasher-safe. Inside the bowl, there are clear measurement lines that make it easy to track your cat's water intake. Lastly, a small inner lip and a detachable silicone base help contain water and prevent slipping — that meant fewer splashes on the floor, even when Stacie drank a lot of water at once.

There are a couple of downsides to this bowl. It carries a higher price tag and can break or chip if knocked over or dropped. Additionally, the bowl has a slightly smaller capacity and a narrower width. "Providing relatively wide-faced water bowls may provide benefit for some cats," Kornreich says. However, he debunks "whisker fatigue" as a consideration for a cat's water bowl. While whisker stress has been noted anecdotally, he says that it's a hypothetical condition and not proven in a "scientifically rigorous manner."

Best ceramic

Ceramic bowls are a popular choice for cats because they're nonporous, easy to sanitize, and naturally heavier than plastic, which helps prevent them from sliding while a cat drinks. In my testing, the standout ceramic bowl was the Petrageous Designs Metro Oval dish.

It holds up well to daily cleaning. Compared to the other bowls we tested, this one was the widest and lowest to the ground. Stacie preferred drinking from it more than any other ceramic bowl, especially when it was right next to her food bowl. She also drank from it frequently when I placed it in the second location near our spare bedroom.

However, like other ceramic and porcelain bowls, the Metro Oval dish is prone to cracking or breaking if dropped. It also lacks a rubber or silicone base, so you're more likely to see spills and splashing with messy drinkers like Stacie. And while the bowl is wide, its capacity is limited. Smaller capacity bowls tend to get dirtier faster, necessitating frequent refills. For example, I found myself topping off or completely refilling the bowl at least twice a day.

Best fountain

Research shows that the type of water bowl doesn't matter when it comes to water intake — it all depends on what your cat likes. If your cat completely avoids a regular water bowl, a cat fountain with running water might be a better option. The Petlibro Stainless Steel Fountain landed in the top spot in our guide to the best cat water fountains. It's a whisper-quiet fountain that's perfect for cats and humans alike. It's affordable, made of food-grade, durable stainless steel, and easy to clean. It also has an adjustable spout with two flow settings.

This fountain lacks a backup water supply if the power goes out, which is why you should always provide additional non-powered water sources throughout your home. Extra water bowls are a practical, budget-friendly option. And remember that fountains and bowls are both good options. "There's no definite scientific evidence that cats will drink more from a water fountain than a bowl," Kornreich says.

What to look for in a cat water bowl

There's no single perfect cat water bowl. No matter which bowl you choose, Lusvardi says it needs to be one your cat enjoys drinking out of. Based on my research, expert insights, and personal experience, here are the key features to consider when choosing the right bowl for your cat.

Cat-friendly design and capacity: All of the experts I spoke with agree with Kornreich that, while empirical evidence supporting whisker fatigue is lacking, it can't hurt to choose a bowl that's wider to prevent potential sensory overload. Lusvardi says a cat's whiskers typically span a few inches and are about as wide as their body. This width helps the cat determine if they can fit through an opening. Look for a bowl slightly wider than your cat's whiskers if possible. Like many cats, Stacie's whiskers are not one length, so finding a bowl as wide as her longest whiskers was crucial.

As for height, Goedeke says that since cats are smaller and lower to the ground than dogs, it's generally best to choose a lower-height bowl for easier access. However, she says elevated bowls are an exception since they allow cats to drink in a comfortable, upright position with their neck neutral. The rim of an elevated bowl should align roughly with a cat's lower chest or elbow level, allowing them to drink without excessive stretching or bending.

Lastly, a cat's water bowl should hold at least their daily water intake requirement. Generally, Kornreich says a 10-pound cat should drink 8 to 10 fluid ounces of water a day if they are on a dry diet only. Cats with conditions such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes, urinary tract disease, and constipation may need to drink more.

Scratch-proof, bacteria-resistant materials: Any smooth, nonporous material is ideal. Among materials, stainless steel is a highly durable option. Most importantly, you'll want to thoroughly clean any bowl to keep biofilms and the harmful bacteria within them, like E. coli, Pseudomonas, and Staphylococcus, to a minimum. If these microbes go unchecked, they can contaminate your cat's drinking water and lead to gastrointestinal distress. Lastly, look for stainless steel bowls that are free of dents and discoloration. Crack-resistant ceramic bowls are also a great option for water bowls.

Stable, nonslip base: Some cats naturally like to dip their paws into their water bowl or splash water around. While Stacie doesn't play with her water, she is a messy drinker due to her longer fur. I prioritized nonslip bowls with rubber bottoms to prevent spills and water from splashing onto the floor. If you're shopping for a ceramic bowl, look for a heavier option that's less likely to jostle around, like my pick from Necoichi.

Reasonable price: Kornreich and Goedeke recommended providing more than one water bowl to prevent territorial disputes and simplify access to water. A good rule of thumb is one bowl per cat plus an additional one. Low- to mid-priced bowls made from durable, bacteria-resistant materials like stainless steel and lead-free ceramic are practical, long-lasting options.

How we tested cat water bowls

To evaluate the 11 water bowls, I developed a series of tests based on what I learned from Lusvardi, Kornreich, and Goedeke. I tested three bowls at a time in different areas of my home. I placed one of them beside, but slightly separated from, my cat's food bowl. The next bowl was positioned by the doorway to our spare bedroom, where Stacie likes to sleep during the day. The third bowl was the farthest from Stacie's food bowl, beside a window in our living room.

I tested each bowl for an average of three to four days. Some bowls were tested for less time due to their bulkiness, messiness, or impracticality in my home — these bowls are not included in my top picks.

Beneficial design for cats: Cats, including Stacie, can be very particular about what they drink their water from. I chose wider bowls to help reduce possible whisker irritation. Many of the bowls also had a slight elevation, making them easier for cats to reach. While Stacie drank, I watched for signs of neck stress, difficulty keeping her head stable, or other signs of pain.

High-quality materials: Cat bowls can be made of stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, and even silicone. All the experts I spoke with said stainless steel and lead-free ceramic are the best because they are more durable and easier to clean, so I mainly chose bowls made from those materials. For travel or collapsible bowls, silicone is better than plastic; Kornreich says plastic can develop scratches over time that can harbor bacteria.

Capacity: I weighed each bowl with a food scale, then subtracted that weight from the total when it was filled with water to determine its capacity. To track how much Stacie drank, I reweighed the bowls at the end of each day using the same method. I also used a pet camera to monitor how often Stacie approached each bowl.

Cleanability: Keeping your cat's water bowls clean is essential to prevent bacteria buildup. I left some promising bowls out to see how much dirt and hair accumulated, and noted which bowls needed more frequent cleaning. I washed all bowls by hand for comparison and evaluated whether they were dishwasher-safe.

Potential for spills: Contrary to popular belief, some cats, especially Bengals, love water and especially enjoy playing with it. To simulate these scenarios, I gently bumped each bowl after I filled it halfway to see how much water would splash out.

Meet the expert behind this guide

Kathleen Frost, freelance pet reporter: I'm a freelance pet reporter for Business Insider Reviews, and have worked as a health writer and editor for Rover, PetMD, Chewy, and Petco. Over the years, I've interviewed dozens of veterinarians and behaviorists about all things cat health and behavior. I also have a master's degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University. I've had my cat Stacie since she was 7 months old, so I've built the kind of trust where I know she's down to participate in any testing I whip up. I knew she'd be the perfect tester for all of these water bowls.

Cat water bowls FAQs

What type of bowl do cats prefer for water?

There's no single right type of cat water bowl. While our experts prefer wide, shallow bowls for their own cats, raised bowls might be better for older cats or those with mobility issues. For example, Lusvardi says a shallow bowl is best if your cat likes to dip their paws into the water. However, cats like Stacie, approaching middle or older age, might prefer a larger, elevated bowl so they don't have to lean all the way down to drink.

What material is best for a cat water bowl?

Stainless steel is the most recommended material for cat water bowls because it's bacteria-resistant and often scratch-resistant. A lead-free, BPA-free, dishwasher-safe ceramic bowl is a great option, too. It's best to avoid plastic. Lusvardi and Kornreich say plastic bowls are a breeding ground for bacteria. If you're traveling, walking your cat, or need one on the go, a silicone travel bowl like this Frisco one is OK as long as you clean it thoroughly after each use.

How often should you clean your cat's water bowl?

Our experts recommend washing your cat's water bowls once a day. Daily cleaning prevents slime and biofilm from forming around the edges of the bowl. For longhaired cats like Stacie, it also keeps hair from collecting in the water.

How many water bowls does my cat need?

As with litter boxes, you should have a water bowl for each cat, plus at least one additional bowl for easier access, especially if you live in a larger home. This helps prevent territorial behavior, including cats guarding their water. Goedeke also recommends keeping at least one of your cat's water bowls separated from their food bowl and placing them in quiet spots to limit distractions. Lastly, if you live in a multi-storied home, she says to have one water bowl on each floor.

Do cats prefer warmer or colder water?

No two cats are the same, so it's impossible to say which temperature is best. A 2023 study evaluating a small group of cats did not find a statistically significant difference in water intake between cats offered room-temperature water or water cooled with ice cubes. To learn more about your cat's preferences, you could try offering a bowl of cold water alongside an identical bowl of room-temperature water.

Can cats share water bowls?

Yes, but only if there are enough bowls to go around. Kornreich says cats are territorial animals and will resource guard if there isn't enough water to go around. In general, Goedeke says you should have multiple water bowls spaced around your home, especially if you have multiple cats.

Do cats prefer shallow or deep water bowls?

For most healthy cats, shallow water bowls are best. Cats are low to the ground, so wide, shallow bowls make it easier to access water. Additionally, Kornreich says because a cat's whiskers are more sensitive since they're embedded in nerve-filled follicles, the larger size can help prevent possible overstimulation.

However, a slightly deeper water bowl might be helpful if you're worried your cat (or you) might make a mess with a shallower bowl. For example, I found I preferred a deeper bowl because the shallower ones were messy to refill, weigh, and move.

Do certain health conditions affect which water bowl is best for your cat?

If your cat has certain medical conditions, Kornreich says it's best to work with a vet to determine which cat water bowls are best for your cat. Cats with these conditions may have different hydration habits than the average healthy cat. Some medical conditions that may affect drinking habits are kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis or other mobility issues, hyperthyroidism, dental problems, and central nervous system disease.

• 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.
• Cisco announced about 4,000 layoffs on May 13, citing intensifying competition in the AI era.

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 staff cuts 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.

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

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

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

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 following the memo, Dorsey said that more companies will follow suit by using AI to drive efficiency gains. Block is already ahead of the trend that "all companies will eventually" adopt, the CEO said.

Cisco

Cisco said on May 13 that it would cut "fewer than 4,000 jobs" as the networking company reorganizes around artificial intelligence, according to a memo CEO Chuck Robbins sent to employees.

"The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest," Robbins said in the memo. "This means making hard decisions — about where we invest, how we're organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us."

The layoffs, which account for less than 5% of Cisco's workforce, were announced alongside a stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings report in which the company raised its revenue outlook amid surging demand for AI infrastructure.

In the memo, Robbins said Cisco is redirecting investments toward areas "where demand and long-term value creation are strongest," including silicon, optics, security, and employees' use of AI across the company.

Cloudflare

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 responded 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 affected about 20% of its workforce.

Coinbase

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 head count 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 to concentrate the workforce 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

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.

HP

HP said it's reducing the size of its corporate workforce due to 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, 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 that AI adoption has led the company to hire 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'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 Klarna has about 3,000 employees and expects its workforce to drop below 2,000 by 2030. The company had 7,000 employees in 2022, he said.

The CEO said the reduction is due to layoffs and "natural attrition," which occurs when the company doesn't replace workers who leave.

Siemiatkowski said that "human connection" will be vital to the company, and jobs that involve 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 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 handle 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 previously told Business Insider that Benioff was referring to 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

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 it to become 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

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.

• Cisco plans to cut about 4,000 jobs to refocus on AI, affecting less than 5% of its workforce.
• Despite layoffs, Cisco sees strong quarterly results and raises sales forecast on AI demand.
• Cisco's restructuring will invest more in AI chips, fiber optics, and security amid job cuts.

Cisco is cutting "fewer than 4,000 jobs" as the networking giant restructures its business to focus more heavily on artificial intelligence, according to a memo from CEO Chuck Robbins published Wednesday.

The layoffs, which affect less than 5% of Cisco's workforce, come as the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raised its sales forecast on growing demand for AI infrastructure.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Cisco said the restructuring is expected to cost up to $1 billion, largely due to severance expenses. The company said it expects to record about $450 million of those charges in the current quarter, with the remaining costs carrying into fiscal 2027.

The company's stock was up more than 17% in after-hours trading.

Cisco joins a growing list of tech companies that have tied layoffs to AI-related efficiencies and broader organizational changes.

In the memo, Robbins said Cisco is shifting investments toward areas "where demand and long-term value creation are strongest," including AI chips, fiber optics, and security.

The company said it plans to continue hiring in strategic areas while eliminating some roles as part of its AI-related restructuring.

Read the full memo below:

Team,

Today we announced our Q3 FY26 earnings with record revenue of $15.8 billion, up 12 percent year over year, and double-digit top and bottom-line growth. The ELT and I could not be prouder of the growth you have all delivered for Cisco.

These results are even more impressive given the complex environment we're operating in — a rapidly changing market, with intensifying competition, and a global shortage of components critical to support our portfolio and the AI buildout from our customers.

The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest. I'm confident Cisco will be one of those winners. This means making hard decisions — about where we invest, how we're organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us.

With this, we are making changes today that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce in Q4 by fewer than 4,000 jobs, representing less than 5 percent of our total employee base. Most notifications will begin on May 14 and continue globally in alignment with applicable local laws and regulations. For employees whose roles are impacted, leaders will share details directly — including timing, available resources, support, and benefits in each country. This will include pro-rated payment of FY26 bonuses to impacted employees. We will provide support in finding new opportunities, whether internal or external, through Cisco's placement services — a program that has seen 75 percent of participants discover their next role. We are also committed to continued personalized learning and will provide one year of access to all Cisco U courses and certifications, covering AI, Security, Networking, and more.

While we are reducing roles in some areas, we are making clear, strategic investments — particularly in silicon, optics, security, and in our employees' use of AI across the company. These investments are building from a position of strength — and focusing on the technologies and businesses that will accelerate our growth, deliver unmatched innovation to customers and partners, and define our future.

To those leaving Cisco, thank you for your contribution, your dedication, and the mark you have made on this company. We are deeply grateful and are committed to handling this transition with the care, clarity, and respect that defines our culture.

For those who will continue here, we will discuss these changes and answer questions at the Cisco Beat on May 21 at 8 a.m. PT.

We have important, impactful, and consequential work ahead. Your focus, resilience, and leadership are vital to our growth and relevance in FY27 and beyond.

Chuck and the Executive Leadership Team

The original Yellowstone series wrapped up a year-and-a-half ago, putting an end to the long-awaited final season, but it's just one part of the massive and ever-expanding Yellowstone universe. We've compiled everything you need to know about how to watch every episode of the Yellowstone franchise, from the historical prequels to the new sequels to the elusive final six episodes.

Yellowstone follows the multi-generational Dutton family, the owners of the largest (fictional) ranch in the US, and their battle to maintain the land. The contemporary Western, which aired on the Paramount Network, became one of the most popular shows on TV in recent years and helped spawn a wave of similar series that grapple with family dynasties.

The core show, which consists of five seasons, has launched two spinoff prequels so far: 1883 and 1923. This year brings two spinoff sequels starring the surviving adult Dutton children: Marshals and Dutton Ranch. Other spinoffs have also been announced, but potential air dates, production timelines, and other details haven't been released.

The franchise's shows are split between two streaming services and a couple of networks, so the viewing options sometimes get a bit complicated. Most of the spinoffs are expected to land on Paramount Plus, but the original show is still on Peacock.

Viewing options outside the US are much simpler, as every season and series from the Yellowstone franchise is available on Paramount Plus if your country has a local version. The rest of this guide focuses on how to watch each show in the US.

How to watch Yellowstone

All five seasons of Yellowstone are now streaming on Peacock. The final six episodes of Yellowstone (Season 5B) finally landed on the streamer in March 2025, so all 53 episodes are now available in one place. Subscriptions start at $8 per month for Peacock Select, but you can upgrade to Premium or Premium Plus. The ad-free tier, Peacock Premium Plus, also unlocks NBC live streaming for $17 a month.

How to watch 1883

The first Yellowstone spinoff, 1883, is a one-season miniseries that chronicles the inception of the Dutton family and ranch. The series is available to stream in full on Paramount Plus. Subscriptions start at $9 per month for ad-supported streaming or $14 per month for ad-free. The ad-free tier unlocks CBS live streaming.

How to watch 1923

The second Yellowstone prequel spinoff, 1923, follows another early generation of Duttons. This series has concluded after two seasons, and all episodes are available via Paramount Plus. Subscriptions start at $9 per month for ad-supported streaming, but you can upgrade to ad-free for $14 per month. In addition to CBS live streaming, the ad-free tier also unlocks Showtime content.

How to watch Marshals

Marshals, the Kayce Dutton spinoff sequel, airs on CBS on Sunday nights. The first season is expected to conclude later this month, and the show has been renewed for a second season. New episodes land on Paramount Plus (starting at $9 per month) the day after they air, but you can watch CBS live by upgrading to Paramount Plus Premium for $14 per month. Live TV services like DirecTV and Fubo also carry live CBS.

How to watch Dutton Ranch

Dutton Ranch, which follows Beth and Rip's new life in Texas, premieres on May 15 on Paramount Plus. Fans can watch ad-supported for $9 per month or upgrade to ad-free for $14 per month. The series will also air on the Paramount Network, which is available to live stream on services like Philo, DirecTV, and Fubo.

• Researchers are testing a new 6-move strength-training routine for healthy aging.
• The program doesn't require any weightlifting and can be adapted for any fitness level.
• People in the trial have been getting stronger and more nimble.

Most longevity scientists and doctors agree that one habit is better than any drug or supplement for healthy aging: Exercise.

Researchers are still piecing together exactly why exercise supports longevity. Still, it appears to benefit not only fitness and metabolism, but also improve how our cells operate.

Plus, exercise lowers a person's risk of developing age-related diseases like cancer and dying early. It also boosts mental health.

How do you exercise for longevity?

In a groundbreaking clinical trial, researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City are trying to answer this question in a simple, straightforward way.

They are testing a new home exercise routine for patients aged 60-85 that requires almost no equipment.

I tried it while visiting the Mount Sinai Physiolab, where researchers measure how your body shifts from burning fat to carbohydrates for fuel as workout intensity increases.

During my visit, I learned the six foundational moves of their evidence-based strength training routine. These exercises are intended to support what aging researchers call "activities of daily living," which keep people independent and mobile as they get older.

Moves like getting out of your chair, climbing stairs, and picking things up off the floor should get easier over time as you repeat these exercises. The goal in this longevity trial is for people to work up to three sets of 10, three times a week.

The three lower body moves for longevity include squats — a trainer's favorite

My longevity exercise session started with squats, a classic go-to strength-training move that targets the legs, lower back, and core.

Deadlifts strengthen the lower back and the butt, which is great for countering low back pain and maintaining good posture as we age.

Finally, the third lower body exercise was a lateral walk with a band around my upper calves. This sideways move targets the smaller glute muscles, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which help improve balance and stability.

Exercise scientist and cardiometabolic disease expert Ryan Walker, who directs the Human Metabolism and Physiology Lab at Mount Sinai, said in this trial, as his patients have gotten fitter, he's noticed they are also walking faster. A faster gait speed is consistently linked to healthier aging and less physical decline in older adults.

Participants are also getting noticeably stronger, needing tougher resistance bands over time. This training technique is sometimes referred to as progressive overload, the concept of increasing resistance and repetitions over time to build muscle and power.

"Some people in the study are doubling up bands because they've become too strong," he said. "It's actually working."

The three upper-body moves include a modified push-up for any fitness level

Time to move on up and strengthen the upper body.

Bent-over rows were a challenging first move, targeting my back, core, and shoulders. This exercise is a perfect antidote for hunching over a screen all day. No wonder I felt the burn.

Shoulder presses with bands are a safer alternative to jumping into free weights, Walker said.

"A lot of people in their 60s and 70s have never really done a resistance training program, and a common mistake that trainers and coaches make is throwing them right into free weights," he said. "That's not only most likely not safe, but it certainly is not going to be sustainable and feasible for them in the long term."

Colored bands with varying degrees of resistance allow study participants to progress on their own over time, without the hazards or hassle of heavy weights. By continually challenging themselves, participants can stimulate improvements in bone density, connective tissue strength, and heart health.

The last strength exercise we did was a push-up; no band was needed here. This one really challenges your entire core, arms, chest, shoulders, abs, and even your heart muscles.

There is no shame in elevating this move using a wall or a bench, or dropping to the knees for your presses.

Resistance training like this is "critically important for everyone after 35 to 40 for maintaining strength and balance and mobility," Walker said.

If the trial yields favorable results, he hopes it can lay the foundation for a longevity exercise routine that could be delivered to hospitals, nursing homes, and anyone who wants to improve their fitness, strength, and bone health as they age.

"You can, at the very least, stop or slow that decline in muscle wasting and muscle loss that's seen with aging and older adults," he said.

• Peacock is licensing 10 micro dramas from ReelShort.
• NBCUniversal's streamer had already announced it's adding two Bravo original micro dramas this summer.
• Hollywood is leaning into short-form video and micro dramas.

Peacock is dipping its toe into micro dramas by teaming up with ReelShort, Business Insider has learned.

NBCUniversal is bringing 10 micro dramas from category leader ReelShort to its flagship streamer's mobile app starting on Thursday, two people familiar with the initiative told Business Insider. The company confirmed the deal but didn't disclose terms.

The Peacock-ReelShort deal is a short-term licensing arrangement that will precede a pair of Bravo original micro dramas arriving on Peacock this summer, said John Jelley, NBCUniversal's SVP of product and user experience for Peacock.

"We have got a lot of confidence that doing more in the vertical video space is really good for our users and really good for Peacock," Jelley told Business Insider.

Micro dramas are bite-sized soap operas known for their cliffhangers, and many have romantic-fantasy themes.

NBCU "handpicked" the ReelShort micro dramas it's putting on Peacock, Jelley said. Those titles include "Fated To My Forbidden Alpha," "The Call Boy I Met In Paris," and "Baby, Just Say Yes!" a person familiar with the deal said. ReelShort, a privately held company, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Peacock parent unveiled its first two planned micro drama originals from Bravo this week at its annual presentation to ad buyers: "Campus Confidential: Miami" and "Salon Confessionals with Madison LeCroy." However, it didn't announce its ReelShort licensing deal at the time.

Jelley said bringing ReelShort's micro dramas aboard temporarily will help NBCU "make sure that this new format — like all of our new formats that we're testing — really resonates with fans."

"There's a lot of differences, subtle differences, between these different types of vertical video — how people click through, how long they stay, how they navigate — and we want to really understand that," Jelley said.

Hollywood has become enamored with short-form vertical video, which increasingly dominates social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. YouTube Shorts have also gained popularity in the last few years.

NBCU added vertical video clips to the Peacock mobile app last year, and in recent weeks, rivals Disney+, Netflix, and Paramount+ have followed suit. Peacock subscribers can now scroll through Bravo clips, sports highlights, and even AI-generated videos — including a digital avatar of Andy Cohen.

These streamers hope that short-form video can help them boost engagement, especially among younger viewers.

Sting is back on tour with his ongoing STING 3.0 run, a smaller-scale live setup that strips things back to a trio format while still leaning heavily on the hits fans actually want to hear. The tour mixes songs from across Sting's solo catalog with plenty of Police classics, including staples like "Every Breath You Take," "Roxanne," and "Message in a Bottle." Compared to his larger past productions, the current tour has a more intimate feel.

Before launching his solo career, Sting first rose to fame as the front man and bassist for The Police. After the group split, he built an equally successful solo career that blended rock, pop, jazz, and world music, helping him remain a major touring act for decades. Between his work with The Police and his solo releases, Sting has sold millions of records worldwide and earned multiple Grammy Awards, cementing his status as one of classic rock's most recognizable artists.

Below, we break down the best ways to buy Sting tickets and where to find the lowest prices right now. Ticket prices for the current tour vary widely by venue and city — head to StubHub or Vivid Seats when you're ready to buy.

Sting's 2026 schedule

On resale sites like StubHub and Vivid Seats, some shows still have cheaper upper-level seats starting around the low-$100s, while premium floor seats and closer sections can climb several hundred dollars higher on popular dates. Smaller theater venues and limited tour stops have also pushed prices up in some markets, so availability can shift quickly as shows get closer.

• May 6, 2026 - Hollywood, FL at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
• May 9, 2026 - Durant, OK at Choctaw Grand Theater
• May 10, 2026 - Irving, TX at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
• May 12, 2026 - Austin, TX at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
• May 13, 2026 - The Woodlands, TX at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
• May 15, 2026 - Atlanta, GA at Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
• May 16, 2026 - Savannah, GA at Enmarket Arena
• May 18, 2026 - Charlotte, NC at PNC Music Pavilion
• May 19, 2026 - Raleigh, NC at Red Hat Amphitheater
• May 21, 2026 - Vienna, VA at Wolf Trap
• May 22, 2026 - Vienna, VA at Wolf Trap
• May 23, 2026 - Vienna, VA at Wolf Trap
• May 25, 2026 - Richmond, VA at Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront

• October 5, 2026 - Vancouver, BC at Queen Elizabeth Theatre
• October 6, 2026 - Vancouver, BC at Queen Elizabeth Theatre
• October 8, 2026 - Seattle, WA at Benaroya Hall
• October 9, 2026 - Seattle, WA at Benaroya Hall
• October 13, 2026 - Minneapolis, MN at Orpheum Theatre
• October 16, 2026 - Rockford, IL at Hard Rock Casino
• October 17, 2026 - St. Louis, MO at Stifel Theatre
• October 22, 2026 - Indianapolis, IN at Murat Theatre
• October 26, 2026 - Montreal, QC at Théâtre St-Denis
• October 27, 2026 - Montreal, QC at Théâtre St-Denis
• November 1, 2026 - Akron, OH at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall
• November 4, 2026 - Cincinnati, OH at The Andrew J Brady Music Center
• November 9, 2026 - Wallingford, CT at Toyota Oakdale Theater
• November 11, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 12, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 14, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 15, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 17, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 18, 2026 - Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Paramount
• November 24, 2026 - Tampa, FL at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa

How much are Sting tickets?

Sting ticket prices on StubHub and Vivid Seats vary a lot depending on the venue size and how limited the remaining inventory is. Some of the cheaper resale tickets currently start around $26 to $31 on broader marketplace listings, while many standard theater dates fall closer to the $100 to $250 range for upper-level or farther-back seats.

Prices climb quickly for smaller venues and premium sections. StubHub listings for Sting's Brooklyn Paramount run already show some resale tickets starting at $300 or more for certain nights, while Seattle and Rockford dates are also trending well above average. Vivid Seats notes that floor seats, front-row tickets, and VIP experiences are often the most expensive options on the tour and can cost significantly more than standard seating.

Overall, fans looking for the cheapest Sting tickets will usually have the best luck with weekday shows and larger amphitheaters, while smaller theaters and high-demand cities are already seeing noticeably higher resale prices. Availability also continues to shift as the STING 3.0 tour sells through remaining inventory closer to each show date.

See more: Is StubHub legit? | What's showing in Las Vegas | Eagles tickets | Backstreet Boys tickets | Phish tickets | No Doubt tickets | Metallica tickets | Bruno Mars tickets

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• Any Air Force plane carrying a US president is called Air Force One.
• President John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet designed specifically for a US president.
• President Donald Trump accepted a luxury jet from Qatar that could serve as a new Air Force One.

Nicknamed the "flying Oval Office," Air Force One has long functioned as the president's flying command center, office, and private quarters.

Since the mid-20th century, US presidents have flown on special planes designated "Air Force One" while carrying out their official duties.

The modern Air Force One is equipped with everything the president might need, including office spaces, two kitchens, a stateroom with sleeping quarters, and a fully functional operating room.

A new Air Force One jet, a Boeing 747-8 donated by the Qatari royal family and accepted by President Donald Trump in May 2025, could bring a new level of luxury to the presidential plane.

Trump embarked on a trip to China this week, accompanied on Air Force One by business leaders including Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The presidential plane landed in Beijing on Wednesday, marking Trump's first visit to China since his first term in 2017.

Here's how the design of Air Force One has changed through the years.

Before presidents traveled on jet planes, the first-ever aircraft built for US presidents was a Douglas VC-54C Skymaster.

Nicknamed "Sacred Cow," the aircraft operated from 1944 to 1961, flying Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

It featured an elevator shaft for Roosevelt's wheelchair, an executive conference room with a bulletproof window, and an electric refrigerator, which was a rare luxury for planes built in the 1940s.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to travel on a jet aircraft in 1959.

Eisenhower's Boeing 707 Stratoliner, nicknamed "Queenie," featured a section for telecommunications, room for 40 passengers, a conference area, and a stateroom.

President John F. Kennedy was the first to use a jet specifically designed for the US president, known as SAM 26000.

SAM 26000, a customized and modified version of a civilian 707-320B airliner, was known as a Boeing VC-137C. It included a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.

Raymond Loewy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy designed the plane's blue-and-white exterior.

The plane's design featured an American flag on the tail and presidential seals on the nose.

After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on board the SAM 26000 known as Air Force One.

It marked the first and only time a presidential swearing-in ceremony took place on an airplane.

Johnson met with Cabinet members on the presidential aircraft in 1966 in a small seating area.

The small alcove was decorated with a globe decal on the wall and curtains lining the windows.

In 1972, Richard Nixon was the first president to use a Boeing 707 plane with the tail number 27000 as Air Force One.

Nixon stood behind the plane's bar while meeting with military and civilian leaders en route to Vietnam.

When President Gerald Ford took office after Nixon resigned, seats in the rear cabin were upholstered with striped fabric.

Presidents would occasionally make their way back to the rear cabin to chat with reporters.

Ford's office, just off the stateroom, also featured striped furniture.

Ford is pictured with Candice Bergen, the first female photographer to shoot a behind-the-scenes story on an American president.

President Jimmy Carter outfitted the press area with blue carpeting.

Carter talked to reporters on his way back from a trip to Europe in 1978.

President Ronald Reagan used 27000 as his primary presidential aircraft.

In 1983, Reagan met with Secretary of State George P. Shultz and the national security advisor designate Robert McFarlane in a meeting space that featured a magazine rack, teal chair, wood-grain table, and photos of him and the first lady, Nancy Reagan.

Reagan also hung pictures of himself in Air Force One's rear cabin.

The photos showed Reagan toasting with a champagne glass and waving while boarding Air Force One.

New blue-striped curtains matched the blue carpeting and furniture in another meeting area.

The meeting room also included a television set.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush began using new VC-25 planes with the tail numbers 28000 and 29000 as Air Force One.

VC-25 is the Air Force designation for the customized Boeing 747-200B planes.

The presidential office was updated with a stately desk, gray carpeting, and leather chairs.

The plane also featured upgraded electronics and communications equipment.

The staff and secretarial area was decorated with neutral whites and grays.

The staff area featured plenty of phones for official business. Air Force One is also known as the "flying Oval Office."

The new plane's annex could also be configured for medical use.

The annex is pictured in executive configuration, with seating for meetings.

The new planes featured over 4,000 square feet of space, which President Bill Clinton often used to hold meetings.

Clinton met with a delegation from North and South Dakota in 1997 to address flooding in the area.

In the guest area, Clinton's Air Force One featured tan chairs and blue carpeting.

Clinton met with members of Congress to discuss nuclear-waste management in 1999.

President George W. Bush flew 27000 one last time in August 2001 before it was retired to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The plane flew 444 missions and logged over 1 million miles, according to the Bush White House.

When the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked on September 11, 2001, the Secret Service kept Bush in the air aboard the VC-25A with the tail number 29000.

Bush insisted on returning to Washington, but the Secret Service refused since they were unsure if more attacks were coming.

In a 2016 interview with Politico, Bush's assistant White House press secretary Gordon Johndroe described Air Force One that day as "the safest and most dangerous place in the world at the exact same time."

Bush conferred with his chief of staff, Andy Card, in the stateroom, designed by Nancy Reagan.

The president's suite included a small bed, a couch and carpeting in light pink, and a desk with a brown leather chair.

Bush walked down a hallway arm-in-arm with Harriet Miers, the assistant to the president and staff secretary.

The hallway was lined with a beige couch with side tables and lamps on either side.

When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, Air Force One's conference room had been updated with a TV screen and leather chairs.

The plane has 85 phone lines as well as encryption and scrambling devices to ensure secure communication, CNBC reported.

On the other side of the conference room, a decal that read "Air Force One" was displayed on wood paneling.

Food and drinks are provided by the plane's galley kitchen.

The plane's senior staff room featured more phones, a coat closet, and leather chairs.

Obama met with his chief of staff, Jack Lew, his senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe, and former President Bill Clinton in the senior staff room in 2012.

The presidential office furniture was also updated, with mahogany chairs and sofas replacing the gray.

The carpeting was updated to a subtle star pattern, which also appeared in the conference room.

The plane's guest section was reserved for special visitors, such as members of Congress.

The chairs featured a subtle polka-dot pattern, and the tables folded down to make more space.

The rear cabin for members of the press looked like a standard commercial airliner.

Journalists can wander the rear cabin freely, but they aren't allowed to walk forward to speak to the president — the president has to come back to them.

President Donald Trump proposed new paint colors for the exterior of Air Force One in 2019.

As part of the Air Force's Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program to update Air Force One planes, Trump proposed a red, white, and navy-blue color scheme for the new models, and kept a miniature rendering in the Oval Office.

The Air Force ultimately rejected Trump's darker color scheme because it would have been more costly and caused overheating issues.

Instead, President Joe Biden selected a baby-blue color scheme similar to the current model.

The new VC-25B Air Force One planes are expected to be ready by 2027, according to the Air Force. The long-delayed project has already cost Boeing over $2 billion due to various manufacturing and supply-chain issues.

In Biden's Air Force One, the conference room had the same star carpeting as the plane's presidential office.

Plain beige carpeting continued down the hallway.

The placard in the conference room was updated to read "Aboard Air Force One" with an image of the iconic aircraft.

Biden took his first overseas trip as president in June 2021, visiting Europe for the G7 summit.

In his second, non-consecutive term, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America while flying above it on Air Force One.

Trump signed a proclamation establishing the name change in his Air Force One office in February 2025.

In May 2025, the Trump administration accepted a gifted Boeing 747-8 jet from Qatar that could serve as the new Air Force One.

The luxurious plane previously functioned as a Qatari private business jet. It features a large primary bedroom with loveseats and an en-suite bathroom, guest bedrooms, office space, a dining room, and a salon lounge with plush couches.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a May 2025 briefing that the Qatari royal family donated the jumbo jet to the US Air Force and that it was being "retrofitted to the highest standards" to serve as Air Force One. Some estimates have put the cost of upgrading the jet for the office of the president at $1 billion, but the US Air Force secretary said in June 2025 that it will cost less than $400 million to retrofit.

Trump, who has pressured Boeing to deliver its new Air Force One planes sooner and criticized the project's "failure" to complete them on time, said he'd be "stupid" to turn down the Qatari plane, worth an estimated $400 million. In July 2025, he said the plane could be ready as soon as February 2026, but that deadline has since passed.

In January 2026, Trump took a replacement plane to Davos after Air Force One experienced "a minor electrical issue" after takeoff.

After departing to Davos for the World Economic Forum in January 2026, Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland shortly after takeoff.

Leavitt told reporters that the crew identified "a minor electrical issue" after takeoff and returned to the airport out of an abundance of caution.

Trump then boarded a C-32, a militarized Boeing 757 jet often used for flights into smaller airports.

Leavitt also joked about the Qatari Air Force One jet sounding "much better."

Trump appears to still be holding out for his preferred Air Force One colors, with the model plane back on display in the Oval Office during his second term.

The model Air Force One is one of many design changes Trump has made to the Oval Office and the White House at large.

• Amazon's Selling Partner Services team cut jobs this week.
• Amazon is doubling down on AI and other forms of automation.
• The latest job cuts highlight Amazon's ongoing efficiency drive.

Amazon cut more jobs this week, with reductions hitting its Selling Partner Services organization this time, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

The layoffs follow roughly 30,000 job cuts announced across waves in October and January. In March, the company also eliminated a small number of roles in its robotics division.

The size of the layoffs this week could not be determined, though the spokesperson described the cuts as affecting a "small number" of employees.

"We regularly review our organizations to ensure we're best set up to deliver on our goals. Following a recent review, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a relatively small number of roles in our Selling Partner Services team. We don't take decisions like this lightly, and we're committed to supporting affected employees with transitional health care, a separation payment, and outsourced job placement services," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Selling Partner Services group works closely with millions of third-party merchants that sell products on Amazon's marketplace, helping with onboarding, logistics, and account support.

The latest cuts underscore how Amazon continues to reshape its sprawling retail organization after CEO Andy Jassy spent the last two years emphasizing efficiency and cost discipline. While the company previously framed large-scale layoffs as a response to pandemic-era over-expansion, the continued reductions suggest Amazon is still fine-tuning headcount across multiple businesses.

The cuts also come as Amazon aggressively expands its investments in AI across nearly every part of the company, from retail operations and customer service to advertising and logistics.

Executives have increasingly pushed teams to use AI tools to automate routine tasks and streamline operations, raising concern among some employees that roles might be replaced or reduced through automation. Jassy has said AI will allow Amazon to operate more efficiently over time, and warned last year that it could help "reduce" the company's workforce.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ekim@businessinsider.com or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Nvidia hit a new record high as top Wall Street firms lift their price targets for the stock.
• Bank of America boosted its target for Nvidia on a stronger outlook for AI data center growth.
• Wells Fargo boosted its price objective, pointing to around 38% upside for the stock.

Nvidia stock is cruising at fresh all-time highs on Wednesday.

The top US AI chipmaker saw shares surge as much as 3% to a high of $227.84 before paring the gain slightly to close at $225.83. The rally pushed its market capitalization above $5.5 trillion.

Analysts on Wednesday debuted a fresh batch of bullish outlooks for the company as well as the wider AI trade through the rest of this decade. The optimism around Nvidia stock is also building ahead of the company's earnings report on May 20.

Nvidia's fresh record comes as the chipmaker's CEO Jensen Huang joins President Trump in Beijing as part of the US delegation at the US-China summit.

Analysts at Bank of America and Wells Fargo boosted their price targets for the stock ahead of Nvidia's fiscal first quarter results next Wednesday.

Bank of America: Nvidia is the 'top sector pick'

Bank of America the AI trade will stay "stronger for longer for compute, memory, networking," as the firm expects the AI data center market to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030.

The analysts boosted their Nvidia price target to $320 from $300, implying another 40% rise from Wednesday's record high.

"Upcoming catalysts include earnings, Computex tradeshow (possible new CPU launch), Vera Rubin launch, and 2H return of cash," they wrote.

Wells Fargo: Growing data center opportunity

Ahead of Nvidia earnings, Wells Fargo boosted its price target to $315 from $265, indicating possible upside of about 38%.

Nvidia has pivoted from a hardware-supplier model to a gigawatt-scale capacity provider in the AI era, earning the stock a place as one of investors' AI darlings in recent years.

"Despite the peak share / margin concerns, we continue to argue that NVIDIA trading at <20x P/E on what we view as durable 2027 consensus estimates and favorable growth outlook should be bought," the analysts explained.

• WallStreetBets submitted a comment on the SEC proposal to reduce reporting requirements for companies.
• The popular Reddit community believes the plan would be a blow to retail traders.
• It said that WallStreetBets members rely on regular earnings updates for vital information.

Retail traders on WallStreetBets are not on board with the Securities and Exchange Commission's plan to dial back reporting requirement for public companies.

In addition to bashing the idea in discussions on the popular investing forum, a public comment submitted to the SEC by users of the subreddit on Wednesday hit back at the proposal for firms to report financial results just twice per year: "We are against it," the comment reads.

"The proposal rests on the theory that quarterly reporting causes short-termism among corporate managers," the comment stated. "Whatever the merits of that argument as applied to the C-suite, it has the relationship to retail investors exactly backwards."

The authors, who did not reveal their names in the letter, repeatedly highlighted the importance of 10-Qs, not just as a means of transparency and information, but as a tool that helps bridge the gap between retail and institutional investors.

The Reddit community is well known for its slogan: "Like 4chan found a Bloomberg Terminal," in reference to the edgy internet forum known for its memes. But as the letter noted, most retail traders don't actually have access to a pricey Bloomberg terminal , which provides institutional investors with troves of information for thousands of dollars per year.

By contrast, retail traders on WallStreetBets and elsewhere often depend on public info such as quarterly 10-Qs to understand market developments.

"Institutional investors have expert networks, channel checks, alternative data, satellite imagery of retailer parking lots, credit card panel data, and direct management access through conferences and one-on-one meetings that cost more than most of our portfolios. We have the 10-Q."

The comment goes on to say that many WallStreetBets members learned about investing by buying stocks, watching them fall, and turning to the next earnings report to learn why.

"That is a stupid order of operations and we acknowledge it," the author added. "But it is also the entire mechanism by which a generation of retail investors taught itself to read financial statements, and the Commission is now proposing to cut that mechanism in half."

The letter noted that if the SEC's proposal moves forward and quarterly 10-Q requirements are eliminated, retail investors will be at a significant disadvantage relative to Wall Street.

While the authors acknowledged the SEC's argument that companies will face less financial pressure if they are required to post fewer earnings disclosures. Kunal Kapoor, CEO of market research firm Morningstar, recently told Business Insider that he shares this view.

However, the Wall Street Bets forum members behind the letter maintain that any savings would not pose a significant impact on the companies they are concerned with.

"The entire S&P 500 files a 10-Q every quarter, and the S&P 500 is at an all-time high. If quarterly reporting is crushing American capitalism, American capitalism is hiding it well."

The SEC has received dozens of comments, many of them coming out strongly against the agency's idea.

"Doubling the time between disclosures is a gift-wrapped invitation for corporate malfeasance, fraud, and the kind of accounting shell games that wiped out shareholders at Enron and WorldCom," one anonymous comment reads.

"It ain't broke, so don't try to fix it. This lack of reporting would create a gulf between the information the institutional investor would have vis-a-vis the retail investor. Please reject this solution," another comment submitted by an advisor at Geneos Wealth Management said.

WallStreetBets moderator Noor Al told Business Insider that in his view, the letter's message is consistent with what the community stands for.

"In an age of unprecedented technology, markets should trend to lower information asymmetry. We should see more frequent, not less, corporate updates," he said. "Yes, the administrative costs are a burden, but it is worth the price to remain the greatest place in the world to invest."

The WallStreetBets comment goes on to note that the proposed reporting changes would severely undermine the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, created to help level the playing field for investors following the stock market crash of 1929.

"The Commission has spent 90 years making it easier for people like us to participate in public markets on something approaching fair terms," the letter stated. "We are asking the Commission not to spend this rulemaking making it harder."

When you have a D-cup or up, finding a great swimsuit is just as much about support as it is about style. It's about feeling confident and comfortable, whether you're lounging by the pool, playing beach volleyball, or taking a dip in the ocean.

The best swimsuits for larger busts are designed to lift, support, and shape while allowing you to move freely without feeling constrained. You want something that will stay put no matter what you're doing, so you can focus on enjoying your time in the sun without constantly adjusting or worrying about support.

Ahead, we've pulled the best swimsuits for women in the large bust category. Whether you're looking for a bikini or a one-piece, need a maternity suit or something that can withstand water sports, we've found the very best suit for every scenario — without ever sacrificing security or comfort. And for more of the best swimsuits that can accommodate larger bust sizes, see our article on the best plus-size swimwear.

Advice from your tester

As someone with a 34DD bra size, finding great swimwear has always been tricky. Since I have a smaller band size and a larger bust, I can't wear swimsuit tops that only come in alpha sizing (small, medium, large). I've tested more than 30 different suits to understand which features actually support your bust. Plus, I've tapped in other testers with different body types and needs to advise on their favorite, most supportive suits.

And since I'm from Hawaii and have always been interested in swimwear fashion, I also made sure to include brands that don't treat style as an afterthought. Here are my best tips:

• Always prioritize brands with bra sizing: If you want true support, your swimsuit should fit like a great bra. It's not always feasible for brands to produce bra-sized swimwear since it drastically increases the sizes they have to stock, but brands like Bravissimo are committed to making every single suit on their site available in sizes 30DD to 40K.
• Underwire is your friend: If you want your chest to look lifted, underwire is the way to go. Bra-sized swimwear usually has underwire built in, but Lands' End has a collection of DD-cup underwire suits that are incredibly supportive despite the lack of exact sizing.
• Look for features like thick straps, adjustable backs, and supportive underbands. Low back styles, strapless tops, and straps with no adjustments are less supportive and may be uncomfortable.

Best swimsuit brands for large busts

• Bravissimo: All swimsuits come in exact cup and band sizes, so every top fits like a great bra, which makes a huge difference in support. You can find cute, youthful styles in trendy prints and modern silhouettes.
• TA3: All TA3 suits feature laced backs that function like a corset. They're the ultimate large-bust-friendly shaping brand, with the most effective system for lifting the bust and cinching the waist we've ever tried. Their sizing goes up to a 4XL J/K cup.
• Land's End: If you're in the market for a modest suit that helps minimize the bust, this legacy retailer has a robust selection of suits specifically designed for D-cups and up. Many suits also offer petite and long-torso fits.

How we tested swimsuits for large busts

To find the best swimsuits for large busts, we started by combing through traditional swimwear brands for styles designed with fuller busts in mind, prioritizing options with DD+ sizing, bra-sized fits, underwire, adjustable straps, supportive bands, molded cups, and other explicit support features. We also looked closely at brands that specialize in large-bust swimwear to compare their fit, construction, and size range against more mainstream options.

From there, we consulted experts, read through Reddit threads and customer reviews, and asked friends with larger busts about the swimsuits they actually like wearing. We considered how each suit fit when dry and wet, whether it provided enough lift and coverage, how secure it felt while swimming or moving around, and whether the straps, cups, and bands stayed comfortable over time.

We wore the swimsuits in the water, moved around in them, and washed them according to the care instructions to see how well they held up. Throughout testing, we paid close attention to support, comfort, adjustability, coverage, durability, style, and whether each suit felt practical enough for real beach, pool, and vacation wear.

Editor-favorite picks, tested over two years

Best overall: TA3 The Lifty

TA3 makes the swimsuit of 'Shark Tank' fame that doubles as shapewear. In our review of TA3 swimsuits, we found that the brand deserves a spot among the best swimsuits for large busts thanks to its lightweight activewear compression material, which is not all that dissimilar to a super supportive sports bra. 

Executive Editor of Insider Reviews, Sally Kaplan, loves the Lifty, which is TA3's style with underwire for added support. "I love all of my TA3 swimsuits, but the Lifty is my favorite because the underwire is so supportive and prevents the dreaded uniboob that some one-piece bathing suits can cause. The way the sizing works is nothing short of a miracle. You get to choose your bodice length (short or regular/long), your usual swimsuit size (from XS-4X), and your cup size (from A-J/K,) to get the absolute perfect fit, plus there are a bunch of color options. There's even an option for a high-cut version of this suit here if you prefer to show more leg. I've truly never had a one-piece fit me better!

The thick shoulder straps are comfy and adjustable, and the cups cradle me perfectly with no digging. It even looks super cute as a bodysuit, so you could theoretically wear it with jeans or flowy linen pants and no one would be the wiser. But I know you're all here to find out whether it actually does what it promises to do, which is give you a snatched waist. The short answer is: yes! The longer answer is absolutely yes; the lacing in the back actually works like a dream to cinch your waist in. But the good news is that if you're ever feeling bloated or you just want something a little less compressive, you can always just loosen it up. It's like having two sizes in one! 

Anyway, if you have a large chest, you won't regret buying this suit — as someone with an F cup, it's definitely the most comfortable and supportive one-piece I've ever tried."

Best budget bikini: Cupshe DD+ Bikini Set

It's hard to find a good full-bust swimsuit for under $50, but Amazon-favorite brand Cupshe has a whole section of affordable DD+ swimsuits.

One thing I always look for in swimsuits is wide straps that can support the weight of a larger chest. The thicker straps on this suit help distribute weight evenly across your shoulders, so you won't have to deal with narrow halter ties that cut into you.

I also appreciate that you can buy the top and the bottom in different sizes. Bikinis that come as a set are notoriously annoying for people with large busts, but this bikini gives you lots of freedom to mix and match stiting.

The top has a sleek, slightly dressier neckline than a standard bikini, while the high-waisted bottoms add a bit more coverage without looking overly conservative. It's a good option for someone who wants a supportive two-piece that still feels fun and flattering.

Best for trendy designs: Bravissimo Gingham Olivia Bikini

An absolute winner from Bravissimo. It's so refreshing to find a swimwear brand that doesn't make larger-breast support an afterthought.

Bravissimo's suits are designed solely for those with DD-cups and up — and you can absolutely feel the difference. You pick your exact cup size (from 30DD to 40K), so the top fits like an excellent bra. And there are lots of large-bust-friendly details like wider straps and unlined cups that won't look clumpy.

Plus, I love that this brand caters to larger busts without making its suits look matronly. All the prints and cuts are cute and modern.

Best patterned one-piece: Boden Rhodes Cup-Size Swimsuit

This Boden suit comes in four ridiculously cute patterns, including the paisley-adjacent print above. It's sized according to your bra measurements alone, which I was originally skeptical about, but it ended up fitting perfectly.

The Rhodes Cup-Size Swimsuit has removable straps, so you can also wear it as a strapless one-piece. I tried to wear it sans straps, but there wasn't enough support for me to feel comfortable. Despite the fact that there's a grippy strip that lines the top, it kept drooping, risking a wardrobe malfunction. But with the straps on, I felt secure and supported. It even stayed put when I took a tumble off the floatie pictured above.

I also love how it fits. The torso isn't overly tight, but it is fully lined for structure rather than compression. Plus, the paneling is smartly designed to emphasize your natural waist.

Best crinkle suit: Bleu Rod Beattie Square Neck Ribbed One-Piece

The straight size version of this suit (linked above) is available in sizes 4-14. But there's also a plus-size version of the Square Neck Ribbed One-Piece in sizes 16-22.

Classic crinkle suits like the ones we tested from Youswim are admittedly extremely comfortable, but they are not known for offering much in the way of chest support (not for these DDDs, anyway). At first glance, you'd have no idea that this Bleu Rod Beattie suit actually has built-in underwires because the silhouette just looks like a plain crinkle suit — and that's one of the reasons I love it so much! What's hiding underneath is a miracle combo of chest support, lift, and just enough compression to make the suit cling to your every curve without feeling tight or restricted.

I first saw this bathing suit in the mall while panic-shopping for a recent vacation, and between the interior support and the adjustable straps, it might actually be the best-fitting bathing suit I've ever owned. It comes in both regular and plus sizes, and the interior cups have a ton of stretch so they're meant to be flexible enough for multiple cup sizes. In true crinkle suit form, it really does stretch and mold to your shape in a way that's both flattering and extremely comfy. — Sally Kaplan, executive editor, Insider Reviews.

Best for minimizing bust: Lands' End Chlorine Resistant High Neck UPF 50 Modest Tankini Swimsuit Top

If you have a larger bust and struggle to find swimwear that feels supportive without being overly revealing, this Lands' End tankini is worth a look. It's available in D, DD, and DDD cup sizes for a more tailored fit, and the high-neck silhouette offers added coverage up top. Soft cups provide light structure, and the UPF 50 fabric is a nice bonus for long days in the sun. It also comes in a wide range of sizes, including petite, plus, and long-torso fits.

This tankini top also gives you solid coverage with a high neck and UPF 50 fabric that's built to take a beating from sun and chlorine. It's supportive without feeling stiff, so you can swim, splash, or just lounge poolside with one less thing to worry about.

Best plunge: Popilush Plunging V Slimming One-Piece Swimsuit

This swimsuit is definitely sexy. The deep plunge shows off a good deal of skin — but, crucially, the cleavage is lifted and supported by the wire cups and the sculpting material.

The torso of the Popilush Plunging Suit is lined with mesh shapewear panels that smooth the stomach and pull in the waist. I was initially skeptical about how well this would work, but the effect is more dramatic than you might think. It's rare that I feel confident wearing a tight suit around the time of my period, but I was able to splash around in this with no hesitation.

But the suit isn't perfect for everyone. Based on the comments and my own experience, it works like a dream for people with D or DD cups. If you're an E or larger, however, there's not enough material to prevent the breasts from spilling out.

I got the suit in my typical size, a medium, and it fit well but was definitely tight. The brand recommends sizing up for a looser, more comfortable fit; however, the shaping features work best if you stick to your normal size.

Best color variety: Vetchy Laguna Bikini

Vetchy's signature swimsuit is the Laguna Bikini, which features an underwire top and a choice between a cheeky bottom and a full-coverage bottom. This two-piece is available in almost every colorway you can imagine, from metallic-flecked numbers to gingham prints.

But the amazing thing for people with large busts is that the top is available in DD+ sizes. An SDD+ will fit bra sizes 32DD-32E, while an LDD+ fits sizes 36DDD-34G. This does exclude people with band sizes larger than 36, however.

As a 34DD, I tried the MDD+ size and it fit great. I love the underwire support and the option to remove the padding in the cups. But I especially love how wide the straps are. They fit comfortably on my shoulders and support the weight of my chest. The straps are also adjustable, which is a super important feature for a bra-like bikini.

This bikini is a great classic silhouette and also one of the best underwire swimsuits we've tested.

Best one-shoulder: Summersalt The Sidestroke

While you might not think a one-strap top makes for the best swimsuit for large busts, this Instagram-famous color-blocked suit holds up despite its risky-looking silhouette. "I'm incredibly happy with how supportive the suit ended up being. There was no issue with lopsidedness or sagging, and the diagonal seaming on the front was super flattering," wrote Executive Editor Sally Kaplan in our review of Summersalt swimsuits. 

Style writer Sarah Chiwaya also raved about this suit in her guide to the best plus-size swimwear: "Instead of just sticking with one cross strap in the back, this style has two, which distributes bust weight more evenly and doesn't dig. I was happily surprised that this style worked as well as it did on me, as most one-shoulder styles leave me lopsided and uncomfortable," she writes.

To tip the scales even more, this suit is made from recyclable materials and comes in 11 designs. It has 4.5 stars and over six thousand reviews on the Summersalt website, with reviewers raving about how comfortable it is and how flattering the diagonal colorblocking and seaming is. Sizes 2-22 are available.

Best square-neck: Hermoza Becca

Hermoza is the perfect brand for swimsuits that are relatively modest, yet still stylish. They have vintage-inspired picks like belted one-pieces, high-waisted bottoms, and halters with waist ties. Personally, I love wearing this brand for family-centric events in the summer where I don't want to be showing too much skin, even if I'm in a bikini. But the pieces are so cute that I wear them to beach days with friends. The Becca Top and Lauren Bottom in Sea Pink even got me tons of compliments when I wore them in Positano, a luxury swimwear haven.

As a person with a larger bust size and smaller band size, I really appreciated how these pieces fit me. The lining is both taut and comfortable, so it holds you in but you still feel comfortable sitting and lounging. They have a whole section for DD+ cup sizes, but the pieces I have didn't even come from that line and they still make me feel secure and supported.

Best budget: Hilor One-Piece Shirred Tummy Control Bathing Suit

Amazon is a treasure trove for affordable, high-quality swimsuits, including some of the best swimsuits for large busts. (Read our full list for the best swimsuits on Amazon.)

This pick has thick, sturdy straps to offer full support for larger cup sizes. People particularly love the built-in bra cups, which can accommodate larger bra sizes. 

If you want a modest suit that doesn't look dated or cost too much, this is a fantastic pick. It gets tons of praise for being no-frills and not overly revealing. It's designed to cover your full backside, so you don't have to fear any wardrobe malfunctions. And the midsection is compressive and supportive but not overly tight.

Other details include a ruched midsection designed to highlight curves and a plunging V-neckline. There are over 30 colors and patterns.

Best active: Andie the Maui Top and Bikini Bottom

"At one point, I forgot I even had this set on under my clothes and I received many compliments on the gorgeous Cherry color.

Unlike most string tops, the weight of your chest is held up by the Maui top at your shoulders instead of your neck, so it feels like a cozy bra. It looked more like a sports bra and thus pushed my chest together in a similar fashion, which felt secure but didn't look particularly sexy. It gave some 'uniboob' vibes, but it wasn't awful — just not like bikini tops I'm used to.

I'd wear this supportive, comfortable swimsuit for activities like visiting a water park, surfing, or attending a family function because it feels secure and sensible. But it's not the most exciting-looking set for lounging on the beach with friends or going on vacation with my boyfriend." —Paige DiFiore, lifestyle & entertainment freelance editor

Read our full review of Andie's swimwear collection to learn about other styles we tested.

Best tankini: Swimsuits for All Bra Sized Underwire Tankini Set

In addition to the top of this set being available in a wide range of bust sizes, you can also pick the bottom size between 8 and 26. This is a welcomed option for those of us who have trouble with sold-as-a-set-in-a-single-size bikinis.

The tankini, which comes in a classic black with just a bit of mesh detailing for added flair, has adjustable straps and a hook closure with three adjustments in the back. The fit-and-flare silhouette is universally flattering, while the shorts bottoms allow for extra coverage.

Best convertible: Curvy Kate Wrapsody Bandeau Strapless Multiway Swimsuit

Style writer Sarah Chiwaya named this one of the best plus-size swimsuits because of it's clever convertible design and well-constructed support.

"If bikinis are hard to get right for full-bust swimwear, strapless suits are even harder. The sheer amount of technical design and engineering needed to hoist and support larger breasts without straps is intense, and only a handful of brands that offer plus have been able to do so successfully, even when it comes to bras. Curvy Kate's strapless bra is known for its phenomenal support (to the point that there are multiple videos of people being able to do cartwheels in it!), so I was hopeful that this Wrapsody Bandeau Strapless Multiway Swimsuit would offer the same support. Happily, I was not disappointed," she writes.

It's also brilliantly convertible. Sarah continues: "The base of this suit is a classic strapless one-piece, with defined, molded underwire cups that provide lift that feels almost gravity-defying. Quite frankly, that would be notable enough in itself, but there's yet another feature that takes it to the next level: The attached long sheer mesh strips that can be worn as sleeves, straps, or a wrap. The versatility this adds is unmatched. You can change the bust coverage and the entire look in seconds, making this a great choice for travel."

Best plus size: Daci Women Plus Size Two Piece Bikini

This two-piece suit is the perfect combination of security and style. On the top, thick crisscross adjustable straps provide ample support, as does a padded pushup bra. The high-waisted bottom has a full-coverage backside and flattering ruched details. To add some extra excitement to the silhouette, the top features a plunging cutout front, which is secured with crisscross details. The nylon and spandex suit comes in 32 colors and patterns in sizes M-26 plus.

Best on Amazon: Tempt Me One Piece Plunge Mesh Swimsuit

Of Amazon's vast swimsuit offerings, Tempt Me's collection stands out for its inclusive size ranges and extensive color and pattern selections. This top-selling one-piece style has a high neckline accented by a sheer, plunging mesh panel to show just a hint of skin. A padded pushup bra provides solid support. The neck is secured via a hook closure and the back features two more mesh panels. A faux tie waist accentuates curves. 

The polyester and spandex material is smooth and comfortable, so it's great for all-day wear. There are a whopping 44 colors and patterns to choose from.

FAQs

What type of swimsuit is best for a large bust?

The most supportive swimsuits for larger busts usually borrow the best parts of a good bra: underwire, molded or structured cups, adjustable straps, and a secure band. Bra-sized swimwear tends to offer the best fit, but we also found that some DD+-specific styles in standard sizing can work surprisingly well.

Is a one-piece or a bikini better for a large bust?

There is not one right answer, but bikinis often make it easier to get a precise fit since you can choose different sizes on top and bottom. One-pieces can feel more streamlined and secure, especially if they have built-in bra features or shaping through the torso.

Do I need bra sizing, or is regular sizing good enough?

Bra sizing is usually the gold standard for larger busts because it gives you a more precise fit through both the cup and band. But regular sizing can still work if a suit is specifically designed for fuller busts and has the right structure.

Are high-neck swimsuits good for large busts?

They can be, but coverage and support are not the same thing. A high neckline may make a suit feel more secure, but without features like a built-in bra, molded cups, or a supportive band, it may not actually provide much lift.

Should I size up in swimwear for a larger bust?

Usually not. Sizing up can sometimes give you a little more room in the chest, but it can also make the band, straps, or torso fit too loose to be supportive. It is usually better to look for a suit that is designed for fuller busts from the start.

Can people with larger busts wear strapless or bandeau swimsuits?

They can, but it is one of the harder categories to get right. Most bandeau styles simply do not offer enough lift or security for fuller busts unless they have serious internal structure, which is rare.

• Data shows 17 nonstop flight routes lost all service after Spirit folded.
• One tiny airport outside Pittsburgh was completely abandoned.
• Roughly half of the now-empty routes Spirit left behind will be replaced by other budget airlines.

Spirit Airlines' collapse left travelers without nonstop options on more than a dozen routes across the US and Latin America, but competitors are already moving to fill much of the gap.

The now-defunct budget airline abruptly ceased flying in the early hours of May 2 after years of unrecoverable losses driven by rising labor and changing traveler habits, and then the recent surge in fuel prices.

While Spirit held only about 1.7% of the US market share when it fell, per Cirium, its absence still matters. A Business Insider analysis using data from Cirium and Raymond James found that 17 routes and one airport were abandoned after Spirit's shutdown.

Among the hardest hit were Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh.

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows Atlantic City lost roughly half its flights, with budget carriers Breeze and Allegiant still flying to the airport; the Pennsylvania airport lost all its airline service.

In places like Atlantic City, where Spirit pressured fares, airlines facing less competition now will likely raise ticket prices.

"The number of routes with only one competitor have stepped up from eight to 63 (2% to 19% of total) while those with four or more stepped down from 203 to 52 (60% to 15% of total)," RJ analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note shared with Business Insider about the impact of Spirit's now-empty network.

Here's the list of now-empty routes. Eight are expected to regain nonstop service this year.

From Atlantic City:

• West Palm Beach
• Orlando (MCO)
• Myrtle Beach
• Fort Myers

From Fort Lauderdale:

• Armenia, Colombia
• Barranquilla, Colombia
• Belize City
• Cali, Colombia
• Key West
• Lima, Peru
• San Antonio
• St. Thomas
• St. Croix
• Comayagua, Honduras

From Latrobe:

• Myrtle Beach
• Orlando (MCO)

From Orlando:

• Medellín, Colombia

The tiny Labrobe airport was exclusively served by Spirit for 15 years and was even building a second gate to support growth before it was left vacant. Cirium shows the last time the airport had no airline service was in early 2011.

Many abandoned Spirit routes will be rescued

Roughly half of Spirit's abandoned routes will not remain empty for long, as airlines including Breeze, Allegiant, and JetBlue move in. Carriers like United, Frontier, Delta, and American have also added flights in response to Spirit's demise, but they are not replacements.

Atlantic City will see relief starting May 21, when Allegiant — a lesser-known budget leisure carrier headquartered in Las Vegas — starts its new nonstop route to Myrtle Beach. The route was planned before Spirit shut down.

Breeze, a newer low-cost carrier focused on niche point-to-point flying, will also begin serving the beach town from Atlantic City in October, announcing its plans in the wake of Spirit's collapse. It's also taking over Spirit's former routes from the resort city to Orlando, West Palm Beach, and Fort Myers this year.

Allegiant already travels to Orlando from Atlantic City, but not to the main Orlando International Airport (MCO), where Spirit flew. It flies instead to Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), the city's secondary airport, but it's farther from downtown and attractions like Walt Disney World.

While Raymond James considers routes to nearby competing airports as still served, Business Insider counted them separately because airport swaps can affect traveler convenience.

Fort Lauderdale — once Spirit's biggest Florida hub — will see a surge of replacement flying from JetBlue. The airline announced its addition of 11 new routes from the city, including service to Cali and Barranquilla, two destinations left abandoned by Spirit.

However, Spirit's former nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale to St. Thomas; St. Croix; Comayagua, Honduras; Key West; Belize; Lima; and Armenia will remain vacant for now. Southwest will run a handful of flights to San Antonio in late 2026, but the route will otherwise be empty.

Travelers can still reach those cities nonstop from nearby Miami — about 26 miles from Fort Lauderdale — via American Airlines, Chile's LATAM Airlines, and the South American budget carrier SKY Airline.

Meanwhile, Orlando's Medellín service is set to return, though not as a direct replacement for Spirit. Colombian carrier Avianca is resuming its previously planned seasonal summer flights in June, becoming the route's only airline.

With only one carrier now on dozens of more routes, fares are likely to rise soon. A Business Insider study in April, using Cirium data, found that routes where Spirit exited saw an average ticket price jump of 14%. Some rose by over $100.

"When any airline leaves a market, it results in a drop in the supply of seats," Mike Arnot, an airline industry consultant, previously told Business Insider. "That generally means that airfare will increase, and it doesn't much matter which airline departs a market."

• LinkedIn is laying off employees and "scaling back" some investments.
• As part of the layoffs, the company is making changes to its product operations, according to a memo.
• The changes are aimed at creating more focused teams and leveraging AI.

LinkedIn's layoffs are coming with changes to some of the company's operations, according to an internal memo from its chief product officer.

LinkedIn on Wednesday announced in an internal memo from CEO Daniel Shapero that it would lay off employees and scale back some investments. A separate email from Hari Srinivasan, who became "chief product officer of the LinkedIn Ecosystem" in March, outlines three shifts the company is planning amid the changes.

"Our fastest moving teams are focused, have fewer layers, and leverage AI to move quickly," Srinivasan wrote. "The changes we're making across our Product orgs are based on creating more agile teams in this model."

LinkedIn's parent company, Microsoft, has similarly been making changes to remove management layers and create more focused teams. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood recently sent an internal memo to employees highlighting "increased pace" and "tighter, more accountable squads."

As part of its plan to get teams to move faster, LinkedIn is also changing how design and research support work, according to the memo. The company is centralizing its user experience design resources so product teams can handle routine work and expert researchers can focus on more complex tasks.

LinkedIn also plans to change how it produces learning content on the site. The company says it is switching from producing large-scale original content in-house to a model in which instructors can produce and monetize their teaching directly on LinkedIn.

Last year, LinkedIn started allowing creators to monetize their content on the network through video, but this appears to be expanding revenue opportunities for instructors.

The current model "is no longer the best model to keep up with what learners want or the more cost effective way to create all our content" and the new model will allow "instructors [to] build a voice on LinkedIn, across multiple tools, and license and monetize their teachings directly on LinkedIn," Srinivasan wrote.

The change will allow the in-house team to focus on "high-impact, differentiated learning experiences that are best built internally" and rely on content-creating instructors to keep LinkedIn fresh with timely content.

"As part of our regular business planning, we've implemented organizational changes to best position ourselves for future success," a LinkedIn spokesperson told Business Insider.

Read the memo:

"Team,

As you saw in Dan's note, we're making changes across Linkedin to simplify how work gets done and focus product investments. This includes the difficult decision to reduce some of Product. I wanted to follow up with why we are doing it, where we will work differently, and what comes next.

Why we are making changes

Linkedin is an incredible platform. Our mission to help people connect to opportunity has never been more relevant. Our engaged community, unique data and diversified business me also position us well in a changing world of Al & technology.

At the same time, two shifts are changing how we need to operate. First, we now have tools that let us ship faster - and we need to ensure we have an organizational structure that allow harness them. Second, our infrastructure costs will grow as we deliver more intelligent products - requiring hard prioritization and tradeoffs.

Where we work differently

These shifts require changes to what & how we build for our members and customers. So we're evolving our operating model in the following ways:

• Across our Product orgs: Our fastest moving teams are focused, have fewer layers, and leverage AI to move quickly. The changes we're making across our Product orgs are based on creating more agile teams in this model.
• Architecture: As teams build faster, insights need to scale across the product ecosystem quicker. To support this, we're evolving our operating model across Content Design and User Research from embedded teams to a shared service; teams can utilize off the shelf UX resources themselves, while expert researchers focus on our most complex work.
• Content: Our current learning content model is built around large-scale original production, but that is no longer the best model to keep up with what learners want or the more cost effective way to create all our content. We are shifting to a new model where instructors can build a voice on Linkedin, across multiple tools, and license and monetize their teachings directly on Linkedin. This allows us to give learners what they want — timely content across multiple formats — and focus our in house content creation on high-impact, differentiated learning experiences that are best built internally. As part of this change, and to align our workplace footprint to our business needs, we will be closing our physical office in Graz, Austria.

What comes next

Those directly impacted, or proposed to be impacted in EMEA & APAC consultative countries, will receive a calendar invitation within the next hour titled "Attendance Required: Product Organizational Updates," with meetings starting today, May 13 for EMEA and NAMER, followed by APAC on Thursday, May 14 local time. If you do not receive this exact invitation, your role is not impacted or proposed to be impacted.

To those who are leaving, thank you. Your hard work and dedication got us to where we are; a billion people have gotten jobs, learned skills, stayed informed and more because of your contributions. I'm thankful for everything you have given us, and we are committed to supporting you through this transition.

Moments like this are very difficult — but they also remind us why our mission to connect people to economic opportunity matters. Please take the time you need to process this and support one another... and thank you for your continued focus, care, and commitment to building products that matter.

Hari

BCC: Product All: Product Functional Partners; Eng LT; GBO LT, Marketing LT"

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The World Cup is set to kick off in June, which makes now the perfect time to upgrade your TV for the ultimate watch party. As someone who reviews TVs year-round, I've learned that some models simply handle sports better than others. The best TVs for sports combine bright, punchy picture quality with large screen sizes, so you get a vibrant, clear, and immersive view of all the action.

If you want a premium pick, the Samsung S95H OLED is one of the best sports TVs you can buy right now. Its excellent anti-reflective screen makes a big difference when watching games in a bright living room, and its wide viewing angles mean everyone gets a great view, even if they're off to the side. If you'd rather spend less, the TCL QM7K QLED is a great midrange alternative. It doesn't have Samsung's advanced anti-glare tech or ultra-wide viewing angles, but it still delivers a bright, impactful picture — and it comes in massive 98-inch and 115-inch sizes that feel tailor-made for game day.

Below, you'll find more details on each model, along with a few buying tips to help you choose the best sports TV for your space and budget.

Our top picks for the best TVs for sports

Best high-end: Samsung S95H OLED 4K TV - See at Samsung

Best value: TCL QM7K QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon

Best high-end

The Samsung S95H is one of the best TVs for sports thanks to its high-end OLED panel and impressive anti-glare screen. This is a premium model with a premium price tag, but its image quality is a clear step above cheaper TVs, and its ability to minimize reflections makes it uniquely suited for watching sports in a well-lit room.

Most TVs feature a glossy or semi-glossy finish, and though that type of screen is good for contrast, it's prone to mirror-like reflections that can be a headache in spaces with lots of lights and windows. The S95H uses a matte-like finish that reduces glare, and it works incredibly well. Seriously, the difference between this and a typical glossy TV screen is almost night and day. This makes the S95H ideal for sports fans who struggle with reflections in their room.

That said, the S95H's anti-glare coating has some drawbacks that glossy ones don't. The way the screen spreads light causes black levels to appear a bit hazy when watching TV with the lights on. This isn't really noticeable in bright sports, but it can be distracting during dark scenes in movies and TV shows. Once you turn the lights off, however, the S95H produces the kind of deep, inky black levels that OLEDs are known for. So, there's a clear trade-off, but viewers who hate reflections should find the benefits outweigh the cons.

The S95H also offers excellent viewing angles, so colors and contrast don't fade or distort when you're sitting to the side of the TV. This is a big pro for gameday watch parties when everyone is seated all around the room. General image quality is top-notch, too. In fact, the S95H is the brightest OLED I've ever tested, reaching around 2,780 nits in HDR and 1,200 nits in SDR.

For World Cup fans, the S95H also offers an "AI Soccer Mode." If you turn this mode on, the TV will automatically recognize when soccer is playing on screen and optimize its picture and sound by enhancing things like the green of the grass and roar of the crowd. I generally prefer to keep these kinds of settings off to get a more accurate experience, but those who want a little extra pop during watch parties may find it useful.

A special note should also be made of the S95H's design, which features a unique metal bezel with a frame-like appearance. I think this style looks beautiful when mounted on a wall, but it won't suit everyone's tastes. The S95H is available in 55-, 65-, 77-, and 83-inch sizes.

Read our Samsung S95H TV review.

Check out our guides to the best Samsung TVs and best TVs for picture quality.

Best value

The QM7K is one of the top midrange TVs available, and its balance between excellent brightness and competitive pricing makes it an especially great value for sports fans. It's also available in many sizes, making it ideal for viewers who want the largest screen possible.

Unlike the pricier Samsung S95H, the QM7K is a QLED TV rather than an OLED. As a result, the QM7K's contrast isn't as precise or high, but it performs quite well for its class. Check out my QLED vs. OLED comparison for more details on how the two display types compare.

The QM7K's backlight control is excellent for a QLED, with less blooming (halos around bright objects) and improved uniformity than older models. It also delivered fantastic HDR colors and impressive brightness during my testing. I measured a peak of around 1,800 nits, which beats similarly priced QLEDs from Samsung, Sony, and LG.

Although this set's glossy display is more prone to reflections than the S95F's matte screen, you can boost the QM7K's brightness to help minimize this. Viewing angles aren't as wide as those of the S95H OLED, but the TV's off-axis performance is a lot better than that of older TCL models. Colors and brightness still shift from an angle, but the effect is more subtle, so you still get a decent experience when seated to the side.

The 65-inch QM7K is often available for under $1,000, which is a great deal for this level of performance. You can also find extra-large options in 75-, 85-, and 98-inch sizes at nice discounts. The 98-inch TV, in particular, is a fantastic value, making it an ideal fit for those who want a massive screen without an outrageously high price tag. There's also an even bigger 115-inch option, but the cost soars dramatically at that size.

Check out our guides to the best TCL TVs, best TVs, and best 4K TVs.

The best sports TVs, compared

How we test TVs for sports

To select the best TVs for sports, our team tested several models across brands and budgets. We chose the top two displays that best balanced sports-friendly features and value. Our testing factors included picture clarity, contrast ratio, color range, and smart TV navigation speed. For the best sports TVs, we also placed an emphasis on specific performance elements that deliver the best experience when watching sports, such as brightness, viewing angles, reflection handling, and large-screen options.

To measure a TV's brightness, we use a colorimeter, test patterns from a pattern generator, and the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc. But while test patterns and objective measurements are helpful, they're no substitute for actually watching real-world content on a display to see how different kinds of material look in action. To better understand how a TV performs in regular use, we watch a variety of content specifically chosen to evaluate its shadow detail, HDR capabilities, sharpness, upscaling, motion, and other key features.

Our demo material includes movies, TV shows, and sports broadcasts across 4K resolution (Ultra HD), high definition (HD), and standard definition (SD) sources like streaming services, cable, and Blu-ray discs. We also watch content in both bright and dark rooms.

For more info on our review methodology, visit our breakdown of how we test tech products.

Meet the expert behind this guide:

Steven Cohen, senior tech editor: I oversee tech product buying guides for Business Insider's Reviews team, and I've spent years testing TVs. When I review a TV, I watch a lot of real-world content — including plenty of sports — so I know exactly which features make the biggest difference on game day. My team and I also use professional calibration tools and test patterns to measure things like brightness and color accuracy, but specs only tell part of the story. You really have to watch live sports to see how a TV handles motion, color, and brightness, and the picks in this guide impressed us with smooth, sharp, and vibrant performance.

Learn more about the Reviews team at Business Insider.

Sports TV FAQs

Is a 4K TV beneficial for sports?

Whether you watch TV via cable, satellite, antenna, or a livestreaming service, many sports broadcasts are still presented in a high-definition resolution of 720p, 1080i, or 1080p. That said, major games, such as championships, are occasionally shown in 4K.

Games natively broadcast in 4K will look best on a 4K TV, but all 4K TVs can automatically upscale lower-resolution sources, improving image quality. The resulting image isn't as sharp as an actual 4K source, but it's still an improvement.

Generally speaking, the question of whether a 4K TV is worth it for sports is largely moot, as 4K TVs are the industry standard. Major brands no longer sell HDTVs larger than 43 inches, so if you're buying a new TV for sports in 2026, the vast majority of your options will be 4K.

Are sports broadcast in HDR?

Some live sports are broadcast in HDR (high dynamic range), but availability depends on the network, streaming service, and the specific event. For example, Fox Sports, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video stream select games and major events, such as the World Cup, Super Bowl, and Olympics, in HDR. However, you often need a higher-tier subscription to unlock HDR. Meanwhile, services like ESPN and Paramount Plus typically still use SDR (standard dynamic range) for sports.

When HDR is available, it can enhance sports image quality by greatly improving brightness, color, and contrast. You can learn more in our HDR TV explainer.

What size TV is best for sports?

If you want the best TV for watching sports, we recommend choosing the largest display that still fits within your space, budget, and picture-quality requirements.

Bigger TVs cost more than smaller options with comparable specifications, so depending on your budget, you may need to decide between a larger display with midrange performance or a smaller TV with a higher-end picture. This ultimately comes down to personal preference.

For TV recommendations across different sizes, check out our size-specific buying guides:

• Best 100-inch TVs
• Best 85-inch TVs
• Best 75-inch TVs
• Best 65-inch TVs
• Best 55-inch TVs
• Best 50-inch TVs
• Best 43-inch TVs

• Instagram is rolling out a new feature and app called "Instants."
• A hodgepodge of apps like Snapchat, Locket, and BeReal, the app is meant to be "low-pressure."
• Meta had been testing Instants for a bit and released the feature — and app — in Europe last month.

Meta is welcoming a new app to the family.

Instagram globally launched a new feature called "Instants" on Wednesday. You can find it by going to the direct messaging tab on the main Instagram app. It's also rolling out a stand-alone app for the product in select countries, including the US.

Instants lets users share disappearing photos with their friends. These photos last 24 hours, can't be viewed more than once, and you can't see who viewed them. You also can't screenshot them.

The app's slogan, per the current app listing: "Real life, real quick."

It's basically a Frankenstein of social apps like Locket, BeReal, and, of course, Snapchat.

Users can take photos with the Instants camera and add text, but cannot edit the content further. They can then share that content with a limited audience, specifically mutual followers and close friends.

Those friends can then react with emojis or reply in a DM.

It's intended to give Instagram users "a more casual, low-pressure way to connect with friends," a Meta spokesperson said.

The Instants app also lets users add a widget to their homescreen, which has been a hit among younger users for newer social apps like Airbuds and Locket.

Expanding Meta's portfolio of social apps has become commonplace for the tech giant. Instagram has Threads and Edits under its umbrella, and Meta also has the AI-focused Meta AI app.

In April, Meta began rolling out the stand-alone Instants app in Italy and Spain.

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• OpenAI exec Joshua Achiam testified about a "tense exchange" he had with Elon Musk in 2018.
• Musk, Achiam told the jury in the Musk v. Altman trial, called him a "jackass."
• The two clashed over AI safety, and Achiam's colleagues later gifted him a gold "jackass" trophy.

An OpenAI executive told a federal jury Wednesday how Elon Musk once called him a "jackass" during a heated clash over AI safety.

Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's chief futurist, recalled the "pretty tense exchange" during testimony in the California civil trial between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

"He snapped and called me a jackass," Achiam testified.

Achiam said that around 50 to 60 employees had gathered during a February 2018 company all-hands meeting for a question-and-answer session ahead of Musk's planned departure from the startup he cofounded with Altman.

According to Achiam, then a research scientist at OpenAI, Musk said he was leaving because Tesla, Musk's electric car company, would soon compete with OpenAI for elite AI talent, creating a "conflict of interest."

"He also indicated a general lack of confidence in OpenAI's overall path," Achiam said, adding that Musk "wanted to go and do his own thing and sort of pursue AGI in his own way."

"It sounded like he wanted to race towards AGI, like he wanted to build it very fast, because he was very worried that someone else, if they got it, would do the wrong thing with it," Achiam said.

Achiam said he and a few others were concerned that racing toward AGI was a "fairly unsafe proposition," telling the jury that Musk was proposing something that seemed "reckless."

"We didn't know whether a science fiction super intelligence bootstrapping event where you set the thing running one night, and you come back the next morning, and it's so unbelievably smart it can crack encryption and take over the world was a science fiction scenario or not?" he said.

Musk has accused Altman and OpenAI of stealing the "charity" they cofounded together in 2015 through its shift to a for-profit structure, while Altman has argued that Musk's lawsuit was driven by a desire to take down an AI competitor.

The testimony from Achiman, called to the stand by Altman and OpenAI's lawyers, appeared aimed at undercutting Musk's portrayal of himself as focused on AI safety concerns.

When an OpenAI lawyer asked whether Musk may have been trying to push him out of his "comfort zone" by calling him a jackass — as Musk has alluded to in his own previous testimony in the case — Achiam said no.

"I don't think that was why he called me that. I think he was just upset that he had been challenged," Achiam said.

After the meeting, Achiam told the jury that a few colleagues expressed their gratitude to him. At the next company all-hands, he was presented with a trophy "to commemorate the exchange, and in thanks for having stood up to Elon."

The trophy, Achiam said, was a gold statue depicting a "jackass" with an inscription: "Never stop being a jackass for safety."

• Pop stars like Zayn Malik, Post Malone, and Meghan Trainor have recently canceled tour dates.
• The Pussycat Dolls scrapped their North American tour, citing lower than expected ticket sales.
• However, the concert industry is still booming, indicating fans prefer to spend money on A-listers.

The era of sky-high concert-ticket prices is exposing pop music's middle class — or, at least, who isn't among the 1%.

A slew of high-profile artists have recently made headlines for downsizing, postponing, or outright canceling their arena tours, from heartthrob Zayn Malik and chart-topper Post Malone to legacy girl group the Pussycat Dolls, who were refreshingly candid with fans about why only one of their scheduled US dates would go ahead.

"When we announced the PCD FOREVER Tour, we hoped to bring the show to fans across the world," the group said in a statement. "After taking an honest look at the North American run, we've made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to cancel all but one of the North America dates."

Although Malik, Malone, and fellow tour canceler Meghan Trainor have cited other reasons for their changes of heart — health struggles, scheduling challenges, and family obligations, respectively — fans and media outlets alike have speculated that low ticket sales could be at least partially to blame. As the internet began circulating screenshots from each tour's Ticketmaster venue maps showing swaths of still-empty seats, some have dubbed this phenomenon "blue dot fever," framing the trend as a backlash against a broken, overpriced ticketing system.

But while it's well-documented that live music lovers are fed up with forking over piles of cash, don't get too excited: This probably isn't a sign that the great concert-ticket squeeze is coming to an end. More likely, it's a series of hiccups in the average concertgoer's cost-benefit analysis.

As Rebecca Haw Allensworth, visiting professor at Harvard Law School, previously told Vox: "Most of the drive behind those really big, expensive concerts is just people's willingness to pay."

The concert industry is still booming for bona fide A-listers

It turns out that not every performer can price-gouge and get away with it.

That privilege is largely reserved for superstars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — figures whose concerts are designed as grand spectacles and treated as once-in-a-lifetime opportunities — and the new generation of pop giants following in their wake.

Olivia Rodrigo experienced such intense demand for her forthcoming arena trek that she added over 20 shows to her original schedule, including a 10-show run at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, breaking Jay-Z's record for the longest residency. Harry Styles will play a whopping 30 shows at Madison Square Garden later this year — and despite prime tickets costing four figures, his fans flocked to the presale in record numbers.

These success stories aren't reserved for artists making strictly pop music either, but rather for artists making fabulously popular music, whatever the genre. Noah Kahan, a folk-rock phenom whose first-week album sales rival those of Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish, comfortably sold out his 2026 stadium tour — more than 1 million tickets across 30 concerts, per The Wall Street Journal. Even with Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange — a program artists can opt into that prohibits resellers from charging more than face value — the toll to see Kahan up close this summer could run about $500 per fan. When tickets went on sale, even nosebleed seats hovered around the three-figure mark.

These eye-popping price tags have become standard fare for big stars, especially since pandemic restrictions lifted; the average ticket price in 2026 is $144, Fortune reported, compared to $82 in 2020.

Peering into their hollow wallets, fans tend to blame Live Nation, which a federal jury recently found liable for holding an illegal monopoly. Still, much of the problem can be traced to simple supply and demand. Superfans of Rodrigo, Styles, and Kahan have evidently deemed these splurges worthwhile, signaling to the live event industry that there's still money on the table. If people are willing to pay, ticket prices are likely to keep rising. Live Nation reported record-high concert attendance in 2025 and $3.79 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026 alone, a 12% increase from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the live-music boom may have led some artists to overestimate their star power and sales potential.

"The acts that really have community around them, and authenticity, are doing incredibly well," Howie Schnee, president and co-owner of the concert promotion company CEG Presents, told me. "Noah Kahan is an obvious example of that. And of course, in the jam-band world, Billy Strings and Phish and Goose — a lot of people who follow those acts, that's their No. 1 favorite band. Could anyone ever say the Pussycat Dolls are their favorite act?"

Mid-tier pop stars are trying — and failing — to take advantage of the moment

The symptoms of "blue dot fever" are more contained than they may appear, Schnee said, noting they're more indicative of overenthusiastic booking strategies than "emblematic of the industry overall."

Although Malone is a popular artist by any metric, he's currently in the midst of a countrified rebrand, and it's unclear how many fans will follow his tour bus into new territory. Tickets for his next tour, co-headlined by Jelly Roll, went on sale before Malone's new album was even finished — prematurely assuming the size and eagerness of his paying audience.

Malik, Trainor, and the Pussycat Dolls, meanwhile, have all achieved commercial success and cultural relevance in the past — but one No. 1 hit from a decade ago doesn't justify the rising cost of an arena ticket today.

In an era when a ticket to any average pop concert threatens to break the bank — we're not even counting the rising costs of transportation and accommodation to get to the concert in the first place — fans are becoming more selective. Personally, as a proud pop girl who grew up with "Buttons" and "Don't Cha" on my iPod, it's no contest: I'd rather skip the Pussycat Dolls reunion gimmick ($120 for upper bowl at Madison Square Garden; I checked) and put that money towards a more expensive ticket to see Rodrigo sing "Drivers License" live.

As for Schnee, in just a few days, he's bringing his family to see Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden. Even as someone with more than 30 years of industry experience, he found the total cost mind-boggling: "Throw in gas, parking, food, whatever," he quickly calculated, "it becomes $1,400 for one night."

Schnee added that he wouldn't swallow that expense for any average Joe with a guitar. If an artist is charging arena prices, they better be having an arena-sized impact on the zeitgeist.

Despite the economic anxiety and uncertainty plaguing many of us, Schnee said, the demand to see some artists in the flesh is "recession-proof" — emphasis on some.

"People definitely have to make a decision," he concluded. "They can't do it all."

• Morgan Stanley thinks inflation will peak sometime in the coming month.
• The bank's top economist sees a "trifecta" of inflationary pressures heading into the summer.
• The Fed is unlikely to cut rates at all this year amid price growth concerns, he said.

The worst of the inflation spike may be just around the corner, Morgan Stanley says.

The bank said it expects rising inflation to peak sometime in May or June due to a confluence of factors that are all simultaneously pushing prices higher into the summer months: tariffs, the Iran war, and an ongoing lag in housing inflation measures, according to Michael Gapen, the bank's chief US economist.

Speaking to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Gapen said he believes the US is currently experiencing "peak pressures" with regards to inflation. The actual peak in yearly price growth is likely to come in the following months, he added.

• Tariffs: The last bit of inflation from President Donald Trump's tariffs is feeding into core prices, Gapen said, pointing to how the prices of goods, like apparel, were rising.

  Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, picked up to rise 2.8% year-over-year last month, up from a 2.6% yearly pace in March.

• Energy prices: Oil prices have spiked since the start of the Iran war, and a major factor that pushed energy inflation higher in April.

  Energy prices soared 17.9% year-over-year last month, accounting for about 40% of the broader inflation number, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. Gas prices in particular were up 28.4% in a year.

• Lag in housing inflation: Inflation from shelter costs is seeing a lag from the federal shutdown last fall, Gapen said, referring to how the shutdown paused the government's data collection processes. He referred to the recent acceleration in shelter prices as a "catch-up" effect.

  Shelter inflation rose to 0.6% in April, double its pace the prior month, according to the last CPI report.

"You still have kind of a — what I call a trifecta here," Gapen said. "We think the Fed's on the sideline for the rest of this year," he added of the outlook for Fed rate cuts.

The prospect of Fed cuts has been mostly taken off the table this year as inflation has crept higher. Consumer prices surged to a 3.8% yearly pace in April, the hottest inflation has been since 2023, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Markets are pricing in just a 1% chance the Fed will cut rates at all in 2026, down from a 31% chance priced in a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

With warm weather finally here, it's time to switch out your thick, puffy comforter with something more lightweight and breathable. For hot sleepers especially, the best cooling comforters can keep night sweats at bay and prevent overheating.

I tested a wide range of options and spoke with sleep experts to find the best comforter for hot sleepers. Whether you're looking for a lightweight blanket that actually cools you or a breathable down-filled comforter, I've got an option for you. For more of the best cooling sleep products, check out our guides to the best cooling pillow, best cooling sheets, best cooling mattress, and best cooling mattress topper.

Our picks for the best cooling comforters for hot sleepers

Best overall: Rest Evercool Cooling Comforter - $229 $160 at Rest 

Best value: Silk & Snow Down Alternative Comforter - $110 $88 at Silk & Snow

Fluffiest: Slumber Cloud UltraCool Comforter - $299 $224 at Slumber Cloud

Best down: Lands' End Essential Down Comforter - $280 $224 at Lands' End

Best bamboo: Cozy Earth Bamboo Comforter - $388 at Cozy Earth

Best hypoallergenic: Sijo AiryWeight Eucalyptus Comforter - $235 at Sijo

Best lightweight: Coop Sleep Goods Cool+ Blanket -  $179 $143 at Coop Sleep Goods 

Best overall

This comforter is breathable, cool-to-the-touch, and soft. The Rest Evercool Comforter quickly became a standout favorite during testing. It's one of the coolest comforters I've ever tested — my husband and I never woke up hot or sweating during the latest heat wave when we tested it. Incredibly lightweight, it feels soothingly light and airy, making it a joy to snuggle into with its soft, silky, and smooth nylon and spandex shell.  

It's lightweight. It's reversible and comes in a variety of colors, including my personal favorite, aqua blue. Crafted from a blend of natural Tencel and Sorona, an eco-friendly fiber made from renewable, plant-based materials, the Rest comforter offers exceptional breathability and moisture-wicking capabilities. Washing it was a breeze since it's so lightweight, and it retained its shape perfectly without clumping, shrinking, or stretching. 

It doesn't collect hair, so it's perfect for pet owners. The added benefits of a 30-night return policy (as long as it's in its original packaging), one-year warranty, Oeko-Tex certification, hypoallergenic properties, and pet friendliness make it even more appealing. I was pleasantly surprised to find no cat hair sticking to it — a bonus feature for pet owners.

But it's not perfect. It is strictly a comforter and does not have loops if you're looking to use a duvet cover, and it can slide easily when paired with silky cooling sheets. As someone who doesn't typically run hot, I woke up feeling chilly at least once. Unlike me, my husband, a hot sleeper, reported waking up feeling comfortably cool throughout our testing period. Overall, though, the Rest Evercool comforter lives up to its promise for hot sleepers, effectively managing sweat and moisture for a truly restful night's sleep. 

Best value

Silk & Snow's comforter is puffy and breathable. The Silk & Snow Down Alternative Comforter was a delightful surprise in terms of both comfort and value. Opting for the lightweight version with 175 GSM (grams per square meter), the lower fill is ideal for those who tend to overheat at night. It strikes a perfect balance of cool and cozy. During our tests on warmer nights, it effectively dissipated heat, ensuring we woke up feeling comfortably warm but without any overheating issues. 

It's an excellent value. Though I was initially skeptical about its affordability compared to other options, I was pleasantly surprised by its luxurious feel and the quality of its materials. The 100% cotton exterior provides excellent breathability, and the vegan microfiber fill gives it a plush, down-like sensation that is incredibly soft to the touch. It's also available in all-season and winter weights of 375 GSM and 500 GSM, respectively. 

It fits perfectly in a duvet cover. It has retained its softness and plushness remarkably well after multiple washes. Practical features like built-in corner loops to keep the duvet insert in place and a handy storage bag added to its functionality. I recommend the Silk & Snow to anyone looking for a cozy, budget-friendly cooling comforter that doesn't compromise on quality. 

Fluffiest

Despite its fluff, Slumber Cloud's comforter doesn't overheat. The Slumber Cloud UltraCool Comforter stood out as one of the fuller options, and its filling does wonders for temperature regulation while maintaining a substantial weight that you can feel. Compared to the others we tried, we loved how puffy and easy to maneuver it is. Throughout our testing, neither my husband nor I felt uncomfortably warm — the shell feels cool to the touch and effectively prevents heat buildup, keeping us comfortable all night long.

Both the shell and fill kept me cool. The shell, made of cooling nylon and spandex, not only feels light and fluffy with a beautiful silky soft finish but actively cools as well. The fiberfill impressively manages heat and moisture by absorbing, storing, and releasing it, effectively adapting to temperature changes. It kept us at a comfortable temperature without ever letting us get too hot, ensuring a cozy sleep experience throughout testing.

For something less puffy, check out the lightweight version. The comforter maintains its shape well, even after washing, and features convenient corner loops for securing it inside a duvet cover. While I also tested the thinner lightweight comforter version, I preferred the plushness of the UltraCool, though both were equally effective at temperature control. Overall, besides being a bit pricey, I didn't find many faults with it. I highly recommend the Slumber Cloud comforter for anyone in warmer climates seeking both plush comfort and excellent temperature regulation.

Best down

If you love the feel of down, this comforter is for you. The Lands' End Essential Down Comforter strikes just the right balance between warmth and breathability. Its lower 550 fill power makes all the difference in maintaining a plush feel without trapping heat, making it a good choice for hot summer nights.

It compresses nicely without feeling bulky. I loved the feel, but it might not appeal to those looking for a thicker, more plush comforter — though cooling comforters are generally thinner to minimize heat retention. The cotton sateen shell adds a touch of elegance and reminds me of the cozy luxury found in high-end hotels. We looked forward to snuggling into it every night during testing. What impressed us the most was its ability to stay light and airy despite the down fill.

But it's not the coolest comforter on the list. My husband, the hot sleeper, mentioned getting a tad warm at least once during testing, but he quickly cooled down after briefly uncovering to cool off before covering up again. The comforter features fabric loops for securing in a duvet cover and a handy storage bag. Overall, the Lands' End Essential Down comforter is a great option for those who prefer down fill. The comforter is both lightweight and substantial, making it suitable for warmer weather without overheating.

Best bamboo

Bamboo is one of our favorite materials for cooling bedding. Thanks to its natural breathability, moisture-wicking properties, and temperature control, the Cozy Earth Bamboo Comforter is the top pick for anyone seeking a natural bamboo option that feels cool-to-the-touch. Its luxurious bamboo viscose fabric shell and fill are crafted to naturally regulate temperature.

It's luxurious. Once unpacked from its beautiful canvas bag with leather straps, I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely it fluffed up. It molds around my body without trapping heat, providing a lightweight feel that keeps us cool and dry. Both my husband and I agree — it kept us refreshed, cozy, and feeling like royalty all night long. However, my husband, being the hot sleeper, did mention feeling a bit warm in the morning once during testing on a particularly humid night, though it was far from uncomfortably hot.

It's pricey and difficult to care for. The higher price tag forces me to be more conscientious about care and maintenance. Using a protective duvet cover is a must. Plus, since it's strictly spot or dry clean only, it's crucial not to risk washing it incorrectly if you're investing in this pricier option. Overall, it's an excellent choice for sleepers looking for naturally temperature-regulating bamboo that is responsibly sourced and suitable for year-round use.

Best hypoallergenic

This comforter is refreshing and hypoallergenic. If both allergies and overheating are among your primary concerns, the Sijo AiryWeight Eucalyptus Comforter can be a total game changer. I had one of the most refreshing and comfy sleep experiences using this comforter — even through warmer nights. The Tencel lyocell shell and fill are made from eucalyptus wood pulp, so it really feels super clean and fresh.

Eucalyptus is one of the best materials for hot sleepers. What really impressed me was how cool, silky, and soft it felt against my skin. The eucalyptus fibers are great at absorbing moisture and keeping heat at bay, so we actually stayed dry all night long. The comforter is treated with a silver ion antimicrobial treatment to make it extra clean. Plus, it's certified asthma & allergy friendly and Oeko-Tex approved to ensure that no toxic chemicals are found in the product.

It's pricey, but I think it's worth it. Though it is a bit of an investment, this hypoallergenic, cooling comforter can be worth it for its quality and eco-friendly design. It's a top pick for anyone who wants a high-quality, cooling and hypoallergenic comforter that is also comfy and kind to the environment.

Best lightweight

The Cool+ blanket is silky-smooth and lightweight. I've really come to love Coop's products because they consistently exceed expectations, and its Cool+ blanket is no exception. If you're a hot sleeper looking for a refreshing, cool-to-the-touch option, the Cool+ Blanket is a fantastic choice. Coop's cooling technology disperses more heat than bamboo, silk, or other popular synthetics. The breathable yet super-soft blend of nylon and spandex maintains an optimal temperature, allowing heat to dissipate throughout the night.

It cools quickly and wicks away moisture. I've used this comforter everywhere, from the bed to the couch, and it remains lump-free even after multiple washes. It's light, airy, and silky-smooth, making every night's sleep a delight — and yes, I've continued using it even after testing. The comforter effectively dissipated heat, maintained a comfortable temperature, and cooled down quickly.

It's similar to the Rest Evercool. There was a slight initial odor, which vanished completely after the first wash. Now, it's perfect. It's become one of my top favorites, offering exceptional quality and effectiveness at a fraction of the cost compared to other options. Deciding between this one and the Rest Evercool was tough. The Evercool is our overall pick because it's available in more color options, is hypoallergenic, and pet-friendly. But performance-wise, they come very close, both offering that refreshing, cooling sensation that hot sleepers seek for relief. It also does not have loops to be used with a duvet cover.

Our top picks compared

What to look for in a cooling comforter

To find the best cooling comforter, consider these essential factors along with your personal preferences and needs: 

• Fill: Opt for safe and certified fills that promote temperature regulation such as bamboo, Tencel lyocell, Eucalyptus, or cooling fibers
• Shell material: Look for cool-to-the-touch shells that are made with breathable fabrics like cotton, bamboo, Tencel, or eucalyptus. 
• Cooling tech: Consider comforters made with special cooling technologies that actually work well at regulating temperature, like our top pick, the Rest Evercool made with natural Tencel and Sorona filling blend or the Slumber Cloud's Ultra ClimaDry by Outlast fiberfill cooling technology. 
• Breathability: Choose comforters with excellent breathability; it's crucial to opt for one that allows air circulation to prevent heat buildup.
• Comfort and feel: Look for your preferred texture, loft, and softness against the skin to ensure comfort without compromising the cooling benefits.
• Ease of cleaning: Check the care instructions to determine how easy it is to maintain the comforter. Some require extra care, while others can be machine-washed and dried at home.

• Return policy and trial period: Consider a comforter with flexible return policies and trial periods in case it doesn't meet your expectations. It's important to allow time to adjust to sleep products such as comforters and pillows and to test out the effectiveness of their cooling capabilities. We highlighted options that provide generous trial periods and flexible exchange and return policies.

How we test cooling comforters

Our testing methodology

I tapped into my experience as a certified sleep science consultant and connected with experts like Nishi Bhopal, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep specialist, Alex Dimitriu, MD, dual board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and Chris Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep specialist to evaluate the top cooling comforters on the market, focusing on these key factors that impact sleep quality: 

• Sleep quality testing: I spent 7 consecutive nights personally sleeping with each comforter in a climate ranging from 75 to 90 degrees (during a heat wave), taking notes on comfort and feel, temperature regulation, breathability, heat retention, and cooling capabilities. Additionally, my husband — a natural hot sleeper — joined me in testing the comforters and provided his perspective on how well they performed. 
• Materials and certifications: We took note of each comforter's material, looking for the most innovative and effective cooling technologies, and looked for certifications for quality. 
• Cleaning: We carefully read and followed care instructions, caring for the comforters multiple times to assess long-term durability. Some comforters in this guide are dry clean only or can be spot-cleaned. 
• Shape retention: We dragged the comforters from the bed to the couch and noted any lumps or flattening after washing and sleeping with them. Some, like the Slumber Cloud UltraCool Comforter, require light fluffing after washing. 

Meet the expert behind the guide

Suzy Hernandez, freelance contributor: I'm a certified sleep science consultant with experience in sleep research. Now, I test and review sleep products for a living. I developed the testing methodology for this story and tested our top picks with the help of my husband, who sleeps hot.

Cooling comforter FAQs

What are the best comforters for hot sleepers?

Dr. Winter says that in addition to a comfortable room temperature and light clothes, a cooling comforter that dissipates heat can help hot sleepers get better sleep. Dr. Dimitriu said that cotton, eucalyptus, and bamboo are the materials to look for when shopping for a cooling comforter.

Can cooling comforters help with night sweats?

Yes, cooling comforters can help with night sweats by dissipating heat and creating a cooler sleep environment, according to Dr. Nishi. They won't actually eliminate night sweats or hot flashes, but they are cool-to-the-touch and enhance comfort during the night.

Are cooling comforters machine washable?

It depends on the comforter, since blankets with cooling properties can be delicate. Some are machine-washable, while others might require dry cleaning or spot cleaning. Always check the care instructions before washing and drying.

Can I use a duvet cover with a cooling comforter?

Yes, you can use a duvet cover with a cooling comforter, though some might not have duvet loops. I recommend using a duvet cover made of cooling materials like bamboo or cotton to enhance the cooling effect.

Madewell has built a loyal following for its laid-back approach to everyday style. The brand is best known for denim, but its lineup goes well beyond jeans, with easy tees, oversized button-downs, relaxed dresses, leather bags, and polished basics that feel trendy without being over-the-top. It is the kind of retailer shoppers turn to when they want clothes that feel effortless but still put together.

A big part of Madewell's appeal is that the pieces are easy to wear on repeat. The brand leans into classic silhouettes, comfortable fabrics, and neutral colors that mix well with almost anything already in your closet. It's why we love it so much, making Madewell a favorite in our guides to the best white tees, plus-size clothing, women's workwear, petite clothing, and more.

Madewell is not exactly cheap, though, so we keep an eye out for sales, promo codes, and extra markdowns before checking out. The retailer regularly offers discounts on seasonal styles, denim, and wardrobe staples, and using a Madewell coupon code can further reduce prices. Below, we have rounded up the best Madewell promo codes and current deals worth shopping right now.

Today's best Madewell coupons

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You can find a full list of current markdowns on Madewell's sale pages at any time.

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How to use Madewell coupon codes

Start by adding coupon-eligible items to your cart. From the "Shopping Bag" page, apply a coupon by clicking the "Add a promo code" dropdown, pasting a code into the text box, and clicking "Apply." Once the coupon is added, continue to checkout to enter your shipping and billing information.

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Madewell coupons: frequently asked questions

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Madewell offers students and teachers a 15% discount both online and in-store with a valid school ID. Military members can also shop online with a 15% discount when they verify their status.

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• The Pentagon is betting on relative newcomers like Anduril to mass-produce cheap missiles for future wars.
• US officials are chasing low-cost cruise missiles and low-cost hypersonics amid stockpile concerns.
• The push explores whether "disruptive new entrants" can scale weapons production fast enough for war.

The Pentagon is preparing to test low-cost missiles from a handful of "disruptive" defense tech companies in hopes of rapidly scaling the US military's stockpile of affordable cruise and hypersonic missiles.

The Department of Defense announced agreements Wednesday with four companies — Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5 Technologies — to launch the "Low-Cost Containerized Missiles" (LCCM) program aimed at producing large numbers of cheap cruise missiles.

Another defense startup, Castelion, will support the development and production of low-cost hypersonic weapons.

The effort, focused on "disruptive new entrants," reflects a broader Pentagon push to expand the US military industrial base beyond the traditional defense giants — "prime" contractors like Lockheed Martin or RTX — amid growing concerns about America's ability to produce sufficient munitions during a major conflict.

Those concerns are not theoretical. The US war against Iran has shown how quickly a serious fight can burn through high-end munitions and has raised concerns about how long US missile stockpiles could last in a prolonged conflict.

The Department of Defense is looking to "cheap mass" — inexpensive missiles built in large numbers — that could give the military more staying power when demand for precision strike capabilities outpaces traditional production. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated repeatedly the value of that cheap mass when other stocks run dry.

The Pentagon said in a release that it hopes to procure more than 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles over three years beginning in 2027, via firm-fixed-price production contracts "creating a pathway for rapid and repeatable production of high‑volume, lethal strike capabilities."

The department plans to begin buying test missiles from all four LCCM companies in June 2026, ahead of military assessments.

Castelion, a defense startup developing the Blackbeard hypersonic missile, is set to receive a multi-year procurement contract for at least 500 of its hypersonic weapons annually once those munitions pass testing.

Several participating firms, which were not named in the release, are expected to scale production without direct military investment, a model officials described as designed to reward speed, innovation, and private capital.

Officials framed the initiative as part of the Trump administration's effort to build what they refer to as an "Arsenal of Freedom," leveraging private-sector investment rather than relying solely on government-funded development.

The hunt for low-cost munitions extends beyond this initiative. The Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is also searching for solutions to develop low-cost missiles that can be built in a mere days rather than months.

"We are moving beyond the traditional prime contractors to expand our industrial base, accelerating testing timelines, and sending a clear, long-term demand signal to innovative new entrants," said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, in Wednesday's release on the new DoD effort.

• The yield curve may be sending a positive signal about the US economic outlook.
• The notorious recession indicator has steepened in recent months as long-dated bond yields rise.
• The trend is nuanced, but could lead to hotter business investment and US growth, one firm says.

The bond market's notorious recession gauge may actually be sending some good news about the economy.

The Treasury yield curve — which is often referred to in the context of the spread between the 10-year Treasury yield over the 2-year yield — has famously inverted leading up to US recessions, with short term yields rising above longer-dated rates.

Yet, the yield curve now appears to be flashing a different kind of signal: global bond yields are steepening, which occurs when short-term yields are falling, or when long-term yields are rising.

The effect can be seen across the maturity ladder, with the 3-month and 1-year Treasury yields at a lower level than they were last year, while the 30-year yield is at a slightly higher level.

The pattern is the opposite of the inversion that markets have historically seen in periods leading up to a recession — and it's sending a "vastly underappreciated" positive signal for the economy, according to Fisher Investments.

The bond market is a mixed bag when it comes to economic signaling. Long-dated bond yields have climbed in recent months, partly due to concerns about the long-term fiscal outlook and inflation.

On the inflation side, the fear is that price growth is about to accelerate as the knock-on effects of higher oil prices work their way through the economy, which could cause interest rates to rise.

The silver lining to this dynamic is that, when short-term rates are lower relative to long-term rates, lending is more profitable, which could rev up growth by increasing the flow of money to people and companies, Fisher said.

"At a lag, steeper yield curves encourage faster loan growth, which delivers more capital to households and businesses to spend and invest — driving economic growth," the money manager wrote in its first-quarter report, adding that it expects the bull market to rise alongside the economy.

Business lending has already accelerated over the past year. The balance of all commercial and industrial loans swelled to $2.8 trillion in March, up 5% over the last year, according to Fed data.

Capital expenditures, another reflection of business investment, has also climbed higher over the past five years, fueled in part massive data center and AI spending.

The steeper yield curve has drawn mixed commentary on Wall Street.

Jim Paulsen, a longtime market strategist, said in an April note that the steeper yield curve could be a sign that the US tech sector is about to underperform, as lower short-term rates will drive stronger performance across the broader market.

Researchers at BNP Paribas said they expected the yield curve to continue steepening, partly due to ongoing concerns about the budget deficit, which is raising yields on the long end. Meanwhile, the Fed looks on track to keep short-term rates "on hold" to keep inflation in check, they said in a report this month.

• American Airlines and United Airlines are flying to Venezuela again.
• It comes after US officials tore up a 2019 order barring US carriers from flying in the country.
• Caracas airport used to be a bustling gateway, but economic turmoil had pushed airlines to retreat.

Venezuela is open again, and American Airlines and United Airlines aren't wasting time restarting service.

Both carriers have announced they will return to Caracas, the capital city, after yearslong hiatuses. The airlines last flew to Venezuela in 2019 and 2017, respectively. Delta also left in 2017 but has not announced plans to return.

American resumed flights from Miami to Caracas on April 30; the flight uses an Embraer E175 operated by the carrier's wholly owned regional subsidiary Envoy Air. American will add a second daily E175 flight to Caracas starting May 21.

United will resume daily flights to Caracas from its Houston George Bush Intercontinental hub on August 11, using a Boeing 737 Max 8.

American's return to Venezuela is initially limited to the capital, Caracas, though service to Maracaibo — a coastal city in the northwest where it also used to fly — has also been cleared by the Department of Transportation. United has only applied for Houston so far.

The reopening comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded a prior order barring operations in Venezuela amid security concerns and political instability.

These are American and United's Caracas flight schedules:

American, effective April 30.

• Depart Miami: 10:16 a.m. | Arrive Caracas 1:36 p.m.
• Depart Caracas 2:40 p.m. | Arrive Miami: 6:13 p.m.

The second daily frequency, effective May 21, will leave earlier in the day.

• Depart Miami: 8:55 a.m. | Arrive Caracas 12:15 p.m.
• Depart Caracas 1 p.m. | Arrive Miami: 4:34 p.m.

United, effective August 11, subject to government approval:

• Depart Houston: 11:45 p.m. | Arrive Caracas 5:30 a.m.
• Depart Caracas 8 a.m. | Arrive Houston: 12:30 p.m.

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows American has about 680 scheduled flights between Miami and Caracas this year.

Before 2019, it flew up to 5,000 flights annually from cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, New York, and San Juan, and was the largest US operator in Venezuela.

United's flight is not yet showing in Cirium, but based on the August launch date, it'll run roughly 280 flights between Houston and Caracas through 2026.

United has historically had a much smaller presence in Venezuela than American. It operated 225 flights on the route in 2017, though it operated for only half the year; it flew about 500 in 2016.

Demand is expected to be driven primarily by "VFR" (visiting friends and relatives) traffic among the large Venezuelan diaspora in Florida, though the nation is also bracing for more international tourists and business travelers.

While United won't face any competition from Houston, American will compete in Miami with the Venezuelan carrier Laser Airlines, which relaunched flights on May 1 using a leased Airbus A320 from US-based Global Crossing Airlines. The jet can hold about twice as many people as Envoy's E175.

Laser cannot operate its own aircraft in the US because Venezuela's aviation regulator is rated below international safety standards by US authorities.

Nearly two dozen other foreign airlines also serve Venezuelan cities, with about 40,000 flights collectively scheduled for 2026, per Cirium — less than a third of the roughly 130,000 the airport handled at its 2013 peak, during its era as a key gateway for oil, business, and international travel.

Revived service to Venezuela comes after Duffy, in January, tore up a 2019 order restricting flights and reopened its skies to commercial flights.

The decision followed the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a US military raid that helped reset relations between the Trump administration and the remaining Venezuelan leadership.

"By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States," Nat Pieper, American's chief commercial officer, said in January.

The airline said it worked with regulators and other key stakeholders to assess security and ensure a safe return.

The Trump administration has targeted undocumented Venezuelans living in the US as part of its mass deportation effort, and accused some of being violent gang members. Direct commercial flights offer Venezuelans a way to self-deport, should they choose to.

Some airlines that had continued serving Venezuela despite the country's crisis briefly suspended flights earlier this year during US military operations.

Many have since returned, including LATAM, Avianca, and Copa Airlines, as well as European carriers like TAP Air Portugal, Iberia, and Turkish Airlines.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in April when the first US airline resumed Venezuela flights, and has been updated.

• Alexandr Wang said that tensions between some AI leaders are "unfortunate."
• He hopes the rivalries will cool. "Maybe it gets worse, then it gets better," he said.
• Wang, who faced criticism from Meta's former chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, said he had since met with the AI researcher.

Tensions are high in AI.

The leaders of AI don't seem to be on the best of terms. Feuds abound, from Sam Altman and Dario Amodei to Altman and Elon Musk — the latter of which is playing out in court.

Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, has his own rivalries. On the "Core Memory" podcast, Wang called any hostilities in the AI industry "unfortunate."

"My real hope is that all these animosities subside over time and then people sort of come together and realize we are building this incredibly important technology," Wang said. "It's important for all of us to be really thoughtful about that as we build it."

Yann LeCun, Wang's former colleague, is one of his primary critics. The ex-Meta chief AI scientist called Wang "inexperienced" and said that he didn't fully understand AI researchers.

On the podcast, Wang said that he saw LeCun in India a few weeks after the comment. LeCun also congratulated the Meta Superintelligence Labs on its launch of Muse Spark AI model, he said.

"Yann is a notable, very outspoken person," LeCun said. "I think everyone always knows what Yann is thinking."

Wang applied his optimistic philosophy to his relationship with LeCun: hopefully, as the company nears superintelligence, it will get better. LeCun did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Host Ashlee Vance said that it seemed like relationships in the AI community were getting worse.

"Maybe it gets worse, then it gets better," Wang replied.

Vance also referenced another AI leader: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The duo was once roommates. Then Wang's Superintelligence Lab launched a poaching campaign — armed with Meta's checkbook — that targeted staff of major AI labs, including OpenAI.

In June, Altman said that Meta's luring of talent via large compensation packages could hurt them. "I don't think that's going to set up a great culture," Altman said.

On the podcast, Vance said that he texted Altman about the interview with Wang. "He did not have flattering things to say," Vance said.

Wang didn't directly comment on his relationship with Altman. OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The Meta AI leader voiced empathy for his fellow AI heads. There are "various mischaracterizations about them," he said.

"What's out there is never always correct," Wang said. "It can be frustrating, but I choose to just channel it into the work that we're doing."

• The Cannes Film Festival is underway in France between May 12 and May 23.
• Stars like Jane Fonda and Demi Moore have already attended in glamorous outfits.
• Others, like Heidi Klum, missed the mark with their red-carpet fashion.

The red carpet has officially been rolled out in Cannes, France.

Celebrities are flocking to the resort city this week to celebrate the Cannes Film Festival, which showcases new films and promotes highly anticipated projects from around the world.

Naturally, many attendees have already made red-carpet appearances in showstopping fashion, from elegant ensembles to daring looks that push the Cannes Film Festival dress code.

These are the best and worst outfits we've seen so far.

Demi Moore had a princess moment in a shimmering gown at the festival's opening ceremony.

The actor and 2026 Cannes Film Festival jury member arrived on the red carpet in a custom Jacquemus gown.

Her strapless, white piece had a fitted bodice with a peplum waist, a mermaid skirt, and all-over iridescent sequins. It looked elegant on Moore and set the tone for the red carpet.

You also couldn't miss her massive Chopard necklace. The sparkling piece had five rows of large diamonds that sparkled in the light.

Heidi Klum's dress would have looked better in a different color.

Klum wore an Elie Saab design in pastel yellow for her first day at the festival.

The strapless dress featured a deep neckline adorned with a large pink flower, ruched fabric knotted at her waist, and a floor-length skirt with a matching train.

Though the gown's silhouette worked great on Klum, especially with her wavy hairstyle, its light color washed her out. The same dress in a more vibrant shade would have been more striking.

Jane Fonda proved that you can never go wrong with a sleek black dress.

The actor and activist wore a custom Gucci gown for the opening ceremony.

The sequined garment had a high neckline, long sleeves, and a floor-length pleated skirt.

It was the perfect choice to complement Fonda's curly bob hairstyle, and it was strongly accessorized with a diamond-and-stone pendant necklace.

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu wore a gown that overwhelmed her petite frame.

The "Emily in Paris" actor walked the red carpet in a statement ruffled gown.

The fuchsia piece had long, exaggerated sleeves, a puffed semi-sheer skirt, and a cape-style train at the back.

Though the gown's color looked stunning on Leroy-Beaulieu, as did her diamond accessories, its silhouette was too overpowering and distracted from her glamour.

Elijah Wood showed why good tailoring never goes out of style.

Wood wore a classic black tuxedo at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It comprised a double-breasted jacket, which he wore unbuttoned, a satin bow tie, and trousers tailored perfectly to him.

The suit's strong fit made him stand out from other attendees who also wore menswear on the red carpet.

The actor completed the look with leather dress shoes and a white button-up top.

Moore returned on day two of the festival in a purple gown that didn't work as well.

Her off-the-shoulder gown was crafted from a gauzy, see-through fabric that wrapped around her body. It was form-fitting and extended into a long, split train behind her.

The color was stunning on Moore, but its shimmering material didn't photograph well.

A lining underneath could have improved the iridescent effect.

Alexandra Leclerc and Charles Leclerc looked glamorous together.

The newlyweds walked the "La Vie D'Une Femme" red carpet together in classic eveningwear.

Alexandra Leclerc wore a strapless, semi-sheer gown covered in rose-gold mesh and sequins, while her F1-driver husband wore a classic tuxedo.

He embellished the latter look with a bow tie and a diamond, leaf-shaped brooch.

Gillian Anderson's look was almost perfect — but not quite.

The actor arrived in a sleek, baby-pink gown with four thick straps across the shoulders. The straps and belt around her waist were adorned with chunky crystals and pearls.

Though the color and style suited Anderson, the gown's silhouette could have been tailored to her better.

Aja Naomi King stunned in white.

The actor chose a white gown for the second day of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and it was the perfect choice.

The dress was made from a statement floral lace that was sheer enough to reveal her pink satin slip beneath. It also had ruffled feathers, adding another feminine touch.

She completed the look with a diamond choker necklace and a white flower in her hair.

• Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch has turned the company around — it was losing lots of money before he showed up, and now it's profitable.
• He still has plenty of other worries, like the end of Google traffic and the rise of Substack.
• One thing he says he has a plan for: the eventual replacements for star editors Anna Wintour and David Remnick.

Condé Nast was a money-losing magazine publisher in 2019, when Roger Lynch took over as CEO. Now it's profitable.

How'd he do that?

Cuts and consolidation are part of the story. But Lynch says he's focused on growing newish businesses, like the annual Met Gala his Vogue title oversees — a Super Bowl for people who like seeing celebrities in out-there outfits.

He's also had to navigate complicated relationships with big digital platforms like Meta and Google, which used to drive lots of traffic to his sites but don't anymore. And more recently, with AI companies like OpenAI, which could be competitors to his properties but for now are giving him cash. (Axel Springer, which owns Business Insider, also has an OpenAI deal.)

One thing he says he hasn't had to worry about is pressure from the Trump administration — a distinction he likes making with the likes of Paramount and Disney, who get a lot of attention from Washington. He also says he's not terribly worried about seeing his employees leave to set up their own Substacks, because running a solo media business isn't for most people.

And as far as the question people in and outside Condé talk about all the time — who will replace fashion icon Anna Wintour, his chief content officer, and David Remnick, who runs The New Yorker, when those legendary editors retire? — Lynch says he has an answer. But he's not telling.

Peter Kafka: In other interviews this year, you've repeatedly brought up the idea that you run a media company that doesn't worry about upsetting Donald Trump or his administration —that you don't have to worry about interference from the FCC or the DOJ. Who is the audience for that message?

Roger Lynch: The audience is our own employees and our future employees.

We have a talent brand that is very important to us, and I think if you're a journalist today, there's fewer and fewer places where you can practice your best work without being either impacted directly by the government or by the ownership group.

That is a source of competitive advantage. In the seven years I've been at the company, not once have our owners or our board come to me and said, "Hey, don't publish this. Don't publish that." And not once have I done that to our editors, because we have the best editors in the world, and the way to keep the best editors in the world is to stay out of their way and support them.

I really believe that is the key to our success, and I'm fortunate that we're owned by a family that believes in that, too. So I talk about it publicly because I want people to know — especially journalists who are maybe at places where they don't feel that they have that freedom — that should there be an opportunity to work at Condé Nast, they'd be welcomed here, and they would not be interfered with.

So much media chatter these days is about independent creators like Emily Sundberg, who, in a different era, might be working for one of your titles, but instead has her own center of gravity and her own audience. Is there a way for you to work with someone who's become a successful solo operator?

These new outlets for creatives or journalists are very good. This is an industry that's been under pressure. There are fewer jobs in it than there were five years ago. So new outlets and new ways for journalists or creatives to be able to develop businesses that can sustain them is only good.

It does make us think differently about how we operate. We have to be more creative. We have to say, "OK, there may be somebody who's got a Substack who is in an adjacent field that we can work with in some areas, and they'll have their Substack, and it's not necessarily competitive with what we do, and that's OK."

You'll probably see us do more of that.

But what is the upside for someone who makes their own stuff, gets paid well for it, and gets profiled in The New York Times? What is Condé Nast giving them by saying, "You can now publish in our outlet, too?"

Take someone like Lachlan Cartwright, at Vanity Fair. He has Breaker, his own publication. It's great, but it's a limited audience that he'll reach on his own. Working with us gives him access to a much broader audience than he would be able to develop just on his own.

It's a pretty good model to have: You can have somebody as talented as he is and connected as he is building his own business — but at the same time, collaborating with us.

And what about keeping the next Lachlan Cartwright or Emily Sundberg, who may be working for one of your publications right now, from going off and doing their own thing? How do you convince them to stick around?

We haven't had a lot of that happen.

The unfortunate case with Substack is there aren't that many that really can make a good living doing it. And I think those that do find that it is hard work. You are constantly having to produce, you are constantly having to think about how you grow your business.

For some people, that's exhilarating and can be very successful, and for some, it's exhausting. I think there's a limit as to how many people will be able to do that.

One day, Anna Wintour and David Remnick will no longer work for you. They're not young people. They are very good at what they do, and your company leans on their authority in a really meaningful way. What is the plan when they leave?

We're talking about two of the most successful editors ever. So it will be very, very difficult to find people who could ever replace them. But guess what? I'm sure the same was said about Grace Mirabella when she ran Vogue for several decades before Anna came in, or Tina Brown or William Shawn [at The New Yorker].

Has either of them told you, "This is who I want to replace me"?

One of the things I also implemented when I joined was succession planning. It was very clear that this had never been done before at Condé Nast, and it caused people to be very uncomfortable to start talking about who could ever possibly replace them.

We always look to have a broad selection of potential people who could fulfill a role, but you never know whether they're going to be available or what the situation is. We also work to bring in talent, specifically with the idea of succession. We run a really disciplined process every single year: I report it to my board, we spend time going through. We have our editors …

You run through a process of "If David Remnick got hit by a bus today, here's who would replace him?"

Look, the standard process for every company I've run is you have an emergency successor identified. You have a list of people who could be ready now, or in the next year or two. You have a list that could be three to five years, and a list that could be five-plus.

So these lists exist. The files exist, they're on your desk, as Pam Bondi would say.

They are not on my desk. They are locked away.

We revise them every year. We go through a formal process where we evaluate it every year, and some names are added, and some names drop off.

And do Anna and David participate in this process?

They do.

OK. Let's find the list, people.

Good luck with that one.

• A new Gallup survey shows that 7 in 10 Americans oppose data center construction.
• Opposition crosses party lines, though Democrats are more likely to take a harder stance.
• Environmental concerns drive anti-AI sentiment.

You know AI data centers have an image problem when more people say they'd rather live near a nuclear reactor.

A new Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans say they don't want a data center being built where they live, far more than the 53% who would oppose construction of a nearby nuclear power plant.

Of those opposed to data center construction, 48% said they were strongly in opposition.

The survey, conducted in March, found that data centers are broadly unpopular across the political spectrum.

Democrats were more likely to express strong opposition. 56% of Democrats indicated strong opposition to local data center construction, compared to 39% of Republicans and 48% of Independents.

More than a quarter of Republican and Independent respondents said they were somewhat opposed, compared to 19% of Democrats.

In the March survey, 46% of all respondents said they worry a great deal about the impact of data centers on the environment.

The vast majority of data center opposition stems from concerns over the environment and use of natural resources, Gallup found in a follow-up April web survey.

Half of the opponents of local data center construction cited the impact on resources as their main concern, with 18% citing excessive water and energy use.

Nearly a quarter of opponents were concerned about the impact on quality of life, including rising property values. Also, 20% said they were concerned about increased costs, including higher electricity bills.

Anti-AI sentiment was a less important factor for opponents, as 10% said they disliked the technology, and 4% said they don't trust it.

• Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang said his team isn't just in it for the money.
• Meta reportedly made gigantic offers, including $100 million packages, amid the AI talent wars.
• Wang called it "an incorrect assumption" that money was the sole reason Meta poached some key members.

Meta made some big splashes in the AI talent war, but the tech giant's AI chief isn't thrilled by the narrative that his team is a bunch of mercenaries.

"This is one of, I think, the larger, I would say, like narrative violations or maybe like differences between external perception and what the day-to-day inside is like actually," Wang told tech journalists Ashlee Vance and Kylie Robison during an interview for their "Core Memory" podcast that was posted on Wednesday.

Vance asked Wang about the reputation that Meta's SuperIntelligence Lab is composed of top AI researchers who were lured away from rival companies, at least in part, thanks to the very generous terms Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his team put on the table. Top AI researchers reportedly received $100 million offers.

"I think it's like an incorrect assumption to think that, like the researchers are just money motivated or anything," Wang said. "And for most of them actually like, you know, the financial prospects of them staying wherever they were look very good as well, like looked very, very, very strong as well."

Instead of money, Wang said Meta's recruits were motivated by other factors, including the prospect of having a large amount of compute at their disposal. Business Insider has previously reported how dedicated compute is a big part of leading tech companies' recruitment pitch.

"People joined because there was high compute per researcher, so they could make more progress than maybe they would be able to make it wherever they were before, because there's great talent density like people saw that it was like a truly cracked group that was pretty small, and that we were going to give them the resources and freedom to make very bold research bets," Wang said.

Wang, who cofounded Scale AI, was viewed as one of the top prizes in the AI talent war. Meta spent $14 billion to acquire nearly half of Scale AI and to lure Wang to lead a new AI team. Meta's other top recruits include former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, who helps lead the development of AI products; Ruoming Pang, who was the head of Apple's foundation model team; and Trapit Bansal, a former top researcher at OpenAI.

Beyond the compensation packages, rival AI and tech executives have poked fun at the lengths Meta went to woo AI researchers. Vance asked Wang about OpenAI's chief research officer, Mark Chen, who said that Zuckerberg hand-delivered homemade soup to an unnamed OpenAI employee.

"I've also delivered soup to people we've been recruiting from Meta," Chen previously told Vance.

Wang said he didn't think the soup was homemade, but regardless, the moment showed the extent to which Meta was willing to go to show how much they cared.

"Part of the premise of building this lab was also that, like, we had to show everyone that we really, really cared about this technology and we cared about their specific research directions and what they were working on," he said. "And it was a very individualized recruiting process."

• The eighth season of "Love Island USA" is set to debut on June 2.
• Although it's a dating show, only nine couples who met through it are still together.
• Three couples from season seven are dating now.

Buckle up, bombshells: A hot new season of "Love Island" is about to take over the villa.

Amid the announcement of the new "Aftersun" hosts — Ciara Miller of "Summer House" fame and influencer Tefi Pessoa — and the second-ever "Love Island USA" engagement, we thought it was the perfect time to check in with every couple who's met through the hit reality show.

Of the seven "winning" couples, only two are still together, with the other relationships either forming off-screen or not capturing enough votes to take home the big prize. Over the last two years, fans have been able to continue watching these relationships grow with the spinoff show "Beyond the Villa."

Here's every single couple from the "Love Island USA" universe who are still together.

Hannah Wright and Marco Donatelli

Wright and Donatelli met on season five of "Love Island" and eventually won the entire season in summer 2023.

In May 2025, they became the first couple from the American version of "Love Island" to get engaged, with a wedding date set for December 2026, according to their Instagram posts.

Carsten Bergersen and Taylor Smith

Bergersen, affectionately known as "Bergie," and Smith also met during season five of "Love Island" in 2023. They came in third place.

After three years of dating (and a stint on "The Traitors" for Bergersen), they got engaged in May 2026.

Serena Page and Kordell Beckham

Beckham and Page had a rocky time during season six of "Love Island" in 2024, but they worked through their Casa Amor drama and ended up winning the season.

Fans got to see their relationship grow during the first season of "Beyond the Villa," and the two are still together now.

Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi

Kateb and Harichi were another one of season six's power couples, with Kateb being the biggest breakout star from "Love Island USA" ever. After a dramatic breakup with Rob Rausch, Kateb met Harichi, and the two have been inseparable since. They were ruled the season's runners-up.

Like Page and Beckham, Kateb and Harichi were cast members on the first season of "Beyond the Villa," and fans watched as Harichi navigated a move to Los Angeles from London.

Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen

"Nicolandria," as they're known, were a slow burn on season seven of "Love Island" in 2025, but fans were rabid about a potential friends-to-lovers connection — and after Vansteenberghe's former partner, Cierra Ortega, was removed from the show, the path was clear for Vansteenberghe and Carthen to make it romantic.

They came in second during their season and are still going strong nearly a year later.

Vansteenberghe, who is based in Florida, spoke about being in a long-distance relationship during a brief cameo in the second season of "Beyond the Villa." Carthen lives in Houston.

"Honestly, our schedules have been aligning up pretty nicely," he said. "She coincidentally was in LA yesterday, so we got dinner, chilled, kicked it. Just pray that it aligns."

Taylor Williams and Clarke Carraway

Williams was originally paired up with Carthen during season seven, but a Casa Amor connection (and a "kid feeling") with Carraway was enough for him to change his mind and join a new couple. They were eventually eliminated by viewers together toward the end of the season.

They're still together and were both main cast members on season two of "Beyond the Villa," and viewers got to see a new side of their relationship.

Iris Kendall and TJ Palma

Kendall and Palma started off season seven together, but Palma was eventually dumped from the villa after not receiving enough votes from his fellow islanders, and Kendall elected to stay. She recoupled with Pepe Garcia, and they made it all the way to the finale, placing fourth.

However, soon after the show ended, Kendall and Garcia broke up, and she reconnected with Palma. Fans got to see the aftermath of his drama on "Beyond the Villa," but through it all, Palma and Kendall have remained together.

Kat Gibson and Bryce Fins

Fins and Gibson appeared on season four in 2022 (the first season to air on Peacock), but were never together romantically on the show — Fins was paired up with Courtney Boerner twice before getting eliminated, and Gibson was single for most of her time before choosing to leave the villa of her own accord.

Sleuths on Reddit have suspected since at least February 2024 that the two were dating, and the couple hard-launched in 2025.

Cormac Murphy and Johnnie Garcia

These two weren't even on the same season, but the "Love Island" universe is very connected.

Murphy was on the first season of the American "Love Island" in 2019 — he didn't last long — and Garcia was on season five in 2023. She made it all the way to the episode before the finale before getting dumped.

The two revealed their relationship in 2024 on Instagram, and they still regularly post together. Garcia shared that "Love Island" producers asked if Murphy would be a bombshell last season, even though the two are dating.

• Six months after my mom, 70, moved to Spain to be with my family, she decided to return to the US.
• She struggled with the language barrier and didn't form a community here the way I'd hoped.
• Although her departure was challenging for both of us, she's now much happier living in the US.

After picking up my sons from school in Las Rozas de Madrid in March, I returned to our apartment to find my 70-year-old mom in bed, where she'd spent most of the day.

When I asked if she was OK, she told me what I subconsciously already knew: She wanted to return to the US.

It had been five months since she sold her condo in Connecticut and joined me, my husband, and our two sons in the Madrid suburb where we'd moved to two months prior.

I assumed she'd thrive in Spain, doing all the things she loved — traveling, pursuing new hobbies, and meeting people — on a larger scale. I had to accept that the future I'd imagined for us wasn't going to be what I had pictured.

My mom had a harder time with the language barrier than the rest of us

Before my mom moved to Europe, she put effort into learning Spanish, hiring a tutor and practicing daily on language-learning apps.

Out of the five of us, she'd done the most preparation. My husband and sons arrived knowing only a few basic words, and I was working with two semesters of college Spanish from 20 years ago.

As beginners, we quickly learned that keeping up with fast-talking native speakers isn't easy. I frequently felt stupid, getting confused in the middle of conversations and pretending I understood with haphazard nods.

Because my family and I plan to live in Spain permanently, I knew I had to push through the feelings of discomfort. After all, they came with the territory of moving to a new country.

My mom, however, had a harder time getting past those moments. I watched her freeze in conversation as the Spanish words she was looking for escaped her. She grew timid in a way I'd never seen.

One evening after her first two-hour Spanish class, she came home and went straight to bed. She didn't leave her bedroom the next day. I could tell she was approaching her limit.

She always loved travel and adventure, so I assumed she'd thrive in Spain

Part of the reason I had such a hard time reconciling with this version of my mom is because it was so different from the woman I'd always known. For starters, she'd never been someone who stayed still.

Before moving to Spain, she hiked, practiced yoga, did Pilates, painted, and danced. She wandered through museums, traveled everywhere from Peru to Norway, and went out of her way to experience different cultures. She even previously studied Danish and French.

A natural introvert, she's always moved through the world with a quiet curiosity and independence I admire. She was rarely at her Connecticut condo for more than two weeks at a time.

So when we shared that we were moving to Spain from Connecticut, I thought joining us would be a dream opportunity for her. Neither she nor I imagined she'd struggle to find her place.

But as my husband threw himself into a 600-hour intensive Spanish course, the boys found their footing at school, and I made new friends, I watched my mom turn inward.

I noticed that she left the apartment increasingly less, forming no routine or community. Although I encouraged both, I knew it had to be her decision.

When she told me she wanted to leave Spain, I knew she was right. She needed to get back to herself.

Her decision to return to the US was hard for us, but I'm glad she prioritized her happiness

Days before my mom's flight back to the US, we sat across from each other in a café. She told me she felt like she'd failed, but what she'd done for her grandsons in the six months leading up to that moment — showing up for them during a disorienting transition when everything was unfamiliar — was something none of us would ever forget.

I knew that our setup in Spain wasn't right for her, and no amount of our love could substitute a life that felt like hers.

When she left, I hugged her tight and told her I'd see her again soon. As an only child now living an ocean away from my mother, I felt the weight of our goodbye. I was sad but felt strongly that she deserved to love her life again.

Now, my mom has settled back into life in the US, where she's currently staying with her brother in Massachusetts. She hikes 3 miles daily and regularly goes to a yoga studio. She's even practicing Spanish again on her own terms.

She tells me she feels good again, and when she says it, I believe her. I miss her in Spain, but knowing she's happy matters more than having her close to me.

• Popsmith cofounder Tal Moore nearly ran out of cash in early 2024 and sold his personal stock to keep the company afloat.
• He and his cofounder turned things around through cold outreach.
• After landing on Oprah's "Favorite Things" list, Popsmith sold out repeatedly and is now expanding beyond its flagship popper.

In early 2024, Tal Moore's company was close to running out of money.

"We had less than two weeks of cash left in the bank," the Popsmith cofounder told Business Insider.

Moore and his business partner, who launched their stainless-steel stovetop popcorn maker in 2023, couldn't move enough product to cover the company's expenses.

"I ended up selling $600,000 worth of my personal stock to keep us afloat," Moore said. "We were burning $100,000 a month, and so that gave us a six-month runway to really turn the business around."

Two years later, Popsmith's popper is on the shelves of retailers including Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma, available on Costco.com, and has been featured on Oprah's annual "Favorite Things" list.

Moore told Business Insider how he got into the popcorn business, went from nearly losing the company to repeatedly selling out of product, and plans to expand internationally and become a fixture in the popcorn space.

From gumball machines to popcorn poppers

Moore, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, started young. At 12, he sold one-inch gumballs to his middle school classmates. As a teenager, he bought spiral gumball machines and built a vending route in the Pacific Northwest.

By his early 20s, he had bought the domain Gumballs.com, his first move into e-commerce. From there, he expanded into other products and categories, including popcorn. His second online store sold movie-theater-style poppers and antique pushcarts.

What drew him to both gumballs and popcorn was their nostalgia factor.

"They're both things that people have really positive associations with and bring a bit of joy," Moore said. Over the next two decades, he started and sold a range of e-commerce businesses, but popcorn was the category he kept coming back to.

Finding a niche in high-end poppers

In 2020, Moore and his business partner decided to sell off their other e-commerce businesses and focus entirely on popcorn. They saw an opening for a premium stovetop popper — something that felt less like a novelty item and more like "heirloom-quality" cookware.

"Nobody had developed something like that in popcorn," Moore said. "Most of the popcorn poppers in the market are very carnival kitch."

It took about two years and $3.5 million to develop and launch the product, he said, but expenses didn't ease up once Popsmith had something to sell.

"We were spending about 50% of our revenue on ads, on Meta and on Google," Moore said. By January 2024, the financial situation was urgent, forcing the co-founders to lay off all of their employees, cut agencies, and strip the business down to its essentials.

Throwing 'Hail Marys' and landing on Oprah's list

Moore and his partner needed to build awareness for Popsmith without spending a ton of money.

"At this point, I had to throw some Hail Marys," he said.

He started by sending poppers and handwritten notes to the CEOs of Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel, the retailers he had designed the product for in the first place. Within two months, he said, buying teams from both companies had reached out.

Then came Oprah.

Moore had no idea how to get on Oprah's annual "Favorite Things" list — "it's just like a total black box," he said — until he saw an opening on LinkedIn. A junior editor at Oprah Daily had posted about popcorn, so Moore cold-messaged her. She replied, requested a popper, and eventually helped get the product in front of Oprah.

According to the editor Moore spoke with, the team considers about 15,000 products each year before Oprah selects the final list. Popsmith made the cut.

After the list was announced in November 2024, the company sold out of every popper in a matter of weeks. Popsmith went on to sell out three times over the next five months.

"Oprah is the OG influencer," Moore said. "Whatever Oprah points to, people pay attention."

Building beyond the popper

Moore said Popsmith is now focused on becoming more than a single-product company. The popper was the flagship product, but he sees a larger opportunity in popcorn kernels, seasonings, and other consumables.

"We really want to own popcorn," he said.

International expansion is also on the horizon. Moore said the company saw early signs of global demand during its 2023 Kickstarter campaign, when about a quarter of its backers were international. Because the Popsmith popper doesn't plug in, it avoids some of the complications that come with selling electrical appliances across markets.

"Anybody with a stovetop can cook popcorn in a Popsmith," he said.

The company is on pace to do $10 million in revenue this year and reach profitability, Moore said, a timeline that's faster than he expected.

"I'm invested in quite a few DTC brands, and most don't achieve profitability until year six or year seven, so I would say we're well ahead of schedule."

That said, his ambitions are much larger: "We have aspirations to become a $100 million brand and beyond, and I'm highly confident that we'll get there."

• Dr. Jake Kelly, a cardiologist in Alaska, picked up a few heart-healthy habits over the years.
• A busy dad of 3, Kelly relies on morning workouts and small movements to stay sufficiently active.
• He also eats mostly whole foods and prioritizes his sleep for better cardiovascular health.

Cardiologist Dr. Jake Kelly didn't always prioritize his heart health.

Even though he was raised to love sports like soccer and running, and was encouraged by his mother to stay active, his habits stalled once he started college.

"I found video games. I just chose not to be active, minus walking to class," Kelly, based in Alaska, told Business Insider. "I gained 30 pounds my freshman year."

After realizing how terrible he felt because of his weight gain, he did a "hard reset," losing all the weight in three months and eventually becoming a triathlete in college.

He started prioritizing more macronutrients, such as proteins and carbohydrates, in his diet, and learned to vary his exercise routine across different stages of his life, from medical school to having three kids, who are now 10, 8, and 5.

Kelly tries to relay the same advice to his patients.

"What seem to be small or poor habits compound over time," he said. "In your 20s, it doesn't matter as much, but by the 30s, it starts adding up."

"And certainly by the 40s, 50s, and 60s, you now have this burden of bad habits that's led to poor health metrics," including increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, he continued.

Kelly shared the four habits he prioritizes for good heart health, even amid a busy work and parenting schedule.

He works out first thing in the morning

Like many of his patients in their 30s and 40s, Kelly has to balance his routine with caring for his family. "You just don't have any time to do things," he said.

One big adjustment he made was working out first thing in the morning, as his wife does. "It only took her 15 years to convert me," he said.

Kelly dedicates one hour in the morning to either biking or running with the dog. He also tries to squeeze in two strength-training sessions each week, usually for about 20 minutes.

"I just protect that time," he said.

Short resets and a standing desk help him avoid being sedentary

In addition to his morning workouts, Kelly aims to get 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day with what he calls "exercise snacks."

"Sitting is the new smoking — our smoking rates are very low, but we're all super sedentary," he said, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

To combat this, he aims for short resets throughout the day, such as getting up to power-walk around the office, taking a bathroom break, or doing 10 air squats. The breaks usually last no more than 15 minutes, and he aims to take one every hour or so.

He also said his kids keep him active. "They need to walk or jog a mile, kick the soccer ball, ride bikes," he said. "So now you're getting this extra exercise moving with your kids.'"

Kelly also can't sit for long periods due to having proximal hamstring tendinopathy, a chronic overuse injury common in runners, and a nerve compression syndrome that causes sharp pain in the lower body.

He uses a standing desk as much as possible, opting to walk and move as much as he can in between.

He follows a straightforward, heart-healthy diet

When it comes to his diet, Kelly keeps things pretty simple.

"Right now, everybody's protein, protein, protein," he said.

However, he thinks people should avoid glorifying or demonizing any one type of food.

"I tell my patients: 'Eat three meals a day, ideally with a nice balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.' We want all of the three macronutrients."

Kelly's breakfast is usually protein-packed, fat-free Greek yogurt, topped with mixed berries for fiber and extra nutrients. He adds toppings like minimally processed Kashi cereal, chia seeds, and peanut butter for additional fiber, healthy fats, and protein. He sometimes adds protein powder to stay fuller throughout the day.

His lunches are salads he makes with leftovers like chicken, tofu, roasted vegetables, and grains, mixed with a simple homemade olive oil-and-vinegar dressing.

Dinner centers on protein. "We eat a lot of salmon and halibut here in Alaska," Kelly said. He incorporates roasted vegetables and carbohydrates such as quinoa and farro, which provide additional protein.

Snacks are usually nuts, fruit, or Chomps meat sticks on his strength training days.

Kelly also likes to stop eating between 6 and 8 p.m., giving himself a 10 to 12-hour fasting period to aid digestion and reduce heartburn.

"I'm done eating by 8, and then I try not to eat until the next day," he said.

If he wakes up starving, he'll eat an apple before his workout. "I just listen to my body," he added.

Winding down for sleep

Kelly tries to be as consistent as possible with his sleep routine, going to bed within the same 30-minute period every day.

"Sleep is the best performance enhancer there is," he said, as it helps the body repair tissue and clear brain toxins overnight. It's also linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

He tries to stop eating a few hours before bedtime, stops drinking fluids two hours before sleep to avoid waking up in the middle of the night, and stops using screens an hour before he hits the sack.

"These kinds of resets set you up for the next day," he said.

• I ordered hot-fudge sundaes from Cold Stone Creamery, Dairy Queen, and Carvel.
• I loved the thick hot fudge on the one from Dairy Queen, even though the sundae itself was simple.
• However, the version from Carvel was nearly perfect, and I'd definitely get it again.

Nothing screams warm weather quite like an ice-cream sundae.

And although the classic combination — typically ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream — seems pretty basic, I was curious to see which dessert chain does it best.

So, I visited my local Cold Stone Creamery, Dairy Queen, and Carvel locations and ordered a medium hot-fudge sundae at each chain. Here's how it went.

Prices may vary by location.

First, I visited Cold Stone Creamery.

My first stop was Cold Stone Creamery, an ice-cream chain known for its menu of preset Signature Creations. However, diners can also create their own concoctions with a selection of ice-cream flavors and topping mix-ins.

Since I didn't see a hot-fudge sundae specifically listed on the menu, I decide to make my own. I asked for a "love it" — which is what the brand calls its medium cup — of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and whipped cream.

I was disappointed by the amount of fudge on my sundae.

The sundae from Cold Stone Creamery cost $9.68 and left me a little disappointed.

The ice cream itself was pretty good, but when I think of a hot-fudge sundae, I usually imagine a healthy serving of thick, warm chocolate sauce. However, the version from Cold Stone only had a slight drizzle of room-temperature fudge on top.

Next time I return to Cold Stone, though, I'll probably stick to one of the tried-and-true Signature Creations.

Next, I headed over to Dairy Queen.

Like Cold Stone Creamery, Dairy Queen has a signature menu item: the Blizzard. These blended creations are made with soft-serve ice cream and a variety of customizable mix-ins. The chain also offers classic soft-serve options and sundaes.

In sticking to my original mission, I ordered the medium hot-fudge sundae, which included just ice cream and fudge.

I couldn't get enough of the warm, thick fudge.

Although Dairy Queen's hot-fudge sundae didn't come with whipped cream or a cherry, I was impressed by the copious amount of delicious fudge. It was thick, hot, and chocolatey.

The vanilla soft-serve was good too, and had a delightfully airy texture.

At $6.79, this was the cheapest — and simplest — of the three ice-cream treats I tried.

For my final stop, I went to Carvel.

Finally, I went to Carvel, a chain known for its ice-cream cakes, soft and hard ice-cream options, and blended treats.

When I ordered a hot-fudge sundae here, I finally heard the golden words I'd been hoping for — "Would you like whipped cream and a cherry?" Yes. Yes I did.

In my opinion, Carvel provided the perfect hot-fudge sundae.

The $8.52 sundae from Carvel delivered everything I was looking for — vanilla ice cream, hot fudge that was actually hot, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

The ice cream had a rich, creamy, and almost nostalgic flavor to it. The fudge was good, too, but I definitely preferred the thicker version from Dairy Queen.

Overall, though, this was a really solid hot-fudge sundae — and the clear winner out of the three options I tried.

It's a busy day in the sports world, with the WNBA season officially underway and the NBA and NHL Playoffs going strong. We've compiled the best live sports on TV today, and the top ways to stream every game.

Baseball and soccer (football) take up the bulk of the broadcast and streaming space today. Among the can't-miss games on May 13, 2026, is a Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami match on Apple TV, a Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons Eastern Conference Semifinal clash on ESPN, and the Italian Open quarterfinals on the Tennis Channel.

This isn't a comprehensive roundup of all live sports on TV today, but the list covers the most notable events across popular leagues. It's worth keeping in mind that some games (including MLB match-ups) have blackout restrictions in local markets and for nationally broadcast games.

Baseball

• New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles (MLB) at 1:05 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited/MLB.TV
• Los Angeles Angels vs. Cleveland Guardians (MLB) at 1:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) at 6:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Washington Nationals vs. Cincinnati Reds (MLB) at 6:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Philadelphia Phillies vs. Boston Red Sox (MLB) at 6:45 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) at 7:07 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Detroit Tigers vs. New York Mets (MLB) at 7:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves (MLB) at 7:15 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox (MLB) at 7:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Miami Marlins vs. Minnesota Twins (MLB) at 7:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• San Diego Padres vs. Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) at 7:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Texas Rangers (MLB) at 8:05 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros (MLB) at 8:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• St. Louis Cardinals vs. Athletics (MLB) at 9:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV
• San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) at 10:10 p.m. ET on MLB.TV

Basketball

• Seattle Storm vs. Toronto Tempo (WNBA) at 7 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons (NBA) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Las Vegas Aces vs. Connecticut Sun (WNBA) at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network
• Chicago Sky vs. Golden State Valkyries (WNBA) at 10 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass
• Indiana Fever vs. Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) at 10:30 p.m. ET on USA Network

Hockey

• Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (NHL) at 8 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV

Tennis

• Italian Open (ATP/WTA) all day on Tennis Channel

Soccer

• Espanyol vs. Athletic Club (La Liga) at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Villarreal vs. Sevilla (La Liga) at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Arsenal vs. Everton (FA Women's Super League) at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace (Premier League) at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network
• Lazio vs. Inter Milan (Coppa Italia) at 3 p.m. ET on Paramount Plus
• Getafe vs. Mallorca (La Liga) at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Alavés vs. Barcelona (La Liga) at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Charlotte FC vs. New York City FC (MLS) at 7:15 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Orlando SC vs. Philadelphia Union (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• New England Revolution vs. Nashville SC (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• CF Montréal vs. Portland Timbers (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami CF (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• DC United vs. Chicago Fire FC (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Red Bull New York vs. Columbus Crew (MLS) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Sporting Kansas City vs. LA Galaxy (MLS) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Minnesota United FC vs. Colorado Rapids (MLS) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• St. Louis City SC vs. LAFC (MLS) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Seattle Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• San Diego FC vs. Austin FC (MLS) at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Real Salt Lake vs. Houston Dynamo FC (MLS) at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV

Some games are only available on broadcast TV and don't have an easy stand-alone streaming counterpart. For these events, cord-cutters will usually need one of the best live TV streaming services. Below, you can find some of the best ways to watch popular sports channels, including ESPN, TNT, truTV, the USA Network, and the Tennis Channel.

How to watch ESPN

Several different services allow cord-cutters to live stream ESPN. ESPN Unlimited, ESPN's direct streaming counterpart, costs $30 a month and unlocks full live streaming across all of ESPN's linear networks.

ESPN is also available through top live TV streaming services, like DirecTV, Fubo, and Sling TV. The network is available in the service's main plans and cheaper sports-centric packages.

DirecTV's MySports genre pack costs $65 a month, but new users can get $20 a month off their first two months of service after a five-day free trial. Fubo's Sports + News plan costs $56 a month, but new users can get $10 off their first month after a five-day free trial. Sling TV's Essentials plan costs $20 a month.

How to watch TNT and truTV

Sporting events that air on TNT and truTV are available to live stream on HBO Max via B/R Sports. This option is included in HBO Max's ad-free tiers, which start at $18.49 a month.

TNT and truTV are also available through live TV services, such as DirecTV and Sling TV. The networks are available in DirecTV's MySports genre pack, which costs $65 a month (although new customers can get $20 a month off their first two months of service after a five-day free trial).

TNT is also carried in both of Sling's main plans. Sling Orange costs $46 a month, and Sling Blue starts at $46 a month, but the latter sometimes costs more with local channels. Orange is also available in short-term passes, the cheapest of which is $5 for single-day access.

How to watch USA Network

Unlike NBC, USA Network isn't available to stream live on Peacock. Instead, you'll need a live TV streaming service, like DirecTV or Sling TV, to watch the network. DirecTV plans with the USA Network start at $65 a month for the MySports genre pack, but new users can get $20 a month off their first two months after a five-day free trial. Sling TV plans with the USA Network start at $46 a month for Sling Blue.

How to watch the Tennis Channel

The Tennis Channel is available to live stream directly via a subscription through its website, or by using a live TV streaming service, such as DirecTV, Fubo, or Sling TV.

The Tennis Channel is carried in both DirecTV and Fubo's sports plans. DirecTV MySports costs $65 a month, but first-time customers can get $20 a month off their first two months of service in addition to a five-day free trial. Fubo Sports + News costs $56 a month, but new users can get $10 off their first month after a five-day free trial.

Sling TV is another Tennis Channel-friendly option, though you'll need an add-on to access the channel since it's not included in any base plan. You'll need to get a base plan, and then select the Sports Extra add-on (an additional $11 a month).