• Microsoft's earnings were a best-case scenario of strong cloud growth and restrained AI spending.
• The company was rewarded with a 15% stock spike that puts it on pace for its best day since 2008.
• Microsoft's success sets a blueprint that other hyperscalers would be wise to follow.

It's hard to imagine Microsoft turning in a better earnings report.

Not only did the tech giant post strong growth in its AI-powered Azure cloud-computing business, it also refrained from raising its capex-spending forecast.

Investors went nuts over the report, pushing Microsoft shares up as much as 16%. The stock is currently on pace for its biggest single-day jump since 2008.

Microsoft's market success did well to lay out a blueprint for hyperscalers hoping to get investors excited again: Show that you're starting to monetize AI, and don't revise your spending projections upward. If you do that, investors will reward you

It also reinvigorated a market that sold off sharp on Wednesday following Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's post-FOMC address. Here's a rundown of the gains across the market:

• S&P 500: 7,379.32, up 0.9%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 51,723.72, up 0.3%
• Nasdaq 100: 27,905.26, up 2.6%

The chipmaking sector — which has been the foremost lightning rod for AI-spending jitters — got a particularly big boost. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soared 8%, while Micron, Intel, and AMD each spiked double digits.

Microsoft's market-moving earnings report contrasted sharply with that of its fellow hyperscaler Meta.

Meta issued a disappointing sales forecast while simultaneously raising capex projections telling investors that the lower end of its capex projections for 2026. Its stock fell 8%.

Meta-specific concerns aside, Microsoft may have just shown the market that there's a fine line hyperscalers can walk in their spending strategy, one that allows them to both remain competitive and project at least some image of capital discipline.

Jeff Fratarcangeli, the managing principal of Fratarcangeli Wealth Management, told Business Insider earlier this week that it's a line he hopes to see more companies walk in the future. While he doesn't think it's prudent for companies to pull back on capex, he said firms can acknowledge investors' concerns.

"I kind of want to see them play both sides of that," Fratarcangeli said.

"They can say things in a fashion that doesn't necessarily irritate the investors," he continued, "yet still say they're going to be competitive."

• Microsoft updated its insider trading policy to call out prediction markets.
• The tech giant says that employees who have confidential information can't use it for such trades.
• Companies are beginning to crack down on prediction markets.

Microsoft wants its employees to know that it considers prediction markets to fall under its insider trading policy.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Microsoft included an updated copy of its "General Insider Trading Policy," which now mentions both "prediction markets and events contracts."

"If you are in possession of such material, nonpublic information the securities laws and/or Microsoft prohibit you from trading in (or gifting) the securities of that company or engaging in other transactions that provide economic exposure to such company, including through prediction markets or event contracts," the policy reads.

It's not clear when exactly the tech giant updated its policy. A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment beyond confirming the policy's existence. Previous versions of the policy filed with the SEC did not mention prediction markets or event contracts. An event contract is the formal term for the financial stake a trader takes in a real-world outcome.

Both Kalshi and Polymarket, two leading prediction markets, offered trades on which words or phrases Microsoft officials would say during the company's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Kalshi's market attracted over $165,000 in total trades.

Prediction markets have exploded in popularity recently. Kalshi said it recorded more than $27 billion in trades related to the 2026 World Cup.

Microsoft's policy does not go as far as some Wall Street banks. Reuters previously reported that Goldman Sachs sent a memo to employees banning workers from participating in contracts linked to financial markets or political events that could create the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Still, Microsoft's policy is broad enough in scope that it could presumably cover markets for companies like OpenAI and Anthropic if an employee were to obtain private information about them. The policy also applies to information about competitors, which, given Microsoft's diverse interests ranging from gaming to cloud computing, could encompass an even larger universe of potential bets.

"You may not participate in third-party platforms, 'prediction markets,' or similar platforms to bet, wager, or establish positions in event contracts when such activity is based on, or involves the use of, confidential information about Microsoft or any other company (including customers, vendors, or partners of Microsoft or an economically-linked company such as a competitor of Microsoft) obtained through your position at Microsoft," the policy reads.

Federal regulators and the Department of Justice have begun cracking down on suspected insider trading on prediction market platforms. In May, a Google software engineer was charged with violating the Commodity Exchange Act, wire fraud, and money laundering after prosecutors said he used confidential Google information to make more than $1 million on Polymarket.

A Google spokesperson previously told Business Insider that Google's marketing material was accessed using a tool available to all employees, but that using confidential information to place bets is a "serious breach" of Google's policies.

More recently, a White House teleprompter operator was put on leave after he reportedly netted more than $100,000 on Kalshi. The Associated Press reported this week that the employee, Gabriel Perez, was out of his job.

Kalshi and Polymarket prohibit the use of nonpublic information to inform trades and have systems in place to flag suspicious usage to detect any such trades.

Apple's fiscal third-quarter results are Tim Cook's last as CEO, and he's going out on a high note.

As the rest of the Magnificent Seven companies struggle with questions about what all of their AI capex is actually for, Apple has largely sidestepped the debate this year by focusing on their core offerings: consumer hardware.

The stock is the best performer in the elite group of mega-cap tech names this year, up 25%. The company topped a $5 trillion market cap for the first time earlier this week before falling slightly.

Apple's outlook has some challenges, though.

Cook said earlier this year that Apple was raising prices to offset the supply crunch in memory hardware, and the move could impact demand for new devices. The iPhone was left out of Apple's recent price hikes, but Apple is widely expected to boost prices in September with the new lineup as it faces cost pressures on its famously high gross margin. The company could provide signal on possible iPhone price hikes on the earnings call.

Investors are also going to want to hear at least some update about the company's AI plans, even though Apple is not quite a capex story like other tech giants.

Apple will publish its results around 4:30 p.m. ET after the closing bell. The call with analysts will begin around 5 p.m. ET.

• Newly filed court documents reveal how MrBeast pitched brands and what his rates were in years past.
• They show how the YouTuber has become a marketing machine for brands.
• We broke down the takeaways of proposals for Slack, Sony, and Walmart.

How much does it cost to run an advertisement with MrBeast, the world's top YouTuber?

Newly filed court documents offer a glimpse into the content creator's ad rates and pitches to brands as he expanded his business and prepared to launch the first season of his Amazon Prime Video show "Beast Games."

In early 2024, when MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, had about half the subscribers he has today, a 30- to 45-second sponsored segment on his main channel cost around $2.5 million, according to a company rate card shared as part of an ongoing lawsuit with his food-industry business partner.

Buying a TikTok or YouTube shorts video to accompany a main-channel ad would cost another half a million bucks, while using the MrBeast branding on a company's website would run as much as $1 million a month, per the rate card.

With hundreds of millions of subscribers, MrBeast has built a marketing machine for brands. In the middle of 2024, the company said in board meeting documents that it had contracted $91 million in deals with brands heading into 2025, including $15 million from T-Mobile for four video promotions and $12.5 million from Amazon for five main-channel ads. An exact timeframe wasn't specified.

Business Insider sifted through hundreds of documents related to MrBeast's court battle to learn more about how he works with companies on partnerships. In addition to uncovering deal rates, we reviewed pitches to Walmart, Slack, and Sony.

The MrBeast team emphasized the global size of his audience and his stunty videos in pitches. MrBeast himself is prominent in the pitches, though the company has recently been trying to diversify away from his image as it grows.

The proposals are ambitious — one pitched Slack on a $15 million, 12-month program — and show how the company was positioning itself to compete with traditional entertainment giants like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery for ad budgets. That push has continued under MrBeast's current leadership, as shown by a recent TV upfronts week breakfast for brands.

Bryce Adams, the US influencer lead for WPP's influencer agency, The Goat Agency, said the pitches show MrBeast's company positioning itself as a large-scale media company, as if to say, "You should look at us like we're an NBC."

The pitches also matched MrBeast's spectacle-style content. In a sponsorship proposal from late 2022, his team asked Walmart for $8 million to $10 million to fund a video in which contestants would try to buy everything in a Supercenter, with MrBeast footing the bill. MrBeast hasn't made the video, though a February 2023 board meeting presentation showed that MrBeast expected to earn $8 million in revenue from Walmart that year.

He pitched Slack on a marketing partnership in 2023, which may have planted the seeds for a Super Bowl spot three years later, in which contestants used Slackbot to solve clues in a digital treasure hunt.

Imogen Coles, head of influence in EMEA for Ogilvy, said the proposals stood out for their detail on growth and readability.

"Not every creator makes costs and deliverables so clear — they often want more information from the brand first, which can derail a conversation," she said.

Here are four takeaways from the documents, which we've also posted in full below:

1. MrBeast pitches his scale

Front and center in MrBeast's pitches is his massive audience.

His proposals tout how he's the most-followed creator on the planet, with hundreds of millions of followers on YouTube and other platforms.

The decks are light on detail about how the audience differs by platform and geography, data points that are important to marketers and that they might expect up front from smaller creators who have more to prove.

2. 'Jimmy' is central to the campaigns

Donaldson figures prominently in the decks, and they emphasize how he can help brands achieve their business goals.

By partnering with MrBeast, brands will benefit from the trust he's built with his audience, the pitches say. The Slack pitch said that the creator's own team used the workplace platform and that the "super-influencer" could get other creators to sign up, too. It said creators are small businesses that Slack should have on its radar.

"This immediately bridges the gap: why MrBeast and why Slack," said Jo Wong, GM of Pop.Store, an AI commerce company that helps creators build online businesses.

Big marketers are increasingly treating creators as ongoing partners, a shift the deck nods at.

"Fortune 500 companies are finally recognizing the value MrBeast brings to brands. MrBeast serves as a trusted voice and helps translate brand messaging into digestible concepts to the everyday consumer," the Sony pitch said. The deck goes on to quote Sony's then-CEO, who said he wanted the company to be chosen by creators.

3. MrBeast reaches young people who don't watch TV

The creator makes the point that young people aren't watching traditional TV — and brands that want to reach them need to get aboard the creator train.

"Next gen consumers have dramatically shifted to digital media — and specifically digital creators," the Slack proposal said.

The Slack deck argues that partnering with MrBeast is an investment in the future, even if the typical MrBeast viewer isn't running an enterprise today.

"Your Next 100M Customers Watch MrBeast Right Now," it said.

4. He promises results

The proposals highlight brand attributes that could be worked into a campaign, including Slack's productivity tools and Sony's headset features for chatting with other gamers.

The Slack deck also includes examples of how previous MrBeast campaigns drove actions for other companies, like the Brawl Stars mobile game and the Shop app.

The Sony proposal emphasized how MrBeast's online popularity translated to real-life actions, including attracting more than 25,000 people to his first brick-and-mortar MrBeast Burger restaurant.

Overall, a main takeaway of the proposals was that MrBeast's trust with viewers can help translate brand messages to consumers.

"What he's saying is, combining my identity with yours is going to give you reach you're not going to get anywhere else," Adams said.

The full pitches are included below:

Slack: 21 pages

Sony: 27 pages

Walmart: 41 pages

• Taco Bell had a strong Q2, but the start of Q3 was dented by the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
• Taco Bell's US same-store sales fell 2% from from the start of Q3 through to July 27.
• The CFO of Yum! Brands said the impact on sales peaked on July 18, and it's now recovering.

The parasitic diarrhea outbreak took a bite out of Taco Bell's July sales, but it expects a solid recovery.

Chris Turner, the CEO of Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, acknowledged the "current public health issue" without naming the outbreak during Thursday's Q2 earnings call.

"We expect the sales impact to be temporary and are encouraged by a few factors," Turner said. "Elevated uncertainty initially weighed on consumer demand. And since then, consumers have become increasingly aware that this is an industry-wide issue, not an issue specific to Taco Bell."

Since the start of the third quarter through to July 27, Taco Bell's US same-store sales fell 2%, Ranjith Roy, the CFO of Yum! Brands, said on the earnings call.

Taco Bell's sales had steadily improved over the previous 10 days, Turner said, adding that its most recent Tuesday Drops — where the chain offers first-come, first-served deals — was its highest-performing in its history.

The outbreak came after a strong Q2 earnings period, during which same-store sales at the Mexican-inspired fast-food brand increased 7%.

Shares in Yum! Brands were up about 3.5% in early Thursday trading.

Cyclosporiasis summer

This summer, Taco Bell found itself at the center of a major outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasite that can cause explosive diarrhea. The cyclospora season typically lasts between May and August, according to the CDC, but rarely at this scale.

On July 16, the FDA said that shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia was linked to at least 1,644 cyclosporiasis cases between May 13 and July 13. Taylor Farms supplied the lettuce to Taco Bell, and subsequently recalled affected lots.

On July 28, the CDC said 6,707 cyclosporiasis cases had been reported nationwide.

On the earnings call, Roy said the peak impact on sales was on July 18. He said average sales for the last four days, including the weekend and the first two days of the week, were " halfway back to sales levels of the prior year."

Turner added on the earnings call that measures of social sentiment toward the brand had returned to pre-outbreak levels.

• After visiting all 63 major US national parks, I think some are best experienced in the summer.
• Although certain parks are more crowded in the summer months, many are also much more accessible.
• Without snow coverage, parks like Kenai Fjords, Glacier, and Grand Teton are easier to explore.

I would argue that there is no bad time of year to visit the US national parks. But after visiting all 63 of them, I've found that some particularly shine in the summer months.

Although summer is peak vacation and road trip season — which can lead to crowding at some iconic landmarks within the national park system — there are plenty of reasons to explore the parks at this time of year, from better weather to more active wildlife.

Here are the five I always recommend.

Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park is easier to explore in the summer.

In my opinion, Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park is home to some of the most breathtaking and dramatic scenery in the country.

However, if you're driving there, you'll only be able to enter through Exit Glacier Road, which typically closes from late-October to Mid-May due to snow. Better accessibility, combined with warmer weather and longer days, make summer the best time to travel to this bucket-list park.

Because most of Kenai Fjords is only accessible by water, I suggest taking a boat tour or kayaking with one of the many local vendors.

Isle Royale National Park in Michigan is only open seasonally.

Due to harsh weather conditions and its remote location in the middle of Lake Superior, Isle Royale National Park is only open from April 16 through October 31 each year.

The park is also only accessible via seaplane or ferry, and service on the latter is sporadic after early September. That's why the summer months are the perfect time to visit the island.

While there, I recommend hiking to the Minong Ridge and Grace Creek Overlooks.

Summer is a great time to explore Denali National Park in Alaska.

There are many sights in the national parks that are considered bucket-list worthy, and in my opinion, seeing Mount McKinley firsthand is absolutely one of them.

The 20,310-foot peak is the highest in North America, and on a clear day, it can be seen from miles away.

Although the park is technically open year-round, some of the roads, visitor centers, campgrounds, and transportation services shut down after the summer months.

For the best experience, I recommend taking a summer bus tour on Denali Park Road for incredible views of the park and its wildlife.

Montana's Glacier National Park is spectacular in the summer.

If you've ever seen a photo or video of a dramatic mountain road on social media, there is a high likelihood that it was the iconic Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

The roughly 50-mile road makes its way through some of the most photographed spots in the park. However, due to heavy snow, parts of the road are typically closed until at least late-June. So, for the best experience, I suggest visiting in the summer.

Plus, the warmer weather means the chance to take a dip in one of the beautiful mountain lakes, and longer days give visitors plenty of time to explore.

Grand Teton in Wyoming is my favorite national park.

Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming is my favorite national park in any season, but I think summer is the best time to visit.

The park is known for its jagged peaks and ample lakes, which become perfect for hiking, boating, and even swimming in the warmer summer months.

I love taking a scenic boat ride on Jenny Lake, hiking the Taggart Lake trail (parts of which are currently under construction), and swimming or picnicking at Colter Bay Swim Beach.

Like others on this list, the park is open year-round, but the incredibly scenic Teton Park Road, which leads to many of the park's most well-known areas, is only open seasonally from May 1 to October 31.

This story was originally published on June 10, 2026, and most recently updated on July 30, 2026.

• Retail traders sold a net $243 million of single stocks on Wednesday, its biggest one-day outflow since COVID.
• Net selling is something that didn't happen at all in 2021, 2024, and 2025, according to Vanda Research.
• It's just one of a series of signals showing that retail investors are getting more cautious.

The signs keep piling up that retail traders aren't feeling particularly gung-ho about the stock market in 2026.

The latest signal came on Wednesday, when retail sold a net $243 million of single stocks, its largest one-day outflow since the COVID era, according to data from Vanda Research. The selling coincided with a sharp dip in US stock indexes.

It marks the ninth day of net selling for retail traders so far this year — something that never happened for a single day in 2021, 2024, and 2025 combined, Vanda found.

The increased magnitude and frequency of selling is notable. Add to this the fact that average daily buying has declined, and dip-buying has waned for stocks like Nvidia, and you have a retail-investor base that seems less unabashedly bullish than before.

One major shift that's occurred as single-stock net selling has accelerated is a pickup in ETF investing. On Wednesday, as investors dumped single equities, they actually bought $388 million of ETFs, according to Vanda.

Considering that ETFs offer more diversification than single stocks, this is another indication of a retail-trader shift towards a more cautious market stance.

As for which stocks have been sold, Wednesday saw a disproportionate offloading of memory names like Micron, Sandisk, Seagate Technology and Western Digital.

"Retail aren't leaving the market — they're turning far more discerning," Vanda added. "The bigger shift is that retail appear increasingly willing to reduce single name risk while favouring ETFs, a behavioural change that could still leave popular momentum names vulnerable if earnings disappoint."

• President Donald Trump is reshaping Washington, DC, from the White House to federal buildings.
• A proposed 250-foot triumphal arch celebrating America's anniversary would be the world's largest.
• The administration announced a proposed renovation to the city's Dulles airport on Wednesday.

A new ballroom, a 250-foot arch, a memorial garden, and now, a proposed $22.5 billion renovation at Washington Dulles International Airport: During his second term, President Donald Trump is leaving an increasingly visible mark on Washington, DC, from department name changes to 30-foot-tall banners of his portrait.

To commemorate his 80th birthday and America's 250th anniversary earlier this month, the president built a ginormous, eight-sided fighting cage on the White House South Lawn in collaboration with the UFC, which hosted a primetime event outside the executive mansion.

The Trump administration also announced that its renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was completed in June. The $16 million project included sealing and painting the bottom of the pool "American flag blue." The pool was drained again later in July and is now undergoing repairs.

They're the latest on Trump's long list of changes to America's capital. Reasons given for the projects include government efficiency, beautifying the city, enhancing the airport experience, and marking America's 250th birthday.

While many remain ongoing or in legal limbo, the changes the president has already made to the White House and its surrounding areas have altered the face of the nation's capital.

See some of the ways in which Trump has remodeled the White House, US government buildings, and beyond during his second term, so far.

The shuttering of USAID was one of the first physical signs of the Trump administration's remodeling of the nation's capital.

Shortly after taking office, Trump's Department of Government Efficiency spearheaded a sweeping dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, or USAID.

The department froze the agency's foreign aid, slashed its staff and programs, and ultimately moved to dismantle much of the agency's operations and shift remaining functions to the State Department.

Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush joined critics in condemning the move, with Obama calling it a "travesty."

Administration officials framed it as a cost-cutting and accountability effort, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying USAID had "strayed from its original mission" and that "the gains were too few and the costs were too high" around the time of its effective shuttering.

The agency, founded in 1961 to counter the influence of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was housed in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in DC, alongside other government agencies.

Following the agency's formal folding into the State Department on July 1, 2025, its staff, offices, and signage were removed from the building that once housed it.

In May 2025, the US Department of Agriculture debuted banners showing Trump alongside Abraham Lincoln.

By the first spring of his second term, Trump's portrait started appearing on government buildings, with the first being the US Department of Agriculture building, the Jamie L. Whitten Building, in the National Mall.

The 31-foot-tall banners, which were installed to honor USDA's 163rd birthday, cost the department an estimated $16,400, the Washingtonian reported.

They "acknowledge the vision and leadership of USDA's founder, Abraham Lincoln, and the best advocate of America's farmers and ranchers, President Trump," USDA's then-director of communications, Seth W. Christensen, told The Washington Post in May 2025.

There is little modern precedent for the banners, which raised concerns about the politicization of federal buildings. Instead, the norm is for presidential portraits to be displayed inside government buildings and updated between administrations.

The Department of Labor building also features portraits of Trump alongside Theodore Roosevelt.

In August 2025, the US Department of Labor debuted its own Trump banners, initially to commemorate Labor Day but kept up throughout the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations after receiving a "tremendous positive response," a department spokesperson told The New York Times.

The Department of Labor's banners read "American Workers First" and depict the president alongside Theodore Roosevelt, who helped lay the groundwork for the modern Labor Department.

A September report by Sen. Adam Schiff of California also mentioned that the US Department of Health and Human Services had solicited 88-foot-tall banners promoting health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's "Make America Healthy Again" slogan at an estimated cost of $33,726.

In February, a similar banner was hung at the Department of Justice's building.

The Department of Justice, which has traditionally operated somewhat independently of the White House to curb political influence, was another federal agency that showcased the president's portrait.

The banner, hung in February, features the president's portrait and reads "Make America Safe Again."

Among its critics, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the display "beyond parody," while New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim wrote on X, "The Department of Justice is supposed to work for and represent you, not him."

A DOJ spokesperson said, "We are proud at this Department of Justice to celebrate 250 years of our great country and our historic work to make America safe again at President Trump's direction."

The Kennedy Center board voted in December to add Trump's name to the institution.

In December, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts was renamed by its board to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

The name change came after a unanimous vote by the center's board of trustees, which the president had largely reshaped.

"I was honored by [the renaming]," Trump said in the days following the name change. "It's board, it's a very distinguished board, most distinguished people in the country. And I was surprised by it."

Renaming the center, created by Congress as a memorial to US President John F. Kennedy, requires congressional approval. The board's decision to rename it faced criticism at the time, including from some members of the Kennedy family. Some performers canceled booked appearances in the center, while legal battles emerged as Democratic members of Congress sought to block the name change.

In March, the center announced it would undergo renovations starting this summer, during which it would temporarily pause operations, with work expected to last two years.

But on May 29, a federal judge ruled that Trump's name had been added illegally to the center and blocked the planned summer closure.

A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said that the administration would be "complying with the court's order while evaluating all legal options to preserve this revitalization and recognize President Trump's leadership," the Associated Press reported.

Trump's name was removed from the building's facade on June 13, and the Kennedy Center is continuing its operations while the administration evaluates its legal options.

The US Institute of Peace building also had Trump's name added to it in December.

The US Institute of Peace was another DC institution that saw Trump's name added to it.

The Congress-funded, nonprofit think tank was renamed by the administration in a State Department announcement that described Trump as "the greatest dealmaker in our nation's history," per a social media announcement.

"Marco named it after me," the president said at a Board of Peace meeting in February, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "I had nothing to do with it, I swear I didn't. I swear. I had no idea."

Rubio showed his support on X, posting, "President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace. It's time our State Department display that."

The president has announced plans to build the world's largest triumphal arch.

In October, Trump first proposed the building of a monumental arch, dubbed the "Independence Arch," to commemorate America's 250th anniversary.

The arch, proposed to be 250 feet tall, would sit across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial on the Memorial Circle roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery.

While construction on the arch has not yet begun, surveying of the land plot has started, even amid an ongoing lawsuit in which a group of Vietnam veterans sued to block the administration from building the monument.

The group argued that the structure "would dishonor their military and foreign service and the legacy of their comrades and other veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery," per the lawsuit.

In response to a legal challenge from congressional Democrats, a White House spokesperson told The Washington Post of the structure, "It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today,"

In May, the Trump-appointed US Commission of Fine Arts approved the arch's design, partly clearing the way for its construction.

The approved revised design for the arch — which some have nicknamed "Arc de Trump" — features a figure reminiscent of Lady Liberty atop the structure, gilded eagles, gold-lettering inscriptions, and a 360-degree observation deck open to visitors.

The arch, which would be nearly half as tall as the Washington Monument obelisk, would dwarf France's historic Arc de Triomphe, the world's most famous triumphal arch, and be the tallest triumphal arch in the world.

A preliminary assessment by the National Park Service, released on June 8, estimated that the project would require year-round, 20-hour-a-day construction to be completed within a three-year timeframe.

On July 9, the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal agency overseeing planning in the nation's capital, voted 8-1 to give the project preliminary approval and requested additional information, including an analysis of how federal height restrictions apply to the project, before issuing a final review expected later this year.

The demolition of the East Wing began to give the People's House a new face.

In October 2025, the White House's East Wing was demolished, leaving only rubble behind and clearing the way for the president's 90,000-square-foot, $400 million ballroom project.

Previously, the largest event space in the White House was the East Room, which had a capacity of around 200 people. For larger events, tents were erected on the South Lawn.

"For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc.," Trump wrote on Truth Social in October. "I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!"

The president has said the project will be funded by private donors, including Big Tech companies and wealthy individuals.

The demolition of the wing, originally added in the early 20th century and expanded in 1942, altered the facade of the president's mansion and forced the relocation of the first lady's staff offices.

It was met with criticism from preservationists, who said the president needed to obtain congressional approval for the project.

"It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it," former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote on X after photos of the demolition emerged.

Trump has defended the project by pointing to past presidents' renovations, expansions, and modernizations of the White House, and by emphasizing the ballroom's importance for hosting large events. The administration has also dismissed criticism of the construction as "manufactured outrage."

When completed, the president's proposed ballroom will further transform the White House.

The ballroom will be the largest change Trump has made to the White House — others include Rose Garden renovations, new marble floors, and gold embellishments. The new ballroom will also impede the South Lawn's historic driveway, making it no longer circular.

The project was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on March 31, who ruled that the president must seek congressional approval before proceeding with the renovation.

A federal appeals court later paused the judge's order, allowing construction to continue while the case proceeds.

As of May, the ballroom construction was projected to be completed by September 2028, the president told reporters.

Renovations to the Rose Garden have already changed the White House's exterior.

In summer 2025, the president renovated the White House's Rose Garden, which is often used for press conferences and larger gatherings.

The renovation paved over the grass with light-colored stone while keeping the garden's namesake rose bushes, citing the foot traffic during events as the main reason for the project. Most recently, new statues have been added to the Rose Garden.

It wasn't the first time the Rose Garden had changed looks, as it famously did under the Kennedy administration, when roses, magnolia trees, and other perennial and annual flowers were added.

In 2020, Melania Trump oversaw a garden renovation that included the addition of limestone walkways along the open lawn.

In the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River, Trump has pushed changes to the East Potomac Golf Links.

Also on the Potomac River is the East Potomac Golf Links, a public golf course that the president has set his sights on for a potential takeover.

In December 2025, the Trump administration issued the National Links Trust — a nonprofit that operates and maintains public golf courses in Washington, DC, under a 50-year lease with the National Park Service — with a termination notice, The Athletic reported.

The National Links Trust said it was "devastated" by the decision, saying it "has consistently complied with all lease obligations as we work to ensure the brightest possible future for public golf in DC."

Of Trump's involvement with public golf courses, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Golf Digest, "As a private citizen, President Trump built some of the greatest golf courses in the world, and he is now extending his unmatched design skills and excellent eye for detail to D.C.'s public golf courses."

In May, the Trump administration and the National Links Trust reached a deal keeping the nonprofit in charge of DC's three municipal golf courses while clearing the way for the renovations at East Potomac, Golf Digest reported.

During the demolition of the White House East Wing and the construction of the new ballroom, locals have reported that the park has been turned into a dump for construction rubble and debris.

A lawsuit filed in February sought to restrict Trump's takeover of the golf courses. It said that dumping the rubble on the course grounds is "unlawful and possibly hazardous" due to the possible presence of asbestos.

Testing results later released by the National Park Service found that the debris dumped on the fields contained harmful chemicals such as lead, chromium, PCBs, pesticides, and petroleum byproducts, though the agency concluded that the measured levels did not pose a public health risk.

Preservationists have sought independent testing. As of late July, the fenced rubble mound remained on the course, and Trump said renovations would begin in September.

Directly north of the White House, Lafayette Square was fenced off in January for a renovation project.

Lafayette Square, a 7-acre public park directly north of the White House, has also seen changes during the second Trump administration.

The park is a popular attraction for visitors thanks to its views of the People's House, but in recent months it has undergone a makeover.

In late January, the Washington Post reported that the park had been fenced off as part of an improvement project and that it had been designated a National Historic Landmark since 1970.

The work, initially expected to last through May, focused on fixing fountains, sprinklers, benches, and curbs. It is part of a broader initiative undertaken by the National Park Service to "beautify," restore, and upgrade public parks in the nation's capital.

The New York Times also reported that the president was interested in replacing the park's brick walkways with granite to prevent protesters from removing bricks and throwing them.

By April 21, local news outlet DC News Now reported that the park's fountain was back in operation.

In July, the administration unveiled plans to build permanent fencing around the park to enhance safety operations near the White House complex, though critics have said that such fencing could undermine the park's long history as a gathering place for tourists and protesters alike.

A statue garden dedicated to American heroes is planned to take over West Potomac Park.

West Potomac Park, located just west of the Jefferson Memorial along the Potomac River, serves as a public multipurpose field, where locals often organize sports and other events.

Trump's Garden of Heroes, a planned 250-statue monument commemorating American icons, is another of the president's many projects around Washington, DC.

In May, the president announced that the riverside park would soon be the location of the Garden of Heroes, despite lingering questions about project approval, timeline, and costs.

Trump described the existing park as a "totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River" on a post on Truth Social.

A group of preservation and cultural organizations filed a federal lawsuit in June seeking to block the project, alleging that the administration had bypassed required approval, preservation, and environmental procedures.

The administration, which has repeatedly said the work is moving forward, hit back at the lawsuit.

"It is beyond comprehension why anyone would sue over an exhibition that celebrates American greatness by highlighting some of the most pivotal figures in our nation's history," Katie Martin, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, said in a statement, The Washington Post reported.

A sudden repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool also raised legal concerns.

In April, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which stretches between the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial, started undergoing a makeover that was completed in June.

The renovation involved resurfacing the pool, which has long had leaks and algae blooms, with a waterproof compound and painting the formerly gray pool an "American flag blue," as the president described the color.

The administration defended the renovation as an expedited repair ahead of America's 250th anniversary celebrations, with a Department of the Interior spokesperson saying that the blue surface "will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument."

There were questions about the cost and process of the project, reportedly awarded under a no-bid contract. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a DC-based preservation nonprofit, sued the administration days after the project began, alleging that the renovation was conducted without completing the proper reviews required under federal preservation law.

The renovation, initially described as a $1.8 million project, has since been reported to have contracts exceeding $16 million.

An Interior Department spokesperson told the Times that the higher price tag "reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project — more people, more materials, more equipment, and longer hours ahead of our 250th."

By June, the project was announced as complete, and the updated color could be seen in satellite images (above). However, within weeks, the pool had started turning green again, and sections of the new surface had started peeling. It was drained later in July and continues to undergo repairs.

A UFC fighting cage temporarily transformed the White House South Lawn.

A 4,000-seat arena was erected on the White House South Lawn for a UFC fighting event. The structure was built to host the "UFC Freedom 250" event on June 14, commemorating the nation's 250th anniversary and Trump's 80th birthday.

The 30-foot-wide, 600-ton steel cage featured a 92-foot canopy — nicknamed "The Claw" — covering the fighting octagon ring.

An additional stage with large screens was also built in the adjacent Ellipse, a park south of the White House, where over 120,000 members of the public attended, organizers said. That's on top of 4,000 spectators surrounding the ring, which included at least 1,200 active-duty members of the armed forces as well as administration officials and other VIP guests.

A lawsuit filed by two Virginia residents against the National Park Service sought to block the event, alleging that the agency unlawfully authorized the administration's use of the South Lawn.

Over $60 million was spent by UFC and affiliated groups on funding the event and building the structure. The National Park Service court filing added that seven federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, had also "allocated significant resources and manpower."

Trump later compared the fighting cage to France's Eiffel Tower, which was constructed as a temporary installation for the 1889 World's Fair and has remained in place since.

"We're building something in front of the White House that's quite attractive to a lot of people," the president said on a video posted to his TikTok account. "And I'm looking at it, and maybe we'll never ever take it down."

By June 20, workers had begun taking apart the structure and removing it from the White House grounds.

The administration has announced a plan to overhaul the area's main international airport, Dulles.

On July 29, the administration unveiled a $22.5 billion renovation plan for Washington Dulles International Airport.

It would expand the airport by 5 million square feet, add gates, create parking spaces closer to the airport entrance, expand international customs facilities, and enhance walkability within the airport, which is often criticized for its complicated design, according to the announcement.

It would also eliminate the airport's "people movers," bus-like shuttles that have connected the main terminals and gates since 1962, and create a U-shaped underground AeroTrain connecting the concourses.

The new design would work with United Airlines' existing infrastructure at the airport — one of the company's main hubs — and would also include a larger United Polaris business-class lounge.

"This transformation builds on United's long-term investment in our hub to deliver the world-class airport experience our employees, customers, and millions of travelers deserve," United CEO Scott Kirby wrote in the Department of Transportation's press release.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said construction could begin in spring 2027.

• Every summer for the last 30 years, my family has vacationed in Ocean City, New Jersey.
• All 14 of us — ranging in age from 2 to 75 — stay together in one house.
• The trip gives my family time to connect, and I hope the tradition continues for many years.

Driving southbound on the Garden State Parkway on a Saturday morning in July isn't necessarily what I'd call a happy experience — but it's worth it.

Although the traffic can be grueling, something exciting awaits: an exit ramp leading to sun-drenched beach days in Ocean City, New Jersey. Making the drive is a tradition my family has upheld for 30 years.

Growing up, both of my parents' families summered at the Jersey Shore, and soon after I came along, my mom and aunt were determined to keep the tradition alive. So, they started renting a beach house each summer in Ocean City.

Even though we visit the same place every year, the trip is always exciting

Every summer, all 14 of us stay in one big house with a front porch close to the ocean.

Since it takes time for a group this big to pinpoint a week that works for everyone, we end up in a different house each year.

The advantage of this? We've stayed all along Ocean City's coastline and have experienced different parts of the city each time. Plus, it keeps things feeling new and exciting, even though we're always visiting the same place.

Although our home base changes, our routine stays the same — grabbing morning coffees from Aneu, savoring homemade sticky buns from Mallon's, and taking leisurely bike rides along the coast.

Each one of us — ranging in age from 2 to 75 — looks forward to strolling the boardwalk, where the little ones rush toward the Ferris wheel, arcade, and mini golf, while the adults shop for cozy sweatshirts and souvenirs.

We all end the evening with Kohr Brothers frozen custard, a tradition every generation loves.

However, we don't need to be out and about to enjoy ourselves. Part of the charm of the trip is that we can have just as much fun kicking back on the beach or gathering around the table to enjoy my mom's homemade sauce and meatballs.

No matter how we spend the evening, we always return to the house for late-night rounds of Catch Phrase or UNO. The only difference over the years is that we've calmed down the competitive plays since the grandchildren are now part of the mix.

The trip gives my family much-needed time to connect

No matter how busy our lives become, our shore vacation is the one week everyone makes a priority. It's a reunion of sorts that's filled with meaningful conversations and endless laughs all week long.

The size of our group has gradually grown over the years, so aside from Thanksgiving, it's challenging to plan quality time together throughout the rest of the year.

Although our family group chat is always active, this trip gives us the opportunity to share life updates in person. And, of course, we spend lots of time reminiscing on past summers.

What started as my cousins and me digging holes on the beach and diving into the waves has turned into watching the next generation do the same. It's moments like these that I cherish and hope will continue for many years to come.

• My family of five spent a month in Europe with one backpack each, thanks to these packing tips. 
• Use all of the space you have by using packing cubes and clipping items to the outside of your bag.
• Make a capsule wardrobe, try everything on, and do a packing trial run before you have to leave.

When my family started planning our monthlong, dream European adventure, I challenged myself to pack as light as possible.

I have three young kids, so I knew limiting us to one backpack per person would make navigating airports, trains, and cobblestone streets so much easier. Now I don't think I'll ever overpack again.

Read on for some of my top packing tips.

Plan all the aspects of your trip before you pack

If you're looking to pack as light as possible, planning is so important.

Think about the length of your trip, different climates and temperatures, and the types of activities you'll be doing, so you can get an idea of everything you'll need. 

It's important to do this before you even start laying out clothes you may want to bring on your trip.

I found it especially helpful to start writing a list of everything I needed to pack long before our departure. This way, I could gradually gather items and set them aside weeks in advance (when possible).

As I thought of things, I just added them to the list to make sure I didn't forget them.

Create a capsule wardrobe that can be mixed and matched

I knew I had to be strategic with how I packed, especially for our clothes.

For each family member, I created capsule wardrobes, mostly consisting of neutral items that were easy to mix and match.

I also focused on layering, which helped us get the most use out of the items we brought.

Schedule a try-on day to make sure everything fits comfortably

Creating a capsule wardrobe can be tricky, but for us, the key was trying it all on before we left. This was especially helpful for packing for my three young kids.

To ensure everything I packed got worn, I made sure all the items fit and that my kids were comfortable in them and liked wearing them.

Practice packing before the day of the trip

A week before the trip, I did a practice run of the pack.

This helped me visualize what we needed, pare down things we could do without, and identify any last-minute items I needed to pick up to make sure our trip ran smoothly.

This is also an opportunity to weigh your bags if you're working with a suitcase and are concerned about extra fees.

Make sure all your non-clothing items have a place

In addition to packing clothes for my family, I had to gather toiletries, games, snacks for the plane, electronics, and more.

I made sure everything had its own place by assigning storage bags for things like chargers, masks, and important documents, which made packing and unpacking simple and stress-free.

Use the outside of your bag for items you want easy access to

Don't be scared to use the outside of your bag for extra space. Carabiners can be handy for this.

You can clip things like hats and neck pillows to handles and zipper pulls so you don't take up valuable packing space inside your bag.

Test out different bags to see which is most comfortable for travel

Since you'll be wearing the bags through airports and in destination cities, you want to make sure you find something comfortable.

I had my girls test out a few different styles and sizes before picking them out, and I ended up preferring a weekender bag over a traditional backpack.

Make the most of your space with packing tricks and accessories

I used packing cubes and different folding techniques to help make the most of my space and keep my bag organized.

I measured each item against the height of the cube and folded it flat to sit upright, which helped me squeeze in as much as possible and made the items easy to see. This way, I also didn't have to destroy the entire pack to find specific items later on.

Wear your bulkiest items on travel days

If bag space is limited, wear bulky items like sneakers, sweaters, and jackets on travel days. Not only will it save you space, but you'll also be extra comfortable (and warm) for your travels.

My usual travel outfit includes jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie, sweatshirt, or jacket.

Pack an extra, multifunctional bag 

One unexpected item that really came in handy throughout our travels was the extra canvas bag we packed.

We used it to hold extra food and souvenirs. It was also a lifesaver when we needed a place for dirty clothes before laundry days.

The best part is that it was able to fold up small or lay flat in our bags until we needed it.

This story was originally published on November 3, 2021, and most recently updated on July 30, 2026.

• Bond yields rose to new heights following the Fed's latest policy meeting.
• The 30-year US Treasury spiked beyond 5.2%, its highest level in nearly two decades.
• It's a sign investors are doubting the Fed's credibility on inflation after it held rates steady.

The bond market is sending another warning on inflation. This time, it's directed at Kevin Warsh.

The newly appointed Fed Chair struck a dovish tone following the central bank's July policy meeting on Wednesday, announcing that the Fed would keep interest rates unchanged, and would continue withholding forward guidance on where rates were headed through the end of the year.

It was the last thing investors wanted to hear, causing a sell-off in US Treasurys to accelerate as the market fretted about inflation running out of hand.

The 30-year US Treasury yield, a reflection of the market's long-term rate expectations, spiked as high as 5.24% Thursday morning, its highest level in 19 years. Since May, the yield has hovered around its highest level since 2007, and remained above the critical 5% threshold.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield also jumped post-presser, rising as high as 4.71%. The yield has remained above the key 4.5% threshold for most of the last month.

Stock investors also weren't happy. All three major indexes sank in the red, with the Nasdaq 100 closing more than 10% off from its record-high. It marked the sixth-straight day of losses for the index, its longest losing streak since 2022.

The market's logic goes something like this: investors are concerned that rates may not be restrictive enough to contain inflation. That could push price growth swiftly higher — something that would lead to higher rates in the long run.

It's a sign, in other words, that investors are no longer feeling so confident that the Fed has a firm grip on inflation, especially considering that oil prices reclaimed the critical $100-a-barrel mark earlier this month as conflict heated back up in the Middle East.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly surged to $92 a barrel on Thursday as the US retaliated against Iran's latest attacks on American forces in Jordan. West Texas Intermediate crude also briefly ticked up to $85 a barrel before giving up its gains.

Warsh reiterated the Fed's 2% price target, but seemed to offer "little explanation as to why the Committee chose not to raise rates," Seema Shah, the chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said.

"This disconnect — between the Fed's stated commitment to price stability and its decision to remain on hold — has raised questions about the consistency of the policy message. Market reaction reflected this uncertainty," she wrote in a note.

Markets are likely taking issue with some of Warsh's comments in the post-meeting presser, such as his suggestion that markets have already tightened monetary policy on their own, Aditya Bhave, an economist at Bank of America, wrote in a client note on Thursday.

Higher yields in themselves tighten financial conditions, which can help tame inflation, though the jury is still out on whether the tightening effect of higher rates is enough, given inflationary pressures in the economy.

"Markets responded by questioning the Fed's credibility," Bhave said. "Ironically, we think the need to re-establish credibility increases the probability that the Fed will hike in September, all else being equal."

The odds that the Fed will hike rates 25 basis points ticked up to 59% Thursday morning, up from a 57% chance priced in yesterday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Kevin Warsh looked like he failed his first "credibility test," the market veteran Ed Yardeni wrote in a client note Wednesday evening.

"Once again, the Bond Vigilantes are pushing bond yields higher," the Yardeni President said, referring to investors who stage a sell-off in government bonds to protest inflationary or fiscally lenient policies. "In effect, they are saying that if the Fed won't be vigilant about inflation, then they will have to maintain law and order in the economy."

Investors remain acutely aware of the parallels to the 1970s, when oil prices spiked and sent inflation spiraling out of control. Around the time inflation hit its 1974 peak, the Fed cut rates prematurely to boost economic growth, leading price growth to heat up again and hit a higher peak in 1980.

"We believe Fed Chair Warsh is experimenting with 'Odyssean' loose forward guidance: loosely promising rate hikes later in exchange for disinflationary effects today," researchers at BNP Paribas wote in a note on Thursday. "Without a suggestion of imminent action on rate hikes, we think this credibility will keep getting priced out of markets."

• Dr. Art Ulene climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and reached the top on his 90th birthday.
• The nonagenarian completed the challenge to inspire older people to reach their full potential.
• He shared his longevity secrets with Business Insider.

Soon after Dr. Art Ulene reached the top of Kilimanjaro on his 90th birthday, he applied to Guinness World Records to check whether he was the oldest person to conquer the mountain.

He had already received recognition from the Tanzania National Park Service. However, he wanted to know if the title was official.

"I didn't do the climb with an award in mind," he told Business Insider. "But it would be nice to have it — at least until someone beats it."

The retired OB/GYN, who reached the summit, 19,341 feet above sea level, on July 13, was presented with a celebratory cake by his guide and 22-person support team.

"If I close my eyes, I can still see myself standing on top of the mountain looking down at the roof of the clouds," he said. "The view was stunning."

It took him 15 days

He said his entourage made for joyful company during the 15-day trek, singing and dancing as he slowly but surely made his way from one camp to the next.

The group, which carried a foldable chair so he could sit and take breaks, respectfully and affectionally called him "Babu," the Swahili word for grandfather.

Ulene's achievement, in partnership with CareScout, which helps older adults and families navigate aging, marked his third summit of the peak in 15 years.

He turned back at 17,000 feet during a previous attempt at age 85, saying, "I didn't feel well and was not going to let my ego get in the way of my health."

The former TODAY show medical correspondent said his recent ascent of Kilimanjaro would be his last. Still, the experience would help him tackle the challenges other seniors may face.

"I'm not telling them to climb Kilimanjaro, I'm urging them to climb 'Mount Metaphor,'" he said. "The peaks and valleys apply to life."

Here are three of Ulene's longevity tips for getting the most out of your later years.

Prioritize exercise, sleep, and nutrition

The father of three, born in 1936, said that he smoked until the age of 33 and only started to exercise seriously at 50.

However, he has more than made up for it by going to the gym three or four times a week, where he uses strength training machines.

He developed the leg strength and stamina for Kilimanjaro by climbing 50 flights of stairs in his hiking boots.

"I don't like exercise when I'm doing it, but love the way I feel afterward, " he said. "I never remember the exertion, much as I've pretty well forgotten the pain of the climb."

He combines physical activity with good nutrition — mostly by eating plant-based foods and "watching fats."

Getting enough sleep is another key factor. "I never slept so well as I did in my tent on the mountain," he added.

Appreciate your worth

"People talk about natural resources, saying, 'we're trying to mine them now,' but the world's greatest resource is above the ground," Ulene said.

"It's the intelligence, the experience, the knowledge, and wisdom of tens of millions of older people."

He said that business and industry often ignore the benefits of having mature adults in the workplace and buy into the notion that they're in decline.

It's a myth, he said, and those of advanced age should take pride in themselves, adding. "If you internalize the stereotype, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. My new motto is to live up to your potential, not your age."

Keep socially active

Ulene said the last thing he wanted to do in his advanced years was sit in an armchair and isolate himself.

"The aging period should be a time of growth," he said, questioning the narrative that it's when you can rest on your laurels.

He referenced his wife, Priscilla, three years his junior. She is on a monthlong solo tour of contemporary and modern art museums across America.

Meanwhile, he said that it's important for him to mix with younger people. "My support team on Kilimanjaro consisted of young men," he said. "They were like family to me.

"I have seven grandchildren here in the US, but I have two sets of grandchildren. I have American ones and Tanzanian ones."

As for the future, Ulene is planning a December return with his youngest grandchildren — age 15 and 13 — to Tanzania.

They hope to camp in the foothills of Kilimanjaro and join a safari.

"I've traveled all over the world with my kids and grandkids," Ulene said. And he doesn't intend to stop anytime soon.

• Hyperscalers like Google and Meta have a tricky dilemma: how much compute should they sell?
• There's not enough compute to go around, but the tech giants need it to keep powering AI.
• Mark Zuckerberg said it would be "foolish" to give too much away.

As tech giants aggressively build out compute to meet the demands of the AI boom, some face a tricky dilemma: how much should they hoard and how much should they sell?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the issue on the company's Q2 earnings call this week. While Meta doesn't currently have a business selling compute — the data center processing power used to run AI — to customers, Zuckerberg has said it's on the cards.

Zuckerberg said that a "significant portion" of its compute will go toward training Meta's AI models, powering agents, and growing its core business. "But we also expect to grow a large business serving large customers as well," he said.

Tech giants are racing to build out more compute to power soaring demand for artificial intelligence. Google and Meta both just slightly raised their capex forecast for the year, and Google signaled 2027 will likely be even bigger (in a rare move, Microsoft held the line on its capex projections).

All that spending is now showing up in the financials: Google's cash flow went negative in Q2 for the first time in the company's history, and Meta's plunged 91% from the previous year.

Selling compute is one way to offset that cash problem, but it also comes with an opportunity cost. The common refrain from execs across the companies is that there simply isn't enough compute to go around. These companies are racing to stay ahead in the AI race, and employees sometimes compete for access to compute.

It's a conundrum for Microsoft, too. As Business Insider's Dan DeFrancesco put it earlier this week: "Does it cash in on demand today or focus more on its long-term goals?"

On Wednesday's earnings call, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that "customer demand continues to exceed available capacity" for its cloud business.

'Foolish' to take a short-term profit

Zuckerberg returned to this problem later in the call on Wednesday. "Obviously, a common trade-off that we need to make is around how much do you monetize something today versus develop future assets for the future?" he said.

"It would be foolish to basically just sell all of the compute and take a short-term profit," he said, adding that improved intelligence would compound the value of the compute.

Hoarding too much compute could also be bad for the lucrative cloud businesses of hyperscalers like Google. "If you don't have enough compute for enterprises, they'll go right back to Amazon or Microsoft," said Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik in a research note on Google last week.

Last week, Google said it would buy more third-party compute to satisfy customer demand as it builds out more internal compute for itself.

Google is also building its own chips, known as tensor processing units, or TPUs, which it is putting into other data centers with partners to unlock more capacity.

"Our first priority is making sure we are allocating what we need to compete at the frontier in terms of AGI development," said CEO Sundar Pichai on last week's earnings call, referring to how Google is using TPUs. "That is the foundation for everything we do."

While Google leans on its cloud business to boost growth, it also needs to hold enough compute for itself to protect its moat around Search, Shmulik said in last week's note.

Oh, and it also needs to keep developers happy and locked into its ecosystem, which means allocating — you guessed it — more compute.

• I cooked bacon using my stove, oven, air fryer, and microwave to see which had the best results.
• A pan on the stove may be the classic approach, but it was messy, and the bacon seemed extra greasy.
• The oven is great for big batches of bacon, but the air fryer created the perfect taste and texture.

I cook a lot of bacon — maybe about a pound a week.

Historically, my preferred way to prepare it is by cooking a large batch in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. When it's done, I'll chop up the fatty meat into bits and store it in the freezer for breakfast omelets.

However, when bacon is front and center rather than a mere part of a larger meal, I'm not sure the oven is the best way to go.

To find the best cooking method, I made bacon using my oven, stove, air fryer, and microwave to see which appliance came out on top.

I used three different types of bacon to ensure my tests were thorough.

To make sure I gave each cooking method a fair look, I used three different kinds of bacon across all four appliances.

I bought cherry-smoked, uncured bacon from Porter Road, sugar-free organic applewood-smoked uncured bacon from North Country Smokehouse, and Alewel's Country Meats "Sweet & Sassy Bacon," which was part of Harry & David's All About the Bacon Sampler.

I preheated my oven and air fryer, placed a large pan on the stove, and lined a large plate with paper towels before digging into the packs.

I already knew what to expect from oven-cooked bacon.

Since I cook bacon in the oven all the time, there was no guesswork here. I preheated my oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then placed strips of bacon on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper.

I let them cook for a bit longer than I usually would for omelets, since they wouldn't get any extra time in a frying pan.

I ended up pulling the pan out after 13 minutes.

If you're cooking for a crowd, the oven is probably the best option.

I don't like crispy or crunchy bacon. The oven is great for my tastes because the meat cooks gradually and rests in plenty of grease that helps prevent any singeing.

That said, oven-cooked bacon is often a bit, shall we say, floppier than one (even I) might like.

Cooking the bacon on a wire rack inside a sheetpan can help up the crisp factor, though. That way, the bacon won't sit in grease as it cooks.

Ultimately, the baked bacon turned out just fine. Since you can make a lot at once, I think this method is handy if you need a lot of bacon for a recipe or are serving multiple people.

Cooking bacon in a pan was a surprising letdown.

I find it best to start with a cold pan when cooking bacon on the stove. This lets the fats slowly break down into grease rather than burning the meat.

There's no need for oil or cooking spray; the fat has you covered there.

I brought the burner to medium-high heat, and within 30 seconds or so, the bacon started to sizzle — which smelled great.

After about four minutes, the rashers started curling, so it was time to flip them. I was a bit frustrated by how much effort it took to get each one lying relatively flat again without all of them falling on top of each other.

A couple of minutes later, the bacon was done, and I was so over the method.

Once the bacon was cooked, there was grease spattered across my stove and countertop.

Although one of the strips came out perfectly, most of the bacon was seared beyond my liking and was very greasy.

The stovetop is a classic way to fry bacon, but I don't think it was worth the effort and mess.

Microwaved bacon is so quick that it’s easy to forgive it being the worst method.

I used to cook bacon in the microwave often enough in my apartment days, but it's been a while. The one thing I remember clearly is that paper towels are key.

I laid out six strips of bacon on my lined plate, added another layer of paper towel on top (to avoid any grease splatters), and popped the plate into the microwave.

For a standard microwave, four minutes is the perfect amount of time for my texture preferences. I grabbed the plate (with an oven mitt) and pulled off the top layer of paper towels.

I quickly remembered remember why I stopped cooking bacon like this.

The microwaved bacon didn't look appetizing, especially with all the drippings running off the paper towels and onto the plate.

The strips were curled up — crisped in parts and soft in others — and there was a notable sheen of grease.

When I took a bite, I was met with more chewiness than tenderness, but I had to admit the flavor was all there. If you only have five minutes to get out the door, I guess microwaved bacon is better than no bacon at all.

The air fryer quickly became my favorite way to cook bacon.

Like many people, I went on an air-fryer kick a few years back. But lately, ours has largely sat at the back of a shelf.

After digging it out and preheating it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, I popped in the strips of bacon and set the timer for eight minutes (which many articles and videos on the internet seemed to agree was best).

The taste, texture, and grease level were all perfect.

The air-fried bacon was tender with a hint of crispiness that even I could appreciate. It wasn't bordering on crunchy and was remarkably low in grease.

The strips also didn't curl up nearly as much as with the microwave or pan. They held their shape, resulting in better-looking bacon. Looks don't matter as much as taste here, but I can appreciate a well-plated meal nonetheless.

It's safe to say we'll be using our air fryer more often again.

I’ll still cook bacon in the oven for ease, but the air fryer produced the best results.

There's no doubt I'll stick with the trusty oven method for our everyday bacon needs so that I can make big batches. However, the air fryer was the clear winner when it came to fewer strips.

Considering most air fryers heat up in less than a minute and the cooking time was under 10, it's not even a time suck.

As for the microwave, that approach is only worth considering when time is the main factor, since bacon can be ready in five minutes.

If you prefer pan-fried bacon, I wish you all the best. I acknowledge it's a classic approach, but it's the one method I'll be avoiding from now on.

This story was originally published on June 12, 2024, and most recently updated on July 30, 2026.

• Tax proposals in New York and California aim to increase taxes on the wealthiest residents.
• A SmartAsset study calculated how much of each state's federal income taxes was paid by the top 1%.
• The top 1% of earners make 19% of incomes in the US but pay 37% of all federal income taxes.

Tax proposals targeting wealthy residents have renewed debate in states including New York and California about how much the rich should be paying in taxes. But just how much do the top 1% already pay?

While state and local taxes vary widely across states, from high-tax states like California to no-state-income-tax states like Florida and Nevada, federal income tax rates are the same across all US states.

A recent SmartAsset study examined the total federal individual income tax paid by residents of each state and calculated the share paid by the state's top 1% of households.

Individual income taxes are the largest source of revenue for the federal government. That tax revenue helps fund government programs and services, as well as interest on the national debt.

For tax year 2026, federal marginal income-tax rates range from 10% on taxable income of up to $12,400 for single filers and $24,800 for married couples filing jointly, to 37% on taxable income above $640,600 for single filers and $768,700 for married couples filing jointly.

Across the country, the top 1% of earners made an average of 19.5% of all income but paid 37% of federal individual income taxes, SmartAsset found.

SmartAsset ranked all 50 states by the percentage of federal income tax collected that is paid by the top 1% of earners, using the most recent personal income tax return data from the IRS covering the tax year 2022. SmartAsset treated each return as one household.

See where each state ranked.

50. Alaska

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 26.37%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.02 billion

Number of top 1% households: 3,223

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.25 million

49. West Virginia

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 30.28%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.65 billion

Number of top 1% households: 7,316

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $908,389

48. Oregon

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 30.37%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $6.77 billion

Number of top 1% households: 19,053

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.43 million

47. Delaware

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 30.38%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.65 billion

Number of top 1% households: 4,726

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.36 million

46. Maryland

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 30.45%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $12.68 billion

Number of top 1% households: 29,040

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.65 million

45. Maine

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 30.48%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.98 billion

Number of top 1% households: 6,618

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.23 million

44. Vermont

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 32.04%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.08 billion

Number of top 1% households: 3,123

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.39 million

43. Washington

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 32.06%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $20.01 billion

Number of top 1% households: 35,597

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.19 million

42. New Mexico

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 32.3%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.38 billion

Number of top 1% households: 9,310

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.05 million

41. Minnesota

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 32.64%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $11.52 billion

Number of top 1% households: 26,423

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.66 million

40. Virginia

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 32.94%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $19.24 billion

Number of top 1% households: 39,103

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.9 million

39. Iowa

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 33.16%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $4.81 billion

Number of top 1% households: 13,821

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.41 million

38. Hawaii

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 33.57%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.46 billion

Number of top 1% households: 6,472

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.53 million

37. Rhode Island

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 33.58%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.15 billion

Number of top 1% households: 5,224

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.61 million

36. New Jersey

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 33.78%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $26.9 billion

Number of top 1% households: 43,042

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.28 million

35. Kentucky

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 34.26%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $5.45 billion

Number of top 1% households: 18,395

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.2 million

34. North Dakota

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 34.41%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $1.52 billion

Number of top 1% households: 3,431

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.71 million

33. Colorado

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 34.51%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $14.89 billion

Number of top 1% households: 27,685

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.07 million

32. Ohio

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 34.6%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $18.84 billion

Number of top 1% households: 53,103

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.39 million

31. Michigan

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.01%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $16.65 billion

Number of top 1% households: 45,218

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.5 million

30. Pennsylvania

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.09%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $26.13 billion

Number of top 1% households: 58,541

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.73 million

29. North Carolina

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.28%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $19.04 billion

Number of top 1% households: 46,525

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.59 million

28. New Hampshire

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.41%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $3.95 billion

Number of top 1% households: 6,796

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.27 million

27. Indiana

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.52%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $10.52 billion

Number of top 1% households: 30,120

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.39 million

26. Wisconsin

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.54%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $11.02 billion

Number of top 1% households: 27,293

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.57 million

25. Kansas

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 35.79%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $5.07 billion

Number of top 1% households: 12,643

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.58 million

24. Alabama

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 36.15%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $6.78 billion

Number of top 1% households: 20,185

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.4 million

23. Nebraska

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 37.03%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $3.7 billion

Number of top 1% households: 8,660

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.71 million

22. South Carolina

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 37.05%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $8.87 billion

Number of top 1% households: 23,203

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.5 million

21. Missouri

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 37.16%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $10.48 billion

Number of top 1% households: 26,898

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.54 million

20. Oklahoma

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 37.8%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $5.62 billion

Number of top 1% households: 16,106

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.42 million

19. Arizona

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $14.44 billion

Number of top 1% households: 31,872

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.79 million

18. Massachusetts

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.19%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $26.65 billion

Number of top 1% households: 32,795

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.97 million

17. Idaho

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.2%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $3.39 billion

Number of top 1% households: 8,145

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.74 million

16. Mississippi

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.29%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $3.3 billion

Number of top 1% households: 11,731

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.15 million

15. Georgia

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.31%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $21 billion

Number of top 1% households: 46,220

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.76 million

14. Illinois

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.39%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $32.68 billion

Number of top 1% households: 56,794

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.13 million

13. California

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.6%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $122.45 billion

Number of top 1% households: 175,045

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.6 million

12. Louisiana

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 38.72%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $6.81 billion

Number of top 1% households: 18,593

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.41 million

11. South Dakota

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 40.46%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.02 billion

Number of top 1% households: 4,062

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.02 million

10. Tennessee

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 41.04%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $14.55 billion

Number of top 1% households: 30,531

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.85 million

9. Utah

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 41.16%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $7.48 billion

Number of top 1% households: 13,991

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.21 million

8. Arkansas

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 42.22%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $4.81 billion

Number of top 1% households: 12,198

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $1.7 million

7. Montana

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 42.92%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.69 billion

Number of top 1% households: 5,101

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.13 million

6. Connecticut

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 43.85%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $16.28 billion

Number of top 1% households: 16,917

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $3.43 million

5. Texas

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 44.52%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $81.99 billion

Number of top 1% households: 128,130

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.4 million

4. New York

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 46.26%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $79.49 billion

Number of top 1% households: 91,840

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $3.13 million

3. Nevada

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 51.12%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $11.01 billion

Number of top 1% households: 14,754

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $2.99 million

2. Florida

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 53.62%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $96.26 billion

Number of top 1% households: 105,101

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $3.53 million

1. Wyoming

Share of income taxes paid by the top 1%: 54.67%

Total income tax paid by the top 1%: $2.46 billion

Number of top 1% households: 2,611

Average adjusted gross income per top 1% household: $4.08 million

• Russia hunts drone pilots, so Ukraine is pulling them farther from the fighting with new technology.
• Ukraine can now fly some drones from greater relative safety, hundreds of miles from their launch sites.
• But support troops still need to get close to danger to transport, prepare, and launch the drones.

New technologies are allowing Ukrainian drone operators — who are high-priority targets — to control drones from relatively safer locations hundreds or even thousands of miles away. But human soldiers often still have to go to risky locations to transport, prepare, and launch these aircraft.

Ukrainian interceptor drone and other uncrewed aerial system operators are increasingly using satellite connections that allow them to operate far from the launch site — potentially even from another country. The makers describe these capabilities as a key way to protect the pilots in Russia's crosshairs.

The aircraft, however, often still need to be brought to a launch site and prepared, meaning soldiers are still needed closer to the danger, at least for now.

Ukrainian drone maker Wild Hornets, for instance, has developed technology that allows pilots to fly the company's interceptor drones from hundreds of kilometers away. The company told Business Insider that ground forces still transport and prepare the aircraft, though.

With satellite communications technology for combat drone operations, "we are able to put our pilots in any place when there is a stable internet connection for them," Dmytro "Liber" Zhluktenko, a former drone operator who now serves as a lessons-learned analyst with Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment "RAID," told Business Insider.

"But this doesn't remove the need for the ground groups, people who actually attach the explosive, put the drone outside of the bunker, et cetera," he said.

Remote piloting removes the operator from the launch point, but not necessarily the rest of the support crew. Troops may still need to transport the drones, unload and assemble them, attach explosives and communications equipment, and position them for launch. There are efforts underway to leverage other uncrewed systems, such as ground robots, for launching interceptors and first-person-view drones, but these robotic motherships aren't yet ubiquitous along the front lines.

New technology is moving some people to safer locations, but protecting everyone involved in a drone operation by keeping them far from the fighting is "impossible so far," Zhluktenko said.

Trying to get troops out of harm's way

Ukraine is doing what it can to keep as many soldiers as safe as possible, but there are limitations. Forces are still needed at the front for a range of missions even as robotic systems become increasingly prolific.

On more traditional missions with drones controlled by radio frequency connections, operators generally need to remain closer to their drones. But units are trying to, when possible, move "our drone operators further to give them more safety," Zhluktenko said.

They do this "even if it comes at the expense of our capabilities, because these are our people and we value them so much."

"The first principle, the first rule, is the safety of them, but it's a very tough balance. We want to keep them extremely safe, but, at the same time, there is some work to be done. So it's a very tough, tough balance thing."

Keeping drone operators safe is critical for Ukraine because Russia often treats them as top targets, according to soldiers, drone operators, and military officials.

Ukraine's drones destroy more Russian targets than any other weapon, and pilots are force multipliers. One operator can fly repeated missions to collect intelligence and launch attacks.

That makes technology that separates pilots from launch sites particularly valuable.

Then-defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in April that "the pilot is no longer tied to the position. The drone is in the sky, while control takes place from a protected environment in Kyiv, Lviv, or even abroad."

"This increases interception effectiveness, minimizes risks to operators, and makes it possible to scale capabilities without being tied to the front," he said.

Ukraine is investing heavily in technology designed to keep its soldiers farther from the intense fighting, including drones, ground robots, AI, and autonomous systems that enable weapons to detect, target, and strike with little to no human involvement.

Ukraine wants to replace certain human tasks, such as front-line logistics, with fully robotic systems, both to protect lives and to offset Russia's manpower advantage.

Ukraine's defense ministry has said, for instance, that "the primary task of ground robots is to bolster our units and replace soldiers in the most dangerous areas."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made that goal explicit in April when he said Ukraine's ground robot force had carried out more than 22,000 front-line missions over the previous three months.

That meant "lives were saved more than 22,000 times when a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a warrior," he said.

Then Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in October that Ukraine was prioritizing "high-tech systems that will help reduce the presence of soldiers directly on the battlefield."

Ukraine's ultimate goal is "to have less people on the direct battlefield and at direct risk, Zhluktenko said. For now, at least, human beings are still in the mix. It's not total robotic warfare.

• A Russian missile violated Polish airspace on Thursday, a NATO official told Business Insider.
• Ukrainian jets tried to destroy the Russian missiles before any crossed into Poland, Warsaw said.
• The missile flew for six minutes before crashing roughly 60 miles deep into Poland.

Ukrainian fighter jets tried to shoot down Russian missiles near the border with Poland on Thursday; however, at least one breached Polish airspace, Western officials said.

US Army Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesperson for NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, told Business Insider NATO and Poland activated their air and ground defenses "in response to a Russian missile of currently unknown type that entered Polish airspace" and crashed inside the country.

O'Donnell said two Polish F-16s, a NATO A330 refueling aircraft, a Polish Saab 340 airborne early warning plane, and a Polish Mi-24 helicopter were all scrambled in response.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the weapon's crash site that, per the "military's assessment regarding the missile fragments, everything points to the fact that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile."

He said there is no indication to suggest that Poland was deliberately attacked. He added that Ukrainian fighter jets had tracked and attempted to destroy Russian missiles up to the border.

The Kh-101, known by NATO as the AS-23 Kodiak, is an air-launched cruise missile with a maximum speed of around 600 mph that Russia frequently uses in large-scale attacks against Ukraine. Russia launched over 60 Kh-101s as part of an overnight barrage, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, said a Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Poland, "violating NATO airspace" during the attack.

Earlier on Thursday, the Polish military said that radars recorded at least a dozen missiles above western Ukraine. One "object" came within a few miles of the border at roughly 3:30 a.m. local time, but changed directions and headed east.

10 minutes later, at 3:40 a.m., an "unidentified object" was detected inside Polish airspace heading west, but it then disappeared from radars at 3:46 a.m. before it could be identified, the military said. It located "the probable crash site" near Tarnawa-Kolonia in southwestern Poland. The site is 60 miles from the border.

Tusk later said that the munition left a 10-meter-wide, 5-meter-deep crater that was consistent with the explosive payload of a Kh-101.

Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its embassy in the US responded to a request for comment on the Polish and Ukrainian assessments.

Russian drones have crossed into Polish airspace repeatedly since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, including dozens of aircraft in a September 2025 incident that prompted NATO to surge air defense assets to the Eastern flank. However, it is much rarer for a Russian missile to violate Polish airspace. Previous incidents were also much closer to its border with Ukraine.

O'Donnell said that NATO "is in close contact with the Polish authorities about the violation of Poland's airspace."

This latest incident comes amid a string of NATO airspace violations. Last weekend, Russian drones crossed into Romania several days in a row, and F-16 fighter jets were scrambled each time to intercept them.

Russia launched more than 70 missiles — including 61 Kh-101 cruise missiles — and nearly 300 drones as part of the massive overnight attack on Ukraine, which intercepted most of the munitions. At least eight people across the country were killed, though.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
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Meta's message to investors: The AI spending will continue until returns improve.

Investors' response: No thanks.

AI spend was the big focus during Meta's Q2 earnings report. And the pitch wasn't convincing enough to stop an after-hours selloff.

Meta was happy to credit AI with helping its advertising business (its bread and butter) rise 27%. And it wasn't just pure growth. Ad impressions grew 14%, while the average price per ad climbed 12%.

There's just one catch. Meta is still spending an incredible amount — $31.1 billion, roughly double what it spent last year — on its AI bets. That's eating up a significant portion of its free cash flow, which went from $8.55 BILLION to $784 MILLION. One analyst said the AI strategy is like "throwing spaghetti at the wall."

Investors were unimpressed, with Meta's stock falling nearly 10% at one point after the bell.

Compare that to another tech giant that reported yesterday: Microsoft. It logged wins in Azure and Microsoft 365 Copilot, which Microsoft CFO Amy Hood touted in her quarterly memo to employees viewed by BI's Ashley Stewart. Perhaps more importantly, its AI budget forecast didn't budge.

Investors noticed. Microsoft's stock jumped almost 8% in after-hours trading.

The difference between the two is clear: AI spending is fine … as long as there is a direct and measurable return.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the case for why Meta's AI bets might need more time.

A lot of the most immediate use cases for AI are for developers. Just look at the boom in vibe coding. "Building for consumers is a little bit different," Zuckerberg said during Wednesday's earnings call, but it's also a "massive market opportunity."

And who better to serve that market than the king of all social networks? Between Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, Meta has billions of users across its platforms. Zuckerberg said Meta's making a big bet on AI agents.

That all tracks with one small exception: A lot of Americans are really nervous about AI.

Meta has tried to ease those fears with a big AI PR push, including a Zuckerberg op-ed and some interviews with reporters. (The request to speak to BI Today must have got caught in my spam inbox. I'm happy to chat, Mark. Sounds like you have a really cool gym.)

BI's Peter Kafka has an idea about how Meta could better convince people to get on board with AI. (Hint: It's green.)

Whatever the plan is, Meta had better figure something out fast. Investors are running out of patience.

• Tama Phelps, 64, cares for her disabled daughter, affecting her financially and emotionally.
• Phelps also manages her father's care while facing personal marital challenges.
• Her daughter's care costs are high, and family pressures weigh on Phelps' mental health.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tama Phelps, 64, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has cared for her adult daughter with physical disabilities since she was born 39 years ago. Phelps retired early to care for her full-time but said doing so has been a financial hit. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I was raised in Ann Arbor by two fabulous parents. I married my high school sweetheart. I worked for the University of Michigan. I was 25 when my daughter was born with spina bifida. She just turned 39. I have a son who is 33, and he's able-bodied and married on his own.

I had to maintain my daughter's insurance eligibility by keeping a job at the University of Michigan. I worked as an equipment manager at a recreational sports facility. As long as I was able to show that she had a disability, I was still able to cover her under my insurance. When she turned 18, I made sure she signed up for government aid. She is a college graduate with a psychology and communications degree

My husband and I worked split shifts so someone could be with her at all times. For about 15 years, I worked five days a week, four hours a day. My husband works as a manager for a company sharpening blades for print services and hockey arenas.

My daughter is now bedridden and has breathing issues.

My daughter had been having issues with headaches. She's also shunted because she was hydrocephalic, which comes with spina bifida. She ended up having two vertebrae removed from the back of her neck. Since then, she has had no speech, hearing, or vision. She is a wheelchair user. She also had to have a new bladder reconstructed due to cancer, and she has severe tremors.

She had a G-tube put in that goes into her stomach. She is extremely unhappy now. The only way we can communicate is via text, and she has a hard time seeing her phone. Her quality of life is zero.

She still has a sense of pride, and her mind is totally fine. However, she's in a body that does not function. It sucks to be in that position, and that's one of the reasons I keep trying to help her.

I take care of my dad, too.

My mom died about 16 years ago from a glioblastoma. It took a hit on my dad's financials. He realized the need for getting insurance for hospice or palliative care, so he's picked up that cost for himself, looking forward. He dealt with some heart issues and had a TAVR procedure done. He fell and broke a cheekbone a few years ago. Otherwise, he's been healthy.

He's 89, and I've been taking care of him. I'm his only daughter, and he pays for his own care. He fell and broke a hip back in December, but he lives less than five miles away. He walks with a cane and has two bad knees, but he still drives, and his mind is good. I spend time with him while my husband cares for our daughter, but when he goes to work, I come back here. I go back and forth, and it feels like a tidal wave.

I've also started the legal procedure to get a divorce filed, though I put that on hold. My husband would have gotten the house, and I would have needed to get another place within the city because there would have been transportation issues getting her to and from the hospital.

I retired at 60.

I ended up working for the university for 40 years before retiring at 60 to care for my daughter full time. My insurance covers her over $1,000 monthly cost for her catheterization. I would guess, though, that I've paid hundreds of thousands of dollars caring for her due to her therapies and a new wheelchair, which cost as much as a car.

I talked to her social worker, who said that if we were able to find a facility that would take her, they would take the money that she gets from the state and put it toward her cost of living.

However, we'd have to pay out of pocket for the rest, and she was quick to tell us that we would get what we paid for. I don't have that kind of money. $7,000 a month is not something I can afford, especially for a place that won't address her needs.

My daughter does not want to go into a facility.

I know the responsibility will continue to fall on us, but you do what you have to for your kids. However, it's getting to the point where I can't physically lift her anymore. She weighs more than I do, so it's going to come down to us eventually not being able to provide care.

My family, who all live nearby, tries to keep pushing me to put her in a home, but they don't have as much of an idea about the cost or psychological issues it involves. My daughter has alienated most of her family because she doesn't want them to see who she's become.

I'm mentally overwhelmed.

I only stay home and take care of her. I have no life. I've been a gym rat since I was 18, but I haven't been to the gym in over two years. My social circle is very small. My husband still plays golf and keeps up his life. He does take care of some things for her, but I'm her primary caregiver. I can't be bitter about anything because it's just a matter of fact.

I'm very fortunate that my brother is a financial advisor, so he's helped me through the years. He makes suggestions and moves my money around to make sure I have enough. I'm sitting on a pretty nice nest egg. I have not signed up for Social Security yet because I'm not 65 yet. I also have a full pension from the university. Whatever my daughter needs, I pay for it.

I want my life back. I did not retire in order to take care of people, but you man up and take care of what needs to be taken care of. People don't realize it's not just baby boomers who require care. I wish there were some kind of facility that would help families get a reprieve. I'd be a much better parent if I could come home at night knowing she's cared for toward the end of her life.

• Consulting firms have gone all in on AI.
• Their consultants, however, are not all comfortable with that.
• Some consultants are leaving the big firms for roles in AI safety and governance.

As consulting firms rapidly remake themselves to leverage AI, a small but growing number of consultants are leaving to rein it in.

Instead of joining the broader exodus to tech, these consultants are focusing on the risks that AI systems, from chatbots to agents, pose to society.

Namaan Mian, the chief operating officer of Management Consulted, a company that trains and prepares students and others for careers in consulting, said his firm has been tracking where former consultants land after leaving the industry. Roles in software development, operations at startups, IT, and, increasingly, venture capital and private equity remain primary destinations for former consultants, he said.

While moves into nonprofit and government roles, or smaller startups focused on regulating the technology, haven't appeared in the data yet, Mian said that "anecdotally," the field is gaining popularity.

Sarah Pomeranz, a former Accenture consultant, is now the founder and CEO of Consultants for Impact, a nonprofit that helps consultants transition into careers focused on pressing global problems. Pomeranz said that AI safety, governance, and policy accounted for roughly 4 in 10 of the high-impact career moves her organization has supported. That was about twice the share moving into global health and development, the next-largest category.

Pomeranz said former consultants have landed at organizations like the UK AI Safety Institute, RAND, European Union institutions, and policy teams at frontier AI labs.

"A lot of these ex-BCG and McKinsey consultants are staffing the institutions that are, in many ways, governing," she said.

The consultants who have made the leap

Business Insider spoke to former consultants who left consulting to take up roles at AI safety nonprofits, policy organizations, government roles, and research institutes. They've helped governments design AI rules and managed researchers studying how advanced systems could cause catastrophic harm.

"There's more and more of a need for generalists — just really good operators who actually know how to run an organization, make it grow, have good management practices," said Lucas Le Merlus Schmuck, a former Bain consultant who now works on the technical AI safety team at the nonprofit Coefficient Giving.

Schmuck, who spent a year and a half at Bain before pursuing a master's degree in public policy focused on AI governance, said moving directly from consulting into an AI safety nonprofit remains relatively rare. He said consultants generally need to first build familiarity with the field through courses and independent research.

"You usually need to acquire a little more context about the space," he said. "You want to make sure that people are mission-aligned with what the organization wants to do."

Peter Wallich, a former BCG consultant, now works as a senior research program manager at the Constellation Institute, where one of his tasks is to help run programs to bring more researchers into AI safety. The role involves a mix of management and coaching — a natural fit, he said, for the skills he developed in consulting.

He said BCG had been valuable early in his career, but he believed consulting firms had underestimated both AI's transformative potential and its most severe risks.

"I wish that they took a more proactive stance on risks that they don't have strong commercial incentives to work against," he said. "I don't have ill will for the firm, and I am grateful for my experience."

The ratio of people pushing for returns from AI still vastly outnumbers those working on its potential for harm. For "every hundred people that are trying to push the frontier, trying to build AI that can outperform humans, there is one person trying to prevent catastrophes resulting from that," Wallich said.

But those working on AI safety say they increasingly encounter former colleagues who have made the switch.

David Conrad, who worked at BCG in Australia, said he first entered consulting because he was unsure what he wanted to do and saw the firm as a professional "finishing school." Now, he runs a nonprofit that trains people for AI policy and governance jobs across Europe.

"It definitely feels like I very regularly come across consultants in AI safety and AI policy," he said. "It feels that there's a disproportionate number of consultants here."

AI safety organizations compete with well-funded labs for technical talent, so salaries can be unusually high for the nonprofit sector, Schmuck said. The trade-off is probably more significant for principals and partners.

"If you exit at a consultant or associate consultant level, sometimes it's not even a pay cut," Schmuck said. "Sometimes it's the same or a pay bump."

Pomeranz also said that AI may be making traditionally secure paths feel less certain. As firms freeze hiring, cut roles, and automate more junior work, joining a nonprofit, startup, or smaller organization may no longer seem like a leap into uncharted waters.

"It changes the calculus when the safe options are also not sure things," she said.

Do you work in consulting and have a story to share? Email Lakshmi Varanasi at lvaranasi@businessinsider.com from a non-work email and device or contact her on Signal at lvaranasi.70.

There is nothing more annoying than coming home after a long day at work and realizing you have to decide what to cook for dinner.

Or perhaps you're planning your meals for the next day and need ideas for breakfast that's a bit more hearty than an apple, or for lunch that will keep you satisfied through the afternoon.

Don't worry. We know you're busy enough. Leave it to us.

Business Insider's food editors have curated the best recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — and because we know you love sweets, we threw in some dessert recipes too.

You're welcome.

Breakfast recipes

They say it's the most important meal of the day, so why not start it off right?

Lunch recipes

If you're looking for a meal to hold you over throughout your day, here ya' go.

Dinner recipes

End your day on the perfect note with these recipes for your evening.

Dessert recipes

Do you have a sweet tooth? Your secret is safe with us. In fact, we'll even throw in a few recipes.

Meet Business Insider's Food and Nutrition teams: Hilary Brueck, Kashmira Gander, Mia De Graaf, Anneta Konstantinides, Gabby Landsverk, Micaela Garber, Paige DiFiore, Erin McDowell, Samantha Grindell Pettyjohn, Julia Pugachevsky, Kim Schewitz, and Lydia Warren. Pitch us at food@businessinsider.com.

• For years, I blamed my fatigue on age, stress, and single parenting.
• Then a sleep apnea diagnosis helped me understand why I never felt rested.
• Once I felt rested, I realized I'd been making decisions through the fog of chronic exhaustion.

As a 48-year-old single mom working full-time and raising two teenagers in Seattle, one of America's most expensive cities, I was exhausted. I'd recently represented myself in a prolonged divorce and custody case, was struggling to make a living as a freelance communications consultant, and worried constantly about how to pay the bills.

I desperately wanted to improve my circumstances, but I was just too tired. I felt overwhelmed, with no way out, when all I wanted to do was nap.

My world felt like it was getting smaller by the day as my inner critic suggested, "Maybe you're just lazy."

I thought this was what midlife was supposed to feel like

When my boyfriend and I vacationed in Hawaii for two weeks, all I wanted to do was sleep, but even that was thwarted by his loud, chronic snoring.

At the end of the vacation, instead of feeling rested and relaxed, I was so stressed that I threatened to end the relationship if he didn't get it checked out immediately.

When we returned home, he was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and started treating it with a CPAP machine.

Once he began sleeping better, he noticed that I, too, was snoring and gasping for air at night, which surprised me since I associated the condition with older, overweight men, not middle-aged women like me.

So I was even more surprised to learn that I also had OSA. And although I was relieved to know there was a reason for my symptoms, I wasn't hopeful. As a light sleeper, I assumed wearing the CPAP machine and mask required to treat OSA would only make it harder to get a good night's rest, and figured I was doomed to spend the rest of my life chronically exhausted.

Still, I didn't have anything to lose at that point, so I decided to give it a try.

Using the CPAP machine wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, and I almost immediately began sleeping soundly for the first time in years. Within two weeks of consistent use, I went an entire day without craving a nap and started feeling like I was getting my life back.

Getting consistent sleep changed more than just my nights

It wasn't long before I had the bandwidth to start making changes that previously seemed out of reach. For the first time in years, I felt capable instead of frantic and overwhelmed.

One day, I woke up, and instead of stumbling around in a haze of exhaustion, I grabbed an old composition notebook and started journaling while drinking my coffee.

A few weeks later, instead of taking that afternoon nap, I laced up my sneakers and started taking short daily walks in my neighborhood, eventually upgrading to a three-mile loop around my favorite local park.

Slowly but surely, I started feeling like a different person. Someone with the energy to become the woman I'd wanted to be all along. Journaling helped me get to know myself better and get clarity around my life goals. Walking regularly and spending time in nature helped clear my mind and calm my nervous system.

For the first time, I was enjoying life rather than just surviving. My future no longer felt like something I simply had to endure.

I realized exhaustion had been shaping my decision-making process

I also began to see how chronic exhaustion had affected almost every aspect of my life, and I couldn't help but wonder how many decisions I would have made differently if I hadn't been making them through a sleep-deprived fog.

Would I have been kinder to myself? Left that unhealthy relationship sooner?

I'll never know. And that makes me sad, even as my newfound energy excites me about my future. Because treating a chronic medical condition I didn't even know I had helped me expand my life in ways I never could have imagined.

Seven years later, I wish I could go back and tell 48-year-old me, "You're not lazy, you're just sleep-deprived."

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI could cause "cognitive atrophy" if people let it think for them.
• Altman said people must keep "stretching" their brains as AI takes on more tasks.
• He also outlined a "pretty magical" future with personalized AI, but said human judgment will still matter.

Sam Altman says one of AI's underappreciated risks is that people may let the technology do so much thinking for them that their own mental muscles begin to weaken.

"One that I don't think gets much attention is how are we going to avoid cognitive atrophy?" the OpenAI CEO said on an episode of the "Invest Like the Best" podcast that aired on Tuesday, when asked about the most important unresolved questions facing AI.

"How are we going to use these tools and make sure that we are stretching our brains more and more and continuing to understand the stuff that really matters?" Altman said.

His comments come as a growing number of researchers have warned that while the technology could make workers faster, it could also weaken their underlying job and cognitive skills.

"There's never been a tool like this that has offered us the opportunity to let thinking be done for us," Nataliya Kosmyna, an MIT researcher whose preliminary study found that people using generative AI to write essays performed worse over time than participants using Google or no aid, told Business Insider earlier this month.

Vivienne Ming, a theoretical neuroscientist and AI researcher, has described the risk of people abandoning cognitive work because AI can do it for them as "chronic substitution." She told Business Insider last month that repeated substitution could weaken cognitive reserve, a key defense against dementia.

Those concerns are especially pressing as AI tools move beyond answering questions and generating text to taking on increasingly complex work, including document review, research, analysis, customer support, and coding.

Altman isn't the only tech leader to have raised concerns about AI's effect on cognition.

Last year, Arthur Mensch, the CEO of Paris-based Mistral AI, told The Times that AI's biggest risk may be "deskilling" workers and making people progressively lazier as they increasingly rely on the technology to search for information.

Still, during the podcast interview, Altman struck a more positive tone about what lies ahead.

He described a "pretty magical" future where a personal AI could be always on, reading documents, listening to meetings, recalling emails from weeks earlier, and using spare computing power overnight to generate ideas and suggest what they should do next.

However, he said that even powerful models may struggle to replicate the qualities that make humans distinctive.

"The world may need like a new kind of word for the kind of judgment that people are very good at, that AI seems to really deeply struggle with," he said.

• Apple earnings are today, and the company is riding high on market-beating stock performance.
• The company has been able to weather a market storm as more AI-focused firms have struggled.
• Sign up for First Trade, Business Insider's daily markets newsletter.

Tim Cook's final earnings report as Apple CEO is today after the closing bell. The exec — who has held the role since August 2011 — leaves his Apple post in a familiar position: a dominant force crushing the stock market.

Apple shares are up more than 2,400% since Cook took the reins, a period that's seen the tech giant add $4.6 trillion in market cap, becoming the world's first trillion-dollar company along the way.

Meanwhile, Apple is up 24% so far in 2026, trouncing the Magnificent 7 (flat) and S&P 500 (+7%). Much of that separation has come in the month of July, amid a reckoning of sorts for AI spending and the companies relying upon it.

The period of Mag 7 weakness has coincided with heightened sensitivity over exorbitant capex-spending plans and potential AI-demand slowdowns. Some areas, like the particularly vulnerable chipmaker sector, were plunged into bear markets.

Investors instead prioritized certainty: gigantic buybacks, strong cash flow, and pricing power — all attributes possessed by Apple. The shift is clear: Investors finally appreciate a company that doesn't need to explain a gigantic AI budget.

That all sets up an Apple earnings report that sees the company stepping into a new role, at least in the eyes of investors: an escape hatch from the AI trade.

Put differently, for much of the past two years, investors have favored whichever companies are most central to the AI-infrastructure buildout. In July, they started rewarding Apple because it isn't.

Despite Apple's new position as a shelter from AI jitters, its earnings are still a high-stakes affair for Big Tech and the broader stock market. Here's what investors will be looking for, as they get a respite from their capex-spending obsession:

1. Impact of the memory-chip squeeze

A global shortage has pushed memory-chip prices sharply higher this year, putting pressure on hardware margins. Apple has so far offset those costs with price hikes outside of the iPhone. Investors will be looking for clues about whether the company can continue protecting margins without raising iPhone prices.

2. iPhone demand

The iPhone remains Apple's biggest business, and Wall Street expects a sales jump thanks to the new iPhone 17 lineup. Investors will be watching for signs that the latest upgrade cycle still has momentum.

3. Can the China comeback continue?

China has gone from Apple's biggest headache to a bright spot for growth. Investors will want to see whether the recent rebound in the region is sustainable, especially amid fierce competition from Huawei and other local rivals.

• Three former interns at Tinder share how they secured full-time jobs at the company.
• They said leaning into their perspectives and experiences as Gen Z helped them stand out.
• Two also said that being Tinder users helped them show they knew the product well.

With the end of summer getting closer, you might be wondering how to lock in a return offer at your internship.

These days, it's tough to even secure an internship at a big company — and Tinder is no exception. Tinder's Tindership program drew 30,000 applications per cycle for just 27 spots, a spokesperson for the company said.

What does it take to turn a such an internship into a full-time job? Business Insider spoke with three former Tinder interns who did just that. They said sharing their Gen Z perspective, voicing their opinions, and showing they understood the app helped them stand out.

Read on to learn how they landed full-time gigs:

Ryan Stewart, brand manager

Ryan Stewart, 28, joined the company as a design intern in London in 2021. He said that being an avid Tinder user helped him standout during the interview process.

"Knowing the product, if you have that insight that you can show, that's a gold star," Stewart said.

Stewart also said being based in the UK worked to his advantage. The European team was smaller, which gave him more visibility and opportunities to build relationships across the business. He said he prioritized asking questions, volunteering to help, and meeting people in different departments.

He also shared his perspective with leaders and scheduled one-on-one meetings with senior directors to learn more about the business. Although those conversations were intimidating at first, he said approaching them with curiosity made people receptive.

"If you're seen as being curious, there's no wrongdoing there, and I think you can you can go for it," Stewart said.

When his internship came to an end, Stewart took an unconventional approach to landing a full-time role. He pitched a position based on gaps he had identified during his internship.

"My mindset was: The worst thing they say is 'no,' and I'm already leaving anyway," Stewart said. "So I might as well might as well give it a shot."

Eric Brandon Kam, backend software engineer

Eric Brandon Kam, 28, first learned about Tinder's internship program in 2020, shortly after he downloaded the app for the first time.

Kam, who works in Tinder's Palo Alto office, said he believes the cover letter he wrote, which included mentioning a Tinder date, helped him stand out in a competitive applicant pool, where engineering internships often attract thousands of candidates. He said he made a point to highlight his experience as a Tinder user, showing that he understood the product from a customer's perspective.

During his internship, he said applied multidisciplinary engineering principles that he learned at Stanford. He said Tinder's culture values strong ownership from engineers.

"Instead of just implementing tickets, I gave my own perspective on how we could better engineer a project to prioritize both user outcome and long-term code health," Kam said.

Kam said he also stayed curious and communicated constantly, getting to know his coworkers and asking them about what they do.

He said that was "especially important for a remote internship."

Taylor Wong, product marketing manager

Taylor Wong, 25, got her start as a marketing intern in 2022 after hearing about the opportunity from a study abroad roommate whose uncle worked at the company.

Wong ended up extending her internship three times and worked part-time in college before getting an offer the spring of her senior year.

"I just kept sticking around," Wong said.

Wong said one of her biggest advantages was being part of Tinder's core audience. Since the company is heavily focused on Gen Z users, she said colleagues frequently turned to her for insight. Although she was initially intimidated to speak up in meetings with older, more experienced colleagues, Wong said seeing that the team genuinely valued her perspective gave her confidence.

"When you are the Gen Z person in the room, everyone wants your opinion," Wong said, adding that other interns should "lean into that superpower."

• Being a summer intern or campus hire is one of the best ways to get a job at Ken Griffin's companies.
• Business Insider talked to five Citadel and Citadel Securities employees who joined just out of school.
• They reflected on what's helped them succeed — and how current interns can get a leg up.

As summer draws to a close for the 0.36% of applicants who landed a summer internship at Citadel and Citadel Securities, the question of how to get a return offer is heating up. And for those who do come back to the hedge fund or market maker next year, the question will become how to stand out among the sea of brainiacs.

Ken Griffin's companies, like other hedge funds, see investing in young talent as a strategic advantage. Campus hires are about twice as likely to eventually be considered top performers, based on annual performance reviews, and some top leaders joined the firms at the beginning of their careers — Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao was hired right after finishing graduate school, and Citadel COO Gerald Beeson was an intern in 1993.

Business Insider spoke to five former interns and campus hires — three quantitative researchers, one engineer, and one trader — about getting a job, moving up, and advice for the youngest class.

Haris Nair

When Haris Nair was a software engineering intern on Citadel's commodities trading desk in 2017, a trader showed him how much the firm had traded based on his strategy. Nair doesn't remember the number, but he does remember being "completely blown away."

Over eight years later, Nair, 30, now manages a global team of 10 engineers on Citadel Securities' research platform team, working closely with quantitative researchers to speed up their market research.

As Nair has gone from intern to team lead, from Chicago to Miami, he's learned to focus on projects that are meaningful to the business, rather than make smaller fixes. Nair advises interns to do the same and to take advantage of Citadel Securities' non-hierarchical structure to tackle big problems.

"Everybody we hire is technically brilliant. Everybody's a very hard worker. Those are never the real differentiators," he said. "Do they find opportunities to improve the platform and capitalize on them? Do they have the initiative to identify their own problems and then go solve them?"

Tanya Otsetarova

Tanya Otsetarova learned about Citadel Securities when she was a senior in high school in Bulgaria, competing in math competitions there and internationally. By the time she got to Stanford, other students were telling her it was the "most educational" internship, leading her to apply for a spot in the 2022 summer cohort.

Otsetarova, now 26 and a trader on the semi-systematic options team in Miami, was scared at first. Everyone seemed smarter than her, and the firm itself felt intimidating.

"Not asking enough questions during the first few weeks of my internship was honestly my biggest mistake," she said. "If you're not an expert in the field yet, you just don't know enough. If you don't ask questions, you get stuck. You waste time and you don't learn."

As an intern, the firm tasked Otsetarova with a long-term project, and she made more progress than expected. Eventually, the firm changed its strategy for pricing options based on her work, but it wasn't just her technical skills that got her a return offer.

"Technology changes and the business can change, but what you really need is a strong problem-solving ability," she said. "Being genuinely curious about every aspect of the business, why we're solving the problems we're solving."

Now, Otsetarova manages a team of traders, and said the people who stand out are those who take initiative. She's even a desk manager for interns, fewer than five years after she was in their shoes. When they come by her desk, which features board games and a giant stuffed flamingo, they usually want to talk about the fundamentals of options trading.

Jonas Metzger

Jonas Metzger, 31, learned about Citadel from two friends, who advised him to join after completing his PhD and postdoc in economics and computer science at Stanford. He hadn't thought much about markets before joining as a quantitative researcher in the spring of 2025 and still likes to pretend he's "the new guy" so he can keep asking basic questions.

His first week on the job, Metzger remembers asking what a hedge fund actually does.

"Everyone here is so smart that you feel like you have to seem smart, too, but you shouldn't. Ask questions. It's the fastest way to become smarter and the fastest way to learn," he advised new campus hires.

Metzger said he initially spent too much time focusing on parts of problems that didn't make a big difference. Now, he instead tries to develop enough confidence in ideas that others may be missing.

"If you can do both — ask questions and then double down on your beliefs once you have conviction — you can have a tremendous amount of impact, and you're highly rewarded," he said.

The researcher knows what it feels like to be rewarded — one of his early discoveries helped the firm rethink an algorithm and how it considers certain risks. Having Citadel put capital behind his best ideas is one of the most "addictive" parts of the job.

Lukas Fischer

Lukas Fischer gets to Citadel's crowded equity quantitative research floor early, and colleagues often find him wearing over-the-ear headphones as he combs through market data. He and his big headphones joined as a campus hire two years ago, just after graduating from Columbia with a PhD in finance.

Within his first year at Citadel, Fischer, 31, met with Griffin twice for hourslong meetings, since his first project was "very top of mind" for the CEO. He learned early on that endlessly chasing perfection would hold him back, and that the market is often the best teacher of what is and isn't working.

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the great," he said. "You shouldn't keep going down a rabbit hole trying to improve something that is already more than good enough."

Fischer now focuses in part on mentoring others and recruiting campus talent. He said he has yet to meet people with the entirely wrong skill set for Citadel, and that candidates need to figure out what they're more passionate about and better at than others.

As early as Fischer gets to the office, some of his best ideas have come when he's out with friends or reading a science fiction book at home.

Kirk Willens

Kirk Willens applied for an internship at Citadel Securities partly because it seemed like the company with "the steepest learning curve." He expected that, eventually, the curve would plateau. Seven years later, it keeps getting steeper as he keeps taking on new responsibilities.

Willens, 29, completed a software engineering internship in 2018, before accepting a full-time role and eventually switching to quantitative research, where he now leads a team of eight researchers.

"I was always told there's no shortage of hard problems to solve. The opportunities are there," he said. "The people who grow the fastest are the ones who raise their hand, ask questions, step up, and take ownership."

Those who stand out, Willens said, are those who can figure out what the important problems actually are and inspire him to jot down random ideas in the notepad sitting on his desk. He encourages his team to "push the boundaries" of what they think AI is capable of, which the four interns he works with already excel at.

"They use AI more than I thought you possibly could," Willens said. "I've learned a lot about how different ways of prompting it really can lead to different results."

Correction: July 30, 2026 — An earlier version of this story misstated where Haris Nair interned. He was a software engineer intern on Citadel's commodities trading desk.

• Carson Block's Muddy Waters Research has added a fee that could be as much as 0.1% to cover security costs.
• The firm's leaders are also paying for parts of the security themselves.
• Short-sellers have had a tough stretch, thanks to resilient markets and campaigns against them.

One of the world's most prominent short-sellers in the world is asking its backers to help cover its rising security costs.

Carson Block's Muddy Waters Research — which manages more than $500 million, according to regulatory filings — is adding a new fee that could be as high as 0.1% to pay for security costs, a person close to the manager told Business Insider.

The firm's principals will also chip in to pay for security costs, the person added. There wasn't a single event that led to this decision, the person said; the firm decided to increase security in response to rising safety concerns.

Muddy Waters declined to comment.

The firm is known for its public campaigns that uncover corporate fraud. Muddy Waters' website states that it "peels back the layers, often built up by seemingly respected but sycophantic law firms, auditors, and venal managements" to uncover a company's true value.

The contrarian investing style is often lauded after the fact, but can generate plenty of adversaries during a public campaign. Block's fund made its name, in part, by identifying fraud at Chinese companies that were traded on exchanges in the US and Hong Kong.

In recent years, the firm has published short reports on popular stocks such as AppLovin, SoFi, and ELF Beauty.

Asset managers that dedicate a majority of their time to finding stocks to bet against are becoming somewhat of a dying breed. Industry stalwarts like Jim Chanos and Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson have closed their firms in recent years, and data from the industry tracker Breakout Point show that the number of activist short-sellers has dropped by more than 30% since 2020.

These firms have battled buoyant markets in addition to personal and professional attacks. Executives like Elon Musk have gone after those who have publicly bet against their companies, and a grassroots short squeeze orchestrated by Reddit retail traders wrecked Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital, which eventually shuttered.

Andrew Left's conviction of securities fraud in June, which he has said he plans to appeal, was another worrying sign for short-sellers.

"I think it's chilling when you're taking individuals and you're limiting their ability to have free speech and trade with honest opinions," Left said after the verdict.

• Only a few people have actually driven Slate's truck. I became one of the latest drivers on Tuesday.
• It feels surprisingly truck-ish and drives even better than its specs suggest.
• Slate is betting that the market left several gaps wide open for a new competitor. Are they right?

Cheap cars typically suck.

Consider the Mitsubishi Mirage. During its final decade in the US, the roughly $17,000 hatchback achieved its low price through obvious trade-offs: an engine that whined at highway speeds, a punishing suspension, and an interior so cramped that occupants rubbed shoulders.

Its 2024 discontinuation helped usher in the first period in modern US automotive history without a new car priced below $20,000.

So, when Slate announced a $24,950 starting price for a 2027 model, I assumed the low cost would come with plenty of compromises.

Building an affordable EV is difficult enough. Building one profitably — without making it miserable to drive — seemed even harder.

Then, on Tuesday, I became one of only a handful of people in the world who have driven a Slate prototype. I sat behind the wheel of the base truck for about 45 minutes and guided it through the windy, oceanfront roads of Newport, Rhode Island.

My skepticism didn't survive the experience.

Impressions behind the wheel

I've driven plenty of different kinds of trucks in my career — everything from the Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss to the Honda Ridgeline to the Ford Ranger Raptor.

The Slate is smaller and far less powerful than any of them. It still feels plenty truck-ish from behind the wheel.

Its big-nosed hood — which covers a seven-cubic-foot frunk, enough to fit roughly two medium-sized check-in bags — gives the driver the commanding view Americans expect from a pickup. It took me a moment to judge where the bumper ended, but it also made the Slate feel more substantial than its toy-like exterior suggests.

The two-person cabin gives both occupants more than enough room. At an aggressively average 5 feet 9 inches tall, I had what felt like a mile of space above my head. Slate says one of its 6-foot-8 engineers fits comfortably, though he wasn't around for me to verify that claim.

The truck also drives better than its specifications suggest. Slate says it takes more than eight seconds to reach 60 mph, but the electric motor's immediate punch keeps it from feeling slow. With the battery mounted beneath the floor, it also felt balanced and impressively composed when accelerating through high-degree corners.

Its aggressive, Tesla-like regenerative braking initially made my inputs jerky. Once I learned to feather the accelerator, however, the one-pedal driving felt natural, and I rarely touched the brake.

That is, until we stopped on an incline. The prototype rolled backward before its hill-hold system caught it, an awkward behavior Slate says it is still refining.

I also heard a few rattles over larger bumps, and the range display wasn't fully functional. Slate attributed both issues to the truck's prototype status.

Should those rough edges disappear before deliveries begin later this year, the Slate will be an impressive truck for the money. Its handling, space, and genuine truck-like feel frequently made me forget that affordability is its main pitch.

Who is the Slate for? We will see soon.

Slate is making a series of wagers that the rest of the auto industry has largely abandoned.

It bet Americans want a smaller truck, can live with two doors, and that drivers are tired of touchscreens, subscriptions, and paying for self-driving options.

Most importantly, it is betting that enough people want a new vehicle starting at $24,950 — roughly half the average price Americans now pay at a new-car dealership.

That makes the Slate easy to explain but strangely difficult to place.

Detroit has spent years prioritizing enormous four-door pickups. Two-door trucks have largely disappeared from the US market, and even Slate buyers who add the company's SUV conversion and rear seats will have to climb through the front doors to reach them.

Its business model is equally unconventional. Slate hopes customers will keep spending after buying the truck, but not through the monthly software subscriptions that Detroit has recently fallen in love with.

Instead, owners can add speakers, new upholstery, storage accessories, body wraps, and the parts needed to turn the pickup into an SUV. The pitch is less "pay to unlock this software feature" and more "physically build the vehicle you want."

Slate is applying the same less-is-more philosophy to its cabin presentation. A company representative told me modern, screen-heavy cars have become too distracting, even at the cheaper end of the market.

Perhaps some buyers really are ready for a car that does less in our increasingly AI-ified world — and costs less because of it.

My drive largely resolves one of my biggest questions about the truck's composure. The Slate is fun, roomy, and far more convincing behind the wheel than its appearance suggests. I could imagine it appealing to fleet operators, small businesses, and buyers who want an inexpensive vehicle they will not feel precious about.

The harder question is whether those groups add up to a mass market.

Slate says its factory will eventually be capable of producing 150,000 trucks a year. Reaching anything close to that number would require the startup to survive an EV market that has already buried Fisker, Lordstown Motors, and Nikola, strained Lucid and Rivian, and cost Detroit automakers billions. Only one automaker — Tesla — has successfully traversed America's so-called "EV valley of death" to consistent, visible profitability.

Slate believes the industry left several openings that it can follow Tesla's lead in.

Whether those were genuine gaps — or warnings that other automakers already noticed — will determine what happens next.

• Maverick Maltin, 19, left college in May 2025 to become a full-time AI content creator.
• His AI content business has generated around six figures a month for the last few months.
• He shares the video hook strategy and content formula behind his rapid growth.

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Maverick Maltin, a 19-year-old AI content creator who travels full-time. His words have been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider reviewed financial documents supporting the earnings described in this story.

When I was younger, my dad was in tech and always gave me the latest technology to try out. That's how I was first introduced to AI and ChatGPT.

In 2024, after I graduated from high school, I went to Arizona State University, planning to study digital marketing. But in the summer between my first and second year, I became an AI content creator.

AI was something I was interested in, and I was already teaching my friends and family about it in my free time. I posted my first TikTok video in May 2025, and one of my first videos got a million views. I left school to become a full-time AI content creator and have been making around six figures a month for the last few months.

When it comes to content, it's a cliché, but I always tell people: don't try to reinvent the wheel.

I went to college knowing I would probably drop out

Because my parents are very entrepreneurial and repeat founders themselves, I always knew I wanted to start my own thing and didn't want a typical corporate career. I'm very lucky to have parents who were OK with me leaving school.

I knew I probably wouldn't stay at school all four years, but I wanted to have the college experience for at least a little while. I think it's one of the best things you can do for yourself socially.

When my first year ended and summer started, I saw my other college friends getting internships, but that route didn't appeal to me. Instead, I thought to myself, "I have four months to focus and figure out what I want to do."

I picked an audience that other AI creators weren't serving

I was home for the summer, watching these creators talk about the more technical side of AI, when I realized there was a gap for someone who could make it practical and accessible.

My goal was not to teach people my age, or even people in their early to mid 20s. They can go off and watch the more complex videos. I wanted to simplify AI for everyone, but my main audience is middle-aged Americans ages 30 to 65.

I wanted to show people how to use tools like ChatGPT for everyday tasks, from finding useful prompts and selling things in their garage to preparing for a job interview or finding discount codes online.

The strategy that helped my content go viral

When you're first posting, you probably won't have a big audience, so you need to talk about the same things everyone else is talking about, but present them in your own unique style. The easiest way for me to gain an audience was, in a sense, to copy what was already working.

My first video to reach a million views came from watching someone else's video about an AI hack that was going viral at the time, and I remember thinking to myself, "If only this person talked faster and had a better hook." I made a video about the same topic with those two changes, and it went viral.

When I see a topic doing well, I also try to get my video out within the next day or two. I have to move quickly because a trend or conversation can pass me by. I also base most of my videos around my hook. One of my big rules is that I always try to have the AI tool that I'm talking about in the actual hook. I'm also a big fan of curiosity hooks, stuff like, "What happens when you ask ChatGPT to rewrite your résumé?"

I'm always analyzing my feed and figuring out what I should be talking about next. If I'm scrolling on my phone, watching Instagram Reels, and I see a video on a topic I want to talk about, I think of what my hook would be, write it in my Notes app, and then build the video around that hook whenever it's time to film.

A lot of people say staying really consistent is important. I think that's true in the long term and not as much in the short term. I try to post twice a day now, but there have been times I didn't post for a few days. In April, I was probably posting three or four times a day because I was super locked in, so it changes. My consistency is probably my biggest challenge.

I waited to do my first brand deal

I went the first few months without doing branded deals, and I think it's really important to build a strong audience that trusts you and your reputation before you take your first brand deal.

I had 80,000 or 90,000 followers on TikTok, and my engagement was pretty good. I kept getting emails about paid sponsorships. I was so against doing them that I didn't really pay attention to the messages. Then I spoke to my dad about it, and he convinced me that if it's a company or product I would normally talk about, why not partner with them and get paid for a video I was already thinking about making? It's the best of both worlds.

He suggested I reply with a high rate to see what they said, and the first brand deal I made ended up paying $2,400 for two videos. I kept replying to emails, and the deals kept flowing in after that. Brand deals account for 100% of my revenue, and I've done over a hundred so far.

I had no formal contract review process for these brand deals when I first started. I was using AI to review the contracts. Luckily, I now have a legal team at my agency that reviews it, which is probably much safer than what I used to do.

I went full-time on this and hired a team

When I hit 100,000 followers last August, I was making enough money that I thought, "I don't really need to go back to school." I'm definitely happy with my decision to leave.

I told my friends I might come back, but I don't see that happening. Being in that environment was really fun, but I knew I wanted to take this a step further, and I wasn't surrounded by motivated people who were supportive of what I was doing.

I feel very lucky that I get to do this full-time now. I'm now signed with an agency I pursued and have a video editor. For a long time, I resisted getting an agency or bringing on help, but outsourcing editing has been life-changing because the time I used to spend editing one video can now go toward filming several more. I probably waited too long to hire help. My advice is to build a team once repetitive work starts keeping you from doing the part of the job you are best at.

My motto has been to make AI as simple as possible for all people. It's a complex topic. Understanding it more than the person next to you already puts you ahead of 99% of the people out there.

Do you have a similar story to share? If so, please reach out to the reporter at aapplegate@businessinsider.com.

• Angelina Viglione works as a barista and has a side hustle doing other people's laundry.
• She typically makes between $600 and $1,000 a month on her side hustle, depending on how much she works.
• The flexibility allows her to balance work with caring for her autistic son.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Angelina Viglione, a 36-year-old based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, who works as a barista and laundry professional. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I work around 35 hours a week as a barista, and have a side hustle doing other people's and small businesses' laundry in my home.

My laundry gig has given me the freedom I need to balance multiple jobs and my family's needs. My son is severely autistic, and either my husband or I always need to be available to support him, which makes it difficult for us to work traditional jobs.

Being able to work from home is such a great privilege, allowing us to give better care and attention to our son. I'm able to be more present with my family, and I can take a mental health day when life gets too overwhelming, without fear of losing my job.

The extra income has helped me pay for things that I normally wouldn't be able to afford, such as my son's birthday party, sensory equipment for him, Christmas presents, home repairs, and our car payment.

My side hustle gives me flexibility

I first started my laundry gig in 2022, but started taking it more seriously in 2023. I initially found out about Poplin — the platform I use — by accident, after seeing an ad for it while looking for a job I could do from home.

At that time, my son was having a lot of struggles in school, so finding a typical W-2 job was next to impossible. I was a little skeptical at first — it was nerve-racking having other people's belongings in my possession — but I decided to try it out. After my first couple of clients, I started to get the hang of it and liked being able to make my own hours.

Now, my husband helps me — often assisting with the pick-ups and drop-offs while I'm at my barista job. On a typical day, I work until about 3 p.m. at my barista job, do my laundry pickups and drop-offs until 4 p.m., and then work on orders when my son is home from school.

Depending on my workflow, I sometimes work as little as 50 hours a month, while other times it's closer to 30 hours a week. In a month, I wash anywhere from 20 to 60 loads of laundry, and it takes me about two hours for a small order of one bag.

I'm paid per load, based on the weight of the completed order. In my area, customers are charged $1 a pound, and we're paid $0.75 a pound. It averages out to about $13 to $14 an hour, plus a tip. I can bring in anywhere from $600 to $1,000 a month.

However, I cover my own laundry supplies, gas, and other business expenses. I buy my detergent in bulk; I buy about five containers of Tide PODS at a time, each a 42-count, at a total cost of about $60, which breaks down to about $.29 per load.

There's also wear and tear on my washer and dryer. For example, the heating elements for my dryer go out more often because of the amount of use it gets, but I've learned how to replace them myself to save money.

I'm able to do other things while washing and drying clothes

I find jobs on Poplin's platform; potential customers make requests that I'm then able to accept or decline. In the platform's ranking system, I'm currently ranked around 30th in my state, which allows me to see orders in my area first.

Once the laundry is picked up, I take it home and sort it to avoid discoloration. I wash everything on a cold water cycle to prevent shrinkage, unless the client requests something different, and dry on a medium to low heat. I fold everything neatly straight out of the dryer to avoid wrinkles and accommodate different folding styles if requested.

After I bag everything in clear trash bags, I weigh it and load the car for delivery. I'm usually able to turn around an order by Poplin's default deadline of 8 p.m. the next day, but I'm able to coordinate directly with my clients on the turnaround time. As long as there are no complaints, I have some flexibility.

During the washing and drying processes, it's relatively low stress, and I'm able to get things done around the house.

I love working with my regulars

Before starting with Poplin, I did DoorDash for about a year. I made a bit more money, but when I considered things like wear and tear on my car and being away from home, it wasn't the right side hustle for me.

Handling someone's laundry is more personal than delivering food. You have to put in effort to build your own network by being personable and connecting with your clients.

I can't even count the number of regulars I have at this point; it's rare that I have time to take on new clients. I have one client — a small business — who I sometimes get three to four orders from a week.

Another one of my regulars is a sweet man who lives in an assisted living facility. When I come to do a pickup, we always stand there and chat for 15 minutes or so because he likes the company and talking about random things.

It's been life-changing to be able to be there for my son

Everything right now is tough and expensive.

The biggest downside to this side hustle has been learning how to avoid burnout. There have been times when I've wanted to make extra money and have taken on more orders than are ideal for me.

However, it allows me to provide for my son. He had a hard year last year, and to be able to be there for him without having to worry about work has been life-changing.

I plan to continue my side hustle moving forward. I like knowing that if I ever lost my W-2 job, I'd still have this income to get by on until I could find something else.

Do you have a story to share about your side hustle? Contact this editor, Jane Zhang, at janezhang@businessinsider.com.

• Blackstone is bringing Jersey Mike's public today in the biggest restaurant IPO in 20 years.
• Since 2024, Blackstone has turned the founder-run sandwich chain into a professional corporation.
• It's also the first time Blackstone has brought its broad-based employee ownership strategy public.

Later today, Jersey Mike's moves from slinging subs to also slinging stock as it goes public at a roughly $7 billion valuation.

It's been 51 years since 17-year-old Peter Cancro took out a loan to buy the Jersey Shore sandwich shop where he worked, and not even two years since Blackstone acquired a controlling stake in the chain.

In that short time, the world's largest private equity investor has transformed how the sandwich chain is run, bringing in outside professional managers, establishing a corporate board, and giving employees a stake in the business's equity. It'll be Blackstone's public market debut of private equity's newly popular profit-sharing strategy.

For all that rapid change, the one thing the firm hasn't touched is the sandwiches themselves. Other than adding new ones like the Hot Italian, it kept the portions the same and sliced the deli meat fresh. According to a source with direct knowledge of Jersey Mike's operations, the restaurant's suppliers have not changed since the acquisition.

Here's what Blackstone has changed at the Jersey Shore sandwich shop, and what's stayed the same across nearly 3,300 stores.

From the Shore to the boardroom

Over the nearly five decades that Cancro was the sole owner and executive decision-maker, he grew that one sandwich shop into a nationwide business, hiring family members and paying some of them tens of millions of dollars.

Before he sold a majority stake to Blackstone at an $8 billion valuation in 2024, it still operated like a family-run business. As part of the deal, Cancro stepped down as CEO and became a board member. The deal gave Blackstone an 80% stake and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority a 10% stake in the business, with Cancro's share down to 10%.

Cancro wrote in the firm's S-1 that he decided to sell to Blackstone because of the firm's strong experience in franchise businesses, most famously with the ultra-profitable Hilton acquisition.

Cancro was replaced as CEO by Charles Morrison, a longtime industry vet who took Wingstop public in 2015 and was most recently the CEO of Salad and Go.

The sandwich shop's first board included Nigel Travis, former longtime CEO of Dunkin', serving as its chairman, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz, former AutoNation CEO Cheryl Miller, and three more Blackstone executives.

Rounding out the executive level are a suite of new hires, including Michele Allen, former CFO of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, at CFO, and Stacy Peterson, former CEO of Jeni's Ice Cream, at COO.

Spread the wealth

With this IPO, Blackstone is doubling down on the idea that executives and workers who are incentivized to see the company do well are more likely to stay and do their best work.

It's offering a shared ownership plan in the form of bonuses to the firm's corporate employees, who work out of the real-life Lumon headquarters in suburban New Jersey. Blackstone announced in 2024 that all of its future US private equity deals would include these programs, which have become widespread in the industry.

Jersey Mike's bonuses will be funded by Blackstone's own payout, can be either cash or equity, and can range from 0% to 200% of an employees' eligible compensation. The final payout is based on Blackstone's return on its original investment and can also be prorated by an employee's tenure at the company.

Direct employees who don't participate in the other equity incentive programs — and have been at the firm for at least a year when Blackstone is no longer in control of the company — will get a payout. Franchisees, their sandwich-making employees, and employees of corporate-owned stores are not eligible for the ownership plan.

As is more standard, executives will also get stock grants, aligning their interests with the firm's investors.

This will be Blackstone's first time bringing one of these broad ownership plans public. Other examples of an IPO involving one of these plans come from industry shared-ownership evangelist KKR: Gardner Denver, now Ingersoll Rand, and Lineage Logistics. The Jersey Mike's filing is unique in that it exposes the nuts and bolts of how their plan will work.

But it is much smaller than other examples: Jersey Mike's had 293 corporate personnel as of the end of last year, while Ingersoll Rand said it has granted equity to more than 28,000 employees since 2017. Blackstone-owned Copeland, which confidentially filed for an IPO at the end of last year, has 18,000 employees eligible for similar ownership benefits.

Big subs, bigger business

Expansion has remained central to Blackstone's investment thesis. The total number of stores is only up about 8.4% from when Blackstone purchased the chain. The firm is likely doubling down on Jersey Mike's franchisee development pipeline of 1,600 potential new stores, 90% of them from existing franchise owners.

Jersey Mike's is now taking its first continental leap to the UK and Ireland, with Peter Cancro signing a master franchise deal to open up to 300 stores in Ireland. It had already been launched in Canada the year Blackstone purchased it.

Blackstone also used its financial heft to help Jersey Mike's refinance much of its debt earlier this year in a $760 million whole-business securitization. This has resulted in debt levels that are high relative to franchised peers, although the company's profit margins are generally superior, according to the Wall Street research firm Gordon Haskett.

The most obvious signs that expansion is the long-term plan are the specifics of the deal. Blackstone may be bringing Jersey Mike's public less than two years after buying it, but it's doing so at roughly the same valuation, inclusive of debt, that it paid. That implies that Blackstone will hold onto its shares for a while, waiting for its plan to fully pay off. Blackstone has historically held shares of firms it IPOed for years after a transaction, including Hilton, which it held for more than 4 years after the IPO.

They are, of course, recouping some of their costs. For one, the recent debt raise included a dividend for Blackstone, and the firm is selling the lion's share of the IPO offering, at more than 26 million shares. Still, it will retain about two-thirds of the company's voting power. The IPO will also mint nearly 14 million new shares.

In other words, they're going to be in the driver's seat for a while. And with a projected future of 7,500 US restaurants and 15,000 globally, that may be a very lucrative position.

Correction: July 30, 2026 — An earlier version of this story named the wrong company that granted equity to more than 28,000 employees since 2017. It was Ingersoll Rand.

• At Y Combinator, Mitch Duncombe saw founders spend an astonishing amount of money on lawyers.
• Now he's building an "AI-native" law firm to help companies get off the ground more cheaply.
• That company, Vector Legal, has raised $5.19 million in a seed round led by Base 10 Partners.

Attorney Mitch Duncombe spent years inside Y Combinator, the tech world's startup factory, helping founders raise money. He also watched them hand a lot of it straight to their lawyers.

Now he is trying to build a cheaper way for startups to get off the ground.

Vector Legal, the company Duncombe started with former Ironclad engineer Keenan Venuti, combines a law firm staffed by attorneys with software that lets founders handle more legal work themselves.

The company raised $5.19 million in seed funding shortly after graduating from Y Combinator's winter batch, Business Insider has learned. Base 10 Partners led the round, with participation from the accelerator itself. Angel investors include Chris Smoak, who founded Atrium with Justin Kan. Atrium pioneered the tech-driven law firm model before shutting down in 2020.

Duncombe doesn't blame the lawyers. "One of the things that makes the American ecosystem so great is our legal system," he said. "I'll never hate on lawyers. But they are expensive."

Rather than use chatbots and agents only behind the scenes to lower its own costs, Vector also sells clients access to the software it has built. Founders can use the platform to form a company, file a trademark, and draft, review, and sign certain documents on their own. For bet-the-company legal work, they can loop in senior lawyers.

Lawyers are starting to buy into that vision, too. This summer, the company landed attorney Walt Nichols, who represented large funds and their portfolio companies at Avantia Law, now Carta Law. Natasha Pfeiffer came on board after a decade in-house at companies including Goldman Sachs, Taco Bell, and SageView Advisory Group.

Kyle Canchola, a longtime startup attorney, joined from Wilson Sonsini in June. He told Business Insider that Vector's mission resonated because it targeted frustrations he had watched clients wrestle with for years.

"When I met with Mitch and Keenan, I saw the future of legal work," he said, "faster, leaner, and built for how founders and clients actually operate."

For the past few years, legal tech companies have built software designed to help lawyers work faster. The next wave of startups looks more like a law firm. Rather than hand customers another tool to master, these startups deliver the work from start to finish.

That opportunity has already attracted a crowded field. Vector competes with law firm-startup hybrids, including Crosby, Moritz, and Soxton, which build software to speed document drafting and review for startups.

The model also puts more risk on Vector's shoulders. Software companies typically warn that their tools can make mistakes, leaving lawyers responsible for checking the work. Vector is the law firm of record, meaning it is accountable for the advice it gives. The company carries malpractice insurance like a traditional firm.

Duncombe argues that Vector is built for more than the low-hanging legal work that comes with starting a company. It wants to follow clients from formation through nine-figure financings, acquisitions, and beyond.

Insurance giant Corgi took a gamble on that strategy this past spring.

Duncombe met the company's executives at a founder event in San Francisco. After he explained what his firm does, the executives pulled him into a conference room and told him Corgi had just received a term sheet valuing the company at $1.3 billion. They asked for his thoughts.

He plied them with unofficial advice for over an hour and bid for the contract to handle the legal work that weekend. Corgi hired Vector, which helped close the $160 million financing in three and a half weeks.

Duncombe's pitch is that Vector will wrangle a startup's first contracts — and still be there when it sells for a billion dollars.

• The Big Four firm EY has built an "invisible" router into its AI tools to help manage its token spend.
• The router redirects employees to the right AI tool for their task, said Dan Diasio, the firm's global consulting AI leader.
• It's cut token consumption in some divisions by 60%, he said.

EY does not let every employee query go straight to the smartest AI model in the room.

The Big Four firm has introduced an "invisible" router to help manage its internal AI spending, Dan Diasio, EY's global consulting AI leader, told Business Insider.

Rolled out globally in April, the router sits behind some of EY's specialized AI tools and acts as an intermediary to direct employees towards the best AI model for the task at hand.

"To the users, it makes no apparent change," said Diasio. They open the frontier model, enter their prompt, and get a response. But behind the scenes, the router is deciding where their query should go.

"Many times, it's faster than the frontier models, because to use the heavier models means there's more thinking that gets put in place, and it takes longer to be able to get back to the answer," Diasio added.

Token costs have become a growing concern for companies as AI providers increasingly charge based on usage. From February to June, OpenAI, Anthropic, and GitHub introduced pricing models tied to tokens — the units that measure AI's input and output — rather than with flat-rate billing.

The shift has meant that using powerful models for simple tasks can quickly become costly.

EY US's AI Pulse survey, released Tuesday, found that 82% of senior leaders at companies investing in AI were concerned about token usage. The survey was based on responses from 534 senior decision-makers at US businesses between April and May.

"A lot of these big bills that companies are getting surprised by are by the top one or the top 2% of people inside the employee base that are just using the wrong tool for the job," said Diasio.

A router helps select the right model for the right job, limiting token waste and ensuring that more expensive AI requests are reserved for the functions where they can deliver the greatest value. It's a solution many EY clients are also building to help manage costs, said Diasio.

The router has not been deployed universally across all of EY's AI tools. Instead, it's been deployed on department-specific platforms, including tax and risk. It is not used for the general Microsoft Copilot chatbot available to all EY staff.

The solution has had a "meaningful impact" on how staff use AI tokens, Diasio said.

The router, together with training and governance strategies, has helped reduce token consumption by 60% since its implementation in April, EY said.

The next phase of AI monitoring

The first phase of the corporate AI boom was about getting employees to use the technology — cue the "tokenmaxxing" phenomenon that encouraged workers to use as much AI as possible.

Rising costs have since shifted the focus to controlling that use.

Corporate giants like Disney and JPMorgan have installed dashboards to track employees' use of AI, and AI-routing startups are on the rise, helping developers direct tasks to different AI models, monitor for overspending, and quickly resolve outages.

EY has set token budgets based on employees' roles and departments, Diasio said. Those who exceed their token allowance can request more through an approval process.

Some 64% of senior leaders surveyed for EY's AI Pulse report said their organizations now monitor AI token usage and have clear budgetary guardrails for how much they spend. Diasio expects that figure to rise quickly: "If we ask this question in six months from now, it would probably be like 90% of people."

There are also other levers that can help companies get more value from their AI spending, Diasio said.

Businesses can overlook the importance of building strong internal knowledge layers and designing better prompts grounded in their own data. They should focus their investment on areas where AI can have the deepest impact on how work is done, rather than spreading resources across every function, he said.

Monitoring employee usage will continue to remain important, Diasio said, but corporate AI deployment is entering a new phase in which the focus is on value and outcomes.

Fundamentally, measuring AI's value requires looking beyond profit and loss, Diasio said.

Instead, he said, the broader questions businesses should be asking include: Is AI enabling employees to get through tasks faster? And how can you incentivize employees to explore new initiatives and responsibilities that aren't in their current job description?

• The Trump administration has announced a ban on new Chinese humanoid robots entering the US.
• The FCC said the robots pose "unacceptable safety risks" to national security.
• Some policy pundits have voiced full-throated approval for the ban. Others worry it will harm US companies.

The Trump Administration's crackdown on Chinese robots is getting mixed reactions.

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced the administration's ban on new imports of "advanced robotic devices" from China, including humanoid and quadrupeds. The ban also extends to China-made power inverters used in batteries and data centers.

The FCC said the ban was imposed because these robots "pose unacceptable safety risks to the national security of the United States."

Robots that have already been brought to the US before the ban was announced will not be affected by it.

Here's what smart people in policy, tech, and venture capital are saying about the ban.

Chris McGuire, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations

Responding to FCC Chair Brendan Carr's X post about the ban, Chris McGuire said this was a "very, very big deal."

McGuire is a senior fellow for China and emerging technology at the Council on Foreign Relations.

He said in his Tuesday X post that the ban will incentivize the US to shore up its robotics supply chains while "preventing China from flooding the US market with cheap robots that also pose national security risks (similar to Chinese connected vehicles)."

McGuire praised the tactic of imposing import bans on specific rapidly growing technologies from China that could pose national security risks to the US.

Rush Doshi, director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations

Rush Doshi, the director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, called the ban "one of the most significant actions taken so far in support of the U.S. robotics ecosystem."

Reposting Carr's X post, Doshi compared the move to the FCC's announcement last December regarding restrictions on new foreign-made drones.

"The FCC's drone action was a shot in the arm for the domestic drone industry, and I think this has that same potential in robotics," Doshi wrote.

Doshi was the deputy senior director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council under former President Joe Biden.

Peter Harrell, visiting scholar at Georgetown Law School

Peter Harrell, a visiting scholar at Georgetown's Institute of International Economic Law, called the ban an "important national security move," adding that advanced robots collect vast amounts of data and are integrated into key industries.

"This should provide a substantial tailwind to U.S. and allied inverter and robot manufacturers," Harrell wrote on X. He said the move will protect the US market and create space for its companies to expand.

Ramez Naam, founder of Planetary VC

In an X post on Tuesday, climate investor Ramez Naam described the new ban as a "double-edged sword."

"Short term, the rest of the world will have access to better cheaper hum/quad robots than the US," he wrote. "Longer term, with luck, US industry will thrive. But China will have advantage of a larger market indefinitely."

He said that humanoid robots are a "terrible form factor" for warfare and are unlikely to affect defense. But the ban on quadrupeds, animal-like robots that walk on four legs, could have consequences for defense.

Justin Lopas, founder of Base Power

Justin Lopas, the founder of home battery system provider Base Power, gave a nod of support to the ban.

"For those in the know, this is a very big deal," Lopas wrote on X.

The founder worked in manufacturing and mechanical engineering at SpaceX and Anduril before launching his company in 2023.

David Hansen, cofounder of Westmag

David Hansen, the cofounder and CEO of Westmag, a US manufacturer of drone motors and robot actuators backed by Andreessen Horowitz, wrote in a post on X that China's robotics industry will shrug off the ban.

"Their entire annual export business, to every country on earth, is what they moved at home in four weeks. We are a rounding error to them," he wrote.

Hansen added that unless the US builds up its own robotics supply chain, it risks falling well behind China's booming robotics industry as adoption increases.

"At some point soon, millions of Americans will open Tiktok and watch Chinese robots cooking dinner, folding laundry, and cleaning the homes of ordinary people in Shenzhen. Demand will flip overnight, every American will suddenly want one," Hansen added.

Ted Xiao, founding member of technical staff at Prometheus

Ted Xiao, a founding member of technical staff at Jeff Bezos' Prometheus AI startup, wrote on X that the ban would herald a wave of pain for US robotics startups.

"Every single live player in robotics + AI relies on Chinese hardware; the US robotics hardware ecosystem is years behind," the former Google DeepMind scientist said.

Chris Paxton, innovation lead at Agility

Chris Paxton, an AI innovation lead at robotics company Agility — which is planning to go public at a $2.5 billion valuation — wrote on X that the ban would harm US developers who use affordable Chinese robots as development and testing units for robotics and AI software.

"So lets say I want to start a humanoid company, making brains/software (American competitive advantage). What exactly are my options in the USA, now?" wrote the former Meta and Nvidia researcher.

Deedy Das, partner at Menlo Ventures

In an episode of the "This Week in Startups" podcast released on Wednesday, Das said the US should subject robotics to far more scrutiny than it does AI models.

"The kind of damage vectors on language models are far more restrictive than what can happen with robotics," he said.

The VC added that it is quite difficult for the US to manufacture robots at the prices Chinese companies are offering.

"They are astounding that they can get this low. America needs to do something to be able to compete in the same way that it had to for the chips and LLM landscape," he said.

Jason Calacanis, tech podcaster and angel investor

On the same podcast released on Wednesday, Calacanis called the ban "smart."

"You wouldn't want to have a situation where one morning 10,000 of these woke up with the instructions to take out a terrorist attack," he said, referring to humanoid robots. "I know it sounds fantastical, but if I told you, 50 years ago, that terrorists would take two airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center, you'd be like, 'that's insane.'"

Maya Haddad Miller has long been fixated on weather apps — especially how they hit her bottom line. Haddad Miller and her dad own Brooklyn Beach Shop in Coney Island, New York, which sells souvenirs and beach gear. When a little rain icon pops up on the ubiquitous weather apps on any given day, it can cut business in half, she says, whether any rain falls or not. "When you talk about weather forecasts, that's our life — we eat, breathe, everything the weather," she says.

This became such a hobby horse for Haddad Miller that, for a while, she kept a spreadsheet comparing forecasts with actual weather data to track discrepancies. A decade ago, she took the issue up with then-Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul during the politician's visit to the beachside neighborhood. As they stood on the rooftop of a local restaurant, taking in the ocean view, she asked whether anything could be done about the way apps display the weather.

"You have so many businesses statewide that are affected by these false forecasts," she recalls telling Hochul. "A lot of times, it's beautiful out here, but it's very slow. We're selling less. We're contributing less taxes to the city, the state."

Hochul didn't have much to say back then, but Haddad Miller's crusade continues — and while her complaint may sound niche, she's onto a surprisingly significant predicament.

Every day, millions of people plan their lives around the default weather apps on their smartphones. The thing is, their super-simplified designs flatten what are, in reality, complex, highly localized, probabilistic forecasts. Distilling an entire forecast into basic high-to-low temperature ranges and simple sun or rain icons is a fraught task. And when things go wrong, there are tangible consequences: Empty beaches, canceled tee times, and ruined weekends. The little cloud icon of doom leads to real economic damage for businesses, and a nation of would-be customers sitting on the couch on a perfectly nice Saturday, realizing too late that they could have taken the family to the water park after all.

The problem with your run-of-the-mill weather apps isn't the meteorology, it's the translation.

Ironically, the science behind forecasting has never been better, says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Behind every tiny icon sits an enormous amount of data: physics-based computer models, satellite observations, radar, weather stations, and, increasingly, AI systems that process it all. Forecasters often compare and blend multiple models to give the most accurate reads.

That complexity largely disappears once it reaches your phone. A single image represents the dominant conditions for an entire day, even if those conditions are expected to vary widely. And apps often don't do the type of complex analysis that human meteorologists do.

"Rather than leveraging the sum and totality of this incredible wealth of sophisticated meteorological information that's out there, they're just kind of saying, 'Eh, screw it, let's just pick one of these data sources,'" he says. "When you do that, you're kind of wedded to that one data source, which may or may not be the single best option in a given context."

Basic weather apps are OK for getting a "first glance" at what the weather might be, says Jason Furtado, an associate professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, but they fall short on the details. Weather can be hyperlocal — a storm hits one part of town and not another — and a general sketch of the day often brushes over the small events that matter. Many generic weather apps also aren't good at tracking rapidly evolving weather situations. People don't need to know that it might snow at some point during the day in a 100-mile radius — they need to know what time and how severe.

"These apps, if you actually look at it, let's say hour to hour, it'll change," Furtado says. "That's not really helpful, especially if you're trying to make a decision."

Developers can't be blamed for everything — the apps have a user error issue, too. People have a hard time interpreting weather-related probabilities, whether they come from their phone screen or the local forecaster. When a source says there's a 20% chance of rain, it generally means there is a 20% probability that at least 0.01 inch of rain will fall somewhere in a certain coverage area. Some people will interpret 20% as 0% and get mad when they're caught in the rain. Others will decide it's too risky and stay inside, only to get frustrated when nothing happens.

"You already had that foundational misunderstanding of things like percent chance of rain, the difference between watch and warning," says J. Marshall Shepherd, a professor of geography and atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia and former president of the American Meteorological Society. "Now you throw these uber-convenient apps in the pockets and purses of everybody on the planet."

People regularly ask Shepherd for a weather forecast, and after he responds, counter with, "....but my app says." He says the counter does get to him occasionally: "I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me, I'd be retired."

Some forecasts come with a "wet bias" that can overstate the likelihood of precipitation to manage expectations and avoid an outraged public if they get it wrong. Research shows that weather apps often present excessively detailed, unrealistic forecasts far into the future without making their confidence levels (or lack thereof) clear. In other words, that sun symbol on your phone 10 days from now may be pretty meaningless.

"Rarely do they include any estimate of uncertainty," says Susan Joslyn, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington.

The lack of nuance embedded in weather apps is a problem for more than your planning peace of mind. Overconfidence can also knock local economies, especially those that are seasonal or depend heavily on the weather's cooperation for their financials to work. One study recently presented at the American Economic Association found that when precipitation is overpredicted, local businesses suffer a measurable, immediate drop in foot traffic and consumer spending, even when the weather conditions on the ground are fine. Retail, food service, and entertainment are particularly hurt. The researchers found that investment in improving forecasts could have "significant downstream benefits for local economies."

The local economies in question, of course, are well aware.

Rob Bryn, a musician in Rockaway Beach, New York, tells me that when he first started bartending by the beach in 2011, families would still show up on a rainy day and make the best of it. Now, Mom wakes up, sees the rain cloud on her phone, and nixes the trip, even if the rain is only predicted for half an hour late at night.

"They don't take the chance anymore," Bryn says. "It'd be a beautiful day, and there'd be nobody there, and I'd be like, 'Damn, these sheep are so easily controlled by this icon on their phone.'"

Bryn follows a local Instagram account for weather updates. In its bio, the account owner says it reports live from the area "because the weather apps are always wrong." He's considered trying to get in touch with someone at Apple to explain the effects of their weather app when it overstates the chance of rain or clouds. "I don't think they even realize the effect they're having on places like Rockaway Beach, they're just trying to tell you to bring an umbrella," he says.

Steven Cohen, the vice president of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team, says he wishes fans would use more detailed weather apps that better pinpoint probabilities. "There are days when we get nothing, it's beautiful out, and the rain storm may clip the Bronx and the Yankees get it," he says. He's lucky in that spectators often buy their tickets in advance, meaning they may not be deterred by a chance of rain on the day of the game unless the Cyclones are forced to call off the game for safety reasons. It also means that if people are looking at predictions days out and see a cloud, they'll decide to make other plans. "It's already in people's heads that it's going to be bad weather," he says.

The afternoon I talked to Adam Rinn, the director of Coney Island Inc., a nonprofit that hosts various shows and events, he told me his weather app had forecast rain all afternoon, but thus far, no precipitation had appeared. "Well, it's now 3, and we had a little thunder, but no rain," he says. "If you look at the radar, the rain just skirted us."

Mike Bengston, general manager of Splish Splash Water Park on Long Island, says people worried about app-based forecasts should realize it may actually be a great time to visit. Enough people are spooked by the lack of sun, meaning smaller crowds. "The days where it does look a little bit iffier, you are going to have shorter lines if things work out," he says.

The effects of weather apps on behavior can vary across a range of factors. When there are hotels in an area and therefore overnight tourists, customers tend to show up rain or shine because staying home isn't an option. Cancellation policies and reservations matter, too — if you're dinged $100 for canceling your boat tour, you may think twice before making the call.

Nick Ribeiro, who runs Preserved Links, a private golf club for aficionados, tells me he regularly gets texts days before events from people asking if it's still on, given the forecast on their phones. A lot of the time, he's already paid the golf course, so he has to scramble to find a replacement player or urge the doubter to show up. "There's always a reason not to play, so if the weather gets between you and the tee, it's an easy route to bail on your round of golf," he says.

This all creates operational headaches, too. Business owners have to decide how much staffing they need based not only on what the weather might be, but also on what customers think it might be. Golf courses need to rebook tee times that were reserved weeks in advance. For seasonal businesses, every day counts, and faux rainy days can be devastating.

"The economy is totally dictated by an icon on the phone," Bryn says.

This isn't just an American problem, either: In March, over 100 British attractions wrote an open letter to the Met Office — the UK's national weather and climate service — warning that misleading rain icons on popular weather apps were costing them thousands of pounds in revenue a day.

The weather app forecast is a tough dilemma to tackle. People like the convenience of taking a quick look at the weather on their phones instead of waiting for the 8s on the Weather Channel or tuning into the local news. But the area meteorologist may very well have a better idea of what's going on and be able to explain it in more detail.

There's a delicate balance between informing and overwhelming users, says Dan DePodwin, the director of forecast operations at AccuWeather, which has been in the forecasting business for 60 years. People want to spend 30 seconds or less in the morning checking what the day will bring and seeing what to watch out for. The challenge is delivering that to them in a straightforward, helpful way. "Within just one screen, you can get a lot of information, but there's still a lot of blank space to let your eye not be totally consumed," he says.

Not all weather apps are created equal — some have a real depth of information, others cover the basics. And sifting through their quality is likely to become harder, given the rise of vibe coding and developers' ability to spin up a new product overnight.

There's a wide gulf between a developer using a $9 a month API and an enterprise weather intelligence company, says Eric Floehr, the founder and CEO of ForecastWatch, which monitors and analyzes forecast accuracy. "You often do get what you pay for," he says.

The stakes are high, too. The most benign version of a weather app mishap is when the emoji says it's going to rain when, in reality, there's not a cloud in the sky. The scariest version is when someone doesn't notice a possible lightning strike or tornado because they're just focused on a number or image on display.

Until and unless developers overhaul how they present probability and uncertainty, meteorologists advise treating standard apps as a cursory check, not gospel. They say people should instead look to their local meteorologist or the National Weather Service for guidance, or even call the golf course or amusement park ahead of time to see what's going on. Human expertise still matters. They also note that people shouldn't take their phone app being wrong as evidence that all forecasts are wrong — many meteorologists told me that bad digital forecasts give the whole industry a bad name.

The day I spoke with Haddad Miller from Coney Island, the weather forecast showed a string of glorious, sun-filled days. She was cautiously optimistic about what it would mean for business, but not over the moon.

"Saturday should be spectacular," she says. "Theoretically. Unless they come in and put in a rain emoji the day before and then take it away."

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Alexandr Wang said AI has become a game changer for startups that want to compete with big guys.
• Wang cofounded and ran Scale AI before joining Meta last year.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Vinod Khosla have said that AI will help founders build their companies fast.

It's never been easier to take on the big guys, says Alexandr Wang.

At a talk at a Y Combinator event, the Scale AI founder, who now leads Meta's Superintelligence Labs, said that AI has been a game changer for startups.

"It's probably a once in a civilization opportunity to be a dreamer and to have a vision and to have ambition and to impose a view of how the future world should look by building something amazing," Wang said in a video from the event released on Wednesday.

He said that it wasn't so easy when he started his AI training company in 2016. Scale AI is among the earliest data labeling companies — it pays thousands of contractors around the world to filter, rank, and train AI responses for the world's largest AI labs. Wang, who was CEO, left Scale to join Meta last June as part of a $14.3 billion deal the social media company made with his startup.

"It was like David versus Goliath. You had to be clever, and you had to find an angle into the market and figure out a way to compete even though you had much fewer resources," Wang said. "Now I actually think with the power of agents and AI broadly speaking it's much closer to Goliath versus Goliath."

He added that if a startup embraces AI agents in the "most ambitious ways," it can easily beat incumbent companies. AI agents are software systems that can sef complete multi-step tasks such as writing code or handling customer support.

Wang's comments on now being a generational moment to launch a business closely echo what Silicon Valley's top voices have said about the subject.

At the same YC event, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reiterated his stance on AI's potential for startups.

"I think we'll go through a very steep period, which again, never a better time to do a startup than right now," Altman said. "I hope we can say that again every year from now on, but it's certainly true about this moment in history."

Famed tech investor Vinod Khosla predicted that AI will lead to a small-business boom because entrepreneurs can outsource tasks like legal and accounting work to AI.

"I would guess by 2035, 10 years from now, that's a very short time, we will have 1/4 the number of corporate employees, maybe less, and we will have 50 million micro entrepreneurs doing their thing, being their own boss," he said on a May podcast.

• Ukrainian long-range drones have been hitting warehouses belonging to a Russian e-commerce giant.
• About 10 such facilities have been hit in recent days, with at least 9 people killed.
• The target, Wildberries, is Russia's largest online marketplace, storing goods for hundreds of merchants.

Ukrainian strike drones flying hundreds of miles into Russian territory have been hitting oil refineries, military sites — and now the country's biggest e-commerce warehouses.

At least 10 facilities run by Russia's largest online retail firm, Wildberries, have been struck by long-range drones in the last two weeks.

The fixed-wing drones have been hammering the retail giant's facilities in the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, annexed Crimea, and other regions since July 18, causing major fires and killing at least nine people.

Kyiv's strike campaign has been widely seen as an effort to pressure the Russian economy by kneecapping one of the country's largest marketplaces. Wildberries' parent group, RWB, reported about $73 billion in gross merchandise value last year.

The firm is estimated to have lost over 9% of its warehouse space from July's attacks alone. Like Amazon, it operates an online platform that allows merchants to list their goods for sale and use its warehouses to store their inventory before delivery.

That means the goods destroyed in the strikes belong mostly to individual business owners. Wildberries merchants also sell tactical gear, dual-use goods, and drone components, which Ukraine has cited as a reason for targeting the firm.

Russia is already starting to feel the strain. State-controlled bank Sberbank said on Wednesday that roughly 300 companies that took out loans were requesting payment delays or changes to their terms since the attacks.

Sberbank added that it may have to raise its reserves to cover loan defaults. The bank's chief financial officer, Taras Skvortsov, said no decision had been taken yet, but he offered an upbeat outlook, saying the retail market "will cope with this situation and emerge from it with their heads held high."

Billions in losses as attacks continue

Meanwhile, Wildberries changed its compensation policy on July 7 to include drone and missile strikes as force majeure events, which exempt the company from liability for the loss of a merchant's goods.

Forbes Russia estimated on July 21 that two Ukrainian attacks had cost merchants at least $1.87 billion in merchandise. Major drone strikes have since hit eight more warehouses.

Wildberries was launched in 2004 by Tatyana Kim, a teacher who started the website out of an apartment in Moscow.

Her firm has skyrocketed to prominence in recent years and now accounts for over half of all online orders in Russia. Kim is listed by Bloomberg as Russia's wealthiest self-made woman, with an estimated net worth of $8.1 billion.

In 2021, Wildberries bought over a small regional bank to help service payments and loans for its merchants and customers.

Kim told Russian media that Wildberries would compensate some merchants who lost their goods during the strikes, though she did not reveal the extent. Should the attacks continue, covering full losses would likely be too much for Wildberries to bear; the firm's parent group posted a net profit of $2.1 billion in 2025.

Wildberries did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

'Everything for the SVO'

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hasn't specifically named Wildberries, but confirmed that Kyiv has been involved in strikes on Russian warehouses.

"The aggressor used them to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment," Zelenskyy said on July 18 of the first two warehouses hit.

The Kremlin has denied that Wildberries handles supplies for the Russian military, with its spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, accusing Ukraine of attacking "civilian targets."

However, Wildberries has carried listings for gear such as drone flight-control goggles, tactical vests with body armor plates, and field rations under a search tag titled "Everything for the SVO," referring to the special military operation, or Russia's term for the Ukraine war.

Earlier this week, the tag was removed from the Wildberries marketplace website.

It's not immediately clear which uncrewed systems Ukraine used to hit the warehouses. Fire Point, which makes one of the most commonly used long-range strike drones, said its FP-1 propeller-driven drone was used in at least one attack in Ryazan.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it hopes its long-range strikes will suppress Russian revenue and disrupt the economy, creating internal pressure that could erode Moscow's ability to continue the war.

• Samsung and SK Hynix surged into the $1 trillion club in May as AI fever gripped global markets.
• Both have fallen below the milestone after a brutal sell-off in South Korean stocks.
• Leveraged ETFs are worsening the rout, prompting regulators to crack down.

South Korea's stock market rout has rapidly taken the shine off one of this year's biggest AI success stories: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's ascent into the trillion-dollar club.

Fueled by the global artificial intelligence boom, both memory-chip giants crossed the $1 trillion market-capitalization threshold in May as investors piled into companies expected to benefit from soaring demand for AI infrastructure.

But the rally has since sharply reversed, and both companies have fallen out of the club.

On Thursday, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index closed 1% lower and is about 40% from its late-June peak.

Samsung Electronics' stock closed 1% lower after reversing gains that followed stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. Samsung reported a 1,800% rise in operating profit to 89.5 trillion won, or about $62 billion, beating analysts' expectations. The stock is 45% lower than its peak last month.

SK Hynix shares, meanwhile, closed 6% lower and are down about 56% from their June peak. The latest leg lower followed another record quarter from SK Hynix as operating profit surged 557% — but fell short of analysts' expectations.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are now worth about $924 billion and $707 billion, respectively, according to LSEG data.

The reversal is especially striking for SK Hynix.

Once largely regarded as a cyclical memory-chip maker, SK Hynix transformed itself into the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips for AI accelerators, vaulting into the ranks of the world's most valuable technology companies.

Earlier this month, it capped that ascent with a $26.5 billion Nasdaq ADR offering, the largest US share sale by a foreign company. The offering was priced at $149 an ADR, but the US-listed shares have since fallen below that level, highlighting how quickly enthusiasm for AI chip stocks has cooled.

The retreat has also exposed the risks posed by South Korea's boom in single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, which have magnified the downturn as retail investors unwind leveraged positions, adding momentum to falling share prices.

South Korea has already suspended new listings of single-stock leveraged ETFs this month and on Wednesday pledged additional measures to stabilize the market, including limiting retail access to the products.

IG market analyst Fabien Yip said the measures should ultimately help restore more orderly trading.

"New government caps on retail leveraged ETF allocations may accelerate near-term selling, but should support a healthier, more rational market once deleveraging completes," Yip said.

• Nara Smith said she and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, went to couples therapy even when they didn't need it.
• The model and TikTok creator said she wanted them to build "a strong foundation" from the start.
• In hindsight, therapy ultimately gave them the tools to navigate their daughter's cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Nara Smith, 24, says going to couples therapy before a crisis struck helped her and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, navigate their daughter's cancer diagnosis.

On Wednesday's episode of "Call Her Daddy," Smith, a model and TikTok creator known for her viral cooking-from-scratch videos, opened up about the difficult period when her daughter Whimsy Lou underwent chemotherapy.

Smith said she and her husband didn't fully process their daughter's diagnosis until the physical effects of chemotherapy set in, including hair loss and nausea.

"We started crumbling a little bit," Smith told podcast host Alex Cooper.

Smith and her husband took turns leaning on each other, with each stepping in to lift the other up whenever they felt they couldn't go on, she said.

"When I had a hard day with it, he picked me up. When he had a hard day, I picked him up, and we were like, 'Let's just keep going,'" Smith said. "It felt like that game where you're tied to someone else, and you have to make it to the finish line together."

The couple also has three other children: Rumble Honey, Slim Easy, and Fawnie Golden.

Looking back, going to couples therapy early in their relationship gave them the tools to navigate this period of their lives, Smith, whose content is often associated with the "tradwife" aesthetic, said.

She added that she first suggested couples therapy because she knew they had grown up differently and wanted them to build "a strong foundation" from the start.

Many people assume couples therapy is only for troubled relationships, but she doesn't see it that way.

"Sometimes nothing's wrong, and you just want to have the tools to have the best life. I want to have the best life in every aspect of my life, and that to me comes with work," she said.

Smith said one of the main things she and her husband learned was how to communicate with each other, which "came in really handy" during their daughter's treatment.

"Even though I might have felt whatever I felt, I created the space for him to feel the way he felt, and for him to communicate that with me, and for us to work through that together and really be heard by each other," she said.

Smith revealed in an Instagram post in early July that her daughter had been diagnosed with cancer late last year, though she did not disclose the type. At the time of the post, her daughter had already completed treatment and was in remission, an update Smith shared two weeks later.

Smith joins a growing number of celebrities who have spoken openly about the benefits of couples therapy.

In 2024, Rob Lowe said he and his wife, Sheryl Berkoff, see couples counseling as a way to maintain their relationship.

"It's like taking your car in and making sure the engine's running great," he said.

In 2025, Manny Jacinto said the best marriage advice he's ever gotten is to go to couples therapy when things are good.

"It goes for therapy in general. You don't want to be going to couples therapy when you're in a really bad spot because sometimes it might be too late," Jacinto said.

• Goki Akuzawa, 62, spends most days in rural Japan but still travels to Tokyo for business meetings.
• After years of restructuring distressed assets in major cities around the world, he began questioning what truly creates value.
• Inspired by Japan's rice terraces, he left finance to restore rural communities, opening a guesthouse and sake brewery.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Goki Akuzawa, 62, the owner of Toronoki House in Japan. It has been edited for length and clarity

For eight years, I lived a dual life. I'd spend weekdays in Tokyo working on hotel and real estate investments. On weekends, I'd escape to rural Niigata, about a two-hour train ride from Japan's capital.

Along the way, I became passionate about satoyama — a Japanese concept describing the relationship between people and the rural landscape.

I started spending more time in the countryside and eventually came across an abandoned kominka, or traditional folk house, on a real estate website. I traveled to see it in person, bought it soon after, and spent the next two years renovating it before opening it as the guesthouse Toronoki House in 2018.

In November 2024, I made the countryside my full-time home. I still travel to Tokyo regularly for business meetings, but I spend most of my days farming, brewing sake, and welcoming guests.

Getting my start in real estate

My career began at an architectural and general contracting firm in Tokyo. I started out in accounting, then construction site management, and later moved to HR development.

Around 1990, when Japan's economic bubble burst, the company was looking for someone who could clean up all the bad assets. I took on the job. First, I had to learn about real estate, so I went to the US and earned a master's degree in hotel administration.

After I graduated, the company transferred me to their Sydney office, then later to Los Angeles. After returning to Japan, I got hired at an investment banking and financial services company in Tokyo.

I continued on that same path until the financial crisis in 2008, when I had to lay off my colleagues. It was tough and took a significant toll on my mental health. It forced me to rethink what creates value in real life.

Finding value in the countryside

My turning point came a year later. I hopped on a two-hour bullet train from Tokyo to Tokamachi, a rural part of Niigata Prefecture, after seeing an advertisement for an art festival.

Being there, close to nature, was cathartic. Soon after, I became mesmerized by life in the countryside, particularly rice terraces. I began visiting traditional villages across Japan, Bali, Thailand, and Vietnam, and started to see them through the lens of an asset manager.

That's when I realized rice terraces are undervalued assets. It inspired me to start Satoyama Asset Management. Through it, I rented the property and took over the cultivation of two rice terraces.

My company grows Koshihikari, a popular Japanese rice variety, using organic methods without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Since many rural villages are shrinking and aging, I hire residents to help cultivate the terraces and support the local economy.

To expand my assets and make use of vacant properties, I bought an old farmhouse near a rice terrace in 2016. I renovated it with Karl Bengs, a German architect known for restoring traditional homes and helping revitalize rural communities in Niigata.

Half of the renovation costs were covered by equity from my savings, and the rest was financed through a loan from a government financial institution.

When guests stay at the farmhouse, I take them to see the rice terraces and other artworks around the area. We share dinner together and often end up talking late into the evening about life in the village.

Two years later, I wanted to add more value to the rice terraces beyond simply selling rice. So, I applied for a donburoku — traditional, unfiltered sake — brewing license in November 2020 and got it about five months later. A year after getting my license, I opened a small sake brewery, using rice grown in the terraces.

I manage everything in the guesthouse except for meal preparation. The inn can accommodate up to 10 people, but I keep occupancy low so I can run it myself.

Living a balanced life

When I bought the house and began renovating, I had to explain my intentions to neighbors. People in the Japanese countryside can be conservative, so as an outsider, it was my obligation to make them understand what I was doing. This holds true for anyone, whether a foreigner or a Japanese person. Relationships with residents in rural communities are important.

Before, my life wasn't balanced. I worked long hours and through the weekend. Looking back now, it seemed like a crazy lifestyle. Spending so much time in the countryside has improved my quality of life.

In Tokyo, success is often measured by growth, efficiency, and financial returns. In the countryside, it's measured through relationships, health, and a sense of community. The contrast between these two taught me that wealth and happiness aren't always the same thing.

• Live shopping startup Whatnot is raising a new round of funding, per multiple sources.
• The latest investment values the startup at roughly $20 billion.
• The company notched $8 billion in live sales last year.

Whatnot is proving there's still room for consumer startups in the AI era.

Live shopping startup Whatnot is in talks to raise financing at about a $20 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.

This would be a significant jump from the $11.5 billion valuation at which the company raised capital late last year.

Whatnot hosts livestream shopping across categories ranging from fashion and sneakers to sports cards and vinyl records, taking a cut of each sale made on its platform in North America and Europe.

The round is in progress, and details could change. Whatnot did not respond to requests for comment.

Inspired by the large Chinese live shopping industry, such as Taobao, Whatnot has built a following among collectible users who use the platform to interact with and purchase products. The company notched $8 billion in live sales last year.

Consumer internet startups have struggled to attract venture capital amid the AI boom, as much of the industry's capital chases foundation models, chips, and infrastructure. Whatnot's potential valuation jump could signal that investors still have an appetite for consumer startups with rapid revenue and user growth.

Livestream shopping is already a massive business in Asia, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in annual sales. The format has been slower to catch on in the West, but platforms like TikTok Shop have helped normalize buying products through social media and live video, giving companies like Whatnot a tailwind.

The Los Angeles-based startup is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Capital G, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

• Meta said that time spent on Instagram grew by double digits year over year this quarter.
• Zuckerberg said that Instagram recommendations are "becoming more personalized" because of AI.
• Zuckerberg called feeding public content to AI "a key building block" toward personalization.

If you can't seem to get off your Instagram scroll, it is not an accident.

During Meta's second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that global time spent on Instagram grew by double digits year over year this quarter, "largely driven by improvements to our feed and Reels recommendations."

"Our recommendations are also becoming more personalized, surfacing more fresh content while giving people more direct control over what they see," Zuckerberg said, adding that Instagram reels combined "faster inference with a new architecture that draws on deeper user history to improve predictions."

"This drove a 15 basis point increase in sessions on Instagram, with particular strength in reshares and time spent, which are both strong indicators of better content-to-user matching," Zuckerberg added.

According to Zuckerberg, recommendations are trained through automatically feeding every public Reel and post on Instagram to an LLM and analyzing them for topics and tone, which he called "a key building block toward greater personalization."

"And we're working towards including more surfaces on Facebook as well," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg's comments came weeks after the company launched Muse Image in early July, which lets users create AI-generated images from photos on public Instagram accounts of people over 18. By default, eligible public accounts were included without prior notice, triggering a privacy backlash that led to the generation function being shut down in less than a week.

Users could prevent Meta's AI from accessing visual content by going to Instagram's Settings, opening the Share and Reuse section, and switching off the option that lets Meta access photos and videos. There was no such option for text, comments, or audio.

The algorithms have been central to multiple lawsuits filed by more than two dozen states that alleged that Meta designed its products to be addictive to teenagers and children.

During the call, Meta CFO Susan Li said the company expects continued "scrutiny on youth-related issues in several markets" and has "a number of youth-related trials scheduled for this year," which could result in financial losses. The company reported $2.40 billion of charges "related to legal proceedings."

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

• Zohran Mamdani said his efforts to protect delivery workers on Uber Eats and DoorDash were working.
• He said tips for delivery workers increased by $104 million after the city's crackdown.
• Mamdani said the win was "only the beginning."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn't done going after delivery apps.

Mamdani on Wednesday touted a new city report that found the crackdown on deceptive tipping practices by food-delivery platforms has resulted in an additional $104 million in tips for delivery workers since January.

"Uber Eats and DoorDash hid tip buttons and set default tips below 10%. As a result, tips for delivery workers fell 79%," Mamdani wrote on X. "In January, we made these corporations change their apps."

"This is only the beginning," he added, suggesting the city would continue to address the experience of workers on delivery apps.

The city said tips have doubled since the tipping protections took effect in late January, and that the 70,000 delivery workers in the city were on track to each earn, on average, an additional $2,287 in tips annually.

"Today's $104 million victory is part of city hall's larger effort to hold delivery apps and mega corporations accountable," Mamdani said at a press conference, noting a settlement the city reached in January requiring Uber Eats and other delivery apps to pay more than $5 million, some of which went to delivery workers.

He also said the city increased funding for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection by over $4 million in June to increase staff and enforcement of these laws intended to protect New Yorkers.

"The days of city hall accepting corporate abuse as the cost of doing business here in New York City are over," Mamdani said, adding, "I am confident that more wins are on the way."

DoorDash and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Madewell has built a loyal following with its collection of elevated everyday clothing, from its best-selling denim and classic tees to dresses, sweaters, handbags, and versatile wardrobe essentials. The brand's timeless aesthetic and focus on quality make it a favorite among shoppers who invest in pieces they'll wear for years. If you're planning to place an order, a Madewell promo code is an easy way to save on your next purchase.

Rather than focusing on fast-moving trends, Madewell emphasizes quality fabrics, classic silhouettes, and comfortable everyday style. Our team has featured the brand in guides to the best white T-shirts, women's workwear, petite clothing, plus-size fashion, and more, thanks to its consistently reliable essentials.

While Madewell's pieces are built to last, they're also an investment. Fortunately, the retailer regularly offers seasonal promotions, limited-time sales, and other discounts throughout the year. We've rounded up the latest Madewell coupons and deals below to help you refresh your wardrobe for less.

Today's best Madewell coupons

Previous Madewell coupons

Are there any other Madewell sales running right now?

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. On the "Shopping Bag" page, apply a coupon by selecting "Add a promo code" from the dropdown, pasting the code into the text box, and clicking "Apply." Once the coupon is added, continue to checkout to enter your shipping and billing information.

Can you stack Madewell promo codes?

Madewell does not allow coupons to be stacked together. Only one promo code may be applied per order.

Madewell coupons: frequently asked questions

Does Madewell offer discounts for students, teachers, and the military?

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.

If you're a student or teacher, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and the best teacher discounts for more offers from your favorite brands.

Does Madewell offer free shipping?

Madewell offers free economy and standard shipping to Insider rewards program members on all orders. Non-members can find more information about shipping fees on Madewell's website.

What is Madewell's return policy?

Madewell offers free returns for up to 30 days after the original purchase. Items can be returned by mail or in-store, and must be unwashed with their original tags still intact. Learn more on Madewell's website.

Can I use Madewell promo codes in-store?

Most Madewell coupons are only eligible for use on online orders. However, there may be exceptions, so be sure to check the terms and conditions for the specific code you want to use.

Can I reuse a Madewell coupon code?

Most Madewell coupons can be used on multiple orders as long as the promotion is still live. There may be exceptions, though, so be sure to check the specific terms and conditions for the code you want to use.

Should I join Madewell's rewards program?

Membership in Madewell's rewards program, Madewell Insider, includes perks like free shipping on all orders, a birthday gift, early access to sales, exclusive coupons, free in-store hemming, and more. The program is free to join, so it may be worth it, especially if you're a frequent shopper. Learn more and sign up on Madewell's website.

Still shopping? Check out our roundups of the best Abercrombie promo codes and True Classic promo codes.

• Meta's stock is tumbling as its AI bets wipe out most of its free cash flow.
• One analyst said its latest AI rollouts feel like "throwing spaghetti on the wall."
• Meta says its AI investments are accelerating its core business, and there's much more to come.

Meta's AI strategy is, once again, worrying investors.

The social media giant's stock tumbled 10% on Wednesday after it disclosed that its capital expenditure growth far outpaced revenue growth.

Meta has a core problem: much of this spending doesn't yet have a financial return. About 98% of Meta's revenue still comes from its traditional ads business, according to its second-quarter results.

Meta has been trying lots of new things lately, like rolling out new subscriptions, smart glasses, and apps. It's also weighing selling AI compute to other companies. All these moves leave its actual AI strategy unclear, EMARKETER senior analyst Minda Smiley said.

"These continuous rollouts increasingly feel more like the company is throwing spaghetti at the wall instead of rallying around a sustainable way forward," she wrote in a note.

A Meta spokesperson told Business Insider that Meta's AI investments supercharge its business by helping teams build faster and customers advertise better. For example, 9 million small businesses use Meta's AI image-editing tools. Also, since adding its latest AI model, Muse Spark, the company has seen a 60% increase in the number of people interacting with its AI assistant each day, the spokesperson added.

On the earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg also made the case that it's still early in Meta's AI journey. He said that Meta is working on significantly more powerful AI models that will drive future revenue growth, and touted Meta's most recent AI model releases, which performed well on industry rankings.

Zuckerberg predicted a future where billions of people use personal AI agents operating 24/7 to improve their personal lives and careers, although he said that Meta hasn't quite made that a reality yet.

Wall Street's patience is wearing thin. Thomas Monteiro, a senior analyst at Investing.com, said in a note that Meta's ads revenue — which is still growing at a healthy clip — won't make up for all the AI spending.

"The harder truth is that even strong ads are not enough considering the expenses outlook," he wrote.

It's still far too early to count Meta out. On the earnings call, Zuckerberg stressed that he didn't view Meta as just an ads business. He cited Meta's long history of building its own technology, from creating Facebook in his Harvard dorm room to building data centers now.

"We really are a full-stack technology company," he said.

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• Meta's free cash flow plunged 91% from the previous year as its AI infrastructure spending surged.
• Its advertising revenue still jumped 27% year-over-year, showing that some AI bets are paying off.
• Meta expects to spend as much as $145 billion on capital expenditures this year.

The infrastructure behind Meta's AI-powered advertising machine is swallowing almost every dollar of cash the company produces.

Meta said on its Wednesday earnings call that its free cash flow — the money left from operating cash after capital investments — plunged 91% from a year ago to $784 million in the second quarter of 2026. Its free cash flow exceeded $12 billion last quarter.

The collapse wasn't because Meta's business stopped delivering. Net cash from operating activities rose 25% year-over-year to $31.86 billion. Meanwhile, capital expenditures on servers, data centers, and networking — which all power Meta's AI systems — surged 83% to $31.08 billion, nearly wiping out its free cash flow.

The company said that AI is improving how it recommends content and matches ads with users, helping advertising revenue climb 27%. In other words, parts of Meta's AI investment already deliver returns.

The spending follows a period when Meta was seen as falling behind OpenAI and Google in the race to build leading models. CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded by overhauling its AI operation under Meta Superintelligence Labs in 2025.

In April, the lab released Muse Spark, a new model that powers Meta AI and can understand text, images, and other inputs. It has since released Muse Spark 1.1 and an image-generation model, Muse Image.

Meta is also spending on a more distant future: larger models, personal agents, business tools, and a possible enterprise computing business. The company expects capital expenditures of up to $145 billion this year.

"There is a lead time where we're investing in building out these data centers now," Zuckerberg said.

Meta is "not getting value out of them until they're online," he added.

Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer, said the company's "strong operating cash flow" left it in a "position of strength" to fund the infrastructure buildout, even as little remained after capital spending.

Big Tech giants are collectively pouring over $700 billion into AI infrastructure this year. While Google's free cash flow turned negative for the first time in decades earlier this month, Microsoft's shares jumped after it held its spending plan steady on Wednesday.

Meta's stock, meanwhile, fell nearly 10% in after-hours trading following its results.

Clearly, Wall Street is rewarding restraint.

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Chewy is one of the largest online pet retailers, making it easy to shop for food, treats, toys, medications, and other essentials for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and small pets. With thousands of products from leading pet brands in one place, it's a convenient option whether you're restocking everyday necessities or trying something new. Before you check out, a Chewy promo code can help you save on your order.

In addition to pet supplies, Chewy has expanded into everyday pet healthcare with a full-service online pharmacy, prescription medications, and virtual vet consultations. Shoppers can also use Autoship to schedule recurring deliveries, which adds convenience while offering discounts on many eligible items.

Chewy frequently rolls out sitewide promotions, brand-specific discounts, and limited-time deals throughout the year, making it easy to spend less on routine pet care. Below, we've rounded up the latest Chewy coupons and offers to help you save on everything from food and treats to prescriptions and pet supplies.

Today's best Chewy promo codes

Today's best Chewy pharmacy promo codes

Previous Chewy promo codes

Are there any other Chewy sales running at the moment?

Check out the full list of markdowns and ongoing deals, including the option to shop deals by pet, on Chewy's Today's Deals page. At the time of writing, you can shop for the following deals.

Use Chewy promo codes on these items

If you purchase items we recommend in our pet guides on Chewy's site, you can easily spend enough to earn the free $20 gift card with the code WELCOME. Purchasing one of our top cat treats, the Inaba Churu Chicken Variety, for $32.96, and the ChomChom Pet Hair Remover, one of our favorite pet hair removers we've reviewed, for $24.99, puts the total price of your order over the $49 minimum to use the promo code.

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How to use Chewy promo codes

Start by adding coupon-eligible items to your cart. Once on the "Shopping Cart" page, you should see a list of applicable promo codes in the "Available Savings" dropdown box. Apply any of the Chewy promo codes by clicking "Apply," and you should see a checkmark to let you know that the coupon will be applied. From there, continue to checkout to enter your shipping and billing information.

Can you stack Chewy promo codes?

Chewy does allow you to stack promo codes. If multiple promotions apply to your purchase, they will be listed in your cart's "Available Savings" dropdown box. However, certain promotions may not be eligible for stacking, so be sure to check the terms and conditions.

Chewy promo code frequently asked questions

Does Chewy offer discounts for students, teachers, and the military?

As of the time of writing, Chewy does not offer special discounts for students, teachers, or members of the military, so your best bet is to take advantage of their other coupons and deals.

If you're a student or teacher, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and best teacher discounts for more ways to save on your favorite brands.

Can I get pet insurance through Chewy?

Yes, Chewy does offer insurance. Chewy's Care Plus insurance offers its customers four plans at varying price points, including everyday wellness coverage and accident and illness coverage.

Read our full Chewy pet insurance review for more information on plans and pricing.

Does Chewy offer free shipping?

Chewy offers customers free shipping on all orders over $49. For all other orders, shipping costs a flat fee of $4.95 per order.

What is Chewy's return policy?

Chewy allows you to return items for a full refund within 365 days of your original purchase. This policy does not apply to prescription medications. That said, if you received damaged or incorrect medication, Chewy will help you exchange it or provide a refund on a case-by-case basis.

Do I need a vet prescription to get pharmacy products from Chewy?

Yes, you must have a prescription from a licensed vet to order medication from Chewy. Chewy will contact your vet by phone or fax for their authorization before fulfilling your order. This process can take around three business days, so consider the timing when deciding how soon to order.

What are the benefits of choosing Chewy's autoship option?

In addition to not having to remember to reorder pet supplies and prescriptions, shoppers who use autoship can save an extra 5% on select brands for all future autoship orders. There's no additional fee for choosing the autoship option, so it may be worth it if you frequently need to order the same food, medication, or supplies.

Still shopping? Check out our roundup of the best dog subscription boxes.

• Mark Zuckerberg is doing a big AI PR push.
• That includes a new ad, op-eds and interviews for old media outlets, and a Wall Street pep talk.
• It's unclear if any of that will move the needle. Why not try cold, hard cash?

Many Americans are very concerned about AI. Can Mark Zuckerberg change their minds?

That is what the Meta CEO is trying to do, via a persuasion campaign: Last week, the company launched an ad, scored by a David Bowie song, telling viewers to ignore "some people" who don't like AI.

Zuckerberg followed up a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Tuesday, promising that "superintelligence will be the most profound technological advance we will see in our lifetimes," and that this will be a good thing. Then he got on the phone with reporters at the Journal, the Financial Times, and The New York Times to say the same thing.

And on Wednesday, Zuckerberg used his company's earnings call to keep the pitch going: His company's AI efforts make him "optimistic that we're building a positive future for everyone," he told investors.

There are at least two things going on here:

• Zuckerberg, like lots of leaders in AI, seems taken aback by the AI backlash in the US. Like many of them, he thinks the industry needs a better communications plan. One that sells the upside of AI, and downplays the not-so-good stuff.
• Zuckerberg, like lots of people in AI, seems particularly frustrated with OpenAI and Anthropic, whose CEOs have warned repeatedly that AI will bring about severe dislocation, including meaningful job losses. There's a school of thought that OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei have overstated AI's risks in order to help justify their enormous fundraising and valuation ambitions. So when Zuckerberg writes "I don't understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity's relevance would rush to build that future," in his WSJ op-ed, he's talking about Altman and Amodei.

Let's leave aside whether Zuckerberg, or anyone at Meta, is the best advocate for the AI industry (in early 2025, two-thirds of Americans reported having a negative view of Zuckerberg).

My bigger question is whether anyone can convince Americans to feel more positive about AI.

It is certainly possible that Americans would feel better about AI if Altman and Amodei hadn't spent time warning them that the tech they were building could generate massive job losses. They might also have felt better if the broader tech industry, which is now essentially the AI industry, hadn't publicly pledged allegiance to Donald Trump starting in late 2024.

But those things happened, and I don't think a messaging campaign is going to make people forget them. At this point, the way to convince people that AI is going to be good for them is to demonstrate that good things are actually happening.

That's because right now, most of the AI upside is either theoretical or intensely concentrated among a few people — primarily people who work or invest in AI. If you're selling a home in San Francisco, it's easy to see an AI benefit. For just about everyone else, it's something that might help you someday.

So while the industry waits for other upsides — New wonder drugs! New industries! Things so new we don't have words to describe them yet! — to materialize, my advice to Meta, and everyone else who wants to change public opinion about AI, is simple: Pay up.

Teachers in rural Louisiana, where Meta is building a massive data center, are getting one-time bonuses of up to $50,000 this year. That payment doesn't come directly through Meta, but via a huge tax payment Meta made as part of its buildout.

$50,000 doesn't mean much to a Meta engineer. In Richland Parish, where Meta is building its data center, that money could be a year's salary or much more.

So Mark, if you want people to feel good about AI, and what you're doing with AI: Do more of that.

Let all of the smart people who work for you figure out the best way to do that: Direct payments to citizens? Money that goes to local government first, and then gets turned into personal checks? Or maybe you just build a bunch of schools and roads and make sure everyone knows who paid for them.

Whatever it is, do it fast — you're good at fast — so people know that AI is helping them now, not one day in the future. It might work better than videos and op-eds.

• Microsoft held its AI capex forecast steady, sending its shares surging.
• Last week, Google raised its capex projection again.
• Microsoft is one of the first tech giants to step away from the ever-rising AI capex spending spree.

Microsoft kept its capex forecast unchanged on Wednesday, becoming one of the first data center giants to hold the line on the industry's runaway AI spending spree.

The stock surged about 8% on the news.

Earlier this year, the company said it planned to spend $190 billion on capital expenditures this calendar year.

On Wednesday's earnings call, Microsoft kept this spending forecast steady. Due to an accounting change, this capex guidance is now $175 billion. However, in reality, Microsoft is keeping its AI capex plan the same for this year.

The decision to keep a lid on capex is unusual. Most cloud giants have been steadily increasing their AI spending forecasts as they race each other to grab a big share of this fast-growing market.

However, investors have become increasingly concerned about the returns on these huge investments. That's led some on Wall Street to wonder whether tech giants would blink during this earning season.

Alphabet recently increased its capex projection by $15 billion. Tesla also bumped up its own projection. Both stocks fell sharply last week on the news as investors punished the higher spending plans. And on Wednesday, Meta narrowed its own capex forecast range, raising the midpoint by $2.5 billion for the year.

Even prior to Alphabet's increased forecast, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta had already laid out plans to spend more than $700 billion this year largely on AI data centers.

That spending binge has sent the price of memory chips soaring this year. Memory is a big part of data center costs, so these increases have made it more expensive to build AI capacity.

This means that rising AI capex forecasts have been at least partly driven by higher memory costs, rather than new plans to build more capacity.

Earlier research found that soaring memory prices could explain about 45% of the growth in capex by the big cloud companies this year.

So, with Microsoft keeping its capex plans steady, this could imply the company actually ends up pulling back slightly from building more capacity.

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Worms are intestinal parasites that take up residence inside your dog, where they silently cause harm. The most common types of these microscopic organisms include roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms. Some worms, including roundworms and hookworms, can also be spread to humans.

Prompt, safe treatment is essential. However, with so many products on the market, choosing the right parasite treatment can be challenging. The best dewormers for dogs treat active infections, while intestinal parasite preventives help protect your dog from future ones. With input from veterinarians, we selected the best deworming medications based on safety, proven effectiveness, the number of parasites they cover, and ease of administration.

Before starting treatment, your veterinarian should perform a fecal test to determine which types of worms your dog has. From there, they can recommend the most appropriate product based on your dog's temperament, lifestyle, and the parasites most common in your area, including fleas, ticks, and heartworms. All of the treatments we recommend require a prescription from your veterinarian.

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

Our top picks for the best dewormers for dogs

Best broad-spectrum dewormer for dogs: Drontal Plus Taste Tabs - From $5 per tablet at Chewy

Best tapeworm dewormer for dogs: Droncit Tablets - $7 per tablet at Chewy

Best oral parasite preventive for dogs: Trifexis Chewable Tablets - From $23 per tablet at Chewy

Best topical parasite preventive for dogs: Advantage Multi for Dogs - From $21 per dose at Chewy

Best broad-spectrum dewormer

Drontal Plus is our top pick for the best dewormers for dogs because it eliminates multiple types of parasites with one dose and works within seven days. The flavored chewable tablet is easy to give your dog. You can offer it on its own or mix it with a small amount of food.

This is a broad-spectrum dewormer that covers up to four species of tapeworms, two species of hookworms, two species of roundworms, and whipworms. Its effectiveness is due to three powerful active ingredients that work together: pyrantel pamoate, praziquantel, and febantel.

Your veterinarian will need to write a prescription for Drontal Plus. Before giving your dog this medicine, it's important to see your vet so they can also check to see if your dog has parasites that a broad-spectrum dewormer can't eliminate. One or more follow-up treatments may also be needed to fully eliminate the worms. And because dogs commonly become infected with tapeworms by ingesting fleas, it's also important to control and prevent them with one of the best flea and tick treatments for dogs. 

Best for tapeworms

One Droncit tablet paralyzes and eliminates the four most common species of tapeworms within 24 hours. Its active ingredient, praziquantel, is safe and effective for adult dogs and puppies 4 weeks of age and older. You can give the tablet whole or crumble it and mix it with your dog's food.

You can purchase a single Droncit tablet, making it a very affordable treatment. The other tapeworm medicine we considered, Elanco Tapeworm Dewormer, contains the same active ingredient, praziquantel, but it's only sold in a five-pack.

To prevent future tapeworm infections, treat any fleas your dog may have and use a monthly flea prevention medication.

Best oral parasite preventive

Trifexis is a beef-flavored chewable tablet you give your dog monthly to treat and control hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. It's our top pick for this category because it also kills adult fleas and prevents heartworm. For it to be most effective, you should give your dog the tablet with food.

Trifexis uses spinosad and milbemycin oxime to prevent, treat, and control parasites. While it doesn't eliminate or control tapeworms, it does kill adult fleas, which transmit the parasite.

Before starting your dog on Trifexis, you'll need a prescription from your veterinarian and a current negative heartworm test. It should be used with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or breeding females. Although it's safe for puppies as young as 8 weeks old and weighing at least 5 pounds, puppies under 14 weeks are more likely to experience vomiting than older dogs.

Because Trifexis kills adult fleas, which can transmit tapeworms, it ranked higher than preventives that do not kill adult fleas, including Heartgard Plus, Interceptor Plus, Iverhart Max Soft Chews, and Sentinel Spectrum. Simparica Trio treats, controls, and prevents more parasites than any other oral product, including adult fleas, flea larvae, ticks, heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, mange mites, and chewing lice. However, because this guide is focused on intestinal parasites, Trifexis gets the nod. It prevents three intestinal parasites, compared to two covered by Simparica Trio.

Best topical parasite preventive

No single preventive covers every parasite that could harm your dog, but Advantage Multi comes close. The topical treatment prevents three common intestinal parasites (roundworms, hookworms, whipworms) with the active ingredients imidacloprid and moxidectin. It also treats flea infestations by killing adult fleas before they can lay eggs and prevents heartworm and mange mites.

Choosing between an oral or topical parasite product can be a tough decision. Sometimes, dogs do better with one versus the other. "Some animals can't tolerate or have a food allergy to an oral product, so they must use a topical. Or their skin may be sensitive to a topical, so an oral is better," says Dr. Melissa Smits, who was a partner at Fort Morgan Veterinary Clinic at the time of our interview. If your dog doesn't have any tolerance issues, it usually comes down to your preference.

Advantage Multi is easy to use. You apply it every 30 days to the skin at the base of your dog's neck between the shoulder blades. The liquid is absorbed and dries within hours. Unlike with some other topical preventives, you don't need to wear gloves to apply it. If you get the product on your hands, simply wash them with soap and water. For the first 30 minutes after application, keep dogs from licking the application site, whether on themselves or on other treated dogs. It's also important that children don't touch the application site for two hours after application.

 As with all medications that prevent heartworm, your dog needs a heartworm test before starting Advantage Multi and annually after that.

Our top dog dewormer picks compared

What to look for in dewormers for dogs

If you think your dog might have worms, the first step in managing them is a visit to your vet. They will perform an exam and a fecal test, which involves examining a sample of your dog's stool under a microscope to identify the type of worms they have. Your vet can also assess your dog for other problems that can be caused by a parasite infection.

"I love clients for advocating for their pet and trying, but it's important to bring your dog into the vet because intestinal parasite infections can often go undiagnosed until more severe symptoms appear like weight loss, diarrhea, and vomiting," says Dr. Kelley Lay, a Tennessee-based veterinarian, who has worked in a variety of clinic settings over the last decade, including private practice, as a relief veterinarian, and now in nonprofit work.

Lay says over-the-counter (OTC) dewormers are generally less effective than prescription medicines, and sometimes an OTC drug might not treat the parasite's correct life stages. Additionally, if the type of worm your dog has is misidentified, a product might not help at all. Some "worms" are actually single-celled microscopic parasites (protozoa), though they cause many of the same symptoms as intestinal parasites. Conditions like coccidia and Giardia need to be treated with entirely different medications.

Depending on the type of worms your dog has, effective deworming might require multiple rounds of medication. Your vet will likely want to perform a follow-up fecal exam to be sure all the worms are gone.

Is the product safe and effective? Before giving any deworming medication to your dog, check that it's approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine approves and regulates drugs for animals. For oral products, the searchable Animal Drugs @ FDA database will tell you if a medication is approved. Topical flea and tick products for animals are regulated by the EPA. To confirm that a flea and tick product is EPA-registered, search the EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System.

Is the product easy to use? Deworming medications for dogs may be given orally as a pill or flavored chew or topically as a solution applied to the skin. Most dogs will eat a flavored chewable tablet or swallow a pill that has been mixed into their food, but if you have the rare dog that rejects pills, a topical dewormer might be easier. When using a topical medication, read the directions carefully to ensure you apply the product properly and follow all precautions. You might need to keep other pets, children, or pregnant people away from treated dogs for a specified period of time.

Is the product legitimate or counterfeit? Counterfeit medications can be ineffective or even harmful to pets and people. Always purchase pet meds from your veterinarian or a trustworthy pharmacy accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) Verified Websites Program, such as Chewy, Petco, and Petsmart. For advice about choosing a reputable pharmacy for pet medication, check out these tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the FDA, and the EPA. Some red flags include missing directions, foreign-labeled products, and non-English language directions, and packaging that is not child-resistant.

How we selected the best dewormers for dogs

While researching and writing this guide to the best dewormers for dogs, I drew from my eight years of experience as an assistant in veterinary hospitals and two decades of experience as a writer and editor in the pet and veterinary fields. I conducted research using the Quick Product Reference Guide published by the independent, nonprofit Companion Animal Parasite Council. This helpful reference, which includes all FDA- and EPA-approved parasite control products for small animals, lists each product's active ingredients, how the product is used, and which parasites it controls. 

I also consulted with two licensed veterinarians for advice regarding the treatment and prevention of intestinal parasites like tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms, as well as heartworms and ectoparasites like fleas, ticks, and mites. Although this information guided our product selection, our experts did not specifically endorse or recommend any of the products in this guide.

Here are the main attributes I looked for:

Safety and efficacy: Only FDA-approved products were considered for this guide.

Number of parasites treated: In general, products that covered more parasites received higher ratings. This did not apply to tapeworm dewormers, which are only intended to treat one parasite.

Ease of use: Products received lower ratings if they were more complicated to use than a similar product. For example, lower ratings were given if gloves need to be worn to apply the product or if children and pets need to be kept away from the treated animal for a period of time after application.

Minimum age and weight: When comparing similar products, higher scores went to preventives that can be used in younger animals.

Dog dewormer FAQs

What is the most effective dewormer for dogs?

Many parasite preventives protect against multiple types of worms and other parasites, but no single product covers every internal and external parasite that could affect your dog. Your veterinarian can help you choose the most appropriate option based on your dog's environment, lifestyle, and local parasite risks. "This is the most important part of having a relationship with a veterinarian in your area," Smits says. "We are trained to know what parasite problems we have in our area, what lifestyle risks are important to consider, and overall, what is best for an individual pet and lifestyle."

Can I deworm my dog myself?

Some of the best dewormers for dogs are available over the counter without a prescription, but that doesn't mean you should skip a vet visit. Different medications treat different worms, so identifying the specific parasite is key. Your veterinarian will perform a physical exam and a fecal test to determine what type of worms your dog has. "Not all intestinal parasites are created equal, and there is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to deworming medications," Lay says. While broad-spectrum dewormers kill several different types of worms, certain single-celled microscopic parasites (protozoa), such as coccidia and Giardia, are not true worms. These require different prescription medications. Your dog may also need follow-up deworming and another fecal exam to ensure no parasites remain.

Do natural dewormers work for dogs?

Natural dewormers aren't necessarily a better option, so it's important to check with your veterinarian before giving one to your dog. "While 'natural' deworming products may have some effect on intestinal parasites, I've consulted with numerous clients over the years who have tried them with repeated failure," Lay says. She adds that conventional, veterinarian-recommended dewormers have undergone stringent drug trials and studies to ensure they are both safe and effective.

What can I give my dog to prevent worms?

Veterinarians recommend keeping dogs on a broad-spectrum parasite preventive year-round, not just during spring and summer months. Different parasites are active at different times, and their activity varies. Parasites can also become active earlier than expected, including during winter. "Many adult dogs may be asymptomatic carriers," Lay says. "Parasites are not always able to be seen in feces and so you may not even know the problem is there. This can lead to infections that linger undetected for a long time."

What are the different types of worms and their signs and symptoms?

Most dogs will contract intestinal parasites at some point in their lives. Some of the most common worms in dogs are roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms.

In adult dogs, parasite infestations may cause mild to moderate digestive symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and gas. However, heavy infestations can cause severe problems, especially in young puppies.

"They can cause intestinal problems, malnutrition, anemia, growth problems in puppies, and even potential autoimmune issues," Smits says. "Also important is the zoonotic risk, potential spread to human family members."

Roundworms: These parasites are common in dogs, especially puppies, and are 3 to 6 inches long, smooth, and round-bodied. You might not know your dog has roundworms, particularly if they have only a few. In puppies, large numbers of worms may cause a pot-bellied appearance, vomiting, diarrhea, low appetite, dull coat, and restricted growth. You might also see roundworms in your dog's stool or vomit. Roundworms are zoonotic, which means they can be spread to human family members.

Tapeworms: Dogs pick up tapeworms when they ingest an infected adult flea. As the tapeworm grows, segments break off and pass in your dog's stool. If you see something in your dog's feces that resembles grains of white rice or you notice them licking or biting the area under their tail, they could have a tapeworm infestation.

Hookworms: Hookworms are blood-sucking parasites that attach to the wall of the intestines. These tiny worms are nearly invisible without the assistance of a microscope. Signs of hookworm infection in dogs include anemia, weight loss, bloody diarrhea, dull coat, and growth restriction. Hookworms are zoonotic so they can be spread to human family members.

Whipworms: Whipworms are relatively large intestinal parasites (about a ¼-inch long) that reside in the cecum and large intestine, where they wreak serious havoc. Dogs with heavy whipworms are likely to experience concerning symptoms, such as watery, bloody diarrhea, weight loss, and anemia.