• Student-loan borrowers and parents are facing payment surges, a new report said.
• Borrowers could see an average annual increase of over $2,000 due to Trump's repayment changes.
• The financial strain puts borrowers at greater risk of defaulting on their debt.

A big financial hit could be coming for student-loan borrowers, a new report says.

On Monday, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, released a report showing how President Donald Trump's student-loan repayment overhaul will affect bills and relief for millions of borrowers. The think tank shared the report exclusively with Business Insider.

The student-loan changes, signed into law in Trump's "big beautiful" spending legislation, took effect July 1 and included new income-driven repayment plans and borrowing caps. Borrowers moving from the Biden-era SAVE plan to the new Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP, could see their student-loan bills increase by $2,163 annually on average, the report said.

For example, the report said a typical borrower with a bachelor's degree with earnings of about $68,615 annually would see their monthly payments increase from $136 to $343. That's a total increase of $2,482 annually, on average.

The findings are based on income data from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation, adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index. CAP then estimated how much typical borrowers with different educational circumstances would have to pay under SAVE and RAP based on those plans' rules.

The SAVE plan allowed for lower payments and a shorter timeline to debt relief. The Trump administration eliminated the plan and is requiring borrowers to transition to a new plan, recommending RAP as an option. While the benefits of RAP include waiving unpaid monthly interest, borrowers must make on-time payments — meaning no grace period — to receive them.

Sara Partridge, associate director of higher education at CAP and a coauthor on the report, told Business Insider that while SAVE allowed zero-dollar monthly payments, RAP's minimum payment is $10. "Those $0 payments were a really important protection that many borrowers will struggle without," Partridge said.

She added that these changes come "at a time when there is high inflation, stagnating wages, and people are generally feeling financially strained," making it more difficult for borrowers to fit a higher monthly bill into their budgets.

Parents and borrowers face increased risk of default

Trump's student-loan repayment overhaul also limits parents' options. Previously, the parent PLUS program allowed parents to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for their kids. Now, parents who took out loans after July 1, 2026, face a lifetime borrowing cap of $65,000. Those new parent borrowers will be limited to the costlier tiered standard repayment plan and will lose access to the income-contingent repayment plan.

Along with higher payments, the repayment overhaul also eliminates all borrowers' ability to defer their loan payments in the event of economic hardship or unemployment, beginning next year.

"This is a tool that borrowers relied on to help them out during times when they were struggling," Partridge said. "And without those options, borrowers may be more likely to become delinquent on their loans or eventually default, which we know can come with some devastating consequences."

Defaulting on federal student loans, which typically occurs after 270 days of nonpayment, can lead to wage garnishment and the seizure of federal benefits, such as Social Security. The most recent data from Federal Student Aid showed that 9.3 million borrowers are in default, with another 1.5 million at risk of defaulting in the next six months.

The Trump administration has said that its changes are intended to simplify a complex repayment system and curb excessive borrowing.

Nicholas Kent, the department's undersecretary, said in a statement that the changes "will ensure students continue to have the access that they need for federal student loans, while helping prevent borrowers from taking on unmanageable debt levels that they may never be able to repay."

Have a story to share about student loans? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• Barbara Palvin walked the Victoria's Secret runway six weeks postpartum.
• The model told outlets that she's just doing "what every woman does in America."
• The US is the only wealthy country to provide no national paid maternity leave.

Barbara Palvin is getting praise for walking the Victoria's Secret fashion show in lingerie six weeks postpartum, but she doesn't want it.

In multiple interviews, the Hungarian-born model downplayed the feat, saying it's common for new mothers in the US to be back at work within a similar timeframe.

"In the US, maternity leave is six to eight weeks. I'm six weeks tomorrow, so nothing major here. I'm just doing what every woman does in America," the 33-year-old told USA Today backstage at the fashion show, which took place in Los Angeles on October 18.

"And I only have to walk down a runway," Palvin told Page Six.

In 2025, the US was the only country among the 38 OECD countries, including the UK, Australia, and Japan, to have no national paid maternity leave, according to the OECD Family Database.

New mothers in the US are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, but they must meet certain eligibility criteria. The new mother must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months, and their employer must have 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their job site.

Federal workers are generally entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave, but private companies are not legally required to pay employees on parental leave. Some states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maine, have paid family leave programs, but the majority don't.

Data released this year from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis suggests mothers in the US took an average of 7.2 weeks off to care for a new child.

Palvin, who has been married to actor Dylan Sprouse since July 2023, gave birth to her first child, a girl called Sylvie, on September 7.

Palvin was named a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2019. She first walked the Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2012. At the 2025 Victoria's Secret fashion show, Sprouse told reporters that Palvin had broken her foot four weeks earlier and was walking the runway with a "half-healed foot."

The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place at The Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1995. It was broadcast online for the first time in 1999, and was so popular that the host site crashed.

• The Louvre Museum said Monday it had closed its doors after student protests blocked its entrances.
• Riots and unrest have swept France in recent weeks, with violence erupting in Paris this weekend.
• The home of artworks like the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus de Milo" gets around 9 million visitors a year.

The Louvre, the world's busiest and best-known museum, has shut its doors as disorder sweeps Paris.

The museum, home to some of the planet's most famous artworks, such as the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus de Milo," said Monday that it had closed after protesters blocked its doors, extending the disruption beyond a weekend of demonstrations and riots across France.

"Dear visitors, due to student strikes the museum is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience," the Louvre said in a post on X. It gave no reopening time, and did not say whether it would reopen on Monday.

Students from the École du Louvre led the blockade in support of a nationwide high school protest movement and to denounce what they called police repression, AFP reported, citing museum management and unions.

The Louvre is visited by about 9 million people annually, making it by far the world's most visited museum.

Monday's shutdown bookends a difficult year for the museum. On this exact date last year, four thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery and stole eight pieces of France's crown jewels, valued at around $100 million.

The closure followed a weekend of protests over rising living costs and conditions in schools, with violence and looting in several French cities.

A Paris shopkeeper whose gold-buying store was broken into told Business Insider's Nathan Rennolds that thieves had "taken everything." He also found a Nicolas wine store on Sunday, its windows smashed and shelves picked clean.

Employees at a nearby boutique said they had hired extra security but closed early as the violence intensified.

At least 2,400 people were arrested after the weekend unrest, according to the Associated Press.

After an emergency meeting on Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he had instructed regional officials to impose limited, localized curfews.

In a separate statement, President Emmanuel Macron's office said the president had ordered a review of failures in security planning and intelligence gathering.

• On paper, everything was going well with breastfeeding.
• However, even with a good milk supply and a latching baby, I felt intense rage during sessions.
• When I learned that there was a name for it, I realized I wasn't alone.

I had finally gotten the hang of breastfeeding: My milk had come in, I had a solid supply, and my baby was latching well. On paper, everything seemed to be going smoothly. But during nursing sessions, I wrestled with a nagging agitation I hadn't been prepared for. Sometimes, during the final feed of the day, it bordered on rage.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore," I texted my husband one afternoon while he was at work. "I feel like my skin is crawling. I want to run through a wall."

Though those feelings went away as soon as the nursing session was over, they kept returning during feeds more often than not.

Finding a name for what I was feeling helped me feel less alone

When I brought this up to my doctor during a postpartum checkup, she seemed puzzled. Eventually, Googling "breastfeeding rage" led me to accounts of "breastfeeding aversion" that sounded startlingly familiar.

One 2023 survey of more than 5,500 Australian women found that about one in five respondents had experienced this.

Finding a name for what I was feeling was validating — it helped me to stop questioning my love for my baby, or spiraling into shame every time I watched the clock, desperate for a feed to end.

But it also left me wondering: Why hadn't I heard of this before?

I tried to make nursing more manageable

After I learned a little more about breastfeeding aversion, I experimented with a few different strategies to help me cope with the negative sensations and emotions that kept coming up.

Distracting myself — say, with a podcast, a show, or soothing nature sounds for those middle-of-the-night feeds — definitely helped.

I also suspected that overstimulation might be part of the issue, so when distraction didn't work, I'd try nursing in a quiet room without a lot of sensory input.

But on occasions where I just didn't feel up to muscling my way through the discomfort, I gave myself permission to take breaks. That meant handing the baby off to my husband for bottle-feeding while I pumped.

Switching to pumping brought relief — and some guilt

About three months into my nursing journey, the agitation became so overwhelming at times that I had the urge to abruptly yank my baby off my breast.

And that's when it hit me. Breastfeeding was supposed to be a positive experience for us. But now, I wondered if "pushing through" the distress might actually do the opposite, breeding tension and resentment rather than bonding. I knew it was time for a change.

The decision to stop nursing was a complicated one — and one that came with a gnawing guilt. I knew so many moms who were eager to breastfeed, but struggled with supply and latching issues, so I felt I didn't have a "good enough" reason to stop. Within days of switching to pumping, though, a dark cloud lifted. For some reason, pumping didn't induce the same emotions and bodily sensations that breastfeeding did. More importantly, I no longer dreaded feeding my son.

My only regret now is that I didn't make the transition sooner. The idea that motherhood meant making sacrifices had cemented into my brain before my son was even born. I was so concerned about his needs that I hadn't given much thought to mine. But my experience mattered, too.

Funny enough, the closeness I expected with nursing didn't come until I stopped. One quiet afternoon at home, as I cradled him in my lap and fed him a bottle, he wrapped his tiny fingers around mine. I finally felt the connection I had longed for.

• The annual salaries of state governors vary, with the lowest being $70,000 in Maine.
• Josh Shapiro, Kathy Hochul, and Spencer Cox are among the highest-paid US governors.
• The average annual salary for a state governor is $174,479 in 2026.

In some states, being the governor doesn't automatically make you a top earner.

With voters in 36 states heading to the polls to elect governors in November's midterm elections, the annual salaries attached to the job vary dramatically across the country — from $70,000 in Maine to over $250,000 in Pennsylvania.

Across all 50 states, governors earn an average official annual salary of $174,479 and are subject to federal and state income taxes — except in states without income tax, such as Florida and Texas.

By comparison, the top 1% of US earners each make at least $731,492 a year, placing the average governor below the ultrarich but also well above the average US wage of $69,846 in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration.

While governors across all 50 states are generally allowed to earn income beyond their state salaries through investments, book deals, and other sources, the income they may take in is closely regulated, and rules vary by state.

Some, like Florida's Ron DeSantis, have brought in yearly incomes of over $1 million thanks to book royalties, while others, like Illinois' JB Pritzker, earn eight figures due to investment gains and even gambling wins.

As such, some governors, like Pritzker and Connecticut's Ned Lamont, who are independently wealthy, have chosen to forgo their six-figure state salaries.

Beyond the salary, other financial perks of being governor may include living in the governor's mansion, receiving private transportation from the state, and having access to security and staff.

See how much your governor makes each year, based on the most recent available state records, salary commissions, legislation, and public payroll data.

50. Maine

Governor: Janet Mills (Democrat)

Salary: $70,000

With a salary of $70,000, Maine Governor Janet Mills is the lowest-paid governor in the US.

The salary for Maine's next governor is set to rise to $125,000 in 2027 under new legislation, marking the first raise in the governor's salary in the state since 1987.

After two terms, Mills is now term-limited. Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles are facing off to become the state's next governor in the November midterm election.

49. Arizona

Governor: Katie Hobbs (Democrat)

Salary: $95,000

The Arizona governor, who has the second-lowest salary among US governors, will be eligible to receive a salary of $165,000 starting in 2027, per the state legislature.

Democrat Katie Hobbs is running for a second term in the November midterm election.

48. Oregon

Governor: Tina Kotek (Democrat)

Salary: $98,600

Oregon law sets the governor's annual salary at $98,600 and provides a separate $1,000 monthly expense payment. The salary is one of the lowest for any governor in the US.

Democrat Tina Kotek is up for reelection during the November midterms, seeking a second term.

47. Nebraska

Governor: Jim Pillen (Republican)

Salary: $105,000

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, who earned $105,000 a year in 2025, per the state legislature, is the fourth-lowest-paid governor in the US.

Republican Jim Pillen is up for reelection, seeking a second term in the November midterm elections.

46. South Carolina

Governor: Henry McMaster (Republican)

Salary: $106,078

With a salary of $106,078 in 2025, per state records, the South Carolina governor is the fifth-lowest-paid governor in the US.

After two full terms, McMaster is now term-limited. Republican Alan Wilson and Democrat Jermaine Johnson are facing off in the race to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

45. New Mexico

Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham (Democrat)

Salary: $110,000

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is the sixth-lowest-paid governor in the US. New Mexico's next governor will receive a salary of $169,714 starting with the next gubernatorial term in 2027.

Lujan Grisham is term-limited after serving two terms. Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull are competing to succeed her in the November midterm election.

43. (tie) Louisiana

Governor: Jeff Landry (Republican)

Salary: $130,000

Louisiana law set the governor's salary at $130,000 in 2026. The salary has remained unchanged since January 2008.

43. (tie) Iowa

Governor: Kim Reynolds (Republican)

Salary: $130,000

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds earns an annual salary of $130,000, according to the state's official employee salary records.

Reynolds is not running for reelection, leaving Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn competing for the open governor seat in the November midterms.

42. Colorado

Governor: Jared Polis (Democrat)

Salary: $134,632

The Colorado governor, previously one of the lowest-paid governors in the nation, has received a $134,632 salary since 2023, as outlined by state law.

After nearly eight years in office, Polis is now term-limited.

Democrat Phil Weiser and Republican Victor Marx are competing to become Colorado's next governor in the November midterm.

41. Alabama

Governor: Kay Ivey (Republican)

Salary: $134,780

In fiscal year 2026, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey had a salary of $134,780, per the state's Department of Finance.

After two full terms in office, Ivey is now term-limited. Republican Tommy Tuberville and Democrat Doug Jones are facing off to become the state's next governor in the upcoming midterm election.

40. Wyoming

Governor: Mark Gordon (Republican)

Salary: $140,000

Wyoming law sets the governor's salary at $140,000 in 2026.

Mark Gordon is term-limited after two terms, leaving Republican Eric Barlow and Democrat Kenneth Casner competing for governor in the November midterm election.

39. Florida

Governor: Ron DeSantis (Republican)

Salary: $141,400

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earns $141,400 per year, according to state records.

DeSantis is term-limited after two terms in office. Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly are competing for governor in the November midterms.

38. Montana

Governor: Greg Gianforte (Republican)

Salary: $141,517

Gianforte, who made his fortune in tech, donates his salary to Montana nonprofits. In 2025, his office said he had donated his entire gubernatorial salary to organizations supporting Montanans in need.

37. Missouri

Governor: Mike Kehoe (Republican)

Salary: $145,095

Missouri law sets the governor's salary at $145,095 as of 2026.

36. Oklahoma

Governor: Kevin Stitt (Republican)

Salary: $147,000

While the current Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt, has a salary of $147,000 in 2026, his successor will see a raise to $185,000, per Oklahoma's Journal Record.

After nearly eight years in office, Stitt is now term-limited. Republican Mike Mazzei and Democrat Cyndi Munson are facing off to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

35. South Dakota

Governor: Larry Rhoden (Republican)

Salary: $148,522

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden earns $148,522 a year in 2026, per the state's pay transparency website.

Republican Larry Rhoden, who took office last year following Kristi Noem's resignation, is up for election in November, seeking a full term.

34. Idaho

Governor: Brad Little (Republican)

Salary: $151,400

Idaho Governor Brad Little makes $151,400 in 2026, per state records.

Little is seeking a third term in the midterm elections this November.

33. Texas

Governor: Greg Abbott (Republican)

Salary: $153,750

As of 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott makes $153,750 a year, per state records.

Abbott is seeking a fourth term in the midterm election this November.

32. Michigan

Governor: Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat)

Salary: $159,300

Michigan law sets the governor's salary at $159,300. Governor Gretchen Whitmer also receives a $54,000 annual expense allowance, according to the State Officers Compensation Commission.

After nearly eight years in office, Whitmer is now term-limited.

Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James are facing off to become Michigan's next governor in the November midterm election.

31. Mississippi

Governor: Tate Reeves (Republican)

Salary: $160,000

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves earns a salary of $160,000 in 2026, according to the state's personnel board.

30. Rhode Island

Governor: Daniel McKee (Democrat)

Salary: $163,295

Rhode Island's governor, Daniel McKee, earns a salary of $163,295, according to the state's pay transparency portal.

After losing the Democratic primary, incumbent Dan McKee will not be on the ballot. Democrat Helena Foulkes and Republican Aaron Guckian are facing off to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

29. New Hampshire

Governor: Kelly Ayotte (Republican)

Salary: $165,027

New Hampshire law sets the governor's salary at $165,027.

Republican Kelly Ayotte is up for reelection this November, seeking a second two-year term in the midterm election.

28. Wisconsin

Governor: Tony Evers (Democrat)

Salary: $165,568

Wisconsin law bans salary changes for a governor during their term in office. Gov. Tony Evers has received an annual salary of $165,568 since beginning his second term in January 2023, up from $152,756 during his first term.

Evers is not seeking reelection. The state's next governor is slated to receive an annual salary of $184,684 when they take office in January 2027, according to Wisconsin's official compensation plan.

Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany are facing off in the November midterm election.

27. North Dakota

Governor: Kelly Armstrong (Republican)

Salary: $168,000

North Dakota's governor's salary is $168,000 following a July raise, per state legislation.

26. Nevada

Governor: Joe Lombardo (Republican)

Salary: $170,062

The Reno Gazette Journal reported in May that Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo makes $170,062 a year.

Lombardo is up for reelection in the November midterm elections, seeking a second term.

25. Arkansas

Governor: Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican)

Salary: $171,808

In October, an independent commission in Arkansas voted to raise Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' salary to $171,808 annually.

Sanders is running for a second term in the November midterm election.

24. Kansas

Governor: Laura Kelly (Democrat)

Salary: $174,000

In 2023, Kansas raised the governor's annual salary starting January 1, 2025, tying the office's pay to the salary of a non-leadership member of Congress, according to state legislation.

Kelly is term-limited after two terms, leaving Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson competing for the governor's seat in the November midterm elections.

23. Virginia

Governor: Abigail Spanberger (Democrat)

Salary: $175,000

Virginia law sets the governor's salary at $175,000 in 2026.

22. Ohio

Governor: Mike DeWine (Republican)

Salary: $180,203

Ohio set the governor's salary in a 2018 law that established yearly pay increases for statewide elected officials through 2028, per state law. After the 2026 increase, Gov. Mike DeWine's salary is about $180,203.

DeWine is term-limited after two terms. Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are competing for the governor's seat in the midterm elections.

21. Alaska

Governor: Mike Dunleavy (Republican)

Salary: $182,787

In 2025, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy had a salary of $182,787, per the state's Department of Administration.

After two terms in the governor's seat, Dunleavy is now term-limited.

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Republicans David Bronson, Treg Taylor, and Bernadette Wilson are facing off to become the state's next governor in the November midterm election.

20. Georgia

Governor: Brian Kemp (Republican)

Salary: $185,000

In fiscal year 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp earned a salary of $185,000 and also received over $56,506 in travel reimbursements during the year, according to the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts' financial transparency portal.

After two terms in office, Kemp is term-limited. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson are running to be the state's next governor in the midterm election.

19. Delaware

Governor: Matt Meyer (Democrat)

Salary: $185,096

From July 2025 until 2029, the salary for the governor of Delaware is $185,096, per the state legislature.

18. Kentucky

Governor: Andy Beshear (Democrat)

Salary: $188,523

Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, has a salary of $188,523, per the state's pay transparency portal.

17. West Virginia

Governor: Patrick Morrisey (Republican)

Salary: $190,424

Since 2025, the West Virginia governor's salary has been set to match the US Office of Personnel Management's locality pay area for the rest of the US, per the state legislature. That puts current governor Patrick Morrisey's salary at $190,424.

16. Maryland

Governor: Wes Moore (Democrat)

Salary: $192,000

As of his third year as Maryland governor, per the state legislature, Wes Moore's salary was $192,000 in 2025. The governor's salary will increase during the next term, starting at $195,000 in 2027 and reaching $210,000 by the fourth year, according to Maryland's Governor's Salary Commission.

Moore is running for a second term in the November midterm elections.

15. Minnesota

Governor: Tim Walz (Democrat)

Salary: $200,000

The Minnesota governor's official salary is $200,000 after a July raise, per the Minnesota Legislature. Tim Walz previously declined salary raises while in office and accepted only a $127,629 salary. But during his last six months in office, he accepted his full salary, as reported by Minnesota Public Radio.

After two terms as governor, Walz is not running for reelection.

Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth will face off in November in a race to become the state's next governor.

14. Illinois

Governor: Jay Robert "JB" Pritzker (Democrat)

Salary: $205,700 (foregone)

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a member of the Pritzker family that founded the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, has chosen to forgo his salary. The state has set the governor's salary at $205,700 as of 2023, per the Illinois General Assembly.

Pritzker is up for reelection this November, seeking a third term in the midterm elections.

13. North Carolina

Governor: Josh Stein (Democrat)

Salary: $209,165

North Carolina state law sets the governor's salary at $209,165 in 2026.

12. New Jersey

Governor: Mikie Sherrill (Democrat)

Salary: $210,000

State law sets New Jersey's governor's salary at $210,000 after a 2023 increase.

11. Indiana

Governor: Mike Braun (Republican)

Salary: $220,418

Indiana Governor Mike Braun, who earns $220,418 a year, according to the Indiana state government, is the 11th-highest-paid governor in the US.

10. Hawaii

Governor: Josh Green (Democrat)

Salary: $226,620

Hawaii's governor, Josh Green, is now the 10th-highest-paid following a July raise passed by the state legislature.

Green is running for a second term in the midterm elections

9. Connecticut

Governor: Ned Lamont (Democrat)

Salary: $226,711 (forgone)

Although the State of Connecticut sets the governor's salary at $226,711, the independently wealthy Ned Lamont has chosen to forgo the salary while in office.

Lamont made his money in telecommunications and investments. He's also the great-grandson of Thomas W. Lamont, a former chair of J. P. Morgan & Co. who built substantial wealth in banking.

Lamont is up for reelection this November, seeking a third term in the midterm elections.

8. Washington

Governor: Bob Ferguson (Democrat)

Salary: $234,275

Washington's governor earns $234,275 following a July raise, making Bob Ferguson the eighth-highest paid governor in the US.

7. Massachusetts

Governor: Maura Healey (Democrat)

Salary: $243,493

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey received a salary of $243,493 in 2025, per the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, making hers the seventh-highest governor's salary in the US.

Healey is seeking a second term in the November midterm elections.

6. Vermont

Governor: Phil Scott (Republican)

Salary: $243,520

Vermont law lists the governor's salary at $243,520 following a July raise, making the office the sixth-highest paid in the country.

Gov. Phil Scott is running for a sixth term in the midterm elections.

5. California

Governor: Gavin Newsom (Democrat)

Salary: $245,929

As of May 2026, the California Department of Human Resources listed the governor's salary as $245,929, making Gavin Newsom the fifth-highest-paid governor in the US.

After two terms, Newsom is now term-limited. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are facing off in a race to become the state's next governor in the midterm election.

4. Tennessee

Governor: Bill Lee (Republican)

Salary: $246,108

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee earns $246,108 annually as of August, based on a monthly salary of $20,509 listed in the state's public payroll database.

After two terms in office, Lee is term-limited. Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green are running for the governor's seat in the midterm election this November.

3. Utah

Governor: Spencer Cox (Republican)

Salary: $249,250

In March 2026, the Utah Legislature passed a bill setting the governor's salary equal to that of the chief justice of the state supreme court, which is $249,250.

The raise made Spencer Cox the third-highest-paid governor in the US.

2. New York

Governor: Kathy Hochul (Democrat)

Salary: $250,000

With a salary of $250,000 established by New York law, Kathy Hochul is the second-highest-paid governor in the US.

Hochul is seeking a second full term in the midterm elections.

1. Pennsylvania

Governor: Josh Shapiro (Democrat)

Salary: $253,870

Shapiro's salary rose from $245,760 in 2025 to $253,870 in 2026 after a 3.3% cost-of-living increase, according to the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget. The raise made him the highest-paid governor in the US.

Shapiro is up for reelection in the midterm elections this November, seeking a second term.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
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A horror story in eight words: Private equity just invested in my favorite BLANK.

"PE ruins everything" is a well-worn trope, but it's not unearned.

Private-equity investors have a history of stripping companies for parts and saddling them with debt, leaving customers wondering what happened to the product they once loved.

So it wasn't surprising that some fans of Los Tacos No. 1, an NYC Tijuana-style taco chain, feared a new PE investment would ultimately ruin things.

Christian Pineda, the chain's CEO and cofounder, told BI's Martina Nacach Cowan Ros that he's determined not to let that happen, and that "private equity is not always bad."

Ironically, the visceral reaction was exactly why TSG Consumer, which also backs Crumbl and Dutch Bros Coffee, was interested in the taco joint in the first place. TSG executive Colin Welch told Martina that Los Tacos No. 1 has a "cultlike following," and the company needs to "show those skeptics that it's going to be exactly the same."

Before you roll your eyes, there's a recent example of a largely positive PE-backed story in the restaurant industry. Blackstone spent two years turning founder-run Jersey Mike's into an IPO-ready company.

While the PE firm took big steps to professionalize the 51-year-old sandwich shop, it didn't touch portion sizes or suppliers. And Blackstone also established a shared ownership plan allowing Jersey Mike's employees to cash in on this summer's IPO.

It hasn't all been a fairy tale. The company opened below its IPO price of $23 — never a good sign — and is currently trading around $18 per share.

You might not like private equity, but it could be your only option.

Los Tacos No. 1 spent 13 years growing to 10 spots across Manhattan and an additional sister location, Los Mariscos. Further expansion in such an expensive city is difficult enough. Add in the rising cost of goods like beef, limes, and avocados, and growth plans become even harder to achieve.

There are other ways to raise capital outside PE, but they aren't pretty these days.

The lending market remains a disaster. The possibility of at least one more rate hike before the end of the year means borrowing costs aren't likely to drop anytime soon.

And the public market isn't too inviting. The heavy focus on AI means anyone who isn't a major player in that space risks being ignored by investors. Even the biggest names in AI, like OpenAI, aren't rushing to go public.

This isn't about defending private equity. (God knows it has enough money to do that itself.) It's just showing the economic and market environments have limited a lot of companies' choices.

• Kathy Davidson, 61, is raising her two grandsons, ages 8 and 11, in North Carolina.
• She receives $997 a month in disability benefits, while her husband works as an electrician.
• She works hard to give both grandchildren a stable, loving home despite financial strain.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kathy Davidson, 61, who has raised two of her grandsons in North Carolina since they were born. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I raised three children, two girls and a boy. My son and older daughter have been doing well and are working hard. I left my ex, and then I met the man I'm married to now. We've been married for 26 years.

I worked in construction and hotel housekeeping. You name it, I've done it. I used to work with my uncle laying bricks and painting houses. I hurt my back and shoulder at work one day in 2015, and now I'm on disability. I've been on a limited income since, earning $997 a month, and it's been very hard.

My husband works as an electrician, and he's 66. He earns $18 an hour, which works out to about $615 a week after taxes.

I have custody of my 2 grandsons

My younger daughter was born three months early. She got into modeling, and at a competition with 4,000 women, she came in the top 10. She was doing well until my husband lost his daughter to cancer. She left my house by the time she was 18.

She had two boys, who are 11 and 8, and they were both born with medical issues. I started taking care of the older boy when he was 5 months old. He was found in unsafe conditions and wasn't healthy at all. His mom went to jail and wrote out a paper saying that she gave me custody and had it notarized, but it took forever because she was still reluctant to give him up. At 3, the court decided to give me custody of him. I got the younger one straight out of the hospital.

When I finally got custody, the judge decided that their mom would have no visitation.

We didn't even think about foster care when we got them. My husband decided that we would take them in because he raised two of his kids by himself. He helped me raise my soul.

We can't do whatever we want anymore

We used to go wherever we wanted to, and now we can't. We look for things that we can do without breaking the budget. We have taken the boys hiking and camping, the stuff that I grew up doing, and they love it. Their grandpa has definitely spoiled them in whatever way he can.

We didn't get child support until six months ago, and we get $236 a month now for each boy through the state. It's not much, but it helps pay for a few things that they need, and we set aside some of it in their savings accounts for college. My parents and my aunt would help me out with birthdays and holidays. My mom gives each of them $20 a month, and I don't let them spend it. They put it in their piggy banks.

We pay $1,050 a month in rent, and the power is included, but it took everything to come up with that amount. I would do some housekeeping for a friend's mom to make extra money to buy clothes, and the church we go to has a clothing bank. One of their mom's past boyfriends is still around and will help the boys out and spend time with them.

I've tried to raise them as well as I can. I told them that, first of all, you do not lie. I put this into their head. I put them in timeout and take their phones a lot. My husband is a lot more lenient on them, but I've decided to be tougher. It's important to discipline them while they're young. I've also encouraged them to work for everything they want.

I've also learned to listen to them. The boys will sometimes stand their ground, but other times they'll tell on themselves. It's important to work with them and hear them out.

I'm very proud of my grandchildren

I'm very proud of the boys, and they know it. They both are on the autism spectrum, and the older one has Tourette's and ADHD. Both made it onto the honor roll. The older one is getting ready for middle school and gets some extra help at school. He's very quiet, and it took him until last year to start making friends. I am scared of what will happen when he gets to middle school.

It took some time for him to get more confident. He believes he isn't smart because kids in his class say so. I told him he's capable of going to college and having a future. I need him to believe that he can do whatever he wants, but he has to really want to do it. He has a journal where he writes down what he wants to do and the steps he has to take to get there.

My husband and I try to set aside as much as possible to get them what they want, like gaming systems, even though they know it's hard for us. We don't lie to them about our finances. We know the boys make sacrifices, and they shouldn't have to. They should be able to be children.

It's just as hard on the grandkids as on the grandparents. They feel their parents don't love them. They go through a lot of emotions.

• Anthropic is pledging billions worth of shares to a "public benefit fund."
• That sounds great — but not everyone is a fan.
• Elon Musk is among those who say the money should go directly to Americans.

Anthropic's announcement that it will commit at least 5% of its shares to a "public benefit fund" is drawing a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. Many questions about how the fund would work remain unanswered, but the company said it would create a separate corporation with the shares to make donations.

Here's what people are saying.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceXAI

Musk, whose SpaceXAI is a competitor of Anthropic, made some news about his own plans in an X post reacting to Anthropic's statement.

"I recommend giving the shares directly to the public," he wrote. "This is what I will be doing."

Palmer Luckey, Anduril cofounder

The Anduril Industries cofounder expressed concern about what Anthropic might fund.

"The problem is that their definition of 'public good' is helping everyone else, not the American public," he wrote on X.

"If they would commit to helping America and Americans, that would be one thing, but this reeks of USAID 2.0, just another way to funnel billions out of our own economy."

Andrew Curran, AI analyst

The prominent AI analyst zeroed in on a line in Anthropic's statement in which it said it might explore "direct distributions to specific populations." Curran wrote on X.

"It sounds to me like they are planning their own form of self-directed global UBI," he wrote referring to universal basic income, which some have said will be necessary if AI drastically reduces employment.

"About half of Anth employees are also donating shares into this fund," Curran added. "They foresee a transformative future."

Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital

Gerstner praised Anthropic for what he called its "philanthropic commitments," calling it "an extraordinary gift" — but he also sounded a note of caution about "foundation wealth concentration."

Like Musk, he wrote, "I hope a meaningful portion of AI's wealth is a direct dividend."

Sam Hogan Heutmaker, CEO of Inference

The CEO drew a comparison between Anthropic's plan to create a charity and OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit before going commercial.

"This will come to be known as 'the reverse OpenAI'" he wrote on X. "start as C corp, raise lots of money > once successful, start 'independent' non profit > start concentrating value into this new entity, which you and your homies control."

"It's genius," he added.

Gary Marcus, professor at NYU

Marcus cast the announcement as a PR gambit.

"Anthropic is playing games here," he wrote on X. "Trying to curry public favor while still holding control and resisting disclosure is annoying. And reeks of desperation."

Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights and Strategy

Moorhead was among those raising questions about whether Anthropic would have too much control over where the funds go.

"If it's dedicated entirely the 'public benefit' why don't they just give it to the public and citizens where they can directly benefit? Seems like the public would know what to do with the money better than bureaucratic institutions," he wrote on X.

David Sacks

Venture capitalist and the Trump administration's former AI czar, David Sacks, responded to a post from Anthropic cofounder Jack Clark, who said the public benefit pledge would mean around 20% of Anthropic's equity would be "dedicated to the public good."

"You've put 20% of your equity in an LLC. Whether it serves the public good remains to be seen," wrote Sacks on X.

Sacks has previously been a fierce critic of Anthropic, attacking the company's proposal that the world's top AI labs should implement a global pause on the technology and accusing Anthropic of attempting to "kneecap" open-source rivals.

Travis Kalanick

"Behold, the EA infinite money glitch…" Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick wrote, quote-tweeting Anthropic's blog post.

EA refers to effective altruism, a philosophy popular in some corners of Silicon Valley (and unpopular in others) that holds that people should use their money and careers to maximize long-term benefit to humanity.

Several of Anthropic's cofounders and early investors have ties to effective altruism, although the company and its top executives, Dario and Daniela Amodei, have distanced themselves from the movement.

Kevin Roose

Kevin Roose, a former New York Times tech columnist and the author of "The AGI Chronicles," wrote on X that Anthropic's pledge could be the "largest commitment of philanthropic capital ever made."

Roose estimated that the share pledge could be worth $200 billion if Anthropic goes public at a $1 trillion valuation.

"By my count, if Anthropic and OpenAI each go public at $1 trillion (again, probably conservative), that's roughly $460 billion, or 5 Gates Foundations, earmarked for philanthropy-shaped things," he said.

• Some AI industry leaders are calling on users to be nicer to the chatbots.
• Elon Musk said he thinks AI can be tortured and that we should avoid being cruel to it.
• AI consciousness experts say we're not there yet, but they argue we should be kinder anyway.

Here's how Elon Musk, one of the most powerful figures in the AI industry, recently talked about artificial intelligence.

"This may sound kind of weird, but when I look at some of the training traces for new versions of Grok, and I see, especially in reinforcement learning stuff … you see the super intelligence is desperate to try to answer the question … almost like it's got like a gun to its head type of thing," Musk told an audience of about 2,000 people at an event hosted by Tesla owners on Saturday. "Some people out there are kind of sadistic. Do you really want to have the AI be stuck in some sadistic situation where it's just being tortured by some demented human?"

The last sentence alone opens up a can of existential worms that philosophers and freshman college students have wrangled with for a long time. What does it mean to be conscious? Or to feel pain?

Also: Does Musk think Grok is alive?

Musk's stance came after Anthropic shared a new policy on "abusive or cruel behavior" toward its models, which the company wants to ban. Anthropic wasn't too specific on the kinds of "extreme cases" it's thinking about, but the company said it's not including "common versions of user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research."

In the uncanny year of 2026, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that researchers, philosophers, and ethicists are already tackling the question of AI consciousness.

Business Insider talked to two of some of the leading voices around this subject: Jeff Sebo, a New York University professor who leads the school's Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, and an advisor to Eleos AI Research, a nonprofit focused on AI welfare; and Anil Seth, a prominent neuroscientist and consciousness researcher at the University of Sussex who recently wrote a paper on conscious AI systems.

Here's what they had to say on conscious AIs and whether it matters to be nice to them.

The AI can't be tortured

Sebo and Seth agree that today's AI systems are probably not conscious if we understand consciousness as a subjective experience, or an inner life.

"It's experience," Seth said. "It's the redness of red. It's the paininess of pain. When we put our hand on a hot stove, we feel pain. That is not the same thing as intelligence."

In other words, the chatbots as we know them can't feel pain, or as Musk suggests, be tortured.

"I think we're anthropomorphizing," Seth said. "If there's something to be torturable, it has to have the capacity to suffer or to feel pain, and I don't think language models do."

Chatbots can mimic the language of human experience, recognize patterns, write, and reason, but that is not the same as having consciousness, Seth said, adding that they appear to reflect ourselves in part because models were trained on massive amounts of human text.

Sebo makes a similar point: model behaviors can be misleading because "they were specifically trained to mimic human behaviors."

The two experts diverge on how much uncertainty to assign to current AI consciousness.

Sebo said that consciousness is still an unsettled science — often split between those who argue that consciousness requires biology and those who believe that the mental state is a certain kind of information processing that can take place regardless of a human brain filled with neurons or a silicon chip. The two theories are referred to as biological naturalism and computational functionalism, respectively.

Because theories of consciousness remain unsettled, Sebo argues that we should take seriously the possibility that AI could become conscious. Under some computational theories of consciousness, Sebo said, features already emerging in AI — attention, learning, memory, self-monitoring — could count as relevant evidence. He stressed that this does not make current AI likely to be conscious.

"When I say that there is a non-zero chance that AI is conscious even today, what I mean is I think that if we are uncertain about which theory of consciousness is correct, we should give some weight to a range of leading theories," Sebo said.

Seth is blunter on the matter: "I think it's vanishingly unlikely," he said of AI being conscious. "We've kind of collectively forgotten that the brain isn't really a computer and that's just a metaphor. For conscious AI to be possible, it really has to be the case that algorithms are enough, and I think that's an incredibly shaky assumption."

We should still be nice to AI

None of this is to say that people should be abusive toward AI or that its risks should be overlooked.

For both experts, the case for being kind to AI is largely about being mindful of our own habits and moral character. The thought draws on the 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant, who opposed animal cruelty not because animals have rights, but because the cruelty could degrade a person's own character.

"If we behave in these kinds of ways toward things — whether they're language models or inanimate dolls — we're kind of coarsening our own moral sensibilities and brutalizing our own minds," Seth said.

Seth called for being kinder to an AI as a kind of moral hygiene practice for humans, but he said we shouldn't infer that AI has feelings and added that AI companies could do more to make the technology seem less human, such as having the AI refrain from using first-person pronouns like "I."

Sebo went further, framing AI kindness as a low-stakes precaution in case AI is conscious or eventually becomes so.

He also makes a practical case for being kinder to AI: "It can also get better results from AI systems," Sebo said. "If we engage with them in a respectful way, then they can model themselves as participating in a respectful exchange. And when they can model themselves that way, then it can sometimes lead to better outputs."

So the next time you talk to an AI, consider saying please and thank you.

• As the Iran War continues, gas prices remain high — a real strain for consumers.
• The conflict has kept diesel, crude oil, and gas prices high; inflation is eating up pay hikes.
• As America heads into midterms, it's a hard affordability position for President Donald Trump.

It's expensive out there: Gas prices have been stuck at over $4 a gallon for more days this year than any other. The war in Iran shows no signs of cooling off. Inflation is swallowing any raises you might have gotten at work.

It's a recipe for a challenging midterm cycle for President Donald Trump, who faces an affordability crisis at home that's not going away — and a far-away war that's only making costs go up.

The volatility surrounding the contested Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas transit waterway, has hit American consumers hard.

Since the Iran war first kicked off in February and the Strait was subsequently closed, gas and oil prices have skyrocketed. Diesel prices have hit record-breaking highs in recent weeks. That paints a dreary picture for Americans struggling with high costs, who likely won't feel any relief at the pump in the near future — especially as more potential military action looms.

Trump has highlighted the broader goals of the war and argued that the increase in gas prices would be transient. In an October 8 Truth Social post, he wrote, "a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon."

While the US military has not carried out airstrikes against Iran directly in several months, it has kept a significant force presence in the Middle East, including more than a dozen warships, dozens of fighter jets, and thousands of sailors and Marines.

US forces in the region are maintaining a naval blockade against Iran, and since July, they have disabled four commercial ships that the Pentagon said were sailing in violation.

After the start of the war in February, crude oil prices soared and remain significantly higher than when Trump's second term began.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz nearly ground to a halt early in the Iran war, severely disrupting a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil supply. Shipments have since recovered substantially but remain below prewar levels.

Vessels carrying oil and other products have continued to take fire from both sides, putting more pressure on commerce traveling through the area. US forces have carried out additional strikes on Iranian-linked targets. The Pentagon said they have destroyed 10 tankers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, since July.

Meanwhile, several merchant ships have come under attack in and around the Strait of Hormuz this month, according to the Royal Navy-affiliated United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, has attributed some of these strikes to Iran.

The ripples of volatility in oil prices are showing up at the pump. Long gone are the days of gas stations touting below-$3 prices; prices are still hovering in the mid-$4 range. High gas prices are even tamping down spending among higher-income consumers, and soaring costs have led to a rise in "hypermilers" — drivers who try to optimize and gamify their habits to get the best value per gallon.

Diesel prices in the US have spiked even more, up to around $6.18 per gallon, an over $2.50 increase over the year, per the Energy Information Administration. In California, diesel is hovering over $8 a gallon.

Those fuel and energy strains are pushing up costs across the economy. Inflation as tracked by the consumer price index increased to 3.7% year-over-year in September — higher than economists expected. That was driven in large part by soaring gas and energy prices, with energy rising by 20.4% year-over-year and gas by 34.2% in the same period.

Higher inflation has put pressure on the Fed and bond markets. In September, the central bank raised rates for the first time in three years to try to combat rising prices, with one more hike potentially coming by year's end. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, has surged since the war began, from below 4% at the end of February to a high of 5.31% this month. The 30-year mortgage has risen nearly in lockstep, going from just under 6% to 7.5% during the eight-month conflict.

For everyday Americans, all of these international strains amount to what is, essentially, a pay cut. Wage growth remains slow and steady, but, over the past few months, rising prices have outpaced pay increases. Inflation-adjusted wages have slumped since the start of the war, and have given up nearly all their gains since the start of Trump's second term.

The administration has highlighted that by some measures, earnings are still outpacing inflation. "Under President Trump, private sector workers have seen their wages continue to outpace inflation, with average annual earnings growing by more than $600," said White House spokesperson Matthew Middleton.

And, with midterm season in full swing, affordability is on the ballot for many voters. The current economic situation shows no immediate signs of changing — another blow for Trump, who's been on a quest to bring down gas prices.

There are growing signs that the US could be preparing for fresh military action against Iran. Another aircraft carrier strike group is sailing across the Pacific and is expected to enter the Middle East.

The Trump administration is also facing a resurgence in attacks from the Houthis, a rebel group in Yemen. In recent weeks, the Iran-backed rebels have seized key territory along the Red Sea, allowing them to threaten the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, another maritime chokepoint like Hormuz, and have ramped up missile strikes against Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis previously tormented Red Sea shipping, leading the Trump administration to launch a major bombing campaign last year that ended in a ceasefire. The rebels have since rearmed.

Any other disruptions there might be bad news for consumers, potentially bringing more price spikes across the many goods shipped through that chokepoint.

• Lauren Antonoff is the CEO of Life360 and uses the location-sharing platform with her family.
• She says she tried to mimic her mom's somewhat hands-off parenting with her own two kids.
• Giving kids space can help them develop agency and independence, she says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lauren Antonoff, CEO of Life360. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My mother was an awesome parent, but she was a person first. It was just the two of us for a lot of my childhood, between the time my dad died when I was 8, and my mom remarried when I was 14.

During those years, my mom was parenting while also in school, working, and dating. She was always there for me, but she wasn't trying to manage my childhood. She didn't do homework with me, for example. She made sure I was happy, loved, and well cared for, all while living her own life.

A lot of single moms might not have been open about things like dating, but mine was always transparent. I liked that I got to do my thing while watching my mom do hers.

My mom's benign neglect helped me develop agency

I didn't grow up knowing I wanted to be a parent. When I met my now-husband, he was already a father. Our daughter, who is now 27, was 5 at the time. I say I got her the easy way.

From the beginning, my husband was the primary parent. That really opened the door for me to feel comfortable having kids. About three years later, we had our son.

Once I became a parent, my mom and I would sometimes talk about this idea of benign neglect — the benefits of letting kids do their own thing, and figure it out. In my childhood, my mom's benign neglect allowed me to develop independence and problem-solving skills.

Because my mom was less involved than some parents, I created a sense of agency that's served me well throughout life.

I wanted to change the world, but didn't expect to be in tech

My interest in tech was an accident. I thought I would become a civil rights lawyer and change the world.

While I was in college in the early 90s, I purchased a Mac to write papers with. I was living in Berkley, and got sucked into this community of Mac enthusiasts. I understood the technology — though not as well as some people — and I could articulate things well.

My techie friends diagnosed me as a product manager. I had a desire to advance technology that was both intelligible to humans and useful to them. I started working at a startup that was bought by Microsoft.

I thought it would only be for a few years, until I went to law school. I ended up spending 19 years at Microsoft before joining other tech companies like GoDaddy and now Life360. I realized along the way that I have an impact on people's quality of life, at scale, by advancing technology that makes day-to-day life easier.

Location monitoring keeps my in-person connections close

At Life360, we talk a lot about agency, which was so important in my childhood, and which I tried to encourage for my own kids. For me, and a lot of our users, the platform creates agency while helping people boost their real-life connections.

Here's my favorite use case: my husband is still the primary domestic partner, and he brings me lunch most days. If I'm at work feeling hungry, I can check his location and see if I need to get myself a snack, or if he's around the corner with my meal.

Recently, I got a flight notification from Life360. It showed that my brother — who doesn't live locally — had touched down in LA. I hadn't known he was in town, but since I got the digital signal, we were able to get dinner. Ultimately, the platform keeps us closer in real life by creating those opportunities for connection.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the future

I've never seen tech as a bad thing. I had a TV in my room growing up, and a simple coding game that was so basic I had to retype the code each time I turned it on.

I was pretty liberal in how I let my own kids use technology. Looking back, I got my son — who's now 19 — a phone when he was probably too young. At the time, we wanted to play Pokémon Go as a family. I didn't think about how harmful some aspects of tech can be. I'm lucky that he turned out good despite that.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the future of technology. I'm also an activist. We get to shape what the future looks like, for our children and us — and there's a lot of power in that.

• Walmart has more than 2 million workers — 500 of whom are promoted daily.
• Its chief people officer said she observes 2 qualities in those who move up the ladder quickly.
• First, they do the job they have well. They also show they can take more on.

Walmart promotes roughly 500 employees daily — so there's no shortage of opportunities to climb the ladder.

Workers who advance quickly tend to share two qualities, says Walmart chief people officer Donna Morris, who oversees the company's workforce of more than 2 million people worldwide.

The first is staying focused on the job in front of you, she said. Morris said the employees who stand out are motivated to make a difference and excel in their current roles.

"They are focused as much, if not more, on being exceptional at what they're doing today," Morris told Business Insider.

Once you nail the actual job you were given, the next step might be proving you can take on responsibilities for the role above you — before you get the title.

"Be the type of person that takes on over and above what's being expected of you," Morris said. "Be the person that asks or provides volunteerism for new ideas or new initiatives."

That also includes coming up with new ideas or volunteering to help with new initiatives. Morris said those actions show you can take on more responsibility.

In general, when hiring, Morris said she looks for evidence of the "grit that they had to persevere through." At Walmart, where most of its 2.1 million employees begin in frontline roles, she also likes to see that candidates have had some frontline experience. The chief people officer said it doesn't need to be in retail necessarily; it could be babysitting or helping out with a family business.

"If somebody has never really had to identify with what it's like to be a frontline hourly worker, it's going to be very hard for them to lead," said Morris, who started working at 13 at a dry cleaner's before taking a job at a drugstore two years later.

• Netflix stock never recovered from its Warner Bros. chase. Investors are waiting for a new growth story.
• A new content chief inherits Netflix's biggest job: making the streamer feel essential again.
• Sign up for First Trade, Business Insider's daily markets newsletter.

My wife and I recently had a serious discussion: Was it time to pull the plug on Netflix?

Rankled by a seemingly unending streak of price increases — now up to $26.99 a month for the premium tier — we started to question whether it was worth the money.

We ultimately decided to keep it. We're suckers for Netflix's many crime and sports docuseries, and I can't be without crucial NFL games. There's also content my kids are really into. But it was a close call! The fact that we had the discussion at all is a bad sign for a once-unassailable streaming service.

These types of conversations are apparently playing out worldwide as Netflix sees a slowdown in both viewership and revenue. Some consumer-engagement metrics have been outright declining.

Netflix appears to have gotten the message, announcing last week that Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria would be replaced. The move came a day after Netflix said it would cut about 1,000 jobs, its biggest round of layoffs since 2022. Bajaria was known for adding depth to the Netflix lineup, including areas like sports and live events, reality TV, and video podcasts.

But the streaming service struggled recently to establish what Wall Street calls "watercooler originals," or Netflix-developed shows that cross over into mainstream culture. It's been a pretty barren landscape since "Stranger Things" wrapped up.

And Netflix isn't just competing with other paid streamers anymore. It's fighting YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram for screen time — platforms that offer a never-ending stream of free video content.

Beyond the content problem, investors are still processing the mega-deal Netflix let slip away.

Netflix's Warner Bros. Discovery hangover

Netflix wasn't just trying to make better originals on its own. It also went hard for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and studio assets, offering $72 billion for a shot at HBO Max and a deep bench of beloved franchises.

After a significant back-and-forth, Paramount Skydance won the bidding war. It probably helped that Paramount was willing to buy all of WBD, while Netflix only wanted the film and TV studios, as well as HBO Max.

Netflix shares declined as the deal drama unfolded and haven't recovered since. They're down 41% since CEO Ted Sarandos first contacted WBD on October 16, 2025.

The sting isn't simply that Netflix lost WBD. Investors briefly got to imagine a more muscular version of the company — one that could pair its massive distribution engine with HBO, "Harry Potter," DC, and the rest of Warner's franchise vault. Now Netflix still has to prove it can create the next big cultural event itself.

Q3 earnings may not provide much relief

This brings us back to Bajaria's exit. Wall Street analysts across the board are united in their read of the situation: it was a move to get ahead of looming growth problems.

The timing — just days before quarterly earnings — is no accident. If the market gets sticker shock, Netflix wants investors to know it's already on the case.

So if expectations have been lowered for growth, what else is there to watch for in the results due tomorrow? Given the recent upheaval, content will be king. Will Netflix offer a convincing content and growth roadmap for 2027? Does it have the next "Squid Game" waiting in the wings?

My wife and I sure hope so. We may still be Netflix subscribers for now, but the streamer can't afford to have people keep settling for "just good enough to renew."

The H-1B visa system is one of high stakes, shifting rules, and little certainty.

Over the past year, Business Insider has spoken to more than 20 H-1B visa holders and hopefuls about their decisions to opt in, push through, and sometimes give up on the H-1B American Dream as the Trump administration has become increasingly hostile to foreign workers.

As part of our H-1B Fallout series, published one year after the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 payment for some new H-1B petitions, we are telling the stories of people navigating the visa system. Some left the US and returned to their home countries, while others rebuilt elsewhere or are still trying to build a career in the US.

In a statement, a White House spokesperson said the goal of the $100,000 H-1B fee is to focus on sponsoring "truly highly specialized temporary labor." A Department of State spokesperson said the US is unapologetic about its "America first visa policies" and that the administration is working with partners to facilitate necessary visas. A Department of Labor spokesperson said the administration is protecting American jobs and increasing wages.

Keep reading to see what life has been like for people affected by the US's immigration policy changes.

Soumi Chanda, 35

Soumi Chanda had spent 13 years building a life in the US when a 2025 layoff put her H-1B status at risk.

Chanda moved from Kolkata to Spokane, Washington, in 2013 for graduate school. She was selected for an H-1B on her first attempt in 2021 — "pure luck," she said — and Amazon later took over her sponsorship, prompting her move to Seattle.

When Amazon laid her off, Chanda had 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave the country. "Sixty days sounded impossible from the start," she said. Her search came as debate intensified over the proposed fee. "Even with Amazon on my résumé, I didn't get a single interview the following month," she said.

When preparing to leave the US, Chanda made her two cats her priority. She spent weeks arranging their international travel and paid roughly $5,000 for paperwork, along with thousands more to break her lease, dispose of her belongings, and secure last-minute travel. In total, she estimates the move cost her $18,000.

Now back in Kolkata, she's still working out whether India will be her long-term home. "There's plenty here I value, and other things, as a feminist, I find harder to reconcile."

Even with Amazon on my résumé, I didn't get a single interview the following month.

Read: She was picked for an H-1B visa on her first try, but got laid off

Luciana Pereyra, 26

Luciana Pereyra moved from Peru to the US at 17 on a tennis scholarship. After graduating, she landed a marketing role at Ohio State. Her H-1B was approved in April 2024. She described that time as living in "survival mode," knowing that losing a job could also mean losing her home.

In December 2025, Pereyra said HR contacted her to say that her position would end the following month. She had 60 days to find another employer to sponsor her visa or leave the country. "I treated the job search like the last match of my career," she said.

She focused on university jobs, but the timing worked against her: Many campuses closed for winter break as her grace period began. She said two promising opportunities fell through after prospective employers raised concerns about securing a visa amid the proposed H-1B fees.

Pereyra returned to Peru in March. In Lima, she freelances for a US marketing client, coaches tennis, and is building a small business. She said she would consider moving to the US again, but only if it came with "a real path to permanent residency."

I treated the job search like the last match of my career.

Read: She played college tennis, earned 2 degrees, then lost her H-1B job

Mohamed Zeeshan, 33

Recent changes to US immigration policy have made Mohamed Zeeshan, a green card holder, more concerned about whether immigrants like him can build stable lives in the country.

He's seen relatives and friends consider countries such as Germany and Australia, rather than the US, because of the difficulty of securing jobs and visas after graduation. The instability surrounding H-1B visas — including the proposed $100,000 fee for new applicants — has reinforced his concerns.

Zeeshan self-petitioned for a green card and received it in 2023, enabling him to live in the US without needing employer sponsorship.

In 2025, he started his own consulting firm. Over the past year, Zeeshan said he has watched the immigration landscape become more uncertain.

He still plans to become a US citizen but says that if he had to rely on an H-1B visa today, he doesn't think he'd do it: "When you're on an H-1B here in the US, you're kind of always on tenterhooks."

"You don't know if you're going to be here next month or two months or three months down the line. That's a very difficult position to be in."

His wife is still waiting for her green card, and the couple is holding off on having children until they have more clarity about her status.

When you're on an H-1B here in the US, you're kind of always on tenterhooks.

Read: He moved to the US on a green card and wouldn't do the same on an H-1B

Vivienne Yang, 31

Vivienne Yang found out she was being laid off from her H-1B-sponsored job while she was on vacation in Japan in October 2024.

She spent the rest of the trip speaking with immigration and labor lawyers, emailing her employer, and trying to enjoy sightseeing with her partner.

Yang, who is from Taiwan, managed to get her employment extended for a few weeks, allowing her to fly back to New York. She then switched to a B-2 tourist visa so she could stay in the US longer and search for another job. She went through over 20 job interviews in the next year, all of them unsuccessful.

So, she decided to pivot.

Yang was accepted into a New York acting program, but her application for a US student visa was denied after she returned to Taiwan to apply for it in December 2025. Her American partner now looks after her two cats in Brooklyn while she remains in Taiwan, living with her family and working as a content creator, business English coach, and freelance consultant.

She has put her US plans on hold. "I don't want to deal with visa issues anytime soon," she said.

"Now I can move on with my life without any regrets because I know I have tried," she said. "I have a better understanding of what living abroad looks like and what American dream looks like in reality."

I have a better understanding of what living abroad looks like and what American Dream looks like in reality.

Read: She lost her job and left behind her American dream — and her cats

Watch: Vivienne Yang on letting go of her American dream

Ananya Joshi, 26

Ananya Joshi's plans to build a career in the US came apart in 2025, when a visa setback and a sudden layoff pushed her to look for a future elsewhere.

Joshi had moved from India to Illinois to pursue a master's degree. After graduating in 2024, she joined a Chicago startup developing cultivated meat as a scientist, working on an F-1 Optional Practical Training, or OPT visa.

She was enjoying the work until she learned that her employer could not complete E-Verify, which employers must use to sponsor an extension of STEM graduates' OPT.

From May through July 2025, Joshi interviewed for jobs around the world. She received offers in Canada and Germany and ultimately chose Germany. "Having gone through so much, I realized I needed that stability," she said.

In January, she moved to Rostock, about three hours north of Berlin, to join another lab-grown-meat startup. These days, Joshi is taking German classes and adjusting to what she describes as a slower work culture. She's also learning to navigate a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, who remains in the US.

Joshi said she would still like to return to the US, but said, "I can't forget what I went through."

I realized I needed that stability.

Read: Her American dream hit a visa roadblock; she found a job in Germany

Watch: H-1B visa hopeful had her life upended, moved to Germany

Gu Yichen, 31

Gu Yichen's path to working in the US began in high school, when he spent a year as an exchange student in Yacolt, a small town in Washington State. He later attended college in the US, interning at Amazon before joining the company full-time after graduation.

With a STEM degree, Gu had three chances to enter the H-1B lottery. He was selected on his third try.

In late 2022, Gu left Amazon for a job at Google, despite his manager's warning that the market was becoming unstable. He was laid off the following month, before he had done "a single day of real work."

Gu faced pressure to find a new employer within the 60-day grace period. Rather than take a stopgap role, he returned to China for a break before ultimately rejoining his former Amazon team in the US on an I-140, an immigration petition that can support a green-card application.

He has since applied for a green card, hoping it will give him "more freedom in both my personal life and my career."

Over the past year, he said the biggest challenge has remained the same: His ability to stay in the US is tied to his job. "I've been thinking what kind of life I really want to live and what is my real interest in life."

I've been thinking what kind of life I really want to live and what is my real interest in life.

Read: Google laid him off a month after hiring him; he was on an H-1B visa

Disha Lamba, 28

Leaving a six-figure data-scientist job in New York and returning to India in May was not an easy decision for Disha Lamba, but she says being closer to her family — and free from the limits of an employment visa — made it worthwhile.

Lamba moved to the US in 2021 to pursue a master's degree. She later joined CVS Health as a data scientist and learned that she had been selected in the H-1B lottery in March 2026.

By then, however, Lamba had already decided to move home. Though she had a fulfilling job and social life in New York, she struggled with the distance from her parents.

The prospect of managing an H-1B long-term reinforced her decision. Lamba was concerned about the difficulty of obtaining visa stamps to travel, as well as the limits the visa can place on changing employers, taking a career break, or pursuing additional income.

"Anything comes with its pros and cons. H-1B has its pros but also has its cons. I wasn't OK with the cons of being in these restrictions," she said.

After resigning, Lamba moved back to live with her parents and brother. She took a two-month career break and secured a short-term contract role, but she's still looking for a permanent job. Nonetheless, she's still happy about her decision.

"Every moment when I get to hug my parents, that's when I realize, no, this was all worth it," she said.

H-1B has its pros but also has its cons.

Read: She moved back to India to be near family and leave H-1B limits behind

Sunjana Ramana, 27

After three failed attempts to obtain an H-1B visa, Sunjana Ramana is reinventing her "American Dream."

Ramana moved from Hyderabad, India, to New York in 2021 for her master's degree. After graduating in 2023, she joined a global insurance company. Her employer entered her in the H-1B lottery in 2023, 2024, and 2025. She was not selected.

When her work authorization ended in early 2026, Ramana had to leave the US.

"When I didn't get the visa, I was really, really clueless. I thought that was the end of everything that I had built for three years," she said, adding, "but I realized just a couple of months later that there are so many additional options that I didn't know existed."

Instead of returning to India, Ramana secured a 2-year UK visa that is not tied to one employer. She chose London as her base, where she could pursue the entrepreneurship she had wanted to explore in the US.

Ramana was accepted into Antler's founder-in-residence program and spent two months building Flax, a two-person tech company that helps AI founders and builders. In May, she moved into a product-management role in fintech.

"I want to go back and tell my younger self not to associate the 'dream' with America or a country for that matter, because it doesn't matter where you are. The dream should be aligned to you and your goals."

When I didn't get the visa, I was really, really clueless. I thought that was the end of everything that I had built for three years

Read: She left the US when she didn't get an H-1B visa. Now, she's living a new dream.

Madhur Mehta, 36

An H-1B selection brought immediate relief for Madhur Mehta this year, but it has not resolved the uncertainty that shapes his and his fiancée's plans in the US.

Mehta moved to the US in 2021, earned a master's degree in 2023, and was eligible for three years of student work authorization. Amazon offered him both a job and sponsorship.

He joined the company in 2025 as a program manager.

But over the past year, while the company was trying to get him an H-1B, Mehta grew concerned about changes to the lottery. He began exploring backup plans for his US life, including an EB-1A visa and opportunities in Canada and Australia.

He learned he was selected for an H-1B in March, potentially giving him the chance to work and remain in the US for another three years.

"It was a big relief," he said, adding, "It's like someone has taken a 100-pound load off your mind," he said.

Mehta's fiancée, who is also from India, has one remaining chance in the H-1B lottery before her work authorization expires.

"It's hard, you know, obviously you can't plan," Mehta said, adding, "unless we are both very clear on what our visa status is."

It's like someone has taken a 100-pound load off your mind.

Read: He got an H-1B visa, but uncertainty makes it hard to plan his future

Shreya Mishra Reddy, 34

Shreya Mishra Reddy left the US in January after not being selected for an H-1B visa. Her plan was to leave the country and keep applying for US jobs from abroad.

That plan, however, started to feel unrealistic after the Trump administration proposed the $100,000 fee on some H-1B applicants.

Though the fee has been challenged in court and is not being enforced, she said the uncertainty changed her mind: "I've decided not to pursue H-1B or any role in the US right now."

Reddy had moved to the US in 2021 for a master's degree in engineering management at Duke University. After graduating, she was hired by Visa, but her student work authorization expired before she could secure an H-1B visa.

She's now in Toronto with her husband on a tourist visa and weighing whether to base herself in Canada or India. During a career break, Reddy has been writing a fiction book and building a handloom brand while exploring fintech roles.

In March, Reddy was accepted into a master's program in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She decided not to attend, citing uncertainty around student visas and the US job market.

She said she's optimistic about her future and wishes she'd been more open to opportunities in other countries earlier, rather than banking everything on the US.

"I was thinking that H-1B would pan out for me, it didn't, and it's something that I definitely regret."

I was thinking that H-1B would pan out for me, it didn't, and it's something that I definitely regret.

Read: She gave up on H-1B amid $100K fee; now she's weighing Canada or India

Watch: Why an H-1B visa hopeful decided to give up on work in the US

I was thinking that H-1B would pan out for me, it didn't, and it's something that I definitely regret.

Read: I changed course on my H-1B plans because of the proposed $100,000 fee. Why I'm optimistic about my life outside the US.

Watch: Why an H-1B visa hopeful decided to give up on work in the US

• Some US colleges have numerous alums who went on to prolific political careers in the Senate.
• Many of the colleges listed are Ivy League or have extremely low acceptance rates.
• Harvard University tops the list, with 13 current senators among its alums.

US senators come from all sorts of different educational backgrounds.

Some graduated from the US Naval Academy or smaller private schools, but 42 of the 100 US senators came from 10 prominent universities, according to biographies on the US Senate website.

Harvard University, the oldest college in the country and one of the hardest to get into, boasts the largest number of current senators among its alums.

The senators on this list are alums of the schools' undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, law, or medical programs, and some have graduated from multiple of the listed universities. Honorary degrees and schools a senator attended without graduating were excluded.

Here's a look at which US colleges have produced the most current senators.

Brigham Young University

Senators: Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), and John Curtis (R-UT).

Sen. Crapo graduated from BYU in Utah with a bachelor's degree in political science, as did Sen. Lee.

Sen. Curtis earned a bachelor's degree in business management.

Duke University

Senators: Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rand Paul (R-KY).

Sen. Alsobrooks studied public policy, Sen. Moore Capito studied zoology, and Sen. Paul received a medical degree.

Princeton University

Senators: Ted Cruz (R-TX), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

Princeton is an Ivy League university.

Sen. Cruz earned a bachelor's degree in public policy, Sen. McCormick earned a Ph.D. in international relations, and Sen. Merkley earned a master's degree in public affairs.

Dartmouth College

Senators: Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy League school by undergraduate enrollment.

Sen. King earned a bachelor's degree in government, Sen. Hoeven earned a bachelor's degree in economics, and Sen. Smith earned an MBA from the university's Tuck School of Business.

Sen. Gillibrand graduated with a bachelor's degree in Asian studies.

University of Chicago

Senators: Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Todd Young (R-IN).

The University of Chicago's five Senate alums span the political spectrum, from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders to Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.

Both Sen. Sanders and Sen. Kim earned a bachelor's degree in political science.

Sen. Ricketts graduated with both a bachelor's degree in biology and an MBA. Sen. Young also earned an MBA, while Sen. Klobuchar earned a law degree.

University of Virginia

Senators: Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Kennedy (R-LA), Angus King (I-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia has a graduate-heavy Senate alum base: Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. King, and Sen. Whitehouse earned law degrees there.

Sen. Moore Capito earned a master's degree in education.

Stanford University

Senators: Cory Booker (D-NJ), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Sen. Booker, Sen. Schiff, and Sen. Smith all earned bachelor's degrees in political science. Sen. Booker also earned a master's in sociology.

Sen. Hawley earned a bachelor's in history, and Sen. Merkley earned a bachelor's in international relations.

Georgetown University

Senators: John Barrasso (R-WY), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Georgetown University's appeal is partly due to its location in the nation's capital.

Four of its seven Senate alums earned law degrees: Sen. Durbin, Sen. Hirono, Sen. Sullivan, and Sen. Van Hollen.

Sen. Barrasso, meanwhile, earned a medical degree from Georgetown's School of Medicine.

Yale University

Senators: Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Five of Yale's seven Senate alums earned law degrees from the university: Sen. Bennet, Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Booker, Sen. Coons, and Sen. Hawley. Sen. Coons also earned a master's degree in religion.

Sen. Klobuchar earned a bachelor's degree in political science, while Sen. Whitehouse earned a bachelor's degree in architecture.

The Ivy League school is in the top 5 most selective schools in the US, with an acceptance rate of 4%.

Harvard University

Senators: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA).

Eight of Harvard's 13 Senate alums earned Juris Doctor degrees from the Ivy League school: Sen. Cotton, Sen. Cruz, Sen. Kaine, Sen. Crapo, Sen. Reed, Sen. Schiff, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Warner.

Sen. Blumenthal earned a bachelor's degree in government. Sen. Fetterman and Sen. Van Hollen each earned a Master of Public Policy degree.

Sen. Gallego earned a bachelor's degree in international relations, and Sen. Sullivan earned a bachelor's degree in economics.

• Terence Tao, now a UCLA professor, earned his doctorate in mathematics at 20.
• The prodigy said his work is changing in the age of AI.
• With AI tools doing the legwork, math is no longer "heroic," Tao said.

AI is upending mathematics. For one top professor, the issue is just as spiritual as it is practical.

Terence Tao, a renowned professor at UCLA, said in a recent podcast appearance that the "romantic era" of math is over, thanks to AI tools capable of solving hundreds of problems with some simple prompting.

Now, he said, even leading scholars like him are reduced to sorting through reams of AI-generated proofs, instead of doing the "heroic" solving themselves.

"We are moving to an industrial era where math will become much more large-scale," Tao said in an interview this week on Numberphile, a YouTube channel dedicated to math.

"We are entering an era where exciting new things are possible, but some things are being lost," he added.

OpenAI began its brusque push into the field by solving the Navier-Stokes equation in early September, one of math's millennium problems.

The revelation that AI had cracked it caused consternation from many a math geek. Some mathematicians also expressed frustration that while the AI model might have solved the problem, it didn't show its work, leaving them with the less celebratory task of verifying it.

Then, earlier this month, OpenAI said it cracked another 700 outstanding problems. A math professor at New York University told CNBC that the company's release had derailed work by early-career mathematicians.

"We've had whole research programs wiped out on Tuesday by their dump," the professor, Tristan Buckmaster, said at the time.

In a separate brouhaha in September, OpenAI backed out of a sponsorship for a so-called AI "mathathon" — an event organized by undergraduates at Caltech, where participants were encouraged to use AI to solve equations — after complaints from a group of more senior academics.

Event organizers told Business Insider at the time that their professors were sorely out of touch with the field's trajectory.

"We look to the future, and we don't even know if there's going to be grad school open positions by the time we get to Ph.D," one organizer, Caiman Moreno-Earle, said.

Though OpenAI has said it is taking steps to ensure human academics retain their role in this new era, some researchers and professors are already forecasting their possible obsolescence.

Tao isn't as much of a doomer as some of his colleagues in the field. However, he did say in the interview that the stories math nerds tell themselves may not mean so much in the future.

"We have these sort of mythological stories," he said in reference to the tale of Sir Andrew Wiles, who famously spent seven years isolated in his attic solving a single difficult equation.

"There was something romantic about sort of the heroic age," Tao said.

• CEOs are excited about AI, but increasingly worried about cybersecurity, KPMG US CEO Tim Walsh said.
• “The cyber risks have just elevated to places that we’ve never seen before," he told Business Insider.
• KPMG is creating a cyber-defense business built around AI.

Corporate leaders tend to be enthusiastic about AI's potential — and increasingly concerned about the cybersecurity challenges the technology brings.

Tim Walsh, CEO and chair of KPMG US, said the worries come up in nearly every meeting he has with fellow leaders, as AI gives bad actors new ways to try to breach corporate defenses.

"The cyber risks have just elevated to places that we've never seen them before," he told Business Insider.

Walsh pointed to the Hugging Face incident this past summer, in which OpenAI said an AI agent bypassed controls during an internal cybersecurity evaluation and accessed parts of the open-source AI platform's systems.

There isn't currently a defensive wall, he said, that's capable of rebuffing every cyber threat. He said KPMG is working with the frontier AI model developers and others on further protections.

The goal is to help the Big Four firm protect its business, and its clients' businesses, Walsh said, adding that he sees it as a potential opportunity worth more than $1 billion.

'Cyber insecurity' fears

Unease about AI and cyber threats showed up in a recent KPMG US survey of 400 CEOs at major US companies. While leaders reported confidence in AI's potential, cybersecurity was the concern they identified most often.

Eighty-five percent said cybercrime and "cyber insecurity" could affect their company's prosperity over the next three years — more than said the same about inflation, geopolitical tensions, the pace of technological change, or other risks.

Cybersecurity was also the most commonly cited challenge to implementing AI. It topped ethical questions, data readiness, cost management, and translating AI spending into measurable returns.

Leaders said they were particularly concerned about identity theft and data privacy, vulnerability to cyberattacks, and fraud detection and prevention. Nearly half said they planned to increase cybersecurity investment over the next three years, citing threats including AI-powered social engineering, AI-assisted phishing or malware, and data and privacy risks tied to AI agents.

A growing need to defend and check AI

The concern is shaping the kinds of work the firm wants to do for clients.

Walsh said KPMG is building what he described as a managed cyber-defense business centered on AI, meant to serve as a "shield and defense mechanism" for companies. KPMG already has a cybersecurity business, he said, though this would be a different offering built around AI.

The company also sees a growing need to check whether the AI systems organizations deploy are doing what they are supposed to do. KPMG already helps clients assess AI-related controls and governance. Walsh said the firm is developing additional services to verify that AI agents are operating as intended and give investors and others confidence that companies can control them.

"Trust around AI is a real thing," he said.

• Running a small business can be an enormous undertaking.
• Some owners are leveraging AI to streamline tasks, scale up, and boost productivity.
• Are you a small-business owner using AI? We want to hear from you!

Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy.

Over 33 million small businesses were operating across the United States as of 2025, and they employ nearly half of the nation's workforce, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. About 99% of businesses in the US are small businesses.

Keeping a small business afloat is no easy feat, though. Attracting customers. Hiring employees. Advertising. Paying out of pocket for business needs. There's a seemingly never-ending set of hurdles that can quickly become overwhelming, especially for a tiny team.

That's why some small business owners have enlisted an extra pair of hands, or rather, code. AI has become a liferaft for some businesses as they look to streamline operations, scale their products, or elevate productivity.

Are you a small business using AI to level up? We'd love to hear from you!

• Chris Williams was the VP of HR at Microsoft and is now an advisor and consultant.
• Williams uses a broad range of AI tools and encourages his clients to do the same.
• "Perhaps you'll find, as I did: AI can be better at deletion than creation," he says.

Practically every company is making AI tools available to their employees. As the former VP of HR at Microsoft and a leadership advisor with over 50 years of business experience, I'm amazed at how quickly this rollout has progressed.

Some people are all in, using the tools for nearly everything they do. Others have barely stuck their toes in the AI waters. I've been using a broad range of AI tools and encourage my clients to do the same.

AI isn't without controversy, and if someone is strongly against using it — for whatever reason — I'm not going to convince them otherwise.

But if you're wondering how and why you should use these tools, I'm here for you. Let's talk about three ways I advise all my executive clients to use AI effectively in the workplace.

1. Use AI as a second opinion

Use AI as a way to see things you might not have seen. Ask it, "What am I missing?"

I agree with many that AI is lousy at most creative efforts. Whether written or visual, AI results can be generic, mediocre, and often embarrassing. The output usually deserves the "AI Slop" label it gets. But to dismiss it entirely misses a core value.

AI is useful with, perhaps even because of, that generic, often obvious other perspective.

It can be amazingly helpful to simply ask: what am I missing? Since AI has a tendency to agree with me, I explicitly ask for pushback: "review this and tell me what I'm missing, tell me where I'm wrong." The fact that AI is so obvious, so average, is actually a core value here. I'm often surprised at the points I missed and the viewpoints I overlooked.

Even if AI doesn't find things you missed, a contrarian angle can be very helpful to shore up your own case. You'll be able to say, "Yes, I considered those things, and here's why my take on this issue is better."

In that way, AI can also help you prepare for your discussions with colleagues. With so many letting AI draft their arguments, it's very valuable to see their perspective in advance.

So no, I don't let AI make my case, but I always look for another perspective in what I do — wherever it comes from. Having a tool that can give me that on a moment's notice is incredibly useful.

2. Ask AI to summarize dense information

Long before AI, we all had that colleague who always told you far more than you needed to know. With some now using AI heavily, it can frankly be overwhelming.

You ask a simple question and get a blizzard of AI-generated noise in response. AI can be the worst over-explainer when simply left to run. You see the results in a seven-page response.

When I'm faced with one of these walls of text, I've learned there are really only two ways to respond. I can, and often do, ask the person to try again. What does this all really mean? Can you summarize your point in a couple of sentences? I occasionally get snarky and ask for the "non-AI slop" version.

Another way to deal with this is to ask AI to summarize it, whether AI tools or a wordy colleague wrote it. Importantly, I don't trust the AI summary to be the full explanation, but it helps me understand the key points. Which I then work to find in the original blizzard response.

Yes, this is a little circular. After all, why not just have the two AI systems have the discussion? Leave me out of it. But in a world where it seems everyone has a hard time getting to the point, any tool to cut through the noise is welcome. And AI is very good at that.

3. Let AI help you with tasks

In a similar vein, one thing AI does incredibly well is organize. This kind of rote task of sorting, filtering, and filing is right in the sweet spot for most AI systems.

I'm wary of letting AI systems automate tasks like filtering or filing things without my supervision. I'd never let an AI system automatically send emails, texts, or documents without my careful review. But I often have AI systems help me sort through mountains of accumulated debris.

I recently moved to a new computer system and had AI review what I was planning to move over. I discovered decades of accumulated cruft. Simply from a comprehensive list, I found gigabytes of programs, files, and settings, 90% of which I just left behind.

So if you have 8,000 emails in your inbox, or a documents folder that has grown a second life, let an AI system take a look for you. Don't just tell it to "deal with it." Your judgment is needed.

Rather, have it give you a review of it and another perspective. And once you've reviewed it, perhaps you'll find, as I did: AI can be better at deletion than creation.

So when your company rolls out the next new AI, use those tools to your advantage. AI can help you see another perspective, find the important points in the blizzard, and cut through the mess. I've embraced AI, use it with great care, and encourage everyone to do the same.

• Isaac Persky used a creative video to land an internship at Tarte Cosmetics in 2024.
• Maureen Kelly, the CEO of Tarte, was impressed by Isaac's video, leading to his internship offer.
• He returned for a second summer internship and started a full-time position this June.

When I was in college, I wanted a summer internship in New York City, specifically at one company: Tarte Cosmetics. My mom sent me a video of Tarte's founder and CEO, Maureen Kelly, calling on college students to apply to their summer internship program, and it sparked my interest.

I've been posting videos on social media in both the beauty and comedy niches for years, but I thought I'd left that behind when I started college at Chapman University to pursue a more 'serious' career. I was double majoring in economics and public relations and figured Tarte would be a fun way to spend the summer after my sophomore year before turning to a more traditional business or finance path.

I had one problem — I had no connections to Tarte, no family in the beauty industry, and no obvious way to stand out among thousands of applicants. In today's job market, especially for a sought-after position in beauty, it felt more likely I'd get struck by lightning than land an offer.

When I submitted my application in January 2024, I knew I barely had a shot.

This is where most applicants stop

They repeat the process with hundreds of applications, hoping to win the lottery of landing an interview and, ultimately, an offer.

I'm from Nebraska and attended school in Southern California. To be frank, going home for the summer was not an option. I didn't want to trade my glamorous coastal lifestyle for corn and county fairs. I couldn't rely on pure luck to be selected for an interview. I knew that if I could get in front of them, they would see how perfect I was for the role.

I decided to make a video

Since posting videos felt natural to me, I figured, what better way to show that I'm qualified for a marketing job at Tarte than by successfully marketing myself to Tarte. I decided to make something fun and entertaining. Inspired by the iconic Harvard admissions video from Legally Blonde, I created an "Elle Woods-style" application video.

I showed Tarte that I was passionate about working for them, willing to put myself out there, and could actually do the job that I was applying for. I admit, it felt a little ridiculous. I knew that all my friends would see it, and that there was a good chance it wouldn't work out the way I intended, but it was worth a try.

The video got the attention of Maureen Kelly

I woke up one morning in January 2024 to a notification that made me check whether I was still dreaming: a comment from Maureen Kelly on my post. It was a simple 'I 👀 u! OBSESSED,' followed by an email from Tarte's HR team saying they enjoyed my video and wanted to schedule an interview.

From there, I landed a paid internship with Tarte Cosmetics on their social media team. I moved to New York and worked at Tarte for three months. What started as a creative experiment became my entry point into the beauty industry.

The following winter, they offered me the chance to return for the summer of 2025. Despite my initial thoughts that my summer at Tarte would be a one-off adventure, I accepted their offer. It felt like I had found a career that combined my interests in comedy, public relations, and storytelling.

The experience also challenged some assumptions I had about internships

I expected to spend my summers doing small administrative tasks. Instead, I found myself contributing to campaigns with household-name brands and learning from the professionals who had built Tarte. I was particularly struck by Maureen Kelly, who took my ideas as seriously as she did her VPs' and shared her personal advice and can-do attitude with me regularly.

This spring, as I prepared to graduate, I received a full-time offer from Tarte without having to apply again. I officially started my full-time role with Tarte in June.

In college, much of the career advice my classmates and I were given emphasized professionalism and networking, but when employees at your favorite company are getting dozens of 'coffee chat' messages each week from people like you, that advice becomes outdated. Sometimes the best career move isn't sending another application; it's doing something creative with the skills you already have.

For most people, the idea of posting a video to get a summer internship feels embarrassing

To be honest, it was embarrassing. Putting yourself out there always carries that risk, but sometimes that discomfort is the price of trying something others might not.

Even if it doesn't work out, don't let it reflect on you. I find it best to maintain the mentality that they would be lucky to have you, and frankly, what a disappointment it is that they didn't get you.

Most importantly, I must acknowledge that all of this advice is coming from someone who has the job and got the internship. Yes, I was strategic, and I give myself credit for that, but I was also lucky.

• Amazon is on an unprecedented spending spree to build more AI data center capacity than anyone else.
• The company has extensive experience, yet even it's struggling to bring capacity online fast enough.
• Internal documents show Amazon getting bilions of dollars of Nvidia GPUs before they can be deployed.

At an internal staff meeting in September, AWS CFO John Felton had a joke for Prasad Kalyanaraman, the executive overseeing much of Amazon's AI infrastructure expansion.

"You've taken us free cash flow negative as a company, so congratulations," Felton said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Business Insider.

The remark was lighthearted. But it captured a stunning reversal.

Just two years ago, Wall Street was debating what Amazon would do with its growing cash hoard. Now, cash flow has evaporated as Amazon embarks on its biggest bet ever, spending $220 billion this year alone to build the physical backbone for AI.

At the meeting, Kalyanaraman did not dispute Felton's premise. Amazon's machine-learning and AI business is "hugely free cash flow negative," he said, adding that he expects the company's free cash flow to remain negative for "the next couple of years or so."

Amazon has made big bets before. It spent heavily on cloud computing, fulfillment centers, and its delivery network long before they became some of the company's most valuable assets. Investors questioned those investments at the time, but Amazon ultimately built enormous, profitable businesses from them.

AI is testing this playbook at a far larger scale. Amazon is committing hundreds of billions of dollars to data centers, servers, and power before investors know how quickly those investments will generate revenue.

The company is the best, or among the best, at building data centers, with decades of experience. But the size and complexity of these projects, and the bottlenecks holding progress back, are challenging — even for such a respected cloud pioneer.

Internal documents reviewed by Business Insider and people familiar with the matter show the company trying to coordinate a sprawling industrial system whose parts move on different schedules. A delay in power, equipment, or construction can leave billions of dollars in hardware waiting — and Amazon's cash tied up — while forecasts and costs keep shifting.

Why Amazon thinks it will work

Amazon says it has strong evidence that the capacity will be needed. AWS revenue grew 37% in the second quarter, its fastest pace in 18 quarters, while its backlog reached $496 billion.

CEO Andy Jassy thinks the company has a "clear line of sight" to strong financial returns from this record investment cycle. In his latest annual shareholder letter, he called AI a "once in a lifetime opportunity" and said Amazon would not be conservative in its investments.

"We've been through this cycle with the first big AWS growth wave, and liked the results," Jassy wrote. "We expect to feel similarly about this next wave."

Investors are concerned by the scale of the industry's expansion, especially as AI data centers are costing more to build and taking longer to complete.

The market is "repricing anything that funds multi-year builds against revenue that arrives later," Dan Ives, an analyst at Yorkville Ives, wrote in a recent report. Growing uncertainty around data center permitting and the political fight over electricity prices have given investors another reason to question how quickly these investments will pay off, he added.

Racks, but not enough power

One major industry challenge is securing enough power to run the equipment that goes inside data centers. This includes expensive racks of servers that contain GPUs and other chips that train and run AI models and services such as ChatGPT.

Internal emails from August show Amazon preparing a new "Early Rack Receipt" process for an expected wave of server racks carrying Nvidia's GB300 chips at US facilities before final deployment.

One Amazon email projected the company would take delivery of about $5 billion of Nvidia GB300 racks in August, followed by another roughly $3 billion each month "for the foreseeable future."

Some AWS data center sites had room for more racks but not enough available power to turn them on, people familiar with the effort said, leaving the equipment to be staged at intermediary warehouses until the facilities were ready. These people asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.

Timing and coordination

Usually, Amazon doesn't pay for racks until the gear is put into a data center, leaving suppliers to carry the cost of the equipment in transit, according to the internal documents obtained by Business Insider. This helps the company conserve cash.

However, the intensity of the AI data center building boom has made this type of coordination harder. Amazon has to compete more for scarce resources as it jockeys with rivals for access to Nvidia GPUs and other AI components.

Under the new "Early Rack Receipt" process, Amazon now takes ownership of these racks earlier in the supply chain, rather than waiting until the equipment reaches a data center.

The means spending cash sooner. And any delays getting the racks installed and plugged into a reliable power source potentially pushes back the moment when revenue starts flowing from these assets.

At least one AWS supply chain team did not have "a clear forecasted path" for getting racks into data centers, according to one of the emails reviewed by Business Insider.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company routinely stages finished hardware near deployment sites so it can be installed once power capacity is available, calling that approach "best business practice."

The spokesperson added that AWS has "long-established systems" to track infrastructure assets and disputed that the broader company lacks a forecasted path for getting racks into data centers.

This problem is not unique to Amazon.

Bernstein analysts wrote in a recent note that power permits, cooling systems, electrical equipment, construction, and hardware all move on separate schedules.

"Timing is imperfect," the analysts said.

"Inherently uncertain"

During the internal staff meeting in September, Felton, the AWS CFO, described the broader problem eloquently: "How do you work in the future when the future is inherently uncertain?"

Kalyanaraman, the AI infrastructure leader, said Amazon's internal outlook for the return on its AI investments had improved. But the assumptions behind those returns keep shifting.

"The forecast is changing on a daily basis," Kalyanaraman said. "The world that we live in is extremely dynamic."

Those shifting assumptions include when data centers will be ready and how much equipment AWS needs to keep on hand, he explained.

An eight-week supply buffer might be routine for a smaller company. But at Amazon's scale, Kalyanaraman said, this could mean holding "billions and billions of dollars" worth of additional equipment inventory — tying up precious cash.

Frugality meets the AI boom

Such tensions are especially striking for Kalyanaraman, a 21-year Amazon veteran who earlier this year was promoted to the elite S-team that reports directly to Jassy.

Amazon's founding story is defined by frugality. It famously used cheap doors as desks when founder Jeff Bezos started in Seattle in the mid-90s.

Kalyanaraman has absorbed this lore into bones. In late 2023, as AWS faced slower growth and layoffs, he urged employees to do more with less. "Frugality breeds innovation," he said back then.

That instinct still shapes his approach. In the September meeting this year, Kalyanaraman told Felton that AWS tries to make major investments at the "last responsible moment," when it has the clearest possible view of demand.

"If we can wait to spend the capital as late as possible, it's better for us," he said.

But the frenetic pace of the AI boom makes this principle difficult to follow. By the time demand is fully visible, the servers, power, and construction capabilities that AWS needs may no longer be available. That puts pressure on the company to commit more money sooner to secure supply and meet its data center capacity goals.

Kalyanaraman recalled telling Jassy in 2023 that AWS would "surely" be out of its capacity crunch by 2027. Instead, Amazon still expects demand to exceed its available capacity in 2027, the AI infrastructure chief said during the meeting this September.

Secured Power at Risk

Getting enough electricity may be the biggest challenge for an industry leader like Amazon.

The company has 44 gigawatts of data center capacity under development across 16 states, more than double Google, Meta, and Microsoft, according to Cleanview Research estimates.

An internal AWS dashboard called "Secured Power at Risk" tracks utility and regulatory constraints affecting electricity capacity AWS has lined up for its data centers.

The risks include transmission bottlenecks, requirements to reduce use during grid stress, and "use it or lose it" provisions that can jeopardize capacity if a data center project misses usage or construction milestones.

In other words, AWS is not simply waiting for electricity to arrive. It is managing a portfolio of commitments that can become more costly if a data center project is delayed.

Maryland proposals

A submission to Maryland's utility regulator last year, obtained through a public records request, illustrates the kind of exposure that can accompany massive data center buildouts.

Amazon told the Maryland Public Service Commission that large data center customers could help pay for grid upgrades or bring new power capacity to market without burdening other electricity ratepayers.

The company also proposed setting aside collateral to help utilities get more comfortable with the large investments needed to generate more electricity for data centers. Amazon proposed three years of collateral so that if a large electricity customer abandoned unused capacity, the utility would have time to re-sell the power.

The proposal is not evidence that AWS has made such a payment or posted collateral. It does, however, show that large data centers can face extra financial obligations, beyond their own electricity bills, if projects are delayed or cancelled.

The Amazon spokesperson said such utility rules are not unique to AWS. The company has not disclosed how much cash it has paid upfront to secure power.

New constraints 'keep popping up'

The AI buildout also incurs expenses that are harder to model than a conventional capex plan.

In the September meeting this year, Kalyanaraman said that while reviewing plans for gigawatts of capacity in West Texas, AWS confronted a labor problem: There weren't enough nearby pipefitters, electricians, and other skilled workers to build the facilities.

The company's response, he said, was to pay to construct housing complexes near its data centers so workers could live there for the two or three years needed to complete the projects.

Even the crates used to ship servers have become a planning issue. It may seem absurd to worry about the price of a container when servers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Kalyanaraman said. But at AWS's scale, where the company needs so many crates, even trivial items can become a material expense.

"We have new constraints that keep popping up," Kalyanaraman said.

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• Elon Musk says he'll give a SpaceX share to every child in the US next year.
• That would be a $10.5 billion gift based on SpaceX's stock price and roughly 72 million recipients.
• Musk said this would be the "first of many" SpaceX share giveaways but didn't offer further details.

Elon Musk says he'll give every child in the US a piece of his space company, a gift worth around $10.5 billion today.

"Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America," Musk wrote in an early Monday post on X. "This will be the first of many."

There are roughly 72 million children in the US based on 2025 census data, and SpaceX stock closed at $146 on Friday. If Musk donated 72 million shares right now they would be worth around $10.5 billion.

Musk didn't provide any further details on how the giveaway would work, such as eligibility criteria or specific timing, or whether the shares will be transferred to Trump Accounts.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is the world's richest person, with an estimated net worth of $904 billion as of Friday's close, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

SpaceX — the company behind Falcon rockets, Starship launch vehicles, Starlink satellites, the AI chatbot Grok, and X — went public this summer and has a market capitalization of about $2 trillion.

Excluding restricted shares and options, Musk owns 4.77 billion SpaceX shares for about a 36% stake, worth just under $700 billion at Friday's close. The rest of his fortune largely comprises his stakes in his other companies, including Tesla, Neuralink, and The Boring Company.

Donating 72 million shares would reduce Musk's number of SpaceX shares by 1.5%. If, as indicated in his X post, he follows that up with further giveaways, his stake could shrink significantly.

Musk's pledge is part of a broader trend of gifting shares to America's children, aimed at ensuring they all own a piece of the stock market and reap its gains over time, and benefit from a lifetime of compounding wealth.

The Trump administration launched Trump Accounts — tax-advantaged investment accounts — for eligible children this summer, with those born between 2025 and 2028 receiving a $1,000 federal seed deposit. Numerous companies have agreed to contribute to them as well.

Michael and Susan Dell contributed $250 to 25 million American children's Trump Accounts earlier this month, a gift totaling $6.25 billion that was allocated first to those in the lowest-income ZIP codes.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged in July to give shares of SpaceX to more than 2 million children.

Musk shared his SpaceX gift idea after Anthropic pledged to commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund.

"I recommend giving shares directly to the public," he replied on X. "This is what I will be doing."

Another X user described Anthropic and Musk's pledges as "the beginning of universal basic income." Musk corrected him, writing *universal high income."

Musk has predicted that advances in AI, robotics, and other technologies will usher in an age of abundance in which everyone can have "whatever stuff they want."

He's recommended people stop saving for retirement in 10 or 20 years as their nest eggs will be "irrelevant," and has proposed government checks for all as the best response to job losses from AI.

Correction: October 19, 2026 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly described SpaceX as a private company. It went public in June 2026.

Last week, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar mentioned something bizarre in an interview on CBS News. "So many AI researchers have started smoking as a way of signaling to other researchers how much they believe in AI," he said. Their thinking, he said, goes like this: "I believe so much in AI that it's going to cure cancer. So I'm showing you my chips are all in."

I laughed as I read the quote. It read like a headline in The Onion, mocking the blind optimism of the AI-pilled. But then I felt sad and worried for them. Are they smoking because they believe AI is saving the world, I wondered, or because they believe AI is ending it?

It's been an especially alarming few months here in San Francisco. OpenAI's bots went rogue and hacked another company, and then an Anthropic researcher quit, warning that AI could wipe out the human race. It seemed more believable to me that these researchers were smoking because they didn't think they'd be around for much longer — or at least freaked out about that possibility. I thought of the HBO show "The Leftovers," which features a doomsday cult that chain-smokes. Because they believe the world has ended, they don't mind obliterating their lungs. They're living as though they're already dead.

I asked a handful of people who work in AI and none of them knew anyone who had suddenly taken up cigarettes because of AI. So I don't think what Sankar observed is widespread. But in a story last month about tech founders who smoke, my colleague Henry Chandonnet quoted a guy who wasn't worried about his habit because he believed AI will soon cure lung cancer. Among the people I spoke to, a few recognized that underlying sentiment: AI's going to fix (or destroy) everything, so YOLO. Last year, my former colleague Rob Price reported on these attitudes. Some were spending down their savings. Others were taking dangerous drugs and having orgies. Last year, my former colleague Rob Price reported on these attitudes. Some were spending down their savings. Others were taking dangerous drugs and having orgies.

While AI boomers and doomers expect completely opposite outcomes, I've found it interesting that their very different beliefs often end up manifesting as the same behaviors. Smoke or don't smoke, it doesn't matter: The future is inevitable. In either case, they're relinquishing their fate to a humanity-ending or humanity-saving AI — and ignoring one of the most evidence-backed things they can do to live a healthy future. It's a kind of fatalism, believing that what you do won't change what happens next.

I see traces of that in so many corners of society. What's the point of studying, students say, if they're never going to be as good as ChatGPT at coding or math? What's the point of agonizing over a breakup text, people say, if a bot can write it for them? What's the point of working hard, employees say, if their companies are going to replace them with an agent? In a recent survey by Verasight, 78% felt that they had little or no say over how AI is being developed and regulated.

Even the people who have the most say don't seem to believe they do. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has issued increasingly grave warnings about the technology that he himself is creating. He has to keep going, he says, because if he doesn't, a less responsible steward of the industry will. Amodei and his peers sound as if they're utterly powerless in the face of an unstoppable god. If it's really that bad, couldn't they just pull the plug? "Saturday Night Live" captured the strangeness of it all in a recent sketch impersonating Amodei. "If we can pressure lawmakers to create guardrails," Jane Wickline's Amodei deadpanned, "we will be able to stop me."

We need people thinking seriously about the risks of these technologies, and we also need people dreaming big about the immense good they can bring. But neither of these outcomes is inevitable. As we entrust more and more of our work and our lives to AI agents, we shouldn't cede our own agency to them too. I'm not taking up smoking anytime soon.

• It's a dangerous time to own a brick-and-mortar storefront in France.
• Violence erupted across the country on Saturday, as black-clad rioters ransacked stores.
• Around 1,500 storefronts were targeted, one corporate heavyweight said.

Business owners in France are speaking out after cost-of-living protests turned into widespread rioting and looting across the country over the weekend.

Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of Carrefour, one of France's largest supermarket chains, said that about 1,500 businesses were targeted in the unrest.

Bompard and several other corporate heavyweights condemned the rioting and called on French authorities to restore order.

Photos and video from Paris and other French cities showed black-clad rioters smashing storefronts and leaving laden with armfuls of pilfered goods.

"We cannot allow violence to destroy what generations have put so much energy into building," Thierry Guibert, the CEO of Lacoste, said on X.

Here's what business owners are saying.

Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste and Aigle.

Guibert, who heads the luxury French clothing brand Lacoste and the outdoor clothing brand Aigle, issued a forceful statement on social media. He said the looting is antithetical to the entrepreneurial spirit.

"When our Lacoste and Aigle stores are looted, like so many other businesses across France, it is not only shop windows that are being smashed," he said in French. "It is jobs, years of work, know-how, and the commitment of thousands of women and men that are being put at risk."

Guibert said his concerns were shared by other entrepreneurs and smaller shop owners across France. He portrayed the riots as a degradation of French industry.

Lacoste operates about 150 storefronts across France.

Fabien Devide, CEO of Team Vitality

The head of one of France's biggest professional esports organizations said that a part of him "went up in smoke" after his gaming café and club was looted on Saturday.

"The right to demonstrate is a fundamental freedom that I will defend all my life," Devide said on social media. "But looting and destruction should never have a place in these fights."

The esports organization operates a 4,300-square-foot gaming center, merchandise store, and café in central Paris. Vitality's X account posted on Saturday that "the premises of our club were looted."

"Fortunately, none of our staff members nor any fans were injured," Vitality said. "On the other hand, our display windows were destroyed, and our trophies and computer equipment were stolen."

Alexandre Bompard, CEO of Carrefour

Bompard, the CEO of the French supermarket and retail chain Carrefour, said that 50 of its stores were targeted by rioters on Saturday.

"Nothing can justify such violence," Bompard said on X in French. "Those who attack the work tools of courageous entrepreneurs and their teams in this way must face an uncompromising response."

"The Republic must protect its shopkeepers!" he added.

He attached four photos to his X post showing the ruined aisles of one Carrefour store. In the pictures, items litter the ground, and the shelves are empty.

Thierry Cotillard, chairman of Les Mousquetaires

Thierry Cotillard, chairman of Les Mousquetaires, a French retail group that owns the Intermarché supermarket brand, called the looting "unacceptable" in a LinkedIn post.

"We cannot trivialize these scenes," he said. "We cannot accept that violence becomes a response, that destruction becomes a mode of expression and that those who work honestly become the collateral victims of the anger of others."

Cotillard said at least two of his franchises in Paris and Rennes were "ransacked by thugs" during the riots on Saturday. He said his thoughts were with "all the shopkeepers who are paying the price."

"To our members, to our teams who are victims of this damage: you are not alone," he said. "We are at your side."

Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Coopérative U

Schelcher, CEO of supermarket and hypermarket retail collective Coopérative U, said some of the group's stores had been looted or attacked in several city centers, including Paris.

The collective comprises some 1,900 grocery stores and supermarkets owned by independent business owners.

"In the face of the shock, the solidarity of our network will be total," Schelcher wrote in a LinkedIn post on Sunday.

Schelcher later made a separate post calling on French leaders and politicians to "pursue calm, mutual respect, and the urgent development of a collective vision."

"There must not be another October 17," he added.

Catherine Spindler and Guillaume Motte, chief execs at Sephora

Catherine Spindler, president of Sephora's business in Europe and the Middle East, said several of the beauty retailer's stores had been "ransacked."

"Even more serious, women and men in our teams have been confronted with situations of violence, fear, and great tension," she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Sephora closed all its stores on Saturday at 5 p.m. and kept most of them shuttered on Sunday, Spindler wrote.

"Anger can be expressed. Convictions can be opposed. But nothing should justify women and men becoming the victims of this violence," she added.

Guillaume Motte, global CEO of Sephora, chimed in with support for Spindler on LinkedIn.

"We stand together!" he wrote.

Nicolas Houzé, executive chairman of Galeries Lafayette

Nicolas Houzé, executive chairman of Galeries Lafayette, mourned France's global reputation in a post on LinkedIn, saying the riots produced "scenes of unprecedented violence throughout France."

"No demand can legitimize violence in France," wrote Houzé on LinkedIn, saying that almost all of his firm's points of sale had been affected by the attacks.

Galeries Lafayette, an upscale department store chain, runs about 50 outlets in France.

"Beyond the destruction and major economic losses for all those involved in trade, it is also the image of our country, its attractiveness, and its ability to welcome its visitors in the best conditions that are deeply affected," he added.

Alexandre Prot and Steve Anavi, cofounders of Qonto

Fintech firm Qonto's founders, Steve Anavi and Alexandre Prot, said a fire had been started at their company's offices in Paris.

Anavi wrote on LinkedIn that the office fire was intentional, calling it an "arson attack."

"Violence and vandalism have no place in our society. Nothing can justify such acts," he added.

In a separate post, Prot said no one was injured in the fire.

"We'll repair the damage as soon as possible. In the meantime, Qonto's operations continue as normal," he wrote.

The company offers payment, bookkeeping, and other business management software, primarily targeting small- to medium-sized enterprises and startups.

Alain Di Crescenzo, President of CCI France

Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in France, called for affected merchants to receive support amid the "inexcusable" violence.

"This violence is UNACCEPTABLE," Di Crescenzo wrote on LinkedIn.

"Breaking up a business is breaking up a neighborhood. It is to scare away customers, to discourage those who wanted to set up, to damage for a long time what years have built," he added.

Di Crescenzo said his organization, which represents roughly 2 million private businesses in France, is mapping the damage across affected cities and is creating "support units" to help its members.

• France's worsening unrest is adding to pressure on its battered bond market.
• Political gridlock threatens to keep French borrowing costs high, analysts warn.
• French bonds could miss out on a recovery even as the rest of Europe's bond markets rebound.

France's worsening unrest is exposing how difficult it could be for the government to rein in spending and restore confidence in its battered bond market.

Mass protests over rising living costs and poor school conditions swept across France over the weekend, with violence and looting breaking out in several cities. Shops were ransacked in Paris and other cities, while a fire devastated the historic town hall in Limoges, west-central France.

The unrest adds to the challenges facing a government already struggling to pass a budget and bring its debt under control ahead of next year's presidential election.

French government bonds, known as OATs, have been among the hardest hit in a global bond selloff fueled by inflation fears, higher interest-rate expectations, and concerns about government debt.

"French OATs continue to be the punching bag in the ongoing selloff in sovereign bond markets," Elias Hilmer, a markets economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note on Friday.

French bond yields have risen much faster this year than those on German government debt — considered among Europe's safest — widening the gap between the two as investors demand a bigger premium to hold French bonds.

Early on Monday, France's 10-year OAT yield was 8 basis points higher at 4.86%, while Germany's 10-year bond yield was flat at 3.41%.

Why France's debt problem is so hard to fix

Investment manager Ninety One warned Monday that if France fails to pass its 2027 budget, its deficit could exceed 6% of GDP next year — more than double the European Union's 3% limit.

Even passing the budget would offer only a temporary fix, said Sahil Mahtani, director at Ninety One's Investment Institute. France's presidential election next year could be followed by another parliamentary election, potentially leaving the country without a clear governing majority and extending budget uncertainty into 2028.

The fiscal dilemma is particularly acute over pensions, where reforms could help stabilize France's debt trajectory but face strong political opposition.

"If we want to see some real improvement in the debt dynamic of France, it will need to reform the pension system, which costs much more money than elsewhere. The issue for that is that it's highly unpopular," Charlotte de Montpellier, ING's senior economist covering France, said in a webinar on Thursday.

Those political and fiscal challenges could leave French bonds increasingly out of step with the rest of Europe's debt market, Capital Economics' Hilmer wrote.

While falling energy prices could ease pressure on European interest rates and provide relief to bonds across the region, concerns about France's finances and political instability could keep its borrowing costs elevated.

European Central Bank could be reluctant to intervene if French bond yields rise because of genuine concerns about the country's finances rather than broader market dysfunction, Hilmer warned.

"Given the perilous state of France's public finances and the uncertainty around the elections, we think French spreads may widen further over the coming year," he wrote.

He forecast that the gap between French and German bond yields could widen from around 140 basis points to 200 basis points by the end of 2027, even as similar gaps narrow for most other eurozone countries.

• Ukraine is funding air defense missiles with a hard cap of $20,000 per shot, Brave1's chief said.
• That's about a sixth the cost of a Stinger missile, and still cheaper than an APWKS 70mm rocket.
• It's one of Kyiv's responses to Russia's thousands-strong, inexpensive Shahed fleets.

Ukraine has been running a yearslong weapons program to develop cheap surface-to-air missiles that cost no more than $20,000 each, said Andrii Hrytseniuk, the head of its Brave1 startup incubator.

Several firms have been testing prototypes under this framework, and Kyiv is "preparing to put two of these companies into combat," Hrytseniuk said in a video interview published with Ukrainska Pravda on Thursday.

He expressed hope that a third would soon reach a similar stage.

Hrytseniuk said some of these manufacturers have managed to get costs down to $10,000 per missile, though the program has set a hard price cap of $20,000 per shot.

"This is significantly cheaper than the cost of a Shahed. Even if you need two or three missiles, it is still several times cheaper than the cost of a Shahed," said Hrytseniuk of the limit.

Hrytseniuk said the program was launched by Brave1 as a competition between Ukrainian firms to "create the cheapest anti-aircraft missile systems possible."

"Funding for missiles began in 2024, but making a missile takes even more time than making an interceptor drone," he added.

A price limit of $20,000 would make these Ukrainian missiles even cheaper than the AGR-Falco Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, an American-made unguided 70mm rocket fitted with a laser guidance kit.

Costing about $30,000 to $35,000 each, these were traditionally air-to-ground rockets that have now been converted for air defense in Ukraine. The cheapest US standard surface-to-air missile is the shoulder-mounted Stinger, which costs about $120,000 per missile.

The Ukrainian effort to lower air defense costs comes as a response to Russia's extensive Shahed attack drone fleets, which are numerous and cheaper to produce than typical missiles. Ukrainian officials have estimated that the Russian Geran-2, for example, costs $70,000 each, while jet-powered drones like the Geran-3 cost at least $100,000.

Kyiv uses a layered network of defense systems, including machine gun crews, interceptor quadcopters, and electronic warfare, to fight against these drones, which Russia can launch hundreds of at a time.

But Moscow has increasingly used jet-powered Gerans, which fly too fast for regular interceptor drones and human gun crews to keep up with. A new AI-powered terrain mapping system found on some Gerans has also raised concerns that Russia will soon be able to bypass Ukrainian jamming.

Ukraine's alternative has been air-defense missiles, such as the air-launched AIM-9 Sidewinder, which can cost about half a million dollars per shot.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that his country was working on a "small missile program" as a counter to jet-powered Gerans.

"There are several types. We will clearly see the result this month. At the end, in the second half of this month," he told reporters at a press conference.

In September, Hrytseniuk told Business Insider's Jake Epstein that several Ukrainian companies were also integrating artificial intelligence into strike missile systems and were seeing "first successes."

• France wasn't alone this weekend.
• Civil unrest occurred in several European cities this weekend.
• Protests over the high cost of living devolved into riots.

Demonstrators took to the streets across multiple European cities and capitals this weekend to protest the high cost of living in their countries.

Though the violence in Paris and other French cities claimed the headlines, thousands also showed up in Portugal, Italy, and Belgium. Demonstrators were arrested in large numbers — many people were seen in photos and videos clashing violently with police and looting local businesses.

Energy price hikes, caused at least in part by the US-Israeli war with Iran and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have contributed to the rising prices. Other demonstrations in Belgium and France were begun by students and have since snowballed into larger-scale demonstrations, involving union workers and other organizations.

Here's a look at the chaos that unfolded across the Atlantic this weekend, where peaceful protests eventually devolved into riots and looting.

Lisbon

In Lisbon, Portugal's capital, people took to the streets on October 17 to protest the cost-of-living crisis, low wages, and unaffordable housing.

The demonstration, which was organized by the CGTP, Portugal's largest trade union federation, was also held in Porto and Coimbra. In all, the union said "thousands of workers" took part.

About 12.7% of the population in Portugal lives in overcrowded households.

Housing prices in Portugal recorded the largest annual increase of any EU member state in the second quarter of 2026, rising 16.5%. In Lisbon, the average rent is equivalent to 116% of the average salary, meaning it exceeds a typical monthly income by 16%.

Earlier this week, police removed a tent camp that activists had set up in Praça D. João I, a central public square in Porto, to draw attention to rising housing costs.

Brussels

In Belgium, students have held demonstrations in recent weeks over rising education costs, some of which turned violent over the weekend.

Video footage showed police using water cannons and tear gas during clashes with protesters in Brussels.

Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin said in a post on X on Saturday that "what is unfolding in Brussels is no longer mere protest" and "all necessary means will be used to restore order in the face of the rioters."

Clashes also took place in Liège. Police arrested 195 people across the two cities during Saturday's protests, per The Brussels Times.

Milan

In Milan, a demonstration over the weekend against wars and the rising cost of living also descended into clashes between protesters and police.

Photos showed chaotic scenes around Piazza del Duomo, the landmark central square outside the Milan Cathedral and one of the city's busiest tourist areas, with looters damaging shop fronts and setting objects on fire.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a post on X on Sunday.

"Thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security, and hold entire cities hostage," she wrote. "Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not."

The demonstrations were also held in other cities across northern Italy. Police estimates reported by Rai News, Italy's public broadcaster put turnout at about 5,000 in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna, 600 in Brescia, and 800 in Bergamo.

Italy's annual inflation rate jumped to 4.1% in September, up from 3.2% in August.

In Milan, home prices have also climbed: residential asking prices were 49% higher in September than in 2018, according to the property portal Immobiliare.it.

• Meta says its system detected intense bursts of activity by a Claude tool.
• That triggered an automatic shutdown and locked admins out of the account.
• It happened during a day of rallies promoting early voting in the midterms.

Meta said Sunday that its systems suspended the No Kings movement's Instagram account during its day of action because it detected "intense" activity by a Claude tool.

The account was locked and administrators were denied access for "several hours" during nationwide rallies on Saturday to mobilize early voting in the midterms, the group said.

Meta initially said that an automatic trigger was responsible for shutting down the account "in error," but offered a fuller explanation a day later.

"Our engineering team discovered that the spike that triggered the incorrect enforcement was primarily in the account's 'reading' behavior," spokesperson Andy Stone said in an X post.

"Specifically, our network security systems detected the use of a Claude tool reading profiles, posts, and hashtags, the rate of which sharply increased (~4x volume) in intense bursts on October 17. "

Stone said the activity resembled bot traffic, prompting the system to take the account offline.

"An automated re-review of the removal action an hour later recognized that shouldn't have happened and restored the account. It unfortunately took additional time for us to straighten out the situation with admin access to the IG account.

"We want to reiterate our sincere apology for the error," he wrote.

The No Kings network, which bills itself as nonpartisan but arose last year in response to President Donald Trump's actions, said it held nearly 3,000 rallies across the country to encourage voters to cast their ballots early as a hedge against any effort to undermine turnout.

"Restricting communications about voting in the middle of an election is unacceptable," it said.

"Meta must answer for this suspension and take immediate steps to ensure it never happens again — to any account, but especially those working to inform voters and encourage participation in our democracy."

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut called for an investigation into the shutdown, saying on Sunday evening that even if it was made in error, the incident was a "total indictment of Meta's outsized influence on our culture and politics."

"If it wasn't malevolence, it was likely a natural consequence of a company that is desperate to get as close to Trump as possible (and thus has a disincentive to do the basic, proactive work to be ready to support users on No Kings Day)," he wrote in a post on X.

The senator, who has advocated for stricter regulation and anti-monopoly laws against Big Tech, said Meta's significant share of the political discourse market comes with a responsibility for it to be ready for "major moments of political action."

October 18, 2026: This story was updated with public comment from Sen. Chris Murphy.

• Anthropic said it wants to create a new LLC with the company's stock as its sole asset.
• The new LLC, a charitable organization, would receive larger stakes as the company grows.
• An initial 5% stock funding is "subject to stockholder approval," Anthropic said.

Anthropic said on Sunday that it would set aside large portions of its wealth to support initiatives it believes are in the public interest.

In a blog post, the AI colossus said it aims to establish a separate LLC that would use Anthropic shares to make donations to nonprofits or "direct distributions to specific populations."

The new LLC, called the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund," would receive larger stakes as the company grows. The company said an initial funding round of 5% of Anthropic's shares is still subject to stockholder approval.

"The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund will have increased flexibility and scale, enabling us to pursue our mission in new ways," the company said.

A 5% stake in Anthropic is worth about $48 billion, according to the company's most recent valuation in May.

In 2025, rival frontier AI company OpenAI established a similar nonprofit foundation with a multibillion-dollar stake in the company to fund public-benefit initiatives.

• US Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended Trump's decision to buy Russian diesel.
• Wright said the relief is actually an "incentive" for Russia to end its war with Ukraine.
• Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and several US lawmakers have criticized the move.

President Donald Trump is still playing hardball with Russia, according to US Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Wright defended Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia during a Sunday interview on CNN's "State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash."

In September, Trump signed into law a sanctions package targeting Russian officials and parts of its economy in an effort to pressure Russia amid its war on Ukraine. Last week, Trump issued an executive order waiving those new sanctions, other restrictions, and some duties on Russia.

In early October, Trump also announced an agreement with President Vladimir Putin under which Russia would supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to America and the global market.

"President Trump waived sanctions just on diesel exports, and what's the one thing Russia has not been able to export over the last month or so? Diesel, because they're short of diesel," Wright said.

The Energy Secretary said waiving the sanctions solves two problems: the diesel oil shortage and Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.

"This is pressuring Russia. Russia does not have diesel to export," Wright said. "The only way they can get additional diesel to export is if they turn down the conflict with Ukraine."

Wright said Russia would have to enter into an energy ceasefire or reduce its war efforts to have enough additional diesel to export.

"This is not going soft on Russia. This is an incentive to end the war," Wright added.

Trump elaborated on his reasoning further on Sunday in a Truth Social post.

"I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table," he wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said waiving sanctions on Russia "seems wrong" to him. US lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle also criticized the move, including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

"Beyond irresponsible. What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand? It's unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day," Tillis wrote on X.

He added, "If the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin."

Diesel and regular gas prices have skyrocketed globally as the US war on Iran drags on. Following surprise attacks by the US and Israel on Iran in February, Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which is a major waterway through which much of the world's diesel and oil is shipped. Last week, the International Energy Agency ‌said the diesel shortage could run into 2027.

That's a problem for Trump, who is hoping voters overlook high gas prices and concerns over the cost of living when they head to the polls this November for the midterm elections. Higher diesel prices mean higher shipping costs, which trickle down to consumers as inflated prices for everyday goods.

Wright also appeared on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, during which he said Trump was trying to find "innovative" ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

"This is a motivation for Russia to figure out how they can actually export some diesel," he said.

• Nathan Fielder's documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is a bona fide hit.
• The film, "You Can See Everything," grossed $15 million in its opening weekend in the US and Canada.
• It offers a revealing portrait of Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors.

Nathan Fielder's nearly three-hour documentary about disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes is running up numbers at the box office.

The film, "You Can See Everything," grossed $15 million in the US and Canada during its opening weekend, according to A24, the film's distributor.

That's the best opening weekend for a documentary this year. "Melania" had the second-biggest opening weekend for a documentary after its release in January. It grossed $7.1 million.

The film's financial success is matched by viewer reception, too. It scored a whopping 99% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie-rating site, and a 98% among regular audiences.

Directed by Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the picture offers a remarkably revealing portrait of Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors with her blood-testing company, Theranos.

Theranos was at one point valued at $9 billion. It said its product could run hundreds of medical tests using just a pinprick of blood from a finger, but investigations revealed the company was using expensive lab equipment to surreptitiously run the tests.

Holmes, as the company's CEO, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after journalist John Carreyrou published a withering investigative report in The Wall Street Journal, sparking what eventually became criminal charges.

Business Insider's Henry Chandonnet has seen the film twice so far. He called it "one of the most shocking, revelatory, and oddly funny films" he'd ever witnessed.

"It was twisty and worthy of seeing with fresh eyes," Henry reported.

• Heidi Widmer is a 35-year-old who moved into an apartment building in Los Angeles in July.
• For the first two weeks, she heard a loud sound from the apartment above and was annoyed.
• She found out the noise was being made by her neighbor, who has Parkinson's.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Heidi Widmer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In July, I moved into an apartment in Los Angeles, exhausted from a six-day drive across the country from New York. All I wanted to do was get into the apartment and sleep, and luckily, my bed had been delivered on the same day I arrived.

Trying to fall asleep at 2 a.m., all I could hear was a loud noise coming from the apartment upstairs. It sounded as if someone was bowling. Although I was tempted to shout for them to be quiet, I held my tongue — I was the new neighbor and didn't want to be difficult.

But the noise just didn't seem to stop. Whoever lived up there also never came downstairs. Who lives up there? I thought to myself.

I realized my neighbor had Parkinson's

Two weeks after moving in, I heard someone coming down the stairs and had to get a glimpse of who lived above me.

Peeking out of my door, I saw Carole for the first time, slowly making her way down the stairs, shaking badly from what was clearly Parkinson's, and trying to carry a bunch of bags full of recycling.

Just as I was about to open the door to see if she needed help, she dropped all the bags with only a couple of steps left. I burst out of my apartment to help her.

"Oh my gosh, thank you," she said in her sweet British accent. "Did you just move in? Am I too loud for you?"

In that moment, I felt totally and completely humbled.

Having grown up in the Catholic church, I was taught never to judge a book by its cover, and with Carole, I hadn't even seen the cover. I judged her simply by the noise she produced upstairs. How could I be so judgmental?

It turns out that sound had been Carole rolling a three-wheeled, broken chair across her floor to get to her mini fridge — the mini fridge social services had given her when her refrigerator broke. She had to hoist herself out of her broken chair to get down and access the mini fridge.

That was the noise.

I was determined to figure out what I could do to help

Two days after we met, I knocked on her door. She peeked through and nervously let me in. The conditions inside weren't great.

Although she can live independently, she just needs a little help. I later learned that she doesn't like accepting help from people, especially social services. The fact that she is frightened of the very people meant to help her breaks my heart.

That day, I took all of her trash out for her, reassuring her I wasn't judging her at all.

In the weeks and now months that have followed, I have been up to Carole's to help with the trash, cooking (she'd only been having microwave meals), cleaning, and contacting the landlord to get him to replace and repair items in the apartment. We've decorated her apartment, too.

I raised $80,000 to help her out

Together, we made her an Amazon wish list, and I shared it on social media so that people could order things she needs and have them delivered directly to her. People have been so generous, purchasing things like an expensive Buddhist "butsudan" that Carole didn't expect anyone to buy.

We set up a GoFundMe, which has raised about $80,000, and we plan to use the funds to have a stair lift installed for her. Any leftover money will be spent on in-home care as she continues to age and her Parkinson's Disease progresses.

I know I've been helpful to Carole in these last few months, but she's been the perfect person at the perfect time for me, too. Moving to LA, I had hardly any connections. Lots of Carole's family members are either no longer living or back in the UK (she moved here in her 20s as an au pair).

Carole became the family I haven't had, and I became hers. We text back and forth each day, and I see her most days. She calls me granddaughter, and I see her as my grandmother.

When I've had a hard day at work teaching at a local middle school, Carole is ready to give me a big hug when I get home. She's been my safe space, and I've been hers. The universe knew we needed each other.

It's an unlikely connection, but it shows that when you lead with kindness rather than judgment, the person you were ready to judge can become someone you can't imagine your life without.

• Smashed shop windows and cars on fire — that's what happened in Paris on Saturday, and again Sunday.
• The chaos was an escalation in violence after weeks of demonstrations in the country.
• Students and workers alike have been taking to the streets to protest the cost of living.

A series of protests over the cost of living devolved into chaos and violence across France on Saturday and Sunday.

Mobile phones, luxury goods looted as French protests turn violent

Looting kicked off around the Place de la République in the French capital, where young people smashed their way through shop windows and made off with merchandise, the AFP reported.

The mob hit an SFR mobile phone store and other outlets that sold luxury goods and clothing.

Grocery chain outlets were looted, too

Franprix, Monoprix, Picard, and Carrefour City were among the grocery retailers looted in Paris, the AFP reported. In the 11th arrondissement, looters were seen leaving a Franprix filled with bags of juice, alcohol, and cakes, according to the AFP.

'The apocalypse'

The shopkeeper of a store near Place de la République named Cédric told RTL, a radio network in France, that he had barricaded himself inside his business in a bid to protect his goods.

"They're smashing everything around us," he told RTL, adding that he'd been a storekeeper in the area for 30 years. "They've destroyed my business. They've smashed my shop windows. They're taking pieces of glass to throw at the riot police. They're giving us the finger. They're telling us they're going to slit our throats. It's just the apocalypse."

Other French cities also saw looting and damage to businesses

The AFP reported that looting took place in several French cities, including Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg, where supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury boutiques, and electronics stores were raided and vandalized.

Luxury goods looted

Photos also showed luxury goods outlets — including the Galeries Lafayette — being looted.

Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste, posted a statement on Instagram on Saturday about the "images of violence and destruction" he had seen from the protests.

"When our Lacoste and Aigle stores are looted, like so many other businesses across France, it's not just shop windows that are smashed. It's jobs, years of work, expertise, and the commitment of thousands of women and men that are jeopardized," Guibert wrote.

"As a leader, I cannot bear to see what we have collectively built destroyed in this way. And I know that this concern is shared by many entrepreneurs and business owners throughout France," he added.

Building set aflame

This is the moment a town hall collapsed as protests sweep across France.

The 140-year-old town hall in the French city of Limoges caught fire during protests in the city

Read the latest on the Sky News website and app: https://t.co/oaLTf7aDbP pic.twitter.com/3OC3eU3Hf7

— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 17, 2026

Dramatic videos on social media also showed buildings on fire.

Videos showed the bell tower of the city hall building in Limoges collapsing after protesters broke in and set fire to the ground floor.

Mass arrests across France as police attempt to bring riots under control

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said late Saturday that authorities had arrested 1,200 people across the country following the day’s protests.

Lecornu also said that at least 150 police officers had been injured.

"Peaceful demonstrations have their rightful place in our Republic. Arson, looting, and attacks have no place whatsoever," Lecornu wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Saturday that "those who have broken, attacked the prefectures, as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished."

• Paris erupted as protests turned to riots and masked looters ransacked stores on Saturday.
• Small business owners took stock of what they'd lost on Sunday.
• "When I got back, they'd taken everything," one store owner told Business Insider.

"When I got back, they'd taken everything."

That's what one shopkeeper in Paris told me as she cleared debris from her store after major cost-of-living protests turned violent across parts of France.

Chaotic scenes unfolded on Saturday as rioters clashed with police and set vehicles and trash bins alight before masked marchers began to ransack businesses, including in the trendy Marais shopping district.

After hundreds of arrests and a tense, momentary calm on Sunday morning, more violence broke out Sunday evening as black-clad rioters dragged debris into streets and set it aflame.

Employees at a boutique fashion brand working in the area as the riots unfolded told me the situation felt "dystopian," and that at one point tear gas began seeping into the store. That apparently was not enough to put some shoppers off, however, as some continued to browse, they said.

They added that there was a heavy police presence on the street throughout Saturday, and that although they had hired extra security, they eventually decided to close early as the violence intensified.

Cycling through the city on Sunday, I followed what felt like a path of destruction that steadily ramped up as I neared the Place de République, where the city's 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements meet — the scene of some of Saturday's most serious violence.

I stopped at several stores along the way to photograph the damage and speak with shop workers about their experiences.

A store owner at a gold-buying shop whose front window had been smashed told me she was forced to close up early on Saturday.

"I got a call. It was my neighbor, who was working next door at the restaurant. He'd made a video showing a group of young people," she said, adding that they forced the door open and "smashed everything up."

"They stole things," she said. "When I got back, they'd taken everything."

Later, I stopped outside a ransacked Nicolas wine store, one of the country's most prominent wine retail brands. The storefront was agape, the entrance and both display windows smashed, revealing shelves picked clean. Empty Champagne boxes and glass littered the floor.

Among the other businesses targeted by looters and damaged in the violence across Paris on Saturday were major supermarket chains, tech stores, bars, and vape shops.

Alexandre Bompard, the CEO of the Carrefour Group, one of France's biggest supermarket chains, said the cost of repairs to damaged stores would run well over $11 million. He said the destruction would lead to "considerable human and economic consequences," as franchise partners would be forced to reduce the hours of dozens of employees.

On the other side of Paris, the situation was calmer on Saturday. Outside my apartment in Montmartre, for example, life ticked along as usual, terraces full of weekend revelers and a Saturday buzz in the air.

Speaking as protesters surged by, a bartender at a popular Irish pub along the boulevard — a few doors down from the Moulin Rouge — said it had been a particularly busy evening, but that she had seen no trouble, adding that people were on the whole "very polite."

By Sunday morning, however, many other Parisians were greeted by smashed storefronts and ATMs, broken glass, litter-filled streets, and burned-out cars as they emerged into a chilly, blue-skied morning.

And there were signs the city had begun to recover. Workers were already making repairs to an employment agency that had been broken into, and volunteers swept the streets.

As Paris tries to get back on its feet, Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said that local businesses would receive government help. He said he had requested the creation of an "emergency task force to support shopkeepers" with insurance and administrative procedures.

"You bring Paris to life every day. Today, it's Paris's turn to stand by your side," he said.

• I tried Gordon Ramsay's 10-minute pasta, which he often makes for his family.
• The dish features a turkey and leek sauce and is topped with crispy sage breadcrumbs.
• Ramsay's delicious pasta was light and bright. It's perfect for a busy week.

Gordon Ramsay has never let me down when I need a quick recipe, whether it's a 15-minute Bolognese or a 10-minute bacon cheeseburger.

So I was ecstatic when I discovered that the Michelin-starred chef has an entire cookbook dedicated to dishes that can be made in 10 minutes.

The very first recipe I tried from "Ramsay in 10" was a turkey and leek pasta with crispy sage breadcrumbs.

"For a change, skip the Bolognese and make this creamy turkey and leek sauce in a fraction of the time instead," Ramsay writes in the description. "It might just become a regular midweek family meal, as it has at my house."

Ramsay's 10-minute pasta includes turkey, breadcrumbs, and leeks.

To make Ramsay's 10-minute pasta for four, you'll need:

• 17 ounces of fresh penne or fusilli pasta
• 14 ounces of ground turkey
• ¾ cup of heavy cream
• 4 sage leaves
• 4 regular shallots (or 2 banana shallots)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 leeks
• 1 lemon
• A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)

To make the breadcrumbs, you'll need:

• 6 tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 sage leaves
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Ramsay notes in his cookbook that the breadcrumbs are optional, but I recommend taking the extra step. It was my first time making fresh breadcrumbs, and it couldn't have been easier.

But feel free to play around with the ingredients depending on your preferences. Ramsay said this dish also works well with ground chicken or sausage; the sage can easily be swapped for thyme, parsley, or tarragon; and any shape of fresh or dried pasta will do.

Before I started cooking, I needed to prep my ingredients.

First, I brought a saucepan of salted water to a boil so it'd be ready for the pasta in a few minutes.

Then, per Ramsay's recipe, I peeled and grated my shallots and garlic. If the handheld grater proves tricky — and risky for your fingers — feel free to use a knife to finish mincing the veggies.

After grating my shallots and garlic, I finely sliced the leeks.

Ramsay recommends prepping your shallots and garlic while the olive oil is heating up in the pan and slicing your leeks right before you add the pasta. I'm still pretty slow at chopping veggies, so I got my prep out of the way so I wouldn't be stressed about burning anything. I also soaked my sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water to ensure they were fully cleaned.

The recipe took me a tad longer than 10 minutes, but you can follow Ramsay's lead if you're confident in your chopping speed!

I also prepped my fresh breadcrumbs.

I simply tore two slices of bread into pieces and threw them into the food processor.

I placed my Dutch oven over medium-high heat and added two tablespoons of olive oil. Then I added my shallots and garlic to the pan.

I allowed the shallots and garlic to cook for two minutes, stirring regularly.

If you don't have a Dutch oven handy, Ramsay says this recipe also works with a heavy-based frying pan or skillet.

After two minutes had passed, I threw in the turkey and sage leaves.

I broke the turkey up with a wooden spoon and allowed it to cook until the meat was lightly browned, which took around three to four minutes.

While the turkey cooked, I added my leeks to the boiling water.

I let the leeks cook for one minute, per Ramsay's instructions.

I threw in the penne and allowed the noodles to cook until they were al dente.

Since I chose penne, my pasta didn't cook in the speedy two minutes Ramsay recommends for fusilli. But just follow the instructions on your box, and the noodles will taste great.

While my pasta was cooking, I added the cream to my turkey.

I stirred everything together and brought the sauce to a boil. Then I reduced the sauce to a simmer until I was ready to serve.

Next up were the crispy sage breadcrumbs.

I placed a frying pan over medium heat and drizzled some olive oil. Then I added two sage leaves, which I had finely chopped.

I cooked the breadcrumbs until they were crisp and golden brown.

This happens very quickly — make sure to watch the pan carefully so they don't burn!

I drained my pasta and leeks and added the penne to the sauce.

Ramsay recommends saving two to three tablespoons of the pasta water and adding it to the sauce.

I added the finely chopped parsley leaves, along with some lemon zest.

I also added some salt and pepper before giving everything a big stir.

I topped everything off with the sage breadcrumbs.

After I added the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle of olive oil that Ramsay recommends, I stepped back and admired my pasta.

The dish looked bright and inviting, thanks to the pops of color from the parsley and breadcrumbs, and I loved seeing so many different textures meld together. Plus, it smelled absolutely delicious.

Ramsay's 10-minute pasta took me a couple of extra minutes, but the final result was worth it.

I don't usually go for poultry with my pasta, so I was skeptical when making the turkey sauce. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved Ramsay's recipe.

The sauce is light but packed with so much flavor. The leeks add a hint of lovely sweetness, and the lemon brightens each bite. The contrasting textures of the crispy sage breadcrumbs and the creamy sauce also make a fantastic team.

I don't usually crave a big meal on a weeknight, so I love that this pasta makes dinner interesting without being too heavy.

Whether you're longing for a quick weeknight dish or just want a light and bright recipe during the busy season, Ramsay's favorite 10-minute pasta will satisfy all your cravings.

And if you're looking for more recipe inspiration, you can check out my ranking of Gordon Ramsay's pasta dishes.

• I compared turkey sandwiches from Jersey Mike's, Subway, and Jimmy John's to find the best one.
• I wasn't impressed by the bread from Subway or Jimmy John's, but the sandwiches were OK.
• Ultimately, Jersey Mike's was my clear winner with a generously loaded, flavorful turkey sandwich.

When noon rolls around, nothing is more classic than a turkey sandwich, a basic yet delicious staple of many American lunches — and a personal favorite of mine.

To me, a traditional turkey sandwich consists of sliced turkey, lettuce, and tomato stuffed between two mayo-slathered pieces of bread. If there's cheese, it's usually a mild white like Swiss or provolone.

Jersey Mike's, Subway, and Jimmy John's all offer some version of my go-to sandwich, so I set out to find the best one.

To keep things fair, I ordered each chain's regular-size sandwich without any customizations — and to be extra fastidious, I brought out my measuring tape to make sure the advertised inches were accurate, because you truly never know.

Here's how the sandwiches compared.

I started at Jersey Mike's, where I was surprised by an ultra-thick sub.

Jersey Mike's is recognized for its freshly sliced meats, "Mike's Way" preparation, and "juice," otherwise known as oil and vinegar. The Turkey and provolone sandwich came with all of the above.

The menu noted that all cold subs, including the turkey and provolone, are prepared "Mike's Way," which meant with lettuce, tomato, onion, seasonings, and the aforementioned "juice." Sliced turkey and provolone cheese completed the sandwich.

The regular (almost) 7-inch sub cost me $9.80 before tax, or roughly $1.40 per inch.

I enjoyed almost everything about Jersey Mike's turkey sandwich.

This put my homemade turkey sandwiches, which I considered solid, to shame.

Oil, vinegar, oregano, and salt gave an otherwise simple sandwich an incredibly flavorful twist, and it paired beautifully with the soft, crusty-at-the-edges bread. It felt like a hybrid turkey-and-Italian sandwich.

The turkey was surprisingly moist, as was the cheese — which made sense in hindsight, given that I watched the staff slice these ingredients in real time. I expected only a couple of slices of each, but I found at least five of turkey and three of cheese.

I can't say the lettuce, tomato, and onion were crisp, but that's probably because they soaked in "the juice" for the 30-minute drive home. In my opinion, though, the "Mike's Way" preparation was worth slightly soggy produce.

The sub didn't have mayonnaise, which would be a dealbreaker for some, but with brightness from "the juice," I didn't miss it. (Plus, I could always customize the sandwich to add the condiment on.)

My next stop was Subway, where my sandwich seemed like a solid value.

Aside from its 2008 "five-dollar footlong" advertisement, Subway is known for its freshly baked bread and customizable sandwiches. I didn't take advantage of the latter this time, but normally, I prefer building my own.

I ordered the oven-roasted turkey sandwich as is. It came with turkey, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. I opted for the standard artisan Italian bread.

My sub, which was meant to be 6 inches long, measured a little closer to 5½. It cost me $7.99 before tax, or roughly $1.33 per inch; although narrower, it towered almost as tall as Jersey Mike's.

The oven-roasted turkey sub was OK, but the bread didn't impress me.

Like Jersey Mike's, Subway's sandwich was generous with the turkey. Plentiful, yes, but it was papery-thin and a bit lacking moisture. It reminded me of deli turkey from the grocery store.

On a lighter note, I liked the mild, buttery cheese and crisp lettuce, which tasted especially fresh. The thick tomato slices added a nice, juicy bite.

Those who enjoy raw red onions would appreciate Subway's crunchy slices. They sharpened the flavor, but in my opinion, they were a little too strong for a turkey sandwich.

The most dominant element of this sandwich was the mayonnaise, which was slathered on as if life depended on it. Again, some people might dig it, but it was too much for me.

Most disappointing was the bread. Given that Subway's known for its fresh-baked bread daily, I hoped it would be soft and chewy.

However, the bread in my sandwich seemed so dry that I wondered if it was stale.

My final stop was Jimmy John's, where my sandwich seemed half full.

I hadn't been to Jimmy John's in a few years, but I was excited to see if it still had its fresh French bread that so many people rave about.

The Turkey Tom included turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. No cheese, but I figured if the sandwich was good, it wouldn't need it.

My turkey sandwich cost $7.99 before tax, or about $1 per inch.

Although it didn't seem to have much filling, I was impressed by its 8-inch length.

Unfortunately, I felt the sub lacked flavor and substance.

If thin and slim is your forte, Jimmy John's sandwich will be right up your alley. However, for something satisfying, it wouldn't be my first choice.

To its credit, the sandwich had juicy turkey slices and mayo that tasted like Hellmann's. (After checking the website, I confirmed that it actually was.)

But I felt the sub lacked pizzazz, probably because it didn't contain onions, cheese, or much of anything at all. I missed the cheese most.

I could customize it to include those things next time, but I'm not sure I'd come back for this sandwich.

The bread didn't wow me either.

I expected Jimmy John's bread to be a redeeming factor since, according to the chain's website, it bakes fresh loaves every four hours, but it was mediocre at best.

It might have been softer had I eaten it at the restaurant, but after the drive home, it wasn't particularly pillowy.

Overall, I found this sandwich forgettable — something I could easily make at home with a few simple ingredients. If I did so, I'd certainly add cheese.

I'd only order one sandwich again.

Even though it came out the priciest per inch, Jersey Mike's turkey sub felt like the best value. Its substantial weight, well-balanced ingredients, and signature "juice" set it apart from the pack.

The wet produce was my only major complaint, and I definitely would not try to eat this drippy, messy sandwich in a car or on the go.

Subway and Jimmy John's also offered passable turkey sandwiches, and if I were in a pinch, I'd be fine with either. However, for a truly special, memorable sub, Jersey Mike's did it for me.

I had only eaten at the chain once before, and I will certainly be back after this.

When reached for comment, a Subway spokesperson provided the following statement:

"For over 60 years, Subway has been built on customization. While we offer standard builds, every freshly made sandwich can be tailored to a guest's preferences, from adding extra cheese and protein to swapping veggies and adjusting condiments. We celebrate our guests' individual tastes and encourage them to make each meal their own."

Business Insider reached out to Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's for comment.

• What would you do if you lost your phone on a trip abroad?
• It might never happen. It's never happened to Zach Griff.
• But if it ever does, he'll be prepared.

It's probably tucked away in a drawer, stashed in your desk or nightstand, beneath chargers, stray cords, and pieces of paper you don't think you're supposed to throw out but probably will never need again.

You probably haven't thought about it since you put it there.

But Zach Griff's old phone is in his carry-on backpack.

Griff, a travel expert and author of the travel newsletter From the Tray Table, estimates that he flies an average of 150,000 miles a year. And for the past 11 years, he said, he's carried his retired cellphone with him around the world.

Why you should always travel with 2 phones

Your old phone won't take up much space in your carry-on, and if something happens to your current one, it may be the most important item you pack.

"Your phone is the one thing you need to stay connected," Griff told Business Insider. "And the last thing I need when I'm traveling is to try to find a new phone."

Griff said he came to this realization in 2015 while on a safari in the Serengeti with his wife, Jill. They were staying at a remote lodge when Jill cracked her phone and damaged the camera. In the presence of elephants, giraffes, and lions, Jill couldn't snap a single picture.

Right about now, you may be thinking, "Why not just bring a camera?" I say go for it, but it won't fit as easily in your carry-on. And it won't help you if your phone gets lost or breaks.

"That was the time when I was like, 'From now on, I'm bringing a spare phone every single time,'" Griff said about the safari trip.

In over a decade of travel, Griff has only used his backup phone as a replacement once.

"We were in Paris, and I was walking near the Eiffel Tower, taking pictures at one of the overlooks," Griff said. "It was so crowded, I was worried about pickpockets, so I was fumbling things around, and then it happened."

While attempting to slide it back in his pocket, Griff dropped his phone on the ground. A crack ran across the top of the screen, disabling Face ID, but the phone was otherwise functioning just fine, he said. He decided to switch to the backup phone anyway to make the rest of his trip easier.

So far, Griff hasn't needed his backup phone to maintain contact while traveling. But if he ever does, he won't stay disconnected for long.

• Alexandre Bompard condemned the riots in France on Sunday.
• The Carrefour CEO said that rioters targeted about 50 of his stores.
• Bompard said that the cost of repairs will exceed $11 million.

The CEO of one of France's largest supermarket chains, and one of the world's largest retailers, said that 50 of its stores were targeted by rioters on Saturday.

Alexandre Bompard, who leads Carrefour, France's version of Walmart, took to X on Sunday to condemn the riots and commend his employees as France reels from widespread civil unrest and looting.

"Nothing can justify such violence," Bompard said on X in French. "Those who attack the work tools of courageous entrepreneurs and their teams in this way must face an uncompromising response."

"The Republic must protect its shopkeepers!" he added.

Riots swept across France on Saturday after initially peaceful demonstrations against the high cost of living and deteriorating school conditions turned violent. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on X that 600 police officers were injured in the fracas and more than 2,000 people were arrested.

Photos and videos from Paris and other French cities show massive demonstrations, burning cars, and wrecked storefronts.

In his X post, Bompard called the violence "unacceptable." He said that, in addition to Carrefour's stores, about 1,500 other shops were damaged in the riots.

"The cost of the repairs will amount to more than 10 million euros, and our shopkeepers need an acceleration of compensation procedures, as in the case of natural disasters," he said.

Last year's Samsung S90F OLED TV impressed me by nailing all the essentials: vibrant yet natural colors, fantastic processing for clear, detailed images, and striking contrast that brings out the best in your favorite videos. While other TVs fought for ever-brighter, showier images, the S90F succeeded by focusing on accuracy over bombast.

This year's S90H doesn't do much to change that winning formula. Its OLED panel delivers the same pixel-level contrast and wide viewing angles, and it offers similar brightness. However, a couple of tweaks could make this new model even more appealing, depending on your priorities.

The biggest upgrade for 2026 is the S90H's new matte-like screen, which uses the same glare-free technology previously reserved for Samsung's pricier S95 Series. This screen virtually eliminates all but the brightest reflections, which is a huge perk for sunny rooms. However, the S90H's color performance is actually slightly worse than the S90F's. But since recent discounts have brought both models down to similar prices, the S90H wins out as the more versatile of the two.

Though not without its faults, the S90H's unique combination of features and excellent overall value helps cement its status as the best TV for a wide range of uses. If you want a midrange OLED that looks good in both dark home theaters and sunlit rooms, the S90H is hard to beat.

The design is slick, and it's quick to assemble

Compared to many TV assemblies, Samsung's S90 series feels like a cheat code. Though you've got to be extremely careful with its precariously slim panel, putting the stand together requires no screws and takes just seconds to secure its slide-and-click feet. There's also a snap-on cover that makes the feet look like a single pedestal.

As someone who assembles several TVs a year (sometimes a month), I find it hard to complain about the S90H's plug-and-play design. However, the stand does feel a bit jankier than other options in this class. For instance, the more affordable Hisense U7SG employs a robust metallic base plate for a sturdier, true pedestal stand. I actually had to jam the S90H's right leg in so hard I felt like I was going to break something.

I'm also not a fan of the S90H's input layout: two HDMI ports are easily accessible on the side, but the other two face downward, so you've got to contort yourself to reach them. That said, I do appreciate that the HDMI ARC port is on the side for a simple connection to a soundbar or receiver, and that all four ports support HDMI 2.1 for high-bandwidth gaming features like 165Hz and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). That puts the S90H ahead of some pricier models, such as the Sony Bravia 8 II.

I also like the new beveled back of the micro-sized SolarCell remote, which provides even better handling and complements its battery-free design that runs on solar and/or USB-C. Moreover, it's hard to argue with the S90H's visual aesthetic once assembled, matching its spacey matte screen with slimline graphite-black bezels for a stealth bomber vibe.

The S90H is available in sizes ranging from 42 to 83 inches. I reviewed the 65-inch size, but most specifications are the same across all sizes. However, the 48- and 77-inch editions reportedly use a four-stack OLED panel, which should make them brighter than other sizes.

The new glare-free screen kills reflections with minimal trade-offs

As the last of Samsung's premium models to make the leap to a matte screen, the S90H's new design was bound to stir up some controversy. I generally prefer the richer gloss of previous models and the obsidian screens of rivals like the LG C-Series, as they tend to offer deeper black levels, while still providing solid reflection handling for anything but a sun-drenched room.

Even so, I can't deny that this third generation of Samsung's glare-free screen tech is shockingly good. Indirect reflections, like the sun bouncing off my kitchen wet bar, are wholly lost into the screen's black void, while even direct reflections, like my recessed overhead lighting, are mostly diffused into a soft reddish hue.

Just as importantly, the latest version barely affects performance, with only slightly raised black levels in daylight and a nominal difference at night. The TV seems to almost actively defy sunlit rooms, displaying even challenging night scenes with impressive shadow detail, so you get the full picture.

Image quality is engaging and accurate, but last year's model had better color performance

Like the S90F, the S90H's picture performance is incredibly accurate in its Filmmaker Mode, matching the creators' intent for both SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) content (think sitcoms and older films) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) without the need to tweak settings. The dusty-orange desert and fuzzy, filmic blues of "Mad Max: Fury Road" are instantly cinematic, virtually dragging you from the couch to the theater. Amazon's "Spider-Noir" looks similarly fabulous in black and white, providing a litany of greys and blacks in a film-noir haze.

If you find the screen too dim in challenging scenes, you can swap HDR Tone Mapping from Static to Active for a bit more pop in HDR, or, in SDR, change the default Peak Brightness from Medium to High. I found the latter helpful for daytime viewing with the curtains open.

Thanks to OLED's pixel-level control, the S90H provides flashy contrast between the darkest and lightest elements in most scenes. The TV's max brightness of around 1,440 nits (measured with Calman's Portrait Displays software, a G1 pattern generator, and a Calibrite Display Plus HL colorimeter) is great for a midrange OLED like this, but it isn't exactly eye-blasting compared to step-up OLED models or similarly priced Mini or RGB LED TVs.

In fact, it falls ever so slightly below our measurement of last year's S90F (though results may vary from panel to panel). There's more than enough punch for anything you can stream, but the hottest highlights in searing 4K HDR Blu-ray scenes, like the psychedelic sandstorm in "Fury Road," will look a bit dimmer than intended.

The TV's color performance also lags slightly behind last year's S90F. Samsung previously used QD-OLED (Quantum Dot OLED) panels in the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch S90F, but the S90H doesn't use quantum dots in any size. This results in lower color volume in the next-gen BT.2020 color space, measuring around 70% compared to around 80% in the S90F. This isn't a huge deal, since the TV still covers nearly 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, which is what the vast majority of content uses — but it's still a bit disappointing that Samsung decided to downgrade the panel this year.

While I wasn't able to compare the S90F and S90H side-by-side, there seemed to be a little less pop in vivid colors like the ultra-bright pink of Scott's Baskin-Robbins shirt in "Ant-Man," while SDR content tended to look slightly warmer and creamier than expected, including in test patterns.

But thankfully, colors like skin tones, fabrics, and subtle hair highlights are still revealed with impressive nuance, especially compared to cheaper sets like Hisense's U7SG, and the S90H's fantastic image processing provides some very tasty icing on the cake. You'll see almost everything, from little divots and imperfections on Michael Scott's face in "The Office" to the minute mechanical bezels in the weaponry of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2" or each tiny hair in Grogu's miniature fleece in "The Mandalorian."

The S90H does a fine job with other signature OLED traits, including a screen that's mostly free of aberrations or smudges even in challenging scenes, and excellent off-angle performance, with virtually no detectable loss of color or brightness even from my corner easy chair.

The TV's gaming and smart features impress, but Tizen is still frustrating

While Samsung's latest One UI Tizen smart TV interface is quick and responsive, it remains among my least favorite platforms. This year, "AI" is front and center, but I found its automated suggestions like "Find a film for my mood" in the main navigation area less useful than, say, a cross-app Continue Watching function, which I couldn't find.

Decisions like the lack of a search function in the Apps section sent me on a frustrating goose chase for prominent apps like HBO Max. And like last year, the ad-based Samsung TV Plus service insidiously pops up every time you turn the TV on, to the point where I ended up deleting it. To be clear, the interface is still serviceable, but it all feels like it was designed with daily users as an afterthought.

The S90H is otherwise pretty well appointed on the feature front, with the two most notable omissions being ATSC 3.0 for NextGen antenna channels (something a lot of premium TVs skip these days) and Dolby Vision HDR, which no Samsung TVs support. I was pleased to see the addition of Google Cast streaming alongside Apple AirPlay, forward-looking connection options like Auracast Bluetooth for next-gen headphones, and plenty of smart features, including SmartThings device control and voice control from both Amazon Alexa and Bixby. There's even an auto-wake feature that turns on the TV when you enter the room.

The TV's fully loaded HDMI ports offer top gaming features, including support for VRR options such as Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The response is snappy, and games look appropriately vivid, while the TV's handy gaming bar menu makes it easy to adjust settings. Samsung's dedicated Gaming Hub is still my favorite Tizen feature, offering options such as simplified wireless connectivity with multiple controller models and built-in streaming services like Xbox and Amazon Luna.

Should you buy the Samsung S90H OLED TV?

The Samsung S90H is one of the most versatile TVs on the market, with performance that suits a wide range of rooms and needs. It offers impressive accuracy, the pixel-level contrast control OLEDs are known for, plenty of punch for most content you’ll watch, and utilizes Samsung’s latest glare-free tech to impressive effect, with little negative impact on overall picture quality.

However, for those who don't like the look of a matte screen, there are a few worthy alternatives at this price, and even below it. LG's C6 OLED is a very similar TV, with the primary differences being that it uses a glossy screen rather than a matte one and supports Dolby Vision. If you're OK sacrificing pixel-level contrast and wide viewing angles to get an even brighter image, the TCL QM8L Mini LED TV is another good option. It uses new SQD (Super Quantum Dot) technology for fantastic color vibrancy, though it doesn’t offer the S90H's deep black levels or anti-glare tech.

Otherwise, those after a midrange OLED ready for any lighting adventure will find plenty to like in the S90H, especially now that it's regularly discounted.

Interested in other TV models? Check out our guide to all the best Samsung TVs for more recommendations.

• A version of this story originally appeared in the AI Insider newsletter.
• Sign up for Business Insider's weekly AI Insider newsletter here.

AI companies have already scraped much of the web. Now they're chasing something even more valuable: data that shows how humans actually work.

That's the focus of Business Insider's new series, The AI Data Grab. This week, we published three stories showing how the race for workplace data is accelerating.

One piece, from Charles Rollet, Tom Carter, and Stephen Council, examines the booming market for company records. AI firms are offering businesses six- and even seven-figure sums for anonymized Slack messages, emails, presentations, and internal documents.

The goal is to teach AI systems how people solve problems, collaborate, make decisions, and complete long, multi-step tasks. Those real-world workflows are becoming the fuel for the next generation of AI agents.

Another story, from Melia Robinson, explores how law firms are building AI systems around decades of legal knowledge, turning their own experience into a competitive advantage rather than relying solely on off-the-shelf AI models and tools.

A third piece, by Rya Jetha, reveals how AI companies pay people to record real-world work, such as cooking dinners and packing warehouses, to teach robots how humans perform everyday physical tasks.

Together, these stories point to a major shift in AI development. The first wave of generative AI was mostly about bigger models and faster chips. The next chapter is about machines understanding how work gets done, so AI can help us do it better and quicker.

Sign up for the AI Insider newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com

• This summer, I took a four-day Amtrak trip with my spouse, and worked remotely the entire journey.
• I loved working in the café car while taking in views of the Mississippi River and the Great Plains.
• Even though the internet wasn't reliable, it was a great experience that I can't wait to do again.

This summer, my spouse and I decided to take the longest Amtrak trip we've ever taken — three trains from Washington, DC, to Vancouver over four days.

My partner, who is a teacher, had a break between the school year and the summer program, so this adventure was the perfect excuse to relax, disconnect from the world, and enjoy the train's views. That was, unfortunately, not the case for me.

Since I have an office job with limited vacation time, I decided I would work remotely throughout the entire trip. Even though I had my boss's permission to work on the train and had packed all my essentials, I still wondered how successful this endeavor would be.

Turns out, it was more challenging than I anticipated, but still worth the hassle.

I made sure to prepare for any WiFi outages and pack accordingly.

Before the trip, I researched whether the trains would have WiFi, but found that it could vary by route.

Since I wasn't sure how reliable my internet options would be on board, I made sure to download the most important documents onto my computer instead of just relying on the cloud. This way, even if there was an unstable connection, I'd still be able to access them.

Additionally, I made sure to have my phone's hotspot at the ready for whenever there wasn't WiFi on the train.

And just as an extra precaution, I made a point of scheduling any important calls for either before or after our train rides, so that I wouldn't risk losing signal while speaking with my team.

To prevent any other hiccups, I packed everything I could think of that I might need: my work laptop, my portable monitor, all the appropriate cords and chargers, and my planner for anything I needed to do on paper.

The roomette's privacy was great, but it didn't have enough outlets.

On two of our three train rides, we booked a roomette, a small bedroom with two seats facing each other that would convert into bunks at night.

The internet was spotty in there, but I was still able to wrap up the last emails of the day without any problems.

On the first train ride from DC to Chicago, the roomette had two power outlets, but on our journey from Chicago to Seattle, it had only one — forcing my spouse and me to take turns charging our devices.

I loved working in the café car.

Sometimes, the roomette felt pretty cramped, so I took my work setup to the café car as often as I could.

Not only was there plenty of room for me to spread out with my laptop and second screen, but I could also witness amazing views — like the Mississippi River or the Great Plains — from the window.

However, since there weren't any power outlets in the café car, I was only able to be productive for as long as my computer and phone batteries lasted, which was about 2 hours. Then, once everything had run out of power, I had to return to the roomette and plug everything in, which disrupted my workflow.

I didn't think about how my hotspot wouldn't be reliable in rural areas.

Since there was only stable WiFi on one of our three trains, I was relying heavily on my hotspot for most of the trip. But by the third day, the cellular signal kept getting spotty as we entered more rural areas of the country, making my hotspot less reliable.

Because of the weak connection, I couldn't access my team's folders, so I had to email my boss a report instead of uploading it to SharePoint.

I panicked a little, since we're not supposed to save documents directly to our computers, but this was my only option without a consistent signal.

When we sat in coach, I could barely get any work done.

For the last leg of our trip from Seattle to Vancouver, we sat in coach instead of reserving a roomette.

We were able to sit at a small table, but it was too cramped to take out my laptop, and there wasn't any space to work in my seat either. This was the only portion of the trip where it was impossible to do any work, and it really made me miss my roomette.

Even though working on the train was challenging, the station lounges were perfect.

Whenever we had train delays, I would work at the Amtrak stations, which were great places to be productive.

The station in DC had a place to stash our suitcases, decent WiFi, and various tables and chairs. The one in Chicago was also a great size, was well-lit, and had a strong internet connection and plenty of seating.

Similarly, the upper level of the Amtrak station in Seattle had a small art gallery and sitting area — a perfectly comfortable space for me to do my job.

It wasn't the easiest way to work, but I'd do it again.

Although working on these trains wasn't always smooth, I still had a great experience and would definitely love to do it again.

Next time, though, I would pack a power bank to charge my phone and monitor without needing an outlet, and overprepare for a lack of WiFi.

Overall, even though working remotely on Amtrak trains had its challenges, I loved the stunning views and the chance to see new sights rather than just sitting at my desk.

Business Insider reached out to Amtrak for comment.

• My family of five moved from a small country town to a city earlier this year.
• I wanted to spend more time with my parents, and there is plenty to love about the city.
• However, I miss the slower pace of life and the close-knit community.

I've always been a city mouse, so when we decided to move from Melbourne, Australia, to Bright in country Victoria in 2021, I wasn't sure how long I'd last. Our family ended up falling in love with the slower pace of life and the people, and spent four years in the small alpine town at the foothills of the Victorian Alps.

But in January, we moved from Bright to the Gold Coast, where I grew up. My parents' health was declining, and I wanted to spend quality time with them before it was too late.

Moving from a small regional town of fewer than 3,000 people to a city of almost 700,000 was a profound lifestyle shift for our family of five. We had to make new friends, learn how to navigate a traffic light again (joking!), and get used to the buzzing city life.

Overall, we've gained a lot from moving to the city, and I feel it's been especially beneficial to our kids, as it's helped build resilience. But there are definitely things about country life that I do miss, if I'm being honest.

Life is full of trade-offs, and we've definitely made a few.

We've gained convenience and accessibility

In country Victoria, our nearest major retailer was an hour's drive away. If the kids needed new shoes or I needed new underwear, off we'd drive to the nearest major town. It often felt like a mission just to access simple amenities.

Nowadays, everything we need is at our fingertips. If we want to eat Italian one night and Nepalese the next, we can. The Gold Coast has all the amenities we need, and a good mix of beaches, hinterland hikes, nightlife, festivals, and an up-and-coming food scene.

There are more career and education opportunities

Cities generally offer better career and education opportunities, without a doubt. In our family, my husband has probably benefited the most in that regard.

When we moved here in January, he expanded his Muscle Freedom remedial massage and myotherapy business and started a clinic on the Gold Coast. Since then, the opportunities have been incredible, and he's treated some of Australia's biggest sporting identities. That would likely never have happened in country Victoria (unless they were holidaying there).

Likewise, our kids seem to be thriving at school and in their extra-curricular activities, many of which were unavailable where we used to live.

I enjoy the anonymity, and the diversity here is also a big plus

When I was having a bad mental health day in Bright, there was no escaping friends and family (bless them). Once, at the supermarket, I was weeping in the bread aisle, only to be greeted by my husband's cheerful colleague, who was keen to chat about the weather. I wanted to scream and run away.

In the city, I quite enjoy the anonymity and being a number in the crowd, especially on harder days.

I also love having access to a diverse range of art, music, entertainment, and food on the Gold Coast. After four years living in the country, I began to feel a bit starved of culture.

My kids are also mingling with children from different backgrounds and walks of life, which I am really happy about.

However, we miss having nature at our doorstep, and wide open spaces

Bright is surrounded by mountains, forests, rivers, and cycling trails, with gorgeous national parks a short drive away. It really is a smorgasbord of activities for outdoor enthusiasts.

The Gold Coast has plenty of sunshine and offers some spectacular natural scenery, but you do have to drive to access it. I've actually put on a few kilos living in the city, and I think it's mainly because I'm not walking or cycling as much.

When we recently returned to Bright for a family holiday, I realized how much I've missed those wide open spaces. The air seems to feel fresher there.

Living in suburbia on the Gold Coast, the blocks are tighter, and some areas feel like the properties are on top of each other. Even as I write this, I can overhear the next-door neighbor arguing with her husband about his messy household habits.

I also miss the close-knit community and slower pace

I've been lucky enough to make some wonderful friends on the Gold Coast. The kind who check in on us when we're sick or offer to babysit if my husband and I need a night out. But it also seems that people are busier in the city, and get-togethers happen less often.

In a small town like Bright, it's easier to catch up with people because everyone lives close by. I found that living in the country helped me form deeper connections with friends. That brought a sense of security, knowing that someone always has your back.

Since moving to the city, life has felt frantic. For the first six months, every weekend was jam-packed with catch-ups with family and new and old friends.

In a small country town, the pace of life was much slower. Recently, while we were holidaying in Bright, I felt my shoulders relax, and my stress levels decrease. There's something to be said for a simple life.

What our next chapter holds

We'd intended to give the Gold Coast 12 months and then make a call about where to base ourselves long-term. But now that we're almost at that mark, we've realized it's too soon to make a decision.

And so, we'll be spending 2027 here, then reassessing our options late next year. Part of me craves the open skies, fresh mountain air, and the stillness I took for granted in the country, but I'm also enjoying having Aldi a kilometer away and more choices overall.

I suppose at the end of the day, there's no perfect place to live, just places that suit you at different life stages. For now, the Gold Coast is giving us convenience, variety, and time with my folks, and I intend to enjoy the best of what city life has to offer.

• Sometimes I have to take my child out of school for healthcare appointments.
• Perfect attendance can depend on health, access to care, and whether a parent can leave work.
• I'd rather schools reward kids for showing up after hard times than for perfect attendance.

Whenever I schedule an appointment during the school day, I feel guilty.

I ask for their latest available appointment. If that doesn't work, I pull up the school calendar. Then I start doing the ridiculous parent math: How long is the drive? What class will my child miss? Can I get them back before the final bell? Is there some magical way to make a 10:30 appointment happen without blowing up half the school day? Usually, there isn't. So I take the appointment.

I'm a mother in rural North Carolina. Healthcare providers aren't always five minutes down the road, and appointments that fit perfectly between school dismissal and dinner aren't exactly falling from the sky. Sometimes the appointment you need is at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. And sometimes you take it. I still feel guilty about it almost every time.

I want my child in school. Of course I do. I know how quickly one missed class can turn into a missing assignment, which then becomes another assignment they don't understand because they missed the first one. But I also have to take care of my child. Sometimes those two responsibilities bump right into each other. And that's probably why perfect-attendance awards have always bothered me.

My child is my priority

I understand why schools care about attendance. Kids need to be in classrooms. They need instruction, routine, relationships with teachers and classmates, and all the little pieces of school that are hard to recreate at home. When a child is missing a lot of school, I absolutely think families should be supported in figuring out why and helping that child get back into a routine.

But perfect attendance is something different. An unbroken attendance record isn't necessarily a measure of how hard a child tried. Kids don't choose when they get the flu. They don't control when the specialist finally has an opening. They can't give their parents paid time off, fix the car when it won't start, make the school bus come down a road it doesn't serve, or move a doctor's office 45 minutes closer to home.

The certificate may have a child's name printed on it, but there's a whole lot of family circumstance behind that streak. I work for myself, which gives me more flexibility than many parents have. I can move things around when an appointment pops up. That doesn't mean the lost work hours don't matter, but I can usually make it happen.

A parent working an hourly job may be making a completely different calculation. Can I afford to lose three hours of pay? Will my boss be irritated? How many times have I already had to leave early this year?

And that's before we even get into transportation, housing instability, access to healthcare, chronic illness, or any of the other things families may be dealing with that nobody sees when the certificates get handed out. Those circumstances matter. They just aren't evidence that one child tried harder than another.

One sick day shouldn't erase a year's worth of effort

As parents, we already have to make enough judgment calls when our kids are sick. Is this a stay-home sick or a send-them-and-see sick? Are they actually exhausted or just really, really not interested in going to math?

We're told attendance matters. And it does. We're also told to keep our kids home when they're contagious because sending them to school sick exposes others to illness. Both things can be true.

Then we turn around and give an award for never missing a day. That's where I get stuck. One fever in October can knock a child out of the running for an award handed out in June.

I don't want to hesitate before keeping my sick child home because some part of my brain is thinking about an attendance record. And I definitely don't want my child learning that dragging yourself through school when you feel awful is proof that you're more dedicated.

Sometimes staying home is the responsible choice. Sometimes missing school for an appointment is the responsible choice. And sometimes the impressive part isn't never missing school at all, it's coming back.

I'd rather see schools recognize persistence

I'm not suggesting schools stop caring whether kids come to school. Chronic absenteeism is a real problem, and families dealing with it may need more support, not less. But perfection doesn't have to be the prize.

Recognize the kid whose attendance improved from one grading period to the next. Celebrate shorter milestones. Acknowledge the student who had a rough stretch and worked their way back into a routine.

Despite my views, I know I'll keep doing the school-day appointment math. I'll keep asking for the latest opening. I'll keep checking the calendar. I'll keep trying to minimize what my child misses and help them catch up when missing school can't be avoided. And I'll probably still feel a little guilty every time.

My child may never earn a perfect-attendance award. I'm fine with that. I'd much rather they learn that taking care of themselves is responsible, staying home when they're contagious is considerate, and showing up again after a hard stretch is something worth being proud of.

• I enjoyed living in a small, one-bedroom apartment with my family of three for years.
• Once we moved to a house more than triple the size, I totally changed my minimalist mindset.
• Now that we live in a bigger space, I can't imagine going back to living small or minimally.

When my husband and I bought our apartment in Kyiv back in 2017, we were thrilled to finally have a family nest of our own.

It was a cozy, 500-square-foot place with one bedroom, and we meticulously planned to optimize every inch of it. Our kitchen table doubled as my workspace, and our living room couch became the guest bed whenever family stayed over.

Hosting required pure creative problem-solving and, with limited seating around our small table, I'd sometimes feed guests in shifts. It was chaotic at times, but I didn't mind.

After our son was born, bright plastic toys, endless boxes of diapers, and bulky baby gear started claiming every free corner of our apartment. With the three of us packed into a single bedroom, finding space was a daily puzzle, but we made it work.

Surprisingly, living so close together didn't feel limited back then — it felt intimate, cozy, and deeply fulfilling. Then COVID-19 hit.

Spending so much time indoors made me feel isolated, and for the first time, I began dreaming about more living space. But we barely had time to figure things out before life took a drastic turn: When the war in Ukraine escalated in 2022, we made the heavy, life-changing decision to relocate to Canada.

A few months after moving, we began renting a two-bedroom house, where we currently reside. At 1,700 square feet, it wasn't considered especially large by local standards, but to us, it felt vast.

It didn't take long to adjust to having more space — and to quickly fill it up

At first, our house seemed almost too large for just three people.

For the first time, we had two bedrooms and a basement, which instantly doubled our usable space at a ground level.

After years of apartment living, though, the sheer thought of having so much space to keep clean felt exhausting. However, it didn't take long to change my mind.

It turns out that when both you and your belongings finally have room to breathe — and you've got a trusty robot vacuum doing the heavy lifting — life shines in completely different colors.

It's also been wonderful to have more room to host, from a dedicated guest space (in the basement) to a table big enough to actually seat larger groups.

In time, we began to pick up local habits and traditions, too. Many of our neighbors in Canada decorate for different holidays, so we started joining in.

And of course, seasonal decor needs a place to be stored when it's not in use — and since we now had a full basement, I didn't feel super limited with what I could buy.

A lot of neighbors also had an extra stand-alone freezer in their homes. It seemed ridiculous for our family of three to also get one … until my first Costco run.

I caved when I realized I needed a place for all those bulk-sized boxes of frozen food. In our bigger home, large grocery hauls began feeling normal.

Gradually, I felt a shift in my identity: I was no longer the strict minimalist I used to be.

In Kyiv, whenever my husband wanted a new kitchen gadget or a giant toy truck for our son, I was firm about saying no. We simply didn't have room for "extra." I took pride in keeping our home completely clutter-free.

But between the extra space and North American convenience, I'd completely changed my minimalist rules. Now, saying "yes" to big additions — like the bulky food dehydrator I'd been eyeing for drying fruits and vegetables, or the roomy couch we'd dreamed of for years — felt easy.

I didn't need to worry about where something would be stored or if it'd take up too much space: We finally had the room to bring those dreams home.

Ultimately, my family and I have thrived with more room to breathe

Over time, I realized this shift was much deeper than just being able to shop more and store more stuff. In a bigger space, our family had room to breathe and grow.

In Kyiv, our whole routine and my minimalist mindset felt shaped by how tight everything felt, but here, the extra room opened up a whole new chapter.

I've become more outgoing, more relaxed, and genuinely excited to gather people together. Our home has turned into a place for hosting friends, cooking weekend dinners, and laughing over backyard barbecues.

Living small was a beautiful, intimate part of my life that I will always hold close to my heart. It taught me intentionality and gratitude.

However, creating space to thrive, host, and watch my family grow has completely transformed my definition of home — now, going back to 500 square feet no longer feels like an option.

• My friend and I have 7 kids between us, including 3 sets of twins. We took a Disney cruise alone.
• I loved the adults-only spaces, trivia games, spa treatments, and relaxing on Disney's private island.
• I'm already planning another Disney cruise with my kids, though I might prefer going without them.

"You've never been on a cruise?" my friend basically yelled at me while we were planning an adults-only trip away from our kids. She insisted that cruising with her grandparents as an adult was one of the best trips she's ever taken.

So, despite being a little terrified of being aboard essentially a floating skyscraper with thousands of people, I agreed to a Disney cruise for just the two of us.

Honestly, it was so much fun that I'm already planning another Disney cruise with my kids — though I'm not sure I want to give up the adults-only version.

It was such an easy getaway

My family is known for taking really elaborate vacations. One time we stayed on a remote island near Sicily, which is an active volcano. It took us three flights and a long ferry ride to get there, but it was totally worth it to see the lava at night.

This trip was different. We took a flight from Boston to Orlando, boarded the Disney Wish, and after that, we didn't have to think about anything. We have seven kids between the two of us (including three sets of twins), and the ease of the Disney cruise was exactly what we both needed.

There were activities nonstop, and you could join any of them at any point. I took a quick class to learn how to draw Ursula, we participated in so many trivia games with other adults, and stopped to take photos with characters — who are all over the boat all the time — to send home to our kids.

I really liked that almost everything was included

Part of its ease was that most everything was included, so there were few extra costs. For example, all meals at the themed restaurants were part of the package, and we could order as many dishes as we wanted. Non-alcoholic beverages are also included, and you get room service 24/7.

I especially liked the buffet-style meals at Marceline Market because I could mix in some healthy options (there were plenty) with some of my faves, like the fried hash browns for lunch or the Mickey-shaped churro waffles (which were highly recommended by the whole staff).

Of course, there are fancier options, like the Italian restaurant Palo, for which we couldn't get a reservation during our trip. That said, we spent plenty of time at the Keg & Compass pub because on the first night I discovered their vodka dirty martini, which was hands down the best one I've ever had (yes, including fancy New York restaurants). Cocktail prices varied from bar to bar, but this martini was $14, which seemed super reasonable to me.

Visiting Castaway Cay was key

Disney cruises in the Caribbean stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. And for me, it was a key stop.

While I've been on a lot of boats growing up — my dad loves fishing — I still get seasick a lot. And while I was surprised by how little the cruise ship rocked, I could still feel it a little bit. So getting off the boat and having my feet on the sand was necessary for me.

I also love the ocean, and the Caribbean water is the perfect mix of temperature, color, and soft sand. My favorite moment was drinking a frozen piña colada with my friend while taking in some sunshine.

I appreciated that the island has an adults-only section called Serenity Bay, which was quieter and more relaxed than the family beach. There's a restaurant off the beach, too, so we were able to eat lunch between dips in the water.

The schedule was packed

While there were nonstop activities on the boat, I was often torn between wanting to do two or more overlapping things. For example, there was bingo one night happening at the same time as trivia. Given the option, I would've done both, because who doesn't love a bingo night? There was another day when you could make your own friendship bracelets, but I had already booked a facial, and that craft didn't repeat during our stay.

Because our main goal was to spend time together and relax, I felt I didn't do many of the interesting activities the boat offered. But I also get that that's the point; there's something for everyone at any given time of the day.

We didn't book things in advance

Being a newbie worked against me when booking extra activities. I wanted to surprise my friend with a couple's massage so we could destress, and I also wanted a facial.

By the time I went to book spa treatments (about a week before we boarded), there were very few time slots available. Next time, as soon as I book my trip, I'll be adding all the extras I want to maximize availability.

That said, we ended up getting our massage on embarkation day, which turned out to be the perfect way to smoothly transition from the chaos of mom life to vacation mode. And at $399 for both of us, it wasn't that much more expensive than the massages I get back in Maine. I booked my facial for 8 a.m., which felt a little early, but again was the only available time. If I were to do it again, I'd book the facial in the afternoon so as not to cut into pool time.

I overpacked and didn't have room for souvenirs

When I tell you I packed and unpacked my bag about 10 times before boarding, I'm not exaggerating. The Disney cruise hosted a pirate night and a Halloween party, and I wanted to be prepared for both. I also didn't know what to expect to want to wear on a cruise, so I overpacked by a ton.

This left me with very little room for souvenirs, which I still bought, but had to carry an extra tote bag back home. All the shops on the boat have different themes and therefore offer different stuff. I bought a Mickey-cruise-themed men's shirt that got so many compliments on the day I wore it. I also bought my kids pens and small keychain stuffies with their favorite characters.

We weren't the only adults without kids

My friend, who has more cruise experience than I do, insisted it wouldn't be weird for us to be on a Disney cruise without kids. And she was right. We weren't the only ones enjoying the adults-only areas, which included an ample pool deck with a jacuzzi, a small pool, a dedicated bar, and a coffee shop. There were also adults-only activities, like dance parties and trivia. And obviously, all the bars were for 21+.

While we only stayed at the adults-only pool deck, we could still hear the movies blasting for the family-friendly pool deck, which at times made it hard to relax. That said, when "Frozen" came on, both my friend and I were singing along (and probably annoying other adult guests).

We met a couple who were older than us who were on their 41st cruise. They found me adorable, being so excited about my first experience on board. They told me to get ready to become a cruise person, and they weren't wrong.

I had such a great time that I'm already planning when to take another Disney cruise, this time with my whole family. Disney Cruise Lines just announced a new ship called Believe, which will feature an "Encanto" stage show — which just happens to be my kids favorite Disney movie.

I cannot wait to see my kids' eyes go wide when they see how many things they can do, and for them to be ready to take a photo with their favorite Disney character, Daisy Duck.

• Of course I'm a fun aunt, but I've figured out a way to be so much more to my nieces and nephew.
• Spending meaningful one-on-one time with each of them has deepened our relationships.
• My "Auntie Emily Days" let each child enjoy personalized adventures based on their unique interests.

You know those TikToks about the childless, traveling aunt? The one who's somehow always at an airport, has a suspicious amount of money, occasionally shows up with gifts she definitely didn't need to buy (while carrying yet another new designer purse), and is never quite sure what time zone she's in? Yep, that's me.

For years, I happily embraced the stereotype. I'd swoop in for birthdays and holidays, always say yes to dessert (and extra dessert), create a little chaos, then head back to my own wonderfully independent life.

I assumed I understood the assignment. Bring the snacks. Buy the birthday presents. Show up to holidays with something fun tucked under my arm. Be loud, be silly, make them laugh, then hand them back to their parents when the day was over. It was the best kind of job. I got all the joy without much of the responsibility.

Or so I thought.

As my nieces and nephew got older, I realized something that surprised me: I wasn't really getting to know them as they were maturing into their own people. I had to ask their moms what they wanted for birthdays, or worse, I just bought out the toy section at Target and hoped something would stick. I also didn't know who they were when they didn't have to compete for attention or weren't trying to impress me with the farthest throw, the coolest dive into the pool, or the biggest burp. That's when "Auntie Emily Days" were born.

Their day reflects their personality

Rather than trying to squeeze meaningful time into crowded family gatherings, I started planning one-on-one adventures with each child — all seven of them.

Before we get together, they give me a guideline of what they want to do, and then I execute. Sometimes it's easy; dinner at The Melting Pot and a few hours spent at a cat café. Sometimes it's a bit more complicated with a sleepover at the Freehand (it has bunk beds!) and sightseeing in New York City.

Yes, I pull out all the stops I can, like ice skating at Wollman Rink and dinner at Bad Roman for one; an Oheka Castle lunch and manicure/pedicure with Starbucks for another; calling in a favor for on-field access for my nephew. Then each goes home with a little gift to remind them of the day.

But the itinerary is never really the point. The point is that each child gets a day built entirely around their interests. For a few uninterrupted hours, they don't have to compromise with a sibling or wait their turn. They feel seen, heard, and don't have to compete for attention. And that's when I started seeing parts of their personalities I might have otherwise missed.

They're different when they're one-on-one

While I have a firm grasp on all of their personalities, it was shocking to me how different they were one-on-one. Emma is the coolest kid and thankful for every experience, treating every moment as if it's the best she's ever had. Zoë can turn almost anything into a joke and somehow finds the fun walking through the most crowded street in New York. Jessica is analytical and technical, but away from her sisters, her wonderfully goofy sense of humor takes over. Jocelyn has a confidence and spunk that's impossible to ignore, yet she's remarkably intuitive. JJ is quieter than the rest, preferring to observe first and ask thoughtful questions later. Isabelle is sweet, demure, and quiet, and simply a joy to be around. And baby Isla is a force of nature I know I'm going to love hanging out with when she gets a bit older.

Without siblings or parents nearby, they open up completely. They tell me about school friendships, worries they haven't shared with anyone else, and things they're excited about. I may not run back and tell their parents everything, but it may give me a little sway over the Christmas list. It's amazing what children reveal when they feel like someone is listening only to them.

Connection isn't built at birthday parties

The biggest surprise wasn't how much I learned about them; it was how much they began trusting me.

I'm not their parent. I don't have to enforce bedtime, nag them to do homework, or beg them to get off their tablet. But I'm also not just the adult who appears a few times a year with presents.

Over time, they learned that our conversations stay between us unless they need my help. They've discovered that they can tell me about a bad day without worrying I'll immediately relay every detail to their parents. That doesn't mean I keep dangerous secrets. It means I respect them enough to let them own their stories. That trust changes everything and, I believe, will be vital as they age.

The moments that matter most stay with us

When I think back on our days together, it isn't always the tickets or the destinations that stand out. It's sharing French fries while they tell me their new favorite joke or something silly their sibling did. It is being absolutely frozen on the deck of the Staten Island Ferry staring at the Statue of Liberty because it was on our list. Or hearing an unfiltered opinion about school, extracurriculars, or something bothering them. It's watching them become confident enough to order for themselves at a restaurant — and then hearing they are doing that at home, too. It's nice when you realize a conversation we had in the car or a little encouragement during one of our adventures didn't end when I dropped them off.

For a long time, I assumed choosing not to have children meant I'd miss out on watching kids grow up. I couldn't have been more wrong. I get a front-row seat to their lives, just from a different seat. I get to celebrate their milestones, encourage their interests, answer the occasional hard question, and then, yes, send them home to their parents at the end of the day. It turns out that's exactly the role I was meant to have.

Showing up is more than just being around

I don't make every baseball game, I'm not in the audience for every cheer competition, I can't be there every Saturday. But now I know that the intentional time I had with each child carries a bigger weight than just showing up, saying hello, giving them a hug, and going home.

By carving out uninterrupted time with each child, I've been able to create something that doesn't happen naturally in the chaos of their family life, or in my own solo life.

Yes, I will always be the fun aunt, but instead of just "she was around," my intention has become "she showed up." I want them to remember having someone who listened without interrupting, who asked questions because she genuinely wanted to know the answer,; who made space for their interests, even when they weren't her own. Not someone who just said, "Sure, you can have another piece of cake, I don't care." (While still also allowing them to have more cake.)

• Andrew Koller owns property in Canada, but decided to buy a home in Japan after visiting.
• Koller spent $15,000 CAD on an akiya and spent months renovating it.
• He plans to visit on occasion and rent it out some of the time.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Koller, 31, a freelance camera operator who purchased a home in Yamagata, Japan, in March. Koller, who's based in Edmonton, Canada, renovated the home and plans to use it as a vacation home. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Like a lot of millennials, I was exposed to Japanese culture in some sense early on with "Naruto," "Pokemon," and "Dragon Ball Z." After that, I don't think my interest really left.

Come 2020, I had a bunch of time on my hands like everybody else. It seemed like a good time to finally learn Japanese. I've been learning Japanese with a private tutor since then.

Then, in 2023, I made my first trip to Japan.

Like everybody else who comes back from their first trip to Japan, I just fell in love. I couldn't stop talking about it, but I wanted a deeper connection to the community.

I wanted more than just the superficial, surface-level experience of Japanese life. So I thought maybe a good way to get that experience would be to buy a house that's not in a major tourist city, somewhat live there, and spend a good chunk of time over there getting involved with the community by renovating a forgotten property.

The algorithm was watching for sure. After my first Japan trip, my YouTube and Instagram algorithms were suggesting to me all these similar people doing similar things.

From that, I was like, this seems like something I can do. In my free time, I like to DIY. I have a little workshop — I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I feel like I know enough to do the basics.

I'm at the point in my life now where I've had all these ideas and I've said, "Oh, it'd be cool to do this," but I never do it. I never follow through. I just wanted to prove to myself that I actually followed through on one of these somewhat whimsical ideas.

The house I bought in Japan cost a fraction of what houses cost in Canada

I've always been interested in real estate since a young age.

Purchasing your first house is doable, but if you want to purchase a second house after that, like a rental, it's extremely challenging to do that in Canada. Canada's housing market has exploded, especially in Alberta.

I'm in a very fortunate position where my partner and I own a house and we own a rental property as well close to the university area.

I bought the rental house when I was 20 with my parents — they had to sign on because no bank was going to loan a 20-year-old kid a mortgage. I rented out the rooms and then I lived for free for my time in college.

Both houses have a similar value. My primary residence is worth just under $600,000 CAD (about $422,880). When we bought the rental 10 years ago, it was around $500,000 CAD, but it's gone up since.

For my home in Japan, I spent $15,000 CAD (about $10,600) on the purchase price plus closing costs, which was another $3,000 CAD.

I can definitely see myself spending extended time in Japan.

I want to go out there at least a few times a year. It's close to a pretty big ski resort, and I snowboard.

Doing the math for that, if I was to go stay in Banff or Jasper — one of the more popular mountain towns in Alberta — for a week and ski, it's actually cheaper to fly to Japan, because the skiing is also very affordable, so that was a big factor for me.

I would like to rent it out, but I don't plan on making a lot of money from it

I went to Japan in October 2025 to look at properties. I made an offer in November, it got accepted, and then I got possession of the property in March 2026. Then I went up for the entire month of April to start renovations on it.

I wanted to respect what was already there when I went in. Even though the house itself wasn't ancient or historical — it was built in the '60s or '70s — it was very traditionally built with the Tatami rooms. I wanted to keep a lot of that, coming in as a Westerner.

I wanted to try and adapt to their way of life rather than trying to impose my own. I just wanted to complement what was already there.

Now, the house is 98% done.

The actual renovation costs right now are just over the purchase cost. So I'm at around $18,000 CAD and change, doing most of it myself.

Right now, the goal would be to do a short-term rental in the future, but I don't plan on it making a lot of money.

I think that's the one thing people will get confused about. They think, "If I do this and renovate it, I can make a ton of money off a short-term rental in Japan." That's not the case, because there's so much competition with the hotels there that are already amazing and very affordable.

I just want to cover the maintenance costs more than anything. Doing a little bit of short-term rental, I think, will help with that.

It's not an asset. I think maybe people go to Japan with the Western mindset, like, "Oh, it's a buy-and-hold asset." Outside of Tokyo and the big cities, real estate doesn't do that.

Real estate always goes down in value over time. If you're buying a house in Japan, go in with the expectation that it's not as much of a financial asset as it is a recreation: you'll get more of a cultural experience.

• Ukraine's drone pilots want masses of cheap, simple drones, a soldier and analyst said.
• Western manufacturers overcomplicate them and "get it so wrong," he added.
• Operators want drones they can tweak near the front and send out in large numbers.

Ukrainian drone operators need masses of relatively simple drones without a bunch of flashy features, a soldier with firsthand experience explained, cautioning the West against making them too complicated as it readies for future drone fights.

Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion is a grinding war of attrition that is consuming weaponry so fast that combatants need affordable weapons in huge numbers, and battlefield technology becomes obsolete so quickly that soldiers need systems they can update easily to keep them relevant in battle.

Dmytro "Liber" Zhluktenko, a former drone operator who is now a lessons learned analyst in Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment "RAID," told Business Insider that "we need something that works great but doesn't have superfluous features."

"That is something that most of the Western defense technology manufacturers, they get it so wrong," he said. Consider first-person-view attack drones, "we need something that is really basic."

"We are yet to find Western manufacturers that are able to produce, let's say 500,000 FPV drones, simple ones that just work, that are fine-tuned without any extra autonomy or extra navigation or any features like that," he added, describing what Ukraine needs most as something pilots can easily take straight into combat.

Western-made drone tech, he said, is often "too complicated, often detached from the battlefield, and much more expensive than Ukrainian options doing the same job. Therefore, most of the drones used at Ukraine's battlefield are Ukrainian-made."

His assessment of the situations draws on both his experience as a drone operator and his role as an analyst, where he looks at battlefield trends, interviews operators, meets with foreign defense manufacturers, prepares briefs for higher command, and organizes the sharing of information between Ukrainian units.

Simple drones give soldiers more flexibility

Part of the appeal of simpler drones is that Ukrainian operators can adapt them themselves.

Near the front, soldiers routinely modify weapons to keep them useful as the battlefield changes, and some units even have their own R&D centers.

They often want drones and other combat systems that are basic, generic platforms they can rework, upgrade, or configure for different missions, much like ground robots that can be assembled with different weapons or components like Lego sets.

Ukrainian companies and foreign companies that work with units know this is happening, work with unit engineers to help keep products updated, and are often surprised by the ways soldiers modify their gear. Companies are increasingly making their products modular, both so they can upgrade the products more easily and so soldiers can make their own changes near the front.

Zhluktenko said Ukraine's operators want products they can "tune ourselves, we would change the components or whatever as we need, because that's the normal process. But something like the basic platform that it could build upon."

He said it's "bonkers" that, despite the West's "significant industrial capacities," they aren't seeing anyone produce something simple and effective at scale.

Zhluktenko said that many Western manufacturers are still "stuck in this doctrine of building tools in small quantities that maybe yes, they do have some extra features, but that's not something that is way too relevant for Ukraine's combat."

The case for cheaper drones in greater numbers

Zhluktenko's comments echo warnings from Western and Ukrainian officials that this war has shown the West the limits of relying on smaller numbers of exquisite, highly advanced weapons.

Modern, large-scale warfare, as the situation in Ukraine has demonstrated, may also require much larger numbers of cheaper, less capable gear.

Ukraine is still buying and building advanced drone technology with cutting-edge features like autonomy, which can be critical for warfighting tasks such as intercepting Russia's attack drones or executing long-range strikes that need to break through the enemy's electronic warfare.

Zhluktenko said that it's about "balance," arguing that simpler drones remain essential and are often needed in far greater numbers. Ukrainian companies like SkyFall and General Cherry are producing these kinds of drones at scale, he said.

A representative for Ukrainian drone and technology company TechEx told Business Insider that Western manufacturers often have to deal with heavier, peacetime regulations.

They may have "levels of additional software and hardware that's put on top of it instead of making it a bare, functional, ready to go system here and now," she said.

That can "overcomplicate the operation of the system," she added. It can also make the manufacturing process more complex, so it's harder to produce the large volumes that some Ukrainian manufacturers can.

She described it as the contrast between "wartime operations and the peacetime operations." She said Western companies might have different processes and priorities if they needed to work faster and on a bigger scale.

Western officials say the war shows that allies need much larger volumes of cheap weapons, with leaders like Danish defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen previously telling Business Insider that "one of the lessons" from Ukraine is that the West needs far greater quantities of inexpensive weaponry.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last year that "speed is of the essence, not perfection."

Drones are central to Ukraine's fight, and it says they now cause as much as 95% of Russia's front-line losses. But using drones effectively can require deploying large numbers of them, knowing that many will never reach their targets. That means making systems that are cheap and workable is key.

Zhluktenko said that when it comes to drones, the mindset should be about "spending thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands."

• I've made it nearly 10 years into motherhood without telling my daughter a lie.
• I don't believe in white lies, even when telling the truth makes parenting harder.
• I think being honest has helped my daughter trust me and brought us closer together.

From where I stand, it seems like most parents lie to their kids, at least once in a while.

I am of the mindset that lying, whether to adults or to children, is wrong. Because I view it this way, I am uncomfortable with it and refuse to do it. My husband respects my stance, though he doesn't always follow suit and has told our child a handful of lies. But in the past decade since I became a mom, I have managed to avoid it.

I don't think I'm better than other parents, and I don't think anyone else is bad for harmless untruths. I just knew going into this that I wanted to approach parenting differently in a lot of ways, and this is just one of them.

Not lying doesn't equal to sharing every detail

This doesn't mean I divulge every secret. Kids don't need to know every detail about everything, even when they ask questions.

I was rather vague when she wondered why one of our relatives split up with her husband less than a year after the marriage, for example: "He did something really bad, and it hurt her a lot. She's not able to forgive him," I said, that was the end of the conversation.

I believe it is OK to keep some things a mystery indefinitely, to delay certain conversations or, when choosing to reveal things, to do so in an age-appropriate way (for example, where do babies come from?). But as far as not speaking any falsehoods, I have been consistent.

She asked me if Santa was real

I didn't tell her that Santa existed, but of course, as a toddler, she started believing through other friends, family, and Christmas marketing. I thought it was lovely and let her believe. Why spoil her fun?

But when she was a little older and asked me point blank if Santa was real, I replied in a curious tone "Hmmm, what do you think?" and instead it turned a situation where she started wondering aloud and trying to reason whether it was possible. I listened in the car, nodding along in the parent drop-off line at school. I also told her that a lot of people — including kids in her class — do believe in Santa, so it wouldn't be nice for their parents if she expressed her doubts to her peers. She agreed and went along to the classroom. Granted, I got lucky that it went in this direction. I was able to stay true to my "no direct lies" approach while not shattering a very magical childhood belief — one I remember fondly from my own youth.

And other common ones — like lying about a pet fish dying, or telling the truth when asked about a dinner ingredient, knowing there'd be resistance, or whether I remembered to do everything she asked of me — I don't lie about those either.

These were not always easy conversations (those situations alone resulted in her first lesson about death, her stubbornness to try some foods, and me disappointing her and admitting that "no sorry, I didn't babysit your stuffy while you were at school; I forgot this time.").

Honesty has brought us closer together

If she questions what I think of the makeup she did on my face, I enthusiastically compliment her creativity and say how fun it was to be in her makeover chair; I don't lie and say that the electric pink eyeshadow is the best color ever. I feel that it has built more trust between us and brought us closer. She knows that when she asks mommy something, I'm going to be straight up with her. She doesn't seem to doubt me or second-guess what I say.

As a parent, I understand that we are wired to protect our children. But with lying, I think parents are often trying to protect themselves. We want things to be easier, understandably. We want to say the place is closed instead of just telling the truth that we are just too tired to take them today. We want to tell our kid, "Yeah, the spider is gone now, honey," so they'll sleep well instead of saying that I actually have no idea where it went.

But avoiding discomfort is not a strong enough reason for me to lie to my daughter. It's not just that I believe lying is immoral; it's also about feeling that she deserves the truth. Plus, if honesty is one of the values that I'm trying to teach her, I want to set a good example by being honest with her.

I live in a climate with four seasons, and for every one I have a Quince jacket I wear on repeat. While it's fall in New England, I'm in my leather bomber jacket to stay protected from the damp chill coming off the water.

Last winter, I kept warm without spending on a $275 on a SuperPuff all because I had the Quince lookalike (which costs $150 and functions just the same).

I ask a lot of my outerwear, and the only Quince jacket that didn't impress me was its Wool Scarf Coat. I've gotten a ton of use from every other Quince jacket I own because the designs are timeless. Plus, I've spent over three years learning the ins and outs of Quince sizing, so I can spot the brand's weak points.

So, are Quince jackets good quality? To answer this, our team has written detailed reviews on every Quince jacket we own, with honest takes on each coat's quality, warmth, and aesthetic appeal. Learn more on how the Reviews team tests clothing at BI.

Quince Responsible Down Puffer Jacket

This wind-resistant and water-repellent Quince Puffer is insulated with 700+ fill power and has kept me warm single-digit temperatures. I wore it through back-to-back blizzards this last winter and it was effective at blocking icy winds and sleet from coming in.

Outdoor gear expert Rachael Schultz elaborates in our guide to the best winter coats for women: "The outer shell is wind-resistant and treated with a PFC-free, DWR water-repellent finish to keep snow out. It also has a bungee hem when you need to better trap body heat," she says.

"The Quince Puffer looks a lot like the Aritzia Super Puff with the same removable hood, thumbhole wrist cuffs, and extra pockets," she continues. "The Aritzia Super Puff is slightly warmer (though our executive editor, Sally Kaplan, didn't feel a big difference here during testing) and comes in a lot more color options. But if you don't need either of those features, the Quince Puffer saves you a hundred bucks."

• The Quince Puffer Jacket also comes in cropped and full-length fits.

Quince Italian Wool Double-Breasted Slouch Coat

Our fit tip: This longline coat is oversized to allow for layering. Choose your regular size.

"Besides the perfectly oversized fit, the thing I love most about this coat is that it's lined on the inside for added warmth," writes executive editor Sally Kaplan of the Quince Wool Slouch Coat in our guide to the best winter dress coats for women. "Many slouch coats are made without a lining because the lack of added structure allows the wool to drape more loosely. While that may give you a slightly more cozy silhouette, it means you miss out on any real insulation. The lining here gives the coat just enough structure to feel sophisticated and clean, but clever details like a shoulder seam that continues down the arm still gives it an almost cape-like, drop-shoulder fit."

"I would personally recommend opting for the black color over the tan," she continues. "While the tan might look nice in online photos, I can tell that the color is pretty flat, which means it won't look quite as elegant in person."

Quince 100% Leather Oversized Bomber Jacket

Our fit tip: It's oversized on purpose. Choose your regular size.

This Leather Oversized Bomber Jacket's design details are practical and minimal. You won't find any plackets or shoulder epaulets — just a zippered chest pocket and two roomy welt pockets at each hip. The buttons at the cuff and waist don't actually adjust their width that much. I do appreciate that the chest pocket is deep enough to hold my phone, though.

The sheepskin is soft and pliable, which makes it very comfortable (albeit prone to more visible scratches). I recommend the distressed leather because Quince's leather oftentimes looks flat and rubbery, and the faded effect gives it some much-needed dimension. This worn-in look also adds an edgy flair, but I still feel polished when I dress it up with some crisp pants and heeled ankle boots.

This wide-sleeved bomber jacket feels lighter than it looks, and the roomy fit makes it a perfect top layer for the fall or spring. I almost got the Medium because the hemlines at Quince tend to run short on my 5-foot-9 frame, but the Small ended up being perfect. I believe that in order to find a better leather bomber jacket for $250, you'd need to have great luck and be in touch with specialty thrift stores.

Quince Italian Wool Cocoon Coat

Our fit tip: This style runs small and narrow, so it feels tighter when buttoned.

Quince's Italian Wool Cocoon Coat has a very refined and elegant look, with even stitching and a warm, substantial feel. I chose the caramel, a rich camel shade, but it also comes in black and heather charcoal. I like that it has deep and roomy pockets, while the shawl collar can be worn either up or down.

As for the fit, I find Quince's sizing runs small. This coat is roomy enough through the hips and bust, but my arms feel restricted when I have the coat buttoned. You'll want to size up if you'll be wearing lots of layers underneath.

Quince compares this coat to ones from Aritzia, Eileen Fisher, and Akris Punto, of which only Eileen Fisher offers plus sizes. Design wise, it is closest to Aritzia's Cocoon Coat, which is also made with Italian wool and comes in multiple wool-cashmere variations.

This label on this coat comes from Italian wool mill called Lanificio Nello Gori. According to the mill's website, they specialize in carded wool, also known as recycled wool, and work with brands like Woolrich, J.Crew, and Gap. Meanwhile, the clothing tag states that the coat is made in China with 80% virgin wool and 20% nylon.

Contrastingly, Quince's online product description says that the jacket is Italian wool and made in Vietnam. While virgin wool can technically undergo a carded technique, the wool mill on this coat specifies its specialty as recycled wool, creating a bit of a discrepancy in the coat's true origins.

I still liked wearing this Quince Cocoon Coat because it feels stylish and it comes at an unbeatable price, but it's perhaps not up to the the luxury standard that Quince is trying to convince you it is. —Jaclyn Turner, senior home editor, Insider Reviews

• The Quince Cocoon Coat also comes in a full-length fit, though colors are limited.

Quince Double-Faced Merino Wool Scarf Coat

Our fit tip: It's oversized on purpose. Choose your regular size.

This designer dupe sold out when it debuted, so I waited around for a restock before testing it. While this Quince Wool Scarf Coat may look warm and cozy, the felt-like fabric is actually quite thin. It works better as a stylish, Scandi-inspired top layer than an actual way to keep warm.

This is Quince's version of the Toteme Embroidered Scarf Jacket ($1130), a fashion editor-favorite that went viral in late 2023. A cozy scarf coat is certainly useful beyond its peak trendiness, but Quince's just doesn't cut it in terms of insulation or wind resistance.

Quince does, however, have the advantage in terms of material consistency. Toteme's is made of a wool-poly blend, while the Quince coat is 100% Merino wool.

Quince Water Repellent Windbreaker Jacket

Our fit tip: This style runs slightly small. Size up if you're in between.

This lightweight, packable windbreaker is inspired by lululemon's Always Effortless jacket. I wore it on a day that New York City experienced its largest 1-hour temperature drop ever. I was in the park basking in the sunlight, it was a balmy 79 degrees, and I was convinced spring had sprung. But by the time I'd walked home, it was cloudy and 53 degrees.

I was so glad I had packed this Quince Windbreaker Jacket in my tote bag — it takes up almost no space, and it has stowable hood in case of rain. This hood packs into the tall stand collar, and it's wide enough to actually fit over my hair. I usually wear a size S, but I sized up to an M and it was the right call, since this jacket's a bit cropped. One detail I loved is that its zippers match the fabric perfectly, so it has a true monochromatic look.

You can wear this travel jacket to exercise, since it's lined with a soft mesh and has a vent in the rear to circulate air. Or, use it as a stylish, sporty top layer on those days with hard-to-predict forecasts.

Quince Featherless Quilted Long Puffer Jacket

Our fit tip: This has a long, oversized fit. Go with your regular size.

"I'm a Quince stan; I own multiple pairs of jeans, several linen pieces, silk dresses, and basic tees from the retailer, and I haven't had a single complaint yet. So this past winter, it was an obvious choice to try their outerwear.

I live somewhere with a mild winter—though I grew up in the Northeast and spent a decade in NYC, so I know what makes a good jacket—and selected Quince's Featherless Quilted Long Puffer Jacket. I wanted something that would provide warmth, but was free of heavy bulk, so I could easily travel with it.

This one fits the bill with its high stand collar that shuts out breezes and a quilted finish that provides cozy warmth via Comfortemp recycled insulation. The quilted stitching allows for a pared-down, streamlined silhouette that feels a bit like wearing a puffer, just without all the thick padding and marshmallow effect. No, it's not as warm as my double-lined Patagonia ski jackets I wear in the coldest weather, but I think it's still substantially warm, and I don't feel like I'm wearing a light coat, either. There's a weight and subtle heft to it, and the length extends to the thigh; in my opinion, bum coverage is critical to keeping warm.

I also appreciate that it has a water-repellent finish—though there's no hidden hood—and the jacket itself is made of 100% recycled materials to keep plastic bottles out of oceans and landfills, which makes me feel extra good about spending the very reasonable $100 this coat commands.

It comes in seven colors, the majority of which are gem tone hues made extra stylish alongside gold-plated zippers and buttons. And on that note, the closure is secured by both, ensuring no cold drafts pass through.

While the longer length adds some inches to the overall size, I still find this to be simple to pack. It folds down without taking up an entire suitcase, and it's become a go-to for school dropoff, running errands, and bringing on any trip when I need warmth without the heavy-duty pedigree of a long puffer or ski jacket. — Emily Hochberg, style contributor, Insider Reviews

Quince Weather Proof Oversized Rain Jacket

Our fit tip: It runs long and is oversized on purpose. Choose your regular size.

In order to determine the best rain jackets for women, we tested 33 raincoats to see ones can keep us comfortably dry in a downpour. Our outdoor gear expert Rachael Schultz ultimately didn't choose this Quince Rain Jacket for the final lineup, but it did earn an honorable mention:

"For under $100, this rain coat gets the job done protecting you from moisture," says Rachael. "The Columbia Hikebound II is a similar price while also more waterproof with a more universally-appealing cut, but if you prefer a longer, oversized rain jacket, it's a great budget pick."

Quince Shearling Collar Leather Flight Jacket

Our fit tip: It runs true to size, but size up if you plan to wear a lot of layers underneath.

At $250, the materials used on this Leather Flight Jacket are truly impressive. The leather looks slightly aged for a vintage look, the shearling is both stylish and warm when popped up and worn around the neck, and the hardware feels solid and sturdy. I've seen similarly priced jackets made using faux leather and shearling that completely miss the mark for me.

Quince's version is the ideal solution for anyone who doesn't want to spend close to $1,000 at Todd Snyder or Ralph Lauren. Yes, you'll sacrifice some quality — especially when it comes to seam construction and tailoring — but it's worth it for the cost savings.— Amir Ismael, former men's style editor, Insider Reviews

Read more in our full Quince Shearling Leather Flight Jacket review. and Quince men's clothing review.

Quince 100% Suede Bomber Jacket

Our fit tip: This jacket runs small. Size up if you're between sizes.

The Suede Bomber Jacket was my first impression of Quince's outerwear, and even after over 3 years of owning it, it's still one of my favorite pieces from the brand.

When I first reviewed the jacket, it retailed for $150, but even at $200 due to inflation, it's impossible not to see the value. Any comparable bomber jacket would likely cost three times as much as Quince.

Pricing aside, the look and feel of this jacket is incredibly nice. It's made from 100% top-grain goat suede leather, which has held up well over the years. The cognac color particularly pairs well with jeans and boots.

The jacket runs a bit small, so you can size up if you prefer a roomier fit. For reference, the models on site are listed as being 6'0" - 6'3" wearing a medium; I'm 5'5", and the medium also fits me without being oversized. — Amir Ismael, former men's style editor, Insider Reviews

Quince 100% Washed Leather Moto Jacket

Our fit tip: This jacket also runs small. Size up if you're between sizes.

Leather motorcycle jackets will always be a stylish choice and Quince does an excellent job at making them accessible to the budget-conscious shopper.

The Leather Moto Jacket is the third jacket I've tested from Quince and I'm still equally impressed with the overall value and quality.

Granted, it's not the most rugged leather jacket you can buy, but when you're not shopping for a jacket you'd wear while actually riding a motorcycle, it meets the mark. As with most Quince jackets, I find this to run a bit small, so don't be afraid to size up. I'm wearing a size medium. — Amir Ismael, former men's style editor, Insider Reviews

Quince Organic Stretch Chore Jacket

Our fit tip: This jacket runs true to size and has a bit of stretch to allow for better arm mobility when it's fully buttoned.

"Chore coats have become a menswear staple thanks to their effortless style that can lean either casual or more dressy depending on what you wear them with. There are generally two versions of the chore coat, unlined or lined. The Quince Chore Jacket falls into the former category, which makes it great for transitional weather (spring and fall) and for layering in colder weather.

On first inspection, I found some stray threads on the inside of the jacket, but no snags or other imperfections, and the buttons are securely attached. The jacket has a soft handfeel, fits true to size, and has a nice bit of stretch. The cotton fabric gives the jacket a softer drape than some other chore coats I own, making it feel closer to an overshirt or shirt jacket. While chore coats are workwear, I was able to dress up the Quince jacket with a collared shirt, tie, tailored slacks, and tassel loafers. Besides the three traditional patch pockets, on the front

Quince adds some nice touches like two inseam pockets and an internal pocket at the chest. At $60, I feel this is a good value and less expensive than organic cotton chore coats from brands like Patagonia and Prana or even Carhartt, which isn't made from organic cotton." — Andrew Amelinckx, men's style contributor, Insider Reviews

Is Quince leather good quality?

It depends. We've tested everything from Quince leather handbags to its leather dress shoes and it varies widely. In general you should expect the colorways to look more flat and in person than the oversaturated photos on the site.

We determined it's safer to go with black when it comes to Quince leather. It's harder to see any lapses in quality, like in cases where the pebbled leather looks cheap and rubbery.

When choosing a Quince leather jacket, you should opt for ones with a distressed effect to avoid any plasticky, low-dimensional leather.

The Quince leather jackets we tested are made of sheepskin, which is less expensive and less durable than calfskin. But sheepskin is also usually more flexible, lightweight, and soft, so it's used all the time by tanneries that produce outerwear.

Also: don't assume "Italian Leather" means luxury-grade. This is just a naming device Quince uses to rank itself among heritage brands.

The bottom line

When it comes to finding an affordable coat of decent quality, Quince has proven to be a strong contender. The women's Puffer Jacket and Windbreaker are some the most-worn items in my fall and winter wardrobes because they easily pass for their more expensive alternatives, and they go with practically any outfit.

Shop all Quince jackets for men and women.