• I asked over 200 travelers to share their biggest Japan travel mistakes and found clear patterns.
• Common issues included overplanning, navigating public transport, and having too-high expectations.
• Their advice consistently pointed to the same tips: slow down, plan less, and leave space for rest.

If your Instagram or TikTok feed looks anything like mine, it probably feels like everyone is either in Tokyo, planning a trip to Kyoto, or has just come back from Japan.

I've been traveling around Japan for more than a decade and, for the past few years, I've called Kobe home. Recently, I asked The Navigatio's Japan Travel Tips & Planning group on Facebook one simple question: What was your biggest Japan travel mistake?

Out of the 900,000 members, more than 200 answered. Here are my biggest takeaways based on their responses, plus some of my own advice.

They planned their trip around viral content instead of their own interests.

Repeatedly, people said they regretted building itineraries around viral Instagram and TikTok posts instead of their own interests.

Japan is one of the most Instagrammed countries in the world, but curated images of empty bamboo forests and quiet shrine paths rarely match reality.

Many commented that they planned their entire trips around famous spots like Fushimi Inari Taisha or Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, only to find themselves waking up at 4:30 a.m. to chase the "perfect photo" alongside hundreds of others.

What stood out most was how often people told me they valued unplanned moments more than scheduled ones. As one traveler put it, "We stopped following every recommendation and just explored. It was a much better trip."

There's nothing wrong with visiting Japan's iconic sights, but the best trips happen when they're only part of the itinerary. Build a trip around your own interests, not what's trending online.

Many travelers regretted overpacking their itineraries.

Japan has a way of making people overly ambitious. You land in Tokyo and suddenly convince yourself you can fit Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima into a single week.

Several travelers told me they regretted overpacking their itineraries and, by trying to visit too many cities in one trip, they didn't spend enough time in any of them.

Knowing what you actually want from a trip to Japan can completely change the way you experience it once you arrive.

For example, if you're looking to rest and recharge, a mountain onsen ryokan in Arima Onsen or Kusatsu Onsen is a great choice. For culture, food, and nightlife, a base like Fukuoka can offer you variety, with easy access to day trips around Kyushu.

Japan isn't going anywhere, and many people said their best trips came on return visits, once the pressure to "do Japan properly" had faded.

They got caught up in Japan's transport system.

Japan is often seen as easy to get around, thanks to its efficient trains.

However, when you arrive at places like Shinjuku Station with its 200 exits and layered underground walkways, you'll quickly realize that's not entirely true.

Although efficient, Japan's train network isn't always intuitive to navigate at first. Living here without a car, I've relied entirely on trains and still occasionally miss stops or fumble scanning QR codes at ticket gates (quick tip: turn your screen brightness up).

Many travelers also told me they regret buying the JR pass, a once-popular option for multicity travel.

Significant price increases in recent years have changed the rail pass's value, and many commenters admitted they bought it out of habit without checking whether it would actually save them money.

It may still be worthwhile for some, but it's worth crunching some numbers based on your itinerary before deciding whether to purchase it.

Otherwise, to save time and reduce the stress of navigating Japan's public transport system, use taxis where possible, especially in cities like Kyoto, where buses can get crowded and move slowly.

No one seemed prepared for the amount of walking they'd be doing.

Nearly every commenter mentioned they didn't expect to walk 15,000 to 25,000 steps a day, leaving them with very sore feet by evening.

After all, Japan has plenty of hills, stairs, and steep shrine approaches that appear in almost every outing.

Even a few experienced travelers wrote that they were surprised by the physical demands, especially in the hotter months of July and August.

Wearing comfortable footwear was one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the comments, along with keeping daily itineraries lighter and more realistic.

When people ask me what to pack for Japan, I always recommend comfortable walking shoes first. Staying in accommodations near train stations and leaving room for breaks between activities can also make a trip less exhausting and much more enjoyable.

They planned around expectations instead of reality (and the season).

Many first-time visitors dream of visiting Japan during cherry-blossom season. Although it can look dreamy online, as costs surge and popular viewing spots become tightly packed, the experience can feel more like navigating crowds with flowers in the background.

Several writers who told me they visited during this season said the views were beautiful, but all the people and higher prices put a slight damper on their trip.

Beyond cherry-blossom season, many said they felt disappointed when real-life conditions didn't match what they had seen online.

Mount Fuji is a good example. On social media, it is often presented as a guaranteed view from places like Hakone or Kawaguchiko, but in reality, it's often obscured by clouds and is snowcapped only during the colder months.

If you want to experience fewer crowds, lower prices, and more comfortable weather, late May after Golden Week and early June are some of the best times to visit Japan.

October is another strong option, with milder temperatures and the start of autumn colors in areas like Nagano Prefecture and the Kanto Region.

• We asked jewelers and stylists which jewelry trends are in this summer and which are out.
• They said colorful beaded bracelets, mixed metals, and cocktail rings are in this season.
• On the other hand, dainty jewelry and logo-heavy pieces are becoming less popular.

Summer is almost here, which means it's time to start planning a lineup of jewelry that complements a warmer-weather wardrobe.

But as trends come and go, it can be a challenge to know whether it's better to reach for a dainty necklace or a bold cocktail ring.

To help you figure out which jewelry staples are still worth wearing, which ones may need a refresh, and which trends are starting to feel dated, Business Insider spoke with jewelers and stylists about what's trending this summer.

Here's what they said.

Beads are coming back in a big way.

Beaded jewelry is making a comeback, but with a more refined twist, Elise Quick, jeweler and cofounder of C&E Fine Jewelry, said.

Instead of simple plastic beads, however, Quick said she's seeing beaded pieces made with gemstones like raw-cut sapphire, raw-cut emerald, and turquoise.

"We've been seeing a lot of people playing with color," Quick told BI. "These beads can really form a focal point on the outfit."

Statement jewelry is no longer reserved for special occasions.

According to JesseRay Vasquez, jeweler and founder of the brand Nickho Rey, bold jewelry is no longer reserved for cocktail parties, weddings, or formal events. Now, it's being seen in more relaxed environments.

Whether it's oversized rings, diamonds, or layered chains, Vasquez said he's seeing people pair statement pieces with more casual, everyday outfits, like jeans and a white T-shirt, creating a "street chic" look.

Mixed metals and layered stacks are replacing traditional jewelry norms.

Wearing only gold or silver once felt like the safer choice, but those norms are starting to fade.

According to Kendra Sharpe, stylist and founder of Kendra Sharpe Styling and Creative, more people are now mixing metals, layering different pieces, and creating jewelry looks that feel less polished and a little more natural.

She said alternating between sterling silver and yellow gold on a ring stack is a great way to mix metals and add depth to an outfit.

"It reeks style when you know how to mix your metals," Sharpe told BI.

Vintage and inherited styles are in.

Not every jewelry trend this season involves buying something new. Instead, jeweler and cofounder of C&E Fine Jewelry, Cierra Podsednik, said she's been reworking a lot of vintage pieces and family heirlooms.

Podsednik told BI that more of her clients are pulling out older pieces from their jewelry boxes or revisiting jewelry passed down through their families — including lockets, charm necklaces, and chunky pearls.

"It's like reimagining these pieces for yourself," Podsednik said.

Cocktail rings are having a moment again.

Cocktail rings — statement styles often set with a large gemstone or bold centerpiece — are making a comeback this summer.

According to Podsednik, today's versions of cocktail rings still make a statement, but many are being redesigned with smoother settings, lower profiles, and stones that feel easier to wear every day.

"The cocktail rings are coming back around, but it's not like the '80s cocktail rings where it's really, really high set," Podsednik told BI.

On the other hand, logo-heavy jewelry is being replaced by vintage pieces.

Rather than building a jewelry look around instantly recognizable logos, wardrobe stylist Taylor Greeley told BI that people are leaning into pieces that feel collected over time.

She said more people are opting to mix thrifted finds, older charms, or less recognizable pieces that feel more personal.

Dainty jewelry is giving way to texture and color.

Barely-there chains and very delicate pieces aren't disappearing entirely, but this season, jewelry is becoming more visible, textured, and expressive.

Instead of ultra-fine pieces that can disappear into an outfit, Greeley said people are leaning toward jewelry made with bolder shapes and mixed materials that add more contrast to a simple look.

"It's less about being subtle and having jewelry just be a small accent, and really about bringing your personality and being expressive," Greeley told BI.

Some of her favorite ways to make her jewelry stand out are to wear chunky earrings, bangles, or to layer a large pendant with some pearls.

Generic motifs are being swapped for more personal pieces.

Sharpe said it may be time to put away jewelry with overly familiar symbols and motifs, such as bows and hearts.

Instead of dainty flowers, Sharpe suggests finding heirloom charms or a symbol that resonates with someone's life.

"Make it more intentional, like your initial or something that actually speaks to you," Sharpe told BI.

• Pope Leo XIV shared his first encyclical, or a letter to the church, on Monday.
• He wrote about AI-related issues, from monopolies to employment concerns.
• Tech leaders, politicians, and journalists are now speaking out in response.

Big names in tech, politics, and more are responding to the pope's lengthy letter about AI.

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, or a letter to the church about a relevant social issue, on Monday. His writing spans 245 paragraphs and covers AI-related monopolies, employment concerns, ethics, and more.

He titled the letter: "Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence."

Now, a wide range of people are sharing their thoughts on his stance. Here's what they're saying.

David Sacks, cofounder of Craft Ventures

Tech investor and former White House AI czar David Sacks wrote on X that the pope is right to say that AI should be a tool that helps humans, not one that leads to "domination or exclusion."

Still, he asked, "If we hand governments sweeping power over AI development in the name of safety, how do we prevent it from being used to censor, surveil, and control citizens — as Orwell foretold in 1984?"

"This is the real alignment problem," he added. "The oldest questions of human nature and authority don't disappear in the AI age. They become newly relevant."

Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Technology

Blake Scholl, the founder and CEO of Boom Technology, a company developing a supersonic airliner, disagreed with the pope.

On X, he wrote: "Bad take from the Pope. Tech revolutions tend to eliminate some jobs while creating others. If we cling onto jobs, we'd still be plowing fields by hand out of fear of disruption."

Yoshua Bengio, professor of computer science at the University of Montreal

Yoshua Bengio, a professor, AI researcher, and Canadian computer scientist, wrote on X that he agrees with the pope's sentiments.

"The Vatican and other global institutions can and must play a role in the global dialogue on AI to raise public awareness and mobilize society for the challenges ahead," Bengio said.

Tanishq Mathew Abraham, founder of MedARC

Tanishq Mathew Abraham, a biomedical engineer and the founder of the medical AI research center, MedARC, responded to the pope's encyclical on X.

He highlighted that Pope Leo XIV doesn't view AI as "inherently evil," but still acknowledges that technology is "never neutral."

"Glad to see a nuanced, well-thought-out take on AI from the Catholic Church," Abraham wrote.

Sen. Chris Murphy, junior US senator for Connecticut

Pope Leo XIV made it clear in his letter that he believes AI shouldn't be monopolized by tech leaders.

Chris Murphy, a Connecticut senator, said on X that the pope's stance is "really important."

"AI threatens to undermine the basic building blocks of humanity as it seeks to replace our most basic functions, like creativity, friendship, and critical thinking," he added.

Gerald Leo Posner, author and investigative reporter

Gerald Leo Posner, an author and investigative reporter, dubbed the pope's encyclical "Jesus AI," or "what it would look like if the Pope, instead of Elon Musk, had created Grok."

Jesus AI just dropped. Or at least what it would look like if the Pope, instead of Elon Musk, had created Grok.

First American Pope Leo XIV’s groundbreaking encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) calls for robust AI regulation to safeguard human dignity. It’s… pic.twitter.com/TODmGWiEKX

— Gerald Posner (@geraldposner) May 25, 2026

On X, he wrote: "I appreciate this historical moment for the Vatican trying to set some guardrails for AI and Silicon Valley. However, from all my reporting, tech is likely to rush past the generalized safety suggestions set out in this massive encyclical."

Brian Burch, United States Ambassador to the Holy See

Brian Burch is the current ambassador of the US Embassy to the Holy See. He attended the pope's "Magnifica Humanitas" presentation on Monday.

Later, on X, the Embassy's official account shared Burch's perspective, beginning with a note that the Vatican leadership "contributes meaningfully" to the broader AI conversation.

"The United States shares the Holy See's commitment to ensuring AI serves humanity and upholds fundamental values," Burch said. "The Trump Administration believes that American leadership in AI innovation is essential to our national security and economic prosperity of our people. Our approach prioritizes pro-innovation policies enabling the private sector to develop transformative AI technologies that benefit people worldwide."

He also said that the US aims to use American AI technology to create systems that "reflect democratic values rather than authoritarian control."

Christopher Hale, publisher of the 'Letters from Leo' Substack

Christopher Hale, publisher of the Substack "Letters from Leo," which focuses on the pope and his intersection with the US establishment, took to X after Pope Leo XIV shared his writings.

"A lot of folks in the media severely underestimated how much of an immediate bang Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on AI would have," Hale wrote.

He also applauded Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah's remarks, calling them "refreshing," and said that the Catholic Church "has a lot of global main character energy this morning, even among those who declared the Church dead and irrelevant not too long ago."

• Rachel Stein's mother didn't enjoy assisted living. She ended up moving in with her family.
• The daughter cared for her mom, but found herself pulled in separate directions because of her sons.
• She and her mom decided that her mom should return to assisted living and receive professional care.

This story is based on an interview with Rachel Stein, 44, a senior vice president at a healthcare communications firm, from Orange County, California. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My 78-year-old mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease over a decade ago.

At first, she was able to stay in her townhouse. As the illness progressed, however, she started having a hard time taking care of herself and preparing meals.

The biggest concern was that she might fall while going up and down the stairs. In 2021, we mutually decided that she would move into an assisted living facility a short drive from our home.

It cost around $7,000 a month, but Mom, who had worked in social work, was lucky to have the retirement funds to cover the fees.

She wanted peace and quiet

Still, she didn't like the place at all, partly because it was too large and overwhelming with 160 other residents. She often got tired — a symptom of her illness — and wanted peace and quiet.

The food was horrible, and she was unable to do any of the activities she was paying for, like using the pool.

Mom would sometimes hint, saying, "Oh, I wish I could live with you guys." We put it aside until two years ago, when I realized she was starting to get a little bit worse.

I wanted her to spend the time she had left with me, my husband, and my two sons, ages 12 and 9.

We were fortunate to have enough space in our home. But her bedroom was upstairs, so she still had to tackle the steps.

I was in a heightened state of worry that she'd fall. The boys, like other kids, would leave things around the house that could trip her. If they took a shower and left water on the floor, I would rush inside to dry it.

Our dog, Zoe, was quite big and jumped up, and I was afraid she'd knock her over.

It was incredibly stressful. I work full time from home and would be on a conference call, and Mom would need something or fall. At one point, we joked that she qualified as a frequent flyer at the ER because she was there so much.

Not only that, but I was being pulled between two worlds. It was hard to strike a balance, and I didn't have time or energy to be completely present as a wife, mother, and carer.

There were moments when I thought, "Who is asking the loudest?" and was forced to decide whether to tend to Mom or the children.

I'd say to them, "Hey, guys, you can get your own water," but my mom couldn't do the same. She was dependent on us, and the onus was mostly on me.

My mental and physical health suffered

The situation definitely put a strain on my relationship with Mom. I loved her very much, but we both got frustrated at times.

We eventually brought in some carers to walk with her, make some of her meals, and provide companionship. They were great, but the help wasn't nearly enough.

My sister, who lives in Canada, came to visit in February 2026. She saw how much worse Mom had gotten. "I don't know how you do it," she told me.

"I don't think I'm doing it well, and it's becoming a challenge," I replied. Her care needs were beyond what my mental and physical health could support.

We soft-sounded Mom and, though she wasn't too happy about the idea at first, looked for another assisted living facility together

The one we chose was entirely different from the first. It was much smaller, with a little over 70 residents, and it felt like a community.

A group of ladies approached us, unsolicited, and said how much they liked the place. We tried the food, which was really tasty.

We now have breathing room

Mom moved out at the end of March. She received the care she needed from qualified workers — such as help getting in and out of bed and walking to the bathroom — and was recently transferred to hospice care.

I visit her regularly on my own or with the family. It's good to see her settled, and I can spend quality time with the kids. My husband remarked that they don't fight as much as they used to.

It's given us all breathing room. Having their grandmother at home was workable — until it wasn't. Circumstances changed, and the family agreed — including Mom — that we were doing the right thing for her and everyone else.

• An easyJet flight diverted after a passenger said their power bank was charging in the hold.
• Power banks pose a fire risk, so passengers had to wait overnight to continue their journey.
• It's the latest incident that shows why aviation regulators are concerned about power banks.

One passenger's mistake while packing their luggage forced their flight to be diverted.

It was the latest case of a power bank upending travelers' plans, as aviation regulators call for increased awareness of the devices' potential hazards.

Last week, a passenger on an easyJet flight told the crew during the flight that a power bank was charging a device in their checked bag.

The flight from Hurghada, Egypt, to London diverted to Rome because regulations state that power banks are not allowed in the airplane's cargo hold.

Passengers then had to wait overnight to continue their journey after the Airbus A320 landed in the Italian capital around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

"The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked routinely," an easyJet spokesperson said in a statement shared with Business Insider. "We provided hotel accommodation and meals where available and provided customers who stayed in the airport with refreshments."

The flight reached London Luton Airport around 4 p.m. the next day, nearly 16 hours later than it was originally scheduled to arrive.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the diversion and subsequent delay," the easyJet spokesperson said.

Power banks can only be carried in an airplane's cabin because they pose a fire risk due to their lithium batteries.

"Lithium batteries power lots of everyday electronics, from vapes and mobile phones to cameras and power banks," said Glenn Bradley, the UK Civil Aviation Authority's head of flight operations, in a statement shared with Business Insider.

"If they become faulty or damaged, they can cause an intense fire that is difficult to extinguish."

This is due to a process called thermal runaway, which sparks a chain reaction and a rapid rise in temperature.

Following the easyJet incident, the CAA told the BBC that "more awareness" was needed as portable chargers carry "serious risks" of overheating or catching fire.

"I wouldn't want to be the passenger who packed it in the wrong place and ended up with all the other passengers in the wrong city because the flight was diverted," the CAA's Jonathan Nicholson told the outlet.

Airlines are particularly concerned about power banks since the growing market for the devices means that many are cheaply made and not properly certified. They may also lack the advanced circuitry that helps stop laptops and phones from overcharging.

Many airlines also say that power banks cannot be used on board. It is safest to ensure devices are kept visible and accessible. This means that smoke or a fire can be spotted more quickly than if the device were in an overhead bin. Airline crews are well-trained in dealing with electrical fires, so they can react promptly if anything goes wrong.

Several carriers introduced stricter rules last year.

After a fire broke out in an overhead bin in Busan, South Korea, in January 2025, the country's transport ministry announced a ban on storing power banks and e-cigarettes in the overhead bins.

Emirates prohibited passengers from charging devices with power banks, and Southwest Airlines mandated that they cannot be stored in a bag or overhead bin while in use.

"Flying is by far the safest way to travel, and we want to keep it that way. Packing safely reduces risk," Bradley said.

"Keeping battery-powered items with you will make your flight safer for you, and the other passengers you're flying with."

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

Work was never supposed to be your entire social life.

But for many people, it's become the last meaningful part of one.

Now, AI is threatening to take that away. The office is becoming less social, less human, and less alive.

That's because the AI revolution won't just shrink companies' workforces, it will also weaken the relationships between the employees still working inside them, BI's Aki Ito writes.

For all the indignities of modern work — the Slack pings, meetings that should've been emails, "just circling back" for the fifth time — offices quietly served another purpose: They brought us together.

We found mentors and confidants. Work spouses and — in some cases — actual spouses. We vented after meetings. Learned how to disagree. Built friendships in the gaps between spreadsheets and status updates.

But now some of us are on our own. And some researchers think the consequences could be much bigger than awkwardly quiet offices.

Studies are beginning to show that heavy AI users report lower trust in colleagues, weaker team coordination, higher burnout, and greater feelings of isolation.

Which raises an uncomfortable question: What happens to workplaces when nobody really needs each other anymore?

Because the risk doesn't stop at the office door. Some Americans were already writhing in the throes of a loneliness epidemic, which the US surgeon general compared to the health impact of smoking 12 cigarettes a day. And if work is one of the last remaining places where people regularly interact with others beyond their close circle, its gradual erosion could reshape how connected we feel in everyday life.

But it might not be too late to change that trajectory.

Some companies are already experimenting with ways to use AI to strengthen relationships rather than replace them, while deliberately rebuilding the social interactions work used to generate accidentally.

Because becoming more productive and more alone at the same time was never the trade we thought we were making.

• SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are set for major IPOs, raising investor excitement for 2026.
• But is the IPO hype too reminiscent of periods like 2021 and 1999?
• By proceeds raised, 2026 could take the cake for the biggest IPO year ever.

There's been lots of chatter in recent weeks about the mega IPOs expected to come to market this year — first among them being SpaceX, which is set to go public in June.

Is this a movie we've seen before? The last time there was this much hype around IPOs was during the 2021 SPAC boom. With the economy flush with cash, the high number of companies going public was one symptom of insatiable investor demand. The euphoria didn't last, with the S&P 500 falling as much as 25% to kick off 2022.

Before that, there was the surge of IPOs in 1999, as companies sought to take advantage of the market's enthusiasm about an emerging technology in the internet. The next year, the market began a multi-year meltdown now known as the dot-com bust.

Today, investors are eager to get into expected IPOs from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic. How worried should we be that this is the same kind of over-exuberance destined to end like past market frenzies?

There's no such thing as a perfect comparison in markets, but let's examine some of the similarities and differences between now and then:

• By sheer number of IPOs coming to market, 2026 is not expected to be as hot as 1999 or 2021. Goldman Sachs expects to see 100 IPOs this year, while 1999 and 2021 saw 457 and 1,035 launches, respectively, according to Reflexivity.
• Going by proceeds raised, however, 2026 could take the cake. According to Morningstar, the IPOs of SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI would all break previous records for venture-capital-backed IPOs. "Together they could raise more than $100 billion in proceeds and generate a total exit value higher than all US VC-backed IPOs since 2000," the firm wrote in March.
• As per Bank of America's Michael Hartnett, the top 10 AI stocks currently account for around 40% of total market capitalization. Coming IPOs will push that group to around 50% of the market. That would be more than any other period in history, except for the railroad bubble in the 1880s, when the industry made up 63% of the market.
• Looking at broader market valuations, the S&P 500's Shiller CAPE ratio of 41 is above 2021's levels and just below all-time highs seen in 2000. These IPOs could further exacerbate stock valuations.

According to market pros that spoke with Business Insider on Friday, today's IPO environment rhymes more with 1999 than 2021.

"The thing that it reminds us about is that the valuations in '99 were just bonkers," said Molly Pieroni, the president at Yacktman Asset Management, adding that SpaceX's valuation at 150x revenue means it's "going to have to double revenue every year for the next 10 years to justify those kinds of valuations."

Valuations aside, however, Pieroni and others said that the large firms expected to go public this year are more solid businesses in terms of their long-term prospects and the revenue they're already generating — so it's not a flush comparison.

Eric Schiffer, founder of a family office called The Patriarch Organization, said that while investors should remain vigilant amid high valuations, the market is likely to go higher from here as he expects the Iran war to wrap up, ending an ongoing inflation threat.

And, above all else, earnings continue to exceed expectations, he said.

"Ultimately, earnings drive the show," he said.

• I'm seeing more younger office workers with persistent elbow pain.
• Repetitive desk work can strain the elbows over time.
• Small workstation and posture changes may help prevent chronic pain.

A surprising amount of life and work rests not just on our shoulders, but also on our elbows. And elbow pain affects around 3% of the population globally — arising from arthritis, or injuries associated with certain manual jobs, sports, or the gym.

Take tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, for example: common tendon-related conditions affecting the outer and inner sides of the joint and causing pain and stiffness, particularly during twisting movements. Their name is deceiving, though — few people who are diagnosed with them actually play either sport, and the cause is often related to other repetitive actions that stress the elbows over time.

As a primary care physician, I've been struck by the number of younger patients I see with persistent or disruptive elbow pain — who have no signs of arthritis, and who haven't even picked up a racket, club, or dumbbell. Instead, the problem is something more familiar and subtle: the recurrent strains that come with sitting and working at a desk each day.

Sitting in front of a computer can cause elbow strain

A typical day at the office, sitting before a computer, is actually full of strains. Continual clicking and scrolling, switching position to type an email, before moving back to the mouse again, and then repeating, ad nauseam, all day long. If coupled with a poorly set-up workstation that fails to support the elbows — or your back, shoulders, or wrists — the risk is increased. And could lead to a more persistent problem further down the line.

Recognizing desk work as a cause of troublesome elbow pain can help us take evasive action — and might prevent it from occurring in the first place.

We tend to associate the elbows with flexing our biceps, but on either side of the joint are other important muscles that control our hands. They fire into action at the desk, balancing our wrists, and pulling on our fingers like puppet strings — to make us tap the keyboard, or click at the mouse.

It's estimated that an average office day involves at least 5,000 mouse clicks — a figure that may triple or even quadruple on longer days, or for those working in design or coding. Factor in all those drags-and-drops, plus the scrolling, typing, gripping, and even hovering over the mouse and keys, and you're talking thousands more tiny repetitive strains in just a single day.

Over weeks, months, and years of the same thing, this can lead to considerable wear and tear on muscles and tendons, resulting in inflammation and gradually worsening elbow pain. In some cases, it can become chronic and difficult to treat.

Many office workers also overlook their workstation setup. The desk and chair should be at the same height as the computer and provide an appropriate distance between the body and the mouse. Be wary of prolonged rest on hard surfaces, which can compress the nerves around your elbow and down your forearm — triggering numbness or "pins and needles". Repeated rubbing can also cause soft tissue irritation and swelling — another reason to heed your parents when they told you to keep those elbows off the table!

How to avoid elbow pain

An upright posture, with elbows bent to around 90 degrees and held close to the body, is optimal. The mouse should be within easy reach, with forearms parallel to the desk. Armrests can help support the elbows, but shouldn't lift or brace them in an unnatural position.

We also know that the buck doesn't stop at the elbow — wrist placement is essential as well. Extending the wrists too far backward to work more easily is one particular bad habit, keeping the forearm muscles constantly active and liable to strain. Adopting a more neutral position helps prevent excessive tension. An ergonomic mouse or keyboard can help maintain this safer posture, whilst a desktop wrist support can provide good cushioning underneath.

And it's not just position that matters. In working toward important deadlines, it's easy to skip breaks, forgetting how important it is to give our muscles adequate rest. We can also underestimate how forcefully we type or how hard we grip the mouse, again generating unnecessary strain. Try to relax and take small, regular breaks.

Many are guilty of pushing through pain, delaying a trip to the doctor until problems become lengthy, or indeed unbearable, which is never a good idea. It's entirely reasonable at the first sign of discomfort in either elbow to try some of these workplace adjustments and some simple painkillers. But it's important to seek medical advice if the pain is worsening, has persisted for more than 3-4 weeks, follows an injury, or is accompanied by other joint changes, such as redness, swelling, or heat.

So, the next time you take a seat at your desk, take just a couple of minutes to really make sure it's set up to your advantage. It may be that you don't yet suffer from elbow pain — but it might be waiting in the wings for you, if you carry on with the same bad habits.

• The global brand president of drinkware giant Stanley 1913 once thought he'd become a teacher.
• Matt Navarro advises students to explore different classes without rushing to commit to one path.
• He said networking is crucial and students should develop their communication skills.

When Matt Navarro started college, he had his mind set on teaching history and coaching sports.

Roughly 28 years later, he's leading drinkware giant Stanley 1913, part of PMI WW Brands, LLC.

Navarro told Business Insider that he realized teaching wasn't the right fit, though he kept his passion for coaching and still coaches his son's high school football team.

After college, Navarro launched his career in sports management before climbing the ranks to his current position, where he's served as global brand president for the past two years.

Today, Navarro oversees around 1,500 employees at the brand, which is best known for its 40-ounce Quencher tumblers.

As someone who ended up in a completely different role than expected, Navarro has some advice for college students and recent grads:

Don't specialize

Navarro described himself as a "very average student" who didn't know exactly what he wanted to do. However, he still committed to a career path early on despite not fully exploring it.

"There's a lot of pressure on kids today to perform, be best in the class, get great grades," Navarro said.

Navarro said many students aren't ready at 18, 19, or 20, to decide on a career that they'll pursue for the rest of their lives — and that expectation "isn't really fair."

His advice is to stay open-minded and take "a bunch of different general ed classes." That way, you can see what they like, what you're good at, and what you want to avoid.

"That perspective leads you to a better outcome," Navarro said.

Navarro said two of his kids are in the process of choosing a college and "have no idea what they want to do." He said that's OK — and rather than pressure them to make a decision, he's advising them to pick a place where they'll be happy living for the next four years.

Network

Networking is a must, according to Navarro.

While cold reach-outs on LinkedIn are one way to try building a network, Navarro said internships are a more effective strategy to make connections. They also give students what he considers a "job test," that can turn into a full-time opportunity.

"Many more times today, that's turning into a real full-time job," Navarro said.

He added that it's also important to choose a university with a strong alumni network and good job placement track record.

Work on communication

Navarro said today's students spend a lot of time on devices and less time interacting face-to-face with other people. He said strong communication skills remain essential in the workplace — and something students should actively work on.

He said that he worries many job seekers are in the habit of applying to jobs online by submitting a résumé or sending an email, but aren't necessarily prepared for the next stage, which requires talking to a person.

"Be able to hold a real conversation, talk about yourself, and ask the right questions, and be curious," Navarro said.

He said his advice to both college and high school students is to learn how to talk to adults and look people in the eye. It's "simple stuff," he said, but getting good at it sometimes requires forcing yourself to be in situations where you have to speak publicly, even if it's just in front of 10 people.

"Those are the things, the intangibles, that hopefully in this really tricky market, can separate you," Navarro said.

• We tried food from Goop Kitchen's New York location. It was very green — and not very good.
• Given Gwyneth Paltrow's brand, we expected a pilates vibe. The ghost kitchen was more like a gym locker room.
• Our favorites were the Chinese chicken salad and teriyaki chicken. The brownie was dry and crumbly.

New York just got goopier.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Kitchen is built for a Los Angeles crowd. It is health-pilled, vegetable-forward, and full of avocado. Indeed, the shop opened nine locations in LA and four more in the Bay Area, ripe for biohacking tech bros.

In April, Goop Kitchen officially hopped coasts. The brand opened a ghost kitchen in Midtown Manhattan, ready for pickup and takeout.

It's a big bet for Paltrow, whose business has faltered from its late 2010s peak. Goop underwent multiple rounds of layoffs, executive turnover, and business shutdowns. The brand began as a hub for articles about trendy health solutions; by now, the editorial product has been slashed.

Goop Kitchen has been a bright spot for the brand, though it's technically a separate business that was set up as a joint venture. In 2024, Goop Kitchen raised $15 million, according to PitchBook, from investors including Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick, who also leads the ghost kitchen startup CloudKitchens.

The New York launch has been filled with hype, fueled by food influencers who score millions of views by promising that the Goop pizza is very good. Will it live up to expectations? We investigated the best way we know how: by spending almost $100 on lunch for two.

Goop Kitchen did not respond to a request for comment.

We arrived at a ghost kitchen to pick up the order.

Retail reporter Jordan Hart trekked from New York City's Financial District to the Midtown neighborhood to pick up our order.

The only marker that she was in the right place was a sign reading "goop kitchen" with an arrow pointing left. It wasn't the pilates studio-esque vibe we were expecting. It was a ghost kitchen out of which many restaurants operated.

The interior had lockers dedicated to picking up orders.

We placed the order through Goop Kitchen's website. Since our office is outside the delivery radius, we ordered it for pickup.

When we tried ordering around noon on a Wednesday, the site said the location was experiencing high demand, so the earliest pickup time was about two hours later.

At the pickup spot, a line of people, including delivery workers, waited for orders to appear in lockers. Jordan asked an attendant for help, and he came back quickly with her order — no need to use the locker.

The whole process took less than 10 minutes, and she was on her way back to the office with the goods.

We ordered five items off the menu for $95.

The Goop Kitchen menu was more extensive than expected, but we settled on five items that were getting a lot of buzz on social media. We wanted to see if they were worth the hype they've been getting from influencers in LA.

We got the Pepperoni Potts pizza, the Brentwood Chinese chicken salad, the chicken teriyaki bowl, the curry chicken salad summer rolls, and a brownie. Our total came to $95.18.

The pizza got messy during transit.

Although the items were packed as well as possible, the Pepperoni Potts pizza was no match for the 4 train. Some of the slices didn't look as presentable as the rest of the pie by the time they got back to Business Insider's office.

The pizza was made with pepperoni, basil, pomodoro sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fontina cheese. The Goop Kitchen says it's free of seed oils, preservatives, peanuts, refined sugar, gluten, and corn. It was $24.50.

The Pepperoni Potts pizza is great for gluten-avoiders.

Jordan was overall impressed by the pizza's taste. This pizza made her think maybe she could give the gluten-free lifestyle a shot. The crust had a satisfying chew, and it made her wonder what all the fuss against gluten-free dough is about.

Business reporter Henry Chandonnet was less positive, calling it "gourmet DiGiorno." There's so much good pizza in New York, including gluten-free slices. Gwyneth's slice seemed to sink under the competition.

The Brentwood Chinese chicken salad was packed with vegetables.

The star of the $18.50 Brentwood Chinese chicken salad is the hand-pulled organic chicken. It sits atop a bed of greenery, including bok choy, snowpeas, green onions, cabbage, avocado, and cilantro. It came with a carrot-ginger dressing and crispy wontons for added crunch.

Henry shook up the salad — and thought it was solid.

Henry liked the salad. It was clean, easy, and colorful. He could imagine it as a delightful workday lunch.

The carrot-ginger dressing reminded Jordan of one you'd get at a Japanese barbecue restaurant. The salad was a nice, refreshing bite, but Jordan wasn't a fan of its raw cabbage. The cilantro, however, was a delicious pop of flavor for her. She found herself searching for it in each bite.

The teriyaki bowl was customizable.

The teriyaki bowl comes with a choice of chicken breast, chicken thigh, tofu, or salmon for an extra $4.75. We chose the chicken thigh option for a total of $18.95. The bowl included sesame marinated kale, a brown rice blend, avocado, pickled ginger, and broccoli. Our bowl was inexplicably missing broccoli.

As a kale skeptic, Jordan was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed it. Dousing everything in the teriyaki sauce served on the side felt like a cheat code, making everything taste salty-sweet — her favorite flavor combo. The chicken was juicy and tender. The avocado seemed frivolous at first, but it blended well with the other ingredients.

Again, Henry was less enthused. The chicken was good, sure, but it reminded him of the Whole Foods hot bar.

The summer rolls had a clever twist.

These summer rolls were made with curry chicken salad, collard greens, sprouts, carrots, and watermelon radish for $14.95. They came with a pineapple-mango chutney for dipping.

It's unclear if Goop Kitchen did this on purpose, but the vibrant colors of the radish and carrot garnish on the summer rolls reminded us of salmon and tuna rolls. It was a clever touch.

Henry loved the presentation, but found the summer rolls lackluster. The pineapple-mango chutney was too sweet, and the rolls were missing a crunchy element. He thought it felt like eating rolled-up mush.

Jordan thought the curry chicken salad needed more salt, and the curry flavor was a bit too subtle for her taste. She's used to curry having a bold impact on any dish it's added to. The chutney was her least favorite sauce; it had a flavor note she didn't enjoy.

The brownie got mixed reviews.

The dark chocolate and sea salt brownie is gluten- and dairy-free, and it tastes like it. It's missing all of the fun ingredients that make a brownie decadent and delicious. For $5.95, it wasn't very big, but the richness of the dark chocolate made it shareable. It's hard to imagine one person could handle that much chocolate.

We weren't impressed. Henry thought it was dry and crumbly, taking all the moisture out of his mouth. The sea salt was a nice touch, though.

Our coworker Ana Altchek enjoyed it.

It was an expensive and filling lunch.

We wouldn't regularly spend $100 on lunch, and this meal didn't inspire us to do so more often. On an individual level, paying $19 for a salad isn't outside the norm in New York City. Most fast-casual places offer the same price point on their lunch menus.

Jordan's favorite dish was the chicken teriyaki bowl, and her least favorite was the curry chicken salad summer rolls. Henry's favorite was the Chinese chicken salad, and his least favorite was the brownie.

Neither of us plans to hike up to Midtown for more Goop Kitchen. But, if we worked nearby and needed a quick fix, we'd consider it.

• Some of the most powerful tech execs have been surprisingly candid about raising their children.
• Many have shared parenting tidbits — including limits to their own children's screen time.
• Here's a look at some parenting philosophies of the biggest names in tech.

Tech executives are helping build the products, platforms, and companies that will shape life for future generations.

So how do the people creating tomorrow's technologies think about raising children for the world those technologies are helping create?

We looked through past interviews to find some of the tech leaders' most interesting pointers on parenting and setting kids up for success in today's world.

Turns out, even the uber-wealthy leaders have to contend with everyday parenting questions, like whether to limit screen time and how to divvy up chores.

Here's what some of the biggest names in tech have said about their approach to raising children.

Sam Altman

The OpenAI CEO told Jimmy Fallon that ChatGPT has helped him raise his baby. Altman said he "cannot imagine" having figured out how to parent a newborn without the technology. He's asked, for example, why his kid wasn't crawling at a certain age.

Altman has also said that his baby "will never be smarter than AI," but will be "more capable." He told the Senate that he doesn't want his kid to form a best-friend-like bond with an AI bot.

And when it comes to cribs, Altman has said he has a clear favorite: Cradlewise. It costs nearly $2,000 and gently bounces the baby to head off any fussing. The crib also includes a built-in baby monitor and music features.

Altman also said he's learned the importance of having a lot of burp rags.

Mark Zuckerberg

When asked in 2024 what kids should be studying today, Zuckerberg told Bloomberg that "the most important thing is learning how to think critically and learning values when you're young."

"This is somewhat of a hiring philosophy that I have, too," he said. "If people have shown that they can go deep and do one thing really well, then they've probably gained experience in the art of learning something and taking it to an excellent level."

He also said in a 2024 interview that, when taking his then-seven-year-old daughter to a Taylor Swift concert, he told her that being like the superstar wasn't "available" to her. A therapist in California who has worked with wealthy parents told Business Insider that encouraging her to instead be herself was the right approach.

In a 2019 interview on CBS This Morning, the Meta CEO said he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, "don't give them everything."

"They have chores, they have responsibilities," Chan added. "We also take them to work. Mark and I take both of them to the office to see what we do, how we contribute."

That same year, he told Fox News that he generally doesn't want his kids parked in front of a television or computer "for a long period of time." At the time, he said he let his daughters use video calls to talk with relatives across the country but is stricter about other forms of screen time.

Anne Wojcicki

Wojcicki, the cofounder and former CEO of 23andMe, said she tries to keep her children grounded and protected from the "insanity" of being wealthy.

In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Wojcicki said that while she had professional help cleaning the house a few times a week, she had told them to stop doing the laundry on Fridays so that her children could learn the chore.

"It's so easy to be like, 'I don't have to do laundry again. I don't have to cook again.' But then you're not normal," she told the Times. "I have a new rule lately. I just don't go out on weekdays. If I'm raising kids, I need to be focused on helping implement that normalcy."

Wojcicki also talked at the time about cutting her children's hair herself.

Satya Nadella

Nadella says his own parents "created an environment where they let me set my own pace and pursue what I wanted," and that influenced his approach to raising his own children.

"It's important to focus on what [our kids] need to thrive," he previously told Good Housekeeping.

The Microsoft CEO and his wife, Anu, also "both think children should have dogs," she told Good Housekeeping.

"There is a different sense of companionship and responsibility that comes with it — that emotional sense that there is a being waiting for you to come back," Anu said.

Nadella told Good Housekeeping that he gets reports on what their kids do on their computers. The couple limits how many movies and what kinds of video games and websites their kids can view.

Nadella has also said that his experience raising a son with cerebral palsy has taught him the importance of empathy, including at work.

Sundar Pichai

Pichai still helps his kids with their homework — with some assistance from Google Lens.

"We use Google Lens for homework. I don't want to get him in trouble, but the class allows you to do that," Pichai previously told Bloomberg. "But sometimes he asks me for help on math. Sometimes I'm lazy and I pretend as if I'm thinking, but I'm also using Google Lens to kind of figure out the answer."

The Google CEO told The New York Times in 2018 that his son, then 11 years old, didn't have a phone, and that he limited his son's TV use.

Bill Gates

The Microsoft cofounder has said he parented his kids following a model developed in the 1970s called the "Love and Logic" approach.

The philosophy focuses on exercising control when it comes to emotions, such as by minimizing some reactions as a parent, like shouting or reprimanding. Gates said his dad believed in the same philosophy, and that "he was never panicked."

Gates, who for many years was the world's richest man, has also said he tried to keep his kids from being spoiled.

"We want to strike a balance where they have the freedom to do anything, but not a lot of money showered on them so they could go out and do nothing," he once said.

As far as screen time limits go, Gates forbade his kids from using phones at the dinner table, and didn't give them phones until they were 14 years old.

In a 2025 episode of the podcast "Raj Shamani's Figuring it Out," Gates said he was giving his children less than 1% of his total wealth, "because I decided it wouldn't be a favor to them."

"I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success be significant," Gates added.

Melinda French Gates

The billionaire philanthropist has said one of her guiding ideas as a parent was learning to be "good enough."

French Gates, who has three children with Bill Gates, wrote about "the notion of the good enough parent" in an excerpt from her 2025 autobiography published by Time.

She said the idea became especially meaningful when her children were 9, 6, and 2, and Warren Buffett's major donation to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation required her to spend more time away from home.

French Gates wrote that she felt guilty about the time she was missing with her children, but the idea helped her let go of the expectation that good parenting required perfection.

"And to any other parent who is reading this, know that this is every bit as true for you," she wrote. "When it comes to taking care of your family — some of the most important work you'll do in this world — I hope you'll refuse to let perfectionism rob family life of precious joy."

Jeff Bezos

Bezos took an unusual approach to raising his four kids at times. He said in 2017 that he let his kids use "sharp knives" from the age of 4 and power tools at 7 or 8 years old.

The Amazon founder attributed this to his then-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who he said would "much rather have a kid with nine fingers than a resourceless kid." Bezos added that this was "a fantastic attitude about life."

Alexis Ohanian

The Reddit cofounder incorporated a fun practice from his upbringing into his approach to parenting.

"My favorite parenting tip that I inherited from him was his Sunday tradition of making breakfast for our family," he said in 2020. "I love being able to make pancakes with my family when we're all in the same place on a Sunday, and always do my best to put away outside distractions so we can be together."

On a 2025 podcast episode, Ohanian said he "wholeheartedly" wanted his then-seven-year-old daughter to use AI every day. He said he's used the technology to enhance her creativity: he had ChatGPT turn some of his childhood pencil sketches into "full-color illustrations." His daughter, Ohanian said, still draws with old-fashioned markers and paper as well.

Ohanian told CNBC in 2018 that he and tennis star Serena Williams want their daughter "to know what it's like to have limits on tech."

"My wife and I both want her to be bored," he said. "I do look forward to playing video games with her when she's older, but it's really important that she gets time to just be with her thoughts and be with her blocks and be with her toys, so we'll be regulating it pretty heavily."

Evan Spiegel

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in 2018 that he and his wife, supermodel Miranda Kerr, limited their then-seven-year-old's screen time to 1.5 hours a week. The rule, he said, was partly influenced by not being allowed to watch television until he was almost a teenager.

He said that parents should lead by example and work to limit their own screen time as well.

Spiegel told People in 2025 that he's glad his kids are growing up with digital tools, and Kerr said they don't let their 14-year-old have phones or computers in his bedroom past 9:30 pm.

Peter Thiel

At the Aspen Ideas Festival in June 2024, Thiel said his children — who were three and a half and five at the time — were allowed to use screens for only about an hour and a half each week.

But Thiel also said it was too simplistic to treat tech and social media companies as the source of all modern problems.

"It's too easy to turn tech or the social media companies into the scapegoats of all of our problems," he said.

• Business Insider looked at what jobs pay the best in every state and Washington, DC.
• We looked at titles with at least 1,000 employees and specific average annual wages.
• Healthcare gigs dominated; they were the best-paying jobs in half of the US states.

Family medicine physician was the best-paying job in seven states last year.

Business Insider previously ranked the highest-paying jobs in the US using May 2025 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, we wanted to see what pays the best on average by state and in Washington, DC.

To do so, we only looked at occupations with both specific employment and average annual wage estimates. We ranked those with at least 1,000 employees to determine the best-paying position for each area. We excluded catchall job titles, such as a grouping for physicians not listed separately.

You can hover over the map below to see which job titles paid the most on average based on our criteria, along with the estimated number of employees.

Chief executives were the top-paying job in 14 states. The highest-paying job in half of the states was a healthcare-related role. For instance, the highest-paying job in Pennsylvania with at least 1,000 workers was radiologists. Meanwhile, cardiologists were the best-paying role among jobs that fit our criteria in Georgia, New York, and Texas.

Some of the jobs on the map above also made our list of high-paying, fast-growing jobs. For instance, financial managers are the best-paying in a handful of states, and employment is projected to grow nationally by 128,800 between 2024 and 2034. Postsecondary health specialties teachers were the highest-paying gig in Arkansas and Mississippi, and nationwide employment is projected to increase by 50,100. However, most healthcare-related jobs that appear on the map aren't projected to see a lot of job growth over the decade at the national level.

Still, the healthcare sector has been helping prop up the US job market. The sector accounted for about a third of April's job growth on its own. In 2025, the sector accounted for over 100% of overall job growth; the US economy, excluding healthcare, lost jobs. Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, previously told Business Insider that the US is "rapidly turning into not just a service economy, but a healthcare-driven economy."

• Cherie DeVaux trained Golden Tempo, who won the Kentucky Derby.
• She says being responsible to 120 horses is her life.
• She doesn't have biological kids, but is an aunt and stepmom.

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

I still can't put into words the feeling of winning the Kentucky Derby. "Exciting" doesn't cut it.

Everything in my life came down to that moment: it was the culmination of all the hard work, and the things that had gone wrong along the way. It was deep, and I was just overwhelmed with emotion.

I was born into horses. My parents did harness racing and I competed in rodeos as a kid. But I knew nothing about thoroughbred racing until I walked onto a racetrack while working my way through college. I got a job as a hot walker (leading horses during cooldown), the most entry level job at the track.

I didn't have any goals or aspirations of being a trainer. I thought maybe I could become an exercise rider, but that was a very fun, very short-lived aspect of my career due to a broken leg.

I just wanted a job where horses would be part of my life. Now, horses are my life. I think that's a great thing.

I always pushed myself — but wasn't sure about starting a business

I grew up as a type A person in a family full of type Bs. Back before they were called vision boards, I used to write post-it notes with the time I wanted to achieve in my radio competition. Once, when I was struggling in biology class, my mom told me that no one asked me to get straight A's. I just thought it was preposterous that someone would settle for anything less than pushing themselves.

Still, I had reservations about starting my own horse training business. I had a good job as an assistant trainer at one of the best barns in the world. Training horses was one thing — I knew I could do that — but the other aspects of starting a business felt overwhelming.

Getting married and starting a company turned my world upside down

Before we got married in 2017, my husband asked me where I saw my life going. He told me that if I wanted to become a trainer, he would support me and we could do it together.

That conversation started a big transition period: on Sunday, I quit my job as an assistant, and on Monday, I started Cherie DeVaux Racing. That Friday, I got married and became a stepmother.

I was a self-sustainable person who needed no one, but suddenly I had a husband and stepchild. I went from a highly structured job to the unpredictability of starting my own business. My life was turned completely upside down. For a person who likes order, it was a lot. It still feels like a lot, honestly, but I've become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I haven't made as much money as people may think

If you look me up, you'll see that horses I've trained have won more than $36 million in prize money. But my company only makes a commission on that, and horse training is a business with a lot of overhead. My business has been growing exponentially, so I've been reinvesting almost everything into it. Until last year, my company was the loss-leader in our family, while my husband's business (related to horse breeding) paid the bills.

I pay myself a salary, and give myself a bonus if we have a significant win. I haven't done that for the Derby yet. In part that's because I'm still waiting on the money to come through, and in part because the buzz after winning has been wonderful, but exhausting.

I'm ready to embrace the platform that the Derby win gave me

I've never wanted kids of my own — that baby I was holding at the race is my nephew. I just want to be the cool aunt who spoils her nieces and nephews.

In reality, being a trainer is my whole identity. I'm at the track each morning at 5:30. I can't go on vacations. My husband and I tried last year, and ended up dealing with a horse-related emergency at home while we were in Florida. We're trying to be more intentional about taking time off, but that's hard when you're responsible for 120 horses.

I want my legacy to be having a positive impact on the sport. Our industry gets a lot of negativity, and some of it is warranted. But I've seen drastic improvements in safety and aftercare planning for the horses. We've made progress in leaps and bounds, even in the past five years.

I never set out to be the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. But it's an honor to be that person. Now that I have this platform, I'm ready to embrace it.

• International students travel to the US each summer to work at seasonal and small businesses.
• Now, US immigration rules and global dynamics are making it harder for students to obtain visas.
• Some businesses have noticed a decrease in candidates this summer.

Armed with fuzzy towels and gobs of sunscreen, Americans flocked to pools and beaches on Memorial Day to kick off the unofficial start of summer.

However, there may be fewer lifeguards perched atop their towers this year as the US tightens its immigration process and bilateral relations shift.

"Our number of BridgeUSA lifeguards is down this year," Mike Collins, director of International Aquatics at Continental Pools, told Business Insider. "Specifically, many students from Turkey could not participate because they were unable to secure embassy appointments."

He added, "This is disappointing for us given our long history with Turkish participants, and for the students who remained highly interested in the program but lacked the opportunity to attend."

BridgeUSA invites full-time university students from around the world to temporarily work in the US through its Summer Work Travel Program. The program, operated by the Department of State, draws about 100,000 international students each summer. To qualify, students must obtain a J-1 visa for work-and-study exchange visitors.

These students make up a vital part of the country's workforce, often landing in popular tourist hubs, like Ocean City, Cape Cod, the Florida Panhandle, and the Texas coast during the peak summer season. They typically take on a wide spectrum of hospitality and tourism jobs, including theme park attendants, hotel staff, restaurant servers, retail employees, and more.

Continental Pools, which handles pool management and other related services in parts of the Northeast, has hired through BridgeUSA since 1999. This summer, they will employ over 500 students.

"We started hiring through this program to help meet our seasonal staffing needs for outdoor swimming pools in the summer," Collins said. "While we prioritize hiring as many local lifeguards as possible, our primary domestic candidate pool of high school and college students often cannot work an entire pool season from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day due to their school schedules."

Without BridgeUSA lifeguards, Continental Pools wouldn't be able to fully staff their pools for the entire summer.

"This would lead to delayed pool openings or early closings, negatively impacting our customers, their residents, and our overall business," he said.

At the moment, that's a reality many small or seasonal companies are facing.

Shifting global dynamics

President Donald Trump has imposed visa suspensions on multiple countries, maintaining his strict stance on immigration. The Trump administration has also added new stipulations for those seeking H-1B and student visas, and has paused the green card lottery.

The US has also tightened its screening process, which can include online presence reviews. Although the J-1 is a non-immigrant visa, United Work & Travel President Kasey Simon said those applicants could also encounter issues. Like Collins, Simon said United Work & Travel, a designated sponsor of the Summer Work Travel program, has also noticed a dip in applicants this year.

"We're seeing the same number of businesses participate. However, the requested number of supplemental participants might be slightly less," Simon said. "5% to 10% less overall."

Simon said some students may face delays at their local US embassies. Uncertainty around America's immigration policies could also affect some students' decision to apply.

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

While some applicants may be unable to travel due to major events, others may bypass the US in favor of other economies.

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

The additional hurdles can be difficult for both applicants and US businesses prepping for the summer.

"Each year, we also face uncertainty regarding how many of our participants will be approved or denied a visa, or even the availability of visa interview appointments at the embassy in their country," Collins said. "This makes finalizing housing and work schedules challenging until just before summer.

Lifeguards deal in public safety, making Continental Pool's workforce even more specialized.

"Hiring for positions that require successful completion of lifeguard training is naturally more difficult than hiring for a job at the mall, in a restaurant, or at a hotel. This is true both locally and globally," Collins said.

Even so, Collins believes the program is necessary, and the benefits go beyond staff numbers.

"Beyond filling seasonal gaps, we value the opportunity to host students from around the world. Learning about different countries and cultures and sharing that diversity with our customers is a rewarding experience," Collins said. "I love hearing from customers and former participants who remain in contact long after the season ends."

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

• Kendall McGill landed a project management role by presenting a slideshow during her interview.
• Her 5-minute presentation highlights her previous jobs in the STAR format.
• McGill says it shows her confidence, presentation skills, and preparedness.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kendall McGill, a 32-year-old project manager based in Baltimore. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I'd been working as a project manager at a retail pharmacy company for a while, but a few months ago, I started looking for something new. I hated my role, and it felt like it hated me.

I started searching internally and externally for a new job, and I ended up landing an internal transfer for a different project manager position. It was a lateral move, but I got a 5% pay increase.

I've been using a job interview hack — the same slideshow presentation— since 2018, and I credit it with helping me land this new role and pay raise. It's easy to use and showcases my ability to jump into any role and hit the ground running.

I don't worry about personalizing my presentation for each interview

I remember someone I went to college with used a presentation in a job interview, so I took that idea from her to land a corporate job in 2018. I wanted that job so badly, and I didn't want to be stumbling over my words, looking silly, so I figured the best way to combat that issue was to be prepared.

I also figured nobody else was going into the interview with a slideshow that included a portfolio deck and questions already answered in the STAR format — a framework to answer questions by defining the situation, task, action, and result — so I went for it. I've given a presentation in job interviews ever since then, and I've hardly changed its setup because interviews are the same old song and dance.

I use the same presentation for every job interview, and it has helped me land multiple jobs. I've probably applied to hundreds in the last seven years.

Here's what I put in my slideshow

Toward the beginning of the interview, I ask if I can share my screen and present a quick slideshow. I try to keep the presentation within five or six minutes, and I've never had someone say no. I've also given this presentation in person in paper format once.

If I get the sense that their interview process is more strict, I go through the slides as they ask me questions, keeping my shared screen active. If they ask me to tell them about a time I did xyz, I'll go to the slide that best represents the answer.

The first slide introduces who I am, thanks them for taking the time to interview me, and shares briefly why I'm a good candidate.

The next four slides highlight the last few companies I worked for. I put the logo of the company and a themed title. For example, when I worked at Motorola Solutions, I titled it "high stress, big personalities." In the text, there are three or four bullet points detailing my impact at the company in the STAR format.

The final slides include different tools and platforms I'm familiar with, and a 30-60-90 plan to discuss what my goals will be for the beginning of my time at the job. This is to make sure I'm on the same page with them about what success looks like in the role.

When I send a thank-you email for the interview, I always include the slides alongside my résumé for their review.

My advice for job seekers

I've never had someone react negatively to my presentation.

I feel like hiring managers appreciate that I'm two steps ahead and confident in my presentation skills. For those reasons, I'd absolutely use the slideshow again.

Something I always tell myself is that the only way out is through. I didn't get this job because I presented this to one company, and all of a sudden, they said yes. You've got to show up with your A game at every single interview and keep swinging, because eventually it'll work out.

Do you have a story to share about a unique job-finding hack? If so, please reach out to the reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.

• The proposed tie-up between Izzy Englander's Millennium and Jain Global was announced nearly a month ago.
• Since then, Jain Global has told employees to maintain the status quo.
• The one business unit with questions is the firm's fundamental equities division, led by Townie Wells.

When Izzy Englander's Millennium and Jain Global announced an exclusivity deal less than two years after its buzzy launch, the industry expected a big shake-up.

A roughly a month since the deal was announced, the disruption seems to be limited to one corner of the firm.

While the bulk of the firm's investing businesses are operating as normal and back office staff have been told they are guaranteed compensation through the end of 2026, the firm's fundamental equities unit's fate is uncertain.

Led by former Citadel portfolio manager Townie Wells, the stockpicking unit has struggled to get off to a good start this year, in part due to broader market turbulence. Bobby Jain, who founded the firm in 2024 with $5.3 billion, was spending more time with the unit at the start of the year than with other areas of the business, a person close to the former Millennium executive said.

The unit has lost at least four portfolio managers this year, and Wells' future is also up in the air, three people close to the firm said. Jain Global is evaluating the overall group as the firm plans its next stage. Wells could stay in his current role, and a final decision has not yet been made, these people said.

The four portfolio manager departures include:

• Former Citadel PM Michael Scheer, who is joining Walleye
• Former Millennium PM Costas Constantinides
• Former D1 investor Evan Fiedler
• Niels Heilmann, who traded for Millennium portfolio company Elion Investments for more than a decade before joining Jain

The announced deal, though, has helped the unit retain a leader, a person close to Jain Global said. Adam Wangner, the firm's head of linear equities risk, was expected to leave but is now staying.

In April, Jain Global surprised the hedge fund world by announcing it was returning money to investors and striking a deal to invest exclusively for the $87 billion hedge fund giant Millennium.

The proposed tie-up was negotiated on the Millennium side primarily by the firm's president, Ajay Nagpal, a person familiar with the negotiations told Business Insider, and would prevent Jain Global from raising external capital into its flagship multistrategy fund. The deal is set to close in the third quarter. The two firms declined to comment.

With six offices and over 400 employees — half of whom are investment professionals — Jain will retain its independence while gaining access to Millennium's platform and resources.

The manager was running roughly $6 billion in external capital from backers, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and wealth platforms at banks like Goldman Sachs and UBS. Given Jain's tenure as chief investment officer at Millennium from 2016 to 2022, it was one of the most closely watched launches in industry history. Thanks in part to the cost of proven money-making talent, the firm struggled to produce consistent net returns, with fees consuming the vast majority of its trading gains over its nearly two years of investing.

Jain still plans to add 15 portfolio managers to its roster of more than 200 investing professionals this year. So far in 2026, it has reeled in quant trader Yaming He, formerly of Two Sigma, and Singapore-based stockpicker Alexander Han from Point72, among others.

Alex Morrell contributed to this report.

• Moritz is one of a new class of startups tackling routine legal work for corporate clients.
• After graduating from Y Combinator, the company raised $9 million in a seed round of funding.
• Moritz gave Business Insider an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to fundraise.

More lawyers are leaving established firms to start their own, often using artificial intelligence to do the work of a traditional firm with far less overhead. Pamir Ehsas is one of them.

Until last year, Ehsas was putting in late nights and weekends as a junior lawyer at a large Norwegian law firm, advising clients such as OpenAI on contracts, privacy, and other legal matters. He quit to start Moritz, a law firm and software startup that builds software for its own lawyers.

Earlier this year, Moritz set out to raise a $3 million seed round. It ended up closing $9 million, one week before graduating from Y Combinator. The startup accelerator wrote a fresh check alongside Urban Innovation Fund, 20VC, and Inception Fund, a Swedish investor that bet early on the legal software giant Legora.

The round also drew a star-studded roster of angel investors, including founders of Reddit, Instacart, Cruise, Dropbox, Gusto, and Runway, as well as employees of ElevenLabs, Lovable, and OpenAI.

Ehsas gave Business Insider an exclusive look at the pitch deck he used to fundraise. Some slides were redacted so that the deck could be shared publicly.

The deck paints Moritz, then called Arcline, as a challenger to traditional law firms — one built to offer routine legal work for startups and corporate clients faster and at lower cost.

Its software helps its lawyers draft and review documents, such as offer letters, nondisclosure agreements, and sales contracts.

Moritz is part of a new class of startups rethinking how legal services are delivered. Y Combinator backed three such law firms in its last batch. The LegalTech Fund, meanwhile, started an accelerator to help companies that compete head-on with law firms.

One of the furthest along is Crosby, a Sequoia-backed law firm and startup that provides basic legal services to other startups.

To be sure, Moritz's deck captures the promise of tech-driven legal services more than it delivers on the proof. It still has to prove it can use software to make legal work more efficient without sacrificing the quality and judgment clients expect from lawyers.

"This is why we have a very selective recruitment process," Ehsas said, adding that the company rejects "about 99%" of lawyers who apply for jobs.

Read the pitch deck.

Updated May 26: Memorial Day weekend is officially over, but these massive reader-favorite deals survived the midnight cutoff. I personally verified these top-tier discounts on Apple, Samsonite, Breville, Anker and more brands BI readers keep shopping, but inventory is highly limited today and these sales will disappear without warning. Grab them before prices shoot back up.

Note: Amazon deals can change or sell out quickly during Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day sales are everywhere right now, but most "deals" honestly aren't worth your time. The best deals tend to be on products people already planned to buy anyway: a better TV, an upgraded coffee maker, travel gear that makes flying less miserable, and the gadgets tech pros use every day.

To build this list, I looked at Business Insider readers' most-purchased products on Amazon over the past year, our top-tested recommendations, and what's been hot lately. A pattern emerged quickly. People aren't shopping for random gadgets right now; they're buying practical upgrades that make daily life easier, more comfortable, or slightly less chaotic.

Related: Love books? Enjoy Audible free for 30 days

The best Memorial Day tech deals

Tech is one of the few categories where shoppers wait for big sale weekends before buying. Memorial Day tends to bring some of the year's best prices on Apple gear, premium TVs, noise-canceling headphones, and home audio (and air quality) upgrades. Unlike impulse gadgets, these are the purchases people rarely regret buying.

Apple AirPods (4th Gen)

BUY NOW: Apple AirPods 4, $99 (was $129)

The AirPods 4 are the cheapest AirPods you can buy, but they still deliver the same comfortable fit, strong sound quality, and Apple-friendly features as the pricier models. They're a great pick for casual listeners who don't care about noise cancellation. 

Samsung S90F OLED 65-inch TV

BUY NOW: Samsung S90F OLED 65-inch TV, $1,298 (was $1,698)

At $400 off, the Samsung S90F OLED is one of the best TV deals to shop this Memorial Day. It delivers the rich contrast, vibrant colors, and immersive picture quality you'd expect from a much pricier premium TV, making movie nights, sports, and gaming look incredible. Tech editor Steven Cohen named it best overall in his guide to the best 65-inch TVs.

Anker Nano Power Bank (A1638)

BUY NOW: Anker Nano Power Bank (A1638), $46 (was $60)

This tiny Anker battery disappears into a tote bag or jacket pocket, charges surprisingly fast, and end up becoming one of those "how did I live without this?" purchases. Travelers love it. Commuters love it. BI Reviews tech writer Tyler Hayes loves it.

Coway Airmega air purifier AP-1512 HH(W)

BUY NOW: Coway Airmega air purifier, $160 (was $230)

The Coway Airmega air purifier earned top marks in our testing for quickly removing dust, pollen, pet dander, and other air pollutants. It's a smart Memorial Day buy, just in time for allergy season and summer wildfire smoke, and it's 30% off now.

Life360 tile Bluetooth tracker

BUY NOW: Life 360 tile Bluetooth tracker 4-pack, $50 (was $84)

This colorful Bluetooth tracker is the perfect find for anyone who is always losing their keys, bag, or other important items. Unlike Apple Air Tags, Life360 tiles are both fully iOs and Android compatible.

Samsung The Frame LS03F 4K QLED Smart TV

BUY NOW: Samsung The Frame LS03F 4K QLED Smart TV, $748 (was $998)

Samsung's Frame TV is designed to look like a piece of art on your wall thanks to its flush mount, matte screen, and magnetic frame bezels. Its image quality is mediocre, but its style makes it a great pick for design-focused buyers.

Oral-B iO Series 9 Smart Toothbrush

BUY NOW: Oral-B iO Series 9 Smart Toothbrush, $250 (was $330)

Dentists love Oral-B electric toothbrushes — and the iO series in particular — for its strong clinical backing on effectiveness in removing plaque and preventing gingivitis. The brand also bears the ADA seal of acceptance.

Apple Watch Series 11

BUY NOW: Apple Watch Series 11, $299 (was $399)

The Apple Watch Series 11 boasts improved battery life and 5G connectivity (on the cellular model). It's the most well-rounded smartwatch for iPhone users, offering polished fitness tools and seamless integration with your daily life.

Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar

BUY NOW: Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar, $899 (was $1,099)

The Sonos Arc Ultra carries over everything we loved about the original Arc soundbar while offering bigger bass, improved Dolby Atmos immersion, and cleaner dialogue. It's pricey, but few stand-alone soundbars can match its performance.

Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones

BUY NOW: Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones, $248 (was $400)

The WH-1000XM5 are one of Sony's top over-ear headphones. They boast excellent noise-canceling performance along with great audio quality and a truckload of convenient features.

Related: The 100 best deals at Amazon right now

The best Memorial Day kitchen deals

Kitchen upgrades are a category shoppers tend to save for major sale weekends, especially high-end cookware, countertop appliances, and wellness-minded swaps that can otherwise feel hard to justify at full price. Score deals on foodie-favorite brands like Breville, Vitamix, and Le Creuset, along with smarter alternatives to cheap, plastic-heavy kitchen staples.

Rubbermaid Brilliance 8-piece Pantry Food Storage Container Set

BUY NOW: Rubbermaid Brilliance 8-piece Pantry Food Storage Container Set, $27 (was $40)

With clear walls and an easy-to-store design, this set is lightweight and a breeze to keep clean. They're made with BPA-free plastic and are airtight, leak-proof, and dishwasher safe.

Le Creuset 5.5 qt. Dutch Oven

BUY NOW: Le Creuset 5.5 qt. Dutch Oven, $300 (was $335)

Le Creuset deals are always a good idea. If you're looking for a dependable Dutch oven that can handle any recipe for years to come, turn to the Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Dutch Oven.

Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ by Breville with milk frother

BUY NOW: Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ by Breville with milk frother, $149 (was $200)

This Nespresso model pairs the brand's centrifugal brewing technology with a small countertop footprint and an elegant profile. Pair it with the bundled Aeroccino frother, and you have a coffeehouse setup at home.

John Boos Chop-N-Slice Series Square Wooden Maple Cutting Board

BUY NOW: John Boos Chop-N-Slice Series Square Wooden Maple Cutting Board, $33 (was $37)

Wooden cutting boards won't damage knives, and many, like this one from John Boos, are heirloom-worthy if you take care of them. This flat board is pretty enough to leave on the counter, and easy to maintain.

Chefman 4 QT Compact Air fryer

BUY NOW: Chefman 4 QT Compact Air fryer, $60 (was $100)

The Chefman 4-Quart Air Fryer is small but mighty, and the best small air fryer we've tested. It's ideal for cooking for 1-2 people and small spaces.

Our Place Always Pan 2.0

BUY NOW: Our Place Always Pan 2.0, $95 (was $135)

Our Place's Always Pan is a multi-functional pan that has earned spots in our best nonstick and best ceramic cookware guides. The nonstick coating is slick, and the tall sides are perfect for sauteing, steaming, and making one-pot meals.

Stanley All Day Julienne Soft Cooler Bag

BUY NOW: Stanley All Day Julienne Soft Cooler Bag, $75 (was $100)

The Stanley All Day Julienne Mini Cooler has a color-blocked design, so you can carry your lunch in style. It makes a great gift for college graduates starting out in the workforce.

Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender

BUY NOW: Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender, $55 (was $70)

The Ninja Fit is small but mighty and comes with two trusty 16-ounce sport bottles with spout lids, making it the perfect blender for smaller households and smoothie drinkers with limited counter space.

AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

BUY NOW: AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker, $32 (was $40)

Coffee is a serious necessity for some, and the AeroPress is small, simple, portable, and easy-to-use way to brew a highly competitive, frothy cup of coffee somewhere between a French press and an espresso.

Chef'n LooseLeaf Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Herb Stripper

BUY NOW: Chef'n LooseLeaf Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Herb Stripper, $ (was $7)

If you eat a fair amount of kale in your house, you've probably spent an inordinate amount of time pulling those dark crinkly leaves off of their thick stubborn stalks. A better way to do it? Just thread the stalk of a kale, chard, or collard green leaf into one of the holes of this greens stripper and then give it a solid pull. The stalk will come through the hole while the leafy goodness you want falls away completely.

Related: The best Memorial Day mattress sales: Saatva, Tempur-Pedic, and more

The best Memorial Day travel & style deals

Summer travel season is kicking off, which means Memorial Day is one of the best opportunities to save on the upgrades that make trips smoother, lighter, and far less stressful. From durable carry-ons and comfortable airport outfits to neck pillows and other genius hacks, these are the travel essentials BI Reviews frequent flyers say are genuinely worth packing.

Coop AirJustable Travel Neck Pillow

BUY NOW: Coop AirJustable Travel Neck Pillow, $44 (was $59)

Coop makes some of our favorite bed pillows, so it's no surprise the brand's travel pillow is equally well-designed. Its inflatable design can be worn six different ways, so you get a truly dialed-in fit no matter what seat you're in.

Samsonite Freeform Hardside Carry-On

BUY NOW: Samsonite Freeform Hardside Carry-On, $140 (was $220)

Durable and lightweight, this streamlined carry-on suitcase offers a generous capacity and smooth maneuverability at an affordable price.

Rumpl Everywhere Mat

BUY NOW: Rumpl Everywhere Mat, $60 (was $80)

The Rumpl Everywhere Mat is lightweight, compact, and the most waterproof picnic blanket we tested, making it a great option for camping and trekking.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

BUY NOW: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, $249 (was $299)

The second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds deliver the best ANC performance we've encountered in a pair of in-ear headphones. But while they offer a few welcome tweaks over the previous-generation model, overall performance is very similar.

More travel & style deals

• Delsey Paris Chatelet Air 2.0 Hardside Checked Trunk, $279 (was $419)

• Pander nylon belt bag, $16 (was $20)

• Anrabess 2-piece linen jumpsuit, $49 (was $56)

• Bose QuietComfort Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, $229 (was $359)

• Bagsmart toiletry bag, $15 (was $23)

• Monos Hardside Polycarbonate Spinner Carry-On Suitcase, $297 (was $325)

• Dr. Scholl's Islander Sandals, $48 (was $80)

• Osprey Fairview 55L travel backpack, $181 (was $220)

• Levi's Women's Classic Bootcut Jeans, $40 (was $65)

The best Memorial Day home deals

A few thoughtful home upgrades can completely change how your space feels day to day, and Memorial Day sales are packed with discounts on the products you use constantly. From powerful vacuums and cozy bedding to elevated furniture and decor accents, these are the home buys that make apartments and houses feel cleaner and more comfortable.

Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow

BUY NOW: Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow, $71 (was $89)

The Coop Sleep Goods Original Pillow offers thoughtful features like adjustable fill, a washable pillow cover, and pillow shapes for side, back, and stomach sleepers.

Roborock Qrevo Series QV 35A

BUY NOW: Roborock Qrevo Series QV 35A, $450 (was $650)

The Roborock QV 35A has enough features to make it a virtually hands-off cleaning assistant at a value price. These include well-rounded vacuum and mop performance and a self-cleaning system with cool-air drying. It's perfect for those who want more than an entry-level machine but aren't ready to commit to a more expensive device yet.

Serwall 8-Piece Patio Dining Set

BUY NOW: Serwall 8-Piece Patio Dining Set, $760 (was $1,099)

A solid patio set is a must-have for summer entertaining. This one includes a double-sided umbrella, an extended table, and 6 ergonomic dining chairs.

Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum

BUY NOW: Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum, $350 (was $530)

The Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum is unmatched in its cleaning performance and versatility. It quickly picks up all types of debris from both hard floors and carpeting, and its unique lift-away design makes it easy to clean under low-profile furniture.

Flexispot EN1 standing desk

BUY NOW: Flexispot standing desk, $170 (was $210)

The no-frills Flexispot standing desk moves quickly, smoothly, and quietly to reach your desired height. It's an affordable option for people who need a basic standing desk for their WFH setup.

More home deals

• Shark StainForce Cordless Spot Cleaner, $150 (was $200)

• Beckham Hotel Collection set of 2 Bed Pillows, $60 (was $80)

• Tineco Floor ONE S7 Stretch Ultra Cordless Wet Dry Vacuum, $499 (was $599)

• Linenspa Memory Foam Mattress Topper, $45 (was $60)

• Bissell Pet Hair Eraser DualBrush Upright Vacuum, $250 (was $300)

• Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress, $1,489 (was $1,699)

• Dirt Devil portable spot cleaner machine, $60 (was $110)

• Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, said he's tired of the term "vibe coding."
• Business Insider surveyed readers to find alternatives to the popular techie term.
• Many readers suggested humorous or derogatory descriptions for AI-generated code.

After Claude Code creator Boris Cherny told Business Insider at Anthropic's developer conference that he'd grown tired of the phrase "vibe coding," we asked readers for input on a new name. Readers largely answered with one word: "slop."

"Vibe coding" has become a go-to techie term for telling AI to write code. To solicit ideas for a new term, Business Insider put out a survey asking for suggestions and about how people vibe code.

A few hundred responses rolled in, split about 50-50 between people who said they'd vibe coded within the last six months and those who hadn't. A clear majority of readers used the survey to bash or belittle the topic at hand, showing how many people feel negative sentiment toward the technology and anxiety about employment.

By far the largest group of responses poked at the new tech with the term "slop," which boomed in use over the last few years as the public began to grapple with text, images, and videos created by generative AI. Readers suggested we do the same to describe AI code, with "slopcoding," "slopmaxxing," or "slop spitting." Some other entries include "slopping," "slopify," and "Slop as a Service (SaaS)."

"Clanker," a derogatory term for AI machines and a "Star Wars" reference, also made a few appearances in the data. Readers suggested "vulnerability creation" — a nod to AI code's potential for cybersecurity breaches — and "garbage generation." Readers also suggested terms like "cheapskating coding" and "proscamming.

Two responses, demonstrating fears over AI's impact on the job market, included "unemployment." One suggested replacing the term with "job destruction."

In addition, one respondent wrote that they hadn't used a vibe coding tool "because I actually know how to write code." Another suggested "prompt and pray," writing that they'd used the tools to make a "garbage version" of two basic video games.

The responses weren't entirely negative. "Prompt coding," "autocode," and "token shaping" showed up among the suggestions, as did "speech to code," "choreo-coding," and "agentic engineering."

Business Insider sent over a few reader suggestions to Cherny, and nothing took. He's OK with "autocoding" and "agentic engineering," which, like "vibe coding," was coined by Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI founding member who recently announced he's joining Anthropic. Cherny said neither has quite the right ring.

One reader, who said they mainly use Claude Code for auditing their homelab's security, said they call that work "Claudits." They wrote: "'Vibe Coding' means so many things. Are you building, designing, auditing, cleaning?"

That may be the main reason it's hard to find a replacement — "vibe" is already a catch-all term.

Daniel Deceuster used to go to his colleagues for all manner of things big and small. If he needed to convert a rectangular logo into a square, he'd message one of the designers. If he wanted a new dashboard built, he'd set up a meeting with the engineers.

These days, all Deceuster needs is to open up Claude or ChatGPT — and often within seconds, he gets what he needs. "We're getting more done than we've ever done before," he tells me. But lately, he's been mourning what that productivity has cost him.

Now that he no longer depends on his colleagues for these kinds of tasks, he estimates he's interacting with them about 50% less than before.

"It's sad to see that loss," says Deceuster, a marketing director at the nonprofit Zion HealthShare. "I'm an extrovert. I want to be engaging with people. I want that interaction."

Deceuster is early to recognize a profound shift underway as AI tools permeate corporate America. "People are increasingly choosing to work alone," says Jessica Reif, an incoming professor of management at Wharton who's been studying AI's effects on teamwork.

Signs of strain are already emerging. In January, Cisco found that its employees who were the most active AI users trusted their teams less than intermittent users, likely because the power users were spending more time on their own and less time with their colleagues. "AI can unintentionally create isolation," the company concluded, "when it's adopted individually rather than collectively." The coaching platform BetterUp found that some workers are turning to AI for the kind of feedback they used to seek from mentors and managers. Those employees tended to report lower levels of team coordination, along with higher rates of burnout and a greater desire to leave their jobs.

"We're social animals," says Kate Niederhoffer, chief scientist at BetterUp. Being social is "more than fuel. It's how we survive."

AI is unraveling the social fabric of work. For all the drudgery and indignities of our jobs, so much of what made them tolerable — even meaningful — was the way they brought us together with other people every day. We found mentors and confidants, work wives and sometimes real wives. We vented about bad bosses and gossiped after meetings and put our minds together to accomplish things we couldn't have done on our own. Now those interactions are fading away.

"If we aren't thoughtful about this, we risk turning work into something that feels more isolated and atomized," Reif tells me. "We'll just be combining our inputs in a way that feels more like an assembly line than a vibrant workplace."

In the early years of American history, work was largely a self-reliant endeavor. The vast majority of people were farmers and artisans who worked for themselves. The Industrial Revolution changed that. Businesses suddenly needed large numbers of people to operate the new machines in their factories. And coordinating all that labor required another class of workers entirely with increasingly specialized skills: managers, accountants, engineers, clerks, and salespeople. Americans went from having no colleagues to a lot of colleagues — colleagues they spent most of their waking hours around. Work, in turn, became deeply social.

This was especially the case with white-collar jobs, which required people to combine their various areas of expertise. To do that they had to be in constant contact, giving feedback, negotiating priorities, diagnosing problems, brainstorming solutions. As the world's complexity grew, so did the need for collaboration inside ever-sprawling corporations. Technologies like email, cellphones, Slack, and Zoom facilitated that collaboration.

Then came AI. As evermore powerful models enhanced the productivity of white-collar workers, I predicted companies both large and small would soon need fewer employees — meaning we were heading back to a world where we have fewer colleagues (AI-driven layoffs in the last few months at companies like Meta, Block, and Cloudflare suggest this is happening sooner than I expected). But it's only recently that I started to wonder if the AI revolution will go even deeper — that it won't just shrink companies' workforces, but also weaken the relationships between the employees still working inside them.

If the previous office tools made it easier for colleagues to connect, AI seems to be replacing those connections altogether. "ChatGPT and tools like it are giving us this alternative way to accumulate knowledge that would otherwise be shared interpersonally," Reif tells me. "It gives people this option of opting out."

I can see why people are opting out, because I've noticed myself opting out, too. Over the last two years, I've been tinkering with different ways to incorporate large language models into my work. I still write my own drafts. But once I'm polishing what I've already written, I've found AI useful as a sounding board before I hand my stories over to my editor, Zak. I'll ask it the kinds of questions I used to ask him: Am I overexplaining this section? Is the conclusion lame? Should this sentence go here or should it go there? It's been nice. ChatGPT is always available, so I don't have to wait for Zak to reply. If I disagree with it, I can argue with it without things ever getting heated. I never worry about annoying it with my endlessly obsessive questions.

"Those interactions before required trust and demonstrating vulnerability to one another," Reif tells me. "ChatGPT is lower friction."

For a while, I was pleased with my lower-friction ways. But as I reported out this story, I started to wonder what I might be losing in my quest to bother Zak less. I was certainly talking to him less. Was I missing out on opportunities to learn from him? Was I losing my ability to navigate disagreements? Did I feel less close to him? I wondered what being less needy was doing to the most important professional relationship I have — and what that meant for how I ultimately felt about my job.

Some people might not see AI's anti-social tendencies as that big of a deal. Over the years, white-collar work has gotten so collaborative that it may have gotten too collaborative. Nonstop meetings and constant Slack messages have made it hard for many of us to get any real work done. Those interactions were rarely deep or meaningful anyway.

In some cases, fewer interactions might even make workplaces more pleasant. Peter Pang, cofounder and chief technology officer at Creao AI, an AI agent platform, says there's less conflict among his employees, now that he's overhauled his company's workflow in a way that gets agents to do most of the work. He's gone from spending 60% of his time managing his employees to about 10%.

"My relationships with my cofounders and also engineers are actually getting better because we don't need to be arguing with each other all the time," he tells me. "Arguing with each other is not a very constructive way of building relationships."

Those points, though, overlook something important. The small interactions that our jobs previously forced us to have were what made teams work well together — often without anyone realizing it. They built the goodwill colleagues need to navigate the disagreements that inevitably come up. Just as importantly, they helped employees keep track of what others were working on, preventing them from duplicating each other's work.

"AI gives us this incredible velocity," Reif tells me. "But there's still a lot of interaction and strategic alignment that's necessary to make sure that velocity is directed at the right target."

Maybe that's less true for the solopreneurs who've found ways to remain one-person operations with AI. But for almost every other business, people will still need to coordinate effectively and trust each other — even if their day-to-day work becomes more solitary.

So what's the solution here? One option, says Betterup's Niederhoffer, is to use these tools in ways that enhance our relationships with our colleagues instead of replacing them. Some people are already doing this, asking Claude to help them draft sensitive emails to a peer, or role-play a difficult conversation they're about to have with a prickly boss. BetterUp found that people who use AI this way actually have more interactions than they did a year earlier — both with their direct reports and with colleagues in other parts of the company. "You're learning a new way to relate to people," Niederhoffer says.

Another solution is to build back some of the social time that AI is taking away. Even if we have fewer opportunities to connect through our day-to-day tasks, we can still create other ways to build those bonds. Carol-Lyn Jardine, who advises marketing executives on AI through her consultancy Clarity & Motion Collective, says she can get most of her work done without relying on her two business partners thanks in part to the collection of AI systems that are assisting her. But she makes a point of staying in touch anyway.

"If I don't stop and talk to them about what they're seeing with their clients, we're not really gaining all of those insights and learnings to apply across all of our clients," she tells me. "We're going to have to work a little harder to find those connections and to find the meaning in the relationships we have."

The challenge for all of us will be to juggle these new tradeoffs: the immediate productivity benefits of a less interdependent workplace, alongside our need for teams that work well together and jobs that still give us a sense of connection. Deceuster, the extroverted marketing director, says it's been a difficult balancing act. He's been making it a habit to go out of his way to, for example, walk over to his colleagues' desks to talk instead of slacking them. That's helped restore some of his social time, but he knows those efforts can only go so far in the constraints of a workplace. "It's hard because everyone's trying to get work done," he tells me. "What you don't want to do is lose your job because you're looked at as a distraction."

That's why it's ultimately up to our companies — and the people who are redesigning the way work gets done inside them — to figure out systematic ways to preserve the social aspects of our jobs. And we actually know how. After the pandemic, when companies realized just how important employees' everyday interactions were, many of them forced people back into the office. Others tried something different: They kept remote work and came up with ways to recreate those interactions with a distributed workforce. They rolled out mentorship programs, flew employees in for offsites, and mandated more frequent one-on-ones between managers and employees. They intentionally designed the kind of interactions that used to happen accidentally.

This is often how big changes go: We embrace something new, discover its unintended effects, and redesign our habits and institutions to correct for that. Deceuster says the current AI boom reminds him of the early days of social media. It took us years to understand just how isolating these platforms proved to be, especially for kids. Only now are schools, parents, and governments finally putting up protections. How long will it take for our workplaces to figure out how to benefit from AI's productivity boosts without driving us away from each other? "We don't even know what we've unleashed yet," says Deceuster, "or how to effectively use it."

That matters especially now, at a time when our lives have already grown so solitary. We stopped going to church. We stopped going to union halls. We stopped going to rotary clubs and sports leagues and malls and movie theaters. But we still go to work. Even as all those other communal institutions withered away, work kept bringing us together with other people. If we lose even that to AI, we'll become more efficient than we've ever been — and more alone, too.

Aki Ito is a chief correspondent at Business Insider.

• Tech and labor groups launched AI Dividend, a basic income program that comes with training.
• The program offers a $1,000 monthly stipend, alongside mentorship and project opportunities.
• AI Dividend is working with about 270 former Oracle tech workers who have been laid off.

The rise of AI has been accompanied by fears of massive job loss and some large-scale layoffs.

Now, a coalition of tech and labor organizations has launched a pilot program to retrain and upskill entry-level workers having difficulty finding a job in an automated world and tech workers who have lost their jobs because of artificial intelligence.

The effort, dubbed AI Dividend and led by the Fund for Guaranteed Income, a labor rights organization, and What We Will, a tech worker advocacy group, is providing a monthly stipend of up to $1,000 to a cohort of nearly 50 participants.

The initiative, which began payouts in late March, has $300,000 in initial funding and will distribute $3 million over the course of one year.

Kaitlin Cort, founder of What We Will, and Nicholas Salazar, executive director of the Fund for a Guaranteed Income (F4GI), told Business Insider that their goal is to test what a safety net for widespread AI disruption could look like.

"We're hearing from workers of all levels that they need support," Salazar said. "And we know that without resources, or when facing homelessness like some of our participants are, it is very difficult to invest in retraining."

"The goal is to help participants transition and find another job," Salazar said. "Without the support, they could fall into permanent unemployment."

A shrinking mobility ladder

A data scientist and software engineer who has spent years mentoring through coding bootcamps and nonprofit training programs, Cort said that pathways into tech that offer upward mobility are narrowing.

"In the past year, we're definitely seeing a lot of changes in the industry and a tightening job market, especially for entry-level workers," Cort said.

SignalFire, a platform that tracks over 650 million professionals and 80 million organizations, wrote in its 2025 "State of Tech Talent Report" that entry-level is "collapsing" and that new grad hiring in Big Tech is down over 50% in 2024 from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Cort said there is now a "K-shaped labor market" where demand is growing for senior workers with AI expertise, while junior-level software roles are disappearing. The result, she says, is that computer science graduates are left scrambling for jobs.

"What people need is not just video courses," Cort said, referring to retraining programs. "They need to have a project — ideally with real users — and AI-related job experience to be added to their résumé. So much of that requires in-person mentorship and training."

The UBI debate

There are many vocal critics of UBI in Silicon Valley. Marc Andreessen wrote in 2023 that UBI would turn people into "zoo animals to be farmed by the state." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spent $14 million of his own money on a UBI study and no longer believes it is a good plan.

Dean Grey, an entry-level tech worker struggling to land a new job since his previous contract ended, however, called the monthly checks he receives through the AI Dividend "amazing" and "such a boon."

Grey, a trucker before entering the tech industry, told Business Insider that he had gone through multiple bootcamps and a short-term contract, only to find that his skills couldn't land him a position after hundreds of applications.

"Honestly, this program is still so new, and the curriculum is still developing, but right away I got a real sense of community," said Grey. "And to be honest, just to have a structure again, some guidance, and community allowed me to move forward with some confidence."

As part of the program, Grey is creating an AI chatbot to help newly unemployed people navigate their next steps and answer questions about healthcare, unemployment benefits, and networking opportunities.

A targeted 'cash plus' model

The AI Dividend program is already working with hundreds of laid-off workers, including about 270 laid-off Oracle employees.

Cort said many share a similar challenge: Their experience doesn't match what the current market demands.

"They might have been working on a specific part of a code base that is Java-based and actually quite old for many, many years," Cort said. "And they're not exposed to the new advancements."

Philip Luck, director of the CSIS Economics Program, said it is increasingly hard for governments to balance their budgets and that it is difficult to see a scenario in which any government could make a monthly payout to a large swath of the population.

"I'm 1000% for scaling up unemployment insurance and anti-poverty policies," Luck said, adding that these assistances make sense for people who need to learn new skills or are nearing retirement, and need help getting through broad transitions.

"It's hard for me to see an economy where a majority of labor is not needed," Luck added. "We only have so much money, and we should channel it toward those who need it the most, through really effective, smart, and well-designed means testing."

Salazar said that the AI Dividend is often seen as a UBI program, but it does more than hand out cash.

"UBI is universal, unconditional, and it's supposed to be permanent," he said. "But this program is actually targeted right now for AI-displaced workers, which means it's conditional and it's time-limited to between six and 12 months."

Grey said that there are always people who would take advantage of any program, including UBI, but he is optimistic about its existence in some shape or form going forward.

"It might just mean that we transition to a new way of finding purpose, whether that's not in what we do for occupation, but how we express ourselves or what we do creatively," Grey said. "I don't think that we'll run out of ways to find purpose in life."

• Ferrari just announced its first-ever EV, and the internet was not happy.
• The $640,000 Ferrari Luce, which comes in a light blue, is being compared to a Nissan Leaf and a Kia.
• Markets also reacted unfavorably, with Ferrari's share price down 6% in morning trading.

Ferrari's hot new EV is getting roasted on the internet.

On Monday, the Italian luxury carmaker gave its first look at its first-ever fully-electric car, the Ferrari Luce. The car, designed by former Apple designer Jony Ive and Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, costs $640,000.

Ferrari posted a video on its Instagram of the car being unveiled by Ferrari's F1 drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

The car, which comes with four electric engines, can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, and features a body encased in glass. It comes in three colors: light blue, yellow, and the iconic Ferrari red. It's also Ferrari's first-ever five-seater car.

But the internet wasn't a fan of its design. Several users on X have compared it to the Nissan Leaf, an EV that comes in the same blue and black color way and costs a fraction of its price.

Ferrari's shares were down 6% in early trading in Milan on Tuesday following the unveiling of the Luce.

Ferrari did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

X users got creative in expressing their disdain, with one saying it looked like it was made by South Korean automaker Kia and another calling it "one of the ugliest EV designs ever."

An X user asked if it was possible to "buy the new Ferrari Luce interior without the exterior," and another said they were hoping for something more "batmobile-y."

Other users took it upon themselves to redesign it, using ChatGPT or Grok to generate what they thought the Luce should look like — sleeker, shinier, and lower to the ground.

Speaking on a Cleo Abram podcast released on Monday about the new Ferrari, Newson, the designer, said "critics are part of the process" while innovating.

He said that people are very nostalgic now, and look to the past more than the future, which makes their jobs as designers "very difficult."

Ferrari is far from the first luxury carmaker to have launched an EV. Porsche, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce, and other automakers have launched electric vehicles, too.

Luce enters a tough EV market

The launch of the Luce is a landmark moment for the revered Italian automaker, but it comes as storm clouds gather over the wider EV industry.

Global electric vehicle sales have flatlined this year amid falling demand in the US and China, the world's two largest auto markets.

Major automakers, including Ford, GM, and Honda, have scaled back their ambitious EV plans, scrapping models and writing off billions of dollars.

Ferrari's decision to go electric is unlikely to do much to jump-start the flagging EV transition, but it could help insulate the company from competition from fast-growing Chinese automakers, who are beginning to expand into the luxury market.

Tesla's arch-nemesis BYD launched its luxury Denza sub-brand in Europe last month, and the EV giant's Yangwang U9 supercar, which sells for $233,000 in China, became the world's fastest production car last year.

• Rick Rubin, 63, says his success comes from discipline and showing up even when he doesn't feel like it.
• "I'm a lazy workaholic," Rubin said. "I have to force myself to do it. But I do force myself."
• The Def Jam cofounder also pointed to Eminem as an example of an artist with relentless drive.

Grammy award-winning record producer Rick Rubin, 63, says his success comes down to discipline and showing up.

On Sunday's episode of the "David Senra" podcast, Rubin reflected on the work ethic of great artists, and why consistency has been key to his own success.

"I don't like to quit. I like to see things through. When I start something, I like to see what it can be," the cofounder of Def Jam Recordings and founder of American Recordings told podcast host David Senra.

Despite his zen-like public image, Rubin agrees he's someone who works a lot — even when he doesn't feel like it.

"I'm a lazy workaholic," Rubin said. "I have to force myself to do it. But I do force myself. My demeanor would be to do nothing."

Rubin said what motivates him is getting to the final product, even if the process itself can be difficult.

"That's the point. So, I love the beautiful thing, and it takes a lot of work to get to the beautiful thing," he said, adding that it's "a great feeling" when he gets to share the music he helped create with the world.

"But all of the work up until then, it's like, 'Oh my god, I have to go to the studio today,'" Rubin said.

"It's such a beautiful day. Wouldn't it be nice to just go out and have lunch with friends? But my whole life has been, you know, most of my life in the first 25 years was in a dark room for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week in New York City, working on music," he added.

Rubin said parts of the creative process can be "boring," and there are times when he'd "rather not be there."

But the most addictive part of making music is the "moment of revelation," when a project suddenly goes from "nothing to something really good," especially after a long stretch of trial and error, he said.

Rubin also pointed to Eminem, whom he previously described as the "most obsessive artist" he's ever worked with, as an example of the relentless discipline some artists bring to their craft.

"It feels like his entire life is centered around writing words. He's totally preoccupied with that. So, he always has a notebook. He's always making little notes," Rubin said.

The record producer recalled once asking Eminem whether all the writing in his notebooks was for a new song.

"He's like, 'No, I'm just like keeping active, keeping active in the skill set,'" Rubin said, recalling the rapper's response.

Still, Rubin said diligence and discipline are essential to greatness, even if not every successful artist obsesses over their craft.

"Work ethic is always a part of it, but for some people, work ethic is the reason they are who they are. And there are other people who are just incredibly talented and have enough work ethic to get over the finish line," Rubin said.

Rubin isn't the only entrepreneur who has spoken about the importance of having a strong work ethic.

Selena Gomez, who founded Rare Beauty in 2019, previously said her grandpa taught her the importance of being early.

"My papa used to say, 'If you are on time, you're already late.' So that means I get to places 30 minutes before, or my team has had to trick me because I show up so early, but I like to be prepared, and to say hi and not be rushed," she said.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang previously said he runs the company seven days a week, and part of what keeps him going is the fear of failure.

"I have a greater drive from not wanting to fail than the drive of wanting to succeed," Huang said, adding that he's "always in a state of anxiety."

• Jensen Huang said parents shouldn't stress over what kids study in the AI era.
• Storytelling, creativity, and judgment will still matter, the Nvidia CEO said.
• He said AI will automate tasks but push humans toward harder work.

Parents shouldn't obsess over what their kids study in the era of artificial intelligence, said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

"I think that it won't matter. All the things that used to matter are still things that are going to matter in the future," Huang told Singapore's Channel NewsAsia on Monday.

Instead of chasing AI-proof subjects, students should focus on using AI to deepen their learning and improve their craft, Huang said.

The Nvidia chief pointed to journalism, storytelling, the arts, and design as examples of fields that will remain valuable even as AI becomes more powerful. He pointed out the best interviewers are not just well prepared, but able to stay present, listen closely, and respond dynamically in the moment.

"The ability to tell a story for an audience will remain just as important in the future as it is today," Huang said.

The Nvidia chief also referenced the Japanese concept of "wabi-sabi," or the beauty of imperfection, suggesting that uniquely human qualities could become even more prized in an AI-saturated world.

"Whatever you decide is your passion, the only one thing that you have to do is to make sure that you ask yourself: How can AI help elevate my learning, my craft, my purpose?" he said.

Huang is the latest business leader to weigh in on how AI could reshape education and work.

Earlier this month, futurist and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis told Business Insider that kids will need qualities such as curiosity, purpose, and adaptability to succeed in the AI era.

Meanwhile, entrepreneur and entrepreneur-turned-professor Scott Galloway said on "The Diary of a CEO" podcast that parents should focus on helping children develop durable human skills such as storytelling, communication, and relationship-building.

Huang echoed those themes, arguing that while AI would automate parts of many jobs, it would also push people toward higher-level work requiring judgment and creativity.

"A job is like a basket of tasks," he told CNA. "Many of those tasks will be automated. And my sense is that as a result of automation, we can focus on the harder parts of our work."

Huang also pushed back on concerns that widespread AI use could make people less intelligent or lazier thinkers.

Drawing comparisons to the rise of personal computers, the internet, and smartphones, Huang argued that previous waves of technology increased human ambition rather than diminishing it.

"Do we find ourselves busier or less busy? I think the answer is we found ourselves busier," Huang said.

• Russia said it's making its own anti-drone turret with programmable airburst rounds.
• The ZAK-30 Citadel uses sensors to detect and track incoming drones' flight paths, Rostec said.
• It then tells remote-controlled fuzes in its 30mm shells when to detonate.

Russia's state-owned defense manufacturer unveiled on Monday a new stationary anti-drone turret that fires programmable 30mm rounds, marking its entry into such smart ammo tech.

The ZAK-30 Citadel is specifically meant to protect against quadcopters and fixed-wing drones, using airburst rounds filled with shrapnel, Rostec said in a statement.

Rostec said the Citadel deploys a range of optical and radar sensors to detect and track incoming drones.

Remote-controlled fuzes in the 30mm shells then allow the system to make them explode at the "optimal detonation point based on the target's trajectory," Rostec added.

"Significantly fewer of these projectiles are required to destroy a single target than conventional ammunition," the defense giant said.

A released photo shows that the Citadel's turret head swivels, with its cannon able to pitch up and down for hitting targets at higher angles.

Rostec said the Citadel can be operated "24/7" and has already been tested in combat scenarios. The turret is scheduled to be presented at a security forum in Moscow this week.

These smart 30mm rounds are an answer to programmable ammo already sold by Western manufacturers such as Rheinmetall, which makes Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction ammo for its Skyranger turrets.

The German firm's AHEAD shells are airburst rounds, too, releasing a cloud of tungsten fragments upon receiving a detonation signal.

Northrop Grumman's Bushmaster chain gun can also fire Mk310 programmable airburst munition rounds, which also use remotely controlled fuzes.

Airburst rounds are a common way of bolstering the effectiveness of antiaircraft munitions against drones, with shrapnel or pellets designed to spread out like in a shotgun blast.

• I'm the first name on the emergency contrct form for my son at school. They still call my wife.
• I work remote, so it's easier for me to take on more of the childcare duties in our family.
• I'm embedded in the weekday rhythm in a way a lot of dads aren't. I'm grateful for that.

Every year, I fill out my son's school emergency contact form. Every year, I put my name first. My cell phone. My work number. My email.

And every year, when the nurse needs to reach someone, my wife gets the call.

I don't know if it's muscle memory or an assumption that the mom's number is the right one to try. But it has happened consistently enough that I no longer feel that it's just a random occurance.

This is the frustrating thing about being a dad who has actually stepped up: we've spent decades telling fathers to be more involved, but when we actually show up, the systems don't know what to do with us.

My day is more flexible

I like to call myself the default parent in our house. Not because I'm more nurturing or have some evolved parenting philosophy. Not because my wife is an absent mom or does not want to be involved. I'm it because I work from home. The math is simple. I have enough flexibility that I can be at the school in 15 minutes when I need to.

So I'm the dad on the class roster. The one at the bus stop. The emergency contact who can pick up. If only they would call me.

Our system has been hard for others to adopt

In the day-to-day management of our children, others see my wife as the default parent. When my wife gets added to the class parent WhatsApp groups, she adds me manually, like I'm a special accommodation rather than a parent on the same class roster she is on. Birthday invitations go to her email — always.

When I show up solo to the class Halloween party, I get disproportionate praise. "Oh wow, Dad came!" Like I'm a heroic unicorn instead of a parent doing normal parent things. The moms who show up get nothing. Because, of course, they're there.

If one of our kids is sick, I am working from home with them, and this somehow still shocks people. I'm not angry about this. I'm just noticing it.

The assumptions are not fair to my wife

The arrangement makes sense for our family. My wife is a dean at a middle school, and shockingly, working in education doesn't offer much flexibility. I work from home with a calendar I largely control. We've chosen this system for our family, and it works.

But here's what I don't say enough: it costs my wife something real.

She carries guilt about not being the default parent, and those calls from the nurse and birthday party invites that go to her first are a constant reminder of this. Our society hasn't caught up to our arrangement, and she feels the weight of every cultural assumption about what mothers are supposed to do. She misses things. And she feels that.

I sometimes resent that my flexibility automatically makes me the one who adjusts. My calendar gets Swiss-cheesed when a kid is home sick. I burn meetings to handle a situation in the nurse's office. And because I'm a man doing "mom work," I get praised for the same things women are simply expected to handle without acknowledgment.

That imbalance is strange to sit with.

I'll continue to put my name first

Here's what I love about our system, though: I get to experience so many things that a lot of parents, moms and dads, don't get to. Not because I'm exceptional — because I am fortunate to have the flexibility to be there. I'm embedded in the weekday rhythm in a way a lot of dads aren't. I'm grateful for that. Genuinely.

I want my son to grow up seeing equal parenting as unremarkable. I want my daughter to expect her future partner to actually show up. We built an entire society around the idea that moms take care of the children. Then we started asking men to participate more. We forgot to update the infrastructure.

The WhatsApp groups still add the mom by default. The birthday invites still go to her. The nurse still calls her first. So every year, I'll keep putting my name first on the emergency form. And every year, I'll notice when it doesn't matter.

This year, my son's day camp scheduled orientation for Sunday, June 21st. You know what else is Sunday, June 21st — Father's Day. You know where I will be.

• The Billboard 200 is the definitive all-genre chart for album sales in the US.
• Nine acts in Billboard history have topped the chart at least 10 different times.
• The Beatles have the most No. 1 albums with 19. Taylor Swift and Drake are tied for second place.

Since it began publishing weekly in 1956, the Billboard 200 has tracked the best-selling albums in the US.

Today, it's still an impressive feat to reign atop the chart, especially with several different albums.

Only a handful of artists have crossed into double-digit No. 1s, including modern superstars like pop star-slash-songwriter Taylor Swift and rapper Drake. They're listed below in ascending order.

Editor's note: Although Elvis Presley is often credited with 10 No. 1 albums, a Billboard representative told Business Insider that most of his biggest releases predate the modern Billboard 200 chart, which launched in 1963.

Bruce Springsteen — 11

Bruce Springsteen's 11 chart-topping albums span over three decades, from 1980's "The River" to 2014's "High Hopes" — even though Springsteen has yet to score a No. 1 hit song on the Hot 100.

Barbra Streisand — 11

Barbra Streisand logged her first No. 1 entry on the Billboard 200 with "People" in 1964.

Fifty-one years later, she set a record for the longest span between No. 1s when "Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway," her 2016 studio album, topped the chart.

Streisand previously had the most No. 1 albums among female artists until Taylor Swift broke her record in 2023.

Kanye West — 11

Ye, who still releases music under the name Kanye West, topped the Billboard 200 for the first time in 2005 with "Late Registration."

He logged his 11th consecutive No. 1 album in 2024 with "Vultures 1," a collaborative effort with Ty Dolla $ign.

Eminem — 11

When it was released in 2000, Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" sold over 1 million copies in its first week, easily earning a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200.

Two decades later, "Music to Be Murdered By" debuted at No. 1, becoming Eminem's historic 10th chart-topper. He logged his 11th in 2024 with "The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)."

Future — 11

Future earned his first No. 1 album in 2015 with "DS2," which has since spent over 300 weeks on the Billboard 200.

In 2024, Future's "Mixtape Pluto" debuted atop the chart — his third No. 1 album in just six months and 11th overall.

Earlier that year, Future topped the chart with "We Don't Trust You" and "We Still Don't Trust You," collaborative efforts with Metro Boomin. The former is widely known for reigniting a feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Jay-Z — 14

Jay-Z began collecting No. 1s in 1998 with his third studio album, "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life." In 2017, he extended his total to 14 with "4:44," setting a record among solo artists.

Jay-Z is also one of the most-awarded artists in Grammy history.

Drake — 15

Since pivoting to music after starring on "Degrassi" as a teenager, Drake has racked up 15 No. 1 albums, from 2010's "Thank Me Later" to 2026's "Iceman."

Drake's grand total also includes one mixtape ("Care Package"), three collaborative albums ("What A Time To Be Alive" with Future, "Her Loss" with 21 Savage, and "$ome $exy $ongs 4 U" with PartyNextDoor), and one project mysteriously billed as a playlist ("More Life").

Taylor Swift — 15

Only one of Taylor Swift's 12 studio albums didn't top the chart: her self-titled debut, which peaked at No. 5 in 2008.

Swift earned her first No. 1 later that same year with "Fearless," which has since been ranked the fourth-biggest album in Billboard 200 history. In the 2020s, Swift rerecorded four of her old albums and rebranded each new release as "Taylor's Version." All four of those topped the chart, too.

Most recently, 2025's "The Life of a Showgirl" launched atop the chart with the biggest sales week in history, breaking Adele's record. It became her 15th No. 1 album, extending her record for the most among women. She is tied for the most ever among solo artists.

Swift has also broken Elvis Presley's record for the most cumulative weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a solo artist.

The Beatles — 19

The Beatles hold both records for the most No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 and the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. The latter group includes classics like "Revolver" (1966), "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967), "Abbey Road" (1969), and their post-band breakup compilation "1" (2000).

As a solo musician, Paul McCartney has topped the Billboard 200 eight more times, while John Lennon managed the feat three times before he died in 1980.

• Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Euphoria" season three, episode seven, "Rain or Shine."
• Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) met his gruesome end in "Euphoria" after being buried alive by mobsters.
• Showrunner Sam Levinson said the "horrific" scene was designed to make fans feel uncomfortable.

HBO's once-beloved teen drama "Euphoria" has transformed into a violent, Quentin Tarantino-style crime thriller in its third season — a mutation now complete with a gruesome death for one of its main characters.

In the season's seventh and penultimate episode, titled "Rain or Shine," Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) is buried alive in a wooden coffin (hello, "Kill Bill") as revenge for his outstanding debt to Naz (Jack Topalian), a local businessman and mob-like figure.

Nate's wife, Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney), is forced to come up with $1 million in 72 hours, lest Nate dies underground of dehydration. However, before she can succeed or fail, a rattlesnake slithers through the coffin's airhole.

Once Cassie does get a chance to dig up her husband, she finds Nate's body purplish, bloated, and bloodshot, the poisonous snake coiled around it. The final shot of Nate's face could be ripped straight from a horror film.

Nate has been a principal focus of "Euphoria" since its premiere in 2019. He was introduced as a manipulative high-school athlete with wells of pent-up rage; in season one alone, Nate choked his girlfriend, blackmailed a classmate, and plotted to send an innocent man to prison. He got away with it all.

Season three features a five-year time jump, thrusting the show's ensemble into the harsh light of young adulthood. Many fans have been eager to see Nate finally pay for his crimes — a fact the show's creator and showrunner, Sam Levinson, said was top of mind while plotting the character's fate.

"There's this kind of funny thing where I know what the audience wants in terms of justice or karma and with that in mind, I always think, 'Well, how can I give it to them?" Levinson told Esquire. "How can I give them what they want, but make it so horrific and anxiety-inducing that by the time it happens, the audience isn't so sure they wanted it?"

Levinson said he hoped the audience would feel complicit in Nate's suffering this season, which also involved having multiple body parts cut off in his conflict with Naz.

"It's like, 'Oh, you wanted him to get his comeuppance…? OK," Levinson continued. "You end up going, 'Oh God, I don't know. Should he have had it better? Did he deserve it?' Those kinds of questions are always exciting to pose to the audience."

Levinson has been both praised and criticized for relying on shock value and rage bait in his work, especially in "Euphoria," which delights in portraying its young characters — especially the women — in vulnerable, compromising positions, both literal and figurative. (Sweeney, who's had the most nude scenes of her costars, has defended Levinson from backlash, saying the goal of "Euphoria" is "making people uncomfortable.")

Levinson also prefers to use practical effects to achieve his desired results. He revealed to Esquire that while filming Nate's death sequence, they used real rattlesnakes on set. He said the animal wranglers warned him that the snakes' venomous bites would kill a human in about an hour, but "the nearest hospital's an hour and a half away."

However, the snake placed in the actual coffin with Elordi was a boa constrictor with a fake rattler attached to its tail.

"The snakes were rattling, which is really alarming when you're locked in a box," Elordi said in a behind-the-scenes interview for HBO.

For his part, Elordi has soared to proper celebrity status since first appearing onscreen as the love-to-hate Nate, starring in movies like "Saltburn," "Wuthering Heights," and Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein," for which he earned his first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

"Nate is someone who's made so many mistakes and made so many dark choices. It's cool to see it all come to what it's come to," Elordi said. "This show is a massive part of, not just my career, but my life. It's been amazing, and I'm so proud, being a part of this."

The much-anticipated season three finale will air on Sunday, May 31. Although Nate's fate has been sealed, he leaves Cassie and the rest of the "Euphoria" crew in a range of precarious situations — largely at the mercy of crime lords, drug dealers, and murderous creditors impatient to collect. Given the stakes, Nate may not be the only character who meets a premature end.

"They're in the real world and the consequences are real. There's no safety net," Levinson told Esquire of the season's major themes. "I like this Wild West, frontier aspect to it where you can make something of yourself, but you're going to have to live with the consequences."

Summer is almost here, and Memorial Day sales are already delivering some of the biggest discounts of the season. If you are spending the long weekend shopping, now is a good time to browse deals on patio furniture and outdoor essentials, summer fashion, mattresses, appliances, and tech.

While this will not be the last major sale event of the summer, Memorial Day is usually one of the best opportunities to save on seasonal upgrades before prices climb again. It is also a popular time to shop for kitchen appliances like air fryers and espresso machines, as well as warm-weather staples and home essentials. Below, we have rounded up the best Memorial Day sales worth shopping right now.

Don't forget mattresses, as this is one of the best times of the year, before Black Friday, to save hundreds on some of our top-tested beds from the likes of Saatva and Sleep Number.

My favorite Memorial Day deals

Memorial Day sales roundup

Outdoor furniture

With cool summer nights and warm sunny days ahead, outdoor furniture is in high demand. The best brands aren't cheap, but for Memorial Day, you can save hundreds on our top picks just in time for nights around the fire pit.

• Check out our roundup of the best outdoor furniture deals from Wayfair.

Mattresses & bedding

Weekends like Memorial Day are the best times of year to buy a mattress. If you've been holding out, you can finally buy with peace of mind: tons of our top-tested beds are at their best prices of the season.

• Browse our roundup of the best Memorial Day mattress sales.

Indoor furniture

Good furniture isn't usually cheap, so an event like Memorial Day is the perfect time to invest in pieces you'll love with sweet discounts. Premium brands and budget finds are all on sale now, so don't miss out on your next couch or standing desk upgrade.

Home & kitchen

Ready to upgrade your beaten-up vacuum? Finally ready to accept an air fryer into your home? Check out these Memorial Day home and kitchen sales — everything is discounted, from stick vacuums to viral cookware.

Tech

"What kind of tech is on sale for Memorial Day?" you might be wondering. As someone who tracks deals every season, I can tell you it's the usual suspects, at their typical best prices. Apple devices, TVs, and subscription services are dropping prices for the holiday, just in time to snag a graduation gift or Father's Day treat.

Clothing

The seasons are changing — away go the winter coats, and out come the swimsuits, breathable tees, and shorts. Luckily, several of our top recommended apparel and travel brands are welcoming the warmer weather with major sales on styles we've tested and love.

Beauty

Beauty and makeup may not be your first thought when it comes to Memorial Day deals, but you'd be surprised how many brands celebrate the occasion with price cuts. Save now on haircare, skincare, makeup, and more from brands we've tested and recommend.

Memorial Day sales and deals: Frequently asked questions

When is Memorial Day 2026?

Memorial Day 2026 lands on Monday, May 25. For many, this means a blissful three-day weekend from work or school.

When do Memorial Day sales end?

It's difficult to say exactly when all sales will end. As a rule of thumb, I always advise shopping before Memorial Day itself, since few retailers promise to continue discounts beyond then.

A select few stores (mainly mattress and furniture brands) will continue their promotions through early this week, so late readers may still have a chance to score a price cut.

What about Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon announced its annual Prime Day will be returning in June, but has yet to specify exact dates.

If you're wondering whether it's worth waiting until then to shop, your instinct isn't entirely wrong. It's true: many items will be down to all-time lows for the event, marking huge savings on vacuums, Apple tech, beauty products, and more.

However, Amazon Prime Day is exclusive only to that single retailer. Because of that, you can't find smaller businesses, DTC mattress brands, or exclusive style companies on sale for the event. Memorial Day is still an excellent chance to save big from stores across the board, so I recommend jumping on these deals while you can.

See more: Memorial Day mattress deals | Amazon Memorial Day deals | Saatva Memorial Day | Sleep Number Memorial Day | Leesa Memorial Day | Wayfair Memorial Day

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Mattresses are a big deal for us on Insider Reviews. Countless hours of testing, heavy lifting, and yes, sleeping, have informed our top bed recommendations, helping us to highlight the most worthwhile options worth investing in. With these Memorial Day mattress sales, you can save big on beds you'll love lying in every night.

From luxury brands like Saatva (famously partnered with the Olympics to keep the world's top athletes sleeping soundly all night) to highly customizable household names like Sleep Number, pretty much everyone is chipping in discounts for this holiday. I've gathered all of the sales running now below and cherry-picked my top five deals you can score this long weekend.

Don't wait to shop these Memorial Day mattress deals. Many carry on after Monday, but not all do. Stock is also limited, so if you are ready to commit to a bed, don't hesitate to add it to your cart.

My favorite Memorial Day mattress deals

As a deals editor on Insider Reviews, I look for the best mattress deals year-round, not just during Memorial Day. More than just a three-day weekend, this holiday is one of the best times of year to buy a new bed without skimping on quality. These are five of my favorite Memorial Day deals, all recommended in our mattress guides.

Tempur-Pedic Memorial Day mattress deals

Tempur-Pedic is an established name in the mattress industry, well-known for comfort, premium materials, and durability. It's definitely on the pricier side, though, so a good Memorial Day deal is the way to save hundreds on one of the brand's beloved models.

Read our full Tempur-Pedic mattress review for our top picks from the brand.

Saatva Memorial Day mattress deals

When it comes to luxury sleep, look no further than Saatva. The Classic is our all-around pick for most shoppers, making it the luxury pick in our guide to the best mattresses. For Memorial Day, shoppers can score a sweet $400 off orders over $1,000 — so basically every mattress is on sale.

Read our full Saatva mattress review for more of our favorites.

Leesa Memorial Day mattress deals

Leesa is a tried-and-true favorite here at Insider Reviews. We're not the only ones, either — the Leesa Sapira Hybrid is a beloved bed across the internet. The brand walks the line between luxurious comfort and attainable pricing, making it an investment that pays off every night.

Read our full Leesa mattress review for all the beds we've tested.

Casper Memorial Day mattress deals

Casper is one of the most popular brands to come out in recent years. It's credited with popularizing the bed-in-a-box trend, and for good reason: its beds are really great to sleep on. For Memorial Day, the brand is offering up to 30% off its mattresses, marking the best sale we've seen in months.

Read our full Casper mattress review to learn more. Also, check out our latest roundup of the best Casper coupons to stay in the know about future deals.

Sleep Number Memorial Day deals

Sleep Number is still a household name, known for customizable beds perfect for picky sleepers — especially couples. Its beds are highlighted in our guides to the best mattresses for back pain and side sleepers; now, for Memorial Day, it's offering major savings on everything, from smart beds to furniture.

Check out our review of the Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed.

See more: Saatva Memorial Day | Sleep Number Memorial Day | Leesa Memorial Day | Wayfair Memorial Day | MasterClass Memorial Day

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Happy Memorial Day! Whether this Monday marks a day off with family or another typical work shift, don't forget to shop the day's limited-time deals. Tons of retailers are commemorating the holiday with juicy sales, and the Memorial Day furniture sales are ripe for the picking.

With warmer weather on the horizon, outdoor furniture and patio picks are popular items to shop for right now. You can save hundreds from stores like Burrow, Amazon, and Breeo, making it easier than ever to set up your yard for summer nights around the fire. Indoor designs are also at excellent lows for the holiday — now is the time to jump on your next bed frame or couch without shelling out full price.

Read on to find a comprehensive roundup of the best furniture sales to shop now from brands we've tested and love, plus specific picks of ours that are down to great lows. If you're looking for more holiday sales, check out our guides to the best Memorial Day sales, Memorial Day mattress sales, and Amazon Memorial Day deals.

The best Memorial Day patio furniture deals

Ninja Fireside360 Outdoor Heater and Fire Pit

Buy now: Ninja Fireside 360 - $500 $450 at Amazon

The perfect centerpiece to a backyard conversation pit, the Ninja Fireside360 is part patio heater, part fire pit. Heat output and flame strength are customizable, and it's completely smokeless, sparing you frustrating cleanup. It's a newer Ninja product, and this matches the previous all-time low discount price.

Beachcrest Home Shawnna Adirondack Chair

Buy now: Beachcrest Home Shawnna Chair - $269 $99 at Wayfair

These foldable Adirondack Chairs from Beachcrest Home offer that classic outdoor appeal and come in a wide variety of colors to fit your patio, from neutral grays to vivid brights. Down to $100, this is the best price we've seen among its frequent discounts.

Article Skane 48-inch Outdoor Coffee Table

Buy Now: Article Skane Coffee Table - $599 $499 at Article

Not your traditional outdoor patio table, the Skane offers a modern, pop appeal with refreshing color, smooth edges, and rounded corners. It's down by $100 during Article's Memorial Day sale, marking a rare chance to save.

Burrow Relay 4-Piece Sofa

Buy now: Burrow Relay Sofa - $3,745 $2,247 at Burrow

With supportive cushions that feel soft but don't need fluffing, and a durable metal frame that withstands the harshest weather, the Burrow Relay collection is one you'll love coming back to. It's a financial investment for sure, but for Memorial Day, it's almost $1,500 off.

The best Memorial Day indoor furniture and couch deals

Koala Sofa Bed

Buy now: Koala Sofa Bed - $1,990 $1,690 at Koala

Ideal for compact spaces, the Koala Sofa Bed has a tight footprint that feels comfortable to use all day and quickly unfurls into a bed for guests. Its cushions are also washable, in case your visitors have an accidental spill or two.

CB2 Providence 90-inch Cerused Oak Dining Table

Buy now: CB2 Providence Dining Table - $1,699 $1,399 at CB2

CB2 is one of our favorite places to buy furniture online, with designs that stand out and feel modern. They're not typically cheap, so during its Memorial Day sale, you can find picks like this oak dining table at up to $300 off.

Flexispot EN1 Standing Desk

Buy now: Flexispot EN1 - $210 $170 at Amazon

A standing desk is a purchase that can vastly improve your desk life quality, and for less than $200, this is an absolute steal. Sturdy, customizable, and comparable to much pricier options, this is one of our favorites in our guide to the best standing desks.

Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Ergo Smart Base (Queen)

Buy now: Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Ergo - $2,199 $1,999 at Tempur-Pedic

If you're looking for improved sleep, this bed will help make the changes for you. This smart base tracks factors like breathing, heart rate, and air quality to pinpoint the problem factors in your setup, even adjusting when it detects your snoring. With $200, this is one of the best deals we've seen for it.

Plufl Human Dog Bed

Buy now: Plufl Human Dog Bed - $299 $249 at Plufl

You're not the only dog owner to look at your pup's bed and yearn for its comfort. This Shark Tank investment-worthy creation offers incredible comfort, and right now, you can save $50 on your very own.

See more: Memorial Day sales | Memorial Day mattress deals | Amazon Memorial Day deals | Saatva Memorial Day | Sleep Number Memorial Day | Leesa Memorial Day | Wayfair Memorial Day

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• Pope Leo XIV presented a sweeping letter about AI alongside Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah.
• Olah's presence sparked jokes online that Pope Leo is Anthropic's latest high-profile hire.
• Both Olah and the pope warned of the dangers of AI in their speeches at the Vatican.

No, Pope Leo XIV — the 267th Bishop of Rome, who leads over 1.4 billion Catholics — isn't joining Anthropic.

After the Vatican invited Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah to help unveil the pope's big letter warning about AI— and he publicly thanked Olah — the internet started joking that one of Silicon Valley's hottest AI startups had recruited the head of the Catholic Church.

During his speech, the pope thanked Olah — who was sitting a few seats down — for coming, and pledged to work together to "find a way for humanity in this time of artificial intelligence."

The San Francisco AI startup does have an in-house philosopher tasked with teaching its chatbot to be moral. Anthropic has also gained a reputation for hiring high-profile people, recently bringing on AI star Andrej Karpathy and the chief technical officers of Stripe and Workday.

However, the memes are just jokes. (Business Insider did reach out to Anthropic just to make sure, but it didn't immediately respond.)

Tech companies, including Amazon, Google, and Meta, are all lobbying the Vatican to work more closely on AI. Anthropic's longtime focus on AI safety brings it closest to the Vatican's view that AI needs to be "disarmed."

An ominous warning

In his speech, Olah, the co-founder of Anthropic, said there were three areas where the Vatican's voice was needed.

One is supporting the poor if AI displaces human labor on a very large scale. Second is making sure that humans who use AI can "flourish" — like making sure chatbots don't ruin kids' minds.

Olah's third point was the most mysterious. He said humanity needs to closely examine what is happening inside AI models, and hinted that they may be showing signs of consciousness.

"We keep finding things that are mysterious, even unsettling. We find structures that mirror results from human neuroscience. We find evidence of introspection," Olah said.

"I don't know what that means, but I think it warrants ongoing discernment."

• Ryan Saltzman is the only one of his four siblings to work in the family business.
• He worked hard to earn his employees' respect and learn how to work with his dad.
• The 100-year legacy of the business motivates him to keep it going, he says.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ryan Saltzman, vice president of Banner Wholesale Grocers. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was a junior in college, I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do for a career. Then, my dad called.

I'd grow up watching my dad and grandfather work hard at Banner Wholesale Groceries, the company that my great-grandfather founded. That day on the phone, my dad explained that he had recently bought out my cousins' share of the business. Banner was doing well, but not phenomenal, and my dad wanted me to help grow the company.

Saying yes wasn't the easiest decision. All of my friends were getting fun, creative jobs or working in downtown high rises. Our business was based in a warehouse in an industrial part of Chicago. And yet, my dad had asked for my help. I couldn't say no.

The first few years had a steep learning curve

The first few years were definitely difficult. Coming to work and having your dad be your boss has a different dynamic than reporting to someone you're not related to. With my dad, work always comes first when we're at Banner.

None of my three siblings works for the business, but they're still involved. Some of them have worked here in the past, before amicably moving on to something else. They attend all the company and community events we host, because the business is important to our whole family.

I took time to really understand all facets of the business

When I started working here, I wanted to gain the respect of the employees, even coming in as the young son of the owner. I did that by working in every part of the business from the ground up. We've had tremendous employee loyalty, so I wanted to show them I understood their jobs.

I knew I couldn't just come and take over. I had to put in the work to really understand the business at a deeper level.

As a company owner, there was pressure to be the face of the business. I had to be mindful of keeping work at work, and my life outside the company, outside. I wanted to be a leader of employee teams, but I wasn't very familiar with employees. Striking that balance was sometimes tough.

I've been intentional about building a life outside work

In part because of that, I made sure to do things that I enjoy outside the business. I didn't want work to become my whole identity, so I made sure to play basketball and travel.

That helped bring balance to my relationship with my dad, too. We both love the Chicago Bulls, and he's a season ticket holder. When we go to a Bulls game, we don't talk about work — we just enjoy basketball and each other's company.

If you let work become your life, you'll drive yourself crazy. I've been intentional about making sure that my sense of self and my relationships with family aren't all centered on the business.

I appreciate the impact the business has had over 100 years

My dad has been working at Banner for 57 years. When I joined the company 14 years ago, it was hard to imagine spending that much time in one job. Now, I can't see myself doing anything else.

I'm always focused on the bigger picture: how important the business is to my family and to our 110 employees. Working here has made me appreciate my family and what the company has given us. The business not only keeps us connected, but it helps provide for my parents, siblings, and — hopefully, one day — my kids.

This is our 100th year in business. I love thinking about the impact the business has had over that time: on my family, our employees, and our customers. I've built relationships with customers who have been buying from Banner for decades. That makes coming into the warehouse on a cold Chicago morning a lot easier.

• I recently visited the Azores for the first time and was astounded by how untouched they felt.
• Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, the archipelago is only a five-hour flight from Boston.
• The islands are an adventurer's paradise, with endless hiking trails and outdoor activities.

The trip I took to the Azores — an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, less than 1,000 miles from mainland Portugal — had been a long time coming.

The nine islands span approximately 370 miles and operate as an autonomous region of the European country. My boyfriend's family is from São Miguel, the largest one, so the Azores have been on our "must-visit" list for some time.

After learning that their beaches, lush landscapes, and unique flora and fauna have earned them a nickname as the "Hawaii of the Atlantic," I knew I had to go.

Even as the Azores have experienced an uptick in visitors since the pandemic, the two islands we visited, São Miguel and Flores, felt unspoiled. At multiple moments of our 10-day trip in March, my boyfriend and I felt like the only people for miles.

One of the best parts about the Azores is how accessible they are from Boston and New York.

Reaching the Azores is surprisingly easy from the US.

There's a five-hour flight from Boston and a six-hour flight from New York City direct to São Miguel. I was arriving from Lisbon, so I took a two-and-a-half-hour direct flight to the island.

We spent six days on São Miguel before flying to the more remote, westernmost island of Flores, where we stayed for four days.

I recommend visiting during the shoulder months to get better deals and avoid crowds.

The most popular time to visit the Azores is the summer, specifically between June and September. Accommodations and rentals regularly sell out during this period, so it's best to book in advance.

I recommend planning a trip during the shoulder seasons, either between March and May or September and December, for lower accommodation rates and less tourist congestion — two things I prioritize when I travel.

When we went in March, some restaurants were still closed for the offseason, and we had to deal with more rain than we likely would've in summer. However, those blips were worth it for the cost savings and lack of crowds.

Stopping at lookout points in our rental car turned out to be one of my favorite activities.

My boyfriend and I flew between São Miguel and Flores, but once we were on each island, we got around by rental car. I highly recommend adventurous tourists do the same.

Although the main towns are walkable and we could've relied on buses, tours, or taxis, having our own car gave us so much freedom to explore.

Driving throughout the islands was one of my favorite activities because of the countless miradouros, Portuguese for "viewpoints," where we stopped to take in remarkable coastal views.

Scattered throughout the islands, some of the miradouros only have room for one or two cars to pull off onto the side of a cliff. Others were more conducive to gathering, with picnic tables and grills.

My favorite one was São Miguel's Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego, which has a garden filled with perfectly manicured hedges and vibrant flowers and looks out to the North Atlantic. Cats greeted me upon arrival, and every vantage point (even the restroom) had an unbelievable view.

As someone who loves the outdoors, the islands were a prime travel destination.

We had no shortage of hiking trails to explore on São Miguel and Flores. During our trip, we hiked along dramatic coastlines, to hidden waterfalls, through historic villages, past fields of cows and horses, and around serene lakes.

Most of the trails were well-marked, but a few sections lacked clear footpaths, so we had to forge our own. Although both islands have year-round residents, we rarely saw anyone else on our hikes. So when we reached the trail's destination, whether it was a waterfall or beach, we had it all to ourselves.

We loved the Salto do Cagarrão and Salto do Prego waterfall trails on São Miguel and also did a portion of the PR02 FLO route on Flores.

Even for those who don't hike, the Azores are an outdoor paradise. Visitors can soak in geothermal pools, ride ATVs, go canyoning, or spend time whale watching.

On a rainy morning in Furnas, a town on São Miguel, we visited the natural hot springs and soaked in the mineral-rich, 102.2-degree water underneath cool raindrops.

My time in the Azores made me appreciate a slower pace and natural beauty.

I felt a sense of calm and a deep connection to the world around me while in the Azores, and I deeply admired the residents' slow-paced lifestyle, strong sense of community, and commitment to protecting the environment.

Thrill-seekers, ecotourists, or those simply seeking a nature-filled escape will find what they're looking for there.

However, it's essential that they remain mindful of the locals and environment, preserving the islands' natural wonder. Even though the government proactively protects the islands through strategies such as the Sustainability Charter of the Azores, a voluntary initiative that encourages organizations to adopt eco-friendly practices, visitors should still do their part.

My boyfriend and I hope to return soon and explore the other islands. Until then, I'll feel saudade, a Portuguese word for a deep sense of longing and nostalgia, for the islands and the peace I felt there.

• Taylor Swift has been busy the past few months, attending award shows, sporting events, and more.
• Her signature style has been on display at every occasion.
• Swift's best looks have been simple and elegant. Her worst was too corporate.

Taylor Swift is back.

No, she hasn't announced her 13th studio album or another massive world tour. She's simply stepped back into the spotlight after a few quiet months away.

Since March, the music icon has been photographed at award shows, walking around New York City, and sitting courtside at an NBA playoff game — usually with her fiancé Travis Kelce in tow.

Naturally, she's worn statement outfits for each occasion. Designer jackets, expensive jewelry, and luxury handbags remain her signatures.

Some of her recent looks are the epitome of her effortless street style, while others haven't made much sense. Here's how we'd rank what she's worn this year, from her worst ensemble to her best.

Taylor Swift brought back peplum tops in May, but she probably shouldn't have.

She was photographed in New York City wearing a $1,190 white button-up blouse from Stella McCartney, $1,350 The Row trousers, sandals from the same brand, and a black leather belt.

The bottom half of the outfit was chic, but her top looked too formal, making the outfit feel corporate.

It couldn't be saved by Swift's $4,500 Fendi bag or her Cartier Santos Demoiselle watch.

She chose elevated basics for an NBA playoff game, though they weren't super memorable.

Swift and Kelce were sitting courtside when the Knicks played the Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Both wore denim outfits for the game, though Swift's look was undoubtedly more flashy. She paired $790 Stella McCartney jeans with a black denim jacket and a chain-embellished tank top from the designer.

Swift also sported a Dior purse, Stella McCartney sandals, and an assortment of gold jewelry — including her massive engagement ring.

The outfit was cute, but also simple and a little forgettable.

The musician accepted 7 iHeartRadio awards in a green corseted minidress.

Wiederhoft designed the ensemble, which was sleeveless and decorated with silver sparkles.

Swift wore it with $36,000 Dena Kemp earrings and Jimmy Choo sandals. The assortment of rings and bracelets she donned also retail for a total of $36,000.

Swift looked pretty, and her outfit was solid. It wasn't her best look of the year, but it was far from her worst.

Swift's street style reemerged in April, and it was strong from the start.

On one New York City outing, Swift paired a striped Staud dress in blue and white with $1,195 Christian Louboutin sandals and a mini Lady Dior bag in yellow.

The outfit was fun and perfect for summer. The mix of diamond and opal jewelry she wore with it only added to the look.

Her date-night style this year has been feminine and flowing.

Just look at the floral Doen dress she wore for a night out with Kelce in May. The off-the-shoulder design had puffed sleeves, a semi-sheer skirt, and a ruffled neckline.

The dress was cute on its own, but looked even better with Swift's choice of accessories: $920 Aquazzura sandals, gold jewelry, and a small raffia bag.

Swift proved that you can't go wrong with a classic black-and-white outfit.

A different night in New York City, Swift was photographed wearing a white Retrofête minidress. The simple garment had a high neckline, long sleeves, and a short pleated skirt.

On its own, the dress might not have stood out on Swift. However, she accessorized to perfection.

She contrasted the garment with a slouchy Dior purse in black, slingback heels from Gucci, and a ponytail.

Even as a wedding guest, Swift sparkled.

Swift and Kelce attended a wedding in New York City this month and were photographed outside the event.

While Kelce sported a black Essentials suit with subtle pinstripes, Swift glowed beside him in a shimmering Maria Lucia Hohan gown.

The sleeveless design had waist cutouts, all-over ruching, and thin straps.

It looked stunning on Swift, who wore it with gold Aquazzura sandals and opal jewelry that previously belonged to Elizabeth Taylor (whom Swift name-checked on her latest album).

• The creator economy has captivated notable VCs' attention and checks.
• Some creator-focused startups are raising millions of dollars.
• Here are the pitch decks that 47 startups used in Series A, seed, and pre-seed rounds.

The creator economy has bred a generation of startups — from influencer-marketing companies to new social-media experiences.

These startups have captured the attention and wallets of influential venture capitalists and angel investors over the last several years, giving rise to many unicorn valuations in the space.

Meet 17 creator-economy startups to watch in 2026, according to VCs

AI is continuing to fuel investor interest in the creator economy. For instance, Hedra, a generative AI startup used by some creators to make viral content, announced a $32 million Series A led by A16z in 2025.

These 13 creator economy startups pulled in about $2 billion in funding in 2025

Other categories, such as social commerce, are also top areas of interest for investors. ShopMy, which previously shared its Series A pitch deck with Business Insider, raised another $147 million in 2025 and was valued at $1.5 billion.

Creators themselves, like Emma Chamberlain and MrBeast, are also raising venture capital for their businesses.

See the leaked pitch deck Chamberlain Coffee used

So, how do creator-economy startups land those investments? Often, it starts with a pitch deck. 

Lumanu, a creator-focused financial startup, uses a simple pitch deck that's more of a "conversation guider," its cofounder and CEO, Tony Tran, told Business Insider.

"My pitch is always why, what, how, and why now?" Tran said. (Read the full pitch deck here.)

Every startup has a different approach.

Some even ditch the pitch deck altogether and opt for an email or Notion document.

Check out 16 VC firms investing in creator economy startups

We talked with founders who've pitched their startups to investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.

Read the pitch decks that helped 47 creator-focused startups fundraise millions of dollars:

Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.

Series A

• Restream, a livestreaming alternative to platforms like the Amazon-owned Twitch: $50 million Series A (14 pages)
• Hedra, a generative AI video platform: $32 million Series A (9 pages)
• Dub, a fintech startup that lets people copy influencers' stock trades: $30 million Series A (15 pages)
• ShopMy, an affiliate platform that lets creators earn commissions through shoppable landing pages: $26.5 million Series A (23 pages)
• Posh, an IRL events startup: $22 million Series A (12 pages)
• Pearpop, a creator-marketing platform: $18 million Series A (18 pages)
• Spoon Radio, a social-audio startup: $17 million Series A (15 pages)
• Kyra, a content studio, talent-management firm, and influencer-marketing platform: $15 million Series A (20 pages)
• Allstar, a startup helping gamers become social-media creators: $12 million Series A (6 pages)
• Lumanu, a business-solutions platform for creators: $12 million Series A (8 pages)
• Hype, a platform for link-in-bio and other creator-monetization tools: $10 million Series A (13 pages)
• Catch+Release, a startup that helps creators and everyday social-media users license their content to brands: $8.8 million Series A (12 pages)
• Slip.stream, a music startup focused on gamers: $7.5 million Series A (13 pages)
• Brag House, an esports startup: $5 million Series A (24 pages)
• CreatorDB, an influencer marketing company: $4.7 million Series A (13 pages)

Seed

• Linguana, an AI video translation startup that is targeting YouTubers: $8.5 million (13 pages)
• AvatarOS, a startup building virtual avatars for social media, gaming, and other immersive experiences: $7 million (11 pages)
• Hypernatural, a generative AI startup that wants to be the Canva for video: $6.8 million (14 pages)
• Flick, an AI video generation startup for filmmakers: $6 million (10 pages)
• Scenario, a generative AI startup to create gaming art and assets: $6 million seed (8 pages)
• Sesh, a music startup that connects artists and fans using their mobile wallets: $5 million seed (13 pages)
• Authoritive, an online course-development startup: $5 million seed (11 pages)
• Dstlry, a comic-book creator startup: $5 million seed (26 pages)
• Dharma, a travel startup for creators and brands: $4.7 million pre-Series A (17 pages)
• Glystn, an AI-powered community-management platform: $4 million seed (15 pages)
• Daisy, an influencer marketing startup that launched in 2024: $3.9 million (9 pages)
• Anima, an augmented-reality startup: $3 million (15 pages)
• Grandstand, a sports startup working with athlete creators: $2.75 million
• Seam Social, a new Web3 social-media platform: $2.5 million (10 pages)
• Spark, a digital art platform from the YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth: $2.5 million seed (9 pages)
• Insense, a startup helping e-commerce brands get low-cost ads: $2.5 million pre-Series A (9 pages)
• Supercast, a podcast subscriptions startup: $2 million seed (20 pages)
• Chartmetric, a music-data and -measurement company: $2 million seed (46 pages)
• Ultimate Playlist, a music-marketing startup: $2 million round (9 pages)
• Magroove, a music distribution and discovery platform: $1.6 million seed (21 pages)
• Stagetime, a professional-networking startup for performing artists: $1.5 million seed (13 pages)
• Jubilee Media, a content studio looking to expand beyond YouTube and TikTok: $1.1 million seed-plus (12 pages)

Pre-Seed

• Storiaverse, a startup for animators and writers: $2.5 million pre-seed (16 pages)
• July, a "talent manager in your pocket" for creators: $2.3 million pre-seed (9 pages)
• Squads, a startup that helps creators mint and sell crypto coins: $1.8 million pre-seed (12 pages)
• Skye, a career-coaching platform: $1.6 million pre-seed (33 pages)
• Punchup Live, a comedy platform: $1 million pre-seed (19 pages)
• Spore, a content and community-building startup: $1 million pre-seed (17 pages)
• Hashtag Pay Me, a startup that helps creators price brand deals: $200,000 pre-seed (9 pages)

Other

• Humanz, an influencer marketing platform, raised $15 million for an M&A spree (28 pages)
• Our Future, a short-form video-news brand that targets Gen Z: acquired (15 pages)
• Rodeo, a social shopping platform, shared the pitch deck it used to get into an Andreessen Horowitz startup accelerator (11 pages)

• Victoria Lee Jones, 37, is a contractor, interior designer, and single mom in Brooklyn.
• When Connor outgrew his crib, Victoria designed him a toddler man cave to encourage independence.
• She lined the walls with inspirational decor to remind Connor that he can pursue his dreams.

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

As my son Connor was getting ready to turn 2, I knew I wanted to redesign his room to teach him independence. As a single mom who also runs a business, it has always been a priority for me that he learns to do things on his own, no matter his age.

As he started to outgrow his crib, I spent about six months considering how to design a room that would be functional, beautiful, and give him the independence I'd prioritized.

He'd been pretty sick as a baby, and we didn't have much of a consistent routine. I hoped a room redo would help us establish a new normal. I considered how he'd access toys, his bed, and clothes, all on his own level.

He gets to make independent choices

Even though I keep most of his clothes in the closet, I've put a little wardrobe at his level in the room. Every couple of days, I change the clothes in the wardrobe so he can choose what to wear each day and get dressed himself.

Since everything is accessible to him, he is able to help me clean the room, teaching him from a young age that it is his responsibility to keep his space tidy.

He's now got a whole routine that involves lots of choice, and independent play and sleep.

The room wasn't just about functionality — I wanted it to feel masculine. I bring a lot of feminine energy into the house, and I wanted to give him a room with male energy, deep colors, vintage textures, and classic designs.

I worked with two brands, Spoonflower and Babyletto, on the bed and the wallpaper, and then personally designed everything else around those.

Everything was curated

Giving him a beautiful room was immensely important to me because I want to pass on to Connor the appreciation of beauty I have as a designer and contractor. Every single item was curated by me specifically for him. There are leather accent pillows, a vintage tennis racket, and Hamlet-looking books. There are different wood varieties, along with a beautiful accent rug and curtains that tie his room's design to the rest of the house, linking him to me.

I've put a vintage Bluetooth radio in the room for him to use because I would love him to listen to and love music. There aren't any TV screens in the room, and probably won't ever be, because I just want this to be a calm space for him.

I want him to be inspired

When I thought about how I would decorate the room, I kept going back to the question: What and who would inspire Connor as he grows up?

I never remember being encouraged from a young age to go to college, but I want Connor to know that this is a possibility for him — an option. Above the head of his bed, I've hung Yale, Morehouse, and Harvard flags to remind him daily about what he can pursue as he ages.

Also on his walls are pictures in gold frames of inspirational Black men — musicians, politicians, and athletes. It was really important to me that he have daily visuals of Black men to look up to. These are the men he can become like.

He can pursue his dreams and do good in the world, as so many of them did.

• JPMorgan unveiled its annual summer reading list curated by its global client advisors.
• The list of nonfiction books touches on trending topics such as AI and longevity.
• Check out the full list, from coffee table tome to sports memoir.

Clear your summer reading pipeline.

JPMorgan released its 27th annual list of must-read books, chosen by its advisors from around the world and based on their clients' interests.

The list of recently released, nonfiction books spans subjects such as success and AI, as well as cultural hot topics like longevity and the World Cup.

Here's what to pack in your beach bag this summer, according to wealth builders at JPMorgan.

'How Great Ideas Happen,' by George Newman

In "How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success," cognitive scientist George Newman provides a framework for cultivating creativity as a skill to achieve success.

'The Infinity Machine,' by Sebastian Mallaby

"The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence" follows the life of Hassibis, the chief executive and cofounder of Alphabet's AI research lab, Google DeepMind.

'AI for Good,' by Josh Tyrangiel

Published during an uptick in AI skepticism, "AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter" presents real-world, positive use cases for AI.

'America: The Imagination of a Nation,' by Joel Stein

Timed to the country's 250th anniversary, the coffee table book "America: The Imagination of a Nation" explores the US's iconography and identity, from the Statue of Liberty to Coca-Cola.

'Crisis Engineering,' by Marina Nitze, Matthew Weaver, and Mikey Dickerson

"Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos into Clarity" answers what to do when a crisis strikes, pulling from examples like wildfire response and pandemic logistics.

'The Coming Storm,' by Odd Arne Westad

In "The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict and Warnings from History," historian Odd Arne Westad argues that today's geopolitics mirrors that in the run-up to World War I.

'Mattering,' by Jennifer Breheny Wallace

"Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose" explores what it means to add value and feel valued, and why both are important.

'Coachable,' by Ric Bucher

Through conversations with champion athletes, NBA analyst Ric Bucher explains how coachability is key to peak performance in "Coachable: How the Greatest Performers Reach Their Highest Potential."

'The Stimulated Mind,' by Dr. Tommy Wood

With longevity science all the rage, neuroscientist and physician Dr. Tommy Wood provides practical tools to prevent cognitive decline in "The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age."

'Light and Thread,' by Han Kang

Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang's latest book uses essays, poems, photographs, and diary entries to examine her work and life.

'Irreplaceable,' by the World Monuments Fund

"Irreplaceable: 60 of Humanity's Most Treasured Places" looks at 60 of the world's landmark sites, such as Easter Island and Beijing's Forbidden City, pairing photography with essays on the climate crisis, overtourism, geopolitics, and more.

'Keith Haring in 3D,' by Larry Warsh and Glenn Adamson

This book documents artist Keith Haring's three-dimensional works, from painted cars to fashion collaborations.

'Squeeze Me: Lemon Recipes & Art,' by Ruthie Rogers and Ed Ruscha

Chef Ruthie Rogers and artist Ed Ruscha, who has a lemon grove at his home in Los Angeles, use the lemon as the focal point for 50 recipes, accompanied by Ruscha's imagery.

'We Are the World (Cup),' by Roger Bennett

In "We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event," Roger Bennett, the founder of soccer-centered media platform Men in Blazers, tells the history of the World Cup through his eyes.

• After a lifetime in Europe, I moved to New York City last year.
• I thought I knew what to expect after living in another major city and doing tons of research.
• Still, I was surprised by the friendliness of my neighbors and the high grocery-store prices.

Last year, I moved from England to New York. I'd spent most of my life living in London, and then two years exploring Europe on a sailboat.

After years in a similarly large city and lots of research on what to expect from my move across the pond, I thought I'd be well prepared — and, if not, I figured that my time at sea might give me the skills to handle the unexpected.

Despite all my preparation, though, I was still caught off guard by a few surprises.

Starting over in a new country was more exhausting than I'd expected

After moving around constantly while sailing, I thought I'd settle into one place very quickly. I wasn't expecting it to take a year to feel comfortable in my new surroundings.

I didn't realize how much the admin associated with the move would impact me. I felt exhausted, and after doing things like spending most of a day at the DMV, it was hard to muster the motivation to go outside and explore my new city.

My first six months were dominated by paperwork and tedious tasks. I was unpleasantly surprised by how long it took to do things that felt like they should be simple: I couldn't set up a bank account without a permanent address, and I couldn't find a permanent address without a bank account.

Everything felt much harder in a new country, especially when dealing with unfamiliar systems.

The cost of my move — and life in New York — came as a culture shock

It's no surprise that New York City is an expensive place to live. Even before I moved, I knew that just about everything would cost more here.

Although salaries are often higher here than they are in London, that didn't help me initially, when I was still working through the bureaucracy required before I could even start applying for jobs.

Between international shipping and furnishing a new apartment, moving itself is expensive, too. I'd budgeted for the high costs and for how much my daily expenses would likely increase, but I didn't anticipate how much money worries would affect my mentality.

During my first few months in New York, I felt very conscious of every dollar I spent. I was shocked by the prices every time I went to the grocery store or a coffee shop, unable to justify spending $18 on two chicken breasts, or $7 plus tax and tip for an iced latte.

This made me increasingly hesitant to leave my apartment and actually enjoy the city I'd spent so long trying to get to. I knew that things would be more expensive, but living with that reality felt overwhelming.

It took me a while to find balance and feel comfortable spending money on things that I truly value.

It's been easier to connect with people than I thought

Before moving, I'd heard stereotypes about New Yorkers being rude and unfriendly. I wish I'd known before that this isn't the case.

I joined a local gym and started meeting so many kind and interesting people who, best of all, live right by me. Now, I'm routinely bumping into people I know on the street — something I never thought would happen in such a big city, and certainly not this soon after moving.

Contrary to the stereotype I may have believed, I feel surrounded by people who approach life with more positivity than I'm used to in London. It's a refreshing change, and I'm happier as a result.

I've also found New York's bustle to be extremely motivating. It's hard to be bored in a city where there's always a new place to visit, or something interesting happening on the next block. I don't know if I'll feel like this forever, but for now, I'm enjoying it.

The hardest part of moving was the slow drip feed of change over months. Now that I've been here for a full year, though, I'm starting to develop a deep love for my new home.

It might have taken longer and been more expensive than I expected, but moving here has been well worth it for me.

• Women have been serving in the military, officially or unofficially, since the Revolutionary War.
• Queen Elizabeth II was a military truck driver during World War II.
• "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Women have been an important part of the armed services since the beginning, with icons like Harriet Tubman participating in the Civil War. While being female in a traditionally male-dominated space hasn't always been easy, these women have still served their countries.

In 2024, the US Department of Defense reported that the percentage of women serving in active-duty roles grew between 2022 and 2023 — 17.7% of active-duty roles were held by women in 2023, it reported, citing the 2023 Demographics Profile of the Military Community.

In January 2025, Military.com reported that almost 10,000 women signed up for active duty in 2024, an 18% increase from the previous year.

These 10 famous women served in the military around the world, including Bea Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, and more.

Harriet Tubman was a military leader and Union spy during the Civil War.

Most know Harriet Tubman for her groundbreaking work with the Underground Railroad and, later, as an abolitionist, but as National Geographic wrote, Tubman was also an integral part of the Civil War.

In 1863, Tubman and Colonel James Montgomery led a group of soldiers in freeing slaves from plantations in South Carolina, making Tubman the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition, according to National Geographic.

Her work continued as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. This operation was so covert that only President Lincoln knew about it.

Tubman received compensation for her military contributions decades later, in 1899. Thomas B. Allen, the author of "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent," called Tubman "one of the great heroines of the Civil War."

Queen Elizabeth was a military truck driver during World War II.

Queen Elizabeth was only 18 years old when she begged her father, King George VI, to take part in helping out during World War II. 

She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in England that same year and was known as "Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor," according to the National Archives.

While serving, the young queen drove military trucks and trained as a mechanic, making her, to this day, the only female member of the Royal Family to enter the armed forces. 

NASA's Eileen Collins was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force and in space.

Eileen Collins broke several barriers during her career: Not only was she NASA's first female shuttle commander, but at 23, she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, according to the agency.

She joined the Air Force in 1978, becoming one of the first four women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. 

She wrote in Time, "The Air Force was testing whether women could succeed as military pilots. We obviously were living in a fishbowl — everyone knew who we were, our personal business, our test scores and our flight performance. My philosophy was to be the best pilot I could be."

Her military training directly led her to test-pilot school, where she "knew" she would go on to be the first female space shuttle pilot — and succeeded in doing so.  

"Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Before she was Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls," Emmy Award-winning actor Bea Arthur was a Marine.

As reported by The Daily Beast, Arthur enlisted in the Women's Reserve when she was 21 years old. She first served as a typist and truck driver. She worked her way up to staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945. 

Official documents show that Arthur's supervisors thought she was "argumentative," which is not a far cry from the feisty persona she became known for on both "The Golden Girls" and "Maude."

"Stranger Things" actor Jennifer Marshall served in the US Navy for five years.

Before Jennifer Marshall scored the role of Susan Hargrove on Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things," she served in the United States Navy from ages 17 to 22. 

According to Marshall's website, during her service, she was a forklift operator, aircraft handler, and logistics specialist. She also worked for the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention (SAVI) program. 

Marshall was awarded many honors and medals for her time in the Navy. Now, in addition to acting, she works with Pin-Ups For Vets, a nonprofit organization that aids hospitalized veterans and deployed troops.

Food Network star Sunny Anderson was in the Air Force.

Anderson, who hosts "The Kitchen," "Cooking for Real," and "Home Made in America," grew up around the military because of her parents. As an adult, she enlisted in the US Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, working in Seoul, South Korea, and in San Antonio. 

"I knew that there were radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines, for the military, by the military, and I wanted to be a part of that," Anderson told ABC News in 2013.

She also wanted to train in something that would be useful when she left the military.

"My transition from the Air Force started before I even got in the Air Force," she said.

Radio talk show host Robin Quivers was a captain in the Air Force.

Robin Quivers has co-hosted "The Howard Stern Show" for over 30 years, but before that, she served as a captain in the US Air Force.

Quivers got her degree in nursing from the University of Maryland and put it to use by joining the military as a second lieutenant after college. She quickly climbed the ranks, and when she was discharged in 1978, her official title was captain, according to Biography.com.

She served as a reserve in the Air Force until 1990, per military records, after which she fully pivoted to her career in radio. But Howard Stern hired her for his show in 1981, which means that Quivers — though she was "inactive" — was still technically serving while she was on the air.

Actor Zulay Henao served in the US Army for three years.

Colombian-American actor Zulay Henao has appeared on the show "Army Wives," but few know that she herself served in the US Army before becoming an actor.

Henao enlisted after completing high school and, after three years of serving, went on to enroll at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

She previously spoke to the paparazzi about her time in the military, saying: "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, and I wouldn't have the perspective I have of the world, if it weren't for the Army."

Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock was in the National Guard.

Shauna Rohbock is an Olympic bobsledder and won the silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. But before that, according to Team USA, Rohbock joined the Utah Army National Guard and was part of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program.

Olympian Amber English competed while still in the military. She won gold in women's skeet shooting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

At her first Olympics, First Lt. Amber English took gold with an Olympic record score of 56, NBC reported. Technically not yet a veteran, she's a logistics officer and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, according to Military.com.

After English's win, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated her on Twitter, now known as X.

"Your country is extremely proud of you today, and I'm so glad you're representing us," he wrote.

She joins an illustrious list of medal winners, both male and female, with military backgrounds.

• Affordability is more important than ever in choosing where to live.
• US News & World Report ranked the best places to live, and getting a deal was a high priority.
• A Midwestern city took the top spot, but the Sun Belt had a strong showing on the list.

Choosing a city to live in is a personal decision, but in an increasingly expensive housing market, affordability is more important than ever.

"Every year we ask consumers what they're looking for in a place to live, and this year consumers overwhelmingly cited that they were looking for value and affordability," US News & World Report consumer lending analyst Erika Giovanetti told Business Insider. "They even said that they're looking for affordability over quality of life and desirability."

US News & World Report analyzed more than 850 US cities and ranked them based on four key indexes: value, quality of life, desirability, and job market. This year's rankings differ from previous years by weighting value higher than the other categories.

"Education, college readiness, access to healthcare — all of these things fall under quality of life, but consumers this year are really feeling it in their wallets, and they are willing to make sacrifices if it's about finding a more affordable place to live," Giovanetti said of the rationale.

While the Midwest has become the most affordable region of the country, a majority of the entries on US News' best cities to live in list are in Southern states.

Giovanetti noted that while affordability is an important factor this year, cities toward the top of the list are ones that demonstrate balance across all key categories. Johns Creek, Georgia, for example, finished first in last year's rankings, but dropped to fifth this year, mainly because it's pricier than other cities.

"Johns Creek ranks 232 for value, which is not so bad in the grand scheme of things, but it is one of the more higher priced cities that made the top of our list," she said.

Below, the best places to live in the US, according to US News & World Report.

15. Buffalo Grove, IL

Population: 41,765

Median home value: $380,110

Median household income: $135,543

14. Parkland, FL

Population: 36,938

Median home value: $896,250

Median household income: $223,200

13. League City, TX

Population: 109,083

Median home value: $344,265

Median household income: $123,032

12. Troy, MI

Population: 90,584

Median home value: $396,774

Median household income: $120,757

11. Cary, NC

Population: 182,416

Median home value: $570,890

Median household income: $136,700

10. Sugar Land, TX

Population: 114,818

Median home value: $431,815

Median household income: $140,511

9. Frisco, TX

Population: 229,028

Median home value: $627,426

Median household income: $152,749

8. Leander, TX

Population: 81,757

Median home value: $495,712

Median household income: $143,568

7. Rochester Hills, MI

Population: 77,520

Median home value: $388,231

Median household income: $119,938

6. Hoover, AL

Population: 91,649

Median home value: $382,915

Median household income: $104,005

5. Johns Creek, GA

Population: 78,408

Median home value: $588,835

Median household income: $167,051

4. Ankeny, IA

Population: 78,414

Median home value: $331,417

Median household income: $107,871

3. Flower Mound, TX

Population: 77,576

Median home value: $553,334

Median household income: $167,151

2. Fishers, IN

Population: 102,895

Median home value: $405,882

Median household income: $136,502

1. Carmel, IN

Population: 103,768

Median home value: $477,625

Median household income: $144,615

• Billboard, using data recorded by Nielsen Soundscan/Luminate, tracks each year's best-selling album.
• Since 2015, streaming has been incorporated into music metrics through the use of album-equivalent units.
• Many classic albums don't appear on the list, having been outsold by lesser-known records.

Each year, one album taps into the hearts and ears of the public on its way to becoming the year's best-selling album.

Times have changed, though. In recent years, singers like Adele and Taylor Swift have dominated the charts, while in the 1950s and early 1960s, musical soundtracks and Broadway cast recordings often topped the list. 

Billboard has been tracking the best-selling album of the year since 1956, but its methodology has changed several times. Before 1991, the outlet relied on retailer report, but that year it began using Nielsen SoundScan data, which was more accurate, according to Billboard.

And since 2015, Nielsen Soundscan — now called Luminate — has incorporated album-equivalent units into its data to account for streaming. This means that in 2022, Taylor Swift's "Midnights" was the best-selling album based on sales alone, while Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" was the top album overall, including album-equivalent units.

Methodology aside, the list isn't without its surprises. In 1967, The Beatles' critically acclaimed album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was outsold by The Monkees' "More of The Monkees."

Using Billboard and Luminate's data, Business Insider compiled all the best-selling albums and their respective notable singles, dating back to 1956, so you can see which album was the soundtrack to your birth year (provided you're 70 or younger).

See the best-selling album every year since 1956.

1956: Harry Belafonte — "Calypso"

Notable singles: "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," "Jamaica Farewell"

1957: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "The Rain in Spain"

1958: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "With A Little Bit of Luck"

1959: Henry Mancini — "Music from Peter Gunn"

Notable single: "Peter Gunn"

1960: "The Sound of Music (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Do-Re-Mi," "The Sound of Music"

1961: "Camelot (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "If Ever I Would Leave You"

1962: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Notable single: "Maria"

1963: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Notable single: "I Feel Pretty"

1964: "Hello, Dolly! (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Hello, Dolly!"

1965: "Mary Poppins (Original Soundtrack)"

Notable singles: "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

1966: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass — "Whipped Cream & Other Delights"

Notable single: "A Taste of Honey"

1967: The Monkees — "More of The Monkees"

Notable single: "I'm A Believer"

1968: The Jimmy Hendrix Experience — "Are You Experienced"

Notable singles: "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady"

1969: Iron Butterfly — "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Notable single: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

1970: Simon and Garfunkel — "Bridge over Troubled Water"

Notable singles: "Bridge over Troubled Water," "The Boxer"

1971: "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Notable single: "Superstar"

1972: Neil Young — "Harvest"

Notable single: "Heart of Gold"

1973: War — "The World Is a Ghetto"

Notable single: "The Cisco Kid"

1974: Elton John — "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Notable single: "Bennie and the Jets"

1975: Elton John — "Elton John's Greatest Hits"

Notable singles: "Your Song," "Daniel"

1976: Peter Frampton — "Frampton Comes Alive!"

Notable single: "Show Me The Way"

1977: Fleetwood Mac — "Rumours"

Notable singles: "Go Your Own Way," "Don't Stop"

1978: "Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track"

Notable singles: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive"

1979: Billy Joel — "52nd Street"

Notable single: "My Life"

1980: Pink Floyd — "The Wall"

Notable singles: "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)"

1981: REO Speedwagon — "Hi Infidelity"

Notable singles: "Keep on Loving You," "Take It on the Run"

1982: Asia — "Asia"

Notable single: "Heat of the Moment"

1983: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Notable singles: "Thriller," "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

1984: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Notable singles:  "Billie Jean," "Beat It"

1985: Bruce Springsteen — "Born in the U.S.A."

Notable singles: "Dancing In The Dark," "Born In The U.S.A."

1986: Whitney Houston — "Whitney Houston"

Notable singles: "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love Of All"

1987: Bon Jovi — "Slippery When Wet"

Notable singles: "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer"

1988: George Michael — "Faith"

Notable singles: "One More Try," "Father Figure"

1989: Bobby Brown — "Don't Be Cruel"

Notable single: "My Prerogative"

1990: Janet Jackson — "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814"

Notable singles: "Miss You Much," "Rhythm Nation"

1991: Mariah Carey — "Mariah Carey"

Notable singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time"

1992: Billy Ray Cyrus — "Some Gave All"

Copies sold: 4,832,000

Notable singles: "Achy Breaky Heart"

1993: Whitney Houston/Various Artists — "The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album"

Copies sold: 5,460,000

Notable single: "I Will Always Love You"

1994: Elton John/Hans Zimmer — "The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"

Copies sold: 4,934,000

Notable singles: "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," "Circle of Life"

1995: Hootie and the Blowfish — "Cracked Rear View"

Copies sold: 7,020,000

Notable singles: "Hold My Hand," "Only Wanna Be With You"

1996: Alanis Morissette — "Jagged Little Pill"

Copies sold: 7,380,000

Notable singles: "You Oughta Know," "Hand In My Pocket"

1997: Spice Girls — "Spice"

Copies sold: 5,302,000

Notable singles: "Wannabe," "Say You'll Be There"

1998: James Horner and Celine Dion — "Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture"

Copies sold: 9,338,000

Notable single: "My Heart Will Go On" 

1999: Backstreet Boys — "Millennium"

Copies sold: 9,446,000

Notable singles: "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life"

2000: NSYNC — "No Strings Attached"

Copies sold: 9,936,000

Notable singles: "Bye Bye Bye," "It's Gonna Be Me"

2001: Linkin Park — "Hybrid Theory"

Copies sold: 4,813,000

Notable single: "In The End"

2002: Eminem — "The Eminem Show"

Copies sold: 7,608,000

Notable singles: "Without Me," "Sing For The Moment"

2003: 50 Cent — "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

Copies sold: 6,536,000

Notable singles: "In da Club," "21 Questions"

2004: Usher — "Confessions"

Copies sold: 7,979,000

Notable singles: "Burn," "Confessions Pt. II," "Yeah!"

2005: Mariah Carey — "The Emancipation of Mimi"

Copies sold: 4,969,000

Notable singles: "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off"

2006: "High School Musical" (Soundtrack)

Copies sold: 3,719,000

Notable single: "Breaking Free"

2007: Josh Groban — "Noël"

Copies sold: 3,699,000

Notable single: "The First Noel (feat. Faith Hill)"

2008: Lil Wayne — "Tha Carter III"

Copies sold: 2,874,000

Notable singles: "Lollipop," "A Milli"

2009: Taylor Swift — "Fearless"

Copies sold: 3,217,000

Notable singles: "Love Story," "You Belong With Me"

2010: Eminem — "Recovery"

Copies sold: 3,415,000

Notable singles: "Not Afraid," "Love The Way You Lie"

2011: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 5,824,000

Notable singles: "Rolling In The Deep"

2012: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 4,410,000

Notable singles: "Someone Like You," "Set Fire to the Rain," "Rumour Has It"

2013: Justin Timberlake — "The 20/20 Experience"

Copies sold: 2,430,000

Notable singles: "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors"

2014: Taylor Swift — "1989"

Copies sold: 3,661,000

Notable singles: "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Bad Blood"

2015: Adele — "25"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 8,008,000

Notable singles: "Hello," "When We Were Young"

2016: Drake — "Views"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 4,140,000

Notable singles: "Hotline Bling," "One Dance"

2017: Ed Sheeran — "Divide"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 2,764,000

Notable singles: "Shape of You," "Perfect" 

2018: Drake — "Scorpion"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,905,000

Notable singles: "God's Plan," "Nice for What," "In My Feelings"

2019: Post Malone — "Hollywood's Bleeding"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,001,000

Notable singles: "Wow," "Goodbyes," "Circles"

2020: Lil Baby — "My Turn"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 2,632,000

Notable singles: "Woah," "Sum 2 Prove"

2021: Morgan Wallen — "Dangerous: The Double Album"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,226,000

Notable singles: "7 Summers," "Wasted on You"

2022: Bad Bunny — "Un Verano Sin Ti"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,400,000

Notable singles: "Moscow Mule," "Tití Me Preguntó"

2023: Morgan Wallen — "One Thing at a Time"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,362,000

Notable singles: "You Proof," "Thought You Should Know," "Last Night

2024: Taylor Swift — "The Tortured Poets Department"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 6,955,000

Notable singles: "Fortnight," "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"

2025: Taylor Swift — "The Life of a Showgirl"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,607,000

Notable singles: "The Fate of Ophelia," "Elizabeth Taylor"

• After her dad's death, Shalini Karnani Bonjour moved her mother from Michigan closer to her in California.
• She, her husband, and her mom bought a home together and are building an ADU for her mom to live in.
• The construction process has been long and difficult, but she believes it will be worth it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sotheby's International Realty real estate agent, Shalini Karnani Bonjour, 50, who is building an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in her California backyard for her mother to live in. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2024, my father passed away. He and my mother had lived in their 3,500-square-foot home in Michigan for about 20 years, and suddenly, she was alone.

My mom was 78, and my husband and I didn't feel comfortable having her so far away, especially when it came to her day-to-day needs. At the time, I was recovering from breast cancer. As an only child, I had to navigate my father's death and my own health while also figuring out what came next for my mom.

My husband and I worked hard to sell my parents' home and relocate her near us in California. After she moved, we rented different places to help her figure out what type of home suited her best. We also explored assisted-living and independent-living communities, but none were ideal.

She was already making a major emotional adjustment by downsizing from the home she had known for so many years, and asking her to completely change her lifestyle didn't feel right.

My mom has worked very hard in her life, and I want her to enjoy the time she has left. Finding her the right home was very important to us.

We decided to move in together and build an ADU

After a long search, my husband, my mom, and I decided to buy a large home in the Coachella Valley, an area we all loved, where we could live together with my teenage son.

The right home for us needed first-floor access so my mom could come and go easily and use the kitchen and laundry room without having to climb stairs. We also wanted a pool and enough space to eventually build an accessory dwelling unit for her.

In 2024, we found a 2,222 -square-foot, 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home that checked those boxes and still fit our budget. Before buying it and moving forward with the ADU, we confirmed with the city and our homeowners association that it was a viable option.

Our home was a fixer-upper, so before we could fully focus on the ADU, we had to update the main house and make it comfortable for all of us. That took a lot of time and money.

While we were renovating our home, I was also working with an architect and interviewing builders for the ADU project. I spoke with at least 10 builders, and I'll tell you, it is not easy to find someone you feel you can trust.

We eventually found a builder and decided on a roughly 1,100-square-foot, single-story ADU. Some people might call it a casita, but it's really a full home. My mom wanted two bedrooms in case people came to visit, two bathrooms, and a walk-in tub in her primary bathroom. We were able to customize the design to include all of that.

The initial estimate for the building alone was about $398,000. But once we added the washer, dryer, appliances, sinks, fixtures, and other finishes, the total came to about $475,000.

The ADU construction process has been long and difficult

We finally broke ground on the ADU in March 2025. Initially, we hoped the project would take about six months, but it has taken much longer. Right now, we're waiting on solar permits before construction can continue.

The whole process has been difficult because there are so many things to manage. You're trying to keep the project affordable, keep your neighbors happy, and stay on track. I can only imagine how overwhelming this would feel for someone without any insight into the process, because it is a huge undertaking.

I know it will be rewarding in the end, but if I weren't a Realtor, didn't feel comfortable talking to builders, and didn't know how to have these conversations with the HOA, this would feel like an impossible task.

Still, I know it will be worth it. We love where we live, and building this on our property means we can stay close to my mom while still giving her independence and a home of her own.

We're still learning how to share space

When people tell my husband and me we're smart or strong for doing this, I think, "What other option do we have?" I'm an only child. Who else will be there to take care of my mother?

While we're waiting for the ADU to be completed, my mom is living in a bedroom in our home.

We're still figuring out how to share space. My mom loves to cook, so having her own kitchen will be really important to her. Last week, she was making a recipe and said, "It'll be different when I have my own stuff." I think the whole thing is bittersweet, but once she sees her finished kitchen, she'll feel different.

Because my mom moved so far away, she's also navigating building a new community. She immigrated from India to Michigan in the 1970s and created a life there. She had a network of other Indian immigrants, people in different professions, and friends she had known for years.

Pulling her away from that wasn't easy, and it still isn't. It takes time to get established somewhere new, and she's still working through that. I'm trying to help as best I can by introducing her to people and helping her find connections here.

This process changed how I see multigenerational homes

When I was growing up, we always had a grandparent living with us. That was standard in an Indian household. But because we were in America, I don't think I ever seriously considered that my mom might one day live with me. When my dad passed away, I got a reality check.

People in my generation are seeing their parents live longer, and more of us are taking on caregiving responsibilities. Many of us are trying to figure out how to do right by the people who raised us while also managing our own happiness and family life.

Going through this process has changed the way I think about multigenerational homes as a real-estate agent. If a client were considering one, I'd encourage them to look for homes that already have the space they need. That might mean multiple bedrooms on one level, en suite bathrooms, easy access in and out of the home, minimal steps, or enough land to build an ADU later.

I'd also tell them to confirm that the property allows the kind of construction they want and to find out whether it's regulated by the city, the HOA, or both.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned during this process is that you have to ask yourself: Is it more cost-effective and less stressful to buy a home with the right structure already in place, or does it make more sense to build a custom space on a property you already have?

• Some beloved '90s tech, like VHS tapes and landlines, is making a comeback.
• The decade saw the rise of the internet, mobile phones, and portable media players.
• Now, younger audiences are collecting vintage technology, such as Game Boys and disposable cameras.

Who doesn't love '90s tech?

For millennials, the decade's most-loved gadgets came with particular rituals: rewinding VHS tapes before returning them to Blockbuster, burning CDs for road trips, or blowing into a Nintendo cartridge before reinserting it.

Today, as younger consumers seek alternatives to modern digital life — and constant notifications — some of these analog items are gaining traction again.

Among them, Gen Z consumers have been embracing the simplicity of flip phones, digital cameras, and landlines. Companies have responded by reimagining retro products: One such item, Tin Can, resembles a landline but runs off a home's WiFi, and some parents are leaning in.

"I want my daughter to be able to chat with her friends, like I did as a child in the '90s," Alison Bennett previously told Business Insider, especially as she sought to delay giving her 8-year-old a smartphone.

So desperate is Gen Z for tactile entertainment over digital distraction that hacky sack is even back, Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos reported this month.

Other '90s tech allows users to be more intentional. VHS tapes turn movie-watching into a commitment rather than background noise, while disposable cameras produce candid photos, rather than edited images.

Here are some pieces of '90s tech that we wish would become mainstream again, from gaming systems to old-school communication devices, including ones that are already showing promising signs of a comeback.

VHS tapes

After launching in the late 1970s, VHS overtook Sony's Betamax — another videocassette — to become the dominant way people watched movies at home in the 1980s and 1990s.

The tapes turned movie nights and video rental stores, such as Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and smaller independent stores, into social activities. Blockbuster reached its peak in 2004, when it operated more than 9,000 stores worldwide.

VHS also changed how people consumed television by allowing them to record shows and movies to watch later, years before streaming made on-demand viewing possible (with a side of decision fatigue).

However, by the late 1990s, DVDs had begun replacing VHS, thanks to their slim size and higher quality. In 2003, DVD rentals overtook VHS rentals in the US for the first time, The Washington Post reported.

In 2015, Sony stopped producing Betamax, and the following year, the final VHS VCR was produced, The Guardian reported, citing low sales numbers.

But the format never disappeared completely. According to a 2025 Consumer Reports report, about 15% of Americans reported watching VHS tapes in the year prior, as Gen Z and millennials increasingly seek out physical media and analog experiences.

Portable CD players

After being developed by Philips and Sony, CDs were released to the public in 1982, the BBC reported. They were more durable than cassettes and records, and could hold around 80 minutes of music.

Two years later, Sony's Discman was released, giving people a way to listen to high-quality music on the go.

The portable players became a fixture in the late '80s and peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when CDs were the preferred music format. By 1999, Sony had sold 46 million Discmen worldwide, the company said.

The players came with other '90s-coded accouterments too: thick binders of burned CDs, Discman belt cases, and tangled headphones.

However, they fell out of favor in the early 2000s with the rise of the iPod, which was released in 2001. These devices could store thousands of songs, no bulky binder needed.

But the Discman could also be making a comeback. The Guardian reported in 2025 that CDs and CD players had regained popularity as Gen Z and millennials embraced '90s nostalgia and collectors sought out deluxe physical releases from artists including Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.

The 2025 Consumer Reports report noted that 45% of Americans had used CDs to listen to music in the previous year.

Game Boy

Nintendo's Game Boy transformed handheld gaming upon its 1989 release. Coupled with successful games such as "Tetris" and "Pokémon Red and Blue," which were placed into the device's cartridge slot, the Game Boy became one of the defining gaming products of the 1990s.

Later iterations included different exterior colors, mini versions, and the Game Boy Color, released in 1998, which featured a color screen rather than the original's monochrome one.

By the time the Game Boy celebrated its 30th birthday in 2019, Nintendo had sold more than 118 million Game Boy and Game Boy Color consoles worldwide, and more than 500 million games, per Nintendo data.

The device continued to evolve through the early 2000s with the Game Boy Advance before more advanced handheld systems, and eventually smartphones, changed on-the-move gaming habits.

Today, Nintendo is also attempting to capitalize on '90s nostalgia by re-releasing Game Boy games for its newer devices.

Nintendo 64

Which '90s kid didn't battle their friends in "GoldenEye 007" or race along the Rainbow Road in "Mario Kart 64" together?

When the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, it became one of the defining consoles of the late 1990s, thanks to its smoother 3D gaming and iconic titles, such as "Super Mario 64" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

But best of all, it supported four controllers right out of the box, enabling multiplayer modes and turning sleepovers into competition zones.

Its popularity declined in the early 2000s with the release of newer systems, such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, which offered more advanced graphics and larger disc-based storage.

Still, the Nintendo 64 remains an unforgettable part of gaming culture and '90s hangouts.

Today, retro gamers continue collecting original cartridges and hardware, and younger players are turning to the old tech amid "AI anxiety" and the novelty of needing to be together to play multiplayer.

Tamagotchis and virtual pets

Bandai's Tamagotchi became a global craze after its 1996 launch in Japan, the Associated Press reported. Owners were required to constantly feed, clean, and care for the egg-shaped virtual pets to ensure they reached adulthood, which typically took a few days.

Other brands, such as Nano Pets and Giga Pets, launched competing models, but schools deemed the pets so distracting that some banned them, The New York Times reported in 1997.

Tamagotchi expanded into mobile gaming in 2013 with an app designed to recreate the original toy experience, AP reported, and the franchise was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2025.

Tamagotchis are still available today. In a 2020 Business Insider article, one adult user wrote that caring for a Tamagotchi during the COVID-19 pandemic helped improve her productivity, happiness, and sleep schedule.

Yet in some ways, Tamagotchis also foreshadowed today's digital and cellphone habits, as kids and teenagers constantly checked alerts and responded to the toys' virtual needs — a connection explored in a 2024 article from The Walrus.

Walkie-talkies

The first portable two-way radios were developed for the US military in the 1930s and 1940s, before becoming commercially available to the public, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

These walkie-talkies became a beloved gadget in the 1980s and 1990s, when they were typically used for backyard games, road trips, and camping trips.

Unlike telephones, walkie-talkies allow users to speak immediately without dialing numbers or relying on phone lines. They were also easy for kids to use — no treehouse was complete without the distinctive crackle of a walkie-talkie.

In the 2000s, cellphones usurped walkie-talkies in many households, but they're still useful today, especially in areas without cell service. As such, they are still used for outdoor activities and music festivals, and for emergency preparedness.

Disposable Cameras

After they launched in the 1980s, disposable cameras, which were cheap, light, and easy to use, became a staple of the 1990s, popping up on family vacations and at teenage parties.

Their popularity waned in the 2000s as digital cameras — and later, smartphones — shifted users toward instant photography. In a retrospective about Kodak, Vox reported digital-camera sales began to outpace film-camera sales in the early 2000s, a change Kodak failed to adapt to before filing for bankruptcy in 2012.

Digital cameras have also regained popularity in recent years. In 2024, NPR reported that digital cameras from the early 2000s had become popular among Gen Zers looking for the nostalgic aesthetic of Y2K photos.

Talkboy

The Talkboy, the handheld cassette recorder featured in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," became one of the most memorable toys of the 1990s after its release in 1992.

Vanity Fair reported that the device was originally created as a fictional movie prop for Kevin McCallister, but overwhelming demand from children prompted Tiger Electronics to turn it into a real product. Its voice-recording and playback features let kids prank friends and create skits, helping make it one of the decade's must-have holiday gifts.

However, as with other popular devices of the '90s, the Talkboy dropped out of favor as technology evolved. Eventually, smartphones consolidated the functions of tech like voice recorders, MP3 players, and cameras into a single device.

Today, the Talkboy survives mostly as a collector's item, although some companies are creating new versions, such as the Texas-based Brand New Noise, which makes wooden voice recorders that distort and loop audio with simple, kid-friendly controls.

Beepers

Before texting and smartphones became ubiquitous, pagers — or beepers — were one of the fastest ways to stay connected.

During the 1980s and 1990s, doctors, emergency workers, business professionals, and teenagers relied on the pocket-sized devices. They developed pager codes that used numbers to convey quick messages before text messaging made it possible. (See: "143," which meant "I love you" because the words contain one, four, and three letters.)

Their popularity waned with the rise of cell phones, but pagers never disappeared entirely.

CBS News and Reuters reported that some hospitals and emergency services still use them because pager networks can remain reliable during disasters and service outages.

Landlines

Despite quirks that seem unimaginable to younger generations today — being tethered to a wall, potentially spied on by your family, and picking up before knowing who was calling — the landline ruled communication for much of the 20th century.

By the 1990s, cordless phones and caller ID had become common in American homes.

But in the 2000s, as mobile phones became cheaper and more practical, the landline's dominance faded. According to the CDC's 2024 National Health Interview Survey, nearly 79% of US adults live in wireless-only households, indicating that many Americans have abandoned landlines in favor of mobile phones.

Still, some people are returning to them, or at least romanticizing them. Many Gen Zers and millennials are pushing back against constant connectivity by "bricking" their cell phones — that is, blocking some apps and websites — and spending more time on offline hobbies instead. After all, one beauty of the landline was that, if you weren't home, you couldn't be reached.

• I'm a dietitian with two kids, so I try to put together nutritious, convenient meals for my family.
• Trader Joe's has an array of easy-to-prepare sides and satiating entrées that my kids love.
• From traditional meatloaf to Atlantic salmon, these dishes take less than 30 minutes to make.

As a dietitian, I care about making nutritious, balanced meals. But between caring for my two kids and running a business, there are some days when convenience takes precedence.

When I need a meal to come together quickly but don't want to throw health out the window, I turn to preprepared sides and meals from Trader Joe's.

The store has a range of protein-packed, nutrient-dense options that my kids will actually eat. Many are frozen or don't need to be refrigerated, so I can stock up on them without worrying about expiration dates.

Over the years, I've curated a list of the Trader Joe's items I reach for when I'm tight on time but still want to serve my family a healthy meal.

Trader Joe's traditional meatloaf in classic tomato sauce makes a usually time-intensive dish quick to prepare.

My husband's and kids' favorite food is a traditional meatloaf, but making it from scratch can be time-intensive. Trader Joe's precooked version with ground beef cuts the prep time down substantially.

A staple in my house, it requires very little effort to make and satisfies my family. I love that each 5-ounce serving has 23 grams of protein along with nutrients like iron and B vitamins, which support energy levels.

Since the meatloaf is already fully cooked and comes in a tomato sauce, all I have to do is heat it up in the microwave or oven and add sides. On busy nights, I pair it with a bagged salad, frozen vegetables, or sliced cucumbers.

Chicken sausages with apples inside can serve as a flavorful protein base at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Trader Joe's makes sausages in a variety of flavors, from spicy jalapeño to spicy Italian. Admittedly, my kids don't handle spice very well, so I opt for this chicken sausage with sweet apples. All five links come fully cooked.

For a well-balanced meal, I use the sausage as a base — each link has 11 grams of protein — and throw it into a pan with vegetables or pair it with brown rice.

Since the links cook on the stovetop in less than 10 minutes, they help me pull together a nourishing protein bowl in no time. If I'm really short on time, I can also microwave the sausage for 30 seconds.

Trader Joe's chicken tikka masala comes on a bed of basmati rice.

Trader Joe's chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite dinners to serve when we have a small window of time to get out the door before sports practice, as it takes only about five minutes to heat up in the microwave (if I have extra time, I can prepare it in the oven for 25 minutes instead).

The spiced tomato sauce has a smoky flavor that coats the accompanying basmati rice, and each 210-gram serving has 42 grams of carbohydrates and 16 grams of protein.

The tikka masala is great on its own, but if I want to sneak in more fiber and nutrients, I mix in frozen peas or bell peppers.

I can pop Trader Joe's Atlantic salmon with lemon-herb butter into the oven straight from the freezer.

My kids love fresh salmon, but having to cook the fish so soon after buying it doesn't always align with our schedules.

Keeping this pre-seasoned Atlantic salmon in my freezer makes it easy to throw together a meal that requires minimal effort but still feels elevated.

Each 7-ounce fillet has 35 grams of protein. Plus, salmon is generally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart and brain health.

The best part about this skin-on, boneless salmon is that I can put it in the oven straight from the freezer. Thanks to the flavorful lemon-herb butter that comes on top, I don't have to worry about adding my own seasoning.

This organic brown rice is my favorite Trader Joe's item.

Brown rice can take around 40 minutes to cook, but this frozen, microwaveable version from Trader Joe's is ready in just three minutes, serving as a versatile whole-grain base.

I always keep it in my freezer so I can use it for tuna bowls, salmon burgers, and stir-fries.

Each 5-ounce serving has 3 grams of fiber, which helps keep my family full and supports their gut health.

I encourage my kids to top this ready-to-bake pizza dough with vegetables.

My kids love personalizing their pizzas, and adding vegetables on top of this plain dough boosts the nutritional value without them even realizing it.

I roll out the ready-to-bake dough, add some sauce, and then slice a variety of vegetables like bell peppers, black olives, tomato slices, and basil as toppings.

Trader Joe's premium salmon burgers are a high-quality protein source.

These salmon burgers are an easy way to get nutritional benefits (each 91-gram patty is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and has 15 grams of protein) without having to plan an elaborate meal ahead of time.

I cook the salmon burgers with a little oil on the stovetop for four to six minutes and then serve them over rice, on a bun, or with vegetables.

I serve Trader Joe's wild skipjack tuna pouches over salad or rice.

When I need protein but don't want to turn on the stove, I reach for these wild skipjack tuna pouches, which each have 22 grams of protein. They're also a great source of essential nutrients like selenium and B vitamins.

I like putting the salted fish over greens and drizzling it with olive oil or serving it over rice. Since I can store it in my pantry, I always have it as backup when my fridge is empty.

These canned Greek chickpeas with parsley and cumin are a delicious source of plant-based protein and fiber.

I eat these Greek chickpeas straight from the can, toss them into a salad, or pair them with a protein like chicken sausage or fish.

The chickpeas come seasoned with parsley and cumin, which saves me time and makes them feel more dressed-up than plain chickpeas. What's more, I love that each 130-gram serving has 8 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber.

Keep reading our Trader Joe's Diaries to see what other shoppers like to buy at the chain.

• Pope Leo XIV issued a letter on AI and its impact on jobs, the environment, and democracy.
• The pope warned that AI job losses could become a "social calamity."
• He also had a special message for AI developers.

In a lengthy address about AI published on Monday, Pope Leo XIV sounded the alarm on everything from mass job losses to Big Tech's grip on AI.

The pope's first encyclical, a major letter to the Church that lays out a pope's thinking on a moral or social challenge, is a 245-paragraph text titled "Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence."

AI leaders lobbied the Vatican ahead of the letter's release, and Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah spoke at the Vatican City after the pope unveiled it.

The pope also thanked Olah and vowed to work together with him.

"I accept your invitation to work together, to listen and to speak, and together, to find a way for humanity in this time of artificial intelligence," the pope said.

In his sprawling opus, Pope Leo warned about autonomous weapons, the environmental impact of AI, and the risk AI poses to human connection. At the same time, he made it clear he does not see artificial intelligence as "inherently evil."

While many of the concerns the pope raised in Monday's letter echo points he has made before, as well as those raised by AI skeptics, the encyclical letter marks a major papal intervention in the ever-contentious AI debate.

Here are the main takeaways.

1. AI shouldn't be monopolized by Big Tech

Throughout the letter, Pope Leo warned repeatedly about AI power becoming concentrated in "the hands of a few."

The industry is dominated by major Big Tech players, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

The pope did not explicitly name any companies, but he warned about "major economic and technological actors" increasingly controlling platforms, infrastructure, data, and computing power.

"When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few," he wrote, "it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities."

Drawing on the Catholic principle of the "universal destination of goods," which traditionally holds that all humans have an inherent right to natural resources such as air and water, the pope suggested that it should now extend to algorithms, digital platforms, and data.

The pope also warned that "small but highly influential groups" could use AI to shape democratic processes and steer economic systems to their own advantage.

In the letter, Pope Leo called for AI to be "disarmed" from the race for more powerful algorithms, larger datasets, and commercial dominance.

To disarm AI, he wrote, "means freeing technology from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly and restoring it to the plurality of human cultures and ways of life."

2. A message to AI developers

Pope Leo issued a "special appeal" to those developing AI.

He said developers "bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility" because every design choice "reflects a vision of humanity."

The pope urged AI developers to develop systems embedded with the values of transparency, responsibility, and a "careful attention to ensuring that what is being cultivated is a genuine good."

Pope Leo also cautioned against presenting AI systems as entirely neutral and objective when they often reflect and reinforce the biases of their creators.

3. We should all be worried about AI-related unemployment

A major theme of the letter was AI-related unemployment, with Pope Leo warning that mass unemployment could become a "true social calamity."

Fears about AI crushing the job market have been a part of the conversation since generative AI first took off. While some companies have attributed recent job cuts to AI, not everyone agrees that it will be a labor-market catastrophe.

Stephen Parker, co-head of global investment strategy at JPMorgan Private Bank, told Business Insider this month that "companies are realizing that AI has the potential to upskill workers" rather than make them obsolete.

The pope wrote in that letter that while it's "certainly desirable" for AI to make people's jobs safer and easier, "the protection of employment opportunities and the irreplaceable role of the individual must remain the general rule."

He wrote that the "pursuit of greater profits" cannot justify decisions that eliminate jobs.

Mass job losses from AI, the pope warned, risk creating "human and cultural impoverishment."

He argued that governments and companies should prepare for AI disruption before more jobs disappear.

"Every introduction of automation and AI should be accompanied by verifiable measures to protect the employment, retraining, and participation of workers," he wrote.

The pope wrote that this would help ensure that AI focuses on "freeing up human time and capabilities, rather than producing exclusion."

• Year after year, the summer exhausts me.
• With four kids, there are always so many activities to plan and complaints about boredom to bust.
• This year, I'm taking a step back and doing less. I hope we end the summer feeling rested.

I'm about to experience my 17th summer as a mom, and I think I've finally learned my lesson.

Having four kids can be overwhelming and chaotic, especially given their different abilities, personalities, ages, and preferred extracurriculars. Despite the number of kids I have, I am determined to have a low-key summer with them.

I fully recognize the privilege I have. I teach college writing classes in fall and spring, with the perk of having summers off. My kids don't go to day care or camp, nor do they stay home alone while I'm working. Though this can give us some freedom, it also means that I am in charge of planning our kids' summer activities — all of them.

Being an always-on-the-go family simply doesn't allow our nervous systems to reset. We have had a very challenging past five or so years as a family. I fought breast cancer, three of my kids became teenagers, and we've faced multiple other health issues. We are tired, to say the least.

Despite my vowing that "less is more," summer after summer, I've found myself roped into a jam-packed calendar. After all, the newness of summer wears off during the first few weeks, and nothing can drive a parent more bonkers than a kid whining that they are "soooo bored." Striking a balance, especially with so many kids, can be overwhelmingly challenging, but I think I've nailed down a plan that may actually work.

A low-key summer doesn't mean no activities

Our low-key summer, the one I have dreamed about for years, will be the reset we all need. I'm determined to make it so.

This doesn't mean there will be no activities or that we are never leaving the house. Three of my four kids have signed up for some type of activity: summer school classes and sports trainings. These are primarily during the day, and they aren't every day, so the commitment is low.

What will we do with the rest of our time? My goal is weekly library visits, a safe space for browsing and borrowing free items. We also plan to swim at home, daily, and sometimes have friends over to join us. My aim is to keep it all very casual and low-key, though. Bring your own towel, and you can grab snacks from the kitchen if you need one.

We are also fortunate to be the proud owners of four rescue dogs. They are fabulous companions, but definitely require our attention: brushing, feeding, and walking. We're still working on getting them to actually enjoy the pool versus dip in and run out. My kids will be focused on caring for them a bit more, now that they'll have some extra hours in their day.

I've created a space for creativity

I also scored a free, solid dining table off a social media page, and then later, four free dining chairs.

The setup makes the perfect Lego or game table for my kids and their friends. We can easily host casual gatherings. In fact, last fall, I had a group of my girlfriends over for a Perler bead party, complete with snacks. It was fantastic fun, inexpensive, and memorable. I have loads of beads left, ready for my kids to enjoy with their friends if the mood strikes.

Chores will also take up some time

Lastly, and as always, my kids have daily chores. I'm a big believer in the benefits: teamwork, building life skills, and respecting our home by taking good care of it. Yes, my children complain about chores, as all children usually do. However, I have found that the benefits far outweigh the grunts and sighs. Over the summer, they'll have extra time to help with laundry and dish duty, and I plan to take full advantage of that.

Structured activities will be replaced with simpler joys

As someone who grew up living in the country, back in the day when there were no cell phones or laptops, our only option was to turn our boredom into an opportunity to play, create, and read. I want this for my kids. Too many structured activities deprive them of the freedom to be bored. Additionally, traveling to and from those places, buying all the gear, and paying activity fees is incredibly expensive.

I am thinking about our recent spring break. On the first day, we spent an hour at the YMCA, each kid working out in whatever way made them happy. Then we headed to the library and loaded up books and other items. We came home, watched a movie while it poured outside. The kids ate a frozen meal for lunch, ones they had pre-chosen as their favorites. It ended up being the perfect day and it was easy.

TBD if my low-key summer plan will be a success. However, I am hopeful that my intentionality will create opportunities for relaxation, creativity, joy, and beautiful memories.

• Sydney Stoner started experiencing bowel movement changes and cramping in her mid-20s.
• After being dismissed by doctors, she said she had blood in her stool to get a colonoscopy sooner.
• At 27, Stoner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

Despite living an active, busy life, Sydney Stoner was plagued by worsening digestive issues.

Around 2019, when she was in her mid-20s, she started cycling between constipation and diarrhea. "I just thought it was just regular stomach issues that people had," the now 32-year-old told Business Insider.

For a while, Stoner was able to go on living her life in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her husband, two cats, and two dogs. Stoner worked as a professional theater actor, juggling roles with her part-time retail job. In her free time, she loved cycling and CrossFit.

In the meantime, she bounced around from different doctors, including a primary care physician and a holistic doctor, thinking they would diagnose her with IBS. She tried elimination diets, including cutting dairy, gluten, and sugar. Some doctors told her to "watch her weight."

Nothing worked.

She said she had blood in her stool to get screened sooner

Within a year, the discomfort became more severe. Stoner only felt relief when she used the restroom, which resulted in intense cramping throughout. "I felt like my insides were twisting," she said.

One day, the pain became too great for Stoner. It hurt to eat, and the cramps wouldn't stop. "I was like, 'Someone needs to see inside my body,'" Stoner said.

She called a gastroenterology care center and started listing her symptoms to the woman on the phone. When she was asked for her age and was told she'd need a referral to get screened, Stoner improvised.

From Googling her symptoms, she read that having blood in her stool, one of the most common signs of colon cancer, was typically considered more dire than stomach pain or changes in bowel movements. After she lied and said she had the symptom, she was scheduled for a colonoscopy right away.

Stoner knew something was wrong once she started waking up from the sedation used in a colonoscopy. "I'm pretty sure I heard them say 'cancer,'" she recalled, adding that the doctors brought her husband into the room with her. "I knew that that wasn't a good sign."

She learned that the colonoscope, the long thin medical device used to navigate through the rectum and colon, couldn't even get a foot inside her colon due to a mass.

Stoner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 27. Because she was still coming down from the anesthesia, she didn't really respond.

"I was just in shock. I didn't really say anything," Stoner said. "When I finally ate some foodShe was scheduled for PET and CT scans as well as a tumor removal surgery one month later. after the colonoscopy, the tears just started flowing."

Almost two years into married life, Stoner struggled to make sense of the diagnosis. "We went on trips often, hung out with a lot of friends, loved going to live shows," she said. "I just really never thought that cancer would be a part of that."

Grieving her life before cancer

Stoner was scheduled for PET and CT scans as well as a tumor removal surgery one month later. She woke up from her surgery with an ileostomy, a bag attached to her abdomen to collect waste that allows the colon to heal. A year later it'd be reversed.

Initially, she was told by doctors that she had stage 3B cancer, and that it had only spread to a few lymph nodes. But once she moved to St. Louis and started care there, her scans found that the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs, making it stage 4.

Stoner did 12 rounds of chemotherapy, which caused her cold sensitivity. "I had to wear gloves to even get into the refrigerator," she said. "I had to microwave all of my drinks." After that, she did three rounds of radiation per lung, which led to no evidence of disease.

Two months later, her blood work showed signs of cancer, so she underwent 12 additional rounds of a different chemo medication, which led to dizziness and nausea, common symptoms. "It's kind of like being drunk on a cruise ship, but not the fun drunk," she said.

Since 2023, for over two years, she has been on a lower-dose maintenance chemo pill. But when her recent scans in October showed more progression of disease than her oncologist was comfortable with, she was put on more rounds of the second chemotherapy drug again.

The near-never-ending treatments caused both financial and emotional strain. Because Stoner and her husband had just been kicked off their parents' insurance, Stoner struggled to get scans or treatments approved until she could apply for disability in 2021. Now, she's on Medicare.

Stoner, who legally can't work over a certain number of hours ,also works part-time at a cat café. Her husband is a self-employed barber, and they pay for some of Stoner's treatment through a GoFundMe.

"You just wake up and just grieve your old life every day, which sounds really depressing," Stoner said. "But you're just not the same person after you get news like that."

She's advocating for more research funding

Stoner said her friends and family have been a great support throughout treatment. So has the colon cancer community she found.

In 2023, Stoner discovered the nonprofit Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC), which connected her to others diagnosed with colon cancer. She learned about opportunities to present her story to Congress and to advocate for more funding for colon cancer research. It's timely as colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50.

For young people with potential colon cancer symptoms, Stoner urged listening to your body.

"Especially young women, we are dismissed a lot, and you have to find a doctor that will do the test that you need, or even try Cologuard," a stool test that can detect existing cancer and requires a colonoscopy after a positive result, she said. "It's better to find out early because colon cancer is so preventable."

• I have a background in childhood development and understand that kids need independence to grow.
• However, I still thought somehow that my kids would be different when they went to college.
• When my daughter pulled away, I had to remind myself that what she was doing was normal.

When my oldest daughter left for college, I felt blindsided — like I somehow prepared her to be independent without preparing myself. As the mom of two teenagers, I still had a high schooler at home, but other than rides to school or friends' houses, she didn't seem to need me very much anymore, either.

Even with dozens of child development course credits, years working with kids of all ages, and an academic understanding of individuation — the process people go through to achieve a separate, distinct identity — the drastic and almost overnight change in my job description as a mom took me by complete surprise.

I didn't think my kids would pull away when they went to college

Somewhere underneath all that education, I think I believed that my daughters and I were the exception. We were different. We were close. They didn't need to pull away to find themselves.

I was grateful that my daughter had decided to attend a local university, unlike some of her friends who had moved across the country or even to Europe. I looked forward to supporting her with home-cooked meals, laundry services, and the occasional ride to work.

After a few months, I converted her bedroom into a home office and spent weeks finding the perfect futon for her to sleep on when she came home. But she never used it, and it seemed like the more I pursued her, the more she slipped away.

I couldn't understand why she stopped sharing her location and resisted my help. I felt sad and disconnected from one of my favorite people. Every night, before I went to sleep, I lay in bed worrying and wondering if she was tucked safe into her dorm room.

In response, I became clingy

Instead of taking the hint and backing off, I became clingy, insecure, and resentful. I texted too much, told her how much I missed her, and insisted she turn location sharing back on. I also pressed her to talk about her feelings and tried to get to the bottom of her detachment.

Had I failed her as a mom? Is that why she didn't want to spend time with me anymore? It seemed like she couldn't wait to get away, and my confidence plummeted.

I didn't realize that what felt like care and support to me came across to her like stress and pressure. I was also unwittingly making her feel responsible for my emotions, which just created even more distance between us.

I felt like I was losing the relationship I'd spent 18 years building and had no idea why.

I finally realized that I had to quit fighting what I already knew

It was only when I went back to what I already knew — that pulling away is how people find themselves — that I finally realized what my daughter was doing was not only normal but necessary, and that I had to quit fighting it.

I stopped taking her independence personally, remembering that I raised her to be strong and self-reliant, and realized that she wasn't the only one who needed to figure out who she was separate from her family.

It was also time for me to rediscover who I was besides a mom and caregiver. But it wasn't easy, and I spent months feeling lonely and adrift. After having virtually no time to myself for almost two decades, I now had too much time on my hands, and didn't know what to do with it.

I tried to remember all the things I dreamed about doing when my girls were little — reading, writing, traveling — and started there. One day, I spent hours hiking a local wilderness trail without checking my phone for the first time in years, and that's when it hit me.

Once I finally backed off, gave my daughter some space, and refocused my attention on my own life, our relationship began to improve. I became less needy, more confident, and showed my daughter that she wasn't responsible for my feelings.

Now that she's 23, we text almost daily and talk by phone several times a week. She recently requested her favorite meal and enlisted my help on a writing project. I feel closer to her than ever, reassured that she's doing a great job making her own way in the world, and thrilled to see her building the confidence that comes with being independent.

• I was experiencing burnout at my corporate job, so I started flipping houses as a side project.
• I finally decided to quit my job and turn the house flipping into a business with my mom.
• My mom and I often fight over designs, but every time we do, the house turns out even better.

For a decade, I thought I was doing everything right. I had a few corporate jobs, a predictable salary, and a career path that looked good on paper. From the outside, it probably seemed like I had things figured out.

But behind the scenes, I was constantly exhausted, and the work never really stopped. Even after logging off my work email and putting my work phone down, I was still thinking about deadlines, emails, and expectations. Over time, that pressure built into something I couldn't ignore anymore.

I remember realizing that no matter how much effort I put in, the work didn't feel tangible. I was stuck in a loop. I needed a dramatic change.

A side project with my mom sparked a change

To scratch the initial itch, I purchased my first home in June 2020 and was planning to obtain a construction loan. However, when I spoke with my mom about it, she agreed I didn't need to take on the burden and said she'd partner with me 50/50 on this side project.

Little did I know back then that this side project would turn into our mother-son business years later.

We added nearly 1,200 sq. ft., successfully sold the house in February 2023, and I finally felt the tangible satisfaction of doing my own project. This led to the purchase of our second home in June 2023.

Eventually, though, the burnout caught up with me. Working a full-time job and managing the pre-construction of a 3,400 sq. ft. project was too much. Around that time, my mom and I started talking more seriously about our partnership and plans for the future.

Yes, a steady paycheck was nice, but the live-to-work motto she drilled into me as I was growing up wasn't working. My work-life balance was awful, and my stress and patience levels were wearing thin.

A wellness retreat finally pushed me to take the leap

Toward the end of 2024, I booked a retreat at the legendary health and wellness resort The Golden Door to disconnect and clear my mind. While the intention wasn't to make a drastic change, that is exactly what happened.

At the retreat, I met two successful CEOs in their 60s who kept instilling in me that what I saw as a massive risk wasn't actually such. I always had the idea of working on my own, but I was too scared to do it.

"Bet on yourself. Success is driven by those who make bold decisions," they kept saying.

I took that advice home, spoke with my mom, and while she was initially against the idea, she said OK. Seeing me struggle for meaning and happiness, I think, swayed her to agree with my decision.

JAREST, LLC was formed soon after, and there was no looking back.

We butt heads constantly over budgets and design

The adjustment was immediate. Time and routine changed like the wind, and processes and hierarchies were not established, and egos clashed.

Both stubborn and smart, we butted heads constantly about design, decisions, and budget. While I'm primarily driven by financial considerations, she (thankfully) is better at understanding where to spend money to improve the product.

This led to a lot of disagreements in the middle of the second project. I was against spending an extra $15,000 on floating stairs or a double-wide Sub-Zero fridge/freezer that other houses in our price range didn't have.

After a few yelling matches over dinner, she won (she normally does, especially when she's cooking). The decision was made, and we pressed on. Even though the contingency budget was down to $0, and I knew other unknowns would pop up, we proceeded.

Finding our rhythm

Over time, though, I started to notice something. Every time we clashed, the final decision was stronger.

If I pushed too hard on cutting costs, she would point out long-term benefits I hadn't considered. If she wanted to over-improve a property, I would bring us back to what I thought actually made sense financially.

We sold that house in March 2026 and are now starting our most ambitious project in Beverly Hills, with an anticipated completion in Spring 2027.

Thanks to my mom's guidance, financial support, and a bit of yelling, a dream from childhood, growing up in an apartment in Westwood, is coming true. While I won't be living in a Beverly Hills mansion, at least I can say I built one!

It took a while, but that raw tension (oh, it's still there, trust me, just not as fervent) became a strength.