• The Adidas Originals Wide Leg Satin Pants have taken over every mom Facebook group I'm in.
• They're sold out — and have been selling out on repeat since they dropped.
• With 414 reviews and a 4.7-star rating, the hype is clearly justified.

I'm very easy to influence. So when I started seeing the Adidas Originals Wide Leg Satin Animal Print Pants pop up in almost every one of my mom and fashion groups on Facebook, I knew that they were going to become a thing.

I have been in enough mom group trend cycles to know that when something hits this fever pitch, there's usually a reason. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I went to find them.

They are sold out everywhere

I ended up buying an XS — the only size available when I went looking for a pair three weeks ago — even though I'm typically a 4 to 6 in pants. Surprisingly, they fit perfectly. The elastic waist is doing a lot of good work here, and the wide leg silhouette is forgiving in the best way. The length runs long on smaller frames, and at 5'6'', the XS runs a tad too long on me (I'm debating whether to hem them or commit to wearing them with platforms).

The pants are currently marked down from $70 to $42 on the Adidas site — but it almost doesn't matter because they are sold out. They have 414 reviews and a 4.7-star rating on adidas.com, which is practically a standing ovation. At discksportinggoods.com, they've earned a 4.8 rating from 154 reviews.

The adidas description says these are "a major pivot from a minimalist aesthetic," and that sentence alone explains why mom groups are losing their minds over them. I'm so over minimalism, with neutral everything and quiet luxury.

They are so easy to style

At first, I wore them only with neutrals like white tees and sneakers, but these are so cool that I've ventured into pairing them with my checkered Vans and loud T-shirts, and those work, too.

I had also purchased the satin shirt as part of the set, but my package was lost in the mail, and I took that as a sign that maybe I only needed the pants.

I recently took a girls' trip to Las Vegas, and I knew I had to bring my new go-to pants. I got so many compliments from other women while walking through the casinos. My friend also pointed out these Amazon dupes that were everywhere — a potential solution if you can't find the Adidas one in your size. And they are only $24.99.

If you really want the OGs, your best bet is to check the Adidas site and Dick's Sporting Goods repeatedly and set up stock alerts if you can. The animal print version has been restocking in waves, selling out almost immediately each time — the same pattern I saw with the platform Crocs I bought two summers ago.

I love my pants so much that I went ahead and placed an order for the Adidas x Farm Rio premium pants. These have a much bolder print, but I think I'm entering my maximalism era thanks to the brand.

My advice is that if you want the popular satin pants, get on the waitlist now. And if a size appears in your cart, do not hesitate. Worst-case scenario: if you don't like them, you will for sure find someone who wants to buy them off you.

• At Glendale Community College's commencement ceremony, several students' names were misread while walking onstage.
• President Tiffany Hernandez said the college was "using a new AI system," prompting boos from the crowd.
• The college later allowed the graduates to walk again. This time, a human read their names.

Graduation is cause for celebration. At Glendale Community College, an AI-related flub made it cause for apology.

The college's recent graduation ceremony outside of Phoenix, Arizona ground to a halt after a naming mishap. Several students' names weren't called as they crossed the stage. Others were left waiting after failing to hear their name at all. Thus began a 10-minute commencement debacle, with AI to blame.

They later found an old-school solution: human name-callers.

The first sign that something was amiss began when Lorelei Konopka, the college's vice president of academic affairs, asked the audience to "give us one second."

The college's president, Tiffany Hernandez, then approached the lectern to reveal the cause of the error: "We're using a new AI system as our reader. That's a lesson learned for us."

The audience booed at the mention of AI. It's something that's been happening at a handful of commencements — though most were because of references during speeches, not because of an AI-related ceremony error.

Hernandez initially said that she would have to "disappoint many of you" by not letting them walk a second time with their names read aloud.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "There's plenty of opportunities, I hope, to take some really good pictures, and to celebrate you with your loved ones as well."

Konopka approached the lectern to continue the ceremony, joking, "I have the part of the ceremony that doesn't require AI."

After a series of long pauses, Hernandez announced that the students would be able to walk again — and this time, a human would announce their names.

"Here's where pivoting works best," she said.

In an email to Business Insider, a Glendale Community College representative wrote that there was a "technical issue" leading to some graduates not being named.

"While the issue was corrected during the ceremony, we are sorry for the disruption it caused during what should have been a celebratory moment for our graduates and their families," the representative wrote. "We have also communicated directly with graduates to apologize for the experience."

Graduate Grace Reimer told AZ Family that she noticed the error when she didn't hear much cheering during her walk. "My family is a pretty loud family," she said.

Reimer also posted a screenshot of a letter from the Glendale Community College president on TikTok. Hernandez wrote in the letter that they were "actively reviewing" the issue, though there was no reference to AI.

AI remains a contentious topic this graduation season. During former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's commencement address at the University of Arizona, students booed references to AI and automation.

Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed at one of the University of Central Florida's commencement ceremonies. So was Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta at Middle Tennessee State University.

Borchetta's response: "Then do something about it. It's a tool. Make it work for you."

• Everspin Technologies stock is up by about 250% year to date as investors chase memory-chip trades.
• But short-seller Kerrisdale Capital thinks the stock isn't in the same category as other memory names.
• The firm sees Everspin as a niche company with little to do with the broader AI boom cycle.

Memory stocks have been the hottest trade of the year, but one short-seller thinks investors should be more discerning in picking winners.

Kerrisdale Capital revealed a short position Everspin Technologies, a chip maker whose stock is up 250% this year. In the firm's view, the market is incorrectly valuing the stock as AI winner when it actually operates in a different market entirely. It shared a detailed short report on the stock on Tuesday, with the stock down by about 2% following its release.

"MRAM is hardly cutting edge," Kerrisdale stated. "The technology has been commercially available for two decades." It said that the company's magnetoresistive random-access memory products are complicated and expensive to scale.

The memory stock frenzy that's lifted stocks like Sandisk to enormous triple-digit gains is the newest frontier of the AI trade. It's been sparked by the next leg of AI development and the pivot from training to inference, which requires more memory storage.

Data from Apewisdom shows that retail traders have embraced Everspin as they pile into memory stocks and rush to gain exposure through funds such as the newly launched Roundhill Memory ETF, which trades under the symbol DRAM.

Kerrisdale sees Everspin's surge in 2026 as a sign that investors should approach with caution, and also that they should scrutinize the sector more closely.

"The stock has soared 300% in a matter of weeks as speculative investors who seemingly can't tell the difference between MRAM, DRAM, or a Dodge Ram pile into anything remotely associated with "memory" and AI," the short seller added. "In reality, Everspin is not a meaningful beneficiary of the hyperscale AI infrastructure buildout driving today's semiconductor boom."

The report said that Everspin's primary market is not AI builders, but something more niche: casino slot machines. In Kerrisdale's view, all of this suggests that "Everspin has become swept into a broader market mania, and recent trading action bears all the hallmarks of speculative momentum run amok"

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

• A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to designate advanced nursing as a professional degree.
• The Education Department's new student-loan borrowing caps exclude nursing from the higher limits.
• Lawmakers and advocates said the limits could exacerbate the ongoing healthcare shortage.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers agree: nurses deserve to take out more student loans.

On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker led a bipartisan bill to include nursing degrees in the Department of Education's professional degree designation.

The legislation addresses President Donald Trump's new borrowing limits, which take effect July 1 and include a $100,000 lifetime limit for graduate students and a $200,000 limit for professional students. The Department of Education's list of programs that meet the definition of "professional" includes medicine, law, and dentistry, but excludes advanced nursing degrees.

The exclusion concerned borrowers, advocates, and lawmakers across the aisle, who said nursing tuition can exceed the cap and would leave students unable to attend. The new bill would add advanced nursing programs to the Department of Education's list.

"Nurses save lives, one bedside at a time. We should be doing everything we can to make it easier to recruit the next generation of these heroes, not make it harder," Merkley said in a statement. "Republicans and Democrats alike have sounded the alarm over changes that make student loans for nurses more expensive, which threaten the future of the nursing workforce."

A bipartisan companion bill was also introduced in the House.

In a House hearing last week, Education Sec. Linda McMahon said that nurses "are incredibly respected" and that most would not be affected by the borrowing caps.

"We looked very, very carefully at the entire nursing profession. 95% of the nurses that are in programs do not exceed these caps. 78% of the nurses that are moving for graduate programs do not exceed or come up to these caps," McMahon said. "We were very carefully looking at the cost of these programs across the country. There are outliers."

Most students in post-graduate nursing programs borrow within the new caps, according to an analysis of Education Department data from the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute. In 115 out of 140 advanced nursing programs, students borrowed less than $100,000, it said.

Still, lawmakers and advocates said the caps could exacerbate an ongoing shortage of healthcare workers. In December, a bipartisan group of more than 140 lawmakers urged the department to revise its professional degree definition. They referred to the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist program, which can cost over $200,000, and said that the proposed $100,000 cap is "restricting the pipeline of CRNAs and further limiting an anesthesia workforce that is suffering from shortages across all provider types."

Thousands of people pushed to change the definition of a professional degree during the rule's public comment period in February.

"Policies that make graduate nursing education less affordable will not only discourage nurses from advancing their education but will also reduce the number of nurse educators available to train the next generation of nurses," one commenter said. "Fewer educators mean fewer nursing school slots and longer delays in bringing new nurses into the workforce, and ultimately compromising care."

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

• Sundar Pichai touted a 7x increase in Google's AI products at the I/O developer conference today.
• The stunning increase drew audible gasps from the audience.
• Pichai cracked a joke about 'tokenmaxxing,' but said the stat still tells an important story.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai isn't afraid of touting big AI usage numbers, despite the 'tokenmaxxing' controversy.

At Google's annual developer conference today, Pichai said that monthly usage of its AI products has increased sevenfold to 3.2 quadrillion tokens since last year.

The huge increase drew audible gasps from the packed Shoreline Amphitheater near Google's Silicon Valley headquarters — and a joke from Pichai.

"Some out there might call it tokenmaxxing, and there's probably some truth to it," Pichai said to some laughter from the audience. "I still think it tells an important story about our products and how others are building on it as well, especially our developers."

Tokens are the basic building block of AI chatbots, with one 'token' making up about ¾ of a word. Tokenmaxxing, or flexing about how many tokens you're using, has become a lightning rod in tech this year, as some argue developers are using up unnecessary tokens just to brag about it.

Despite the controversy, the clear use of Google's AI products is surging, something Pichai was keen to highlight.

"I never imagined I'd say quadrillion at a keynote, but here we are," he said.

Google has been seen as a winner on the AI front in recent months, thanks to its Gemini 3 AI model and AI chips known as TPUs. Its stock has more than doubled since last year's I/O.

Pets are expensive, and it doesn't take long owning one before that becomes painfully true. Food, vet visits, prescriptions, and toys are only some of the expenses that can drain your funds while caring for your fur baby. Chewy makes things easier with a one-stop shop for everyday pet essentials, plus frequent coupons, promo codes, and discounts that help you save while keeping your pet well-stocked.

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The store runs frequent limited-time deals, seasonal sales, and category-specific discounts, but you can often save even more by using a valid Chewy coupon code at checkout. Below, we have rounded up the best Chewy promo codes and coupons available right now so you can get the lowest price on pet food, treats, toys, pharmacy refills, and more.

Today's best Chewy promo codes

Today's best Chewy pharmacy promo codes

Previous Chewy promo codes

Are there any other Chewy sales running at the moment?

Check out the full list of markdowns and ongoing deals, including the option to shop deals by pet, on Chewy's Today's Deals page. At the time of writing, you can shop for the following deals.

Use Chewy promo codes on these items

If you purchase items we recommend in our pet guides on Chewy's site, you can easily spend enough to earn the free $20 gift card with the code WELCOME. Purchasing one of our top cat treats, the Inaba Churu Chicken Variety, for $32.96, and the ChomChom Pet Hair Remover, one of our favorite pet hair removers we've reviewed, for $24.99, puts the total price of your order over the $49 minimum to use the promo code.

• Follow us on Instagram and WhatsApp for more deals and buying guides

How to use Chewy promo codes

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Chewy promo code frequently asked questions

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As of the time of writing, Chewy does not offer special discounts for students, teachers, or members of the military, so your best bet is to take advantage of their other coupons and deals.

If you're a student or teacher, check out our roundups of the best student discounts and best teacher discounts for more ways to save on your favorite brands.

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Still shopping? Check out our roundup of the best dog subscription boxes.

• Google is giving its iconic Search box an AI upgrade.
• It's putting some of its biggest AI Mode features into the traditional Search box.
• New "information agents" can also search on your behalf in the background.

For all its driverless cars, AI chips, and fitness trackers, Search is still Google's most important product.

That's why it's a big deal any time Google makes a change to its search engine — especially if it's the biggest update in a quarter century.

The company said on Tuesday that it is giving the traditional Search box an AI-infused upgrade, as it continues to form — and respond to — changing user habits.

While it's still very much a box, Google is adding features to its default Search that were previously confined to its "AI Mode" tool, such as having it expand with longer queries, and adding the ability to upload files, videos, images, and even Chrome tabs to ask questions about.

Google said Search will still display a list of website links and AI summaries like before. The key difference is that its AI tools are being brought even closer to Search than ever.

Since last year, Google has been gradually rolling out and improving its AI Mode, which behaves more like its chatbot, Gemini, by letting users ask follow-up questions. Rather than simply responding to a question with a list of results, AI Mode provides more detailed responses written by AI and fewer direct links to websites.

The updated Search box will also provide AI-powered suggestions as users type, which Google says are more comprehensive than auto-correct.

"This is truly the biggest upgrade to our iconic search box since its debut over 25 years ago," Liz Reid, Google's VP of Search, said on a briefing with reporters on Monday. She said the new Search box will go live around the world on Tuesday.

The new search box is something of a response to how people have been using its various AI offerings. Google doesn't want people to think too hard about which search mode they're in, said Reid, who suggested that the choice of different search modes may be turning some people away from a more AI-driven experience.

"What we saw is that some users know that they want to go to AI mode, but for most users, they don't actually want to have to think about 'do they want more of a traditional page or an AI-forward search experience,'" she said.

Reid said there was also some "friction" from going from AI overviews — the AI-written summaries that appear at the top of regular search results — to AI mode. Now, Google will let you ask a follow-up question from within an AI Overview — which will then transition into a conversation in AI Mode.

As Reid put it, these changes mean that users "don't have to think about where to go."

Agent infusion

If the thought of manually searching with AI tools is still too exhausting, Google will also let users run agents that do it on their behalf.

It's rolling out what it's calling "information agents" that are designed to run in the background and continually scan website, social media posts, shopping outlets, and other sources.

For example, you could create an agent to search for a specific pair of shoes in your size. You can set the parameters, and the agent will come up with a plan and a list of the tools it needs to access to do the job. It will then track those changes and send you an alert once it finds them in stock.

It's a move that's likely to create more uncertainty for brands and publishers, who are already grappling with how AI is changing the way they are discovered, and in some cases seeing reduced organic traffic.

However, these new agents won't roll out until the summer, Reid said.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Google launched a new AI agent, Spark, describing it as 24/7 digital assistant.
• It will run in Gemini, powered by Google Cloud, so you can shut your laptop and turn off your phone.
• Spark can work with Google's sprawling product ecosystem.

Google is rolling out its first truly "always-on" AI agent that it says can plan parties, collate notes, and run a variety of other tasks in the background.

Named Spark, the agent can run 24/7 and take actions on your behalf, Google said. While it can perform tasks that involve coding, Google is pitching Spark as a more all-around digital assistant, and a big shift in making Gemini not just a chatbot, but a more proactive helper.

Business Insider previously reported Google was internally testing a "24/7" agent codenamed Remy that could take actions on the user's behalf.

Spark lives inside the Gemini app, is powered by Google's new Gemini 3.5 model, and runs on Google's Cloud so it can continuously run in the background.

"You don't need to keep your laptop open to make sure it's running," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on a call with reporters ahead of Google I/O, its annual developer event.

AI agents, particularly for coding, have exploded in popularity in recent months. In some cases, coders are walking around with their laptops ajar to keep the agents running because they run on the device itself, although there are workarounds.

The popularity of Anthropic's Claude Code in particular has left Google behind in the AI coding wars. Spark could be Google's way to win on another front by tapping into its sprawling product empire, already woven into so many people's lives.

Google said Spark will be able to use and read from the company's first-party products, such as Gmail and Docs, and will soon connect with Chrome. Over time, Google will update Spark so it can talk to third-party tools, too, it said.

"If you need to email your boss with a status update, Spark can pull all the facts from your emails, docs, sheets, and slides, and write the draft for you," said Josh Woodward, VP of Google Gemini, on the call with reporters. Google will also soon let you text and email with your Spark agents, he said.

Woodward described Spark as like "tossing things over your shoulder" for the AI to catch and complete. He gave an example of how Spark might help plan a party by tracking RSVPs, sending reminders, and looking up homeowner association rules to see if giant inflatables are allowed.

Google is rolling out Spark to trusted testers this week and to Google Ultra subscribers in the US next week in beta. Until now, Google's Ultra plan has cost $249.99 a month, but the company is introducing a new $100 Ultra tier to get people using its new agent tool (if you want to max out your usage, Google will offer a still-slightly-reduced $200 a month).

After all, those tokens don't come cheap.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• CEO Sundar Pichai reveals Google processes 3.2 quadrillion AI tokens monthly, up from 480 trillion.
• Google Cloud clients exceed 1 trillion AI tokens each, reflecting rapid growth in AI adoption.
• Five Google services, including Search and YouTube, now boast over 3 billion users each globally.

Google's name comes from the mathematical term googol, a very, very large number. On Tuesday, at the company's I/O conference, Google's numerical destiny seemed to come true.

CEO Sundar Pichai shared the latest numbers from some of Google's most important products, especially newer AI offerings.

First up: tokens, the core unit of use in generative AI. Pichai shared that Google now processes 3.2 quadrillion AI tokens monthly. That's up from 480 trillion a year ago and 9.7 trillion in May 2024.

Next, the CEO said more than 375 Google Cloud customers used over 1 trillion tokens each over the past 12 months.

Five Google services — Search, Gmail, Android, Chrome, and YouTube — now have more than 3 billion users each, Pichai added.

AI Overviews in Google Search has over 2.5 billion monthly active users, the CEO also said.

AI Mode in Search has more than 1 billion monthly active users.

And Google's Gemini app recently topped 900 million monthly active users, up from 400 million about a year ago, the CEO added.

Roughly a decade ago, Google used its I/O conference to unveil a major machine-learning push, which put the internet giant at the forefront of the AI field many years before most other companies.

Now, Google is racing against OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and other tech giants to develop models, agents, chatbots, and other AI services.

Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.

• Nikesh Arora said it's a "fallacy" that AI productivity gains automatically mean fewer workers.
• Instead, he thinks AI will help engineers ship feature requests that grew "longer than their arm."
• He said some AI-linked layoffs may help companies make room for workers with newer skills.

Nikesh Arora says AI has changed how he approaches hiring — but not in the ways many workers fear.

The CEO of Palo Alto Networks — a cybersecurity company with a nearly $200 billion market cap — told The New York Times' "Hard Fork" podcast that he thinks it's a "fallacy" that AI productivity gains automatically mean companies need fewer people.

"No, I need more," he said. "The fallacy is that organizations are going to get 30, 40, 50, 60% more productive from a development perspective and a testing perspective, so we need less people."

Arora's comments run counter to a growing chorus of tech and business leaders who say AI will enable companies to operate with fewer workers. Some CEOs — including Block's Jack Dorsey and Cisco's Chuck Robbins — have said AI is already changing staffing needs and replacing certain roles.

That message comes amid broader backlash against AI. Some college graduates are booing commencement speakers who mention the technology, while protests have erupted over data centers that power AI models. Some Silicon Valley bosses, including Snap's Evan Spiegel, have warned of growing societal dissatisfaction with AI — especially as it increases employment concerns.

Arora thinks there's a more nuanced impact on jobs.

He argued that AI could create greater technical capacity — and that companies may use those gains to tackle long-delayed product roadmaps and business transformation rather than simply banking the savings through mass layoffs.

"The problem is, every technologist that you talk to has a feature request list which is longer than their arm," he said. "I think the first thing that's going to happen is, as we create more capacity, we're going to try and fill the technological backlog."

Arora also offered a layered view of recent AI-linked layoffs, saying some companies may be using cuts to "create capacity" and make room for workers with different job responsibilities.

"They're saying, 'That capacity allows me to hire more people and make room for people that I need who have the newer skill set,'" he said.

Palo Alto Networks has continued to add employees, though its filings do not attribute that growth specifically to AI. The company increased its total employee head count by 959 in the first two quarters of fiscal 2026, according to its latest 10-Q filing.

The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Companies like Snap and Block cited AI as a factor in recent layoffs.
• Coinbase's CEO said on May 5 that the company will cut 14% of its workforce, in part due to AI.
• Cisco announced about 4,000 layoffs on May 13, citing intensifying competition in the AI era.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Angi

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

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

Atlassian

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

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

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

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

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

Block

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

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

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

Cisco

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

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

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

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

Cloudflare

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

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

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

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

Coinbase

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

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

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

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

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

Crypto.com

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

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

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

HP

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

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

IBM

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

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

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

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

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

Klarna

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

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

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

Siemiatkowski said that "human connection" will be vital to the company, and jobs that involve that will not be replaced by AI.

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

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

Salesforce

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

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

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

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

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

Snap

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

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

Standard Chartered

Global bank Standard Chartered announced plans on May 19 to slash 15% of its staff by 2030.

CEO Bill Winters said in a media briefing in Hong Kong that the move isn't a cost-cutting effort, but rather, "replacing, in some cases, lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital that we are putting in," Bloomberg reported.

"We don't have job losses, but we do have job role reductions in favor of the machines, and that will accelerate as we go forward into AI," he said at the briefing.

The company added in a statement: "We are combining the best human talent with AI, investing to support our people into higher-value roles."

Wisetech

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

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

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

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

• Actors Chuck Norris, Patrick Muldoon, Robert Duvall, and James Van Der Beek died in 2026.
• So did "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, and LAPD detective from the O.J. Simpson trial Mark Fuhrman.
• Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson and media mogul Ted Turner also died.

Below, we look back at those we lost in 2026, listed in alphabetical order.

Scott Adams, 68

Adams based the character in his beloved "Dilbert" comic strip on his coworkers at the telephone company he worked at in the 1980s. By the end of the decade, the character and his satirical office humor began appearing in comic strips.

At its peak, "Dilbert" was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers. A cartoon series debuted in 1999 and ran for two seasons.

Adams gained notoriety when he began writing blog posts praising Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential run. In 2023, "Dilbert" was pulled from newspapers across the US following racist comments made by Adams.

Adams died on January 13 following a bout with metastatic prostate cancer.

Brad Arnold, 47

As the lead singer of 3 Doors Down, Arnold launched the group into fame with the 2000 rock anthem "Kryptonite," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.

The success led to other hits like "Loser," "Here Without You," and "When I'm Gone." Arnold's vocal range and lyrics focused on love and love lost, which fueled the group to stardom.

Arnold died on February 7 after a battle with cancer.

Afrika Bambaataa, 68

Regarded as a pioneer in hip-hop during the 1970s and 1980s, Lance Taylor, known professionally as Afrika Bambaataa, would go on to influence the likes of Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest throughout his career.

First gaining attention as a DJ in the Bronx, Bambaataa signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1981 and released landmark songs like "Jazzy Sensation" and "Planet Rock."

Bambaataa founded the hip-hop awareness group, Universal Zulu Nation, in the 1970s to steer kids away from gang life. Bambaataa stepped down as the head of the organization in 2016 after accusations of sexual abuse.

Bambaataa denied all claims.

He died on April 9 due to prostate cancer.

Nicholas Brendon, 54

Brendon played the beloved character Xander Harris in all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Brendon also starred in other TV shows, including "Criminal Minds" and "Kitchen Confidential."

Brendon died in his sleep on March 20. According to his family's statement, the cause was natural. In 2023, Brendon suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. He also had cauda equina syndrome, which led to several spinal surgeries.

"While it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis, and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing," the statement to The Hollywood Reporter read. "Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart."

Robert Carradine, 71

As a member of Hollywood's famed Carradine family, Robert was destined for a career on screen.

He got one of his first screen credits starring in his brother David Carradine's popular 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" and went on to land roles in everything from Samuel Fuller's World War II classic "The Big Red One" to the "Lizzie McGuire" series that made Hilary Duff a star.

But for a generation, Robert Carradine will always be known as the king of the nerds, embodying the iconic geek Lewis Skolnick in the 1980s franchise "Revenge of the Nerds."

Carradine's family shared statements with Deadline that emphasized being open about his struggles with mental illness.

"We are bereft at the loss of this beautiful soul and want to acknowledge Bobby's valiant struggle against his nearly two-decade battle with Bipolar Disorder," Carradine's family said. "We hope his journey can shine a light and encourage addressing the stigma that attaches to mental illness."

Carradine died by suicide on February 23.

If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or has had thoughts of harming themself or taking their own life, get help. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is also available through the Crisis Text Line — just text "HOME" to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention offers resources for those outside the US.

Bud Cort, 77

Cort's baby-faced looks, combined with his wit and sophisticated persona, led to him becoming the epitome of 1970s counterculture when director Hal Ashby cast him as the lead in the 1971 movie "Harold and Maude."

The dark comedy stars Cort as Harold, a twenty-something who is obsessed with suicide until he meets 79-year-old eccentric Maude (Ruth Gordon). The movie would go on to become a cult classic thanks to Cort and Gordon's unique on-screen chemistry.

Before that, Cort scored bit parts in Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H*" (1970) and "Brewster McCloud" (1970).

After "Harold and Maude," Cort worked steadily for the rest of his life, occasionally showing up in hit movies like Michael Mann's "Heat" (1995) and Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004).

Cort died on Feb. 11 following a long illness.

Eric Dane, 53

Long before becoming one of TV's most recognizable heartthrobs, Eric Dane was building his career with guest roles on series like "Saved by the Bell" and "Married… with Children."

He later gained wider attention with appearances on "Charmed" before landing his breakout role as Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan on "Grey's Anatomy." He most recently starred in HBO's "Euphoria," where he played Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi's character, Nate Jacobs.

Dane has two children with his wife, Rebecca Gayheart. In April 2025, the actor said that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

Dane died on February 19 at age 53 after battling the disease, his publicist confirmed in a statement to Business Insider.

"He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world," his publicist said.

Robert Duvall, 95

Robert Duvall built a career of timeless cinema classics: "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II," "Apocalypse Now," "THX 1138," "The Natural," "Days of Thunder," "The Apostle," and the list goes on.

Duvall will be best remembered for starring in three of director Francis Ford Coppola's iconic films: playing Tom Hagen in the first two "Godfather" movies and playing Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now," in which he delivers one of the most memorable lines in movie history: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

Duvall was lauded for his acting talent, from not saying a word while playing Boo Radley in his first big screen role in the 1962 classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" to his portrayal of a country singer dealing with alcoholism in 1983's "Tender Mercies," which earned him an Oscar.

He died on his ranch in Virginia on February 15, no cause was given.

Mark Fuhrman, 74

Fuhrman cemented his place in popular culture as one of the lead LAPD detectives on the 1995 murder case of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Fuhrman found the famed bloody glove on the Simpson estate, and during the trial, he gained infamy when Simpson's defense team used his past racist language to discredit him as a witness.

Fuhrman retired from the LAPD after the Simpson trial and moved to Idaho, where he wrote true crime books.

Fuhrman died on May 12 of throat cancer.

Valentino Garavani, 93

For over six decades, one name has been synonymous with women's high fashion: Valentino.

The Italian designer launched his fashion business in Rome in 1960 and never looked back. Soon, every star wanted to be seen in his creations. They've been worn by icons like Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Sharon Stone, and more.

Though Garavani retired from designing in 2008, his label is still a red carpet staple, as is his famous shade of bright red dubbed "Valentino Red."

Garavani died on January 19. No cause was given.

Donald Gibb, 71

No one defined a bully for a generation more than Gibb's hulking fraternity character Orge in the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies of the 1980s.

Since the original raunchy comedy was released in 1984, Gibb's intimidating size and loud yells of "NERDS!" have become as memorable as the pocket protectors worn by the movie's geeks.

Gibb went on to star opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in his classic 1988 action movie "Bloodsport." He also landed guest star roles through his career on shows like "Quantum Leap," Magnum P.I.," "MacGyver," "Night Court," and "Cheers."

Gibb died on May 12 following health complications.

Jesse Jackson, 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and an activist icon who twice ran for president.

Born on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson experienced Jim Crow segregation on public buses and at school firsthand. It would shape the rest of his life.

His fight for civil rights began in the 1960s, when he helped organize protests and demonstrations across the US and worked closely alongside civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

His decadeslong career as a leading civil rights activist included support for modern national movements, such as the push for voting rights, the fight against racism, and a higher minimum wage.

Jackson ran for president twice, both times as a democrat. He placed third for the party's nomination in 1984 and second in 1988. This marked the most successful presidential runs of any Black candidate prior to Barack Obama.

Jackson announced in 2017 that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In November 2025, Jackson was treated in a Chicago hospital after complications from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurodegenerative condition.

Jackson died on February 17.

Patrick Muldoon, 57

In the 1990s, you couldn't escape the piercing eyes of Patrick Muldoon.

He played Austin Reed on "Days of Our Lives" for most of the decade, and when he wasn't on the soap, he was over on "Melrose Place" playing the villain role of Richard Hart.

If being on two iconic shows wasn't enough, he also showed up on "Saved by the Bell" and had a role in the cult classic movie "Starship Troopers."

Muldoon died on April 19 after a heart attack.

Tom Noonan, 74

Standing at a towering 6' 5", Tom Noonan was born to play the bad guy. And he did just that, starring as the villain in movies like "Manhunter," "RoboCop 2," and "Last Action Hero."

But this actor had more to show off. He showcased his comedy chops as Rodney Dangerfield's degenerate gambling friend in the 1983 comedy "Easy Money," and set up the heist for Robert De Niro in Michael Mann's 1995 classic "Heat."

His knack for storytelling also translated behind the camera. Noonan wrote, directed, and starred in the drama "What Happened Was," which won the grand prize at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.

Noonan died on February 14; no cause was given.

Chuck Norris, 86

Few action stars Chuck Norris' credentials.

Before he ever stepped in front of a camera, he was a martial arts champion and a black belt in Karate, judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, and Tang Soo Do.

His talents would become known the world over in 1972, when he faced off against Bruce Lee in "The Way of the Dragon."

Through the 1980s, Norris became one of the biggest action stars in the world thanks to movies like "A Force of One," "The Octagon," and the "Delta Force" and "Missing in Action" franchises.

In the 1990s, he took over the small screen, playing the lead in the "Walker, Texas Ranger" TV show, which aired in over 100 countries during its run from 1993 to 2001.

Norris was hospitalized on March 19 in Hawaii and died the following day, according to his family. No cause was given.

Catherine O'Hara, 71

O'Hara, who was best known for her roles in "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone," got her start in the Canadian comedy scene, appearing in the now-legendary cast of "SCTV."

It would mark the beginning of a fruitful partnership with fellow actor Eugene Levy, who became her frequent costar and collaborator in memorable appearances in Christopher Guest films like "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show" and television series like "Schitt's Creek," which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in 2020.

O'Hara's representation confirmed her death to Business Insider on January 30. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed in a death certificate viewed by People that O'Hara died of a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause.

Valerie Perrine, 82

Perrine found herself cast alongside the biggest stars of the 1970s.

She played the love interest opposite Jeff Bridges in 1973's "The Last American Hero" and Robert Redford in 1979's "The Electric Horseman." She earned an Oscar nomination for starring alongside Dustin Hoffman in 1974's "Lenny."

For most, she'll be remembered best for sharing the screen with Gene Hackman as the secretary to his evil Lex Luthor in 1978's "Superman." She also starred in the sequel. As Ms. Teschmacher, her loyalty to Luthor is questioned when she rescues Superman (Christopher Reeve) after he's chained with Kryptonite.

Perrine died in her home in Beverly Hills on March 23. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Neil Sedaka, 86

Sedaka is responsible for some of the biggest pop songs of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Brooklyn native wrote over 500 songs, including classic hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "Bad Blood" and the Captain & Tennille song, "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Sedaka died on February 27; no cause was given.

Kiki Shepard, 74

In her 15-year tenure as a co-host on "Showtime at the Apollo," Kiki Shepard was considered royalty at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater.

Known in the building as "Apollo Queen of Fashion" thanks to her dazzling outfits, Shepherd was a fixture on the show from 1987 to 2002.

Throughout her career, Shepard also appeared on TV shows like "Baywatch," "A Different World," "NYPD Blue," and "Grey's Anatomy."

Shepard died on March 16 after suffering a heart attack.

Béla Tarr, 70

Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr became a legend in the arthouse world for his unflinching work featuring several-minute-long takes.

With movies like "Family Nest" (1979) and "The Turin Horse" (2011), Tarr showcased his slow cinema style while focusing on marginalized characters living bleak lives. Tarr pushed the envelope with his style when he made "Sátántangó" in 1994, which had a run time of 450 minutes.

His work influenced several arthouse filmmakers, including Jim Jarmusch and Gus Van Sant's "Death Trilogy" ("Gerry," "Elephant," and "Last Days").

Tarr died on January 6 following a battle with a "long and serious illness."

James Tolkan, 94

You might not recognize the name, but if you're a movie fan, you know the face.

Tolkan's tough-guy persona made a mark on movie history in films like "Top Gun" and the "Back to the Future" franchise.

In "Top Gun," he played Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian, who famously gives Tom Cruise's character a tongue lashing, saying, "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."

In "Back to the Future" and its sequels, he played Principal Strickland, who had zero tolerance for "slackers."

Other credits include "Serpico," "WarGames," "Masters of the Universe," and "Dick Tracy."

Tolkan died on March 26; no cause was given.

Ted Turner, 87

Ted Turner changed the television landscape thanks to his maverick maneuvers to harness the 24-hour news cycle.

After taking over his father's advertising company in the 1960s at the age of 24, Turner embarked on a path to change the media landscape by buying up radio and TV stations around the South. He even bought sports teams including the Atlanta Braves MLB team and the Atlanta Hawks NBA team.

All of that programming would eventually become part of TBS, a "super station" that showed old movies, reruns, and Braves and Hawks games.

Turner then set his sights on the news. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour news channel, in June of 1980.

Over the decades, Turner gained celebrity status, particularly after marrying with Jane Fonda, a union that lasted from 1991 to 2001. In 1991, he was named Time's "Man of the Year." He sold his networks to Time Warner for $7.5 billion in 1996.

Turner died on May 6; no cause was given.

James Van Der Beek, 48

Van Der Beek was beloved all over the world for his role as the titular teen Dawson Leery on the WB series "Dawson's Creek."

The series, which ran from 1998 to 2002, turned Van Der Beek into a star and a teen heartthrob. While "Dawson's Creek" was still airing, he'd cement his stardom playing the lead role of high school quarterback "Mox" Moxon in the 1999 coming-of-age drama "Varsity Blues."

Van Der Beek found steady work the rest of his career in movies like "Texas Rangers" and "The Rules of Attraction, and memorably played a fictional version of himself on the TV series "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," and performed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2019.

Van Der Beek learned he had stage 3 colon cancer in 2023, and publicly announced his diagnosis in late 2024.

Van Der Beek previously told Business Insider that the news came as a shock, given the subtleness of his symptoms and his efforts to stay as healthy as possible.

"I was doing everything," he said. "I was doing sauna, cold plunge, weightlifting, Pilates. I would dance and also do football training."

Van Der Beek died on Feb. 11.

Bob Weir, 78

Weir was one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead.

The singer-songwriter wrote and/or sang on songs like "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band," "Truckin,'" "I Need a Miracle," and "The Other One."

After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir went on to form several other bands, including Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog, The Other Ones, and, alongside John Mayer, Dead & Company.

In the summer of 2025, Weir was diagnosed with cancer.

Weir died on January 10.

Frederick Wiseman, 96

For over five decades, Wiseman's brand of non-fiction storytelling put a spotlight on everyday people.

From high schoolers to hospital workers to Air Force cadets training for nuclear war, Wiseman's close to 50-film catalogue is an unvarnished reflection of America over the last half century.

Wiseman died on Februay 16, no cause was given.

• A top longevity doctor said you have more control over healthy aging than you think.
• She recommends simple lifestyle changes to boost sleep and metabolism for a longer life.
• Invest in your health with small tweaks like not eating before bed and optimizing your workout.

Good genes are one of the biggest factors in living a long, healthy life: up to 50% of longevity is inherited, new research suggests.

Still, DNA doesn't have to be your destiny when it comes to aging and illness.

Take Dr. Florence Comite. As an identical twin, she's seen firsthand how our unique life experiences can shape our health and, more importantly, what we can do about it.

"If we're identical twins, why do I love sushi and sashimi, and she doesn't really eat fish? I murder plants, and she's an amazing gardener," Comite quipped to Business Insider.

"By understanding all the factors that make up who we are and thinking of it as a proactive approach, you identify risk before symptoms, and you can stop it in its tracks and even reverse it," she said of aging.

A top longevity doctor, Comite is an expert in epigenetics, the study of chemical changes that influence gene activity, including those that may affect the aging process.

"Being able to turn switches on and off by the choices we make is the way we can give the control back to ourselves, she said.

Comite said that today's decisions can make a huge difference in our ability to thrive for decades to come.

"We begin to show changes of aging below the surface at the cellular level in the 30s. And we can do something about it to really protect our health for life because the earlier we do it, the better off we're going to be," she said.

Comite shared some of the best health changes she's made to her own routine that you can add to your own "health portfolio" for a longer, healthier life.

Ditch the bedtime snacks

Comite said she saw major benefits after triumphing over her own personal health nemesis: the late-night snack.

"I'm a grazer. At night, I would just sit and snack on fruit, chocolate, ice cream, whatever. When I gave that up, and I made myself aware of the fact that I just have to stop eating an hour or two before bed, it was a world of difference," she said.

Cutting out nighttime eating may support digestion and sleep quality, including deep sleep, the time when your body can repair cellular damage to support your metabolism, immune system, and other essential functions. That's why quality sleep is essential for long-term health, helping stave off age-related decline.

"In your 20s, you can sort of burn the candle at both ends, and your body can compensate. That's no longer possible in your 30s," Comite said.

Cut your alcohol intake in half

If you're winding down for the night with wine, whiskey, or beer, you may be doing more harm than good.

Alcohol has increasingly been tied to serious health risks like cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Recent evidence suggests there may be no safe amount of alcohol.

To minimize the risk of drinking, stick to no more than one serving per day for women and two for men, according to the CDC.

Comite said a simple way to cut back is to swap in a glass of plain water between boozy beverages, halving the amount of alcohol you consume.

"If you like alcohol, cut it back. If you drink two glasses, have one glass and a glass of water because alcohol will cause your blood sugar to go up and then go down while you sleep," Comite said.

For more precise insights on your blood sugar, Comite recommends wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which can give real-time data on your body's unique response to different types of food and beverages.

Combine cardio and strength training

Another way to optimize your longevity routine is to diversify your fitness, Comite said.

"I make time for exercise. Three days a week, I'm in the gym for an hour, and I mainly do weights. There's a little bit of high intensity and aerobic," she said.

Between sets of weighted exercises, Comite said she'll spend some time on the rower for longevity-boosting cardio.

Comite said she also prioritizes high-intensity interval training (HIIT), such as sprint sessions. The right HIIT workout can maximize your time by tapping into key fitness metrics like VO2 max to make the most of every minute you spend exercising.

• Author Kimberly Wilson thought she was fit as an avid Orangetheory member.
• So when she wanted a new challenge, she tried Barry's, a high-intense, high-energy fitness studio.
• When she tried her first class, though, she realized that fitness can happen at different levels.

"They are training for war in there."

That was the text I sent to my friend when I walked out of Barry's fitness studio in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, DC, for the first time. And several weeks later, I still stand by that.

As someone who trains about 5 to 6 times a week in group fitness settings, this class format was more intense, more high-energy, and more adrenaline-boosting than any other workout I've ever experienced. And I've tried a lot.

For me, someone who recently surpassed 550 Orangetheory classes, I was ready for my next challenge and felt like Barry's was the most natural progression toward the type of training I wanted to do. Still, I was completely wrong in my thinking that just because I'd done one, I was fit enough for the other.

Barry's vs. Orangetheory

Barry's, originally Barry's Bootcamp, started in West Hollywood in 1998. The fitness brand built a following thanks to pairing treadmill-based intervals with floor-based strength work, turning the lights down low and the music up loud — really loud. It all happened inside its trademark "Red Room." Today, Barry's has 89 studios across 15 countries.

Orangetheory, which also splits class time between treadmill work and the floor, adds rowers to its cardio split and centers everything around your heart rate. Every member can opt to wear a monitor —for an additional fee — and your stats show up in real time on screens around the studio.

Coaches encourage you to spend at least 12 minutes in the "orange zone" (hence the name Orangetheory), which is roughly 84-91% of your maximum heart rate. Hit this each class, and they say you'll reap the benefits of what the brand calls the "afterburn" effect, to continue burning calories long after you leave class. Coaches cue you into "base," "push," and "all out" paces, with each person running at whatever speed gets them into the right zone.

I walked into the Red Room, where I started off on the treadmill, and I'll say: prepare to run for your life. At Orangetheory, I ran between 4.5 and 7 mph. At Barry's, the recommended speeds are 7, 8, and 9 mph, and sometimes higher. The starting speed at Barry's is roughly where I was maxing out at Orangetheory, so safe to say, I was humbled before the first interval even ended.

This is the "training for war" element that I referenced earlier because my first thought was "Who is chasing us, and how close are they?"

The floor exercises moved at the same speed. Where Orangetheory coaches spend a significant amount of time making sure I have the movement down before I attempt it, Barry's gave me a brief demo and expected me to jump in.

During the first class, I was a half step behind my classmates the whole time, particularly because of my view of the instructor and the loud music. However, by the third class, I was up to speed.

Why Barry's fans are obsessed

Jorge Cardozo, who recently celebrated his five-year anniversary as a Barry's instructor, said, "Even though it may be hard, and you can modify however you want, I think the instructors and the culture that we're trained under is let's train grand."

"Let's make sure that we push everyone the same amount, and beyond that, make sure that we're pushing everyone to the level that they can get to," he told me after class.

Cardozo himself started as a client about eight years ago, already in the fitness industry, teaching for other studios before he fell in love with the brand. He was drawn to the club-like atmosphere and the community the studio seemed to attract.

And it's not just the instructors who feel that way. My fellow classmate, Grace Koetje, told me she found her way to Barry's the same way a lot of first-timers do, through word of mouth and curiosity. A Georgetown University student athlete, she's no stranger to boutique fitness, having tried CrossFit, CorePower Yoga, and Orangetheory, but said Barry's has stood out for its level of intensity and the environment it creates.

"I liked that you could set your own pace, but you were also encouraged to go faster," she said.

Final verdict for me: Being humbled by a workout will either scare you off or pull you back in. For me, it was the latter.

I've now taken five Barry's classes since that first one, and the progress has been noticeable in a short amount of time. My endurance is building, I'm hitting speeds I wouldn't have attempted on that first day, and I'm pushing past limits I didn't know I had.

More than anything, it's given me a training foundation I've needed, because my next challenge is HYROX, a competitive fitness race that combines running with functional workout stations.

Still, I haven't given up on Orangetheory. With that said, here's to the next 500.

• My dad was diagnosed with dementia in his early 50s.
• Caring for him while raising a toddler was incredibly stressful.
• When he entered long-term care, we were both happier and healthier.

When I found myself on a first-name basis with the local paramedics, I knew I needed to face the truth: my dad couldn't continue living at home. It was only a matter of time before the minor emergencies that the EMTs were responding to became something major.

That's how I found myself trudging toward an old brick nursing home with my toddler on my hip and my dad reluctantly shuffling behind me. The notorious nursing home smell greeted us as soon as we walked in, and I almost turned around then and there. Instead, I shook hands with the administrator who was giving us a tour.

For years, I had made institutions like this the worst-case scenario. And yet, while I noticed the antiseptic smell and dated decor, I also saw that people were happy and engaged. Soon, my daughter was crawling up the staircase, playing peek-a-boo with residents, and I was thinking maybe, just maybe, this was the right choice for everyone.

I struggled to keep my dad in his home while raising a toddler

My dad was only in his 40s when he became unable to take care of himself due to a severe depression: the type that makes it impossible to shower or feed yourself.

He'd moved in with his mother, but in his early 50s suffered a series of small strokes that led to vascular dementia. Coupled with my grandma's own health concerns, that meant my dad needed more and more hands-on care.

I lived about two hours away from them, but became the de facto caregiver. That meant driving down weekly, or more often, tossing french fries at my baby as I strapped her in for yet another long ride. It was physically and emotionally exhausting, but it felt like my only choice.

Sending him to a nursing home would be giving up, I thought.

Our state's Medicaid program alleviated a lot of worry

Even when my stress was nearing a boiling point, I knew we had one major asset on our side: I wasn't worried about the cost of long-term care. My dad had been on disability for years, and he lived in Massachusetts, which has a robust Medicaid program that covers nursing homes and other supported living.

All of my dad's income — his disability payment — went to paying for his housing before Medicaid would cover costs. He was only allowed to keep a small personal needs allowance of $72 a month. He was often frustrated by how quickly that money went, but to me, this seemed like great value. All of his essential costs, like food, were covered by the facility, and he had a bit of money to spend on a pizza or a pack of cigarettes.

Having adequate care restored my dad's dignity

I moved my dad into the rest home portion of the facility, which provided daily needs, but at a lower level of care than a nursing home (which he didn't yet need). I knew he would be safer in the home than he had been living on his own. But I had no idea how much the facility would restore his dignity.

He no longer needed to worry about medication mixups or his mother hassling him to take a shower. Living in community meant he had accountability in a way he hadn't in a long time. He became the big man on campus among the other residents, and I saw parts of his personality I hadn't seen in years.

He even found love at the rest home. About 18 months after he moved in, he had a commitment ceremony with another resident. They shared a room and later moved into a nursing home, where they lived together until my dad died two years ago.

My dad lived in nursing homes for 10 years — and that was a good thing

Of course, there was sadness: I knew once my dad went into the rest home, he was never going to live independently again. He had his own hangups: more than once, I got a call that he had snuck my grandmother's car onto campus.

I had to grieve for the life I thought he'd have, and acknowledge we had stepped on the road to increasing levels of care. And yet, that was going to happen whether he was living in the rest home or with his mother — but only one of those options provided safety. Once I saw how much my life and my dad's improved when he moved into the rest home, I wondered why we had waited so long.

My dad spent his last 10 years in long-term care facilities. While that might sound like a nightmare to some, it was the best possible decision for our family, and gave us all the space we needed to enjoy our time together.

• Investors distrust AI to make financial decisions, a new survey from Janus Henderson reveals.
• Data showed that 75% of respondents fear that AI chatbots are biased, and many worry about privacy.
• Despite distrust in AI for personal finance and investing, 61% of investors see AI boosting market returns in five years.

Wealth management was one of several industries that fell victim to the AI hysteria earlier this year. The budding technology would soon replace the need for financial advisors, portfolio strategists, and tax planners, the thinking went.

That may all still happen eventually, but for now at least, there's some good news for wealth managers: investors don't want the technology being used to make decisions about their money.

That's according to new data published by Janus Henderson on Tuesday. The study, which surveyed 1,000 investors, found widespread distrust of AI when it comes to handling their money.

Respondents shared a number of concerns about AI. Here are some notable stats from the study:

• 75% said they have concerns around AI being biased or conflicted
• 74% are have privacy concerns
• 70% don't feel confident they can tell whether what a chatbot produces is accurate or not
• 33% would be upset if their financial advisor used AI for investment recommendations

"People are reading about things in the news, they're trying to learn about AI as best as they can, and they're hearing about different things that tend to percolate in terms of concerns: How accurate is this data, how skewed is this data, how biased is this data?" Matt Sommer, the head of Specialist Consulting Group at Janus Henderson Investors, told Business Insider.

"Oh, and by the way, what's happening to my personal information if I'm sharing any personal information, and to what extent is that data secured?" he continued.

Investors also expressed the need for human interaction when it comes to money management. Forty percent of respondents said they'd be upset if their financial advisor automatically responded to texts or emails with AI.

Despite the overall distrust in AI, the survey showed that investors are bullish on AI as an investment theme: 61% of respondents said they expect AI to have a positive impact on market returns over the next five years. Younger investors in particular showed higher levels of confidence, with 73% of millennials saying they're somewhat or very confident that AI stock returns would outperform over the long term.

This may reflect a gap in familiarity with the technology, with 76% of millennials using it for personal or professional purposes compared to 16% of baby boomers.

• The Cannes Film Festival is underway in France between May 12 and May 23.
• Stars like Jane Fonda and Demi Moore have already attended in glamorous outfits.
• Others, like Heidi Klum, missed the mark with their red-carpet fashion.

The red carpet has officially been rolled out in Cannes, France.

Celebrities are flocking to the resort city to celebrate the Cannes Film Festival, which showcases new films and promotes highly anticipated projects from around the world.

Naturally, many attendees have already made red-carpet appearances in showstopping fashion, from elegant ensembles to daring looks that push the Cannes Film Festival dress code.

These are the best and worst outfits we've seen so far.

Demi Moore had a princess moment in a shimmering gown at the festival's opening ceremony.

The actor and 2026 Cannes Film Festival jury member arrived on the red carpet in a custom Jacquemus gown.

Her strapless, white piece had a fitted bodice with a peplum waist, a mermaid skirt, and all-over iridescent sequins. It looked elegant on Moore and set the tone for the red carpet.

You also couldn't miss her massive Chopard necklace. The sparkling piece had five rows of large diamonds that sparkled in the light.

Heidi Klum's dress would have looked better in a different color.

Klum wore an Elie Saab design in pastel yellow for her first day at the festival.

The strapless dress featured a deep neckline adorned with a large pink flower, ruched fabric knotted at her waist, and a floor-length skirt with a matching train.

Though the gown's silhouette worked great on Klum, especially with her wavy hairstyle, its light color washed her out. The same dress in a more vibrant shade would have been more striking.

Jane Fonda proved that you can never go wrong with a sleek black dress.

The actor and activist wore a custom Gucci gown for the opening ceremony.

The sequined garment had a high neckline, long sleeves, and a floor-length pleated skirt.

It was the perfect choice to complement Fonda's curly bob hairstyle, and it was strongly accessorized with a diamond-and-stone pendant necklace.

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu wore a gown that overwhelmed her petite frame.

The "Emily in Paris" actor walked the red carpet in a statement ruffled gown from Yves Saint Laurent.

The fuchsia piece had long, exaggerated sleeves, a puffed semi-sheer skirt, and a cape-style train at the back.

Though the gown's color looked stunning on Leroy-Beaulieu, as did her diamond accessories, its silhouette was too overpowering and distracted from her glamour.

Elijah Wood showed why good tailoring never goes out of style.

Wood wore a classic black tuxedo at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It comprised a double-breasted jacket, which he wore unbuttoned, a satin bow tie, and trousers tailored perfectly to him.

The suit's strong fit made him stand out from other attendees who also wore menswear on the red carpet.

The actor completed the look with leather dress shoes and a white button-up top.

Moore returned on day two of the festival in a purple gown that didn't work as well.

Her off-the-shoulder gown was crafted from a gauzy, see-through fabric that wrapped around her body. It was form-fitting and extended into a long, split train behind her.

The color was stunning on Moore, but its shimmering material didn't photograph well.

A lining underneath the custom Gucci piece could have improved the iridescent effect.

Alexandra Leclerc and Charles Leclerc looked glamorous together.

The newlyweds walked the "La Vie D'Une Femme" red carpet together in classic eveningwear.

Alexandra Leclerc wore a strapless, semi-sheer Paolo Sebastian gown covered in rose-gold mesh and sequins, while her F1-driver husband wore a classic Giorgio Armani tuxedo.

He embellished the latter look with a bow tie and a diamond, leaf-shaped brooch.

Gillian Anderson's look was almost perfect — but not quite.

The actor arrived in a sleek, baby-pink gown with four thick straps across the shoulders. The straps and belt around her waist were adorned with chunky crystals and pearls.

Though the color and style suited Anderson, the Miu Miu gown's silhouette could have been tailored to her better.

Aja Naomi King stunned in white.

The actor chose a white Miu Miu gown for the second day of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and it was the perfect choice.

The dress was made from a statement floral lace that was sheer enough to reveal her pink satin slip beneath. It also had ruffled feathers, adding another feminine touch.

She completed the look with a diamond choker necklace and a white flower in her hair.

Diane Kruger's accessories made her outfit look too much like a costume.

The actor attended the third day of the festival in a satin halter minidress with an all-over floral print.

The Givenchy dress was pretty and feminine, and it perfectly matched her bow sandals. She also wore diamond jewelry that complemented the look.

Unfortunately, Kruger also wore a thick green cape that tied around her neck and almost reached the floor. The piece didn't fit the outfit and made it look like a costume.

Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse complemented each other in chic ensembles.

The model, who announced that she's pregnant, hit the red carpet in a powder-blue Miu Miu gown with sheer cap sleeves, a long pleated skirt, and a feather-fringed hem.

The gown was stunning and had the perfect moment to shine, especially since her husband wore a classic black Prada tuxedo.

Simone Ashley looked like red-carpet royalty.

Ashley, who stars in "The Devil Wears Prada 2," matched the carpet in her strapless, red gown.

The vintage piece, from Alexander McQueen's fall/winter 2005 line, had a form-fitting bodice and a pleated mermaid skirt.

She wore the gown with a diamond necklace and her hair styled in loose waves.

Andie MacDowell opted for an edgy look, but it missed the mark.

She wore an archival Alberta Ferretti gown that was black and made from semi-sheer fabric.

The pleated piece had a long skirt, a sleeveless top, and a harness-style piece of fabric across the chest.

The dress looked a bit too dark and serious for MacDowell, who is usually all smiles and fun on red carpets.

Cate Blanchett looked like she'd stepped out of the 16th century, and that's a good thing.

Her custom Louis Vuitton gown was made from black velvet. The form-fitting piece had a mermaid silhouette, a short train, and a square neckline.

All of the above worked for Blanchett, but none could compete with the gown's stunning ruffled collar.

The latter highlighted her bob haircut and gave the outfit a medieval feel.

Araya A. Hargate's accessories weren't the best choices.

Hargate wore a royal-blue gown from Tamara Ralph for the film festival. The satin piece hugged her body and had a structured bodice complete with a dramatic, off-the-shoulder waistline.

The gown's shape and vibrant color looked glamorous on the actor.

However, it was styled with a thick diamond choker necklace, a floral brooch, a thick bracelet, long earrings, rosy makeup, and an updo hairstyle, which aged Hargate and distracted from the gown's elegance.

Chloé Zhao took a fashion risk that paid off.

The "Hamnet" director arrived on the red carpet in an animal-print design from Schiaparelli.

The semi-sheer dress, called the Isabella Blowfish dress, was tan with all-over black spots, a ruffled peplum at the waist, and spikes at the shoulders.

The designer brand said on its Instagram page that the haute couture look was inspired by its namesake fish.

Colman Domingo's outfit could have been improved with one small tweak.

Domingo always shines on the red carpet, and his appearance at Cannes was no different.

He wore a Valentino ensemble comprised of black trousers and a purple tulle top with puffed sleeves, sequined stripes, and a short cape in the back. He also wore a diamond brooch, rings, and a watch.

The outfit was solid, but the pinstripes on his pants slightly clashed with his top. A darker pair of solid-black trousers would have made the outfit sharper.

Bella Hadid looked flawless in white.

The model and Cannes regular arrived in a custom Prada midi dress.

The satin, strapless piece had sequins across its neckline, and Hadid wore a matching bolero around her shoulders.

She also wore white pumps, diamond jewelry, a slicked-back hairstyle, and glowing makeup.

As soon as the weather warms up, I start rethinking everything on my bed. Linen is one of my best sheet materials for summer because it's breathable, moisture-wicking, and relaxed in a way that makes a slightly rumpled bed look intentional. It doesn't have the crispness of percale or the silky feel of bamboo, but that's part of the appeal: The best linen sheets feel airy, textured, and lived-in, and they only get softer with every wash.

Learn more about how Business Insider Reviews tests and researches home products.

Our top picks for linen sheets

Best overall

Brooklinen's linen sheets are soft and cozy straight out of the bag. While most of the linen sheet sets I tried claimed to be soft, some still had an underlying roughness or stiffness, but that was not the case with the Brooklinen Washed European Linen Sheet Set. There was no itchiness and I saw these sheets only got softer with each wash. I thought the original version was pretty great; Brooklinen perfected it this time, with a slightly weightier construction with enhanced durability.

They're lightweight. The weight and breathability makes them a top pick for people seeking cooling sheets. Typically, linen sheets indicate a heavier material that leaves some people feeling trapped and overheated. But Brooklinen's 100% European Flax improves the fabric's weight while maintaining a cool temperature throughout the night. Some lightweight sheets can feel flimsy, but these had a high-quality feel that held up nicely without any rips or tears. These felt much durable than previous Brooklinen sheets I've slept in. I noticed no snagging or pulling, even after running them through the wash.

Brooklinen introduces new seasonal colors throughout the year. The colors are not as varied however as the offerings we've tried from brands like Cultiver or Quince, and availability does fluctuate. The set comes with the standard essentials: a flat sheet, a fitted sheet, and two pillowcases, but Brooklinen also sells individual pieces and sets without a flat sheet if that's your preference.

Read our Brooklinen Washed Linen Sheets review for more information.

Runner-up

Cultiver specializes in linen. The Australian company makes products with European Flax, specifically, which should appeal to linen purists. They have a textured feel that can take a moment to adjust to, especially if you're used to the silky smoothness of sateen sheets. I found the Cultiver Linen Sheet Set needed about three washes to get to my ideal softness, but after that, I couldn't believe it was the same scratchy set I had first slept on.

These are premium sheets. They feel expensive both in their luxurious feel and their construction. You can also purchase pieces individually. Though lightweight, Cultiver sheets don't feel thin or flimsy, and they have a nice weight that adds to the overall high-end experience. While my bed was full of little fibers at first, the shedding eventually ceased, and I was left with a set that felt like I was sleeping in a fancy hotel every night. They were soft and comfortable

Some reviewers don't like the size, but I love it. A lot of people found them to be too big and difficult to keep on the bed, but I love the extra fabric that allows for a nice, snug tuck under the mattress. Plus, they can accommodate thicker mattresses or mattress toppers without any issues. The fitted sheet has a 16 inch depth while the flat sheet is sized to fit both queen and king size beds, making it oversized for queen sized users.

Best budget

These sheets look and feel great. When it comes to color options, Quince's Linen Sheet Set reign supreme, with over 30 different shades to snuggle under. From a deep Bordeaux to the ultra-airy sage or a timeless terracotta and white stripe, there's a color for every taste and bedroom aesthetic, even stripes and gingham. They're also one of the few brands to offer twin sizing, and you can opt to forgo the flat sheet if you don't need it.

They're soft but sleep warm. These sheets have a soft feel that falls directly in between Brooklinen's Washed Linen Core Sheets and Sijo's LuxeWeave Linen Sheets. The material was quite luxurious and inviting, albeit a bit warm. So, if you sleep on the hotter side, you might want to give these thicker sheets a pass. 

They don't pill. The fitted sheet comes with those handy top and bottom tags, and both layers went through the wash without pilling. For those who like a monochromatic look, Quince also has duvet covers in the same color options as the sheets.

And Quince has a 365-day return policy. So if these linen sheets aren't your cup of tea after trying them out, you can return them within a year for a full refund. Sadly, I don't consider these sheets the most durable; after a year in my bedding rotation, washing these sheets twice a month, the top sheet eventually split down the middle, and when I was sleeping, no less.

Softest

West Elm's linen sheets are the softest you'll find. You'll find none of that classic linen roughness with the West Elm European Flax Linen Sheet Set. Made from 100% European flax and certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100, these sheets have a noticeable softness right out of the package that only gets cozier with each wash.

They're breathable and cooling. Even though they're incredibly soft, I never overheated when sleeping on these sheets. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well these sheets held up in the wash — no pilling or shrinking issues to be found.

I'm a little concerned about long-term durability. Putting on the fitted sheet was easy, but the elastic band felt a bit flimsy and loose. There were also some loose threads on the pillowcase, another indicator that these sheets may not be able to withstand heavy usage.If you're willing to overlook those concerns for the sake of ultimate softness, then these linen sheets are a great option.

Best all-season

These sheets are perfect for summer and winter nights alike. The Citizenry Stonewashed Linen Sheet Set weighs 160 gsm and is ideal fr those looking for a linen sheet set that can handle the thick humidity of July and the blustery cold of January. They're available in 17 colors, including stripes, and the flat sheet and pillowcases have a pretty eyelet detail.

It has a middle-of-the-road texture. I wouldn't put it in the category of ultra-rough linen as it has some softness to it, but it's definitely not like curling up in a pile of marshmallows. However, the material feels durable and high-quality, giving you confidence that these sheets will hold up well over time.

They don't wrinkle or shrink, but hot sleepers might find them a little warm. They're easy to put on your bed without any major wrinkling or shrinking post-wash. And speaking of washing, they come out looking and feeling great with each cycle. One downside to these sheets is that they do sleep slightly warm. It's not unbearable (especially when the temperatures drop), but it could be an issue for those who run extra-hot at night.

Best organic

Sijo's organic sheets have a traditional linen feel. They're not immediately soft. In fact, I found them rough, stiff, and slightly itchy. They do, however, get softer with each wash, and they feel durable, like they will last for the long haul. Others across the Business Insider Reviews team who've slept on the Sijo LuxeWeave Linen Sheet Set for years described the Sijo sheets as "the right balance of comfort, coolness, durability, and price." They were previously our top pick for the best linen sheets — only to be edged out by Brooklinen for their out-of-the-packaging softness.

They feel well-made. Despite the initial fuzzies and loose, white strings I found when making the bed, the sheets held up well after washing without any pilling or loose threads. Putting on the fitted sheet was easy, and it stayed in place throughout the night, but I did find myself wishing for top and bottom tags as a reference point, like with our overall pick from Brooklinen.

I love the vibrant color options. I opted for the forest green, but there are eight total shades to choose from, and the set comes with the standard essentials. Linen is known for its temperature-regulating properties, and I found these sheets to be neither too hot nor too cold. So if you're a neutral sleeper looking for a more durable linen option, the LuxeWeave Linen by Sijo is worth considering.

Best heavyweight

These heavyweight sheets are perfect for cold nights. The Coyuchi Relaxed Linen Sheets — which come in 10 neutral colors — feel heavy and substantial but still breathable enough to prevent waking up in a pool of sweat. While the Sijo and Coyuchi sets are both organic and durable, the Coyuchi definitely feels more heavy-duty. If you're looking for a linen sheet to get you through the chilly winter nights, Coyuchi may be your best bet. 

They're rough at first, but get softer after washing. Immediately out of the package, these linen sheets felt like linen sheets: stiff and a little rough. But the fabric definitely felt durable, and overall, the set was easy to make on the bed. I did notice a few pilling spots and loose threads on the fitted sheet, as well as a lack of top and bottom tags.

Coyuchi prides itself on its sustainable practices. The sheets are made from GOTS-certified 100% organic French flax. Overall, if you're looking for a luxurious and organic linen option that will last longer than most, Coyuchi's Relaxed Linen Sheets are worth considering. Just be prepared to spend a bit more on quality and sustainability.

Best blend

If linen is too scratchy, and bamboo is too slick. The Kassatex Linen Bamboo Blend sheets are the perfect compromise. They have a satisfying texture that is soft from the start. The material is thick, with a nice drape that remains breathable and adds some durability. Sometimes linen can be too thin, which is more cooling but raises durability concerns. I found the Kassatex blend to be more temperature-regulating than actively cooling, making it a strong year-round option rather than a sheet set built solely for hot sleepers.

It's all in the details. These are premium sheets with a premium price tag, but I appreciated that each piece came wrapped in a linen dust bag, which was very helpful for comparing how softness evolved over washing. They were great from the first night I put them on the bed, and even softer after a wash cycle.

The linen-bamboo blend also offers an interesting middle ground for shoppers thinking about materials. Linen and bamboo are both considered more eco-friendly than cotton in some respects because both crops are water-efficient. Bamboo grows quickly, but it typically requires chemical processing to become soft fabric. Linen, on the other hand, is limited to certain geographic regions, which can drive up the cost, but it requires less processing to become fabric. Bamboo is also known for being hypoallergenic and naturally antimicrobial, making this blend a compelling option for sensitive skin and odor resistance.

These sheets tend to wrinkle more. Bamboo sheets are prone to wrinkling, perhaps even more so than linen, so the wrinkles are definitely more pronounced. This came through on my pillowcase, where I shifted around a lot, simultaneously testing a new pillow. The sheets are available in 5 colors, but only in king and queen sizes. I found the 16 inch pocket depth of the fitted sheet and the size of the flat sheet to be generous. — Jaclyn Turner, senior home editor

Our top picks, compared

What else we tested

Parachute Linen Sheets: Parachute's linen sheets are cool and comfortable. However, since we've tested, they've reformulated their design to an increased 175 GSM, which the brand says retains the signature garment washed softness with enhanced durability. Keep these changes in mind as your mull through our Parachute Linen Sheets review and we'll update you accordingly once we get our hands on the latest edition.

BedThreads: Honestly, BedThreads were a very close contender, and are sold in sets with or without a flat sheet. The deep 16-inch pocket on the fitted made a big difference in how they fit on a bed and stayed put through the night. One of my favorite things about these sheets is how soft they become after multiple washes. Initially, they were stiff and had that sandpaper feel that many linen novices fear. However, after a few cycles in my washing machine, they softened into a lovely texture that made it hard to get out of bed in the morning. BedThreads also offers customizable bundles to mix and match a set across its 20 colors.

MagicLinen Linen Sheet Set: Linen is the only thing you can buy from MagicLinen, which handcrafts its bedding in Vilnius, Lithuania. The linen is stonewashed — a softening process that's completely natural and non-toxic — and OEKO-Tex certified. They come in a range of colors and prints. MagicLinen's sheets aren't the softest out of the bag, but after two years of use, they've aged well, getting softer and cozier with every wash. MagicLinen offers a 30-day trial, but return shipping is the responsibility of the customer.

Rough Linen Orkney Linen Sheet Set: Rough Linen has that grainy texture that linen purists will love, but this heavyweight linen was not for me. I couldn't get past how heavy and coarse they felt, even after a few washes. If you like textured bedding however, you may love these. They're also very expensive, over $500 for a set, but available in regular and deep pocket fits that fit mattresses up to 19 inches thick. You can order a sample card to try the fabric before ordering, and Rough Linen also offer a 30 day trial for you to figure try the sheets yourself.

Garnet Hill Relaxed Linen Sheets: It's very rare to find linen sheets in patterns besides your typical stripes, but Garnet Hill offers unique designs like wildflowers and birds. We tried Garnet Hill's Relaxed Linen Sheets for our best patterned sheets guide but the author of the guide felt the sheets were rough, even after washing, and the fitted sheet was very loose on the bed.

What to look for in linen sheets

Not all linen sheets are created equal. So we consulted with Frej Lewenhaupt, textile expert, co-founder, and CEO of Steamery, on the telltale signs that a set of linen sheets is worth investing in.

Fiber Content: Lewenhaupt says a good rule of thumb is that the fewer synthetic fibers on a label, the better. If a brand lists out more than four fibers in its blend or doesn't advertise specific percentages, that's a red flag. Aim for linen sheets made with 100% flax.

Flax Origin: Linen is constructed out of the flax plant — and where that plant is grown can make a huge difference in the quality of the final product. Flax linen is typically soft, durable, temperature-regulating, and absorbent. 

Weight:  Linen's weight is measured in grams per square meter (GSM.) A high GSM will typically result in a denser fabric, while a lower GSM might feel more lightweight. Linen tends to be either lightweight or medium-weight. For example, a lightweight linen may be about 130 GSM, while a medium-weight linen could be 150 to 350 GSM. The higher the GSM, the warmer the linen sheet might feel while sleeping. 

Certifications: Look for certifications like Oeko-Tex Standard 100, which confirms that a product is free of harmful chemicals.

How we tested linen sheets

To determine which linen sheets are really worth your while, I tested 14 of the most highly-rated sets and slept on them for multiple nights to measure their feel, weight, durability, and overall comfort. Each set was tested for three nights in a row and washed and dried once. I also consulted with experts, like Frej Lewenhaupt, a textile expert, cofounder, and CEO of Steamery, and Martin Bide, a professor in the department of textiles at the University of Rhode Island, for insights on which factors I should pay special attention to. These are the factors I took into consideration when testing each set:

Immediate softness: Linen gets a bad rap for being rough and scratchy, but that's not always the case. I noted how soft each set felt upon first touch and snooze.

Weight: I considered the weight (GSM) of each set. The higher the GSM, the heavier and thicker the material. I kept the weight of each set in mind and whether it resulted in a hotter or cooler sleep experience.

Post-wash feel: Some sheets come out of the dryer looking and feeling like they've been through a war. Others, not so much. After washing and drying each set, I looked for any signs of pilling, shedding, shrinking, or wrinkling.

Ease of use:  We've all wrestled with a fitted sheet at some point. I noted how easy (or difficult) it was to get each set onto the bed without any significant wrinkles, creases, or bunching.

Durability: Linen's durability is a big selling point for many, as the textile can last years if properly cared for. I looked for signs of wear and tear and how durable the material felt.

Meet the expert behind this guide

Shannon Ullman, freelance contributor: I cover home and sleep products and have been working in digital media for 12 years.

Linen sheets FAQs

What is linen?

Linen is an all-natural fiber from the flax plant. Its long and strong fibers make it a more durable fabric that is also highly absorbent, naturally moisture-wicking, and dries quickly compared to other options like cotton.   

Why is linen so expensive?

Linen is expensive because it can only be grown in certain locations, and the production process is labor-intensive. Flax plants prefer cooler climates and are typically grown in  European locations like Belgium. The growing and processing of flax plants into linen is time-consuming and labor-intensive, which drives up the price. 

How to care for linen sheets?

Linen sheets aren't exactly high maintenance, but there are a few tips for keeping your linen sheets well-cared for. When washing linen sheets, avoid hot water that could break down the fibers. Instead, opt for warm water and a delicate wash setting. Try to avoid harsh chemicals in laundry detergents that could break down linen fibers and cause discoloration. Consider air-drying linen sheets to preserve durability, but using a dryer on a low heat, tumble setting should work just fine. 

Why buy linen sheets?

Other than enjoying the aesthetic, Bide recommends linen sheets for hot sleepers or anyone who enjoys a cooler sleep since linen is absorbent and has a "cool" feel. They're also known to be durable and long-lasting, a set that will last you for years.

Linen sheets vs. cotton — What's the difference?

Lewenhaupt says linen is typically more durable than cotton as the fibers have a longer and more open structure. This structure makes linen more absorbent, which is what gives them that cooling sensation. For more on the differences, read our linen vs. cotton sheets article.  

Are linen sheets good for hot sleepers?

According to Bide, yes. He says that linen is known to be absorbent, hence its use for dish towels and old-fashioned handkerchiefs. You're unlikely to get that "clammy" feeling from a linen sheet, making it a great option for hot sleepers.

What is the best quality linen?

Linen made from Flax grown in France or Belgium is the highest quality, according to Lewenhaupt.

Do hotels use linen sheets?

Some hotels use linen sheets, but most use high-quality cotton sheets in their bedding.

Why aren't there many linen sheets in twin size?

Since linen is more expensive, you're more likely to find it in queen and king sizes. Its luxury status also means it's much more common in large sizes than twin or twin XL. Cultiver, Quince, Bed Threads, and MagicLinen offer twin sizing.

• I expected to be a laid-back parent before my son was born.
• Raising a neurodivergent child changed how I think about parenting.
• I learned to focus less on philosophy and more on his actual needs.

I really want to be a chill mom.

I don't want to be a helicopter parent. I don't want to hover. I don't want to be one of those moms whose whole identity is consumed by watching out for their child, who stops being an independent person and becomes a soft, pillowy shield between their child and the outside world.

I want to be one of those cool moms who sit on the porch with a beer and let their child figure things out for themselves. But I've learned from experience that this isn't always what's best for my son.

He wouldn't sleep anywhere but his crib

Before he was born, I figured his dad and I would take him everywhere. He'd sleep when he needed to sleep, and he'd learn to be flexible. One of my friends had done that; her baby daughter fell asleep in all kinds of places — including the middle of the floor at a crowded party — and she and her husband continued to enjoy their social lives, albeit with an infant strapped to their chests.

But when my son was small, he refused to fall asleep anywhere but in his crib. I figured he'd sleep if he got tired enough, but what actually happened when he got tired enough was that he screamed for hours. We soon figured out that we needed to be very strict about being home at naptimes and at bedtime, not because we wanted to, but because it was what worked for him.

Independence is important to him

As my son has grown, the distance between the "chill mom" I want to be and the mom I actually am has grown wider. I want to give him "90s kid summers," playing outside for long, unstructured afternoons, but I've learned that he thrives on structure and predictability.

I want to sit and gossip with my friends while he plays in another room with their kids, but I've learned that this often ends in fights and tears. Like many neurodivergent kids, he has a hard time with emotional regulation, and if there's not an adult keeping an eye on him, things can go south very fast.

On the other hand, independence is very important to him. His nervous system is constantly on high alert, and this means control is a very big deal. He wants to brush his own teeth, choose his own clothes, and make his own decisions. I can't just give him a cookie for dessert; he has to choose one from the box.

As he gets older, I want to respect and foster his desire for autonomy, while also providing enough structure and guidance to support him.

It can be hard to parent a neurodivergent kid

This is a balancing act for every parent, of course. But it's more challenging as a parent of a neurodivergent kid, because the things that work for other kids don't always work for mine.

Sometimes choices are essential; other times choices lead to meltdowns. Sometimes letting him run around with his friends at an outdoor concert turns into a magical night catching fireflies; other times it ends with him screaming and me dragging him back to the car.

Of course, there are also things that are easy for him, things that are a challenge for other kids and their parents. He can sit through a three-hour musical (and discuss the characters' backstories and motivations in great detail afterward). He can carry on a genuinely interesting conversation with a table full of adults about anything from reincarnation ("I think I will come back as a kitten") to where the Easter Bunny lives ("the East pole"). He's very popular at my parents' retirement home. When he was in kindergarten, he got suspended for kicking the principal in the head and then, later the same afternoon, he astonished a group of my colleagues by sitting perfectly still and paying close attention to a new play reading. I felt like I had emotional whiplash, going from feeling like a terrible mom to an amazing mom so quickly.

My child is his very own person

I don't think either my son's strengths or his challenges have much to do with anything I've done. It's easy to think of our children as reflections of ourselves, but my son is very much his own independent person.

Before I had him, I spent a lot of time thinking about my "parenting philosophy," reading books, and talking to friends about different approaches. I thought it was something you decided on in the abstract: this is the kind of person I am, and so this is the kind of parent I'm going to be. But since having an actual child, I've realized that my parenting philosophy can't come from books or friends or even who I am. It has to come from who my child is, and what he needs, and it has to be constantly evolving and changing.

I feel like I'm doing it all wrong most of the time. It would be easier if I had a clear set of guidelines. But even though I doubt almost everything about my parenting, the one thing I never doubt is how much I love my son. So all I can do is keep paying attention and trust that even if my parenting journey looks very different from what I once imagined, this love will be enough to guide us.

• Companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Walmart have said they're trimming staff this year.
• Many firms have cited the rise of AI as a reason they need fewer staff.
• See the list of companies letting workers go in 2026.

More than 30 companies have laid off employees so far in 2026, continuing the trend of significant workforce reductions across a broad range of industries, including tech, media, finance, and retail.

Some, including Block, Coinbase, and Standard Chartered, have cited the impact of artificial intelligence as a key reason for the layoffs.

Target, meanwhile, is shifting resources from its supply chain into stores as part of the new CEO's turnaround strategy to improve the shopping experience and return to growth.

More than 100 other companies have filed legally mandated WARN notices about job cuts to come in 2026, according to WARN Tracker. Some of the cuts are part of previously announced reductions.

The moves come as artificial intelligence, public policy, and broader economic conditions are driving sweeping changes in the business landscape.

A World Economic Forum survey last year found that some 41% of companies worldwide expected to reduce their workforces in the next five years because of the rise of artificial intelligence. The survey also found that jobs in big data, fintech, and AI are expected to double by 2030.

Last year, Business Insider tracked layoffs at around 65 major companies, including Amazon, Meta, Paramount, and Starbucks. In 2026, we'll continue to track additional job cuts based on company announcements, WARN notices, and our own reporting.

Here are the companies with job cuts underway in 2026, listed in alphabetical order.

Amazon is laying off thousands of employees

Amazon said in January that it would eliminate around 16,000 corporate roles globally.

Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology, described the January move in a company memo as part of broader efforts to cut back on bureaucracy inside the company.

The cuts followed mass layoffs from October 2025, when the tech and retail giant shed 14,000 roles.

In May, Amazon's Selling Partner Services team slashed additional jobs as it continued to reshape its organization.

"Following a recent review, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a relatively small number of roles in our Selling Partner Services team," a spokesperson told Business Insider.

Angi is cutting 350 jobs

Angi, the popular contractor listing site once known as Angie's List, said in January that it was cutting around 350 jobs "to reduce operating expenses and optimize the organizational structure in support of long-term growth." The company also said it's making the cuts "in light of AI-driven efficiency improvements."

In a January 7 SEC filing, Angi said that the cuts would save between $70 million and $80 million in annual spending. The layoffs will cost the company between $22 million and $30 million, according to the filing.

Atlassian is cutting 1,600 employees

Atlassian, the enterprise software company and maker of Confluence, said on March 11 that it will be cutting about 10% of its workforce as it invests in AI to reshape its organization.

CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said in a statement that about 1,600 employees will be affected by the cuts.

"We fundamentally believe people and AI create the best outcomes. Our approach is not 'AI replaces people,'" Cannon-Brookes said. "But it would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does."

The company expects to incur $225 million and $236 million in restructuring charges, according to an SEC filing.

Citi's job cuts continue this year

Citi will cut more jobs this year as part of its plan to reduce its workforce by 10%, or 20,000 employees.

In a statement on January 13, the bank said that it will continue to reduce head count in 2026.

"These changes reflect adjustments we're making to ensure our staffing levels, locations and expertise align with current business needs," a spokesperson for Citi said.

The plan was detailed in the company's January 2024 earnings report and could save the bank as much as $2.5 billion.

Cloudflare lays off 20% of its global workforce

Cybersecurity company Cloudflare on May 7 said it plans to cut roughly 20% of its global workforce, affecting more than 1,100 employees.

In an internal memo, Cloudflare executives said the company's use of AI has climbed more than 600% over the past three months, and that the rapid shift has forced the company to reconsider its structure.

"We want to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the individual work or talent of those leaving us," Cloudflare executives wrote in the May 7 memo. "Instead, we are reimagining every internal process, team, and role across the company."

The company's shares fell more than 14% in extended trading following the announcement.

Coinbase is cutting 14% of staff

The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, said in a letter to staff on May 5 that 14% of its staff would be cut, largely because of AI.

"AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I've watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks," wrote. "The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day."

Armstrong said this would mean fewer layers and faster decisions in the company. No pure managers, he said — all leaders will now be required to get stuck in and "get their hands dirty."

"AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we're reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era," he added.

Crypto.com laid off 12% of its workforce

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said in March that the company laid off 12% of its workforce, including "roles that do not adapt in our new world."

"Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of scale and precision that was previously impossible," Marszalek wrote in a post on X. "This is where we must go."

Dell cut 10% of its workforce

Dell cut its workforce by 10% for the third year in a row, the company said in its annual filing with the SEC.

As of January 31, 2026, the company had 97,000 employees, down 11,000 from the same time last year. The decline includes both layoffs and attrition, Business Insider reported.

eBay is expected to lay off 6% of its employees

eBay is set to eliminate about 800 jobs globally, making up 6% of its workforce. The company told Business Insider that it's taking steps to better align with its strategic priorities.

"We are grateful for the contributions of the employees impacted and are committed to supporting them with care and respect," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Epic Games is cutting 20% of its workforce

Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, said in March that it would lay off more than 1,000 people — about 20% of its workforce — as engagement with the game declined.

CEO Tim Sweeney said in a memo that the layoffs "aren't related to AI."

"To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can," Sweeney said.

Estée Lauder is deepening its cuts, now to as many as 10,000 roles

Estée Lauder said in its May earnings report that it will deepen its previously announced cuts, which are now expected to affect up to 10,000 jobs.

More than two-thirds of the reductions are in cashier and demonstration roles at lower-performing retail and department stores.

Expedia laid off some employees

Expedia confirmed to Business Insider that it had laid off some employees on January 26 and had also posted new job openings. It's unclear how many of its workers were affected by the cuts.

"We are eliminating roles as well as opening some new roles as we remain disciplined about assessing the skills we need for the future," an Expedia Group spokesperson said in a statement. "We are also simplifying our structure and reducing organizational layers to move faster and with more accountability. These are not easy decisions, and we are grateful for the contributions of our colleagues who are impacted."

Freshworks is cutting 11% of staff

The San Mateo, California-based software company said in its early May earnings report that it would cut 11% of its staff in the second quarter. The company had about 4,500 employees at the end of 2025.

The cuts aim "to streamline the Company's organizational efforts and product development process" and increase AI across the company, according to the filing.

On an earnings call, CEO Dennis Woodside said about half the company's code comes from AI.

"Like many other software companies, that is definitely changing how we build products, how fast we can build products, and the amount of people that we need to build products," he said.

The company's stock slumped 35% from May 2025 to May 2026.

General Motors is axing 600 salaried employees

General Motors is cutting 600 salaried employees from its global IT division.

A spokesperson said the layoffs would enable it to "better position the company for the future," by ensuring GM has employees with expertise in AI-native development, data engineering, analytics, cloud engineering, prompt engineering, and AI workflows.

GoPro is laying off 145 employees

On April 7, GoPro said it would lay off about 145 employees as it tries to cut operating costs and restructure operations.

The layoffs make up 23% of its global headcount of 631 employees, the camera maker said in a regulatory filing.

The cuts will start in the second quarter of the year and will largely be completed by the end of 2026. The restructuring is expected to result in a charge of $11.5 million to $15 million.

The company cut about 15% of its staff in August 2024 to cut costs.

Heineken has a multi-year plan to reduce its workforce

Heineken is cutting 5,000 to 6,000 roles over the next two years to boost productivity and bring down costs, according to its latest full-year earnings report.

The company told Business Insider that the divisions and regions where the layoffs are due to take place are yet to be confirmed.

Heineken said in its 2025 report that it faced "subdued consumer sentiment" in the Americas, alongside a "challenging year" for brewers in Europe.

Kenvue cuts 3.5% of workforce

Consumer healthcare brand Kenvue, which produces Tylenol, plans to cut 3.5% of its staff. Kenvue had about 22,000 employees globally, per its latest annual report.

The company wrote in a mid-February SEC filing that its board aimed to reduce complexity and drive operational efficiencies.

The company's layoffs and restructuring efforts are expected to cost $250 million in 2026, per the filing.

LinkedIn is laying off staff and 'scale back' other investments

LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero told employees on May 13 that it was laying off employees, and those in affected roles would receive a calendar invite. The jobs included positions in the Microsoft-owned company's Global Business Organization, marketing, engineering, and product teams.

"We need to reinvent how we work, with agile teams focused on our highest priorities, and by shifting investments toward areas such as infrastructure to fulfill our mission and vision over the long term," Shapero said in the memo.

Shapero also said LinkedIn would "scale back" investments in areas like marketing campaigns, customer events, and underutilized office space.

Lululemon laid off 100 part-time employees at its customer service center

The athleisure giant said it laid off 100 part-time employees to "strengthen the business." The affected roles are in the company's North American contact center.

"After careful consideration, we have made the decision to transition our North America GEC to a full-time employee staffing model. As a result, approximately 100 part-time positions in our GEC have been impacted," a Lululemon spokesperson said.

Meta lays off workers at Reality Labs and other divisions

Meta began laying off employees across multiple teams on March 25, including Reality Labs, Facebook, recruiting, sales, and global operations.

The cuts come as the company ramps up spending on AI infrastructure and talent, alongside broader cost-cutting efforts. Meta said the changes are part of ongoing restructuring to better align teams with company goals, while exploring other roles for affected employees where possible.

Meta first began preparing to slash jobs within its Reality Labs division, the unit responsible for Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse ambitions, in January, three people familiar with the matter told Business Insider at the time.

Two employees said that teams working on virtual reality headsets and Horizon Worlds, the company's VR social network, would be disproportionately affected.

Meta has shifted away from virtual reality in recent years in favor of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on beefing up its AI capabilities.

Nike laid off workers in two rounds

Nike is cutting roughly 1,400 jobs, mostly from tech, as part of a broader push to streamline operations and revive growth.

In a memo to staff on April 23 obtained by Business Insider, Chief Operating Officer Venkatesh Alagirisamy said the layoffs are tied to the company's "win now" turnaround plan, which focuses on improving culture, product, marketing, marketplace strategy, and in-person retail. He described the effort as entering its "final stretch."

This is Nike's second layoff in 2026. Nike said on January 26 that it planned to lay off 775 employees across Tennessee and Mississippi, citing efforts to "streamline" its distribution center operations.

"We are sharpening our supply chain footprint, accelerating the use of advanced technology and automation, and investing in the skills our teams need for the future," Nike said in a statement to Business Insider.

Oracle is making cuts across regions

Oracle started laying off employees on March 31. The cuts appear to affect employees worldwide.

The company employed around 162,000 full-time employees as of May 2025, according to its most recent 10-K filing.

"After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change. As a result, today is your last working day," the company said in an email to affected employees.

Papa Johns is restructuring

Papa Johns said it is laying off 7% of its corporate staff amid a broader restructuring.

The pizza chain said it will also close 300 locations in North America through 2027, starting with 200 this year.

"Optimizing our restaurant portfolio and strategically closing underperforming restaurants are among the most impactful actions we can take to improve restaurant profitability and fleet health," Papa Johns CFO Ravi Thanawala said during the company's fourth quarter earnings call on February 26.

Pinterest is expected to lay off 15% of its workforce

Pinterest announced a global restructuring plan that includes layoffs affecting less than 15% of its workforce, according to a January securities filing. The cuts come with reductions in office space.

"We are making organizational changes to further deliver on our AI-forward strategy, which includes hiring AI-proficient talent," a Pinterest spokesperson said.

"As a result, we've made the difficult decision to say goodbye to some of our team members. We are grateful for their service and supporting them with separation packages and benefits," they added.

Saks laid off 16% of its corporate staff, among other job cuts

Saks Global, the beleaguered parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman, conducted several rounds of layoffs as it closed stores and trimmed its corporate staff

In April, the company cut about 16% of its corporate staff, representing less than 4% of its total workforce.

"Following the strategic actions we've taken to secure long-term financial stability, sharpen our focus on luxury and full-price selling, optimize our operational footprint, and exit non-core businesses, we are right-sizing our corporate organization to align with our go-forward strategy," a Saks spokesperson told Business Insider.

The cuts followed Saks's closure of dozens of stores and fulfillment centers in the first quarter, resulting in layoffs.

Saks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

Standard Chartered plans to eliminate 15% of corporate functions over the next 4 years

Standard Chartered plans to cut 15% of corporate function roles over the next four years, the company said on May 19.

The bank, headquartered in London, credited AI as a driver for the reductions.

"It is not cost-cutting, but it is replacing, in some cases, lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital that we are putting in," CEO Bill Winters said in a media briefing, Reuters reported.

The company added in a statement: "We are combining the best human talent with AI, investing to support our people into higher-value roles."

T-Mobile cut some jobs

T-Mobile cut some staff in early 2026, though the scope of the layoffs is unclear. Some workers posted on LinkedIn saying they'd been affected by the changes in January.

"As the next step in our evolution, we're making some changes while continuing to hire to ensure we have the right focus, structure, and momentum to keep changing the industry through innovation and our long-standing focus on customers," T-Mobile told Business Insider in a statement.

Tailwind cut 3 of its 4 engineers

Tailwind, a popular web tool, said it cut three of its four engineers in January, citing an AI-driven decline in revenue.

"75% of the people on our engineering team lost their jobs here yesterday because of the brutal impact AI has had on our business," CEO Adam Wathan wrote in a GitHub comment on January 6 that made waves in the tech community.

Target is cutting 500 roles from its distribution and regional offices

Target confirmed to Business Insider in February that it would cut 100 district office roles and 400 supply chain positions. It plans to invest instead in additional labor hours at stores to improve the shopping experience and return to growth.

The store improvement effort is a signature priority of the retailer's new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, who started on February 1.

In November, Fiddelke said the company intends to invest an additional $1 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, an increase of 25% from 2025.

UPS said it will eliminate 30,000 jobs

UPS CEO Brian Dykes told analysts during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that the company plans to reduce its operational workforce by 30,000 in 2026.

"This will be accomplished through attrition, and we expect to offer a second voluntary separation program for full-time drivers," Dykes said.

He told analysts that the company has identified 24 buildings for closure in the first half of 2026 and will continue to evaluate additional buildings for closure.

Walmart said it would cut or relocate 1,000 corporate jobs

Walmart told employees on May 12 that it would cut or relocate about 1,000 corporate jobs to address redundancies and duplicate roles.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart's chief technology and development officer, and Daniel Danker, executive vice president of AI acceleration, product, and design, announced the changes in a memo.

"We've made changes to simplify how the work is organized, make ownership clearer, and better align roles to the work and skills we need going forward," the memo said.

The move follows Walmart's May 2025 decision to cut 1,500 corporate roles as part of an effort to "remove layers and complexity."

The company employed 2.1 million people as of January.

WiseTech is cutting 30% of its workforce

Logistics software maker Wisetech is cutting 2,000 jobs, or 30% of its staff, citing AI-driven efficiency gains.

In a conference call on February 25, CEO Zubin Appoo embraced AI and said that it means more productivity, in less time, and from fewer employees. The Sydney-based company employed about 7,000 people, according to its annual report released in October.

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

Workday is cutting jobs

Workday is cutting about 400 jobs, and said on February 4 that the move will help the enterprise software company redirect resources toward priority areas.

The layoffs will primarily affect customer-facing roles that are "non-revenue generating," Workday said in a regulatory filing.

The cuts represent roughly 2% of its workforce and are expected to result in about $135 million in charges in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in January.

Workday announced a larger round of layoffs about a year ago, citing the need to invest more heavily in strategic areas such as AI. The company reported about 20,600 employees as of late October.

Is your company conducting layoffs? Got a tip?

Even for those with the most comprehensive cable packages, streaming services have become all but necessary to keep up with select sports and original TV shows. Fortunately, there are deals on nearly every streaming service out there, especially when you opt for an annual plan or bundle multiple services together. Below, we've highlighted all of the best streaming deals and bundles, from Disney to Amazon and everything in between.

Many of these discounts are standard year-round offerings, but we'll keep this page updated with the latest limited-time deals, so you don't need to worry about missing out on a potential savings opportunity. After scouring the internet for deals this month, we've found rare limited-time deals from Crunchyroll, introductory offers from multiple live TV services, and a sale on AMC Plus when you subscribe through Prime Video.

Check out each streaming service's currently available deals below. We've highlighted both standard streaming services and live TV packages, with price comparisons for how much you'd pay per year with a month-to-month plan or how much you'd pay per month without bundling multiple services together. Many of the streamers offer introductory deals for new and/or eligible returning customers, which we've also outlined. You learn more about our recommendations in our guides to how we test streaming services and how we find and vet deals.

Paramount+

There are always year-round savings with Paramount+ annual plans compared to paying month-to-month. Essential plans cost $7.99 a month, and the Premium tier goes for $12.99 a month. If you opt for annual, you end up saving about $35 a year for either plan. Essential gives subscribers ad-supported on-demand content, while the Premium upgrade offers an ad-free on-demand experience, CBS live streaming, Showtime programming, and other perks. Paramount+ Essential (or Peacock Premium, if you'd prefer that) is also included with all Walmart+ plans, from monthly ($12.95 a month) to annual ($98 a year).

If you just want to stick with a monthly plan, you can head to the Paramount+ website.

Disney Plus and Hulu

Disney (and several of its partners) offers the greatest number of deals through bundles. There are savings if you bundle Disney+ with Hulu, with Hulu and HBO Max, with Hulu and ESPN, with Hulu + Live TV, or if you just get an annual Disney+ ad-free subscription. We recommend trying out one of the Disney+ and Hulu combos no matter what, since you get two entire on-demand subscriptions for only $1 a month more than the price of one. There's also some savings if you commit to a six-month plan (billed monthly) of the Disney+ and Hulu bundle (ad-supported or ad-free), which will give you a cheaper monthly fee for the first six months.

If you plan to stick with just one streaming service or want to try a month-to-month subscription first, you can head to the Disney+ website for more information.

ESPN

There are two tiers of ESPN's streaming service: ESPN Select (formerly ESPN Plus, for $12.99 a month) and ESPN Unlimited (for $29.99 a month). Both plans also have annual subscription options, which offer year-over-year savings compared to paying monthly for 12 months. You can also save if you bundle ESPN Unlimited with other services, like Disney+, Hulu, NFL Plus Premium, or FOX One.

The ESPN Unlimited and NFL Plus Premium bundle costs $39.99 a month, which is decent savings when compared to the $44.98 you'd pay each month if you subscribed to the services separately. The ESPN Unlimited and FOX One bundle offers slightly more savings at $39.99 a month, compared to the $49.98 you'd pay if subscribed separately. You can learn more about the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundles in the section above.

If you'd rather try a monthly plan or explore the bundle deal, you can go to the ESPN website. 

Peacock

Peacock's monthly plans go for $10.99 or $16.99 a month, so the annual plans add up to about 12 months for the price of the 10. The Premium tier offers on-demand and select live coverage with ads, while Premium Plus has ad-free on-demand content and a 24/7 live stream of NBC. The service boasts select live sports and classic comedies, like The Office, Parks and Rec, and Saturday Night Live. There's also a pared-down Peacock Select tier, which costs $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. This plan only includes ad-supported on-demand current season and library content from NBC and Bravo shows, in addition to some other select programming (but no movies, live events/sports, or Peacock Originals).

Peacock and Apple TV also recently launched two bundle options: one for Peacock Premium and Apple TV, and another for Peacock Premium Plus and Apple TV. Subscriptions cost $14.99 and $19.99, respectively, a significant savings opportunity compared to what you'd pay for both services separately each month. Additionally, Peacock Premium (or Paramount+ Essential, depending on what you prefer) is included with Walmart+ subscriptions, which cost $12.95 a month or $98 a year. Instacart+, which costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year, also comes with Peacock Premium access.

You can check out the Peacock website if you'd rather subscribe to a monthly plan.

Apple TV

Apple TV typically costs $12.99 a month, but users can find savings in an annual plan, which costs $99. The annual plan wasn't impacted by the price increase, so the current offer saves subscribers a little over $56 each year. It's worth noting that you might need to sign up for a monthly plan first and then opt into annual billing. Beginning in the 2026 season, all MLS matches will be available to Apple TV subscribers, so they won't need to pay for the extra MLS Season Pass. You can find info about the new Apple TV and Peacock bundles in the Peacock section above.

If you're interested in learning more about Apple TV Plus or other Apple services, you can visit the Apple TV Plus website for additional information.

Prime Video

Prime Video is Amazon's streaming counterpart, but if you're not interested in having a full Amazon Prime membership (which includes access to Prime Video), you can subscribe to Prime Video on its own for $8.99 a month. However, you can find some solid savings each year with an annual subscription to Amazon Prime, which costs $139. Additionally, you can access ad-free on-demand streaming on Prime Video content for an extra $4.99 a month with Prime Video Ultra.

Prime Video also allows customers to subscribe to external streaming services through their account, and these sign-ups often come with special deals in the form of discounted bundles. Some of the best Prime Video add-on deals available right now are for the AMC+ Premium, Starz, and MGM+ bundle ($21.99 a month, compared to the $30.97 you'd pay each month if you subscribed to each service separately), the Hallmark+ and discovery+ bundle ($12.99 a month, compared to the $17.98 a month you'd pay each month if you subscribed to each service separately), and the HBO Max and Cinemax bundle ($22.99 a month, compared to the $28.48 you'd pay each month if you subscribed to each service separately). Right now, if you sign up for AMC Plus through Prime Video, you can get your first two months for $4.99 a month (down about 55% from $10.99 a month).

If you'd rather try a monthly plan or just stick with Prime Video, you can find more information on the Prime Video storefront.

DAZN

DAZN has become an absolute hub for boxing, hosting some of the most-anticipated matches around the globe each year. DAZN also offers other select sports, usually without a PPV fee, although boxing is its focus. Most major fights require a subscription and pay-per-view (PPV) fee, but you can find some savings by opting for one of the annual plans. Flexible month-to-month subscriptions cost $30.99 a month, but you can save by opting for the 12-Month Monthly Saver plan, which reduces your monthly bill to $20.99 a month on a one-year contract.

There's also an up-front annual plan, which costs $224.99 a year. DAZN has also introduced a new Ultimate plan, which costs $44.99 a month on an annual contract or $449.99 up front for a year. The Ultimate tier includes at least 12 PPV fights a year at no extra cost.

For more information on DAZN's plans and PPV offerings, you can explore the DAZN website.

Starz

Starz subscriptions typically cost $11.99 a month, $45.99 for six months, or $69.99 for a year, but the streamer is usually running a promo on at least one of its plans at any given moment. Right now, customers can get about 49% off a year of service by opting for a $35.99 annual plan. If you're only interested in trying STARZ for a few months, there's also an option to get your first three months for $4.99 a month. You can also bundle a STARZ subscription with BritBox, the North American streaming home of several BBC and ITV series. This costs $14.99 a month, which breaks down to about 35% off the cost of subscribing to both streaming services separately each month.

If you're interested in learning more about the different subscriptions, you can check out the Starz website.

HBO Max

There are three tiers of HBO Max, previously Max (and before that, also HBO Max), in addition to a Disney/HBO Max/Hulu bundle, which we've highlighted above. The standard monthly price for HBO Max with Ads is $10.99, HBO Max Ad-Free is $18.49, and HBO Max Ultimate Ad-Free is $22.99. The ad-free tiers also include sports live streaming for games that air on Warner Bros. channels, like TNT and TBS. The annual version of each plan offers about 17% off in total per year, which is not a bad deal if HBO Max is something you're planning to hang onto in the long run. You can learn more about the Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max bundles in the Disney Plus section above.

You can go to the HBO Max website if you'd rather just sign up for a month-to-month plan right now.

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is a popular anime-centric streaming service that has some decent savings opportunities when you subscribe to one of its three tiers of service on an annual basis. Monthly subscriptions range from $9.99 a month to $17.99 a month, and their annual counterparts range from $99.99 a year to $179.99 a year. Year-to-year, annual subscriptions are about 17% cheaper across the board than what you'd pay in total after 12 months on a monthly subscription.

From now until May 21, Crunchyroll is also offering a special limited-time deal for Ani-May. The offer discounts the first three months of service on the Crunchyroll Fan and Crunchyroll Mega Fan monthly plans. This brings Crunchyroll Fan from $9.99 a month down to $1.99 a month, and Mega Fan from $13.99 a month down to $2.99 a month. This can help you save up to 80% on your first three months of service.

You can learn more about the various plans through the Crunchyroll website.

DirecTV

DirecTV, formerly DirecTV Stream, is another comprehensive live TV streaming service with pretty much all of the channels you'll find in a standard cable package. New subscribers can save on their first 24 months of Signature packages, including discounts on the Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier plans. First-time customers can also get $35 off their first month of Choice, $40 off their first month of Ultimate, and $45 off their first month of Premier. Just keep in mind that the actual monthly prices might be a bit higher after paying the required regional sports fees and/or any necessary Gemini lease fees. Users can also save some money on their first two months of DirecTV's MySports genre pack.

If you're interested in learning more about DirecTV, check out the DirecTV website for additional information.

Sling TV

Sling TV has developed a reputation as one of the most affordable live TV streaming packages on the market, and it's also chock-full of deals. There are several main plans to choose from: Sling Select, Sling Essentials, Sling Orange, Sling Blue, the Sling Select + Essentials combo, and the Sling Orange + Blue combo. Individual Orange and Blue plans cost $45.99 a month each or $60.99 a month for both, and Sling Select and Essentials start at $19.99 a month each or $34.99 a month for both. If you have a plan that gets local channels, Sling Blue costs $49.99 a month, Sling Select costs $24.99 a month, and Sling Orange + Blue costs $64.99 a month.

You can save by prepaying for three months of any of these plans. Prepaid plans range from $49.99 for three months of Sling Select to $159.99 for three months of Sling Orange + Blue. Sling also offers all sorts of deals if you add on a streaming service through your Sling subscription, including first-month savings on Paramount+ with Showtime (Premium), AMC+, and STARZ.

If you want to explore Sling TV and its add-ons, visit the Sling website for more information.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is another one of the most popular live TV streaming services. The streamer offers a comprehensive selection of channels across multiple plans, with the option to pay for add-ons. The main plan carries 100+ popular channels and an enticing, limited-time offer for new users. Until June 30, customers can get their first five months for $67.99 a month, instead of the standard $82.99 a month. That shakes out to 18% off. If you're only interested in sports, YouTube TV's sports plan is $54.99 a month for your first year of service, down about 15% from the standard $64.99 a month rate.

If you're interested in checking out other plans, you can head to the YouTube TV website.

Fubo

Fubo is another popular live TV service, with standard plans starting at $73.99 a month (a recent price reduction following the NBCU blackout on Fubo). The sports-centric cable alternative offers more than 200 channels at the touch of a button. The service carries everything from local networks to niche, traditionally cable channels, with a few exceptions. The streamer currently offers $25 off its Pro plans, $30 off Elite plans, and $5 off its Latino plan for the first month of service. Fubo's brand-new Sports plan will also knock $10 off the first month of service.

For additional plans and channel information, head to Fubo's website.

Streaming device deals

If you've gotten yourself all set up with a streaming service but you still need a way to watch it on your TV, then it might be time to purchase a streaming device. These are particularly helpful tools for those without smart TVs, which typically come with streaming apps available to download or already installed (although you'll still need to pay for a subscription to use them). Several of our favorite picks are on sale this month, including Roku and Fire TV devices.

Wireless and grocery streaming deals

One of the cool things about streaming services is that they're often already included with other subscriptions or contracts, or these services allow you to sign up for a streamer or bundle at a reduced price. Mobile carriers and grocery delivery services have some of the best offers, and we've rounded up some of the top options below. Cellular providers typically involve long-term contracts, so we encourage potential customers to read the fine print carefully.

• Relatively new Ukrainian arms makers say combat use gives them a strong selling point.
• They say battlefield proof beats test flights and simulations.
• Western firms and militaries have been partnering with Ukraine's defense industry to learn from the war.

Ukrainian weapons makers say they have a selling point many defense firms farther from the battlefield can't match: Their weapons are being tested, adapted, and used in modern combat every day.

Serhiy Goncharov, the CEO of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries, or NAUDI, which represents roughly 100 companies, told Business Insider that the defense industry is receiving interest "because of the battle experience" and because "for us it's simple to explain to the military customer how it works compared to, for example, some European countries," where companies might be limited to selling test flights, trials, or computer simulations.

Ukraine's defense industry has boomed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, creating countless new wartime weapons makers that are trying to turn battlefield experience into a competitive edge.

Because Ukrainian-made weapons are used in combat, Goncharov said, Ukrainian makers can also offer expertise in training and maintenance, insight into "the actual battle experience," and advice on "how it actually should work against your enemy."

"This experience is priceless," he said. It is a pitch increasingly echoed by Ukrainian firms seeking closer ties with Western militaries and industry.

Many US and European companies offer combat-tested systems, have decades more experience and deeper industrial capacity than Ukrainian firms, and make the kind of high-end weapons that Ukraine still needs. And some Western systems are also being used in Ukraine, giving them their own battlefield record.

But in some fast-changing areas of modern war, especially drones, counter-drone systems, and other weapons that can be rapidly adapted, Ukrainian firms say proximity to the battlefield gives them an advantage, especially over companies that are trying to sell capabilities solely based on tests and simulations.

Mykyta Rozhkov, the chief business development officer at Frontline Robotics, a Ukrainian drone and weapons maker, told Business Insider Ukrainian companies have an "unfair advantage."

"We have a war, unfortunately," he said, but the proximity to the fighting gives the local defense industry chances to adapt and test far more effectively than any companies not working there. "It means that we have direct contact with the military that is using our systems 10 times per day, and we don't even have to ask them for the feedback. It goes directly 24/7 into our inbox."

He said that partner nations should "integrate these ready-made Ukrainian solutions" into their defenses. He described Ukraine right now as "the most experienced, sophisticated, technologically prepared army in Europe" and encouraged allies to integrate its tech, through approved means like joint ventures, "in order to train and prepare your defense industry to be as capable as possible."

Stanislav Hryshyn, the cofounder of Ukrainian drone maker General Cherry, said Western partners are "very interested in Ukrainian defense tech, as our experience and expertise are pretty valuable for them." Western officials have said Ukrainian expertise and battlefield innovations are key to future defense aims.

The demand is seen particularly in drone warfare, where Ukraine has more combat experience than its Western partners.

Interest in Ukrainian interceptor drones, for instance, grew as Iranian-designed Shaheds became a major threat in the Middle East. Ukrainian counter-drone technology and drone experts have been active in the region, giving Ukrainian firms another combat example to cite. Other companies are developing similar systems, but Ukrainian arms makers can point to their unusually heavy battlefield use as a prime selling point. The weapons aren't theoretical but proven in practice.

Ihor Fedirko, the CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry, another industrial body representing over 100 companies, told Business Insider that the success of Ukrainian counter-drone systems in the Middle East was a testament to the readiness and capabilities of Ukrainian systems and defense companies.

Given its advantages, Ukraine is moving to export drones, which its industry says would help fund expanded production for its own military. NATO allies and Western firms, meanwhile, are pursuing partnerships with Ukrainian companies to tap their battlefield-tested tech and pair that experience with Western industrial processes, scale, and safer production farther from the war.

Croatian drone and equipment maker ORQA, for example, is teaming up to make components with General Cherry. ORQA cofounder and CEO Srdjan Kovacevic told Business Insider that "the operational excellence that Ukrainian defense forces have developed is unparalleled in the Western world," and its industry has more experience producing huge volumes of drones to meet demand. That, combined with Western technological expertise, is a key combination, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that Ukraine's security experience and its military expertise "are now the most sought-after products for dozens of countries worldwide."

And industry sees the potential. Rozhkov, the Frontline Robotics exec, said: "We see ourselves not in the future, not in isolation, but as a part of the European defense sector."

• The AI researcher who coined "vibe coding" has joined Anthropic.
• Andrej Karpathy, a founding member of OpenAI and Tesla's former AI director, is joining Anthropic's pretraining team.
• Karpathy's social media posts about the state of AI have become widely read among the community.

Anthropic just landed one of the biggest names in AI.

Andrej Karpathy, the OpenAI founding member who was formerly Tesla's director of AI, announced on Tuesday that he had joined Anthropic.

The hiring marks a major get for Anthropic in the AI talent wars. Karpathy famously coined the term "vibe coding" and is prolific in the AI community, frequently publishing lengthy social media posts about the state of the industry that are widely read.

"Personal update: I've joined Anthropic. I think the next few years at the frontier of LLMs will be especially formative," Karpathy wrote on X. "I am very excited to join the team here and get back to R&D. I remain deeply passionate about education and plan to resume my work on it in time."

Anthropic said Karpathy will work on the AI startup's pretraining team, which is responsible for large-scale testing of Claude. Karpathy started this week and sits on the team led by Nicholas Joseph, another ex-OpenAIer who was an early employee at Anthropic, OpenAI's chief rival in the AI race.

"I can't think of anyone better suited to do it — looking forward to what we build together!!" Joseph wrote on X.

Karpathy's AI roots extend back to Anthropic's chief rival.

He helped launch OpenAI as a founding research scientist, then left for a stint at Tesla as its AI director, leading the Tesla Autopilot computer vision team, before rejoining OpenAI in 2023. He publicly supported OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his brief ouster, but ultimately left OpenAI again in February 2024 and later started Eureka Labs, an AI-centered education company.

He became an even bigger name among the tech community in early 2025, when he coined the term "vibe coding" to refer to "where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists."

Vibe coding has come to illustrate the extent to which non-technically proficient users can still create with the help of generative AI coding tools, including Claude Code. Karpathy has recently said that AI models have advanced to the point where AI agents themselves are writing the actual code, with oversight from a human user, necessitating a new term.

"Many people have tried to come up with a better name for this to differentiate it from vibe coding, personally my current favorite 'agentic engineering,'" he wrote on X in February.

Karpathy is joining Anthropic at a time when the AI lab has reached new heights, thanks to major advancements in the company's Claude Code and Cowork tools and a boost in broader public interest following a tussle with the Trump administration. Anthropic's valuation on secondary markets recently surpassed $1 trillion, surpassing OpenAI.

At the same time, Anthropic's rivalry with OpenAI has reached a fever pitch, with their respective CEOs notably refusing to hold hands onstage during a photo op with other AI leaders. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently accused Anthropic of helping to fuel the hate toward him that led to an attack on his house.

• As an interior designer, I think there are a few things that don't belong in a living room.
• In my opinion, plastic light switches and outlet covers lack personality. 
• DVD collections and too much lighting can take away from the relaxed feel a living room should have.

As an interior designer, I love making living spaces feel comfortable and inviting. However, I know there are certain items that can completely disrupt the aesthetic of a room.

Whether you're looking to reduce clutter or ensure your home looks elevated, here are seven things I suggest removing from your living room.

Movie and book collections should be concealed.

Although a stack of limited-edition DVDs or great books can be a great conversation starter, they're going to make a room look busy and overwhelming.

That's why I suggest investing in a storage solution with doors or drawers to conceal these items and make the room feel more relaxing. Plus, it's a great way to keep all your collectables in one place.

Too much lighting can overwhelm a space.

Even though I love a well-lit room, I certainly have a pet peeve for too much lighting. Walking into a room that has a ceiling light, recessed-can lighting, and floor lamps can feel overwhelming and unnecessary.

If you're worried your room isn't bright enough, I suggest purchasing dimmable bulbs, which can be adjusted when needed.

Furniture that takes up too much — or too little — space can be distracting.

It's important to consider scale when mapping out any space. If your living room has a sofa that's too large, it can make the room feel small. In turn, having a sofa that's too small will make the room look empty.

Before purchasing any furniture, I recommend finding the specs and taping those dimensions on the floor. This will allow you to really visualize how much space the item will take up.

Get rid of outdated prints and colors.

Trendy prints and colors are fun, but unfortunately, they can change rapidly. That's why I recommend sticking to a neutral color palette and replacing outdated pillow and blanket patterns when needed.

It's an easy way to freshen up a space without doing any heavy lifting.

You don't need overpowering window treatments.

In my opinion, heavy window treatments are outdated and unnecessary, especially since sheer curtains still provide texture.

Plus, short or choppy curtains that don't touch the ground can make a wall seem shorter than it is.

If you're looking for an efficient way to block out light, however, blackout shades are a great option.

Plastic light switches and outlet covers lack personality.

Another pet peeve of mine is outlet and light-switch covers being an afterthought. I've seen homes that have thousands of dollars worth of renovations — but the outlets are concealed by plastic covers you can find at a dollar store.

Updating plastic covers to something more luxe is one of the easiest things you can do to upgrade your living space. There are some great options on Amazon, or, if you're like me and like to shop in person, Menards also carries a good selection.

Steer clear of shiny paint finishes.

High- or semi-gloss paint finishes give walls a shiny, almost oily look. However, I think this overly reflective style screams "outdated."

A more subdued wall finish can let the furniture and art make a statement without competing with a shiny wall. Minimal sheen is also easier on the eyes and gives the overall aesthetic of the space a more relaxed tone.

This story was originally published on October 1, 2022, and most recently updated on May 19, 2026.

• The 30-year Treaury yield just hit its highest level since before the financial crisis.
• The surge has been fueled by ongoing concerns around inflation amid the recent spike in oil prices.
• Treasury yields appear to have reached a "Danger Zone" that could weigh on other assets, HSBC said.

The bond market is sending a warning.

The historic sell-off that sent bond yields spiking last week has picked up, with the yield on the 30-year US Treasury ticking higher another to as high as 5.19% on Monday. It's the highest yield for the US long bond since July 2007, right before the Great Financial Crisis.

The yield has climbed 54 basis points since the start of the Iran war, a testament to how the spike in oil prices has fueled inflationary concerns that are testing the investors' willingness to hold onto government debt for the long haul.

Inflation rose to 3.8% in April, the fastest consumer prices have risen in about three years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase was largely driven by energy prices, which were up 17.9% over the past year.

The latest move up in yields has likely been influenced by the latest inflation figures, Mark Malek, the CIO of Siebert Financial, wrote in a note on Monday.

"It is sending a coordinated message," Malek said of the bond market. "'We want to be compensated for the risk of inflation', and we want more than you were paying us yesterday."

Besides the Iran war, investors are also concerned about other inflationary pressures in the economy, Peter Berezin, the chief global strategist at BCA Research, told Business Insider. He pointed to how the AI boom was pushing up the prices of semiconductors and other data center inputs, as well as concerns swirling around Kevin Warsh, the incoming Fed Chair who some investors fear could cut interest rates prematurely.

"I think all these three things are coming together at a time when inflation was running above target even before 2026, and that's giving the bond market some concern," Berezin said.

On Monday, veteran forecaster Ed Yardeni said that he expects a rate hike in July, as the Fed tries to show that it's serious about tackling steadily rising inflation.

US stocks sold off as investors fretted over the surge in bond yields. Major indexes slipped further from recent record highs as traders priced in hotter inflation and higher rates for longer, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 falling more than 1%.

Here's where US indexes stood around 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 7,334.31, down 0.93%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,467.97, down 0.44% (-218.15 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 25,719.20, down 1.42%

In a note to clients on Monday, analysts at HSBC said they believed that US Treasurys were now "firmly in the Danger Zone," a level at which rising yields put pressure on "virtually all asset classes."

Bond investors are known for staging tantrums when the fiscal or economic environment looks unfavorable. In the past, so-called bond vigilantes have dumped Treasurys and sent yields climbing to protest inflationary policies or to force the government to exercise more fiscal restraint.

• I met my now-ex boyfriend in my freshman year of college, and we became codependent.
• I unintentionally isolated myself from the full college experience, graduating with no prospects.
• Since the relationship finally ended, I'm taking back control of my life.

I had three goals when I started college in 2011: major in creative writing, publish my young adult novel, and find a boyfriend.

I met my ex-boyfriend on the last night of freshman orientation.

I was curious about his introvert energy. He also believed that a bachelor's degree was a waste of time. Despite that, we clicked and exchanged numbers.

Most days, the idyllic campus buzzed with activities and opportunities for freshmen like me: career assistance, networking, and clubs. Yet, the more attention my ex-boyfriend and I gave each other, the more we wanted, even as my grades slid into academic probation territory.

My college years were completely about my relationship

I didn't know it at the time, but I had already started isolating myself in my freshman year.

But oh, how I loved the attention: the emotional warmth, hugs, deep conversations about society and humanity. All of it was intoxicating, and his presence filled emotional gaps I was missing as a newly untethered college student from a strict home.

My studies took a back seat to our relationship. I spent most of my free time at college in a codependent relationship instead of attending campus activities or joining meaningful clubs.

Graduation and the real world seemed far off. I figured there would be plenty of time for career prep before graduation.

"I can find something once I graduate" morphed into "I'll find something after I do retail for a while." I had stopped writing my novel, too.

I then graduated and stopped prioritizing internship hunting. I then had student loan debt, a piece of paper proving I can work, and no college friends.

Thankfully, our relationship finally came to an end, but eight years in a codependent, sedentary relationship left its effects on me.

I'm now investing in myself

It took months of therapy and self-reflection to create enough distance to see the damage I'd created not only to my developing career but to myself. I became apathetic toward my own trajectory because I was so entrenched in the bad patterns I learned in college.

The only thing that broke my mind out of this cycle was the brutal reality: Rejection letters or silence from every junior writer job I applied to. A stretch of retail and banking jobs kept me afloat, but I couldn't handle the workload or stay organized.

If I was going to take back control, I had to catch up on lost time, so I finally started working on my writing portfolio.

I needed hard skills beyond writing, so I went to the NYS Department of Labor website to start taking free marketing courses. I developed conceptual ad pieces for a few fake companies. I wrote about other ads, successful or not, to learn what really makes copy shape entire industries. I watched lectures on persuasive writing. I knew I had the raw skill; I just needed to stick to a schedule, which was my biggest challenge.

Instead of integrating my new writing into my current routine, I began a new routine, starting with a 20-minute walk each morning. Then I built new daily habits on top of walking, like cleaning up the kitchen and playing with my firecracker of a cat, before 9 a.m. Setting alarms or deadlines for non-work tasks sounds silly, but it helps keep the brain locked in rhythm and away from depressing thoughts.

Are there still days I can't put words on paper? Of course. I just write anyway. I write, I read, I practice. I keep submitting applications.

While I still think about him from time to time, I now know that it's OK to walk away from bad relationships, no matter how much time and effort was invested.

It's a good week to be a sports fan, as several popular leagues have marquee games on tap. Figuring out how to watch these events can be tricky, however, so we've rounded up some of the biggest games (and viewing options) below.

The NBA Conference Finals kick off this week, featuring Spurs vs. Thunder and Cavaliers vs. Knicks match-ups. The NHL Conference Finals are also starting, and you can expect to see the Golden Knights and Avalanche square off in the West while the Canadiens and Hurricanes duke it out in the East. The WNBA season is also in full swing, and several of this week's games are nationally broadcast or streamed. You can also catch the PWHL Finals and the UEFA Europa League Final on TV the week of May 18-May 24, 2026.

Below, you can find some of the top sporting events this week, including the top five best live sports on TV today. This roundup isn't a full list of all live sports on TV this week, but it covers some of the most notable events across popular leagues. Just keep in mind that some games and leagues (like the MLB) have blackout restrictions in local markets and for nationally broadcast games. Additionally, some fixtures airing on the same network at the same time as another game will be regionally dependent.

Baseball

• Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers (MLB) on Monday at 6:40 p.m. ET on FS1
• Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees (MLB) on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET on TBS
• Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs (MLB) on Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles (MLB) on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals (MLB) on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET on FS1
• St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds (MLB) on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX
• Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX
• Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. ET on Peacock
• Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels (MLB) on Sunday at 7:20 p.m. ET on Peacock

Basketball

• Washington Mystics vs. Dallas Wings (WNBA) on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN/Peacock
• San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks (NBA) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
• Portland Fire vs. Indiana Fever (WNBA) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network
• Dallas Wings vs. Chicago Sky (WNBA) on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on USA Network
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks (NBA) on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Golden State Valkyries (WNBA) on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
• Los Angeles Sparks vs. Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video
• Golden State Valkyries vs. Indiana Fever (WNBA) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION
• Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (NBA) on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
• Connecticut Sun vs. Seattle Storm (WNBA) on Friday at 10 p.m. ET on ION
• Minnesota Lynx vs. Chicago Sky (WNBA) on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount Plus Premium
• New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN Unlimited
• Los Angeles Sparks vs. Las Vegas Aces (WNBA) on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount Plus Premium
• Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty (WNBA) on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
• Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (NBA) on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

Hockey

• Montreal Victoire vs. Ottawa Charge (PWHL) on Monday at 6 p.m. ET on ION
• Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres (NHL) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Montreal Victoire vs. Ottawa Charge (PWHL) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ION
• Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche (NHL) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV
• Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche (NHL) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV
• Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Motorsport

• Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar) on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on FOX
• Canadian Grand Prix (Formula 1) on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on Apple TV

Tennis

• French Open qualifiers, daily on HBO Max

Soccer

• Arsenal vs. Burnley (Premier League) on Monday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network
• AFC Bournemouth vs. Manchester City (Premier League) on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network
• Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League) on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. ET on Peacock
• Orlando City vs. Atlanta United (US Open Cup) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Paramount Plus
• St. Louis City vs. Houston Dynamo (US Open Cup) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBSSN/Paramount Plus
• SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa (Europa League Final) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET on Paramount Plus
• Columbus Crew vs. New York City (US Open Cup) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Paramount Plus
• América vs. Gotham FC (W Champions Cup) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Colorado Rapids vs. San Jose Earthquakes (US Open Cup) on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on Paramount Plus
• Washington Spirit vs. Pachuca (W Champions Cup) on Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Boston Legacy vs. Seattle Reign (NWSL) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
• St. Louis vs. Austin (MLS) on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET on Apple TV/FOX
• Real Madrid vs. Athletic Club (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Espanyol vs. Real Sociedad (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Celta Vigo vs. Sevilla (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Getafe vs. Osasuna (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Valencia vs. Barcelona (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Girona vs. Elche (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Mallorca vs. Real Oviedo (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Real Betis vs. Levante (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Alavés vs. Rayo Vallecano (La Liga) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Racing Louisville vs. North Carolina Courage (NWSL) on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ION
• Minnesota United vs. Real Salt Lake (MLS) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Utah Royals vs. Denver Summit (NWSL) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ION
• Cincinnati vs. Orlando City (MLS) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• DC United vs. Montréal (MLS) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Charlotte vs. New England Revolution (MLS) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Chicago Fire vs. Toronto (MLS) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Nashville vs. New York City (MLS) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Sporting Kansas City vs. Red Bull New York (MLS) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• San Diego vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS) on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Colorado Rapids vs. Dallas (MLS) on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo (MLS) on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Kansas City Current vs. Portland Thorns (NWSL) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount Plus Premium
• Villarreal vs. Atlético Madrid (La Liga) on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Select
• Columbus Crew vs. Atlanta United (MLS) on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on Apple TV
• Bay vs. Chicago Stars (NWSL) on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN Select
• Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union (MLS) on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Apple TV/FOX
• LAFC vs. Seattle Sounders (MLS) on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on Apple TV/FOX

While some games shown on traditional broadcast networks might have a stand-alone streaming counterpart (like Peacock Premium Plus for NBC or Paramount Plus Premium for CBS), others might require one of the best live TV streaming services to tune in.

Even if you can get a network through a stand-alone service, a live TV provider might be a better fit if you're a cord-cutter looking to stream multiple networks in one place. Below, you can find some of the best ways to live stream popular sports channels, including ESPN, FOX, FS1, ION, TBS, TNT, truTV, and the USA Network.

How to watch ESPN

Several different services allow cord-cutters to live stream ESPN. ESPN Unlimited, ESPN's direct streaming counterpart, costs $30 a month and unlocks full live streaming across all of ESPN's linear networks.

ESPN is also available through top live TV streaming services, like DirecTV, Fubo, and Sling TV. The network is available in the service's main plans and cheaper sports-centric packages.

DirecTV's MySports genre pack costs $65 a month, but new users can get $20 a month off their first two months of service after a five-day free trial. Fubo's Sports + News plan costs $56 a month, but new users can get $10 off their first month after a five-day free trial. Sling TV's Essentials plan costs $20 a month.

How to watch FOX and FS1

FOX and FS1 are both available to live stream through FOX One, which costs $20 a month and comes with a three-day free trial. There's also an option to bundle ESPN Unlimited with FOX One for $40 a month.

Both FS1 and FOX are also available through live TV streaming services, including DirecTV, Fubo, and Sling TV. FOX and FS1 are carried in DirecTV's MySports plan, which costs $65 a month ($20 a month off your first two months after a five-day free trial). They're also available in Fubo's Sports + News plan, which costs $56 a month ($10 off your first month after a five-day free trial).

You can also find both channels in multiple Sling plans, the cheapest of which is Sling Select (starting at $25 a month when local channels are involved). Just keep in mind that Sling's local channel coverage varies by region, so check whether FOX is available in your market before signing up.

How to watch ION

ION is available for free over-the-air and via a few FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) services, including Tubi and Pluto.

ION is also included in most live TV streaming services, including DirecTV's signature plans and Fubo's Sports + News plan. DirecTV's signature plans start at $90 a month for the Entertainment tier, but you can get $5 a month off for two years after a five-day free trial. Just keep in mind that plans might cost a little bit more after any additional required fees. Fubo's Sports + News plan costs $56 a month, but new users can get $10 off their first month after a five-day free trial.

How to watch TNT, truTV, and TBS

Sporting events that air on TNT, truTV, and TBS are available to live stream on HBO Max via B/R Sports. This option is included in HBO Max's ad-free tiers, which start at $18.49 a month.

TNT, truTV, and TVS are also available through live TV services, such as DirecTV and Sling TV. The networks are available in DirecTV's MySports genre pack, which costs $65 a month (although new customers can get $20 a month off their first two months of service after a five-day free trial).

TNT and TBS are also carried in both of Sling's main plans. Sling Orange costs $46 a month, and Sling Blue starts at $46 a month, but the latter sometimes costs more with local channels. Orange is also available in short-term passes, the cheapest of which is $5 for single-day access.

How to watch USA Network

Unlike NBC, USA Network isn't available to stream live on Peacock. Instead, you'll need a live TV streaming service, like DirecTV or Sling TV, to watch the network. DirecTV plans with the USA Network start at $65 a month for the MySports genre pack, but new users can get $20 a month off their first two months after a five-day free trial. Sling TV plans with the USA Network start at $46 a month for Sling Blue.

How to watch from anywhere

If you're traveling away from home, you might find it difficult to tune into your usual viewing options. Fortunately, you can keep up with your favorite services while abroad by using a VPN. VPNs, or virtual private networks, are handy cybersecurity tools that let you temporarily alter your virtual location. You can learn more in our guide to the best VPNS, or head directly to NordVPN, our top recommendation.

Note: VPN use is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content may constitute a breach of the terms of use for some services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• My husband took a job in South Carolina, seven hours away, while I stayed back in Washington, DC.
• It wasn't flexible with remote work as we'd hoped, so he'd drive 14 hours to visit me most weekends.
• After two years of living apart, he got a job in DC and moved back. We wouldn't do this again.

After months of job hunting, my husband had finally received a great offer, one that even came with a higher salary and title bump.

The catch is that the role was based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, about seven hours from where we'd lived in Washington, DC, for the past decade.

Relocating together was never on the table. I've loved living in the city since I moved there to attend grad school. I couldn't really see myself — or our nontraditional family with our six rescue pets — living anywhere else.

However, my husband needed work, and he hadn't found any viable jobs in our area for months. This wasn't ideal, but we were desperate, and he was excited about the company.

So, we planned for him to move to South Carolina while I stayed in DC. We figured this arrangement would be somewhat temporary anyway.

Although his new position was office-based, we both felt confident that a more hybrid arrangement could be worked out once he had established himself.

I've always been very independent and outgoing, and I thought that maybe a little space and more chances to miss each other might strengthen our marriage. I also told myself that maybe living separately for a bit could be fun. I was wrong.

After he moved, our plans quickly fell apart

To prepare for my husband's move, we had decided to buy a single-story house with a sprawling backyard near his job in South Carolina.

It was an old fixer-upper that needed a lot of work, but the mortgage payment was cheaper than the rentals we were looking at. Plus, since I worked mostly remotely, we figured I could easily bring the dogs with me to stay there and just hire a cat sitter back in DC whenever I came to visit.

Only a few months after his move, though, our plans began to fall apart. For starters, we'd been too optimistic about his work arrangement: His new company was vehemently opposed to any remote work, so we saw each other only on weekends and holidays.

Visiting him also wasn't as feasible as we'd expected. Because he had taken our shared car to South Carolina, it was too expensive for me to fly and pay to board our three dogs.

Instead, my husband would drive through the night to DC nearly every Friday and head back to Spartanburg every Sunday afternoon.

The 14-hour round trips took a toll on him, so sometimes we would skip our weekend visits to give him a break from the road.

Back in DC, I was also struggling. Without a car, completing normal errands like grocery shopping and vet appointments was much more complicated than I anticipated. It didn't help that I had a collapsed disc in my back, so walking in my very-walkable city became more and more difficult until it was nearly impossible.

I grew lonely working from home and then spending most evenings on the couch by myself. Our eldest dog was very attached to her dad, and she started acting out the longer he was away, so I couldn't leave her alone for long stretches, either.

My husband's higher salary no longer made much of a difference to our lifestyle, either, given all the money I was now spending on food and grocery delivery and rideshares, plus our additional mortgage and a climbing renovation budget.

After 2 challenging years of this, he got a job in DC and moved back

About a year into this arrangement, I reached my breaking point.

A week before my spinal surgery was scheduled, a pipe in our condo burst and we needed all new floors. I scrambled to file an insurance claim, schedule water mitigation, test out flooring samples, and meet the movers to take out all of our belongings before I checked into the hospital.

There was only so much my husband could do from afar, which felt like the last straw: I was physically and emotionally overwhelmed.

Throughout my recovery, my friends took care of me during the week until he could make it home each Friday evening. I made it through, but it would still be another nine months before he finally found a job back in DC and could come home.

After living in different states for nearly two years, I was thrilled to be a normal couple again, but once he moved back, I discovered the last blow: I had forgotten how to live with someone else.

Our home felt like my home, and he felt like just a visitor in it. I had come up with new systems to manage on my own and liked to do things my way; how did he fit into that now?

With time and some hard conversations, we eventually worked out the kinks and fell back into our familiar rhythm. Soon, life started to feel more normal, like it used to.

It's now been a year since he's been back in DC with me (and that fixer-upper we'd got in South Carolina is under new ownership, too).

Looking back, we've both agreed that living seven hours apart was the worst decision we could have made, and we've vowed that no matter what, we will never do it again.

• Were it not for AI, the US would have entered a recession sometime in 2023, Jeremy Grantham says.
• The GMO founder said a "mild" downturn and a 25% market crash were averted due to AI capex.
• Recently, Grantham suggested the spike in oil prices could be a trigger for a recession.

The US economy would have tumbled down a difficult path were it not for AI, Jeremy Grantham says.

The GMO founder and investing legend issued a cautious message on the state of the US economy and markets last week. Speaking on a recent episode of the Excess Returns podcast, Grantham said he believed the US probably would have slipped into a downturn and seen a steep market crash in 2023 , were it not for the huge investments being poured into AI.

"My guess is that in 2023 we would have moved into a recession and the market would have gone down another 25%. And AI headed it off," Grantham said.

"We're in terra incognita," he added, referring to the US's "unprecedented" reliance on AI spending as a percentage of GDP.

The boom in artificial intelligence has fueled a massive spending spree among tech giants. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have collectively earmarked $725 billion in capex this year, much of which will be spent on the AI buildout, according to company statements. That amount is roughly 2% of US GDP in 2025.

GDP growth likely would have approached 0% in 2023 were it not for AI, Grantham speculated.

AI spending has also acted as a significant crutch for the stock market, Grantham suggested. He pointed to how the Magnificent Seven stocks, the seven group of tech giants at the heart of the AI trade, were largely responsible for dragging the S&P 500 out of its bear market from late 2022 into 2023.

Stocks were already in a partial bubble when the AI hype hit, Grantham said, referring to the major run-up in the tech sector and the fervor for meme stocks in 2022.

"We have a bubble forming out of a bubble that was only halfway completed, only halfway deflated, and then resuscitated," he said.

Grantham, a longtime bear best known for calling the dot-com bubble, has warned repeatedly of a crash and a coming downturn in recent years.

In his 2026 memoir, "The Making of a Permabear: The Perils of Long-term Investing in a Short-term World," Grantham said he believed the AI bubble would most likely "at least temporarily deflate."

Speaking on "The Master Investor" podcast earlier this year, he added that he saw "painful" consequences stemming from the recent spike in oil, noting that the US has never seen a sharp surge in crude prices without tipping into a recession not long after.

• Warren Buffett's shareholder meeting drew a smaller crowd this year as the investor wasn't onstage.
• Unofficial guide Tilman Versch told us how he predicted a sharp drop-off in attendance.
• Versch explained why he expects visitor numbers to recover next year.

Warren Buffett's big bash was noticeably quieter this year — but it should pick up in 2027, the unofficial tour guide for the event told Business Insider.

Tilman Versch has published numerous guides to Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on his "Good Investing" website.

He showcased his knowledge and connections during my recent trip to Omaha, Buffett's hometown. He invited me to two events he organized — a book signing and an informal chat with an author — as well as a fund manager's networking dinner.

Versch anticipated a sharp drop in attendance this year. Clicks on his online guides, sales of shareholder passes on eBay, Airbnb, and hotel reservations, flight bookings, and event RSVPs all pointed to fewer visitors, he said.

He said the main reason was Buffett's decision to sit in the audience instead of onstage this year, as he wished to keep the spotlight firmly on Greg Abel, who succeeded him as Berkshire's CEO in January.

Versch described Buffett as a "content billionaire," given the vast interest in him on YouTube and other social media, while the little-known Abel has only a few million views across platforms.

Despite Buffett taking a step back, the most popular flights to Omaha were still double or triple their usual price going into the meeting, and hotels were running anywhere from three to 11 times more expensive, Versch highlighted on his website. The upshot was that many fewer people could justify making the trip this year, he said.

Versch noted that many hotel rooms and vacation rentals on Booking.com and Airbnb, which had been fully booked weeks in advance for the meeting last year, remained vacant this time around.

Buffett's absence also narrowed the meeting's appeal, drawing a higher proportion of affluent financial professionals, Versch said. The result was that "on many flights, the first class and the premium class were booked, while cheaper economy class seats were still available," he told Business Insider.

Versch said this year's attendees were also "more American" than past iterations, as fewer international visitors made the trip. He suggested the Trump administration's tighter immigration and border controls, proposed restrictions on ESTA visas, and the Iran war disrupting some flights may have contributed to that trend.

The drop in visitors might also reflect the pulling forward of demand in recent years, Versch said. Many fans of Buffett, now 95, and Charlie Munger, his business partner who died just shy of his 100th birthday in November 2023, scrambled to see them in person before it was too late.

Versch said his data pointed to declines across all visitor groups except Nebraskans, who "showed up in full force." Revenues were likely up for Berkshire's shopping events at the CHI Health Center and Nebraska Furniture Mart as a result, he said.

Looking ahead

Versch said he expects better attendance next year, after Abel made a "great debut" and two of his top lieutenants, Katie Farmer and Adam Johnson, "showcased the depth and strength of Team BRK."

Berkshire fans saw that Abel can "deliver value — and that he is more fun than many expected, especially with Ajit [Jain, Berkshire's vice chairman of insurance operations] on his side," Versch said. "The biggest AGM unknown is now answered."

Lower prices for hotels and Airbnbs after this year's downturn, reduced political concerns after November's midterm elections, and positive social-media buzz about the meeting reigniting FOMO could draw a larger crowd next year, Versch said.

One enduring factor, Versch said, is how special the Berkshire weekend remains.

"There is simply no other place on Earth that offers such a valuable series of events, such a fun culture, and such a group of committed investors," he said.

• Tom Colicchio stresses the importance of a manual pepper grinder for fresh seasoning control.
• Gail Simmons values her collection of mini spatulas for their versatility and functionality.
• Kristen Kish prefers flat wooden cutting boards to ensure precision and clean cutting edges.

Most home cooks assume celebrity chefs rely on expensive, high-tech tools, but the reality is the opposite. The most essential kitchen tools are often simple, tactile, and deeply personal. I visited the Charlotte set of the current season of Top Chef to talk to judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and Kristen Kish about cooking and, more importantly, how they cook at home. Their must-haves reveal a common theme: control, precision, and small upgrades make a big difference.

Tom Colicchio

Tom Colicchio loves a lot of things in his kitchens. Yes, as in plural, because he has many homes, as one should with his pedigree and level of success. Although his New York kitchen has his beloved French-made La Cornue stove, he says a good manual pepper grinder is a must because freshly ground pepper is a non-negotiable. "So many people use pre-ground pepper, and it's terrible," he said. "Fresh ground pepper is so important, and so many people don't use it." If you watch the show, you have seen that Colicchio is a stickler for proper seasoning. Colicchio does not own an electric peppermill. He prefers manual styles since you can exert more control over the end product.

Gail Simmons

Gail Simmons relies on small tools that make a big difference and naturally has many collections. "I like mini things like mini whisks. I have lots of whisks," she said. "I have a very large collection of vintage soft-boiled egg cups. I love collecting." Two items she can't live without are her fish spatulas and mini silicone spatulas. "I have a very large collection, much to my husband's dismay, of miniature silicone spatulas and flexible, small spatulas," she said.

Kristen Kish

Top Chef host Kristen Kish's kitchen must-have? I solid cutting board. "I had one sent to me that I don't even remember the name of. It's so beautiful and a perfect size," Kish said. "I have cupboards of cutting boards, and it's always the one that I'm gravitating towards. It's wood and about an inch and a half." When it comes to features, Kish prefers flat cutting boards without a juice groove, which was surprising. She had a good reason, however. "They mess up my knife, and you can't get clean cuts," she says. "If I need to slice meat or anything with a lot of juice, you put it on a sheet tray that catches any liquid that runs off."

The bottom line

These tools aren't flashy — but they're exactly what chefs rely on under pressure. Top chefs know winning dishes come from execution, not trendy gadgets. Chefs value control over convenience and lean toward tools that improve technique. See more easy kitchen upgrades that will make home cooking easier and save you some prep time.

• At 75, Barbara Phillips has been involved in sports, fitness, and healthy eating her entire life.
• She took up competitive powerlifting last year, soon after recovering from a second hip replacement.
• The grandmother of 10 works out 6 times and goes to country-and-western line dancing 3 times weekly.

This story is based on an interview with Barbara Phillips, 75, a former tech writer who splits her time between Seattle and Saxony, Germany. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In March 2025, I was recovering from a serious complication to my second hip replacement surgery and scrolling through Instagram.

I saw a few posts from the recent Arnold Sports Festival — the annual meet in Cincinnati that includes bodybuilding and powerlifting — and was intrigued by images of a woman around my age deadlifting a heavy weight.

It was so fascinating, I threw down the gauntlet to myself. "You should try that," I thought.

I increased my gym training

A few weeks later, as soon as my doctor said I was done with treatment, I booked a plane ticket to a power-lifting competition in Woodstock, Virginia.

I managed to deadlift 185 pounds with very little experience. It was very rewarding, and I decided to improve my performance by increasing my gym training.

I'd always been into rough and tumble as a child, especially because I had three brothers who treated me no differently for being a girl.

It was before Title IX, when girls were allowed to play competitive sports in school, but my parents recognized my aptitude for running early on.

They sued the local school district to let me participate in the boys' track and field program. It was ahead of its time, and the suit went nowhere.

A healthy diet was a priority

I got on a fast-pitch softball team while working in Arizona in my early to mid-20s. Then I started running and entering road races when they were still in their infancy and considered eccentric.

The training was hard, but it paid off. I received a stipend from Nike to help cover travel expenses.

I ran competitively for 20 years until my joints started hurting and I suffered stress fractures. I did a lot of bike riding to keep my cardiovascular fitness high without beating my body up as much.

Meanwhile, my diet was a priority. I made every effort to eat whole, organic, minimally processed food.

In my early 40s, I joined the Seattle Fire Department as a firefighter because it was diversifying to attract women. They let me go after a year, which knocked my confidence.

It was then that I decided to try yoga after buying VHS videos from the bookstore and copying the moves. My body felt great. After a few weeks, I realized it was helping change my inner state, too.

I particularly enjoyed hot yoga, qualified as an instructor, and did it for about 30 years. I stopped my regular sessions when chronic arthritis in both hips made them painful, but I still go to the yoga studio a few times a month.

I had arthritis in both my hips

It might sound strange given my history, but I didn't train at a formal gym until 71, when I enrolled in a body balance class near my home in Saxony, Germany, where I live for half the year.

A personal trainer showed me how to use the equipment, and it wasn't long before I was hooked.

Unfortunately, my arthritis got worse, and I underwent hip replacements in 2023 and 2025. I got a septic infection after the second surgery and stayed in the hospital for five days.

Still, the highlights from the Arnold Sports Festival motivated me to get well. Competitive power lifting seemed like an exciting new step in my recovery. I've enjoyed every contest I've entered so far and have been recording my journey on Instagram.

At the moment, I go to the gym 6 times a week, where I mix cardio and strength training. In addition to the occasional yoga class, I go to country and western line dancing three nights a week.

I've trained consistently for over 50 years

It's a great way to do 1,500 steps an hour — counting toward my goal of 10,000 steps a day — and incredibly social and fun.

My blended family of 5 kids and 10 grandchildren compliments me on my physique. I tell them I have a lot of muscle definition at my age because I've eaten well and trained consistently for over 50 years.

I think it makes them proud because not many people can make that claim.

• Ed Yardeni predicts that interest rate hikes are coming as soon as July.
• The Wall Street veteran says the bond market is signaling a hike is needed.
• The surge in yields comes as Kevin Warsh takes over as chair of the central bank.

The Federal Reserve is transitioning to new leadership, but the market's big question remains the same: are rates going up or down?

According to Wall Street veteragn Ed Yardeni, the answer is most likely up. The Yardeni Research president remains bullish on the broader US economy and the stock market, but thinks bond investors are sending a clear signal about interest rates.

"The Fed has clearly shown that they're dropping their easing bias they had in their April meeting, and moving not to a neutral bias, but to a tightening bias at the June meeting coming up in a few weeks," he told CNBC on Monday. "After that I think they have to follow up and actually show that they're willing to raise rates and do it by 25 basis points."

Yardeni said the bond market is signaling that a quick rate cut is necessary to show that Warsh and the Fed are taking inflation seriously. Consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in three years in April.

Bond yields, meanwhile, have surged. The 30-year Treasury yield on Tuesday touched the highest level since 2007, hitting 5.18%.

Yardeni attributed the steady rise in yields over the last few weeks to the perception that the central bank might be behind the curve on inflation.

And with former Fed chair Jerome Powell stepping down, all eyes are Warsh, who was hand picked by the appointed by a president who has made it clear he wants lower interest rates.

But Yardeni maintains that the Fed will follow the market and in this case, that means a 25 basis point hike in the near term.

"The two year is now indicating that the federal funds rate is too low," he said, adding that "it's a pretty good leading indicator of what the Fed should do, and very often it gets it right."

While he's calling for a hike amid concerning inflation data, Yardeni doesn't believe markets are headed for a brutal bear market decline like 2022, which was the last time the Fed hiked rates to bring inflation down.

"I think the stock market can handle a rate rise in the bond market well," he said.

When Joe Poynton went to the grocery store, he dutifully worked through his shopping list — before getting to the bottom and realizing he'd passed those items aisles ago.

The things he'd forgotten would taunt him from across the store, forcing him back to produce or pasta. The busy 44-year-old father — he's worked in the UK fire service for 20 years, where he handles daily emergencies — had resigned himself to suffering this mild inefficiency every time he went shopping.

No more. Poynton has finally fixed his grocery store problem — by building an app to optimize grocery runs based on how you navigate the store.

Poynton is part of a small but growing group of civilian coders: regular people who can solve daily annoyances and inefficiencies with their own hyper-specific programs. It's a practice called "vibe coding," and it doesn't involve programming skills. Poynton, for instance, has never taken a tech course. Instead, users chat with an AI bot like Claude or Lovable and tell it what they want to build — think of it as bossing around your very own eager-to-please programmer.

"I just started by saying, 'I'm brand new to this, treat me like an idiot. I don't know a single word of code. This is my vision. What's the steps that I need to take to get there?'" Poynton said.

To create the app, Poynton bounced between Claude and Gemini, using the two LLMs to troubleshoot each other. He began with a roughly $25 Gemini Pro subscription, which walked him through app development 101.

"I'm now lucky enough to have drifted into that period of life where I'm a little bit older, which means that I'm trying to be a little bit more creative in a whole range of aspects of my life," Poynton said.

Gemini talked him through each step, detailing what the process might cost and what software he'd need. He learned he'd need XCode, an Apple tool package for app developers, and have Gemini create files in Swift, the coding platform for Apple. His XCode, along with his app previews and icons, would have to go through the app review process before the app could go live.

"It was fun," Poynton said. "It's a bit like trying to write a book in a language that you don't speak, and I'm just doing it through a translator."

Since Claude had a better reputation for coding, Poynton uploaded his code to a free version and asked for feedback. Claude made tweaks and told him how it would do things differently, and he incorporated the new feedback. Gemini helped him take his iPad drawings from brainstorms into graphics. The entire process, which took place in spurts between work and other obligations, lasted about two to three months.

Now, his app is live in the Apple App Store and has become his trusted companion at any grocery store. Poynton didn't have to get his hands on any retailers' floor plans. Instead, the app dynamically learns the layout of shoppers' preferred stores by noting where they are when they check something off their list, and then sorts future lists with the newfound knowledge of where those items live.

"As I've used it over and over again, it's iteratively improving the knowledge of the store; it gets better as you use it," Poynton said. "It's nice to hold something in my hand to say that it's me that's created that, and it does a job."

For Poynton, vibe coding likely won't be a lucrative side hustle anytime soon. He thinks it would be "lovely" to have enough people download and pay for his app to make back his App Store developer fees of around $106. Ideally, he'd like it to be more visible on the app store — because grocery lists are such a crowded category, he believes his app is unlikely to surface for most shoppers. He's had a handful of downloads from family, friends, and Redditors.

"So far the reaction's been positive or at least encouraging," Poynton said. "This isn't going to sweep Silicon Valley by storm. It's a really basic idea and a basic execution, but it's satisfying to have something out there that my mom's used."

• The RIAA gives diamond certifications to songs that have gone at least 10x platinum.
• Artists like Drake, Post Malone, Rihanna, and The Weeknd have multiple diamond songs.
• "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen was the 200th song to be certified diamond.

The official diamond award was unveiled by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. In the years since, it has been bestowed sparingly: only if a song has sold at least 10 million equivalent units, combining sales and streaming numbers.

Crucially, an artist or label must also request certification through an application process, which can lead to a delay in updated sales figures.

Modern hitmakers like Rihanna, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, and Katy Perry boast more than one diamond song each. Drake has the most of any artist, followed by Post Malone. Imagine Dragons has the most among bands.

Keep reading for our list of the first 200 songs to be certified diamond by the RIAA, in chronological order of certification date.

Listen to the complete playlist on Business Insider's Spotify.

1. "Something About The Way You Look Tonight / Candle in the Wind" by Elton John

"Something About the Way You Look Tonight / Candle in the Wind" became the first-ever song to be certified diamond on October 9, 1997.

In fact, the RIAA recognized the song's multi-platinum success two years before the diamond award was officially established. It remains the only physical single in history to be certified diamond and the highest-certified song released in the '90s.

2. "Baby" by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris

"Baby" was certified diamond on May 9, 2013.

3. "Not Afraid" by Eminem

"Not Afraid" was certified diamond on June 10, 2014.

4. "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga

"Bad Romance" was certified diamond on May 29, 2015.

5. "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons

"Radioactive" was certified diamond on July 6, 2015.

6. "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

"Thrift Shop" was certified diamond on November 19, 2015.

7. "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga

"Poker Face" was certified diamond on November 30, 2015.

8. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen

"Call Me Maybe" was certified diamond on September 28, 2016.

9. "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

"Uptown Funk" was certified diamond on October 18, 2016.

10. "Roar" by Katy Perry

"Roar" was certified diamond on June 22, 2017.

11. "Royals" by Lorde

"Royals," Lorde's genre-defying breakout hit, was certified diamond on December 8, 2017.

12. "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor

"All About That Bass" was certified diamond on January 23, 2018.

13. "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber

"Despacito" was certified diamond on January 27, 2018.

14. "Firework" by Katy Perry

"Firework" was certified diamond on February 13, 2018.

15. "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

"Lose Yourself" was certified diamond on February 28, 2018.

16. "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna

"Love the Way You Lie" was certified diamond on February 28, 2018.

17. "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I.

"Blurred Lines" was certified diamond on June 6, 2018.

18. "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas

"I Gotta Feeling" was certified diamond on June 6, 2018.

19. "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock

"Party Rock Anthem" was certified diamond on June 6, 2018.

20. "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic

"Counting Stars" was certified diamond on August 20, 2018.

21. "Closer" by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey

"Closer" was certified diamond on September 17, 2018.

22. "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line

"Cruise" was certified diamond on October 10, 2018.

23. "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J

"Dark Horse" was certified diamond on December 12, 2018.

24. "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars

"Just the Way You Are" was certified diamond on January 11, 2019.

25. "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran

"Shape of You" was certified diamond on January 24, 2019.

26. "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran

"Thinking Out Loud" was certified diamond on February 8, 2019.

27. "We Are Young" by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

"We Are Young" was certified diamond on June 13, 2019.

28. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz

"I'm Yours" was certified diamond on June 24, 2019.

29. "The Hills" by The Weeknd

"The Hills" was certified diamond on June 28, 2019.

30. "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth

"See You Again" was certified diamond on September 24, 2019.

31. "God's Plan" by Drake

"God's Plan" was certified diamond on September 25, 2019.

32. "Congratulations" by Post Malone featuring Quavo

"Congratulations" was certified diamond on October 8, 2019.

33. "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

Lil Nas X's Grammy-winning hit "Old Town Road" holds the title as the fastest song to go diamond. It received the honor on October 22, 2019, less than one year after its original release.

34. "Trap Queen" by Fetty Wap

"Trap Queen" was certified diamond on November 8, 2019.

35. "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran

"Perfect" was certified diamond on December 20, 2019.

36. "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

"Shake It Off" was certified diamond on March 13, 2020, making Swift the first female artist in US history to have both a diamond-certified single and album (2008's "Fearless"). She has since added a second diamond album to her resume (2014's "1989").

37. "Happy" by Pharrell

"Happy" was certified diamond on May 6, 2020.

38. "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line

"Meant to Be" was certified diamond on August 17, 2020.

39. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars

"Grenade" was certified diamond on October 2, 2020.

40. "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People was certified diamond on October 13, 2020.

41. "All of Me" by John Legend

"All of Me" was certified diamond on October 13, 2020.

42. "Baby Shark" by Pinkfong

"Baby Shark" was certified diamond on November 5, 2020.

43. "Rockstar" by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage

"Rockstar" was certified diamond on November 9, 2020.

44. "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" by Post Malone and Swae Lee

"Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" was certified diamond on November 9, 2020.

45. "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith

"Stay With Me" was certified diamond on November 12, 2020.

46. "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus

"Party in the U.S.A." was certified diamond on December 7, 2020.

47. "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott featuring Drake

"Sicko Mode" was certified diamond on December 9, 2020.

48. "Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B

"Bodak Yellow" was certified diamond on March 8, 2021, making Cardi B the first female rapper in history to have a diamond-certified single.

49. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was certified diamond on March 25, 2021.

50. "Sorry" by Justin Bieber

"Sorry" was certified diamond on March 29, 2021.

51. "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train

"Hey, Soul Sister" was certified diamond on April 7, 2021.

52. "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain

"Low" was certified diamond on April 22, 2021.

53. "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots

"Stressed Out" was certified diamond on April 30, 2021.

54. "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra

"Somebody That I Used to Know," sometimes described as a one-hit wonder, was certified diamond on May 6, 2021.

55. "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars

"That's What I Like" was certified diamond on May 21, 2021.

56. "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars

"When I Was Your Man" was certified diamond on May 21, 2021, making Mars the first artist in history with five diamond-certified songs.

57. "Sail" by AWOLNATION

"Sail" was certified diamond on June 14, 2021.

58. "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5

"Moves Like Jagger" was certified diamond on July 1, 2021.

59. "Sad!" by XXXTentacion

"Sad!" was certified diamond on August 13, 2021.

60. "Demons" by Imagine Dragons

"Demons" was certified diamond on August 31, 2021.

61. "Believer" by Imagine Dragons

"Believer" was certified diamond on August 31, 2021.

62. "Lean On" by Major Lazer and DJ Snake featuring MØ

"Lean On" was certified diamond on September 17, 2021.

63. "Havana" by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug

"Havana" was certified diamond on October 4, 2021.

64. "Stronger" by Kanye West

"Stronger" was certified diamond on October 6, 2021.

65. "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj

"Super Bass" was certified diamond on November 9, 2021.

66. "Life Is Good" by Future featuring Drake

"Life Is Good" was certified diamond on November 22, 2021.

67. "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B

"Girls Like You" was certified diamond on November 29, 2021.

68. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" was certified diamond on December 3, 2021. The song continues to hit No. 1 on Billboard charts each holiday season.

69. "The Box" by Roddy Ricch

"The Box" was certified diamond on December 6, 2021.

70. "I Like It" by Cardi B featuring J Balvin and Bad Bunny

"I Like It" was certified diamond on December 13, 2021.

71. "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton

"Tennessee Whiskey" was certified diamond on December 14, 2021.

72. "Sugar" by Maroon 5

"Sugar" was certified diamond on January 11, 2022.

It marks Maroon 5's third diamond-certified song, putting the band on equal footing with the likes of Eminem, Ed Sheeran, and Cardi B.

73. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston

"I Will Always Love You" was certified diamond on January 12, 2022.

74. "Lucid Dreams" by Juice Wrld

"Lucid Dreams" was certified diamond on February 4, 2022.

75. "Location" by Khalid

"Location" was certified diamond on March 3, 2022.

76. "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri

"A Thousand Years" was certified diamond on March 3, 2022.

77. "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd

"Blinding Lights" was certified diamond on April 5, 2022. It's one of the most-streamed songs of all time.

78. "Starboy" by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk

"Starboy" was certified diamond on April 5, 2022.

79. "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha

"Timber" was certified diamond on June 23, 2022.

80. "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons

"Thunder" was certified diamond on July 7, 2022, marking Imagine Dragons' fourth diamond-certified song.

81. "Don't Let Me Down" by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya

"Don't Let Me Down" was certified diamond on July 11, 2022.

82. "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots

"Heathens" was certified diamond on July 22, 2022.

83. "Unforgettable" by French Montana featuring Swae Lee

"Unforgettable" was certified diamond on August 25, 2022.

84. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

"Billie Jean" was certified diamond on August 29, 2022.

85. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

"Thriller" was certified diamond on August 29, 2022.

86. "Drip Too Hard" by Lil Baby and Gunna

"Drip Too Hard" was certified diamond on September 12, 2022.

87. "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars

"Locked Out of Heaven" was certified diamond on October 1, 2022.

88. "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton

"Can't Hold Us" was certified diamond on October 14, 2022.

89. "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker

"Wagon Wheel" was certified diamond on October 27, 2022.

90. "Something Just Like This" by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay

"Something Just Like This" was certified diamond on November 2, 2022.

91. "Psycho" by Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign

"Psycho" was certified diamond on November 14, 2022.

92. "White Iverson" by Post Malone

"White Iverson" was certified diamond on November 14, 2022.

93. "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd

"Can't Feel My Face" was certified diamond on December 6, 2022.

94. "Hotline Bling" by Drake

"Hotline Bling" was certified diamond on December 8, 2022.

95. "One Dance" by Drake

"One Dance" was certified diamond on December 8, 2022.

96. "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major

"Lollipop" was certified diamond on December 14, 2022.

97. "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" by Kid Cudi featuring MGMT and Ratatat

"Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" was certified diamond on December 15, 2022.

98. "XO Tour Llif3" by Lil Uzi Vert

"XO Tour Llif3" was certified diamond on December 7, 2022.

99. "Fireflies" by Owl City

"Fireflies" was certified diamond on January 25, 2023. It's also one of the few solo-written No. 1 songs in this century.

100. "Without Me" by Halsey

"Without Me" was certified diamond on February 1, 2023.

101. "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur

"Say You Won't Let Go" was certified diamond on February 15, 2023.

102. "Earned It" by The Weeknd

"Earned It" was certified diamond on February 16, 2023.

Although it was released as the lead single from the "Fifty Shades of Grey" film soundtrack, "Earned It" was also included on The Weeknd's sophomore studio album "Beauty Behind the Madness." It's the first album in history to have three diamond-certified songs on its tracklist.

103. "Take Me to Church" by Hozier

"Take Me to Church" was certified diamond on March 15, 2023.

104. "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga

"Just Dance" was certified diamond on April 12, 2023.

105. "Need You Now" by Lady A

"Need You Now" was certified diamond on April 17, 2023.

106. "Sweater Weather" by The Neighbourhood

"Sweater Weather" was certified diamond on April 19, 2023.

107. "Better Now" by Post Malone

"Better Now" was certified diamond on April 20, 2023.

108. "I Fall Apart" by Post Malone

"I Fall Apart" was certified diamond on April 20, 2023.

109. "Circles" by Post Malone

"Circles" was certified diamond on April 20, 2023.

110. "We Found Love" by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

"We Found Love" was certified diamond on April 27, 2023.

111. "Beautiful Crazy" by Luke Combs

"Beautiful Crazy" was certified diamond on June 12, 2023.

112. "Ni**as in Paris" by Jay-Z and Kanye West

"Ni**as in Paris" was certified diamond on June 12, 2023.

113. "Wake Me Up" by Avicii

"Wake Me Up" was certified diamond on June 16, 2023.

114. "Fuck Love" by XXXTentacion featuring Trippie Redd

"Fuck Love" was certified diamond on June 18, 2023.

115. "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg

"California Gurls" was certified diamond on June 21, 2023.

116. "Stay" by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber

"Stay" was certified diamond on June 23, 2023.

117. "No Hands" by Waka Flocka Flame featuring Wale and Roscoe Dash

"No Hands" was certified diamond on July 20, 2023.

118. "Riptide" by Vance Joy

"Riptide" was certified diamond on July 27, 2023.

119. "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish

"Bad Guy," widely considered Billie Eilish's signature hit, was certified diamond on July 31, 2023.

120. "Body Like a Back Road" by Sam Hunt

"Body Like a Back Road" was certified diamond on August 1, 2023.

121. "In da Club" by 50 Cent

"In da Club" was certified diamond on November 1, 2023.

122. "Levitating" by Dua Lipa

"Levitating," arguably Dua Lipa's most acclaimed song, was certified diamond on November 6, 2023.

123. "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi

"Someone You Loved" was certified diamond on November 8, 2023.

124. "Young Dumb & Broke" by Khalid

"Young Dumb & Broke" was certified diamond on December 6, 2023.

125. "Heaven" by Kane Brown

"Heaven" was certified diamond on December 7, 2023.

126. "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers

"Mr. Brightside" was certified diamond on January 12, 2024.

127. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

"Don't Stop Believin'" was certified diamond on January 26, 2024.

128. "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris

"Yeah!" was certified diamond on February 9, 2024. Mere days later, the song received a major boost in streaming after Usher's Super Bowl halftime show.

129. "In The End" by Linkin Park

"In The End" was certified diamond on February 27, 2024.

130. "In Case You Didn't Know" by Brett Young

"In Case You Didn't Know" was certified diamond on March 19, 2024.

131. "Diamonds" by Rihanna

"Diamonds" was certified diamond on April 22, 2024.

132. "Wow." by Post Malone

"Wow." was certified diamond on April 23, 2024, becoming Post Malone's ninth diamond single.

Malone has the second-most diamond-certified songs, trailing Drake's all-time record.

133. "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel

"Let It Go" was certified diamond on May 13, 2024.

134. "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj

"Bang Bang" was certified diamond on May 23, 2024.

135. "Needed Me" by Rihanna

"Needed Me" was certified diamond on May 31, 2024.

136. "Work" by Rihanna

"Work" was certified diamond on May 31, 2024. The song includes a Drake feature.

137. "Umbrella" by Rihanna

"Umbrella" was certified diamond on May 31, 2024.

138. "Stay" by Rihanna

"Stay" was certified diamond on May 31, 2024, becoming Rihanna's seventh diamond single.

She holds the record among female artists, trailing Post Malone and Drake for the all-time record.

Rihanna reacted to the historic news on X, writing, "ain't no back n forth."

139. "Give Me Everything" by Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer

"Give Me Everything" was certified diamond on June 6, 2024.

140. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals

"Heat Waves" was certified diamond on June 6, 2024.

141. "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd

"Save Your Tears" was certified diamond on June 20, 2024.

142. "Die For You" by The Weeknd

"Die For You" was certified diamond on June 20, 2024, becoming The Weeknd's seventh diamond single.

He is tied with Rihanna and Bruno Mars for the third-most in history.

143. "Drowning" by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie featuring Kodak Black

"Drowning" was certified diamond on June 25, 2024.

144. "E.T." by Katy Perry

"E.T." was certified diamond on July 1, 2024.

145. "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry

"Teenage Dream" was certified diamond on July 1, 2024, becoming Katy Perry's sixth diamond single.

"Teenage Dream" was released as a single from Perry's beloved 2010 album of the same name, along with "Firework," "California Gurls," and "E.T" — the first and only album to have four diamond-certified songs on its tracklist.

146. "Chandelier" by Sia

"Chandelier" was certified diamond on July 3, 2024.

147. "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC

"Thunderstruck" was certified diamond on July 8, 2024.

148. "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi

"Livin' on a Prayer" was certified diamond on July 23, 2024.

149. "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

"Empire State of Mind" was certified diamond on July 24, 2024.

150. "Middle Child" by J. Cole

"Middle Child" was certified diamond on July 24, 2024.

151. "When It Rains It Pours" by Luke Combs

"When It Rains It Pours" was certified diamond on August 14, 2024.

152. "Hurricane" by Luke Combs

"Hurricane" was certified diamond on August 14, 2024.

153. "No One" by Alicia Keys

"No One" was certified diamond on August 16, 2024.

154. "Happier" by Marshmello featuring Bastille

"Happier" was certified diamond on August 19, 2024.

155. "Goosebumps" by Travis Scott

"Goosebumps" was certified diamond on August 28, 2024.

156. "Love Me" by Lil Wayne featuring Drake and Future

"Love Me" was certified diamond on September 30, 2024.

157. "No Guidance" by Chris Brown featuring Drake

"No Guidance," a controversial collaboration between Chris Brown and Drake, was certified diamond on November 12, 2024.

158. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls

"Iris" was certified diamond on November 15, 2024.

159. "Starships" by Nicki Minaj

"Starships" was certified diamond on November 18, 2024.

160. "Lovely" by Billie Eilish and Khalid

"Lovely" was certified diamond on November 18, 2024.

161. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was certified diamond on December 6, 2024.

162. "No Role Modelz" by J. Cole

"No Role Modelz" was certified diamond on December 10, 2024.

163. "Hey Ya!" by Outkast

"Hey Ya!" was certified diamond on December 13, 2024.

164. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" by Beyoncé

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" was certified diamond on December 17, 2024.

165. "Halo" by Beyoncé

"Halo" was certified diamond on December 17, 2024.

166. "Ride" by Twenty One Pilots

"Ride" was certified diamond on January 7, 2025.

167. "7 Rings" by Ariana Grande

"7 Rings," the biggest hit from Grande's album "Thank U, Next," was certified diamond on February 14, 2025.

168. "What Ifs" by Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina

"What Ifs" was certified diamond on February 26, 2025.

169. "Whats Poppin" by Jack Harlow

"Whats Poppin" was certified diamond on March 13, 2025.

170. "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes

"Look at Me Now" was certified diamond on May 5, 2025.

171. "Best I Ever Had" by Drake

"Best I Ever Had" was certified diamond on May 28, 2025.

172. "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake

"Hold On, We're Going Home," the biggest hit from Drake's third album, "Nothing Was the Same," was certified diamond on May 28, 2025.

173. "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas

"Boom Boom Pow" was certified diamond on June 6, 2025.

174. "Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane

"Black Beatles" was certified diamond on June 6, 2025.

175. "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs

"She Got the Best of Me" was certified diamond on June 13, 2025.

176. "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan

"Something in the Orange" was certified diamond on July 15, 2025.

177. "Die a Happy Man" by Thomas Rhett

"Die a Happy Man" was certified diamond on July 21, 2025.

178. "How to Save a Life" by The Fray

"How to Save a Life" was certified diamond on August 13, 2025.

179. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey

"A Bar Song (Tipsy)," Shaboozey's breakout hit, was certified diamond on September 15, 2025, just over one year after its release.

180. "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco

"High Hopes" was certified diamond on October 2, 2025.

181. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! At the Disco

"I Write Sins Not Tragedies" was certified diamond on October 2, 2025.

182. "Exchange" by Bryson Tiller

"Exchange" was certified diamond on October 2, 2025.

183. "Don't" by Bryson Tiller

"Don't" was certified diamond on October 2, 2025.

184. "Rude" by Magic!

"Rude" was certified diamond on October 15, 2025.

185. "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars

"The Lazy Song" was certified diamond on October 17, 2025, becoming Mars' seventh diamond single.

He is tied with Rihanna and The Weeknd for the third-most in history.

186. "Nonstop" by Drake

"Nonstop" was certified diamond on October 24, 2025.

187. "Passionfruit" by Drake

"Passionfruit" was certified diamond on October 24, 2025.

188. "Headlines" by Drake

"Headlines" was certified diamond on October 24, 2025.

189. "The Motto" by Drake featuring Lil Wayne

"The Motto" was certified diamond on October 24, 2025.

190. "Nice for What" by Drake

"Nice for What" was certified diamond on October 24, 2025, becoming Drake's 15th diamond single (including collaborations) and extending his record.

191. "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood

"Before He Cheats" was certified diamond on October 30, 2025.

192. "Airplanes" by B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams

"Airplanes" was certified diamond on October 31, 2025.

193. "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" by Train

"Drops of Jupiter" was certified diamond on November 13, 2025.

194. "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry

"If I Die Young" was certified diamond on November 19, 2025.

`195. "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims

"Lose Control" was certified diamond on November 21, 2025.

196. "Or Nah (Remix)" by Ty Dolla Sign featuring Wiz Khalifa, DJ Mustard, and The Weeknd

The remix to "Or Nah" was certified diamond on December 16, 2025.

197. "Wasted on You" by Morgan Wallen

"Wasted on You" was certified diamond on December 16, 2025.

198. "Whiskey Glasses" by Morgan Wallen

"Whiskey Glasses" was certified diamond on December 16, 2025.

199. "Chasin' You" by Morgan Wallen

"Chasin' You" was also certified diamond on December 16, 2025.

200. "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen

And the 200th song to be certified diamond in RIAA history was "Last Night" on December 16, 2025.

• After going on over 26 cruises and working as a travel planner, I've mastered my packing list.
• Pack portable fans and reusable water bottles, especially if you're headed to a tropical place.
• I'd suggest leaving hair dryers and beach towels at home, since the ship often provides both.

Some of my favorite vacations of all time have been cruises.

I've taken more than 26 of them and have spent years helping others arrange them in my work as a travel planner.

Over time, I've optimized my packing list to include the best things to bring on a cruise that can make a trip even better. If you're looking to save space in your suitcase, I have suggestions for items you can leave behind, too.

A small portable fan can be a lifesaver at night.

Cruise-ship rooms are typically air-conditioned, but they can get a little warm when everyone's in there sleeping.

So, I always bring a small portable fan to set up on my side table. It helps keep me cool at night and brings some white noise into the room.

Make sure it's battery-operated, as there are usually limited outlets in a cabin.

Pro tip: Your local camping-goods store is a great place to find these fans.

A hanging toiletry bag is key when there's limited counter space.

It's no secret that most cruise-ship rooms are on the smaller side, especially the bathrooms.

To keep my things organized, I always bring a hanging toiletry bag.

I typically hang it on the back of the bathroom door or nearby for easy access. This way, I don't need to use much counter space for all of my toiletries.

Outlet adapters with USB ports come in handy when everyone's trying to charge their phone.

Cruise cabins typically have limited outlets and USB ports, which may not be enough to charge all of your family's electronics.

Most cruise lines don't allow travelers to bring power strips on board because they can pose a safety hazard. However, I like to bring a single outlet adapter with USB ports so I can charge everything we need without overloading the cabin's electrical system.

It's helpful to bring a lanyard for your room key.

You have to take your room key out quite a bit on a cruise, and I've found the easiest way to carry it is on a lanyard. 

You can keep it around your neck or in your bag for easy access. If you forgot to bring a lanyard, you can always buy one on board.

Magnetic hooks can be helpful for organizing a room.

Magnetic hooks are one of my favorite ways to maximize space on a cruise.

Cabins typically have tons of magnetic surfaces where I can stick these hooks to hang bags, hats, and toiletry cases. 

You can also use these to hang signs on your door, which is a great way to personalize your room so you can pick it out easily in a hallway full of identical doors. 

Sunscreen and aloe are absolutely essential when you're out on the water all day.

You'll definitely need sunscreen on a cruise — especially if you're going to the Caribbean or a sunny destination.

You can purchase it on board, but it'll typically cost you much more on the ship than at your local drugstore.

Be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen, as you should be reapplying quite a bit. And when all else fails, bring some aloe for after-sun care. 

Towel clips are super helpful for combating ocean breezes.

It can get a little breezy on the pool deck even on the calmest days at sea, so towel clips are my go-to for keeping my beach towels from blowing away.

It's also a great way to remember where your lounge chair is when the deck gets crowded.

You probably won't have access to an iron, so wrinkle-release spray is helpful.

Cruise-ship rooms don't typically have irons, and travelers aren't allowed to bring them on board.

You can usually pay to have your clothes ironed on board, but I find wrinkle-release spray is a cheaper, easier solution.

I simply spray my clothes with this as I unpack my suitcase, and the wrinkles disappear. 

It's helpful to have some cash with you.

I bring small bills with me on every cruise so I can tip anyone who I feel went above and beyond during my trip. It can also come in handy at ports — a lot of local markets and eateries can be cash-only.

Rooms usually have safes, so you don't have to worry about carrying a lot of money with you all day.

Reusable water bottles help keep me hydrated.

Cruise lines typically offer complimentary water, tea, and juice to all travelers.

I like bringing my own reusable water bottle with me as the provided cups on board can be small. This keeps me from going back and forth a lot for refills, and I always know which drink is mine.

The sea air will also dry you out, so it's important to stay hydrated. 

Pro tip: If you forget your water bottle, you can usually buy a refillable drink cup on board.

On the other hand, I never pack my own towels.

You don't need to bring beach towels on a cruise as they're typically provided on the pool deck.

Generally, you can get fresh towels at any time and even take them off the ship when you visit islands — just don't forget to return them.

Leave the blow dryer at home.

Like at a hotel, the hair dryers provided in each room are pretty basic, but they'll get the job done.

If you want a full blowout, treat yourself in the onboard spa — after all, you're on vacation. 

This story was originally published on June 11, 2023, and most recently updated on May 19, 2026.

• Commencement speakers have been booed for their advice on AI, revealing a backlash against the tech.
• Some Gen Zers' excitement about AI has declined, with a recent survey showing rising anger.
• AI anxiety is affecting culture, too, sparking a shift toward old tech and going analog.

Corporate America and Silicon Valley have been taught a new lesson: don't praise AI during a commencement speech unless you're OK with getting booed at by students.

AI anxiety is growing and, in some cases, it's boiling over into public backlash. The 2026 graduation season has seen speakers at commencement ceremonies, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, get booed when they mention AI.

This backlash is highlighting a gulf between people who feel technology offers new opportunities and the Gen Z audience, which is growing increasingly anxious about what AI means for their future.

Fear of AI taking jobs

There is evidence that some Gen Z attitudes toward AI have grown increasingly negative.

A survey from earlier this year, conducted by the Walton Family Foundation, GSV Ventures, and Gallup, and sampling 1,572 14‑ to 29‑year‑olds, found that Gen Z's excitement toward AI has dropped 14% over the past year, while feelings of anger toward these tools have risen.

The grad job market has steadily worsened since 2023 after a hiring surge in the years immediately after the pandemic.

Some recent grads have told Business Insider they have been searching for months for full-time jobs after college, and resentment has been brewing among young people who chose their majors before the rise of generative AI.

That frustration has likely only deepened as companies increasingly cite AI as a reason for layoffs.

A survey conducted by AI company Writer and research firm Workplace Intelligence, published in April, found that 29% of employees — including 44% of Gen Z — said they had undermined or resisted their company's AI strategy.

The survey included 1,200 C-suite executives and 1,200 employees across the US, UK, and Europe.

Among those who said they had worked against their company's AI strategy, some said they did so because they didn't want AI to take over their jobs.

Deal with it

Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta's word of advice to grads about AI? Deal with it.

That was his response when grads at Middle Tennessee State University booed him for saying that AI is rewriting production. "You can hear me now, or you can pay me later," he added.

Some young people do resonate with Borchetta's sentiment. Some Gen Zers say AI is enabling them to advance more quickly in their career, for example.

While negative feelings toward AI are increasing, over half of 14- to 29-year-olds say they use AI daily or weekly, according to the study by the Walton Family Foundation, GSV Ventures, and Gallup.

But it's clear the mood toward AI has shifted.

AI anxiety is affecting culture, too — it has sparked a nostalgia for old tech and helped propel a trend toward going analog.

"OK, I struck a chord," was what speaker and real estate exec Gloria Caulfield said when she heard the boos from the audience at the University of Central Florida's spring commencement.

If you are a Gen Zer with a story to share, please contact this reporter via email at rshahidi@insider.com or Signal at @royashahidi.36. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• People move countries for reasons including work opportunities and better living conditions.
• Countries with the highest positive net migration per capita include Ukraine, the UAE, and Qatar.
• Eastern European countries and small island nations have seen large negative net migration rates.

Thanks to war, political conditions, and economic hardship, mass migration has become a significant occurrence in many regions of the world.

The US recorded a net gain of about 1.2 million migrants in 2025, according to the World Bank Group. But when evaluating each country's net migration rate as a share of its population, the US ranks 25th in the world.

The World Bank Group gathered data on the total number of people who entered or left each country's population in 2025, including both citizens and noncitizens, from UN Population Division figures.

Using World Bank Group data and the United Nations Population Fund's 2025 estimates, Business Insider calculated net migration as a share of each country's population to better compare rates between nations. We didn't include countries with populations under 100,000, as well as territories and autonomous regions such as Hong Kong.

We then identified the countries with the 15 highest positive net migration rates per capita, and the 15 highest negative rates.

Many countries at the top can attribute high net migration rates to economic development and state incentives to increase immigration. Some Middle Eastern countries, for example, are attracting migrants, especially high-income individuals, because of their rapid economic development.

At the other end of the list, economic reasons were often the biggest motivators for people departing a country. Organizations such as The Borgen Project, an antipoverty nonprofit, and the migration organization The Prague Process frequently cite economic struggles and employment as factors in Eastern European emigration.

Refugees from war also contributed to countries' net migration rates. Some war-afflicted countries saw spikes in net migration as people returned home, while other countries that previously took in refugees recorded declines in net migration for the same reason.

See the 15 countries with the biggest migration gains per capita in 2025, and the 15 with the biggest losses.

1. Ukraine's net migration gain in 2025 was equivalent to 4.4% of its population.

Ukraine saw a net migration gain of roughly 1.7 million people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 39 million.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that many people displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war have returned to their homes, likely contributing to Ukraine's net migration gain.

2. Oman's net migration gain was equivalent to 2.1% of its population.

Oman saw a net migration gain of roughly 114,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 5.5 million.

Economic factors, such as a new 10-year residency program launched by Oman's Ministry of Commerce in September 2025, provide incentives for investors to move to the country, per Invest Oman.

3. Syria's net migration gain was equivalent to 1.6% of its population.

Syria saw a net migration gain of roughly 422,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 25.6 million.

Many Syrians are returning home after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, contributing to the significant net migration numbers, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

4. The United Arab Emirates' net migration gain was equivalent to 1.4% of its population in 2025.

The UAE saw a net migration gain of roughly 159,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 11.4 million.

Many wealthy individuals are moving to the UAE for economic opportunities, but according to NYU Abu Dhabi researcher Anju Mary Paul, the country is an attractive destination for lower-income migrants as well. In a series of studies, Paul found that many migrants moved to the UAE for the country's lifestyle, religious tolerance, and other factors.

5. Seychelles' net migration gain was equivalent to 1.2% of its population in 2025.

Seychelles saw a net migration gain of roughly 1,600 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 130,000.

While the islands off the eastern coast of Africa are a popular tourist destination, Seychelles also attracts migrants for employment and investment reasons, according to IOM.

6. Qatar's net migration gain was equivalent to 1.2% of its population in 2025.

Qatar saw a net migration gain of roughly 36,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 3.1 million.

Like the UAE, Qatar is attracting a lot of wealthy individuals. The Qatar Financial Centre predicted the Persian Gulf country will soon be among the top 10 countries in the world for high-net-worth individuals looking to move.

7. Bahrain's net migration gain was equivalent to 1.1% of its population in 2025.

Bahrain saw a net migration gain of roughly 18,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 1.6 million people.

A high number of foreign migrants work in Bahrain, making up about half of the country's population, Al Jazeera reported.

8. Malta's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.9% of its population in 2025.

Malta saw a net migration gain of roughly 5,200 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 550,000.

Malta also employs a high number of migrant workers, per The Borgen Project.

9. Kuwait's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.9% of its population in 2025.

Kuwait saw a net migration gain of roughly 43,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 5 million.

The majority of Kuwait's workforce is made up of foreign migrants, and migrant workers face restrictive conditions under the country's visa sponsorship system, Human Rights Watch reported.

10. Canada's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.8% of its population in 2025.

Canada saw a net migration gain of roughly 326,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 40 million.

Canada's government has long sought to increase immigration to the country, developing plans to seek out refugees and increase the number of permanent Canadian residents, though it has recently lowered immigration targets, per Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.

11. Luxembourg's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.8% of its population in 2025.

Luxembourg saw a net migration gain of roughly 5,200 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 680,000.

While Luxembourg's birth rate remains low, the high net migration rate continues to be the country's biggest factor in population growth, RTL Today reported. The majority of new arrivals to the country come from Portugal and France.

12. Iceland's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.7% of its population in 2025.

Iceland saw a net migration gain of roughly 2,700 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 400,000.

According to IOM, Iceland welcomes immigrants "as a valuable source of tourism, work force and an addition to the gene pool."

13. Ireland's net migration gain was equivalent to 0.7% of its population in 2025.

Ireland saw a net migration gain of roughly 35,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 5.3 million.

Ireland has taken in a significant number of Ukrainian refugees since the war started. Per the BBC, "Between March and December 2022 almost 68,000 people arrived in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive."

In 2026, Ireland's government is seeking ways to facilitate the refugees' return to Ukraine, including potential financial support, The Irish Times reported.

14. The Netherlands' net migration gain was equivalent to 0.6% of its population in 2025.

The Netherlands saw a net migration gain of roughly 105,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 18.4 million.

While migration from the rest of Europe to the Netherlands is down, the country takes in a high influx from Asia, particularly from Syria and Iraq, per Statistics Netherlands.

15. Cyprus' net migration gain was equivalent to 0.6% of its population in 2025.

Cyprus had a net migration gain of roughly 7,700 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 1.4 million.

The Migration Partnership Facility cites the island nation's close proximity to the Middle East as a key factor in its high net migration.

173. St. Vincent and the Grenadines' net migration loss was equivalent to 0.7% of its population in 2025.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw a net migration loss of roughly 700 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 100,000.

While the net migration rate in the country still remains in the negative, it has been slowing and inching towards a positive rate since the 1970s.

174. Poland's net migration loss was equivalent to 0.9% of its population in 2025.

Poland saw a net migration loss of roughly 331,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 38.1 million.

Per The Prague Process, the main incentives for people to leave include employment opportunities, better pay, and better social benefits in other countries.

175. Lithuania's net migration loss was equivalent to 0.9% of its population in 2025.

Lithuania saw a net migration loss of roughly 24,600 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 2.8 million.

A Vilnius University report found that unemployment and income inequality in Lithuania were among the biggest factors for people leaving.

176. Albania's net migration loss was equivalent to 0.9% of its population in 2025.

Albania saw a net migration loss of roughly 24,200 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 2.8 million.

Most emigrants' motives for leaving the country are similar to those in Lithuania, per the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, including a "lack of prospects in Albania."

177. Armenia's net migration loss was equivalent to 1% of its population in 2025.

Armenia saw a net migration loss of roughly 29,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 3 million.

Per the Prague Process, Armenian migrant workers most commonly seek work in nearby Russia on a temporary basis.

178. Moldova's net migration loss was equivalent to 1% of its population in 2025.

Moldova saw a net migration loss of roughly 30,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 3 million.

As in other Eastern European countries, economic factors are the main driver of emigration. The majority of Moldovan emigrants have indicated they'd return to their home country if economic conditions improved, according to the Eurasian Research Institute.

179. Estonia's net migration loss was equivalent to 1% of its population in 2025.

Estonia saw a net migration loss of roughly 13,300 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 1.3 million.

Estonia had seen a positive net migration rate from the mid-2010s through 2024. One factor in the recent decline is that the Baltic country saw a spike in 2022 from Ukrainian refugees, but now many are returning home.

Per Visit Ukraine Today, Estonia accepted 89,000 refugees at the beginning of the war, and 25,000 remain in the country today.

180. Micronesia's net migration loss was equivalent to 1% of its population in 2025.

Micronesia saw a net migration loss of roughly 1,100 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 110,000.

Micronesia, consisting of hundreds of small islands in Oceania, faces an "almost complete lack of economic development," per IOM, leading to heavy migration.

On average, roughly a third of people born on the islands live outside of the country.

181. Czechia's net migration loss was equivalent to 1.1% of its population in 2025.

Czechia saw a net migration loss of roughly 112,200 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 10.6 million.

While the World Bank Group found a net migration loss, this differs from preliminary data from the Czech Statistical Office. In the first quarter of 2025, Czechia did report negative net migration, citing a high number of people whose residence permits and international protection had expired. However, Czechia reported positive net migration for 2025 overall.

The estimates from the World Bank Group and the Czech government may differ due to different methods, definitions, or timeframes.

182. Kosovo's net migration loss was equivalent to 1.1% of its population in 2025.

Kosovo saw a net migration loss of roughly 18,400 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 1.7 million people.

The rate of emigration from Kosovo has slowed in recent years, but still outweighs the rate of immigration to the country.

183. Nepal's net migration loss was equivalent to 1.2% of its population in 2025.

Nepal saw a net migration loss of roughly 360,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 29.6 million.

An increasing number of young people in Nepal are emigrating for education and work opportunities, per the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

184. Samoa's net migration loss was equivalent to 1.3% of its population in 2025.

Samoa saw a net migration loss of roughly 2,800 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 220,000.

Samoa has seen a negative net migration rate for every year of the World Bank Group's data, dating back to 1960. Emigration rates are high in Samoa among individuals aged 15-24, The Borgen Project reported, citing a 2022 report from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics.

185. Montenegro's net migration loss was equivalent to 1.5% of its population in 2025.

Montenegro saw a net migration loss of roughly 9,300 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 630,000.

Per the Prague Process, family reunification is the main motive for 24% of emigrants, second only to economic factors, the primary reason cited by 49% of emigrants.

186. Tonga's net migration loss was equivalent to 2.2% of its population in 2025.

Tonga saw a net migration loss of roughly 2,200 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 100,000.

Per the Borgen Project, about half of Tongans live abroad as of 2017.

187. Jordan's net migration loss was equivalent to 2.6% of its population in 2025.

Jordan saw a net migration loss of roughly 300,000 people in 2025. The country's estimated population is approximately 11.5 million.

The New Arab reported economic factors, anxiety among Jordan's youth, and a decline of public freedoms as contributing to the desire to emigrate from the country.

• I'm in my 30s, and I've moved a lot, living in cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
• I've found it easier to connect with women decades older than me in every city I've lived in.
• These friendships with older women have shaped how I've navigated major life transitions.

I'm in my early 30s, but in every place I've lived, many of my closest friendships haven't been with people my own age.

I've lived in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and now Seattle, and each move meant rebuilding my community from scratch. Making friends as an adult didn't come easily for me. It often felt like people already had established circles, and breaking into them was always harder than I expected.

Over time, I started to notice a pattern. The friendships that came most naturally and lasted the longest weren't with peers, but with women decades older than me.

In each city, I seemed to immediately click and connect with older women

I met one of these friends in Los Angeles through my job. She was my manager at the university where I worked, and she lived within walking distance of my apartment, so our relationship quickly grew beyond the office.

Even after I moved, we stayed in touch and eventually became pen pals, something I still treasure.

In Philadelphia, I met a woman through a professional group who also lived nearby. Having both proximity and a shared line of work made it easy for our friendship to take shape, and she quickly became one of my most meaningful connections in the city.

By the time I moved to Seattle, I noticed the pattern repeating itself. I met one of my closest friends through my church. Despite our age gap, we connected almost immediately — perhaps because we share a similar quiet nature.

What started as a simple coffee invitation turned into one of my most consistent friendships here.

Looking back, what stands out most is how naturally these relationships developed compared to the friendships I tried to build with people my own age.

These intergenerational friendships offered stability and perspective I struggled to find elsewhere

In each new city, these friends gave me a sense of steadiness. Many of my younger peers in Seattle eventually moved away for new opportunities or to be closer to family, which is often part of that stage of life.

My older friends, on the other hand, were more rooted in their communities and have remained part of my life even after I moved on.

They've also been present during some of the biggest transitions in my life. In Los Angeles, one friend was there through the early years of my career and saw my relationship with my now husband from the beginning, eventually celebrating with us at our wedding.

In Philadelphia, a close friend collaborated with me on projects that helped grow my career and introduced me to others in her network. Even after moving, I've made a point to see both of them in person, which says a lot about the kind of bond we built.

Now, as I navigate motherhood, my friend in Seattle offers a different kind of perspective. Even though she isn't a parent herself, she's been a steady presence in my life and reminds me to maintain my independence and not lose myself entirely in the role.

They also helped fill the gap of living far from my family

After moving out at 18, I felt a distance from the kind of close, everyday family connection many of my peers seemed to have. There was no tension between my family and me — it simply felt like it was my time to leave home.

Still, even when I lived just a couple of hours away in college, I sometimes wished I could drop in and see my mom the way some of my friends could.

That feeling became more noticeable when I moved farther from Wisconsin to Los Angeles. Looking back, I sometimes wonder if that's part of why I connected so easily with my Midwestern-born manager there. She had a warmth that reminded me of home.

Over time, I realized these friendships helped bridge that distance in a way I hadn't expected. They were never a replacement for my family, but they offered a version of the closeness I sometimes missed.

In every city I've lived in, those friendships have made starting over feel a little less lonely.

• The oil market could reach a grim turning point in the next few weeks, HFI Research says.
• The firm sees "real panic" hitting crude markets as oil inventories run out.
• Previously, it speculated that panic buying and hoarding could send crude prices past $150 a barrel.

Market watchers have puzzled over the reasons for oil's resilience in recent weeks, but things could be about to change for the worse, one research firm is warning.

HFI Research, an investment research firm with a focus on energy markets, said it sees the oil market hitting a major turning point in the first week of June. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through that time, oil markets will likely descend into "real panic," it said, suggesting that nations around the world could start panic-buying and hoarding oil as oil inventories hit rock bottom.

The scenario — which HFI said wasn't its base-case — is contrary to where most forecasters think the crude market is headed. The firm pointed to more optimistic oil forecasts about how the market would soon normalize, but those predictions are likely fueled by "psychological biases" in the oil market, it said.

"It seems clear to me that if the Strait of Hormuz is still closed by the first week of June, we will see real panic," the firm wrote in a Substack post on Monday of the coming turning point in markets.

"Sellside is still assuming some return to normality by June to avoid tank bottom, but the math is what it is."

Oil prices have spiked to a three-year high as markets weigh the severity of the supply disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has remained solidly above the $100 mark for most of the past month, a testament to the scale of the disruption, even as the conflict appears at a standstill for now.

Markets have been shielded from greater pain stemming from the supply disruption, largely due to the US and other nations drawing down their excess crude stores.

In late April, HFI predicted that the US would deplete its oil stocks within 8 weeks, implying it would run out of excess supply by the end of June.

The US had 1.6 billion barrels of oil and petroleum products in its stocks the week ending May 8, down 67 million from levels at the start of April, according to the latest update from the Energy Information Agency.

HFI Research said it believes the oil market had already hit a "breaking point," and could eventually enter a vicious cycle where extreme supply shortages spark panic-buying and hoarding. It didn't have a concrete price forecast, but in previous posts, speculated that crude prices rising past $150 a barrel was possible.

"So yes, we are going to break records," the firm wrote on Monday. "The barrels lost all but guarantee a higher oil price setup."

• The AI boom bears a striking resemblance to the dot-com bubble, Michael Burry says.
• The "Big Short" investor ticked off his concerns in a Substack post and chat thread.
• "It is just an asset bubble, plain and simple," Burry wrote.

Michael Burry says the AI boom is a dead ringer for the dot-com bubble.

The investor of "The Big Short" dissected the two periods in a Substack post and discussion thread this week. He also cast doubt on whether AI will live up to its heady billing.

"History is not a perfect guide, but I see so many indicators both technical and fundamental lining up for the same conclusion," Burry told his subscribers on Substack Chat.

"1999 went where no market had gone before, and I would say so can this one," he continued. "It is already there on a number of indicators."

Burry — who shot to fame after his prescient bet on a housing crash was chronicled in the book and movie "The Big Short" — wrote in his Substack post that he'd purchased more shares of Adobe, PayPal, and Lululemon.

"These stocks are part of the mass whale fall happening away from the main spectacle," he wrote. "In 1999 this happened too. The old economy and international stuff just got ditched in favor of the All-American bubble."

Burry then laid out how AI is absorbing huge amounts of early-stage capital and debt issuance. He cited Apollo's Torsten Slok, who wrote in a recent note that 87% of venture capital funding has flowed into AI this year, whereas that figure was less than 40% for internet companies in 1999.

The value investor, who pivoted from running a hedge fund to writing on Substack late last year, also noted that a similar proportion of junk-bond issuance is linked to AI as was related to the tech, media, and telecom industries in 2000.

"High yield debt at 38% today vs 40%-50% back then belies the idea that today's AI debt issuance is cleaner, backed by more profitable companies today," Burry wrote.

"It is just an asset bubble, plain and simple," he added.

Burry dismissed claims that the AI boom isn't like the dot-com bubble because far more of the companies being funded today are profitable.

"We should remember VCs are funding loss-make companies like never before in history, and much more than in 1999," he wrote.

"When people talk about loss-making dotcoms, not only are they ignoring the fact that the biggest cash flow machines of the time — telecom and cable companies — were part of the bubble, but they also ignore that this time there are far more loss-making companies losing far more money, only they haven't gone public," he said.

In posts on his subscriber chat, Burry wrote that several "boy wonders" have made bank in the AI era using options and leverage, echoing the overnight fortunes of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He pointed out that just like the current data-center rush, the turn of the millennium saw broad calls for a global infrastructure buildout to support the World Wide Web.

Moreover, Burry flagged recent studies finding that AI has "very little utility" for enterprises and that there are "many abandoned AI projects already."

He questioned whether enterprise demand for AI will surge in the years ahead, or cool due to "recession/war/business cycles/annual reviews for budget decisions in a more sane, post-AI FOMO environment?"

Burry added that consumers "have shown no willingness to be significant sources of revenue for AI products," as they're able to use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT for virtually everything they want to do, for "free or close to it."

He struck a similarly dire tone in a Substack post earlier this month, in which he warned the AI boom was shaping up to end in a similarly disastrous fashion to the dot-com bubble.

"The market has jumped the shark," he wrote. "The end of…this…is nigh.

"This, all of it, is the scene of the bloody car crash, minutes before it happens," Burry added.

• Delta Air Lines' CEO revealed why he chose Amazon Leo over Elon Musk's Starlink.
• He praised its access to gaming technologies — and a "much lower price point."
• His comments came days after Musk questioned the airline's strategy.

The boss of Delta Air Lines has no qualms about snubbing Starlink for Amazon's rival internet service, despite Elon Musk's complaints.

"Amazon brings a lot more than just satellite technology," Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Bloomberg in an interview on Monday. "They bring great retailing capability and Amazon Prime and video gaming technologies, which Starlink does not have."

"I think the opportunities, in terms of the improved bandwidth with a much lower price point than what we've ever seen from Starlink, will make a big difference," he added.

Bastian's comments come days after Musk disparaged the airline for its decision to partner with Amazon Leo.

Both Starlink and Amazon Leo connect to a constellation of satellites to offer high-speed WiFi from remote areas, like flying in an airplane over the ocean. However, Starlink has launched over 10,000 satellites into orbit, and Amazon's service has just 300.

Plus, Leo isn't officially available for customers yet. Its constellation is expected to be much larger when Delta begins installing it on its airplanes in 2028.

Dozens of airlines around the world have struck deals with Starlink to give passengers free WiFi. It's still being rolled out, but customers include Air France, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and United Airlines.

Last Wednesday, Musk replied to an X post that suggested Delta chose Amazon because it wanted customers to connect via its own Delta Sync portal.

"SpaceX requires that there be no annoying 'portal' to use Starlink," Musk posted. "Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home."

"Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy," he added.

A Delta spokesperson told Business Insider that "the assertion in question is not accurate." The airline said it chose Amazon's Leo connectivity service over Starlink for "several reasons," including the potential for a "broader partnership" beyond just in-flight WiFi.

Bastian's comments to Bloomberg suggest that the partnership includes in-flight entertainment, with access to Amazon Prime and "gaming technologies."

Plus, he said Amazon is offering its services at a much lower price than Starlink.

"Of course, we expect Starlink will be warning people that we're going to go with an inferior product," Bastian told Bloomberg. "But I'm not too worried about partnering with Amazon."

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

• I often feel like I'm carrying the entire 'food load' for my family.
• I'm the one who grocery shops, meal plans, and cooks for all of us.
• It can be lonely and overwhelming, so I started asking my husband for help.

"Did you see the lights?" my husband asked enthusiastically.

In fact, I had seen the outdoor lights he hung in preparation for the summer. I told him they looked great, to which he replied proudly, "See, I do things around here." Huh?

I watched him walk off into the well-lit patio and stayed back, slightly confused. Did he mean he accomplished many things around here, or just this one thing? The thought came in fast: Was he comparing this to everyday tasks — like the ones I did, you know… everyday? And what about all the meals?

I am constantly carrying the 'food load' for my family

There is plenty of evidence that suggests my family thinks I'm their personal chef. I'm the one doing the shopping, menu planning, prepping, cooking, and scheduling meal times. While I do enjoy many aspects of organizing (clutter-free kitchen countertops are the best), others feel more like chores.

And then, there are the constant questions I have to ask myself: What's for dinner tomorrow? Do we have groceries? What needs to be eaten before it goes bad? What's everyone's schedule tomorrow? All those run through my head like our toddler used to run through our living room.

Looking back, I can trace the evolution. When our son was little, I was the boss of his schedule. My little one and I ate at different times from my husband, and this worked for us.

As time went on, our kiddo started eating at regular mealtimes, but I stayed on as the default meal planner. No way could I have predicted I'd be left alone in this space, because other tasks in our house had been fluid and flexible. My husband and I both fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, vacuum, and more. As the roles in our new family became more defined, Master Chef Meal Planner solidified as my chore.

It's just one part of what I do for my family, but it makes me feel overwhelmed

Studies show a persistent gender divide in household chores, with women often handling 73% of cognitive chores and spending roughly twice as much time on housework as men. Well, that's a lot, and clearly reflected in my family. The fact that the mental load of mothers is more often discussed recently, both in popular culture and among mom groups and my friends, is helpful because it validates my experience and names the feelings surrounding it.

Carrying the 'food load' for my family is just one part of what I — and many other mothers — do, but it's one that leaves me feeling overwhelmed, tired, and lonely, even just thinking about it. This labor is specific and nuanced. While a lot of household tasks are repetitive, many are performed only weekly or monthly— and yes, in some cases, only done once in a while, like hanging patio lights. Meals and snacks are often either demanded or in preparation all day, every day. My brain is full of menus and food options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between.

I asked my husband for help

All these small daily decisions add up and feel relentless, and that's when the decision-making fatigue sets in. For me, it shows up as impatience and resentment — that I'm not always great at keeping to myself. I feel disconnected from my husband. And since I don't enjoy feeling separated from the people I love most, I reach out for help.

"Hey, honey, can you help me plan meals this week?" I asked my partner.

"Of course, what do you want me to buy?"

Yeah, not exactly the mental-space freeing help I was looking for. Making a grocery list for him means I'm still the one making the menu and giving instructions, so while well-intentioned, this is more of an extra step on top of all the others, not a relief. I've tried talking about how this task weighs me down, but somehow we still slip back into our well-defined roles. What's going to help me feel supported?

Not one to give up, I tried a different, more direct approach: "Hey, honey, Friday night is taco night, so can you cook on Fridays?" And that's how Taco Night began.

My husband has taken over Friday, Tuesday, and Saturday dinners with a consistent menu for each night. His brain likes structure, and this way he knows what he needs and which days he's our head chef — taking some meal planning off the table for me. We're working toward a more balanced schedule for all of us — my son included.

It's also helped my husband see what I do on the days he's not the one cooking. Making invisible labor visible helps reduce stress and foster teamwork in our family, because the food load definitely isn't a load to be carried alone.

• Jensen Huang said Nvidia's rise came with years of humiliation and near-collapse.
• Nvidia's CEO said he wouldn't found the company again, knowing the pain involved.
• Huang said surviving Nvidia's darkest years required "forgetting yesterday."

Starting Nvidia all over again? Jensen Huang says no chance.

In an interview on the "How I Built This" podcast with Guy Raz released on Monday, Huang reflected on the years of pressure, humiliation, near-bankruptcy scares, and personal sacrifice that came with turning Nvidia into the world's most valuable semiconductor company with a market cap of $5.3 trillion, and the dominant force behind the AI boom. Nvidia was founded in 1993 and went public in 1999.

"Suppose I knew everything then that I now know — how hard it is and all of the pain and suffering and all the embarrassment and humiliation and all the setbacks," Huang said, asking himself if he would start again? "The answer, absolutely not."

The cost of success

The billionaire CEO said many founders understate the emotional toll of building a company because people only focus on the final outcome.

"If your question is knowing how Nvidia turned out, knowing the contribution we've made to the world, knowing the consequence of the company today, how it impacts so many different industries, all of the benefits that we have accrued as a result of our success, do I love those things? The answer is yes," Huang said. "But that wasn't the question."

Huang described periods in the mid-2010s when Nvidia's stock price collapsed while the company continued pouring money into CUDA, the software platform that later became foundational to modern AI systems.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Nvidia shares dropped by about 85% from their late-2007 highs. At the time, many investors doubted the strategy.

"It was embarrassing. It was humiliating," Huang said. "You're the only face that everybody hates. Your employees are probably embarrassed for you."

Nvidia also survived multiple existential crises during its early years, including failed chips, layoffs, and moments when Huang believed the company was only weeks away from running out of money.

In 1996, Nvidia almost went out of business after failing to deliver a graphics chip for Sega. Sega provided Nvidia with a $5 million investment that kept the company afloat.

"You'll be going out of business. You'll have to lay people off," Huang said, describing the reality of startup life.

Forgetting the pain

Huang said the only way he endured was by training himself not to dwell on setbacks.

"I spent all my time forgetting yesterday," he said. "What do they teach athletes? Forget the last point."

The CEO also reflected on the personal cost of Nvidia's rise. Huang said he missed many of his children's karate tournaments while balancing nonstop work and graduate school at Stanford.

"I missed a lot," he said, praising his wife for "taking care of everything."

Still, Huang said Nvidia's success came from staying committed to ideas others dismissed, especially the belief that graphics chips could someday power a new era of computing beyond video games.

"I think a lot of people forget that the pain and suffering necessary, the endurance necessary to do something great," Huang said. "It is because you're always looking forward and forgetting the past."

Titanium cookware is pitched as the best of both worlds. It's nonstick like Teflon, but tougher and longer-lasting like stainless steel. That appeal has made it popular with home cooks who want low-maintenance cookware that doesn't wear out quickly. But there's a catch: most "titanium" cookware isn't solid titanium. It's usually a coating reinforced with titanium, which affects how it handles high heat, how durable it is, and how long the cooking surface actually lasts. 

In general, the best titanium cookware brands are transparent about their materials, safety testing, and nonstick coatings, making it easier to choose cookware that is durable, food-safe, and built to last.

Below, we break down the best titanium cookware available now, along with what to look for and what to avoid, so you can choose the best titanium cookware set for you and avoid overpaying for a set that won't last.

Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and researches kitchen products.

Our picks of the best titanium pans

Best overall: Our Place Titanium Always Pan Pro — See at Our Place

Best splurge: Hestan NanoBond Titanium Stainless-Steel Skillet Fry Pan — See at Hestan

Best budget: Guy Fieri Flavortown Laser Titanium Fry Pan — See at Amazon

What is titanium nonstick cookware and how does it compare?

Titanium cookware typically refers to nonstick pans reinforced with titanium, not to pans made entirely of titanium. These pans are bonded, or clad, with other metals (usually aluminum or stainless steel) which helps combine fast, even heating with added strength and durability from the titanium-infused coating.

Related: 11 kitchen tools that will save you at least 30 minutes every week

In use, titanium cookware offers a surface that resists scratching better than standard nonstick but isn't quite as slick, so you may need a bit more heat or oil to prevent sticking. Titanium pans are often lighter than stainless steel, which makes them easier to handle for everyday cooking.

Best overall

Our Place is a BI Reviews team favorite. The original Always Pan is the top pick in our best ceramic cookware guide. With the Titanium Always Pan Pro, the DTC brand took inspiration from a lotus leaf, which has nano-structures that transform it into a water-repellent finish. The pan has a pattern pressed into its titanium surface that grants it hydrophobic and semi-nonstick properties.

There's a learning curve to heating this pan. I found you really need to crank the heat before you add ingredients if you want to prevent sticking. Once I got the hang of it, the surface was effectively nonstick. I particularly appreciated the Pro when searing; it produces perfectly golden, crispy crusts that release effortlessly from the pan. This ability to smoothly go from, say, scrambled eggs to frying up a pork chop is largely due to the tri-ply construction. Using three metals — aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium — creates a tough and heat-conductive piece of cookware.

It handled the oven the best. It heated evenly across the surface and produced level bakes and roasted edges. I will note that this pan is the heaviest I tested, which made it difficult to move around the kitchen. However, I found its weight a price I was willing to pay for its size (it holds a larger volume than others tested) and top-notch heat conductivity and retention.

Best splurge

This is a luxury pan. The detailed craftsmanship found on the Hestan NanoBond Titanium Skillet is functional and aesthetically pleasing: gently sloping sides, an angled handle, and a lustrous finish. During testing, these details made a difference, especially the ergonomic handle. The center divet and upward angle made it the easiest to grip and transport around the kitchen.

It's tough as nails. The surface is ultra-durable and stood up to serious wear and tear; I'm talking heavy-duty, abrasive scrubbing, cutting directly on the pan's surface, and using metal utensils while cooking. Hestan's NanoBond Titanium Stainless Steel cookware is made by bonding blended titanium and chromium-based alloy layers onto a stainless steel body. If this sounds indestructible, we can confirm that it nearly is. Not a scratch on it.

It's not very nonstick. While the interior is shiny and smooth to the touch, it's not nonstick. I found this Hestan to be reminiscent of a traditional stainless steel skillet in that it consistently requires a high-preheated surface or a hefty amount of fat to prevent sticking. Additionally, the NanoBond interior tends to retain a visual imprint of whatever food was last cooked on it. I noticed an almost rainbow-esque colored marking that I got rid of with a splash of vinegar after hand-washing.

Aesthetics aside, I was impressed by how well the thick base retained heat evenly across the pan's surface. There was no fear of hot spots, and cooking across the stovetop and oven was seamless.

Best budget

Looks like nonstick. At first glance, the Flavortown Laser Titanium pan looks and feels like nonstick cookware. It functions just like one with a slick surface that easily releases food. Instead a ceramic or traditional nonstick coating, the Guy Fieri pan features titanium atop a hard-anodized aluminum body. Just like with the Hestan and Always Pan, using a laser to bond titanium alloy onto the pan's surface allows the pan to tolerate higher temperatures and creates a more durable interior.

I found the pan easy to handle. It weighs less than the other pans I tried, and the handle was comfortable to hold. In terms of performance, the Flavortown pan slightly underperformed. The bottom of the food cooks more quickly than the interiors, a sign that the pan is prone to overheating and uneven heat distribution. There weren't burn spots, and after a few uses, I figured out that this pan works best over medium heat, even if the recipe calls for high.

It's also extremely easy to clean. Whether you pop it in the dishwasher or run a sponge over its surface, food debris slides right off. For a fraction of the price of the others we tested, the Flavortown pan is more competent and cooks better than my traditional nonstick pans.

Our top picks compared

The anatomy of titanium cookware: coatings vs. cladding

Many shoppers assume titanium cookware is made from solid titanium, but most products actually use titanium coatings or titanium-infused layers combined with aluminum or stainless steel cores. Knowing the difference will help you make a more informed buying decision.

Titanium-reinforced coatings (budget to mid-range): Affordable titanium cookware lines often use a hard-anodized aluminum based coated with a titanium-reinforced nonstick surface. Some brands market this as "laser titanium" or "plasma titanium," though the exact process varies by manufacturer.

This constructions keeps pans lightweight and relatively affordable while improving scratch resistance compared to standard nonstick cookware. However, aluminum-based pans can develop hot spots more easily than fully clad cookware.

Multi-ply titanium cookware (premium): Premium cookware brands such as Hestan NonoBond use multi-ply construction, typically combining layers of stainless steel and aluminum for more even heating. In NanoBond's case, thousands of titanium-based nano layers are bonded to the stainless steel cooking surface to improve durability and stain resistance.

This heavier, more complex construction is one reason high-end titanium cookware costs significantly more than coated aluminum pans. The tradeoff is better heat control, longer lifespan, and compatibility with high-heat cooking techniques.

Safety standards and certifications to look for in titanium cookware

When comparing titanium cookware, safety certifications and material disclosures can help separate high-quality products from those that won't live up to the hype. Many premium cookware brands highlight independent testing, food-safe materials, and PFAS-free coatings to reassure shoppers about long-term durability and everyday cooking safety.

Look for cookware that clearly states whether it is PFAS-free or PFOA-free, especially if you want to avoid traditional nonstick chemical coatings. Some titanium cookware uses titanium-reinforced PTFE coatings, while others rely on stainless steel and titanium-infused surfaces without conventional nonstick layers.

You may also see references to European safety and quality organizations such as TÜV or the GS Mark, which indicate that certain manufacturing or product safety standards have been independently evaluated. While these certifications are not universal across the cookware industry, they can signal stronger quality control and testing practices.

In general, transparent labeling, published safety standards, and detailed material disclosures are good signs that a cookware brand is investing in product quality and consumer safety.

How we test titanium cookware

During testing, I identified four key attributes: heat conductivity, heat retention, nonstick properties, and ergonomic ease of use as what to look for. I evaluated cooking performance, durability, and ergonomics.

Cooking: I cooked the same ingredients in each pan on the same heat and compared the results. This showed which pan cooked the quickest and heated evenly. I also used the cooking tests to evaluate how much preheating a pan needed to develop a nonstick surface.

Durability: I scrubbed each pan with abrasive sponges and used metal utensils during cooking. I also used the pans under a broiler and noted how they performed in high-heat ovens.

Ergonomics: As I cooked and cleaned, I considered the weight and handle dimensions of the pans. Heavier pans can be difficult to move from the stovetop to the oven, but often have better heat retention. All three pans had handles between 8 and 8.5 inches long, which kept my hand away from the heat without making it hard to wield.

How to clean and maintain titanium cookware for longevity

Titanium cookware is prized for its durability, corrosion resistance, and sleek high-performance finish. Still, proper care is essential to keep it looking and cooking its best. From removing heat discoloration to avoiding residue buildup and thermal shock, following a few simple maintenance rules can help extend the life and performance of your titanium or titanium-infused pans for years to come.

Titanium cookware FAQs

Can you use metal utensils on titanium cookware?

Generally, yes. It's always best to check the manufacturer's instructions for your pan, but every pan we tested is safe to use with metal utensils.

Is titanium better than stainless steel for cooking?

Most titanium in cookware is bonded with another metal — commonly stainless steel — so that you get the benefits of both materials in one pan. Cookware that contains titanium is generally lighter weight, more durable, and more nonstick than pans that are stainless steel alone.

Is titanium cookware safe?

Yes, titanium cookware is non-toxic and considered safe for everyday cooking. The material is non-reactive, and highly corrosion-resistant, meaning it doesn't leach metals into food or react with acidic ingredients like tomatoes or vinegar.

How do you clean titanium cookware?

While many titanium cookware is considered dishwasher safe, we recommend handwashing to protect its longevity. Clean with a soft sponge and avoid harsh scrubbers that could damage or scratch coatings.

• A former OpenAI robotics lead says engineers in their 30s aren't truly AI native.
• Caitlin Kalinowski said young engineers use AI from the ground up and solve faster than older peers.
• Tech leaders from Reddit to LinkedIn say AI-native graduates have a growing edge at work.

If you're 30-plus, you're likely already at a disadvantage when it comes to AI.

That's according to former OpenAI robotics lead Caitlin Kalinowski, who said that the only truly AI native people right now are those in their early 20s who grew up solving problems with AI from the ground up.

They "use AI so natively that it's like baked into their engineering process," Kalinowski said on an episode of "Lenny's" podcast released on Sunday.

Kalinowski worked at Apple, Oculus VR, and Meta before joining OpenAI's robotics division as a Member of Technical Staff between 2024 and 2026. She now advises AI startups on product strategy, and said in her experience, the most striking shift she's seeing is how younger engineers interact with the technology itself.

"It's very hard to find someone who's in their 30s who can be truly fully AI native," she said.

'We need these folks'

Kalinowski said AI is embedded into how younger engineers think and solve problems.

"They're approaching their problem-solving completely differently because they're using AI from the ground up for everything, and they're much faster, actually," she said.

"We need these folks to teach us how to think," she added.

Other tech leaders, including Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Otis CEO Judy Marks, Box CEO Aaron Levie, and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, have also said that AI-native younger workers may have a major advantage in the workplace because they grew up using AI tools instinctively rather than having to adapt to them later in life.

The shift is already influencing how companies operate. Meta, for example, has been pushing employees to become more "AI-native" by embedding AI tools into coding and day-to-day workflows.

Kalinowski's comments also come amid growing anxiety that AI could hollow out entry-level tech jobs.

But Kalinowski sees a more nuanced future: smaller teams, not necessarily junior-less ones.

"I don't see it that way," she said, referring to fears that junior roles in tech firms could be made obsolete because of AI. "I think we need them."

Kalinowski compared today's AI-native generation to early internet natives who grew up alongside the web and smartphones, giving them an intuitive advantage older workers lacked.

"We have to accept that we're not native in these new technologies," she said of older engineers and tech workers adapting to AI later in life.

Dyson's first robot vacuum, the 360 Vis Nav, was powerful but hard to recommend for many homes. It had strong suction and a distinctive design, but the navigation lagged behind the best robot vacuums, and it didn't mop. The new Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai is a much more competitive follow-up among the best robot vacuum and mops.

This time, Dyson added mopping, a proper self-emptying and self-cleaning dock, LiDAR-assisted mapping, and improved object avoidance and stain-detection features designed to send the robot back over messes that need extra attention. After testing dozens of robot vacuums over the last five years, and using the 360 Vis Nav regularly for more than a year, I can say the Spot+Scrub Ai is a major step forward.

As the name suggests, the Spot+Scrub Ai is especially focused on mopping. It's excellent at it, too. If your home is mostly carpet, you won't get as much value from this robot. It's a solid vacuum, but a better mop.

It has a few flaws too: the Spot+Scrub Ai can be messy around its docking station and is too bulky to get under cabinet toe kicks. Though these could be nitpicks, in general, Dyson has a robot you should be considering if you want constant, hands-free cleaning maintenance.

Dyson traded personality for practicality

To understand the significance of the Dyson Spot & Scrub Ai, it's worth touching on the previous attempt: the Dyson 360 Vis Nav. That one has strong suction, a big dustbin, and beefy wheels to traverse high-pile rugs. Unfortunately, its navigation made it hard to recommend for complex floor plans. And, it only vacuums.

With the Spot+Scrub AI, Dyson addressed these issues: It adds lidar to its camera-based vision system, gains mopping, and comes with a full docking station. It also integrates the green laser illumination, found on some of its cordless vacuum products, that highlights what the eye can't see. It's more useful when you're the one doing the navigating than the robot; here it's almost distracting. Overall though, it's a tremendous leap forward from the original if you want a more autonomous cleaner.

When I first saw the Spot+Scrub Ai in Berlin during the company's 2025 unveiling, the most surprising thing about it was how much it resembled other robot vacuums on the market. It ditched its classic Dyson flair for a mostly plain, black design. The most noticeable "Dyson" attribute that remains is the clear dustbin on the docking station. I wish it had more of the company's flair, but the more important point is that it's improved over the last version.

Mapping was quick, even if the app feels busy

The MyDyson app has all the modern features of other competitors, including real-time tracking, room selection, targeted spot cleaning, and adjustable vacuum and mop settings. It's perfectly fine for controlling the unit. It's easy enough to use, but because the app also houses controls for other Dyson products like air purifiers, hair tools and headphones, it can feel crowded. Whether having everything in one space is more convenient or distracting will likely depend on how many Dyson products you use regularly.

The initial mapping was fast and mostly accurate, but the interior walls were less structured and more wavy-looking than they are in apps from Roborock or Eufy. This didn't impact cleaning, but could make precise spot cleaning area harder to gauge.

It's a good vacuum, but not the reason to buy it

I primarily used the Auto setting to get a sense of how it would do on its own. When the Auto mode didn't perform quite well enough in my tests, I reran tougher messes on Boost to get a sense of its top performance, which is probably only needed for the bigger messes. Auto worked fine on a day-to-day basis.

It handled everyday crumbs better than fine dust

The Spot+Scrub Ai has a top suction level of 18,000Pa. This pales in the spec comparison to other new units, like the Roborock Saros 20, which has a top suction level of 33,000Pa. In practice, the number difference was less significant.

For normal debris vacuuming, the kind of crumbs that gather on the kitchen floor throughout the day in a house with kids, the Spot+Scrub Ai did well at sucking those things up. I sprinkled around 20 grams of food items like rice, crushed up cereal, and flour on the floor and ran separate, targeted tests for each.

The Spot+Scrub Ai did the best at vacuuming the Cheerios, which I walked over and crushed up most of first. It picked up around 93% of them. The unit performed well with the other items, too, but, like most robots, it tended to scatter some rice grains outside the test area. The flour left a visible trail of white powder from its wheels as it rolled back to its docking station.

At 4.3 inches thick, the Spot+Scrub Ai is also taller, and can't fit under cabinet toe kicks, while some other premium robots like Roborock Saros collection, which are 3.14 inches, can fit under without issue. That's not a dealbreaker on the whole, but the robot's slight bulk is something to keep in mind.

Capable on carpet, but better on bare floors

The Spot+Scrub Ai can auto-detect hard surfaces and carpet and identify the different floor materials in the mobile app. I sprinkled a heavy dose of flour, around 20 grams, on a low-pile rug and set it to a targeted run. It sucked up about 75% of the mess on Auto mode, then again on Boost mode, which got the total amount picked up closer to 85%.

Removing fine powder from carpet is the hardest of all the tests. The Spot+Scrub Ai performs about the same as other robots like the recent Roborock Saros 20 here. It fared much better on carpet, picking up rice and crushed up Cheerios in two separate tests. It got nearly every grain of white rice in that test and only missed a few crumbs with the cereal one. The type of carpet and its pile height will play a big role in how well it does in this area, but for my short rugs, it performed well.

Hair tangles were barely an issue

The Spot+Scrub Ai ran for a few weeks in a house with two women and a non-shedding dog. While there might not be as much hair as in some other homes, I can assure you there is at least some that gets left on the floors. The good news is that there was never more than a single strand visible on the roller brush.

The mop is the star of the show

If there's a standout area of the Spot+Scrub Ai, it's the mopping. This is the main reason to consider buying this unit over another one. I mean, it should be good because it's right there in the name.

The primary reason this unit excels is its single mopping roller brush. During cleaning, fresh water is constantly flushed through as the brush spins, so that it's less likely to spread spills around than the spinning circular pads. It also slides right to achieve wider coverage.

When I applied jelly, soda, and maple syrup to my hardwood floor and let it settle for a bit, the Spot+Scrub fully removed the mess in one pass. There was a slight stickiness left behind in one area. This is in contrast to the Roborock Saros 20, which left a much stickier feel over the whole test area. With a second pass, the Spot+Scrub removed the tacky residue.

As good as the roller brush mopping performed, there are a few limitations around carpets. It It also doesn't have a cover to block its mop, and as the Spot+Scrub Ai's mop can only raise 0.4 inches, it could still come into contact with rugs. I didn't notice any wet spots or issues on my rugs, but it definitely touched them.

Its smarter navigation is a huge improvement

Like mopping, Dyson has hinged this product's identity on its vision — being able to "spot" stains. For the most part, that bet has turned out well. The Spot+Scrub Ai mapped my rooms quickly and efficiently. It shows the robot in the app in real time and can perform targeted spot cleaning. It also means that it saw objects in its way and avoided them.

The robot was able to completely avoid different-sized, shaped, colored faux poop in the kitchen. The mobile app showed how it went around two areas in perfect circles. It also successfully cleared a USB cable. Beyond purposeful tests, I saw it avoid wires and cables under a couch. It was also gentle on furniture legs.

Dyson touts that the Spot+Scrub Ai will continue to revisit stains and messes it spots on the floor until it thinks they're gone. I didn't see much of this. The app didn't reflect this either. The robot labeled many objects it avoided, but only one or two mess spots it re-cleaned more than once. Some of my dedicated tests could have used an automatic, second pass as well.

The all-in-one dock is pure Dyson

Overall, the dock's functionality is great. I particularly love the clear, bagless canister. This is a Dyson staple, and it's great in this context too. Nearly all robot vacuums hide a dust bag inside the dock, and it's impossible to know when to empty it. Most people probably either never empty it or empty it too often.

Though some may not be too keen about seeing the collected dirt on display, with the clear canister, it's very easy to know when maintenance is required. The company says it can hold 100 days' worth of dirt. Based on how empty it still appears after collecting lots of dust, cereal, rice, and other debris, I believe it. Of course, depending on your general messiness, your results may differ.

I wish the freshwater container were clear, as that could alleviate any surprise notifications that the mopping has stopped until it can be refilled. For obvious reasons, I don't need to see inside the dirty water container. A word of warning. You will want to buy the cleaning solution because, without it, I noticed a smelly odor when emptying the dirty water tank. Thankfully, it was only present when opening that reservoir. When the brush is heat-drying in the dock, the brush will rotate to keep mold and bad smells away in that area.

While the robot cleaned well, the robot and docking station did end up quite messy after all the tests. While routine crumb cleaning and not mopping food spills will make maintenance much less frequent, you will still need to brush off the dock and inspect under the robot from time to time.

I would love to see these cleaning companies develop a dock-cleaning mode where the robot spends three to five minutes sucking up crumbs on and around the station.

Battery life was fine; noise was harder to ignore

Once robot vacuums gained charging docks with self-emptying capabilities, the idea of battery life became a little moot, and they can easily recharge and resume the job

Still, the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai advertises 200 minutes of runtime in Quiet mode. Even in the more powerful modes, that should be plenty of power to wash and vacuum an average-size suburban home.

The app estimated my ~650-square-foot downstairs would take about 108 minutes with no charging stops. It did need to refill the water at one point, but that was quick

Noise was more noticeable. The robot was loud while docking, refilling, emptying dirty water, and moving its internal mechanisms. I measured more than 70 decibels from a couple of feet away while it serviced itself at the dock. Quiet mode was much more tolerable for routine cleaning, but this is not the most discreet robot vacuum I've tested..

What are your alternatives?

Since the Spot+Scrub Ai heavily focuses on mopping, this machine doesn't make sense for people with all carpet. Instead, Dyson's 360 Vis Nav is the one whose whole identity is carpeting. While I wouldn't recommend most people go this route, it has been on sale for well under $500, as low as $280. For a sub $300 price, it's a much better value than when it sold for $999 and is at least worth considering.

While most other $1,000+ products on our best robot vacuum and mops list are worthy considerations, not all use the single-roller brush-style mop. In that case, the Narwal Flow 2 is a fairly direct competitor with the same mopping style or the Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni, which was one of the first brands to introduce the roller style mopping. The Flow 2 has a higher rated suction power and a shorter height to fit in more places, while the Ecovacs has slightly less suction power, but costs under $800.

The bottom line

I was skeptical about this generic-looking robot cleaner, but after spending time with it, I'm much more convinced that Dyson is taking this kind of product seriously among its floorcare lineup.

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai is a highly compelling robot vacuum and mop, especially for its excellent mopping, ability to avoid hair tangles, and feature-filled docking station. It's a strong candidate for homes with mostly hard surfaces.

• Lululemon ramped up its battle against founder Chip Wilson in a new release on Monday.
• Wilson isn't happy about the direction of the company, and wants to install new board members.
• A proxy vote is coming in June, with Lululemon stock down more than 75% from late-2023 highs.

When I went shopping for my wife's birthday this past weekend, one of my stops was Lululemon. She has a bunch of athleisure and workout clothes from there, but they were purchased years ago. I figured I could assist with a simple refresh.

Instead, I left empty-handed.

My main issue was that there just wasn't that big a selection of core athletic items. The store seemed to have branched out more into everyday casual clothing, and those products filled the racks. The workout clothing they did have felt uninspired and came in unappealing colors. (Hot pink? No thanks.) Off to competitors Vuori and Alo Yoga I went.

It turns out I'm not alone in my disappointment.

Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has been waging a long-term campaign in an attempt to get the company to return to basics, and refocus on core customers. He's said previously that the retailer's attempt to become "everything to everybody" has backfired, and that it's lost the feel of high-end exclusivity.

His activist-investing pushback has recently come to a head. On Monday, Lululemon published a letter urging shareholders to reject Wilson's three suggested additions to the board of directors during an upcoming June 25 vote.

"Mr. Wilson has outdated perspectives about how to position Lululemon and the future of the company," the release said.

A founder publicly sparring with the company they built over strategic direction and branding is a messy situation no matter how you look at it. How did we get here?

Look no further than the chart below, which shows Lululemon's recent stock struggles. Shares are down 42% in 2026 alone, and have sunk more than 75% since record highs in late December 2023.

Considering he's the company's biggest individual shareholder, no wonder Wilson is ticked off.

His latest offensive comes at a time when Lululemon leadership finds itself in flux. The company is currently helmed by co-CEOs, who will revert to their old roles in September when Heidi O'Neill — a longtime Nike exec — takes over.

And Wilson is hardly the only investor trying to impress change upon Lululemon. Back in December, Elliott Management reportedly built a more than $1 billion stake in the company and started pushing for a CEO candidate who wasn't ultimately hired.

As for company financials, while international revenue grew last year, US sales contracted by 4%. Annual EPS for the firm also shrunk during the last fiscal year.

What do Wall Street analysts think of the stock at current levels? They're mostly neutral, with 29 out of the 33 tracked by Bloomberg currently assigning it a hold rating.

The latest research — a May 18 report from BNP Paribas — outlined the firm's recent trip to Europe. The only real conclusion from analysts was that "discussions have dropped off significantly." Not a great sign. It's hard to imagine a worse fate than irrelevance.

So what's next for Lululemon at this key crossroads? Quarterly earnings are coming up on June 5, and that ever-important proxy vote is a few weeks later. Stay tuned.

• Charles Broomfield was cut from AWS and landed a job at Google within 90 days.
• He said he got referrals for 26 roles when job hunting, and six turned into interviews.
• Broomfield said financial planning and networking helped him stay calm after getting laid off.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Charles Broomfield, a 25-year-old engineering analyst at Google, based in Washington, D.C. His employment and identity have been confirmed by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I graduated from a tiny liberal arts college called Knox College. The downside is to that that there is a much smaller alumni network. The benefit is that I suspect the likelihood of them being willing to help out is much higher.

I was a computer science tutor there. That ended up being an advantage because I got to work with a lot of people who are now at great companies and were willing to help me out. I started working at a government research company after college, and went over to Amazon Web Services in the summer of 2025. Then, in late January, I got laid off.

In April, I accepted an offer for a job at Google.

I treated my job hunt like a job

Before I joined Amazon, Andy Jassy had made comments about how Amazon would have fewer people in the future because of AI. I became increasingly nervous that my team wasn't aligned with the strategy.

I started applying on January 24, but I was given notice of my layoff a few days later. I was pretty confident that my team would be affected, but I didn't want to leave before getting 90 days' notice and severance.

I found it really hard to go from working at a company with a pretty famous work culture, like AWS, to a complete hard stop. So when I was laid off, I figured I'd put all my energy into something productive.

It was definitely nice to get an extra hour or so of sleep, but I tried to maintain a sense of structure during my job hunt. I'd usually spend the first half of the day reaching out to folks and finding positions. I wasn't going through every job posting and hitting apply because I don't want to interview for something I'm not genuinely excited about. I was picky.

Doing eight straight hours of applications is pretty brutal, so I'd usually work out or cook to break things up in the middle of the day. Then I would spend another three- or four-hour stretch in the evening tailoring applications.

Referrals make a huge difference

After being laid off from AWS, I applied to 42 positions, 26 of which I had referrals for. I interviewed for six of those jobs.

A previous colleague reached out and encouraged me to apply to Google. I applied to three positions, and was quickly rejected from the two I thought I was most likely to land. But about a week after I applied, the recruiter for the third position reached out. The next week, I passed the technical screen. Then I had three interviews over the next two weeks and received an offer a few days after my final interview.

I think a lot of people get referrals wrong. I did a lot of LinkedIn outreach, but it was really ineffective. I always start with my warmest audience. So I begin with friends, and then I expand. I even consider somebody who went to my college a little warm, because I went to a tiny school.

Since I've worked at companies that did large layoffs, a lot of people I worked with ended up at big companies, and that helped with referrals.

Your network isn't just the people you talk to every day. It can be anyone that you've met who you've made a positive impression on. I have a list of people that I reach out to whenever I have a major career update, but there's many other people who I only stay in touch with through social media.

Leaving a friendly or supportive comment can go way further than people realize. The best connections are sometimes friends of friends or random acquaintances, not your closest friends or family.

Savings gave me peace of mind

I'm super passionate about early retirement, frugality, and building financial freedom. I save everything I can, and I've been doing that since college.

The craziness over the last year made me realize how grateful I was for those savings because of the peace of mind and flexibility it gave me. I really feel for people who are counting on their next few paychecks, or for folks whose visas are tied to their work. It's harder to operate when you're stressed. Desperation doesn't help. So my buffer definitely made me more relaxed.

Networks are more powerful than job boards, but I suggest people start building their networks now rather than wait until they need help.

• Take-Two's CEO said AI is useful for speeding up parts of video-game development.
• But he said the tool isn't great at manufacturing cultural hits — like the studio's blockbuster "GTA5."
• The Take-Two CEO pushed back on fears that AI will replace popular game studios.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said he's embracing AI to help make video games more efficiently. He just doesn't think the technology can create the next "Grand Theft Auto" from scratch.

On David Senra's podcast, posted on Sunday, Zelnick said he was "all in" on AI — but he pushed back on the idea that it can create the originality and surprise needed to create a blockbuster hit.

"Remember what AI is, despite the fact that there are people in Silicon Valley who don't want you to believe this," he said. "It's big data sets, lots of compute, and a large language model mushed together. That's what they are. So, data sets by their very nature are backward-looking."

Take-Two's Rockstar Games label makes the hugely popular "Grand Theft Auto" series. The open-world crime game's fifth installment — which features robberies, police chases, satire, violence, and, yes, auto theft — was a massive success, selling more than 200 million global copies since its 2013 debut. The twice-delayed "Grand Theft Auto VI" is among the most anticipated games in entertainment.

Zelnick said AI could create another GTA lookalike, but "clones don't sell," he told Senra.

"AI so far is really great at asset creation, but hit creation isn't asset creation," Zelnick said.

His comments cut against a common investor fear: that AI tools could lower the barrier to game creation and threaten established publishers like Take-Two.

"Anyone can make a video game last week," he said. "Anyone could make a video game five years ago. The technology is readily available. It's commoditized."

It's not the first time Zelnick has tried to separate AI productivity gains from creating culture-shaping products.

Zelnick explained his AI stance in a recent interview with Business Insider's Sarah Needleman. He said Take-Two employees are encouraged to use tools such as Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini.

But he also said those gains do not necessarily mean blockbuster games will become cheaper or faster to make, because easier tools tend to raise creative ambitions.

"Everyone understands this creates more work, not less work," he said. "When you make certain things easier, your appetite gets greater."

The company declined to comment beyond Zelnick's remarks on the podcast.