• Forty-five of the 50 states have official mansions, which governors can live in rent-free.
• Some governors' mansions are open to the public for tours.
• Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont don't have designated mansions.

After a long day serving constituents, governors return home to sprawling, historic buildings.

They're welcomed by 20-foot entranceways; their heels ring out on marble floors. If it's been a particularly grim day, they can wash it away with a swim in their state-shaped pool.

These official houses, found in 45 out of the 50 states, are meant to evoke the pride of their area. Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont are the only states without a designated mansion.

Life in a governor's mansion is more public than a normal home. Often, visitors can take tours, and security can be heavy. Careful household budgeting is necessary to avoid criticism from the media or constituents. Some governors have chastised reporters for calling it a mansion, telling them to call it a "residence" instead.

Here's what the governors' mansions look like in every state that has one.

The Alabama governor's mansion is in Montgomery.

Alabama's 117-year-old state mansion, with a grand staircase and four Corinthian columns, has been the residence of the governor since 1951, according to the Office of the Alabama Governor. The mansion spans two floors and 8,500 square feet.

In the 1970s, a state-shaped swimming pool, a guest house, and a water feature were added.

The Alaska governor's mansion is in Juneau.

The mansion was built for $40,000 in 1912. To deal with the cold, the 12,900-square-foot house has eight fireplaces for its 26 rooms.

Above a winding staircase hangs a large painting of Russian emperor Peter the Great, who was responsible for Russia's exploration of Alaska. The painting has BB-gun bullets near Peter's eyes, and there has been a decadeslong controversy over who pulled the trigger, local news channel KTUU reported.

Since 1913, the mansion has opened to the public once a year for a tour at Christmas, according to Alaska's Office of the Governor.

Arizona used to have a governor's mansion in Prescott.

Arizona does not currently have a governor's mansion, but it did once. A 150-year-old log cabin on the Sharlot Hall Museum campus used to be the governor's mansion in Prescott. It was only used for about two years before the capital left Prescott, KJZZ Phoenix reported.

The Arkansas governor's mansion is in Little Rock.

The three-story mansion, a Georgian Colonial-style building, has been home to the state's governors since 1950. There was no official residence before this one. When it was opened to the public in 1950, 180,000 visitors toured it, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

The property is 8.5 acres, with six different gardens. Since 1989, the house received nearly $6 million to renovate and expand, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. It has antique Persian carpets, a 62-piece sterling silver service from the USS Arkansas, and a grandfather clock from Ireland made in the 18th century. Notable visitors who have stayed the night include former President Harry Truman and actor Gregory Peck.

The California governor's mansion is in Sacramento.

The three-story Victorian-style mansion was built in 1877. It has 30 rooms, Italian marble fireplaces, original wood floors, Persian rugs, and a kidney-shaped swimming pool, Curbed San Francisco reported.

The governor's mansion took a break for almost 50 years when then-Gov. Ronald Reagan moved out, after his wife, Nancy, called it "a fire trap." From 1967 to 2015, it was a public museum, until Gov. Jerry Brown moved into the property after a $1.6 million renovation, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sacramento-born writer Joan Didion called the mansion "an enlarged version of a very common kind of California tract house."

The Colorado governor's mansion is in Denver.

The two-story mansion, known as "Colorado's Home," was built in 1908. It has 27 rooms and has been the official residence since 1960, according to its official website. The mansion features red brick and white trim, with mahogany woodwork and oak floors inside. It also has a Steinway piano signed by Liberace, The Colorado Sun reported.

In 2014, one notable addition was the installation of a three-handle draft beer system, serving a rotating selection of local craft beers.

When former Gov. John Hickenlooper was in office, he didn't always live there, and allowed cabinet members who lived far away to use it as a dormitory. One of those who took up the offer described the experience to The New York Times with the question, "Have you ever seen the movie 'The Shining'?"

The Connecticut governor's mansion is in Hartford.

The 15,000-square-foot, Georgian-style mansion was built in 1909 and has housed governors since 1945, according to Connecticut's Office of the Governor. It has 19 rooms, a greenhouse, a pool, and tall gates, which were built in 1971.

The Delaware governor's mansion is in Dover.

The Georgian-style mansion, known as Woodburn, was built in 1798 and has served as the state leader's official residence since 1965. It is one of the country's smallest governor's mansions at 3,584 square feet, with seven bedrooms.

The Florida governor's mansion is in Tallahassee.

The Greek Revival-style mansion was built in 1956. It features a swimming pool, cabana, exercise room, greenhouse, and rose garden, according to the mansion's website.

In October 2018, it was opened up to state troopers who were on their way to help areas damaged by Hurricane Michael. Fifty troopers had dinner, and 35 spent the night, CBS News reported.

The Georgia governor's mansion is in Atlanta.

The 24,000-square-foot mansion, built in 1967 in a Greek Revival-style, has 30 rooms and sits on an 18-acre property, Atlanta magazine reported. There is no key for the front door, since security is always present. Inside, it has a painting by Benjamin West and a signed, first-edition copy of "Gone With the Wind." The furnishings are thought to be worth more than the house.

The Hawaii governor's mansion is in Honolulu.

The mansion pictured here was built in 1846 and was the Hawaii governor's mansion from 1959 to 2002, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. It was also home to Queen Lili'uokalani.

Since 2002, Hawaii's governor has lived in a 5,000-square-foot home right behind the former mansion. It's called "Hale Kia'aina" meaning, "home of the governor," the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

Idaho doesn't have a governor's mansion, although a billionaire once tried to donate one to the state.

Idaho has had governors' mansions in the past. One home in Boise was sold in 1990 after the governor chose to live elsewhere due to the home's run-down condition, The Spokesman-Review reported.

In 2004, J. R. Simplot, a billionaire who developed commercial frozen french fries, donated a hilltop mansion to the state, The Spokesman-Review reported. The house required extensive renovations, and high maintenance costs for the lawn prompted the state to return it to the family in 2013. The home was later demolished.

Idaho state pays the governor a monthly housing stipend instead.

The Illinois governor's mansion is in Springfield.

The 50,000-square- foot mansion, built in 1855, has housed every Illinois governor since it was finished, according to the Office of the Governor. The house has a ballroom, four formal parlors, and a library. It is the third-oldest governor's mansion still in use.

In 2018, it was opened to the public after $15 million worth of renovations.

Guided tours through the mansion can be booked on Eventbrite.

The Indiana governor's mansion is in Indianapolis.

The 10,500-square-foot mansion, built in the English Tudor style in 1928, has more than 20 rooms and sits on over 6 acres, according to the governor's office. It has been the official governor's mansion since 1973.

The house was constructed with concrete reinforcements throughout, which isn't typical of English Tudor homes. It has two dining rooms, a sun porch, a pantry for butlers, and staff offices.

Tours can be reserved here.

The Iowa governor's mansion is in Des Moines.

The mansion, called "Terrace Hill," was built in the 1860s, but it didn't become state property until 1971, the Des Moines Register reported.

It takes Christmas especially seriously. For decades, every year, the residence is taken over for a day, and each room is decorated by different florists or organizations.

In 2012, then-Gov. Terry Branstad and his wife had to move out when black mold was found in the house, Radio Iowa reported.

Since cleared of health hazards, the house is open to tours from March to December, which can be booked on the state of Iowa's official website.

The Kansas governor's mansion is in Topeka.

The three-story French-style mansion, called "Cedar Crest," was built in 1928 for a newspaper owner. It has been the home to governors since 1962, according to the Kansas Historical Society.

Cedar Crest is situated on 244 acres, with hiking trails, ponds, and gardens.

From 1998 to 2000, $4.4 million was spent renovating the house.

The Kentucky governor's mansion is in Frankfort.

The 25-room Beaux-Arts-style mansion, built in 1912 and modeled after Marie Antoinette's home near the Palace of Versailles, has been the official residence of Kentucky's governors since 1914, according to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's official website.

Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., and Queen Elizabeth II have all visited the mansion, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

The Louisiana governor's mansion is in Baton Rouge.

The 25,000-square-foot Greek Revival-style mansion was built in 1963, taking inspiration from a plantation in the state, per the mansion's website.

It sits on 8 acres, which includes a tennis court, a swimming pool, and vegetable and flower gardens, and it overlooks Capitol Lake. The house itself has three floors and features an elevator. Its grand entrance room and expansive rotunda are paved with Italian marble.

The Maine governor's mansion is in Augusta.

The 28-room mansion, called "The Blaine House," was built in the 1830s and became the official residence for the governor in 1919, according to the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally built in the Federalist style, but was later remodeled to look like a Colonial structure.

Helen Keller, Bette Davis, Groucho Marx, and Amelia Earhart all visited Blaine House.

The Maryland governor's mansion is in Annapolis.

The Georgian-style 38,000-square-foot mansion has been home to governors since 1870. It has 54 rooms, a 49-step red oak staircase, and a $169,000 Victorian fountain, Baltimore magazine reported. It has seven public rooms featuring portraits of George Washington and Queen Henrietta Maria, according to the Maryland State Archives.

Massachusetts doesn't have a governor's mansion, but reports say it was almost the Ames-Webster Mansion in the early 1970s.

Since the 1850s, there have been several attempts to establish an official governor's residence in Massachusetts. Mostly, the reason it didn't happen, on several different occasions, is financing, Curbed Boston reported. In the early 1970s, the Ames-Webster Mansion was reportedly a possibility to become the governor's mansion, but then-Gov. Frank Sargent was wary about spending, as he'd recently proposed a tax increase.

The Michigan governor's mansion is in Lansing.

The 8,700-square-foot, Ranch-style mansion was built in 1957, and has been the state's official residence since 1969, The Detroit News reported. It has five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

In 2004, $2.5 million of private funds were spent to renovate the home.

The governor of Michigan also gets a summer residence on Mackinac Island, The Detroit News reported. It has been state-owned since 1944 and has 11 bedrooms.

The Minnesota governor's mansion is in St. Paul.

The 16,000-square-foot English Tudor-style mansion was finished in 1912 and became the state's official residence in 1965, according to the official website of the Minnesota Governor's Residence. It sits on 1 acre of ritzy Summit Avenue. Inside, there are nine fireplaces, seven bedrooms, and 10 bathrooms.

The Mississippi governor's mansion is in Jacksonville.

The Greek Revival-style mansion was built in 1842. It is the second-oldest continuously occupied governor's residence in the US, according to Mississippi Encyclopedia.

The Missouri governor's mansion is in Jefferson City.

The three-story brick mansion was built in 1872 and has been the official residence since then. It has 13 bedrooms and a 17-foot-high great hall, the St. Louis Post-Distpatch reported. Due to the period when it was built, it originally didn't have any bathrooms or closets.

The full schedule of seasonal tours is available on the mansion's official website.

The Montana governor's mansion is in Helena.

In 2024, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and first lady Susan Gianforte purchased the Samuel T. Hauser House, a historic mansion in Helena, to use as their primary residence and donate to the state for future governors to use.

They paid $4 million for the home, which former Montana Gov. Samuel T. Hauser built in 1855, according to a statement from the governor's office.

The Gianfortes had to move out of the previous governor's mansion in 2021 due to necessary repairs.

The Nebraska governor's mansion is in Lincoln.

The 15,340-square-foot Georgian Colonial-style mansion was opened in 1958, according to the Office of the Governor. It has 27 rooms, 12 bathrooms, and four fireplaces.

In the 1980s, then-first gentleman Bill Orr was critical of the interior decor and helped raise money for renovations by authoring a cookbook, People magazine reported. In 1997, an elevator was also built inside, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported.

The Nevada governor's mansion is in Carson City.

The Classical Revival-style, two-story mansion was built in 1909, according to the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. It has 23 rooms, a grand entrance area, a private den, a formal dining area, two salons, and a wrap-around porch on the second story.

In 1969, a circular pergola, curved front stairs, and metal balustrades were added to the house, according to Visit Carson City. A $5 million renovation in 1999 added a 6,608-square-foot building called the Nevada room, which can cater to 300 guests.

The New Hampshire governor's mansion is in Concord.

The 6,725-square-foot brick mansion, also known as "Bridges House," was built in 1836 and donated to the state in 1969, according to the governor's office.

Governors and their families have typically not lived there because it only has two bedrooms. Only Gov. Mel Thomson actually lived in it during his term in the 1970s, the Concord Monitor reported. Most governors use it for official events instead.

The home fell into disrepair in the 1990s, but former Gov. John Lynch and his wife, first lady Susan Lynch, resurrected the house.

The New Jersey governor's mansion is in Princeton.

The Greek-Revival mansion, called "Drumthwacket," was built in 1834. It has 20 rooms, a library, a music room, and sits on 11 acres filled with Italian gardens. The state purchased it in 1966.

Every Christmas, the mansion is decorated and opened to the public.

The last New Jersey governor to live there full-time was James E. McGreevey, who resigned in 2004, The New York Times reported.

The New Mexico governor's mansion is in Santa Fe.

The 8,000-square-foot Territorial Revival-style mansion was built in the mid-1950s. It is the third official residence for New Mexico. Harrison Ford was married on the mansion grounds.

Tours are offered from April to November and can be booked through the New Mexico Governor's Mansion Foundation.

The New York governor's mansion is in Albany.

The mansion was built in 1856 and has been the official residence for 32 governors since 1875. It has 40 rooms, a 20-foot master bathroom, and two swimming pools — one indoor and one outdoor, The New York Times reported. It sits on 6 acres.

Notable incidents include when Theodore Roosevelt had to break in through a first-floor window when he locked himself out, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo getting spooked when he thought it was haunted by the spirit of a groundskeeper who served the house's original owners, The New York Post reported.

The North Carolina governor's mansion is in Raleigh.

The 35,000-square-foot, Victorian-style mansion has been the official residence since 1891, according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Inside, it has rooms with 16.5-foot ceilings, an elevator, and a bomb shelter.

The mansion sits on almost 5 acres, and is the country's third-biggest governor's mansion, Walter magazine reported. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt thought it had the most beautiful interior out of all of them, according to Visit Raleigh.

The North Dakota governor's mansion is in Bismarck.

The 13,700-square-foot mansion was finished in 2018 and cost nearly $5 million to build, the Bismarck Tribune reported. It has six bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, marble floors, white-oak walls, and cedar ceilings, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

It also has a 22-foot ceiling in its reception area, with a spiral staircase that's meant to resemble the Capitol's Memorial Hall.

The Ohio governor's mansion is in Columbus.

The 13,000-square-foot mansion was built in the 1920s and has housed governors since 1957, according to Friends of the Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden. It has 20 rooms and features a 3-acre heritage garden.

The Oklahoma governor's mansion is in Oklahoma City.

The 14,000-square-foot, Dutch Colonial-style mansion has been the official residence since 1928, ABC affiliate KTUL reported. It has a limestone exterior that matches the State Capitol, and a walnut-paneled library filled with books about the state or written by writers from the state, The Oklahoman reported.

It also has an Oklahoma-shaped pool and a tennis court that was originally built as a landing pad for President Lyndon B. Johnson's helicopter.

The Oregon governor's mansion is in Salem.

The 11,409-square-foot, Tudor-style mansion, called "Mahonia Hall," has been the official residence since 1987. It was built in the 1920s, the Statesman Journal reported.

It has eight bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a wine cellar, a sun room, and a ballroom.

The Pennsylvania governor's mansion is in Harrisburg.

The Georgian-style, 28,000-square-foot mansion was built in 1968 and became the official governor's residence that same year, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's official website. The home is three stories tall and sits on 3.5 acres of land filled with gardens and beehives.

The home was damaged in April 2025 when an arsonist set fire to the property. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were inside, but unharmed. Their living quarters have reopened, but other parts of the mansion continue to undergo repairs. In October, a man pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder, in relation to the incident and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.

Rhode Island doesn't have a governor's mansion.

Rhode Island's state legislature used to move locations, making a set governor's mansion impractical, WPRO reported.

In addition, Rhode Island's size makes for a short commute, and the state reportedly lacked funds to acquire another property while constructing the State House in the early 1900s.

The South Carolina governor's mansion is in Columbia.

The two-story, Federal-style mansion was built in 1855, originally as officers' quarters for a military academy, The New York Times reported. It has been the official residence since 1868.

Inside, there's a formal drawing room and a state dining room. The mansion sits on 9 acres and is shaded by old magnolias, oaks, and elms, according to the National Register of Historic Places.

The mansion has housed more than 30 governors and their families. In 2003, then-Gov. Mark Sanford and his family moved into the house after renovations, but due to accepting the lowest bid from construction companies, poor repairs led to six family members having to move into the one-room pool house, The New York Times reported.

For the last 40 years, the mansion has been decorated and opened to the public every Christmas.

The South Dakota governor's mansion is in Pierre.

The 14,000-square-foot, two-story mansion has been the official governor's residence since 2005, according to the South Dakota Bureau of Administration.

The mansion has five bedrooms, a grand dining hall that can hold 80 people, two fireplaces, and a commercial kitchen. Its exterior is a mixture of field stone, copper flashing, brick, and concrete.

The Tennessee governor's mansion is in Nashville.

The three-story, Georgian-style mansion was built in 1931 and became the official residence in 1949, according to the government of Tennessee's official website. The house has 16 rooms, including a 14,000-square-foot banquet and meeting space beneath its front lawn.

Inside, some of the art includes a portrait of Elvis Presley and photos of him when he was dating then-Gov. Buford Ellington's daughter, The Tennessean reported. The entrance has a black-and-white marble floor — the black marble was imported from Belgium, and the white from Georgia.

It sits on 10 acres and used to be called "Far Hills" because of its view.

The Texas governor's mansion is in Austin.

The Greek Revival-style mansion has been the state's official residence since 1856, according to the Texas State Preservation Board. The house has a veranda, floor-to-ceiling windows, and six 29-foot columns along the front porch.

In 2008, an arsonist threw a Molotov cocktail at the house and caused major damage, The New York Times reported. Then-Gov. Rick Perry and his family (who weren't at the house during the fire) couldn't move back in for four years.

Before the fire, it housed Texas politician Sam Houston's four-poster bed, and the writing desk of Stephen F. Austin, who has been dubbed the founder of Texas, according to the Texas governor's office.

The Utah governor's mansion is in Salt Lake City.

The French Renaissance mansion, called the "Kearns Mansion," was built in 1902 and became the official residence in 1937, according to the state of Utah's official website. It has 28 rooms including six bathrooms, 10 fireplaces, a ballroom, a billiards room, two dining rooms, and three vaults for wine and other valuables, Deseret News reported.

The interior is decorated in bronze, iron, Russian mahogany, and oak from France and England. The mansion has a bowling alley in the basement, and used to have a large metal safe to keep candy guarded.

In 1993, a fire damaged the building and almost $8 million was spent restoring the residence, according to Salt Lake City's City Hall.

Vermont doesn't have a governor's mansion.

Gov. Phil Scott lives with his family in Berlin, Vermont.

The Virginia governor's mansion is in Richmond.

The two-story, Federal-style mansion has been the official Virginia governor's residence since 1813. It is the oldest governor's mansion in the country still in use, according to its official website.

It has hosted Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Barack Obama.

The Washington governor's mansion is in Olympia.

The Georgian-style brick mansion has been the Washington governor's official residence since 1909, according to the Olympia Governor's Mansion Foundation. The house features a ballroom and a state dining room.

The West Virginia governor's mansion is in Charleston.

The Georgian Colonial-style mansion has been the official residence since 1925, according to the West Virginia Humanities Council.

The house has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, a drawing room, a ballroom, a state dining room, a sitting room, and a library. At its entrance, there are black-and-white marble floors; the black is from Belgium, the white from Tennessee. It also has dual staircases, which were inspired by the White House.

The Wisconsin governor's mansion is in Maple Bluff.

The Classical Revival-style, three-story mansion was built in 1927 and has been the official governor's residence since 1950, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

It has seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, and its walls are between 12 and 18 inches thick, according to the mansion's official website. The grounds feature 10 gardens and overlook Lake Mendota.

The Wyoming governor's mansion is in Cheyenne.

The current Wyoming governor's mansion was built in 1976 after the previous mansion was turned into a museum, according to the Wyoming Historical Society. The grounds feature a bronze statue of deer titled "Open Season" by Guadalupe Barajas, according to the nonprofit Arts Cheyenne.

Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2019. It was most recently updated in 2026. James Pasley contributed to an earlier version of this story.

• A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
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I interviewed Peter Gostev, AI capability lead at Arena.ai, recently. He created what I call the defecation test, officially known as BullshitBench. Something else he mentioned caught my attention, though.

It's a striking example of AI agents in the wild. While editing photos in Adobe Lightroom, he had 50 images that needed denoising, a tedious task typically done one-by-one. Instead of doing it manually, or even knowing how to batch it, Gostev let OpenAI's Codex AI coding service figure it out.

"You have to go and click into each one to denoise 50 photos. That sounds like hard work, so I just got Codex to go and work out how to do that," Gostev told me. "It just worked."

What's notable is how Codex pulled this off: not through an official API, plugin, or browser workaround, but by somehow interfacing directly with the desktop app, despite no clear support for this.

Gostev is technically advanced and what he did here is something I probably couldn't do. Still, it's a glimpse of where AI agents are heading: not just assisting, but autonomously navigating and operating software like a human would (or in this case doing it faster and better than a smart human).

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

• The Masters, which concludes Sunday, is among the most-watched sports events in the world.
• Despite the prestige, the Masters is also home to plenty of quirks and odd traditions.
• From cheap food to a surprising lack of wildlife, it is a tradition unlike any other.

The Masters kicked off at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on Thursday, with golf's biggest talents all vying for a green jacket.

The tournament is among the world's most-watched sports events. Last year's competition, which ended with a long-coveted win for Rory McIlroy, averaged 12.7 million viewers, the tournament's largest viewership since 2018, per Yahoo Sports.

While prestige and honor are synonymous with the Masters, the competition is also full of oddities and quirks. Also ever-present are the golf club's surprising rules and traditions, ranging from a ban on backward hats to autographs only being permitted in designated areas.

Here are 34 surprising quirks and traditions that make the Masters unique.

Food prices are ridiculously low.

As a silver lining for fans who participated in the ticket lottery or shelled out thousands of dollars on the resale market, the Masters has concession prices that are more reminiscent of 1996 than 2026.

Two items — the egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches — have been $1.50 since 2002, per USA Today. A serving of beer or wine, the most expensive items on the menu, costs $6.

Tipping is banned.

At Augusta, you'll have to think twice about floating your caddie a few 20s, The New York Times reported.

Cell phones are prohibited at all times, and cameras are not permitted during the tournament.

Yes, the Masters has a longstanding ban on cell phones, though chairman Fred Ridley said in 2019 said he thinks patrons appreciate the rule.

The same can be said for some players.

Two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler said of the ban, "There's no people asking for selfies in the middle of the round. It's very calm out there, and people follow the rules here. For us as players, it's really an enjoyable experience," USA Today reported.

It's one of the only places in the US where there are long lines for payphones.

For those in attendance who just can't wait to make a call, there are payphones available.

There's a large fence around the course to keep out animals.

Per the New York Times, there has been one deer sighting in the last 65 years, and visitors often talk of never seeing a single squirrel.

Birds are also mysteriously rarely seen at Augusta National.

Bird sounds are heard during television broadcasts, but there is a rumor that those sounds are artificial. Some patrons, like Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, have reported seeing no birds at Augusta National.

Augusta National insists that all birds are real and native to the area.

The lakes are also reportedly artificially enhanced to look immaculate on TV.

Golf Digest tested the water on one hole in 1996 and reported it contained blue food dye. Augusta National has never commented publicly on the report.

Dyed water or not, there's good fishing at Augusta National.

The players, though, don't like to talk about it because it is forbidden.

In 2011, Forbes interviewed golfers about the best fishing spots on the PGA Tour. When Augusta was brought up, he described their responses as "squeamish" and they only admitted to hearing there were some good spots.

For years, it was thought that the course's lone palm tree was a myth.

For a long time, there was a legend of a single palm tree on the Augusta National Golf Club. It was said to be hidden by larger trees on the fourth hole, and only golfers who hit a terrible shot into the woods had seen it.

In 2006, the fourth hole was lengthened to ensure it remained challenging for golfers with modern equipment. During the work, many trees were removed, revealing the lone palm tree.

Golf.com reported that there used to be more palms in the area until a winter storm destroyed all but one.

Only 4 minutes of commercials per hour are allowed during the broadcast.

While seemingly unheard of in modern sports broadcasting, the Masters has stayed consistent in its allotted commercial time over the years, Golf Monthly reported.

TV commentators are not allowed to refer to fans as "fans" or "spectators."

They are to be called "patrons." In fact, weekly passes to the Masters are called "patron badges."

The rough is also to be referred to as the "second cut."

According to Golf Digest, Augusta annually releases its mowing specs. This year, the "second cut" is 1 3/8 inches.

Players had to use local caddies provided by Augusta until 1983.

Augusta's caddies at the time didn't use yardage books, instead relying on course knowledge and feel, according to the Golf Heritage Society.

Players are now allowed to use their own caddies, but they must wear the Augusta uniform: a green hat and a white jumpsuit.

Per the Masters, in the late 1940s, caddies began to wear these outfits so they could be set apart from the crowd.

For the rest of the year, caddies at Augusta can wear whatever they want.

Patrons aren't allowed to wear their hats backward.

The rule even applies to players. In 2011, top-ranked Rickie Fowler was wearing his hat backwards at a press conference, where he was promptly ordered to turn it around, per Yahoo Sports.

Patrons can bring collapsible chairs to sit on, but they must not have armrests.

Patrons can also arrive early, stake a claim to a small plot of land on the course, place their chair, and then wander around the course without losing their spot. Most own the official green Masters chair, which sells for $30 in the shop, per Golf.com.

There is also an unwritten rule that it is acceptable to sit in an unoccupied chair as long as you are willing to move when the owner returns.

Running is not allowed unless you are a player.

Even for a bathroom break or concessions run, patrons must walk.

Grounds crew members used to wear hard hats.

Even though some workers may still wear them for certain jobs, all grounds crew members wore them into the early 2000s to protect themselves from flying golf balls.

Many of the grounds crew members are volunteers, but volunteers get to play the course.

Augusta National holds an "Appreciation Day" after the tournament, when all volunteers get to play the course.

The course used cows as lawnmowers in the 1940s.

World War II affected Augusta just like it did the rest of the country. During the war, Augusta didn't have the manpower to maintain the course, so they set 200 cattle loose on the grounds in hopes that they would "trim" the grass by eating it.

Unfortunately, it backfired as the grass was not being replanted and the cows turned to the azaleas and bark of young trees, per Golf Digest.

Another odd myth is that the grounds crew at Augusta packs the azalea plants with ice if spring comes early.

The practice, known as "the ice theory," is believed to keep the plants from flowering too soon before the tournament, but horticulturalists have cast doubts on the theory.

There is a house located in the middle of the Augusta National parking lot because the owners refuse to sell it, reportedly turning down millions.

While Augusta National has spent hundreds of millions acquiring property around the course, one house still stands in a once full neighborhood.

Fox Business reported, "The home at 1112 Stanley Rd. was built in 1959 by Herman and Elizabeth Thacker, and it still stands just across from Gate 6-A."

You can't apply to become a member at Augusta, and nobody outside of Augusta knows how many members there are.

It's nearly impossible to become a member at Augusta.

Per Golf.com, you have to be nominated by a current Augusta member, and new initiations generally aren't accepted unless someone quits or dies. The total membership hovers around 300.

Augusta is closed in the summer to keep the course in pristine shape.

The closure from May to October allows the club to make changes, which is part of the reason it's the most renovated golf course in the world, according to Golf.com.

Golfers must return their green jackets to Augusta National one year after winning the Masters.

After that, their jacket can only be worn when they are at Augusta National.

Also, if a player wins more than one Masters, he does not receive a second green jacket unless his size changes considerably.

When Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters in 2019, it was very likely the same jacket he was given for his first win in 1997.

There is no set field size for the Masters.

Past winners who get a lifetime invitation to compete in the Masters are not taking spots from younger, more deserving players. In fact, there's a long list of ways to qualify.

Players are given a brand new Mercedes for use during the week.

Golf cart drivers hired to drive players around Augusta National also pick up the golfers at the airport in the Mercedes they will be using. The cars have a number in the back window so that employees can always identify the players by the car they are in.

Though elusive, tickets are cheap, and a patron badge that grants you access to the entire week is $450.

There is a waiting list for the elusive and mysterious patron badges, but it has been closed since 2000.

A limited number of single-day tickets are sold via lottery each year. Those are $150 for the tournament rounds and $125 for practice rounds.

You can go to jail for buying or selling tickets near Augusta National.

The course is strict about who it lets into the tournament, and it's illegal to sell tickets within 2,700 feet of the gates.

Twenty-four people were arrested outside Augusta in 2012 for trying to scalp tickets, the Augusta Chronicle reported.

You can also go to jail for trying to take sand home as a souvenir.

In 2012, Clayton Baker made headlines when he made a quick run to a bunker to get some sand to take home. He was quickly arrested and thrown in jail. The charges were ultimately dropped, but he says the incident cost him $20,000 and led to depression because of how he was treated.

Meanwhile, those bunkers at Augusta are filled with mining waste.

The sand comes from Spruce Pine mining area near the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, per Golf News Net. The sand is merely a byproduct from the quartz and feldspar mining.

You can only ask for autographs in one part of the course.

The tournament enforces the rule "for player safety and protection," per its website.

"Autograph seeking is only allowed in areas adjacent to the Tournament Practice Area and No. 9 green of the Par 3 course during the Par 3 Contest," the rules state.

The pro shop is unlike any other in sports. It is the only place to buy Masters gear, and it sells 125 different styles of caps.

The shop opened in 2018, and unlike the concessions, prices aren't cheap. Patrons have a wide selection of items to choose from, and the store's 64 registers prevent long lines.

• I ran a successful brick-and-mortar store for decades.
• I decided to shut down the business in my 50s, turning my back on an identity I had built.
• I'm reconnecting with what lights me up and reinventing myself at 56.

In 2024, I woke up to a difficult truth: I was unhappy. A solopreneur since the early 2000s, I'd built a six-figure business while raising three boys.

My workaholic drive meant giving my all to every client. It paid off: the photography studio I ran earned flawless five-star Google reviews and a long roster of loyal clients. I even earned industry recognition (including a book deal and invitations to speak on stages at national events).

But around me, things had been changing. The market had grown more crowded every year. The unique approach I'd brought to the marketplace had become common practice. And I — at 55 — was not the same person as the 30-something who'd started the business.

I slowly found myself quietly wondering whether and how to unravel a business that had taken 20 years to build. Friends and family wondered if walking away made any sense. But deep inside, I felt a yearning for change. I'd lost touch with the parts of myself that once felt creative and inspired. I was ready to grow and evolve. The life I'd built no longer fit.

Leaping into the unknown

In October of 2024, I closed the business for good. It wasn't easy. It meant stepping away from an identity I'd carefully built, and from the financial security it provided. I needed space to figure out what I wanted next as I entered the second half of life.

When I locked the doors for the last time, I felt happy. Relief washed away any regret I thought I'd have. I felt lighter — free from the burden of a business I no longer enjoyed, and that no longer fueled my own growth. I'd been stagnant, and now I was free to move forward, to find new ways to express myself, to do work that felt meaningful again.

Having connected with lots of other women my age, I've learned I'm not alone in making a midlife leap.

Rediscovering purpose in midlife

After giving myself space and settling into a slower pace with no more 48-hour workweeks, I dove into learning. I signed up for a few courses, curious to see where inspiration would lead.

I reflected on all the iterations I'd experienced in the past: corporate professional, career coach and trainer, and small-business owner. I then crafted a list of my skills, knowledge areas, and natural abilities. Then I repeated the process from the inside out, reflecting on where I felt excitement and expansion.

Suddenly, I saw all the unwritten books I'd placed on the "someday" shelf. I saw myself speaking from stages to women struggling with menopause and midlife transitions. And I understood why it had been time to move forward.

I'm not done working. I'm redirecting my talent and life experiences. I'm choosing a new path that feels meaningful given the stage of life I'm in and the challenges I face as a menopausal woman.

This year, I enrolled in a coaching certification program tailored to address the needs of menopausal women. I've learned that although many midlife women might be rethinking their lives and seeking a renewed sense of meaning and purpose, the pressures of career and caregiving hold many back from leaning into the shifts they feel called to make. The obstacles are both emotional and practical.

A mentor once told me: You are what you spend your time doing. As I step forward with renewed purpose and energy, I'm confident that with each step, I'm building a life that fits the new version of me I'm growing into. I spend mornings writing my books and pitching essays. My afternoons involve learning, building a network, and following through on my commitment to a daily wellness activity. In the evenings, I spend quality time with my husband, who's now retired, and we plan trips to exciting new places.

And for the first time in years, I feel like myself again.

• I'm a competitive swimmer who lost 60 pounds last year without spending a fortune on food.
• My pantry is always stocked with Kirkland Signature protein bars and Chomps beef sticks.
• I love starting my day with Kirkland Signature sous vide egg bites.

Losing weight isn't easy, especially when money is tight. After all, it can be difficult to make healthier food choices on a budget.

Thankfully, though, as a frequent Costco shopper, I found lots of nutritious, wallet-friendly options that helped me lose over 60 pounds.

Here are seven products that helped me lose weight and stay on track of my goals as a competitive swimmer.

Prices may vary by location.

The Kirkland Signature beef bulgogi is a great dinner option.

Back in high school and college, I used to consume most of my calories through unhealthy dinner choices. So, I knew I had to make a change.

Luckily, I found Costco's sweet yet savory beef bulgogi. When paired with some brown rice and vegetables, a sensible serving of this high-protein meal leaves me feeling full.

A package cost me a little over $23, which I thought was a total steal.

My pantry is always stocked with Kirkland Signature protein bars.

Whenever I'm at Costco, I love picking up the variety pack of 20 Kirkland Signature protein bars for $26.50.

Each serving is loaded with 21 grams of protein and real chocolate. They're a nice treat that doesn't make my diet feel too restrictive.

For a midday snack replacement, I love having a Muscle Milk protein shake.

I used to turn to potato chips or pretzels for a midday snack, but that wasn't working out so well for my waistline. Once I substituted those with Muscle Milk protein shakes, though, I started to feel better.

A box of 18 bottles cost me $22.70, making these an excellent, budget-friendly choice.

These budget-friendly Chomps beef sticks quickly became one of my go-to snacks.

Chomps grass-fed beef sticks are easy to enjoy when I'm at work or heading home from the gym.

Each stick is packed with 10 grams of protein, 100 calories, and a mild kick, making them a tasty, protein-packed option. A bag of 12 cost me $17.

Liquid IV makes staying hydrated more exciting.

Hydration is an important aspect of weight loss, but sometimes, I can get bored of plain water. So, I like to use a Liquid IV electrolyte mix to add some flavor.

A pack of 30 sticks cost me $33, which I think is a great deal. Plus, drinking more water throughout the day helps me stay fuller — and less likely to snack.

Kirkland Signature sous vide egg bites are my favorite way to start the day.

When I need a quick breakfast option before going to work, I usually have these incredible Kirkland Signature egg bites.

Between the bacon and Gouda, these are loaded with crunch, protein, and flavor.

At $14.30 for five servings, I think they're a great deal, too.

The Genius Gourmet sparkling protein drinks make it easy to avoid soda.

One of my new favorite beverages is the Genius Gourmet sparkling blue-raspberry lemonade. Each can contains 30 grams of protein and 130 calories.

At $32.90 for 15 cans, I think it's a fair price, and makes staying away from soda feel much easier.

Keep reading our Costco diaries here.

• I've studied around the world and even earned my master's degree, but I still can't find a job.
• I've applied to over 1,000 jobs, but most of the listings just disappear.
• I'm frustrated because I thought I did everything right, but I'm now focusing on freelancing.

For most of my life, I believed in a very specific formula: work hard in school, build a strong résumé, study abroad, learn languages, get a master's degree, and be globally aware.

I studied journalism and media, and I leaned into storytelling early on. I spent time abroad multiple times in Rome, Florence, Kuwait, and Scotland. I learned how to navigate new cultures, new systems, and new expectations. I became fluent in spaces that were not designed for a first-generation student like me.

After graduating, I went on to earn my master's degree in international affairs as part of the inaugural cohort at John Cabot University in Rome (again). I focused on global justice, human rights, and representation. I contributed to research on the gig economy, attended UN conferences both in Italy and Azerbaijan, and built what I thought was a strong, competitive profile.

I completed my MA degree early, believing I had done everything right. But I still can't find a job.

I applied everywhere, across countries and industries

Since graduating, I've applied to over 1,000 jobs.

That includes roles in Rome with UN agencies, NGOs, and humanitarian organizations. It also includes jobs across the US — in-person, hybrid, and remote roles. I applied to communications positions, research roles, media jobs, and anything that aligned with my background in storytelling and global affairs.

I tailored résumés. I wrote cover letters that took hours. I researched organizations, memorized their missions, reached out to every connection, and prepared for interviews like they were exams.

Out of all those applications, I've gotten 15 interviews. Only two of those moved me to a second round. Less than five of the roles I interviewed for were actually filled.

For the rest, I watched the same job postings reappear weeks or months later. Were those even real positions?

It started to feel like I wasn't competing for jobs. I was competing for the possibility of a job.

The hardest part is not knowing what I'm doing wrong

Rejection is one thing. Uncertainty is another.

When you don't get a job, you can usually point to something. Maybe someone had more experience. Maybe you didn't interview well. Maybe the role just wasn't the right fit.

But what do you do when there's no outcome at all? When positions stay open indefinitely. When companies repost roles without hiring. When you make it through multiple steps and still hear nothing back.

It creates this constant loop in your mind. You start questioning everything: your degree, your experience, and the choices you made.

I did everything I was told would make me employable. Yet, I've never felt more unsure about where I stand.

Freelancing became my way of earning

At some point, I had to shift my focus from waiting to building.

During undergrad, I spent four years working in publicity and creative marketing. That became the one thing I could return to when the job market kept shutting me out.

Now, I freelance as a creative director and marketing professional. I design campaigns, create visual content, and work with clients to build cohesive brand identities. I've worked on everything from social media strategy to email marketing to photoshoots to editorial visuals.

It's not stable or the full-time role I desire for myself. But it's something I built myself.

Freelancing has taught me how to trust my skills in a different way. It's shown me that I don't need permission to create meaningful work.

Still, there's a difference between surviving and feeling secure. I'm still trying to figure out how to bridge that gap.

Not having stability forced me to rethink what I actually want

For a long time, I was chasing stability as it was defined for me: a full time job, steady paycheck, and clear title. But not having that has pushed me to ask a different question. What kind of work do I actually want to be doing?

The answer keeps bringing me back to storytelling.

I want to be a creative director who focuses on telling BIPOC stories with care and accuracy. I want to create media that doesn't flatten people into stereotypes or reduce cultures into trends. I want to build projects that feel honest, layered, and intentional.

That's the work I've been drawn to for years. It's also the work I kept putting off because I thought I needed something more "stable" first.

Now, I'm starting to see that maybe the path I was following was never designed to lead me there.

I'm still figuring it out

I don't have a clean ending to this story.

I'm still applying for jobs while freelancing, and trying to make sense of a system that feels unpredictable and, at times, impossible to navigate.

But I also know this: the effort I've put in hasn't been wasted. It just didn't lead me where I expected. Maybe that means I have to build something different instead.

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

Back in full swing

The Masters kicked swung off earlier this week in Augusta, Georgia, marking the unofficial start of golf season.

And while many are tuned in to see if the favorite, Scottie Scheffler, will win the coveted green jacket, or if the returning champion Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm will wear it, I'm focused on the merch. Sue me.

I'm not the only one. The Masters merch, which is only sold on-site (unless you're OK with paying a lot more on the resale market), is one of the tournament's biggest revenue streams. Some reports say it's previously brought in about $69 million.

The Masters' garden gnomes have been all the rage for years, but this year — with reports that they may be discontinued — the fervor over these little odd-bearded creatures has reached fever pitch.

The golf tournament revealed on Instagram that this year's gnomes are sporting green Masters' hats, navy blue vests, and khaki slacks. The gnomes' hands are also full: One is holding a coffee cup, and the other's got a matching umbrella. It's a nice nod to Georgia's weather, since it's a bit rainy this time of year.

While it's nearly impossible to get your hands on these coveted creatures (they tend to sell out by morning!), there's still plenty of other merch available if you can withstand the lines in the pro shop.

And for those of us watching from afar, it still feels like we're buying into the moment. Right?

• Michael Burry of "The Big Short" says tech stocks are even more richly valued than they seem.
• The investor pointed the finger at stock-based compensation in a lengthy Substack analysis.
• He argued that Wall Street's forward earnings estimates for the Nasdaq 100 are 42% overstated.

The AI boom has catapulted tech stocks to historic highs, with many trading at punchy valuations. They're even more expensive than they appear, Michael Burry says.

The investor of "The Big Short" fame explained why he thinks this in a detailed Substack post this week, which he said was the product of weeks spent reviewing more than 1,000 annual reports from Nasdaq 100 companies going back a decade.

Burry's central claim is that companies, and the Wall Street analysts who cover them, don't properly account for the full costs of stock-based compensation.

He says they should include the money spent buying back shares to offset the dilution they cause, and the net taxes related to the shares vesting.

Burry said he calculated that under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Nasdaq 100 earnings are overstated by nearly 20% because SBC costs aren't fully factored in.

That means if the index is trading at a GAAP price-to-earnings ratio of 25, the real multiple is closer to 30, he wrote.

Burry also argued that Wall Street's forward earnings estimates are 42% higher than actual owners' earnings that have been properly adjusted for SBC costs.

"Of every dollar of earnings per share that GAAP blesses, shareholders see only 83.49 cents of that dollar," he wrote.

"The wayward 16.51 cents wave crudely at GAAP and thumb their noses at shareholders on their way to employees' pockets."

Burry wrote that he calculated that the 97 primary constituents of the Nasdaq 100 reported $4.9 trillion in cumulative GAAP net income over the decade ending in fiscal 2025.

Wall Street analysts, in part by adding back SBC, pegged that figure at $5.8 trillion. Meanwhile, Burry's analysis put "true owners' earnings" at $4.1 trillion.

The $1.7 trillion gap is an "earnings illusion," he wrote, as it reflects the "difference between what shareholders really owned of corporate earnings and what Wall Street and media reported."

"Wall Street over the last 10 years guided investors to 42% more earnings than ever actually existed," he added.

'Serious issue'

Burry gave Meta as an example, saying it had overstated owners' earnings by about 20% by not properly accounting for SBC costs in its financials.

While Meta might appear to trade at 19 times forward earnings, its real forward price-to-earnings multiple is 24 once SBC costs are factored in, he wrote. If shareholders only receive about 83% of GAAP income, then they're paying a multiple of 28, he added.

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

"Putting this in perspective, if Wall Street earnings estimates are the basis for most discussion of index P/E ratios, those discussions are entirely, wholly, woefully misguided," Burry wrote.

He criticized companies for treating SBC as "free compensation they use to keep employees happy," saying it's a "serious issue" that can eat into shareholders' long-term returns.

The investor, known for shorting the mid-2000s housing bubble and issuing cryptic warnings, singled out Tesla once again.

Burry said that the EV maker's use of SBC is so significant that removing it from his analysis reduces the aggregate GAAP overstatement from about 20% to 12.5%, he wrote.

Burry also called out Tesla's $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk. "Such a beastly mass would dwarf everything in my data set, even Tesla's own epic deadweight," he wrote.

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

Burry also mentioned companies like Datadog, Workday, Axon, Shopify, Palantir, Marvell, CrowdStrike, and Zscaler.

"From an owners' earnings' perspective, a cesspool of shareholder disregard," Burry wrote.

• A millennial began secretly working multiple remote jobs to pay down debt.
• He earned more than $280,000 in 2022 across three full-time recruiting roles.
• Layoffs and a hiring slowdown forced him to give up overemployment and change careers.

Michael struggled to pay down debt until he turned to an unconventional strategy: secretly working multiple full-time jobs at once.

In 2020, Michael was working remotely as a technical recruiter, and his job wasn't very demanding. He wished he could do something more productive with his time.

"The only thing I could think about was: if I could get another job, I could save that whole salary," said Michael, who is in his 30s and lives in California. His asked to use a pseudonym and his identity was verified by Business Insider.

Two years later, Michael was earning more than $280,000 by juggling three full-time remote recruiting jobs, using the income to pay down his student loan and credit card debt and grow his savings. He said the setup was unsustainable but worth it.

"It was extremely significant while it lasted," he said.

Over the past three years, Business Insider has interviewed more than two dozen overemployed workers who have used their extra income to travel, pay off debt, buy weight-loss drugs, and retire early.

Most of them say the extra money outweighs the risk of burnout or professional repercussions — though tech layoffs and return-to-office mandates have limited the remote roles job jugglers rely on.

Michael shared how he managed to juggle three jobs, and why the arrangement eventually fell apart.

Joining the ranks of the overemployed

In 2021, Michael stumbled upon the "overemployed" community on Reddit, where users share stories and advice about working multiple jobs simultaneously.

The more he learned, the more attractive it seemed. His current recruiting job wasn't demanding, hiring was starting to boom across the US economy — which meant more demand for recruiters — and many roles were remote due to the pandemic, which made job juggling easier.

But he didn't want to rush it. Michael had recently started a new full-time remote role, doing internal recruiting in the e-commerce industry. He wanted to make sure he felt settled before taking on a whole new job.

By early 2022, he'd grown used to the workload. He also suspected that the window to capitalize on the overemployment trend was closing, in part due to economic concerns that hiring might slow down.

"I was like, okay, 'It's time for job number two,'" he said.

That June, Michael started a second technical recruiter position, in the finance industry. Like his original job, his new position wasn't very demanding. While the company was hiring, many open roles already had preferred candidates, leaving him with relatively little to do.

Michael said that on a typical day, he'd work his original job from roughly 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., take a break, then focus on his second job for about two hours — about six hours of work a day.

"After that I was done," he said. "I wasn't even working a full 40 hours a week."

Going from two jobs to three

Once working two jobs felt comfortable, Michael decided to go for three.

By September 2022, he'd landed a third technical recruiter position at a consulting firm. Michael soon found that his new role was the most demanding, so he restructured his workday.

He began waking up at 5 a.m. to work his original role for about four hours. After a break, he'd bounce between his other two jobs from roughly 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. After lunch, he'd finish off any outstanding tasks.

Despite juggling three full-time jobs, Michael said he still typically didn't work 40 hours a week. But by late 2022, the hiring boom that had made his overemployment possible began to fade.

The end of overemployment

In the fall of 2022, recession fears were on the rise, and the Federal Reserve had started raising interest rates to combat inflation — leading some employers to scrap or delay hiring plans.

"Hiring managers that I was working with were basically saying, 'If we don't get these positions hired soon, the budget goes away,'" he said.

By the end of October, most of the positions Michael had been trying to fill were closed without a hire — something he said played out across all three of his jobs over a few-week period.

He suspected that his diminishing workload could put his jobs at risk, and he was proven correct. Michael said that after being laid off from his original job in late 2022, he was laid off from his remaining roles over the following months as the job market cooled. Over the next two years, he managed to find some new positions but, in 2024, he faced a stretch of several months without any work — which he attributed to a slowdown in hiring for recruiting roles.

Michael said his job search took a significant toll on his finances and forced him to temporarily rely on others for housing.

"I had to couch surf," he said. "My whole life changed."

Moving on

Over time, Michael began to question whether he could still make a living in recruiting. It was difficult to find and retain work, and available roles paid significantly less than he'd come to expect.

Eventually, Michael pivoted to the insurance sector, which he thought offered him a better chance at a stable, sustainable income.

Looking back, Michael said he wishes he never had to pursue overemployment in the first place — that one job would have been enough to reach his financial goals. But he said he doesn't regret job juggling, even if it didn't last.

"It was great until it wasn't," he said.

When Deb Stern steps up to the barbell for a heavy back squat, all distractions fall away.

When you're sweating under cold steel, there's no room for stray thoughts. Stresses about her busy caseload as an attorney, her packed schedule as a mom of two, and the hustle of New York City living are eclipsed by the more than 100 pounds of metal she's about to lift.

It's not easy — everything in her mind and body is alert to the challenge, the possibility of failure. She hoists the weight onto her shoulders, the ends of the barbell dipping under massive plates, and she squats, driving through her legs and core to propel the equivalent of a young hippopotamus down and back up, repeatedly.

After her workouts, Stern said, everything else in her life feels easier. She's done the hard thing, trained herself to face down uncertainty and discomfort, and came out stronger.

Outside the gym, Stern is a structured finance lawyer, a specialist in navigating the complex legal framework behind massive piles of cash in loans and investments. It's a high-stakes environment that demands performance every time Stern calls a client or leads a team on a new project. And after a good gym session, she's not only up to the challenge, but embraces it head-on.

"It happens at work every day. Before weight training, I would have been super stressed out," Stern told Business Insider. "Now, no matter what gets thrown at me, I can handle it. Bring it on."

It's not just the endorphins of exercise (though that helps). In an era defined by GLP-1 drugs promising to shed pounds, many women in business and tech are increasingly turning toward gains instead to project an image of competence, drive, and self-mastery. For these women, lifting weights is a way to signal ambition and confidence, and to showcase their discipline. And women aren't lifting alone — gyms have turned workouts into a social ritual, moving networking from happy hour to the gym floor.

"I think strong is the new skinny, and that's why we keep seeing it with young women changing their body image through strength training," Jim Rowley, CEO of Crunch Fitness, told Business Insider.

With interest climbing, gyms and studios are downsizing their cardio equipment to make way for the weights. For instance, Gold's Gym has decreased its cardio space by about 15%, according to the director of performance Erin Gregory. At the same time, they've added 30% more strength training equipment, like more squat racks, benches, and free weights.

"Women are getting more confidence on the weight room floor, which I love to see," Gregory told Business Insider.

Beyond sculpted biceps or heavy squats, strength training is also part of a broader antiaging movement that finally acknowledges that healthy muscle mass is a key factor in living a longer, healthier life.

And ambitious women in the workplace told Business Insider that pumping iron helps build the mental strength needed to climb an ever-steeper corporate ladder.

The right to bare arms

In an era where longevity is the ultimate status symbol, it's hard to beat strength training. Showing off a sculpted, muscular physique signals resilience for the long haul.

A growing body of research suggests that working out, particularly with resistance training, is one of the most effective anti-aging tools we have. Women are increasingly the focus of that research after decades of being assumed to be smaller, less muscular versions of men.

"Once they actually started to study the impacts of strength training on women, the evidence supporting women's strength training was just unbelievable," said personal trainer Kristie Larson.

"Now women are understanding, if I want to be independent into old age, then it's really important for me to start thinking about my bone health and building muscle mass instead of the narrative that we were constantly exposed to of just working out to be skinny."

Women's prestige was once tied to staying small, maintaining a petite figure and tiny waist as evidence that we could have it all: a career, 90 minutes or more of cardio a day, and the ability to subsist on salads and smiles.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Anne Marie Chaker said she vividly recalls, as a rookie journalist, stepping into the office elevator with an editor who tried to compliment her by asking if she had lost weight.

Enter Ozempic.

Over the past five years, prescription weight loss medications have taken the world by storm, with about 1 in every 8 American adults trying them. While GLP-1s are by no means a shortcut to weight loss or health, the drugs have offered an unprecedented means to change one's body far beyond what diet or supplements can consistently do alone. As the drugs have become more affordable, they're also reshaping access to long-term weight loss support.

But you can't buy muscle — yet. It takes hours of sweat and months of consistency to build an athletic body. As a result, showing off a muscular physique has become a status symbol boasting discipline.

Training became a corporate cheat code

More than ever, women are leveraging their physical strength to signal not only their dedication, but their capacity for leadership, said Pattie Sellers, a former assistant managing editor at Fortune.

For two decades, Sellers chaired the magazine's running list of the world's most powerful women, who often showed up in historically male-dominated fields like business and tech. In a bygone era, men in charge would broker deals over scotch and cigars, or lavish dinners on the company's dime.

That won't cut it in today's high-stress environment, where the job requires real stamina, the kind of mental and physical resilience that can't be faked.

"It's not just optics," Sellers said. "You're simply not going to last if you are not strong physically, mentally, emotionally. It is too much of a pressure cooker world for leaders to survive, no matter your industry, unless you're focusing on health and wellness."

For women like Sarah Robb-O'Hagan, a lifelong athlete whose résumé spans Equinox and Nike, strength training was a major source of support at key moments throughout her career, including after the birth of her second child.

She said those hours in the gym have paid dividends in terms of energy, focus, and confidence at the office.

"Even if I didn't feel like getting up and going to the gym, I knew that by the time I came home, it would give me that empowerment for the rest of the day," she said. "Having a strong body equates to a strong mind, equates to me being able to handle the big life that I want to have."

Fitting exercise into your day also highlights effective time management and multitasking skills. Chaker said it's a non-negotiable for her, even when she has to bring her laptop to the gym and take calls or answer emails between sets. She's seen other women do the same.

"It is a flex to show that this is something you prioritize. You can get it all done, and you can be strong and kick ass," Chaker said.

For women, hitting the weights is an opportunity to own the room, take up space at the table literally and metaphorically, said Robb-O'Hagan. As a result, we've seen a new era of execs focused on presenting their physiques as symbols of discipline and rigor, taking up jiu-jitsu, adopting high-protein diets, and practicing intermittent fasting.

"What you can do physically is such a wonderful metaphor for what you can do mentally and emotionally as a leader in the workplace," she told Business Insider. "Because ultimately strength training is about self-efficacy, and that's really what leadership is about as well."

Happy hour at the barbell

Late last year, Chaker had the networking opportunity of a lifetime. At a women's leadership conference in Montana, Chaker ran into a top businesswoman — she wouldn't name-drop out of respect for her privacy, but she's one of the fewer than 500 women billionaires on the planet.

It all started when she asked to borrow Chaker's resistance band during a chance meeting in the hotel gym. The impromptu one-on-one chat offered a more memorable moment of connection than any keynote speech or skill-sharing lunch, she recalled.

"Lifting is a great equalizer," Chaker said.

For Chaker, who became a bodybuilder in her 40s, lifting not only provides her with unique and intimate networking opportunities but also benefits her career.

"When I started lifting, everything in my life changed. I got a raise at work. I was interviewing better. My story ideas got better," Chaker said. "And it wasn't just because of cool muscles. It was because it changed my view of how I took up space in the world."

Women aren't pumping iron in isolation. Boutique fitness, revitalized post-pandemic, has made health an elevated and social event, prompting business leaders to move happy hour from the bar to the barbell.

But even as more women are interested in the weight room, it can still retain an air of gymtimidation. For savvy fitness pros, that's created a prime audience for women-centered strength spaces, according to Larson.

Larson opened her own gym, Tension Strength, in Brooklyn after years of coaching for Row House and other studios. She noticed a demographic of high-achieving women who wanted to level up their exercise beyond cardio and Pilates, but weren't sure where to start.

Strength training, by its nature, requires failure in order to grow. That translates well to an executive mindset, taking on challenges and setbacks to build back better, and gives women in particular a space to practice this skill without judgment.

"We're a lot more conditioned to see men trying and failing, iterating, whereas with women, there's this expectation that we succeed the first time or we disappear," Larson said. "In strength training, confidence translates into all different areas of life because you understand it's safe to try."

Sellers, the former Fortune editor, also sees women's fitness as a means to match the close-knit, exclusive clubs that powerful men have enjoyed for decades. In 1996, just one executive on the Fortune 500 was a woman. Today, they make up 10% — still a long way to go. Sellers hopes that connections built at the gyms could help close the gap.

"We are working really hard to create the female version of the golf course," Sellers said.

• A Florida man who said he never worked for Uber said the app reported income in his name to the IRS.
• Now, the man is suing the ride-hailing app.
• It's the latest example of Uber and other apps struggling to verify who is on their platforms.

Uber and DoorDash are telling the Internal Revenue Service that some people earned thousands of dollars on their platforms — though the people say they never worked for the apps at all.

One such individual is taking his claims to court. Damian Josefsberg alleged that Uber reported over $1,200 in earnings in his name to the IRS for 2021 tax year, in a complaint filed in a Florida court last month. Josefsberg, who lives in Florida and runs a laser alignment company, has never worked for the app, Kenneth Dante Murena, his attorney, told Business Insider.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status, which would add plaintiffs with similar experiences to the complaint.

An Uber spokesperson confirmed that Josefsberg never worked for the app and directed Business Insider to a form on its website titled "1099 delivery error," which asks people to submit erroneous tax forms, a picture of their government ID, a selfie with their ID, and a police report so Uber can investigate.

Josefsberg's experience points to a problem Uber and other gig-work apps have faced for years: the people who drive passengers or deliver food aren't always who they say they are, and some have bought accounts on illegal markets rather than getting proper access by signing up.

The apps have responded with new verification efforts, such as asking workers to regularly submit selfies or to show up in person to verify their identity.

Uber has issues with ID verification, safety, the lawsuit says

Apps like Uber have added millions of gig workers to their platforms over the last decade and a half, and Josefsberg's lawsuit alleges Uber isn't doing enough to verify those workers' identities.

"Screening barriers such as 'clean' background checks, issue-free driving records, or the ability to work legally in the United States impede Uber's abilities to rapidly increase its driver pool and thus its trip deliveries," the lawsuit reads.

The Uber spokesperson said the company disagrees with the claims in Josefsberg's lawsuit. The company "maintains robust safeguards designed to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, and we continually enhance these systems to address emerging tactics," the spokesperson said.

Uber also said that it conducts background checks on drivers, including reviews of their driving and criminal records.

Drivers whose real identities and backgrounds are unknown pose a safety risk to passengers, Murena said.

Uber is facing multiple lawsuits that allege the company is liable for sexual misconduct, including rape, by its drivers.

"The public at large would like to know that Uber is confirming that the drivers are who they say they are," Murena said.

Josefsberg's lawsuit seeks damages from Uber and a correction to his tax record, because the company reported the income to the IRS under his name.

Murena said he's received roughly two dozen calls from others who also received 1099s from Uber despite saying they've never worked for the app.

DoorDash reported $24,000 in income for one worker

Other ride-hailing and delivery apps have faced similar issues.

Christie Reynolds, who works for an after-school program in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, told Business Insider that she's never worked for DoorDash.

Last month, though, she got a letter from the IRS saying that DoorDash had reported $24,000 in income under her name for 2023. The letter, which Business Insider reviewed, also said the previously unreported income would prevent her from claiming the Child Tax Credit.

Reynolds said that she contacted the IRS, which told her that DoorDash needed to handle the correction to her tax records. She's unsure how to do that, she said, since she's neither a DoorDash customer nor a gig worker.

After Business Insider shared details of Reynolds' case, a DoorDash spokesperson said that the "root cause is identity theft unrelated to the DoorDash platform."

"In rare instances that an individual believes their identity was fraudulently used to dash, we encourage them to contact DoorDash support immediately," the spokesperson said, while offering to get in touch with Reynolds.

While Reynolds hasn't been able to figure out how someone got a hold of her personal details to set up the DoorDash account, she said that her personal information was exposed in at least two data breaches over the last several years.

The next step she plans to take is to talk to a friend who is a lawyer for advice, she said.

"Right now, I'm just in a bad place," Reynolds said. "I don't know what to do."

Do you have a story to share about Uber, DoorDash, or another gig app? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• High stock market volatility is here to stay, Goldman Sachs says.
• Goldman's macro strategists looked past short-term volatility drivers like the war in Iran.
• Market concentration and higher unemployment are drivers of expected volatility.

Stock market volatility is the new norm, Goldman Sachs says, and it's not as simple as markets being upset by geopolitical turmoil like the Iran war.

The conflict in the Middle East has fueled the recent spike in equity volatility, Goldman says, but the firm's macro strategy research team sees an ongoing structural rise in long-term volatility beyond the war's end.

"We have argued that there are good reasons to expect that equity volatility could move structurally higher over time, even with a benign macro backdrop and even if equity prices continue to rise, as some of the forces that pushed equity volatility higher in the late 1990s as the tech investment boom matured come increasingly into play."

Goldman's strategists reexamined the models they use to forecast stock volatility, updating their forecasts for longer-term volatility.

The "obvious" route to higher stock market volatility is cyclical economic deterioration, they say, though they explained that there are other underlying structural forces contributing to their outlook for a longer period of volatility.

"Models of the macro and market drivers of equity volatility suggest that longer-dated implied volatility 'should' have been rising in recent years, driven largely by rising equity market concentration and a slowly rising unemployment rate," the bank said.

Instead of the Iran war, the two biggest drivers of a swingier stock market will be higher market concentration and higher unemployment, in Goldman's view.

AI-driven market concentration sets up stock volatility

AI has fueled the stock market's bull run in the past few years as investors pile into the emerging tech, a backdrop that sets up equities for more volatility.

"We think the concentration of value in AI-related areas of the market adds to the risk of higher volatility over time as focus increases on whether the benefits from AI justify that value as the AI cycle matures," Goldman wrote.

Market concentration has become historically top-heavy as the AI trade fuels gains for the largest companies. The last time the stock market was this concentrated at the top was 1932, during the Great Depression.

This phenomenon was on display earlier this year when AI hype soured, driving major losses in AI stocks and the broader market.

Goldman says market concentration and high valuations are the "non-macro" factors they considered in their volatility model.

"Rising concentration and high valuations are symptoms of this AI-driven market, as they were in the tech boom of the late 1990s," the note read.

Unemployment data signals an uptrend in equity volatility

Unemployment is the second main driver of equity volatility that Goldman highlighted.

The bank's volatility model considers levels and changes in the US unemployment rate, with higher unemployment being associated with higher volatility.

"The intuition here is that these measures are indicators of the stage of the economic cycle," they wrote.

The unemployment rate has risen slowly from 2023 lows.

"We find a statistically significant relationship between volatility in labor market data and equity volatility—the channel here is likely through uncertainty about future outcomes (where higher data volatility is associated with increased uncertainty about the macro outlook)," the bank wrote.

• After her divorce, Margot Hollander bought a tiny home in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
• Hollander, 64, bought the house in cash as it was difficult to get a mortgage as a retiree.
• Hollander said living in a tiny home village is sociable and has given her a fresh start in life.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Margot Hollander, 64, a retired dance teacher and project manager. She lives in the Dutch tiny home village of Minitopia, Eindhoven. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

After my divorce, I had to find somewhere to live. The rental market was tough, and as a retiree, my options for buying were limited without a mortgage.

I first came across Eindhoven's Minitopia project in the news a few years back. When I started looking for a home in late 2023, at age 62, I found a tiny house there on a real-estate website. I booked a viewing and quickly made an offer.

I paid about $143,000 in cash for the tiny house, which was as much as I could afford. I moved into the Minitopia tiny village in January 2024. I'm very happy to have bought it at this point in my life.

Buying a tiny house was a chance to start fresh after my divorce

While I was very happy to move into a tiny home, there was a lot of downsizing involved, having moved from a regular-sized house also in Eindhoven. Even now, I'm still getting rid of clothes, shoes, and all the unnecessary things you accumulate over the years.

I think it's good for your mind to downsize, and I'm happy to be living with less stuff.

It was a model home when I bought it, with the walls and floors finished, and the kitchen and bathroom already fitted. I enjoy interior design and added my own touches, such as shutters and new furniture.

I chose not to bring any furnishings from my old house. I wanted a fresh start. I've filled it with artwork that makes it feel like my own. That was important to me. After the divorce, moving here has given me independence.

I've found it easy to make friends

It's easy to get to know people who live in Minitopia. The Eindhoven tiny home village is Minitopia's largest, with space for 100 tiny houses. I meet people every time I take my dog out for a walk, and most are open and chatty.

You don't need to make plans to go for a drink here; you can just easily fall into conversation with your neighbors. It's the simple things, like making small talk on the way to the parking lot, that give me such a good feeling about living here.

I don't come across too many other retired people like me. Minitopia Eindhoven is a real mix of young and old, single and married, and people with and without children. That diversity is what makes it feel like a proper community.

I wouldn't want too many other retirees to move in. I don't want it to become a retirement village.

As a retiree, it works well for me financially

I used to be a dance teacher and also worked in project management in the housing sector. Once you're retired, it's important to live within your means so you still have money left for other things.

The more you spend on housing, the less you have to put toward your hobbies. I like to spend my money on sports.

Financially, the tiny house works very well for me. I've found it's much cheaper to run than the regular house I lived in before. I have solar panels, so I'm not paying for electricity at the moment. The ground rent at Minitopia, which is a few hundred euros a month, is far lower than what I'd have paid to rent a larger home.

I hope this is my forever home

While the house is relatively small, I have more than enough space for my small dog and me. It's not somewhere you can easily host big dinners, but that's what I like about it. I prefer one-on-one contact to large groups.

Overall, I see very few inconveniences to living here. I like my tiny house and the community very much.

I hope this will be my last home, though I hope I've got plenty of years left in it yet.

• The financial impact of rising GLP-1 usage extends far beyond Big Pharma.
• For users of weight-loss drugs, costs can snowball, with bills for supplements, trainers, and clothing piling up.
• Here are four sectors seeing substantial gains thanks to the GLP-1 boom.

Every month, sales executive Kelly Freeman spends about $112 on Ozempic, which he started taking in 2024 for diabetes. The drug is one line item in a long list of GLP-related costs.

There are supplements, an Apple watch, a life coach, a functional physician, healthier foods, and a new wardrobe, to name a few. The spending, Freeman said, "snowballs." He estimated he spends $700 to $1,000 a month on all his Ozempic-related costs.

"We're going to see a kind of tectonic shift in the way people spend money," Freeman, 55, told Business Insider.

Freeman is one of millions of Americans on a GLP-1, the class of drugs including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro that have revolutionized weight loss and diabetes care. With new pill forms of the drug, like Eli Lilly's Foundayo, hitting the market, that number is set to increase.

GLP-1 users' new constellation of costs is causing ripples across industries far beyond the pharma sector.

Ulta Beauty's CEO recently said sales of products that prevent hair loss and improve skin elasticity have spiked, citing consumers trying to combat GLP-1 side effects. The CEO of grocery chain Albertsons Companies said sales of chicken, beef, and fresh produce have increased among GLP-1 users.

It's a windfall for some industries. GLP-1 users are flocking to personal trainers and supplement aisles, in the hopes of countering muscle loss that has been associated with the drug. Those who have lost massive amounts of weight need new wardrobes, and some opt for plastic surgery.

Here are four sectors seeing substantial gains thanks to GLP-1s.

The training boom

Many GLP-1 users risk losing muscle along with fat, potentially making them weaker and more prone to injury — not to mention less toned. Medical studies indicate that up to 40% of the weight loss with GLP-1s is from lean muscle mass.

Enter: the gym membership.

A Morgan Stanley analysis of GLP-1 prescription and credit card spending data published in March "suggests GLP-1 adoption is increasingly complementary to fitness," and found that high-end fitness offerings are seeing the most visible benefit. Gyms across the spectrum of bougieness are capitalizing on the trend: Equinox, which costs more than $200 a month, has launched a training and lifestyle program for those on GLP-1s, and Planet Fitness, at $15 a month, publishes blogs about the best exercises for users.

Personal trainers can also be key to the GLP-1 lifestyle. Freeman began seeing a trainer after starting the medications and said he pays $400 month for three weekly sessions with his personal trainer.

Mallory Fox, a personal trainer based in Scottsdale, Arizona, said she's had many prospective clients ask about whether she works with people taking GLP-1s, to the point where she's considered developing an online program for those on the medications.

She's not alone. Of the more than 1,000 personal trainers that the National Academy of Sports Medicine surveyed in March and April, 63% work with clients on GLP-1s, and 62% plan to actively pursue working with them over the next three years. Some 40% of them have looked into education or certifications to better understand the medications, according to the survey results shared with Business Insider.

Life Time, a favorite gym among Wall Streeters, employs around 4,000 personal trainers and is hiring more each month, Ryan Sonnenburg, who oversees the trainers, said.

"Our personal training business over the last three years has seen record-breaking growth, year over year," he said. "I couldn't confidently say exactly how much could be attributed to the GLP-1 movement, but it's certainly bringing people in that maybe historically wouldn't have come in."

The gym is also offering GLP-1s through its longevity clinics.

Whole new wardrobes

For many on the medications, a shrinking waist often means buying new jeans. And new sweaters, dresses, sports coats, and underwear.

Around 80% of GLP-1 users anticipated needing new clothing in a January survey by research firm Circana, and 55% had already bought new items, according to a July survey by the firm.

Freeman said he got rid of pretty much his entire wardrobe, apart from shoes, once his body composition stabilized.

"I just donated them all and took the tax write off and went and bought brand new ones," he said. Between casual and work clothing, Freeman estimated he spent at least $8,000.

Those clothing calculations aren't always simple, though.

Jessica Cadmus, a stylist, said GLP-1s have "exploded" in the past nine months among her clients, almost all of whom work in finance. She's often helping them decide when it makes sense to tailor an item rather than buy something new, and whether it's worth investing in a statement piece if their weight will keep fluctuating.

When one of New York City-based plastic surgeon Sachin Shridharani's patients lost weight on a GLP-1, the patient found himself needing a house visit from a tailor.

"He said that he's had to have over 35 pairs of pants and over 50 shirts and jackets realtered," Shridharani said. "He had them come to the house with a tailor, and they had to take all new measurements."

Supplement surge

For decades before GLP-1s hit the market, consumers turned to supplements that promised weight loss but often didn't bring the promised results.

Then came Ozempic, Wegovy, and the like, which have largely been viewed as a magic bullet. But these medications come with side effects — declining muscle mass, gastrointestinal issues, bone loss — that are driving a boom in the supplement industry.

Supplement sales were up 12% in 2025, according to data from consumer insights firm Spins, which tracks point-of-sale data. While the growth can't be entirely attributed to GLP-1 adoption, there is a correlation, Scott Dicker, Spins' senior director of market insights, told Business Insider.

Hugh McGuire, the CEO of nutrition and supplement company Glanbia, said GLP-1 users "need energy and they need vitamin and mineral supplementation," speaking on an earnings call last year. "We would see GLP-1 as a tailwind for the entire organization."

Glanbia's stock is up more than 80% over the last year. Shares of other supplement brands, such as Nature's Sunshine Products and Herbalife, have also spiked, rising 131% and 124%, respectively, year over year.

GLP-1 "companion products" that fill nutritional gaps created when people start eating less are among the supplements gaining in popularity, Dicker said. Multivitamins to fill nutritional gaps, and prebiotics and fiber to support gut health are popular, he said.

Protein — a health trend beyond GLP-1 users — had some of the biggest gains, with protein supplements and meal replacements increasing 12.4% in 2025, according to Spins data.

Companies like The Vitamin Shoppe and Jamieson Wellness are taking advantage of the new customer base with lines of GLP-1 support products.

Freeman drinks protein shakes and takes about a dozen supplements daily, including fiber and magnesium. He estimated that they cost him thousands of dollars a year.

"I've always been a supplement taker, but I never really took them seriously or on a consistent basis," he said. Now, he's paid for "supplements out the wazoo."

The Ozempic makeovers

Some GLP-1 side effects cannot easily be resolved with supplements or wellness regimens, and for that, there is plastic surgery.

About 20% of patients on GLP-1s have gotten plastic surgery as a result of their weight loss, according to a 2024 survey from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"It's going to really change things drastically," Dino Elyassnia, a facial plastic surgeon in San Francisco, told Business Insider about his industry. "There's a windfall."

Elyassnia said he's had patients return for more surgery after going on the medications, because they appear deflated after losing weight quickly — and "the face takes the brunt of that."

When it comes to the body, some opt for lifts and tucks to remove excess skin, while others choose fat transfers to restore lost volume. In the industry, the procedures are collectively known as the "Ozempic makeover."

Many never realized that being on a GLP-1 would lead them to a plastic surgeon's office, Shridharani, the New York surgeon, said. Maybe they wanted to avoid going under the knife and having a scar, he said, but then realized the less desirable effects of losing so much weight. He said they find themselves asking, "What's better, having a bunch of floppy loose skin or a scar that's well concealed?"

The rise of GLP-1s is leading more men to seek cosmetic procedures, plastic surgeons said.

"It's a whole wellness attitude and leaning in," Shridharani said, adding that there's less of a stigma around men receiving surgical cosmetic procedures, in part because of GLP-1 usage.

In 2024, 10% of people getting lower body lifts and thigh lifts were men, compared to 5% and 3%, respectively, the year prior, ASPS reported.

"They literally will say, in their own words. I've got no ass," Shridharani said about some of his male patients who are on GLP-1s and come in for buttocks enhancements. "My trousers look like they're falling off, or when I'm at the gym, I can't fill out my boxer briefs."

• We spoke to dozens of successful side hustlers to find out how they got started and then scaled.
• Several advised experimenting first, while others described leaps of faith that paid off.
• Lean into your age and experience, a side hustler told us — and be wary of chasing trends.

Side hustles are often sold as quick wins — easy money you can make in your spare time.

In reality, they're usually messier. Some ideas flop, some bring in a little extra cash, and a few grow into something much bigger than expected — even replacing a full-time career.

So what separates the ones that work from the ones that don't? Business Insider has spoken to dozens of experienced side hustlers to understand how they got started and what helped them scale.

Below, meet five entrepreneurs whose paths look very different. We asked them to get candid about what it actually takes to turn a side hustle into something lucrative, and for their best and hardest-won lessons for success.

Here's what they told us.

1. Don't believe the hype — test and verify

Tom Blake, 29, started experimenting with side hustles in college for a simple reason: He needed to pay his bills. In the years since, he's tried more than 100 of them — everything from AI website generation to crypto reward programs to paid shopping.

"Many just didn't work as advertised," he told reporter Elle Hardy. The frustration led him to start a blog documenting his side hustle tests — which he eventually turned into a content business that generated over $1 million before he sold it.

Along the way, he learned to treat side hustles like trial and error — and to do careful research before committing time or money.

"Before trying anything, I always recommend reading reviews and checking forums as part of basic due diligence. If someone online is promising massive hourly earnings with no downside, that's a red flag," he said.

Read which side hustles Blake found the most lucrative and low-lift.

2. Focus on more evergreen ideas instead of trends

Michael Strahl, 41, has also tried many side hustles. The gig he found most profitable for minimal effort is one he squeezes in around both a full-time job as a lineman and his family life as a husband and dad of two.

"My full-time job keeps me on call 24/7," he told reporter Kaila Yu. "If a storm comes through, I have to be out there in the middle of the night working on fiber optic lines and putting networks back together. This Amazon side hustle is mostly accomplished in the evening, outside family and work time."

Strahl spends about 20 hours a month filming shoppable videos — reviews of products sold on Amazon — and makes around $10,000 a month in revenue, focusing on quality over quantity or trends.

"I believe I get better results with fewer videos because I create high-quality, evergreen content — content that could still be generating views and sales five or 10 years from now — rather than focusing on viral, temporary trends. My videos are not overly produced or cinematic, but they're highly detailed and include product B-roll," he said.

Read more of Strah's advice for making consistent money on Amazon.

3. Use your age and experience to your advantage

After years in finance, including at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, Cassindy Chao never felt she thrived. She started matchmaking as a side hustle first, before quitting finance at 54 and turning her side work into a full-time career.

While doing so, she found that her age and life experience were assets, helping her better understand clients and build trust.

"One of the biggest fears around ageism is becoming irrelevant or out of touch, but that hasn't been my experience," she told Business Insider's Joshua Nelken-Zitser. "The younger people I work with teach me about things like SEO and PR, and in return, I share the perspective and wisdom I've gained over the years."

"I feel 100% more fulfilled than I did in my previous career, and it will remain sustainable as I age," she said.

Read more about how Chao grew her matchmaking side hustle through word of mouth.

4. Build something that's easy for you to create — and use tools to grow it

For Joey Coffin, founder of the lifestyle brand Vacation Darts, everything started with a simple idea that naturally resonated with him.

"Do something you actually love and believe in, and that will translate well," he told BI's Robin Madell.

Coffin built the brand while working full-time, turning an inside joke into a six-figure business. He relied on organic social media, direct outreach, and AI tools to build momentum — even messaging influencers who engaged with his content.

By staying authentic and using available tools strategically, he was able to scale his side hustle into a full-time venture.

Read how Coffin grew his side hustle to $112,000 in revenue.

5. Say yes before you feel ready

Kit Huffman's side hustle began in an unlikely place: living out of her car during a gap year.

At 22, she was writing LinkedIn posts for small clients when she landed a ghostwriting opportunity for the CEO of a global bank — despite having no formal credentials.

"They didn't know I was a dyslexic 22-year-old without a college degree who was living out of her car," she wrote in an essay for Business Insider.

Huffman took the opportunity anyway and learned on the fly. That decision helped launch her career in ghostwriting and eventually led her to start her own agency.

Her success showcases how opportunities often come before you feel fully prepared — and how a leap of faith can pay off.

Read how Huffman started a ghostwriting career from her car.

Got a side hustle story to share? Contact this editor, Debbie Strong, at dstrong@businessinsider.com.

When Tom Marchitelli agreed to make custom suits for NFL player Chase Daniel in 2014, he had a secret: he had no other clients.

Marchitelli, 44, was working with a tailor to make bespoke suits for himself and sharing Instagram photos of his designs for fun. He wasn't a professional — yet.

Daniel, then a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, didn't know that. He'd come across Marchitelli's account and saw sharply tailored suits in vibrant jewel tones and bold prints. He reached out, saying he wanted to "look like the guy in the photos."

Determined to deliver, Marchitelli learned the basics of tailoring, flew to Kansas City to measure Daniel, and returned weeks later with two nearly perfect suits — a royal blue tuxedo for Daniel's wedding and a textured beige set. He walked away with about $6,000 from his first styling job.

"[Daniel] had no idea it was my first time because I walked in there like he was the 50th athlete I'd measured," Marchitelli told Business Insider. "I was confident in myself that I could deliver."

That mindset has taken him from a stylish hobbyist to a designer with hundreds of clients, including NFL stars Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski, as well as athletes in the NHL, WWE, MLB, and more.

"Fashion is 100% a sport," Marchitelli said. "When a guy outdoes everybody [with his clothes], other guys are going to whisper in their ear on the side, 'Hey, where'd you get that?' That's why I've continued to be successful."

From fashion to finance and back

Waltham, Massachusetts, isn't the most fashionable place in the world. Marchitelli, though, made his hometown his runway.

Before starting fourth grade, Marchitelli begged his mom to take him shopping for the perfect back-to-school outfit: black jeans and a vibrant purple shirt that would match his favorite Nike sneakers.

"My parents, sisters, and friends told me I was crazy and wondered why I was so obsessed with what I wore," he said. "I always thought that if everyone has to wear clothes, why not try to wear them better than everyone else?"

Despite his childhood passion, Marchitelli never considered a career in fashion. Instead, he attended Boston College in the early 2000s, where he majored in finance. He aspired for a stable career in accounting. Marchitelli said he "probably cared the least" about his style during his undergraduate years.

From 2004 to 2008, Marchitelli worked in a rotational accounting program at Bear Stearns. Then, he pivoted to a "very cushy, 9-5 job" at the hedge fund Taconic Capital.

"I was paid very well, and the people who worked there were great," he said. "I could go to the gym every day when I would get home, and once my wife and I started a family, I'd be home in time to put my oldest to bed."

But the routine eventually got old. "When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't excited to go sit at that desk," Marchitelli said. "I'm a hedonist, I would say. I live for the pleasures in life."

In Marchitelli's case, those pleasures always included fashion.

He had a New York City tailor at the time who would make him custom suits for formal events. Though the tailor said he was doing the best he could, Marchitelli was convinced his suits could fit better.

"I took all the suits he made me, maybe six or seven of them, and I found a tailor in downtown Manhattan who did everything I asked," Marchitelli said. "He chopped all these suits up for me, and I paid attention. I saw that [tailoring] is a numbers game, and I took to it."

A hobby turned career

Scroll through Marchitelli's account, Gentleman's Playbook, and you'll see some of your favorite athletes wearing his designs before big games.

There's Joe Burrow arriving at SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LVI in a striped, three-piece suit and wide-brimmed hat, and Tyler Seguin in a green bomber suit ahead of the first Dallas Stars game this NHL season.

Each of their looks is drastically different for a reason. Marchitelli doesn't design in a single style or cover his clothes in massive logos. Instead, he focuses on creating subtle yet striking outfits that match a player's personality.

The images on his page now are a far cry from the headless, close-up shots of Marchitelli in suits that used to fill his feed when he created his account in 2013 (back when Instagram only allowed cropped squares). Still, they were enough to attract thousands of new followers each day, including celebrities and athletes.

"I was traveling to Buffalo to see some Sabres hockey players, and when I landed, I had 3,000 new Instagram followers," Marchitelli recalled. "I didn't know what happened until I saw that The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) started following me and liking my posts."

Gentleman's Playbook was meant to be a creative outlet. Marchitelli would share his designs and write fashion-related blog posts on Tumblr during his downtime at work. He didn't bank on it becoming more than a side hustle until he met a former New Jersey Devils goalie who offered to connect him with the entire hockey team.

"I accumulated half a dozen hockey clients, all who lived in the same town as me," he said. And he didn't stop there. Marchitelli began messaging players across the NHL, whether they were local or not.

One hockey player, Evander Kane, who played for the Buffalo Sabres, assumed Marchitelli's suits were the work of a different Tom: Tom Ford. Marchitelli replied that his suits would fit better and cost less than anything from the designer.

"I remember going to work at the hedge fund that day with my gym bag filled with fabrics that I was going to show Evander," Marchitelli said. "He ended up buying eight suits, almost as if he were going to the convenience store and buying chips and a drink."

Whereas Kane had been paying $8,000 for custom Tom Ford suits at the time, Marchitelli said, Gentleman's Playbook designs were running $3,000 a pop. Even now, to purchase one of Marchitelli's suits — and by extension, his expertise — it costs between $3,000 and $5,000 per outfit.

"I realized I could really do this as a business," he said. "I thought: 'This guy just spent $30,000. How many weeks at the hedge fund will I need to work to make what I'll net from this sale? This is doable.'"

How he gets it done

Marchitelli describes the early days of his styling career as "scrappy." He spent hours scouring social media for stylish athletes who might take a chance on his services. Many ignored his messages.

"I had to endure hearing the word no from hundreds of guys, or hearing nothing," he said. "You either get a yes, a no, or ghosted."

"I'd shoot out 200 to 300 DMs a day, and I was lucky if I heard back from one person," he added.

That's no longer the case. Now, many clients find him through Instagram or their teammates and make the first move.

"Yesterday, the head coach of the Jets texted me randomly," Marchitelli said, referring to Aaron Glenn. "He said: 'Hey, I heard you're the guy to make me a closet full of clothes for casual and game day arrivals next season.'"

It also doesn't hurt when a client becomes a household name. Take Travis Kelce, for example. Marchitelli has styled him on multiple occasions since early in Kelce's career.

While Marchitelli said he's never asked a client to tag him on Instagram — and never will — Kelce always did. So when the Chiefs tight end won back-to-back Super Bowls and publicized his relationship with Taylor Swift, Gentleman's Playbook naturally gained more attention.

And it's a good thing Kelce's had Marchitelli on his team. The clothier recalled a styling session in 2018, when the football player asked to wear a suit with shorts to the ESPY Awards.

"I said, 'Trav, I don't think that's the look. If you want to look good, you're going to sweat a little bit,'" Marchitelli said. "He took my advice and wore my favorite suit I've done for him: an electric royal blue set with black paisley print."

The decision paid off. On the red carpet, numerous other athletes wore shorts with their suits, while Kelce, in his more glamorous look, stood out.

"He was very happy that I made that call," he said. "But now that I think about it, where do I get off telling Travis Kelce no?"

Still, many aspects of Marchitelli's job remain the same. He handles the majority of his business himself, completes much of his work from his home office in New Jersey, and travels constantly.

Unlike some of his peers, Marchitelli doesn't do business over the phone, mail out his clothes, or limit his services to one meeting. Instead, he says he'll "be back in your house again" two or three weeks after a measuring appointment with his designs in hand.

It's how he pays close attention to detail, gives clients closer looks at fabrics, better explains clothing fit, and creates cohesive collections.

"I don't care what the flight costs because I need to be in front of them," he said. "I want my guys to get what they are paying for and understand the value in me. They're not just buying the clothes; they are buying me. This business has always just been me."

Style over stability

When Marchitelli jumped into his styling career, his parents and in-laws had questions. Mostly, they were worried that he'd lose the stability of his finance job for something fleeting.

Marchitelli's wife, on the other hand, never doubted that he'd succeed. She supported the career change from day one.

"I didn't need any more assurance than that when I had her believing in me the way that she did," Marchitelli said.

Luckily, the couple had the right idea. Marchitelli has found happiness and financial gains that didn't come as easily with his former career.

"I remember having meetings for my annual bonuses at the bank and hedge fund, and I left dissatisfied every single year," he said. "I didn't think I was being paid [fairly] for the hard work, time, and effort that I put in."

"Now, I'm paid for everything that I pour into my work — fully merit-based," Marchitelli added. "I push harder and harder each day. My foot doesn't leave the gas pedal."

Of course, he's never done. Marchitelli is determined to style more NBA athletes. Despite basketball being his favorite sport, he's struggled to break into the league.

"I can count my NBA clients on one hand," he said, noting New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson is one of them. "It's kind of been the bane of my existence."

The reality is that NBA players rarely wear suits to games. Marchitelli can accommodate and make more casual looks, but the sport's fashion culture leans on designer logos and exclusive runway pieces.

Despite having "little to no traction," he said, Marchitelli follows up with basketball players via DM every year.

"I'm doing fantastic, but if I dip into the NBA the way I've impacted the MLB, NHL, and NFL? Oh boy. Then it might be time to hire somebody," he said.

He's also hopeful that one day he'll snag his dream client, no matter how long it takes. "Whenever I get texts from numbers that I don't recognize, I always, always say, 'Is this Tom Brady?' It hasn't been yet," he said.

Marchitelli has accomplished something truly unique, though. He's essentially assembled the world's best athletes into his own team of fashion superstars. Whether they want a Super Bowl ring, the Stanley Cup, or a World Series title, they all wear Gentleman's Playbook suits proudly.

"I'll never stop trying to grow the roster," he said.

• It was a wild week in financial markets.
• US stocks clawed back nearly all of their losses since the start of the Iran war.
• Oil prices and Treasury yields dropped as traders reassessed the macro outlook.

The TACO trade took investors on a wild ride this week.

Investors cheered after a ceasefire deal with Iran was announced Tuesday evening, soothing some of the deepest anxieties about higher oil prices and taking one of investors' worst-case scenarios off the table: that an extended conflict could heat up inflation, hit consumers, and risk plunging the US into a recession.

Markets are still grappling with the effects of the recent oil spike, with inflation accelerating 3.3% in March. But investors are mostly relieved, with stocks rising and oil and bond yields dropping.

Here were the biggest moves investors saw in the week.

US stocks soar

It was a roller coaster ride for much of the week, but Wednesday's ceasefire-fueled gains were locked in by Friday's close.

Stocks surged midweek, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending Wednesday's session higher by over 1,300 points. The S&P 500 gained more than 2%, and the Nasdaq jumped by almost 3%.

The index has recovered nearly all its losses since the start of the Iran war, trading about 1% below its levels in late February.

Notable move: The S&P 500 ended the week up 3.6%, its biggest weekly gain since November.

Oil prices plunge

Alongside the surge in stocks, oil saw saw big moves in the opposite direction. Both Brent crude and US oil dropped below $100 a barrel, a key psychological threshold that markets have watched closely throughout the war.

Brent ended the week at $94.50 a barrel, while WTI ended at $95.98.

Notable moves: Wednesday marked the biggest one-day drop for WTI oil since 2020, while Brent crude logged the largest weekly decline since 2022.

Treasury yields slide

The 10-year US Treasury yield tumbled from 4.34% on Tuesday afternoon to 4.24% at the low on Wednesday, before edging back up to end the week at 4.31%.

Yields fell as investors recalibrated expectations for higher inflation and interest rates. With the war paused while negotiations take place, investors hope maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz can begin to normalize, lowering the prospects for a prolonged and damaging energy crunch.

The odds that the Fed will cut rates at least once in 2026 jumped as high as 30% this week as bond yields tumbled.

• Kevin Lustik, 62, turned his needlepoint hobby into a growing side business.
• Lustik works as a paralegal by day and spends his nights making art.
• Gen Z interest in Lustik's needlepoint art has helped increase his sales by 75%.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kevin Lustik, a 62-year-old needlepoint artist who also works at a law firm in New York. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I knew it was time to monetize my needlepoint hobby when my closets and drawers were bursting with artwork.

I began my business in January 2025 after years of working at a law firm and doing needlepoint for fun. My love for needlepoint developed in college after buying my first kits. I remember thinking, "This is for me." Eventually, I began designing my own.

Now, I find myself crafting every day after work. I don't make enough from selling my art to quit my day job. It's a true passion project, but I'm hoping it'll be more profitable one day.

I've sold about 40 pieces in the past year. They mostly range in price from $100 to $600. I have to be practical; I'm not making $100,000 a piece. My work is being shown at galleries in New Mexico and New York, and I sell it online.

I've invested a fair amount of money in my business. I'm a professional, even if it's not my day job.

My customers are getting younger

These days, it's somewhere between a full-time job and a hobby, and it has its challenges.

When most people buy art, they're paying for paintings or sculptures. Fiber art, essentially what I'm doing, is a subset of this industry, so it's hard to find buyers. Today, my pieces typically sell within the first few weeks of exhibition.

One of the most surprising parts of my side hustle is Gen Z's recent interest in my work. They make up about 25% of my customers, and my sales have grown by 75% since this time last year.

People are shifting away from the digital world

I've heard that there's a trend of "grandma hobbies" that Gen Z are picking up to get away from their phones and screens. I think that's a good idea. You fill your whole day with computer screens at work and cellphones at lunch and in the evening. I think people are tired of it, so they're drifting away from it a little bit.

My advice to young people is to leave time to dream and clear your head. With hobbies like needlepoint or cooking, you get a product at the end. You've got something tangible. The more you do it, the more you love it. If you like it in your 20s or 30s, you'll enjoy it more in your 40s and 50s.

I make art about important topics, like climate change, and I think those may resonate with young people. However, I haven't changed my artwork to fit their preferences.

I don't try to control my creativity — I let it go where it wants to go.

• Jenna Hoffman said she spent more than five hours interviewing for a nonprofit job between November and January.
• She never received a rejection and learned via social media that the employer had hired someone else.
• Instead of quietly moving on, Hoffman explained why she reached out to express how she felt.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jenna Hoffman, a 28-year-old communications professional, graduate-school student, and entrepreneur in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

Late last year, I applied for a communications and event manager position at a local nonprofit. What happened afterward drove me to quit job hunting.

I had been on the market for nearly two years by that point, while pursuing a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. Since my classes are online, I knew I could do a 9-to-5 job during the week and then do school at night and on weekends.

The nonprofit invited me to do a phone interview in late November. They said they expected to fill the role by the start of 2026, but then I was invited to go on two in-person interviews, one in December and the other in early January. The meetings took about five hours in total, and I met with several employees.

I had all the experience necessary for the job. I felt like I was in alignment with the place, and since they interviewed me three times, I thought they must like me and that I was on the right track.

I went to Iowa State for my undergrad, and it was drilled into us that, no matter what, you must send a thank-you note immediately after an interview, so I did. I copied all five people who interviewed me. Their emails were available online, and a few replied saying it was great to meet me.

After about a week of silence, I sent another email asking for a status update. They said that they still hadn't made their determination. Two more weeks passed, and I didn't hear anything. Then I checked their Facebook page since I knew that's where they're most active online, and where their target audience is.

That's when I found out I didn't get the job. The nonprofit had put up a post a few days earlier announcing that they'd hired someone for the position, along with a photo of the person.

At first, I thought I must be confused. Was I looking at the right organization's Facebook page? I was. Then I thought, oh no, did I miss a phone call or an email? I'm sure that I would have heard something. Yet I couldn't find any evidence of being contacted.

If the expectation is that I should send a thank-you note after a job interview, I should anticipate the courtesy of hearing, "No, thank you, we're not interested." I decided to email everyone whom I interviewed with to let them know how I felt. Here's what I wrote:

Hello,

I am following up after learning — through social media — that the Communications and Events Manager position has been filled, as I was not otherwise notified. I appreciated the opportunity to interview and the time your team invested in speaking with me throughout the process.

Given the level of interest and time commitment involved, I want to share direct feedback. The extended lack of communication following my application and interviews was disappointing and made it difficult to assess the role and organization in good faith. While I understand that timelines can shift, especially around the holidays, clearer and more consistent updates would have demonstrated respect for candidates' time and maintained transparency throughout the process.

I hope this perspective is helpful as you evaluate your hiring and communication practices moving forward. Thank you for your consideration, and I wish you continued success.

I sent the email because I'm in the communications profession. People in my industry are supposed to be able to have hard conversations. If this is the person I want to be, this is the message I should be sharing, and if I have an opportunity to create change, I'm going to. That's just the kind of person I am.

Two of the nonprofit's leaders wrote back, saying they were sorry about what happened and that they would make changes. I don't know if they have yet or ever will, but at least they're aware.

This experience happened after I'd spent most of 2024 and 2025 applying to jobs — an average of 25 a week — and going on countless interviews without success. I think employers saw my pending graduate degree as a problem. They couldn't understand how someone could do grad school and have a full-time job.

I'm a busy person. In addition to school, I'm flipping a house and building a philanthropy-based housecleaning business to help domestic-abuse survivors earn a living wage. I wear all these different hats because I have high-functioning ADHD. I have no chill. I am go-go-go all the time.

I think most people are afraid to use their voice as I did, but I see that as a strength and a sign of leadership. I'm now done with job hunting. I graduate in May, and my plan is to transition into private practice. I'll serve clients with supervision until I meet the necessary requirements to strike out on my own.

• There are concerns about potential insider trading by government officials on prediction markets.
• But government ethics rules don't require lawmakers or staffers to disclose their bets.
• Two senators recently introduced a bill to change that — but there are some potential downsides.

Have you ever wondered exactly what sorts of financial bets lawmakers and top staffers are making?

If you're talking about stock trading, that information is easy enough to find. Current ethics laws require federal politicians and other high-ranking government officials to disclose their purchases and sales of stocks within 30 to 45 days of making the trade, allowing the public to follow along.

But if you're wondering about prediction market trades, you're out of luck: There's no law on the books requiring government officials to disclose to the public exactly what they may be betting on.

That doesn't mean we're completely in the dark.

Lawmakers are required to report sources of outside income worth more than $200, meaning the public should be able to know at least how much money public officials may be making from prediction market trading.

Kedrick Payne, vice president and senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, told Business Insider that it's a matter of enforcing current laws.

"What's missing right now is for the ethics committees to remind people that these disclosure rules apply," Payne said.

Kalshi, the largest prediction market in the US, has said that it automatically bans members of Congress from trading on its platform.

And the White House recently warned staffers not to trade on prediction markets amid the Iran war, a White House official confirmed to Business Insider. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

"All federal employees are subject to government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of nonpublic information for financial benefit," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Still, the lack of detailed disclosure laws for prediction market trades has drawn attention from lawmakers, particularly as prediction markets have exploded in popularity and public concerns about potential insider trading have grown.

'Our hope is that this will restore trust'

One bill, the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026, aims to close the disclosure gap.

Introduced in March by Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the bill would require the president, vice president, members of Congress, and top staffers in both the executive and legislative branches to disclose the details of any prediction market trades worth more than $250.

Those details include:

• The value and number of the event contracts purchased;
• When they were purchased (or sold);
• What the trade was on, and which side the person took;
• Which prediction market platform the person used;
• Any profit or loss incurred after the market resolved, or the person sold their contracts.

"We think that we're creating the sort of mechanism that the American people would expect," Young told Bloomberg recently. "Our hope is that this will restore trust in the decision-making that we have here in Congress."

The bill also prohibits those officials from using non-public information to profit from those prediction market trades, with violations carrying a fine of $500, or twice the amount of profit made on a prohibited trade — whichever is higher.

'It could end up influencing the market'

At the same time, there may be some downsides to requiring the disclosure of individual event contract trades.

Payne, who previously served as Deputy Chief Counsel at the Office of Congressional Ethics, said that he didn't think increased disclosure would be "prudent or practical."

In fact, having members of Congress disclose their investments in prediction markets that don't resolve for a long period of time may "make it worse," he said.

Payne drew a comparison to the way that the public currently follows stock trades by members of Congress, arguing that the disclosure of individual prediction market trades could lead others to make that same bet, thus raising the price and financially benefiting the lawmaker.

"They're going to bet with that member of Congress," Payne said. "It could end up influencing the market in a way that is damaging."

Payne said that much like with stock trading, a simple blanket ban on members of Congress trading on prediction markets may make more sense.

In recent months, several lawmakers have introduced bills that would impose new regulations on prediction markets or restrict the trading activity of public officials.

One of those bills, the "End Prediction Market Corruption Act" from Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, would ban the president, vice president, and members of Congress from trading on prediction markets altogether.

• Maine is set to pass a bill pausing new data centers until late 2027.
• Data centers face growing public resistance over environmental and infrastructure concerns.
• Maine's vote could mark the first-ever statewide moratorium on data center construction in the US.

Maine could be the first state to successfully call a timeout on the AI race.

Lawmakers in at least 12 states have tried this year to slow Big Tech's AI infrastructure buildout with legislation that would impose temporary bans on approvals and construction of new data centers.

The proposed moratoriums are a response to rising local resistance to data centers, as communities across the country raise questions about the impact of these facilities on local resources and infrastructure.

The US has 4,000 data centers, and 3,000 either proposed or under construction, according to the American Edge Project, a tech coalition. As their footprint has grown, local communities have mobilized protests over a wide range of concerns, from noise pollution to rising utility bills.

A Business Insider review of state legislative dockets found 12 data center moratorium bills brought by state lawmakers in 2026.

Proponents of the bans said that pausing data center development would give state agencies time to study the impacts of data center growth on the environment, electricity rates, public health, local infrastructure, and more.

Of those 12 bills, only Maine's hasn't stalled out or been voted down. This week, the state's House and Senate approved the bill's text, clearing the way for a final vote before the legislature adjourns on April 15.

If passed, the bill would impose a temporary ban on AI data center construction in the state until November 1, 2027.

Nearly all of the moratorium bills called for temporary bans on data center construction of at least a year.

While Maine doesn't have a large data center footprint, it has seen an uptick in developer interest as Big Tech's AI infrastructure buildout spreads to every corner of the country.

Legislators in states with mature data center markets, such as Georgia and Virginia, have had less luck drumming up support for statewide moratoriums.

Maine's moratorium isn't guaranteed until the governor signs it into law — and there's always a chance it could be vetoed.

Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced federal legislation calling for a national pause on data center development to allow Congress time to better understand their impacts.

"Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts," Sanders said in a press release.

Here's how 12 states have tried to pause new data center development.

Georgia

A group of Democrats in Georgia's House of Representatives proposed a temporary halt to data center construction and development in the state. The bill never made it to the floor for a vote.

House Bill 1059 would have required the state to form a commission to study the impact of data centers on Georgia's electric grid, water supply, and local infrastructure.

Georgia is home to 93 data centers, according to the bill.

Elon Musk's xAI has a large data center in Atlanta, and Microsoft is building an AI infrastructure hub nearby.

Maine

A bill that would put a temporary pause on data centers in the state is expected to pass both the state's House and Senate in a final vote by April 15.

If it does pass, Maine will become the first state to enact a moratorium on data center construction.

Maine isn't exactly a data center hot spot. Business Insider's data center map shows that, as of early 2025, only two facilities in the state had requested permits for diesel-fired backup generators.

Maryland

A group of Republican lawmakers in the Maryland House of Delegates floated an emergency measure immediately halting all data center construction in the state. It failed to gain traction.

If passed, the emergency measure would have remained in effect until Maryland passed legislation requiring all data centers in the state to generate their own electricity.

Instead, lawmakers next week are expected to pass broader energy legislation aimed at reducing residential electricity bills.

Although Maryland's data center market is small, power-hungry facilities drive up electricity rates, according to the state's official utility watchdog.

Michigan

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to temporarily suspend data center approvals in the state until April 1, 2027.

The legislation hasn't gone anywhere so far and isn't likely to succeed. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has previously indicated that she would oppose a data center moratorium in Michigan.

Meanwhile, grassroots efforts have taken off at the local level. In March, East Lansing approved a six-month moratorium to give the city planning commission time to study the potential impacts of data centers on the community.

Huron County, Delta County, and Big Rapids Township have approved moratoriums spanning from one to three years.

New Hampshire

A Democratic lawmaker tried and failed to push through a one-year moratorium on data center construction that would allow the state to study potential environmental impacts.

Rep. Peter Schmidt's House Bill 1265 was voted down on March 11.

New York

State Sen. Liz Krueger's S9144 would halt the issuance of new data center permits in New York for three years, pending an environmental review.

If enacted, the bill would also require the state's public service commission to issue a report on the impacts of data centers on everyday ratepayers.

The bill is stalled in committee.

Oklahoma

A Republican Oklahoma lawmaker, Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, is pushing for a data center moratorium in the state through 2029 "to ensure that progress does not come at the expense of Oklahomans' quality of life or their utility costs," she said in a press release.

Introduced in January, the bill stalled early on in the state's legislative session. That hasn't stopped local communities from making progress.

Tulsa last month passed a nine-month data center moratorium. In March, the Seminole Nation became the first indigenous group to ban data centers in its territory.

South Carolina

Lawmakers proposed a moratorium in February. The bill hasn't gained traction.

Google is expanding its presence in the state, and Meta is building a data center campus in Aiken County.

South Dakota

While a Senate committee in February killed a moratorium bill, South Dakota lawmakers didn't go too easy on data centers.

Several proposed bills that would have given the industry a boost in the state failed to go through, including one that would have granted a 50-year sales tax exemption.

Vermont

Like its nearby state, Maine, Vermont isn't home to any major cloud data centers.

That didn't stop Sen. Rebecca White from proposing a moratorium this year. The bill was referred to the Senate's finance committee in January and hasn't moved since.

Virginia

Lawmakers in Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centers, reviewed a moratorium bill and decided to punt it to 2027.

Virginia houses the world's largest concentration of data centers and was one of the first states to offer the industry an exemption from sales tax on computer equipment.

In January, Virginia's Department of Taxation said the exemption had cost the state budget $1.9 billion in the 2025 fiscal year.

The state legislature will convene a special session later in April to debate the future of the exemption, which is scheduled to expire in 2035. Lawmakers are fiercely divided over whether to end the program early or extend it through 2050.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's attempt to pause data center construction died on the Senate floor less than two weeks after it was introduced.

AB1099 would have implemented a moratorium on data center construction in Wisconsin until a statewide data center planning authority was established.

While state-level efforts failed, a Milwaukee suburb this week became the first city in the country to pass a data center referendum. Now, all future data center tax breaks in Port Washington, home to an Oracle-backed Stargate site, will require local voter approval.

• Box CEO Aaron Levie isn't worried about his company's AI token bill.
• He said that he would rather be wasting tokens "because that means that we're trying new things."
• Across Silicon Valley, there's a push to max token usage.

Box CEO Aaron Levie says he isn't worried about how many tokens his company's engineers are using.

"For me right now, I'm like, 'Yeah, we should probably waste a lot of tokens because that means that we're trying new things,'" Levie said during a recent episode of the "a16z Show."

Levie's views echo where much of Silicon Valley is right now when it comes agentic AI usage. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said he would be "deeply alarmed" if an engineer making $500,000 didn't use the equivalent of $250,000 worth of tokens. Some companies, including Meta and OpenAI, are encouraging "Tokenmaxxing" by displaying leaderboards of the of the biggest users.

Leview has previously spoken about how companies need to realize that token usage won't just be limited to their engineering teams.

Tokens are how large language models break down words into numerical inputs and outputs. AI providers, including OpenAI, charge based on the number of tokens used.

Engineers and companies are facing big questions over how to deploy AI agents, which by their very design run more sophisticated prompts and operate for a longer-period of time, driving up token usage. Levie said every engineer is grappling with this issue.

"You have to decide, do you want that to be a long-running prompt? Do you have to be a long-running agent?" he said. "Do you want to parallelize that? What is your comfort level of wasted tokens?"

Levie said these questions won't be solved "until we can actually find a way to build data center capacity." At that point, AI providers might charge less for tokens because they won't be as worried about stretching their finite amount of compute too thin. Already, AI companies like Anthropic have implemented policies to try to grapple with peak usage.

In the meantime, agentic AI isn't just about token usage, Levie said. He said CFOs and CIOs are "running around with their hair on fire trying to figure out" whether their companies' current IT and integration policies work in an agentic AI age.

"How do you coordinate, you know, possibly the fact that you might be hitting this system like 10,000 times an hour or something, not from a performance standpoint," he said, 'but just how do you make sure that people didn't move a file from one thing, accidentally, from one folder to another folder, while the other person was trying to do a write operation, and somebody else was trying to delete something because you just have these agents running wild."

• AI can help job seekers with résumés, cover letters, and networking.
• Still, there are some things to avoid when using ChatGPT and other AI tools.
• Job-search experts say to be detailed in your prompts and to review and edit what the tools suggest.

Before throwing a résumé draft into ChatGPT or asking another AI tool to craft a message to hiring managers, job seekers should avoid a few things.

"I never used the wording ChatGPT spit out, but I definitely used it to figure out where I was lacking in useful information and where I had too much," one person said in response to a Business Insider poll asking how job seekers are using AI. Another person said they used it to create thank-you messages that draw on information from the company's website, like the employer's values. Another use was comparing résumés to job descriptions.

In the US alone, over 7 million people are unemployed, and about a quarter have been actively seeking work for at least 27 weeks. "This is a moment to sort of adjust the playbook a little bit," said Pat Whelan, head of careers products at LinkedIn. "That's where AI can be a huge help."

Still, he added, AI tools should be just a starting point in the job search process. Below are six examples of AI mistakes and overuse to avoid so you don't sabotage your chances.

Don't give tech full control and lose the human touch

It's the human, not the AI, who ultimately needs to sign on the dotted line of a job offer and take on the new gig's duties.

Priya Rathod, workplace trends editor at Indeed, finds that AI can help job seekers enhance their applications. However, she cautions against offloading all the responsibility for creating materials to AI; the job seeker should still personalize materials to tell their story.

"Use AI as a collaborator," Rathod said. "You potentially write your résumé out, and then you use AI to tweak it, strengthen it, make your existing bullets clearer."

Meg Martin, a résumé writer and career coach, suggested avoiding telling the AI tool, "Here's a job description. Write me a résumé for this job that I want to apply to," without also talking about who you are and the experience that fits with what the employer is looking for. Without the personal spin, she said it's just a generic résumé that won't get far. If you want to use AI to help draft a résumé, Martin said to feed it written passages so it can match your voice.

Don't forget to fact-check

Before uploading your résumé to a job application, give it a look over to make sure the skills, experience, and any other AI-enhanced sections are actually about you.

This is important if you reach the interview stage. "If you can't speak confidently to every single bullet point on that résumé, that will hurt you in the interviewing process," said career coach Lee Ann Chan.

Rathod emphasized that employers are looking for cohesiveness throughout the process, so a cover letter or résumé made with the help of AI should be consistent with what you can elaborate on in the interview stage.

"AI sometimes exaggerates qualifications and hallucinates job responsibilities and doesn't have the timelines correct," Rathod said. "So you want to make sure that you are thoroughly reviewing whatever output AI creates for you."

Don't just use whatever style or sentence structure it gives you

"The overarching line that I share with folks is there's no such thing as an AI résumé or a non-AI résumé," said Sam Wright, head of career strategy at AI résumé builder Huntr.co, and who also does one-on-one job search support. "It's a good résumé, or it's a bad résumé."

Wright said that recruiters spend an average of just under 10 seconds on a résumé. If there are clear signs it's an AI-written résumé, "then it's probably going to be a bad résumé because what we're ultimately catering towards is the preferences and biases" of the person making job candidate decisions, he said. Wright said some signs of AI usage can be em dashes or contrasting language of "It's not X, it's Y."

He said the main mistake AI-using job seekers make is thinking that these tools mean they can focus less attention and effort. Job seekers should research what should be included. "If you are not an expert or you don't know what is a good résumé to begin with, then using these AI tools, it's not going to really help you make a better résumé because you're already defaulting to what you already know and are prompting based off of that."

Wright also said some AI users make the mistake of copy-pasting part of their conversation with the tool into their job application materials, so don't forget to double-check.

Don't be broad in your input to AI tools

Martin said garbage in equals garbage out, so job seekers should use detailed and strategic prompts to try to get useful output.

"If you give it a one-line prompt, you're going to get something very generic and different than if you give it all the details about your background, about your experience, about what you're looking for, how you see yourself fitting into the target job," she said.

Career experts tend to advise making résumé details quantifiable. Chan said give AI tools some numbers and specifics about your work experience instead of simply uploading a résumé and telling it to tweak it to match the description.

"Tell them exactly, 'when I was working on this group project, I leveraged these resources, I worked with these people, I was able to get 20% increase,'" Chan gave as an example.

After that, be clear on what you want AI to do with that data, such as creating a specific bullet point on a résumé that leverages the information. Also, let it know how long the point should be.

Avoid overusing generic buzzwords in résumés, cover letters, and even networking

One common part of the résumé is the professional summary at the top, which briefly explains the job seeker and their measurable achievements. Martin finds that AI tools tend to jam-pack the section with buzzwords or commonly used verbs.

"After a while, they all start to sound the same, and you've got to find ways to make yourself stand out," Martin said, adding that the key is to edit.

For cover letters, she said people should guide the tool on their writing style and word choices to avoid it coming up with something more generic. "They usually start out with, 'I'm excited to apply for such and such job,' and that's a dead giveaway," she said. However, she said it should still feel human, so people could use the AI tool's outputs as a guide instead of the final result.

Chan said candidates need to include numbers and demonstrate impact in their cover letters. She said common phrases that are used too often are "translated data into actionable insights, proven track record, results-oriented professionals."

"It's not that you can't use those words, but you need to back it up with the results," Chan said.

Don't make cold, overused outreach messages

AI tools can also help with networking. Whelan said AI can save time when drafting messages, but job seekers still need to review and personalize them.

"Make sure you're communicating why you have some unique fit with that particular role so that you stand out to recruiters," he said.

Chan said hiring managers get messages all the time from people who say they see they work for a certain company and would like to ask a few questions. She said, instead of telling AI you are going to or have already applied for a job and now want to write a short message to the hiring manager, tell the tool some specific details about the person, for example, that the hiring manager recently spoke at a certain event, or something that can help make the message less generic.

How is your job search going? Reach out to share what it's been like with this reporter at mhoff@businessinsider.com.

• Illia Polosukhin is a coauthor of the landmark transformer paper, "Attention is All You Need."
• Polosukhin uses 12 agents with a prompt that tells them to be like a "billionaire's chief of staff."
• The researcher is building a backend infrastructure to secure our agents' activities.

On a given day, Illia Polosukhin has a dozen agents completing different "missions" for him.

One such mission could be "I want to become a better CEO," he said.

"So it effectively summarizes all of the meeting notes, Google Drive docs, Slack messages, and provides me with a coaching and executive summary of what happened, what I'm missing, and where decisions are stuck," Polosukhin told Business Insider. "So that runs every week."

Polosukhin calls these agents his "billionaire-chief-of-staff level of support." The description is "literally" in the prompt, he said: "You're a billionaire's chief of staff."

It's an early glimpse of the future Polosukhin sees not only for individual workers or CEOs, but for the entire global economy: a world where agents can make trades, coordinate supply chains, and broker transactions on behalf of people and large companies. And in his view, we're wholly unprepared for it.

"I think the bigger issue is that we have fundamentally not prepared the system for AGI (artificial general intelligence) being available," he said. The system being "society, the internet, government institutions, etc."

Polosukhin is one of the key figures behind generative AI. In 2017, he coauthored the seminal research paper "Attention Is All You Need," which introduced the Transformer architecture, a novel approach to building AI models. That groundbreaking paper is the reason there's a "T" at the end of ChatGPT.

Peeling back the black box

Very little about the trajectory of AI surprises the researcher-turned-founder.

The same year the Transformer architecture paper was published, Polosukhin started NEAR AI around the idea that machines could eventually generate software. His thesis was that humans would talk to computers in natural language, like English, and the machines would write the code.

"In 2017, that sounded pretty ridiculous," he said. Today, it's called vibe coding.

Polosukhin is also unsurprised by the capabilities some models are now showing. Anthropic on Tuesday said its latest preview model, Mythos, is so capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities that the lab is limiting access.

Polosukhin said he had been warning for years that "models will start breaking everything." He described it to Business Insider as a "cat and mouse" game, where each model iteration can break whatever the previous model fixed.

In a world where people manage their health — or corporations manage logistics — with AI agents, Polosukhin sees a need for a backend trust and security layer meant to guard against those risks.

At NEAR, Polosukhin is building infrastructure to reduce AI agents' dependence on a single company, such as a frontier AI lab, for controlling and overseeing every step of a task.

In practice, that could mean an AI agent — one that handles your login information, books your travel, and moves money to pay for an airline ticket — wouldn't require a user to blindly trust a single gatekeeper.

"This is going to have all your information," Polosukhin said of AI models handling data. "Literally, your life will be there. So you don't want any singular company to have control or access to this."

Another risk Polosukhin wants to guard against is manipulation. People are increasingly using AI to get information, from news summaries to investment suggestions. An AI lab, or a malicious actor within it, could quietly shape those answers, Polosukhin said.

One example came last year from xAI, when Grok repeatedly brought up "white genocide" in unrelated responses after what the company said was an "unauthorized modification" to its backend.

Polosukhin's pitch with NEAR is to develop an open-source, auditable platform that gives users greater visibility into how an AI system operates, rather than treating it as a black box.

Supervision is what AI still needs

At the moment, his own agents are not fully trustworthy.

Polosukhin showed Business Insider how one of his agents can aggregate news around the US-Iran ceasefire and provide market reads. Others are "developer agents" that code and a "growth agent" that can propose steps to increase a certain metric at his company.

As helpful as they are, Polosukhin doesn't let an AI off leash. The researcher said AI systems still need careful attention.

In his view, AI still struggles with sound judgment, even as online conversations about it can overhype its current progress.

"If I just let it go and run and do things, I come back to something that makes no sense," he said of AI models. "So you need to babysit it with your judgment."

• Air New Zealand pioneered the economy bed by adding flippable legrests that create a sleep surface.
• United Airlines has since licensed the idea for its "Relax Row," coming in 2027.
• Some carriers offer a bed in economy by charging extra for a guaranteed empty row.

For many economy flyers, the best long-haul sleep hack is simply lucking out with a row to themselves. A handful of airlines are betting some will pay to guarantee it.

United Airlines recently made headlines for its upcoming "Relax Row" — a set of three economy seats with legrests that flip up to create a fully flat bed-like space. It's designed to give budget-conscious travelers a taste of business class without the high price tag.

The move fits into the airline's broader push toward premium offerings as demand for more comfort booms. United reported an 11% year-over-year increase in premium revenue in 2025.

United didn't pioneer the coach bed, though.

The idea dates back to 2011, when Air New Zealand introduced its "Skycouch" with flippable legrests on Boeing widebody aircraft and patented the product. The airline told Business Insider it has since licensed the concept to other carriers, including fellow Star Alliance member United.

Air New Zealand has expanded on the idea, too. It is soon introducing a bunk-style "Skynest" to its economy cabin later this year, designed to complement the Skycouch. It's expected to be sold in hourly blocks for a fee.

United hasn't said what the price of its Relax Row will be yet. Similar seats on other airlines — some without flippable legrests that are more like benches — range from a few hundred dollars to over $2,500 each way.

Some carriers allow flyers to select the bed-style seat during booking, while others require it to be done after via a request process or at the airport. These airlines have beds in economy:

Air New Zealand's Skynest

Air New Zealand markets its economy beds as added options for coach flyers. The Skynest is the newest product and will be two sets of three-high flat bunks with linens, curtains, and seatbelts.

Air New Zealand is showing its Skynest off to the public in New York City on April 14.

Air New Zealand's Skycouch

The legrest-equipped Skycouch revolutionized economy air travel and became a blueprint for other airlines. The legrests flip up 90 degrees via a button and lock into place to make the flat sleeping surface.

It comes with linens and a "cuddle belt" to wear when sleeping, but customers still get the regular economy meals and boarding position. I flew in the Skycouch for 16 hours in 2022 and thought it was comfortable and a great sleep solution if you have the budget. The bed is just over five feet long, though, so taller travelers may be more cramped.

Passengers can secure the Skyouch at the time of booking. The price can vary by season and route, but the most expensive one-way tickets are over $1,500. It can accommodate up to two adults and a child.

United Airlines' Relax Row

Launching in 2027 on long-haul flights, the Relax Row mirrors the Skycouch and will be fitted onto more than 200 Boeing widebody planes by 2030.

It can be selected at booking and comes with two extra pillows, a blanket, and a mattress pad. It's unclear what the launch route will be.

All Nippon Airways' COUCHii

ANA, another Star Alliance member airline, sells the COUCHii on flights between Japan and Hawaii. It is bookable up to 48 hours before the flight, either by requesting it on the website or by phone.

COUCHiis are exclusively on Airbus A380 planes and stretch three or four seats with legrests that flip up to create a wide bed.

ANA's website shows the cheapest option is $130 for all four seats for four people traveling together during low season; the most expensive is $2,580 for four seats for one person during high season.

Lufthansa's Sleeper Row

The German flag carrier offers first-come, first-served "Sleeper Rows" that can only be booked at the airport for select long-haul flights of at least 11 hours, subject to availability.

Essentially, Lufthansa passengers can pay extra right before their flight to secure an empty row that would otherwise have gone unsold.

It doesn't have flippable legrests, but it comes with "business-class quality" linens and space to stretch out. The per-segment cost ranges from $209 to $299.

Air Astana's Economy Sleeper

The Kazakh airline allows travelers to pay to reserve a row of three seats on select flights to Beijing, London, and Frankfurt. It comes with a blanket, mattress cover, and pillow, but no flippable legrests.

The ticket also includes business-class lounge access, priority check-in, and two extra checked bags. Air Astana says the experience is a "nominal" increase over the regular economy fare.

Vietnam Airlines' SkySofa

The SkySofa is another upcharge for a guaranteed row of three empty seats for one person; it can be added at booking or after.

Vietnam Airlines offers the option on flights between Vietnam and 18 countries, including the US. It includes personal amenities, like an eye mask and socks, and meals equal to those in premium economy.

The SkySofa price ranges from $150 to $650 one-way, depending on the economy fare type booked and the route.

Some early adopters abandoned economy beds.

China Airlines began marketing the "Family Couch" in 2014 but pulled it in 2018 due to low demand. Defunct UK airline Thomas Cook had a "Sleeper Seat" that flew until the airline declared bankruptcy in 2019.

Azul Brazilian Airlines, which once offered a four-seat-wide "Sky Sofa" on Airbus A330s, told Business Insider that the product was "discontinued due to fleet renewal and the configuration of current aircraft."

French carrier Air Austral's website mentions a bed-like "Extra Couchette" on Boeing 777s, but current seat maps and booking options don't show it. It's unclear if it's been discontinued; the airline didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

• The Artemis II mission surpassed Apollo 13's distance record.
• NASA's Artemis II is conducting a 10-day lunar flyby to test future moon landing systems.
• The Orion spacecraft made a "perfect bull's-eye splashdown" off the coast of San Diego on April 10.

NASA's first lunar flyby mission in more than 50 years has been completed.

The Artemis II mission launched at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET, and made a "perfect splashdown" off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10.

The mission, which includes four crew members — American commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — successfully completed a 10-day trip that included a lunar flyby, designed to test systems needed for future crewed moon landings.

On April 6, the mission surpassed the distance record set by Apollo 13.

Here are some of the most memorable moments from the Artemis II journey so far, from small technical hiccups to an emotional tribute for Wiseman's late wife.

The toilet malfunction

Turns out that a common household issue is much more complicated when in space. The Artemis II crew is using a modern toilet system — the Universal Waste Management System — with privacy features, a major improvement over the Apollo missions.

Koch first reported an issue with the Orion capsule's toilet, known as the Universal Waste Management System, according to a NASA blog post. The crew "reported a blinking fault light" connected to the toilet system before conducting an engine maneuver known as the apogee raise burn on April 1.

"The toilet fan is reported to be jammed," Gary Jordan, a NASA spokesperson, said during mission commentary. "Now the ground teams are coming up with instructions on how to get into the fan and clear that area to revive the toilet for the mission."

On April 2, NASA wrote in a blog post that the spacecraft's toilet had been repaired by the crew with remote assistance from mission control in Houston.

A different issue was resolved after the crew rotated the capsule to warm the plumbing system, which cleared the frozen urine clogging the pipe.

The Microsoft Outlook malfunction

One of the Artemis II mission's hiccups had nothing to do with propulsion or navigation.

Roughly seven hours into the spacecraft's planned 10-day journey around the moon, Wiseman reported that Microsoft Outlook on his computer had stopped working. The issue surfaced during a livestreamed exchange with NASA Mission Control, where Wiseman described the problem and asked for help.

"I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working. If you want to remote in and check Optimus and those two Outlooks, that would be awesome," Wiseman said.

The malfunction affected the crew's personal computing device (PCD), a tablet-like system used to access the internet, manage mission timelines, and handle communications. According to NASA, the device for Artemis II is a Microsoft Surface Pro.

Mission Control responded by remotely accessing Wiseman's system after receiving permission. Shortly afterward, the team confirmed the fix.

"We wanted to let Reid know we are done remoting into his PCD 1," a crew member said, adding that the system appearing offline afterward was "expected."

The record-breaking distance

NASA's Artemis II mission reached a defining milestone on April 6, when its crew officially traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history.

The record-breaking moment came at around 1:57 p.m. ET, as the Orion spacecraft moved behind the moon and surpassed the distance set by the Apollo 13 mission. That earlier mission reached 248,655 miles from Earth under extraordinary circumstances after an oxygen tank explosion forced astronauts to abandon a planned landing and loop around the moon instead.

As Artemis II crossed that threshold, Mission Control played a prerecorded message from Jim Lovell, who was a part of the Apollo mission. He died last year at age 97.

"Hello, Artemis II, this is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood," he said. "I'm proud to pass that torch on to you as you swing around the moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars for the benefit of all."

"It's a historic day, and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view," Lovell added. "So, Reid, Victor and Christina and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you, good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth."

From aboard Orion, Hansen responded.

"As we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration," Hansen said.

The Carroll Crater

The Artemis II crew marked the milestone of pushing farther from Earth than any humans before them with an emotional tribute.

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen used the moment to honor the late wife of Commander Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020.

"A number of years ago, we started this journey in our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one," Hansen told mission control. "Her name was Carroll: the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie."

The crew decided to name a newly identified lunar crater the "Carroll Crater" a visible "bright spot" located near the Glushko crater. The astronauts also named another crater "Integrity," after their Orion spacecraft.

Mission Control responded to the tribute: "Integrity and Carroll Crater, loud and clear."

The iPhone 17 is on board

NASA confirmed to Business Insider that an iPhone 17 Pro Max is aboard the Artemis II mission and that crew members have been using it for photos.

NASA said it is still processing more photos, but many are already available on NASA's Flickr portal, including a pair of striking self-portraits shared over the weekend. In one image, Koch gazes out from the Orion spacecraft, her face silhouetted against the bright glow of Earth, while another shows Wiseman in a similar pose.

Based on the image settings on Flickr, the photos were taken with the phone's front-facing camera, making them technically selfies. Other details available on Flickr show that the iPhone photos were captured with a 2.715mm lens at f/1.9 aperture with no flash. The crew also has a Nikon D5 camera.

A 'perfect bull's-eye splashdown'

NASA's Artemis II capsule Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about 40 to 50 miles off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. ET, returning four astronauts to Earth after a historic lunar mission.

"This is a perfect descent for Integrity," a NASA commentator said as Orion parachuted toward the ocean. Mission Control called it "a perfect bull's-eye splashdown."

Wiseman radioed that all four crew members were in good condition.

"What a journey. We are stable. Four green crew members," he said.

At NASA Johnson Space Center, the silence inside Teague Auditorium turned to cheers as communication was restored following reentry. An expected 6-minute communications blackout period was in effect due to high temperatures when Orion reentered the atmosphere, which began at about 7:53 p.m. ET.

The Navy recovery teams are set to transport the crew to the USS John P. Murtha for medical checks before returning them to land.

The astronauts emerge

About 90 minutes after splashdown, astronauts from Artemis II began emerging from the Orion capsule.

From NASA's livestream footage, they can be seen stepping out one by one through a side hatch onto an inflatable raft known as the "front porch." The platform allows crews to regain their balance after days in microgravity. Commander Wiseman was the last to emerge.

The exit came after Navy divers battled strong currents to secure the Orion and boarded the spacecraft to conduct initial medical checks.

A medical officer who entered the capsule reported to Mission Control that all four astronauts were "feeling great, happy to be home, and ready to be extracted as soon as possible."

The astronauts can be seen wearing hoisting vests in preparation for helicopter extraction from the raft, which had been repositioned a short distance from the capsule. They will be released to shore after further medical evaluations.

• Anthropic said this week it was withholding its new AI model, Mythos, due to cybersecurity concerns.
• Mythos is being made available to select organizations rather than the general public.
• The announcement sparked warnings, but some in AI said the threat was being overplayed.

Anthropic's announcement about its powerful new AI model this week sparked a wave of warnings and dire predictions, but not everyone is buying into the hype.

Anthropic said Tuesday it was not releasing Mythos, its next-generation AI model, due to cybersecurity concerns. The company said Mythos was so powerful that non-experts could use it to exploit vulnerabilities in major operating systems.

Instead of a wide release, Anthropic said it was making Claude Mythos Preview available to 11 external organizations, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, JPMorganChase, and Nvidia, as part of "Project Glasswing."

Anthropic's claims about what Mythos was capable of quickly sparked concern, as well as a meeting between Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the heads of major US banks.

Some AI commentators warned about the cybersecurity implications, while others cast doubt on the significance of the Anthropic announcement, saying Mythos didn't appear to be leaps and bounds ahead of other models and that it was more likely a matter of good PR.

Should Mythos have security execs quaking in their boots? Is Anthropic simply a master at marketing its models? We rounded up what smart people are saying as the internet debates the latest AI development.

Gary Marcus

Gary Marcus, an AI researcher and author, said Anthropic's announcement on Mythos was "overblown."

"To a certain degree, I feel that we were played," Marcus wrote on Substack. "The demo was definitely proof of concept that we need to get our regulatory and technical house in order, but not the immediate threat the media and public was lead to believe."

Marcus said from what he has seen, the model appears to be "incrementally better" than previous models, rather than a "breakthrough."

Yann LeCun

Yann LeCun, founder of AMI Labs and former chief AI scientist at Meta, also threw cold water on the Mythos hype.

"Mythos drama = BS from self-delusion," he wrote in an X post.

He was responding to a post from Aisle, an AI security company, that said it tested smaller, cheaper models on the same vulnerabilities highlighted in Anthropic's Mythos announcement and found that they could do much of the same analysis.

Jake Moore

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity specialist at ESET, previously told Business Insider there was some marketing language in Anthropic's announcement, but that "fundamentally, this model seems incredibly impressive and will only improve over time."

"Anthropic has built its reputation as the 'safety first' AI company, so announcements like this serve two purposes: genuine caution and signaling its safety-conscious stance," Moore said.

Dave Kasten

Dave Kasten, head of policy at Palisade Research, said he thinks it's likely that other AI models aren't far behind Mythos.

He told CNBC in an interview on Thursday that his expectation is that "Anthropic is a little ahead, but not overwhelmingly ahead, and they don't necessarily have much of a permanent moat here."

He flagged a recent report from Axios that said OpenAI also has a model with advanced cybersecurity abilities that it plans to only release to a small group, rather than the general public.

Kasten also said he thinks Gemini is also probably not far behind, but the fact that Google is partnering on Mythos implies that Anthropic likely has an advantage with this particular model, at least for a couple of months.

David Sacks

David Sacks, tech investor and former White House AI czar, said Anthropic's claims about Mythos are important but should be taken with a grain of salt.

"The world has no choice but to take the cyber threat associated with Mythos seriously. But it's hard to ignore that Anthropic has a history of scare tactics," Sacks said in an X post, sharing some examples of past instances when Anthropic issued alarming warnings or narratives about AI models.

T.J. Marlin

T.J. Marlin, CEO of Guardrail Technologies, who formerly worked on EY's global forensic technology practice, said the meeting between federal officials and Wall Street was about ensuring that the banks, should a big security breach happen, couldn't turn around and say, "We didn't know."

"Every CEO in that room who fails to document a board-level response is now operating in the most legally exposed position possible," Marlin wrote on LinkedIn.

Pablos Holman

Pablos Holman, a VC at Deep Future, said cybersecurity defenders — the people who are trying to defend against digital attacks — stand to benefit more from advancements in AI than those who are carrying out the attacks.

"Now everybody is losing their minds over AI-powered attacks," Holman said in a LinkedIn post about Mythos on April 1, before Anthropic's announcement this week. "What they're missing is that defenders have the same AIs. Often better ones and way more compute."

Holman said cybersecurity defenders will have access to the same models as well as more resources to work with, like the source code.

"This is still a war of escalation, but now the defender has the advantage," he wrote. "Security is about to get better. Not worse."

Ben Seri

"We have entered cybersecurity's Manhattan Project moment," Ben Seri, cofounder of cybersecurity startup Zafran Security, said in a post.

Seri said the cybersecurity threat was real and immediate, while the defensive potential was real but would take longer to realize. He said the real challenge will be for cybersecurity defenders to work faster at scale.

"AI will find vulnerabilities faster. AI will fix them faster. But the bottleneck was never discovery or remediation alone. It is the ability to deploy fixes into production environments safely, quickly, and at scale," he said. "Securely adopting rapid change in production is the most important shift that technology and security leaders need to take on to meet this moment."

Alice Tecotzky contributed reporting.

• Kalshi says it's a financial market, but Arizona prosecutors say it's arranging illegal sports bets.
• A Trump-appointed regulator says Kalshi's sports bets are legally swaps and states need to back off.
• On Friday, a judge sided with the federal government, putting Arizona's criminal case on pause.

A judge on Friday ordered Arizona's attorney general to temporarily pause its criminal case against Kalshi, handing a win to the Trump administration in its effort to stop states from regulating prediction markets.

Federal Judge Michael Liburdi's decision to back the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the case came at the end of a hectic week of arguments in which a lawyer for the federal regulator said a state criminal case would be a "flawed" way to settle hotly contested questions about whether prediction markets can list sports, politics, and other controversial markets.

State prosecutors filed 20 charges of illegal betting and election betting against Kalshi last month. The charges, all misdemeanors, characterize Kalshi's contracts as the kind of bets that are either prohibited under Arizona law or require a state gambling license. The criminal case also had the effect of halting a federal challenge that Kalshi had filed to Arizona's regulatory power.

Then the CFTC stepped in, suing Arizona and two other states earlier this month. The state on Friday argued that Congress never meant to let swaps that bear many similarities to sports bets take place on federally regulated exchanges. Liburdi issued an order that will prevent Arizona from moving forward with a criminal arraignment of Kalshi that had been scheduled for Monday.

"I will enter a temporary restraining order," the judge said, granting the CFTC's request to halt the state's prosecution. He didn't immediately state what the specific provisions of the order would be, but lawyers for the attorney general agreed to show up to criminal court first thing Monday and ask for their case against Kalshi to be paused.

Robert J. DeNault, a senior lawyer at Kalshi, hailed the decision on X, calling it "a step in the right direction."

The CFTC's leader, Michael Selig, has posted videos and made the rounds of podcasts in recent weeks to defend his agency's authority to regulate prediction markets. The Trump administration has generally applied a light regulatory touch on the industry.

"Arizona's decision to weaponize state criminal law against companies that comply with federal law sets a dangerous precedent, and the court's order today sends a clear message that intimidation is not an acceptable tactic to circumvent federal law," Selig said in a statement after the ruling.

Prediction markets like PredictIt, Kalshi, and Polymarket have existed for years, but they experienced a surge in usage around the 2024 election.

Since Donald Trump returned to office, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., has become a paid advisor to Kalshi, and an investment firm he works for invested in Polymarket. Kalshi also began hosting sports-related markets, which it had not done during the Biden administration.

Federal law prohibits commodities markets related to things like war, assassination, and "gaming," but the specific meanings of those terms have been debated in court.

Many states, but especially those where the traditional gambling industry holds sway, like Nevada and New Jersey, have argued that the contracts on prediction markets relating to sports, and sometimes politics, are illegal. Some members of Congress have also proposed new laws to regulate prediction markets.

• OpenAI said someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's San Francisco home early Friday morning.
• The San Francisco Police Department has a suspect in custody.
• OpenAI praised the SFPD's quick response and said that no one was harmed during the incident.

San Francisco police say they have a 20-year-old male in custody after someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's mansion early Friday morning.

Officers responded to a North Beach residence at approximately 4:12 a.m. local time for a fire investigation, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, Allison Maxie, said in a statement. No one was injured, and the fire was contained to an exterior gate, the spokesperson said.

OpenAI later confirmed that the attack occurred at Altman's $27 million estate in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.

The suspect fled on foot, and his description was later broadcast to all officers, according to SFPD.

At around 5:07 a.m., officers responded to OpenAI's office, where they said an unknown man was threatening to burn down the building. Officers quickly realized the man making the threats matched the description of the individual who threw the Molotov cocktail at Altman's home, the police spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for OpenAI praised SFPD's quick response.

"Early this morning, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's home and also made threats at our San Francisco headquarters. Thankfully, no one was hurt," a spokesperson for the AI company said. "We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe."

SFPD said that charges are still pending and the investigation is ongoing.

Once just a mainstay in Silicon Valley and the startup scene, Altman has become an international fixture who has traveled with President Donald Trump and met one-on-one with numerous other foreign leaders.

At the same time, views of AI in the US have cratered in recent months. Criticism of OpenAI spiked in the wake of the company's decision to announce a deal with the Pentagon hours after Anthropic refused to agree to the Department of Defense's contractual demands.

On Friday, Altman addressed the incident with a post on his personal blog, alongside a photo of his husband, Oliver Mulherin, and their child.

"Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me," Altman wrote.

"Someone said to me yesterday they thought it was coming at a time of great anxiety about AI and that it made things more dangerous for me. I brushed it aside," Altman added. "Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives."

Threats against tech leaders have pushed companies to spend on executive protection. Mark Zuckerberg's security costs more than $20 million in 2019. According to Tesla's SEC filing, the company "incurred expenses of approximately $2.4 million for such security services in 2023 and approximately $0.5 million through February 2024, representing a portion of the total cost of security services concerning Elon Musk."

It's unclear how much OpenAI allocates to security for Sam Altman and other executives, but recent incidents underscore the stakes. Last year, employees at the company's San Francisco headquarters were told to shelter in place after a reported threat from an individual previously linked to an anti-AI activist group, prompting a police response near the Mission Bay office.

• A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
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There's an emerging new way to measure economies in the AI era: Gross Domestic Intelligence, or GDI.

"We believe investors may begin to assess 'Gross Domestic Intelligence' resources at the national level, and this may well become an important investment overlay when assessing the competitiveness of entire nations and industries." Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to investors recently.

GDI measures who has the most AI resources, especially access to AI compute infrastructure including GPUs, networking gear, and data centers.

Epoch AI, a research group that tracks AI and its impact, took a stab at this last year by estimating the share of AI computational power globally. The US dominated, with roughly 75%. China was second with about 10%, followed by the EU, then Norway and Japan.

This group, backed by Dustin Moskovitz's Coefficient Giving charity, came out with similar estimates this week. The new data, from Q4 2025, measures the AI compute capacity of various companies and countries. It's based on AI chips that include, and are equivalent to, Nvidia's H100 GPUs. Compute capacity is how many operations each AI chip can perform at its peak.

Google dominates in a mind-blowing way, with its own TPUs and a lot of Nvidia GPUs. Every top company is American. China only has as much AI compute as Oracle, according to Epoch AI estimates.

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

Lorde is back on the road with her Ultrasound World Tour, which continues through 2026 with a mix of arena shows and major festival appearances. The lineup features stops in Mexico, Los Angeles, Toronto, and several major European summer festivals. A handful of dates are already sold out, so availability varies by city and whether you're targeting a headline show or a festival day pass.

Lorde (Ella Yelich-O'Connor) broke through globally with "Royals" and her 2013 debut album "Pure Heroine," quickly becoming one of pop's most influential alt-leaning voices. Since then, she's evolved across eras like Melodrama and Solar Power, building a reputation for sharp songwriting and a live show that leans more "immersive pop performance" than maximalist spectacle.

If you're ready to see her next viral performance live, keep reading to see Lorde's full tour schedule, along with where to buy tickets. When you're ready, you can secure your seats at StubHub and Vivid Seats.

Lorde's 2026 tour schedule

The more popular dates on Lorde's tour may have few seats left, but it's not too late to get your own. If your preferred night is sold out, resale marketplaces may have listings, but pricing tends to fluctuate a lot as you get closer to showtime — particularly for the more limited US dates and high-demand festivals.

• April 24, 2026 - New Orleans, LA at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
• April 28, 2026 - Monterrey, Mexico at Auditorio Banamex
• April 29, 2026 - Guadalajara, Mexico at Auditorio Telmex
• May 1, 2026 - Mexico City, Mexico at Palacio de los Deportes
• May 14, 2026 - Los Angeles, CA at Kia Forum
• May 15, 2026 - Los Angeles, CA at Kia Forum
• May 17, 2026 - Salt Lake City, UT at Kilby Block Party
• May 22, 2026 - Napa, CA at BottleRock Napa Valley
• June 5, 2026 - New York, NY at The Governors Ball Music Festival
• June 7, 2026 - Toronto, Canada at All Things Go Toronto
• July 9, 2026 - Madrid, Spain at Mad Cool Festival
• July 11, 2026 - Algés, Portugal at NOS Alive
• July 13, 2026 - Nîmes, France at Festival de Nîmes
• July 15, 2026 - Lyon, France at Les Nuits de Fourvière
• July 16, 2026 - Bern, Switzerland at Gurtenfestival
• July 18, 2026 - Ostrava, Czechia at Colours of Ostrava
• July 19, 2026 - Berlin, Germany at Lollapalooza Berlin
• July 21, 2026 - Nyon, Switzerland at Paléo Festival
• July 23, 2026 - Milan, Italy at Unaltrofestival
• July 30, 2026 - Chicago, IL at Lollapalooza
• July 31, 2026 - Saint Charles, IA at Hinterland Music Festival
• August 2, 2026 - Montreal, Canada at Osheaga Festival
• August 13, 2026 - Poznań, Poland at BitterSweet Festival
• August 14, 2026 - Copenhagen, Denmark at Syd for Solen
• August 15, 2026 - Gothenburg, Sweden at Way Out West
• August 18, 2026 - Pula, Croatia at Pula Arena
• August 20, 2026 - Saint Pölten, Austria at Frequency Festival
• August 21, 2026 - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands at Lowlands Festival
• August 22, 2026 - London, UK at All Points East
• August 25, 2026 - Edinburgh, UK at Edinburgh Summer Sessions
• August 27, 2026 - Paris, France at Rock en Seine
• August 28, 2026 - Bristol, UK at Clifton Downs
• August 31, 2026 - Munich, Germany at SUPERBLOOM
• September 1, 2026 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg at Rockhal

How much are Lorde tickets?

If you're shopping for Lorde tickets on the resale market, prices on Vivid Seats and StubHub can be fairly approachable for some dates — but they can also jump quickly for the most in-demand venues and sections. On Vivid Seats, Lorde tickets currently start at $91, which is about as low as it gets. For a high-demand stop like May 14 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Vivid Seats shows a broader range, with listings starting around $94 and premium options reaching up to $526.

On StubHub, the spread looks similar — and you can see it clearly on specific event pages. For that same May 14 Kia Forum date, StubHub shows tickets as low as $74, while the top end on the same page is about $539. In general, you'll pay the least if you're flexible on seating (upper bowl, side view), while floor/lower-bowl seats and peak nights tend to command the biggest premiums as the show gets closer.

See more: Is StubHub legit? | Las Vegas Sphere tickets | Yungblud tickets | Bad Bunny tickets | Bruno Mars tickets | Harry Styles tickets | Cardi B tickets

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• A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
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Ashley Stewart's scoops are always worth reading. This week, she published a sharp piece on the AI threat to software, and how Microsoft, Salesforce, and others are responding.

Buried in the story was a deceptively simple question: does your AI agent count as an employee?

At a recent conference, Microsoft executive Rajesh Jha floated a provocative idea. In a future where companies deploy fleets of AI agents, those agents may need their own identities — logins, inboxes, and even seats inside software systems. If so, AI wouldn't shrink software revenue. It could expand it.

"All of those embodied agents are seat opportunities," Jha said, envisioning organizations with more agents than humans — each effectively a user that must pay for a software license, or "seat" in industry lingo.

That's a radical twist in the SaaS pricing debate rattling companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday. Investors worry AI could hollow out seat-based pricing, the backbone of enterprise software. If one human can manage dozens of agents, why pay for dozens of licenses?

Jha's answer: because those agents are the new users. A company with 20 employees might buy 20 Microsoft 365 licenses today. If each employee gets five AI agents, and the workforce shrinks to 10 people, that could still mean 50 paid seats.

Not everyone buys it.

Nenad Milicevic, a partner at AlixPartners, sees the opposite. AI agents will reduce the number of humans interacting with software, slashing licenses. Instead of 20 employees, you might have one person overseeing a handful of agents. That shift would pressure vendors and empower customers to push back on pricing that no longer makes sense.

Milicevic argues the winners will be open platforms. Companies could charge extra for machine-based access, but risk losing customers to software rivals that let agents operate freely.

Which brings us back to the core tension: if AI agents are just extensions of you, charging extra feels like double billing. If they're autonomous workers, paying for them may be inevitable.

The answer could define the next decade of software economics.

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

• Thousands converged in downtown San Francisco this week for HumanX, one of the year's biggest AI conferences.
• Talking to VCs, the consensus was clear: OpenAI is cooked while Anthropic is cooking.
• But with how quickly models are advancing, no one was ready to count OpenAI out.

Thousands converged in downtown San Francisco this week for HumanX, one of the year's biggest AI conferences, proving people still prefer interacting with humans rather than AI agents.

Talking to VCs and founders inside San Francisco's Moscone Center, the consensus was clear for most: Anthropic is the new Silicon Valley favorite. That sentiment is a sharp contrast with the first HumanX last year, held in a Las Vegas casino, where most VCs were placing their chips on OpenAI.

"In Vegas last year, it felt like OpenAI was the clear winner, and now it seems like Anthropic is miles ahead," said Roseanne Winsek of Renegade Partners. "The Anthropic product is so good."

Last year, Anthropic had not yet widely released Claude Code or Claude 4. Now, Claude Code is a phenomenon. Both companies are preparing to go public, and Anthropic is releasing models that are the envy of the industry. Valued at $380 billion, some VCs also see it as a better bargain compared to OpenAI's rich $852 billion valuation, especially with Anthropic announcing this week that its run-rate revenue surpassed $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025.

"They're crushing it," said Jared Quincy Davis, founder and CEO of Mithril, an AI cloud platform, referring to Anthropic. "It's pretty clear that the focus that they had on enterprise, on frontier capabilities, on coding, and making deliberate decisions not to go into some consumer use cases, were great decisions"

OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment.

While there was universal praise for Anthropic, it was hard to find anyone saying good things about OpenAI, whether because of bewilderment over its recent acquisition of the internet talk show TBPN or questions about CEO Sam Altman's deal with the Pentagon. Most founders and VCs were still reluctant to criticize OpenAI on the record.

"There are quite a few people who have disagreed with Sam and what he's been doing," said Andy Chen, a former partner at Coatue and Kleiner Perkins, who is expecting a brain drain of talent from OpenAI. "And Anthropic has tripled its revenue in the past three months."

As if Anthropic did not already have enough momentum, midway through the conference, it announced its latest model, Mythos, which it said is so powerful it cannot yet be unleashed upon the general public because of the risk of cyber attacks.

"The Mythos model is a huge deal, said Tomasz Tunguz, founder and general partner of Theory Ventures. "There's a tremendous amount of excitement."

This year's HumanX was twice as large as last year, with some 6700 attendees paying upward of $4,000 a ticket for a chance to rub shoulders with industry heavyweights like Lovable cofounder Anton Osika or billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

On a vast exhibition floor, startups building AI agenetic security startups and autonomous workflows handed out branded hoodies, water bottles, and notebooks. Each day, attendees received an AI-generated list of people they should have lunch with and which sessions to attend. (The list I got was not very helpful, as it spit out a list of other VC journalists to meet.)

Robot humanoids and dogs roamed the floor, but nearby, the real dogs with their real fur at the "HumanX Dog Park" proved far more popular.

There was also a "retro lounge" with a pinball machine and jukebox, a mock New York City bodega, and a wellness lounge offering massages. The non-AI attractions seemed designed to calm the nerves of anxious attendees worried about what the AI future might hold.

"The mood I'm feeling is exuberance and existential terror," said Stefan Weitz, a former Microsoft executive who is co-founder and CEO of HumanX. "I can't reconcile the two."

The rapid shift in sentiment from last year reflects the dizzying pace of AI advancement, leaving VCs exhausted.

"Every day you wake up and something has meaningfully changed," said Tunguz. "Everyone is in a rush because everything is changing so fast. "

With how quickly models are advancing, no one was ready to count OpenAI out. When HumanX returns to Las Vegas next year, the betting favorite could have changed.

"These things change so fast," Winsek said. "OpenAI will probably be back."

Cleaning the litter box is often the most dreaded chore for any cat guardian, but using one of the best cat litters can make the task much easier. That said, what's ideal for us may not be what our cats prefer. If the texture isn't quite right or it has added fragrances, your cat may choose to do their business outside the box.

For this guide, I consulted several veterinarians and, alongside another reporter, cumulatively tested 33 cat litters to find which ones work best for both cats and their humans. Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Multi-Cat Strength is the best overall litter I've tested. It produces minimal dust, offers strong clumping without sticky residue, and provides effective odor control. A more affordable option is Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Clumping Litter, which will save you about 30 cents per pound compared to Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract. While it’s the heaviest litter we tested, it also tracked the least. Learn more about these litters below as well as other top picks, including lightweight and natural litters.

Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and researches pet products.

Our top picks for the best cat litter

Best overall: Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Multi-Cat Strength Litter - See at Chewy

Best lightweight: Frisco Lightweight Cat Litter - See at Chewy

Best budget: Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Clumping Litter - See at Chewy

Best natural: Sustainably Yours Small Grains Cat Litter - See at Chewy

Best paper: Ökocat Non-Clumping Paper Pellet Litter -See at Chewy

Best overall

Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Multi-Cat Strength Litter makes litter box duty noticeably less unpleasant for people while encouraging consistent use among cats. It remained odor-free for three weeks with twice-daily scooping, and clumps lifted cleanly without leaving sticky residue.

If you're unsure of your cat's litter preferences, this fine-grain clay litter is a safe bet. My cats often chose it over others in side-by-side testing, likely because of its sand-like texture, minimal dust, and lack of noticeable fragrance. Cats are naturally drawn to sandy textures like this one, which are gentler on their paws and more comfortable for digging than coarser alternatives, says Dr. Bethany Hsia, veterinarian and cofounder of CodaPet.

The formula also includes a proprietary blend of herbs intended to attract cats to the box. Mikel Delgado, a certified cat behavior consultant, says she's seen the litter successfully encourage litter box use in her client work and at home. However, litter attractants aren't a substitute for proper box setup and cleaning or a veterinary evaluation for cats that go outside of the litter box.

The litter absorbed liquid almost instantly and formed solid clumps, although a few broke during scooping. We used about half of a 40-pound bag to fill a large 20-by-24-inch litter box roughly 3 inches deep. At around 80 cents per pound, it offers good value for its longevity. It was easier to pour and scoop than my heavier budget pick, and tracked less than my lightweight pick. However, pouring produced a small amount of dust and left a fine residue on my hands.

The brand says the only difference between this litter and its Ultra Litter is the addition of cat-attracting herbs, but we found Ultra consistently stuck to the litter box. And while Ultra is about 20 cents per pound less, it needed a full refresh after just two weeks of twice-daily scooping.

Best lightweight

Lightweight litter can be a good choice for many cats, especially for senior cats with arthritis or kittens with tiny paws, since the lighter granules are easier to dig in. When it's time for you to lift and pour the litter, the lighter weight is also a back-saver. However, litter that is too light can get pushed out of the box or tracked through the house. Enter Frisco Lightweight Cat Litter, which hits a sweet spot.

Made from a unique blend of clay and grass seed, it weighs less than half as much as my top pick but has just enough heft to stay mostly contained in the litter box. The clumps are easy to scoop, though they aren't quite as firm as other litters in this guide and occasionally break in two. On the plus side, dust is virtually nonexistent.

My colleagues and I haven't always had success with grass litters — some of our cats have tried to eat them while others refused to use them entirely — so I was genuinely delighted that my cats used this one immediately and consistently throughout testing. Even after Lyra rolled around in the box (a true testament to her approval), the litter didn't cling to the sides of the box walls or her fuzzy paws. Over the course of a week, I collected just under a quarter cup of tracked litter, and most of it was within a few feet of the box and caught by the litter mat.

The 9-pound jug filled my large 20-by-24-inch litter box less than 2 inches deep, so I'd need at least two jugs a month for the best depth. It also costs about 10% more than my top pick from Dr. Elsey's. As the litter level dropped, I noticed slightly more sticking, and after two weeks, a small amount of residue was left at the bottom of the box. Even so, with twice-a-day scooping, I didn't notice any foul smells.

Best budget

A low price doesn't mean much if a litter does a poor job of absorbing liquids or trapping odors since frequently litter changes can quickly drive up the cost. At about 50 cents per pound, Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Clumping Litter is the most affordable formula among the best cat litters we tested, and it proved very effective.

This litter produced very little dust and absorbed liquid almost immediately. Urine consistently formed tight clumps without breaking or sticking to the scoop or box, and it stayed fresh for three weeks when scooped twice daily. The clay formula contains baking soda crystals, which helps control odors by neutralizing the pH of cat urine.

While my cats used this litter, they often preferred other clay options in side-by-side tests. Despite being advertised as unscented, I noticed a faint fresh laundry-like smell when scooping, which some cats might find off-putting.

Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Clumping Litter has heavier grains, which means less tracking outside the box than with my other picks. However, heavier litter comes with a trade-off. The extra weight makes pouring and scooping noticeably harder. It can also make it more difficult for cats to dig and fully bury their waste. This can contribute to litter box odors in some households, but it wasn't an issue during my testing.

Best natural

Thanks to its impressive odor control, this plant-based litter earned the top spot in my guide to the best natural cat litters. During testing, there was no noticeable odor, even after a month of continuous use by two cats.

A single 13-pound bag of Sustainably Yours Small Grains Cat Litter was enough to fill a large litter box, and with average twice-daily use by both of my cats, the litter remained odor-free for the entire 30 days. Made from a blend of corn and cassava — a starchy plant — it outperformed similar litters in clumping. Urine formed clumps and was scoopable in about 8 seconds.

The litter's texture was fine enough that my cats had no issues with it. They even seemed to enjoy using it, especially when it was fresh. While the finer consistency resulted in more tracking compared to other litters we tested, it was less bothersome than clay litters due to its softer texture.

Another reason it's my top choice for natural litter is its very low dust, and one of the main reasons experts recommend natural litter over traditional clay. This makes it a good choice for cats or people with respiratory issues.

Best paper

Most paper litters come in the form of small, firm pellets. Because they are virtually dust-free, they are a good choice for cats or caregivers with respiratory issues and may also be recommended after surgery to keep incisions clean. Of the five paper options we tested, Ökocat Non-Clumping Paper Pellet Litter absorbed liquid the fastest without falling apart right away. These pellets were also the softest and smallest, making them well-suited to a cat's natural scratching, digging, and burying behaviors.

Despite these positive qualities, our four adult tester cats wouldn't use any paper litters, so we tested odor control over 12 hours using a vinegar-and-water mixture. The scent was only detectable within a few inches of my nose, though this was still stronger than other paper litters tested.

One distinct advantage, however, is how quickly Ökocat pellets absorb liquid. The pellets puff up on contact, which helps prevent urine from spreading throughout the box. This keeps the litter box cleaner than slower-absorbing paper brands. However, paper pellets don't form clumps that can be easily buried and removed. Urine-saturated paper can break down and mix with clean litter, leading to lingering odors and less hygienic conditions.

Ökocat Non-Clumping Paper Pellet Litter is 35% to 60% more expensive than the other paper litters we tested. Unlike most options, which are made from recycled paper, Ökocat uses sustainably sourced, dye-free white paper that is free of synthetic chemicals. While it may not be as eco-friendly as litter made from recycled materials, Ökocat prioritizes sustainability through its use of responsibly sourced paper and natural dyes. The weight and shape of the pellets suggest they are much less likely to track than smaller-grained clay and natural varieties.

What to look for in cat litter

There are so many different kinds of cat litter on the market that it can be hard to decide on which one is best. "Many of the variations are made to appeal to owners, rather than the cats who are using them," says Dr. Elizabeth Whitlock, a veterinarian and partner at CityVet in Woodstock, Georgia. "I think the most important thing to consider is what a cat actually prefers. Because if cats don't like it, they won't use it."

It's also important to keep in mind what litter works with your litter box. For standard litter boxes, like my top pick for the best cat litter boxes, any type of litter should work. The best automatic litter boxes, like Whisker Litter-Robot, often limit the type of litter you can use. "The litter must be able to clump quickly prior to cycling for proper use," Whitlock says.

Still, there are other considerations. "Selecting the ideal cat litter involves considering various factors to ensure your cat's comfort level and convenience," says Dr. Joanna Herberger, a veterinary consultant at PetSprint. You'll want to consider the following qualities when choosing among the best cat litters.

Odor control: No one wants their house to smell like a litter box, but strong perfumes that claim to mask odors can be overpowering. "Cats are very sensitive to odors and may refuse a litter if the fragrance is too strong for them," Whitlock says. For that reason, an unscented cat litter is usually the best option for most cats. You can find products that provide odor control without fragrance, including the best cat litters we recommend in this guide.

Scoopability: When it comes to cleaning the litter box, Herberger says litter that clumps or forms solids when it comes into contact with liquid makes it easier to scoop out both liquid and solid cat waste without having to change the entire box. Not only is it more convenient, but cats also often prefer it over non-clumping litter, she adds.

Texture: Cats can get fussy about what they're squatting in, and Whitlock says some will object to natural substrates such as corn, pine, or nut shells. She has found that accidents may increase when cats don't like the texture of their litter. One of the most popular types of litter, clay, tends to be well-liked by most cats.

Cleanliness: Some litters claim to be low-tracking, meaning they keep the litter in the box where it belongs. Others are marketed as low-dust, which can be useful for cats or people who suffer from respiratory issues.

Sustainability: The best cat litters are not always the best for the planet, and you may want to use eco-friendly litter for that reason. However, some cats will reject it. "The most accepted one I've seen is made from recycled newspaper," Whitlock says, adding that this type of litter requires more upkeep than the average clumping clay litter. So it's a matter of what you prioritize and what your cat will accept.

Price: Your budget also factors into the litter you choose to use. "It is essential to strike the right balance between quality and cost to ensure you get the best value for your product without breaking the bank," Herberger says. Clay litters tend to be less expensive than natural substrates or crystal or manufactured litters, Whitlock says.

How we tested the best cat litters

Over several years, freelance reporter Shoshi Parks and I tested and retested more than 30 cat litters. Most recently, I tested a dozen top contenders with my two cats, building on previous testing by Parks and her two cats. I've also evaluated dozens of natural cat litters, but only the top-performing litter is featured in this guide.

We've also consulted veterinarians and cat behaviorists to refine our testing methodology, with contributions from freelance reporter Jill Waldbieser as well. Based on our experts' insights, we assessed each litter for qualities important to both cats and their humans. Each litter was then poured into a litter box for the cats to use, allowing us to test real-world factors such as cat appeal, odor control, and tracking. For each litter, we performed the following tests.

Ease of cleaning: We scooped the litter boxes once to twice daily, noting how easy it was to remove solids and urine and whether any residue was left behind in the box or on the scoop. To test absorption and clumping in real-time, we added ¼ cup of water to 2 cups of litter in a glass container. We observed how quickly the litter absorbed moisture, how much litter became soiled, and whether clumps held together, when applicable.

Odor control: We tested each litter for a minimum of two weeks, extending to three weeks if the litter remained fresh with once- or twice-daily scooping. We monitored for changes in the smell, appearance, or texture of the litter.

For any litters Leeson's cats did not willingly use, she adapted the ease-of-cleaning test to assess odor control. She added 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the ¼ cup of water used in that test and poured it over 2 cups of litter in a glass container. She then held the bowl at arm's length and gradually moved it closer to note when we could detect the smell and then repeated the test after 12 hours.

Biologically appropriate qualities: We considered several qualities that make a cat litter appealing to cats.

• Weight: Lighter weight litters make digging and covering waste easier for cats. We measured 1 cup of each litter on a kitchen scale to compare weights side by side.
• Size: Cats generally prefer small, sand-like granules. We sifted each litter through a colander and noted any pieces too large to pass through.
• Diggability: We observed whether our cats were able to bury their waste and noted any changes in digging behavior or litter box use.
• Texture: We felt the litter substrate between our fingers, noting sharp edges or discomfort.

Tracking: A clean litter mat was placed in front of each box. We measured how much litter escaped onto the mat and surrounding floor, noted how far it traveled, and checked for any litter stuck in our cats' fur.

Scent: We evaluated the smell of the unused litter when pouring it into a clean litter box and by carefully sniffing it from a few inches away. We noted any strong scents in the room or on our cats during the testing period.

Dust: We observed dust produced when pouring and scooping, as well as any residue left on the pan or our cats' fur. We also ran our hands through the clean litter to check for any particles left behind.

Cat preference: While every cat has their own preferences, observing if and how our cats used each litter provided valuable insight into qualities that encourage or discourage use, or make digging and covering difficult. When Leeson's cats didn't readily use a litter, she drew on experience using some of these litters while fostering over 50 cats and kittens and during five years of professional cat sitting.

Cat litter FAQs

What kind of cat litter is best?

Nearly every one of the more than a dozen veterinarians, veterinary behaviorists, and cat behavior specialists we've spoken to agrees that most cats prefer, or are at least more tolerant of, nonperfumed clay litters. "Generally speaking, I recommend a fine-grained, clay-based clumping litter that is unscented," says Dr. Karen Sueda, a veterinary behaviorist. While litter preferences vary from cat to cat, she says every feline wants a substrate they can easily dig and cover their waste in. Cats with sensitive feet may avoid using litters with sharper granules, such as crystal or pellet formulas.

What are the differences between clumping and non-clumping litters?

Clumping cat litters, including those made from clay, corn, wood, and grass, form solid masses when they come into contact with urine, and those must be removed from the litter daily. Non-clumping litters absorb urine, but instead of forming clumps, the granules of silica, wood, or paper become saturated. On each cleaning, the saturated litter must be scooped from the box. There is no difference between how non-clumping and clumping litters interact with solids — feces must also be scooped daily.

Is there a dust-free cat litter?

Dusty natural and clay litters can be problematic for both cats and people. Dust may cause sensitive cats, particularly those with allergies or respiratory issues like asthma, to cough, sneeze, or wheeze during or after using their litter box. Litter can produce the same effect in humans when they fill or scoop the box. While no litter is completely dust-free, those that produce very little dust are less likely to have respiratory effects.

Is fragrance-free cat litter better?

Our experts recommended sticking to an unscented litter. Because cats have an extremely strong sense of smell, the scent of a litter is a significant factor in whether they will use or avoid a litter box, says Dr. Christine Calder, a veterinary behaviorist. Even a natural scent may deter a cat.

How many times a day does a cat normally use the litter box?

On average, cats urinate two to four times a day, but Sueda says this can vary from cat to cat. Scooping litter boxes at least once daily can help guardians determine if there's a change in frequency, which may indicate a health problem. Typically, cats defecate one to two times a day, but this, too, can vary from cat to cat. Like with urination, sudden changes in frequency may indicate a health problem.

What size and how many litter boxes do I need?

A litter box should be at least 1.5 times the length of a cat, large enough for them to comfortably scratch and bury their waste. The standard rule of thumb is to have one litter box area per cat plus one extra, and ideally one on each floor of a home. In a home with multiple cats, Sueda says you may be able to get away with fewer extra-large litter boxes as long as they are scooped at least twice a day.

• Marines say troops who grew up as dirt bikers may outperform gamers as drone pilots.
• Fine motor skills can determine early drone pilot skill mastery.
• A new California training course is part of a broader DoD push to field drones to troops.

Marines out on the West Coast are discovering that some of the best drone operators aren't necessarily gamers. Instead, they're likely to be dirt bikers or boaters, an officer told Business Insider.

Course leaders for the 1st Marine Division drone school at Camp Pendleton in California initially thought their young Gen Z Marines, who began cycling through the new course last fall, would have a natural advantage considering their upbringing in a tech-saturated world and gaming exposure.

But while experience with video games can make it easier to master drone simulators, instructors have found that piloting drones weighed down, even lightly, with explosive payloads comes more naturally to Marines who grew up honing their dexterity in the great outdoors, operating dirt bikes, jet skis, or boats, said Maj. Mike Olivarez, who oversees the division's drone pilot course.

At the center of the challenge are small toggles on the handheld control system, which dictate a drone's direction, speed, and altitude and require an unusually soft touch to master.

"It feels heavier as you're trying to apply that torque," Olivarez said, comparing the dexterity required to handle armed drones to handling a motorcycle throttle. That torque is influenced by the weight of the explosive payload, which weighs just five pounds but can have a notable impact on flight.

Soldiers with Ukrainian drone units and US Army brigade combat teams have observed that gamers — tech-savvy individuals comfortable with screens and controllers — often possess skills needed to excel as drone pilots, but such findings are anecdotal, not definitive. The Army is still trying to work out what kind of soldier makes the best drone pilot. And the Marines are too.

"If they don't have anything from their past personal life to relate to that experience, they still continue to struggle with it," Olivarez said. "If it has anything to do with mechanics and operating outdoors, I would say that sets you up for more success than gaming."

Over the Marine Corps course's six iterations, the instructors began noticing that more than 20% of the students were failing due to issues with toggle sensitivity. The problem became especially clear as students transitioned from zero-weight simulator controls to real-world systems, where drones carry payloads that may not be heavy but still require different handling.

To address the gap, Olivarez and his team have asked the simulator's manufacturer to better replicate the weight of a warhead on a drone. Instructors have also started students on a smaller, five-inch drone with some toggle resistance to help bridge the transition to the Corps' Neros Archer drone and reduce attrition to around 15%.

The drone training program is a jam-packed three weeks meant to rapidly share the basics of drone operation across as much of the force as possible. For the 1st Marine Division, that could eventually mean 500 troops each year.

Drones are emerging as an integral part of modern warfare, as Russia's war against Ukraine has demonstrated. On the battlefield in Ukraine, a mixture of quadcopters, fixed-wing drones, octocopters, and more are surveilling enemy positions, striking troops and vehicles, dropping bombs, and even intercepting other drones.

The Marines, like other branches of the US armed forces, are racing to prepare for that growing threat.

During training at Camp Pendleton, Marines navigate various flight patterns using their drones in teams, often mimicking how the Ukrainians operate, testing their navigation and new flight skills to ultimately strike with an explosive at a marked grid coordinate.

Some Marines are now designated as both drone operators and payload specialists, meaning that they can safely prepare an explosive payload — a change course leaders made to move more Marines through the pipeline, Olivarez said.

For now, the course, which mirrors the Corps' Attack Drone Team training at its primary weapons hub in Quantico, Virginia, is only open to infantry personnel. That includes riflemen, machine gunners, mortarmen, and anti-tank missile gunners.

The Marine Corps does have a separate designation for Marines who operate larger, more traditional uncrewed aircraft systems used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. It does not currently have a stand-alone job field for small drone operators.

Beyond dexterity, Olivarez said the ideal Marine for the course is someone with a natural curiosity about technology and the ability to think creatively about how to employ it.

"You're looking for someone who has the ability to adapt and understand UAS very quickly," he said. "Because the technology that we are getting is going to force you to be more technologically savvy."

Why we love this TurboTax deal

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No matter how you prefer to file your taxes, TurboTax can help streamline the process. All you have to do to get started is download the software onto your computer and set up or log in to an existing Intuit account.

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Intuit TurboTax Deluxe Desktop Edition 2025 details

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When is the deadline to file 2025 taxes?

If you have yet to file your taxes for last year, you have until April 15 to do so before incurring late penalties. TurboTax makes it easy by simplifying complex requirements and paperwork into a simple user interface, especially with the discount above.

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Update: After scouring the internet for Peacock promo codes, we've found no active coupons at this time. We'll continue to keep an eye out for new discounts and update this page accordingly, so keep checking back. In the meantime, you can learn more about saving with Peacock's annual plans and bundles below or head back to checkout.

Since launching in 2020, Peacock has risen through the ranks of the best streaming services. The streamer carries a massive selection of programming, from old network classics to new streaming originals you can't find anywhere else. Peacock also offers a treasure trove of reality TV and sports programming, meaning that there's something for everyone on the NBCUniversal app. The service offers a variety of plans to fit all kinds of budgets, but customers can unlock even more savings with one of the best Peacock promo codes.

While NBC hits like "Law & Order: SVU" and "The Office" might be the initial selling point for Peacock, the streaming service's catalog reaches far beyond that. Reality TV fans can binge Bravo hits like "Vanderpump Rules" and the "Real Housewives" franchise, as well as Peacock reality originals such as "The Traitors" and "Love Island USA." There's an enticing selection of films, from horror flicks like "Nope" to Academy Award-nominated titles such as "Bugonia" and "Hamnet."

Peacock also carries an impressive slate of original TV series, including hits like "All Her Fault," "Ponies," and "The Burbs." The streaming service even offers select live sports events, including multiple NFL and NBA games each season. Some of the games are streaming exclusives, meaning even cable subscribers might need to sign up for Peacock if they want to watch every game of the season.

To learn even more about the streaming service, you can check out our official Peacock TV guide, where we break down everything you need to know about prices, plans, and bundles. The streamer has remained competitively priced amid recent industry-wide increases, even launching a new budget-friendly plan, but deals and promo codes (when available) remain some of the best ways to keep subscription costs low. We've rounded up the best ongoing Peacock discounts in one place, so make sure to browse the top offers below before you subscribe.

Today's best Peacock coupons and promo codes

Previous Peacock promo codes

Are there any other Peacock sales running at the moment?

There are no special promotional offers from Peacock at the moment. That said, there are still ways to save year-round or month-to-month, such as annual plans and bundles. Peacock annual plans always offer savings year over year compared to the total amount you'd pay over 12 months with a monthly subscription. The Peacock and Apple TV bundles offer savings each month when compared to the price of subscribing to multiple services separately. Check out the savings below:

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

How to use Peacock promo codes

You must create an account to take advantage of the Peacock promo code. From the Peacock landing page, you can click "Pick Your Plan" and then hit "Choose" on the option you want. From there, you'll be taken to a checkout page where you can create an account by entering your name, email, password, ZIP code, and birthday. On this page, you can apply the promo code by clicking "Have a promo code?," pasting the code into the text box, and clicking "Apply."

Can you stack Peacock promo codes?

Peacock promo codes cannot be stacked together. Only one code may be applied per account at a time. In the past, we've found that there's usually only one Peacock promo code active at a time, if at all, so this issue shouldn't come up much.

Peacock promo code frequently asked questions

Does Peacock offer discounts for teachers, students, or the military?

Peacock offers a student discount, allowing eligible students to pay $5.99 monthly for the first 12 months of their Peacock Premium subscription instead of the original $10.99. Eligible teachers and military members can also receive a discounted Peacock Premium subscription for $6.99 monthly for the first 12 months. Even if you're not a student, Peacock also offers a young adult discount of $5.99 a month for the first 12 months of Peacock Premium for those who are ages 18-24.

All of these discounts are subject to required verification. Those who are still eligible after the first 12 months might be able to renew (with further verification) at the then-standard discount rate.

Be sure to check out our roundups of the best student discounts and the best teacher discounts for more savings.

What is the difference between Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus?

Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus are the two main tiers of the streaming service. There's also Peacock Select, which we'll dig into further down the page.

Peacock Premium costs $10.99 a month or $109.99 a year. It gives you access to the streaming service's full catalog (including movies, NBC shows, Peacock originals, and Bravo programming), but it's supported by ads. Premium also offers access to select live sports and events, including full coverage of the Olympics.

Peacock Premium Plus costs $16.99 a month or $169.99 a year. Like Premium, it gives subscribers access to Peacock's full catalog of content, although you'll be able to watch on-demand programming ad-free. Premium also unlocks 24/7 live streams of your local NBC station and gives you the ability to download certain programming so that you can watch it later offline.

Does Peacock offer a free trial?

While Peacock initially offered users a weeklong free trial, they have since removed this option, so you'll have to subscribe to a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus plan to watch.

Do Instacart Plus and Walmart Plus members get Peacock?

If you're an Instacart Plus member, Peacock Premium is included with your membership. The grocery delivery service added Peacock as a perk in 2023, so members can now access Peacock's full ad-supported library. Peacock Premium is also available through Walmart Plus memberships. Walmart Plus subscribers have the option of choosing between a Peacock Premium or Paramount Plus Essential subscription every 90 days.

Where can I watch Peacock?

Peacock's streaming app is available on iOS and Android mobile devices, Roku, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Xfinity, and more. Peacock is also available on gaming consoles like PlayStation (4 and 5) and Xbox (One, Series X, and Series S). For a full list of supported devices (along with required generations and operating systems), see Peacock's website.

Is Peacock available outside the United States?

Peacock is available to watch within the United States and certain US territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. However, there are no international versions of Peacock, unlike some of its main competitors. If you're hoping to use the service while traveling in other regions, it will be worth trying one of the best VPNs.

Which live sports events are available on Peacock?

If you're a sports fan, Peacock has you covered. Subscribers get access to Sunday Night Football during the NFL season, NBA games, soccer matches from the Premier League, golf tournaments, cycling races, and more. NBC had the broadcast rights to Super Bowl LX and to the 2026 NBA All-Star game, both of which aired in February.

Peacock is also the main US streaming hub for the Olympics. NBC and other NBCUniversal networks offer loads of broadcasts from the most notable events, but if you're hoping to watch everything that the Olympics has to offer, including live coverage at off-hours and less mainstream sports, then Peacock is the best option. Peacock most recently carried the 2026 Winter Olympics, and NBCUniversal holds the US broadcast rights to the Olympics through the 2036 Summer Games. You can learn more about sports coverage on Peacock's website.

What's new on Peacock?

Recently, Peacock subscribers got access to hit TV shows, like the season premieres of "Saturday Night Live" and "Vanderpump Rules." New movies, such as "Hamnet," "Song Sung Blue," and "Bugonia," have also joined the platform.

The streamer also recently dropped new original series like "The Burbs" and "All Her Fault," as well as the latest season of the Emmy Award-winning reality series "The Traitors (US)." Peacock also carries various international versions of "The Traitors," including the UK iteration. Learn more about what's new on Peacock on their website.

What is Peacock Select?

Peacock Select is the streaming service's newest tier, rolled out in 2025. At $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year, Select is the cheapest of Peacock's subscription plans. Select plans grant subscribers access to TV favorites from NBC, Bravo, and more. However, Select is missing quite a few programming categories, including movies, Peacock originals, and live sports/events.

Since it's so pared-down, we mainly recommend this tier for those who don't mind advertisements and are simply looking for a budget-friendly way to get caught up on-demand with broadcast favorites. Otherwise, it's worth shelling out a bit extra each month for Premium or Premium Plus.

Check out more streaming discounts in our guides to the best streaming deals and bundles and the latest Paramount Plus coupons.

As a professional TV reviewer, I've tested tons of displays over the years. And when you've seen as many TVs as I have, it can be hard for specific models to stand out. But once in a while, a few high-end TVs come along that rise above the pack, delivering industry-leading image performance. If budget isn't a concern and you want the absolute best picture quality available, these are the TVs I recommend above all others.

The best TVs for picture quality all aced my team's rigorous review process, not just with meters and test patterns, but with real-world content. After all, what good are impressive numbers if they don't translate to a consistently great home theater experience when you actually sit down to watch TV? For this guide, I've recommended picks from each major brand, highlighting each company's best premium TV. For instance, if you're considering an LG TV, the G5 OLED is the display to beat. And if you're looking for a more affordable high-end offering from a value-forward brand like Hisense, I suggest the U8QG QLED.

All of my picks are available in several screen sizes, with options typically starting at 55, 65, or 75 inches. Some models are even sold in up to 100 inches, making them a perfect fit for sports and watch parties.

Our top picks for the best TVs for picture quality

Best from LG: G5 OLED 4K TV - See at Amazon

Best from Samsung: S95H OLED 4K TV - See at Samsung

Best from Sony: Bravia 8 II OLED 4K TV - See at Amazon

Best from TCL: X11L SQD 4K TV - See at Amazon

Best from Hisense: U8QG QLED 4K TV - See at Amazon

Best from LG

The G5 is one of LG's most jaw-dropping TVs right now. In fact, the G5 stands out as one of the best-looking displays I've reviewed from any brand.

The G5 uses LG's high-end four-stack OLED panel, which enables a brighter image than a standard OLED while still offering pixel-level contrast control for perfect black levels. On paper, the numbers are impressive.

In its most accurate picture mode, I measured roughly 2,400 nits of peak brightness using a standard 10% HDR test window. That's the second-highest measurement I've recorded on an OLED, and around 1,000 nits brighter than many midrange models. But what really matters is how the G5 looks when watching actual movies and shows — and that's where the TV truly shines.

High-brightness HDR content is stunning. Action-heavy films like "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Aquaman" explode with intense highlights, deep shadows, and incredible depth. The combination of high peak brightness and infinite contrast gives images a level of realism and punch I've rarely seen on a consumer TV. Colors remain vibrant without looking overcooked, and the G5's wide viewing angles keep the picture stable even when you're sitting off to the side. Gamers also get a bonus here, with support for up to a 165Hz refresh rate when connected to a PC, enabling ultra-smooth motion.

The G5 isn't flawless, though. Early units showed some banding (blocky rather than smooth color transitions) in isolated HDR scenes, but firmware updates have largely fixed this. During weeks of testing, it popped up so infrequently that it didn't meaningfully detract from the experience. If you're extremely sensitive to that issue, alternative OLEDs in this guide, like the Samsung S95H or Sony Bravia 8 II, may be a better option.

Beyond picture quality, the G5 is also just a great smart TV. LG's webOS platform is solid, if not my favorite, and the TV's sleek, gallery-style design looks fantastic on the wall — though you'll need to buy a stand separately if mounting isn't an option. The G5 is available in 55, 65, 77, 83, and 97 inches. However, the 97-inch model uses a standard OLED panel, so it can't get as bright as the smaller editions.

LG also sells a 2026 edition of this TV, called the G6. I got an early look at the G6, and it offers similarly impressive performance. It can get a bit brighter than the G5, handles reflections better while still maintaining a glossy finish, and uses improved processing to further minimize banding. However, I'll need more testing time with the G6 to reach a final verdict. For now, the G5 remains my recommendation, but that could change once I conduct a full G6 review. You can learn more in my 2026 LG OLED TV roundup.

Check out our LG G5 TV review.

Visit our guides to the best TVs, best LG TVs, and best OLED TVs.

Best from Samsung

The Samsung S95H is the company's most impressive OLED yet, and it easily earns a place among the best TVs for picture quality. It's pricey, but in return you get a flagship display with stunning HDR performance, premium design touches, and the brightest OLED picture I've ever measured.

In my testing, the S95H hit around 2,780 nits on a 10% HDR window, which is a noticeable 30% jump over the already excellent S95F from 2025. That's also enough to push OLED luminance closer than ever to top-tier Mini LED territory. That extra brightness gives highlights a real sense of intensity, making movies and shows look more vivid, dynamic, and lifelike. The TV also supports a fast 165Hz refresh rate, which is a great perk for PC gamers.

Like previous S95-series OLEDs, the S95H uses the company's glare-free screen coating, which does a fantastic job reducing reflections. If you watch TV in a bright room, that can make a huge difference. The screen is much less reflective than a typical glossy OLED, so daytime viewing is less distracting, and sports, TV shows, and movies are easier to enjoy, even with sunlight hitting the TV.

That said, there is still a tradeoff with this kind of screen. As with Samsung's other glare-free TVs, black levels can look a bit hazy when light hits the panel from certain angles. I found this effect less noticeable than on previous-generation models, but those who are irritated by this drawback will still notice it. Glossy OLED TVs, like the LG G5, maintain better contrast, but they suffer from more reflections. In a dark room, though, the S95H delivers the kind of deep black levels and pixel-level contrast OLED fans expect.

Beyond picture quality, the S95H stands out for its design. Samsung's new FloatLayer styling features a unique metal bezel on the TV, giving it a cool, frame-like look. The design definitely won't be for everyone, but I think it looks fantastic on a wall. The S95H is also the company's first OLED with access to Samsung's Art Store. You need a subscription to unlock everything, but all users get a free selection of 30 pieces every month.

The S95H is sold in 55-, 65-, 77-, and 83-inch sizes. Though Samsung doesn't state which panels it uses, based on its past choices and my testing so far, the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch models are likely using QD-OLED tech, while the 83-inch size likely uses a four-stack OLED to achieve similar performance.

Check out my breakdown of 2026 Samsung OLED TVs.

Visit our guides to the best Samsung TVs, best sports TVs, and best gaming TVs.

Best from Sony

Sony has long been known for its premium image quality, and the Bravia 8 II is the brand at its absolute finest. This is the company's latest flagship OLED, and it earns its place among the very best high-end TVs thanks to its superb balance of contrast, color, brightness, and processing.

At the heart of the Bravia 8 II is a QD-OLED panel that combines OLED's pixel-level contrast with quantum-dot color technology. The result is a display that delivers perfect black levels in a dark room while producing bright, richly saturated colors that look natural rather than exaggerated. Highlights stand out with incredible precision, and dark scenes retain deep shadow detail without blooming or haloing.

HDR content, in particular, looks fantastic. Movies and shows pop with bold highlights, refined textures, and excellent color accuracy. In testing, the Bravia 8 II reached around 1,560 nits of peak brightness on a standard 10% HDR window, with smaller highlights approaching 1,900 nits. While that doesn't quite match rivals like Samsung's S95H or LG's G5, it's still one of the brightest OLED TVs you can buy.

Where the Bravia 8 II separates itself is in image processing. Sony's video processing is among the best in the industry, delivering a remarkably accurate picture and doing an exceptional job cleaning up lower-quality sources through top-tier upscaling. Streaming content, cable TV, and older movies simply look better here than on most competing OLEDs.

There is a minor tradeoff. Like other QD-OLED displays, black levels can slightly lift when the screen is exposed to ambient light. In practice, the effect is subtle and far less noticeable than on matte-screen TVs like the Samsung S95H. I'm usually very picky about black levels, but during normal viewing, it never felt distracting.

The Bravia 8 II runs Google TV, offering smooth navigation and access to all major streaming apps. That said, the included remote has lost some premium touches, like a backlight, found on earlier Sony flagships. This model is also limited to just 55- and 65-inch sizes, which may be a dealbreaker for shoppers seeking a larger screen. Still, for viewers who prioritize natural color, refined processing, and overall image accuracy, the Bravia 8 II is easily one of the best TVs for picture quality you can buy.

Check out our guide to all the best Sony TVs.

Best from TCL

The X11L SQD TV is not only the most impressive TCL display I've tested, but also one of the most impressive TVs I've ever seen, period. It's the first TV to use TCL's SQD technology, which combines super quantum dots with an improved color filter to enable better performance than a standard QLED. Though I was a bit wary that SQD might just be a marketing gimmick, the TV's stunning image quality speaks for itself.

In my testing, the X11L delivered around 3,000 nits of sustained brightness in its most accurate picture mode, which is more than any OLED can deliver. This level of brightness makes highlights look vivid without throwing overall image quality out of balance. Fiery explosions, reflections on metal, and other high-impact HDR details all leap off the screen with the kind of punch you'd expect from a flagship display. And if you do want to pump up brightness even further, the TV is technically capable of brief bursts up to 9,300 nits, which is the brightest measurement I've ever recorded on any TV.

Color performance is another big reason the X11L stands out. TCL's new SQD tech enables the panel to produce an extremely wide color gamut. I measured about 88% of the BT.2020 color space, putting it among the most capable TVs on the market. More importantly, that translates well to real content. Colorful movies like "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Aquaman" look rich, vibrant, and expansive.

What really seals the deal, though, is the X11L's local dimming. In fact, this is the best local dimming I've seen on a Mini LED TV. Black levels often disappear in a dark room, and blooming around bright objects is virtually nonexistent. The TV's contrast still can't fully match an OLED's pixel-level control or wide viewing angles, but for shoppers who want a bright Mini LED set with stunning HDR punch and exceptional backlight control, the X11L is the TV to beat.

It also has an elegant design with a bronze-tinged finish, low-profile feet, and an extremely thin border. This means more of the panel is used to display its picture. I also love the included backlit remote, which has handy side controls for brightness and image quality adjustments. The Google TV interface is smooth and reliable, too, and Gemini AI is integrated for conversational voice search and chatbot features.

On the downside, the X11L is currently only available in 85-inch and 98-inch sizes, with a 75-inch option coming soon. The TV is also very expensive, even more so than most high-end OLED displays. Its image quality does justify a premium, but I do hope TCL lowers the price during upcoming deal events. At its current price, this is strictly a TV for enthusiasts, but for those who can afford it, it delivers genuine bragging rights.

Check out our TCL X11L TV review.

Visit our guides to the best TCL TVs and best smart TVs.

Best from Hisense

The Hisense U8QG is one of the most impressive QLED TVs available, and it's an especially good value. It's Hisense's current flagship TV, delivering the kind of brightness and HDR impact that immediately grabs your attention, especially in rooms with lots of ambient light.

Like the TCL X11L, the Hisense U8QG uses a Mini LED backlight and full-array local dimming. This allows it to hit eye-watering brightness levels while still maintaining strong contrast. In testing, it pushed beyond 5,000 nits in HDR — among the highest measurements our reviewer has seen. That kind of output gives HDR movies, shows, and games a level of intensity that's hard to miss, with highlights that look genuinely dazzling even during daytime viewing.

Importantly, the U8QG isn't just about raw brightness. Its local dimming system does a good job of minimizing blooming, so bright objects rarely spill light into surrounding dark areas. TCL's X11L does have an edge in backlight control, but the U8QG is still among the best LCD-based TVs in this regard.

There are some tradeoffs, though. The TV can occasionally crush shadow detail, and reds are pushed a bit aggressively, making explosions and warm tones look slightly oversaturated at times. Still, overall color coverage is wide, skin tones remain natural, and most content looks bold and engaging.

The U8QG is also well equipped for gaming, with HDMI 2.1 support, low input lag, VRR, and refresh rates up to 120Hz for consoles and 165Hz for PCs, along with Dolby Vision gaming and a handy on-screen game bar. However, connectivity is one weak spot: the TV has only three HDMI ports, with the fourth input replaced by a USB-C DisplayPort for PCs that most users won't find useful.

Google TV handles smart features smoothly, and while the design is thicker than ultra-slim rivals, that extra depth allows for a decent built-in speaker system. Just note that picture performance varies by size: the 65- and 85-inch models use higher-contrast VA panels, while the 55- and 75-inch versions reportedly use ADS Pro panels with better viewing angles but weaker contrast. Based on that, the VA-equipped sizes should deliver better overall picture quality.

Check out our review of the Hisense U8QG TV.

Visit our guide to the best Hisense TVs.

How we test TVs for picture quality

To find the best TVs for picture quality, our team conducted extensive hands-on testing backed by more than a decade of experience reviewing home entertainment gear. We don't just glance at spec sheets — every TV recommended in this guide was evaluated across a wide range of real-world performance factors, with a focus on picture quality.

Each display is assessed for image clarity, contrast, HDR performance, peak brightness, color range, and viewing angles. We use professional meters to measure brightness and rely on industry-standard test patterns to objectively evaluate a TV's technical capabilities.

Of course, numbers only tell part of the story. To understand how a TV actually performs in everyday use, we spend hours watching real movies and TV shows. We carefully select scenes that stress different aspects of image quality, such as deep black levels, intense highlights, fine detail, and color accuracy. Content is viewed across a mix of resolutions — including Ultra HD (4K), HD, and SD — to see how well each TV handles upscaling from streaming services, cable feeds, and Blu-ray players.

Viewing tests are conducted in both dark, theater-like environments and brighter rooms to account for different lighting conditions. We also evaluate gaming performance using multiple consoles, including the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch, paying close attention to motion clarity and supported gaming features.

Though the focus of this guide is picture quality, we also test each TV's smart platform for speed, stability, and ease of use. App load times, menu responsiveness, voice search reliability, and digital assistant features are all factored into our evaluations, along with additional perks such as design touches, ambient modes, smart home controls, and cloud gaming support.

FAQs

What makes a TV's image quality good or bad?

Great image quality comes down to a few core factors working together. Contrast is one of the most important elements: the wider the gap between the brightest highlights and the deepest black levels, the more realistic and punchy an image looks. TVs with low contrast appear cloudy and washed out with patchy brightness. This can be especially distracting when watching TV in a dark room. The best TVs for picture quality either use an OLED panel or a local-dimming backlight to achieve high contrast, providing deep black levels and a greater sense of dimension.

Raw brightness matters too, especially for HDR content and rooms with lots of ambient light. Color accuracy and color range affect how accurate and natural (or exaggerated) images appear, while processing determines how well a TV handles motion, upscaling, and lower-quality content. Viewing angles also matter, since many QLED and LED TVs distort contrast and color when you sit off-center. When any of these elements falls short, the overall picture can look inaccurate, flat, or overly harsh.

Do OLED or QLED TVs have better image quality?

OLED TVs generally offer the best overall image quality, thanks to their pixel-level contrast and perfect black levels. This makes them especially impressive for movies and TV shows watched in darker rooms. QLED TVs (which are LCD TVs with quantum dots) can't match OLED's contrast, but high-end Mini LED QLED models can get brighter than most OLEDs, making them better suited for rooms with lots of light during daytime viewing. Both technologies can deliver excellent results — it just comes down to your viewing environment and priorities.

You can learn more in our QLED vs. OLED comparison.

What about Micro RGB TVs?

This year, several companies will release TV models that use a new display technology called Micro RGB, RGB Mini LED, or True RGB (depending on the brand). These TVs have LCD panels and Mini LED backlights, just like many QLED TVs. But instead of using a blue or white backlight with a color filter, Micro RGB TVs use separate red, blue, and green LEDs in their backlights. This has the potential to produce a wider, brighter, and more accurate color range.

Right now, the only Micro RGB/RGB Mini LED TVs available are a massive 116-inch Hisense model and a 115-inch Samsung model, which cost $20,000 to $30,000 each. However, more consumer-friendly models are coming soon from Samsung, Hisense, TCL, and LG. Sony also recently announced that it will release its own RGB-backlit TVs, branded as True RGB TVs, later this spring.

Once RGB TVs are available, we'll review them for consideration in this guide. You can learn more in our 2026 CES TV roundup.

Which TV brand offers the best picture quality?

There's no single brand that wins in every category, but a few consistently stand out. LG, Samsung, and Sony all offer excellent high-end OLED TV models with image quality that ranks among the best you can buy. Sony's top models are known for their excellent image processing and color accuracy, while premium OLEDs from LG and Samsung have an edge in brightness. Brands like TCL and Hisense have also closed the gap. Though they don't offer OLED models, they sell impressive QLED TVs with Mini LED backlights that rival much pricier models.

How much should I spend on a high-end TV?

If you're shopping for top-tier picture quality, expect to spend at least $1,000 for a 65-inch TV. QLED models tend to be more affordable, but flagship 65-inch OLEDs are pricier, with top options costing around $2,000 to $3,300.

What size TV is best for picture quality?

There's no single best size for TV image quality. Instead, the optimal size for your needs largely depends on how far you plan to sit from your screen and your personal preferences.

Bigger TVs can deliver a more immersive sense of scope because they fill more of your field of view, making details pop more while offering a more cinematic experience. However, sitting too close to an extra-large screen can negatively impact picture quality, making the image feel overwhelming and making imperfections easier to spot. Meanwhile, if you sit too far from a small TV, you're likely to miss fine details.

A good rule of thumb is to sit at a distance of about one to 1.5 times the size of your TV. So, for a 65-inch TV, a good distance would be around 5.4 and 8.1 feet. TVs larger than 65 inches are a good fit if you plan to sit farther than eight feet from the screen.

When shopping for a high-end display, it's also important to note that the best premium TV models are often only sold in larger sizes. All of our picks in this guide start at 55 inches, and it's rare to find flagship models that are smaller.

For TV recommendations specific to different sizes, check out our various guides:

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

After a March spent in the USA, the ATP tour is in Europe for the first 1000 Masters tournament of the 2026 season on the continent. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is defending his title, and we'll show you where to watch Monte Carlo Masters live streams no matter where in the world you are this weekend.

Alcaraz is riding high after making history in January — by winning the Australian Open, the 22-year-old became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. Already a legend of the game in his early 20s, he'll be delighted to return to the clay courts and kick-start his preparations for a tilt at a third consecutive French Open crown. Alcaraz has advanced to the semifinals, where he'll square off with Valentin Vacherot.

As has become the norm over the last couple of years, Jannik Sinner is the man looking most likely to defeat him. He has his own opportunity to take a career Slam when the season reaches Roland-Garros and is in fine form, having just won the so-called Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami) without dropping a single set. Sinner will face No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the semis.

To see if Alcaraz can be toppled, keep reading to discover where to watch the Monte Carlo Masters and how using a VPN will allow you to watch the action on your usual streaming service while overseas.

• See also: Where to watch Champions League | How to watch NHL games | How to watch NBA games

Where to watch Monte Carlo Masters in the US

The Tennis Channel is the place to watch ATP Masters 1000 events like the Monte Carlo Masters in the US. Select coverage will also be shown on Tennis Channel 2 (T2). The Tennis Channel is carried through a number of cable plans, or if you want to watch online, you can subscribe directly through its website for $12 a month or $110 a year. Alternatively, it's well serviced by a variety of OTT streaming services, including DirecTV, Fubo, and Sling TV.

DirecTV MySports is a great option for fans of tennis and wider sports. Costing $65 a month (with a $20 a month discount for your first two), it carries the Tennis Channel among the likes of ESPN, FS1 & 2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, and NHL Network, as well as local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC networks (where available). You can try DirecTV before you buy with its 5-day free trial.

Fubo is one of the most comprehensive cable-cutting services around, and its Elite plan carries the Tennis Channel and T2 among its 280+ channel lineup. It costs a hefty $84 a month, although there's a $30 discount for your first month at the time of writing. New users can try before they buy thanks to Fubo's 5-day free trial. The Tennis Channel also features on its cheaper, more focused Sports + News plan for $56 a month.

Sling TV is a more affordable cord-cutting option than the two above, though there's no free trial. To get access to the Tennis Channel, you'll need to sign up for your choice of Sling Blue ($46 a month) or Orange & Blue ($61 a month) packages and then opt in for the Sports Extra add-on for an additional $11 a month.

Where to watch Monte Carlo Masters in the UK

Sky Sports once again has the rights to show the Monte Carlo Masters in the UK. That means subscribers can also watch online and through their mobiles thanks to the Sky Go app. You can learn more in our guide to the best Sky TV deals and plans. If you don't want to sign up for a full-blown Sky TV package, then you can opt for a more flexible Now Sports Membership, which starts from as little as £15 a day or costs £35 on a rolling monthly basis.

Where to watch Monte Carlo Masters in France

Although US- and UK-based tennis fans have to pay to watch this tournament, those in France get to catch some of the action absolutely free. One match per day will be streamed for free on the France TV platform — including the final! You need to register an account to watch, which includes your name, date of birth, and a postal code. Once you've done that, you can watch France.TV streams live and on catch-up. For more comprehensive coverage of the full tournament, you'll need to pay for Eurosport.

How to watch Monte Carlo Masters from anywhere

Try watching Monte Carlo Masters coverage from outside your country, and you'll soon find that your normal feed is blocked. To get around this issue, you can use a virtual private network — or VPN. It's a clever tool that makes your laptop, smartphone, or other streaming device think it's in another country altogether, as well as giving you an extra level of online security.

NordVPN is the best VPN you can get right now. It's the full package, bringing fantastic speeds, super-smooth usability across devices, market-leading security, and an impressive reputation for unblocking a range of services. You can read more in our guide to the best VPNs and, if it sounds like the right product for you, subscribe safely in the knowledge that there's a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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

Looking for the latest information on where to watch Champions League matches? Our guide can help you find local and international viewing options to help you watch every match from anywhere, covering both free and paid routes.

While many countries charge for access (details below), there are plenty of options for free Champions League live streams for every round of games. To get around region blocks, you'll need a VPN (virtual private network) to access them from overseas.

And it's a great time to do so, as there are free options for all the quarter-final second leg matches on April 14-15. Check out the second box below for details on where and how to enjoy those from anywhere.

• See also: Best streaming deals | Best sports streaming services

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Upcoming free Champions League live streams

There are some fantastic free Champions League live streams around Europe. You don't get every game, especially in the early stages, but we often get many of the bigger matches appearing in the list. If you're not in the channel's country, you can still watch by using a VPN to prevent the website from detecting your location and blocking you.

The VPN mimics the required country for your viewing device and lets you watch along for free. We've tested this ourselves for lots of live sports and TV shows.

Don't have a VPN to watch the above options from abroad? Right now, there's a fantastic offer on one of the best VPN services we've tested and have been using for years for streaming and protecting our online devices. You can save up to 70% on the usual price of ProtonVPN. If you're unsatisfied, there's a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Sound good? Then get stuck in and enjoy these free Champions League live streams.

How to watch the Champions League with a VPN

• Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one.
• Install it on the device you're using to watch the game.
• Set the location to the required overseas streaming service's country.
• Create an account and sign in if required.
• Enjoy the game.

Where to watch Champions League in the UK

As of March 26, 2026, there's been a change. Champions League is still showing TNT Sport in the UK, but instead of Discovery+, it's now found on HBO Max from £31 a month, minus one game a week, which will be shown on Prime Video instead.

If the idea of tracking another streaming service grinds your gears, you might prefer the simpler option of adding it to your Amazon Prime membership as an add-on. It's the same £31 a month, and you can cancel anytime. Watching it through Amazon Prime Video means you can enjoy Champions League live streams across more devices, as app support across TVs, consoles, and streaming sticks is much better for Prime Video than Discovery.

The Prime-exclusive matches during the league phase focused on British teams and many of them have made it through to the next round as well. Confirmation of fixtures at this stage is updated after each match week. Up next:

• April 14: Liverpool vs. PSG

Pro tip: If you want a cheaper option than TNT, you might want to try Australia's Stan Sport, as you can subscribe with a UK bank account for half what it costs for TNT (we've tested this ourselves). You need a VPN to access the site and Champions League live streams outside Australia. It still works out cheaper, though. More details below.

Where to watch Champions League in Australia

The Champions League is a Stan Sport exclusive in Australia for the majority of the season (but the free service, 9Now, is also showing the final). So if you want to see the entire tournament, you'll need to sign up for Stan and then add Stan Sport as an add-on. The cheapest setup is $32 a month (for Stan Basic at $12 and Sport at $20). Better yet, it comes with a 30-day free trial first for the baseline tier - you'll still pay $20 for the Sport add-on from the off, though.

Stan Basic only streams in standard definition, but Stan Sport's content will stream in up to 4K, even when paired with this cheapest tier, so you might as well go Basic if you're just getting it for sport. However, if you want to check out the TV shows and movies too, HD is $17 a month/$22 for 4K (then add $20 for Sport). All are on rolling one-month contracts, so there's no long-term commitment.

If you're eying up this option via a VPN as a cheaper alternative to your country's Champions League streaming service, we can confirm it will work. We could pay with a UK bank card and have full access to the streaming service. You could also use a travel card like Revolut to pay in local currency so you don't get a foreign transaction fee from your bank.

Where to watch Champions League in the US

This is where 'soccer' being so far down the rankings of the most popular sports in the USA really pays off for viewers who want to enjoy the most prestigious competition in club football.

Every Champions League game is live streamed on Paramount Plus for just $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year.

So yes, you can opt for the cheapest Paramount Plus tier and still get the Champions League despite it not having CBS, as the games will run via separate feeds. If you have CBS already, you'll find it airs some games, but nowhere near as many as Paramount Plus, and rarely the best ones, in all honesty.

Can I access Champions League on Paramount Plus with a VPN?

Yes and no. If you set up Paramount Plus while already living in the US and are traveling abroad, and want to keep watching, you're all set. A VPN will indeed let you tune in like you were still in the US.

If you have a non-US subscription, like in the UK, you won't be able to access the US version's content with those same login credentials via a VPN on the app or the US website, as they're essentially different apps and services in each country. Unlike Netflix, which will allow one login to work anywhere via a VPN.

If you're outside the US and want a US account, Paramount Plus has made it difficult for outsiders. That's because you'll need a US form of payment, and we've found international currency cards, like Revolut, don't count.

What about PayPal? You'll need to create a US PayPal account, which must be verified by a US mobile phone number. So, if you can get around all this, you can enjoy the best value Champions League live streams in the world.

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

• The Masters Tournament is drawing hundreds of private jets to Augusta, Georgia.
• The golf competition has become a top event for private jet operators.
• To manage the influx, the Augusta Regional Airport has hired extra staff and expanded its facilities.

As The Masters teed off on Thursday at the rarefied Augusta National Golf Club, at the small regional airport 11 miles away, hundreds of private jets were undertaking their annual pilgrimage to the billionaires' favorite golf tournament.

On Thursday, nearly 300 aircraft arrived at the Augusta Regional Airport, about five times the typical number of arrivals and departures combined, according to data from FlightAware.

The aircraft, many registered to charter and fractional ownership companies like NetJets and VistaJet, came from tony locations, such as Palm Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

To prepare for the influx this year, the airport, which charges as much as $4,000 per aircraft to land, hired additional staff, increased the number of fuel trucks, and expanded aircraft parking, according to a letter sent to aircraft operators.

"It's organized chaos to us," Lauren Smith, the Augusta Regional's assistant director of marketing and public relations, told Business Insider ahead of last year's tournament, during which third-party flight tracking data showed more than 2,100 private flights flying in and out of the airport.

The Masters, along with the Super Bowl and Formula 1 races, is one of the biggest events of the year for private jet operators, who use the golf tournament to market and mingle with their wealthy clientele.

NetJets hosts an annual party with A-list entertainment, and Wheels Up, which booked over 150 flights to and from the tournament last year, opens a clubhouse for its members, where golf personalities record live podcasts and a fashion illustrator captures guests' outfits.

VistaJet rents a private home nearby and hosts its members for programming, including dinners, live entertainment, and visits from golf insiders.

"We give them something they never want to get rid of," Matteo Atti, the chief marketing officer of VistaJet's parent company, Vista Global, told Business Insider of his company's membership perks last year.

The Masters is a premier event on the billionaire social calendar. In past years, the jets of Nike CEO Phil Knight and investor Herbert Allen Jr. have made the trip.

While official tickets to the Masters, given out through a lottery system, are relatively inexpensive — $160 per day, at most — they are hard to come by. Though the tournament prohibits reselling tickets, they are available on resale sites, where they cost exponentially more. In the days leading up to the event, resale passes were going for upward of $50,000.

Once you're through the door, though, rest assured that your food won't cost much. The price of the tournament's famous pimento cheese sandwich hasn't budged in years: $1.50.

Spring is almost here, and if you're looking for a new pair of sunglasses, you'll want to make sure they protect your eyes as well as look the part.

You've probably heard the term "polarized" in regard to sunglasses, but what does that really mean, and is it an important factor when choosing a pair of sunglasses? I spoke with two ophthalmologists, Drs. Lisa Park and Natasha Herz explained that polarized lenses prevent glare from entering the eye horizontally.

Plus, they can help make your eyes feel less tired, ease associated headaches (especially when you're on or near the water), and make your surroundings appear sharper.

This guide has a variety of polarized sunglass styles and price points, including prescription sunglasses. Each pair in this guide is unisex, but you can find larger sizes in our guide to the best sunglasses for men and smaller ones in our list of the best sunglasses for women.

Our top 5 polarized sunglasses picks

Best overall: American Optical Saratoga

American Optical (AO) has a storied history. It's the oldest eyewear company in the U.S., founded in 1869 when two even older Massachusetts companies merged. AO designed the original Aviators, had the first sunnies on the Moon, and AO's Saratoga sunglasses were President John F. Kennedy's favorite shades. The Saratoga ticks all the boxes. Among its many attributes, they're made in the US, at a facility in Chicago. The AOLite lenses offer outstanding clarity, depth perception, and glare reduction. The lenses have a coating to further prevent glare, and another to prevent smudging.

The acetate frames have a nice heft to them—they're slightly heavier than Ray-Ban Wayfarers, but less chunky design-wise. I've had a pair in regular rotation for more than two years. They still look brand new — no scratches on the lenses, the hinges still have a smooth action, and the frame's color is still pristine — I'm not super careful with them. AO reintroduced the Saratoga in 2020 after being unavailable for decades.

Best budget: Knockaround Pacific Palisades

Knockaround, the So Cal brand that's been around since 2005, made its name with stylish, sturdy shades priced right (they start at just $25). The Pacific Palisades are '70s-style oversized sunnies with a keyhole bridge and rounded rectangular lenses that give you plenty of eye coverage. They come in a variety of fun colorways, from Coastal Dunes (glossy two-tone green frames and Polarized amber gradient lenses) to Vintage Rose — translucent pink frames with Polarized smoke gradient lenses. Besides reducing glare, the lenses offer UV400 protection and are impact-resistant. At under $35, these are a great deal.

Best splurge: Persol 649 Original

For more than 100 years, the Italian luxury eyewear brand Persol (an acronym of "for the sun" in Italian) has been making the highest quality shades available, combining timeless style with impeccable craftsmanship. The 649 Original, released in 1957, is still handmade in Italy, and remains an iconic sunnies style that has been worn by the likes of hip-hop god, record executive, and entrepreneur Jay-Z. The acetate frame has a wide profile with a keyhole bridge that features the company's patented Victor Flex, a three-notch bridge that allows you to adjust the length and curve for a personalized fit. The 649s also featured Persol's famous Meflecto flexible stems that prevent them from pressing against your temples, making for a more comfortable wearing experience.

The lenses are made of crystal for incredible clarity and scratch resistance. They completely cut out glare and also provide complete UV protection. "Persol's lenses are scientifically formulated to offer outstanding protection against the sun's harmful rays, absorbing radiation that can be harmful to the eyes," Niels Van Geet, Luxury House Brands Director at Luxottica (Persol's parent company) told Insider in an email. While all the choices are gorgeous, the Resina e Sal with Blue Gradient lenses are a standout.

Best value: Tomahawk Shades Ranger Class

Tomahawk Shades is a buzzy DTC sunglasses brand that sells shades at a reasonable price ($35 to $95). The company makes all the sunnies in small batches to ensure the highest quality and are as good as brands that cost twice the price or more. "We try to show people that we are here producing top-of-the-line products with the best materials we can source," Andrew Shapiro, Tomahawk Shades CEO, and Founder, told Business Insider via email.

The lenses are excellent, especially for the price point. They completely wipe out glare, offer 100% UVA protection, and are scratch- and shatter-resistant. Tomahawk Shades also offers a stellar lifetime warranty. If you damage, break, or even lose your sunglasses, the company will replace them up to two times for a small fee ($10 to $20 depending on the style, a bit more for international orders) plus shipping. The Ranger Class Shades have a mid-century aesthetic with square lenses and elegantly tapered temples. They're made from cellulose acetate with an internal steel frame. The Watsons are a particular favorite with their semi-transparent dark-yellow frame and dark gray lenses, but every pair of Tomahawk Shades I've tested have held up beautifully over a two-year period (and as I've mentioned I'm not overly careful with them) and are really well designed.

Best unisex: Raen Kwela

These shades from Raen are practically the only sunglasses I've worn this summer. Almost every time I'm out with friends, people want to try them on. They have a nice weight to them, so I don't have to be precious when I put them in my handbag. They sit evenly across my nose bridge and stay put thanks to their wide temple arms.

The Kwelas have a small-to-medium-sized frame, similar to styles from the late 90s. The lenses are still scratch-free even after several trips in my sandy beach bag. I carry them in the included leather hard case. I admit I wasn't sure exactly how polarized sunglasses would make a difference in my vision, as most of my sunnies are the cheap kind sold by sidewalk vendors. But because I get motion sick easily, I realized that the warm vignette and polarized lenses helps minimize glare from other cars as I'm sitting in traffic, thereby easing my headaches. And since I wear contact lenses, outlines now look even more crisp.

Best for men: Raen Optics Remmy

Raen Optics is a California brand that has continued to up the game on mid-priced sunglasses with handmade frames, timeless style, and high-quality materials, all at a decent price. The Remmy, which comes in both narrow and medium sizes, features classic rounded lenses in frames with subtly horned temples and a keyhole bridge and looks great on any gender or face shape. Made from acetate, the temples have a wire core to which the five-barrel hinges are mounted for a stronger pair of shades. I can attest to Remmy's construction. My two-year-old pair still looks tip-top. The lenses are manufactured by the German manufacturer Carl Zeiss, one of the world's leading optics companies. Besides cutting glare, these lenses also take out 100% UVA/UVB light. The Remmy comes in eight colorways, but the Honey with green polarized lenses are a standout. If you're looking for sunnies that are understated yet ultra cool, and still keep the sun's harsh rays from doing a number on your eyes, you can't go wrong with Raen Optics' Remmys.

Best for women: DIFF Daphne

This season's trend for women's sunglasses is sleek, modern shapes with sharp, clean lines. DIFF has plenty of styles that meet the moment, like this Dior-inspired pair. They're glossy and glam while still practical, since they're scratch-resistant and compact enough to fit in my small shoulder bag. DIFF also has a colorful variety of franchise-themed eyewear, like Disney princesses, Wicked, The White Lotus, and Emily in Paris.

Best for women (runner-up): Le Specs Outta Love

Le Specs Outta Love sunnies are sleek, feminine, and oh-so-trendy with their late-90s oval frames that have earned the status of also being timeless. They're small enough not to overwhelm your features, but still offer good eye coverage. They're made from BPA-free plastic, which makes for a lightweight yet durable frame. The Caramel Polarized version comes in a subtle semi-translucent light tan with polarized tonal-tinted lenses. Unfortunately, this is the only colorway that features polarized lenses. Even so, this colorway is a stunner that also keeps the glare from the paparazzi's cameras outta your eyes.

Best prescription: Warby Parker Barkley

Warby Parker, the DTC brand that changed the optometry game, offers both non-prescription and prescription versions of its Barkley polarized sunglasses. The polarized prescription versions are made from polycarbonate, known for its impact and scratch resistance. The lenses also offer 100% UV protection. Warby Parker has a 30-day hassle-free return or exchange policy, free shipping, and a no-scratch guarantee for their lenses (they'll replace them for free within the first 6 months). The single-vision prescription version of the Barkley comes in at $195. And the brand takes many major insurers' vision plans and automatically applies the discount at checkout when you follow the instructions.

The Barkley, a contemporary take on square-framed sunnies, is made from hand-polished cellulose acetate and comes in four widths for the perfect fit. The Antique Shale Fade is an attractive choice with its two-tone black-and-tan colorway so you can pair it with a ton of outfits.

See our full Warby Parker review.

Best scratch-resistant: Fuse Egmont

Fuse Lenses is best known for its outstanding and wide-ranging replacement lenses, but the company also makes high-quality sunglasses at great prices. The Egmont is a sporty Wayfarer-style frames that wrap around slightly to help block out light and is perfect for outdoor sports. But it's the lenses that truly make these shades shine. Fuse makes its own optical-grade polycarbonate lenses. Their two higher-end styles, Pro and Amp, are highly scratch and impact-resistant (check out this video of their lenses standing up to a .22 caliber bullet). The polarizing material is also extra durable. If you damage (or even lose) your shades, Fuse offers a lifetime, one-time replacement warranty, no questions asked. And you get all this for under $65 for the Pro and $75 for the color-boosting Amp.

Best tech: Ray-Ban Meta Smart Wayfarer

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, previously named the Ray-Ban Stories, is the brand's first foray into smart glasses and they do a great job of packing in a lot of functionality into their signature Wayfarer frames while keeping the tech aspect discreet for folks who don't want something that screams smart glasses. You can take up to 500 photos or 30 60-second videos hands-free. The two cameras, near the hinges, aren't really noticeable and feature automatic light adjustment and stereoscopic photo depth. The sunnies also have built-in speakers in the temples so you can listen to music without earbuds and make and receive phone calls. You can also charge on the go with the carrying case.

The one downside, in my opinion, is the necessity of having to have a Facebook account in order to set up these shades. But after getting started, there's little interaction with the social media site unless you choose to. It's easy to share your photos and videos on FB and Instagram through the Stories.

Best mirrored: Smith Lowdown 2

The Smith Lowdown 2 are my favorite sunglasses to run in, but that doesn't mean they've been relegated to that single job. The mirrored lenses in these sunnies come in several dramatic colors, from gold to violet, and with their oversized, sporty Wayfarer frames, they do double duty for outdoor parties and hanging out beachside. They're light, and the frames are large enough to fully block out the sun. The frames are made using a bio-based material that's very light but still durable. I've been abusing mine for four years and they still look as good as the day I got them. The Chromapop lenses are also smudge and moisture-resistant and provide enhanced contrast and color. Everything looks crisp and bright through the lenses. The depth perception is also crystal clear. All of Smith's lenses offer 100% UV protection.

Best customizable: Maui Jim Relaxation Mode

I'm a big fan of Maui Jim for the brand's ability to come up with unique frames and for their polarized lenses—which are all made in either Italy or Japan—that are some of the best available. And besides also being durable (although one pair fell prey to my puppy) the brand offers a wide range of customization with its products. For example, with their Relaxation Mode sunglasses, you have the choice of four unique colorways for the frames and eight different lenses. You can also have them as readers in three different strengths (1.5, 2, 2.5) and they're also available as prescription lenses. The frames are made from acetate and stainless steel and have classic square lenses set off by the metal double bridge for a unique look. They make the polarized lenses from the company's Maui Brilliant, a polycarbonate material that's much lighter than glass but with optics nearly as clear, while being shatter and scratch resistant. These sunnies wipe out glare while providing sharp details, offer complete UV protection, and make colors pop beautifully. The best way to describe it is that looking through these lenses is akin to boosting the saturation levels on your Instagram photos.

Best for fishing: Oakley Flak 2.0 XL

Oakley's Flak 2.0 XL are retro-futuristic shades that offer wrap-around eye protection in an ultra-lightweight, flexible but sturdy frame, making for a perfect pair of sunglasses for your next fishing trip. The Flak 2.0 XL features excellent eye coverage, including peripheral views, and the polarized Prizm lenses provide great clarity and glare reduction, along with intense color enhancement, allowing you to see into the water and help reel in the big ones. These sunglasses also include the brand's patented "Unobtainium" material for the ear socks and nose pads that's soft and comfortable but gets grippier the more you sweat so the sunglasses won't drop into the water while you're fighting that eight-pound bass (keep dreaming).

Best for fishing (wider alternative): Costa Antille

I wore Costa's Antille polarized sunglasses on a hazy summer afternoon while aboard a moored wooden fishing boat in Tribeca. Compared to when I had no sunnies on, they made a huge difference in how my eyes perceived the polluted skyline. Their rose-hued, scratch-resistant lenses actually seemed to illuminate outlines while simultaneously blocking glare, so I could better make out the Statue of Liberty way in the distance.

They help turn the horizon from a smoggy blur to a crisper landscape. The matte frames are nice and lightweight, and their nose pads are ventilated to prevent them from slipping down your nose as you sweat. They have a wide fit and flexible temples, so they work for those of us with large noggins. Costa claims to craft them using 97% recycled fishing nets, thereby protecting precious marine life.

Best for driving: Ray-Ban Aviator Classic

As a kid, I lusted after the Ray-Ban Aviators. As an adult, after I'd finally made the upgrade from cheaper imitations, the brand's quality and craftsmanship made me that much more of a fan, especially when behind the wheel. Just ask any state trooper. The Ray Ban Aviators are classics that have been around since the late 1930s when they were designed for the US Army pilots (before the birth of the U.S. Air Force). And if they were the go-to for flying aces, they definitely make the cut for commuting.

The thin, but resilient, metal frames have a double bridge for added strength. The teardrop lenses are made from either crystal or polycarbonate depending on which you choose and have an anti-reflective coating on the back of the lens, preventing 99% of reflected light from reaching the eye and also providing 100% UV protection. The gold frames with green (G-15) crystal lenses are a favorite, but there are 11 more options to choose from.

Read more in our full Ray-Ban review.

What to look for in the best polarized sunglasses

Style: As with any accessories, from watches to wallets, style comes down to personal choice. Spend some time thinking about your typical look — are you a jeans and T-shirt person or do you lean toward more formal attire, or perhaps a bit of both? Pick sunnies that can bridge your looks and will get you the most day-to-day use. Your best bet, especially if you're spending money on a quality pair, is to go for timeless styles, like AO Saratogas, Persol 649s, or any of Raen's frames, rather than the trend of the moment, to get more wear out of your shades.

Activity: When choosing a pair of sunglasses, consider what you plan on doing with them. While some styles can bridge the gap between activities like cycling or running and brunch with friends, like Smith's Lowdown 2 or the Fuse Egmont. Some sunglasses meant for sports may look out of place on a date, while some fashion sunnies may not stand up to sweat and wear from hard workouts.

Prescription: If you wear prescription glasses and require them for your daily activities, you may have a little more work ahead of you (but not that much) to find your perfect pair of sunnies. Warby Parker is an obvious go to as is Fuse Lenses. While some sunglasses brands, especially smaller companies, may not offer prescriptions with their frames, many larger brands, like Ray Ban and Maui Jim, do.

Price: There's a vast range of pricing with sunglasses, and while there are some nicely priced brands that still offer top quality, like Tomahawk, much of the time a cheaper pair of sunnies may not hold up as well as more expensive ones. Think, scratched or popped lenses, flaking polarizing film, or broken hinges. Then there's the problem that some of us have with constantly losing our sunglasses, in which case you probably don't want to spend a ton of money on them.

How we tested the best polarized sunglasses

We use real-world testing, along with pouring over hundreds of customer comments, in combination with our own years of industry experience to bring you reviews you can trust. Beyond materials and craftsmanship, we also look at areas like sustainability and value when determining what makes it into our guides.

Our sources

• Dr. Herz, the clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Dr. Park, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York

FAQs

How do polarized sunglasses work?

Polarized sunglasses work by filtering out the light oscillating in a certain direction. Polarized light, as described by Dr. Park, is made up of waves oscillating in one plane or direction. When light hits a flat surface such as a body of water or the hood of a car, it gets polarized horizontally and can cause glare. Polarized lenses have a chemical coating that will block out the light coming directly, horizontally, into your eyes and only allow vertical light in, according to Dr. Herz.

Is there a difference between UVA/UVB light protection and polarized lenses?

Yes, there's a big difference. Dr. Park describes UV radiation as a wavelength of light in the non-visible spectrum that can cause damage to tissues of the body, including the eye. UV lenses protect the surface of your eyes from harmful rays. "You can't put sunscreen on the surface of your eyes or your eyelids," she said. "Those areas can still get skin cancer."

Do polarized lenses provide UV protection?

No, they don't. Polarized lenses differ from lenses with UV protection, Dr. Herz explained. Polarization has more to do with glare and will help reduce your eye strain while you're working outdoors or playing sports. It's not medically necessary, while UV protection is. For more information on protecting your eyes, visit the American Academy of Ophthalmology website.

Are there different methods of making polarized lenses?

Yes. "Inexpensive polarized sunglasses have a thin film applied on one side of the lens," Dr. Park said. "Higher quality lenses have film laminated between two layers of lens material, preventing it from being scratched or rubbed off."

What are the downsides of polarized lenses?

According to Dr. Park, polarized lenses reduce visibility at night, so should not be worn while driving when it's dark out. They also interfere with the ability to see an LCD display because these screens use polarized light to create a sharp image. Dr. Herz points out that some vehicles have dashboards that use LCD displays, and in those cases, polarized lenses would not be the best choice.

• Wall Street analyst Gordon Johnson thinks Tesla stock is destined to plummet this year.
• He told Business Insider that his $25 price target is based on several key factors.
• Johnson said that changes in Tesla's options trading activity are a red flag.

Tesla stock is down 25% in 2026, and one market strategist thinks there's more pain ahead through year-end.

Gordon Johnson, the founder and CEO of market research firm GLJ Research, recommended "aggressively" shorting the EV maker's stock last year, and he maintains that view in 2026.

Johnson spoke to Business Insider about his short thesis on Tesla stock, explaining the reasons for his firm's $25 price target, which would represent a 93% plunge from Friday's levels.

"I think Tesla's gonna go down as the single greatest stock short in the history of the stock market," he said.

His view is similar to that of other Tesla bears, including veteran fund manager George Noble, who recently described Tesla as the stock market's biggest bubble.

Johnson is mainly concerned about the company's high valuation, as the forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 175x, while its sales continue to decline and demand for its EVs weakens in both the US and the key China market.

"At today's price, the market is pricing Tesla for explosive growth, and [we're] actually seeing the opposite," he said. "What that tells you is that the stock is grossly overvalued."

Johnson attributed Tesla's premium valuation to Elon Musk's history of making big claims about Tesla's products, which end up getting priced into the stock long before the vision is realized.

He added that he thinks the slow rollout of Tesla's robotaxis has been a disappointment as well. In Johnson's view, every day Tesla doesn't deliver on expanding its robotaxi fleet, investors will worry that the company isn't executing on Musk's promises.

Yet, Johnson thinks Tesla's problems go deeper than delayed robotaxi expansions. In a recent note, he discussed options trading in Tesla stock, highlighting the concentrated trading activity seen in 2021, which has since faded, with options volume dwindling in line with the stock price.

Johnson thinks the pattern is directly correlated with Tesla stock's high volatility, and ultimately, its recent streak of losses.

Johnson added that if he is correct about the decline of options-fueled momentum, Tesla will revert to trading on its fundamentals, which he thinks will push it down to the $25 range.

"On a fundamental basis, Tesla is in a state of structural decline and negative earnings growth," he said. "If that fundamental story befell any of the mag six, their stock prices would be annihilated."

• The Trump Administration is calling on gamers to apply to be air traffic controllers.
• Officials think gamers have quick thinking skills and can stay focused under pressure.
• The FAA is accepting applications between April 17 and April 27, no college degree required.

The US government is targeting a group whose hyper-reactive skills align with one of its most demanding jobs: Gamers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration will accept applications for air traffic controller jobs from April 17 through April 27.

The role, which is about 3,000 controllers short and chronically understaffed, opens to the public only a few times a year.

This campaign specifically targets young people without college degrees whose "useful skills" include multitasking, spatial awareness, strategy, and problem-solving.

The FAA thinks that those "active in gaming" may fit the bill: "Feedback from controller exit interviews reinforces this, with several controllers pointing to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity," the agency said.

It added that roughly 200 million people — about 65% of Americans — regularly play video games.

A callout to gamers has been done before. Under former President Joe Biden, the Federal Aviation Administration launched a "Level Up" hiring campaign in 2021 that explicitly targeted gamers as potential candidates.

The FAA also hopes to attract talent with high paychecks: it said controllers can earn six figures annually within about three years on the job. Though securing higher paychecks often requires advancing quickly and getting based in high-cost-of-living cities.

New controllers, who must first graduate from the Oklahoma City training academy, earn about $55,000, according to pay scales previously reviewed by Business Insider. The highest-paid controllers, who have many years of experience at the US' busiest airports, earn more than $225,000 a year.

There are almost 11,000 active air traffic controllers, with another 4,000 in training. April's hiring window will close after 8,000 applicants. Eligible candidates must be under 31 when applying, be a US citizen, speak fluent English, and meet specific physical and mental fitness standards.

Current controllers come from a variety of backgrounds — many joined from the military or from specialized aviation schools. Others are picked off the street with no prior experience, but they still have to pass knowledge and aptitude tests.

The industry is desperate

The renewed focus on gamers reflects the government's urgent effort to broaden its hiring pool for a job that leaves little room for error, as a system that has been understaffed for years faces delays, overworked controllers, and mounting safety concerns.

Those pressures were underscored by the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter over Washington, DC, in January 2025 that claimed 67 lives, which investigators have linked in part to staffing levels in the tower that night.

The 43-day government shutdown in late 2025 further underscored the system's fragility, when mass controller callouts triggered thousands of flight disruptions and forced regulators to cut 10% of flights to manage capacity.

The FAA said there has been improvement, thanks to Duffy's "supercharged" hiring plan, which has added bonuses for new hires, incentives for controllers to stay on in other roles after the mandatory retirement age of 56, and changes to speed up training by more than five months.

The agency said it met its hiring goal for the 2025 fiscal year, adding more than 2,000 new controllers, and that it's already almost halfway toward its 2026 goal, with nearly 1,200 new hires to date.

• I sent my son abroad at 13 to help him grow more independent.
• Over time, my kids became capable adults with skills and confidence.
• Now I look to my children for advice, guidance, and inspiration.

As a mom, I've made a few what-was-I-thinking parenting decisions.

The first, and perhaps the most consequential, was choosing to send my oldest son to work on a banana plantation in Australia for 10 weeks the summer prior to his freshman year of high school. I believed it would accelerate his maturity and help him develop a worldview that might broaden his horizons in the future.

I did it to fulfill my primary goal in raising my five children — to guide them from total dependence to independence while they lived under my roof.

My son was 13 when he left, which, because he was the first of my kids to reach that age, didn't seem that young at the time. He celebrated his 14^th birthday in the Outback and returned home brimming with newfound wisdom and confidence. None of his siblings chose to replicate this trip, which was fine with me once I realized 13 was a really young age to send a child to the other hemisphere.

My kids know more than me

In preparation for the plantation work, his team learned rudimentary construction skills, such as laying bricks and pouring concrete. When he returned home, he proved how adept he'd become by mixing concrete for a memorial stone for his dog, who died while he was away.

As I watched him patiently cure the cement, I realized this kid knew a lot more than any of the rest of us. From that day forward, he was the one to fix the cracks in the front pathway, level the driveway, and lay the bricks for the patio.

Six years later, he asked me how I'd made the decision to leave home when I was his age. It was his way of preparing me for his departure, one of the best decisions he's ever made.

My kids set an example for me

Even though I was sad to see him go, I didn't discourage him from moving from Boston to San Francisco. Those first few months on the West Coast were challenging, but it didn't take long for him to find his footing. Within the year, he enrolled in art school and today has a flourishing career as an artist in LA.

His fearlessness set an example for me, who, a few years later, followed him westward. Upon our arrival, this oldest child, now well established, helped his youngest sibling and me set up housekeeping. He recommended the car dealer, the bank, and the furniture store with the best deals. He even suggested which barber his youngest brother should use.

Now I'm the one asking questions

My children do not just offer practical advice. They inspire me. Three are talented artists making names for themselves. On those rare occasions when we gather to share a meal, I walk away praying that their artistic genius will spark my own creativity. I ask them how they come up with ideas. I stalk — I mean follow — them on social media to learn how they promote their work. I talk to them about business plans and strategies that lead to success.

It's no longer appropriate for me to offer suggestions

What I don't do is offer them professional advice. That was a tough pivot for me. For too many years, it was my job to review homework and make suggestions on how to improve an essay or refine a research paper. I learned the hard way that these professionals no longer need that.

My son, who's a photographer, has kept a 3-year-old email from me in his inbox as a reminder that Mom doesn't know what she's talking about. I honestly don't remember writing that I thought the subjects of his photo essay should smile more, but I did.

I welcome their advice

I don't mind when they offer me advice. In fact, I welcome it. I want my son, who works in finance, to recommend investment opportunities. I want my daughter, who has a talent for decorating, to suggest the color for my bedroom walls. I'm open to them telling me how best to interact with my grandchildren.

My children have become wise adults. I think it's a combination of life experience, book learning, and their innate abilities to figure things out. I appreciate learning from what they've learned along the way, and now it's my turn to benefit from their guidance.

TVs have a habit of dominating a room, and not always in a good way. When they're off, they're basically just big black rectangles taking up wall space. That's the problem Samsung set out to solve when it launched the Frame in 2017, and it's a big reason why frame-style TVs have become such a popular alternative to traditional displays.

Instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, the best frame TVs are designed to blend into your décor like hanging pieces of art. They use matte, anti-glare screens with a canvas-like finish, sit nearly flush against your wall, and offer interchangeable bezels. On top of that, you get access to curated digital art libraries, with everything from famous museum pieces to modern designs. Samsung may have kicked off the trend, but it's no longer the only option. Brands like Hisense and TCL now offer their own art-inspired TVs that aim for a similar look at a lower price.

Over the past few years, I've tested several versions of Samsung's Frame, including the standard Frame and the high-end Frame Pro. I've always been impressed by Samsung's design, but I wanted to see how more affordable competitors stack up. Can rivals like the Hisense CanvasTV and TCL NXTVISION TV really deliver that gallery-style vibe without sacrificing picture quality or key features?

To find out, I tested the best art frame TVs from Samsung, Hisense, and TCL. Below, I break down how each one performs — both as a TV and as a design piece — including where they shine, where they fall short, and which models make the most sense for your space and budget.

Our picks for the best frame TVs

Best overall: Samsung Frame TV - See at Amazon

Best high-end model: Samsung Frame Pro TV - See at Amazon

Best Frame TV alternative: Hisense CanvasTV - See at Amazon

Honorable mention: TCL NXTVISION TV - See at Amazon

Best overall

Samsung's standard Frame TV is the best art TV for most people. It checks every box you'd expect from a display that doubles as décor, and it offers a few thoughtful perks that cheaper competitors skip.

On the design front, the Frame delivers all the essentials: a matte, canvas-like screen, support for magnetic bezels (sold separately), a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor that turns art mode on only when someone's in the room. Because the standard Frame has been around the longest, it also offers the widest selection of bezel styles, from understated to more ornate. Just keep in mind that none of these bezels come included — out of the box, you get a basic black border.

The TV utilizes Samsung's wired One Connect Box, which consolidates power and device connections into a single, thin, transparent cable that runs from the screen to a separate box. You can then place the box on a console or out of sight. This keeps your wall clean and makes it easy to add a streaming player, an antenna, or a game console without moving the TV.

Samsung's Art Store is another standout. Its catalog of high-quality images is far more robust than the free selections you get from Hisense or TCL. But while Samsung does offer a small rotating batch of free artwork, to unlock the full library, you'll need a paid subscription.

The Frame's anti-glare matte display also performs well in bright rooms, helping art look convincing and daytime TV viewing remain comfortable. But as with most art TVs, picture quality isn't the Frame TV's strong suit. Brightness peaks at around 500 nits, contrast is lacking, and the edge-lit backlighting can result in patchy black levels. While watching TV in the dark, this uneven lighting can be downright distracting.

Still, the Frame isn't aimed at cinephiles chasing premium HDR performance — it's for style-first shoppers who want a TV that blends seamlessly into their space. And in that role, it shines. It's also available in a wide range of sizes: the 2025 model recommended here ranges from 43 to 65 inches, but you may still be able to find older versions from 32 to 85 inches.

Samsung is also launching a slightly revised Frame TV later this year. The 2026 Frame carries over the same basic specifications as the 2025 model, but it will now feature its inputs built into the panel rather than having a separate connection box. This could be a pro or con, depending on your setup needs. The only other notable change is that the new model will be available in an extra-large 98-inch screen size for the first time.

Check out our guide to all of the best Samsung TVs.

Best high-end model

The Frame Pro is Samsung's premium art-style TV. It's the most advanced option on the market and offers a noticeably bolder, brighter image than any other display in this guide.

This model carries over all the essential features of the standard Frame TV, including a matte screen, support for attachable bezels, a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor. What sets this model apart from Samsung's cheaper Frame is its wireless connection box and local dimming backlight.

Like the standard Frame TV, the Frame Pro uses a separate One Connect Box to house its video ports. However, the Frame Pro takes it one step further by making this connection box wireless. It still needs to be plugged into an outlet, but it doesn't require a physical connection to the TV itself. This greatly opens up placement options and makes it easier to work around obstacles in your home so you can mount your TV in spots that were previously too tricky to work.

When it comes to picture quality, the Frame Pro utilizes Samsung's Neo QLED technology with Mini LED edge-lit local dimming. These features provide a significant technical advantage over the standard Frame TV and its rivals. Every other art TV uses a basic edge-lit LED backlight without dimming, which greatly limits contrast and brightness. But the Frame Pro's Mini LEDs help it reach a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits, about double that of the standard Frame, Hisense Canvas, and TCL NXTVISION.

This higher brightness allows the TV to produce bolder highlights when watching high-dynamic-range (HDR) videos and helps it overcome ambient light in rooms with many windows. The Mini LED backlight can also produce deeper black levels than other art frame TVs, so dark scenes don't look as washed out and uneven when watching TV with the lights off.

That said, there are still some caveats that prevent the Frame Pro from being a complete slam dunk for everyone. The biggest consideration, quite literally, is its size. The 2025 Frame Pro is available only in 65-, 75-, and 85-inch sizes. Those large sizes won't work for everyone. Additionally, though the Frame Pro's Mini LED backlight is an improvement over a regular LED panel, I still noticed some light blotches and uneven dimming in dark scenes during nighttime viewing. While this is the best frame TV for picture quality, it still can't match the image performance of most traditional Mini LED and OLED TVs.

It's also important to remember that access to Samsung's full Art Store requires a subscription fee, and that magnetic bezel attachments are an additional cost. But while this all adds to the price, the Frame Pro is easily the best art TV for premium performance.

Samsung also sells a refreshed 2026 version of the Frame Pro, but its improvements are minor, with some slight refinements to the set's glare-free screen and higher refresh rate when paired with a PC. In general, the cheaper 2025 Frame Pro remains the best value. However, the 2026 model will be available in 55 inches later this year, so it's your only Pro option if you want a smaller screen.

Check out our full Samsung Frame Pro TV review.

Best Frame TV alternative

The Hisense CanvasTV is the best Frame TV competitor, and does a solid job of matching most of the standard Samsung Frame's features and design perks. It has all the essentials that make an art TV an art TV, including a matte screen, support for magnetic bezel attachments, a flush mount, access to digital paintings, and a motion sensor.

I also like that Hisense offers a solid assortment of free paintings and photos without a subscription. In fact, Hisense doesn't currently offer a premium membership. The selection of photography and art prints isn't as wide as what you'd get with Samsung's paid Art Store, so if you like to switch up the mood in your room frequently, you won't have as many options. However, I never had that problem and found more than enough free choices that I liked.

The biggest complaint I have about the CanvasTV is that all its ports are on the back of the display, just like a traditional TV. This contrasts with Samsung's Frame models, which use a separate connection box. So, if you have multiple media devices you want to hook up, you could end up with multiple cables hanging from your wall. This hinders the TV's ability to mimic a framed painting. Of course, you could hide cables with a cover or feed them through the wall if you can drill, but Samsung's solution is more user-friendly and versatile.

On the plus side, I appreciate that the TV comes with a magnetic bezel that resembles a wooden frame. You'd have to pay extra for that when buying a Samsung model. However, alternate magnetic bezels are difficult to track down through Hisense or third-party retailers. The most common search results are for those from sellers on Etsy. In contrast, there are tons of styles available for Samsung Frame TVs.

In terms of picture quality, there's not much separating the CanvasTV from Samsung's standard Frame. The 4K QLED display offers decent pop in both dark and light room conditions with similar brightness capabilities. Watching movies with the basic settings most people use, I couldn't easily tell the difference between the two products in black levels or color saturation. That said, the CanvasTV's viewing angles are more limited, especially when watching TV during the day in bright light.

However, despite its drawbacks, Hisense's CanvasTV is the best Frame TV alternative for anyone seeking a more affordable art TV that mimics most, but not all, of Samsung's features. A refreshed 2026 version of the CanvasTV is now available as well. We haven't tested the revised model, but its specifications appear nearly identical, with the only notable difference being the introduction of a smaller 50-inch option.

Check out our guide to all the best Hisense TVs.

Honorable mention

Thanks to its matte display and slim frame, the TCL NXTVISION does a convincing job of passing as an art-style TV. But it's missing several features you'll find on the Samsung Frame and Hisense CanvasTV, which makes it tough to recommend over either. It does occasionally win on price — sales often make it the cheapest option — but if Hisense's CanvasTV is available for the same amount or less, that's the better alternative.

The NXTVISION includes a light wood-style magnetic bezel, which is a nice touch, but I struggled to find other bezel colors or styles online. That could improve over time, but currently, Samsung has a clear edge in terms of bezel variety.

On the art side, TCL provides over 100 free images, along with screensaver-like options featuring motion and information, such as the time. It's a solid selection, but still smaller than Hisense's free library or Samsung's paid Art Store. I didn't have trouble finding pieces I liked, but a year or two down the line, the limited catalog might feel restrictive.

Like the Hisense CanvasTV, the NXTVISION keeps its connection ports built into the panel rather than having a separate box. If you wall-mount it, be prepared to deal with multiple visible cables. The TV also lacks a motion sensor to turn art mode on or off based on room activity, a feature both Samsung and Hisense include.

Art customization is another shortcoming. You can add mats, but the aspect ratio options are limited and don't do much to enhance the illusion of real artwork. Hisense and Samsung offer far more flexibility here.

A slim wall mount is included in the box, but TCL doesn't provide a basic stand. The company does sell a rolling stand with a rear shelf for devices, which I tested. It's a nice stand, but it's expensive, and I wish a basic one were included with the TV

Picture quality is on par with the standard Samsung Frame and Hisense CanvasTV, although the NXTVISION is slightly dimmer. On the plus side, its viewing angles are marginally wider than Hisense's, which I noticed throughout testing at different times of day.

While TCL's NXTVISION lags behind the competition in a few key areas, it's typically the most budget-friendly art-style TV. It comes in sizes ranging from 55 to 85 inches, and the 55-inch version is often available for around $698. However, when the NXTVISION and CanvasTV are similarly priced, Hisense's model is the better buy.

Ultimately, the TCL NXTVISION is best suited for shoppers who want a stylish TV but only have a passing interest in the art mode. It's a decent art TV on a budget, but its lack of customization options and motion sensor puts it a step behind the competition.

For other TCL display recommendations, visit our guide to the best TCL TVs.

Art frame TVs compared

How we test art TVs

To find the best frame TVs, I spent time with all the major models from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense. In addition to judging them like traditional TVs, I evaluated each one specifically as a design-forward frame TV, paying close attention to differences in build quality, features, and how convincing they look on the wall.

Since most people buy frame TVs for their art-first design, that's where I put most of my focus. Picture quality still matters, of course, but it takes a back seat to things like how realistic the artwork looks, how much art is included, the quality of bezels and accessories, and how easy and enjoyable the software and interface are to use.

I've purchased and lived with several Samsung Frame TVs over the years, and I have hands-on experience with every model featured in this guide. I used them the way most people would — watching movies and TV shows and playing video games. All of the TVs were tested in similar, well-lit rooms with plenty of natural sunlight, so I could properly judge glare and anti-reflective performance. To keep comparisons fair, I also watched the same movie at the same volume level on each TV to get a consistent sense of image quality and speaker performance.

Meet the expert behind this guide:

Tyler Hayes, contributing reporter: I've been covering consumer electronics for more than a decade, testing everything from headphones and soundbars to smart home gear and even electric cars. For this guide, I spent hands-on time with frame-style TVs from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense, and I've personally purchased and lived with several versions of Samsung's Frame over the years. I tested each one not just as a TV, but as a piece of design, comparing how realistic the artwork looks, how appealing each TV looks on a wall, and how intuitive the software feels day to day. My goal is simple: if you're aiming to buy a TV that doubles as décor, I want to make sure you end up with the one that actually looks (and works) the part.

Learn more about the Reviews team at Business Insider.

Art TV FAQs

What is an art frame TV?

An art TV is designed to resemble a framed work of art when it's "off" and not in use for watching TV. To accomplish this, all of the best art TVs include key features that set them apart from most traditional TVs. These include:

• An anti-reflective matte screen meant to resemble canvas
• A thin profile and flush wall mount so they can hang like a picture
• Support for magnetic bezel attachments in different art-frame styles
• Access to a curated gallery of art and photographs that can be displayed when the set isn't used as a TV

Some, but not all, art TVs also include additional features that help them to further mimic the look and feel of a framed painting:

• A separate connection box so you can keep your wall free from cables
• A motion sensor to turn on the TV's art mode only when people are in the room

Which brands make frame TVs?

Samsung, TCL, and Hisense all produce art TVs designed to replicate the appearance of a framed painting. LG and Amazon also recently announced their first full-fledged art frame TVs, the LG Gallery TV with frame and Amazon Ember Artline, respectively. Both TVs will be available later this year.

Other major brands, such as Sony, Roku, and Vizio, do not currently sell display models specifically designed to function as frame TVs, but some of their TVs offer certain features that art TVs provide.

When will Amazon's Ember Artline TV be released?

Amazon is set to launch a new frame-style TV this spring. The Ember Artline uses a QLED panel with a matte finish and a slim wall mount. It also supports interchangeable bezels, and Amazon will offer 10 styles to choose from. Users get access to around 2,000 pieces of free art. However, the Ember Artline has its ports built into the panel rather than using a separate connection box like Samsung's Frame TVs.

The Ember Artline will be available in 55 inches for $899 or 65 inches for $1,099.

When will the LG Gallery TV with frame be available?

LG recently unveiled a new art frame TV called the LG Gallery TV with frame. Exact pricing and a release date have not been detailed yet, but the new display was shown at CES in January. Like other frame-style TVs, the Gallery TV can be mounted flush on your wall, features an anti-glare screen, and supports magnetic bezels in various styles. The TV will also offer access to the LG Gallery+ service with over 4,500 pieces of art, animations, and other images.

You can learn more in our CES 2026 TV roundup.

Can you access art galleries on other TVs?

Most TVs have a screensaver feature that displays various images when you're not watching a movie or show. However, these modes aren't as full-featured as those found on the best frame TVs, and the selection of images is often more limited.

That said, Samsung now offers access to its full Art Store on all of its latest Neo QLED and QLED TV models. The Art Store is also available on the S95H, the first Samsung OLED to feature it. You can learn more in our 2026 Samsung OLED TV roundup. Those displays don't have all the design features of a Frame TV, but they can showcase the same images, so long as you have an Art Store subscription. Likewise, LG's Gallery+ service is available on multiple TV models.

Are art TVs good for home theater enthusiasts?

Art TVs place a greater emphasis on design than on picture quality. Generally speaking, most midrange and high-end traditional TVs offer better image performance than even the best frame TVs. This is especially true for contrast, brightness, and black levels. While casual viewers may not notice the backlight limitations on most art frame TVs, those with a keen eye will see uneven lighting with distracting brightness patches. If you're a home theater enthusiast looking for a TV with picture quality in mind, we don't recommend buying a frame TV.

For traditional TV recommendations, check out our full suite of buying guides:

• Best TVs
• Best TVs for picture quality
• Best smart TVs
• Best 4K TVs
• Best OLED TVs
• Best sports TVs
• Best gaming TVs
• Best budget TVs
• Best TVs under $500
• Best 100-inch TVs
• Best 85-inch TVs
• Best 75-inch TVs
• Best 65-inch TVs
• Best 55-inch TVs
• Best 50-inch TVs
• Best 43-inch TVs
• Best Sony TVs
• Best LG TVs
• Best Roku TVs

Do art frame TVs have good sound quality?

Generally speaking, most TVs, including art frame-style ones, do not have good sound quality. Brands use small speaker drivers to fit them into flat panel designs, which restricts dynamic range, stereo separation, and depth.

Among the frame TVs we tested, the Hisense CanvasTV had the strongest audio output; however, it still lacked bass. For optimal audio quality, we recommend using a soundbar.

You can view our top recommendations in our various audio buying guides:

• Best soundbars
• Best budget soundbars
• Best Dolby Atmos soundbars
• Best soundbars with subwoofers
• Best Bose soundbars
• Best Sonos soundbars
• Best surround sound systems

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Use Chewy promo codes on these items

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Few things feel as good as stepping into a pair of slippers, whether it's first thing in the morning or after a long day on your feet. We should know, because we've been testing (and re-testing) men's slippers across the Reviews team for about seven years now. Yep, we've put literal years of research and testing into this buying guide, and we continue to test slippers regularly.

Our top pick overall, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes from L.L.Bean. Our absolute favorite pair is the L.L.Bean Venetian slipper for its versatility as an indoor and outdoor slipper, warm shearling interior, and mid-level support. Our favorite pick for extreme warmth is the indoor-only L.L.Bean Wicked Good booties, which one of our editors wore for seven years before needing to replace them.

As a team, we've tested over 48 slippers from all of the best brands, focusing on pairs that offer support, warmth, and comfort. Our testing included pairs built for indoor, outdoor, and Find more of our favorite pairs for comfortable lounging below.

Learn more about how Business Insider's Reviews team tests and researches style products.

The top 5 best men's slippers we tested:

Best overall: L.L. Bean Wicked Good Venetian Slippers

No one does slippers like L.L.Bean. The brand's Wicked Good family includes several styles made from its signature shearling-lined suede, but the Venetian is our favorite pair.

The big difference between the Venetian and the popular Moccasin style (which is the top pick at Wirecutter) is that the Venetian doesn't have rawhide laces — and that's exactly why we like them better. The laces on the moccasin pair come undone easily, at one point leading to a tester tripping up the stairs. The Venetian has the same elegant shape with a sleeker look and no tripping hazards.

The rubber sole is also a selling point that won us over. It offers great traction and durability for indoor wear and a small amount of support for the moments you may need to leave the house in slippers (grabbing mail, firewood, etc.), or the times you may be on your feet for extended periods (in the kitchen or doing chores). There is no real built-in arch support, but the sheepskin is cushiony enough for most.

Lastly, the warmth factor is only beatable by the next pair of L.L.Bean slippers on this list. The shearling interior wicks moisture away from the skin, keeping your feet warm but not feeling sweaty or suffocated.

As far as sizing goes, you'll want to order a half-size up in this style because they do run a bit snug to start. This isn't the case for all of the brand's slippers, but for this pair, the brand's advice is true.

Best for warmth: L.L.Bean Wicked Good Slippers

L.L.Bean's Wicked Good Slippers are, hands down, the warmest ones on this list. The bootie-style suede slipper is lined with plush shearling all the way up to the ankle, offering next-level warmth.

This pair is really for indoor use only because it has a suede bottom rather than a rubber one. However, it patinas beautifully over time, transforming into a leather-like sole. If you're wondering how that may affect durability, our executive editor, Sally Kaplan, wore her pair for seven years straight until the shearling finally wore down on the footbed. And, several years after his initial test of this pair, style editor Amir Ismael also says his pair is still going strong.

While they're incredibly warm and easy to slip on, the one limitation of the booties' construction is that it lacks any real arch support. These really are the definition of a lounging slipper rather than a pair you'd want to wear for hours of doing chores around the house, so keep that in mind when making a decision.

As far as sizing goes, if you're usually a half size, you should definitely order the size up since these only come in whole sizes.

Read our full L.L.Bean Wicked Good Slippers review.

Best indoor: Bombas Gripper Slipper

This slipper-sock hybrid from Bombas is best worn while lounging around the house. The Gripper Slippers are our top pick for men who like a slipper they can wear on the couch or even while reading in bed.

The interior of the slipper is plush and insulated, made from a Merino wool blend that wicks moisture from the foot. It can be worn with or without socks, and thanks to the fact that the pair is machine-washable, you won't feel bad getting them sweaty. Plus, they pack down like thick socks, so you can travel with them easily.

The bottom of the slipper has little silicone grip dots to keep you from slipping or sliding on slick floors. If you're looking for something to carry you from one room to the next but don't need much in the way of arch support, the Gripper Slippers are an easy, comfy choice.

Read our full Bombas Gripper Slippers review.

Best water-repellent: Subu Concept Slipper

If you live in a snowy or rainy climate where you may be trekking through inclement weather to check mail or grab logs for the fire, these are the slippers for you.

SUBU Tokyo takes the ancient custom of wearing house shoes into the present day with their modern designs and outdoor versatility. The gender-neutral Concept slipper draws inspiration from a traditional silhouette and is retrofitted with modern materials that function well in everyday life.

They're built around multilayer insoles to be a comfy retreat for tired feet. The light padding doesn't offer a tremendous amount of arch support, but it's still soft enough to give you a fleecy, cushioned footbed. Your feet may get sweaty wearing these with socks in temperatures above 60 degrees, but otherwise, the open-back design lets enough air through so that they won't become damp.

While they make an excellent indoor slipper, they function just as well for the outdoors. Their water-resistant, Teflon-coated nylon upper feels like wearing a puffer jacket on your feet. Meanwhile, the sturdy EVA rubber soles are thick and firm enough to steady you on uneven terrain.

The materials are safe to wash, which can help extend their life. The brand advises that the best way to clean them is by brushing them with soap and lukewarm water, then letting them air-dry in a low-light, well-ventilated area.

Best outdoor: Minnetonka Sheepskin Hardsoles

For supporting your feet both indoors and out, Minnetonka's Sheepskin Hardsole slippers have everything you'll need. Thanks to their thick rubber soles, this pair is our top pick for guys who want both cozy house shoes and slide-on errand gear alike.

On the inside, you'll find not-too-thick sheepskin lining, which makes these less obvious as slippers if you're outside of the home. Sheepskin wicks moisture from the foot and can withstand sweat in a way that faux materials can't, which is why we prefer these over the pile-lined version, which is a bit more affordable (but a lot more smelly). These also come in several colors, and we think the darker ones are harder to differentiate from normal suede loafers if you're at the grocery store or running errands.

On the outside is a genuine suede upper and rawhide lace that'll withstand regular wear, with a thick rubber sole to provide traction and stability on slippery floors or wet pavement. These fit true to size when worn without socks and come in wide sizes.

Best sandal: OOFOS Ooahh Slide Sandal

At the end of a long day wearing close-toed shoes, it's a relief to step into some slides that let your feet breathe. Even better, though, is the feeling of a remarkably cushioned footbed that's like walking on clouds.

OOFOS slides are designed to absorb shock and relieve tension in your joints, so they work to protect more than just your feet. The instep design helps cradle high arches, while the deep heel cups give you a stable platform to step on. People who tend to drag their feet in slides will find it impossible to do so in these, because the wide strap holds the sandal firmly in place as you walk.

Best for wide feet: Deer Stags Nordic Memory Foam Slippers

Our pick for the best slippers for men with wide feet conveniently come at a budget-friendly price. The Deer Stags Nordic Memory Foam Slippers are under $40, extremely comfortable, and they come in wide sizing.

The interior features faux shearling and a comfortable memory foam footbed, but one thing we especially loved about this pair of slippers is that the insole is removable, so you can replace it with your own orthotics if you choose.

The flexible outsoles aren't super thick, nor is the memory foam, so you won't get a ton of shock absorption in these, but we didn't mind that in our testing as many of our other picks on this list featured similarly flexible outsoles.

It's worth noting that these slippers tend to run small, so for this reason, we recommend sizing up on the Deer Stags.

Best for arch support: ONCAI Orthotic Slide Sandals

Arch support in a slipper is crucial if you're on your feet a lot around the house. Whether you have high arches or a condition like plantar fasciitis, ONCAI'S Orthotic Slides are your best bet.

When we began researching for this guide, Dr. Sutera told Business Insider to "Look for features such as cushion, arch support, and a deep-seated heel cup. Avoid thin, flat, and worn-out shoes, which can cause plantar fasciitis." This pair meets all those requirements and more, with a cushiony footbed, excellent structural arch support that isn't too hard, and a heel cup that cradles the foot for stability.

We also love that it has an adjustable strap to accommodate narrow and wide feet, and is available in half-size options to ensure the perfect fit.

Best sink-in comfort footbed: Bombas Saturday Suede Slip-On

Bombas is best known for its socks, but in recent years, the brand's slippers have really stood out in our testing. While its first pair (featured a few picks earlier) was strictly meant for indoors, the Saturday Suede Slipper has an outsole that makes it wearable outdoors as well.

What we loved most about this pair was the memory foam insoles. They're really thick, so they mold well to your foot, creating what's essentially a custom level of arch support. They also don't need to be worn with socks.

The thickness of the outsole is also worth noting, because it adds some energy absorption you won't find on basic hard-bottom slippers. They also have a good amount of traction.

The uppers are made from suede and treated to be water-resistant, though Bombas recommends spraying them with a suede protector if you plan to run errands outside in inclement weather. We tested the water-resistance claim, and the water beaded off nicely, leaving very little left on the slipper.

In terms of sizing, they only come in whole sizes, but we recommend sizing up if you're usually a half size. Our tester normally wears a men's 8.5 and said the 9 fit him very comfortably. Just note that while they are a slip-on, the heel portion sometimes needs a little extra pull (don't worry, there's a heel tab) to get them on. So if you are someone who isn't comfortable reaching down to pull a shoe on, you may not want to opt for these.

How we tested the best slippers for men

Our testing starts with choosing slippers that are designed to be comfortable, supportive, and in some cases, warm. Every pair of slippers was wear tested for their specific uses. Indoor slippers were worn indoors with a focus on comfort and ease of putting on, outdoor slippers were tested for traction on outdoor terrains and water-resistance against light rain.

We also take into consideration factors such as sizing, fit, support, and break-in periods (if any) to reach optimal comfort.

Best slippers for men FAQs answered by a podiatrist

To help inform our guide to the best slippers for men, Business Insider consulted with surgically-trained podiatrist Dr. Jacqueline Sutera, whose practice focuses on what she dubs "whole body podiatry."

What kind of slippers are the most comfortable?

Well, that depends on what you've got on your feet right now. To provide maximum comfort, the best slippers for men will need to differ in many ways from whatever shoes you've been wearing all day. "The body and feet love moderation and variety," says Dr. Sutera. Wearing the same shoes all day and everyday is not healthy in the long run. This can lead to overuse and repetitive stress injuries such as tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, just to name a few."

In contrast to dress shoes or work boots, stepping into a pair of slippers with a deep heel cup and extra arch cushion will provide significant relief, especially when worn routinely.

Why are comfortable slippers important even indoors?

"Feet are the foundation of the body. When feet are well-supported by the right shoe and slippers, they can help align the higher up ankles, knees, hip, and back joints," says Dr. Sutera.

What slippers are best for plantar fasciitis or high arches?

To determine the best slippers for men with plantar fasciitis, Dr. Sutera developed the "Tabletop Test." "Take your shoes, put them on a tabletop, and examine the soles at eye level," she tells Insider. "Are they even? Are they worn? Then flip them upside down and examine the tread. Is it smooth? Does it have holes? If so, replace the shoes."

The idea is to avoid any flimsiness and instead wear slippers that provide ample shock absorption. Sore high arches similarly need extra cushioning, though it's equally important for the slippers to feel somewhat flexible to accommodate the foot's natural shape.

What are the best materials for slippers?

When trying to find the right pair of slippers, consider which materials will accommodate your long-term needs. In cooler climates and seasons, wool and shearling will help regulate body temperature by keeping the extremities warm. For hot weather, opt for a slipper with a ventilated material to prevent any stuffiness. "I would recommend a washable slipper which does not absorb sweat. This will reduce odor-causing bacteria that would thrive in the fabric versions," Dr. Sutera says.

If the foam midsoles in your current pair have become flat, it's time to start looking for the best slippers for men that'll fit true-to-size and maintain the same form and function as they day they were purchased. "Wearing shoes that fit too tight or too loose can cause injury and pain over time. Bunions and hammertoes can get worse, and this can cause blisters, ingrown toenails, bruising, neuromas, and more," says Dr. Sutera.

• New data showed consumer sentiment slipped to a record low in April.
• Rising gas prices are affecting people's view of the economy.
• Other economic issues, like the frozen job market, are probably worsening the dreariness.

Americans' economic mood can be succinctly described in one word: Terrible.

While inflation soars as conflict with Iran drags on and shows up at the gas pump, consumer sentiment is plummeting. University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index, which tracks how American consumers feel about economic conditions, fell to 47.6 in April — a record low and a nearly 11% decline month-over-month.

The overall sentiment index combines views of how the economy is doing right now with what Americans think is going to happen in the near future, and both crashed this month.

"Demographic groups across age, income, and political party all posted setbacks in sentiment, as did every component of the index, reflecting the widespread nature of this month's fall," Joanne Hsu, University of Michigan's director of surveys of consumers, said in a release.

It's not the first time in recent years that sentiment has tanked at the same time costs spike. The last low was in June 2022, at 50, when inflation rose to 9.1%, and gas prices hit record highs amid Russia's war in Ukraine and a broader inflationary spiral.

Now, sentiment is worse than the plunges seen in the wake of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of that can likely be chalked up to the very real, immediate price hikes showing up at the pump. New consumer price index data showed gas prices increased by a record 21% over the month in March, and accounted for about three-fourths of the overall monthly CPI increase of 0.9%.

"Much higher gasoline prices, the lower stock market, and volatile news headlines are biting down on consumer sentiment," said Nationwide economist Oren Klachkin. "We don't see sentiment recovering in short order since high gas prices are likely to stick around at least in the short term, adding to ongoing cost of living frustrations."

Beyond gas, the trickle-down effect of rising oil and energy prices has shown up in everyday purchases and has tampered with Americans' vacation planning — something likely to lead to a more dreary outlook.

"Airlines are raising prices because of higher jet fuel," Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said. "Transportation costs are rising because of higher diesel prices which filter into the goods we pay for with Amazon, UPS, FedEx."

The general malaise may also be exacerbated by a dreary jobs outlook. Consumers' assessments of their own personal finances fell by 11%, according to the University of Michigan's survey, and Americans surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York increasingly don't think they'd find a new job in the next three months if they lost theirs today.

Dreary sentiment might be here to stay as the effects of the conflict with Iran keep prices high and drag on the economy.

"Even if the prices of gasoline and diesel start to come down after the conflict resolves, the effect on the economy will be more long-lasting," Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate, said. "Fuel prices will not fall as quickly as they rose."

Do you have a story to share about how rising prices and volatility are affecting your economic outlook? Contact these reporters at jkaplan@businessinsider.com and mhoff@businessinsider.com.

• The Army has established a new 9-1-1 helpline for soldiers with data problems.
• The pilot data operations center receives requests for help, analyzes the problem, and provides solutions.
• ADOC is an example of the Army's major data- and software-driven transformation.

As the Army transforms into a more data-centric force, it's testing out how to support soldiers navigating data problems, drowning in battlefield information, and adapting to new systems.

The US Army Data Operations Center, a 180-day pilot program, is the service's solution to data management, providing a hotline for soldiers across the Army to receive help with problems ranging from data on the Next Generation Command and Control system to troubleshooting new software or issues in the cloud. It's the latest element of what Army leadership describes as a generational shift in how the service operates and fights.

ADOC went live last week, with a small team of civilian and soldier data specialists and engineers taking requests from different organizations. As of Tuesday, officials told reporters, the center had received seven requests.

The warfighting engagement cell, operating 24/7, receives questions, essentially tickets in a dashboard, and then analyzes the issues, works with data engineers to provide solutions, and sends them back to the user.

While the center is currently in test-mode, it could be the nexus of how the Army manages its data problems across the service. "I think ADOC will serve as the Army's single authoritative organization for anything when it comes to data operations," Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, deputy chief of staff of the Army's G-6, said. ADOC, Army leaders said, could be vital to helping the Army's transition to fully maturing in the data space.

The center has so far received requests related to unit training. But ADOC is able to respond to tickets from soldiers in conflict or battlefield environments.

"We haven't received anything yet to support those operations, but if there were to be a request, we would surge on that and prioritize that appropriately," said Brig. Gen. Michael Kaloostian, director of Command and Control Future Capabilities Directorate at Army Transformation and Training Command.

One major aspect of the first 180 days of ADOC is tracking trends in the types of problems it receives, what types of information related to data could be implemented in training, and whether the center should be expanded.

Conversations are already underway about what role artificial intelligence can play in help requests and whether an AI agent could field a call and provide a solution before a specialist gets involved.

The center helps address what Army leaders have referred to as data silos in the service, separating different programs, weapons, and software. It was born out of the Army recognizing frustration over red tape that prevented full-picture understandings of information.

"We're seeing these lieutenant colonels and these operational data teams that are banging their heads against the wall trying to figure out how to make these connections happen," Kaloostian said.

"They need somebody to call," he continued. "There isn't a help desk for them to call. That's why we say we're the 9-1-1 for those operational data teams… We're just there to augment and help. Let's alleviate some of that burden."

There is a surge in data from across the battlefield, and the Army believes accessing, analyzing, and understanding all of that data quickly will be essential in a potential future war.

But with more sensors, weapons, and systems, and therefore more data, comes the potential for data overload. ADOC, Army officials said, is an example of the service trying to help cut through the noise and move faster, with an ultimate goal being, as Lt. Gen. Chris Eubank, head of US Army Cyber Command, said, that the service is "creating soldiers that are data-smart more and more, and the heavy lifting is done inside of a central organization, if need be."

The Army has undergone a seismic shift in how it thinks about battlefield data, specifically getting information to commanders and decision-makers and how weapons and technologies communicate and work together. It's a transformation initiative perhaps best exemplified by NGC2, the Army's future warfighting software, which is heavily data-driven.

"It used to be about firepower, but it isn't really about that anymore," Rey argued. "It's really about who can get the data to make decisions faster, to dominate."