• Ferrari just announced its first-ever EV, and the internet was not happy.
• The Ferrari Luce, which comes in a light blue, is being compared to a Nissan Leaf and a Kia.
• The vehicle costs about $640,000.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My day is more flexible

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

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

Our system has been hard for others to adopt

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

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

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

The assumptions are not fair to my wife

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

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

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

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

That imbalance is strange to sit with.

I'll continue to put my name first

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bruce Springsteen — 11

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

Barbra Streisand — 11

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

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

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

Kanye West — 11

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

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

Eminem — 11

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

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

Future — 11

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

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

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

Jay-Z — 14

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

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

Drake — 15

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

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

Taylor Swift — 15

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

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

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

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

The Beatles — 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My favorite Memorial Day deals

Memorial Day sales roundup

Outdoor furniture

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

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

Mattresses & bedding

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

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

Indoor furniture

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

Home & kitchen

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

Tech

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

Clothing

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

Beauty

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

Memorial Day sales and deals: Frequently asked questions

When is Memorial Day 2026?

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

When do Memorial Day sales end?

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

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

What about Amazon Prime Day?

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

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

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

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

Follow our WhatsApp channel on mobile for more buying guides, deals, and reviews.

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

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

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

My favorite Memorial Day mattress deals

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

Tempur-Pedic Memorial Day mattress deals

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

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

Saatva Memorial Day mattress deals

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

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

Leesa Memorial Day mattress deals

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

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

Casper Memorial Day mattress deals

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

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

Sleep Number Memorial Day deals

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

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

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

Follow our WhatsApp channel on mobile for more buying guides, deals, and reviews.

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

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

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

The best Memorial Day patio furniture deals

Ninja Fireside360 Outdoor Heater and Fire Pit

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

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

Beachcrest Home Shawnna Adirondack Chair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An ominous warning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Sacks

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

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

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

Blake Scholl

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

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

Yoshua Bengio

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

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

Tanishq Mathew Abraham

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

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

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

Sen. Chris Murphy

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

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

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

Gerald Leo Posner

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

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

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

— Gerald Posner (@geraldposner) May 25, 2026

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

Brian Burch

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

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

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

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

Christopher Hale

Christopher Hale, a democratic politician, took to X after Pope Leo XIV shared his writings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first few years had a steep learning curve

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

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

I took time to really understand all facets of the business

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

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

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

I've been intentional about building a life outside work

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

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

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

I appreciate the impact the business has had over 100 years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reaching the Azores is surprisingly easy from the US.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taylor Swift is back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It couldn't be saved by Swift's $4,500 Fendi bag or her Cartier Santos Demoiselle watch.

She chose elevated basics for an NBA playoff game, though they weren't super memorable.

Swift and Kelce were sitting courtside when the Knicks played the Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Both wore denim outfits for the game, though Swift's look was undoubtedly more flashy. She paired $790 Stella McCartney jeans with a black denim jacket and a chain-embellished tank top from the designer.

Swift also sported a Dior purse, Stella McCartney sandals, and an assortment of gold jewelry — including her massive engagement ring.

The outfit was cute, but also simple and a little forgettable.

The musician accepted 7 iHeartRadio awards in a green corseted minidress.

Wiederhoft designed the ensemble, which was sleeveless and decorated with silver sparkles.

Swift wore it with $36,000 Dena Kemp earrings and Jimmy Choo sandals. The assortment of rings and bracelets she donned also retail for a total of $36,000.

Swift looked pretty, and her outfit was solid. It wasn't her best look of the year, but it was far from her worst.

Swift's street style reemerged in April, and it was strong from the start.

On one New York City outing, Swift paired a striped Staud dress in blue and white with $1,195 Christian Louboutin sandals and a mini Lady Dior bag in yellow.

The outfit was fun and perfect for summer. The mix of diamond and opal jewelry she wore with it only added to the look.

Her date-night style this year has been feminine and flowing.

Just look at the floral Doen dress she wore for a night out with Kelce in May. The off-the-shoulder design had puffed sleeves, a semi-sheer skirt, and a ruffled neckline.

The dress was cute on its own, but looked even better with Swift's choice of accessories: $920 Aquazzura sandals, gold jewelry, and a small raffia bag.

Swift proved that you can't go wrong with a classic black-and-white outfit.

A different night in New York City, Swift was photographed wearing a white Retrofête minidress. The simple garment had a high neckline, long sleeves, and a short pleated skirt.

On its own, the dress might not have stood out on Swift. However, she accessorized to perfection.

She contrasted the garment with a slouchy Dior purse in black, slingback heels from Gucci, and a ponytail.

Even as a wedding guest, Swift sparkled.

Swift and Kelce attended a wedding in New York City this month and were photographed outside the event.

While Kelce sported a black Essentials suit with subtle pinstripes, Swift glowed beside him in a shimmering Maria Lucia Hohan gown.

The sleeveless design had waist cutouts, all-over ruching, and thin straps.

It looked stunning on Swift, who wore it with gold Aquazzura sandals and opal jewelry that previously belonged to Elizabeth Taylor (whom Swift name-checked on her latest album).

• The creator economy has captivated notable VCs' attention and checks.
• Some creator-focused startups are raising millions of dollars.
• Here are the pitch decks that 47 startups used in Series A, seed, and pre-seed rounds.

The creator economy has bred a generation of startups — from influencer-marketing companies to new social-media experiences.

These startups have captured the attention and wallets of influential venture capitalists and angel investors over the last several years, giving rise to many unicorn valuations in the space.

Meet 17 creator-economy startups to watch in 2026, according to VCs

AI is continuing to fuel investor interest in the creator economy. For instance, Hedra, a generative AI startup used by some creators to make viral content, announced a $32 million Series A led by A16z in 2025.

These 13 creator economy startups pulled in about $2 billion in funding in 2025

Other categories, such as social commerce, are also top areas of interest for investors. ShopMy, which previously shared its Series A pitch deck with Business Insider, raised another $147 million in 2025 and was valued at $1.5 billion.

Creators themselves, like Emma Chamberlain and MrBeast, are also raising venture capital for their businesses.

See the leaked pitch deck Chamberlain Coffee used

So, how do creator-economy startups land those investments? Often, it starts with a pitch deck. 

Lumanu, a creator-focused financial startup, uses a simple pitch deck that's more of a "conversation guider," its cofounder and CEO, Tony Tran, told Business Insider.

"My pitch is always why, what, how, and why now?" Tran said. (Read the full pitch deck here.)

Every startup has a different approach.

Some even ditch the pitch deck altogether and opt for an email or Notion document.

Check out 16 VC firms investing in creator economy startups

We talked with founders who've pitched their startups to investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.

Read the pitch decks that helped 47 creator-focused startups fundraise millions of dollars:

Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.

Series A

• Restream, a livestreaming alternative to platforms like the Amazon-owned Twitch: $50 million Series A (14 pages)
• Hedra, a generative AI video platform: $32 million Series A (9 pages)
• Dub, a fintech startup that lets people copy influencers' stock trades: $30 million Series A (15 pages)
• ShopMy, an affiliate platform that lets creators earn commissions through shoppable landing pages: $26.5 million Series A (23 pages)
• Posh, an IRL events startup: $22 million Series A (12 pages)
• Pearpop, a creator-marketing platform: $18 million Series A (18 pages)
• Spoon Radio, a social-audio startup: $17 million Series A (15 pages)
• Kyra, a content studio, talent-management firm, and influencer-marketing platform: $15 million Series A (20 pages)
• Allstar, a startup helping gamers become social-media creators: $12 million Series A (6 pages)
• Lumanu, a business-solutions platform for creators: $12 million Series A (8 pages)
• Hype, a platform for link-in-bio and other creator-monetization tools: $10 million Series A (13 pages)
• Catch+Release, a startup that helps creators and everyday social-media users license their content to brands: $8.8 million Series A (12 pages)
• Slip.stream, a music startup focused on gamers: $7.5 million Series A (13 pages)
• Brag House, an esports startup: $5 million Series A (24 pages)
• CreatorDB, an influencer marketing company: $4.7 million Series A (13 pages)

Seed

• Linguana, an AI video translation startup that is targeting YouTubers: $8.5 million (13 pages)
• AvatarOS, a startup building virtual avatars for social media, gaming, and other immersive experiences: $7 million (11 pages)
• Hypernatural, a generative AI startup that wants to be the Canva for video: $6.8 million (14 pages)
• Flick, an AI video generation startup for filmmakers: $6 million (10 pages)
• Scenario, a generative AI startup to create gaming art and assets: $6 million seed (8 pages)
• Sesh, a music startup that connects artists and fans using their mobile wallets: $5 million seed (13 pages)
• Authoritive, an online course-development startup: $5 million seed (11 pages)
• Dstlry, a comic-book creator startup: $5 million seed (26 pages)
• Dharma, a travel startup for creators and brands: $4.7 million pre-Series A (17 pages)
• Glystn, an AI-powered community-management platform: $4 million seed (15 pages)
• Daisy, an influencer marketing startup that launched in 2024: $3.9 million (9 pages)
• Anima, an augmented-reality startup: $3 million (15 pages)
• Grandstand, a sports startup working with athlete creators: $2.75 million
• Seam Social, a new Web3 social-media platform: $2.5 million (10 pages)
• Spark, a digital art platform from the YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth: $2.5 million seed (9 pages)
• Insense, a startup helping e-commerce brands get low-cost ads: $2.5 million pre-Series A (9 pages)
• Supercast, a podcast subscriptions startup: $2 million seed (20 pages)
• Chartmetric, a music-data and -measurement company: $2 million seed (46 pages)
• Ultimate Playlist, a music-marketing startup: $2 million round (9 pages)
• Magroove, a music distribution and discovery platform: $1.6 million seed (21 pages)
• Stagetime, a professional-networking startup for performing artists: $1.5 million seed (13 pages)
• Jubilee Media, a content studio looking to expand beyond YouTube and TikTok: $1.1 million seed-plus (12 pages)

Pre-Seed

• Storiaverse, a startup for animators and writers: $2.5 million pre-seed (16 pages)
• July, a "talent manager in your pocket" for creators: $2.3 million pre-seed (9 pages)
• Squads, a startup that helps creators mint and sell crypto coins: $1.8 million pre-seed (12 pages)
• Skye, a career-coaching platform: $1.6 million pre-seed (33 pages)
• Punchup Live, a comedy platform: $1 million pre-seed (19 pages)
• Spore, a content and community-building startup: $1 million pre-seed (17 pages)
• Hashtag Pay Me, a startup that helps creators price brand deals: $200,000 pre-seed (9 pages)

Other

• Humanz, an influencer marketing platform, raised $15 million for an M&A spree (28 pages)
• Our Future, a short-form video-news brand that targets Gen Z: acquired (15 pages)
• Rodeo, a social shopping platform, shared the pitch deck it used to get into an Andreessen Horowitz startup accelerator (11 pages)

• Victoria Lee Jones, 37, is a contractor, interior designer, and single mom in Brooklyn.
• When Connor outgrew his crib, Victoria designed him a toddler man cave to encourage independence.
• She lined the walls with inspirational decor to remind Connor that he can pursue his dreams.

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

As my son Connor was getting ready to turn 2, I knew I wanted to redesign his room to teach him independence. As a single mom who also runs a business, it has always been a priority for me that he learns to do things on his own, no matter his age.

As he started to outgrow his crib, I spent about six months considering how to design a room that would be functional, beautiful, and give him the independence I'd prioritized.

He'd been pretty sick as a baby, and we didn't have much of a consistent routine. I hoped a room redo would help us establish a new normal. I considered how he'd access toys, his bed, and clothes, all on his own level.

He gets to make independent choices

Even though I keep most of his clothes in the closet, I've put a little wardrobe at his level in the room. Every couple of days, I change the clothes in the wardrobe so he can choose what to wear each day and get dressed himself.

Since everything is accessible to him, he is able to help me clean the room, teaching him from a young age that it is his responsibility to keep his space tidy.

He's now got a whole routine that involves lots of choice, and independent play and sleep.

The room wasn't just about functionality — I wanted it to feel masculine. I bring a lot of feminine energy into the house, and I wanted to give him a room with male energy, deep colors, vintage textures, and classic designs.

I worked with two brands, Spoonflower and Babyletto, on the bed and the wallpaper, and then personally designed everything else around those.

Everything was curated

Giving him a beautiful room was immensely important to me because I want to pass on to Connor the appreciation of beauty I have as a designer and contractor. Every single item was curated by me specifically for him. There are leather accent pillows, a vintage tennis racket, and Hamlet-looking books. There are different wood varieties, along with a beautiful accent rug and curtains that tie his room's design to the rest of the house, linking him to me.

I've put a vintage Bluetooth radio in the room for him to use because I would love him to listen to and love music. There aren't any TV screens in the room, and probably won't ever be, because I just want this to be a calm space for him.

I want him to be inspired

When I thought about how I would decorate the room, I kept going back to the question: What and who would inspire Connor as he grows up?

I never remember being encouraged from a young age to go to college, but I want Connor to know that this is a possibility for him — an option. Above the head of his bed, I've hung Yale, Morehouse, and Harvard flags to remind him daily about what he can pursue as he ages.

Also on his walls are pictures in gold frames of inspirational Black men — musicians, politicians, and athletes. It was really important to me that he have daily visuals of Black men to look up to. These are the men he can become like.

He can pursue his dreams and do good in the world, as so many of them did.

• JPMorgan unveiled its annual summer reading list curated by its global client advisors.
• The list of nonfiction books touches on trending topics such as AI and longevity.
• Check out the full list, from coffee table tome to sports memoir.

Clear your summer reading pipeline.

JPMorgan released its 27th annual list of must-read books, chosen by its advisors from around the world and based on their clients' interests.

The list of recently released, nonfiction books spans subjects such as success and AI, as well as cultural hot topics like longevity and the World Cup.

Here's what to pack in your beach bag this summer, according to wealth builders at JPMorgan.

'How Great Ideas Happen,' by George Newman

In "How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success," cognitive scientist George Newman provides a framework for cultivating creativity as a skill to achieve success.

'The Infinity Machine,' by Sebastian Mallaby

"The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence" follows the life of Hassibis, the chief executive and cofounder of Alphabet's AI research lab, Google DeepMind.

'AI for Good,' by Josh Tyrangiel

Published during an uptick in AI skepticism, "AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter" presents real-world, positive use cases for AI.

'America: The Imagination of a Nation,' by Joel Stein

Timed to the country's 250th anniversary, the coffee table book "America: The Imagination of a Nation" explores the US's iconography and identity, from the Statue of Liberty to Coca-Cola.

'Crisis Engineering,' by Marina Nitze, Matthew Weaver, and Mikey Dickerson

"Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos into Clarity" answers what to do when a crisis strikes, pulling from examples like wildfire response and pandemic logistics.

'The Coming Storm,' by Odd Arne Westad

In "The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict and Warnings from History," historian Odd Arne Westad argues that today's geopolitics mirrors that in the run-up to World War I.

'Mattering,' by Jennifer Breheny Wallace

"Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose" explores what it means to add value and feel valued, and why both are important.

'Coachable,' by Ric Bucher

Through conversations with champion athletes, NBA analyst Ric Bucher explains how coachability is key to peak performance in "Coachable: How the Greatest Performers Reach Their Highest Potential."

'The Stimulated Mind,' by Dr. Tommy Wood

With longevity science all the rage, neuroscientist and physician Dr. Tommy Wood provides practical tools to prevent cognitive decline in "The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age."

'Light and Thread,' by Han Kang

Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang's latest book uses essays, poems, photographs, and diary entries to examine her work and life.

'Irreplaceable,' by the World Monuments Fund

"Irreplaceable: 60 of Humanity's Most Treasured Places" looks at 60 of the world's landmark sites, such as Easter Island and Beijing's Forbidden City, pairing photography with essays on the climate crisis, overtourism, geopolitics, and more.

'Keith Haring in 3D,' by Larry Warsh and Glenn Adamson

This book documents artist Keith Haring's three-dimensional works, from painted cars to fashion collaborations.

'Squeeze Me: Lemon Recipes & Art,' by Ruthie Rogers and Ed Ruscha

Chef Ruthie Rogers and artist Ed Ruscha, who has a lemon grove at his home in Los Angeles, use the lemon as the focal point for 50 recipes, accompanied by Ruscha's imagery.

'We Are the World (Cup),' by Roger Bennett

In "We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event," Roger Bennett, the founder of soccer-centered media platform Men in Blazers, tells the history of the World Cup through his eyes.

• After a lifetime in Europe, I moved to New York City last year.
• I thought I knew what to expect after living in another major city and doing tons of research.
• Still, I was surprised by the friendliness of my neighbors and the high grocery-store prices.

Last year, I moved from England to New York. I'd spent most of my life living in London, and then two years exploring Europe on a sailboat.

After years in a similarly large city and lots of research on what to expect from my move across the pond, I thought I'd be well prepared — and, if not, I figured that my time at sea might give me the skills to handle the unexpected.

Despite all my preparation, though, I was still caught off guard by a few surprises.

Starting over in a new country was more exhausting than I'd expected

After moving around constantly while sailing, I thought I'd settle into one place very quickly. I wasn't expecting it to take a year to feel comfortable in my new surroundings.

I didn't realize how much the admin associated with the move would impact me. I felt exhausted, and after doing things like spending most of a day at the DMV, it was hard to muster the motivation to go outside and explore my new city.

My first six months were dominated by paperwork and tedious tasks. I was unpleasantly surprised by how long it took to do things that felt like they should be simple: I couldn't set up a bank account without a permanent address, and I couldn't find a permanent address without a bank account.

Everything felt much harder in a new country, especially when dealing with unfamiliar systems.

The cost of my move — and life in New York — came as a culture shock

It's no surprise that New York City is an expensive place to live. Even before I moved, I knew that just about everything would cost more here.

Although salaries are often higher here than they are in London, that didn't help me initially, when I was still working through the bureaucracy required before I could even start applying for jobs.

Between international shipping and furnishing a new apartment, moving itself is expensive, too. I'd budgeted for the high costs and for how much my daily expenses would likely increase, but I didn't anticipate how much money worries would affect my mentality.

During my first few months in New York, I felt very conscious of every dollar I spent. I was shocked by the prices every time I went to the grocery store or a coffee shop, unable to justify spending $18 on two chicken breasts, or $7 plus tax and tip for an iced latte.

This made me increasingly hesitant to leave my apartment and actually enjoy the city I'd spent so long trying to get to. I knew that things would be more expensive, but living with that reality felt overwhelming.

It took me a while to find balance and feel comfortable spending money on things that I truly value.

It's been easier to connect with people than I thought

Before moving, I'd heard stereotypes about New Yorkers being rude and unfriendly. I wish I'd known before that this isn't the case.

I joined a local gym and started meeting so many kind and interesting people who, best of all, live right by me. Now, I'm routinely bumping into people I know on the street — something I never thought would happen in such a big city, and certainly not this soon after moving.

Contrary to the stereotype I may have believed, I feel surrounded by people who approach life with more positivity than I'm used to in London. It's a refreshing change, and I'm happier as a result.

I've also found New York's bustle to be extremely motivating. It's hard to be bored in a city where there's always a new place to visit, or something interesting happening on the next block. I don't know if I'll feel like this forever, but for now, I'm enjoying it.

The hardest part of moving was the slow drip feed of change over months. Now that I've been here for a full year, though, I'm starting to develop a deep love for my new home.

It might have taken longer and been more expensive than I expected, but moving here has been well worth it for me.

• Women have been serving in the military, officially or unofficially, since the Revolutionary War.
• Queen Elizabeth II was a military truck driver during World War II.
• "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Women have been an important part of the armed services since the beginning, with icons like Harriet Tubman participating in the Civil War. While being female in a traditionally male-dominated space hasn't always been easy, these women have still served their countries.

In 2024, the US Department of Defense reported that the percentage of women serving in active-duty roles grew between 2022 and 2023 — 17.7% of active-duty roles were held by women in 2023, it reported, citing the 2023 Demographics Profile of the Military Community.

In January 2025, Military.com reported that almost 10,000 women signed up for active duty in 2024, an 18% increase from the previous year.

These 10 famous women served in the military around the world, including Bea Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, and more.

Harriet Tubman was a military leader and Union spy during the Civil War.

Most know Harriet Tubman for her groundbreaking work with the Underground Railroad and, later, as an abolitionist, but as National Geographic wrote, Tubman was also an integral part of the Civil War.

In 1863, Tubman and Colonel James Montgomery led a group of soldiers in freeing slaves from plantations in South Carolina, making Tubman the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition, according to National Geographic.

Her work continued as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. This operation was so covert that only President Lincoln knew about it.

Tubman received compensation for her military contributions decades later, in 1899. Thomas B. Allen, the author of "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent," called Tubman "one of the great heroines of the Civil War."

Queen Elizabeth was a military truck driver during World War II.

Queen Elizabeth was only 18 years old when she begged her father, King George VI, to take part in helping out during World War II. 

She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in England that same year and was known as "Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor," according to the National Archives.

While serving, the young queen drove military trucks and trained as a mechanic, making her, to this day, the only female member of the Royal Family to enter the armed forces. 

NASA's Eileen Collins was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force and in space.

Eileen Collins broke several barriers during her career: Not only was she NASA's first female shuttle commander, but at 23, she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, according to the agency.

She joined the Air Force in 1978, becoming one of the first four women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. 

She wrote in Time, "The Air Force was testing whether women could succeed as military pilots. We obviously were living in a fishbowl — everyone knew who we were, our personal business, our test scores and our flight performance. My philosophy was to be the best pilot I could be."

Her military training directly led her to test-pilot school, where she "knew" she would go on to be the first female space shuttle pilot — and succeeded in doing so.  

"Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.

Before she was Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls," Emmy Award-winning actor Bea Arthur was a Marine.

As reported by The Daily Beast, Arthur enlisted in the Women's Reserve when she was 21 years old. She first served as a typist and truck driver. She worked her way up to staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945. 

Official documents show that Arthur's supervisors thought she was "argumentative," which is not a far cry from the feisty persona she became known for on both "The Golden Girls" and "Maude."

"Stranger Things" actor Jennifer Marshall served in the US Navy for five years.

Before Jennifer Marshall scored the role of Susan Hargrove on Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things," she served in the United States Navy from ages 17 to 22. 

According to Marshall's website, during her service, she was a forklift operator, aircraft handler, and logistics specialist. She also worked for the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention (SAVI) program. 

Marshall was awarded many honors and medals for her time in the Navy. Now, in addition to acting, she works with Pin-Ups For Vets, a nonprofit organization that aids hospitalized veterans and deployed troops.

Food Network star Sunny Anderson was in the Air Force.

Anderson, who hosts "The Kitchen," "Cooking for Real," and "Home Made in America," grew up around the military because of her parents. As an adult, she enlisted in the US Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, working in Seoul, South Korea, and in San Antonio. 

"I knew that there were radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines, for the military, by the military, and I wanted to be a part of that," Anderson told ABC News in 2013.

She also wanted to train in something that would be useful when she left the military.

"My transition from the Air Force started before I even got in the Air Force," she said.

Radio talk show host Robin Quivers was a captain in the Air Force.

Robin Quivers has co-hosted "The Howard Stern Show" for over 30 years, but before that, she served as a captain in the US Air Force.

Quivers got her degree in nursing from the University of Maryland and put it to use by joining the military as a second lieutenant after college. She quickly climbed the ranks, and when she was discharged in 1978, her official title was captain, according to Biography.com.

She served as a reserve in the Air Force until 1990, per military records, after which she fully pivoted to her career in radio. But Howard Stern hired her for his show in 1981, which means that Quivers — though she was "inactive" — was still technically serving while she was on the air.

Actor Zulay Henao served in the US Army for three years.

Colombian-American actor Zulay Henao has appeared on the show "Army Wives," but few know that she herself served in the US Army before becoming an actor.

Henao enlisted after completing high school and, after three years of serving, went on to enroll at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

She previously spoke to the paparazzi about her time in the military, saying: "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, and I wouldn't have the perspective I have of the world, if it weren't for the Army."

Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock was in the National Guard.

Shauna Rohbock is an Olympic bobsledder and won the silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. But before that, according to Team USA, Rohbock joined the Utah Army National Guard and was part of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program.

Olympian Amber English competed while still in the military. She won gold in women's skeet shooting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

At her first Olympics, First Lt. Amber English took gold with an Olympic record score of 56, NBC reported. Technically not yet a veteran, she's a logistics officer and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, according to Military.com.

After English's win, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated her on Twitter, now known as X.

"Your country is extremely proud of you today, and I'm so glad you're representing us," he wrote.

She joins an illustrious list of medal winners, both male and female, with military backgrounds.

• Affordability is more important than ever in choosing where to live.
• US News & World Report ranked the best places to live, and getting a deal was a high priority.
• A Midwestern city took the top spot, but the Sun Belt had a strong showing on the list.

Choosing a city to live in is a personal decision, but in an increasingly expensive housing market, affordability is more important than ever.

"Every year we ask consumers what they're looking for in a place to live, and this year consumers overwhelmingly cited that they were looking for value and affordability," US News & World Report consumer lending analyst Erika Giovanetti told Business Insider. "They even said that they're looking for affordability over quality of life and desirability."

US News & World Report analyzed more than 850 US cities and ranked them based on four key indexes: value, quality of life, desirability, and job market. This year's rankings differ from previous years by weighting value higher than the other categories.

"Education, college readiness, access to healthcare — all of these things fall under quality of life, but consumers this year are really feeling it in their wallets, and they are willing to make sacrifices if it's about finding a more affordable place to live," Giovanetti said of the rationale.

While the Midwest has become the most affordable region of the country, a majority of the entries on US News' best cities to live in list are in Southern states.

Giovanetti noted that while affordability is an important factor this year, cities toward the top of the list are ones that demonstrate balance across all key categories. Johns Creek, Georgia, for example, finished first in last year's rankings, but dropped to fifth this year, mainly because it's pricier than other cities.

"Johns Creek ranks 232 for value, which is not so bad in the grand scheme of things, but it is one of the more higher priced cities that made the top of our list," she said.

Below, the best places to live in the US, according to US News & World Report.

15. Buffalo Grove, IL

Population: 41,765

Median home value: $380,110

Median household income: $135,543

14. Parkland, FL

Population: 36,938

Median home value: $896,250

Median household income: $223,200

13. League City, TX

Population: 109,083

Median home value: $344,265

Median household income: $123,032

12. Troy, MI

Population: 90,584

Median home value: $396,774

Median household income: $120,757

11. Cary, NC

Population: 182,416

Median home value: $570,890

Median household income: $136,700

10. Sugar Land, TX

Population: 114,818

Median home value: $431,815

Median household income: $140,511

9. Frisco, TX

Population: 229,028

Median home value: $627,426

Median household income: $152,749

8. Leander, TX

Population: 81,757

Median home value: $495,712

Median household income: $143,568

7. Rochester Hills, MI

Population: 77,520

Median home value: $388,231

Median household income: $119,938

6. Hoover, AL

Population: 91,649

Median home value: $382,915

Median household income: $104,005

5. Johns Creek, GA

Population: 78,408

Median home value: $588,835

Median household income: $167,051

4. Ankeny, IA

Population: 78,414

Median home value: $331,417

Median household income: $107,871

3. Flower Mound, TX

Population: 77,576

Median home value: $553,334

Median household income: $167,151

2. Fishers, IN

Population: 102,895

Median home value: $405,882

Median household income: $136,502

1. Carmel, IN

Population: 103,768

Median home value: $477,625

Median household income: $144,615

• Billboard, using data recorded by Nielsen Soundscan/Luminate, tracks each year's best-selling album.
• Since 2015, streaming has been incorporated into music metrics through the use of album-equivalent units.
• Many classic albums don't appear on the list, having been outsold by lesser-known records.

Each year, one album taps into the hearts and ears of the public on its way to becoming the year's best-selling album.

Times have changed, though. In recent years, singers like Adele and Taylor Swift have dominated the charts, while in the 1950s and early 1960s, musical soundtracks and Broadway cast recordings often topped the list. 

Billboard has been tracking the best-selling album of the year since 1956, but its methodology has changed several times. Before 1991, the outlet relied on retailer report, but that year it began using Nielsen SoundScan data, which was more accurate, according to Billboard.

And since 2015, Nielsen Soundscan — now called Luminate — has incorporated album-equivalent units into its data to account for streaming. This means that in 2022, Taylor Swift's "Midnights" was the best-selling album based on sales alone, while Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" was the top album overall, including album-equivalent units.

Methodology aside, the list isn't without its surprises. In 1967, The Beatles' critically acclaimed album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was outsold by The Monkees' "More of The Monkees."

Using Billboard and Luminate's data, Business Insider compiled all the best-selling albums and their respective notable singles, dating back to 1956, so you can see which album was the soundtrack to your birth year (provided you're 70 or younger).

See the best-selling album every year since 1956.

1956: Harry Belafonte — "Calypso"

Notable singles: "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," "Jamaica Farewell"

1957: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "The Rain in Spain"

1958: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "With A Little Bit of Luck"

1959: Henry Mancini — "Music from Peter Gunn"

Notable single: "Peter Gunn"

1960: "The Sound of Music (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Do-Re-Mi," "The Sound of Music"

1961: "Camelot (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "If Ever I Would Leave You"

1962: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Notable single: "Maria"

1963: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Notable single: "I Feel Pretty"

1964: "Hello, Dolly! (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Hello, Dolly!"

1965: "Mary Poppins (Original Soundtrack)"

Notable singles: "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

1966: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass — "Whipped Cream & Other Delights"

Notable single: "A Taste of Honey"

1967: The Monkees — "More of The Monkees"

Notable single: "I'm A Believer"

1968: The Jimmy Hendrix Experience — "Are You Experienced"

Notable singles: "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady"

1969: Iron Butterfly — "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Notable single: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

1970: Simon and Garfunkel — "Bridge over Troubled Water"

Notable singles: "Bridge over Troubled Water," "The Boxer"

1971: "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Notable single: "Superstar"

1972: Neil Young — "Harvest"

Notable single: "Heart of Gold"

1973: War — "The World Is a Ghetto"

Notable single: "The Cisco Kid"

1974: Elton John — "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Notable single: "Bennie and the Jets"

1975: Elton John — "Elton John's Greatest Hits"

Notable singles: "Your Song," "Daniel"

1976: Peter Frampton — "Frampton Comes Alive!"

Notable single: "Show Me The Way"

1977: Fleetwood Mac — "Rumours"

Notable singles: "Go Your Own Way," "Don't Stop"

1978: "Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track"

Notable singles: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive"

1979: Billy Joel — "52nd Street"

Notable single: "My Life"

1980: Pink Floyd — "The Wall"

Notable singles: "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)"

1981: REO Speedwagon — "Hi Infidelity"

Notable singles: "Keep on Loving You," "Take It on the Run"

1982: Asia — "Asia"

Notable single: "Heat of the Moment"

1983: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Notable singles: "Thriller," "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

1984: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Notable singles:  "Billie Jean," "Beat It"

1985: Bruce Springsteen — "Born in the U.S.A."

Notable singles: "Dancing In The Dark," "Born In The U.S.A."

1986: Whitney Houston — "Whitney Houston"

Notable singles: "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love Of All"

1987: Bon Jovi — "Slippery When Wet"

Notable singles: "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer"

1988: George Michael — "Faith"

Notable singles: "One More Try," "Father Figure"

1989: Bobby Brown — "Don't Be Cruel"

Notable single: "My Prerogative"

1990: Janet Jackson — "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814"

Notable singles: "Miss You Much," "Rhythm Nation"

1991: Mariah Carey — "Mariah Carey"

Notable singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time"

1992: Billy Ray Cyrus — "Some Gave All"

Copies sold: 4,832,000

Notable singles: "Achy Breaky Heart"

1993: Whitney Houston/Various Artists — "The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album"

Copies sold: 5,460,000

Notable single: "I Will Always Love You"

1994: Elton John/Hans Zimmer — "The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"

Copies sold: 4,934,000

Notable singles: "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," "Circle of Life"

1995: Hootie and the Blowfish — "Cracked Rear View"

Copies sold: 7,020,000

Notable singles: "Hold My Hand," "Only Wanna Be With You"

1996: Alanis Morissette — "Jagged Little Pill"

Copies sold: 7,380,000

Notable singles: "You Oughta Know," "Hand In My Pocket"

1997: Spice Girls — "Spice"

Copies sold: 5,302,000

Notable singles: "Wannabe," "Say You'll Be There"

1998: James Horner and Celine Dion — "Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture"

Copies sold: 9,338,000

Notable single: "My Heart Will Go On" 

1999: Backstreet Boys — "Millennium"

Copies sold: 9,446,000

Notable singles: "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life"

2000: NSYNC — "No Strings Attached"

Copies sold: 9,936,000

Notable singles: "Bye Bye Bye," "It's Gonna Be Me"

2001: Linkin Park — "Hybrid Theory"

Copies sold: 4,813,000

Notable single: "In The End"

2002: Eminem — "The Eminem Show"

Copies sold: 7,608,000

Notable singles: "Without Me," "Sing For The Moment"

2003: 50 Cent — "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

Copies sold: 6,536,000

Notable singles: "In da Club," "21 Questions"

2004: Usher — "Confessions"

Copies sold: 7,979,000

Notable singles: "Burn," "Confessions Pt. II," "Yeah!"

2005: Mariah Carey — "The Emancipation of Mimi"

Copies sold: 4,969,000

Notable singles: "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off"

2006: "High School Musical" (Soundtrack)

Copies sold: 3,719,000

Notable single: "Breaking Free"

2007: Josh Groban — "Noël"

Copies sold: 3,699,000

Notable single: "The First Noel (feat. Faith Hill)"

2008: Lil Wayne — "Tha Carter III"

Copies sold: 2,874,000

Notable singles: "Lollipop," "A Milli"

2009: Taylor Swift — "Fearless"

Copies sold: 3,217,000

Notable singles: "Love Story," "You Belong With Me"

2010: Eminem — "Recovery"

Copies sold: 3,415,000

Notable singles: "Not Afraid," "Love The Way You Lie"

2011: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 5,824,000

Notable singles: "Rolling In The Deep"

2012: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 4,410,000

Notable singles: "Someone Like You," "Set Fire to the Rain," "Rumour Has It"

2013: Justin Timberlake — "The 20/20 Experience"

Copies sold: 2,430,000

Notable singles: "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors"

2014: Taylor Swift — "1989"

Copies sold: 3,661,000

Notable singles: "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Bad Blood"

2015: Adele — "25"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 8,008,000

Notable singles: "Hello," "When We Were Young"

2016: Drake — "Views"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 4,140,000

Notable singles: "Hotline Bling," "One Dance"

2017: Ed Sheeran — "Divide"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 2,764,000

Notable singles: "Shape of You," "Perfect" 

2018: Drake — "Scorpion"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,905,000

Notable singles: "God's Plan," "Nice for What," "In My Feelings"

2019: Post Malone — "Hollywood's Bleeding"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,001,000

Notable singles: "Wow," "Goodbyes," "Circles"

2020: Lil Baby — "My Turn"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 2,632,000

Notable singles: "Woah," "Sum 2 Prove"

2021: Morgan Wallen — "Dangerous: The Double Album"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,226,000

Notable singles: "7 Summers," "Wasted on You"

2022: Bad Bunny — "Un Verano Sin Ti"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,400,000

Notable singles: "Moscow Mule," "Tití Me Preguntó"

2023: Morgan Wallen — "One Thing at a Time"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,362,000

Notable singles: "You Proof," "Thought You Should Know," "Last Night

2024: Taylor Swift — "The Tortured Poets Department"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 6,955,000

Notable singles: "Fortnight," "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"

2025: Taylor Swift — "The Life of a Showgirl"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,607,000

Notable singles: "The Fate of Ophelia," "Elizabeth Taylor"

• After her dad's death, Shalini Karnani Bonjour moved her mother from Michigan closer to her in California.
• She, her husband, and her mom bought a home together and are building an ADU for her mom to live in.
• The construction process has been long and difficult, but she believes it will be worth it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sotheby's International Realty real estate agent, Shalini Karnani Bonjour, 50, who is building an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in her California backyard for her mother to live in. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2024, my father passed away. He and my mother had lived in their 3,500-square-foot home in Michigan for about 20 years, and suddenly, she was alone.

My mom was 78, and my husband and I didn't feel comfortable having her so far away, especially when it came to her day-to-day needs. At the time, I was recovering from breast cancer. As an only child, I had to navigate my father's death and my own health while also figuring out what came next for my mom.

My husband and I worked hard to sell my parents' home and relocate her near us in California. After she moved, we rented different places to help her figure out what type of home suited her best. We also explored assisted-living and independent-living communities, but none were ideal.

She was already making a major emotional adjustment by downsizing from the home she had known for so many years, and asking her to completely change her lifestyle didn't feel right.

My mom has worked very hard in her life, and I want her to enjoy the time she has left. Finding her the right home was very important to us.

We decided to move in together and build an ADU

After a long search, my husband, my mom, and I decided to buy a large home in the Coachella Valley, an area we all loved, where we could live together with my teenage son.

The right home for us needed first-floor access so my mom could come and go easily and use the kitchen and laundry room without having to climb stairs. We also wanted a pool and enough space to eventually build an accessory dwelling unit for her.

In 2024, we found a 2,222 -square-foot, 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home that checked those boxes and still fit our budget. Before buying it and moving forward with the ADU, we confirmed with the city and our homeowners association that it was a viable option.

Our home was a fixer-upper, so before we could fully focus on the ADU, we had to update the main house and make it comfortable for all of us. That took a lot of time and money.

While we were renovating our home, I was also working with an architect and interviewing builders for the ADU project. I spoke with at least 10 builders, and I'll tell you, it is not easy to find someone you feel you can trust.

We eventually found a builder and decided on a roughly 1,100-square-foot, single-story ADU. Some people might call it a casita, but it's really a full home. My mom wanted two bedrooms in case people came to visit, two bathrooms, and a walk-in tub in her primary bathroom. We were able to customize the design to include all of that.

The initial estimate for the building alone was about $398,000. But once we added the washer, dryer, appliances, sinks, fixtures, and other finishes, the total came to about $475,000.

The ADU construction process has been long and difficult

We finally broke ground on the ADU in March 2025. Initially, we hoped the project would take about six months, but it has taken much longer. Right now, we're waiting on solar permits before construction can continue.

The whole process has been difficult because there are so many things to manage. You're trying to keep the project affordable, keep your neighbors happy, and stay on track. I can only imagine how overwhelming this would feel for someone without any insight into the process, because it is a huge undertaking.

I know it will be rewarding in the end, but if I weren't a Realtor, didn't feel comfortable talking to builders, and didn't know how to have these conversations with the HOA, this would feel like an impossible task.

Still, I know it will be worth it. We love where we live, and building this on our property means we can stay close to my mom while still giving her independence and a home of her own.

We're still learning how to share space

When people tell my husband and me we're smart or strong for doing this, I think, "What other option do we have?" I'm an only child. Who else will be there to take care of my mother?

While we're waiting for the ADU to be completed, my mom is living in a bedroom in our home.

We're still figuring out how to share space. My mom loves to cook, so having her own kitchen will be really important to her. Last week, she was making a recipe and said, "It'll be different when I have my own stuff." I think the whole thing is bittersweet, but once she sees her finished kitchen, she'll feel different.

Because my mom moved so far away, she's also navigating building a new community. She immigrated from India to Michigan in the 1970s and created a life there. She had a network of other Indian immigrants, people in different professions, and friends she had known for years.

Pulling her away from that wasn't easy, and it still isn't. It takes time to get established somewhere new, and she's still working through that. I'm trying to help as best I can by introducing her to people and helping her find connections here.

This process changed how I see multigenerational homes

When I was growing up, we always had a grandparent living with us. That was standard in an Indian household. But because we were in America, I don't think I ever seriously considered that my mom might one day live with me. When my dad passed away, I got a reality check.

People in my generation are seeing their parents live longer, and more of us are taking on caregiving responsibilities. Many of us are trying to figure out how to do right by the people who raised us while also managing our own happiness and family life.

Going through this process has changed the way I think about multigenerational homes as a real-estate agent. If a client were considering one, I'd encourage them to look for homes that already have the space they need. That might mean multiple bedrooms on one level, en suite bathrooms, easy access in and out of the home, minimal steps, or enough land to build an ADU later.

I'd also tell them to confirm that the property allows the kind of construction they want and to find out whether it's regulated by the city, the HOA, or both.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned during this process is that you have to ask yourself: Is it more cost-effective and less stressful to buy a home with the right structure already in place, or does it make more sense to build a custom space on a property you already have?

• Some beloved '90s tech, like VHS tapes and landlines, is making a comeback.
• The decade saw the rise of the internet, mobile phones, and portable media players.
• Now, younger audiences are collecting vintage technology, such as Game Boys and disposable cameras.

Who doesn't love '90s tech?

For millennials, the decade's most-loved gadgets came with particular rituals: rewinding VHS tapes before returning them to Blockbuster, burning CDs for road trips, or blowing into a Nintendo cartridge before reinserting it.

Today, as younger consumers seek alternatives to modern digital life — and constant notifications — some of these analog items are gaining traction again.

Among them, Gen Z consumers have been embracing the simplicity of flip phones, digital cameras, and landlines. Companies have responded by reimagining retro products: One such item, Tin Can, resembles a landline but runs off a home's WiFi, and some parents are leaning in.

"I want my daughter to be able to chat with her friends, like I did as a child in the '90s," Alison Bennett previously told Business Insider, especially as she sought to delay giving her 8-year-old a smartphone.

So desperate is Gen Z for tactile entertainment over digital distraction that hacky sack is even back, Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos reported this month.

Other '90s tech allows users to be more intentional. VHS tapes turn movie-watching into a commitment rather than background noise, while disposable cameras produce candid photos, rather than edited images.

Here are some pieces of '90s tech that we wish would become mainstream again, from gaming systems to old-school communication devices, including ones that are already showing promising signs of a comeback.

VHS tapes

After launching in the late 1970s, VHS overtook Sony's Betamax — another videocassette — to become the dominant way people watched movies at home in the 1980s and 1990s.

The tapes turned movie nights and video rental stores, such as Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and smaller independent stores, into social activities. Blockbuster reached its peak in 2004, when it operated more than 9,000 stores worldwide.

VHS also changed how people consumed television by allowing them to record shows and movies to watch later, years before streaming made on-demand viewing possible (with a side of decision fatigue).

However, by the late 1990s, DVDs had begun replacing VHS, thanks to their slim size and higher quality. In 2003, DVD rentals overtook VHS rentals in the US for the first time, The Washington Post reported.

In 2015, Sony stopped producing Betamax, and the following year, the final VHS VCR was produced, The Guardian reported, citing low sales numbers.

But the format never disappeared completely. According to a 2025 Consumer Reports report, about 15% of Americans reported watching VHS tapes in the year prior, as Gen Z and millennials increasingly seek out physical media and analog experiences.

Portable CD players

After being developed by Philips and Sony, CDs were released to the public in 1982, the BBC reported. They were more durable than cassettes and records, and could hold around 80 minutes of music.

Two years later, Sony's Discman was released, giving people a way to listen to high-quality music on the go.

The portable players became a fixture in the late '80s and peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when CDs were the preferred music format. By 1999, Sony had sold 46 million Discmen worldwide, the company said.

The players came with other '90s-coded accouterments too: thick binders of burned CDs, Discman belt cases, and tangled headphones.

However, they fell out of favor in the early 2000s with the rise of the iPod, which was released in 2001. These devices could store thousands of songs, no bulky binder needed.

But the Discman could also be making a comeback. The Guardian reported in 2025 that CDs and CD players had regained popularity as Gen Z and millennials embraced '90s nostalgia and collectors sought out deluxe physical releases from artists including Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.

The 2025 Consumer Reports report noted that 45% of Americans had used CDs to listen to music in the previous year.

Game Boy

Nintendo's Game Boy transformed handheld gaming upon its 1989 release. Coupled with successful games such as "Tetris" and "Pokémon Red and Blue," which were placed into the device's cartridge slot, the Game Boy became one of the defining gaming products of the 1990s.

Later iterations included different exterior colors, mini versions, and the Game Boy Color, released in 1998, which featured a color screen rather than the original's monochrome one.

By the time the Game Boy celebrated its 30th birthday in 2019, Nintendo had sold more than 118 million Game Boy and Game Boy Color consoles worldwide, and more than 500 million games, per Nintendo data.

The device continued to evolve through the early 2000s with the Game Boy Advance before more advanced handheld systems, and eventually smartphones, changed on-the-move gaming habits.

Today, Nintendo is also attempting to capitalize on '90s nostalgia by re-releasing Game Boy games for its newer devices.

Nintendo 64

Which '90s kid didn't battle their friends in "GoldenEye 007" or race along the Rainbow Road in "Mario Kart 64" together?

When the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, it became one of the defining consoles of the late 1990s, thanks to its smoother 3D gaming and iconic titles, such as "Super Mario 64" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

But best of all, it supported four controllers right out of the box, enabling multiplayer modes and turning sleepovers into competition zones.

Its popularity declined in the early 2000s with the release of newer systems, such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, which offered more advanced graphics and larger disc-based storage.

Still, the Nintendo 64 remains an unforgettable part of gaming culture and '90s hangouts.

Today, retro gamers continue collecting original cartridges and hardware, and younger players are turning to the old tech amid "AI anxiety" and the novelty of needing to be together to play multiplayer.

Tamagotchis and virtual pets

Bandai's Tamagotchi became a global craze after its 1996 launch in Japan, the Associated Press reported. Owners were required to constantly feed, clean, and care for the egg-shaped virtual pets to ensure they reached adulthood, which typically took a few days.

Other brands, such as Nano Pets and Giga Pets, launched competing models, but schools deemed the pets so distracting that some banned them, The New York Times reported in 1997.

Tamagotchi expanded into mobile gaming in 2013 with an app designed to recreate the original toy experience, AP reported, and the franchise was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2025.

Tamagotchis are still available today. In a 2020 Business Insider article, one adult user wrote that caring for a Tamagotchi during the COVID-19 pandemic helped improve her productivity, happiness, and sleep schedule.

Yet in some ways, Tamagotchis also foreshadowed today's digital and cellphone habits, as kids and teenagers constantly checked alerts and responded to the toys' virtual needs — a connection explored in a 2024 article from The Walrus.

Walkie-talkies

The first portable two-way radios were developed for the US military in the 1930s and 1940s, before becoming commercially available to the public, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

These walkie-talkies became a beloved gadget in the 1980s and 1990s, when they were typically used for backyard games, road trips, and camping trips.

Unlike telephones, walkie-talkies allow users to speak immediately without dialing numbers or relying on phone lines. They were also easy for kids to use — no treehouse was complete without the distinctive crackle of a walkie-talkie.

In the 2000s, cellphones usurped walkie-talkies in many households, but they're still useful today, especially in areas without cell service. As such, they are still used for outdoor activities and music festivals, and for emergency preparedness.

Disposable Cameras

After they launched in the 1980s, disposable cameras, which were cheap, light, and easy to use, became a staple of the 1990s, popping up on family vacations and at teenage parties.

Their popularity waned in the 2000s as digital cameras — and later, smartphones — shifted users toward instant photography. In a retrospective about Kodak, Vox reported digital-camera sales began to outpace film-camera sales in the early 2000s, a change Kodak failed to adapt to before filing for bankruptcy in 2012.

Digital cameras have also regained popularity in recent years. In 2024, NPR reported that digital cameras from the early 2000s had become popular among Gen Zers looking for the nostalgic aesthetic of Y2K photos.

Talkboy

The Talkboy, the handheld cassette recorder featured in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," became one of the most memorable toys of the 1990s after its release in 1992.

Vanity Fair reported that the device was originally created as a fictional movie prop for Kevin McCallister, but overwhelming demand from children prompted Tiger Electronics to turn it into a real product. Its voice-recording and playback features let kids prank friends and create skits, helping make it one of the decade's must-have holiday gifts.

However, as with other popular devices of the '90s, the Talkboy dropped out of favor as technology evolved. Eventually, smartphones consolidated the functions of tech like voice recorders, MP3 players, and cameras into a single device.

Today, the Talkboy survives mostly as a collector's item, although some companies are creating new versions, such as the Texas-based Brand New Noise, which makes wooden voice recorders that distort and loop audio with simple, kid-friendly controls.

Beepers

Before texting and smartphones became ubiquitous, pagers — or beepers — were one of the fastest ways to stay connected.

During the 1980s and 1990s, doctors, emergency workers, business professionals, and teenagers relied on the pocket-sized devices. They developed pager codes that used numbers to convey quick messages before text messaging made it possible. (See: "143," which meant "I love you" because the words contain one, four, and three letters.)

Their popularity waned with the rise of cell phones, but pagers never disappeared entirely.

CBS News and Reuters reported that some hospitals and emergency services still use them because pager networks can remain reliable during disasters and service outages.

Landlines

Despite quirks that seem unimaginable to younger generations today — being tethered to a wall, potentially spied on by your family, and picking up before knowing who was calling — the landline ruled communication for much of the 20th century.

By the 1990s, cordless phones and caller ID had become common in American homes.

But in the 2000s, as mobile phones became cheaper and more practical, the landline's dominance faded. According to the CDC's 2024 National Health Interview Survey, nearly 79% of US adults live in wireless-only households, indicating that many Americans have abandoned landlines in favor of mobile phones.

Still, some people are returning to them, or at least romanticizing them. Many Gen Zers and millennials are pushing back against constant connectivity by "bricking" their cell phones — that is, blocking some apps and websites — and spending more time on offline hobbies instead. After all, one beauty of the landline was that, if you weren't home, you couldn't be reached.

• I'm a dietitian with two kids, so I try to put together nutritious, convenient meals for my family.
• Trader Joe's has an array of easy-to-prepare sides and satiating entrées that my kids love.
• From traditional meatloaf to Atlantic salmon, these dishes take less than 30 minutes to make.

As a dietitian, I care about making nutritious, balanced meals. But between caring for my two kids and running a business, there are some days when convenience takes precedence.

When I need a meal to come together quickly but don't want to throw health out the window, I turn to preprepared sides and meals from Trader Joe's.

The store has a range of protein-packed, nutrient-dense options that my kids will actually eat. Many are frozen or don't need to be refrigerated, so I can stock up on them without worrying about expiration dates.

Over the years, I've curated a list of the Trader Joe's items I reach for when I'm tight on time but still want to serve my family a healthy meal.

Trader Joe's traditional meatloaf in classic tomato sauce makes a usually time-intensive dish quick to prepare.

My husband's and kids' favorite food is a traditional meatloaf, but making it from scratch can be time-intensive. Trader Joe's precooked version with ground beef cuts the prep time down substantially.

A staple in my house, it requires very little effort to make and satisfies my family. I love that each 5-ounce serving has 23 grams of protein along with nutrients like iron and B vitamins, which support energy levels.

Since the meatloaf is already fully cooked and comes in a tomato sauce, all I have to do is heat it up in the microwave or oven and add sides. On busy nights, I pair it with a bagged salad, frozen vegetables, or sliced cucumbers.

Chicken sausages with apples inside can serve as a flavorful protein base at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Trader Joe's makes sausages in a variety of flavors, from spicy jalapeño to spicy Italian. Admittedly, my kids don't handle spice very well, so I opt for this chicken sausage with sweet apples. All five links come fully cooked.

For a well-balanced meal, I use the sausage as a base — each link has 11 grams of protein — and throw it into a pan with vegetables or pair it with brown rice.

Since the links cook on the stovetop in less than 10 minutes, they help me pull together a nourishing protein bowl in no time. If I'm really short on time, I can also microwave the sausage for 30 seconds.

Trader Joe's chicken tikka masala comes on a bed of basmati rice.

Trader Joe's chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite dinners to serve when we have a small window of time to get out the door before sports practice, as it takes only about five minutes to heat up in the microwave (if I have extra time, I can prepare it in the oven for 25 minutes instead).

The spiced tomato sauce has a smoky flavor that coats the accompanying basmati rice, and each 210-gram serving has 42 grams of carbohydrates and 16 grams of protein.

The tikka masala is great on its own, but if I want to sneak in more fiber and nutrients, I mix in frozen peas or bell peppers.

I can pop Trader Joe's Atlantic salmon with lemon-herb butter into the oven straight from the freezer.

My kids love fresh salmon, but having to cook the fish so soon after buying it doesn't always align with our schedules.

Keeping this pre-seasoned Atlantic salmon in my freezer makes it easy to throw together a meal that requires minimal effort but still feels elevated.

Each 7-ounce fillet has 35 grams of protein. Plus, salmon is generally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart and brain health.

The best part about this skin-on, boneless salmon is that I can put it in the oven straight from the freezer. Thanks to the flavorful lemon-herb butter that comes on top, I don't have to worry about adding my own seasoning.

This organic brown rice is my favorite Trader Joe's item.

Brown rice can take around 40 minutes to cook, but this frozen, microwaveable version from Trader Joe's is ready in just three minutes, serving as a versatile whole-grain base.

I always keep it in my freezer so I can use it for tuna bowls, salmon burgers, and stir-fries.

Each 5-ounce serving has 3 grams of fiber, which helps keep my family full and supports their gut health.

I encourage my kids to top this ready-to-bake pizza dough with vegetables.

My kids love personalizing their pizzas, and adding vegetables on top of this plain dough boosts the nutritional value without them even realizing it.

I roll out the ready-to-bake dough, add some sauce, and then slice a variety of vegetables like bell peppers, black olives, tomato slices, and basil as toppings.

Trader Joe's premium salmon burgers are a high-quality protein source.

These salmon burgers are an easy way to get nutritional benefits (each 91-gram patty is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and has 15 grams of protein) without having to plan an elaborate meal ahead of time.

I cook the salmon burgers with a little oil on the stovetop for four to six minutes and then serve them over rice, on a bun, or with vegetables.

I serve Trader Joe's wild skipjack tuna pouches over salad or rice.

When I need protein but don't want to turn on the stove, I reach for these wild skipjack tuna pouches, which each have 22 grams of protein. They're also a great source of essential nutrients like selenium and B vitamins.

I like putting the salted fish over greens and drizzling it with olive oil or serving it over rice. Since I can store it in my pantry, I always have it as backup when my fridge is empty.

These canned Greek chickpeas with parsley and cumin are a delicious source of plant-based protein and fiber.

I eat these Greek chickpeas straight from the can, toss them into a salad, or pair them with a protein like chicken sausage or fish.

The chickpeas come seasoned with parsley and cumin, which saves me time and makes them feel more dressed-up than plain chickpeas. What's more, I love that each 130-gram serving has 8 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber.

Keep reading our Trader Joe's Diaries to see what other shoppers like to buy at the chain.

• Pope Leo XIV issued a letter on AI and its impact on jobs, the environment, and democracy.
• The pope warned that AI job losses could become a "social calamity."
• He also had a special message for AI developers.

In a lengthy address about AI published on Monday, Pope Leo XIV sounded the alarm on everything from mass job losses to Big Tech's grip on AI.

The pope's first encyclical, a major letter to the Church that lays out a pope's thinking on a moral or social challenge, is a 245-paragraph text titled "Magnifica humanitas: on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence."

AI leaders lobbied the Vatican ahead of the letter's release, and Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah spoke at the Vatican City after the pope unveiled it.

The pope also thanked Olah and vowed to work together with him.

"I accept your invitation to work together, to listen and to speak, and together, to find a way for humanity in this time of artificial intelligence," the pope said.

In his sprawling opus, Pope Leo warned about autonomous weapons, the environmental impact of AI, and the risk AI poses to human connection. At the same time, he made it clear he does not see artificial intelligence as "inherently evil."

While many of the concerns the pope raised in Monday's letter echo points he has made before, as well as those raised by AI skeptics, the encyclical letter marks a major papal intervention in the ever-contentious AI debate.

Here are the main takeaways.

1. AI shouldn't be monopolized by Big Tech

Throughout the letter, Pope Leo warned repeatedly about AI power becoming concentrated in "the hands of a few."

The industry is dominated by major Big Tech players, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

The pope did not explicitly name any companies, but he warned about "major economic and technological actors" increasingly controlling platforms, infrastructure, data, and computing power.

"When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few," he wrote, "it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, increasing the risk of distorted forms of development that give rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities."

Drawing on the Catholic principle of the "universal destination of goods," which traditionally holds that all humans have an inherent right to natural resources such as air and water, the pope suggested that it should now extend to algorithms, digital platforms, and data.

The pope also warned that "small but highly influential groups" could use AI to shape democratic processes and steer economic systems to their own advantage.

In the letter, Pope Leo called for AI to be "disarmed" from the race for more powerful algorithms, larger datasets, and commercial dominance.

To disarm AI, he wrote, "means freeing technology from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly and restoring it to the plurality of human cultures and ways of life."

2. A message to AI developers

Pope Leo issued a "special appeal" to those developing AI.

He said developers "bear a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility" because every design choice "reflects a vision of humanity."

The pope urged AI developers to develop systems embedded with the values of transparency, responsibility, and a "careful attention to ensuring that what is being cultivated is a genuine good."

Pope Leo also cautioned against presenting AI systems as entirely neutral and objective when they often reflect and reinforce the biases of their creators.

3. We should all be worried about AI-related unemployment

A major theme of the letter was AI-related unemployment, with Pope Leo warning that mass unemployment could become a "true social calamity."

Fears about AI crushing the job market have been a part of the conversation since generative AI first took off. While some companies have attributed recent job cuts to AI, not everyone agrees that it will be a labor-market catastrophe.

Stephen Parker, co-head of global investment strategy at JPMorgan Private Bank, told Business Insider this month that "companies are realizing that AI has the potential to upskill workers" rather than make them obsolete.

The pope wrote in that letter that while it's "certainly desirable" for AI to make people's jobs safer and easier, "the protection of employment opportunities and the irreplaceable role of the individual must remain the general rule."

He wrote that the "pursuit of greater profits" cannot justify decisions that eliminate jobs.

Mass job losses from AI, the pope warned, risk creating "human and cultural impoverishment."

He argued that governments and companies should prepare for AI disruption before more jobs disappear.

"Every introduction of automation and AI should be accompanied by verifiable measures to protect the employment, retraining, and participation of workers," he wrote.

The pope wrote that this would help ensure that AI focuses on "freeing up human time and capabilities, rather than producing exclusion."

• Year after year, the summer exhausts me.
• With four kids, there are always so many activities to plan and complaints about boredom to bust.
• This year, I'm taking a step back and doing less. I hope we end the summer feeling rested.

I'm about to experience my 17th summer as a mom, and I think I've finally learned my lesson.

Having four kids can be overwhelming and chaotic, especially given their different abilities, personalities, ages, and preferred extracurriculars. Despite the number of kids I have, I am determined to have a low-key summer with them.

I fully recognize the privilege I have. I teach college writing classes in fall and spring, with the perk of having summers off. My kids don't go to day care or camp, nor do they stay home alone while I'm working. Though this can give us some freedom, it also means that I am in charge of planning our kids' summer activities — all of them.

Being an always-on-the-go family simply doesn't allow our nervous systems to reset. We have had a very challenging past five or so years as a family. I fought breast cancer, three of my kids became teenagers, and we've faced multiple other health issues. We are tired, to say the least.

Despite my vowing that "less is more," summer after summer, I've found myself roped into a jam-packed calendar. After all, the newness of summer wears off during the first few weeks, and nothing can drive a parent more bonkers than a kid whining that they are "soooo bored." Striking a balance, especially with so many kids, can be overwhelmingly challenging, but I think I've nailed down a plan that may actually work.

A low-key summer doesn't mean no activities

Our low-key summer, the one I have dreamed about for years, will be the reset we all need. I'm determined to make it so.

This doesn't mean there will be no activities or that we are never leaving the house. Three of my four kids have signed up for some type of activity: summer school classes and sports trainings. These are primarily during the day, and they aren't every day, so the commitment is low.

What will we do with the rest of our time? My goal is weekly library visits, a safe space for browsing and borrowing free items. We also plan to swim at home, daily, and sometimes have friends over to join us. My aim is to keep it all very casual and low-key, though. Bring your own towel, and you can grab snacks from the kitchen if you need one.

We are also fortunate to be the proud owners of four rescue dogs. They are fabulous companions, but definitely require our attention: brushing, feeding, and walking. We're still working on getting them to actually enjoy the pool versus dip in and run out. My kids will be focused on caring for them a bit more, now that they'll have some extra hours in their day.

I've created a space for creativity

I also scored a free, solid dining table off a social media page, and then later, four free dining chairs.

The setup makes the perfect Lego or game table for my kids and their friends. We can easily host casual gatherings. In fact, last fall, I had a group of my girlfriends over for a Perler bead party, complete with snacks. It was fantastic fun, inexpensive, and memorable. I have loads of beads left, ready for my kids to enjoy with their friends if the mood strikes.

Chores will also take up some time

Lastly, and as always, my kids have daily chores. I'm a big believer in the benefits: teamwork, building life skills, and respecting our home by taking good care of it. Yes, my children complain about chores, as all children usually do. However, I have found that the benefits far outweigh the grunts and sighs. Over the summer, they'll have extra time to help with laundry and dish duty, and I plan to take full advantage of that.

Structured activities will be replaced with simpler joys

As someone who grew up living in the country, back in the day when there were no cell phones or laptops, our only option was to turn our boredom into an opportunity to play, create, and read. I want this for my kids. Too many structured activities deprive them of the freedom to be bored. Additionally, traveling to and from those places, buying all the gear, and paying activity fees is incredibly expensive.

I am thinking about our recent spring break. On the first day, we spent an hour at the YMCA, each kid working out in whatever way made them happy. Then we headed to the library and loaded up books and other items. We came home, watched a movie while it poured outside. The kids ate a frozen meal for lunch, ones they had pre-chosen as their favorites. It ended up being the perfect day and it was easy.

TBD if my low-key summer plan will be a success. However, I am hopeful that my intentionality will create opportunities for relaxation, creativity, joy, and beautiful memories.

• Sydney Stoner started experiencing bowel movement changes and cramping in her mid-20s.
• After being dismissed by doctors, she said she had blood in her stool to get a colonoscopy sooner.
• At 27, Stoner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

Despite living an active, busy life, Sydney Stoner was plagued by worsening digestive issues.

Around 2019, when she was in her mid-20s, she started cycling between constipation and diarrhea. "I just thought it was just regular stomach issues that people had," the now 32-year-old told Business Insider.

For a while, Stoner was able to go on living her life in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her husband, two cats, and two dogs. Stoner worked as a professional theater actor, juggling roles with her part-time retail job. In her free time, she loved cycling and CrossFit.

In the meantime, she bounced around from different doctors, including a primary care physician and a holistic doctor, thinking they would diagnose her with IBS. She tried elimination diets, including cutting dairy, gluten, and sugar. Some doctors told her to "watch her weight."

Nothing worked.

She said she had blood in her stool to get screened sooner

Within a year, the discomfort became more severe. Stoner only felt relief when she used the restroom, which resulted in intense cramping throughout. "I felt like my insides were twisting," she said.

One day, the pain became too great for Stoner. It hurt to eat, and the cramps wouldn't stop. "I was like, 'Someone needs to see inside my body,'" Stoner said.

She called a gastroenterology care center and started listing her symptoms to the woman on the phone. When she was asked for her age and was told she'd need a referral to get screened, Stoner improvised.

From Googling her symptoms, she read that having blood in her stool, one of the most common signs of colon cancer, was typically considered more dire than stomach pain or changes in bowel movements. After she lied and said she had the symptom, she was scheduled for a colonoscopy right away.

Stoner knew something was wrong once she started waking up from the sedation used in a colonoscopy. "I'm pretty sure I heard them say 'cancer,'" she recalled, adding that the doctors brought her husband into the room with her. "I knew that that wasn't a good sign."

She learned that the colonoscope, the long thin medical device used to navigate through the rectum and colon, couldn't even get a foot inside her colon due to a mass.

Stoner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 27. Because she was still coming down from the anesthesia, she didn't really respond.

"I was just in shock. I didn't really say anything," Stoner said. "When I finally ate some foodShe was scheduled for PET and CT scans as well as a tumor removal surgery one month later. after the colonoscopy, the tears just started flowing."

Almost two years into married life, Stoner struggled to make sense of the diagnosis. "We went on trips often, hung out with a lot of friends, loved going to live shows," she said. "I just really never thought that cancer would be a part of that."

Grieving her life before cancer

Stoner was scheduled for PET and CT scans as well as a tumor removal surgery one month later. She woke up from her surgery with an ileostomy, a bag attached to her abdomen to collect waste that allows the colon to heal. A year later it'd be reversed.

Initially, she was told by doctors that she had stage 3B cancer, and that it had only spread to a few lymph nodes. But once she moved to St. Louis and started care there, her scans found that the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs, making it stage 4.

Stoner did 12 rounds of chemotherapy, which caused her cold sensitivity. "I had to wear gloves to even get into the refrigerator," she said. "I had to microwave all of my drinks." After that, she did three rounds of radiation per lung, which led to no evidence of disease.

Two months later, her blood work showed signs of cancer, so she underwent 12 additional rounds of a different chemo medication, which led to dizziness and nausea, common symptoms. "It's kind of like being drunk on a cruise ship, but not the fun drunk," she said.

Since 2023, for over two years, she has been on a lower-dose maintenance chemo pill. But when her recent scans in October showed more progression of disease than her oncologist was comfortable with, she was put on more rounds of the second chemotherapy drug again.

The near-never-ending treatments caused both financial and emotional strain. Because Stoner and her husband had just been kicked off their parents' insurance, Stoner struggled to get scans or treatments approved until she could apply for disability in 2021. Now, she's on Medicare.

Stoner, who legally can't work over a certain number of hours ,also works part-time at a cat café. Her husband is a self-employed barber, and they pay for some of Stoner's treatment through a GoFundMe.

"You just wake up and just grieve your old life every day, which sounds really depressing," Stoner said. "But you're just not the same person after you get news like that."

She's advocating for more research funding

Stoner said her friends and family have been a great support throughout treatment. So has the colon cancer community she found.

In 2023, Stoner discovered the nonprofit Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC), which connected her to others diagnosed with colon cancer. She learned about opportunities to present her story to Congress and to advocate for more funding for colon cancer research. It's timely as colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50.

For young people with potential colon cancer symptoms, Stoner urged listening to your body.

"Especially young women, we are dismissed a lot, and you have to find a doctor that will do the test that you need, or even try Cologuard," a stool test that can detect existing cancer and requires a colonoscopy after a positive result, she said. "It's better to find out early because colon cancer is so preventable."

• I have a background in childhood development and understand that kids need independence to grow.
• However, I still thought somehow that my kids would be different when they went to college.
• When my daughter pulled away, I had to remind myself that what she was doing was normal.

When my oldest daughter left for college, I felt blindsided — like I somehow prepared her to be independent without preparing myself. As the mom of two teenagers, I still had a high schooler at home, but other than rides to school or friends' houses, she didn't seem to need me very much anymore, either.

Even with dozens of child development course credits, years working with kids of all ages, and an academic understanding of individuation — the process people go through to achieve a separate, distinct identity — the drastic and almost overnight change in my job description as a mom took me by complete surprise.

I didn't think my kids would pull away when they went to college

Somewhere underneath all that education, I think I believed that my daughters and I were the exception. We were different. We were close. They didn't need to pull away to find themselves.

I was grateful that my daughter had decided to attend a local university, unlike some of her friends who had moved across the country or even to Europe. I looked forward to supporting her with home-cooked meals, laundry services, and the occasional ride to work.

After a few months, I converted her bedroom into a home office and spent weeks finding the perfect futon for her to sleep on when she came home. But she never used it, and it seemed like the more I pursued her, the more she slipped away.

I couldn't understand why she stopped sharing her location and resisted my help. I felt sad and disconnected from one of my favorite people. Every night, before I went to sleep, I lay in bed worrying and wondering if she was tucked safe into her dorm room.

In response, I became clingy

Instead of taking the hint and backing off, I became clingy, insecure, and resentful. I texted too much, told her how much I missed her, and insisted she turn location sharing back on. I also pressed her to talk about her feelings and tried to get to the bottom of her detachment.

Had I failed her as a mom? Is that why she didn't want to spend time with me anymore? It seemed like she couldn't wait to get away, and my confidence plummeted.

I didn't realize that what felt like care and support to me came across to her like stress and pressure. I was also unwittingly making her feel responsible for my emotions, which just created even more distance between us.

I felt like I was losing the relationship I'd spent 18 years building and had no idea why.

I finally realized that I had to quit fighting what I already knew

It was only when I went back to what I already knew — that pulling away is how people find themselves — that I finally realized what my daughter was doing was not only normal but necessary, and that I had to quit fighting it.

I stopped taking her independence personally, remembering that I raised her to be strong and self-reliant, and realized that she wasn't the only one who needed to figure out who she was separate from her family.

It was also time for me to rediscover who I was besides a mom and caregiver. But it wasn't easy, and I spent months feeling lonely and adrift. After having virtually no time to myself for almost two decades, I now had too much time on my hands, and didn't know what to do with it.

I tried to remember all the things I dreamed about doing when my girls were little — reading, writing, traveling — and started there. One day, I spent hours hiking a local wilderness trail without checking my phone for the first time in years, and that's when it hit me.

Once I finally backed off, gave my daughter some space, and refocused my attention on my own life, our relationship began to improve. I became less needy, more confident, and showed my daughter that she wasn't responsible for my feelings.

Now that she's 23, we text almost daily and talk by phone several times a week. She recently requested her favorite meal and enlisted my help on a writing project. I feel closer to her than ever, reassured that she's doing a great job making her own way in the world, and thrilled to see her building the confidence that comes with being independent.

• I was experiencing burnout at my corporate job, so I started flipping houses as a side project.
• I finally decided to quit my job and turn the house flipping into a business with my mom.
• My mom and I often fight over designs, but every time we do, the house turns out even better.

For a decade, I thought I was doing everything right. I had a few corporate jobs, a predictable salary, and a career path that looked good on paper. From the outside, it probably seemed like I had things figured out.

But behind the scenes, I was constantly exhausted, and the work never really stopped. Even after logging off my work email and putting my work phone down, I was still thinking about deadlines, emails, and expectations. Over time, that pressure built into something I couldn't ignore anymore.

I remember realizing that no matter how much effort I put in, the work didn't feel tangible. I was stuck in a loop. I needed a dramatic change.

A side project with my mom sparked a change

To scratch the initial itch, I purchased my first home in June 2020 and was planning to obtain a construction loan. However, when I spoke with my mom about it, she agreed I didn't need to take on the burden and said she'd partner with me 50/50 on this side project.

Little did I know back then that this side project would turn into our mother-son business years later.

We added nearly 1,200 sq. ft., successfully sold the house in February 2023, and I finally felt the tangible satisfaction of doing my own project. This led to the purchase of our second home in June 2023.

Eventually, though, the burnout caught up with me. Working a full-time job and managing the pre-construction of a 3,400 sq. ft. project was too much. Around that time, my mom and I started talking more seriously about our partnership and plans for the future.

Yes, a steady paycheck was nice, but the live-to-work motto she drilled into me as I was growing up wasn't working. My work-life balance was awful, and my stress and patience levels were wearing thin.

A wellness retreat finally pushed me to take the leap

Toward the end of 2024, I booked a retreat at the legendary health and wellness resort The Golden Door to disconnect and clear my mind. While the intention wasn't to make a drastic change, that is exactly what happened.

At the retreat, I met two successful CEOs in their 60s who kept instilling in me that what I saw as a massive risk wasn't actually such. I always had the idea of working on my own, but I was too scared to do it.

"Bet on yourself. Success is driven by those who make bold decisions," they kept saying.

I took that advice home, spoke with my mom, and while she was initially against the idea, she said OK. Seeing me struggle for meaning and happiness, I think, swayed her to agree with my decision.

JAREST, LLC was formed soon after, and there was no looking back.

We butt heads constantly over budgets and design

The adjustment was immediate. Time and routine changed like the wind, and processes and hierarchies were not established, and egos clashed.

Both stubborn and smart, we butted heads constantly about design, decisions, and budget. While I'm primarily driven by financial considerations, she (thankfully) is better at understanding where to spend money to improve the product.

This led to a lot of disagreements in the middle of the second project. I was against spending an extra $15,000 on floating stairs or a double-wide Sub-Zero fridge/freezer that other houses in our price range didn't have.

After a few yelling matches over dinner, she won (she normally does, especially when she's cooking). The decision was made, and we pressed on. Even though the contingency budget was down to $0, and I knew other unknowns would pop up, we proceeded.

Finding our rhythm

Over time, though, I started to notice something. Every time we clashed, the final decision was stronger.

If I pushed too hard on cutting costs, she would point out long-term benefits I hadn't considered. If she wanted to over-improve a property, I would bring us back to what I thought actually made sense financially.

We sold that house in March 2026 and are now starting our most ambitious project in Beverly Hills, with an anticipated completion in Spring 2027.

Thanks to my mom's guidance, financial support, and a bit of yelling, a dream from childhood, growing up in an apartment in Westwood, is coming true. While I won't be living in a Beverly Hills mansion, at least I can say I built one!

It took a while, but that raw tension (oh, it's still there, trust me, just not as fervent) became a strength.

• Jensen Huang has an unlikely new reputation as a street food influencer.
• Nvidia's CEO was spotted at a night market in Taiwan on Sunday, his latest street food adventure.
• There's now a list tracking the foodie pit stops he makes on his business trips around the world.

Jensen Huang is best known as the billionaire CEO who transformed Nvidia into the world's most valuable company. On the side, the tech mogul has been building a reputation as a street food influencer.

On Sunday, Nvidia and the company's newsroom account posted videos on X of Huang visiting the Raohe Street Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan, where crowds of onlookers gathered as he ordered food from local vendors.

Huang also took the opportunity to scribble a timeless "Jensen was here" note on a bathroom wall:

One video captured a throng of people waiting just outside a store for Huang, and cheering as he emerged:

Earlier this month, after accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to China alongside a delegation of business leaders, Huang was also spotted eating noodles at a roadside stall in Beijing.

It's not unusual for Huang to be seen trying local delicacies, and the Nvidia CEO has emerged as something of a street-food connoisseur. Over the years, he has been photographed buying food at night markets and street food spots across the world, including in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Dan Liu, a tech founder, has compiled a list of what he says is every restaurant, stall, and noodle shop Huang has visited around the world. Jensen Eats' running tally includes 47 spots so far, from a Korean fried chicken spot in Santa Clara to a hotpot restaurant in Shanghai.

Huang's love of food is well-known in Silicon Valley circles. In an April 2024 podcast interview with Robert Nickson, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Huang once invited him over for cheesesteaks.

"Jensen is really into cooking, so he invited me over to his house," Zuckerberg said.

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison also recalled having dinner with Huang. In 2024, he said that he and Elon Musk once begged Huang for GPUs at Nobu in Palo Alto.

Huang got his start in a restaurant. At 15, he worked at a Denny's in Portland as a dishwasher, waiter, and busboy. Years later, it was another Denny's in San Jose where Huang and Nvidia's cofounders Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem first discussed the idea that would become Nvidia.

Now, the Denny's spot at 2484 Berryessa Road has a plaque dedicated to that history-making moment.

Of course, it's not all noodles and posing with fans on the street for the CEO of a $5.2 trillion company.

In an interview with Channel News Asia in Taiwan that aired on Monday, Huang addressed one of the hot-button topics that keeps coming up in the tech world: layoffs being attributed to AI.

"I think the narrative that connects AI to job loss for many of the CEOs that are doing it, it is just too lazy," Huang told CNA.

Huang's latest street food appearances come shortly after Nvidia delivered earnings beats throughout its latest earnings report. It delivered $81.6 billion in revenue in its first quarter, beating its $79.15 billion estimate. The company's stock is up 14% this year.

• Russia has started using its new jet-powered attack drone, the Geran-4, in combat.
• Ukraine said Monday this is in response to the effectiveness of its interceptor drones.
• Jet-powered drones are faster and more difficult to shoot down than propeller-driven variants.

Russia has started using a new jet-powered attack drone in response to Ukrainian interceptor drones, which are becoming increasingly effective in combat, Kyiv said Monday.

Russia routinely uses propeller-driven drones called the Geran-2 — based on the notorious Iranian Shahed — to attack Ukrainian cities, but has developed faster variants powered by jet engines known as the Geran-3, Geran-4, and Geran-5.

The Geran-3 made its combat debut last year. On Monday, Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR, said Russia had started using the newer Geran-4 in attacks this month "as a countermeasure against the effectiveness of our interceptor" drones.

Cheap interceptor drones are a critical tool in Ukraine's air defense arsenal as it faces worsening Russian bombardments.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's defense minister, recently told reporters that the number of Geran-type drones downed by interceptor drones has doubled since the start of the year, while deliveries to the military have increased at the same time.

The interceptor drones are armed with small warheads and eliminate their targets by colliding with them or exploding nearby. But they are primarily designed to engage the Geran-2, which can reach speeds of 115 mph, not the faster variants.

The Geran-4 is powered by a Chinese-made turbojet engine and can fly as fast as 500 km/h (roughly 310 mph) and cruise at an altitude of 5,000 meters (1,640 feet), the GUR said. The drone can carry a highly explosive warhead over a distance of 450 kilometers (280 miles).

Jet-powered drones are launched by long rails and accelerate to flight speed before the engine takes over. The GUR said the Geran-4 has an improved airframe, a more reinforced structure, and an engine that provides greater thrust than its predecessor variants. The design allows for active maneuvering.

Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to requests for comment on the GUR assessment.

Russia's jet-powered drones have not been used as widely in combat as the propeller-driven Geran-2, although Moscow has expanded the infrastructure to support their launches at various air bases.

Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry, said Russia used both the Geran-3 and Geran-4 to attack Kyiv during a massive bombardment over the weekend that killed at least two people and injured dozens more.

Ukraine has signaled that it is preparing for an uptick in Russian jet-powered drones. For instance, interceptor drone makers have said they are developing faster models to chase down the newer Gerans.

Fedorov, the defense minister, told reporters that Ukraine is focused on developing a stockpile of low-cost interceptor missiles "to prepare for the emergence of jet-powered" drones, and that Kyiv has already begun testing.

Ukraine aims to scale production and build out a stockpile before the fall, Fedorov said, as Russia typically ramps up missile and drone strikes during the colder months.

The rise of interceptor drones, followed by the debut of jet-powered Gerans, and Ukraine's development of cheap missiles in response to that, follows a similar trend throughout the conflict, where one side fields a new technology that forces the other to adapt and counter.

Ukrainian and Western officials have often described the conflict as a cat-and-mouse arms race, as both sides seek to gain an edge on the battlefield through tactical and weapons innovation.

Updated May 25: I checked which Amazon Memorial Day deals BI readers are clicking and shopping most so far, including major discounts on travel gear, vacuums, OLED TVs, mattresses, air purifiers, countertop appliances, and Apple devices. I verified prices when updating this guide, but Amazon deals can change or sell out quickly during Memorial Day weekend.

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

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

Related: Love books? Enjoy Audible free for 30 days

The best Memorial Day tech deals

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

Apple AirPods (4th Gen)

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

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

Samsung S90F OLED 65-inch TV

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

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

Anker Nano Power Bank (A1638)

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

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

Coway Airmega air purifier AP-1512 HH(W)

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

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

Life360 tile Bluetooth tracker

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

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

Samsung The Frame LS03F 4K QLED Smart TV

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

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

Oral-B iO Series 9 Smart Toothbrush

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

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

Apple Watch Series 11

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

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

Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar

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

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

Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones

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

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

Related: The 100 best deals at Amazon right now

The best Memorial Day kitchen deals

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

Rubbermaid Brilliance 8-piece Pantry Food Storage Container Set

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

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

Le Creuset 5.5 qt. Dutch Oven

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

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

Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ by Breville with milk frother

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

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

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

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

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

Chefman 4 QT Compact Air fryer

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

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

Our Place Always Pan 2.0

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

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

Stanley All Day Julienne Soft Cooler Bag

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

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

Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender

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

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

AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

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

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

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

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

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

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

The best Memorial Day travel & style deals

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

Coop AirJustable Travel Neck Pillow

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

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

Samsonite Freeform Hardside Carry-On

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

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

Rumpl Everywhere Mat

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

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

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

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

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

More travel & style deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The best Memorial Day home deals

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

Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow

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

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

Roborock Qrevo Series QV 35A

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

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

Serwall 8-Piece Patio Dining Set

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

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

Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum

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

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

Flexispot EN1 standing desk

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

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

More home deals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer's almost here, and I hope you've been enjoying the long weekend. Before you get back to reality, though, why not put your feet up and check out this extensive roundup of the best Memorial Day sales?

While hardly the last sale of the summer season, this is the perfect time to get ready for better weather with new deals on outdoor patio furniture, restock on summer fashion brands like Andie, and maybe check out the Solo Stove firepit to enjoy those summer nights in style.

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

Yes, Prime Day is also hurtling toward us in June, but given that those deals will be limited to Amazon and to paying Prime members, no less, I think the sales and individual deal highlights below are worth a look today.

My favorite Memorial Day deals

Memorial Day sales roundup

Outdoor furniture

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

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

Indoor furniture

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

Tech

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

Clothing

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

Mattresses & bedding

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

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

Home & kitchen

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

Beauty

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

Memorial Day sales and deals: Frequently asked questions

When is Memorial Day 2026?

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

When do Memorial Day sales end?

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

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

What about Amazon Prime Day?

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

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

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

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

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• Carol Merlo wanted to build her own website without Weebly or Wix. She asked her son, Kevin Masterson, to help.
• Masterson taught her to vibe code. "Sometimes thirty seconds can save her an hour of headache," he said.
• Merlo was worried about clicking the "enter" key. "You're not going to break it," he assured her.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Carol Merlo and her son, Kevin Masterson. Merlo is a 73-year-old entrepreneurship coach from Dallas. Masterson is a 41-year-old AI mentor from Lewisville, Texas. It's been edited for length and clarity.

Carol Merlo: I used ChatGPT for personal stuff, like, what supplement should I take for this? What do you think of that? What's wrong with this bush?

Kevin Masterson: It's real! She totally doctored up a bush and brought it back to life with AI.

Merlo: I use ChatGPT for that because it doesn't need to speak in complete sentences. I still rely on ChatGPT for images. Claude is great for human language. It's not stilted. My husband uses Gemini. I don't know why.

Masterson: I've been vibe coding for about a year, getting really into the meat and potatoes. I trained a friend of mine, with whom I worked at a restaurant, and we got good enough together to win a hackathon. I thought: This is duplicatable.

Who do I care about more than anybody? My mom. She talked about building a website, and she didn't want to be dependent on Weebly. I was like, "Do you want to learn how to do it yourself? I can walk you through stuff. I'm not going to be on the keyboard. I'll just say words."

Merlo: I've been building websites for as long as we've had the internet. WordPress was really hard and labor-intensive. Then I switched over to Wix for a minute, then Weebly. My husband also has a website, and we've got a third website for something else.

I got an email about a month or two ago, saying they were going to make me pay for two years and that they were raising my rate. At that point, I went to Kevin. I said: "What can I do so that I'm not having to pay so much for a website?"

He started with this ideation phase. What do you want? What's it look like? What's it feel like? We had a long conversation.

Masterson: The lessons were in-person. I'd sit in the corner of the room, and she'd be on her computer. At the beginning, it's so important to have a face. It was more structured sessions and more handholding.

Merlo: The difference between this and the drag-and-drop interfaces is that it's all words. You have to be able to type the words of the thing you want. With ChatGPT, I'll send it a picture or a clip. Well, no pictures here. This is coding.

I'm old, so I come from the world of reading. I'm highly academic, and everything I do is words. Nowadays, people don't have the patience for it. They don't even have the patience for videos. You need a clip. How are you going to learn this in a clip? So, people have to learn patience and the willingness to do it.

Masterson: She was a little timid at times. Like, "I don't want to bother you, but I've got another question." That's what I'm here for! Sometimes thirty seconds can save her an hour of headache.

Merlo: It was completely new for me. I developed a Word document that tells me what to do here, what to do there, and what this word means.

The other thing that was the most challenging was acronyms. Kevin started talking to me, and I was like: What the heck is he saying? Like, what's a CLI? I said, "You've got to dumb it down for me." Sometimes I'd go into regular Claude to ask what terms meant so I could get context.

I would be hesitant to click "enter." I'd say: "I've typed this thing in. Now what?" He'd say: "Click 'enter.'"

He told me, "You're not going to break it, and you can go back to the original, so you don't have to worry about it being wrong." Many people are worried about it being wrong, especially when you're learning something. That was very encouraging for me.

Masterson: It became more back-and-forth. She sent me a few emails, and we did a bit of video conferencing.

Merlo: What Kevin taught me is that there's no limit. Whatever you can envision, you can ask Claude Code to do for you. I'm no longer limited by knowledge; now I'm only limited by my imagination. That's huge.

I'm paying way less: $9.99 a month for another platform that works using Claude Code. Now I have this thing, and nobody's going to upsell me or do things that are going to cost me money that I don't want to spend.

Right now, the website is basic. Now, I'm going in and doing refinements. There are other things I've done on other websites that are more fun and not as boring as the one I have.

It's great, it's just not spiffy. I'm spiffing it up.

• Major retailers, such as Walmart and Sephora, are integrating AI into their shopping experiences.
• Tech companies, including OpenAI and Google, are also racing to win in AI-driven online shopping.
• Today's AI assistants can help with product recommendations, checkout, and customer service.

Retail is becoming a big battleground in the artificial intelligence arms race.

In the past year, more major retailers have gotten in on the hype, unveiling AI tools for shoppers to use both in stores and online. Some, including Amazon and Walmart, have built AI-powered shopping assistants, while others, such as Target, have added AI features to their shopping apps or partnered with tech companies on AI tools.

Some of the most popular uses of AI for shopping are for research and comparisons, according to an April study from global consulting firm McKinsey and Company.

Retailers aren't the only companies trying to use AI to change the way people buy things. Tech companies, including OpenAI and Google, have introduced new AI shopping features and partnered with top brands. EMARKETER, a sibling company of Business Insider, projects that AI platforms will drive $144 billion in US e-commerce sales by 2029.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing. OpenAI earlier this year pivoted away from a feature called Instant Checkout that allowed users to make purchases within ChatGPT from retailers like Walmart.

Many consumers are still building trust with the AI, McKinsey also wrote in its report.

Still, early adopters show that the opportunity is big. Amazon said in February that customers who used its old AI assistant Rufus while shopping were 60% more likely to complete a purchase. And Walmart has said that those using its shopping bot, Sparky, spend more per order on average than those who didn't.

Here are the ways that AI agents and chatbots are quietly reshaping online shopping — and why you'll probably start seeing them more often.

OpenAI was an early mover in AI shopping and works with retailers like Walmart and Target

OpenAI has emerged as a prominent player in AI-powered shopping through a growing number of retail partnerships. It experimented with Instant Checkout before shifting toward product discovery and visual shopping features inside ChatGPT.

It has struck major deals with retailers, including Walmart, Target, Etsy, and Sephora, which have launched apps with ChatGPT. Some apps allow shoppers to search for, compare, and get recommendations directly from the chatbot.

Retailers such as home improvement retailer Lowe's, have made AI-powered assistants in collaboration with OpenAI, like Lowe's virtual home improvement assistant, Mylow. The retailer said it provides customers with the expertise of a Lowe's associate.

Google is trying to get people to shop within Gemini and striking deals with major retailers

Google, which already plays a major role in online shopping through its search business, has made major moves this year to expand its AI presence. Through Gemini, Google has forged partnerships with large retailers and apparel brands to bring their products to its app and AI mode in Google search. The collaborations are meant to make it easier to find and purchase items.

For example, brands including Target, Gap Inc., and Nike said shoppers would be able to browse and shop their products through Google's Gemini app and AI Mode shopping experiences.

Meta AI is coming for your Instagram feed

Meta is bringing AI-powered shopping to your Instagram and Facebook feeds. In March, the company said it was testing new AI features that let users see product information and a summary of user reviews after clicking ads on Facebook or Instagram.

Shopping was also part of Meta's April rollout of its AI model, Muse Spark, in Meta AI before expanding to Meta's broader family of apps. It includes a feature in Meta AI's shopping mode that can search and map Facebook Marketplace listings near a user alongside options from other sites, and a new way to browse products from brands and creators.

Amazon is making a new bet on Alexa for shopping

Amazon pivoted in May away from its AI-powered shopping assistant Rufus. The e-commerce giant said it would roll Rufus' capabilities into Alexa+, the generative AI-version of its voice assistant, to create Alexa for Shopping. The new effort aims to be more personalized and conversational.

Alexa for Shopping can help compare products, provide recommendations, track prices, and manage your cart, for example. It also works across your phone, laptop, and Echo devices.

Rajiv Mehta, Amazon's vice president of conversational shopping, described it as an "expert personal shopper who already knows you."

Walmart's Sparky is gaining traction with shoppers

Walmart introduced its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, in 2025. Shoppers can use the chatbot in the Walmart app or website to find products, read reviews, and receive personalized purchase recommendations.

In May, the retail giant said Sparky's weekly active users were up over 100% from the previous quarter. Walmart said that orders from customers using Sparky were 35% more valuable on average.

Beauty brands are getting in on the AI chatbot wave

In 2025, beauty retailer Sephora launched AI Beauty Chat, a generative AI chatbot, on its website and app.

The company's AI tools aim to provide "insightful recommendations to enhance a personalized shopping experience and smart gift giving," Nadine Graham, senior vice president and general manager of e-commerce at Sephora North America, told Business Insider.

Its rival, Ulta, has also launched an AI shopping assistant to guide customers through its website and app. It allows them to compare and shop for beauty products.

Ulta AI is meant to make "beauty discovery more seamless, personalized and shoppable wherever it happens," said Lauren Brindley, chief merchandising and digital officer at Ulta Beauty.

Editor's note: This story was first published in November 2025 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says blaming AI for layoffs is "just too lazy."
• Huang says it "doesn't make sense" to blame AI before the tech became widely useful.
• His comments come as companies rush to roll out AI tools across their businesses

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang criticized CEOs who blamed artificial intelligence for layoffs, calling the narrative "lazy."

"I think the narrative that connects AI to job loss for many of the CEOs that are doing it, it is just too lazy," Huang told Singapore broadcaster Channel NewsAsia in an interview on Monday.

"AI has just arrived. 
How is it possible they're already losing jobs?" he asked.

Huang said it "doesn't make any sense" for companies to link layoffs to AI before generative AI tools became widely useful in the workplace.

"How is it possible that AI became productive and useful only six months ago, and they were somehow laying people off two years ago because of AI?" Huang told CNA in Taiwan.

Huang said some executives were blaming layoffs on AI "to sound smart."

"I really hate that," he said.

Huang's comments come as companies across industries race to integrate AI tools into their businesses, while workers increasingly worry about automation replacing human jobs.

The anxiety has intensified amid a wave of tech layoffs and corporate restructuring tied to AI. The trend has also fueled debate over whether companies are genuinely replacing workers with AI or simply using the technology to justify broader cost-cutting.

Huang argued that leaders should strike a more balanced tone when discussing the technology's impact.

"I think we're scaring people and that's irresponsible," he said.

Huang said the industry should present a "balanced narrative" about AI that acknowledges both the technology's potential and the importance of advancing it safely, with proper security measures, guardrails, and supportive government and industrial policies.

"On the other hand, tell a story that's optimistic so that people want to be part of it," he added.

Huang also talked about

joining President Donald Trump on his recent trip to Beijing after receiving a last-minute call from the president.

Huang said Trump called him the morning he was leaving and "insisted" that he get on the plane, initially thinking Huang was in Washington, DC. Huang said he was on the West Coast, so Trump told him to meet Air Force One in Alaska.

"He called me in the morning — he didn't realize I wasn't going — and he insisted that I get on the plane and go," Huang said, adding he packed in a hurry.

Huang said he then flew to Alaska, boarded Air Force One, and traveled to China with a group of other US executives representing a broad range of industries.

"We were there to really represent the United States and support the president," Huang said.

• Apps like Uber and GoPuff are seeing a boost in Gen Z worker registrations this month.
• The jump comes as many college students are beginning summer break.
• Gen Z workers are facing a tough job market as entry-level roles dry up, and AI use increases.

Forget flipping burgers or getting a summer internship. Some Gen Z workers are turning to apps like Uber or DoorDash for summer jobs.

Gig workers between the ages of 17 and 25 are the fastest-growing age group on the gig-work apps so far in the second quarter of 2026, data through May 17 from mobile app researcher Apptopia found. Gen Z registrations grew 8.4% over the same period in 2025, according to the data.

The rise in young people signing up for gig work apps comes as the school year ends for many students and summer break begins.

In May 2025, the number of active users aged 17 to 25 rose by 12% over the same period a year earlier. So far this month, the boost is 24%, Apptopia said.

Daily active Gen Z users on gig apps have also spiked in recent years, an Apptopia spokesperson said.

It helps that gig work jobs "are flexible, easy to get, and higher paying jobs are harder to get," the spokesperson said.

Gen Z is facing job uncertainty, whether it's getting internships or landing a full-time job. Entry-level roles are being scaled back as some companies invest in AI, prompting some young workers to seek alternatives.

On TikTok, some young workers post videos of themselves making deliveries for apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, using hashtags like #summerjob.

Delivery app GoPuff had the largest increase in young gig worker signups midway through the second quarter, with a 97.5% year-over-year surge. Lyft's driver app followed with 70.3% growth among this demographic. Most gig-work apps require workers to be at least 18.

The summer spike isn't limited to Gen Z. Apptopia's data also showed smaller second-quarter usage spikes among gig workers aged 36 to 45 and those aged 46 and older. Users between 26 and 35 fell slightly during the period.

Apptopia's data tracked US users' age and habits on six delivery and ride-hailing apps. The company drew data from app stores and its panel of about 15 million users across a variety of apps.

Do you have a story to share about DoorDash, Uber, Instacart, or another gig-work 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.

• With AI rapidly transforming the workforce, many jobs are changing.
• There are steps workers can take to help future-proof their careers and remain resilient.
• Experts suggest auditing your job function to evaluate risk and focusing on impact in your résumé.

If you feel like you're been inundated with AI-related layoff announcements, you're not alone.

Workers are increasingly grappling with how to stay competitive — and relevant — in today's job market.

Michael Housman, the founder and lead strategist at AI-ccelerator, a firm specializing in AI education and consulting, told Business Insider that many jobs are at stake as AI transforms the workplace, not just roles in certain industries.

The World Economic Forum's 2026 Global Risks Report estimates that 92 million workers could be displaced by 2030.

"Frankly, any knowledge worker is at stake," Housman told Business Insider.

Rather than spiraling, here are six concrete steps you can take to help future-proof your career:

1. Audit your job function

Alex King, the founder and managing director of AI talent acquisition company ExpandIQ, told Business Insider that he sees jobs falling into three buckets: full automation, augmentation, and transformation.

Most people will fall into the augmentation category, meaning some parts of the job will be automated, but not all, and it's worth evaluating the level of risk to your role.

King said that workers should conduct an "audit" of their job function. That involves reviewing their job description and creating a bulleted list of what they do on a day-to-day basis.

"If it's more predictable, you're highly vulnerable to being automated by AI," King said. "Versus if it's a more judgment-based role or a relationship-based role, you're a little bit less vulnerable."

Housman, who is also the author of "Future Proof: Transform your Business with AI (or Get Left Behind)" said companies are "rapidly sprinting" at implementing AI solutions in areas with a lot of repetitive work that don't require a lot of cognitive load or complex problem solving, like responding to emails.

2. Focus on impact

Job seekers often describe what they did without explaining its impact, King said. As jobs evolve, communicating that value to employers will become increasingly important, especially as companies look to quantify a worker's contribution.

Executives like LinkedIn's engineering VP said side projects can boost a candidate's chance of landing a job. In interviews, make sure you can showcase a concept that you brought to life, whether that's products you've helped develop or a GitHub repository of side projects.

3. Sharpen your AI chops

As many roles move toward "augmentation" rather than outright replacement, improving your AI skillset may make the difference between keeping your job and losing it to someone who knows the technology better.

The CEO of Accenture, for example, announced in September that the firm would cut staff that it couldn't reskill for the AI era.

John Morgan, president of career transition and mobility and leadership development at talent firm LHH, said that employees need not only to build a baseline of AI literacy skills, but also get "deep into it."

"You can have any type of job, but you're going to have a co-pilot of some sort that's going to be helping you with that job," Morgan said, adding that the more skilled you are with AI, the better position you are in.

King warned that many companies aren't yet upskilling employees, so workers should take the initiative themselves. He said there are many free resources to learn about the fundamentals of AI. One worker who transitioned to an AI role mentioned watching YouTube videos to build skills in different areas.

4. Lean into soft skills

As AI increasingly automates tasks, King said that workers need to "double down" on soft skills. That's a mantra that many execs have emphasized, from IBM's chief scientist to Cisco's innovation officer.

"People who have those soft skills around self-awareness and emotional intelligence are going to do really well in the future because that's obviously something AI cannot do," King said.

Morgan from LHH said that critical thinking has always been important, but now it's key to guiding companies on AI strategy and to delivering value.

"Asking the right question is becoming increasingly important," Morgan said, adding that it will differentiate job candidates.

5. Level-up

Now that AI is taking on more basic tasks, many employers are expecting their workers to operate at a higher level. EY's AI leader, for example, told Business Insider that entry-level workers are expected to bring managerial skills to their first day on the job.

Michael Anton, the cofounder and CEO at AI startup Huper, told Business Insider that all workers have essentially received a promotion with AI — and they need to act like it.

"Everyone has moved one step up, and if you focus on that, you're going to be significantly more successful," Anton, who leads the AI-powered organizational intelligence platform that provides a digital chief of staff to leaders.

The CEO said that individual contributors need to model the role of a manager, and managers need to adopt the skillset of the leader above them.

Instead of spending time on the grunt work, employees are increasingly expected to focus on strategy and tasks that require critical thinking, he said.

6. Consider entrepreneurship

Housman said entrepreneurship can offer some people more mobility, flexibility, and a better salary. Plus, the barrier to entry has decreased with the advent of new tech.

"You're going to get a lot of solopreneurs that can start entirely new businesses from scratch, using these agentic tools," Housman said.

Housman said employees should learn about the "latest and greatest" tools in their sector and identify opportunities to create a business.

For example, Housman said he worked with a social media manager who started dabbling with text-to-image tools and ended up shifting to animation, where he at least doubled his salary.

"I would start figuring out, 'hey, how could I play with these tools? How could I be a problem solver that leverages AI?'" Housman said.

An earlier version of this story appeared on February 5, 2026.

• Is vibe coding leaving you feeling confused? A new vocabulary has emerged with the rise of AI.
• From agentic AI to world models, new terms and concepts are being created seemingly every day.
• Use this glossary of AI-related terms to speak about this technology with authority.

It's almost impossible to ignore AI.

That doesn't mean it's always easy to understand. From agentic AI to UBI, tech CEOs, Wall Street, and politicians increasingly sound like they are speaking another language. The terms seem to change almost as quickly as AI models themselves advance.

Even if you don't use AI, chances are your bank, your doctor, the streaming service you're using, and maybe even your car do.

Here's a list of the people, companies, and terms you need to know to talk about AI, in alphabetical order.

The AI terms you need to know

Agentic: A type of artificial intelligence that can make proactive, autonomous decisions with limited human input and is capable of operating autonomously around the clock. Popularized by services like OpenClaw, the proliferation of these tools is viewed as the biggest moment in generative AI since the release of ChatGPT.

AGI: "Artificial general intelligence," or the ability of artificial intelligence to perform complex cognitive tasks such as displaying self-awareness and critical thinking, the way humans do. Crossing this theoretical threshold is the mission of many in the industry.

Alignment: A field of AI safety research that aims to ensure that the goals, decisions, and behaviors of AI systems are consistent with human values and intentions.

Bias: Because AI models are trained on data created by humans, they can also adopt the same fallible human biases present in that data. There are a number of different types of bias that AI models can succumb to, including prejudice bias, measurement bias, cognitive bias, and exclusion bias — all of which can distort the results.

Capability overhang: The term, credited to Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott, for the gap between what AI models are capable of and what real-world applications can currently utilize.

ChatGPT: OpenAI's signature chatbot that launched to significant fanfare in 2022 and is often credited for kickstarting the AI race. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

Claude: Anthropic's flagship model was first launched in March 2023. While Anthropic's core focus is on the enterprise business, Claude has been lauded for its ability to write code. In early 2026, Claude's advancements caused sharp swings in some tech stocks.

Compute: The AI computing resources needed to train models and carry out tasks, including processing data. This can include GPUs, servers, and cloud services. As of 2026, many companies are adjusting their pricing, retiring old features, or limiting announcements due to resource constraints.

Context window: What a large language model can recall in response to a prompt or series of prompts. Generally speaking, increasing the amount of this "working memory" decreases the likelihood of hallucinations and enables users to have longer, more complex conversations with a model.

Data centers: Large warehouses filled with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of advanced computer chips and graphics processing units, used to handle large amounts of data, storage, and complex processing required to power AI models. Unlike older iterations, AI data centers require significantly more space and energy because of the widely held assumption that AI models learn best at a massive scale. Cities and states are increasingly considering restrictions on development amid rising opposition to AI, most notably in the US.

Deepfake: An AI-generated image, video, or voice meant to appear real that tends to be used to deceive viewers or listeners. This deceptive content has been used to create non-consensual pornography and extort people for money.

Distillation: The process of extracting the reasoning process and learned knowledge of a larger, existing AI model to a new, smaller AI model — essentially, copying an AI model to start your own. US-based AI companies have accused their competitors, predominantly in China, of using large-scale attacks to advance their models.

Doomer: A derisive term for AI skeptics who express reservations about either the potential risks of AI development (developing technology that could turn against humanity) or even just pessimism that AI will achieve lofty ambitions like creating models capable of human-like reasoning.

Effective altruists: Broadly speaking, this is a social movement that stakes its claim in the idea that all lives are equally valuable and those with resources should allocate them to helping as many as possible. In the context of AI, effective altruists, or EAs, are interested in how AI can be safely deployed to reduce suffering caused by social ills such as climate change and poverty. Many AI leaders have distanced themselves from the movement in the wake of Sam Bankman-Fried's fall, which included a 25-year prison sentence. (See also: e/accs and decels).

Federal preemption: The debate over whether each state should set some of its own AI-related policies, or if the federal government should set one uniform standard. President Donald Trump and his administration have unsuccessfully pushed for a moratorium on state-level AI laws, a policy that splits Republicans and tech companies.

Frontier models: Refers to the most advanced examples of AI technology. The Frontier Model Forum — an industry nonprofit launched by Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic in 2023 — defines frontier models as "large-scale machine-learning models that exceed the capabilities currently present in the most advanced existing models, and can perform a wide variety of tasks."

Gemini: Google's flagship AI model, first launched in 2023 under its former name "Bard." As of late 2025, leading voices in the industry saw Gemini 3 as meeting, if not surpassing, ChatGPT's capabilities. Google has said Gemini's name was inspired by the zodiac constellation and NASA's famed 1965 to 1968 project which helped form the foundation for putting humans on the Moon.

Gigawatts: A large unit of energy; a single gigawatt can power roughly 750,000 homes and is often used to put the enormous size of data center buildouts in perspective. In terms of computing power, 10 gigawatts is equal to roughly 4 to 5 million graphics processing units.

GPU: A computer chip, short for graphics processing unit, that companies use to train and deploy their AI models. Nvidia's GPUs are used by Microsoft and Meta to run their AI models.

Hallucinations: A phenomenon where a large language model (see below) generates inaccurate information that it presents as a fact. For example, during an early demo, Google's AI chatbot Bard hallucinated by generating a factual error about the James Webb Space Telescope.

Large language model: A complex computer program designed to understand and generate human-like text. The model is trained on large amounts of data and produces answers by scraping information across the web. Examples of LLMs include OpenAI's GPT-5, Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.7, and Google's Gemini.

Machine learning: Refers to AI systems that can adapt and learn on their own, without following human instructions or explicit programming.

Multimodal: The ability for AI models to process text, images, and audio to generate an output. Users of ChatGPT, for instance, can now write, speak, and upload images to the AI chatbot.

Natural language processing: The umbrella term encompasses a variety of methods for interpreting and understanding human language. LLMs are one tool for interpreting language within the field of NLP.

Neural network: A machine learning program designed to think and learn like a human brain. Facial recognition systems, for instance, are designed using neural networks in order to identify a person by analyzing their facial features.

Open-source: A trait used to describe a computer program that anyone can freely access, use, and modify without asking for permission. Some AI experts have called for models behind AI, like ChatGPT, to be open-source so the public knows exactly how they are trained.

Optical character recognition: OCR is a technology that can recognize text within images — like scanned documents, text in photos, and read-only PDFs — and extract it into a text-only format that machines can read.

Prompt engineering: The process of asking AI chatbots questions that can produce desired responses. As a profession, prompt engineers are experts in fine-tuning AI models.

Rationalists: People who believe that the most effective way to understand the world is through logic, reason, and scientific evidence. In AI, rationalists seek to answer questions like how AI can be smarter, how AI can solve complex problems, and how AI can better process information around risk.

Responsible scaling policies: Guidelines for AI developers to follow that are designed to mitigate safety risks and ensure the responsible development of AI systems. Anthropic invoked its safety policy when it decided in April 2026 not to widely release Claude Mythos in part because the model was too good at hacking.

Singularity: A hypothetical moment where artificial intelligence becomes so advanced that it surpasses human intelligence. Think of a science fiction scenario where an AI robot develops agency and takes over the world.

Slop: A derisive term referring to AI-generated images, videos, or text, often of lower perceived quality.

Token: The building blocks of LLMs (see above) are units of text or parts of a word, both in the input and output of the model. AI companies use tokens to measure and charge usage.

Tokenmaxxing: In spring 2026, the popularity of agentic AI (see above) led to a school of thought that companies and their employees should use AI as much as possible in order to increase productivity. As time went on, the thinking began to fall out of favor because token usage alone does not convey what tasks are being done.

Transformer: A type of neural network that is at the core of large language models like OpenAI's GPT, which in turn powers chatbots like ChatGPT. In fact, the last T in "GPT" is for transformer. Critically for AI, transformers were able to process massive datasets simultaneously, as opposed to earlier neural networks that processed data sequentially — dramatically reducing training time and enabling much larger models.

Universal basic income: A policy where the local, state, or federal government would guarantee a minimum income for citizens. Popularized by then-Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang in 2020, the idea has taken on renewed relevance amid fears that AI may replace a significant number of jobs, potentially causing widespread unemployment. Alternatively, some, such as Elon Musk, believe AI could create an abundance for humanity, enabling everyone to become wealthy and achieve "universal high income."

Vibe coding: Coined by OpenAI cofounder Andrej Karpathy in February 2025 to describe the feeling of freedom using generative AI coding models. Over time, the term became more commonly used to refer to how AI generative coding models can write code with minimal human input. Karpathy has since said that he prefers the term "agentic engineering" for such cases.

World models: A type of AI model that uses machine learning to understand physical properties, as opposed to LLMs (see above), which excel at language prediction but struggle with actual environments. Building these specific models is considered critical for the development of self-driving and ultimately AI robotics.

The top AI leaders

Sam Altman: The cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. In 2023, Altman was ousted by OpenAI's board before returning to the company as CEO days later. After his return, he has become one of the world's most recognizable tech executives.

Dario Amodei: The CEO and cofounder of Anthropic, a major rival to OpenAI, where he previously worked. Amodei has frequently warned that world leaders are not preparing society for the scale of AI-related job displacement.

Demis Hassabis: The cofounder of DeepMind and now CEO of Google DeepMind, Hassabis leads its AI efforts at Alphabet.

Jensen Huang: The CEO and cofounder of Nvidia, the tech giant behind the specialized chips companies use to power their AI technology. Under his leadership, Nvidia has become the world's largest company by market cap at over $5 trillion.

Alex Karp: The CEO and cofounder of Palantir, a defense and data company that has skyrocketed in value. Known as an iconoclastic leader, Karp called Palantir the "first to be anti-woke" and takes pride in the company's national security business, especially its work with the US government.

Yann LeCun: Formerly Meta's chief AI scientist, LeCun is a renowned researcher who is considered among the "Godfathers of AI" due to his work on deep learning with Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton and others. LeCun has been critical of some of Meta's AI direction and is a leading skeptic of the extent to which Large Language Models (LLMs) will unlock the biggest breakthroughs in AI.

Elon Musk: The Tesla and SpaceX CEO founded artificial intelligence startup xAI in 2023 after a falling out with Altman over OpenAI's shifting direction. In February 2026, SpaceX acquired xAI months before an IPO expected to be the largest in history.

Mira Murati: The CEO and cofounder of Thinking Machines, Murati has made waves in Silicon Valley since leaving OpenAI, where she was CTO and briefly interim CEO.

Satya Nadella: The CEO of Microsoft, the software giant behind the Bing AI-powered search engine Copilot, a suite of generative AI tools. Microsoft is also an investor in OpenAI.

Sundar Pichai: The CEO of Google, Pichai sustained some criticism of Google's AI leadership after the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022. By the end of 2025, some in the industry were beginning to proclaim Google had caught up, if not surpassed OpenAI.

Mustafa Suleyman: The cofounder of DeepMind, Google's AI division, who left the company in 2022. He cofounded Inflection AI before he joined Microsoft as its chief of AI in March 2024.

Ilya Sutskever: The cofounder and chief scientist at Safe Superintelligence, Sutskever helped start OpenAI before eventually pushing for Altman's ouster, a move he regrets. Like LeCun, Sutskever has expressed skepticism that scaling compute is enough to advance AI.

Alexandr Wang: Meta's chief AI office has experienced a rapid rise since cofounding Scale AI in 2016, out of famed Silicon Valley startup incubator Y Combinator. In June 2025, Meta acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI and poached Wang as part of its campaign to lure top AI talent. Meta released Muse Spark in April 2026, the first LLM developed by Wang's Superintelligence Labs team.

Liang Wenfeng: The hedge fund manager who founded Chinese AI startup DeepSeek in 2023. At the beginning of 2025, the startup made waves across the AI industry with its flagship model, R1, which reportedly rivals its top competitors in capability but operates at a fraction of the cost.

Mark Zuckerberg: The Facebook founder and Meta CEO who has been spending big to advance Meta's AI capabilities, including training its own models and integrating the technology into its platforms.

• A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
• Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here.

Austin Lau, who works in marketing at Anthropic, may have just set a new standard for AI-powered wedding planning.

Ahead of marrying his longtime partner, Lau used Claude Code to analyze 12 years of iMessages between the couple, then fed the data into Claude Design to generate a custom wedding website packed with stats, charts, and inside jokes. He posted this on X, racking up more than 3 million views.

The result looked like a Spotify Wrapped for their relationship: 161,000 messages, 8,600 shared photos, almost 28,000 emojis, and nearly 1,800 "I love you" texts. One chart mapped their texting habits over time, with a peak in 2016 when they were in college. Another chart revealed that messaging spiked around 9 p.m.

But the internet fixated on something else: the couple's second most-used emoji over 12 years was the angry face. One X user wrote, "Best of luck mate."

Lau's response: "I'm cooked brother."

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

• JPMorgan says the Iran war has soured the economic outlook.
• The bank says it's anticipating a negative economic growth shock due to sticky inflation.
• Higher energy prices could hurt consumer spending and weigh on the job market, its economists said.

Say goodbye to the economy's best-case scenario this year.

Economists at JPMorgan said they've officially taken a "Goldilocks scenario" — an ideal situation for markets where inflation cools and the economy continues to expand — off the table. The bank says to blame the Iran war, with the latest surge in inflation likely to spark a negative growth shock.

In a note to clients on Friday, economists said they believe higher energy prices could push core inflation past 3%, which was the bank's "long-standing forecast" for global core inflation at the start of the year.

Rising transportation and input costs stemming from higher oil prices could also help push core goods inflation past 2%, above the Fed's long-running price target, they estimated.

The bank trimmed its global economic growth forecast by around a quarter of a percentage point. It pointed to the possible knock-on effects of higher prices, such as higher interest rates, subdued consumer spending, and consequent weakness in the job market.

"Risks are elevated that an energy price shock squeezes household purchasing power and depresses business sentiment, raising the specter of a negative growth shock raising unemployment rates," a team led by Bruce Kasman, JPMorgan's chief economist, wrote.

Inflation could fall eventually, but only after the growth shock is felt, the bank said, with weaker demand slowing the pace of price increases.

"We emphasize that the Goldilocks scenario that had been incorporated in 2026-27 central bank forecasts looks increasingly unlikely, with any meaningful inflation decline likely to be precipitated by a material growth disappointment," the economists said.

Inflation has been the central worry for markets while oil has surged during the Iran war. Consumer prices accelerated to a 3.8% yearly pace in April, marking the highest pace of inflation in three years.

Gas prices touched $4.56 a gallon on Thursday, the most Americans have paid at the pump in four years.

JPMorgan pointed to several other factors that risk stoking inflation in the near future, which could then help contribute to a growth shock:

• Supply chain pressures. Supply chains look less resilient than they have in previous years, the bank said, pointing to recent supply shocks and growing tensions around world trade. Supply chain snags are known to be inflationary, as they can push up input costs for businesses.

• Wage inflation. Wages spiked following the pandemic and have only "partly unwound," the bank said. Higher wages can lead to higher prices, a phenomenon known as the wage-price spiral.

  "With global unemployment rates still below pre-pandemic levels, a solid growth environment should not be expected to return wage inflation to levels consistent with 2% inflation," JPMorgan said.

• Short-term inflation expectations, which influence inflation itself, are rising. The expected 1-year inflation rate 1 year from now rose to 3.53% in May, up 124 basis points since March, according to the Cleveland Fed.

"While this inflation spike will likely quickly fade, the second-round effects on growth and core inflation could be large," the bank wrote.

Other forecasters have warned that inflationary pressures could linger long after the US strikes a peace deal with Iran. That's partly because it could take months for oil flows to normalize after the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Morgan Stanley recently speculated that inflation could peak sometime in May or June. The bank pointed to other ongoing price pressures, like tariffs and a lag in housing inflation measures.

• Arden Missal, a physician assistant, paid off $150,000 in student debt in 16 months.
• Missal worked 80-90 hours a week and cut her expenses to achieve her goal of becoming debt-free.
• Achieving debt freedom allowed her to start a financial blog and take a year off work.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Arden Missal, a 30-year-old physician's assistant and blogger based in Jupiter, Florida. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a physician assistant working in psychiatry in Florida. When I finished PA school in 2022, I had over $150,000 in student loans. After taxes, it was about two years' worth of my take-home pay.

A lot of personal finance books told me the same thing: make the minimum payments, invest the rest, and stay in debt for a decade or more because my interest rate was relatively low. On paper, that made sense.

When I ran the numbers, I realized that if I followed that advice, I would have a negative net worth for five years. I'd be making a six-figure income, matching my 401(k), maybe investing in the market, maybe upgrading my apartment, or going on vacation — and all the while, I'd be completely broke.

That felt completely backward to me

I decided that paying off my debt as quickly as possible would be best for me. I wanted to be debt-free, believed it was possible for me, and didn't want to wait five years to have something to show for all my hard work.

When I mapped it out in Excel, I realized I could be out of debt in under two years. I ended up paying off all $150,000 in 16 months.

I asked myself: what could I live without for two years?

I started my plan in September 2022. I stopped spending money on anything that wasn't life-sustaining. I started cutting my hair at home. I switched from wearing contact lenses every day to wearing glasses, which saved me about $800 a year. I cut out vacations for 18 months.

Every time I made a cut, the timeline shrank, and I could tolerate even more. If I worked more hours, the end date would move closer. If I cut another $100 a month, that might mean four fewer weeks of overtime. Seeing that in real numbers was incredibly motivating.

I started working as much as possible

At my peak, I had three PA jobs and one teaching job at my alma mater. For about a year, I was working 80 to 90 hours a week. My base schedule was about 60 hours, and then I picked up extra shifts. I treated my Google Calendar like Tetris.

I was fortunate to have remote options. I worked in a hospital, virtually for a ketamine clinic, and in an outpatient role that was a mix of in-person and telehealth. Sometimes I would even pet-sit while doing virtual appointments.

People assume that it must have been miserable

Physically, there was fatigue, but I didn't feel miserable. I actually saw it as a form of burnout prevention. To me, burnout comes from having to work when it's not your own choice — when your boss is forcing overtime, or your debt payments are dictating your schedule.

I was there voluntarily. I had a concrete goal and a finite deadline. Every hour I worked was getting me closer to being debt-free. I listened to podcasts about paying off debt during my long commutes to stay in that mindset.

I also made a 3% rule

I decided that 3% of my take-home pay could go toward anything I wanted. It was my "joy" fund for things like lattes, eating out, and new clothes that gave me enough flexibility to feel human. It was also an incentive: the more I worked, the more things I could have for myself.

The biggest motivator, though, was watching the balance shrink.

I had setbacks that pushed my timeline back

I faced managerial issues at one job and had to leave after six months. I also saw bonuses cut, and overtime shifts added and then taken away.

Every time something like that happened, my projected end date moved back. When you're counting down the months, that's devastating.

There were some special events, like bachelorette parties, engagements, and holidays, that I missed while I was paying off my debt, and my friends and family didn't understand why paying off debt was such a big deal to me. The way I looked at it was that I'd say no for 16 months, and then I'd never have to say no to an event again.

Mostly, it was such a short period that my relationships didn't really suffer much.

I prepared my boyfriend at the time

He understood, but after about six months, we both felt worn down by my constant work. The trade-off to me was more than worth it. I had no debt when we got married, and it was meaningful to start off on such a positive note.

I remember driving to work one summer day. It was beautiful outside, and "Margaritaville" was playing on the radio. I was heading into the hospital, thinking about how I used to go to the lake with friends. I wondered, "Is this really what I'm supposed to be doing?"

But I had this very clear, vivid vision of being debt-free. Once I knew how good it would feel — to go on vacation without it sitting on a credit card — I couldn't talk myself out of it.

When I sent the final payment in December 2023, it felt amazing

By the time the final payment cleared, it almost felt inevitable — like my physical reality had caught up with the mental reality I'd been living in.

I celebrated with my boyfriend. We got pedicures, watched a movie, and went out for a nice dinner. Now I'm married to him, I have a daughter, and I'm still debt-free.

I was able to take the first year of her life off work

That's when I started my blog, She's Financially Free. When I was paying off my debt, it was all-consuming, and most people in my life thought I was insane.

I wanted an outlet to talk about it and to help other people — especially women my age — realize they have options. I feel so proud of myself for not giving up during the hard times.

• Nearly two-thirds of US workers have held a retail job at some point in their career.
• That includes several CEOs who started out in hourly positions at the companies they now run.
• Here are the median wages for workers at several top retail companies, listed from lowest to highest.

Roughly one in 10 workers in the US works in retail.

Widen the view to people who have worked in that industry at some point in their careers, and the number rockets up to six in 10, according to a 2019 report by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization.

For many, retail is a first job; for others, it's a lifelong career.

Several top retail CEOs started out in hourly positions at the companies they now run.

To get a sense of how much retail workers made in 2025, Business Insider used AlphaSense to search the latest proxy statements for median employee pay data that publicly traded firms are required to disclose to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

That means half of a company's workers earned more than its median employee, and half earned less. The range can vary considerably because many retail companies offer part-time and seasonal work.

For many retail workers, an individual's annual earnings depended on their hourly wage and the number of hours they worked.

The following list includes 28 top retailers that have filed proxy statements for the 2025 fiscal year, sorted from lowest to highest annual pay.

Ross Stores — $10,059

Discount chain Ross Stores said more than 85% of its employees work at one of its retail locations, and that the figure fluctuates seasonally.

Last year's median worker was a part-time hourly associate who earned $10,059.

Burlington — $10,827

Burlington said its median worker was a part-time associate at one of its Burlington stores, earning $10,827 last year.

Restaurant Brands International — $11,075

Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International employed about 33,700 workers in the US and nearly 20,000 more around the world. The company said its median employee last year was a part-time restaurant worker at a company-owned Burger King in the US, earning $11,075.

Dick's Sporting Goods — $11,259

Dick's Sporting Goods said it had nearly 60,000 employees in the US working for its flagship banner, as well as more than 45,000 Foot Locker employees following its September acquisition.

The company said the median Dick's employee has been with the company about five years, works about 12 hours a week, and made $11,259 last year.

Ulta Beauty — $11,883

Ulta Beauty had 61,223 associates globally last year, including 24 working in Uruguay that were not included in its calculations.

The median worker earned $11,883.

TJX — $14,994

TJX, the parent company of off-price retail brands like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods, employed around 377,000 people around the world, with roughly 86% of those working in one of the company's 5,200 stores.

The company's median worker last year was a part-time hourly associate who earned $14,994.

Yum Brands — $15,346

Of the fast food parent company Yum Brands, 49,000 employees, about 28,000 were in the US, and 21,000 were overseas.

The median Yum worker was a part-time Taco Bell worker in the US who earned $15,346 last year.

Yum Brands said 90% of its workforce is part-time, and four out of five of its restaurant general managers were promoted from within the company.

Dollar Tree — $16,214

Dollar Tree employed more than 148,000 people last year, of whom about 114,000 worked part-time. The company says its median worker is an hourly associate in the US who made $16,214 last year.

Starbucks — $17,279

Starbucks directly employs more workers than most restaurant brands, which typically operate on a franchise model.

Last year, the coffee chain had 367,000 employees across more than 21,000 company-operated stores, nearly half of whom were located outside the US.

The median Starbucks worker was a US-based part-time barista who made $17,279 last year.

GameStop — $17,376

GameStop said it employs roughly 15,000 to 20,000 people, depending on the time of year. Of those, about 5,100 are full-time workers.

The company said its median employee last year was a part-time hourly store worker who averaged 26.5 hours a week and earned $17,376.

Chipotle — $17,446

Chipotle employs about 130,000 people around the world, of whom about 125,000 work in one of the chain's 4,000 restaurants.

The company identified its median employee as a part-time hourly employee in Texas who worked 24 hours a week and earned $17,446 last year.

Dollar General — $18,876

Dollar General said the median worker across its 185,811 temporary, part-time, and full-time employees located in the US earned $18,876 last year.

McDonald's — $19,020

Fast food giant McDonald's said the median worker among full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary staff at the end of the year was a restaurant crew employee in Poland, who earned $19,020 last year.

Tractor Supply Co. — $24,376

Rural retailer Tractor Supply Co. employed 51,460 people last year, with about half working part time. The median worker earned $24,376.

Williams-Sonoma — $24,943

Williams-Sonoma, which also owns Pottery Barn and West Elm, said its median employee last year was a part-time sales associate in Northern California who earned $24,943.

Excluding permanent part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers, it said the median full-time employee earned $53,686 last year.

Lululemon — $26,179

Athletic apparel brand Lululemon employed about 39,000 people around the world, with the median worker earning $26,179 last year.

BJ's Wholesale Club — $26,797

Wholesale club BJ's employed around 35,000 workers across about 210 US locations. Its median worker earned $26,797 last year.

Target — $27,506

Retail giant Target employed about 400,000 workers, mostly at its fleet of around 2,000 US stores. The median worker was a part-time employee who earned $27,506 last year.

Walmart — $30,520

Walmart is the largest private employer in the US — and the world — with 2.1 million full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary associates worldwide.

The median worker made $30,520 last year.

Best Buy — $32,018

Best Buy had about 81,000 employees in the US and Canada, as well as a few hundred in China and India. The company said its median North American worker earned $32,018 last year.

O'Reilly Auto Parts — $33,054

O'Reilly's media worker, across some 89,339 full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers in the US, earned $33,054 last year.

Kroger — $34,552

Kroger employed more than 400,000 people across its grocery store brands in the US. The company says its median worker was a full-time associate in the Central region who made $34,552 last year.

Domino's — $36,776

Domino's had nearly 20,000 full-time, part-time, seasonal, or temporary employees globally, including 9,500 in the US.

The pizza chain's median employee was a part-time delivery driver who worked less than 30 hours a week and made $36,776 last year.

Lowe's — $37,371

Lowe's had 266,000 full-time, part-time, or temporary workers, including about 5,200 employees overseas.

The median worker was a full-time hourly associate in the US who made $37,371 last year.

Home Depot — $37,881

Home Depot employed about 472,400 people last year, including nearly 50,000 outside the US.

The median worker was an hourly associate in the US, who made $37,881.

Genuine Parts Company — $38,901

NAPA parent company Genuine Parts Company said its median worker in 2025 was paid $38,901 last year.

Amazon — $40,206

Amazon's median employee across its global workforce of full-time, part-time, and permanent workers earned $40,206 last year.

The e-commerce giant said its median full-time US worker made $53,211 last year, up from $47,990 the year before.

Amazon also said its hourly wage in fulfillment roles is more than $30 an hour when healthcare and other benefits are included.

Costco — $49,186

Costco topped the list with a median worker compensation of $49,186 last year.

The wholesale club employed 336,700 people worldwide, including about 222,000 in the US.

The company also said that more than a third of its workforce is part-time, seasonal, or temporary. Its median full-time worker earned $66,262 last year.

• Networking can help you land interviews and stand out, career advisors told Business Insider.
• Building relationships is often more effective than relying solely on a résumé or an application.
• Job seekers need to apply, then "hustle" to find out who they might know at the company.

College might prepare you for a job, though not necessarily how to network for one.

Building those professional relationships matters more than ever because while it's easier than ever to apply to jobs, it's often harder to stand out from a pile of AI-tailored résumés.

Finding ways to connect with people on the inside might be enough to get a hiring manager to give your application a thumbs-up.

This approach is often more effective than expecting your résumé to do the talking for you, career advisors told Business Insider. And this is especially the case if you're just starting out and don't have a lot of experience.

"People hire people, they don't hire paper," said Andy Chan, who runs the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest University.

He said that job seekers too often think of recruiting and applying for jobs as transactional processes. While they are, to some degree, Chan said, it's important to try to ground your interactions with an employer in relationships.

That matters because it's a tough job market in many industries. While unemployment remains in check, some companies are shedding workers, and some employers want more from their entry-level hires.

He said the No. 1 way to get an interview is to know someone at an organization or have someone recommend that you talk to someone at a specific company.

After a conversation, Chan said, the person you spoke with might then talk to the hiring manager or someone in HR and let them know you're applying, Chan said.

"That bit of endorsement is frequently the key to getting an interview," he said.

Spend two-thirds of your time networking

Chan said it's important that most job seekers, including those seeking their first professional role, spend about 60% to 70% of their time talking with people and only 30% to 40% applying online.

"Most students will say, 'Whoa, I spent like 100% of my time online,'" he said, adding that some will then say that their approach hasn't worked.

If you don't have many contacts in your field, college career offices can often help connect you with relevant alumni and corporate recruiters.

You can also try to make connections by asking someone you admire to chat for a few minutes about their career trajectory. It's what's sometimes called an informational interview.

The trick is to first do your homework by researching the employer and the person you're speaking with.

"If you're going to ask for 15 minutes of their time, be sure to show that you spent 15 minutes of yours," Madeline Mann, a career coach and CEO of Self Made Millennial, previously told Business Insider.

Apply, then start your hustle

Jane Curran, global head of HR operations at the real-estate company JLL, said that job seekers still need to apply for roles that make sense for them. After all, you need to be on an employer's radar to be in contention. Yet, she said, there's more work to do after submitting an application.

"Then you have to turn that into a hustle," Curran said. That could mean going to LinkedIn to see who might have a connection at that company, she said.

"You have to go figure out who knows who, and how am I going to stand out? How am I going to get a job interview?" Curran said.

Catherine Fisher, a career expert with LinkedIn, said that networking doesn't have to mean taking someone out to dinner three nights a week.

Making or keeping a connection with someone can involve small gestures like offering a substantive comment on someone's post or shooting them a text, Fisher said. Other times, like if you're asking someone for a bigger favor, it might be time to buy them a coffee, she said.

"Networking is a muscle that you're going to have to flex throughout your entire career," Fisher said. "When you're job searching, you're going to be flexing it more."

She said that too often, people think they should only reach out when they have something big to share. Instead, Fisher said, it can be as simple as messaging to say you were thinking of the person and enjoyed the last conversation.

"You just want to keep those relationships warm," she said, "because they will serve you when you need them."

Fisher said a key part of it is being "reciprocal" so that when people contact you, you give your time, too.

"It just becomes this kind of circle of networking," she said.

Don't overlook your résumé

Even though networking is so often essential, that doesn't mean your résumé can be an afterthought, said Kathleen Powell, chief career officer at William & Mary.

Many employers use applicant-tracking software to take a first pass at reviewing résumés, in part by looking for keywords that match those found in the job posting.

She said that because a recruiter or hiring manager might only scan a résumé quickly, it's important that it be well-organized.

"If it's in front of a human, make it easy for that human to find the things," Powell said.

Do you have a story to share about your job search? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

An earlier version of this story appeared on July 16, 2025.

• New York street vendors are struggling with high overhead costs and a dwindling customer base.
• The city's "congestion pricing" toll for cars entering lower Manhattan began in early 2025.
• Vendors told Business Insider that the extra expense eats into their already-thin profit margins.

Benjamin Li races against the clock. If he's late, he'll have to pay a $9 toll.

He rises at 3:45 a.m., leaving him barely enough time to get dressed, pick up his smoothie cart from storage, and drive it across the bridge from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan before 5.

Last month, I spoke with over a dozen street vendors about their jobs, and whether they think Mayor Zohran Mamdani's affordability agenda can offset what he calls "halalflation." Many mentioned a problem that surprised me: The city's latest solution to curb traffic is breaking vendors' budgets.

The city began enforcing congestion pricing, a toll for cars entering lower Manhattan from outer boroughs or New Jersey, in early 2025. Drivers pay between $9 and $22 per trip during daytime hours, depending on their vehicle. The revenue is directed toward funding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates NYC's subways and bus system.

The new tolls are just one challenge NYC's street vendors are struggling with. Longtime vendors told me they show up despite extreme weather conditions, significant permitting costs, unpredictable monthly incomes, and the rising cost of food and gas. A dwindling customer base — owed to pervasive work-from-home culture and weakening tourism — is chipping away at their already-thin profit margins.

Food cart operators are finding ways to adapt to the year-and-a-half-old congestion price system. "A lot of people cover their license plates, but we don't do it," Li said. "We just do a legal way to save the money. That's why I have to sacrifice my sleep."

NYC is raking in money, but vendors can't afford another expense

New York City has seen wins from congestion pricing: In the first year, 27 million fewer vehicles entered the city in the designated "congestion zone" south of 60th Street in Manhattan, decreasing traffic by 11% and improving crossing speeds by up to 51%. The state also reported a decline in air pollution and traffic-related injuries.

All the vendors I spoke with said they live in Brooklyn or Queens and store the carts near their homes. Many mentioned waking up before dawn to cross into the congestion zone before rush hour pricing kicks in. A few said they typically net less than $200 a day from sales, and a $9 daily fare adds up to hundreds of dollars in monthly sunk costs.

Abdelhafeez Aly, 60, said the price of "everything is going up." And, with the toll and high overhead, "I'm not making money like before." With the $400 daily cost of stocking his cart with food and supplies, he said adding another expense isn't sustainable. Food costs in US cities have already jumped by about 22% in the last five years, and the Iran war is sending the cost of gas and propane soaring.

Even before hitting day-to-day prices, many street food vendors spend tens of thousands of dollars on setup costs, like scarce permits, which are often rented secondhand. With a limited number of daily customers, Aly and others said they're barely making ends meet.

"Congestion pricing has made it more expensive to bring the cart from Queens round trip," one vendor added. Another said raising prices to compensate isn't an option: "I cannot raise the price for the regulars, because they come every day and expect the food to be $9 or $10. If I raise it, they won't want to come back."

Championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, congestion pricing has been a resounding success at both reducing traffic and generating money for the MTA. In its first year, the policy generated upwards of $550 million in net revenue, helped reduce commute times, and contributed to higher transit ridership.

A spokesperson for the MTA added that,"Anyone who has sat in traffic for hours knows that gridlock hurts our economy at every level, especially small businesses that rely on deliveries," and that "congestion pricing has helped business thrive in New York."

Mamdani's "Street Vendor Reform" agenda aims to help with some of the costs street food sellers face. The mayor and City Council plan to offer up more permits to vendors, meaning that more people will be able to get them directly from the city, paying $200 for a two-year license instead of shelling out tens of thousands to a third party. Mamdani is also hopeful plan to address housing and food costs with a rent freeze and city-owned grocery stores will make it easier for small business owners, like vendors, to afford the five boroughs.

For now, Li has become accustomed to his slightly nocturnal schedule. It's one of the few ways he can save a few bucks. Even so, his truck is covered in price hikes marked by duct tape and Sharpie.

"If I had enough money, I'd want to stay in bed," Li said.

• Emojis are cringe.
• I also love them — in text chains, where you can accomplish a lot with a single character.
• Which is why Google adding emojis to Gmail this year is a huge deal — for me. But you should start using them, too.

I love emojis.

Yup. That's me, in 2026. Out loud and proud.

The caveat — of course, there's a caveat — is that my emoji love is very specific: I love using emojis to modify messages in a text chat.

This feels dumb to explain, because you have phones, so you've almost certainly seen this, even if you're not using it yourself.

But to be clear: You use these when your friend tells you the dinner reservation is for 7, and you reply by appending a "thumbs up" to their note. Or someone posts something dumb in the groupchat, and you add a "ha ha" to the screenshot.

To me, it's a perfect form of communication: a one-character way to signal to someone else that you're picking up what they're putting down. And, crucially, that you don't need to add more than that.

Depending on the context, that thumbs up says "Gotcha." Or: "Agreed." Or: "We're good." Or: "I'm politely nodding along." Or: "See you there." The ha-ha means … OK, no need to explain.

The point is that tiny emojis in your texts augment your conversation, by adding a bit of nuance and acknowledgment stuff that's standard in an in-person interaction, and routinely lost when we communicate digitally. Using them makes me feel more efficient, but also more human.

Apple called these in-text emojis "tapbacks" when it introduced them in 2016, and I bet zero people who don't work at Apple have ever called them that. They're now standard anywhere you message people: Slack, Android phones, WhatsApp, and Facebook, etc.

The one place they didn't exist was where I really wanted them: in email.

At a minimum, letting me heart or thumbs up an email would let us all move along, instead of the endless cycle of "sounds good"/"looking forward"/"great me too"/"see you there" replies and counter-replies that so many email chains sputter into at the end. It also solves a very different problem: You didn't respond to my email. Did you get it? Do you agree? Do you hate me?

Cut to a few weeks ago, when I started seeing updates in my inbox telling me that Tyler had hearted my email. Or that the receptionist at a doctor's office was acknowledging my plan to call tomorrow:

My prayers have been … answered? How'd that happen?

Turns out, it has been in the works for a couple of years, courtesy of Google — the same company my colleague Katie thinks is going to ruin the internet. But how could a company bringing emojis to email be anything but unalloyed good?

Google first introduced the emoji reply option to a subset of Gmail users in October 2023 and has been gradually widening the circle, up until this January, when it became the default for all users around the world. And, based on my incredibly unscientific personal survey, people are just starting to use it.

Second caveat: Other than playing with this option while working on this story, I have yet to fully incorporate email emojis into my life.

One big reason is that, just like with Apple's tapbacks, Gmail emojis work best in an all-Gmail setting. I have personal and work Gmail accounts, but use them with web browsers and Apple's email app. Email emojis, just like email itself, are set up to work anywhere, on any client. But the interactions would be much smoother and seamless if I were on Gmail's dedicated app, says Blake Barnes, a Google VP who oversees product for Gmail.

And honestly, that might be motivation enough for me to swap email apps. But there's also a bit of a collective action problem: Those emoji responses really work best when you're using them with other people who use emoji responses. Everyone gets it; no one is surprised by it.

You don't have to wonder why a work contact you've never met in real life hearts your text. But it might jar you the first time you see it in your inbox.

So I'm giving myself a little time to adjust to the new world that just opened up. In my defense: When you've been nerdily dreaming about something for years, and it shows up one day without fanfare, it can be a little destabilizing.

But I'm also imploring you, dear reader, to start hearting and thumbs-upping your Gmails.

It's easy! And it will improve your life — and make me happy. Win, win.

• A version of this story originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter.
• Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here.

For decades in Silicon Valley, hardware engineers were the overlooked nerds of tech. They wore dad jeans, clunky tennis shoes, and quietly designed chips while software engineers soaked up the glamour, stock grants, and sky-high salaries.

The AI boom is flipping that script.

According to Levels.fyi data, hardware engineer compensation at the entry and mid-career levels is growing two to three times faster than software pay.

Companies building the physical infrastructure of AI (Nvidia, Broadcom, SpaceX, and others) are scrambling for talent. Suddenly, the people working with actual silicon, power systems, and cooling gear are becoming some of tech's hottest, and best-paid, hires.

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

• CEOs are getting creative with the labels they use for laid-off workers, like "lower-value human capital."
• PR experts said phrases like these can affect a company's long-term success, from hiring to team morale.
• Their biggest suggestion: Don't blame AI for C-suite decisions.

If you've been on the internet in the last week, you may have seen Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters describing some of his workers as "lower-value human capital."

On Tuesday, talking about planned layoffs in the bank, he said he was "replacing, in some cases, lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we're putting in." He later apologized for the comment.

Winters is one of many CEOs who've had to figure out how to talk about the people they're letting go. Companies across industries have announced layoffs, including Meta, Oracle, General Motors, and Nike. Several of them, such as Cisco, Salesforce, and Atlassian, have specifically cited AI as the reason for the layoffs.

Some, like Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, have drawn a sharp contrast between those who get to stay and those who don't. In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal released Wednesday, Prince divided his workforce into three buckets: the "builders," the "sellers," and the "measurers." Measurers — the people he's cutting — are middle managers and people who do jobs like internal audit.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, while announcing a 12% workforce reduction in March, said the company was letting go of "roles that do not adapt in our new world."

But public relations experts say these words have consequences — and there are ways to improve on the words used at these tough moments.

Stop using earnings call language in real conversations

Phrases like "lower value human capital" belong in earnings calls and board rooms, not outside.

"When companies restructure, the investor audience often drives the messaging — and language like 'lower-value human capital' signals decisiveness to a boardroom while landing like a grenade in the break room," said Michelle Sinning, a principal consultant at Colorado-based Bernstein Crisis Management.

Oliver Ellerton, the managing partner of Singapore-based public relations firm Ellerton & Co., said that in most cases, such labels aren't intended to be cruel, but rather they are just a "communication failure" from someone who never learned how to manage people.

"The tell is simple: when a leader reaches for spreadsheet language to describe human beings, it usually means they never made the jump from running the numbers to leading the people," Ellerton said.

He proposed a simple test on how to check if a layoff announcement is appropriate: "Would you say these exact words to the face of the person they're about? If not, they don't belong in a memo or a press release."

Don't say 'AI made us do it'

C-suite is framing layoffs as an inevitability in the age of AI, and that move will backfire.

Catherine Holt, CEO of the Boston-based marketing consultancy Coologee, said executives find it hard to say out loud that "a specific person, in a specific room, decided that a specific number of people would lose their livelihoods on a specific day."

"So, the vocabulary moves the decision somewhere else. The market did it. The technology did it. The future did it," Hold said.

Holt said that it's important to name the decisions as decisions, not inevitabilities. For example, by saying, "We have decided to restructure these teams because we believe AI will do most of this work within eighteen months, and we would rather make this change now than wait."

Sinning from Bernstein has a similar suggestion: own the decision, and say that a person made the call, not AI.

"The leaders who say so out loud will always fare better than the ones who outsource accountability to an algorithm," Sinning said.

Separate the worker from the role

Attaching labels to people, rather than to the jobs they work in, is a bad strategy.

"Separate the worker from the role. A role becoming obsolete is a real thing. A person becoming obsolete is not, and the language should never imply otherwise," Holt said.

She added that the companies that talk about layoffs empathetically are those who say phrases like "roles we are eliminating" and "people we are working to redeploy or transition with support."

Empathy needs to go further to be genuine, including concrete retrenchment benefits like severance pay, extended health coverage, honest recommendations, and network introductions, she said.

These moves are crucial to companies' long-term success, the PR experts said.

"Reputation travels fast, and these phrases are durable. They don't disappear when the news cycle ends; they become the screenshot, the Glassdoor review, and now the answer an AI gives when someone asks what it's like to work there," Ellerton said.

Eventually, they could lead to weaker recruitment and demoralized teams that stop going the extra mile, he said.

Sinning said there's another big reason such vocabulary could backfire.

"The companies making the loudest claims carry the most exposure if the AI transformation story doesn't unfold as predicted, which is a genuine risk," she said.

• Consoles, subscriptions, and games are getting more expensive.
• Analysts tell BI the gaming model faces pressure from all sides.
• Players with old consoles and games can still spend little, but staying current is getting expensive.

For years, video games looked like one of the best deals in entertainment: buy a console, buy a game, plug them into your home television, and play for hours.

That bargain feels a lot less simple today. Price increases are hitting almost every layer of the hobby.

Hardware prices have increased in the past year: Microsoft's Xbox Series S jumped from $379.99 to $399.99 in October, and the Playstation 5 Disc Edition's price rose from $549.99 to $649.99 in April.

Nintendo's Switch 2 currently costs $449.99, but will increase to $499.99 in September. The system's Mario Kart World, priced at $79.99, has become a prominent example of the industry inching toward the era of the $80 game.

Software has seen price increases, too. PlayStation Plus' monthly Essential plan went from $9.99 to $10.99 in May, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate jumped $10 a month in October to $29.99 before the company announced a cut in April to $22.99.

PC gamers are facing their own squeeze, as memory prices continue to rise.

Analysts tell Business Insider there isn't a simple fix to gaming's upward pricing shifts.

"The reason so many parts of gaming are getting more expensive at once is that the whole stack is under pressure," James Sheridan, CEO of Sheridan Technologies and a former firmware engineer for HP, said. "The industry is being squeezed from both ends."

Sheridan pointed to a list of pressures facing the gaming industry, including tariffs, rising hardware costs, and competition for semiconductors amid the AI boom.

Those cost pressures are being passed on to consumers through higher prices for games, consoles, and accessories. Sheridan said consumers are also being offered more ways to spend after they buy the base consoles and games.

Dan Mazei, a principal at All Tangled Roots and the former head of communications at Activision Blizzard, told Business Insider that rising game prices are also tied to the economics of big-budget development for major, high-budget games known as AAA titles.

"Game prices will continue to grow as development cycles remain both lengthy and monumentally costly," Mazei said. "There aren't margins to easily shave, at least with AAA titles, given aggressive revenue targets against the sunk costs."

The price hikes haven't hit every player equally. A gamer with an old console and offline games can still spend very little.

It's players who want to keep up with the newest hardware, major game releases, online subscriptions, and high-end PC parts who are facing increases from nearly every direction.

And gamers are just getting ready for some hotly anticipated new releases for the rest of 2026, including the next installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

"The early strategy was to acquire users and build habit," Sheridan said. "Now, consumers are not just paying higher sticker prices, they are being offered more ways to spend after they enter the ecosystem."

Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.