• Todd Kleperis is moving from Florida to Lazio, Italy, after being unhappy in the US.
• He’s lived in the US and Asia, and is following a friend to Italy for a slower pace of life.
• Italy’s family-oriented culture, affordable homes, and free healthcare were selling points.

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Todd Kleperis, 54, a Florida resident who is leaving the Sarasota area and moving to Lazio, Italy, about an hour south of Rome. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I’m 54 years old, and I don’t know how long I have left on the planet. Let’s say we can make it 10 to 15 more years. Are you happy? I haven’t been happy here in the last eight or nine years.

I made a deal with my wife a couple of years ago. I said, “If we’re still here, I want to be able to be out of here.” And she goes, “OK.” So that’s what happened.

The reason that I chose Italy was because I have a friend who is Italian who’s going back there.

He has blood cancer, and he wants to live out the rest of his life in an Italian family village. I like family, I like community, and I like close-knit groups.

I’ve known him my entire life. His family is all Italian. Three or four days a week, I’d be down at their house and experience what they had as a culture. And then when I came back to the United States, I was like, “Where is that culture?”

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, and my town was a small farming town that had about 6,000 people. I believe in small-town values, and I believe in trying to take care of people and doing the right thing.

Italy represents that to me because it’s still a lot of family, a lot of good values, a lot of good food, a lot of good culture — a lot of good everything. You’ve got the coasts, you’ve got skiing, you can go kayaking, you’ve got everything that I’d like to do outdoors. Everything that I can’t do in Florida during the summertime, I can do there.

I’ve been around the world too many different times to not do what I want to do.

I’ve lived abroad before and didn’t want to move back to the US

I spent five years working in Taiwan. Then I moved to Singapore, and then we bought a house in Thailand. Then I lived in China for nine years.

My wife got a job in the United States and asked if I wanted to go back. I said no. I said that 10 years ago, and I’ve been living in Florida ever since. But this year is the last year.

There are three questions I always ask before a move. If you can answer the three questions, then you know where you want to go: Do you like the food, do you like the people, and do you like the healthcare? If you have those three things, you could pretty much live wherever that is.

But people really need to understand that if they’re going to do this, there are things that they need as a criteria list that they should have set, and then they build around that.

For instance, if you have to have some type of international restaurant, then you don’t want to go to a small village because they will not have international restaurants — that’s just not going to happen. I’m not going to go to my local village and say, “Hey, why aren’t you making any Indian food?”

What drew me to Italy was the proximity to the rest of Europe and the cultural nuances of having a society that’s been around for a very long time. The culture is very solid, and I think the way Italians interact with each other is different. Life is at a little bit of a different pace, but it’s also a better pace. And, in my opinion, it’s a better way to live.

Homes are cheaper in Italy, plus healthcare is free once you’re a citizen

We bought a home about an hour south of Rome in Lazio. It’s a little village that nobody in America would know where it is. It’s so remote and there aren’t a lot of foreigners, which is perfect.

Our home in Florida is 2,800 square feet, and the home in Italy is 2,500 square feet. Homes in my neighborhood in Florida are about $750,000. In Italy, you can buy the same house for $100,000.

Now, I’d have to put probably $50,000 into it, but it’d be almost the same size. I’m going to put on a 200-square-foot glass room addition on my home in Italy, and it’ll be nearly at the same size as my home in Florida, and it’ll cost me an 18th of the cost.

My wife and I will do the residency the first year, and then after that, it’s only a two- to five-year stint before you can actually apply for citizenship — or 10 years, and you get citizenship as included.

We’re definitely nomadic, though. My wife will probably travel more than I will back and forth to the United States.

If you’re a couple in your 40s in the United States, you can almost rest assured that you’re going to be paying a couple of thousand dollars a month in health insurance. In Italy, once you have residency, you’re completely covered by the Italian government.

Just that one example changes the dynamic for people when they look at the long term. You hit 60 years old, and you’re lucky to get Medicare and Medicaid in United States in the next 15 to 20 years. Over in other countries — and I’m not just specifically talking Italy — they have a different system set up as you get older, so weigh your benefits and your minuses.

I’m always going to travel, and will always be around different parts of Italy. But I definitely see that small town as being part of my life, because a small town has a small culture with small belief systems, and it’s the kind of thing that I liked. That makes it easier.

• I didn’t expect the mothers of my son’s friends to become such a big part of my life.
• Our bond has extended beyond school logistics, offering us connection and emotional support.
• These friendships provide a judgment-free space where we can support and celebrate each other.

I never would have imagined that my closest adult friendships would form in school corridors. But over the last few years, the mothers of my son’s friends have become the people I turn to first. I turn to them for help, for company, and even for perspective.

I didn’t seek them out. We found each other through our sons, a group of five 12-year-old boys who have been together since the beginning of elementary school. It started with the usual small talk at pickups and birthday parties, the kind of surface-level politeness that doesn’t mean much at first. But the bond deepened over time, slowly but naturally.

Our friendship goes beyond the usual bond of school moms

We started sharing homework updates when one kid was out sick. Then came group chats about class projects, laughter over birthday party chaos, one-dish parties, and shared sighs at end-of-year events We shared so many moments together, often experiencing similar feelings and emotions.

Eventually, the conversations shifted. We stopped just talking about the boys and began opening up about ourselves. We connected about our jobs, our marriages, our exhaustion, our joy. Our connections stopped being just about school logistics and turned into something much more intimate.

When my son fell seriously ill and had to stay home for a few weeks, it was this group of moms that kept me going. They checked in, helped with classwork, and shared thoughtful advice. A kind friend even offered to take my other kids to her place if I wanted to focus fully on my sick child. That simple gesture meant everything.

They didn’t just ask about my son. They asked about me, and that kind of care stays with you.

We are united by life’s similarities

It wasn’t just that moment that made me realize how special our bond is. It’s been the pattern all along. When one of us is sick, overwhelmed, or dealing with a family emergency, the others step in. No one keeps score. No one expects perfection. We give what we can, when we can.

There is something powerful about going through the same season of life at the same time, raising children the same age, worrying about the same things: grades, puberty, sibling fights, or screen time.

The power of our judgment-free bond

What I value most about these friendships is that with them, I never feel the need to impress. No one judges when one of us forgets the submission date of a school project or a test. We talk openly about everything, from toddler tantrums to pregnancy woes, from our sons’ growing pains to our own frustrations and wins. We are honest about our parenting mistakes and generous with our advice, though none of us claims to have it all figured out.

We have celebrated each other, too. We have hosted get-togethers that honestly feel more fun for us than for our kids. Being together outside of the routine school setting made me realize how rare and refreshing this bond is.

These women have helped raise my kids in small but meaningful ways. They have helped me feel seen in moments of loneliness, especially during tough parenting phases when I felt invisible. And they have never hesitated to speak up when something needed to be addressed, whether it was academic concerns at school or the emotional well-being of one of the boys.

Even as life changes, our friendship hold steady

Recently, one friend from our group moved to another country. Her departure left a visible gap. My son misses his friend, and I miss mine. We gave her a warm farewell, filled with laughter and tears. It reminded all of us how lucky we were to have found each other. We have promised to meet whenever she visits, and I know we will.

Mostly, I feel grateful for these friends. I may not have chosen these women as friends in the traditional sense, but they have shaped my life in ways I never expected and have become some of the most fulfilling relationships of my adult life.

• Photos of Blackstone employees barricading their offices with furniture has been widely shared.
• People with knowledge of the events told BI the photos are real and shared what was happening.
• They said Blackstone employees were heroic and quick-thinking during the unthinkable event.

In every tragedy, certain images sear into the public’s memory. In Monday’s deadly shooting at a New York City office building, where a lone gunman killed four people, it’s a snapshot of couches and other furniture stacked against a door in Blackstone’s headquarters that stands out.

The photos circulating on popular Wall Street social media pages like Overheard on Wall Street depict a towering barricade of office chairs and couches stacked to the ceiling against a door — an ominous symbol of the danger outside.

The photos came from inside the offices of $1.3 trillion investment manager Blackstone, two people with direct knowledge of the events told Business Insider. They struck a nerve because they reflect the quick thinking that was unfolding inside, and which was verified by people who confirmed the photos.

They asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the tragic event.

One person with direct knowledge of the events said Blackstone employees moved quickly and worked together to pile up everything, including a refrigerator. Eventually, this person said, a SWAT team came to escort employees out of the building.

This person expressed pride in the employees, saying they have been showing support by calling each other individually to check in ever since.

A second person who confirmed the photos said Blackstone employees also barricaded themselves inside bathrooms, closets, and conference rooms. “It was a long day,” this person said, adding that some employees were hunkered down until past 10 p.m. as they waited for the authorities to clear the 44-floor building.

The lone shooter, who has been identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue. Police said he opened fire around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, killing a Blackstone executive, an executive from Rudin Management, as well as a security guard and NYPD officer in the lobby.

“Words cannot express the devastation we feel,” Blackstone said in a statement about Wesley LePatner, a real estate executive and mother of two children. “Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed. She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone,” the company said.

BI profiled LePatner in 2022 as a power player in Blackstone’s real estate team.

The office building also housed KPMG and the NFL, which police said was the shooter’s target. A spokesperson for Rudin Management said the building will remain closed as the authorities continue their investigation.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and lost last night, including our cherished Rudin colleague, a brave New York City police officer, a beloved lobby security guard and an employee at a tenant firm,” the firm added.

• Midtown officer shooter Shane Tamura left behind a note when he died.
• The note criticized the NFL and mentioned CTE, Business Insider has learned.
• Tamura’s note also referenced NFL player Terry Long.

The Midtown Manhattan corporate office shooter left behind a three-page handwritten note that criticized the NFL and said, “study my brain please” for the degenerative brain disease CTE, Business Insider has learned.

Investigators found the note inside the wallet of 27-year-old shooter Shane Tamura, who police said opened fire inside of 345 Park Avenue Monday evening, killing four people, including an NYPD officer and a Blackstone executive, before he turned the gun on himself. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The first page of Tamura’s note made references to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), asked “study my brain please,” and said, “I’m sorry,” said a law enforcement source who provided excerpts of the missive.

An excerpt from the second page of Tamura’s note mentioned late NFL player Terry Long, who died by suicide in 2005 by drinking antifreeze. He had been diagnosed with CTE after he died.

“Football gave me CTE and it cause me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,” Tamura’s note read. It added, “You can’t go against the NFL.”

“They’ll squash you,” another part of the second page of the note said.

The note’s third page read in part, “Please study brain for CTE.”

“The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us,” the third page also read, referring to the NFL.

This story is developing and will be updated.

• Meta will report second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday.
• Wall Street expects revenue to grow to $44.7 billion and EPS of $5.86.
• Analysts are paying close attention to the company’s AI projects and increased capex.

It’s Meta’s time to shine.

The Facebook parent is on deck to report earnings for the second quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday, and Wall Street analysts are feeling bullish on the tech giant’s coming results.

Analysts are expecting the company to report $44.7 billion in revenue for the last three-month period, compared to $42.3 billion in revenue for the first quarter. Earnings per share are expected to come in at $5.86, according to Bloomberg data.

Wall Street has increasingly come to see Meta as a key AI play, with the company on track to roll out two major data centers and profit from AI-driven advertising on its platforms.

Earlier in the year, the company also said it would spend up to $65 billion in capex as AI becomes a central growth strategy to the company.

Here’s what analysts are saying about the stock ahead of its next earnings report.

Bank of America: “Top Online ad stock”

Analysts at Bank of America said they expect Meta to beat consensus estimates for second-quarter earnings, pointing to positive checks they conducted on Meta’s advertising business.

Revenue could come in around $45.5 billion, they estimated, at the higher end of Meta’s guidance for the quarter.

In a note earlier this month, analysts called Meta a “Top Online ad stock” in 2025. That’s because the company looks best-positioned to reap the benefits from AI-driven advertising, they wrote, which they believe could support a higher valuation for the stock.

But Meta’s AI spending could be an issue.

“Expense risk on reports that Meta has ramped up AI hiring, and capex spend is the biggest concern into the print,” analysts wrote last week, adding that they expected the company’s total headcount to rise 2% for the quarter.

Analysts reiterated their “Buy” rating on the stock. Earlier this month, they lifted their price target to $775 from $765, which implies 8% upside from the stock’s current levels.

Oppenheimer: Ads are a bullish factor

Oppenheimer lifted its revenue outlook for Meta through the rest of 2025. Revenue could climb 4% in the second quarter, 9% in the third quarter, and 3% in the fourth quarter, analysts wrote in a note last month, citing the reduced risk of a tariff-induced recession as well as an improved outlook for the online ad market.

Still, Oppenheimer said it saw a handful of key risks looming over the stock. Here are some of the potential headwinds they see:

• Meta could struggle to innovate its AI features. “Scout” and Maverick,” the company’s latest AI models for Llama 4, “have dramatically trailed peers,” Oppenheimer said.
• Investors could sell Meta stock to divert proceeds to new tech IPOs.
• Meta’s ads could become less effective if privacy restrictions make it difficult for the company to track user data
• The company faces competition from the likes of Google, Microsoft, Pinterest, Twitter, and TikTok.

Oppenheimer reiterated its “Outperform” rating on the stock and lifted its price target to $775 a share, implying 8% upside from current levels.

Needham: ‘We expect META to over-deliver’

Needham had a mixed view of Meta headed into its second-quarter earnings. On the one hand, the firm’s analysts upgraded their rating for the stock from “Underperform” to “Hold,” citing two positive catalysts:

• Rising revenue. “Based on our channel checks, we expect META to over-deliver on our prior rev and margin estimates for 2Q25 and FY 25,” the analysts said, estimating that Meta would post 14% revenue growth and 6% earnings per share growth for the year.
• High productivity. Meta’s business could be more productive than other mega-cap tech firms, with the company scoring the highest on free cash flow relative to labor costs in 2024.

Still, analysts see a handful of risks ahead that held them back from rating the stock as a “buy.” Risks include pressure on Meta’s margins and free-cash flow, potentially higher-than-expected total labor costs due to stock-based compensation, and Meta’s use of several strategies in its business, which “wastes capital and adds risks,” analysts said.

Citizens: Capex could climb past $90 billion next year

Meta could lift its capital expenditures even higher as it ploughs more money into its AI and superintelligence projects, analysts at Citizens wrote in a note.

“With Meta making material investments in its superintelligence team, including researchers and compute, we believe the company is going through a significant investment cycle and we expect 2026 CapEx to surprise the Street as Meta builds multiple 1GQ or greater data centers,” they said, estimating capex could come in around $91 billion next year.

Stocks typically don’t benefit when a company is going through an investment cycle, analysts said. But the situation could be different for Meta, as AI can enhance the ad experience for users.

“To that end, we believe more compute and access to better models can help sustain revenue growth and we moderately increase our growth estimates for Meta,” analysts said.

The firm reiterated its “Market Outperform” rating and $750 price target on the stock, implying 5% upside from current levels.

CFRA Research: Hiring, ad spending, AI in focus

Angelo Zino, an analyst at CFRA Research, wrote this month that investors will likely be most interested in three things heading into Meta’s earnings call:

1. The implications of the company’s recent “AI hiring spree.”
2. The health of Meta’s ad spending across its social media platforms.
3. The company’s monetization of AI and other growth initiatives.

Still, Zino said he expects Meta to meet its expected revenue targets for the second and third quarters, largely due to increased stability in the digital ad market.

Meta’s ad impressions could see an increase of around 5%-6%, while the average price per ad could rise 9%-10% in both the second and third quarters, Zino said.

CFRA reiterated its “Buy” rating on the stock and lifted its price target to $800 from $750, implying 12% upside from current levels.

• Ray Dalio thinks investors shouldn’t skimp on adding gold or crypto to their portfolios.
• The famed investor is known for his takes on economic and financial risk.
• He sees gold and bitcoin as hedges against the devaluing of fiat currencies.

Hedge fund icon Ray Dalio hasn’t been feeling particularly upbeat about the prospects for America’s fiscal situation.

The founder of Bridgewater Associates, Dalio has lately been sounding the alarm on a brewing US debt crisis he believes is quickly approaching.

On an episode of the Master Investor podcast over the weekend, he discussed the current economy with host Wilfred Frost, stating that he thinks investors should allocate roughly 15% of their portfolio for either bitcoin or gold due to the currency debasement he sees unfolding as the US dollar is debased by rapid borrowing and deficit spending.

“If you were neutral on everything and optimizing your portfolio for the best return-to-risk ratio, you would have about 15% of your money in gold or bitcoin,” he said.

Dalio added that while he strongly prefers gold over bitcoin, he believes the real economic issue facing markets and investors is the devaluation of fiat money, a phenomenon which occurs in times of both economic excess and geopolitical tension, both of which apply to America’s current situation.

Citing previous historic examples, such as the market spasms of the 1970s, Dalio stressed the importance of holding an effective diversifier in your portfolio and holding 15% as a hedge against.

However, he also made it clear that he doesn’t think investors should “go overweight” in allocating more than 15% to these assets, stating that diversification was more important than trying to play the market.

Other financial experts, such as Ric Edelman, have said that it may make sense for investors to have as much as 40% of their portfolios allocated for crypto. But for someone like Dalio, a more measured approach is on brand.

“15% of a portfolio is a rather small share — after all, the remaining 85% can be invested however you like,” said Arthur Azizov, founder of B2 Ventures. “[Dalio] is simply encouraging people to have a solid foundation, so that in the event of unexpected circumstances, they have a more likely chance of making a profit.”

• TripAdvisor cofounder Steve Kaufer stepped down in 2022. Now, some people won’t respond to his LinkedIn messages.
• “That that didn’t used to happen to me, but okay, get used to your new life,” Kaufer said on the Grit podcast.
• Kaufer said that he now prefers running a smaller company because they “move faster.”

It turns out even CEOs can be left on read — especially if they’re no longer running a household name company.

Steve Kaufer cofounded TripAdvisor in 2000. Over his 22 years at the company, Kaufer sold his company for $212 million to IAC, navigated it through the 2005 Expedia spin-off and 2011 spin-off into a standalone public company, and built up a workforce of over 3,000 employees.

In 2022, Kaufer stepped down as CEO. Nowadays, Kaufer told the Grit podcast that one unexpected reality of leaving such a high-profile position is that some people don’t return his LinkedIn messages.

“I laugh at it sometimes when I reach out to someone on LinkedIn and I get ghosted,” Kaufer said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, that that didn’t used to happen to me, but okay, get used to your new life.'”

Losing the trappings of being CEO of a publicly traded company didn’t bother Kaufer, though he did think they “would have carried over a little bit more.”

Kaufer wasn’t an especially public-facing CEO. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Kaufer has yet to publish a book or join a slew of Big Tech boards. On the podcast, Kaufer said he intentionally kept a lower profile.

“I enjoyed solving the real business problems and I’d be out on stage or speaking gigs where I genuinely thought the publicity for the company was helpful,” Kaufer said. “I don’t miss it.”

Grit interviewer Joubin Mirzadegan asked Kaufer what the biggest downside of the job was. Kaufer said that it wasn’t having to do quarterly earnings calls or being in the public eye — it was the scale.

“I felt very responsible for the success of the company, for the 3,000 people,” Kaufer said.

Under Kaufer, TripAdvisor faced stiff competition from Google. Google Flights launched in 2011, the same year TripAdvisor spun off into its own private company. In 2016, Google launched a standalone travel app, which it has since shuttered. Kaufer said that Google’s travel play put the company in a “challenging place.”

Before starting TripAdvisor, Kaufer co-founded and led engineering for Centerline Software. The company never scaled to the size of TripAdvisor, and eventually, Kaufer and his fellow owners split the company and sold half.

Kaufer remembered his work at Centerline Software fondly, as well as the early days of running TripAdvisor.

“Smaller companies just move faster,” Kaufer said. “It was time for me to give up the seat to somebody who enjoyed figuring out how to move the company quicker, how to communicate to the entire company about the need for the speed.”

Kaufer’s own speediness, he said, was more “startup cowboy.”

Now, Kaufer is CEO of Give Freely, an automatic coupon finder that allows users to support their favorite charities while shopping online. The company is small, as Kaufer intended.

When TripAdvisor colleagues asked what he would do after leaving, Kaufer had a clear response: “I don’t know, but it’s going to start off as a one-person company or a 20-person company,” he said.

“I just want to start where I can get back to the days where I know everyone’s name,” Kaufer said. “It’s a real small, effective team with all the agility that comes with that.”

• Meta will start allowing job candidates to use an AI assistant in coding interviews.
• The company thinks the move, first reported by 404 Media, “makes LLM-based cheating less effective.”
• Meta said in a statement it’s “focused on using AI to help engineers with their day-to-day work.”

Is it cheating to use AI in a job interview? Not if the company’s OK with it.

Meta is, at least in some cases. The company is going to start allowing candidates to use an AI assistant in coding interviews.

404 Media’s Jason Koebler first reported the news, which Meta has confirmed to Business Insider.

A post on the company’s internal message board from earlier this month publicized “AI-Enabled Interviews.”

“Meta is developing a new type of coding interview in which candidates have access to an AI assistant,” the post read. “This is more representative of the developer environment that our future employees will work in, and also makes LLM-based cheating less effective.”

The post also said Meta is seeking “mock candidates” among its current employees to test out this interview process.

“The questions are still in development; data from you will help shape the future of interviewing at Meta,” it said.

“We’re obviously focused on using AI to help engineers with their day-to-day work, so it should be no surprise that we’re testing how to provide these tools to applicants during interviews,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to BI.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has talked about AI’s impact on coding before.

“Probably in 2025, we at Meta, as well as the other companies that are basically working on this, are going to have an AI that can effectively be a sort of midlevel engineer that you have at your company that can write code,” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in January.

Meta’s stance on candidates’ use of AI in job interviews breaks from that of its Big Tech peers. Amazon, for example, recently instructed internal recruiters to disqualify job applicants who are found to have used an AI tool in an interview. AI research lab Anthropic initially told job applicants not to use AI assistants during the job application process before reversing course.

Meta also plans to start using AI in its recruitment processes, specifically to automate tasks like testing coding skills and devising question prompts, according to an internal document obtained by BI.

“Like many other companies, we’re using AI to make recruiting more efficient and match candidates with open roles more quickly,” a Meta spokesperson told BI at the time. “Humans talking to humans will always be part of the interview process, that remains unchanged.”

• OpenAI launched Study Mode for ChatGPT.
• Study Mode aims to transform ChatGPT from a productivity tool into a learning companion.
• OpenAI’s move mirrors Google’s strategy to capture young users for long-term tech adoption.

OpenAI introduced a major update to ChatGPT on Tuesday with the launch of Study Mode, a new feature designed to help students learn, rather than just giving them answers.

This is the latest sign that education is becoming a new battlefield in the AI war.

ChatGPT has been seen as a cheating tool in the past because it helped students easily knock out essays and other homework without much work. Study Mode tackles this by purposely injecting friction into the process — friction that’s needed for humans to actually learn.

The move signals a strategic push by OpenAI to position its flagship AI product not just as a productivity tool, but as an educational companion that could help the company attract and retain more younger users.

“When ChatGPT is prompted to teach or tutor, it can significantly improve academic performance. But when it’s just used as an answer machine, it can hinder learning,” Leah Belsky, VP of education at OpenAI, said.

Younger mindshare

OpenAI sees Study Mode as part of a broader educational vision.

“For educators, AI can free up time for the human work of teaching. For institutions, AI will become core infrastructure, like the internet, reshaping how we teach, research, and run operations,” Belsky added. “For students, AI holds the most powerful potential of all, the ability to serve as a personal tutor that never gets tired of their questions.”

Winning the mindshare of a younger audience is key for Big Tech companies because, as these people grow up and enter the workforce, they often take the tools they learned to use in school and spread them across companies and the broader society.

Google mastered this technique years ago when it got young students hooked on free workplace apps, including Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Now, these users are older and have brought this software into more official work situations, where companies often pay for access through Google’s Workspace service.

Google vs. OpenAI, with Khan in the mix

A replay of this strategy is beginning to play out in the generative AI arena, where OpenAI, Google, and others are racing to redefine digital education through more personalized AI learning experiences.

Last year, Khan Academy, a pioneering online education provider, launched Khanmingo, an AI-powered assistant for teachers and students that uses OpenAI technology.

Earlier this year, Google announced Gemini for Education, which offers tools such as bespoke quizzes, AI-generated lesson plans and simulations, along with study video overviews. On Tuesday, the company unveiled new education features that are woven into its new AI Mode in Google Search.

Last week, OpenAI unveiled a tighter integration with Canvas, the leading learning app used by thousands of schools and colleges in the US. This week, the startup launched Study Mode. It’s available to all logged-in users of ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Team plans starting on Tuesday. It will roll out to ChatGPT Edu in coming weeks.

From answers to learning

Unlike traditional interactions with ChatGPT, which often deliver quick, complete answers, Study Mode actively avoids this, and instead guides students along a learning journey by asking them to clarify questions, while gauging their skill levels and tailoring explanations, quizzes and other responses accordingly.

In Study Mode, if a student tells the chatbot to just give the answer, the technology will respond by reminding them they’re here to learn, and then it will try to entice them back into the learning flow with another question or suggestion.

The technology incorporates Socratic questioning techniques, personalized feedback, and a knowledge check, with a goal of encouraging learners to reflect, struggle, and engage deeply — trying to mimic the role of a patient human tutor.

The feature was built with input from teachers, learning scientists, and pedagogy experts from about 40 institutions, according to OpenAI. The underlying system instructions were designed to foster curiosity and help students understand the material rather than memorize answers.

Study Mode’s current implementation uses custom system instructions rather than deep AI model training. This helped OpenAI release the first version of Study Mode quicker, and will let the company iterate on the product based on more student feedback. The startup said it plans to incorporate these behaviors into its core models over time, signaling an even deeper integration of pedagogy into AI design.

• NATO’s E-3 surveillance aircraft have been tracking the Ukraine war since the beginning.
• Crew members told Business Insider that they’ve noticed a shift in the air element of the war.
• As the front lines froze, air attacks shifted from close bombing runs to standoff strikes.

IN POLISH AIRSPACE — The crew of this NATO surveillance aircraft may not be able to see every detail of the fighting in Ukraine from its cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, but they still have a surprisingly clear picture of the battlefield.

From high above Eastern Europe, NATO’s airborne surveillance crews operating the alliance’s E-3 Sentry planes have tracked Russia’s evolving air war since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In the early days, aircrews watched Russian warplanes fly bombing runs toward the front lines. Now, aircraft are rarely crossing into Ukrainian airspace, having largely been replaced by standoff missile strikes and drone attacks as both sides rely more on air defenses and long-range firepower.

At the beginning of the war, “you saw a lot of activity.” Capt. Jasper, a Dutch surveillance controller who monitors the airspace and surface, told Business Insider aboard the E-3 during a recent mission over Eastern Europe in support of NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation.

But as the front lines gradually froze and the war became more static, there was “less activity with airplanes,” he said. “That’s actually what we saw on our side.”

In the early weeks of the invasion, Russian jets and helicopters were commonly seen in Ukrainian skies, flying deep into the country to support advancing forces, though often inadequately. But losses and effective Ukrainian air defenses, which Russia failed to suppress, blunted its efforts.

The war moved east, where Russia could lob missiles into Ukraine or let its bombers fire from relative safety. Both sides fielded air defenses so thick that the NATO aircrews watching from high above could see the shift — pilots on both sides stopped flying into range, and Russia’s air war became increasingly remote.

The skies over Ukraine have become a battlefield defined by denial, not air dominance. Neither side owns the skies, so Russia and Ukraine punish the enemy from a distance. And the E-3 surveillance crews have seen the difference.

NATO’s eyes in the sky

The E-3, a modified Boeing 707/320 passenger jet, can detect hostile aircraft, ships, and missile launchers from far away. It has a 360-degree rotating radar dome that can see over 300 miles across the air and surface, and high-tech sensors that, unlike ground stations, are not restricted by terrain or the Earth’s curvature.

The airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, can also track friendly assets and interface with them. Data collected by the plane can be easily distributed in real time to NATO aircraft, ships, or command centers, giving allies critical situational awareness during war or peacetime.

NATO received its first E-3 in the early 1980s, and the small-but-capable fleet has flown in support of numerous missions and conflict operations in the decades since, including over North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 marked a turning point for the AWACS fleet, which began to see increased activity in Eastern Europe. After Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO intensified its air patrols to better monitor Russian activities and deter any aggression on the alliance’s eastern flank.

Maj. Ben, an American officer and the E-3’s fighter allocator in charge of coordinating with other aircraft, said NATO’s air policing missions in Eastern Europe have gone from sporadic to regular since 2022.

“We fly more — provide more deterrence,” explained Maj. Ben, who, like other members of the multinational crew that BI spoke with during the flight, could only be identified by his rank and first name for security reasons.

The E-3 doesn’t carry weapons, but it provides situational awareness, coordination, and visibility that extend the alliance’s radar horizon by hundreds of miles and make it harder for an adversary to hide movements or attempt surprise attacks, boosting deterrence.

The AWACS fleet is also tracking how the battlefield has changed in Ukraine. Capt. Jasper said airpower was a heavy feature at the start of the full-scale invasion, but this slowed down as the war shifted from maneuver-heavy combat to a more attritional campaign, and the front lines became more static.

“What we see is more ISR flights — surveillance and reconnaissance flights — and not as much air activity into Ukraine anymore,” he explained, and recalled how the crew could watch on their computer screens as aircraft took off, flew toward the front lines, and turned away — signalling that a bombing run had ended.

Capt. Donny Demmers, a Dutch public affairs officer who was permitted to share his full name, said aircraft avoid getting too close to the front lines now because Ukraine and Russia are both fielding sophisticated air defense systems that threaten enemy jets.

“But you still see there will be a lot of missile attacks,” he explained. However, instead of close bombing runs, the attacks are carried out at longer ranges using standoff weapons.

Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have constantly pushed Kyiv’s Western military backers for additional air defense systems and ammunition to replenish exhausted stockpiles amid Russia’s worsening missile and drone attacks on major cities.

• I graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s and master’s, but I can’t land a full-time job.
• I also need a job to stay in the US, so I’m under a lot of pressure.
• I feel a lot of shame, and it’s taking its toll on me.

Last December, I graduated from Stanford University with my bachelor’s and master’s in English. Now, over 100 job applications later, I’m working three part-time jobs, living in one of the most expensive areas in the US, and constantly doubting where I should go and what I should do.

Three months before graduation, I started the grueling application process. I applied for project management, marketing, UX, and writing roles. I even applied to entry-level roles and postitons in Big Tech.

I personalized nearly all my résumés, wrote cover letters (mostly) without ChatGPT, conducted company research, and prepared hours for the few I got.

But nothing worked, and I’m still trying to figure out my next steps as a recent graduate.

I’ve struggled to find a job that will sponsor my work visa

One complicating factor in the job search has been my international status. I’m in the US on a student visa extension — known as Optional Practical Training — which means I could legally work in the US for one year without needing work visa sponsorship. However, I would need to find a job within 60 days after my OPT starts.

Two months postgrad, I was starting to panic. The 60-day unemployment on my OPT was ticking, and I was scared that I’d be sent home.

One day, complaining about all this to a friend and asking how their job was going, they showed me their company, an AI startup’s, website. I took a good look and said, “I could write copy better than this.” And that was my pitch to the CEO. A week and two rounds of interviews later, I was hired as their first marketing intern.

The three months at my first job passed like a blur. I was thrown into the world of tech, AI, B2B, CRM, and other increasingly frustrating acronyms. It was difficult, confusing.

Throughout my internship, I still applied for other roles. Despite my manager’s many verbal promises, I knew the startup wouldn’t be able to hire me full-time. I was proven right.

That meant back to the job search, back to the ticking clock

After I left that internship, I gathered myself up, gave myself one day to cry, and started the cycle all over again. I subscribed to at least a dozen job boards, followed Gen Z career influencers on LinkedIn, and reached out to senior tech writers for advice and consolation, repeating their words in my mind: “The economy is bad. This is not your fault.”

One piece of advice from a career blog stuck with me: to create, write, and document in public. So, I started a TikTok account. I branded myself a “non-techie in tech.” I shared my job search journey publicly. I also started posting on LinkedIn, where one post about my difficulty with the job search received a little virality.

Now, my three part-time jobs are barely enough to keep me afloat, even though they allow me to maintain my legal status in the US, for now. I capitalized on my admission to Stanford, helping students with their college essays as a freelancer. I use my English degree to be an essay editor for an EdTech company. I also help out an AI startup as a copywriter.

The job search is taking its toll on me

Throughout these six months, through various phases of unemployment and semi-employment, I’ve experienced a range of emotions: sudden bursts of motivation and drive, excitement about a position, but always ending with disheartenment after each job rejection, each “Thank you for your time.”

The hardest part of all this is telling my family, who worry constantly and ask what I would do next. I try my best to keep up a front, telling them the little successes, but they never know the true extent of my tiredness, of this quiet shame.

What had these past eight years in the US been all for? I’ve asked myself again and again. What use are these degrees if I couldn’t even get a full-time position that doesn’t involve me being in debt?

I joke about unemployment on Twitter, on TikTok, and commiserate with my fellow Stanford grads in similar predicaments. But as my outrageously high rent eats into my savings, as my health insurance expired, I grow more anxious and depressed with every passing day.

I’ve stopped applying for jobs for a month now. I feel like I should start again, as I only had six months left before I would need a company to sponsor my work visa, but I just can’t bring myself to it.

Amid the stress of money and immigration, I had forgotten why I had spent four years working toward two, seemingly useless, English degrees: and that was to read critically, to write with care, and above all, to create, to tell stories, to find community. I’m trying to practice that love for stories again, even during these times.

• The stock market has pushed past a wall of worry to hit fresh records this summer.
• But some are concerned that the rally is showing signs of overheating.
• Sources say they believe high margin debt and a muted reaction to trade news signal the rally is at risk.

This summer has been a complicated time for financial markets.

Despite constant speculation of turbulence ahead, major indexes have demonstrated an unshakeable ability to push past the noise and reach record highs.

For investors, the summer stock market rally is a relief after months of tariff-fueled uncertainty. But it’s also raising one uncomfortable question: Is the market getting ahead of itself?

“One of the fastest sell-offs thanks to Liberation Day then one of the fastest rebounds,” stated Jay Woods, chief global strategist of Freedom Capital Markets. “That rally back wasn’t an overheated market, it was a recovery.”

In the months since the April sell-off and recovery, though, other market experts have raised concerns that stocks are showing signs of overheating. As Tom Bruni, editor-in-chief and VP of community at Stocktwits, said recently, the market has been flashing signs of tougher days ahead.

Here are three signals market pros are watching to know how much steam the current rally has left.

The market’s reaction to tariffs

Tariffs have been a key input for investors all summer, but the reaction to positive updates has been relatively tepid compared to the volatile swings seen a few months ago.

The market moves in reaction to Trump’s deals with Japan and the European Union were tiny, but indexes eked out record highs after the news.

However, Dean Smith, chief strategist of FolioBeyond, warns that the market isn’t out of the woods when it comes to the trade war.

“The trade deals that are being announced are being viewed by many with some relief since ‘it could have been worse,'” he told Business Insider. “I contend it will get worse for the real economy, both because deals fall apart, or the agreed-upon tariffs actually start to have an adverse impact.”

Smith added that it can take longer for supply shocks to cause real economic damage than people expect, but others also say the tepid response is itself a sign that markets are feeling fatigued after the latest rally to all-time highs.

“News is not what’s important; it’s the market’s reaction to the news that tells the real story. And right now, investors are saying that the recent ‘good news’ isn’t good enough to keep prices moving higher after a record rally off the Liberation Day lows,” Bruni said.

Margin debt is rising

Smith also pointed to record levels of margin debt among investors. The trend of investors borrowing money to buy stocks is often considered a sign of an over-extended market rally or a speculative bubble.

According to data from Finra, margin debt has topped $1 trillion, an increase of 9.4% in the last month, and a jump of 25% in the last year.

“Much of the new credit is to younger investors with fewer reserves,” Smith said. “Any sort of hiccup could trigger a wave of selling due to margin calls. Leverage amplifies moves in both directions.”

This is likely partially fueled by the recent meme stock rally, which already seems to be running out of steam. Stocks like Opendoor, Krispy Kreme and Rocket Companies, which surged last week on retail-driven momentum, are already back in the red.

“The broader meme stock rally will only be sustained if the market can maintain sideways trading or upward momentum,” he stated. “If the broader equity and cryptocurrency markets begin to decline, it will be a significant headwind for meme stocks that thrive on risk-taking and retail speculation.”

The AI factor

The artificial intelligence boom may have helped fuel the market rally in recent years, but Smith said that he sees it as an “uncontrolled experiment” that has the power to upend recent market momentum.

“The role of fundamental investors in the market is rapidly declining in favor of fully automated quantitative strategies. AI is pushing that envelope, and is doing so with lightning speed, and zero regulatory guardrails.”

As Business Insider reported, quantitative hedge funds have indeed been struggling since June 2025 and are struggling to find answers. This growing reliance on AI is a pressing concern for Smith.

“No one truly knows how these AI models will work in an environment of financial stress,” he stated. “And no one knows what could set them off.”

• I’ve worked at Anthropologie for over two years and have seen customers repeat the same mistakes.
• Many customers leave clothes in the dressing room and ignore return policies.
• I’ve also noticed that some customers pass on the opportunity to upgrade an outfit with accessories.

I’ve worked at Anthropologie for over two years and have witnessed a lot of recurring mistakes that customers should be aware of.

From exploring only part of the store to ignoring return policies, here are six common mistakes I see customers make when they shop at Anthropologie.

Failing to use the sales associates’ expertise

Anthropologie associates can transform a shopping experience from good to great. However, I find that many customers don’t ask us for assistance.

Associates have extensive knowledge of clothing and styling and are experts in tracking down hidden gems. We can answer questions about specific pieces, recommend flattering outfits, and curate looks that suit a specific style and budget.

My store even has personal stylists to assist customers in the fitting room.

Displaying poor dressing room etiquette

Bad dressing room etiquette leads to a disarrayed, inefficient shopping environment that disrupts customer and employee flow. At my store, customers frequently leave trails of clothing around the fitting rooms.

I advise customers to practice proper etiquette by returning unwanted items to the sales associate and ensuring the space is ready for the next customer.

Associates aren’t expecting garments to be perfectly hung or folded, but returning items helps to maintain order.

Underestimating the importance of accessories

Accessories can easily elevate an outfit, but many customers overlook their potential to enhance an ensemble.

A statement necklace, a vibrant scarf, or eye-catching earrings can inject personality and flair into almost any outfit.

Exploring Anthropologie’s diverse range of accessories may inspire customers to experiment with new styles and revitalize their wardrobes.

Exploring only one area of the store

Anthropologie carries a variety of products, including apparel, accessories, home decor, and beauty essentials. However, some customers only explore a single department.

I encourage customers to venture beyond their comfort zones to enhance their shopping experience.

Ignoring return policies and restrictions

Understanding return policies and restrictions is crucial for a seamless shopping experience. Failing to follow Anthropologie’s return policies can cause frustration, particularly when customers attempt to return sale items with additional markdowns.

If a customer isn’t sure about a piece, I recommend trying on clothes at home and promptly returning them within 30 days. Customers must also refrain from cutting tags off, as removing them voids the item’s eligibility for return.

Maintaining an item’s original condition and preserving tags facilitates a smooth return transaction.

Not understanding associate responsibilities

Many customers approach sales associates stationed at the cash register or in certain zones with lengthy inquiries. Sales associates often operate within designated zones, so they may be unable to assist with a request outside their assigned area.

For example, if an associate is zoned at the register, they have to stay there to process transactions. Similarly, associates zoned in the fitting room may be unable to retrieve items from other areas of the store.

Instead, look for associates who are restocking shelves or organizing displays. These employees have the flexibility to locate items or answer lengthy questions.

This story was originally published on March 13, 2024, and most recently updated on July 29, 2025.

• Markets look like investors now believe the US economy is “recession-proof”
• DataTrek Research pointed to signs in stocks and bonds that reflect extremely high confidence in the US economy.
• Most forecasters on Wall Street also expect the US to avoid a recession this year.

“Recession-proof.”

Professional economists might balk at the phrase, but it’s how the stock and bond markets see the economy in the second half of 2025.

DataTrek Research wrote on Tuesday that markets are flashing signs of extreme confidence in the trajectory of the US economy. Nicholas Colas, cofounder of the firm, pointed to two signals being sent in the stock and bond markets in particular:

In the stock market, valuations look similar to levels seen during the internet boom in the 1990s, Colas said, with the S&P 500 achieving a series of record highs in recent weeks.

The benchmark index now looks like it’s 8% more expensive than it was during the dot-com bubble, based on the forward price-to-earnings multiple among S&P 500 companies, DataTrek said. Given earnings estimates for 2026, the index looks on track to be 23% more expensive than it was during the dot-com bubble next year.

There’s no way to explain those valuations without using a price-to-earnings ratio that implies “Peak confidence” or “Super Peak” confidence among investors, Colas said.

“Whether one likes or not, US large cap valuations imply at least a ‘highly recession resistant US economy,’ if not a ‘recession-proof’ one,” he said.

In the bond market, a similar story is unfolding in the 10-year US Treasury yield.

When recession odds decrease, investors tend to expect two things, Colas said:

• They don’t expect a decrease in inflation. Recessions are inherently disinflationary, and tend to reduce the overall inflation rate by an average of 4.4 percentage points, Colas said.
• They expect long-term interest rates to rise. That’s because investors don’t expect the Fed to lower interest rates to boost growth, leading to a higher 10-year yield.

The 10-year US Treasury yield hovered around 4.4% on Tuesday, higher than levels seen 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, the 10-year breakeven inflation rate hovered around 2.44% on Tuesday. That’s also higher than the average through 2010-2019, when inflation expectations hovered around 2%.

“The idea that markets are cutting future recession odds does a good job of explaining why nominal yields may remain high,” Colas said. “It is optimism about the US economy’s recession resistance, not pessimism regarding the Fed’s inflation fighting credentials, driving this phenomenon.”

The research firm said it was first introduced to the idea of a “recession-proof” US economy from a previous conversation with a financial journalist. The thesis is based on five things that show increased resilience in the US economy, Colas said:

1. The US economy avoided a recession during the 2010s. It was the first-ever decade in modern history where the economy didn’t have a downturn.
2. The economy avoided a recession that decade despite a handful of catalysts, like the Greek Debt Crisis and when the Fed raised interest rates in 2018.
3. Since 2018, there have been more job openings than unemployed workers. The labor shortage could buffer the job market during shocks that, in the past, would have caused a recession.
4. After the Great Financial Crisis, the US erected guardrails to keep the banking and financial sectors stable.
5. Since the late 2010s, stock valuations have climbed higher, a possible sign equity investors”were beginning to catch on” to the idea that the economy is more resistant to downturns that in past eras.

The US slipped into a recession at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and later entered a brief technical recession in 2022, when GDP contracted for two quarters in a row. But an official recession, which is declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research, hasn’t arrived since the Fed began raising interest rates.

Most forecasters on Wall Street expect the economy to cool off, but steer clear of an official downturn this year. According to a Bank of America survey conducted in July, 65% of global fund managers said they believed the most likely outcome for the world economy was a soft landing, while 21% said they believed the most likely outcome was a “no-landing,” a situation where inflation comes down and the economy continues to expand.

• I visit Disney World at least twice a month and often stay at the most expensive deluxe resorts.
• My favorite is Disney’s Riviera Resort. It has excellent pools and a range of nice rooms and villas.
• I also like the resort’s restaurants, like Topolino’s Terrace, and evening entertainment options.

I visit Disney World at least twice a month. On about half of my trips, I stay at the most expensive resorts on the property, which Disney labels “deluxe.”

Deluxe resorts are often the closest to the theme parks and feature upgraded amenities and special restaurants.

As they’re above Disney’s lower-cost value resorts and moderate options, they can get pricey. Starting rates at the deluxe resorts typically start at about $500 a night.

I love all of the high-end places I’ve stayed at, but if I had to recommend just one on the entire Disney World property, it’d be the Riviera Resort.

The resort brings a chic European style to the heart of Disney World

From the outside, the grayish resort doesn’t look like much. However, the interior is stunning and filled with custom artwork inspired by Disney’s princesses and movies set in Europe, like “The Aristocats.”

I also love that the resort has two pools. One is a dedicated quiet pool with plush seating and shaded tables that’s mainly for adults looking to relax. The other is more family-friendly with a slide and water features that are fun for kids.

There’s also plenty of upscale amenities on the property, like a beautiful gym and a rooftop bar overlooking the Disney Skyliner gondola system.

Even better, the Skyliner can easily take guests to two of Disney’s theme parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Getting to the latter can sometimes take about 30 minutes (and requires a transfer), but the ride to Epcot is only about eight minutes.

The resort has a broad range of accommodations, ranging from studios that sleep two to massive three-bedroom villas that sleep 12 and are complete with a formal dining room, full kitchen, and outdoor deck.

My favorite is the resort’s one-bedroom villa, which can sleep up to five people.

It has a beautiful main bedroom that’s attached to a marble-covered bathroom. The open living room and kitchen double as another sleeping space with two pull-down beds.

The villa has a lot of storage, which I really love. It means I can unpack and spread out, but my space never looks cluttered throughout my stay.

There are great dining options at Disney’s Riviera Resort

I often like to cook my own food to save money on Disney trips — it’s cheaper than buying every meal at the parks or a hotel. However, the Riviera Resort has great dining options for a splurge meal.

My favorite is Topolino’s Terrace for Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends. This character-dining experience is a delightful way to spend a morning.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy make their way around the restaurant to take photos with guests as they munch on dishes like sour-cream waffles with roasted apples and French-toast bread pudding.

Other dining options around the resort are Bar Riva, an excellent pool bar serving drinks and sizable lunch and dinner plates, and Primo Piatto, a quick-service restaurant dishing out everything from hot sandwiches and pizza to soups and salads.

Plus, there’s plenty to do on the property once the sun goes down

During the day, I love spending time in the resort’s pools. At night, I always find lots to do around the property.

The resort hosts nightly movies on its lawn, where you can catch an animated Disney classic. I also love the free marshmallow roasts that happen each evening around a fire.

When it’s time for the Epcot fireworks, I head up to Topolino’s Terrace for incredible viewing on the outdoor patio. About 30 minutes before the show begins, I like to grab a drink from the bar that I can enjoy outside— its old-fashioneds are incredible.

This is the resort I always recommend to friends

When friends ask me where to stay at Disney World, the Riviera Resort is always my first suggestion if they have extra room in their vacation budgets.

Though a stay can be pricey, I still think the resort is a good pick for its easy access to two theme parks, ample dining options, exceptional amenities, and large rooms for bigger families. I’ve stayed here a handful of times and always enjoy my vacation.

Even if the resort isn’t in your budget, you should still try to get to Topolino’s Terrace for breakfast.

• Shane Tamura, suspected of shooting four people in New York City on Tuesday, claimed in a note that he had CTE.
• The note found in his pocket referenced the NFL, and asked for his brain to be studied.
• CTE is associated with being repeatedly hit in the head.

A man who opened fire in a New York City office, killing four people and wounding others before turning the gun on himself, carried a note claiming to have a traumatic brain injury, authorities said.

The shooter was identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura.

A note found in his pocket stated that he suffered from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), and asked that his brain be studied. His note made references to the NFL, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,” Adams in a press conference, ESPN reported. “The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank.”

The incident occurred at 345 Park Avenue, a building which houses Blackstone, the NFL, and a KPMG office.

What is CTE?

CTE is a brain disorder that has been diagnosed in people who have suffered repeated head injuries, including some NFL players.

Brain researchers believe repeated, subconcussive hits to the head can damage nerve cells, causing serious disruption to cognitive function and mood.

Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, impaired decision making, anxiety, depression, personality changes, and impulsiveness.

The condition progresses over time, and can take years to develop.

There is no cure and there is no way to definitively diagnose CTE during life (it requires posthumous analysis of the brain).

However, there are medications and therapies that may help manage symptoms in people suspected to have CTE.

CTE is a hot-button topic in football

Contact sports like football, mixed martial arts, and rugby are a risk factor for CTE since they involve recurring impacts to the head, research shows. People in certain military roles, such as those routinely firing heavy weapons, also have a higher a risk of CTE.

The brain disease has become a controversial topic in professional sports leagues such as the NFL.

CTE has been identified in high-profile incidents involving former pro athletes who have died suddenly or committed violent crimes.

Ex-NFL player Phillip Adams who shot and killed six people and then himself in 2021. New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted a murder before his death by suicide at 27 years old. He was posthumously diagnosed with the worst case of CTE researchers had ever seen.

The shooter may have been targeting the NFL, Mayor Adams said

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Tamura, the suspect in the recent NYC shooting, was a football player in high school, and mentioned the NFL in the note, the police said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a press conference that authorities believe the shooter was trying to reach the NFL offices but reached the wrong floor.

• An NFL employee was seriously injured in Monday’s shooting at its New York City office building.
• NYC Mayor Eric Adams said the gunman appeared to be targeting the NFL over CTE, a degenerative brain disease.
• Read the note NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent to staff.

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a note to staff encouraging them to work remotely or take the day off following Monday’s fatal shooting at its New York City office building.

An NFL employee was seriously injured in the attack. Goodell said in the note sent Monday that the employee was in stable condition.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday on news channel PIX11 that a note was found on the shooter saying he had CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma, and that the gunman appeared to be targeting the NFL over CTE.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a contentious issue in contact sports like American football.

The gunman killed four people, including an NYPD officer and an executive at asset management firm Blackstone, after entering the office building at 345 Park Avenue. KPMG also occupies the building.

Police identified the gunman, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, as 27-year-old Shane Tamura.

Here’s the memo Commissioner Goodell sent to employees:

NFL Employees,

 As has been widely reported, a gunman committed an unspeakable act of violence in our building at 345 Park Avenue. One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition. NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family.

We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared. 

We are deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers who responded to this threat quickly and decisively and to Officer Islam, who gave his life to protect others.  

Please continue to pay close attention to GSOC notices for all available emergency information. These communications allow us to ensure that you are safe.

As you know, there are significant resources available to all employees, including grief counselors. Shortly, HR will send you more information on the available resources and how to take advantage of them.

Those based in New York should work remotely tomorrow. It is understandable if you prefer to take the day off.

There will be an increased security presence at 345 Park Avenue in the days and weeks to come.

Every one of you is a valued member of the NFL family. We will get through this together.  

Roger

• KPMG told staff that its Park Avenue office will be closed on Tuesday following the Monday evening shooting.
• Four people were killed after a shooter opened fire in 345 Park Avenue, where KPMG has offices.
• KPMG sent another internal memo to staff at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

KPMG told staff that its 345 Park Avenue office will remain closed on Tuesday, after a shooting in the midtown Manhattan office building on Monday evening left four people dead.

In a memo sent to staff at 11:04 p.m. on Monday, the Big Four consulting firm told staff to plan to work from home or another KPMG office on Tuesday. The memo, which Business Insider has seen, was signed by Yesenia Scheker Izquierdo, the managing partner for KPMG’s New York office.

KPMG has offices on several floors of the office block at 345 Park Avenue. On Monday evening, a gunman identified by police as 27-year-old Shane Tamura was captured on security camera footage entering the building with an M4 rifle.

He opened fire in the lobby and proceeded to the 33rd floor, the office of Rudin Management, a real estate company and the owner of the property. Among the four victims were an NYPD officer and an executive at the asset management firm Blackstone. Tamura was found dead at the scene.

In the memo sent to staff that evening, KPMG called the shooting “a terrible, tragic, and frightening event.”

The firm said in the memo that the 345 office would remain closed on Tuesday “in support of law enforcement continuing their activities.”

“Firm and New York leadership are working closely with security, law enforcement, and people relations to make sure we connect with and account for all personnel in our NYC offices,” the firm told staff.

A KPMG spokesperson confirmed to BI that the office was closed on Tuesday and that employees could work from home.

“At this time, we are not aware of any significant physical injuries to our KPMG colleagues,” the memo said.

In the memo, KPMG advised employees to respond to the “emergency text messages sent to everyone at KPMG in NYC.”

A KPMG employee told BI that two messages were sent to their corporate phone on Monday evening at around 7 p.m. asking them to confirm whether they were safe or needed assistance.

“This is KPMG. Law enforcement is onsite at 345 Park. Please continue sheltering in place until given further instructions by onsite law enforcement,” the second of the messages said, according to a screenshot seen by BI.

“Press 1 if you are okay and press 2 if you need assistance.”

The employee, who is based at the 345 Park Avenue office, said they would feel comfortable returning to the site when it reopened.

“A very horrific event for sure, however I believe the firm took the right measures ensure employees have felt safe during this time,” the person said.

KPMG sent a second memo to staff at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. The memo reads, in full:

“Update: 345 Park Avenue
Tim Walsh and Atif Zaim

July 28 was a terrible day at 345 Park Avenue. According to media reporting, multiple people lost their lives. Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific act and their families. We are not aware of any serious physical injuries to KPMG personnel.

We are grateful for the bravery of building security and law enforcement.

Our offices at 345 Park Avenue are closed, and we expect them to remain closed as the investigation continues, and we will keep our New York-based colleagues updated on the status of the office.

To our team who were in 345 Park Avenue yesterday — thank you for your bravery, patience, and compassion in a time of crisis. You are the embodiment of our very special culture at KPMG. In the hours and days ahead, take care of yourselves and please continue to look out for each other.

In this moment, we want you to know that we have resources available for anyone who feels the need to talk to someone. We will be providing resources, including counselors, on the ground and virtually to our New York teams and anyone who needs them.

Please stay safe and support each other.”

• A shooting at 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening resulted in four victims.
• Blackstone said real estate executive Wesley LePatner was among those killed.
• She was a top real estate executive there and a BI Rising Star in 2022.

Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner was among those killed on Monday by a gunman who entered the company’s Park Avenue offices, the private equity giant said in a statement Tuesday morning.

LePatner, a mother and wife, was the $1.2 trillion firm’s global head of core+ real estate and CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, or BREIT, an evergreen real estate fund. Her death has left the New York-based asset manager “heartbroken,” the statement said.

“Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed. She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone,” the statement continued.

LePatner, a Yale graduate and trustee of New York’s Met Musuem, was an executive at Goldman Sachs before joining Blackstone in 2014. She told Business Insider in 2022 that her unit was, “for all intents and purposes, a startup.”

“I faced all the challenges one could imagine when building a multibillion-dollar business — from hiring to ensuring standards remain high, moving quickly to keep up with growth, and staying ahead of market swings and growing pains,” she said.

LePatner is one of four victims who lost their lives to gunman, who has been identified by police as Shane Tamura. The gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the building as well.

This is a developing story. Please check back here for more information.

• Carmakers are tallying up an eye-watering bill from Trump’s tariffs.
• Jeep and Ram owner Stellantis said it expected the levies on imported vehicles to cost it around $1.4 billion this year.
• General Motors, Tesla, and VW have also reported big tariff hits in earnings in the past few weeks.

The auto industry is still trying to unravel a tangled tariff web, and the bill just keeps getting bigger.

Jeep and Ram owner Stellantis became the latest automaker to forecast a heavy hit from Trump’s tariffs on imported vehicles on Tuesday.

The Chrysler maker said that it expected tariffs to cost it around €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in the second half of this year, after a €300 million impact in the first half of 2025.

Stellantis, which builds Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep models in its factories in Canada and Mexico, has been hit hard by the Trump administration’s 25% tariff on vehicles and car parts imported into the US.

Other automakers are also feeling the pain. General Motors, which builds models for the US market in Korea, Mexico, and Canada, said last week that the tariffs had cut $1.1 billion off its profits in the last quarter.

CEO Mary Barra said that GM was working to reduce its tariff exposure and build up its US manufacturing presence, but the company warned that the worst was still to come. GM estimated that the tariffs could cost it between $4 and $5 billion this year.

Trump’s recent trade deals have slashed the tariffs on importing cars from Japan and Europe to the US from 25% to 15%, but manufacturers still have to deal with a hodgepodge of import restrictions and fees.

The 25% tax on automobile parts means that even carmakers who build their cars in the US face a serious tariff headache.

Tesla, which has factories in California and Texas but still uses some imported components, told investors last week it incurred a tariff-related cost of $300 million in the previous quarter, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja warning that costs are likely to increase in the coming months.

European manufacturer VW also said last week it had suffered a $1.1 billion tariff-related hit in the first half of this year, while Swedish carmaker Volvo took a $1.2 billion impairment charge in part due to the escalating cost of the levies.

Experts and analysts have warned that many of the costs facing automakers will be passed on to US consumers in the form of higher car prices and fewer models.

A study by the Center for Automotive Research published in April found that the 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts would hike the cost of vehicles produced in the US by over $4,000 and imported vehicles by nearly $9,000.

• Adam Gvili needed to pee 20 times a day, was often constipated, and had painful bowel movements.
• It took six years and appointments with many different specialists to identify the problem.
• He had a tight pelvic floor, the group of muscles that help us pee, poop, and have sex.

Adam Gvili was 19 when he first started needing to pee 20 times a day.

It would take him six years of misdiagnoses, costly appointments, and ineffective treatments to learn that his pelvic floor — a body part typically associated with women — was the culprit.

Gvili, now 35 and a New York-based physical therapist specializing in male pelvic health, told Business Insider that needing to pee often was the most frustrating symptom and affected his quality of life.

“That sucked because I was constantly reorganizing my life based off that. I get in the car and I’m like ‘wait, maybe I shouldn’t have coffee now, that might affect me. It’s a diuretic. Okay, I’ll wait until I get to work.’

“Finally, I get to work. I was like, ‘okay, I’m going to a meeting now. This is not good. What if I have to pee? Maybe I should pee now.'”

Within six to eight months of treatment involving manual therapy and exercises, Gvili’s symptoms were gone.

“Part of the journey now is educating the masses on what pelvic floor is,” he said.

Gvili said that lots of men are unaware they even have a pelvic floor and feel shameful of intimate problems.

“As a man, so much is tied to this region,” he said. “I think it’s important that people feel supported and they know that this is temporary and once you find the right treatment, you’ll get better.”

Research suggests up to 16% of American men under 50 experience pelvic floor dysfunction, where the hammock of muscles that sit in the pelvis and help us pee, poop, and have sex aren’t working correctly. (For women, it’s around 40%).

While it’s more common for women to have loose pelvic floor muscles, causing symptoms like urinary or bowel incontinence, men tend to have an over-active, tight pelvic floor.

There are a number of causes of a tight pelvic floor, including stress (Bloomberg recently reported on the rise of tight pelvic floors on Wall Street), habitually holding in urine or poop, muscular damage from prolonged sitting, abnormal posture or gait, sexual trauma, or injury to the pelvic muscles during surgery or childbirth.

As well as needing to pee often, Gvili experienced constipation, occasional premature ejaculation, and soreness in the penile and rectal area after going to the bathroom. Some men also feel pain in their penis, rectum, groin, or testicles, and erectile dysfunction.

Gvili was prescribed antibiotics and antidepressants, which didn’t help

Gvili knew his frequent peeing, which was “driving him nuts,” wasn’t normal. He consulted his primary care physician, who referred him to a urologist. There, he “went through the gamut of testing” (physical exams, blood tests, and urine and sperm cultures) to check for inflammation or infection. Everything came back clear, so doctors would chalk his symptoms up to anxiety or stress.

“They were just like, ‘Listen, objectively, everything is OK. You’re good. Just chill out.’ And it was far from OK,” he said.

Gvili saw a long line of specialists and tried multiple medications before he got the correct diagnosis. “I even went to Trump’s urologist,” he said.

A different doctor diagnosed him with chronic non-bacterial prostatitis, where the prostate or the surrounding muscles and tissue become inflamed, but not because of a bug. Although a test for bacteria in his urine was negative, he was given an antibiotic — used for bacterial infections — which didn’t help, he said.

Gvili was also prescribed a drug used to treat symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate, and antidepressants, but they did nothing.

He wanted his experience validated, so he turned to Google and Reddit, but he was bombarded with fads, like supplements for prostate health and fasting.

“You hear things like, ‘If you stop burdening your body with digestion, maybe it can finally heal,’ so you do the juice fasts, the cleanses, the restrictive diets, whatever might help. But looking back, a lot of that stuff doesn’t really make sense,'” he said.

“You feel incredibly alone, isolated, not really supported. You do get pretty dark; you have your dark days,” he said. “Like, what the hell is wrong with me? I feel like I’m breaking down.”

Pelvic floor therapy twice-weekly treated Gvili’s symptoms

The fourth pelvic floor therapist Gvili diagnosed him with a tight pelvic floor and was able to treat it.

“I think the first three didn’t think outside of the box as much,” he said, referring to the therapist’s ability to make him feel understood and relaxed during treatment.

Gvili, the founder of Pelvis NYC, had physical therapy twice a week and started seeing improvements, such as needing to pee less often and experiencing less muscle tension, after two to three months. After six months, he felt fully better, he said.

Now, as a trained pelvic floor therapist, he’s dedicated to preventing other men from going through what he did.

• A new tariff simulator shows that Chinese exports to the US could drop by $488 billion by 2027.
• China may redirect exports to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Russia.
• Delegations from the US and China are holding a third round of trade talks in Stockholm this week.

Chinese exports to the US are expected to plummet without a trade deal.

A new tariff scenario simulator by the Observatory of Economic Complexity shows Chinese exports to the US could decrease by $488 billion from now till 2027, if the two countries cannot come to an agreement and the higher tariffs on China proposed in April come to pass.

For US consumers, the sectors most affected will be computers, electrical equipment, toys, and clothing, according to the simulator.

The OEC simulator forecasts for China are based on what it calls the “Liberation Day scenario,” which refers to a 34% tariff imposed on China on April 2, on top of duties already pre-existing before the second Trump administration.

But these goods won’t simply remain in China. In place of the US, the simulator predicts that Chinese exports to Southeast Asia will see a major spike, followed by smaller gains across Europe, for EU members like Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

According to the simulator, Vietnam and India could each receive around $38 billion and $40 billion more worth of Chinese products in two years, while Russia could potentially import $33.1 billion more from its neighbour.

The predicted figures come as delegations from both countries race to negotiate a truce before high tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese goods return on August 12. Teams led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng convened in Stockholm on Monday, marking their third meeting in three months.

The delegations previously met twice in Geneva and London in May and June and agreed on a trade framework.

Ahead of the meeting, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a Monday interview with MSNBC that being able to meet with China’s negotiators regularly gives the US “a good footing for these negotiations.”

Last week, in an interview with Fox News, Bessent said there will “likely” be an extension to the current tariff pause and that “trade is in a very good place with China.”

On April 2, the Trump administration first imposed a 34% tariff on China, then escalated the duties to as high as 245% after a few weeks of back-and-forth retaliations with China. The duties were later suspended for 90 days on May 12 to help ease trade negotiations, but the baseline 10% tariff remains.

The White House and the Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

• I didn’t want to move to Texas, but felt like I had little choice.
• Looking back, I wish I’d stuck up for myself and had more serious conversations before moving.
• I would have asked my now ex-husband how he envisioned our future and if we could update our prenup.

I never imagined living anywhere else but New York City. It’s where my grandparents met, where I went to college, got married, and gave birth to my two kids.

So, when my husband suddenly wanted to move to his home city of Houston after four years of marriage, it came as a shock.

He was the breadwinner of the family, so I agreed without much fuss. He said it would be temporary, but I felt nervous in my gut.

Two months later, we were packed and off to Texas. Three years later, I was going through a divorce and stuck here.

Looking back, there are many things I wish I’d asked and done differently before we moved. It probably wouldn’t have prevented our divorce, but it could have prevented, or at least curtailed, the pain and regret I still feel five years after.

I should have asked how my ex imagined our future 5 and 10 years later

Perhaps, if I’d been clearer on his intentions for our future, I may have never agreed to leave New York. I never asked because I feared it could lead to a fight.

During the divorce, I actually did ask him where he wanted to live long-term because I really did not know his feelings.

Of course, he wanted to stay in Houston, where his family, friends, and memories were. And because our divorce was filed in Houston, that is what happened. We stayed.

I was more homesick than ever during the divorce process. Houston was an unfamiliar place. I didn’t know anyone here, and adjusting to divorced motherhood while getting my own apartment, car, and job felt very isolating.

I should have changed our prenup before moving

Another thing I should have done was to change our prenup to include a split of some assets.

I had signed a terrible prenup days before our wedding, before having kids, that offered me one year of my rent paid by my ex.

The agreement waived spousal support and decreed that none of the property or assets acquired during our marriage was marital property, so nothing was split, and I didn’t receive a share of retirement benefits.

If talking about our future would have started a fight, I was pretty anxious that discussing changes to the prenup might end the marriage right then and there, so I never brought it up, and we never updated the terms, even after having kids.

I put my career on hold to raise the kids, but this meant that I didn’t protect myself financially while married, and so I didn’t have any savings to carry me through when everything fell apart.

I had been foolish to believe there was going to be good faith and care during the divorce. If I could, I would have altered the prenup to include a portion of retirement benefits from the length of the marriage so I had more of a financial cushion to support myself afterward.

I should have been more involved with our housing situation

Before moving over 1,000 miles from my roots, I wish I had asked that we purchase a home, even a small one or a fixer-upper.

I would have requested that the property be in both our names. As a stay-at-home mom, it would have given me some security that my well-being was considered, or, on the flip side, if he’d refused, I may have had more clarity that my well-being was not being considered.

In Texas, we rented a home at first, and then moved to a small apartment, where my ex remained after the divorce, and I found a new apartment to live in.

I wish I’d stood up for myself more

Staying quiet, not having these important conversations, and going with the flow put me at risk. I’m still recovering, years later.

My eyes well up when I think about how far my home is. The distance, time, money, and planning it takes to return to visit New York is overwhelming, though I manage it once a year or so.

I can’t help but think about how life would have looked if I spoke up. I wish I had those conversations before moving so far away from where I’m from, to ensure the plans involved my well-being and happiness.

Living in Texas until my kids finish high school, at least, is not what I expected, but I’m trying to focus less on my displacement grief and more on making memories with my kids, no matter where we live.

• Tired of chasing the American dream, Bianca Ramos and her husband moved to Mexico in 2024.
• They both earned six figures in the US, but since moving to Mexico they’ve downsized their life.
• Since the move, Ramos has more time to spend with her children and feels less stressed.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 36-year-old Bianca Ramos about moving from the US to Mexico. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

My husband and I are both Mexican-American. In our culture, we were taught to put our heads down and work hard to make a name for ourselves.

We both made six figures, so our household income was over $200,000, but I don’t know if we were really happy.

My father-in-law moved to America so my husband and his siblings could build a better life. When my husband and I got married in 2018, our aim was to keep pursuing the American dream by moving up the corporate ladder.

But we were stressed and exhausted. It felt like no matter how hard we worked, it would never be enough to meet our American dream.

In 2024, we moved our family to Mexico. We’re earning less money and downsized our lifestyle, but I have more time with my kids and get to redefine what success means to me. It’s been worth it.

I started to struggle with the idea of the American dream

In the US, I pursued a career in HR, focusing on inclusion and diversity. My husband worked in sales.

Before kids, all I thought about was moving up the corporate ladder. I had a vision to be a VP of HR.

We bought a four-bedroom house in Austin. He drove a Tundra, and I drove an Audi. A lot of our money was spent on paying the nanny for our two kids.

I felt pressure to keep upgrading our lives: a bigger house, nicer cars, and more things, because that’s what I thought success was.

Every upgrade meant working harder and losing time with my kids.

We initially struggled to have children. We finally had our son in 2021 and daughter in 2022. Having my son completely shifted my values. Time with my children felt more important than working in a corporate job to afford more stuff.

We decided to leave the US

Although I worked remotely in the US, back-to-back meetings made spending time with my kids difficult.

Around the same time, I also started thinking more about my identity as a Mexican-American. We began to think moving to Mexico could help our kids understand more about their cultural identity.

In 2022, my husband and I started talking about leaving America.

We spent two years having long conversations about moving. We cut back on our finances, started saving, and got our documentation for moving to Mexico. We slowly sold our things, including both of our cars, and put our house up for rent.

We both handed in our resignations and moved to Mexico in August 2024.

Telling our families was difficult. My husband’s family left Mexico to come here, so sitting them down and saying we were moving back was terrifying. We were afraid they’d feel like we were failing them.

We’ve made sacrifices financially

My husband, who dabbled in day trading before the move to Mexico, has decided to pursue it full-time. His pay is less predictable, but the flexible hours mean he can spend more time with us.

When I resigned from my job, my company offered me the option to move to a part-time, remote role with them. Now, I have the flexibility to focus on my family while also pursuing content creation. My ultimate goal is to build an online community for people who want more freedom and balance in their lives.

We make $2,400 from renting out our house in the States, but our professional incomes are less than they were in the US. Both of our businesses are in their infancy, but we have a big vision for our future.

We don’t consume just to consume anymore. In the States, I enjoyed interior design and filling my house with stuff, but in Mexico, my kids share a room and the decorations don’t match like they used to. Having everything looking pristine is no longer important or financially realistic.

While most things are less expensive in Mexico than in the States, branded shoes and clothing are more expensive here.

We live in a two-bedroom condo in Playa del Carmen, which is smaller than our old home. We pay $1,300 a month for rent, which is less than our monthly mortgage payment. We live a 10-minute walk from the beach, and our kids love sharing a room. It’s made me realize we never needed a big house to begin with.

I’m redefining success outside the corporate ladder

My life’s taken a dramatic turn. I have more time to be present with my children because I’m not stressed and always checking my emails.

I’ve never had so much freedom. I’m responsible for creating my own success and pursuing my business dreams. It’s a blessing to be able to grab control of my life.

In the US, work is always a part of your identity. When you meet new people, the first thing they’ll ask is what you do. In Mexico, people work to live instead of living to work. When you meet people, they ask about your family or invite you for a drink.

Walking away from my corporate dreams was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I worked so hard to get to where I was, and had more climbing to do. But I’m glad I’m betting on myself and redefining what the future looks like for me and my family.

Do you have a story to share about leaving America? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com.

• Big Tech now routinely lays off lots of people — while showering some new hires with huge pay packages.
• In some ways, this is what it looks like: Shifting resources from one part of the company to AI, which is supposed to be crucial.
• But look under the hood, and you’ll see a different story: Even when Big Tech does big layoffs, it ends up hiring lots of people right after.

Big Tech companies are laying people off.

Big Tech companies are also hiring some people — AI superstars — by offering them pay packages worth tens of millions of dollars. Meta just spent billions to hire a single executive.

How do we square those two things?

MG Siegler, the blogger-turned VC–turned blogger again, spells it out this way:

These companies are essentially saying to some employees that they’re so valuable that they’re worth paying not just a lot of money, but more money than basically anyone in the world gets paid — including, often, their own CEOs. And yet to others, they’re basically saying they’re worthless — I mean literally not worth paying anything to any longer.

A slightly longer way of saying it: In the minds of tech CEOs, getting AI right is a binary proposition. If they get it right, they get to survive and thrive as the tectonic plates shift; if they get it wrong, it’s the end. So by that logic, they can’t really overspend on AI.

At the same time, cuts are meant to show Wall Street that just because they’re all-in on AI, Big Tech hasn’t lost its mind: It will find other people and projects that aren’t as critical, and jettison them to help balance the scales.

This is “the enigma of success” that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was getting at in his most recent memo — where he noted that Microsoft was firing thousands of employees while its business was thriving.

But let’s complexify this just a tiny bit by pointing out that just because Big Tech companies fire thousands of people, that doesn’t mean their head count stays frozen. These guys keep finding ways to hire more people.

At the start of 2023, for instance, Meta had a little more than 77,000 employees. Then it went through rounds of massive layoffs, and its workforce shrank to 67,000 employees.

But since then, Meta has been steadily hiring. And as of the first quarter of this year, it was up to 76,834 workers — just about where it was two years ago.

You can see the same pattern play out at Google, another all-in-on-AI Big Tech company.

In the second quarter of 2023, Google employed 182,000 people, and then fired thousands of them. A year later, its head count was down to 179,600. But since then, it has swelled to 187,000 employees.

And Nadella’s Microsoft has fired thousands of employees itself this year. But Nadella says new hires mean the company’s head count is “relatively unchanged”.

Which should mean that when it reports earnings this week, it should have around 228,000 full-time workers — the level it was at a year ago. Don’t be surprised to see that number creep up in the future.

• Sales and trading divisions in Wall Street banks have been raking in record revenues.
• BI spoke to a Goldman intern and partner about the training process.
• Here’s what it’s like to intern for Goldman’s sales and trading desk as the business hits new highs.

It’s a good time to be a trader-in-training.

Whether you’re learning about currencies, derivatives, stocks, or bonds — sometimes markets are, well, slow. Not this year.

From Trump’s tariffs to the rise of AI, major shifts in how business gets done have fueled market volatility—and record revenues for banks—creating an ideal environment for aspiring traders to see fast-moving markets in action.

“We’ve been incredibly busy,” said Goldman Sachs partner Jennifer Roth. “The markets have been volatile, so it’s exciting to be on the trading floor,” added Roth, the bank’s global cohead of emerging markets and foreign exchange.

BI spoke with Roth and Steven Henry, a sales and trading division intern, to understand what one of the busiest years in trading looks like for college students working there this summer.

Henry, an MIT student, said he spent the first half of the summer in equities trading, and recently started on his second “rotation,” as Goldman calls it, in mortgage trading.

Bank trading desks facilitate the buying and selling of financial assets for hedge funds, pension funds, and other institutional investors. They also help these clients manage risk using tools like options, futures, and other derivatives. The division at Goldman posted record revenues last quarter, up about 36% from last year.

The experience, Henry said, has been overwhelming — in a good way.

“I didn’t expect to learn the amount that I have in such a short time. I think I can confidently say that during this internship so far, even just in the past few weeks, I’ve learned more than at any other point in my life.”

The day-to-day of a busy summer

The interns on Roth’s team help the sales and trading executives keep up with the news ahead of markets opening and synthesize what’s in their flooded inboxes each morning. Interns also get to work on market research — analyzing what goes into a good trade decision.

“They also do pitches for us, so once a week they’ll show what they’ve learned on the desk that week and pitch a trade to us, and we’ll ask them questions so they can really illustrate their understanding,” said Roth.

During his time on the equities trading team, Henry pitched stocks that he said weren’t just theoretical exercises — but real ideas that business leaders could act on.

“We’re researching real things that the desk would consider important to look at,” he said.

The most exciting part of the day for Henry (and what he said he spends most of his time on) has been sitting next to traders — absorbing the fast-paced cadence of their work and asking questions.

“I usually try to spend most of my time sitting with traders and learning from them, trying to understand the language that they speak, what they consider important, how they go throughout their days,” he said. “I think that’s been the best way for me to actually learn about the products and see how it comes out in real life.”

As for his schedule, Henry said he feels it’s important to be ready to leap into action, before, during, and after the trading day.

“For me, we try to get in a little before the market opens,” he said. “Then we stay with them throughout the day and see how things progress,” he said, adding that as an intern, he is aiming for “a holistic view of the full day of a trader.”

Getting a return offer on the trading floor

Roth started out as an intern herself at Goldman in 2002. Now, as a partner, she plays a key role in handing out offers to the interns she wants to work for her team after they graduate from college.

She doesn’t expect interns to be financial experts, but she’s looking for young people who eat, sleep, and breathe markets. After all, Wall Street traders are known to be at the desk for 10 or 12 hours a day.

“I want someone to express passion for the markets,” she said, adding: “Ultimately, you want to really, truly love what you do.”

She’s also looking for people who have demonstrated an ability to learn quickly and jump into the action.

“There are so many smart young people out there. I want someone who I can sit next to who can be a team player,” said Roth. “A lot of the training happens on the job, so I want someone who can pick up concepts quickly, who is willing to get their hands dirty and get involved in the nuances of each trade.”

That means asking a lot of questions, but also showing you have grasped what you learned so far.

Interns should strive to illustrate “that they understand the answers when they ask questions,” she said, adding:

“When I look back to when I was an intern, I wish I had asked more questions and took the opportunity to meet as many people as I could and learn as much as I could.”

• Several states offer sales tax exemptions on back-to-school supplies, including electronics.
• Many of the sales are timed for back-to-school shopping for students and families.
• The sales tax holidays in states like Florida and Massachusetts can offer big savings on computers and other items.

If you’re a Floridian eyeing a new MacBook, you might want to wait until next month to go shopping.

About a dozen US states are gearing up for the sales tax holidays they hold during back-to-school season each year. These holidays allow shoppers to buy certain items without paying state sales tax. For example, Florida’s sales tax holiday, held this year from August 1 to August 31, covers eligible clothing, shoes, accessories, school supplies, and computers that cost less than $1,500.

These state tax exemptions can offer big savings, especially on pricey items like electronics. In Massachusetts, shoppers could buy a brand new 16-inch MacBook Pro for its retail price of $2,499 instead of the estimated $2,720 a New Yorker would have to pay after tax. Apple is promoting the state tax exemptions on its website, as MacRumors previously reported.

Many of the states hold their tax holidays in July and August in preparation for students returning to school and advertise the tax-free period as a back-to-school sales tax holiday. The specific dates can vary from year to year.

Some also offer sales-tax breaks at other times of year on items such as emergency preparedness supplies or household appliances. Florida is set to give residents a tax break on hunting, camping, and fishing gear beginning September 8.

Sales taxes make up almost half of state tax revenues, according to 2024 Census data. These holidays combined will cost states and localities nearly $1.3 billion in lost revenue this year, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated.

These are some states that have sales tax holidays for electronics and school supplies. Each state’s department of revenue or taxation website has more details.

These states offer tax savings on computers, tech accessories, and more

• Alabama (July 18 to July 20): Computers less than $750 and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• Alaska (October 2024 to March 31, 2025): All retail sales in the Municipality of Skagway
• Arkansas (August 2 and August 3): Electronic devices, including laptops, and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• Florida (August 1 to August 31): Computers $1,500 or less, and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• Massachusetts (August 9 and August 10): Tangible personal property, including computers, $2,500 or less on
• Missouri (August 1 to August 3): Personal computers, $1,500 or less, and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• New Mexico (July 25 to July 27): Computers $1,000 or less, related hardware for $500 or less, and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• Ohio (August 1 to August 3): All tangible personal property that’s $500 or less
• South Carolina (August 1 to August 3): Computers and related supplies, as well as other items such as eligible clothing, bedding, and school supplies
• Tennessee (July 25 to July 27): Personal computers $1,500 or less, and other items such as eligible clothing and school supplies
• Virginia (August 1 to August 3): Cell phone chargers or batteries $60 or less

• West Virginia (August 1 to August 4): Computers $500 or less, and other items such as eligible clothing, school supplies, and sports equipment.

  These states have sales tax holidays for other items like back-to-school supplies

  Several states also offer sales tax holidays on other items, such as clothing, footwear, or back-to-school supplies. They include:
  Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.

• Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said developing critical-thinking skills is “very necessary” in today’s job market.
• She said human oversight is needed and that you shouldn’t “fully outsource your thinking” to AI.
• Graber also believes that developing a generalist skillset is key to thriving in the AI era.

AI is may be transforming your job, but critical thinking is still key.

That’s according to Bluesky CEO Jay Graber. She told Business Insider that developing critical-thinking skills is “very necessary” in this day and age.

“AI is able to automate a lot of critical-reasoning tasks, and if we fully outsource our own reasoning, it’s actually not good enough to run in an automated fashion,” said Graber, who previously founded a social network focused on events called Happening Inc.

If you’re a student, maybe that means writing your essays by hand, Graber said. The idea is to build “the muscle for critical thinking,” and keep it growing, the CEO said.

“You can’t just fully outsource your thinking, or an essay, to AI,” she said.

Graber said that Bluesky uses AI in areas like moderation and curation but never lets it operate autonomously. She said employees check and revise the output and use critical thinking to decide what actually gets implemented.

“When you let it run autonomously, it doesn’t have actual context or intelligence, or the many things that we need as humans to make good decisions,” Graber said. “And so it’s producing stuff that sounds or looks right without actually being right.”

Cultivating a range of skills

Graber advises embracing a generalist mindset. With AI providing “specialist expertise packaged up,” the real value lies in discerning what’s important.

“You need to have the good judgment of how you’re going to use it, and then you have to have the flexibility to take that knowledge and do something useful with it,” Graber said.

While these new skills are important to learn, Graber still believes job seekers should have a firm understanding of the basics of their industry.

“I think it’s still very necessary to learn all these skills, whether it’s writing or coding or anything else that you’re going to use AI assistance for,” Graber said.

Just because AI can write essays doesn’t mean people shouldn’t learn to write anymore, she said. The same applies to skills like coding, Graber said. While AI can help insert structure, figure out bugs, and generate code, Graber said you still need to have a solid foundation.

“If you don’t know what good code looks like, if you don’t know how to actually build a system, you’re not going to be able to evaluate its output,” Graber said.

• AI chatbots are likely to automate tasks related to communications, according to Microsoft researchers.
• Researchers analyzed 200,000 conversations with Microsoft Copilot.
• They caution that just because a job overlaps with AI doesn’t mean layoffs could be in the offing.

An AI chatbot is a pretty good interpreter. It can’t dredge a river.

Microsoft researchers analyzed which careers are most and least likely to be affected by generative AI and large language models (LLMs) based on an anonymized dataset of 200,000 conversations between users in the United States and the tech giant’s Copilot chatbot, formerly known as Bing Copilot.

They found that the jobs most likely to be affected involve those providing and communicating information, including translators, historians, and writers.

The researchers avoided the most pressing question for AI: the extent to which it will eliminate or even grow jobs in the workforce. Rival CEOs have disputed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s view that AI could wipe out up to half of white collar entry-level jobs in the next five years. Others in tech, like Mark Cuban, think AI will be a net job creator.

The paper doesn’t cover whether interpreters and translators (the occupations they found that most overlapped with AI) should be fearful about their future. Likewise, they didn’t conclude that dredge operators (among the least affected occupations) are safe.

“Our research shows that AI supports many tasks, particularly those involving research, writing, and communication, but does not indicate it can fully perform any single occupation,” Kiran Tomlinson, a senior researcher at Microsoft and the lead author of the paper, said in a statement to Business Insider. “As AI adoption accelerates, it’s important that we continue to study and better understand its societal and economic impact.”

Based on the chatbot data, researchers could see what users were asking the AI to do and what the AI was performing in response. They could then compare these findings to the types of tasks that are most likely to overlap with an AI chatbot.

Their findings echo the growing research and views that AI chatbots will likely have a much greater overlap with office jobs than those requiring physical work or interactions. If this holds true, it means AI would change a different part of the workforce than past technological revolutions.

Among the least affected jobs are phlebotomists, nursing assistants, and hazardous materials removal workers.

This doesn’t mean physical labor jobs aren’t affected. The researchers also cautioned that their data only concerns large language models.

“Other applications of AI could certainly affect occupations involving operating and monitoring machinery, such as truck driving,” they wrote.

• Joshua and Kelsey Harville both work full-time jobs and have a 16-month-old daughter.
• Juggling full-time jobs with a toddler is exhausting, the couple said, but being parents has been rewarding.
• Joshua said dads are often depicted as cold, heartless providers, and he wants to be caring and attentive.

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Joshua and Kelsey Harville, a 35-year-old Realtor and 29-year-old nurse in Fort Worth, Texas, respectively.

Business Insider has heard from dozens of millennial dads who are trying to take on a greater share of parenting responsibilities than previous generations. To share your story, please fill out this quick form.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Joshua Harville: Raising a child can feel like a full-time job on top of a full-time job. My wife Kelsey and I tag-team hours in the day between her work as a full-time nurse and my time as a full-time Realtor.

Our work can be exhausting, but thankfully, our schedules allow us to trade places when we need to care for our 16-month-old daughter. Sometimes, dropping off tasks to one another can feel like we’re splitting custody, even though we’re happily married.

We don’t pay for childcare. Our parents help look after her when they can. We’re so blessed and grateful for a close support system that loves us and refuses to take our money.

We both work full time

Joshua: Selling homes changes daily and sometimes by the hour. Scheduling is key. My job doesn’t pay hourly, so it’s really up to my own performance throughout the day.

I usually finish work around dinner time, but it’s not uncommon for us to sit on the couch at 10 p.m., and I’m still answering emails or texts. I’ve been trying to protect my downtime more and not add more to my plate.

Kelsey Harville: As a registered nurse, I work 13-hour shifts at the hospital, three days a week. I am also on call some days as a chemo nurse when our hospital needs extra hands.

Joshua: We manage to split the time with childcare to 35% for me and 65% for her in a given week. However, during those four days she’s at home, she does about 90% of the work.

Kelsey: I feel like I take on 70 to 75% of the childcare duties during the week.

Joshua: Our days are very fluid, and planning in advance helps us keep our heads.

A typical day in the life when Kelsey is working

Joshua: When Kelsey works, I do most of the childcare tasks between 6 a.m. and until her shift ends around 8 p.m. She FaceTimes us when she has a break at work to check in.

After getting our daughter breakfast, I may put on a Ms. Rachel video while focusing on work in the other room. She’ll watch long enough before pulling on my leg to spend time with her.

We’ll then hang out from noon until 1 p.m., and then — luckily for my work — it’s naptime. I’ll work while she sleeps for another two hours, and then she’ll be back up and ready to play.

We’ll go back and forth between her running around and me working until Kelsey gets home that night. I’ll then usually cook dinner for all of us to eat together, and then it’s bedtime.

If a buyer unexpectedly says they want to see a house that afternoon or night, it can throw the whole day for a loop.

I treat it like triaging in the medical field. I’ll text our moms to see if they can watch her for a couple of hours. I’m glad our parents support us on occasion when I can’t be at home.

Otherwise, I’ll try to reschedule with the client. If that doesn’t work, then she’s coming with me, as long as the client is comfortable with a toddler giggling and stamping around the house.

A typical day in the life when Joshua is working

Joshua: On days when Kelsey doesn’t work, I’m the first one up. I devote time to myself to pray, meditate, and work out before the busy day begins. Then, it’s straight to checking emails, working on social media content, and checking the market.

Once Kelsey and our daughter wake up, I find ways to help them around the house before getting back to work at my desk

Kelsey: When I am off work, I’m not one to wake up early. I’m up 30 minutes before her and then get her ready with breakfast, if Josh hasn’t already made some.

We eat and then play around for a bit before some activities we have planned throughout the day, like going to the library for a few hours or gymnastics on certain days. After that, she naps when she gets home, and I try to get some chores done around the house.

After the house is cleaned and she’s up, we’ll play until dinner or watch an episode or two of Bluey. We try to limit her screen time as much as we can. After dinner, it’s lights out before 9 p.m.

We both need to work

Kelsey: Being a stay-at-home mom or dad wasn’t an option for us.

I was on maternity leave for three months and loved being home with her, but I needed to fill the void. I get a lot of fulfillment from taking care of my patients and working with families, and I’ve bonded with many patients and coworkers.

My work is different every day, and it keeps me on my toes. I worked too hard for my degree to just be a stay-at-home mom.

Also, financially, living off one income is difficult. My job provides stability since I know I’ll get a paycheck every two weeks. Josh has some months where he does really well, and other months may not be great, depending on the economy or housing market.

Joshua: Since the birth of our daughter, I’ve closed on a third of the houses as I did around the same time last year. I’ve taken fewer clients, so the quality of my work doesn’t suffer from stretching myself too thin managing childcare and work.

Childcare isn’t solely responsible for the reduction in business; the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market has also cooled. I’ve been taking advantage of this slowdown to invest in family time, community service, and finishing my psychology degree.

We’re both hands-on with raising our daughter

Kelsey: Growing up, both my parents worked full-time, and I was in day care by the time I was six weeks old because my mom was ready to go back to work. She handled much of the childcare, making dinner, and the normal housewife duties on top of her job.

I have a great relationship with my dad, but he was more passive in our household. But Josh has always been hands-on with our daughter.

Joshua: Fathers in old movies and media have often been depicted as cold, heartless providers, and while I wanted to be a provider, I wanted to do it with care and attention.

Until I was 10, my single mother took care of me. My dad and stepdad were still present and compassionate in my upbringing, and I wanted the same and more for my daughter.

I’ve noticed many peers in my generation and younger are intentional and involved with their offspring, with a love-forward approach.

We get burned out, but it’s worth it

Joshua: We get burned out from running back and forth with an energetic toddler and a full-time work schedule.

About every three weeks, I’ll have a day when I just can’t. I try to recharge and veg out as much as I can, and then devote the next 20 days to hustling.

Kelsey: I get burned out every couple of days. On the four days I’m not working, I take on the majority of the responsibility for our daughter, which can be tiring. Right now, she’s teething, and by the end of the week, I’ll be drained.

But we agree that waking up the next morning and seeing her laughing and smiling overshadows the fatigue, making everything worth it.

Joshua: Watching her wave at strangers, learn new skills, and develop her personality has been one of the most rewarding experiences for us as parents. She’s the happiest little baby.

Do you have a story to share about being a millennial dad or mom? Contact this reporter, Brian Delk, at bdelk@insider.com.

• I recently received an ADHD diagnosis at 32.
• I’ve used coping mechanisms for years to make life easier without knowing why I was doing it.
• Now, I’m learning about thriving with ADHD, and the confirmation of a diagnosis is validating.

Aristotle said that knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. My latest ‘ah-ha’ moment is a long-suspected ADHD diagnosis, made official this month. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the median age for a mild ADHD diagnosis is 7. I’m 32.

I was hesitant to assign myself the label, since finding ADHD memes relatable is hardly a diagnosis, even when those memes feel like they were made with me in mind. Now that I’ve seen a specialist who confirmed my suspicions, the feeling of vindication is kind of exhilarating.

I’ve suspected I had ADHD for about 10 years

“When was the first time you suspected this?” the doctor asked.

Ten years ago, I was team-marking with other teachers, trapped for a full weekend with the task of grading hundreds of senior exams before the deadline. The other teachers were flying through essays, their red pens a blur.

I watched them for a bit, wondering how they were able to tune each other out. I graded two essays and then made some tea. I rewarded myself for finishing another essay with the slow removal of my jacket. Many buttons. Thrilling. And then one more essay, followed by a snack. The sound of my colleagues’ pens was distracting. The sound of the kettle boiling, even more so. Speaking of which…more tea? A bathroom break? I was bored senseless.

“How many have you done, Tayla?” I’d tackled four in the time the others had each graded 12. I told myself it was because the other teachers were more experienced.

I developed coping mechanisms long ago to mask symptoms

I shared the news of my diagnosis with a friend from school. “Seriously? But…you’re so productive?” she said, shocked. It was easy to slip through the cracks as a high achiever. ADHD diagnoses are often missed in girls — the ratio of boys to girls with ADHD is 3:1 in childhood, but in adulthood it’s much closer to 1:1. Apparently, girls with ADHD are more likely to make an effort to mask symptoms.

I got straight As in school (bar physical science, which felt like torture) and graduated from university magna cum laude. Along the way, I’d unknowingly been developing coping strategies, weaving them into my daily life. A major one was the subjects I chose.

In high school, I dropped two math classes in my final year; it wasn’t my strong suit. In university, excelling in psychology and English was easy — I loved both majors and would happily fixate on them for hours.

I’ve had a daily to-do list for decades. I voice note myself constantly. My calendar is so detailed that it looks encyclopedic. I schedule meetings and my toughest tasks during my most productive hours. I lock my phone away during work because I’ll scroll fruitlessly. And now I can see all of this for what it is: a plethora of coping mechanisms.

Even pursuing my writing career, I curated it around an ADHD diagnosis I didn’t yet have. I struggle to write on topics I don’t care about, so I built a roster of clients and publications in travel, a subject that obsesses me. Being self-employed has allowed me to tap into other interests, like coaching people in writing personal essays. I’ve always gravitated toward the form. After a quick Google, it turns out many associate oversharing with ADHD, too. Hmm.

I’m throwing myself into learning. I’m reading books about thriving with ADHD. I’m following relevant accounts on social media, knowing that I now belong in these communities. The best time to get this diagnosis was probably 25 years ago. But I have it now. I’m not convinced this is the “beginning of wisdom” as Aristotle says, but it’s the beginning of something. That’s good enough for now.

When the FBI raided Jeffrey Epstein’s homes in Manhattan and the US Virgin Islands, they seized more than 70 computers, iPads, and hard drives. They took boxes of shredded paper and financial documents. In a cabinet underneath a bookshelf in Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, they found a large plastic bin full of hard drives. They sawed open a metal safe and found inside it a binder full of CDs and even more hard drives.

This material, taken in 2019, forms the bulk of the Epstein files. The vast corpus of evidence has assumed an almost mythic status in recent weeks as questions swirl about Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, and his rich and powerful associates. The full release of the files could answer legitimate questions about how Epstein escaped accountability for trafficking and abusing young girls, the sources of his wealth, failures surrounding his death, and the nature of his relationships to powerful people with intelligence ties, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and CIA Director William Burns.

The unanswered questions have left room for wild speculation. At its most lurid, the unsubstantiated theory goes that Epstein pimped out teenage girls as part of a blackmail operation at the behest of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and was murdered in his jail cell to ensure he took his secrets to his grave.

If Epstein had anything to do with intelligence agencies, one might expect some hint of it to show up in all these files.

Four people who had access to the records seized by the FBI say they found nothing to indicate that Epstein had any role with US or foreign intelligence. There’s no sign that evidence was removed because it contained classified or sensitive information, they said. There was no mention of intelligence ties in court records or during the five-week trial of Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of trafficking girls to Epstein for sex.

“Nothing supports the contention that there was either a honeypot blackmail scheme or any association with intelligence,” one of the people with access to the seized records told Business Insider.

Of course, had Epstein been working as an intelligence asset in some fashion, it’s possible that there would be no trace of that in the seized records. “If you are working for the government — providing information to the government — that relationship is something that neither party necessarily wants to casually be discovered,” says Adam Hickey, a former top official in the Department of Justice’s national security division.

Hickey, who oversaw counterintelligence, espionage, and foreign computer hacking cases, had no involvement with the Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions. But he and other national security law experts told Business Insider it’s notable that neither Epstein nor Maxwell raised intelligence connections in their defense.

“You would expect him to want to prove that what he was doing was because the government sent him out to do it,” Hickey says. “That would be fodder for a defense.”

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The Trump administration’s recent backpedaling on a promise to release more documents from the Justice Department’s Epstein files has reignited long-standing suspicions that the government is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes and protecting his many powerful and influential associates.

FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, pushed for the release of the “Epstein files” before joining the administration, claiming the government was participating in a cover-up. The idea that Epstein had some kind of intelligence role has been promoted by Steve Bannon, who recorded hours of interviews with Epstein in the months before his death.

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi published several hundred pages of documents from the Justice Department’s trove, which she described as “Phase One” of the release. All but three pages had been made public years earlier. In some documents, the Justice Department bizarrely added new redactions to already-public records. (The Justice Department has denied Business Insider’s FOIA requests for many of the files; the denials are being appealed. Justice Department representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

This month, the Justice Department released a two-page memo announcing that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” Elon Musk, who left his government role in June in an ugly split with Trump, has led calls for the full release of the Epstein files, saying on X that doing so would be a priority for his new political party. MAGA-friendly pundits, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have pushed the theory — based on connect-the-dots leaps of logic — that Epstein was working for the Mossad.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bondi informed President Donald Trump in the spring that his name appeared in the Epstein files, though it’s not clear in what context. Trump and Epstein were friendly in the 1990s, before Epstein registered as a sex offender.

On Thursday and Friday, Justice Department officials met with Maxwell near the Florida prison where she’s serving a 20-year sentence.

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Theories about Epstein are rooted in mistrust: Epstein’s life and death represent failures of the institutions that were supposed to bring him to justice.

The conspiracy theories around intelligence make hay of his connections without offering much evidence beyond them. They note, for instance, that Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, the late British business tycoon Robert Maxwell, is widely believed to have worked for Israeli intelligence. Barak visited Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse on multiple occasions after Barak left office — something the former prime minister later said he regretted — and Epstein was an investor in one of Barak’s companies. Burns also met multiple times with Epstein while he was deputy Secretary of State, but before he led the CIA. A CIA spokesperson said the meetings were arranged so that Epstein could offer Burns career advice.

If he had had any connection to any governmental agency whatsoever, I would be the first person to know about it.Alan Dershowitz, former Epstein defense attorney

Two specific claims that are often cited to make the case that Epstein was an intelligence asset have been contradicted.

The first comes from a 2019 opinion column in the Daily Beast written by journalist Vicky Ward. According to Ward, Alex Acosta, the Florida prosecutor who gave Epstein a sweetheart deal in the mid-2000s that allowed him to serve a light jail sentence despite law enforcement’s belief that he had abused dozens of girls, was asked about the case during his vetting to be named labor secretary during the first Trump administration. “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone,” Acosta said, according to Ward’s anonymous source.

Acosta said the opposite when he spoke to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility for a report published in 2020. Asked whether he had knowledge of Epstein being “an intelligence asset,” Acosta told them, “the answer is no.”

Acosta’s response was buried in a footnote on page 169 of the 348-page report and was not widely seen. Acosta declined to comment for this story. “I was told what I was told and the person who’s told it to me has never backtracked from it,” Ward told Business Insider.

Alan Dershowitz, who represented Epstein in the Florida case, told Business Insider that Epstein told him he didn’t have ties to intelligence agencies. “He said ‘absolutely no.’ He said he wished he did, that it would’ve been very helpful” to get an even better deal, Dershowitz says. “If he had had any connection to any governmental agency whatsoever, I would be the first person to know about it.”

One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, accused Dershowitz of abuse, but later withdrew the allegation and said she “may have made a mistake.” Dershowitz has called for the public release of the Epstein files. “They would distinguish between true accusations and false accusations,” he said.

The second claim involves the existence of videos — filmed for the benefit of Epstein’s intelligence handlers, the theory goes — showing Epstein’s friends having sex with underage girls. Epstein’s victims have said he told them he had cameras throughout his homes. The specific claim that Epstein was recording sexual acts involving his associates comes from statements that Sarah Ransome, one of Epstein’s accusers, made in 2016. Ransome later admitted that she made it up. “I was absolutely terrified that, once I went public with my story, Jeffrey and Ghislaine would find and kill me,” Ransome wrote in her 2021 memoir.

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If the seized Epstein documents contained any whiff of intelligence ties, there are several ways that could have shown up.

Typically, when Justice Department prosecutors suspect a US intelligence agency, such as the CIA or NSA, might have information pertinent to a criminal case they’re investigating, they will make a request for a prudential review, also called a prudential search, experts in national security law said.

“Epstein had one condition: he wanted assurances that the SDNY did not see him as a rapist. That was the end of that. He was a rapist, and we were not about to give him some other, more polite-sounding label.”Geoffrey Berman, former US attorney

“The prudential review is where you kick the tires and make sure there’s nothing that the intelligence community has that is going to make it impossible or unethical for you to bring your case because you can’t comply with your discovery obligations because the information is classified,” says Hickey, who’s now a defense attorney with the firm Mayer Brown.

There’s no indication that a prudential review ever took place, according to the four people who had access to the records seized by the FBI.

In Epstein’s case, the reason for this might have come down to timing, two of his lawyers told BI: His death, mere weeks after his arrest, meant there wasn’t much time to process the evidence against him. “Because Epstein died very early on, the government had produced little discovery and our primary initial focus was bail,” one of those lawyers in the 2019 case, Marc Fernich, told Business Insider.

In his memoir, Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney who oversaw the case against Epstein, wrote that his team never met with Epstein’s defense team to discuss the possibility of a plea deal. “Epstein had one condition: he wanted assurances that the SDNY did not see him as a rapist,” Berman wrote. “That was the end of that. He was a rapist, and we were not about to give him some other, more polite-sounding label.”

There’s also no indication that a prudential review was requested in the case against Maxwell, which involved much of the same evidence collected for Epstein’s prosecution, the four people said. A representative for the US Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York and an attorney for Maxwell declined to comment.

In addition, there’s no record of evidence being removed for national security reasons.

For prosecutors to remove certain pieces of evidence, to avoid exposing sensitive intelligence to defense attorneys, they would need to file motions under the Classified Information Procedures Act, or CIPA. The motions would be noted on the public court docket, experts said. “The way things normally happen is that there would be some tell in the docket that you’re dealing with these issues, and the court knows about it through CIPA,” says Hickey.

CIPA was enacted in 1980 to make it easier to prosecute people with intelligence ties. Until then, legal experts say, defendants with such ties could use the threat of exposing government secrets — “graymail,” as it was called — to avoid prosecution.

“Before CIPA, basically nobody would ever prosecute CIA officers because they would always pull this shit,” says Kel McClanahan, a national security attorney and law professor at George Washington University.

BI’s search of the docket for the federal cases against Epstein or Maxwell found no mention of CIPA litigation. No member of Maxwell’s high-powered defense team — which included lawyers who have worked on cases involving terrorists and international drug traffickers — asked the judge to order prosecutors to conduct a prudential search of intelligence agency material.

If it’s true that there was never a search for government secrets or arguments for pulling evidence, and if no links to intelligence ever emerged from extensive reviews of the Epstein files, it does not “definitively remove the question” of an intelligence role, McClanahan says.

But it’s a “pretty damn convincing” sign, he says.

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Jacob Shamsian is a correspondent on Business Insider’s Legal Affairs desk.

• AI coding tools like Cursor aren’t supercharging development speed, said a general partner at a16z.
• But AI can help create “more robust, maintainable code bases with less bugs,” Martin Casado said.
• AI tools have also made coding feel fun again, the longtime infrastructure investor said.

AI isn’t making software developers dramatically more productive, but it is solving two of their problems: code quality and morale, said a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Martin Casado, who leads the $1.25 billion infrastructure fund at a16z, said on an episode of the “Twenty Minute VC” podcast published Monday that AI coding tools like Cursor aren’t supercharging development speed.

“Every company I work with uses Cursor,” said Casado, who is also an investor in the AI coding startup. “Has that increased the velocity of the products coming out? I don’t think that much.”

“The things that are hard remain really hard,” Casado said. This is especially so for infrastructure companies, where developers still need to make core architectural decisions and trade-offs that AI can’t handle.

Where AI shines, he said, is in eliminating the drudge work for developers: writing tests, generating documentation, and cleaning up messy code.

AI can help create “more robust, maintainable code bases with less bugs,” the longtime infrastructure investor said. “It could really help with the development process.”

Casado also said AI tools have made coding feel fun again, especially for longtime developers.

The investor said he uses Cursor to handle finicky processes like setting up infrastructure or picking the right software packages, which lets him “focus on what I want and the logic.”

“It’s almost like it’s brought coding back,” he said. “These old systems programmers, like, you know, vibe coding at night just because it’s become pleasant again.”

Casado and a16z did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

AI empowering ‘100x engineers’?

Agentic AI coding tools have taken over much of software engineering, writing code for developers, sometimes with minimal human editing necessary.

Tech leaders have been vocal about the productivity boost.

Surge AI’s CEO, Edwin Chen, said the era of “100x engineers” is here.

“Already you have a lot of these single-person startups that are already doing $10 million in revenue,” Chen said on a recent episode of the “Twenty Minute VC” podcast. “If AI is adding all this efficiency, then yeah, I can definitely see this multiplying 100x to get to this $1 billion single-person company.”

“It often just removes a lot of the drudgery of your day-to-day work,” Chen said. “I do think it disproportionately favors people who are already the ’10x engineers.'”

But some industry leaders said the AI coding hype comes with trade-offs.

GitHub’s CEO, Thomas Dohmke, said using AI coding tools might slow down experienced engineers. On a podcast episode released in June, he said a worst-case scenario is when a developer is forced to provide feedback in natural language when they already know how to do it in a programming language.

That would be “basically replacing something that I can do in three seconds with something that might potentially take three minutes or even longer,” Dohmke said.

OpenAI’s cofounder Greg Brockman also said using these tools has stuck humans with the less enjoyable parts of coding.

He said the state of AI coding had left humans to review and deploy code, which is “not fun at all.”

Goud heeft een opvallende sprong gemaakt en is nu, wereldwijd gezien, het op één na meest aangehouden reserveactivum. Daarmee heeft het edelmetaal de euro ingehaald. Dat zegt Goudwisselkantoor op basis van de eigen inzichten in de markt.

Deze verschuiving wordt vooral gevoed door centrale banken uit opkomende markten die hun reserves diversifiëren. Achterliggende redenen zijn onder meer geopolitieke onzekerheid, sanctierisico’s en een toenemend wantrouwen tegenover traditionele valuta.

Hoewel de Amerikaanse dollar voorlopig onaantastbaar blijft als grootste reservevaluta, is het vertrouwen in goud als alternatief duidelijk gegroeid. Volgens de Europese Centrale Bank speelt voorzichtigheid een grote rol: goud is vooral in trek bij landen die risico’s willen vermijden, terwijl ontwikkelde economieën vasthouden aan valuta zoals de euro.

Terug naar Bretton Woods-niveau

De wereldwijde goudreserves van centrale banken benaderen inmiddels weer de niveaus van het Bretton Woods tijdperk, ziet Goudwisselkantoor.

In de jaren zestig piekten deze voorraden rond de 38.000 ton. Nu zorgen landen als Polen, India, Turkije en China voor een nieuwe opwaartse beweging. Door meer goud aan te houden, beperken zij hun afhankelijkheid van de Amerikaanse dollar en versterken zij hun financiële buffers.

De verwachting is dat deze trend zich doorzet zolang de geopolitieke spanningen blijven voortduren. Goud fungeert daarbij als veilige haven in onzekere tijden.

Niet alleen overheden, maar ook particuliere beleggers zoeken hun toevlucht tot goud. De stijgende interesse in gouden munten en baren is zichtbaar bij handelaren. Een vertegenwoordiger van Goudwisselkantoor verwacht de trend ook terug te zien in hun aankomende halfjaarcijfers: “Dat onderschrijft de devaluatie van valuta ten opzichte van goud.”

• A shooting incident in midtown Manhattan left an NYPD officer and three other victims dead.
• The gunman, Shane Tamura, was also found dead at the scene.
• NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tamura had a “documented mental health history.”

A shooting at 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening left four victims, including an NYPD officer, dead. The gunman, 27-year-old Shane Tamura, was also found dead at the scene.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch gave a timeline of how the shooting unfolded at the office tower during a press conference on Monday night.

6:28 p.m.: 911 calls start coming in

Tisch said 911 call centers began receiving calls about an active shooter inside 345 Park Avenue at 6:28 p.m.

Tisch said surveillance video showed Tamura disembarking from a double-parked BMW on Park Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets. Tamura was carrying an M4 rifle in his right hand as he walked to the building’s entrance, she added.

“The building’s security camera footage shows the shooter enter the lobby, turn right, and immediately open fire on an NYPD officer. He then shoots a woman who took cover behind a pillar and proceeds through the lobby, spraying it with gunfire,” Tisch told reporters.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at the same press conference that the NYPD officer who died in the shooting was Didarul Islam, 36. Islam served in the NYC’s 47th precinct and was an immigrant from Bangladesh. He leaves behind his pregnant wife and two children.

Tisch said Tamura then proceeded to the building’s elevator bank, where he shot a security guard who was taking cover behind the security desk. Another man was shot in the lobby, Tisch said, citing a statement given by the individual after he was taken to the hospital.

The shooter opens fire in Rudin Management’s office

“The shooter then calls the elevator, which opens in the lobby. A female exits the elevator, and he allows her to walk past him unharmed. He goes up to the 33rd floor, which is Rudin Management, and begins to walk the floor firing rounds,” Tisch said.

Rudin Management is a real estate company that owns 345 Park Avenue. The building’s tenants include Blackstone, KPMG, and the NFL headquarters.

“As he traveled, one person was struck and killed on that floor. He then proceeds down a hallway and shoots himself in the chest,” Tisch said of Tamura’s final moments.

Four people — Islam and three civilians — were killed in the attack. A fifth victim was in critical condition at press time.

Tisch said that four other victims were receiving treatment for “minor injuries” they had sustained while trying to flee the scene.

Shooter’s double-parked BMW searched, firearm found

Tisch told reporters on Monday that the double-parked BMW was registered to Tamura. When officers searched the vehicle, they found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition, magazines, a backpack, and medication prescribed to Tamura. The bomb squad said the vehicle was found to be clear of explosives.

Tamura had driven through Colorado on July 26, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27, and in Columbia, New Jersey, “as recently as 4:24 p.m.” on July 28 before arriving in New York City, Tisch said.

“According to our law enforcement partners in Las Vegas, Mr. Tamura has a documented mental health history. His motives are still under investigation, and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch added.

Chris Raia, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said on Monday that FBI agents were immediately deployed to the scene. The shooting “remains an NYPD investigation,” Raia said.

“Initial checks of our internal systems have not revealed any information about the subject. But when and if more information becomes available, we will share what we can, when we can, with the public,” he said.

• Lorenzo Antinori is the founder of the world’s second-best bar, Bar Leone in Hong Kong.
• The Italian dropped out of law school and took many career pivots before starting his bar.
• Now, he says he works every day and barely has time for a drink himself.

Lorenzo Antinori, the 37-year-old founder of the world’s second-best bar, hardly ever drinks.

The Italian founded Bar Leone in Hong Kong in 2019. Just five years later, in 2024, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranked it the second-best bar in the world, clinching the top spot in Asia.

It won the same award in 2025, edged out of the top spot worldwide by the Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City.

Antinori manages the bar seven days a week and is working on opening his second bar in Hong Kong this month. He’s single, drinks a Negroni once to twice a month, and, after a career full of twists, told Business Insider he regrets nothing.

Law school, banana farm worker, and finally bar owner

Antinori went to law school in Rome — but he says law felt “too stiff” for him.

In 2010, after three years in law school, he dropped out and booked a one-way flight to Australia. There, he dabbled in everything from working on a banana farm to being a barback in a strip joint and a hostel manager.

Then came short bartending stints at The Savoy in London and the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul.

“I always had experience working in the nightlife. So that’s sort of what drove me even more to choose this direction,” Antinori said.

And when Four Seasons in Hong Kong offered him a position in 2017, he jumped at the chance.

But Hong Kong was not love at first sight.

“When I saw it from afar, it always looked extremely busy, and kind of trashy, like a big amusement park,” he said.

“But when I moved here, I fell in love with the city. I loved the contrast with having a very modern, busy, and high-paced city, but then you have so much nature around,” Antinori said.

In 2019, he launched his own bar, Bar Leone, in Hong Kong’s western Sheung Wan district.

An ode to his Italian roots

Antinori wanted Bar Leone to feel like an Italian café. The bar’s walls are decorated with pictures of Italian actors like Sabrina Ferilli, local football teams, and composer Ennio Morricone.

He called his drinks “cocktail populari,” Italian for “cocktail for the people.” They’re priced from 120 Hong Kong dollars, or about $15, to HK$150.

One of his most popular drinks is the “Olive Oil Sour,” made from whiskey sour, cherry whiskey, lemon, honey, and olive oil blended with egg white.

Besides drinks, Bar Leone is also known for its focaccia stuffed with cured pork.

The bar serves 200 to 300 customers every night.

To Antinori, a good bar is defined by good service, music, and quality. And his pet peeve is bad lighting — especially if it’s too bright.

“You can’t have the same lighting and music from 5 to 11 p.m.,” he said.

The bar clinched second place on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list of the best 50 bars in 2024 and 2025.

The UK-based publishing company’s write-up this year said, “The team are known for their warm hospitality and passion for delivering top-notch service. Their dedication to excellent food and drinks ensures that guests not only enjoy a taste of Italy, but also feel like they’ve made a new friend in the process.”

It also won the top spot on lifestyle magazine Tatler’s 2025 best bars list.

Bogged down by steep rents and poor staff retention

Success did not come immediately.

He had many doubts about opening a bar in Hong Kong, a country known for its sky-high rental rates and living costs.

“And I think if you set up a business and you don’t have doubts, there is something wrong,” Antinori said.

Particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, rents skyrocketed and people’s behavior changed, he said.

“It’s very hard to compare Hong Kong before Covid with the one now. There are fewer people, fewer tourists,” he said.

According to data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board in June, total visitor arrivals to the city dropped from 55.9 million in 2019 to 34 million in 2023.

Numbers improved slightly in 2024, with 44.5 million visitors coming into Hong Kong in the year.

Tourists now prefer other destinations in Asia, like Bangkok, Antinori said, where they can enjoy great experiences and services for a much lower price.

Another issue he had was with worker retention, saying that he could not find young workers.

“We are living in times where the younger generation doesn’t necessarily feel the need to work in our sector,” he said.

Too busy to drink

Running a bar in one of the most expensive cities in the world is a 24/7 job, Antinori said. He’s up at 7 a.m. every day, and after a quick run and a cup of tea, it’s straight to emails and admin.

He gets to the bar at 11 a.m. for meetings, then has a 4:30 p.m. briefing with his staff before shift starts at 5 p.m. He’s in the bar until 10 p.m. daily, seven days a week.

“I don’t really drink. I only drink if there’s a special occasion,” he said.

“It’s a very, very boring life,” he said.

In spite of the time-consuming work, Antinori said he regrets nothing.

His bar was a tribute to a café his grandmother and aunt used to run in Rome in the 1970s, called Café Leon. Bar Leone is his way of carrying on the family legacy.

• Shots were fired in the area of 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening, the NYPD said.
• The building in midtown Manhattan houses several major businesses, including Blackstone and KPMG.
• Additional details were not immediately available, and the NYPD was still investigating.

Shots were fired on Monday evening near a building in New York that houses several major businesses, including Blackstone and KPMG, the New York Police Department confirmed to Business Insider.

The shooting incident occurred at 345 Park Avenue at around 6:30 p.m., a spokesperson for the NYPD said.

A law enforcement source told BI that multiple people were shot, including a police officer.

Additional details were not immediately available, and the NYPD was still investigating.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed a large police presence at the scene, with officers appearing to enter the building.

In a post on X, the NYPD asked the public to avoid the area of East 52nd Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue due to police activity and emergency vehicles in the area.

This story is breaking. Check back for updates.

• Exercise researchers have figured out a winning formula for sticking to a new routine.
• Actually liking the workouts you pick really helps.
• Building a sense of consistent control over your own workout plan is also important.

It’s really hard to stick to an exercise routine — even when we really want to. Only about a third of paying gym members actually work out on a regular basis, as survey after survey shows.

If that resonates, don’t fear: a team of scientists have identified a few simple strategies that you can use to make your exercise program a habit.

“We found that information alone won’t change the behavior,” Fernanda Arthuso, an exercise researcher at the University of Alberta, told Business Insider. “Support is important.”

Arthuso was part of a group that recently stunned colon cancer researchers around the world, when they showed that a sustained exercise program could be just as good for recurring colon cancer as extra rounds of chemo.

They designed exercise programs that most patients actually adhered to for three full years of the study — nearly doubling the patients’ initial activity levels. Many of the people in the study even continued exercising after the study finished, building lasting routines that are ongoing indefinitely, she said.

What made the difference were four key rules designed to promote behavior change that Arthuso used with her patients. These can be powerful levers for anyone who wants to develop a new exercise routine, she said.

1. Define what you’re getting out of it

Get personal about why exercise helps you achieve your goals.

Arthuso worked with about 10 colon cancer patients for three years each, educating them about how exercise can actually improve cancer treatment. Done carefully, it can even help reduce symptoms like tingling neuropathy in hands and feet.

This “helped them to understand why it mattered,” she said, laying the foundation for their work.

2. Make it fun — really fun

In order for a workout program to be sustainable in the long run, it must be enjoyable, Arthuso said. Working with her patients, she focused on finding “something that they enjoy — really enjoy doing.”

“It can be anything, swimming, walking, hiking, cycling, whatever they like,” she said.

In most cases, what the patients enjoyed most was a vigorous walking program — 40 to 60 minutes of brisk walking, about five times per week. Some did it on their treadmill while watching TV. Others woke up early and drove to the mall, so they wouldn’t have to walk outside in the cold Albertan winters.

3. Develop a sense of control over your program

Scheduling is key.

“Plan ahead and have a detailed plan,” Arthuso said. Make your goals challenging, and get really specific about how you’re going to achieve them.

“We define what days of the week they will plan to exercise, what time of the day, how often.”

They even discussed the planned intensity of each workout: would the patient be breathing heavily, or would they be able to carry a conversation with a friend during this session? Patients kept a workout log, and would bring it to their check-ins.

“We ask every session: how did the past two weeks go? Were there any challenges that you faced? Did you achieve your goals? And then we would discuss those barriers that they face and make any adjustments.”

There were plenty of hurdles that came up along the way. One patient went on a cross-country road trip all the way from Canada to Texas and had to plan ahead to find hikes. In every program, wherever the patients were, there were fumbles, and skipped sessions. Arthuso says working through those issues and the imperfections of starting something new is part of what actually helps cement enduring success.

“When we are increasing or maintaining physical activity levels, I don’t think it’s a straight upward path,” she said. “There are natural ups and downs and life events can affect the consistency. But when we acknowledge this and help the patients to navigate them — this was a key component of the program.”

Being cancer patients, the participants also had many extra challenges to deal with, like major fatigue from their treatments, and pain.

Arthuso designed programs that fit these issues, with “lower intensity activities, shorter bouts of movement, or scheduling the exercise during times of the day when they notice that the energy levels are the highest.”

4. Talk to people about your workout

The winning final ingredient in any successful behavior change is the people.

Patients found lasting success in their exercise routine when they were “supported by important people in their lives,” Arthuso said.

She identified a social support strategy for each patient, whether the support came from doctors, friends, or even fellow patients going through colon cancer treatment.

Some patients invited friends or spouses to walk with them. The key was “they were receiving encouragement and they were consistently supported throughout the three year intervention,” she said.

“I believe that what made the difference was this combination of the personal relevance, enjoyable and tailored activity, the consistent support and a clear and actionable plan.”

• Luigi Mangione wants to know exactly why the federal government is seeking the death penalty.
• The feds oppose tipping their hand at this time and on Monday were granted 30 days to explain why.
• Mangione is accused of the December murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In a court filing Friday night, Luigi Mangione posed what his lawyers say is an urgent question: Why is the federal government seeking the death penalty?

Responding on Monday, federal prosecutors not only opposed tipping their hand, but successfully asked the judge for a month to explain why.

“The government intends to oppose the defendant’s motion and respectfully requests a period of thirty days to file its response,” prosecutors wrote in a tersely-worded letter to the judge, who set an August 27 reply deadline.

Mangione is accused of murder in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed New York prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Mangione’s demand now is for prosecutors to immediately provide details of the so-called aggravating factors they intend to prove in seeking the death penalty at trial.

The government has alleged five aggravating factors, meaning five reasons Thompson’s murder deserves the ultimate punishment.

They include “substantial planning and premeditation,” the “grave risk of death to additional persons,” “victim impact,” “the selection of site for an act of violence,” and “future dangerousness,” according to prosecutors’ bare-bones April 24 “Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty.”

“The allegations in the Notice of Intent filed in this case are generalized and unbounded, leaving the defense blind as to what acts, events, harms — in short, what facts — the government intends to prove,” the defense said in Friday’s filing.

The filing is signed by Avraham Moskowitz, Mangione’s court-appointed death penalty lawyer.

It asks the judge to give prosecutors 90 days — until October 24 — “to provide an informational outline of the essential facts underlying its alleged aggravating factors.”

It will take the defense considerable time to prepare its challenges to the prosecution claims, particularly to the claim of “grave risk of death to additional persons,” Moskowitz wrote.

“The Notice does not identify what other people were put in grave risk of death,” he wrote.

“Indeed, given that the shooting of Mr. Thompson was done at close range and early in the morning, when the street was nearly empty, it is hard to imagine, without further specificity, how the government intends to prove this aggravating factor.”

The need for speed is “acute,” Moskowitz added, “since the court has expressed its intention to try this case in 2026.”

US District Judge Margaret M. Garnett quickly granted prosecutors’ request for a 30-day reply deadline.

At a pretrial conference in April, she said she intends to set a firm, 2026 trial date at Mangione’s next scheduled conference, on December 5.

• Apple’s iOS 26 will allow users to filter out texts from unknown senders.
• That could be a big financial problem for campaigns that rely on texts for donations.
• One GOP group is warning that it could lead to a $500 million loss for GOP campaigns overall.

Apple’s new spam text filtering feature could end up being a multimillion-dollar headache for political campaigns.

iOS 26 includes a new feature that allows users to filter text messages from unrecognized numbers into an “Unknown Senders” folder without sending a notification. Users can then go to that filter and hit “Mark as Known” or delete the message.

In a memo seen by BI and first reported by Punchbowl News, the official campaign committee in charge of electing GOP senators warned that the new feature could lead to a steep drop in revenue.

“That change has profound implications for our ability to fundraise, mobilize voters, and run digital campaigns,” reads a July 24 memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC.

The memo estimated that the new feature could cost the group $25 million in lost revenue and lead to a $500 million loss for GOP campaigns as a whole, based on the estimate that 70% of small-dollar donations come from text messages and that iPhones make up 60% of mobile devices in the US.

Though some people may choose to sign up for a campaign’s text messages, individuals often get texts from campaigns that they didn’t sign up for, but who purchased a contact list from elsewhere.

Campaigns in both parties rely on these sometimes unsolicited text messages not just for fundraising, but for voter turnout messages.

“Unilaterally blocking campaigns and political parties from being able to contact voters with get-out-the-vote or persuasive messaging is voter disenfranchisement,” Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the NRSC, said in a statement to BI. “It’s critical Apple delay their rollout of this feature until these concerns have been addressed.”

iOS 26 is expected to be rolled out in mid-September. Apple senior executive Darin Adler said at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June that users using the feature “would continue to see important time-sensitive messages” like verification codes and scheduling-related messages.

Adler characterized the new feature as giving users “total control over who appears in your conversation list.”

The NRSC memo also said that lobbyists and trade groups have been “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to the new feature and that Apple “isn’t engaging.” A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

“We have only a few weeks left before the public release,” reads the memo. “If we’re going to push back, it has to be now. We have a very narrow window to fix this.”

Mike Nellis, the founder of the Democratic digital fundraising firm Authentic, told BI that members of his party “need to take this seriously, but good-faith actors won’t see as much of a hit.”

“If you’re panicking about losing $500 million in revenue, it probably means you were scamming people in the first place,” Nellis said. “If you can’t raise money online without misleading your supporters, you deserve what you get.”

Nellis also said the change underscores why campaigns need to have a diverse array of fundraising and communication channels.

“When there’s a regulatory, product, or voter shift, you still need reliable ways to reach people,” Nellis said.

• A Chaturbate content moderator has sued the porn site, alleging he’s suffered “psychological trauma.”
• The lawsuit said Chaturbate neglected industry-standard mental health protections for moderators.
• The plaintiff said in the lawsuit that he developed PTSD as a result of the content he was exposed to.

A content moderator for the popular porn site Chaturbate has sued the adult live-streaming platform, alleging in court papers that he has developed PTSD as a result of his daily exposure to “extreme, violent, graphic, and sexually explicit” material.

In the lawsuit filed last week in the US District Court for the Central District of California, plaintiff Neal Barber accused Chaturbate and its operator of negligence for “knowingly and intentionally” failing to provide their content moderators with “industry-standard mental health protections” like content filters, wellness breaks, trauma-informed counseling or peer support systems.

Barber, the lawsuit said, has suffered “psychological trauma” and other severe emotional injuries since his November 2020 hiring. He is currently on medical leave “due to PTSD” from his content moderation work, the court papers added.

A spokesperson for Multi Media, LLC — the owner of the pornographic website which is also named as a defendant — told Business Insider in a statement on Monday: “The company has not been served nor has it reviewed the complaint and therefore cannot comment on the matter at this time.”

“With that said, it takes content moderation very seriously, deeply values the work of its moderators, and remains committed to supporting the team responsible for this critical work,” the statement continued.

Attorneys for Barber did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI.

Lawyers for Barber allege in the lawsuit his injuries “were not only foreseeable, but preventable.”

“Had Defendants taken even the minimal precautions adopted by companies in Defendants’ industry, Plaintiff would not have suffered these injuries,” the lawsuit said. “Plaintiff is informed and believes that numerous other members of the proposed class have also suffered emotional harm from engaging in the content moderator duties required of them by Defendants.”

Barber’s lawsuit said his role was known as “customer service risk supervisor,” and that his job was to act as a content moderator for the Chaturbate website, where hosts can broadcast sexual live video streams and viewers can interact with them in real time.

“Because platforms like Chaturbate host vast amounts of live, unfiltered, and sexually explicit content, content moderators are essential to maintain compliance with legal standards, enforce platform rules, and prevent the dissemination of illegal or abusive material,” the lawsuit said.

The content moderators, the court papers said, serve as the “first line of defense against child exploitation, non-consensual content, violent content, obscene content, self-harm, and other violations.” Without them, the porn site “would become unmanageable, unsafe, and legally vulnerable,” said the lawsuit.

Barber and the proposed class, the lawsuit said, “have been and continue to be routinely exposed to some of the most graphic, disturbing, obscene and psychologically damaging content found anywhere online.”

“Their jobs require them to monitor live-streamed material which too often involves child sexual abuse imagery, self-harm and suicide threats, extreme violence, and highly obscene, degrading, or dehumanizing sexual acts,” the lawsuit said. “Much of this content is created to be intentionally shocking, often non-consensual, and designed to provoke trauma.”

The lawsuit alleged that Chaturbate’s lack of mental health protections for its employees “was not a routine workplace oversight but a conscious disregard of nondelegable duties imposed by law and public policy, including the obligation to provide a safe and healthy work environment.”

Chaturbate and Multi Media previously faced another lawsuit last year brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the entities of violating the state’s age-verification law. A settlement that called for Multi Media to pay a $675,000 penalty was ultimately reached between the parties.

• My husband and I can’t afford a starter home in Houston, so we had to move in with his parents.
• The living arrangement is difficult because we have no privacy, but my in-laws are also helpful.
• I’m not sure how long we’ll be here, but I’m glad this is an option for us as we save money.

I never thought I’d find myself arguing about dryer sheets with my mother-in-law at midnight, but that’s my new reality.

A few years ago, my husband and I moved in with his parents because the rent in Houston was eating into our savings. A “temporary stay” at my in-laws was supposed to be a temporary solution. We estimated six months, tops. Now it’s three years, two career changes, and many “Are you still there?” jokes from my sister.

Although we’re saving money, it comes at a cost, as I’ve learned you can’t hide in a multigenerational household.

It’s not easy living with my in-laws for this long

I feel like I’m always sneaking around. I often creep into the kitchen early in the morning to prepare coffee without waking my mother-in-law up early.

Date nights are like an escape plan. My husband and I whisper what we’re streaming on Netflix because the television in our room has a wall that my in-laws’ closet shares. Our arguments stay half-whispered, half-swallowed. Thin walls are our biggest problem.

Irritants become daily tightropes, too. I once found my wet laundry heaped in a basket. There was no note, just a crisply folded pair of jeans that never quite dried. I was annoyed but couldn’t say anything.

There is a whole choreography to claiming fridge shelves, freezer space, and the prime pantry corner. We also have to label our leftovers in Sharpie so no one “accidentally” eats our takeout after a late night.

I realize there are benefits to this living arrangement

If you’re imagining anarchy, you’re on the right track, but that’s only half the picture. There are perks that I sometimes forget about.

When both my husband and I got COVID, my mother-in-law filled our bedroom doorway with soup, saltines, and bottomless mugs of mint tea.

When our toddler threw a tantrum because I cut his toast “incorrectly,” my father-in-law leapt into the conversation and calmed him down in the way only granddads can. I have watched my son spend more time with grandparents in one week than I did in a year.

I also get cooking lessons from my mother-in-law; she taught me to make tamales on Christmas. We worked together, using her mother’s steamer pot, which is older than my marriage.

Either way, this is where my family needs to be right now

Some days, it’s stifling. Other days, it’s the only reason we’re still afloat.

In Houston, starter homes look like luxury listings. This arrangement means our savings account exists at all. It means backup when day care falls through or the car breaks down. It means someone slips a plate of mango slices into my hand when they know I’ve had a rough day.

The American dream needs a rewrite; sometimes it is not a white picket fence but a third fork at the dinner table, an in-law on the couch in the middle of a telenovela, and a sign that you don’t have to do it all alone.

Do I dream about owning my own place someday? Yeah. I dream of shutting a door and knowing nobody else can hear. But when we finally unpack that last moving box, if we ever do, I will miss the smell of tortillas in the morning, the stories of distant cousins I never met, and the way this messy, chaotic house has quietly taught me that family isn’t just who you wed.

• Marines completed a training exercise deploying sonobuoys for submarine hunting from an MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
• The event marks increased Marine and Navy coordination in anti-submarine warfare.
• Sonobuoys can detect enemy submarines, allowing them to be targeted for attack.

Marines just wrapped up a training exercise that saw troops tossing sonobuoys out of the back of MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, part of an effort meant to boost how the Marines and Navy can work together to fight enemy submarines.

“We’re past the question of whether the Marine Corps can contribute to ASW,” said Navy Capt. Bill Howey, director of maritime operations for Commander, Submarine Group Two, in a press release on the training. “Now we’re refining how they contribute and then integrating that into the fleet playbook.”

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) involves detecting, tracking, and neutralizing enemy submarines using specialized ships, aircraft, sonar systems, and underwater weapons. It is a critical component of naval defense aimed at protecting fleets and strategic waterways from hidden underwater threats, though it hasn’t traditionally been a mission in which Marines have been involved.

Expendable sonobuoys, like those used in the exercise, are launched, or in this case dropped, from the air (from fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft and uncrewed airborne platforms) and are used for detecting and tracking submarines. They can also help with targeting subs for a torpedo attack.

The recent training was part of a yearslong reshuffling for the Marine Corps from fighting counterinsurgency warfare in the Middle East toward peer-level warfare against adversarial nations like China or Russia. It seems to be among the first times the DoD has relied on the Osprey for sonobuoy deployment.

Maj. Sean T. Penczak, the executive officer of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 said that “the Osprey’s unique capabilities as a tiltrotor aircraft allow it to excel within the framework of distributed aviation operations and expeditionary advanced base operations.”

“Its ability to cover long ranges with a payload comparable to the P-8, while maximizing time on station for time-critical tasking, has made it highly effective in the anti-submarine warfare arena— demonstrating its versatility and value as emerging threats continue to evolve,” he said of the Osprey.

The other aircraft Penczak referenced is Boeing’s P-8 Poseidon airplane, which is based on the civilian 737-800 and was created for maritime missions like anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare. The plane can deploy torpedoes and anti-ship missiles and serves as a premier airborne ASW platform.

NATO countries have stepped up their anti-submarine warfare efforts in recent years in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic amid more frequent Russian submarine activity. They are also ramping up efforts to combat unintentional damage and sabotage to undersea cables and critical infrastructure, sometimes relying on sensor systems, uncrewed surveillance, and patrols.

Sonobuoys like the ones used recently aren’t new to the US military’s arsenal of submarine detection tools, though they are a new tool for Marines. The sensors were developed during World War II in response to German U-boats’ attacks on Allied vessels in the Atlantic.

A DoD technical paper described this tech as a “simple, reliable, inexpensive, technically complex, adaptive, and effective device that has been produced by the millions and used for almost seventy years.”

“A few years ago, the idea of Marines flying [anti-submarine warfare] missions might have raised eyebrows,” Col. James C. Derrick, commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Group 26, said in his statement. “Now we’re doing it as part of the plan, using the Osprey’s unique capabilities to help enable naval maneuver.”

• When my husband turned 60, he decided we were going to spend half the year in Florida.
• I struggled going from New York City to our rental condo in North Miami.
• Now I go back to New York every two weeks while he stays at the beach.

The second my husband turned 60, he decided it was time to join the million residents who spend part of the year (in our case, six months) in Florida.

My spouse sold me on the sun, sand, and surf — and a North Miami condo rental on the 20th floor with ocean views. I didn’t protest when he suggested it — so many of our friends who are empty nesters have made the part-time move to Boca, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or Delray.

But when we shipped our car stuffed with bags down to Aventura in December, I quickly realized this was far different from New York City.

I tried to make the most out of it

The first week, my hubby was gleeful playing pickleball and snoozing on the terrace. I, however, immediately experienced a rosacea flareup from the 85-degree heat and humidity and wound up at a dermatologist’s office.

The doctor asked if I could stay out of the sun. “Can you write me a prescription to go back to New York?” I responded. Instead, she sold me $159 worth of sunscreen products and sent me on my way.

As the weeks crawled by, we went on a few double dates with other couples. “You’ll like them. They’re about our age,” my spouse assured me. They were — give or take 20 years. A few already had grandchildren and were on their second hip replacement.

Rather than pout, I decided to make the most of my situation. Every day, I would don a wide-brimmed baseball hat and take a long walk around the exercise trail leading around the golf course. As I logged in my 10,000 steps, I dodged kids on bikes, Door Dash deliveries on motorized scooters, even a four-foot-long lizard and a family of wild ducks. Once, on my second loop, I passed a woman pushing her Maltese in a stroller. I peered inside the carriage; the dog looked more miserable than I.

I felt out of place

Strolling back through the security gates into the condo complex driveway, I called a friend to vent.

“This is so not me! I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone!” I said to hear while complaining about how no one wore black.

She was talking me off the ledge when I suddenly heard screeching tires. I turned to see a blue Cadillac coming straight at me. It swerved side to side wildly, hitting a few palm trees in its path and taking out the arm of the security gate. I screamed and jumped into a bush as it sped past, finally coming to a hard stop in front of the condo fountain.

I ran after the car, prepared to scream at the driver for trying to mow me down. An old, bent-over gentleman emerged from behind the wheel, and his nurse stepped out of the passenger side. She apologized, and I saw that the man was clearly in shock — he was 97 years old, I found out.

I made my way upstairs, thankfully unharmed but covered in dirt from my tumble into the landscaping. I told my spouse what happened.

“Florida,” he shrugged. “What are you gonna do?”

There was plenty I could do — for starters, book my return flight home the next day.

“This IS home,” he reminded me.

I didn’t want to be here

I went into the bathroom, slammed the door behind me, and cried. This life wasn’t me, and despite wanting to be a good wife and spend quality time with my husband, I didn’t want to be here. I felt completely lost.

I talked to my spouse and explained how I was feeling. To his credit, he told me to travel back and forth as much as I needed. Delta Air Lines became my new best friend.

We struck a compromise: I return to New York every two weeks, spend a week or two recharging my batteries, and then return.

I now see my daughter, do my work, and meet up with friends. When I’m home and he is in Florida, I don’t miss the surroundings, but I do miss him. He comes back to NYC a few times as well, and the rest of the time we spend together in what I try not to call “Aventorture” (at least not in front of him). As we reach the end of May and our official “move out” time for the snowbird season, I’m actually starting to feel more at ease. I got this.

I found a few things that keep me entertained and sane: local theater, an Air Supply concert, and the Ralph’s coffee stand at the Aventura Mall that doesn’t run out of oat milk. It will never be NYC, but maybe when I’m 97 (hopefully not still driving), it may seem ideal.

• Starbucks built out a remote office in Newport Beach that its new CEO, Brian Niccol, can use.
• A leading architectural firm and boutique contractor were tapped to complete “Project Sunshine.”
• Niccol moved Chipotle’s headquarters to Newport Beach while CEO. At Starbucks, he brought the office home.

Starbucks has built out a 4,624-square-foot office — replete with “luxury” finishes — that CEO Brian Niccol can use while home in Newport Beach, California.

Business Insider has learned that construction of the 13th-floor space — dubbed “Project Sunshine” in internal documents — was completed on July 2.

Photos reviewed by BI show the office features polished chrome finishes, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Pacific coastline, and an espresso machine that would cost $14,000 if you weren’t a multinational coffee giant.

It’s a five-minute drive from Niccol’s home base and about 1,200 miles from Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle, where most corporate workers were recently told to return to the office four days a week or leave the company.

“Like every company, we want our CEO to be as productive as possible given the intense demands on his time,” a spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.

“Brian spends the majority of his time visiting stores across the country and around the world and working in Seattle where he has both a home and an office. For when he is in California, he has access to one of our Starbucks offices — which will also be used by other Starbucks partners (employees) — with meeting space allowing him to use his time effectively and keep moving the business forward.”

The company’s plan to build a Newport Beach office was first disclosed in an SEC filing that outlined Niccol’s executive compensation package when he was hired last August.

In addition to giving him a $1.6 million base salary and stock rewards of more than $95 million in his first four months on the job, the filing said, the company would establish a “small remote office” near Niccol’s home in Orange County so he wouldn’t have to commute daily to Starbucks’ Seattle base.

Starbucks has said that Niccol purchased a home in Seattle after starting in September 2024. It’s not clear how often he is at the company’s main office.

The Newport Beach outpost is located in a commercial complex owned by the Irvine Company. It’s near two country clubs, a steakhouse, and a hotel. Just outside the building lobby, in the shade of a row of palm trees, there’s a ping-pong table, a flat-screen television, and outdoor workspaces that can be used by all tenants.

Construction permits reviewed by Business Insider show Gensler, one of the world’s leading architectural firms, was hired to design the space.

Pacific Tusk Builders, a boutique contracting firm with a portfolio of projects for brands including Nickelodeon and Microsoft, completed the construction, permits show.

Representatives for Gensler — known for designing the second-tallest skyscraper in the world, the Shanghai Tower, Chase Center in San Francisco, and Los Angeles’ Academy Museum of Motion Pictures — did not respond to a request for comment.

A representative for Pacific Tusk Builders told BI the project was “confidential,” and they could not discuss details of its build-out.

A floor plan for the construction, seen by BI, details instructions for the architectural firm and contracting team to create a space with “elegant lighting” and “luxury” finishes, including “gothic white oak” flooring and custom sinks and countertops.

Renovations to the existing space were to include a near-total remodel from floors to light fixtures, including custom colors, polished concrete, and oak floors, and multiple conference rooms with picturesque views, according to the floor plan.

The floor plan shows an executive office with an ensuite bathroom, from which an existing shower was removed; a board room; six offices; two meeting rooms; open workspaces, and a break area. The executive office is the largest room at 576 square feet — including the private bathroom.

A spokesperson for Starbucks told BI the recently completed office is the first phase of construction for its satellite office in Newport Beach, and the company has additional space to expand its footprint in the area over time.

Photos of the corner office reveal an open, airy layout with sleek leather furniture and a combination of both classic and new Starbucks-themed artwork, including a “Back to Starbucks” poster — a nod to Niccol’s revitalization campaign at the company.

Niccol came to Starbucks from Chipotle, where, as CEO, he oversaw a huge expansion, a doubling of revenue, and an eight-fold increase in the stock price. During his tenure at the Mexican restaurant chain, he moved the company’s headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach.

With Niccol now at its helm, Starbucks is attempting to reverse slumping sales, improve the customer experience, and address problems with its mobile ordering system and long wait times.

Niccol previously faced backlash from some shareholders, corporate partners, and environmentalists for using the company’s private jet to travel from Newport Beach to Seattle, where the iconic brand is deeply embedded with the local culture; critics said it clashed with the company’s sustainability goals.

The strict RTO mandate he issued earlier this month has also raised hackles among some corporate employees. It revoked the remote status of some managers and required others to relocate to Seattle or Toronto, or leave.

As Business Insider has reported, some corporate Starbucks employees have expressed discontent about the culture shift, posting fliers about it and venting in Slack channels.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert at ktangalakislippert@businessinsider.com or Signal at byktl.50. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

• Trump wants to depose Rupert Murdoch ASAP.
• His lawyers said the media mogul is 94 and has had “health scares.”
• The lawsuit involves a Wall Street Journal article on Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

President Donald Trump wants to depose Rupert Murdoch as soon as possible.

On Monday, Trump’s lawyers asked a federal judge to force Murdoch to sit for a deposition for his lawsuit on an expedited basis, arguing that the News Corp. executive is 94 years old and his “recent significant health scares” could hinder his ability to show up in court for a trial.

“Murdoch has suffered, or is continuing to suffer, from multiple health issues,” Trump’s filing notes.

The filing goes on to note reports that Murdoch collapsed during an interview with a journalist several years ago and was hospitalized after getting COVID-19, among other health issues in recent years.

The request from Trump’s lawyers comes in a lawsuit the president filed against Murdoch and News Corp. over a Wall Street Journal article about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the Journal report, Trump wrote a “bawdy” letter for Epstein’s 50th birthday that included a cryptic message.

“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter said, according to the Journal, which also reported that it featured an illustration of a nude woman and featured Trump’s signature.

The Journal article did not accuse Trump of any sexual misconduct related to Epstein. Epstein’s 50th birthday, in 2003, was well before he pleaded guilty to sex crimes and registered as a sex offender. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on a separate set of criminal charges for sex trafficking.

Trump’s lawsuit says the Journal “concocted this story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity” and that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.”

“If the purported letter in the Article somehow actually exists, which it does not, and the Defendants have it in their possession, which they do not, Murdoch has easy access to it,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in their Monday filing requesting an expedited deposition of Murdoch.

The Journal has said it stands by its reporting. A News Corp. spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s Monday filing.

US District Judge Darrin Gayles, who is overseeing the defamation lawsuit in Miami federal court, asked Murdoch to respond to the request for an expedited deposition by August 4.

On Monday, Trump told journalists that he had a “breach” with Epstein because the pedophile hired employees who had worked for him.

“He stole people that worked for me,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place — persona non grata.”

• Outdoor Voices founder Ty Haney is back at the athleisure brand she founded in 2013.
• The parties separated after reported financial struggles, and Haney publicly criticized the brand.
• Haney’s return follows OV’s recent acquisition by a private equity firm.

Outdoor Voices is going founder mode — literally.

The apparel brand Tyler Haney founded in 2013 said Monday that it was bringing the entrepreneur back after a controversial five-year separation.

Haney said in a video posted to the brand’s Instagram on Monday that she’d been working on a new collection with the brand for about the last nine months.

“I’m so excited to step back into this role as founder, as an owner, and as a partner,” she said in the video.

As of Monday, the brand had deleted all other content aside from the video from its Instagram page.

Haney and OV parted ways in 2020 after the company had reportedly sustained losses of as much as $2 million a month in 2019, Business of Fashion reported.

OV’s new leadership told Business Insider in 2021 that the company had managed to turn a profit for the first time.

But, from the sidelines, Haney publicly criticized OV as missing the mark.

“Yikes! Y’all have lost your way,” she posted in a since-deleted comment from 2023 on a photo of a green polo dress that the brand posted on social media.

“The future is not bright for the OG Exercise Dress,” she said in another post from 2023.

Haney went on to launch new ventures, including a plant-based energy drink and a blockchain customer loyalty community called TYB.

Now back at OV, Haney said she’s bringing the brand back to its “Doing Things” mission to “maximize happiness through movement and celebrate sweat.”

“It’s been super cool to reassemble the OG creative team and some new players,” Haney said.

Private equity firm Consortium Brand Partners said in June that it had acquired Outdoor Voices with the intent of re-establishing the “core pillars” Haney founded the brand on: people, planet, and product.

CBP also owns a majority stake in Reese Witherspoon’s Southern lifestyle brand Draper James.

CBP president Jonathan Greller said in a June statement that Outdoor Voices “faced challenges within its business framework,” but that the brand is now the “healthiest it’s ever been.”

• You might’ve missed one of Mark Zuckerberg’s latest watches.
• The Meta CEO wore a striking purple timepiece last month while announcing new Oakley Meta glasses.
• The DB28xs Purple Rain from De Bethune originally sold for $99,000 when it was released in 2024.

Mark Zuckerberg added a splash of color to his multimillion-dollar watch collection earlier this summer.

The Meta CEO was seen sporting an eye-catching purple watch in June in an Instagram post announcing Oakley Meta glasses.

A closer look shows it’s the DB28xs Purple Rain from Swiss watchmaker De Bethune.

When it was released in 2024, the watch, a limited edition of 25, was priced at $99,000.

On the resale market, it can fetch $100,000 to $120,000, depending on condition, Eugene Tutunikov, CEO of SwissWatchExpo, told Business Insider.

Joshua Ganjei, CEO of European Watch Company, said this De Bethune isn’t your typical luxury piece.

“It’s not a mainstream flex—it’s a connoisseur’s statement,” Ganjei told Business Insider. “Seeing someone like Zuck embrace such a niche, design-forward piece speaks volumes about his evolving taste and the growing influence of independent haute horology.”

The science behind the watch’s color is fascinating: It’s made using the thermal oxidation of titanium metal, getting its striking purple shade from the heat released by the chemical reactions of heated titanium.

This isn’t the first time Zuckerberg has been seen sporting a piece from the high-end watchmaker. He wore a DB25 Starry Varius while speaking at a live taping of the “Acquired” podcast in San Francisco in September.

Zuckerberg’s interest in watches appears to stem from an interaction he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, shared with Anant Ambani at Ambani’s pre-wedding party in March 2024. Photos showed Zuckerberg and Chan admiring a Richard Mille watch worn by the Reliance Industries heir.

“You know, I never really wanted to get a watch, but after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool,” Zuckerberg can be heard saying in a video of the interaction.

Zuckerberg’s watch collection includes everything from a $120 Casio to a $900,000 Greubel Forsey. He’s also been seen wearing pieces from Rolex, Patek Philippe, and F.P. Journe.

• CEA Industries stock is surging on an announcement that it plans to start piling up crypto.
• The wild 833% rally kicked off on Monday after the company announced it would amass BNB tokens.
• The surge is being helped by retail traders, who are talking the stock up online.

A tiny nicotine vape company is going parabolic on Monday on a plan to be the latest firm to join in on the crypto treasury craze.

CEA Industries, which produces nicotine vapes and primarily serves Canada’s market, announced a strategic pivot Monday morning.

A company statement said that CEA is taking steps to establish what will become the world’s largest publicly traded BNB treasury. BNB is the native token of Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. As of Monday afternoon, the token is the fifth-largest crypto, with a market cap of $116.3 billion.

CEA plans to fund the initiative through a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) offering that could raise as much as $1.25 billion in gross proceeds.

According to the statement, it “consists of a common equity PIPE delivering $500M in gross proceeds ($400M in cash and $100M in Crypto), plus up to $750M in cash which may be received from exercised warrants to be issued in the private placement.”

“BNB Chain is one of the most widely used blockchain ecosystems globally, yet institutional access has been limited until now. By creating a U.S.-listed treasury vehicle, we are opening the door for traditional investors to participate in a transparent way. This is a significant step in bridging digital assets and mainstream capital markets ,” the company’s incoming CEO, David Namdar, said.

Following the news, the stock ripped higher by as much as 833%, jumping from Friday’s closing price of $8.88 to an intraday high of $82.88.

The wild rally looks like a continuation of last week’s meme stock madness, with shares of CEA boosted by bullish traders online. According to the retail trader forum Stocktwits, mentions of the company on the site were up 12,000% on Monday, with sentiment spiking to “extremely bullish.”

But there’s also more news driving the stock higher compared to the moves in the DORKs last week, which surged despite no updates from the companies.

Crypto treasuries have been in focus this year, with numerous companies announcing plans to start hoarding cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum in corporate treasuries. The list includes Trump Media & Technology Group, which recently made a large bitcoin and related securities purchase.

Corporations appear to be aiming to replicate the success of Strategy, which has been amassing vast amounts of bitcoin on its balance sheet since 2020, helping send the stock to dizzying heights in recent years.

One of the market’s largest tokens by market cap, BNB is likely sparking similar enthusiasm, as investors hunt for the next big crypto treasury play. CEA’s statement says that it will provide the treasury with “opportunities to generate income and rewards on the BNB Chain and Binance ecosystem.”

• Elon Musk wrote that he would “walk the line personally” of Samsung’s Texas chipmaking plant that will make Tesla chips.
• Samsung’s chip plant is only miles away in Taylor, which Musk wrote was “convenient.”
• Musk has previously employed a hands-on, “founder mode” approach to running Tesla and X, formerly Twitter.

Two particular lines in Elon Musk’s posts about Tesla’s new chip deal highlight just how far his “founder mode” approach extends. In this case, right down to his stated terms of Tesla’s manufacturing agreement with Samsung.

In a $16.5 billion deal, Samsung will produce Tesla’s new AI6 chip from the manufacturing plant it is building in Taylor, Texas, which is expected to open in 2026.

Located outside of Austin, Samsung’s plant is close to where Musk moved in 2020, and where his company Tesla later moved in 2021. In an X post, Musk wrote that he would personally monitor the plant’s activity.

“This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress,” Musk wrote. “And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house.”

In other words — “founder mode.”

Musk also wrote that Samsung “agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency.”

The Tesla CEO wrote that the deal, which Bloomberg first reported, was one of “strategic importance” for the automaker. Neither Tesla nor Samsung responded to a request for comment.

Musk has long been known for taking a founder-mode approach to running his companies, an in-the-details entrepreneurial mindset that has flourished in Silicon Valley. He famously slept on the factory floor during Tesla’s Model 3. He personally renamed and reorganized an entire company when taking over Twitter, now X, and he set up shop in D.C. during his DOGE era.

The term “founder mode” itself, though, is newer.

Its origins stem from a 2024 talk that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky gave for the startup accelerator Y Combinator. In it, he advised against the common principle that leaders of large-scale companies should hire good employees and give them space to do their job.

In a September essay titled “Founder Mode,” YC cofounder Paul Graham reflected on Chesky’s talk, writing that there are “things founders can do that managers can’t.” Graham coined the term “founder mode,” describing leaders of big companies who work on the ground across the company, delving into the details at a granular level, and not just via their direct reports.

Chesky later embraced the mantra named after his talk, along with much of Silicon Valley. Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke wrote on X that “we need founder mode companies in all industries.”

In his essay, Graham thanked a variety of tech leaders for reading early drafts, including YC CEO Garry Tan, venture capitalist Ron Conway, and Musk himself.

While the terms Musk describes for Tesla’s manufacturing deal and his plans to personally walk the Samsung assembly line are very “founder mode,” he’s not the only CEO keeping a close eye on a company’s supply chain.

Tim Cook rose through the ranks at Apple before becoming CEO by closely managing Apple’s supply chain. The iPhone giant famously keeps a very close eye on its manufacturing partners, many of which are in China.

A United airport sign photographed in 2019 and confirmed to be legitimate by the airline revealed that Apple was buying 50 business class seats a day for its employees to travel from San Francisco to Shanghai, a travel hub connecting to Zhengzhou and Shenzhen, which have been called “iPhone cities.” The iPhone maker is also known for having a broad team of operations overseers.

Samsung’s new chip deal with Tesla marks a major win for its foundry business. As of 1 p.m. in New York, the company’s stock price was up 6.8%.

And while Tesla’s assembly line workers have experienced Elon Musk’s founder mode approach, it sounds like soon Samsung’s will too.