Bells and whistles may be fun to use every once in a while, but sometimes you just need a TV that turns on and streams Netflix. Fortunately, pretty much every TV is a smart TV these days, and if youre trying to save money on a new set, allow us to point you toward this fantastic offer from our pals at Best Buy:Right now, when you purchase the Insignia 50-inch F30 Series 4K LED at Best Buy or Amazon, youll only pay $210. The full MSRP on this model is $300.Why you should buy the Insignia 50-inch F30 SeriesPartnering with Amazon for apps and games, all modern Insignia TVs use Fire TV OS for apps, wireless casting, and smart home controls. The F30 Series even comes with an Alexa-powered remote, so youll be able to use the assistant to search for movies and shows, open and close apps, change inputs, control smart home gear, and more. And should you want to bypass Wi-Fi in favor of a hardwired connection, the Insignia F30 comes with an Ethernet port, too.RelatedAs for picture and sound quality, youre in good hands with this LED TV. Do keep in mind that Insignia is a Best Buy house brand known for budget-friendly pricing and features. So, while you shouldnt expect TV perfection, what you can expect is a bright and colorful picture with decent contrast levels and limited HDR support. Sound-wise, the TV isnt half bad, but you may find youd like to pair it with a soundbar at some point.The F30 Series has a native 60Hz refresh rate and no VRR or ALLM support, but you can manually switch to the Game picture preset for reduced input lag.Score the Insignia 50-inch F30 Series 4K LED while its $90 off because were not sure when or if there will be another markdown. And if youre looking for more budget-friendly TV options, consider looking through our lists of the best TV deals, best Amazon deals, and top Best Buy deals, too.Editors Recommendations

Apple Original Films has revealed the latest trailer for F1, a new action movie starring Brad Pitt.In the racing world, Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is considered the best that never was. An accident on the track robbed Sonny of Formula 1 fame, glory, and superstardom. 30 years later, Sonny gets a shot at redemption from Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), his former teammate who now owns the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).With the team on its last legs, Ruben recruits Sonny to join APXGP and drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a cocky rookie with a ton of potential. Im offering you an open seat in Formula 1, Ruben says to Sonny in the action-packed trailer. The only place you can say if you win, you are the absolute best in the world.Please enable Javascript to view this contentSonny reluctantly agrees and immediately clashes with Joshua. Sonny may have the skills to keep up, but his mental fortitude will be tested once hes back in the drivers seat.F1 also stars Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia.Apple Original FilmsJoseph Kosinski directsF1from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger based on a story the two co-wrote. Kosinski and Kruger notably collaborated on 2022s Top Gun: Maverick, the billion-dollar sequel to 1986s Top Gun. Maverickreceived six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Sound.Producers include Pitt, Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Keleiner, Chad Omen, and world champion F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. F1 was filmed during Formula Ones 2023 and 2024 seasons and features real-life drivers, including Hamilton,Max Verstappen,Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris.F1will be released in theaters and in IMAX on June 27, 2025.Editors Recommendations

An arbitrator ruled that a former Meta employee has to halt publicity push for her new book; publisher plans to keep promoting it.

Unfellowships What happens when DEI becomes DOA in the aerospace industry? "Ten years ago this was embraced by everyone, and seen as a win-win for all." Eric Berger Mar 13, 2025 3:20 pm | 52 The Brooke Owens Fellowship seeks to increase female participation in aerospace engineering. Credit: Brooke Owens Fellowship The Brooke Owens Fellowship seeks to increase female participation in aerospace engineering. Credit: Brooke Owens Fellowship Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLast month a nonprofit that recognizes exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities with space and aviation internships, the Brooke Owens Fellowship, announced its latest class of "Brookies."This ninth class of 45 students was selected from more than 400 applications, and they will fan out to aerospace companies across the country, from large firms such as SpaceX and Blue Origin to smaller startups like Vast and Stoke. There they will be paired with executive-level mentors who will help launch their careers.However there was a cloud hanging over this latest group of exceptional students: They may be the last class of Brookies to receive aerospace internships."Ten years ago this was embraced by everyone, and seen as a win-win for all," said Lori Garver, a former deputy administrator of NASA and co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship. "But we're not sure we can continue under the new administration."DEI is DOAThe reason for this is an executive order signed by President Trump on January 20 to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, or DEI. "Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great," the order states.The Brooke Owens Fellowship, as well as other similar programs such as the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship for black undergraduates, partner with companies in the industry. The fellowship organizers screen hundreds of applications, creating a pool from which the companies can hire whomever they like as interns and provide mentorship. Most of the agreements for the 2025 class of "Brookies" were signed with companies prior to the issuance of the executive order. Another organization that promotes diverse internships, the Zed Factor Fellowship, started its screening process a little later and recently told prospective applicants it had made the "heartbreaking" decision to halt its selection of 2025 fellowships.As part of the executive order, US companies with federal contracts and grants must certify that they no longer have any DEI hiring practices. Preferentially hiring some interns from a pool that includes women or minorities is such a practice. Effectively, then, any private aerospace company that receives federal funding, or intends to one day, would likely be barred under the executive order from engaging with these kinds of fellowships in the future.US companies are scrambling to determine how best to comply with the executive order in many ways, said Emily Calandrelli, an engineer and prominent science communicator. After the order went into effect, some large defense contractor companies, including Lockheed Martin and RTX (formerly Raytheon) went so far as to cancel internal employee resource groups, including everything from group chats to meetings among women at the company that served to foster a sense of community. When Calandrelli asked Lockheed about this decision, the company confirmed it had "paused" these resource group activities to "align with the new executive order."An unwelcoming environmentFor women and minorities, Calandrelli said, this creates an unwelcoming environment."You want to go where you are celebrated and wanted, not where you are tolerated," she said. "That sense of belonging is going to take a hit. It's going to be harder to recruit women and keep women."This is not just a problem for women and minorities, but for everyone, Calandrelli said. The aerospace industry is competing with others for top engineering talent. Prospective engineers who feel unwanted in aerospace, as well as women and minorities working for space companies today, may find the salary and environment more welcoming at Apple or Google or elsewhere in the tech industry. That's a problem for the US Space Force and other areas of the government seeking to ensure the US space industry retains its lead in satellite technology, launch, communications and other aspects of space that touch every part of life on Earth.There is ample room for the space industry to grow its share of female engineers.By various estimates, only about 15 percent of engineers in the US aerospace workforce are women. Calandrelli said it can be daunting, as a female engineer, to attend a space conference and wade into a sea of men in suits. Similarly, within space companies, it can feel isolating to be one of only a handful of women in a large meeting room. Male dominated industries also have something of an old-boys network. This is not necessarily nefarious, but there's a cycle by which men are more apt to hire, or recommend, someone they went to college with or remember from a fraternity.Creating a new networkPrograms like the Brooke Owens Fellowship help open up such a system for women. "We are creating our own network," Calandrelli said. Women who participate in fellowships often get hired by their companies after college, and then serve as mentors for future generations of students. There are now more than 350 Brookie alumni spanning all aspects of space and aviation.Garver said she would like to continue the program, if possible. Sheand to her knowledge, participants in the Brooke Owens Fellowshiphave never felt negativity or hostility within the industry. Although SpaceX founder Elon Musk is heavily involved with the Trump administration and has spoken out against DEI, his company has sponsored dozens of Brookies and hired most of its interns. Prospective participants in the fellowship still often put SpaceX at the top of the list of companies they would like to work for.Garver is convinced that women and minorities continue to be vastly underrepresented in the aerospace industry, and opening doors to strengthen the industry is a good thing."Is there a need for these kinds of fellowships today?" she said. "It would be great if there wasnt."Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 52 Comments

Stayin' alive Google has a fix for your broken Chromecast V2 unless you factory reset Just keep your Chromecast plugged in, and it should come back to life. Ryan Whitwam Mar 13, 2025 2:39 pm | 22 Credit: Google Credit: Google Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle's venerable 2015 Chromecast attempted to self-destruct earlier this week, upsetting a huge number of people who were still using the decade-old streaming dongles. Google was seemingly caught off guard by the devices glitching out all at the same time, but it promised to address the problem, and it has. Google says it has a fix ready to roll out, and most affected devices should be right as rain in the coming days.Google is still not confirming the cause of the Chromecast outage, but it was almost certainly the result of a certificate expiring after 10 years. It would seem there was no one keeping an eye on the Chromecast's ticking time bomb, which isn't exactly surprisingGoogle has moved on from the Chromecast brand, focusing instead on the more capable Google TV streamer. Even if Google is done with the Chromecast, its customers aren't.If you left your 2015 Chromecast or Chromecast Audio alone to await a fix, you're in good shape. The update should be delivered automatically to the device soon. "Weve started rolling out a fix for the problem with Chromecast (2nd gen) and Chromecast Audio devices, which will be completed over the next few days. Users must ensure their device is connected to WiFi to receive the update," says Google. The Chromecast Audio, which is still beloved by audiophiles, was also affected by the outage. Credit: Google The Chromecast Audio, which is still beloved by audiophiles, was also affected by the outage. Credit: Google Some victims of the Chromecast outage attempted to fix the issue in a time-honored way by factory-resetting the device. However, the glitchy Chromecasts cannot reconnect in their current state, which leaves them offline. "We are still working to resolve the issue that occurred for users who performed a factory reset during initial troubleshooting," a Google spokesperson said.Some people with reset devices have had success manually changing their smartphone's date to last week before the outage occurred. They say this allows the phone to connect and configure the reset Chromecast without an error. That might at least get the device online so it can receive Google's fix. However, if you'd prefer to wait for a Google-certified fix, keep an eye on the official support thread.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 22 Comments

Illustration of Arboroharamiya fuscus, a newly discovered Jurassic mammal species with dark furChuang Zhao, Ruoshuang LiWhile many dinosaurs and pterosaurs flaunted flamboyant feathers, early mammals were a dull lot. A study of the fossilised fur of six mammals that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods has found they all had greyish-brown fur.They were dinosaur food, says Matthew Shawkey at Ghent University in Belgium. You didnt want to be conspicuous. AdvertisementWorking out what animals that lived in the distant past looked like used to be thought impossible. But since the 1990s, thousands of fossils with feathers and fur have been discovered.In some cases, traces of melanosomes cell organelles that contain the pigment melanin can be seen when these fossils are examined under a microscope.Melanin comes in two variants black-brown and yellow-red and the shape of melanosomes varies according to their composition. So, knowing the shape of melanosomes in fur or feathers gives you a good idea of their colour.Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterShawkeys team started by looking at the melanosomes in the fur of a diverse range of 116 living mammals. From this, the researchers developed a model that predicts fur colour based on melanosome shape and applied this to six fossils of different early mammals.All six fossils came from the same deposits in China, but the species lived at different times ranging from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, around 165 million to 120 million years ago. One of them was a newly described gliding mammal named Arboroharamiya fuscus that lived around 159 million years ago.Given that these mammals are all thought to have been nocturnal, it is no surprise that they were all rather plain.We expected them to have pretty subdued colours, says Shawkey. The one thing I was surprised by is how invariant they were. The colours were even more similar than I would have predicted.The team plans to expand its study by looking at additional early mammal fossils from elsewhere in the world, but Shawkey doesnt expect the results to be much different. It was only after the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago that many mammals became active in the daytime and that is probably when their colours became more diverse, he says.Some fossils of dinosaurs and marine reptiles include preserved skin, but there have been few attempts to work out their skin colour from fossils.Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.ads9734Topics:

The Kakhovka dam on 6 June 2023, shortly after its partial destructionUkrhydroenergo / UPI / AlamyThe 2023 breach of Ukraines Kakhovka dam caused deadly flooding downstream, threatened to disrupt the cooling system of a nuclear power plant and deprived the region of water for irrigation. But an analysis almost two years later finds the most lasting consequence may be the huge volume of contaminated sediment left behind in the drained reservoir.The area of the former reservoir served as a big sponge that was accumulating various pollutants, says Oleksandra Shumilova at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany. Exposure to these contaminants across an area almost as large as Luxembourg could pose a long-term threat to local populations and ecosystems, and could complicate debates about whether to rebuild the dam when the Russia-Ukraine war ends, she says. AdvertisementOn 6 June, 2023, a section of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine collapsed after an explosion, releasing a torrent of water from one of the worlds largest reservoirs into the lower Dnieper river and Black Sea beyond. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of destroying the dam, which was controlled by Russian forces at the time.Ukrainian officials immediately anticipated that the flooding and pollutants in the water would destroy ecosystems. A spokesperson for the UK-based Conflict and Environment Observatory calls the destruction of the dam the single most environmentally damaging act of the full-scale invasion. But the ongoing war has made a more complete assessment in the area challenging.To get a fuller picture, Shumilova and her colleagues reconstructed the flow of water and sediment after the breach using hydrological models, satellite images and data collected before Russias invasion. Our aim was to give a clear scientific answer: what has happened based on scientific evidence? she says.Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThey found the resulting flood would have carried nearly a cubic kilometre of sediment in the reservoir downstream, much of which was contaminated with toxic heavy metals and other pollutants from upstream industry and agriculture. The flood would also have picked up around 7 cubic kilometres of sediment downstream of the dam, as well as oil and other chemical products from flooded facilities along the river. When it reached the Black Sea, this floodwater formed a plume visible in satellite images across 7300 square kilometres of water.Changes in water cover after the Kakhovka dam burstEOSDAWhile this immediate flooding was harmful, the researchers found the contamination left behind poses a big problem of its own. They estimate more than 99 per cent of the contaminated sediment in the reservoir remained. These sediments may contain more than 83,000 tonnes of toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and nickel and they are now exposed to the air across nearly 2000 square kilometres of the former reservoir.This poses a health hazard to local people still collecting water from ponds that have formed there, says Shumilova. It may also harm plants and animals that have rapidly moved on to what was the bed of the reservoir. It could also complicate arguments from some Ukrainian environmental groups that the dam shouldnt be rebuilt after the war in order to allow this once-flooded ecosystem to restore itself, she says.Bohdan Vykhor at the World Wide Fund for Natures Ukraine division agrees that the contamination poses an issue for restoring the ecosystem. But he says other, more sustainable alternatives to supply the region with water and electricity should be considered, rather than simply rebuilding the dam.Building of the Kakhovka dam for the first time was a disaster for nature, destruction of the dam was a disaster for nature, and if we rebuild, it might be another disaster for nature, he says.Journal reference:Science DOI: 10.1126/science.adt3011Topics:Ukraine invasion

Gianni Versace was heralded as a genius for his eponymous Versace fashion house.His siblings, Donatella and Santo, and niece, Allegra, took over the brand after his murder in 1997.Donatella served as Versace's creative director for decades and announced she's stepping down.The Versaces are one of the most iconic fashion families in history.Created by Gianni Versace in 1978, the Versace brand saw a meteoric rise to fame under his leadership, blending the world of celebrity and fashion.When he was murdered in 1997, Gianni's siblings, Donatella and Santo, and his niece, Allegra, shepherded the company into the future, leading it through ups and downs over the next thirty years, including an acquisition by Capri Holdings in 2018.On Thursday, Donatella announced she is stepping down as creative director, passing the torch to designer Dario Vitale.Here's what we know about the Versace family's journey through fame, tragedy, and resilience.Gianni Versace was born in December 1946 in Calabria, Italy.Gianni Versace in May 1985. Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Images Gianni had three siblings: Donatella, Santo, and Fortunata. Fortunata died of tetanus when she was just 12, and Donatella was born three years after her elder sister died."Sudden death is frequent in my family," Donatella told The New Yorker.Donatella also told the outlet that their mother, Francesca, was an entrepreneurial seamstress who used the little money she had to start an atelier in Calabria. Gianni grew up watching her work and designed his first dress at age 10, according to WWD.In 1972, after he graduated from high school, Gianni moved to Milan to work under various designers, one of whom was Mario Valentino.Today, Donatella is 69, and Santo is 80.In 1978, Gianni started his own fashion company, Gianni Versace S.p.A.Gianni Versace founded his label in 1978. christophe thorimbert/Contributor/Getty Images Donatella moved to Milan to be with Gianni when he founded the company, learning from him and serving as his muse.She also began helping with clothing design.Gianni was known for blending the world of celebrity and fashion.Gianni Versace was embedded in celebrity culture. Ken Faught/Contributor/Getty Images As Anna Wintour told GQ, the designer pioneered the concept offilling the front rowwith celebrities and industry "it" people at fashion shows. His famous friends, like Elton John and Madonna, always attended his shows.He also paid top models such as Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford so much that the word "supermodel" was invented just for them.In 1994, Donatella became the head designer of Versace's Versus line.Gianni and Donatella Versace in 1994. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Versus was designed to be an experimental line that challenged fashion norms at the time.The line later saw collaborations from designers Christopher Kane and JW Anderson.The Versace brand became synonymous with tasteful, sexy luxury wear, reaching its peak in the 1990s.Elizabeth Hurley in a custom Versace gown. Dave Benett/Contributor/Getty Images For instance, the gown Gianni designed for Elizabeth Hurley in the 1990s made her the topic of conversation, helping her acting career take off, as WWD reported.Versace also became a lifestyle brand as it grew, selling everything from bedsheets to tableware.Then, on July 15, 1997, Gianni was killed outside his home in Miami during the height of his success.The Versace mansion. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Contributor/Getty Images Gianni was 50 years old when the serial killer Andrew Cunanan shot him at his home. He left behind a massive legacy in the fashion world.Donatella told Michael Ebert and Sven Michaelsen of Ssense that when she first heard the news that her brother had died, "the world stood still."Although his murder was a shock, Gianni had a will prepared because he had previously been treated for a rare inner-ear cancer, according to The New Yorker.The will left Donatella a 20% stake in the fashion company, and she became creative director of Versace. Santo was president of the company at the time of Gianni's death and later became chairman. He received a 30% stake in the company.Gianni left the majority of the company to Donatella's then 11-year-old daughter, Allegra Versace Beck.Allegra Versace Beck and Gianni Versace. Dave Benett/Contributor/Getty Images Donatella told SsenseBecause Allegra was so young when she inherited half the company, Donatella was in charge of her shares until she turned 18.Gianni left Donatella's son, Daniel Beck, his art collection, which included two pieces by Picasso, according to The New Yorker.Allegra was deeply affected by her uncle's murder.Gianni Versace and Allegra Versace Beck. Dave Benett/Contributor/Getty Images The New York Post reported that Donatella tried to help Allegra cope with the murder by organizing counseling sessions, but Milan "fashion insiders" told the newspaper that the young girl was "never the same."The outlet also reported that Allegra felt guilty after Gianni died, telling her mother she should have been by her uncle's side.In 2007, while Allegra was studying at Brown University, Donatella and Paul Beck Allegra's father released a statement addressing their daughter's mental health. They said she had been receiving the best medical care possible for anorexia and was "responding well."Donatella also struggled after Gianni's death.From left, Santo Versace, Donatella Versace, and Allegra Versace Beck at Gianni Versace's funeral. Luca Bruno/AP Photo During her early years at Versace, critics, including The New Yorker, called Donatella a mere "muse, mascot, and de-facto first lady" to Gianni while he was still alive and running the company.Donatella said the years after Gianni's death were difficult for her, as she was constantly worried about disappointing Gianni and Versace customers. She told Ssense that she thought she couldn't handle the pressure and turned to drugs shortly after Gianni's death, developing a cocaine addiction. She said she was in and out of a daze for the following 18 years, which made her even more self-conscious.To protect herself, Donatella said she created an alter ego. She told Ssense that she created a version of herself that was "cold and aloof, aggressive and scary."Donatella went to rehab for her addiction in 2004.Donatella Versace with her family. Giuseppe Cacace /Getty Images She told The New Yorker her children, Allegra and Daniel, along with several other close friends, including Elton John, were the reason she decided to go to rehab in 2004.Part of Donatella's post-treatment recovery from cocaine addiction was daily morning workouts, according to the outlet.In 2011, at 24 years old, Allegra accepted her uncle's inheritance and took her seat on Versace's board.Allegra Versace Beck. Evan Agostini/Associated Press Before she accepted her shares, Allegra told LaRepublica in 2011 that she preferred anonymity and enjoyed living in the US, working for other designers, and attending college.In her 2018 interview with Ssense, Donatella said her daughter was "highly intelligent and a very keen observer.""Everyone pays rapt attention whenever she takes the floor at a board meeting not because she owns half of the company, but because she asks the right questions," Donatella said.Santo didn't have a passion for fashion like his siblings.Santo, Donatella, and Allegra at Gianni's funeral. Luca Bruno/AP Photo Although Santo serves as the president and co-CEO of Gianni Versace S.p.A., he told The New Yorker in 2007, "I work in fashion because Gianni was a talent."Otherwise, he said his real passion lies in charity. He said he constantly thinks of the people who are "suffering" and in poverty.Santo has also been an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic in Calabria since 2008.Throughout the years, people have tried to document the life of the Versace family in books and television series, but nothing succeeded until the 2018 FX series "American Crime Story."Season two of "American Crime Story." FX Ryan Murphy focused on Gianni's killer in season two of his acclaimed "American Crime Story" series.Although Donatella gave the actor Penelope Cruz her blessing to portray her, she and her whole family did not approve of the season, E! News reported. Cruz told the outlet that she accepted the role after getting Donatella's blessing in a phone call. She revealed that Donatella said she had nothing to do with the show but that if someone was going to play her, she was glad it was Cruz.The family stands by its denunciation of the show, saying it's an inaccurate portrayal of their brother's life and his murder. Murphy, the show's executive producer, said he thought his team was being kind to the family through the show's portrayal of them.In 2014, the Versace family sold 20% of the company to the Blackstone Group.The company sold part of its shares. Darren Gerrish/Contributor/Getty Images Donatella told Ssense that right after Gianni was shot, companies came to her asking her to sell them Gianni Versace S.p.A., saying things like, "None of your family will ever have to work again."But Donatella wouldn't sell. She told Ssense, "My brother would not have wanted me to sell a single office chair. To him, the company was family, and you don't sell family."However, the family sold some of the company to Blackstone Group in 2014 to help move Gianni Versace S.p.A. forward as a business, according to The Business of Fashion. Then, in 2016, Jonathan Akeroyd stepped in as CEO to overhaul people's perception of the brand, which was not doing well.Akeroyd proved to be a good addition to the team. Twenty years after Gianni died, Donatella managed to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in the fashion world so much so that fashion journalists dubbed 2017 "the year of Versace."Donatella carried on Gianni's legacy in the brand's comeback.Gianni and Donatella Versace. Catherine McGann / Contributor/Getty Images Donatella incorporated her brother's loudest designs, styles, and prints in the 2017 collection. She also brought out the models he featured most to close her spring 2018 line showing in Milan.The Versace family sold its shares of the company in 2018.Donatella and Santo Versace in 2012. Larry Busacca/Getty Images While the Versace family had stayed busy by running the company from every angle keeping it in the family they sold all of their shares in the company to Capri Holdings, which also owns Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, in 2018.John Idol, the chairman and CEO of Capri Holdings, said in a statement after the group acquired Versace that the Italian fashion house "has represented the epitome of Italian fashion luxury." He went on to call the brand timeless.Michael Kors Holdings the company's name before the Versace acquisition purchased Versace for over $2.1 billion.Donatella remained Versace's chief creative officer, and Santo remained chairman and president. After the sale, the family owned the equivalent of $176 million of Capri Holdings in group stock, per Business of Fashion.Versace continued to be a staple of the fashion industry after its acquisition, though sales have declined in recent years. In March 2025, Donatella announced she was stepping down as Versace's creative director.Donatella Versace in 2025. Pietro D'Aprano/Getty Images On Thursday, Donatella took to Instagram to announce she would be stepping down as creative director for Versace and becoming chief brand ambassador instead. Dario Vitale will take over as creative director."Championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me," she wrote on her Instagram. "I am thrilled that Dario Vitale will be joining us, and excited to see Versace through new eyes. I want to thank my incredible design team and all the employees at Versace that I have had the privilege of working with for over three decades.""It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni's legacy," Donatella said. "He was the true genius, but I hope I have some of his spirit and tenacity. In my new role as Chief Brand Ambassador, I will remain Versace's most passionate supporter. Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart."The news comes amid reports Capri Holdings is nearing a deal to sell Versace to Prada, which improved both company's stocks.

2025-03-13T20:24:57Z Read in app Joan Vassos said her longevity routine is all about enjoying life, from sweet treats to active hobbies like pickleball. Disney/Gilles Mingasson This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? "Golden Bachelorette" star Joan Vassos said she has more time and energy in her 60s to be active.She loves energizing hobbies like pickleball and also does strength exercise for longevity.Her healthy eating strategy is to get plenty of protein like turkey, and enjoy daily treats too.At 62, the fun is just getting started for Joan Vassos.The "Golden Bachelorette" star said that as the years go by, she has more time for what she loves activities like pickleball, playing with her grandkids, and traveling and plenty of energy to keep up."I feel like I'm living kind of backwards, that I am doing more things and I'm more active at this age than I was when I was younger," Vassos told Business Insider in an interview on her partnership with pain relief brand Aspercreme.She credits her active lifestyle for helping her look and feel youthful, from lifting weights for strong bones and muscles, to eating enough protein for longevity with treats like chocolate to look forward to."Age is just a number and it shouldn't define what you do and who you are," Vassos said. "When I was growing up, as you became a grandmother, you were expected to slow down and act like a grandmother. And I feel like that is so not true anymore."Social exercise like pickleball is good for longevityVassos said one of the biggest benefits of getting older is that she has more time to do the activities she loves instead of hitting the gym at 5 am before getting the kids to school and heading to work.She enjoys hiking with friends as well as improving her pickleball game. The trendy sport that can help develop balance, agility, and core strength, all of which are key factors in longevity and healthy aging.Vassos said her best exercise advice is to make it a group activity, whether you're into pickleball or just taking a walk. In her 30s and 40s, she'd meet up with other moms to take a few laps around the nearby track while her kids were at sports practice."I made some of the best friends I ever had during those years and I really looked forward to going," Vassos said. "That social aspect of it is good. It fuels my soul, also the workout is good for you."She does strength workouts at homeVassos said resistance training like push-ups, planks, and dumbbell exercise play a major role in keeping her healthy and resilient over time."It's important because bone density is a big issue at this age. You need to use weights to help with bone density," she said.Research suggests lifting weights and other strength workouts can boost longevity, reduce the risk of injuries, and improve quality of life too.Pulling up a quick YouTube video and using some dumbbells at home can be more convenient and less intimidating than hitting the weight room, Vassos said."If I had to get ready every morning and go to a gym, I probably wouldn't do it. But things are easy now. You can turn on your TV, pull up YouTube and you can do any exercise you want," she said.A high-protein diet fortifies the bodyVassos said her diet is big on protein. It typically includes a lot of lean meats like turkey or rotisserie chicken as an easy, versatile staple for healthy meals."I naturally gravitate to protein," she said.Protein is a crucial nutrient for building and maintaining muscle, and repairing tissue. As people age, muscle mass can decline over time, so it's important for older people, especially women, to get enough protein for longevity.She has a daily treat like cookies or chocolateAlong with a generally balanced diet, the key to eating well over time is a bit of indulgence, according to Vassos."I don't really deny myself anything. I don't drink a lot of wine, but I drink a little bit of wine and when I go to dinner, I will order dessert and share it with somebody," she said.Her kitchen is always stocked with sweet treats like chocolate or cookies, and enjoying them helps keep her on track for the long-term."If I denied myself, I would probably crave a cookie. But if I have a couple cookies a day, it's not going to kill me," Vassos said. "It's about living life and being happy."

Once again, the country is on the brink of a government shutdown. Unless the Republican-controlled Senate passes a spending bill, the government will shut down on Friday at midnight, when last years appropriations run out.The House has already passed a bill to fund the government through September on a nearly complete party-line vote. The bill keeps most spending stable, but it includes boosts to defense spending and cuts to domestic projects, one-time grants, and programs like a federal rural broadband initiative. It also restricts the District of Columbias locally funded budget.It faced critics on both sides of the aisle: Conservative Republicans argued the bill didnt do enough to cut spending, and disliked the legislative method used to fund the government, while Democrats balked at the cuts. But eventually, all but one House Republican supported the partys legislation, while all but one House Democrat opposed it.To pass the bill in the Senate, Republicans stand to need the help of eight Senate Democrats to clear the 60-vote filibuster hurdle. The GOP holds a 53-seat majority, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has already said he will not support the plan. So far, one Senate Democrat has come out in favor: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who said he refuses to burn the village down in order to save it.The stakes are high for a few reasons. This continuing resolution (as its called in Congress) is Democrats first high-profile chance at a stand-off with Republicans in Donald Trumps second term their chance to try to negotiate for some oversight and accountability over the White House, Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, and their cuts across the government. And the Democratic base is furious at its leaders; to help Republicans keep the government open would send yet another message to Democrats that their party isnt confronting Trump the way they want them to.But shutdowns are never popular and the risks of forcing one are real: Designating a score of government employees as nonessential could facilitate the work of Musk and DOGE, while giving Trump a foil as his own approval ratings fall.Theres no easy answer here. There are legitimate reasons to oppose and support the stopgap effort and time is running out to make a choice.The case for letting the government shut downDemocrats have plenty of reasons to oppose the Republican spending plan. And theres a whole assortment of folks pushing them to do so, including most House Democrats, some safe-seat Senate Democrats, progressive activists, both liberal and moderate Democratic strategists, and your average resistance liberal. Democrats preferred a 30-day stopgap spending bill so that they could have longer negotiations over cuts to government spending. But they were largely ignored as House Republicans led the effort for a six-month-long extension.Going along with a plan they were left out of, some Democrats say, could incentivize Republicans to keep governing without the opposition partys input in the future which isnt usual for government spending bills like this. Some also see the opportunity to force Republicans to make concessions in order to keep the government open at a time when they control both chambers of Congress and the White House. Democrats wanted a spending bill that included safeguards for how government funding would be spent and administered: Namely, they wanted guarantees that the White House would spend the money Congress had appropriated, protecting the legislative branchs constitutionally mandated power of the purse. Those concerns grew after a report from the news outlet NOTUS that Vice President JD Vance told House members to vote for the bill and suggested that Trump would refuse to spend allocations that the White House thought were harmful.Safeguards against such spending blocks are not included in the House bill. Nor are more oversight of and limits on DOGE and Elon Musk, another Democratic priority.Other Democrats point out that Trump is already effectively shutting down parts of the government through DOGEs major cuts to federal agencies: Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, for example, pointed to the mass firings at the Department of Education this week as evidence that Trump and Musk have been shutting down our government piecemeal, illegally shuttering programs, agencies, and now attempting to close entire departments.So the case for allowing a shutdown is also that Democrats would be taking a stand against a presidency that has already challenged legal and constitutional norms, dismantled parts of the federal government and its workforce, and, they say, poses a threat to democracy.Thats at least the case that anti-CR Democrats, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have made: The bill that was strongly opposed by House Democrats is a power grab that further unleashes and entrenches Elon Musks efforts, Jeffries said yesterday. He and other House Democratic leaders have been urging Senate Democrats to stand with them and oppose the CR.Even those wary of a shutdown are making the same case about the separation of powers: The problem I have with the bill is that I think it advances this project that were seeing come from the executive branch, this power grab that does not respect that the power of the purse is with the Congress, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia told reporters on Wednesday.In that way, theyd not only be ideologically consistent with the case theyve been making against Trump, Musk, and DOGE for the last two months, but also be feeding the burning appetite for obstruction and resistance that their base has been craving since Trump took office. Shoring up Democratic support, unifying the party, and beating back the do-nothing Democratic brand that has taken root are all clear political benefits. And though its unclear now who the public would primarily blame for a shutdown, this faction argues that theres enough time for public sentiment to recover if it ends up primarily hurting Democrats.The case against a shutdownMore moderate and swing-state elected officials, like Fetterman, centrist commentators, and strategists are pushing against a shutdown and Senate Democrats have been receptive to their case. They seem to be particularly wary about the economic effects on their states should the government close for an extended period. Aside from it being a basic congressional duty, there are concerns that those worried about the work DOGE is doing to downsize the federal government cut staff would be boosted by the sudden designation of federal workers into essential and nonessential categories.Wired, for example, has explained one theory: that Musk and DOGE would welcome a shutdown since it not only makes it easier to pick which workers to fire, but could make it easier for DOGE to identify programs and agencies that can be completely folded. After 30 days of a government shutdown, the executive branch also gets larger legal abilities over how the government can operate and whether to pay back workers at all if they return from furlough.There is also a whole mess of political risks in play if Democrats are cast as the facilitators of a government shutdown. At the moment, Trump, Republicans, and Musk are the primary villains and main characters of the political ecosystem. Trumps favorability and approval ratings are declining, his handling of the economy and the confusion over tariffs are the major story of the day, and the risk of a recession is all over the media. To have Democrats trigger a shutdown would functionally be a major distraction an own goal in the face of Republicans self-engineered spiral.Should economic conditions deteriorate quickly, and the shutdown last long, Trump could also end up spinning fallout on Democrats; the executive branch has some leeway in implementing a shutdown, so there would be plenty more opportunities to create bad news cycles for the Democrats. Its partially why shutdowns get blamed not on the party in power, but on the party that causes them to happen; up until now, thats been the Republicans.That was one of the fears Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who seemed to be waffling on opposing the bill, laid out to CNN yesterday: It does seem the lesser of two very serious evils to go along with the CR. Shutting down the government its always a last resort; in this case, its even more than that, he said. Who knows how long it stays shut down? Who knows how long the president decides that he likes making all the decisions for the government? You can imagine him saying, Congress has failed, Congress cant help you. Its up to me to save everyone.See More: